Cellphone with contoured surfaces
View Patent ↗Disclosed is a housing for a portable handheld electronic device such as a cellphone. The device has a housing, having a left side and right side. At least one of the left side and right side is provided with integral surface features or surface structures to enhance gripping the cellphone, preferably along the entire length of the phone or within about the top half or one third of the phone.
1. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures, comprising:
a body having a longitudinal length and a midline extending transverse to the longitudinal length and through a midpoint of the longitudinal length, a left side, a right side, both of which extend along the longitudinal length, a front surface with a touch screen display, and a rear surface, wherein both of the right side and left side are provided with enhanced grip surface structures comprising at least first, second, third, fourth and fifth projections defining first, second, third, and fourth concavities therebetween;
wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth concavities has a width at least about 0.5 inches and a substantially continuous curvature and wherein the first and second concavities are disposed on a top half of the body above the midline and the third and fourth concavities are disposed on a bottom half of the body below the midline.
2. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures as in claim 1 , wherein the projections are integrally attached to the cell phone body.
3. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures as in claim 1 , comprising a first number of concavities on the left side, and a second, different number of concavities on the right side.
4. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures as in claim 1 , wherein the concavity has a depth of at least about 2 mm.
5. A method of manufacturing a cell phone housing, comprising the steps of:
manufacturing a front plate of a cell phone housing;
manufacturing a back plate of the housing; and
fastening the front plate together with the back plate using at least two fasteners, the assembled housing having a left side, a right side, a front facing surface provided on the front plate, and a rear facing surface provided on the back plate,
wherein at least both of the left side and the right side include at least first, second, third, fourth, and fifth projections defining first, second, third, and fourth concavities therebetween, such that the at least two projections that define the concavity therebetween remain exposed on the lateral sides of the cell phone following final assembly of the cell phone to provide a cell phone with enhanced grip surface structures,
wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth concavities are at least about 0.5 inches wide and have a substantially continuous radius of curvature with a range of about 1.0 and 2.0 inches.
6. A method of manufacturing a cell phone housing as in claim 5 , wherein the projections are formed by a machining process.
7. A method of manufacturing a cell phone housing as in claim 5 , wherein the projections are formed by a molding process.
8. A method of manufacturing a cell phone housing as in claim 5 , wherein the projections are attached to the housing prior to completion of the final cell phone assembly.
9. A method of manufacturing a cell phone housing as in claim 5 , wherein the projections are formed by depressing at least two regions of a surface to leave a projection therebetween.
10. A method of manufacturing a cell phone housing as in claim 5 comprising providing a first number of concavities on the left side, and a second, different number of concavities on the right side.
11. A method of manufacturing a cell phone housing as in claim 5 , comprising forming the concavity to have a depth of at least about 2 mm.
12. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures, comprising:
a body having a left side, a right side, a top, a bottom, a front surface with a display, and a rear surface, both the right side and left side provided with enhanced grip surface structures comprising at least three extensions projecting to the left and at least three extensions projecting to the right defining at least two left facing concavities and at least two right facing concavities defining first and second pairs of concavities;
wherein the concavities have a substantially continuous radius of curvature within the range of from about 1.0 to about 2.0 inches, the first pair of concavities being positioned within the top half of the body, the second pair of concavities being positioned within the bottom half of the body.
13. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures as in claim 12 , wherein the at least two concavities on each of the left and right sides are symmetrically spaced along the length of the phone.
14. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures as in claim 12 , wherein the projections are integral parts of the cell phone body.
15. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures as in claim 12 , comprising smooth outer side walls along the bottom half of the phone.
16. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures as in claim 12 , wherein the concavities have a depth of at least about 0.0625 inches.
17. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures as in claim 12 , wherein the concavities have a width at least about 1.0 inches.
18. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures as in claim 1 , the body further comprising a front plate, a back plate, and an intermediate frame positioned between the front and back plates.
19. A method of manufacturing a cell phone housing as in claim 5 , further comprising positioning an intermediate frame between the front plate and the back plate prior to said fastening.
20. A method of manufacturing a cell phone housing as in claim 5 , wherein the display comprises a touch screen.
21. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures as in claim 12 , the body further comprising a front plate, a rear plate, and an intermediate frame positioned to space the front plate and the rear plate apart from one another.
22. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures as in claim 12 , wherein the display comprises a touch screen.
23. A cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures as in claim 21 , additionally comprising a plurality of fasteners connecting the front and back plates together, wherein at least two of the plurality of fasteners are carried within the projections.