Re: Once again, Intel builds a CPU just for Apple
On Jan 29, 8:43 pm, "John Slade" <hhit...@pacbell.net> wrote:
> "Gene Jones" <ja...@janus.com> wrote in message
>
> news:jasin-45DA14.15590129012008@mpls-nnrp-02.inet.qwest.net...
>
> > "John Slade" <sa...@candyman.com> wrote:
>
> >> You lying jackass. Apple says it's backlit.
> >>http://www.apple.com/macbookair/design.htmlHP has this feature also.
> >> Microsoft Desktop PC keyboards have this features, I'm sure other
> >> companies
> >> make these. You are chock full of bullshit. Do yourself a favor and take
> >> a
> >> strong laxative.
>
> > but again you are talking about the full cap being "lit" underneath not
> > the actual letter ON the "key",
>
> No the letters on the keys are lit from the light under the keyboard.
> It's the same thing on other laptops. Now think about it, do you actually
> think each key has it's own LED under it? That would be just plain dumb, the
> power consumption would be too much. Yea you think they would have over 100
> LEDs. You are clueless.
Apple's design uses only a few light sources using "optical guides" to
route the light to each key, and can include routing normally "wasted"
light from the backlight. I have yet to see an example outside of
Apple that doesn't glow between the key, is as thin as Apple's lit
keyboards, or comes on a notebook computer. All of the examples shown
in this thread have a glow between the keys.
> >only apple can do this for the next 14
> > years or so. they OWN the patent. MS can't do anything about it but
> > cheat their users into thinking they might be close to owning an Apple
> > level product.
>
> Ok let me see that patent and prove that Apple is the only one that can
> do it for 14 years.
US Patent 6,776,497.
The US Patent office has a clumsy website. Enter the number here:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm
The following is edited for non-essential information. Anyone
interested can check the patent for the full text.
United States Patent 6,776,497
Huppi , et al. August 17, 2004
Apparatuses and methods for illuminating a keyboard
Abstract
An illumination system for a computer system. In one exemplary
embodiment, a light guide panel has a first end and a second end,
wherein lights from a light source enter the light guide panel from
the first end and exit through the second end. A light guide tube is
coupled to the second end of the light guide panel. The light guide
tube captures the lights that exit the second end and reflecting the
lights downward illuminating at least a portion of a keyboard of the
computer system. The chassis that houses the display assembly includes
a plurality of holes created along the top edge of the chassis wherein
the lights captured and reflected by the light guide tube exit through
the plurality of holes.
Inventors: Huppi; Brian (San Carlos, CA), La; Thai Q. (San Jose, CA),
Galbraith, Jr.; Walter Joseph (Sunnyvale, CA)
Assignee: Apple Computer, Inc. (Cupertino, CA)
Appl. No.: 10/300,545
Filed: November 19, 2002
BACKGROUND
Various methods exist in the prior art for illuminating keyboards. For
example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,432 by Zhang et al, contemplates a
keyboard having an illumination panel inserted within the keyboard.
The illumination panel in the keyboard in Zhang's patent is placed
between the keycaps and metal plate of the keyboard. Such an addition
of the illumination panel requires reconfiguration of the keyboard.
Further, integrating the illumination panel into the keyboard by
placing the illumination panel between the keycaps and the metal plate
of the keyboard decreases the key travel of the keyboard, which can be
referred to as the downward travel distance for each key in the
keyboard. In order to maintain the same key travel, the keyswitch
mechanism in the key-board has to be re-designed and as such, will
result in an increase in the overall thickness of the key-board.
Reconfiguration of the keyboard thus imposes more unnecessary cost to
the making of the keyboard. Also, illuminating the keyboards using
such conventional methods requires extra power which is not
desirable.
SUMMARY
In a conventional computer system with a backlighting display system,
some light emitted from the light source is typically wasted as the
light escapes at the end of a light guide panel. The present
invention, in one embodiment, utilizes the unused light or the escaped
light that is not used in illuminating the display assembly.
Pluralities of light guide tubes are coupled to the light guide panel
at the end portion where the light escapes. The light guide tubes
capture the escaped or unused light that would escape at the end
portion of the light guide panel. The light guide tubes redirect the
captured light out of the display chassis. In one embodiment, the
light guide tubes redirect the captured light so as to direct the
light downward to illuminate the keyboard of the computer system.
