PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9063700-B2
Application Number: US-201213601542-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Low-force gap-filling conductive structures

Abstract:
Electronic devices may be provided with conductive structures and antennas mounted near a gap between the conductive structures. A conductive member may be used to at least partially fill the gap in order to prevent emission from the antenna from entering the gap and interfering with the operation of the antenna. The conductive gap-filling member may include a conductive outer layer and a non-conductive inner layer. The inner layer may have opposing edge portions that are attached to each other or may be a continuous tubular insulating layer. The outer layer may be a layer of conductive fabric having opposing edge portions that are attached to each other or to opposing edge portions of the inner layer. An edge portion of the outer layer may be attached to a conductive structure. An insulating material may be formed between another edge portion of the outer layer and a second conductive structure.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a first conductive structure; 
 a second conductive structure; 
 a gap between the first conductive structure and the second conductive structure; and 
 a conductive member that at least partially fills the gap, wherein the conductive member has a conductive outer layer and a non-conductive inner layer, wherein the non-conductive inner layer has a first edge portion and an opposing second edge portion that is directly attached to the first edge portion using adhesive that is in direct contact with both the first and second edge portions. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , further comprising an antenna, wherein the conductive member is configured to prevent signals from the antenna from entering the gap. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 2  wherein the conductive outer layer has a first edge portion and an opposing second edge portion that is attached to the first edge portion of the conductive outer layer and the first edge portion of the non-conductive inner layer. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 3  wherein the opposing second edge portion of the conductive outer layer is interposed between the first edge portion of the conductive outer layer and the first edge portion of the non-conductive inner layer. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 3 , further comprising:
 conductive adhesive interposed between the first edge portion of the conductive outer layer and the second conductive structure. 
 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 5 , further comprising:
 an insulating material interposed between a portion of the conductive outer layer and the first conductive structure. 
 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the insulating material comprises polyethylene. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the gap comprises an air gap. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 8  wherein the gap has a width that is less than 3 millimeters. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 9 , further comprising an additional gap between the conductive outer layer and the first conductive structure. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 10  wherein the additional gap has a width that is smaller than the width of the gap. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , further comprising a display, wherein the first and second conductive structures each comprise a portion of the display. 
     
     
       13. An electronic device, comprising:
 first and second conductive structures; 
 a gap between the first and second conductive structures; and 
 a conductive member that at least partially fills the gap, wherein the conductive member has a conductive layer and an insulating layer, wherein the insulating layer has a first edge portion and an opposing second edge portion, wherein the conductive layer has a first edge portion and opposing second edge portion, wherein the first edge portion of the conductive layer is attached to the first edge portion of the insulating layer, wherein the opposing second edge portion of the conductive layer is attached to the opposing second edge portion of the insulating layer, and wherein the first conductive structure overlaps all of the conductive layer and only a portion of the insulating layer. 
 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 13 , further comprising an antenna mounted near the gap, wherein the conductive member is configured to prevent emission from the antenna from interacting with the gap. 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  wherein a first end of the conductive layer is aligned with an edge of the first conductive structure and an opposing second end of the conductive layer is aligned with an edge of the second conductive structure. 
     
     
       16. The electronic device defined in  claim 15 , further comprising a conductive adhesive that attaches the first edge portion of the conductive layer to the first conductive structure. 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 16 , further comprising an insulating material interposed between the opposing second edge portion of the conductive layer and the second conductive structure. 
     
     
       18. The electronic device defined in  claim 17  wherein the opposing second edge portion of the conductive layer is interposed between the insulating material and the opposing second edge portion of the insulating layer. 
     
     
       19. The electronic device defined in  claim 13 , further comprising a display having a light-emitting layer, wherein the first conductive structure comprises a conductive portion of the light-emitting layer of the display.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to gap-filling conductive members for electronic devices. 
     Conductive gaskets are sometimes used in electronic devices to form electrical connections between conductive structures. Gaps between conductive structures are sometimes formed in the vicinity of an antenna within a device. This type of gap is sometimes filled with a conductive gasket in order to prevent signals from the antenna from entering the gap. 
     Conductive gaskets are typically formed from foam that is wrapped in a conductive fabric and compressed between the conductive structures. 
     It can be challenging to use foam gaskets. The biasing forces produced by compressed foam may tend to disassemble parts and may create undesired stresses. Overcoming the strong biasing forces that may result from the use of thick foam can be difficult and can force a designer to make undesired compromises when constructing an electronic device. 
     Conductive gaskets that are used to prevent signals from the antenna from entering the gap between conductive structures can also create undesired electrical connections between the conductive structures. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved conductive gap-filling members for use in electronic devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     Electronic devices may be provided with conductive structures such as conductive portions of displays and conductive housing walls. Radio-frequency emitting components such as antennas may be mounted near gaps between the conductive structures. Conductive gap-filling members may be provided that at least partially fill the gaps. A compressed conductive gap-filling member may press outwards against the conductive structures. The conductive gap-filling member may be electrically coupled to one of the conductive structures and electrically insulated from another conductive structure. 
     The conductive gap-filling member may include a wall structure. The wall structure may surround and at least partly enclose an air-filled cavity. By avoiding the use of internal support structure material in at least part of the interior of the gap-filling member, outward biasing forces that are produced when the gap-filling member is compressed may be minimized. 
     The wall structures may be formed from conductive fabric, metal coated on dielectric sheets, or other conductive wall structures. Conductive fabric may be formed from metal fibers, dielectric fibers coated with metal, combinations of conductive fibers and fibers that are not conductive, or other suitable fibers. 
     Conductive fabric may be wrapped partially or completely around bent non-conductive pliant material such as polyethylene terephthalate, biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate, or other suitable conductive fabric that partially or completely surrounds the air-filled cavity. The non-conductive pliant material may form a non-conductive pliant tube within the conductive fabric or may form a U-shaped partial tube having edges along which edges of the conductive fabric are attached. 
     The gap-filling conductive member may be formed between a touch-sensitive layer of a display and a light-emitting layer of a display. The gap-filling conductive member may form a loop of conductive material within the gap or may form a partial loop of conductive material having edges that are aligned with the edges of the conductive structures. 
     Further features of the invention, its 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 with conductive gap-filling members in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional side view of illustrative conductive gap-filling members within an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an illustrative tube-shaped conductive gap-filling member compressed between two opposing conductive structures in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of a hollow gap-filling member in which a wall structure is formed from a conductive outer layer of material such as a layer of conductive foil or conductive fiber and an inner insulating support layer with overlapping edges that lines the inner surface of the conductive outer layer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram of illustrative fibers in a conductive fabric in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of a fiber such as a solid fiber in a conductive fabric in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of a fiber coated with a conductive material such as metal in a conductive fabric in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram of a conductive fabric having conductive fibers and other fibers in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of a hollow gap-filling member in which a wall structure is formed from a conductive outer layer of material such as a layer of conductive foil or conductive fiber and an inner insulating support layer with fused edges that lines the inner surface of the conductive outer layer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of a hollow gap-filling member in which a wall is formed from a partial conductive loop of material with edges that are attached to a partial loop of insulating material in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of a hollow gap-filling member in which a wall is formed from a partial conductive loop of material with edges that are attached to a loop of insulating material in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Electronic devices may be provided with antennas and other wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may be used to support wireless communications in wireless communications bands such as wireless local area network bands, cellular telephone bands, satellite navigation system bands, and other communications bands. 
     Electronic device may also contain electronic components such as displays. Displays and other electronic components may include structures formed from conductive materials. Due to manufacturing tolerances, air gaps of varying width may be formed between adjacent conductive structures. For example, a display may include a conductive touch-sensitive layer for gathering user input and a conductive display layer that generates light for displaying images to a user. A gap may be formed between the touch-sensitive layer and the light-generating layer. This type of gap between conductive structures may cause electromagnetic interference (EMI) if an antenna is mounted in close proximity to the gap. 
     By at least partially filling the gap between the conductive structures with a conductive gap-filling member, EMI within an electronic device may be reduced. 
     A conductive gap-filling member may be interposed between opposing conductive structures. The conductive gap-filling member may be configured to at least partially span the air gap between the opposing conductive structures when the conductive structures and gap-filling members are assembled together into an electronic device. 
     The conductive gap-filling member may be compressed between opposing conductive structures during device assembly. An insulating material may be interposed between the conductive gap-filling member and one of the conductive structures. Excessive restoring force from the compressed member may be avoided by using hollow gap-filling member arrangements and/or gap-filling member configurations that include relatively weak internal biasing structures. Examples of weak internal biasing approaches include the use of hollow gap-filling members, the use of members that are partially hollow, the use of members that are only partly filled with foam, the use of members filled with plastic wool, the use of corrugated internal biasing structures, and the use of other biasing structures that contain relatively large amounts of air so that the interior cavity regions within the members are at least partly air filled. 
     An illustrative electronic device of the type that may be provided with one or more conductive gap-filling members is shown in  FIG. 1 . Electronic device  10  may be a computer such as a tablet computer. Electronic device  10  may also be a laptop computer, a computer that is integrated into a display such as a computer monitor, a somewhat smaller portable device such as a wrist-watch device, pendant device, headphone device, earpiece device, or other wearable or miniature device, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other electronic equipment. Illustrative configurations in which electronic device  10  is a tablet computer are sometimes described herein as an example. In general, electronic device  10  may be any suitable electronic equipment. 
     Device  10  may include conductive structures that are separated by an air gap. Conductive gap-filling members may be formed in the gaps between conductive structures in device  10 . Gap-filling members may be formed in edge locations that run parallel to the four edges of device  10  and/or corner locations at the upper or lower corners of device  10  (as examples). The conductive structures may include conductive housing structures, conductive structures such as metal traces on dielectric carriers, conductive structures that are parts of display modules (e.g., metal chassis structures, light-generating layers, and touch-sensitive layers), metal traces in flexible printed circuits and rigid printed circuits, metal foil supported by dielectric carrier structures, wires, cables, and other conductive materials. 
     Device  10  may include a display such as display  14 . Display  14  may be mounted in a housing such as electronic device housing  12 . Housing  12  may be supported using a stand or other support structure. 
     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. 
     Display  14  may be a touch screen that incorporates capacitive touch electrodes or other touch sensor components or may be a display that is not touch sensitive. 
     Display may be provided with a cover layer having one or more openings. For example, a rigid cover layer may have openings such as an opening for button  17  and a speaker port opening for speaker  16  (e.g., for an ear speaker for a user). Device  10  may also have other openings in display  14  and/or openings in housing  12  such as opening  15  for a data port connector or openings for accommodating volume buttons, ringer buttons, sleep buttons, and other buttons, openings for an audio jack, data port connectors, removable media slots, etc. 
     A cross-sectional side view of device  10  is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , display  14  may include a transparent display cover layer such as display cover layer  14 A. Display cover layer  14 A may be formed from a clear glass layer, a transparent layer of plastic, or other transparent material. Display  14  may include touch-sensitive layer  14 T. Touch-sensitive layer  14 T may incorporate capacitive touch electrodes such as horizontal transparent electrodes and vertical transparent electrodes. Touch-sensitive layer  14 T may, in general, be configured to detect the location of one or more touches or near touches on display cover layer  14 A based on capacitive, resistive, optical, acoustic, inductive, or mechanical measurements, or any phenomena that can be measured with respect to the occurrences of the one or more touches or near touches in proximity to touch sensitive layer  14 T. 
