US20130140194A1

US20130140194A1 - Protective cover unfolding and positioning device

Info

Publication number: US20130140194A1
Application number: US13/556,470
Authority: US
Inventors: Hsiu-Ping Han
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-12-01
Filing date: 2012-07-24
Publication date: 2013-06-06
Also published as: TWM430874U

Abstract

A protective cover unfolding and positioning device has a position restoring element installed at a folding portion adjacent to upper and lower support portions of a first protective plate for providing a restoring resilience for bending or folding the upper and lower support portions. A telecommunication product or an electronic device may be disposed obliquely on a peripheral surface of a second protective plate peripheral surface, The weight of the telecommunication product or electronic device exerted on the first protective plate upper, the lower support portions and the restoring resilience provided by the position restoring element to the upper and lower support portions Maintain stability of the that the telecommunication product or electronic device.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a protective cover unfolding and positioning device, in particular to the protective cover unfolding and positioning device with the features of a simple installation, an easy and convenient use, and capable of providing an innovative diversified way of unfolding and fixing a protected portable telecommunication product or electronic device, so as to achieve the effects of the convenient and efficient operation, use or viewing, and the whole protective cover has the features of a simple cost-effective manufacture and a handy and thin design for an easy carry and not occupying much space, and improves over the conventional devices of the same sort.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As science and technology advance, portable telecommunication products and electronic devices such as digital media players (DMP), global positioning systems (GPS), tablet PCs, touch screen mobile phones using a light crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display as interfaces are developed and introduced to the market constantly.
In general, the telecommunication products or electronic devices come with a protective cover to provide an easy carry and reduce rubbing, collisions or damages. Most protective covers have a cover or bag for accommodating the telecommunication product or electronic device directly, or the telecommunication product or electronic device is designed to be able to combine with a protective cover directly. Although the design of the protective cover or bag can achieve the effect of protecting the telecommunication product or electronic device, it has a single function on practical application and cannot meet the user requirements. Therefore, the inventor of the present invention has developed “an improved protective cover” as disclosed in R.O.C. Pat. Application No. 99210050 and shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, wherein a telecommunication product or electronic device A has a stylish design capable of connecting, folding and unfolding a first protective plate 10 and a second protective plate 11 to protect the telecommunication product or electronic device A. The first protective plate 10 is provided for installing the telecommunication product or electronic device A and includes a folding portion B disposed on a transverse peripheral surface of the first protective plate 10 for dividing the first protective plate 10 into an upper support portion 101 and a lower support portion 102, and a positioning element 1011, 1021 installed at the upper and lower support portions 101, 102 separately for positioning the telecommunication product or electronic device A. The second protective plate 11 includes at least one transverse positioning slot 111 and a buckle loop 112 disposed at the periphery of the second protective plate 11, for latching and protecting the telecommunication product or electronic device A when the second protective plate 11 is folded and stacked onto the first protective plate 10.
When use, the first and second protective plates 10, 11 can be folded and stacked with each other to protect the telecommunication product or electronic device A (as shown in FIG. 3) and also can be unfolded to lift the first protective plate 10 upward, and then a lower end of the telecommunication product or electronic device A is separated from a lower support portion positioning element 1021 of the first protective plate 10 and plugged slantingly and fixed into any one of the positioning slots 111 of the second protective plate 11 to achieve the effect of disposing the telecommunication product or electronic device A obliquely to facilitate users' operations and improve the viewing effect (as shown in FIG. 4).
The transverse positioning slot 111 is formed on a peripheral surface of the second protective plate 11 for fixing the telecommunication product or electronic device A obliquely, so as to achieve the effect of a simple, easy and convenient operation, and such arrangement is welcome by users. However, the inventor of the present invention conducted further researches and experiments and developed an improved protective cover unfolding and positioning device to provide add-on values to the product. In other words, some necessary manufacturing procedures must be taken to form the transverse positioning slots 111, regardless of the quantity of the transverse positioning slots 111. The larger the quantity, the more complicated are the manufacturing procedures. These complicated manufacturing procedures often incur a higher cost. In addition, the telecommunication products or electronic devices A must be plugged into the transverse positioning slots 111 one by one before the effect of fixing the telecommunication products or electronic devices obliquely is achieved. In addition to the relatively slow operation, particularly the quantity and interval of the transverse positioning slots 111 directly limit the angle of disposing the telecommunication product or electronic device A, so that there will be limitation and inconvenience for users to operate or view the telecommunication product or electronic device A. To cope with the formation of the transverse positioning slots 111, the second protective plate 111 is thicker, and thus resulting in increased volume and clumsiness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary objective of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art by providing a protective cover unfolding and positioning device, such that when the portable telecommunication product or electronic device is unfolded for use, the operation is simple, easy, quick, convenient and efficient, and the telecommunication product or electronic device can be fixed obliquely at a position to provide a more diversified and variable application, and the manufacture of the protective cover is simpler and cheaper, and the invention can save materials and improve the portability of the protective cover unfolding and positioning device.
To achieve the aforementioned and other objectives, the present invention provides a protective cover unfolding and positioning device, wherein a position restoring element is installed at a position of folding portion adjacent to the upper and lower support portions of the first protective plate, and the position restoring element provides a restoring resilience for bending and folding the upper and lower support portions by using the folding portion as a base.
The unfolded first protective plate is lifted upward to move a lower end of a telecommunication product or an electronic device to be disposed obliquely on a peripheral surface of a second protective plate peripheral surface, and when the upper and lower support portions of the first protective plate are folded with each other automatically at the folding portion, the weight of the telecommunication product or electronic device exerted onto the first protective plate upper and the lower support portions and the restoring resilience provided by the position restoring element to the upper and lower support portions assure that the obliquely disposed telecommunication product or electronic device is supported securely to maintain the positioning stability, and the angle of the oblique telecommunication product or electronic device can be adjusted freely to achieve the simple operation and convenient viewing effect, and the second protective plate does not require any positioning device corresponding to the telecommunication product or electronic device, and the whole protective cover can have a thin design to achieve the effects of saving materials, providing a handy device for an easy and convenient carry, and occupying not much space.
The objects, technical characteristics and effects of the present invention will become apparent with the detailed description of preferred embodiments accompanied with the illustration of related drawings as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a protective cover in an unfolded state as disclosed in R.O.C. Pat. Application No. 99210050;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the protective cover as depicted in FIG. 1 and installed to a telecommunication product or electronic device;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the protective cover as depicted in FIG. 1 in a folded state;

FIG. 4 is a planar schematic view of the protective cover as depicted in FIG. 1 in an unfolded state for using a telecommunication product or electronic device;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a protective cover in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of installing a protective cover in a telecommunication product or electronic device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a first schematic view of a first protective plate installed with a position restoring element in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a first top view of a first protective plate installed with a position restoring element in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a second top view of a first protective plate installed with a position restoring element in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a first planar view of a protective cover as depicted in FIG. 5 and unfolded for using a telecommunication product or electronic device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a second planar view of a protective cover as depicted in FIG. 5 and unfolded for using a telecommunication product or electronic device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of upper and lower support portions of a first protective plate of the protective cover as depicted in FIG. 11 which are in a bent and folded state;

FIG. 13 is a third planar view of a protective cover as depicted in FIG. 5 and unfolded for using a telecommunication product or electronic device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a second cross-sectional view of a first protective plate installed with a position restoring element in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a third cross-sectional view of a first protective plate installed with a position restoring element in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a fourth cross-sectional view of a first protective plate installed with a position restoring element in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 17 is a fifth cross-sectional view of a first protective plate installed with a position restoring element in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Wherein, FIGS. 5 and 7 are representative drawings of the present invention

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The objects, characteristics and effects of the present invention will become apparent with the detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the illustration of related drawings as follows.
With reference to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 for a protective cover unfolding and positioning device of the present invention, the protective cover unfolding and positioning device comprises a first protective plate 10 and a second protective plate 11 coupled to each other and capable of being folded or unfolded with respect to each other, wherein the first protective plate 10 is provided for accommodating a telecommunication product or electronic device A and includes a transverse folding portion B disposed on a peripheral surface of the first protective plate 10 to divided the first protective plate 10 into an upper support portion 101 and a lower support portion 102, and the upper and lower support portions 101, 102 have a positioning element 1011, 1021 separately for fixing the telecommunication product or electronic device at a position. The second protective plate 11 includes a buckle loop 112 formed at the periphery of the second protective plate 11 and provided for fixing the second protective plate 11 to the periphery of the communication product or electronic device A when the second protective plate 11 and the first protective plate 10 are folded and stacked with each other. Wherein, a position restoring element 20 is installed at a position of the folding portion B adjacent to the upper and lower support portions 101, 102 of the first protective plate 10, and the position restoring element 20 provides the restoring resilience for bending and folding the upper and lower support portion 101, 102 by using the folding portion B as a base.
Wherein, the position restoring element 20 is made of an elastic material with a position restoring effect such as polyurethane (PU), thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), synthetic rubber or rubber.
In FIGS. 8 and 9, one or more position restoring elements 20 of different lengths are installed on the folding portion B adjacent to the upper and lower support portions 101, 102
In FIGS. 10 to 13 for the aforementioned assembly of the present invention, the installed position restoring element 20 will not hinder the manufacture and molding of the first protective plate 10 and the upper and lower support portions 101, 102, and various positioning devices such as the transverse positioning slots formed on a peripheral surface of the second protective plate 11 corresponding to the telecommunication product or electronic device A are no longer required, so that the whole protective cover can have a thin design to achieve the effects of saving materials, providing a handy device for an easy and convenient carry, and occupying not much space, in addition to having the features of simple manufacture and excellent cost-effectiveness.
When the telecommunication product or electronic device A is used, the first protective plate 10 and the second protective plate 11 of the protective cover are unfolded with respect to each other, and the first protective plate 10 is lifted upward to detach a lower end of the telecommunication product or electronic device A from the positioning element 1021, and obliquely placed on a peripheral surface of the second protective plate 11. Now, the upper and lower support portions 101, 102 of the first protective plate 10 are bent and folded with respect to each other automatically by using the adjacent folding portion B as a base, and the position restoring element 20 installed adjacent to the folding portion B will provide a position restoring resilience to the upper and lower support portions 101, 102, and the telecommunication product or electronic device A will press against a peripheral surface of the upper support portion 101 of the first protective plate 10 and the second protective plate 11 by the gravitational force, so that the obliquely disposed telecommunication product or electronic device A can be positioned and fixed at a position. Particularly, the position restoring element 20 applies the restoring resilience to the upper and lower support portions 101, 102 anytime, so that the upper and lower support portions 101, 102 keeps providing a supporting force to the telecommunication product or electronic device A all the time to prevent the telecommunication product or electronic device A will not be toppled over and allow the telecommunication product or electronic device A to be set obliquely at any angle, so as to achieve the diversified and variable stepless adjustment effect and facilitate the operation, use and viewing of the telecommunication product or electronic device A effectively.
