阅读说明：本技术 设备部件暴露保护 (Device component exposure protection ) 是由 小理查德·W·布罗茨曼 德博拉·M·帕斯基维奇 于 2018-12-06 设计创作，主要内容包括：在设备部件暴露保护的实施方式中,计算设备包括被封闭在壳体内的设备部件。设备部件被组装在壳体内并且在计算设备组装完成后被封闭在壳体内。该计算设备还包括被包含在壳体内的保护材料,该保护材料填充设备部件周围的空隙空间。在组装完成后保护材料防止设备部件暴露于计算设备被暴露于的外部物质。(In an embodiment of device component exposure protection, a computing device includes a device component enclosed within a housing. The device components are assembled within the housing and enclosed within the housing after the computing device is assembled. The computing device also includes a protective material contained within the housing, the protective material filling void spaces around the device components. The protective material prevents exposure of the device components to foreign matter to which the computing device is exposed after assembly is complete.)

1. A computing device, comprising:

a device component enclosed within a housing of the computing device; and

a protective material contained within the housing and filling a void space around the device component, the protective material preventing exposure of the device component to an external substance entering the housing.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the computing device is a mobile device having a display, and wherein the display and the case form an enclosure around the device component.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the protective material protects the device components from the external substance due to exposure of an interior of the computing device.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the protective material waterproofs the device components from the external substances due to exposure of an interior of the computing device.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the protective material comprises one or more Thermoplastic (TP) materials.

6. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the one or more thermoplastic materials are applied to one or more of the device components as a thermoplastic film.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the protective material comprises one or more low modulus elastomeric (L ME) materials.

8. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the one or more low-modulus elastomeric materials are applied as liquid precursors to one or more of the device components and then cured.

9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the protective material includes one or more Thermoplastic (TP) materials and one or more low modulus elastomer (L ME) materials.

10. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the protective material is comprised of one or more hydrophobic or lipophilic materials.

11. A method, comprising:

assembling device components within a housing of a computing device, the housing enclosing the device components of the computing device after assembly; and

filling void spaces around the equipment components with a protective material that prevents exposure of the equipment components to foreign matter entering the housing after assembly is complete.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the filling of void space around the equipment component is completed before the assembling is completed.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: positioning the housing with the assembled device components to facilitate the filling of void space around the device components in the housing.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the protective material is in a liquid state for the filling of void space around the equipment component.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising solidifying the protective material in a liquid state with one of: heat, Ultraviolet (UV) radiation, or a combination of said heat and said UV radiation.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the protective material comprises one of one or more low modulus elastomeric (L ME) materials, one or more Thermoplastic (TP) materials, or a combination of the one or more low modulus elastomeric materials and the one or more thermoplastic materials.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the protective material protects the device component from the external substance due to exposure of an interior of the computing device.

18. A protective material comprising:

a liquid precursor for coating around a device component enclosed within a device housing; and

a cured state of the liquid precursor that prevents exposure of the device component to an external substance entering the device housing, the cured state resulting from application of one of: heat, Ultraviolet (UV) radiation, or a combination of said heat and said UV radiation.

19. The protective material of claim 18, wherein the protective material comprises one of one or more low modulus elastomeric (L ME) materials, one or more Thermoplastic (TP) materials, or a combination of the one or more low modulus elastomeric materials and the one or more thermoplastic materials.

20. The protective material of claim 18, wherein the protective material is comprised of one or more hydrophobic or lipophilic materials.

21. The protective material according to claim 18, wherein the protective material protects the device component from the external substance due to exposure of the inside of the device case to the outside.

Background

Electronic devices typically include a variety of electronic components, including integrated circuits, electronic subassemblies, capacitors, resistors, and the like, attached to a substrate, such as a Printable Circuit Board (PCB), that provides a base to support the electronic components. The PCB also provides connection paths that electrically connect the components to form electronic circuits that enable the electronic device to function. Electronic components attached to a PCB may be electrically shorted or malfunction after brief exposure to liquid or moisture. More specifically, exposed metal regions with very close voltage differentials may be susceptible to short circuit events when corrosion or water immersion bridges the gap between these regions.

