Universal joint arrangement between an apparatus holder and a support arm or a console

[0001] This is a Continuation-in-Part Application of application Ser. No. 11/133065 filed May 19, 2005 now abandoned.

[0002] The invention relates to a universal joint arrangement for the interconnection of an apparatus holder or an apparatus holder mounting plate or a similar device and a support arm or a support console.

[0003] Mobile apparatus such as minicomputers, so-called PDA's (Personal Digital Assistants) navigation apparatus, mobile telephones and similar apparatus are used in motor vehicles, on desks or at other locations in connection with apparatus carriers which include a console or a support arm, to which an apparatus holder or a mounting plate for supporting an apparatus holder is connected by way of a joint structure so that the respective apparatus can be adjusted to a position which is convenient for the observation of the visual display of the apparatus and for the operation of the apparatus.

[0004] Universal joints for that purpose are known in the form of two adjacent hinge joints oriented so as to be pivotable in rectangularly displaced planes and also in the form of ball joints with spherical segment-shaped joint parts. In order to hold a particular apparatus stable in a selected position, it is of course necessary that the joint mechanism can be locked or that it is pretensioned so as to provide for sufficient friction between the joint parts to hold the joint parts in a particular selected position. In known ball joint mechanisms, the required clamping tension is generated in that a screw is screwed from the mounting plate that is from the side of the apparatus into the seating area of the joint mechanism and tightened to the degree needed to engage the joint parts. However, since the joint parts all consist essentially of plastic material which has a heat expansion coefficient different from the engagement means substantial problems have been encountered particularly in connection with the use of such joints in motor vehicles because of the high temperature changes for example as a result of the heating of vehicles parked in the summertime in the sun. Then, it has been found that the clamping tension becomes so relaxed that the apparatus holder will no longer maintain the adjusted position. This can be not only very annoying because it makes the use of the apparatus difficult but also because the necessary tensioning can be performed only with the use of a fitting screw driver and this process is often possible only by the removal of the apparatus holder or even additionally the mounting plate. Furthermore, upon cool-down, the joint may be so tight that it can no longer be adjusted.

[0005] It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an arrangement by which the problem described above can be controlled easily and without complicated design features.

[0006] In a universal joint arrangement between an apparatus holder and an apparatus support console including a receiver element mounted to the console, a ball joint element projecting from the holder, a ball element for engaging the ball joint element and the receiver element and a clamping mechanism comprising a bolt and a nut, the bolt extends through the ball joint element and the receiver element and the nut or the bolt head is retained in an operating wheel which is disposed adjacent the receiver element so as to be rotatable by the fingers of a user for adjusting the clamping force engaging the ball joint element between the receiver element and the ball element.

[0007] A particular preferred embodiment of the invention will be described below on the basis of the accompanying drawings.

[0014] FIGS. 1 and 2 show the joint arrangement according to the invention in connection with an apparatus support plate 1 and a short pivot arm 2 which is the end member of an apparatus carrier which is not shown. The apparatus support plate 1 has angled claws 11 which cooperate with corresponding engagement slots of an apparatus holder which is not shown and, together therewith, form a rapid coupling structure for releasably mounting the apparatus holder. The pivot arm 2, which is shown very short in the figure may of course have any length and, at its rear end, is provided with a forked hinge element 21 which cooperates with a corresponding counter element of a pivot hinge mechanism.

[0015] As shown in the side view of FIG. 1 and the cross sectional view of FIG. 2 (in a plane turned by 90°), the ball joint arrangement between the apparatus support plate 1 and the pivot arm 2 consists of a ball joint element 12 disposed on the backside of the mounting plate 1, a ball joint receiver 22 disposed at the front end of the pivot arm 2 and a joint clamping mechanism 3.

[0016] The joint clamping mechanism 3 comprises a sleeve member 31 projecting from the ball segment receiver 22, a spherical segment-shaped clamping body 32 disposed on the free end of the sleeve member 31, a bolt 33 extending from the clamping body 32 through the sleeve member 31 and having a head snugly received in a correspondingly shaped recess of the clamping body 32 so as to be held rotationally fixed thereby and a nut 35 threaded onto the bolt 33 behind the ball segment receiver 22 with an adjustment wheel 36 snugly receiving the nut 35 for rotation therewith. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pivot arm 2 has adjacent the segment receiver 22 a cylindrical recess 2′ in which the end of the bolt 33 is accommodated and the clamping body 32 has a recess 32′ (FIG. 2) which receives the free end of the sleeve member 31 so as to permit a relative axial movement between the clamping body 32 and the sleeve member 31 over a certain distance.

