PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11626898-B2
Application Number: US-202117326214-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic devices having circuitry in housing attachment structures

Abstract:
An electronic device housing may be formed from housing members. A first housing member may form a display cover layer that overlaps pixels. During operation, the pixels may display an image that is viewable through the display cover layer. The second housing member may have a rear wall portion and a sidewall. A band may be coupled to the sidewall or other portion of the second housing member. The first and second housing members may be attached together using a housing member attachment structure. The housing member attachment structure may have layers of adhesive and printed circuit structures. The printed circuit structures may include metal traces that form an antenna and that form capacitive force sensor electrodes on opposing sides of a compressible member.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device comprising:
 a compressible member having opposing first and second sides; 
 a first printed circuit having a first capacitive force sensor electrode on the first side of the compressible member; 
 a second printed circuit having a second capacitive force sensor electrode on the second side of the compressible member; and 
 an antenna resonating element on the first printed circuit. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the compressible member comprises an elastomeric polymer. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the antenna resonating element and the first capacitive force sensor electrode are formed from separate metal traces on the first printed circuit. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the antenna resonating element and the first capacitive force sensor electrode are formed from a shared metal trace on the first printed circuit. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the first printed circuit has a portion that protrudes from a lateral edge of the compressible member, and the antenna resonating element is formed from a metal trace on the portion of the first printed circuit. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the first printed circuit comprises first and second overlapping metal traces, the first metal trace forming a signal routing path and the second metal trace forming the first capacitive force sensor electrode. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 6 , wherein the second printed circuit comprises third and fourth overlapping metal traces, the third metal trace forming an additional signal routing path and the fourth metal trace forming the second capacitive force sensor electrode. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 a housing, wherein the first printed circuit is coupled to a first portion of the housing and the second printed circuit is coupled to a second portion of the housing. 
 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 8  further comprising:
 a first layer of adhesive; and 
 a second layer of adhesive, wherein the first layer of adhesive attaches the first printed circuit to the first portion of the housing and the second layer of adhesive attaches the second printed circuit to the second portion of the housing. 
 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 8 , wherein the antenna resonating element is formed from a metal trace on a protruding portion of the first printed circuit that overlaps the first portion of the housing. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 10 , wherein the first portion of the housing comprises a display cover layer. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 8 , wherein the second portion of the housing comprises a sidewall that couples a display cover layer to a rear housing wall. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the antenna resonating element runs along an edge of the electronic device. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 13  further comprising:
 an additional antenna resonating element that runs along an additional edge of the electronic device. 
 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 13 , wherein the antenna resonating element is arranged in a phased antenna array configured to perform beam steering operations. 
     
     
       16. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 a display cover layer; 
 a housing member; and 
 adhesive layers, wherein the compressible member, the first printed circuit, the second printed circuit, and the adhesive layers form a housing member attachment structure that attaches a surface of the display cover layer and an opposing surface of the housing member. 
 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 a display cover layer; and 
 a housing member, wherein the compressible member is disposed between the display cover layer and the housing member. 
 
     
     
       18. The electronic device defined in  claim 17 , wherein the first side of the compressible member is coupled to the display cover layer and the second side of the compressible member is coupled to the housing member. 
     
     
       19. An electronic device comprising:
 a housing; 
 a force sensor having first and second force sensor electrodes separated by compressible material; 
 capacitive sensor circuitry coupled to the first and second force sensor electrodes and configured to receive force sensing signals from the first and second force sensor electrodes; 
 an antenna; 
 radio-frequency transceiver circuitry coupled to the antenna and configured to use the antenna to convey antenna signals; and 
 a printed circuit attached to the housing, wherein the printed circuit has a metal trace that forms the first force sensor electrode and that forms the antenna. 
 
     
     
       20. The electronic device defined in  claim 19  further comprising:
 a capacitor that couples the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry to the metal trace; and 
 an inductor that couples the capacitive sensor circuitry to the metal trace.

Description:
This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/589,643, filed on Oct. 1, 2019, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/776,360, filed Dec. 6, 2018, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. This application claims the benefit of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/589,643 and U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/776,360. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and, more particularly, to electronic devices with wireless communications circuitry. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices are often provided with wireless communications capabilities. To satisfy consumer demand for small form factor wireless devices, it may be desirable to form antennas in compact electronic device enclosures. This can make it difficult to achieve desired antenna performance goals. For example, it can be challenging to achieve satisfactory antenna coverage in devices with conductive electronic device housing structures. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may have a housing. The housing may surround electrical components in an interior region of the electronic device. The electrical components may include sensors, displays, and other input-output devices, control circuitry, and communications circuitry such as radio-frequency transceiver circuitry for handling antenna signals. 
     The electronic device may have opposing front and rear faces. A display may be provided on the front face. A first housing member may form a transparent display cover layer that overlaps an array of pixels in the display so that images on the array of pixels can be viewed through the transparent display cover layer. A second housing member may have a sidewall portion that extends between housing structures on the front and rear faces. If desired, a band may be coupled to the sidewall portion or other portion of the second housing member. 
     The first and second housing members may be attached to each other to form the housing for the electronic device. The first and second housing members may, for example, be joined together using a housing member attachment structure. The housing member attachment structure may have layers of adhesive and one or more printed circuits. In an illustrative arrangement, the housing member attachment structure may be used to attach a surface of the display cover layer to an opposing portion of a housing sidewall. 
     The housing member attachment structure may include printed circuit structures. The printed circuit structures may include polymer substrate structures with metal traces. The metal traces on the printed circuit structures may include metal traces that form an antenna that is electrically coupled to the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry. The metal traces on the printed circuit structures may also form first and second force sensor electrodes. The force sensor electrodes may be capacitive force sensor structures for a capacitive force sensor and may be formed on opposing sides of a compressible member such as an elastomeric member in the housing member attachment structure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device 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 front view of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS.  4 ,  5 ,  6 , and  7    are diagrams of illustrative antennas in an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  8    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative force sensor in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  9    is a diagram of illustrative antenna and force sensing circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  10    is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device having a housing member attachment structure with metal traces for forming an antenna or other circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  11    is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device having a housing member attachment structure with multiple layers of metal traces for forming force sensor structures and other circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  12    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative housing attachment structure having printed circuit layers with multiple layers of metal traces for forming force sensor structures and antenna structures in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  13    is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device with a flexible printed circuit that forms part of a housing member attachment structure and that has a portion that is coupled to the underside of a display cover layer in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  14    is a cross-sectional side view of structures for coupling an antenna resonating element on a flexible printed circuit to a conductive housing structure such as a metal housing wall in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS.  15 ,  16 , and  17    are top views of illustrative electronic devices with antennas in accordance with illustrative embodiments. 
         FIGS.  18 ,  19 , and  20    are cross-sectional side views of electronic devices with illustrative housing member attachment structures in accordance with embodiments. 
         FIG.  21    is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device with a flexible display that has bent portions in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Electronic devices may be provided with wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include antennas having antenna resonating elements formed from metal traces on polymer substrates such as flexible printed circuit substrates and other supporting structures. The antenna structures of the wireless communications circuitry may be incorporated into a housing member attachment structure. The housing member attachment structure may be used in joining housing structures together. For example, the housing member attachment structure may be used in attaching a first housing member such as a display cover layer to a second housing member such as a housing sidewall or may be used to couple a housing member such as a housing sidewall structure to a housing member such as a rear housing wall structure. The housing member attachment structure may include adhesive for attaching one housing member to another. 
     In some configurations, a housing member attachment structure may include a capacitive force sensor. The force sensor may have capacitive sensor electrodes that are formed from patterned metal layers on the flexible printed circuits and other substrates that are used in forming the antennas. For example, a housing member attachment structure may include flexible printed circuit structures or other flexible polymer substrates with metal traces that serve both as antenna resonating element structures and force sensor electrode structures. Configurations in which a housing member attachment structure includes an antenna resonating element and does not include force sensor structures may also be used. 
       FIG.  1    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device. Device  10  may have a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12  may have opposing front and rear faces FR and RR and sidewalls W. As shown in  FIG.  1   , housing  12  may enclose interior  46  of device  10 . Device  10  may include electrical components  50  in interior  46  (e.g., integrated circuits, sensors and other input-output devices, control circuitry, display layers such as organic light-emitting diode panels or other display layers, etc.). Electrical components  50  may, if desired, be mounted on printed circuits such as printed circuit  48  (e.g., flexible printed circuits and/or printed circuits formed from rigid printed circuit board material). In some configurations, a display may be formed on rear face RR. In other configurations, no display is present on rear face RR. In configurations in which no display is present on rear face RR, the portion of housing  12  on rear face RR may be formed from metal (e.g., a stainless steel or aluminum layer) and/or transparent structures (e.g., glass, sapphire, etc.). For example, housing  12  on rear face RR may be formed from glass that is covered with opaque material (e.g., ink) and/or may be formed from metal with openings in which glass, sapphire, or other transparent window structures are formed. If desired, device  10  may have a rear housing wall formed from metal with optional optical windows and may have optional metal sidewall portions that extend upwardly from the rear housing wall to form sidewall W. 
     Device  10  may be a wristwatch device having a main unit (control unit) formed from housing  12  and the components in interior  46  of housing  12  and a band such as band  36  (sometimes referred to as a strap, wearable band, wrist band, etc.) that is configured to be worn on a body part of a user such as a user&#39;s wrist. Display  14  may be coupled to housing  12  of the main unit (e.g., display  14  may be mounted on front face FR). Control circuitry, communications circuitry, and input-output devices may be housed in interior  46  of the main unit (e.g., an interior region formed by housing  12 ). Band  36  may be coupled to sidewall W. For example, band  36  may have a first portion coupled to one side of housing  12  (e.g., a metal sidewall and/or rear housing wall or other housing structure in the housing of the main unit) and a second portion coupled to an opposing side of housing  12  (e.g., a metal sidewall and/or rear housing wall or other housing structure on an opposing side of the housing of the main unit). Clasps  38  may be formed at the ends of the first and second portions, respectively. When band  36  is wrapped around a user&#39;s wrist, clasps  38  may mate to secure device  10  to the user&#39;s wrist. Clasps  38  may be magnetic clasps, clasps formed from mating clasp mechanisms (e.g., tangs and holes), hook-and-loop fasteners, or other structures for closing band  36  around a user&#39;s wrist or other body part. 
