Information handling system housing cover inflatable seal
AssigneeDell Products L.P.
InventorsTravis C. North, Jace W. Files, John Trevor Morrison
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A portable information handling system main housing portion has a transparent cover removeably coupled at an upper surface and sealed with an inflatable seal to aid desired cooling airflow. A pump fills the inflatable seal after the transparent cover closes over the housing and deflates the inflatable seal before release of the transparent cover to an open position. In one embodiment, the transparent cover integrates a liquid crystal display that presents operating condition of processing components visible within the housing through the transparent cover.
Claims18
A portable information handling system comprising:
- a housing;
- processing components disposed in the housing and operable to execute instructions that process information;
- a cover sized to fit on the housing over the processing components;
- an inflatable seal disposed between the cover and the housing and transitioning between an inflated state and a deflated state, the inflated state forming an airtight seal between the cover and housing;
- a first display integrated in a first portion of the housing;
- and
- a hinge rotationally coupling the first portion of the housing to a second portion of the housing to rotate the housing between open and closed positions;
- wherein the cover couples over the second portion of the housing.
A method for sealing a portable information handling system housing, the method comprising:
- closing a cover over the housing to enclose processing components of the portable information handling system;
- engaging a lock to hold the cover in place;
- after the engaging the lock, inflating a seal disposed between the cover and the housing to define an airtight seal between the cover and the housing;
- commanding the lock to disengage;
- in response to the commanding, deflating the inflatable seal;
- and
- in response to the deflating, disengaging the lock.
An information handling system housing comprising:
- first and second housing portions, the first housing portion configured to couple to a display, the second housing portion configured to contain processing components that process information;
- a transparent cover disposed over the second housing portion, at least some of the processing components visible through the transparent cover;
- an inflatable seal disposed between the second housing portion and the transparent cover;
- and
- a pump interfaced with the inflatable seal and operable to selectively inflate and deflate the inflatable seal, the seal when inflated defining an airtight seal between the transparent cover and the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.