PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-8159777-B2
Application Number: US-36081509-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Portable electronic device with multipurpose hard drive circuit board

Abstract:
A hard drive for a portable electronic device is provided that contains a multipurpose circuit board. The multipurpose circuit board may be mounted within a hard drive housing. System components and hard drive controller components may be mounted to the multipurpose circuit board. The multipurpose circuit board may be formed from a rigid flex structure or other structure that is able to accommodate translation of the multipurpose circuit board relative to the remainder of the portable electronic device in the event of an impact event. Components may be mounted to the multipurpose board in accordance with their heights. The portable electronic device may include components such as a battery, display, buttons, and other input-output devices that are connected to the multipurpose circuit board via flex circuit portions of a rigid flex or other electrical paths.

Claims:
1. A portable electronic device, comprising:
 a portable electronic device housing; 
 input-output circuitry; 
 processing circuitry coupled to the input-output circuitry; and 
 storage coupled to the processing circuitry, wherein the storage includes a hard drive having:
 a hard drive housing mounted within the portable electronic device housing; 
 hard drive electrical components mounted within the hard drive housing; and 
 a printed circuit board mounted within the hard drive housing to which portable electronic device system components and hard drive controller components are mounted. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The portable electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the printed circuit board comprises a rigid flex circuit board. 
     
     
       3. The portable electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the input-output circuitry comprises a display, wherein the printed circuit board comprises a rigid circuit board portion and a flexible circuit board portion, and wherein the flexible circuit board portion is connected to the display. 
     
     
       4. The portable electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the input-output circuitry comprises at least one button and an audio jack, wherein the printed circuit board comprises a rigid circuit board portion and at least two flexible circuit board portions, and wherein the at least two flexible circuit board portions are connected to the at least one button and the audio jack, respectively. 
     
     
       5. The portable electronic device defined in  claim 4  wherein the at least one button comprises a click wheel that includes multiple buttons. 
     
     
       6. The portable electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the portable electronic device system components include an integrated circuit selected from the group consisting of: a microprocessor, an audio codec integrated circuit, and a system memory. 
     
     
       7. The portable electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the processing circuitry is mounted on the printed circuit board. 
     
     
       8. The portable electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the input-output circuitry comprises a radio-frequency transceiver. 
     
     
       9. The portable electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the input-output circuitry comprises a dock connector that receives data and power signals. 
     
     
       10. An electronic device, comprising:
 an electronic device housing; 
 a storage device having a storage device housing and a rigid flex system board mounted within the storage device housing, wherein portable electronic device system components are mounted on the rigid flex system board; and 
 input-output components, wherein the rigid flex system board has a rigid portion that is integral to the storage device and has flexible tails that interconnect the rigid flex system board with the input-output components. 
 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 10  wherein the storage device comprises a solid state drive having nonvolatile memory. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 11  wherein the storage device comprises a hard disk drive. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device defined in  claim 12  wherein the input-output components comprise at least one button. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 13  wherein the input-output components further comprise a display. 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14 , wherein said portable electronic device system components are mounted on the rigid portion of the rigid flex system board. 
     
     
       16. An electronic device, comprising:
 a multipurpose circuit board having a surface, wherein the surface has a central portion and a peripheral portion; 
 first and second components mounted on the surface, wherein the first and second components have respective first and second heights relative to the surface, wherein the first height is greater than the second height, wherein the first component is mounted on the central portion of the surface and the second component is mounted on the peripheral portion of the surface, and wherein the components comprise electronic device system components and hard drive controller components; 
 an electronic device housing; 
 a hard drive case mounted within the electronic device housing, wherein the multipurpose circuit board is mounted within the hard drive case; and 
 a hard drive mounted within the hard drive case. 
 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 16 , wherein the multipurpose circuit board comprises a multipurpose rigid flex circuit board. 
     
     
       18. The electronic device defined in  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a display, wherein the multipurpose rigid flex circuit board comprises a rigid circuit board portion and a flexible circuit board portion, and wherein the flexible circuit board portion is connected to the display.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 61/074,126, filed Jun. 19, 2008, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This invention relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to electronic devices such as portable electronic devices with hard drive circuit boards that use space efficiently. 
     Handheld electronic devices and other portable electronic devices are becoming increasingly popular. Examples of handheld devices include handheld computers, cellular telephones, media players, and hybrid devices that include the functionality of multiple devices of this type. Popular portable electronic devices that are somewhat larger than traditional handheld electronic devices include laptop computers and tablet computers. 
     Portable devices often use printed circuit boards. Components that may be mounted to printed circuit boards include integrated circuits, discrete electrical components such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors, and other components such as electrical connectors. Portable devices also may include mass storage devices such as hard drives. Hard drives are controlled by control circuits that are mounted on a hard drive controller printed circuit board. These control circuits are used for functions such as motor control and read-write head placement. To minimize the amount of space that is consumed in a modern small-form-factor hard drive, the hard drive controller printed circuit board is typically mounted within the housing of the hard drive. Although this type of arrangement may be acceptable in some applications, it may lead to packaging inefficiencies. For example, even though space is at a premium in many portable electronic devices, hard drive controller printed circuit boards tend to be sparsely populated. Underutilization of the real estate on hard drive controller boards in this way can be wasteful. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved hard drive arrangements for portable electronic devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     Portable electronic devices and circuit board structures for use in portable electronic devices are provided. The circuit board structures may include circuit board structures associated with hard drives. A hard drive printed circuit board may be provided with both hard drive controller circuits and integrated circuits and other components that are not directly associated with operating the hard drive. This allows real estate to be used more efficiently within a portable electronic device. 
     Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a conventional hard drive having an integrated hard drive controller printed circuit board. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side view of a conventional portable electronic device containing a conventional hard drive of the type shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative portable electronic device containing a hard drive with a multipurpose printed circuit board in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 6 ,  7 ,  8 , and  9  are cross-sectional side views of illustrative printed circuit boards that may be mounted in a hard drive in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional side view showing how electrical connections in portable electronic devices may be made using anisotropic conductive film between mating conductive pads in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional side view of a rigid flex circuit board structure of the type that may be used as a multipurpose printed board structure mounted within a hard drive in a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a top view of an illustrative circuit board arrangement such as a rigid flex circuit board arrangement that may be used in a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a top view of an illustrative two-part circuit board arrangement that may be used in a hard drive in a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a top view of an illustrative circuit board arrangement that may be used to accommodate an additional component such as a battery within the confines of a hard drive in a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional end view of an illustrative hard drive having a multipurpose circuit board in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to portable electronic devices such as handheld electronic devices. 
     The portable electronic devices may be laptop computers or small portable computers of the type that are sometimes referred to as ultraportables. Portable electronic devices may also be somewhat smaller devices. Examples of smaller portable electronic devices include wrist-watch devices, pendant devices, headphone and earpiece devices, and other wearable and miniature devices. 
     The portable electronic devices may be, for example, handheld electronic devices such as cellular telephones, media players with wireless communications capabilities, handheld computers (also sometimes called personal digital assistants), remote controllers, global positioning system (GPS) devices, and handheld gaming devices. Handheld electronic devices may also be hybrid devices that combine the functionality of multiple conventional devices. Examples of hybrid electronic devices include a cellular telephone that includes media player functionality, a gaming device that includes a wireless communications capability, a cellular telephone that includes game and email functions, and a portable device that receives email, supports mobile telephone calls, has music player functionality and supports web browsing. These are merely illustrative examples. 
     An illustrative portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . Device  10  of  FIG. 1  may be, for example, a handheld electronic device that supports media file playback functions. If desired, device  10  may include wireless capabilities such as 2G and/or 3G cellular telephone and data functions, global positioning system capabilities, and local wireless communications functions (e.g., IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth®). Device  10  may also be used to implement functions for internet browsing, email and calendar applications, games, other suitable applications, etc. 
     Device  10  may have housing  12 . Housing  12 , which is sometimes referred to as a case, may be formed of any suitable materials including, plastic, glass, ceramics, metal, other suitable materials, or a combination of these materials. In arrangements in which device  10  includes wireless communications circuitry, housing  12  or portions of housing  12  may be formed from a dielectric or other low-conductivity material, so that the operation of conductive antenna elements that are located in proximity to housing  12  is not disrupted. Housing  12  or portions of housing  12  may also be formed from conductive materials such as metal. 
     Device  10  may have one or more displays such as display  14 . Display  14  may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, or any other suitable display. The outermost surface of display  14  may be formed from one or more plastic or glass layers. If desired, touch screen functionality may be integrated into display  14  or may be provided using a separate touch pad device. An advantage of integrating a touch screen into display  14  to make display  14  touch sensitive is that this type of arrangement can save space and reduce visual clutter and can allow the area of display  14  to be maximized. 
     Device  10  may also include an input-output device such as controller  16 . Controller  16  may be, for example, a click wheel that includes multiple buttons. Signals may also be conveyed in and out of device  10  using audio jacks and other connectors. As an example, device  10  may have a connector such as 30-pin connector  18 . Connector  18  may be used to convey data and power signals to device  10  (e.g. when device  10  is mounted in a dock or is connected to a 30-pin data cable). Connector  18  may also be used to convey signals out of device  10 . 
     Display screen  14  (e.g., a touch screen), click wheel buttons  16 , and connector  18  are merely examples of input-output devices that may be used with electronic device  10 . If desired, electronic device  10  may have other input-output devices. For example, electronic device  10  may have user input control devices such as on-off buttons and other buttons, additional input-output jacks (e.g., for audio and/or video), speakers, microphones, etc. The input-output device arrangement of  FIG. 1  is shown as an example. 
     A schematic diagram of a portable electronic device such as handheld electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , device  10  may include storage  26 . Storage  26  may include one or more different types of storage such as hard disk drive storage, a solid state drive or other storage device that includes nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory) or volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. 
     Processing circuitry  22  may be used to control the operation of device  10 . Processing circuitry  22  may be based on a processor such as a microprocessor and other suitable integrated circuits. With one suitable arrangement, processing circuitry  22  and storage  26  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. Processing circuitry  22  and storage  26  may be used in implementing communications protocols such as serial and parallel bus communications protocols, internet protocols, wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocols—sometimes referred to as Wi-Fi®), protocols for other short-range wireless communications links such as the Bluetooth® protocol, protocols for handling 3G communications services (e.g., using wide band code division multiple access techniques), 2G cellular telephone communications protocols, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry  24  may be used to allow data to be supplied to device  10  and to allow data to be provided from device  10  to external equipment  20 . Display screen  14 , click wheel  16 , and dock connector  18  of  FIG. 1  are examples of input-output circuitry  24 . 
     Input-output circuitry  24  can include user input-output devices such as buttons, touch screens, joysticks, click wheels, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, speakers, microphones, cameras, etc. A user can control the operation of device  10  by supplying commands through such user input devices. Display and audio devices within circuitry  24  may include liquid-crystal display (LCD) screens or other screens, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and other components that present visual information and status data. Audio-video interface equipment in circuitry  24  such as jacks and other connectors may be used to form connections with external headphones and monitors. 
     Input-output circuitry  24  may, if desired, include wireless communications circuitry such as radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, passive RF components, antennas, and other circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications). 
     Device  10  can communicate with external equipment  20  over paths such as path  28 . Path  28  may include wired and wireless paths. External equipment  20  may include accessories such as headphones (e.g., a wireless cellular headset or audio headphones) and audio-video equipment (e.g., wireless speakers, a game controller, or other equipment that receives and plays audio and video content), a peripheral such as a wireless printer or camera, etc. External equipment  20  may also include equipment such as an associated wireless access point (router) or an internal or external wireless card that establishes a wireless connection with device  10 . A computer such as a personal computer may be included in external equipment  20  and may form a connection with device  10  using a connector such as connector  18  of  FIG. 1 , using a wireless link, or using any other suitable communications path. If desired, external equipment  20  may include network equipment such as a cellular telephone base station, equipment in a local area network, etc. 
     In a typical portable electronic device, it may be desirable to store media on a hard disk drive. Handheld electronic devices may, for example, use compact hard drives such as hard drives with platters of 1.8 inches in diameter (so-called 1.8 inch drives). A conventional hard drive of this type is shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , hard drive  30  has a metal case  32 . Metal case  32  has a longitudinal dimension parallel to direction  44 , a lateral dimension parallel to direction  42 , and a height or “z” dimension parallel to direction  46 . 
     One or more magnetic platters may be connected to motor spindle  34 . During operation, a motor in drive  30  rotates spindle  34  to spin the platter. A read-write head is used to access data on the spinning platter. The head may be mounted to an actuator arm. Actuator  36  may be used to control the angular position of an actuator arm and thereby control the location of the head during read and write operations. 
     The dimensions of hard drive  30  are limited by its components. For example, the height of drive  30  is generally limited by the required height of spindle  34  and its motor. If spindle  34  and the motor that is used to drive spindle  34  are reduced appreciably in size, it will not be possible to adequately spin the hard drive platters. Similarly, if the height of actuator  36  is reduced appreciably, the actuator will not be able to satisfactorily move the actuator arm and hard drive head. 
     Because of the height requirements of actuator  36  and motor  34 , there is generally a recess available within case  32  above the drive platters. This recess is typically used to mount a hard drive controller printed circuit board such as board  38 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , components  40  may be mounted to the underside of printed circuit board  38 . These components may include integrated circuits and other devices for controlling motor  34  and actuator  36  (collectively “hard drive controller circuits”). 
     The lateral and longitudinal dimensions of conventional hard drives are constrained by the sizes required to accommodate the hard drive platters and the head actuator mechanisms. Accordingly, there is a relatively large amount of circuit board area (“real estate”) available on conventional printed circuit boards such as printed circuit board  38 . This real estate is not generally fully utilized, so conventional hard drive controller printed circuit boards tend to be sparsely populated with components. 
     A cross-sectional view of a conventional handheld electronic device that includes a hard drive such as conventional hard drive  30  of  FIG. 3  is shown in  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , handheld electronic device  48  may contain a display  50 , a battery  52 , hard drive  30 , and a system board such as system board  62 . The components of device  48  may be interconnected using communications paths such as paths  58  and  66 . For example, hard drive controller board  38  may be electrically connected to a main system board such as system board  62  using path  58 . Path  58  may be formed from a flex circuit bus. Flex circuits (also sometimes referred to as flexible printed circuit boards) may be formed from flexible dielectrics such as polyimide with conductive traces. 
     In the arrangement of  FIG. 4 , flex circuit  58  is connected to hard drive controller board  38  by connector  54  and is connected to system board  62  by connector  60 . Similarly, a communications path such as path  66  (e.g., a flex circuit) may be connected to system board  62  using connector  64  and may be connected to display  50  using connector  68 . Battery  52  may be connected to system board  62  using wires. 
     System board  62  may be used to mount components such as a processor integrated circuit, an audio integrated circuit, memory chips, and other electrical components for device  48 . Hard drive controller components such as the motor and actuator controller chips for drive  30  are mounted on hard drive controller board  38 . This type of arrangement may be satisfactory for some applications, but tends to be inefficient, because system board  62  consumes potentially valuable space within the housing of device  48 . This space may, for example, limit the size of display  50 . 
     An illustrative handheld electronic device  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown in the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 5 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , device  10  may include components such as battery  70 , hard drive  80 , and display  14 . These components may be housed within a housing such as housing  12 . Hard drive  80  may include a multipurpose circuit board  78 . Circuit board  78  may include both system components and hard drive controller components. For example, circuit board  78  may include system components such as a main processor integrated circuit, system memory, and audio chips and traditional hard drive controller components such as controller integrated circuits for the platter motor and head actuator. Board  78  may provide some or all of the system board real estate that would conventionally be provided by system boards such as system board  62  of  FIG. 4 . As a result, the total amount of space within device  10  that is consumed by printed circuit boards and their associated components may be reduced, thereby allowing other components to be provided in larger sizes. In the  FIG. 5  arrangement, for example, display  14  has been enlarged relative to the size of conventional display  50  of  FIG. 4 . 
     The components of device  10  may be interconnected using any suitable connection arrangement. For example, flex circuit paths, wires, other suitable paths may be used to distribute signals. As shown in  FIG. 5 , battery  70  may be connected to multipurpose board  78  using path  74 . Path  74  may be connected to battery  70  using a connector such as connector  72 . Path  74  may be connected to multipurpose board  78  using a connector such as connector  76 . Path  86  (e.g., a flex circuit path) may be connected to board  78  using connector  84  and may be connected to display  14  using connector  88 . 
     Connectors such as connectors  88 ,  84 ,  76 , and  72  may be formed using any suitable connector arrangement. Examples of connectors that may be used include zero insertion force (ZIF) connectors, board-to-board connectors, soldered wire connectors, connectors that use conductive foam, and conductive structures that use anisotropic conductive film (as examples). Paths such as paths  86  and  74  may be formed using wire (e.g., stranded wire), flex circuits, rigid printed circuit board structures, metal clips, springs, combinations of these structures, etc. 
     Illustrative layouts that may be used for the components on multipurpose board  78  are shown in the cross-sectional views of  FIGS. 6 ,  7 ,  8 , and  9 . Board  78  may be populated with integrated circuits and other components (e.g., system components such as the components associated with storage  26 , processing circuitry  22 , and input-output circuitry  24  of  FIG. 2 ). Some of the components on board  78  may be associated with hard drive control functions. These components, which are labeled “HD” in the illustrative examples of  FIGS. 6 ,  7 ,  8 , and  9 , may include, for example, a spindle motor controller and a hard-drive head actuator controller and may be provided in the form of one or more integrated circuits and associated discrete devices. The remaining components (i.e., the unlabeled components in the examples of  FIGS. 6 ,  7 ,  8 , and  9 ) may be system components such as processing integrated circuits (e.g., microprocessors, digital signal processors, custom processors), application specific integrated circuits, audio codecs, volatile and nonvolatile memory chips, power management unit chips, display drivers, jacks and other connectors, and other system integrated circuits and discrete components. 
     Both system components and hard-drive controller components are depicted as components  92  in  FIGS. 6 ,  7 ,  8 , and  9 . A cylindrical hole or other such opening may be provided in board  78  to accommodate the hard drive spindle. This opening is shown as opening  90  in  FIGS. 6 ,  7 ,  8 , and  9 . 
     In the illustrative arrangements of  FIGS. 6 and 7 , system components  92  are mounted to both the upper and lower sides of board  78 . In the example of  FIG. 6 , hard drive controller components are mounted only to the lower side of board  78 , whereas system components are mounted to the upper side of board  78 . In the example of  FIG. 7 , hard drive controller components and system components are intermingled. As this example demonstrates, hard drive controller components  92  may be mounted to either side of board  78  and system components  92  may be mounted to either side of board  78 . 
       FIG. 8  presents an example in which system components  92  and hard drive components  92  are only mounted to the upper side of board  78  (i.e., the side of board  78  that faces away from hard drive  80 ).  FIG. 9  presents an example in which system components  92  and hard drive components  92  are mounted only to the lower (inner) side of board  78 . An advantage of the arrangement of  FIG. 9  is that the board  78  of  FIG. 9  has a fairly smooth outer surface that may help to accommodate additional components within device  10  such as display  14  ( FIG. 5 ). 
     If desired, connections between components may be formed using a film that becomes conductive with exposure to pressure. This type of connection may be used, for example, to mount an end of a flex circuit (e.g., a flex circuit path such a path  86  or path  74  of  FIG. 5 ) to a board such as multipurpose board  78 . As shown in the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 10 , connector  104  may form electrical pathways  102  between flex circuit  94  and board  78 . Flex circuit  94  may have one or more conductive pads such as pads  96 . Board  78  may have corresponding pads such as pads  98 . Film  100  (which is sometimes referred to as an anisotropic conductive film) may be placed between pads  96  and  98 . When flex circuit  94  is pressed against board  78 , portions  102  that lie between protruding pads  96  and  98  are compressed and become conductive, thereby forming connector  104 . 
     If desired, multipurpose circuit board  78  may be formed from a rigid flex structure. Rigid flex circuits incorporate rigid circuit board portions and flex circuit portions in a unitary structure. An arrangement of this type is shown in  FIG. 11 . As shown in the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 11 , rigid flex  106  may include rigid printed circuit board layers such as layers  108 . Rigid printed circuit board layers  108  may be formed, for example, from fiberglass-filled epoxy or other suitable rigid dielectrics. Rigid flex  106  also contains flex circuit layers such as flex circuit layers  110 . Flex circuit materials that may be used for flex circuit portion  110  include polyimide and other flexible dielectrics. Conductive traces (e.g., of copper, gold, or other suitable conductors) may be patterned within layers  108  and  110  to form desired interconnection patterns, electrical buses, etc. 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , at least some flex circuit portions in rigid flex  106  protrude from the rigid circuit board portions, so that some of rigid flex  106  is rigid (e.g., portion  112 ) and some of rigid flex  106  is flexible (e.g., portion  114 ). The use of interconnection arrangements such as the rigid flex arrangement of  FIG. 11  to interconnect components in device  10  may help to reduce the number of connections that are formed in device  10  during assembly (e.g., by eliminating the need for some of the ZIF connectors, board-to-board connectors and other connectors that might otherwise be used in device  10 ). 
     For shock protection, it may be desirable to mount hard drive  30  so that there is some potential for movement relative to case  12 . Shock mounting arrangements may involve encasing drive  30  in foam or ribbed plastic structures that can help hard drive  30  to absorb the force associated with an unintended impact on device  10 . When such shock mounting arrangements are used, it may be advantageous to form connections to system board  78  using flexible electrical paths such as flex circuit paths and wires, rather than inflexible paths such as direct connections to circuit boards. The flexibility of electrical paths of this type may help to prevent damage to the electrical paths when device  10  is subjected to an impact. 
     With one suitable arrangement, multipurpose board  78  may be formed from a rigid flex of the type shown in  FIG. 11 . A portion of the rigid flex may be rigid to accommodate the mounting of integrated circuits, whereas flexible tail portions may be used to form flexible electrical paths to other components. This type of arrangement is shown in  FIG. 12 . In the diagram of  FIG. 12 , central rectangular portion  112  represents an illustrative rigid portion of a rigid flex structure (e.g., a fiberglass-filled epoxy portion), whereas portions  114  represent flexible portions of the rigid flex structure (e.g., flex circuit tails). As shown in  FIG. 12 , flex circuit portions  114  of rigid flex board  78  may be used to form electrical pathways to components such as click wheel  16 , 30-pin connector  18 , battery  70 , audio jack  116 , and display  14 . If desired, components such as battery  70  may be alternatively connected using stranded wire with soldered connections (as an example). 
     In the  FIG. 12  example (and other examples in which board  78  is connected using flex circuit buses), flex tails may be connected using anisotropic conductive films, board-to-board connectors, solder connections (e.g., for low-pin-count components such as audio jack  116 ), or any other suitable connectors. 
     As described in connection with  FIG. 12 , it may be advantageous to form flex circuit paths between board  78  and other portions of device  10 , because this allows a shock-mounted hard drive  30  to which board  78  is mounted to translate slightly relative to case  12  in the event that device  10  is subjected to an impact. If desired, translational motion of this type may be accommodated using other arrangements such as metal springs or clips (particularly for low-pin-count connections). 
