Abstract
A new and improved dock, and a new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device, for controlling various sections of a powered chair, is disclosed, wherein the dock is adapted to be incorporated within, for example, an arm section of the powered chair, while the wireless hand-held remote-control device is adapted to be inserted into the dock so as not to be lost or misplaced. The wireless hand-held remote-control device has a plurality of control buttons disposed upon the primary or upper face portion thereof so as to control various sections of the powered chair, such as, for example, the headrest section, the back section, a lumbar support section, and a footrest section. In addition, control buttons for the aforenoted sections of the powered chair are also disposed upon a front sidewall portion of the wireless hand-held remote-control device such that the various sections of the powered chair can be controlled both when the wireless hand-held remote-control device is disposed within the dock or when the wireless hand-held remote-control device has been removed from the dock.
Claims
1. A hand-held remote-control device for controlling various sections of a powered chair and for insertion within a dock such that said hand-held remote-control device cannot be misplaced, comprising: a housing having a configuration which is substantially that of a parallelepiped and comprising a primary upper face, a rear side face, a front side face, and a bottom face; a plurality of control buttons operatively mounted upon said primary upper face for controlling various sections of the powered chair; and a plurality of control buttons operatively mounted upon said front side face for controlling various sections of the powered chair, whereby the various sections of the powered chair can be controlled by said hand-held remote-control device both when said hand-held remote-control device is disposed within the dock or has been removed from the dock.
2. The hand-held remote-control device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: at least one magnetic interface mounted upon said rear side face of said hand-held remote-control device for cooperation with at least one magnetic interface disposed upon the dock so as to fixedly secure said hand-held remote-control device within the dock.
3. The hand-held remote-control device as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said hand-held remote-control device comprises a wireless hand-held remote control device.
4. The hand-held remote-control device as set forth in claim 3, wherein: said wireless hand-held remote-control device is battery-powered; and at least one battery of said battery-powered wireless hand-held remote-control device comprises a lithium-ion battery.
5. The hand-held remote-control device as set forth in claim 3, further comprising: at least one electrical charging interface disposed upon said rear side face of said wireless hand-held remote-control device for cooperation with at least one electrical charging interface disposed within the dock so as to electrically recharge said at least one battery of said hand-held remote-control device when said hand-held remote-control device is disposed within said dock.
6. The hand-held remote-control device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: a recess defined within said bottom face of said hand-held remote-control device for cooperation with a convex bump/projection mounted within the dock so as to ensure that said hand-held remote control device can only be inserted into the dock in a predetermined manner.
7. A dock for housing a hand-held remote-control device for use in connection with controlling various sections of a powered chair, comprising: a hollow housing having a configuration which is substantially that of a rectangular parallepiped, and which is adapted to be fixedly mounted within a frame portion of the powered chair; a flanged portion fixedly secured upon a front face of said hollow housing; and an elongated slot defined within said flanged portion and extending into said hollow housing for permitting a hand-held remote-control device to be insert ed through said slot and into said hollow housing such that the hand-held remote-control device can be stored within said dock.
8. The dock as set forth in claim 7, further comprising: at least one magnetic interface disposed within said hollow housing of said dock for cooperation with at least one magnetic interface disposed upon the hand-held remote-control device so as to fixedly secure the hand-held remote-control device within said housing of said dock.
9. The dock as set forth in claim 7, further comprising: at least one electrical charging interface disposed within said hollow housing of said dock for cooperation with at least one electrical charging interface disposed upon the hand-held remote-control device so as to electrically recharge the hand-held remote-control device when the hand-held remote-control device is disposed within said housing.
10. The dock as set forth in claim 7, further comprising: at least one charging port defined within said flanged portion of said dock for charging auxiliary electronic devices.
11. The dock as set forth in claim 7, further comprising: a convex bump/projection mounted within said hollow interior of said dock for cooperation with a concave recess defined upon the hand-held remote-control device so as to ensure that the hand-held remote control device can only be inserted into said dock in a predetermined manner.
12. The dock as set forth in claim 7, further comprising: a HOME button mounted upon said flanged portion of said dock for returning all sections of the chair to their original positions.
13. The dock as set forth in claim 7, wherein: when said dock is disposed within the frame portion of the powered chair, said flanged portion of said dock will engage an outer surface region of the frame portion of the powered chair so as to ensure that said dock is fixedly secured within the frame portion of the powered chair.
