Mobile device housing with integrated antenna carrier

Abstract

A housing for a mobile computing device, comprising: a first frame including a perimeter wall surrounding a housing interior, the perimeter wall having a carrier surface facing outwardly from the housing interior, an antenna having a radiating element attached to the carrier surface and separated from the housing interior by the perimeter wall, and a second frame having (i) an inner surface facing toward the housing interior and (ii) an outer surface defining an outer surface of the mobile computing device, the second frame attached to the first frame and housing at least a portion of the radiating element between the carrier surface and the inner surface of the second frame.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] The development of radio access technologies (e.g., 5G) and the incorporation of such technologies into mobile communication devices may involve the deployment of additional communication hardware in such devices compared to earlier technologies (e.g., 4G). Devices such as smartphones and other handheld (portable) communication devices may have limited physical space to accommodate such communication hardware, and therefore, the deployment of the additional hardware may result in suboptimal communication performance, including increased potential for electrical noise and / or interference. Summary of the Invention

[0002] The accompanying drawings, together with the following detailed description, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, serve to further explain embodiments of the concepts comprising the claimed invention and to explain various principles and advantages of those embodiments, in which like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements throughout the different drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0003] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mobile computing device.

[0004] [Figure 2] FIG. 2 shows a simplified cross-section of the device of FIG.

[0005] [Figure 3] FIG. 3 shows an exploded rear view of the housing of the device of FIG.

[0006] [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows an exploded front view of the housing of the device of FIG.

[0007] [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method for assembling the device of FIG.

[0008] [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a carrier frame of the device of FIG.

[0009] [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the carrier frame of FIG. 6 after having an antenna deployed thereon.

[0010] [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the carrier frame of FIG. 7 attached to a shell. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

[0012] Components of the apparatus and methods are designated by conventional numerals in the drawings, where appropriate, and the drawings show only those specific details relevant to understanding the embodiments of the invention so as not to obscure the detailed disclosure, which disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the descriptions herein.

[0013] The embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a housing for a mobile computing device, comprising: a first frame including a peripheral wall surrounding an interior of the housing, the peripheral wall having a carrier surface facing outward from the interior of the housing; an antenna having a radiating element attached to the carrier surface and separated from the interior of the housing by the peripheral wall; and a second frame having (i) an inner surface facing toward the interior of the housing and (ii) an outer surface defining an outer surface of the mobile computing device, the second frame attached to the first frame and containing at least a portion of the radiating element between the carrier surface and the inner surface of the second frame.

[0014] Further embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a method comprising the steps of: providing a first frame including a peripheral wall for surrounding an interior housing of a mobile computing device, the peripheral wall having a carrier surface facing outward from the interior of the housing; attaching a radiating element of an antenna to the carrier surface; and attaching to the first frame a second frame having an inner surface facing toward the interior of the housing, the second frame accommodating at least a portion of the radiating element between the carrier surface and the inner surface of the second frame, the radiating element being separated from the interior housing by the peripheral wall, and the second frame further including an outer surface defining an outer surface of the mobile computing device.

[0015] Further embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a mobile computing device comprising: a display defining a front surface of the mobile computing device; and a housing, the housing comprising: (i) a first frame including a perimeter wall surrounding an interior of the housing, the perimeter wall having a carrier surface facing outward from the interior of the housing; (ii) an antenna having a radiating element attached to the carrier surface and separated from the interior of the housing by the perimeter wall; (iii) a second frame having (i) an inner surface facing the interior of the housing and (ii) an outer surface defining a rear surface opposite the front surface of the mobile computing device; and (iv) a cover attached to the first frame, the cover defining a bezel for the display, the second frame being overmolded onto the first frame and containing at least a portion of the radiating element between the carrier surface and the inner surface of the second frame.

[0016] 1 illustrates a mobile computing device 100, such as a smartphone or other mobile computer. The device 100 includes a housing 104 that supports various other components of the device 100. These other components include a display 108 that is supported by the housing and, in the illustrated example, surrounded by a bezel surface 112 formed by the housing 104. Certain components of the housing 104, as well as the display 108, form the exterior surface of the device 100. In particular, the bezel 112 and the display 108 form the front surface of the device 100, while other components of the housing 104, described in more detail below, form the side surfaces 116 and the rear surface (not visible in FIG. 1) of the device, opposite the front surface.

