Single-piece top surface display layer and integrated front cover for an electronic device
First Claim
1. A display assembly for a handheld electronic device comprising:
- a display mechanism;
a plurality of pressure activated sensors; and
a housing for enclosing said display mechanism, said housing comprising;
an external surface that defines a body of said handheld electronic device,a single-piece bezel-less top cover that forms a portion of the external surface and allows mechanical transfer between said top cover and said plurality of pressure activated sensors, wherein said pressure activated sensors can be activated by mechanical pressure applied to said single-piece bezel-less top cover, anda back cover that forms another portion of the external surface, wherein a transition of the external surface to each of said back cover and said single-piece bezel-less top cover is flush.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A single-piece top surface display and integrated front cover for an electronic device. In one embodiment, the cover comprises a thin, flexible, transparent layer coupled with a supporting structure. The flexible layer is supported above a display screen which is coupled with pressure activated sensors located under the display screen. The cover is dust-free, waterproof, and has a flat outer surface that is free of any steps or indentations. Users input data by applying pressure on the cover which causes the display screen to deflect and activate the sensors. The pressure exerted on the sensors is triangulated to register the position of the user input. In another embodiment, the cover is transparent, rigid, and directly contacts the pressure activated sensors which are located in front of the display screen or in the housing behind it. When pressure is applied to the cover, the cover deflects and activates the sensors. In both embodiments, an accelerometer identifies valid input events.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A display assembly for a handheld electronic device comprising:
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a display mechanism; a plurality of pressure activated sensors; and a housing for enclosing said display mechanism, said housing comprising; an external surface that defines a body of said handheld electronic device, a single-piece bezel-less top cover that forms a portion of the external surface and allows mechanical transfer between said top cover and said plurality of pressure activated sensors, wherein said pressure activated sensors can be activated by mechanical pressure applied to said single-piece bezel-less top cover, and a back cover that forms another portion of the external surface, wherein a transition of the external surface to each of said back cover and said single-piece bezel-less top cover is flush. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A display assembly for a handheld electronic device comprising:
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a display mechanism of flat panel display technology; a transparent single-piece cover that is bezel-less and is disposed over a top surface of said display mechanism and operable to allow mechanical transfer of pressure to said display mechanism; a plurality of pressure activated sensors disposed under said display mechanism and, responsive to said mechanical transfer of said display mechanism, operable for registering a contact point on said transparent single-piece cover; and a housing for enclosing said display mechanism and said pressure activated sensors, said housing comprising; an external surface that defines body of said handheld electronic device, said transparent single-piece cover, and a back cover connected to said transparent single-piece cover such that an area, which represents transition between said back cover and said transparent single-piece cover, of said external surface is flush. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A display assembly for a handheld electronic device comprising:
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a display mechanism of flat panel display technology; a housing comprising; an external surface that defines body of said handheld electronic device; a back cover; and a transparent single-piece cover that is bezel-less, wherein said back cover is connected to said transparent single-piece cover such that an area, which represents transition between said back cover and said transparent single-piece cover, of said external surface is flush; and a plurality of pressure activated sensors that are integrated with said transparent single-piece cover; and wherein, responsive to pressure asserted on said transparent single-piece cover, the plurality of pressure activated sensors are operable for registering a contact point on said transparent single-piece cover. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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27. A handheld electronic device comprising:
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a display mechanism; a plurality of sensors; and a housing for enclosing said display mechanism, said housing comprising; an external surface that defines a body of said handheld electronic device, a single-piece bezel-less top cover that forms a portion of the external surface;
wherein at least some of the plurality sensors are activatable by user-contact that exceeds a threshold when the contact is applied to the single-piece bezel-less top cover, anda back cover that forms another portion of the external surface, wherein a transition of the external surface to each of said back cover and said single-piece bezel- less top cover is flush. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification