Patent Application
20170093078
The described embodiments relate generally to enclosures that have the appearance of being seamless. More particularly, the present embodiments relate to plastic enclosures that appear seamless and house one or more electronics assemblies.
Currently there are a wide variety of electronic devices that have enclosures to facilitate the use of the electronic device and provide an aesthetic appearance. However, often such enclosures have one or more seams where plastic components of the enclosure meet. The seams can disrupt the exterior surface of the enclosure impairing its aesthetics and sometimes creating a relatively weak region of the enclosure that is prone to damage and breakage. This can be particularly problematic for enclosures that contain high-voltage electronic components that would be exposed if such a seam were to be broken. New enclosures are needed for electronic assemblies that are seamless, or at least have the appearance of being seamless, and/or that have improved structural integrity.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to enclosures having a seamless look and feel that are used to encase an electronic assembly. Some embodiments relate to an enclosure that can be used for any electronic device while other embodiments relate to an enclosure for an AC to DC adapter.
In some embodiments an enclosure for an electronic assembly has a seamless exterior appearance and comprises a housing having a rear wall and at least one side wall extending from the rear wall to a distal end. A front wall includes a front wall support and an exterior layer formed over the front wall support, wherein the front wall, the rear wall, and the at least one side wall define a cavity in which the electronic assembly is disposed. At least two electrical prongs are disposed through the rear wall and are electrically coupled to the electronic assembly positioned within the cavity. A receiving opening extends through the front wall and is in communication with the cavity.
In various embodiments the front wall support is planar. In some embodiments the front wall support has a convex shape. In various embodiments the front wall support is formed from a metal and the exterior layer is formed from a plastic. In some embodiments a ledge is formed in the at least one side wall.
In some embodiments the front wall support has a first side disposed against the ledge and a second side disposed against the exterior layer. In various embodiments the electrical assembly has a connector aligned with the receiving opening. In some embodiments the electronic assembly is an AC to DC adapter that receives AC power through the at least two electrical prongs and supplies DC power out of the connector. In various embodiments a trim ring is fit within the receiving opening. In some embodiments an interface between the exterior layer of the front wall and the at least one side wall is curved.
In some embodiments a method of forming an enclosure having a seamless exterior comprises forming a housing having a rear wall opposite an opening and at least one sidewall extending between the rear wall and the opening forming a cavity, wherein the rear wall is formed around at least two electrical prongs extending through the rear wall. An electronic assembly is placed within the cavity such that it is electrically coupled to the at least two electrical prongs. A front wall support having an aperture is placed within the opening. An exterior layer is formed on an outside surface of the front wall support such that an exterior surface of the enclosure has a seamless appearance and has a receiving opening aligned with the aperture.
In various embodiments a ledge is formed in a distal end of the at least on sidewall and the front wall support is placed on the ledge. In some embodiments the exterior layer is formed with an injection molding process. In various embodiments the exterior layer bonds to the at least one sidewall at an interface. In some embodiments the front wall support is held in place during the forming of the exterior layer with tooling having a pair of fingers that extend through the aperture.
In some embodiments the pair of fingers form a receiving opening in the exterior layer. In various embodiments the receiving opening is aligned with the aperture and a trim ring is placed within the receiving opening. In some embodiments injection mold tooling applies a force against the front wall support towards the rear wall such that plastic is prevented from flowing into the cavity during formation of the exterior layer. In various embodiments the housing has first sidewall opposite a second sidewall and a third sidewall opposite a fourth sidewall. In some embodiments the housing has one sidewall forming a cylinder.
To better understand the nature and advantages of the present disclosure, reference should be made to the following description and the accompanying figures. It is to be understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the scope of the present disclosure. Also, as a general rule, and unless it is evident to the contrary from the description, where elements in different figures use identical reference numbers, the elements are generally either identical or at least similar in function or purpose.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to electronic devices that have a plastic enclosure that has the appearance and feel of not including any seams (e.g., having an apparently seamless enclosure). Various embodiments relate to enclosures that can also have improved structural integrity at the enclosure edges and/or resiliency to water or dust penetration. While the present disclosure can be useful for a wide variety of configurations, some embodiments of the disclosure are particularly useful for high voltage electronic assemblies encased in plastic enclosures, as described in more detail below.
For example, in some embodiments an injection molded plastic housing is formed with a cavity in communication with an opening, and a pair of AC wall adapter prongs that extend out of a face of the housing. An AC to DC converter assembly that includes high voltage circuitry is installed within the cavity and coupled to the prongs. A front wall support is placed in the opening and an exterior plastic layer is formed over the front wall support forming a visually continuous exterior surface at seams where the exterior plastic layer meets the housing. The exterior plastic layer has a receiving opening through which a DC connector can be coupled to the AC to DC converter.
In order to better appreciate the features and aspects of housings having a seamless appearance according to the present disclosure, further context for the disclosure is provided in the following section by discussing two particular implementations of electronic devices according to embodiments of the present disclosure. These embodiments are for example only and other embodiments can be employed in other electronic devices such as, but not limited to computers, watches, media players, RFID tags and other devices.
In the embodiment shown in
In various embodiments enclosure 105 can be used to enclose other electronics assemblies such as, but not limited to a wireless communication transceiver, a wireless router, an RFID device or an AC to DC adapter, as explained in more detail below. In some particular embodiments enclosure 105 can be part of a device that includes wireless transceiver, and a rechargeable battery. In further embodiments, enclosure 105 can be used for purposes other than enclosing an electronic device. In one example, enclosure 105 can be used to enclose an antique (e.g., a coin or a piece of ancient artwork) that needs to protected from damage and have an aesthetically appealing appearance.
As defined herein, liquid-tight shall mean a seal that conforms to one or more of the following ratings as defined by the International Protection Rating and International Electrochemical Commission (IEC) 60529 that can also be known as the I.P. 68 rating. In some embodiments the liquid-tight seal will protect the electronic assembly against the harmful ingress of water and have a “liquid ingress” rating between 1 (dripping water) and 8 (immersion beyond 1 meter). In various embodiments the liquid-tight seal shall be rated between 1 (dripping water) and 4 (splashing water) while in some embodiments the liquid-tight seal shall be rated between 2 (dripping water with device tilted at 15 degrees) and 5 (water jet). In various embodiments the liquid-tight seal shall be rated between 3 (spraying water) and 6 (powerful water jets) while in some embodiments the liquid-tight seal shall be rated between 4 (splashing water) and 7 (immersion up to 1 meter). In various embodiments the liquid-tight seal shall be rated between 5 (water jets) and 8 (immersion beyond 1 meter) while in some embodiments liquid-tight shall mean the seal will protect the electronic device against liquid ingress up to 100 feet for 30
Now referring to
Electronic device 200 has a pair of electrical prongs 311a, 311b that are configured to be plugged into an AC wall outlet to receive AC power. A receiving opening 235 is configured to receive a connector that can couple DC energy to a separate electronic device. In some embodiments continuous exterior surface 220 can provide device 200 with a pleasing feel for a user since housing 215 is not distinguishable from front wall 210 by touch. In further embodiments seams 240 formed between front wall 210 and housing 215, can be configured to provide improved structural integrity such that enclosure 205 is able to withstand high mechanical forces.
In this particular embodiment enclosure 205 is for an AC to DC adapter where electrical prongs 311a, 311b are configured to be plugged into a wall outlet and receiving opening 235 is configured to receive a connector that can couple DC energy to an electronic device. However, other embodiments can have electronic assemblies with different functions than an AC to DC adapter.
The at least one sidewall 320 has a distal end 347 with a ledge 350 formed therein. More specifically, ledge 350 can be formed in an interior surface 355 the of at least one sidewall 320 around a perimeter of opening 315.
Rear wall 310 can be formed around at least two electrical prongs 311a, 311b that are disposed through the rear wall (the second prong is disposed directly behind the prong illustrated in
In some embodiments, such as for example, the AC to DC converter application, improved structural integrity can be beneficial so that the user is not exposed to high voltages. More specifically, by locating interface 620 of the two components between front wall 625 and at least one sidewall 320, if the interface breaks it will expose the less dangerous low voltage portion of electronic assembly 405 instead of the high voltage portion that is near rear wall 310. Further, the increased structural integrity can keep front wall 625 from breaking away from at least one sidewall 320 such that enclosure 205 is safe even when subjected to high impacts or forces.
