GB2282179A

GB2282179A - Support device

Info

Publication number: GB2282179A
Application number: GB9319990A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Martin Lund
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-09-28
Filing date: 1993-09-28
Publication date: 1995-03-29
Anticipated expiration: 2013-09-28
Also published as: GB2282179B; GB9319990D0

Abstract

A device for releasably holding an object in a stored position, the device including at least two walls 2 by which the object is held in the stored position, at least a part 4 of a face of one wall confronting the object when held presenting a discontinuous surface to the object, the discontinuous surface presenting to the so held object a contact surface area less than the surface area defined by the periphery of the discontinuous surface. As shown the surface is defined on a textured pad 4 but in another embodiment a plurality of resilient projections are employed. <IMAGE>

Description

SUPPORT DEVICE The present invention relates to devices for supporting an object, and in particular devices with walls having discontinuous surfaces by which the object may be supported. The present invention also relates to a method of supporting an object, particularly using walls having discontinuous surfaces.

Many everyday objects such as mobile telephone handsets, electric razors, cameras and other objects are very awkward to carry around or, because they rarely include hooks or any other form of support device, are left untidily on substantially horizontal surfaces.

For example, a mobile telephone rarely includes a hook for attachment to a person's belt since a mobile telephone is designed to be as small as possible. If a mobile telephone user wishes to hang a telephone from their belt, the telephone may be inserted into a pouch, and the pouch may be attached to a belt.

This has the disadvantage that the telephone must either be removed from the pouch before use, or the telephone must be used whilst still in the pouch. If the telephone is used whilst still in the pouch, then the pouch may obstruct the keypad, the earpiece and/or mouthpiece. Furthermore, the telephone must be removed from the pouch before it can be inserted into a holder of an in-car booster kit, inserted into a re-charging machine and before the telephone can have its power packs removed or Inserted.

Electric razors are awkward objects which take up quite a lot of space on a bathroom shelf, where the blades or foils are vulnerable to damage but there are no convenient methods by which the razor may be safely hung up. There are many other objects which suffer from the same problem.

Cameras are objects which, like portable telephones, are carried around while not in use. Two or more cameras are often carried while not in use and yet both cameras must be quickly accessible but secure. Cameras are usually supported by shoulder straps which permit the camera to be used very quickly without searching through a bag. Shoulder straps have the disadvantage hat the object supported swings about uncontrollably since the object itself is not secured to the user.

It is an object of this invention to overcome, or at least reduce some of the disadvantages outlined above.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention a device for releasably holding an object in a stored position, includes at least two walls by which the object is held in the stored position, at least a part of a face of one wall confronting the object when held presenting a discontinuous surface to the object, the discontinuous surface presenting to the so held object a contact surface area less than that surface area defined by the periphery of the discontinuous surface.

According to a second aspect of the invention a device for releasably holding an object in a stored position includes at least two walls by which the object is held in the stored position, at least a part of a face of one wall presenting to the object a plurality of resilient projections extending away from the said wall, each projection constituting a resilient member which is compressed in a direction towards the wall from which it projects when the object is in a stored position.

Preferably the walls are adapted or shaped to hold the object in the stored position.

The plurality of projections or discontinuities in the discontinuous surface may be in a pattern of concentric circles or part circles , in a pattern of intersecting lines, in a pattern of discrete projections, or in any similar pattern.

The plurality of projections preferably constitute a textured or a discontinuous surface.

According to a preferred embodiment, at least one wall has a pad attached thereto and presents a discontinuous surface or the plurality of resilient projections to the object, the pad including a base layer of resilient material from which the discontinuous surface or plurality of resilient projections extend.

According to one embodiment, the walls of the device are separated by a fixed distance but if desired, the separation of the walls may be adjustable. In the latter case, means are included for holding the walls in an adjusted position. Where the object has a curved surface, one of said at least two walls may be correspondingly curved to retain that side of the object.

Preferably the material presenting the discontinuous surface is such that frictional forces existing between the object and one of said at least two walls is relatively higher when an attempt is made to remove the object from between the walls quickly than when the object is eased slowly from between the walls.

In one embodiment, the device includes a hook for attachment, but in another may be fixed to a wall or other fixed surface for the purpose of storage. In a further embodiment, the device includes a stand for supporting the device above the ground.

According to one embodiment, the walls include one or more apertures.

Conveniently the device is adapted for holding a portable telephone handset.

Embodiments of the invention are hereinafter described by way of example only with reference to the drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the first embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 is a plan view of the first embodiment of the invention; Figure 4A is a view of the textured surface according to one embodiment of the invention; Figure 4B is a perspective view of part of the device showing the chambered edge of the resilient pad; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the support bracket including a stand; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a support bracket with a curved wall; Figure 7 is a set of schematic views showing distortion of the textured pad; Figure 8A is a perspective view of a support device adapted for supporting cylindrical objects and including tabs;; Figure 8B shows a support device similar to that shown in Figure 8A, but with a drawstring.

Figure 9 is a set of schematic diagrams showing insertion of a cylindrical object into a support device; Figure 10 shows a perspective view of the device with a mobile telephone supported therein; Figure 11 shows a perspective view of a support device with adjustable walls.

Referring to figures 1, 2, 3 and 10, a support bracket is adapted to support an object such as an electric razor, or a mobile telephone.

The support device is U-shaped formed from three portions,a flat back plate 8 and two walls 2 extending perpendicularly from the flat back plate 8. The walls 2 are parallel to each other and face each other so that an object 13 may be inserted between them. The confronting faces of the walls 2 having resilient textured pads 4 adhered thereto. The object 13 may then be inserted into the support device 1 between the walls 2 of the device 1. The object is held in compression between the textured pads 4 of the walls 2.

In the embodiment of Figures 1, 2, 3 and 10, the support device 1 includes a hook 3 which enables the support device 1 to be removably attached to a belt worn by a user of the invention, or to any other convenient object. The hook 3 may be adapted to hold the object at a slight angle to the belt, thereby inclining any protrusions from the object, such as an aerial, away from the wearer.

To place an object into the support device 1, the object is pushed between the walls 2 towards the back plate 8. The object need not be pushed right back so that it is in contact with the back plate 8, but it is preferable that the object abuts the back plate 8. Once positioned between the textured pads 4 at the walls 2, the object is securely held. A mobile telephone handset can be placed in a support device 1 where the gap between the palls 2 corresponds to a dimension of the telephone as shown in Figure 10. The support device 1 may then be clipped to a user's belt.If the user wishes to use the telephone, then the support device 1 may be removed from the belt, and the telephone used without removing the telephone from the support device since the support device 1 may be designed so that none of the buttons or switches are obstructed.-The walls 2 or back plate 8 may include apertures to permit access to buttons or switches. Alternatively, the telephone may be removed from the support device and used normally.

While the telephone is mounted in the support device, the textured pad 4 holds the telephone very securely and present important new properties. The telephone will stay in the support device 1 even if the telephone is knocked or pulled very hard.

This property enables the telephone to be carried during everyday conditions. For example, the vibrations and knocks that a telephone would receive if worn by a courier cyclist would be expected to dislodge the telephone after a short time. However, the telephone remains secure during such an activity with the support device 1 of the present invention. It is thought that when the telephone is knocked hard, the whole textured pad 4 distorts and counteracts the sudden impulse.

To remove the telephone, the user must slowly ease the telephone from the support device 1 . Relatively little force is requred to remove the telephone. Under normal circumstances one would expect that two surfaces which are in contact under pressure would move more easily if subjected to a higher acceleration between them than if the same force should be applied with a lower acceleration. Contrary to this, when a brief relatively large force is applied with a high acceleration, the object is much more difficult to remove from the support device not less as expected. Thus, substantial jolts and knocks are unlikely to dislodge a telephone from the support device, but the telephone may easily be removed by using a relatively low force to ease it from the support device.It may be an advantage if the object pivots about the edge of the back plate 8 as it is removed thereby releasing one end of the object at a time. A taller support device would then make the object more difficult to remove.

The support device 1 of the present embodiment has parts 6 cut out from the back plate 8 and walls 2. When removing the object from between the walls 2, it is much easier to push the object with your thumbs, and the cut-outs 6 enable a person to do this very easily.

The pad 4 includes a base layer 12 and projections 5 extending from the base layer 12 . Both the base layer 12 and the projections 5 are made of a resilient material. Rubber has been found to work very well. The projections 5 may be arranged in a pattern. Figure 4A shows one pattern of projections 5 which are in the form of intersecting lines of ribs resulting in diamond-shaped interstitial spaces. Alternatively a series of concentric projections may form the textured surface. The projections 5 may also be discrete and arranged on the base layer 12 in an array.

The projections may be arranged in many other patterns, and this invention encompasses all such similar patterns.

Figure 4B shows the edge of the pad 4 chamfered to assist in insertion of the object, and to reduce the likelihood of the pad peeling away from the wall during insertion or removal of the object.

Referring to figure 5, the support device is used to support an object above the ground. One particularly convenient use of this embodiment is to hold a small portable television set, particularly a colour LCD set, above the ground and at an angle which is convenient for a viewer. The support device 1 shown in figure 5 is generally the same as that shown in figures 1 to 3, but instead of a belt-hook 3, a stand 9 is included. The stand 9 includes legs 10 which support the body 7 above the ground.

The stand 9 effectively forms a tripod. The stand 9 is also adapted to tilt the body 7 back a little, thereby permitting a viewer to change the angle of viewing.

Figure 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which the device includes two walls 2,11. The first wall 2 includes the textured pad, and the second wall 11 is cupped to hold one side of an object. The second wall 11 includes a soft gripping pad to prevent damage to the object. The first wall 2 is slightly curved, but with the inclusion of the textured pad still acts in the manner of this invention.

To insert an object, for example a camera, into the support device 1, one end of the camera body is inserted against the cupped wall 11, and the opposite end of the camera may then be pushed into the support device 1 while the wall 2 is displaced outwardly by application of a force to a thumb tab. The tab is then released and the wall 2 is restored to its normal position firmly holding the camera body. Once the support device is fixed to a belt by means of the hook, any natural tendency for the object to pull free from the device is registered by the contours of the cupped wall 11. To remove the camera from the device, a force is applied to the thumb tab to displace the wall 2.

Figure 11 shows a support device 1 in which the separation between the walls is adjustable so that it may be used to support any object having a dimension which falls within the range of the adjustable separation walls. This adjustable device 1 is particularly useful where it is used to support any of a group of models or makes of an object. For example, the support device could be used to support electric razors. Different makes and models of razor have different dimensions and so, rather than making a range of support devices having different wall separations, it is advantageous to make a support device 1 having walls which may be adjusted to fit the razor.

The device shown in Figure 11 includes two interlocking parts A and B which move in relation to each other along serrated tracks. Part B includes a trough 27, the sides of which engage with tracks on the underside of Part A. The two parts A & B will lock together by means of the serration 24 once the desired wall separation has been made, and the assembled unit may then be screwed to a wall of a bathroom using screws 25 which pass through a recessed slot 22 in Part A, and a mating slot 23 in part B. If the distance between the screws 25 is less than the slot lengthi then subsequent adjustment may be made. Thin embodiment also includes a hook 26 to hold a plug or electrical supply lead.This embodiment also illustrates a wall 20 which includes a recess in which a chamfered pad 21 is fitted.

Although the mechanism by which the present invention works is not yet fully understood. One explanation of the effect is outlined below with reference to figures 7 a - c.

The object 13 lies on the projection 5 of the pad 4 when the object 13 is held in the support device. Figure 7 (a) shows this in section. The base layer 12 of the pad 4 is adhered to the wall 2. If the object is knocked or wrenched then the pad will distort throughout its depth as shown in Figure 7 (b), and most of the energy involved is absorbed by the distortion of the base layer and, although the projections are distorted a little,the object will only slide if the force is persistent and extremely large.

If a smaller slow translational force is applied to the object as in Figure 7 (c) the base layer 12 of the pad 4 will distort very little, but the resilient projections 5 will distort very severely. This results in a reduction in the static friction between the object and the pad 4 allowing a dynamic situation to become established in which the resistance to further movement is reduced and removal is easily accomplished.

As the object is eased slowly from the device 1, the projections are deformed as in Figure 7C thereby reducing the contact area between the object and the projections.

Alternatively the projections may judder, repeatedly being deformed before flicking back to their upright positions. Waves of flicking projections making and breaking contact may result.

Another interpretation of the effect is that under normal circumstances, one would expect a relatively greater force to cause a higher acceleration between two surfaces in contact than a relatively smaller force. In this case, the opposite is true.

Experiments have indicated that the relative height of the projections has an effect on the property that this device displays, and also the ratio between the height of projection and the thickness of the whole pad.

Figures 8 and 9 show another embodiment of the invention which is particularly useful where the object is of generally cylindrical shape. The support device 1 is tubular but with a segment removed along its length so that the object, for example, a cylindrical rod 13 can be pushed between the walls 14 formed by the removed segment. As the object is pushed between the walls 14, they separate to permit passage of the object as indicated on Figures 9a and 9b. In Figure 9b, the object is in a position where the resilience of the support device 1 will either pull the cylindrical rod 13 into the device 1 or push it out. The support device 1 is typically made of a plastics material so that the cylindrical rod 13 will slip easily through the walls 1 4 into the support device 1.

The inside of the support device 1 includes a pad 4 mounted on an inner face of each wall and set back from the edge of walls and which engages with the object 13 when in a stored position.

The pad 4 presents a high friction surface against the object 13 and since the walls of the support device 1 are resilient, the pads 4 are held in firm contact with the object. The walls may wrap around the object 13 to give a more secure grip and additional pads may be added to increase resistance to longitudinal movement. These pads to resist longitudinal movement may be of any high friction material.

