PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9653778-B2
Application Number: US-201615044763-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic device with display frame antenna

Abstract:
An electronic device has a display mounted in a housing using a plastic display frame. The display has an active area and an inactive area. A display cover layer may have polymer coating layers in the inactive area. The display frame may lie under the inactive area. A patterned metal coating layer may be formed on the display frame. The patterned metal coating layer may have portions that form adhesion promotion structures for promoting adhesion between the frame and the adhesive. The patterned metal coating layer may also have portions that form antenna structures. The antenna structures may be used to transmit and receive radio-frequency signals and may be used as adhesion promotion structures. Adhesive may be interposed between the polymer coating layers and the metal coating layer on the display frame to attach the display cover layer and the display to the display frame.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing; 
 a display; 
 a display cover layer that overlaps at least a portion of the display; 
 a structure having a surface that is adjacent to the display cover layer; 
 an antenna formed from a metal layer on the surface of the structure such that the antenna is adjacent to the display cover layer; and 
 a fastener engaged within an opening defined by the structure and securing the structure to the housing. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , further comprising: a printed circuit board; and a coupling structure that electrically connects the metal layer to the printed circuit board, wherein the coupling structure is soldered to the printed circuit board. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 2  wherein the display cover layer is coated with opaque masking material, and wherein the opaque masking material overlaps the antenna. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 2 , wherein the coupling structure is soldered to the printed circuit board. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the housing is a metal housing. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fastener extends through the opening in the structure to attach the structure to a sidewall of the housing. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the fastener is screwed into a side wall of the housing. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the metal layer comprises a patterned metal layer. 
     
     
       9. An electronic device comprising:
 a metal housing with a sidewall; 
 a display in the metal housing, wherein the display comprises display structures that display images in an active area of the display and a display cover layer that overlaps an inactive area of the display; 
 a dielectric structure, wherein the dielectric structure has a surface that is adjacent to the display cover layer; 
 an antenna formed from a metal layer on the surface of the dielectric structure such that the antenna is adjacent to the display cover layer; and 
 a fastener, wherein the dielectric structure has an opening that receives the fastener, and wherein the fastener extends through the opening in the dielectric structure to attach the dielectric structure to the sidewall. 
 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a coupling structure that is electrically connected to the metal layer. 
 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a printed circuit board, wherein the coupling structure electrically connects the metal layer to the printed circuit board. 
 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 11 , wherein the coupling structure is soldered to the printed circuit board. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device defined in  claim 9 , wherein the fastener screws into the sidewall of the metal housing. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 9 , wherein the fastener is a screw. 
     
     
       15. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing with a sidewall; 
 a display in the housing, wherein the display comprises display structures that display images and a display cover layer that overlaps the display; 
 a structure, wherein the structure has a surface that is adjacent to the display cover layer; 
 an antenna formed from a metal layer on the surface of the structure such that the antenna is adjacent to the display cover layer; 
 a fastener, wherein the structure has an opening that receives the fastener, and wherein the fastener extends through the opening in the structure to secure the structure to the sidewall; and 
 a coupling structure that is electrically connected to the metal layer. 
 
     
     
       16. The electronic device defined in  claim 15 , wherein the structure is a plastic structure. 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 16 , wherein the housing is a metal housing. 
     
     
       18. The electronic device defined in  claim 15 , further comprising a substrate, wherein the coupling structure electrically connects the metal layer to the substrate. 
     
     
       19. The electronic device defined in  claim 18 , wherein the substrate is a printed circuit. 
     
     
       20. The electronic device defined in  claim 18 , wherein the substrate is positioned beneath the metal layer such that the metal layer is interposed between the display cover layer and the substrate.

Description:
This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/201,501 filed Mar. 7, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. This application claims the benefit of and claims priority to patent application Ser. No. 14/201,501, filed Mar. 7, 2014. 
     BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with antennas. 
     Electronic devices often include antennas. For example, cellular telephones, computers, and other devices often contain antennas for supporting wireless communications. 
     It can be challenging to form electronic device antenna structures with desired attributes. In some wireless devices, the presence of conductive structures such as electronic components and housing structures can influence antenna performance. Antenna performance may not be satisfactory if the conductive structures are not configured properly and interfere with antenna operation. Device size can also affect performance. It can be difficult to achieve desired performance levels in a compact device, particularly when the compact device has conductive housing structures and electronic components with conductive structures. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved wireless circuitry for electronic devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may be provided with a display. The display may be mounted in a housing using a plastic display frame. The plastic display frame may be attached to the housing using screws or other attachment mechanisms. 
     The display may have display structures such as liquid crystal display structures or organic light-emitting diode display structures that display images in an active area of the display. The display may also have an inactive area that forms a border surrounding the active area. 
     A display cover layer may have an opaque masking layer or other polymer coating layers in the inactive area. The display frame may have a surface that lies under the inactive area. Adhesive may be interposed between the polymer coating layers and the surface of the display frame to attach the display cover layer and the display to the display frame. 
     A patterned metal coating layer may be formed on the display frame. The patterned metal coating layer may have portions that form adhesion promotion structures for promoting adhesion between the frame and the adhesive. The patterned metal coating layer may also have portions that form antenna structures. The antenna structures may be used to transmit and receive radio-frequency signals and may be used as adhesion promotion structures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device such as a laptop computer in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device such as a handheld electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device such as a tablet computer in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device such as a display for a computer or television in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of illustrative circuitry in an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram of an illustrative antenna in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of an illustrative electronic device display in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a textured surface of the type that may be used in promoting adhesion in adhesive joints in an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional side view of another illustrative textured surface of the type that may be used in promoting adhesion in adhesive joints in an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a diagram of equipment and processes involved in forming an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  is a top view of an illustrative plastic frame with metal structures for promoting adhesion with adhesive and forming antennas in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional side view of the plastic frame of  FIG. 12  taken though an illustrative adhesion promotion structure in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional side view of the plastic frame of  FIG. 13  taken through an illustrative antenna structure that also serves as an adhesion promotion structure in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Electronic devices may be provided with displays and other components. Displays and other components may be mounted in the housing of an electronic device using component support structures such as plastic display frames. A plastic display frame may be provided with adhesion promotion structures for enhancing bond strength in adhesive bonds between the plastic frame and other structures. An adhesion promotion structure on a plastic frame may, for example, enhance adhesion the frame and a layer of adhesive that is being used to attach the display cover layer to the plastic frame. Metal structures on plastic frames or other support structures may also be used in forming antennas. Illustrative electronic devices that may be provided with antenna structures that can promote adhesion and other adhesion promotion structures are shown in  FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 . 
     Electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  has the shape of a laptop computer and has upper housing  12 A and lower housing  12 B with components such as keyboard  16  and touchpad  18 . Device  10  has hinge structures  20  (sometimes referred to as a clutch barrel) to allow upper housing  12 A to rotate in directions  22  about rotational axis  24  relative to lower housing  12 B. Display  14  is mounted in housing  12 A. Upper housing  12 A, which may sometimes be referred to as a display housing or lid, is placed in a closed position by rotating upper housing  12 A towards lower housing  12 B about rotational axis  24 . 
       FIG. 2  shows an illustrative configuration for electronic device  10  based on a handheld device such as a cellular telephone, music player, gaming device, navigation unit, or other compact device. In this type of configuration for device  10 , device  10  has opposing front and rear surfaces. The rear surface of device  10  may be formed from a planar portion of housing  12 . Display  14  forms the front surface of device  10 . Display  14  may have an outermost layer that includes openings for components such as button  26  and speaker port  27 . 
     In the example of  FIG. 3 , electronic device  10  is a tablet computer. In electronic device  10  of  FIG. 3 , device  10  has opposing planar front and rear surfaces. The rear surface of device  10  is formed from a planar rear wall portion of housing  12 . Curved or planar sidewalls may run around the periphery of the planar rear wall and may extend vertically upwards. Display  14  is mounted on the front surface of device  10  in housing  12 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , display  14  has an outermost layer with an opening to accommodate button  26 . 
       FIG. 4  shows an illustrative configuration for electronic device  10  in which device  10  is a computer display, a computer that has an integrated computer display, or a television. Display  14  is mounted on a front face of device  10  in housing  12 . With this type of arrangement, housing  12  for device  10  may be mounted on a wall or may have an optional structure such as support stand  30  to support device  10  on a flat surface such as the surface of a table. 
     An electronic device such as electronic device  10  of  FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 , may, in general, be a computing device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which electronic equipment with a display is mounted in a kiosk or automobile, equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices, or other electronic equipment. The examples of  FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4  are merely illustrative. 
     Device  10  may include a display such as display  14 . Display  14  may be mounted in housing  12 . Housing  12 , which may sometimes be referred to as an enclosure or case, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramics, fiber composites, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of any two or more of these materials. Housing  12  may be formed using a unibody configuration in which some or all of housing  12  is machined or molded as a single structure or may be formed using multiple structures (e.g., an internal housing structure, one or more structures that form exterior housing surfaces, etc.). 
     Display  14  may be a touch screen display that incorporates a layer of conductive capacitive touch sensor electrodes or other touch sensor components (e.g., resistive touch sensor components, acoustic touch sensor components, force-based touch sensor components, light-based touch sensor components, etc.) or may be a display that is not touch-sensitive. Capacitive touch screen electrodes may be formed from an array of indium tin oxide pads or other transparent conductive structures. 
     Display  14  may include an array of display pixels formed from liquid crystal display (LCD) components, an array of electrophoretic display pixels, an array of plasma display pixels, an array of organic light-emitting diode display pixels, an array of electrowetting display pixels, or display pixels based on other display technologies. 
     Display  14  may be protected using a display cover layer such as a layer of transparent glass or clear plastic. Openings may be formed in the display cover layer. For example, an opening may be formed in the display cover layer to accommodate a button, an opening may be formed in the display cover layer to accommodate a speaker port, etc. 
     Housing  12  may be formed from conductive materials such as metal (e.g., aluminum, stainless steel, etc.) and/or insulating materials (e.g., plastic, fiber-composites, etc.). Antennas in device  10  may be mounted behind plastic portions of housing  12 , behind plastic antenna windows formed within openings in a metal housing, under dielectric structures such as glass or plastic portions of display  14 , or elsewhere in device  10  where antenna signals will not be blocked by the presence of conductive structures. 
     A schematic diagram showing illustrative components that may be used in device  10  is shown in  FIG. 5 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , device  10  may include control circuitry such as storage and processing circuitry  28 . Storage and processing circuitry  28  may include storage such as hard disk drive storage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solid state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in storage and processing circuitry  28  may be used to control the operation of device  10 . This processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, etc. 
     Storage and processing circuitry  28  may be used to run software on device  10 , such as internet browsing applications, voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) telephone call applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, etc. To support interactions with external equipment, storage and processing circuitry  28  may be used in implementing communications protocols. Communications protocols that may be implemented using storage and processing circuitry  28  include internet protocols, wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocols—sometimes referred to as WiFi®), protocols for other short-range wireless communications links such as the Bluetooth® protocol, cellular telephone protocols, MIMO protocols, antenna diversity protocols, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry  44  may include input-output devices  32 . Input-output devices  32  may be used to allow data to be supplied to device  10  and to allow data to be provided from device  10  to external devices. Input-output devices  32  may include user interface devices, data port devices, and other input-output components. For example, input-output devices may include touch screens, displays without touch sensor capabilities, buttons, joysticks, click wheels, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, microphones, cameras, buttons, speakers, status indicators, light sources, audio jacks and other audio port components, digital data port devices, light sensors, motion sensors (accelerometers), capacitance sensors, proximity sensors, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry  44  may include wireless communications circuitry  34  for communicating wirelessly with external equipment. Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, low-noise input amplifiers, passive RF components, one or more antennas, transmission lines, and other circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications). 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry  90  for handling various radio-frequency communications bands. For example, circuitry  34  may include transceiver circuitry  36 ,  38 , and  42 . Transceiver circuitry  36  may be wireless local area network transceiver circuitry that may handle 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands for WiFi® (IEEE 802.11) communications and that may handle the 2.4 GHz Bluetooth® communications band. Circuitry  34  may use cellular telephone transceiver circuitry  38  for handling wireless communications in frequency ranges such as a low communications band from 700 to 960 MHz, a midband from 1710 to 2170 MHz, and a high band from 2300 to 2700 MHz or other communications bands between 700 MHz and 2700 MHz or other suitable frequencies (as examples). Circuitry  38  may handle voice data and non-voice data. Wireless communications circuitry  34  can include circuitry for other short-range and long-range wireless links if desired. For example, wireless communications circuitry  34  may include 60 GHz transceiver circuitry, circuitry for receiving television and radio signals, paging system transceivers, near field communications (NFC) circuitry, etc. Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include satellite navigation system circuitry such as global positioning system (GPS) receiver circuitry  42  for receiving GPS signals at 1575 MHz or for handling other satellite positioning data. In WiFi® and Bluetooth® links and other short-range wireless links, wireless signals are typically used to convey data over tens or hundreds of feet. In cellular telephone links and other long-range links, wireless signals are typically used to convey data over thousands of feet or miles. 