14. In combination, a dock for housing a hand-held remote-control device for use in connection with controlling various sections of a powered chair, wherein: said dock comprises a hollow housing having a configuration which is substantially that of a rectangular parallepiped, and which is adapted to be fixedly mounted within a frame portion of the powered chair; a flanged portion fixedly secured upon a front face of said hollow housing; said hand-held remote-control device comprises a housing having a configuration which is substantially that of a parallelepiped and comprising a primary upper face, a rear side face, a front side face, and a bottom face; and an elongated slot defined within said flanged portion of said dock and extending into said hollow housing of said dock for permitting said hand-held remote-control device to be inserted through said slot of said flanged portion of said dock and into said hollow housing of said dock such that said hand-held remote-control device can be stored within said dock.
15. The combination as set forth in claim 14, further comprising: a first magnetic interface disposed within said hollow housing of said dock; and a second magnetic interface mounted upon said rear side face of said hand-held remote-control device for cooperation with said first magnetic interface disposed within said hollow housing of said dock so as to fixedly secure said hand-held remote-control device within said housing of said dock.
16. The combination as set forth in claim 14, wherein: said hand-held remote-control device comprises a wireless hand-held remote control device.
17. The combination as set forth in claim 16, wherein: said wireless hand-held remote-control device is battery-powered; and at least one battery of said battery-powered wireless hand-held remote-control device comprises a lithium-ion battery.
18. The combination as set forth in claim 17, further comprising: a first electrical charging interface disposed within said hollow housing of said dock; and a second electrical charging interface mounted upon said rear side face of said hand-held remote-control device for cooperation with said first electrical charging interface disposed within said hollow housing of said dock so as to electrically recharge said at least one lithium-ion battery of said hand-held remote-control device when said hand-held remote-control device is disposed within said housing of said dock.
19. The combination as set forth in claim 14, wherein: when said dock is disposed within the frame portion of the powered chair, said flanged surface portion of said dock will engage an outer surface portion of the frame portion of the powered chair so as to ensure that said dock is fixedly secured within the frame portion of the powered chair.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Various other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a front, right side, perspective view of a conventional PRIOR ART powered chair which may be a powered lift chair, a powered reclining chair, or a powered lounger chair;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a front, right side, perspective view of a new and improved dock, and a new and improved wireless, hand-held remote-control device wherein the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device is adapted to be inserted into and housed within the new and improved dock when the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device is to be stored;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device disposed within the new and improved dock when the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device is to be stored within the new and improved dock;
[0012] FIG. 4 is an enlarged, side elevational detailed view of the new and improved dock and one side of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device illustrating the magnetic interface components of the new and improved dock and the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device, as well as the charging interface components of the new and improved dock and the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device;
[0013] FIG. 5 is an enlarged front elevational view of a first embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device illustrating the various control buttons mounted thereon; and
[0014] FIG. 6 is an enlarged front elevational view of a second embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device illustrating the various control buttons mounted thereon.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0015] With reference first being made to FIG. 1, a conventional, PRIOR ART, powered lift chair, powered reclining chair, or a powered lounger chair is disclosed and is generally indicated by the reference character 100. The chair 100 is seen to comprises a seat section 102, a back section 104 which may be moved between various positions between an upright position and one or more reclined positions, a lumbar support section 106 which is effectively part of the backrest section 104 but which is positionally located, and independently operated, so as to be capable of engaging the lumbar region of the back of the torso of the person seated in the chair 100 so as to provide various degrees of lumbar support as may be desired, and a headrest section 108 which may be moved to various positions as desired by a person seated in the chair 100 such that the headrest section 108 is disposed at a particular position that the person seated in the chair 100 finds most comfortable. In addition, the chair 100 further comprises a footrest section 110 which, in a manner similar to that of the headrest section 108, may be moved to various positions as desired by a person seated in the chair 100 such that the footrest section 110 is disposed at a position that the person seated in the chair 100 finds most comfortable. Lastly, the chair 100 comprises a pair of oppositely disposed arm sections 112,114.
