Abstract:
A phone case with a retractable headset integrated thereof includes a removable housing, a headset with two earbuds, and a cord for the headset with a pair of free ends and a plug. The housing includes a wire storage slot for the earbud cord, and the wire storage slot includes a spring-loaded reel for automatic retracting of the cord when not used. It further includes an earbud storage slot with an opening at one edge of the housing for storing the earbuds; a plug storage slot with an opening at another edge of the housing for storing the plug close to the headset jack of a mobile phone; and the wire storage slot, earbud storage slot, and plug storage slot are interconnected via said headset cord. A plurality of wheels are positioned inside the case for routing the headset cord through the earbud storage slot, wire storage slot, and plug storage slot. The headset is integrated with the housing with earbuds retractably stored in said earbud storage slot and said headset cord stored in said wire storage slot and plug storage slot.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The inventions disclosed herein generally relate to mobile plume cases. More specifically, they relates to a mobile phone case with an integrated retractable headset, and optionally a rechargeable battery with a matching charge cable. 
     Mobile phones, especially smart phones are the most frequently used consumer electronics nowadays. A headset is often a necessary accessory as the cell phone owner uses it to listen to calls, music or movies stored or streamed to the phone in a quiet and enjoyable fashion. The headset is usually carried separately from the phone itself. For a headset with a cord, it is often a hassle as the wire could become intertwined when put in a bag or the user&#39;s pocket. They are often misplaced as well as people carry the phone around. 
     To solve the intertwining issue with the cord and occasional misplacement problem, some has proposed a headset with retractable and extendable cord. Such a headset rolls the cord around a spring, loaded reel. By pulling the cord from both sides of the reel, it solves the intertwining hassle to some extent. But such a standalone retractable headset has its own problems. The earbuds and plug, cord are typically exposed and prone to scratch the phone when stored together in a bag or pocket. Additionally the storage box for such headset could also scratch the phone. If stored separately from the phone, such a headset is prone to being misplaced or lost. The storage boxes are frequently cumbersome and can make the user&#39;s ears uncomfortable or accidentally pull out the earbud while the headset is in use. Wireless headsets, such as the Bluetooth-enabled headsets, do not have the intertwining cord problem, but their size is generally bigger and prone to being misplaced or lost as well. 
     Others have invented cell phone cases with integrated headset. One is disclosed in U.S. Patent Pub. No. 20010035242 filed by Hughs et al. However, the design in Hughs requires a replaceable storage box on the back of the cell phone case. It essentially attaches a storage box with a retractable headset. Such a design is artistically undesirable and adds additional weight, and makes it less comfortable to carry the phone case. 
     Yet in another design disclosed in U.S. Patent Pub. No. 20130129138 filed by Washington. The headset in Washington is not truly an integral part of the case. The earbuds are hanging out of the case through a hole with the cord attached to a ratcheted reel in the case. Again, it appears to be artistically undesirable and makes the earbuds prone to be scratched or even cut off from the case. 
     In sum, innovative solutions are needed to solve these issues and shortcomings with current designs of retractable or integrated headset for mobile phones. 
     SUMMARY 
     The mobile phone case designs disclosed herein provides a phone case that not only protects the phone from scratches but also fully integrates a headset as part of the case without creating additional structures outside of or attached to the case. It provides a fully integrated case that is artistically desirable and easy to carry with no additional burden to the user. 
     One objective of the present inventions is to provide a phone case with a retractable headset integrated thereof that includes a removable housing, a headset with two earbuds, and a cord for the headset with a pair of free ends and a plug. The housing includes a wire storage slot for the earbud cord, and the wire storage slot includes a spring-loaded reel for automatic retracting, of the cord when not used. It further includes a pair of earbud storage slots with an opening at one edge of the housing for storing the earbuds; a plug storage slot with an opening at another edge of the housing for storing the plug close to the headset jack of a mobile phone; and the wire storage slot, earbud storage slot, and plug storage slot are interconnected via said headset cord. A plurality of wheels are positioned inside the case for retractably routing the headset cord through the earbud storage slot, wire storage slot, and plug storage slot. The headset is integrated with the housing with earbuds retractably stored in said earbud storage slot and said headset cord stored in said wire storage slot and plug storage slot. 
     Another objective of the present inventions is to provide a removable housing having a top and a bottom portion that attach and detach from one another. The wire storage slot is preferably located close to the center intersection between the top and bottom housing portions. And the earbud storage slot is compatible with the shape of the earbud and said plug storage slot is compatible with the shape of the headset plug. 
