PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9612632-B2
Application Number: US-201313874260-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Wireless electronic device with component cooling structures

Abstract:
An electronic device may have a hard disk drive mounted diagonally within a housing. Electromagnetic interference shielding structures may enclose the hard disk drive. The shielding structures may include conductive elastomeric structures. A printed circuit board may be mounted diagonally in parallel with the hard disk drive. Connectors on the printed circuit board may be angled away from the printed circuit board at a non-zero angle and may be retained against the housing with a slide and lock connector retention member. An accelerometer may detect when the device is tipped over so that control circuitry may protect the hard disk drive. A fan may cause air to flow upwards on one side of the device and downwards on the other side of the device. The housing may rest on housing support structures with angled air vents and integral elastomeric feet.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing having at least two diagonally opposed vertically extending edges, wherein the housing comprises a box-shaped housing having an upper surface; 
 a storage device in the housing that extends diagonally across the housing between the two diagonally opposed vertically extending edges, wherein the storage device comprises a hard disk drive; and 
 antenna structures mounted under the upper surface above the hard disk drive. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 a power supply on one side of the storage device; and 
 heat sink structures on an opposing side of the storage device. 
 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 2  further comprising a fan mounted adjacent to the power supply. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising a printed circuit board mounted parallel to the hard disk drive. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 4  further comprising heat sink structures coupled to the printed circuit board. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 wireless communications circuitry; and 
 a plurality of Ethernet connectors. 
 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 an accelerometer; and 
 control circuitry that controls the hard disk drive based on data from the accelerometer. 
 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising housing support structures that support the housing. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 8  wherein the housing support structures include air vents. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 9  wherein the housing support structures include a first shot of plastic and a second shot of plastic that is softer than the first shot of plastic. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 10  wherein the second shot of plastic comprises integral feet on which the electronic device is supported. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 9  wherein the housing extends along a vertical dimension and wherein the air vents form air passageways that are oriented at a non-zero angle with respect to the vertical dimension so that air flows through the air vents at a non-zero angle with respect to the vertical dimension. 
     
     
       13. An electronic device, comprising:
 a box-shaped housing having an upper surface; 
 a hard disk drive mounted in the housing; 
 an accelerometer in the housing that is configured to detect when the housing has been tipped over; 
 control circuitry that controls the hard disk drive based on information from the accelerometer detecting that the housing has been tipped over; 
 antenna structures mounted under the upper surface above the hard disk drive; and 
 wireless communications circuitry mounted in the housing. 
 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 13  wherein the hard disk drive extends diagonally across the box-shaped housing between diagonally opposing vertically extending edges of the housing. 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  further comprising a fan that draws air upwards in the housing on one side of the hard disk drive and that blows air downwards in the housing on the other side of the hard disk drive. 
     
     
       16. The electronic device defined in  claim 15  further comprising a housing support structure, wherein the box-shaped housing rests on the housing support structure, wherein the housing support structure comprises air vents, and wherein the fan causes air to flow into the housing through a first set of the air vents and out of the housing through a second set of the air vents. 
     
     
       17. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing, wherein the housing has an upper surface; 
 a housing support structure on which the housing rests, wherein the housing support structure includes air vents; 
 an electrical component that has opposing first and second sides and that is mounted in the housing; 
 antenna structures mounted under the upper surface above the electrical component; and 
 a fan that causes air from the air vents to flow vertically upwards in the housing on the first side of the electrical component and that causes air to flow vertically downwards in the housing on the second side of the electrical component and out of the housing through the air vents. 
 
     
     
       18. The electronic device defined in  claim 17  wherein the electrical component comprises a hard disk drive. 
     
     
       19. The electronic device defined in  claim 18  further comprising wireless communications circuitry. 
     
     
       20. The electronic device defined in  claim 17  further comprising a power supply mounted in the housing on the second side of the electrical component. 
     
     
       21. The electronic device defined in  claim 20  further comprising a printed circuit and heat sink structures mounted on the first side of the electronic component. 
     
     
       22. The electronic device defined in  claim 17 , wherein the housing comprises a box-shaped housing with a square footprint that has a larger vertical dimension than horizontal dimension. 
     
     
       23. The electronic device defined in  claim 17  further comprising:
 an accelerometer; and 
 control circuitry that controls the electrical component based on data from the accelerometer. 
 
     
     
       24. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the box-shaped housing has a square footprint that has a larger vertical dimension than horizontal dimension. 
     
     
       25. The electronic device defined in  claim 12  wherein the storage device has opposing first and second surfaces and the electronic device further comprises a fan that causes air to flow into the housing through a first set of the air vents and upwards along the first surface of the storage device, and wherein the fan further causes air to flow downwards along the second surface of the storage device and out of the housing through a second set of air vents. 
     
     
       26. The electronic device defined in  claim 13  wherein the box-shaped housing has a square footprint that has a larger vertical dimension than horizontal dimension. 
     
     
       27. The electronic device defined in  claim 13  wherein the hard disk drive has first and second opposing sides, the electronic device further comprising:
 a power supply mounted in the housing on the second side of the hard disk drive; and 
 a printed circuit and heat sink structures mounted on the first side of the hard disk drive. 
 
     
     
       28. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the housing has a square perimeter defined by first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls, wherein the first sidewall opposes the second sidewall, the third sidewall opposes the fourth sidewall, the first and fourth sidewalls meet to form a first one of the two diagonally opposed vertically extending edges, and the second and third sidewalls meet to form a second one of the two diagonally opposed vertically extending edges. 
     
     
       29. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing; 
 a housing support structure on which the housing rests, wherein the housing support structure includes air vents; 
 an electrical component that has opposing first and second sides and that is mounted in the housing; and 
 a fan that causes air from the air vents to flow vertically upwards in the housing on the first side of the electrical component and that causes air to flow vertically downwards in the housing on the second side of the electrical component and out of the housing through the air vents, wherein the housing has an upper housing wall opposite the housing support structure and the electrical component has an upper surface that extends between the opposing first and second sides, and wherein the fan causes air to flow horizontally in the housing between the upper surface of the electrical component and the upper housing wall.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, electronic devices with features for managing heat, input-output connections, and electromagnetic interference. 
     Electronic devices are often provided with storage such as hard disk drive storage. Wireless circuitry is used to transmit and receive radio-frequency signals. Heat sink structures are used to help dissipate heat. Input-output ports in the electronic devices are coupled to input-output connectors. 
     It can be challenging to form electronic devices with features such as these. If care is not taken, electromagnetic interference may degrade wireless performance. Sensitive components such as hard disk drives may be susceptible to damage from impact events. Heat sink structures may have difficulty removing heat efficiently. Input-output connectors may not be satisfactorily integrated into a device. Problems such as these can be exacerbated in devices that are designed to have a compact size and pleasing aesthetics. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved electronic devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device such as a wireless router may have a box-shaped housing. The housing may be taller than it is wide. An electronic component such as a hard disk drive may be mounted diagonally within the housing so as to extend between diagonally opposing edges that run vertically along the housing. The hard disk drive may be mounted vertically so that its longer dimension runs parallel to the vertically extending edges of the housing. Control circuitry may protect the hard disk drive by parking a read-write head in the hard drive or taking other suitable action when an accelerometer in the device detects that the device has been tipped over. 
     Electromagnetic interference shielding structures may enclose the hard disk drive. Conductive elastomeric structures in the shielding structures may reduce vibrations and protect the drive during impact events. The conductive elastomeric structures may form upper and lower bumper structures that are respectively mounted above and below the hard disk drive. The electromagnetic interference shielding structures may have a metal bracket. The metal bracket may have a U-shape that forms three sides of a six-sided conductive shielding box for the hard disk drive. The upper and lower bumper structures may form upper and lower sides for the shielding box. End shields formed from curved sheet metal may mate with rounded ends in the conductive elastomeric structures and may be joined to vertically extending edges in the metal bracket using conductive gaskets. 
     A printed circuit board may be mounted diagonally in parallel with the hard disk drive. Connectors on the printed circuit board may be angled away from the printed circuit board at a non-zero angle. A connector retention member may hold the connectors in place, so that surfaces of the connectors lie flush with the housing. 
     A fan may cause air to flow upwards on one side of the device and downwards on the other side of the device. The printed circuit board may have components and heat sink structures that are cooled by vertically flowing air. A power supply may be mounted on an opposing side of the hard disk drive and may receive downwardly flowing air. 
     The housing may rest on housing support structures. The housing support structures may have angled air vents and integral elastomeric feet. 
     Further features, their nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device having a device housing in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional top view of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a portion of an input-output connector retention member of the type that may be used in an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded top view of an input-output connector, an input-output connector retention member mounted to an inner surface of an electronic device housing wall, and a mating input-output connector such as a plug on a cable in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is an interior view of an input-output connector retention member mounted to an inner surface of an electronic device housing wall in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of an illustrative electronic device that has air vents for cooling that are formed as part of a housing support structure on a lower surface of the device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a housing support structure for an electronic device showing an inner surface of the housing support structure for the electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a housing support structure for an electronic device showing an outer surface of the housing support structure for the electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a top view of a housing support structure for an electronic device showing an outer surface of the housing support structure with a circle of air vents in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional side view of an air vent in a portion of the housing support structure of  FIG. 11  in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device showing how air may flow through the device to cool internal components in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 14  is an exploded perspective view of electromagnetic interference shielding structures that may be used in mounting and shielding an electrical component such as a hard disk drive or other storage drive within the interior of an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an electronic device shielding and component mounting structure showing how a hard disk drive may be mounted within a metal bracket using a conductive elastomeric member that performs electromagnetic shielding functions in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative conductive elastomeric shielding member formed from elastomeric material filled with conductive particles in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 17  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative conductive elastomeric shielding member formed from two shots of plastic such as a first shot of elastomeric polymer that is free of conductive particles and a second shot of elastomeric polymer filled with conductive particles in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 18  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative conductive elastomeric shielding member formed from elastomeric material covered with a layer of metal in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 19  is a cross-sectional top view of an electronic device with illustrative shielding structures in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 20  is a perspective view of an interior portion of an illustrative electronic device having shielding structures configured to shield and support a structure such as a hard disk drive in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 21  is a perspective view of an interior portion of an illustrative electronic device having sheet metal shielding structures mounted to a curved inner surface of a device housing in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 22  is a perspective view of an interior portion of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 23  is a perspective view of an interior portion of an illustrative electronic device showing how a fan may be mounted above a power supply in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 24  is a perspective view of an interior portion of an illustrative electronic device with heat sink structures and input-output connector structures in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 25  is a bottom perspective view of an interior portion of an illustrative electronic device having an alternating current connector in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 26  is a cross-sectional side view of the alternating current connector of  FIG. 25  showing how a two-piece connector housing may be used in forming the connector in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An electronic device such as electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  may be provided with wireless communications capabilities, input-output ports for coupling to external connectors, heat sinking structures and fan structures for cooling electrical components, hard disk drives and other storage devices, electromagnetic shielding structures to help prevent electromagnetic interference from disrupting device operation, and other structures for enhancing the performance and appearance of the device. Electronic device  10  may be a wireless electronic device such as a wireless router or other suitable electronic device. For example, electronic device  10  may be a portable device such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a somewhat smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, pendant device, headphone device, earpiece device, or other wearable or miniature device, a cellular telephone, or a media player. Device  10  may also be a television, a set-top box, a desktop computer, a computer monitor into which a computer has been integrated, or other suitable electronic equipment. 
     Device  10  may include a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12 , which may sometimes be referred to as a case, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramics, fiber composites, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of these materials. In some situations, parts of housing  12  may be formed from dielectric or other low-conductivity material. In other situations, housing  12  or at least some of the structures that make up housing  12  may be formed from metal elements. 
     Device  10  may include wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include one or more antennas. For example, one or more antennas for device  10  may be located in upper region  14  of device  10  under the top surface of housing  12  above a hard drive and other internal components. The portion of housing  12  that covers the antenna structures in region  14  may be formed from a dielectric such as plastic. This allows antenna signals to be transmitted through housing  12  and to be received through housing  12 . 
     Antennas in region  14  may be formed using any suitable antenna types. For example, antennas in region  14  may include antennas with resonating elements that are formed from loop antenna structure, patch antenna structures, inverted-F antenna structures, closed and open slot antenna structures, planar inverted-F antenna structures, helical antenna structures, strip antennas, monopoles, dipoles, hybrids of these designs, etc. Different types of antennas may be used for different bands and combinations of bands. For example, one type of antenna may be used in forming a local wireless link antenna and another type of antenna may be used in forming a remote wireless link. 
     Device  10  may have openings such as opening  16  to accommodate one or more buttons or status indicator lights, openings such as openings  18  that are associated with input-output ports, and an opening such as opening  20  that is associated with a power port. Input-output ports  18  may include Ethernet ports formed from Ethernet connectors, Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports formed from USB connectors, analog signal ports, digital signal ports, or other input-output ports. Power ports such as power port  20  can receive an alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) connector. 
     Input-output ports  18  and power port  20  may be formed on rear housing wall  26  or elsewhere in device  10 . Status indicator light openings or openings for buttons such as opening  16  may also be formed on rear housing wall  26  or other surfaces of housing  12  (e.g., a front housing wall, etc.). Device  10  may have a rectangular box shape of the type shown in  FIG. 1  in which the height of the device in vertical dimension Z is greater than the lateral size (width) of the device in lateral dimensions X and Y. The footprint of device  10  may be rectangular (e.g., square). If desired, device  10  may have other suitable shapes (e.g., shapes with circular footprints, shapes with oval foot prints, shapes with heights that are the same as or less than the lateral dimensions of the housing, etc.). The configuration of  FIG. 1  is merely illustrative. 
     Device housing  12  may have vertical edges formed from sidewalls that meet at right angles or may, as shown in  FIG. 1 , have curved edges  28 . Curved edges  28  may extend vertically along four respective corners of housing  12 , so curved edges  28  may sometimes be referred to as rounded or curved corners in housing  12 . Housing  12  may have a rectangular footprint such as a square footprint with four respective corners. Curved edges  28  may extend vertically along each of the four corners. One or more logos or other information may be provided on the surface of housing  12 . For example, logo  22  may be provided on rectangular (e.g., square) top surface  24  of housing  12 . 
     A schematic diagram of an illustrative configuration that may be used for electronic device  10  is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , electronic device  10  may include control circuitry such as storage and processing circuitry  42 . Storage and processing circuitry  42  may include a bulk storage device such as hard disk drive storage (e.g., hard drive  44 ) or other storage drive (e.g., a solid state drive, an array of drives, etc.), nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solid state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in storage and processing circuitry  42  may be used to control the operation of device  10 . The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors, power management units, audio codec chips, application specific integrated circuits, etc. 
