HOLDING CASE FOR PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Abstract

The presently disclosed holding case allows a user to hold a portable electronic device with a single finger, allowing the user to keep the device in a convenient and handy position for use. The device comprises a flat, flexible strap which fits along the backing to a device or device case. The strap adjustably slides into two slots placed on opposing sides of the case. On the inside of the device casing or backing, the strap slides along a raised track. One end of the strap further comprises horizontal ridges across its tail portion, which partially lock into matching grooves in the case. This permits the strap to be temporarily locked in an open position for reception of any finger and to securely hold a device in place. When not in use, a slight touch causes the strap to retract back to its default flat position.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to the fields of portable electronic devices and device cases. More specifically, the invention relates to a holding mechanism to be used with portable electronic devices and device cases.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Portable electronic devices, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mini-laptops and mP3 players have existed in our popular culture and business culture for many years now. The technology behind the devices continues to advance at an exponential rate, yet important features of the devices themselves, primarily the body structure, coverings, and cases, have been widely overlooked from a functional standpoint. Regardless of the internal capabilities of a device, every one of them must be picked up and handled at some point during each and every usage. This is usually true even when employing Bluetooth or headsets. With the growing number of applications and multi-tasking capabilities on many of the popular devices, handsets and portable electronic devices must be handled and held for longer lengths of time.

This presents the need for a convenient method for a device to be held without involving a handset user's entire hand. Currently, some devices have handles, which requires an entire hand, but some phones and mp3 players don't even have a place to hold them. For example, most smart phones on the market today take the shape of a rectangular brick, in order to fit a larger display and virtual keypad on the front face. These devices are extremely bulky and cumbersome, especially when holding for extended lengths of time or trying to remove from a case or pocket.

Some devices have tried to solve the problem by incorporating a slimmer mid portion of the casing or backing within the actual shape of the device. Others have added grips to the sides of the device. Some include lanyards that can be worn around the neck or wrist. Even more have included cases that can be clipped to a belt. Yet all of these models overlook the central problem of keeping the device in a functional position while not commandeering use of the entire hand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The presently disclosed holding case allows a user to hold a portable electronic device with a single finger, allowing the user to keep the device in a convenient and handy position for use. The device comprises a flat, flexible strap, which fits along the backing to a device or device case. The strap adjustably slides into two slots placed on opposing sides of the case. On the underside of the device casing or backing, the strap slides along a raised track. One end of the strap further comprises horizontal ridges across its tail portion, which click into either matching grooves or conversely shaped ridges in the case track. This permits the strap to be temporarily locked to various degrees in an open position for reception of any finger and securely hold a device in place. When not in use, a slight touch causes the strap to retract back to its default flat position. The mechanism provides enough tension around a finger so that the device stays in place, for example when pressing keys, but enough flexibility to rotate the case.

These and other objectives of the claimed invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of the holding case in the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a bottom view of the holding case in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the holding case in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A illustrates a detailed close-up side view of the holding case strap going under a raised track.

FIG. 4B illustrates a detailed close-up bottom view of the holding case strap temporarily interconnected with the raised track.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration, various embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may still be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the top of holding case 10 is shown. Holding case 10 comprises rectangular elastic strap 20 which is inserted into two slots in case 10 to form finger gripping portion 22 on the top of case 10. Gripping portion 22 is made to be pulled upward in order to fit around a finger, digit, elongate article or the like. In one embodiment, gripping portion 22 may be coated or etched to produce a higher friction area of strap 20 or tacky. surface. Additionally, gripping portion 22 may be thicker or padded because it does not need to fit through the slots in case 10. Strap 20 is sized widthwise to exactly fit through any slots so the motion is neither constrained nor uncontrolled. It may also have rounded, smoothed or shaved edges in order to achieve this function and increase the ease of sliding. In this view, tail portion 26 can best be viewed to further comprise horizontal ridges 28 which form an adjustment mechanism of holding case 10. Ridges 28 are made to fit and temporarily lock into grooves 29 (not shown) located on the underside or bottom of case 10 while adjusting strap 20. Alternatively, the location of ridges 28 and grooves 29 can be reversed, for example so that grooves 29 are on tail portion 26 and ridges 28 are on the underside of case 10. Ridges 28 may take various shapes beyond the classic horizontal bar shown, such as circular bumps or other shapes known in the art of attachment devices. In the preferred embodiment, there will be one ridge 28 on the strap and two grooves 29 on the case, but various numbers and combinations of these elements can be envisioned without impeding functionality. The length of tail portion 26 and the adjustment mechanism can be as long as desired, possibly even longer than the electronic device itself, in order to accommodate any size finger, digit or elongate article. On the opposite side of strap 20, leading end 24 is shown on the underside of case 10 being capped by plug 15. In the preferred embodiment, leading end 24 is fixedly secured to case 10, but in other embodiments it could also be free to provide extra slack. Ideally, when the length of leading end 24 is very close to zero, plug 15, which has a T-shape, can pivot just under the slot without being pulled through. Other shapes and sizes for plug 15 known in the art, such as a spherical ball, may also be utilized without taking away from the present invention.

