Electronic device antenna with narrow bezel display

Abstract

The invention relates to an electronic device antenna with a narrow bezel display. An electronic device can be provided with a side wall and a conductive plate. Sections of the sidewalls can form radiating arms of the antenna. The display is mountable to the sidewall. The display can include a conductive frame and a flexible printed circuit. The flexible circuit can have a bend. The conductive foam is capable of shorting conductive traces on the flexible circuit to the conductive frame near the bend. A low injection pressure overmold (LIPO) can be molded over the flexible circuit, foam, and frame. Conductive springs can short the frame to the conductive plate. The spring can include a wider and / or thinner portion, which optionally includes one or more notches for reducing the inductance of the spring. The conductive plate, spring, frame, foam, and conductive trace can form part of an antenna ground for an antenna.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. patent application No. 18 / 465,014, filed on September 11, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to electronic devices, including electronic devices having wireless communication capabilities. Background Art

[0003] Electronic devices such as portable computers and cellular phones are often equipped with wireless communication capabilities and displays. To meet consumer demand for small form factor wireless devices, manufacturers have been working tirelessly to implement wireless communication circuits, such as antenna components, using compact structures. At the same time, wireless devices are expected to cover more and more communication frequency bands. In addition, in order to optimize the user experience, it is generally desired that the viewing area of ​​the display in the electronic device is as large as possible.

[0004] Care must be taken when incorporating antennas into electronic devices because antennas may interfere with each other and with components of the wireless device, such as the display. In addition, care must be taken to ensure that the antennas and wireless circuitry in the device perform satisfactorily over a range of operating frequencies and with satisfactory efficiency bandwidth. Summary of the invention

[0005] An electronic device may be provided with a wireless circuit and a housing. The housing may include a peripheral conductive housing structure and a conductive plate extending between opposite walls of the peripheral conductive housing structure. The conductive plate may be separated from a segment of the peripheral conductive housing structure by a gap. The segment may form a radiating arm of an antenna for use in the wireless circuit.

[0006] The display may be mounted to a peripheral conductive housing structure. The display may include a conductive frame and a folded flexible printed circuit mounted to the conductive frame. The flexible printed circuit may have a bend at which the flexible printed circuit is folded about an axis. The bend may face a section of the peripheral conductive housing structure. The conductive foam may short the conductive traces on the flexible printed circuit to the conductive frame adjacent to the fold in the flexible printed circuit. A low injection pressure overmolding (LIPO) may be molded over the flexible printed circuit at the bend, the conductive foam, and the conductive frame.

[0007] The conductive spring can short the conductive frame to the conductive plate. The conductive spring can be folded around three axes. The conductive spring can include a wider and / or thinner portion, and the wider and / or thinner portion optionally includes one or more notches for reducing the inductance of the spring. The conductive plate, the conductive spring, the conductive frame, the conductive foam and the conductive trace can form a part of the antenna ground for the antenna. The conductive foam can prevent electromagnetic interference between the display and the antenna. The flexible printed circuit can be arranged relatively close to the section to maximize the effective area of ​​the display. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device according to some embodiments.

[0009] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of illustrative circuits in an electronic device according to some embodiments.

[0010] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative wireless circuit according to some implementations.

[0011] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view of an electronic device having a housing structure that can be used to form an antenna structure according to some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 5 is a top interior view of the lower end of an illustrative electronic device having a peripheral conductive housing structure with a dielectric gap separating resonant elements of two antennas in accordance with some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a display module overlapping an antenna formed by segments of a peripheral conductive housing structure in accordance with some embodiments.

[0014] Figure 7 is a top interior view of the lower end of an illustrative electronic device showing how a display module may overlap an underlying ground structure in accordance with some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 8 is a perspective view of an illustrative conductive spring that may be used to couple a display module to an underlying ground structure according to some implementations. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Electronic devices such as Figure 1 The electronic device 10 may be provided with a wireless circuit including an antenna. The antenna may be used to transmit and / or receive wireless radio frequency signals.

[0017] Device 10 may be a portable electronic device or other suitable electronic device. For example, device 10 may be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a slightly smaller device (such as a wristwatch device, a hanging device, an earphone device, a handset device, a headset device (such as virtual reality, augmented reality or mixed reality glasses or goggles), or another wearable or miniature device), a handheld device (such as a cellular phone), a media player, or another small portable device. Device 10 may also be a set-top box, a desktop computer, a display with a computer or other processing circuit integrated, a display without an integrated computer, a wireless access point, a wireless base station, an electronic device incorporated into a newsstand, a building or a vehicle, or other suitable electronic equipment.

[0018] Device 10 may include a housing such as housing 12. Housing 12 (which may sometimes be referred to as a casing) may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramic, fiber composite materials, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or combinations of these materials. In some cases, components of housing 12 may be formed of dielectric or other low conductivity materials (e.g., glass, ceramic, plastic, sapphire, etc.). In other cases, housing 12 or at least some of the structures making up housing 12 may be formed of metal elements.

[0019] If desired, device 10 may have a display such as display 14. Display 14 may be mounted on the front of device 10. Display 14 may be a touch screen that incorporates capacitive touch electrodes or may be insensitive to touch. The back of housing 12 (i.e., the side of device 10 opposite the front of device 10) may have a substantially flat housing wall, such as rear housing wall 12R (e.g., a planar housing wall). Rear housing wall 12R may have a gap that passes completely through the rear housing wall and thus separates parts of housing 12 from each other. Rear housing wall 12R may include conductive portions and / or dielectric portions. If desired, rear housing wall 12R may include a planar metal layer covered by a thin layer or dielectric coating such as glass, plastic, sapphire, or ceramic (e.g., a dielectric cover layer). Housing 12 may also have a shallow groove that does not pass completely through housing 12. The gap or groove may be filled with plastic or other dielectric materials. If desired, portions of housing 12 that are separated from one another (eg, by through-slots) may be joined by internal conductive structures (eg, metal sheets or other metal members bridging the slots).

[0020] Housing 12 may include a peripheral housing structure such as peripheral structure 12W. Conductive portions of peripheral structure 12W and conductive portions of rear housing wall 12R may sometimes be collectively referred to herein as conductive structures of housing 12. Peripheral structure 12W may extend around the periphery of device 10 and display 14. In a configuration where device 10 and display 14 have a rectangular shape with four edges, peripheral structure 12W may be implemented using a peripheral housing structure having a rectangular ring shape with four corresponding edges and extending from rear housing wall 12R to the front of device 10 (as an example). In other words, device 10 may have a length (e.g., measured parallel to the Y axis), a width less than the length (e.g., measured parallel to the X axis), and a height less than the width (e.g., measured parallel to the Z axis). If desired, peripheral structure 12W or a portion of peripheral structure 12W may serve as a frame for display 14 (e.g., a decorative trim that surrounds all four sides of display 14 and / or helps hold display 14 to device 10). If desired, peripheral structures 12W may form sidewall structures for device 10 (eg, by forming a metal strip having vertical sidewalls, curved sidewalls, etc.).

[0021] Peripheral structure 12W may be formed of a conductive material such as a metal, and thus may sometimes be referred to as a peripheral conductive housing structure, a conductive housing structure, a peripheral metal structure, a peripheral conductive sidewall, a peripheral conductive sidewall structure, a conductive housing sidewall, a peripheral conductive housing sidewall, a sidewall, a sidewall structure, or a peripheral conductive housing member (as examples). Peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may be formed of a metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, an alloy, or other suitable material. One, two, or more than two separate structures may be used to form peripheral conductive housing structure 12W.

[0022] Peripheral conductive housing structure 12W does not necessarily have a uniform cross-section. For example, if desired, the top of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may have an inwardly protruding flange that helps hold display 14 in place. The bottom of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may also have an enlarged lip (e.g., in the plane of the back of device 10). Peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may have substantially straight vertical sidewalls, may have curved sidewalls, or may have other suitable shapes. In some configurations (e.g., when peripheral conductive housing structure 12W is used as a frame for display 14), peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may extend around the lip of housing 12 (i.e., peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may only cover the edge of housing 12 surrounding display 14 and not the remaining sidewalls of housing 12).

[0023] Rear housing wall 12R may lie in a plane parallel to display 14. In configurations of device 10 in which some or all of rear housing wall 12R is formed of metal, it may be desirable to form a portion of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W as an integral portion of the housing structure that forms rear housing wall 12R. For example, rear housing wall 12R of device 10 may include a planar metal structure, and a portion of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W on a side of housing 12 may be formed as a flat or curved vertically extending integrated metal portion of the planar metal structure (e.g., housing structures 12R and 12W may be formed from a continuous sheet of metal in a unitary configuration). If desired, housing structures such as these may be machined from a block of metal, and / or may include multiple metal pieces that are assembled together to form housing 12. Rear housing wall 12R may have one or more, two or more, or three or more portions. The conductive portions of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W and / or the rear housing wall 12R may form one or more exterior surfaces of the device 10 (e.g., surfaces visible to a user of the device 10) and / or may be implemented using internal structures that do not form exterior surfaces of the device 10 (e.g., conductive housing structures that are not visible to a user of the device 10, such as conductive structures covered with layers (such as a thin decorative layer, a protective coating, and / or other coatings that may include dielectric materials such as glass, ceramic, plastic)) or other structures that form exterior surfaces of the device 10 and / or are used to hide the conductive portions of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W and / or the rear housing wall 12R from being seen by a user.