     Storage and processing circuitry  42  may be used to run software on device  10 , such as voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) telephone call applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, file backup software, software for supporting router and access point functions, software for supplying status information to a user (e.g., by controlling the operation of status indicator lights), software for implementing hard drive read/write head parking functions or other disk protection functions based on accelerometer data indicating that device  10  is tipping over, etc. To support interactions with external equipment, storage and processing circuitry  42  may be used in implementing communications protocols. Communications protocols that may be implemented using storage and processing circuitry  42  include internet protocols, wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocols—sometimes referred to as WiFi®), protocols for other short-range wireless communications links such as the Bluetooth® protocol, cellular telephone protocols, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry  30  may be used to allow data to be supplied to device  10  and to allow data to be provided from device  10  to external devices. Input-output circuitry  30  may include input-output devices  32 . Input-output devices  32  may include touch screens and other displays, buttons (e.g., button  16 , which may serve as a reset button), joysticks, click wheels, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, microphones, speakers, tone generators, vibrators, cameras, sensors such as accelerometer  46 , light-emitting diodes and other status indicators, data ports (e.g., ports  18 ), etc. A user can control the operation of device  10  by supplying commands through input-output devices  32  and may receive status information and other output from device  10  using the output resources of input-output devices  32 . 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, low-noise input amplifiers, passive RF components, one or more antennas, and other circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications). 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include satellite navigation system receiver circuitry such as Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver circuitry  35 . Transceiver circuitry  36  may handle wireless local area network communications. For example, transceiver circuitry  36  may handle 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands for WiFi® (IEEE 802.11) communications and may handle the 2.4 GHz Bluetooth® communications band. Circuitry  34  may use cellular telephone transceiver circuitry  38  for handling wireless communications in cellular telephone bands. 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include one or more antennas  40 . Antennas  40  may be formed using any suitable antenna types. For example, antennas  40  may include antennas with resonating elements that are formed from loop antenna structure, patch antenna structures, inverted-F antenna structures, closed and open slot antenna structures, planar inverted-F antenna structures, helical antenna structures, strip antennas, monopoles, dipoles, hybrids of these designs, etc. Different types of antennas may be used for different bands and combinations of bands. For example, one type of antenna may be used in forming a local wireless link antenna and another type of antenna may be used in forming a remote wireless link. Antennas  40  may be mounted in upper region  14  of housing  12  under the top wall formed by housing  12  to allow antennas  40  to operate without interference from intervening electronic components in device  10 . 
       FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of device  10  taken along line  50  of  FIG. 1  and viewed in direction  52 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , antennas  40  may be located in region  14  at the top of device  10  above hard disk drive  44  and may lie in a plane parallel to the plane of upper housing surface  24 . In this configuration, antennas  40  may operate without being blocked by the potentially conductive structures of internal device components. A storage device such as hard disk drive  44  or other electrical component may run diagonally across device housing  12  between diagonally opposed housing edges (i.e., hard disk drive  44  may lie within a plane that runs into and out of the page in the orientation of  FIG. 3 ). 
     Power supply  54  may be used to convert alternating current from a wall outlet or other source of alternating current to direct current power. The direct current output from power supply  54  may be used to power hard disk drive  44  and other electrical components within the interior of device housing  12 . 
     Device  10  may contain one or more printed circuits such as one or more rigid printed circuit boards (e.g., printed circuit boards formed from fiberglass-filled epoxy or other rigid printed circuit board material) and, if desired, one or more flexible printed circuits (e.g., printed circuits formed from a polyimide substrate or other layer of flexible polymer). For example, device  10  may contain printed circuit board  60 . Components such as components  62  and  64  may be mounted on printed circuit board  60 . Components  62  may be, for example, integrated circuits, connectors, switches, application specific integrated circuits, processors, memory (see, e.g., circuitry  42  of  FIG. 2 ), input-output components such as circuitry  30 , communications circuits (e.g., wired communications circuits and wireless communications circuitry  34 ), and other circuitry for supporting the operation of device  10 . 
     Component  64  may be a sensor such as an accelerometer. Accelerometer  64  may detect when device  10  is about to tip over or otherwise experience an unexpected movement (e.g., by detecting an impact, by detecting a period of weightlessness associated with a drop event, etc.). In response, control circuitry  42  can park the read-write head of hard drive  44  or take other action to protect drive  44  in advance of shock from an impact. By parking the head of drive  44  or taking other protective action, damage to drive  44  and the potential for associated data loss in drive  44  may be minimized. 
     Hard drive  44  may have a rectangular shape with a shorter lateral dimension (width) and a longer lateral dimension (length). The longer dimension of hard drive  44  may be aligned with vertical dimension Z to help minimize the footprint of device  10 . The diagonally mounted configuration of hard drive  44  may also help minimize the footprint of device  10 , because diagonal mounting in which hard drive  44  runs between two edges (corners) of housing  12  that are diagonally across from each other allows the width of hard drive  44  to be accommodated in the widest portion of device housing  12  (i.e., its diagonal dimension). Although use of a vertical orientation for mounting hard drive  44  may help reduce the surface area of upper surface  24  and the corresponding footprint (outline) of device housing  12  when viewed from above in downward vertical direction −Z, the use of the vertical orientation for hard drive  44  may make device  10  more prone to tipping over than other devices. By incorporating automatic accelerometer-based read-write head parking capabilities into device  10 , drive  44  can be protected from unexpected damage in the event that device  10  is knocked over during use. 
