Protective case for mobile electronic device with finger gesture runway

Abstract

A protective case for a mobile device is disclosed. The case includes a finger gesture runway that is comprised of a channel that is positioned and configured into the walls of the case to facilitate control of the device via screen edge finger gesture. Various aspects of the construction and configuration of the case and finger gesture runway are disclosed.

Description

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) from U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 609,240, filed on Dec. 21, 2017, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONField of the Invention[0002]This invention relates to accessories for electronic devices and more specifically to user removable protective enclosures or cases for mobile electronic devices.Description of the Related Art[0003]Mobile consumer electronic products, such as smart and cellular phones, computing tablets, MP3 / audio / video players, gaming devices and laptops are continuously and rapidly evolving to meet expanding consumer demands. Conventionally, many such mobile electronic devices include what is commonly referred to as a home button, which is a button on the front face of a smartphone or tablet (or other electronic device) that takes the user from a particular application that is in use or running o...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]The protective case is generally comprised of an open-faced compartment that is configured to receive and retain the mobile device. The compartment includes a plurality of walls corresponding to the outer configuration of the device that are configured to surround the sides and / or the back of the mobile device and a touchscreen opening that is defined in the front face wall of the case by a perimeter lip or projecting edge that is configured to overlie the front face of the device to facilitate user access to the touchscreen of the device while also capable of serving to retain the device in the compartment. The perimeter lip of the case includes a finger gesture runway or channel that is configured to position or align a user's finger with the edge of the touchscreen of the device so that the user's finger may engage the edge of interactive touchscreen to facilitate a screen edge finger gesture (e.g., swipe) control with minimal or no obstruction or interference by the case.

[0010]The finger gesture runway may be positioned in any region or section of the case that corresponds with an adjacent region of the mobile device's interactive touchscreen that is adapted to being responsive to screen edge finger gesture control. In one implementation for a protective case configured for an Apple iPhone X smartphone device, the finger gesture runway is positioned to extend from the front face of the case into the bottom side wall of the case midway between the bottom corners of the case. The channel that defines the finger gesture runway may extend downward all the way to the back face of the case or only partially to the back face of the case and may be in the form of a slot or opening and / or a depression formed in the walls of case or a combination thereof. When the channel extends only partially down to the back face, the bottom side wall of the case residing there below is capable of protecting the corresponding bottom perimeter region of the device. Apertures and / or buttons are provided on the side walls and back face wall of the case to facilitate access and / or operation of the mobile device (e.g., volume buttons, silent switch, power and data port, on / off button, silent switch, speaker and microphone, and camera and flash / illumination controls).

Problems solved by technology

While mobile electronic devices are continuingly advancing, becoming more powerful, interactive and connected, they also are not cheap and can be quite expensive.

The invention here recognizes that while conventional cases are capable of providing protection, they can interfere with functionality of the device and thereby degrade the user experience.

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