ATTACHMENT FOR A MOBILE PHONE CASE

Abstract

The present invention relates to an attachment for a mobile phone case that would enable changing the orientation of the mobile phone relative to a flat surface and allow the user to attach the mobile phone to any metallic surface at a required height or preferred location. The mobile phone case essentially includes a protective base, side support, and an attachment. The attachment includes an attaching member, a gripping member, and one or more connectors. The attaching member is adapted to attach the attachment to the mobile phone case by means of a sticking material, a magnetic ring, or a press fitting. The gripping member provides a gripping surface while holding the mobile phone. The gripping member is movable between the rest position, the first working position, and the second working position with respect to the attaching member by means of one or more connectors.

Claims

1. An attachment (100) for a mobile phone case (200), comprising: an attaching member (110) provided with a slot (115) and adapted to attach the attachment (100) to the mobile phone case (200) by means of a sticking material, a magnetic ring (300), or press fitting; a gripping member (120) adapted to rest on the attaching member (110) when configured in a rest position; and adapted to provide a gripping surface while holding the mobile phone when configured in a first working position; and further adapted to support the mobile phone on a flat surface when fixed inside the slot (115) when configured in a second working position; one or more connectors (130 or 130a or 130b or 130c or 130d) adapted to connect the gripping member (120) and the attaching member (110); and wherein the gripping member (120) is movable between the rest position, the first working position, and the second working position with respect to the attaching member (110) by means of one or more connectors (130 or 130a or 130b or 130c or 130d).

2. The attachment (100) of claim 1, wherein the sticking material comprises glue, adhesive, or 3M tape.

3. The attachment (100) of claim 1, wherein the magnetic ring (300) comprises: a shell (310) having a protrusion (312), a space, and an inner groove (316) that receives the edge of the attaching member (110) there inside by means of press fitting; a cover (320) for the closure of the shell (310); and a plurality of magnets (330) disposed inside the space within the shell (310).

4. The attachment (100) of claim 3, wherein the magnetic ring (300) further comprises an outer groove (318) for receiving edge portion of a phone case slot (250) by means of press fitting.

5. The attachment (100) of claim 1, wherein the attaching member (110) is press fitted inside a case groove (240) made in the edge portion of the phone case slot (250) by means of press fitting.

6. The attachment (100) of claim 1, wherein the one or more connectors (130, 130a, 130b, 130c) are made up of resilient material.

7. The attachment (100) of claim 5, wherein the resilient material is a polycarbonate (PC).

8. The attachment (100) of claim 5, wherein one or more connectors (130, 130a, 130b, 130c) comprise a gripping segment (132) and an attaching segment (134) for attaching the one or more connectors (130) to the gripping member (120) and the attaching member (110) respectively.

9. The attachment (100) of claim 8, wherein the one or more connectors comprise a pair of twisting connectors (130a).

10. The attachment (100) of claim 8, wherein the one or more connectors comprises two pairs of connectors (130b).

11. The attachment (100) of claim 10, wherein the gripping segments (132) of each connector of the same pair of connectors (130b) are fixed inside a same gripping bracket (122) and the attaching segment (134) is fixed to the attaching member (110) by passing through grooves (110g) made in the attaching member (110).

12. The attachment (100) of claim 6, wherein the one or more connectors comprise six connectors (130c) extending from a connecting disc (135).

13. The attachment (100) of claim 12, wherein each of the six connectors (130c) are alternately connected to the gripping member (120), and the attaching member (110).

14. The attachment (100) of claim 1, wherein the gripping member (120) comprises a rotating member (125) rotatably pivoted thereto using a pivot pin.

15. The attachment (100) of claim 1, wherein the one or more connectors comprises a solid connector (130d) having a first moving arm (137a) rotatably connected to the attaching member (110) through a shaft (137s) and a second moving arm (137b) connected to a gripping member (120) through a first pin (137c).

16. The attachment (100) of claim 15, wherein the first moving arm (137a) and the second moving arm (137b) are connected together using a second pin (137d).

17. The attachment (100) of claim 15, wherein the first moving arm (137a) comprises a cutout section (137e) to receive the second moving arm (137b) there inside.

18. The attachment (100) of claim 1, wherein the gripping member (120) and the attaching member (110) get locked together by means of one or more locking members (160, 170) when configured in the rest position.