     Software and/or hardware may be used to process the measurements of the detected touches to identify and track one or more gestures. A gesture may correspond to stationary or non-stationary, single or multiple, touches or near touches on cover layer  14 T. A gesture may be performed by moving one or more fingers or other objects in a particular manner on cover layer  14 A such as tapping, pressing, rocking, scrubbing, twisting, changing orientation, pressing with varying pressure and the like at essentially the same time, contiguously, or consecutively. A gesture may be characterized by, but is not limited to a pinching, sliding, swiping, rotating, flexing, dragging, or tapping motion between or with any other finger or fingers. A single gesture may be performed with one or more hands, by one or more users, or any combination thereof. 
     Display  14  may include display structures  14 B. Display structures  14 B may be mounted on a support structure such as cowling  18 , may be attached to cover layer  14 A, or may be attached to housing  12  (as examples). Display structures  14 B may include an array of display pixels for displaying images for a user. Display cover layer  14 A may be used to protect display structures  14 B and touch sensor structures  14 T in display  14 . Display structures  14 B may include display pixels formed from light-emitting diodes (LEDs), organic LEDs (OLEDs), plasma cells, electrophoretic display structures, electrowetting display structures, liquid crystal display (LCD) components, or other suitable display pixel structures. 
     As shown in the example of  FIG. 2 , conductive gap-filling members such as conductive gap-filling members  20  may be used to at least partially fill an air gap between opposing conductive structures in device  10 . In the  FIG. 2  configuration, members  20  are being used to fill gap  19  between display structures  14 B and touch-sensitive layer  14 T. Gap  19  may have a width W of 2 mm to 3 mm, 0.5 mm to 3 mm, 0.5 mm to 5 mm, 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm, less than 3 mm, or more than 0.5 mm (as examples). Display structures  14 B may include conductive structures such as a metal chassis member that surrounds and encloses the lower portion of display structures  14 B. Touch-sensitive layer  14 T may include conductive structures such as a metal chassis member that surrounds and encloses the lower portion of layer  14 T or other conductive structures such as patterned indium-tin oxide that is attached to display cover layer  14 A. 
     Housing  12  may include metal walls. If desired, members such as member  20  may be used in at least partially filling an air gap between the metal chassis member of display  14  or other conductive component structures and conductive housing  12  or may otherwise be used in filling gaps between conductive structures in device  10 . 
     By forming conductive interfaces such as member  20  that fill gaps between opposing conductive structures such as display structures  14 B and touch-sensitive layer  14 T and by otherwise filling gaps between conductive structures within device  10 , potential pathways for electromagnetic interference within device  10  may be reduced or eliminated. For example, by forming a conductive seal between display structures  14 B and/or touch-sensitive layer  14 T, potential pathways for electromagnetic interference between gap  19  and antenna  22  may be blocked. 
     Antenna  22  may be configured to emit radio-frequency signals (e.g., WiFi® signals at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, Bluetooth® signals at 2.4 GHz, cellular telephone signals such as 800 MHz band signals, 850 MHz band signals, 900 MHz band signals, 1800 MHz band signals, 1900 MHz band signals, 2100 MHz band signals, 700 MHz band signals, and signals in other communications bands). 
     Components  26  may include display driver circuitry, processors, memory, communications circuitry such as wireless transceiver circuitry, and application-specific integrated circuits. By blocking air gap  19  between display structures  14 B and/or touch-sensitive layer  14 T, a reduced number of signals emitted by antenna  22  may be absorbed in gap  19  or reflected from gap  19 , thereby improving wireless performance for device  10 . In general, conductive gap-filling members such as conductive gap-filling member  20  of  FIG. 2  may be used to partially or completely fill a gap between any two or more conductive structures in device  10 . The illustrative configuration of  FIG. 2  is merely an example. 
     Members  20  may have a hollow tube shape or other configuration that is compressible, but that does not exert excessive restoring forces upon structures in device  10  following assembly. As examples, member  20  may be configured exert a restoring force on structures  14 T and/or  14 C of less than 2.5 kg per 10 mm of length of member  20 , less than 0.5 kg per 10 mm of length, or between 0.5 and 1.5 kg per 10 mm of length. 
