Phone Holder Design

EDSGN 468
Mini Project
Designer & Author: Edouard Buisson

Problem Statement
Nowadays there are plenty of phone cases and phone holders out there that can be used to lay
back to watch a movie, to listen to music or used as a GPS. However, there aren’t many that can
do all three. Therefore, the focus of this design project was to create a phone holder that is simple
to use and can be used for all the features mentioned above.

Design Ideation Process

At the start of brainstorming process, it was quickly noticed that designing a phone holder that can be
used to listen to music and watch can easily be inscribed into one design idea. It was making the design
compatible for GPS navigation that proved to be more difficult as the positioning of the phone in the
driver’s seat wasn’t necessarily one that could be used for the other capabilities. Eventually, while keeping
the goal of making the product simple to use, the solution trended towards creating a separate part in
which one main part can insert itself. This idea made sense because listening to music and watching videos
can be done anywhere and therefore the design must accommodate for any type of environment or
positioning. On the other hand, GPS navigation is usually done with the device held at one specific position
as it is the best orientation for the driver to see the screen. Because of this, the idea of creating two major
parts became justified as long as the use of both parts remained user friendly.
With this in mind, a list of necessities and goals were made for the product. The product must:

• Allow access to the volume buttons.

• Allow access to the aux jack in case the user would like to listen to audio privately.
• Allow access to the charger port in case the user would like to charge their phone.
• The speakers on the phone must not be covered.
• The non-vehicular use of the product must have the screen tilt back at a 70⁰-65⁰ orientation for
an optimal view for the average person. This takes average user height and device elevation into
consideration.
• The vehicular use of the product must have the screen tilt back at a 75⁰ orientation for an optimal
view from the driver's seat.
• The phone must be stable during use of the GPS.
• The phone must not fall off mount during use of the GPS.
• The assembly of parts should require minimal effort and should be simple to understand.
• The prouct needs to fit on the iPhone 6s (dimensions below).

Figure 1: iPhone 6s Dimensions

Note: iPhone 6s has a thickness of 7.1 mm.

Concepts
A few sketches were made before finalizing on one that reached all of the list of goals above. The following
figures show the preliminary concepts created that led to to the final design concept.

Figure 2: First Design Concept

This first sketch was created with the idea that a square sticky surface or a suction cup would hold up the
product against the windshield of the car and the edge of the mount could be used to hold up the phone
while tilting back on a horizontal surface. With this design, it is important that the mount is angled
perfectly so that the driver has a good view of their phone screen. Because of this, this concept was not
moved forward due to the realization that the angled mount would come into contact with the horizontal
surface while keeping the edge and phone from resting on the horizontal surface with stability.
 Figure 3: Second Design Concept

Secondly, this sketch was created with the attempt of creating two separate parts that can be assembled
for navigating maps. This did not become the final design as an attempt was made to adjust the tilt of the
phone from the phone holder itself once assembled. This led to the final design below as eventually it was
decided to add a slant in the part with the slot (the GPS mount) to achieve the desired tilt.
 Figure 4: Final Design Concept

It can be seen in the last sketch that a third part was created that will be used to ensure that the inserted
phone holder does not come out during a bumpy drive. The third part is a rod and is inserted into a hole
that will go through the slot and the phone holder mount. To ensure that the rod is not lost when
removed, the rod is attached to the GPS mount by a string which is shown in the sketch.
Final Design Drawings

Figure 5: Phone Holder

The iPhone 6s is inserted into the slot with the charger slot pointed to the left.
 Figure 6: GPS Mount

It is important to note that this mount is designed to be placed on a flat surface, preferably on top of the
dashboard or any other flat surface by the windshield. The mount is stuck to the surface thanks to the
sticky surface shown in the bottom view of the drawing. The mount also has a loop on the side on which
to attach the string that is attached to the rod.
 Figure 7: Insert Rod

This rod is used to keep the phone holder stable and from falling out of the GPS mount. It also has a loop
at the top for attaching a string to make sure the rod is not lost when removed.
 Figure 8: GPS Mount Assembly

This is what the product will look like when the phone is used for GPS navigation.

Conclusion
The final product completes all of the goals set from the beginning. Although it would have been better
to find a design that does not require an assembly, the design is still simple enough to operate. Even
though the project provided a variety of limitations, such as ensuring that both the phone holder and GPS
mount gave the phone a desired tilt angle, the product is also small and does not take up any unnecessary
space. The final design should also be able to be 3D printed at Maker Commons due to following
restrictions such as a minimum thickness of 2 mm and maximum weight of 100g.