     Another objective of the present inventions is to provide a pair of earbuds with the left earbud and right earbud detachably hooked together with flat top and bottom surfaces. 
     Another objective of the present inventions is to provide good and lightweight earbuds with a receiver and a base. The base for one of the earbuds is a flat-shaped plate while the base for the other earbud is a flat-shaped frame that matches said plate so that the two bases can be detachably hooked together to form an integrated flat top and bottom surface. 
     Another objective of the present inventions is to provide a cord reel which includes a turntable and coil spring for retracting and releasing the headset cord. The turntable is fixed to the inner surface of said top or bottom portions of the case and said coil spring is fixed to said turntable. The headset cord is wound around said turntable for retracting and releasing, and the coil spring tightens or relaxes as the turntable rotates. 
     A further objective of the present inventions is to provide a turntable that is round-shaped and includes an axial hole with a first shaft wherein said first shaft is fixed perpendicularly to the inner surface of said top or bottom portion of the case. Towards its upper surface, the turntable includes a ball track table that includes a ball track groove and a rolling ball. The turntable further includes an annular ledge on the other surface of said turntable with a coil spring enclosed therein. 
     Yet another objective of the present inventions is to provide an annular ledge that includes a first hole for holding the headset cord, and a second hole located between said annular ledge and ball track table on said turntable. 
     Furthermore, another objective of the present inventions is to provide a case that includes a foldable kickstand attached to the outside surface of said bottom portion of the housing. 
     It is yet another objective of the present inventions to provide a case that also includes a rechargeable battery and die accompanying charging cable. The battery is detachably attached to and stored in the bottom housing portion. The charging cable is connected to the battery at one end and stored in the bottom housing portion. Furthermore, the opposite end of the charging cable ends in a charging adapter for connecting to and recharging the mobile phone. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is the design diagram for the overall structure of one preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  depicts the side view of one preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  depicts the cross-section view from the A-A direction of the side view shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  depicts the cross-section view from the B-B direction of the side view shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  depicts the cross-section view of the spring loaded reel structure for the cord storage slot in one preferred embodiment of the present inventions. 
         FIG. 6  depicts the cross-section view from the D-D direction as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  depicts the cross-section view from the C-C direction as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 8  is the structure diagram of the back portion of one preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is the overall structure diagram of one preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  depicts the cross-section view from the E-E direction as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is the structure diagram of a left earbud of one preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  is the structure diagram of a right earbud of one preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  depicts the overall structure of one preferred embodiment with rechargeable battery and charging cable. 
         FIG. 14  depicts the front view of one preferred embodiment with rechargeable battery and charging cable. 
         FIG. 15  depicts a 3-D view of the front of one preferred embodiment with rechargeable battery and charging cable. 
         FIG. 16  depicts a 3-D view of the overall structure of one preferred embodiment with rechargeable battery and charging cable. 
     
    
    
     The depicted figures include headset  10 , headset cord  11 , a first headset cord  111 , a second headset cord  112 , earbuds  12 , left earbud  121 , left earbud receiver  1211 , left earbud base  1212 , right earbud  122 , right earbud receiver  1221 , right earbud base  1222 , right earbud frame  1223 , right earbud border  1224 , right earbud cord groove  1225 , headset cord plug  13 , wire storage slot  21 , earbud storage slot  22 , cord plug storage slot  23 , spring-loaded reel assembly  30 , turntable  31 , ball track table  311 , ball track groove  312 , rolling ball  313 , annular ledge  314 , coil spring  32 , pullback spring  33 , second support pole  34 , top housing portion  41 , opening for headset cord plug  412 , protruding wall for headset cord plug  413 , protruding wall of wire storage slot  414 , bottom housing portion  42 , back panel  421 , side frame  422 , open holes for camera  413  and  423 , opening for earbud  424 , first support pole  425 , kickstand  43 , rechargeable battery  50 , and charging cable  51 . 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description provides details with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 12 , the mobile phone case disclosed herein includes a top housing portion  41 , bottom housing portion  42 , headset  10  and a spring-loaded reel assembly  30 . 
