Patent Publication Number: US-2018029451-A1

Title: Multifunction Accessory for an Electronic Device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application having Ser. No. 62/368,347, which was filed Jul. 29, 2016. The aforementioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into the present application to the extent consistent with the present application. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices are frequently used outdoors or in areas with direct lighting. The sunlight or direct lighting in these areas can be reflected by a display on the electronic device, making the display difficult to read. Additionally, electronic devices are often used in public places. The large displays available on some electronic devices may allow others to view the display. 
     What is needed, therefore, is a way to reduce the amount of sunlight or direct light that reaches the display, thereby reducing the amount of light reflected by the display, and making the display easier to read, while also shielding the display from public viewing. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the disclosure may provide a multifunction accessory for an electronic device. The multifunction accessory may include a back member defining an aperture, a first side bracket coupled to the back member, and a second side bracket coupled to the back member and positioned opposite the first side bracket. A hinge mechanism may be connected to the back member between the first and second side brackets. The multifunction accessory may further include a shade member coupled to the hinge mechanism opposite the back member connection, a first hinge connected to a first side of the shade member, and a second hinge connected to a second side of the shade member and positioned opposite the first hinge. A first support member may be coupled to the first hinge opposite the shade member connection and removably coupled to the first side bracket, and a second support member may be coupled to the second hinge opposite the shade member connection and removably coupled to the second side bracket. 
     Embodiments of the disclosure may further provide another multifunction accessory for an electronic device. The multifunction accessory may include a single body. The single body may include a back member defining an aperture and having a first and second side, a first side bracket extending from the first side of the back member, a second side bracket extending from the second side of the back member and opposite the first side bracket, and a shade member extending from the back member between the first side bracket and the second side bracket. A first hinge may be formed between the back member and the shade member. The multifunction accessory may further include a first support member extending from the shade member and removably coupled to the first side bracket, and a second support member extending from the shade member opposite the first support member and removably coupled to the second side bracket. A second hinge may be formed between the shade member and the first support member, and a third hinge may be formed between the shade member and the second support member. 
     Embodiments of the disclosure may further provide another multifunction accessory for an electronic device. The multifunction accessory may include a back member defining an aperture, a plurality of pins extending from the back member, and a hinge mechanism connected to the back member. The multifunction accessory may further include a shade member coupled to the hinge mechanism opposite the back member connection, a first hinge connected to a first side of the shade member, and a second hinge connected to a second side of the shade member and positioned opposite the first hinge. A first support member may be coupled to the first hinge opposite the shade member connection and removably coupled to at least a first pin of the plurality of pins, and a second support member may be coupled to the second hinge opposite the shade member connection and removably coupled to at least a second pin of the plurality of pins. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying Figures. It is emphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion. 
         FIG. 1A  illustrates an isometric view of a front of a multifunction accessory for an electronic device, according to one or more embodiments disclosed. 
         FIG. 1B  illustrates a side view of the multifunction accessory for an electronic device of  FIG. 1A . 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an isometric view of a front of a multifunction accessory for an electronic device, according to one or more embodiments disclosed. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an isometric view of a back of a multifunction accessory for an electronic device, according to one or more embodiments disclosed. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an isometric view of a multifunction accessory for an electronic device folded for storage, according to one or more embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It is to be understood that the following disclosure describes several exemplary embodiments for implementing different features, structures, or functions of the invention. Exemplary embodiments of components, arrangements, and configurations are described below to simplify the present disclosure; however, these exemplary embodiments are provided merely as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Additionally, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various exemplary embodiments and across the Figures provided herein. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various exemplary embodiments and/or configurations discussed in the various Figures. Moreover, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed interposing the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. Finally, the exemplary embodiments presented below may be combined in any combination of ways, i.e., any element from one exemplary embodiment may be used in any other exemplary embodiment, without departing from the scope of the disclosure. 
     Additionally, certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, various entities may refer to the same component by different names, and as such, the naming convention for the elements described herein is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, unless otherwise specifically defined herein. Further, the naming convention used herein is not intended to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. Additionally, in the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to.” All numerical values in this disclosure may be exact or approximate values unless otherwise specifically stated. Accordingly, various embodiments of the disclosure may deviate from the numbers, values, and ranges disclosed herein without departing from the intended scope. Furthermore, as it is used in the claims or specification, the term “or” is intended to encompass both exclusive and inclusive cases, i.e., “A or B” is intended to be synonymous with “at least one of A and B,” unless otherwise expressly specified herein. 
       FIG. 1A  illustrates an isometric view of a front of a multifunction accessory  100  for an electronic device (not shown), according to one or more embodiments. In the exemplary embodiment, the multifunction accessory  100  may include a generally rectangular back member  102  defining an aperture  104 . The aperture  104  may be rectangular in shape and sized to allow the back member  102  to attach to the back of an electronic device without interfering with any features, such as buttons, keys, cameras, or screens, on the surface of the electronic device. In other embodiments, the back member  102  and/or aperture  104  may be circular, oval, polygonal, or any other shape that allows the back member  102  to attach to an electronic device without interfering with the surface features of the electronic device. 
