Multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount for a tablet computer

• US 20120182680A1
• Filed: 01/13/2011
• Published: 07/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Autumn Horizons, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Autumn Horizons, Inc.
• Inventors: Wetzel, Shelley Anne, Palmquist, Mark Steven
• Granted Patent: US 8,611,076 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/679.06
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 11/105 the horizontal axis being the roll axis, e.g. for creating a landscape-portrait rotation
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 11/2021 around a horizontal axis F16M11/2035 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 13/00 Other supports for positioning apparatus or articles heads thereof F16M11/02 ; undercarriages thereof F16M11/20 ; adapted to be stuck in the ground A45F3/44 ; sockets or holders for poles or posts E04H12/22; Means for steadying hand-held apparatus or articles supports for measuring instruments G01D11/30; supports for casings of remote control switching devices H01H9/025
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 13/02 for supporting on, or attaching to, an object, e.g. tree, gate, window-frame, cycle
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 2200/022 by friction

Abstract

A multi-positional stand and under-cabinet mount for a tablet computer comprising a mounting plate, a hinge member, a base member, a hinge pin, 2 cam-actuated handles, a base mount and an attachment knob. The mounting plate can be temporarily coupled to the center of the back of a tablet computer with hook-and-loop (or similar) two-part, fastening material (of prior art). The mounting plate can be rotationally attached to the flat face on the top front of the hinge member allowing the attached tablet computer to rotate. The bottom of the hinge member can be pivotally attached to the front of the base member with the hinge pin oriented horizontally allowing the recline angle of said tablet computer to be adjusted. The angular position of the hinge member and base member can be locked in place, in any one of an infinite number of angular positions within a range, by the manipulation of the 2 cam-actuated handles. The hinge member can fold down on top of the base member and the cam actuated handles can fold towards the base member for a compact, portable configuration. The base mount can attach to the bottom of a cabinet or shelf with screws. The stand can be temporarily mounted to the base mount (in an upside-down position) with an attachment knob and can be manipulated, touch, rotated, tilted left or right, or forward and back, or fully retracted underneath the cabinet or shelf.

Claims

1. A multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount for a tablet computer comprising:

(a) a mounting plate of rigid material and being substantially flat and of sufficient size for temporarily joining to the back of a tablet computer,

(b) a means for temporarily joining said mounting plate to the center of the back surface of said tablet computer whereby a user can easily detach or re-attach said tablet computer to or from said mounting plate without requiring a tool,

(c) a hinge member having a top portion and a bottom portion,

(d) a means for rotationally joining said mounting plate to the front of said top portion of said hinge member whereby allowing a user to manually rotate the face of said attached tablet computer about an axis running perpendicular to and centered on said face of said tablet computer thereof,

(e) a base member having a front end and a flat bottom surface,

(f) 2 partially-threaded locking pins,

(g) a hinge pin about which said hinge member can rotate,

(h) 2 lock washers which provide friction between said hinge member and said base member,

(i) a means for pivotably connecting the bottom portion of said hinge member to the front end of said base member whereby said base member remains in a fixed position while said hinge member can be in any one of an infinite number of angular positions with respect to said base member within a predetermined range of motion rotating about said hinge pin whereby the recline angle of an attached tablet computer can be changed,

(j) 2 cam-actuated handles,

(k) a means for manually locking and unlocking the position of said hinge member with respect to said base member in any one of an infinite number of angular positions within said range of motion of said hinge member and said base member by the manipulation of said 2 cam-actuated handles whereby the screen of said attached tablet computer can be viewed, touched, rotated, pivoted and angularly locked in ways and in positions that are useful to a user,

(l) a base mount having a top edge and a bottom surface,

(m) a means for fixedly attaching said top edge of said base mount to the bottom of a flat surface, such as a shelf, or, the bottom or side of a cabinet,

(n) a means for temporarily, rotationally, and slide-ably mounting said bottom surface of said base member of said stand to said bottom surface of said base mount whereby said attached tablet computer can be viewed, manipulated, rotated, pivoted, tilted, swung forward, fully retracted under a cabinet or shelf and angularly locked in ways and in positions that are useful to a user.

2. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claim 1 wherein said mounting plate is round and has a front surface and a back surface and further comprises a threaded stud which is fixedly attached to and centered on said back surface of said mounting plate so that the central axis of said threaded stud is perpendicular to said back surface of said mounting plate whereby said mounting plate can rotate around said central axis of said threaded stud.

3. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claim 1 wherein said hinge member has an elongated “

U”

shape and has flat inside and outside surfaces wherein the bent portion of said elongated “

U”

shape defines said top portion of said hinge member while the ends of said “

U”

shape form said bottom portion of said hinge member and said hinge member further comprises;

(a) a flat face which is fixedly attached to and substantially flush with the front edge of said top portion of said hinge member,

(b) a hole which passes through the center of said flat face of said hinge member,

(c) 2 hinge pin holes located on the flat left side and flat right side of said bottom portion of said hinge member so that said 2 hinge pin holes share the same central axis and can receive and rotate around said hinge pin of claim 1.

4. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claim 1 wherein said base member is of solid material and has a raised front area and has substantially flat middle and back areas and has a rounded back edge so that the outline of said base member matches the inside outline of, and is slightly smaller than, said hinge member allowing said hinge member to fold down on top of, and around, said base member and said base member further comprises:

(a) a horizontally running hole, oriented side to side through said raised front area of said base member to allow said hinge pin of claim 1 to pass through said horizontally running hole,

(b) flat, parallel surfaces on the left and right side of said raised front area which are perpendicular to the axis running through said horizontally running hole of said base member,

(c) a slot oriented depth-wise and piercing through and centered left to right on the top and bottom surfaces of said middle area of said base member, the axis of said slot being perpendicular to the top and bottom faces of said base member,

(d) a soft flat pad of semi-circular shape which is permanently attached to the back end of the bottom surface of said base member and located substantially close to its said rounded back edge whereby said soft pad protects a horizontal surface from scratches and assists in holding said stand in place by creating additional friction between said stand and said horizontal surface.

5. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claim 1 wherein said 2 partially-threaded locking pins are cylindrical in shape and each comprise:

(a) a bottom threaded portion,

(b) a middle and top non-threaded portion,

(c) a hex-type socket head top whereby a hex wrench can be inserted into said socket head top whereby turning said locking pin.

6. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claim 1 wherein said hinge pin is cylindrical in shape and comprises:

(a) 2 rounded ends,

(b) 2 through holes, each located near one of said 2 rounded ends of said hinge pin running vertically through and oriented perpendicular to and intersecting with an axis running through the length of said hinge pin whereby said middle, non-threaded portion of said partially-threaded locking pins can fit inside said 2 through holes of said hinge pin allowing for rotation between said hinge pin and said partially-threaded locking pins.

7. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claim 1 wherein said 2 cam-actuated handles are of solid, cast or machined material each further comprising:

(a) a cam surface,

(b) a partially-threaded through hole, which is vertically oriented, which can receive said 2 partially-threaded locking pins around which said cam-actuated handles can pivot,

(c) a cavity to receive and clear one end of said hinge pin as said end of said hinge pin rotates about a 90 degree arc around the center of one of said 2 through holes of said hinge pin,

(d) an outer handle area which can be grasped and manipulated by a user,

(e) a soft cap fixedly attached to said outer handle area of said cam-actuated handles whereby said soft cap of said cam-actuated handles protect the horizontal surface which the stand is resting on from scratches and aids the user in gripping said 2 cam-actuated handles.

8. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claim 1 wherein said 2 lock washers fit around said hinge pin of claim 1 and are sandwiched between said flat, parallel surfaces on the left and right side of said raised front area of said base member and the flat inside surfaces of the bottom portion of said hinge member, whereby creating friction between said hinge member and said base member when urged towards each other by said cam-actuated handles.

9. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claim 1 wherein said base mount is of injection molded material and is cup-like in shape and has an open top, a top edge, a side wall, and is about as wide as said base member and slightly taller than the front lip on the bottom of a typical kitchen cabinet and further comprises:

(a) a central sleeve which passes from the center of said bottom surface of said base mount and extends up to and level with said top edge of said base mount, said central sleeve further comprising a hollow cavity being shaped to fit a hex-head, threaded screw with the top of said screw entering from above and being flush with the top of said central sleeve,

(b) a hex-head, threaded screw, which enters said hollow sleeve from the top whereby the bottom, threaded portion of the screw protrudes out of said bottom surface of said base mount and whereby the head of said screw is captured by said hollow sleeve so that said screw can not turn and whereby when said base mount is fixedly attaching to the bottom of a flat surface, such as a shelf, or, the bottom or side of a cabinet, said hex-head, threaded screw can not move.