If an attempt is made to remove the object from the stored position shown in figure 9c, the high friction between the pad 4 and the object 13 must be overcome before the object 13 can reach the release point shown in figure 9b. This embodiment therefore permits the object 13 to be inserted into the support device 1 very easily, but makes the object 13 very difficult to remove.

This embodiment has many useful applications. It can be used to attach objects to any static or mobile item having or incorporating tubular members in its structure, for example the frames of bicycles, or scaffold poles. This device may be used to lift, hold or adhere to the tubular members either during manufacture of the item or in fixing objects to a finished product.

The cylindrical rod 13 may be rotatable with respect to the support device, but will resist longitudinal displacement therewith.

The support device 1 may be removed more easily if a drawstring 15 is located under the object when in the stored position as shown in Figure 8B.

Alternatively eccentric tabs or a cammed stop may be incorporated into the support device. The tabs are shown in Figure 8A and act as guides for insertion of a cylindrical object, and also as leverage points for manual separation of the walls of the device. If the tabs are disposed towards one end of the device, then simultaneous pressure on the tabs will release the object at one end of the device thereby reducing the contact pressure of the pads 4 along the length of the device.

Alternative, a cammed stop may be rotated to eject the object.

The distance between successive projections may be greater near the edge of the wall so that the friction decreases as the object is removed. When the object is fully inserted, it is still firmly held and will not be released by sudden knocks.

Claims

1. A device for releasably holding an object in a stored position, the device including at least two walls by which the object is held in the stored position, at least a part of a face of one wall confronting the object when held presenting a discontinuous surface to the object, the discontinuous surface presenting to the so held object a contact surface area less than that surface area defined by the periphery of the discontinuous surface.

2. A device for releasably holding an object in a stored position, the device including at least two walls by which the object is held in the stored position, at least a part of a face of one wall presenting to the object a plurality of resilient projections extending away from the said wall, each projection constituting a resilient member which is compressed in a direction towards the wall from which it projects when the object is in a stored position.

3. The device according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the walls are adapted or shaped to hold the object between them in the stored position.

4. The device according to claims 1, 2 and 3 wherein the plurality of projections or discontinuous surface are in a pattern of arcs.

5. The device according to claims 1, 2 and 3 wherein the plurality of projections or discontinuous surface are in a pattern of concentric circles.

6. The device according to claims 1, 2 and 3 wherein the plurality of projections or discontinuous surface form a pattern of intersecting lines.

7. The device according to claims 1, 2 and 3 wherein the plurality of projections or discontinuities of the discontinuous surface are discrete from one another.

8. The device according to claim 2 to 7 wherein the plurality of projections constitute a textured or a discontinuous surface.

9. The device according to any preceding claim wherein at least one wall has a pad attached thereto which presents the discontinuous surface or the plurality of resilient projections to the object.

10. The device according to claim 9 wherein the pad includes a base layer of resilient material from which the discontinuous surface or plurality of resilient projections extend.

11. The device according to any preceding claim wherein the walls are separated by a fixed distance.

12. The device according to claims 1 - 10 wherein the separation of the walls is variable adjustable and includes means for holding the walls in an adjusted position.

13. The device according to any preceding claim wherein one of said at least two walls is curved to correspond to and retain an end of the object.

14. The device according to any preceding claim wherein the friction between the object and a discontinuous surface is relatively higher when an attempt is made to remove the object from between the walls quickly than when the object is eased slowly from between the walls.

15. The device according to any preceding claim including a hook.

16. The device according to any preceding claim including a stand for supporting the device above the ground a surface.

17. The device according to any preceding claim including one or more apertures through the walls.

18. The device according to any preceding claim adapted for holding a portable telephone handset.

19. A device according to claims 1-10 and 13-17 wherein the walls are resiliently mounted with respect to each other.

20. The device according to claim 19 wherein the walls are curved to extend around the object.

21. The device according to claims 19 or 20 wherein the discontinuous surface or projections are set back from the edge of the walls.

22. The device according to claims 19-21 wherein the discontinuous surface or projections are replaced by a normal high friction pad.

23. The device according to claim 21 wherein the high friction paid is made from a rubber or plastics material.

24. A method of releasably holding an object in a stored position including forming at least two walls separated by a distance corresponding to a dimension of the object held, forming a discontinuous surface on at least one wall for presenting to the so held object a contact surface area less than that surface area defined by the periphery of the discontinuous surface.

25. A method of releasably holding an object in a stored position including forming at least two walls separated by a distance corresponding to a dimension of the object by which the object is held in the stored position, forming a plurality of resilient projections on at least part of a face of one wall extending away from said wall, each projection constituting a resilient member which is compressed in a direction towards the wall from which it projects when the object is in a stored position.