     The top portion  41  and bottom portion  42  can be attached to form the enclosure for the headset and the retraction assembly. As shown in  FIGS. 4-8 , the top housing portion  41  is a thin panel with a protruding wall structure along, the edges to securely enclose a mobile phone. The protruding wall structure is shaped to fit a mobile phone.  FIG. 4  depicts one preferred embodiment showing a top housing portion with protruding enclosure walls to hold a mobile phone.  FIGS. 1-4  show a back portion of a case that includes a back panel  421  and a side frame  422 . The back panel is about the same size as the top housing portion  41 . The top housing portion can be attached to the bottom housing portion  42  and form the enclosure with the back panel  421 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 8 , there are openings in the top portion of the case  41  and the back panel  421  that correspond to the location of the camera lens in the mobile phone. In this preferred embodiment, the first opening for earbuds  411  is located in the top portion of the housing while the second opening for earbuds  424  is located in the back panel  421 . Both openings match each other in location and are shaped to fit the shape of earbuds  12 . A convex wall is mounted vertically along the edge of the first opening  411  towards the back panel  421 . The thickness of the convex wall is substantially the same as the thickness of the earbuds  12  so the earbuds can be securely inserted and stored. The space formed by enclosing the first opening  412  and second opening  424  makes the headset storage slot  22 . 
       FIG. 1  shows the overall structure of one preferred embodiment. An opening for headset cord plug  412  is typically located, at the bottom of the housing and close to the earplug hole of a mobile phone. The cord plug opening  412  is shaped to match the headset cord plug  13 . A protruding wall  413  is located on the bottom side of the top portion  41  to restrict the cord plug for a more efficient use of the space. The space formed by the protruding wall  413  substantially matches the shape of a cord plug  13  to ensure secure storage. The protruding wall  413  connects with the cord plug opening  412 . When the top housing portion and bottom housing portion are enclosed, the protruding wall  413  and the cord plug opening  412  forms the cord plug storage slot  23 . 
     Similarly, a round-shaped protruding wall  414  is located on the bottom side of the top portion  41 . It is structured to store the spring-loaded reel assembly  30 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , headset  10  includes headset cord  11 , earbuds  12 , and cord plug  13 .  FIGS. 11 and 12  depict one embodiment of the earbuds in more details. Earbuds  12  includes a left earbud  121  and right earbud  122 . The left and right earbuds are detachably hooked together with substantially flat top and bottom surfaces. The left earbud  121  includes a left earbud receiver  1211  and an earbud base  1212  attached to the back of the left earbud receiver  1211 . The right earbud  122  also includes a right earbud receiver  1221  and an earbud base  1222  attached to the back of the right earbud receiver  1221 . In this embodiment, the left earbud base  1212  is a flat-shaped plate while the right earbud base  1222  includes a flat-shaped empty frame  1223  that matches the left earbud base so that the two bases can be detachably hooked to form integrated substantially flat structure, which makes it easier to be stored inside the housing. The right earbud base also includes a border barrier  1224  at the side close to the path of the headset cord. The depth of the border substantially matches the thickness of said left earbud base  1212 . Therefore, the left earbud base  1212  can be snapped into the right earbud base  1222  so that the outer surface of left earbud base  1212  is at the same level as the outer surface of the right earbud base  1222 . The left earbud receiver  1211  and right earbud receiver  1221  are located at the opposite side of the hooked earbuds set. To facilitate the path of the headset cord  11 , the outer surface of the right earbud base  1222  further includes a wire groove  1225 . The wire groove  1225  further extends through the frame  1223  to the left earbud receiver  1211  so that the headset cord  11  remains below the surfaces while going from the left earbud receiver to the headset cord storage slot  21 . 
       FIGS. 1-10  also depict the various aspects of the spring-loaded, reel assembly  30 . It includes a turntable  31  and coil spring  32  for retracting and releasing said headset cord. The turntable  31  is round-shaped and includes an axial hole with a first shaft that is fixed perpendicularly to the inner surface of the top housing portion. It includes a ball track table  311  towards the upper surface of said turntable. A circular ball track groove  312  is located on the other surface of the turntable and includes a rolling ball  313 . The rolling ball  313  contacts the top portion of the housing to prevent turntable  31  from rotating. The ball track groove  312  does not have the same depth throughout the whole track, which leads to the tightening and loosening of the ball  313  depending on the depth. Therefore, the movement of the ball controls the automatic releasing and retracting. 
     The first shaft  425  is fixed perpendicularly to the inner surface of the top or bottom portion of the housing. The turntable further includes an annular ledge  314  on the other surface of said turntable with a coil spring  32  enclosed therein. One end of the coil spring  32  is fixed to first shaft  425  while the other end is linked to the annular ledge  314 . The inner end of coil spring  32  is fixed while the outer end is fixed to the turntable. When the turntable  31  rotates, it tightens or loosens the coil spring  32  and changes the tension thereon. The automatic rewinding of coil spring  32  then leads to the automatic retracting of the headset cord. 
