U.S. patent application number 11/204797 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-23 for sealed protective case for laptop.
Invention is credited to Francois Picot, Gerald Truffier-Blanc.
Application Number | 20060060485 11/204797 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34947775 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060060485 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Picot; Francois ; et
al. |
March 23, 2006 |
Sealed protective case for laptop
Abstract
A protective case for a laptop comprising a base and a cover,
each consisting of a sheet made of a rigid or non-rigid material,
said case having at least one peripheral skirt extending
substantially from the peripheral edge of the base or the cover,
the free edge of said skirt being intended to cooperate with the
free edge of a matching skirt or with the vicinity of the periphery
of the base or the cover, i.e. the element that constitutes the
enclosure without a skirt by means of a closing and opening device
so as to to, firstly, constitute a lateral peripheral enclosure
capable of enclosing the useful volume of the case and, secondly,
ensure access to inside said useful volume, especially to the
laptop. The skirt or skirts extend(s) over the entire periphery of
the base and the cover respectively.
Inventors: |
Picot; Francois; (Combloux,
FR) ; Truffier-Blanc; Gerald; (La Terrasse,
FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BURR & BROWN
PO BOX 7068
SYRACUSE
NY
13261-7068
US
|
Family ID: |
34947775 |
Appl. No.: |
11/204797 |
Filed: |
August 16, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/320 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C 5/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/320 |
International
Class: |
B65D 85/00 20060101
B65D085/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 1, 2004 |
FR |
04.09251 |
Claims
1. A protective case for a laptop comprising a base and a cover,
each consisting of a sheet made of a rigid or non-rigid material,
said case having at least one peripheral skirt extending
substantially from the peripheral edge of the base or the cover,
the free edge of said skirt being intended to cooperate with the
free edge of a matching skirt or with the vicinity of the periphery
of the base or the cover, i.e. the element that constitutes the
case without a skirt by means of a closing and opening device so as
to, firstly, constitute a lateral peripheral enclosure capable of
enclosing the useful volume of the case and, secondly, ensure
access inside said useful volume, especially to the laptop,
characterised in that said skirt or skirts extend(s) along the
entire periphery of the base and the cover respectively.
2. A protective case for a laptop as claimed in claim 1,
characterised in that the closing and opening device of the lateral
peripheral enclosure extends continuously along the entire length
of the enclosure.
3. A protective case for a laptop as claimed in claim 2,
characterised in that the base can be completely disconnected from
the cover.
4. A protective case for a laptop as claimed in claim 1,
characterised in that the cover and base are connected to each
other at the rear surface by means of pillars that extend at right
angles relative to the general plane of the sheets that constitute
them in the vicinity of the two rear corners, said pillars defining
a throughslot in the rear surface of the case, allowing access to
the various connection areas of the rear surface of the laptop,
this throughslot being reversibly closed off by the peripheral
skirts.
5. A protective case for a laptop as claimed in claim 1,
characterised in that the reversible closing and opening device is
selected from a product family that includes a zip fastener, a
plastic zipper, a hook-and-loop strip or even magnetic
fasteners.
6. A protective case for a laptop as claimed in claim 1,
characterised in that the sheets that constitute the base and the
cover have dimensions that are larger than the main dimensions of
the computer so as to each define an external peripheral rim that
projects relative to the space that they define, said rim extending
at least to the vicinity of the four corners of said sheets.
7. A protective case for a laptop as claimed in claim 1,
characterised in that the sheets that constitute the base and the
cover are solid or have cut-outs and in that they are flat or
curved.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a protective case or bag for a
laptop intended to protect the latter against shocks that are
likely to occur while it is being transported or used.
[0002] Because of its portable nature, such a computer is intended
to be transported depending on its place of use. This being so, it
is liable to be dropped or be subjected to shocks which can damage
it and sometimes even require a replacement unit. In addition,
these various risks are especially aggravated when the computer is
being used, i.e. when it is opened.
[0003] Protective bags or cases intended to afford protection to
laptops that is as effective as possible against these types of
shocks have therefore been developed.
[0004] Such protective bags or cases traditionally consist of a
base and a cover, possibly equipped with shock-absorbing or
cushioning means built into their inner surface, i.e. the surface
intended to come into contact with the computer. In addition, a
peripheral skirt made of a flexible material, typically woven
fabric, extends between the cover and the base, said skirt being
closed by a means allowing access to the useful volume space
defined by the combination of base and cover, particularly to the
laptop.
