Handheld electronic device

Abstract

A mobile phone may include a housing. The housing may include a first housing component comprising a cladding portion formed of a first metal and defining a first portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone, and a core portion coupled to the cladding portion—the core portion defining a portion of the inner surface of the mobile phone and formed of a second metal different from the first metal—a second housing component defining a second portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone, and a joint structure coupled to the first housing component and the second housing component and defining a third portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone between the first portion of the side outer surface and the second portion of the side outer surface. The cladding portion may be directly joined to the core portion.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] Cross-reference of related applications

[0002] This application is a regular application for U.S. provisional patent application No. 63 / 441,756, filed on January 27, 2023, with the title of the invention "Handheld Electronic Device", claiming the benefit thereof, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] Technology field

[0004] The subject of the present disclosure is, generally, handheld electronic devices, and more specifically, mobile phones. Background Technology

[0005] Modern consumer electronic devices take on many shapes and forms and possess numerous uses and functions. Smartphones, for example, provide various ways for users to interact with others, extending beyond telephone communication. Such devices may include multiple systems to facilitate such interactions. For example, a smartphone may include a touch-sensitive display for providing graphic output and accommodating touch input, a wireless communication system for connecting with other devices to transmit and receive voice and data content, and a camera for capturing photos and videos. However, integrating these subsystems into a compact and reliable product capable of withstanding daily use presents various technical challenges. The systems and techniques described herein can address many of these challenges while providing a device that offers a wide range of functions.

[0006] A mobile phone may include an enclosure comprising a front cover assembly defining a front outer surface of the enclosure, a rear cover assembly defining a rear outer surface of the enclosure, and a housing subassembly positioned between the front cover assembly and the rear cover assembly. The housing subassembly may include a first housing component defining a first side outer surface of the enclosure, a second housing component defining a second side outer surface of the enclosure opposite to the first side outer surface of the enclosure, and a lower chassis section extending between the first housing component and the second housing component. The mobile phone may further include a camera array coupled to the lower chassis section and positioned within an internal cavity defined between the lower chassis section and the front cover assembly—the camera array comprising at least one camera extending through the lower chassis section and toward the rear cover assembly—and a display coupled to the front cover assembly.

[0007] The mobile phone may additionally include a battery located within an internal cavity defined between a lower chassis section and a front cover assembly. The lower chassis section may define a first surface facing the front cover assembly and a second surface facing the rear cover assembly. A camera array may be coupled to the first surface of the lower chassis section, and a battery may be coupled to the first surface of the lower chassis section. The rear cover assembly may include a rear cover, and the mobile phone may additionally include a charging coil located between the rear cover and the second surface of the lower chassis section, and the charging coil is configured to be wirelessly coupled to a charging accessory to receive power for the mobile phone.

[0008] The lower chassis section may define a first hole extending through it, a second hole extending through it, and a third hole extending through it, and the camera array may include a first camera extending at least partially through the first hole, a second camera extending at least partially through the second hole, and a third camera extending at least partially through the third hole.

[0009] The lower chassis section may further define an alignment feature. The camera array may further include a camera bracket configured to engage with the alignment feature to align the camera bracket with respect to the lower chassis section, and a camera coupled to the camera bracket.

[0010] The lower chassis section may be welded to the first housing component and the second housing component. The rear cover assembly may further include a rear cover defining a first hole that extends through it, and a metal anchor plate defining a second hole located on the inner surface of the rear cover and aligned with the first hole. A camera of the camera array may extend through the second hole and at least partially into the first hole.

[0011] A portable electronic device may include a display, a wireless communication circuit, a battery, and an enclosure surrounding the display, the wireless communication circuit, and the battery. The enclosure may include a housing subassembly comprising a first wall section defining at least a portion of a first side outer surface of the portable electronic device, a second wall section defining at least a portion of a second side outer surface of the portable electronic device opposite to the first side outer surface, and a lower chassis section, wherein the lower chassis section is welded to the first wall section along a first face of the lower chassis section and welded to the second wall section along a second face of the lower chassis section. The enclosure may further include a first housing component coupled to a first end of the housing subassembly and defining a first outer corner surface of the portable electronic device, and a second housing component coupled to a first end of the housing subassembly and defining a second outer corner surface of the portable electronic device. The enclosure may further include a front cover coupled to a housing subassembly and defining the front outer surface of a portable electronic device, and a rear cover coupled to a housing subassembly and defining the rear outer surface of a portable electronic device.

[0012] The first wall section may include a core portion formed of a first metal and defining a portion of the inner surface of the portable electronic device, and a cladding portion bonded to the core portion and defining a first side outer surface of the portable electronic device. A lower chassis section may be welded to the core portion of the first wall section. The core portion may include an aluminum alloy, the lower chassis portion may include an aluminum alloy, and the cladding portion may include a titanium alloy.

[0013] The lower chassis portion may define a first surface facing the front cover and a second surface facing the rear cover, and the battery may be coupled to the first surface of the lower chassis section and positioned between the lower chassis section and the front cover, and the portable electronic device may additionally include a charging coil coupled to the rear cover and positioned between the lower chassis section and the rear cover.

[0014] A lower chassis section may define a first interlock structure, and a first housing component may define a second interlock structure. A portable electronic device may further include a molded polymer structure that engages with the first interlock structure and the second interlock structure and retains the first housing component in the lower chassis section. The molded polymer structure may be a first molded polymer structure, and the portable electronic device may further include a second molded polymer structure located between the end of a first wall section and the end of a first housing component and defining a portion of the first side outer surface of the portable electronic device.

[0015] The electronic device may include an enclosure, and the enclosure includes a front cover assembly comprising a transparent cover defining the front outer surface of the enclosure and a display located beneath the transparent cover. The enclosure may further include a rear cover assembly comprising a dielectric member defining the rear outer surface of the enclosure. The enclosure may further include a housing subassembly, the housing subassembly comprising: a lower chassis section—the lower chassis section at least partially defines a first cavity between the lower chassis section and the front cover assembly and at least partially defines a second cavity between the lower chassis section and the rear cover assembly—a first wall located on a first face of the lower chassis section defining a first side outer surface of the enclosure, a second wall located on a second face of the lower chassis section defining a second side outer surface of the enclosure, a battery located within the first cavity, and a charging coil located within the second cavity.

[0016] The first wall can be welded to the lower chassis section along the first side of the lower chassis section, and the second wall can be welded to the lower chassis section along the second side of the lower chassis section opposite to the first side.

[0017] The lower chassis section may define a first surface facing the front cover assembly and a second surface facing the rear cover assembly, and a hole extending from the first surface of the lower chassis section to the second surface of the lower chassis section, and the electronic device may further include a camera positioned on the first surface of the lower chassis section and extending through the hole within the lower chassis section. The hole may be a first hole, and the rear cover assembly may include a rear cover defining a second hole, and an anchor plate coupled to the rear cover and defining a third hole, and the camera may extend through the third hole and at least partially through the second hole.

[0018] The lower chassis section may define at least partially a hole, and the electronic device may further include a spring coupling element coupled to the housing subassembly and positioned at least partially within the hole, and the rear cover assembly may include a rear cover and a fastening feature coupled to the rear cover. The fastening feature may include a base portion coupled to the rear cover and a tab extending from the base portion and configured to engage with the spring coupling element. The base portion of the fastening feature may be conductively coupled to the electrical component and the spring coupling element of the rear cover assembly.

[0019] A mobile phone may include a front cover defining the front outer surface of the mobile phone, a display under the front cover, a rear cover defining the rear outer surface of the mobile phone, and a housing located between the front cover and the rear cover. The housing may include a first housing component—the first housing component comprises a cladding portion formed of a first metal and defining a first portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone, and a core portion coupled to the cladding portion, wherein the core portion defines a portion of the inner surface of the mobile phone and is formed of a second metal different from the first metal—a second housing component defining a second portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone, and a joint structure coupled to the first housing component and the second housing component and defining a third portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone between the first portion of the side outer surface and the second portion of the side outer surface. The cladding portion may be directly bonded to the core portion.

[0020] The cladding portion may be a first cladding portion, and the core portion may be a first core portion. The second housing component may include a second cladding portion formed of a first metal and defining a second portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone, and a second core portion coupled to the second cladding portion and formed of a second metal. The first metal may be a titanium alloy, and the second metal may be an aluminum alloy.

[0021] The cladding portion may define a first portion of the mounting surface, the core portion may define a second portion of the mounting surface, and the front cover may be coupled to the mounting surface. The mounting surface may be a first mounting surface, the cladding portion may define a first portion of a second mounting surface, the core portion may define a second portion of a second mounting surface, and the rear cover may be coupled to the second mounting surface.

[0022] The cladding portion may be a first cladding portion, the core portion may be a first core portion, the side outer surface may be a first side outer surface, and the housing may additionally include a third housing component. The third housing component may include a second cladding portion formed of a first metal and defining a portion of the second side outer surface of the mobile phone, and a second core portion formed of a second metal and coupled to the second cladding portion. The housing may additionally include a lower chassis section, the lower chassis section being welded to a first core portion along a first surface of the lower chassis section and welded to a second core portion along a second surface of the lower chassis section, and the lower chassis section defining a component mounting structure extending between the first housing component and the third housing component.

[0023] A portable electronic device may include a housing that defines a portion of the side outer surface of the portable electronic device and includes a first housing component. The first housing component may include a first cladding portion formed of a first metal that defines a first portion of the side outer surface of the portable electronic device, and a first core portion formed of a second metal that defines a first portion of the mounting surface, wherein the second metal is different from the first metal. The housing may further include a second housing component coupled to the first housing component, and the second housing component includes a second cladding portion formed of the first metal that defines a second portion of the side outer surface of the portable electronic device, and a second core portion formed of the second metal that defines a second portion of the mounting surface. The portable electronic device may further include a front cover assembly coupled to the mounting surface, wherein the front cover assembly includes a transparent cover that defines the front surface of the portable electronic device and a display coupled to the transparent cover. The portable electronic device may further include a rear cover assembly coupled to the housing that defines the rear surface of the portable electronic device. The first housing component may be an extruded member comprising a first cladding portion directly bonded to a first core portion. The second housing component may define an outer corner surface of a portable electronic device. The first cladding portion may define a third portion of the mounting surface, and the second cladding portion may define a fourth portion of the mounting surface. The first cladding portion may define a first portion of a flange extending along the peripheral side surface of a transparent cover, and the second cladding portion may define a second portion of a flange extending along the peripheral side surface of a transparent cover.

[0024] The housing may further include a joint structure that is coupled to a first housing component and a second housing component and defines a third portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone between a first portion of the side outer surface and a second portion of the side outer surface. The first housing component may define a first interlock structure, the second housing component may define a second interlock structure, and the joint structure may engage with the first interlock structure and the second interlock structure.

[0025] The electronic device may include a front cover defining the front outer surface of the electronic device, a display under the front cover, a rear cover defining the rear outer surface of the electronic device, and a housing located between the front cover and the rear cover. The housing may include a wall segment. The wall segment may include a cladding portion formed of a first metal, the cladding portion defining a portion of the side surface of the electronic device, a portion of a first flange extending along the peripheral side surface of the front cover, and a portion of a second flange extending along the peripheral side surface of the rear cover. The wall segment may further include a core portion formed of a second metal and fused to the cladding portion, the core portion defining at least a portion of the internal cavity of the electronic device. The core portion may define a portion of a first mounting surface—where the front cover is coupled to the first mounting surface—and a portion of a second mounting surface—where the rear cover is coupled to the second mounting surface. The first metal may be a titanium alloy, and the second metal may be an aluminum alloy.

[0026] A wall segment may be a first wall segment, a portion of a side surface may be a first portion of a side surface, a portion of a first flange may be a first portion of a first flange, a portion of a second flange may be a first portion of a second flange, and a housing may additionally include a second wall segment. The second wall segment may include a second cladding portion formed of a first metal, and the second cladding portion defines a second portion of a side surface of an electronic device, a second portion of a first flange, and a second portion of a second flange. The housing may additionally include a second core portion formed of a second metal and fused to the second cladding portion. The housing may additionally include a molded polymer member positioned between the first wall segment and the second wall segment and defining a third portion of a side surface of an electronic device. The molded polymer member may additionally define a third portion of a first flange and a third portion of a second flange.

[0027] A mobile phone may include an enclosure comprising a housing component and a front cover coupled to the housing component and defining the front outer surface of the mobile phone. The mobile phone may further include a display located below the front cover and a sensor module located below a front sensor area of ​​the front cover and comprising a biometric detection system. The biometric detection system may include a first lens, a light emitter located below the first lens and configured to emit light onto an object, a second lens, and a light sensor located below the second lens and configured to capture an image of the object. The sensor module may further include a proximity detection system located between the first lens of the biometric detection system and the second lens of the biometric detection system.

[0028] The optical sensor may be a first optical sensor, the light emitter may be a first light emitter, and the proximity detection system may include a first light guide, a second light emitter located below the first light guide and configured to emit light into the first light guide, a second light guide, and a second optical sensor located below the second light guide and configured to receive light from the second light guide. The light emitted by the first light emitter may include a pattern of infrared light, the first optical sensor may be configured to capture an image of an object while the object is illuminated by a pattern of infrared light, the biometric detection system may be configured to authenticate a user based on the image captured by the first optical sensor, and the proximity detection system may be configured to detect the proximity of a mobile phone to the user's face.

[0029] The sensor module may further include a molded housing member defining a first hole, a second hole, and a third hole, and a first light guide may be located within the first hole, a second light guide may be located within the second hole, and a first lens may be located within the third hole. The molded housing member may further define a light blocking wall located between a second light emitter and a second light sensor.

[0030] The first light emitter may be configured to project a dot pattern onto an object through a first lens, and the biometric detection system may further include a third light emitter located below the first lens and configured to illuminate the object with a flood of light through the first lens. The sensor module may further include a molded housing member defining a light blocking wall located between the third light emitter and the second light sensor. The light blocking wall may be further located between the second light emitter and the light sensor.

[0031] A portable electronic device may include a housing component and a front cover assembly coupled to the housing component. The front cover assembly may include a front cover defining a display area and a front sensor area at least partially enclosed by the display area, and a display located below the display area. The portable electronic device may further include a sensor module located below the front sensor area, wherein the sensor module includes a housing member, a lens coupled to the housing member, a first light emitter located below the lens and configured to emit a first light through the lens, a first light guide coupled to the housing member, a second light emitter located below the first light guide and configured to emit a second light through the first light guide, a second light guide coupled to the housing member, and a light sensor located below the second light guide and configured to receive a reflected portion of the second light. The housing member may define a light blocking wall located between the first light emitter and the light sensor.

[0032] A portable electronic device may be configured to detect the proximity of an object to the portable electronic device based at least partially on information from a light sensor. A first light emitter may be configured to project a dot pattern onto a user's face, and the portable electronic device may additionally be configured to determine a depth map of the user's face using the dot pattern projected onto the user's face and to authenticate the user based at least partially on the depth map of the user's face.

[0033] The housing member may define a first hole and a second hole, and the first light guide may be located within the first hole and the second light guide may be located within the second hole. The housing member may be formed of an optically opaque material, the first light guide may be formed of a first optically transparent material, and the second light guide may be formed of a second optically transparent material.

[0034] The electronic device may include a housing component, a front cover coupled to the housing component and defining a display area and a front sensor area enclosed by the display area, a display defining a hole extending through it—the hole being located below the front sensor area—and a front sensor module located below the front sensor area. The front sensor module may include a front camera and a biometric detection system located below the hole in the display and configured to illuminate a first object and capture an image of the first object through the front cover. The biometric sensor module may include a first light emitter configured to emit light onto the first object and a first light sensor configured to capture an image of the first object. The front sensor module may further include a proximity detection system comprising a second light emitter configured to emit light onto a second object and a second light sensor configured to receive a portion of the light reflected by the second object. The biometric detection system may be configured to authenticate a user based at least partially on an image of the first object.

[0035] The front sensor module may further include a housing member, a first light guide coupled to the housing member and positioned above a second light emitter, and a second light guide coupled to the housing member and positioned above a second light sensor. The front sensor module may further include a lens coupled to the housing member and positioned above the first light emitter.

[0036] The housing member may define a light blocking wall located between the second light emitter and the second light sensor. The hole may be a first hole, and the housing member may be formed as an integral polymer structure and may define a second hole and a third hole. The first light guide may be located within the second hole, and the second light guide may be located within the third hole.

[0037] A portable electronic device may include a housing component—the housing component defines a side outer surface of the portable electronic device and a front cover assembly coupled to the housing component, the front cover assembly includes a front cover defining a front outer surface of the portable electronic device and an inner surface opposite to the front outer surface—a display stack attached to the inner surface of the front cover, a support frame coupled to the display stack and defining a plurality of interlocking features, and a molded frame member coupled to the inner surface of the front cover and extending at least partially around the periphery of the display stack, wherein the molded frame member encloses at least a portion of the support frame and interlocks with the plurality of interlocking features.

[0038] The support frame may include a metal structure bonded to the display stack. The support frame may define a flange extending outwardly from the periphery side of the display stack. A plurality of interlocking features include a set of holes formed through the flange.

[0039] The front cover assembly may additionally include a coating structure located on a peripheral portion of the inner surface of the front cover, and a molded frame member may be joined to the coating structure.

[0040] The display stack may include a flexible circuit element—the flexible circuit element defines a loop portion that extends from the side of the display stack and at least partially surrounds the loop volume—and a molded frame member may conform to the outer surface of the loop portion and fill the loop volume. The molded frame member may be formed of a material having a cured wavelength range, and the loop portion may be optically transparent within the cured wavelength range.

[0041] A mobile phone may include a housing component, a front cover coupled to the housing component and defining an outer surface and an inner surface opposite to the outer surface, a display stack attached to the inner surface of the front cover, a support frame coupled to the display stack and defining a flange extending outwardly from the periphery side of the display stack, and a frame member formed of a molded polymer material, wherein the molded polymer material at least partially encapsulates the flange and defines an upper surface coupled to the front cover and a lower surface coupled to the housing component. The support frame may be formed of metal.

[0042] The flange may define a plurality of interlocking features, and the molded polymer material interlocks with the plurality of interlocking features. The plurality of interlocking features may include a set of holes formed through the flange. The molded polymer material may encapsulate at least a side of the display stack.

[0043] The mobile phone may further include an opaque coating structure positioned on a peripheral portion of the inner surface of the front cover and defining an opaque boundary around an active area of ​​the display stack, and a frame member may be bonded to the opaque coating structure. The frame member may be bonded to a first portion of the opaque coating structure, and a portion of the display stack may be bonded to a second portion of the opaque coating structure.

[0044] A portable electronic device may include a housing component defining a portion of the lateral outer surface of the portable electronic device, and a mounting surface within an internal volume portion of the portable electronic device. The portable electronic device may further include a front cover assembly comprising a front cover coupled to the housing component and defining an outer surface and an inner surface opposite to the outer surface, a display stack coupled to a first portion of the inner surface of the front cover, and a coating structure located on a second portion of the inner surface of the front cover, wherein the second portion extends around the periphery of the first portion. The second portion may include an opaque mask coupled to the front cover and an outer layer coupled to the opaque mask. The front cover assembly may further include a molded frame member bonded to the outer layer of the coating structure and at least partially encapsulating the periphery side of the display stack, wherein the molded frame member is adhered to the mounting surface of the housing component to bind the front cover to the housing component. The outer layer may include a transparent coating layer.

[0045] The molded frame member can be bonded to a first part of the outer layer of the coating structure, and the display stack can be bonded to a second part of the outer layer of the coating structure.

[0046] The front cover assembly may further include a support frame that is coupled to a display stack and defines a plurality of interlocking features, and the molded frame member may encapsulate at least a portion of the support frame and interlock with the plurality of interlocking features.

[0047] The display stack may include flexible circuit elements—the flexible circuit elements extend from the side of the display stack—and the molded frame member may rigidly encapsulate the loop portion. The molded frame member may include a photocurable polymer material that absorbs light within a wavelength range, and the loop portion may be optically transparent within a wavelength range.

[0048] A mobile phone may include an enclosure defining a front outer surface of the mobile phone, a rear outer surface of the mobile phone, and a side outer surface of the mobile phone. The enclosure may include a front cover assembly defining the front outer surface of the mobile phone, and a housing component coupled to the front cover assembly and defining the side outer surface of the mobile phone. The mobile phone may further include an audio output system configured to generate an audible alarm in response to the mobile phone receiving an incoming call, a momentary ringer-control button located along the side outer surface of the housing component, and a processing system, wherein the processing system is configured to transition the mobile phone to a second ringer mode in response to detecting operation of the momentary ringer-control button while the first ringer mode of the mobile phone is active, and to transition the mobile phone to the first ringer mode in response to detecting operation of the momentary ringer-control button while the second ringer mode of the mobile phone is active.

[0049] In the first ringtone mode, the audio output system generates an audible alarm in response to the mobile phone receiving an incoming call, and in the second ringtone mode, the audio output system does not generate an audible alarm in response to the mobile phone receiving an incoming call.

[0050] The mobile phone may further include a first volume button located along the side outer surface of the housing component and configured to increase the volume of the mobile phone's audio output, and a second volume button located along the side surface of the housing component and configured to decrease the volume of the mobile phone's audio output.

[0051] A front cover assembly may include a front cover defining a main display area, a front sensor area surrounded by the main display area, and a supplementary display area within the front sensor area. A processing system may additionally be configured to display a graphic element of a second ringtone mode in the supplementary display area in response to detecting the operation of a momentary ringtone control button while the first ringtone mode of the mobile phone is active. The mobile phone may additionally include a display under the front cover, and the display may be operable in a first state in which a graphic output is displayed in the main display area, and in a second state in which a graphic output is not displayed in the main display area. A graphic element may be displayed in the supplementary display area when the display is operating in the first state and the second state.

[0052] The operation of the momentary ringtone control button may be a first operation of the momentary ringtone control button, the first operation may occur while the mobile phone is in a first ringtone mode, and transitioning between the first ringtone mode and the second ringtone mode may be a first device function, and the processing system may additionally be configured to initiate a second device function different from the first device function in response to detecting a second operation of the momentary ringtone control button while the mobile phone is in a second operation mode. The mobile phone may additionally include a camera, the second operation mode may be an image capture mode, and the second device function includes capturing an image with the camera.

[0053] A portable electronic device may include a touchscreen display, a wireless communication circuit, a battery, and an enclosure surrounding the touchscreen display, the wireless communication circuit, and the battery. The enclosure may include a front cover positioned over the touchscreen display and defining the front outer surface of the enclosure, and a housing component coupled to the front cover and defining the side outer surface of the enclosure, wherein the side outer surface extends from the front outer surface of the enclosure to the rear outer surface of the enclosure. The portable electronic device may further include a momentary button positioned along the side outer surface of the enclosure, wherein while the portable electronic device is in a first operating mode, the operation of the momentary button toggles between a first ringtone mode of the portable electronic device and a second ringtone mode of the portable electronic device, and while the portable electronic device is in a second operating mode different from the first operating mode, the operation of the momentary button may initiate a device function other than toggling between the first ringtone mode and the second ringtone mode.

