Cord Management System

• US 20110253571A1
• Filed: 04/25/2011
• Published: 10/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Wayne Philip Rothbaum
• Original Assignee: Wayne Philip Rothbaum
• Inventors: Rothbaum, Wayne Philip
• Application Number:
  US13/093,748
• Publication Number:
  US 20110253571A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 206/320
• CPC Class Codes: A45C 11/00 Receptacles for purposes not provided for in groups A45C1/00-A45C9/00 specially adapted for toiletry or cosmetic equipment A45D29/20, A45D44/18; travelling sewing kits A45F3/48
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/208 Magnetic, paramagnetic
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/402 Coloured
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2313/04 of magnetic type
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 63/10 Non-metallic straps, tapes, or bands; Filamentary elements, e.g. strings, threads or wires; Joints between ends thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3888 Arrangements for carrying or protecting transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/15 Protecting or guiding telephone cords
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1033 Cables or cables storage, e.g. cable reels cord reels per se H02G11/02; arrangements for storing and repeatedly paying-out and re-storing lengths of conductors or cables B65H75/34; extensible conductors or cables, e.g. self-coiling cords H01B7/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/10 Methods of surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49 Method of mechanical manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31786 Of polyester [e.g., alkyd, etc.]

Abstract

A case for a mobile electronic device is provided. The case includes color-changing material that changes color when subjected to different environmental conditions. Cases may include multiple color-changing materials, or color-changing materials that exhibit multiple different colors. In some embodiments, the case has a design that includes color-changing material. The designs are sometimes configured to provide information to a user about an operating condition of the device, such as the temperature. In some embodiments, the color-changing material is thermochromic and/or photochromic. In some mobile electronic device cases, portions of a back surface include magnets and/or magnetic materials, such as magnetic metal.

Claims

1. A cord management system, comprising:

a case for an object, the case having a front, a back, a bottom, a top, a first side, and a second side;

wherein substantially all of the case is made of magnetic material.

3. The cord management system of claim 1, wherein the magnetic material is magnetic metal.

4. The cord management system of claim 3, wherein the magnetic metal is SAE 1008 steel.

5. The cord management system of claim 3, wherein the magnetic metal is an alloy of iron, cobalt, and/or nickel.

6. The cord management system of claim 3, wherein the magnetic metal is SAE Type 416 stainless steel.

7. The cord management system of claim 1, wherein the case comprises a bumper to at least partially prevent a surface of the object from contacting the magnetic material of the case.

8. The cord management system of claim 1, wherein the object is a mobile electronic device.

9. The cord management system of claim 1, wherein a portion of the case is at least partially covered with a coating material.

2. A cord management system, comprising:

a case for a mobile electronic device;

wherein substantially all of the case is made of magnetic material; and

wherein the case is configured to be magnetically attracted to at least one accessory comprising a magnet and/or magnetic material.

10. A case for a mobile electronic device, comprising:

a front, a back, a bottom, a top, a first side, and a second side,

wherein the case is configured to at least partially contain the mobile electronic device;

wherein at least a portion of the case comprises a color-changing material that changes color when subjected to different environmental conditions.

11. The case of claim 10, wherein at least a portion of the back is made of a magnetic material;

and

wherein at least a portion of at least one of the front, bottom, top, first side, and second side is made of one or more non-magnetic materials.

12. The case of claim 10, wherein the portion of the case comprising the color-change material is a majority of the back of the case.

13. The case of claim 10, wherein the portion of the case comprising the color-change material is a majority of at least one of the first or second side.

14. The case of claim 10, wherein the color-changing material has a first color at a first environmental condition and a second color at a second environmental condition.

15. The case of claim 10, wherein the color-changing material is thermochromic material that changes color due to a change in the temperature of the material.

16. The case of claim 10, wherein the color-changing material is thermochromic material having at least a first color at a first temperature, a second color at a second temperature, and a third color at a third temperature.

17. The case of claim 10, further comprising:

a design, wherein when the case is subject to a first environmental condition, the design is substantially the same color as an area of the case near the design; and

wherein when the case is subject to a second environmental condition, the design is a different color than the area of the case near the design.