[0024] Display 14 may have an array of pixels forming an active area AA that displays an image of a user of device 10. For example, active area AA may include an array of display pixels. The pixel array may be formed by a liquid crystal display (LCD) component, an electrophoretic pixel array, a plasma display pixel array, an organic light emitting diode display pixel array or other light emitting diode pixel array, an electrowetting display pixel array, or display pixels based on other display technologies. If desired, active area AA may include a touch sensor, such as a touch sensor capacitive electrode, a force sensor, or other sensor for collecting user input.

[0025] The display 14 may have an inactive border area extending along one or more edges of the active area AA. The inactive area IA of the display 14 may have no pixels for displaying an image and may overlap with circuits and other internal device structures in the housing 12. To prevent these structures from being viewed by a user of the device 10, the lower side of the display cover layer or other layers in the display 14 that overlap the inactive area IA may be coated with an opaque masking layer in the inactive area IA. The opaque masking layer may have any suitable color. The inactive area IA may include a recessed area, such as a notch 24 extending into the active area AA. The active area AA may be defined, for example, by a lateral area of ​​a display module of the display 14 (e.g., a display module including pixel circuits, touch sensor circuits, etc.). The display module may have a recess or notch in the upper area 20 of the device 10 that has no active display circuits (i.e., notch 24 forming the inactive area IA). The notch 24 may be a substantially rectangular area surrounded (defined) on three sides by the active area AA and surrounded on the fourth side by the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W. Alternatively, notch 24 may be bounded on all sides by (e.g., may be surrounded and enclosed by) active area AA (e.g., notch 24 may form an inactive island in the pixel circuitry of display 14). One or more sensors may be aligned with notch 24 and may transmit and / or receive light through display 14 within notch 24.

[0026] Display 14 may be protected using a display cover layer, such as a transparent glass, a light-transmitting plastic, a transparent ceramic, a sapphire or other transparent crystalline material layer, or one or more other transparent layers. The display cover layer may have a planar shape, a convex curved profile, a shape with a planar and curved portion, a layout including a planar main area surrounding one or more edges (wherein a portion of one or more edges is bent out of the plane of the planar main area), or other suitable shapes. The display cover layer may cover the entire front of the device 10. In another suitable arrangement, the display cover layer may substantially cover all of the front of the device 10 or only cover a portion of the front of the device 10. An opening may be formed in the display cover layer. For example, an opening may be formed in the display cover layer to accommodate a button. An opening may also be formed in the display cover layer to accommodate a port such as a speaker port 16 or a microphone port in the recess 24. If desired, an opening may be formed in the housing 12 to form a communication port (e.g., an audio jack port, a digital data port, etc.) and / or an audio port for an audio component, such as a speaker and / or a microphone.

[0027] Display 14 may include conductive structures such as an array of capacitive electrodes for a touch sensor, conductive lines for addressing pixels, driver circuits, and the like. Housing 12 may include internal conductive structures such as a metal frame member and a planar conductive housing member (sometimes referred to as a conductive support plate or backplane) that spans the walls of housing 12 (e.g., a substantially rectangular sheet formed by one or more metal portions welded or otherwise connected between opposite sides of a peripheral conductive housing structure 12W). The conductive support plate may form the outer rear surface of device 10, or may be covered by a dielectric cover layer (such as a thin decorative layer, a protective coating, and / or other coatings that may include dielectric materials such as glass, ceramic, plastic) or other structures that form the outer surface of device 10 and / or are used to hide the conductive support plate from being seen by a user (e.g., the conductive support plate may form part of the rear housing wall 12R). Device 10 may also include conductive structures such as a printed circuit board, components mounted on the printed circuit board, and other internal conductive structures. For example, these conductive structures that may be used to form a ground layer in device 10 may extend under active area AA of display 14.

[0028] In regions 22 and 20, openings may be formed within conductive structures of device 10 (e.g., between peripheral conductive housing structures 12W and opposing conductive ground structures such as conductive portions of rear housing wall 12R, conductive traces on a printed circuit board, conductive electronic components in display 14, etc.) If desired, these openings, which may sometimes be referred to as gaps, may be filled with air, plastic and / or other dielectrics and may be used to form slot antenna resonating elements for one or more antennas in device 10.

[0029] Conductive housing structures and other conductive structures in device 10 may function as a ground plane for antennas in device 10. The openings in regions 22 and 20 may function as slots in an open slot antenna or a closed slot antenna, may function as a central dielectric region surrounded by a conductive path of material in a loop antenna, may function as a space to separate an antenna resonating element (such as a strip antenna resonating element or an inverted-F antenna resonating element) from a ground plane, may aid in the performance of a parasitic antenna resonating element, or may otherwise function as part of antenna structures formed in regions 22 and 20. If desired, the ground plane beneath active area AA of display 14 and / or other metal structures in device 10 may have a portion extending into a portion of the end of device 10 (e.g., the ground portion may extend toward the dielectric-filled openings in regions 22 and 20), thereby narrowing the slots in regions 22 and 20. Region 22 may sometimes be referred to herein as lower region 22 or lower end 22 of device 10. Region 20 may sometimes be referred to herein as upper region 20 or upper end 20 of device 10.

[0030] In general, device 10 may include any suitable number of antennas (e.g., one or more, two or more, three or more, four or more, etc.). The antennas in device 10 may be located at opposite first and second ends of an elongated device housing along one or more edges of the device housing (e.g., at Figure 1 The device 10 may be located at the lower region 22 and / or the upper region 20 of the device 10 , in the center of the device housing, in other suitable locations, or in one or more of these locations. Figure 1 The arrangement is illustrative and not limiting.

[0031] Portions of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may be provided with a peripheral gap structure. For example, the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may be provided with one or more dielectric-filled gaps, such as Figure 1 18 shown in . The gap in the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W can be filled with a dielectric such as a polymer, ceramic, glass, air, other dielectric materials, or a combination of these materials. The gap 18 can divide the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W into one or more peripheral conductive segments. If desired, the conductive segments formed in this manner can form a portion of an antenna in the device 10. Other dielectric openings can be formed in the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W (e.g., dielectric openings other than the gap 18) and can be used as dielectric antenna windows for antennas mounted inside the device 10. The antenna within the device 10 can be aligned with the dielectric antenna window for transmitting radio frequency signals through the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W. The antenna within the device 10 can also be aligned with the inactive area IA of the display 14 for transmitting radio frequency signals through the display 14.

[0032] In order to provide an end user of device 10 with as large a display as possible (e.g., to maximize the area of ​​the device for displaying media, running applications, etc.), it may be desirable to increase the amount of area covered by active area AA of display 14 at the front face of device 10. Increasing the size of active area AA may reduce the size of inactive area IA within device 10. This may reduce the area behind display 14 that is available for antennas within device 10. For example, active area AA of display 14 may include conductive structures that are used to block radio frequency signals handled by an antenna mounted behind active area AA from radiating through the front face of device 10. It is therefore desirable to be able to provide an antenna that occupies a small amount of space within device 10 (e.g., to allow for as large a display active area AA as possible), while still allowing the antenna to communicate with wireless equipment external to device 10 with a satisfactory efficiency bandwidth.

[0033] In a typical scenario, the device 10 may have one or more upper antennas and one or more lower antennas. For example, the upper antenna may be formed in the upper region 20 of the device 10. For example, the lower antenna may be formed in the lower region 22 of the device 10. If necessary, additional antennas may be formed along the edge of the housing 12 extending between the region 22 and the region 20. The antennas may be used alone to cover the same communication band, overlapping communication bands, or separate communication bands. The antennas may be used to implement antenna diversity schemes or multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna schemes. Other antennas for covering any other desired frequencies may also be mounted at any desired location within the interior of the device 10. Figure 1 The examples are illustrative and non-limiting. If desired, the housing 12 may have other shapes (eg, square shape, cylindrical shape, spherical shape, combinations of these shapes and / or different shapes, etc.).

[0034] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of illustrative components that may be used in device 10 is shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown, device 10 may include control circuitry 38. Control circuitry 38 may include storage such as storage circuitry 30. Storage circuitry 30 may include hard drive storage, non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically programmable read-only memory configured to form a solid-state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random access memory), etc.

