Component assembly

• US 10,289,167 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2018
• Issued: 05/14/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: McClure, Stephen R., Banko, Joshua D., Gibbs, Kevin D., Rappoport, Benjamin M., Ternus, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Edwards, Anthony Q
• Application Number:
  US16/030,651
• Publication Number:
  US 20180329458A1
• Time in Patent Office: 309 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1613 for portable computers cooling arrangements therefor G06F1/203; constructional details or arrangements for pocket calculators, electronic agendas or books G06F15/0216; constructional details of portable telephone sets: with several bodies H04M1/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1635 Details related to the integration of battery packs and other power supplies such as fuel cells or integrated AC adapter
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• 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: G06F 1/1658 related to the mounting of internal components, e.g. disc drive or any other functional module
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 13/10 Bases; Stationary contacts mounted thereon
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0252 by means of a snap-on mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0266 for a display module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0277 for a printed circuit board assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0281 Reinforcement details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/118 specially for flexible printed circuits, e.g. using folded portions
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/147 at least one of the printed circuits being bent or folded, e.g. by using a flexible printed circuit H05K1/148 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49002 Electrical device making

Abstract

A portable computing device is disclosed. The portable computing device can take many forms such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and so on. The portable computing device can include at least a single piece housing. The single piece housing including a plurality of steps. The plurality of mounting steps are formed by at least removing a preselected amount of housing material at predetermined locations on the interior surface. At least some of the mounting steps are used to mount at least some of the plurality of internal operating components housing.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a housing that includes side walls, wherein at least one of the side walls includes a lateral surface (i) that terminates at a front edge having a front surface that defines, in part, a front opening, and (ii) that terminates at a rear edge having a rear surface that defines, in part, a rear opening;

a front panel including a first RF transparent material carried within the front opening; and

a rear panel including a second RF transparent material that is defined, in part by, the rear edge and carried within the rear opening.

2. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a rear wall having an interior edge that further defines the rear panel, and the rear panel is smaller than the front panel.

3. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, where the housing includes radio-opaque material.

4. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the lateral surface has a spline shaped profile.

5. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 4, wherein the rear edge is separated from the rear panel by a gap that allows for differential thermal expansion of the housing and the second RF transparent material.

6. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 5, wherein a curvature of the rear panel and the spline shaped profile of the side wall combines to define a continuous curved geometry that includes the gap.

7. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the first RF transparent material is an optically transparent material.

8. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the second RF transparent material includes at least one of:

a glass material, or a ceramic material, or a thinned aluminum material.

9. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the first RF transparent material includes at least one of:

a glass material or a plastic material.

10. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a housing that includes a radio frequency (RF) opaque material and a side wall having (i) a front edge that defines a front opening, and (ii) a rear edge;

a RF circuit coupled to an RF antenna carried by the housing, wherein the RF antenna provides a wireless communication channel for use by the RF circuit; and

a rear panel that is defined, in part, by the rear edge, and the rear panel includes an RF transmissive material that allows passage of RF signals, wherein a gap separates the rear edge from the rear panel.

11. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 10, wherein the gap accommodates for different thermal characteristics of the rear panel and the RF opaque material.

12. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 10, further comprising:

a processor carried by the housing; and

a display assembly carried in the front opening and overlaid by a protective layer that is radio frequency (RF) transparent and optically transparent.

13. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 10, wherein the rear panel has first thermal characteristics and the radio frequency (RF) opaque material has second thermal characteristics that are different than the first thermal characteristics.

14. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 10, wherein the side wall includes a lateral surface having a spline shaped profile that terminates at the rear edge.

15. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 14, wherein a curvature of the rear panel and the spline shaped profile of the side wall combines to define a curved geometry that includes the gap.

16. A portable electronic device having a curved geometry, comprising:

a housing that includes radio-opaque material and that has side walls, wherein at least one of the side walls includes a lateral surface having a spline shaped profile, wherein the lateral surface (i) terminates at a front edge having a front surface that defines, in part, a front opening and (ii) terminates at a rear edge having a rear surface that defines, in part, a rear opening;

an optically clear front panel disposed within the front opening; and

a rear panel that includes radio-transparent material that is defined, in part, by the rear edge and disposed within the rear opening, wherein a curvature of the rear panel and the spline shaped profile of the at least one side wall define the curved geometry.

17. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 16, wherein the rear edge is separated from the rear panel by a gap that allows for differential thermal expansion of the rear panel and the at least one side wall.

18. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 17, wherein the curved geometry accommodates for the gap.

19. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 16, wherein the housing includes at least one of an aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

20. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 16, wherein the optically clear front panel includes at least one of:

a glass material or a plastic material.