Handheld electronic device

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a handheld electronic device. A portable electronic device may include a display, a front cover, and a housing coupled to the front cover and defining: a first portion of a rear outer surface; and a protrusion defining a raised sensor array region defining a second portion of the rear outer surface; a first aperture extending through the protrusion within the raised sensor array region; and a second aperture extending through the protrusion within the raised sensor array region. The portable electronic device may further include: a camera lens assembly aligned with the first aperture and defining a first main axis perpendicular to the second portion of the rear outer surface; and a depth sensor module including a depth sensor lens assembly aligned with the second aperture and defining a second main axis inclined relative to the second portion of the rear outer surface.

Description

Cross-references to related applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 741,766, filed January 3, 2025, entitled “Handheld Electronic Device,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 767,463, filed March 5, 2025, entitled “Handheld Electronic Device,” the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0002] The subject matter of this disclosure relates generally to handheld and / or portable electronic devices, and more specifically to portable electronic devices such as mobile phones. Background Technology

[0003] Modern consumer electronics devices come in a variety of shapes and forms and have a wide range of uses and functions. For example, smartphones offer users various ways to interact with others outside the range of telephone communication. Such devices can include numerous systems designed to facilitate such interactions. For instance, a smartphone may include a touch-sensitive display for providing graphical output and accepting touch input, a wireless communication system for connecting with other devices to transmit and receive voice and data content, a camera for capturing photos and videos, and so on. However, integrating these subsystems into a compact and reliable product capable of withstanding everyday use presents several technical challenges. The systems and technologies described herein address most of these challenges while providing devices with a wide variety of functionalities. Summary of the Invention

[0004] A mobile phone may include a display, a front cover positioned above the display, and a housing structure coupled to the front cover. The housing structure may define: a protrusion defining a rearward sensor array region and having a metallic surface defining a first portion of a rear outer surface of the mobile phone; and a bezel portion defining at least a portion of an opening in the housing structure. The mobile phone may further include: a back cover comprising glass and at least partially positioned in the opening in the housing structure, the back cover defining a second portion of the rear outer surface of the mobile phone, the second portion of the rear outer surface being substantially flush with the surface of the bezel portion of the housing structure; and a camera module at least partially positioned in a hole formed through the protrusion in the rearward sensor array region.

[0005] The camera module may be a first camera module, the hole may be a first hole, and the mobile phone may further include: a second camera module, the second camera module being at least partially positioned in a second hole formed by the protrusion through the rearward sensor array region; a third camera module, the third camera module being at least partially positioned in a third hole formed by the protrusion through the rearward sensor array region; a depth sensor module, the depth sensor module being at least partially positioned in a fourth hole formed by the protrusion through the rearward sensor array region; and a flash module, the flash module being at least partially positioned in a fifth hole formed by the protrusion through the rearward sensor array region.

[0006] The housing structure may include: a first metal segment defining at least a portion of a first side outer surface of the mobile phone and at least a portion of a second side outer surface of the mobile phone; a second metal segment defining the protrusion; and a non-conductive bonding structure positioned in the gap between the first metal segment and the second metal segment and electrically isolating at least a portion of the first metal segment from at least a portion of the second metal segment. The non-conductive bonding structure may be structurally coupled to the first metal segment and the second metal segment. The housing structure may further include a third metal segment defining a third side outer surface of the mobile phone and a first corner surface and a second corner surface of the mobile phone, and a fourth metal segment defining a fourth side outer surface of the mobile phone and a second corner surface and a third corner surface of the mobile phone. The first metal segment may define a first portion of the opening in the housing structure, and the second metal segment may define a second portion of the opening in the housing structure.

[0007] A portable electronic device may include: a housing comprising a light-transmitting cover, a housing structure, and a rear cover, the light-transmitting cover defining a front outer surface of the portable electronic device, the housing structure defining a protrusion having a metallic surface and a frame portion, the metallic surface defining a first portion of a rear outer surface of the housing, the frame portion extending at least partially around an opening; the rear cover defining a silicate-based material surface positioned in the opening and defining a second portion of the rear outer surface of the housing; a display coupled to the light-transmitting cover; and a camera array coupled to the housing structure and including a camera module extending at least partially into an aperture formed through the metallic surface of the protrusion. The second portion of the rear outer surface may be substantially flush with the surface of the frame portion.

[0008] The camera module may be a first camera module, the hole may be a first hole, and the camera array may further include: a second camera module that extends at least partially into a second hole formed through the metal surface of the protrusion; and a third camera module that extends at least partially into a third hole formed through the metal surface of the protrusion; and the portable electronic device may further include: a depth sensor module that extends at least partially into a fourth hole formed through the metal surface of the protrusion; and a flash module that extends at least partially into a fifth hole formed through the metal surface of the protrusion.

[0009] The housing structure may include: a first metal segment defining at least a portion of a first-side outer surface and at least a portion of a second-side outer surface of the portable electronic device, and a second metal segment defining the protrusion. The second metal segment may be welded to the first metal segment. The first and second metal segments may be part of a single forged component.

[0010] The housing structure may include: a first segment defining the protrusion; a second segment defining the frame portion; a third segment defining the top outer surface of the portable electronic device; and a fourth segment defining the bottom outer surface of the portable electronic device. The opening may be a first opening, the third segment may define a second opening extending through the third segment, and the portable electronic device may further include an antenna module at least partially located within the housing and configured to transmit and receive wireless signals through the second opening in the third segment.

[0011] A mobile phone may include a housing structure defining a protrusion formed of metal and defining a first portion of a rear outer surface of the mobile phone, and defining a recess positioned along a side of the protrusion. The mobile phone may further include: a silicate-based material panel positioned in the recess and defining a second portion of the rear outer surface of the mobile phone; a rear sensor array including a camera module positioned in a hole formed through the protrusion; and a front cover assembly coupled to the housing structure and including a display and a light-transmitting cover above the display and defining a front outer surface of the mobile phone.

[0012] The recess may be at least partially defined by a frame portion of the housing structure, which defines a third portion of the rear outer surface of the mobile phone; and the second portion of the rear outer surface may be substantially flush with the third portion of the rear outer surface defined by the frame portion. The silicate-based material panel may be formed of a glass-ceramic material.

[0013] The housing structure may include a first metal segment defining at least a portion of a first side outer surface and at least a portion of a second side outer surface of the mobile phone, a second metal segment defining the protrusion, and a third metal segment defining a portion of a top outer surface of the mobile phone. The hole may be a first hole, and the third metal segment may define a recess having a bottom surface, a second hole formed through the bottom surface of the recess, and a third hole formed through the bottom surface of the recess. The mobile phone may further include: an antenna module configured to transmit and receive wireless signals through the second hole, and a non-conductive bonding structure extending through the third hole, substantially filling the recess, and covering the antenna module. The non-conductive bonding structure may define an additional portion of the top outer surface of the mobile phone.

[0014] A mobile phone may include a display, a front cover positioned above the display, and a housing structure coupled to the front cover and including: a first metal segment defining at least a portion of a first side outer surface of the mobile phone and at least a portion of a second side outer surface of the mobile phone; a second metal segment at least partially defining a protrusion defining a rearward sensor array region of the mobile phone; and a non-conductive bonding structure positioned in a gap defined between the first metal segment and the second metal segment, the gap extending at least partially around the protrusion and defining a slot antenna. The mobile phone may also include wireless communication circuitry conductively coupled to at least one of the first metal segment or the second metal segment and configured to cause the slot antenna to radiate to generate a wireless signal.

[0015] The wireless signal may be a first wireless signal, the slot antenna may be a first slot antenna along a first portion of the gap, the wireless communication circuit may be a first wireless communication circuit, the gap may define a second slot antenna along a second portion of the gap different from the first portion of the gap, and the mobile phone may also include a second wireless communication circuit configured to cause the second slot antenna to radiate to generate a second wireless signal. The mobile phone may also include: a first conductive element that conductively couples a first metal segment to a second metal segment across the gap at a first location to define an end of the first slot antenna; and a second conductive element that conductively couples the first metal segment to the second metal segment across the gap at a second location to define an end of the second slot antenna.

[0016] The gap may be a first gap, and the housing structure may further include: a third metal segment coupled to the first and second metal segments and defining at least a portion of the top outer surface of the mobile phone; and a fourth metal segment coupled to the first and second metal segments and defining at least a portion of the bottom outer surface of the mobile phone. The wireless communication circuit may be a first wireless communication circuit, and the mobile phone may further include a second wireless communication circuit conductively coupled to the third metal segment and configured to operate a portion of the third metal segment as an additional antenna. The third metal segment may define an aperture, and the mobile phone may further include an antenna module at least partially located within the housing structure and configured to transmit and receive wireless signals through the aperture in the third metal segment. The mobile phone may further include a dielectric window located in the aperture and covering the antenna module.

[0017] A portable electronic device may include: a housing comprising: a light-transmitting cover defining a front outer surface of the portable electronic device; and a housing structure comprising: a first metal segment defining a portion of a rear outer surface of the portable electronic device; and a second metal segment projecting from the portion of the rear outer surface defined by the first metal segment. The second metal segment may be electrically isolated from the first metal segment along a gap defined between the first and second metal segments, the gap defining a slot antenna. The portable electronic device may further include wireless communication circuitry operatively coupled to the slot antenna and configured to transmit and receive wireless signals via the slot antenna.

[0018] The second metal segment may define: a rearward sensor array region; a first aperture extending through the second metal segment in the rearward sensor array region; and a second aperture extending through the second metal segment in the rearward sensor array region. The portable electronic device may further include: a first camera module at least partially positioned in the first aperture; and a second camera module at least partially positioned in the second aperture.

[0019] The portable electronic device may further include a non-conductive bonding structure positioned within the gap and configured to electrically isolate a portion of the first metal segment from a portion of the second metal segment. The non-conductive bonding structure may define a portion of a curved transition surface between the first and second metal segments. This portion of the curved transition surface may be a first portion of the curved transition surface; the first metal segment may define a second portion of the curved transition surface; and the second metal segment may define a third portion of the curved transition surface. The gap may extend continuously around the periphery of the second metal segment, and the non-conductive bonding structure may define a continuous ring structure positioned within the gap, the continuous ring structure defining an additional portion of the rear outer surface of the portable electronic device.

[0020] The slot antenna can be a first slot antenna, the wireless communication circuit can be a first wireless communication circuit; the wireless signal can be a first wireless signal; the gap can also define a second slot antenna and a third slot antenna; and the portable electronic device can also include: a second wireless communication circuit operatively coupled to the second slot antenna and configured to transmit and receive a second wireless signal via the second slot antenna; and a third wireless communication circuit operatively coupled to the third slot antenna and configured to transmit and receive a third wireless signal via the second slot antenna.

[0021] A mobile phone may include: a housing structure including a first housing segment defining a portion of a rear outer surface of the mobile phone, a second housing segment defining a protrusion projecting from the first housing segment and defining a rearward sensor array region, and a dielectric structure at least partially located within a gap defined between the first housing segment and the second housing segment and extending around the protrusion; wireless communication circuitry operatively coupled to the housing structure at a first location to operate a first portion of the gap as a first slot antenna, and operatively coupled to the housing structure at a second location to operate a second portion of the gap as a second slot antenna; and a camera module coupled to the second housing segment in the rearward sensor array region.

[0022] The housing structure may further include: a first conductive element that conductively couples the first housing segment to the second housing segment across the gap at a third location to define an end of the first slot antenna; and a second conductive element that conductively couples the first housing segment to the second housing segment across the gap at a fourth location to define an end of the second slot antenna. The first housing segment may be a first metal housing segment, the second housing segment may be a second metal housing segment, the first conductive element may be soldered to the first metal housing segment and the second metal housing segment, and the second conductive element may be soldered to the first metal housing segment and the second metal housing segment.

[0023] The portion of the rear outer surface may be a first portion of the rear outer surface, the second housing segment may define a second portion of the rear outer surface, and the dielectric structure may define a bending transition region extending from the first portion of the rear outer surface to a portion of the second portion of the rear outer surface.

[0024] The wireless communication circuit may be a first wireless communication circuit. The housing structure may further include a third housing segment formed of metal and defining at least a portion of a first corner and at least a portion of a second corner of the housing structure. The mobile phone may also include a second wireless communication circuit operatively coupled to the third housing segment and configured to operate at least a portion of the third housing segment as an additional antenna. The third housing segment may define an aperture extending through the third housing segment. The mobile phone may further include: a non-conductive window element positioned in the aperture and defining a portion of the top outer surface of the mobile phone; and an antenna module coupled to the third housing segment and configured to transmit and receive wireless signals through the non-conductive window element.

[0025] A mobile phone may include a housing structure comprising a unibody metal housing segment defining: a first sidewall defining at least a portion of a first outer surface of the mobile phone; a second sidewall defining at least a portion of a second outer surface of the mobile phone; and a rear panel extending between the first and second sidewalls and defining at least a portion of a rear outer surface of the mobile phone. The mobile phone may further include: a frame member extending between the first and second sidewalls and configured to be spaced apart from the rear panel; a battery coupled to the first side of the frame member and positioned within the gap; a circuit board assembly coupled to the first side of the frame member and positioned within the gap; a display positioned above a second side of the frame member, the second side of the frame member being opposite to the first side of the frame member; and a front cover positioned above the display and coupled to the unibody metal housing segment, the front cover defining at least a portion of a front outer surface of the mobile phone.

[0026] The mounting component may define an aperture extending through it. The mobile phone may also include a heat dissipation module positioned in the aperture and coupled to the mounting component, and a circuit board assembly thermally coupled to the heat dissipation module. The circuit board assembly may be configured to be spaced apart from the inner surface of the rear panel by a gap. The heat dissipation module is thermally coupled to the mounting component and configured to transfer heat received from the circuit board assembly to the mounting component. The heat dissipation module may be a vapor chamber module, which may define a flange extending around its periphery and the flange may be soldered to the mounting component.

[0027] The circuit board assembly may define an alignment hole, and the integrated metal housing section may also define an alignment pin extending from the inner surface of the rear panel and entering the alignment hole of the circuit board assembly. The circuit board assembly may be fastened to the frame component and is configured to be spaced apart from the inner surface of the rear panel by a clearance distance. The alignment pin may be a first alignment pin, the alignment hole may be a first alignment hole, and the circuit board assembly may also define a second alignment hole; and the integrated metal housing section may also define a second alignment pin extending from the inner surface of the rear panel and entering the second alignment hole of the circuit board assembly.

[0028] A portable electronic device may include a housing structure comprising a one-piece metal housing segment defining: a first lateral sidewall; a second lateral sidewall; and a rear panel extending between the first and second lateral sidewalls and defining at least a portion of a rear outer surface of the portable electronic device. The portable electronic device may further include: a frame member extending between the first and second lateral sidewalls and configured to be spaced apart from the rear panel, the frame member defining an aperture extending through the frame member; a circuit board assembly positioned between the frame member and the rear panel, the circuit board assembly being structurally coupled to the frame member; and a heat spreader module positioned in the aperture extending through the frame member, the heat spreader module being thermally coupled to the circuit board assembly and configured to transfer heat away from the circuit board assembly.

[0029] The rear panel may define an inner surface opposite the outer rear surface and an alignment pin extending from the inner surface of the rear panel. The circuit board assembly may define an alignment hole receiving the alignment pin to align the circuit board assembly relative to the integral metal housing segment. The alignment hole may be a first alignment hole, and the alignment pin may be a substantially cylindrical alignment pin. The rear panel may also define a diamond-shaped alignment pin extending from the inner surface of the rear panel, and the circuit board assembly may define a second alignment hole receiving the diamond-shaped alignment pin to further align the circuit board assembly relative to the integral metal housing segment.

[0030] The vapor chamber module may define a flange formed of a first metal and extending around the periphery of the vapor chamber module. The frame component may be formed of a second metal different from the first metal, and the flange may be welded to the frame component.

[0031] The portable electronic device may also include a battery positioned between the frame component and the rear panel and attached to the frame component. A first portion of the vapor chamber module may be positioned above the circuit board assembly, and a second portion of the vapor chamber module may be positioned above the battery.

[0032] The rear panel may define an inner surface opposite the rear outer surface, and the circuit board assembly may be configured to be spaced apart from the inner surface of the rear panel by a gap distance.

[0033] A mobile phone may include: a front cover assembly including a display and a light-transmitting cover positioned above the display and defining at least a portion of a front outer surface of the mobile phone; a metal housing segment coupled to the front cover assembly and including a rear panel defining an inner surface, an outer rear surface opposite the inner surface, and an alignment pin extending from the inner surface; a frame member coupled to the metal housing segment and configured to be spaced apart from the rear panel; and a circuit board assembly positioned between the rear panel and the frame member, the circuit board assembly engaging with and fastening to the alignment pin extending from the inner surface of the rear panel to the frame member.

[0034] The circuit board assembly may be configured to be spaced apart from the inner surface of the rear panel by a clearance distance. The alignment pin may be a circuit board alignment pin; and the metal housing section may further include a first sidewall defining: a first outer surface of the mobile phone; a first rack mounting feature; and a first rack alignment pin extending from the first rack mounting feature. The housing section may also include a second sidewall defining: a second outer surface of the mobile phone; a second rack mounting feature; and a second rack alignment pin extending from the second rack mounting feature. The housing member may define: an alignment slot configured to engage the first rack alignment pin; and an alignment hole configured to engage the second rack alignment pin. The housing member may be coupled to the metal housing section via a plurality of threaded fasteners.

[0035] The mobile phone may also include a vapor chamber module positioned in a hole defined through the frame component and thermally coupled to the circuit board assembly. The mobile phone may also include a battery positioned between the rear panel and the frame component and attached to the frame component via adhesive, the battery being thermally coupled to the vapor chamber module.

[0036] A mobile phone may include: a housing structure; a display at least partially surrounded by the housing structure; a front cover positioned above the display and coupled to the housing structure, the front cover defining at least a portion of a front surface of the mobile phone; and a rear cover coupled to the housing structure, the rear cover being formed of a dielectric material and including a panel region defining a first portion of a rear surface of the mobile phone and a rearward sensor array region defining a second portion of the rear surface of the mobile phone. The rearward sensor array region may be defined by a protrusion along an outer surface of the rear cover and a recess along an inner surface of the rear cover opposite to the protrusion. The mobile phone may also include a camera module coupled to the rear cover along the bottom surface of the recess and at least partially positioned in a hole defined by the rear cover in the rearward sensor array region. The recess may have a depth between about 2.0 mm and about 3.0 mm.

[0037] The back cover is attachable to the housing structure along a mounting interface. The back cover defines a curved transition surface extending along the inner surface of the back cover and from the panel area to the bottom surface of the recess. The mobile phone may also include a polymer structure coupled to the back cover along the curved transition surface and defining a portion of the mounting interface. The mobile phone may also include a support plate coupled to the back cover along the bottom surface of the recess, and a camera module may be coupled to the support plate, thereby coupling the camera module to the back cover. A portion of the support plate may be encapsulated by the polymer structure.

[0038] The camera module may be a rear-facing camera module, and the mobile phone may further include: a flash module at least partially located in the recess and configured to illuminate an object during image capture operation; a speaker module at least partially located in the recess and configured to generate audio output; and a front-facing camera module at least partially located in the recess.

[0039] The dielectric material may include glass ceramic; and the recess and the protrusion may be formed by machining operations.

[0040] A portable electronic device may include a housing comprising an outer shell structure defining a peripheral wall of the housing; a front cover coupled to the outer shell structure and defining a front outer surface of the portable electronic device; and an integral rear cover formed of a silicate-based material and coupled to the outer shell structure, the integral rear cover including: a panel region defining a first portion of a rear surface of the portable electronic device and having a first thickness; and a rearward sensor array region defining a second portion of the rear surface of the portable electronic device and having a second thickness different from the first thickness. The rearward sensor array region may be defined at least partially by a recess along an inner surface of the integral rear cover. The portable electronic device may further include: a display positioned below the front cover; and a camera module coupled to the integral rear cover and at least partially positioned within the recess.

[0041] The rearward sensor array region may also be defined by a protrusion along the outer surface of the integrated back cover, and the second thickness may be greater than the first thickness. The integrated back cover may define a transition region between the panel region and the rearward sensor array region, the transition region being defined by: a first curved surface along the outer surface of the integrated back cover; and a second curved surface along the inner surface of the integrated back cover. The portable electronic device may also include a molded polymer structure coupled to the integrated back cover along the second curved surface. The molded polymer structure may define a portion of a mounting interface along which the integrated back cover may be coupled to the housing structure. The portable electronic device may also include a support plate positioned in the recess and at least partially encapsulated by the molded polymer structure, and a camera module may be coupled to the support plate, thereby coupling the camera module to the integrated back cover. The first curved surface may be a first machined surface, and the second curved surface may be a second machined surface.

[0042] A mobile phone may include: a housing structure defining at least one sidewall of the mobile phone; a front cover assembly coupled to the housing structure and defining at least a portion of a front outer surface of the mobile phone; and a rear cover assembly coupled to the housing structure along a mounting interface of the rear cover assembly and defining at least a portion of a rear outer surface of the mobile phone, the rear cover assembly including: a rear cover member and a polymer structure formed of a silicate-based material and defining: a first inner surface portion defining a first portion of the mounting interface of the rear cover assembly; a second inner surface portion recessed relative to the first inner surface portion; and a transition surface extending from the first inner surface portion to the second inner surface portion; the polymer structure coupled to the rear cover along the transition surface and defining a second portion of the mounting interface of the rear cover assembly.

[0043] The polymer structure may be a thermosetting polymer structure molded against the transition surface. The mobile phone may also include a continuous adhesive extending along the first portion and the second portion of the mounting interface. The first portion of the mounting interface may be coplanar with the second portion of the mounting interface.

[0044] The mobile phone may also include a decorative member positioned on the transition surface and between the back cover member and the polymer structure. The decorative member may include: at least one opaque layer applied directly to the silicate-based material; and at least one outer layer above the at least one opaque layer, to which the polymer structure is attached, and the decorative member may have a thickness between about 30 micrometers and about 70 micrometers.

[0045] A portable electronic device may include a display; a front cover above the display; a housing coupled to the front cover and defining: a first portion of a rear outer surface of the portable electronic device; and a protrusion defining a raised sensor array region defining a second portion of the rear outer surface; a first aperture extending through the protrusion defining the raised sensor array region; and a second aperture extending through the protrusion defining the raised sensor array region. The portable electronic device may further include: a camera lens assembly aligned with the first aperture and defining a first spindle perpendicular to the second portion of the rear outer surface; and a depth sensor module including a depth sensor lens assembly aligned with the second aperture and defining a second spindle inclined relative to the second portion of the rear outer surface.

[0046] The second spindle may be angled toward the first spindle. The housing may also define a depth sensor mounting surface opposite the second portion of the rear outer surface, and the depth sensor mounting surface may define a mounting plane that is not parallel to the second portion of the rear outer surface. The mounting plane may be at an angle between approximately 1 degree and approximately 5 degrees relative to the second portion of the rear outer surface.

[0047] The second spindle may be oriented toward the first spindle at an angle between approximately 1 degree and approximately 5 degrees. The second spindle may be oriented toward the first spindle at an angle between approximately 2 degrees and approximately 7 degrees.

[0048] The camera lens assembly may define a first field of view, the depth sensor lens assembly may define a second field of view, and the first field of view may at least partially overlap with the second field of view between approximately 50 cm and approximately 100 cm from the second portion of the rear outer surface.

[0049] The depth sensor lens assembly may be an image capture lens assembly. The depth sensor module may include: the image capture lens assembly; and a projector lens assembly, wherein the projector lens assembly may define a third main axis tilted relative to the second portion of the rear outer surface. The second main axis may be angled toward the first main axis at an angle between approximately 2 degrees and approximately 5 degrees, and the third main axis may be angled toward the first main axis at an angle between approximately 2 degrees and approximately 5 degrees. The second and third main axes may be angled toward the first main axis at the same angle.

[0050] A portable electronic device may include: a display; a front cover above the display; and a housing coupled to the front cover and defining: a rear outer surface of the portable electronic device; and a depth sensor mounting surface opposite the rear outer surface, the depth sensor mounting surface defining a tilt angle relative to the rear outer surface. The portable electronic device may further include: a camera lens assembly coupled to the housing and defining a first main axis perpendicular to the rear outer surface; and a depth sensor module mounted to the depth sensor mounting surface and including a depth sensor lens assembly defining a second main axis, the tilt angle of the depth sensor mounting surface being configured such that the second main axis of the depth sensor lens assembly is angled toward the first main axis of the camera lens assembly.

[0051] The second main axis may be angled toward the first main axis at an angle between approximately 1 degree and approximately 5 degrees. The camera lens assembly may define a first field of view, the depth sensor lens assembly may define a second field of view, and the first field of view may overlap with the second field of view at a distance between approximately 50 cm and approximately 100 cm from the rear outer surface. The depth sensor lens assembly may be at least one of an image capture lens assembly or a projector lens assembly. The depth sensor lens assembly may be an image capture lens assembly, and the depth sensor module includes: the image capture lens assembly; and a projector lens assembly; and the projector lens assembly may define a third main axis inclined relative to the rear outer surface. The second and third main axes may be angled toward the first main axis at the same angle.

[0052] A portable electronic device may include: a display; a front cover above the display; a housing coupled to the front cover and defining a rear outer surface; a rear-facing camera lens assembly coupled to the housing and defining a first main axis perpendicular to the rear outer surface; and a rear-facing depth sensor lens assembly coupled to the housing and defining a second main axis inclined relative to the rear outer surface.

[0053] The housing may define: a protrusion defining a raised sensor array region that defines a portion of the rear outer surface of the portable electronic device; and a second hole extending through the protrusion; and the rearward depth sensor lens assembly may be aligned with the hole extending through the protrusion. The hole may be a first hole, and the housing may also define a second hole extending through the protrusion, and the rearward camera lens assembly may be aligned with the second hole extending through the protrusion. The second spindle may be angled toward the first spindle.

[0054] A mobile phone may include a housing structure comprising a metal segment defining at least a portion of a bottom side of the mobile phone; an opening for a charging port positioned along the bottom side of the mobile phone and configured to receive a plug of a charging cable; and a port structure extending from an inside side of the metal segment and defining at least a portion of an inner wall of the charging port. The mobile phone may further include: a molded polymer structure coupled to an end of the port structure and defining at least a bottom surface of the charging port; a charging cable connector coupled to the housing structure and including a connecting member extending through a hole formed through the bottom surface of the charging port, the connecting member being configured to conductively couple to the plug of the charging cable; a rear cover assembly coupled to the housing structure and defining a rear side of the mobile phone; and a front cover assembly coupled to the housing structure and defining a front side of the mobile phone.

[0055] The metal segment may be a cladding structure comprising: a first portion formed of titanium and at least partially defining the outer surface of the metal segment; a second portion formed of aluminum and defining at least a portion of the inner surface of the metal segment; and a port structure formed of titanium and weldable to the first portion.

[0056] The port structure defines a first portion of the inner wall of the charging port, and the molded polymer structure defines a second portion of the inner wall of the charging port. The molded polymer structure provides conductive isolation between the connecting member and the port structure.

[0057] The metal segment may further define: a first corner of the mobile phone; and a second corner of the mobile phone, and the opening of the charging port may be located between the first corner and the second corner. A first portion of the metal segment on the first side of the opening may be configured to operate as a first antenna, and a second portion of the metal segment on the second side of the opening may be configured to operate as a second antenna.

[0058] The port structure may define a first outer surface and a second outer surface opposite to the first outer surface, the front cover assembly may be attached to the first outer surface of the port structure, and the rear cover assembly may be attached to the second outer surface of the port structure.

[0059] A portable electronic device may include: a display; a front cover above the display and defining a front side of the portable electronic device; a rear cover defining a rear side of the portable electronic device; and a housing structure between and coupled to the front and rear covers. The housing structure may include housing segments comprising: an outer portion formed of a first metal and defining an opening for a charging port configured to receive a plug of a charging cable therein; an inner portion formed of a second metal different from the first metal; and a port structure extending from the inner portion and formed of the first metal, the port structure defining a wall configured to surround an outer periphery of the plug of the charging cable. The portable electronic device may also include a charging cable connector coupled to the housing structure and including a connecting member extending into the charging port and configured to conductively couple to the plug of the charging cable.

[0060] The first metal can be titanium, and the second metal can be aluminum. The port structure can be welded to the titanium surface of the housing section.

[0061] The portable electronic device may also include a molded polymer structure coupled to the port structure and defining: a bottom surface of the charging port; and an aperture extending through the bottom surface of the charging port, through which the charging cable connector extends. The molded polymer structure may also define a non-conductive portion of the inner surface of the charging port, the non-conductive portion being configured to conductively isolate the plug of the charging cable from the wall of the port structure.

[0062] The housing section may define: a first antenna radiator; and a second antenna radiator, and the port structure may be positioned between the first antenna radiator and the second antenna radiator. The port structure may be electrically coupled to the electrical ground of the portable electronic device, thereby isolating the first antenna radiator from the second antenna radiator.

[0063] A mobile phone may include: an optically transmissive front cover; a display located beneath the optically transmissive front cover; and a housing structure coupled to the optically transmissive front cover and including an integral metal segment. The integral metal segment may include: a first portion defining a first antenna radiator; a second portion defining a second antenna radiator; and a metal port structure positioned between the first portion and the second portion of the integral metal segment and defining at least a portion of an inner wall of a charging port, the metal port structure being coupled to an electrical ground of the mobile phone to isolate the first antenna radiator from the second antenna radiator. The mobile phone may also include wireless communication circuitry conductively coupled to the first portion and the second portion of the integral metal segment and configured to cause the first antenna radiator to radiate a first wireless signal and the second antenna radiator to radiate a second wireless signal.

[0064] The first portion of the integral metal segment may define a first corner of the housing structure; and the second portion of the integral metal segment may define a second corner of the housing structure. The integral metal segment may be a cladding structure comprising: a titanium portion that at least partially defines an outer surface of the housing structure; and an aluminum portion that defines at least a portion of an inner surface of the housing structure. The metal port structure may be formed of titanium and welded to the titanium portion of the integral metal segment.

[0065] The mobile phone may also include a molded polymer structure coupled to the metal port structure and defining a bottom surface at an end of the inner wall of the charging port. The metal port structure may define a first outer surface and a second outer surface opposite to the first outer surface, and the optically transmissive front cover may be attached to the first outer surface of the metal port structure. Attached Figure Description

[0066] This disclosure will be readily understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals denote the same structural elements: Figures 1A to 1B An example electronic device is described.

[0067] Figures 1C to 1D Another example electronic device is depicted.

[0068] Figures 1E to 1F Another example electronic device is depicted.

[0069] Figure 2 This is an exploded view of the example electronic device.

[0070] Figure 3 This is an exploded view of the example electronic device.

[0071] Figure 4 This is an exploded view of the example electronic device.

[0072] Figure 5A This is a front plan view of an example electronic device.

[0073] Figure 5B This is a rear plan view of the example electronic device.

[0074] Figure 5C This is a rear perspective view of a portion of the example electronic device.

[0075] Figure 6A This is a rear plan view of an example electronic device illustrating the location of an example antenna.

[0076] Figures 6B to 6D An example configuration of a device with a platform structure and a multi-segment housing structure is shown.

[0077] Figures 7A to 7C This is a partial exploded view of an example electronic device illustrating the component arrangement of assembled architectural components.

[0078] Figures 7D to 7E The rear and front views of the structural components are shown respectively.

[0079] Figure 8A An example heat dissipation module is shown.

[0080] Figure 8B This is a partial cross-sectional view of the example heat dissipation module.

[0081] Figures 8C to 8D Additional example heat dissipation modules with different column configurations are shown.

[0082] Figure 9A This is a partial plan view of the example electronic device.

[0083] Figures 9B to 9C This is a detailed view of an example electronic device showing the mounting configuration for the architectural components.

[0084] Figure 9D This is a partial cross-sectional view of an example electronic device that shows the construction of the frame components and housing sections.

[0085] Figure 10A This is a partial view of an example electronic device with circuit board assemblies.

[0086] Figure 10B This is a partial cross-sectional view of an example electronic device showing the coupling of the battery and circuit board assembly to the structural components.

[0087] Figures 11A to 11BExamples of housing components in various assembly states are shown.

[0088] Figures 12A to 12B Another example of a housing component in various assembly states is shown.

[0089] Figure 13A This is the top view of the example electronic device.

[0090] Figures 13B to 13C This is a perspective view illustrating a portion of an example electronic device integrating an example antenna module.

[0091] Figure 13D This is a perspective top-end view of a portion of an example electronic device, illustrating a housing structure with an antenna window.

[0092] Figures 14A to 14B This is a perspective view of an example housing structure illustrating the electrically isolated mounting features used for the frame components.

[0093] Figure 15A This is a bottom view of an example electronic device illustrating an optical system's example field of view.

[0094] Figure 15B This is a partial cross-sectional view of an example electronic device illustrating a depth sensor module.

[0095] Figure 15C This is a partial view of the inside of the housing of an example electronic device at the location where the depth sensor is mounted.

[0096] Figure 15D This is a perspective view of a depth sensor module in an electronic device.

[0097] Figure 16 This is a rear perspective view of the example electronic device.

[0098] Figure 17A This is a cross-sectional perspective view of an example back cover of an electronic device.

[0099] Figures 17B to 17C This is a partial cross-sectional view of an example back cover of an electronic device.

[0100] Figure 18 An example mounting tab for attaching a cover to a housing is shown.

[0101] Figure 19 This is a rear plan view of a portion of an example electronic device illustrating the location of example components.

[0102] Figures 20A to 20B This is a partial cross-sectional view of the example electronic device.

[0103] Figures 21A to 21BThis is a perspective view of a portion of a circuit board assembly with interlayer shielding components.

[0104] Figure 22 This is a plan view of an example electronic device illustrating the location of an example antenna.

[0105] Figures 23A to 23B An example assembly process for a housing segment with an integrated port structure is illustrated.

[0106] Figure 23C An example is shown of a portion of a housing section with an integrated port structure.

[0107] Figures 23D to 23E This is a detailed view of a portion of the housing section with an integrated port structure.

[0108] Figure 24A This is a partial cross-sectional view of an example electronic device with an integrated port structure.

[0109] Figure 24B This is a perspective cross-sectional view of an example housing section with an integrated port structure.

[0110] Figure 25 This is a schematic diagram of the housing section used as an antenna.

[0111] Figure 26 This is a schematic diagram of an example electronic device. Detailed Implementation

[0112] Reference will now be made in detail to the representative embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the following description is not intended to limit the embodiments to a single preferred embodiment. Rather, it is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents that may be included within the substance and scope of the described embodiments as defined by the appended claims.

[0113] Mobile phones as described herein may include complex and sophisticated components and systems that facilitate a variety of functions. For example, a mobile phone according to this disclosure may include a touch-sensitive display and / or a force-sensitive display, multiple cameras (including both a front-facing camera and a rear-facing camera), a global positioning system (GPS), haptic actuators, a wireless charging system, and all necessary computing components and software for operating these (and other) systems and otherwise providing the functionality of the mobile phone.

[0114] Figure 1A and Figure 1B An example electronic device 100 embodied as a mobile phone is shown. Figure 1A The front of electronic device 100 (or simply device 100) is shown as an example, while Figure 1BThe back of the device is illustrated. Although device 100 is a mobile phone, the concepts presented herein are applicable to any suitable electronic device, including portable electronic devices, wearable devices (e.g., watches), laptops, handheld gaming devices, tablets, computing peripherals (e.g., mice, touchpads, keyboards), or any other device. Therefore, any reference to “electronic device” covers any and all of the foregoing, as well as other electronic devices not explicitly listed.

[0115] As used herein, portable electronic devices generally refer to devices designed to be easily carried or worn by a user and to operate without a continuous connection to an external power source. Such devices may include an onboard power source sufficient to support the device's functionality in mobile or tethered conditions, such as a rechargeable or replaceable battery. Portable electronic devices typically have a compact form factor, an integrated housing, and self-contained input / output and control interfaces. Examples of portable electronic devices include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, head-mounted displays, headphones, earphones, audio playback and recording devices, wearable computing devices, watches (e.g., smartwatches), personal digital assistants, handheld gaming systems, and similar devices; it should be understood that such examples are illustrative and not limiting.

[0116] Electronic device 100 includes a cover 102 (e.g., a front cover) attached to a housing structure 104 (which may be defined by one or more housing components). Cover 102 may be positioned above a display 103. Cover 102 may be a sheet or sheet-like structure formed of or comprising a transparent or optically translucent material. Cover 102 may define the front side of the device and may define a front outer surface and an inner surface opposite the outer surface. In some cases, cover 102 is formed of or comprises a glass material and may therefore be referred to as a glass cover component. The glass material may be a silicate-based glass material, aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass (e.g., lithium aluminosilicate glass), or chemically strengthened glass. Other example materials for cover 102 include, but are not limited to, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass material, or plastic (e.g., polycarbonate). Glass ceramic materials may be silicate-based glass ceramic materials, such as aluminosilicate glass ceramic materials or borosilicate glass ceramic materials. Glass ceramic materials may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. The cover 102 can be formed as a single sheet or a single sheet. The cover 102 can also be formed as a composite of multiple layers of different materials, coatings and other components.

[0117] Display 103 may be at least partially located within the internal volume of housing structure 104 (or simply housing). Display 103 may be coupled to cover 102, such as via adhesive or other coupling methods. Display 103 may include liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED) display, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, active layer organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display, organic electroluminescent (EL) display, electrophoretic ink display, etc. Display 103 may be configured to display graphic output, such as a graphical user interface that a user can view and interact with. Graphical output may be displayed as a graphic active area (e.g., active display area) of display 103. Active display area may be surrounded or defined by a boundary area, which may be defined by an opaque mask (or using other components or techniques) on the inner surface of cover 102. In some cases, the boundary is small (e.g., less than about 3 mm, less than about 2 mm, or less than about 1 mm).

[0118] The display 103 may also define a primary display area that roughly corresponds to the primary forward continuous display area, in which a graphical user interface, images, videos, applications, and other graphical outputs may be displayed.

[0119] Device 100 may also include an ambient light sensor that determines the properties of the ambient light conditions surrounding device 100. Device 100 may use information from the ambient light sensor to alter, modify, adjust, or otherwise control display 103 (e.g., by changing the hue, brightness, saturation, or other optical aspects of the display based on information from the ambient light sensor). The ambient light sensor may be positioned below the active area of ​​display 103 (e.g., below the portion of the display that produces graphic output). The ambient light sensor may send and / or receive light through the active area of ​​display 103 to perform sensing functions.

[0120] Display 103 may include or be associated with one or more touch sensing systems and / or force sensing systems. In some cases, components of the touch sensing system and / or force sensing system are integrated with the display stack. For example, electrode layers of touch sensing components such as touch sensors and / or force sensors may be provided in the form of a stack that includes the display components (and optionally is attached to or at least visible through cover 102). The touch sensing system and / or force sensing system may use any suitable type of sensing technology and touch sensing components, including capacitive sensors, resistive sensors, surface acoustic wave sensors, piezoelectric sensors, strain gauges, etc. The outer or outer surface of cover 102 may define the input surface of the device (e.g., a touch-sensitive input surface and / or a force-sensitive input surface). While both touch sensing systems and force sensing systems may be included, in some cases, device 100 includes a touch sensing system but does not include a force sensing system.

[0121] Device 100 may also include a forward-facing camera. The forward-facing camera may be positioned below cover 102 or otherwise covered and / or protected by the cover. The forward-facing camera may have any suitable operating parameters. For example, the forward-facing camera may include a 24-megapixel sensor (with a pixel size of 1 micrometer) and a field of view of 80° to 90°. The sensor may be a square sensor. The forward-facing camera may have… f An aperture of f / 1.9. Front-facing cameras may include autofocus functionality (e.g., one or more lens elements can move relative to the optical sensor to focus an image onto the sensor). Other types of cameras can also be used for front-facing cameras, such as fixed-focus cameras.

[0122] A forward-facing camera (and other components, such as an optical facial recognition system) may be positioned within a forward-facing sensor region 111. The forward-facing sensor region 111 may be positioned in an island-like region at the front of the device 100 and may be surrounded by a display area of ​​the device 100 (e.g., a main or primary display area). In some cases, as described herein, the forward-facing sensor region 111 may be positioned in or defined by one or more apertures formed through the display 103. In such cases, the forward-facing sensor region 111 may be adjacent to the active area or region of the display 103 on all sides. In other words, the forward-facing sensor region 111 may be completely surrounded by the active display area (e.g., the outer periphery of the forward-facing sensor region 111 may be surrounded by the active area of ​​the display). In some cases, the forward-facing sensor region 111 includes or is defined by one or more masks or other visually opaque components or processing methods that define a sensor opening in the forward-facing sensor region 111. The forward sensor region 111 may include components such as an infrared illuminator module (which may include a flood illuminator and a dot projector), an infrared image capturing device, proximity sensing system components, and a forward camera. The infrared illuminator module is an example of a light emitter, and the infrared image capturing device is an example of an optical receiver.

[0123] A proximity sensing system determines the proximity of an object (e.g., a user's face) to device 100. Device 100 can use information from the proximity sensing system to alter, modify, adjust, or otherwise control display 103 or other functions of device 100 (e.g., deactivating the display when device 100 is held near a user's face during a telephone call). The proximity sensing system may be part of an integrated module that includes the proximity sensing system along with components of an illuminator module and an infrared image capture device. The proximity sensing system may include optical transmitters and optical receivers, each of which may be associated with its own light guide. The proximity sensing system may use lasers and time-of-flight calculations or other types of proximity sensing components or technologies to estimate the distance between the device and a single object or target.

[0124] In some cases, the forward sensor region 111 is defined by or includes two holes formed through the display 103, such as a first hole providing an optical path to a forward camera, and a second hole providing a path to an infrared illuminator module, an infrared image capture device, and a proximity sensing system. A supplementary display region may be located between the first and second holes. The supplementary display region may provide graphic output and touch sensing and / or force sensing functions to the forward sensor region 111. For example, the supplementary display region may be used to display graphic output, such as lights, shapes, icons, or other elements (e.g., providing notifications and / or information to the user). In some cases, the supplementary display region may be visually distinguishable from other active areas of the display, making it appear as if the supplementary display region is not part of the display. For example, graphic output displayed on the display 103 (e.g., a graphical user interface, images, videos, etc.) may not extend into the supplementary display region. In such cases, although the display has two separate holes separated by the active display region, the forward sensor region 111 may visually appear as a single, continuous area of ​​the display. The supplementary display area and the optional touch sensing components of the display surrounding the forward sensor area 111 may also include touch sensing and / or force sensing functions, allowing a user to touch the forward sensor area 111 to provide input to the device. In some cases, touch input applied at any location in the forward sensor area 111 (e.g., even directly above the optical components) can be detected by the device. These and other features of the forward sensor area 111 are described herein.

[0125] Device 100 may also include one or more buttons (e.g., buttons 120, 116, 117, and 118), switches, and / or other physical input systems. Such input systems can be used to control power states (e.g., button 120), control applications, change speaker volume (e.g., button 116), switch between a "ring" mode and a "mute" mode (e.g., button 118), etc. Buttons 116, 117, 118, and 120 may include a strain sensing system that detects input to the button based on detected strain. Buttons 116, 117, 118, and 120 may also be associated with a haptic actuation system that generates a haptic output in response to detecting strain that satisfies a condition. Thus, for example, upon detecting strain or force that satisfies a condition (and / or an electrical parameter indicating strain that satisfies a condition), the haptic actuation system may apply force to the button to generate a haptic output (e.g., a sound similar to a "click"). This tactile output or response can provide tactile feedback to the user, indicating that the input has been recognized by the device.

[0126] In some cases, one or more of buttons 116, 117, 118, and 120 may use a switching element (such as a collapsible dome switch) to detect button press. Such dome switches may be used to replace strain-based sensing systems or other non-binary force sensing systems (or optionally, as a supplement). However, in some cases, dome switches or other collapsible or haptic switches may be used in addition to strain-based sensing systems or non-binary force sensing systems in a given button. In such cases, the button facilitates the detection of binary or momentary input, while also detecting the magnitude of the force applied to the button. In such cases, device 100 may perform different operations in response to the detection of a binary input and in response to the detection of a force satisfying a condition. More specifically, the user may provide partial actuation of the button (e.g., a half-click or half-press), where force is applied but the switch does not collapse. Device 100 may perform one or more operations in response to the detection of partial actuation of the button (e.g., in response to the detection of a force satisfying a condition). The user may subsequently (or alternatively) provide full actuation of the button, where force increases until the switch is actuated or input is otherwise recorded (e.g., dome switch collapse). Device 100 may perform one or more additional or different operations in response to the detection of switch actuation. As a non-limiting example, when device 100 is operating in image capture mode, the button may be used to provide input to device 100. In such cases, partial actuation may cause device 100 to initiate a focus operation or lock the exposure setting for image capture (or perform other operations or combinations of operations). When full actuation is detected (e.g., a binary or momentary switch is actuated), device 100 may use one of its onboard cameras to capture an image. Other functions, including other image capture functions or other device or application functions, may also be initiated in response to partial and / or full actuation of the button. For example, partial actuation may initiate a scrolling operation (e.g., scrolling through items in a displayed list), and full actuation may initiate the selection of a selected item in the list. In some cases, the button comprises both a dome switch (or other binary or momentary switch) and a strain-based sensing system. In some cases, one or more other buttons of device 100 include both dome switches (or other binary or momentary switches) and strain-based sensing systems.

[0127] In some cases, one or more of buttons 116, 117, 118, and 120 may use a touch sensing system, such as a capacitive touch sensing system, to detect input. For example, the button component of a button (e.g., a movable part that actuates the button by a user pressing it or provides input to the button) may include a touch sensing element positioned thereon. Buttons equipped with touch sensing elements can detect various types of touch-based input, including static touch input (e.g., a finger touching the surface of a touch-sensitive button), dynamic touch input (e.g., a finger sliding along the surface of a touch-sensitive button, also known as a gesture or swipe input), etc.

[0128] In some cases, buttons may include touch-sensing elements to detect such touch-based input. Device 100 may perform various operations in response to the detection of touch-based input. Continuing with the example above, when device 100 is operating in image capture mode, static touch input may initiate focus or exposure lock operations, while dynamic or swipe touch input may initiate zoom operations (e.g., a swipe in one direction may initiate a zoom-in operation, and a swipe in the opposite direction may initiate a zoom-out operation).

[0129] In some cases, the touch sensing element can detect the position of a touch input on the button during button actuation, and the device can perform different actions based on the position of the touch. For example, if the button is actuated by a press input at a first position on the button (e.g., at one end of the button, as detected by the touch sensing element), the device can perform a first action (e.g., a zoom-in operation), and if the button is actuated by a press input at a second position on the button (e.g., at the opposite end of the button, as detected by the touch sensing element), the device can perform a second action different from the first action (e.g., a zoom-out operation).

[0130] In some cases, the touch sensing element can detect whether input to a button is applied with a single finger or two fingers, and can perform different actions in response. For example, if the button is actuated with a single finger (as detected by the touch sensing element), the device can perform a first action (e.g., capturing a single image), and if the button is actuated with multiple fingers (as detected by the touch sensing element), the device can perform a second action different from the first action (e.g., capturing a series of images over the duration of actuation, or initiating a video capture operation).

[0131] Other sensing technologies can also be used to detect button input. In some cases, switches or other input devices are used instead of one or more buttons.

[0132] As noted above, one of the buttons can be force-sensitive and / or pressure-sensitive (e.g., capable of detecting variable force input) and can generate multiple controls or outputs based on the amount of force input, the presence of touch, the location of touch, and the movement of touch (gesture). A specific operation initiated in response to any given button input can vary depending on the amount of force applied (e.g., proportional to the amount of force applied). In some cases, force-based input can suppress action or be ignored by the device if no touch input is detected at the touch sensing element. A button can also be paired with one or more other buttons for specifying an operation or command (e.g., the device can perform certain operations in response to the detection of simultaneous input at multiple buttons or certain input sequences at multiple buttons).

[0133] As described in the examples above, buttons (e.g., buttons 117, 118, or another button) are operable to initiate or control image capture functions and operations. For example, a light touch of a button (e.g., a touch input sensed without force or with a force satisfying a first force condition corresponding to a slight deflection of the button) can initiate focusing and metering operations, and a greater force or deflection of the button (e.g., satisfying a second force condition) can initiate image or video capture operations. Additionally, different tactile outputs may be generated in response to different inputs detected at the button and / or in response to different operations initiated by the button input.

[0134] Other examples of image manipulation and / or camera function control that can be initiated by input to a button (force and / or touch input) may include: zooming in or out in response to a swipe input in different directions on the button surface; increasing or decreasing volume output in response to a swipe input in different directions on the button surface; capturing a single image or a series of multiple images in response to different force inputs (e.g., a single image for a light press; multiple images for a harder press). In such cases, different tactile outputs may be generated in response to different inputs detected at the button and / or in response to different actions initiated by the button input.

[0135] Buttons can also enable the device to perform other functions that are associated with the device's operation or set in response to specific applications or usage patterns on the phone. For example, input to a button can enable the device to perform actions such as: selecting one or more warning suppression (silent) modes; verifying purchase or application commands; controlling timer commands, including watch-related actions; providing input to games, such as throttle control or other continuously variable inputs; initiating a hard reset and / or soft reset of the device; initiating user-programmable operations; and starting or terminating applications. In some cases, the specific actions of a button can be programmable or selectable by the user. For example, a user can select which function or operation to initiate in response to various force inputs, gesture inputs, and touch inputs. Users can also establish different input schemes for different device modes. For example, a user can map force, touch, and gesture inputs to a first set of functions when the device is operating in a first mode (e.g., when executing a first application, such as an image capture application), and can map force, touch, and gesture inputs to a second set of functions when the device is operating in a second mode (e.g., when executing a second application).

[0136] In some cases, button operation can be altered based on the device's orientation. For example, if the device is held in a vertical or "portrait" orientation, force, touch, and gesture inputs can be mapped to a first set of functions, and if the device is held in a horizontal or "landscape" orientation, force, touch, and gesture inputs can be mapped to a second set of functions.

[0137] The button can also be used to initiate stereoscopic image or video capture. In some cases, the selection of the stereoscopic image capture mode (or switching between stereoscopic and non-stereoscopic image modes) can be controlled by operations via the button or other device inputs (e.g., other buttons, touchscreen inputs, etc.). In some cases, the ability to select the stereoscopic image mode (or switch between stereoscopic image modes and other image modes) using the button may depend on the device's orientation.

[0138] Device 100 may also include a speaker port 110 to provide audio output to a user (e.g., to the user's ear) during a voice call. In the context of a mobile phone, speaker port 110 (which is an example of an audio port) may also be referred to as a receiver, receiver port, or handset. Speaker port 110 may be defined by an opening defined along at least one side by housing structure 104 and along at least another side by cover 102. In some cases, cover 102 defines a notch along the edge of the cover, and the notch (also referred to as a recess or cutout) defines at least three sides of speaker port 110. Speaker port 110 may not have a mesh or other covering flush with the front surface of cover 102. In some cases, a protective grille or grating is positioned within device 100 and in the audio path between the speaker and speaker port 110 to prevent debris from entering device 100. The protective grille or grating may be recessed relative to the front surface or front of cover 102.

[0139] Device 100 may also include a charging port 112 (e.g., a connector for receiving a charging cable or power cable to power device 100 and charge device 100's battery). The charging port 112 may be connected to an opening 232 in the housing structure 104 ( Figure 2 The charging port 112 is alignable and can accept connectors of any suitable design. In some cases, the charging port 112 accepts connectors corresponding to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector type, such as USB-C connectors. The charging port 112 can also be configured to transmit and / or receive data via cable (such as using USB or other communication protocols).

[0140] Device 100 may also include an audio opening 114 (e.g., a port). The audio opening 114 allows audio from an internal speaker system (e.g., Figure 2 The sound output from the speaker system 224 exits the housing structure 104. The device 100 may also include one or more microphones. In some cases, the microphones within the housing structure 104 may be acoustically coupled to the surrounding environment through audio openings 114.

[0141] The housing structure 104 may be a multi-piece housing. For example, the housing structure 104 may be formed of a plurality of housing components 124, 125, 126 (which may be and / or may include metal segments), which are structurally coupled together via one or more intermediate elements such as coupling structures 122 (e.g., 122-1 to 122-4). The housing components 124, 125, 126 together with the coupling structures 122 may define a strip housing structure that defines four sidewalls of the device 100 (and thus four external side surfaces). The four walls may include a top wall (e.g., adjacent to the forward sensor region 111), a bottom wall opposite the top wall, a first lateral sidewall 127 ( Figure 5A) and the second transverse sidewall 128 opposite to the first sidewall ( Figure 5A Therefore, both the housing component and the joint structure define a portion of the outer surface of the device 100.

[0142] The housing components 124, 125, and 126 may be formed of a conductive material (e.g., a metal), and the bonding structure 122 may be formed of one or more polymeric materials (e.g., a glass-reinforced polymer). The bonding structure 122 may include two or more molded elements that may be formed of different materials. For example, the inner molded element may be formed of a first material (e.g., a polymeric material), and the outer molded element may be formed of a second material different from the first material (e.g., a different polymeric material). These materials may have different properties, which may be selected based on the different functions of the inner and outer molded elements. For example, the inner molded element may be configured to form a primary structural connection between the housing components and may have higher mechanical strength and / or toughness than the outer molded element. On the other hand, the outer molded element may be configured to have a specific appearance, surface finish, chemical resistance, water resistance, etc., and its composition may be selected such that those functions take precedence over mechanical strength. The bonding structure 122 may be mechanically interlocked with the housing components to structurally couple the housing components and form a structural housing assembly.

[0143] The housing components 124, 125, and 126 may be formed of metals (e.g., aluminum, steel, stainless steel, titanium, etc.), polymer materials, composite materials, etc. In some cases, the housing components 124, 125, and 126 may be formed of a cladding structure comprising multiple materials. For example, the housing component may include a core portion formed of a first metal and a cladding portion formed of a second metal. The cladding portion may define an outer surface of the housing component. The outer surface defined by the cladding portion may have a surface texture that produces a particular visual appearance and / or tactile feel. For example, the surface may have a texture that produces diffuse reflection. The surface texture may be produced by grinding, polishing, machining, ablation, sandblasting (e.g., sandblasting, bead blasting), etching (via mechanical etching, laser etching, chemical etching), or any other suitable texturing operation. The outer surface of the housing component may also include a coating, such as a deposited coating. In some cases, the cladding portion is polished. The deposited coating may be deposited on the housing component via plasma vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), etc.

[0144] In the case of a cladding structure, the core portion of the outer casing component can be aluminum (e.g., an aluminum alloy), and the cladding portion can be titanium (e.g., a titanium alloy). Other metals can replace aluminum and titanium for the core and cladding portions, such as an aluminum core with a stainless steel cladding, a nickel core with a titanium cladding, or a steel core with a stainless steel cladding. Other metals and combinations of metals are also envisioned. In some cases, the core portion of the outer casing component is aluminum, and the cladding portion is stainless steel. The cladding portion may have an average thickness between about 0.1 mm and about 1.0 mm. The aluminum of the casing may include recycled aluminum (e.g., up to 70% recycled aluminum, up to 85% recycled aluminum, or another value).

[0145] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, references to metals (e.g., aluminum, titanium) include both pure metals and metal alloys. Thus, for example, a component formed of aluminum may be formed of pure aluminum, 6061 aluminum alloy, 7071 aluminum alloy, or other aluminum alloys. Similarly, a component formed of titanium may be formed of pure titanium, Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy, Ti-5Al-2.5Sn titanium alloy, or another titanium alloy. References to steel may include various types and / or alloys of steel, including but not limited to low-carbon steel, stainless steel, high-carbon steel, etc.