     Device  10  may contain one or more heat sinks such as heat sink structures  66 . Heat sink structures  66  in device  10  may be formed from a material with a high thermal conductivity such as metal and may have fins or other features that help increase the surface area of the heat sink structures to promote heat transfer to the surrounding environment. Heat sink structures  66  may be attached to one or more components  62  on printed circuit board  60  to cool components  62 . Components  62  may, if desired, be enclosed in radio-frequency shielding cans. Heat sink structures  66  may be mounted on the exposed surfaces of the radio-frequency shielding cans, may be mounted on the surfaces of integrated circuits without shields, or may be mounted adjacent to other components that generate heat. 
     Fan  56  may be used to draw air into the interior of device  10  through air vents formed in housing  12 . The air that is drawn into housing  12  may pass over heat sink structures  66  to remove heat from heat sink structures  66 . Air flow may also be used to cool components such as hard drive  44  and power supply  54 . 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of device  10  taken along line  70  of  FIG. 1  and viewed in direction  72 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , hard disk drive  44  may have a planar shape that is oriented so as to be parallel to diagonal plane  84 . Diagonal plane  84  runs diagonally across device  10  between diagonally opposed vertically extending edges (corners)  28 - 1  and  28 - 2  of housing  12 . Hard disk drive  44  lies within plane  84  (i.e., hard disk drive is oriented diagonally with respect to lateral dimensions X and Y of  FIG. 4 ). 
     In a configuration of the type shown in  FIG. 4  in which the sidewalls of housing  12  are of equal size and the rectangular footprint of device  10  is square, plane  84  and parallel plane  74  of printed circuit  60  are oriented parallel to one another at an angle A of 45° with respect to lateral dimension Y. By orienting hard disk drive  44  diagonally between the opposing vertical edges of housing  12  and by orienting hard disk drive  44  so that its longitudinal axis  44 L runs vertically, parallel to vertical dimension Z, the lateral dimensions of each of the sidewalls of box-shaped housing  12  (i.e., the dimensions of housing  12  in the X-Y plane of  FIG. 4 ) may be minimized while maximizing the size of hard disk drive  44 . 
     Connector port  18  has one or more connectors such as connector  76 . Connector  76  in the example of  FIG. 4  is an Ethernet connector. Other types of connector may be used in implementing connectors such as connector  76 , if desired. The configuration of  FIG. 4  is merely illustrative. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , connector  76  may have an axis such as axis  80  along which plugs and other connectors may be moved when it is desired to insert a connector into the opening formed by port  18  and connector  76 . Plug insertion axis  80  (i.e., the plug reception axis for connector  76 ) may be oriented perpendicular to rear wall  26  (i.e., axis  80  may form a surface normal for the plane of rear housing wall  26  and may run parallel to the Y axis). Because printed circuit board  60  is diagonally mounted within housing  12  and lies at an angle A of 45° with respect to axis Y, connector  76  preferably has a bend such as bend  86 . This allows connector mounting surface  82  to be oriented at an angle of 45° with respect to plug insertion axis  80 . In this configuration, connector surface  82  lies flush with the surface of diagonally mounted printed circuit  60 . Each of connectors  76  may be provided with a bend such as bend  86 , so that the mounting surfaces of these connectors can all be mounted to printed circuit  60 . Solder joints or other attachment mechanisms may be used for attaching connector  76  to printed circuit  60 . 
     Hard disk drive  44  may have opposing planar surfaces  44 ′ and  44 ″. Power supply  54  and fan  56  may be mounted on one side of hard disk drive  44  (e.g., on the side of hard disk drive  44  that faces surface  44 ″) and heat sink structures  66 , printed circuit board  60 , and components  62  and  64  may be mounted on an opposing side of hard disk drive  44  (e.g., on the side of hard disk drive  44  that faces surface  44 ′). 
     It may be desirable to insert interior components such as power supply  54  and heat sink structures  66  into the interior of housing  12  along the vertical axis of housing  12  (i.e., along vertical dimension Z). Once installed, connectors  76  may engage with sidewall features such as connector retention features. The connector retention features may be implemented as a metal or plastic connector retention member attached to wall  26 , may be implemented as an integral portion of wall  26 , may be implemented both using structures that are attached to wall  26  and structures that are formed as an integral portion of wall  26 , or may be implemented using other connector retention structures. As an example, connectors  76  can have rear-facing surfaces that are held flush against rear housing wall  26  using a connection retention member such as connector retention member  78  of  FIG. 4 . Connector retention member  78  may be attached to rear housing sidewall  26  using adhesive, heat stakes formed as integral portions of rear housing wall  26 , screws or other fasteners, or other attachment mechanisms. 
     Connectors in device  10  and connector retention member  78  may have interlocking features. As shown in  FIG. 5 , for example, connector  76  may have protrusions such as tabs  76 T that extend laterally outwards from the edges of the rear surface of connector  76 . Connector retention member  78  may have corresponding recesses  78 R that are configured to receive tabs  76 T when connector  76  is moved in direction  90 . After tabs  76 T have been received within recesses  78 R, connector  76  may be moved downwards in direction  92 . This causes tabs  76 T to slide behind tab retention portions  78 P of connector retention member  78 . 
       FIG. 6  is a top exploded view of a connector such as connector  76  that has been mounted to printed circuit board  60  during installation of connector  76  into device  10  using connector retention member  78 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , heat stakes  100  that are formed as an integral portion of housing wall  26  may pass through openings  96  in connector retention member  78  to attach connector retention member  78  to inner surface  98  of rear housing wall  26 . 
     During assembly, tabs  76 T of connector  76  may be inserted through notch-shaped openings or other recesses in member  78  such as notches  78 R of  FIG. 5 . Following movement of connector  76  downwards in direction  92  (into the page in the orientation of  FIG. 6 ), portions  78 P of connector retention member will hold connector  76  and printed circuit board  60  in place so that surface  94  of connector  76  is mounted against housing wall  26  of housing  12 . 
