WO2003101245A1

WO2003101245A1 - Case of an electronic device

Info

Publication number: WO2003101245A1
Application number: PCT/FI2003/000434
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mika Bordi
Original assignee: Moduleo Oy
Priority date: 2002-05-31
Filing date: 2003-06-02
Publication date: 2003-12-11
Also published as: AU2003232266A1; FI20021035A0

Abstract

A case for an electronic device including a watertight and at least partly transparent case body (1) sub stantially corresponding to the shape of the electronic device, the case being open at one end, as well as a lid (2) water tightly closing the open end of the case body. According to the invention, the case includes an annular intermediate part (3), on which both the case body (1) and the lid (2) are supported. Furthermore, the case body includes an annular supporting surface (5), and the lid includes an annular pressure contact area (6), so that when closing the lid, the sealing flange is pressed in between the supporting surface and the pressure contact area, thereby closing the space defined by the lid and the case body.

Description

CASE OF AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE

The invention relates to a case of an electronic device, e.g. a mobile phone, as defined in the preamble of claim 1. For electronic devices and especially for mobile phones, plenty of various protective cases of various sizes are currently manufactured that are mainly made of plastic. The cases are designed to protect mobile phones from mechanical stress, humidity, dirt, dust and the like effects possibly damaging it.

Since new mobile phones having various sizes and shapes are constantly introduced into the market, case manufactures are having problems being able to provide protective cases corresponding to each brand and model of brand. As the parts of the cases are still relatively big, having various shapes, their plastic compression moulds become relatively complicated and costly. Due to this, it is not financially profitable to manufacture plastic protective cases for each mobile phone model introduced into the market. In this way, some of the mobile phone users do not find a suitable and practical protective case for their phone regardless of the need, or as cases, too big and massive general-purpose cases have to be used. The objective of the invention is to overcome the prior-art disadvantages referred to above. One specific objective of the invention is to disclose a new type of case of an electronic device, especially of a mobile phone, that enables the use of the same case or of certain parts of the same case in conjunction with electronic devices having various sizes and shapes .

As for the features characteristic of the invention, reference is made to the claims. The solution in accordance with the invention is based on a totally new kind of thinking in conjunction with protective cases of electronic devices, i.e. on the fact that the case is appropriately formed from parts that can be attached to each other to form a watertight case, enabling change of parts such that parts of necessary sizes and shapes are attached to each other to form a compact whole .

The case of an electronic device in accordance with the invention includes a watertight and at least partly transparent case body substantially corresponding to the shape of the electronic device, the case body being open at one end, as well as a lid that water tightly closes the open end of the case body. The electronic device coming into question may be any as such, but in conjunction with this application, reference is made mainly to mobile phones. According to the invention, the case includes an annular and preferably rigid intermediate part, on which both the case body and the lid are supported. In addition, the case body includes an annular sealing flange; the intermediate part includes an annular sup- porting surface and the lid includes an annular pressure contact area, so that when closing the lid, the sealing flange of the case body is pressed in between the supporting surface of the intermediate part and the pressure contact area of the lid, thereby water tightly closing the space defined by the lid and the case body. In this way, the intermediate part forms a ring through which the case body is mainly placed and extends, the annular sealing flange preventing the whole case body from passing through the intermediate part.

In one embodiment of the invention, the case includes case bodies having various shapes and sizes, which can alternatively be attached to a lid and intermediate part of standard sizes. In other words, for the case, a case body sufficiently corresponding to the shape and size of the electronic device being used can be chosen, which case body is attached to a standard lid, and the standard to an intermediate part.

Preferably, the sealing flange is disposed at the edge of the open end of the case body, defining a crosswise outward extending annular collar. It is also possible that the sealing flange is an oblique, conical and annular surface. Thus, the sealing and pressing of the case body against the intermediate part may take place on top of the intermediate part and/or in- side it. The case body being thus attached to the lid and intermediate part only in the area of the sealing flange, it is understandable that the rest of the case body can vary freely in respect of shape and size, without the change having an effect on the functioning of the case.

Preferably, between the intermediate part and the lid there is a pivoting device, such as a hinge, for turning them relative to each other both in the closed as well as in the open position. In the same way, preferably, between the intermediate part and the lid there is a locking for interlocking them with one another. It is naturally also possible that the lid and the intermediate part are parts separate and removable from each other, which are put together and interlocked with one another when closing the lid.

Preferably, the intermediate part includes a suspension that makes it possible to attach the case e.g. to a user's belt, bicycle stand or a collar.

In another embodiment of the invention, the case body includes an elasticity or corresponding possibility of change of form for enabling the reception of electronic devices of various sizes. The flanks of the case body may have an elastic bellows structure, or inside the case body there may be elastic and yielding structural parts, so that into the same case body, mobile phones of various sizes can be fitted relatively firmly. The case body may also be partly or almost wholly made of a relatively thin and bagged structure. In that case, the case protects mainly from humidity and dirt .

While the case body is preferably made of an elastic structure that elastically forms a sealing in between the lid and the intermediate part, the case may also include a separate sealing ring for sealing the case body, lid and intermediate part with one another. Preferably, the case also includes several lids having various sizes and shapes that can alternatively be attached to a case body and intermediate part of standard sizes. In this way one can think that in its widest scope, the case in accordance with the invention includes an intermediate part of standard size, a mounting ring or a collar; and case bodies and lids of various sizes can be secured or tightly attached to it, when necessary, according to the dimensions of the mobile phone being used. The case body may also have watertight through holes, thinning, films or apertures known in prior art to improve sound audibility when using the phone within the case, very transparent parts or areas near the phone display in the case, or partly or wholly transparent films or elastic sheathings near the keys, so that the phone can be used whilst in case .

The case in accordance with the invention has significant advantages over prior art. The invention makes it possible to manufacture protective cases of mobile phones and corresponding electronic devices from partly standard sized parts, but however, in such a manner that for each mobile phone brand and model, a tight and closely fitting case can be achieved. This results in reduced manufacturing costs of cases, and their manufacturing also in smaller series becomes profitable. In the following, the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 illustrates a front view of one case in accordance with the invention,

Figure 2 illustrates a rear view of the case of Fig. 1; and

Figure 3 illustrates the case of Fig. 1 with its three parts separate from each other. The protective case for a mobile phone as shown in the drawings includes a tank-like and elongated case body 1, being open at one end, i.e. at the upper end, and having substantially the shape of the mobile phone to be mounted within it . At the edges of the case body 1 there is a bellows-like elasticity 10, which allows placing of mobile phones of various sizes tightly within it. The entire front wall 11 of the case body 1 is made of a relatively thin, elastic, film-like sheathing, so that the phone can be used whilst in case. At the lower end of the case body there is furthermore a thinning 12, or near the microphone of the phone a suitable protective film in the aperture to improve sound transmission.

Near the upper edge of the case body 1 there is an annular sealing flange 4 encircling the edge, extending outward from the rest of the case body.

As a second part in the case there is an annular and relatively rigid intermediate part 3. The intermediate part corresponds to the case body in re- spect of size and shape such that the case body can be passed through the intermediate part from above such that the case body is left hanging in the intermediate part from its sealing flange 4. In this way, the upper edge of the intermediate part 3 forms a supporting surface 5, which in respect of its shape corresponds to the sealing flange or the lower surface of the sealing flange. Supported on the intermediate part, by means of a pivoting device 7, i.e. a hinge, is a lid 2, whose lower edge forms a pressure contact area 6, having a shape corresponding to the upper part of the sealing flange 4. Since the lid 2 and the intermediate part 3 includes, in addition, a locking 8 on the opposite side of the hinge, the lid can be turned, pressed and locked against the intermediate part 3 such that the sealing flange 4 of the case body 1 is pressed in between the pressure contact area 6 of the lid 2 and the supporting surface 5 of the intermediate part 3. In this way, the watertight lid and watertight case body together form a watertight case. Arranged in the lid 2 is furthermore another thinning 13 or film cor- responding to the thinning 12 at the lower edge of the case body, which thinning or film is disposed substantially near the earphone of the phone in the case.

Attached to the rigid intermediate part 3 is also a suspension 9 for securing the case to a user's belt.

As can be more clearly seen from Figure 3, the mobile phone case in accordance with the invention is made of three totally different parts; a case body, an intermediate part and a lid. A suitably dimensioned intermediate part may be manufactured as always having the same size; and for each phone specifically, also the lid but above all the case body can be manufactured to have different lengths, diameters, widths and shapes, always considering the mobile phone brand and model. Substantial is only the fact that the areas of different parts, i.e. the sealing flange, supporting surface and pressure contact area, disposed against each other, correspond to each other in respect of their shapes. In the foregoing, the invention has been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings while various embodiments of the invention are possible within the scope defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A case of an electronic device including a substantially watertight and at least partly transparent case body (1) corresponding to the shape of the de- vice, the case body being open at one end, as well as a lid (2) water tightly closing the open end of the case body, characterised in that the case includes an annular intermediate part (3) , on which both the case body (1) and the lid (2) are supported, and that the case body includes an annular sealing flange (4) , the intermediate part includes an annular supporting surface (5) and the lid includes an annular pressure contact area (6) , so that when closing the lid, the sealing flange is pressed in between the supporting sur- face and the pressure contact area, thereby water tightly closing the space defined by the lid and the case body.

2. The case according to claim 1, cha r a c t e ri z ed in that the case includes several case bodies having various shapes and sizes, which can alternatively be attached to a lid and intermediate part of standard sizes.

3. The case according to claim 1, char a c t e r i z e d in that the sealing flange (4) is disposed at the open end of the case body (1), thereby forming a crosswise outward extending annular collar.

4. The case according to claim 1, cha r a c t e r i z ed in that the sealing flange (4) is an oblique, conical and annular surf ce.

5. The case according to claim 1, cha r a c t e r i z ed in that between the intermediate part (3) and the lid (2) there is a pivoting device (7) for turning them relative to each other.

6. The case according to claim lc ha ra c t er i z e d in that between the intermediate part (3) and the lid (2) there is a locking (8) for interlocking them with one another.

7. The case according to claim 1, char a c t e r i z ed in that the intermediate part (3) includes a suspension (9) for securing the case e.g. to a user' s belt .

8. The case according to claim 1, char a c t er i z ed in that the case body (1) includes an elasticity (10) , such as a bellows structure, for enabling the reception of electronic devices of various sizes .

9. The case according to claim 1, char ac t e r i z ed in that the case includes a separate sealing ring for sealing the case body (1) , the lid (2) and the intermediate part (3) with one another.

10. The case according to claim 1, ch ar - a c t e r i z ed in that the case includes several lids having various sizes and shapes that can alternatively be attached to a case body and intermediate part of standard sizes.