Technical Field

The present invention relates to a case for remote control.

Background Art

A remote control is an electronic device that allows sending a signal to another device located at a certain distance to control it.

The remote control is a device usually powered by a battery that is large enough to be easily held by a user and easily handled by the user.

The remote control is provided with a push-button panel and with a signal emitter element that is addressed and received by the remote controlled device. Specifically, the user imparts, through the push-button panel, a given command to the remote control which translates it into a signal sent to the remote controlled device through the emitter element.

Within the present disclosure, it is referred to wireless remote controls, that is, remote controls that do not require electrical cables to connect to the remote controlled device.

In this case, the signal sent is of the type of a light signal, i.e. it consists of any type of electromagnetic wave or combination of electromagnetic waves that, usually, fall in the wavelength range from ultraviolet to infrared.

Currently, there are many types of electronic devices that can be remote controlled using a remote control: televisions, hi-fi equipment, room heating/air conditioning devices, etc.

When using the remote control, the user is holding the remote control itself and, therefore, the remote control can become a receptacle for germs and dirt and a possible vehicle for disease, especially if the remote control is used in a public area with many people.

In particular, a survey carried out on hygiene in hotel rooms has shown that, against all odds, the cleanest area of the room is the bathroom, as it is washed and sanitized continuously, while the dirtiest and most infected by germs, bacteria or pathogens of various kinds is the TV remote control.

The remote controls of television sets, in fact, are intended to come into contact with the hands of the various guests of the hotel room without being almost never cleaned or sanitized, also by virtue of the fact that they contain particularly delicate electronic devices that do not allow them to be washed using traditional detergents but, rather, through specific devices the prolonged use of which, however, damages the remote control and reduces its life span.

The above mentioned problem can be found in any other public environment frequented by many users (bars, restaurants, hospital rooms, etc.) where there is a remote control available to the public (e.g. remote control for the television, remote control to regulate the temperature in the room, etc.). To overcome these drawbacks, particularly in the case of remote controls intended for hotel rooms, cases for remote controls of the traditional type are known, consisting of bags that are fitted over the remote control, covering it completely and allowing it to be used, at the same time.

The above mentioned cases for remote controls prevent a user from directly touching the remote control during its use, thus providing a hygienic barrier against the proliferation of germs and bacteria.

The case for remote controls should be replaced each time after use by a particular user, thus limiting the transmission of germs and bacteria between the different users of the remote control. For example, if the remote control is used in the hotel room, the case for remote control should be changed daily or, at least, whenever the user of the hotel room changes.

Unfortunately, due to negligence or forgetfulness on the part of the cleaning attendants, this is not always done. In this case, the cases for remote control completely lose their hygienic protection function, since the prolonged use of the same case carries the same risk of germs and bacteria spreading as remote controls without any case.

It should be added that, even if the case for remote controls is replaced with the correct frequency, the users of the remote control still have no certainty that this has actually been done and that their case for remote control has never been used before. In fact, the cases for remote controls of the traditional type are not able to provide any warning or signal adapted to ensure that they are used only by one user.

In this regard, patent documents WO 2012/176035 and WO 2014/080263 describe cases for remote controls of a different type than traditional cases, and which specifically purport to ensure that the case for remote control is of the disposable type.

In particular, the case for remote control according to patent document WO 2012/176035 comprises an enclosure, inside which the remote control is inserted, provided with a removable shielding element.

Precisely, the shielding element is associated with the enclosure so as to be positioned at the point where the emitter element is located, with which the remote control is provided.

The shielding element comprises a metal laminate that is placed between the emitter element and the outside, thus interrupting the passage of the signal from the remote control to the remote controlled device.

In this way, it is impossible to use the remote control to operate the electronic device paired with the remote control itself unless removing the shielding element from the enclosure itself.

The removal of the shielding element is evidence of tampering and/or use of the case for remote control.

However, the cases for remote controls of known type made according to the teachings of patent document WO 2012/176035 do have some drawbacks.

In particular, the aforementioned cases do not always satisfy the needs of the market as they are often expensive to manufacture due to the nature and type of material the shielding element is made of.

For this reason, the cases for remote controls of the type described in patent document WO 2012/176035 are rarely purchased, mainly because of their short life span dictated by the need to replace them each time they are used.

In this regard, think of a hotel manager who, having to purchase and change the cases for each remote control in each hotel room on a daily basis, is faced with a not insignificant expense in the overall budget of the hotel management.

The case for remote control according to patent document WO 2014/080263 also comprises an enclosure inside which the remote control is inserted. Additionally, the enclosure of the cases for remote controls according to patent document WO 2014/080263 are provided with a transparent sector, which can be located at the push-button panel of the remote control, and a covering element associated in a removable manner with the enclosure at the transparent sector to prevent viewing of the push-button panel.

In order to use the remote control, the user needs to tear off the covering element, making the push-button panel of the remote control visible.

The removal of the covering element is evidence of tampering and/or use of the case for remote control.

The known cases for remote controls made according to the teachings of patent document WO 2014/080263 do, however, have some drawbacks.

In particular, it may happen that a user uses the remote control without removing the covering element.

In fact, the covering element is usually made of a flexible material that allows the user to tactilely feel the push-button panel and, therefore, the user can operate the push-button panel of the remote control by trial and error and in an intuitive way.

Improper use of this kind will therefore cause the case for remote control to completely lose its hygienic protection function, since germs, bacteria and other pathogens can accumulate on the case for remote control in the long term. Description of the Invention

The main aim of the present invention is to devise a case for remote controls that allows certifying and assuring the user that such case is disposable and that the user is using it for the first time.

Another object of the present invention is to devise a case for remote controls that may be cheap to manufacture and that satisfies the needs of the market. Another object of the present invention is to devise a case for remote controls which allows overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art within a simple, rational, easy, effective to use and low cost solution.

The objects set out above are achieved by the present case for remote controls having the characteristics of claim 1.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a case for remote controls, illustrated by way of an indicative, yet non-limiting example, in the accompanying tables of drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is an axonometric view of the case according to the invention before use;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the case according to the invention, wherein a remote control is inserted;

Figures 3a and 3b are two cross-sectional views of the case according to the invention in the closure configuration, wherein two remote controls of different sizes are inserted;

Figure 4 is an axonometric view of the case according to the invention during the removal of the covering element;

Figure 5 is an axonometric view of the case according to the invention after use. Fmbodiments of the Invention

With particular reference to these figures, reference numeral 1 globally indicates a case for remote controls.

The case 1 is intended to be used together with a remote control T of the type comprising a push-button panel P and an emitter element E for the emission of a wireless signal S.

Preferably, the wireless signal S is a light signal, i.e., any type of electromagnetic wave or combination of electromagnetic waves falling within the wavelength range from ultraviolet to infrared.

In the particular embodiment shown in Figure 1, for example, the remote control T is of the type of a classic remote control for controlling a television set V.

In such a case, the emitter element E consists, e.g., of an infrared emitter of the type of a light emitting diode (LED) that emits infrared light at a wavelength of about 950 nm.

Alternative embodiments cannot however be ruled out wherein the case 1 is used with remote controls T to control electronic devices of a different type, e.g. to control hi-fi equipment or lighting systems, to open/close doors and gates, and/or provided with an emitter element E other than infrared emitters.

The case 1 was specifically created as a disposable device to store the remote controls C in hotel rooms, but it may also be used in a similar way in other environments, such as hospitals, clinics, homes and workplaces in general. The case 1 comprises at least one enclosure 2 for covering the substantially entirety of the remote control T.

In other words, the enclosure 2, once fitted on the remote control T, covers the entire surface thereof without leaving any portion uncovered.

The enclosure 2 comprises at least one flexible bag 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d provided with at least one insertion opening 4 for the insertion of the remote control T which can be closed by means of closure means 5, 6, 7.

More in detail, the flexible bag 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d comprises a tubular body provided with an open end 3 a, adapted to define and to coincide with the insertion opening 4, and with a closed end 3b, opposite the open end 3a. The flexibility of the flexible bag 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d allows the remote control T to be used when it is inserted in the case 1 by simply pressing the buttons on the push-button panel P.

Conveniently, the closure means 5, 6, 7 comprise at least one flap 5 foldable on the insertion opening 4 and at least one layer of adhesive material 6 for the union of the flap 5 to the enclosure 2.

The layer of adhesive material 6, e.g., comprises a strip of adhesive temporarily covered by a protective tab 7, which is removable shortly before closing the case 1.

