CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. National. Phase of Application No. PCT/FR2018/052533 entitled “PROTECTION DEVICE FOR A PIECE OF ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT” and filed Oct. 11, 2018, which claims the benefit of French Patent Application No. 1760037, filed Oct. 24, 2017, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Technological Field

The present invention relates to a protection device for an electronic equipment, for example a smartphone or touchscreen tablet.

Description of the Related Technology

Mobile terminals such as smartphones or tablets generally use touchscreens as the primary interface. These screens afford unrivalled ergonomics and comfort of use, but exhibit limited reliability and robustness. In particular, the user's hands must be hare, clean and press the screen gently. The screen may be broken and rendered inoperative by moderate impacts (for example a drop).

This makes these touchscreen terminals unsuitable for use under difficult conditions, such as in an industrial environment (workshop, factory, etc.), on a building site, in the agricultural environment or in an area of operations (site of an accident, disaster area, combat zone, etc.).

What are referred to as “tough” (or “rugged”) cases, as opposed to flexible cases, are known, which generally consist of two clip-on halves, one of which features a window for protecting the screen. Such cases protect the terminal from most impacts (dropping or being struck by a tool), as well as from splashes, dust, mud, etc., and it becomes possible to take the terminal out into the great outdoors (these cases are mainly made for sport or hiking).

However, the touchscreen becomes less sensitive due to the protective window and potential soiling thereover, which makes it more difficult to use and negatively affects the ergonomics. Moreover, use with gloves is not possible; however, these being obligatory in numerous situations (industrial and military situations, relief missions, etc.).

Also known are external buttons which may be stuck to the telephone (for example Air Button) or incorporated within a case (for example Clicki). These buttons are connected by a short-range wireless link, sometimes referred to as a near-field communication (NFC, from the English “near-field communication”) link, and allow potentially very robust operation: Air Button is for example usable underwater if the terminal is in a sealtight case.

However, such buttons are limited to binary inputs. For example, they are ideal for use as a trigger for taking photos, but allow only limited interaction with the terminal and are not a replacement for the touchscreen.

There is at present no solution allowing reliable, fast and intuitive interaction with a touchscreen mobile terminal including under difficult conditions.

Thus, there is a need for a solution both allowing a touchscreen mobile terminal to be protected and allowing its interactivity to be improved.

The invention aims to improve the situation.

SUMMARY OF CERTAIN INVENTIVE ASPECTS

According to a first aspect, what is proposed is a protection device for an electronic equipment comprising a housing featuring a first data communication port, the device comprising:a case suitable for accommodating the housing of the electronic equipment, featuring a second data communication port suitable for communicating data with the first port of the electronic equipment, such that when the case receives the housing, the second port is coupled operationally with the first port of the equipment for communicating data between the protection device and the electronic equipment;a first slider that is movable along a first axis toward a first position.

The present device makes it possible, by virtue of its sliders, to send analog values to the equipment or to receive them, i.e. directly usable rich information, while protecting the housing and the screen even better. Additionally, sliders are highly visible, ergonomic and easy to manipulate. It becomes possible to replace or “simulate” a touchscreen, and hence it is no longer an issue that sensitivity decreases or even is lost entirely due to the protective case.

According to other advantageous and non-limiting features:The first position is an instruction position toward which the first slider is manually slidable by the user, the device further comprising a position sensor for sensing the position of the first slider, which is configured to transmit, to the electronic equipment, via the second port, a signal that is representative of the first position of the first slider. It is thus possible to simulate, for example, a movement of the user's finger over the touchscreen.The device further comprises at least one button, the position sensor for sensing the position of the first slider further being configured to transmit, to the electronic equipment, upon actuation of the button by a user, the signal that is representative of the first position of the first slider. It is thus possible to simulate a “click” in a straightforward manner.The first port is a female port and the second port is a male port that is complementary to the female port, such that when the case receives the housing, the male port fits into the female port of the electronic equipment. Such a mechanical coupling is simple, effective and robust.The device features at least one counterpart of the female port of the equipment that is connected to the male port so as to duplicate the female port when the male port is fitted in the female port. The device may thus be used as a port replicator, and allow, for example, charging while continuing to protect the equipment.The device further comprises a second slider, movable along a second axis toward a second instruction position.The first axis and the second axis are non-collinear, and preferably substantially orthogonal. Thus, the sliders form a coordinate system and it is possible to send two-dimensional positioning information.The case has a front face for an interface for the electronic equipment when the case is accommodating the housing, said first and second axes being substantially coplanar with said front face. By virtue of this arrangement, the coordinate system formed by the sliders coincides with the coordinate system of the screen and it becomes intuitive to position points on the screen using the sliders.The first axis runs along a first face of the case and the second axis runs along a second face of the case, the first and second faces being perpendicular to one another and to said front face. An architecture with a slider on the top face and a slider on the side face is the easiest, and the most intuitive, to hold.The first slider is a protruding movable part that is capable of sliding within a guide running along said axis, said position sensor being suitable for acquiring the position of the protruding movable part within the guide. This is a simple and robust structure for the slider for the present device.The first position is a target position, the device further comprising, operationally coupled to the first slider, an actuator that is configured for, when it receives a signal representative of the target position, along said axis, from the electronic device, moving the first slider toward said target position. The presence of an actuator allows a power-driven movement mode for the slider, in particular for haptic feedback.

According to a second aspect, what is proposed is an assembly of an electronic equipment comprising a housing featuring a first data communication port and a data processing module, and of a protection device for the equipment according to the first aspect as described, which are connected via the second data communication port that is coupled operationally with the first port for communicating data between the protection device and the electronic equipment.

According to other advantageous and non-limiting features:The data processing module is configured to interpret the signal that is representative of the first position of the first slider as a command.The electronic equipment comprises a touchscreen interface and the device is configured to transmit, to the electronic equipment, via the second port, a signal that is representative of the first position of the first slider, the data processing module being configured to simulate a stimulation of the interface according to the signal that is representative of said instruction position. Processing the data from the protection device in this way allows it to be used universally as an interface.The protection device further comprises a second slider, movable along a second axis, toward a second position, and is configured to transmit, to the electronic equipment, via the second port, a signal that is representative of the second position of the second slider, said simulated stimulation of the interface being a touch at an intercept of coordinates dependent on the first position of the first slider and on the second position of the second slider. As explained, the sliders make it possible to target a point in a two-dimensional coordinate system and hence a point on a touchscreen. It is thus possible to simulate a touchscreen in its entirety and to eliminate all of the issues relating to the loss of sensitivity thereof due to the case.Said signal that is representative of a target position is generated by the data processing module.The data processing module is configured to deliver the signal that is representative of a target position as haptic feedback following the reception of the signal that is representative of said instruction position. As explained, this allows operation with haptic feedback which is very reassuring for the user, and which completely replaces the touchscreen.

According to a third aspect, what is proposed is a method for controlling an electronic equipment comprising a housing featuring a first data communication port and a data processing module by means of a protection device for the equipment according to the first aspect, which are connected for data communications via respective first and second data communication ports that are operationally coupled, the method comprising an operation of transmitting, to the data processing module, from the position sensor for sensing the position of the first slider, the signal that is representative of the first position of the first slider.

According to other advantageous and non-limiting features, the method further comprisesThe data processing module simulating a stimulation of the touchscreen interface according to the signal that is representative of the first position of the first slider.The data processing module transmitting, to the actuator of the sensor, the signal that is representative of said target position.

