Protective case with coupling gasket for a wearable electronic device
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorMichael J. Webb
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A protective case for a wearable electronic device. The wearable electronic device may include a housing and a band that is configured to secure the wearable electronic device to a user. A protective of removable case may be configured to attach to the external features of the housing and include a body portion and a set of curved protrusions that extend from the body portion to cover the corners of the housing. The device may include an optical sensor and the case may include an aperture formed in the body portion that is substantially aligned with the optical sensor. A gasket, positioned along a perimeter of the aperture, may be configured to provide an optical barrier for the optical sensor of the device.
Claims12
A protective case for a wearable electronic device, comprising:
- a body portion configured to at least partially cover a housing of the wearable electronic device and including multiple curved corner protrusions each configured to cover one of multiple corners of the housing, each of the multiple curved corner protrusions extending from a rear surface of the housing to a flat portion of a cover over the housing, the cover being opposite the rear surface and providing a view to a display of the wearable electronic device, wherein each one of adjacent pairs of the curved corner protrusions about the body portion are separated by one of multiple gaps that exposes a portion of the housing, wherein a first one of the adjacent pairs of the curved corner protrusions are arranged to form a first gap for receiving a first band strap extending from the housing and through the first gap, and a second one of the adjacent pairs of the curved corner protrusions are arranged to form a second gap for receiving a second band strap extending from the housing and through the second gap, wherein each of the curved corner protrusions defines a notch that is shaped to provide access for insertion of the band into and removal of the first band strap and the second band strap from the housing while the protective case is attached to the wearable electronic device, wherein each notch is configured to form a shape that matches one or opposing ends of a corresponding channel of the housing;
- and
- a gasket having a protrusion extending from a surface of the body portion and formed around an aperture defined in the body portion, wherein the protrusion is configured to contact a skin of a wearer when the wearable electronic device is attached to the wearer.
A wearable electronic device, comprising:
- an enclosure including a housing, a cover defining four corners and positioned over the housing and a display of the wearable electronic device, and receiving features for coupling the enclosure to band straps of a band assembly;
- a band attached to the enclosure and configured to secure the wearable electronic device to a user;
- and
- a removable case attached to the enclosure and comprising:
- a body disposed over a bottom portion of the housing, the bottom portion being opposite the cover;
- multiple protrusions that extend from the body to a flat portion of the cover to enclose the four corners of the enclosure and each of the multiple protrusions defining a notched portion that is configured to expose the receiving features and provide access for insertion of the band into and removal of the band from the housing while the removable case is attached to the enclosure, wherein the band, when inserted into one of the receiving features, is configured to extend through a pair of the notched portions of adjacent protrusions;
- and
- a gasket positioned along a perimeter of an aperture defined in the body and configured to contact a skin of the user to form an optical barrier.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.