1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to phone cases for protecting the phone from liquid such as water and contaminants such as dust, and more particularly to a phone case having weatherproof features.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many phone cases are currently available. These phone cases, however, are not well-suited to protect the phones or personal electronic devices from liquid such as water and contaminants such as dust. Also, these phone cases may not allow for easy access and use of the buttons and knobs on the phones or personal electronic devices. Accordingly, there is a need for a phone case that is easy to use, weather proof, and allows for better and easier use of the buttons and knobs on a phone or a personal electronic device.
A weatherproof phone case including a bottom portion having side walls defining a closed perimeter, the side walls having an outer surface with at least two channels and an inner surface having a flange. The phone case also including a rigid back plate defining a perimeter and having at least two protrusions that travel around at least a portion of the perimeter, the at least two protrusions connectable to the at least two channels, the back plate and the side walls forming a cavity for the placement of a mobile device. The phone case also including a top portion having an outer perimeter, a top surface, an extruding wall extending therefrom and an opening positioned between the top surface and the extruding wall, the top portion configured to fit onto the bottom portion such that the opening receives the flange of the bottom portion. The phone case also including a transparent screen attached to the outer perimeter to allow viewing into the cavity.
The features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings. Naturally, the drawings and their associated descriptions illustrate example arrangements within the scope of the claims and do not limit the scope of the claims. Reference numbers are reused throughout the drawings to indicate correspondence between referenced elements.
In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinarily skilled in the art that elements of the present disclosure may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and techniques have not been shown in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure.
The weatherproof phone case 100 may include a lanyard hook 121 for allowing a user to tether a lanyard to the phone case 100. The weatherproof phone case 100 may include a pull tab 122 that is configured for a user to pull, to more easily separate a top portion 101 of the case from a bottom portion 102 of the case. The weatherproof case 100 may include a port cover 123 that may be opened or closed to expose or conceal ports of the phone. A button cover 124 may be positioned on the side of the case 100, and may be opened or closed to expose or conceal a button of the phone.
Below the top surface 104 is an interfacing seal 106 that travels around the entire perimeter of the phone case 100. The interfacing seal 106 of the top portion 101 fits on top of an interfacing seal 107 of the bottom portion 102. Therefore, when the top portion 101 fits onto the bottom portion 102, the interfacing seals 106 and 107 create and provide a better water seal around the entire perimeter of the phone case 100 when compared to a rubber o-ring seal or track.
A button portion 110 of the plastic layer 105 is made of a thinner material than the other portions of the plastic layer 105. The thinner material of the button portion 110 allows for better scanning and reading of a finger print that is placed on the button portion 110 of the plastic layer 105. The phone case 100 also has protective corner foam cushions 108 and a silicon padding layer 109 that are made of a softer material. The protective corner foam cushions 108 and the silicon padding layer 109 are co-molded, over molded or integrated with a flexible Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) material that forms the side walls 112 of the phone case 100. A PC material can form a bottom exterior portion 111 with the silicon padding layer formed therein. In one embodiment, the PC material of the bottom exterior portion 111 can be over molded with the TPU material of the side walls 112 to form a more rigid and/or water resistant structure. In one embodiment, the protective corner foam cushions 108 may be inserted into the side walls 112 of the case at respective corners. In one embodiment, the silicon padding layer 109 may be glued to the case with an adhesive. In one embodiment, the protective cushions may be made of rubber, or other suitable cushioning materials.
In one embodiment, the protective corner foam cushions 108 may be positioned at the corners of the bottom portion 102. In one embodiment, the protective foam cushions 608 may be positioned at the corners of the top portion, as shown in
As shown in
The foregoing description of the disclosed example embodiments is provided to enable any person of ordinary skill in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these examples will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the principles disclosed herein may be applied to other examples without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive and the scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the following claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/923,562, filed Jan. 3, 2014, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61923562 | Jan 2014 | US |