Arm band portable electronic device case

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9743743-B2
Application number	US-201615275258-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 23, 2016
Priority date	Sep 24, 2015
Publication date	Aug 29, 2017
Grant date	Aug 29, 2017

Abstract

An arm band case for portable electronic device is disclosed. The arm band case may be secured to the user with straps and includes a pocket having a transparent window that provides visibility to the touchscreen of the electronic device and a plurality of powered light sources that are configured to illuminate the arm band and thereby provide added visibility to the user when in use. The arm band case is formed of multiple layers that encapsulate the light sources while allowing access to the battery housed therein and while facilitating the transmission and dispersion of light to illuminate the arm band.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A protective case configured to protect a portable electronic device having an interactive touchscreen on one side, said case comprising a multi-layered arm band having a front face and an opposing back face and extending from a first end section to a second end section with a mid-section residing there between, said arm band being configured to be wrapped around a user's arm and adjustably secured thereto, said arm band further comprising:
a pocket formed in the mid-section, said pocket being dimensioned to receive and house the portable electronic device and includes a transparent screen window on the front face that is configured to provide visibility to the touchscreen of the electronic device when the device is housed within the pocket;
a strap at the first end section that is configured to be received through one or more rings in the second end section and secured into a fixed position via a fastener;
a battery housing configured to receive a battery and including a button on a first side and a removable battery cover on an opposing second side with the first side facing in the same direction as the front face and the second side facing in the same direction as the back face;
a battery contained within the battery housing;
a plurality of light sources electrically connected to the battery and configured to be powered by the battery; and
a back cover movable from a closed position to an open position, wherein in the closed position the back cover overlies a battery access opening in the arm band to said battery housing, and wherein in the open position the back cover is displaced from the battery access opening, relative to its position in the closed position, to allow access to said battery housing.

2. The protective case of claim 1 , wherein the pocket is defined between the transparent screen window and a base panel that defines the back face of the arm band, the base panel includes a pocket opening that extends through the base panel into the pocket, said pocket opening being dimensioned to allow the portable electronic device to pass into and out of the pocket.

3. The protective case of claim 1 , wherein the portable electronic device for which the case is configured to receive further includes a fingerprint scanner on the same side as the touchscreen and wherein the transparent screen window further comprises an aperture configured to overlie the fingerprint scanner.

4. The protective case of claim 1 , wherein the fastener is comprised of loops and hooks that adhere to one another when pressed together.

5. The protective case of claim 1 , wherein the strap includes a first region comprising a panel having plurality of loops and a second region comprising a panel of a plurality of hooks, said first region being positioned nearer the second end section than said second region and wherein said plurality of loops and hooks are configured to adhere to one another when pressed together.

6. The protective case of claim 1 , wherein said battery housing is formed of plastic.

7. The protective case of claim 1 , wherein said front face of said arm band is comprised of a front panel and wherein said battery housing is adhered to the front panel.

8. The protective case of claim 1 , wherein said front face of said arm band is comprised of a front panel having a front side and an opposing underside and wherein the first side of the battery housing is adhered to the underside of the front panel.

9. The protective case of claim 1 , wherein said arm band is further comprised of a front panel having a front side and an opposing underside, wherein said underside is bonded to a mesh substrate and wherein said front panel includes a pattern of slots extending there-through that reveal the underlying mesh substrate.

10. The protective case of claim 9 further comprising a transparent polymer layer that extends from the transparent screen window to adjacent regions thereto that are located underneath the mesh substrate and the front panel, and wherein the adjacent regions include a textured pattern that corresponds in position and shape with slotted regions of the front panel.

11. The protective case of claim 10 , wherein said arm band is further comprised of a base panel having an exterior surface that comprises the back face and an interior surface that faces the underside of the front panel and wherein the front panel, the mesh substrate, and the transparent polymer layer are secured to the base panel.

12. The protective case of claim 11 , wherein the front panel, the mesh substrate, and the transparent polymer layer are secured to the base panel by stitching.

13. The protective case of claim 12 , wherein the base panel extends from the first end section to the second end section and wherein the front panel and mesh substrate extends from the second end section to the mid-section, and wherein the one or more rings in the second end section are defined by one or more d-ring structures that are positioned between the front panel and base panel and wherein the d-ring structures are secured to the front panel and base panel by stitching.

14. The protective case of claim 13 , wherein the adjacent regions include a plurality of apertures configured to receive the plurality of light sources.

15. The protective case of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of light sources include one or more light emitting diodes that are configured to emit light when powered sideways away from the transparent window screen and toward the textured pattern on the transparent polymer layer.

16. The protective case of claim 14 , wherein the light emitting diodes are configured to emit light away from the transparent window screen toward both the second end section and first end section of the arm band.

17. The protective case of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of light sources include one or more light emitting diodes.

18. The protective case of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of light sources are mounted on one or more flexible printed circuit boards.

19. The protective case of claim 1 , wherein the arm band contains an internal passage that extends from the battery housing adjacent to a first side and an opposing second side of the transparent screen window, wherein the first side is nearer to the first end section than the second end section and wherein the second side is nearer to the second end section that the first end section.

20. A method of manufacturing a protective case arm band configured to be wearable on an arm and protect a portable electronic device having an interactive touchscreen on one side, said method comprising:
providing a base panel extending from a first end section to a second end section with a mid-section residing there between,
providing a pocket having a transparent window at the mid-section of the base panel, said pocket being dimensioned to receive and house the portable electronic device and being accessible through an aperture in the back base panel;
attaching a plurality of light emitting diodes and a battery to the base panel such that the light emitting diodes are positioned around the pocket;
electrically connecting the plurality of light emitting diodes to the battery;
positioning a front panel over the light emitting diodes and attaching the front panel to the base panel to encapsulate the light emitting diodes there between; and
providing a fastener that is attached to the base panel and adapted to secure the first end section to the second end section.

Assignees

• Griffin Tech Llc

Inventors

• Grote Paul S

Classifications

• A45C2011/002

  Human Necessities · mapped topic

• A45F5/00 Primary

  Holders or carriers for hand articles; Holders or carriers for use while travelling or camping · CPC title

• A45C2013/1015

  of hook and loop type · CPC title

• A45C2011/003

  Human Necessities · mapped topic

• A45F2005/008

  Hand articles fastened to the wrist or to the arm or to the leg · CPC title