     If desired, flexible paths may be provided between hard drive circuitry and peripheral components using other arrangements. As an example, a hard drive printed circuit board that is formed from rigid materials (e.g., a standard printed circuit board formed from fiberglass-filled epoxy or other printed circuit board materials) may be provided with flex circuit paths for interconnecting components by connecting flex circuits to the rigid printed circuit board using suitable connectors (e.g., board-to-board connectors, zero insertion force connectors, etc.). This type of hard drive printed circuit board may be mounted within the housing walls of the hard drive (i.e., as an integral portion of the hard drive) or may be otherwise attached to the hard drive. 
     A rigid hard drive printed circuit board that is mounted to a hard drive or that is formed integrally within a hard drive may also be provided with flexible tails by connecting flex circuits to the rigid printed circuit board using connectors formed from anisotropic conductive film. The circuitry on the rigid printed circuit board may be connected to components in the hard drive (e.g., a hard drive motor, an actuator for a hard drive head, etc.), whereas the flex circuit paths may be connected to input-output components in the handheld device. 
     In the  FIG. 12  example, it was described how a rigid flex printed circuit board that is attached to a hard drive or that is formed integrally within the hard drive may be provided with flex circuit tail portions that are connected to input-output connector  18 , liquid crystal display  14 , audio jack  116 , battery  70 , click wheel  16 , and other suitable components. If desired, such rigid flex arrangements may be used in conjunction with other printed circuit board arrangements. For example, a rigid flex with flex circuit tails may be used to form connections to some of the components in a handheld device whereas a rigid printed circuit board with attached flex circuit paths may be used to interconnect other components in device  10 . If desired, all or most of the hard drive and system circuitry that would otherwise be mounted on a rigid printed circuit board or a rigid flex in a hard drive may be formed on a flex printed circuit. All or part of this flex circuit may be mounted within the housing of the hard drive. Both hard drive controller circuits and system circuits may be mounted on the flex circuit. Flex circuit tails that extend from this type of integral flex circuit may be used in forming electrical connections to components such as input-output connector  18 , liquid crystal display  14 , audio jack  116 , battery  70 , click wheel  16 , and other suitable components. 
     Board  78  may be provided in the form of multiple subboards such as subboards  78 A and  78 B in the example of  FIG. 13 . As shown in  FIG. 13 , boards  78 A and  78 B may form a circular opening that accommodates hard drive motor spindle  118  and an opening  120  that accommodates an actuator for the hard drive head actuator arm. 
     Another illustrative arrangement is shown in  FIG. 14 . As shown in  FIG. 14 , multipurpose board  78  need not be the only device that is mounted within hard drive case  122  of hard drive  30 . Other components (e.g., battery  70  in the  FIG. 14  example) may be accommodated in the spaces between the vertical walls of case  122 , spindle  118 , and actuator  124 . 
     A cross-sectional end view of an illustrative hard drive  30  with a multipurpose circuit board  78  is shown in  FIG. 15 . As shown in  FIG. 15 , hard drive case  122  may have a lower surface  130  (e.g., a rectangular planar surface), and sidewalls  132 . Upper portion  134  of case  122  may be substantially open (as an example). Case  122  may be formed from metal or other suitable materials. 
     Hard drive components  126  may include magnetic platters, motor components, head actuator arms, etc. Multipurpose circuit board  78  may, as shown in  FIG. 15 , generally be mounted within the confines of walls  132 . If desired, components  92  may be mounted on board  78  according to their heights. For example, tall components  92  (e.g., the component labeled “T” in the  FIG. 15  example) may be placed near the center of board  78 , whereas shorter components (e.g., the components labeled “S” in the  FIG. 15  example) may be placed near the edges of board  78 . This forms an arrangement of components  92  that varies in height according to dashed line  128 . This type of configuration may be used, for example, when hard drive  30  is mounted within a device  10  that has a curved housing  12 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20090127
Publication Date: 20120417
Grant Date: 20120417
Priority Date: 20080619
Inventors: ZADESKY STEPHEN P.
PREST CHRISTOPHER D.
LYNCH STEPHEN BRIAN
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F1/1658", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K3/4691", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/181", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/187", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1658", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/181", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K3/4691", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/187", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 41431046