Patent Application
20130222988
The present invention relates generally to computer peripherals and, more specifically, to a computer system having a smart drain hole.
In recent years, various personal computers have evolved from transportable suitcase style computers, to popular laptops or notebooks due to their affordable prices. Many features have been added to electronic devices, such as portable telephones and personal computers to attract more users
More recently, with the increasing popularity of wireless networks at individual homes and restaurants, people are using their laptop computers to either surf the internet or work while also consuming beverages. In these types of environments, people may have wet fingers or may spill their coffee, tea, or soft drinks on their computers. If there is no water drainage system for computers, liquid may damage the circuit boards of the electronic devices and the operating functions of the electronic device may be impaired.
Therefore, it can be seen that there is a need for apparatus and methods for a drainage system disposed around touchpads or keyboards of electronic devices.
In one aspect, a drainage system for a pushbutton casing comprises a liquid collecting receptacle operatively interfacing the pushbutton casing; a counter-bore having a sidewall; and a drainage exit disposed on the sidewall of the counter-bore, wherein an end opening of the counter-bore is in connection with a drainage exit, the end opening of the counter-bore is disposed to allow liquid entering the drainage exit out of the end opening of the counter-bore.
In another aspect, an electronic computing device comprises a casing having a plurality of pushbuttons on a surface of the casing; and a drainage system comprising: a counter-bore having a sidewall; and a drainage exit disposed on the sidewall of the counter-bore.
In a further aspect, a method for draining liquid permeated between a plurality of pushbuttons on a surface of a casing comprises collecting liquid that has permeated between the pushbuttons on a surface of the casing; and directing the collected liquid from a liquid collecting receptacle into a drainage exit; wherein the drainage exit is disposed on a sidewall of a counter-bore.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.
The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles, since the scope of the embodiments is best defined by the appended claims.
Various inventive features are described below that can each be used independently of one another or in combination with other features.
Broadly, exemplary embodiments provide methods and systems for draining liquid on a casing having a plurality of pushbuttons. More specifically, exemplary embodiments of an electronic apparatus enable the liquid that permeates between the pushbuttons on a surface of the casing to flow to a drainage exit, thereby preventing the liquid from contacting circuit boards of the electronic apparatus. According to exemplary embodiments, a drainage system provides a liquid collecting receptacle which is adapted to receive liquid from an area around pushbuttons. The drainage system may further include a counter-bore having a plurality of side walls. The drainage exit may be disposed on the sidewall of the counter-bore. In exemplary embodiments, the casing may be an enclosure for a notebook computer and the pushbuttons may be a keyboard or a touchpad of the notebook computer.
The notebook PC 10 may have a liquid crystal display (LCD) 15 in a display casing 13. A bottom case 11 may have a bottom wall 12 and a recessed portion 14 opposing the bottom wall 12. The bottom case 11 may further accommodate system devices, such as a printed circuit board (PCB) 17. A keyboard unit 16 may be adapted for installation in the notebook PC 10. The keyboard unit 16 may be attached to the bottom case 11 so as to cover the recessed portion 14 of the bottom case 11. The bottom case 11 and the display casing 13 may be openably coupled to each other via hinge portions 21a and 21b.
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The keyboard 16 may further include a pointing stick 24, which is used for moving a mouse pointer with an object, such as an index finger. The notebook PC 10 may further include an input device adapted to send data to the notebook PC 10 in order to perform an action in the notebook PC 10. The input device may be a flat touchpad 30, for example.
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The drainage system 26 may further include a bottom 38 and partition members 36 and 37 which may be disposed to operably interface an electronic circuit, such as the printed circuit board 17 and the liquid collecting receptacle 31. The partition member 36 may be the same as or even longer than a lower edge 33 of the touchpad 30 so that liquid that spills around the touchpad 30 may drain to the liquid collecting receptacle 31. The partition member 36 may be longer than the partition member 37 in such a way that the drainage system may be an elongated channel 35. The width of a channel 35 to the counter-bore 34 is shorter than the partition member 37 in such a way that the collected liquid may be directed towards the counter-bore 34.
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It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relate to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
