Abstract:
A method (and device so formed) for adapting a skin type decorative and protective case customized for fitting a hand held electronic device having a viewing screen and/or keyboard and configured for remaining on the device during use of the device. The method comprises the steps of forming the skin with a slot for insertion of thin items such as credit cards and money into a pocket either between walls of the case or between a wall of the case and an electronic device inserted in the skin case. The pockets are provided with elements to minimize any change of appearance of the original profile and elements for assisting in removing the items from the snug pocket element. The pockets further include elements for maintaining the integrity thereof relative to the remainder of the casing. The pocket may alternatively be directly integrated as part of the device housing.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to decorative or protective “skins” (close fitting cases or casings) customized for and used with hand held electronic devices such as cell phones, PDAs and mp3 players while the devices are in use, and particularly relates to functional modifications thereof for use as holding or carrying receptacles for other items. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    There is a growing trend toward minimization and integration, with the constant need to reduce the size and number of items people find necessary to carry with them. Items currently deemed to be necessities include cell phones such as the iPhone®, Treo® and Blackberry® (trademarks for specific brand cell phones); mp3 players such as the iPod®; wallets containing money, credit cards (and ATM cards), ID materials such as driver&#39;s licenses and car registrations; and to a lesser extent, handheld computers known as PDAs, digital cameras, etc. 
         [0003]    At the top of the necessity list, cell phones, such as the iPhone®, Blackberry® and Treo® have become very popular in integrating many of the above functions such as phone, PDA, camera, web browser, GPS, mp3 player, etc. However, while integration of electronic functions has been taking place, very little has been done to integrate mechanical carrying functions with cell phones or other hand held devices. Larger items such as calculators, book readers and the like have been integrated into cases, with notebooks, pens, calendars, etc. but these devices and cases are not hand held, usually cannot be carried in a pocket and are not subject to minimal size utilizations. Alternatively, especially with smaller devices, carrying cases are provided with separate pockets for holding the devices such as the iPod Nano. These are simply carrying cases that often require that a device be removed from the case in order to use it. 
         [0004]    Decorative and protective holders for hand carried electronic devices such as cell phones, mp3 players, PDAs and the like, known as “skins” because of their skin tight character, are commonly customized and utilized as skin tight personalized decorative and protective enclosures for the hand carried devices and which remain on the devices while in use (they are only removed for servicing the device or to decoratively change color and design (e.g., to match an outfit being worn or as an expression of individuality). The skins primarily function as outer decorative covers and provide some protection against minor damage such as scratches. The skins are generally thin walled and of minimal bulk for enhanced appearance and are generally made of flexible stretchable materials with functional cut-outs customized to the device, for screen viewing and operation controls or connections. The skins are snugly stretchingly fit onto the devices, and in contrast to many clip-on holders such as holsters which are made of leather or hard plastic, skins are unitarily constructed or molded of flexible, stretchable materials such vinyl, pvc, silicone and the like, to allow for device insertion and snug containment. Some skins are however configured for changeable integration with removable and exchangeable decorative hard plastic backings to enable ready variations in design and color according to a user&#39;s preference and as a supportive element for belt clips and the like. Because of their skin tight and close fitting characteristics and decorative nature, skins are not amenable to other uses. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    It is an object of the present invention to provide mechanical holding elements with hand held electronic devices, with minimal or without noticeably increasing the dimensions, footprint and appearance of such devices, 
         [0006]    It is another object of the present invention to modify and provide functional utilization of customized skin tight enclosures for such devices in order to effect the mechanical holding. 
         [0007]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide hand held electronic devices with the minimally sized mechanical holding elements integrated with the skin tight enclosures for holding essentials of cards (credit, debit, ATM, ID and the like), paper money and other thin items. 
         [0008]    It is another object of the present invention to provide access aid elements to the mechanical holding elements to facilitate ready removal of the essentials being held. 
         [0009]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide skin type cases for hand held electronic devices with integrated holding elements suitable for holding several cards including cards with magnetic strips and some paper money and other thin objects, such as notes, in a minimal dimension configuration. 
         [0010]    It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide the skin type cases for hand held electronic devices with integrated holding elements and with elements for maintaining the integrity of the holding elements even in the minimal dimension configuration. 
         [0011]    Generally the present invention comprises the integration of mechanical holding elements with electronic devices, suitable for holding at least one credit card, an ID card and at least one item of paper currency. In an embodiment of the present invention the mechanical holding elements are integrated with a skin type decorative and protective case customized for fitting a hand held electronic device having a viewing screen and/or non-virtual keyboard (some devices have options for virtual keyboards operatively appearing on the screen). The case is customized to closely conform to the shape of the particular device and to have apertures and cutouts in registration with access elements or ports (e.g., microphone, earphone, charging), viewing screens, keyboards, stylus holders, function controls, etc. The case or “skin” is accordingly configured for remaining on the device during use of the device. 
         [0012]    The present invention further comprises a method for adapting the skin to have a pocket element of structural integrity of sufficient size configured to snugly hold several credit cards, and/or other items such as ID, money and the like, of the same or similar dimension with minimal if any change in thickness of the profile of the electronic device. The method comprises the steps of forming the skin with a slot for insertion of thin items such as credit cards and money into a pocket either between walls of the case or between a wall of the case and an electronic device inserted in the skin case. The pockets are provided with elements to minimize any change of appearance of the original profile and elements for assisting in removing the items from the snug pocket element. The pockets further include elements for maintaining the integrity thereof relative to the remainder of the casing. The invention further comprises the skin case so formed. 
         [0013]    The above and further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the following discussion and drawings in which: 
     
    
     
       SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a cell phone skin case, with cards, shown in dashed lines, as being inserted/removed; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a rear view of the cell phone skin of  FIG. 1  more clearly showing a card insertion slot; 
           [0016]      FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b  are front plan views of the cell phone skin case of  FIG. 1  showing, in dashed lines, the casings being used with adaptive shapes for iPhone® and Blackberry® cell phones respectively with cutouts for customized external access also being shown in dashed lines. 
           [0017]      FIGS. 4 and 5  are left and right side elevation views respectively of the cell phone skin case of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a rear plan view of the cell phone skin case of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIGS. 7 and 8  are top and bottom elevation views respectively of the cell phone skin case of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 9 , depicts a second embodiment of a cell phone skin with co-extensive and adjacent walls configured to provide a full independent pocket; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  is another alternative embodiment of a cell phone skin case with a removable hard plastic decorative backing. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    Hand held electronic devices such as cell phones, for which skin cases are customized, generally have length dimensions of about 4.2 to about 4.8″ by a width of 2.3 to about 2.8″ (dimensions of currently common multi-use cell phones) in order to provide an acceptable size for a viewing screen and finger controls while remaining of a sufficiently small enough bulk suitable for being carried in a jacket or shirt pocket or in a small purse. The thickness, depending on the nature of the devices and particular manufacturer, is generally between about 0.5 to 1.0″. The case is configured to snugly peripherally enclose the housing of the electronic device but not to cover a screen/and or keyboard of the device and to have a decorative and/or protective wall of the case which covers the back or obverse side of the hand held device relative to the viewing screen and/or keyboard with the aforementioned width and length dimensions. The devices for use in the present invention must accordingly have an area dimension footprint of at least 3.375″×2.125″ whereby a carried card does not, of necessity, protrude from the case. 
         [0023]    In accordance with the present invention at least one side of the case or the rear of the case is provided with an insertion slot opening which is at least slightly more than about 3.375″ (85 mm) in length extending along the right or left side of the case or at least slightly more than about 2.125″ (55 mm) in length extending along the bottom or top of the hand held device (or stretchable to such dimension lengths). The above dimensions permit fitting accommodation insertion of standard cards of such dimensions (credit, debit, ATM, driver&#39;s license, etc.) in lengthwise and edgewise insertion operations respectively. The slot has an access width of at least about 0.02″ (0.76 mm), the standard width of a credit card or is of sufficient flexibility to permit such insertion with stretching. 
         [0024]    In a first embodiment of a skin case the case wall directly covers the rear of the hand held device with the card retaining pocket being formed between the electronic device and the outer wall of the case. Optionally, a magnetically protective element is interposed between the electronic device and inserted materials having magnetic strips and the like to protect information on the strip from being affected by a magnetic field in the device. In a second embodiment, the outer case wall covers an inner case wall with the latter covering the rear of the hand held device. The pocket element is accordingly formed between the outer and inner case walls. Optionally, the inner case wall is magnetically protective. In a third embodiment the pocket and access slit are formed between a flexible wall of the case and a snap-on decorative wall of a hard plastic material. In such latter embodiment, the hard plastic is of sufficient rigidity and strength to optionally support a belt clip element of thin dimensions and which belt clip is configured to not impede operation of the elements utilized in assisting removal of items from the snug fitting pocket. It is preferred that the area of the skin wall (inner wall surface) which contacts the inserted cards be provided with a recess or be thinned in the area adjacent the inserted card to at least partially accommodate the width of the inserted cards in order to minimize case expansion and noticeable change of the profile of the cell phone or other electronic device. In a fourth embodiment, the device is contained within a housing therefore with the pocket for carrying at least one credit card being formed within or on the housing. In such latter embodiment, additional elements, such as internal retaining leaf clips, are preferably utilized in preventing materials inserted in the pocket from accidentally falling out. Magnetic isolation elements may be utilized in any of the embodiments to protect inserted items having magnetic strips from being damaged or the information therein being corrupted. 
