Apple patent hints at laptop handles

Posted by Dennis Sellers Mar 24, 2009 at 9:47am

Third parties have sold attachable handles for Apple laptops for some time. Now Apple may be preparing to get in the game itself with future laptops. An Apple patent (number 7508662) for a handle arrangement with integrated heat pipe has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office.

Handle arrangements having an integrated heat pipe for use with a portable electronic device are presented including: a heat pipe, the heat pipe configured with a heat receiving portion, a heat conducting portion, and a heat dissipating portion; a handle disposed along an edge of the portable electronic device, the handle including a handle surface configured to enclose at least the heat dissipating portion, wherein the handle surface is vented to allow air flow across at least the heat dissipating portion; an attachment housing for attaching the handle with the portable electronic device, the attachment housing configured to enclose the heat conducting portion; and a processing unit having a contact surface, the contact surface in thermal communication with the heat receiving portion wherein the portable electronic device is configured to enclose the heat receiving portion.

Here’s Apple’s background and summary of the invention: “As portable electronic device designs become more compact, managing thermal loads in integrated circuits (e.g. processing units) becomes more challenging. One reason for this challenge is that high powered portable devices can generate significant amounts of waste heat energy over a relatively compact area. As such, damage due to heat cycling may cause collateral damage to components in close proximity to heat generators. In conventional solutions, fans may be utilized in coordination with a heat sink to dissipate generated waste heat. In some examples, where fans are utilized to cool components, battery life may be significantly lowered.
“Although conventional methods as illustrated may be effective, as noted above, power requirements for fan usage may, in some instances significantly reduce battery life making such a solution somewhat undesirable. Furthermore, use of a fan may, in some examples, contribute to an undesirable increase in noise level. Therefore, handle arrangements with an integrated heat pipe are presented herein.

“The following presents a simplified summary of some embodiments of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some embodiments of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented below.

“Therefore, handle arrangements having an integrated heat pipe for use with a portable electronic device are presented including: a heat pipe, the heat pipe configured with a heat receiving portion, a heat conducting portion, and a heat dissipating portion; a handle disposed along an edge of the portable electronic device, the handle including a handle surface configured to enclose at least the heat dissipating portion, wherein the handle surface is vented to allow air flow across at least the heat dissipating portion; an attachment housing for attaching the handle with the portable electronic device, the attachment housing configured to enclose the heat conducting portion; and a processing unit having a contact surface, the contact surface in thermal communication with the heat receiving portion wherein the portable electronic device is configured to enclose the heat receiving portion. In some embodiments, the venting is: perforated, drilled, punched, slotted, and louvered. In some embodiments, the attachment housing is rotatably connected with the handle and the portable electronic device such that the portable electronic device may be tilted from a planar surface by the handle. In some embodiments, the arrangement further comprises a heat sink configured to rotatably receive the heat receiving portion, the heat pipe in thermal contact with the heat receiving portion and the contact surface.

“In other embodiments, handle arrangements with an integrated heat pipe for use with a portable electronic device are presented including: heat pipe means, the heat pipe means configured with a heat receiving portion, a heat conducting portion, and a heat dissipating portion; handle means disposed along an edge of the portable electronic device, the handle means including a handle surface configured to enclose the heat dissipating portion, wherein the handle surface is vented to allow air flow across the heat dissipating portion; attachment housing means for attaching the handle with the portable electronic device, the attachment housing means configured to enclose the heat conducting portion; and a processing unit having a contact surface, the contact surface in thermal communication with the heat receiving portion wherein the portable electronic device is configured to enclose the heat receiving portion. In some embodiments, the attachment housing means is rotatably connected with the handle and the portable electronic device such that the portable electronic device may be tilted from a planar surface by the handle.

“In other embodiments, a passive cooling system integrated with an articulating handle for use with a portable computing system is presented including: a heat pipe, the heat pipe configured with a heat receiving portion, a heat conducting portion, and a heat dissipating portion; a heat sink configured to rotatably receive the heat receiving portion, the heat pipe in thermal contact with the heat receiving portion; a portable computing system configured with a number of processing units each having a contact surface, the contact surface in thermal communication with the heat sink wherein the portable computing system is configured to enclose the heat receiving portion; and an attachment housing for rotatably attaching the articulating handle with the portable electronic device, the attachment housing configured to enclose the heat conducting portion wherein the articulating handle is disposed along an edge of the portable electronic device, the articulating handle including a handle surface configured to enclose the heat dissipating portion, wherein the handle surface is vented to allow air flow across at least the heat dissipating portion and the portable computing system may be tilted from a planar surface by the articulating handle.”

The inventor is Ray Chang. The graphic below is an illustrative representation of a prior art portable computing system.

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