The position restoring element 20 is installed at a position of the folding portion B adjacent to the upper and lower support portions 101, 102 of the first protective plate 10 by an adhesion, sewing or riveting method depending on the properties or using features of the protected telecommunication product or electronic device A, the appearance or using features of the protective cover, or the properties and features of the position restoring element 20, and an inside material c (such as cloth or leather), and a decorative outside material d (such as cloth or leather) covered onto inner and outer surfaces of the upper and lower support portions 101, 102 of the position restoring element 20 are sheltered into a hidden form as shown in FIG. 7 or the inside material c and the decorative outside material d are covered onto the inner and outer surfaces of the upper and lower support portions 101, 102 as shown in FIG. 14 are sheltered into a hidden form, and both sides 201 of the position restoring element 20 are coupled to the upper and lower support portions 101, 102, or installed on an inner peripheral surface and an outer peripheral surface of the folding portion B adjacent to the upper and lower support portions 101, 102 as shown in FIG. 15, or installed on an inner peripheral surface and an outer peripheral surface of the folding portion B adjacent to the upper and lower support portions 101, 102 as shown in FIG. 16 to achieve the same effect of providing the restoring resilience for bending and folding the upper and lower support portions 101, 102, and providing the supporting force to the obliquely disposed telecommunication product or electronic device A.
In summation of the description above, the present invention has one or more of the following advantages:
1. The invention features a simple manufacture, an excellent cost-effectiveness, a material saving effect and a high portability.
2. The invention makes the operation and use of unfolding the portable telecommunication product or electronic device simpler, more convenient, quicker, and more efficient.
3. The invention allows the telecommunication product or electronic device to be positioned obliquely to provide more diversified and variable applications.
While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A protective cover unfolding and positioning device, comprising a first protective plate and a second protective plate coupled with each other and foldable and unfoldable with respect to each other, and the first protective plate being provided for accommodating a telecommunication product or an electronic device, and having a transverse folding portion disposed on a peripheral surface of the first protective plate for dividing the first protective plate into an upper support portion and a lower support portion; characterized in that a position restoring element is installed at a position of folding portion adjacent to the upper and lower support portions of the first protective plate, and the position restoring element provides a restoring resilience for bending and folding the upper and lower support portions by using the folding portion as a base.

2. The protective cover unfolding and positioning device of claim 1, wherein the position restoring element is made of an elastic material with a position restoring effect selected from the collection of polyurethane (PU), thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), synthetic rubber and rubber.

3. The protective cover unfolding and positioning device of claim 1, wherein the position restoring element comes with a quantity of one and is installed at a position of the folding portion adjacent to the upper and lower support portions of the first protective plate.

4. The protective cover unfolding and positioning device of claim 1, wherein the position restoring elements come with a plural quantity and a shorter length and are installed at positions of the folding portion adjacent to the upper and lower support portions of the first protective plate.

5. The protective cover unfolding and positioning device of claim 1, wherein the position restoring element is installed at a position of the folding portion adjacent to the upper and lower support portions of the first protective plate by an adhesion, sewing or riveting method.

6. The protective cover unfolding and positioning device of claim 1, wherein the position restoring element is covered by an inside material and a decorative outside material of the inner and outer surfaces of the upper and lower support portions of the first protective plate and sheltered into a hidden form.

7. The protective cover unfolding and positioning device of claim 1, wherein the position restoring element is covered onto the first protective plate, and the inside material and decorative outside material of the inner and outer surfaces of the upper and lower support portions are covered and sheltered into a hidden form, and both sides of the position restoring element are coupled to the upper and lower support portions.

8. The protective cover unfolding and positioning device of claim 1, wherein the position restoring element is installed on an inner peripheral surface or an outer periphery surface of the folding portion adjacent to the upper and lower support portions of the first protective plate.

9. The protective cover unfolding and positioning device of claim 1, wherein the position restoring element is installed on an inner peripheral surface or a periphery surface of the folding portion adjacent to the upper and lower support portions of the first protective plate.

10. The protective cover unfolding and positioning device of claim 6, wherein the inside material and the decorative outside material of the inner and outer surfaces of the upper and lower support portions of the first protective plate are cloth or leather.