[0035] Control circuitry 38 may include processing circuitry such as processing circuitry 32. Processing circuitry 32 may be used to control the operation of device 10. Processing circuitry 32 may include one or more processors, such as a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a host processor, a baseband processor integrated circuit, an application specific integrated circuit, a graphics processing unit, a central processing unit (CPU), etc. Control circuitry 38 may be configured to perform operations in device 10 using hardware (e.g., dedicated hardware or circuitry), firmware, and / or software. Software code for performing operations in device 10 may be stored on storage circuitry 30 (e.g., storage circuitry 30 may include a non-transitory (tangible) computer-readable storage medium storing software code). The software code may sometimes be referred to as program instructions, software, data, instructions, or code. The software code stored on storage circuitry 30 may be executed by processing circuitry 32.

[0036] The control circuit 38 may be used to run software on the device 10, such as an Internet browsing application, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone call application, an email application, a media playback application, operating system functions, etc. To support interaction with external equipment, the control circuit 38 may be used to implement a communication protocol. The communication protocols that may be implemented using the control circuit 38 include Internet protocols, wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocols—sometimes referred to as WiFi®), protocols for other short-range wireless communication links such as Bluetooth® protocols or other WPAN protocols, IEEE 802.11ad protocols, cellular phone protocols, MIMO protocols, antenna diversity protocols, satellite navigation system protocols, antenna-based spatial ranging protocols (e.g., Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) protocols or other desired distance detection protocols for signals transmitted at millimeter wave and centimeter wave frequencies), etc. Each communication protocol may be associated with a corresponding radio access technology (RAT) that specifies a physical connection method for implementing the protocol.

[0037] The device 10 may include an input-output circuit 26. The input-output circuit 26 may include an input-output device 28. The input-output device 28 may be used to allow data to be supplied to the device 10 and to allow data to be provided from the device 10 to an external device. The input-output device 28 may include a user interface device, a data port device, a sensor, and other input-output components. For example, the input-output device 28 may include a touch screen, a display without touch sensor capabilities, a button, a joystick, a roller, a touch pad, a keypad, a keyboard, a microphone, a camera, a speaker, a status indicator, a light source, an audio jack, and other audio port components, a digital data port device, a light sensor, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, or other components that can detect motion and device orientation relative to the earth, a capacitive sensor, a proximity sensor (e.g., a capacitive proximity sensor and / or an infrared proximity sensor), a magnetic sensor, and other sensors and input-output components. The sensor in the input-output device 28 may include a front sensor that collects sensor data through the display 14. The front sensor may be an optical sensor. The optical sensor may include an image sensor (e.g., a front camera), an infrared sensor, and / or an ambient light sensor. The infrared sensor may include one or more infrared emitters (eg, a dot projector and a flood illuminator) and / or one or more infrared image sensors.

[0038] Input-output circuitry 26 may include wireless circuitry, such as wireless circuitry 34 for wirelessly transmitting radio frequency signals. Although for clarity, Figure 2Although control circuitry 38 in the example of FIG. 3 is shown separately from radio circuitry 34, radio circuitry 34 may include processing circuitry forming part of processing circuitry 32 and / or memory circuitry forming part of memory circuitry 30 of control circuitry 38 (e.g., portions of control circuitry 38 that may be implemented on radio circuitry 34). For example, control circuitry 38 may include baseband processor circuitry or other control components forming part of radio circuitry 34.

[0039] Wireless circuitry 34 may include radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, low noise input amplifiers, passive radio frequency (RF) components, one or more antennas, transmission lines, and other circuitry for processing RF wireless signals. Wireless signals may also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications).

[0040] Wireless circuitry 34 may include RF transceiver circuitry 36 for processing transmission and / or reception of RF signals within a corresponding band of radio frequencies (sometimes referred to herein as a communications band or simply a “band”). The frequency band processed by RF transceiver circuitry 36 may include wireless local area network (WLAN) frequency bands (e.g., Wi-Fi® (IEEE 802.11) or other WLAN communications bands) such as the 2.4 GHz WLAN band (e.g., from 2400 MHz to 2480 MHz), the 5 GHz WLAN band (e.g., from 5180 MHz to 5825 MHz), the Wi-Fi® (IEEE 802.11) or other WLAN communications bands. 6E band (e.g., from 5925 MHz to 7125 MHz) and / or other Wi-Fi® bands (e.g., from 1875 MHz to 5160 MHz), wireless personal area network (WPAN) frequency bands such as the 2.4 GHz Bluetooth® band or other WPAN communication bands, cellular telephone communication bands such as cellular low band (LB) (e.g., 600 MHz to 960 MHz), cellular low mid band (LMB) (e.g., 1400 MHz to 1550 MHz), cellular mid band (MB) (e.g., from 1700 MHz to 2200 MHz), cellular high band (HB) (e.g., from 2300 MHz to 2700 MHz), cellular ultra high band (UHB) (e.g., from 3300 MHz to 5000 MHz, or other cellular communication bands between about 600 MHz and about 5000 MHz), 3G bands, 4G LTE bands, 3GPP sub-10 GHz 5G New Radio (NR) Frequency Range 1 (FR1) band, 3GPP between 20 GHz and 60 GHz 5G new radio frequency range 2 (FR2) band, other centimeter or millimeter wave frequency bands between 10 GHz-300 GHz, near field communication frequency bands (e.g., 13.56 MHz), satellite navigation frequency bands such as global positioning system (GPS) L1 band (e.g., 1575 MHz), L2 band (e.g., 1228 MHz), L3 band (e.g., 1381 MHz), L4 band (e.g., 1380 MHz) and / or L5 band (e.g., 1176 MHz), global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) band, BeiDou navigation satellite system (BDS) band, ultra-wideband (UWB) communication bands operating according to IEEE802.15.4 protocol and / or other ultra-wideband (UWB) communication protocols (e.g., a first UWB communication band of 6.5 GHz and / or a second UWB communication band of 8.0 GHz), communication bands according to the 3GPP wireless communication standard series, communication bands according to IEEE 802.XX standard series of communication bands, satellite communication bands such as L-band, S-band (e.g., from 2 GHz-4 GHz), C-band (e.g., from 4 GHz-8 GHz), X-band, Ku-band (e.g., from 12 GHz-18 GHz), Ka-band (e.g., from 26 GHz-40 GHz), etc., industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) bands such as the ISM band between about 900 MHz and 950 MHz or other ISM bands below or above 1 GHz, one or more unlicensed bands, one or more bands reserved for emergency and / or public services, and / or any other desired frequency bands of interest. If desired, the wireless circuit 34 can also be used to perform space ranging operations. .

[0041] The UWB communication band handled by the RF transceiver circuit 36 ​​may be based on an impulse radio signaling scheme using band-limited data pulses. The RF signals in the UWB frequency band may have any desired bandwidth, such as a bandwidth between 499 MHz and 1331 MHz, a bandwidth greater than 500 MHz, etc. The presence of lower frequencies in the baseband may sometimes allow the ultra-wideband signal to penetrate objects such as walls. For example, in an IEEE 802.15.4 system, a pair of electronic devices may exchange wireless time stamp messages. The timestamp in the message may be analyzed to determine the flight time of the message, thereby determining the distance (range) between the devices and / or the angle between the devices (e.g., the angle of arrival of the incoming RF signal).

[0042] The RF transceiver circuit 36 ​​may include a respective transceiver (e.g., a transceiver integrated circuit or chip) that handles each of these frequency bands or any desired number of transceivers that handle two or more of these frequency bands. In a scenario where different transceivers are coupled to the same antenna, filter circuits (e.g., duplexer circuits, diplexer circuits, low-pass filter circuits, high-pass filter circuits, band-pass filter circuits, band-stop filter circuits, etc.), switch circuits, multiplexing circuits, or any other desired circuits may be used to isolate the RF signals transmitted by each transceiver through the same antenna (e.g., filtering circuits or multiplexing circuits may be inserted on the RF transmission line shared by the transceivers). RF transceiver circuitry 36 may include one or more integrated circuits (chips), integrated circuit packages (e.g., multiple integrated circuits mounted on a common printed circuit in a system-in-package device, one or more integrated circuits mounted on different substrates, etc.), power amplifier circuits, up-conversion circuits, down-conversion circuits, low-noise input amplifiers, passive RF components, switching circuits, transmission line structures, and other circuits for processing RF signals and / or for converting signals between RF, IF, and / or baseband frequencies.

[0043] In general, the RF transceiver circuit 36 ​​can cover (process) any desired frequency band of interest. Figure 2 As shown in , wireless circuitry 34 may include antenna 40. RF transceiver circuitry 36 may use one or more antennas 40 to transmit RF signals (e.g., antenna 40 may transmit RF signals for the transceiver circuitry). As used herein, the term "transmitting RF signals" means the transmission and / or reception of RF signals (e.g., for performing unidirectional and / or bidirectional wireless communications with external wireless communication equipment). Antenna 40 may transmit RF signals by radiating the RF signals into free space (or through intervening device structures (such as dielectric cover layers)). In addition or alternatively, antenna 40 may receive RF signals from free space (e.g., through intervening device structures such as dielectric cover layers). Transmission and reception of RF signals by antenna 40 each involve the excitation or resonance of antenna currents on antenna resonating elements in the antenna by RF signals within the operating frequency band of the antenna.

[0044] The antenna 40 in the wireless circuit 34 can be formed using any suitable antenna structure. For example, the antenna 40 may include an antenna having a resonant element, which is formed by a stacked patch antenna structure, a loop antenna structure, a patch antenna structure, an inverted F-shaped antenna structure, a slot antenna structure, a planar inverted F-shaped antenna structure, a waveguide structure, a monopole antenna structure, a dipole antenna structure, a spiral antenna structure, a Yagi-Uda antenna structure, a mixture of these designs, etc. If necessary, the antenna 40 may include an antenna having a dielectric resonant element, such as a dielectric resonator antenna. If necessary, one or more antennas 40 may be cavity-backed antennas. If necessary, two or more antennas 40 may be arranged in a phased antenna array (for example, to transmit centimeter and / or millimeter wave signals in a signal beam formed in a desired beam pointing direction that can be manipulated / adjusted over time). Different types of antennas can be used for different frequency bands and frequency band combinations.

[0045] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing how a given antenna 40 may be fed by the RF transceiver circuit 36. Figure 3 4. As shown, antenna 40 may have a corresponding antenna feed 50. Antenna 40 may include one or more antenna resonating (radiating) elements 45 and an antenna ground 49. Antenna resonating elements 45 may include one or more radiating arms, slots, waveguides, dielectric resonators, patches, parasitic elements, indirectly fed elements, and / or any other desired antenna radiators. Antenna feed 50 may include a positive antenna feed terminal 52 coupled to at least one antenna resonating element 45 and a ground antenna feed terminal 44 coupled to antenna ground 49. If desired, one or more conductive paths (sometimes referred to herein as ground paths, short paths, or return paths) may couple antenna resonating element 45 to antenna ground 49.

[0046] The radio frequency transceiver (TX / RX) circuit 36 ​​may be coupled to the antenna feed 50 using a radio frequency transmission line path 42 (sometimes referred to herein as a transmission line path 42). The transmission line path 42 may include a signal conductor, such as a signal conductor 46 (e.g., a positive signal conductor). The transmission line path 42 may include a ground conductor, such as a ground conductor 48. The ground conductor 48 may be coupled to a ground antenna feed terminal 44 of the antenna feed 50. The signal conductor 46 may be coupled to a positive antenna feed terminal 52 of the antenna feed 50.

[0047] Transmission line path 42 may include one or more RF transmission lines. The RF transmission lines in RF transmission line path 42 may include stripline transmission lines (sometimes referred to herein simply as striplines), coaxial cables, coaxial probes implemented by metallized through-holes, microstrip transmission lines, edge-connected microstrip transmission lines, edge-connected stripline transmission lines, waveguide structures, combinations of these structures, etc. A variety of types of RF transmission lines may be used to form transmission line path 42. If desired, filter circuits, switch circuits, impedance matching circuits, phase shifter circuits, amplifier circuits, and / or other circuits may be interposed on transmission line path 42. One or more antenna tuning components for adjusting the frequency response of antenna 40 in one or more frequency bands may be interposed on transmission line path 42 and / or may be integrated within antenna 40 (e.g., coupled between an antenna ground portion and an antenna resonating element of antenna 40, coupled between different portions of an antenna resonating element of antenna 40, etc.).

[0048] If desired, one or more of the RF transmission lines in the transmission line path 42 may be integrated into a ceramic substrate, a rigid printed circuit board, and / or a flexible printed circuit. In one suitable arrangement, the RF transmission lines may be integrated into a multilayer laminate structure (e.g., layers of conductive material (such as copper) and dielectric material (such as resin) laminated together without an intervening adhesive), which may be folded or bent in multiple dimensions (e.g., two or three dimensions) and retain the bent shape or folded shape after bending (e.g., the multilayer laminate structure may be folded into a specific three-dimensional shape to route around other device components and may be rigid enough to retain its shape after folding without being held in place by reinforcements or other structures). All multiple layers of the laminate structure may be batch laminated together (e.g., in a single pressing process) without an adhesive (e.g., as opposed to performing a multiple pressing process in which multiple layers are laminated together using an adhesive).

[0049] If desired, conductive electronic device structures such as conductive portions of housing 12 ( Figure 1 ) may be used to form at least a portion of one or more of antennas 40 in device 10. Figure 4is a cross-sectional side view of device 10 illustrating illustrative conductive electronic device structures that may be used to form one or more of antennas 40 in device 10 .

[0050] like Figure 4 As shown, peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may extend around the lateral periphery of device 10 (e.g., as in Figure 1 Peripheral conductive housing structures 12W may extend from rear housing wall 12R (e.g., at the back of device 10) to display 14 (e.g., at the front of device 10). In other words, peripheral conductive housing structures 12W may form conductive sidewalls of device 10, with a first one of the conductive sidewalls (e.g., a given sidewall extending along an edge of device 10 and across the width or length of device 10) extending from the rear housing wall 12R to the display 14 (e.g., at the front of device 10). Figure 4 A cross-sectional side view is shown.

[0051] Display 14 may have a display module such as display module 62 (sometimes referred to as a display panel). Display module 62 may include pixel circuits, touch sensor circuits, force sensor circuits, and / or any other desired circuits for forming an active area AA of display 14. Display 14 may include a dielectric cover layer, such as display cover layer 64 that overlaps display module 62. Display cover layer 64 may include plastic, glass, sapphire, ceramic, and / or any other desired dielectric material. Display module 62 may emit image light and may receive sensor input (e.g., touch and / or force sensor input) through display cover layer 64. Display cover layer 64 and display 14 may be mounted to a peripheral conductive housing structure 12W. The lateral area of ​​display 14 that does not overlap display module 62 may form an inactive area IA of display 14.

[0052] like Figure 4 As shown, rear housing wall 12R may be mounted to peripheral conductive housing structure 12W (e.g., opposite display 14). Rear housing wall 12R may include a dielectric cover layer, such as dielectric cover layer 56. Dielectric cover layer 56 may include glass, plastic, sapphire, ceramic, one or more dielectric coatings, or other dielectric materials. If desired, conductive material may be laminated on some of the interior lateral surfaces of dielectric cover layer 56. Dielectric cover layer 56 may extend across the entire width of device 10 and / or the entire length of device 10. Dielectric cover layer 56 may be provided with a colored and / or opaque masking layer (e.g., an ink layer) that helps hide the interior of device 10 from view.

[0053] The housing of device 10 may also include one or more conductive support plates interposed between display 14 and rear housing wall 12R. For example, the housing for device 10 may include a first conductive support plate such as conductive support plate 58 and / or may include a second support plate such as conductive support plate 65. Conductive support plate 58 is vertically interposed between dielectric cover layer 56 and display module 62. Conductive support plate 65 is vertically interposed between conductive support plate 58 and display module 62. Conductive support plate 58 is also sometimes referred to herein as a conductive lower chassis 58, a lower chassis 58, a conductive lower plate 58, a lower plate 58, a lower inner conductive housing wall 58, a conductive layer 58, a lower conductive layer 58, or a lower conductive support plate 58. Conductive support plate 65 is also sometimes referred to herein as a conductive intermediate chassis 65, an intermediate chassis 65, a conductive intermediate plate 65, an intermediate plate 65, an upper inner conductive housing wall 65, a conductive layer 65, an upper conductive layer 65, or an upper conductive support plate 65.

[0054] If desired, one of the conductive lower chassis 58 or the intermediate chassis 65 may be omitted. Lower chassis 58 may be laminated to dielectric cover layer 56 without an adhesive adhering lower chassis 58 to dielectric cover layer 56, or may be separated from dielectric cover layer 56 by a non-zero distance (e.g., an air gap). For example, this may allow dielectric cover layer 56 and / or rear housing wall 58 to be easily removed from device 10 (e.g., to repair and / or replace components inside device 10). Alternatively, lower chassis 58 may be adhered to dielectric cover layer 56 (e.g., may form a portion of rear housing wall 12R). Intermediate chassis 65 may be located at a first distance from display 14, while lower chassis 58 is located at a second distance from display 14 that is greater than the first distance.

[0055] The middle chassis 65 and / or the lower chassis 58 may span the entire width of the device 10 (e.g., as shown in FIG. Figure 1 , extending between the left and right edges of device 10). Intermediate chassis 65 and / or lower chassis 58 may be formed from an integral portion of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W that extends across the width of device 10, or may include a separate housing structure that is attached, coupled, or attached (e.g., welded) to peripheral conductive housing structure 12W. One or more components may be supported by intermediate chassis 65 and / or lower chassis 58 (e.g., a logic board such as a main logic board, a battery, etc.). Intermediate chassis 65 and / or lower chassis 58 may contribute to the mechanical strength of device 10 (e.g., preventing external twisting or bending forces from damaging device 10). Intermediate chassis 65 and / or lower chassis 58 may be formed from a metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, etc.).

[0056] Lower chassis 58, intermediate chassis 65, and / or display module 62 may have edges 54 separated from peripheral conductive housing structures 12W by dielectric-filled gaps 60 (sometimes referred to herein as openings 60, gaps 60, or holes 60). Gaps 60 may be filled with air, plastic, ceramic, and / or other dielectric materials. Conductive housing structures such as conductive portions of lower chassis plate 58, intermediate chassis 65, display module 62, and / or peripheral conductive housing structures 12W (e.g., portions of peripheral conductive housing structures 12W opposite lower chassis plate 58, intermediate chassis 65, and display module 62 at gaps 60) may be used to form antenna structures for one or more of antennas 40 in device 10.

[0057] For example, peripheral conductive housing structures 12W may form antenna resonating element 45 (eg, Figure 3 ) in an antenna resonating element arm (e.g., an inverted-F shaped antenna resonating element arm). Intermediate chassis 65, lower chassis 58, and / or display module 62 may be used to form antenna ground 49 (eg, antenna ground 49) for one or more of antennas 40 in device 10. Figure 3 ) and / or form one or more edges of a slot antenna resonating element for an antenna in device 10. One or more conductive interconnect structures 63 may electrically couple intermediate chassis 65 to lower chassis 58, one or more conductive interconnect structures 63 may electrically couple intermediate chassis 65 to conductive structures in display module 62 (sometimes referred to herein as conductive display structures), and / or one or more conductive interconnect structures 63 may electrically couple conductive structures in display module 62 to lower chassis 58, such that each of these elements forms a portion of an antenna ground. The conductive structures in display module 62 may include a conductive frame, a bracket or support plate for display module 62, a shielding layer in display module 62, a ground trace in display module 62, and / or the like.

[0058] Conductive interconnect structure 63 may be used to ground intermediate chassis 65 to lower chassis 58 and / or display module 62 (e.g., grounding lower chassis 58 to conductive display structures via intermediate chassis 65), or may ground display module 62 directly to lower chassis 58. In other words, conductive interconnect structure 63 may hold conductive structures in display module 62, intermediate chassis 65, and / or lower chassis 58 to a common ground or reference potential (e.g., as a reference for forming a common ground potential for device 10). Figure 3The conductive interconnect structure 63 may be referred to herein as a system ground of a portion of the antenna ground 49. Therefore, the conductive interconnect structure 63 may sometimes be referred to herein as a ground structure 63, a ground interconnect structure 63, or a vertical ground structure 63. The conductive interconnect structure 63 may include a conductive trace, a conductive pin, a conductive spring, a conductive fork, a conductive bracket, a conductive screw, a conductive clip, a conductive ribbon, a conductive wire, a conductive trace, a conductive foam, a conductive adhesive, a solder, a weld, a metal member (e.g., a metal sheet member), a contact pad, a conductive through-hole, a conductive portion of one or more components mounted to the intermediate chassis 65 and / or the lower chassis 58, and / or any other desired conductive interconnect structure.

[0059] If desired, the device 10 may include multiple slots 60, and the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may include multiple dielectric gaps (eg, Figure 1 The dielectric gap 18). Figure 5 The lower end of the device 10 is shown (e.g., at Figure 1 A top interior view of how the outer conductive housing structure may include slots 60 and may include multiple dielectric gaps that divide the outer conductive housing structure into sections for forming multiple antennas. Figure 5 The view shown has the display 14 and other internal components removed.

[0060] like Figure 5 As shown, the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may include a first conductive sidewall located at the left edge of the device 10, a second conductive sidewall located at the top edge of the device 10 ( Figure 5 ), a third conductive sidewall at the right edge of device 10, and a fourth conductive sidewall at the bottom edge of device 10 (e.g., in an example in which device 10 has a substantially rectangular lateral shape). Peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may be segmented by dielectric-filled gaps 18 such as first gap 18-1, second gap 18-2, and third gap 18-3. Gap 18-1, gap 18-2, and gap 18-3 may be filled with plastic, ceramic, sapphire, glass, epoxy, or other dielectric material. If desired, the dielectric material in the gaps may be flush with peripheral conductive housing structure 12W at the outer surface of device 10.

[0061] Gap 18-1 may divide the first conductive sidewall to separate segment 66 of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W from segment 68 of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W. Gap 18-2 may divide the third conductive sidewall to separate segment 72 of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W from segment 70. Gap 18-3 may divide the fourth conductive sidewall to separate segment 68 of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W from segment 70. In this example, segment 68 forms the lower left corner of device 10 (e.g., segment 68 may have a bend at the corner) and is formed by the first and fourth conductive sidewalls of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W (e.g., at Figure 1 Segment 70 forms the lower right corner of device 10 (e.g., segment 70 may have a bend at the corner) and is formed by the third and fourth conductive sidewalls of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W (e.g., at Figure 1 in the lower region 22 of the PCB).

[0062] Device 10 may include ground structures 78 (e.g., forming a ground plane for one or more of antennas 40 in device 10). Figure 3 The ground structure 78 may include one or more metal layers, such as the display module 62 ( Figure 4 ) conductive structure, intermediate chassis 65 ( Figure 4 )、lower chassis 58( Figure 4 ), conductive traces on a printed circuit board, conductive portions of one or more components in device 10, conductive interconnect structures (e.g., conductive pins, conductive adhesives, solder joints, conductive tape, conductive foam, conductive springs, etc.) that couple two or more of these structures together. Figure 4 conductive interconnect structure 63, etc.) and / or other ground conductors in device 10.

[0063] Ground structure 78 (e.g. Figure 4 The intermediate chassis 65 and / or the lower chassis 58 of the device 10 may extend between the opposite side walls of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W. For example, the ground structure 78 may (e.g., across the width of the device 10, parallel to the Figure 5The grounding structure 78 may be welded or otherwise attached to the segments 66 and 72. In another suitable arrangement, some or all of the grounding structure 78, the segments 66, and the segments 72 may be formed from a single integral (continuous) machined metal piece (e.g., in a one-piece configuration). The grounding structure 78 may include a grounding extension 74 that protrudes into the gap 60 and, if desired, may bridge the gap 60 and couple the grounding structure to the peripheral conductive housing structure. As an example, the grounding extension 74 may be formed by a data connector of the device 10. The device 10 may have a longitudinal axis 76 that bisects the width of the device 10 and extends parallel to the length of the device 10 (e.g., parallel to the Y-axis).

[0064] like Figure 5 As shown, gap 60 can separate ground structure 78 from segment 68 and segment 70 of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W (e.g., the upper edge of gap 60 can be defined by ground structure 78, while the lower edge of gap 60 is defined by segment 68 and segment 70). Slot 60 can have an elongated shape extending from a first end at gap 18-1 to an opposite second end at gap 18-2 (e.g., gap 60 can span the width of device 10). Slot 60 can be filled with air, plastic, glass, sapphire, epoxy, ceramic, or other dielectric materials. If desired, slot 60 can be connected to gap 18-1, gap 18-2, and gap 18-3 in peripheral conductive housing structure 12W (e.g., a single piece of dielectric material can be used to fill slot 60 as well as gap 18-1, gap 18-2, and gap 18-3).

[0065] Ground structure 78, segment 66, segment 68, segment 70, and a portion of slot 60 may be used to form multiple antennas 40 (sometimes referred to herein as lower antennas) in a lower region of device 10. For example, device 10 may include antenna 40-3 (sometimes referred to herein as ANT3) having an antenna resonating (radiating) element formed by segment 68 and having an antenna ground portion formed by ground structure 78. Antenna 40-3 may have at least one positive antenna feed terminal 52 coupled to segment 68. If desired, antenna 40-3 may have one or more ground paths 80 (e.g., short pins, short paths, or return paths) coupled between one or more locations on segment 68 and one or more locations on ground structure 78. If desired, conductive interconnect structure 63 ( Figure 4) may form some or all of the ground paths in one or more of the ground paths 80 in the antenna 40-3. If desired, tuner circuits (e.g., aperture tuners), impedance matching circuits, switching circuits, filter circuits, inductors (e.g., switchable inductors), capacitors (e.g., switchable capacitors), and / or other circuit components may be disposed on one or more of the ground paths 80 in the antenna 40-3.

[0066] Device 10 may also include antenna 40-1 (sometimes referred to herein as ANT1) having an antenna resonating (radiating) element formed by segment 70 and having an antenna ground formed by ground structure 78. Antenna 40-1 may have at least one positive antenna feed terminal 52 coupled to segment 68. If desired, antenna 40-1 may have one or more ground paths 80 (e.g., short pins, short paths, or return paths) coupled between one or more locations on segment 70 and one or more locations on ground structure 78. If desired, conductive interconnect structure 63 ( Figure 4 ) may form some or all of the ground paths in one or more of the ground paths 80 in the antenna 40-1. If desired, tuner circuits (e.g., aperture tuners), impedance matching circuits, switching circuits, filter circuits, inductors (e.g., switchable inductors), capacitors (e.g., switchable capacitors), and / or other circuit components may be disposed on one or more of the ground paths 80 in the antenna 40-1.

