Patent Publication Number: US-2018048342-A1

Title: Protective Mobile Phone Case with Finger Strap

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/375,181 filed on Aug. 15, 2016. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to protective cases. More specifically, the present invention relates to a protective case for mobile phones including a finger strap affixed to a rear wall facilitating one-handed use of a mobile phone and self-portrait photography with the mobile phone. 
     Mobile phones, i.e., smart phones, typically include front-facing touch display screens and front-facing cameras that facilitate self-photography. Some mobile phone users purchase protective cases that partially cover the mobile phone in order to provide protection from inadvertent falls. These cases can be made with any material that is rigid enough to hold its shape and protect the components of the mobile phone, but are often are made of a low-density material so as to minimize the weight and size added to the mobile phone. 
     A protective case has a rear-facing back portion that is positioned on the opposite side of the display screen of a mobile phone. The exterior surface of the back portion of the case faces away from the mobile phone and toward the palm of the user&#39;s hand when the mobile device is held with a typical grip. The exterior surface can be smooth or otherwise have a low friction coefficient that causes the device to be difficult to grip. Some cases have an exterior surface that is textured or coated with a material, such as rubber or leather, which improves the user&#39;s ability to grip the case. However, even with a textured or coated case, many users still find it difficult to grip the mobile phone, particularly when operating the mobile phone to take self-portraits, also known as “selfies”, in portrait, landscape, or other orientations. 
     A wide variety of cases are available for supporting mobile phones. However, conventional cases generally include rigid members that are too bulky and awkward for a user&#39;s individual hands and pockets. Also, such designs typically do not provide a user a means for suspending the back portion of the case against the user&#39;s fingers and palm, such that the display screen of the mobile phone faces the user, thereby facilitating self-portrait photography with the mobile phone. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of protective cases for mobile phones now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new and improved protective case wherein the same can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when utilizing the mobile phone for self-photography. 
     In one example of the present invention, the protective mobile phone case includes a housing including an open front-facing side, a rear-facing side, a pair of longitudinally extending sidewalls, and a pair of latitudinally extending sidewalls, an upper end and a lower end. A pocket disposed on the open front-facing side includes an interior volume configured to receive a mobile phone therein and an opening for providing access to the interior volume. A rear wall of the rear-facing side includes a pair of longitudinally extending slits disposed centrally between the pair of longitudinally extending sidewalls. A finger strap mounted through the pair of longitudinally extending slits includes an interior side disposed on an interior of the rear wall and a second side disposed on an exterior of the rear wall. The finger strap is configured to secure the rear-facing side of the housing to a user&#39;s fingers during use. The pair of longitudinally extending sidewalls and the pair of latitudinally extending sidewalls include a lip extending inwardly towards a center of the interior volume of the housing. The lip and the pair of longitudinally and latitudinally extending sidewalls define a groove configured to receive a side edge of a mobile phone. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout. 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective top view of the mobile phone case. 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective bottom view of the mobile phone case. 
         FIG. 3  shows a close-up perspective view of the finger strap of the mobile phone case. 
         FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of the mobile phone case in use. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the mobile phone case. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is shown a perspective top view of the mobile phone case and a perspective bottom view of the mobile phone case, respectively. The present invention provides a protective mobile phone case  10  configured to removably receive a mobile phone therein. Further, the mobile phone case  10  includes a finger strap  12  for securing the mobile phone case  10  against a user&#39;s fingers, thereby facilitating self-photography with a mobile phone being held in the mobile phone case  10 . The mobile phone case  10  comprises a protective housing  15  including an open front-facing side  20 , a closed rear-facing side  25 , a pair of longitudinally extending sidewalls  30 , and a pair of laterally extending sidewalls  35 , an upper end  40 , and a lower end  45 . The housing  15  is composed of a rigid, durable material configured to absorb shock and protect a mobile phone placed therein from damage, such as rubber, plastic, and wood. The open front-facing side  20  includes a pocket  50  including an interior volume sized to receive a mobile phone therein and an opening  55  providing access to the interior volume of the pocket  50 . The closed rear-facing side  25  includes a rear wall  60  having a planar interior surface  65  against which a mobile phone can rest flush when the mobile phone is positioned within the pocket  50  of the housing  15 . 
