Techniques for Strengthening Glass Covers for Portable Electronic Devices
First Claim
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1. A consumer electronic product, comprising:
- a housing having a front surface, a back surface and side surfaces;
electrical components provided at least partially internal to the housing, the electrical components including at least a controller, a memory, and a display, the display being provided at or adjacent the front surface of the housing; and
a cover glass provided at or over the front surface of the housing such that it is provided over the display, the cover glass being strengthened by having edges of the glass cover correspond to a predetermined edge geometry and by chemically treating the edges of the glass cover,wherein the strength reduction at the edges of the glass cover is not more than 10% lower than the strength at non-edge portions of the glass cover.
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Abstract
Apparatus, systems and methods for improving strength of a thin glass cover for an electronic device are disclosed. In one embodiment, the glass member can have improved strength by forming its edges with a predetermined geometry and/or by chemically strengthening the edges. Advantageously, the glass member can be not only thin but also adequately strong to limit susceptibility to damage. In one embodiment, the glass member can pertain to a glass cover for a housing for an electronic device. The glass cover can be provided over or integrated with a display, such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) display.
11 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A consumer electronic product, comprising:
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a housing having a front surface, a back surface and side surfaces; electrical components provided at least partially internal to the housing, the electrical components including at least a controller, a memory, and a display, the display being provided at or adjacent the front surface of the housing; and a cover glass provided at or over the front surface of the housing such that it is provided over the display, the cover glass being strengthened by having edges of the glass cover correspond to a predetermined edge geometry and by chemically treating the edges of the glass cover, wherein the strength reduction at the edges of the glass cover is not more than 10% lower than the strength at non-edge portions of the glass cover. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A cover glass member suitable for attachment to a housing for a handheld electronic device, the cover glass member being produced and strengthened by the process of:
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forming a plurality of cover glass members, each of the cover glass members being suitably sized to be provided on an exposed surface of the handheld electronic device, each of the cover glass members including edges and at least one non-edge portion; manipulating the edges of each of the cover glass members to correspond to a predetermined edge geometry, the predetermined edge geometry being selected to strengthen the glass covers; and chemically strengthening at least the edges of each of the cover glass members, wherein chemically strengthening at least the edges of each of the cover glass members includes altering a composition of at least the edges such that the composition of at least the edges differs from a composition of the at least one non-edge portion. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification