MULTI-USE STRAP SYSTEM FOR HANDHELD DEVICES

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/188,014 filed May 13, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to handheld devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for facilitating the use of handheld devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Autistic toddlers with the proprioceptive sensory disorder have a poor awareness of their body in space. The toddlers tend to be on the perpetual move seeking proprioceptive input through gross-motor activities such as running, jumping, climbing, etc. These toddlers have trouble remaining seated for extended periods of time and, when restrained, often exhibit disruptive behavior. Therefore, such routine activities as a car ride or shopping trip—where the toddler is required to remain seated for a relatively long period of time—are frequently accompanied by the toddler's screaming, squirming, banging his/her head against the car seat. As such, these activities tend to be extremely stressful for not only the child, but also the caregiver. Letting the toddler watch programming, such as cartoons, on a smartphone (or similar handheld device) during these trying periods can capture the toddler's attention and keep him/her still for a desired period of time.

However, due to the proprioceptive sensory disorder, such toddlers have poor coordination and are proned to dropping items. During a car ride, when a toddler accidently drops a device on which programming is being viewed, his/her disruptive behavior frequently resumes, requiring the caregiver to either pull over to look for the phone, which is inconvenient, or search for the phone with one hand while driving with the other, which is unsafe. Additionally, if the toddler drops the device onto a hard surface, such as a floor beneath a shopping cart, damage to the phone can result. One workaround for such problems is to place the toddler inside the shopping cart when possible. Placing the toddler inside the shopping cart, however, reduces the space for the groceries, makes the groceries easily accessible for the toddler to potentially damage, and can be unsafe for the child. Specifically, being in the cart allows the toddler to stand up upright, which is dangerous because the toddler can easily lose his/her balance and fall out of the cart and seriously injure him/herself. Therefore, there is a need for a system to prevent the device from falling onto the floor when a child releases his/her grip on the phone.

The present invention recognizes and addresses considerations of prior art constructions and methods.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a strap system for securing a handheld device to a pair of wrists of a user, including a first strap having a tether portion, a wristband portion, and a hook, a second strap having a tether portion, a wristband portion, and a hook, and an anchor portion affixed to the handheld device, wherein the hooks of the first and second straps are secured to the anchor portion, and the wristband portions of the first and second straps are each secured to a corresponding wrist of the user.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended drawings, in which;

FIGS. 1A and 1B are front and back views, respectively, of the first strap of a strap system for use with a handheld device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are front and back views, respectively, of the second strap of a strap system for use with a handheld device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a handheld device including a pair of anchors for the strap system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a partial side view of the first strap shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a toddler utilizing the strap system shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, and 3 to facilitate holding a handheld device;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views of the strap system of the present invention being utilized to secure a handheld device to a headrest in a vehicle; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the strap system of the present invention being utilized to secure a handheld device around the neck of a user.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent same or analogous features or elements of the invention according to the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to presently preferred embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation, not limitation, of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used on another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

As used herein, terms referring to a direction or a position relative to the orientation of the strap system for facilitating use of a handheld device, such as but not limited to “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “above,” or “below,” refer to directions and relative positions with respect to the strap system and device's orientation in its normal intended operation, as indicated in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, and 3. Thus, for instance, the terms “vertical” and “top” refer to the vertical orientation and relative upper position in the perspective of FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, and 3, and should be understood in that context, even with respect to a strap system and device that may be disposed in a different orientation.

Referring now to the Figures, the strap system 100 consists of a first strap 101 and a second 102, as best seen in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2A, 2B, respectively, and two anchors, as shown in FIG. 3. Both the first and second straps 101 and 102 include a wristband 103 and 104, respectively, and a tether 105 and 105, respectively. The wristband 103 of the first strap 101 is formed by the top webbing 107 whose first end 109 is stitched to the female part of the non-adjustable buckle 111 and the second end 113 is threaded through the male part of the double adjustable buckle 115 and used to adjust the circumference of the wristband portion 103. The wristband 104 of the second strap 102 is formed by the top webbing 108 whose first end 110 is stitched to the male part of the non-adjustable buckle 112 and the second end 114 is threaded through the female part of the double adjustable buckle 116 and used to adjust the circumference of the wristband 104.

The tether portion 105 and 106 of each first and second strap 101 and 102, respectively, is formed by the bottom webbing 121 and 122 whose first end 123 and 124 is stitched to a hook 125 and 126, or clasp, and the second end 127 and 128 is threaded through the single adjust ladder lock buckle 129 and 130 and used to adjust the length of the corresponding tether 105 and 106, respectively. The wristband 103 and tether 105 of the first strap 101 are irremovably joined together by the stitched end 141 of the top webbing 107 that is threaded through both the female part of the non-adjustable buckle 111 and single adjust ladder lock buckle 129. The wristband 104 and tether 106 of the second strap 102 are irremovably joined together by the stitched end 142 of the top webbing 108 that is threaded through both the male part of the non-adjustable buckle 112 and single adjust ladder lock buckle 130.