     Band  36  may be flexible, which allows band  36  to be wrapped around a user&#39;s wrist. For example, band  36  may be formed from fabric, flexible polymer, leather, or other flexible materials, and/or band  36  may have multiple hinged segments. The hinged segments, which may sometimes be referred to as band segments or links, may be formed from rigid materials (glass, rigid polymer, metal, etc.) and/or may be formed from flexible materials (e.g., fabric, flexible polymer, etc.). Hinges may be provided between adjacent links in band  36  and may include metal hinges, fabric hinges, hinges formed from polymer and/or metal or other materials, and/or other hinge structures. The hinges may be used to allow band segments to rotate with respect to each other and with respect to the main unit of device  10 . If desired, band  36  may be detachable. 
     Housing  12  of device  10  may have multiple portions. For example, housing  12  may have a first portion such as portion  12 - 1  and a second portion such as portion  12 - 2  (as an example). Separate housing portions of device  10  may be coupled using housing member attachment structures such as housing member attachment structure  52  of  FIG.  1   . Housing member attachment structure  52 , which may sometimes be referred to as a housing member joining structure, housing member coupling structure, housing attachment structure, etc., may include adhesive and other structures for joining housing structures together. For example, housing member attachment structure  52  of  FIG.  1    may have a ring shape or other suitable shape that joins portions  12 - 1  and  12 - 2  and thereby holds these separate housing portions together to form housing  12  for device  10 . 
     Housing member attachment structure  52  may include adhesive for joining members  12 - 1  and  12 - 2 . To enhance device functionality, circuitry may be embedded in housing member attachment structure  52 . For example, printed circuit substrates or other substrates with metal traces for forming force sensor circuitry and/or antenna circuitry may be incorporated into housing member attachment structure  52 . In some configurations, antenna circuitry may be mounted on protruding portions of these substrates (e.g., portions of a polymer substrate such as a printed circuit substrate or other supporting structure in housing member attachment structure  52  that protrudes outwardly from the joint between adjacent housing members). 
     A schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device such as device  10  of  FIG.  1    with housing attachment structures having circuitry such as wireless communications and force sensing circuitry is shown in  FIG.  2   . Device  10  may be a cellular telephone, tablet computer, laptop computer, wristwatch device or other wearable device, a television, a stand-alone computer display or other monitor, a computer display with an embedded computer (e.g., a desktop computer), a system embedded in a vehicle, kiosk, or other embedded electronic device, a media player, or other electronic equipment. 
     Device  10  may include control circuitry  20 . Control circuitry  20  may include storage and processing circuitry for supporting the operation of device  10 . The storage and processing circuitry may include storage such as 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 control circuitry  20  may be used to gather input from sensors and other input devices and may be used to control output devices. The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors and other wireless communications circuits, power management units, audio chips, application specific integrated circuits, etc. 
     To support communications between device  10  and external equipment, control circuitry  20  may communicate using communications circuitry  22 . Circuitry  22 , which may sometimes be referred to as control circuitry and/or control and communications circuitry, may include wireless communications circuitry  34  to support bidirectional wireless communications between device  10  and external equipment over a wireless link. Circuitry  22  may also support wired communications. 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry  90  formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, low-noise input amplifiers, passive RF components, one or more antennas such as antenna  40 , transmission lines such as transmission line  192 , and other circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. 
     Radio-frequency transceiver circuitry  90  may include wireless local area network transceiver circuitry to handle 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands for WiFi® (IEEE 802.11) communications and may include Bluetooth® circuitry to handle the 2.4 GHz Bluetooth® communications band. If desired, circuitry  90  may handle other bands such as cellular telephone bands (e.g., bands from 700-2700 MHz and/or other cellular telephone frequencies), near-field communications bands (e.g., 13.56 MHz), millimeter wave bands (e.g., communications at 10-400 GHz such as communications at a 60 GHz millimeter wave communications band), and/or other communications bands. Configurations in which radio-frequency transceiver circuitry  90  handles wireless local area network bands (e.g., 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) may sometimes be described herein as an example. In general, however, circuitry  90  may be configured to cover any suitable communications bands of interest. 
     Wireless circuitry  34  may include one or more antennas such as antenna  40 . Antennas such as antenna  40  may be formed using any suitable antenna types. For example, antennas in device  10  may include antennas with resonating elements that are formed from loop antenna structures, patch antenna structures, inverted-F antenna structures, open and closed slot antenna structures, planar inverted-F antenna structures, helical antenna structures, monopole antennas, dipoles, Yagi (Yagi-Uda) antenna structures, hybrids of these designs, etc. If desired, one or more antennas  40  may be cavity backed antennas. Parasitic elements and directors may be included in antennas  40  to adjust antenna performance. In some configurations, device  10  may have isolation elements between respective antennas  40  to help avoid antenna-to-antenna cross-talk. 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 antenna. In some configurations, different antennas may be used in handling different bands for transceiver circuitry  90 . Each antenna  40  may cover one or more bands. As an example, antennas in circuitry  34  may include dual band wireless local area network antennas. 
     Each antenna  40  in device  10  may be coupled to transceiver circuitry  90  using an antenna feed. As shown in  FIG.  2   , radio-frequency transceiver circuitry  90  may be coupled to antenna feed  202  of antenna  40  using transmission line  192 . Antenna feed  202  may include a positive antenna feed terminal such as positive antenna feed terminal  198  and may have a ground antenna feed terminal such as ground antenna feed terminal  200 . Transmission line  192  may be formed from metal traces on a printed circuit (e.g., a rigid printed circuit formed from fiberglass-filled epoxy or other rigid printed circuit material or a flexible printed circuit formed from a layer of polyimide or a sheet of other flexible printed circuit substrate material) or may be formed from other conductive structures and may have a positive transmission line signal path such as path  194  that is coupled to terminal  198  and a ground transmission line signal path such as path  196  that is coupled to terminal  200 . Transmission line paths such as path  192  may be used to route antenna signals within device  10 . Transmission lines in device  10  may include coaxial cable paths, microstrip transmission lines, stripline transmission lines, edge-coupled microstrip transmission lines, edge-coupled stripline transmission lines, transmission lines formed from combinations of transmission lines of these types, etc. Filter circuitry, switching circuitry, impedance matching circuitry, and other circuitry may be interposed within transmission lines such as transmission line  192  and/or circuits such as these may be incorporated into antenna  40  (e.g., to support antenna tuning, to support operation in desired frequency bands, etc.). During operation, control circuitry  20  may use transceiver circuitry  90  and antenna(s)  40  to transmit and receive data wirelessly. Control circuitry  20  may, for example, receive streaming media wirelessly using transceiver circuitry  90  and antenna(s)  40  and may play the media through a speaker in device  10 , may handle cellular telephone calls, may transmit and receive text messages, email messages, and other messages, and/or may perform other communications tasks. 
     Device  10  may include input-output devices such as devices  24 . Input-output devices  24  may be used in gathering user input, in gathering information on the environment surrounding the user, and/or in providing a user with output. Devices  24  may include one or more displays such as display(s)  14 . Display  14  may be an organic light-emitting diode display, a liquid crystal display, an electrophoretic display, an electrowetting display, a plasma display, a microelectromechanical systems display, a display having a pixel array formed from crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies (sometimes referred to as microLEDs), and/or other display. Display  14  may have an array of pixels configured to display images for a user. The display pixels may be formed on one or more substrates such as one or more flexible substrates (e.g., display  14  may be formed from a flexible display layer). Conductive electrodes for a capacitive touch sensor in display  14  and/or an array of indium tin oxide electrodes or other transparent conductive electrodes overlapping display  14  may be used to form a two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor for display  14  (e.g., display  14  may be a touch sensitive display). 
     Sensors  16  in input-output devices  24  may include force sensors such as force sensor  26 . Force sensors such as force sensor  26  may include strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, resistive force sensors, or other force sensors. Sensors  16  may also include audio sensors such as microphones, touch and/or proximity sensors such as capacitive sensors (e.g., a two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor integrated into display  14 , a two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor overlapping display  14 , and/or a touch sensor that forms a button, trackpad, or other input device not associated with a display), and other sensors. If desired, sensors  16  may include optical sensors such as optical sensors that emit and detect light, ultrasonic sensors, optical touch sensors, optical proximity sensors, and/or other touch sensors and/or proximity sensors, monochromatic and color ambient light sensors, image sensors, fingerprint sensors, temperature sensors, sensors for measuring three-dimensional non-contact gestures (“air gestures”), pressure sensors, sensors for detecting position, orientation, and/or motion (e.g., accelerometers, magnetic sensors such as compass sensors, gyroscopes, and/or inertial measurement units that contain some or all of these sensors), health sensors, radio-frequency sensors, depth sensors (e.g., structured light sensors and/or depth sensors based on stereo imaging devices that capture three-dimensional images), optical sensors such as self-mixing sensors and light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors that gather time-of-flight measurements, humidity sensors, moisture sensors, gaze tracking sensors, and/or other sensors. In some arrangements, device  10  may use sensors  16  and/or other input-output devices to gather user input. For example, buttons may be used to gather button press input, touch sensors overlapping displays can be used for gathering user touch screen input, touch pads may be used in gathering touch input, microphones may be used for gathering audio input, accelerometers may be used in monitoring when a finger contacts an input surface and may therefore be used to gather finger press input, etc. 
     If desired, electronic device  10  may include additional components (see, e.g., other devices  18  in input-output devices  24 ). The additional components may include haptic output devices, audio output devices such as speakers, light-emitting diodes for status indicators, light sources such as light-emitting diodes that illuminate portions of a housing and/or display structure, other optical output devices, and/or other circuitry for gathering input and/or providing output. Device  10  may also include a battery or other energy storage device, connector ports for supporting wired communication with ancillary equipment and for receiving wired power, and other circuitry. Device  10  may, if desired, include power circuits for transmitting and/or receiving wired and/or wireless power and charging batteries or other energy storage devices in device  10 . For example, device  10  may include a coil and rectifier to receive wireless power that is provided to circuitry in device  10 . 
     A front (plan) view of an illustrative electronic device is shown in  FIG.  3   . As shown in  FIG.  3   , device  10  may include housing  12 . Housing  12  may include structures formed from glass, polymer, metal, wood or other natural materials, sapphire or other crystalline material, ceramic, fabric, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials. Device  10  may have a front face FR, an opposing rear face RR, and a sidewall W that runs around the peripheral edge of device  10  and that extends between front face FR and rear face RR. The upper and opposing lower edges of device  10  may run parallel to each other and parallel to the X axis of  FIG.  2   . The opposing left and right edges may run parallel to each other and parallel to the Y axis of  FIG.  2   . The portions of housing  12  on front face FR and rear face RR may be planar (e.g., two parallel planes offset by a distance along the Z axis) and/or may include curved portions. For example, the outer surfaces (and, if desired, the inner surfaces) of housing  12  on front face FR and rear face RR may have curved cross-sectional profiles. If desired, a band such as band  36  may be coupled to housing  12 . 
