U.S. patent application number 14/395194 was filed with the patent office on 2015-04-23 for shock-resistant protective shell of portable appliance.
This patent application is currently assigned to QINGDAO CREATE ENVIROMENT CONTROL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is QINGDAO CREATE ENVIRONMENT CONTROL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., Xuejun YIN. Invention is credited to Xuejun Yin.
Application Number | 20150108030 14/395194 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46623133 |
Filed Date | 2015-04-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150108030 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yin; Xuejun |
April 23, 2015 |
SHOCK-RESISTANT PROTECTIVE SHELL OF PORTABLE APPLIANCE
Abstract
A shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance includes a protective shell additionally arranged on a
surface of a portable electric appliance and matching the shape of
the portable electric appliance, with a buffer body protruding
towards an exterior of the protective shell arranged at the corner
of the protective shell. A primary buffer axis of the buffer body
points to the centroid of the portable electric appliance, or the
projection of the primary buffer axis in the principal plane of the
electric appliance extends along the angular bisector between two
adjacent sides. The buffer body is arranged with a secondary buffer
axis arranged perpendicular to the primary buffer axis or
perpendicular to the principal plane of the portable electric
appliance. The thickness of the buffer body is at least 3 times of
the average thickness of the rest parts in the protective shell
except for the buffer body.
Inventors: |
Yin; Xuejun; (Qingdao City,
Shandong, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
YIN; Xuejun
QINGDAO CREATE ENVIRONMENT CONTROL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. |
Qingdao, Shandong |
|
US
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
QINGDAO CREATE ENVIROMENT CONTROL
TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
Qingdao, Shandong
CN
Xuejun
Qingdao City, Shandong
CN
|
Family ID: |
46623133 |
Appl. No.: |
14/395194 |
Filed: |
April 12, 2013 |
PCT Filed: |
April 12, 2013 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CN2013/074134 |
371 Date: |
October 17, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/521 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C 11/00 20130101;
H04M 1/185 20130101; A45C 2011/003 20130101; A45C 2011/002
20130101; B65D 81/022 20130101; A45C 2011/001 20130101; A45C 13/36
20130101; H04M 1/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/521 |
International
Class: |
B65D 81/02 20060101
B65D081/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 17, 2012 |
CN |
201210111661.2 |
Claims
1. A shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance, comprising a protective shell additionally arranged on
the surface of a portable electric appliance and matching the shape
of the portable electric appliance, with a buffer body which
protrudes towards the exterior of the protective shell arranged at
the corner of the protective shell, wherein a primary buffer axis
of the buffer body points to the centroid of the portable electric
appliance, or the projection of the primary buffer axis in the
principal plane of the electric appliance extends along the angular
bisector between two adjacent sides; the buffer body is also
arranged with a secondary buffer axis, which is arranged
perpendicular to the primary buffer axis or perpendicular to the
principal plane of the portable electric appliance; and the
thickness of the buffer body is at least 3 times of the average
thickness of the rest parts in the protective shell except for the
buffer body.
2. (canceled)
3. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the buffer stroke of the
buffer body is at least 2 times of the average thickness of the
rest parts in the protective shell except for the buffer body.
4. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 3, wherein the maximum buffer stroke
of the buffer body is greater than the ratio of the square of the
design ground impact speed to the maximum permissible impact
acceleration.
5. (canceled)
6. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the rigidity of the buffer
body in the primary buffer axis direction is 2 times of the ratio
of the design ground impact energy to the square of the maximum
buffer stroke.
7. (canceled)
8. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the rigidity of the buffer
body in the secondary buffer axis direction is 0.3.about.0.5 time
of the rigidity in the primary buffer axis direction.
9. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the buffer body is arranged
with a helical spring structure in it made of a metal material, or
a rubber material, or a polyurethane material, or a plastic
material, or combinations of these above.
10. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the buffer body is arranged
with a flexural spring structure in it made of a metal material, or
a rubber material, or a polyurethane material, or a plastic
material, or combinations of these above.
11. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the buffer body is arranged
with a shear spring structure consisting of a base, a movable body,
and an elastic material arranged between the two parts.
12. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the buffer body is arranged
with a telescopic structure in it consisting of an outer sleeve and
at least one movable core; in that the moving axis direction of the
movable core is arranged along the primary buffer axis of the
buffer body; and in that a friction pair and/or damping air pores
are/is arranged between the outer sleeve and the only movable core,
or a friction pair and/or damping air pores are/is arranged between
the outer sleeve and the movable cores and between adjacent movable
cores respectively.
13. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the buffer body is made of
an elastic macromolecular material, which comprises rubber
material, PVC material, or polyurethane material.
14. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 13, wherein the buffer body is
arranged with closed cavities, cavities with open-pore damping
structures, closed cavities containing a liquid damping material,
or viscous damping structures or pinhole throttling damping
structures.
15. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the buffer body is arranged
with local protrusions on it.
16. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the buffer body is made of
a solid damping material at least in part, which comprises high
damping rubber material or high damping polyurethane material.
17. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein an integral continuous
buffer body is arranged at two corners at the two ends of the same
edge in the thickness direction of the protective shell.
18. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the buffer body and the
protective shell are arranged integrally.
19. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the buffer body is fixed to
the protective shell by anchored connection, adhesive bonding,
threaded connection, fastener connection, hinging, snapping
connection, or fitting connection.
20. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the buffer body is made of
a metal material, a plastic material, a rubber material, a
polyurethane material, a leather material, a natural fiber material
or chemical fiber material, or a combination of any at least two of
these above.
21. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the buffer body is in a
spherical shape at least in part, a ellipsoidal shape at least in
part, a plant shape at least in part, a human shape at least in
part, an animal shape at least in part, or a cartoon shape at least
in part.
22. The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance according to claim 1, wherein the protective shell is
arranged with local functional through-holes, which are in a
square, rectangular, round, apple, triangular, star, or rhombic
shape.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of
products associated to portable electric appliances such as cell
phones, and relates to a protective shell applied to the surface of
a portable electric appliance, in particular to a protective shell
that has better shock-resistance performance.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] As the society makes progress, portable electric appliances,
such as cell phones, have become indispensable tools increasingly
in people's daily life. For example, cell phones with rich
functionality and beautiful appearance emerge endlessly nowadays,
and many cell phones are expansive. Many people choose to protect
their cell phones with a protective shell, to prevent abrasion or
scratching of the cell phone surface during daily use. At present,
protective shells available in the market for cell phone products
are usually made by injection molding from rubber and plastics.
These protective shells can protect the cell phone surfaces and
attain a dust-proof effect to some degree. However, existing
protective shells for cell phones are usually in a shell structure
in uniform thickness. It is a common sense that a corner part of a
cell phone will touch the ground first in case the cell phone falls
to the ground, but a protective shell in uniform thickness has
inadequate structural strength at the eight corners. Therefore,
once the cell phone falls to the ground, often the internal parts
of the cell phone will be damaged, the phone body and protective
shell may be deformed or damaged at the corners, or the touch
screen may be broken and can't be used any more, and has to be
replaced. Especially, for some cell phones available in the market,
such as iPhone from Apple, the replacement cost of a touch screen
is almost comparable to the price of an ordinary cell phone, and
the protective shell that is sold as an accessory is also costly.
