The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 04, 2002
Filed:
Apr. 12, 2000
James Lee Chao, Durham, NC (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
The present invention offers an improved method of reversibly absorbing aqueous solution penetrations into electronic equipment. The method comprises providing an absorbent structure having a certain thickness, the thickness defined by the desired or expected use of the electronic equipment such as a computer keyboard, cellular phone, ATM machine keyboard, radios, PDAs, remote controls, and other electronic devices that might be compromised by liquids and aqueous solutions, rain and the like. The absorbent structure comprises at least a water-permeable top sheet, a hydrogel-forming core, and a water-impermeable back sheet. Several layers and combinations of layers may also be provided, depending upon the desired usage. The absorbent structure is further characterized by having formations that allow for access to and penetration of electronic and mechanical elements such as keys on a keyboard or keypad and other elements that might allow for the penetration of liquids beneath to the underlying electronic circuitry.