[0054] When the portable electronic device is in a first ringtone mode, operation of the momentary button can transition the portable electronic device to a second ringtone mode, and when the portable electronic device is in a second ringtone mode, operation of the momentary button can transition the portable electronic device to a first ringtone mode. The portable electronic device may further include an audio output system configured to generate an audible alarm in response to the portable electronic device receiving an incoming call. In the first ringtone mode, the audio output system may generate an audible alarm in response to the portable electronic device receiving an incoming call, and in the second ringtone mode, the audio output system may not generate an audible alarm in response to the portable electronic device receiving an incoming call.

[0055] In response to transitioning to a second ringtone mode, the portable electronic device may display a graphic output indicating the second ringtone mode. The graphic output may be displayed by a touchscreen display. The front cover may define a main display area and a supplementary display area at least partially enclosed by the main display area, and the graphic output may be displayed in the supplementary display area when the main display area is inactive. The front cover may further define a front sensor area at least partially enclosed by the main display area, and the supplementary display area may be within the front sensor area, and the portable electronic device may further include a front camera located in the front sensor area.

[0056] A mobile phone may include a housing component defining a side surface of the mobile phone, a front cover coupled to the housing component, a display located below the front cover, a momentary button located along the side surface of the mobile phone, and a processing system. The processing system may be configured to transition the mobile phone from a first ringtone mode to a second ringtone mode and to display a first graphic element representing the second ringtone mode on the display in response to detecting a first operation of the momentary button while the first ringtone mode of the mobile phone is active. The processing system may additionally be configured to transition the mobile phone from a second ringtone mode to a first ringtone mode and to display a second graphic element representing the first ringtone mode on the display in response to detecting a second operation of the momentary button while the second ringtone mode of the mobile phone is active.

[0057] The front cover may define a main display area, a front sensor area surrounded by the main display area, and a supplementary display area within the front sensor area, and a first graphic element may be displayed in the supplementary display area. The display may be operable in a first state in which the display displays a graphic output in the main display area, and in a second state in which the main display area is empty, and the first graphic element may be displayed in the supplementary display area when the display is operating in the first state and when the display is operating in the second state.

[0058] The mobile phone may further include a first volume button located along the side surface of the mobile phone and configured to increase the volume of the audio output of the mobile phone, and a second volume button located along the side surface of the mobile phone and configured to decrease the volume of the audio output of the mobile phone.

[0059] The mobile phone may include a dome switch, and the operation of a momentary button may cause the dome switch to fold. The mobile phone may additionally include a haptic actuator configured to generate a haptic output, and the processing system may be configured to cause the haptic actuator to generate a haptic output upon a determination that the momentary button remains operated for a predetermined duration.

[0060] The electronic device may include a display and an enclosure. The enclosure may include a housing, a front cover comprising a front cover member coupled to the housing and positioned over the display, and a rear cover comprising a rear cover member coupled to the housing. The rear cover member may be formed of a glass material having a dielectric constant of 5.5 to 7.5 in a frequency band of 5 GHz to 45 GHz, comprising metal nanoparticles configured to impart color to the glass material. The rear cover member may include a first portion defining a first thickness and characterized by a first color, and a second portion defining a second thickness greater than the first thickness and characterized by a second color different from the first color. The rear cover may further include a coating disposed along the inner surface of the rear cover member. The first portion of the rear cover member may have an L* value of at least 90, and the L* difference between the first portion and the second portion of the rear cover member may be at least 10. The electronic device may further include a radio frequency antenna assembly configured to operate in a frequency band.

[0061] The electronic device may additionally include a rear camera array. A second portion of the rear cover member may define an array of holes, and each camera of the rear camera array may extend into each hole of the array of holes. A first portion of the rear cover member may define a first texture along the outer surface of the rear cover member, a second portion of the rear cover member may define a second texture along the outer surface of the rear cover member, and a third portion of the rear cover member may define a third texture different from the first texture and the second texture along the outer surface of the rear cover member. The third portion of the rear cover member may at least partially surround the first portion of the rear cover member, and the boundary between the third texture and the first texture defines the contour of the graphic. The third texture may have a root mean square height greater than the root mean square height of each of the first texture and the second texture. The area of ​​the coating inside the first portion of the rear cover member may have a number of color layers different from the number of color layers within the area of ​​the coating inside the third portion of the rear cover member.

[0062] The electronic device may include a housing defining a side surface of the electronic device, a front cover coupled to the housing defining a front surface of the electronic device and including a front cover member, and a rear cover coupled to the housing defining a rear surface of the electronic device. The rear cover may include a rear cover member formed of a colored glass material and having a dielectric constant of 5 to 6.5 in a frequency band of 5 GHz to 45 GHz—at least a portion of the rear cover member having an average transmittance to visible light greater than 35%—and a coating comprising a plurality of color layers disposed along the inner surface of the rear cover member. The electronic device may further include a display located under the front cover and an antenna element of a wireless communication system located under the rear cover. The average transmittance may be in the range of 65% to 90% over a wavelength range of 360 nm to 740 nm. A portion of the rear cover member may have a saturation value of at least 1.75.

[0063] A portion of the rear cover member may be a second portion having a second thickness and a second saturation value, and the rear cover member may further include a first portion having a first thickness smaller than the second thickness, an average transmittance for visible light greater than the average transmittance for visible light of the second portion, and a first saturation value smaller than the second saturation value. The rear cover member may further include a third portion that at least partially surrounds each of the first portion and the second portion and is visually distinct therefrom. The third portion of the rear cover member may have a gloss value lower than the gloss value of the first portion of the rear cover member. The first portion of the rear cover member and the first portion of the coating located below the first portion of the rear cover member may together at least partially define the graphic.

[0064] The electronic device may include a display, a rear camera array, and an enclosure. The enclosure may include a housing defining a side surface of the electronic device, a first cover defining a front surface of the electronic device—the first cover includes a first cover member positioned over the display—and a second cover defining a rear surface of the electronic device. The second cover may include a second cover member formed of tinted glass. A first portion of the second cover member may have a first L* value, and a second portion of the second cover member may have a second L* value smaller than the first L* value. The second portion of the second cover member may define an array of holes, and each camera of the rear camera array extends into each hole of the array of holes. The second cover may further include a coating disposed along the inner surface of the second cover member.

[0065] A second portion of the second cover member may have a transmittance to visible light of 90% or less. Each of the first and second portions of the second cover member may have a polished texture along the outer surface of the second cover member. The second cover member may further include a third portion that at least partially surrounds the first portion of the second cover member and defines a texture along the outer surface having a root mean square height greater than the root mean square height of the polished textures of the first and second portions of the second cover member. The first portion of the second cover member may have a first hue, and the coating may be configured such that a corresponding portion of the second cover has a second hue different from the first hue. The hue difference (ΔH*) between the first portion and the third portion of the second cover member may be less than 15 degrees. The first part of the second cover member may have a thickness greater than 0.3 mm and less than 0.75 mm, and the second part of the second cover member may have a thickness greater than 1 mm and less than or equal to 3 mm.

[0066] A mobile phone may include a front cover defining the front outer surface of the mobile phone, a rear cover defining the rear outer surface of the mobile phone, and a housing positioned between the front cover and the rear cover, wherein the housing includes a first housing component and a second housing component defining a hole that is coupled to and extends through the first housing component. The mobile phone may further include a connector module configured to be coupled to a charging cable through a hole in the second housing component, an antenna circuit portion conductively coupled to the first housing component and the second housing component, and a processing system, wherein the processing system is configured to cause the second housing component to operate as a first radiating element to the antenna circuit portion upon a determination that the connector module is uncoupled from the charging cable, and to cause the first housing component to operate as at least a part of the second radiating element to the antenna circuit portion upon a determination that the connector module is coupled to the charging cable and the operating conditions of the connector module are satisfied. The operating conditions of the connector module may correspond to communication operations between the mobile phone and an external device.

[0067] The mobile phone may further include an auxiliary conductive element that can be optionally coupled to a first housing component, and the processing system may further be configured to optionally coupled the auxiliary conductive element to the first housing component according to a determination that the connector module is coupled to a charging cable and the operating conditions of the connector module are satisfied. The first housing component and the auxiliary conductive element may form a second radiating element for an antenna circuit. The first radiating element may be configured to radiate within a specific frequency band, and the second radiating element may be configured to radiate within that specific frequency band. The mobile phone may further include a circuit board, and the auxiliary conductive element may be a conductive trace on the circuit board.

[0068] The housing may further include a third housing component formed of a molded polymer material, the third housing component may be positioned between the first housing component and the second housing component, and the first housing component, the second housing component, and the third housing component may each define a portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone.

[0069] The hole may be a first hole, and the first housing component may define a second hole extending through it. The mobile phone may further include a flexible circuit element and a speaker module. The speaker module may include a speaker comprising a speaker diaphragm and a speaker module housing that at least partially surrounds the speaker. The speaker module housing may define a first acoustic volume on a first surface of the speaker diaphragm, a second acoustic volume on a second surface of the speaker diaphragm, and a speaker port that acoustically couples the second acoustic volume to the second hole to emit sound through the second hole. The speaker module may further include a connector assembly coupled to the speaker module housing and conductively coupled an antenna circuit to the first housing component, wherein the connector assembly includes a first connecting element conductively coupled to the first housing component, a second connecting element conductively coupled to the antenna circuit, and a spring connector conductively coupled to at least one of the first connecting element or the second connecting element and conductively coupled to the antenna circuit.

[0070] A portable electronic device may include a housing comprising a first conductive housing component defining a first portion of the side outer surface of the portable electronic device, and a second conductive housing component defining a second portion of the side outer surface of the portable electronic device. The portable electronic device may further include an auxiliary conductive element optionally coupled to the first conductive housing component, and an antenna circuit coupled to the first conductive housing component, the second conductive housing component, and the auxiliary conductive element. The portable electronic device may further include a processing system, wherein, in a first operating mode, the processing system causes the first conductive housing component to operate as a radiating element for a first frequency band and causes the second conductive housing component to operate as a radiating element for a second frequency band, and in a second operating mode, the auxiliary conductive element is optionally coupled to the second conductive housing component and the second conductive housing component and the auxiliary conductive element are configured to use as radiating elements for the first frequency band.

[0071] The processing system may additionally be configured to disable the operation of the first conductive housing component as a radiating element for the first frequency band in a second operation mode.

[0072] The first conductive housing component may define a hole extending through it, and the portable electronic device may further include a connector module configured to be coupled to a charging cable through the hole within the first conductive housing component. In a first operation mode, the charging cable is uncoupled from the connector module, and in a second operation mode, the charging cable is coupled to the connector module.

[0073] The first frequency band may be a frequency lower than the second frequency band. The conductive length of the first conductive housing component may be longer than the conductive length of the second conductive housing component. The portable electronic device may further include a molded polymer structure located within the housing, and the auxiliary conductive element may be a metal member at least partially encapsulated within the molded polymer structure.

[0074] The portable electronic device may further include a molded polymer structure located within a housing and defining a first passage, a second passage, and a third passage. The portable electronic device may further include a first flexible circuit element coupled to a connector module and a sensor subassembly mounted on the molded polymer structure. The sensor subassembly may include a second flexible circuit element, a pressure sensor conductively coupled to the second flexible circuit element and flexibly coupled to the first passage, a pneumatic ventilation system flexibly coupled to the second passage, a microphone conductively coupled to the second flexible circuit element and flexibly coupled to the third passage, and a circuit board conductively coupling the first flexible circuit element to the second flexible circuit element.

[0075] A mobile phone may include a front cover assembly defining the front outer surface of the mobile phone, a rear cover assembly defining the rear outer surface of the mobile phone, and a housing subassembly coupled to the front cover assembly and the rear cover assembly. The housing subassembly may include a first conductive housing component defined to define a first portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone and configured to operate as at least a part of a first radiating element for an antenna array of the mobile phone, a second conductive housing component defined to define a second portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone and configured to operate as a second radiating element for an antenna array of the mobile phone, and a third conductive housing component defined to define a third portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone. A third conductive housing component may define a hole that is positioned between a first conductive housing component and a second conductive housing component and extends through it, and a first molded member may define a fourth portion of the side outer surface of a mobile phone that is positioned between a first conductive housing component and a third conductive housing component, and a second molded member may define a fifth portion of the side outer surface of a mobile phone that is positioned between a second conductive housing component and a third conductive housing component. The mobile phone may additionally include a connector module configured to be coupled to a charging cable through a hole in the third conductive housing component. A first conductive housing component may define a first corner of a housing subassembly, and a second conductive housing component may define a second corner of a housing subassembly.

[0076] The first conductive housing component may be configured to operate as a first part of the first radiating element, and the mobile phone may further include an auxiliary conductive element coupled to the first conductive housing component and configured to operate as a second part of the first radiating element. The conductive length of the first radiating element may be longer than the conductive length of the second radiating element. The auxiliary conductive element may be at least partially encapsulated within the first molded member. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0077] The present disclosure will be easily understood from the following detailed description together with the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference numerals indicate similar structural elements. FIGS. 1A and FIGS. 1B illustrate exemplary electronic devices. FIGS. 1C and FIGS. 1D illustrate other exemplary electronic devices. Figure 2 illustrates an exploded view of an exemplary electronic device. Figure 3 illustrates an exploded view of an exemplary electronic device. FIG. 4a illustrates a partial exploded view of an exemplary electronic device. FIG. 4b shows an exploded view of the housing structure of an exemplary electronic device. FIG. 4c illustrates an exemplary rear cover assembly of an exemplary electronic device. FIG. 4d illustrates a housing structure of an exemplary electronic device. FIG. 4e illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of an exemplary electronic device. FIGS. 4f and FIGS. 4g illustrate partial cross-sectional views of a housing component of an exemplary electronic device. FIG. 4h illustrates a part of the housing structure of an exemplary electronic device. FIGS. 5a through 5g illustrate partial cross-sectional views of housing components of exemplary electronic devices. Figure 6 illustrates a part of an exemplary electronic device. FIG. 7a illustrates an exemplary front sensor module of an electronic device. FIG. 7b shows a perspective view of the front sensor module of FIG. 7a. FIG. 7c shows a side view of the front sensor module of FIG. 7a. FIG. 7d illustrates a portion of the bottom surface of a front cover assembly of an exemplary electronic device. FIGS. 7e and FIGS. 7f illustrate partial cross-sectional views of the front sensor module of FIG. 7a. FIG. 7g shows a bottom view of a part of the front sensor module of FIG. 7a. FIGS. 8a to 8c illustrate a portion of a front cover assembly having a front sensor. FIGS. 9a to 9c illustrate a portion of a front cover assembly having a front sensor. FIG. 10a illustrates a portion of an exemplary electronic device having antennas. FIG. 10b illustrates a part of the electronic device of FIG. 10a. FIG. 10c illustrates a portion of an exemplary electronic device having antennas. FIG. 10d illustrates a portion of a front cover assembly having a conductive member for an antenna. FIG. 10e illustrates a portion of an exemplary electronic device having antennas. FIGS. 10f through 10h illustrate exemplary electronic devices having housing components joined by a joint structure. FIGS. 11a and FIGS. 11b illustrate an exemplary connector module of an electronic device. FIG. 11c illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of an electronic device having an exemplary connector module. Figure 12 illustrates a part of an electronic device. FIGS. 13a through 13f illustrate exemplary graphic outputs on the display of an electronic device. FIGS. 14a and FIGS. 14b illustrate partial cross-sectional views of a front cover assembly of an electronic device. FIGS. 14c and FIGS. 14d illustrate parts of exemplary flange configurations for a front cover assembly of an electronic device. FIGS. 14e through 14g illustrate parts of an exemplary front cover assembly of an electronic device. FIG. 15a illustrates a partial exploded view of an exemplary electronic device. FIG. 15b shows an exploded view of an exemplary sensor subassembly. FIG. 15c illustrates an exemplary speaker module. FIG. 16a shows a front view of an exemplary front cover assembly of an electronic device. FIGS. 16b and FIGS. 16c are partial cross-sectional views of the front cover assembly of FIG. 16a. FIG. 17a shows a partial exploded view of an electronic device having a rear sensor array. FIG. 17b shows a partial cross-sectional view of the electronic device of FIG. 175a. FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary rear cover of an electronic device. FIG. 19a illustrates an exemplary partial cross-sectional view of a rear cover. Figure 19b shows an enlarged view of the details of Figure 19a, 19B-19B. FIG. 19c illustrates another exemplary partial cross-sectional view of the rear cover. FIG. 19d illustrates another exemplary partial cross-sectional view of the rear cover. FIG. 19e illustrates another exemplary partial cross-sectional view of the rear cover. FIG. 20 schematically illustrates dielectric constant values ​​for a set of colored glass compositions suitable for use in rear cover members. FIG. 21 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary electronic device. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0078] Now, reference to representative embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings will be made in detail. It should be understood that the following descriptions are not intended to limit the embodiments to a single preferred embodiment. On the contrary, alternatives, modifications, and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the described embodiments as defined by the appended claims are intended to be included.

[0079] A mobile phone as described in this specification may include complex, sophisticated components and systems that facilitate a number of functions. For example, a mobile phone according to the present disclosure may include touch-sensitive and / or force-sensitive displays, a number of cameras (including both a front camera and a rear camera), a GPS system, haptic actuators, a wireless charging system, and all necessary computing components and software to operate these (and other) systems and otherwise provide functions of the mobile phone.

[0080] FIGS. 1a and FIGS. 1b illustrate an exemplary electronic device (100) implemented as a mobile phone. FIG. 1a illustrates the front of the device (100), while FIG. 1b illustrates the back of the device. Although the device (100) is a mobile phone, the concept set forth herein may be applied to any suitable electronic device including a portable electronic device, a wearable device (e.g., a watch), a laptop computer, a handheld gaming device, a tablet computer, a computing peripheral (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a keyboard), or any other device. Accordingly, any reference to "electronic device" includes any of the foregoing.

[0081] The electronic device (100) includes a cover (102) (e.g., a front cover) attached to a housing (104) (which may include a housing structure defined by one or more housing components). The cover (102) may be positioned over a display (103). The cover (102) may be a sheet or sheet-like structure formed from or comprising a transparent or optically transparent material. The cover (102) may define the front outer surface of the device and the inner surface opposite to the outer surface. In some cases, the cover (102) may be formed from or comprising a glass material and thus may be referred to as a glass cover member. The glass material may be a silica-based glass material, aluminosilicate glass, boroaluminosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass (e.g., lithium aluminosilicate glass), or chemically strengthened glass. Other exemplary materials for the cover (102) include, without limitation, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass material, or plastic (e.g., polycarbonate). The glass ceramic material may be a silica-based glass ceramic material, such as an aluminosilicate glass ceramic material or a boroaluminosilicate glass ceramic material. The glass ceramic material may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. 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.

[0082] The display (103) may be located at least partially within the internal volume of the housing (104). The display (103) may be bonded to the cover (102), for example, through an adhesive or other bonding method. The display (103) may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, an active layer organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display, an organic electroluminescent (EL) display, an electrophoretic ink display, etc. The display (103) may be configured to display a graphic output, such as a graphic user interface, that a user can view and interact with. The graphic output may be displayed in a graphic active area (e.g., an active display area) of the display (103). The display (103) may also define a main display area that generally corresponds to a main front adjacent display area where a graphic user interface, images, videos, applications, and other graphic outputs may be displayed.

[0083] The device (100) may also include an ambient light sensor capable of determining the characteristics of the ambient light conditions surrounding the device (100). The device (100) may use information from the ambient light sensor to change, modify, adjust, or otherwise control the 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 ​​the display (103) (e.g., below a portion of the display that generates a graphic output). The ambient light sensor may transmit and / or receive light through the active area of ​​the display (103) to perform a sensing function.

[0084] The display (103) may include or be associated with one or more touch sensing and / or force sensing systems. In some cases, components of the touch sensing and / or force sensing systems are integrated with the display stack. For example, a touch sensing component, such as an electrode layer of a touch and / or force sensor, may be provided within a stack that includes the display component (and, optionally, is attached to or at least visible through the cover (102)). The touch sensing and / or force sensing systems may use any suitable type of sensing technology and touch sensing component, including capacitive sensors, resistive sensors, surface acoustic wave sensors, piezoelectric sensors, strain gauges, etc. The outer or external surface of the cover (102) may define an input surface of the device (e.g., a touch-sensitive and / or force-sensitive input surface). Both a touch sensing system and a force sensing system may be included, but in some cases, the device (100) includes a touch sensing system and does not include a force sensing system.

[0085] The device (100) may also include a front camera (106). The front camera (106) may be located under the cover (102) or otherwise covered and / or protected by the cover (102). The front camera (106) may have any suitable operating parameters. For example, the front camera (106) may include a 12-megapixel sensor (having a pixel size of 1 micrometer) and a field of view of 80° to 90°. The front camera (106) f It may have an aperture value of / 1.9. The front camera (106) may include an autofocus function (e.g., one or more lens elements may move relative to the optical sensor to focus an image on the sensor). Other types of cameras may also be used for the front camera (106), such as a fixed-focus camera.

[0086] The front camera (106) (and other components) may be located within the front sensor area (111). The front sensor area (111) may be located within an island-like area on the front of the device (100) and may be surrounded by the display area of ​​the device (100) (e.g., the main display area). In some cases, as described herein, the front sensor area (111) may be located within or defined by one or more holes formed through the display (103). In such cases, the front sensor area (111) may be bordered on all sides by the active area or zone of the display (103). In other words, the front sensor area (111) may be completely surrounded by the active display area (e.g., the outer periphery of the front sensor area (111) may be surrounded by the active area of ​​the display). In some cases, the front sensor area (111) includes or is defined by one or more masks or other visually opaque component(s) or processing(s) that define an opening for the sensor of the front sensor area (111). The front sensor area (111) may include components such as an infrared illuminator module (107) (which may include a flood illuminator and a dot projector), an infrared image capture device (109), a component of a proximity detection system (123), and a front camera (106). The infrared illuminator module (107) is an example of a light emitter, and the infrared image capture device (109) is an example of an optical receiver.

[0087] The proximity sensing system (123) can determine the proximity of an object (e.g., a user's face) to the device (100). The device (100) can use information from the proximity sensing system (123) to change, modify, adjust, or otherwise control the display (103) or other functions of the device (100) (e.g., to disable the display when the device (100) is kept near the user's face during a phone call). The proximity sensing system (123) may be part of an integrated module that includes components of the illumination module (107) and the infrared image capture device (109), as well as the proximity sensing system (123). The proximity sensing system (123) may include a light emitter and a light receiver, each of which may be associated with its own light guide. The proximity sensing system (123) may estimate the distance between the device and a separate object or target using laser and time-of-flight calculations, or using other types of proximity sensing components or techniques.

