Abstract
The present invention concerns a tablet support that can be readily affixed to one side of a substantially upright seatback and one that can conveniently function to support numerous types of informational displays, including, but not limited to books, magazines, tablet computers, note book computers, media players, smart phones and the like.
Claims
1. An informational display holder assembly for use with a substantially upright seatback, comprising: (a) a connector mechanism connected to the upright seatback; (b) a first pivot hinge assembly connected to said connector mechanism; (c) an elongate extender arm connected to said first pivot hinge assembly for movement between a retracted position and an extended position; and (d) an informational display support a assembly hingeably connected to said elongate extender arm for movement between a stowed position and a deployed position.
2. The informational display holder assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said informational display support arm assembly is rotatably connected to said elongate extender arm.
3. The informational display holder assembly as defined in claim 1 further including a latching mechanism operably associated with said pivot hinge assembly for preventing movement of said elongate extender arm between a stowed position and a deployed position.
4. The informational display holder assembly as defined in claim 3 in which said informational display holder assembly further includes a latch release mechanism operably associated with said latching mechanism for permitting movement of said elongate extender arm between a stowed position and a deployed position.
5. A tablet holder assembly for use with a substantially upright seatback, comprising: (a) a connector mechanism connected to the upright seatback; (b) a first pivot hinge assembly connected to said connector mechanism; (c) an elongate extender arm assembly connected to said first pivot hinge assembly for movement between a retracted position and a deployed position; (d) a support arm assembly rotatably connected to said elongate extender arm; and (e) a latching mechanism operably associated with said first pivot hinge assembly for preventing movement of said elongate extender arm between a stowed position and a deployed position.
6. The tablet holder assembly as defined in claim 5 in which said elongate extender arm assembly further includes a second pivot hinge assembly.
7. The tablet holder assembly as defined in claim 5 in which said connector mechanism assembly latch release mechanism is operably associated with said latching mechanism.
8. The tablet holder assembly as defined in claim 5 in which said tablet holder assembly includes a friction hinge.
9. The tablet holder assembly as defined in claim 5 in which said tablet holder includes an elongate, generally U-shaped channel.
10. The tablet holder assembly as define d in claim 5 in which said informational display holder assembly further includes a latch release mechanism operably associated with said latching mechanism for permitting movement of said elongate extender arm between a stowed position and a deployed position.
11. A tablet holder assembly for use with a substantially upright seatback, comprising: (a) a connector mechanism connected to the upright seatback; (b) a first pivot hinge assembly connected to said connector mechanism; (c) an elongate extender arm assembly connected to said first pivot hinge assembly for movement between a retracted position and a deployed position; (d) a support arm assembly rotatably connected to said elongate extender arm; (e) a latching mechanism operably associated with said first pivot hinge assembly for preventing movement of said elongate extender arm between a stowed position and a deployed position; and (f) a latch release mechanism operably associated with said latching mechanism for permitting movement of said elongate extender arm between a stowed position and a deployed position.
12. The tablet holder assembly as defined in claim 11 in which said latch release mechanism comprises a push button assembly connected to said connector mechanism, said push button assembly including a push button movable between an extended position and a depressed position.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1A is a side elevational view showing one form of the of the tablet holder of the invention as it appears when connected to the seatback of a passenger seat of the character found on many commercial airlines.
[0014] FIG. 1B is a generally perspective, right fragmentary view showing the tablet holder of the invention as it appears when connected to the seatback of a passenger seat alongside a utility table of the character connected to the back of the passenger seat.
[0015] FIG. 1C is a generally perspective, left fragmentary view showing the tablet holder of the invention as it appears when connected to the seatback of a passenger seat alongside a utility table of the character connected to the back of the passenger seat.
[0016] FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary rear elevational view of one form of the tablet holder of the invention as it appears in a stowed configuration and connected directly to one edge of the seatback of a passenger seat of the character found on many commercial airlines.
[0017] FIG. 3 is an enlarged, generally perspective, fragmentary view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the tablet holder as it appears in a deployed configuration.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged, generally perspective fragmentary view of the upper portion of one form of the tablet holder of the invention partly broken away to show internal construction and illustrating the location and configuration of the latching pin of the assembly.
[0019] FIG. 5 is an enlarged, front view of one form of the of the tablet holder of the invention as it appears when in a stowed configuration.
[0020] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 5.
[0021] FIG. 7 is an enlarged, front view of one form, of the of the tablet holder of the invention as it appears when in a deployed configuration.
[0022] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 8-8 of FIG. 7.