     In the example of  FIG.  3   , display  14  covers front face FR. Portions of display  14  may also cover some or all of sidewall W. Rear face RR may be free of display pixels and/or may be partly or fully covered by pixels that display an image. In addition to housing structures that cover front face FR, rear face RR, and sidewall W, housing  12  may have portions that form internal supporting structures (e.g., a frame, midplate member, etc.). 
     In some arrangements, housing  12  has transparent structures (e.g., clear glass, polymer, sapphire, etc.) that overlap light-emitting components. For example, a rectangular housing member with rounded corners or other transparent portion of housing  12  may serve as a display cover layer that covers pixels in display  14 . The display cover layer may cover front face FR and, if desired, other portions of device  10  (e.g., part or all of sidewall W, part or all of rear face RR, etc.). 
     In an illustrative configuration, housing  12  may have a transparent display cover layer that overlaps display  14  on front face FR and at least part of sidewall W and may have transparent window structures that overlap optical components (e.g., a heart rate sensor with a light-emitting diode and photodetector and/or other light-emitting and/or light detecting devices). Other portions of housing  12  may be formed from opaque material (e.g., metal, etc.). Other arrangements may be used if desired (e.g., arrangements in which some or all of rear face RR contains an array of pixels for displaying an image, etc.). Touch sensor circuitry such as two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor circuitry may be incorporated into display  14  as a separate touch sensor panel overlapping display pixels or as part of a display panel forming display  14 . 
     Device  10  of  FIG.  3    has a rectangular outline (e.g., a square periphery) with four rounded corners. If desired, device  10  may have other shapes. For example, device  10  may have a shape that folds and unfolds along a bend (folding) axis (e.g., using a hinge to couple portions of housing  12 ) and may include a display that overlaps or that does not overlap the bend axis, may have a shape with an oval footprint or circular outline, may have a cubic shape, may have a pyramidal, cylindrical, spherical, or conical shape, or may have other suitable shapes. The configuration of  FIG.  3    is illustrative. 
     If desired, openings may be formed in the surfaces of device  10 . For example, a speaker port and optical windows for an ambient light sensor, an infrared proximity sensor, and a depth sensor may be formed in housing  12 . A fingerprint sensor, touch sensor button, force-sensitive button, or other sensor that operates through display  14  may, if desired, be formed under a portion of display  14 . Device  10  may be free of connector openings or may have an opening for a connector (e.g., a digital data connector, analog signal connector, and/or power connector). Openings in housing  12  may be omitted when power is received wirelessly or is received through contacts that are flush with the surface of device  10  and/or when data is transferred and received wirelessly using wireless communications circuitry in circuitry  22  or through contacts that are flush with the exterior surface of device  10 . 
     Illustrative configurations for antennas in device  10  are shown in  FIGS.  4 ,  5 ,  6 , and  7   . 
     In the example of  FIG.  4   , antenna  40  is an inverted-F antenna. Antenna  40  of  FIG.  4    may include antenna resonating element  60  and antenna ground  62 . The antenna resonating arm forming element  60  may have one or more branches and may run parallel to ground  62  or may have other shapes. The configuration of  FIG.  4    is illustrative. Antenna  40  may be fed at an antenna feed formed from positive antenna feed terminal  198  and ground antenna feed terminal  200 . 
     In the example of  FIG.  5   , antenna  40  is a monopole antenna (e.g., a folded monopole) having monopole antenna resonating element  64  and antenna ground  62 . Antenna  40  of  FIG.  5    may be fed using an antenna feed formed from positive antenna feed terminal  198  on element  64  and ground antenna feed terminal  200  on antenna ground  62 . 
       FIG.  6    shows how antenna  40  may be a dipole antenna having dipole antenna resonating elements  66  and  68  coupled respectively to positive antenna feed terminal  198  and ground antenna feed terminal  200 . 
     If desired, antenna  40  may be a patch antenna, as shown in  FIG.  7   . In antenna  40  of  FIG.  7   , patch antenna resonating element  70  has vertical leg  72 , which extends toward an antenna ground plane (ground  62 ) and that is coupled to positive antenna feed terminal  198 . The feed of antenna  40  of  FIG.  7    also has a corresponding ground antenna feed terminal  200 . 
     Other types of antenna (e.g., Yagi antennas, slot antennas, other designs, hybrid antennas, antennas formed from multiple antenna resonating elements configured to implement beam steering antenna arrays, etc.) may also be used in device  10 . The examples of  FIGS.  4 ,  5 ,  6 , and  7    are illustrative. 
     Conductive structures for antenna  40  (e.g., the resonating elements and/or antenna grounds of antenna  40 ) may be formed from metal traces on printed circuits or other substrates, wires, patterned metal foil, metal housing structures (e.g., metal portions of housing  12 ), and/or other conductive structures in device  10 . 
     Antenna structures (resonating elements, antenna ground structures, etc.) may be formed as part of housing member attachment structure  52 . For example, one or more printed circuits may be included in housing member attachment structure  52  and these printed circuits may include metal antenna traces (e.g., metal traces for resonating elements, ground, and/or other portions of antenna  40 ). In addition to incorporating these antenna structures into housing member attachment structure  52 , metal traces and other circuitry for other electrical components may be incorporated into housing member attachment structure  52 . For example, metal traces on a printed circuit or other conductive structures associated with force sensor  26 , other sensors  16 , and/or other input-output devices  24  may be incorporated into housing member attachment structure  52  (e.g., with or without antenna structures for antenna  40 ). 
     Conductive structures for force sensor  26  may include, for example, capacitive force sensor electrodes.  FIG.  8    is a cross-sectional side view of force sensor  26  in an illustrative configuration in which force sensor  26  is a capacitive force sensor having respective first and second capacitive force sensor electrodes  74  and  76 . Electrodes  74  and  76  may be electrically coupled to capacitive sensor circuitry (e.g., a capacitive sensor integrated circuit or one or more other components  50  in interior  46 ) using terminals  80 . Compressible dielectric material  78  (e.g., silicone or other elastomeric polymer, foam, or other compressible polymer) may be interposed between electrodes  74  and  76 . During operation, compressive force may be applied to sensor  26  in directions  79 , thereby compressing material  78  and reducing the separation H between electrodes  74  and  76 . The resulting rise in capacitance between electrodes  74  and  76  can be measured by the capacitive sensing circuitry coupled to terminals  80 , thereby producing a measurement of the amount of applied force on sensor  26 . 
       FIG.  9    is a circuit diagram showing how a force sensor and antenna may be formed using conductive structures such as first electrode  74  and second electrode  76 . As shown in  FIG.  9   , capacitive sensor circuitry such as capacitive sensor integrated circuit  82  may be coupled to electrodes  74  and  76  using inductors  84 . Inductors  84  may allow capacitance measurements to be made by circuit  82  for the capacitive force sensor formed from electrodes  74  and  76  and interposed compressive dielectric material  78 . Inductors  84  may help prevent higher frequency signals such as radio-frequency antenna signals associated with operation of radio-frequency transceiver circuitry  90  from reaching circuit  82  and potentially interfering with the operation of circuit  82 . Capacitors  86  may be used to couple transceiver  90  to electrodes  74  and  76 . In addition to serving as parallel plates in a parallel plate capacitor for a capacitive force sensor, the metal traces of electrodes  74  and  76  (and/or adjacent traces on a shared dielectric substrate such as a shared polymer substrate in a printed circuit) may be patterned to form antenna  40  (e.g., an antenna resonating element and, if desired, an antenna ground). During operation, capacitors  86  allow antenna signals for the antenna to pass to and from transceiver  90 , while inductors  84  block antenna signals from circuit  82 . During operation of circuit  82 , capacitors  86  may block lower-frequency capacitance sensing signals associated with circuit  82  (e.g., to prevent these signals from interfering with use of the antenna by transceiver circuitry  90 ). 
     If desired, force sensing structures and/or antenna structures such as the illustrative structures of  FIG.  9    may be incorporated into housing member attachment structure  52 , as shown in  FIG.  3   . 
     Consider, as an example, the illustrative arrangement of  FIG.  10   . As shown in  FIG.  10   , first housing member  12 - 1  may be coupled to second housing member  12 - 2  using housing member attachment structure  52 . Housing member  12 - 1  may be a display cover layer and housing member  12 - 2  may include structures forming sidewall W and a rear housing wall, housing member  12 - 2  may form sidewall W and housing member  12 - 1  may form a rear wall and/or a sidewall for device  10 , and/or housing members  12 - 1  and  12 - 3  may form other housing structures. Housing member attachment structure  52  may include a printed circuit such as printed circuit  92  sandwiched between first adhesive layer  94  and second adhesive layer  96 . Adhesive layer  94  may attach housing member attachment structure  52  and printed circuit  92  to member  12 - 1 . Adhesive layer  96  may attach housing member attachment structure  52  and printed circuit  92  to member  12 - 2 . In this way, housing member attachment structure  52  may attach members  12 - 1  and  12 - 2  together. 
     Printed circuit  92  may have one or more dielectric substrate layers  100  (e.g., one or more polyimide layers or other layers in a polymer substrate, etc.) and one or more layers of metal traces  98  for forming capacitive sensor electrodes and/or antenna structures (e.g., an antenna resonating element, an antenna ground, etc.). As an example, capacitive sensor electrodes may be omitted from printed circuit  92 , metal traces  98  may be configured to form an antenna resonating element for antenna  40 , and an antenna ground for antenna  40  may be formed from housing member  12 - 2  (e.g., a metal sidewall and/or metal rear housing wall) and/or may be formed from other antenna ground structures (e.g., ground traces on printed circuit  92 , metal structures in interior  46 , etc.). Because antenna  40  is not located deep within interior  46  of device  10 , antenna  40  may efficiently transmit and receive antenna signals during operation over a desired range of angles without being blocked by surrounding conductive housing structures. 
     Another illustrative arrangement is shown in  FIG.  11   . As with the example of  FIG.  10   , first housing member  12 - 1  of  FIG.  11    may be coupled to second housing member  12 - 2  of  FIG.  11    using housing member attachment structure  52 . As shown in  FIG.  11   , housing member attachment structure  52  may include multiple printed circuits. For example, housing member attachment structure  52  may include first printed circuit  92 - 1 , which has one or more substrate layer(s)  100 - 1  and one or more layers of metal traces  98 - 1 , and second printed circuit  92 - 2 , which has one or more substrates layers  100 - 2  and one or more layers of metal traces  98 - 2 . Printed circuits  92 - 1  and  92 - 2  may be attached to opposing sides of compressible member  78  (e.g., an elastomeric material such as silicone or other polymer, foam, and/or other compressible dielectric material) using the material of member  78  and/or interposed adhesive layers. Printed circuit  92 - 1  may be coupled to member  12 - 1  using adhesive layer  94 . Printed circuit  92 - 2  may be coupled to member  12 - 2  using adhesive layer  96 . 
