Abstract:
A protector for portable electronic devices is disclosed comprising an embossed, generally X-shaped frame, and including a portfolio-style protective cover having a “kickstand” propping element built into it, the cover also adapted to accommodate the embossed frame.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The development of devices incorporating electronic devices has been explosive over the past decade, resulting in many new genres of battery-powered products such as so-called “smart phones,” electronic readers, and, more recently, the Apple iPad®. All such devices are relatively lightweight and portable, owing to the miniaturization of electronic components and circuitry. One shortcoming of such small scale is that the circuitry is relatively fragile and so subject to damage by, for example, impact with a hard surface caused by dropping and/or exposure to moisture. There is therefore a need in the art for protection of such devices from such damage. This need is met by the present invention. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    According to the present invention, there is provided an improved protector for portable electronic devices that has a number of unique and useful features that protect such devices from damage and provide support for operating such devices from a desktop or similar flat surface. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0003]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of an exemplary cover of the invention opened to receive an electronic device P such as an Apple iPad®. 
           [0004]      FIG. 2  is a sectional taken through the plane  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0005]      FIG. 3  is a top perspective view of the outside of the cover shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0006]      FIG. 4  is a top perspective view of the cover of  FIG. 1  with the electronic device P inserted into the cover and the top of the cover partially open. 
           [0007]      FIG. 5  is a top perspective view of the cover of  FIG. 1  closed and secured over the electronic device. 
           [0008]      FIG. 6  is a top perspective view of the cover of  FIG. 1  with the electronic device P inserted into the cover and the top of the cover folded back and secured to the bottom of the cover. 
           [0009]      FIG. 7  is a bottom perspective view of the arrangement shown in  FIG. 6  illustrating the utility of a hand strap secured to the inside of the top of the cover. 
           [0010]      FIG. 8  is a top perspective view of the cover of  FIG. 1  with the electronic device P inserted into the cover and the top folded back on itself to tuck into a flap on the outside of the bottom of the cover, so as to create a stand for the electronic device P. 
           [0011]      FIG. 9  is a top perspective view of another embodiment of the invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 10  is a top perspective view of another embodiment of the invention shown attached to the back side of electronic device P (shown in phantom). 
           [0013]      FIGS. 11-13  are partial perspective views of the back side of the four-legged frame of the invention showing its improved structure. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 14-15  are perspective views of lugs  24  providing access to a portable electronic device having, e.g., a port for a jack or an on/off switch. 
           [0015]      FIGS. 16-19  are various perspective views illustrating an additional built-in “kickstand” feature whereby an electronic device P incorporated into the protective cover of the invention may be propped up and supported at various angles relative to a tabletop or the like for ease in viewing the device&#39;s screen. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]    Referring to the drawings, wherein the same numerals generally refer to the same elements, there is shown a cover  1  designed to accept an electronic device P, the cover comprising a foldable portfolio  10  having a top  10   a,  a bottom  10   b,  and a spine  10   c.  The top  10   a  and bottom  10   b  preferably comprise a three-ply lamination of a soft layer  11  such as felt on the inside of the portfolio that is in contact with the electronic device P, a durable outside layer  12  such as leather, and a stiff middle layer  13  to provide structural support to the top and bottom of the cover. Spine  10   c  preferably comprises only two plies  11  and  12  so as to maintain flexibility on opening and closing. Portfolio  10  is preferably provided with longitudinal creases  14 ,  15  and  16  to further facilitate flexing, with crease  16  being created by a discontinuity in middle layer  13 . 
         [0017]    A prominent feature of cover  1  is a four-legged frame that may be in a variety of configurations such as in an O-shape  20  as seen in  FIG. 1 , an X-shape  30  as seen in  FIG. 9 , or a webbed X-shape  40  as seen in  FIG. 10 . With respect to the frames  20 ,  30  and  40  it should be understood that the same may be used free standing alone independently of any cover or portfolio, or may be incorporated into a cover or portfolio by securing the same to, for example, a bottom  10   b,  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 9 . 
         [0018]    Frame  20 ,  30  or  40  is provided with four legs  22  integral with the frame extending radially outwardly and oriented in an X-shaped configuration relative to each other. Legs  22  terminate in four resilient lugs  24  with two pairs of lugs diametrically opposed to each other, the lugs being in an arcuate shape so as to capture the four corners of electronic device P. A preferred material for lugs  24  is silicone rubber. When frame  20 ,  30  or  40  is secured to a cover such as shown in  FIG. 1 , lugs  24  hold device P securely in place against bottom  10   b.  Lugs  24  also serve to absorb shock in the event the electronic device P is struck or dropped onto a hard surface, whether frame  20 ,  30  or  40  is incorporated into a portfolio or not. 
         [0019]    Top  10   a  is preferably provided at its corners with reversible elastic straps  40  that may be secured to bottom  10   b  at corresponding corners to secure cover  1  in a closed or open position, best seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , respectively. Preferably such reversible straps  40  are attached to bottom  10   b  by sewing their ends between layers  11  and  12 . Top  10   a  is further provided with an elastic handle strap  30  on its inside surface  11 , which may be deployed by the user to maintain a secure grip on the cover and device P so as to decrease the likelihood of dropping the same. 
