Seamless Portable Housing With Mounting Steps and Internal Beams
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable computing devices face challenges in designing enclosures that are lightweight, strong, and aesthetically pleasing, with current assembly techniques being time-consuming and prone to damage from flexing or weight-related issues, and requiring complex manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A single piece seamless housing with integral bottom and side walls, featuring a curved bottom surface and rectilinear edges, and a CNC-machined interior with mounting steps and an integrated beam system to distribute forces evenly, reducing deformation risk and allowing for radio transparent components to minimize weight and enhance aesthetics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If thinner plastic structures are used to make the enclosure lighter, then the weight is reduced, but the enclosure becomes more flexible and prone to buckling and bowing
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure is divided into two separate casings (upper and lower) that are joined together, with the display module sandwiched between them. This segmentation allows each casing to be optimized for strength while maintaining overall lightness, and the sandwich structure provides inherent rigidity without requiring thick plastic throughout the entire enclosure.
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure uses composite construction combining plastic casings with an integrated beam system and fastener mechanisms. The integrated beams provide structural reinforcement within the plastic casings, creating a composite structure that achieves high rigidity-to-weight ratio, eliminating the need for uniformly thick plastic while preventing buckling and bowing.
2Strength
If thicker plastic structures and more fasteners are used to make the enclosure stronger, then the strength is improved, but the enclosure becomes thicker and heavier
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly thickening the entire enclosure, the patent applies reinforcement locally through an integrated beam system positioned at critical stress points within the casings. This localized strengthening provides maximum structural support where needed while keeping the overall enclosure thin and light, avoiding unnecessary material throughout the entire structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional surface thickness to three-dimensional internal structure by incorporating an integrated beam system within the casing volume. This internal reinforcement structure provides strength through spatial arrangement and geometric configuration rather than relying solely on increased material thickness, achieving strength without proportional weight increase.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional assembly techniques with multiple fasteners are used, then the enclosure can be assembled, but the process becomes complicated and creates aesthetic difficulties with cracks, seams, and gaps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the fastening function into the display module assembly itself, where the display module acts as a structural connector between the upper and lower casings. This integration eliminates the need for separate visible fasteners on the enclosure exterior, removing cracks, seams, and gaps from the aesthetic surface while simplifying the assembly process to primarily involve securing the display module.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable computing device is disclosed. The portable computing device can take many forms such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and so on. The portable computing device can include at least a single piece housing. The single piece housing including a plurality of steps. The plurality of mounting steps is formed by at least removing a preselected amount of housing material at predetermined locations on the interior surface. At least some of the mounting steps are used to mount at least some of the plurality of internal operating components to the housing.