     Metal traces  98 - 1  and/or  98 - 2  may be configured to form force sensor structures and/or antenna structures. For example, metal traces  98 - 1  may form a first capacitive sensor electrode for sensor  26  and metal traces  98 - 2  may form a second capacitive sensor electrode for sensor  26  as shown by electrodes  74  and  76  of  FIG.  9   , which are coupled to capacitive sensor circuit  82 . Traces  98 - 1  and/or traces  98 - 2  may also be used in forming an antenna resonating element or other antenna structures for antenna  40  and may be coupled to transceiver circuitry  90  as shown in  FIG.  9   . 
     If desired, printed circuit  92 - 1  and/or printed circuit  92 - 2  may have inwardly directed protrusions such as portion  92 - 1 ′ and/or protrusion  92 - 2 ′ that protrude into interior  46 . In this interior location, antenna  40  may operate by transmitting and receiving antenna signals through dielectric structures in housing  12  and/or dielectric material in housing member attachment structure  52 . 
     During operation, the antenna formed using housing member attachment structure  52  may be used to handle wireless communications for device  10 . Control circuitry  20  may also use force sensor  26  (e.g., the force sensor formed from electrodes  74  and  76 , which may be formed in printed circuits  92 - 1  and  92 - 2  of  FIG.  11   ) to gather force sensor data. For example, force measurements (e.g., measurements of compressive force on compressible dielectric member  78  of  FIG.  11   ) may be made to detect when a user is pressing on member  12 - 1  with a finger or other external object, may be made to detect other user force input, and/or may be made to measure other forces. 
     Another illustrative configuration for housing member attachment structure  52  is shown in  FIG.  12   . In the example of  FIG.  12   , printed circuit  92 - 1  has three polymer substrate layers  100 - 1  surrounding two embedded layers of metal traces  98 - 1 . Printed circuit  92 - 2  has three polymer substrate layers  100 - 2  surrounding two embedded layers of metal traces  98 - 2 . These substrate layers and metal traces may be extended inwardly (e.g., into interior  46 ), as illustrated by protruding metal traces  98 - 1 ′ and  98 - 2 ′ of  FIG.  12    and as described in connection with protruding portion  92 - 1 ′ of  FIG.  11   . 
     With one illustrative embodiment, layers  100 - 1  and  100 - 2  are formed from a dielectric such as polyimide or other polymer flexible printed circuit substrate material. The outermost (upper) layer of metal traces  98 - 1  may be used in forming grounding and signal routing paths (sometimes referred to as ground and routing or ground and routing structures) for sensor  26 . The innermost (lower) layer of metal traces  98 - 1  may be used in forming electrode  74 . The outermost (lower) layer of metal traces  98 - 2  may be used in forming grounding and signal routing paths for sensor  26 . The innermost (upper) layer of metal traces  98 - 2  may be used in forming electrode  76 . 
     Antenna  40  may be formed in the patterned metal of layers  98 - 1  and/or  98 - 2  of  FIG.  12    and may be located in the joint formed by structures  52  between opposing housing members  12 - 1  and  12 - 2  and/or may be formed from metal traces in adjacent portions of printed circuits  92 - 1  and/or  92 - 2  such as metal traces in protruding portions  98 - 1 ′ and/or  98 - 2 ′. In one illustrative configuration, an antenna resonating element and/or other antenna structures for antenna  40  is formed from the same metal traces that are used in forming electrode  74  and/or  76 . For example, some or all of an antenna resonating element may form some or all of a capacitive force sensor electrode and these conductive structures may share a common polymer substrate and/or other shared supporting structures. In another illustrative configuration, an antenna resonating element or other antenna structures for antenna  40  may be separate from electrodes  74  and  76 . For example, a printed circuit in structure  52  may have a first portion with a polymer substrate that supports metal traces forming electrode  74  and/or  76  and may have a second portion (e.g., a protrusion that protrudes towards interior  46 ) in which a protruding portion of the same polymer substrate supports metal traces that form an antenna resonating element for antenna  40 . 
       FIG.  13    is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device  10  that includes housing members  12 - 1  and  12 - 2  that have been joined using housing member attachment structure  52 . Structure  52  may include adhesive layers  94  and  96  for coupling printed circuit  92  between opposing housing surfaces on opposing portions of housing members  12 - 1  and  12 - 2  and thereby attaching housing members  12 - 1  and  12 - 2 . Housing member  12 - 1  may be a layer of clear material such as clear glass, sapphire, or other clear material that forms a display cover layer for an array of display pixels (see, e.g., pixel array  14 P of display  14 , which may display an image that is viewable through housing member  12 - 1 ). Housing member  12 - 2  may be formed from clear materials (e.g., glass, etc.) and/or opaque materials (e.g., metal, etc.). As shown in  FIG.  13   , the inner surface of housing member  12 - 1  in edge area  106  may be covered with a layer of opaque masking material such as black ink  104  to hide internal components from view. Adhesive layer  102  may be used to attach inwardly protruding portion  92 ′ of printed circuit  92  to the inner surface of member  12 - 1  in area  106 . Antenna  40  may be formed from metal traces in printed circuit  92  (e.g., in the portion of printed circuit  92  that protrudes into edge area  106 ). 
