PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9217675-B2
Application Number: US-201213658690-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic devices with temperature sensors

Abstract:
An electronic device may be provided with electronic components such as buttons and environmental sensors. An environmental sensor may be temperature sensor for gathering temperature data associated with the environment surrounding the device. The temperature sensor may be mounted to a button member for the button. The button member may be an actuating member that moves within an opening in a device housing and that extends beyond an outer surface of the housing into the surrounding environment. The button member may be arranged so that an internal electronic switch is activated when the button member is moved within the opening. The button member may be thermally isolated from other device structures using insulating material on the button member. The button member may be formed from a thermally conductive material that transmits the temperature of environmental materials that contact the button member to the temperature sensor.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing; 
 a button having a thermally conductive portion; and 
 a temperature sensor attached to the thermally conductive portion of the button, wherein the button comprises a switch and a button member that actuates the switch, wherein the button member comprises the thermally conductive portion of the button, wherein the button member further comprises an insulating material interposed between the thermally conductive portion and the housing. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the button comprises a power button for the electronic device. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the thermally conductive portion of the button is formed in contact with environmental materials that are exterior to the electronic device and that have a temperature and wherein the temperature sensor is configured to sense the temperature of the environmental materials. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 3  wherein the switch comprises a dome switch. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 3  wherein the housing has at least one opening and wherein the button member is located at least partially in the opening. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 5  wherein the housing has an outer surface and wherein a portion of the button member extends out of the opening beyond the outer surface of the housing. 
     
     
       7. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing structure; 
 an opening in the housing structure; 
 a button having a button member located in the opening; and 
 a temperature sensor mounted to the button member, wherein the button member comprises a first recess, wherein the button member comprises a second recess formed in the first recess, and wherein the temperature sensor is attached to the button member in the second recess. 
 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 7 , further comprising adhesive that attaches the temperature sensor to the button member in the second recess. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 8  wherein the adhesive comprises a thermally conductive electrically insulating adhesive. 
     
     
       10. An electronic device, comprising:
 a button that includes a switch and a thermally conductive button member that activates the switch, wherein the thermally conductive button member forms a portion of an exterior of the electronic device; 
 a temperature sensor attached to the thermally conductive button member; and 
 a housing with an opening, wherein the housing overlaps a first portion of the thermally conductive button member. 
 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 10 , further comprising a recess interposed between the switch and the thermally conductive button member, wherein the temperature sensor is attached to the thermally conductive button member in the recess. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 10 , wherein the housing has an outer surface and wherein a second portion of the thermally conductive button member extends out of the opening beyond the outer surface of the housing. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device defined in  claim 12 , wherein the temperature sensor is attached to the second portion of the thermally conductive button member. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 12 , wherein the second portion of the thermally conductive button member has first and second opposing surfaces, wherein the first surface forms the portion of the exterior of the electronic device, and wherein the temperature sensor is attached to the second surface of the second portion.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with environmental sensors. 
     Electronic devices such as cellular telephones, portable computers, and tablet computers are sometimes provided with environmental sensors. For example, cellular telephones are sometimes provided with a thermometer for sensing the temperature of the environment in the vicinity of the device. 
     Environmental sensors such as thermometers are typically mounted in an open port that allows interaction between the environment and the sensor. However, providing additional open ports for environmental sensors can increase the risk of unwanted environmental materials such as moisture entering the device. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved electronic devices with environmental sensors. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may be provided with electronic components such as environmental sensors and user input components. 
     An environmental sensor may be a temperature sensor such as a thermometer. User input components may include buttons, switches, or other user input components such as display, speakers, touch-sensitive components or other components for accepting input from, or transmitting information to, a user. 
     Buttons may include actuating members that move within openings in a housing structure for the device. For example, a housing structure may have an opening that allows a button member to move relative to the housing structure in the opening. As the button member moves within the opening, the button member may actuate an associated electronic switch located interior to the housing structure. 
     Actuating members such as button members may be thermally isolated from heat generating components of the device. Button members may also include portions that extend from an edge of the device into the surrounding environment. A temperature sensor may be mounted to, or embedded within a button member. In this way, electronic devices may be provided having temperature sensors that are thermally isolated from the device and that are at least partially embedded in the surrounding environment for which temperature information is desired. 
     Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device with an environmental sensor in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device with an environmental sensor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device in the vicinity of a button with an embedded environmental sensor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device in the vicinity of a button with a recess and an environmental sensor mounted in the recess in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device in the vicinity of a button with multiple recesses and an environmental sensor mounted in one of the recesses in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram of an illustrative temperature sensor layer that is attached to a outer wall structure of an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An electronic device may be provided with electronic components such as buttons, switches, displays, speakers, microphones, and environmental sensors. 
     An electronic device may use one or more environmental sensors to gather environmental data associated with the environmental conditions surrounding the device. As an example, an electronic device may use a temperature sensor (sometimes referred to as a thermometer) that is mounted to a thermally conductive portion of a button member to gather temperature data. The temperature data may be generated based on voltages, currents, or other electrical signals generated by the temperature sensor in response to environmental materials that contact the thermally conductive portion of the button member. Environmental materials may include the air surrounding the device, a user&#39;s finger, another part of a user&#39;s body, or any other material for which it is desired to measure the temperature. 
     The temperature data may be converted into a temperature and provided to the user (e.g., using a display such as a liquid crystal display or an organic light-emitting diode display) or may be used in operating the device (e.g., control circuitry in the device may place the device in a safe mode of operation in response to a detected temperature that is outside of a predetermined safe range of operating temperatures). 
     An illustrative electronic device that may be provided with an environmental sensor mounted to a conductive outer structure of the device (e.g., a button-mounted environmental sensor) is shown in  FIG. 1 . Electronic devices such as device  10  of  FIG. 1  may be cellular telephones, media players, other handheld portable devices, somewhat smaller portable devices such as wrist-watch devices, pendant devices, or other wearable or miniature devices, gaming equipment, tablet computers, notebook computers, desktop computers, televisions, computer monitors, computers integrated into computer displays, or other electronic equipment. 
     As shown in the example of  FIG. 1 , device  10  may include a display such as display  14 . Display  14  may be mounted in a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12  may have upper and lower portions joined by a hinge (e.g., in a laptop computer) or may form a structure without a hinge, as shown in  FIG. 1 . Housing  12 , which may sometimes be referred to as an enclosure or case, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramics, fiber composites, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of any two or more of these materials. Housing  12  may be formed using a unibody configuration in which some or all of housing  12  is machined or molded as a single structure or may be formed using multiple structures (e.g., an internal frame structure, one or more structures that form exterior housing surfaces, etc.). 
     Display  14  may be a touch screen display that incorporates a layer of conductive capacitive touch sensor electrodes or other touch sensor components (e.g., resistive touch sensor components, acoustic touch sensor components, force-based touch sensor components, light-based touch sensor components, etc.) or may be a display that is not touch-sensitive. Capacitive touch screen electrodes may be formed from an array of indium tin oxide pads or other transparent conductive structures. 
     Device  10  may have internal user interface components such as buttons  17  or speaker component  19  that occupy openings such as openings  16  in an optional rigid cover layer of display  14 . Device  10  may include additional buttons such as buttons  20  that occupy openings such as openings  22  in housing  12 . Buttons  17  and  20  may be based on dome switches or other switch circuitry. 
     Buttons  17  and/or buttons  20  may include button members that form push buttons (e.g., momentary buttons), slider switches, rocker switches, etc. Buttons  17  and/or buttons  20  may form power buttons that power on or power off the device when actuated, volume buttons that raise or lower the volume of audio output from a speaker when actuated, mode switches that change an operational mode of the device (e.g., from a sleep mode to an active mode, from a sound-emitting mode to a silent mode, etc.) when actuated, menu buttons, home buttons or other buttons that provide user input to device  10  when actuated. 
     Button members for buttons  17  and/or buttons  20  may be formed from thermally conductive or thermally non-conductive materials, electrically conductive or electrically non-conductive materials, or other materials. For example, button members for buttons  17  and  20  may be formed from plastic, polymers, metals such as aluminum or steel, or other suitable materials. 
     Some of buttons  17  and/or  20  that have a thermally conductive button member (e.g., an aluminum button member) may be provided with a temperature sensing component attached to the thermally conductive button member. The temperature sensing component may include a thermocouple (e.g., a pair of conductors formed from different materials such as metal alloys that generate a voltage) that is attached to the thermally conductive button member. The thermocouple may be electrically insulated from the thermally conductive button member by providing an insulating material such as an electrically insulating thermally conductive epoxy that is interposed between the thermocouple and the thermally conductive button member. 
     A schematic diagram of device  10  showing how device  10  may include sensors and other components is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , electronic device  10  may include control circuitry such as storage and processing circuitry  40 . 
     Storage and processing circuitry  40  may include one or more different types of storage such as hard disk drive storage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in storage and processing circuitry  40  may be used in controlling the operation of device  10 . The processing circuitry may be based on a processor such as a microprocessor and other suitable integrated circuits. With one suitable arrangement, storage and processing circuitry  40  may be used to run software on device  10 , such as internet browsing applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, software for capturing and processing images, software implementing functions associated with gathering and processing sensor data such as temperature data, software that makes adjustments to display brightness and touch sensor functionality, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry  32  may be used to allow data to be supplied to device  10  and to allow data to be provided from device  10  to external devices. 
     Input-output circuitry  32  may include wired and wireless communications circuitry  34 . Communications circuitry  34  may include radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, low-noise input amplifiers, passive RF components, one or more antennas, and other circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications). 
     Input-output circuitry  32  may include input-output devices  36  such as buttons  17  and  20  of  FIG. 1 , joysticks, click wheels, scrolling wheels, a touch screen such as display  14  of  FIG. 1 , other touch sensors such as track pads or touch-sensor-based buttons, vibrators, audio components such as microphones and speakers, image capture devices such as a camera module having an image sensor and a corresponding lens system, keyboards, status-indicator lights, tone generators, key pads, and other equipment for gathering input from a user or other external source and/or generating output for a user. 
     Sensor circuitry such as sensors  38  of  FIG. 2  may include ambient light sensors, proximity sensors, or other environmental sensors such as a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and other circuitry for making measurements of the environment surrounding device  10 . 
       FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of device  10  in the vicinity of a button such as button  20  of device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , button  20  may have a button member such as button member  52  that reciprocates within opening  22  of housing  12 . When a user presses the exterior of button member  52  in direction  58 , button member  52  may press against and depress a dome switch such as dome switch  56  or other switch mechanism, thereby activating the switch (e.g., shorting internal switch terminals together to close the switch). 
     Dome switches such as dome switch  56  may, if desired, be mounted to printed circuits such as printed circuit  54 . Dome switch  56  may have a dome-shaped biasing member that pushes button member  52  outward in direction  60  when the user releases pressure from button member  52 . Dome switch  56  and printed circuit  54  may be mounted to a support structure such as support structure  50 . Support structure  50  may be attached to housing  12  or may be attached to other structures within device  10 . Other types of switches may used for button  20  if desired, such as switches with spring-based biasing members or other biasing structures that bias button members such as button member  52 . The use of a dome switch with a dome-shaped biasing structure is merely illustrative. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , button member  52  may include a sensor  70  such as a temperature sensor that is embedded within button member  52 . Button member  52  may be formed from a conductive material having a relatively low thermal mass such as aluminum or other metal or metal alloy. Materials in external environment  76  (e.g., air, user finger&#39;s, etc.) may contact button member  52 . The temperature of button member  52  may equalize to the temperature of external environment materials that contact button member  52 . Sensor  70  may be used to detect the temperature of button member  52 . 
     Sensor  70  may include thermocouple wires attached to button member  52  and electrically insulating material such as an electrically insulating adhesive that electrically insulates the thermocouple wires from button member  52 . However, this is merely illustrative. Sensor  20  may be a temperature sensor based on other temperature sensing technologies. 
     Button member  52  may be provided with insulating material  74  (e.g., a plastic or other insulating coating) that covers a portion of button member  52 . Insulating material  74  may be interposed between button member  52  and a portion of housing  12 . Insulating material  74  may, for example, be a plastic member that has been molded onto button member  52 , attached to button member  52  using adhesive, or otherwise formed on button member  52 . Insulating material  74  may help prevent electrically conductive connections from forming between housing  12  and button member  52 , thereby electrically isolating button member  52  from housing  12 . Insulating material  74  may, if desired, also be a thermally insulating material that thermally isolates button member  52  from housing  12 . 
     Some or all of button member  52  may extend beyond outer surface  72  of housing  12 . A temperature sensor such as temperature sensor  70  that is formed within button member  52  may therefore be formed at least partially outside of housing  12  and within exterior environment  76 . 
     The configuration of button  20  and sensor  70  of  FIG. 3  in which sensor  70  is embedded within button member  52  is merely illustrative. If desired, sensor  70  may be attached to button member  52  in a recess such as recess  78  in button member  52  as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     In the example of  FIG. 4 , sensor  70  is formed from a pair of thermocouple wires  82  and  84  attached to an inner surface of button member  52  in recess  78  using adhesive  80 . Adhesive  80  may, for example, be an electrically insulating thermally conductive epoxy that electrically insulates wires  82  and  84  from button member  52  while thermally coupling wires  82  and  84  to button member  52 . 
     Wire  82  may be formed from a first type of metal. Wire  84  may be formed from a second type of metal that is different from the first type of metal. Wire  82  and wire  84  may contact each other within adhesive  80 . Because wires  82  and  84  are formed from two different types of metal, a voltage may be produced across wires  82  and  84  that depends on the temperature of button member  52  and therefore depends on the temperature of any external materials that are in contact with button member  52 . Wires  82  and  84  may be coupled to other circuitry in device  10  such as storage and processing circuitry  40  of  FIG. 2 . Temperature data may be generated by storage and processing circuitry  40  based on the voltage across wires  82  and  84 . 
     If desired, button member  52  may be provided with an additional recess such as recess  81  of  FIG. 5 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , recess  81  may be formed within recess  78  of button member  52 . Thermocouple wires  82  and  84  may be attached to button member  52  within additional recess  81  using adhesive  80 . Button member  52  may have relatively thicker portions  90  on opposing sides of additional recess  81  that provide strength for button member  52  and a relatively thinner portion  92  interposed between sensor  70  and exterior environment  76 . In this way, sensor  70  may be located relatively close to exterior environment  76  without compromising the strength of button member  52 . 
     The examples described above in connection with  FIGS. 4 , and  5  in which temperature sensor  70  is formed from thermocouple wires and an electrically insulating adhesive attached to button member  52  are merely illustrative. In general, temperature sensor  70  may be formed from any suitable type of temperature sensing circuitry that is thermally coupled to a conductive outer surface of device  10  as shown in  FIG. 6 . Temperature sensor circuitry  88  may be attached to any outer wall structure  95  of device  10  using any type of adhesive such as thermally conductive electrically isolating adhesive material  86 . 
     Outer wall structure  95  may be a portion of button member  52 , a portion of housing  12 , a portion of an outer layer of display  14 , or any other thermally conductive structure of device  10  having an outer surface  96  in contact with exterior environment  76 . Outer wall structure  95  may be formed from electrically conductive materials (e.g., metal) or electrically insulating materials (e.g., plastic, ceramic, etc.). 
     In configurations in which outer wall structure  95  is formed from an electrically conductive material, adhesive material  86  may be a thermally conductive electrically isolating adhesive material as shown in  FIG. 6 . However, this is merely illustrative. If desired, outer wall structure  95  may be formed from an electrically insulating material such as plastic and adhesive  86  may be any suitable adhesive that is configured to allow heat to flow to temperature sensing circuitry  88  without forming electrical connections between circuitry  88  and other portions of device  10 . 
     Temperature sensing circuitry  88  may be circuitry that is based on thermocouple, thermistor, or other temperature sensing technologies. Temperature sensing circuitry  88  may be an integrated circuit or other packaged temperature sensing circuitry. Adhesive material  86  may be formed from epoxy, resin, silicone or other suitable thermally conductive electrically insulating adhesive materials or combinations of materials. Adhesive material  86  may include aluminum or other metal additives that help increase the thermal conductivity of material  86 . 
     During operation of device  10 , temperature data from temperature sensor  70  may be used in controlling the operation of device  10 . For example, when temperature measurements from sensor  70  indicate that device  10  is located in an operating environment that is too hot or too cold (e.g., the detected environmental temperature is outside of a predetermined range of acceptable operating temperatures), device  10  can be placed in a safe mode or may be powered off. However, this is merely illustrative. If desired, a user of device  10  may launch a temperature measurement application that determines the temperature of a material that is in contact with button member  52  using temperature sensor  70  and provides temperature measurements to the user (e.g., using display  14 ). For example, a user may measure the temperature of the air surrounding the device or may place the button member against a person&#39;s skin for determining the person&#39;s body temperature. 
     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. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20121023
Publication Date: 20151222
Grant Date: 20151222
Priority Date: 20121023
Inventors: YANG HENRY H.
LAST MATTHEW E.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G01K7/00", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01K13/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01K1/16", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01K13/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01K7/02", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01K13/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01K1/16", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01K7/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01K1/16", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/002", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0412", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/16", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 50485292