Conventional techniques for rendering electronic devices water resistant or waterproof typically involve a cover disposed on or around the electronic device housing after the electronic device is assembled. These conventional techniques provide a number of disadvantages, such as lack of protection from accidental exposure to liquids when in a mislocation, failure to provide protection from solid particles (e.g., dust) when the device is in a mislocation, a bulky form factor that reduces the functionality of the device, failure to provide device protection if the end user is not properly installed, loss of functionality and accessibility of the device port (e.g., headphone jack or power connector), and the like.

Other conventional techniques involve water-resistant surface treatments for electronic device applications. One example of a conventional water-resistant surface treatment includes applying a polymer coating formed by exposing an electronic device to static or pulsed plasma for a sufficient time to allow a polymer layer to form on the surface of the electronic device. In another example, a coating comprising a halo-hydrocarbon polymer is applied to the PCB and board assembly by plasma etching, plasma activation, plasma polymerization and coating, and/or liquid-based chemical treatment. In yet another example, water-repellent bulk conformal coatings are used in automotive electronics components, and parylene films may be used to coat small devices, such as hearing aids, with highly reactive vapor precursors generated by solid pyrolysis.

However, the conventional techniques regarding water-resistant surface treatment applied to electronic devices are not without limitation. First, the high impedance, open circuit, or intermittent functionality of the movable electronic contacts caused by surface treatments leads to functional failures at both the component level and the system level of the electronic device. In addition, plasma treatment of fluorohydrocarbon precursors generally results in lower process yields because the fluorohydrocarbon molecules are large and cannot diffuse through the network of the substrate assembly of the electronic device, and molecular debris generated by the plasma treatment does not readily wet the surface of the substrate assembly, thus preventing complete encapsulation of the substrate assembly. In addition, electronic devices have interconnections such as board-to-board (BTB), Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) connectors, universal spring contacts, pogo pin contacts, dome switch assemblies, SIM and SD card readers, and the like.

Failure of these interconnects is typically due to contamination of the electrical contact areas in the interconnect by application of a water-resistant surface treatment, or mechanical damage to the water-resistant surface treatment by mechanical shock or mechanical breaking of the interconnect during device rework. Interconnect failure is particularly prevalent when the water-resistant surface treatment is a film having a thickness greater than 500nm, as well as large molecular weight films such as parylene and cross-linked fluoroacrylates. Thus, these conventional techniques require compromises in the water resistance of the film or laborious shielding of the contacts, thus resulting in significant reductions in the achieved water resistance, increased manufacturing complexity and cost, and ultimately failing to provide the intended goals of waterproof or sufficiently water resistant electronic devices.

Drawings

Implementations of exposure protection for device components are described with reference to the following figures. Throughout, similar features and components shown in the figures may be referred to using the same reference numerals:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an electronic device and techniques for exposure protection of device components as described herein.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a material structure that may be used to implement the techniques for device component exposure protection as described herein.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example method of applying a Thermoplastic (TP) film to different connector types that may be used in implementations of device component exposure protection according to the techniques described herein.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example representation of reaction time as a function of initiator concentration and reaction temperature according to one or more implementations of the techniques described herein.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example method of assembling a device with component exposure protection according to one or more implementations of the technology described herein.

Fig. 6 illustrates an example method of including component exposure protection in an assembled device in accordance with one or more implementations of the techniques described herein.

FIG. 7 illustrates various components of an example device that can be used as an example of device component exposure protection.

Detailed Description

Implementations of exposure protection of device components are described and techniques are provided for waterproof and/or water-resistant protection of electronic devices without the need for bulky exterior housings after sale, for example during device manufacture. For example, protective materials fill void spaces around device components within the housing of an electronic device during component assembly, providing protection for the internal components of the device from water, dust, contact, and other environmental hazards.