     In this configuration, connector retention member  78  will hold outer surface  94  of connector  76  flush against inner surface  98  of rear housing wall  26 . During operation of device  10 , a user may insert a connector such as an Ethernet plug or other connector  104  into connector  76  along connector insertion axis  80  ( FIG. 4 ). Connector  104  may, for example, be part of an Ethernet cable or other cable  102  that has a pigtailed length of cable such as cable  106 . Due to the presence of tab retention structures  78 P, the insertion of plug  104  along connector insertion axis  80  into connector  76  will not dislodge connector  76  from rear housing wall  26 . 
     Because connectors such as connector  76  slide in direction  92  in order to lock the connectors in place relative to housing  12 , configurations of the type shown in  FIG. 5  that have interlocking engagement features on the connectors and housing  12  and/or a connector retention structure such as connector retention member  78  may sometimes be referred to as slide and lock connector retention mechanisms. If desired, other types of connector retention structures can be used. The use of slide and lock connector retention structures to mount connectors  76  to housing wall  26  to form ports  18  is merely illustrative. As shown in  FIG. 7 , multiple connectors  76  may be mounted to housing wall  26  of housing  12  in device  10  using a single shared connector retention structure  78 . 
       FIG. 8  is a side view of device  10  showing how the base of device  10  may have a housing support structure with air vents. Housing  12  may rest on housing support structure  110 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , housing support structure  110  may have an inner portion such as portion  114  that is received within the walls of housing  12  and may have an outer portion such as portion  112  that protrudes below lower surface  120  of housing  12 . Portions  112  and  114  may be formed from different shots of injection-molded plastic. For example, portion  114  may be formed from a rigid plastic that provides structures  110  with structural strength. Portion  112  may be formed from an elastomeric plastic (i.e., a plastic that is softer and more pliable than plastic  114 ). Elastomeric housing feet such as feet  116  may be formed as an integral part of elastomeric plastic portion  112  of support structures  110 . Hard drive  44  and fan  56  may generate vibrations during operation. The presence of elastomeric material in support structure  110  such as portion  112  and feet  116  may help reduce vibrations and noise that might otherwise arise from vibrations. 
     Housing support structure  110  may have openings such as openings  118 . Openings  118  serve as air vents. Air may flow into some of openings  118  while flowing out of other openings  118 . There may be two or more air vents  118  in housing support structure  110 . As an example, there may be eight air vents  118  that are arranged in a circular shape on support structure  110 , as shown in the interior perspective view of housing support structure  110  in  FIG. 9 .  FIG. 10  is an the exterior perspective view of housing support structure  110 , showing how air vents  118  may be formed between raised central surface  122  of housing support structure  110  and lower peripheral surface  124  of housing support structure  110 . 
       FIG. 11  is a top perspective view of housing support structure  110 . Due to the placement of internal structures in device  10  such as hard disk drive  44 , some of the air vents in housing support structure  110  may be fully or partially blocked (i.e., some of air vents  118  may be dummy air vents that are included to ensure that the air vents are arranged in a pleasing symmetrical pattern). As an example, all air vents  118  in housing support structure  110  may be unblocked except blocked air vents  118 B. 
       FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional side view of housing support structures  110  of  FIG. 11  taken along line  126  and viewed in direction  128 . In the arrangement of  FIG. 12 , housing support structure  110  has been attached to the lower portion of housing  12  to support housing  12  and is resting on an external support surface such as table  130 . As indicated by horizontal arrow  132 , air that is drawn into device  10  may initially flow horizontally across the surface of support structure  130  towards air vent  118 . As indicated by angled arrow  134 , air may flow through air vent  118  at a non-zero angle with respect to the surface of support structures  130  and vertical dimension Z. Angled arrow  134  is aligned with the main air flow axis of vent  118 . After flowing through air vent  118 , air flows vertically upwards into the interior of device  10 , as indicated by arrow  136 . Air outflow vents function in the same way, with air flowing downwards, outwards at a non-zero angle with respect to vertical, and then horizontally away from device  10 . With this type of arrangement, air vents  118  form air passageways that are oriented at a non-zero angle with respect to vertical dimension Z so that air flows through the air vents at a non-zero angle with respect to the vertical dimension. 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , there is a vertical spacing H associated with air vents  118 . The use of angled air vents (i.e., air vents having air flow axis aligned with an angled axis such as angled arrow  134  of  FIG. 12 ) may help to maximize airflow for a given value of vertical air vent size H. Angled air vents may also help hid internal components from view from the exterior of device  10 , thereby enhancing device aesthetics. 
     A cross-sectional side view of device  10  showing how air may flow across components within the interior of housing  12  is shown in  FIG. 13 . In the side view of device  10  in  FIG. 13 , two air vents  118  are shown. Air vent  118 - 1  serves as an air intake vent. Air vent  118 - 2  serves as an air outlet vent. In general, there may be multiple air inlet vents  118  in device  10  (e.g., two or more, three or more, etc.) and there may be multiple air outlet vents  118  in device  10  (e.g., two or more, three or more, etc.). 
     As shown by arrow  132 , air is drawn towards inlet vent  118 - 1  horizontally across the surface of external support structure  130 . Arrow  134  shows how air flows at a non-zero angle with respect to vertical through the angled inlet formed by air inlet vent  118 - 1 . After entering the interior of housing  12 , some air flows vertically upwards through the fins or other heat dissipating structures of heat sink structures  66 , as indicated by arrows  138 . Air may also be channeled closer to hard disk drive  44 . For example, air may flow between printed circuit board  60  and hard disk drive  44  to cool hard disk drive  44 , as indicated by arrows  140 . After cooling components  62  on printed circuit  60  by removing heat from heat sink structures  66  and after cooling hard disk drive  44 , fan (blower)  56  may force air downwards through power supply  54 , as indicated by arrows  142  and  144 . Air outlet vent  118 - 2  allows exiting hot air to flow out of housing  12  at a non-zero angle with respect to vertical dimension Z, as indicated by angled arrow  146 . The exiting air may then flow horizontally, parallel with the surface of external support structure  130 , as indicated by arrow  148 . 
