PROTECTIVE COVER FOR A PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE

A protective cover for a portable electronic device includes an enclosure with a front, a back, a top, a bottom, two sides, and an interior region. There is a first opening configured to receive the portable battery pack in the interior region and a receptacle disposed in the interior region adjacent to the back of the enclosure. The back of the enclosure includes a second opening to provide access to the receptacle from the exterior of the enclosure.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a protective cover for portable electronic devices, and more particularly to a flexible protective cover for a portable battery pack.

BACKGROUND

Portable electronic devices have become ubiquitous in modern society. Many of these portable devices must be regularly recharged. Some users who spend long periods of time outdoors and away from wall outlets rely on portable battery packs, sometimes called battery banks, to recharge their electronic devices. Both portable electronic devices generally and the portable battery packs specifically are susceptible to damage from impacts when they are dropped or struck. Thus, there is a need for a protective cover to prevent impact damage to electronic devices including portable battery packs. Additionally, there is often a need to conveniently store cables, including charging cables, headphones, or other items, with the portable electronic devices/battery packs.

SUMMARY OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The benefits and advantages of the present invention over existing systems will be readily apparent from the Summary of the Embodiments and Detailed Description to follow. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present teachings can be practiced with embodiments other than those summarized or disclosed below.

In one aspect, the invention features a protective cover for a portable electronic device comprising an enclosure with a front, a back a top, a bottom, two sides, and an interior region. There is a first opening configured to receive the portable electronic device in the interior region and a receptacle disposed in the interior region adjacent to the back of the enclosure. The back of the enclosure includes a second opening to provide access to the receptacle from the exterior of the enclosure.

In other aspects of the invention, one or more of the following features may be included. The enclosure of the protective cover may be made of a flexible material including silicone, rubber, or plastic. The protective cover may have a third opening configured to provide access to one or both of a charging port and a discharging port on the portable electronic device when it is in the interior region. The receptacle may be configured to store a charging cable. The receptacle may further comprise a raised portion that protrudes outwardly from a portion of an exterior surface on the back of the enclosure. The receptacle may further comprise an interior receptacle wall disposed in the interior region and opposite the raised portion. The interior receptacle wall may include an interior opening enabling access to the receptacle from the interior region. The back of the enclosure may include a fourth opening, providing access to the receptacle, which is smaller than the second opening. The protective cover may further comprise textured grips on each of the two sides of the enclosure.

In further aspects of the invention, one or more of the following features may be included. The portable electronic device may be a battery pack, and the protective cover may further comprise at least one hole configured to enable visibility of at least one light on the battery pack. The protective cover may comprise a plurality of holes configured to enable visibility of a like plurality of indicator lights on the battery pack. The at least one hole may be configured to provide visibility of a flashlight on the battery pack. The protective cover may comprise a textured area, disposed on an exterior surface of the enclosure, configured to be aligned with a button on the electronic device. The enclosure may be made of one or more of leather, carbon fiber, or fabric. The top and bottom of the enclosure may be curved, and the two sides may be flat.

In another aspect, the invention features a protective cover for a portable battery pack comprising: a flexible enclosure with a front, a back, a top, a bottom, two sides, and an interior region; a first opening configured to receive the battery pack; textured grips on the two sides of the flexible enclosure; and a receptacle disposed in the interior region adjacent to the back of the flexible enclosure, wherein the receptacle is defined by an interior receptacle wall disposed in the interior region and a raised portion that protrudes outwardly from a portion of an exterior surface of the back of the flexible enclosure, and wherein the raised portion includes an opening to provide access to the receptacle from the exterior of the flexible enclosure.

These and other features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

The disclosure and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein.

Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the disclosure. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the disclosure may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

While we depict the protective cover herein encasing a portable battery pack this is only an exemplary embodiment and it is not intended to be limiting. The protective cover disclosed and claimed herein may be readily used to enclose various types of portable electronic devices with various form factors and those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concepts and configurations disclosed herein will be readily adaptable to other electronic device types.