In some embodiments this portion of the injection mold tool can operate similar to a pull or a slide where fingers 810a, 810b are inserted into aperture 340 when the tool closes and the fingers are forced apart and upward after the tool closes. In further embodiments the action can operate with a pneumatic cylinder, an electronic solenoid or actuator. As shown in
In step 1110 an electronics assembly is placed within the housing. The electronics assembly is electrically coupled to the at least two electrical prongs. In step 1115 a front wall support is positioned on the ledge formed in the at least one sidewall. In step 1120 an exterior layer is formed on the front wall such that a front wall is formed that defines a cavity in which the electronic assembly is disposed. In some embodiments the exterior layer is formed by injection molding.
In some embodiments an automated injection molding and assembly machine can be used to form enclosure 205, insert electronic assembly 405 and form front wall 625 in sequential operations. In some embodiments the automated machine can be a turret type machine where the assembly rotates to different stations while in other embodiments the machines can have a different configuration such as, for example a progressive in-line system.
In some embodiments in a first station housing 215 can be injection molded around two or more electrical prongs 311a, 311b. Housing 215 can then be moved to a second station where electronic assembly 405 is inserted within housing 215 and is coupled to two electrical prongs 311a, 311b. In a third station front wall support 330 can be disposed within opening 315 of housing 215. In a fourth station exterior layer 605 can be formed on outside surface 610 of front wall support 330. In a fifth station the assembly can be electrically tested. In some embodiments, by leaving housing 215 in the same tooling it was formed in, tolerance stack ups can become less complex and easier to maintain since there are fewer variables that factor into the tolerance calculations.
In further embodiments one or more surfaces of enclosure 1300 can be roughened to further obscure the transition between exterior layer 1310 and the one or more sidewalls 1320 to make enclosure 1300 appear seamless. For example, in one embodiment exterior surface 1325 of exterior layer 1310 can be formed with a matte finish while exterior surface 1330 of one or more sidewalls 1320 can be formed with a smooth finish. The matte finish can be used to hide small imperfections in the cold weld interface and to make seam 1335 difficult to discern by touch and/or by sight.
Although electronic devices 100 and 200 (see
In some instances, embodiments of the disclosure are particularly well suited for use with portable electronic devices because of the importance of their aesthetic appearance. As used herein, an electronic media device includes any device with at least one electronic component. Such devices can include, for example, portable music players (e.g., MP3 devices and Apple's iPod devices), portable video players (e.g., portable DVD players), cellular telephones (e.g., smart telephones such as Apple's iPhone devices), wireless routers, video cameras, digital still cameras, projection systems (e.g., holographic projection systems), gaming systems, PDAs, as well as tablet (e.g., Apple's iPad devices), laptop or other mobile computers. Some of these devices can be configured to provide audio, video or other data or sensory output.
For simplicity, various internal components, such as the AC to DC power conversion circuitry, bus, memory, storage device and other components of electronic devices 100 and 200 (see
In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the disclosure have been described with reference to numerous specific details that can vary from implementation to implementation. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The sole and exclusive indicator of the scope of the disclosure, and what is intended by the applicants to be the scope of the disclosure, is the literal and equivalent scope of the set of claims that issue from this application, in the specific form in which such claims issue, including any subsequent correction. The specific details of particular embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without departing from the spirit and scope of embodiments of the disclosure.
Additionally, spatially relative terms, such as “bottom or “top” and the like can be used to describe an element and/or feature's relationship to another element(s) and/or feature(s) as, for example, illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use and/or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as a “bottom” surface can then be oriented “above” other elements or features. The device can be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/235,409, for “SEAMLESS ELECTRONIC ENCLOSURE” filed on Sep. 30, 2015 which is hereby incorporated by reference in entirety for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62235409 | Sep 2015 | US |
