Exposed glass article with inner recessed area for portable electronic device housing
First Claim
1. A method for producing a glass article having an opaque border region, the method comprising:
- obtaining a glass article for use as a cover for a portable electronic device;
removing glass from a backside of the glass article to form a peripheral mounting interface including at least one peripheral mounting region having a thickness less than a thickness of a central region;
following the removal of the glass, applying at least one layer of material to the peripheral mounting region to form a surface that is flush with or recessed relative to a surface of the central region, thereby forming an attachment surface defined by the at least one layer of material;
affixing the central region and at least a portion of the attachment surface to a front surface of a touch screen display assembly, thereby securing the glass article to the touch screen display assembly; and
assembling the touch screen display assembly and the glass article with a housing such that a front side of the glass article opposite the backside faces away from the housing and is completely exposed.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Transparent articles for use as outer surfaces of electronic devices and methods therefor are disclosed. A transparent cover can be provided over a display of portable electronic device to provide a protective outer cover over the display. The transparent cover can include material to mark, mask or color a portion of the transparent cover, such portion thereupon becoming opaque. The material can be provided in a recessed portion of an inner surface of the transparent cover, such portion being a portion of the transparent cover that is not over a usable portion of the display. The electronic device can, for example, be a portable electronic device.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method for producing a glass article having an opaque border region, the method comprising:
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obtaining a glass article for use as a cover for a portable electronic device; removing glass from a backside of the glass article to form a peripheral mounting interface including at least one peripheral mounting region having a thickness less than a thickness of a central region; following the removal of the glass, applying at least one layer of material to the peripheral mounting region to form a surface that is flush with or recessed relative to a surface of the central region, thereby forming an attachment surface defined by the at least one layer of material; affixing the central region and at least a portion of the attachment surface to a front surface of a touch screen display assembly, thereby securing the glass article to the touch screen display assembly; and assembling the touch screen display assembly and the glass article with a housing such that a front side of the glass article opposite the backside faces away from the housing and is completely exposed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for forming a plurality of glass articles for portable electronic devices, each of the glass articles being configured to serve as a portion of an outer surface of a housing for the corresponding portable electronic device, the method comprising:
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obtaining a glass sheet; singulating the glass sheet to form individual instances of the glass articles; for a glass article of the individual instances; forming a recessed boundary region into a peripheral mounting interface on a back side of the glass article instances of the glass articles, the recessed boundary region being recessed relative to a center region of the glass article; subsequent to forming the recessed boundary, chemically strengthening the glass article; applying ink to the recessed boundary region of the glass article, such that a surface of the ink within the recessed boundary region is flush with or recessed relative to a surface of the center region; and adhering the center region of the glass article and at least part of the ink directly to a front surface of a touch screen display assembly such that the back side of the glass article faces the touch screen display assembly and a front side of the glass article opposite and substantially parallel to the back side is completely exposed. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for producing a transparent article having an opaque border region, the method comprising:
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obtaining an article for use as a cover defining an outer surface for a portable electronic device, the article including at least a center region and a peripheral mounting interface on a back side of the article and at least partially surrounding the center region; removing glass from the peripheral mounting interface of the article; applying at least one layer of material to a portion of the peripheral mounting interface where the glass was removed such that a thickness of article at the portion of the peripheral mounting interface with the at least one layer of material is equal to or less than a thickness of the article at the center region; applying an adhesive directly to the at least one layer of material and the center region; affixing the back side of the article to a front surface of a touch screen display assembly; and assembling the article and the touch screen display assembly with a housing of the portable electronic device such that the entire front side of the cover parallel to the back side is completely exposed and defines a front surface of the electronic device. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A method for forming a plurality of glass articles for portable electronic devices, each of the glass articles being configured to serve as a portion of an outer surface of a housing for the corresponding portable electronic device, the method comprising:
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obtaining a glass sheet; singulating the glass sheet to form individual instances of the glass articles; subsequent to singulating the glass sheet, chemically strengthening a plurality of the individual instances of the glass articles; for a glass article of the plurality of glass articles; applying ink to a recessed boundary region of a back side of the glass article such that a top surface of the ink is substantially coplanar with or recessed relative to a surface of a center region of the back side of the glass article, the ink and the recessed boundary region defining at least part of a peripheral mounting interface; and coupling the peripheral mounting interface and the center region of the glass article to a front surface of a touch screen assembly such that the back side of the glass article faces the touch screen assembly and a front side of the glass article opposite the back side is completely exposed and defines an exterior surface of an electronic device. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A portable electronic device, comprising:
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an electronic device housing including a bottom surface and side surfaces; a glass cover having an outer surface that forms at least a portion of an external surface of the electronic device housing, the glass cover including; a peripheral mounting interface on an inner surface of the glass cover and defining a recessed border area having a thickness that is less than a thickness of a central area of the glass cover; and an ink layer in the recessed border area and defining an attachment surface that is substantially flush with the central area of the glass cover, the glass cover being affixed to the electronic device housing; and a touch screen assembly having a top surface and a bottom surface, the touch screen assembly being provided internal to the electronic device housing, and the top surface of the touch screen assembly being adhered to the central area and at least part of the attachment surface of the glass cover. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. A portable electronic device, comprising:
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an electronic device housing including a bottom surface and side surfaces; a transparent cover including an outer surface that forms at least a portion of an external surface of the electronic device housing, the transparent cover including an inner surface opposite the outer surface and having a recessed area in a peripheral mounting interface substantially surrounding a central area, the recessed area including opaque material disposed thereon, the opaque material having a thickness equal to or less than a difference in thickness between the central area and the recessed area and defining an attachment surface, the transparent cover being attached to a component of the electronic device such that housing completely exposes the outer surface of the transparent cover; a touch screen assembly having a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface of the touch screen assembly being adjacent to the central area and the attachment surface of the inner surface of the transparent cover; and a bonding layer of transparent adhesive between and in contact with the touch screen assembly and both the central area and the attachment surface of the transparent cover. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification