Electronic device including glass housing

• US 10,129,989 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2017
• Issued: 11/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Jung-Hyun, Kim, Tae-Kon, Oh, Seung-Taek, Choi, Jong-Chul
• Primary Examiner(s): Cunningham, Xanthia C
• Application Number:
  US15/834,481
• Publication Number:
  US 20180184532A1
• Time in Patent Office: 341 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/22 with other inorganic material C03C17/34, C03C17/44 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 19/00 Surface treatment of glass, not in the form of fibres or filaments, by mechanical means sand-blasting, grinding, or polishing glass B24
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/78 Coatings specially designed to be durable, e.g. scratch-resistant
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2218/112 by spraying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0269 mounted in a fixed curved configuration, e.g. display curved around the edges of the telephone housing
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0004 comprising several parts forming a closed casing
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0017 with operator interface units
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0086 portable, e.g. battery operated apparatus casings for switching devices H01H9/02
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0226 Hinges
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0286 Receptacles therefor, e.g. card slots, module sockets, card groundings
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/03 Covers

Abstract

An electronic device may comprise a housing including two opposite open ends and at least a portion comprising a light-transmitting material, a bracket disposed inside the housing and having a shape corresponding to the housing, a flexible display device disposed between the housing and the bracket and configured to display information to an outside through the light-transmitting portion of the housing, and a plurality of covers closing the open ends of the housing and supporting two opposite ends of the bracket, wherein the bracket may include an inner space for mounting electronic parts, and the bracket is length-adjustable in at least one direction. The housing may be formed of a glass tube. Thus, the housing may be formed into a desired shape by processing the glass tube. A stretchable bracket structure may be implemented inside the housing to come in tight contact with the housing.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing including two opposite open ends and at least a portion of the housing comprising a light-transmitting material;

a bracket disposed inside the housing and having a shape corresponding to the housing;

a flexible display device disposed between the housing and the bracket and configured to display information to an outside through the light-transmitting portion of the housing; and

a plurality of covers closing the open ends of the housing and supporting two opposite ends of the bracket, wherein the bracket includes an inner space for mounting electronic parts, and the bracket is length-adjustable in at least one direction.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a first surface facing a first direction, a second surface facing a second direction opposite the first direction, and a third surface extending from the first surface to the second surface and forming a curved surface, wherein at least a portion of the first surface, the second surface, and the third surface comprise transparent glass.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the bracket includes a plurality of frames and length-adjustable adjusting members disposed between the plurality of frames and connecting the plurality of frames in a closed loop shape.

4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the plurality of frames comprise four segments, wherein each of the four segments of the plurality of frames at least partially include a curved structure, and the electronic device further comprising a support disposed at a side in the inner space and configured to support a printed circuit board.

5. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the adjusting members comprise a pair of first adjusting members facing each other and a pair of second adjusting members facing each other in a different direction from the first adjusting members.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the first adjusting members are length-adjustable in the first direction or the second direction, and the second adjusting members are length-adjustable in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the adjusting members of the bracket include an elastic material and/or a hinge structure.

8. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the adjusting members of the bracket are formed to surround the plurality of frames and to include an elastic material shaped as a closed loop.

9. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the two opposite ends of the housing each have a slope and have a smaller circumference than a middle portion of the housing.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the plurality of covers each include a step configured to be at least partially internally fitted to an upper end and/or a lower end of the housing, and wherein an end of each of the plurality of covers has a same curvature as one of the two opposite ends of the housing.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the plurality of covers include at least one of:

thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), thermoplastic silicone vulcanizate (TPSiV), and silicone.

12. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the housing comprises a glass tube, and wherein the flexible display device is formed in a closed loop shape corresponding to the glass tube of the housing, and is configured to allow visual content displayed on the display device to form continuous loops.

13. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein a dielectric layer is disposed between the housing and the display device, wherein an adhesive film is disposed between the display device and the bracket, and wherein the housing, the display device, and the bracket are attached together by the dielectric layer and the adhesive film.

14. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the support projects from an inner surface of the bracket to support the printed circuit board in parallel with a surface of the bracket, and wherein the electronic device further comprises a connecting member electrically connecting the printed circuit board inserted into the inner space of the bracket with the display device disposed on an outer surface of the bracket.

15. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a glass tube including an upper housing part and a lower housing part, wherein a dielectric layer is disposed between the upper housing part and the lower housing part and is configured to join the upper housing part and the lower housing part, and wherein a coating layer is formed on an outer surface of the dielectric layer to have a curvature corresponding to the curvature of the upper housing part and the lower housing part.

16. A method for manufacturing an electronic device, the method comprising:

preparing a housing that includes two opposite open ends wherein at least a portion of the housing comprises a light-transmitting material;

preparing a bracket having a shape corresponding to the housing and that is length-adjustable in a plurality of directions;

placing a flexible display device to surround at least a portion of the bracket;

attaching the housing to the bracket after inserting the bracket into an inside of the housing, with the bracket attached with the flexible display device and an electronic part mounted therein; and

closing the open ends of the housing with covers.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the housing comprises a glass tube, and wherein the glass tube is used as a whole or part of the housing in preparing the housing.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein preparing the housing includes forming a slope with a predetermined curvature in each of the two opposite ends of the housing, forming at least one hole in a front surface and a rear surface of the housing, polishing an inner surface of the housing, and coating an outer surface of the housing, wherein the polishing includes polishing the housing by moving a polishing pad comprising a material including a cerium oxide powder back and forth on the inner surface of the housing and the coating includes loading the housing on a coating jig rotatable at 360 degrees and coating the overall outer surface of the loaded housing by a jet process.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the attaching the housing with the bracket includes stretching the bracket and attaching the bracket onto the inner surface of the housing by suction through a hole provided in the housing after inserting the flexible display device-disposed bracket in the inner space of the housing and joining the housing and the bracket by curing, drying, and attaching a light-cured resin layer disposed between the housing and the bracket by radiating an ultraviolet (UV) ray to the light-cured resin layer,

wherein the covers each include a step configured to fit into each of the ends of the housing, and wherein a curvature of each cover is the same as a curvature of each end of the housing.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the housing comprises a glass tube including an upper housing part and a lower housing part, wherein the method comprises attaching the upper housing part with the lower housing part, and wherein attaching the upper housing part with the lower housing part includes applying and curing an adhesive layer between the upper housing part and the lower housing part, polishing the cured adhesive layer, and providing a coating layer having a curvature corresponding to the curvature of the upper housing part and the lower housing part on the polished adhesive layer.