Protective Cover Assembly for Electronic Device Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices, such as point-of-sales (POS) devices, are prone to malfunction and reduced service life due to water, disinfectant, and acid ingress through gaps around the keypad and display, causing corrosion.
Innovation Solution
A protective cover assembly comprising a silicone base with a patterned double-sided adhesive layer and releasable protective paper, which is applied to cover and seal the keypad and display screen, providing a waterproof and corrosion-resistant barrier.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If gaps around the keypad and display are left open for device assembly and operation, then the device structure remains simple and accessible, but water, disinfectant, and acid can easily enter and cause corrosion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a flexible protective cover made of silicone rubber material that conforms to the device surface and seals gaps around the keypad and display. This flexible film structure provides effective liquid sealing without requiring rigid enclosures, thus protecting against corrosion while maintaining relatively simple device architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cover is pre-formed with adhesive layers and positioning structures before installation. The adhesive layers are pre-applied to the back surface, and the cover is designed with precise dimensions to match the device contours, enabling straightforward installation that seals all gaps before the device is put into service.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a protective cover is added to seal the device, then liquid ingress is prevented, but the device size increases due to the additional component
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cover is constructed as a thin flexible film rather than a bulky rigid structure. This allows the cover to provide comprehensive sealing around the keypad and display while adding minimal thickness and volume to the overall device dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cover is designed to extend slightly beyond the necessary sealing areas, providing a margin of error for installation and ensuring complete coverage of all potential ingress paths. This slight excess in coverage area does not significantly increase device size but ensures reliable waterproofing.
3Strength
If adhesive layers are applied to the entire surface of the protective cover, then strong bonding is achieved, but alignment during installation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive layer is segmented into distinct bonding zones and non-bonding zones. The bonding zones are positioned at specific locations that provide sufficient holding strength for installation, while non-bonding zones allow the cover to be aligned and positioned accurately before final bonding occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the protective cover have different adhesive properties. The areas requiring strong bonding have adhesive layers applied, while areas requiring precise alignment or flexibility have no adhesive or reduced adhesive coverage, creating local variations in bonding quality that facilitate both strong attachment and easy alignment.
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
The solution effectively seals the electronic device, preventing liquid ingress and corrosion, thereby extending the device's service life and ensuring reliable operation.
Implementation Method 1
a patterned double-sided adhesive layer attached onto the inner surface of the silicone base
Data Source
AI summary
A protective cover assembly and a protected electronic device are provided. The protective cover assembly for example includes: a silicone base, having an inner surface and an outer surface opposite to the inner surface; a patterned double-sided adhesive layer, attached onto the inner surface of the silicone base; and a releasable protective paper, attached onto a side of the patterned double-sided adhesive layer facing away from the inner surface of the silicone base and thereby the patterned double-sided adhesive layer is sandwiched between the silicone base and the releasable protective paper. The protective cover assembly can be applied for protecting a keypad and/or display part of an electronic device to thereby make the protected electronic device gain a liquid sealing and corrosion-resistant performance and the service life is prolonged consequently.