[0001] Electronic devices such as notebook computers, tablet computers, mobile phones, and the like may include a first housing, a second housing, and a hinge assembly mounted between the first housing and the second housing. For example, the first housing may house a keyboard, a motherboard, and/or other components. The second housing may house a display. The second housing may include a display cover for holding the display.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] Examples are described in the following detailed description and in reference to the drawings, in which:

[0003] FIG. 1 A is a cutaway view of a portion of an example housing, depicting a linkage that controls a movement of a slot cover during rotation of a hinge assembly;

[0004] FIG. 1B is a side view of the example housing of FIG. 1A, depicting additional features;

[0005] FIG. 2A is a side view of an example electronic device in ah open state, depicting a linkage between at least one slot cover and a hinge assembly;

[0006] FIG. 2B is a side view of the example electronic device of FIG. 2A in a closed state;

[0007] FIG. 3 is a side view of the example electronic device, depicting additional features of the linkage;

[0008] FIG. 4 is a side view of another example electronic device depicting a linkage; [0009] FIG. 5 is a cutaway view of a portion of an example electronic device having a linkage that controls a movement of a slot cover during rotation of a first housing relative to a second housing; and

[0010] FIGs. 6A-6C are example schematic diagrams of a housing, depicting different slot designs and a movement of slot covers to cover or uncover slots.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] Electronic devices may include a first housing and a second housing that are pivotally connected via a hinge assembly. The first housing may include a display and a display cover attached to the display. The display cover may include a metal body and an antenna lid attached at the top of the metal body. The plastic antenna lid may be attached by insert molding the antenna lid to the metal body (e.g., die casting metal body), thereby forming a linkage portion between the plastic antenna lid and the metal body. Further, polishing and painting process may be performed on the display cover after insert molding. The painting process may include powder coating, liquid putty coating, base coating, and top coating. Further, if a shadow of the linkage portion between the plastic antenna tid and the metal body is visible, then the steps of polishing and the painting process may be repeated.

[0012] Examples described herein may provide a housing including a display, a display cover attached to the display, and a linkage disposed between the display and the display cover. The display cover may include at least one slot and at least one slot cover to cover the at least one slot. For example, the at least one slot can be defined corresponding to at least one antenna and/or at least one hot spot area (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) area, a printed circuit board (PCB) area, and the like). The linkage may be coupled to the at least one slot cover and a hinge assembly to control a movement of the at least one slot cover during rotation of the hinge assembly. [0013] Examples described herein may enable transmission and/or reception of antenna signals through the slot, thereby resolving antenna radiation shielding issue for electrically conductive substrates, such as aluminum, magnesium, metal alloy, carbon fiber composite, and the like. Examples described herein may eliminate insert molding of plastic antenna covers/lids to the metal substrates for transmission and/or reception of antenna signals. Examples described herein may enhance heat dissipation from hot spot areas to outside. The openness of the slot may depend on a design of the hinge assembly. Also, a degree of rotation of the at least one slot cover can be controlled based on a degree of opening of the first housing relative to the second housing.

[0014] FIG. 1A is a cutaway view of a portion of an example housing 100, depicting a linkage 108 that controls a movement of a slot cover 106 during rotation of a hinge assembly 110. Example housing 100 may Include a first housing that can be rotatably connected to a second housing of an electronic device via hinge assembly 110. In one example, housing 100 may be a display housing or a keyboard housing.

[0015] Example housing 100 may include an outer cover 102. Outer cover 102 may include at least one slot 104 and at least one slot cover 106 to cover at least one slot 104. For example, outer cover 102 may include an elongated slot, multiple elongated slots arranged in a plurality of rows, multiple slots arranged in a plurality of columns, or multiple slots arranged in a plurality of rows and columns. Further, at least one slot cover 106 may be disposed to cover slots 104.

[0016] Example housing 100 may include linkage 108. Linkage 108 may be coupled to slot cover 106 and hinge assembly 110 to control a movement of slot cover 106 during rotation of hinge assembly 110. An example linkage 108 is explained in detail in FIG. 1B.

