Housing surface with tactile friction features

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019331940-A1
Application number	US-201916268338-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 5, 2019
Priority date	Apr 27, 2018
Publication date	Oct 31, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

A glass component of an electronic device housing may define a textured surface having micro-scale tactile friction features that provide a specified friction between a user's finger and the glass component. More specifically, the tactile friction features may reduce a contact surface area that is in contact with the user's finger in order to produce a reduced or specified coefficient of friction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An electronic device comprising:
an enclosure defining an internal volume and having a glass structure at least partially defining a touch-sensitive exterior surface of the electronic device, the touch-sensitive exterior surface comprising:
a base surface defining a first planar region having a first area; and
a set of tactile friction features distributed along the touch-sensitive exterior surface and extending above the base surface to define a second planar region having a second area less than the first area; and
a touch sensor positioned below the glass structure and configured to detect a touch along the touch-sensitive exterior surface.

2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
each tactile friction feature of the set of tactile friction features has a circular contour defining a diameter ranging from 1 micron to 20 microns; and the second planar region is offset from the first planar region by a distance less than or equal to 5 microns.

3 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the electronic device further comprises a display positioned under the glass structure; the glass structure comprises:
a first region positioned over a visible portion of the display; and
a second region at least partially surrounding the first region and not positioned over the visible portion of the display;
the set of tactile friction features is a first set of tactile friction features positioned along the first region; the electronic device further comprises a second set of tactile friction features positioned along the second region; and a first pitch between tactile friction features of the first set of tactile friction features is greater than a second pitch between tactile friction features of the second set of tactile friction features.

4 . The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein:
the first pitch is measured as an average distance between centers of adjacent tactile friction features; and the first pitch is between 5 and 600 microns.

5 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the touch is a user's finger in contact with the touch-sensitive exterior surface; and the set of tactile friction features prevents the user's finger from contacting the base surface.

6 . An electronic device comprising:
a display; a touch sensor positioned over the display; and an enclosure comprising a glass structure enclosing the display and defining an exterior surface of the electronic device, the exterior surface of the electronic device having a set of glass tactile friction features, each glass tactile friction feature of the set of glass tactile friction features including:
a base having a micro-scale width;
a top;
a sidewall extending from the base to the top; and
a height between the base and the top, the height being less than or equal to the micro-scale width.

7 . The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein:
the set of glass tactile friction features is substantially evenly distributed over a touch-sensitive region of the exterior surface of the electronic device that is positioned over the touch sensor; the touch-sensitive region provides a frictional resistance to a touch gesture applied to a touch-sensitive surface by a user's finger; and the frictional resistance is due, at least in part, to contact between the user's finger and the tops of the set of glass tactile friction features.

8 . The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein:
the touch-sensitive region comprises a base surface that surrounds each of the glass tactile friction features of the set of glass tactile friction features.

9 . The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the user's finger does not touch the base surface when performing the touch gesture.

10 . The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein an average spacing between adjacent bases along the base surface is less than an average width of micro-scale widths of the bases.

11 . The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein an average height of the set of glass tactile friction features ranges from 50 nm to 2 μm.

12 . The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein:
the sidewall defines a conical portion and an oblique internal taper angle of each glass tactile friction feature.

13 . The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein:
the set of glass tactile friction features is a first set of glass tactile friction features having a first height; the exterior surface of the electronic device has a second set of glass tactile friction features that is interspersed with the first set of glass tactile friction features; and the first height of the first set of glass tactile friction features is greater than a second height of the second set of glass tactile friction features.

14 . The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the enclosure further comprises an oleophobic coating including a fluorinated material bonded to the set of glass tactile friction features.

15 . An electronic device comprising:
a display; and an enclosure at least partially surrounding the display and including a structure defining:
a base surface; and
a set of tactile friction features extending outward from the base surface, adjacent pairs of the tactile friction features having circular bases separated by an interstitial region of the base surface.

16 . The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein:
the structure is a glass structure positioned over the display and over a touch sensor; the glass structure includes a display window region; the set of tactile friction features is distributed along the display window region; and the touch sensor is configured to detect a touch on the glass structure along the display window region.

17 . The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein:
the set of tactile friction features has an average height; an interstitial region defines an average spacing between adjacent tactile friction features; and a ratio of the average height to an average spacing of the set of tactile friction features ranges from 0.005 to 10.

18 . The electronic device of claim 17 , wherein each tactile friction feature has a circular contour and a flat top surface that is offset from the base surface by a distance of less than or equal to 2 microns.

19 . The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein:
the set of tactile friction features has a uniform width; and the uniform width is smaller than a pixel size of the display.

20 . The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the set of tactile friction features is configured to allow finger contact with top surfaces of an adjacent pair of tactile friction features without contacting the interstitial region of the base surface.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Poole Joseph C
• Prest Christopher D
• Nekimken Kyle J
• Schneider Samuel O

Classifications

• G06F3/044

  by capacitive means · CPC title

• G06F3/041

  Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means · CPC title

• G06F3/043

  using propagating acoustic waves · CPC title

• G02F1/0072 Primary

  Mechanical, acoustic, electro-elastic, magneto-elastic properties · CPC title

• G02F2201/56

  Substrates having a particular shape, e.g. non-rectangular · CPC title