A device for lifting, holding and handling input / display units

JP2024524852A5Inactive Publication Date: 2025-04-30プラネート
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2023574407
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2021-06-05
Filing Date
2022-06-03
Publication Date
2025-04-30
Estimated Expiration
Not applicable · inactive patent

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing devices for handling small manufactured objects, such as casings for viewing and inputting information, suffer from poor fit and stability due to fixed dimensions that do not accommodate varying finger sizes and hand configurations, leading to discomfort, fatigue, and potential accidental rotation.

Method used

A device with adjustable, non-collinear cylindrical rods forming a 'V' or 'Y' shape, allowing for adjustable fit to finger diameters, and a hidden portion that rotates for storage, ensuring stable grip and preventing accidental movement.

Benefits of technology

The device provides a comfortable, stable grip for various hand sizes and configurations, reducing fatigue and preventing accidental rotation, while minimizing bulk and ensuring secure handling of casings.

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a device (1) with non-collinear rods for lifting an input / display unit having one or two sections with one hand, either left or right, regardless of its size. As regards the parts visible when in the (vertical) position of use, in the case of the unit with one section, they consist of two inclined rods (4) fixed to the back (2) and around the sagittal plane (26) of the casing (3), which allow the fingers to slide under said inclined rods (4) and close on either side of the bottom of the device (1) so that the casing (3) can be secured in the hand and thus easily held and handled. The device according to the invention is particularly intended for tablets, e-readers and laptop computers.
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device that facilitates lifting, holding and handling of small manufactured objects, in particular objects in the form of casings and used for viewing and / or inputting information.

[0002] The handling of these casings is conventionally improved by adding a device attached to the back of these casings to allow them to be held (especially if the casing does not fit in the palm of the hand and is therefore small enough, like a mobile phone, that it cannot be enclosed by two perpendicular "sections" of the casing, in other words the narrow sides of the casing). The casing and the hand are therefore rigidly connected, the latter being captured on the one hand by the aforementioned back of the casing on which the palm rests and on the other hand by the "top" of the device (see below) which itself presses against the back of the hand. These devices generally have a visible part (including an "upper" and a "lower"), more or less approximately "T" shaped (variations of which have the appearance of a mushroom, the "upper" being the horizontal bar of the "T" on the one hand and the "cap" on the other hand, and the "lower" being the vertical bar of the "T" and the foot of the mushroom, respectively), an inverted "U" shaped (hence a "gantry", sometimes with a "bracket", the "L" also being inverted in shape, the gantry serving the actual fingers and the arm serving the thumb), or also an O (ring for the fingers to pass through) shape, etc. When the visible part of the device is inverted "T" or "L" shaped, the upper part of the device is a "segment" which is assumed to have the horizontality of the "T" bar (which is assumed throughout the following text to also be the horizontality of the back of the casing, unless otherwise indicated, either explicitly or implicitly), and the lower part of the device is a vertical segment, since it is implanted vertically with respect to the back of the casing (which is assumed to be horizontal, see above). This lower vertical part is therefore provided for the hand to encircle in one of the spaces between its fingers and may constitute an axis about which the casing risks rotating. In certain gripping modes of the device, the upper horizontal part may itself constitute an axis of rotation, without impairing a good hold on the casing.

[0003] Also, for other reasons and with other types of devices, there is a lack of skill, firstly because they are not the exact size of the finger of the person handing over the casing and therefore retain the clearance that drives the floating. This is obvious for ring devices, unless there is a ring customized for every possible finger and so on, and the ring needs to be replaced every time the working finger becomes overly fatigued. In devices with gantries and arms, there is a distance between the ring and the arm, in addition to a height that does not adapt to the dimensions of the finger, which corresponds only to a single size (width) of the hand. One solution is when the device closely reproduces the shape of a "T", which of course is three-dimensional and the bars of the letter are replaced by a cylinder. The vertical part of the device is then composed of a variable number and length of segments that are used to adjust its length to fit the diameter of the finger. However, this length can only be roughly adapted (typically in 2 mm increments), and the segments to be used are determined and attached to the desired length to constitute the vertical part of the device, an assembly that is performed only once during the first use of the device, and the segments are selected to place this vertical part in the size of the first finger, assumed to be the unique or primary user of the device. However, another reason for poor control of the casing is that the diameters of the fingers of the hand are all different, and an adjustment that is suitable for the size of one finger is not suitable for the size of the adjacent finger. Also, what is adapted to one of the spaces between the fingers (and the two fingers involved) is necessarily inappropriate for the other one (and the two fingers involved in these other cases). This problem is even more complicated because the diameters of the fingers are different between the right and left hands, and in addition the progression of the finger diameters is in the opposite direction by changing the hand that is moved to handle the casing. While changing the hand with which the casing is operated is certainly a welcome facilitator, it would require changing the space between the fingers inserting the vertical section of the device, and also the need to avoid holding the hand for long in the same position with the outstretched fingers constantly pressed against the back of the casing, which is constrained by physiological realities such as the need to combat hand fatigue, joint stiffness, sweating, etc.

[0004] In particular, the fatigue that occurs when handling large casings or instruments with two sections, due to their weight, would require placing two devices close to each other, which cannot be envisaged due to the fixed support dimensions of the fingers mentioned above, as well as the spacing between the fingers, which varies with the size of the hand.

