U.S. patent application number 10/334869 was filed with the patent office on 2004-07-01 for electro-magnetic interference shield with locking latch.
Invention is credited to Beizai, Sam.
Application Number | 20040124194 10/334869 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32655191 |
Filed Date | 2004-07-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040124194 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Beizai, Sam |
July 1, 2004 |
Electro-magnetic interference shield with locking latch
Abstract
An electromagnetic shield is formed from an etched metal sheet
so that walls can be bent along etched lines to form an at least
partially enclosed structure. A first wall has a first tab, such as
a "male" portion, and a second wall has a second tab, such as a
"female" portion. The first and second tabs interlock to hold the
structure together.
Inventors: |
Beizai, Sam; (Sherman Oaks,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Charles K. Young
BLAKELY, SOKOLOFF, TAYLOR & ZAFMAN LLP
Seventh Floor
12400 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles
CA
90025-1026
US
|
Family ID: |
32655191 |
Appl. No.: |
10/334869 |
Filed: |
December 31, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/62.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05K 5/04 20130101; H05K
9/0049 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/062.1 |
International
Class: |
B65D 025/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus comprising: a metal sheet etched to form a
plurality of wall sections, the plurality of wall sections bendable
to form a structure having an at least partially enclosed area, at
least a first wall section having a first tab formed from the metal
sheet, at least a second wall section having a second tab formed
from the metal sheet, wherein the first and second tabs interlock
to hold the structure in place.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metal sheet has a
substantially uniform thickness.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the metal sheet has a
thickness of approximately 0.0005 inches to 0.062 inches.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first tab has a hole in
it.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the second tab has an
extension that fits within the hole of the first tab.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metal sheet further
comprises: at least a third wall having a third tab formed from the
metal sheet, at least a fourth wall having a fourth tab formed from
the metal sheet, wherein the third and fourth tabs interlock to
hold the structure together.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first tab and the third
tab are part of a common wall.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metal sheet is etched on
only one surface.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metal sheet is etched on a
top and bottom surface.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of wall
sections of the structure are substantially perpendicular to one
another.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: one or more
electronic and/or optical interfaces in the metal sheet, and one
ore more electronic and/or opto-electronic components within the
structure coupled to the electronic and/or optical interfaces.
12. An apparatus comprising: a metal sheet at least partially
etched to allow a plurality of walls of the metal sheet to bend in
separate planes to form an enclosed box, wherein at least one of
the plurality of walls has a first tab, and at least one of the
plurality of walls has a second tab, wherein the first and second
tabs interlock.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the metal sheet has a
substantially uniform thickness.
14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first tab has a hole in
it.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the second tab has an
extension that fits within the hole of the first tab.
16. A method of forming an electromagnetic shield from a sheet of
metal having etched lines separating the sheet of metal into at
least three wall sections, at least one of the three wall sections
having a first tab, and at least one of the three wall sections
having a second tab, the method comprising: bending the sheet of
metal along the etched lines until the at least three wall sections
form an at least partially enclosed structure; and interlocking the
first tab with the second tab to hold the at least partially
enclosed structure together.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: attaching a second
sheet of metal to the at least partially enclosed structure to form
a fully enclosed structure.
18. The method of claim 16, further comprising: interlocking a
third tab with a fourth tab to hold the at least partially enclosed
structure together.
19. The method of claim 16, further comprising: attaching a second
sheet of metal to the at least partially enclosed structure to form
a fully enclosed structure.
20. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least partially enclosed
structure is fully enclosed.
21. The method of claim 16, further comprising: placing one or more
electronic and/or opto-electronic components in the at least
partially enclosed structure.
Description
FIELD
[0001] The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to the
field of electro-magnetic interference shielding.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
[0002] Electronic and opto-electronic components are sensitive to
electro-magnetic radiation. One way of preventing or reducing
electromagnetic interference is by enclosing the electronic and
opto-electronic components within a metal enclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0003] FIG. 1 is a 3-dimensional representation of a metal sheet
used to form an electro-magnetic interference shield.
[0004] FIG. 2 is a 3-dimensional representation of the metal sheet
of FIG. 1, with the wall sections bent to form an enclosure.