The high replacement cost of a protective shell not only brings
economic burden on the consumers but also results in resource
waste. The same problem exists in other portable electric
appliances, such as iPad computers, digital cameras, mobile hard
disks, GPS navigators, laptop computers, calculators, etc. In
summary, it is urgent task to overcome the problem of inadequate
buffering capability and unsatisfactory protective effect of
existing protective shells for portable electric appliances.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] To overcome the drawbacks described above, the present
invention provides a shock-resistant protective shell for a
portable electric appliance, which has better buffering
performance.
[0004] In order to realize the aim, the present invention provide a
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
comprising a protective shell additionally arranged on the surface
of a portable electric appliance and matching the shape of the
portable electric appliance, characterized in that the corner part
and/or the vicinity of the corner part of the protective shell
are/is arranged with a buffer body which protrudes towards the
exterior of the protective shell.
[0005] The core technical principle of the shock-resistant
protective shell for a portable electric appliance in the present
invention is: a buffer body is utilized to increase the buffer
stroke. For example, in the case of an iPhone 4 cell phone, which
is in weight of 0.13 kg, when the cell phone falls from 1 m height,
it will touch the ground at a speed of v= {square root over
(2gh)}=4.43 m/s; suppose the speed of the cell phone is decreased
to zero after the impact and the stiffness curves of the protective
shell and the buffer body are linear during impact deformation,
according to the law of conservation of energy, the maximum impact
force borne on the cell phone will be F.sub.max=mv.sup.2/s, where,
`s` is the impact buffer stroke. That formula is abbreviated as a
buffer formula in the present invention. It is seen from the buffer
formula: the impact force is proportional to the mass and the
ground impact speed, and is inversely proportional to the buffer
stroke. Suppose the thickness of an ordinary protective shell in
uniform thickness is 1.2 mm, the buffer stroke of the protective
shell is 0.8 mm, the ground surface is rigid floor made of marble
or cement, the maximum impact force will be 3189N, equivalent to
325 Kg, and the maximum impact acceleration is 2,500 g, i.e., 2,500
times of gravitational acceleration. That is the reason why a
falling cell phone may be damaged easily. If there is no protective
shell, the buffer stroke will be shorter, and the cell phone may be
damaged more easily. If the buffer stroke is increased by 20 times,
i.e., the buffer stroke is 16 mm, the maximum impact force will be
16 Kg only, and the impact acceleration will be 125 g only. Thus it
can be seen: increasing the buffer stroke can effectively reduce
the maximum impact force and impact acceleration when a portable
electric appliance (e.g., a cell phone) falls to the ground, and
thereby greatly reduce the damage to the cell phone. To attain an
ideal buffering effect, it should be noted that when the buffer
body is designed: preferably, the buffer body shall meet the
following requirements: the maximum buffer stroke of the buffer
body should be greater than the ratio of the square of the design
ground impact speed to the maximum permissible impact acceleration;
the rigidity of the buffer body in the primary buffer axis
direction should be 2 times of the ratio of the design ground
impact energy to the square of the maximum buffer stroke; and, the
rigidity of the buffer body in the secondary buffer axis direction
should be 0.3.about.0.5 time of the rigidity in the primary buffer
axis direction, wherein, the primary buffer axis of the buffer body
points to the centroid of the portable electric appliance, or the
projection of the primary buffer axis in the principal plane of the
electric appliance extends along the angular bisector between two
adjacent sides; the secondary buffer axis of the buffer body is
arranged perpendicular to the primary buffer axis or arranged
perpendicular to the principal plane of the portable electric
appliance. Under normal circumstances, the maximum buffer stroke of
the buffer body is at least 2 times of the average thickness of the
rest parts in the protective shell except for the buffer body. In
the present invention, since the buffer body is arranged locally
only and a highly elastic material or highly elastic structure is
used in the buffer body, the buffer stroke of the buffer body can
be very long, up to 5.about.40 times of the average thickness of
the rest parts in the protective shell except for the buffer body.
In addition, to ensure a necessary buffer stroke, usually the
thickness of the buffer body is at least 3 times of the average
thickness of the rest parts in the protective shell except for the
buffer body, and can even be 10.about.50 times of the average
thickness according to the actual demand.
[0006] To improve the elasticity of the buffer body and increase
the buffer stroke, a highly elastic material or highly elastic
structure can be arranged in the buffer body. For example, a
helical spring structure, which is made of a metal material, or a
rubber material, or a polyurethane material, or a plastic material,
or any combination of these materials, can be arranged in the
buffer body; alternatively, a flexural spring structure, which is
made of a metal material, or a rubber material, or a polyurethane
material, or a plastic material, or any combination of these
materials, can be arranged in the buffer body; alternatively, a
shear spring structure, which comprises a base, a moving body, and
an elastic material arranged between the two parts, can be arranged
in the buffer body; furthermore, a telescopic structure, which
comprises an outer sleeve and at least one movable core, can be
arranged in the buffer body, wherein, if only one movable core is
arranged, a friction pair and/or damping air pores are/is arranged
between the outer sleeve and the only movable core; if a plurality
of movable cores are arranged, a friction pair and/or damping air
pores are/is arranged between the outer sleeve and the movable
cores and between adjacent movable cores; alternatively, local
protrusions can be arranged on the buffer body to improve local
elasticity of the buffer body; of course, the buffer body can be
made of an elastic macromolecular material directly, and the
elastic macromolecular material comprises rubber material, PVC
material, or polyurethane material. In addition, if the buffer body
is not provided with additional damping means or high damping
material, the natural damping property of the buffer body is
usually too low; consequently, the cell phone will bounce after it
hits the ground, and then the cell phone will hit the ground again.
If a damping means is arranged and the damping ratio of the impact
system composed of the electric appliance and the buffer body is
close to the critical damping, the electric appliance will rest on
the ground and will not bounce after it hits the ground; in that
case, the damping is optimal. Another benefit of employing optimal
damping is: under the condition of the same buffer stroke and the
same impact force, more impact energy can be absorbed, which is to
say, a higher ground impact speed is permissible. Therefore,
additional damping structures can be arranged in the buffer body,
for instance, closed cavities, closed cavities containing a liquid
damping material, cavities with open-pore damping structures, or
viscous damping structures or pinhole throttling damping
structures, can be arranged in the buffer body. Of course, the
buffer body can be made of a solid damping material at least in
part, wherein, the solid damping material comprises high damping
rubber or high damping polyurethane. Preferably, the damping rating
of the damping structure is designed according to the critical
damping in the most common impact pattern.
[0007] The buffer body described in the present invention can be
diverse in shape. For example, it can be in a streamline shape that
is spherical at least in part or ellipsoidal at least in part, or
can be in a cylindrical shape. Alternatively, it can be in a plant
shape at least in part, wherein, the plant here not only comprises
flower, grass, and tree, but also comprises vegetable, fruit, and
seed, etc., specifically, the plant shape can be flower, Christmas
tree, peanut, pea, pumpkin, apple, strawberry, orange, or
watermelon shape at least in part. Alternatively, it can be in a
human shape at least in part, including real characters and
fictitious characters, for example, a real character represented by
Einstein, a mythological character represented by the Monkey King,
a comic character represented by Crayon Shin-chan, or a cartoon
character represented by the Pleasant Sheep, etc.; in addition, the
human shape at least in part can be an organ of a human, such as
eye, ear, mouth, nose, heart, hand, foot, etc. Alternatively, it
can be in an animal shape at least in part, such as any of the
twelve Chinese zodiac signs, penguin, lion, or Coccinella
septempunctata, etc., of course, the animal shape at least in part
also comprises an organ of an animal, such as ear, paw, mouth,
shell, etc. In addition, it should be noted: in actual
applications, the shape of the buffer body in the present invention
can be an artistic evolution or abstract of the physical form of
the human or thing described above.