[0005] On the other hand, if the device must be folded by a suitable mechanism in a recess placed on the back of the casing (i.e. the non-visible part of the device), this recess must be large enough to accommodate all the dimensions of the device, its width must remain fixed (defined by the dimensions of the horizontal top of the device (such as the horizontal bar of the "T")), but its length varies to suit all possible lengths of the vertical bottom, adjusted by the number of sections provided and their combinations supported (indeed, it may not make sense to bring together all of the sections provided by the manufacturer for the same configuration of vertical parts). This means that the recess with the largest dimension will, in addition, remain largely empty (it is occupied by the device at a length defined by the assembly prior to the first use (see above), and the rest of the recess will remain empty until other adjustments are made that affect other parts). This extra bulk therefore doubles the presence of the unevenness and of the edges of the parts of the recess that remain unoccupied after the visible part of the device is folded into it.

[0006] The device according to the invention makes it possible to remedy these drawbacks (which also appear in the "T"-shaped device of application no. FR1904609 / publication no. FR3095359). In fact, according to a first characteristic, it comprises a visible part in the form of a three-dimensional capital letter "V" contained in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the back of the input / display casing in which it is installed. The two inclined rods of the letter are thus two cylinders. They are rounded at one of their ends and joined to each other at the base of the letter, this visible part of the device being extended by an invisible part placed inside the casing. This inclination of the rods of the device makes it possible to adjust its dimensions to those of the diameter of the fingers of the hand that manipulates the casing, by the same skew. In fact, the fingers seek out a place suitable for their diameter by moving away or towards the axis of symmetry of the device while maintaining contact with the inclined rods. The fingers are always in contact with the tilt rod, which bears the fingers and is rigidly connected with the whole hand, not just the fingers, pressing against the back of the casing, which stabilizes it and prevents improper translational and rotational movements. The device, which is comfortable for all sizes of hands, left and right, also allows it to be set according to various styles (partially folded palm (as a "dome", see below, allowing sweat evaporation and also ensuring a stable hold here) or fully folded (the device is then clamped in a closed fist, see below). It avoids accidental rotation of the casing, since it moves three fingers to set the casing (as in the device with the visible part being a "T" part) and consists of two tilt rods whose upper part can constitute the rotation axis. It is free of unnecessary bulk, completely fills the volume of the storage recess and does not leave any unevenness on the back of the casing.

[0007] The object of the invention relates to a device for gripping, holding in the hand and handling an input / display unit, characterized in that when in a vertical position of use, it consists of, for the visible part, two non-collinear rods and two cylindrical tilting rods attached vertically to the back of the casing, the tilting rods having the appearance of a "V", the tilting rods on which the fingers slide so as to sandwich the hand, with the back abutting against the bottom of the tilting rods and the palm abutting against the back of the casing, thus having the effect of fixing the casing to the hand, the outlet supporting the fingers clamped together, thus reinforced by the natural movement of the two tilting rods surrounding the base of the device in contact, so that the casing is held fixed to the hand, and as soon as a force is applied to separate the fingers surrounding the base of the device, the device is released and with it the casing.