(c) at least 2 outer sleeves which pass from said bottom surface of said base mount and extend up to and level with said top edge of said base mount which are positioned between said central sleeve and said side wall of said base mount

(d) said at least 2 outer sleeves further each comprising a countersunk through hole in which the countersunk portion is on said bottom surface of said base mount

(e) webbing which connects said side walls of said base mount to said at least 2 countersunk sleeves and further connects said at least 2 countersunk sleeves with said central sleeve whereby adding strength to said base mount.

10. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claim 1 wherein said means for temporarily joining said mounting plate to said center of the back surface of said tablet computer further comprises:

(a) a hook side of a two-part, hook and loop, fastening material of prior art, which is adhered to the front surface of said mounting plate,

(b) a loop side of a two-part hook and loop, fastening material of prior art, which is attached to the center of the back of said tablet computer whereby said tablet computer can be repeatedly attached and unattached to the front of said mounting plate by the user whenever it is convenient to do so.

11. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claims 1, 2 and 3 wherein said means for rotationally joining said mounting plate to the front of said top portion of said hinge member further comprises:

(a) a washer which has a hole and is sandwiched between said back surface of said mounting plate and said flat face of said hinge member whereby said threaded stud of said mounting plate passes through said hole of said washer, and through said hole of said flat face of said hinge member,

(b) a locknut which can be cylindrical in shape and which threads onto and stays in a fixed position with the end of said threaded stud of said mounting plate whereby said mounting plate can freely rotate about said flat face of said hinge member with limited friction and without wobbling or falling off, and without becoming loose.

12. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claims 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 wherein said means for pivotably connecting the bottom portion of said hinge member to the front end of said base member wherein:

(a) said hinge pin passes through said horizontally running hole of said base member,

(b) said hinge pin further passes through said hinge pin holes of said hinge member,

(c) said partially-threaded through holes of said cam-actuated handles align with said through holes of said hinge pin,

(d) said partially-threaded locking pins screw into said partially threaded through holes of said cam-actuated handles, passing through said hinge pin holes of said hinge pin whereby allowing said cam-actuated handles to pivot within a 90°

range around the axis running through the length of said partially-threaded locking pins,

(e) when said cam-actuated handles are rotated from perpendicular with to parallel with said axis running through the length of said hinge pin, said cam surface of said cam-actuated handles gradually engage with the outside flat surface of said bottom portion of said hinge member whereby urging said bottom portion of said hinge member onto said lock washers and further urging on to said flat, parallel surfaces on the left and right side of said raised front area of said base member whereby, when both cam-actuated handles are fully parallel with said axis running through the length of said hinge pin then the angular position of said hinge member and said base member is locked,

(f) when said cam-actuated handles are fully parallel with said axis running through the length of said hinge pin and are in a locked position, then said cam-actuated handles stabilize said base member when said base member is resting on a horizontal flat surface such as a table or a counter,

(g) when said cam-actuated handles are manually rotated 90°

perpendicular to the axis running through the center of said hinge pin, and thereby the front faces of said cam-actuated handles are parallel with the sides of said base member, then the angular position of said hinge member and said base member is unlocked,

(h) when said cam-actuated handles are in the unlocked position, said hinge member and said base member can be rotated on top of each other facilitating a compact, portable orientation,

(i) when at least one of said cam-actuated handles are in the unlocked position then the angular position of said hinge member and said base member can travel in any one of an infinite number of angular positions with respect to each other within an angular range from 0°

to at least 180°

.

13. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claims 1 and 9 whereby said means for fixedly attaching said top edge of said base mount to the bottom of a flat surface, such as a shelf, or, the bottom or side of a cabinet, further comprises at least 2 screws whereby said at least 2 screws can pass through said countersunk through holes of said base member and screw into the bottom of said flat surface of said shelf, or, said cabinet whereby attaching said base mount to said surface with the heads of said at least 2 screws flush with or slightly recessed from said bottom surface of said base mount.

14. The multi-positional stand and under cabinet mount of claims 1, 4, and 9 wherein said means for temporarily, rotationally, and slide-ably mounting said bottom surface of said base member of said stand to said bottom surface of said base mount further comprises a threaded attachment knob, said threaded attachment knob comprising a threaded hole on one end and an enlarged head on the other end, said enlarged head of said threaded attachment knob being large enough and textured enough to be gripped and tighten by hand whereby the bottom surface of said base member can be temporarily attached to the bottom surface of said base mount by passing said hex-head, threaded screw of said base mount through said slot of said base member and the end of said hex-head, threaded screw being captured by said threaded attachment knob so that said base member is temporarily fixed to said base mount whereby the user can rotate left or right and slide front or back said stand with respect to said base mount and then fully tightened threaded attachment knob and lock said stand on said base mount into a preferred position.