Viscoelastic material for shock protection in an electronic device
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorChristopher Prest
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention is directed to reducing the effect of shocks on electronic device components. The electronic device component may be surrounded by a boundary element operative to deform in response to impacts. By deforming, the boundary element may be operative to absorb energy received by the shock or impact without passing the energy on to the electronic device component. To maximize the effectiveness of the boundary element over a range of different impacts (e.g., strong, instantaneous impacts and weak impacts over time), a viscoelastic material may be used. The characteristic properties of the viscoelastic material may be selected based on expected impacts to the electronic device component.
Claims10
A method for reducing shocks received by an electronic device component, comprising:
- providing an electronic device component within an electronic device housing;
- defining a shell surrounding the electronic device component;
- and
- placing a viscoelastic material in the shell.
An electronic device with shock protection for components, comprising:
- a housing;
- at least one component placed within the housing, the at least one component operative to deflect in response to a force being applied to the housing;
- and
- a boundary component placed around at least a portion of the at least one component, the 10 boundary component comprising a viscoelastic material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.