     The annular ledge  314  includes a first hole for said headset cord  11 , and there is a second hole located between said annular ledge and ball track table on the turntable  31 . The headset cord  11  is wound around the outward wall of the annular ledge  314  and the ball track table  311 . The portion of headset cord  11  coming out the earbuds  12  is wound around the annular ledge  314 . For convenience, this portion of the headset cord  11  is called the first headset cord  111 . The portion of the headset cord closest to the cord plug  13  is wound around the outward wall of the ball track table  311 . For convenience, this portion around the ball track table is referred to as the second headset cord  112 . The first headset cord  111  and second headset cord  112  go through said first hole and second hole respectively and form the one single headset cord  11 . 
     In order to retract any extra cord after the headset cord plug  13  is unplugged, there is a coil spring  33  and second support pole  34  inside the headset cord storage  21 . One end of the coil spring  33  is fixed to the back panel  421  while the other end includes a hook for holding the second headset cord  112 . The second support pole  34  is perpendicularly fixed to the back panel  421  and includes a connecting hole extended axially. The top housing portion  41  includes a coupling pole  35 , which corresponds to the support poles. Therefore, the coupling pole  35  will be inserted into the connecting hole when the top housing portion  41  and bottom housing portion  42  are snapped together. 
     In another preferred embodiment, there are two second support poles  34  fixed to the back panel  421 , one of which is close to the border frame  422  of the bottom housing  42 . The other support pole is located at a distance so that the headset cord  112  will come out of the hook and is tightened after going through the two support poles. With the assistance of coil spring  33 , the headset plug  13  can be automatically retracted into the cord plug storage slot  23 . 
     In another preferred embodiment, the outside surface of the back panel  421  includes a foldable kickstand  43 . The kickstand  43  in this implementation is a rectangular shape panel. The back panel  421  includes a matching rectangular empty hole. The kickstand  43  is rotatably linked to the shallow hole. When kickstand  43  is folded into the shallow hole, it forms a flat surface with the back panel  421 . When needed, one could open the kickstand  43  and form an upside down “V” structure with the back panel  421  so the mobile phone can stand upright at an angle to the ground surface. Additionally, the rectangular hole could help release heat of the mobile phone inside the case when the kickstand  43  is in use. In other embodiments, the kickstand  43  could be simply a foldable kickstand without corresponding structured inside the housing. 
     In one preferred embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 5 , when the headset  10  is completely stored inside the case housing, the coil spring  32  exerts some pulling, tension to tighten the headset cord  11  so the headset cord plug  13  and earbuds  12  will conic loose and drop out of the case. When the headset  10  is to be used, the user will pull the earbuds  12 , first headset cord  111  starts pulling and rotates the turntable  31 . The rotation of the turntable  31  will pull the coil spring  32  and increases the tension thereon. When there is no force holding the earbuds, the coil spring  32  will recoil and retract the headset cord. When the outside force rotates the turntable  31 , the second headset cord  112  become loose to make it easier to pull out the cord plug  13  for inserting into the plug hole in the mobile phone. When the cord plug  13  is inserted into the mobile phone, the second headset cord  112  automatically retracts because of the tension from coil spring  33 . Therefore, any extra cord close to the cord plug  13  will be automatically retracted back into the cord plug storage slot  21 . When the earbuds  12  are pulled out for use, its movements and retraction is made possible by the rolling ball  313  between the top housing portion  41  and turntable  31 . When the rolling ball  313  is loose, there is no pulling force on the first headset cord  111 . The automatic retraction of the coil spring  32  causes the turntable  31  to roll in the opposite direction. Therefore, the first headset cord  111  will be automatically rewound back to the annular ledge  314 . When the rolling ball  313  is tightened or fixed, the headset cord is temporarily locked for normal use by the user. 
     Yet in another embodiment of the present inventions, it includes a portable rechargeable battery and the accompanying charging, cable. The battery is detachably located in the bottom housing portion. The charging cable is connected to the battery at one end and stored at a side slot in the bottom housing portion. 
       FIG. 13  shows the back and four side-views of the embodiment where a portable rechargeable battery is attached to the back of the housing. The battery can be attached to the back or stored inside the bottom housing portion. A charging cable is connected to the battery at one end, while the other end is stored in the bottom portion of the housing. 
       FIG. 14  shows the front view of one of the embodiment that includes a rechargeable battery and a charging cable. It also illustrates a preferred location where the plug of the charging cable can be stored.  FIGS. 15 and 16  are the 3-D views of the front and back of this alternative embodiment of the inventions. 
     Although exemplary embodiments of the present inventions have been illustrated in the accompanied drawings and described in the foregoing, detailed description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims.