Abstract:
The protective casing for portable handheld electronic devices comprises an inner casing snugly covering a back and edges of the electronic device, and an outer frame placed around the edges of the electronic device for tightly pressing part of the inner casing against the edges of the electronic device. The resultant protective casing is of improved protective characteristics, durability, convenience of use, and functionalities without compromising aesthetics.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention generally relates to a protective casing for portable handheld electronic devices. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    To protect portable handheld electronic devices, such as the Apple iPhone, personal digital assistant (PDA), digital media players, digital recorders, potable TV, handheld computers, etc., protective casings have been proposed. Such protective casings may protect the electronic devices from physical abuse or risks of damages. However, the conventional protective casings increase significant overall bulk and weight, and could deteriorate or damage the delicate finish of the electronic devices. The existing protective casings also do not balance between the protection, functionalities and aesthetics. For example, there exists an all-silicon soft casing that wraps the entire device housing except the screen. However, such casing is not aesthetically appealing. Aesthetically appealing casings typically offer less protection. Further, modern handheld devices require user interactions with the devices via various interfaces (e.g., screens, buttons, sockets, etc.), the access to which could be hindered by the structure of the existing protective casings. 
         [0003]    Therefore, it is desirable to have a protective casing with improved protection characteristics, durability, convenience of use, and functionalities without compromising aesthetics. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    To overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention mainly aims to provide a protective casing for portable handheld devices with improved protective characteristics, durability, convenience of use, and functionalities without compromising aesthetics. 
         [0005]    The protective casing in accordance with the present invention comprises an inner casing snugly covering a back and edges of the electronic device, and an outer frame placed around the edges of the electronic device for tightly pressing part of the inner casing against the edges of the electronic device. 
         [0006]    In an embodiment, the inner casing may comprise a substrate and an endless sidewall extending upwards from the substrate in which the height of the sidewall is the same as or slightly larger than the thickness of the electronic device, while the outer frame may be shaped and structured as a ring in which the height of the outer frame is the same as or slightly larger than the thickness of the electronic device. 
         [0007]    Preferably, upper and lower edges of the outer frame may slightly extend inward towards an inner of the outer frame comparing to a middle part of the outer frame, and a flange may formed around the endless sidewall of the inner casing at a lower side of the latter. In addition, a crocodile skin-like texture may be formed on an outer surface of the substrate of the inner casing. 
         [0008]    Furthermore, the inner casing and the outer frame may be provided with matching openings for external access to buttons, switches and ports on the electronic device, and the protective casing may further comprise a plurality of plugs for inserting into the matching openings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which, 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a protective casing for portable handheld electronic devices according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the protective casing shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the protective casing shown in  FIG. 1  together with a plug. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention, which is illustrated in the accompanying figures. 
         [0014]    The protective casing of the present invention may be sized and structured to protect a portable handheld electronic device, typically with a display screen (e.g., liquid crystal display), for example: personal digital assistant (PDA) and handheld computers; digital media devices, such as an MP3 player, digital recorder, portable TV, radio, etc.; wireless devices, such as a cellular phone (e.g., Apple iPhone), two-way radio, etc.; handheld devices, such as global positioning system (GPS), etc.; gaming devices, such as portable versions of computer gaming (Nintendo, Sony PlayStation), etc.; digital photo and video cameras, etc. 
         [0015]      FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate an embodiment of the protective casing according to the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the protective casing  1  of the present invention may comprise an inner casing  11  wrapping a back and sides of an electronic device  2  and outer frame  12  pressing part of the inner casing  11  against the sides of the electronic device  2 . In the embodiment, the electronic device  2  is in the form of an Apple iPhone. However, as mentioned above, the protective casing could be sized and structured to protect any suitable portable handheld electronic devices. 
         [0016]    The inner casing  11  may comprise a substrate  13  and an endless sidewall  14  extending upwards from the substrate  13 , in which the height of the sidewall  14  is the same as or slightly larger than the thickness of the electronic device  2 . Thus, the inner casing  11  could snugly cover the entire back panel and the sides of the electronic device  2 , but leaves a front panel, i.e. the screen of the electronic device open for viewing. 
         [0017]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the outer frame  12  is shaped and structured like a ring, and the height thereof is the same as or slightly larger than the thickness of the electronic device  2 . When placed around the sides of the electronic device  2 , the outer frame  12  could press the endless sidewall  14  of the inner casing  11  tightly against the sides of the electronic device  2 , just like a clip to hold the inner casing  11  onto the electronic device  2  securely. As it could act as a shield to protect all vulnerable points of the electronic devices, the combination of the inner casing  11  and the outer frame  12  may provide sufficient protection to the electronic device  2 . Furthermore, the outer frame  12  may work together with the inner casing  11  to provide shock absorption to the electronic device  2  upon impact. 
         [0018]    Preferably, comparing to a middle part  16  of the ring, upper and lower edges  17  of the outer frame  12  may slightly extend inward towards an inner of the outer frame  12 . With such configuration, the pressure of the outer frame  12  on the endless sidewall  14  of the inner casing  11  could be much higher, and the inner casing  11  could thus be pressed against the electronic device  2  more securely. 
         [0019]    Preferably, a flange  15  may be formed around the endless sidewall  14  of the inner casing  11  at a lower side of the latter. When pressing onto the sidewall  14  of the inner casing  11 , the outer frame  12  could therefore rest on the flange  15  to avoid slipping off from the inner casing  11 . 
         [0020]    As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the inner casing  11  and the outer frame  16  could be provided with matching openings  18  for external access to buttons, switches and ports on the electronic device  2 , for instance, headphone jack, charging port, docking port, on/off switch, scroll button, opening for camera, etc. 
         [0021]    In addition, an adhesive static membrane could be attached to the front screen of the electronic device  2  to protect the screen of the device. Any suitable membranes available in the market could be used, and the details of which are omitted here. 
         [0022]    The inner casing  11  may be made of a semi-soft polymer, such as silicon, soft rubber or the like flexible, soft and pliant material, for example, Engage 8200 Polyolefin Elastomer, available from DOW Plastics. The outer frame  12  may be made of polycarbonate (e.g., available under common commercial name of LEXAN®), or other material that is hard and stiff but provides some flexibility for slight bending to clip the inner casing  11  onto the electronic device  2 . 
         [0023]    The inner casing  11  and/or the outer frame  12  may be available in different colors, textures, finishes, materials, etc. As an example shown in  FIG. 2 , a crocodile skin-like texture may be formed on an outer surface  19  of the substrate  13  of the inner casing  11  for offering additional grip when holding the electronic device  2 . 
         [0024]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the protective casing  1  could be further provided with a plurality of plugs  3 . The plugs  3  could be inserted into the matching openings  18  formed on the inner casing  11  and outer frame  12 , to further protect the buttons, switches and ports on the electronic device  2  from physical abuse or damages. 
         [0025]    Although the description of the present invention is made with reference to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Various modifications and changes can be made to the invention by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scopes of the present invention.