[0017] FIG. 1B is a side view of example housing 100 of FIG. 1A, depicting additional features. As shown in FIG. 1B, example housing 100 may include at least one antenna 114. For example, antenna 114 may include an antenna with resonating elements that are formed from loop antenna structures, patch antenna structures, inverted-F antenna structures, slot antenna structures, planar inverted- F antenna structures, helical antenna structures, hybrids of these designs, and the like. Different types of antennas may be used for different bands and combinations of bands. For example, one type of antenna may be used in forming a local wireless link antenna and another type of antenna may be used in forming a remote wireless link antenna.

[0018] in one example, at least one slot 104 may be defined around at least one antenna 114 to allow transmission and/or reception of antenna signals. In another example, at least one slot 104 may correspond to at least one hot spot area (e.g., CPU area, PCB area, and the like) in housing 100 to enhance heat dissipation from the at least one hot spot area. The term "hot spot area" may refer to a region of housing where heat can be generated by components such as CPU, PCB, and the like. In one example, a first slot can be defined around an antenna area and a second slot can be defined corresponding to a hot spot area.

[0019] in one example, outer cover 102 including slot cover 106 may be made of an electrically conductive substrate such as aluminum, magnesium, metal alloy, carbon fiber composite, and the like, in another example, outer cover 102 may be made of a conductive material and slot cover 106 may be made of a non- conductive material such as plastic. In yet another example, outer cover 102 including slot cover 106 may be made of a non-conductive material such as plastic, in this example, openness of slot 104 may dissipate heat from hot spot areas.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1B, housing 100 may include a pivot 116. In one example, pivot 116 may be a supporting structure that extends internally from outer cover 102 to slidably hold linkage 108. In other examples, pivot 116 may extend from side walls or any other structure disposed in housing 100. Linkage 108 may include ends fixedly coupled to hinge assembly 110 (e.g., at 112), slidably mounted on pivot 116 (e.g., at 120), and connected to slot cover 106 (e.g., at 118) such that linkage 108 may slide on pivot 116 during rotation of hinge assembly 110 to control the movement of slot cover 106 to cover or uncover slot 104. During an open state of the electronic device, slot 104 may be uncovered to allow transmission and/or reception of antenna signals and to enhance heat dissipation from the hot spot areas to outside.

[0021] FIG. 2A is a side view of an example electronic device 200 in an open state, depicting a linkage 212 between at least one slot cover 210 and a hinge assembly 206. Electronic device 200 may include a second housing 204 (e.g., a base housing) and a first housing 202 (e.g., a display housing) pivotaily connected to second housing 204 via hinge assembly 206. Example electronic device 200 may be a computing system, for example, a laptop, a convertible device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a notebook, a sub-notebook, a personal gaming device, or other computing device with first housing 202 closeable onto second housing 204. Example convertible device may refer to a device that can be "converted" from a laptop mode to a tablet mode. In the tablet mode, first housing 202 may be closed with a display facing up and viewable, i.e., first housing 202 may be substantially parallel to and adjacent to second housing 204. Electronic device 200 may include a pair of hinge assemblies to pivotaily connect first housing 202 and second housing 204. First housing 202 can be rotated between a closed state and an open state.

[0022] Examples described herein can be implemented in first housing 202, second housing 204, or a combination thereof. In one example, slot, slot cover, and linkage may be provided in first housing 202 having a display (e.g., as shown in FIGs. 2A, 2B, and 3). In another example, slot, slot cover, and linkage may be provided in second housing 204 having a keyboard and a keypad (e.g., as shown in FIG. 4).

