Magnetic Assembly with Shield for Secure Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional attachment techniques for portable electronic devices require external fasteners, which detract from the appearance, add weight, and increase complexity, while also potentially interfering with magnetically sensitive devices due to excessive magnetic flux.
Innovation Solution
A multi-state magnetic assembly that includes shaped magnets, a magnetic attractor block, and a ferrous magnetic shield, allowing for a controlled magnetic flux density that enables secure attachment without external fasteners and minimizes interference with magnetically sensitive devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If conventional mechanical fasteners are used for attachment, then secure attachment is achieved, but the appearance is degraded and weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical fasteners with a magnetic attachment system. Magnets embedded in the housing provide magnetic attraction forces to hold accessories, eliminating the need for external mechanical fasteners. This substitution maintains secure attachment while preserving the sleek appearance of the device housing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses magnetic field strength as the attachment parameter instead of mechanical interlocking. By controlling the magnetic field parameters (strength, distribution), the system achieves secure attachment without visible fasteners, thus improving appearance while maintaining attachment force.
2Force
If strong magnets are used for secure attachment, then attachment force is improved, but interference with magnetically sensitive devices increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local magnetic shielding by placing ferrous material shields at specific locations between the magnets and the external environment. These shields are positioned strategically to contain magnetic flux within the device housing, reducing magnetic interference with external magnetically sensitive devices while preserving the magnetic attachment force where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces ferrous magnetic shields as intermediary elements between the magnets and the external environment. These shields act as mediators that redirect and contain magnetic flux, preventing it from extending outward and interfering with external devices while allowing the magnets to maintain their attachment function.
3Adaptability or versatility
If magnets are placed near the housing surface, then attachment capability is improved, but magnetic flux density at the exterior surface increases causing interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the housing into multiple sections with magnets placed in discrete locations rather than a continuous distribution. This segmentation allows strategic positioning of magnets away from the exterior surface in areas where attachment is needed, while placing magnetic shields in areas where flux containment is prioritized to reduce external interference.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables secure, self-aligning, and self-centering attachment of accessories to electronic devices without external fasteners, while maintaining a magnetic flux density that does not adversely affect magnetically sensitive devices, thus enhancing the look and feel of the device while preventing unwanted interference.
Implementation Method 1
a first magnet, with a surface shaped to conform with an interior surface of the housing and providing a first magnetic field and having a first polarity, a second magnet with a surface shaped to conform to an interior surface of the housing providing a second magnetic field and having a second polarity
Implementation Method 2
a magnetic attractor block positioned between the first and the second magnets where the attractor block can reduce a magnetic flux density at an exterior surface of the housing
Implementation Method 3
a magnetic shield made from a ferrous material having a first surface attached to the interior surface of the housing and having a second surface attached to the first and second magnets
Data Source
AI summary
A magnetic assembly for use in a housing of an electronic device can include a first and a second magnet and a magnetic shield. The magnetic shield can reduce magnetic flux density from the first and the second magnets that can appear on the outside of the housing. A magnetic hinge assembly can include magnets configured to correlate with the first and second magnets. The magnetic hinge can magnetically attach to the housing by cooperating with the first and second magnets with magnets that can be included in the magnetic hinge.