Perforated Substrates for Forming Housings
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorDouglas Weber
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A housing for an electronic device as well as methods for forming the housing are disclosed. The housing can be formed from a substrate having perforations to assist in adhering components internal to the housing. The substrate is typically a multi-layer substrate having at least two layers. In one embodiment, an inner layer of the multi-layer substrate can be provided with perforations. The perforations can them be used to adhere internal features to the multi-layer substrate. The internal features can be used for attaching parts or components to the multi-layer substrate, thereby securing the parts or components to the multi-layer substrate and thus the housing.
Claims21
A method for forming an enclosure for a consumer electronic product, said method comprising:
- obtaining an inner layer and an outer layer;
- imposing a plurality of perforations to the inner layer;
- combining the perforated inner layer with the outer layer to form a multi-layer substrate;
- forming the enclosure for the consumer electronic product from the multi-layer substrate;
- and
- molding internal features onto the perforated inner layer of the enclosure.
An assembly comprising:
- a multi-layer substrate having at least a first layer and a second layer;
- a plurality of perforations provided in the first layer;
- and
- at least one structural feature adhered to the first layer at least in part by one or more of the perforations.
A portable electronic device, comprising:
- an electronic component;
- and
- a housing, the housing being arranged to house the electronic component,
- wherein the housing includes at least a multi-layer substrate having at least a first layer and a second layer, a plurality of perforations provided in the first layer, and at least one internal feature adhered to the first layer at least in part by one or more of the perforations.
A housing for a portable electronic device, comprising:
- a multi-layer substrate having at least a first layer and a second layer;
- a plurality of perforations provided in the first layer;
- and
- at least one internal feature formed on or attached to the first layer at least in part by one or more of the perforations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.