[0005] However, traditionally this skirt only extends over three
consecutive sides of the case, i.e. the two lateral sides and the
front side and does not extend to the rear surface of the case
which is traditionally earmarked as the area where the cover is
joined to the base, or to an intermediate element, and is also
generally left open to ensure access to the areas where the various
peripherals likely to be used with the laptop can be plugged in,
e.g. mouse, power cord, etc.
[0006] In some more sophisticated versions, it has been proposed to
partially close off this rear surface by means of a flap reversibly
attached by any means of reversible fixing of the adhesive or
hook-and-loop type (registered trademark VELCRO.RTM.) or by an
additional zip fastener in an attempt to protect this sensitive
area against dust.
[0007] Of the systems that have been developed so far, some
protective bags are therefore unable to seal the useful volume they
define, precisely because of the need to ensure access to the rear
surface of the protective case which is vital in order to be able
to make full use of the laptop which the case is expected to
protect.
[0008] However, although some of these protective bags are likely
to ensure such sealing of the space in question, in contrast they
do not at the same time allow easy access to all the various areas
of the connectors of said computer. In addition, the systems that
they recommend require an additional manufacturing stage, thus
making production costs more expensive.
[0009] Also, bags according to the prior art comprise two parts
that form half shells that are always linked together by a hinge or
other means so that one cannot detach them. It is sometimes
desirable to be able to separate them, for example in order to
replace a damaged or worn out base or cover cheaply or in order to
obtain aesthetically different combinations with fresh patterns
and/or colours.
[0010] The object of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks.
It proposes a protective case for a laptop comprising a base and a
cover, each consisting of a sheet of rigid or non-rigid material,
said case having at least one peripheral skirt that extends
substantially from at least the peripheral edge of the base or the
cover, the free edge of said skirt being intended to cooperate with
the free edge of a matching skirt or with the vicinity of the
periphery of the base or cover, i.e. the element without a skirt by
means of a closing and opening device so that, firstly, the useful
volume inside the case can be enclosed and, secondly, the interior
of said useful volume, especially the laptop, can be accessed.
[0011] It is characterised in that said skirt extends over the
entire periphery of the base and the cover respectively.
[0012] In other words, the invention involves providing the
protective case with an integral peripheral enclosure and, at the
same time, providing this enclosure with a means of reversible
closing that is also integral or quasi integral, said means
extending continuously over the entire length of the enclosure.
[0013] Advantageously, the base can be completely disconnected from
the cover.
[0014] According to the invention, the sheets that constitute the
base and the cover are solid or have cut-outs. Said sheets can be
flat or curved and, in the latter case, be concave or convex.
[0015] According to one advantageous feature of the invention, the
cover and the base of the protective case are connected to each
other at the rear surface by means of pillars that extend at right
angles relative to the general plane of the sheets that constitute
them and are separately mounted, especially on the base, by
bonding, stitching or other means, close to the two rear corners.
They thus define a throughslot in the rear surface that allows
access to the various connector areas on the rear surface of the
laptop, this throughslot being reversibly closable by the
peripheral skirt(s) or the enclosure of the invention.
[0016] According to another feature of the invention, the cover and
the base of the protective case are connected to each other on the
rear surface by means of a curb that extends at right angles
relative to the general plane of the sheets that constitute them
and is separately mounted, especially on the base, by bonding,
stitching or any other means, close to the two rear corners, said
curb having one or more through openings suitable for allowing
access to the rear surface of the computer and hence the various
connector areas of said rear surface of the laptop, this or these
throughslots being reversibly closable by the peripheral skirt(s)
or the enclosure of the invention.
[0017] According to the invention, the means of reversible closing
consists of a zip fastener, a plastic zipper, a hook-and-loop strip
or even magnetic fasteners and, generally speaking, by any means
that allows such reversible closing.
[0018] The method of implementing the invention and the resulting
advantages will become apparent from the following embodiment,
described merely by way of example, with the aid of the following
drawings.
[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective three-quarter front view
of the protective case in accordance with the invention shown when
it is closed.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a front three-quarter view similar to the view in
FIG. 1 showing the protective case when it is opened.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the protective
case according to the invention when it is closed, showing the rear
surface with the skirts closed.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the protective
case according to the invention when it is opened, seen from rear
with the skirts opened.
[0023] FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the protective
case according to the invention when it is closed, seen from rear
with the skirts partially opened.
[0024] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the protective case in FIGS. 1
and 2 seen from the front.
[0025] FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the protective case in FIGS. 1
and 2 seen from rear.