[0008] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance in the present invention, not only a buffer body
can be arranged on each corner part of the protective shell, but
also an integral continuous buffer body can be arranged at the
corners at two ends of the same edge along the thickness direction
of the protective shell, i.e., a buffer body protects two corners
of the protective shell at the same time.
[0009] The buffer body can be formed integrally with the protective
shell when the protective shell is manufactured; or, the buffer
body can be fixed to the protective shell by anchor connection,
adhesive bonding, threaded connection, hinging, fastener
connection, snapping connection, or fitting connection, etc.
Therefore, the material of the buffer body can be selected in a
wide range. For example, the buffer body and the protective shell
can be formed from a plastic material by plastic molding in one
operation; alternatively, the buffer body can be produced from a
metal material, a plastic material, a rubber material, a
polyurethane material, a natural fiber material (e.g., cotton or
hemp, etc.), a chemical fiber material, or a combination of any at
least two of these above, and then fixed to the protective shell.
If the buffer body is arranged as a separate part, it will be
unnecessary to replace the entire protective shell in case the
buffer body is damaged, and the selection range of the material of
the buffer body can be further widened. Thus, it is more helpful
for improving the shock-resistant and damage-resistant performance,
and the texture and form of the buffer body will be more diverse,
and the characteristics of the buffer body will be more
distinctive. For example, a buffer body made of a rubber material
has high elasticity and high buffering performance; a buffer body
made of a cotton material confers good hand feeling and will not
cause injury to clothing and bags; a buffer body made of a
combination of light metal material (e.g., aluminum alloy) and
leather or rubber material is more durable and fashionable, and,
when decorated in different colors, can meet different demands of
different people. Moreover, the buffer body will be universal if
the interface for connecting the protective shell and the buffer
body is standardized; thus, the buffer body on the protective shell
can be replaced as required at any time, to adapt to the change of
taste and favor.
[0010] In addition, to make room for some devices such as a camera
and for the purpose of heat dissipation from the electric appliance
or presentation of the product logo, etc., the protective shell can
be arranged with local functional through-holes. According to the
actual conditions, the through-holes can be in a square,
rectangular, round, triangular, apple, star, or rhombic shape,
etc.
[0011] In most cases, when a portable electric appliance falls to
the ground, for example, when a cell phone falls from a desktop or
hand to the ground, a corner part will hit the ground first.
Existing protective shells for cell phones in the market are
usually rubber or plastic protective shell in uniform thickness,
which provide a very limited buffering effect, owing to the limited
thickness of protective shell. If the thickness of the protective
shell is increased uniformly, the protective shell will become very
unhandy. Such protective shells can't be accepted by fashionistas
and are not economic. In the present invention, by arranging convex
buffer bodies at the corner parts of a protective shell, the
shock-resistant performance of the protective shell and the
protected portable electric appliance is greatly improved, while
the cost is not increased significantly and the appearance is not
compromised. Such a protective shell can meets the requirements for
practicability, economic efficiency, and safety.
[0012] By arranging buffer bodies at the corner parts and in
vicinity of the corner parts of a protective shell, the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in the present invention can greatly improve the buffer stroke,
decrease the impact force generated when the portable electric
appliance falls to the ground accidentally, and improve local
shock-resistant performance. Thus, this scheme can effectively
ensure that the corner parts of the protective shell will not be
damaged by external impact, and is helpful for prolonging the
service life of the product and improving safety performance. The
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in the present invention is simple in structure. It not only
inherits all merits of existing protective shells but also is
diverse and lovely in form, and has high practicability and can
greatly improve the shock-resistant performance of the product. The
shock-resistant protective shell can be widely applied to portable
electric appliances such as cell phones, Walkman devices, cameras,
mobile hard disks, laptop computers, GPS navigators, electronic
dictionaries, and iPad computers, etc., and has broad application
prospects in the market.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a left view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a 3D view of the shock-resistant protective shell
for a portable electric appliance shown in FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a broken-out sectional view A-A of the structure
shown in FIG. 1;
[0017] FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 2 of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 3 of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 4 of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 5 of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 6 of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 7 of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 8 of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 9 of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 13 is a left view of the structure shown in FIG.
12;
[0026] FIG. 14 is a 3D view of the shock-resistant protective shell
for a portable electric appliance shown in FIG. 12 in the present
invention;
[0027] FIG. 15 is a broken-out sectional view C-C of the structure
shown in FIG. 12;
[0028] FIG. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 10 of the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 11 of the present invention;
[0030] FIG. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 12 of the present invention;
[0031] FIG. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 13 of the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 14 of the present invention;
[0033] FIG. 21 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 15 of the present invention;
[0034] FIG. 22 is a left view of the structure shown in FIG.
21;
[0035] FIG. 23 is a broken-out sectional view D-D of the structure
shown in FIG. 21;
[0036] FIG. 24 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 16 of the present invention;
[0037] FIG. 25 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 17 of the present invention;
[0038] FIG. 26 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 18 of the present invention;
[0039] FIG. 27 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 19 of the present invention;
[0040] FIG. 28 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 20 of the present invention;
[0041] FIG. 29 is a bottom view of the structure shown in FIG.
28;
[0042] FIG. 30 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 21 of the present invention; and
[0043] FIG. 31 is a bottom view of the structure shown in FIG.
30;
[0044] FIG. 32 is a schematic structural diagram of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in embodiment 22 of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
Embodiment 1
[0045] In view that the existing portable electric appliances are
diverse in type and their shells are diverse in shape, it is
impossible to described them in detail one by one; therefore,
hereunder the technical principle of the present invention will be
detailed exemplarily in the case of a shock-resistant protective
shell for a cell phone. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4, the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
according to the present invention (specifically, a shock-resistant
protective shell for a cell phone) comprises a protective shell 1
that matches the shape of a cell phone (not shown). The protective
shell 1 is made of an elastic PVC material, and the eight corner
parts of the protective shell are provided respectively with a
buffer body 2 that protrudes towards the exterior of the protective
shell, and the buffer body 2 is in a shape that is spherical in
part; the buffer body 2 can also be made of an elastic PVC
material, and is integrally formed with the protective shell 1 by
plastic molding. In this embodiment, the thickness of the buffer
body is 3.5 times of the average thickness of the rest parts in the
protective shell 1 except for the buffer body 2.
[0046] During use, the portable electric appliance to be protected
can be directly embedded in the shock-resistant protective shell
for a portable electric appliance in the present invention. Since
buffer bodies 2 are arranged at the corner parts of the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in the present invention, in case the portable electric appliance
with the shock-resistant protective shell in the present invention
falls to the ground accidentally, usually the buffer body 2 at a
corner part of the protective shell 1 will hit the ground first.
Since the buffer body 2 employs a structure that is spherical in
part, the buffer stroke is greatly increased, and the
shock-resistant performance is good; thus, the protective shell 1
not only effectively protects the portable electric appliance
against damage, but also ensures that its structure will not be
damaged. Therefore, the protective shell 1 has longer service life
and is more durable.
[0047] It should be noted: the direction Z in FIG. 4 is the primary
buffer axis direction of the buffer body, and it is the same as the
extension direction of the intersection line between the section
A-A and the section B-B of the buffer body in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2,
and points to the centroid of the portable electric appliance. In
view that the properties of the buffer body vary in different
directions since the buffer body employs a structure that is not
uniform in thickness, the primary buffer axis direction (i.e.,
direction Z) of the buffer body will be used as a standard to
describe the properties of the buffer body, and the directions
(e.g., the secondary buffer axis direction) and parameters (e.g.,
maximum buffer stroke) of the buffer body will be determined on the
basis of that standard in the following text. The maximum buffer
stroke of the buffer body has direct influence on the attainable
buffering protection effect of the buffer body. To attain an ideal
buffering effect, it should be noted that when the buffer body is
designed: preferably, the buffer body shall meet the following
requirements: the maximum buffer stroke of the buffer body should
be greater than the ratio of the square of the design ground impact
speed to the maximum permissible impact acceleration; and, the
rigidity of the buffer body in the primary buffer axis direction
should be 2 times of the ratio of the design ground impact energy
to the square of the maximum buffer stroke. In addition, the
maximum buffer stroke of the buffer body should be at least 2 times
of the average thickness of the rest parts in the protective shell
except for the buffer body. In the present invention, since the
buffer body is arranged locally only and a highly elastic material
or highly elastic structure is used in the buffer body, the buffer
stroke of the buffer body can be very long, up to 5.about.40 times
of the average thickness of the rest parts in the protective shell
except for the buffer body. In addition, to ensure a necessary
buffer stroke, usually the thickness of the buffer body is at least
3 times of the average thickness of the rest parts in the
protective shell except for the buffer body, and can even be
10.about.50 times of the average thickness according to the actual
demand.
[0048] In addition, the buffer body can be diverse in shape.
Besides a shape that is spherical in part, it can also be in a
streamline shape that is ellipsoidal at least in part, such as a
rugby shape. Alternatively, it can be in a plant shape at least in
part, wherein, the plant here not only comprises flower, grass, and
tree, but also comprises vegetable, fruit, and seed, etc.,
specifically, the plant shape can be flower, Christmas tree,
peanut, pea, pumpkin, apple, strawberry, orange, or watermelon
shape at least in part. Alternatively, it can be in a human shape
at least in part, including real characters and fictitious
characters, for example, a real character represented by Einstein,
a mythological character represented by the Monkey King, a comic
character represented by Crayon Shin-chan, or a cartoon character
represented by the Pleasant Sheep, etc.; in addition, the human
shape at least in part can be an organ of a human, such as eye,
ear, mouth, nose, heart, hand, foot, etc. Furthermore,
Alternatively, it can be in an animal shape at least in part, such
as any of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, penguin, lion, or
Coccinella septempunctata, etc.; naturally, the animal shape at
least in part also comprises an organ of an animal, such as ear,
paw, mouth, shell, etc. If the buffer body is painted into the
colors that match the thing reflected by the shape, the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in the present invention will confer a stronger aesthetic feeling,
and will be more vivid in form. The description in this paragraph
is also applicable to other embodiments of the present invention,
and will not be iterated in the description of other
embodiments.
[0049] Besides the elastic PVC material mentioned above, the buffer
body in the present invention can also be made of other elastic
macromolecular materials, such as rubber material or polyurethane
material, etc., and can attain equivalent buffering effect, as long
as the buffering capability is adequate.
[0050] The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance in the present invention is simple in structure, has high
practicability, elegant appearance, long service life, and attains
a good buffering protection effect. Moreover, the present invention
is not limited to the cell phone application illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, which is to say, the technical principle of
the present invention can also be applied in improvement and
application of protective shells for different kinds of portable
electric appliances, such as cell phones, Walkman devices,
electronic dictionaries, iPad computers, digital cameras, mobile
hard disks, GPS navigators, laptop computers, calculators, etc.,
and thereby corresponding shock-resistant protective shells for
portable electric appliances can be created. Therefore, the present
invention has broad application prospects in the market.
Embodiment 2
[0051] In the present invention, the buffer body can not only be in
diverse shapes but also in different structures. In the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
shown in FIG. 5 according to the present invention, the difference
from the embodiment 1 lies in: the protective shell 1 is made of a
rigid plastic material, and is provided in it with a helical spring
structure consisting of a protective enclosure 4 and a helical
spring 5, wherein, the protective enclosure is made of stainless
steel plates, the helical spring 5 is made of a stainless steel
wire, the upper part of the helical spring 5 is fixed to the
protective enclosure 4 by welding, the lower end of the helical
spring 5 is anchored in the protective shell 1, and the axis
direction of the helical spring 5 is arranged in the primary buffer
axis direction of the buffer body.
[0052] During use, in case a portable electric appliance with the
protective shell in the present invention falls to the ground
accidentally, once a corner part hits the ground first, the
protective enclosure 4 at the corner part of the protective shell 1
will come into contact with the ground and transfer the impact
force to the helical spring 5. Moreover, since the helical spring 5
has high elasticity and can absorb the impact energy greatly and
attain a buffering effect. Therefore the purpose of protecting the
portable electric appliance and the protective shell 1 can be
attained.
[0053] It should be noted: since the buffer body is provided with a
metal helical spring, which has high elasticity both in its
vertical direction and in its lateral direction, as shown in FIG.
5, the buffer body not only provides buffering effect in direction
Z, but also provides some buffering effect in direction F. Here,
the direction Z is the primary buffer axis direction of the buffer
body, and the direction F is the secondary buffer axis direction,
and the secondary buffer axis direction of the buffer body is
perpendicular to the primary buffer axis direction. It should be
noted that in the design: to ensure the buffering effect,
preferably the rigidity of the buffer body in the secondary buffer
axis direction is 0.3.about.0.5 time of the rigidity in the primary
buffer axis direction. A benefit of that scheme is: in case two,
three, or four corners of the portable electric appliance hit the
ground at the same time, a plurality of buffer bodies will provide
a buffering effect at the same time, and the rigidity in the impact
direction is still kept to be about 1 time of the rigidity in the
primary buffer axis direction at the maximum probability; thus, the
impact force will not be extremely high because the total rigidity
in the impact direction is very high.
[0054] In this embodiment, since the protective enclosure 4 and the
helical spring 5 in the buffer body are made of a stainless steel
material, the protective shell has a longer service life and is
more durable. Compared with embodiment 1, with the technical scheme
in this embodiment, the selection range of the material of the
buffer body is wider. Beside a stainless steel material, the
helical spring structure can also be made of a different metal
material, or a rubber material, or a polyurethane material, or a
plastic material, or any combination of these above, and can attain
equivalent function, as long as the helical spring structure can
attain a good buffering effect. Since the material selection is
more diversified, in conjunction with different shapes and colors,
a better decorative effect can be attained, and thereby diversified
requirements of the users can be met in a better way. Since the
buffer body employs a helical spring, the buffer stroke can easily
meet the technical specification, i.e., the maximum buffer stroke
of the buffer body should be at least 2 times of the average
thickness of the rest parts in the protective shell except for the
buffer body, and may even reach a level of 40 times; in addition,
the rigidity is uniform. Moreover, the buffer body also has high
buffer capability in the secondary buffer axis direction.
