Abstract:
A mobile phone case. A charging cable or an audio cable, or a combination thereof, can be stored within the mobile phone case and deployed outward as desired. Alternatively, the cable can provide the added utility of mounting, hanging, and tying capabilities for attachment of the mobile phone case onto certain physical objects or the human body. Furthermore, the mobile phone case may provide multiple anchor points to create a rigging system with the cable that forms various suspension configurations for a desired location.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/349,167, filed Jun. 13, 2016, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Portable handheld electronics, such as mobile phones, are widely used in our daily lives. It is well known that mobile phones have components which are easily damaged when the mobile phones drop or suffer impacts. Thus, many people choose to use mobile phone cases to protect their mobile phones. Currently, most of the mobile phone cases merely serve as covers. 
         [0003]    Additionally, with the advent of smart phones, mobile phones now serve as communication and entertainment devices. As such, audio outputs, often using corded headphones or ear buds, are used with phones. Such audio outputs can provide a number of challenges, such as the burden of carrying them, entanglement of cords, or loss of the devices themselves. Further, because mobile phones are used so frequently, issues including battery life depletion and the need to charge the phone&#39;s battery frequently arise. Solving these issues requires an additional cord that must be plugged into the phone as well as a power supply. This introduces another cord which a user would have to carry, which could become entangled or otherwise inconvenience the user, and which is easy to lose. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    Exemplary embodiments described herein generally relate to a mobile phone case and, more specifically, to cable management and utilization functions integrated into the case. The cable can provide the added utility of mounting, hanging, and tying capabilities for attachment of the case onto certain physical objects or the human body. 
         [0005]    Such a mobile phone case may include: a case that covers a portable device; at least one cable that is stored within the case and passes outward through at least one opening of the case; and a plurality of anchor points that are provided on a plurality of outer edges of the case. According to an exemplary embodiment, the first end of the at least one cable is connected to the portable device when the portable device is loaded into the case, at least one of an electricity and an electrical signal is transferred via the at least one cable, and the at least one cable is linked on the plurality of anchor points forming a loop of the at least one cable. Also, in an exemplary embodiment, the cables may be a charging cable or an audio cable, or a combination thereof which can be stored within the mobile phone case and extended outward as desired. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    Advantages of embodiments of the present invention may be apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. The following detailed description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying Figures in which: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a diagram showing a back view of a mobile phone case according to an exemplary embodiment; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a diagram showing a perspective view of internal components of a mobile phone case according to an exemplary embodiment; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a diagram showing a front view of internal components of a mobile phone case according to an exemplary embodiment; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a diagram showing a back view of a mobile phone case according to an exemplary embodiment; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a diagram showing different loop configurations on a mobile phone case according to an exemplary embodiment; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a diagram showing an earphone according to an exemplary embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    Aspects of the present invention are disclosed in the following description and related Figures directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art may recognize that alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the claims. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention may not be described in detail or may be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. 
         [0014]    As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are not limiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood that the described embodiments are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms “embodiments of the invention”, “embodiments” or “invention” do not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation. 
         [0015]    Generally referring to the figures and specification, various exemplary embodiments of a system and apparatus for carrying and protecting a mobile phone may be shown and described. 
         [0016]    In an exemplary embodiment as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a mobile phone case  100  can provide a charging cable  102 . The charging cable  102  can be stored within the mobile phone case  100  and retracted outward through an opening  103  residing at one side of the mobile phone case  100 . The charging cable  102  can be a flat wire, round wire or half-round wire as desired. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the end of the charging cable  102  can be equipped with a male USB connector  114 . The male USB connector  114  can be connected to an electrical outlet adapter to charge the phone covered by the mobile phone case  100 . Alternatively, the male USB connector  114  can be connected to other electronic devices, such as desktop computer, laptop, or the like, to transfer data between the phone covered by the mobile phone case  100  and the other electronic devices. 