     With the air flow configuration of  FIG. 13 , air may initially flow vertically upwards to cool circuitry such as integrated circuits and other components  62  on printed circuit board  60  and to cool hard disk drive. After flowing briefly in a horizontal direction, as indicated by arrow  148 , power supply  54  may be cooled by directing the air to flow vertically downwards. This type of up and over air flow configuration may help cool device  10  efficiently, even in configurations in which the vertical size of device  10  is larger than its horizontal size. 
     Electrical components in device  10  such as wireless circuitry  34  (e.g., components  62  on printed circuit  60 ) may be sensitive to electromagnetic noise. During operation, hard disk drive  44  may generate electromagnetic noise. Shielding structures such as shielding structures  150  that surround hard disk drive  44  may be incorporated into device  10  to prevent this noise from interfering with the operation of circuitry  62  on printed circuit board  60 . 
     Illustrative shielding structures  150  that may be used in shielding an electronic component such as hard disk drive  44  are shown in the exploded perspective view of  FIG. 14 . As shown in  FIG. 14 , shielding structures  150  may include a metal bracket such as bracket  152 . During assembly, sides  168  of bracket  152  may be pinched inwards in directions  170  to temporarily reduce the lateral dimensions of bracket  152  and thereby provide clearance with respect to other device structures. After bracket  152  has been mounted within device housing  12 , sides  168  may expand outward to accommodate insertion of hard disk drive  44 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 14 , bracket  152  has opposing open ends  185 . When assembled into device  10 , shielding structures  150  may form a six-sided conductive box that shields all six sides of hard disk drive  44 . Bracket  152  has two vertically extending main sides  168  that form a main pair of vertical sides for the shielding box. Upper planar portion  172  of bracket  152  and protruding portions of upper elastomeric bumper  164  form the uppermost side of the shielding box. An opposing lower side of the shielding box is formed by lower elastomeric bumper  158 . Curved sheet metal end shields  166  form closed conductive sides that cover the open ends  185  of metal bracket  152 . 
     End shields  166  may be mounted to the interior of housing  12  (e.g., on curved inner surfaces of plastic portions of housing  12 ). Bumper  164  may be used with upper side  172  of bracket  152  in forming the upper side of the six-sided conductive box. Bumper  158  may be used in forming the lower side of the six-sided conductive shielding box. Bumpers  164  and  158  may have rounded ends that mate with rounded surfaces along the upper and lower edges of end shields  166 . The use of a soft material in forming bumpers  164  and  158  (i.e., a material that is softer than end shields  166 ) may help bumpers  164  and  158  form a tight seal when pressed against end shields  166 . Soft elastomeric bumpers may also help prevent damage to hard drive  44  in the event of an impact to device  10  and may help reduce vibrations during use. 
     A metal structure such as base plate  156  may be used in attaching elastomeric bumper  158  to the bottom of shielding structures  150 . Screws  162  may pass through openings  160  in base plate  156  and may be received in corresponding openings  154  in tabs protruding from the lower edges of sidewalls  168  of bracket  152 . 
       FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional side view of a lower portion of shielding structures  150 . As shown in  FIG. 15 , lower elastomeric bumper  158  may be provided with downwardly directed protrusions such as protrusions  174 . Protrusions  154  may serve as supporting feet that help cushion hard drive  44  from vibrations (e.g., vibrations when device  10  is exposed to an impact or vibrations that originate from moving parts within device  10  such as disk drive  44  or fan  56 ). As shown in  FIG. 15 , screws  162  may be used in securing base plate  156  to bracket  152 . Base plate  156  may hold lower elastomeric bumper  158  in place to form the lower surface of box-shaped shielding structures  150 . 
     Metal bracket  152  and end shields  166  may be formed from metals such as copper, aluminum, stainless steel, or other metals (as an example). Bumpers such as bumpers  164  and bumper  158  may be formed from elastomeric materials such as soft polymeric materials. The polymer used to form bumpers  164  and  158  may be sufficiently flexible to allow bumpers  164  and  158  to conform to mating metal structures such as structures  166 , thereby helping to form tight seals between the structures that make up shielding structures  150 . The use of flexible elastomeric materials as part of shielding structures  150  may also help absorb vibrations that might be produce by moving parts in device  10  such as fan  56  and hard drive  44 . Elastomeric structures such as bumpers  158  and  164  may also help absorb shocks that may arise during impact events. 
     The use of elastomeric bumpers  158  and  164  may provide protection for hard drive  44  in the event that device  10  is tipped over accidentally by a user. Protection for hard drive  44  may also be provided through the use of an accelerometer based read-write head parking function or other function that raises the read-write head(s) of drive  44  above the spinning platters in drive  44 . During operation, control circuitry  42  may make accelerometer readings using accelerometer  46 . If acceleration data exceeding a predetermined threshold is detected, control circuitry  42  may direct hard drive  44  to park or otherwise move the read-write heads within hard drive  44  to prevent potential disk damage from shocks experienced during the tip event. 
     To ensure that electromagnetic interference is shielded satisfactorily by shielding structures  150 , elastomeric bumper structures  158  and  164  may be conductive. As shown in  FIG. 16 , for example, elastomeric bumper structures  180  (e.g., structures  158  and/or  164 ) may be formed from elastomeric material  182  containing conductive filler particles  187 . Particles  187  may be, for example, metal particles. Elastomeric material  182  may be a soft polymer. 
     In the  FIG. 17  example, elastomeric material  182 - 1  (e.g., a soft polymer) is being used as a support structure for a layer of metal-filled polymer such as layer  182 - 2 . Elastomeric material  182 - 1  may be formed as a first injection molded shot of material and elastomeric material  182 - 2  may be formed as a second injection molded shot of material. Metal particles  187  may be incorporated into the second shot of plastic (i.e., in elastomeric material  182 - 2 ) to ensure that the second shot of plastic and therefor structures  180  are sufficiently conductive to serve as a part of electromagnetic interference shielding structures  150 . 
     If desired, metal coatings, metal foil, sheet metal parts, or other metal structures may be added to structures  182  to provide shielding. This type of arrangement is shown in  FIG. 18 . As shown in the example of  FIG. 18 , structures  180  may have elastomeric material  182 . Metal layer  186  may be attached to elastomeric material  182  to form shielding elastomeric structures  180 . Metal layer  186  may be a coating of metal that is deposited in the form of metal paint, using physical vapor deposition, using electroplating, or using other deposition techniques or meta layer  186  may be a layer of metal foil or sheet metal that is attached to elastomeric material  182  (e.g., using adhesive or other attachment mechanisms). 
