Patent Abstract:
A portable device case includes a flexible material jacket conformably surrounding at least a portion of the periphery of the portable device and a rigid rim conformably surrounding the jacket comprising one or more hinges and a snap lock to encase the jacket and the portable device surrounded therein, wherein total functionality of the portable device is accessible through apertures and contacts in the jacket and rim and no accessory tools or affixing devices are required to install the portable device in the case.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field 
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates generally to protector cases for mobile devices, and more particularly to a protector case for an Apple™ iPhone™. 
         [0003]    2. Background 
         [0004]    Mobile personal consumer electronic products are vulnerable to damage if dropped. Smart phones, such as the Apple™ iPhone™, constitute a valuable and increasingly costly vehicle for storage of contact data, appointment information, photography, entertainment data storage and retrieval, all in addition to the primary function of communication, whether by voice or data. There is a need for a system in which it is easy to install the smart phone that is effective protection against shock damage, and enables access to all the functionality of the smart phone. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    In one aspect of the disclosure, a portable device case includes a flexible material jacket conformably surrounding at least a portion of the periphery of the portable device and a rigid rim conformably surrounding the jacket comprising one or more hinges and a lock to encase the jacket and the portable device surrounded therein, wherein total functionality of the portable device is accessible through apertures and contacts in the jacket and rim and no accessory tools or affixing devices are required to install the portable device in the case. 
         [0006]    In another aspect of the disclosure, a method of protecting a portable device includes conformally encasing at least a portion of a periphery of the portable device with a flexible material jacket, conformally surrounding the flexible material with a rigid rim comprising one or more hinges and a lock to encase the jacket and the portable device surrounded therein, wherein the conformally encasing and conformally surrounding is achieved without accessory tools or affixing devices, and retaining total access to all functionality of the portable device through apertures and contacts in the jacket and rim. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1A  is a conceptual perspective view of an embodiment of a protector case containing an iPhone™ in accordance with the disclosure. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1B  is a conceptual perspective view of an embodiment of a bottom portion of the protector case of  FIG. 1A . 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a conceptual exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a rim, jacket and an iPhone™ according to  FIGS. 1A and 1B . 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a conceptual exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the jacket and rim of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  with distal portions of the rim opened. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a conceptual perspective view of an embodiment of a top portion of the case containing an iPhone™ showing details of a lock for enclosing the jacket in the rim of  FIGS. 1A and 1B . 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a conceptual perspective view of an embodiment of a bottom portion of a case for an iPhone™ including a hinged connector cap in accordance with the disclosure. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a conceptual perspective front view of another embodiment of a protector case containing an iPhone™ in accordance with the disclosure. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a conceptual perspective back view of the protector case of  FIG. 6 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a conceptual exploded perspective view of the case of  FIG. 6 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    The present disclosure is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various aspects of a portable device protector case are presented. This disclosure, however, may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited by the various aspects of the device presented herein. The detailed description of the portable device protector case with reference to the Apple™ iPhone™ is provided below so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. However, the disclosure is not limited to one particular device as a protector case, and details of the various aspects described may vary with respect to different portable devices. 
         [0017]    The detailed description may include specific details for illustrating various aspects of the portable device protector case. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well known elements may be shown in block diagram form, or omitted, to avoid obscuring the inventive concepts presented throughout this disclosure. 
         [0018]    By way of example, various aspects of the portable device protector case may be illustrated by describing components that arc coupled, attached or connected together, However, the disclosure, while described in terms of an Apple™ iPhone™, may be practiced with other portable devices. As used herein, the terms “coupled”, “attached”, and “connected” may be used to indicate either a direct connection between two components or, where appropriate, an indirect connection to one another through intervening or intermediate components. In contrast, when a component is referred to as being “directly coupled”, “directly attached” or “directly connected” to another component, there are no intervening elements present. 
         [0019]    Relative terms such as “lower” or “bottom” and “upper” or “top” may be used herein to describe one element&#39;s relationship to another element illustrated in the drawings. It will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of a portable device equipped with the protector case in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. By way of example, if a protector case for a portable device in the drawings is turned over, elements described as being on the “bottom” side of the other elements would then be oriented on the “top” side of the other elements. The term “bottom” can therefore encompass both an orientation of “bottom” and “top” depending on the particular orientation of the apparatus. 
         [0020]    Various aspects of a protector case for a portable device may be illustrated with reference to one or more exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments of a protector case disclosed herein. 
         [0021]    In an aspect of the disclosure,  FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate perspective views of an iPhone™  101  contained in a protector case  100 . The protector case includes a flexible material jacket  125  that surrounds the iPhone™  101  around the peripheral edges, leaving a display touch screen  110 , a microphone  112 , a camera  113 , an operations button  114  on a front surface  118  and speakers  154  and a power/I/O cable connection port  156  on the bottom of the iPhone™  101  exposed and accessible to a user. The protector case  100  is configured such that the front surface  118  and a back surface  120  of the iPhone™  101  are accessible but recessed from external dimensions of the protector case  100 . 
         [0022]    The protector case  100  includes a flexible material jacket  125  conformably surrounding at least a portion of the periphery of the portable device  100 . The protector case  100  further includes a rigid rim  130  conformably surrounding the jacket  125 . 
         [0023]    Preferably, the rigid rim  130  is comprised of metal, plastics (e.g., polycarbonate), carbon fiber, wood, etc. The rigid rim  130  is configured to receive the brunt of an impulse of shock waves in the event that the iPhone™  101  is dropped. The rigid rim is in conformal contact with the jacket  125 , where the jacket  125  may be made from a flexible material that has a sufficient amount of elastic damping to absorb and dissipate the shock waves from an impact, thereby reducing an amount of shock vibration received by the iPhone™  101 . The jacket  125 , is in substantially conformal contact with surfaces of the iPhone™  101  to prevent a significant amount of vibration and shockwave motion of the iPhone™  101  with respect to either the jacket  125  or the rim  130 . 
         [0024]    The flexible material may be a silicone rubber or a rubberized material having absorbing and damping properties and dimensional characteristics suitable to prevent damage according to a defined set of impact conditions. For example, a combination of damping properties and material thickness of the jacket  125  may be determined, for example, to prevent operational damage to the iPhone™  101  when it experiences a drop from a defined height and impacting a hard surface in any of a number of defined orientations and impact edges. 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  illustrates an exploded perspective view of the iPhone™  101 , the jacket  125  and the rigid rim  130 . The jacket  125  and rim  130  may include a plurality of holes to provide access to connectors ports and buttons on the edge of the iPhone™  101 . Referring also to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , a headphone jack hole  150 , a mute switch hole  152 , and a hole  153  for the speakers  154  and the power/I/O cable connection port  156  are included. The jacket  125  may further include feed through buttons that are depressible to contact and operate buttons in corresponding locations on the iPhone™  101 . Such feed through buttons may include an ON/OFF button and Volume (+ and −) buttons  128  and  129 , respectively. Access holes and feed through buttons for other portable devices may vary in detail and location, depending on the configuration of the device. 
         [0026]    A thickness dimension of the jacket  125  from back to front of the iPhone™  101  may be somewhat greater than a thickness of the iPhone™  101 , in order to prevent the touch screen  110  from contacting flat surfaces. In some locations of the jacket, such as at least at the corners where impact is likely to be more concentrated at a point, the thickness dimension may be made larger to provide a greater amount of shock absorption material. In addition the rim  130 , being rigid, may distribute, and thereby dilute, the impact shock over a greater volume and perimeter of the jacket  125 , further reducing the likelihood of damage to the iPhone™  101 . 