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2A, first housing 202 may include at least one slot 208 and at least one slot cover 210 to cover slot 208. Further, first housing 202 may include linkage 212. In one example, slot cover 210 may be coupled to linkage 212 which cooperates with hinge assembly 206 to control a movement of slot cover 210 to uncover slot 208 during opening of first housing 202 relative to second housing 204 (e.g., via rotation of components of hinge assembly 206), as shown in FIG. 2A. Further, slot cover 210 may be coupled to linkage 212 which cooperates with hinge assembly 206 to control a movement of slot cover 210 to cover slot 208 (e.g., by sliding over slot 208) during closing of first housing 202 relative to second housing 204, as shown in FIG. 2B. FIG. 2B is a side view of example electronic device 200 of FIG. 2A in a closed state, depicting slot 208 that may be closed/covered by slot cover 210.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a side view of example electronic device 300, depicting additional features of linkage 312. In the example shown in FIG. 3, second housing 304 may house a keyboard 332, a battery, a touchpad 334, and so on. First housing 302 may house a display 314 (e.g., a touchscreen display). Example display may include liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED), electro-luminescent (EL) display, or the like. Electronic device 300 may be equipped with other components such as a camera, audio/ video devices, and the like, depending on the functions of electronic device 300. Hinge assembly 306 may be pivotally connected to second housing 304 and first housing 302 along a pivot axis. Hinge assembly 306 may allow first housing 302 to rotate in directions about the pivot axis relative to second housing 304.

[0025] Electronic device 300 may include at least one antenna 316 disposed in first housing 302. In this example, at least one slot 308 may be defined around at least one antenna 316 to allow transmission and/or reception of antenna signals. As shown in FIG. 3, antenna 316 may be aligned with slot 308. During antenna operation, wireless antenna signals that have been transmitted by antenna 316 and wireless antenna signals that have been received by antenna 316 may pass through slot 308. in another example, electronic device 300 may include at least one hot spot area 318. in this example, at least one slot 320 may be defined corresponding to at least one hot spot area 318 in first housing 302 to dissipate heat from hot spot area 318. in this example, slot cover 322 may be coupled to linkage 312 which cooperates with hinge assembly 306 to control a movement of slot cover 322 to cover/uncover slot 320 during rotation of first housing 302 relative to second housing 304 (e.g., via rotation of components of hinge assembly 306).

[0026] First housing 302 may include a pivot 324. In one example, pivot 324 may be a supporting structure in first housing 302 to slidably hold linkage 312. For example, pivot 324 may be made up of a metallic material/thermally conductive material such as a steel alloy (e.g., SKD11). In one example, linkage 312 may be coupled to hinge assembly 306 and at least one slot cover (e.g., 310 and/or 322) via pivot 324 to enable the movement of at least one slot cover (e.g., 310 and/or 322) along with the rotation of hinge assembly 306.

[0027] For example, linkage 312 may include a pair of ends 326 fixedly coupled to hinge assembly 306. in one example, ends 326 may be fixedly coupled to a rotating component of hinge assembly 306. Example rotating component may include a shaft that can be connected to first housing 302. For example, pair of ends 326 may be coupled to opposite sides of the rotating component that rotates along the pivot axis such that one end may move upward while the other end may move downward during rotation of first housing 302 relative to second housing 304.

[0028] Further, linkage 312 may include a first portion 328 fixedly connected to slot cover 310. Similarly, linkage 312 may include a portion fixedly connected to slot cover 322. Furthermore, linkage 312 may include a second portion 330 slidably mounted on pivot 324. During rotation of hinge assembly 306, linkage 312 may slide on pivot 324 to control the movement of slot cover 310 or 322 to cover or uncover respective slot 308 or 320.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a side view of another example electronic device 400 depicting linkage 412, slot 408, and slot cover 410 located in second housing 404 that includes a keyboard, a touchpad, a battery, and the like. In the example shown in FIG. 4, first housing 402 may house a display and second housing 404 may house the keyboard, battery, touchpad, and so on. In this example, slot cover 410 may be coupled to linkage 412 which cooperates with hinge assembly 406 to control a movement of slot cover 410 to uncover slot 408 in second housing 404 during opening of first housing 402 relative to second housing 404.

