Electronic device case

• US 9,048,665 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 06/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Otter Products LLC
• Original Assignee: Otter Products LLC
• Inventors: Wojcik, James John, Center, Adam Douglas, Eichinger, Todd, Joshi, Abhishek, Benzion, Adam, Smith, William Travis, Rayeski, Jonathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hoa C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wu, James
• Application Number:
  US13/833,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20140192492A1
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: 320/112, 320/114, 320/115, 361/679.3, 361/679.4, 361/679.41, 361/679.55, 361/679.56, 429/100, 206/701, 206/703, 206/722, 206/724, 206/726, 455/575.1, 455/575.8
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/382 Arrangements for monitoring battery or accumulator variables, e.g. SoC
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/263 Arrangements for using multiple switchable power supplies, e.g. battery and AC G06F1/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/86 Secure or tamper-resistant housings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 4/00 Circuit arrangements for mains or distribution networks not specified as ac or dc
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0049 Detection of fully charged condition
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/185 Improving the rigidity of the casing or resistance to shocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7246 by connection of exchangeable housing parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0296 switching to a backup power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0086 portable, e.g. battery operated apparatus casings for switching devices H01H9/02
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0247 Electrical details of casings, e.g. terminals, passages for cables or wiring
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A protective enclosure for an electronic device is provided. The protective enclosure includes a hard shell that includes a front shell formed to a rigid shape of a front portion of the electronic device and a back shell formed to a rigid shape of a rear portion of the electronic device. The protective enclosure also includes a stretchable cushion layer over the hard shell that has a sufficient elasticity to conform to the hard shell and provide cushioning to the protective enclosure. The protective enclosure also includes a battery and electrical circuitry configured to receive electronic communications from the electronic device and distribute electrical current received from an external power source among the battery and the electronic device based on the received electronic communications.

Claims

1. A protective enclosure for a smartphone having an internal battery, the protective enclosure comprising:

a hard shell comprising a front shell formed to a rigid shape of a front portion of the smartphone and a back shell formed to a rigid shape of a rear portion of the smartphone, the hard shell having an external electrical connector for electrically interfacing to an external device and having an internal electrical connector for electrically interfacing to an electrical connector of the smartphone when the smartphone is inserted into the protective enclosure;

a stretchable cushion layer disposed over the hard shell, wherein the stretchable cushion layer has sufficient elasticity to conform to the hard shell and provide cushioning to the protective enclosure;

a rechargeable battery disposed in the protective enclosure; and

electrical circuitry disposed in the protective enclosure and configured to;

determine a charge state of the rechargeable battery of the protective enclosure;

receive electronic data communications from the smartphone through the electrical connector of the smartphone and through the internal electrical connector of the hard shell, the electronic data communications including information indicating a charge state of the internal battery of the smartphone;

receive electrical power from the external device through the external electrical connector of the hard shell;

allocate a first portion of the received electrical power to the rechargeable battery of the protective enclosure, wherein a magnitude of the first portion is determined based on both the charge state of the internal battery of the smartphone as indicated in the data communications and the determined charge state of the rechargeable battery of the protective enclosure; and

allocate a second portion of the received electrical power to the smartphone, wherein a magnitude of the second portion is determined based on both the charge state of the internal battery of the smartphone as indicated in the data communications and the determined charge state of the rechargeable battery of the protective enclosure.

2. The protective enclosure of claim 1, further comprising:

a membrane over a display opening in the front shell, wherein the membrane allows access to a touch screen on the front portion of the smartphone through the membrane.

3. The protective enclosure of claim 1, further comprising:

a first tab extending from a mating edge of the front shell; and

a second tab extending from a mating edge of the front shell, wherein the first tab is configured to slide behind a mating edge of the back shell and the second tab is configured to slide in front of the mating edge of the back shell when the front and back shells are assembled to form the hard shell.

4. The protective enclosure of claim 1, further comprising:

a side tab extending outwardly from the hard shell; and

a side opening in the stretchable cushion layer, wherein the side opening is configured to receive and retain the side tab to prevent movement of the stretchable cushion layer relative to the hard shell.

5. The protective enclosure of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of tabs extending outwardly from the back shell; and

a plurality of slots in the front shell, wherein the plurality of tabs in the back shell are configured to snap into the plurality of slots in the front shell when the front and back shells are assembled to form the hard shell.

6. The protective enclosure of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of tabs extending outwardly from the front shell; and

a plurality of slots in the back shell, wherein the plurality of tabs in the front shell are configured to snap into the plurality of slots in the back shell when the front and back shells are assembled to form the hard shell.

7. The protective enclosure of claim 1, wherein the back shell further comprises:

an inner back shell; and

an outer back shell, wherein the rechargeable battery is located between the inner back shell and the outer back shell.