[0008] According to a particular embodiment, -The rods of the device, installed at the back of the casing of the input / display unit, are non-collinear, give a symmetrical image of the letter "V", and can be long and / or tilted sufficiently to fit all finger sizes, the fingers finding a suitable location by moving away from the axis of symmetry of the device as their diameter increases. -The junction of the two inclined rods at the bottom of the axis of symmetry of the "V" can be extended by a vertical rod, thus giving the device the appearance of a "Y". -The two inclined rods can form a butterfly element intended to be rotated around the axis of symmetry of the device to ensure better engagement of the casing. - the bottom of the device can be extended into an invisible part when said device is in its vertical use position, the invisible part having an axis of rotation perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the device and capable of rotating about said axis of rotation out of its vertical use position, and being hidden by retracting into a recess arranged on the back of the casing for flat and horizontal storage, the shape of this recess being "Y" shaped. - two horizontal tabs and two vertical tabs are respectively cut on the side walls of the recess facing each other, the two horizontal tabs being arranged opposite each other and the two vertical tabs being arranged opposite each other, the horizontal tabs being configured to protrude and contact the invisible part when the device is in the vertical use position so as to stabilize the device in its vertical use position, and the vertical tabs being configured to protrude and contact the visible part when the device is in the horizontal retracted storage position so as to stabilize the device in its horizontal retracted storage position, the horizontal tabs and the vertical tabs being further configured to enable the device to be rotated from the vertical use position to the horizontal retracted storage position, and vice versa, when a force is applied to said device enabling the stabilization exerted by the tabs to be overcome. - the side walls of the retracted recess, where they surround the invisible part of the device, are provided with horizontal tabs, preferably rectangular, which can enter these walls when the invisible part of the device presses against them to access the vertical use position, and which emerge as soon as this vertical position is reached and then return the horizontal tabs again within the walls of the recess to allow the passage of the device to access the horizontal retracted storage position before a sufficient force is applied to the device to move it to its retracted storage position; to reach this position, a vertical tab, preferably rectangular, is cut or cut into three of its sides, on either side of the other side wall of the part of the recess containing the vertical rod, which vertical tabs emerge from the side walls of the recess as soon as the horizontal position is reached by the device and which are then blocked in this retracted storage position until a removing force is applied to reach the vertical position of use. - the invisible part has the shape of a cylinder with an axis of rotation corresponding to the axis of symmetry of the device, the invisible part comprises a front semi-cylinder and a rear semi-cylinder, the bottom of the front semi-cylinder is trimmed to take the appearance of a quarter of a sphere surrounded by two abutment surfaces formed by two first isosceles right triangles with movable curved hypotenuses, the bottom of the rear semi-cylinder is trimmed to have a contact surface which always touches the inside of the rear face of the recess during rotation of the device, the recess further comprising a portion formed by two second isosceles right triangles with fixed curved abutment hypotenuses which come into contact with two opposing abutment positions (33) when the device has been rotated to reach its vertical use position, preventing the device from rotating the drive element beyond its vertical use position. - the bottom of the invisible part of the device can be rounded by default (by removing material) so that its front part has a quarter of a sphere, and its rear part is curved so that it has a left double curved triangle on the horizontal cylindrical surface, which during its rotation is always in contact with the drive element from the horizontal retracted position to the vertical use position and vice versa, and still in contact with the inner wall of the rear part of the retracted recess, thus reducing its bulk. The flare of the front part is configured to allow rotation of the device as close as possible to the lower surface of the retracted recess, so that the depth of the retracted recess can be reduced. The invisible part and the recess can be further configured to have abutment surfaces intended to cooperate to prevent over-rotation of the device beyond an angle of about 90° corresponding to the vertical use position of the device, the abutment surface of the recess being further configured to allow the passage of a quarter sphere present on the front semi-cylinder during rotation of the device between the two positions. - the diameter of the invisible part of the device is greater than the reference diameter of the visible part of the device, the corresponding reference diameter, or the diameter of the vertical rod located below the junction of the two inclined rods, or the diameter of the two inclined rods if there is no vertical rod below the junction of the two inclined rods. - the invisible part of the device can be enlarged analogously while remaining flush with the recess, improving its mechanical properties. The part of the recess containing this enlarged invisible part is enlarged accordingly. The enlarged invisible part remains in contact with the rear inner wall of the recess, while the visible part of the device in the vertical use position is vertically above the recess. Due to its enlargement, this so-called invisible part hidden by the recess becomes partially visible in a top view when the device is in the vertical use position. - In the case of devices with a heavy casing or two sections, the device may be attached in duplicate to one or both of the two sections and may continue to be used so as to constitute a single device, one and / or the other, one and / or the other being incorporated into the space between its (their) fingers or with the fingers spread apart, and further, the thumb and little finger may be placed on the two devices as if they were on a third imaginary device, so that the diameter of the base formed by the vertical rod is equal to the sum of the diameters of the base, i.e. the vertical rod, the device, increased by the distance separating the two devices. The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 shows a device of the present invention in which two rods are combined in the shape of a "V" mounted on the back of the casing of the input / display unit. [Diagram 2] Demonstrates three-finger use of the device. [Diagram 3] A variation of the "Y" shape of this device is shown. [Figure 4] 13 illustrates how the use of the space under the tilt rod of the device is optimized. [Diagram 5] A hand is shown approaching the device before inserting the device into the space between the fingers. [Figure 6] The device is shown inserted into the space between the fingers of one hand. [Figure 7] Demonstrates the use of a device that uses three fingers. [Figure 8]Illustrates the use of a dome-shaped hand placement device to eliminate sweat and reduce fatigue by altering grip. [Figure 9] Shown is use of the device using a closed hand with the vertical rod of the device located between the middle phalanges. [Figure 10] Demonstrating use of the device with a closed hand, with the vertical rod of the device between the thumb and index finger. [Figure 11] Shown is the use of two "V" devices mounted on the back of a device casing with two sections having a horizontal articulation provided with two recesses, the devices being retracted (horizontally) and stowed when not in use (vertically). [Figure 12] Shown is the use of two "Y" devices mounted on the two backs of a device casing having two sections with vertical articulations provided with two recesses, the devices being retracted (horizontally) and stowed when not in use (vertically). [Figure 13] 1 shows a variant of the device in a horizontal position in a recessed recess, viewed from above. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 shows the device of FIG. 13 in a perspective view in a vertical use position, with a portion not visible within the recessed recess. [Figure 15] Two sections taken along a plane tangent to the top surface of the horizontal rectangular tab show the device in a recess, in the first section in a tilted position approaching vertical, and in the second section in the reached vertical use position. [Figure 16] Two sections along a plane tangent to the front surface of the vertical rectangular tab show the device in the recess, the first section in a tilted position approaching horizontal, and the second section in the reached horizontal storage position. [Figure 17] The right diagram shows the invisible parts of the device. [Figure 18] Shows the device in a view centered on all non-visible parts. [Figure 19] 1 shows the device in a view centered on the rear of the non-visible portion. [Figure 20]15 shows a variation of the device of FIG. 14 in a vertical use position, with the section taken along a horizontal plane located at the interface between the visible and non-visible parts of the device. [Figure 21] 21 shows the device of FIG. 20 within the retractable casing in a right side view. [Figure 22] 15 shows an exploded view of the device and setback recess of FIG. 14.

