Handheld portable device

• US 8,587,939 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2011
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: McClure, Stephen R., Corbin, Sean S., Ternus, John P., Gibbs, Kevin, Franklin, Jeremy C., Kibiti, Elvis M., Raff, John, Henry, Jules B., Rappoport, Benjamin, Wright, Derek W., Uttermann, Erik A., Yu, Ming, Peterson, Carl
• Primary Examiner(s): Edwards, Anthony Q
• Application Number:
  US13/018,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20120194998A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,023 Days
• Field of Search: 361/679.26
• US Class Current: 361/679.3
• 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 1/1628 Carrying enclosures containing additional elements, e.g. case for a laptop and a printer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1633 Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/42 Housings not intimately mechanically associated with radiating elements, e.g. radome
• 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 can be machined from a single billet of material, such as a billet of aluminum. The single piece housing can include ledges with a surface receiving a trim bead and a cover. Corner brackets can be attached to the single piece housing to improve the damage resistance of the housing.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a single piece housing having

1) a bottom coupled to four adjoining sidewalls, the sidewalls extending above the bottom to form an interior cavity wherein a portion of an exterior surface of the bottom and a portion of an interior surface of the bottom are substantially flat and parallel to one another, the interior cavity configured to receive a plurality of electronic components associated with the electronic device including a display,

2) ledges extending from the sidewalls towards an interior of the cavity, the ledges substantially parallel to the flat interior surface portion, the ledges including a surface for receiving a trim bead and a cover for the single piece housing,

3) a plurality of openings extending through an exterior surface of the single piece housing into the interior cavity wherein the single piece housing including the ledges and the opening is formed from a single billet of material; and

brackets, mounted to and extending around each corner of the sidewalls adjacent to the ledges, the brackets including a surface for receiving the trim bead and the cover wherein the brackets are configured to reduce impact damage to the electronic device.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the surface for receiving the trim bead on the brackets is castellated at the corner.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the single billet of material is a rectangular block of aluminum.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a first opening in the single piece housing and a second opening in the single piece housing, adjacent to the first opening.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:

an adhesive tape disposed between the cover and the trim bead bonded to the cover and to the trim bead, a portion of the adhesive tape extending beyond the trim bead.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:

a speaker, proximate to a curved portion of a first sidewall and disposed within the interior cavity, and a plurality of openings adjacent to the speaker.

7. The housing of claim 1, further comprising:

an opening in the bottom wherein a recess including ledge is formed around the opening within the interior cavity.

8. The housing of claim 7, further comprising a logo stack including a logo insert bonded to a metal sheet wherein the logo insert is shaped to fit through the opening and the metal sheet is shaped to fit within the recess such that it can be bonded to the ledge.

9. The housing of claim 1, wherein a height of the housing from an exterior portion of the bottom to a top of the cover is less than about 9 mm.

10. The housing of claim 1, further comprising an antenna window formed of radio transparent material, wherein the antenna window replaces a corresponding portion of the first piece of the housing.

11. The housing of claim 1, wherein the first piece and the brackets are formed from metal and the cover is formed from glass.

13. The housing of claim 1, wherein at least 90% of the volume of the single billet is removed to form the first piece.

12. A housing for an electronic device comprising:

a first piece having

     1) a bottom coupled to four adjoining sidewalls, the sidewalls extending above the bottom to form an interior cavity wherein a portion of an exterior surface of the bottom and an interior surface portion of the bottom within the cavity are substantially flat and parallel to one another, the interior cavity configured to receive a plurality of electronic components associated with the electronic device,

     2) ledges extending from the sidewalls towards an interior of the cavity, the ledges substantially parallel to the flat interior surface portion, the ledges including a surface for receiving a trim bead and a cover wherein the first piece including the ledges is formed from a single billet of material;

brackets mounted to and extending around each corner of the sidewalls adjacent to the ledges, the brackets including a surface for receiving the trim bead aligned with and at proximately a same height as the surface for receiving the trim bead on the ledges, for mounting corner portions of the trim bead and the cover to the brackets wherein the brackets are configured to reduce impact damage to the electronic device; and

conductive foam positioned between the brackets and the first piece for electrically grounding the brackets to the first piece.

14. A system, comprising:

a housing used to support a plurality of internal operating components, the housing comprising

     1) a first piece including an internal cavity for receiving the plurality of internal operating components,

     2) corner brackets mechanically mounted and electrically grounded to the first piece for increasing a stiffness of the first piece and limiting damage from a corner impact, wherein the first piece and the corner brackets each include surfaces for bonding to a trim bead and a cover

     3) a plurality of attachment points formed on an interior surface of the housing; and

a device magnetically coupled to the housing through the plurality of the attachment points.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a display assembly disposed within the internal cavity.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the first piece includes a recess for receiving a fixture for aligning the display assembly relative to the first piece during assembly.