         [0025]    Simple slitting of the side or rear wall of a skin case is an ineffective way to provide the access slot in a skin casing, since the ends of the slit tend to propagate through stretching stresses resulting from insertion and removal of items from the pocket. The present invention accordingly further includes elements which reinforce the ends of the insertion slot. For example the ends of the insertion slot may be thickened or may be otherwise reinforced. Alternatively, the ends of the slot may be radiussed and/or molded initially into the case structure with a radiussed stress relieving curvature. 
         [0026]    Because the items such as cards and thin paper elements are very snugly contained within the respective pockets they are difficult to extract without warping finger removal. In accordance with the present invention, the case or skin is provided with an extraction assisting element, such as a central aperture in the rear wall of the skin, whereby a user can place a finger through the aperture to at least partially slide contained cards, paper money and other thin items through the insertion slot for removal by exposed edge grasping. It is preferred that the extraction assisting elements be configured to prevent or reduce incidence of item skewing on insertion and extraction. 
         [0027]    With specific reference to the drawings,  FIGS. 1 and 2  show skin case  10  customized to the shape of an electronic device such as the iPhone®  20  shown in dashed lines in the screen display  11  in  FIG. 3   a  or the Blackberry®  30  shown in dashed lines in the screen and keyboard display  30   a  and  30   b  of  FIG. 3   b . The other dashed lines show cutouts in  FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b  for access to various cell phone elements such as respective earphones  21  and  31 , speakers  22  and  32  and charging ports  23  and  33  and controls of the respective cell phones. Other hand held electronic devices, exemplified by those of  FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b , have their own customized aperture cutouts. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  4  and  6 , side wall  10 a is provided with a longitudinal slot  10 ′ for insertion of card  1  and folded paper bill  2 .  FIG. 1  shows the interior surface of rear wall  12  being provided with a recess  12   a  sized to accommodate at least one standard card  1  and paper bill  2  with the aforementioned standard card dimensions. The longitudinal insertion/removal is shown in FIGS.  1 , 2  and  3   a  and  3   b , with the card(s), money and the like being positioned and held between the rear of the device (cell phones  20  and  30 ) and the rear wall  12  of the skin. Alternatively, though not shown, the top  13  or bottom  14  (if there is sufficient room relative to the charging port) may be provided with an axial slot for edgewise insertion of card  1  therethrough. 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  6 , the center of the recess  12   a  is apertured with thumb aperture  12   b  which provides thumb (or other finger) access to the cards and other items contained therein to assist or facilitate sliding removal thereof in a block or seriatim. Though the access aperture may be positioned anywhere adjacent the card  1 , it is preferred that it be centrally located to prevent skewing of the card during removal and a trued sliding out of slot  10 ′. 
         [0030]    If desired, a separate pocket may be formed such as schematically shown in  FIG. 9 , by covering recess  12   a  as in  FIG. 1 , with a wall  12   c , wherein cards and bills may be contained between such wall and outer wall  12 . Alternatively, an additional outer wall may be grafted onto the outer wall  12  and apertured accordingly to permit external access to the contained cards and bills. With an enclosing pocket the wall closest to the contained cell phone is preferably made of a magnetically protective material to protect magnetic strips of contained cards from being affected by magnetic fields within the cell phone. 
         [0031]      FIG. 10  depicts a skin  15  with a replaceable hard plastic decorative attachment  16 . As shown, placement of attachment  16  on skin  15  creates a spaced pocket therebetween with the insertion slot  17  being formed in the attachment  16  and with a key thumb slot  18 . A clip  19  is positioned below the slot and serves to clip the skin case, with electronic device therein, onto a belt 
         [0032]    The insertion slot  10 ′ of the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-8  may be reinforced with a strong stitch and/or additional layer of an alternative fabric around the lip of the opening. This will ensure the rubber doesn&#39;t bend and fold when the money is placed within it but slips through easily. The pocket that holds the actual money and cards is preferably made of or lined with a material that allows the cards to slip out easily such as a canvas type material. 
         [0033]    Alternatively, the pocket may be an additional pocket that sits on the outside of the actual skin as an add on, and made of the same type of material to ensure that the money and cards are easily placed in and removed from the skin and built out of a material that allows the money and cards to slip in and out easily enough. Whether the pocket is internal as described above, the lip on the opening is preferably hardened and beveled to ensure that paper money and cards do not slip out on their own but with actual force with a user&#39;s hand. In addition a securing mechanism, e.g., hook and eye connectors, clips, snap buttons, magnet and or other type of securing mechanism may be used to ensure that the money and or cards do not slip out inadvertently. 
         [0034]    More preferably from a manufacturing standpoint, as shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  4  and  6 , the slot  10 ′ is molded directly with the formation of the skin and has walls which are spaced at their ends  10 ″. The separation between walls of slot  10 ′ resists tearing and slot length propagation to maintain integrity of the skin and its holding receptacle. 
         [0035]    It is understood that the above description and drawings are merely exemplary of the present invention and that changes in structure, elements, materials, dimensions and the like, such as formation of the pocket within the device itself, may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims.