Holding device

Abstract

The present invention provides a holding device that can stably hold an object to be held while suppressing interference with other components. [Solution] When the tilt section 12 is tilted along the protrusion / retraction slide direction, the clamping direction and the protrusion / retraction slide direction become perpendicular, and the section is housed in the device body 20. Therefore, even if the extension dimension of the clamping section is increased or if they are arranged side by side to contact at multiple points in order to stably hold the smartphone 5, the extension direction or the side-by-side arrangement direction will coincide with the protrusion / retraction slide direction, and interference between the clamping section and other members (panel section) can be suppressed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a holding device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a holding device for holding an object to be held, a mobile device holder for installing a mobile device such as a smartphone in a vehicle has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The conventional mobile device holder described in Patent Document 1 includes a mounting portion attached to a dashboard, an arm portion extending from the mounting portion, and a holding portion provided at the tip of the arm portion for holding the mobile device. By rotating the holding portion, the orientation of the mobile device can be changed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, the mobile device holder described in Patent Document 1 is always exposed and cannot be stored even when the mobile device is not held. Therefore, the appearance of the mounting target (the vehicle interior space) may be deteriorated. Thus, a configuration in which the mobile device holder is stored in a housing or the like when the mobile device is not held is conceivable.

[0005] By the way, in the portable device holder described in Patent Document 1, in order to stably hold the portable device with a holding part having a pair of clamping arms, it is preferable to increase the contact area between the clamping arms and the edge of the portable device, or to make the clamping arms contact the edge of the portable device at multiple points. However, in this case, the clamping arms tend to become large, and when the portable device holder is stored in a housing or the like as described above, it tends to interfere with other components. Thus, in a holding device that holds an object to be held, it has been desired to stably hold the object while suppressing interference with other components.

[0006] Therefore, one example of an object to be addressed by the present invention is to provide a holding device that can stably hold an object to be held and suppress interference with other components. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the aforementioned problems and achieve the objective, the holding device of the present invention as described in claim 1 is a holding device comprising a holding mechanism for holding an object to be held, and a device body for attaching the holding mechanism to an object to be attached, wherein the holding mechanism comprises a slide portion supported by the device body so as to be able to slide in and out, and a tilt portion supported by the slide portion so as to be able to change its upright angle, the tilt portion having a pair of clamping portions that are biased to move toward each other to clamp the object to be held, and when tilted along the in-and-out sliding direction, the clamping direction and the in-and-out sliding direction become perpendicular, and the device is housed in the device body. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a front view showing a holding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view showing the object to be held by the aforementioned holding device. [Figure 3] This is an exploded perspective view showing the aforementioned holding device. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view showing the operation of the holding device. [Figure 5] This is a front view showing the holding mechanism of the aforementioned holding device. [Figure 6] This is a front view showing the holding part of the holding mechanism rotated. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. The holding device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a holding device comprising a holding mechanism for holding an object to be held, and a device body for attaching the holding mechanism to an object to be attached. The holding mechanism comprises a slide portion supported by the device body so as to be able to slide in and out, and a tilt portion supported by the slide portion so as to be able to change its upright angle. The tilt portion has a pair of clamping portions that are biased to move closer to each other to clamp the object to be held, and when tilted along the in-and-out sliding direction, the clamping direction and the in-and-out sliding direction become perpendicular, and it is housed in the device body.

[0010] When the tilt section is retracted along the protrusion / retraction sliding direction, the clamping direction and the protrusion / retraction sliding direction become perpendicular, and the section is housed within the device body. Therefore, when each of the pair of clamping sections is extended along the edge of the object to be held, or when multiple clamping sections are arranged side by side to contact at multiple points, the extension direction or the arrangement direction coincides with the protrusion / retraction sliding direction. Consequently, even if the extension dimension of the clamping section is increased or multiple clamping sections are arranged side by side to contact at multiple points in order to stably hold the object to be held, interference between the clamping section and other members can be suppressed.