[0088] In some cases, the front sensor area (111) is defined by or includes two holes formed through the display (103), such as a first hole for providing optical access to a front camera (106) and a second hole for providing access to an infrared illuminator module (107), an infrared image capture device (109), and a proximity detection system (123). A supplementary display area (115) may be located between the first hole and the second hole. The supplementary display area (115) may provide graphic output and touch and / or force detection functions to the front sensor area (111). For example, the supplementary display area (115) may be used to display graphic outputs such as lights, shapes, icons, or other elements (e.g., to provide notifications and / or information to the user). In some cases, the supplementary display area (115) may be visually distinguished from other active areas of the display so that the supplementary display area (115) does not appear to be part of the display. For example, a graphic output (e.g., a graphic user interface, an image, a video, etc.) displayed on the display (103) may not extend into the supplementary display area (115). In this case, the front sensor area (111) may be visually seen as a single continuous area of ​​the display, even though the display has two distinct holes separated by an active display area or zone. The touch sensing component of the display surrounding the supplementary display area (115) and optionally the front sensor area (111) may also include a touch and / or force sensing function so that a user can provide input to the device by touching the front sensor area (111). In some cases, a touch input applied at any location within the front sensor area (111) (e.g., even directly above the optical component) may be detected by the device.These and other features of the front sensor area (111) are described in this specification.

[0089] The device (100) may also include one or more buttons (e.g., button (120), and buttons (116, 118) of FIG. 1B), switches, and / or other physical input systems. Such input systems may be used for power state control (e.g., button (120)), speaker volume change (e.g., button (116)), switching between "ring" mode and "silent" mode (e.g., switch (118)), etc. Buttons (116, 118, 120) may include a strain sensing system that detects input to the buttons based on detected strain. Buttons (116, 118, 120) may also be associated with a haptic actuation system that generates a tactile output in response to the detection of strain satisfying conditions. Accordingly, for example, when a condition-satisfying strain (and / or an electrical parameter representing the condition-satisfying strain) is detected, the haptic actuation system may apply force to the button to generate a tactile output (e.g., similar to a "click"). This tactile output or response may provide tactile feedback to the user to indicate that the input has been recognized by the device. In some cases, one or more of the buttons (116, 118, 120) may use a switch element, such as a foldable dome switch, to detect a button press. In some cases, one or more of the buttons (116, 118, 120) may use a touch sensing system, such as a capacitive touch sensing system, to detect the input. Other sensing techniques may also be used to detect input to the buttons. In some cases, a switch or other input device is used instead of one or more of the buttons.

[0090] The device (100) may also include a speaker port (110) for providing audio output to a user, for example, to the user's ear, during a voice call. The speaker port (110), which is an example of an audio port, may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiver port, or an earpiece in the context of a mobile phone. The speaker port (110) may be defined by an opening defined by the housing (104) along at least one side and by the cover (102) along at least the other side. In some cases, the 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 the speaker port (110). The speaker port (110) may not have a mesh or other cover coplanar with the front surface of the cover (102). In some cases, a protective grille or grate is positioned within the device (100) and within the audio path between the speaker and the speaker port (110) to prevent debris from entering the device (100). The protective grille or grate may be recessed against the front surface or front face of the cover (102).

[0091] The device (100) may also include a charging port (112) (e.g., for receiving a connector of a charging cable or power cable for providing power to the device (100) and charging the battery of the device (100)). The charging port (112) may receive a connector of any suitable design. In some cases, the charging port (112) receives a connector corresponding to a USB connector type, such as a USB-C connector. The charging port (112) may also be configured to transmit and / or receive data through a cable, for example, using USB or other communication protocols. The charging port (112) may be a connector module, such as the connector module (1100) described herein, or may include such a connector module.

[0092] The device (100) may also include an audio opening (114). The audio opening (114) may allow sound output from an internal speaker system (e.g., speaker system (224) of FIG. 2) to exit the housing (104). The device (100) may also include one or more microphones. In some cases, the microphone within the housing (104) may be acoustically coupled to the surrounding environment through the audio opening (114).

[0093] The housing (104) may be a multi-piece housing. For example, the housing (104) may be formed from a plurality of housing components (124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130) that are structurally joined to one another through one or more intermediate elements such as a joint structure (122) (e.g., 122-1 to 122-6). Together, the housing components (124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130) and the joint structure (122) may define a band-shaped housing structure that defines four side walls (and accordingly four outer side surfaces) of the device (100). Thus, both the housing components and the joint structure define a portion of the outer side surfaces of the device (100).

[0094] Housing components (124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130) may be formed of a conductive material (e.g., metal), and joint structures (122) may be formed of one or more polymer materials (e.g., glass-reinforced polymer). Joint structures (122) may include two or more molded elements that may be formed of different materials. For example, an inner molded element may be formed of a first material (e.g., polymer material), and an outer molded element may be formed of a second material different from the first material (e.g., a different polymer material). The materials may have different properties that can be selected based on the different functions of the inner and outer molded elements. For example, the inner molded element may be configured to provide 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 externally molded element may be configured to have a specific appearance, surface finish, chemical resistance, water-sealing function, etc., and its composition may be selected to prioritize these functions over mechanical strength. The joint structure (122) may be mechanically interlocked with the housing component to structurally join the housing component and form a structural housing assembly.

[0095] The housing component (124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130) may be formed as a clad structure comprising a plurality of 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 the outer surface of the housing component. The outer surface defined by the cladding portion may have a surface texture that produces a specific visual appearance and / or tactile sensation. For example, the surface texture may have a texture that produces diffuse reflection. The surface texture may be created by grinding, lapping, machining, ablation, blasting (e.g., sandblasting, bead blasting), etching (through mechanical etching, laser etching, chemical etching), or any other suitable texturing operation(s). 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 can be deposited on the housing component through plasma vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), etc.

[0096] The core portion of the housing component may be aluminum (e.g., aluminum alloy), and the cladding portion may be titanium (e.g., 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 of about 0.1 mm to about 1.0 mm.

[0097] 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 other titanium alloys. References to steel may include steel of various types and / or alloys, including but not limited to low-carbon steel, stainless steel, high-carbon steel, etc.

[0098] In some cases, one or more of the housing components (124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130) (or parts thereof) are configured to function 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 component as an antenna, feed and ground lines are conductively coupled to the housing component so that the housing component can be coupled to other antenna and / or communication circuits. The joint structure (122) may be substantially non-conductive to provide suitable separation and / or electrical insulation between the housing components (which can be used for tuning the radiating part, reducing capacitive coupling between the radiating part and other structures, etc.). In some cases, a supplementary antenna segment is conductively coupled to the housing component to change the antenna performance parameters of the housing component. The supplementary antenna segment may be coupled to the housing component through a switching circuit that allows the supplementary antenna segment to be selectively coupled or uncoupled from the housing component.

[0099] The device (100) may include various internal antenna elements configured to transmit and receive wireless communication signals through various regions of the housing (104). As illustrated in FIG. 1a, the device (100) may include an antenna window (129) that allows the passage of a radio frequency communication signal through a corresponding region of the housing (104).

[0100] The outer surface of the housing components (124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130) may have substantially the same color, surface texture, and overall appearance as the outer surface of the joint structure (122). In some cases, the outer surface of the housing components (124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130) and the outer surface of the joint structure (122) undergo at least one common finishing procedure, such as abrasive-blasting, machining, polishing, grinding, etc. Thus, the outer surfaces of the housing components and the joint 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 joint structure may undergo a two-stage blasting process to produce a target surface finish.

[0101] FIG. 1a also includes an exemplary coordinate system (101) that can define directions with reference to the device (100) (or other electronic device described herein). The coordinate system (101) defines a positive x direction, a positive y direction, and a positive z direction. Unless otherwise noted, references to the positive x, positive y, or positive z directions in this specification will generally be understood to refer to the coordinate system (101) of FIG. 1a and its relationship to the device (100). Negative x, y, and z directions will be understood to be opposite to the positive x, y, and z directions shown in the coordinate system of FIG. 1a.

[0102] FIG. 1b illustrates the back surface of the device (100). The device (100) may include a back or rear cover (132) that is coupled to a housing (104) and defines at least a portion of the outer rear surface of the device (100). The cover (102) (e.g., a front cover), the rear cover (132), and the housing (104) may define at least a portion of the enclosure of the device (100). The enclosure may define an internal volume where components of the device (100) are located. The rear cover (132) may be formed of or may include a transparent or optically transparent material. For example, the rear cover (132) may include a substrate formed of a glass material. The glass material may be a silica-based glass material, aluminosilicate glass, boroaluminosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass (e.g., lithium aluminosilicate glass), or chemically strengthened glass. Other exemplary materials for the back cover (132) include, without limitation, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass material, and plastic (e.g., polycarbonate). The glass ceramic material may be a silica-based glass ceramic material, such as an aluminosilicate glass ceramic material or a boroaluminosilicate glass ceramic material. The glass ceramic material may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange.

[0103] The rear cover (132) may be formed as a monolithic or integral sheet. The rear cover (132) may also be formed as a composite of multiple layers of different materials, coatings, and other elements. The rear cover (132) may include one or more decorative layers on the outer or inner surface of the substrate. For example, one or more coating layers 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 on the back surface of the device (100). The coating layer(s) may include sheets, inks, dyes, or a combination of these (or other) layers, materials, etc. In some cases, one or more of the coating layer(s) have a color that substantially matches the color of the housing (104) (e.g., the outer surface of the housing component and joint structure). In some cases, the material of the substrate of the rear cover (132) may be colored and may include one or more coatings that contribute to the colored appearance of the rear cover, as described in relation to the rear cover (154) of FIG. 1d. Additionally, the rear cover (132) may be formed of a dielectric material or may include the same (e.g., the rear cover (132) may be a dielectric material such as a glass material, a sapphire material, a polymer material, a glass ceramic material, etc.).

[0104] The device (100) may include a wireless charging system, thereby allowing the device (100) to be powered and / or its battery to be recharged by inductive (or other electromagnetic) coupling between the wireless charging system within the device (100) and a charger (e.g., a wireless charging accessory). In such a case, the rear cover (132) may be formed of a material that allows and / or facilitates wireless coupling between the charger and the wireless charging system.

[0105] The device (100) may also include a sensor array (141) comprising three cameras (e.g., as described herein and illustrated in FIG. 2) (e.g., a rear sensor array within a rear sensor array area). The sensor array (141) may be located within a sensor array area defined by a protrusion (151) within the rear cover of the device (100). The protrusion (151) may define a portion of the rear outer surface of the device (100) and may at least partially define a raised sensor array area of ​​the sensor array (141). In some cases, the protrusion (151) may be formed by attaching one piece of material (e.g., glass) to another piece of material (e.g., glass). In other cases, the rear cover (132) may include a monolithic structure, and the protrusion (151) may be part of the monolithic structure. For example, the rear cover (132) may include a monolithic glass structure (or glass ceramic structure or alkali-aluminosilicate structure, or other suitable material) that defines the surrounding area as well as the protrusion (151). In this case, the protrusion (151) may be an area of ​​increased thickness of the monolithic structure, or it may have the same or substantially the same thickness as the rest of the cover (e.g., the protrusion (151) may correspond to a recessed area along the inner surface of the monolithic structure or largely the opposite, so that the monolithic structure has a uniform thickness while also defining the protrusion (151)).

[0106] The first camera (142) has a 12-megapixel sensor, and 3x optical zoom and f It may include a telephoto lens having an aperture value of 2.8. In some cases, the first camera (142) has a telephoto lens having 5x optical zoom. The second camera (144) has a 48-megapixel sensor with sensor-shift image stabilization (optional, having a 3-layer sensor array) and fIt may include a wide-angle lens having an aperture value of / 1.7. The third camera (146) includes a 12-megapixel sensor, and a wide field of view (e.g., 120° FOV) and f It may include an ultra-wide angle camera having an aperture value of 2.2. One or more of the cameras of the sensor array (141) may also include lens-based optical image stabilization—whereby the lens is dynamically moved relative to a fixed structure within the device (100) to reduce the effect of “camera shake” or other movement on an image 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 the cameras may include an autofocus function in which one or more lens elements (and / or sensors) are movable to focus an image on the sensor.

[0107] The first camera (142) may include an image sensor with a pixel size of about 0.8 micrometers to about 1.4 micrometers. The second camera (144) may include an image sensor with a pixel size of about 1.6 micrometers to about 2.3 micrometers. The third camera (146) may include an image sensor with a pixel size of about 0.8 micrometers to about 1.4 micrometers.

[0108] The sensor array (141), together with the associated processor and software, may provide multiple image capture features. For example, the sensor array (141) may be configured to capture a full-resolution video clip of 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 of the pixels of the image sensor, or, alternatively, capturing an image using the maximum resolution of the camera (regardless of whether the maximum resolution is limited by hardware or software).

[0109] A captured video clip can be associated with a still image. In some cases, the user can select individual frames from the video clip as representative still images associated with the video clip. In this way, when the user takes a snapshot of the scene, the camera will actually record a short video clip (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds, etc.), and the user can select the exact frame from the video to use as a captured still image (in addition to simply viewing the video clip as a video).

[0110] The camera of the sensor array (141) may also have or provide a high-dynamic-range (HDR) mode, in which the camera captures an image with a greater dynamic range of light intensity than is captured when the camera is not in HDR mode. In some cases, the sensor array (141) automatically determines whether to capture an image in HDR mode or in non-HDR mode. Such a decision may be based on various factors such as ambient light in the scene, detected light intensity range, tone, or other optical parameters within the scene. An HDR image may be created by capturing multiple images using different exposures or different image capture parameters, respectively, and creating a composite image from the multiple captured images.

[0111] The camera of the sensor array (141) may also include a software-based color balance correction function. For example, if a flash (e.g., flash (148)) is used during image capture, the camera (and / or the associated processing function of the device (100)) may adjust the image to compensate for the difference in color temperature between the ambient light and the flash output within the image. Thus, for example, if the background of the image has a different color temperature from the foreground subject (e.g., because the foreground subject is illuminated by the flash output), the camera may correct the background and / or foreground of the image to produce a more consistent color temperature through the image.

[0112] The sensor array (141) may also include or be configured to operate in an object detection mode that facilitates a user selecting objects in a scene (and / or the device (100) automatically identifying objects in the scene) so that those objects are processed, displayed, or captured differently from other parts of the scene. For example, the user may select a human face in the scene (or the device (100) may automatically identify a human face in the scene), and the device (100) may focus on the human face while selectively blurring parts of the scene other than the human face. In particular, a single camera (e.g., a single lens and sensor) may be provided for features such as an HDR mode and an object detection mode.

[0113] The sensor array (141) may also include a depth sensing device (149) configured to estimate the distance between the device and a separate object or target. The depth sensing device (149) may estimate the distance between the device and a separate object or target using laser and time-of-flight calculations, or using other types of depth sensing components or techniques.

[0114] The device (100) may also include a flash (148) (e.g., a rear flash) configured to illuminate the scene to facilitate capturing an image with a camera of the sensor array (141). The flash (148) is configured to illuminate the scene to facilitate capturing an image with the sensor array (141). 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 light source(s) may be illuminated with a number of different lighting patterns, which, together with a lens positioned above the light source(s), can create different lighting fields on the subject or scene. For example, the light source may be divided into a number of illuminateable regions, wherein the illuminateable regions are positioned below different regions of the lens. When the first lighting pattern is active (e.g., one or more centrally illuminated regions), the emitted light can pass through the first region of the lens (e.g., the central region) and create a first lighting field (e.g., a relatively narrow light distribution corresponding to the field of view of a telephoto lens) on the subject or scene. When the second lighting pattern is active (e.g., one or more peripherally illuminated regions), the emitted light can pass through the second region of the lens (e.g., the peripheral region) and create a second lighting field (e.g., a relatively wide light distribution corresponding to the field of view of a wide-angle lens) on the subject or scene. The flash (148) may be configured to create two, three, or more different lighting fields corresponding to the field of view of each of the cameras of the sensor array (141).Accordingly, for example, the flash (148) can generate a first lighting field corresponding to the field of view of the first camera (142) (e.g., substantially the same or larger than it), a second lighting field corresponding to the field of view of the second camera (144) (e.g., substantially the same or larger than it), and a third lighting field corresponding to the field of view of the third camera (146) (e.g., substantially the same or larger than it).

[0115] The sensor array (141) may also include a microphone (150). The microphone (150) may be acoustically coupled to an external environment through a hole defined within the rear cover of the device (100) (e.g., through a portion of the rear cover defining a protrusion (151)).

[0116] FIGS. 1C and FIGS. 1D illustrate other exemplary electronic devices (140) implemented as mobile phones. The electronic device (140) may have many of the same or similar external components as the electronic device (100). Accordingly, the description and details of such components (e.g., displays, buttons, switches, housings, covers, charging ports, joint structures, etc.) from FIGS. 1A and FIGS. 1B apply equally to the corresponding components illustrated in FIGS. 1C and FIGS. 1D.

[0117] The device (140) may include a front sensor area (113) that generally corresponds to the front sensor area (111) of FIG. 1A. The front sensor area (113) may be located within an island-like area on the front of the device (140) and may be surrounded by a display area of ​​the device (140) (e.g., a main display area). In some cases, as described herein, the front sensor area (113) may be located within or defined by one or more holes formed through the display. In such cases, the front sensor area (113) may be bounded on all sides by an active area or zone of the display. In other words, the front sensor area (113) may be completely surrounded by an active display area (e.g., the outer periphery of the front sensor area (113) may be surrounded by an active area of ​​the display). In some cases, the front sensor area (113) includes or is defined by one or more masks or other visually opaque component(s) or processing(s) that define an opening for a sensor of the front sensor area (113). The front sensor area (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, a component of a proximity sensing system, and a front camera.

[0118] Although the device (100) of FIG. 1b is shown to include a sensor array (141) having three cameras, the device (140) as shown in FIG. 1d includes a sensor array (134) having two cameras (e.g., a rear sensor array within a rear sensor array area). The sensor array (134) may be located within a sensor array area defined by a protrusion (137) within the rear cover of the device (140). The protrusion (137) may have the same or a similar configuration as the protrusion (151) of FIG. 1b.

[0119] The device (140) may also include one or more rear devices that, as part of the sensor array (134), may include an ambient light sensor (ALS), a microphone (135), and / or a depth sensing device configured to estimate the distance between the device (140) and a separate object or target. The sensor array (134) may also include a plurality of cameras, such as a first camera (138) and a second camera (139). Thus, the sensor array (134) may include a camera array (which may include one or more cameras). The first camera (138) is a 12-megapixel sensor and an aperture value f It may include an ultra-wide-angle camera having a wide field of view (e.g., 120° FOV) optical stack of / 2.4. The second camera (139) is a 48.8 megapixel sensor and f It may include a wide-angle camera having an aperture value of / 1.6. In some cases, the sensor array (134) may have an aperture value (e.g., in addition to the first and second cameras (138, 139), or instead of one of the first or second cameras) f / 2.0 to fIt may include a telephoto lens having a 12-megapixel sensor having a 3x optical zoom optical stack with a range of 2.8. One or more of the cameras of the sensor array (134) (e.g., cameras (138, 139)) may also include optical image stabilization, thereby dynamically moving the lens relative to a fixed structure within the device (140) to reduce the effect of "camera shake" on the image captured by the camera. The camera(s) may also perform optical image stabilization by moving the image sensor relative to the fixed lens or optical assembly. One or more of the cameras may include an autofocus function movable so that one or more lens elements (and / or sensors) focus an image on the sensor. The sensor array (134) may also include a flash (136) (e.g., a rear flash). The flash (136) may include a multi-segment LED, a single LED, or other light-emitting component.

[0120] As illustrated in FIG. 1d, the camera of the sensor array (134) may be positioned diagonally with respect to the protrusion (137) (e.g., raised sensor array). For example, the first hole may extend through the rear cover (132) at a position close to the first corner area of ​​the sensor array (134), and the first camera (138) may be positioned at least partially within the first hole, and the second hole may extend through the rear cover (132) at a position close to the second corner area diagonally from the first corner area of ​​the sensor array (134), and the second camera (139) may be positioned at least partially within the second hole. Thus, the first and second holes, and the corresponding first and second cameras, may be positioned along a diagonal path from the first corner to the second corner of the sensor array (134).

[0121] The second camera (139) may have an image sensor with a pixel size of about 1.5 micrometers to about 2.0 micrometers, and the first camera (138) may have an image sensor with a pixel size of about 0.8 micrometers to about 1.4 micrometers. If a camera having a telephoto lens is provided, it may have an image sensor with a pixel size of about 0.8 micrometers to about 1.4 micrometers.

[0122] Other details regarding the sensor array, individual cameras of the sensor array, and / or flash described in relation to the device (100) may be applicable to the sensor array, individual cameras, and / or flash of the device (140), and such details will not be repeated here to avoid duplication.

[0123] Referring to FIG. 1d, the device (140) may include a back or rear cover (154) that is coupled to the housing (153) and defines at least a portion of the outer rear surface of the device (140). The rear cover (154) may be formed of or may include an optically transparent material. The optically transparent material may be colored, and in some cases may be a colored glass material. The color of the optically transparent material may be characterized by one or more color space coordinates, which in some cases may be a saturation value.

[0124] The rear cover (154) may comprise a substrate formed of an optically transparent glass material—alternatively referred to herein as a rear cover member. The glass material may be a silica-based glass material, such as aluminosilicate glass, boroaluminosilicate glass, or alkali metal aluminosilicate glass (e.g., lithium aluminosilicate glass). Other examples of optically transparent materials for the rear cover (154) include, without limitation, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass material, and plastic (e.g., polycarbonate). The glass ceramic material may be a silica-based glass ceramic material, such as an aluminosilicate glass ceramic material or a boroaluminosilicate glass ceramic material. The glass or glass ceramic material may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. The rear cover (154) may be formed as a monolithic or integral sheet. The rear cover (154) may also be formed as a composite of multiple layers of different materials, coatings, and other elements.

[0125] In some examples, the outer surface of the rear cover may define different textures in different areas of the cover. In some cases, the different textures may 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 the matte and glossy effects can be used to define graphics, words, images, logos, etc. For example, a visible logo may be defined by a glossy area (of the logo shape) surrounded by a matte area.

[0126] 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, e.g., color, of the back cover (154). For example, the coating along the inner surface of the substrate may include one or more color layers. The color layers may include a coloring agent such as a pigment or dye and may have a distinct hue or be close to a neutral color. In some examples, the color layers may include a polymer binder, which may be polyester-based, epoxy-based, urethane-based, or based on other suitable types of polymers or copolymers. Alternatively, or additionally, the coating may include one or more opaque layers applied to the inner surface of the substrate (or otherwise located along the inner surface of the substrate) to provide a specific appearance on the back surface of the device (140). The opaque layer(s) may include a sheet, ink, dye, or a combination 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 the optically transparent material defining the back cover substrate) together define the apparent color of the back surface of the device (140).

[0127] In some cases, the coating on the rear cover and / or the material of the rear cover (154) itself exhibits a color that substantially matches the color of the housing (153) (e.g., the outer surface of the housing component and joint structure). In such cases, the coating on the rear cover and the material of the rear cover may have a substantially matching color or a different color.

[0128] The coating along the outer surface of the substrate may be an anti-stain (e.g., oleophobic) coating. The device (140) may include a wireless charging system, thereby allowing the device (140) to be powered and / or its battery to be recharged by inductive (or other electromagnetic) coupling between the wireless charging system within the device (140) and a charger (e.g., a wireless charging accessory). In such a case, the rear 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.