[0016] Turning now to the present invention, with reference being made to FIGS. 2-4, and in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed a wireless hand-held remote-control device which is generally indicated by the reference character 200, and a dock, for housing the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 when the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is to be stored within the dock, wherein the dock is generally indicated by the reference character 300. More particularly, the dock 300 is adapted to be fixedly secured or incorporated within the overall structural framework of a powered lift chair, a powered reclining chair, or a powered lounger chair, more particularly within one of the left and right, oppositely disposed arm sections 112,114 of the chair 100. More specifically, it is seen that the dock 300 effectively comprises a hollow box or housing portion 302, which has the configuration of that of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped as defined along a longitudinal extent or axis L and a transverse extent or axis W. The front of the hollow box or housing portion 302 of the dock 300 is seen to comprise a substantially oval or elliptically shaped flanged wall portion 304 which is fixedly formed or integrally defined upon the front face or wall of the box or housing portion 302, and an elongated slot 306 is formed or defined within the flanged front face or wall portion 304 of the box or housing portion 302 so as to extend inwardly into the interior of the hollow box or housing portion 302. When the box or housing portion 302 of the dock 300 is adapted to be fixedly secured or incorporated within one of the arm sections 112,114 of the chair 100, the flanged front face or wall portion 304 of the dock 300 will engage, and effectively be flush with, an outer surface portion of one of the arm sections 112,114 of the chair 100, while the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200, also having a configuration which is that of a rectangular parallelepiped, is adapted to be inserted through the slot 306 of the flanged front face or wall portion 304 of the dock 300 and moved into the hollow interior of the box or housing portion 302 so as to be stored therewithin as can best be appreciated from FIG. 3. As will be more fully discussed in detail hereinafter, the slot 306 effectively has a wider width dimension at its central portion, as compared to the width dimensions at it end portions so as to accommodate the various control buttons as disclosed in FIG. 2 and as more fully discussed in FIG. 5.
[0017] With reference now being made to FIG. 4, it is also noted that the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is adapted to be secured within the dock 300 by a magnetic interface defined between the dock 300 and the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200. More particularly, as can be readily seen and appreciated from FIG. 4, a pair of laterally spaced magnets 308 are incorporated within, or mounted upon, an interior rear wall portion of the dock 300, and a pair of laterally spaced ferromagnetic plates 202 are mounted upon or incorporated within a rear side wall portion 204 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 such that when the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is inserted into the dock 300, the pair of laterally spaced ferromagnetic plates 202 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200, mounted upon the rear side wall portion 204 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200, will be properly aligned with the pair of laterally spaced magnets 308 incorporated within, or mounted upon, the interior rear wall portion of the dock 300 thereby fixedly holding or retaining the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 within the dock 300. Continuing still further, it is also seen that the interior rear wall portion of the dock 300 has a first electrical charging interface 310 incorporated therein or mounted thereon, and the rear side wall portion 204 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is corresponding provided with a second electrical charging interface 206 whereby when the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is disposed within the dock 300, the batteries of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 can automatically be charged such that the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 always has sufficient electrical power to emit control signals when and as may be desired to control the movements of various sections of the chair 100, such as, for example, the footrest section 110, the backrest section 104, the headrest section 108, and the lumbar support section 106. The batteries may be any type of suitable re-chargeable batteries, such as, for example, lithium-ion batteries. It is lastly seen that one end of the interior lower wall portion 312 of the dock 300 is provided with a smoothly curved, transversely extending bump, or convex projection 314 which may be an upstanding projection or a projection that extends transversely inwardly from the open end of the slot 306 into and across the interior hollow region of the dock box or housing 302 within which the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is to be inserted. Correspondingly, one end of the lower face 208 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is provided with a transversely extending concave recess 210 for accommodating the curved bump or convex projection 314 of the dock 300, the front side wall portion 212 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 being provided with a wall 214 for engaging the external face of the curved bump or convex projection 314 when the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is fully or completely inserted into the dock 300. In this manner, it is to be appreciated that the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 can only be inserted into the dock 300 in a predetermined manner or orientation so as to ensure that the magnetic and charging interfaces 202,308, 206,310 are properly aligned with each other and that the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is in fact fully or completely inserted into the dock 300, as well as to readily provide access to the plurality of control buttons mounted upon the front side wall portion of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 as will be described more fully hereinafter.
[0018] With reference now being made to FIG. 5, a first embodiment of a wireless hand-held remote-control device is disclosed and is generally indicated by the reference character 200. More particularly, it is seen that in accordance with the teachings and principles of the present invention, the first embodiment of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is seen to comprise a primary or upper face 216 which is provided with a multiplicity of control buttons for controlling the movements of the various sections of the chair, such as, for example, the footrest, the backrest, and the headrest sections of the chair. More specifically, it is noted that the multiplicity of control buttons mounted upon the primary or upper face 216 comprises a first pair of control buttons 218,220 for respectively controlling the extension or recline movement of the headrest section 108 of the chair 100, and the retraction or return-to-normal movement of the headrest section 108 of the chair 100. Similarly, a second pair of control buttons 222,224 are provided upon the primary or upper face 216 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 for respectively controlling the extension or recline movement of the backrest section 104 of the chair 100, and the retraction or return-to-normal movement of the backrest section 104 of the chair 100. Continuing further, a third pair of control buttons 226,228 are provided upon the primary or upper face 216 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 for respectively controlling the extension or elevation movements of the footrest section 110 of the chair 100, and the retraction or return-to-normal movement of the footrest section 110 of the chair 100. It is of course to be appreciated that additional control buttons, not illustrated, may likewise be provided for controlling the extension and retraction of the lumbar section 106 of the chair 100.
