Component assembly cushioning device for mobile devices
View Patent ↗A spacer for use in a mobile device fills the space between a component assembly and a housing. The spacer includes a layer of compressible material for insertion between the component assembly and the housing. A plurality of compressible features are provided on a face of the layer. Upon insertion of the component assembly and assembly of the housing, the compressible features are compressed to fill a gap between the component assembly and the housing without over-compressing the main body of the spacer, allowing the body of the spacer to cushion any subsequent impact to the mobile device.
1. A spacer for use in a mobile device, the spacer for filling a space between a component assembly and a housing, the component assembly including a display component, the spacer comprising:
a layer of foam for insertion between the component assembly and the housing;
the layer of foam including a plurality of cut-out portions to allow the layer of foam to be compressible upon assembly of the mobile device;
the layer of foam used to space the component assembly inside the housing when the mobile device is assembled, a depth of the layer, when uncompressed, exceeding the depth of the space between the component assembly and the housing, and a depth of the layer, when compressed, exceeding a predetermined critical depth.
2. The spacer of claim 1 wherein the cut-out portions are depressions, grooves, recesses, valleys or dimples.
3. The spacer of claim 2 wherein the depressions are formed by cutting or stamping.
4. The spacer of claim 2 wherein the grooves are formed by cutting or stamping.
5. The spacer of claim 2 wherein the recesses are formed by cutting or stamping.
6. The spacer of claim 2 wherein the valleys are formed by cutting or stamping.
7. The spacer of claim 2 wherein the dimples are formed by cutting or stamping.
8. The spacer of claim 1 wherein the cut-out portions are stamped into the layer of foam.
9. The spacer of claim 1 wherein the cut-out portions are cut into the layer of foam.
10. The spacer of claim 1 wherein the cut-out portions are uniform in depth.
11. The spacer of claim 1 wherein the cut-out portions are clustered in spaced apart groupings.
12. The spacer of claim 1 wherein the layer of foam is provided with an aperture to expose the display component.
13. The spacer of claim 12 wherein the display component is one of a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, a light emitting diode display and an organic display.
14. The spacer of claim 1 wherein the cut-out portions form a grid pattern.