         [0027]    Still referring to  FIG. 2 , and also to  FIG. 1A , the rim  130  may include holes corresponding to holes and feed through buttons in the jacket  125 . For example, the iPhone™ ON/OFF button  127  and the Volume buttons  128 ,  129  may protrude through holes in the rim  130 . The rim  130  may optionally include a rocker insert (not shown) that inserts into the two holes from beneath the rim  130  corresponding to the two Volume buttons of the jacket  125 . The rocker insert can provide a firm sense of contact when pressure is applied to change a volume setting. The rim  130  may also include holes corresponding to the holes in the jacket  125  to provide access, for example, via a headphone jack hole  150  for the headphone jack, and a mute switch hole  155 , holes  153   a  for speakers  154  and a hole  153   b  for the power/I/O cable connection port  156  on the iPhone™. The mute switch hole  155  in the rim  130  may be configured to hold a slidable mute switch extension  160  that is configured to contact and slidably operate the mute switch on the iPhone™  101 . 
         [0028]    The rim  130  may further include one or more hinges to subdivide the rim  130  into two or more portions to enable insertion of the iPhone™  101 , which is already installed in the jacket  125  by press-fitting and minor stretching, into the rim  130 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , the rim  130  has, for example, two distal portions  310 ,  320 , and a main portion  330  may be opened by outward rotation of two hinges  340 . With the two distal portions  310 ,  320  thus outwardly opened, the iPhone™  101  encased in the jacket  125 , may be inserted against the main portion  330  with corresponding holes and protrusions appropriately mated. The two distal portions,  310 ,  320  may then be pressed against the jacket  125  by rotation of the hinges  340  to bring the two distal portions  310 ,  320  together. 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , a snap lock  400  comprising a hook  420  on the distal portion  320  and a catch  410  (not shown, but inside a tip of distal portion  310 ) may be arranged to meet as the distal ends of each distal portion  310 ,  320  of the rim  130  are pressed together, thus caging the jacket  125  inside the rim  130 . The snap lock  400  may be disengaged by pressing the distal end  320  including the hook  420  inwardly against the jacket  125 , which is compressible, while pushing the distal end  310  with the catch  410  away from the hook  420 . The catch  410  may be a spring loaded assembly (not shown). The spring loaded assembly may be attached to the distal portion  310  with one or more screws. However, the spring loaded assembly may be permanently or replaceably press fitted, glued, welded, or attached in any number of ways known in the art of assembly now or to be later invented. Furthermore, the snap lock  400  is merely one example of various possible mechanisms to lock the rim  130  around the jacket  125  and the iPhone™. 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , in an embodiment, the jacket  125  may further include a hinged cap  500  that may be inserted into the connector at the bottom of the iPhone™  101  to protect the power/I/O cable connection port  156 . The hinged cap  500  may be formed integrally with the jacket  125  of the same flexible material, such as silicone or an equivalent rubber. Alternatively, the hinged cap  500  may be a separate component. 
         [0031]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , a jacket  625  is shown similar to jacket  125  in most respects, with the exception of additional coverage over front and back surfaces of the iPhone™  101 . For example, on the front surface of the iPhone™  101 , the jacket  625  provides openings for a display screen, a front camera and microphone (together) but otherwise covers the remaining front surface. The jacket  625  is flexible enough so that the operation button  114  may be actuated, and a marking  614  may be provided to locate the operation button. In addition, the jacket  625  may include a hinged cap  632  to cover and protect the earphone jack of the iPhone™. A rim  630 , substantially similar to rim  130 , modified to accommodate the hinged cap  632 , may encase the jacket  625  and iPhone™. 
         [0032]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , a back side of the jacket  625  includes an aperture frame  640  for a camera and flash. 
         [0033]      FIG. 8  shows an exploded view of the rim  630 , slidable mute switch extension  160 , jacket  625  and aperture frame  660 . The rim  630  may encase jacket  625  in substantially the same manner as jacket  125 , with hinges  640 . 
         [0034]    It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless specifically recited therein. 
         [0035]    The claims are not intended to be limited to the various aspects of this disclosure, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. For example, while the Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “step for.”

Technology Classification (CPC): 6