Abstract:
A method and apparatus is disclosed for the customization of electronic equipment of which portable audio players, portable disc players, portable digital games and laptop computers are representative. The electronic equipment may be fitted with a substantially transparent faceplate that may cover removable inserts. These inserts may be customizable to provide unique decorative appearances to the electronic equipment upon which they may be fitted. Decorative designs may either be preprinted on the inserts or a user may produce a customized design.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 10/044,613, filed Jan. 11, 2002. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     This invention relates to the field of portable electronic.  
         [0003]     Today electronic devices are ubiquitous. Cell phones, portable disc players and the like can be seen daily in most public places such as on the beach and in shopping malls. Many families own multiple portable devices and not infrequently have a number of the same make and model units. For example, the husband and wife may each have the same cell phone model. The children may each have similar looking portable disc players.  
         [0004]     In addition, many of the devices look similar even if they are from different manufactures. For example, many of the portable disc players are manufactured from dark colored plastic and are generally square shaped. Many portable phones have a similar shape. This similarity of devices can and often does lead to confusion. The husband will take the wrong phone or the children will argue over who owns a particular disc player. There is therefore a need to be able to distinguish one device from another similar device.  
         [0005]     There is also a need to distinguish a particular portable device for promotional or other purposes. For example, cellular service providers may desire to put their logos on the phones they provide to customers. A museum may wish to uniquely identify the tape players they rent to patrons.  
         [0006]     Therefore a need exists for a way to change the look of electronic equipment to aid in identifying a particular unit from other similar units and to allow a user to give their unit a unique look. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of a cell phone incorporating a replaceable insert and a substantially transparent faceplate in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of a cell phone base with the faceplate removed in one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is an isometric view of a replaceable insert having an ornamental design in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is an isometric view of a substantially transparent faceplate in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 5  is an isometric view of a digital audio player in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 6  is an exploded view of the digital audio player illustrated in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0013]      FIGS. 7-9  are plan views of a digital audio player having three different ornamental designs printed on the replaceable insert in one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 10  is an isometric view of a laptop computer incorporating a replaceable insert and a substantially transparent faceplate in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 11  is an isometric view of a base section of the top lid of the laptop computer in one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 12  is an isometric view of a replaceable insert in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention having an ornamental design thereon;  
         [0017]      FIG. 13  is an isometric view of a substantially transparent faceplate for the laptop computer in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 14  is a plan view of a handheld digital game incorporating a replaceable faceplate and a substantially transparent faceplate in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 15  is a plan view of a base section of the handheld digital game in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 16  is a plan view of a replaceable insert in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention having an ornamental design thereon; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 17  is a plan view of a substantially transparent faceplate for the handheld digital game in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0022]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a portable cell phone  101  may display, in some embodiments, an ornamental design  103  that may be easily changed and customized by a user of the phone  101 .  
         [0023]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a base section  201  of the cell phone  101  may, in some embodiments, include a plurality of operational controls of which  203 ,  205  and  207  may be representative. The base section  201  may also include a display  209  that may display the phone number being called and other operational data.  
         [0024]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , in some embodiments, an insert  301  may incorporate a plurality of apertures of which  303 ,  305 ,  307  and  309  are representative. Apertures  303 ,  305  and  307  may be designed to allow the operational controls  203 ,  205 , and  207  to be accessed from the front panel of the cell phone  101 . Aperture  309  may allow the replaceable insert  301  to fit over the display  209  such that the display  209  is generally unobstructed.  
         [0025]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , in some embodiments, a faceplate  401  maybe designed to be affixed to the base section  201 . In one embodiment of the present invention, the faceplate  401  may be manufactured of a material that is substantially transparent such as a clear plastic or other materials.  
         [0026]     The cell phone  101  may be constructed such that the replaceable insert  301  may be sandwiched between the base section  201  and the inside of the faceplate  401 . As the faceplate  401  is substantially transparent, any ornamental design on the replaceable insert  301  may be viewable through the faceplate  401 . The replaceable insert  301  may be constructed of any material that is advantageous for the printing technology used to print an ornamental design thereon.  
         [0027]     For example, in some embodiments, a paper material may be used if an ink-jet or photocopy process is utilized to print a design on the insert  301 . The paper may be fed into a printer or copier as a normal sheet of paper would. After the image has been transferred to the insert  301 , the insert  301  may be formed to the size required and placed between the faceplate  401  and the base section  201 . To assist in the printing process, the insert may be integrated into a full sheet of 8.5″ by 11″ paper with punch out tabs to assist in separating the insert  301  from the remainder of the paper.  
         [0028]     Many of the well known graphics programs which run on home or office computers may be used to design and print a desired image on the insert  301 . Alternatively, specialized programs may be designed and made available to those wishing to make custom inserts. The printing may be conveniently performed by using a home or office printer that utilizes an ink-jet, laser or other technology.  
         [0029]     For mass produced designs, in addition to paper based materials, Mylar or other materials may be utilized to fabricate the insert should a printing technology such as silk screening or other large scale printing processes be utilized.  