[0146] In some cases, one or more (or portions thereof) of housing components 124, 125, and 126 are configured to operate as antennas (e.g., components configured to transmit and / or receive electromagnetic waves to facilitate wireless communication with other computers and / or devices). To facilitate the use of the housing components as antennas, feed lines and ground lines may be conductively coupled to the housing components to couple them to other antennas and / or communication circuitry. Connection structure 122 may be substantially non-conductive to provide appropriate separation and / or electrical isolation between housing components (which can be used to tune radiating portions, reduce capacitive coupling between radiating portions and other structures, etc.). Joining structure 122 may typically be located in gaps between conductive (e.g., metallic) housing segments. For example, as described herein, housing structure 104 may include housing components 124, 125, and 126. A first housing component 124 may be configured to be spaced apart from a second housing component 125 by a first gap, and a third housing component 126 may be configured to be spaced apart from a second housing component 125 by a second gap. The joining structure 122 (which may be a continuous joining structure or multiple discontinuous joining structures) may be positioned in two gaps, as well as in other gaps in the housing structure (e.g., gaps formed around the protrusion 151 as described herein). For example, joining structures 122-1, 122-4 may be positioned in a first gap between the first housing member 124 and the second housing member 124, and joining structures 122-2, 122-3 may be positioned in a second gap between the third housing member 126 and the second housing member 125.

[0147] In some cases, the supplementary antenna segment is electrically coupled to the housing component to alter the antenna performance parameters of the housing component. The supplementary antenna segment can be coupled to the housing component via a switching circuit that allows the supplementary antenna segment to be selectively coupled to or decoupled from the housing component.

[0148] Device 100 may include various internal antenna elements configured to transmit and receive wireless communication signals through various areas of device 100. For example, the internal antenna elements may be configured to transmit and receive wireless communication signals through a front cover 102, a back cover, or a rear cover 132. Figure 1B Alternatively, wireless communication signals can be transmitted and received through a radio frequency transmission window formed through the housing component.

[0149] The outer surfaces of housing components 124, 125, and 126 may have substantially the same color, surface texture, and overall appearance as the outer surface of the mating structure 122. In some cases, the outer surfaces of housing components 124, 125, and 126 and the outer surface of the mating structure 122 undergo at least one common finishing process, such as abrasive blasting, machining, polishing, grinding, etc. Therefore, the outer surfaces of the housing components and the mating structure may have the same or similar surface finish (e.g., surface texture, roughness, pattern, etc.). In some cases, the outer surfaces of the housing components and the mating structure may undergo a two-stage blasting method to achieve the desired surface finish.

[0150] Figure 1B The rear side of device 100 is illustrated. The rear side of device 100 may be formed by or include multiple different components. Specifically, the rear side of device 100 may include multiple different components that together form the back portion of the entire device housing, providing structural attachment points and communication functionality for the multiple components. For example, as noted above, device 100 includes a housing component 125. Housing component 125 may define a portion of each of the device's lateral sidewalls 127, 128 and rear frame 130. Rear frame 130 may define a first portion of the rear outer surface of device 100.

[0151] The housing component 125, including sidewalls 127, 128 and rear frame 130, may be formed from a single monolithic material such as metal (e.g., a monolithic structure formed by machining housing component 125 from a single blank or extruder). In other examples, the housing component may be formed by coupling multiple components together. For example, sidewalls 127, 128 may be welded to rear frame 130. In this case, sidewalls 127, 128 and rear frame 130 may be formed from the same metallic material, such as aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, etc. In some cases, the sidewalls and / or rear frame may be formed from a cladding structure comprising multiple materials. In such cases, the outer surfaces of sidewalls 127, 128 and rear frame 130 may be formed from the same material (e.g., the same metal). In some cases, the housing component may be formed from materials other than metal, such as polymers (e.g., reinforced polymers), composite materials, etc. (including combinations of different types of materials, such as polymers and metals).

[0152] A housing structure, at least partially defined by housing components 124, 125, 126 and engagement structure 122, may define a protrusion 151 that defines a rearward sensor array 141. The protrusion 151 may have a metallic surface defining a first portion of the rear outer surface of the device 100. The housing structure may also define a frame portion 121 that defines an opening 708 in the housing structure. Figures 7A to 7B At least a portion of the protrusion 151. The opening 708 may be positioned along one side of the protrusion 151, such as along the bottom side of the protrusion 151. The frame portion 121 may extend at least partially around the opening 708 and may define a portion of the rear outer surface of the device 100. (As opposed to...) Figures 7A to 7B As shown and described, opening 708 may at least partially define a recess 710 defined by the housing structure. Recess 710 may at least partially be defined by opening 708 and rear panel 283 ( Figure 2 It is defined and can receive a back cover or rear cover, as described herein. For example, the rear panel 283 may define the bottom surface of the recess 710.

[0153] like Figure 1B and Figure 7B As shown, opening 708 may be at least partially defined by housing component 125 and housing component 126. In other words, housing component 125 may define a first portion of the opening, and housing component 126 may define a second portion of the opening.

[0154] Device 100 may also include a back cover or rear cover 132 coupled to housing structure 104. For example, rear cover 132 may be at least partially positioned in opening 708 in housing structure and may define a second portion of the rear outer surface of device 100. The second portion of the rear outer surface defined by rear cover 132 may be substantially flush with the surface of the frame portion 121 of housing structure. For example, the thickness of rear cover 132 may be equal to or less than the depth of recess 710, such that the outer surface of rear cover 132 (with an optional adhesive or other layer between rear cover 132 and the bottom surface of recess 710) is substantially flush with the surface of frame portion 121.

[0155] The back cover 132 may be formed of or comprise a transparent or optically translucent material. For example, the back cover 132 may comprise a substrate formed of a glass material. The glass material may be a silicate-based material (silicate-based glass material), aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass (e.g., lithium aluminosilicate glass), or chemically strengthened glass. Other example materials for the back cover 132 include, but are not limited to, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass material, and plastic (e.g., polycarbonate). The glass ceramic material may be a silicate-based glass ceramic material, such as aluminosilicate glass ceramic or borosilicate glass ceramic. The glass ceramic material may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange.

[0156] Device 100 may include a wireless charging system, thereby enabling device 100 to be powered and / or its battery to be recharged via inductive (or other electromagnetic) coupling between a charger (e.g., a wireless charging accessory) and the wireless charging system within device 100. In such cases, the back cover 132 may be formed of a material that allows and / or facilitates wireless coupling between the charger and the wireless charging system. More specifically, as Figures 7A to 7B As shown, housing component 125 may define an aperture 704 through rear frame 130, and the wireless charging coil may be positioned within or otherwise aligned with the aperture 704. Rear cover 132 covers (and conceals) the aperture 704 and the wireless charging coil, while also allowing the wireless charging coil to be electromagnetically (or otherwise wirelessly) coupled to a complementary charging coil external to device 100. In some cases, additional antennas and / or wireless communication systems may also be aligned with aperture 704 and communicate through rear cover 132. For the convenience of wireless charging and optional communication functionality, rear cover 132 may be formed of a dielectric material, an RF-transmitting material, or otherwise configured to allow electromagnetic coupling through it (e.g., glass, sapphire, polymer, glass-ceramic, etc.).

[0157] like Figure 2 and Figures 7A to 7BAs shown, the rear frame 130 may define a rear panel 283, and the hole 704 may be defined to pass through the rear panel 283. A rear cover 132 may be coupled to the rear panel 283 (e.g., an externally facing surface of the rear panel 283). In some cases, the rear cover 132 is attached to the rear panel 283. The rear panel 283 may also serve as a mounting structure or substrate for other components of the device (e.g., within a housing, opposite the rear cover 132). Furthermore, the frame 130 may define a recess or recess in which the rear cover 132 is received.

[0158] The back cover 132 may be formed as a single sheet or a one-piece sheet. The back cover 132 may also be composed of multiple layers of different materials, coatings, and other elements. The back cover 132 may include one or more decorative layers on the outer or inner surface of a substrate. For example, one or more coatings may be applied to the inner surface of the substrate (or otherwise positioned along the inner surface of the substrate) to provide a specific appearance to the back of the device 100. The coatings may include sheets, inks, dyes, or combinations of these (or other) layers, materials, etc. In some cases, one or more coatings have a color substantially matching the color of the housing structure 104 (e.g., the outer surface of the housing components and bonding structures). In some cases, the substrate material of the back cover 132 may be colored and may include one or more coatings that contribute to the colored appearance of the back cover. Furthermore, the back cover 132 may be formed of or may include dielectric materials (e.g., the back cover 132 may be a dielectric component, such as a glass component, a sapphire component, a polymer component, a glass-ceramic component, etc.).

[0159] Device 100 may also include a sensor array 141 (e.g., a rearward sensor array in a rearward sensor array region), which includes a camera array that may include three cameras 142, 144, and 146. Sensor array 141 may be located along the rear or back side of device 100 in a sensor array region defined by protrusion 151. Protrusion 151 may define a portion of the rear outer surface of device 100 and may at least partially define the raised sensor array region of sensor array 141.

[0160] The first camera 142 (in the camera array) may include a 48-megapixel sensor and a sensor with 3x optical zoom and an aperture of f / 1000. f A telephoto lens with a focal length of 2.8. In some cases, the first camera 142 has a 5x optical zoom telephoto lens (and optionally, 8x digital zoom). The second camera 144 (in the camera array) may include a 48.8-megapixel sensor (optionally with a three-layer sensor arrangement) with sensor-shift image stabilization and an aperture of f / 2.8. f A wide-angle lens with f / 1.7 aperture. The third camera 146 (in the camera array) may include a 48-megapixel sensor and a wide field of view (FOV) (e.g., 120° FOV) and an aperture of f / 1.7.f / 2.2 Ultra-wide-angle camera. One or more of the cameras in sensor array 141 may also include lens-based optical image stabilization, whereby the lens is dynamically moved relative to a fixed structure within device 100 to reduce the impact of "camera shake" or other movement on images captured by the camera, and / or sensor-based image stabilization, whereby the image sensor is moved relative to a fixed lens or optical assembly. One or more of these cameras may include autofocus functionality, wherein one or more lens elements (and / or sensors) are movable to focus an image onto the sensor.

[0161] The first camera 142 may include an image sensor with a pixel size between about 0.8 micrometers and about 1.4 micrometers. The second camera 144 may include an image sensor with a pixel size between about 1.6 micrometers and about 2.3 micrometers. The third camera 146 may include an image sensor with a pixel size between about 0.8 micrometers and about 1.4 micrometers.

[0162] The first camera 142 and the second camera 144 may be oriented along the y-direction of the device (e.g., along a line pair extending in the y-direction). Axis 101 ( Figure 1A , Figure 1B The illustrations illustrate exemplary device orientations (e.g., x, y, and z directions). It should be understood that the same relative orientations can be applied to other devices shown and described herein. Alignment of the first camera 142 and the second camera 144 along the y-direction facilitates the capture of stereoscopic images and / or videos, such as three-dimensional images and / or videos. For example, when device 100 is held in a lateral or horizontal orientation during image capture, the camera alignment along the y-direction positions the camera horizontally. In such cases, the horizontal alignment of cameras 142, 144 facilitates the capture of three-dimensional or stereoscopic images or videos. Such images or videos can be displayed in a head-mounted display or via other three-dimensional display technologies. In the case of a head-mounted display, images and / or videos captured using the stereoscopic capabilities of cameras 142, 144 can be displayed as three-dimensional media. In some cases, cameras 142, 144 can be used to capture three-dimensional scans of objects, and device 100 can generate a three-dimensional virtual model of the object for display using a head-mounted display or other visualization technologies. As used herein, the term stereo can refer to a mode or operation in which two or more cameras are used concurrently or simultaneously to capture images or videos.

[0163] The housing structure may include a hole formed through the protrusion 151 in the rearward sensor array 141. Cameras 142, 144, and 146 may include corresponding camera modules (e.g., rearward camera modules) that are at least partially positioned in the corresponding holes formed through the protrusion 151. Additionally, a depth sensor module 149 (which may be a depth sensor system or part of a depth sensor system) may be at least partially positioned in another hole formed through the protrusion 151 in the rearward sensor array 141, and a flash module 148 (which may be a flash or part of a flash) may be at least partially positioned in another hole formed through the protrusion 151 in the rearward sensor array 141.

[0164] Sensor array 141, together with associated processor and software, can provide several image capture features. For example, sensor array 141 can be configured to capture full-resolution video clips for a specific duration whenever a user captures a still image. As used herein, capturing a full-resolution image (e.g., a video image or a still image) may refer to capturing an image using all or substantially all pixels of an image sensor, or otherwise capturing an image using the maximum resolution of a camera (whether the maximum resolution is limited by hardware or software).

[0165] The captured video clips can be associated with still images. In some cases, users can select individual frames from the video clip as representative still images associated with it. In this way, when a user takes a snapshot of a scene, the camera will actually record a short video clip (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds, etc.), and the user can select precise frames from the video to use as captured still images (in addition to simply viewing the video clip as a video).

[0166] The camera of sensor array 141 may also have or provide a high dynamic range (HDR) mode, in which the camera captures an image with a dynamic brightness range greater than the brightness range captured when the camera is not in HDR mode. In some cases, sensor array 141 automatically determines whether to capture an image in HDR mode or non-HDR mode. Such determination may be based on various factors, such as ambient light of the scene, detected brightness range, hue, or other optical parameters in the scene. HDR images can be generated by capturing multiple images, each using different exposure or other image capture parameters, and producing a composite image from the multiple captured images.

[0167] The camera of sensor array 141 may also include software-based color balance correction. For example, when a flash (e.g., flash 148) is used during image capture, the camera (and / or associated processing functions of device 100) can adjust the image to compensate for the color temperature difference between the flash output and ambient lighting in the image. Thus, for example, if the background of the image has a different color temperature than the foreground subject (e.g., because the foreground subject is illuminated by the flash output), the camera can modify the background and / or foreground of the image to produce a more consistent color temperature across the image.

[0168] The sensor array 141 may also include or be configured to operate in an object detection mode, in which a user can select (and / or the device 100 can automatically recognize) objects within a scene to facilitate processing, displaying, or capturing those objects in a manner different from the rest of the scene. For example, a user can select (or the device 100 can automatically recognize) a person's face in the scene, and the device 100 can focus on the person's face while selectively blurring parts of the scene other than the person's face. Notably, features such as HDR mode and object detection mode may be configured with a single camera (e.g., a single lens and sensor).

[0169] Sensor array 141 may also include a depth sensing system (e.g., depth sensor module 149) configured to estimate the distance between the device and individual objects or targets. The depth sensing system may use lasers and time-of-flight calculations, or other types of depth sensing components or techniques, to estimate the distance between the device and individual objects or targets. The depth sensing system may be used in conjunction with one or more cameras of device 100 to facilitate functions such as autofocus, depth mapping of captured images (still images and / or video), image processing, etc.

[0170] The rearward depth sensor module 149 and the rearward camera may be coupled to a device housing, such as housing structure 104. In some cases, the housing may define corresponding holes for the depth sensor module 149 and the camera, and the lens assemblies of the camera and depth sensor module 149 may be aligned with (and optionally extend into) the corresponding holes. In some cases, as shown in example device 100, the holes may be formed through housing structure 104 in a raised sensor array region of device 100 (e.g., a protrusion 151 defining a raised sensor array region of device 100).

[0171] In some cases, the depth sensor module 149 (and its components, such as the image capture lens assembly and the projector lens assembly) is aimed at an angle (e.g., not perpendicular to the rear outer surface of the device) to achieve target overlap between the camera's field of view and the illumination pattern (and generally the field of view) of the depth sensing system. For example, the depth sensor module 149 (and its lens assembly) may be angled toward a camera (e.g., toward camera 142, or individually toward either camera or a group of cameras together) at an angle between about 1 degree and about 5 degrees, such as about 1 degree, about 2 degrees, about 3 degrees, about 4 degrees, or about 5 degrees. This alignment angle results in greater overlap and / or overlap of the fields of view of the camera and the depth sensing system (or otherwise overlaps the fields of view at a target distance from the device) and can lead to improved imaging performance. For example, by angling the depth sensor module 149, the accuracy of the camera's autofocus function can be improved (e.g., relative to the parallel alignment of the depth sensor module 149 and the camera). As another example, angling the depth sensor module 149 can result in higher accuracy of the depth map generated by the depth sensing system (e.g., parallel alignment relative to the depth sensor module 149 and the camera). The depth map allows a user to selectively change parameters of an image based on the depth values ​​of objects in the image. For example, a user might want to blur or otherwise graphically distinguish a first part of an image from a second part (e.g., blurring the background while keeping the foreground object in focus). Information from the depth map can be used to distinguish an element based on its distance from the camera (e.g., to distinguish foreground elements from background elements). Such image adjustments can also be performed automatically by device 100. The depth sensing system can also provide spatial information (e.g., a depth map) that facilitates the capture of three-dimensional or spatial images (e.g., still and / or video images). For example, information from the depth sensing system can be combined with images from one or more cameras to produce a three-dimensional or spatial image. Such images can be viewed using a three-dimensional display system, such as a head-mounted display with three-dimensional viewing capabilities.

[0172] The device 100 may also include a flash 148 (e.g., a rear-facing flash) configured to illuminate a scene for image capture with a camera of the sensor array 141 (e.g., to illuminate an object during image capture operation). The flash 148 may include one or more light sources, such as one or more light-emitting diodes (e.g., one, two, three, four, or more LEDs). In some cases, the one or more light sources may be illuminated by multiple different lighting patterns, which, together with a lens positioned above the one or more light sources, may produce different lighting fields on the subject or scene. For example, the light source may be segmented into multiple illuminable areas, wherein the illuminable areas are positioned below different areas of the lens. When a first lighting pattern is active (e.g., one or more central illuminable areas), the emitted light may pass through a first area of ​​the lens (e.g., the central area) and produce a first lighting field on the subject or scene (e.g., a relatively narrow light distribution corresponding to the field of view of a telephoto lens). When the second illumination pattern is active (e.g., one or more peripherally illuminable areas), the emitted light can pass through a second region of the lens (e.g., a peripheral region) and create a second illumination field over the subject or scene (e.g., a relatively wide light distribution corresponding to the field of view of a wide-angle lens). Flash 148 can be configured to generate two, three, or more distinct illumination fields, each corresponding to the field of view of one of the cameras in sensor array 141. Thus, for example, flash 148 can generate a first illumination field corresponding to (e.g., substantially equal to or greater than) the field of view of first camera 142, a second illumination field corresponding to (e.g., substantially equal to or greater than) the field of view of second camera 144, and a third illumination field corresponding to (e.g., substantially equal to or greater than) the field of view of third camera 146.

[0173] The sensor array 141 may also include a microphone 150. The microphone 150 may be acoustically coupled to the external environment through a hole defined in the rear cover of the device 100 (e.g., a portion of the protrusion 151 defined by the rear cover).

[0174] The protrusion 151 can provide various functions for the device 100. For example, as described above, the protrusion 151 can define a raised sensor array region of the device 100, which includes multiple audio and optical systems. Additionally, the protrusion 151 and the rear frame 130 can define multiple wireless communication antennas for the device 100, as described herein with respect to... Figures 5B to 6D As described.

[0175] Figure 1C and Figure 1D Another example electronic device 140, embodied in a mobile phone, is shown. Electronic device 140 may have many outwardly facing components that are the same as or similar to those of electronic device 100. Therefore, from Figures 1A to 1BThe descriptions and details of such components (e.g., displays, buttons, switches, housings, covers, charging ports, joint structures, etc.) also apply to Figure 1C and Figure 1D The corresponding components are shown.

[0176] Device 140 may include a forward sensor region 113, which may substantially correspond to Figure 1A The forward sensor region 111 is located in the front of the device 140, in an island-like region, and may be surrounded by the display area of ​​the device 140 (e.g., the main display area). In some cases, as described herein, the forward sensor region 113 may be located in or defined by one or more holes formed through the display. In such cases, the periphery of the forward sensor region 113 may be the active area or region of the display. In other words, the forward sensor region 113 may be completely surrounded by the active display area (e.g., the outer periphery of the forward sensor region 113 may be surrounded by the active area of ​​the display). In some cases, the forward sensor region 113 includes or is defined by one or more masks or other visually opaque components or processing methods that define a sensor opening in the forward sensor region 113. The forward sensor region 113 may include components such as an infrared illuminator module (which may include a flood illuminator and a dot projector), an infrared image capture device, proximity sensing system components, and a forward camera.

[0177] Although Figure 1B The device 100 is shown as including a rear-facing sensor array 141 with three cameras, but as Figure 1D The illustrated device 140 has a sensor array 134 (e.g., a rearward sensor array in a rearward sensor array region) including two cameras 138, 139. The sensor array 134 may be located in a sensor array region defined by a protrusion 137 in the rear cover of the device 140. The protrusion 137 may define a raised sensor array region 158. Therefore, the rear cover of the device may define a first portion of the rear outer surface of the device 140, and the protrusion 137 defines a second portion of the rear outer surface of the device (which protrudes or protrudes relative to the first portion of the rear outer surface). The protrusion 137 may be generally round and may accommodate two cameras along the y-direction of the device 140. The two cameras may be oriented along the y-direction.

[0178] Alignment of the two cameras 138, 139 along the y-direction (e.g., alignment on a line extending along the y-direction) facilitates the capture of stereoscopic images and / or video (e.g., three-dimensional images and / or video). For example, when device 140 is held in a lateral or horizontal orientation during image capture, the camera alignment along the y-direction positions the camera horizontally. In such cases, horizontal alignment of cameras 138, 139 facilitates the capture of three-dimensional or stereoscopic images or video. Such images or video can be displayed in a head-mounted display or via other three-dimensional display technologies. In the case of a head-mounted display, images and / or video captured using the stereoscopic capabilities of cameras 138, 139 can be displayed as three-dimensional media. In some cases, cameras 138, 139 can be used to capture three-dimensional scans of objects, and device 140 can generate a three-dimensional virtual model of the object for display using a head-mounted display or other visualization technologies.

[0179] Device 140 may also include one or more backward devices as part of sensor array 134, which may include an ambient light sensor (ALS), a microphone port 135 and / or a depth sensing system configured to estimate the distance between device 140 and a separate object or target.

[0180] The sensor array 134 may also include multiple cameras, such as a first camera 138 and a second camera 139. Therefore, the sensor array 134 may include a camera array (which may include one or more cameras). The first camera 138 may include an ultra-wide-angle camera having a 48-megapixel sensor and an aperture of [aperture value missing]. f A wide field of view (e.g., 120° FOV) optical stack of / 2.2. The second camera 139 may include a sensor with a 48.8 megapixel resolution and an aperture of / 2.2. f A wide-angle camera with an aperture of f / 1.6. In some cases, the sensor array 134 may include a wide-angle camera with an aperture number of f / 1.6. f / 2.0 to f A telephoto lens with a 12-megapixel sensor and 3x optical zoom within a 2.8-inch range (e.g., as a supplement to or replacement of the first camera 138 and the second camera 139). As noted above, the camera (or camera lens) may be arranged along the y-direction of the device and positioned or disposed in the protrusion 137.

[0181] One or more cameras in the sensor array 134 (e.g., cameras 138, 139) may also include optical image stabilization, whereby the lens is dynamically moved relative to a fixed structure within the device 140 to reduce the effect of "camera shake" on images captured by the camera. These cameras may also perform optical image stabilization by moving the image sensor relative to a fixed lens or optical assembly. One or more of these cameras may include autofocus functionality, wherein one or more lens elements (and / or sensors) are movable to focus the image onto the sensor.

[0182] The second camera 139 may have an image sensor with a pixel size between about 1.5 micrometers and about 2.0 micrometers, and the first camera 138 may have an image sensor with a pixel size between about 0.8 micrometers and about 1.4 micrometers. If a camera with a telephoto lens is provided, it may have an image sensor with a pixel size between about 0.8 micrometers and about 1.4 micrometers.

[0183] Sensor array 134 may also include a flash 136 (e.g., a rear-facing flash). Flash 136 may include multi-segment LEDs or a single LED or other light-emitting components. Flash 136 may be positioned outside the protrusion 137 (e.g., in a portion of the rear cover 154 excluding the protrusion 137). In some cases, flash 136 is positioned at a point midway (in the y-direction) between the first camera 138 and the second camera 139, and offset from cameras 138 and 139 in the x-direction. In other examples, flash 136 may be positioned in a straight line with and between cameras 138 and 139 (e.g., in the protrusion 137). In other words, in some cases, the first camera 138, flash 136, and second camera 139 may be aligned on a line extending in the y-direction.

[0184] The flash 136 and the microphone port 135 can be aligned with each other in the x-direction. For example, the flash 136 and the microphone port 135 can be aligned on a line extending in the x-direction (which could be midway between the first camera 138 and the second camera 139).

[0185] In some cases, the microphone port 135 is located on the protrusion 137, and the microphone module inside the device is located outside the area defining the protrusion 137. In such cases, the internal port structure allows sound to be transmitted from the microphone port 135 on the protrusion to the microphone module inside the device.

[0186] Other details regarding the sensor array, individual cameras, and / or flashes of the sensor array relative to device 100 may apply to the sensor array, individual cameras, and / or flashes of device 140, and such details will not be repeated here to avoid redundancy.

[0187] refer to Figure 1D Device 140 may include a back cover or rear cover 154 coupled to housing structure 153 and defining at least a portion of the external rear surface of device 140. Rear cover 154 may be formed of or comprise an optically transmissive material. The optically transmissive material may be colored, and in some cases may be a colored glass material. The color of the optically transmissive material may be characterized by one or more color space coordinates, which in some cases may be chromaticity values.

[0188] The back cover 154 may include a substrate formed of an optically transmissive glass material, also referred to herein as a back cover component. The glass material may be a silicate-based material, such as aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, or alkali metal aluminosilicate glass (e.g., lithium aluminosilicate glass). Other examples of optically transmissive materials for the back cover 154 include, but are not limited to, sapphire, ceramics, glass ceramics, crystallizable glass materials, and plastics (e.g., polycarbonate). The glass ceramic material may be a silicate-based glass ceramic material, such as aluminosilicate glass ceramics or borosilicate glass ceramics. The glass or glass ceramic material may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. The back cover 154 may be formed as a monolithic or integral sheet. The back cover 154 may also be composed of multiple layers of different materials, coatings, and other elements.

[0189] In some examples, the outer surface of the back cover can define different textures in different areas of the back cover. In some cases, different textures can produce different optical effects, such as a matte effect in a first area of ​​the outer surface and a glossy effect in a second area of ​​the outer surface. The difference between matte and glossy effects can be used to define graphics, text, images, logos, or the like. For example, a visible sign can be defined by a glossy area (signature shape) surrounded by a matte area.

[0190] The back cover 154 may include a coating on the outer surface of the substrate, the inner surface of the substrate, or both. The coating may contribute to the appearance of the back cover 154, such as color. For example, a coating along the inner surface of the substrate may include one or more color layers. The color layers may include colorants, such as pigments or dyes, and may have a distinct hue or be a near-neutral color. In some examples, the color layers include a polymeric adhesive, which may be polyester-based, epoxy-based, polyurethane-based, or based on another suitable type of polymer or copolymer. Alternatively or additionally, the coating may include one or more opaque layers applied to the inner surface of the substrate (or otherwise positioned along the inner side of the substrate) to provide a specific appearance to the back of the device 140. The opaque layers may include sheets, inks, dyes, or combinations of these (or other) layers, materials, etc., and in some cases may be optically dense. In some cases, the color of the coating along the inner surface of the substrate and the color of the substrate itself (e.g., the color of an optically translucent material defining the back cover substrate) together define the apparent color of the back of the device 140.