In various aspects of device component exposure protection, a computing device includes device components enclosed within a housing, the computing device such as a mobile device or mobile phone, a tablet device, a laptop computing device, a digital camera, and the like.

Although the features and concepts of device component exposure protection may be implemented in any number of different devices, systems, environments, and/or configurations, implementations of device component exposure protection are described in the context of the following example devices, systems, and methods.

Fig. 1 shows an example 100 of a computing device 102 shown at various assembly stages 104, 106, 108, and 110 that illustrate techniques for device component exposure protection as described herein. In this example, the computing device 102 may be any type of computing device, such as a mobile phone, a tablet, a laptop, a desktop, a computer accessory (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a headset, a webcam, etc.), a wearable electronic device (e.g., a watch, glasses/goggles, a microphone, etc.), and so forth. In general, computing device 102 is implemented with various components such as a processing system and memory, as well as any number and combination of different components as further described with reference to the example device shown in FIG. 7.

In aspects of device component exposure protection, the computing device 102 includes a device component 112 enclosed within a housing 114. The device components 112 may include a substrate assembly 116 to which various components are attached. The substrate assembly 116 may include any type of substrate, such as those used to attach integrated circuits within the computing device 102, e.g., ceramic substrates, glass substrates, silicone substrates, polyimide substrates, Printable Circuit Boards (PCBs), and the like. The substrate assembly 116 provides a base to support electronic components 118 (and non-electronic computing device components), such as integrated circuits, electronic subassemblies, capacitors, resistors, and the like, and provides connection paths to electrically connect the electronic components to form an electronic circuit for operation of the computing device 102. The electronic component 118 is connected to a substrate assembly using connectors, such as board-to-board (BTB), Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) connectors, universal spring contacts, pogo pin contacts, dome switch assemblies, SIM and SD card readers, and the like.

In the first assembly stage 104, the computing device 102 is shown with the face of the case 114 removed and the device components 112 exposed via the removed face of the case in an example of device component exposure protection, a low modulus elastomer (L ME) and/or a Thermoplastic (TP) is applied as a precursor composition to the device components 112 of the computing device 102, such as a PCB substrate, electronic components associated with the PCB, connectors between the components and the PCB, etc. different L ME-TP combinations impart different properties and thus enable better protection of particular components depending on the location and function of the device components 112, or to better protect different portions of the substrate components 116 themselves.

The void space within the case 114 of the computing device 102 is filled with L ME and/or TP, and encapsulates the internal components of the device component 112, the electronic component 118, the connectors between the electronic component 118 and the substrate assembly, etc. where the void space within the case is filled with L ME and/or TP, the device component 112 of the computing device 102 is protected from water and other materials to which the computing device may be exposed.

The L ME and/or TP may be bonded to the surface of the electronic component 118 to which the substrate assembly 116 is attached, for example, by mechanically interlocking and/or reacting L ME and/or TP precursors with a coupling agent that forms a bond between L ME and/or TP and the electronic component 118.

TPs are a class of copolymers or physical mixtures of polymers (e.g., plastics and rubbers) composed of materials having both thermoplastic and elastomeric properties. While most elastomers are thermoset, thermoplastics flow at elevated temperatures and exhibit typical characteristics of both rubber and plastic materials. The TP has the ability to stretch to a moderate elongation and return to near the original shape, which allows electrical (and non-electrical) interconnects to be disconnected and reconnected without damaging the TP. The ability of the TP to stretch and return to its near-original shape is achieved by crystals formed between the chains, which effectively become cross-linked in the structure of the TP. TP forms a thermoreversible bond, while the elastomer forms a permanent covalent bond.

For example, consider FIG. 2, which shows an example of a material structure that may be used to implement a device component exposure protection technique. A thermoplastic structure 200 is shown having a plurality of thermally reversible bonds 202 forming crystals between chains 204 of TPs. The thermally reversible bonds 202 crosslink the chains 204, allowing the TP structure 200 to stretch between the thermally reversible bonds and return to almost the original shape of the TP structure.