FIG.1depicts a frontal view of an embodiment of a protective cover100according to this disclosure for use with an exemplary portable battery pack. The protective cover100may be formed of a variety of materials, but is preferably made of a flexible material such as silicone. Protective cover100has a front side102, which may be called a front side, front face, or front portion interchangeably herein. On the front side102, there may be one or more holes configured to provide visibility to one or more indicator lights on a portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is disposed inside the protective cover100. In this embodiment, four holes104a,104b,104c, and104dare depicted to provide visibility to four, corresponding, indicator lights on a portable battery pack. Such indicator lights may, for example, illuminate in such a way as to indicate the level of remaining charge in the portable battery pack. AlthoughFIG.1depicts holes on the front side102, the holes, when present, may be located on any one or more other surfaces of the protective cover. There may be fewer or more holes, depending on the number of indicator lights on the portable electronic device.

FIG.2depicts a rear side view of protective cover100having a back side202, which may be called a back side, back portion, or back face.FIG.2also partially depicts a receptacle204, formed in the interior region of protective cover100, and depicted and described more fully below. Receptacle204is formed in part by a raised portion206that protrudes outwardly from a portion of the back side202of protective cover100, and an interior receptacle wall210that is opposite the raised portion206and configured to separate the receptacle204from a portable electronic device. The interior receptacle wall210is also seen clearly in the cross-sectional view ofFIG.8. The raised portion206further comprises an interior surface209, which is shown inFIG.8.

As depicted in this embodiment, there is a second opening208in the surface of raised portion206, which is configured to provide access to the receptacle204from the exterior of protective cover100. In addition, there may be a fourth opening212, which may be smaller than the second opening208, and configured to provide access to the receptacle204. The receptacle204may be configured to store charging cables compatible with a portable electronic device. It may also be configured to store other objects, such as wall outlet adapters, credit cards, cash, coins, memory cards, headphones or earbuds, or electronic devices.

FIG.3depicts a top view of protective cover100having a top side302, which may be called a top side, top face, or top portion, and which may further comprise a first opening304, configured to receive a portable electronic device in the interior region of protective cover100. The top side302may have a curved surface, which may be better seen, for example, inFIG.1orFIG.2. The surface of top side302may be a different shape, depending on the shape of the top side of the portable electronic device. The first opening304may be configured to enable visibility of the top side of the portable electronic device for viewing a compass, which may typically be included on a portable battery pack, when the portable battery pack is in the interior region.FIG.3also depicts a top view of raised portion206, which partially defines receptacle204, as described above.

FIG.4depicts a bottom view of protective cover100having a bottom side402, which may be called a bottom side, bottom face, or bottom portion. The bottom side402comprises a third opening404, which may be configured to provide access to one or both of a charging port and a discharging port on a portable electronic device, such as a portable battery pack, when the portable electronic device is in the interior region of the protective cover100. The surface of the bottom side402may be curved, just as the top surface is curved. This may be better seen, for example, inFIG.1orFIG.2. The surface of the bottom side402may be a different shape, depending on the shape of the bottom side of the portable electronic device. The bottom side402may further comprise a hole406configured to enable visibility of a flashlight on a portable electronic device. The hole406, if present, may instead be located on any other face of the protective cover, to correspond with the location of the flashlight.

The bottom side402may further comprise a textured area408, disposed on the exterior surface of the protective cover100, configured to be aligned with a button on a portable electronic device. The textured area408may instead be located on any other face of the protective cover100depending on the location and presence of the button on the portable electronic device.FIG.4also depicts a bottom view of raised portion206, which partially defines receptacle204, as described above.

FIG.5Adepicts a side view of protective cover100. The protective cover100comprises a left side502a, which may be called a left side, left face, or left portion. The left side502amay comprise a textured grip area504a, configured to make holding, by a user, a portable electronic device in the protective cover easier and more comfortable. The left side502amay be substantially straight, as seen inFIG.1andFIG.2, and parallel with right side502bdescribed below with respect toFIG.5B. The left side502amay be shaped differently, depending on the shape of the portable electronic device.FIG.5Aalso depicts a side view of raised portion206, which partially defines receptacle204.FIG.5Aadditionally depicts the textured area408, the first opening304and the third opening404.