[0010] With reference to these figures, the device (1) comprises two inclined rods (4) of cylindrical shape ("branches") giving the appearance of a symmetrical capital letter "V" (in the following, by convention, references refer to the interior of said inclined rods (4) and vertical rods (5) when it is a matter of the device (1) which they constitute, but to the edge ends (5) of said inclined rods (4) or vertical rods (5) without penetrating their edges when it is a matter of only said inclined rods (4) or vertical rods (5). On the other hand, when these references relate to non-visible parts in the following figures, they are accompanied by angled arrows). The device (1) is attached to the back (2) of the casing (3) of the input / display unit. Two adjacent fingers are placed on either side of the sagittal plane (26) of the device (1) in such a way that their section (6) (located in the frontal symmetry plane (27) of the device (1), which is shown in FIG. 5) contacts both the bottom surface of the tilt rod (4) and the back (2) of the casing (3). The finger (8) of the smallest section considered for the use of the considered casing (3) and therefore of the considered device (1) defines a minimum segment (7) adjacent to this section (8) and another minimum segment (7) symmetrical with respect to the axis of symmetry (25) of the device (1). The minimum segment (7), the bottom of the tilt rod (4) and the back (2) of the casing (3) define an empty zone (11) whose height is too small for any finger of a layperson of the type and age envisaged for the use of the device (1) dimensioned to be installed in this particular casing (3). The visible part of the device (1) constituted by the two tilting rods (4) is an invisible part (24) that is placed in the casing (3) when the device (1) is in use, and is located vertically above the casing back part (2) of the casing (3). The invisible part (24) of the device (1) is used to ensure the fixation of the device (1) to the casing (3) and to ensure the rotation of the device (1) from its vertical use position to its horizontal retracted storage position under the back part (2) and into the casing (3) (see below in Figures 11 and 12).The invisible part (24) of the device (1) also ensures the opposite rotation that brings the device (1) from its horizontal retracted storage position to its vertical position for use.

[0011] In the embodiment according to FIG. 2, the device (1) is used with a finger (6) of the third section, the finger and its phalanges being of no importance, the finger (6) of the third section being placed in the overhanging area (10) located above the joint of the inclined rod (4) of the device (1) along the sagittal plane (26). The device (1) adapted to the finger with the smallest diameter and the least practical (hence the zero value diameter) is on the other hand dimensioned at the maximum only in the section (9) of the finger, which is defined by the fact that it contacts both the upper end of the inclined rod (4) under which it is located and the back part (2) of the casing (3). A maximum segment (28) is associated with this maximum section (9). It follows that only the part of each inclined rod (4) that overhangs the space between the maximum segment (28) and the minimum segment (7) is used, since it only allows contact with the finger placed on the back part (2) of the casing (3).

[0012] In the embodiment according to Fig. 3, a cylindrical vertical rod (5) ("backbone") is added to the two inclined rods (4) of the device (1) that is placed below the junction of the two inclined rods (4) and above the invisible part (24) ("root") of the device (1), giving this alternative of the device (1) the appearance of a symmetrical capital "Y". This variation of the "Y" device (1) can also be used with a third finger placed on the overhanging area (10) located above the junction of the inclined rods (4) of the device (1) along the sagittal plane (26).

[0013] In the embodiment according to FIG. 4, the device (1) is fitted below each other to a finger section (8) defined by the fact that it is in contact with both the inclined rod (4), the vertical rod (5) and the back (2) of the casing (3). The smallest segment (7) is associated with the smallest section (8). The device (1) is still sized strongest against each other to a finger section (9) defined by the fact that it is in contact with both the upper end of the underlying inclined rod (4) and the back (2) of the casing (3). The largest segment (28) is associated with this largest section (9). Since both hands can use the device (1) in turn and the spaces between the fingers that can be moved have different orientations, it is also necessary to change the orientation of the device (1) so that, at the moment considered, the inclined rod (4) of said device (1) remains perpendicular to the inter-finger spaces that separate the fingers that are located below the inclined rod (4). For this purpose, the aforementioned inclined rod (4) has a base that forms a butterfly (29) without translational rotation on the vertical rod (5).

[0014] In the embodiment according to FIG. 5, the hand is slid along the back (2) of the casing (3) until the device (1) is sealed within the space (12) between the fingers and between the desired phalanges (13).

[0015] In the embodiment according to Fig. 6, the device (1), installed on the back (2) of the casing (3) along its longitudinal axis of symmetry, allowing its use with the right as well as the left hand, and installed for reasons of stability above the centre of gravity of the casing (3), is clamped in a selected inter-finger space (12) between the desired phalanges (13). The butterfly (29) formed by the inclined rods (4) of the device (1) is oriented perpendicular to the inter-finger space (12) to be used.

[0016] In the embodiment according to FIG. 7, the middle finger (15) is placed above and between the two inclined rods (4) of the device (1), between the fingers (14) and (16) which are themselves under the inclined rods (4), releasing the hand that has been gripping too long, and the inclined rods (4) press the fingers (14) and the fingers (16) surrounding the middle finger (15), thus pressing the hand against the back (2) of the casing (3), ensuring anti-rotation stability and thus preventing any inadvertent rotation of the casing (3) at all times.

[0017] In the embodiment according to Figure 8, the central region (17) of the hand connecting the metacarpals and the proximal phalanges is separated from the back (2) of the casing (3) to form a dome that allows air to flow and evaporate sweat, improving comfort and preventing the hand from slipping and the casing (3) from rotating. The device (1) then uses adapted phalanges other than the proximal fingers that are elevated to participate in the dome formation of the hand.

[0018] In the embodiment according to FIG. 9, it appears that the device (1) can be grasped between the middle phalanges (18) in a closed hand, but the vertical rod (5) seen in cross section between the middle phalanges (18) cannot form an axis of rotation, since there is an obstruction in the inclined rod (4) clamped between the fingers and the palm of the hand, preventing contact between the top of the middle phalanges (18) and the back (2) of the casing (3) against which the middle phalanges (18) are pressed.

