PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9769929-B1
Application Number: US-201514720248-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B1

Title: Interconnect structures for electronic devices with component arrays

Abstract:
An array of electrical components may be mounted in openings in an electronic device housing. The housing may have a cylindrical shape or other curved shape. A support structure such as a hollow cylindrical tube may be mounted within the interior of the housing. The electrical components may have terminals that mate with corresponding contacts on a flexible printed circuit. Interconnect paths on the flexible printed circuit may be used to route signals for the electrical components. The flexible printed circuit may be wrapped into the shape of a cylindrical tube and may be mounted on an interior surface of the cylindrical housing or on the exterior surface of the support structure.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing having a curved housing wall with a housing wall opening; 
 a flexible printed circuit attached to a curved inner surface of the curved housing wall, the flexible printed circuit comprising a flexible substrate defining a flexible printed circuit opening that is aligned with the housing wall opening, wherein the flexible printed circuit has metal traces that form signal lines and flexible printed circuit contacts; and 
 an electrical component that is aligned within and extends through the flexible printed circuit opening and the housing wall opening, wherein the electrical component has terminals that mate with the flexible printed circuit contacts. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising a layer of adhesive that attaches the flexible printed circuit to the curved inner surface of the curved housing wall. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 2  wherein the housing wall opening comprises one of a plurality of housing wall openings in the housing wall and wherein the electrical component comprises one of a plurality of electrical components that are respectively aligned with the housing wall openings. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 3  wherein the curved housing wall is cylindrical. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 4  wherein the electrical components comprise components selected from the group consisting of: light sources, light detectors, speakers, and sensors. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 5  wherein the terminals comprise springs. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 5  wherein the flexible printed circuit comprises a cylindrical tube attached to the curved inner surface with the layer of adhesive. 
     
     
       8. An electronic device, comprising:
 a cylindrical housing having a housing wall defining a housing wall opening; 
 an electrical component aligned with the housing wall opening and having terminals; and 
 a flexible printed circuit, comprising:
 a flexible substrate defining a flexible circuit opening aligned with the housing wall opening, and 
 contacts mated with the terminals, 
 
 wherein the electrical component extends through the flexible circuit opening and into the housing wall opening. 
 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 8 , wherein the electrical component comprises a component selected from the group consisting of: a light source, a light detector, a speaker, and a sensor. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 8 , further comprising a layer of adhesive that attaches the flexible printed circuit to an interior surface of the cylindrical housing. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 10  wherein the terminals comprise compressible conductive structures that are compressed against the contacts. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 11  wherein the housing wall opening comprises one of a plurality of housing wall openings in the housing wall and wherein the electrical component comprises one of a plurality of electrical components aligned with the housing wall openings. 
     
     
       13. An electronic device, comprising:
 a cylindrical housing defining a plurality of housing openings; 
 a flexible printed circuit that contains metal traces that carry signals for the electrical components, the flexible printed circuit defining flexible printed circuit openings aligned with corresponding housing openings of the plurality of housing openings; and 
 a plurality of electrical components, each electrical component extending through a housing opening of the plurality of housing openings and a corresponding one of the flexible printed circuit openings. 
 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 13  wherein the electrical components comprise components selected from the group consisting of: light sources, light detectors, speakers, and sensors. 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  further comprising a layer of adhesive that attaches the flexible printed circuit to an interior surface of the cylindrical housing.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/057,746, filed Sep. 30, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to electronic devices with electronic components mounted to device housings. 
     Electronic devices include electronic components. Some components such as integrated circuits and batteries are mounted within interior portions of electronic device housings. Other components are mounted on the exteriors of housings. For example, components that emit or receive light or sound are often mounted in exposed locations on housings to facilitate proper operation of the components in supplying output and receiving input. 
     In some device designs, it may be desirable to mount multiple components in an array. For example, some electronic components benefit from operation as a coordinated group. It may be helpful in such arrangements to mount components in close proximity to each other. If care is not taken, components may be damaged during installation, damage may be created to the housing to which the components are being mounted, components may be difficult to repair when faults are detected, or components may consume more space within a device than desired. It may also be challenging to electrically interconnect the components in the array. 
     It would be desirable to be able to address these challenges with a component interconnect and mounting scheme that is suitable for use when mounting components in a variety of housings. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may have a housing wall. An array of electrical components may be mounted in a corresponding array of openings in the housing wall. The components may be audio components, light-based components, sensors, or other electrical components. 
     The housing may have a cylindrical shape or other curved shape. A support structure such as a hollow cylindrical tube may be mounted within the interior of the housing. 
     The electrical components may have terminals that mate with corresponding contacts on a flexible printed circuit. Interconnect paths on the flexible printed circuit may be used to route signals for the electrical components. The flexible printed circuit may be wrapped into the shape of a cylindrical tube and may be mounted on an interior surface of the cylindrical housing or on the exterior surface of the support structure. 
    
    
     
       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 computer display in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is perspective of an illustrative electronic device such as a computing device or other device with a cylindrical housing that surrounds an interior region and that is surrounded by an exterior region in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic component being mounted in an opening in a device housing in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional side view of the illustrative electronic component of  FIG. 6  following mounting of the component to the device housing in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side view of an electronic device showing how an array of components may be mounted to the exterior of a device housing in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a front view of an illustrative electronic component with a circular outline in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a front view of an illustrative electronic component with an oval outline in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a front view of an illustrative electronic component with a rectangular outline in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  is a front view of an illustrative electronic component with a hexagonal outline in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic component with a trapezoidal cross section in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic component with a smoothly tapered cross section in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic component with a cross section that is tapered in a step-wise fashion in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic component with a cross section that is triangular in shape and has untapered portions in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 17  is a top view of an illustrative component with a flat outer surface that has been mounted in an opening in a cylindrical housing in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 18  is a top view of an illustrative component with a curved outer surface that has been mounted in an opening in a cylindrical housing in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 19  is an exploded view of an illustrative electronic device containing radially deployed components in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 20  is a diagram showing illustrative interconnection paths that may be formed on a substrate that has an array of openings that receive components in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 21  is a top view of a substrate such as a ring-shaped printed circuit board that may receive signals from an interconnection substrate of the type shown in  FIG. 20  through tails of the interconnection substrate that are coupled to the ring-shaped printed circuit board in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 22  is a cross-sectional top view of an illustrative component coupled to interconnection paths on a flexible substrate mounted to the inner surface of a curved housing wall in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 23  is a diagram showing an illustrative pattern of contact pads and interconnection paths that may be formed on a substrate to provide signal paths for an array of components in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 24  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having an inner support structure on which a flexible interconnection substrate has been mounted in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 25  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative component mounted in electrical contact with interconnects on a flexible interconnection substrate that has been mounted to a support structure in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Electronic devices may include components. The components may be light-based components, audio components, sensors, or other electrical components. The components may be mounted within the interior of an electronic device and/or may be mounted on the exterior of an electronic device. Configurations in which electrical components are exposed on the exterior of a housing may facilitate signal input and output operations using the components (e.g., input and output operations involving light signals, acoustic signals, temperature information, etc.). Accordingly, configurations in which components are mounted within openings in housing surfaces are sometimes described herein as an example. 
     In some devices, it may be desirable to mount multiple components in proximity to each other. For example, optical components may be mounted in proximity to each other to form a display with an array of pixels or to form other types of light output devices (e.g., a light-based status indicator), speakers may be mounted in an array to form a phased speaker array or to provide enhanced output levels, microphones may be mounted in an array to gather audio information from multiple directions, proximity sensors may be mounted in an array to create a touch or motion input device that can capture input from a user&#39;s hand or other external object, and other sensors and input-output components may be mounted in arrays to enhance the ability of an electronic device to gather input and provide output. 
     Multiple components may be mounted adjacent to one another in a regular array having one or more rows and one or more columns of electrical components. Components may also be organized in a less regular fashion such as a pseudorandom pattern on the surface of a device housing. 
     Illustrative electronic devices that may be provided with components are shown in  FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 . 
     Illustrative electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  has the shape of a laptop computer having upper housing  12 A and lower housing  12 B with components such as keyboard  16  and touchpad  18 . Device  10  may have hinge structures  20  that allow upper housing  12 A to rotate in directions  22  about rotational axis  24  relative to lower housing  12 B. Display  14  may be mounted in upper housing  12 A. Upper housing  12 A, which may sometimes be referred to as a display housing or lid, may be placed in a closed position by rotating upper housing  12 A towards lower housing  12 B about rotational axis  24 . 
       FIG. 2  shows how electronic device  10  may be 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 , housing  12  may have opposing front and rear surfaces. Display  14  may be mounted on a front face of housing  12 . Display  14  may, if desired, have openings for components such as button  26 . Openings may also be formed in display  14  to accommodate a speaker port (see, e.g., speaker port  28  of  FIG. 2 ). 
       FIG. 3  shows how electronic device  10  may be a tablet computer. In electronic device  10  of  FIG. 3 , housing  12  may have opposing planar front and rear surfaces. Display  14  may be mounted on the front surface of housing  12 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , display  14  may have an opening to accommodate button  26  (as an example). 
       FIG. 4  shows how electronic device  10  may be a computer display, a computer that has been integrated into a computer display, or a display for other electronic equipment. With this type of arrangement, housing  12  for device  10  may be mounted on a support structure such as stand  30  or stand  30  may be omitted (e.g., stand  30  can be omitted when mounting device  10  on a wall). Display  14  may be mounted on a front face of housing  12 . 
       FIG. 5  shows how electronic device  10  may have a cylindrical housing. Device  10  may be, for example, a desktop computer such as the Mac Pro computer available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Housing  12  may have an input-output connector region such as region  32  that contains input-output connectors (e.g., Universal Serial Bus connectors and other digital signal connectors, power connectors, audio connectors, memory card slots, and other input-output connectors). Upper surface  12 - 1  of housing  12  may be planar or may have curved surfaces (as shown in  FIG. 5 ). Sidewall  12 - 2  of housing  12  may have a curved surface so that housing  12  has a cylindrical shape (as an example). Housing  12  may also have other shapes (e.g., conical shapes, pyramidal shapes with curved and/or planar sidewall surfaces, spherical housing shapes, other shapes, and combinations of these shapes). 
     Housing  12  may have a vertical dimension (height in dimension Z) that is larger than its lateral (horizontal) dimensions (i.e., widths in dimensions X and Y). Configurations in which housing  12  is shorter in height and wider in width may also be used. If desired, part of housing  12  may be cylindrical and part of housing  12  may have one or more planar sidewalls. For example, housing  12  may have the shape of a half cylinder in which the front portion of housing  12  has a cylindrical shape and the rear portion of housing  12  has a planar rear housing wall. Other shapes with cylindrical surfaces may also be used (e.g., quarter cylinders, three-quarter cylinders, etc.). Display  14  may be mounted in housing  12  or may be omitted from device  10  of  FIG. 5 . 
     The illustrative configurations for device  10  that are shown in  FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5  are merely illustrative. In general, electronic device  10  may be 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, an accessory such as a charging station, a stand for a display, speaker or other electronic device, an alarm clock, a speaker, a docking station, an amplifier, a projector, a camera, a video camera, gaming equipment, a television cable box or other set-top box, lighting equipment, a motion sensor, a touch pad or other input-output device that gathers data from a touch sensor(s), networked attached storage or other data storage device, a wireless access point, a router, or other network equipment, other equipment, or equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices. 
     Housing  12  of device  10 , which is sometimes referred to as a case, may be formed of materials such as plastic, glass, ceramics, carbon-fiber composites and other fiber-based composites, metal (e.g., machined aluminum, stainless steel, or other metals), other materials, or a combination of these materials. Device  10  may be formed using a unibody construction in which most or all of housing  12  is formed from a single structural element (e.g., a piece of machined metal or a piece of molded plastic) or may be formed from multiple housing structures (e.g., outer housing structures that have been mounted to internal frame elements or other internal housing structures). 
     Display  14  may be a touch sensitive display that includes a touch sensor or may be insensitive to touch. Touch sensors for display  14  may be formed from an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes, a resistive touch array, touch sensor structures based on acoustic touch, optical touch, or force-based touch technologies, or other suitable touch sensor components. 
     Display  14  may include display pixels formed from liquid crystal display (LCD) components, organic light-emitting diode pixels, or other suitable image pixel structures. If desired, display  14  may be omitted from device  10  (e.g., to conserve space) or multiple displays such as display  14  may be included in device  10  (e.g., in an array). Light-based status indicators and other input-output devices may be used to supplement information displayed on display  14  or may be used to provide a user with status information and other output when display  14  has been omitted. 
     If desired, one or more electrical components may be mounted on housing  12 . For example, a single component or an array of components may be mounted in the position(s) of illustrative component(s)  34  of  FIG. 5  or elsewhere on housing  12  of  FIG. 1, 2, 3, 4 , or  5  or on other electronic device housings. Electrical components  34  may be mounted on a planar housing wall or a curved housing wall. Components  34  may, for example, be mounted an a surface of housing  12  where housing  12  has a non-planar surface such as where housing wall  12 - 2  of  FIG. 5  is curved (e.g., curved on the side of a cylinder). In general, components  34  may be mounted on a curved surface such as a corner of a housing, a rounded edge of a housing, a curved sidewall, a curved front wall, a curved rear wall of housing  12 , a curved top wall, etc. Configurations in which housing  12  has a cylindrical surface on which components  34  are mounted in an array (e.g., configurations of the type shown in  FIG. 5  in which components  34  are mounted in an array on some or all of curved cylindrical outer surface  12 - 2  of housing  12 ) are sometimes described herein as an example. 
     The electrical components that are mounted to housing  12  such as components  34  of  FIG. 5  may be electrical components such as light-emitting diodes, lamps, displays, lasers, or other light-emitting components, may be vibrators, buzzers, speakers, tone-generators, microphones, or other acoustic components, may be sensors such as touch sensors, temperature sensors, accelerometers, compasses, gyroscopes, position sensors, proximity sensors, or may be other suitable electronic components. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , each component  34  may be mounted in a respective opening in housing wall  12 - 2  such as opening  36 . Component  34  may be mounted from the exterior of device  10  or from the interior of housing  12 . After component  34  has been placed within opening  36 , fasteners or other suitable attachment mechanisms (e.g., clips, adhesive, springs, other engagement features, etc.) may be used in securing component  34  to housing wall  12 - 2 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , component  34  may be mounted so that some or all of exterior component surface  40  is flush (or nearly flush) with outer surface  38  of housing wall  12 - 2 . In configurations in which housing wall  12 - 2  is curved (e.g., when wall  12 - 2  forms part of a cylinder), external component surface  38  may have a matching curved surface (e.g., some or all of the curvature of surface  40  of component  34  may match (or nearly match) the curvature of housing wall surface  38 . 
     Electrical components  34  may be coupled to control circuitry using signal paths such as signal path  42  of  FIG. 7 . Signal path  42  may include one or more conductive lines on printed circuits or other substrates, wires, optical fibers, light-pipes, cables, plastic carriers with metal traces or other electrical signal lines, or other signal paths. The electrical and/or optical paths that are coupled to components  34  may be used to carry power signals, digital and/or analog signals (e.g., control signals, image data, audio signals, sensor information, etc.), or other signals. 
     Connectors such as connector  44  of  FIG. 7  may be used to facilitate attachment of the electrical components to signal path  42 . For example, components  34  may each have a respective connector such as connector  44  of  FIG. 7  that mates with a corresponding connector on an optical and/or electrical cable or other signal path  42 . Connector  44  may be a zero insertion force cable or other printed circuit connector, may be a coaxial connector or other rotationally symmetric connector for audio and/or radio-frequency signals, may be a power connector, may be a Universal Serial Bus connector or other digital data connector, may be an Ethernet connector, may be an audio connector, may be an optical connector, may be a male connector, may be a female connector, may be a locking connector, may be an reversible (orientation independent) connector with two or more operating positions, or may be any other suitable connector. If desired, connector  44  may have mating contacts that can be coupled and decoupled without using a fixed connection such as a solder or conductive adhesive connection Alternatively, connections between component  34  and a signal path may be made by using solder or conductive adhesive to join mating contacts (e.g., contacts on components  34  and mating contacts on a cable, printed circuit substrate, or other carrier with metal traces or other electrical signal lines). 
     Components such as component  34  of  FIG. 7  may contain subcomponents such as subcomponents  46  and  48 . Subcomponent  46  may be located near the front face of component  34  and may be a lens or lens system (e.g., when component  34  is an optical component), may be a diaphragm or speaker grill (e.g., when component  34  is a speaker), may be a microphone diaphragm, may be an optically or acoustically transparent window structure, may be a dielectric member (e.g., to form a window that allows electromagnetic signals for a sensor to pass through the window), may be a thermally conductive member that allows heat to pass into component  34 , or may be other suitable front-of-component subcomponent. Subcomponent  48  may be a light source such as a light-emitting diode, laser, or lamp, may be a light detector such as an image sensor or photodetector, may be a speaker driver (e.g., a driver that drives a diaphragm), may be a temperature sensor such as a solid state temperature sensor or a thermocouple, may be a motion sensor, capacitive sensor, or other type of sensor, or may be other suitable electrical subcomponent for supporting the operation of component  34 . 
     If desired, components  34  may be mounted in a continuous (or nearly continuous) array of rows and columns on the outer curved surface of cylindrical housing wall  12 - 2 , as shown in the illustrative cross-sectional side view of device  10  in  FIG. 8 . Components  34  may also be mounted on internal housing structures and/or walls such as upper wall  12 - 1 . An optional covering such as covering  50  may be used to cover components  34 . Covering  50  may be acoustically transparent (e.g., covering  50  may be a plastic mesh and/or metal mesh or other cover with openings to allow sound to pass), may be optically transparent (e.g., by using a transparent or semi-transparent material or pattern of material such as frosted glass, plastic with a thin semitransparent coating or patterned coating layer), may be sufficiently thermal conductive to allow temperature measurements to be made through covering  50  (e.g., a thin metal cover), or may be any other suitable covering structure for improving device aesthetics, enhancing component protection, etc. 
     There may be any suitable number of components  34  in the array of components on wall  12 - 2  (e.g., one or more, two or more, five or more, 10 or more, 20 or more, 50 or more 2-200, 5-150, 20-100, less than 100, less than 50, less than 300, less than 20, 20-70, 20-100, or other suitable number). The distance between adjacent components  34  may be less than 10 mm, 2-5 mm, less than 20 mm, more than 3 mm, between 1-15 mm, less than 5 mm, etc. 
     Components  34  may have any suitable shapes such as box shapes, frustoconical shapes (e.g., frustoconical shapes with planar and/or curved ends), pyramidal shapes, shapes with front surfaces that are wider than their opposing rear surfaces, shapes with curved edges and/or straight edges, shapes with curved front surfaces, etc.), cone shapes, step-wise varying cone shapes, spherical shapes, disk shapes, shapes with combinations of curved and straight edges and planar and/or curved sidewalls, etc.).  FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12  are front views of illustrative shapes that may be used for components  34 . In the example of  FIG. 9 , component  34  has a circular outline when viewed from the front (i.e., when viewed from the exterior of device  10  when component  34  has been mounted in housing sidewall  12 - 2 ). In the example of  FIG. 10 , component  34  has an oval outline when viewed from the front.  FIG. 11  shows how component  34  may have a rectangular outline when viewed from the front. In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 12 , component  34  has a hexagonal shape when viewed from the front. Other shapes may be used for component  34  if desired. The examples of  FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12  are merely illustrative. 
     Cross-sectional side views of components  34  of different illustrative shapes are shown in  FIGS. 13, 14, 15, and 16 . As shown in  FIG. 13 , component  34  may have a front face such as front face  34 - 1 , an opposing rear face such as rear face  34 - 2 , and side surfaces such as surfaces  34 - 3 . Some or all of front face  34 - 1  may lie flush with outer surface  38  of housing  12 - 2  (i.e., front face  34 - 1  of component  34  may form exterior surface  40  of  FIG. 7 ). In the example of  FIG. 13 , front face  34 - 1  has larger lateral dimensions (in vertical dimension Z and horizontal dimension X) than rear face  34 - 2 . Side surfaces  34 - 3  form a tapering shape so that component  34  is wider at the front than at the rear. Side surfaces  34 - 3  are straight in the cross-sectional side view of  FIG. 13 . In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 14 , side surfaces  34 - 3  have smoothly tapering curved profiles.  FIG. 15  shows how side surfaces  34 - 3  may progressively narrow component  34  in a step-wise fashion. In the example of  FIG. 16 , side surfaces  34 - 3  have portions in which component  34  does not taper and portions in which component  34  tapers. Connector  44  may be mounted on rear surface  34 - 2  of component  34  or elsewhere in component  34 . If desired, other side profiles may be used for component  34  (e.g., tapered and/or non-tapered profiles). The configurations of  FIGS. 13, 14, 15, and 16  are shown as examples. 
     It may be desirable to provide front face  34 - 1  of component  34  with a surface shape that matches the surface shape of housing wall  12 - 2 . For example, if housing wall  12 - 2  has a cylindrical shape with a curved (circular) outer surface, component  34  may have a matching curved outer surface.  FIG. 17  is a top view of an illustrative configuration in which component  34  has a front surface (surface  34 - 1 ) that is planar. As a result, surface  34 - 1  does not match the curvature of the curved outer surface of cylindrical housing wall  12 - 2 .  FIG. 18  shows how component  34  may be provided with a curved outer surface (surface  34 - 1 ) that matches the curved outer surface of cylindrical housing wall  12 - 2 . If desired, peripheral edges of surface  34 - 1  or other portion of surface  34 - 1  may match the curved surface of cylindrical housing wall  12 - 2  and other portions (e.g., central portion  34 - 1 ′) may have other surface shapes (e.g., protruding and/or recessed shapes, planar shapes, dome-shaped configurations, etc.). 
       FIG. 19  is an exploded view of device  10  in an illustrative configuration in which an inner support structure such as support structure  70  is used to support one or more components  34  within housing  12 . As shown in  FIG. 19 , components  34  may, if desired, by formed in an array on the surface of support structure  70  in a pattern that matches an array of openings  36  in housing wall  12 - 2  of housing  12 . Support structure  70  may have a shape that allows support structure  70  and components  34  to be mounted within the interior of housing  12 . If, for example, housing  12  has a cylindrical shape or other shape with curved walls  12 - 2 , support structure  70  may have a corresponding cylindrical shape or other shape with matching curved walls. Configurations in which housing  12  and/or support structure  70  have box shapes or other shapes with planar walls may also be used. 
     The dimensions of support structure  70  may be smaller than the interior dimensions of housing  12  to allow support structure  70  and components  34  to be installed within housing  12 . For example, in configurations in which housing  12  is cylindrical in shape, the inner diameter of housing  12  may be larger than the outer diameter of structure  70  and components  34  to ensure that structure  70  and components  34  can be inserted into the interior of housing  12  in direction  64  (e.g., along the longitudinal axis of elongated structures such as housing  12  and support structures  70  of  FIG. 19 ). 
     If desired, structure  70  may have a hollow interior. One or more inner wall structures such as wall  72  may be used as baffles to separate the interior of structure  70  into separate cavities or inner wall structures such as wall  72  may be omitted. Components such as components  60  and  66  may be mounted to the upper and lower ends of structure  70  and housing  12 . Components  60  and  66  may be light-based components such as lamps, light-emitting diodes, or displays, may be input-output components such as buttons or touch sensors, may be input-output ports, may be speakers, microphones, or other audio components, may be printed circuit boards containing integrated circuits and other circuitry, or may be other electrical components. As shown in  FIG. 19 , component  60  may be installed in the upper end of device  10  (e.g., component  60  may be mounted within an open upper end in a cylindrical inner structure such as structure  70  using a sealed or unsealed mounting arrangement). Component  66  may be installed in the lower end of device  10  (e.g., component  66  may be mounted within an open lower end in a cylindrical inner structure such as structure  70  using a sealed or unsealed mounting arrangement). 
     Components  34  may be mounted in openings  36  using threaded mounting arrangements, using press-fit attachment techniques, using adhesive, screws and nuts, or other mechanical fastening techniques, using component deployment structures that press components  34  radially outward into openings  36 , or using other suitable component mounting structures. Once installed, control circuitry in device  10  can gather signals from components  34  and/or may provide signals to components  34 . The control circuitry may include integrated circuits, memory, microprocessors, microcontrollers, application-specific integrated circuits (e.g., audio circuits and/or video circuits, sensor processing circuits, display driver circuits, etc.), audio drivers, or other suitable control circuitry. In some arrangements, the control circuitry may both supply output signals to components  34  and receive input signals from components  34 . In other arrangements, the control circuitry may only supply output signals to components  34  or may only supply input signals to components  34 . 
     In some applications, such as applications in which each of the components  34  in an array of components in device  10  is to be operated independently, it may be desirable to route signals to and/or from each component  34  separately. In this way, data may be gathered independently from each sensor in an array of sensor-based components, light output can be adjusted independently for each light-emitting diode or other light source in an array of light-based components, or audio data can be output (or received) by independently controlling audio components (e.g., independently controlled speakers in an array of speakers, independently controlled microphones in an array of microphones, etc.). 
     Signal paths between the control circuitry of device  10  and each component  34  may be provided using metal traces on a dielectric substrate or other support structure, using stamped metal foil with a desired pattern of metal lines, using wires, using portions of a device housing, using machined metal parts (e.g., brackets), using screws, using springs and other metal structures, or using other conductive signal path structures. Metal traces can be formed by depositing a blanket layer of metal (e.g., aluminum, copper, etc.) followed by photolithographic patterning or other patterning techniques, can be formed by evaporating or sputtering metal through a shadow mask, may be formed by ink jet printing of metallic paint (ink), may be formed by screen printing of metal paint (e.g., silver paint to form silver lines), or may be formed using other deposition and/or patterning techniques. 
     Examples of dielectric substrates include printed circuits (e.g., rigid printed circuit boards formed from fiberglass-filled epoxy or other rigid printed circuit board material, flexible printed circuits formed from flexible polyimide sheets, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheets, or other layers of flexible polymer), molded or machined pieces of plastic that serve as dielectric carriers, glass, ceramic, sapphire, or other dielectric materials. An advantage of thin polymer layers such as PET sheets or other polymer sheets with silver lines or other metal lines is that these layers can be bent to conform to the exterior or interior surface of a curved structure. For example, a flexible printed circuit formed from a PET sheet or other polymer sheet that contains metal traces (e.g., silver traces, etc.) can be mounted on the exterior of a cylindrical structure such as support structure  70  and/or may be mounted on the interior of a cylindrical structure such as housing wall  12 - 2  (i.e., the flexible printed circuit can be wrapped into a cylindrical tube shape). 
     Metal traces can be formed in a single layer (e.g., the outer surface) of a polymer substrate (e.g., to minimize cost and complexity) or may be configured to form multiple layers of signal lines interconnected by vias (e.g., lines in a multilayer flexible printed circuit). 
     When mounting a component interconnect substrate such as a flexible printed circuit on the inner surface of housing wall  12 - 2 , it may be desirable to form an array of openings that are aligned with the array of openings  36  on housing wall  12 - 2 . An illustrative flexible printed circuit of the type that may be used to form an interconnection structure for an array of components  34  is shown in  FIG. 20 . In the example of  FIG. 20 , flexible printed circuit  80  has dielectric substrate  82  and metal traces  86 . Metal traces  86  may be patterned to from contacts  84  (sometimes referred to as contact pads or flexible printed circuit contacts). Dielectric substrate  82  may be a thin flexible layer of polymer such as a PET layer, a polyimide layer, etc. Openings  136  may have the same shape and size as openings  36  or may have openings of other suitable shapes, provided that openings  36  are not blocked. Examples of shapes that may be used for openings  136  and/or openings  36  include circles, rectangles, hexagons, ovals, shapes with straight edges and/or curved edges, etc. 
     The ends of metal traces  86  adjacent to each opening  136  may be patterned to form contacts  84 . Components  34  may have terminals. The terminals may have springs, spring-loaded pins, metal pads, conductive foam, or other conductive structures (e.g., compressible conductive structures). These conductive structures may mate with contacts  84  on printed circuit  80  when components  34  and printed circuit  80  are assembled within device  10 . If desired, solder, welds, conductive adhesive, screws, or other conductive structures may be used to form conductive connections between the terminals of components  34  and contacts  84 . These materials can also be omitted (e.g., in configurations in which there is sufficient spring force or other biasing force to form a satisfactory direct metal-to-metal electrical connection between the component terminals and contacts on printed circuit  80 ). 
     There may be any suitable number of terminals associated with each component  34  and each opening  136 . For example, each component  34  may have two or more terminals, three terminals, four terminals, less than five terminals, etc. Each opening  136  may have a corresponding number of adjacent contacts  84 . In the example of  FIG. 20 , there are two contacts  84  associated with each opening  136  and two terminals on each component  34  that mate with these two contacts  84 . 
     Main portion  130  of printed circuit  80  may be laminated to the cylindrical interior surface of housing wall  12 - 2  so that each opening  136  is aligned with a corresponding one of openings  36 . This allows openings  36  (and openings  136 ) to receive components  34 . Adhesive or other attachment mechanisms may be used to attach main portion  130  to the inner surface of wall  12 - 2 . When attached to the inner surface of wall  12 - 2 , main portion  130  may be rolled into the shape of a hollow tube. The ends of main portion  130  (e.g., the left and right edges of a flattened printed circuit forming portion  130 ) may abut each other when rolled into a tube on the inner surface of wall  12 - 2  (i.e., main portion  130  of printed circuit  80  may form a cylindrical tube shape). 
     Printed circuit  80  may have one or more integral tail portions such as tail  88 . Traces  86  may run parallel to the length of each tail  88 . With one suitable arrangement, printed circuit  80  may have three separate tails  88 , each of which is separated by an equal distance from the other two tails in printed circuit  80 . Collections of metal traces  86  may form signal busses on tails  88 . Tails  88  may be coupled to additional circuitry in device  10 . For example, each tail  88  may have a connector  92  that couples traces  86  on printed circuit  80  to corresponding traces on substrate  94 . 
     Substrate  94  may be a flexible or rigid printed circuit, a rigid molded plastic carrier, or other dielectric substrate. As shown in  FIG. 20 , substrate  94  may have a ring shape and may have three connectors  96 , each of which is spaced apart from the next by 120° around the periphery of the ring. Each of connectors  96  may mate with a respective one of connectors  92  of  FIG. 20  (as an example). Integrated circuits (e.g., control circuitry for controlling components  34  and other components in device  10 ) may be mounted on printed circuit  94  and/or other substrates in device  10 . The ring shape of printed circuit  94  of  FIG. 21  may allow printed circuit  94  to be mounted within the interior of cylindrical housing  12  (e.g., above or below wall  72  of  FIG. 19 , between the outer surface of support structure  70  and the opposing inner surface of housing  12 , etc.). 
       FIG. 22  is a cross-sectional top view of an illustrative component  34  mounted in housing  12  in electrical contact with metal signal traces  82  on printed circuit  80 . As shown in  FIG. 22 , openings  36  in housing wall  12 - 2  may be aligned with openings  136  in flexible printed circuit  80 . Printed circuit  80  may have substrate  82 . Substrate  82  may be attached to the inner surface of housing wall  12 - 2  using adhesive layer  98 . Metal traces on printed circuit substrate  82  may form contacts  84 . Component  34  may be received within openings  36  and  136 . Component  34  may be mounted to housing  12  using screws and nuts, using threads that engage with threaded housing structures, using threads that engage with a cup-shaped internal component mounting structure, using adhesive, using interlocking features on housing  12  and component  34 , or using other suitable mounting arrangements. When installed within openings  36 , terminals  100  of components  34  make electrical connections with mating contacts  84 . Terminals  100  may be springs (e.g., springy metal protrusions), may be spring-loaded pins, may be metal pads, or may be other suitable terminal structures. By forming electrical connections with contacts  84 , signal traces  86  may be used to convey signals to and/or from each component  34 . 
     If desired, a printed circuit with interconnections for components  34  may be mounted on an inner cylinder or other support structure within the interior of housing  12  (e.g., support structure  70 ). With this configuration, signal paths for components  34  are formed on the outer surface of support structure  70  rather than on the inner surface of housing wall  12 - 2 . 
     An illustrative flexible printed circuit of the type that may be mounted on support structure  70  in housing  12  is shown in  FIG. 23 . As shown in  FIG. 23 , flexible printed circuit  102  may have a flexible printed circuit substrate such as substrate  104  (e.g., a flexible PET layer, a flexible polyimide layer, or a sheet of other flexible polymer). Metal traces  108  may be formed on substrate  104 . Metal traces  108  may be silver traces or traces formed from other metals. Pad portions of metal traces  108  may form contacts  106 . There may be one or more, two or more, three or more, four or more, five or less, or other suitable number of contacts  106  on flexible printed circuit  102  for each component  34 . Contacts  106  may be formed in an array having a pattern that is configured to mate with the pattern of terminals associated with components  34  in openings  36  of housing  12  when flexible printed circuit  102  contacts components  34 . 
     Printed circuit  102  may be wrapped around the exterior surface of cylindrical support structure  70 , as shown in  FIG. 24 . The left and right edges of printed circuit  102  (when printed circuit  102  is laying flat prior to installation in device  10 ) may abut each other when printed circuit  102  is wrapped around cylindrical support structure  70  (i.e., printed circuit  102  may be wrapped into the shape of a tube). Support structure  70  may have curved (cylindrical) walls and may have a size that allows structure  70  (with printed circuit  102 ) to be inserted into the interior of housing  12 , as shown in  FIG. 19 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 24 , an annular region of air may be interposed between the outer surface of support structure  70  and the inner surface of housing wall  12 - 2 . If desired, one or more seals such as seal  110  may be formed at locations along the longitudinal axis of support structure  70 . Seal  110  may be formed from a ring-shaped elastomeric structure that presses against the outer surface of printed circuit  102  on support structure  70  and that presses against the opposing inner surface of housing wall  12 - 2 . Seal structure  110  may block undesired movement of air, light, or sound. 
     Cables, wires, flexible printed circuits, integral tails on printed circuit  102 , or other signal paths may be used to couple control circuitry in device  10  to flexible printed circuit  102 . As an example, flexible printed circuit cable  114  of  FIG. 24  may be used to route signals to and/or from printed circuit  102 . Flexible printed circuit cable  114  may be coupled to signal traces and contacts on printed circuit  102  using connection  116  (e.g., solder joints, welds, conductive adhesive joints, a connector, etc.). Seal structure  110  may have a portion such as plastic portion  112  that is overmolded over flexible printed circuit  114 . Overmolded portion  112  ensures that the seal formed by seal structure  110  will not be compromised while allowing signals to pass between printed circuit  102  and other portions of device  10 . 
     Components  34  may be installed in openings  36  in housing wall  12 - 2  before or after printed circuit  102  is attached to support structure  70  and is inserted into the interior cavity defined by housing wall  12 - 2 . With one suitable arrangement, components  34  are installed within openings  36  before support structure  70  is inserted into the cylindrical interior of housing  12 . Each component  34  may have inwardly protruding contacts such as springs  120  of  FIG. 25 . The use of springs  120  in the example of  FIG. 25  is merely illustrative. In general, components  34  may have terminals formed from spring-loaded pins, metal pads, spring structures, conductive foam, conductive foam covered with conductive fabric or metal foil, or other suitable compressible conductive structures that exhibit a restoring force when compressed. The restoring force helps hold adjoining contact surfaces together, thereby ensuring a satisfactory electrical connection will be made between mating contacts. 
     After mounting all of components  34  within housing wall  12 - 2  and after attaching printed circuit  102  to the outside of support structure  70  so that contacts  106  and other interconnect lines on printed circuit  102  face outwards towards terminals  120  of components  34 , support structure  70  and printed circuit  102  may be mounted in the cylindrical interior of housing wall  12 - 2  (e.g., support structure  70  may be inserted into the interior of housing  12  by sliding support structure  70  into housing  12  along the longitudinal axis of housing  12  (i.e., the vertical dimension in the example of  FIG. 19 ). 
     When the outwardly facing contacts  106  on printed circuit  102  are inserted into housing  12 , contacts  106  will make electrical connections with inwardly facing contacts  120  on the array of components  34  in housing  12 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 25 , each contact  120  may mate with a corresponding contact  106  on printed circuit  102 . Substrate  104  of printed circuit  102  may be attached to the cylindrical outer surface of support structure  70  using a layer of adhesive  118 . Printed circuit  102  may also be attached to support structure  70  using screws, welds, or other mechanisms. The use of adhesive  118  to attach printed circuit  102  is illustrative. 
     When contacts  106  mate with component contacts  120 , signal traces  108  on printed circuit  102  will be electrically connected to components  34 . A separate signal line may be associated with each contact  106 , so that components  34  can be individually controlled by the control circuitry in device  10 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20150522
Publication Date: 20170919
Grant Date: 20170919
Priority Date: 20140930
Inventors: STANLEY CRAIG M.
HOBSON PHILLIP MICHAEL
BOSSCHER NATHAN P.
BAKER JOHN J.
BOOZER BRAD G.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H05K2201/10151", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/184", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K3/0058", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/183", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1658", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/028", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/189", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/189", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K2201/10083", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/181", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/111", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K2201/10106", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/028", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/181", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/189", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/111", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K2201/10083", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K3/0058", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K2201/10151", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1658", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/184", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K2201/10106", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/183", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 59828310