As noted above, different TP formulations may be used for different applications of the devices from one device to another, or for various components within the same computing device. Based on the material of the component, the TP is implemented to comply with manufacturing time constraints, space constraints within the computing device, the possibility of moving the component during assembly or device rework, and the like. Thus, for example, the following criteria may be used to consider different TP formulations: a softening temperature for increasing the minimum rework temperature; application or bonding temperatures to increase material curing conditions and heat dissipation requirements during processing; evaluating the working time required by assembly; 180 ° peel strength for improving substrate adhesion strength; room temperature elastic modulus for improved TP strength; and the like.

In just one example, the performance criteria for selecting a particular TP formulation may include a maximum rework temperature of 85 ℃; TP is non-brittle, as brittleness can lead to failure during use of the computing device and life cycle testing including dropping of the device; when the connectors are decoupled, the re-tension of the TP cannot damage the electrical connectors in the computing device; and the TP is not damaged when the TP is reshaped around the electrical connector. Two TP films that meet these criteria are shown in table 1 below:

TP films can be applied to electrical and non-electronic components of a device in a variety of ways. For example, consider fig. 3, which illustrates example methods 300(a) and 300(b) of applying TP film to different connector types in an implementation of device component exposure protection. The first method 300(a) involves TP film coating of board-to-board (B2B) connectors. First, a TP film is applied over the receptacle end of the B2B connector and to the surrounding solder joints (block 302). The TP film was coated in place with a TP film tight release liner, and the TP film easy release liner was removed. To perform the coating, the TP film is pressed to a substrate (e.g., substrate assembly 116 of fig. 1) to initiate bonding between the TP film and the B2B connector. The tight release liner is then removed and the TP film is fitted around the socket. The TP film may be coated at room temperature.

The solder connection is covered by applying a TP film around the head end of the B2B connector (block 304). The TP film is not applied directly to the contacts on the head of the B2B connector. The header and receptacle ends of the B2B connector are then heated (block 306), for example to a temperature of about 80 ℃, although the heating temperature may be different based on the different TP films used and the materials to which the TP films are applied. Thus, heating the head and socket ends of the B2B connector heats the TP film applied thereto. The header of the B2B connector is connected to the receptacle while the receptacle is still hot (block 308). Once connected, the B2B connector and receptacle form a B2B assembly, which is then cooled (block 310) for further device assembly or device use.

After process 300(a) is complete, the B2B components are decoupled, for example, at the time of equipment rework or rework. In one example, the B2B assembly was heated to ≦ 70 ℃ to unravel the thermoplastic bonds of the TP film, but different TP film formulations may need to be heated to different temperatures to achieve decoupling. The B2B connector is disconnected from the receptacle when warm to prevent damage to the connector.

The second method 300(b) involves TP film coating using a Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) connector. First, the ZIF connector is mated with the flexible flat cable (block 312). A TP film is applied to the mated ZIF connector and the surrounding substrate (e.g., substrate assembly 116 of fig. 1) (block 314). The TP film may be applied to the mated ZIF connector at about 80 ℃ to induce adhesion between the substrate and the TP film, but the thermal temperature may vary based on the different TP films used and the material to which the TP film is applied. The release liner is removed from the TP film and the TP film is fitted tightly around the ZIF connector (block 316). The mated ZIF connector and TP film are heated (block 318) to form a seal around the ZIF connector. The mated ZIF connector and TP film may be heated to about 80 ℃ for 10 to 20 seconds, but the heat temperature and application time may vary based on the different TP films used and the materials to which the TP films are applied.

In this example, the ZIF connector can be decoupled at room temperature without reheating using TP-E and TP-F ("product ID") shown in table 1. However, TP-E and TP-F films may need to be coated each time the ZIF connector is mated to a substrate.

Returning to the discussion of FIG. 1, the application of TP membrane 120 to device components 112 may be performed during device assembly without requiring additional operations for device component exposure protection, however, in some examples L ME is additionally or alternatively applied to device components 112 relative to the application of TP membrane 120 to provide device component exposure protection.

In this example, L ME122 is applied to various ones of the device components 112 by filling void spaces in the device housing 114 with a liquid precursor formulation of L ME then the liquid precursor of L ME122 is crosslinked or cured with heat and/or exposure to Ultraviolet (UV) radiation to encapsulate the device components 112 attached to the substrate assembly 116. in the third assembly stage 108, as represented by the plurality of device components 124, the device housing 114 has been partially filled with L ME122 precursor, these device components 124 being sufficiently large to not yet be completely submerged by the liquid L ME precursor, however, upon application of L ME122 precursor, the plurality of device components 124 remain covered by TP film 120 as described above.

In one or more embodiments of device component exposure protection, L ME122 is formed from polymer chains (e.g., acrylates, urethane acrylate oligomers, synthetic resins, silicones, etc.) that are crosslinked by one or more techniques (e.g., UV, thermal, or chemical curing, to name a few examples.) the polymer chains refer to macromolecules or macromolecules that are composed of many repeating subunits (monomers). L ME122 may be composed of, for example, hydrophobic and/or lipophilic groups to increase water resistance or water repellency around one or more of device components 112.

L ME122 may be formed with a lubricating composition and/or may be formed from a liquid precursor when L ME122 is formed from a liquid precursor, the liquid precursor may be crosslinked by exposure to UV radiation and/or heating to ≦ 70 ℃ for about 30 minutes, although the thermal temperature and application time may vary based on the different L ME precursors and L ME precursors used to be applied to the material.

In one example, L ME122 includes a resin, a photoinitiator, and a thermal initiator that cross-links L ME upon exposure to UV radiation and/or heat ≦ 70 deg.C in this example, L ME122 may be comprised of 40 wt% to 50 wt% synthetic resin, 13 wt% to 23 wt% acrylate, 15 wt% to 20 wt% low molecular weight resin, less than 7 wt% thermal initiator, and less than 7 wt% photoinitiator.

L ME mechanical and transport properties depend on many factors, including for example, side chains attached to the L ME polymer backboneDensity of L ME chains between elastomer nodes, elastomer node functionality, density of elastomer nodes, and chemical properties of the elastomer chains (hydrophobic, lipophilic, or both). L ME mechanical properties are controlled by the formulation and resulting network structure, whereIs the number of chains attached to the node; (mu.) a_J/V^o) Is the node density, and ν is the number of chains between nodes the phrase "node functionality" refers to the number of cross-linked polymer chains originating from the network L ME network parameters are related to the circularity of the network (ξ) as follows: for example, considering again FIG. 2, which shows L ME structure 206, this L ME structure 206 has a plurality of elastomeric junctions 208 between chains 210 of L ME when heat and/or UV radiation is applied to L ME structure 206, elastomeric junctions 208 crosslink chains 210.

Returning to the discussion of FIG. 1, L ME122 may be formed with a lubricating (e.g., diluent) component or a mixture of components that may or may not be covalently bonded into L ME the lubricating component may be used to optimize the crosslink density of L ME122 and the movement of polymer chains and network nodes in response to applied pressure, as well as to tailor the peel strength of L ME for a particular substrate, to name a few examples₁＝α(V/Vo)^1/3Where α is the ratio of the volume of no lubricating component to L ME with lubricating component in a similar manner, directions 2 and 3 are perpendicular to each other and to direction 1, with λ₂＝λ₃＝α^-1/2(V/Vo)^1/3To indicate.

In the third assembly stage 108, L ME122 first wets the surface of one or more interfaces between the electronic component 118 and the substrate assembly 116. the lubricating composition in L ME122 may be tailored to optimize surface wetting capability. L ME122 is then bonded to the materials of the electronic component 118 and the substrate assembly 116 by covalent bonding, acid-base interaction, and/or mechanical interlocking.

Table 2 below lists the mechanical properties of L ME made from an optically clear liquid precursor by crosslinking with UV irradiation and the same L ME containing a lubricating component measured by a double shear test at room temperature at a deformation rate of 0.5 mm/min.