[0019] The embodiment according to Fig. 10 is yet another type of socket in which the device (1) is clamped between the thumb (19) and the index finger (20) and middle finger (21). In this case too, the inclined rod (4) does not form a plane that can coincide with the plane of the space between the fingers that separates the index finger (20) and the middle finger (21), the inclined rod (4) does not form a plane perpendicular to the vertical rod (5) due to the non-linearity of the inclined rod (4) mentioned above, and the contact of the thumb (19) and the index finger (20) is against the back part (2) of the casing (3) against which a part of the thumb (19) and a part of the index finger (20) rest, so that they cannot rotate about the vertical rod (5) (cross-section).

[0020] In the embodiment according to FIG. 11, two "V" devices (1) (but nothing prevents the use of the "Y" variant, which is not shown in this specification) are placed on the back (2) of the upper casing (3) of a device having two sections, with the two sections vertical here (30) in a direction parallel to the direction of the joint, and the two devices (1) are placed side by side, so as to leave between them the space necessary to insert at least one finger of the maximum size in the range in which the devices (1) are placed. Adjacent to each of the two devices (1) is visible a recess (22) in which these devices (1) are retracted and stored after use. Each of the recesses (22) is dimensioned to also accommodate the invisible part (24) of the device (1), which is placed when the device (1) is in use and is therefore placed vertically above the back (2) of the casing (3). The invisible part (24) of the device (1) is used to ensure the fixation of the device (1) in the casing (3) and also to ensure the rotation of the device (1) from its vertical use position to its horizontal retracted storage position in the recess (22), which appears when the device (1) is retracted in the casing (3) and said casing (3) is seen from above, the boundary between the part of the recess (22) receiving the visible part of the device (1) and the part of the recess (22) receiving the invisible part (24) of the device (1) being realized here by an imaginary line (23). The hand is applied to the device (1) and makes use of all the possibilities offered by the tilt rod (4) to grasp, hold and manipulate the casing (3). The angles (positive and different) that the space between the fingers makes with respect to the vertical (30) lead to the fact that, to ensure optimal use of the device (1), the butterfly valve (29) of the device (1) must be rotated from the same angle (positive and different) to the vertical with respect to the space between the fingers. Having two devices (1) allows for simultaneous or specific use of this duality in the same way that the thumb can be used as an inter-finger space between its proximal phalanx and metacarpal, but also from its distal phalanx and from its proximal side, which in itself allows the base of device (1) to be almost completely enclosed.

[0021] In the embodiment according to FIG. 12, two devices (1) in a "Y" (although nothing prevents the use of a "V" variant, which is not shown here) are installed on a device having two sections along a horizontal line located above the center of gravity of the assembly for reasons of stability, the devices (1) being installed on the backs (2) of the two casings (3) on either side of the junction of the two sections, here aligned with the vertical (30), the two devices (1) being installed side by side so as to leave between them the space necessary for the insertion of at least one finger of the maximum size of the range in which the devices (1) are installed. Adjacent to each of the two devices (1) is visible a recess (22) in which these devices (1) are retracted and stored after use. Each of the recesses (22) is dimensioned to also accommodate the invisible part (24) of the device (1), which is placed when the device (1) is in use and is therefore installed vertically above the backs (2) of the casings (3). The invisible part (24) of the device (1) is used to ensure the fixation of the device (1) in the casing (3) and also to ensure the rotation of the device (1) to pivot from its vertical use position to its horizontal retracted storage position in the recess (22), and appears when the device (1) is retracted in the casing (3) and said casing (3) is seen from above, the boundary between the part of the recess (22) that receives the visible part of the device (1) and the part of the recess (22) that receives the invisible part (24) of the device (1) being realized here by an imaginary line (23). The hand is placed on the device (1) and makes use of all the possibilities offered by the inclined rod (4) and the vertical rod (5) to grasp, hold and manipulate the casing (3). The angles (negative and different) that the inter-finger spaces make with respect to the vertical (30) lead to the fact that, in order to ensure optimal use of the device (1), the butterfly (29) of the device (1) must be rotated so that it is at the same angles (negative and different) to the vertical with respect to the inter-finger spaces relative thereto.Having two devices (1) allows simultaneous or specific use of this duality in the same way that the thumb can be used as an inter-finger space between its proximal phalanx and metacarpal, but also from its distal phalanx and from its proximal side, which in itself allows the use of the distal and proximal phalanx of the thumb, which is almost completely surrounded by the base of the device (1), and which then involves moving any of the four fingers that need to be placed against the second device (1).

[0022] In an alternative embodiment according to FIG. 14, the device (1) and its recess (22) are presented in modular form, i.e. the recess is intended to be subsequently incorporated into a complementary shaped cavity provided for this purpose in the rear of the casing. In the variant described herein, the two side walls (23) of the recess (22) containing the invisible part (24) are provided with two opposing tabs, here two horizontal rectangular tabs (40), configured to stabilize the device (1) in a vertical use position. The recess (22) also comprises two other opposing tabs, here vertical rectangular tabs (41), configured to stabilize the device (1) in the recess (22) in a horizontal retracted storage position. In the embodiment described herein, the two vertical rectangular tabs (41) are located opposite each other on the side walls (43) of the recess (22) containing the vertical rod (5), but the vertical rectangular tabs (41) could equally well be located on the side walls (43) facing one or the other of the inclined rods (4). The two vertical rectangular tabs (41) and the two horizontal rectangular tabs (40) are cut on three sides of the side wall (43) they occupy. It should be noted that advantageously, in the vertical use position, the device (1) is in contact with the inside of the rear face (39) of the recess (22) by its invisible part (24).

[0023] When the device is in the vertical use position, the vertical rectangular tabs (41) cannot exert any action on said device (1) because the device (1) is too far away from them. In contrast, the horizontal rectangular tabs (40) protrude outside the side walls (43) of the recess (22) and contact the invisible part (24) of the device (1). The horizontal rectangular tabs (40) then exert a force that holds the device (1) in its vertical use position, unless an upward force exerted in the opposite direction forces the device (1) to assume its horizontal retracted storage position.

[0024] In Fig. 13, the device (1) of Fig. 14 is shown in a horizontal retracted storage position in the recess (22) in a top view, separated by an imaginary line (23) from the rest of the device (1) to show the invisible part (24) that is placed in the recess (22) and therefore subsequently in the casing (3). The invisible part (24) is present in the variant described herein as a vertical mini-rod that extends the vertical rod (5). It should be noted that the inclined imaginary line (31) separates two small left double curved triangles (38) that surround a large left double curved triangle (37). Here again, the invisible part (24) is in contact with the inside of the rear face (39) of the recess (22), as will be explained in more detail below. Here, the two horizontal rectangular tabs (40) are placed in a position that is too high to contact said invisible part (24) in this retracted position of the device (1). Meanwhile, the vertical rectangular tab (41) is in contact with the device (1) and exerts a force on the device (1) restraining it to remain in this horizontal retracted position until an upper opposing force leaves the device (1) in the recess (22) due to rotation of the drive in the vertical use position.

[0025] In FIG. 15, the upper section, carried out along a plane tangent to the upper surface of the horizontal rectangular tab (40), forces the horizontal rectangular tab (40) to enter the side wall (43) of the recess (22) corresponding to the invisible part (24) of the device (1), revealing the invisible part (24) which is still in contact with the inside of the rear face (39) of the recess (22) by a large double-curved left triangle (37), allowing it to pass through to reach the vertical use position.

[0026] In the lower section of FIG. 15 , after the invisible portion (24) has reached the vertical use position by contacting the inside of the rear surface (39) of the recess (22) via the large double curved left triangle (37), the horizontal rectangular tab (40) can escape from the side wall (43) of the recess (22) that corresponds to the invisible portion (24) of the device (1), stabilizing the invisible portion (24), and therefore the device (1), in the vertical use position.

[0027] In Fig. 16, the left cut, performed along a plane tangent to the front face of the vertical rectangular tab (41), allows the vertical rod (5) to emerge near the horizontal storage position in the recess (22) and the vertical rectangular tab (41) cut into the portion of the recess (22) corresponding to said vertical rod (5) to enter the side wall (43) of the recess (22) corresponding to said vertical rod (5). In the other embodiment described above, the tilted rod (4) can enter the vertical rectangular tab (41) cut into the portion of the recess (22) corresponding to said tilted rod (4) into the side wall (43) of the recess (22) corresponding to said tilted rod (4), thereby allowing the device (1) to pass to reach its horizontal storage position.

[0028] In the right section of FIG. 16, after device (1) reaches its horizontal storage position in recess (22), a vertical rectangular tab (41) may extend from a side wall (43) of recess (22) to stabilize device (1) in the horizontal storage position.

[0029] In FIG. 17, the device (1) taken out of the recess (22) and seen from the right reveals, below the imaginary line (23), the not yet drilled invisible part (24) of the cylindrical hole (44), the function of which will be described later (the cylindrical hole (44) is shown in dashed lines, since it has not yet been drilled). In the embodiment described here, said invisible part (24) has the same diameter as the diameter of the rod of the device (1) and also has a height equal to this diameter. It intersects vertically in its middle with the front symmetry plane (27) and passes through the horizontal mid-plane (50) again through the symmetry plane. The intersection of the front symmetry plane (27) and the horizontal mid-plane (50) defines the axis of rotation of the device (1). As mentioned above, it is provided to pass through the cylindrical hole (44) with the axis of rotation of the device (35) as its axis of rotation. The cylindrical hole (44) is intended to receive the hub (36), which is intended to allow the device (1) to be rotated from its vertical use position to its horizontal retracted storage position. The third quadrant (45) and the fourth quadrant (46) are respectively the right faces of the parallelepipeds of quadrant three (47) and four (48), the length of the common central edge (49) of the parallelepipeds, equal to the diameter of the invisible part (24), is twice the length of the side of the square face of the parallelepiped of quadrant three (47) and twice the length of the edge of the square face of the parallelepiped of quadrant four (48), and lies on the axis of rotation (35) (dashed line indicating the conceptual nature, since the parallelepipeds of the quadrants are imaginary). The cross-hatching indicates that the material constituting the invisible part (24) contained in the parallelepiped in quadrant three (47) and the material of the invisible part (24) contained in the parallelepiped in quadrant four (48) is removed so as to trim the front and rear cylinders of the invisible part (24), the trimming of the front and rear cylinders being respectively shown in the figure as quadrant arc three (51) and quadrant quarter arc four (52) (the trimming that has not yet been performed means that quadrant arc three (51) and quadrant quarter arc four (52) are shown in dashed lines). The plain hatching indicates the partial removal of the material constituting the front cylinder of the invisible part (24) contained in the parallelepiped in quadrant three (47).