     The pair of longitudinally and latitudinally extending sidewalls  30 ,  35  extend perpendicularly upwards relative to the rear wall  60  and include a lip  70  extending horizontally inwards, or radially inwards, towards a center of the rear wall  60 , such that the lip  70  is parallel relative to the rear wall  60 . The lip  70  in conjunction with the pair of longitudinally and latitudinally extending sidewalls  30 ,  35  define a groove  75  configured to receive the side edges of a mobile phone and secure the mobile phone within the pocket  50 . When a mobile phone is inserted into the pocket  50 , the lip  70  extends over the edges of the mobile phone, thereby securing the mobile phone inside of the pocket  50 . 
     The pair of longitudinally extending sidewalls  30  include one or more slots  80  that extend vertically along a longitudinal length of the longitudinally extending sidewalls  30 . The slots  80  are configured to provide access to an input or an output disposed on the sides a mobile phone that is secured in the case, such as a power button, volume setting, or a display screen button. In the depicted embodiments, the slots  80  are disposed adjacent the upper end  40 . 
     The pair of latitudinally extending sidewalls  35  include one or more apertures  85  configured to provide access to an input or an output of the mobile phone, such as a headphone jack, a power socket, and speaker. In the depicted embodiment, the one or more apertures  85  of the latitudinally extending sidewalls  35  include a circular aperture corresponding to a mobile phone headphone jack, a first elongated rectangular aperture disposed on a latitudinally extending sidewall  35  that corresponds to the mobile phone&#39;s power socket, and a second elongated rectangular aperture disposed on an opposing latitudinally extending sidewall  35  that corresponds to the mobile phone&#39;s power button. The rear wall  60  includes a cut-out portion  90  corresponding to a mobile phone&#39;s camera, such that a user may take photographs with the mobile phone will being held in the case  10 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , there is shown a close-up perspective view of the finger strap of the mobile phone case. The rear wall  60  of the mobile phone case  10  includes a pair of longitudinally extending slits  95  that are parallel relative to each other and include the same length. In the depicted embodiment, the pair of longitudinally extending slits  95  are linear and disposed below a center of the rear wall  60 , extending downwardly towards the lower end  45  of the housing  15 . The pair of longitudinally extending slits  95  are configured to retain the finger strap  12  onto the mobile phone case  10 . 
     In the depicted embodiment, the finger strap  12  is a unitary circular band composed of a flexible and elastic material, such as neoprene, spandex, and elastane. The finger strap  12  is integral to the rear wall  60  of the housing  15  and disposed on the lower end  45 , centrally between the longitudinally extending sidewalls  30 . The finger strap  12  is guided through the pair of longitudinally extending slits  95  and includes an interior side  12 A positioned on an interior of the rear wall  60 , as shown by  FIG. 1 , and a rear side  12 B positioned on an exterior of the rear wall  60 . In this way, the finger strap  12  includes an interior portion, i.e., the interior side  12 A, that provides the finger strap  12  structural support and reinforcement when stretching or pulling the finger strap  12  over a user&#39;s fingers by engaging with the real wall  60 . Additionally, in this way, the interior side  12 A helps squeeze a user&#39;s fingers against the rear wall  60  when the finger strap  12  is placed around the user&#39;s fingers. 
     The rear side  12 B of the finger strap  12  includes pair of recesses  100  disposed on opposing laterally extending edges  105  of the finger strap  12 . The pair of recesses  100  extend radially inwardly towards a center of the finger strap, or towards each other. The pair of recesses  100  enable users to grip the laterally extending edges  105  of the finger strap  12  in order to lift the finger strap  12  and slide their fingers thereunder. In the depicted embodiment, the pair of recesses  100  are semicircular in shape and disposed along a center of each of the laterally extending edges  105 , such that the pair of recesses  100  are symmetrical about a longitudinal axis and a latitudinal axis of the finger strap  12 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , there is shown a perspective view of the mobile phone case in use. The finger strap  12  enables users to secure the rear-facing side  25  of the mobile phone case  10  to their fingers such that the front-facing side  20  faces away from their hand. This in turn enables users to more easily maneuver and control the directionality of a mobile phone secured in the mobile phone case  10 . In this way, a user may easily position the mobile phone to face them, such that they may engage in self-photography with a front-facing camera of the mobile phone. The finger strap  12  secures the mobile phone to a user&#39;s hand, eliminating the need to awkwardly clutch the mobile phone or an apparatus thereon with an entire hand or fingers in order to reposition the mobile phone when taking self-photographs. 
     It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in various embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.