DE29912359U1 - Connection arrangement between a portable telephone holder and a permanently installable base holder and telephone holder and base holder for use in the connection arrangement - Google Patents

Description

Connection arrangement between a portable telephone holder and a fixed base holder, and telephone holder and base holder for use in the connection arrangement

The invention relates to a connection arrangement between a portable telephone holder for a portable mobile telephone, in particular a cell phone, and a permanently installable base holder, as well as a telephone holder and a base holder for use in the connection arrangement.

Up to now, mobile phones in motor vehicles have mostly been inserted into permanently installed shell-like mobile phone holders from above, which are adapted to the shape of the respective mobile phone and grip the mobile phone from below and from the sides. The permanently installed mobile phone holders also provide an interface between the mobile phone and the mobile phone holder, which enables connection to a hands-free system and external antenna or a car radio. Mobile phones from different manufacturers usually require a specially adapted mobile phone holder, as they have different external dimensions, different connectors for the signal, charging current and antenna contacts and different internal electronics. If the vehicle is sold and/or you switch to another mobile phone, it is therefore necessary to remove or replace the mobile phone holder and possibly other on-board electronics, or leave them behind in the vehicle as lost.

The invention is based on the object of simplifying the installation, removal or replacement of different mobile phones, particularly in motor vehicles, while ensuring the necessary electrical connection options to on-board electronics.

This object is achieved by the subject matter of claim 1. The basic solution of the invention includes a portable telephone holder for insertion into a permanently installed base holder, which has connection means for external electronics or on-board electronics as well as an external antenna. The advantage of this solution is the simple design option of a universal, inexpensive base holder, which remains in the vehicle with its installed connection means and can accommodate portable telephone holders or cell phone holders that are designed for a wide variety of cell phones.

The connecting arrangement according to claim 1 is advantageously characterized in that an engagement section of the telephone holder can be inserted into a corresponding receiving section of the base holder with automatic triggering of locking means which can be manually actuated for unlocking.

The locking means are preferably designed in such a way that the telephone holder and the base holder are moved away from each other by the manual force exerted on the locking means after the locking means have been unlocked. In this way, not only is it easier to remove the telephone holder with or without a mobile phone inserted from the base holder, but the electrical contact means at the interface between the telephone holder and the base holder are also gently separated from each other.

The contact means are also protected by the fact that the contact means assigned to the interface between the telephone holder and the base holder are provided within the engaging section of the telephone holder or within the receiving section of the base holder, which is shaped to match the engaging section. This ensures that the contact means are automatically aligned and centered when the telephone holder is inserted into the base holder.

Further preferred embodiments of the connection arrangement are defined in further subclaims.

The invention further provides a portable telephone holder, in particular for use in the above connection arrangement, which has a lower shell and an upper shell which is guided so as to be displaceable relative to the lower shell in the longitudinal direction of the telephone holder and which is pre-tensioned in the direction of the lower shell by means of a compression spring arranged in the telephone holder, the two shells defining a space between them which serves to accommodate the mobile phone. This provides a universal telephone holder which can be adapted to a wide variety of mobile phone types with minor modifications.

Preferably, a guide rail extending upwards in the longitudinal direction of the telephone holder is provided on the rear side of the lower shell and the upper shell is provided on its rear side with a tongue extending downwards in the longitudinal direction of the telephone holder.

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which is slidably guided in the guide rail. The compression spring arranged in the telephone holder is arranged between a lower transverse wall of the tongue and an upper transverse wall of the guide rail and a stop is provided on the lower shell or the guide rail which, when the mobile phone or cell phone is not inserted, limits the sliding movement of the upper shell towards the lower shell caused by the compression spring, so that a minimum distance between the upper shell and the lower shell is ensured to make it easier to insert a cell phone into the space between the two shells.

To make it easier to insert the mobile phone, the upper shell is preferably attached to the tongue so that it can pivot about an axis running transversely to the phone holder and is pivoted into an open position for inserting the mobile phone by a further compression spring arranged between the tongue and the upper shell.

Conversely, the lower shell can also be attached to the guide rail so that it can be pivoted forwards instead of the upper shell, so that the mobile phone is inserted into the lower shell from above and then pushed backwards.

Further advantageous embodiments of the telephone holder are defined in further subclaims of the telephone holder.

The invention further provides a permanently installable base holder, in particular for use in the above connection arrangement and with the above portable telephone holder, wherein the base holder has locking means with a spring-loaded manually operable release lever. Preferred embodiments of the base holder are defined in the subclaims to the base holder.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. They show:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, schematic exploded view of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG.2 is a longitudinal section through the portable telephone holder of FIG.1; FIG.3 is a cross-section through the portable telephone holder of FIG.1; FIG.4 is a partially sectioned side view through the base holder of FIG.1;

FIG.5 is a more detailed schematic sectional view of an embodiment of a locking mechanism of the embodiment according to FIG.1;

FIG.6 shows a variant of the upper shell of the portable telephone holder compared to FIG.1 and 2;

FIG. 7 is a perspective, schematic exploded view of another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a front view of the base holder of FIG. 7; and

FIG.9 is a schematic representation illustrating the interaction of the locking elements of the base holder and the telephone holder of FIG.7.

The connection arrangement according to the invention comprises a portable telephone holder 100 for a portable mobile telephone 10, hereinafter referred to as a cell phone, and a permanently installable base holder 50. The cell phone 10 can be a commercially available cell phone, in the lower end of whose housing 20 contact means 30 are accommodated, which comprise signal and charging current contacts 32 and the like. The cell phone, which is inserted from above into a conventional charging cradle (not shown), for example, can be charged via these contact means. An antenna connection 40 is embedded in the upper rear housing area of the cell phone type shown. As explained further below, the portable telephone holder 100 is designed in such a way that when the cell phone is inserted, it comes into contact with both the contact means 30 and the antenna connection 40. It should also be noted here that the position of the antenna connection 40 in particular varies considerably in the current types of mobile phones and, for example, there are also types in which the antenna connection is located in the area of the contact means 30. It is also conceivable that the antenna connection or antenna contact is integrated together with the signal and charging contacts in a single contact means unit.

In the present embodiment, the telephone holder 100 and the base holder 50 are designed such that the telephone holder 100 can be inserted from above into a recess 90 of a substantially cuboid-shaped housing 80 of the base holder 50. The base holder 50 has, for example, laterally protruding rear wall sections with which it can be screwed onto a dashboard or the like. In the bottom area of the recess 90, contact means 60 are arranged, which comprise signal and charging current contacts 62 and the like as well as an antenna contact 64 and serve to establish contact with corresponding contact means 160 of the telephone holder 100, explained further below.

A manually depressable locking lever 70 projects from the front wall of the housing 80 of the base holder 50, the rear extension 70a of which, extending into the recess 90, acts on a projection of a locking arm 82 when the lever is depressed. Although not shown in the figures, two locking arms 82 are provided and the lever 70 has a fork-like shape with two extensions 70a. In the embodiment shown schematically in Fig.5, the extension arms 82 are designed to be resilient and can therefore bend back in the manner shown.

When inserting the telephone holder 100 into the base holder 50, the locking arms are first bent outward from lateral extensions of a lower contact means base 166 of the contact means 160 provided in the telephone holder 100 and then spring back into their original position in which they engage behind the lateral extensions of the contact means base 166 with an upper latch. In the course of this locking process, the contact means 160 come into firm connection with the contact means 60.

