Protective Case For A Mobile Device

Abstract

A mobile device case includes a soft protective housing defining a camera-lens aperture and a touchscreen display aperture, and a lens attachment interface including a capture plate protruding into the camera-lens aperture sufficient to overlap a coupling interface of a removable lens assembly along the optical path of the miniature camera module, and a catch to facilitate stable locking coupling of the removable lens assembly in optical alignment with the miniature camera module.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . An auxiliary lens and coupling system for a mobile smart device that includes a miniature camera module, comprising:
 (a) a soft protective housing configured for securely coupling around at least a portion of a periphery of a miniature camera-enabled mobile smart device, said housing defining a camera-lens aperture and a touchscreen display aperture; and   (b) an auxiliary lens attachment interface coupled to or integral with said soft protective housing, comprising   (i) a capture plate protruding into the camera-lens aperture across at least a portion of a periphery of the camera-lens aperture sufficient to overlap a coupling interface of an auxiliary lens assembly along an optical path of a miniature camera module of said mobile smart device, and   (ii) a catch to facilitate stable locking coupling of an auxiliary lens assembly in optical alignment with said miniature camera module of said mobile smart device; and   (c) an auxiliary lens assembly configured for coupling to said auxiliary lens attachment interface, wherein said auxiliary lens assembly comprises:   (i) a lens holder,   (ii) a lens coupled to the lens holder,   (iii) a coupling interface, and   (iv) a hood coupled to or integral with the lens holder and extending away from an object side of the lens.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein a cross-section of the hood increases linearly or uniformly in diameter, area or distance, or combinations thereof, with distance away from the object side of the lens. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said hood comprises a first hood section beginning at an object end of said lens holder and a second hood section beginning at an object end of said first hood section between about a tenth and a half of the total hood height, wherein said first and second hood sections define an aperture that gradually increases with distance away from the object side of the lens within said first hood section. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said hood exhibits a rounded body shape and comprises flat or smooth glass. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said coupling interface comprises a bayonet tab and the capture plate comprises a gradually-sloped detent segment configured to overlap the bayonet tab at a first end of the detent segment, wherein the catch comprises a spring, a stop, or a recess trap, or combinations thereof, disposed at a second end of the detent segment, and said bayonet tab is rotatable between said first and second ends of said detent segment to engage said catch and facilitate said stable locking coupling. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein said catch comprises a spring clip. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein said detent segment of the capture plate between said first and second ends for rotation of said bayonet tab therethrough comprises between 45° and 135°. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said coupling interface comprises a compression bud and said capture plate comprises a bottleneck configured to overlap a periphery of the compression bud, and said compression bud is compressible to penetrate the bottleneck and decompressible after the bottleneck to facilitate said stable locking coupling. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said lens coupling interface comprises a snap component and the capture plate comprises a complementary snap component configured to stably couple with said snap component of said coupling interface to facilitate said stable locking coupling. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said coupling interface comprises a feedthrough component and the capture plate comprises a complementary feedthrough receiver component configured to stably couple with said coupling interface to facilitate said stable locking coupling. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the capture plate comprises polycarbonate resin or a rigid material of texture MT-11010 or both. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein an inner edge of soft material that defines the periphery of the camera-flash aperture comprises a dark color. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein said soft protective housing uniformly comprises a soft material comprising said same dark color as said inner edge material defining said camera-lens aperture periphery. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said soft protective housing comprises a soft outer material layer and said auxiliary lens attachment interface comprises a rigid inner material layer, and said camera-lens aperture comprises a uniform cutout from said soft outer material layer and said rigid inner material layer, and said auxiliary lens attachment interface comprises a bevel. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said auxiliary lens attachment interface comprises polycarbonate. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the soft protective housing is further configured to define therein said auxiliary lens attachment interface. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the camera-lens aperture is further shaped to couple said auxiliary lens attachment interface with the soft protective housing. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the camera-lens aperture is shaped to integrally include said auxiliary lens attachment interface. 
     
     
         20 . An auxiliary lens assembly for coupling to a lens attachment interface that is coupled to or integral with a camera-enabled mobile device or mobile device case, comprising:
 a lens holder,   a lens coupled to the lens holder,   a coupling interface, and   a hood coupled to or integral with the lens holder and extending away from an object side of the lens, wherein a cross-section of the hood increases linearly or uniformly in diameter, area or distance, or combinations thereof, with distance away from the object side of the lens.   
     
     
         21 . The auxiliary lens assembly of  claim 20 , wherein said hood exhibits a rounded body shape. 
     
     
         22 . The auxiliary lens assembly of  claim 20 , wherein said coupling interface comprises a bayonet tab that is configured to be rotatable for stable locking coupling with a detent segment of an auxiliary lens attachment interface that is coupled to or integral with a mobile smart device. 
     
     
         23 . An auxiliary lens assembly for coupling to a lens attachment interface that is coupled to or integral with a camera-enabled mobile device or mobile device case, comprising:
 a lens holder,   a lens coupled to the lens holder,   a coupling interface, and   a hood coupled to or integral with the lens holder and extending away from an object side of the lens, wherein said hood comprises a first hood section beginning at an object end of said lens holder and a second hood section beginning at an object end of said first hood section between about a tenth and a half of the total hood height, wherein said first and second hood sections define an aperture that gradually increases with distance away from the object side of the lens within said first hood section.   
     
     
         24 . The auxiliary lens assembly of  claim 23 , wherein said hood exhibits a rounded body shape. 
     
     
         25 . The auxiliary lens assembly of  claim 23 , wherein said coupling interface comprises a bayonet tab that is configured to be rotatable for stable locking coupling with a detent segment of an auxiliary lens attachment interface that is coupled to or integral with a mobile smart device.