Field of the Invention This invention relates to a device for cleaning a screen of an electronic device and, more particularly, to a device which does so automatically when the electronic device is located in an associated storage pouch.

Background to the Invention

Devices such as tablet computers and cellular telephones having a touch screen have become very popular. A draw-back of these devices is that the screen quickly becomes dirty during use thereof due to dust and fingerprints contaminating the screen. Manual cleaning using a solvent and a cloth are typically used to clean such screens.

This is however not a practical solution as the solvent and cloth are not always readily available and cleaning would need to be carried out at least once, if not several times, a day.

The inventor therefore believes that a need exists for providing a cleaning device for regularly cleaning the screen of touch screen devices in a manner that is convenient for a user. Summary of the Invention

According to the invention, there is provided a device for cleaning a screen of an electronic device, the device including: a sheet of resiliently deformable material dimensioned to overlay at least a substantial portion of the screen, an operatively upper surface of the sheet having adhesive properties; wherein the sheet is provided with mounting means for in use mounting the sheet on an inner surface of a storage pouch or protective cover of the electronic device so that, during storage of the electronic device, its screen abuts against the operatively upper surface of the sheet, thereby encouraging foreign

l matter located on the screen to adhere to the sheet without leaving a residue on the screen.

The foreign matter may be dust, finger prints, smudges, and the like.

The operatively upper surface of the sheet of resiliently deformable material may be covered with a suitable adhesive.

The sheet of material may be manufactured from a polyurethane gel, preferably a soft polyurethane gel. Alternatively, the sheet of material may be manufactured from silicone.

The sheet of material may be a soft polyurethane gel sheet having having a sticky operatively upper surface with the trade name Technogel ^® which is manufactured by Technogel Italia Sri.

The sheet of material may be a soft polyurethane gel sheet having a sticky operatively upper surface and may, for example, be manufactured by Shenzen Yifushi Technology Co., Ltd. The sheet of material may be a silicone sheet having a sticky operatively upper surface and may, for example, be manufactured by Shenzen Lian Xing Da Silicone Mould Co., Ltd.

The sheet of material may have a thickness of between 1 mm and 5 mm.

The mounting means may be located on an operatively lower surface of the sheet and may be in the form of one or more adhesive zones to permit the sheet to in use be mounted on the inner surface of the pouch or protective cover.

The adhesive zone may cover substantially the entire lower surface of the sheet. Alternatively, the adhesive zone(s) may be arranged as one or more strips.

The adhesive zone(s) may be covered by a protective layer that may be removed immediately prior to mounting the sheet on the inner surface of the pouch or protective cover.

Alternatively, the inner surface of the pouch or protective cover may include a magnetic layer or magnetic strips and the operatively lower surface of the sheet may be provided with a complementary magnetic layer or magnetic strips so that the sheet may be attached to the pouch or protective cover using magnetic force.

The sheet may include a tab extending from a free edge region thereof to in use assist in peeling the sheet off the screen of the electronic device. The electronic device may be a device including a touch screen such as a tablet computer, a cellular telephone having a touch screen, and the like.

The pouch may be sized and dimensioned to receive the electronic device therein. The protective cover may be sized and dimensioned to envelop a substantial portion of the electronic device or to overlay at least a substantial portion of a screen of the electronic device.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a pouch or protective cover for receiving an electronic device therein, the pouch or protective cover including a sheet of resiliently deformable material mounted on an inner surface thereof, an exposed side of the sheet having adhesive properties. The exposed side of the sheet may be covered with a suitable adhesive.

In use, the electronic device may be placed into the pouch or enveloped by the cover so that its screen abuts against the exposed side of the sheet of material thereby encouraging foreign matter located on the screen to adhere to the sheet without leaving a residue on the screen. The screen may therefore be freed from foreign matter such as dust and fingerprints each time that the electronic device is placed into the pouch, which is typically at least once a day.

The electronic device may be a device including a touch screen such as a tablet computer, a cellular telephone having a touch screen, and the like. The pouch may be sized and dimensioned to receive the electronic device therein. The protective cover may be sized and dimensioned to envelop a substantial portion of the electronic device or to overlay at least a substantial portion of a screen of the electronic device. The sheet of material may be manufactured from a polyurethane gel, preferably a soft polyurethane gel. Alternatively, the sheet of material may be manufactured from silicone.

The sheet of material may be a soft polyurethane gel sheet having having a sticky operatively upper surface with the trade name Technogel ^® which is manufactured by Technogel Italia Sri.

The sheet of material may be a soft polyurethane gel sheet having a sticky operatively upper surface and may, for example, be manufactured by Shenzen Yifushi Technology Co., Ltd. The sheet of material may be a silicone sheet having a sticky operatively upper surface and may, for example, be manufactured by Shenzen Lian Xing Da Silicone Mould Co., Ltd.

The sheet of material may have a thickness of between 1 mm and 5 mm.

The sheet may include a tab extending from a free edge region thereof to in use assist in peeling the sheet off the screen of the electronic device.

According to yet a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of cleaning a screen of a laptop computer, the method including at least the steps of:

- placing a sheet of resiliently deformable material of at least substantially the same size as the screen on a keyboard of the computer, an operatively upper surface of the sheet having adhesive properties; and

- closing the laptop so that its screen abuts against the operatively upper surface of the sheet, thereby encouraging foreign matter located on the screen to adhere to the sheet without leaving a residue on the screen.

The operatively upper surface of the sheet of resiliently deformable material may be covered with a suitable adhesive. The sheet of material may be manufactured from a polyurethane gel, preferably a soft polyurethane gel. Alternatively, the sheet of material may be manufactured from silicone.

The sheet of material may be a soft polyurethane gel sheet having having a sticky operatively upper surface with the trade name Technogel ^® which is manufactured by Technogel Italia Sri.

The sheet of material may be a soft polyurethane gel sheet having a sticky operatively upper surface and may, for example, be manufactured by Shenzen Yifushi Technology Co., Ltd. The sheet of material may be a silicone sheet having a sticky operatively upper surface and may, for example, be manufactured by Shenzen Lian Xing Da Silicone Mould Co., Ltd.

The sheet of material may have a thickness of between 1 mm and 5 mm.

The sheet may include a tab extending from a free edge region thereof to in use assist in peeling the sheet off the screen of the electronic device.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention will now be described by way of the following, non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings:

In the drawings: Figure 1 shows a top plan view of an embodiment of a device in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a sectioned side view of the device of Figure 1 when mounted in a pouch for an electronic device;

Figure 3 shows a three-dimensional top view of the device of Figure 1 including a tab;

Figure 4 shows the device of Figure 3 being peeled off the screen of the electronic device using the tab; and Figures 5a to c show an embodiment of a protective cover for an electronic device in accordance with the present invention as the cover is peeled off a screen of the device and is being folded so as to be located at a rear side of the electronic device.

In the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally indicates an embodiment of a device for cleaning a screen of an electronic device.

The device 10 for cleaning a screen 12 of an electronic device 14 includes a sheet 16 of resiliency deformable material of at least substantially the same size as the screen 12.

An operatively upper surface 18 of the sheet 16 has adhesive properties or can be coated with an adhesive layer (not shown).

The sheet 16 is configured to be mounted on an inner surface of a storage pouch 20 of the electronic device 14 so that, during storage of the electronic device 14, its screen 12 abuts against the operatively upper surface 18 of the sheet 16 as shown in Figure 2, thereby encouraging foreign matter located on the screen 12 to adhere to the sheet 16 without leaving a residue on the screen.

In the embodiment shown, the sheet of material 16 is a soft polyurethane gel sheet having a sticky operatively upper surface with the trade name Technogel ^® which is manufactured by Technogel Italia Sri.

The sheet of material 16 typically has a thickness of between 1 mm and 5 mm. An operatively lower surface 22 of the sheet 16 is provided with three adhesive zones 24 to permit the sheet 16 to in use be mounted on the inner surface of the pouch 20 as shown in Figure 2.

The adhesive zones 24 are covered by a protective layer (not shown) that is removed immediately prior to mounting the sheet 16 on the inner surface of the pouch 20.

In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the inner surface of the pouch 20 includes a magnetic layer or magnetic strips and the operatively lower surface 22 of the sheet

16 has a complementary magnetic layer or magnetic strips so that the sheet 16 is attached to the pouch 20 using magnetic force. The electronic device 14 is a device including a touch screen 12. In the embodiment shown, the device 14 is a tablet computer. It is to be appreciated, that the device 14 could be any piece of electronic equipment having a touch screen.

The pouch 20 is sized and dimensioned to receive the electronic device 14 therein. The invention extends to a pouch 20 for in use receiving an electronic device 14 therein, the pouch 20 including a sheet 16 as described above.

The device 10 can accordingly be purchased on its own and retrofitted to a pouch or the pouch can be manufactured including the device 10.

It is to be appreciated, that the size and thickness of the device 10 is variable according to the size of the screen it is to clean when in use and the pouch into which it is mounted.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, the device 10 shown includes a tab 26 extending from a free edge region 28 thereof. As the device 10 can in use stick to the screen 12, the tab 26 is provided to allow a user (not shown) to grip the tab 26 with his or her fingers and peel the device 10 off the screen 12 as indicated by arrow "A" in Figure 4.

Referring now to Figures 5A to 5C, there is shown a protective cover 26 for overlaying at least a substantial portion of the screen 12 of the electronic device 14, the cover 26 including a sheet 16 of resiliently deformable material mounted on an inner surface of the cover 26, an exposed side 18 of the sheet 16 being covered by an adhesive layer (not shown).

The cover 26 is attached to the electronic device 14 via a hinge 28 and is itself manufactured from a flexible material, thereby allowing the cover 26 to be folded back so that the exposed side 18 of the sheet 16 is protected as shown in Figure 5C. It is to be appreciated, that the invention is not limited to any particular embodiment or configuration as hereinbefore generally described or illustrated.