19. The attachment (100) of claim 18, wherein the locking members (160, 170) comprises a male locking member (160) and a female locking member (170).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] So that the manner in which the above-recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may have been referred by embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. These and other features, benefits, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following text figure, with like reference numbers referring to like structures across the views, wherein:

[0023] FIGS. 1A and 1B show frontside and backside assembly views of an attachment, a magnetic ring, and a phone case represented in a rest position according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] FIGS. 1C and 1D show views assembly of FIG. 1B configured in a first working position and a second working position respectively;

[0025] FIG. 1E shows a view of the attachment of FIG. 1D;

[0026] FIG. 1F shows a use case of the attachment of FIG. 1C;

[0027] FIGS. 2A and 2B show assembly views of the attachment, the magnetic ring, and the mobile phone case represented in the first working position and the second working position respectively according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of FIG. 2B;

[0029] FIG. 4 shows a use case of the attachment of FIG. 2B;

[0030] FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the magnetic ring;

[0031] FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of the attaching member of the attachment when pressed and fitted inside a case groove according to one more embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] FIGS. 7 and 8 show various views of the mobile phone case attached to the metallic surface (Eg. Refrigerator);

[0033] FIGS. 9A and 9B show views of an attachment according to another embodiment of the present invention assembled with a phone case represented in the first working position and the second working position respectively;

[0034] FIG. 9C shows an exploded view of the attachment with the phone case of FIG. 9A;

[0035] FIGS. 10A and 10B show views of an attachment according to another embodiment of the present invention assembled with a phone case represented in the first working position and the second working position respectively;

[0036] FIG. 10C shows an exploded view of the attachment of FIG. 10A;

[0037] FIG. 10D shows an assembly view of the attachment of FIG. 10C;

[0038] FIGS. 11A and 11B show views of an attachment according to another embodiment of the present invention assembled with a phone case represented in the first working position and the second working position respectively;

[0039] FIG. 11C shows an exploded view of the attachment of FIG. 11A;

[0040] FIG. 11D shows an assembly view of the attachment of FIG. 11C;

[0041] FIGS. 12A and 12B show assembly views of an attachment without a phone case according to another embodiment of the present invention represented in the first and the second working positions respectively;

[0042] FIG. 12C shows an exploded view of the attachment of FIG. 12A; and

[0043] FIG. 12D shows a use case of the attachment of FIG. 12A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] Some embodiments, illustrating its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” and “including,” and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open-ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Although any methods, and systems similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments, the preferred methods, and systems are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary.

[0045] The present invention is described hereinafter by various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein reference numerals used in the accompanying drawing correspond to the like elements throughout the description. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the following detailed description, numeric values and ranges are provided for various aspects of the implementations described. These values and ranges are to be treated as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, several materials are identified as suitable for various facets of the implementations. These materials are to be treated as exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

[0046] The various features and embodiments of the present invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying figures, namely FIGS. 1A-12D, which should be regarded as merely illustrative without restricting the scope and ambit of the present invention.

[0047] The present invention relates to phone cases and attachments that can be coupled to mobile phone cases by means of a sticking material, a magnetic ring, or a press fitting. The attachment would enable a user of the mobile phone to easily navigate through different portions of the mobile phone screen, while holding the mobile phone in his/her palm, enabling changing the orientation of the mobile phone relative to a flat surface and allowing the user to attach the mobile phone to any metallic surface at a required height or preferred location.

[0048] From herein afterward, the phone case is referred to as a phone case 200 and the attachment as an attachment 100.

[0049] Referring firstly to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the mobile phone case 200 essentially includes a protecting base 210 and a side support 220. The protecting base 210 has an inner surface 225, and an outer surface 230. The side support 220 extends from a plurality of sides of the protecting base 210 to form a mobile phone receiving cavity. The mobile phone is safely secured in the cavity. The base 210 and the side support 220 are manufactured as a single unit. In an embodiment of the present invention, the base 210 and the side support 220 are made from a transparent material. In another embodiment, the case 200 is made from plastic, rubber, metal, metal alloy, or any other suitable material. The side support 220 and the base 210 usually include a plurality of openings 260 such as openings suitably formed on the case 200 for different functional buttons, charging ports, sim card slots, memory card slots, camera, etc. to be easily accessible to the user of the mobile phone. In some embodiments the base 210 is provided with a case slot 250 (FIG. 3). The case slot 250 is circular in shape. In some embodiments, the case slot 250 may have different sizes and shapes. The case slot 250 may be provided with a case groove 240 as best seen in FIG. 6.

[0050] Referring now to FIGS. 1C to 1E, the attachment 100 includes an attaching member 110, a gripping member 120, and connectors 130, 130a, 130b, 130c, 130d (FIGS. 1C, 9A, 10C, 11A, 12A). The attaching member 110 may have circular, triangular, quadrilateral, or other polygonal shapes. The attaching member 110 is provided with a slot 115. The attaching member 110 is adapted to attach the attachment 100 to the mobile phone case 200 by means of a sticking material, a magnetic ring 300, or a press fitting.