Typically, L ME in Table 2 has a low modulus and glass transition ("Tg") below-50 deg.C. the phrase "glass transition" refers to the temperature at which a reversible transition from a hard, relatively brittle "glassy" state to a rubber-like state occurs in amorphous materials (or within amorphous regions in semi-crystalline materials). lubricating ingredients used in L ME include, but are not limited to, diphenyl-dimethylsiloxane copolymers and butyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxanes shown in Table 2. in L ME formulations containing an increased amount of additive or diluent, the low deformation rate shear modulus generally decreases because these L ME formulations have a lower crosslink density than L ME without additive.

Thermally activated and/or UV activated free radical initiators may be added to L ME precursor formulations to affect crosslinking by heating L ME to temperatures ≦ 70 ℃ and/or exposure to UV radiation, respectively examples of thermally activated free radical initiators include, but are not limited to, Azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN), acetyl peroxide, benzoyl peroxide, dicumyl peroxide, and lauryl peroxide, for example, consider FIG. 4, which shows an exemplary representation 400 of reaction time as a function of initiator concentration and reaction temperature, thermally activated free radical initiators may be introduced to L ME liquid precursor formulations at initiator concentrations of about 0.015 moles per kilogram L ME precursor to 0.4 moles per kilogram L ME precursor, Diagram 400 depicts L ME crosslinking reaction time 402 as a function of initiator concentration [ I ]404 and reaction temperature 406 for the case of AIBN, although AIBN is used as an example in FIG. 4, it should be understood that one or a combination of thermally activated free radical initiators may be introduced to L ME liquid precursor formulations for different equipment and component cases.

Returning to the discussion of FIG. 1, L ME122 is shown as being applied in the third assembly stage 108 when the equipment enclosure 114 is in a horizontal orientation (e.g., the display of the equipment enclosure is facing downward). in the third assembly stage 108, the back side of the equipment enclosure 114 has not yet been assembled with the rest of the equipment enclosure, thus leaving an open side of the equipment to apply L ME122 liquid precursor. turning to the fourth assembly stage 110, the equipment enclosure 114 has been flipped (indicated by arrow 126) and the display of the equipment 102 is made visible. the fourth assembly stage 110 occurs after TP and/or L ME components have been applied to the equipment components 112 and any necessary curing of the TP and/or L ME components has been achieved.

Although L ME122 is shown as being applied when the computing device 102 is in a horizontal position with the device display facing downward, L ME122 may also be applied when the device is in any suitable orientation (e.g., horizontal, vertical, or any angle therebetween). further, L ME122 may be applied via different portions of the device housing 114, such as through one or more ports that connect internal portions of the computing device 102 with the external environment, for example, after assembly of the computing device is complete.

Alternatively or additionally, L ME122 may be applied at the component level to the electronic component 118 attached to the substrate assembly 116. for example, L ME122 may be applied to a specific area of the substrate assembly 116 or an area of the unassembled device and the L ME122 crosslinked by applying UV radiation and/or heating to ≦ 70 ℃ for the time required to crosslink L ME, to name a few.

In another example, L ME122 may be applied at the device level to the electronic components 118 attached to the substrate assembly 116. in this case L ME122 is injected into the assembled device through one or more ports (e.g., a SIM tray or another port designed for injection.) As described above, L ME is then cross-linked by applying UV radiation and/or heating to ≦ 70 ℃ for the time required for cross-linking L ME, to name a few.

In some cases, different regions of the substrate assembly 116 are encapsulated using different L MEs and/or TPs to achieve particular functions of the computing device 102, or to cover regions of closely spaced electronic components 118 while leaving other regions of the substrate assembly 116 free of any L ME and/or TP coatings.

For example, a first electronic component may be treated with a first L ME and/or TP and a second L ME and/or TP having different mechanical, electrical, thermal, or chemical properties than the first L ME/TP.

