Protective Case with Stretchable Cover and Compression Pads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile electronic devices are prone to damage from impact and fluid ingress, leading to issues like cracked screens, scratches, and malfunctioning components, which existing protective cases do not adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A protective case design featuring a back frame, stretchable cover, and front frame with a transparent screen protector, along with elastomeric inserts and compression pads, that securely holds the device and provides impact cushioning and water resistance while allowing for easy removal and use of controls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a protective case is designed with rigid structure to protect against impact, then impact resistance is improved, but the case becomes bulkier and less comfortable to hold
Solution Approach 1:
The protective case combines rigid plastic frame components with flexible elastomeric materials to create a composite structure. The rigid portions provide impact protection while the flexible portions reduce bulkiness and improve comfort. This composite approach allows the case to maintain strength without excessive volume increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The case is divided into separate rigid and flexible portions rather than using a uniformly rigid structure. The rigid plastic frame provides structural support and impact resistance at critical areas, while flexible elastomeric sections are placed where bulk reduction and comfort are priorities, achieving protection without excessive bulk.
2Reliability
If a protective case uses a tight compression fit to secure the device, then device security is improved, but removal of the device becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The case employs dynamic compression pads made of elastomeric material that can be compressed to release the device. During normal use, these pads maintain a tight compression fit for security, but when force is applied to the release mechanism, they compress dynamically to allow easy device removal, thus resolving the contradiction between security and ease of removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The compression pads are designed to automatically adjust their compression force. They maintain tight compression for device security during normal operation, but when a release mechanism is activated, they self-compress to release the device, providing both secure holding and easy removal without requiring excessive external force.
3Ease of operation
If control openings are provided in the back frame for accessibility, then ease of operation is improved, but water resistance is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
Flexible elastomeric materials are used to create seals around control openings in the back frame. These flexible membranes allow control buttons to be accessed and pressed while maintaining water resistance, as the elastomeric material can deform to accommodate button pressure while preventing water ingress through the openings.
Solution Approach 2:
Flexible elastomeric sealing membranes act as intermediaries between the control openings and the water-resistant interior. These membranes allow mechanical interaction (button pressing) to pass through while blocking fluid (water) passage, thus mediating between ease of operation and water resistance requirements.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a stretchable cover is used to accommodate device contours, then adaptability is improved, but manufacturing precision becomes more difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The cover material's physical parameters (elasticity and stretchability) are changed to allow it to accommodate different device contours. By selecting elastomeric materials with appropriate elastic properties, the cover can stretch and conform to various device shapes while maintaining consistent manufacturing tolerances through material property control rather than complex geometric control.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The case effectively protects mobile electronic devices from impact and fluid damage, ensuring the touchscreen remains usable and the device is securely held, with features like compression pads and elastomeric inserts enhancing impact cushioning and water resistance.
Implementation Method 1
The elastomeric insert has a plurality of compressible structures that provide impact cushioning for a mobile electronic device enclosed in the protective case
Implementation Method 2
The back frame includes compression pad cavities on an interior surface of the back frame and compression pads mounted in the compression pad cavities. The compression pads ensure a tight compression fit between the case and a mobile electronic device retained therein
Implementation Method 3
The back frame may preferably be a unitary molded piece that has a screened portion formed in a microphone opening that protects the microphone
Data Source
AI summary
A protective case for a mobile electronic device having a touchscreen constructed from at least two separate frame components is disclosed herein. The frame components include a back frame and a front frame or cover. In some embodiments, when a mobile electronic device is held within the back frame, a stretchable cover is stretched over the back frame and device to securely hold the device within the back frame. The front frame or cover includes a touchscreen cover. The front frame or cover is removably coupled to the back frame with grasping protrusions or engagement members that engage with corresponding components of the back frame.