[0017] Device 100 includes a housing interior surrounded by a housing 104 and a display 108. The housing interior is a volume in which various internal components of device 100 are supported. The internal components may include a controller, storage, a camera, communication hardware, circuit boards, and / or other support members, etc. Such communication hardware includes one or more wireless communication interfaces. Each communication interface may include a respective radio and / or baseband controller and one or more antennas controllable to transmit and receive wireless signals. The communication interfaces may, for example, implement multiple distinct wireless communication standards (e.g., WiFi and cellular standards such as 4G, 5G, etc.).

[0018] As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, antenna performance (e.g., radiation pattern, gain, efficiency, etc.) can be affected not only by the antenna's geometry but also by the physical environment in which the antenna is deployed. Proximity to internal components, such as the aforementioned controller, or to the ground plane formed by the circuit board, can adversely affect antenna performance. Increasing the distance between the antenna and other internal components of device 100 can mitigate such adverse effects. However, because space inside the housing is severely limited, there may be cases where few options remain for antenna placement once the locations of the remaining device components have been selected. The challenge of deploying an antenna inside a housing while mitigating the adverse effects of adjacent components on antenna performance can be further exacerbated by the implementation of additional (e.g., newly developed) communication standards that require additional antennas and associated support hardware.

[0019] Thus, as described below, housing 104 is structured to allow for deployment of at least a portion of an antenna's radiating element outside the housing interior. Specifically, housing 104 includes at least two components, such as an overmolded frame, that define an inner housing and at least a portion of the exterior surface of device 100. The antenna is mounted between the frames rather than being located within the inner housing. As a result, at least a portion of the antenna's radiating element is separated from the housing interior by a subset of the frames while remaining protected from environmental exposure, impact, etc. by another subset of the frames.

[0020] Referring to Figure 2, a simplified cross-sectional view of housing 104 taken along plane S2 shown in Figure 1 is shown. As shown in Figure 2, housing 104 includes three components. In particular, housing 104 includes a carrier frame 200, which may also be referred to as an inner frame. Housing 104 further includes a shell 204, which may also be referred to as an outer frame. Housing 104 further includes a cover 208, which provides bezel surface 112 introduced in Figure 1.

[0021] Together, the carrier frame 200 and the shell 204 define a housing interior 212 within which other internal components, such as a printed circuit board (PCB) 213, may be located. That is, the housing interior 212 is the volume bounded by the inner (i.e., closer to the center of mass of the device 100) surfaces of the carrier frame 200 and the shell 204, and the inner surface of the display 108. As shown in FIG. 2 , the display 108 is attached to the carrier frame 200 and held relative to the carrier frame 200 by a cover 208, which engages with the shell 204 to enclose the carrier frame 200.

[0022] Carrier frame 200 includes a carrier face 216 on its exterior. That is, carrier face 216 faces away from housing interior 212, opposite inner face 218 of carrier frame 200. Although carrier face 216 is outside the housing interior, it is not exposed to the exterior of device 100 when device 100 is fully assembled, as a result of carrier frame 200 being enclosed within shell 204 and cover 208. Instead, the exterior surface of device 100 is defined by display 108, cover 208, and outer surface 217 of shell 204. Carrier face 216 is so named because it carries at least the radiating elements of one or more antennas of device 100, as will be explained in more detail below. Thus, the antennas are separated from housing interior 212 by carrier frame 200, while remaining protected from environmental exposure by shell 204 and cover 208. Specifically, the radiating element of the antenna is disposed on the carrier surface and covered by the inner surface 220 of the shell 204. The detailed view of Figure 2 shows an exemplary antenna 224 housed between the carrier surface 216 (to which the antenna 224 is attached) and the inner surface 220 of the shell 204. Although the inner surface 220 of the shell 204 and the carrier surface 216 are shown with a space between them in the upper part of Figure 2 to visually distinguish the two surfaces, the surfaces 216, 220 may be in direct contact in at least some areas, for example, if the shell 204 is overmolded onto the carrier frame 200.

[0023] Thus, the antenna may be positioned with greater separation between the antenna's radiating element and other electrical components (mounted in housing interior 212) of device 100. Increasing the separation between the radiating element and other electrical components may reduce the adverse effects such electrical components have on the performance of the antenna.

