Ruggedized, water sealed, security-enhanced touchpad assembly
First Claim
1. An apparatus for ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly comprising:
- a touchpad having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, to receive a data signal from a user and to couple said signal to a cable;
a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said PCBA coupled to said cable to receive said data signal from said touchpad;
a support having a first surface upon which said touchpad and said PCBA are disposed;
a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said shield over-covering said touchpad, said cable, and said PCBA, and defining a through opening in said first surface overlying and permitting access to said touchpad;
an anti-theft latch securing said shield to said PCBA to enhance at least one of water-proofing and theft-vulnerability of said apparatus, wherein said anti-theft latch comprises a spring.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A touchpad assembly is ruggedizing and sealed against moisture. The assembly includes a touchpad that receives a user-generated data signal that is cable-coupled to a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), which components are disposed upon a support lens. A shield over-covers the touchpad assembly but has an through-opening providing user-access to the touchpad. An anti-theft mechanism secures the shield to the PCBA, and a security chamber space is sealingly defined between the shield, PCBA, and the support lens. The security chamber space is secured with injected resin, into which the anti-theft latch is thereby molded. A cable opening in the support lens is water sealed using double-sided adhesive tape or the like.
23 Citations
35 Claims
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1. An apparatus for ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly comprising:
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a touchpad having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, to receive a data signal from a user and to couple said signal to a cable;
a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said PCBA coupled to said cable to receive said data signal from said touchpad;
a support having a first surface upon which said touchpad and said PCBA are disposed;
a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said shield over-covering said touchpad, said cable, and said PCBA, and defining a through opening in said first surface overlying and permitting access to said touchpad;
an anti-theft latch securing said shield to said PCBA to enhance at least one of water-proofing and theft-vulnerability of said apparatus, wherein said anti-theft latch comprises a spring. - View Dependent Claims (3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 23, 24, 35)
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2. An apparatus for ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly comprising:
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a touchpad having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, to receive a data signal from a user and to couple said signal to a cable;
a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said PCBA coupled to said cable to receive said data signal from said touchpad;
a support having a first surface upon which said touchpad and said PCBA are disposed;
a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said shield over-covering said touchpad, said cable, and said PCBA, and defining a through opening in said first surface overlying and permitting access to said touchpad;
an anti-theft latch securing said shield to said PCBA to enhance at least one of water-proofing and theft-vulnerability of said apparatus, wherein said anti-theft latch includes a metallic material.
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4. An apparatus for ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly comprising:
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a touchpad having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, to receive a data signal from a user and to couple said signal to a cable;
a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said PCBA coupled to said cable to receive said data signal from said touchpad;
a support having a first surface upon which said touchpad and said PCBA are disposed;
a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said shield over-covering at least a portion of said touchpad, said cable, and said PCBA, and defining a through opening in said first surface overlying and permitting access to said touchpad; and
a seal coupling said shield to said support and said cable to enhance at least one of water-proofing and theft-vulnerability of said apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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13. An apparatus for ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly comprising:
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a touchpad having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, to receive a data signal from a user and to couple said signal to a cable;
a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said PCBA coupled to said cable to receive said data signal from said touchpad;
a support having a first surface upon which said touchpad and said PCBA are disposed;
a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said shield over-covering said touchpad, said cable, and said PCBA, and defining a through opening in said first surface overlying and permitting access to said touchpad;
an anti-theft latch securing said shield to said PCBA to enhance at least one of water-proofing and theft-vulnerability of said apparatus, wherein said shield defines at least one injection port through which encapsulation resin is injectable into said security chamber space; and
wherein said anti-theft latch is molded into said encapsulation resin such that upon setting and curing of said resin, said PCBA is not readily disassembled from said apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. An apparatus for ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly comprising:
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a touchpad having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, to receive a data signal from a user and to couple said signal to a cable;
a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said PCBA coupled to said cable to receive said data signal from said touchpad;
a support having a first surface upon which said touchpad and said PCBA are disposed;
a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said shield over-covering said touchpad, said cable, and said PCBA, and defining a through opening in said first surface overlying and permitting access to said touchpad;
an anti-theft latch securing said shield to said PCBA to enhance at least one of water-proofing and theft-vulnerability of said apparatus, wherein a portion of said anti-theft latch is welded to said second surface of said shield.
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16. An apparatus for ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly comprising:
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a touchpad having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, to receive a data signal from a user and to couple said signal to a cable;
a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said PCBA coupled to said cable to receive said data signal from said touchpad;
a support having a first surface upon which said touchpad and said PCBA are disposed;
a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said shield over-covering said touchpad;
said cable, and said PCBA, and defining a through opening in said first surface overlying and permitting access to said touchpad;
an anti-theft latch securing said shield to said PCBA to enhance at least one of water-proofing and theft-vulnerability of said apparatus, wherein said anti-theft latch is electrically coupled to said PCBA.
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17. An apparatus for ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly comprising:
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a touchpad having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, to receive a data signal from a user and to couple said signal to a cable;
a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said PCBA coupled to said cable to receive said data signal from said touchpad;
a support having a first surface upon which said touchpad and said PCBA are disposed;
a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said shield over-covering said touchpad, said cable, and said PCBA, and defining a through opening in said first surface overlying and permitting access to said touchpad;
an anti-theft latch securing said shield to said PCBA to enhance at least one of water-proofing and theft-vulnerability of said apparatus, wherein said anti-theft latch is electrically coupled to said PCBA with electrically conductive double-sided adhesive material. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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22. An apparatus for ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly comprising:
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a touchpad having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, to receive a data signal from a user and to couple said signal to a cable;
a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said PCBA coupled to said cable to receive said data signal from said touchpad;
a support including at least one of polycarbonate and glass, the support having a first surface upon which said touchpad and said PCBA are disposed;
a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces, said shield over-covering said touchpad, said cable, and said PCBA, and defining a through opening in said first surface overlying and permitting access to said touchpad; and
means for securing said shield to said PCBA to enhance at least one of water-proofing and theft-vulnerability of said apparatus.
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25. A method of ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly, the method comprising the following steps:
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supporting a touchpad and a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) with a lens, such that the touchpad and PCBA lie on a first surface of the lens;
coupling a cable between the touchpad and the PCBA;
providing a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces to cover said touchpad, cable, and PCBA, said shield defining an opening sized to permit accessing said touchpad; and
coupling a seal between said shield and said lens, the seal in contact with said cable, to enhance at least one of water-proofing and theft-vulnerability of the assembly. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 34)
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30. A method of ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly, the method comprising:
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supporting a touchpad and a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) with a lens, such that the touchpad and PCBA lie on a first surface of the lens;
coupling a cable between the touchpad and the PCBA;
providing a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces to cover said touchpad, cable, and PCBA, said shield defining an opening sized to permit accessing said touchpad;
providing at least one of a water-proofing enhancement mechanism and an anti-theft mechanism, to secure said shield to said PCBA; and
injecting encapsulation resin through an injection port, defined in said shield, into a security chamber space, such that said anti-theft latch is molded into said encapsulation resin and such that upon setting and curing of said resin, said PCBA cannot readily be disassembled.
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31. A method of ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly, the method comprising the following steps:
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supporting a touchpad and a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) with a lens, such that the touchpad and PCBA lie on a first surface of the lens;
coupling a cable between the touchpad and the PCBA;
providing a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces to cover said touchpad, cable, and PCBA, said shield defining an opening sized to permit accessing said touchpad;
providing at least one of a water-proofing enhancement mechanism and an anti-theft mechanism, to secure said shield to said PCBA; and
welding a metallic spring to said shield and to said latch.
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32. A method of ruggedizing and securing a touchpad assembly, the method comprising the following steps:
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supporting a touchpad and a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) with a lens, such that the touchpad and PCBA lie on a first surface of the lens;
coupling a cable between the touchpad and the PCBA;
providing a shield having spaced-apart first and second surfaces to cover said touchpad, cable, and PCBA, said shield defining an opening sized to permit accessing said touchpad;
providing at least one of a water-proofing enhancement mechanism and an anti-theft mechanism, to secure said shield to said PCBA; and
electrically coupling said anti-theft latch to said PCBA. - View Dependent Claims (33)
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Specification