     The multifunction accessory  100  may include a first side bracket  106  and a second side bracket  108  coupled to either side of the back member  102 . The brackets  106 ,  108  may be coupled to the back member  102  by adhering, welding, or integrally forming the brackets  106 ,  108  with the back member  102 . Referring to  FIG. 1B , each bracket  106 ,  108  may include a rectangular body  110  that is generally perpendicular to a face  112  of the back member  102 . In another embodiment, the body  110  may be circular, oval, or polygonal in shape. In the exemplary embodiment, the side brackets  106 ,  108  further include a plurality of arcuate pin supports  114  that extend from the brackets  106 ,  108 . 
     In other embodiments, the pin supports  114  may be polygonal or a combination of arcuate and polygonal segments. Each pin support  114  may be formed from the side brackets  106 ,  108 . In at least one embodiment, the pin supports  114  may be directly coupled to the back member  102  using the previously stated methods or formed from the back member  102 , omitting the rectangular bodies  110 . As illustrated in the exemplary embodiment, each pin support  114  may include a pin  116  extending away from the back member  102 . In other embodiments, the pin support  114  may be omitted and the pin  116  may extend from the bodies  110  of the side brackets  106 ,  108 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 1A , the multifunction accessory  100  may further include a hinge mechanism  118  that connects the back member  102  to a shade member  120 . The shade member  120  may be rectangular, as illustrated in  FIG. 1A . Other embodiments of the shade member  120  may polygonal, arcuate, or any other shape that can be attached to the hinge mechanism  118 . The hinge mechanism  118  may be connected to the back member  102  and the shade member  120  using adhesives, welding, or integrally forming the hinge mechanism  118  with the back member  102  and shade member  120 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2  with continued reference to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the hinge mechanism  118  may include three pivots  202 ,  204 ,  206  and two spacers  208 ,  210 . The length of the spacers  208 ,  210  may vary to allow embodiments of the multifunction accessory  100  to be used with a variety of electronic devices with varying thicknesses. One pivot  202  may be coupled to the back member  102 , while another pivot  204  may be coupled to the shade member  120 . A third pivot  206  may separate the two spacers  208 ,  210 . Other embodiments of the hinge mechanism  118  may include two or more pivots and one or more spacers. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 1A , the multifunction accessory  100  may further include a first hinge  122  connected to a first side  124  of the shade member  120  and a second hinge  126  connected to a second side  128  of the shade member  120  opposite the first hinge  122 . The first hinge  122  may be further coupled to a first support member  130  opposite the connection to the shade member  120 . The second hinge  126  may be further coupled to a second support member  132  opposite the connection to the shade member  120 . The hinges  122 ,  126  may be coupled to the shade member  120  and support members  130 ,  132  using adhesives, welding, or integrally forming the hinges  122 ,  126  with the shade member  120  and support members  130 ,  132 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , one or both of the hinges  122 ,  126  may include two pivots  212 ,  214  and a spacer  216  between the shade member  120  and the respective support member  130 ,  132 . At least one embodiment may include only one pivot and omit the spacer  216 . Other embodiments may include at least three pivots and at least two spacers. 
     The support members  130 ,  132  may be generally triangular in shape. However, other embodiments of the multifunction accessory  100  may include support members  130 ,  132  that are arcuate, polygonal, or any other shape that can be connected to the hinge  122 ,  126 . Referring back to  FIG. 1A , the second support member  132  may define a hole  134  near the edge opposite the hinge  126 . Each support member  130 ,  132  may also include a rectangular member  136  coupled to the support members  130 ,  132  using adhesives, welding, or integrally forming the rectangular member  136  with the support member  130 , 132 . 
     As illustrated in the exemplary embodiment, the rectangular member  136  may have one or more arcuate sections  138  which extend away from the support member  130 ,  132  and define a hole  140 . In at least one embodiment, the arcuate sections  138  may be directly coupled to the support members  130 ,  132  using the previously stated methods or formed from the support members  130 ,  132 . In other embodiments, the sections  138  may be polygonal in shape or the arcuate sections  138  may be omitted. 
     The multifunction accessory  100  may also include a plurality of cut-outs (not shown) near the hinge mechanism  118 . The cut-outs may extend through the multifunction accessory  100  across portions of the support members  130 ,  132 , hinges  122 ,  126 , and shade member  120 . In at least one embodiment, the cut-outs may be arcuate in shape. In other embodiments, the cut-outs may be polygonal or a combination of arcuate and polygonal segments. 
     The multifunction accessory  100  may be constructed from multiple individual members, as described above, or the multifunction accessory  100  may be molded or cast as a single body that has the features described above. Other embodiments of the multifunction accessory  100  may be constructed using a combination of molded or cast sections, each molded section including at least one of the features described above. In one particular embodiment, the multifunction accessory  100  may be manufactured by injection molding to create a single body with the shade member  120  extending from the back member  102 , and the support members  130 , 132  extending from the shade member  120 . The single body may then be crimped to create the hinge mechanism  118  and hinges  122 ,  126 . 
     The multifunction accessory  100  is referred to as a “shade” because one functionality for the multifunction accessory  100  is to shade the screen of an electronic device in the presence of strong light. This should aid visibility of the screen&#39;s content. However, the multifunction accessory  100  can provide other functionality as well. For example, even in environments without light, the multifunction accessory  100  can be used to shade the screen from people other than the user and thereby provide privacy to the content displayed on the screen. Other functionalities may become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. Accordingly, applications for the multifunction accessory  100  are not limited to those in which the multifunction accessory  100  shades an electronic device&#39;s screen from light. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3  with continued reference to  FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2 ,  FIG. 3  illustrates an isometric view of a back of the multifunction accessory  100  for an electronic device, according to one or more embodiments disclosed. In the exemplary embodiment, a mirror  302  is coupled to a back  304  of the shade member  120 . The mirror  302  may be similar in shape to, but slightly smaller than the aperture  104  of the back member  102 . Other embodiments of the multifunction accessory  100  may include a mirror  302  that is a different shape that the aperture  104  or the mirror  302  may be omitted. The multifunction accessory  100  may further include a pin  306  extending from a back face  308  of the first support member  130 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates an isometric view of the multifunction accessory  100  for an electronic device folded for storage, according to one or more embodiments. The exemplary embodiment in  FIG. 4  may be best understood with continued reference to  FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2, and 3 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the shade member  120  may fold along the hinge mechanism  118  such that it contacts the back  402  of the back member  102 . The mirror  302  may be disposed within the aperture  104  of the back member  102  when the multifunction accessory  100  is folded for storage. 
     The first support member  130  may fold along the first hinge  122  such that the first support member  130  contacts the shade member  120  and the pin  306  on the back face  308  of the first support member  130  extends away from the shade member  120 . In at least one embodiment, a cut-out (not shown) in the shade member  120 , first hinge  122 , and first support member  130  may be configured to allow the first support member  130  to pass over the pin support  114  of the first bracket  106 . The second support member  132  may fold along the second hinge  126  such that the second support member  132  contacts the first support member  130 . The hole  134  defined by the second support member  132  may be configured to align with the pin  306  extending from the first support member  130 . The pin  306  may be sized such that it fits within the hole  134  and removably couples the first support member  130  to the second support member  132  through a snap fit. As with the first bracket  106 , a cut-out (not shown) in the shade member  120 , second hinge  126 , and second support member  132  may allow the second support member  132  to pass over the pin support  114  of the second bracket  108 . 
     In at least one embodiment, the pin  306  extending from the first support member  130  and the hole  134  defined by the second support member  132  may be replaced by a plurality of magnets that removably couple the first support member  130  and second support member  132 . Other embodiments of the multifunction accessory  100  may use adhesives, Velcro, or any other means of removably coupling the first support member  130  and the second support member  132 . 
     In operation, the back member  102  may be coupled to an electronic device (not shown) such that the back of the electronic device contacts the face  112  of the back member  102 . The back member  102  may be coupled to the electronic device through adhesives, Velcro, portions of the back member  102  or brackets  106 ,  108  that grip the electronic device, or any other means of coupling the back member  102  to the electronic device, none of which are shown. 
     In the exemplary embodiment, the hinge mechanism  118  allows the shade member  120  to be positioned at an acute angle relative to the face  112  of the back member  102  and a display (not shown) of the electronic device. The first hinge  122  may fold such that the first support member  130  can be removably coupled to the first bracket  106  to retain the shade member  120  at the acute angle. In the exemplary embodiment, the pins  116  extending from the pin supports  114  of the first bracket  106  may be configured to fit within the holes  140  defined by the arcuate sections  138  of the rectangular member  136 , and removably couple the first support member  130  to the first side bracket  106  through a snap fit. 
     In other embodiments, the first support member  130  may be removably coupled to the first side bracket  106  using magnets, adhesives, Velcro, or other similar means. The second support member  132  and second side bracket  108  may be removably coupled similar to the first support member  130  and first support bracket  106  to retain the shade member  120  at the acute angle. In at least one embodiment, the pin supports  114  and arcuate sections  138  on both the side brackets  106 ,  108  and the support members  130 ,  132  may be omitted and the support members  130 ,  132  may be directly removably coupled to the side brackets  106 ,  108 . 
     The shade member  120  may also be positioned at an acute angle relative to the back  402  of the back member  102 . A possible use of the mirror in this position includes, but is not limited, to the application of makeup. In the exemplary embodiment, the shade member is not retained in this position, allowing the mirror  302  to be held at a desired angle relative to a light source, camera, or any other feature on the back of the electronic device. In other embodiments, the shade member  120  may be retained in position by the support members  130 ,  132 . The support members  130 ,  132  may be removably coupled to the side brackets  106 ,  108  using the methods described above. In at least one embodiment, a portion of the support members  130 ,  132  may be directly removably coupled to a portion of side brackets  106 ,  108 . 
     The foregoing has outlined features of several embodiments so that those skilled in the art may better understand the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.