[0030] In Fig. 18, the invisible part (24), separated from the rest of the device (1) by an imaginary line (23), is cut so as to take on the appearance of a quarter sphere (32) surrounded by two movable singly curvilinear isosceles right triangles (33) corresponding to an isosceles right triangle with a curved hypotenuse located at the boundary between the first and second halves of the invisible part (24), for the part of its anterior cylinder contained in the quadrant parallelepiped (47). It should be noted that the two movable singly curvilinear isosceles right triangles (33) belong to the front symmetry plane (27) of the visible part of the device.

[0031] In Fig. 19, the same device (1) is seen from three-quarters rear, separated by an imaginary line (23) from the invisible part (24) intersected by a cylindrical hole (44) arranged for the purpose of allowing the rotation ensuring the retraction and deployment of said device (1). It will be recalled here that the axis of rotation of the cylindrical hole (44) corresponds to the axis of rotation (35) of the device (1) allowing the retraction and deployment of said device (1). Two movable single curvilinear isosceles right triangles (33) surround the quarter sphere (32) in the same way. The horizontal quarter cylinder (34) is a part of a cylinder, the axis of rotation of which is made up of the common central ridge of a parallelepiped (49), the diameter of which is equal to the diameter of the invisible part (24) and which is contained in the four quadrants (48) (the dotted lines of which indicate imaginary characters). The part of the rear half cylinder of the invisible part (24) that is contained in the four-quadrant parallelepiped (48) and that is outside the horizontal quarter cylinder (34) is trimmed so that on the rear half cylinder of the invisible part (24) at the intersection with the horizontal quarter cylinder (34) appears a large double curved left triangle (37) surrounded by two small double curved left triangles. It should be noted that the small double curved left triangles (38) are indicated by inclined imaginary lines (31) and provide their third sides. The trimming of the rear half cylinder of the invisible part to obtain the large double curved left triangle (37) makes it possible to reduce the dimensions of the part of the recess that surrounds the invisible part by bringing the rear face (39) of the recess (22) closer to the invisible part so that during rotation the rear face (39) of the recess (22) is always adjacent to the large double curved left triangle (37). Without the bottom trimming of the rear cylinder of the invisible part (24), the rear surface (39) of the recess would be further away from the rear of the invisible part (24), which would increase in bulk and run the risk of containing dirt that would impede rotation of the device. Thus, the large double curved left triangle (37) resulting from the trimming, or the rotational position between the vertical use position and the horizontal retracted storage position, always touches the inside of the rear surface (39) of the recess (22). The large double curved left triangle (37) therefore defines a so-called contact surface that at least partially touches the inside of the rear surface (39) of the recess (22) during rotation of the device (1).

[0032] Figure 22 is a partially exploded view showing the device (1) of the "Y" variant, the inclined rod (4), the vertical rod (5) and the invisible part (24) drilled with a cylindrical hole (44) that must receive the hub (36) to ensure the rotation of the device about the axis of rotation (35) between the vertical use position and the horizontal retracted storage position. The hub (36) is also used to fix the device (1) in the recess (22) by positioning it vertically for its use, and is held in this vertical position by the double contact, on the one hand, from the rear of the invisible part (24) through the large double curved left triangle (37) with the inside of the rear face (39) of the recess (22), and, on the other hand, by the double contact of the two movable single curved isosceles right triangles (33) of the invisible part (24) applied against the two stationary single curved isosceles right triangles (42) of the recess (22) rather than by the pressure of the horizontal tabs (40) projecting outwardly of the side walls (43) of the recess (22) in which they are placed. The hub (36) also connects the device (1) and the recess (22) horizontally in the retracted storage position, in which it holds the device (1) by the pressure of the vertical tab (41) which, on the one hand, contacts the bottom surface of the recess (22) and, on the other hand, comes from the side wall (43) of the recess (22) where the vertical tab (41) is created. It should be noted that the rotation of the device between the retracted storage position and the vertical use position is possible due to the presence of the quarter sphere (32) on a half cylinder, the shape of which is adapted to pass above two stationary single curved isosceles right triangles (42) for abutting against the recess during rotation. It should be noted that the two fixed single curved isosceles right triangles (42) correspond to an isosceles right triangle with curved hypotenuses arranged so that the right sides are parallel to the bottom and side walls of the recess (22). Moreover, the two hypotenuses placed end to end form a semicircle adapted to receive the quarter sphere parts (32) during the rotation of the device.

[0033] Figure 20 shows a cross-sectional top view of the device (1) in the vertical use position, cut along a horizontal plane located at the interface between the invisible part (24) and the visible part of the device (1). In this alternative embodiment, the section of the invisible part (24) and the part of the recess (22) containing the invisible part (24) are of larger dimensions than those described above with reference to Figures 13 to 19. These dimensions are enlarged to provide the necessary increase in the stiffness and therefore the tightness of the clamping of the device (1) against the recess (3). Thus, in this alternative embodiment, the diameter of the invisible part (24) is larger than the diameter of the vertical rod (4). It should be noted that in this case, the invisible portion (24) of the device (1) is enlarged analogously to the invisible portion (24) described with reference to Figures 13 to 19, but remains flush with the recess (22), so that the enlargement of the invisible portion (24) of the device (1) enlarges the portion of the recess (22) which contains this invisible portion (24) and which holds the visible portion of the device (1) in a vertical use position that is not altered vertically relative to the rear of the recess (22). Thus, this invisible portion (24) is no longer hidden in a top view by the visible portion of the device (1) which is in a vertical position.