[0026] The protective case according to the invention basically
consists of a base (2) and a cover (3), also referred to as a
"lid", both consisting of a flat sheet made of a rigid or non-rigid
material such as a synthetic material, especially plastic, metal,
wood etc. These two sheets, possibly covered with woven fabric or
even having cut-outs, have dimensions that are at least equal to
the main dimensions (length, width) of the space that one wishes to
define which is roughly equivalent to the volume of the laptop that
the case in question is intended to protect.
[0027] A lateral peripheral skirt (4, 5) made of a flexible
material, typically woven fabric, and intended to constitute a
peripheral enclosure suitable for enclosing the internal volume of
the case extends from the base and the cover respectively.
[0028] This resulting enclosure is obtained by operating a means of
reversible closing, typically a zip fastener (6) attached to the
free edge of the two skirts (4, 5) and extending along the four
sides of the protective case according to the invention. In other
words, this zip fastener (6) joins both the skirts (4, 5) together
over the entire periphery of the case, including the rear
surface.
[0029] In one embodiment (not described), the base and the cover
are only connected together by the enclosure and therefore
constitute two completely independent entities. Such a
configuration using a completely independent cover that can be
disconnected from the base may prove useful if the case is intended
to protect a tablet PC against shocks i.e. a type of computer that
integrates means of interaction and a display in a single element,
especially a flat element.
[0030] According to the invention it is possible to completely
disconnect the two shells that constitute the protective case. To
achieve this, it is preferable to use a plastic zipper closing
device of the type employed in order to bag foods.
[0031] However, in a more traditional version, the base and the
cover are connected to each other at least at the rear by means of
rear pillars (7, 8) positioned substantially in the vicinity of the
two rear corners of the base sheet. These pillars, made of
polypropylene for example, extend at right angles relative to the
base sheet to a height that is essentially equivalent to the
thickness of the computer that the resulting case is intended to
accommodate. They are joined to the case by bonding, stitching or
by any other means. These pillars may be replaced by a curb (not
shown) that has one or more throughslots.
[0032] In one advantageous version of the invention, the top end of
said pillars has a flat (9) that extends parallel to the base sheet
and is intended to be fixed, especially by bonding or stitching, to
the corresponding rear edge of the cover sheet. This flat is rigid
so that the sheet is specially designed in order to make it
possible to open and close said cover at a virtual hinge extending
parallel to said rear edge but slightly recessed from the
latter.
[0033] This being so, the two rear pillars (7, 8) that define an
area where there is an absence of material therefore constitute a
throughslot that extends substantially along the entire rear
surface of the protective case and allows unobstructed access to
all the connector areas that are traditionally found at the rear of
a laptop.
[0034] However, in accordance with one essential characteristic of
the invention, these areas are capable of being shut off by means
of the enclosure consisting of above-mentioned skirts (4, 5).
[0035] In order to access these areas, it is sufficient to open the
zip fastener (6) that joins the two skirts to each other and, for
example, move the slider as far as it will go, to one of the rear
pillars (7, 8) or to any point on the rear surface.
[0036] In the embodiment shown, the base sheet (2) also has front
pillars (10) made of an identical or similar material to that of
which the rear pillars (7, 8) are made and also separately mounted
by bonding, stitching or any other means. They are intended to
reduce any risks of the case being crushed.
[0037] Consequently and due to the method of fixing the cover on
the base, especially by using rear pillars (7, 8), it is possible
to use base and cover sheets that have dimensions that are larger
than the main dimensions (length, width) of the useful volume, i.e.
the volume of the laptop which is to be protected.
[0038] This being so, it becomes possible to define peripheral rims
that project relative to the lateral surfaces corresponding
substantially to the enclosure defined by skirts (4, 5). These
peripheral rims (11, 12) are thus capable of constituting means of
cushioning shocks that occur in this area and are statistically
more numerous.
[0039] Finally, as already indicated, the pillars can be replaced
by a peripheral curb, also made of a rigid material, extending at
right angles relative to the base. The height of this curb is
substantially equivalent to the thickness of the laptop to be
placed inside the case. This curb has a certain number of
throughslots positioned in appropriate places in order to allow
access to means of connection, in addition to the areas where
diskettes or CD-ROMs are inserted into any diskette or CD ROM
drive.
[0040] It is thus apparent that the invention makes it possible to
give protective cases the required sealing using means that are
simple to implement whilst enabling easy access to the various
connection areas which a laptop has. In addition, by its design, it
also makes it possible to equip said cases with peripheral rims
that project beyond the lateral surfaces that define them and are
capable of constituting means of cushioning or absorbing shocks
that are likely to be sustained by the cases in question.
* * * * *