Dynamic valve for an electronic device
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorsGokhan Hatipoglu, Peter C. Hrudey, Scott C. Grinker, Ankur Jain, Patrick B. Wright
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A portable electronic device comprising: an enclosure having an enclosure wall that forms an interior chamber and a sound output port to an ambient environment; a transducer positioned within the interior chamber and dividing the interior chamber into a front volume chamber coupling a first side of the transducer to the sound output port and a back volume chamber coupled to a second side of the transducer; and an electromechanical valve comprising a number of flaps operable to open and close a vent to the interior chamber, the front volume chamber or the back volume chamber.
Claims19
A portable electronic device comprising:
- an enclosure having an enclosure wall that forms an interior chamber and a sound output port to an ambient environment;
- a transducer positioned within the interior chamber and dividing the interior chamber into a front volume chamber coupling a first side of the transducer to the sound output port and a back volume chamber coupled to a second side of the transducer;
- and
- an electromechanical valve comprising a flap coupled to the enclosure wall by a hinge and operable to rotate about the hinge to open and close a vent to the interior chamber, the front volume chamber or the back volume chamber, and the hinge biases the flap to a closed position, and
- wherein the enclosure wall comprises a first width that increases to a second width in a direction away from the hinge to form a sloped surface and reduce a voltage required to transition the flap to an open position in which the flap is coupled to the sloped surface, and
- wherein the flap comprises an electrode layer fixedly coupled to a structural material layer and the flap maintains a flat shape when rotating about the hinge to close the vent.
A valve assembly for a portable electronic device, the valve assembly comprising:
- a support member coupled to an enclosure opening, the support member having an insulating layer;
- and
- an electromechanical flap movably coupled to the support member by a hinge, the electromechanical flap comprising an electrode layer fixedly coupled to a structural material layer, and wherein upon application of a voltage, the electromechanical flap is operable to rotate about the hinge while maintaining a flat shape to transition between a closed configuration in which the electromechanical flap covers the enclosure opening and an open configuration in which the electromechanical flap uncovers the enclosure opening, and the hinge biases the flap to the closed configuration, and
- wherein the support member comprises a first width that increases to a second width in a direction away from the hinge to form a sloped surface and reduce a voltage required to transition the flap to the open configuration in which the flap is coupled to the sloped surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.