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include antennas  40 . Antennas  40  may be formed using any suitable antenna types. For example, antennas  40  may include antennas with resonating elements that are formed from loop antenna structures, patch antenna structures, inverted-F antenna structures, slot antenna structures, planar inverted-F antenna structures, helical antenna structures, hybrids of these designs, etc. Different types of antennas may be used for different bands and combinations of bands. For example, one type of antenna may be used in forming a local wireless link antenna and another type of antenna may be used in forming a remote wireless link antenna. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , transceiver circuitry  90  in wireless circuitry  34  may be coupled to antenna structures  40  using paths such as path  92 . To provide antenna structures  40  with the ability to cover communications frequencies of interest, antenna structures  40  may be provided with circuitry such as filter circuitry (e.g., one or more passive filters and/or one or more tunable filter circuits). Discrete components such as capacitors, inductors, and resistors may be incorporated into the filter circuitry. Capacitive structures, inductive structures, and resistive structures may also be formed from patterned metal structures (e.g., part of an antenna). If desired, antenna structures  40  may be provided with adjustable circuits such as tunable components that tune antenna structures  40  over communications bands of interest. Tunable components in antenna structures  40  may include tunable inductors, tunable capacitors, or other tunable components. Tunable components such as these may be based on switches and networks of fixed components, distributed metal structures that produce associated distributed capacitances and inductances, variable solid state devices for producing variable capacitance and inductance values, tunable filters, or other suitable tunable structures. During operation of device  10 , control circuitry  28  ( FIG. 5 ) may issue control signals adjust inductance values, capacitance values, or other parameters associated with the tunable components, thereby tuning antenna structures  40  to cover desired communications bands. Configurations in which antenna structures  40  are fixed and are not tuned with adjustable components may also be used. 
     Path  92  may include one or more transmission lines. As an example, signal path  92  of  FIG. 6  may be a transmission line having a positive signal conductor such as line  94  and a ground signal conductor such as line  96 . Lines  94  and  96  may form parts of a coaxial cable or a microstrip transmission line on a substrate such as a printed circuit (as examples). A matching network formed from components such as inductors, resistors, and capacitors may be used in matching the impedance of antenna structures  40  to the impedance of transmission line  92 . Matching network components may be provided as discrete components (e.g., surface mount technology components) or may be formed from housing structures, printed circuit board structures, traces on plastic supports, etc. Components such as these may also be used in forming filter circuitry in antenna structures  40 . 
     Transmission line  92  may be directly coupled to an antenna resonating element and ground for antenna  40  or may be coupled to near-field-coupled antenna feed structures that are used in indirectly feeding a resonating element for antenna  40 . As an example, antenna structures  40  may form an inverted-F antenna of the type shown in  FIG. 6  that is fed by transmission line  92  at antenna feed  112 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , antenna feed  112  of inverted-F antenna  40  has a positive antenna feed terminal such as terminal  98  and a ground antenna feed terminal such as ground antenna feed terminal  100 . Positive transmission line conductor  94  may be coupled to positive antenna feed terminal  98  and ground transmission line conductor  96  may be coupled to ground antenna feed terminal  92 . 
     As another example, antenna structures  40  may include an antenna resonating element such as a slot antenna resonating element or other element that is indirectly fed using near-field coupling. In a near-field coupling arrangement, transmission line  92  is coupled to a near-field-coupled antenna feed structure that is used to indirectly feed antenna structures such as an antenna slot or other element through near-field electromagnetic coupling. 
     Inverted-F antenna  40  of  FIG. 6  has antenna resonating element  106  and antenna ground (ground plane)  104 . Antenna resonating element  106  may have a main resonating element arm such as arm  108 . The length of arm  108  may be selected so that antenna  40  resonates at desired operating frequencies. For example, the length of arm  108  may be a quarter of a wavelength at a desired operating frequency for antenna  40 . Antenna  40  may also exhibit resonances at harmonic frequencies. 
     Main resonating element arm  108  may be coupled to ground  104  by return path  110 . Antenna feed  112  may include positive antenna feed terminal  98  and ground antenna feed terminal  100  and may run in parallel to return path  110  between arm  108  and ground  104 . If desired, inverted-F antennas such as illustrative antenna  40  of  FIG. 6  may have more than one resonating arm branch (e.g., to create multiple frequency resonances to support operations in multiple communications bands) or may have other antenna structures (e.g., parasitic antenna resonating elements, tunable components to support antenna tuning, etc.). A planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) may be formed by implementing arm  108  using planar structures (e.g., a planar metal structure such as a metal patch or strip of metal that extends into the page of  FIG. 6 ). In general, electronic device  10  may include one or more antennas of any suitable type. The inverted-F antenna of  FIG. 6  is merely illustrative. 
       FIG. 7  is a top (front) view of an illustrative electronic device display. As shown in  FIG. 7 , display  14  may be mounted in housing  12  and may have a rectangular footprint. Display  14  may have a rectangular central region that contains liquid crystal display pixels, organic light-emitting diode display pixels or other structures that display images. This central region is sometimes referred to as active area AA. The edges of the display  14  that surround active area AA form a rectangular peripheral ring. This border region contains circuitry such as signal lines and display driver circuitry that does not emit light and is therefore referred to as the inactive portion of the display. The inactive border region of display  14  is shown as inactive area IA in  FIG. 7 . To hide internal components in device  10  from view by the user of device  10 , it may be desirable to coat the inner surface of display  14  in inactive area IA with an opaque masking material such as a layer of ink (e.g., black ink, white ink, ink with a different color, or other opaque material) and/or other coating layers (e.g., polymer coating layers). 
     A cross-sectional side view of device  10  of  FIG. 7  is shown in  FIG. 8 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , display  14  may include a display module (sometimes referred to as a display, display structures, or display layers) such as display module  122 . Display module  122  may be a liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode display, or other display that generates images in active area AA. Display  14  may also include a cover layer such as display cover layer  120 . Display module  122  may be attached to display cover layer  120  using adhesive or other attachment mechanisms. If desired, touch sensor functionality may be incorporated into display  14  by mounting a capacitive touch sensor or other touch-sensitive component between display module  122  and display cover layer  120  and/or by incorporating capacitive touch sensor electrodes or other touch sensor structures into display module  122 . 
     Display cover layer  120  may be formed from one of the layers of display module  122  (e.g., a color filter layer or a thin-film transistor layer in a liquid crystal display that has extended edge portions) or may be formed from a separate layer of transparent material such as a layer of clear glass or plastic. Examples in which layer  120  is a display cover layer that is separate from the other layers of display module  122  are sometimes described herein as an example. This is, however, merely illustrative. Layer  120  may be any suitable layer in display  14  (e.g., a color filter layer, a thin-film transistor layer, a display cover layer, other display layers, etc.). 
     Device  10  may include internal components such as electronic components  128 . Components  128  may include integrated circuits, sensors, connectors, switches, audio components, and other circuitry. Components  128  may be mounted on one or more substrates such as substrate  126 . Substrate  126  may be a printed circuit such as a rigid printed circuit board (e.g., a printed circuit formed from a rigid printed circuit board material such as fiberglass-filled epoxy) or a flexible printed circuit (e.g., a printed circuit formed from a flexible layer of polyimide or a sheet of other polymer material). If desired, components in device  10  such as components  128  may be mounted on plastic carriers and other supports. 
     To hide internal components in device  10  from view, the inner surface of display cover layer  120  may be covered with a layer of opaque masking material in the portion of display cover layer  120  that overlaps inactive area. Display  14  (e.g., display cover layer  120 ) may be mounted in housing  12  using a support structure such as display frame  124 . Frame  124  may have a rectangular opening that receives rectangular display layers in display  14  (i.e., frame  124  may serve as a chassis for retaining and mounting the layers of display  14  within device  10 ). 
     Frame  124  may be formed from a material such as plastic. If desired, the plastic of frame  124  may be overmolded on top of metal structures that strengthen frame  124  (i.e., frame  124  may contain metal strips or other structures that are fully or partly embedded within the plastic of frame  124 ). Configurations in which some or all of frame  124  is formed from a dielectric material such as plastic are sometimes described herein as an example. 
     Fasteners such as screws, solder, welds, clips, adhesive, and other attachment mechanisms may be used in attaching display  14  to housing  12 . To enhance adhesive joint strength, the surfaces of the materials to be bonded may be textured. As an example, the surface of frame  124  may be textured by injection molding frame  124  in a mold having a textured inner surface or frame  124  may be textured by roughening or patterning the surface of frame  124  using a laser, a machining tool, a press, or other equipment. As another example, the coating on the inner surface of display cover layer  120  may be textured using these techniques or other suitable texturing techniques. 
     A textured surface for promoting adhesion for an adhesive joint may have a regular pattern or a random pattern. An illustrative texture with a regular surface pattern for promoting adhesion is shown in  FIG. 9 . As shown in the illustrative example of  FIG. 9 , the surface of material  130  may be provided with an array of recesses such as recesses  132 . Material  130  may form all or part of a coating on the underside of a display structure such as display cover layer  120 , may form all or part of a plastic or other substance in frame  124  (with or without a coating layer such as a metal coating), or may form all or part of other structures in device  10  that are being joined with adhesive (e.g., frame structures, display structures, housing structures such as housing  12 , etc.). Recesses  132  may have any suitable shape (e.g., square, triangular, diamond-shaped, circular, oval, shapes with straight edges, shapes with curved edges, or shapes with a combination of curved and straight edges). In the example of  FIG. 9 , the surface of material  130  has square openings  132  arranged in an array with rows and columns. Other shapes for recesses  132  and/or different patterns for arranging recesses  132  on the surface of material  130  may be used if desired. Recesses  132  of  FIG. 9  may be formed by embossing, molding, drilling, etching, machining, pressing, or other texturing techniques. 
       FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative structure with a corrugated textured surface. As shown in  FIG. 10 , textured material  130  may include structure  130 - 1  and coating  130 - 2 . Structure  130 - 1  may be a part of a display, housing, frame, or other structure. Structure  130 - 2  may be a coating of polymer (e.g., clear or opaque polymer adhesive ink), a metal coating, or other coating material. As the example of  FIG. 10  illustrates, the textured surface of structure  130 - 1  may be preserved even when one or more coating layers such as coating  130 - 2  are incorporated before a layer of adhesive is applied to form an adhesive joint. 
     Using a textured surface such as the textured surfaces of  FIGS. 9 and 10 , adhesion between an adhesive material and the textured surface may be enhanced, thereby enhancing adhesive bond strength. Other surface textures may be used if desired. Moreover, metal coatings (see, e.g., coating  130 - 2 ) may be used to help promote adhesion. For example, if structure  130 - 1  is a plastic that exhibits weak adhesion to adhesive, structure  130 - 1  may be coated with a layer of metal (e.g., coating  130 - 2 ) that exhibits enhanced adhesion to adhesive. The metal coating in this type of scenario may serve as an adhesion promotion layer. Adhesion may be enhanced by using a textured surface with an adhesion promotion layer such as a layer of metal, may be enhanced using a layer of adhesion promoting material such as metal without texturing the surface, or may be enhanced using surface texturing without including a metal layer or other coating for promoting adhesion. The metal layer may be patterned to form antennas that can serve as adhesion promotion structures and/or may be patterned to form pads or other structures that do not serve as antennas. 
       FIG. 11  is a diagram of equipment and processes of the type that may be used in forming device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 11 , molding equipment such as molding tool  134  may be used in forming structure  136 . Molding tool  134  may, for example, be an injection molding tool that molds thermoset or thermoplastic material to form structure  136 . Structure  136  may be a frame such as display frame  124  of  FIG. 8 , other support structures for components in device  10 , or other suitable structure in device  10 . 
     It may be desirable to coat selected portions of structure  136  with metal. For example, it may be desirable to deposit metal on structure  136  in regions of structure  136  that are to be covered with adhesive to form adhesion promotion coatings such as coating  130 - 2  of  FIG. 10  or to form antenna structures such as antenna  40  of  FIG. 6  (e.g., resonating element  106  and/or ground  104 ). Structure  136  may be formed from a material such as plastic and may form display frame  124  of  FIG. 8 . 
     If desired, a blanket layer of metal may be deposited over structure  136  and the blanket layer may be patterned using etching, machining, or other patterning techniques. With another illustrative approach, stamped sheet metal or other pre-patterned metal structures can be attached to selected portions of structure  136  (e.g., using adhesive). Metal can also be selectively deposited by applying metal paint or other metallic liquid to structure  136  using spraying, silk screen printing, ink-jet printing, or other techniques. 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , laser-based techniques and injection molding techniques may be used to form one or more areas such as area  142  on structure  136  that exhibit an enhanced affinity for metal deposition during electroplating operations. With one suitable approach, laser-based equipment (sometimes referred to as laser direct structuring equipment) such as laser tool  138  may apply laser light  140  to structure  136 . The exposed portion of structure  136  is activated by the laser light (e.g., by activating metal compounds in the material of structure  136  or by otherwise changing the surface of structure  136 ) to form activated area  142 . Activated area  142  has an enhanced affinity for metal growth during electroplating operations when compared to other portions of the surface of structure  136 . As a result, after electroplating operations are performed using plating tool  146 , metal  148  is selectively plated onto the surface of structure  136  in area  142 . If desired, an area such as area  142  that has a locally enhanced affinity for metal growth during plating operations may be formed by creating structure  136  from a first shot of plastic (using a plastic with a low affinity for metal growth during plating) and by subsequently creating area  152  from a second shot of plastic (using a plastic with a higher affinity for metal growth during plating). With this approach (which is sometimes referred to as a molded interconnect device approach), tool  134  may be used to injection mold the first shot of plastic and molding tool  144  may be used to injection mold the second shot of plastic onto the first shot of plastic (or vice versa). After plating with tool  146 , metal  148  is selectively grown over area  142 . 
     After forming metal coating  148  on selected portions of structure  136 , additional processing and assembly operations may be completed using equipment  150 . For example, an adhesive dispensing tool may be used to deposit liquid adhesive into areas where it is desired to form adhesive joints. These areas may include, for example, portions of metal  148  that have been patterned onto structure  136  (e.g., plastic frame  124 ) in inactive area IA. Adhesive can be cured by applying heat, by applying ultraviolet light or other energy, etc. Assembly operations using screws and other fasteners may also be used to attach portions of device  10  together. As an example, display  14  may be attached to structure  136  using adhesive that at least partly overlaps regions on structure  136  that have been coated with metal  148  to promote adhesion. In turn, structure  136  may be attached to housing  12  using screws or other fasteners (as an example). Equipment  150  may include manually operated and computer-controlled equipment (e.g., positioners, adhesive dispensing equipment, adhesive curing equipment, etc.). 
     A top (front) view of an illustrative frame for device  10  is shown in  FIG. 12 . As shown in  FIG. 12 , frame  124  may have the shape of a rectangular ring that surrounds rectangular active area AA of display  14 . A patterned layer of metal  148  may be formed in selective areas on the surface of frame  124  (i.e., in areas that are overlapped by inactive area IA and in which a layer of adhesive will subsequently be applied to attach frame  124  to display  14 ). Metal  148  may be formed by selectively plating a layer of metal onto regions such a region  142  on frame  124  or by otherwise locally forming regions of metal coating  148  on frame  124 . 
     Frame  124  is preferably formed from a dielectric material such as plastic. In some portions of frame  124 , metal  148  serves as an adhesion promotion structure that does not serve as an antenna and that does not carry antenna signals. For example, adhesion promotion structure  152  of  FIG. 12  is formed from a layer of metal  148  that has been deposited along the left-hand edge of frame  124  in  FIG. 12 . In other portions of frame  124 , metal  148  can be patterned to form metal structures such as antenna structures (which can also serve as adhesion promotion structures). For example, metal  148  can be patterned to from upper antenna  40 A, lower antenna  40 B, and/or other antennas on frame  124 . 
     Because frame  124  is formed from a dielectric material, frame  124  does not interfere with antenna performance. The overlapping portions of display cover layer  120  in inactive area IA (e.g., the clear plastic or glass layers that overlap antennas  40 A and  40 B), are likewise formed from dielectric and do not interfere with antenna performance. In the example of  FIG. 12 , there are two antennas ( 40 A and  40 B) that have been formed from metal  148  and five adhesion promotion structures that do not carry antenna signals such as adhesion promotion structure  152 . Other numbers of antennas and non-antenna adhesion promotion structures may be incorporated onto frame  124  if desired. For example, there may be one antenna  40  on frame  124 , more than one antenna  40  on frame  124 , two or more antennas on frame  124 , or three or more antennas on frame  124 . There may be one or more adhesion promotion structures  152  formed from metal  148 , two or more adhesion promotion structures  152  formed from metal  148 , or three or more adhesion promotion structures  152  formed from metal  148 . Configurations for frame  124  in which no antennas are present and/or no non-antenna metal adhesion promotion structures are present may also be used. If desired, textured surfaces may be provided in adhesion promotion structures  152 , in antennas  40 A and  40 B and/or on the opposing surfaces to which adhesive joints are being formed with adhesion promotion structures  152  and/or antennas  40 A and  40 B. 
       FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional side view of adhesion promotion structure  152  of  FIG. 12  in device  10  taken along line  154  of  FIG. 12  and viewed in direction  156 . As shown in  FIG. 13 , display module  122  may be mounted under active area AA of display  14 . Display cover layer  120  is transparent, so that images from module  122  may pass through display cover layer  120  in active area AA. 
     Inner (lower) surface  168  of display cover layer  120  in inactive area IA may be coated with one or more coating layers such as layers  164  and  162 . Layer  164  may be formed from one or more layers of opaque masking material such as one or more layers of black ink, one or more layers of white ink, or one or more layers of ink of other colors (e.g., opaque polymer coating layers). Layer  162  may be a clear coat of adhesion promoting material (e.g., a polymer, etc.) or other adhesion promoting layer. Fewer coating layers or more coating layers may be provided on display cover layer  120  in inactive area IA, if desired. The use of layers  164  and  162  in the example of  FIG. 13  is merely illustrative. Moreover, layer  164  and/or layer  162  and/or inner surface  168  may, if desired, be textured to promote adhesion between display cover layer  120  and adhesive as described in connection with  FIGS. 9 and 10 . 
     Adhesive layer  166  may be used to form an adhesive bond (adhesive joint) that attaches display cover layer  120  to frame  124 . Adhesive layer  166  may be pressure sensitive adhesive (e.g., adhesive tape), liquid adhesive, or other suitable adhesive. Frame  124  may have a ledge with a horizontal surface such as surface  170  in inactive area IA. Display cover layer  120  may have a corresponding horizontal surface such as surface  168  in inactive area IA. Adhesive  166  may be interposed between display cover layer  120  and frame  124  (e.g., between coatings  162  and  164  on display cover layer  120  and metal coating  148  on frame  124 ) form an adhesive bond in inactive area that attaches surface  168  to surface  170 . Adhesion promotion structure  152  (i.e., non-antenna adhesion promotion structure  152 ) may be formed from metal coating layer  148  on surface  170  of frame  124  to enhance adhesion between frame  124  and adhesive  166 . If desired, surface  170  and/or metal coating layer  148  may be textured to promote adhesion to adhesive  166  as described in connection with  FIGS. 9 and 10 . Other frame surfaces such as vertical surface  174  may also be coated with metal  148  and adhesive  166  to attach frame  124  and display  14  or vertical surfaces such as vertical surface  174  may be left free of metal and/or adhesive. 
     One or more fasteners such as screw  172  may be used to attach frame  124  to housing  12 . In the example of  FIG. 13 , frame  124  has an opening to accommodate the shaft of screw  172  and housing  12  has a threaded opening that receives the shaft of screw  172 . Mounting configurations for frame  124  that attach frame  124  to housing  12  without using screws may be used, if desired. The configuration of  FIG. 13  is merely illustrative 
     The portion of metal  148  that forms antenna structures on frame  124  may be coated with adhesive  166  (i.e., adhesive layer  166  may overlap antennas  40 A and  40 B).  FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional side view of device  10  in the vicinity of antenna  40 B of  FIG. 12  taken along line  158  of  FIG. 12  and viewed in direction  160 . As shown in  FIG. 14 , device  10  may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry  90 . Radio-frequency transceiver circuitry  90  may be formed from one or more integrated circuits or other circuitry  128  on printed circuit  126 . Signal paths within printed circuit  126  such as interconnect(s)  176  may be used in forming transmission line  92  ( FIG. 6 ). 
     Antenna  40 B may be formed from patterned metal layer  148  on frame  124 . A conductive coupling structure such as spring  178  may be used to electrically short printed circuit board interconnects  176  to metal  148  of antenna  40 B. Spring  178  may be soldered to printed circuit board contact  176 ′ (part of interconnects  176 ) using solder  180  or solder may be used to attach spring  178  to metal  148 . Spring  178  may contact metal  148  at contact point  182 . Other coupling structures such as spring-loaded pins may also be used in coupling transmission line paths to antenna structures such as metal  148 . The transmission line paths may be formed from coaxial cables, traces in a rigid printed circuit board, traces in a flexible printed circuit (e.g., a flexible printed circuit cable), etc. The configuration of  FIG. 14  in which spring  178  is used to connect antenna  148  to transceiver circuitry  90  is shown as an example. 
     Screw  172  or other attachment mechanisms may be used to mount frame  124  to housing  12 . Metal  148  may be formed on horizontal surface  170  of frame  124  and/or other portions of frame  124  such as vertical surface  174 . Adhesive  166  may be applied to surface  170  (i.e., where adhesive  166  is overlapped by the portion of display cover layer  120  in inactive area IA) and/or adhesive  166  may be applied to the surface of frame  124  in region  174 . Coatings such as coatings  162  and  164  may be formed on the underside of display cover layer  120  in inactive area IA of display  14 , as described in connection with  FIG. 13 . Textures may be formed in metal  148  and frame  124 , in display cover layer  120  and coatings  164  and  162 , in coatings  164  and  162 , or elsewhere to promote adhesion between adhesive  166  and the structures contacted by adhesive  166 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20160216
Publication Date: 20170516
Grant Date: 20170516
Priority Date: 20140307
Inventors: KWONG KELVIN
HOOTON LEE E.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H01Q1/24", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/2258", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/44", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/2258", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/44", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/44", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/24", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 54018305