         [0030]     Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in  FIG. 5 . In  FIG. 5 , a digital audio player  501  includes a faceplate  503  and a base  505 . The faceplate  503  may be manufactured such that a viewing section  507  of the faceplate  503  is substantially transparent. A display  509  may be visible through the faceplate  503  as is a top surface  511  located under the faceplate  503 . The faceplate  503  may cover substantially the entire top surface  511  of the base  505 .  
         [0031]     A “digital audio player” as used herein is an electronic device in which audio is stored digitally in non-volatile memory and converted to an analog signal for playback. Examples of non-volatile memory are solid state memory or digital audio tape.  
         [0032]     In one embodiment of the present invention illustrated in  FIG. 6 , an insert  601  may fit between the top surface  511  and the underside of the faceplate  503 . Insert  601  may include a display aperture  603  that may permit the display  509  to be viewed once the insert  601  is positioned on the top surface  511 . In one embodiment, the player  501  may be constructed such that when the faceplate  503  is affixed to the base  505 , the insert  601  may be visible through the viewing section  507 .  
         [0033]     The insert  601  may be manufactured of any convenient material but may be advantageously manufactured of a material such as paper which may retain an image when printed on by an ink jet, laser or other printer, or copied onto by a photocopier or other image transfer device. In this way, an image on the insert  601  may be visible to a user through the viewing section  507 .  
         [0034]     In some embodiments, insert  601  may be provided by the manufacturer of the digital audio player  501  with an image already printed on it or the user may be provided with blank inserts. The user may use a graphics software program to create a fanciful design, which may then be printed or copied onto a blank insert. To replace the insert  601 , the faceplate  503  may be removed from the base  505  and a new insert substituted for the old insert  601 . The faceplate  503  may then be affixed again to the base  505 . In this manner a user may customize the appearance of the digital audio player  501  and change that appearance at any time.  
         [0035]     Referring to  FIGS. 7 , in some embodiments, the insert  601  may have a pattern that may appear as rows of circles. In other embodiments the insert  601  may have a pattern that may resemble a network of interconnected beams ( FIG. 8 ) and in still other embodiments, the insert  601  the image of a series of stars may be printed on the insert  601  ( FIG. 9 ).  
         [0036]     Referring to  FIG. 10 , in some embodiments, a laptop computer  1001  may include a display housing  1003  on top of which an ornamental design  1005  may be visible.  
         [0037]      FIGS. 11-13  illustrate an exploded view of the laptop computer of  FIG. 10 . Referring to  FIG. 11 , a base section  1101  of the display housing  1003  may incorporate an insert retention feature  1103  according to some embodiments.  
         [0038]     A replaceable insert  1201  ( FIG. 12 ) in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention may be constructed such that it fits within the insert retention feature  1103  on the base section  1101 . An ornamental design  1203  may be printed on the replaceable insert  1201 .  
         [0039]     Referring to  FIG. 13 , a faceplate  1301 , in one embodiment, may be designed to fit on top of the base section  1101  and be retained thereon. To permit viewing the replaceable insert  1201 , the faceplate  1301  may be advantageously constructed of a substantially transparent material in some embodiments.  
         [0040]     As in the other embodiments, the replaceable insert  1201  may be sandwiched between the base section  1101  and the inside of the faceplate  1301 . As the faceplate may be generally transparent, any ornamental design such as  1203  on the replaceable insert  1201  may be visible through the faceplate  1301 . By changing the replaceable insert  1201  with another insert having a different ornamental design, the appearance of the laptop computer  1001  may be customized.  
         [0041]     Referring to  FIG. 14 , in accordance with another embodiment, a handheld digital game  1401  may include a display  1403  and game controls of which  1405  may be representative.  
         [0042]     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 15-17 , the handheld digital game  1401  may include a base section  1501  upon which the display  1403  and game control  1405  are located in one embodiment. Additionally, in some embodiments, a replaceable insert  1601  may be provided that may have cutout areas  1603  and  1605  designed to fit over the display  1403  and game control  1405  respectively. The insert  1601  may also have an ornamental design  1607  thereon.  
         [0043]     Referring to  FIG. 17 a  faceplate  1701  for the digital game  1401  may include an opening  1703  to allow access to the game control  1405  and may be constructed of a substantially transparent material.  
         [0044]     In some embodiments, the digital game  1401  may be designed such that the replaceable insert  1601  may be sandwiched between the base section  1501  and the inside of the faceplate  1701 . The faceplate  1701  may be designed to be affixed to the base section  1501 . In this manner, the ornamental design  1601  on the replaceable insert  1601  may be visible through the faceplate  1701 . As with the prior described embodiments, by changing the replaceable insert  1601 , the appearance of the digital game  1401  may be customized.  
         [0045]     In all of the above described embodiments, the faceplate and ornamental insert combination cover a substantial portion of a surface of an electronic device to provide the electronic device with a unique appearance that may be easily changed. By changing the ornamental insert, a large number of unique appearances may be achieved.  
         [0046]     While the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of this present invention.