1 of 6 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT SLIDABLE SILICONE ADHESIVE SCREEN GUARD The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 2 of 6 SLIDABLE SILICONE ADHESIVE SCREEN GUARD [001] The present invention relates to a screen guard for an electronic device. [002] Methods have been proposed for protecting the screen of an electronic device that involve the steps of removing a thin backing layer (0.05-0.10mm) from a transparent screen guard film and fixing the screen guard to a screen, wherein the screen guard adhesively fixes to a screen when it is placed on it. [003] One principle disadvantage of these proposed constructions is the difficulty in precisely placing the screen guard on the screen of the electronic device. [004] Such problems are overcome by the present invention, which provides a novel screen guard that allows a portion of the thick backing layer to be removed, allowing the screen guard to be placed on the screen of an electronic device and correctly positioned before initiating adhesion of the screen guard to the screen. [005] The screen guard of the present invention comprises of a transparent film layer, silicone adhesive layer and backing layer that covers the adhesive layer (FIG. 1). Optionally, a protective layer may cover the surface of the film layer. [006] The film layer comprises of a thin transparent or semi-transparent material known to experts in the field, which may include such materials as Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) or Glass. [007] The adhesive layer comprises of an adhesive material. Preferably, silicone based adhesives are used in the present invention. [008] In the present invention, the backing layer comprises of a thickness sufficient to prevent the attractive force of the silicone adhesive from attaching the screen guard to adjoining screen when a portion of the backing layer is removed. The backing layer may comprise of one or more layers in order to achieve sufficient thickness. Preferably a single portion of less than 30 percent is initially removed from the backing layer.
3 of 6 [009] Once a portion of the backing layer has been removed and the screen guard placed on the screen, the thick backing layer prevents the attractive force of the silicone adhesive from fixing to the screen. This allows the screen guard to freely move on the screen of an electronic device without adhesion of the screen guard, thus allowing the user to slide the screen guard correctly into place. Once correctly positioned, the adhesive element may be initiated. [010] A formula has been devised to assist in determining the thickness of the backing layer for purposes described within this specification. The backing layer may comprise a thickness in mm greater or equal to the (silicone adhesive thickness in mm) x (exposed adhesive area in mm2) x (silicone adhesive force in g/50mm2) / 1000. [011] In another embodiment of the present invention, the backing layer comprises of a snappable material. A portion of the backing layer may be snapped and removed. [012] An example of the installation process involves snapping the backing layer and removing a portion of the backing layer (FIG. 2). The screen guard is then placed on the screen of the electronic device and moved or slide into correct alignment on the screen. The exposed silicone adhesive area is then fixed to the screen by manually pressing down the screen guard in relation to the exposed silicone adhesive area (FIG. 3). The remaining piece of the backing layer is then removed. [013] The optional protective layer of the screen guard enables the surface of the screen guard to remain clean and unscratched prior to installation. The optional protective layer may comprise of a thin plastic or paper based material that is fixed to the transparent film layer. [014] Electronic devices that may be used in conjunction with the present invention include mobile phones, watches, cameras, music devices, electronic game devices, laptop computers, tablet computers, electronic book readers, computer monitors, navigation screens, LCD screens, LED screens, televisions and the like.
4 of 6 [015] Two examples of silicone adhesive screen guards with suitably thick backings using the formula described in this specification: Example 1: Apple iPhone5 mobile phone silicone adhesive screen guard, Specification includes an exposed adhesive area of 990mm2 (15%), glue layer height of 0.025mm and silicone adhesive force of 5.5g, Backing Layer Thickness in mm > (825 x .025 x 5.5) /1000 Backing Layer Thickness in mm > 0.136mm Example 2: Samsung Note3 mobile phone silicone adhesive screen guard, Specification includes an exposed adhesive area of 1070mm2 (10%), glue layer height of 0.025mm and silicone adhesive force of 5.5g, Backing Layer Thickness in mm > (1095 x .025 x 5.5) /1000 Backing Layer Thickness in mm > 0.147mm Based on the backing thickness calculations in examples 1 and 2, a backing layer thickness of .150mm is chosen for the construction of the screen guards. [016] The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following illustrations taken in conjunction with the description in which: [017] FIG. 1 is an example of a screen guard of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an example of a screen guard with backing layer snapped. FIG. 3 is an example of installing a screen guard of the present invention. [018] Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which illustrates a front view of a screen guard 1. The said screen guard 1 has transparent film layer 2 facing upwards. FIG. 1A is a side view showing screen guard 1A, which comprises of film layer 2A, backing layer 3 and silicone adhesive layer 4. Figure 1A shows the backing layer 3 as a single layer, however the present invention is not limited to this and the backing layer may comprise of more than one layer. Preferably the backing layer comprises of two layers, where the second layer covers only a portion of the first backing layer. This creates further height of the backing layer with the use of less material.
5 of 6 [019] Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which illustrates a screen guard of the present invention comprising of transparent film layer 5 and backing layer 6. The figure shows the snapping of backing layer 6 by applying a bending force to the screen guard. [020] Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which illustrates screen guard 7 with a portion of the backing layer removed thereby exposing silicone adhesive area 8, and a mobile phone 9 facing screen up. The screen guard 7 is lowered onto the screen of the mobile phone 9. FIG. 3A illustrates the screen guard 7A on the screen of the mobile phone 9A. The figure shows the silicone adhesive area 8A not touching the screen of mobile phone 9A, as a result of the backing layer with sufficient thickness. The screen guard 7A may be moved or slide on the screen of mobile phone 9A until correctly aligned. To attach the screen guard 7A, the exposed adhesive area 8A is firmly pressed thereby attaching said screen guard 7A to the screen of mobile phone 9A. While holding the upper section of the screen guard in place on the screen, the remaining backing layer piece may then be grasped and removed, with or without the use of tabs or handles. [021] It is appreciated that these are just a limited number of examples of screen guards, which may be constructed and operative in accordance with the present invention and the invention is not limited to these examples. AUSTRALIAN SCIENCES PTY LTD 13 JANUARY 2013