[0129] The device (140) may also include one or more buttons (e.g., button (152) in FIG. 1c and buttons (156, 157) in FIG. 1d), a switch, and / or other physical input systems. Such input systems may be used for power state control (e.g., button (152)), speaker volume change (e.g., button (156)), switching between "ring" mode and "silent" mode (e.g., switch (157)), etc. The buttons (152, 156, 157) may include a strain sensing system that detects input to the buttons based on detected strain. The buttons (152, 156, 157) may also be associated with a haptic actuation system that generates a tactile output in response to the detection of strain satisfying conditions. Accordingly, for example, when a condition-satisfying strain (and / or an electrical parameter representing the condition-satisfying strain) is detected, the haptic actuation system may apply force to the button to generate a tactile output (e.g., similar to a "click"). This tactile output or response may provide tactile feedback to the user to indicate that the input has been recognized by the device. In some cases, one or more of the buttons (152, 156, 157) may use a switch element, such as a foldable dome switch, to detect a button press. In some cases, one or more of the buttons (152, 156, 157) may use a touch sensing system, such as a capacitive touch sensing system, to detect the input. Other sensing techniques may also be used to detect input to the buttons. In some cases, a switch or other input device is used instead of one or more of the buttons.

[0130] FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of an exemplary electronic device. In particular, FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of a device (200) illustrating various components of the device (200) and an exemplary arrangement and configuration of the components. The device (200) may be an embodiment of the device (100), and the description of various components and elements of the device (100) in FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b may also be applicable to the device (200) illustrated in FIG. 2. Redundant descriptions of some of the components are not repeated in this specification for clarity.

[0131] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the device (200) includes a cover (202) (e.g., a front cover) which may be formed of or include a transparent or optically transparent material. In some cases, the cover (202) is formed of or includes a glass material and may thus be referred to as a glass cover member. The glass material may be a silica-based glass material, an aluminosilicate glass, a boroaluminosilicate glass, an alkali metal aluminosilicate glass (e.g., lithium aluminosilicate glass), or a chemically strengthened glass. Other exemplary materials for the cover (202) include, without limitation, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass material, and plastic (e.g., polycarbonate). The cover (202) may be formed as a monolithic or integral sheet. The cover (202) may also be formed as a composite of multiple layers of different materials, coatings, and different elements. In this example, the cover (202) may be formed from a glass ceramic material. The glass ceramic material may include both an amorphous phase and a crystalline or non-amorphous phase of one or more materials and may be formulated to improve the strength or other properties of the cover (202). The glass ceramic material may be a silica-based glass ceramic material, such as an aluminosilicate glass ceramic material or a boroaluminosilicate glass ceramic material. The glass ceramic material may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. In some cases, the cover (202) may include a sheet of chemically strengthened glass or glass ceramic having one or more coatings, including an anti-reflective (AR) coating, an oleophobic coating, or other types of coatings or optical treatments. In some cases, the cover (202) includes a sheet of material with a thickness of less than 1 mm. In some cases, the sheet of material is less than 0.80 mm. In some cases, the sheet of material is approximately 0.60 mm or less.The cover (202) can be chemically reinforced using an ion exchange process to form a compressive stress layer along the outer surface of the cover (202).

[0132] The cover (202) extends substantially over the entire front surface of the device and may be positioned within an opening defined by the housing structure (210). As described in more detail below, the edge or side of the cover (202) may be surrounded by a protective flange or lip of the housing structure (210) without a gap component between the edge of the cover (202) and the respective flange of the housing structure (210). This configuration may allow an impact or force applied to the housing structure (210) to be transmitted to the cover (202) without directly transmitting shear stress through the display (203) or frame (204).

[0133] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the display (203) is coupled to the inner surface of the cover (202). The display (203) may include an edge-to-edge organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display with corner-to-corner dimensions of 16.97 cm (6.69 inches) (or corner-to-corner dimensions of 6.12 inches). The periphery or inactive area of ​​the display (203) may be reduced to allow a very thin device boundary around the active area of ​​the display (203). In some cases, the display (203) allows a boundary area of ​​1.5 mm or less. In some cases, the display (203) allows a boundary area of ​​1 mm or less. In one exemplary embodiment, the boundary area is approximately 0.9 mm. The display (203) may have a relatively high pixel density of approximately 460 pixels / inch (PPI) or more. The display (203) can use a low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) or low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) backplane.

[0134] The display (203) may have an integrated (on-cell) touch sensing system. For example, an array of electrodes (or other touch sensing components) integrated within an OLED display may be time- and / or frequency-multiplexed to provide both display and touch sensing functions. The electrodes may be configured to detect the location of a touch, gesture input, multi-touch input, or other type of touch input along the outer surface of the cover (202). In some cases, the display (203) includes other types of display elements, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), without an integrated touch sensing system. That is, the device (200) may include one or more touch sensing and / or force sensing components or layers located between the display (203) and the cover (202).

[0135] The display (203), also referred to as a display stack, may include an always-on-display (AOD) function. For example, the display (203) may be configured to allow a designated area or subset of pixels to be displayed when the device (200) is turned on, so that graphic content may be visible to the user even when the device (200) is in low power or sleep mode. This may allow the time, date, battery status, recent notifications, and other graphic content to be displayed in low power or sleep mode. Such graphic content may be referred to as continuous or always-on graphic output. While some battery power may be consumed when displaying continuous or always-on graphic output, the power consumption is typically less than during normal or maximum power operation of the display (203). This function may be made possible by operating only a subset of display pixels and / or at a reduced resolution to reduce power consumption by the display (203).

[0136] The display (203) may include a plurality of layers, such as a touch sensing layer or component, an optional force sensing layer or component, a display layer, etc. The display (203) may define a graphic active area where a graphic output can be displayed. In some cases, a portion of the display (203) may include a graphic inactive area, such as a portion of a display layer that does not include an active display component (e.g., a pixel) or is not otherwise configured to display a graphic output. In some cases, the graphic inactive area may be located along the peripheral boundary or other edge of the display stack (203).

[0137] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the device (200) may also include a molded frame member (204), simply referred to as a molded frame (204), which is located under the cover (202) and extends around at least the outer periphery of the display (203). The molded frame (204) may encapsulate at least partially the edge of the display (203) and may define a structural feature that provides strength and rigidity to the cover (202) and the display (203) and serves as a mounting structure for attaching the cover (202) to a housing (e.g., a housing structure (210)).

[0138] A molded frame (204) can be manufactured by molding a moldable material onto a subassembly comprising a cover (202), a display (203), and optionally other structural components. The subassembly may be positioned in a mold or other fixture, and a fluid material may be introduced into a mold cavity so that the fluid material flows around the edge of the display (203), contacts the inner surface of the cover (202), and optionally engages with other components of the subassembly (e.g., a back plate that covers the display (203) and acts as a shielding and / or support structure for the display and the cover). Subsequently, the fluid material is cured to form a molded frame (204). As a result of curing, the molded frame (204) (e.g., an overmolded frame) will be secured to the display (203), the cover (202), and other components of the subassembly (e.g., via mechanical interlocking and / or adhesive bonding).

[0139] The molded frame (204) may be attached to the lower or inner surface of the cover (202). A portion of the molded frame (204) may extend below the display (203) and attach the cover (202) to the housing structure (210). Since the display (203) is attached to the lower or inner surface of the cover (202), the molded frame (204) may also be described as attaching both the display (203) and the cover (202) to the housing structure (210).

[0140] The cover (202), the display stack (203), and the molded frame (204) may be part of the front cover assembly (201) of the device (200). The front cover assembly (201) (and, more specifically, the cover (202) of the front cover assembly (201)) may define the front outer surface of the device. The cover (202) may define the inner surface opposite the outer surface.

[0141] The front cover assembly (201) can be assembled as a sub-assembly and subsequently attached to a housing component. For example, as described herein, the display (203) can be attached to the cover (202) (e.g., via a transparent adhesive), and the molded frame (204) can be formed around the periphery of the display stack (203). Subsequently, the front cover assembly (201) can be attached to the housing component of the device (200) by mounting and bonding the molded frame (204) to a ledge defined by the housing component.

[0142] The device (200) also includes a speaker module (250) configured to output sound through a speaker port. The speaker port may be located within a recess of the cover (202) and / or at least partially defined by it. As described herein, a trim piece may be located at least partially within the recess to facilitate the output of sound, while also preventing the ingress of debris, liquid, or other materials or contaminants into the device (200). The output from the speaker module (250) may pass through an audio passage or acoustic path defined at least partially by the speaker module (250) itself and the trim piece. In some cases, a portion of the acoustic path (e.g., between the speaker module (250) and the trim piece) is defined by a housing structure (210) and / or by a molded material coupled to the housing structure (210). For example, a molded material (e.g., a fiber-reinforced polymer) may be molded against a metal part of a housing structure (210) (e.g., a housing component (213) described herein). The molded material may also form one or more intermediate elements (e.g., a joint structure (218)), such as a joint structure, that structurally join the housing components together. A port or passage (e.g., a tubular tunnel) may be defined through the molded material to acoustically bond the speaker module (250) to a trim piece and / or more generally to a recess, thereby directing sound from the speaker module (250) to the outside of the device (200).

[0143] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the device (200) also includes one or more cameras, light emitters, and / or sensing elements configured to transmit or receive signals or otherwise operate along the front surface of the device. In this example, the device (200) includes a front camera (206) comprising a high-resolution camera sensor. The front camera (206) has an 85° field of view and f It may have a 12-megapixel resolution sensor having an optical element that provides an aperture value of 1.9. The front camera (206) may include an autofocus function in which one or more of the lens elements move (e.g., up to about 100 micrometers perpendicular to the cover) to focus an image on the sensor of the camera. In some cases, the autofocusing front camera may provide a continuous autofocus function during video capture. The device (200) also includes an optical face recognition system (252) comprising an infrared illuminator (for light projection) and an infrared light sensor configured to detect an array of depth points or depth regions along the user's face. The array of depth points may be characterized as a unique signature or biometric identifier that can be used to identify and / or authenticate the user and unlock the device (200) (and / or authorize functions on the device (200), such as purchasing software apps or using payment functions provided by the device (200)).

[0144] The device (200) may also include one or more other sensors or components. For example, the device (200) may include a front light illuminator element for providing a flash or illumination for the front camera (206). The device (200) may also include an ambient light sensor (ALS) used to detect ambient light conditions to set the exposure mode of the front camera (206) and / or to control the operation of the display. The device (200) may also include a proximity sensing system (253) for detecting the proximity of a user or other object to the device (200). In some cases, as described herein, the proximity sensing system (253) detects the proximity of another object through an active area of ​​the display. The proximity sensing system (253) and the optical face recognition system (252) may be integrated into a common module. In some cases, information from both the proximity sensing system and the ambient light sensor is used to determine the ambient light conditions and / or the proximity of an object to the device (200). For example, information from a proximity sensing system can be used to determine whether the detection of low ambient light by an ambient light sensor is due to low ambient illumination or to an object locally or temporarily covering the ambient light sensor (e.g., a finger providing touch input or a palm during typing). Information from both sensing systems can be used to clarify the distinction between potentially ambiguous conditions and generally improve the accuracy with which the device can detect or sense specific conditions.

[0145] The display (203) may include one or more holes extending through the display to accommodate a front camera (206), a face recognition system (252), a proximity sensing system (253), and optionally other front sensors or other components. In some cases, the display (203) includes two holes, including a first hole for the front camera (206) and a second hole for the face recognition system (252) and the proximity sensing system (253). In some cases, the display (203) includes one hole (e.g., a single hole shared by the front camera (206) and the face recognition system (252)). In some cases, the display (203) includes three holes (e.g., a first hole for the front camera (206), a second hole for the emitter of the face recognition system (252) and optionally the proximity sensing system (253), and a third hole for the receiver of the face recognition system (252).

[0146] FIG. 2 also illustrates one or more cameras, light emitters, and / or sensing elements configured to transmit or receive signals or otherwise operate along the rear surface of the device. As illustrated in FIG. 2, these elements may be integrated within a sensor array (260). In this example, the sensor array (260) (or camera array) comprises a 12-megapixel sensor, and a 3x optical zoom (or 5x optical zoom) and f It includes a first camera (263) having a telephoto lens having an aperture value of 2.8. The sensor array (260) also includes a 48-megapixel sensor and an aperture value f It includes a second camera (262) having a wide-angle lens of 1.7. . The sensor array (260) also includes a 12-megapixel image sensor, and a wide field of view (e.g., 120° FOV) and f It includes a third camera (261) having an ultra-wide angle camera with an aperture value of 2.2. .The third camera (261) is also, f It may have an aperture value of / 2.4. The first, second, and third cameras may include lens-based or sensor-based image stabilization.

[0147] The sensor array (260) also includes a light illuminator that can be used as a flash for taking photos or as an auxiliary light source (e.g., a flashlight). In some cases, the sensor array (260) also includes a microphone, an ambient light sensor, and other sensors adapted to detect along the rear surface of the device (200).

[0148] The sensor array (260) may also include a depth sensing device (281) capable of estimating the distance to an object located behind the device (200) (which may be an embodiment of the depth sensing device (149) of FIG. 1b or any other depth sensing device described herein, or may correspond thereto). The depth sensing device (281) may include an optical sensor that uses time of flight or other optical effects to measure the distance between the device (200) and an external object. The depth sensing device (281) may include one or more light emitters adapted to emit one or more light beams that can be used to estimate the distance. In some cases, one or more light beams are coherent light beams having substantially uniform wavelengths / frequencies. Coherent light sources may facilitate depth measurement using time of flight, phase shifts, or other optical effects. In some cases, the depth sensing device (281) uses an acoustic output, a radio output, or other type of output that can be used to measure the distance between the device (200) and one or more external objects. The depth sensing device (281) may be positioned in close proximity to a window (271) (e.g., a rear cover (272) covering a component of the sensor array (260) or an area of ​​another component) through which the depth sensing device (281) can transmit and / or receive a signal (e.g., laser light, infrared light, visible light, etc.) through it.

[0149] As illustrated in FIG. 2, cameras (261, 262, 263) may each be aligned with camera covers (266, 267, 268). The covers (266, 267, 268) may be formed of glass or sapphire material and may provide a transparent (e.g., light-transmitting or optically transparent) window through which the cameras (261, 262, 263) can capture photographic images. In other cases, the covers (266, 267, 268) are optical lenses that filter, magnify, or otherwise adjust light received by each camera (261, 262, 263). Other sensing or transmitting elements of the sensor array (260) may transmit and / or receive signals through an area of ​​the rear cover (272) or through a separate cover coupled to the rear cover (272). As illustrated in FIG. 2, the covers (266, 267, 268) may extend across the outer surface of the cover (272) and define a recess along the inner surface of the cover (272), thereby allowing the lens or other element of the camera (261, 262, 263) to extend into each recess. In this way, the device (200) can accommodate the lens or other element of the camera (261, 262, 263) larger than would have been possible if the recess had not been provided. In some cases, a trim assembly (e.g., trim assembly (269)) may be coupled to the rear cover (272) and may support the covers (266, 267, 268).

[0150] The device (200) also includes a battery (230). The battery (230) provides power to the device (200) and its various systems and components. The battery (230) may include a 4.45 V lithium-ion battery embedded within a foil or other enclosure element (e.g., a pouch). The battery (230) may include a rolled electrode configuration, sometimes referred to as a "jelly roll," or a folded or stacked electrode configuration. The battery (230) may be attached to the device (200) (e.g., to the lower chassis section (219)) by one or more adhesives and / or other attachment techniques. In one example, the battery (230) may be attached to a lower chassis section (219) or other structure of the device (200) with a two-layer adhesive, wherein the first adhesive is bonded to the battery (230) and the second adhesive, and the second adhesive is bonded to the first adhesive and the lower chassis section (219) (or other structure of the device (200)). The first and second adhesives may have different properties, such as different stiffness (e.g., Young's modulus), different adhesive properties, etc. For example, in some cases, the first adhesive is configured to be bonded to the material of the battery (230) (e.g., with a bonding strength exceeding a threshold value), while the second adhesive is configured to be bonded to the lower chassis section (219) or other structure of the device (e.g., with a bonding strength exceeding a threshold value). In such a case, the first adhesive may not form a sufficiently strong bond with the lower chassis section (219) and the second adhesive may not form a sufficiently strong bond with the battery (230), but the first and second adhesives may form a sufficiently strong bond with each other. Thus, by using two different adhesives (e.g., of the described layered configuration) to ultimately secure the battery (230) to the lower chassis section (219), the overall strength and / or safety of the attachment may be greater than when a single adhesive is used.

[0151] The battery (230) may be recharged through a charging port (232) (e.g., from a charging cable plugged into the charging port (232) via a charging access opening (226)) and / or through a wireless charging system (240). The battery (230) may be coupled to the charging port (232) and / or the wireless charging system (240) through a battery control circuit that controls the power supplied to the battery and the power supplied to the device (200) by the battery. The battery (230) may include one or more lithium-ion battery cells or any other suitable type of rechargeable battery element. The charging port (232) may be or may include a connector module such as the connector module (1100) described herein.

[0152] A wireless charging system (240) may include a coil that is inductively coupled to the output or transmission coil of a wireless charger. The coil may provide current to the device (200) to charge the battery (230) and / or power the device. In this example, the wireless charging system (240) includes a coil assembly (242) comprising a plurality of wraps of conductive wire or other conduit configured to generate (charging) current in response to being placed within an inductive charging electromagnetic field generated by a separate wireless charging device or accessory. The coil assembly (242) also includes or is associated with an array of magnetic elements arranged in a circular or radial pattern. The magnetic elements may help position the device (200) relative to the separate wireless charging device or other accessory. In some embodiments, the array of magnets also helps position, orient, or "clock" the device (200) radially relative to the separate wireless charging device or other accessory. For example, an array of magnets may include a plurality of 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 individual orientations to help position the device (200) relative to a separate charging device or other accessory. This function may be described as self-alignment or self-positioning wireless charging. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the device (200) also includes a magnetic reference point (244) to help position a separate wireless charging device or accessory. In one example, the magnetic reference point (244) is adapted to magnetically couple to a separate wireless charging device or other accessory.By being coupled to a separate wireless charging device / accessory, the rotational alignment of the device (200) and the separate wireless charging device / accessory can be maintained for an absolute or single position. Additionally, by magnetically coupling the charging device / accessory to the rear surface of the device (200), the charging device or other accessory can be more firmly coupled to the device (200).

[0153] In some embodiments, 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 (200) and the wireless charger or other accessory. In some cases, the device (200) 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 regarding the state of the device, the amount of charge maintained by the battery (230), and / or control signals for increasing and / or decreasing the charge, or starting and / or stopping the charge for wireless charging operations.

[0154] The device (200) may also include a speaker system (224). The speaker system (224) may be located within the device (200) such that each port (235) is aligned with or otherwise close to the audio output of the speaker system (224). Thus, sound output by the speaker system (224) exits the housing structure (210) through each port (235). The speaker system (224) may include a speaker located within a housing that defines a speaker volume (e.g., an empty space in front of or behind a speaker diaphragm). The speaker volume may be used to tune the audio output from the speaker and, optionally, to mitigate destructive interference of the sound generated by the speaker.

[0155] The device (200) 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 produce 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 produce motion. The magnets may be recycled magnetic materials or may include them.

[0156] When the coil(s) are supplied with energy, the coil(s) can cause the mass to move, which results in force being applied to the device (200). The movement of the mass may be configured to cause a vibration, pulse, tap, or other tactile output detectable through the outer surface of the device (200). The haptic actuator (222) may be configured to move the mass linearly, but other movements (e.g., rotation) are also considered. Other types of haptic actuators may be used instead of or in addition to the haptic actuator (222).

[0157] The device (200) also includes a circuit board assembly (220). The circuit board assembly (220) may include a substrate and a processor, memory, and other circuit elements coupled to the substrate. The circuit board assembly (220) may include a plurality of circuit boards that are stacked and coupled to each other to maximize the available area for electronic components and circuits in a small form factor. The circuit board assembly (220) may include provisioning for a subscriber identification module (SIM). The circuit board assembly (220) may include electrical contacts and / or a SIM tray assembly for receiving a physical SIM card, or the circuit board assembly (220) may include provisioning for an electronic SIM. When an electronic SIM is used, the SIM tray may be omitted from the device (200) (e.g., the device may not include an opening, tray, slot, door, or other mechanical means for inserting or otherwise accessing the SIM card). The circuit board assembly (220) may be sealed wholly or partially to reduce the possibility of damage caused by the inflow of water or other fluids.

[0158] The circuit board assembly (220) may also include a wireless communication circuit that is coupled to (or part thereof) a housing component (211, 212, 213, 214, 215, or 216) to provide wireless communication and / or otherwise may use it as a radiating member. The circuit board assembly (220) may also include components such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a short-range communication circuit and / or an antenna, a compass, 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 a magnetic (or non-magnetic) signal generated by an accessory of the device (200) or another device. The output of the magnetometer may include a direction output that can be used to display a direction indication or other navigation guidance on the display (203) to guide the user toward the location of the accessory or other device.

[0159] The device (200) may also include one or more pressure transducers operable to detect changes in external pressure to determine changes in altitude or height. The pressure sensor may be externally port-formed and / or located within a watertight internal volume of the housing structure (210). The output of the pressure sensor may be used to track steps climbed, the location of a multi-layered structure (e.g., floor), movement performed during an activity to estimate physical effort or calorie expenditure, or other relative movement of the device (200). The pressure transducer may be located within a module (237) that fluidly communicates with the external environment through a port (225) within the housing structure (210). The module (237) may include additional components such as a microphone and a barometric vent (e.g., to allow pressure equalization between the internal and external environment of the device (200) while suppressing water inflow).

[0160] The circuit board assembly (220) may also include a Global Positioning System (GPS) electronic device that can be used to determine the position of the device (200) relative to one or more satellites (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) to estimate the absolute position of the device (200). In some embodiments, the GPS electronic device may be operated to use dual frequency bands. For example, the GPS electronic device may use L1 (L1C), L2 (L2C), L5, L1+L5, and other GPS signal bands to estimate the position of the device (200).

[0161] The housing structure (210) may also include a lower chassis section (219). As described herein, the lower chassis section (219), also referred simply as the chassis (219), may be part of a housing subassembly (217) comprising the lower chassis section (219), a housing component (211) defining a first side outer surface of the device (200), and a housing component (214) defining a second side outer surface of the device (200). The lower chassis section (219) may extend between the housing component (211) and the housing component (214). The lower chassis section (219) may define a component mounting structure of the housing structure (210) (e.g., various components may be mounted on the lower chassis section (219) as shown and described herein).