[0034] It should be noted that in the case of a V-device that does not include a vertical rod in the visible part (see FIG. 1), the invisible part (24) also has the shape of a cylinder with an axis of rotation corresponding to the axis of symmetry (26) of the device (1) located below the junction with the two inclined rods (4). In that case, its diameter can be chosen to be larger than that of the inclined rods (4) in order to increase the strength of the latter and therefore of the fastening of the device (1) to the casing (3). It should be noted that the visible part of the device (1) is defined to be suitable for different given finger sizes by adjusting the length and arrangement of the inclined rods (angle and length of the inclined rods, height of the vertical rods in case of a "Y" device). Moreover, the visible part of the device, more specifically the diameter of the vertical rods, can also be defined as a function of the interdigital space between the fingers for which the device is intended to be used.

[0035] Figure 21 shows the same modified example in a three-dimensional enlarged view of invisible portion (24) and the portion of recess (22) containing invisible portion (24), with invisible portion (24) remaining flush with recess (22) in a manner unchanged from its pre-enlargement state and remaining in contact with the inside of rear surface (39) of recess (22), and the portion of recess (22) corresponding to invisible portion (24) being extended by a length corresponding to the enlargement of invisible portion (24).

[0036] As a non-limiting example, the device has dimensions of the order of 2.5 cm in length for each of its inclined rods (1 cm for its vertical rods, if present), a diameter of 0.5 cm for the latter (and the latter, if there is a space), and forms one (two) angles (three, if necessary) of 120 degrees between them.

[0037] The device according to the invention is particularly intended for tablets, e-readers and laptop computers.

Claims

1. A device for gripping, holding in the hand and handling an input / display unit, which, when in a vertical position of use, consists of two non-collinear cylindrical tilting rods (4) attached to the back (2) of the casing (3) of the display device, for a visible part, with the appearance of a "V", so that the fingers of one hand slide under the tilting rods (4) so ​​that the back of the hand rests against the bottom of the tilting rods (4) and the palm rests against the back (2) of the casing (3), so that the hand is held in a vertical position of use. to the casing (3), the outlet supporting the fingers clamped together and thus reinforced by the natural movement of the two inclined rods (4) clinging to the base of the device (1) which they also come into contact with, so that the casing (3) is held fixed to the hand, and as soon as a force is applied to separate the fingers surrounding the base of the device (1), the device (1) is released, and with it the casing (3).

2. 2. The device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that below the junction of the two inclined rods (4) a vertical rod (5) is located, thus the visible part of the device (1) is "Y" shaped.

3. 3. The device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the tilt rod (4) is combined into a structure of a butterfly (29) without translational rotation.

4. 3. The device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a "Y" shaped recess (22) is arranged on the back part (2) of the casing (3) and is configured to receive from the device (1) the visible part appearing above the back part (2) of the casing (3) when the device (1) is in a vertical position above the back part (2) of the casing (3) and also to receive from the device (1) an invisible part (24) located within the casing (3), the invisible part (24) being configured to ensure the fixation of the device (1) to the casing (3) and to ensure rotation and to allow the device (1) to be pivoted and stored and retracted within the recess (22).

5. 5. The device (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that two horizontal tabs (40) and two vertical tabs (41) are cut respectively on the side walls (43) of the recess (22) facing each other, the two horizontal tabs (40) being arranged opposite each other and the two vertical tabs (41) being arranged opposite each other, the horizontal tabs (40) being configured to protrude and contact the invisible part (24) when the device is in the vertical use position so as to stabilize the device in its vertical use position, and the vertical tabs (41) being configured to protrude and contact the visible part when the device is in the horizontal retracted storage position so as to stabilize the device in its horizontal retracted storage position, the horizontal tabs (40) and the vertical tabs (41) being further configured to enable the device to be rotated from the vertical use position to the horizontal retracted storage position when a force is applied to the device making it possible to overcome the stabilization exerted by the tabs, and vice versa.

6. The invisible part (24) has the shape of a cylinder with an axis of rotation corresponding to the axis of symmetry (26) of the device (1), the invisible part (24) comprises a front semi-cylinder and a rear semi-cylinder, the bottom of the front semi-cylinder being trimmed to take on the appearance of a quarter of a sphere (32) surrounded by two abutment surfaces formed by two first isosceles right triangles with movable curved hypotenuses (33), the bottom of the rear semi-cylinder being adapted to move in contact with the rear surface of the recess (22) during the rotation of the device (1).

5. The device (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the recess (22) is trimmed to have a contact surface (37) that is always in contact with the inside of the recess (22) and the recess (22) further comprises a portion formed by two second isosceles right triangles with fixed curved abutment hypotenuses (42) that come into contact with the two opposing abutment points (33) when the device (1) is rotated to reach its vertical use position, thereby preventing the device (1) from rotating the drive element beyond its vertical use position.

7. 7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that the diameter of the invisible part (24) of the device (1) is greater than the reference diameter of the visible part of the device, the corresponding reference diameter, or the diameter of a vertical rod located below the junction of the two inclined rods (4), or the diameter of the two inclined rods if there is no vertical rod below the junction of the two inclined rods.

8. 1. A system for gripping, holding in the hand and handling an input / display unit, comprising two devices (1) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the two devices (1) are attached to the back (2) of the casing (3) of the input / display unit or, if the input / display unit comprises two sections, to the back (2) of the two casings (3) of the input / display unit, whereby both devices (1) are taken as if they were only a virtual single device (1), either with one device (1) surrounded by adjacent fingers and / or with the base of the other device (1) or with the fingers spaced apart, i.e. either the device (1) by the thumb and the other device (1) by the ear.