To release the mechanical and electrical connection between the telephone holder and the base holder 50, the locking lever 70 is pressed down manually. In doing so, the locking arms 82 initially release the extensions of the contact means base 166 due to the action of the rear end of the locking lever extensions 70a. In addition, the manually applied force acts in the further course of movement of the locking lever extensions 70a in such a way that an upwardly bent section of these extensions 70a presses against the contact means base 166 or alternatively another point on the underside of the telephone holder. As a result, the base holder contact means 60 and the telephone holder contact means 160 are moved away from one another in the second phase of the lever movement. The locking lever 70 is pressed down against the force of a spring 70c, which acts between the axis of rotation of the lever 70 and the rear extensions 70a on a section 70b in front of the upwardly bent section on the extensions 70a and tries to press the extensions 70a downwards. Designs are also possible in which a spring presses against the lever from below. The locking arms 82 can, for example, also be rigid components that are hinged to the housing 80 and are spring-loaded. The overall arrangement is also such that the telephone holder can be inserted into and removed from the base holder with or without a mobile phone inserted.

The telephone holder 100 comprises an elongated guide rail 110 which extends upwards from the rear of a lower shell 120. Lateral, inward-facing guide grooves 111 are provided in the guide rail 110 in the manner shown. The guide grooves 111 receive flat lateral webs of a tongue 170 which projects forwards over a predetermined length in the area outside the guide rail grooves and has a U-shaped cross-section, whereby in the embodiment shown a central longitudinal groove 171 divides the U-shaped cross-section into two adjacent projections 173 which are U-shaped in cross-section. Coil springs 150 are accommodated in the rectangular cavities formed by the projections 173 and the plate-shaped rear wall of the guide rail 110, which press the tongue 170, which is slidably guided in the guide rail 110, downwards until the underside of the projections 173 comes into contact with the upper side of the rear wall area of the lower shell 120. The tongue 170 is in this stop position shown in Fig. 2 before a cell phone 10 is inserted into the phone holder 100. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the rear wall 120a of the lower shell 120 is double-walled in its upper area. A lower extension 178 of the guide rail 170, which is rectangular in cross section, projects into this area and has a central longitudinal groove that coincides with the longitudinal groove 171.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 1, a protruding antenna connection contact 140 is provided in the upper part of one of the projections 172 of the tongue 170, which corresponds to the recessed antenna contact 40 of the inserted mobile phone 10. The antenna connection contact 140 protrudes from the tongue 170 under spring load and, as explained further below, is inserted into the recessed antenna contact 40 of the inserted mobile phone 10. In the central longitudinal groove of the tongue 170, an antenna connection cable (not shown) is fed from the antenna connection contact 140 to the lower shell 120. In the lower area, the antenna connection cable continues in the corresponding central longitudinal groove of the projection 178 of the tongue 170 until it exits within the lower shell 120, in which it is connected to the antenna contact 164 of the contact means 160 with appropriate play for the upward movement of the tongue 170 when the mobile phone 10 is inserted.

At the upper end of the tongue 170, an upper shell 172 is pivotally connected about a transverse axis 174, which is pressed into an open pivot position by a coil spring (not shown in Fig. 1) when the mobile phone is not inserted. The upper shell 172 is in the form of a

designed with a cap that is tailored to the cell phone 10. In the embodiment according to Fig.2, the upper shell 172 is pressed, as shown, into the open position, pivoted upwards, by a torsion spring 176 that grips the transverse axis 174 when the cell phone is not inserted. Furthermore, in the embodiment according to Fig.2, the upper shell 172 is hinged to a separate component 190 that is attached to the tongue 170 in its upper area. The antenna contact 140 is also arranged in the component 190 in this embodiment and is pre-tensioned in the forward direction by a spring 181. The provision of the separate component 190 allows the telephone holder 100 to be adapted to different cell phones more cost-effectively. As can be seen from Fig.2, the above-mentioned stop can also be implemented by placing the upper shell 172 or the component 190 on the guide rail 110.

The lower shell 120 is designed in the form of a substantially rectangular housing 122 that tapers downwards and is open at the top. Inside the housing 122, electronic switching and/or functional means are housed in the form of an electronic unit 200 indicated in the figures, via which a connection is established from the cell phone 10 to an external on-board electronic system of the vehicle (hands-free unit or antenna connection and/or car radio) via the telephone holder 100 and the base holder 50. In order to be able to establish these contact interfaces, contact means 130, which comprise signal and charging contacts 132 and the like, are provided in the upper region of the lower shell housing 122 in such a way that they automatically engage with the corresponding contact means 30 in the lower region of the cell phone 10 when the cell phone 10 is inserted into the telephone holder 100. The contact means 160 are provided in the underside of the lower shell 120 and comprise signal and charging current contacts 162 and the like as well as an antenna contact 164 and which engage with the corresponding contact means 60, which equally comprise signal and charging current contacts 62 and the like as well as an antenna contact 64, when the telephone holder 100 with its lower shell is inserted into the base holder 50 and locked there. The contacts of the contact means 130 and those of the contact means 160 are connected to one another directly and/or via the electronic unit 200, which is easily exchangeable in order to adapt different cell phones to different on-board electronics. The contact means 60 of the permanently mountable base holder 50 are connected to the on-board electronics and the external antenna of the motor vehicle, for example via a cable.

The upper front wall section 120b of the lower shell 120 is rounded and/or slanted in such a way that the mobile phone 10 can be inserted into the telephone via this rounding and/or slanting.

holder 100. When inserting a cell phone into this embodiment of the phone holder, the cell phone 10 is first inserted diagonally from below into the upper shell and then pressed backwards into the phone holder 100 over the rounded wall section 120b against the force of the springs 150. In doing so, the upper shell 172 including the tongue 170 together with the cell phone are first pushed upwards against the force of the springs 150 and the spring-mounted antenna contact 140 inserted into the cell phone is pressed backwards. As soon as the cell phone has been pressed backwards over the uppermost edge of the wall section 120b, it slides into the lower shell 120 under the effect of the force of the tensioned springs 150, which act on the cell phone via the upper shell, and the contact means 30 automatically come into contact with the contact means 130. In this final position of the inserted mobile phone 10, the stop between the upper shell 172 or the tongue 170 and the lower shell 120 or the guide rail 110 does not yet come into effect, so that the mobile phone 10 is clamped between the upper shell 172 and the lower shell 120 under the full force of the springs 150 and the contact means 30 and 130 are held firmly and securely in engagement with one another.

As an alternative to this method of inserting the mobile phone 10, designs are also possible in which the mobile phone is pressed upwards against the upper shell by hand against the force of the springs 150 and the upper shell is lifted with the tongue 170 until the mobile phone 10 can be pivoted backwards and inserted into the lower shell from above.

FIG.6 shows a modified form of the upper shell 172', which in this embodiment is not directly hinged to the tongue 170, but to a separate component in the form of a plate 180. This plate 180 is attached to the tongue and comprises, in addition to the antenna contact 140, a coil spring 181 which is embedded below the hinge axis 174 and which presses against a rear wall section of the upper shell 172'. In this rear wall section, a recess is provided for the passage of the antenna contact 140, which in this embodiment also sits in the cell phone contact 40 when the cell phone has reached its end position in the phone holder 100. This embodiment has the advantage that not only the guide rail 110, but also the tongue 170 can be used for different cell phones to a large extent universally, and only the plate 180 and the upper shell 172' have to be manufactured separately.

The described embodiments work with a pivoting upper shell. As already mentioned above, however, designs are also possible in which not the upper shell but the lower shell or a part of the lower shell that holds the mobile phone can be pivoted forward. The movement sequence when inserting the mobile phone then represents a kinematic reversal of the explained sequence, with the mobile phone first being placed into the lower shell from above and then pushed backwards into the holder.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIG.7 uses a base holder 400 into which a portable telephone holder 300 is inserted from the front. In the telephone holder, the contact means 160 for the interface between the telephone holder and the base holder are no longer arranged in the base area of the lower shell 320, but in a rear projection 310. Otherwise, the telephone holder 300 shown here only schematically does not differ from that of the previous embodiments. In the embodiment shown in FIG.9, the projection 310 is a rounded cuboid that tapers towards the rear, in which the rear lower edge is bevelled and forms a sliding surface 330. In the area in front of the sliding surface, a locking groove 320 running in the transverse direction is provided. In the rear of the projection 310, a recess for receiving the contact means is provided.

The base holder 400, like the base holder 50, has only indicated fastening options in the form of holes for installation. The base holder 400, which is essentially rectangular in the exemplary embodiment, has a recess 410 that matches the shape of the projection 310. The contact means 60 are mounted in the recess 410 and engage with the contact means 160 of the telephone holder 300 when it is inserted. A manually operable locking lever 450 protrudes from the side of the base holder 400, the extension of which is guided into the base holder and has a locking lug 452 that protrudes into the recess. The lever 450 is hinged to the base holder housing at its innermost end, in which it is pressed upwards against a stop (not shown) by means of a compression spring 460. The locking lug 452 is beveled backwards in the manner shown in FIG.9 so that when the telephone holder 300 is inserted it is pressed downwards by the sliding surface 330 against the force of the spring 460 and then engages in the groove 320 under the action of the force of the spring 460.

Advantageously, the locking lever 450, as shown in FIG.9, is guided obliquely to the rear, so that the locking lug 452, which engages in the groove 320, tries to push the telephone holder 300 to the rear. This contributes to stabilizing the contact between the contact means 60 and 160.

When inserted into the base holder 400, the telephone holder 300 is pressed into the latter from the front and is automatically locked by the locking means shown. To remove the telephone holder, the locking lever 450 is pushed down to release it, so that the telephone holder 300 can then be pulled out of the base holder 400.

The locking means shown in connection with the embodiment according to Fig. 7 can additionally also be designed such that after the locking lug 452 is retracted, the telephone holder 300 is pressed away from the base holder 400 in order to gently separate the contact means 60 and 160 from one another.

Claims (16)