[0067] If desired, device 10 may include antenna 40-2 having a slot antenna resonating element formed by a portion of slot 60 between segment 66 and ground structure 78. If desired, device 10 may include antenna 40-4 having a slot antenna resonating element formed by a portion of slot 60 between segment 72 and ground structure 78. For example, antennas 40-1 and 40-3 may be inverted-F antennas each having at least one return path (e.g., ground path 80) coupling a respective resonating element arm to antenna ground. Antenna 40-1, antenna 40-2, antenna 40-3, and antenna 40-4 may transmit radio frequency signals in one or more frequency bands. For example, antennas 40-1 and 40-3 may transmit radio frequency signals in at least a cellular low band (LB), a cellular mid band (MB), and / or a cellular high band (HB). This may allow antennas 40-1 and 40-3 to perform MIMO communications in one or more of these frequency bands, thereby maximizing data throughput.

[0068] It may be necessary to display module 62 ( Figure 4) and, therefore, active area AA of display 14 is as large as possible to maximize the display viewing area for a user of device 10. However, if care is not taken, increasing the lateral area of ​​display module 62 and active area AA may undesirably limit the radio frequency performance of antennas 40-1, 40-2, 40-3, and / or 40-4 at the lower end of device 5.

[0069] Figure 6 1 is a diagram showing how display module 62 may coexist with antenna 40-1 at the lower end of device 10 (e.g., along Figure 5 A cross-sectional side view of the line AA'. Figure 6 As shown in FIG. 1 , display 14 may be mounted to segment 70 of peripheral conductive housing structure 12W (eg, for an antenna resonating element of antenna 40 - 1 ). Display 14 may include display cover layer 64 that overlies display module 62 .

[0070] Display module 62 may include a flexible printed circuit, such as flexible printed circuit 86 (sometimes referred to herein as display flex 86). Flexible printed circuit 62 may have a first portion 102 and a second portion 101 extending away from first portion 102. Portion 101 may be coupled to a display driver circuit (not shown) in device 10 (e.g., on a logic board within device 10). Portion 102 may include pixel circuit 84. Pixel circuit 84 may emit light (e.g., an image) through display cover layer 64. The lateral area spanned by pixel circuit 84 forms an active area AA for display 14.

[0071] Portion 102 of flexible printed circuit 86 is folded relative to portion 101 about or around axis 92 (e.g., an axis extending parallel to the X-axis). Flexible printed circuit 86 can be folded about axis 92 by approximately 180 degrees (e.g., 140 to 220 degrees, 180 degrees, 170 to 200 degrees, etc.). Display module 62 may include one or more display layers, such as layer 96, vertically interposed between portion 102 and portion 101 of flexible printed circuit 86. Layer 96 may include a support structure, a carrier, a display circuit, an active circuit, a passive circuit, a bracket, a spacer, an interposer, one or more printed circuit boards, an electromagnetic shielding component, a display component, a touch sensor component, a force sensor component, one or more adhesive layers (e.g., a pressure sensitive adhesive), one or more encapsulation layers, and / or any other desired component within display module 62.

[0072] The flexible printed circuit 86 may include conductive traces 88 on one or more layers (e.g., one or more polyimide layers) of the flexible printed circuit substrate 90. The conductive traces 88 may extend from a portion 101 of the flexible printed circuit 86 around a bend in the flexible printed circuit 86 (e.g., around the axis 92) and to the pixel circuits 84 (e.g., some of the conductive traces 88 may be coupled to the pixel circuits 84). The conductive traces 88 may include ground traces (e.g., traces maintained at a ground potential) and / or signal (drive) traces that convey image data (e.g., pixel data) from a display driver circuit (not shown) coupled to the portion 101 of the flexible printed circuit 86 to the pixel circuits 84.

[0073] The display module 62 may include a conductive frame or support plate, such as a display frame 98. The display frame 98 is also sometimes referred to herein as a display support plate 98, a conductive support plate 98, a conductive display bracket 98, or a display bracket 98. The display frame 98 may be formed of a sheet of metal (e.g., aluminum, stainless steel, etc.) extending under portions 101 and 102 of the flexible printed circuit 86 (e.g., the flexible printed circuit 86 is vertically interposed between the display frame 98 and the display cover layer 64). If desired, the display frame 98 may include one or more bent or folded portions (not shown), such as conductive prongs, tabs, or extensions.

[0074] In some implementations, the edge of the display frame 98 includes a curved extension, lip, or fork that extends away from the flexible printed circuit 86 and toward the segment 70 of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W (e.g., vertically upward, so that the curved extension is laterally interposed between the flexible printed circuit 86 and at least some of the segments 70). The curved extension can help keep the components of the display module 62 in place and can help prevent electromagnetic interference between the display module 62 and the antenna 40-1. However, such an extension may cause the inactive area IA to be too wide, thereby limiting the size of the active area AA. By omitting the curved extension located at the edge of the display frame 98 and facing the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W (extending toward the peripheral conductive housing structure), the width 82 of the inactive area IA can be reduced and the width of the active area AA can be increased by 200 microns to 500 microns or more.

[0075] In order to help keep the components of the display module 62 in place and to help protect the components of the display module 62 from damage, contaminants, and / or moisture without using the curved extensions at the edges of the display frame 98, the display module 62 may include a plastic overmold 94 disposed at or around the periphery of the display module 62. The plastic overmold 94 may be, for example, a low injection pressure overmold (LIPO) structure (sometimes also referred to herein as a low injection pressure overmold or a low injection pressure overmold). The plastic overmold 94 may encapsulate the ends / edges of the display module 62, the display frame 98, at least some of the portions 102 and 101 of the flexible printed circuit 86, and / or the portions of the flexible printed circuit 86 that are folded or bent around the axis 92. In other words, the ends / edges of the display module 62, the display frame 98, at least some of the portions 102 and 101 of the flexible printed circuit 86, and / or the portions of the flexible printed circuit 86 that are folded or bent around the axis 92 may be embedded within the plastic overmold 94.

[0076] Plastic overmold 94 may help hold folds / bends in flexible printed circuit 86 (about axis 92) in place, may help hold components of display module 62 in place, may help attach or secure display module 62 to display cover 64, may form a protective buffer between display module 62 and peripheral conductive housing structure 12W, and / or may help protect components of display module 62 from damage, contaminants, and / or moisture. At the same time, plastic overmold 94 (e.g., with respect to a specific implementation when display frame 98 includes a curved extension that rises between flexible printed circuit 86 and segment 70) may allow display module 62 to be positioned as close to segment 70 as possible, thereby minimizing width 82 of inactive area IA and maximizing the size of active area AA.

[0077] Given the close proximity of active circuitry in display module 62 (e.g., pixel circuitry 84, conductive traces 88, etc.) to the antenna resonating element (e.g., segment 70) of antenna 40-1, if care is not taken, operation of display 14 may produce undesirable signal interference at antenna 40-1 and / or operation of antenna 40-1 may produce undesirable signal interference at display 14. Furthermore, if conductive components in display module 62 are not maintained at a ground potential (e.g., forming part of an antenna ground for antenna 40-1), the conductive components may degrade the wireless performance (e.g., efficiency bandwidth) of antenna 40-1.

[0078] To alleviate these issues, the display frame 98 can be coupled to an underlying ground structure (e.g., Figure 4In addition, the display module 62 may include a conductive interconnect structure 100 that electrically couples (e.g., grounds or shorts) the conductive traces 88 on the flexible printed circuit 86 (e.g., ground traces on the flexible printed circuit 86) to the display frame 98. The conductive interconnect structure 63 may be used to ground the conductive traces 88 on the flexible printed circuit 86 to an underlying ground structure (e.g., ground traces on the flexible printed circuit 86) via the display frame 98. Figure 4 In this way, conductive traces 88 on flexible printed circuit 86 (e.g., ground traces on flexible printed circuit 86), display frame 98, and / or other conductive structures in display module 62 can be maintained at a ground potential to form antenna ground 49 for antenna 40-1 ( Figure 3 ) (e.g. with Figure 4 This can be used to maximize the wireless performance (e.g., efficiency bandwidth) of antenna 40-1. For example, conductive interconnect structure 63 can form a corresponding ground path 80 ( Figure 5 ) part.