     An illustrative arrangement in which a hollow tube-shaped conductive gap-filling member has been compressed between two opposing conductive structures is shown in  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , conductive device structures such as display structures  14 B and touch-sensitive layer  14 T may be moved towards each other during device assembly operations. As structure  14 T is moved downwards in direction  34  towards structure  14 B and/or as structure  14 B is moved upwards in direction  36  towards structure  14 T, conductive member  20  may be compressed between structures  14 T and  14 B. 
     When compressed, member  20  may press outwards against conductive structures  14 T and  14 B, thereby filling gap  19 . For example, the upper portion of member  20  may press upwards in direction  40  against lower surface  48  of structure  14 T in region  44  and the lower portion of member  20  may press downwards in direction  42  against upper surface  50  of structure  14 B in region  46 . The lower portion of member  20  may be attached to structure  14 B using an adhesive such as conductive adhesive  60  (e.g., an anisotropic conductive adhesive). 
     Because conductive structures such as display structures  14 B and/or touch-sensitive layer  14 T include functional electronic components, it may be desirable to electrically insulate structure  14 T from structure  14 B (e.g., to insulate display structures  14 B from touch-sensitive layer  14 T) while providing a conductive wall that prevents radiation from antenna  22  from entering gap  19 . In order to prevent member  20  from forming an electrical pathway between structures  14 T and  14 B, an insulating material such as insulating structure  28  may be interposed between lower surface  48  of structure  14 T and member  20 . However, this is merely illustrative. If desired, an air gap that is smaller than gap  19  may remain between surface  48  and member  20 . 
     Insulating structure  28  may be formed from any suitable dielectric material such as porcelain, glass, plastic, combinations of these materials or other suitable insulating materials. 
     Conductive gap-filling members such as member  20  may have any suitable shape. In the example of  FIG. 3 , member  20  has an elongated hollow tube shape that extends along longitudinal axis  52 . If desired, conductive gap-filling members such as member  20  may be formed with other shapes (e.g., circular outlines, rectangular outlines, square outlines) and may have other cross-sectional shapes. Members  20  may have shapes that accommodate internal biasing structures while leaving room for air-filled cavities within the interior of member  20 , may have shapes that are completely hollow at one location along their length but that are not completely hollow at another location along their length, etc. The elongated tubular shape of conductive member  20  of  FIG. 3  is merely illustrative. 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of conductive member  20  in a configuration in which member  20  is formed from layers of material that are wrapped around longitudinal axis  52  to form an O-shaped tube. As shown in  FIG. 4 , member  20  may be formed from a conductive outer layer of material (layer  64 ) and one or more inner layers of non-conductive material such as layer  66 . Outer layer  64  may be, for example, a conductive fabric such as a fabric formed from solid conductive fibers and/or fibers with two or more layers of material such as an inner core covered with an outer conductive layer of metal. If desired, some or all of outer layer  64  may be formed from a sheet of flexible metal (e.g., metal foil). 