     The configurations of  FIGS. 16, 17, and 18  are merely illustrative. Any suitable conductive materials may be used in forming the upper and lower walls of shielding structures  150  if desired. 
     Conductive gaskets such as conductive fabric-over-foam gaskets or other conductive gaskets (e.g., gaskets formed exclusively from conductive fabric tubes, gaskets formed exclusively from conductive foam, or other gaskets that can be compressed between conductive parts at a joint) may be used in forming joints between different portions of shielding structures  150 . As an example, elongated strip-shaped conductive gaskets may run vertically, parallel to dimension Z, along vertically extending edges  184  of sidewalls  168  at open ends  185  of bracket  152  to help seal bracket  152  to end shields  166 . 
       FIG. 19  is a cross-sectional top view of device  10  showing illustrative locations for conductive gaskets  186  on edges  184  of sidewalls  168  of bracket  152 . Gaskets  186  may have the shape of elongated strips that extend vertically in dimension Z (into the page in the orientation of  FIG. 19 ). As shown in  FIG. 19 , gaskets  186  may form shield joints between edges  184  of bracket  152  and corresponding edge portions of end shields  166 . End shields  166  may be formed from rectangular sheet metal parts that are attached to the curved inner surfaces of curved edges  28  of housing  12  (e.g., using adhesive or other attachment mechanisms). 
       FIG. 20  is perspective view of an interior portion of device  10 . Vertical dashed line  190  shows where gasket  186  may contact end shield  166 . Upper horizontal line  192  shows where upper conductive bumper  164  may contact end shield  166 . Lower horizontal line  194  shows where lower conductive bumper  158  may contact end shield  166 . Metal bracket  152  may have openings such as perforations  196 . Perforations  196  allow air to flow horizontally along the upper portion of the interior of housing  12  (i.e., when traveling from heat sink structures  66  to fan  56 , as shown in  FIG. 13 ). 
       FIG. 21  is an interior view of a portion of device  10  and housing  12  showing how end shield  166  may be attached to a curved inner surface of housing  12 . Connectors  76  may be mounted in a row that runs vertically adjacent to the edge of end shield  166 . 
     As shown in the perspective view of interior portions of device  10  in  FIG. 22 , base plate  156  and screws  162  may be used to mount conductive elastomeric lower bumper  158  in device  10 . Power supply  54  is mounted adjacent to fan  56 , so that fan  56  can blow air through power supply  54 . Antenna structures  40  may be formed in upper region  14  of device  10  above hard drive  44  and below the upper surface of housing  12 . Antenna structures  40  may include a plastic support structure such as support structure  200 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 23 , metal antenna traces  202  for antennas  40  may be formed on plastic support structure  200 . Stamped metal can  204  or other conductive structures may form an antenna ground for antennas  40 . 
     Conductive gaskets  186  may be formed from elongated strip-shaped members that run vertically along edges  184  of metal bracket  152 . Housing support structures  110  may be located at the base of device  10  to support device  10 . 
     In the orientation of  FIG. 23 , conductive gaskets  186  are attached to the side of bracket  152  that faces fan  56  and power supply  54 . In the orientation of  FIG. 24 , conductive gaskets  186  are shown that are attached to the side of bracket  152  that faces printed circuit board  60 . Heat sink structures  66  may include an upper heat sink  66 A and a lower heat sink  66 B or other structures for dissipating heat. Lower heat sink  66 B may have a smaller width than upper heat sink structures  66  to accommodate connectors  76 . Housing support structures  110  may be located at the base of device  10 . Power port  20  may be located near the base of device  10  and support structures  110 , so that device  10  is not easily tipped over in the event that a power cord is inadvertently pulled. 
     Power port  20  may include inner power connector structure  210  and power pins  212 . Inner power connector structure  210  may be formed from a dielectric such as injection molded plastic and may be used to support power pins  212 . An outwardly facing cavity in structure  210  may be configured to receive a power plug. 
       FIG. 25  is a perspective view of a bottom interior portion of device  10  in the vicinity of power port  20 . To help provide electrical isolation, an outer shell such as shell  214  may be used to cover inner connector structure  210 . Outer shell  214  may be formed from a dielectric such as plastic. Power wires  216  may be used to route alternating current power from port  20  to power supply  54 . Wires  216  may run past the edge of base plate  156 , which is mounted to device  10  using screws  162 . 
     Power port  20  may be coupled to an external power cable such as cable  218  to receive power from an alternating current (AC) wall outlet or other source of alternating current or direct current power. Cable  218  may include wires in a length of cable  224  that is terminated with connector  220 . Connector  220  may have a plastic housing in which power pins  222  are mounted. Power pins  222  may electrically connect to respective power pins  212  ( FIG. 24 ) in port  20  when cable  218  is mated with device  10 . 
     A cross-sectional side view of the structures associated with power port  20  is shown in  FIG. 26 . As shown in  FIG. 26 , inner connector structure  210  may have an engagement feature such as angled protrusion  226  that mates with a corresponding recess or other engagement feature such as notch  228  in outer power connector shell  214 . During assembly, shell  214  may slide over the exterior of inner power connector structure until engagement features  226  and  228  engage with one another to hold shell  214  in place over interior connector structure  210 . The use of multiple layers of plastic in forming connector port  20  helps electrically isolate power pins  212  from circuitry within device  10 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20130430
Publication Date: 20170404
Grant Date: 20170404
Priority Date: 20130430
Inventors: SINHA VIKAS K.
SATTERFIELD PHILLIP S.
DIEP VINH H.
DE IULIIS DANIELE
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F1/16", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/187", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/20", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/182", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G11B33/08", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G11B33/124", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/187", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/182", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/20", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G11B33/124", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G11B33/08", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/16", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 50033805