Embodiment 3
[0055] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 6 according to the present
invention, compared with the embodiment 2, there are differences as
follows. The buffer body is in a flexural spring structure
consisting of a protective enclosure 4 and a flexural spring 6.
Moreover, the protective enclosure 4 is made of a plastic material;
the flexural spring 6 is made of a steel spring wire; the upper
part of the flexural spring 6 is fixed in the protective enclosure
4; the lower end of the flexural spring 6 is anchored in the
protective shell 1; and the maximum deformation direction of the
flexural spring 6 is arranged in the primary buffer axis direction
of the buffer body.
[0056] Similar to the embodiment 2, the flexural spring structure
can also be made of a metal material, or a rubber material, or a
polyurethane material, or a plastic material, or any combination of
these above, not limited to the materials mentioned in this
document, and can attain an equivalent function, as long as the
flexural spring structure can attain a good buffering effect.
Alternatively, based on the technical principle of this embodiment,
the protective enclosure can be made of a rubber or polyurethane
material, and can attain an equivalent function.
Embodiment 4
[0057] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 7 according to the present
invention, which is implemented on the basis of the technical
principle of embodiment 3, compared with embodiment 3, the
differences lie in: the flexural spring structure is formed by a
flexural spring 6, the flexural spring 6 is made of steel spring
plates, and is connected with the protective shell 1 into one piece
via a connecting part 20 fixed to its lower part by welding, and
the maximum deformation direction of the flexural spring 6 is
arranged in the primary buffer axis direction of the buffer
body.
[0058] Since the flexural spring 6 made of steel spring plates in
this embodiment not only has high elasticity but also takes the
role of a protective enclosure, it is unnecessary to arrange an
additional protective enclosure. Therefore, the shock-resistant
protective shell for a portable electric appliance in this
embodiment is simpler in structure, and is helpful for cost
reduction. Likewise, the flexural spring structure can also be made
of a metal material, or a rubber material, or a polyurethane
material, or a plastic material, or any combination of these above;
for example, a highly elastic material, such as rubber material,
can be filled in the middle cavity in the flexural spring 6 in this
embodiment.
Embodiment 5
[0059] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 8 according to the present
invention, compared with embodiment 1, the differences lie in: the
shape of the buffer body 2 is ellipsoidal in part, and the buffer
body 2 has closed cavities 7.
[0060] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance in this embodiment according to the present
invention, since closed cavities 7 are arranged in the buffer body
2, the elastic deformation capability of the buffer body is
stronger, and the maximum buffer stroke can be longer; therefore,
the buffering protection capability is stronger, and the
practicability is higher.
Embodiment 6
[0061] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 9 according to the present
invention, compared with embodiment 5, the differences lie in: the
shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric appliance
in this embodiment is made of an elastic polyurethane foam
material, and the buffer body 2 has many closed small cavities
21.
[0062] Similar to the technical principle of embodiment 5, since
many closed cavities 21 are arranged in the buffer body 2, the
elastic deformation capability of the buffer body is stronger, and
the maximum buffer stroke can be longer; therefore, the buffering
protection capability is stronger.
Embodiment 7
[0063] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 10 according to the present
invention, compared with embodiment 2, there are differences as
follows. The buffer body comprises a protective enclosure 4 and a
shear spring structure that consists of a base 9, a moving body 8,
and an elastic material 10 between the two parts. Furthermore, the
protective enclosure 4, the moving body 8, and the base 9 are made
of steel; the elastic material 10 is a rubber material; the
protective enclosure 4 and the moving body 8 are connected together
by welding; the moving body 8 and the base 9 are bonded with the
elastic rubber material 10 by vulcanization respectively; the lower
end of the base 9 is fixed in the protective shell 1; and the
moving axis direction of the moving body 8 is arranged in the
vertical direction of the buffer body.
[0064] In case a portable electric appliance with the protective
shell in this embodiment according to the present invention falls
to the ground accidentally, once a corner part hit the ground
first, the protective enclosure 4 of the buffer body 2 will come
into contact with the ground first, and drive the moving body 8 and
the base 9 to move in relation to each other and thereby shear the
elastic rubber material 10. Since the rubber material has a good
damping characteristic, it will consume the external impact energy
in the shearing process and thereby attain a buffering effect.
Therefore, the portable electric appliance and the protective shell
will be protected effectively against damage.
Embodiment 8
[0065] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 11 according to the present
invention, compared with embodiment 2, there are differences as
follows. The buffer body comprises a protective enclosure 4 and a
telescopic structure that consists of an outer sleeve 12, a movable
core 10, and a movable core 11. Furthermore, the protective
enclosure 4, outer sleeve 12, movable core 10, and movable core 11
are made of steel, one end of the movable core 10 is connected with
the protective enclosure 4 by welding, and the lower end of the
outer sleeve 12 is anchored in the protective shell 1. In addition,
the movable core 10 can extend out from the movable core 11 or
retract into the movable core 11; the movable core 12 can extend
out from the outer sleeve 12 or retract into the outer sleeve 12
separately or together with the movable core 10; the moving axis
directions of the movable core 10 and movable core 11 are arranged
in the vertical direction of the buffer body; and a friction pair
is arranged between the movable core 11 and the outer sleeve 12 and
between the movable core 10 and the movable core 11
respectively.
[0066] During use, in case a portable electric appliance with the
protective shell in the present invention falls to the ground
accidentally, once a corner part hits the ground first, the
protective enclosure 4 at the corner part of the protective shell 1
will come into contact with the ground and transfer the impact
force to the telescopic structure. Consequently, the telescopic
structure is compressed, and relative movement happens between the
movable core and the outer sleeve and between the movable cores.
Since a friction pair is arranged between the movable core and the
outer sleeve and between the movable cores respectively, the
frictional resistance will consume some impact energy in the
process of relative movement, and thereby the maximum impact force
and impact acceleration of the portable electric appliance when the
portable electric appliance hit the ground will be effectively
reduced, and the portable electric appliance and the protective
shell are protected against damage.
[0067] Though the telescopic structure in the buffer body described
in this embodiment is arranged with two movable cores, in actual
application, the telescopic structure can be arranged with a single
movable core or three or move movable cores. Under the same
technical principle described in this embodiment, if a single
movable core is arranged, a friction pair can be arranged between
the outer sleeve and the only movable core; if a plurality of
movable cores are arranged, a friction pair can be arranged between
the outer sleeve and the movable cores and between adjacent movable
cores, so as to realized the same function described in this
embodiment. A benefit of employing frictional damping is: under the
condition of the same ground impact speed and the same maximum
buffer stroke, the maximum impact force is smaller than that in the
case of elastic buffering, and no bounce will occur. Therefore, a
better buffer damping effect can be attained. However, the movable
cores should be pulled back to their original positions after the
ground impact.
Embodiment 9
[0068] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIGS. 12, 13, 14, and 15 according to
the present invention, compared with embodiment 1, the differences
lie in: the protective shell 1 and the buffer body 2 are made of a
high damping rubber material, and an integral continuous buffer
body 2 is arranged at the corners at the two ends of the same edge
in the thickness direction of the protective shell 1, i.e., a
single buffer body 2 protects two corners of the protective shell
1; in addition, the shape of the buffer body 2 is ellipsoidal in
part. Moreover, for the purpose of presenting the product logo, the
protective shell 1 is arranged with local through-holes 3, which
are in a rectangular shape respectively. In this embodiment, as
indicated by the direction Z in FIG. 12 and FIG. 15, the projection
of the primary buffer axis of the buffer body in the principal
plane of the electric appliance extends along the angular bisector
between two adjacent sides; as indicated by the direction F in FIG.