[0191] In some cases, the color of the coating on the back cover and / or the material of the back cover 154 itself substantially matches the color of the housing structure 153 (e.g., the outer surface of the housing components and the joint structure). In such cases, the coating on the back cover and the material of the back cover may have substantially matching colors, or they may have different colors.

[0192] The coating along the outer surface of the substrate may be a stain-resistant (e.g., oleophobic) coating. Device 140 may include a wireless charging system, thereby enabling device 140 to be powered and / or its battery to be recharged via inductive (or other electromagnetic) coupling between a charger (e.g., a wireless charging accessory) and the wireless charging system within device 140. In such cases, the back cover 154 may be formed of a material (e.g., glass) that allows and / or facilitates wireless coupling between the charger and the wireless charging system.

[0193] Housing structure 153 may have a similar construction to housing structure 104. For example, housing structure 104 may be a multi-piece housing formed by or including multiple housing components that are structurally coupled together via one or more intermediate elements (such as a coupling structure). The housing components, together with the coupling structure, may define a strip-shaped housing structure that defines four sidewalls (and thus four external side surfaces) of device 140. The four walls may include a top wall (e.g., near the forward sensor array 113), a bottom wall opposite the top wall (e.g., near the charging port), a first sidewall (e.g., ... Figure 1C The first transverse sidewall visible in the image), and the second sidewall opposite the first sidewall (e.g., Figure 1D(The second transverse sidewall is visible in the image). Therefore, both the housing component and the joining structure define a portion of the outer surface of the device 140.

[0194] The housing components of housing structure 153 may be formed of a conductive material (e.g., metal), and the bonding structure may be formed of one or more polymeric materials (e.g., glass-reinforced polymer). The bonding structure may include two or more molded elements that may be formed of different materials. For example, the inner molded element may be formed of a first material (e.g., a polymeric material), and the outer molded element may be formed of a second material different from the first material (e.g., a different polymeric material). These materials may have different properties, which may be selected based on the different functions of the inner and outer molded elements. For example, the inner molded element may be configured to form a main structural connection between the housing components and may have higher mechanical strength and / or toughness than the outer molded element. On the other hand, the outer molded element may be configured to have a specific appearance, surface finish, chemical resistance, water resistance, etc., and its composition may be selected such that those functions take precedence over mechanical strength. The bonding structure may be mechanically interlocked with the housing components to structurally couple the housing components and form a structural housing assembly.

[0195] The housing component of the housing structure 153 may be formed of a single-metal structure or a cladding structure comprising multiple materials. As an example of a single-metal structure, the housing component may be formed of aluminum. As an example of a cladding structure, the housing component may include a core portion formed of a first metal and a cladding portion formed of a second metal. The cladding portion may define an outer surface of the housing component. The outer surface defined by the cladding portion may have a surface texture that produces a particular visual appearance and / or tactile feel. For example, the surface texture may have a texture that produces diffuse reflection. The surface texture may be produced by grinding, polishing, machining, ablation, sandblasting (e.g., sandblasting, bead blasting), etching (via mechanical etching, laser etching, chemical etching), or any other suitable texturing operation. The outer surface of the housing component may also include a coating, such as a deposited coating. In some cases, the cladding portion is polished. The deposited coating may be deposited on the housing component via plasma vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), etc.

[0196] In the case of a cladding structure, the core portion of the housing component can be aluminum (e.g., an aluminum alloy), and the cladding portion can be titanium (e.g., a titanium alloy). In some cases, the core portion of the housing component is aluminum, and the cladding portion is stainless steel. The cladding portion may have an average thickness between about 0.1 mm and about 1.0 mm. The aluminum of the housing may include recycled aluminum (e.g., up to 70% recycled aluminum, up to 85% recycled aluminum, or another value).

[0197] Device 140 may also include one or more buttons (e.g., Figure 1C Buttons 152 and 155 in the middle and Figure 1D Buttons 156 and 157, switches, and / or other physical input systems are included. Such input systems can be used to control power states (e.g., button 152), control applications (e.g., button 155), change speaker volume (e.g., button 156), switch between "ring" and "mute" modes (e.g., button 157), etc. Buttons 152, 156, 155, and 157 may include a strain sensing system that detects input to the button based on detected strain. Buttons 152, 156, 155, and 157 may also be associated with a haptic actuation system that generates a haptic output in response to detecting strain that satisfies a condition. Thus, for example, upon detecting strain or force that satisfies a condition (and / or an electrical parameter indicating strain that satisfies a condition), the haptic actuation system may apply force to the button to generate a haptic output (e.g., a sound similar to a "click"). This haptic output or response can provide haptic feedback to the user, indicating that the input has been recognized by the device.

[0198] Buttons 152, 156, 155, and 157 may be embodiments of or otherwise correspond to the buttons 116, 117, 118, and 120 described above, and the description of these buttons shall be understood to apply equally to buttons 152, 156, 155, and 157. In some cases, one or more of buttons 152, 156, 155, and 157 may use a switching element (such as a collapsible dome switch) to detect button press. Such dome switches may be used in place of strain-based sensing systems or other non-binary force sensing systems. However, in some cases, dome switches or other collapsible or tactile switches may be used in addition to strain-based sensing systems or non-binary force sensing systems in a given button. In such cases, the button may facilitate the detection of binary or transient input, as well as the magnitude of the force applied to the button. In such cases, device 140 may perform different operations in response to the detection of binary or transient input and in response to the detection of a force satisfying a condition. More specifically, the user may provide partial actuation of the button, wherein a force is applied but the switch does not collapse. Device 140 may perform one or more operations in response to the detection of partial actuation of a button (e.g., in response to the detection of a force satisfying a condition). The user may then provide full actuation of the button, where the force increases until the switch is actuated or input is otherwise recorded (e.g., dome switch collapse). Device 140 may perform one or more additional operations in response to the detection of switch actuation. As a non-limiting example, when device 140 is operating in image capture mode, the button may be used to provide input to device 140. In such cases, partial actuation may cause device 140 to initiate a focus operation or lock the exposure settings used for image capture. When full actuation is detected (e.g., a binary or momentary switch is actuated), device 140 may use one of its onboard cameras to capture an image. Additional functions, including other image capture functions or other device or application functions, may also be initiated in response to partial and / or full actuation of the button. For example, partial actuation may initiate a scrolling operation (e.g., scrolling through items in a displayed list), and full actuation may initiate the selection of a selected item in the list. In some cases, the button 155 of device 140 includes both a dome switch (or other binary or momentary switch) and a strain-based sensing system. In some cases, one or more other buttons of device 140 include both a dome switch (or other binary or momentary switch) and a strain-based sensing system.

[0199] In some cases, one or more of buttons 152, 156, 155, and 157 may use a touch sensing system (such as a capacitive touch sensing system) to detect input. For example, the button component of a button (e.g., a movable part that actuates the button by a user pressing it or provides input to the button) may include a touch sensing element positioned thereon. Buttons equipped with touch sensing elements can detect various types of touch-based input, including static touch input (e.g., a finger touching the surface of a touch-sensitive button), dynamic touch input (e.g., a finger sliding along the surface of a touch-sensitive button, also known as a gesture or swipe input), etc.

[0200] In some cases, button 155 may include touch sensing element 159 to detect such touch-based input. Device 140 may perform various operations in response to the detection of touch-based input. Continuing with the example above, when device 140 is operating in image capture mode, static touch input may initiate focus or exposure lock operations, while dynamic or swipe touch input may initiate zoom operations (e.g., swiping in one direction may initiate a zoom-in operation, and swiping in the opposite direction may initiate a zoom-out operation).

[0201] In some cases, the touch sensing element 159 can detect the position of a touch input on the button 155 during button actuation, and the device can perform different actions based on the position of the touch. For example, if the button 155 is actuated by a press input at a first position on the button 155 (e.g., at one end of the button 155, as detected by the touch sensing element 159), the device can perform a first action (e.g., a zoom-in operation), and if the button 155 is actuated by a press input at a second position on the button 155 (e.g., at the opposite end of the button 155, as detected by the touch sensing element 159), the device can perform a second action different from the first action (e.g., a zoom-out operation).

[0202] In some cases, the touch sensing element 159 can detect whether the input to the button 155 is applied with a single finger or two fingers, and can perform different actions in response. For example, if the button 155 is actuated with a single finger (as detected by the touch sensing element 159), the device can perform a first action (e.g., capturing a single image), and if the button 155 is actuated with multiple fingers (as detected by the touch sensing element 159), the device can perform a second action different from the first action (e.g., capturing a series of images over the duration of actuation, or initiating a video capture operation).

[0203] Other sensing technologies can also be used to detect button input. In some cases, switches or other input devices are used instead of one or more buttons.

[0204] As noted above, button 155 may be force-sensitive and / or pressure-sensitive (e.g., capable of detecting variable force input) and may generate multiple controls or outputs based on the amount of force input, the presence of a touch, the location of the touch, and the movement of the touch (gesture). A specific operation initiated in response to any given button input may vary depending on the amount of force applied (e.g., proportional to the amount of force applied). In some cases, force-based input may suppress action or be ignored by the device if no touch input is detected at touch sensing element 159. Button 155 may also be paired with one or more other buttons for specifying an operation or command (e.g., the device may perform certain operations in response to the detection of simultaneous input at multiple buttons or certain input sequences at multiple buttons).

[0205] As described in the examples above, button 155 is operable to initiate or control image capture functions and operations. For example, a light touch of button 155 (e.g., a touch input sensed in the absence of force or in the presence of a force satisfying a first force condition corresponding to a slight deflection of the button) can initiate focusing and metering operations, and a greater force or deflection of the button (e.g., satisfying a second force condition) can initiate image or video capture operations. Additionally, different tactile outputs may be generated in response to different inputs detected at button 155 and / or in response to different operations initiated by the button input.

[0206] Other example image manipulation and / or camera function control that can be initiated by input (force and / or touch input) to button 155 may include: zooming in or out in response to a swipe input in different directions on the button surface; increasing or decreasing volume output in response to a swipe input in different directions on the button surface; capturing a single image or a series of multiple images in response to different force inputs (e.g., a single image for a light press; multiple images for a harder press). In such cases, different tactile outputs may be generated in response to detecting different inputs at button 155 and / or in response to different operations initiated by the button input.

[0207] Button 155 can also enable the device to perform other functions, which are associated with the operation of the device or set in response to operation in response to specific applications or usage modes on the device. For example, input to button 155 can enable the device to perform operations such as: selecting one or more warning suppression (silent) modes; verifying purchase or application commands; controlling timer commands, including watch-related operations; providing input to games, such as throttle control or other continuously variable inputs; initiating a hard reset and / or soft reset of the device; initiating user-programmable operations; and starting or terminating applications. In some cases, the specific operation of the button can be programmable or selectable by the user. For example, the user can select which function or operation to initiate in response to various force inputs, gesture inputs, and touch inputs. Users can also establish different input schemes for different device modes. For example, the user can map force, touch, and gesture inputs to a first set of functions when the device is operating in a first mode (e.g., when executing a first application), and can map force, touch, and gesture inputs to a second set of functions when the device is operating in a second mode (e.g., when executing a second application).

[0208] In some cases, the operation of button 155 can be altered based on the orientation of the device. For example, if the device is held in a vertical or “portrait” orientation, force, touch, and gesture inputs can be mapped to a first set of functions, and if the device is held in a horizontal or “landscape” orientation, force, touch, and gesture inputs can be mapped to a second set of functions.

[0209] Button 155 can also be used to initiate stereoscopic image or video capture. In some cases, the selection of the stereoscopic image capture mode (or switching between stereoscopic and non-stereoscopic image modes) can be controlled by operation via button 155 or other device input (e.g., other buttons, touchscreen input, etc.). In some cases, the ability to select the stereoscopic image mode (or switch between stereoscopic image modes and other image modes) using button 155 may depend on the device's orientation.

[0210] Figure 1E Another example electronic device 160 is depicted. Electronic device 160 may have many features and components that are the same as or similar to those of devices 100 and 140, and it should be understood that the descriptions of those features and components are equally applicable to device 160. Device 160 may include a cover 162 (e.g., a front cover) attached to a housing structure 164, which may include a housing structure defined by one or more housing components. Housing structure 164 (and other device housings herein) may define the peripheral wall structure of the device housing.

[0211] Cover 162 may be positioned above display 163. Cover 162 may be a sheet or sheet-like structure formed of or comprising a transparent or optically translucent material. Cover 162 may define a front outer surface of the device and an inner surface opposite the outer surface. In some cases, cover 162 is formed of or comprises a glass material and may therefore be referred to as a glass cover component. The glass material may be a silicate-based material, aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass (e.g., lithium aluminosilicate glass), or chemically strengthened glass. Other example materials for cover 162 include, but are not limited to, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass material, or plastic (e.g., polycarbonate). Glass ceramic materials may be silicate-based glass ceramic materials, such as aluminosilicate glass ceramic materials or borosilicate glass ceramic materials. Glass ceramic materials may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. Cover 162 may be formed as a monolithic or integral sheet. Cover 162 may also be formed as a composite of multiple layers of different materials, coatings, and other elements. The cover 162 may have a thickness between about 0.3 mm and about 0.7 mm or between about 0.4 mm and about 0.6 mm.

[0212] Display 163 may be at least partially located within the internal volume of housing structure 164. Display 163 may be coupled to cover 162, such as via adhesive or other coupling methods. Display 163 may include liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED) display, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, active layer organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display, organic electroluminescent (EL) display, electrophoretic ink display, etc. Display 163 may be configured to display graphic output, such as a graphical user interface that a user can view and interact with. Graphical output may be displayed as a graphic active area (e.g., active display area) of display 163. Active display area may be surrounded or defined by a boundary area, which may be defined by an opaque mask (or using other components or techniques) on the inner surface of cover 162. In some cases, the boundary is small (e.g., less than about 3 mm, less than about 2 mm, or less than about 1 mm). Display may have a display size between about 6.25 inches and about 6.75 inches (e.g., measured from corner to corner of the display).

[0213] The display 163 may also define a primary display area that roughly corresponds to the primary forward continuous display area, in which a graphical user interface, images, videos, applications, and other graphical outputs may be displayed.

[0214] Device 160 may also include an ambient light sensor that determines the properties of ambient light conditions surrounding device 160. Device 160 may use information from the ambient light sensor to alter, modify, adjust, or otherwise control display 163 (e.g., by changing the hue, brightness, saturation, or other optical aspects of the display based on information from the ambient light sensor). The ambient light sensor may be positioned below the active area of ​​display 163 (e.g., below the portion of the display that produces graphic output). The ambient light sensor may send and / or receive light through the active area of ​​display 163 to perform sensing functions.

[0215] Display 163 may include or be associated with one or more touch sensing systems and / or force sensing systems. In some cases, components of the touch sensing system and / or force sensing system are integrated with the display stack. For example, electrode layers of touch sensing components such as touch sensors and / or force sensors may be provided in the form of a stack that includes the display components (and optionally is attached to or at least visible through cover 162). The touch sensing system and / or force sensing system may use any suitable type of sensing technology and touch sensing components, including capacitive sensors, resistive sensors, surface acoustic wave sensors, piezoelectric sensors, strain gauges, etc. The outer or outer surface of cover 162 may define the input surface of the device (e.g., a touch-sensitive input surface and / or a force-sensitive input surface). While both touch sensing systems and force sensing systems may be included, in some cases, device 160 includes a touch sensing system but does not include a force sensing system.

[0216] The housing structure 164 may be a multi-piece housing. For example, the housing structure 164 may be formed of multiple housing components that are structurally coupled together via one or more intermediate elements such as a joining structure. The description of the housing structure 104, housing components, and joining structure provided with reference to devices 100, 140 is equally applicable to or similar to device 160. In some cases, the housing components of the housing structure 164 may be formed of a cladding structure comprising multiple materials. For example, the housing component may include a core portion formed of a first metal and a cladding portion formed of a second metal. The cladding portion may define an outer surface of the housing component. The outer surface defined by the cladding portion may have a surface texture that produces a particular visual appearance and / or tactile feel. For example, the surface texture may have a texture that produces diffuse reflection. The surface texture may be produced by grinding, polishing, machining, ablation, sandblasting (e.g., sandblasting, bead blasting), etching (via mechanical etching, laser etching, chemical etching), or any other suitable texturing operation. The outer surface of the housing component may also include a coating, such as a deposited coating. In some cases, the cladding portion is polished. Deposited coatings can be deposited on housing components via plasma vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), or other methods.

[0217] In the case of a cladding structure, the core portion of the outer casing component can be aluminum (e.g., an aluminum alloy), and the cladding portion can be titanium (e.g., a titanium alloy). Other metals can replace aluminum and titanium for the core and cladding portions, such as an aluminum core with a stainless steel cladding, a nickel core with a titanium cladding, or a steel core with a stainless steel cladding. Other metals and combinations of metals are also envisioned. In some cases, the core portion of the outer casing component is aluminum, and the cladding portion is stainless steel. The cladding portion may have an average thickness between about 0.1 mm and about 1.0 mm. The aluminum of the casing may include recycled aluminum (e.g., up to 70% recycled aluminum, up to 85% recycled aluminum, or another value).

[0218] Device 160 includes a charging port 165, which may be at least partially defined by an opening formed directly through housing structure 164 (e.g., an opening positioned along a bottom side surface), and provides access to a charging and / or communication connector therein. In some cases, a surface of charging port 165 (e.g., a surface defined by the material of housing structure 164) may define an inner surface of the charging port and may be configured to abut (e.g., contact) a corresponding plug. This configuration eliminates the need for a separate charging port sleeve or shielding member to be positioned within charging port 165 and facilitates a reduction in the overall thickness of the device (e.g., the distance between the front and rear surfaces).

[0219] Device 160 may also include one or more buttons, switches, and / or other physical input systems. Such input systems can be used to control power status, control applications, change speaker volume, switch between "ring" mode and "mute" mode, etc. Device 160 may have the same or similar configuration of buttons, switches, and / or other physical input systems as devices 100 and 140, and the discussion of these systems applies equally or similarly to device 160.

[0220] Device 160 may include a forward sensor region 169, which may substantially correspond to Figure 1A , Figure 1CThe forward sensor regions 111 and 113 are described herein. The forward sensor region 169 may be located in an island-like region at the front of the device 160 and may be surrounded by the display area of ​​the device 160 (e.g., the main display area). In some cases, as described herein, the forward sensor region 169 may be located in or defined by one or more apertures formed through the display. In such cases, the periphery of the forward sensor region 169 may be an active area or region of the display. In other words, the forward sensor region 169 may be completely surrounded by the active display area (e.g., the outer periphery of the forward sensor region 169 may be surrounded by the active area of ​​the display). In some cases, the forward sensor region 169 includes or is defined by one or more masks or other visually opaque components or processing methods that define a sensor opening in the forward sensor region 169. The forward sensor region 169 may include components such as an infrared illuminator module (which may include a flood illuminator and a dot projector), an infrared image capture device, proximity sensing system components, and a forward camera.

[0221] Figure 1F The back or rear side of device 160 is illustrated. As shown, device 160 includes a rear cover 175 coupled to housing structure 164. The rear cover 175 may define substantially the entire back or rear surface of device 160. The rear cover 175 may be formed of or comprise a transparent or optically translucent material. For example, the rear cover 175 may comprise a substrate formed of a glass material. The glass material may be a silicate-based material, aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass (e.g., lithium aluminosilicate glass), or chemically strengthened glass. Other example materials for the rear cover 175 include, but are not limited to, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass materials, and plastics (e.g., polycarbonate). The glass ceramic material may be a silicate-based glass ceramic material, such as aluminosilicate glass ceramic or borosilicate glass ceramic. The glass ceramic material may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. As described herein, the rear cover 175 may be formed from a single piece or blank of a silicate-based material to define a protrusion along the outer side of the rear cover 175 and a corresponding recess along the inner side of the rear cover 175.

[0222] Device 160 may be thinner than device 100 (e.g., the dimension from front cover 162 to rear cover 175). In some cases, the nominal thickness of the device (e.g., from front cover 162 to rear cover 175 at locations outside the protrusion) is between about 4.0 mm and about 7.5 mm.

[0223] Device 160 may also include a sensor array 171 (e.g., a rearward sensor array in a rearward sensor array region), which includes a camera 172, a flash 173, and a microphone 170 (and other possible components). Camera 172 may include a 48-megapixel sensor (optionally with a three-layer sensor arrangement) featuring sensor-shift image stabilization and an aperture of [aperture value missing]. f A 1.6-inch wide-angle lens. The image sensor may have a pixel size between approximately 0.8 micrometers and approximately 1.4 micrometers. The flash 173 and microphone 170 may be substantially similar to those described regarding devices 100 and 140, and those descriptions shall be understood to apply equally to this.

[0224] The sensor array 171 may be located in a sensor array region defined by a protrusion 174 in the rear cover 175 of the device 160. The protrusion 174 may define a portion of the rear outer surface of the device 100 and may at least partially define the raised sensor array region of the sensor array 171.

[0225] The back cover 175, including the protrusion 174, may be formed from a single piece of material such as glass (or glass-ceramic or other glassy materials). In such cases, the protrusion 174 may be formed by machining operations, wherein material is removed from the precursor material (e.g., a blank) to form the surfaces and shapes of the back cover 175 and the protrusion 174. In some cases, the back cover 175 is formed and / or shaped by a combination of operations, such as a general molding operation that substantially defines the overall shape of the back cover 175 (e.g., having a thicker or protruding region at one end), followed by machining or other forming operations to produce the final shape. The general molding operation may include a hot bending operation. Alternatively, the back cover 175 may be formed by adding a sheet of glass (or other material) to a substrate to define a precursor structure with an increased thickness region, from which the protrusion 174 (and recesses on opposite sides of the back cover 175, such as relative to...) is formed. Figure 17A (As described).

[0226] As shown and described, the rear cover 175 may have a recessed area opposite the protrusion 174 (e.g., a recess on the inner side of the rear cover 175 may correspond to and / or define the protrusion on the outer side of the rear cover 175). By forming the recessed area opposite the protrusion 174, additional space may be provided in this area of ​​the device 160 to accommodate components, including but not limited to at least a portion of a circuit board assembly, camera 172, microphone 170, flash 173, forward-facing camera and sensors, speaker modules (e.g., for providing sound output from one or more speaker openings), etc.

[0227] The protrusion 174 may extend substantially entirely from one sidewall of the housing structure 164 to the opposite sidewall of the housing structure 164 (e.g., completely across the rear of the device 160 from right to left) and may be centered (e.g., relative to a central longitudinal axis). The protrusion 174 may have a generally oval (or elongated or stadium-shaped) profile, with its longitudinal axis extending generally from left to right through the rear of the device 160.

[0228] The components of the rearward sensor array 171 can be aligned on the longitudinal axis of the protrusion 174. Thus, for example, the camera 172, microphone 170, and flash 173 can be aligned on the longitudinal axis of the protrusion 174, but other configurations are also conceivable.

[0229] Figure 2 An exploded view of the example electronic device is depicted. Specifically, Figure 2 An exploded view of device 100 is depicted, showing various components of device 100 and an example arrangement and configuration of these components.

[0230] like Figure 2 As shown, device 100 includes a front cover assembly 201. The front cover assembly 201 may include a cover 102, a display 103, and an optional molded frame. The front cover assembly 201 (and more specifically, the cover 102 of the front cover assembly 201) may define a front outer surface of the device. The cover 102 may also define an inner surface opposite the outer surface.

[0231] The front cover assembly 201 can be assembled into a sub-assembly, which can then be attached to the housing component. For example, as described herein, the display 103 can be attached to the cover 102 (e.g., via a clear adhesive), and a molding frame can be formed around the periphery of the display 103 and bonded to the cover 102 (e.g., via a low-pressure injection molding operation). The front cover assembly 201 can then be attached to the housing component of the device 100 by mounting and attaching the molding frame to a protrusion defined by the housing component.

[0232] In some cases, the cover 102 is formed of or comprises a glass material and may therefore be referred to as a glass cover component. The cover 102 may be formed as a monolithic or integral sheet. The cover 102 may also be formed as a composite of multiple layers of different materials, coatings, and other elements. In this example, the cover 102 may be formed of a glass-ceramic material. The glass-ceramic material may include amorphous and crystalline or non-amorphous phases of one or more materials and may be formulated to improve the strength or other properties of the cover 102. The glass-ceramic material may be a silicate-based glass-ceramic material, such as aluminosilicate glass-ceramic material or borosilicate glass-ceramic material. The glass-ceramic material may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. In some cases, the cover 102 may comprise a sheet of chemically strengthened glass or glass-ceramic or an optical processing element having one or more coatings, including anti-reflective (AR) coatings, oleophobic coatings, or other types of coatings. In some cases, the cover 102 comprises a sheet of material less than 1 mm thick. In some cases, the sheet of material is less than 0.80 mm thick. In some cases, the sheet of material is approximately 0.60 mm thick or thinner. An ion exchange process can be used to chemically strengthen the cap 102 to form a compressive stress layer along the outer surface of the cap 102.

[0233] Cover 102 extends over substantially the entire front surface of the device and can be positioned within an opening defined by housing structure 104. As detailed below, the edges or sides of cover 102 may be surrounded by protective flanges or lips of housing structure 104, with no gap members between the edges of cover 102 and the corresponding flanges of housing structure 104. This configuration allows impacts or forces applied to housing structure 104 to be transmitted to cover 102 without directly transmitting shear stress through the frame of display 103 or front cover assembly 201.

[0234] Display 103 is coupled to the inner surface of cover 102. Display 103 may include a frameless organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display with a corner-to-corner dimension of approximately 6.86 inches or approximately 6.27 inches. The periphery or inactive area of ​​display 103 may be reduced to allow for a very thin device boundary around the active area of ​​display 103. In some cases, display 103 allows for a boundary area of ​​1.5 mm or less. In some cases, display 103 allows for a boundary area of ​​1 mm or less. In one example embodiment, the boundary area is approximately 0.9 mm. Display 103 may have a relatively high pixel density of approximately 460 pixels per inch (PPI) or greater. Display 103 may use a low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) or low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) backplane.

[0235] Display 103 may have an integrated (on-cell) touch sensing system. For example, an array of electrodes (or other touch sensing components) integrated into an OLED display may be time- and / or frequency-multiplexed to provide both display and touch sensing functionality. The electrodes may be configured to detect touch location, gesture input, multi-touch input, or other types of touch input along the outer surface of cover 102. In some cases, display 103 includes another type of display element, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) without an integrated touch sensing system. That is, device 100 may include one or more touch and / or force sensing components or layers positioned between display 103 and cover 102.

[0236] Display 103 (also referred to as a display overlay) may include an Always-On Display (AOD) function. For example, display 103 may be configured to allow a subset of a designated area or pixels to be displayed when device 100 is powered on, making graphic content visible to the user even when device 100 is in low-power or sleep mode. This may allow the display of time, date, battery status, recent notifications, and other graphic content in low-power or sleep mode. This graphic content may be referred to as persistent or always-on graphics output. While some battery power may be consumed when displaying persistent or always-on graphics output, this power consumption is generally less than that during normal or full-power operation of display 103. This function can be enabled by operating only a subset of display pixels and / or operating at a reduced resolution to reduce the power consumption of display 103.

[0237] Display 103 may include multiple layers, including a touch-sensing layer or component, an optional force-sensing layer or component, a display layer, etc. Display 103 may define a graphics active area in which graphics output can be displayed. In some cases, portions of display 103 may include graphics inactive areas, such as portions of the display layer that do not include active display components or are otherwise not configured to display graphics output (e.g., pixels). In some cases, graphics inactive areas may be positioned along the peripheral boundary or other edges of display stack 103.

[0238] The device 100 may also include a molded frame member positioned beneath the cover 102 and extending at least around the outer periphery of the display 103. The molded frame may at least partially enclose the edge of the display 103 and may define structural features that provide strength and rigidity to the cover 102 and the display 103, and serve as a mounting structure to couple the cover 102 to a housing (e.g., housing structure 104). The molded frame may be fabricated by molding a moldable material onto a sub-assembly including the cover 102, the display 103, and optional other structural components.