[0024] Although the housing 104 is illustrated as having the three aforementioned components (carrier frame 200, shell 204, and cover 208), in other examples, one or more of the carrier frame 200, shell 204, and cover 208 may be implemented as multiple distinct components. For example, the shell 204 may be implemented as two or more separate components that cooperate with the cover 208 to enclose the carrier frame 200.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 3 , an exploded view of the housing 104 is shown from the rear side of the device 100 (i.e., the bezel surface 112 faces outward and is not visible). As can be seen in FIG. 3 , the shell 204 defines certain exterior surfaces of the device 100. In particular, the shell 204 defines a rear surface 300 and has an opening 304 therein for receiving, for example, a battery pack (not shown). The shell 204 also includes sidewalls 308 that extend along the periphery of the shell 204 and define the rear of each side 116 of the device 100. Meanwhile, the cover 208 includes sidewalls 312 that define the front of the side 116 (i.e., the portion closer to the display 108). The sidewalls 308, 312 engage with each other to form the side surfaces 116 and surround the carrier frame 200 when the housing 104 is fully assembled.

[0026] Carrier frame 200 includes a peripheral wall 316 that surrounds housing interior 212 and defines carrier surface 216, as described above in connection with FIG. 2 . In other words, carrier surface 216 extends around the exterior of carrier frame 200. Peripheral wall 316 also defines the aforementioned interior surface 218. In some examples, carrier frame 200 may include additional components attached to peripheral wall 316, such as one or more anchors 320 that extend into housing interior 212. The anchors may receive fasteners or other coupling mechanisms for attaching internal components of device 100 (e.g., circuit board, etc.) to carrier frame 200. In some examples, shell 204 may also include one or more anchors.

[0027] As can be seen in FIG. 3 , the carrier frame 200 includes a plurality of antennas 324 mounted on the carrier surface 216. In particular, antennas 324-1, 324-2, 324-3, 324-4, 324-5, and 324-6 are visible in FIG. 3 , although additional antennas 324 may also be disposed on the carrier surface 216. More generally, any of a wide variety of antennas 324 may be mounted on the carrier surface 216, each disposed in a corresponding region of the carrier surface 216. The regions allocated to each antenna 324 are spaced apart to reduce interactions between the antennas 324 themselves. The antennas 324 may implement multiple communication standards. For example, separate (distinguishable) subsets of antennas (e.g., antennas 324-1, 324-3 in one subset and antennas 324-2, 324-4, 324-5 in another subset) may implement separate (distinguishable) multiple wireless communication standards, e.g., WiFi, 4G, 5G, etc.

[0028] In this example, the antennas 324 are implemented as conductive traces, such as metal strips, affixed to the carrier surface 216. Each antenna 324 includes a radiating element (visible in FIG. 3 ) and one or more feed lines (e.g., an Rx feed line and a Tx feed line) that connect the radiating element to internal components of the device 100, such as a transceiver. The feed lines extend from the carrier surface 216 to the housing interior 212, passing through the perimeter wall 316, for example, through openings 328. Exemplary openings 328-2, 328-3, 328-4, 328-5, and 328-6 are shown in FIG. 3 , extending from the carrier surface 216 through the perimeter wall 316 to the inner surface 218. Thus, it is not necessary for each antenna 324 to be entirely attached to the carrier surface 216 and separated from the housing interior 212 by the perimeter wall 316. However, the radiating element of antenna 324 is attached entirely or substantially entirely to carrier surface 216 to isolate the radiating element from the internal electronics of device 100 .

[0029] As can be seen from Figures 2 and 3, positioning the antenna 324 on the carrier surface 216 results in the antenna 324 (or at least its radiating element) being housed between the carrier surface 216 and the inner surface 220 of the shell 204 when the shell 204 and the carrier frame 200 are assembled.

[0030] Referring to Figure 4, an exploded view from the front of the housing 104 is shown. In addition to the elements previously described in connection with Figure 3, certain feed lines for the antenna 324 are visible. In particular, feed line pairs 400-1, 400-2, 400-3, and 400-4 corresponding to the antennas 324-1, 324-2, 324-3, and 324-4, respectively, are shown extending into the housing interior 212 of the carrier frame 200. The feed lines 400 extend from the carrier face 216 through the aforementioned openings 328 to the housing interior 212, where they may be connected to an internal controller or other communications hardware.