     It may be desirable to ground traces on printed circuit  92  to housing  12 . For example, member  12 - 2  of housing  12  may be formed of metal and may serve as antenna ground. Ground antenna feed terminal  100  may be shorted to housing member  12 - 2  using a signal path formed from metal traces in printed circuit  92 . An illustrative arrangement for electrically coupling antenna circuitry on printed circuit  92  to housing member  12 - 2  is shown in  FIG.  14   . As shown in  FIG.  14   , a support structure such as structure  114  may be used to support a tail portion of flexible printed circuit  92 . The rest of flexible printed circuit  92  may, if desired, form part of housing member attachment structure  52  and may be sandwiched between opposing portions of housing members  12 - 1  and  12 - 2 . Support structure  114  may be formed from one or more metal members and may be shorted to housing member  12 - 2 . A coating such as coating  116  may be formed on support structure  114  to help form a low-resistance Ohmic contact between structure  114  and housing member  12 - 2 . Coating  116  may be formed from a metal such as gold that is resistant to oxidation. Screw  110  or other attachment mechanisms (e.g., conductive adhesive, solder, welds, etc.) may be used to mechanically and electrically couple support structure  114  to housing member  12 - 2 . Screw  112  or other attachment mechanisms may be use to couple the metal traces in printed circuit  92  to support structure  114  and thereby electrically couple the antenna structures of printed circuit  92  to housing member  12 - 2 . Other arrangements may be used for coupling signal paths on printed circuits such as printed circuit  92  to housing  12 , if desired. The arrangement of  FIG.  14    is illustrative. 
       FIGS.  15 ,  16 , and  17    are top views of device  10  showing illustrative configurations for incorporating antennas  40  into device  10  using housing member attachment structure  52 . 
     In the example of  FIG.  15   , metal traces in housing member attachment structure  52  have been used to form first and second antennas  40  running along opposing upper and lower edges (and parts of the left and right edges) of housing  12 . These antennas may be used, for example, in an antenna diversity scheme in which control circuitry  20  dynamically selects an antenna for use based on received signal strength information or other suitable antenna selection criteria. 
     In the example of  FIG.  16   , there are four antennas  40  formed from the metal traces in housing member attachment structure  52 . Each of the four antennas  40  in this example has a respective antenna resonating element that runs along a respective edge of housing  12 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  17   , device  10  may include antennas  40  that are arranged in one or more phased antenna arrays configured to perform beam steering operations. Antennas  40  may be formed from housing member attachment structure  52 . Antennas  40  of  FIG.  17    may run along one or more of the edges of housing  12 . Antennas  40  may be dipole millimeter wave antennas, patch antennas, Yagi antennas, and/or other antennas. 
       FIGS.  18 ,  19 , and  20    are cross-sectional side views of device  10  showing illustrative locations for housing member attachment structure  52  (e.g., a housing member attachment structure that includes antenna resonating element(s) for one or more antennas  40  and one or more force sensors). 
     In the example of  FIG.  18   , housing member  12 - 2  has portions that extend upward from a rear wall portion to form sidewall W. Housing member attachment structure  52  may be formed between peripheral portions of housing member  12 - 1  (e.g., a display cover layer) and housing member  12 - 2 . A force sensor formed from housing member attachment structure  52  may sense downward pressure in direction  120 . 
     In the example of  FIG.  19   , housing  12  includes a display cover layer formed from housing member  12 A, a sidewall W formed from housing member  12 B, and a rear housing wall formed from housing member  12 C. Housing member attachment structures  52  may be interposed between member  12 A and  12 B and/or may be interposed between member  12 B and  12 C. Downward force in direction  120  may be sensed using force sensors  26  in one or both of the housing member attachment structures. 
     In the example of  FIG.  20   , housing member attachment structure  52  has been formed around the periphery of housing member  12 - 1  (e.g., a display cover layer over pixel array  14 P) and may be configured to detect shear forces (e.g., pressure that pushes member  12 - 1  against the inner surface of housing member  12 - 2  in direction  122 , thereby compressing compressible force sensor dielectric material in structure  52 ). 
       FIG.  21    is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of device  10  in an illustrative configuration in which pixel array  14 P is formed from a flexible display layer (e.g., a flexible organic light-emitting diode display substrate). As shown in  FIG.  21   , pixel array  14 P may be bent. For example, pixel array  14 P may be bent along one or more peripheral edges of pixel array  14 P and/or across the middle of pixel array  14 P. This allows pixel array  14 P to conform to a curved inner surface of a display cover layer formed from housing member  12 - 1 . Housing member  12 - 1  may be coupled to housing member  12 - 2  using housing member attachment structure  52 , which may include metal traces for forming antenna  40  and, if desired, metal traces for forming force sensor  26 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20210520
Publication Date: 20230411
Grant Date: 20230411
Priority Date: 20181206
Inventors: HORIUCHI, JAMES G.
BUSHNELL, TYLER S.
BOOZER, BRAD G.
Martinis, Mario
KIM, YOUNGHOON
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H01Q1/405", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/273", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/24", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q21/06", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1652", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q13/10", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/3888", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q9/0407", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0447", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1698", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/273", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/24", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q9/42", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q9/16", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/385", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q19/30", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04102", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/385", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04102", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/24", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0447", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/273", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 70972029