[0239] A molded frame may be attached to the lower or inner surface of the cover 102. A portion of the molded frame may extend below the display 103 and may attach the cover 102 to the housing structure 104. Because the display 103 is attached to the lower or inner surface of the cover 102, the molded frame may also be described as attaching both the display 103 and the cover 102 to the housing structure 104.

[0240] Device 100 also includes a speaker module 250 configured to output sound via a speaker port. The speaker port may be located in and / or at least partially defined by a recess in cover 102. As described herein, the trim may be at least partially located in the recess to facilitate sound output while also preventing debris, liquids, or other materials or contaminants from entering device 100. The output from speaker module 250 may pass through an audio channel or acoustic path defined at least partially by speaker module 250 itself and the trim. In some cases, a portion of the acoustic path (e.g., between speaker module 250 and trim) is defined by housing structure 104 and / or a molding material coupled to housing structure 104. For example, the molding material (e.g., a fiber-reinforced polymer) may be molded against a metallic portion of housing structure 104. The molding material may also form one or more intermediate elements, such as bonding structures, which also structurally join housing components together (e.g., bonding structures 122-1, 122-2, 122-3, 122-4). Ports or channels (e.g., tubular tunnels) may be defined to pass through the molding material to more generally acoustically couple the speaker module 250 to the trim and / or recess, thereby directing sound from the speaker module 250 to the outside of the device 100.

[0241] like Figure 2 As shown, device 100 also includes one or more cameras, optical transmitters, and / or sensing elements configured to transmit signals, receive signals, or otherwise operate along the front surface of the device. In this example, device 100 includes a front camera 206 that includes a high-resolution camera sensor. The front camera 206 may have a 12-megapixel resolution sensor that provides a fixed focus and an 85° field of view. fOptical elements with an aperture of f / 1.9. The front camera 206 may include autofocus functionality, wherein one or more lens elements are moved (e.g., perpendicular to the cover by up to about 100 micrometers) to focus an image onto the camera's sensor. In some cases, the autofocus front camera is capable of providing continuous autofocus during video capture. Device 100 also includes an optical face recognition system 252 comprising an infrared light projector (for projecting light) and an infrared light sensor configured to sense an array or region of depth points along the user's face. The depth point array may be characterized as a unique feature or biometric identifier that can be used to identify and / or authenticate the user and unlock device 100 (and / or authorize functions on device 100, such as purchasing software applications or using payment functions offered by device 100).

[0242] Device 100 may also include one or more other sensors or components. For example, device 100 may include a front illuminator element for providing flash or illumination to the front camera 206. Device 100 may also include an ambient light sensor (ALS) for detecting ambient light conditions for setting the exposure aspect of the front camera 206 and / or for controlling the operation of the display. Device 100 may also include a proximity sensing system for detecting the proximity of a user or other object to device 100. In some cases, as described herein, the proximity sensing system detects proximity to other objects through an active area of ​​the display. The proximity sensing system and the optical facial recognition system may be integrated in a common module. In some cases, information from the proximity sensing system and the ambient light sensor may be used to determine ambient light conditions and / or the proximity of an object to device 100. For example, information from the proximity sensing system may be used to determine whether low ambient light detected by the ambient light sensor is due to low ambient light or because an object (e.g., a finger providing touch input or a palm during typing) partially or temporarily obscures the ambient light sensor. Information from both sensing systems may be used to eliminate potential ambiguity and generally improve the accuracy of the device in sensing or detecting specific conditions.

[0243] Display 103 may include one or more holes extending through the display to accommodate a front camera 206, a facial recognition system 252, a proximity sensing system, and optional other forward sensors or other components. In some cases, display 103 includes two holes, including a first hole for the front camera 206 and a second hole for the facial recognition system 252 and the proximity sensing system. In some cases, display 103 includes one hole (e.g., a single hole shared by the front camera 206 and the facial recognition system 252). In some cases, display 103 includes three holes (e.g., a first hole for the front camera 206, a second hole for the transmitter of the facial recognition system 252 and an optional proximity sensing system, and a third hole for the receiver of the facial recognition system 252).

[0244] Figure 2 Examples also include one or more cameras, optical transmitters, and / or sensing elements configured to transmit signals, receive signals, or otherwise operate along the rear surface of the device. Figure 2 As depicted, these components can be integrated into sensor array 141. In this example, sensor array 141 (or camera array) includes a first camera 142, a second camera 144, and a third camera 146 (about...). Figure 1B (Discussion). The first, second, and third cameras may include lens-based or sensor-based image stabilization.

[0245] The sensor array 141 also includes a flash 148, which can be used as a flash for photography or as an auxiliary light source (e.g., a flashlight). In some cases, the sensor array 141 also includes a microphone, an ambient light sensor, and other sensors adapted to sense along the rear surface of the device 100.

[0246] Sensor array 141 may also include a depth sensing system (which may be or may include depth sensor module 149) configured to estimate the distance to an object located behind device 100. The depth sensing system may include an optical sensor that uses time-of-flight or other optical effects to measure the distance between device 100 and an external object. The depth sensing system may include one or more optical emitters adapted to emit one or more light beams that can be used to estimate the distance. In some cases, the one or more light beams are coherent beams having a substantially uniform wavelength / frequency. Coherent light sources can be advantageous for depth measurement using time-of-flight, phase shift, or other optical effects. In some cases, the depth sensing system uses sound output, radio output, or other types of output that can be used to measure the distance between device 100 and one or more external objects. The depth sensing system (e.g., depth sensor module 149) may be positioned near a window (e.g., a hole or opening through the protrusion 151 of device 100) through which the depth sensing system can transmit and / or receive signals (e.g., laser, infrared, visible light, etc.).

[0247] Cameras 142, 144, and 146 can be aligned with a camera cover coupled to a protrusion 151 of device 100. The cover may be made of glass or sapphire and may provide a clear (e.g., transparent or optically translucent) window through which cameras 142, 144, and 146 can capture photographic images. In other cases, the cover may be an optical lens that filters, magnifies, or otherwise modulates the light received by the respective camera.

[0248] Device 100 also includes a battery 230. Battery 230 provides power to device 100 and its various systems and components. Battery 230 may be a 4.45V lithium-ion battery encapsulated in a rigid metal housing (or a flexible foil defining a pouch). Battery 230 may include a wound electrode configuration, sometimes referred to as a “jelly roll” or a folded or stacked electrode configuration. In the case of a rigid metal housing, the housing may include a two-part housing, wherein the two parts define an internal volume encapsulating electrodes and an electrolyte (e.g., a liquid) or another suitable battery formulation. The first and second parts of the housing may be attached together by welding, brazing, copper soldering, adhesives, or other suitable attachment techniques. In some cases, the battery housing defines one or more through terminals to allow conductive coupling to an internal electrode (e.g., a positive electrode). In some cases, the battery housing is conductively coupled to an internal electrode (e.g., a negative electrode), and the battery housing itself acts as the negative electrode or “common” electrode of the power supply circuitry of device 100.

[0249] Battery 230 may be attached to device 100 using one or more adhesives and / or other attachment techniques (e.g., to frame member 219, which may also be referred to as an intermediate frame section or simply a frame). In one example, battery 230 may be attached to frame member 219 or another structure of device 100 using an electrically descalable adhesive (e.g., an adhesive whose adhesive strength is selectively reduced in response to charge). In such cases, the adhesive may include conductive terminals of an electrically descalable adhesive with conductive contacts. When current is applied to the electrically descalable adhesive (EDA) (e.g., by a user during a battery replacement operation), the adhesive strength may decrease until the battery is released from the adhesive and / or frame member 219, or until the adhesive strength is low enough that the battery can be easily removed by the user (e.g., without damaging the battery or other device components).

[0250] Battery 230 can be recharged via charging port 112 (e.g., via a charging cable inserted into charging port 112) and / or via wireless charging system 240. Battery 230 can be coupled to charging port 112 and / or wireless charging system 240 via battery control circuitry that controls the power supplied to the battery and the power supplied by the battery to device 100. Battery 230 may include one or more lithium-ion battery cells or any other suitable type of rechargeable battery element. Charging port 112 may be or may include a connector module.

[0251] The wireless charging system 240 may include a coil inductively coupled to the output or transmission coil of a wireless charger. The coil may provide current to device 100 to charge battery 230 and / or power the device. In this example, the wireless charging system 240 includes a coil assembly comprising multiple turns of conductive wire or other conduit configured to generate a current (charging current) in response to being placed in an inductive charging electromagnetic field generated by a separate wireless charging device or accessory. The coil assembly also includes or is associated with an array of magnetic elements arranged in a circular or radial pattern. The magnetic elements may aid in positioning device 100 relative to a separate wireless charging device or accessory. In some embodiments, the magnetic array may also aid in radially positioning, oriented, or “rotating” device 100 relative to a separate wireless charging device or accessory. For example, the magnetic array may include multiple magnetic elements having alternating magnetic polarities arranged in a radial pattern. The magnetic elements may be arranged to provide magnetic coupling to a separate charging device in a specific orientation or a set of discrete orientations to aid in positioning device 100 relative to a separate charging device or accessory. This functionality may be described as self-aligned or self-positioning wireless charging. Figure 2As shown, device 100 also includes a magnetic reference 244 for assisting in the positioning of individual wireless charging devices or accessories. In one example, magnetic reference 244 is designed for magnetic coupling to individual wireless charging devices or other accessories. By coupling to individual wireless charging devices / accessories, rotational alignment of device 100 and individual wireless charging devices / accessories can be maintained relative to an absolute position or a single position. Moreover, by magnetically coupling the charging device / accessory to the rear surface of device 100, the charging device or other accessory can be more securely coupled to device 100.

[0252] In some implementations, the wireless charging system 240 includes an antenna or other element for detecting the presence of a charging device or other accessory. In some cases, the charging system includes a near-field communication (NFC) antenna adapted to receive and / or transmit wireless communication between the device 100 and the wireless charger or other accessory. In some cases, the device 100 is adapted to perform wireless communication to detect or sense the presence of the wireless charger or other accessory without using a dedicated NFC antenna. The communication may also include information about the device's status, the amount of power held by the battery 230, and / or control signals for increasing charging, decreasing charging, starting charging, and / or stopping charging for wireless charging operations.

[0253] The wireless charging system 240 may also include one or more graphite layers (or other thermally conductive layers) to improve the thermal performance of the wireless charging system 240 and / or the device itself. For example, the graphite layers on the wireless charging system 240 may diffuse and / or disperse heat from the coil during charging operation. In some cases, the graphite layers may absorb and diffuse heat from other components, such as the battery 230.

[0254] Device 100 may also include a speaker system 224. The speaker system 224 may be positioned within device 100 such that one or more audio openings 114 are aligned with or otherwise approach the audio output of the speaker system 224. Thus, sound output from the speaker system 224 exits the housing structure 104 via the audio openings 114. The speaker system 224 may include a speaker positioned within a housing that defines a speaker volume (e.g., an empty space in front of or behind a speaker diaphragm). The speaker volume can be used to tune the audio output from the speaker and optionally mitigate destructive interference of the sound generated by the speaker.

[0255] The device 100 may also include a haptic actuator 222. The haptic actuator 222 may include a movable mass and an actuation system configured to move the mass to generate a haptic output. The actuation system may include one or more coils and one or more magnets (e.g., permanent magnets and / or electromagnets) that interact to generate motion. The magnets may be or may include recycled magnetic materials.

[0256] When the coil is energized, it causes the mass to move, resulting in a force being applied to device 100. The movement of the mass can be configured to cause a detectable vibration, pulse, tap, or other tactile output via the outer surface of device 100. The tactile actuator 222 can be configured to move the mass linearly, but other movements (e.g., rotation) are also conceivable. The mass can move in the x-direction. Other types of tactile actuators can be used as an alternative to or supplement to the tactile actuator 222.

[0257] In some cases, the haptic actuator 222 is configured to generate a first haptic output in response to the device detecting that a force input applied to a button (e.g., a button with strain sensing or other force sensing elements) meets a force threshold, and is also configured to generate a second haptic output in response to a notification event (e.g., an event associated with a haptic notification, or an event in which the device generates a haptic output upon its occurrence). Thus, the same haptic actuator 222 can be used to generate haptic feedback for notification, as well as to simulate button pressing or otherwise indicate that input meeting a force threshold has been received.

[0258] Device 100 also includes a circuit board assembly 220. Circuit board assembly 220 may include a substrate and processors, memory, and other circuit elements coupled to the substrate. Circuit board assembly 220 may include multiple circuit boards stacked and coupled together to maximize the area available for electronic components and circuitry with a compact form factor. Circuit board assembly 220 may include means for a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). Circuit board assembly 220 may include electrical contacts for receiving a physical SIM card and / or a SIM tray assembly, and / or circuit board assembly 220 may include means for an electronic SIM. When using an electronic SIM, device 100 may omit the SIM tray (e.g., the device may not include openings, trays, slots, doors, or other mechanical means for inserting or otherwise accessing the SIM). Circuit board assembly 220 may be fully or partially encapsulated to reduce the chance of damage due to the ingress of water or other fluids. As described herein, thermal bridges may be applied to circuit board assembly 220 to help transfer heat from circuit board assembly 220 to other areas or components of device 100 (e.g., to heat dissipation module 237). Thermal bridges may include graphite-encapsulated foam or graphite-coated rings, wherein the rings or foam structure maintains contact between the graphite (which provides thermal conductivity) and the circuit board assembly 220 and other components.

[0259] The circuit board assembly 220 may also include wireless communication circuitry operatively coupled to housing components and / or otherwise used as radiating elements to provide wireless communication. The circuit board assembly 220 may also include components such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, near-field communication circuitry and / or antennas, compasses, etc. In some embodiments, the circuit board assembly 220 may include a magnetometer adapted to detect and / or locate an accessory. For example, the magnetometer may be adapted to detect magnetic (or non-magnetic) signals generated by an accessory of device 100 or other devices. The magnetometer's output may include a direction output that can be used to display directional markings or other navigation guidance on display 103 to guide the user toward the location of the accessory or other device.

[0260] The circuit board assembly 220 may also include Global Positioning System (GPS) electronics that can be used to determine the position of device 100 relative to one or more satellites (e.g., Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) in order to estimate the absolute position of device 100. In some implementations, the GPS electronics are operable to utilize dual frequency bands or ranges. For example, the GPS electronics can use L1 (L1C), L2 (L2C), L5, L1+L5, and other GPS signal frequency bands to estimate the position of device 100.

[0261] Device 100 may also include one or more pressure transducers that are operable to detect changes in external pressure to determine changes in height. The pressure sensor may be an external port and / or located within a water-sealed internal volume of the housing structure 104. The output of the pressure sensor can be used to track climbed stairs, the location of multi-story structures (e.g., floors), movement performed during activity, to estimate physical exertion or calories burned, or other relative movement of device 100. The pressure transducer may be in fluid communication with the external environment through an audio opening (e.g., port 114) in the housing structure 104.

[0262] like Figure 2 As shown, the housing may include a rear cover 132 that defines at least a portion of the rear outer surface of the device 100. The rear cover 132 may be positioned in an opening in a recess defined along the rear of the device 100, and specifically, formed into the housing structure 104. The rear cover 132 may cover or be positioned above the wireless charging system 240, and may be configured to allow electromagnetic coupling between the wireless charging system 240 and an external charger and / or power source. The rear cover 132 may have a portion with a thickness of less than 1 mm. In some cases, the rear cover 132 has a portion with a thickness of less than 0.80 mm. In some cases, the rear cover 132 has a portion that is approximately 0.40 mm or thinner. The rear cover 132 may have a uniform thickness.

[0263] The back cover 132 may be formed of a colored optically transmissive material and may include a coating along the inside of the back cover 132 that, together with the color (or colorless) of the optically transmissive material, defines the color of a portion of the rear side of the device. For example, the coating along the inner surface of the back cover 132 may include one or more color layers. The color layers may include colorants, such as pigments or dyes, and may have a distinct hue or be a near-neutral color. Alternatively or additionally, the coating may include one or more opaque layers applied to the inner surface of the substrate (or otherwise positioned along the inside of the substrate) to provide a specific appearance to the back of the device. The opaque layers may include sheets, inks, dyes, or combinations of these (or other) layers, materials, etc., and in some cases may be optically dense.

[0264] The housing structure 104 may include a housing component 125. The housing component 125 may include a first metal segment 214 defining a first wall and a second metal segment 216 defining a second wall. The housing component 125 may also include a metal segment 282 defining a rear panel 283 extending between the first and second walls. As described herein, the housing structure 104 may also include a metal segment defining a protrusion 151. In some cases, the housing component 125 is a monolithic metal structure that can be formed by attaching two or more separate metal structures (e.g., separate metal segments) together (e.g., via welding), or by forming the segment from a single piece of material (e.g., forging or machining the housing component 125). The first metal segment 214 and the second metal segment 216 may define a first side outer surface and a second side outer surface of the device 100, respectively. The housing component 125 may also be referred to or considered as a segment of the housing structure (e.g., a metal segment).

[0265] The housing structure 104 may further include housing components 124 and 126, which may be metal segments. Housing component (or metal segment) 126 may define the bottom outer surface of the device 100 and the first and second corner surfaces of the device 100, and housing component (or metal segment) 124 may define the top outer surface of the device 100 and the third and fourth corner surfaces of the device 100. Housing components 124 and 126 may be connected via a coupling structure 122 ( Figure 1A It is structurally coupled to the housing component 125.

[0266] Device 100 includes a frame member 219. As described herein, frame member 219 may be a separate component from and coupled to housing structure 104. Frame member 219 may be configured to be spaced apart from rear panel 283. Various components of device 100 may be positioned in the gap and coupled to frame member 219, while other components of device 100 may be positioned in the gap and coupled to rear panel 283. Thus, the housing configuration having frame member 219 and rear panel 283 provides an internal device cavity with multiple parallel structured mounting surfaces or structures to which components may be coupled. As described herein, frame member 219 may be coupled to housing structure 104 via fasteners (e.g., screws, bolts) to facilitate the installation of various components and the overall device construction, and to facilitate the removal of frame member 219 for maintenance or other reasons. Thus, frame member 219 defines a load-bearing mounting structure (together with rear panel 283), but is not permanently attached to housing structure 104. As described herein, battery 230 and circuit board assembly 220 may be coupled to housing component 219 and may be configured to be spaced apart from rear panel 283. Since housing component 219 is not part of a monolithic structure that also defines the outer surface of device 100, it can also be used to suppress heat diffusion from heat-generating components to the outer surface of the device. For example, heat-generating components such as battery 230 and circuit board assembly 220 may be coupled to housing component 219 (and configured to be spaced apart from rear panel 283). Therefore, heat generated by those components may preferentially be transferred to housing component 219 (and heat dissipation module 237, as described herein) rather than to housing structure 104.

[0267] While the battery 230 and circuit board assembly 220 may be coupled to the frame component 219, other components may be coupled to the rear panel 283. For example, components such as sensor array 141, speaker module 250, speaker system 224, haptic actuator 222, flash 148, depth sensor module 149, etc., may be coupled to the rear panel 283 (e.g., along the inside of the rear panel 283 or the inward-facing surface).

[0268] In some cases, instead of being formed from multiple separate housing components (e.g., housing subassemblies) attached together, housing component 125 can be a monolithic structure formed from a single material. For example, the monolithic structure of housing component 125 can be a metal, such as aluminum, steel, titanium, etc., and can be formed by extrusion, machining, and / or a combination of these processes and other forming processes. Thus, housing sections 216 and 214 (which define the side outer surfaces of device 100) and frame 219 can be different parts of a single material. In some cases, housing component 125 can be formed from separate components or sections attached to each other. For example, housing sections 216, 214 can be formed as components separate from frame 219, and then housing sections 216, 214 can be welded, brazed, soldered, attached, or otherwise attached to frame 219 to form housing component 125. As described herein, housing sections 216, 214 can be a bimetallic cladding structure (e.g., a titanium cladding over an aluminum core), and frame 219 can be aluminum. The aluminum core portion of the cladding structure may be welded to the aluminum frame 219. In some cases, the structure defined or including the cladding sections 216, 214, 219 may be referred to as the cladding section.

[0269] As described above, housing structure 104 may include housing components (e.g., metal segments) 124, 126 that are structurally joined together (and / or structurally joined to housing component 125) via engagement structure 122. Engagement structure 122 (e.g., material of engagement structure) may extend above the inner surface of the housing component. More specifically, a portion of engagement structure 122 may contact, cover, encapsulate, and / or engage with a retaining feature extending from the inner surface of the housing component. When coupled via engagement structure 122, housing components 124, 125, 126 and engagement structure 122 may define a main housing assembly that defines the outer surface of device 100 and the rear panel 283 of the device.

[0270] The frame component 219 may define an aperture 241 configured to receive a heat dissipation module 237. The heat dissipation module 237 may be thermally and structurally coupled to the frame component 219, such as via welds along a flange portion of the heat dissipation module 237. The heat dissipation module 237 may be a vapor chamber. Components coupled to the frame component 219, such as circuit board assembly 220 and battery 230, may also be thermally coupled to the heat dissipation module 237. The heat dissipation module 237 may be configured to distribute heat received from the circuit board assembly 220 and / or battery 230. For example, the heat dissipation module 237 may receive heat from the circuit board assembly 220 and transfer heat to other areas of the device, including the frame component 219 itself, other areas of the heat dissipation module 237, and in some cases, the battery, etc. The heat dissipation module 237 and the frame component 219 can ultimately be used to extract heat from the circuit board assembly 220 (and optionally the battery 230), thereby improving the operation and / or lifespan of the circuit board assembly 220 and / or its components (e.g., by allowing the circuit board assembly 220 (and its processor and other circuitry) to operate at lower temperatures, more efficiently, at higher power levels, etc.).

[0271] Device 100 may also include a button 117 with a touch sensor integrated on its outer surface. For example, button 117 may detect force (or translation or pressing) input, and may also detect touch input applied to the button surface. Force input may be detected by a strain sensing system, a switching member, or any other suitable force and / or translation sensor (and / or combination of sensors, such as a collapsible spring switch combined with a force sensor). Touch input may be detected by a touch sensing system such as a capacitive touch sensing system. For example, the button member of button 117 (e.g., a movable part that a user presses to actuate the button or provides input to the button) may include a touch-sensing element positioned thereon. Buttons equipped with touch-sensing elements can detect various types of touch-based input, including static touch input (e.g., a finger touching a touch-sensitive button surface), dynamic touch input (e.g., a finger sliding along a touch-sensitive button surface, also known as a gesture or swipe input), etc. In some cases, button 117 may include a touch-sensing element to detect such touch-based input. As described herein, button 117 may be operated in conjunction with a haptic actuation system (such as haptic actuator 222) to produce a haptic output in response to the detection of an input (e.g., force input, touch input, etc.) at button 117.

[0272] like Figure 2 As shown, device 100 includes one or more antennas adapted for wireless communication using 5G communication protocols. For example, device 100 may include antenna module 247, which may include one or more antenna arrays configured to transmit and receive wireless communication signals through openings in the housing component (e.g., through the top side of device 100), as described above.

[0273] An antenna module may include multiple antenna arrays. For example, an antenna module may include one or more millimeter-wave antenna arrays. When an antenna module includes multiple millimeter-wave antenna arrays (each antenna array may include one or more radiating elements), the multiple millimeter-wave antenna arrays may be configured to operate according to a diversity scheme (e.g., spatial diversity, pattern diversity, polarization diversity, etc.). The antenna module may also include one or more ultra-wideband antennas.

[0274] The antenna array is suitable for millimeter-wave 5G communication and can be adapted to use beamforming or other technologies, or in combination with beamforming or other technologies, to adjust signal reception depending on the use case. Device 100 may also include multiple antennas for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication schemes, including 4G, 4G LTE, and / or 5G MIMO communication protocols. As described herein, one or more housing components (or portions thereof) may be adapted to operate as antennas for MIMO wireless communication schemes (or other wireless communication schemes).

[0275] Figure 3 An exploded view of an example electronic device is shown. Specifically, Figure 3 An exploded view of device 140 is depicted, showing various components of device 140 and an example arrangement and configuration of these components.

[0276] like Figure 3As shown, device 140 includes a cover 147 (e.g., a front cover), which may be formed of or comprise a transparent or optically translucent material. In some cases, cover 147 is formed of or comprises a glass material or other suitable transparent or optically translucent material (e.g., silicate-based materials, aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass, chemically strengthened glass, sapphire, ceramic, glass-ceramic, crystallizable glass material, or plastic). In this example, cover 147 may be formed of a glass-ceramic material. Glass-ceramic materials may include amorphous and crystalline or non-amorphous phases of one or more materials and may be formulated to improve the strength or other properties of cover 147. Glass-ceramic materials may be silicate-based glass-ceramic materials, such as aluminosilicate glass-ceramic materials or borosilicate glass-ceramic materials. Glass-ceramic materials may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. In some cases, the cover 147 may comprise a sheet of chemically reinforced material or an optical processing element having one or more coatings, including an anti-reflective (AR) coating, an oleophobic coating, or other types of coatings. In some cases, the cover 147 comprises a sheet of material less than 1 mm thick. In some cases, the sheet of material is less than 0.80 mm thick. In some cases, the sheet of material is approximately 0.60 mm or thinner, or approximately 0.50 mm or thinner. An ion exchange process may be used to chemically reinforce the cover 147 to form a compressive stress layer along the outer surface of the cover 147.

[0277] Cover 147 extends over substantially the entire front surface of the device and can be positioned within an opening defined by housing structure 153. In some cases, the edge or side of cover 147 may be surrounded by a protective flange or lip of housing structure 153, with no gap member between the edge of cover 147 and the corresponding flange of housing structure 153. This configuration allows impacts or forces applied to housing structure 153 to be transferred to cover 147, rather than directly through display 143 or frame 304 to transmit shear stress.

[0278] like Figure 3As shown, display 143 is attached to the inner surface of cover 147. Display 143 may include a frameless organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display with a corner-to-corner dimension of approximately 15.4 cm (6.1 inches). The periphery or inactive area of ​​display 143 may be reduced to allow for a very thin device boundary around the active area of ​​display 143. In some cases, display 143 allows for a boundary area of ​​1.5 mm or less. In some cases, display 143 allows for a boundary area of ​​1 mm or less. In one example embodiment, the boundary area is approximately 0.9 mm. Display 143 may have a relatively high pixel density of approximately 460 pixels per inch (PPI) or greater. In some cases, display 143 has a pixel density of approximately 475 PPI. Display 143 may use a low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) or low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) backplane.

[0279] Display 143 may have an integrated (on-cell) touch sensing system. For example, an array of electrodes (or other touch sensing components) integrated into an OLED display may be time- and / or frequency-multiplexed to provide both display and touch sensing functionality. The electrodes may be configured to detect touch location, gesture input, multi-touch input, or other types of touch input along the outer surface of cover 147. In some cases, display 143 includes another type of display element, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) without an integrated touch sensing system. That is, device 140 may include one or more touch and / or force sensing components or layers positioned between display 143 and cover 147.

[0280] Display 143 (also referred to as a display overlay) may include an Always-On Display (AOD) function. For example, display 143 may be configured to allow a subset of a designated area or pixels to be displayed while device 140 is powered on, making graphic content visible to the user even when device 140 is in low-power or sleep mode. This allows the display of time, date, battery status, recent notifications, and other graphic content in low-power or sleep mode. This graphic content may be referred to as persistent or always-on graphics output. While some battery power may be consumed when displaying persistent or always-on graphics output, this power consumption is generally less than that consumed during normal or full-power operation of display 143. This function can be enabled by operating only a subset of the display pixels and / or operating at a reduced resolution to reduce the power consumption of display 143.

[0281] Display 143 may include multiple layers, including a touch-sensing layer or component, an optional force-sensing layer or component, a display layer, etc. Display 143 may define a graphics active area in which graphics output can be displayed. In some cases, portions of display 143 may include graphics inactive areas, such as portions of a display layer that do not include active display components or are otherwise not configured to display graphics output (e.g., pixels). In some cases, graphics inactive areas may be positioned along the peripheral boundary or other edges of display 143.

