Compliant support for component alignment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016198071-A1
Application number	US-201615069222-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 14, 2016
Priority date	Feb 21, 2014
Publication date	Jul 7, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Compliant supports hover a cover having a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) applied to bottom surface over a housing to enable precise alignment of the cover to the housing. The compliant supports are placed along a surface of the housing and in respective cavities formed in the surface. The cavities enable locating the compliant supports and enclosing the compliant support after assembly of the enclosure. At least a portion of each of the compliant supports extends above the surface of the housing to hover the cover above the housing such that the PSA does not contact the housing. The compliant supports apply an upward force on the cover to maintain a gap between the cover and the housing. After alignment of the cover to the housing, the cover is brought into contact with the housing while retaining at least one of the compliant supports in the cavity of the housing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An imaging device comprising:
a housing defining an interior space, said housing comprising:
an edge defining at least a portion of an opening to the interior space; and
a cavity formed in said edge;
a cover positionable at least in part on said edge of said housing, said cover overlapping said cavity; a compliant support positioned in said cavity, said compliant support configured to provide a first force to maintain said cover in a spaced relationship relative to said edge; and an adhesive component positioned between at least a portion of said edge and said cover, said adhesive component configured to bond said at least a portion of said edge to said cover via said adhesive component when a second force is applied to overcome the first force, wherein said compliant support is retained in said cavity.

2 . The imaging device of claim 1 , wherein said compliant support is fabricated from a compressible material.

3 . The imaging device of claim 2 , wherein said compressible material comprises a semi-closed cell EPDM rubber foam.

4 . The imaging device of claim 1 , wherein said compliant support comprises a cylindrical structure comprising a first end and a substantially parallel second end.

5 . The imaging device of claim 4 , wherein one of said first and second ends comprises an adhesive backing material to facilitate attachment of said compliant support.

6 . The imaging device of claim 1 , wherein said compliant support is further configured to facilitate translational movement of said cover relative to said housing.

7 . The imaging device of claim 1 , wherein said compliant support is further configured to facilitate alignment of said cover to said housing.

8 . The imaging device of claim 1 , wherein said adhesive component is bonded to one of said housing and said cover, and wherein said compliant support is further configured to provide the first force to maintain the spaced relationship between said adhesive component and the other of said housing and said cover.

9 . The imaging device of claim 1 , where said adhesive component comprises one or more of the following: a pressure sensitive adhesive, a liquid adhesive, and a heat activated adhesive.

10 . The imaging device of claim 1 , wherein said interior space is configured to receive at least one imaging component.

11 . The imaging device of claim 1 , wherein said imaging device comprises one or more of the following: a tablet computing device, a mobile telephone, a gaming console, and a laptop computing device.

12 . An enclosure assembly comprising:
a housing comprising a surface having a plurality of cavities formed therein; a cover positionable on said surface and overlapping said plurality of cavities; a plurality of compliant supports, wherein a respective compliant support of said plurality of compliant supports is positioned in a respective cavity of said plurality of cavities, said plurality of compliant supports extending beyond said first surface and configured to provide a first force to facilitate maintaining said cover in a spaced relationship relative to said housing; and an adhesive component positioned between said cover and said surface of said housing and configured to bond said cover to said surface via said adhesive component when a second force is applied to overcome the first force, said plurality of compliant supports being retained in said plurality of cavities.

13 . The enclosure assembly of claim 12 , wherein said plurality of cavities are spaced about said surface in predefined locations.

14 . The enclosure assembly of claim 12 , wherein said adhesive component is bonded to said cover, and wherein said plurality of compliant supports are further configured to provide the first force to maintain the spaced relationship between said adhesive component and said housing until the second force is applied.

15 . The enclosure assembly of claim 12 , wherein said plurality of compliant supports are configured to apply the first force to said cover, and wherein the second force is greater than the first force.

16 . The enclosure assembly of claim 12 , wherein said enclosure assembly comprises one or more of the following: a tablet computing device, a mobile telephone, a gaming console, and a laptop computing device.

17 . A method of assembling an enclosure assembly, said method comprising:
coupling a compliant support to a housing, the compliant support positioned in a cavity formed in a surface of the housing and extending beyond the surface; placing a cover onto the compliant support, the compliant support maintaining a gap between the cover and the housing; bonding an adhesive component to one of the housing and the cover in the gap, the gap defining a spaced relationship between the adhesive component and the other of the housing and the cover; aligning the cover to the housing through translational movement of the cover via the compliant support; and bonding the cover to the housing via the adhesive component by bringing the cover and the housing into contact with the adhesive component without removing the compliant support from the enclosure assembly.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the compliant support provides a force to the cover to maintain the spaced relationship between the adhesive component and the other of the housing and the cover during alignment of the cover to the housing.

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein bringing the cover and the housing into contact with the adhesive component comprises providing a compressive force to one or more of the housing and the cover to overcome a force generated by the compliant support.

20 . The method of claim 17 , wherein bringing the cover and the housing into contact with the adhesive component without removing the compliant support from the enclosure assembly comprises compressing the compliant support extending beyond the surface into the cavity of the housing.

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Leong Eric
• Schweers Michael

Classifications

• H04N23/51 Primary

  Housings · CPC title

• B32B2305/77

  Uncured, e.g. green · CPC title

• B32B38/18

  Handling of layers or the laminate · CPC title

• H04N5/2252 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G06F1/1686

  the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera · CPC title