[0162] The housing structure (210) may include a housing subassembly (217). The housing subassembly (217) includes housing components (211, 214) and a lower chassis section (219) (e.g., a metal plate-shaped structure extending between the housing components (211, 214)). The lower chassis section (219) may define a mounting structure for components of the device (200). For example, as described herein, components such as a circuit board assembly (220), a battery (230), a sensor array (260), a receiver (250), a speaker module (224), a haptic actuator (222), etc. may be coupled to the lower chassis section (219) (e.g., along the front surface of the lower chassis section (219)). By joining components to the lower chassis section (219) instead of the front cover assembly (201) and / or rear cover assembly (273), the cost and complexity of the front cover assembly (201) and rear cover assembly (273) may be reduced, and the removal and / or replacement of the front cover assembly (201) and / or rear cover assembly (273) may be simplified. The lower chassis section (219) may also define one or more holes that extend through to facilitate joining a component on one side of the lower chassis section (219) (e.g., a wireless charging system (240) and / or another component of the rear cover assembly (273)) to a component on the other side of the lower chassis section (219) (e.g., a circuit board assembly (220)). Additionally, as mentioned above, the lower chassis section (219) can also be thermally coupled to components of the device (300), such as a circuit board assembly (220) and a battery (230), and can conduct heat away from the thermally coupled components.

[0163] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the housing may include a cover (272) (e.g., rear or back cover (272)) that can define substantially the entire rear surface of the device (200). The rear cover (272), front cover (202), and housing structure (210) may define at least partially the enclosure of the device (200) that defines the internal volume where the components of the device (200) are located. The cover (272) may be formed of or may include a transparent or optically transparent material. For example, the cover (272) may include a substrate formed of or including a glass material or other suitable material (e.g., silica-based glass material, aluminosilicate glass, boroaluminosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass, chemically strengthened glass, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass material, or plastic). The glass ceramic material may be a silica-based glass ceramic material, such as an aluminosilicate glass ceramic material or a boroaluminosilicate glass ceramic material. 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 (272) may have a uniform thickness, or in some cases, may have a thickened or raised portion surrounding the camera cover (263, 264). The cover (272) may be machined (e.g., ground) into a final shape before being polished and / or textured to provide a desired surface finish. The texture may be specially configured to provide a matte appearance while also resisting the collection of skin, lint, or other debris accumulations.

[0164] The cover (272) may be formed of a colored optically transparent material and may include a coating along the inner surface of the cover (272) that defines the color of the back surface of the device along with the color (or lack of color) of the optically transparent material. For example, the coating along the inner surface of the cover may include one or more color layers. The color layers may include a coloring agent such as a pigment or dye, and may have a distinct hue or be close to a neutral color. Alternatively, or additionally, the coating may include one or more opaque layers applied to the inner surface of the substrate (or otherwise located along the inner surface of the substrate) to provide a specific appearance on the back surface of the device (140). The opaque layer(s) may include a sheet, ink, dye, or a combination of these (or other) layers, materials, etc., and in some cases may be optically dense.

[0165] The cover (272) may be part of the rear cover assembly (273). The rear cover assembly (273) may be coupled to the housing structure (210). In some cases, the rear cover assembly (273) includes components such as camera covers (266, 267, 268), components of the trim assembly of the wireless charging system (e.g., trim assembly (269)), structural components (e.g., frame), mounting clips, and / or other components, systems, subsystems, and / or materials. The rear cover assembly (273) may be removable from the housing structure (210) to facilitate repair and / or replacement of the rear cover assembly (273) and / or internal components of the device (200). In some cases, the wireless charging system (240), microphone, and flash module are the only components of the rear cover assembly (273) that need to be electrically coupled to the circuit board assembly (220) (which is coupled to the lower chassis section (219)). Accordingly, the rear cover assembly (273) can be completely removed from the device by unfastening the rear cover assembly (273) from the remainder of the housing (e.g., from the housing structure (210)) and unfastening the electrical connector (e.g., on the flexible circuit element). In this way, the device (200) can provide improved repairability.

[0166] Similar to the description of the cover (202), the cover (272) may be located at least partially within an opening confined within the housing structure (210). Additionally, the edge or side of the cover (272) may be surrounded by a protective flange or lip of the housing structure (210) without a gap component between the edge of the cover (272) and the respective flange of the housing structure (210). The cover (272) is typically chemically reinforced using an ion exchange process to form a compressive stress layer along the outer surface of the cover (272).

[0167] As described above, the housing structure (210) may include housing components (211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216) that are structurally joined to each other through a joint structure (218). The joint structure (218) (e.g., material of the joint structure) may extend across the inner surface of the housing components. More specifically, a portion of the joint structure (218) may contact and / or cover and / or enclose a retaining feature of the housing component extending from the inner surface of the housing components, or engage with it.

[0168] A housing component (211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216), which may also be referred to as a housing segment in this specification, may be formed as a clad metal structure. For example, the housing component may include a core portion formed of a first metal (e.g., aluminum) and a cladding portion formed of a second metal (e.g., titanium, stainless steel). The cladding portion may define the outer surface of the housing component. The housing component may be formed by co-extruding the core portion and the cladding portion to form a clad precursor material. Subsequently, the precursor material may be formed into a housing component (e.g., an extruded member) using various processes. For example, the precursor material may be forged and / or machined to define the overall shape and mechanical features of the housing component, and then undergo polishing, texturing, and / or coating operations. Mechanical features may include joint structures and interlock structures for interlocking (e.g., to mechanically join housing components together), attachment features (e.g., holes for receiving fasteners), mounting surfaces, antenna feed points, and ground points. In some cases, the outer surface of the housing component undergoes texturing operations such as grinding, lapping, machining, ablation, blasting (e.g., sandblasting, bead blasting), and etching (through mechanical etching, laser etching, chemical etching, etc.). Part or all of the surface of the housing component may also be coated, such as by using PVD or CVD operations. In the case of a curved housing component (e.g., parts (212, 213, 215, 216) defining the corner portion of the housing structure (210)), the clad precursor material may be bent before other processing operations such as machining, forging, polishing, grinding, coating, etc.After formation, the housing component (including the housing subassembly (217)) can be inserted into a mold and joined together by injection molding a moldable material to interlock with the housing component and fix the components together to form a joint structure (218) that defines the housing structure (210).

[0169] The housing subassembly (217) can be formed by welding the housing components (211, 214) to the lower chassis section (219). The lower chassis section (219) can be formed of a metal such as aluminum and can be welded to the aluminum core portion of the housing components (211, 214). In some cases, the lower chassis section (219) can be soldered, brazed, or bonded to the housing components (211, 214) instead of or in addition to welding. The lower chassis section (219) can be conductive and structurally bonded to the housing components (211, 214).

[0170] As described in this specification, housing components (211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216) may provide a rigid and impact-resistant sidewall for the device (200). In this example, the housing components (211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216) define a flat sidewall extending around the periphery of the device (200). The flat sidewall may include rounded or chamfered edges defining the upper and lower edges of the sidewall of the housing structure (210). The housing components (211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216) may each have a flange portion or lip extending around the respective sides of the front and rear covers (202, 272) and covering them at least partially. There may be no gap material or element between the flange portion or lip and the respective side surfaces of the front and rear covers (202, 272). This may allow force or impact applied to the housing structure (210) to be transmitted to the front and rear covers (202, 272) without affecting the display or other internal structural elements, which may improve the drop performance of the device (200).

[0171] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the device (200) includes a plurality of antennas that can be adapted to perform wireless communication using a 5G communication protocol. In particular, the device (200) may include a (side-launching) antenna array (282) configured to transmit and receive wireless communication signals through an antenna window (283) or waveguide formed along the side wall of the housing structure (210) or otherwise integrated therewith. The side-launching antenna array (282) may be coupled to a circuit board assembly (220) via a flexible circuit element or other conductive connection as described herein and may include a plurality of radiating elements (e.g., five radiating elements) for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals. The device (200) may also include a rear antenna module that may include one or more (rear-launching) antenna arrays configured to transmit and receive wireless communication signals through a cover (272). The antenna module can be attached to the back or bottom surface of the circuit board assembly (220).

[0172] An antenna module may include a plurality of antenna arrays. For example, an antenna module may include one or more millimeter-wave antenna arrays. If the antenna module includes a plurality of millimeter-wave antenna arrays (each of which may include one or more radiating elements), the plurality of millimeter-wave antenna arrays may be configured to operate according to a diversity method (e.g., spatial diversity, pattern diversity, polarization diversity, etc.). The antenna module may also include one or more ultra-wideband antennas.

[0173] The antenna array may be adapted to perform millimeter-wave 5G communication and may be adapted to use or in combination with beamforming or other techniques to adapt signal reception depending on the use case. The device (200) may also include a plurality of antennas for performing MIMO radio communication methods, including 4G, 4G LTE, and / or 5G multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication protocols. As described herein, one or more (or parts thereof) of the housing components (211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216) may be adapted to operate as antennas for MIMO radio communication methods (or other radio communication methods).

[0174] FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of an exemplary electronic device. In particular, FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of a device (300) illustrating various components of the device (300) and an exemplary arrangement and configuration of the components. The device (200) may be an embodiment of the device (140), and the description of various components and elements of the device (100) of FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b may also be applicable to the device (300) illustrated in FIG. 3. Redundant descriptions of some of the components are not repeated in this specification for clarity.

[0175] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the device (300) includes a cover (302) (e.g., a front cover) which may be formed of or include a transparent or optically transparent material. In some cases, the cover (302) is formed of or includes a glass material or other suitable transparent or optically transparent material (e.g., silica-based glass material, aluminosilicate glass, boroaluminosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass, chemically strengthened glass, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass material, or plastic). In this example, the cover (302) may be formed of a glass ceramic material. The glass ceramic material may include both an amorphous phase and a crystalline or non-amorphous phase of one or more materials and may be formulated to improve the strength or other properties of the cover (302). The glass ceramic material may be a silica-based glass ceramic material, such as an aluminosilicate glass ceramic material or a boroaluminosilicate glass ceramic material. The glass ceramic material may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. In some cases, the cover (302) may comprise a sheet of chemically strengthened material having one or more coatings, including an anti-reflective (AR) coating, an oleophobic coating, or other types of coatings or optical treatments. In some cases, the cover (302) comprises a sheet of material with a thickness of less than 1 mm. In some cases, the sheet of material is less than 0.80 mm. In some cases, the sheet of material is approximately 0.60 mm or less. The cover (302) may be chemically strengthened using an ion exchange process to form a compressive stress layer along the outer surface of the cover (302).

[0176] The cover (302) extends substantially over the entire front surface of the device and may be located within an opening defined by the housing structure (310). In some cases, the edge or side of the cover (302) may be surrounded by a protective flange or lip of the housing structure (310) without a gap component between the edge of the cover (302) and the respective flange of the housing structure (310). This configuration may allow an impact or force applied to the housing structure (310) to be transmitted to the cover (302) without directly transmitting shear stress through the display (303) or frame (304).

[0177] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the display (303) is attached to the inner surface of the cover (302). The display (303) may include an edge-to-edge organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display with corner-to-corner dimensions of 15.4 cm (6.1 inches). The periphery or inactive area of ​​the display (303) may be reduced to allow a very thin device boundary around the active area of ​​the display (303). In some cases, the display (303) allows a boundary area of ​​1.5 mm or less. In some cases, the display (303) allows a boundary area of ​​1 mm or less. In one exemplary embodiment, the boundary area is approximately 0.9 mm. The display (303) may have a relatively high pixel density of approximately 460 pixels / inch (PPI) or more. In some cases, the display (303) has a pixel density of approximately 475 PPI. The display (203) can use a low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) or low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) backplane.

[0178] The display (303) may have an integrated (on-cell) touch sensing system. For example, an array of electrodes (or other touch sensing components) integrated within an OLED display may be time- and / or frequency-multiplexed to provide both display and touch sensing functions. The electrodes may be configured to detect the location of touch, gesture input, multi-touch input, or other types of touch input along the outer surface of the cover (302). In some cases, the display (303) includes other types of display elements, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), without an integrated touch sensing system. That is, the device (300) may include one or more touch sensing and / or force sensing components or layers located between the display (303) and the cover (302).

[0179] The display (303), also referred to as a display stack, may include an always-on-display (AOD) function. For example, the display (303) may be configured to allow a designated area or subset of pixels to be displayed when the device (300) is turned on, so that graphic content may be visible to the user even when the device (300) is in low power or sleep mode. This may allow the time, date, battery status, recent notifications, and other graphic content to be displayed in low power or sleep mode. Such graphic content may be referred to as continuous or always-on graphic output. While some battery power may be consumed when displaying continuous or always-on graphic output, the power consumption is typically less than during normal or maximum power operation of the display (303). This function may be made possible by operating only a subset of display pixels and / or at a reduced resolution to reduce power consumption by the display (303).

[0180] The display (303) may include a plurality of layers, such as a touch sensing layer or component, an optional force sensing layer or component, a display layer, etc. The display (303) may define a graphic active area where a graphic output can be displayed. In some cases, a portion of the display (303) may include a graphic inactive area, such as a portion of a display layer that does not include an active display component (e.g., a pixel) or is not otherwise configured to display a graphic output. In some cases, the graphic inactive area may be located along the peripheral boundary or other edge of the display stack (303).

[0181] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the device (300) may also include a frame member (304), also simply referred to as a frame (304), which is located below the cover (302) and extends around the outer periphery of the display (303). The frame (304) may be attached to the lower or inner surface of the cover (302). A portion of the frame (304) may extend below the display (303) and attach the cover (302) to the housing structure (310). Since the display (303) is attached to the lower or inner surface of the cover (302), the frame (304) may also be described as attaching both the display (303) and the cover (302) to the housing structure (310). The frame (304) may be formed from a polymer material, a metal material, or a combination of a polymer material and a metal material. The frame (304) can support elements of the display stack, provide fixed points for flexible circuits, and / or can be used to mount other components and device elements. In some cases, the frame (304) includes one or more metal or conductive elements that provide shielding between device components, for example, between the display stack (including display components and touch sensor components) and other components such as haptic actuators (322), speaker systems (324), etc.

[0182] A cover (302), a display or display stack (303), and a frame member (304) may be part of a front cover assembly (301) of a device (300). The front cover assembly (301) (e.g., the front cover of the front cover assembly) may define the front outer surface of the device. The cover (302) may define the inner surface opposite the outer surface. The front cover assembly (301) may be assembled as a sub-assembly, which may then be attached to a housing component. For example, as described herein, a display (303) may be attached to the cover (302) (e.g., via a transparent adhesive), and a frame member (304) may be attached to the cover (e.g., via an adhesive) around the periphery of the display stack (303). Next, the front cover assembly (301) can be attached to the housing component of the device (300) by mounting and bonding the frame member (304) to a reticle defined by the housing component.

[0183] The device (300) also includes a speaker module (350) configured to output sound through a speaker port. The speaker port may be located within a recess (351) of the cover (302) and / or at least partially defined by it. As described herein, a trim piece may be located at least partially within the recess (351) to facilitate the output of sound, while also preventing the ingress of debris, liquid, or other materials or contaminants into the device (300). The output from the speaker module (350) may pass through an audio passage or acoustic path defined at least partially by the speaker module (350) itself and the trim piece. In some cases, a portion of the acoustic path (e.g., between the speaker module (350) and the trim piece) is defined by a housing structure (310) and / or a molded material coupled to the housing structure (310). For example, a molded material (e.g., a fiber-reinforced polymer) may be molded against a metal part of a housing structure (310) (e.g., a housing component (313) described herein). The molded material may also form one or more intermediate elements (e.g., a joint structure (318)), such as a joint structure, that structurally join the housing components together. A port or passage (e.g., a tubular tunnel) may be defined through the molded material to acoustically join the speaker module (350) to a trim piece and / or more generally to a recess (351), thereby directing sound from the speaker module (350) to the outside of the device (300).

[0184] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the device (300) also includes one or more cameras, light emitters, and / or sensing elements configured to transmit or receive signals or otherwise operate along the front surface of the device. In this example, the device (300) includes a front camera (306) comprising a high-resolution camera sensor. The front camera (306) may have a 12-megapixel resolution sensor having an optical element that provides an 85° field of view. The front camera (306) f It may have an aperture value of / 1.9. The front camera (306) may include an autofocus function in which one or more of the lens elements move (e.g., up to about 100 micrometers perpendicular to the cover) to focus an image on the camera's sensor. In some cases, the autofocusing front camera may provide a continuous autofocus function during video capture. The device (300) also includes an optical face recognition system (352) comprising an infrared illuminator (for projecting light) and an infrared light sensor configured to detect an array of depth points or depth regions along the user's face. The array of depth points may be characterized as a unique signature or biometric identifier that can be used to identify and / or authenticate the user and unlock the device (300) (and / or authorize functions on the device (300), such as purchasing software apps or using payment functions provided by the device (300)).

[0185] The device (300) may also include one or more other sensors or components. For example, the device (300) may include a front light illuminator element for providing a flash or illumination for the front camera (306). The device (300) may also include an ambient light sensor (ALS) used to detect ambient light conditions to set the exposure mode of the front camera (306) and / or to control the operation of the display. The device (300) may also include a proximity sensing system (353) for detecting the proximity of a user or other object to the device (300). In some cases, as described herein, the proximity sensing system (353) detects the proximity of another object through an active area of ​​the display. The proximity sensing system (353) and the optical face recognition system (352) may be integrated into a common module. In some cases, information from both the proximity sensing system and the ambient light sensor is used to determine the ambient light conditions and / or the proximity of an object to the device (300). For example, information from a proximity sensing system can be used to determine whether the detection of low ambient light by an ambient light sensor is due to low ambient illumination or to an object locally or temporarily covering the ambient light sensor (e.g., a finger providing touch input or a palm during typing). Information from both sensing systems can be used to clarify the distinction between potentially ambiguous conditions and generally improve the accuracy with which the device can detect or sense specific conditions.

[0186] FIG. 3 also illustrates one or more cameras, light emitters, and / or sensing elements configured to transmit a signal, receive a signal, or otherwise operate along the rear surface of the device. As illustrated in FIG. 3, these elements may be part of a sensor array (360). In this example, the sensor array (360) comprises a 48.8-megapixel image sensor (optional three-layer sensor array) and an aperture value f It includes a first camera (361) having a wide-angle lens with an aperture value of / 1.6. The sensor array (360) also includes a 12-megapixel image sensor and an aperture value f It may include a second camera (362) having an ultra-wide angle lens (120° FOV) of 2.4. . The sensor array (360) also includes a light illuminator that can be used as a flash for taking photos or as an auxiliary light source (e.g., a flashlight). In some cases, the sensor array (360) also includes a microphone, an ambient light sensor, a depth sensing device, and / or other sensors adapted to detect along the rear surface of the device (300).

[0187] As illustrated in FIG. 3, cameras (361, 362) may each be aligned with camera covers (363, 364). The covers (363, 364) may be formed of glass, glass ceramic, or sapphire material and may provide a transparent (e.g., light-transmitting or optically transparent) window through which the cameras (361, 362) can capture photographic images. In other cases, the covers (363, 364) are optical lenses that filter, magnify, or otherwise adjust the light received by each camera (361, 362). Other sensing or transmitting elements of the sensor array (360) may transmit and / or receive signals through an area of ​​the rear cover (372) or through a separate cover coupled to the rear cover (372). As illustrated in FIG. 3, the covers (363, 364) may extend beyond the outer surface of the cover (372) and define a recess along the inner surface of the cover (372), thereby allowing the lens or other element of the camera (361, 362) to extend into each recess. In this way, the device (300) can accommodate the lens or other element of the camera (361, 362) larger than would have been possible if the recess had not been provided. In some cases, a trim assembly (365, 366) may be coupled to the cover (372) and may support the cover (363, 364).

[0188] The device (300) also includes a battery (330). The battery (330) provides power to the device (300) and its various systems and components. The battery (330) may include a 4.40 V lithium-ion battery embedded within a foil or other enclosure element. The battery (330) may include a rolled electrode configuration, sometimes referred to as a "jelly roll," or a folded or stacked electrode configuration. The battery (330) may be recharged via a charging port (332) (e.g., from a charging cable plugged into the charging port (332) via a charging access opening (326)) and / or via a wireless charging system (340). The charging port (332) may be a connector module, such as the connector module (1100) described herein, or may include such a connector module. The battery (330) may be coupled to a charging port (332) and / or a wireless charging system (340) through a battery control circuit that controls the power supplied to the battery and the power supplied to the device (300) by the battery. The battery (330) may include one or more lithium-ion battery cells or any other suitable type of rechargeable battery element.

[0189] The wireless charging system (340) may include a coil that is inductively coupled to the output or transmission coil of a wireless charging accessory. The coil may provide current to the device (300) to charge the battery (330) and / or power the device. In this example, the wireless charging system (340) includes a coil assembly (342) comprising a plurality of wraps of conductive wire or other conduit configured to generate (charging) current in response to being placed within 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 (300) relative to the separate wireless charging accessory or other device. In some embodiments, the array of magnets also helps position, orient, or "cloak" the device (300) radially relative to the separate wireless charging device or other accessory. For example, an array of magnets may include a plurality of 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 individual orientations to help position the device (300) relative to a separate charging device or other accessory. This function may be described as self-alignment or self-positioning wireless charging. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the device (300) also includes a magnetic reference point (344) to help position a separate wireless charging device or accessory.

[0190] In one example, the magnetic reference point (344) is adapted to be magnetically coupled to a separate wireless charging device or other accessory. By being coupled to a separate wireless charging device / accessory, the rotational alignment of the device (300) and the separate wireless charging device / accessory can be maintained for an absolute or single position. Additionally, by magnetically coupling the charging device / accessory to the rear surface of the device (300), the charging device or other accessory can be more firmly coupled to the device (300).

[0191] In some embodiments, 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 (300) and the wireless charger or other accessory. In some cases, the device (300) 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 regarding the state of the device, the amount of charge maintained by the battery (330), and / or control signals for increasing and / or decreasing the charge, or starting and / or stopping the charge for wireless charging operations.

[0192] The device (300) may also include a speaker system (324). The speaker system (324) may be located within the device (300) such that each port (325) is aligned with or otherwise close to the audio output of the speaker system (324). Thus, sound output by the speaker system (324) exits the housing structure (310) through each port (325). The speaker system (324) may include a speaker located within a housing that defines a speaker volume (e.g., an empty space in front of or behind a speaker diaphragm). The speaker volume may be used to tune the audio output from the speaker and, optionally, to mitigate destructive interference of the sound generated by the speaker.

[0193] The device (300) 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 produce 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 produce motion. The magnets may be recycled magnetic materials or may include them.

[0194] When the coil(s) are supplied with energy, the coil(s) can cause the mass to move, which results in force being applied to the device (300). The movement of the mass may be configured to cause a vibration, pulse, tap, or other tactile output detectable through the outer surface of the device (300). The haptic actuator (322) may be configured to move the mass linearly, but other movements (e.g., rotation) are also considered. Other types of haptic actuators may be used instead of or in addition to the haptic actuator (322).

[0195] The device (300) also includes a circuit board assembly (320). The circuit board assembly (320) may include a substrate and a processor, memory, and other circuit elements coupled to the substrate. The circuit board assembly (320) may include a plurality of circuit boards that are stacked and coupled to each other to maximize the available area for electronic components and circuits in a small form factor. The circuit board assembly (320) may include provisioning for a subscriber identification module (SIM). The circuit board assembly (320) may include electrical contacts and / or a SIM tray assembly for receiving a physical SIM card, or the circuit board assembly (320) may include provisioning for an electronic SIM. When an electronic SIM is used, the SIM tray may be omitted from the device (300) (e.g., the device may not include an opening, tray, slot, door, or other mechanical means for inserting or otherwise accessing the SIM card). The circuit board assembly (320) may be sealed in whole or in part to reduce the possibility of damage caused by the inflow of water or other fluids.

[0196] A circuit board assembly (320) may be thermally coupled to an intermediate chassis section (323) of a housing structure (310). As described herein, the intermediate chassis section (323), also referred simply as the chassis (323), may be a part of the housing component (314) (e.g., an intermediate housing component) formed from an integral structure and defines the chassis (323) as well as a first wall section (317) defining a first side outer surface of the device (300) and a second wall section (319) defining a second side outer surface of the device (300). The circuit board assembly (320) may be thermally coupled to the chassis (323) through one or more thermal bridges, such as a graphite structure, a graphite-wrapped form, or other thermally conductive structure(s). Heat from the circuit board assembly is transferred to the chassis (323) through a heat bridge, thereby removing heat from the circuit board assembly (320) (wherein the heat may be harmful to durability, performance, etc.), and also drawing heat away from the components and / or external surfaces of the device (300) that come into contact with the user (e.g., wall sections (317, 319) that may be held by the user during use of the device (300) and define the external side surfaces of the device).

[0197] The circuit board assembly (320) may also include a wireless communication circuit that is coupled to a wall section and / or housing component (312, 313, 317, 315, 316, or 319) (or a part thereof) to provide wireless communication and / or otherwise may use it as a radiating member or structure. The circuit board assembly (320) may also include components such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a near-field communication circuit and / or an antenna, a compass, 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 a magnetic (or non-magnetic) signal generated by an accessory of the device (300) or another device. The output of the magnetometer may include a direction output that can be used to display a direction indication or other navigation guidance on the display (303) to guide the user toward the location of the accessory or other device.

[0198] The device (300) may also include one or more pressure transducers operable to detect changes in external pressure to determine changes in altitude or height. The pressure sensor may be externally port-formed and / or located within a watertight internal volume of the housing structure (310). The output of the pressure sensor may be used to track steps climbed, the location of a multi-story structure (e.g., floor), movement performed during an activity to estimate physical effort or calorie expenditure, or other relative movement of the device (300).

[0199] The circuit board assembly (320) may also include a Global Positioning System (GPS) electronic device that can be used to determine the position of the device (300) relative to one or more satellites (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) to estimate the absolute position of the device (300). In some embodiments, the GPS electronic device may be operated to use dual frequency bands. For example, the GPS electronic device may use L1 (L1C), L2 (L2C), L5, L1+L5, and other GPS signal bands to estimate the position of the device (300).

[0200] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the housing may include a cover (372) (e.g., a rear or back cover) that can define substantially the entire rear surface of the device (300). The rear cover (372), the front cover (302), and the housing structure (310) may define at least partially the enclosure of the device (300) that defines the internal volume where the components of the device (300) are located. The cover (372) may be formed of or may include a transparent or optically transparent material. For example, the cover (372) may include a substrate formed of or including a glass material or other suitable material (e.g., silica-based glass material, aluminosilicate glass, boroaluminosilicate glass, alkali metal aluminosilicate glass, chemically strengthened glass, sapphire, ceramic, glass ceramic, crystallizable glass material, or plastic). The glass ceramic material may be a silica-based glass ceramic material, such as an aluminosilicate glass ceramic material or a boroaluminosilicate glass ceramic material. 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 cover (372) may be machined (e.g., ground) into a final shape before being polished and / or textured to provide a desired surface finish. The texture may be specially configured to provide a matte appearance while also resisting the collection of skin, lint, or other debris accumulations.

[0201] The cover (372) may be formed of a colored optically transparent material and may include a coating along the inner surface of the cover (372) that defines the color of the back surface of the device along with the color (or lack of color) of the optically transparent material. For example, the coating along the inner surface of the cover may include one or more color layers. The color layers may include a coloring agent such as a pigment or dye and may have a distinct hue or be close to a neutral color. Alternatively or additionally, the coating may include one or more opaque layers applied to the inner surface of the substrate (or otherwise located along the inner surface of the substrate) to provide a specific appearance on the back surface of the device. The opaque layer(s) may include a sheet, ink, dye, or a combination of these (or other) layers, materials, etc., and in some cases may be optically dense.

[0202] The cover (372) may be part of the rear cover assembly (373). The rear cover assembly (373) may be attached to the housing structure (310). In some cases, the rear cover assembly (373) includes components such as camera covers (363, 364), components of the trim assembly (365, 366) of a wireless charging system, structural components (e.g., frames), trim assemblies, mounting clips, and / or other components, systems, subsystems, and / or materials.

[0203] Similar to what has been described above with respect to the cover (302), the cover (372) may be located at least partially within an opening confined within the housing structure (310). Additionally, similar to what has been described above with respect to the cover (302), the edge or side of the cover (372) may be surrounded by a protective flange or lip of the housing structure (310) without a gap component between the edge of the cover (372) and the respective flange of the housing structure (310). The cover (372) may be chemically reinforced using an ion exchange process to form a compressive stress layer along the outer surface of the cover (372). In some cases, the (rear) cover (372) is formed of the same or similar material as the (front) cover (302).

[0204] The rear cover (372) may be removablely attached to the remainder of the housing structure (310) so that the rear cover (372) can be removed and / or replaced quickly and efficiently. In some cases, the wireless charging system (340) is the only component attached to the rear cover (372) that needs to be electrically coupled to the circuit board assembly (320) (which is coupled to the housing component (314)). Thus, the rear cover (372) can be completely removed from the device by unfastening the rear cover (372) from the remainder of the housing (e.g., from the housing component (314)) and unfastening the electrical connector(s) of the wireless charging system. In this way, the device (300) can provide improved repairability.

[0205] The housing structure (310) may include a housing component (314) (e.g., an intermediate housing component (314)) comprising wall sections (317, 319) and an intermediate chassis section (323) (e.g., a metal plate-shaped structure extending between the wall sections (317, 319)). The chassis (323) may define a mounting structure for components of the device (300). For example, as described herein, components such as a circuit board assembly (320), a battery (330), a sensor array (360), a receiver (350), a speaker module (324), a haptic actuator (322), etc. may be coupled to the chassis (323) (e.g., along the rear surface of the chassis (323)). By joining components to the chassis (323) instead of the front cover assembly (301) and / or rear cover (372), the cost and complexity of the front cover assembly (301) and rear cover assembly (373) may be reduced, and the removal and / or replacement of the front cover assembly (301) and / or rear cover (372) may be simplified. The chassis (323) may also define one or more holes that extend through to facilitate joining a component on one side of the chassis (323) (e.g., a sensor and / or display (303) of the front cover assembly (301)) to a component on the other side of the chassis (323) (e.g., a circuit board assembly (320)). Additionally, as mentioned above, the chassis (323) may also be thermally joined to a component of the device (300), such as the circuit board assembly (320), and may conduct heat away from the thermally joined component.

[0206] The housing component (314) may be an integral structure formed from a single piece of material. For example, the integral structure of the housing component (314) may be a metal such as aluminum, steel, titanium, etc., and may be formed by extrusion, machining, and / or a combination of these and other forming processes. Thus, the wall sections (317, 319) (defining the side outer surface of the device (300)) and the chassis (323) may be different parts of a single piece of material. In some cases, the housing component (314) is formed from a polymer material, a reinforced (e.g., fiber reinforced) polymer material, carbon fiber, or other suitable material.

[0207] As described above, the housing structure (310) may include housing components (312, 313, 315, 316), which are structurally joined to and / or each other to the housing component (314) (intermediate housing component (314)) through a joint structure (318). The joint structure (318) (e.g., material of the joint structure) may extend across the inner surface of the housing component. More specifically, a portion of the joint structure (318) may contact and / or cover / enclose / or interlock with a retaining feature of the housing component extending from the inner surface of the housing component (e.g., from a wall section of the intermediate housing component (314)). As the wall sections (317, 319) are part of a single integral structure, the joint structure (318) can also function to structurally connect the housing components (312, 313, 315, 316) to the housing component (314). When connected via the joint structure (318), the housing component (314), the housing components (312, 313, 315, 316), and the joint structure (318) can define a main housing assembly that defines the chassis (323) within the device as well as the outer side surface of the device (300).

[0208] Housing components (312, 313, 315, 316) may also be referred to herein as housing segments and may be formed of aluminum, stainless steel, or other metals. As described herein, housing components (312, 313, 315, 316) and wall sections (317, 319) may provide a rigid and impact-resistant sidewall for the device (300). In this example, housing components (312, 313, 315, 316) and wall sections (317, 319) define a flat sidewall extending around the periphery of the device (300). The flat sidewall may include rounded or chamfered edges defining the upper and lower edges of the sidewall of the housing structure (310). Housing components (312, 313, 315, 316) and wall sections (317, 319) may each have a flange portion or lip that extends around each side of the front and rear covers (302, 372) and covers at least partially therewith. There may be no gap material or element between the flange portion or lip and the respective side surfaces of the front and rear covers (302, 372). This may allow forces or impacts applied to the housing structure (310) to be transmitted to the front and rear covers (302, 372) without affecting the display or other internal structural elements, which may improve the drop performance of the device (300).

[0209] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the device (300) includes a plurality of antennas that can be adapted to perform wireless communication using a 5G communication protocol. In particular, the device (300) may include a (side-launching) antenna array configured to transmit and receive wireless communication signals through an antenna window (383) or waveguide formed along the side wall of the housing structure (310) or otherwise integrated therewith. The side-launching antenna array may be coupled to the circuit board assembly (320) via a flexible circuit element or other conductive connection as described herein. The device (300) may also include a rear antenna module that may include one or more (rear-launching) antenna arrays configured to transmit and receive wireless communication signals through a cover (372). The antenna module may be attached to the back or bottom surface of the circuit board assembly (320).

[0210] An antenna module may include a plurality of antenna arrays. For example, an antenna module may include one or more millimeter-wave antenna arrays. If the antenna module includes a plurality of millimeter-wave antenna arrays (each of which may include one or more radiating elements), the plurality of millimeter-wave antenna arrays may be configured to operate according to a diversity method (e.g., spatial diversity, pattern diversity, polarization diversity, etc.). The antenna module may also include one or more ultra-wideband antennas.

[0211] Each antenna array (e.g., a millimeter-wave array of an antenna array and an antenna module) may be adapted to perform millimeter-wave 5G communication and may be adapted to use or in combination with beamforming or other techniques to adapt signal reception depending on the use case. The device (300) may also include a plurality of antennas for performing MIMO radio communication methods, including 4G, 4G LTE, and / or 5G Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) communication protocols. As described herein, one or more (or parts thereof) of the housing components (312, 313, 315, 316) and wall sections (317, 319) may be adapted to operate as antennas for MIMO radio communication methods (or other radio communication methods).

[0212] FIG. 4a illustrates a partial exploded view of an exemplary electronic device (400). The electronic device (400) may correspond to an electronic device (100, 200) or any other device described herein, or may be an embodiment thereof.

[0213] As illustrated in FIG. 4a, the device (400) may include an enclosure that defines an internal cavity and comprises a rear cover assembly (402), a housing structure (406), and a front cover assembly (408). The front cover assembly (408) may define the front outer surface of the enclosure, and the rear cover assembly (402) may define the rear outer surface of the device. The housing structure (406) may be located between the front cover assembly (408) and the rear cover assembly (402).

[0214] The housing structure (406) includes a housing subassembly (410) and housing components (420, 421, 422, 423) (Fig. 4b). The housing subassembly (410), which may correspond to or be an embodiment thereof as a housing subassembly (217), includes housing components (417, 419) as well as a lower chassis section (428). As previously described with respect to the housing subassembly (217), the housing subassembly (410) can be formed by attaching the housing components (417, 419) to the lower chassis section (428). For example, a housing component (417, 419), which may be a cladding structure having a core portion and a cladding portion, may be welded to the lower chassis section (428) through a series of welds (e.g., weld (441, FIG. 4b)) along an interface region (440) (Fig. 4b) between the housing component (417, 419) and the lower chassis section (428). The interface region (440) may extend along the first and second faces of the lower chassis section (428). The welding may be performed prior to a material removal operation performed along the interface region (440), so that the weld is formed through a thicker metal stack and then thinned to the final dimensions. In this way, the welding operation may be less likely to cause warping or other damage than would occur if the material removal operation were performed first (and thus the welding were performed on a thinner metal stack). The lower chassis section (428) may be formed of aluminum and welded to the aluminum core section of the clad housing component (417, 419). In other cases, the lower chassis section (428) may be formed of steel (e.g., stainless steel), titanium, or other metal. In yet another case, the lower chassis section (428) may be formed of a polymer or composite material, in which case it may be attached to the housing component (417, 419) through an adhesive, mechanical fasteners, etc.

[0215] The lower chassis section (428) can be formed by extruding a metal sheet and then processing the sheet to form a final shape. The extruded metal sheet may not have a uniform thickness to reduce material loss during machining.

[0216] Housing components (417, 419, 420, 421, 422, 423) may each define an outer corner surface of the device. In some cases, the housing components also define a portion of one or more lateral outer surfaces. For example, the housing component (420) defines an outer corner surface and a portion of each of the two lateral outer surfaces (e.g., the lateral outer surfaces on the right and top of the housing structure (406) as oriented in FIG. 4b). Similarly, the housing component (421) defines a portion of each of the two lateral outer surfaces (e.g., the lateral outer surfaces on the left and top of the housing structure (406) as oriented in FIG. 4b).

[0217] A housing structure (406) (e.g., lower chassis section (428)) may define a first cavity along a first surface (e.g., front surface) of the housing structure (406) and a second cavity along a second surface (e.g., rear surface) of the housing structure (406) opposite the first surface. Components such as a component set (404) (and optionally a part of the front cover assembly (408)) may be located in the first cavity (e.g., between the lower chassis section (428) and the front cover assembly (408)), and other components (e.g., a part of the rear cover assembly (402), a charging coil, an alignment magnet, NFC or other antennas, etc.) may be located in the second cavity.

[0218] The front cover assembly (408) may include a front cover such as the front cover (202) of FIG. 2. The front cover assembly (408) may also include a display stack, and a touch and / or force sensing system, a front sensor, such as an ambient light sensor, a proximity sensing system, etc.

[0219] The rear cover assembly (402) may include a rear cover (401) corresponding to the rear cover (272) of FIG. 2 or other rear covers described herein, or an embodiment thereof. The rear cover assembly (402) may include wireless charging components such as a wireless charging coil and magnetic coupling and alignment elements. The rear cover assembly (402) may also include other components and / or structures. For example, the rear cover assembly (402) may also include a mounting structure including a mounting tab or other features, a camera cover, an optical structure, a microphone, and a flash module.

[0220] The device (400) may include a component set (404) located at least partially within an internal cavity along one side of the lower chassis section (428) of the housing structure (406). The component set (404) includes components of the device (400). The component set (404) may include a circuit board assembly, a battery, a haptic actuator, a speaker, an antenna and / or other communication components and systems, a camera (e.g., a rear camera array such as the array (260) of FIG. 2), a microphone, etc. Components of the component set (404) may be mechanically and / or conductively coupled to components on the rear cover assembly (402) and the front cover assembly (408).

[0221] The housing structure (406) provides a mounting and / or supporting structure for components of the device (400), such as a component set (404), a rear cover assembly (402), and a front cover assembly (408). As described above in relation to FIG. 2, a housing structure such as the housing structure (406) may include a housing subassembly (410) that defines the peripheral outer sidewall of the device together with additional housing components (420, 421, 422, 423) and a joint structure (405) (Fig. 4a). For example, the peripheral outer sidewall may include or be formed of a wall segment that may be defined by a housing component, a joint structure, and optionally other components and / or structures.

[0222] The housing subassembly (410) also defines a lower chassis section (428) (e.g., corresponding to the lower chassis section (219)). In some cases, the lower chassis section (428) (also simply referred to as chassis) is or includes a plate-shaped structure extending from one side wall to another (e.g., from the housing component (417) to the housing component (419)). The lower chassis section (428) may define a first surface facing the front cover (e.g., the front cover of the front cover assembly (408)) and a second surface facing the rear cover (e.g., the rear cover of the rear cover assembly (402)).

[0223] FIG. 4b is an exploded view of a housing structure (406) separated from a lower chassis section (428) with the joint structure omitted and the housing components separated from each other. As shown in FIG. 4b, the housing subassembly (410) can be formed by attaching housing components (417, 419) to the lower chassis section (428) to create a housing subassembly (410) with a cross-section similar to an "H" shape. Features such as holes, mounting bosses, recesses, protrusions, etc., can be formed in the housing subassembly (410). For example, holes formed (e.g., through machining or other operations) can accommodate circuit board interconnects, mechanical clips and retaining features, buttons, switches, antennas, SIM card trays, etc.

[0224] A housing structure (406) may be formed by structurally joining a housing component (e.g., housing components (420, 421, 422, 423)) to an adjacent housing component and to a housing subassembly (410) through a joint structure (405) (which may correspond to or be an embodiment thereof). The joint structure (405) (e.g., a molded polymer structure) may contact, cover, enclose, or otherwise engage with the housing component (e.g., the interlock structure (463, 464) of FIG. 4f) and / or the interlock structure of the housing subassembly (410) (e.g., the interlock structure (431) of FIG. 4b), and may retain the housing component in the housing subassembly (410). When joined through the joint structure (405), the housing subassembly (410), housing components (420, 421, 422, 423), and the joint structure (405) may define a main housing assembly that defines the outer side surface of the device (400). The joint structure may correspond to other joint structures described herein, and it will be understood that the description of such joint structures applies to the joint structure (405). As illustrated in FIG. 4b, the lower chassis section (428) defines the interlock structure (431-2), and the housing component (422) defines the interlock structure (431-1). As described herein in relation to other interlocking features, the material of the joint structure may flow into or around the interlocking feature, or otherwise engage with it, to hold the lower chassis section (428) and the housing component (422) together. In the example of FIG. 4b, the interlock structure (431-1, 431-2) is a hole, but other interlock structures including but not limited to posts, threaded holes, threaded features, undercuts, dovetails, recesses, channels, and cutouts may also be considered.Furthermore, the interlock structure of the lower chassis section (428) may be the same as or different from the interlock feature of the housing component.

[0225] The lower chassis section (428), also abbreviated as chassis (428), can provide many advantages to the device (400). For example, the chassis (428) can serve as a mounting structure for device components such as a battery, a circuit board assembly, and front and rear cover assemblies. In this way, fewer components need to be coupled to the front and rear cover assemblies, thereby reducing the complexity of these modules and reducing the number of interconnections (e.g., electrical connections) that need to be made between various device subassemblies (e.g., between the front cover assembly and the rear cover assembly and other device assemblies).

[0226] Device components on one side of the chassis (428) may require access to the other side of the chassis (428). Accordingly, the chassis (428) may include a hole extending through to facilitate interconnection and other types of access through the chassis (428). For example, the rear cover assembly (402) may include components such as a charging coil (430), a microphone module (432), and a strobe or flash module (434) that are connected to components of the component set (404) (e.g., via a flexible circuit board or other conductive coupling). Similarly, the component set (404) may include devices that require access to the rear cover assembly (402) (and / or the outside of the device through the front of the device), such as a rear camera, a rear depth sensor, etc. Accordingly, the chassis (428) may include or limit a hole, such as a hole (412, 414), to allow access through the chassis (428). For example, components of a rear sensor area (e.g., a rear camera and a rear depth sensor) structurally coupled to the device along one side of the chassis (428) (e.g., the top side shown as upward in FIG. 4a) may be accessible to the rear cover assembly (402) through a hole (414), while electrical connectors (416) on the rear cover assembly (402) (for the charging coil (430), microphone module (432), and flash module (434)) may be accessible to components on the other side of the chassis (428) through a hole (412). For example, a portion of the camera of the camera array may extend through the hole (414). More specifically, a portion of the rear camera (located between the front cover assembly and the chassis (428)) may extend at least partially through the hole (414) and optionally extend at least partially into the hole (445) of the rear cover assembly (402) (Fig. 4c).The holes (414, 445) can be aligned so that a part of the camera module can extend through the hole (414) into the corresponding hole (445) (and optionally through the hole).

[0227] The chassis (428) (and / or housing structure) may also include or limit holes (426) (426-1, …, 426-2). The holes (426) may facilitate mechanical and / or conductive coupling between the front cover assembly (408) and the housing structure (406), between the rear cover assembly (402) and the housing structure (406), and / or between the front cover assembly (408) and the rear cover assembly (402). For example, the holes (426) may limit through-holes that allow board-to-board connectors, flexible circuit elements, cables, etc., to conductively coupling components on opposite sides of the chassis (428). As another example, a spring coupling element (424) (Fig. 4d) may be coupled to a housing structure (406) and positioned within a hole (426), and a tab or other feature on the front cover assembly (408) and / or the rear cover assembly (402) may be structurally and conductively coupled to the spring coupling element.

[0228] As described above, the chassis (428) may comprise an array of mounting bosses (427) (427-1, …, 427-3) formed integrally with the plate structure of the chassis (428). The mounting bosses (427) may be machined from an extruded precursor material that ultimately forms the chassis (428) so as to be formed integrally with the plate structure of the chassis (428). The mounting bosses may be configured to engage with fasteners, such as screw-formed fasteners (e.g., screws, bolts, etc.), used to secure components to the chassis (428). For example, a circuit board assembly may be coupled to the mounting bosses (427) through a set of screw-formed fasteners. Although FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate one exemplary arrangement of mounting bosses, this is only one exemplary arrangement, and more or fewer mounting bosses may be provided in a given embodiment. The position of the mounting boss may also differ from that shown depending on the positioning of the component to be attached to the chassis (428) through the mounting boss.

[0229] A housing component of a housing structure (406) (e.g., housing component (417, 419, 420, 421, 422, 423) or a part thereof) may serve as a radiating antenna element of one or more antenna arrays for wireless communication. A non-conductive joint structure (405) (Fig. 4a) may be positioned between the housing components to provide electrical insulation between the housing components as well as mechanically join the housing components. In some cases, the radiating antenna element is defined by a slot or other feature formed in one or more housing components. The housing component may be conductively joined to a wireless or other communication circuit via a conductive connection at a specific location of the housing component (e.g., a feed point and / or a ground point), and the location may define a specific frequency to which the corresponding part of the housing component is configured to communicate. In some cases, the housing component may be configured with multiple feed and / or ground points to facilitate communication over various frequency ranges. In such cases, communication over the corresponding range may occur simultaneously or be separated in time.

[0230] In some cases, the housing component (421) may be configured as a radiating element for frequencies between about 1800 MHz and about 2800 MHz (e.g., mid-band and high-band frequencies) and / or frequencies between about 3200 MHz and about 5000 MHz (e.g., ultra-high-band frequencies).

