Protective case with keyboard for portable electronic device
View Patent ↗A protective case for a tablet device having a back face and a front face, a touchscreen on its front face, and one or more control buttons and ports on its perimeter walls. The case comprises a shell having front and back sides wherein the front side is configured to receive and retain the tablet device while providing user access to the touchscreen and user access to one or more of the control buttons, said shell including a back wall that is configured to cover at least a portion of the back face of the tablet. The protective case further includes a front cover that includes a tray, a wireless keyboard and keyboard housing. The tray includes opposing side rails and the keyboard housing includes opposing grooves on opposing side walls that are concealed and configured to engage the rails to allow the keyboard housing to slide in and out from the tray in a defined manner. The tray, keyboard and shell may each include magnets to facilitate the positioning of the case in the various open and closed positions.
1. A protective case configured to removably receive and retain a tablet device, said tablet device having a back face and a front face, a touchscreen on its front face, and one or more control buttons and ports on its perimeter walls, the case comprising:
a shell having front and back sides, wherein the front side is configured to receive and retain the tablet device while providing user access to the touchscreen and user access to one or more of the control buttons;
a front cover having a front region and a back region, the front region being configured to cover the front face of the tablet device when the case is in a fully closed position and the back region being configured to cover the back side of the shell when the case is in a fully open position;
the front region of the cover further including a tray, a wireless keyboard and a keyboard housing, wherein the tray includes opposing side rails and the keyboard housing includes an upper housing have an upper outer surface and opposing grooves located on opposing side walls of the keyboard housing underneath said upper surface, said grooves being configured to engage with the rails and allow the keyboard housing to slide in and out from the tray in a defined manner;
wherein the tray, keyboard housing and shell each include magnets that magnetically attract to one another to assist in maintaining the positioning of the shell in an open position relative to the tray and keyboard housing and wherein the opposing grooves are not visible when viewed perpendicular to the upper surface of the keyboard housing.
2. The protective case of claim 1 , wherein the upper housing of the keyboard housing extends over the side walls of the tray to conceal the rails there-below.
3. A protective case for a tablet device, the case comprising:
a shell having a front side and a back side, said front side defining a cavity that is configured to receive and retain the tablet device;
a front cover having a tray, the tray is connected via a flexible connection panel to the back side of the shell, wherein the tray includes opposing side rails, wherein the front cover further includes a keyboard housing for housing a wireless keyboard therein, the keyboard housing includes opposing grooves located on opposing side walls of the housing, the grooves are configured to engage with the rails and allow the keyboard housing to slide in and out from the tray in a defined manner;
wherein the tray, keyboard housing and shell each include magnets that magnetically attract to one another to assist in maintaining the positioning of the shell in multiple open positions relative to the tray and keyboard housing and in the fully closed position.
4. The protective case of claim 3 further comprising a flexible connective member that connects the shell to the tray, said connective member including a portion that extends through a slot in the shell from the back side of the shell to the front side of the shell and is attached to the front side of the shell.