Abstract:
Portable computing devices, such as notebook and palm top computers are provided which include top and bottom housing portions connected by a hinge. These devices further include a leather grain layer adhered, heat sealed or ultrasonically welded to the housing.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/002,559, filed Nov. 1, 2001, now abandoned which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/360,678, filed Jul. 26, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No 6,327,142, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/099,171, filed on Jan. 14, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. D430,155, which in turn, is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/066,939, filed on Feb. 19, 1997, now U.S. Design Pat. No. D407,386, issued on Mar. 30, 1999, which applications and patent are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Portable personal computer shipments were expected to rise to about 18 million units in 1998. Recent market research has indicated that as the price of portable computing falls, and more and more competitors provide like features, it is getting harder and harder for manufacturers to differentiate their products in the marketplace. Most portable computing devices use a beige or charcoal colored housings. Such colors provide little or no market distinction, which has forced manufacturers to look to translucent bright colors, such as Apple Computer, Inc.&#39;s iMac™ and iBook™, or metallic finishes, such as Packard Bell&#39;s Z1™. Such computers have been well received, but they are not very appropriate for business use. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a portable computing device having an attractive or unique appearance for distinguishing itself in the marketplace, and providing the look and feel of leather. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Portable computing devices are provided by this invention which include a housing having top and bottom portions connected by a hinge. The top and bottom housing portions include an inwardly facing surface, an outwardly facing surface and a peripheral edge. A set of keys are disposed on an inwardly facing surface of the bottom portion of the housing, and a display screen is disposed on an inwardly facing surface of the top portion of the housing. The portable computing devices, include the improvement of a leather grain layer adhered, heat sealed or ultrasonically welded to a shell portion of the housing. 
     The use of synthetic or natural leather on portable computing devices adds a luxurious and expensive looking aesthetic appearance to such devices. The leather grain layer can be disposed on a major portion of the outwardly facing surface of the top portion to provide an eye catching, upscale appearance that is perfect for the business environment. The high friction surface and texture of the leather is also easier for fingers to grip and hold. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention as well as other information pertinent to the disclosure, in which: 
     FIG.  1 : is a front perspective view of a portable notebook computing device having a leather grain layer; 
     FIG.  2 : is the portable notebook computing device of FIG. 1 in an open condition; 
     FIG.  3 : is a hand-held portable computing device also having a leather grain top layer; and 
     FIG.  4 : is the hand-held computing device of FIG. 3 in an open condition. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With respect to the drawings, and in particular, to the notebook computer  100  shown FIGS. 1 and 2, a description of one preferred embodiment of this invention follows. The notebook computer  100  is of a typical design, including a housing having a top portion  17  and a bottom portion  19  connected by hinge  20 . Hinge  20  has at least one hinge element, but is illustrated in FIG. 1 as having two of such elements. The top and bottom portions, also called shells because of the shallow cavities they contain, have inwardly facing surfaces and outwardly facing surfaces, and a peripheral edge. A set of keys  18  is disposed on the inwardly facing surface of the bottom housing portion  19  and a display screen  16  is disposed on an inwardly facing surface of the top housing portion  17 . In one embodiment of this invention, a leather grain layer  10  is disposed on the exterior facing surface of the top portion of the housing  17 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a pair of lateral edges  12  and  14  are provided which can be non-ornamental or smooth in appearance. This is optional, since the top can contain a partial or a full leather grain, and the shell can be provided in a variety of shapes and sizes, with curved or square edges and/or corners. 
     It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the leather grain layer  10  of this invention can be a natural leather or a synthetic leather material, such as embossed vinyl. The leather grain ideally exhibits a random grain pattern such as that exhibited by natural leather. It is envisioned that one of ordinary skill in the art will be able to use leather and leather-like materials of known sources, with the ability to bind these materials to the upper housing portion  117  in a conventional manner, such as by adhesive, heat sealing or ultrasonic welding, for example. 
     The portable computing device of this invention may be embodied by a hand-held or “palmtop” computing device  200  as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Such devices are known to have a great deal of computing power, but generally have a smaller keyboard  118  and display screen  116  located in the lower housing portion  119  and upper housing portion  117 , respectively. Hand-held devices also may include, for example, a series of apertures  122  in the housing for a speaker or microphone, for example. 
     As with the previous notebook embodiment  100 , the hand-held computing device  200  can include a pair of optional smooth lateral edges  112  and  114 . Such lateral edges can be helpful in protecting the edge of the leather grain layer from being damaged or delaminated due to heavy use or contact with hard surfaces. 
     From the foregoing, it can be realized that this invention provides portable computing devices having a leather grain for providing a distinctive appearance, better tactile feel and gripping capability, a more luxurious feel and better marketing distinction. Although various embodiments have been illustrated, this was for the purpose of describing, but not limiting the invention. Various modifications which will become apparent to one skilled in the art, are within the scope of this invention described in the attached claims.