[0231] The housing component (422) may be configured as a radiating element for frequencies between about 600 MHz and about 1000 MHz (e.g., low-band frequencies), frequencies between about 1700 MHz and about 2200 MHz (e.g., mid-band frequencies), and / or frequencies between about 2300 MHz and about 2700 MHz (e.g., high-band frequencies). In some cases, the housing component (422) may include one or more features (e.g., slots) that operate as a radiating element for frequencies between about 5000 MHz and about 8200 MHz (which can facilitate communication via Wi-Fi protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi 6E), Ultra-Wideband (UWB) protocols, etc.).

[0232] The housing component (420) may be configured as a radiating element for frequencies between about 600 MHz and about 1000 MHz (e.g., low-band frequencies), frequencies between about 1700 MHz and about 2200 MHz (e.g., mid-band frequencies), and / or frequencies between about 2300 MHz and about 2700 MHz (e.g., high-band frequencies).

[0233] In some cases, the housing component (423) may be used in multiple operating modes, wherein the mode is selectable by conductively coupling or uncoupling an optionally coupling auxiliary conductive element (as discussed in relation to FIGS. 10a through 10e). In a first operating mode (e.g., when the optionally coupling auxiliary conductive element is conductively coupled to the housing component (423), the housing component (423) may be configured as a radiating element for frequencies between about 600 MHz and about 1000 MHz (e.g., low-band frequencies). In a second operating mode (e.g., when the optionally coupling auxiliary conductive element is not conductively coupled to the housing component (423), the housing component (423) may be configured as a radiating element for frequencies between about 1800 MHz and about 2800 MHz (e.g., mid-band and high-band frequencies).

[0234] In some cases, the housing component (420) and the housing component (423) may be configured to operate in an overlapping frequency range (e.g., 600 MHz and about 1000 MHz). In some cases, the device (400) may choose to use the housing component (420) or the housing component (423) to communicate in this frequency range based on various conditions, such as the operating condition or mode of the device (400), the detected or predicted signal-to-noise ratio of one of the housing components, etc. Additional examples of selecting the housing component to be used as a radiating element under specific device conditions are described with reference to FIGS. 10a through 10e.

[0235] In some cases, the housing component (423) or a part thereof may be configured as a radiating element for frequencies between about 3200 MHz and about 5000 MHz (e.g., ultra-high frequency).

[0236] In some cases, a portion of the housing component (417, 419) acts as a radiating element. For example, the first radiating portion (451) of the housing component (417) may be configured as a radiating element for frequencies between about 1000 MHz and about 2000 MHz (e.g., for communication via GPS L1, L2 and / or L5 standards). The first radiating portion (452) of the housing component (419) may be configured as a radiating element for frequencies between about 1000 MHz and about 2000 MHz (e.g., for communication via GPS L1, L2 and / or L5 standards). The second radiating portion (453) of the housing component (419) may be configured as a radiating element for frequencies between about 3200 MHz and about 5000 MHz (e.g., ultra-high frequency bands). The second radiating portion (454) of the housing component (417) may be configured as a radiating element for a frequency between about 5000 MHz and about 8200 MHz (which can facilitate communication via Wi-Fi protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi 6E), Ultra-Wideband (UWB) protocols, etc.).

[0237] The housing component mentioned above can be configured as a radiating element for frequencies different from those described above. Additionally, the antenna described above and / or other antennas inside the device or associated with the device may be configured to communicate using various standards, protocols, frequency bands, etc., including but not limited to radio frequency cellular communication (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G, GSM, CDMA, etc.), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (e.g., for communicating using Wi-Fi communication standards and / or protocols including IEEE 802.11, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6, 6E), 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) or other suitable Wi-Fi standards and / or protocols), ultra-wideband (UWB) interfaces, near-field communication (NFC), etc.

[0238] The various radiating elements described above can provide redundant and / or overlapping radio communication functions that can be used to provide redundant antenna operation (e.g., when the antenna is blocked or attenuated), spatial variety, beamforming operation, etc. The radiating elements can be used simultaneously or separately. In some cases, the radiating elements can be used to perform MIMO radio communication schemes, including 4G, 4G LTE, and / or 5G Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) communication protocols.

[0239] FIG. 4b illustrates a housing structure of a device (400), but it will be understood that the same or similar concept and / or configuration in which a housing component defines a radiating element for wireless communication may be employed by other devices described herein, including but not limited to devices (100, 140, 200, 300, 400, 600, 1000, 1200, 1400, 1500, 1700, 2100).

[0240] FIG. 4c is a perspective view of a rear cover assembly (402). The rear cover assembly (402) may include a wireless charging coil (430), a microphone module (432), a flash module (434), and a rear cover (401). The rear cover assembly (402) may also include a flexible circuit element (436) that conductively connects the wireless charging coil (430), the microphone module (432), and the flash module (434) to the circuit board assembly of the device (e.g., through a connector (416) extending through a hole in the lower chassis section). The rear cover assembly (402) may also include a magnet (438) that supports alignment and magnetic attachment to an external charging accessory. As illustrated, the rear cover assembly (402) may be located on or facing the non-face or rear of the lower chassis section opposite the front of the lower chassis section. Accordingly, the component that is part of the rear cover assembly (402) can be positioned between the lower chassis section and the rear cover in the assembled device.

[0241] The rear cover assembly (402) may also include an anchor plate (442) located at a corner of the rear cover assembly (402) corresponding to the rear sensor area of ​​the device (400). The anchor plate (442) defines an opening (445) through which the lens of the camera extends. The anchor plate (442) may be attached to the rear cover via adhesive. A trim assembly (444) for the camera may be joined to the anchor plate (442) via welding or the like. The anchor plate (442) may provide a main structural mounting point for the trim assembly (444). The anchor plate (442) may also provide electrical functions by providing an electrical ground path for, for example, a rear camera, a rear depth sensor, and / or other components of the device. The anchor plate (442) may be formed of a metal (e.g., aluminum, steel, titanium) or other suitable material.

[0242] The rear cover assembly (402) may include one or more fastening features (446) (e.g., a tab, flange, boss, clip, etc.) that serve to connect the rear cover assembly to a housing structure. The fastening features (446) may include a base portion (448) that is fixed to the rear cover through an adhesive or the like, and a tab (e.g., reference numeral 446) configured to engage with a spring coupling element (424) (Fig. 4d) that extends from the base portion and is connected to a housing (e.g., a housing component (417, 419) and / or another housing component). The spring coupling element may be located in a hole (426) (Fig. 4b) or otherwise positioned to engage with the fastening features (446).

[0243] In some cases, the conductive path (450) may conductively connect one or more of the fastening features (446) to other electrical components and / or flexible circuit elements. The conductive path and the associated fastening features (446) may be used to define an electrical ground between the rear cover assembly and other parts of the device (e.g., housing structure (406)) through the fastening features (446). The conductive path may be formed by a flexible circuit element, conductive tape, conductive ink, or other suitable electrical conductor.

[0244] FIG. 4d is a drawing of the housing structure (406) viewed from the opposite side as shown in FIG. 4b. FIG. 4d also shows housing components (420, 421, 422, 423) coupled to the housing subassembly (410) (e.g., through a joint structure). As shown in FIG. 4d, a spring coupling element (424) can be coupled to the housing and positioned in a hole in the lower chassis section (428).

[0245] The holes (414, 415, 418, 425) may also be limited through the lower chassis section (428) to provide a gap for a camera (hole (414)), a gap for a board-to-board connector or other electrical connection (holes (412, 415)), a gap for a charging coil (430) (hole (418)), a gap for an alignment magnet for a wireless charging system (hole (425)), etc.

[0246] The lower chassis section (428) may also be configured to support various components in an overlapping arrangement in which mounting surfaces and gaps are strategically provided so that the components can be mounted in close proximity without interfering with each other. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 4d and 4e (partial cross-sectional view of the housing structure (406) seen along line 4E-4E in FIGS. 4d), the lower chassis section (428) may define a recessed area (455) (which may be recessed relative to the main surface (457)). The recessed area (455) may be configured to provide a gap for an adhesive structure (456) that attaches the battery (458) to the lower chassis section (428). The recessed area (455) allows the battery (458) to be positioned so that it faces more toward the rear cover (401). Additionally, a hole (418) may provide a gap for components of the wireless charging system. For example, one or more magnetic elements (438) positioned around or near the wireless charging coil (430) may extend into the hole (418) and overlap with the lower chassis section (428). Even if the magnetic elements (438) do not overlap with the lower chassis section (428), the hole (418) may provide a target gap between the magnetic elements (438) (and the coil (430)) while reducing or minimizing the overall thickness of the device.

[0247] FIG. 4e also illustrates an interface region (440) where the lower chassis section (428) can be joined to the housing component (419). As illustrated, the lower chassis section (428) and the housing component (419) can be overlapped and welded together along the interface region (440) (or otherwise attached to each other).

[0248] As described in this specification, various housing components and subassemblies may be joined together through a joint structure (e.g., a molded polymer structure). The joint structure may engage with an interlock structure defined by the housing components and subassemblies to form a structural connection. Furthermore, where the housing components and / or subassemblies are formed of multiple materials (e.g., a cladding portion and a core portion), various features of the housing (e.g., a mounting surface, an interlock structure) may be defined by the cladding portion alone, the core portion alone, or both the cladding and the core portions. FIGS. 4f through 4h illustrate a portion of a housing structure (406) and show an exemplary configuration of a clad housing component defining various surfaces and features, as well as a method in which a joint structure (e.g., an intermediate element) engages with the clad housing component and defines various surfaces and features of the housing.

[0249] As shown in FIG. 4f, which is a partial cross-sectional view of the housing structure (406) along line 4F-4F of FIG. 4d (joint structure omitted), the housing component (417) generally includes a core part (459) and a cladding part (460) that correspond to the core part (502) and cladding part (504) of FIG. 5a. As described herein, the core part (459) may be formed of a first metal, and the cladding part (460) may be formed of a second metal different from the first metal. The cladding part (460) may define the outer surface of the housing, while the core part (459) may define the inner surface and optionally a part of the inner cavity of the housing.

[0250] Both the core portion (459) and the cladding portion (460) may cooperate to define a mounting surface (470) of a housing component to which a component (e.g., a front cover assembly) can be attached. For example, the core portion (459) may define a first portion (462) of the mounting surface (470), and the cladding portion (460) may define a second portion (461) of the mounting surface (470). The mounting surface (470) may be substantially flat, and thus each portion (461, 462) may define a flat portion of the mounting surface (470). An adhesive may be placed on the mounting surface (470) (e.g., both the first and second portions (461, 462) of the mounting surface) to bond the front cover assembly to the housing component (417). FIG. 4f illustrates only one housing component (417), but other housing components may have a similar configuration (e.g., housing components (419 to 423)). Accordingly, other housing components may similarly include a core and a cladding portion that define a portion of the mounting surface (470), respectively. In some cases, the mounting surface (470) may extend continuously around the periphery of the housing and define a single plane so that the adhesive and the front cover assembly are bonded to a substantially planar interface surface. In some cases, the core portion (459) and the cladding portion (460) may each define a portion of the second mounting surface (470) (e.g., having the same or similar arrangement as surfaces (461, 462)) on the opposite side of the housing component to define the mounting surface for the rear cover assembly.

[0251] The cladding portion (460) also defines a portion of the flange extending along the peripheral side of the front and rear covers of the device. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4f, the cladding portion (460) defines a portion of the flange (465) extending along the peripheral side surface of the front cover (e.g., when the front cover assembly is coupled to the housing component (417). The cladding portion (460) may also define a portion of the second flange (466) extending along the peripheral side surface of the rear cover (e.g., when the rear cover assembly is coupled to the housing component (417). As described with respect to the mounting surface, other housing components (e.g., housing components (419 to 423)) may similarly include a cladding portion defining a portion of the flange (465, 466), respectively. In some cases, the flange may extend continuously around the periphery of the housing to completely surround the periphery side surfaces of the front and rear covers.

[0252] The housing component may also define an interlock structure into which the joint structure can interlock in order to mechanically join the joint structure to the housing component (and thus join the housing components together). FIG. 4f illustrates an exemplary interlock structure (463, 464) that may be defined by the core portion (459) of the housing component (417). In some cases, the interlock structure is defined by the cladding portion (460). Some interlock structures may be defined partially by the core portion (459) and partially by the cladding portion (460). As illustrated, the interlock structure (463, 464) may be a hole through which a polymer material can flow (e.g., as a result of an insert molding process). The holes may communicate with one another and, when filled with polymer material, form a network having a complex geometric structure that interlocks with the polymer material to form a secure mechanical connection. The polymer material may also engage with a similar interlock structure of another housing component (e.g., housing component (423)) to join the housing components together. Once cured, the polymer material forms a molded polymer member (e.g., a joint structure) that holds the housing components together and may act as an electrical insulator between the housing components. Additionally, as described herein, the joint structure may define specific features of the device housing. Although FIG. 4f illustrates an exemplary interlock structure, it also represents other types of interlock structures including, but not limited to, posts, threaded holes, threaded features, undercuts, dovetails, recesses, channels, and cutouts.

[0253] As described in this specification, joint structures may be positioned between housing components and may structurally join the housing components together. Joint structures may also define parts of various surfaces, sides, and features of the housings in which they are included. FIG. 4g illustrates a part of the housing (406) shown in FIG. 4f to which a part of the joint structure (405) is joined. The joint structure (405) shown in FIG. 4g may engage with an interlock structure of the housing component (417) and may also engage with a corresponding joint structure of another housing component (e.g., housing component (423)).

[0254] The joint structure (405) may have an external geometric structure identical or similar to that of the housing component to which it is joined. In some cases, the joint structure (405) may define a third portion (467) of the mounting surface (470) that is substantially identical (e.g., defines the same plane) to the first and second portions (461, 462) of the mounting surface (470). The joint structure (405) also defines a portion of the flange extending along the peripheral side of the front cover and rear cover of the device. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4g, the joint structure (405) defines a portion of the flange (465) extending along the peripheral side surface of the front cover (e.g., when the front cover assembly is joined to the housing component (417), and also defines a portion of the second flange (466) extending along the peripheral side surface of the rear cover (e.g., when the rear cover assembly is joined to the housing component (417).

[0255] FIG. 4h is a detailed view of area 4H-4H (Fig. 4a) of a housing (406) illustrating a joint structure (405) located between (and joining) housing components (419, 420). As shown in FIG. 4H, a portion (468) of the outer side surface of the housing (406) is defined (e.g., between the portion (466) of the outer side surface defined by the housing component (419) and the portion (467) of the outer surface defined by the housing component (420)). Other joint structures may have the same or similar configuration and may define a portion of the mounting surface, flange, and side surface of the housing.

[0256] FIG. 5a is a partial cross-sectional view of a housing component (500) having a clad structure. The housing component (500) may correspond to any housing component described herein that may have a clad configuration, such as the housing components (417, 419, 420, 421, 422, 423) of the device (400). FIG. 5a generally corresponds to a drawing along line 5A-5A of FIG. 4b.

[0257] A housing component (500) may include a core portion (502) and a cladding portion (504). The core portion (502) may be directly bonded to the cladding portion (504). The housing component (500) may be formed by co-extruding the core portion (502) and the cladding portion (504) to form a clad precursor material. In the clad precursor material, the core portion (502) and the cladding portion (504) may be fused together or otherwise bonded. Fusion may occur along an interface (which may be located within most of the clad member). Fusion may be characterized by diffusion bonding between the core portion (502) and the cladding portion (504) at the interface.

[0258] Next, the precursor material can be formed into a housing component (500) (e.g., an extruded member) using various processes. For example, the precursor material may be forged and / or machined to define the overall shape and mechanical features of the housing component (500), and then undergo polishing, texturing and / or coating. The mechanical features may include interlocking features for interlocking with a joint structure (e.g., to mechanically join the housing components together), attachment features (e.g., a hole for receiving a fastener), mounting surfaces, antenna feed points, and ground points.

[0259] The cladding portion (504) may define the outer surface (503) of the housing component (500). The core portion (502) may define the inner surface of the device and / or housing (e.g., the exterior of the finished device or a surface not visible from the outside). The core portion (502) may also define a mounting feature (519) to which a lower chassis may be attached, and may define at least a portion of the internal cavity of the device where the component is located as described herein.

[0260] The outer surface (503) defined by the cladding portion may have a surface texture that produces a specific visual appearance and / or tactile sensation. For example, the surface texture may have a texture that produces diffuse reflection. The surface texture may be created by grinding, lapping, machining, ablation, blasting (e.g., sandblasting, bead blasting), etching (through mechanical etching, laser etching, chemical etching), or any other suitable texturing operation(s). The outer surface of the housing component may also include a coating such as a deposited coating. The deposited coating may be deposited on the housing component via plasma vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), etc. In some cases, the cladding portion (504) is polished (before and / or after coating).

[0261] The core portion (502) may be aluminum (e.g., aluminum alloy), and the cladding portion (504) may be titanium (e.g., titanium alloy). In some cases, the core portion (502) is aluminum and the cladding portion (504) is stainless steel. Other materials are also considered for the core and cladding portions.

[0262] As described above in relation to FIGS. 4f through 4g, both the core portion (502) and the cladding portion (504) may define a portion of the mounting surface (506, 508) to which the front cover assembly and the rear cover assembly can be joined, respectively. For example, the frame member (505) of the front cover assembly (joined to the front cover (509)) may be attached to the mounting surface (506) via an adhesive (507). As another example, the front cover may be attached directly to the adhesive (507). Similarly, the rear cover (511) may be attached to the mounting surface (508) via an adhesive (513). In some cases, the rear cover assembly includes a frame member (similar to the frame member (505)) or other components, and the frame member is attached to the mounting surface (508) via an adhesive.

[0263] As described above in relation to FIGS. 4f and 4g, the cladding portion (504) may also define a flange or lip portion (510) that extends around the side of the front cover and partially covers it, and a flange or lip portion (512) that extends around the side of the rear cover and at least partially covers the side. In some cases, the flange or lip portion (510, 512) is at substantially the same height as the outer surfaces of the front and rear covers. In some cases, the flange or lip portion (510, 512) is defined only by the cladding portion (504), whereas in other cases, it is defined at least partially by the core portion (502).

[0264] FIG. 5b is a partial cross-sectional view of another exemplary housing component (520) formed of a clad structure comprising a plurality of materials. The housing component (520) may correspond to any housing component described herein that may have a clad configuration, such as the housing components (417, 419, 420, 421, 422, 423) of the device (400).

[0265] The housing component (520) may include a core portion (522) and a cladding portion (521). The housing component (520) may be formed by co-extruding the core portion (522) and the cladding portion (521) to form a clad precursor material. As another example, the housing component (520) may be formed by plating, depositing, welding, or otherwise applying the material of the cladding portion (521) to the core portion (522) so that the cladding portion (521) defines at least a portion of the outer surface of the housing component (520). Subsequently, the precursor material may be formed into the housing component (520) using various processes. For example, the precursor material may be forged and / or machined to define the overall shape and mechanical features of the housing component (520), and then undergo polishing, texturing, and / or coating operations. Mechanical features may include interlocking features for interlocking with a joint structure (e.g., to mechanically join housing components together), attachment features (e.g., a hole for receiving a fastener), a mounting surface, an antenna feed point, and a ground point. As another example, the core portion (522) may be formed in the general shape of the housing component (520) (to define the corners and general external shape of the device housing, mechanical features, etc.), and the cladding portion (521) is formed on the pre-molded core portion (522).

[0266] The core portion (522) may be aluminum (e.g., aluminum alloy) and the cladding portion (521) may be titanium (e.g., titanium alloy). In some cases, the core portion (522) is aluminum and the cladding portion (521) is stainless steel. Other materials are also considered for the core and cladding portions. Furthermore, the core and cladding portions of the housing component (520) may have textures, coatings, and appearances, and / or a process similar to that described for the housing component (500) of FIG. 5a may be applied, and this description also applies to the housing component (520).

[0267] The core and / or cladding portions of the housing component (520) may define various feature portions. For example, the flange portions (525, 526) may be defined by the core portion (522) (defining the side of the flange facing the peripheral side of the front and rear covers) and the cladding portion (521) (defining a portion of the outer surface of the flange). In the exemplary cladding configuration illustrated in FIG. 5b, the core portion (522) may define the entirety of the mounting surfaces (523, 524) to which the front and rear cover assemblies are respectively attached, as described herein. The core portion (522) may also define a mounting feature portion (527) to which a lower chassis may be attached, as described herein.

[0268] FIG. 5c is a partial cross-sectional view of another exemplary housing component (530) formed of a clad structure comprising a plurality of materials. The housing component (530) may correspond to any housing component described herein that may have a clad configuration, such as the housing components (417, 419, 420, 421, 422, 423) of the device (400).

[0269] The housing component (530) may include a core portion (532) and a cladding portion (531). The housing component (530) may be formed by forming a precursor material using a plating operation (e.g., electroplating), vapor deposition (e.g., PVD, CVD, etc.), or other processes to form the cladding portion (531) on the core portion (532). As another example, the core portion (532) and the cladding portion (531) may be co-extruded to form the precursor material. Once the precursor material is formed, it may then be formed into the housing component (530) using various processes. For example, the precursor material may be forged and / or machined to define the overall shape and mechanical features of the housing component (530), and then undergo polishing, texturing, and / or coating operations. Mechanical features may include interlocking features for interlocking with a joint structure (e.g., to mechanically join housing components together), attachment features (e.g., a hole for receiving a fastener), a mounting surface, an antenna feed point, and a ground point. As another example, the core portion (532) may be formed in the general shape of the housing component (530) (to define the corners and general external shape of the device housing, mechanical features, etc.), and the cladding portion (531) is formed on the pre-molded core portion (532).

[0270] The core portion (532) may be aluminum (e.g., aluminum alloy) and the cladding portion (531) may be titanium (e.g., titanium alloy). In some cases, the core portion (532) is aluminum and the cladding portion (531) is stainless steel. Other materials are also considered for the core and cladding portions. Furthermore, the core and cladding portions of the housing component (530) may have textures, coatings, and appearances, and / or a process similar to that described for the housing component (500) of FIG. 5a may be applied, and this description also applies to the housing component (530).

[0271] In the example illustrated in FIG. 5c, the cladding portion (531) defines all external surfaces of the housing component (530). For example, the external surfaces of the flange portions (535, 536) may be defined by the cladding portion (531). Additionally, the mounting surfaces (533, 534) are defined by the cladding portion (531). The cladding portion (531) may also define the external surfaces of the mounting feature portion (537) to which the lower chassis may be attached, as described herein. The core portion (532) may also define the internal portion of the mounting feature portion (537).

[0272] In some cases, the clad housing component may be configured to prevent galvanic corrosion caused by the bonding of different metals. FIGS. 5d through 5g illustrate various exemplary techniques for inhibiting corrosion at various locations of the clad housing component.