FIG.5Bdepicts another side view of protective cover100, a right side502b, which may be called a right side, right face, or right portion, and which may be opposite left side502a. The right side502bmay comprise a textured grip504b, configured to make holding, by a user, a portable electronic device in the protective cover easier and more comfortable. The right side502bmay be substantially straight, as seen inFIG.1andFIG.2, and parallel with left side502a. The right side502bmay be shaped differently, depending on the shape of the portable electronic device.FIG.5Balso depicts a side view of raised portion206, which partially defines receptacle204, and the hole406, the first opening304, as well as the third opening404.

FIG.6depicts a perspective view of the front side, left side, and top side of protective cover100.FIG.6depicts, inter alia, the front side102on which where may be a plurality of holes104a-d. This view also depicts the left side502a, on which there may be the textured grip504aand the first opening304, the interior receptacle wall210, which partially defines receptacle204(not labelled in this figure), the second opening208, and an interior aperture602, which is configured to provide access to the receptacle204from the interior region of protective cover100.

FIG.7depicts a perspective view of the back side, bottom side, and right side of protective cover100.FIG.7depicts, inter alia, the bottom side402, on which there is the third opening404, the hole406, and the textured area408.FIG.7also depicts the right side502b, on which there is the textured grip504b.FIG.7also depicts a perspective view of raised portion206, which partially defines receptacle204, on which there is the second opening208and the fourth opening212.

FIG.8depicts a cross-sectional view of protective cover100including the first opening304, the third opening404, and the hole406.FIG.8also depicts a cross-sectional view of raised portion206, which has the interior surface209which together with interior receptacle wall210, define receptacle204. Receptacle204also comprises second opening208.FIG.8also depicts interior aperture602, which is configured to provide access to the receptacle204from the interior region of protective cover100. The receptacle204may be configured to store charging cables compatible with a portable electronic device. It may also be configured to store other objects, such as wall outlet adapters, credit cards, cash, coins, memory cards, headphones or earbuds, or electronic devices.

FIG.8also depicts an interior grip mold802a, which is an optional feature disposed on the opposite surface of left side502aas textured grip504a, and which is configured to conform to a textured side of the portable electronic device. There may also be an interior grip mold802b(not shown) disposed on the opposite surface of right side502bas textured grip504b.

The protective cover as described above may be composed of one or more of silicone, rubber, plastic, leather, carbon fiber, fabric, or similar materials. Further, it is also contemplated that the protective cover may or may not be flexible. For example, protective cover may be made of silicone and may be configured temporarily deform in order to receive the portable electronic device. In another example, the enclosure may be composed of two or more rigid pieces that operate to connect together around the body of a portable electronic device in order to create a protective case. The portable electronic device may be a portable battery pack.

FIG.9depicts a perspective view of the front, top, and left sides of the protective cover100when a portable battery pack902is inside of it. Inter alia, the portable battery pack902can be seen disposed in the interior of the protective cover100through the first opening304. The portable battery pack902may comprise a compass904(which outline is shown inFIG.9) and a hoop906, which may enable attachment of, for example, a wrist strap or carabiner.

FIG.10depicts a perspective view of the back, bottom, and right sides of the protective cover100when the portable battery pack902is inside of it. Inter alia, the portable battery pack902can be seen disposed in the interior of the protective cover100through the third opening404. The portable battery pack902may comprise a USB flap1002configured to protect the charging and discharging ports on the portable battery pack902and which may make the portable battery pack902waterproof when closed. The portable battery pack902may also comprise a flashlight1004, which may be seen through the hole406.

FIG.11depicts a left side view of the protective cover100when the portable battery pack902is inside of it. Inter alia, the portable battery pack902can be seen disposed in the interior of the protective cover100through the first opening304and the third opening404. The portable battery pack902may comprise the compass904, the hoop906, and the USB flap1002. The protective cover100may also comprise the textured area408disposed to be covering a button (not shown) on the portable battery pack902.