Now referring to FIG. 2, the preferred embodiment of the bottom or underside of holding case 10 is shown. Here, the underside of strap 20 can best be seen with plug 15, leading end 24, gripping portion 22, tail portion 26 and track 30 along a straight line. Finger gripping portion 22 is now shown on the reverse side of case 10. From this view, raised track 30 can be seen extending beyond tail portion 26. In alternate embodiments, track 30 may be completely covered by tail portion 26. In the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the edges of tail portion 26 are made and shaped to fit around the sides of raised track 30. Track 30 may optionally include slits or rails along the side in order to further keep strap 20 in place. Preferably, strap 20 will fit onto track 30 so that it can be taken off track 30 and pulled through the slots so that it may be completely removed from case 10 for the purpose of cleaning and/or repair. This view also shows grooves 29 in track 30, which again may take various shapes to interconnect and/or temporarily interlock with ridges 28.

Now referring to FIG. 3, the preferred embodiment of the side of holding case 10 is shown. Strap 20 is shown in an elevated position with gripping portion 22 away from the top surface of case 10. Leading end 24 and tail portion 26 are both inserted into slots on case 10. In the preferred embodiment, the width of strap 20 is between ⅛ and ¼ inches thin in order to easily fit around objects while in an elevated position, yet the thickness or depth of strap 20 is only between 1 and 3 millimeters in order to stay flush with case 10 while in the default retracted position. Strap 20 is preferably made of a material that can be flexed such as plastic, waterproof cardboard or thin aluminum alloys but can easily be envisioned to be constructed of other materials known in the art and suited to this particular purpose.

Now referring to FIG. 4A, a close up view of the preferred embodiment of the side of strap 20 is shown. Plug 15 stays down while gripping portion 22 (not shown) and some of tail portion 26 is arced upward. In this view, case 30 can best be viewed to comprise teeth 31, in place of grooves 29. Teeth 31 are preferably right triangles with their hypotenuse facing the lower right of the page, toward the end of tail portion 26. This will allow any bumps, tongues or ridges 28, or conversely shaped triangles on strap 20, to pull across teeth 31 and lock so they cannot slide backward. Additionally, the right side of tail portion 26 comprises spring 40 which attaches to a notch or hook on case 10. As strap 20 is pulled up and out, spring 40 uncoils adding stress to strap 20, which cannot be released, due to teeth 31. In order to collapse strap 20, the elevated portion can be manually pushed downward to provide enough clearance over teeth 31, so that spring 40 pulls it back to the flat retracted default position.

Now referring to FIG. 4B, a close up view of the preferred embodiment of the bottom of strap. 20 is shown. This view mainly shows a different angle of tail portion 26 fitting over case 30 and grooves 29. Plug 15, previously shown as a separate structure, can now be seen integrated with leading end 24. Also gripping portion 22 is shown as a separate structure because its texture and shape may vary. This view additionally shows that the right side of tail portion 26 may optionally comprise elastic section 42 in place or in addition to spring 40, which further keeps strap 20 in line and on track 30.

The present invention includes any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or any generalization thereof. While the invention has been described with respect to specific examples, including presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variations and permutations of the above described apparatus and techniques. Thus, the spirit and scope of the invention should be construed broadly as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A holding case for a portable electronic device comprising:

a case;

a thin, flat, rectangular strap woven into two slots on said case, said strap further comprising a leading end, a plug, a gripping portion and a tail portion, said tail portion further comprising at least one ridge located on said tail portion; and

a raised track located on the underside of said case, said track further comprising a plurality of grooves for adjustably interlocking with said tail portion of said strap.

2. The case of claim 1, wherein said case is an integrated backing to a portable electronic device.

3. The case of claim 1, wherein said portable electronic device is one of the group consisting of a cellular telephone, a feature phone, a smartphone, a slider phone, a clamshell phone, a personal digital assistant, an electronic video game, an mp3 player, a satellite music player, a DVD player, a digital reader, a notebook laptop computer and a touchpad computer.

4. The case of claim 1, wherein said strap has a thickness of 1 millimeter to 3 millimeters.

5. The case of claim 1, wherein said strap has a width of ⅛ of an inch to ¼ of an inch.

6. The case of claim 1, wherein said strap further comprises rounded edges.

7. The case of claim 1 wherein said tail portion of said strap further comprises edges that fit around the sides of said track.

8. The case of claim 1, wherein said track further comprises an inward or outward rail for securing connection to said strap.

9. The case of claim 1, wherein said plug is T-shaped.

10. The case of claim 1, wherein said plug is spherically shaped.

11. The case of claim 1, wherein said leading end has a length of less than 0.01 of a millimeter.

12. The case of claim 1, wherein said leading end is fixed to said case.

13. The case of claim 1, wherein said plug is fixed to said case.

14. The case of claim 1, wherein said grooves protrude outward at approximately right triangles.

15. The case of claim 14, wherein said ridges are oppositely shaped right triangle protrusions to said grooves, so that said grooves and said ridges fit snugly together.

16. The case of claim 1, wherein said tail portion further comprises a spring.

17. The case of claim 1, wherein said tail portion further comprises an elastic portion.

18. The case of claim 1, wherein said strap is completely removable from said case.

19. The strap of claim 1, wherein said gripping portion is etched or coated with a padded or tacky substance.

20. A method for using the holding case of claim 1 to hold a portable electronic device comprising the steps of:

providing a user with said case;

pulling a strap from the front of said case;

attaching said strap over a finger of said user;

using said device while attached to said finger; and

pulling said case off said finger when said device is no longer in use, wherein said strap retracts to a flush formation with the face of said case.