[0282] like Figure 3 As shown, device 140 may also include a frame member 304 (also simply referred to as frame 304) positioned below cover 147 and extending around the outer periphery of display 143. Frame 304 may be attached to the lower or inner surface of cover 147. A portion of frame 304 may extend below display 143 and may attach cover 147 to housing structure 153. Because display 143 is attached to the lower or inner surface of cover 147, frame 304 may also be described as attaching both display 143 and cover 147 to housing structure 153. Frame 304 may be formed of polymeric material, metallic material, or a combination of polymeric and metallic materials. Frame 304 may support elements of the display stack, provide anchoring points for flexible circuitry, and / or be used for mounting other components and device elements. In some cases, frame 304 includes one or more metal or conductive elements that provide shielding between device components, such as between a display stack (including display components and touch sensor components) and other components such as haptic actuator 322, speaker system 324, etc.

[0283] Cover 147, display or display stack 303, and frame member 304 may be part of front cover assembly 301 of device 140. Front cover assembly 301 (e.g., front cover of front cover assembly) may define a front outer surface of the device. Cover 147 may define an inner surface opposite the outer surface. Front cover assembly 301 may be assembled into a sub-assembly, which may then be attached to a housing component. For example, as described herein, display 143 may be attached to cover 147 (e.g., via a clear adhesive), and frame member 304 may be attached to cover around the periphery of display stack 143 (e.g., via adhesive). Front cover assembly 301 may then be attached to housing component of device 140 by mounting and attaching frame member 304 to a protrusion defined by housing component.

[0284] Device 140 also includes a speaker module 350 configured to output sound via a speaker port. The speaker port may be positioned in and / or at least partially defined by a recess or notch formed along the side of cover 147. As described herein, the trim may be at least partially positioned in the recess or notch to facilitate sound output while also preventing debris, liquids, or other materials or contaminants from entering device 140. The output from speaker module 350 may pass through an audio channel or acoustic path defined at least partially by speaker module 350 itself and the trim. In some cases, a portion of the acoustic path (e.g., between speaker module 350 and trim) is defined by housing structure 153 and / or a molding material coupled to housing structure 153. For example, the molding material (e.g., a fiber-reinforced polymer) may be molded against a metallic portion of housing structure 153 (e.g., housing component 313 described herein). The molding material may also form one or more intermediate elements, such as joining structures (e.g., joining structure 318), which also structurally join the housing components together. Ports or channels (e.g., tubular tunnels) may be defined through the molding material to more generally acoustically couple the speaker module 350 to trim and / or recesses, thereby directing sound from the speaker module 350 to the exterior of the device 140.

[0285] like Figure 3 As shown, device 140 also includes one or more cameras, optical transmitters, and / or sensing elements configured to transmit signals, receive signals, or otherwise operate along the front surface of the device. In this example, device 140 includes a front camera 306 that includes a high-resolution camera sensor. The front camera 306 may have a 12-megapixel resolution sensor with optics providing an 85° field of view. The front camera 306 may have... f An aperture of f / 1.9. The front camera 306 may include autofocus functionality, wherein one or more lens elements are moved (e.g., perpendicular to the cover by up to approximately 100 micrometers) to focus an image onto the camera's sensor. In some cases, an autofocus front-facing camera is capable of providing continuous autofocus during video capture. Device 140 also includes an optical face recognition system 352 comprising an infrared light projector (for projecting light) and an infrared light sensor configured to sense an array or region of depth points along the user's face. The depth point array may be characterized as a unique feature or biometric identifier that can be used to identify and / or authenticate the user and unlock device 140 (and / or authorize functions on device 140, such as purchasing software applications or using payment functions offered by device 140).

[0286] Device 140 may also include one or more other sensors or components. For example, device 140 may include a front illuminator element for providing flash or illumination to the front camera 306. Device 140 may also include an ambient light sensor (ALS) for detecting ambient light conditions for setting the exposure aspect of the front camera 306 and / or for controlling the operation of the display. Device 140 may also include a proximity sensing system 353 for detecting the proximity of a user or other object to device 140. In some cases, as described herein, proximity sensing system 353 detects proximity to other objects through an active area of ​​the display. Proximity sensing system 353 and optical facial recognition system 352 may be integrated in a common module. In some cases, information from the proximity sensing system and the ambient light sensor may be used to determine ambient light conditions and / or the proximity of an object to device 140. For example, information from the proximity sensing system may be used to determine whether low ambient light detected by the ambient light sensor is due to low ambient light or because an object (e.g., a finger providing touch input or a palm during typing) partially or temporarily obscures the ambient light sensor. Information from these two sensing systems can be used to eliminate potential ambiguities and generally improve the accuracy of devices in sensing or detecting specific conditions.

[0287] Figure 3 Examples also include one or more cameras, optical transmitters, and / or sensing elements configured to transmit signals, receive signals, or otherwise operate along the rear surface of the device. Figure 3 As depicted, these elements may be part of a raised sensor array region 158 (which may also be simply referred to as a sensor array). In this example, the sensor array 158 includes a first camera 138 having a 48.8-megapixel image sensor (optionally with a three-layer sensor arrangement) and an aperture of [aperture value missing]. f A wide-angle lens with an aperture of f / 1.6. The sensor array 158 may also include a second camera 139, which has a 48-megapixel image sensor and an aperture of f / 1.6. f A 2.2-inch ultra-wide-angle lens (120° FOV). Sensor array 158 also includes a light illuminator that can be used as a flash or auxiliary light source (e.g., a flashlight) for photography. In some cases, sensor array 158 also includes a microphone, an ambient light sensor, a depth sensing system, and / or other sensors adapted for sensing along the rear surface of device 140. First camera 138 and second camera 139 (and / or camera lenses of first camera 138 and second camera 139) may be arranged on a line extending along the y-direction of the device (e.g., centered on this line).

[0288] like Figure 3As shown, cameras 138 and 139 can be aligned with camera covers 363 and 364, respectively. Covers 363 and 364 may be formed of glass, glass-ceramic, or sapphire material and provide clear (e.g., transparent or optically transmissive) windows through which cameras 138 and 139 can capture photographic images. In other cases, covers 363 and 364 are optical lenses that filter, magnify, or otherwise modulate the light received by the respective cameras 138 and 139. Other sensing or transmitting elements of the sensor array 158 may transmit and / or receive signals via the rear or a region of the rear cover 372 or via a separate cover coupled to the rear cover 372. Figure 3 As shown, covers 363 and 364 may extend beyond the outer surface of the rear cover 372 and may define recesses along the inner side of the rear cover 372, allowing lenses or other components of cameras 138 and 139 to extend into the respective recesses. In this way, device 140 can accommodate larger lenses or other components of cameras 138 and 139 compared to lenses or other components that might be accommodated without the provided recesses. In some cases, decorative components 365 and 366 may be coupled to the rear cover 372 and may support covers 363 and 364.

[0289] Device 140 also includes battery 330. Battery 330 provides power to device 140 and its various systems and components. Battery 330 may be a 4.40V lithium-ion battery encapsulated in foil or other encapsulation elements, such as a rigid metal casing as described with respect to battery 230. Battery 330 may include a wound electrode configuration, sometimes referred to as a “jelly roll” or a folded or stacked electrode configuration.

[0290] Battery 330 may be attached to device 140 (e.g., to rack section 323) using one or more adhesives and / or other attachment techniques. In one example, battery 330 may be attached to rack section 323 or another structure of device 140 using an electrically descalable adhesive (e.g., an adhesive whose adhesive strength is selectively reduced in response to charge). In such cases, the adhesive may include conductive terminals of the electrically descalable adhesive that have conductive contacts. When current is applied to the electrically descalable adhesive (EDA) (e.g., by a user during a battery replacement operation), the adhesive strength may decrease until the battery is released from the adhesive and / or rack section 323, or until the adhesive strength is low enough that the battery can be easily removed by the user (e.g., without damaging the battery or other device components).

[0291] Battery 330 can be recharged via charging port 332 (e.g., via a charging cable inserted into charging port 332 through charging access opening 326) and / or via wireless charging system 340. Charging port 332 may be or may include a connector module. Battery 330 may be coupled to charging port 332 and / or wireless charging system 340 via battery control circuitry that controls the power supplied to the battery and the power supplied by the battery to device 140. Battery 330 may include one or more lithium-ion battery cells or any other suitable type of rechargeable battery element.

[0292] The wireless charging system 340 may include a coil inductively coupled to the output or transmitting coil of a wireless charging accessory. The coil may provide current to the device 140 to charge the battery 330 and / or power the device. In this example, the wireless charging system 340 includes a coil assembly 342 comprising multiple turns of conductive wire or other conduit configured to generate a current (charging current) in response to being placed in an inductive charging electromagnetic field generated by a separate wireless charging device or accessory. The coil assembly 342 also includes an array of magnetic elements arranged in a circular or radial pattern. The magnetic elements may help position the device 140 relative to a separate wireless charging accessory or other device. In some embodiments, the magnetic array may also help to radially position, orient, or “rotate” the device 140 relative to a separate wireless charging device or other accessory. For example, the magnetic array may include multiple magnetic elements having alternating magnetic polarities arranged in a radial pattern. The magnetic elements may be arranged to provide magnetic coupling to a separate charging device in a specific orientation or a set of discrete orientations to help position the device 140 relative to the separate charging device or other accessory. This functionality may be described as self-aligning or self-positioning wireless charging. Figure 3 As shown, device 140 also includes a magnetic reference 344 for helping to locate individual wireless charging devices or accessories.

[0293] In one example, the magnetic reference 344 is adapted to be magnetically coupled to a separate wireless charging device or other accessory. By coupling to a separate wireless charging device / accessory, the rotational alignment of device 140 and the separate wireless charging device / accessory can be maintained relative to an absolute position or a single position. Moreover, by magnetically coupling the charging device / accessory to the rear surface of device 140, the charging device or other accessory can be more securely coupled to device 140.

[0294] In some implementations, the wireless charging system 340 includes an antenna or other element for detecting the presence of a charging device or other accessory. In some cases, the charging system includes a near-field communication (NFC) antenna adapted to receive and / or transmit wireless communication between the device 140 and the wireless charger or other accessory. In some cases, the device 140 is adapted to perform wireless communication to detect or sense the presence of the wireless charger or other accessory without using a dedicated NFC antenna. The communication may also include information about the device's status, the amount of power held by the battery 330, and / or control signals for increasing charging, decreasing charging, starting charging, and / or stopping charging for wireless charging operations.

[0295] The wireless charging system 340 may also include one or more graphite layers (or other thermally conductive layers) to improve the thermal performance of the wireless charging system 340 and / or the device itself. For example, the graphite layers on the wireless charging system 340 may diffuse and / or disperse heat from the coil during charging operation. In some cases, the graphite layers may absorb and diffuse heat from other components, such as the battery 330.

[0296] Device 140 may also include a speaker system 324. The speaker system 324 may be positioned within device 140 such that a corresponding port 325 is aligned with or otherwise proximates an audio output of the speaker system 324. Thus, sound output from the speaker system 324 exits the housing structure 153 via the corresponding port 325. The speaker system 324 may include a speaker positioned within a housing that defines a speaker volume (e.g., an empty space in front of or behind a speaker diaphragm). The speaker volume can be used to tune the audio output from the speaker and optionally mitigate destructive interference of the sound produced by the speaker.

[0297] The device 140 may also include a haptic actuator 322. The haptic actuator 322 may include a movable mass and an actuation system configured to move the mass to generate a haptic output. The actuation system may include one or more coils and one or more magnets (e.g., permanent magnets and / or electromagnets) that interact to generate motion. The magnets may be or may include recycled magnetic materials.

[0298] When the coil is energized, it causes the mass to move, resulting in a force being applied to the device 140. The movement of the mass can be configured to cause a detectable vibration, pulse, tap, or other tactile output via the outer surface of the device 140. The tactile actuator 322 can be configured to move the mass linearly, but other movements (e.g., rotation) are also conceivable. Other types of tactile actuators can be used as an alternative to or supplement to the tactile actuator 322.

[0299] The haptic actuator 322 can be configured to cause the mass to move along the y-direction to produce a haptic output. In some cases, a specific movement of the mass along the y-direction is tuned to produce a haptic output that is perceptually similar to that of a haptic actuator configured to move along the x-direction. Configuring the haptic actuator 322 such that the mass moves along the y-direction (e.g., instead of the x-direction) allows the haptic actuator 322 to be oriented primarily along the y-direction (e.g., the long axis of the haptic actuator 322 extends along the y-direction), which allows for greater packaging efficiency of components within the device 140.

[0300] In some cases, the haptic actuator 322 is configured to generate a first haptic output in response to the device detecting that a force input applied to a button (e.g., a button with strain sensing or other force sensing elements) meets a force threshold, and is also configured to generate a second haptic output in response to a notification event (e.g., an event associated with a haptic notification, or an event in which the device generates a haptic output upon its occurrence). Thus, the same haptic actuator 322 can be used to generate haptic feedback for notification, as well as to simulate button pressing or otherwise indicate that input meeting a force threshold has been received.

[0301] Device 140 also includes a circuit board assembly 320. Circuit board assembly 320 may include a substrate and processors, memory, and other circuit elements coupled to the substrate. Circuit board assembly 320 may include multiple circuit boards stacked and coupled together to maximize the area available for electronic components and circuitry with a compact form factor. Circuit board assembly 320 may include means for a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). Circuit board assembly 320 may include electrical contacts for receiving a physical SIM card and / or a SIM tray assembly, and / or circuit board assembly 320 may include means for an electronic SIM. When using an electronic SIM, device 140 may omit the SIM tray (e.g., the device may not include openings, trays, slots, doors, or other mechanical means for inserting or otherwise accessing the SIM). Circuit board assembly 320 may be fully or partially encapsulated to reduce the chance of damage due to the ingress of water or other fluids.

[0302] The circuit board assembly 320 may be thermally coupled to a rack section 323 of the housing structure 153. As described herein, the rack section 323 (also simply referred to as rack 323) may be part of a housing section 314 (e.g., an intermediate housing component) formed of a single structure and defining rack 323, as well as a first wall section 317 defining a first side outer surface of device 140 and a second wall section 319 defining a second side outer surface of device 140. The circuit board assembly 320 may be thermally coupled to rack 323 via one or more thermal bridges (such as graphite structures, graphite-encased foam, or other thermally conductive structures). Heat from the circuit board assembly may be transferred to rack 323 via thermal bridges, thereby removing heat from the circuit board assembly 320 (where heat may be detrimental to durability, performance, etc.) and also absorbing heat from the outer surfaces and / or components of device 140 that come into contact with the user (e.g., wall sections 317, 319 that define the outer surface of the device and can be held by the user when device 140 is in use).

[0303] The circuit board assembly 320 may also include wireless communication circuitry operatively coupled to wall segments and / or housing components 312, 313, 317, 315, 316, or 319 (or portions thereof) and / or otherwise use these wall segments and / or housing components (or portions thereof) as radiating elements or structures to provide wireless communication. The circuit board assembly 320 may also include components such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, near-field communication circuitry and / or antennas, compasses, etc. In some embodiments, the circuit board assembly 320 may include a magnetometer adapted to detect and / or locate an accessory. For example, the magnetometer may be adapted to detect magnetic (or non-magnetic) signals generated by an accessory of device 140 or other device. The magnetometer's output may include a direction output that can be used to display directional markings or other navigation guidance on display 143 to guide the user toward the location of the accessory or other device.

[0304] The device 140 may also include one or more pressure transducers that are operable to detect changes in external pressure in order to determine changes in height. The pressure sensor may be an external port and / or located within a water-sealed internal volume of the housing structure 153. The output of the pressure sensor can be used to track climbed stairs, the location of multi-level structures (e.g., floors), movement performed during the activity, in order to estimate physical exertion or calories burned, or other relative movement of the device 140.

[0305] The circuit board assembly 320 may also include Global Positioning System (GPS) electronics that can be used to determine the position of device 140 relative to one or more satellites (e.g., Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) in order to estimate the absolute position of device 140. In some embodiments, the GPS electronics are operable to utilize dual frequency bands or ranges. For example, the GPS electronics can use L1 (L1C), L2 (L2C), L5, L1+L5, and other GPS signal frequency bands to estimate the position of device 140.

[0306] like Figure 3 As shown, the housing may include a cover 372 (e.g., a rear portion or rear cover) that defines substantially the entire rear surface of device 140. The rear cover 372, front cover 147, and housing structure 153 may at least partially define the housing of device 140, which may define the internal volume where components of device 140 reside. The cover 372 may be formed of or comprise a transparent or optically translucent material. For example, the cover 372 may include a substrate formed of or comprising a glass material or other suitable material (e.g., silicate-based materials, aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass, chemically strengthened glass, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass material, or plastic). The glass ceramic material may be a silicate-based glass ceramic material, such as aluminosilicate glass ceramic or borosilicate glass ceramic. The glass ceramic material may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. The substrate may have a portion with a thickness of less than 1 mm. In some cases, the substrate has a portion with a thickness of less than 0.80 mm. In some cases, the substrate has a portion with a thickness of approximately 0.60 mm or less. The cover 372 may have a uniform thickness, or in some cases, may have a thickened or raised portion surrounding the camera cover 363, 364. The back cover 372 may be machined (e.g., ground) into its final shape to provide the desired surface finish before being polished and / or textured. The texture may be specifically configured to provide a rough appearance while also resisting the accumulation of skin, lint, or other debris.

[0307] The cover 372 may be formed of a colored optically transmissive material and may include a coating along the inner side of the cover 372 that, together with the color (or colorless) of the optically transmissive material, defines the color of the rear side of the device. For example, the coating along the inner surface of the cover may include one or more color layers. The color layers may include colorants, such as pigments or dyes, and may have a distinct hue or be a near-neutral color. Alternatively or additionally, the coating may include one or more opaque layers applied to the inner surface of the substrate (or otherwise positioned along the inner side of the substrate) to provide a specific appearance for the rear side of the device. The opaque layers may include sheets, inks, dyes, or combinations of these (or other) layers, materials, etc., and in some cases may be optically dense.

[0308] Cover 372 may be part of rear cover assembly 373. Rear cover assembly 373 may be coupled to housing structure 153. In some cases, rear cover assembly 373 includes components such as camera covers 363 and 364, decorative components 365, 366, components of wireless charging system, structural components (e.g., frame), other decorative components, mounting clips and / or other components, systems, subsystems and / or materials.

[0309] The rear cover assembly 373 may include a support plate 371 coupled to the inner surface of the rear cover 372. The support plate 371 may be coupled to the inner surface of the rear cover via an adhesive.

[0310] The support plate 371 may be formed of metal (e.g., aluminum) and may define a structural mounting surface for components (e.g., a wireless charging system) of the rear cover assembly 373. In some cases, decorative components 365, 366 are attached to the support plate 371, such as by welding, soldering, brazing, or other suitable attachment means. The support plate 371 may be a one-piece metal structure that substantially spans the entire inner surface of the rear cover 372 (e.g., including the wireless charger area and the rear camera area). In other examples, the support plate 371 may be defined by multiple separate metal components. In the case where the support plate 371 is formed by multiple separate metal components, the metal components may be the same metal (e.g., all aluminum or all stainless steel), or they may be different materials.

[0311] The support plate 371 can be thermally coupled to other device components, such as via thermal bridges as described herein. Example thermal bridges include graphite-encapsulated foam (e.g., a graphite layer wrapped around foam or other compliant material), thermally conductive loops (e.g., graphite or other thermally conductive layers on a loop structure formed from a substrate), direct metal-to-metal contacts, thermal paste, or thermal gel, etc. The thermal bridge can thermally couple the support plate 371 to components such as circuit board assembly 320, battery 330, and sensor array 158. The support plate 371 can be formed of a thermally conductive material such as a metal (e.g., aluminum), and heat from other components can be transferred to the support plate 371. The support plate 371 can thus act as a heat sink and can also distribute heat generally throughout the support plate 371, which can help reduce peak device or component temperatures.

[0312] Similar to that described above with respect to cover 147, cover 372 may be at least partially positioned within an opening defined in housing structure 153. Also similar to that described above with respect to cover 147, the edge or side of cover 372 may be surrounded by a protective flange or lip of housing structure 153, with no gap between the edge of cover 372 and the corresponding flange of housing structure 153. An ion exchange process may be used to chemically strengthen cover 372 to form a compressive stress layer along the outer surface of cover 372. In some cases, the (rear) cover 372 is formed of the same or similar material as (front) cover 147.

[0313] The back cover 372 can be removably coupled to the rest of the housing structure 153, allowing for quick and efficient removal and / or replacement. In some cases, the wireless charging system 340 is the only component attached to the back cover 372 that requires electrical coupling to the circuit board assembly 320 (which is coupled to the housing segment 314). Therefore, the back cover 372 can be completely removed from the device by detaching it from the rest of the housing (e.g., from housing segment 314) and disconnecting the electrical connector of the wireless charging system. In this way, the device 140 provides improved repairability.

[0314] The housing structure 153 may include a housing segment 314 (e.g., a middle housing segment 314) that includes wall segments 317 and 319 and a rack segment 323 (e.g., a sheet-like metal structure extending between wall segments 317 and 319). The rack 323 may define the mounting configuration of components of the device 140. For example, as described herein, components such as circuit board assembly 320, battery 330, sensor array 158, speaker module 350, speaker system 324, haptic actuator 322, etc., may be coupled to the rack 323 (e.g., along the rearward side of the rack 323). By coupling components to the rack 323 instead of the front cover assembly 301 and / or the rear cover 372, the cost and complexity of the front cover assembly 301 and the rear cover assembly 373 are reduced, and the removal and / or replacement of the front cover assembly 301 and / or the rear cover 372 is simplified. The rack 323 may also define one or more holes extending through it to couple components on one side of the rack 323 (e.g., the display 143 and / or sensors of the front cover assembly 301) to components on the other side of the rack 323 (e.g., the circuit board assembly 320). Additionally, as noted above, the rack 323 may also be thermally coupled to components of the device 140, such as the circuit board assembly 320, to conduct heat away from the thermally coupled components.

[0315] The housing section 314 can be a monolithic structure formed from a single material. For example, the monolithic structure of the housing section 314 can be a metal, such as aluminum, steel, titanium, etc., and can be formed by extrusion, machining, and / or a combination of these processes and other forming processes. Therefore, wall sections 317 and 319 (which define the side outer surfaces of the device 140) and the frame 323 can be different parts of a single material. In some cases, the housing section 314 is formed from a polymer material, a reinforced polymer material (e.g., fiber reinforced), carbon fiber, or other suitable material. In some cases, wall sections 317 and 319 can be separate housing components attached to the frame 323.

[0316] As noted above, housing structure 153 may include housing components 312, 313, 315, and 316, which are structurally joined together and / or joined to housing segment 314 (intermediate housing segment 314) via engagement structure 318. Engagement structure 318 (e.g., material of engagement structure) may extend above the inner surface of the housing components. More specifically, a portion of engagement structure 318 may contact, cover, encapsulate, and / or engage with a retaining feature of the housing component extending from the inner surface of the housing component (including, for example, a wall segment from the intermediate housing segment 314). When wall segments 317 and 319 are part of a single integral structure, engagement structure 318 may also be used to structurally join housing components 312, 313, 315, and 316 to housing segment 314. When coupled via coupling structure 318, housing segments 314, housing components 312, 313, 315 and 316 and coupling structure 318 may define a main housing assembly that defines the outer surface of device 140 and the rack 323 within the device.

[0317] Housing components 312, 313, 315 and 316 may be formed of aluminum, stainless steel or other metals. Housing components may also be formed of a cladding structure comprising a variety of materials (as described above).

[0318] In some cases, where holes are formed between the cladding and core portions of a cladding housing component (e.g., for buttons, audio ports, charging ports, etc.), a seam may exist within the hole (e.g., along the hole surface). In some cases, the seam may be covered with another material, such as a paint, adhesive, polymer layer, etc. Covering the seam can help prevent electrochemical corrosion at the seam due to contact with water or other liquids.

[0319] In some cases, metal deposition processes are used to create vias that penetrate cladding housing components, without seams along the via surface. For example, vias through the housing can be formed by first creating a via through only the core material. Additional cladding material is then added to the via (e.g., via a direct metal deposition process) such that the cladding material substantially fills the via through the core portion. A final via is then formed through the cladding material and the additional cladding material (added via the metal deposition process), such that the entire via surface through the housing component is formed by the cladding material (e.g., the core material does not define the via surface). In this way, there are no seams between different metals within the via, thus mitigating the risk of electrochemical corrosion within the via.

[0320] As described herein, housing components 312, 313, 315, and 316 and wall sections 317, 319 provide robust and impact-resistant sidewalls for device 140. In this example, housing components 312, 313, 315, and 316 and wall sections 317, 319 define flat sidewalls extending around the periphery of device 140. The flat sidewalls may include rounded or chamfered edges of the upper and lower edges of the sidewalls defining housing structure 153. Housing components 312, 313, 315, and 316 and wall sections 317, 319 may each have a flange portion or lip that extends around and at least partially covers the respective side of the front cover 147 and rear cover 372. There may be no gap material or element between the flange portion or lip and the respective side surface of the front cover 147 and rear cover 372. This allows forces or impacts applied to the housing structure 153 to be transmitted to the front cover 147 and the rear cover 372 without affecting the display or other internal structural components, thereby improving the drop performance of the device 140.

[0321] Device 140 may also include a button 155 with a touch sensor integrated on its outer surface. For example, button 155 may detect force (or translation or pressing) input, and may also detect touch input applied to the button surface. Force input may be detected by a strain sensing system, a switching member, or any other suitable force and / or translation sensor (and / or combination of sensors, such as a collapsible spring switch combined with a force sensor). Touch input may be detected by a touch sensing system such as a capacitive touch sensing system. For example, the button member of button 155 (e.g., a movable part that a user presses to actuate the button or provides input to the button) may include a touch-sensing element positioned thereon. Buttons equipped with touch-sensing elements can detect various types of touch-based input, including static touch input (e.g., a finger touching a touch-sensitive button surface), dynamic touch input (e.g., a finger sliding along a touch-sensitive button surface, also known as a gesture or swipe input), etc. In some cases, button 155 may include a touch-sensing element to detect such touch-based input. As described herein, button 155 can be operated in conjunction with a haptic actuation system (such as haptic actuator 322) to produce a haptic output in response to the detection of an input (e.g., force input, touch input, etc.) at button 155.

[0322] like Figure 3 As shown, device 140 includes multiple antennas adapted for wireless communication using 5G communication protocols. For example, device 140 may include antenna module 347, which may include one or more antenna arrays configured to transmit and receive wireless communication signals via rear cover 372 and / or via another housing component of the device (e.g., an RF transmission component of the device or housing). The antenna module may be attached to the back or bottom surface of circuit board assembly 320.

[0323] An antenna module may include multiple antenna arrays. For example, an antenna module may include one or more millimeter-wave antenna arrays. When an antenna module includes multiple millimeter-wave antenna arrays (each antenna array may include one or more radiating elements), the multiple millimeter-wave antenna arrays may be configured to operate according to a diversity scheme (e.g., spatial diversity, pattern diversity, polarization diversity, etc.). The antenna module may also include one or more ultra-wideband antennas.

[0324] Each of these antenna arrays (e.g., millimeter-wave arrays of antenna arrays and antenna modules) is adapted for millimeter-wave 5G communication and is adapted to use beamforming or other technologies, or in combination with beamforming or other technologies, to adapt signal reception, depending on the use case. Device 140 may also include multiple antennas for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication schemes, including 4G, 4G LTE, and / or 5G MIMO communication protocols. As described herein, one or more of housing components 312, 313, 315, and 316 and wall segments 317, 319 (or portions thereof) are adapted to operate as antennas for MIMO wireless communication schemes (or other wireless communication schemes).