[0079] The conductive interconnect structures 100 may be formed of a conductive adhesive and / or a conductive foam (e.g., a conductive foam layer having an adhesive surface adhered to the display frame 98 and the conductive traces 88, a conductive gasket such as an air loop gasket (ALG) adhered to the conductive traces 88 and the display frame 98, etc.). The conductive interconnect structures 100 may be at least partially embedded within the plastic overmold 94 (e.g., the plastic overmold 94 may be molded over at least some of the conductive interconnect structures 100). The conductive interconnect structures 100 may be coupled to the flexible printed circuit 86 at or near a bend in the flexible printed circuit 86 (e.g., at least some of the conductive interconnect structures 100 may overlap the axis 92). The conductive foam may apply a biasing force (e.g., a spring force) to the display frame 98 and the conductive traces 88, which helps ensure a robust mechanical connection and, therefore, an electrical connection between the conductive traces 88 and the display frame 98 during the operating life of the device 10. The conductive interconnect structures 100 are used to ground or short the conductive traces 88 to the display frame 98. In this way, conductive interconnect structure 100 can prevent electromagnetic energy generated by antenna 40-1 when transmitting radio frequency signals from being transferred into display module 62 and interfering with the operation of display 14. At the same time, conductive interconnect structure 100 can prevent electromagnetic energy generated by display 14 when displaying images from being transferred to segment 70 and interfering with the operation of antenna 40-1.

[0080] Figure 7is an interior top view of the lower end of device 10 showing how display module 62 may overlap the underlying ground structure. Figure 7 In the example of , display cover layer 64 and other internal device components have been omitted for clarity.

[0081] like Figure 7 As shown in FIG. 1 , display module 62 may extend across substantially all of the length and width of device 10 . Display module 62 may overlap underlying ground structure 104 . Ground structure 104 may form Figure 5 The ground structure 104 may include a portion of the ground structure 78. Figure 4 The ground structure 104 may extend from the left side to the right side of the device 10 (e.g., between opposite walls of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W). The ground structure 104 may be laterally separated from the segments 68 and 70 of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W by the gap 60.

[0082] The flexible printed circuit 86 ( Figure 6 ) may be folded over itself about axis 92 at the lower end of device 10 (e.g., where axis 92 overlaps the lower edge of ground structure 104 and / or slot 60 and extends parallel to the width and X-axis of device 10). In this manner, flexible printed circuit 86 ( Figure 6 ) portions 101 and 102 extend away from the fold in the flexible printed circuit (eg, longitudinal axis 92 ) and toward (facing) an upper end of device 10 .

[0083] One or more conductive interconnect structures 100 may couple the flexible printed circuit 86 to the display frame 98 (eg, the display frame 98 of the display module 62) at one or more corresponding locations along the lateral area of ​​the display module 62. Figure 6 ).exist Figure 7 In the example of FIG. 1 , display module 62 includes three conductive interconnect structures 100 (e.g., three pieces of conductive foam) that couple flexible printed circuit 86 to display frame 98 ( FIG. 10 ) at different locations along the lower end of device 10 . Figure 6 ) (e.g., to help electromagnetically isolate both segments 68 and 70 from display module 62). The conductive foam piece may have an elongated shape (e.g., extending across a majority of the width of device 10) and / or may have other shapes (e.g., limited to a smaller portion or region of the lateral area of ​​display module 62). In general, display module 62 may include any desired number of conductive interconnect structures 100 (e.g., conductive foam pieces) disposed at any desired locations and having any desired shapes.

[0084] like Figure 7As shown in FIG. 1 , a conductive interconnect structure 63 such as conductive interconnect structure 63A may couple display panel 62 to ground structure 104 at or near antenna 40-3. Conductive interconnect structure 63A may form a ground path 80 ( Figure 5 Although antenna 40-1 and / or antenna 40-3 may include one or more additional conductive interconnect structures 63 coupled between ground structure 104 and display module 62, for clarity, the antenna 40-1 and / or antenna 40-3 are not shown in FIG. Figure 7 These conductive interconnect structures are omitted.

[0085] Conductive interconnect structure 63A may help ensure that conductive structures of display module 62 are maintained at the same ground potential as ground structures 104 at locations proximate to the antenna resonating element for antenna 40-3 (e.g., to form a ground potential for antenna 40-3). Figure 3 4 and 5). The conductive interconnect structure 63A may also be used to ground an underlying conductive component 106 to the ground structure 104, if desired. The conductive component 106 may include, for example, a frame, housing, and / or other conductive structures in a vibrator or haptic engine in the device 10, a ringer in the device 10, a speaker in the device 10, a ventilation structure in the device 10, a microphone structure in the device 10, a data connector in the device 10, etc. This is merely illustrative, and in general, the conductive component 106 may include any desired conductive structure in the device 10.

[0086] In some implementations, the conductive interconnect structure 63A includes a conductive spring. Figure 8 6A is a perspective view of a conductive interconnect structure 63A in a specific implementation in which the conductive interconnect structure 63A is a conductive spring. Therefore, the conductive interconnect structure 63A is sometimes also referred to herein as a conductive spring 63A.

[0087] like Figure 8 As shown in FIG, the conductive spring 63A can be formed by a sheet metal piece 124 that is folded or bent about one or more axes. The conductive spring 63A can have a first end 110 that is coupled to, welded to, brazed to, and / or pressed against Figure 7 The ground structure 104 (eg Figure 4 The conductive spring 63A may have an opposite second end 108 that is coupled to, welded to, soldered to, and / or pressed against the display module 62 ( Figure 6 ) of the display frame 98. In this way, the conductive spring 63A forms a connection from the display frame 98 to the ground structure 104 ( Figure 7 ) of the ground path (eg, ground path 80 in antenna 40 - 3 ).

[0088] The metal sheet 124 may have a first portion 112 located at the end 110, a second portion 126 located at the end 108, and a third portion 114 interposed or coupled between the first portion 112 and the second portion 126. The portion 112 may include a first opening or hole (e.g., for receiving a conductive screw or other interconnect structure that secures the conductive spring 63A to the underlying ground structure 104 and / or other conductive structures in the device 10). The portion 114 may include a second opening or hole (e.g., for receiving a conductive screw or other interconnect structure that secures the conductive spring 63A to the underlying conductive structure in the device 10 (e.g., Figure 7 The conductive member 106) may be a conductive screw or other interconnecting structure).

[0089] The portion 112 of the metal sheet 124 can be folded or bent relative to the portion 114 of the metal sheet 124 about one or more axes (such as at least a first axis 116 and a second axis 118). The metal sheet 124 can be folded about the axis 116 at an angle of about 45 degrees to 200 degrees in a first direction. The metal sheet 124 can be folded about the axis 118 in a second direction (e.g., opposite to the first direction) at an angle of about 45 degrees to 200 degrees. The axis 116 can extend parallel to the axis 118 or can be non-parallel relative to the axis 118. The axis 118 can be non-parallel (e.g., rotated or twisted) relative to the axis 118 and / or the axis 116.

[0090] Portion 126 of metal sheet 124 can be folded or bent relative to portion 114 of metal sheet 124 about an axis (such as axis 120). Portion 126 can be folded or bent at angle 122 relative to the plane of portion 114. Angle 122 can be 45 degrees, 30 degrees to 60 degrees, or another angle between 0 degrees and 90 degrees. The fold / bend in conductive spring 63A and the rigidity of metal sheet 124 can configure conductive spring 63A to apply a biasing force (e.g., spring force) upward at end 108 and downward at end 110. If desired, portion 126 may include one or more openings, such as notch 128. Notch 128 (also sometimes referred to herein as elongated hole 128 or slot 128) may extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of portion 126 (e.g., from portion 114 to end 108).

[0091] Portion 126 may have a relatively large width and / or a relatively narrow thickness to help reduce the inductance of conductive spring 63A (e.g., portion 126 may be wider and / or thicker than portion 114 and / or portion 112). Notch 128 may also help reduce the inductance of conductive spring 63A. Portion 126 may include one notch 128, two notches 128 (e.g., parallel notches), more than two notches 128, or no notch 128. The width of portion 126, the thickness of portion 126, and / or the notches 128 in portion 126 may be selected to collectively reduce the inductance of conductive spring 63A (e.g., to 1.5 nH or less) while allowing conductive spring 63A to apply a spring force similar to that when metal sheet 124 has a uniform width, uniform thickness, and no notch 128, thereby optimizing the antenna efficiency of antenna 40-3. Figure 8 The example of is merely illustrative, and in general, the conductive spring 63A may have other shapes or configurations.

[0092] As used herein, the term "concurrent" refers to overlapping at least partially in time. In other words, if at least some of the first event occurs at the same time as at least some of the second event (e.g., if at least some of the first event occurs during at least some of the second event, occurs at the same time as at least some of the second event, or occurs when at least some of the second event occurs), the first event and the second event are referred to as "concurrent" with each other in this article. If the first event and the second event are simultaneous (e.g., if the entire duration of the first event overlaps with the entire duration of the second event in time), the first event and the second event can be concurrent, but if the first event and the second event are non-simultaneous (e.g., if the first event starts before or after the second event starts, if the first event ends before or after the second event ends, or if the first event and the second event do not partially overlap in time), the first event and the second event can also be concurrent. As used herein, the term "while" is synonymous with "concurrent".

[0093] Device 10 may collect and / or use personally identifiable information. As is well known, use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly stated to the user.