         [0017]    In another exemplary embodiment, a carabiner  116  can be provided at the end of the charging cable  102  adjacent to the male USB connector  114 , and may slot into receiving area  118 . The carabiner  116  can be, for example, a metal loop with a spring-loaded gate. It should be appreciated that the carabiner can be implemented with various shapes and locking mechanisms. The carabiner  116  can be used to attach the mobile phone case  100  to anchor points of other objects for the purpose of coupling, hanging or attaching. In order to bear sufficient weight, the charging cable  102  can be engineered to be more durable. For example, the cords can be made of elastic materials such as fiber cores. In a further embodiment, the mobile phone case  100  can have one or more anchor points  120 . The anchor points can be set at any outer edge of the case shell as appropriate. The carabiner  116  may attach to the anchor points strategically for weight distribution and balance, as an example. 
         [0018]    Now the mechanism for storing the charging cable  102  will be discussed with reference to exemplary  FIG. 2 . In an exemplary embodiment, a spool  202  may be arranged approximately at the center of the case  100  on an inner frame  210  that presses onto the phone&#39;s back. The spool  202  can attach to a gear  204 . The gear  204  may join with a gear  106  to act as a winch. The gears  204  and  106  may be also attached to the inner frame  210  on the side not touching the phone. The gear  106  can protrude slightly from the side edge of the case  100  through an opening as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , which may allow the user to spin it for example by sliding back and forth with finger. As a result, the user can easily coil the charging cable  102  onto the spool  202  or uncoil it. In another exemplary embodiment, the gear  106  may have an adjacent ratcheting pawl  104  protruding from the side edge of the case  100  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The ratcheting pawl  104  can be engaged or disengaged manually to allow free spin or controlled tension for slacking or tightening purposes. 
         [0019]    It should be appreciated that the above coiling mechanism is set forth by way of example; any other suitable implementing manner is applicable to the present disclosure. For example, instead of mechanical tensioner, a motorized gear can be used to coil the cable  102 . 
         [0020]    In an exemplary embodiment, the mobile phone case  100  can provide an audio cable  108  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Similar to the charging cable  102 , the audio cable  108  can be stored within the mobile phone case  100  and extended outward through an opening  109  located at the bottom of the mobile phone case  100 . The audio cable  108  can be a flat wire, round wire or half-round wire as desired. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the end of the audio cable  108  can be equipped with a female audio jack connector  122 . The connector  122  can be connected to the user&#39;s headphone or earphone  126  for audio signal transmission. In another exemplary embodiment, a swivel carabiner  124  can be mounted to the connector  122 . The swivel carabiner  124  can attach to an anchor point to prevent the connector from any undesired movement, for example. 
         [0021]    The mechanism for storing the audio cable  108  can be similar to that for the charging cable  114  as discussed above. As illustrated in exemplary  FIG. 2 , a spool  206  can be arranged near the bottom of the case  100  on the inner frame  210 . The spool  206  may be located on the same plane with the spool  202  but may not overlap it. The spool  206  may attach to a gear  208 , and the gear  208  may join with a gear  112  to act as a winch. The gear  112  may protrude slightly from the side edge of the case  100  through an opening as illustrated in exemplary  FIG. 1 , which can allow the user to spin the gear  112  so as to coil the audio cable  108  onto the spool  206  or uncoil it. In another exemplary embodiment, the gear  112  may have an adjacent ratcheting pawl  110 , which can be engaged or disengaged manually to allow free spin or controlled tension for slacking or tightening purposes. 
         [0022]    In a further exemplary embodiment, a camera shutter button can be provided near the end of the charging cable  102 . The shutter button can electronically communicate with the mobile phone housed by the case  100  through the charging cable  102 . Alternatively, the shutter button can wirelessly communicate with the mobile phone, for example, via a Bluetooth network. When the shutter button is pressed, a signal indicating the pressing action is transmitted to the mobile phone, thereby triggering the camera shutter of the mobile phone to take photos. Since the charging cable  102  is scalable, it allows the user to take photos or “selfies” from desired farther distances while the mobile phone is mounted or stationary. Alternatively, the camera shutter button can be set near the end of the audio cable  108 . As such, the shutter button may communicate with the mobile phone through the audio cable  108 , for example. Further, various aspects of the cables, such as carabiners and actuators, may have a combined function of securing the case  100  in a desired fashion as well actuating a camera shutter. 
         [0023]    In another exemplary embodiment, an electrical wall outlet adapter  212  with an USB interface can be included at a hollow section corner of the case  100  as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . It can be detached from the mobile phone case  100  and plugged into an electrical outlet. As such, the USB connector  114  of the case  100  can be connected to the electrical outlet adapter  212  to charge the phone covered by the case  100 . 
         [0024]    In an exemplary embodiment as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the mobile phone case  100  can provide a male audio jack connector  302  and a male charging connector  304  at the bottom or any desired location of the case. The male audio jack connector  302  can be electrically connected with the audio cable  108 . The male charging connector  304  can be electrically connected with the charging cable  102 . When a mobile phone is loaded into the mobile phone case  100 , the male audio jack connector  302  can be coupled with the headset jack of the mobile phone, and the male charging connector  304  can be coupled with the charging port of the mobile phone. Furthermore, the mobile phone case  100  can provide a window  306  on the back of the case to expose the camera lens of the mobile phone. In another exemplary embodiment, additional windows can be provided on the mobile phone case  100  for other functions of the mobile phone, such as a display screen. 
         [0025]    In a further exemplary embodiment as shown in  FIG. 4 , the anchor points  120  at the outer edge of the case  100  also can serve as carabiners. For example, each anchor point may have a concave opening with its own carabiner shaft/gate being spring loaded. By linking the end of the charging cable  102  or the audio cable  108  to any anchor point, a loop is formed which can be used to tie or coil around objects such as arm, neck, waist, chest, etc. Further, different loop configurations can be achieved by combining the cord with multiple anchor points, as shown in exemplary  FIG. 5 . Thus, based on various desired orientations of the charging cable  102  and the audio cable  108  of the case  100 , a user may secure the case  100  to their body or any other location in desired fashions. For example, a user could secure the case  100  around their chest so that a smartphone housed therein could act as a body camera. Alternatively, the case  100  could be secured around the arm or wrist of a user to secure a smart phone while a user is exercising. Additionally, the cables could be utilized to form a lanyard simply to hold the case  100  around an arm, wrist, hand, or neck of a user.  FIG. 5  provides just some of many possible arrangements and orientations of charging cable  102  and audio cable  108  with respect to case  100  that could provide security, convenience or other desired benefits to a user. 
         [0026]    Additionally or alternatively, as the mobile phone provides more value-added functions, such as multimedia playing, the earphones are increasingly used by mobile phone users, for example, to listen to music or to provide audio related to a video being watched. Thus, the convenience of full time access to earphones is a benefit to users. To this end, an exemplary earphone  600  is designed to be used together with the mobile phone case  100  as illustrated in exemplary  FIG. 6 . 
         [0027]    In the exemplary embodiment as shown, the earphone  600  may have a pair of earbuds  602 , which are located at respective one end of a pair of earbud cables  604 . The other ends of the earbud cables  604  may be connected to the male audio jack connector  608  through a volume control base  606 . A loop  612  can be mounted to each of the pair of earbuds  602 . A latch mechanism  610  such as a carabiner can be mounted to the volume control base  606 . The loops  612  can attach to the latch mechanism  610  such that the length of the earbud cables  604  is folded. Alternatively, when the earphone  600  is not used, the earbud cables  604  can combine with the anchor points  102  on the case  100 . In this way, the earphone  600  can be fastened and stowed away efficiently in an orientation that is discrete enough to prevent misplaced bulk or dangling interference of the earbuds with the users. 
         [0028]    The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments, and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. 
         [0029]    Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.