PROTECTIVE CASE FOR AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE
First Claim
1. A protective case configured to house an electronic device, the protective case comprising:
- a case body comprising a first material having a first modulus of elasticity, the case body defining a recess which is configured to house the electronic device, the case body further defining;
a front surface configured to be disposed adjacent to a screen of the electronic device when the electronic device is disposed in the recess;
a rear surface opposed from the front surface, the rear surface configured to be disposed adjacent to a back panel of the electronic device when the electronic device is disposed in the recess, the rear portion defining a battery compartment;
a left side surface disposed between the front and rear surfaces;
a right side surface spaced from the left side surface;
a top surface; and
a bottom surface spaced from the top surface;
at least two hot-swappable batteries, wherein a first hot-swappable battery of the at least two hot-swappable batteries is removably attached to the battery compartment and replaceable by a second hot-swappable battery of the at least two hot-swappable batteries, such that when the first hot-swappable battery is removed from the battery compartment and replaced by the second hot-swappable battery, the protective case is configured such that the electronic device is powered by an internal battery; and
at least one microprocessor disposed within the protective case, the at least one microprocessor configured to establish data communication between the electronic device and any of the at least two hot-swappable batteries.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In one embodiment, a protective case for use with an electronic device—such as a tablet computer or cell phone—is disclosed. The protective case configured to retain the electronic device, the protective case being designed from rigid, resilient materials, configured to provide impact resistance, temperature resistance, and water resistance to the electronic device. The protective case defines a battery compartment that is configured to permit the removable attachment of at least one hot-swappable battery. The at least one hot-swappable battery is configured to provide auxiliary power to the electronic device when it is disposed in the battery compartment. In another embodiment, the protective case is part of a kit, which includes the protective, a keyboard, a magnetic stripe reader, at least two hot-swappable batteries, at least one microprocessor, a stylus, a docking station, and a rain shield.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A protective case configured to house an electronic device, the protective case comprising:
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a case body comprising a first material having a first modulus of elasticity, the case body defining a recess which is configured to house the electronic device, the case body further defining; a front surface configured to be disposed adjacent to a screen of the electronic device when the electronic device is disposed in the recess; a rear surface opposed from the front surface, the rear surface configured to be disposed adjacent to a back panel of the electronic device when the electronic device is disposed in the recess, the rear portion defining a battery compartment; a left side surface disposed between the front and rear surfaces; a right side surface spaced from the left side surface; a top surface; and a bottom surface spaced from the top surface; at least two hot-swappable batteries, wherein a first hot-swappable battery of the at least two hot-swappable batteries is removably attached to the battery compartment and replaceable by a second hot-swappable battery of the at least two hot-swappable batteries, such that when the first hot-swappable battery is removed from the battery compartment and replaced by the second hot-swappable battery, the protective case is configured such that the electronic device is powered by an internal battery; and at least one microprocessor disposed within the protective case, the at least one microprocessor configured to establish data communication between the electronic device and any of the at least two hot-swappable batteries. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A rain shield configured for use on a screen of an electronic device, the rain shield comprising a film disposed on a top surface of the rain shield and an adhesive layer disposed on an opposed bottom surface of the rain shield,
wherein the adhesive layer is configured to abut the electronic device in an installed configuration so as to fixate the positioning of the rain shield with respect to the surface of the electronic device so as to limit translation of the rain shield, wherein, in the installed configuration, the bottom surface faces the screen of the electronic device so as to define a void therebetween, the void being partially defined by the adhesive layer, the rain shield retaining a substantially rigid form when weak forces are imparted to the top surface such that the bottom surface does not penetrate the void, and the rain shield flexing toward the bottom surface when strong forces are imparted to the rain shield top surface, such that the rain shield bottom surface penetrates the void so as to make physical contact with the screen of the electronic device.
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22. A kit configured for use with an electronic device, the kit comprising:
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a protective case defining a case body, the protective case being configured to retain the electronic device, the case body defining a front surface, an opposed rear surface spaced from the front surface in a first direction, a bottom surface disposed between the front and rear surfaces, and a top surface disposed between the front and rear surfaces and spaced from the bottom surface in a second direction, the second direction being substantially perpendicular to the first direction, the rear surface further containing a battery compartment; a keyboard disposed on the front surface of the case body adjacent to the bottom surface, the keyboard comprising a plurality of keys, each one of the plurality of keys corresponding to at least one alpha-numeric character; a magnetic stripe reader disposed on the rear surface of the case body adjacent to the bottom surface, the magnetic stripe reader being configured to read stored data from magnetic stripe cards; at least two hot-swappable batteries configured to be removably attachable to the protective case within the battery compartment, the at least two hot-swappable batteries being further configured to provide auxiliary power to the electronic device; at least one microprocessor disposed within the protective case, the at least one microprocessor being electronically configured to establish data communication between the electronic device and the least two hot-swappable batteries, the keyboard, and the magnetic stripe reader; a stylus having a stylus body that is elongate along a central axis, the stylus body extending from a pressure-sensitive stylus tip to a stylus head, the pressure-sensitive style tip being configured to engage with the screen of the electronic device, the stylus body comprising a shift button configured to enable alternate functionality when the pressure-sensitive stylus tip engages with the screen of the electronic device; a docking station, the docking station generally comprising a dock body, a docking portion, a battery charging portion, and a back dock portion, the docking portion being configured to electronically and physically engage with the electronic device when the electronic device is disposed within the protective case to define a docked configuration, the battery charging portion being configured to mate with either a first or second of the at least two hot-swappable batteries so as to provide power to the first or second of the at least two hot-swappable batteries via an external power supply; a rain shield configured to cover an entirety of a screen of the cell phone in an installed configuration, the rain shield defining a front rain shield surface and an opposed rear rain shield surface, the rear rain shield surface being configured to abut the screen of the cell phone in the installed configuration, the rain shield being further configured to communicate with the screen of the cell phone when strong forces are applied to the front rain shield surface and to inhibit communication with the screen of the cell phone when weak forces are applied to the front rain shield surface. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for powering an electronic device, the method comprising the steps of:
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instructing the electronic device to draw power from an internal rechargeable battery in the electronic device while the internal rechargeable battery has a power reserve of at least 50%; when the internal rechargeable battery has a power reserve of 50% or less, instructing the electronic device to draw power from a first hot-swappable battery while the first hot-swappable battery has a power reserve of at least 50%; when the hot-swappable battery has a power reserve of 50% or less, instructing the electronic device to display a first alert that signifies that the first hot-swappable battery should be replaced by a second hot-swappable battery; when the first hot-swappable battery is removed, instructing the electronic device to draw power from the internal rechargeable battery until the second hot-swappable battery has replaced the first hot-swappable battery. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A kit case configured for use with an electronic device, the kit comprising:
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a protective case defining a case body, the protective case being configured to retain the electronic device, the case body further defining an integration plug, disposed within the recess, the integration plug configured to mate with a corresponding port on the electronic device to provide an electronic connection therebetween; at least one microprocessor disposed within the case body; at least one external device removably connectable to the protective case, wherein the at least one microprocessor is configured to establish data communication between the electronic device and the at least one external device. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification