Abstract:
A protective ergonomic case for a device, such as a smartphone, a tablet, etc. is provided that includes a bottom surface with a valley sized and shaped to receive one or two fingers of a user. The fingers in the valley provide support for the case and the device while the device is operated by the user with his other hand.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A. Field of Invention 
     This invention pertains to a case for a hand-held device with indentations in the back to provide balance and stability to facilitate holding and using the hand-held device in one hand. The case can be molded in one piece and can optionally include a backup battery and/or other accessories. Alternatively, the device can provide similar functionality and utility by attaching (adhering) the appliance directly to the back side of the device without employing an add on case. 
     B. Description of the Prior Art 
     Hand-held devices, such as cell phones, smart phones, digital and smart pad devices and calculators, and so on have become prevalent all over the world recently to the point that hardly anyone walks around nowadays without one. Originally, these devices, especially cell phones, where relatively thick, heavy and narrow devices similar to the receivers for the old, wired telephones. These devices fit easily and very solidly in the hand of a person. 
     Then, devices were developed with bigger and bigger screens and more and more functionalities. These later devices were fairly flat; however as long as their screens did not exceed approximately 4-4.5 inches, they were still manageable and a person could still hold or cradle them in one hand and operate the devices&#39; keys and navigate the screen functionality either using the thumb on the single hand that is holding the device, or utilizing two thumbs and other fingers of both hands, while holding the device in one or both hands. 
     However, recently new types of smart cell phones, tablets, phablets, and other larger than previously available smart electronic devices have been developed that can have screens ranging from 4.5 to 6.5 inches and more. Such devices are presently available from Apple, Inc., Samsung, etc. These devices are typically very thin, long and wide. In fact they are now wide enough so that they are somewhat difficult to hold or cradle in one hand, either operating the device with the other hand or especially if one has to operate the device with the same hand in which it is being held or cradled, for example, by pushing various real or virtual buttons, or performing swiping motions on the screen. 
     The inventor has found in most situations, holding the cell phone or other device steadily becomes a difficult proposition and that operating the device with the same or other hand frequently causes the user to move the cell phone around and, eventually he/she may drop it altogether, breaking the device, interrupting the activity in which the user was engaged (for example, dialing, searching, navigating, texting, responding to e mail, or other similar activities). This problem is endemic for all types of devices, including tablets, calculators, etc. 
     While cases for cell phones have been made previously in various shapes and form, generally these cases are made to follow the respective contours of the device and are made with thin walls to insure that they do not take too much space, or are not too bulky, often adding protection to the device; but not improving the balance, and ability to cradle the phone in a single hand securely while utilizing real or virtual buttons on the face of the device, or while navigating the display. The primary purpose of these cases is to protect the electronic device and not to assist in the operation of the device itself. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, there is a need in the field for a case that can be provided to protect a respective device and at the same time facilitates its use; or for instance that can be attached to the back side of a device to improve the ability to hold or cradle the device while using it with one or both hands. 
     Briefly, a case constructed in accordance with this invention includes: 
     a sidewall configured to at least partially engage and hold the device; and 
     a bottom wall having a valley sized and shaped to receive at least one finger of the user to support the case while the device is being operated by fingers of the same or other hand. 
     The valley is shaped and positioned along the outside of the bottom wall of the case (obverse side of the device) so that when it rests and is cradled on the fingers of one hand, the thumb of the same hand, or the other hand, can be used to operate the device while the device and case are stabilized and supported by the fingers. Thus the user can operate the now better balanced device without fear that the case and the device will slip off his hand and drop to the floor and break. 
     In one embodiment, an appropriate valley is formed on a flat member that is then attached either directly to the device or the bottom of a case. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a plan view of the bottom wall of a case constructed in accordance with this invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a side view of the case of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  shows a plan view of the bottom wall of an alternate embodiment and 
         FIG. 4  shows a side view of the alternate embodiment of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a case  10  constructed in accordance with this invention, includes a body  12  having sidewalls  14  and a bottom wall  16  forming a cavity for housing a certain electronic device. The device maybe a cell phone, such as an Iphone 6 or an iphone 6 Plus, a Samsung 4, a tablet, a calculator, or any other hand held device that requires one to do an operation on the face of the device or on a keyboard or virtual keyboard on the face of the device and so on. The case  10  may also have a front portion (not shown) for covering and protecting all or part of the front surface of the device. In addition, the sidewalls  14  may be provided with cutouts  18 , buttons (not shown) or other elements necessary or desirable in order to operate the device within the case  10 . Bottom wall  16  may have similar cutouts  20  and other elements as well, such as rings through which the fingers of one hand can be inserted to provide the stability and balance while cradling the device in the same single hand. 
     Importantly, the bottom wall  16  includes a plurality of ribs  22 . In the figures, two such ribs  22  are shown however, it may be desirable, in some instances, to provide more than two ribs on the bottom wall  16 . The ribs  22  are spaced apart by a predetermined distance selected to form a valley  24 . This valley  24  is sized and shaped to accommodate two fingers (typically the pointing and the middle finger, or index and fourth finger) of an average adult person, placed side by side as shown in  FIG. 2 . Moreover, the ribs  22  are constructed to define a height for the valley that is related to the cross-sectional dimension of the finger of an average person. Alternatively, if the device is intended for a child of a specific age, the width and height of valley  24  is selected to match the finger size of an average child of said specific age. 
     In  FIG. 1 , the ribs are shown as having a length that may be about ½ in less than the width of wall  16  and start about ¼ in from the respective side walls  14 . Alternatively, the ribs  22  can have the same length as the width of the case  12 . In another embodiment, the ribs  22  are much shorter, e.g. about 1-2 in long and can be either disposed near a longitudinal axis of the case  12  or nearer to one of the sidewalls  12 , including being shaped to taper into the back of the case itself. 
     The height of the valley must be sufficient to stop the device from slipping off the fingers F even if the device is held at an angle as it is being operated. This height may be expressed as an actual dimension, or in relation to the cross-sectional dimension of fingers F of an average person. The inventor has found that this height may range from about 0.25 to 0.75 inches and preferably from about 0.3 to about 0.5 in. Alternatively, the height may range from about ¼ to about ¾ of the average thickness of an average person&#39;s figure. Of course the case  10  may be customized. That is, cases may be made for adults, in which case the width and depth of the valley  24  is determined based on the average dimensions of average persons, while other cases may be customized for children in a preselected age range, such as 10-12, 12-14, etc. If the valley  34  is shallower then the case  10  with the device may slip off and may feel insecure. If the valley is deeper, the case may be too thick. Preferably the location of the valley  24  is selected so that the center of gravity of device falls in the valley  24 . 
     The ribs  22  can be made of the same material as the case or they can be made of a soft rubbery material. In one embodiment, the ribs  22  can be attached to the device itself rather being part of the case; or alternatively a full back containing the ribs can be temporarily or permanently adhered to the back of the device. 
     The applicant has found that using a case as described above and illustrated in the  FIGS. 1 and 2  is much easier than standard cases without a valley because the device and its case are resting much more securely on the fingers F and the various controls on the face of the device can be operated very effectively without fear that the device will be dropped. 
     The case  10  can be made with a unitary body including the ribs  22 , or the ribs can be added later using an adhesive or other well-known means. The ribs  22  can be full, or can be hollow to reduce the overall weight of the case. The ribs  22  and the case  12  can be made of the same material or different materials. 
     Moreover, the case and/or the ribs can be made with cavities for housing various accessories or other items. 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  show another embodiment of the invention illustrating this latter concept. In this Figure, case  30  is much thicker than case  12  and it is adapted to house or protect device D as well as one or more accessories, such as battery B 1 , B 2 . Case  30  has sidewalls  32  and two bottom wall portions  34 ,  36 . The bottom wall portions  34 ,  36  are separated by valley  40 . Preferably valley  40  has a height H and a width W that are determined in the same manner as described above for the embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     While the valley  24  in  FIGS. 1 and 2  is defined by ribs, other structures may be used, such as a plurality of sequential spaced bumps, each bump having a round or square cross section, etc. Moreover, while in the figures, the valleys  24 ,  40  extend transversally to a longitudinal axis X-X of the bottom wall, similar valleys may also be provided on the bottom wall that extend in parallel to or collinear with this longitudinal axis. For example ribs  22 A shown in  FIG. 1  may be provided to define a valley  24 A. This configuration is particularly useful for holding the case with the device in a landscape rather than a portrait mode. 
     In another embodiment, the valley has a width selected to accommodate one or three fingers. 
     In another embodiment, two valleys are formed on the back of the device, each valley accepting one or two fingers. 
     In yet another embodiment, the valley is wide enough to accommodate three fingers. 
     In another embodiment, an accessory is provided similar to the case of  FIGS. 1 and 2  but without any sidewall. Instead the accessory has one surface for attachment to the hand-held device directly or to the case, using an adhesive or other conventional means. The other opposite surface is formed with a valley for receiving one or more fingers as discussed above. 
     Obviously numerous modifications may be made to the invention without departing from its scope as defined in the appended claims.