[0011] Furthermore, because the pair of clamping parts are arranged as described above, when the tilt section is raised, the pair of clamping parts face each other horizontally (i.e., the object to be held is clamped from the horizontal direction). When the object to be held is rectangular in shape and has a screen (display surface), it is easier to hold if the long side is clamped (i.e., the direction of the short side and the clamping direction are aligned), and by clamping from the horizontal direction, the screen will be oriented vertically. A rectangular screen may display a vertically oriented image, and since the pair of clamping parts face each other horizontally when the tilt section is raised, there is no need to rotate the object to be held when displaying a vertically oriented image, thus improving convenience.

[0012] Preferably, the tilt section comprises a holding section having a pair of clamping sections and a base section that rotatably supports the holding section, and is configured to change the orientation of the object being held. This allows the holding section to be rotated so that the pair of clamping sections face each other in an appropriate direction (e.g., vertical direction) after the tilt section has been raised, thereby clamping the object to be held. Furthermore, the holding section can be rotated after clamping so that the object to be held is in an appropriate orientation.

[0013] Preferably, at least one of the pair of clamping portions has a plurality of contact portions that are slidably provided along the edge of the object to be held. This allows the object to be held stably by sliding the contact portions according to the dimensions of the object to be held.

[0014] The holding mechanism may hold a portable device as the object to be held, and the holding device may be installed on the instrument panel of the vehicle. The term "portable device" here refers to an electronic device carried by the user, such as a smartphone, tablet, or gaming device. [Examples]

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the figures. The holding device of this embodiment is an in-vehicle device and is mounted on the instrument panel in the driver's seat of a vehicle. Furthermore, the holding device of this embodiment holds a smartphone, which is an example of a portable device, as the object to be held.

[0016] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the holding device 1 of this embodiment comprises a smartphone 5 holding mechanism 10 and a rectangular box-shaped device body 20 mounted on the instrument panel.

[0017] The holding mechanism 10 is held in the device main body 20 so as to be able to protrude and retract. Further, the holding mechanism 10 includes a slide portion 11 that is supported by the device main body 20 so as to be slidable in and out, and a tilt portion 12 that is pivotally supported by the slide portion 11 and holds the smartphone 5. When holding the smartphone 5, the holding mechanism 10 slides the slide portion 11 in the protruding direction D111 in the protruding and retracting direction D11 shown in FIG. 3 from the device main body 20, and stands the tilt portion 12 in the standing direction D121 in the pivoting direction D12 shown in FIG. 2. The tilt portion 12 has a base portion 3 and a holding portion 4 as described later, and is supported by the slide portion 11 so that the standing angle of the holding portion 4 can be changed. And it is configured to hold the smartphone 5 on the erected tilt portion 12.

[0018] The device main body 20 includes an upper chassis 21 formed by an upper wall and a pair of side walls in the rectangular box-shaped device main body 20, and a lower chassis 22 forming a lower wall. The slide portion 11 of the holding mechanism 10 described above is supported by the upper wall of the upper chassis 21 so as to be slidable in and out. On the lower chassis 22, a rectangular back substrate 221 forming the back wall of the device main body 20 is erected on one end side on the back side of the rectangular box-shaped device main body 20. The back substrate 221 is equipped with various connection connectors to external devices and an antenna for performing short-distance communication conforming to, for example, the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard between the back substrate 221 and the smartphone 5. Further, an inner surface substrate 222 electrically connected to the back substrate 221 is attached to the inner surface of the lower chassis 22.

[0019] In addition, the device main body 20 includes a rectangular plate-shaped detachable front panel portion 23 that forms the front wall of the device main body 20 and serves as a user interface, and a panel portion 24 that detachably and rotatably holds the front panel portion 23. The panel portion 24 is fixed to the upper chassis 21 and the lower chassis 22. The panel portion 24 is formed in a shape with a notch so as not to interfere with the holding mechanism 10 supported by the upper chassis 21. At both longitudinal ends of the front panel portion 23, a pair of shaft protrusions 231 serving as rotation shafts are provided, and these pair of shaft protrusions 231 are detachably and rotatably held by a pair of holding arms 241 in the panel portion 24.