[0005] FIG. 3 is a representation of one embodiment of a metal
sheet that forms a full enclosure when all the wall sections are
bent toward one another.
[0006] FIG. 4 is a flowchart that shows one embodiment of forming
an electro-magnetic shield from a sheet of metal.
[0007] Note that use of the same reference numbers in different
figures indicates the same or like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0008] An electromagnetic interference shield is used for reducing
electro-magnetic interference. The electromagnetic interference
shield may be used to shield electro-magnetic radiation from
components either inside or outside of the metal shield, depending
on whether the components generating the electromagnetic radiation
are located inside or outside of the shield.
[0009] FIG. 1 is a 3-dimensional representation of a metal sheet
used to form an electro-magnetic interference shield. The metal
sheet 10 has a plurality of etched lines 12 that separate the metal
sheet into separate wall sections 14. The etched lines may be made
by a variety of different etching techniques. In one embodiment,
the etching may be performed on one side of the metal sheet and may
include etching the metal sheet by approximately a quarter to a
half of the thickness of the metal sheet. In another embodiment,
the etching may be performed on both sides of the metal sheet. In
one embodiment, the metal sheet may have a thickness of
approximately 0.0005 to 0.062 inches. Various metals may be used,
including but not limited to, aluminum, copper, brass, kovar,
invar, nickel, stainless steel, and so forth.
[0010] At least one of the wall sections has one or more first tab
sections 20 formed in the metal sheet. At least a different one of
the wall sections has a second tab section 22. Other wall sections
may have additional tab sections.
[0011] In one embodiment, the first tab sections 20 are extensions
of metal forming a "male" portion, and the second tab section 22
form a "female" portion having a hole. The first tab section and
the second tab section interlock with one another.
[0012] The tab sections may be formed by a variety of different
methods. For example, the tab sections may be formed in the metal
sheet by a stamping process, or the tab sections may be formed in
the metal sheet via an etch process.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a 3-dimensional representation of the metal sheet
of FIG. 1, with the wall sections bent to form an enclosure 30. The
wall sections may form a full enclosure or they may form a partial
enclosure. Additional metal sheets may be combined with the
structure of FIG. 2 to fully enclose one or more electronic and/or
optoelectronic components.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a representation of one embodiment of a metal
sheet 40 that forms a full enclosure when all the wall sections are
bent toward one another. Additional tabs may be employed to help
keep the wall sections substantially perpendicular to one
another.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a flowchart that shows one embodiment of forming
an electro-magnetic shield from a sheet of metal. The reader will
appreciate that the flowchart is merely for illustration, and does
not in all cases imply strict ordering, and that various of the
operations may be performed in different orders, or in
parallel.
[0016] The flowchart starts at block 100, and continues at block
102, at which one or more electrical or opto-electronic components
are placed on the sheet on metal. Of course, one or more insulating
layers may separate the electrical or opto-electronic components
from the sheet of metal. Additionally, various openings within the
sheet of metal may be employed to allow electrical and optical
connections to enter and exit the metal shield.
[0017] At block 104, the metal sheet is bent along etched lines in
the metal sheet. At least three wall sections are bent toward one
another to form an at least partially enclosed structure.
[0018] At block 106, a first tab on one wall is interlocked with a
second tab on a second wall to hold the at least partially enclosed
structure together.
[0019] At block 108, one or more additional sheets of metal are
optionally attached to the at least partially enclosed structure to
fully enclose the structure. At block 110, the first tab and/or the
second tab are optionally bent to further hold the at least
partially enclosed structure together. At block 112, additional
tabs may also be employed to further hold the at least partially
enclosed structure together. Additional adhesives or epoxies may
additionally be used to further hold the structure together.
"Holding together" the structure, is deemed to include any
assistance to keeping the structure from returning to its planar
state. The flowchart ends at block 114.
[0020] Thus, a method and apparatus for electromagnetic shielding
is disclosed. However, the specific embodiments and methods
described herein are merely illustrative. For example, although
some embodiments were described with respect to a box shape, the
concepts described can be modified to allow other shapes such as
those with triangular shapes, and so forth. Numerous modifications
in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope of
the invention as claimed below. The invention is limited only by
the scope of the appended claims.
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