[0031] 5, a method 500 for manufacturing the housing 104 and assembling the device 100 is illustrated. In particular, the method 500 illustrates the procedure by which the carrier frame 200 and the shell 204 may be provided and secured together to deploy the antenna 324 outside the housing interior 212.

[0032] At block 505, the carrier frame 200 is provided, for example, by injection molding or any other suitable process. In the example described above, the carrier frame 200 is molded in a single shot of a suitable plastic or other material. In other examples, the carrier frame 200 may be manufactured in multiple pieces, which may then be joined to provide the complete carrier frame 200. The material employed to manufacture the carrier frame 200 may include an activatable material, such as an additive within a base thermoplastic. The additive may include a metallic inorganic compound that may be activated by laser light. FIG. 6 illustrates the carrier frame 200 after execution of block 505. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the carrier frame 200 does not yet include the antenna 324.

[0033] At block 510, the areas on carrier surface 216 that are to receive antenna 324 are activated, for example, by exposing the areas to laser light. For example, one or more laser emitters may be controlled to illuminate the areas, for example, by illuminating carrier surface 216 along a predetermined path on carrier surface 216 that corresponds to the location and shape of antenna 324. Such exposure activates the additive, configuring the activated areas to receive and bond with the conductive material that forms antenna 324.

[0034] In block 515, the areas activated in block 510 are metallized, i.e., a conductive material (e.g., copper or other suitable conductor) that forms the antenna 324 is deposited or otherwise attached to the carrier surface 216. For example, in block 515, the carrier frame 200 may be immersed in one or more baths containing a conductive material in solution, such that the conductive material is deposited on the activated areas of the carrier surface 216, but not on the remainder of the carrier frame 200. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, in this example, fabrication of the carrier frame 200 and the antenna 324 is performed via laser direct structuring (LDS).

[0035] As previously mentioned, carrier frame 200 also includes openings 328 for feed lines 400 of antenna 324 to connect the radiating element on carrier face 216 to housing interior 212. Openings 328 may be provided during molding of carrier frame 200, or in other examples, may be drilled or otherwise applied to carrier frame 200 after molding but before metallization in block 515. Figure 7 shows carrier frame 200 after performance of blocks 510 and 515, with antenna 324 attached to carrier face 216.

[0036] Returning to FIG. 5 , at block 520, the shell 204 is attached to the carrier frame 200. In this example, the shell 204 is overmolded onto the carrier frame 200. This is done, for example, by placing the carrier frame 200 (with the antenna 324) in a mold and applying material thereto to form the shell 204. In other examples, the shell 204 may be attached to the carrier frame 200 by another suitable mechanism, such as an adhesive. FIG. 8 shows the carrier frame 200 and shell 204 after block 520 has been performed. The shell 204 houses at least the rear portion of the radiating element of the antenna 324 between the inner surface 220 of the shell 204 and the carrier face 216. Some antennas, such as antenna 324-2, have front portions that are not completely enclosed, depending on the configuration of the antenna 324 on the carrier face 216. These exposed portions are enclosed by the cover 208 later in the assembly process.

[0037] At block 525, the internal components of device 100 are installed, and at block 530, the display 108 and cover 208 are installed. The order and manner in which the internal components are installed within housing interior 212 is not particularly limited. Generally, the internal components may be attached to one or both of carrier frame 200 (e.g., via anchors such as anchors 320 shown in FIG. 3 ) and shell 204, and / or may be attached to other internal components. Once the internal components are installed, display 108 may be installed above the housing interior and attached to housing 104 by cover 208. Side wall 312 of cover 208 surrounds the front of perimeter wall 316 and engages with shell 204 to completely enclose carrier frame 216 and antenna 324.

[0038] As a result of the above-described assembly process, and in particular providing antenna 324 on carrier surface 216, antenna 324 can be positioned to reduce interference from components within housing interior 212 while protecting antenna 324 from impact and other environmental factors.

[0039] In the foregoing specification, particular embodiments have been described. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present teachings.

[0040] Benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that may cause or make more pronounced any benefit, advantage, or solution should not be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all claims. The present invention is defined solely by the appended claims, including any amendments made during the pendency of this application and all equivalents of the claims at the time of issue.

[0041] Furthermore, in this document, related terms such as first and second, above and below, etc. may be used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another and may not necessarily require or imply an actual relationship or ordering between such entities or operations. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "having," "include," "including," "contains," "containing," or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. A description of a process, method, article, or apparatus as comprising, having, including, or containing a list of elements does not include only those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed and other elements inherent in such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element preceded by "comprises...a," "has...," "includes...a," or "contains...a" does not, without further constraints, preclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has, contains, or contains the element. The terms "a" and "an" are defined as one or more, unless expressly stated otherwise. The terms "substantially," "essentially," "approximately," "about," and any other variations thereof are defined as close as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and in one non-limiting embodiment, such terms are defined as within 10%, in another embodiment within 5%, in another embodiment within 1%, and in another embodiment within 0.5%. The term "coupled," as used herein, is defined as connected, but not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. A device or structure "configured" in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways not listed.

[0042] Certain phrases may be employed herein to recite combinations of elements. Examples of such phrases include "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C." Unless otherwise specified, the phrases encompass any combination of A and / or B and / or C.

[0043] It will be appreciated that some embodiments may be configured with one or more special-purpose processors (or "processing devices"), such as microprocessors, digital signal processors, customized processors, and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and specific stored program instructions (including both software and firmware) that control the one or more processors to, in conjunction with specific non-processor circuitry, implement some, most, or all of the functionality of the methods and / or apparatus described herein. Alternatively, some or all of the functionality may be implemented by a state machine without stored program instructions, or in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) in which each function, or some combination of specific functions, is implemented as custom logic. Of course, a combination of the two approaches may also be used.

[0044] Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable code stored thereon for programming a computer (e.g., including a processor) to perform the methods described and claimed herein. Examples of such computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, ROMs (read-only memories), PROMs (programmable read-only memories), EPROMs (erasable programmable read-only memories), EEPROMs (electrically erasable programmable read-only memories), and flash memories. Furthermore, despite potentially significant effort and many design choices motivated, for example, by available time, the current state of the art, and economic considerations, it is expected that, when guided by the concepts and principles disclosed herein, one skilled in the art will be readily able to generate such software instructions and programs, as well as ICs, with minimal experimentation.

[0045] This Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. It may also be noted that in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of facilitating this disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as separately claimed subject matter.

Claims

1. 1. A housing for a mobile computing device, comprising: a first frame including a peripheral wall surrounding a housing interior, the peripheral wall having a carrier surface facing outward from the housing interior; an antenna having a radiating element attached to said carrier surface and separated from said housing interior by said peripheral wall; a second frame having (i) an inner surface facing the interior of the housing and (ii) an outer surface defining an outer surface of the mobile computing device; Equipped with the second frame is attached to the first frame and houses at least a portion of the radiating element between the carrier surface and the inner surface of the second frame; The first frame includes anchors configured to support internal components of the mobile computing device within the housing. A housing characterized by:

2. 1. A housing for a mobile computing device, comprising: a first frame including a peripheral wall surrounding a housing interior, the peripheral wall having a carrier surface facing outward from the housing interior; an antenna having a radiating element attached to said carrier surface and separated from said housing interior by said peripheral wall; a second frame having (i) an inner surface facing the interior of the housing and (ii) an outer surface defining an outer surface of the mobile computing device; Equipped with the second frame is attached to the first frame and houses at least a portion of the radiating element between the carrier surface and the inner surface of the second frame; The antenna is attached to the carrier surface by metallization of an active area of ​​the carrier surface. A housing characterized by:

3. 1. A housing for a mobile computing device, comprising: a first frame including a peripheral wall surrounding a housing interior, the peripheral wall having a carrier surface facing outward from the housing interior; an antenna having a radiating element attached to said carrier surface and separated from said housing interior by said peripheral wall; a second frame having (i) an inner surface facing the interior of the housing and (ii) an outer surface defining an outer surface of the mobile computing device; Equipped with the second frame is attached to the first frame and houses at least a portion of the radiating element between the carrier surface and the inner surface of the second frame; the housing has a plurality of antennas; The plurality of antennas have respective radiating elements mounted at respective spaced apart regions of the carrier surface. A housing characterized by:

4. a first subset of the plurality of antennas implementing a first communications standard; a second subset of the plurality of antennas implementing a second communication standard; 4. The housing of claim 3.

5. The second frame is attached to the first frame by overmolding.

5. A housing according to claim 1.

6. The second frame is attached to the rear of the peripheral wall.

5. A housing according to claim 1.

7. a cover attached to the front of the peripheral wall Further provided with The first frame is enclosed within the second frame and the cover.