     Outer layer  64  of member  20  may have opposing edge portions such as edge portion  92  and edge portion  94 . Edges  92  and  94  may be wrapped on top of each other so that edge  94  overlaps edge  92 . Adhesive such as adhesive layer  99  may be used in securing conductive edge  92  to conductive edge  94 . Adhesive  60  may be used to attach portion  92  to conductive structure  14 B. If desired, adhesives such as adhesives  60  and  99  may be formed from conductive adhesive to promote formation of a satisfactory electrical contact between member  20  and conductive structure  14 B. Insulating material  28  may be interposed between conductive structure  14 T and member  20 , thereby preventing conductive member  20  from forming an electrical path between opposing conductive structures  14 T and  14 B. However, this is merely illustrative. If desired, structure  14 T may be provided without any insulating material. In configurations in which structure  14 T is provided without any insulating material, an air gap that is substantially smaller than gap  19  may be provided between member  20  and structure  14 T. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , outer conductive layer  64  of member  20  may be attached to one or more inner layers such as layer  66 . For example, outer layer  64  may be attached to inner layer  66  using adhesive layer  68 . Adhesive layer  68  may be formed from a pressure sensitive adhesive material, a conductive adhesive material, or other suitable adhesive materials. Inner layer  66  may line the interior surface of layer  64  and may provide layer  64  with additional strength and resiliency. Inner layer  66  may be formed from a flexible layer of insulating material, a flexible layer of fabric, a flexible layer of plastic, a flexible layer of foam, a flexible layer of polyethylene terephthalate, a flexible layer of biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate, a flexible layer of one or more other materials, or a flexible layer formed from two or more such layers. If desired, additional layers may be stacked below layer  66  (e.g., layer  66  may be lined with one or more additional layers of fabric, one or more additional layers of plastic, one or more additional layers of foam, etc.). 
     Inner layer  66  of member  20  may have opposing edge portions such as edge portion  100  and edge portion  102 . Edges  100  and  102  may be wrapped on top of each other so that edge  102  overlaps edge  100 . Adhesive such as adhesive layer  96  may be used in securing non-conductive edge  100  to non-conductive edge  102 . Adhesive  68  may be used to attach non-conductive portion  100  of inner layer  66  to conductive portion  94  of conductive outer layer  64 . 
     Internal support structures  66  for O-shaped member  20  of  FIG. 4  may be varied in type and size along the length of longitudinal axis  52 . For example, one type of support structure may be used in one longitudinal position and another type of support structure (or no support structure) may be positioned at an adjacent longitudinal position. Support structures of different types may be alternated with each other along the length of longitudinal axis  52 , to ensure that member  20  provides a desired amount of outward restoring force when compressed between opposing conductive structures  14 T and  14 B. 
     Conductive material for outer layer  64  may be formed from a sheet of metal, a metal coating on a sheet of dielectric, metal fibers, metal-coated fibers, or other suitable conductive material. As shown in  FIG. 5 , layer  64  may be formed from fibers such as fibers  54  (e.g., layer  64  may be formed from a layer of conductive fabric). Fibers  54  may include metal fibers, plastic fibers coated with metal, glass fibers, carbon fibers, organic fibers, inorganic fibers, fibers formed from other materials, and fibers formed from two or more of these materials. Fibers  54  may have circular cross-sectional shapes, oval cross-sectional shapes, rectangular cross-sectional shapes, square cross-sectional shapes, triangular cross-sectional shapes, and other cross-sectional shapes. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , fibers  54  in layer  64  may be formed from a solid material such as material  56 . Material  56  may be, for example, a conductive material such as metal. As shown in  FIG. 7 , fibers  54  may include multiple materials such as inner material (core)  58  and outer material (coating)  61 . Core  58  may be, for example, a dielectric such as glass, plastic, or ceramic, or may be a conductive material such as metal (as examples). Outer layer  61  of fiber  54  may be formed from a conductive material such as metal (as an example). Layer  61  may be formed on each of fibers  54  before fibers  54  are used in forming conductive fabric or other fiber-based material for layer  64  of member  20  or may be deposited as a coating on fibers  54  after fibers  54  have been used to form conductive fabric or other fiber-based material for layer  64  (e.g., after fibers  54  have been woven into a fabric layer). 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , layer  64  (e.g., a fabric sheet for forming layer  64 ) may include multiple fibers such as fibers  54  and fibers  62 . Fibers  54  may include conductive fibers such as solid metal fibers and/or dielectric fibers coated with metal or other conductive fibers. Fibers  62  may be formed from plastic, glass, or other non-conductive material. For example, fibers  62  may be formed from solid dielectric material with a circular cross-sectional shape. If desired, fabric structures such as structures  64  of  FIG. 8  may be formed from three or more different types of fibers (e.g., conductive fibers and/or dielectric fibers). The example of  FIG. 8  in which structures  64  include two types of fiber is merely illustrative. 