[0020] In the holding device 1 of this embodiment, each of the holding mechanism 10 supported by the upper chassis 21 and the panel portion 24 is electrically connected to the inner surface substrate 222 of the lower chassis 22 by a cable 223. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, by performing a touch operation on the held smartphone 5 or a button operation on the front panel portion 23, for example, map information can be displayed on the screen of the smartphone 5, music can be played from the in-vehicle audio device, etc. In addition, charging of the held smartphone 5 can also be performed via a cable 223 connecting the holding mechanism 10 and the inner surface substrate 222 and a charging cable extending from the smartphone 5 and connected to the holding mechanism 10.

[0021] The smartphone 5 is held in the holding device 1 described above by the following procedure.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example procedure for holding a smartphone in the holding device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. In FIG. 4, only the upper chassis 21 of the device main body 20 is shown for ease of viewing. The procedure described below is performed manually by the user.

[0023] First, in steps S11 and S12, the holding mechanism 10 is pulled out from the main body of the device 20 in the protruding direction D111. At this time, in this embodiment, the front panel portion 23 is rotated forward and tilted around the axis projection 231 shown in Figure 3 as the pivot point, or removed from the panel portion 24, so as not to interfere with the movement of the holding mechanism 10. Also at this time, the holding claws 421 and 431 of the holding mechanism 10, which will be described later, are facing each other (i.e., side by side) in directions perpendicular to the pulling direction (left-right direction, vehicle width direction). In other words, the holding mechanism 10 is stored in the main body of the device 20 with the clamping direction of the holding mechanism 10 and the protruding-retracting-slide direction of the slide portion 11 being perpendicular to each other.

[0024] In the following step S13, the tilt portion 12 of the holding mechanism 10 is raised in the upright direction D121 relative to the slide portion 11. At this time, the tilt portion 12 comprises a base portion 3 pivotally supported on the slide portion 11 and a holding portion 4 rotatably supported by the base portion 3, and the chucking mechanism 46 is composed of a total of three holding claws 421 and 431 in the holding portion 4. In this embodiment, when the tilt portion 12 is raised in step S13, the chucking mechanism 46 is in a position where one holding claw 431 is on the right side and two holding claws 421 are on the left side. In addition, in the chucking mechanism 46, the one holding claw 431 on the right side is spring-biased toward the two holding claws 421 on the left side.

[0025] In this embodiment, the holding part 4 having a chucking mechanism 46 is rotatably mounted in the tilt section 12 in a rotational direction D14 around a rotation axis O1 that is perpendicular to the screen surface of the smartphone 5. In step S14, the chucking mechanism 46 is rotated 90° counterclockwise around the rotation axis O1 in the figure. This rotation positions one retaining claw 431 on the upper side and two retaining claws 421 on the lower side, so that the retaining claws 421 and 431 face each other in the vertical direction.

[0026] In step S15, the upper retaining claw 431 is pulled up in the upward direction D131 against the spring biasing force in the chucking mechanism 46.

[0027] Then, in step S16, the smartphone 5 is positioned sideways (with its longitudinal direction facing horizontally) between the upper retaining claw 431 and the lower retaining claw 421, which have been raised as described above. When the user releases the upper retaining claw 431, the spring biasing force causes the upper retaining claw 431 to move downward in direction D132. As a result, the smartphone 5 is held between the upper retaining claw 431 and the lower retaining claw 421.

[0028] Furthermore, if, after the smartphone 5 has been clamped, the user wishes to view the display screen with the smartphone 5 in portrait orientation (with its long side facing up and down), the smartphone 5 may be rotated 90° clockwise around the pivot axis O1 in the diagram, thereby orienting the smartphone 5 in portrait orientation.

[0029] In this embodiment, the user returns the front panel 23 at any time after extending the holding mechanism 10. As a result, the appearance after the smartphone 5 has been held will be as shown in Figure 2, for example. When the smartphone 5 is removed and the holding mechanism 10 is stored in the device body 20, the holding mechanism 10 is stored in the reverse order of the procedure shown in Figure 4.

[0030] Here, we will describe the detailed shape of the holding part 4. In the following, the front-to-back direction of the vehicle (direction of travel) will be the X direction, the vehicle width direction (left-to-right direction) will be the Y direction, and the up-to-down direction will be the Z direction. The holding device 1 will hold the smartphone 5 facing towards the rear in the X direction (i.e., so that the screen is aligned with the YZ plane). The shorter side direction of the rectangular smartphone 5 will be the width direction.

