Telephone holder with locking bracket having a retarding spring

• US 5,917,907 A
• Filed: 01/29/1997
• Issued: 06/29/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Mobile Phones UK Limited (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kela, Jukka
• Primary Examiner(s): Chiang, Jack
• Application Number:
  US08/789,432
• Time in Patent Office: 881 Days
• Field of Search: 379/446, 379/455, 379/454, 379/435, 379/428, 379/436
• US Class Current: 379/446
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/04 Supports for telephone transmitters or receivers

Abstract

The invention is related to the bracket for an electronic appliance such as a mobile phone. The bracket comprises a locking and a releasing means which can be used to attach the appliance to and release it from the bracket. The releasing means is provided with a groove (9), the groove comprising a releasing member (20) that moves by the power of a spring when the appliance is detached, and a retarding spring (22) which can be used to press the releasing member against the groove to slow down the movement of the releasing member. In this way, the device will not come loose from the bracket by a sudden jolt. The bracket can be used, for instance, to attach the mobile phone to the dash board of a car. The appliance remains firmly in the bracket when the car is moving and it is easy and safe to detach.

Claims

1. A bracket for an electronic appliance, comprising a housing having a space in which the appliance can be placed, and a locking and a releasing means which can be used to attach the appliance to and release the appliance from the bracket, wherein the releasing means comprises a groove (9'"'"' ) in the housing, a releasing member (20) located in the groove that moves by the power of a spring when the appliance is detached, and a retarding spring (22) which presses the releasing member against the housing at the groove to slow down the movement of the releasing member on the housing.

2. A bracket according to claim 1, wherein the releasing member is a pusher (20) which can be used to push the appliance away from the bracket when releasing the appliance.

3. A bracket according to claim 1, wherein the retarding spring is a helical spring (22) whose one end is attached to the housing and the other end to the releasing member.

4. A bracket according to claim 3, wherein the retarding spring is a draw-spring (22).

5. A bracket according to claim 1, wherein the bracket is provided with a fixing clip (6) at one end and with two fixing clips (11) at an opposite end, the fixing clips engaging detents on corresponding points in the appliance placed in the bracket, holding the appliance in place in the bracket, at least one of the fixing clips comprising a spring-loaded pawl (11) that engages the detent point for the pawl in the appliance when the appliance is placed in the bracket, and which can be released when the appliance is removed from the bracket.

6. A bracket according to claim 5, wherein the fixing clips (6, 11) comprise protrusions or recesses which engage the recesses or protrusions at corresponding points on the appliance.

7. A bracket according to claim 6, wherein the fixing clips (6, 11) are provided with protrusions.

8. A bracket according to claim 7, wherein the one end of the bracket is provided with one protrusion (6) and the other end with two protrusions.

9. A bracket according to claim 1, wherein the appliance is a mobile phone.

10. A method for retarding the disengagement of an electronic appliance from a bracket comprising a housing with a space in which the appliance can be placed, and a locking and a releasing means which can be used to attach the appliance to and release the appliance from the bracket, wherein the releasing means comprises a groove in the housing, and the groove is provided with a releasing member that moves by the power of a spring when the appliance is detached, and that when the appliance is detached, the releasing member is pressed, by using the retarding spring, against the groove to slow down the movement of the releasing member.

11. A telephone holder comprising:

a housing having a space for receiving a portion of a telephone; and

means for releasing the telephone from the housing comprising a pusher slidably mounted to the housing for pushing against the telephone in the space in a direction for pushing the telephone out of the space, a first spring biasing the pusher in the direction towards the telephone in the space, and a second spring biasing the pusher against the housing to increase frictional resistance to movement of the pusher on the housing.