The hand that developed the cradle

A small UK-based engineering firm has solved a problem for an electronics manufacturer by developing a dash mount cradle for its latest hand held PC. Dean Palmer reports Eureka reader Matthew Hatton and his engineering company HPS has developed a novel, but practical, vehicle dashboard-mounted cradle for Panasonic's latest hand held PC, beating off competition from other countries around the world. The design is currently patent-pending. The Panasonic CF-P1 toughbook is a well-known, ruggedised mobile data device which can be both GPS and GPRS (wireless data) enabled. However, as Hatton explained to Eureka, since launching the hand held PC, there has never been a vehicle mounting cradle available from the manufacturer. "I work part time for a local Police Force who required a vehicle dash mounted solution for the P1 device, so I set about working on a design solution at HPS." Using its engineering design know-how, HPS developed a compact, practical cradle with a unique design, that enables the device to be swiftly attached to, and released from, the cradle using one hand and in one motion. The cradle also provides connections for charging the hand held PC's battery, an external vehicle antenna and a USB compact keyboard. According to Hatton, there were several design challenges that HPS had to overcome. He explained: "We were instructed that the device's hand strap and stylus cord, which are anchored to the back of the P1, must be left in place and so would have to be accommodated by the cradle. Also, the circular external RF connector socket provided in the base of the device is set well back inside its case. And the P1 has a multi-contact close pitch facility and accessory connector at its base, which must be precisely aligned with its mating half [in the cradle] if damage is to be avoided." HPS' finished design also had to cope with the P1's case, which is shaped as a series of curved surfaces that make it comfortable to hold in the hand, but as Hatton remarked, "created all sorts of problems for attaching and holding in a cradle or carriage."