1. A connection arrangement between a portable telephone holder ( 100 ; 300 ), into which a portable mobile telephone, in particular a cell phone ( 10 ), can be inserted, and a permanently installable base holder ( 50 ; 400 ) with connection means to external electronics and an antenna, in which connection arrangement an engagement section ( 120 ; 310 ) of the telephone holder can be inserted into a corresponding receiving section ( 90 ; 410 ) of the base holder ( 50 ; 400 ) with automatic triggering of locking means ( 70 , 82 , 166 ; 320 , 450 ) which can be manually operated for unlocking. 2. A connection arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the locking means ( 70 , 82 , 166 ; 320 , 450 ) are designed such that the telephone holder ( 100 ; 300 ) and the base holder ( 50 ; 400 ) are moved away from each other by the manual force exerted on the locking means after the locking means are unlocked. 3. Connection arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, in which the first contact means ( 160 ) on the engagement section ( 120 ; 310 ) of the telephone holder ( 100 ; 300 ) and the counter-contact means ( 60 ) on the receiving section ( 90 ; 410 ) of the base holder (S0; 400) automatically come into contact when the telephone holder is inserted into the base holder. 4. Connecting arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, in which the engagement section ( 120 ) is provided at the lower end of the telephone holder ( 100 ) and can be inserted from above into an upwardly open receiving section ( 90 ) of the base holder. 5. Connecting arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the engagement portion ( 310 ) is provided in the form of a rear projection of the telephone holder ( 300 ) and can be inserted into a receiving portion ( 410 ) of the base holder which is open towards the front, wherein the telephone holder ( 300 ) is placed in front of the base holder ( 400 ). 6. Portable telephone holder, in particular for use in a connection arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, for a portable mobile telephone, in particular a cell phone ( 10 ), which telephone holder ( 100 ; 300 ) can be inserted into a permanently installable base holder ( 50 ; 400 ) and has a lower shell ( 120 ) and an upper shell ( 172 ) which is guided so as to be displaceable relative to the lower shell in the longitudinal direction of the telephone holder and which is prestressed in the direction of the lower shell by means of a compression spring ( 150 ) arranged in the telephone holder, the lower shell and the upper shell defining a space between them which serves to accommodate a portable mobile telephone. 7. Portable telephone holder according to claim 6, in which the lower shell ( 120 ) has on its rear side a guide rail ( 110 ) extending upwards in the longitudinal direction of the telephone holder ( 100 ; 300 ) and the upper shell ( 172 ) is connected on its rear side to a tongue ( 170 ) extending downwards in the longitudinal direction of the telephone holder, which tongue is guided displaceably in the guide rail ( 110 ), and in which the compression spring ( 150 ) arranged in the telephone holder is provided between a lower transverse wall of the tongue ( 170 ) and an upper transverse wall of the guide rail ( 110 ) and a stop is provided on the lower shell or the guide rail, which, when the mobile telephone ( 10 ) is not inserted, limits the sliding movement of the upper shell in the direction of the lower shell caused by the compression spring, so that a minimum distance between the upper shell and the lower shell is required to facilitate the insertion of a mobile telephone into the space between the two shells. is ensured. 8. Portable telephone holder according to claim 7, wherein the upper shell ( 172 ) is attached to the tongue ( 10 ) so as to be pivotable about an axis ( 174 ) running in the transverse direction of the telephone holder and is pivoted into an opening position for inserting the mobile telephone ( 10 ) by a further compression spring ( 176 ; 181 ) arranged between the tongue and the upper shell. 9. Portable telephone holder according to one of claims 6 to 8, in which first contact means ( 160 ) and second contact means ( 130 , 140 ) are provided, which are connected to one another via line means and/or electronic switching and functional means ( 200 ) arranged in the telephone holder ( 100 ; 300 ), wherein the first contact means ( 160 ) are assigned to a first interface between the telephone holder ( 100 ; 300 ) and the base holder ( 50 ; 400 ) and the second contact means ( 130 ) are assigned to a second interface between the telephone holder ( 100 ; 300 ) and the mobile telephone ( 10 ). 10. Portable telephone holder according to claim 9, wherein the second contact means ( 130 , 140 ) are arranged and designed such that when a mobile telephone ( 10 ) is inserted into the telephone holder ( 100 ; 300 ) they automatically come into contact with the contact means ( 30 , 40 ) of the mobile telephone, assisted by the compression spring ( 150 ), and the first contact means ( 160 ) are arranged and designed such that when the telephone holder is inserted into the base holder they automatically come into contact with the contact means ( 60 ) of the base holder ( 50 ; 400 ). 11. Portable telephone holder according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the second contact means ( 130 ) are integrated in a connector unit which is arranged in the lower shell ( 120 ) of the telephone holder so as to be accessible from above. 12. Portable telephone holder according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the signal and charging contacts ( 132 ) of the second contact means ( 130 ) are integrated in a connector unit which is arranged in the lower shell ( 120 ) of the telephone holder so as to be accessible from above, and the antenna contact ( 140 ) of the second contact means is arranged so as to be accessible from the front and preferably resiliently in the upper shell ( 172 ) of the telephone holder. 13. Portable telephone holder according to one of claims 9 to 12 , in which the first contact means ( 160 ) are integrated in a connector unit which is provided in the lower shell ( 120 ) of the telephone holder ( 100 ; 300 ) so as to be accessible from below. 14. A permanently installable base holder, in particular for use in a connection arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 5, into which a portable telephone holder ( 100 ; 300 ) for a portable mobile telephone, in particular a cell phone ( 10 ), can be inserted, which base holder ( 50 ; 400 ) has locking means ( 70 , 82 ; 450 ) with a spring-loaded, manually operable release lever ( 70 ; 450 ). 15. Base holder according to claim 14, wherein the release lever ( 70 ) is designed such that it presses the locking means ( 82 , 166 ) apart with a first portion and presses the base holder ( 50 ) and the telephone holder ( 100 ) apart with a second portion. 16. Base holder according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the locking means ( 450 ) are designed by providing bevels such that when the telephone holder ( 300 ) is inserted into the base holder ( 400 ) they tend to press these two components against each other.