Patent Document

REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of prior application Ser. No. 11/322,769, filed on Dec. 30, 2005. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention relates to a protective film for an electronic device. More particularly, this invention relates to a protective film for an electronic device, which has an adhesive layer and a non-adhesive layer to cover and protect a first control surface and/or a second control surface of the electronic device and further has at least one rib incorporated into the protective film.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Arts  
         [0005]     A conventional screen protective film can be seen in U.S. RE35,318 to Warman. It discloses a removable and securable shield in association with such as LCD screens. The shield is removable and replaceable and includes convex peripheral edges to conform the shield to the convex screen with an extending tab formed outwardly of a single corner of the shield to enhance manual grasping thereof. To enhance securement of the shield to the associated screen, a plurality of transparent adhesive strips may be secured to an interior surface of the shield.  
         [0006]     Due to the recent rapid development in the screen film industry, demands for screen film technology improvements are increasing. Also, the way we interact with electronics is changing and therefore the film technology must change. For example, a front surface of the electronic device may have various shapes or designs. The front surface may have a traditional flat screen surface that may include a switch surface area for turning on or off particular functions of the electronic device, and a touch sensing control surface for manually controlling the electronic device. It is a common knowledge that the protective shield covering the flat screen surface exists to cover and protect the underlying screen from being scratched or damaged. There are various types of screen covers currently being used. Also, it is common knowledge that the control and switch surfaces can easily be scratched and therefore should be protected by some means. However, the control surface can be such as a touch sensing surface and it may require a different type of protection. No conventional art suggests an effective way to achieve the demands of the current marketplace.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     A feature of this invention is to provide a protective film which flexibly covers a first control surface, i.e., a switch control surface, and a second control surface, i.e., a touch sensing control surface, separately or together for their scratch protection. Several obvious advantages of this invention are to provide excellent scratch resistant effect, antifouling effect, and a dirt or stain resistant effect.  
         [0008]     The protective film of this invention may be made of a soft material which gives a shock absorbing effect and it may be made of a transparent material which allows the user to access instructions printed on the control surface. This would also allow fingerprint scanning.  
         [0009]     Additionally, the protective film may have at least one rib that is incorporated into the film. This rib provides several advantages including: minimizing bubbles during film placement; providing a physical, touchable guide for users; and preventing the protective film from peeling off of the electronic device.  
         [0010]     Furthermore, this protective film may be formed by simple die cutting, which reduces the manufacturing cost. For example, one adhesive layer is superposed on a non-adhesive layer forming one double-layer film sheet thereby allowing die cutting.  
         [0011]     To achieve the features, this invention provides a protective film comprising a first film layer which covers the touch sensing control surface and the switch control surface of the electronic device and has an adhesive surface thereon, and a second film layer, one surface thereof superposed on the adhesive surface and the other surface thereof placed on a predetermined portion, e.g., the switch control surface of the electronic device. An area of the first film layer can be extended to cover a major surface of an electronic device.  
         [0012]     The above protective film may be characterized in that the superposing portions of the first film surface and the second film surface are correspondingly shaped to match the switch control surface.  
         [0013]     The switch control surface may be raised. The protective film is removable from the electronic device and resealable thereon. The protective film may have a protective shield for a screen. The protective film may be made of a flexible material and/or a transparent material. The protective film may have at least one rib incorporated into the protective film. Also, the protective film may be such that one of either layers has a surface that is not covered by the other layer. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     The above and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the portable electronic device and the protective film covering the switch control surface and the touch sensing control surface of a portable electronic device;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2A  is a side cross-section view of the first film layer together with the second film layer superposed thereon of the protective film;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2B  is a side cross-section view of the first film layer together with the second film layer of the protective film after removing an adhesive film covering pieces therefrom;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2C  is a side cross-section view of a removed film covering surface and a remaining piece after peeling the protective film therefrom;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a side cross-section of the protective film, the first film layer and the second film layer are placed on the portable electronic device;  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of another embodiment of this invention where the first film layer has a smaller area and is slightly larger than the second film layer;  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the protective film covering a major surface of the portable electronic device;  
         [0022]      FIG. 6A  is a side cross-section view of the first film layer and the second film layer with a rib;  
         [0023]      FIG. 6B  is a side cross-section view of the first film layer and the second film layer with a rib after peeling the protective film therefrom;  
         [0024]      FIG. 6C  is a side cross-section view of a removed film covering surface and a remaining piece with a rib after peeling the protective film therefrom;  
         [0025]      FIG. 7A  is a side cross-section view of the first film layer and the second film layer with the rib and a cut line;  
         [0026]      FIG. 7B  is a side cross-section view of the first film layer and the second film layer with a rib and a cut line after peeling the protective film therefrom; and  
         [0027]      FIG. 7C  is a side cross-section view of a removed film covering surface and a remaining piece with a rib and a cut line after peeling the protective film therefrom; 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0028]     Next, this invention will be explained with reference to the accompanied drawings. This invention is not limited by the examples explained herein. Also, the following explanation uses an example where the protective film is used on a portable music player; however, the usage of the protective film is not limited to such player, and this invention can be employed for use in or with various types of electronic and non-electronic devices or objects.  
         [0029]     A first example is explained with reference to  FIGS. 1-3 .  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the portable electronic device and the protective film.  FIG. 2A  is the side cross-section view of the protective film which comprises the first film layer  20  covering both the switch control surface  72  and the touch sensing control surface  73  of the portable electronic device  70 .  FIG. 2B  is a side cross-section view of the first film layer together with the second film layer of the protective film after removing an adhesive film covering pieces therefrom, and  FIG. 2C  is a side cross-section view of a removed film covering surface and a remaining piece after peeling the protective film therefrom.  
         [0030]     As shown in  FIG. 2A , the protective film  10  is comprised of the first film layer  20  and the second film layer  40 . Materials to be used in the first and the second film layers  20 ,  40  are not particularly limited as long as a user is able to view the display screen  71  and/or a desired portion such as an instruction/sign  73  of the electronic device  70  and the protective film  10  does not prevent the user from controlling the device  70  in a practical manner. Also, materials to be used in the first and second film layers  20 ,  40  may be the same or different.  
         [0031]     The first film layer  20  has an adhesive layer surface  30  thereon, and the second film layer  40  is superposed thereon, so that the adhesive surface  30  is sandwiched between the first and the second film layers  20  and  40 . Again, materials used to create the adhesive surface  30  is not limited to a particular type as long as the first and the second film layers  20 ,  40  can stay on the electronic device  70 .  
         [0032]     The first film layer  20  has a first cut line  21  that enables separation of the first film layer  20  into two pieces, i.e., a large cover surface  22  and a remaining piece  23 . Similarly, the second film layer  40  has a second cut line  41  that enables separation of the second film  40  into two pieces, i.e., a switch control surface cover  42  and an adhesive surface covering piece  43 .  
         [0033]     As shown in  FIG. 2B , when the user carefully peels the first film layer  20  from the first cut line  21  with two fingers holding the edge around the first cut line  21 , the first film layer  20 , with the adhesive surface  30  together with the switch surface cover held by the adhesive surface  30  and separated at the second cut line  41 , is removed from the second film layer  40  without the switch surface cover  42 . Here, the adhesive surface  30 , the switch surface cover  42 , and the second cut line  41  are arranged so that the switch surface cover  42  adheres to the adhesive layer  30  after the peeling process.  FIG. 2C  shows the adhesive covering piece  43  of the second film layer  40 , after the above-removing process, which was covering the adhesive surface  30  and the remaining piece  23  of the first film layer  20  attached to the adhesive surface covering piece  43  via the remaining adhesive surface  30 .  
         [0034]     Shapes and surface areas of the first film layer  20  can be decided as necessary. For example, the first cut line  21  in  FIG. 2A  can be extended along a circumferential line of the second control surface  73  of the electronic device  70  in  FIG. 1 , so that the first film layer  20  appropriately fits over the second control surface  73 . Also, the adhesive surface  30  can cover any area of the surface of the first film layer  20  as long as the first film layer  20  is securely attached on the surface of the electronic device  70  and also securely holds the later described switch surface cover  42 .  
         [0035]     Shapes and surface areas of the second layer  40  can be decided as necessary. For example, the second cut line  41  in  FIG. 2A  can be extended along a circumferential line of the first control surface  72  of the electronic device  70 , and therefore as separating the second layer  40  into two pieces at the circumferential line, the resulting second layer  40  makes an appropriate shape to cover the first control surface  72  as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0036]      FIG. 3  is a side cross-section of the protective film  10  placed on the portable electronic device  70 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the portable electronic device  70  has two different surfaces for controlling the device itself, i.e., the first control surface  72  and the second control surface  73 . Here, the large surface cover  22  of the first film layer is appropriately placed over the first and the second control surfaces  72 ,  73  and securely attached to the second control surface  73  via the adhesive surface  30 . The switch surface cover  42  of the second film layer  40  is appropriately placed on the first control surface  72  of the electronic device  70 . One surface of the switch surface cover  42  facing with and attaching to the first control surface  72  of the electronic device  70  is a non-adhesive surface while the other surface of the switch surface cover  42  is securely attached to the large surface cover  22  of the first film layer via the adhesive surface  30 .  
         [0037]      FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  show other embodiments of this invention. In  FIG. 4 , the first film layer has a smaller area and is slightly larger than the second film layer. In  FIG. 5 , the protective film covers a major surface of the portable electronic device.  
         [0038]      FIG. 6  show the present invention with the addition of at least one rib  50  incorporated into the film. This rib  50  provides several advantages. First, it prevents bubbles from forming when placing the protective film  10  on the surface of the electronic device  70 . It is common knowledge that bubbles tend to form between the electronic control surface  70  and the protective film  10 . The rib  50  of the present invention minimizes the bubbles by providing an internal air chamber. Secondly, the rib  50  provides a physical, touchable guide for electronic device users. For example, one popular MP3 player has a touch sensitive area that forms a circle around the first and the second control surfaces  72 ,  74 . The rib  50  of the present invention can be made so that it forms a circle around the first control surface  72  or the second control surface  74 , thereby providing the user with a physical divider between the first control surface  72  or the second control surface  74 , i.e., the non-sensitive switch control surface and the touch sensitive areas. Further, the shape of the rib  50  is not limited to a circle; it can be any form, such as plural curve strips or straight lines. The shape is limitless as long as the rib  50  provides the above-described advantages. The protective film  10  could have either one or more of the previously described ribs  50  incorporated into the protective film  10 . Finally, the rib  50  or ribs  50  prevent the protective film  10  from peeling off of or away from the surface of the electronic device  70 .  
         [0039]     It is readily apparent that the above-described embodiments have the advantage of wide commercial utility. It should be understood that the specific form of the invention hereinabove described is intended to be representative only, as certain modifications within the scope of these teachings will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the protective film may be sized and shaped as necessary to fit a desirable portion of the electronic device  70  surface. For example, as shown in  FIG. 4 , which is the perspective view of the protective film covering the second control surface  73  of the portable electronic device  70  placed thereon, the protective film  10  can simply cover the first surface  72  only. By the same token, the protective film  10  can cover beyond the second control surface  73  of the electronic device  70 . Furthermore, the material of the protective film may be flexible to provide an appropriate fitness on the electronic device  70  surface, it could be opaque material or it may be a transparent material so that the user is able to see instructions or signs  74  marked on the electronic device  70  surface. In addition, either the first film layer  20  or the second film layer  40  may have a larger surface or a surface without the other film superposed thereon, which facilitates the user&#39;s action to remove one film layer from the other film layer. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following claims in determining the full scope of the invention.

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