18. The case of claim 17, wherein the design is disposed within the portion of the case comprising the color-changing material and wherein the design does not change color in response to the second environmental condition.

19. The case of claim 17, wherein the portion of the case comprising the color-changing material is the design, and wherein the design is disposed within a portion of the case that does not have color-changing material.

26. The case of claim 10, wherein the color-changing material includes a first thermochromic material and a second thermochromic material,

wherein a first portion of the case comprises a first thermochromic material having a first color at a first temperature and a second color at a second temperature;

and

wherein a second portion of the case comprises a second thermochromic material having a third color at a first temperature and a fourth color at a second temperature,

wherein the first color and the third color are distinct from one another.

27. The case of claim 26, wherein the second and fourth colors are distinct from one another.

28. The case of claim 26, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth colors are distinct from one another.

29. The case of claim 26, wherein the first portion is a design and the second portion is an area at least partially surrounding the design.

30. The case of claim 15, further comprising an insulator between the thermochromic material and the object within the case.

31. The case of claim 15, wherein the thermochromic material is selected from a group comprising:

a thermochromic ink, a thermochromic paint, and a thermochromic film.

32. The case of claim 15, wherein the thermochromic material is incorporated in a polymer.

33. The case of claim 15, wherein the thermochromic material comprises one of a group comprising thermochromic liquid crystals and leuco dye.

34. The case of claim 10, wherein the color-changing material is photochromic material that changes color due to a variation in the wavelength and/or intensity of light incident on the material.

35. The case of claim 34, wherein the photochromic material is selected from a group comprising:

a photochromic coating, a photochromic paint, and a photochromic film.

36. The case of claim 34, wherein the photochromic material is embedded in a polymer.

20. A decorative skin for a mobile electronic device case, comprising

a sheet with a first side and a second side;

wherein the first side comprises one or more of magnets and magnetic materials for removably attaching the sheet to a case for a mobile electronic device, wherein the case has at least one magnetic material component; and

wherein the second side comprises decoration, such that when the sheet is removably attached to the case, the decoration is presented to a user.

21. The decorative skin of claim 20, wherein the sheet further comprises one or more edges defining through-holes between the first and second sides, wherein the one or more through-holes are configured to allow optical access through the sheet by a component of the mobile electronic device.

22. The decorative skin of claim 20, wherein the decoration comprises a thermochromic material.

23. The decorative skin of claim 20, wherein the decoration comprises a metameric material.

24. The decorative skin of claim 20, wherein the decoration comprises a color.

25. The decorative skin of claim 20, wherein the decoration comprises a design.

37. A method of manufacturing a case for a mobile electronic device, comprising:

providing one or more color-changing materials that change color when subjected to different environmental conditions;

providing one or more non color-changing materials;

forming one or more color-changing portions of a case;

forming one or more non color-changing portions of a case; and

creating a case for a mobile electronic device incorporating the one or more color-changing portions and the one or more non color-changing portions.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the case has a front, a back, a bottom, a top, a first side, and a second side;

wherein at least a portion of the back is made of a magnetic material;

wherein at least a portion of at least one of the front, bottom, top, first side, and second side is made of one or more non-magnetic materials.

39. A method of manufacturing a case for a mobile electronic device, comprising:

providing one or more color-changing materials that change color when subjected to different environmental conditions;

providing one or more non color-changing materials; and

forming a case for a mobile electronic device including the color-changing and the non color-changing materials.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the case has a front, a back, a bottom, a top, a first side, and a second side;

wherein at least a portion of the back is made of a magnetic material;

wherein at least a portion of at least one of the front, bottom, top, first side, and second side is made of one or more non-magnetic materials.

41. A method of manufacturing a case for a mobile electronic device, comprising:

providing a case for a mobile electronic device; and

applying to at least a portion of the case a color-changing material that changes color when subjected to different environmental conditions.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the color-changing material is incorporated in a covering that is removable from the case.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the covering is removably attached to a magnetic material surface of the case.

44. The method of claim 41, wherein the case has a front, a back, a bottom, a top, a first side, and a second side;

wherein at least a portion of the back is made of a magnetic material;

wherein at least a portion of at least one of the front, bottom, top, first side, and second side is made of one or more non-magnetic materials.