[0325] Figure 4 An exploded view of an example electronic device is shown. Specifically, Figure 4 An exploded view of device 160 is depicted, showing various components of device 160 and an example arrangement and configuration of these components.

[0326] like Figure 4 As shown, device 160 includes a cover 162 (e.g., a front cover), which may be formed of or comprise a transparent or optically translucent material. In some cases, cover 162 is formed of or comprises a glass material or other suitable transparent or optically translucent material (e.g., silicate-based materials, aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass, chemically strengthened glass, sapphire, ceramic, glass-ceramic, crystallizable glass material, or plastic). In this example, cover 162 may be formed of a glass-ceramic material. Glass-ceramic materials may include amorphous and crystalline or non-amorphous phases of one or more materials and may be formulated to improve the strength or other properties of cover 162. Glass-ceramic materials may be silicate-based glass-ceramic materials, such as aluminosilicate glass-ceramic materials or borosilicate glass-ceramic materials. Glass-ceramic materials may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. In some cases, the cover 162 may comprise a sheet of chemically reinforced material or an optical processing element having one or more coatings, including an anti-reflective (AR) coating, an oleophobic coating, or other types of coatings. In some cases, the cover 162 comprises a sheet of material less than 1 mm thick. In some cases, the sheet of material is less than 0.80 mm thick. In some cases, the sheet of material is approximately 0.60 mm or thinner, or approximately 0.50 mm or thinner. An ion exchange process may be used to chemically reinforce the cover 162 to form a compressive stress layer along the outer surface of the cover 162.

[0327] The cover 162 extends over substantially the entire front surface of the device and can be positioned within an opening defined by the housing structure 164. In some cases, the edge or side of the cover 162 may be surrounded by a protective flange or lip of the housing structure 164, with no gap member between the edge of the cover 162 and the corresponding flange of the housing structure 164. This configuration allows impacts or forces applied to the housing structure 164 to be transferred to the cover 162, rather than directly through the display 163 or the frame 404 to transmit shear stress.

[0328] like Figure 4 As shown, display 163 is attached to the inner surface of cover 162. Display 163 may include a frameless organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display with a corner-to-corner dimension of approximately 15.4 cm (6.1 inches). The periphery or inactive area of ​​display 163 may be reduced to allow for a very thin device boundary around the active area of ​​display 163. In some cases, display 163 allows for a boundary area of ​​1.5 mm or less. In some cases, display 163 allows for a boundary area of ​​1 mm or less. In one example embodiment, the boundary area is approximately 0.9 mm. Display 163 may have a relatively high pixel density of approximately 460 pixels per inch (PPI) or greater. In some cases, display 163 has a pixel density of approximately 475 PPI. Display 163 may use a low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) or low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) backplane.

[0329] Display 163 may have an integrated (on-cell) touch sensing system. For example, an array of electrodes (or other touch sensing components) integrated into an OLED display may be time- and / or frequency-multiplexed to provide both display and touch sensing functionality. The electrodes may be configured to detect touch location, gesture input, multi-touch input, or other types of touch input along the outer surface of cover 162. In some cases, display 163 includes another type of display element, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) without an integrated touch sensing system. That is, device 160 may include one or more touch and / or force sensing components or layers positioned between display 163 and cover 162.

[0330] Display 163 (also referred to as a display overlay) may include an Always-On Display (AOD) function. For example, display 163 may be configured to allow a subset of a designated area or pixels to be displayed while device 160 is powered on, making graphic content visible to the user even when device 160 is in low-power or sleep mode. This allows the display of time, date, battery status, recent notifications, and other graphic content in low-power or sleep mode. This graphic content may be referred to as persistent or always-on graphics output. While some battery power may be consumed when displaying persistent or always-on graphics output, this power consumption is generally less than that consumed during normal or full-power operation of display 163. This function can be enabled by operating only a subset of the display pixels and / or operating at a reduced resolution to reduce the power consumption of display 163.

[0331] Display 163 may include multiple layers, including a touch-sensing layer or component, an optional force-sensing layer or component, a display layer, etc. Display 163 may define a graphics active area in which graphics output can be displayed. In some cases, portions of display 163 may include graphics inactive areas, such as portions of the display layer that do not include active display components or are otherwise not configured to display graphics output (e.g., pixels). In some cases, graphics inactive areas may be positioned along the peripheral boundary or other edges of display 163.

[0332] like Figure 4 As shown, device 160 may also include a frame member 404 (also simply referred to as frame 404) positioned below cover 162 and extending around the outer periphery of display 163. Frame 404 may be attached to a lower or inner surface of cover 162. A portion of frame 404 may extend below display 163 and may attach cover 162 to housing structure 164. Because display 163 is attached to the lower or inner surface of cover 162, frame 404 may also be described as attaching both display 163 and cover 162 to housing structure 164. Frame 404 may be formed of a polymeric material, a metallic material, or a combination of polymeric and metallic materials. Frame 404 may support elements of the display stack, provide anchoring points for flexible circuitry, and / or be used for mounting other components and device elements. In some cases, frame 404 includes one or more metal or conductive elements that provide shielding between device components, such as between a display stack (including display components and touch sensor components) and other components such as haptic actuator 422, speaker system, etc.

[0333] Cover 162, display or display stack 163, and frame member 404 may be part of front cover assembly 401 of device 160. Front cover assembly 401 (e.g., front cover of front cover assembly) may define a front outer surface of the device. Cover 162 may define an inner surface opposite the outer surface. Front cover assembly 401 may be assembled into a sub-assembly that may then be attached to a housing component. For example, as described herein, display 163 may be attached to cover 162 (e.g., via a clear adhesive), and frame member 404 may be attached to cover around the periphery of display stack 163 (e.g., via adhesive). Front cover assembly 401 may then be attached to housing component of device 160 by mounting and attaching frame member 404 to a protrusion defined by housing component.

[0334] Device 160 also includes a speaker module 450 configured to output sound via a speaker port. The speaker port may be located in and / or at least partially defined by a recess or notch formed along the side of cover 162. As described herein, the trim may be at least partially located in the recess or notch to facilitate sound output while also preventing debris, liquids, or other materials or contaminants from entering device 160. The output from speaker module 450 may pass through an audio channel or acoustic path defined at least partially by speaker module 450 itself and the trim. In some cases, a portion of the acoustic path (e.g., between speaker module 450 and trim) is defined by housing structure 164 and / or a molding material coupled to housing structure 164. For example, the molding material (e.g., a fiber-reinforced polymer) may be molded against a metallic portion of housing structure 164 (e.g., housing component 415 described herein). The molding material may also form one or more intermediate elements, such as joining structures (e.g., joining structure 418), which also structurally join the housing components together. Ports or channels (e.g., tubular tunnels) may be defined through the molding material to more generally acoustically couple the speaker module 450 to the trim and / or recesses, thereby directing sound from the speaker module 450 to the exterior of the device 160.

[0335] like Figure 4 As shown, device 160 also includes one or more cameras, optical transmitters, and / or sensing elements configured to transmit signals, receive signals, or otherwise operate along the front surface of the device. In this example, device 160 includes a front camera 406 that includes a high-resolution camera sensor. The front camera 406 may have a 24-megapixel resolution sensor with optics providing a 95° field of view. The front camera 406 may have... fAn aperture of f / 1.9. The front camera 406 may include autofocus functionality, wherein one or more lens elements are moved (e.g., perpendicular to the cover by up to approximately 100 micrometers) to focus an image onto the camera's sensor. In some cases, an autofocus front-facing camera is capable of providing continuous autofocus during video capture. Device 160 also includes an optical facial recognition system 455 comprising an infrared light projector (for projecting light) and an infrared light sensor configured to sense an array or region of depth points along the user's face. The depth point array may be characterized as a unique feature or biometric identifier that can be used to identify and / or authenticate the user and unlock device 160 (and / or authorize functions on device 160, such as purchasing software applications or using payment functions offered by device 160).

[0336] Device 160 may also include one or more other sensors or components. For example, device 160 may include a front illuminator element for providing flash or illumination to the front camera 406. Device 160 may also include an ambient light sensor (ALS) for detecting ambient light conditions for setting the exposure aspect of the front camera 406 and / or for controlling the operation of the display. Device 160 may also include a proximity sensing system 457 for detecting the proximity of a user or other object to device 160. In some cases, as described herein, proximity sensing system 457 detects proximity to other objects through an active area of ​​the display. Proximity sensing system 457 and optical facial recognition system 455 may be integrated in a common module. In some cases, information from the proximity sensing system and the ambient light sensor is used to determine ambient light conditions and / or the proximity of an object to device 160. For example, information from the proximity sensing system may be used to determine whether low ambient light detected by the ambient light sensor is due to low ambient light or because an object (e.g., a finger providing touch input or a palm during typing) partially or temporarily obscures the ambient light sensor. Information from these two sensing systems can be used to eliminate potential ambiguities and generally improve the accuracy of devices in sensing or detecting specific conditions.

[0337] Figure 4 Examples also include one or more cameras, optical transmitters, and / or sensing elements configured to transmit signals, receive signals, or otherwise operate along the rear surface of the device. Figure 4 As depicted, these elements may be part of sensor array 171. In this example, sensor array 171 includes camera 172, which has a 48-megapixel image sensor (optionally with a three-layer sensor arrangement) and an aperture of [aperture value missing]. fA 1.6-inch lens. The lens may be a wide-angle lens with a field of view of approximately 120°, approximately 110°, approximately 100°, approximately 90°, or another suitable field of view. Sensor array 171 also includes a light illuminator (e.g., flash 173) that can be used as a flash for photography or as an auxiliary light source (e.g., a flashlight). In some cases, sensor array 171 also includes a microphone 170, an ambient light sensor, a depth sensing system, and / or other sensors adapted to sense along the rear surface of device 160.

[0338] like Figure 4 As shown, camera 172 can be aligned with a camera cover, which may be formed of glass, glass ceramic or sapphire material and provide a clear (e.g., transparent or optically transmissive) window through which camera 172 can capture photographic images.

[0339] Device 160 also includes battery 430. Battery 430 provides power to device 160 and its various systems and components. Battery 430 may include a 4.40 V lithium-ion battery encapsulated in foil or other encapsulation elements, such as a rigid metal casing as described with respect to battery 230. Battery 430 may include a wound electrode configuration, sometimes referred to as a “jelly roll” or a folded or stacked electrode configuration.

[0340] Battery 430 may be attached to device 160 (e.g., to rack section 423) using one or more adhesives and / or other attachment techniques. In one example, battery 430 may be attached to rack section 423 or another structure of device 160 using an electrically descalable adhesive (e.g., an adhesive whose adhesive strength is selectively reduced in response to charge). In such cases, the adhesive may include conductive terminals of the electrically descalable adhesive that have conductive contacts. When current is applied to the electrically descalable adhesive (EDA) (e.g., by a user during a battery replacement operation), the adhesive strength may decrease until the battery is released from the adhesive and / or rack section 423, or until the adhesive strength is low enough that the battery can be easily removed by the user (e.g., without damaging the battery or other device components).

[0341] Battery 430 can be recharged via charging port 165 (e.g., via a charging cable inserted into charging port 165 through a charging access opening in housing structure 164) and / or via wireless charging system 440. Charging port 165 can be positioned along the bottom side of device 160. Port structure 451 can extend from the inside of the metal segment and define at least a portion of the inner wall of charging port 165, while charging cable connector 453 can be coupled to the housing structure and may include a connecting member extending into charging port 165. Port structure 451 can be integrally formed with housing structure 164 and can define a wall structure of charging port 165 into which the charging connector extends for charging the device (and / or transmitting data to / from the device). Port structure 451 can be a metal port structure and can be formed of the same material (e.g., metal) as the portion of the housing segment coupled to (or integrally formed with) it.

[0342] Battery 430 may be coupled to charging port 165 and / or wireless charging system 440 via battery control circuitry, which controls the power supplied to the battery and the power supplied by the battery to device 160. Battery 430 may include one or more lithium-ion battery cells or any other suitable type of rechargeable battery element.

[0343] The wireless charging system 440 may include a coil inductively coupled to the output or transmitting coil of a wireless charging accessory. The coil may provide current to the device 160 to charge the battery 430 and / or power the device. In this example, the wireless charging system 440 includes a coil assembly 442 comprising multiple turns of conductive wire or other conduit configured to generate a current (charging current) in response to being placed in an inductive charging electromagnetic field generated by a separate wireless charging device or accessory. The coil assembly 442 also includes an array of magnetic elements arranged in a circular or radial pattern. The magnetic elements may help position the device 160 relative to a separate wireless charging accessory or other device. In some embodiments, the magnetic array may also help to radially position, orient, or “rotate” the device 160 relative to a separate wireless charging device or other accessory. For example, the magnetic array may include multiple magnetic elements having alternating magnetic polarities arranged in a radial pattern. The magnetic elements may be arranged to provide magnetic coupling to a separate charging device in a specific orientation or a set of discrete orientations to help position the device 160 relative to the separate charging device or other accessory. This functionality may be described as self-aligning or self-positioning wireless charging. Figure 4 As shown, device 160 also includes a magnetic reference 444 for helping to locate individual wireless charging devices or accessories.

[0344] In one example, the magnetic reference 444 is designed for magnetic coupling to a separate wireless charging device or other accessory. By coupling to a separate wireless charging device / accessory, the rotational alignment of device 160 and the separate wireless charging device / accessory can be maintained relative to an absolute position or a single position. Moreover, by magnetically coupling the charging device / accessory to the rear surface of device 160, the charging device or other accessory can be more securely coupled to device 160.

[0345] In some implementations, the wireless charging system 440 includes an antenna or other element for detecting the presence of a charging device or other accessory. In some cases, the charging system includes a near-field communication (NFC) antenna adapted to receive and / or transmit wireless communication between the device 160 and the wireless charger or other accessory. In some cases, the device 160 is adapted to perform wireless communication to detect or sense the presence of the wireless charger or other accessory without using a dedicated NFC antenna. The communication may also include information about the device's status, the amount of power held by the battery 430, and / or control signals for increasing charging, decreasing charging, starting charging, and / or stopping charging for wireless charging operations.

[0346] The wireless charging system 440 may also include one or more graphite layers (or other thermally conductive layers) to improve the thermal performance of the wireless charging system 440 and / or the device itself. For example, the graphite layers on the wireless charging system 440 may diffuse and / or disperse heat from the coil during charging operation. In some cases, the graphite layers may absorb and diffuse heat from other components, such as the battery 430.

[0347] Device 160 may also include a haptic actuator 422. The haptic actuator 422 may include a movable mass and an actuation system configured to move the mass to generate a haptic output. The actuation system may include one or more coils interacting to generate motion and one or more magnets (e.g., permanent magnets and / or electromagnets). The magnets may be or may include recycled magnetic materials.

[0348] When the coil is energized, it causes the mass to move, resulting in a force being applied to the device 160. The movement of the mass can be configured to cause a detectable vibration, pulse, tap, or other tactile output via the outer surface of the device 160. The tactile actuator 422 can be configured to move the mass linearly, but other movements (e.g., rotation) are also conceivable. Other types of tactile actuators can be used as an alternative to or supplement to the tactile actuator 422.

[0349] The haptic actuator 422 can be configured to move the mass along the y-direction to produce a haptic output. In some cases, a specific movement of the mass along the y-direction is tuned to produce a haptic output that is perceptually similar to that of a haptic actuator configured to move along the x-direction.

[0350] In some cases, the haptic actuator 422 is configured to generate a first haptic output in response to the device detecting that a force input applied to a button (e.g., a button with strain sensing or other force sensing elements) meets a force threshold, and is also configured to generate a second haptic output in response to a notification event (e.g., an event associated with a haptic notification, or an event in which the device generates a haptic output upon its occurrence). Thus, the same haptic actuator 422 can be used to generate haptic feedback for notification, as well as to simulate button pressing or otherwise indicate that input meeting a force threshold has been received.

[0351] Device 160 also includes a circuit board assembly 420. Circuit board assembly 420 may include a substrate and processors, memory, and other circuit elements coupled to the substrate. Circuit board assembly 420 may include multiple circuit boards stacked and coupled together to maximize the area available for electronic components and circuitry with a compact form factor. In some cases, circuit board assembly 420 includes a dual-layer structure, wherein a first portion of circuit board assembly 420 has two substrates in a stacked configuration, and a second portion of circuit board assembly 420 has a single substrate configuration. As described herein, a shielding structure may be coupled to circuit board assembly 420 to cover openings in the stacked portion of circuit board assembly 420. As described herein, the dual-layer structure may be configured such that the stacked portion extends into a recess 452 formed along the inside of rear cover 175, while the single substrate portion is fitted into a smaller space outside the recess 452.

[0352] Circuit board assembly 420 may include means for a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). Circuit board assembly 420 may include means for an electronic SIM. Circuit board assembly 420 may be fully or partially encapsulated to reduce the chance of damage due to the ingress of water or other fluids.

[0353] The circuit board assembly 420 may be thermally (and structurally) coupled to a rack section 423 of the housing structure 164. As described herein, the rack section 423 (also simply referred to as the rack 423) may be part of a housing section 414 (e.g., an intermediate housing component) formed of a single structure and defining the rack 423, as well as a first wall section 417 defining a first side outer surface of the device 160 and a second wall section 419 defining a second side outer surface of the device 160. The circuit board assembly 420 may be thermally coupled to the rack 423 via one or more thermal bridges, such as graphite structures, graphite-encased foam, or other thermally conductive structures. Heat from the circuit board assembly may be transferred to the rack 423 via thermal bridges, thereby removing heat from the circuit board assembly 420 (where heat may be detrimental to durability, performance, etc.) and also absorbing heat from the outer surfaces and / or components of the device 160 that come into contact with the user (e.g., wall sections 417, 419 that define the outer surface of the device and can be held by the user when the device 160 is in use).

[0354] The circuit board assembly 420 may also include wireless communication circuitry operatively coupled to wall segments and / or housing components 413, 415, 417, or 419 (or portions thereof) and / or otherwise use these wall segments and / or housing components (or portions thereof) as radiating elements or structures to provide wireless communication. The circuit board assembly 420 may also include components such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, near-field communication circuitry and / or antennas, compasses, etc. In some embodiments, the circuit board assembly 420 may include a magnetometer adapted to detect and / or locate an accessory. For example, the magnetometer may be adapted to detect magnetic (or non-magnetic) signals generated by an accessory of device 160 or other device. The magnetometer's output may include a direction output that can be used to display directional markings or other navigation guidance on display 163 to guide the user toward the location of the accessory or other device.

[0355] Device 160 may also include one or more pressure transducers that are operable to detect changes in external pressure in order to determine changes in height. The pressure sensor may be an external port and / or located within a water-sealed internal volume of the housing structure 164. The output of the pressure sensor can be used to track climbed stairs, the location of multi-story structures (e.g., floors), movement performed during the activity, in order to estimate physical exertion or calories burned, or other relative movement of device 160.

[0356] The circuit board assembly 420 may also include Global Positioning System (GPS) electronics that can be used to determine the position of device 160 relative to one or more satellites (e.g., Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) in order to estimate the absolute position of device 160. In some embodiments, the GPS electronics are operable to utilize dual frequency bands or ranges. For example, the GPS electronics can use L1 (L1C), L2 (L2C), L5, L1+L5, and other GPS signal frequency bands to estimate the position of device 160.

[0357] like Figure 4 As shown, the housing may include a cover 175 (e.g., a rear portion or rear cover) that defines substantially the entire rear surface of device 160. The rear cover 175, front cover 162, and housing structure 164 may at least partially define the housing of device 160, which may define the internal volume where components of device 160 reside. The cover 175 may be formed of or comprise a transparent or optically translucent material. For example, the cover 175 may include a substrate formed of or comprising a glass material or other suitable material (e.g., silicate-based materials, aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass, chemically strengthened glass, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass material, or plastic). The glass ceramic material may be a silicate-based glass ceramic material, such as aluminosilicate glass ceramic or borosilicate glass ceramic. The glass ceramic material may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. The substrate may have a portion with a thickness of less than 1 mm. In some cases, the substrate has a portion with a thickness of less than 0.80 mm. In some cases, the substrate has a portion with a thickness of approximately 0.60 mm or less. The cover 175 may have a uniform thickness, or in some cases, a thickness at the recess 452 that differs from that at the surrounding portion of the cover 175. The back cover 175 may be machined (e.g., ground) into its final shape to provide the desired surface finish before being polished and / or textured. The texture may be specifically configured to provide a rough appearance while also resisting the accumulation of skin, lint, or other debris.

[0358] The cover 175 may be formed of a colored optically transmissive material and may include a coating along the inner side of the cover 175 that, together with the color (or colorless) of the optically transmissive material, defines the color of the rear side of the device. For example, the coating along the inner surface of the cover may include one or more color layers. The color layers may include colorants, such as pigments or dyes, and may have a distinct hue or be a near-neutral color. Alternatively or additionally, the coating may include one or more opaque layers applied to the inner surface of the substrate (or otherwise positioned along the inner side of the substrate) to provide a specific appearance for the rear side of the device. The opaque layers may include sheets, inks, dyes, or combinations of these (or other) layers, materials, etc., and in some cases may be optically dense.

[0359] Cover 175 may be part of rear cover assembly 473. Rear cover assembly 473 may be coupled to housing structure 164. In some cases, rear cover assembly 473 includes components such as camera cover, camera trim assembly, components of wireless charging system, structural components (e.g., frame), other trim components, mounting clips and / or other components, systems, subsystems and / or materials.

[0360] Similar to that described above with respect to cover 162, cover 175 may be at least partially positioned within an opening defined in housing structure 164. Also similar to that described above with respect to cover 162, the edge or side of cover 175 may be surrounded by a protective flange or lip of housing structure 164, with no gap between the edge of cover 175 and the corresponding flange of housing structure 164. An ion exchange process may be used to chemically strengthen cover 175 to form a compressive stress layer along the outer surface of cover 175. In some cases, the (rear) cover 175 is formed of the same or similar material as the (front) cover 162.

[0361] The housing structure 164 may include a housing segment 414 (e.g., an intermediate housing segment 414) that includes wall segments 417 and 419 and a rack segment 423 (e.g., a sheet-like metal structure extending between wall segments 417 and 419). The rack 423 may define the mounting configuration of components of the device 160. For example, as described herein, components such as circuit board assembly 420, battery 430, sensor array 171, speaker module 450, haptic actuator 422, etc., may be coupled to the rack 423 (e.g., along the rearward side of the rack 423). By coupling components to the rack 423 instead of the front cover assembly 401 and / or the rear cover assembly 473, the cost and complexity of the front cover assembly 401 and the rear cover assembly 473 are reduced, and the removal and / or replacement of the front cover assembly 401 and / or the rear cover assembly 473 is simplified. The rack 423 may also define one or more holes extending through it to couple components on one side of the rack 423 (e.g., the display 163 and / or sensors of the front cover assembly 401) to components on the other side of the rack 423 (e.g., the circuit board assembly 420). Additionally, as noted above, the rack 423 may also be thermally coupled to components of the device 160, such as the circuit board assembly 420, to conduct heat away from the thermally coupled components.

[0362] The housing section 414 can be a monolithic structure formed from a single material. For example, the monolithic structure of the housing section 414 can be a metal, such as aluminum, steel, titanium, etc., and can be formed by extrusion, machining, and / or a combination of these processes and other forming processes. Therefore, wall sections 417 and 419 (which define the side outer surfaces of device 160) and frame 423 can be different parts of a single material. In some cases, the housing section 414 is formed of a polymer material, a reinforced polymer material (e.g., fiber reinforced), carbon fiber, or other suitable material. In some cases, wall sections 417, 419 can be separate housing components attached to frame 423, similar to the construction of housing section 314 described above. In some cases, the housing section 414 can be formed from separate components attached to each other. For example, housing components 417, 419 (e.g., wall sections) may be formed as separate components from the frame 423, and then housing components 417, 419 may be welded, brazed, soldered, attached, or otherwise attached to the frame 426 to form housing section 414. Housing components 417, 419 may be a bimetallic cladding structure (e.g., a titanium cladding over an aluminum core), and the frame 423 may be aluminum. The aluminum core portion of the cladding structure may be welded to the aluminum frame 423.

[0363] The housing structure 164 may further include metal sections 413 and 415. Metal section 413 may define the bottom outer surface of the device 160 and the first and second corner surfaces of the device 160, and metal section 415 may define the top outer surface of the device 160 and the third and fourth corner surfaces of the device 160. Metal sections 413 and 415 may be structurally coupled to housing section 414 (e.g., wall sections 417, 419 and / or frame 423) via a coupling structure 418.

[0364] A joining structure 418 (e.g., the material of the joining structure) may extend above the inner surface of the housing component. More specifically, a portion of the joining structure 418 may contact, cover, enclose, and / or engage a retaining feature of the housing component extending from the inner surface of the housing component (including, for example, a wall segment from the intermediate housing segment 414). The joining structure 418 may also be used to structurally join housing components 413, 415 to housing segment 414. When coupled via the joining structure 418, housing segment 414, housing components 413, 415, and joining structure 418 may define a main housing assembly that defines the outer surface of device 160 and the rack 423 within the device.

[0365] In some cases, where holes are formed between the cladding and core portions of a cladding housing component (e.g., for buttons, audio ports, charging ports, etc.), a seam may exist within the hole (e.g., along the hole surface). In some cases, the seam may be covered with another material, such as a paint, adhesive, polymer layer, etc. Covering the seam helps prevent electrochemical corrosion at the seam due to contact with water or other liquids. This construction can be used in any cladding housing component described herein.

[0366] In some cases, metal deposition processes are used to create holes that penetrate through cladding housing components, excluding seams along the hole surface. For example, holes penetrating the housing can be formed by first forming a hole that penetrates only the core material. Additional cladding material is then added to the hole (e.g., via a direct metal deposition process) such that the cladding material substantially fills the hole penetrating the core portion. A final hole is then formed through the cladding material and the additional cladding material (added via the metal deposition process), such that the entire hole surface penetrating the housing component is formed by the cladding material (e.g., the core material does not define the hole surface). In this way, there are no seams between different metals within the hole, thereby mitigating the risk of electrochemical corrosion within the hole. This configuration can be used in any cladding housing component described herein.

[0367] As described herein, housing components 413, 415 and wall sections 417, 419 provide robust and impact-resistant sidewalls for device 160. In this example, housing components 413, 415 and wall sections 417, 419 define flat sidewalls extending around the periphery of device 160. The flat sidewalls may include rounded or chamfered edges defining the upper and lower edges of the sidewalls of housing structure 164. Housing components 413, 415 and wall sections 417, 419 may each have a flange portion or lip that extends around and at least partially covers the respective side of the front cover 162 and rear cover 175. There may be no gap material or element between the flange portion or lip and the respective side surface of the front cover 162 and rear cover 175. This allows forces or impacts applied to the housing structure 164 to be transmitted to the front cover 162 and the rear cover 175 without affecting the display or other internal structural components, thereby improving the drop performance of the device 160.

[0368] Device 160 may also include a button 167 with a touch sensor incorporated on its outer surface. For example, button 167 may detect force (or translation or pressing) input, and may also detect touch input applied to the button surface. Force input may be detected by a strain sensing system, a switching member, or any other suitable force and / or translation sensor (and / or combination of sensors, such as a collapsible spring switch combined with a force sensor). Touch input may be detected by a touch sensing system such as a capacitive touch sensing system. For example, the button member of button 167 (e.g., a movable part that a user presses to actuate the button or provides input to the button) may include a touch-sensing element positioned thereon. Buttons equipped with touch-sensing elements can detect various types of touch-based input, including static touch input (e.g., a finger touching a touch-sensitive button surface), dynamic touch input (e.g., a finger sliding along a touch-sensitive button surface, also known as a gesture or swipe input), etc. In some cases, button 167 may include a touch-sensing element to detect such touch-based input. As described herein, button 167 may be operated in conjunction with a haptic actuation system (such as haptic actuator 422) to produce a haptic output in response to the detection of an input (e.g., force input, touch input, etc.) at button 167.