     The configuration of member  20  of  FIG. 4  is merely illustrative. If desired, layers  64  and  66  of member  20  may be arranged in other configurations. Examples of other configurations for layers  64  and  66  of member  20  are shown in  FIGS. 9 ,  10 , and  11 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , inner non-conductive layer  66  may be formed without overlapping edges. Layer  66  may, for example, have edges  100  and  102  that are fused at a joint such as intersection point  104 . Edges  100  and  102  may be separate edges that have been fused together (e.g., using adhesive between edges  102  and  100 , by splicing edges  102  and  100 , or otherwise bonding edge  102  to edge  100 ) or layer  66  may be formed without any edges (e.g., layer  66  may be a continuous tube of insulating material). In the example of  FIG. 9 , adhesive  68  is used to attach edge  94  of outer conductive layer  64  to continuous tubular inner layer  66 . Adhesive  68  may be formed between edge portion  94  of layer  64  and inner layer  66  or may be formed between a larger portion of layer  64  and inner layer  66 . 
     In the examples of  FIGS. 4 and 9 , conductive outer layer  64  substantially surrounds non-conductive layer  66  and forms a loop of conductive material. However, as shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , conductive outer layer  66  may be configured to form a partial loop of conductive material with ends that are aligned with the edges of conductive structures  14 T and  14 B. 
     In the example of  FIG. 10 , edge portions  94  and  92  of outer conductive layer  64  have respective edges  110  and  112 . Ends  110  and  112  may be aligned with plane  108 . Plane  108  may be defined by a plane that is parallel and in-contact with edges  114  and  116  of respective conductive structures  14 T and  14 B. Edge  92  of layer  64  may be attached to structure  14 B using conductive adhesive  66 . Edge  94  of layer  64  may be formed in contact with insulating material  28  on structure  14 T in order to prevent member  20  from forming an electrical connection between structures  14 T and  14 B. Edge portion  100  of inner layer  66  may be attached to edge portion  92  of outer layer  64  using adhesive  68 . Edge portion  102  of inner layer  66  may be attached to edge portion  94  of outer layer  64  using additional adhesive  68 . 
     In some configurations, edges  114  and  116  of structures  14 T and  14 B may not be formed in a common plane. For example, edge  116  may extend beyond edge  114  or edge  114  may extend beyond edge  116 . In configurations in which edges  114  and  116  of structures  14 T and  14 B are not formed in a common plane, end  110  of layer  64  may be aligned with edge  114  of structure  14 T and end  112  may be aligned with edge  116  of structure  14 B. 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , inner layer  66  may be bent in a way that a portion of inner layer  66  extends beyond edges  114  and  116 . Because layer  66  is formed from non-conductive materials, electromagnetic interference from portions of member  20  that extend beyond plane  108  may be avoided in this way. 
     The example of  FIG. 10  in which edge portions  92  and  94  of conductive layer  64  are attached to respective edge portions  100  and  102  of non-conductive layer  66  is merely illustrative. As shown in  FIG. 11 , outer conductive layer  64  may be attached to a continuous tubular inner layer  66  while end  110  of layer  64  is aligned with edge  114  of structure  14 T and end  112  is aligned with edge  116  of structure  14 B. 
     By providing gap-filling conductive members such as members  20  of  FIGS. 10 and 11  with ends that are aligned with edges of conductive structures that form the gap, a relatively uniform conductive face may be presented to an antenna such as antenna  22  (see, e.g.,  FIG. 3 ) even in devices in which gaps have sizes that vary from device to device. In this way, electromagnetic interference from reflected or absorbed radiation in the gap may be reduced. 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20120831
Publication Date: 20150623
Grant Date: 20150623
Priority Date: 20120831
Inventors: GILBERT TAYLOR H.
WRIGHT DEREK W.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F1/1656", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1656", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 50187329