The flexible bag 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d and the flap 5 are made of a plastic material, e.g. HDPE (high density polyethylene) with a thickness of 35-40 pm, which may be optionally added with an additive adapted to make the enclosure 2 biodegradable, such as e.g. the commercial product known under the brand name d2w®.

The enclosure 2 comprises at least one sector that is at least partly transparent and can be placed at the point where the push-button panel P is located to enable it to be viewed.

In more detail, in the particular embodiment shown in the figures, the flexible bag 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d is divided into a first face 3c that is substantially transparent and into a second face 3d that is not transparent.

This division makes it easier to recognize the front and back of the enclosure 2 so that, when the remote control T is inserted into the case 1, the first face 3c is positioned at the point where the push-button panel P of the remote control T is located.

The second face 3d may be used to print lettering, drawings, advertising logos, instructions for use of the case 1, directions and symbols of medical devices or the like.

Advantageously, the enclosure 2 comprises at least one weakened- section stretch 8 adapted to facilitate the break of the enclosure 2 by tearing it off for the removal of the remote control T.

After the flap 5 has been closed, in fact, the layer of adhesive material 6 achieves permanent adhesion on the flexible bag 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d and for the removal of the remote control T it is necessary to tear the flexible bag 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d off by making it no longer usable for subsequent uses.

The weakened- section stretch 8 may comprise a pre-engraved line at the point where the thickness of the flexible bag 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d is reduced (e.g., 15-20 pm).

In combination or alternatively, the weakened- section stretch 8 may consist of a succession of perforations which are so small as to prevent, in use, direct contact of the user’s hand with the remote control T and to be able to consider the remote control T still substantially covered for its substantial entirety. Preferably, the weakened- section stretches 8 are more than one so as to ensure that the enclosure 2 is broken at multiple points and independently of how the flap 5 is folded over the flexible bag 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d.

The enclosure 2 comprises at least one covering element 9 associated in a removable manner with the enclosure 2 at the point where the at least partly transparent sector is located and adapted to prevent the push-button panel P from being viewed until the covering element 9 is removed from the enclosure

2.

In other words, the covering element 9 is a non-transparent object which, when joined to the enclosure 2, makes the push-button panel P not visible and prevents normal use of the remote control T because the user is unable to recognize the buttons thereof.

After the covering element 9 has been removed, the push-button panel P becomes visible and the remote control T can be freely used by the user. Precisely, the covering element 9 comprises at least one sheet-shaped element 9 associable at least partly with the external surface of the enclosure 2. In more detail, the sheet-shaped element 9 is associable with the enclosure 2 via a technique selected from the list comprising: bonding, plastic heat welding or a combination of the two.

In other words, the sheet-shaped element 9 may be bonded and/or sealed at least partly to the enclosure 2. According to the invention, the covering element 9 extends to cover the emitter element E and is adapted to shield the wireless signal S when it is associated with the enclosure 2.

Conveniently, the covering element 9 is made at least partly of a plastic material added with COEX. In the particular embodiment shown in the figures, the plastic material from which the covering element 9 is made is, e.g., of the LDPE (low density polyethylene) type and, in detail, it consists of the product commercially known under the designation PETILEN F2-12.

The material known as COEX is a biopolymer derived from the functionalization of cellulosic plant fibers having several physical and chemical properties comprising that of resisting the passage of infrared (IR) rays. In this way, the particular material of which the covering element 9 is made, shields the passage of the wireless signal S.

Furthermore, the covering element 9 is, in the face facing the inside of the case 1, black in color and has a glossy appearance. These physical characteristics help to further shield the passage of the IR rays produced by the emitter element E.

In other words, as long as the covering element 9 is associated with the enclosure 2, the remote control T cannot be used because there is no possibility of communication between the remote control T and the electronic device V since the transmission of the wireless signal S is prevented.

Therefore, at the time when the covering element 9 is removed from the enclosure 2, it is possible to use the push-button panel P and, at the same time, the wireless signal S produced by the emitter element E may reach the electronic device V. In this way, as long as the covering element 9 is associated with the enclosure 2, one can be sure that the remote control T has not yet been used by any user.

The covering element 9 comprises at least one portion that is bondable and/or sealable to the external surface of the enclosure 2.

In this regard, it is noted that the covering element 9 comprises at least a first portion 10 associated with the enclosure 2 and at least a second portion 11 removable by tearing it off from the first portion 10 to allow the push-button panel P to be viewed.

