Groove slit water channel
View Patent ↗A drainage system is provided for draining liquid accidentally spilled on a casing having a plurality of pushbuttons on a surface of the casing. An electronic apparatus may comprise a casing and a drainage system. The drainage system may be connected with the casing. The drainage system may include a liquid collecting basin, a drainage exit, and a liquid passageway. The liquid passageway may have a capillary surface and may lead the liquid from the liquid collecting basin to the drainage exit.
1. A drainage system for a pushbutton casing, comprising:
a liquid collecting basin operatively interfacing the casing;
a drainage exit; and
a liquid passageway having a capillary surface, the liquid passageway adapted to lead liquid from the liquid collecting basin to the drainage exit.
2. The drainage system of claim 1 , wherein the liquid collecting basin is adapted to receive liquid from an aperture disposed above the liquid collecting basin and under an area around the pushbuttons where liquid that permeates between the pushbuttons may drain through the aperture to the liquid collecting basin.
3. The drainage system of claim 1 , wherein the capillary surface has a plurality of channels.
4. The drainage system of claim 3 , wherein the distance between the centers of each channel is less than the depth of the liquid passageway.
5. The drainage system of claim 3 , wherein the channels are disposed at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the direction of at least a portion of the flow of the liquid.
6. The drainage system of claim 1 , wherein the drainage system further comprises a drainage pipe adapted to discharge the liquid to the outside of an electronic apparatus.
7. The drainage system of claim 6 , wherein the drainage pipe is perpendicular to a bottom surface of the electronic apparatus.
8. The drainage system of claim 1 , wherein the liquid collecting basin further comprises a capillary surface.
9. An electronic apparatus, comprising:
a casing having a plurality of pushbuttons on a surface of the casing; and
a drainage system adapted to receive liquid that permeates through the pushbuttons, the drainage system comprising:
a liquid collecting basin;
a drainage exit; and
a liquid passageway having a capillary surface, the liquid passageway adapted to lead liquid from the liquid collecting basin to the drainage exit.
10. The electronic apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the pushbutton supporting plate is made of a water impermeable material.
11. The electronic apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the pushbutton supporting plate is made of aluminum.
12. The electronic apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the liquid passageway slopes downward from the liquid collecting basin to the drainage exit when the electronic apparatus rests on a horizontal surface.
13. The electronic apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the capillary surface is a mesh-like surface.
14. The electronic apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the mesh-like surface has a plurality of channels.
15. The electronic apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the distance between the centers of each adjacent channel is less than the depth of the liquid passageway.
16. A method for draining liquid permeated between a plurality of pushbuttons on a surface of a casing, comprising:
collecting liquid that has permeated between the pushbuttons on a surface of the casing; and
directing the collected liquid from a liquid collecting basin into a drainage exit through a liquid passageway;
wherein the liquid passageway has a capillary surface.
17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising preventing the liquid from contacting an electronic circuit within the casing.
18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising moving the liquid substantially horizontally on a downward slope from the liquid collecting basin into the drainage exit.
19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising preventing air from blocking the liquid flow.
20. The method of claim 16 , further comprising breaking surface tension of the liquid.