In another example, a substrate assembly 116 such as a PCB has an attached electrical connector including a housing and a plurality of leads attached to pads formed on the PCB the electrical connector may be positioned away from the PCB and attached to the PCB with an outer surface of the housing of the electrical connector spaced apart from the leads attached to the PCB.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method 500 for exposure protection of a device component. The order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method operations or combinations of the method operations can be performed in any order to perform the method or alternative methods.

At 502, device components are assembled within a housing of a computing device. For example, the device components 112 may include a substrate assembly 116, such as a PCB, and electronic components 118. Device components 112 may also include non-electronic components to be included for operation of computing device 102. One or more portions of the device housing 114 may remain unassembled to allow for openings for applying protective material to the device components 112.

At 504, void space is filled around the device component with a protective material that prevents the device component from being exposed to foreign matter entering the enclosure.

To this end, the equipment enclosure 114 may be oriented with the already assembled equipment components 112 to help fill the void space around the equipment components in the enclosure, for example, the L ME122 may be applied as a liquid precursor via an opening in the equipment enclosure 114 while the equipment enclosure is in a horizontal position to fill the void space around the equipment components 112 followed by application of heat and/or UV radiation ≦ 70 ℃ to cure the L ME different combinations of TP and/or L ME may be used within a single computing device 102 depending on which equipment components 112 are included in the computing device 102, whether the computing device will require rework during assembly, how different parts of the device may require rework after the device is placed on the market, which of the equipment components require more or less impact protection, and the like.

At 506, the device components and the protective material are enclosed within a housing of the computing device. For example, one or more portions of the device housing 114 that are not assembled to allow for openings for applying protective materials are now added to the device housing to complete the assembly of the computing device 102.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method 600 for exposure protection of device components. The order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method operations or combinations of the method operations can be performed in any order to perform the method or alternative methods.

At 602, device components of a computing device are assembled within a closed housing enclosing the device components. For example, the device components 112 may include a substrate assembly 116, such as a PCB, and electronic components 118. Device components 112 may also include non-electronic components to be included for operation of computing device 102. In this example, the device housing 114 may be fully assembled to enclose the device components 112.

At 604, void spaces filled around device components in the close enclosure with a protective material that prevents the device components from being exposed to external substances entering the close enclosure can be L ME122, which covers one or a combination of the substrate assembly 116 and/or the electronic components 118. L ME122 can be applied via an opening in the assembled device enclosure 114 as a liquid precursor via a port or opening in the device enclosure to fill the void spaces around the device components 112, followed by application of ≦ 70 ℃ heat and/or UV radiation to cure the L ME.

However, device components treated with the techniques described herein, such as PCB boards with ZIF connectors protected by L ME and/or TP, are measured to have no leakage current at up to 12VDC bias and exhibit no corrosion current when covered by water.

In addition, the equipment components treated with L ME and L ME containing TP were tested using the procedures specified by the IEC Standard 60529 Water test under these conditions, the equipment containing the components treated with L ME was tested for periods of time ranging from 30 minutes to 4 hours when immersed in water of about 1.5 meters in both the closed and open states after the test, the equipment containing the components treated with L ME was run to equipment specifications and showed corrosion resistance by running for 3 hours in the open state, furthermore, the equipment containing the components treated with L ME was run to equipment specifications and showed corrosion resistance after 30 minutes in water of about 2.5 meters in the closed state.

In another example, equipment containing components treated with L ME is plunged into a pool of water containing chlorine to a depth of 4.27 meters to simulate, for example, a user plunges the equipment into the pool due to a collision, and the user plunges the equipment into the pool repeatedly.

Fig. 7 illustrates various components of an example device 700 that can implement examples of device component exposure protection. The example device 700 may be implemented as any form of electronic and/or computing device, such as a mobile device. For example, the computing device 102 shown and described with reference to fig. 1-6 may be implemented as the example device 700.

The device data 704 may also include information and suggested techniques regarding how to process the device 700 during rework, such as which portions of the device have been processed with L ME and/or TP, how to reheat L ME and/or TP to restore protective materials to a liquid state, etc^TM) Standard Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) radio, compliant with various IEEE 802.11 (WiFi)^TM) Wireless local area network (W L AN) radio of any of the standards, Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) radio for cellular telephone communications, IEEE 802.16 compliant (WiMAX) radio^TM) A standard Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) radio and a wired local area network (L AN) ethernet transceiver for network data communications.