8. The protective enclosure of claim 7, wherein:

the electrical circuitry is on a circuit board located between the inner back shell and the outer back shell;

the circuit board is electrically connected to the rechargeable battery; and

the circuit board is configured to interface with the smartphone through the internal electrical connector of the hard shell.

9. The protective enclosure of claim 8, wherein the internal electrical connector of the hard shell is disposed in a cavity in the back shell and extends inwardly into the protective enclosure.

10. The protective enclosure of claim 1, further comprising:

a soft layer on an inner surface of the back shell, wherein the soft layer is configured to make contact with a back surface of the smartphone when the smartphone is installed in the protective enclosure, and wherein the soft layer occupies a clearance volume between the smartphone and the inner surface of the back shell to prevent the smartphone from rattling within the protective enclosure.

11. The protective enclosure of claim 10, wherein the soft layer comprises foam, felt, or rubber.

12. The protective enclosure of claim 1, wherein the magnitude of at least one of the first portion and the second portion of the received electrical power is determined further based on a user preference input into a software application running on the smartphone, the user preference received by the protective enclosure from the smartphone.

13. The protective enclosure of claim 1, wherein the stretchable cushion layer comprises silicone rubber or thermoplastic elastomer.

14. The protective enclosure of claim 1, wherein the hard shell comprises polycarbonate, nylon, fiberglass-filled nylon, or carbon fiber.

15. The protective enclosure of claim 2, wherein the membrane comprises polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, tempered glass, alkali-aluminosilicate sheet glass, or silicone.

16. The protective enclosure of claim 15, wherein the membrane has a thickness of about 0.004 to 0.020 inches.

21. The protective enclosure of claim 1 further comprising a group of display elements electrically interconnected to the electrical circuitry.

22. The protective enclosure of claim 21 wherein the electrical circuitry is further configured to display, on the group of display elements, a charge status that represents a combination of both the charge state of the internal battery of the smartphone and the charge state of the rechargeable battery of the protective enclosure.

23. The protective enclosure of claim 22 wherein the group of display elements includes a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) and to display a charge status includes to illuminate a subset of the LEDs that is proportional to the charge status.

17. A case for a mobile computing device, the case comprising:

a shell comprising a front shell formed to a rigid shape of a front portion of the mobile computing device and a back shell formed to a rigid shape of a rear portion of the mobile computing device, the shell having an external electrical connector for electrically interfacing to an external power source and an internal electrical connector for electrically interfacing to an electrical interface of the mobile computing device when the mobile computing device is inserted in the case;

a rechargeable battery disposed in the case; and

electrical circuitry disposed in the case and configured to;

determine a charge level of the rechargeable battery of the case;

receive one or more data communications from a computer processor of the mobile computing device through the electrical interface of the mobile computing device and through the internal electrical connector of the shell, the one or more data communications including information indicating a charge level of an internal rechargeable battery of the mobile computing device;

receive electrical power from the external power source through the external electrical connector of the shell;

distribute a first portion of the received electrical power to the mobile computing device, wherein a magnitude of the first portion is determined based on the charge level of the rechargeable battery of the case and based on the charge level of the internal rechargeable battery of the mobile computing device; and

distribute a second portion of the received electrical power to the rechargeable battery of the case, wherein a magnitude of the second portion is determined based on the charge level of the rechargeable battery of the case and based on the charge level of the internal rechargeable battery of the mobile computing device.

18. The case of claim 17 wherein the mobile computing device is one or more of:

a cellular phone, a smartphone, and a tablet computer.

19. A protective enclosure for a mobile computing device having an internal rechargeable battery and a touchscreen interface, the protective enclosure comprising:

a shell for enclosing at least a portion of the mobile computing device and for providing protection to the mobile computing device, the shell having an opening for accessing the touchscreen interface of the mobile computing device when the mobile computing device is in the shell, the shell having an external electrical connector for electrically interfacing to an external power supply and an internal electrical connector for electrically interfacing to an electrical interface of the mobile computing device when the mobile computing device is in the shell;

a rechargeable battery in the shell that is connected through electrical circuitry to the internal and the external electrical connectors of the shell; and

a computer processor in the shell that is configured to execute non-transitory instructions to;

receive electronic data communications from the mobile computing device, the electronic data communications including information about a charge state of the internal rechargeable battery of the mobile computing device;

determine a charge state of the rechargeable battery of the shell;

receive electrical power from the external power supply through the external electrical connector of the shell;

calculate an allocated amount of the received electrical power for the mobile computing device based on the charge state of the internal rechargeable battery of the mobile computing device as indicated in the electronic data communications and based on the determined charge state of the rechargeable battery of the shell; and

transmit the allocated amount of the received electrical power to the mobile computing device through the internal electrical connector of the shell and through the electrical interface of the mobile computing device.

20. The protective enclosure of claim 19 wherein the electronic data communications are received by the protective enclosure from the mobile computing device through a wireless communication link.