[0031] As shown in Figure 5, the holding part 4 includes a rectangular plate-shaped holding plate portion 41 located on the back of the smartphone 5 and extending along the YZ plane, a fixed clamping portion 42 positioned on one side of the holding plate portion 41, a movable clamping portion 43 superimposed on the back of the holding plate portion 41 and having a holding claw 431, and a biasing means that biases the movable clamping portion 43 toward the fixed clamping portion 42. Note that Figure 5 shows the state in which the holding claws 421 and 431 are not facing each other in the Z direction and not holding the smartphone 5 (the state in step S14 above), and unless otherwise specified, the dimensions and positional relationships of each part are based on this state.

[0032] The fixed clamping portion 42 is composed of two retaining claws 421. The two retaining claws 421 are arranged along the outer edge of the retaining plate portion 41 and are slidably mounted, functioning as contact points that slide along the edge of the smartphone 5. The two retaining claws 421 are also slidably mounted within ranges A1 and A2, respectively, maintaining a predetermined distance from each other in their closest position and positioned at the corners of the retaining plate portion 41 in their farthest position. Furthermore, in the state shown in Figure 5, the fixed clamping portion 42 is positioned at approximately the same height (same height or slightly above) as the lower end 31 of the base portion 3.

[0033] The pivot axis (center of rotation) O1, to which the holding portion 4 is pivotally supported by the base portion 3, is located in the center of the rectangular plate-shaped base portion 3 in the Y direction. Furthermore, in the clamping direction (Z direction) by the clamping portions 42 and 43, the pivot axis O1 is located closer to the movable clamping portion 43 than to the fixed clamping portion 42. Also, in the direction perpendicular to the clamping direction (Y direction), the pivot axis O1 is located in the center of the holding plate portion 41. Here, let L1 be half the dimension of the holding plate portion 41 in the above-mentioned perpendicular direction (i.e., the distance from the pivot axis O1 to the edge 411 of the holding plate portion 41 in the Y direction), and let L2 be the distance from the pivot axis O1 to the fixed clamping portion 42 in the Z direction. In this embodiment, distance L2 is longer than distance L1. Furthermore, distance L2 is approximately half the width of a smartphone 5 of a predetermined size (e.g., 5 inches), and approximately half the Y-direction dimension of the base portion 3. In other words, the Y-direction dimension of the base 3 is approximately equal to the width of a smartphone 5 of a predetermined size.

[0034] When the movable clamping part 43 moves to clamp a smartphone 5 of a predetermined size with the holding part 4, the pivot axis O1 is positioned between the fixed clamping part 42 and the movable clamping part 43, and the center of the width direction of the smartphone 5 and the pivot axis O1 coincide approximately.

[0035] Here, Figure 6 shows the state after rotating the holding portion 4 by approximately 90° from the state shown in Figure 5 (the state in step S13 above). At this time, the fixed clamping portion 42 overlaps with the edge 32 on one side in the Y direction of the base portion 3. Furthermore, since the distance L2 is longer than the distance L1, the edge 411 of the holding plate portion 41 after rotation is located higher in the Z direction than the fixed clamping portion 42 before rotation.

[0036] In the state shown in Figure 6, the distance L2 is approximately half the width of the smartphone 5, the pivot axis O1 is positioned in the center of the base 3 in the Y direction, and the fixed clamping portion 42 overlaps the edge 32 of the base 3. Therefore, when a smartphone 5 of a predetermined size is clamped, the movable clamping portion 43 overlaps the other edge 33, and the centers of the smartphone 5 and the base 3 in the Y direction approximately coincide. In addition, the edges on both sides of the smartphone 5 and the base 3 in the Y direction align.