[0369] like Figure 4 As shown, device 160 includes multiple antennas adapted for wireless communication using 5G communication protocols. For example, device 160 may include an antenna module that may include one or more antenna arrays configured to transmit and receive wireless communication signals via a rear cover 175 and / or via another housing component of the device (e.g., an RF transmission component of the device or housing). The antenna module may be attached to the back or bottom surface of circuit board assembly 420.

[0370] An antenna module may include multiple antenna arrays. For example, an antenna module may include one or more millimeter-wave antenna arrays. When an antenna module includes multiple millimeter-wave antenna arrays (each antenna array may include one or more radiating elements), the multiple millimeter-wave antenna arrays may be configured to operate according to a diversity scheme (e.g., spatial diversity, pattern diversity, polarization diversity, etc.). The antenna module may also include one or more ultra-wideband antennas.

[0371] Each of these antenna arrays (e.g., millimeter-wave arrays of antenna arrays and antenna modules) is adapted for millimeter-wave 5G communication and is adapted to use beamforming or other technologies, or in combination with beamforming or other technologies, to adapt signal reception, depending on the use case. Device 160 may also include multiple antennas for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication schemes, including 4G, 4G LTE, and / or 5G MIMO communication protocols. As described herein, one or more of the housing components 413, 415 and wall segments 417, 419 (or portions thereof) are adapted to operate as antennas for MIMO wireless communication schemes (or other wireless communication schemes).

[0372] Figures 5A to 5B The front and rear views of device 100 are shown respectively. About Figure 5B The protrusion 151 can provide various functions for the device 100. For example, as described above, the protrusion 151 can define a raised sensor array region 141 of the device 100, which includes multiple audio and optical systems. Additionally, the protrusion 151 and the rear frame 130 can define multiple wireless communication antennas for the device 100. More specifically, the protrusion 151 can be at least partially defined by a metallic or conductive platform structure 504. A gap 501 can be defined between the platform structure 504 (e.g., a first metallic segment of the housing structure) and the rear frame 130 (e.g., a second metallic segment of the housing structure). The gap 501 can extend substantially continuously around the periphery of the protrusion 151 and can be substantially filled with a bonding structure 502 (e.g., a non-conductive bonding structure). The bonding structure 502 ( Figure 5C (As shown) may be adjacent to the engagement structures 122-1, 122-2 and may define at least a portion of the outer (rear) surface of the device 100.

[0373] In some cases, the housing structure 104 may define a curved transition surface 507 extending from the frame 121 to the top surface of the platform structure 504. Figure 5CThe bonding structure 502 (e.g., the dielectric and / or non-conductive material of the bonding structure 502) may define a portion of the curved transition surface 507. Therefore, the outer surface of the bonding structure 502 may define a curvature (e.g., a concave curvature). Other portions of the curved transition surface 507 (e.g., above and below the bonding structure 502) may be defined by different metal segments. For example, as described herein, the protrusion 151 may be defined by a first metal segment, and the frame 121 may be defined by a second metal segment. Thus, the lower portion of the transition surface may be defined by the same metal segment defining the frame 121, and the upper portion of the transition surface (e.g., above the bonding structure 502) may be defined by the same metal segment defining the protrusion 151. It should be understood that the structures defining the protrusion 1551 and the structures defining the frame 121 may be coupled to each other at various points along the gap 501, such as to define a slot antenna, provide structural support, etc. Therefore, the gap 501 does not need to completely cut off the housing structure. However, the gap 501 (or a portion thereof) may extend continuously around the periphery of the protrusion 151, as shown, such that the non-conductive bonding structure 502 may define a continuous ring structure positioned in the gap and defining a portion of the rear outer surface of the device 100.

[0374] Platform structure 504 can be electrically coupled to rear frame 130 at various locations along gap 501, thereby defining one or more slot antennas within gap 501. The slot antennas can be electrically coupled to wireless communication circuitry, making them usable as wireless communication antennas for various frequency bands, ranges, and / or protocols. For example, as... Figure 5B As shown, the first slot antenna 115-1 and the second slot antenna 115-2 can be defined at a position along the gap 501. The slot antennas can be defined by conductive couplers connecting the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130, and conductively defining the ends of the slot antennas. The conductive couplers can be implemented in various ways. As an example, the conductive couplers can be formed by welding, brazing, or otherwise attaching conductive elements to the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130 across the gap 501. As another example, the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130 can be different parts of a single integral metal structure (e.g., a forged component), and the conductive couplers can be formed from segments of the same integral structure (e.g., metal segments retained after machining or other forming operations). In some cases, different conductive couplers can be formed using different techniques (e.g., some can be residual conductive material, some can be conductive strips or bars attached to the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130 with fasteners, and some can be welded to the platform structure 504 and the rear frame).

[0375] Although Figure 5BTwo slot antennas defined by platform structure 504 and rear frame 130 are illustrated, but this is merely an example configuration, and more (or fewer) slot antennas may be defined along and / or by the gap 501. Figure 5C Another example configuration of the slot antenna 531 defined along the gap 501 is illustrated. For simplicity, the length and / or position of the slot antenna is illustrated by dashed lines within the protrusion 151; however, it should be understood that the slot antenna is ultimately defined by the slot, and the length and / or position of the slot antenna are examples and do not imply limitation. In this example, device 100 includes a first slot antenna 531-1 for communication in a first frequency range (e.g., about 3 GHz to about 5 GHz), a second slot antenna 531-2 for communication in a second frequency range (e.g., about 7.5 GHz to about 8.5 GHz, about 6 GHz to about 9 GHz, or another suitable band or range), a third slot antenna 531-3 for communication in a third frequency range (e.g., Wi-Fi communication, such as 5 GHz, 6 GHz Wi-Fi communication), and a fourth slot antenna 531-4 for communication in a fourth frequency range (e.g., GPS communication, such as using the GPS L5 signal specification or another GPS signal specification). In some cases, the first slot antenna 531-1 can be configured as a different type of antenna, such as a dipole or monopole antenna.

[0376] As noted, some of these antennas can be used in conjunction with other device antennas (slot antennas or other antennas) in multi-antenna communication schemes or modes, such as diversity mode, MIMO mode, etc. For example, an UHF band communication antenna can be used in conjunction with one or more UHF band communication antennas defined by housing parts 124, 126 to operate in MIMO mode. As described herein, slot antennas can be conductively coupled to wireless communication circuitry (e.g., the same or different circuitry), making them usable as wireless communication antennas for various frequency bands, ranges, and / or protocols.

[0377] As noted above, the gap 501 between the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130 may be at least partially filled with the bonding structure 502. As described relative to other bonding structures, the bonding structure 502 may be a dielectric or otherwise substantially non-conductive material that maintains conductive isolation between the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130 in portions of the gap 501 between conductive couplers (e.g., in the slot region of a slot antenna). The bonding structure 502 may also be coupled to both the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130 to form a rigid structure comprising the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130. For example, the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130 may each define an interlocking feature (e.g., a recess, a protrusion, an undercut, a dovetail feature, etc.), to which the bonding structure 502 engages to form a robust coupling with the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130. For example, the bonding structure 502 may be formed by allowing material (e.g., a polymer) to flow into the gap 501 and engage with the interlocking feature. Therefore, the joining structure material may extend into the recess, at least partially encapsulating the protrusion, or otherwise molded or conformed to the interlocking feature. Once cured or otherwise hardened, the engagement between the joining structure 502 and the interlocking feature creates a rigid, strong mechanical coupling. In some cases, the joining structure 502 also forms an adhesive bond with the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130.

[0378] In some exemplary configurations, the joining structure 502 is the primary structural coupling between the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130. For example, the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130 may be completely separate components, except for the conductive coupler between them to define the slot antenna (and may not provide significant structural coupling strength). In other examples, the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130 are coupled to additional structural couplers, such as metal (or other material) struts or strips coupled to the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130 and extending across the gap 501. As noted, in some cases, such additional structural couplers may also serve as conductive couplers defining the slot antenna.

[0379] Ultimately, housing components 124, 125, 126 (including the rear frame 130 of housing component 125) and platform structure 504 can be coupled to form housing subassemblies. As noted, in some cases, platform structure 504 and rear frame 130 are integral structures. For example, platform structure 504 and rear frame 130 may be machined from a single solid material piece and may include structural coupling elements (e.g., bridging elements) extending between platform structure 504 and rear frame 130 to structurally couple them together (and optionally define a slot antenna, as described herein). The single solid material piece may be an extrusion that ultimately forms housing component 125 (including platform structure 504 and rear frame 130). The extrusion may generally define the overall shape of housing component 125, including sidewalls 127, 128 and a span that generally defines the rear frame 130 and platform structure 504. The extruded part can then be machined or otherwise processed to define the final shape of the housing component 125, including the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130. In some cases, one or more optional forging operations are also performed (e.g., prior to machining) to define the overall shape and configuration of the housing component 125.

[0380] As another example, the precursors for platform structure 504 and rear frame 130 may initially be separate components (e.g., separate extrusions), and then may be coupled together via welding or another process (including welding structural coupling elements or bridging elements to platform structure 504 and / or rear frame 130 to couple them). Once the precursors of platform structure 504 and rear frame 130 are coupled together, they may undergo further machining, welding, or other forming operations, such as adding (or removing) conductive and / or structural coupling elements between platform structure 504 and rear frame 130 to define a gap 501. In some cases, after forming the joint structure, the welds between platform structure 504 and rear frame 130 used to couple platform structure 504 and rear frame 130 are removed. More specifically, joint structure 502 may provide structural coupling between platform structure 504 and rear frame 130, such that at least some of the welds between those components can be removed.

[0381] While a plurality of slotted antennas may be defined using the gap 501 between the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130, the device 100 may also include additional antennas. For example, the device 100 may include an antenna module within a housing, and the device 100 may include antenna windows 119 (e.g., through holes formed in the housing components) in one or more housing components. Figure 5CAs shown, antenna window 119 is located within housing component 124 along the top side surface of the housing. Antenna window 119 may be formed of or comprise radio frequency (RF) transmitting material (e.g., dielectric or non-conductive window element) to allow an internal antenna to transmit and receive wireless communications through window 119. In some cases, window 119 (or window element) is formed of one or more polymeric materials (including fiber-reinforced polymeric materials), glass, sapphire, ceramic, or another suitable RF transmitting material. Window 119 may be formed of or comprise multiple different components or members to facilitate antenna functionality. The antenna communicating through antenna window 119 may be a millimeter-wave antenna. The antenna may include multiple antenna elements, such as to provide communication at different wavelengths and / or frequency bands or ranges.

[0382] In some cases, portions of housing components 124, 125, and 126 may also be used as radiating elements of the antenna of device 100. For example, portions of housing components (e.g., portions of the housing components near the joint structure) may be coupled to communication circuitry to act as radiating elements.

[0383] As described herein, device 100 may include various types of antennas and various types of antenna integration. For example, device 100 may include one or more slot antennas defined along a gap 501 between platform structure 504 and rear frame 130, one or more antennas communicating within the device through antenna windows in the housing component, one or more antennas defined by segments of the housing component, and internal antennas that optionally communicate through the front or rear cover of the device. Device 100 may be configured to operate antennas according to various communication schemes and with various antenna groups or arrays. For example, device 100 may use certain antenna groups to perform multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication schemes, including 4G, 4G LTE, and / or 5G MIMO communication protocols. In some cases, the device operates antennas according to diversity schemes (e.g., spatial diversity, mode diversity, polarization diversity, etc.). As noted, various antennas of the device may be configured to communicate via one or more spectrums, protocols, etc. When the antennas operate as antenna arrays, various different antenna combinations may be employed for different operations. In one example, the antenna array may include four antenna elements, including two slot antennas in the gap 501 between the platform structure 504 and the rear frame 130, an antenna defined by housing member 124, and an antenna defined by housing member 126. Other groupings of antennas are also envisioned.

[0384] Figure 6AThis is a rear view of a device 100 illustrating an example arrangement of antennas, radiating elements, and / or radiating structures that can be used to facilitate wireless communication. As described herein, the terms antenna, radiating element, and / or radiating structure can refer to a structure configured to transmit and / or receive signals via electromagnetic radiation. The antenna can be defined by various structures of the housing structure, including slots or gaps defined within the housing structure, the length of the conductive material of the housing structure, etc. The antenna can also be included in a separate module within the housing structure.

[0385] like Figure 6A As shown, device 100 includes a first antenna 602 (e.g., 602-1 to 602-3). The first antenna 602 may be a slot antenna, at least partially defined by the gap between the platform structure and the rear frame, as described herein, for example, regarding... Figures 5A to 5C Device 100 also includes a second antenna 604 (e.g., 604-1 to 604-7). The second antenna 604 may be defined at least partially by conductive (e.g., metallic) segments of the housing structure. For example, the housing structure may be defined at least partially by metallic segments such as housing components 124, 125, 126, or portions thereof. In the example shown, antennas 604-1, 604-2, 604-4, and 604-5 are defined by portions of housing components defining corners of housing structure 104. Housing component 124 (e.g., a single metallic structure) may define a first and second corner (e.g., a top corner) of device 100 and antennas 604-1 and 604-2, while housing component 126 (e.g., a single metallic structure) may define a third and fourth corner (e.g., a bottom corner) of device 100 and antennas 604-4 and 604-5.

[0386] In some cases, portions of the defining antenna 604 of the metal segment may be electrically separated from other metal structures by gaps, which may be at least partially filled by non-conductive bonding structures. While antennas 604-1 and 604-2 are shown extending at least partially around the platform structure 504 and may generally follow the periphery or outer edge of the platform structure 504, these antennas may not be slot antennas and may be defined by housing component 124. However, in some example configurations, antennas 604-1 and 604-2 may be configured as slot antennas. Figure 6A Example antenna positions relative to various housing components are shown, and the exact dimensions of the antennas are not necessarily indicated.

[0387] Device 100 may also include an antenna not defined by the housing structure, including antenna 247 and 606. Antenna 247 (which may be an antenna module or may be part of an antenna module) may be at least partially positioned within the housing and may be accessible through a hole formed through housing component 124 and through antenna window 119 ( Figure 5CAntenna 247 can be a directional antenna (e.g., a high-gain antenna). Antenna 606 may be at least partially located within the housing and can be accessed via the rear cover 132 of device 100. Figure 5C (and / or the front cover) to send and receive wireless signals.

[0388] The antenna can be configured to operate at various frequencies and / or bands or ranges, and can operate together in various modes as described herein (including, for example, 2x2 MIMO mode, 4x4 MIMO mode, etc.). In some cases, antenna 604-7 (which may correspond to the first slot antenna 531-1, or may be another type of antenna) may be configured for communication in a first frequency range (e.g., about 3 GHz to about 5 GHz), antenna 602-1 (which may correspond to the second slot antenna 531-2) may be configured for communication in a second frequency range (e.g., about 7.5 GHz to about 8.5 GHz, about 6 GHz to about 9 GHz, or another suitable band or range), antenna 602-2 (which may correspond to the third slot antenna 531-3) may be configured for communication in a third frequency range (e.g., Wi-Fi communication, such as 5 GHz, 6 GHz Wi-Fi communication), and antenna 602-3 (which may correspond to the fourth slot antenna 531-4) may be configured for communication in a fourth frequency range (e.g., GPS communication, such as using the GPS L5 signal specification or another GPS signal specification). Antenna 606 can also be configured for Wi-Fi communication (e.g., 5 GHz, 6 GHz) and can be used in conjunction with antenna 602-2 (e.g., in MIMO mode). Antenna 247 can be configured for millimeter-wave communication (e.g., between about 24 GHz and about 40 GHz, or between about 30 GHz and about 300 GHz).

[0389] Other antennas, including antennas 604-1 to 604-7, can be configured for various combinations of wireless communication, including various frequency bands, ranges, communication protocols, and / or standards. For example, antennas 604-5, 604-2, and 604-4 can be configured for communication in a frequency range between approximately 600 MHz and approximately 1000 MHz, for communication in a frequency range between approximately 1400 MHz and approximately 1500 MHz, for communication in a frequency range between approximately 1700 MHz and approximately 2200 MHz, and for communication in a frequency range between approximately 2300 MHz and approximately 2700 MHz. Antenna 604-1 can be configured for communication in a frequency range between approximately 1700 MHz and approximately 2200 MHz, for communication in a frequency range between approximately 2300 MHz and approximately 2700 MHz, and for communication in a frequency range between approximately 3400 MHz and approximately 5000 MHz. In some cases, antenna 604-2 can also be configured for communication in a frequency range between approximately 3400 MHz and approximately 5000 MHz. In some cases, antennas 604-6 and 604-3 can be configured for communication in a frequency range between approximately 3400 MHz and approximately 5000 MHz. Tuning circuitry or other wireless communication circuitry can operate the same antenna (e.g., the same conductive portion of the housing) in different modes and / or for different frequencies. For example, the antenna can be switched between operation in different frequency ranges or bands.

[0390] As described herein, one or more antennas in antenna 604 can be configured for use in multiple frequency ranges and / or communication protocols. For example, antennas 604-2 and 604-4 (and others) can be switchable to operate in different frequency bands or ranges (e.g., switching between high-frequency and low-frequency band communication, or switching between or within other frequency bands or ranges). Tuning circuitry and / or grounding circuitry can be used to configure a particular antenna or housing structure to operate in a specific frequency band or range. It should be understood that antennas configured for communication associated with a specific frequency band or range include antennas for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals in or around those frequency bands or ranges. It should be understood that the example frequency ranges or bands of the antennas described herein are merely examples, and in various specific implementations, various antenna elements or radiators can be tuned for different frequency ranges or bands and / or different combinations of frequency ranges or bands.

[0391] Various antennas and antenna modules can be adapted to use beamforming or other technologies, or in combination with beamforming or other technologies, to adjust signal reception, depending on the application. For example, antenna arrays can be used for MIMO wireless communication schemes, including 4G, 4G LTE, and / or 5G MIMO communication protocols.

[0392] Device 100 may include wireless communication circuitry electrically coupled to a housing component to facilitate the use of the housing component as an antenna. For example, device 100 may include a first wireless communication circuitry electrically coupled to housing component 125 to radiate a slot antenna to generate a wireless signal, and may include a second wireless communication circuitry electrically coupled to housing component 124 to operate a portion of housing component 124 as an antenna, and a third wireless communication circuitry electrically coupled to housing component 126 to operate a portion of housing component 126 as an antenna. It should be understood that any housing component (e.g., a metal segment of the housing structure) may be electrically coupled to the wireless communication circuitry to facilitate its use as an antenna. Furthermore, the wireless communication circuitry or portions thereof may be shared among multiple antennas. As used herein, wireless communication circuitry may refer to a collection of device resources that facilitate wireless communication using antennas.

[0393] Figures 6B to 6D Other example configurations of devices with a platform structure and a multi-segment housing structure are illustrated, wherein the housing structure can operate as an antenna (including portions of the housing structure along the sides of the platform structure and / or across gaps in the platform structure). For example... Figure 6B An example is illustrated of a device 610 having a platform structure 612. Device 610 may include a first housing structure 614 and a second housing structure 616, as well as a non-conductive bonding structure 618. The second housing structure 616 may include a single continuous structure (e.g., a portion defining two corners of device 610 and a continuous metal member defining the top side of device 610) and may define one or more antennas (e.g., as relative to...). Figure 6A (As described herein). In this example, the housing does not define a slot along the bottom portion 611 of the platform structure 612. Therefore, no antenna can be configured along the bottom portion 611 of the platform structure 612. As described herein, other portions of the first housing structure 614 and the second housing structure 616 may define antennas.

[0394] Figure 6CA device 620 having a platform structure 622 is illustrated. Device 620 may include a first housing structure 624, a second housing structure 626, a third housing structure 627, and a non-conductive bonding structure 628. As depicted, the non-conductive bonding structure 628 may be positioned between the first housing structure, the second housing structure, and the third housing structure. In this example, device 620 may include multiple housing structures to define a top side and a corner. For example, the second housing structure 626 may define at least a portion of a first corner and a first portion of the top side of device 620, while the third housing structure 627 may define a second portion of the top side and at least a portion of a second corner of device 620. Each of the first, second, and third housing structures may define one or more antennas. In this example, the housing does not define a slot along the bottom portion 621 of platform structure 622. Therefore, no antenna may be configured along the bottom portion 621 of platform structure 622.

[0395] Figure 6D A device 630 having a platform structure 632 is illustrated. Device 630 may include a first housing structure 634, a second housing structure 636, a third housing structure 637, and a non-conductive bonding structure 638. In this example, a gap may be defined around the platform structure 632, and the non-conductive bonding structure 638 may extend around the platform structure 632 and be positioned between the first, second, and third housing structures, as depicted. In this example, device 630 may include multiple housing structures to define a top side and corners. For example, the second housing structure 636 may define at least a portion of a first corner and a first portion of the top side of device 630, while the third housing structure 637 may define a second portion of the top side and at least a portion of a second corner of device 630. Each of the first, second, and third housing structures may define one or more antennas. Additionally, a slot antenna may be defined along the bottom side of the platform structure 632 (or along any portion of the gap between the platform structure 632 and other housing components).

[0396] Figures 7A to 7B This is a partial exploded view of device 100, in which... Figure 7A The front of device 100 facing upwards is shown, and Figure 7B The rear portion of device 100 facing upwards is shown. (As shown) Figures 7A to 7B As shown, device 100 includes a frame member 219 (referred to herein simply as a rack). The rack 219 is coupled to housing member 125 and generally extends between a first lateral sidewall 127 and a second lateral sidewall 128. As described herein, housing member 125 defines a rear panel 283 extending between the first and second lateral sidewalls. The rear panel 283 may define an inner surface (e.g., a surface facing the interior of the device, in...). Figure 7A (visible in the middle) and the outer rear surface opposite the inner surface (in the middle) Figure 7B (See in the middle).

[0397] In the assembled state, the frame component 219 can be positioned with a gap between it and the rear panel 283. Various components, including batteries, circuit board assemblies, camera modules, haptic actuators, speakers, etc., can be positioned within the gap defined between the rear panel 283 and the frame component 219. Figure 7C As described. Rack 219 may define a mounting structure for components of device 100 such as batteries and circuit board assemblies.

[0398] Rack 219 may define a first side facing rear panel 283 and may define a mounting surface for various components. Rack 219 may also define a second side opposite the first side. Display 103 may be positioned above the second side of rack 219, and front cover 102 may be positioned above the display. Front cover may be coupled to housing component 125 (as described herein, which may be an integral metal housing segment defining the first and second lateral sidewalls of the device and the rear panel 283).

[0399] like Figures 7A to 7B As shown, housing component 125 may define an aperture 704 through rear frame 130. A wireless charging coil may be positioned within or otherwise aligned with the aperture 704. Rear cover 132 covers (and conceals) the aperture 704 and the wireless charging coil, while also allowing the wireless charging coil to electromagnetically (or otherwise wirelessly) couple to a complementary charging coil external to device 100. In some cases, additional antennas and / or wireless communication systems may also be aligned with aperture 704 and communicate through rear cover 132.

[0400] As described herein, the frame member 219 may be a separate component from the housing structure 104 and may be configured to be spaced apart from the rear panel 283. Various components of the device 100 may be positioned in the gap and coupled to the frame member 219, while other components of the device 100 may be positioned in the gap and cou...

Claims

1. A portable electronic device, the portable electronic device comprising: monitor; Front cover, the front cover being above the display; Housing, the housing being coupled to and defining the front cover: The first portion of the rear outer surface of the portable electronic device; A protrusion defining a raised sensor array region, the raised sensor array region defining a second portion of the rear outer surface; A first hole, defined to pass through the protrusion in the region of the raised sensor array; and A second hole is defined to pass through the protrusion in the region of the raised sensor array; A camera lens assembly, the camera lens assembly being aligned with the first aperture and defining a first main axis perpendicular to the second portion of the rear outer surface; and A depth sensor module, the depth sensor module including a depth sensor lens assembly, the depth sensor lens assembly being aligned with the second aperture and defining a second spindle tilted relative to the second portion of the rear outer surface.

2. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second spindle is angled toward the first spindle.

3. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The housing further defines a depth sensor mounting surface opposite the second portion of the rear outer surface; and The depth sensor mounting surface defines a mounting plane that is not parallel to the second portion of the rear outer surface.

4. The portable electronic device of claim 3, wherein the mounting plane forms an angle between about 1 degree and about 5 degrees with respect to the second portion of the rear outer surface.

5. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second spindle is oriented toward the first spindle at an angle between about 1 degree and about 5 degrees.

6. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second spindle is oriented toward the first spindle at an angle between about 2 degrees and about 7 degrees.

7. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The camera lens assembly defines a first field of view; The depth sensor lens assembly defines a second field of view; and The first field of view and the second field of view at least partially overlap between approximately 50 cm and approximately 100 cm from the second portion of the rear outer surface.

8. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The depth sensor lens assembly is an image capture lens assembly; The depth sensor module includes: The image capture lens assembly; and Projector lens assembly; and The projector lens assembly defines a third main axis that is tilted relative to the second portion of the rear outer surface.

9. The portable electronic device according to claim 8, wherein: The second spindle is oriented at an angle between approximately 2 degrees and approximately 5 degrees toward the first spindle; and The third spindle is oriented at an angle between approximately 2 degrees and approximately 5 degrees toward the first spindle.

10. The portable electronic device of claim 9, wherein the second spindle and the third spindle are angled toward the first spindle at the same angle.

11. A portable electronic device, the portable electronic device comprising: monitor; Front cover, the front cover being above the display; Housing, the housing being coupled to and defining the front cover: The rear outer surface of the portable electronic device; and A depth sensor mounting surface, the depth sensor mounting surface being opposite to the rear outer surface, the depth sensor mounting surface being defined at an angle relative to the rear outer surface; A camera lens assembly coupled to the housing and defining a first main axis perpendicular to the rear outer surface; and A depth sensor module is mounted to a depth sensor mounting surface and includes a depth sensor lens assembly defining a second spindle. The tilt angle of the depth sensor mounting surface is configured such that the second spindle of the depth sensor lens assembly is angled toward the first spindle of the camera lens assembly.

12. The portable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the second spindle is oriented toward the first spindle at an angle between about 1 degree and about 5 degrees.

13. The portable electronic device according to claim 11, wherein: The camera lens assembly defines a first field of view; The depth sensor lens assembly defines a second field of view; and The first field of view and the second field of view overlap between approximately 50 cm and approximately 100 cm from the rear outer surface.

14. The portable electronic device of claim 13, wherein the depth sensor lens assembly is at least one of an image capture lens assembly or a projector lens assembly.

15. The portable electronic device according to claim 13, wherein: The depth sensor lens assembly is an image capture lens assembly; The depth sensor module includes: The image capture lens assembly; and Projector lens assembly; and The projector lens assembly defines a third main axis that is tilted relative to the rear outer surface.

16. The portable electronic device of claim 15, wherein the second spindle and the third spindle are angled toward the first spindle at the same angle.

17. A portable electronic device, the portable electronic device comprising: monitor; Front cover, the front cover being above the display; A housing, the housing being coupled to the front cover and defining a rear outer surface; A rear-facing camera lens assembly, the rear-facing camera lens assembly being coupled to the housing and defining a first main axis perpendicular to the rear outer surface; and A rearward depth sensor lens assembly, which is coupled to the housing and defines a second spindle that is tilted relative to the rear outer surface.

18. The portable electronic device according to claim 17, wherein: The outer casing defines: A protrusion defining a raised sensor array region that defines a portion of the rear outer surface of the portable electronic device; and A hole, defined to pass through the protrusion; and The rearward depth sensor lens assembly is aligned with the hole defined to pass through the protrusion.

19. The portable electronic device according to claim 18, wherein: The hole is the first hole; The outer casing further defines a second opening, the second opening being defined to pass through the protrusion; and The rear-facing camera lens assembly is aligned with the second hole defined to pass through the protrusion.

20. The portable electronic device of claim 19, wherein the second spindle is angled toward the first spindle.

Images