13 and FIG. 15, the secondary buffer axis of the buffer body is
arranged perpendicular to the principal plane of the portable
electric appliance. For example, for an iPhone cell phone, the
plane of the touch screen is the principal plane of the portable
electric appliance. The rigidity in the secondary buffer axis is
0.3 time of the rigidity in the primary buffer axis; thus, in case
the portable electric appliance falls to the ground with its
principal plane approximately parallel to the ground surface, the
four corners will touch the ground simultaneously, and the maximum
rigidity in the impact direction will be 1.2 times of the rigidity
in the primary buffer axis direction; similarly, in case three
corners touch the ground simultaneously first, the rigidity is 0.9
time; in case two corners touch the ground simultaneously first,
the rigidity will be 0.6 time.
[0069] Of course, arranging through holes 3 locally in the
protective shell 1 is not only for presenting the product logo but
also for making room for a camera or meeting the requirement for
heat dissipation when the electric appliance operates. Moreover,
according to the actual conditions, more than one through hole can
be arranged, and the through holes can be in other shapes, such as
square, round, apple, triangular, star, or rhombic shape, beside
the rectangular shape mention above.
[0070] A benefit of employing a high damping rubber material is:
under the condition of the same ground impact speed and the same
maximum buffer stroke, the maximum impact force is smaller than
that in the case of pure elastic buffering, and the bounce will be
smaller. Therefore, a better buffer damping effect can be attained
for the portable electric appliance. Besides a high damping rubber
material, the protective shell 1 and the buffer body 2 can be made
of other solid damping materials, such as a high damping
polyurethane material, etc.
[0071] Similar to embodiment 1, in the technical scheme of this
embodiment, beside a shape that is ellipsoidal in part, the buffer
body 2 can be in other shapes, such as in a plant shape at least in
part, or in a human shape at least in part, or in an animal shape
at least in part, and can attain an equivalent effect, as long as
the buffer stroke can be improved effectively.
Embodiment 10
[0072] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 16 according to the present
invention, compared with embodiment 9, the differences lie in: the
protective shell 1 and the buffer body 2 are formed integrally from
an ordinary rubber material, and three cavities 7 are arranged in
the buffer body 2 to improve the elasticity. Channels 30 that
communicate with each other and communicate with the exterior are
arranged between the cavities 7, forming open-pore damping
structures.
[0073] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance in this embodiment according to the present
invention, since closed cavities 7 are arranged in the buffer body
2, the elastic deformation capability of the buffer body is
stronger, and the maximum buffer stroke can be longer; therefore,
the buffering protection capability is stronger, and the
practicability is higher. Furthermore, in the technical scheme of
this embodiment, since channels 30 that communicate with each other
and communicate with the exterior are arranged between the cavities
in the buffer body, the air in the cavities 7 will be expelled out
through the channels 30 when the buffer body is deformed; since the
channels 30 has small sectional dimensions, a pinhole damping
effect will be produced when the air passes through the channels
30, and thereby the damping effect of the buffer system can be
improved. Preferably, the damping performance of the damping
structure is designed according to the critical damping in the most
common impact pattern, so as to further improve the buffer damping
capability of the buffer body, reduce the maximum impact force, and
reduce bounce.
[0074] Based in the technical principle described in this
embodiment, the shape, size, and quantity of the cavities 7 can be
determined according to the actual requirement to implement the
same function, not limited to the shape, size, and quantity
illustrated in the drawings, as long as they can improve the
buffering capability. In addition, a separate communicating channel
30 can be arranged only between each of the three cavities and the
exterior respectively, so as to improve the damping capability of
the buffer system and improve the damping effect. Of course, a
plurality of channels 30 can be arranged. Such modifications are
simple modifications to the technical scheme in this embodiment.
Therefore, they are only described briefly but not illustrated in
separate drawings, and shall be deemed as falling into the scope of
protection claimed for the present invention.
Embodiment 11
[0075] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 17 according to the present
invention, compared with embodiment 10, the difference lies in: the
cavities 7 in the buffer body 2 are provided with a liquid damping
material 13 in them.
[0076] Usually, if the buffer body is not provided with additional
damping means or high damping material, the portable electric
appliance will bounce after it hits the ground, and then it will
hit the ground again since the natural damping property of the
buffer body is very low. In this embodiment, a liquid damping
material 13 is provided in the cavities 7 in the buffer body 2;
therefore, the local damping performance of the shock-resistant
protective shell for a portable electric appliance in the present
invention is greatly improved. When the buffer body touches the
ground, the buffer body will have elastic deformation. Thus, not
only the material of the buffer body attains an energy consumption
effect owing to its elasticity, but also the liquid damping
material 13 in the cavities 7 will be squeezed to have relative
movement in relation to the side walls of the cavities 7, which
further consumes energy. If the damping ratio of the impact system
composed of the electric appliance and the buffer body is set to be
close to the critical damping (i.e., optimal damping) by parameter
optimization, the electric appliance will rest on the ground and
will not bounce after it hits the ground. Another benefit of
employing optimal damping is: under the condition of the same
impact force, more impact energy can be consumed, which is to say,
a higher ground impact speed is permissible. Thus, a better buffer
damping effect can be attained. Specifically, the liquid damping
material 13 can be selected from a variety of liquid-state damping
materials, such as silicone oil or modified bitumen, etc.
Embodiment 12
[0077] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 18 according to the present
invention, compared with embodiment 11, the differences lie in: the
buffer body 2 is provided with two closed cavities 7 that contain a
liquid damping material 13, and the two cavities 7 communicate with
each other through two small channels 14 and 15, forming pinhole
throttling damping structures.
[0078] During use, in case a portable electric appliance with the
protective shell implemented in this embodiment according to the
present invention falls to the ground accidentally, energy will be
consumed owing to the elasticity of the buffer body material and
the friction in the relative movement between the liquid damping
material 13 and the side walls of the cavities 7 in combination; in
addition, since the pressure in a cavity that is deformed severely
under the impact force is increased suddenly, a part of the liquid
damping material will be squeezed from that cavity through the two
channels 14 and 15 into the other cavity. In that process, since
the cross-sectional dimensions of the channels 14 and 15 are very
small, a pinhole throttling effect will be produced between the two
cavities, and thereby the energy is consumed further. Therefore,
the buffering and energy consumption effect of the technical scheme
in this embodiment is better.
[0079] Likewise, an advantage of such a structure is: optimal
damping can be realized easily.
Embodiment 13
[0080] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 19 according to the present
invention, compared with embodiment 12, the differences lie in: a
plurality of columnar protrusions 16 are arranged on the inner
walls of the cavities in the buffer body 2, and a high-viscosity
liquid damping material is selected as the liquid damping material
13; thus, viscous damping structures are formed between the liquid
damping material 13 and the protrusions 16.
[0081] During use, in case a portable electric appliance with the
protective shell implemented in this embodiment according to the
present invention falls to the ground accidentally, not only the
material of the buffer body 2 attains an energy consumption effect
owing to its elastic deformation, but also relative movement
happens between the protrusions 16 on the inner walls of the
cavities 7 and the high-viscosity liquid damping material 13 and
thereby further energy consumption will be realized owing to the
viscous resistance during the relative movement; thus, the buffer
damping effect is effectively improved. Likewise, an advantage of
such a structure is: optimal damping can be realized easily.
Embodiment 14
[0082] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 20 according to the present
invention, which is implemented on the basis of the technical
principle in embodiment 13, compared with embodiment 13, the
differences lie in: only one cavity 7 is provided in the buffer
body 2, and a high-viscosity liquid damping material 13 is provided
in the cavity 7; in addition, bar-shaped bosses 17 and 18 that can
fit with each other in a staggered manner are arranged
correspondingly on the top part and bottom part of the inner wall
of the cavity 7.
[0083] During use, in case a portable electric appliance with the
protective shell implemented in this embodiment according to the
present invention falls to the ground accidentally, the buffer body
2 will have elastic deformation when it touch the ground, the boss
17 and boss 18 will have relative movement between them and thereby
squeeze the liquid damping material 13 between them; consequently,
the liquid damping material is forced to move about in the
clearance between the boss 17 and the boss 18. Since the effective
contact area between the buffer body and the liquid damping
material is greatly increased owing to the existence of the boss 17
and boss 18, the viscous resistance produced by the liquid damping
material is higher, and the energy consumption effect will be
stronger. Thus, the buffer damping effect of the product can be
effectively improved. An advantage of such a structure is: optimal
damping can be realized more easily.
Embodiment 15
[0084] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 21, FIG. 22, and FIG. 23 according
to the present invention, compared with embodiment 9, the
differences lie in: the buffer bodies 2 are made of a high damping
polyurethane material separately, and are still in a shape that is
ellipsoidal in part. The buffer bodies 2 are fixed to the corners
of the protective shell 1 by bonding.
[0085] Since a split structure is employed between the buffer body
2 and the protective shell 1, the material of the buffer body can
be the same as or different from the material of the protective
shell. Therefore, the material of the buffer body can be selected
in a wider range; for example, the buffer body can be produced with
a metal material, a plastic material, a rubber material, a
polyurethane material, a natural fibrous material (e.g., cotton or
hemp, etc.), a chemical fiber material, or a combination of any at
least two of these above, and then fixed to the protective shell.
Besides the adhesive bonding mentioned above, the buffer body can
be fixed to the protective shell by fastener connection, threaded
connection, snapping connection, or fitting connection, etc.
[0086] With the technical scheme in this embodiment, since the
buffer body is arranged as a separate part, it will be unnecessary
to replace the entire protective shell in case the buffer body is
damaged, and the selection range of the material of the buffer body
can be further widened. Thus, it is more helpful for improving the
shock-resistant and damage-resistant performance, and the texture
and form of the buffer body will be more diverse, and the
characteristics of the buffer body will be more distinctive. For
example, a buffer body made of a rubber material has high
elasticity and high buffering performance; a buffer body made of a
cotton material confers good hand feeling and will not cause injury
to clothing and bags; a buffer body made of a combination of light
metal material (e.g., aluminum alloy) and rubber or leather
material is more durable and fashionable, and, when decorated in
different colors, can meet different demands of different people.
Moreover, the buffer body will be universal if the interface for
connecting the protective shell and the buffer body is
standardized; thus, the buffer body on the protective shell can be
replaced as required at any time, to adapt to the change of taste
and favor.
[0087] Based on the technical principle in this embodiment, in the
technical scheme in embodiment 1, the buffer body and protective
shell can be manufactured separately and then fixed and connected
together. That approach can also attain the same effect.
Embodiment 16
[0088] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 24, compared with embodiment 15,
the differences lie in: the buffer body is provided with a flexural
spring structure in it, which is different from the flexural spring
structure described in embodiment 4; the flexural spring structure
that forms the buffer body comprises a `C`-shaped flexural spring 6
made of steel spring plates, and a screw element 32 is fixed to the
lower part of the flexural spring 6 by welding. Specifically, the
screw element 32 illustrated in the drawing is a steel screw rod.
The protective shell 1 is made of a stainless steel material, a
connecting base 31 is fixed to the corner part of the protective
shell 1 by welding, and the flexural spring 6 is fitted into a
screw hole in the connecting base 31 via the screw element 32, so
that the buffering part is connected with the protective shell.
[0089] The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance in this embodiment according to the present invention has
all advantages in the embodiment 4. In addition, since the buffer
body and the protective shell are connected together by a screw
element, the buffer body can be removed from or assembled to the
protective shell at any time. Thus, the buffer body can be replaced
conveniently in the service work; in addition, after the threaded
interface between the protective shell and the buffer body is
standardized, the buffer body on the protective shell can be
changed at any time according to the fashion trend, so as to adapt
to the change of taste and favor. Of course, based on the technical
principle in this embodiment, alternatively, the screw element 32
can be arranged in the protective shell, and a connecting base 31
with a screw hole can be arranged in the buffer body. Such a
modification is a simple modification made on the basis of the
technical principle of the present invention, and shall be deemed
as falling into the scope of protection claimed for the present
invention. Thus, such a modification is not illustrated in a
separate drawing.
Embodiment 17
[0090] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 25 according to the present
invention, compared with embodiment 15, the differences lie in: the
buffer body 2 is provided with cavities 7 in it; furthermore, the
buffer body 2 is provided with a plurality of pinhole channels 33
that connect the cavities 7 to the exterior, forming air-pore
damping structures. In addition, the buffer body 2 and the
protective shell 1 are connected together by fasteners 34, and the
protective shell 1 is made of a plastic material.
[0091] Compared with embodiment 15, since cavities are provided,
the buffer body 2 in the technical scheme in this embodiment has
higher elasticity, longer buffer stroke, and better buffering
performance. In addition, the air in the cavities 7 will be
expelled out through the pinhole channels 33 when the buffer body
is deformed under the impact force; since the pinhole channels 33
has small sectional dimensions, a pinhole damping effect will be
produced when the air passes through the pinhole channels 33, and
thereby the damping effect of the buffer system can be improved.
Thus, the buffer damping performance of the buffer body can be
improved further.
Embodiment 18
[0092] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 26 according to the present
invention, compared with embodiment 17, the difference lies in: the
buffer body 2 and the protective shell 1 are hinged together via a
pin shaft 35.
[0093] By connecting the buffer body 2 with the protective shell by
means of hinging, the following beneficial effect can be attained:
when the protective shell falls together with the portable electric
appliance, the buffer body will adjust its attitude automatically.
When the center of gravity of the buffer body is arranged
appropriately, the attitude direction of the buffer body can be the
same as the direction of maximum buffer stroke of the buffer body
as far as possible when the buffer body touches the ground. That
approach is helpful for the buffer damping effect of the buffer
body to play in a better way.
Embodiment 19
[0094] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 27 according to the present
invention, compared with embodiment 15, the difference lies in: the
buffer body 2 is provided with local protrusions 36 in the primary
buffer axis direction indicated by direction Z and the secondary
buffer axis direction indicated by direction F respectively. The
local protrusions 36 are arranged integrally with the buffer body
and are made of the same material as the buffer body, the primary
buffer axis is parallel to the principal plane and points to the
centroid of the portable electric appliance, and the secondary
buffer axis is arranged perpendicular to the principal plane of the
portable electric appliance.
[0095] In the technical scheme in this embodiment, since local
protrusions are arranged on the buffer body 2, the buffer body 2
has higher local elasticity and can attain a longer buffer stroke,
and the rigidity in the primary buffer axis direction and the
rigidity in the secondary buffer axis direction can be optimized
separately in the design in an easier way. Therefore, the buffering
protection performance is higher.
Embodiment 20
[0096] The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance shown in FIG. 28 and FIG. 29 according to the present
invention is a shock-resistant protective shell for a laptop
computer, and comprises a protective shell 38, wherein, a laptop
computer 37 can be embedded in the protective shell 38, and the
protective shell 38 is made of an elastic rubber material; thus,
the screen part can be opened or closed smoothly when the laptop
computer is used. Buffer bodies 40 are arranged at appropriate
positions on the protective shell 38 respectively, corresponding to
the eight corner parts of the laptop computer when the laptop
computer is in closed state, and the buffer body 40 and protective
shell 38 are integrally formed from the same material. To
facilitate heat dissipation, the shock-resistant protective shell
for a portable electric appliance according to the present
invention is further arranged with a plurality of through holes 39
corresponding to a heat dissipation device of the laptop
computer.
[0097] Since the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance in the present invention is arranged on the
surface of the laptop computer, in case the laptop computer falls
to the ground accidentally, the buffer bodies 40 will touch the
ground first and attain a buffer damping effect, and the buffer
stroke is very long. Thus, the damage to the laptop computer
resulted from the impact force can be alleviated effectively, so
that the laptop computer is protected against damage.
[0098] Based on the technical principle in this embodiment,
alternatively, the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance in the present invention can be made of a
polyurethane material, a plastic material, or a stainless steel
material, etc. However, it should be noted: to facilitate the
open/close operation of the screen part of the laptop computer,
when a material that has high rigidity and is difficult to fold is
used, such as a stainless steel material, the protective shell can
be arranged into a split structure. Of course, to improve
integrity, the split parts can be connected together by means of a
connecting part, such as hinge, flexible rope, or belt. Such
approaches can attain the same effect. Since such modifications are
simple modifications made on the basis of the technical principle
in the present invention, they are described briefly but not
illustrated in separate drawings, and shall be deemed as falling
into the scope of protection claimed for the present invention.
Embodiment 21
[0099] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 30 and FIG. 31 according to the
present invention, compared with embodiment 20, the difference lies
in: since the upper part of the laptop computer (i.e., the part
where the display screen exists) is lighter, it is highly probable
that the lower part of the laptop computer where the battery exists
may touch the ground first when the laptop computer falls to the
ground. Therefore, buffer bodies 40 are provided on the lower part
of the protective shell 38 at positions corresponding to the four
corners of the laptop computer, and the buffer bodies 40 are
arranged parallel to the principal plane of the laptop computer. In
addition, buffer bodies 41 are provided on the protective shell 38
and arranged perpendicular to the top surface and bottom surface of
the laptop computer. The buffer bodies 41 are arranged near the
corner parts of the protective shell, and altogether eight buffer
bodies 41 are provided, wherein, four buffer bodies 41 correspond
to the four corners on the top surface of the protective shell, and
the other four buffer bodies 41 correspond to the four corners on
the bottom surface of the protective shell.
[0100] Of course, based on the technical principle in this
embodiment, alternatively, buffer bodies 41 can be arranged only on
the bottom surface of the protective shell. Thus, when viewed from
top, the laptop computer with the protective shell in the present
invention is more regular in shape and is more esthetic in
appearance. Similar to the protective shell in embodiment 20, the
protective shell in this embodiment can also employ a split
structure.
Embodiment 22
[0101] In the shock-resistant protective shell for a portable
electric appliance shown in FIG. 32 according to the present
invention, compared with embodiment 8, the difference lies in: not
only a friction pair is arranged between the movable core 11 and
the outer sleeve 12 and between the movable core 10 and the movable
core 11 respectively, but also pinhole damping pores 42 are
arranged in the movable core 10, movable core 11, and outer sleeve
12 respectively. Thus, open-pore damping structures are formed.
[0102] Since open-pore damping structures are added, when relative
movement happens between the movable cores and between the movable
core and the outer sleeve, the air flowing through the damping
pores will create a pinhole damping effect. Thus, the damping
effect of the buffer system can be improved, and the buffer damping
performance of the buffer body can be improved further. In
addition, if the damping effect of the open-pore damping structures
is satisfactory enough, friction pairs can be omitted.
[0103] The technical schemes described in the above embodiments of
the present invention are explained only for the purpose of
understanding the technical principle of the present invention
better. The present invention is not limited to the technical
schemes described in the embodiments. The technical schemes can be
utilized cross the embodiments and attain a good effect. Such
utilization approaches are not enumerated here, and shall be deemed
as falling into the scope of protection claimed for the present
invention.
[0104] It should be noted especially that to attain an ideal
buffering effect, preferably, the buffer body shall meet the
following requirements when the buffer body is designed: the
maximum buffer stroke of the buffer body should be greater than the
ratio of the square of the design ground impact speed to the
maximum permissible impact acceleration; the rigidity of the buffer
body in the primary buffer axis direction should be 2 times of the
ratio of the design ground impact energy to the square of the
maximum buffer stroke; and, the rigidity of the buffer body in the
secondary buffer axis direction should be 0.3.about.0.5 time of the
rigidity in the primary buffer axis direction. Moreover, the
primary buffer axis of the buffer body points to the centroid of
the portable electric appliance, or the projection of the primary
buffer axis in the principal plane of the electric appliance
extends along the angular bisector between two adjacent sides; the
secondary buffer axis of the buffer body is arranged perpendicular
to the primary buffer axis or arranged perpendicular to the
principal plane of the portable electric appliance. Under normal
circumstances, the maximum buffer stroke of the buffer body is at
least 2 times of the average thickness of the rest parts in the
protective shell except for the buffer body. In the present
invention, since the buffer body is arranged locally only and a
highly elastic material or highly elastic structure is used in the
buffer body, the buffer stroke of the buffer body can be very long,
up to 5.about.40 times of the average thickness of the rest parts
in the protective shell except for the buffer body. In addition, to
ensure a necessary buffer stroke, usually the thickness of the
buffer body is at least 3 times of the average thickness of the
rest parts in the protective shell except for the buffer body, and
can even be 10.about.50 times of the average thickness according to
the actual demand. All these factors are applicable to all
technical schemes of the present invention.
[0105] The shock-resistant protective shell for a portable electric
appliance in the present invention is simple in structure, has high
practicability, elegant appearance, long service life, and attains
a good protection effect and has broad application aspects in the
market. Due to the space constraint of this document, it is
impossible to illustrate and describe the shock-resistant
protective shells for a portable electric appliance according to
the present invention associated to every type of portable electric
appliances, including products in different shapes in each type of
portable electric appliances. Therefore, the technical principle of
the present invention is described in the embodiments exemplarily
in the case of protective shells for cell phones and laptop
computers. However, the technical schemes explained in the present
invention are not limited to the application in shock-resistant
protective shells for cell phones and laptop computers, which is to
say, the technical principle of the present invention can also be
applied in protective shells in other shapes for cell phones and
laptop computers, and the technical schemes in the present
invention are also applicable to shock-resistant protective shells
for different kinds of portable electric appliances, such as cell
phones, Walkman devices, electronic dictionaries, iPad computers,
digital cameras, mobile hard disks, GPS navigators, laptop
computers, calculators, etc. All these applications shall be deemed
as falling into the scope of protection claimed for the present
invention.
* * * * *