Protective case with stylus access feature

• US 9,577,697 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2016
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Otter Products LLC
• Original Assignee: Otter Products LLC
• Inventors: Richmond, Marc A., Armstrong, Peter S, Jones, Steven A., Zupancic, Zachary W., Kim, Michael H.
• Primary Examiner(s): WEST, LEWIS G
• Application Number:
  US15/167,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20160352383A1
• Time in Patent Office: 270 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: A45C 13/008 for making water- or air-tight
• CPC Class Codes: A45C 2011/002 for portable handheld communication devices, e.g. mobile phone, pager, beeper, PDA, smart phone
• CPC Class Codes: A45C 2013/025 for holding portable computers or accessories therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1632 Pen holder integrated in the computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1633 Protecting arrangement for the entire housing of the computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3888 Arrangements for carrying or protecting transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/3894 Waterproofing of transmission device
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/18 Telephone sets specially adapted for use in ships, mines, or other places exposed to adverse environment H04M1/19 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/185 Improving the rigidity of the casing or resistance to shocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/21 Combinations with auxiliary equipment, e.g. with clocks or memoranda pads
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724092 Interfacing with an external cover providing additional functionalities

Abstract

A waterproof protective case comprising a shell that at least partially encloses a portable electronic device, the shell having an aperture aligned with an opening of a storage area of the portable electronic device, the protective case including a cap that is removably attached to a stylus of the portable electronic device, the aperture of the shell configured to releasably retain a portion of the cap when the stylus is inserted into the opening of the storage area of the portable electronic device, the cap configured to form a waterproof seal when the cap is retained within the aperture of the shell, the cap configured to remove the stylus from the storage area of the protective electronic device while the portable electronic device is in the waterproof protective case.

Claims

1. A waterproof protective case for a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device having a storage area for storing a stylus, the waterproof protective case comprising:

a shell that at least partially encloses the portable electronic device, the shell comprising an aperture aligned with an opening of the storage area of the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is in the protective case; and

a cap configured to removably attach to a first end of the stylus, the aperture of the shell configured to releasably retain the cap when the stylus is inserted into the opening of the storage area of the portable electronic device, the cap configured to form a waterproof seal when the cap is retained within the aperture of the shell, the cap further configured to remove the stylus from the storage area of the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is in the waterproof protective case.

2. The waterproof protective case of claim 1, wherein the cap comprises one or more cap retention elements that interact with one or more retention elements on a surface of the aperture of the shell to retain the cap.

3. The waterproof protective case of claim 2, wherein the one or more cap retention elements are protrusions and the one or more retention elements on the surface of the aperture are grooves.

4. The waterproof protective case of claim 1 further comprising a gasket, wherein the cap comprises a cap groove configured to retain the gasket.

5. The waterproof protective case of claim 1, further comprising a tether that connects the cap to the shell.

6. The waterproof protective case of claim 5, the shell further comprising a slot that allows an end of the tether to slide along a side of the waterproof protective case.

7. The waterproof protective case of claim 1, wherein the cap comprises an inner cap retention element that interacts with a stylus retention element on the stylus to attach the cap on the stylus.

8. The waterproof protective case of claim 1, wherein the cap is permanently connected to the first end of the stylus.

9. A protective encasement for a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device having a storage area for storing a stylus, the portable electronic device having a sensor that senses the insertion and removal of the stylus in the storage area, the protective encasement comprising:

a shell that at least partially covers the portable electronic device, the shell comprising an aperture configured to allow access to the storage area of the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is in the protective encasement, the aperture of the shell configured to receive and retain a removable cap,

the removable cap of the protective encasement configured to attach to an end of the stylus, the removable cap configured to allow the attached stylus to substantially extend into the storage area of the portable electronic device and interact with the sensor of the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is in the protective encasement, the removable cap further configured to remove the attached stylus from the storage area of the portable electronic device through the aperture of the shell.

10. The protective encasement of claim 9, wherein the shell and the retained removable cap are configured to make the protective encasement waterproof.

11. The protective encasement of claim 9, wherein to allow the attached stylus to substantially extend into the storage area of the portable electronic device includes to allow the stylus to extend into the storage area only to a maximum distance that is less than a distance the stylus will extend into the storage area when the protective encasement and the cap are not present, while still configured to enable the stylus to interact with the sensor of the portable electronic device.

12. The protective enclosure of claim 9, wherein the removable cap includes an indentation to assist in removal of the removable cap from the aperture of the shell.

13. The protective enclosure of claim 9, wherein the removable cap includes a textured surface to assist in removal of the removable cap from the aperture of the shell.

14. The protective encasement of claim 9, wherein the removable cap comprises one or more cap retention elements that interact with one or more retention elements on a surface of the aperture.

15. The protective encasement of claim 14, wherein the one or more cap retention elements are grooves and the one or more retention elements on the surface of the aperture are protrusions.

16. A protective case for a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device having a receptacle for storing a stylus, the portable electronic device having a sensor that detects the insertion and removal of the stylus from the receptacle of the portable electronic device, the protective case comprising:

a protective shell that at least partially encases the portable electronic device, the protective shell comprising an aperture aligned with an opening of the receptacle of the portable electronic device, the aperture of the protective shell configured to allow the stylus to be inserted into and removed from the receptacle of the portable electronic device while the portable electronic device is installed in the protective case; and

a cap attached to an end of the stylus, the cap configured to be removably retained in the aperture of the protective shell, the cap configured to allow the stylus to substantially extend into the receptacle of the portable electronic device and interact with the sensor of the portable electronic device.

17. The protective case of claim 16, the cap comprising a removal indentation configured to assist in removing the cap from the aperture of the protective shell.

18. The protective case of claim 16, further comprising a tether removably attached to the protective shell and connected to the cap.

19. The protective case of claim 18, the tether removably attached to the protective shell in a slot of the protective shell.

20. The protective case of claim 16, wherein to allow the attached stylus to substantially extend into the receptacle of the portable electronic device includes to allow the stylus to only extend up to 90% of a length of the receptacle while still configured to enable the stylus to interact with the sensor of the portable electronic device.