Device 700 may also include one or more data input ports 706 via which any type of data, media content, and/or input may be received, such as user-selectable inputs to the device, messages, music, television content, and any other type of audio, video, and/or image data received from any content and/or data source.

The device 700 includes a processing system 708 of one or more processors (e.g., any of microprocessors, controllers, and the like) and/or a processor and memory system implemented as a system on a chip (SoC) that processes computer-executable instructions.

Device 700 also includes a data storage enabled computer-readable storage memory 712, e.g., a memory device, that is accessible by the computing device and provides persistent storage of data and executable instructions (e.g., software applications, programs, functions, etc.). Examples of computer-readable storage memory 712 include volatile and non-volatile memory, fixed and removable media devices, and any suitable memory device or electronic data storage device that maintains data for access by a computing device. The computer-readable storage memory may include various implementations of Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), flash memory, and other types of storage memory devices in various storage device configurations. Device 700 may also include a mass storage media device.

Computer-readable storage memory 712 provides data storage mechanisms to store the device data 704, other types of information and/or data, and various device applications 714 (e.g., software applications). For example, an operating system 716 can be maintained as software instructions with the memory device and executed by processor system 708. The device applications may also include a device manager, such as any form of a control application, software application, signal processing and control module, code that is native to a particular device, a hardware abstraction layer for a particular device, and so forth.

Device 700 also includes an audio and/or video processing system 718 that generates audio data for an audio system 720 and/or generates display data for a display system 722. The audio system and/or the display system may include any devices that process, display, and/or otherwise render audio, video, display, and/or image data. The display data and audio signals may be communicated to the audio component and/or to the display component via an RF (radio frequency) link, S-video link, HDMI (high definition multimedia interface), composite video link, component video link, DVI (digital video interface), analog audio connection, or other similar communication link, such as media data port 724. In implementations, the audio system and/or the display system are integrated components of the example device. Alternatively, the audio system and/or the display system are external, peripheral components of the example device.

The device 700 can also include one or more power supplies 726, for example, when the device is implemented as a mobile device. The power source may include a charging and/or power system and may be implemented as a flexible ribbon battery, a rechargeable battery, a charged super capacitor, and/or any other type of active or passive power source.

Although implementations of device component exposure protection have been described in language specific to features and/or methods, the subject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the features and methods are disclosed as example implementations of exposed protection of device components, and other equivalent features and methods are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. In addition, various examples are described, and it is to be understood that each described example can be implemented independently or in combination with one or more other described examples. Further aspects of the techniques, features, and/or methods discussed herein relate to one or more of the following:

a computing device, comprising: a device component enclosed within a housing of a computing device; and a protective material contained within the housing and filling void spaces around the device components, the protective material preventing exposure of the device components to foreign matter entering the housing.

Alternatively or in addition to the computing devices described above, any one or combination of a computing device is a mobile device having a display, and the display and a housing form an enclosure around device components.

A method, comprising: assembling device components within a housing of a computing device, the housing enclosing the device components of the computing device after assembly; and filling void spaces around the equipment components with a protective material that prevents the equipment components from being exposed to foreign matter that enters the housing after the assembly is completed.

The method may further include any one or combination of completing the filling of void space around the device component prior to completion of the assembling, orienting the housing with the assembled device component to facilitate the filling of void space around the device component in the housing.

A protective material comprising: a liquid precursor for coating around a device component enclosed within a device housing; and a cured state of the liquid precursor that prevents exposure of the device components to foreign substances entering the device housing, the cured state being generated based on application of heat and/or Ultraviolet (UV) radiation to the liquid precursor.

Alternatively or in addition to the above-described protective materials, one or a combination of protective materials including one or more low modulus elastomer (L ME) materials and/or one or more Thermoplastic (TP) materials.