         [0020]    Bottom  10   b  is preferably provided with a flap  50  designed to capture the outside edge of top  10   a  when the same is folded back on itself along crease  16  at an angle θ of about 90° so as to create an easel or stand for the entire arrangement, best seen in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0021]    Frame  20 ,  30  or  40  may also be secured to a resilient backing (not shown), such as silicone rubber, by, e.g., gluing or lamination, which combination may in turn be secured to a cover or portfolio. 
         [0022]    The preferred manufacturing technique of frame  20 ,  30  or  40  is injection molding of thermoplastic polymers, with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) most preferred. Such a technique has been discovered to have inherent drawbacks caused by uneven flow of the molten polymer, chief among which are flow line marks, corner deformations, discontinuities and warping, causing an average rejection or failure rate of about 20%. The inventors have discovered an improvement in the manufacturing process that results in a substantial improvement in the failure rate, on the order of 75%, which at the same time imparts a substantial improvement in tensile strength to the frame  20 ,  30  or  40 , which in turn provides greater protection for the portable electronic device when the frame is applied to the device. 
         [0023]    The improvement lies in the discovery that superimposition of an embossed grid pattern on one or both sides of frame  20 ,  30  or  40  both reduces failure rate and imparts much greater tensile strength to the frame, which leads to greater protection of the portable electronic device. 
         [0024]    The embossed grid pattern may be multiples of virtually any regular geometric shape, such as a polygon, triangle, circle or rectangle as illustrated in  FIGS. 11-13 , and is preferably imparted to the frame by injection molding. Specifically, an injection mold is cast of high temperature material such as steel having multiples of the selected geometric shape in relief, resulting in a raised design from about 0.3 to about 0.6, preferably about 0.5 mm. The grid pattern may be cut into the mold by conventional tooling, by laser or by etching, preferably by etching. The thermoplastic polymer for the frame is then simply heated to its melting point and injected into the injection mold by conventional injection molding techniques, cooled to its set point, and removed from the mold. 
         [0025]    A lot of 30 frames  20  were made according to the above procedure with TPU and having a honeycomb-like grid embossed on their back sides comprising multiple hexagons, each approximately 0.5 mm high and 5 mm wide. The failure rate was reduced to 5%, an improvement of approximately 75% from the failure rate norm of about 20%. Several frames from this lot were selected at random, sewn onto portfolios  10  fitted to Apple iPads®, and subjected to the standard Transit Drop Test (MIL-STD-810G, Method 516.6, Procedure VI). The parameters and protocol for this test were as follows: the drop surface was concrete with a 1/2″ steel plate over the concrete and 2″ thick plywood over the steel plate; three series of 10 drops each were conducted from heights of 4, 5 and 6 feet; each series of 10 drops was onto the four corners, four edges and both faces of the combined folio/iPad®; following each of the 30 drops, the device was inspected and its function checked by booting up a Windows® software program. The results after all drops were that the device retained its function and the device&#39;s screen did not break or crack, but the device&#39;s corners had scratches in the paint and minor dents after the 6 foot drops. 
         [0026]    Referring to  FIGS. 11-15 , an additional improvement in the design of frame  20 ,  30  or  40  is one or more access ports in lugs  24 , comprising either an aperture  60  or  61  in lug  24 , or a discontinuity to form a split or claw-like lug  62 , that permits access to a portable electronic device having, for example, port(s) for jack(s) and/or an on/off switch. It is to be understood that this includes the frame being provided with at least any of one or two apertures  60  or  61 ; one or two claw-like lugs  62 ; or one aperture  60  or  61  and one claw-like lug  62 . 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIGS. 16-19 , there is shown in  FIG. 16  another embodiment of the invention in perspective from the bottom, the bottom  10   b  being provided with a foldable crease  70  to create a hinge whereby the bottom may be hinged backward sufficiently to allow leading edge  10   d  of bottom  10   b  to “kick out” and come into contact with the inside of top  10   a,  preferably with any of a series of longitudinal grooves  80  that serve to prevent slippage.  FIG. 17  is a plan perspective view of the cover shown in  FIG. 16 , with the cover open and securing an electronic device P, with the arrows showing the direction in which bottom  10   b  is moved upwardly toward a closed position of the cover, while at the same time leading edge  10   d  is moved outwardly as a door would be opened.  FIG. 18  is a front perspective view showing the cover fully opened to a supported “kickstand” position, with leading edge  10   d  of bottom  10   b  engaging one of a set of grooves  80 .  FIG. 19  is a back perspective view of the same configuration of the cover shown in  FIG. 18 . 
         [0028]    Thus, the protector of the invention may be secured to any of a wide variety of portable, generally rectangular electronic devices, including, without limitation, “smart phones,” e-readers, e-planners, e-calendars, and e-tablets such as the Apple iPad® to protect the device while maintaining easy access to the device by the user. 
         [0029]    The terms and expressions which have been employed in this specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions to exclude equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.