45. A method of manufacturing a case for an electronic device, comprising:

providing a case for a mobile electronic device;

applying a thermochromic coating to at least a portion of the case; and

applying an ultra-violet radiation inhibiting coating over at least a portion of the thermochromic coating.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein at least a portion of the case is black, and wherein the applying the thermochromic coating further comprises:

applying the thermochromic coating over at least a portion of the black portion of the case.

47. The method of claim 45, wherein the black portion of the case comprises a black coating.

48. The method of claim 45, further comprising applying a clear coating over at least a portion of the ultra-violet radiation inhibiting coating.

49. The method of claim 45, wherein the case has a front, a back, a bottom, a top, a first side, and a second side;

wherein at least a portion of the back is made of a magnetic material;

wherein at least a portion of at least one of the front, bottom, top, first side, and second side is made of one or more non-magnetic materials.

50. The method of claim 45, wherein the thermochromic coating is applied to the portion of the case by printing.

51. A decorative sheeting, comprising:

a first layer comprising a first substrate; and

a second layer comprising a second substrate sub-layer and a color-changing material sub-layer that changes color when subjected to different environmental conditions;

wherein the first layer and the second layer are layered with respect to one another such that the color-changing material is between the first substrate and the second substrate.

52. The decorative sheeting of claim 51, wherein the first substrate and the second substrate are so dimensioned so as to cover substantially all of a back of a case for a mobile electronic device.

53. The decorative sheeting of claim 51, wherein the second layer further comprises:

an ultra-violet radiation inhibiting material sub-layer.

54. The decorative sheeting of claim 51, wherein the first layer has an opaque coloring.

55. The decorative sheeting of claim 54, wherein the opaque coloring is substantially black.

56. A method of manufacturing a decorative sheeting, comprising

providing a first layer comprising a first substrate;

providing a second substrate;

applying a color-changing material that changes color when subjected to different environmental conditions to the second substrate so as to form a second layer; and

layering the first layer and the second layer to form the decorative sheeting wherein the first layer and the second layer are oriented with respect to one another such that the color-changing material is between the first substrate and the second substrate.

57. The method of claim 56, further comprising:

applying an ultra-violet inhibiting material to the second substrate.

58. The method of claim 56, further comprising:

applying a substantially black coating to the first substrate.

59. A method of using a case for a mobile electronic device, comprising:

providing a case for a mobile electronic device, wherein a portion of the case comprises a color-changing material that changes color when subjected to different environmental conditions;

causing at least a portion of the color-changing material to change from a first environmental condition to a second environmental condition; and

wherein in response to the change in environmental condition, the color-changing material changes from a first color to a second color.

60. A case for a mobile electronic device, comprising:

a front, a back, a bottom, a top, a first side, and a second side,

wherein the case is configured to at least partially contain the mobile electronic device;

wherein at least a portion of the case comprises a metameric material.

61. The case of claim 60, wherein at least a portion of the back is made of a magnetic material;

and

wherein at least a portion of at least one of the front, bottom, top, first side, and second side is made of one or more non-magnetic materials.

62. The case of claim 60, wherein the portion of the case comprising the metameric material is a majority of the back of the case.

63. A method of manufacturing a case for a mobile electronic device, comprising:

providing a case for a mobile electronic device; and

applying to at least a portion of the case a metameric material.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the case has a front, a back, a bottom, a top, a first side, and a second side;

wherein at least a portion of the back is made of a magnetic material;

wherein at least a portion of at least one of the front, bottom, top, first side, and second side is made of one or more non-magnetic materials.

65. A method of manufacturing a case for an electronic device, comprising:

providing a case for a mobile electronic device,

applying a metameric material coating to at least a portion of the case; and

applying an ultra-violet radiation inhibiting coating over at least a portion of the thermochromic coating.

66. The method of claim 65, wherein at least a portion of the case is black, and wherein the applying the metameric material coating further comprises:

applying the metameric material coating over at least a portion of the black portion of the case.

67. The method of claim 65, wherein the black portion of the case comprises a black coating.

68. The method of claim 65, further comprising applying a clear coating over at least a portion of the ultra-violet radiation inhibiting coating.