[0051] The sticking material comprises glue, adhesive, or 3M tape. The sticking material is applied on a bottom surface of the attaching member 110 and/or on the outer surface 230 of the base 210.

[0052] Referring now to FIG. 5, the magnetic ring 300 includes a shell 310, a cover 320, and a plurality of magnets 330. The shell 310 is having a protrusion 312, a space, and an inner groove 316. The inner groove 316 receives the edge of the attaching member 110 there inside by means of press fitting. The cover 320 is provided for the closure of the shell 310. The magnets 330 are disposed of inside the space formed within the shell 310. The magnetic ring 300 can be directly attached to the phone case 200 by means of magnetism between the magnets 330 and the metallic phone body. In another embodiment, as seen in FIG. 3, the magnetic ring 300 includes an outer groove 318. The outer groove 318 receives an edge portion of a phone case slot 250 by means of press fitting. Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8 the magnetic ring 300 attaches the mobile phone to any metallic surface 700 at a required height or preferred location without the use of hands. This allows users to use mobile phones while cooking in the kitchen, driving the car, or performing any other task where both hands get engaged. The magnetism allows the user to adjust the mobile phone screen in a required orientation (landscape or portrait) while viewing multimedia videos or attending real-time video communications etc., as per the user's comfort and without putting much efforts.

[0053] In a further embodiment, the attaching member 110 is press fitted inside the case groove 240 (FIG. 6). The case groove 240 is made in the edge portion of the phone case slot 250 by means of press fitting.

[0054] Referring now to FIG. 1E, the gripping member 120 may have a circular, triangular, quadrilateral, or another polygonal shape. The gripping member 120 is movable between a rest position a first working position and a second working position with respect to the attaching member 110 by means of connectors 130, 130a, 130b, 130c, 130d.

[0055] In the rest position (FIGS. 1A, 1B, 7, and 8), the gripping member 120 is adapted to rest on the attaching member 110. The gripping member 120 and the attaching member 110 get locked together by means of one or more locking members 160, and 170 when configured in the rest position. The locking members 160, 170 include a male locking member 160 and a female locking member 170. In one embodiment, the attaching member 110 is provided with the male locking member 160 and the gripping member 120 is provided with the female locking member 170. In another embodiment, the attaching member 110 is provided with the female locking member 170, and the gripping member 120 is provided with the male locking member 160. Upon pressing the male locking member 160 inside the female locking member 170, the gripping member 120 and the attaching member 110 get locked together. The locking members 160, 170 hold the gripping member 120 in the rest position until a pulling force is not applied on the gripping member 120 against the attaching member 110.

[0056] In the first working position (refer FIGS. 1C, 1F, 2A, 9A, 9C, 10A, 10C, 10D, 11A, 11D, 12A, and 12D), the gripping member 120 is unlocked from the attaching member 110 and is moved away therefrom. In the first working position, the gripping member 120 provides a gripping surface for holding the mobile phone single-handed.

[0057] In the second working position (refer FIGS. 1D, 1E, 2B, 3, 4, 9B, 10B, 11B, and 12B), the gripping member 120 is tilted towards the slot 115 in order to fixed there inside. In the second working position, the gripping member 120 supports the mobile phone on a flat surface as best seen in FIG. 4.

[0058] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the gripping member 120 is additionally provided with a rotating member 125 (FIGS. 2B, 3, and 4). The rotating member 125 is rotatably pivoted to the gripping member 120 using a pivot pin. The rotating member 125 allows the user to adjust the angle of the mobile phone display when supported on the flat surface. For using the rotating member 125 the user needs to rotate the rotating member 125 in the opposite direction away from the gripping member 120. The user needs to bring the rotating member 125 in its original position thereof once the rotating member 125 is used.

[0059] The connectors 130, 130a, 130b, 130c, and 130d are adapted to connect the gripping member 120 and the attaching member 110. The connectors 130, 130a, 130b, and 130c are made up of resilient material. The resilient material is a polycarbonate (PC). Each connector 130, 130a, 130b, and 130c includes a gripping segment 132 and an attaching segment 134. The gripping segment 132 attaches the connector to the gripping member 120. The attaching segment 134 attaches the connector to the attaching member 110. Referring now to FIGS. 1C, 1D, 1E, 2A, 2B, and 3, the attachment 100 includes two connectors 130. The attaching segment 134 and the gripping segment 132 are fixed using sticking material or using nut bolts or locking pins to the attaching member 110 and gripping member 120. The user needs to pull the gripping member 120 against the attaching member 110 in order to bring the gripping member 120 in the first working position.

[0060] In another embodiment, the attachment 100 includes a pair of twisting connectors 130a as best seen in FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C. The user needs to rotatably/twistedly pull the gripping member 120 against the attaching member 110 in order to bring the gripping member 120 in the first working position.

[0061] In another embodiment, the attachment 100 includes two pairs of connectors 130b.

[0062] Referring now to FIGS. 11A to 11D, the gripping member 120 is provided with gripping brackets 122. The gripping segments 132 of connectors 130 of the same pair of connectors 130b are fixed inside the same gripping bracket 122. The attaching member 110 is provided with grooves 110g (FIG. 11C). The attaching segment 134 is fixed to the attaching member 110 by passing through grooves 110g. The connectors 130 configured away from the slot 115 slides in a sliding path when the gripping member 120 is fixed in the slot 115.

[0063] In another embodiment (FIGS. 12A to 12D), the attachment 100 includes six connectors 130c extending from a connecting disc 135. The connecting disc 135 is made up of elastic material. The connecting disc 135 has a middle cavity for easy movement of the male locking member 160 and the female locking member 170 therethrough. Each of the six connectors 130c is alternately connected to the gripping member 120 and the attaching member 110.

[0064] Referring now to FIGS. 10A to 10D, the attachment 100 includes a non-flexible solid connector 130d. The connector is having a first moving arm 137a and a second moving arm 137b. The first moving arm 137a is rotatably connected to the attaching member 110 through a shaft 137s (FIGS. 10C and 10D). The second moving arm 137b is rotatably connected to the gripping member 120 through a first pin 137c. The first moving arm 137a and the second moving arm 137b are connected together using a second pin 137d. The first moving arm 137a is provided with a cutout section 137e. The cutout section 137e receives the second moving arm 137b there inside. This embodiment need not require the male and the female locking members 160, and 170 as the first moving arm 137a gets fitted inside a locking slot 119 made in the attaching member 110 when configured in the rest position.

[0065] For using the mobile phone case 200, the user needs to insert the mobile phone in the cavity. Initially, the attachment 100 attached to the mobile phone case 200 is in the rest position thereof. The user needs to pull the gripping member 120 against the attaching member 110 to bring the gripping member 120 into the first working position. The connecting members along with the gripping member 120 provide the user with a better-holding facility (FIGS. 12D and 1F). For making the mobile phone to stand on the flat surface, the gripping member 120 is required to fix in the slot 115 (FIG. 4). After using the mobile phone single-handedly, the user can reverse the process to bring the attachment 100 to the rest position thereof. Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, the user needs to bring the phone closer to the magnetic surface 700 for attaching the mobile phone case 200 thereto using the magnetism of the magnetic ring 300. After using the mobile phone, the user needs to pull the mobile phone against the magnetism.

[0066] The present invention has the advantage of providing the novel gripping attachment 100 for the mobile phone case 200. For the purpose of this disclosure, the term mobile phone case 200 or case 200 is used in the context of mobile phones, however, it should not be construed limiting factor and the mobile phone case 200 here also encompasses cases 200 of other electronic devices such as but not limited to portable media players, personal digital assistants, tablets, etc. The attachment 100 for the case 200 is ergonomic in design, simple in terms of its structural configuration, and convenient and quick to use. The attachment 100 allows the user to hold and operate a mobile phone in different applications such as while cooking in the kitchen, driving the car, or performing any other task where both hands get engaged. The attachment 100 can be coupled to the mobile phone cases 200 by means of a sticking material, a magnetic ring 300, or a press fitting. The attachment 100 allows the user to attach the mobile phone to any metallic surface at a required height or preferred location without the use of hands. The attachment 100 allows a user to prop up the mobile phone and adjust the mobile phone's screen in different angles and orientations (landscape or portrait) while viewing multimedia videos or attending real-time video communications etc., as per the user's comfort. The attachment 100 allows a user to securely hold the mobile phone in his/her palm and allows the user to access various portions of the mobile screen without requiring articulation of the user's fingers in an awkward or uncomfortable manner. Attachment 100 prevents slippage of the mobile phone from the user's hand especially when the user does a single-handed operation on the phone (such as for example while taking a selfie). Although the present invention and various embodiments described above are described with respect to mobile phone cases, it should be understood that the invention or attachment described above may be applied to any other cases for any other electronic devices (Eg. ipads).

[0067] It should be understood according to the preceding description of the present invention that the same is susceptible to changes, modifications and adaptations, and that the said changes, modifications and adaptations fall within scope of the appended claims