[0037] With the above configuration, when the tilt section 12 is tilted along the protrusion / retraction slide direction, the clamping direction and the protrusion / retraction slide direction become perpendicular, and the section is housed in the device body 20. Therefore, even if the extension dimensions of the clamping sections 42 and 43 are increased or they are arranged side by side so that they contact each other at multiple points in order to stably hold the smartphone 5, the extension direction or the direction of arrangement coincides with the protrusion / retraction slide direction, and interference between the clamping sections 42 and 43 and other members (panel section 24) can be suppressed. In addition, immediately after raising the tilt section 12, the pair of clamping sections 42 and 43 face each other in the horizontal direction. This improves convenience when displaying vertically oriented images on the smartphone 5.

[0038] Since the holding portion 4 is rotatably supported by the base portion 3, after raising the tilt portion 12, the holding portion 4 can be rotated so that the pair of clamping portions 42 and 43 face each other in appropriate directions, thereby clamping the smartphone 5. Furthermore, after clamping, the holding portion 4 can be rotated so that the smartphone 5 is in an appropriate orientation.

[0039] Furthermore, since the fixed clamping portion 42 is composed of two retaining claws 421 that are slidably provided along the edge of the smartphone 5, the smartphone 5 can be stably clamped by sliding the retaining claws 421 according to the dimensions of the smartphone 5. In addition, since the position of each of the two retaining claws 421 can be adjusted by sliding, the two retaining claws 421 can be moved to avoid operation buttons such as volume buttons and power buttons on the side of the smartphone 5, as well as charging connectors connected to the side, and the smartphone 5 can be clamped.

[0040] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes other configurations that can achieve the objectives of the present invention, as well as the following modifications.

[0041] For example, in the above embodiment, the tilt portion 12 is configured to change the orientation of the smartphone 5 held by it, having a base portion 3 and a holding portion 4. However, the tilt portion may not have a rotation mechanism, and the smartphone 5 may be used in a fixed orientation.

[0042] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the fixed clamping portion 42 is composed of two slidable retaining claws 421, but the movable clamping portion may have multiple slidable retaining claws. Also, if the device is configured to hold smartphones of various dimensions, for example, if the width of the retaining claws (the dimension along the edge of the smartphone 5) is sufficiently large, or if a sufficient number of retaining claws are provided, the retaining claws may not be slidable.

[0043] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the tilt portion 12 is positioned upward to hold the smartphone 5, but the tilt portion may also be positioned downward to hold the object to be held.

[0044] Furthermore, while the above embodiment describes the holding device 1 as holding a smartphone, the object to be held is not limited to communication devices such as smartphones. For example, it could be a playback device that does not have communication functions and simply plays back images stored on a recording medium, or it could be an object without a screen. Also, if the object to be held is a portable device, it is not limited to a smartphone as in this embodiment. For example, it could be a tablet device or a game console.

[0045] Furthermore, although the holding device was provided on the instrument panel of the vehicle in the above embodiment, the holding device may be provided on a moving object other than a vehicle, such as a ship or aircraft, or it may be provided on a wall or furniture inside a building.

[0046] Furthermore, while the best configurations and methods for carrying out the present invention are disclosed in the above description, the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, although the present invention is particularly illustrated and described with respect to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the above-described embodiments in terms of shape, material, quantity, and other detailed configurations without departing from the scope of the technical idea and objectives of the present invention. Therefore, the limiting descriptions of shape, material, etc. disclosed above are provided as examples to facilitate understanding of the present invention and do not limit the present invention. Accordingly, descriptions of components with some or all of these limitations removed are included in the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0047] 1 Holding device 10 Retention mechanism 11. Slide section 12 Tilt section 20 Main unit of the device 3. Base 4. Holding section 42 Fixed holding unit 43. Mobile Hostage Unit 5 スマートフォン(object to be held)

Claims

[Claim 1] A holding device comprising a holding mechanism for holding an object to be held, and a device body for attaching the holding mechanism to an object to be attached, The holding mechanism comprises a sliding part supported by the main body of the device so as to be able to slide in and out of it, and a tilting part supported by the sliding part so as to be able to change the upright angle. The holding device is characterized in that the tilt portion has a pair of clamping portions that are biased to move closer to each other to clamp the object to be held, and when tilted along the protrusion / retraction sliding direction, the clamping direction and the protrusion / retraction sliding direction become perpendicular to each other and the device is housed in the main body of the device.

Images