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Apparatus for secure display of small electronic devices having an essential signal or power cord

Apparatus for secure display of small electronic devices having an essential signal or power cord description/claims

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus for securely displaying, marketing and demonstrating small electronic devices having a signal or power cord that is an integral part of the device and essential to its operation, wherein the device is secured to the apparatus by means of the signal or power cord. The apparatus allows consumer devices such as headphones, and small appliances and that require a long wire connection, to be displayed neatly without drooping wires that are unsightly and also can become entangled.

2. Description of Prior Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 AND 1.98

The display and demonstration of consumer electronic devices is an essential part of the sales process in today's marketplace. An apparatus that provides for the secure display and demonstration of small battery powered hand held electronic devices such as cell phones is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,382 issued to Ryczek on Dec. 9, 2003. U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,382 discloses a device that securely holds a battery powered device such as a cell phone and secures it to a tether that is part of a display apparatus.

The small devices that are contemplated in the aforesaid reference are all battery powered and are always secured to the display apparatus by a specially designed security tether or cable which does not form a part of the device itself but is part of the display apparatus. These tethers are securely fastened to device securing means and are a basic element in permitting a potential customer to remove such a device a short distance from the display and examine it.

Other small consumer electronic devices such as headsets or earbud sets require a long wire connection that is an integral part of the device and essential to its operation because the long wire connection connects the device to a program source such as a music phone, MP3 player, portable CD player and the like. Such devices that require a long wire connection in order to function are often sold by allowing a potential customer to try out the features of such an item on display in a store. Small electrical appliances such as electrical clothes irons, clocks that require connection to house current and other small appliances having a power cord that is an integral part of the device and essential to its operation are often presented for sale on displays where a potential customer can handle them. Apart from the issue of discouraging pilferage of such items it is often difficult to maintain a neat attractive display for devices such as headphones or headsets having long wire connections since after repeated handling by potential customers during the course of the day these wires or cables tend to droop and become entangled creating an unsightly display. Use of a separate security cable and clamping device with such devices can produce an unsightly display and cause entanglement of the long wire signal/power connections integral to such devices with the security cable, thereby discouraging potential customers from examining these devices.

There is a need for a convenient means and method to discourage pilferage of such devices while on public display and available for examination.

There is a need for a convenient means to maintain the long wire connections integral to such devices in a neat attractive display that prevents entanglement while such devices are on public display and available for examination.

There is a further need for any such means to be easily and conveniently usable by a potential customer that wishes to examine and try the item on display.

There is a further need to protect the long wire connections from damage, fraying or degradation when the device is not in use rendering said device unusable.

There is a still further need for such means to be easily and conveniently usable by store personnel who must from time-to-time change the device on display.

Because a potential customer is interested in a demonstration of the qualities of devices such as headphones or headsets there is also a need for the apparatus to provide convenient connection of the long wires or cables that are integral to the device to a signal source or a power source in addition to maintaining these wires in a neat presentable condition.

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a an apparatus for securely displaying, marketing and demonstrating small electronic devices having a long wire connection that is a signal or power cord that is an integral part of the device.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus to maintain the long wire connections that are signal or power cables integral to such small electronic devices in a neat presentable manner while such a device is on public display and available for examination.

It is a still further objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus to prevent entanglement of the long wire connections that are signal or power cables integral to a small electronic device while such a device is on public display and available for examination.

It is also an objective of the present invention that such apparatus be easily and conveniently usable by a potential customer.

Another objective of the present invention is that the aforesaid apparatus be easily and conveniently usable by store personnel who must from time-to-time change the device on display.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a method for securely displaying, marketing and demonstrating small electronic devices having a long wire connection that is a signal or power cord that is an integral part of the device.

Yet a further objective of the present invention is to provide a method to maintain the long wire connections that are signal or power cables integral to such small electronic devices in a neat presentable manner while such a device is on public display and available for examination.

Yet a still further objective of the present invention is to provide a method to prevent entanglement of the long wire connections that are signal or power cables integral to a small electronic device while such a device is on public display and available for examination.

According to the present invention for achieving the objects, there is provided an apparatus for secure display of a portable electronic device wherein the device has an attached electrically conductive cable that is integral to the device and essential to the operation thereof, the device cable having a first end connected to the device and a second end, and an intermediate section, the apparatus comprising: device support means normally supporting the device, means for extending and retracting the device cable, with the extending and retracting means attached to the device support means, means for securing a section of the device cable proximate to the second end thereof to the display apparatus, and the intermediate section being engaged by the cable extending and retracting means, wherein the cable is normally retracted and wherein the extending and retracting means allows the device cable to be extended, thereby permitting a potential customer to move the device to a location remote from the device support means to be examined, and wherein the extending and retracting means retract the device cable when the device is released by the potential customer.

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