Wireless hand-held remote-control device and dock therefor

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.

What is claimed is: 
     
         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.