Patent Application
20130048203
The present disclosure relates generally to adhesive films configured to be applied to and protect exposed surfaces.
Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the disclosure are described, including various embodiments of the disclosure with reference to the figures, in which:
In the following description, numerous specific details are provided for a thorough understanding of the various embodiments disclosed herein. The systems and methods disclosed herein can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In addition, in some cases, well-known structures, materials, or operations may not be shown or described in detail in order to avoid obscuring aspects of the disclosure. Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more alternative embodiments.
The present disclosure provides various embodiments of a film assembly including protective film and removable opposing tabs. Additionally, the present disclosure provides methods for applying the protective film to a surface of a portable electronic device (PED). According to various embodiments, a film assembly may comprise a protective film, removable opposing tabs extending from the protective film, an adhesive, and a release liner. An underside of the protective film may be coated with the adhesive. The adhesive may be designed to selectively adhere the protective film to a surface of a PED. The release liner may be configured to selectively line the adhesive prior to adhesion, such as during transport and/or handling to prevent accidental adhesion.
According to various embodiments, the protective film may comprise any of a wide variety of materials or combinations thereof, such as polyester, polypropylene, and/or polyethylene. The protective film may be configured to be adhered to and protect a display of a PED. Accordingly, at least after adhesion to the surface of the display, the protective film and the adhesive may be transparent. Alternatively, the protective film may be configured with any number of colors and/or designs.
According to various embodiments, the protective film may be configured with removable and opposing tabs configured to facilitate the alignment of the protective film with respect to a surface. According to various embodiments, the opposing tabs may be constructed of the same material as the protective film or constructed of a different material. The opposing tabs may be parallel to the plane of the protective film. Alternatively, a tab or a portion thereof may be at an angle with respect to the plane of the protective film. Furthermore, the opposing tabs may be of any size and/or shape to provide a suitable area for a user to grasp and manipulate the orientation of the protective film with respect to a surface.
According to various embodiments, the release liner may be a split release liner comprising a minority portion and a majority portion. According to various embodiments, a user may remove the minority portion of the release liner to expose a minority portion of the protective film coated with an adhesive. The user may then align the protective film with respect to a surface. The minority portion of the protective film may then be adhered to a portion of the surface using the adhesive. After ensuring the protective film is properly aligned, the majority portion of the split release liner may be removed. The exposed majority portion of the protective film coated with the adhesive may then be adhered to the surface.
According to some embodiments, the opposing tabs may be used to adjust the alignment of the protective film before and after the protective film has been adhered to the surface. According to other embodiments, once adhered, the alignment of the protective film may not be easily adjusted. Additionally, one or more selectively removable supplemental tabs may be utilized in addition to the two opposing tabs.
Once the protective film is aligned and adhered, the opposing tabs, and any supplemental tabs, may be removed. According to some embodiments, the opposing tabs may be selectively removed from the top surface of the protective film. According to alternative embodiments, the opposing tabs may be formed as extensions of the protective film. According to such embodiments, the opposing tabs may be torn or cut along a perforated or scored edge.
Throughout the disclosure, numerous examples are provided with reference to a PED resembling that of a touch screen device; however, a size, shape, and/or configuration of a screen protector may be adapted to fit on any of a wide variety of devices. For example, a screen protector may be adhered to portions of a laptop computer, a camera, a touch screen device, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, and/or other surfaces requiring film protection. Moreover, a protective film as described herein may be adhered to any surface of an electronic device. For example, it may be desirable to adhere a protective film to the display screen of a PED as well as to a rear and/or side portion of the PED. Accordingly, a screen protector as described herein is not limited to protecting displays of PEDs, but rather may be adapted to protect any of a wide variety of surfaces.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. In particular, an “embodiment” may be a system, an article of manufacture (such as a computer-readable storage medium), a method, and/or a product of a process.
Throughout this specification the term “adhesive” and “adhere” may refer to any of a wide variety of substances and/or methods for joining two components or materials. As used herein, an adhesive may be used to adhere two components or materials to one another permanently, semi-permanently, for a fixed time period, or temporarily. Any of a wide variety of adhesives may be used, including solvent based adhesives, polymer dispersion adhesives, emulsion adhesives, contact adhesives, hot adhesives, and pressure sensitive adhesives. For example, a removable pressure sensitive adhesive may be employed that could allow a protective film to be selectively removed months or even years after its initial adhesion to a PED.
In some cases, well-known features, structures or operations are not shown or described in detail. Furthermore, the described features, structures, or operations may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. It will also be readily understood that the components of the embodiments as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.
The embodiments of the disclosure are best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. It will be readily understood that the components of the disclosed embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the systems and methods of the disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, as claimed, but is merely representative of possible embodiments of the disclosure. In addition, the steps of a method do not necessarily need to be executed in any specific order, or even sequentially, nor need the steps be executed only once, unless specifically stated.
Minority portion 110 and majority portion 120 of split release liner 150 may be configured to line the adhesive prior to adhesion. Accordingly, minority portion 110 and majority portion 120 of the split release liner may be selectively and independently removed in order to expose the adhesive located on the underside of protective film 150. According to various embodiments, minority portion 110 and majority portion 120 of the split release liner may or may not contain an active release agent.
Protective film 150 may be transparent or include any of a wide variety of colors and/or designs. According to various embodiments, protective film 150 may be configured to adhere to and cover a display, such as those commonly found on portable electronic devices. Additionally, protective film 150 may be configured to function with touch screens, including those touch screens utilizing surface acoustic waves, changes in capacitance, and changes in resistance.
Furthermore, an upper surface of protective film 150 may be configured with a particular texture or coating. For example, the upper surface of protective film 150 may include a top coating configured to provide a rough surface, a superior grip, a matte appearance, a glossy appearance, reduced glare, UV protection, scratch resistance, anti-bacterial properties, an oleographic appearance, an oleophobic surface, and/or other upper surface properties. The top coating may include an additional layer, material, and/or chemical configured to provide a particular benefit.
While not specifically illustrated in
Film assembly 200 may include a protective film 250 configured to cover one or more surfaces of PED 290. For instance, protective film 250 may be configured with an appropriate size and shape to cover a display screen 292 of PED 290, a front surface 293 of PED 290, and/or wrap around sides 295 of PED 290. Furthermore, one or more film assemblies 200 may be utilized to provide complete coverage of every surface of PED 290. According to various embodiments, film assembly 200 and/or protective film 250 may include protrusions, intrusions, and/or cutouts configured to accommodate various design aspects of PED 290. For example, protective film 250 may be designed to cover display screen 292 and wrap around sides 295 of PED 290 and include appropriate cutouts to accommodate various buttons 297. Similarly, protective film 250 may include a circular cutout to accommodate button 299, or button 299 may be covered by protective film 250 but still be capable of being actuated. A film assembly configured to accommodate a more complex PED may include numerous cutouts and/or protrusions.
According to various embodiments, a release liner may include an active or passive release agent configured to provide a release effect against sticky materials, such as adhesive 215. Accordingly, minority portion 210 may be peeled away from protective film 250 to expose adhesive 215 without retaining adhesive 215 or without significantly diminishing the adhesive properties thereof.
Adhesive 215 may comprise any of wide variety of adhesives, including solvent based adhesives, polymer dispersion adhesives, emulsion adhesives, contact adhesives, hot adhesives, and pressure sensitive adhesives. For example, a removable pressure sensitive adhesive may allow a protective film to be selectively removed days, months, or even years after its initial adhesion to PED 290. Depending on the surface of PED 290 and/or the type of adhesive 215 utilized, adhesive 215 may be configured to adhere protective film 250 to the surface of PED 290 permanently, semi-permanently, for a fixed time period, or temporarily. Moreover, adhesive 215 may be configured as a single-use adhesive, or as a reusable adhesive, allowing protective film 250 to be removed and replaced as desired.
As previously described, once protective film 350 is aligned with respect to the surface of PED 390 and is fully adhered, opposing tabs 330 and 340 may be removed. According to some embodiments, opposing tabs 330 and 340 may be separate pieces of material capable of being selectively removed from the top surface of protective film 350. Alternatively, opposing tabs 330 and 340 may be formed as extensions of protective film 350 and may be torn or cut along an edge. The edge may be perforated or scored to facilitate the removal of opposing tabs 330 and 340.
Additionally, protective film 350 may include a circular cutout to accommodate button 399, or button 399 may be covered by protective film 350. A protective film 350 configured to accommodate a more complex PED may include numerous cutouts and/or protrusions.
Similar to previous embodiments, opposing tabs 430 and 440 may be separate pieces of material configured to be selectively removed from the top surface of protective film 450 or formed as extensions of protective film 450. In either case, once protective film 450 is aligned and fully adhered to PED 490, opposing tabs 430 and 440 may be removed.
As illustrated, a user may grasp opposing tabs 430 and 440 to manually rotate film assembly 400 in the direction of arrows 401 and 402 in order to align protective film 450 with respect to a surface of PED 490. In
Adhesive 415 may comprise any of wide variety of adhesives, including solvent based adhesives, polymer dispersion adhesives, emulsion adhesives, contact adhesives, hot adhesives, and pressure sensitive adhesives. According to various embodiments, adhesive 415 may adhere protective film 450 to the surface of PED 490 permanently, semi-permanently, temporarily, or for a fixed time period. According to some embodiments, protective film 450 may include one or more supplementary tabs in addition to opposing tabs 430 and 440. Accordingly, the one or more supplementary tabs may facilitate a user as a majority portion 457 of protective film 450 is adhered to the surface of PED 490. The supplementary tabs may then be removed.
Opposing tabs 530 and 540 may be utilized to align protective film 550 with respect to PED 590 before and/or after protective film 550 has been adhered to PED 590. Once aligned, opposing tabs 530 and 540, and any potential supplementary tabs, may be removed.
According to some embodiments, after protective film 550 is adhered to PED 590, an applicator tool, such as a straight edge of a relatively hard material, may be used to smooth the protective film 550 across the surface of the PED 590. The applicator tool may also serve to expel air bubbles that may be trapped between the protective film 550 and the surface of the PED 590.
Once the minority portion of the protective surface is aligned and adhered, a majority portion of the split release liner may be removed to expose a majority portion of the protective film coated with the adhesive, at 660. The majority portion of the protective film may then be adhered to the surface of the PED via the underlying adhesive, at 670. Once the protective film is properly aligned and adhered to the surface of the PED, the opposing tabs may be removed, at 680.
Once the minority portion of the protective surface is aligned and adhered, a first section of the majority portion of the split release liner may be removed to expose a first section of the majority portion of the protective film coated with the adhesive, at 725. Each section of the majority portion of the protective film may be successively adhered to the surface of the PED via the underlying adhesive, at 730, until each section of the majority portion of the split release liner has been removed, at 735. Once the protective film is properly aligned and fully adhered to the surface of the PED, the opposing tabs may be removed, at 740. An applicator tool may then be used to smooth the protective film and/or to expel air bubbles trapped between the protective film and the surface, at 745.
According to various embodiments, one or more steps in the methods described in conjunction with
The above description provides numerous specific details for a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, those of skill in the art will recognize that one or more of the specific details may be omitted, modified, and/or replaced by a similar process, system, or component. In many instances the order of steps and/or actions of the methods of use described herein may be interchanged with one another.