[0019] Still further, it is also seen that the primary or upper face 216 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is provided with first and second memory control buttons 230,232, marked M1,M2, such that when these buttons are respectively depressed, the various sections of the chair 100 can be automatically moved to preset positions. In a similar manner, another button 234, marked TV, is also provided upon the primary or upper face 216 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 so as to automatically move the various sections of the chair 100 to a predetermined TV position, and lastly, still another button 236, marked ZG, is also provided upon the primary or upper face 216 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 so as to automatically move the various sections of the chair 100 to a predetermined zero-gravity position at which the headrest section 108 of the chair 100, the backrest section 104 of the chair 100, and the footrest section 110 of the chair 100 are effectively disposed at positions which effectively define a horizontal plane, or a planar arrangement wherein the headrest section 108 of the chair 100 is disposed at an elevation which is slightly lower than that of the footrest section 110 of the chair 100. In this manner, the various movements of the footrest section 110, the backrest section 104, and the headrest section 108 of the chair 100 can also be controlled when the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 has been removed from the dock 300. Lastly, as can best be appreciated from FIGS. 2,3, and 5, the front side wall portion 212 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is also provided with a plurality of control buttons 238,240,242 for respectively controlling the movements of the various sections of the chair, such as, for example, the footrest section 110, the backrest section 104, and the headrest section 108 of the chair 100. In this manner, the various movements of the footrest section 110, the backrest section 104, and the headrest section 108 of the chair 100 can also be controlled, by a person sitting in the chair 100, when the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 has been inserted into the dock 300. Lastly, a HOME button 244 is provided upon the primary or upper face 216 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 so as to automatically move all of the various sections of the chair 100 to a normal or default seated position. Reverting to FIGS. 2 and 3, it is likewise seen that the front flanged wall portion 304 of the dock is also provided with a HOME button 309 as well as a pair of charging ports 310,312 for charging auxiliary electronic devices, the charging ports comprising, for example, a type-C charging port, or a type 1.0 charging port.
[0020] With reference lastly being made to FIG. 6, there is disclosed a second embodiment of a new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device which has been developed in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention and which is generally indicated by the reference character 400. It is to be noted that the second embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device 400 is generally similar to the first embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device 200, with some differences which will be more fully discussed immediately hereinafter, and accordingly, component parts of the second embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device 400 which correspond to components parts of the first embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 will be designated in the 400 series. More particularly, it is seen that the primary or upper face 416 of the second embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device 400 comprises a first pair of control buttons 418,420 for respectively controlling the extension or recline movement of the backrest and headrest sections 104,108 of the chair 100, wherein the backrest and headrest sections 104108 of the chair 100 have effectively been integrated together as opposed to being separately or independently movable with respect to each other, as was the case within the first embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device 200, and the retraction or return-to-normal movement of the backrest and headrest sections 104,108 of the chair 100. In addition, a second pair of control buttons 426,428 are provided upon the primary or upper face portion 416 of the second embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device 400 for respectively controlling the extension or elevation movements of the footrest section 110 of the chair 100, and the retraction or return-to-normal movement of the footrest section 110 of the chair 100. As was also the case with the first embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device 200, the primary or upper face portion 416 of the second embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device 400 is likewise provided with a HOME button, a pair of memory buttons M1,M2 designated as 430,432, a TV button designated as 434, and a zero gravity button ZG designated as 436. Lastly, as was also the case with the first embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device 200, the front sidewall portion 412 of the second embodiment of the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device 400 is likewise provided with a pair of control buttons 438,440 for controlling the headrest/backrest 108/104 and footrest 110 sections of the chair 100.
[0021] Obviously, many variations and modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, while various different control buttons have been disclosed upon the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control devices for controlling various different functions of various different sections of a powered chair, it is to be noted that other buttons may be included upon a wireless hand-held remote-control device for controlling various other different functions of various different sections of a powered chair. Still further, the electronic control circuitry of the various different control buttons may be altered such that the various different control buttons will control other sections of a powered chair than has been specifically illustrated. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