[0094] According to an embodiment, an electronic device is provided, the electronic device comprising: a peripheral conductive housing structure, segments of the peripheral conductive housing structure forming antenna resonant element arms for an antenna; and a display mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure, the display comprising: a conductive frame; a flexible printed circuit having a first portion with a pixel circuit and a second portion folded about an axis relative to the first portion; a conductive foam coupling conductive traces on the second portion of the flexible printed circuit to the conductive frame; and a plastic overmold formed over the flexible printed circuit at the bend, at least some of the conductive frame, and at least some of the conductive foam.

[0095] According to another embodiment, the plastic overmoulding comprises a low injection pressure overmoulding (LIPO).

[0096] According to another embodiment, the axis extends parallel to the section of the peripheral conductive housing structure.

[0097] According to another embodiment, at least some of the plastic overmolds are interposed between the flexible printed circuit and the segments of the peripheral conductive housing structure.

[0098] According to another embodiment, the conductive trace extends around the axis into the first portion of the flexible printed circuit.

[0099] According to another embodiment, the display includes a display cover layer, the pixel circuit is configured to emit light through the display cover layer, and the first portion and the second portion of the flexible printed circuit extend parallel to the display cover layer.

[0100] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: a conductive plate extending from a first wall of the peripheral conductive housing structure to a second wall of the peripheral conductive housing structure opposite to the first wall, the conductive plate being separated from the section of the peripheral conductive housing structure by a gap; and a dielectric covering layer mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure opposite to the display.

[0101] According to another embodiment, the conductive plate is separated from the dielectric cover layer by a non-zero distance.

[0102] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes a conductive spring coupling the conductive frame to the conductive plate.

[0103] According to another embodiment, the conductive spring includes a metal piece extending from a first end portion to a second end portion, the first end portion is coupled to the conductive plate, the second end portion is coupled to the conductive frame, and the metal piece includes at least three bends.

[0104] According to another embodiment, the metal sheet has a first bend around a first axis, a second bend around a second axis parallel to the first axis, and a third bend around a third axis not parallel to the second axis, and the metal sheet has a first portion extending from the first end to the first bend, a second portion extending from the second bend to the third bend, and a third portion extending from the third bend to the second end.

[0105] According to another embodiment, the third portion is wider than the second portion.

[0106] According to another embodiment, the third portion is thinner than the second portion.

[0107] According to another embodiment, the third portion comprises at least one notch.

[0108] According to one embodiment, an electronic device is provided, the electronic device comprising: a peripheral conductive shell structure, a segment of the peripheral conductive shell structure forming a radiating arm for an antenna; and a display, the display being mounted to the peripheral conductive shell structure, the display comprising: a conductive frame; a flexible printed circuit, the flexible printed circuit being mounted to the conductive frame, the flexible printed circuit having a bend around an axis, and the bend facing the segment of the peripheral conductive shell structure; a conductive foam, the conductive foam coupling the flexible printed circuit to the conductive frame, the conductive foam overlapping the axis; and a low injection pressure overmolding portion (LIPO), the bend of the flexible printed circuit, at least some of the conductive frame, and at least some of the conductive foam being embedded within the LIPO.

[0109] According to another embodiment, the conductive foam shorts conductive traces on the flexible printed circuit to the conductive frame.

[0110] According to another embodiment, the antenna includes an antenna ground including the conductive trace, the conductive frame, and the conductive foam.

[0111] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: a conductive plate, which extends from a first wall of the peripheral conductive shell structure to a second wall of the peripheral conductive shell structure opposite to the first wall, the conductive plate is separated from the section of the peripheral conductive shell structure by a gap, and the conductive plate forms a part of the antenna grounding part; and a conductive spring, which shorts the conductive frame to the conductive plate.

[0112] According to an embodiment, an electronic device is provided, the electronic device comprising: a housing having a peripheral conductive housing structure, a dielectric covering layer mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure, and a conductive plate extending from a first wall of the peripheral conductive housing structure to a second wall of the peripheral conductive housing structure; an antenna having a radiating arm formed by a segment of the peripheral conductive housing structure and having an antenna grounding portion comprising the conductive plate, the conductive plate being separated from the segment by a gap; a display, the display being mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure opposite to the dielectric covering layer, the conductive plate being interposed between the dielectric covering layer and the display, and the display comprising: a conductive frame; and a conductive spring coupling the conductive frame to the conductive plate, the conductive spring bending around a first axis, a second axis parallel to the first axis, and a third axis non-parallel to the second axis.

[0113] According to another embodiment, the conductive spring includes: a first portion extending from the conductive plate to the first axis; a second portion extending from the second axis to the third axis; a third portion extending from the third axis to the conductive frame, the third portion being bent at an angle between 0 and 90 degrees relative to the second portion; and at least one notch located in the third portion and extending along the longitudinal axis of the third portion.

[0114] The foregoing is illustrative and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the embodiments described. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented independently or in any combination.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising: a peripheral conductive housing structure, wherein segments of the peripheral conductive housing structure form antenna resonating element arms for an antenna; and a display mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure, wherein the display comprises Conductive frame, a flexible printed circuit having a first portion with a pixel circuit and a second portion folded about an axis relative to the first portion, a conductive foam coupling the conductive traces on the second portion of the flexible printed circuit to the conductive frame, and A plastic overmold is molded over the flexible printed circuit at the bends, at least some of the conductive frames, and at least some of the conductive foams. 2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the plastic overmold comprises a low injection pressure overmold (LIPO). 3 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the axis extends parallel to the segment of the peripheral conductive housing structure. 4 . The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein at least some of the plastic overmolds are interposed between the flexible printed circuit and the segments of the peripheral conductive housing structure. 5 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the conductive trace extends about the axis into the first portion of the flexible printed circuit.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the display comprises a display cover layer, the pixel circuit is configured to emit light through the display cover layer, and the first portion and the second portion of the flexible printed circuit extend parallel to the display cover layer.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: a conductive plate extending from a first wall of the peripheral conductive shell structure to a second wall of the peripheral conductive shell structure opposite the first wall, the conductive plate being separated from the section of the peripheral conductive shell structure by a gap; and A dielectric cover layer is mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure opposite the display.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the conductive plate is separated from the dielectric cover layer by a non-zero distance.

9. The electronic device according to claim 7, further comprising: A conductive spring couples the conductive frame to the conductive plate.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the conductive spring comprises a metal sheet extending from a first end to a second end, the first end being coupled to the conductive plate, the second end being coupled to the conductive frame, and the metal sheet comprising at least three bends.

11. An electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the metal sheet has a first bend around a first axis, a second bend around a second axis parallel to the first axis, and a third bend around a third axis not parallel to the second axis, and the metal sheet has a first portion extending from the first end to the first bend, a second portion extending from the second bend to the third bend, and a third portion extending from the third bend to the second end. 12 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the third portion is wider than the second portion.

13. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the third portion is thinner than the second portion. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the third portion comprises at least one notch.

15. An electronic device, comprising: a peripheral conductive housing structure, wherein segments of the peripheral conductive housing structure form radiating arms for an antenna; and a display mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure, wherein the display comprises Conductive frame, a flexible printed circuit mounted to the conductive frame, wherein the flexible printed circuit has a bend about an axis and the bend faces the section of the peripheral conductive housing structure, a conductive foam coupling the flexible printed circuit to the conductive frame, the conductive foam overlapping the axis, and A low injection pressure overmold (LIPO) is provided, wherein the bent portion of the flexible printed circuit, at least some of the conductive frames, and at least some of the conductive foams are embedded within the LIPO.

16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the conductive foam shorts conductive traces on the flexible printed circuit to the conductive frame.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16 wherein the antenna comprises an antenna ground comprising the conductive trace, the conductive frame, and the conductive foam.

18. The electronic device according to claim 17, further comprising: a conductive plate extending from a first wall of the peripheral conductive shell structure to a second wall of the peripheral conductive shell structure opposite the first wall, the conductive plate being separated from the section of the peripheral conductive shell structure by a slot, and the conductive plate forming a portion of the antenna ground; and A conductive spring short-connects the conductive frame to the conductive plate.

19. An electronic device, comprising: a housing having a peripheral conductive housing structure, a dielectric cover mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure, and a conductive plate extending from a first wall of the peripheral conductive housing structure to a second wall of the peripheral conductive housing structure; an antenna having radiating arms formed by segments of the peripheral conductive housing structure and having an antenna ground including the conductive plate separated from the segments by slots; a display mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure opposite the dielectric cover, the conductive plate interposed between the dielectric cover and the display, and the display including a conductive frame; and A conductive spring couples the conductive frame to the conductive plate, wherein the conductive spring bends about a first axis, a second axis parallel to the first axis, and a third axis non-parallel with respect to the second axis.

20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the conductive spring comprises: a first portion extending from the conductive plate to the first axis; a second portion extending from the second axis to the third axis; a third portion extending from the third axis to the conductive frame, the third portion being bent at an angle between 0 and 90 degrees relative to the second portion; and At least one notch is located in the third portion and extends along a longitudinal axis of the third portion.

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