WO2009058093A1

WO2009058093A1 - Handheld device carry case

Info

Publication number: WO2009058093A1
Application number: PCT/SG2007/000369
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mow Cheong Yick; Yim Fong Leung; Peng Kiat Chia
Original assignee: Hpi Singapore Pte Ltd
Priority date: 2007-11-01
Filing date: 2007-11-01
Publication date: 2009-05-07

Abstract

Handheld device carry case (100) is disclosed herein. In a first embodiment, the carry case (100) comprises a carrier body (102,104,106) having an opening (105) through which a hand¬ held device (200) is insertable, a support member (114) carried by the carrier body (102,104,106) for supporting the hand -held device (200); and a biasing mechanism (112) arranged to produce a biasing force to bias the support member (114) from a first position to a second position. The second position is nearer to trie opening (105) than the first position and this allows the handheld device (200) to be removed with greater convenience. Other embodiments of the carry case are also disclosed.

Description

HANDHELD DEVICE CARRY CASE

Background and Field of the Invention

This invention relates to handheld device carry case, more particularly but not exclusively, for carrying portable electronic devices such as mobile telephones, PDAs and digital cameras.

Mobile communication and computing devices are gaining popularity and there are many ways of carrying such devices. For example, such a device may be carried in a bag when not in use and retrieved when it is required. Further, such a device may simply be kept in a pocket of a user. To protect such devices, pouches and carry cases are available. Such a pouch and carry case may be sufficient to protect the device from scratches or cosmetic damage but does not offer ease of removal of the device from the pouch or carry case.

Also, for mobile communications devices, there is still uncertainty whether EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) generated by these devices are safe and more needs to be done in this respect.

It is an object of the present invention to provide handheld device carry case which addresses at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art and/or to provide the public with a useful choice. Summary of the Invention

In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided handheld device carry case comprising a carrier body having an opening through which a hand-held device is insertable; a support member carried by the carrier body for supporting the hand-held device; a biasing mechanism arranged to produce a biasing force to bias the support member from a first position to a second position, the second position nearer to the opening than the first position; a locking mechanism arranged to releasably lock the support member in the first position in which the biasing mechanism is in a biased state; and a control device operable by a user, the control device arranged to release the support member from the first position so that the biasing force biases the support member to the second position.

As it would be appreciated from the described embodiments, by using the biasing mechanism, a handheld device supported by the support member is biased to the second position which is closer to the opening than the first position and this makes it easier and more convenient to retrieve the handheld device from the carry case, particularly if, in the second position, at least 1/3 of the handheld device protrudes out of the carry case.

Preferably, the biasing mechanism comprises two spring loaded lever arms. The spring loaded lever arms may be pivotally mounted to respective torsion springs and the torsion springs may include damping grease. The locking mechanism may include a linkage member having an abutment end for engaging the support member so as to lock the support member in the first position. The control device may then be arranged to actuate the linkage member so as to disengage the abutment end from the support member thereby releasing the biasing force to bias the support member. With this arrangement, a simple lock and release of the support member is realised.

The handheld device carry case may further comprise a cover for covering the opening and the cover may be pivotally mounted to the carry case and movable between an opened position and a closed position, and retaining members for releasably locking the cover in the closed position.

The retaining members may include a catch and a hook that cooperates to lock the cover in the closed position. The control device may be arranged to actuate the cover from the closed to the open position. The control device may also be arranged to actuate the linkage member and the cover simultaneously.

Preferably, the carrier body is arranged to receive the entire handheld device.

In a second aspect of the invention, there is provided handheld device carry case comprising first and second covers arranged to cooperate to define a storage space for storing a handheld device, the first and second covers being slidable with respect to each other between a first position which defines an opening for the handheld device to be inserted into or removed from the storage space, and a second position which occludes the opening, and a biasing device disposed on an inner surface of one of the covers near the opening for biasing a part of the handheld device away from the inner surface.

With the biasing device, this raises the handheld device when the first and second covers are in the first position, thus allowing easier retrieval or removal of the handheld device.

Preferably, the biasing device includes a spring support sheet. Preferably, in the opened position, the first cover is supported at an acute angle in relation to the second cover. It has been found that if the acute angle is about 15°, this makes it easier to remove the handheld device from the carry case while maintaining a relatively small overall size. Of course, other acute angles are also suitable.

Preferably, the handheld carry case further comprises guide formations disposed on the first and second cover for guiding the sliding movement of the first and second covers.

In a third aspect of the invention, there is provided handheld device carry case comprising: a first part; a second part cooperating with the first part to define an enclosure for carrying a handheld device, the first part separable at least partially from the second part along a boundary to define an opening through which the handheld device is insertable or removable; and EMI shield provided on the entire surfaces of the first and second part except along at least part of the boundary. If the handheld device is a mobile communications tool such as a mobile phone, the EMI shield is intended to protect a user from any harmful effects of the electromagnetic radiation that is emitted from the mobile phone and the at least part of the boundary without the EMI shielding is intended to provide clear reception so that the mobile phone is operable when stored in the carry case. Using the boundary between the first and second part as a guide or reference point to determine where the EMI shielding is not required, provides a simpler manufacturing process of where to apply the EMI shielding and where not to.

Preferably, the second part comprises front and rear covers assembled together. The first part may be pivotally mounted to the second part.

Preferably, the EMI shield is not provided along the boundary on two side and front surfaces of the carry case. The EMI shield may not be provided along the boundary on one surface of the carry case.

In a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided handheld device carry case comprising a carrier body having four wall portions and a base wall defining a storage compartment for a handheld device, the four wall portions defining an opening through which the hand-held device is insertable or removable, the base wall being located opposite the opening and includes an inwardly openable door for engaging the hand-held device. By having the inwardly openable door, this allows the handheld device to be pushed at least partially out of the carry case thus enabling easier retrievable or removable of the handheld device.

The inwardly openable door may be pivotably coupled to the base wall. Preferably, the inwardly openable door is located centrally of the base wall. Two of the wall portions of the carry case may have U-shaped profiles.

The carry case of each aspect also offers protection of the handheld device from impact, dent and scratches.

Features described in relation to one aspect of the invention may also be applicable to the other aspects of the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a carry case for carrying a mobile phone according to a first embodiment of the invention and includes a biasing device; Figure 2 shows the carry case of Figure 1 with a cover removed to illustrate the biasing device; Figure 3a shows the carry case of Figure 2 with the biasing device in a biased state with the mobile phone inserted further into the carry case and a top cover in a locked position;

Figure 3b shows the carry case of Figure 3a with the top cover in an unlocked position.

Figure 4 illustrates the carry case of Figure 3 but with the mobile phone removed to show more clearly how the biasing device is held in the biased state;

Figure 5a is a expanded view of the biasing device being engaged by a support member and Figure 5b shows a different orientation of the arrangement of

Figure 5a;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a carry case carrying a mobile phone according to a second embodiment of the invention and the carry case includes slidable front and rear covers; Figure 7 is the carry case of Figure 6 with the front and rear covers slide opened;

Figure 8 is an inverted view of the carry case of Figure 7;

Figure 9 shows the carry case of Figure 6 with the mobile phone removed to reveal a biasing member; Figure 10 shows the front cover of Figure 6 by itself which depicts a guide member and an elongate groove formed on one of the inside surface of a side wall of the front cover;

Figure 11 shows the rear cover of Figure 6 by itself which depicts a slot and track for engaging with the guide member and elongate groove shown in Figure 10; Figures 12 and 13 illustrate how the guide member of the front cover shown in

Figure 10 engages with the slot of the rear cover shown in Figure 11 ;

Figure 14 is a perspective view of a carry case according to a third embodiment of this invention, the body of the carry case formed by front, rear and top covers;

Figure 15 shows the carry case of Figure 14 with the top cover flipped open to reveal a mobile phone contained in the carry case;

Figure 16 shows the carry case of Figure 14 with the rear cover removed;

Figure 17 shows the carry case of Figure 16 in a different orientation and Figure 18 is an enlarged view of the circled portion marked A to show the locking mechanism of the carry case;

Figure 19 is a perspective view of a carry case according to fourth embodiment of this invention, the body of the carry case formed by front, rear and top covers, Figure 20 is a bottom view of the carry case of Figure 19 which has an inwardly openable door at the base wall and also shows a carry case attachment for the carry case;

Figure 21 shows the carry case of Figure 19 with the rear cover removed;

Figure 22 shows the carry case of Figure 20 with the rear cover removed to illustrate a locking mechanism more clearly;

Figure 23 is a close-up view of the circled portion marked B of Figure 22;

Figure 24 is a bottom and rear perspective view of the carry case of Figure 20 which shows the door in an opened position and without showing the case attachment; Figure 25a shows the inner surface of the rear cover of the carry case of Figure

20 (i.e. without showing the front cover), and Figure 25b is a close-up view of the engagement between an engagement slot of the rear cover and catch elements of a carry case attachment; Figure 26 is a close-up view of a carry case attachment for attaching the carry case of Figure 20 to a belt and which carries the catch elements shown Figure

25a;

Figures 27a - 27e are examples of how to wear the carry case of the described embodiments; Figure 28 shows the carry case of Figure 3a with the mobile phone removed and the top cover in an open position;

Figures 29 and 30 show a close-up arrangement of a linkage member of Figure

3a and its relationship with the top cover and the biasing device;

Figure 31 shows the carry case of Figure 9 with the front cover removed to illustrate the biasing member more clearly;

Figure 32 is a close-up view of the biasing member of Figure 31 ; and

Figure 33 is a sectional view of the carry case of Figure 6 in the direction A - A.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

In Figure 1 , there is a carry case 100 for carrying a mobile phone 200 and the carry case 100 includes a rectangular body 101 having a closed base 102 and an opening 105 formed by front and rear covers 104,106 cooperating with each other, and a top cover 108 pivotally connected to the rear cover 106 via a metal pin 107 (see Figure 28). Each of the front and rear covers 104,106 has side walls and a base wall so that when both front and rear covers 104,106 mate, they define a cavity 110 (see Figure 4) for receiving the mobile phone 200 through the opening 105.

In this embodiment, each of the front, rear and top covers 104,106,108 are moulded from PBT material to provide hardness to the carry case 100. Each of the front, rear and top covers 104,106,108 are detachably connected to each other using any known methods.

With the front cover 104 removed in Figure 2, it can be seen that the carry case 100 includes a biasing device 112 located near the carry case's base 102 and for biasing a support member 114. The support member 114 is rectangular in shape and configured to be slightly longer in length (which corresponds to the width of the mobile phone) than the width of the mobile phone 200. The support member 114 has end portions 111 ,113 that protrudes downwardly towards the base 102 of the carry case and has a top surface 116 arranged to contact the base of the mobile phone 200, and a bottom surface 118 arranged to engage the biasing device 112. The support member 114 further includes lugs 115, each with a channel 115a formed therein to cooperate with elongate guiding ribs 117 formed on the inside surface of the respective covers 104,106. Each of the channels 115a cooperates with respective guiding ribs 117 to guide the support member 114 to move linearly along the guiding ribs 117 (only one guiding rib 117 is shown in Figure 2). The biasing device 112 includes two spring loaded lever arms 120,122 and each lever arm 120,122 has a free end 120a, 122a and a pivoted end 120b, 122b. The free ends 120a, 122a are arranged to engage the bottom surface of the support member 114 whereas each of the pivoted ends 120b, 122b has a ring rotatably mounted to respective torsion springs 124,126. Figures 5a and 5b illustrate expanded views of the biasing device 112 and the support member 114, with the lever arms 120, 122 in the biased state. The lever arm 102b is inserted with the torsion spring 124 and then inserted into a boss of the front cover 104. The lever arm 122b is inserted with the torsion spring 126 (hidden from view) and then inserted into a boss of the rear cover 106. With this arrangement, when the support member 114 is pushed towards the base 102 of the carry case, the support member 114 abuts the free ends 120a,120b of the lever arms 120,122 and the lever arms 120,122 rotate about the rings against the bias of the torsion springs 124,126 to a biased position shown in Figure 28 (but with the support member 114 illustrated to be spaced from the lever arms 120, 122 to show the lever arms more clearly). The rotation of the lever arms 120,122 against the bias of the torsion springs creates a biasing force for the lever arms 120,122.

A locking mechanism 230 for maintaining the biasing device 112 in a biased state and a control device in the form of a push-button 240 for releasing the biasing force will now be described.

The locking mechanism 230 includes a linkage member 232 having an flat planar body 234 with an extended leg 236 at one end that is narrower than the elongate body 234 and the extended leg 236 is arranged to abut against one of the end portions 111 of the support member 114. Figures 29 and 30 show the structure of the linkage member in greater detail. From these figures, it can been seen that at the other hand of the elongate body is a hook 238 which cooperates with a catch 108a of the cover 108 to lock the cover 108 in a closed position. The push-button 240 is located near the hook 238.

The linkage member 232 includes a pivot 233 that locates in a pivoting aperture (not shown) formed by the rear cover 106 and the front cover 104. The linkage member 232 thus pivots about the pivoting aperture formed between the front and rear covers 104,106.

When the mobile phone 200 is pushed further into the carry case 100, this urges the support member 114 towards the base 102 as explained earlier and the end portion 111 slides against the outer surface of the extended leg 236. When the support member 114 reaches the position shown in Figure 3a, which is also the biased state of the biasing device 112, a spring 241 (see Figures 29 and 30, but hidden from view in Figure 2) coupled to one end of the linkage member near the hook 238 urges the extended leg 236 to move downwardly to a position with its end abutting against the top surface 116 of the support member 114. This in turns locks the biasing device 112 in the biased state as shown in Figure 3a and Figure 29.

When the mobile phone 200 is fully inserted into the body 101 of the carry case 100, the top cover 108 is closed so that the mobile phone 200 is enclosed within the carry case 100. The top cover 108 is retained in the closed position when the catch 108a catches the hook 238.

When the push-button 240 is pushed, two actions happen. Firstly, pushing the push-button 240 urges the hook 238 in a downward motion to the position shown in Figure 3b (and also Figure 30) thus releasing or unlocking the cover 108. Secondly, pushing the push-button 240 also flexes the extended leg 236 upwardly and away from the top surface 116 of the support member 114 so that the extended leg 236 disengages from the top surface 116 as shown in Figure 3b and Figure 30. This movement releases the biasing force of the lever arms 120, 122 which biases the support member 114 to a position closer to the opening 105 so that part of the mobile phone 200 protrudes out of the body 101 , just like what is shown in Figure 1. The movement of the mobile phone 200 thus pushes the cover 108 to the open position.

To create a damping effect of the biasing action so that there is no sudden ejection of the mobile phone such that the mobile phone may "jump" up from the support member, damping grease is applied to the torsion springs 124, 126, bosses and the rings of the biasing device.

An operation of the carry case 100 will now be explained.

To use the empty carry case 100 to carry the mobile phone 200, the pushbutton 240 is pushed to release the catch 108a from the hook 238 and this flips open the top cover 108. The mobile phone 200 is then inserted and when the mobile phone 200 abuts against the support member 114, pushing further the mobile phone 200 towards the base 102 of the carry case 100 biases the lever arms 120, 122 until the extended leg 236 engages the top surface 116 of the support member 114 to lock the support member 114. The top cover 108 is then closed to enclose the mobile phone 200 within the carry case 100.

To retrieve the mobile phone 200, pushing the push-button 240 releases the extended leg 236 from the support member 114 and the catch 108a from the hook 238. The spring loaded lever arms 120, 122 biases the support member 114 to eject the mobile phone 200 which pushes the cover log open and the mobile phone 200 protrudes partially out of the carry case 100 as shown in Figure 1. The user then gasps the protruding part of the mobile phone 200 and pulls out the mobile phone 200 for use. In this way, the mobile phone 200 can thus be retrieved by the user with greater ease and convenience.

A second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figure 6 which is a carry case 400 for carrying a mobile phone 500. The carry case 400 includes front and rear covers 402,404 slidably connected to each other and which forms an enclosed space 406 for holding the mobile phone 500. The enclosed space 406 can be appreciated better by considering Figures 7 and 8 (Figure 8 being an inverted view of the carry case 400 and mobile phone 500 of Figure 7) which depict the sliding of the top cover 402 to create an opening 408 (defined by the edges of the top and rear covers) between the top and rear covers 402,404 for inserting the mobile phone 500. Just like the first embodiment, the front and rear covers 402, 404 are moulded from PBT material to provide hardness to the carry case 400.

Figure 9 shows the carry case 400 with the mobile phone 500 removed to reveal a biasing member 412 in the form of a spring metal sheet 412a and a tongue portion 412b for attaching to the inner surface of the rear cover 404 near to the opening 408. Figure 31 shows the biasing member 412 more clearly with the top cover 402 removed. As shown in Figure 32, the spring metal sheet

412a is relatively thin and planar, and rectangular in shape. As it would be appreciated, the spring metal sheet 412a is supported at an oblique angle in relation to the tongue portion 412b which is mounted flat against the inner surface of the rear cover 404 using four pins 412C. With the spring metal sheet

412a supported at an angle, this allows the spring sheet to support the mobile phone 500 at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rear cover 404.

Means by which the front and rear covers 402,404 slide relative to each other will now be described in more detail by referring to Figures 10-13.

Figure 10 shows the front cover 402 by itself and the front cover 402 includes a front wall 414 having an outer surface 414a on which a number of protrusions 410 functioning as thumb grips are disposed (see Figure 6) and an inner surface 414b. The front cover 402 further includes two side walls 416,418 extending from the inner surface 414b along first and second edges 414c,414d of the front wall 414 and a base wall 420 extending from the inner surface 414b along a third edge 414f and adjoining the two side walls 416,418, with the fourth edge 414e of the front cover 402 without a wall. The edge of each side walls 416,418 begins from where the side walls meet the base wall 420 and is generally curved with a gradual slope that ends where the side walls 416,418 meets the fourth edge 414e of the front cover 402.

Each of the inner surfaces 416a,418a of the two side walls 416,418 include a guide member 422 (only one is shown in Figure 10) having a narrow elongate body 424 with two bulbous ends 426a, 426b and an elongate groove 428 extending from an edge of the respective side walls 416,418 near the fourth edge 414e along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the front cover 402. The length of the elongate groove 428 extends until about midway of the front cover 402.

Figure 11 shows the rear cover 404 by itself and the rear cover 404 includes a rear wall 430 and two side walls 432,434 along the length of the rear wall 430 and extending from the inner surface edges of the rear cover 404. The rear cover 404 includes two end walls 436,438 that are orthogonal to and located at the corresponding ends of the two side walls 432,434 to form part of the rectangular enclosed space 406. The two side walls 432,434 have edges 432a,434a that are shaped to allow the front and rear covers to be assembled together.

As shown in Figure 11 , each of the edges 432a,434a includes a valley portion 432b,434b that includes an elongate rib 436,438 formed in the side wall that cooperates with the corresponding groove 428 of the of the front cover 402 as shown in Figure 33. Each of the side walls 432,434 also includes a guiding slot 440 formed by primary and secondary elongate openings 441 ,442 to cooperate with the respective guide members 422 of the front cover 402 (In Figure 11 , only one of the guiding slot 440 is seen). The primary elongate opening 441 is disposed parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rear cover 404 having a circular aperture 441a. The secondary elongate opening 442 is shorter than the primary elongate opening 441 and merges with the other end of the primary elongate opening 441 such that the longitudinal axes of the primary and secondary elongate openings 441 , form an acute angle with each other. In this embodiment, the acute angle is about 15°. One end of the secondary elongate opening 442 forms a trap 442a with the primary elongate opening 441.

As illustrated in Figures 12 and 13 (without showing the front cover 402 for ease of explanation), when the front cover 402 snaps into place with the rear cover

404, the guide member 422 locates itself along the slot 440 so that the central longitudinal axis of the elongate body 424 of the guide member 422 is parallel with the longitudinal axis of the primary elongate opening 441. When the guide member 422 is at the position shown in Figure 12, the front cover 402 is closed with the rear cover 404 as shown in Figure 6. One of the bulbous end 426a of the guide member 422 is located within the circular aperture 441a to retain the front cover 402 in the closed position. When a sliding force is applied to the front cover, for example by placing a thumb at the thumb grips 410, the bulbous end 426a escapes from the circular aperture 441a and the guide member 422 travels along the primary elongate opening 440 until the guide member 422 reaches the secondary opening 442 and the other bulbous end 426b of the guide member 422 abuts against one end of the secondary elongate opening 442. Applying further sliding force pivots the front cover 402 about the bulbous end 426b so that the other bulbous end 426a abuts against the trap 442a (see Figure 13) so as to support the front cover 402 at an angle relative to the rear cover 404 as shown in Figures 7 and 9. This angle is defined by the angle between the longitudinal axes of the primary and secondary elongate openings 441 ,442 and as mentioned earlier, this angle is about 15°. With the front cover 402 supported at an angle, this creates the opening 408 for the mobile phone 500 to be removed or inserted with minimum obstruction.

To use the carry case 400 to carry a phone, the front cover 402 is slide opened (direction of arrow X in Figure 6) and supported at about 15° with the rear cover 404, this creates an opening 408 for the mobile phone 500 to be inserted, as shown in Figure 9. When the mobile phone 500 is inserted into the enclosed spaced 406 between the front and rear covers 402,404, as shown in Figure 7, the back of the mobile phone 500 near one end rests on the spring metal sheet 412a and thus the mobile phone 500 is resiliently supported at an angle in relation to the rear cover 404. To close the covers 402,404, the front cover 402 is pushed down slightly towards the rear cover 404 using the thumb so that the bulbous end 426 of the guide member 422 escapes from the trap 442a and sliding the front cover 402 in a direction opposite of arrow X, urges the guide member 422 to move along the primary elongate opening 441 and the front cover 402 abuts against the face of the mobile phone 500 to urge it against the spring metal sheet 412 and compresses the metal sheet 412 so that the mobile phone 500 is pushed towards the inner surface of the rear cover 404. Further movement of the front cover 402 in the direction opposite of arrow X closes the opening 408 as shown in Figure 6 with the bulbous end 426a cooperating with the circular aperture 441a to maintain the covers in a closed relationship. It should be appreciated that in the closed position, since the spring metal sheet 412 is compressed, this creates a biasing force that continuously urges the mobile phone 500 away from the rear cover 404 and against the inner surface 414b of the front cover 402. Of course, to prevent scratches to the mobile phone, the inner surface 414b of the front cover 402 may be provided with soft spongy material or a layer of micro fibre arranged to clean the screen of the mobile phone during the opening or closing of the front cover 402 in relation to the rear cover 404.

To retrieve the mobile phone 500 from the carry case 400, sliding the front cover 402 in the direction of arrow X, reveals the opening 408 between the front and rear covers 402,404 and since the spring metal sheet 412 continuously biases the mobile phone 500 away from the rear cover 404, when the opening is wide enough (i.e. when the front cover 402 is supported at an angle with respect to the rear cover), the mobile phone 500 is allowed to be raised to a position shown in Figure 7 that allows easy access and retrieval, and affords greater convenience for removing the mobile phone 500 from the carry case

400.

Figures 14-18 shows a carry case 600 according to a third embodiment of the invention. In the third embodiment, the carry case 600 comprises a front cover 602 cooperating with a rear cover 604 and a top cover 606 to define a storage compartment for a mobile phone 700. The carry case 600 includes a spring loaded pivotal connection 608 that connects the top cover 602 to a back wall 604a of the rear cover 604. The carry case 600 also includes a push-button 610 disposed at the front cover 602 that is arranged to flip open the top cover 606, when the push-button 610 is actuated and the open configuration of the carry case 600 is illustrated in Figure 15.

Just like the earlier two embodiments, the covers of the carry case 600 are moulded from PBT material to provide hardness to the carry case 600.

As shown more clearly in Figure 16, the pivotal connection 608 includes a cover spring 612 carried by an axle arrangement 614 so that the cover spring 612 always biases the top cover 606 to the open position. On the inner surface 602a of the front cover 602, there is provided a locking mechanism 616 comprising hook springs 618 coupled to a cover hook 620. When the push-button 610 is depressed, this moves the cover hook 620 from a resting position in a direction against the bias of the hook springs 618 and when the depressing force is removed, the bias of the hook springs 618 acts to bring the cover hook 620 to its resting position. The arrangement of the push-button 610, hook springs 618 and the cover hook 620 is conventional and no attempt will be made to elaborate this here.

Figures 17 and 18 show how the cover hook 620 locks with a catch 622 formed on the top cover 606 near the edge that corresponds to the edge of the rear cover 604. As it will be appreciated, pushing the push-button 610 moves the cover hook 620 in the direction Y and this releases the top cover 606 to flip it open. The mobile phone 700 can then be removed or inserted.

Unlike normal carry cases for mobile phones, the carry case 600 of the third embodiment has a coating of EMI shielding provided on the inner surfaces of the top, front and rear covers 602,604,606 and this is to reduce any harmful effects of the electro-magnetic radiation emitted by the mobile phone 700 to the user. The coating of EMI shielding may be integrated into or sprayed onto the PBT resin material during the preparation process to form the top, front and rear covers 606, 602, 604. Alternatively, the EMI shielding may be in the formed of a copper tape layer adhered to a layer of felt with both layers being laid on the inner surfaces of the carry case 600. However, to allow the mobile phone 700 to receive incoming calls/messages when stored in the carry case 600, the carry case has a gap without EMI shielding and the location of the gap is selected through creative effort that enables the mobile phone 700 to work properly when enclosed in the carry case and still reduce any harmful effects of the mobile phone 700 when the carry case 600 is carried by the user. Further, the location of the gap does not reduce the aesthetic appeal of the carry case.

It can be observed from Figure 15 that the front and rear covers 602,604 when assembled together has a perimeter edge 624 that defines an opening through which the mobile phone is inserted or removed. The perimeter edge 624 is shaped to match or correspond with the peripheral edge 626 of the top cover 606 so that when the top cover 606 is closed, the surfaces of the carry case 600 appears flushed and elegant.

As shown in Figure 14, the meeting between the perimeter edge 624 of the front and rear covers and the peripheral edge 626 of the top cover defines a boundary line 628 that extends around the carry case 600 and it is proposed that the EMI shield is coated on the entire inner surface of the top, front and rear covers 602,604,606 but not along the boundary line 628 so that the boundary line 628 defines where the electromagnetic signals can be received by the mobile phone 700 to function properly. In other words, the uncoated gap is aligned with and follows the contour of the boundary line 628. Further, since the carry case 600 is normally carried with the outer surface of the rear cover

604 held close to or against a body of a user, such as worn around a belt of the user, the boundary line 628 that is on the rear wall of the rear cover 604 is also coated with the EMI shield. In other words, only the boundary line 628 that runs on the two side surfaces and the front surface of the carry case 600 is not provided with EMI shielding.

To produce the effects as explained above, the gap without the EMI shield may be formed on the front and rear covers 602,604 or on the top cover 606. If the gap is provided at the front and rear covers, during the coating process of the

EMI shield of the inner surfaces of the front and rear covers, a strip about 8mm from the perimeter edge 624 of the front and rear covers and following the contour of the boundary line 628 is not coated. On the other hand, if the gap is to be created on the top cover 606, then similarly coating stops 8mm away from the peripheral edge 626. In either case, when the top cover is closed, this creates a gap or strip that follows the boundary line 628 that is without the EMI shield. This enables easier manufacturing of the carry case and the EMI coating process since the perimeter and peripheral edges are used as means to define the locations where the EMI shield should not be provided.

Figures 19 to 26 shows a carry case 800 according to a fourth embodiment of this invention and the carry case 800 includes a front cover 802 cooperating with a rear cover 804 and a top cover 806 to define a storage compartment 807 for a mobile phone 900. Just like the earlier embodiments, the covers are moulded from PBT material to provide a certain amount of hardness. However, unlike, the previous embodiments, the carry case 800 is adapted to carry the mobile phone 900 in a lengthwise orientation. The carry case 800 has a spring loaded pivotal connection 808 that connects the top cover 802 to the rear cover 804. The carry case 800 also includes a push-button 810 disposed at the central portion of the front cover 802 that is arranged to flip open the top cover 806 when the push-button 810 is pushed as shown in Figure 19.

As shown in Figures 22 and 23, the carry case 800 also includes a locking mechanism 812 comprising hook springs 814 coupled to a cover hook 816 which is arranged to latch with a cover catch 818 of the top cover 806. The detailed configuration and operation of the locking mechanism 812 is similar to that of the third embodiment and will not be elaborated here. As it is appreciated from Figure 19, the front and rear covers 802,804 cooperates to create front and rear walls 802a,804a, side walls 802b, 804b and a base wall 821 which define the storage compartment 807. The storage compartment 807 has an opening 820 that is defined by the top edges 821a,821 b,821c of the front, rear and side walls 802a,804a,802b,804b. The mobile phone 900 is inserted into or removed from the carry case 800 via the opening 820. To allow ease of removal of the mobile phone 900 from the carry case 800, the top front edge 821a is higher than the top side edges 821 b,821c. In fact, the top side edges 821 b, 821c have generally U-shaped side profiles to allow fingers to engage the ends of the mobile phone 900 to assist with the removal of the mobile phone 900. At the base wall 821 opposite the opening 820, there is provided an inwardly openable door 822 for occluding a door opening 823. The door 822 is for engaging the mobile phone 900 to urge or push the mobile phone 900 towards the opening 820. The inwardly openable door 822 is pivotally connected to a part of the base wall 821 and is located at the centre of the base wall 821.

Figure 21 shows the pivotal connection of the inwardly openable door 822 more clearly and this includes a torsion spring 824 that biases the inwardly openable door 822 to a closed state occluding the door opening 823. When a user pushes the inwardly openable door 822 using his fingers, the door 822 pivots about the torsion spring 824 and swings open inwardly as shown in Figure 24, and when the user releases the pushing force, the door 822 is biased back to the closed state under the influence of the torsion spring 824. The door 822 has a width of 38.8mm and this is computed based on an average width measurement of the third and fourth fingers from a sample size of 50 males. Preferably, a tolerance of 2.0mm allowance is provided at both sides of the door 822 to allow easy access between the fingers and the door opening 823.

As it can be seen from Figure 20, the carry case 800 includes a belt attachment 826 for attaching the carry case 800 to a belt of a user. The belt attachment 826 includes an attachment opening 827 for receiving the belt therethrough. The belt attachment 826 also includes a connection member 828 for connecting the belt attachment 826 to an engagement slot 805 of the rear wall 804a (see Figure 24). The connection member 828 has two slidable catch elements 830 that are actuated by respective push-elements 832. When the push-elements 832 are pushed towards each other (i.e. in the direction of arrows Z - see Figure 26), this causes the catch elements 830 to slide from their resting positions shown in Figure 26 towards each other (i.e. in the same direction as arrow Z). When the push-elements 832 are released, the catch elements 830 are biased back to their resting positions. The sliding of the catch elements 830 enables the catch elements 830 to lock with walls of the engagement slot 805 of the rear cover 804 as shown in Figure 25a, and Figure 25b is a close-up view of the engagement between the engagement slot 805 and the catch elements 830. Likewise, depressing the push-elements 832 slides the respective catch elements 830 to detach the belt attachment 826 from the carry case 800. To use the carry case 800, a user can put his belt through the attachment opening 827 of the belt attachment 826 and wear the carry case 800 as shown in Figure 27a. To insert the mobile phone 900 into the carry case 800, the user pushes the push-button 810 to flip open the top cover 806 and slides the mobile phone 900 lengthwise into the carry case 800. The user then closes the top cover 806 with the cover hook 814 latching onto the catch 818. The user then wears the mobile phone 900, protected by the carry case 800, as shown in Figure 27a.

To retrieve the mobile phone 900, the user pushes the push-button 810 and this releases the hook 814 from the catch 818 to cause the top cover 806 to flip open. The user then uses his fingers to push the door 822 inwardly against the bias of the torsion spring 824 as shown in Figure 24 (without showing the fingers for ease of explanation) and the door 822 abuts against the mobile phone 900 and pushes the mobile phone 900 further out of the opening 820. The user can then conveniently and easily remove the mobile phone 900 from the carry case 800 by using his thumb to lift the mobile phone 900 in a clockwise position (for a right-handed user, or in an anti-clockwise direction for a left-handed user).

When the fingers are released from the door 822, the torsion springs 824 biases the door 822 back to the closed position to occlude the door opening 823. In this way, this prevents accumulation of dirt and other foreign particles from entering into the carry case. The door 822 is located at the centre of the base of the carry case to facilitate unobstructed lifting since this enables a more even distribution of the pushing force to be imparted to the mobile phone 900 to raise the mobile phone 900 out of the carry case. Having the door 822 centrally located at the base of the carry case also accommodates to both right-handed and left-handed users.

Also, to reduce scratches to the mobile phone 900, the inside surface of the door 822 may be covered by resilient material or soft/flexible/spongy cushioning material. Likewise, the entire inner surfaces of the carry case 800 may be covered by cushioning material.

The described embodiment should not be construed as limitative. For example, in the first embodiment, the control device is in the form of a push-button 240 but other forms of control device may be used, for example a slidable switch.

In the second embodiment, it is not necessary that the front cover forms an angle of about 15° with the rear cover 404. Other angles may be used depending on the size of the carry case 400 as well as the size and shape of the mobile phone 400 that is intended to be carried by the carry case 400. The support angle can be modified by reconfiguring the angle that the primary elongate opening 441 makes with the secondary elongate opening 442. Also, biasing member 412 may take other suitable forms such as springs that can be used to engage and bias the mobile phone 500 directly. Of course, the use of the spring metal sheet 412a is preferred as it allows a more even distribution of the biasing force. In the third embodiment, the boundary line 628 is adapted to be near the top of the carry case 600 but this may not be necessary depending on how the mobile phone 700 is carried or stored in the carry case 600. The non-EMI coating strip is described as 8mm wide but this may not be necessary. Other dimension may be used depending on usage and application, such as 5mm, 6mm, 7mm, 9mm or 10mm.

It is also envisaged that features of a described embodiment may be applied or used in another embodiment. For example, the EMI shielding in the third embodiment may be applied to the other embodiments. Similarly, the biasing device 112 of the first embodiment may be used in the third or fourth embodiment.

In the described embodiments, each of the carry case has been described with detachable front and rear covers but at least for the first, third and fourth embodiments, the front and rear covers may be integrally formed to form a carrier body having a storage compartment to receive or store the mobile phone.

Of course, although the mobile phone is used in the embodiments, this is but exemplary and the carry case may be used to carry other handheld devices, such as PDAs, portable MP3 and/or video players, digital cameras and video cameras etc. In the described embodiments, PBT is used to make the covers for carry case but other suitable materials may be used, such as POM, ABS or PC.

There are many ways to carry the carry case. In the fourth embodiment, it is proposed to use the belt attachment 826 so that the carry case may be worn at a belt of a user as shown in Figure 27a. However, there are many ways such as attaching a lanyard and wearing the carry case around the neck of a user (see

Figure 27b and the reference numeral 1000 is used to indicate the carry case, which may be any one of the described embodiments), attaching a hand loop (see Figure 27c), attaching an elastic arm band for wearing around an arm of a user (see Figure 27d), or attaching a body strap and slung across the body (as shown in Figure 27e).

The front, rear or top covers of the carry case in each of the described embodiments may be imprinted with graphics or various artistic designs to bring out the character of the user. Also, these covers may be replaceable with other like covers so that the user can select other graphics, photographs, pictures or drawings (e.g. a broad selection of themes such as depicting a country's culture etc) to be used with the carry case.

Also, it is envisaged to provide a universal carry case that is configurable to store or carry handheld devices of different sizes and dimensions. In this respect, inserts or cushioning materials may be used inside the carry case so as to configure the storage space to match the size and shape of the handheld device. Having now fully described the invention, it should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications can be made hereto without departing from the scope as claimed.

Claims

1. Handheld device carry case comprising a carrier body having an opening through which a hand-held device is insertable; a support member carried by the carrier body for supporting the handheld device; a biasing mechanism arranged to produce a biasing force to bias the support member from a first position to a second position, the second position nearer to the opening than the first position; a locking mechanism arranged to releasably lock the support member in the first position in which the biasing mechanism is in a biased state; and a control device operable by a user, the control device arranged to release the support member from the first position so that the biasing force biases the support member to the second position.

2. Handheld device carry case according to claim 1 , wherein the biasing mechanism comprises two spring loaded lever arms.

3. Handheld device carry case according to claim 2, wherein the spring loaded lever arms are pivotally mounted to respective torsion springs, the torsion springs including damping grease.

4. Handheld device carry case according to any preceding claim, wherein the locking mechanism includes a linkage member having an abutment end for engaging the support member so as to lock the support member in the first position.

5. Handheld device carry case according to claim 4, wherein the control device is arranged to actuate the linkage member so as to disengage the abutment end from the support member thereby releasing the biasing force to bias the support member.

6. Handheld device carry case according any preceding claim, further comprising a cover for covering the opening, the cover being pivotally mounted to the carry case and movable between an opened position and a closed position, and retaining members for releasably locking the cover in the closed position.

7. Handheld device carry case according to claim 6, wherein the retaining members include a catch and a hook that cooperates to lock the cover in the closed position.

8. Handheld device carry case according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the control device is arranged to actuate the cover from the closed to the open position.

9. Handheld device carry case according to any of claims 6 to 8, and dependent on claim 5, wherein the control device is arranged to actuate the linkage member and the cover simultaneously.

10. Handheld device carry case according to any preceding claim wherein the carrier body is arranged to receive the entire handheld device.

11. Handheld device carry case comprising first and second covers arranged to cooperate to define a storage space for storing a handheld device, the first and second covers being slidable with respect to each other between a first position which defines an opening for the handheld device to be inserted or removed from the storage space, and a second position which occludes the opening; and a biasing member disposed on an inner surface of one of the covers near the opening for biasing a part of the handheld device away from the inner surface.

12. Handheld device carry case according to claim 11 , wherein the biasing device includes a spring support sheet.

13. Handheld device carry case according to claim 11 or 12, wherein, in the opened position, the first cover is supported at an acute angle in relation to the second cover.

14. Handheld device carry case according to claim 13, wherein the acute angle is about 15°.

15. Handheld device carry case according to claim 13 or 14, further comprising guide formations disposed on the first and second cover for guiding the sliding movement of the first and second covers.

16. Handheld device carry case comprising: a first part; a second part cooperating with the first part to define an enclosure for carrying a handheld device, the first part separable at least partially from the second part along a boundary to define an opening through which the handheld device is insertable or removable; and

EMI shield provided on the entire surfaces of the first and second part except along at least part of the boundary.

17. Handheld device carry case according to claim 16, wherein the second part comprises front and rear covers assembled together.

18. Handheld device carry case according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the first part is pivotally mounted to the second part.

19. Handheld device carry case according to any of claims 16 to 18, wherein the EMI shield is not provided along the boundary on two side and front surfaces of the carry case.

20. Handheld device carry case according to any of claims 16 to 18, wherein the EMl shield is not provided along the boundary on one surface of the carry case.

21. Handheld device carry case comprising a carrier body having four wall portions and a base wall defining a storage compartment for a handheld device, the four wall portions defining an opening through which the hand-held device is insertable or removable, the base wall being located opposite the opening and includes an inwardly openable door for engaging the hand-held device.

22. Handheld device carry case according to claim 21 , wherein the inwardly openable door is pivotably coupled to the base wall.

23. Handheld device carry case according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the inwardly openable door is located centrally of the base wall.

24. Handheld device carry case according to any of claims 21 to 23, wherein two of the wall portions have U-shaped profiles.