7. The housing of claim 6.

8. The antenna includes a feed line extending from the radiating element to the interior of the housing.

5. A housing according to claim 1.

9. the first frame includes an opening from the carrier surface to the housing interior; The feed line extends through the opening and connects the radiating element to a controller mounted inside the housing.

9. The housing of claim 8.

10. providing a first frame including a peripheral wall for enclosing an interior housing of a mobile computing device, the peripheral wall having a carrier surface facing outward from the interior housing; attaching an antenna radiating element to said carrier surface; attaching a second frame to the first frame, the second frame having an inner surface facing toward the interior of the housing, the second frame accommodating at least a portion of the radiating element between the carrier surface and the inner surface of the second frame; Equipped with the radiating element is separated from the housing interior by the peripheral wall; the second frame further includes an exterior surface defining an exterior side of the mobile computing device; The step of attaching the radiating element may further include, before the step of attaching the second frame: (i) activating a region of the carrier surface; (ii) depositing the emissive element in the activated region; Contains A method characterized by:

11. providing a first frame including a peripheral wall for enclosing an interior housing of a mobile computing device, the peripheral wall having a carrier surface facing outward from the interior housing; attaching an antenna radiating element to said carrier surface; attaching a second frame to the first frame, the second frame having an inner surface facing toward the interior of the housing, the second frame accommodating at least a portion of the radiating element between the carrier surface and the inner surface of the second frame; placing internal components of the mobile computing device within the housing; securing the internal component to anchors in the first frame; Equipped with the radiating element is separated from the housing interior by the peripheral wall; The second frame further includes an exterior surface defining an outer surface of the mobile computing device. A method characterized by:

12. providing a first frame including a peripheral wall for enclosing an interior housing of a mobile computing device, the peripheral wall having a carrier surface facing outward from the interior housing; attaching an antenna radiating element to said carrier surface; attaching a second frame to the first frame, the second frame having an inner surface facing toward the interior of the housing, the second frame accommodating at least a portion of the radiating element between the carrier surface and the inner surface of the second frame; applying a cover to a front portion of the first frame to enclose the first frame between the cover and the second frame; Equipped with the radiating element is separated from the housing interior by the peripheral wall; The second frame further includes an exterior surface defining an outer surface of the mobile computing device. A method characterized by:

13. The step of attaching the second frame includes the step of overmolding the second frame onto the first frame.

13. A method according to any one of claims 10 to 12.

14. The step of providing the first frame includes the step of molding the first frame.

13. A method according to any one of claims 10 to 12.

15. 1. A mobile computing device, comprising: a display defining a front surface of the mobile computing device; Housing and Equipped with The housing includes: (i) a first frame including a peripheral wall surrounding a housing interior, the peripheral wall having a carrier surface facing outward from the housing interior; (ii) an antenna having a radiating element attached to said carrier surface and separated from said housing interior by said peripheral wall; (iii) a second frame having (i) an inner surface facing toward the interior of the housing, and (ii) an outer surface defining a rear surface opposite the front surface of the mobile computing device; (iv) a cover attached to the first frame, the cover defining a bezel for the display; and Equipped with the second frame is overmolded onto the first frame and houses at least a portion of the radiating element between the carrier surface and the inner surface of the second frame; The cover is configured to engage the second frame to surround the first frame. A mobile computing device comprising:

16. 1. A mobile computing device, comprising: a display defining a front surface of the mobile computing device; Housing and Equipped with The housing includes: (i) a first frame including a peripheral wall surrounding a housing interior, the peripheral wall having a carrier surface facing outward from the housing interior; (ii) an antenna having a radiating element attached to said carrier surface and separated from said housing interior by said peripheral wall; (iii) a second frame having (i) an inner surface facing toward the interior of the housing, and (ii) an outer surface defining a rear surface opposite the front surface of the mobile computing device; (iv) a cover attached to the first frame, the cover defining a bezel for the display; and Equipped with the second frame is overmolded onto the first frame and houses at least a portion of the radiating element between the carrier surface and the inner surface of the second frame; the housing has a plurality of antennas; The plurality of antennas have respective radiating elements mounted at respective spaced apart regions of the carrier surface. A mobile computing device comprising:

17. The antenna includes a feed line extending from the radiating element to the interior of the housing.

17. A mobile computing device according to claim 15 or 16.

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