[0030] FIG. 5 is a cutaway view of a portion of an example electronic device 500 having a linkage 516 that controls a movement of a slot cover 514 during rotation of a first housing 502 relative to a second housing 504. Example electronic device 500 may include a first housing 502, a second housing 504, a hinge assembly 506 to rotatably connect first housing 502 and second housing 504. First housing 502 may include a display 508 and a display cover 510 attached to display 508. Display cover 510 may include at least one slot 512 and at least one slot cover 514 to cover slot 512. As shown in FIG. 5, slot 512 may have an elongated shape that extends parallel to an axis of rotation.

[0031] Further, first housing 502 may include linkage 516 disposed between display 508 and display cover 510. In one example, linkage 516 may be coupled to slot cover 514 and hinge assembly 506 to control a movement of slot cover 514 during rotation of first housing 502 relative to second housing 504. For example, hinge assembly 506 may include a first member and a second member that may be rotatably connected to the first member via a rotating component (e.g., shaft) that rotates along the axis. The first member may be connected to first housing 502 and the second member may be connected to second housing 504 such that first housing 502 and second housing 504 can rotate between an open state and a closed state along the axis. In one example, linkage 516 may be fixedly coupled to the rotating component of hinge assembly 506.

[0032] First housing 502 may be coupled to second housing 504 at hinge assembly 506 such that first housing 502 and second housing 504 can rotate between an open state and a closed state of electronic device 500. In one example, linkage 516 may control the movement of slot cover 514 to uncover slot 512 in response to a rotation towards the open state. In another example, linkage 516 may control the movement of slot cover 514 to cover slot 512 in response to a rotation towards the dosed state, in some examples, a pair of linkages 516 can be provided between slot cover 514 and a pair of hinge assemblies 506.

[0033] in some examples, linkage 516 may control the movement of slot cover 514 to cover or uncover slot 512 by one of pulling, pushing, and rotating slot cover 514. In the examples shown in FIGs. 1-5, linkage may control the movement of slot covers to cover or uncover the slots by sliding, pulling, or pushing the slot covers. However, linkage can control the movement of slot covers to cover or uncover the slots by rotating the slot covers as shown in FIGs. 6A-6C.

[0034] FIGs. 6A-6C are example schematic diagrams of a housing 600, depicting different slot designs and a movement of slot covers to cover or uncover the slots. Particularly, FIG.6A depicts housing 600 including an elongated slot 602 defined corresponding to an antenna area and/or hot spot area. FIG. 6B depicts housing 600 including multiple slots 602 defined in a row corresponding to an antenna area and/or hot spot area. FIG. 6C depicts housing 600 including multiple elongated slots 602 defined in multiple rows corresponding to an antenna areas and/or hot spot areas. Similarly, housing 600 may include any combination of slots that can be arranged in a plurality of rows and/or columns in a display housing and/or base housing. Further, each slot 602 may be covered with a slot cover 604. In the example shown in FIGs. 6A-6C, linkage may control the movement of slot covers 604 to open or close slots 602 by rotating slot covers 604, for instance, between 0 to 90 degrees.

[0035] Even though FIGs. 1-6 describe about a linkage that is connected to a slot cover and a hinge assembly, examples described herein can also be implemented in other ways such that the linkage can control a movement of the slot cover during rotation of a first housing relative to a second housing. For example, the slot cover may be located in the first housing and coupled to the linkage which cooperates with the second housing to enable movement of the slot cover during rotation of the first housing relative to the second housing. Further, slot covers can be designed at any position in the first housing and/or the second housing such as lop of the display cover, edge areas of the first housing/second housing, and the like.

[0036] it may be noted that the above-described examples of the present solution are for the purpose of illustration only. Although the solution has been described in conjunction with a specific implementation thereof, numerous modifications may be possible without materially departing from the teachings and advantages of the subject matter described herein. Other substitutions, modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the present solution. All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or ail of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

[0037] The terms Include," "have," and variations thereof, as used herein, have the same meaning as the term "comprise" or appropriate variation thereof. Furthermore, the term "based on", as used herein, means "based at least in part on." Thus, a feature that is described as based on some stimulus can be based on the stimulus or a combination of stimuli including the stimulus.

[0038] The present description has been shown and described with reference to the foregoing examples. It is understood, however, that other forms, details, and examples can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter that is defined in the following claims.