Resin-encapsulated portable media device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9310836-B2
Application number	US-201313886075-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 2, 2013
Priority date	May 2, 2013
Publication date	Apr 12, 2016
Grant date	Apr 12, 2016

Abstract

Portable multimedia devices, and techniques for their manufacture, are provided that feature functional parts embedded with a resin matrix that obviates the need for traditional structural components such as midframes and/or outer casings. The resin matrix may be provided through the use of a flowable liquid resin that is flowed around the functional components within a mold cavity. The liquid resin may then be cured into the resin matrix.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A portable multi-media touch-screen tablet, the tablet comprising:
a touch-screen display module, the touch-screen display module having:
a display portion substantially corresponding to a region of the touch-screen display module configured to display graphical content;
a touch-sensitive portion at least partially overlapping the display portion; and
a remaining portion including edges of the touch-screen display module, an electrical interface for receiving power and display data, and a back surface of the touch-screen display module;

a battery;
at least one transmitter, receiver, antenna, or transceiver configured to transmit and receive data via at least one communications standard selected from the group consisting of 3G, 4G, BLUETOOTH®, 802.11, and WIMAX®;
an inductive charging system electrically coupled with the battery;
one or more processors configured to communicate with the touch-screen display module, the battery, and the wireless interface;
a printed circuit substrate (PCS), the PCS having conductive traces configured to communicate electrical signals among the touch-screen display module, the battery, the wireless interface, and the one or more processors; and
a resin matrix, wherein the battery, the wireless interface, the one or more processors, and the remaining portion of the touch-screen display module are fully embedded within the resin matrix, and wherein the resin matrix serves as a substantially conformal overall structural component of the tablet that fixes the touch-screen display module, the battery, the wireless interface, the one or more processors, and the PCS in space relative to each other.

2. The portable multi-media touch-screen tablet of claim 1 , wherein the resin matrix extends around a periphery of the display portion and the display portion is substantially free of the resin matrix.

3. The portable multi-media touch-screen tablet of claim 1 , wherein the PCS is selected from the group consisting of a printed circuit board and a printed flex circuit.

4. A portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device, the device comprising:
a touch-screen display module, the touch-screen display module having:
a display portion substantially corresponding to a region of the touch-screen display module configured to display graphical content;
a touch-sensitive portion at least partially overlapping the display portion; and
a remaining portion including edges of the touch-screen display module, an electrical interface for receiving power and display data, and a back surface of the touch-screen display module;

a power source;
a wireless interface;
one or more processors configured to communicate with the touch-screen display module, the power source, and the wireless interface;
a printed circuit substrate (PCS), the PCS having conductive traces configured to communicate electrical signals among the touch-screen display module, the power source, the wireless interface, and the one or more processors; and
a resin matrix, wherein the power source, the wireless interface, the one or more processors, and the remaining portion of the touch-screen display module are substantially embedded within the resin matrix, and wherein the resin matrix serves as a substantially conformal overall structural component of the device that fixes the touch-screen display module, the power source, the wireless interface, the one or more processors, and the PCS in space relative to each other.

5. The portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the resin matrix extends around a periphery of the display portion and the display portion is substantially free of the resin matrix.

6. The portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the PCS is selected from the group consisting of a printed circuit board and a printed flex circuit.

7. The portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the resin matrix serves as a primary overall structural framework of the device without requiring a separately-manufactured discrete structural frame to secure the touch-screen display, the power source, the wireless interface, the one or more processors, and the PCS with respect to one another.

8. The portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the resin matrix serves as a primary overall structural framework of the device without requiring a separately-manufactured discrete structural frame that has substantially the same overall footprint as the device and that includes one or more features selected from the group consisting of threaded holes, through-holes, recesses, cutouts, stiffening ribs, and combinations thereof.

9. The portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device does not include a midframe.

10. The portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device does not include an outer casing separate from the resin matrix.

11. The portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device of claim 4 , the power source having one or more battery cells located within a sealed outer housing, wherein an expansion gap exists between the one or more cells and the sealed outer housing, the expansion gap being free of resin matrix.

12. The portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device of claim 4 , further comprising:
one or more electrical connector ports located along a periphery of the resin matrix and electrically connected with one or more of the power source, the wireless interface, the one or more processors, and the remaining portion of the touch-screen display, the one or more electrical connector ports being configured to resist ingress of moisture to an interior of the portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device.

13. The portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device of claim 4 , further comprising:
one or more electrical connector ports located along a periphery of the resin matrix and electrically connected with one or more of the power source, the wireless interface, the one or more processors, and the remaining portion of the touch-screen display, the one or more electrical connector ports protected against electrical interference from moisture exposure through the use of anti-shorting circuitry.

14. The portable multi-media touch-screen electronic device of claim 4 , further comprising:
an inductive charging system electrically configured to charge the power source, the inductive charging system also fully embedded within the resin matrix, wherein the resin matrix does not have any penetrations into the resin matrix that reach the power source, the wireless interface, the one or more processors, the PCS, and the remaining portion.

Assignees

• Amazon Tech Inc

Inventors

• Srinivas Vikram
• Bahmandar Ali-Reza
• Ganapathysubramanian Shankar
• Nachman Ramez
• Tang Patrick

Classifications

• G06F1/1626 Primary

  with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs] · CPC title

• G06F1/1643

  the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads (details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615) · CPC title

• Y10T29/49117

  Conductor or circuit manufacturing · CPC title

• G06F1/1656

  Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories (mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203) · CPC title

• H05K3/284

  for encapsulating mounted components (H05K1/185 takes precedence) · CPC title