A-pillar mountable device holders

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10406990-B2
Application number	US-201815926943-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2018
Priority date	Apr 19, 2017
Publication date	Sep 10, 2019
Grant date	Sep 10, 2019

Abstract

Device holders for vehicles comprises a housing, a claw comprised of a first claw half and second claw half, and a latch for releasably securing the claw within the housing. The holders are secured to a vehicle's A-pillar so as to be just outside of a driver or operator's line of sight, and when secured within the housing are configured so that a visible surface of the claw substantially matches the surrounding trim of the A-pillar in appearance, such as texture and color.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A holder for a portable electronic device, comprising:
a housing configured to be attached to an A-pillar of a vehicle; and
a claw hingedly attached to the housing and comprised of:
a first claw half,
a second claw half hingedly attached to the first claw half, and
a spring to bias the second claw half towards the first claw half;

wherein at least the second claw half is extended from a surface of the A-pillar to hold the electronic device when the electronic device is in use, and the claw is selectably retained within the housing when the holder is not in use.

2. The holder of claim 1 , further comprising a push-push latch to enable a release, wherein the claw is selectably retained within the housing by the push-push latch, so that an application of force by a user releases the claw to be away from the surface of the A-pillar and the user is able to pull at least the second claw half from the housing and place the electronic device between the first claw half and the second claw half.

3. The holder of claim 2 , further comprising a second spring to bias the claw away from the housing when the housing is disengaged from the push-push latch.

4. The holder of claim 1 , wherein each of the first claw half and second claw half further comprise a support mat.

5. The holder of claim 1 , wherein the second claw half includes a cover configured to substantially match an A-pillar trim in color and material.

6. The holder of claim 5 , wherein the housing is configured to fit into a cavity in the A-pillar so that the cover of the second claw half is approximately flush with the A-pillar trim.

7. The holder of claim 1 , wherein the first claw half is configured to be rotatable with respect to the second claw half.

8. The holder of claim 1 , wherein the housing substantially encloses the claw.

9. A pillar mounted holder for a portable electronic device, comprising:
a housing secured to the pillar;
a claw hingedly attached to and substantially enclosed by the housing, and comprised of a first claw half, a second claw half hingedly attached to the first claw half, and a spring configured to bias the second claw half towards the first claw half; and
a latch mechanism configured to selectably retain the claw within the housing,
wherein the holder is mounted to the pillar.

10. The holder of claim 9 , wherein the pillar is an A-pillar of a vehicle.

11. The holder of claim 10 , wherein the holder is configured to be secured to a sheet metal piece of the A-pillar, and wherein an outer surface of the second claw half is substantially flush with a surrounding surface of the A-pillar when the holder is not in use.

12. The holder of claim 11 , wherein the latch mechanism further comprises a push-push latch and a second spring configured to bias the holder away from the pillar.

13. The holder of claim 9 , wherein the first claw half and second flaw half each further include a support mat configured to securely hold the portable electronic device without damage.

14. A vehicle configured to receive a portable device, comprising:
an A-pillar; and
a holder, including:
a housing,
a first claw half hingeably secured to the housing,
a first spring configured to bias the first claw half away from the housing,
a second claw half hingeably secured to the first claw half,
a second spring configured to bias the second claw half towards the first claw half, and
a latch mechanism configured to selectively retain the first claw half and second claw half substantially within the housing;

wherein:
the housing of the holder is attached to a sheet metal piece of the A-pillar, and
the second claw half is held within the housing and a cover of the second claw half is disposed substantially flush with a surface of an A-pillar trim facing the vehicle interior when the latch mechanism retains the first claw half and second claw half within the housing.

15. The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein at least the second claw half is positioned outside of the housing by the first spring when the latch mechanism releases the first claw half.

16. The vehicle of claim 15 , wherein the latch mechanism comprises a push-push latch that is configured to release at least the second claw half when a force is applied to the surface of the second claw half.

17. The vehicle of claim 16 , wherein the first claw half and second claw half cooperate to retain the portable device.

18. The vehicle of claim 17 , wherein the first claw half and second claw half each further comprise a support mat configured to retain the portable device without causing damage to the portable device.

19. The vehicle of claim 18 , wherein the cover of the second claw half is configured to match an appearance of the A-pillar trim.

20. The vehicle of claim 18 , wherein the cover of the second claw half is made from the same material as the A-pillar trim.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Delaruelle Aurelien Pierre Christian
• Vu Thi Anh Thu

Classifications

• B60R2011/0071

  using latches, clips, clamps, straps or the like · CPC title

• B60R2011/0022

  Pillars · CPC title

• B60R11/02 Primary

  for radio sets, television sets, telephones, or the like; Arrangement of controls thereof · CPC title

• B60R11/0258

  for navigation systems · CPC title

• B62D25/04

  Door pillars {; windshield pillars} · CPC title