[0023] FIG. 9 is a greatly enlarged, generally perspective fragmentary view showing one form of the tablet holder of the invention as it appears attached to a rear passenger seat and in a partially deployed configuration.
[0024] FIG. 10 is a greatly enlarged, generally perspective fragmentary view, similar to FIG. 9, showing one form of the tablet holder of the invention as it appears attached to a rear passenger seat and in a fully deployed configuration.
[0025] FIG. 11 is a greatly enlarged, generally perspective, exploded view of one form of the tablet holder of the invention as it appears in a fully deployed configuration.
[0026] FIG. 12 is a generally perspective fragmentary view similar to FIG. 10 showing one form of the tablet holder of the invention connected to a passenger seatback as it appears when in a deployed configuration and when supporting a tablet holder of a conventional construction.
[0027] FIG. 13 is a side view taken along lines 13-13 of FIG. 12.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0028] Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C, one form of the novel tablet holder assembly of the invention is there shown connected to a seatback “SB”, such as a seatback of the character found in a commercial aircraft. The tablet holder assembly, which is designated by the numeral 20, here comprises a connector assembly 22 (FIG. 2) that is connected to one side of the upright seatback at a location proximate a conventional utility table “UT”. Connected to the connector assembly 22 is a first pivot hinge assembly 24 (FIG. 2) which includes a conventional pivot pin 26 (FIG. 4). Connected to the pivot hinge assembly 24 (FIG. 2) is an elongate extender arm 28 (FIG. 3) that is pivotal about pivot pin 26 from the first retracted position showy in FIG. 2 to the second extended position shown in FIG. 3. As illustrated in FIG. 3, an informational display support arm assembly 30 is hingeably connected to the extender arm for movement between the stowed position shown in FIG. 2 and the deployed position shown in FIG. 3.
[0029] Operably associated with the first pivot hinge assembly 24 is a novel latching assembly 32 (FIG. 4), the character of which will presently be described. Both the first pivot hinge assembly and the latching assembly are housed within a protective housing 34. Operably associated with the latching assembly is a latch release assembly 36, the character of which will presently be described. Latch release assembly 36 is housed within a protective housing 38. Forming apart of latching assembly 32 is a latching pin 40 that extends inwardly toward extender arm 28 (FIG. 2).
[0030] To permit deployment of the tablet holder assembly into the operable position illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings, the latching pin 40 of the latch release assembly must be allowed to travel within a circuitous guide channel 42 formed in a push button 44 that comprises a part of the latch release assembly 36 (FIGS. 6 and 8). In this regard, it can be seen that when the latching pin resides within the guide channel in the location illustrated in FIG. 6 of the drawings, it is blocked against travel upwardly within the guide channel. Accordingly, rotation of the elongate extender arm 28 about pivot pin 26 will also be blocked. However, when the push button 44 is depressed by the user by pushing it inwardly to the position shown in FIG. 8 of the drawings, the latching pin will reside in the release position shown in FIG. 8 thereby allowing free travel of the latching pin upwardly within the guide channel and allowing rotation of the elongate extender arm 28 about pivot pin 26.
[0031] With the elongate extender arm 28 in the deployed position, the informational display support arm assembly 30 can then be pivoted outwardly in the manner shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. For this purpose, a second pivot hinge assembly 46 is connected to elongate extender arm 28 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 11 of the drawings. Pivot hinge assembly 46 comprises a hinge 48 that is readily commercially available from Hanaya, Inc. having a place of business at Dr Point Vedra, Fla. Hinge 48, which is mounted transversely of the outboard end of extender arm 28, is held in position by a connector member 50 having a central bore 50a. Bore 50a is provided with a longitudinal slot 52 that is adapted to receive a key provided on a friction hinge 54. Friction hinge 54, which is readily commercially available from several sources, including Reel Precision Manufacturing Company of St. Paul, Minn., is connected to informational display support arm assembly 30. Friction pivot hinge 54, which is connected to the inboard end of the support arm 30a of the support arm assembly, permits controlled rotation of the support arm so as to enable the user to position the support arm at an angle that will enable the optimum positioning of the informational display, or tablet “T” on the support arm, in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13 of the drawings. As best seen in FIG. 11, support arm 30a is generally rectangular in cross-section to provide support to a variety of informational displays.
[0032] Having now described the invention in detail in accordance with the requirements of the patent statutes, those skilled in this art will have no difficulty in making changes and modifications in the individual parts or their relative assembly in order to meet specific requirements or conditions. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
