Laser Processing of Fabric For Electronic Devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018337010-A1
Application number	US-201815980537-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 15, 2018
Priority date	Sep 3, 2015
Publication date	Nov 22, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electronic device such as a cover for a portable device or other electronic equipment may have circuitry mounted in a housing. The housing may be formed from layers of material such as fabric and polymer layers. The circuitry of the electronic device may include components mounted on a printed circuit. The components may include movable components such as keys in a keyboard. A fabric layer may overlap the keys. Border regions of the fabric layer that surround each key may be characterized by a stiffness. To ensure that the keys or other movable components in the device exhibit satisfactory stiffness levels, the keys can be tested and selected border regions or other fabric layer portions may be laser ablated or otherwise processed to locally reduce fabric layer stiffness.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of forming a fabric keyboard, comprising:
mounting first and second movable members to a substrate; covering the first and second moveable members with fabric, wherein the fabric has first, second, and third portions, wherein the first and second portions respectively overlap the first and second movable members, and wherein the third portion is interposed between the first and second portions; and reducing a stiffness of the third portion of the fabric.

2 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein reducing the stiffness of the third portion of the fabric comprises laser ablating the third portion of the fabric.

3 . The method defined in claim 2 wherein laser ablating the third portion of the fabric comprises forming a recess in the third portion of the fabric that passes only partway through the fabric.

4 . The method defined in claim 2 wherein laser ablating the third portion of the fabric comprises forming a through-hole in the third portion of the fabric.

5 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein reducing the stiffness of the third portion of the fabric comprises removing material from the fabric.

6 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein the fabric comprises woven fabric with polymer strands, the method further comprising:
removing at least some polymer from the polymer strands.

7 . The method defined in claim 6 wherein removing at least some polymer from the polymer strands comprises laser ablating the polymer strands.

8 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein the third portion extends around a perimeter of the first portion.

9 . The method defined in claim 8 wherein reducing the stiffness of the third portion comprises forming perforations around the perimeter of the first portion.

10 . The method defined in claim 8 wherein adjusting the stiffness of the third portion comprises forming recesses around the perimeter of the first portion.

11 . A method of forming a keyboard, comprising:
mounting a keyboard key to a substrate; covering the keyboard key with a layer of fabric, wherein the layer of fabric has a first region that overlaps the keyboard key and a second region that is offset from the keyboard key; and removing material from the second region of the layer of fabric to reduce a stiffness of the second region of the layer of fabric.

12 . The method defined in claim 11 wherein removing material from the second region of the layer of fabric comprises laser ablating the second region of the layer of fabric.

13 . The method defined in claim 11 wherein the second region comprises a rectangular ring having four corners and wherein removing material from the second region of the layer of fabric comprises removing material from the four corners.

14 . The method defined in claim 11 wherein the second region comprises a rectangular ring having four sides and wherein removing material from the second region of the layer of fabric comprises forming perforations in each of the four sides.

15 . A method of forming an electronic device, comprising:
mounting a component on a substrate; covering the component with a layer of material; and adjusting a stiffness associated with a layer of material in a region of the layer of material adjacent to the component.

16 . The method defined in claim 15 wherein the component comprises a keyboard key and wherein adjusting the stiffness comprises processing a border region of the layer of material surrounding the keyboard key.

17 . The method defined in claim 16 wherein the layer of material comprises fabric and wherein adjusting the stiffness comprises adjusting fabric stiffness for the fabric in the border region.

18 . The method defined in claim 17 wherein adjusting the stiffness comprises applying laser light to the fabric in the border region.

19 . The method defined in claim 18 wherein the substrate comprises a printed circuit and wherein mounting the component comprises soldering the keyboard key to the printed circuit, the method further comprising:
soldering a plurality of additional keyboard keys to the printed circuit.

20 . The method defined in claim 18 wherein applying the laser light comprises ablating portions of the fabric in the border region with pulses of the laser light.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Wang Paul X
• Ruscher Joel N
• Lebedeff Christopher T
• Murphy Sean
• Kuna Melody

Classifications

• H01H2229/02

  Laser · CPC title

• H01H13/88

  Processes specially adapted for manufacture of rectilinearly movable switches having a plurality of operating members associated with different sets of contacts, e.g. keyboards · CPC title

• H01H13/86 Primary

  characterised by the casing, e.g. sealed casings or casings reducible in size · CPC title

• H01H13/705

  characterised by construction, mounting or arrangement of operating parts, e.g. push-buttons or keys · CPC title

• H01H2223/003

  Membrane embracing all keys · CPC title