Substantially, the first portion 10 is fixed to the enclosure 2 and is adapted to remain on the enclosure 2 after the removal of the second portion 11 as evidence of tampering.

In more detail, the covering element 9 comprises two first portions 10 associated along two opposite sides 11a of the second portion 11, wherein the opposite sides 11a may be broken for the removal of the second portion 11.

In particular, the first portions 10 are stably associated (e.g., by bonding using strong glue) with the enclosure 2 and adapted to remain on the enclosure 2 after the removal of the second portion 11 as evidence of tampering. The first portions 10 are shaped so as to form two longitudinal strips, i.e., extending parallel to the longitudinal direction of the enclosure 2.

The second portion 11, on the other hand, is without glue or is bonded to the enclosure 2 using weak glue, which allows the removal thereof; in either case, after the second portion 11 has been removed, it is no longer re- attachable. Similarly to the enclosure 2, also on the covering element 9 may be printed inscriptions, drawings, advertising logos, instructions for use of the case 1, directions and symbols of medical device, or the like.

Advantageously, the covering element 9 comprises at least one identification element 12.

The identification element 12 of the type of, e.g., a sign, a symbol, a barcode or a holographic image and is shown on the covering element 9.

The identification element 12 may be used to report, for example: the hotel brand; an identification code, which can be used by the manufacturer of the cases 1 to recognize any counterfeit products; directions for removing the covering element 9.

Finally, the case 1 comprises at least one graphic element 13 which is shown on the at least partly transparent sector and which, after the removal of the covering element 9, becomes visible as evidence of tampering.

The graphic element 13, in actual facts, consists of an inscription, a drawing, a symbol, or whatever signaling to the user that the enclosure 2 has already been used.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the figures, the case 1 is therefore provided with two tamper-evident systems: the first portions 10 and the graphic element 13.

Alternative embodiments cannot however be ruled out wherein only one of these two systems is provided.

In other words, solutions are possible wherein the graphic element 13 is not provided and evidence of tampering is provided only by the first portions 10 remaining on the enclosure 2. At the same time, solutions are possible wherein the covering element 9 is completely removable from the enclosure 2 and evidence of tampering is provided only by the graphic element 13.

The operation of the present invention is as follows.

The case 1 is distributed in the market as shown in Figure 1 , with the covering element 9 sound and safe and associated with the enclosure 2 and with the insertion opening 4 accessible from the outside.

At the time of use, e.g. for covering the remote control T of a hotel room, the attendant cleaning the room introduces the remote control T through the insertion opening 4 and places the push-button panel P on the side of the first face 3 c (Figure 2).

At this point, the attendant removes the protective tab 7 and folds the flap 5 on the insertion opening 4 to close the enclosure 2 around the remote control T (Figures 3 a and 3b).

Conveniently, the case 1 can be offered in different sizes and formats to adapt to the dimensions of the different remote controls T on the market.

It should be noted, however, that the particular shape of the case 1 allows the length of the enclosure 2 to be quickly and easily adapted to the length of the remote control T by simply folding the flap 5 on the flexible bag 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d. This property of the present invention is well shown in Figures 3a and 3b, where the case 1 is shown in a closure configuration to cover two remote controls T of different sizes.

After the enclosure 2 has been closed, the remote control T is left inside the hotel room with the covering element 9 which is arranged on the at least partly transparent sector, preventing the push-button panel P from being viewed, and extending over the emitter element E, by shielding it.

The remote control T is found in such configuration by the user of the hotel room, who then has the certainty that no one before him may have used the remote control T and that he/she is the first to use it after it has been inserted in the case 1.

To use the remote control T and, consequently, the television set V, the user removes the covering element 9 by tearing off the second portion 11 from the first portions 10, which remain on the enclosure 2 as evidence of use (Figure 4). After the second portion 11 has been removed, the remote control T may be used normally by the user with the certainty of handling a clean case 1 under conditions of maximum hygiene.

When cleaning the hotel room, the attendant replaces the already used case 1 with a new one.

For this purpose, the enclosure 2 is compulsorily removed by tearing it off by exploiting one or more of the weakened- section stretches 8, which facilitate the fracture of the flexible bag 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d (Figure 5).

After the enclosure 2 has been removed, the breaking of the flexible bag 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d prevents it from being reused and requires the use of a new case 1 thus providing further assurance of the hygiene promoted by the present invention.