Referring additionally to FIG. 3, the anchor portions 131 each consist of a D-ring 13 with an adhesive-backed mounting base 134. The anchors 131 are affixed onto the back of the handheld device 140, in the instant case a phone, and are used to connect the first and second straps 101 and 102 to the phone. Note, the anchor portions 131 may be adhered directly to the handheld device 140 or to a protective cover (not shown) in which the handheld device 140 is disposed. As well, in alternate embodiments, rather than utilizing an adhesive to affix the anchor portions 131 to the handheld device 140, a magnetic assembly (not shown) including a magnetic plate and a ferrous metal plate may be used to attach each anchor to the handheld device. Specifically, the magnetic plate is secured to one of the anchor portions 131 on the handheld device 140, whereas the other of the magnetic plate and the ferrous plate is attached to the other of the anchor portion 131 on the handheld device 140. This feature allows the same strap system to be utilized with any number of handheld devices. In yet other embodiments, hooks and loop fastening material may be used to selectively secure the anchor portions 131 to the desired handheld device 140.

The first and second straps 101 and 102 are used to secure the phone to the toddler's wrists by forming a pair of cuffs that secure the device 140 to both arms, thereby preventing the phone from being dropped, as shown in FIG. 5. The first and second straps 101 and 102 are attached to the device 140 by attaching the hooks 125 and 126, respectively, of the straps 101 and 102 to the D-rings 132 of the anchor portions 131. The wristband 103 of the first strap 101 is secured around a first wrist of the toddler by pushing the male part of the double adjust buckle 115 into the female part of the non-adjustable buckle 111. The wristband 104 of the second strap 102 is secured around the toddler's other wrist by pushing the male part of the non-adjustable buckle 112 into the female part of the double adjust buckle 116. The circumference of the wristbands 103 and 104 of the first and second straps 101 and 102 are adjusted to fit the toddler's wrists by pulling on the adjustable ends 113 and 114 of the top webbings 107 and 108, respectively. The other uses/configurations of the first and second straps 101 and 102, described in greater detail below, do not require any adjustment of the wristbands 103 and 104. Therefore, the wristbands 103 and 104 are adjusted only once during the initial fitting. The distance between the handheld device 140 and toddler's wrists are equal to the lengths of the tethers 105 and 106. The length of each tether is adjusted by pulling on the adjustable ends 127 and 128 of the corresponding bottom webbings 121 and 122, respectively. If there is not enough space on the back of the device to install two anchor portions 131, only one anchor portion 131 may be affixed to the device 140 and both the first and second straps 101 and 102 can be attached to the single anchor. Also, if it is desirable to leave one of the toddler's hands free, such as when watching cartoons and eating snacks while sitting in a car seat, only one strap can be employed.

The disclosed strap system may also be used to support the corresponding device 140 on the headrest 150 of a vehicle 152. Specifically, the first and second straps 101 and 102 secure the device to the backside of the headrest of the car seat in front of the toddler, providing the hands-free viewing as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. The first and second straps 101 and 102 are attached to the phone by attaching the hooks 125 and 126 of the straps 101 and 102 to the D-rings 132 of the anchor portions 131, with both anchor portions 131 being utilized to keep the device level for viewing. The first and second straps 101 and 102 are placed around the headrest 150 of the car seat in front of the toddler, joined together by pushing the male part of the non-adjustable buckle 112 of the second strap 102 into the female part of the non-adjustable buckle 111 of the first strap 101, and tightened by pulling on the adjustable ends 127 and 128 of the bottom webbings 121 and 122, respectively, of both straps simultaneously.

The first and second straps 101 and 102 can be joined together forming a single neck strap that allows a caregiver to carry a device 140 around his/her neck when the device is not in use by the child. The first and second straps 101 and 102 are attached to the device 140 by attaching the hooks 125 and 126 of the first and second straps 101 and 102 to a single D-ring 132 of either of the two anchor portions 131. The first and second straps 101 and 102 are joined together by pushing the male part of the double adjust buckle 115 of the first strap 101 into the female part of the double adjust buckle 116 of the second strap 102 with the resulting loop being placed around the caregiver's neck. The length of the neck strap can be adjusted by pulling on the adjustable ends 127 and 128 of the bottom webbings 121 and 122 of both straps simultaneously.

While one or more preferred embodiments of the invention are described above, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof. It is intended that the present invention cover such modifications and variations as come within the scope and spirit of the appended claims and their equivalents.