[0017] The ball joint element 12 is therefore received between the segment receiver 22 and the clamping body 32 and is engageable therebetween. As apparent from FIG. 2, the ball joint element 12 has a large central opening 13 through which the sleeve member 31 extends and whose size is so selected that the desired freedom of pivoting of the support plate 1 over a certain range is made possible.

[0018] By rotating the adjustment wheel 36 which is preferably knurled at its circumference, the ball joint arrangement can be tightened or loosened any time while the apparatus holder is mounted onto the mounting plate 1 and this can be done without the use of any tools.

[0019] As apparent particularly from FIG. 1, the adjustment wheel 36 is arranged within a flat frame structure formed by the pivot arm 2 so that it can be easily grasped with two fingers. Of course, the pivot arm 2 may have any desirable shape or may be replaced by another member of an apparatus support structure.

[0020] As an actual example of an application, FIG. 3 shows a complete apparatus carrier 4 with a column 41, a suction foot 42 with an operating mechanism therefor arranged within the column 41 and a telescopic arm 44 connected thereto by a hinge joint structure 43 having two hinge axes displaced by 90° and carrying at the free end thereof the apparatus support plate 1 by way of the clamping mechanism 3 described above.

[0021] Other than described in the shown example, the ball joint structure may also have a clamping mechanism in which the adjustment wheel 36 is connected to the head of a bolt cooperating with a nut received in the clamping body 32.

[0022] FIGS. 4a to 4c show an embodiment with an eccenter pivot lever 40, which is pivotable about an axis extending transverse to the longitudinal axis of the ball joint arrangement, or respectively, the pivot arm 2, and which is pivotable between a release position and a clamping position. A shaft 411 extending from the clamping body 32 through the ball joint elements is connected at its end adjacent the pivot lever 40 via a transverse pin 421 with the pivot lever 40 as shown in FIG. 4b. The end of the shaft 412 is received in a recess 431 of the pivot lever 40, which has an opening angle corresponding to the pivot range of the pivot lever 40 as shown in FIG. 4c.

[0023] In this embodiment, the pivoting of the pivot lever 4 between the release position as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b and a clamping position as shown in FIG. 4a by a dash-dotted line, the ball joint elements are clamped together or, respectively, by pivoting the pivot lever to the release position, the ball joint element engagement is released.

[0024] In the embodiment as shown in FIGS. 5a-5c, an operating lever 5 is provided which, again, is supported so as to be pivotable about an axis 54 extending transverse to the longitudinal axis of the ball joint arrangement. The operating lever 5 cooperates with a shaft 51 extending from the clamping body 32. The operating lever is pivotably supported by the transverse shaft structure 52, which is displaced sidewardly from the longitudinal shaft 51. Above the shaft 51, adjacent the ball socket 22, there is a plate spring packet 53, which is held on the shaft 51 by a transverse pin 54 extending through a bore in the shaft 51. The plate spring packet 53 engages the shaft 51 and biases the clamping body 32 into a clamping position. By pivoting the operating lever 5, which is shown in its release position, in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 5a, the shaft 51 is moved against the force generated by the plate spring packet 53 axially to a release position of the ball joint arrangement, whereby the clamping engagement of the ball joint structure is released. Upon returning the operating lever to its rest position, the plate spring packet automatically causes the clamping and consequently the locking of the ball joint arrangement.

[0025] In this embodiment, the pivoting of the pivot lever 40 between the release position as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b and a clamping position as shown in FIG. 4a by a dash-dotted line, the ball joint elements are clamped together or, respectively, by pivoting the pivot lever to the release position, the ball joint element engagement is released.

[0026] In the figures, the clamping position is shown, wherein a head 64 of the slide wedge 6 is disposed adjacent the pivot arm 2. If the slide wedge 6 is pulled out of this clamping position in the downward arrow direction with reference to FIG. 6c into its release position, the ball joint arrangement is freed. The transverse pin 65 at the free end of the slide wedge serves as a stop for the movement of the slide wedge. The stop for its movement in clamping direction is formed by the head 64.