[0273] FIG. 5d is a partial cross-sectional view of the housing component (500) of FIG. 5a illustrating an exemplary coating (539, 540) that may be positioned over a seam or joint between the core portion (502) and the cladding portion (504). For example, the coating (539, 540) may be applied to the mounting surface (506, 508) and may cover or extend over the seam defined by the interface (538) between the core and the cladding portion. The coating (539, 540) may define a moisture barrier that prevents or inhibits water, moisture, or other liquids or contaminants from coming into contact with the core and cladding portions (502, 504) (e.g., connecting the core and the cladding portions or otherwise acting as an electrolyte for a galvanic corrosion process). In this way, the coating (539, 540) can inhibit or prevent the initiation and / or progression of galvanic corrosion of the core and / or cladding portions.

[0274] The coating (539, 540) may be a polymeric material such as polyurethane, acrylic, epoxy, or other suitable material. The coating (539, 540) may be applied over an exposed seam between the core and the cladding portion. In some cases, the coating (539, 540) has a thickness of about 15 to about 50 micrometers. The coating (539, 540) may extend from both sides of the seam to a target distance, for example, from about 20 micrometers to about 200 micrometers from both sides of the seam. If the coating (539, 540) is located on a mounting surface of the housing (e.g., mounting surface (506, 508)) to which other components (e.g., front or rear cover assembly) are joined, an adhesive for joining the components may be applied directly to the coating. The coating (539, 540) can be applied as a liquid and cured (e.g., through a curing process or other curing process) to form a final coating.

[0275] In some cases, the sealant may be deposited on the housing component along the seam between the core and the cladding portion, and the sealant may be absorbed (wicked) into the seam or otherwise flow, and any excess sealant may be removed. The sealant may be cured or otherwise cured to limit a moisture barrier at the seam. In such cases, the sealant may not extend over the mounting surface, or may extend only a small amount (e.g., about 1 to about 5 micrometers) over the mounting surface. The sealant may prevent or inhibit liquid and / or moisture from seeping into the seam, and thus inhibit or prevent the initiation and / or progression of galvanic corrosion of the core and / or cladding portion.

[0276] FIG. 5e is a partial cross-sectional view of a housing (500) illustrating an exemplary structure for inhibiting or preventing galvanic corrosion in the region of a hole (541) that extends through the housing (500). The hole (541) may represent a hole for a charging port, a speaker, a SIM tray, a button, etc. In this example, the cladding portion (504) may define a sleeve portion (542) that extends into the hole (541) and defines the surface of the hole (541). The sleeve portion (542) may be formed by forging, swaging, drilling, machining, or otherwise by causing the material of the cladding portion to define the surface of the hole (541). As an example, the sleeve portion (542) may be formed by a drilling process in which a portion of the material of the cladding portion (504) is pushed into the hole of the core portion (502).

[0277] The sleeve portion (542) may define a single material surface along an interface where the liquid may come into contact under certain circumstances, so that the liquid does not come into contact with the seam (549) between the core and the cladding portion. For example, components such as a button, SIM tray, speaker, etc., may extend into the hole (541). A sealing member (543) may be positioned in the hole (541) and form a seal against the sleeve portion (542) to prevent liquid or moisture from entering the device. Thus, the liquid is contained in an external area where the seam between the core and the cladding portion is not exposed. In other words, this configuration positions the seam (549) inside a liquid-sealed environment so that the seam is less likely to come into contact with liquid or moisture and thus less likely to undergo galvanic (or other) corrosion.

[0278] FIG. 5f is a partial cross-sectional view of a housing (500) illustrating another exemplary structure for suppressing or preventing galvanic corrosion at a seam located in a hole (544) extending through the housing (500). The hole (544) may represent a hole for a charging port, speaker, SIM tray, button, etc. In this example, the seam of the interface (538) may be confined within the hole (544), and a coating (545) may be positioned over the seam within the hole. The coating (545) may generally correspond to the coating (539, 540) in terms of material, size, use, function, etc., and it will be understood that the description of the coating (539, 540) applies equally to the coating (545). The coating (545) may be dispensed into the hole (544) through a needle, a spray nozzle, or other suitable technique. In some cases, the coating (545) may be a sealant as described above in relation to FIG. 5d.

[0279] FIG. 5g is a partial cross-sectional view of a housing (500) illustrating an exemplary structure for inhibiting or preventing galvanic corrosion in the region of a hole (548) extending through the housing (500). The hole (548) may represent a hole for a charging port, a speaker, a SIM tray, a button, etc. In this example, an insert (547) may be positioned in a hole formed in the housing (e.g., formed through the core and the cladding portion) so that the seam between the core and the cladding portion is covered by the insert (547). The insert (547) may then define the surface of the hole. The insert (547) may be formed of various materials and may be joined to the housing in various ways. For example, the insert (547) may be formed of a metal (e.g., the same metal as the cladding part, such as titanium) and may be welded, brazed, soldered, bonded, or otherwise fixed to the cladding and / or core part so that the seam defined by the interface (538) in the area of ​​the hole (548) is sealed against liquid and / or moisture.

[0280] As another example, the insert (547) may be formed from a moldable material, such as a polymer material, and may be formed in place for the seam of the hole (548), thereby sealing the seam against liquid / moisture. The moldable material may be the same material defining the joint structure or a part thereof (and may be formed as part of the same process). For example, a molding process may be used to inject the moldable material into the housing component to form the joint structure and the insert (547). The hole (548) penetrating the insert (547) may be formed as part of the molding process or through a subsequent operation (e.g., drilling, machining, etc.). The insert (547) can also be formed from a polymer material using a process separate from the process used to form the joint structure (e.g., the hole in the housing can be filled with epoxy and then the insert (547) and the hole (548) can be defined by drilling or machining the epoxy).

[0281] As described above, the device may include a front sensor area located along the front of the device. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary device (600) having such a configuration. The device (600) may correspond to an electronic device (100, 200) or any other device described herein, or may be an embodiment thereof.

[0282] The device (600) includes a front sensor area (602) that may correspond to or be an embodiment thereof the front sensor area (111, 113) described in relation to FIG. 1a and FIG. 1c. The front sensor area (602) may appear as a pill-shaped area along the display (609) of the device. The front sensor area (602) may appear as an inactive area of ​​the display (609) and may be completely surrounded by the active area of ​​the display.

[0283] As described in the specification, the front sensor area (602) may provide both input and output functions for the device (600). For example, the front sensor area (602) may include sensors such as a face recognition system, a proximity detection system, and a front camera. The front sensor area (602) may provide functions of a face recognition system (e.g., a face recognition system (252, 352)) such as authenticating a user.

[0284] Additionally, as described herein, the front sensor area (602) may include a supplementary display area (612) that appears to be part of the graphic inactive area of ​​the display but can actually be used to provide graphic output to the user. For example, as described herein, the supplementary display area (612) may be used to selectively generate graphic output (so that the graphic output is displayed within the front sensor area (602)). When not generating graphic output, the supplementary display area (612) within the front sensor area (602) may appear identical or similar to the inactive area (e.g., a part of the cover that does not have a display placed underneath).

[0285] The front sensor area (602) may be at least partially defined by one or more holes formed through a display to allow optical access through the display to optical components such as a face recognition system that may include a front camera (607), a light emitter (608), and a light receiver (606), and a proximity sensing system (703) (Fig. 7a) that may include a light emitter (620) and a light receiver (621). For example, a first hole (604) may be formed through the display (e.g., through all or a subset of layers of a display stack), and the front camera (607) may be positioned with respect to the first hole (604) so ​​that the camera (607) can capture an image through the front cover (601) of the device (600). A second hole (605) may be formed through a display (e.g., through all or a subset of the layers of the display stack), and a light emitter and receiver of the face recognition system and proximity detection system (703) may be positioned with respect to the second hole (605) so that infrared light can be emitted and received through the front cover (601) of the device (600). As described herein, the light emitter and light receiver may operate in the infrared spectrum.

[0286] In some cases, the front sensor area (602) may include one or more masks, coatings, and / or other materials or treatments to define the boundaries of the front sensor area (602) and to shield internal components of the device through the front sensor area (602). For example, a mask (610, 611) may be applied to the cover (601) to provide a substantially uniform appearance to the front sensor area (602) and / or to block visibility into the device through the front sensor area (602). The mask (610, 611) may be positioned on the inner surface of the front cover (601) in the area where the first and second holes (605, 604) of the display are located. In some cases, the display stack overlaps with the mask (610, 611) and behind the mask, so that the mask (610, 611) obscures or blocks visibility of the openings within the display.

[0287] Additionally, a coating that is visually substantially opaque but at least partially transparent to infrared light may be applied to the cover (601) over the face recognition system and the proximity detection system. The front sensor area (602) may be configured so that the front sensor area (602) and the display appear substantially continuous when the display (609) is inactive (e.g., not illuminated or not generating graphic output). In other words, when the display (609) is inactive, there may be little to no discernible visual difference between the display (609) and the front sensor area (602). To achieve this, the visually opaque infrared-transmitting coating and mask (610) may be designed to have optical properties (e.g., color, reflectivity, opacity, etc.) similar to the display when the display is inactive.

[0288] As described in the specification, the front sensor area (602) may include sensors such as a face recognition system, a proximity detection system, and a front camera. Additionally, as described in the specification, the front sensor area (602) may include a supplementary display area (612) which appears to be part of the graphic inactive area of ​​the display but can actually be used to provide graphic output to the user. For example, graphic output generated by the display (609) (e.g., a graphic user interface of the device's operating system and / or application) may not extend into the supplementary display area (612) or be displayed thereby. However, the supplementary display area (612) may be used to display icons, glyphs, lights, or other graphic outputs to provide information to the user. As one non-limiting example, a descriptor (613) may be displayed in the supplementary display area (612) to notify the user of an event or status of the device. For example, the indicator (613) may indicate that a new message (e.g., email, text message, application notification) has been received, or it may indicate that the front camera or face recognition sensor is active.

[0289] The dotted line in FIG. 6, which exemplifies the boundary between the supplementary display area (612) and the main active area of ​​the display (609), may be a program-based boundary (e.g., the display (609) does not display the main graphic output within the boundary), or it may be a physical or optical boundary (e.g., it may be defined by a coating, ink, etc.). In some cases, substantially all of the supplementary display area (612) is defined by a mask that covers and blocks the display, but defines one or more holes that allow light from the display to pass through to produce a graphic output within the supplementary display area (612). For example, an indicator (613) may represent or be defined by a hole through an opaque mask placed over the display. For example, a supplementary display area mask may be placed between the masks (610, 611) and over the active part of the display. The supplementary display area mask may define the hole, and when the area placed below the display is illuminated, the indicator (613) appears illuminated. The supplementary display area mask may be part of a continuous mask (which may define the mask (610, 611) and the supplementary display area mask). In different examples, the supplementary display area mask may be a mask different from the mask (610, 611) (e.g., formed of one or more different materials and / or layers).

[0290] Additionally, the front sensor area (602) or a part thereof may be touch-sensitive and / or force-sensitive so that a user can provide touch input to the front sensor area (602). For example, a touch or tap on the front sensor area (602) may cause a camera application to start on the device (600). As another example, when a notification is active in the supplementary display area (612), a touch or tap on the front sensor area (602) may cause an application or other information related to the notification to be displayed on the device.

[0291] FIG. 6 illustrates other features of the front of the device (600). For example, the device (600) may include a speaker port (614) located between the cover (601) and the housing (603). The speaker port (614), which may correspond to the speaker port (110) of FIG. 1a or be an embodiment thereof, may be located outside the active area of ​​the display (609) and may be defined along at least a first side by a notch formed in the cover (601) and on at least a second side by the housing (603). A grid element or other protective structure may be located within the speaker port (614) to prevent the inflow of debris into the device (600). A speaker assembly may be located under the front cover (601) and may be coupled to an audio passage configured to transmit audio from the speaker assembly. The device (600) may also include a microphone located within the device and configured to receive sound through a speaker port (614). The device may also include an ambient light sensor located outside the front sensor area (602) and below the display (609) (e.g., so that the ambient light sensor captures light through the display stack in the active area of ​​the display).

[0292] FIG. 7a illustrates an exemplary front sensor module (700) that may be integrated with a device (600) (or any other device having a front sensor area as described herein). The front sensor module (700) may include a front camera (607) and a face recognition and proximity sensor module (702) (e.g., to provide the function of a face recognition system such as biometric authentication of a user). The face recognition and proximity sensor module (702) (which is an example of a biometric system) may include a light emitter (608) and a light receiver (606) of the face recognition system, and a light emitter (620) and a light receiver (621) of the proximity sensing module. To mitigate or reduce crosstalk between the emitter and receiver components of the light sensing system, the internal components of the emitter and receiver may be optically separated from each other. By positioning the face recognition system (or other biometric system) and the proximity sensing system (703) in a common module, a common wall (717) (Figs. 7f through 7g) within the module can be used to optically separate the two light receivers from their corresponding light emitters. For example, a single wall within the face recognition and proximity sensor module (702) can be positioned between the light emitter (608) and the light receiver (606), and also between the light emitter (620) and the light receiver (621). The single wall can be extended along a non-linear path to extend between the two emitter-receiver pairs. The single wall may be integral with the module housing member (704) as described herein.

[0293] The light emitter and receiver (620, 621) of the proximity sensing system may include a light guide located within an opening of the module housing member (704). The light guide may be an optically transparent plastic (or glass or other suitable material) and may be coupled to the module housing member (704) at the opening.

[0294] The light emitter (608) of the face recognition sensor and the light emitter and receiver (620, 621) of the proximity detection system (703) may share a common mounting surface (706) of the module housing member (704). The mounting surface (706) may be configured to be coupled to the rear or inner surface of the front cover of the device and may be sealed to the inner surface with foam or other compliant material that can seal the mounting surface from dust and light ingress.

[0295] FIG. 7b illustrates a perspective view of a face recognition and proximity sensor module (702). As shown in FIG. 7b, the module (702) includes a module housing member (704). The module housing member (704) (which may be formed from a molded polymer structure) may define a hole (705) through which the lens (720) of the light receiver (606) extends. The module housing member (704) may also include a hole where a light guide for the light emitter (620) and the light receiver (621) may be positioned, as well as a hole where a component of the light emitter (608) (e.g., a lens or a cover) may be positioned. The light guide may be coupled to the housing member (704).

[0296] FIG. 7c is a side view of a face recognition and proximity sensor module (702). The module (702) may be configured with specific gaps and features so that components of the module (702) can be positioned in close proximity, thereby reducing the overall installation space of the module (702). For example, a module housing member (704) (e.g., a molded housing member) may define a housing portion (731) that defines a mounting surface (706) and supports various components of the module (702) (e.g., a light guide, a lens, a cover, etc.). The housing portion (731) may extend over an undercut area (733) below an overhang (732) and / or define an overhang (732) that defines it. The overhang (732) and the undercut area (733) accommodate the shape of a lens (720) including a base portion (734) that is larger than the upper portion (730). For example, the overhang (732) and undercut area (733) allow the lens (720) to be positioned closer to the housing portion (731), while also providing a target gap between the components. In some cases, the overhang (732) extends over a portion of the lens (720) (and / or a portion of the lens (720) extends into the undercut area (733)).

[0297] FIG. 7d illustrates a portion of the bottom surface of the front cover assembly (739) and illustrates a location where the front sensor module (700) can be coupled to the front cover assembly (739). A frame member (741) may be coupled to the inner surface of the front cover assembly (739) (e.g., the bottom surface of the display stack (737)) to accommodate and support the front sensor module (700). The frame member (741) may define a first region that at least partially surrounds the camera window (736) (e.g., the transparent portion of the front cover) and accommodates a portion of the front camera (607) inside. The frame member (741) may also define a second region that at least partially surrounds the face recognition and proximity sensor window (736). The window (736) may be optically transparent within the wavelength range of the face recognition and proximity sensor system. In some cases, the window (736) includes a visually opaque infrared-transmitting coating on the front cover.

[0298] The gasket member (722) may be positioned on the window (736) and configured to accommodate a part of the face recognition and proximity sensor module (702) (e.g., the front surface of the mounting surface (706) and the lens (720)) thereon. The gasket member (722) may be formed of a conformable material (e.g., foam, elastomer, etc.) and may also be configured to absorb light to prevent or suppress crosstalk between the various light receivers and light emitters of the face recognition and proximity sensor module (702).

[0299] The gasket member (722) may define a hole (738) in the front cover for the optical component of the face recognition and proximity sensor module (702) that provides an optical path through the gasket member (722). For example, a first hole (738-1) may provide an optical path to an optical receiver (606), a second hole (738-2) may provide an optical path to a proximity detection system (703), and a third hole (738-3) may provide an optical path to an optical emitter (608). The size and shape of the hole (738) may be configured to reduce crosstalk or other interference between the emitter and the receiver as described herein.

[0300] FIG. 7e is a partial cross-sectional view of a face recognition and proximity sensor module (702) seen along line 7E-7E of FIG. 7a. The face recognition and proximity sensor module (702) extends through or otherwise is located inside an opening (724) formed in the display (609) and is sealed against the inner surface of the cover (601) by a gasket member (722) (e.g., a conformable material such as a foam pad). The gasket member (722) can seal the face recognition and proximity sensor module (702) from the ingress of dust or other contaminants and may also act as a light-absorbing material to suppress light emitted from the light emitter (608) from propagating toward the light receiver (606) through most of the front cover (601). More specifically, light from an emitter that is reflected or propagated through the thickness of the front cover (601) (e.g., through internal reflection) can ultimately be received by a receiver along with light reflected by an object (e.g., light intended to be received as a signal). The internally propagated light may generate undesirable crosstalk or otherwise reduce the signal-to-noise ratio of the sensing system because the receiver cannot distinguish between the signal (e.g., light reflected by an external object) and the crosstalk noise (e.g., light propagated through most of the front cover (601) via internal reflection). Accordingly, the light-absorbing material of the gasket member (722) can absorb the light reflected internally through most of the front cover (601) to reduce crosstalk.

[0301] As illustrated in FIGS. 7d ​​and 7e, the hole (738-3) of the gasket member (722) positioned over the lens (710) of the light emitter (608) may be sized such that a portion of the gasket member (722) partially extends over the front element of the lens (710). This portion of the gasket member (722) may block a portion of the light emitted through the lens (710), thereby reducing the amount of light that is reflected through most of the front cover (601) and may cause interference crosstalk with the light receiver (606). More specifically, the portion of the gasket member (722) that extends over the front element of the lens (710) selectively blocks light incident at a shallow angle to the lower surface of the front cover (601), which can ultimately reduce the amount of light reflected internally by the front cover (601). In some cases, the size and shape of the hole (738-3) reduce the illumination field (e.g., the angle of the illumination cone emitted by the light emitter (608)) by about 5%, about 10%, or about 20% (or other suitable value) along at least one direction.

[0302] In some cases, the coating positioned over the face recognition and proximity sensor module (702) on the inner surface of the cover (601) has a refractive index substantially similar to that of the front cover (601) (e.g., within about 1%, within about 5%, within about 10%, or within about 20% (other values ​​are also considered)). By selecting a material having a similar refractive index, light reflected within the material of the cover (601) may be more likely to be transmitted to the outside of the cover (601) rather than reflected from the inside. By allowing light to pass to the outside of the cover (601) (and into the gasket member (722)), the amount of light ultimately propagated toward and into the light receiver (606) may be reduced. Other light-absorbing structures and materials may be used instead of or in addition to the refractive index matching coating and gasket member (722).

[0303] Various characteristics of the gasket member (722), optional optical coating, and adhesive used to bond the gasket member (722) to the front cover (601) may be selected to achieve a target degree of light absorption. For example, the gasket member, coating, and adhesive may have a target light absorbance in a wavelength range corresponding to the light (e.g., infrared) emitted by the light emitter (608). For example, these components may have absorbance values ​​between about 0.8 and about 5, between about 1 and about 5, between about 2 and about 5, or between about 3 and about 5 in an applicable wavelength range (e.g., infrared). Other absorbance values ​​are also considered.

[0304] FIG. 7e also illustrates the relative positions of the components of the face recognition and proximity sensor module (702). For example, the proximity sensing system (703) (including both the emitter (620) and the receiver (621)) may be positioned between the light emitter (608) and the light receiver (606) of the face recognition system.

[0305] The light receiver (606) may include a lens (720) and a light sensor (718), such as an infrared image sensor, another image sensor, or a light detection element, to detect and / or capture an image of the user. The light sensor (718) may be configured to capture an image of the user when the user is illuminated by the light emitter (608). The light emitter (608) may include a lens (710) and a pair of infrared light emitters (712, 714) configured to emit light through the lens (710). The light emitter (712) may be configured to generate a pattern of infrared light (e.g., a grid or array of infrared dots), and the light emitter (714) may be configured to generate a large amount of infrared light (e.g., a substantially uniform illumination field). The device (600) can capture an image of the user's face while the user's face is illuminated by a dot pattern and / or many infrared rays (e.g., using a light sensor (718)) and authenticate the user based on the captured image. For example, the device (600) can determine a depth map of the user's face from the image using a dot pattern projected onto the user's face and authenticate the user based on the depth map.

[0306] FIG. 7e also illustrates a cross-sectional view of a light receiver (621) of a proximity sensing system (703). The light receiver (621) includes a light sensor (716) located below a light guide (726). A portion of the light emitted by the light emitter (620) may be reflected from an object and travel through the light guide (726) to the light sensor (716). The reflected light may be used to determine the proximity and / or distance of an object (e.g., a user's face) to the device. As previously described, the proximity sensing system (703) may estimate the distance between the device and an object or target by using time-of-flight calculations or other types of proximity sensing techniques. The configuration of the light receiver (621) illustrated in FIG. 7e may also represent the configuration of the light emitter (620). In particular, the light sensor (716) may represent a light emitter (715), and the light guide (726) may represent a corresponding light guide positioned above the light emitter (715) through which light from the light emitter (715) is emitted. The light guide above the light emitter (715) and the light sensor (716) may be transparent within at least the wavelength range of the light (e.g., infrared, visible light, etc.) emitted by the light emitter (715). The light guide may be formed of an optically transparent material (within the wavelength range).

[0307] FIG. 7f illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of a face recognition and proximity sensor module (702) seen along line 7F-7F of FIG. 7f, illustrating the location and configuration of a light blocking wall (717) that optically separates the light receiver of the module (702) from the corresponding light emitter. In particular, the light blocking wall (717), which may be formed as an integral part of the module housing member (704), may extend between the light emitter (emitter (712, 714, 715)) and the light sensor (sensor (716, 718)). As described herein, the emitter (712, 714) may be composed of a dot projector and a flood projector and may be configured to illuminate an object (e.g., a face), which is then captured as an image by the light sensor (718). The emitter (712, 714) may project a dot pattern and a lot of light through a lens (710).

[0308] Accordingly, a light blocking wall (717) positioned between the emitter (712, 714) and the sensing element (718) prevents light emitted from the dot and flood projector from leaking into the sensing element (718) through the module (702). Similarly, the emitter (715) may be configured to emit light (e.g., infrared light) over an object, and the reflected light is detected by the sensing element (716) (e.g., to determine the proximity of the object based on the brightness of the reflected light). Accordingly, a light blocking wall (717) positioned between the emitter (715) and the sensing element (716) prevents light emitted from the emitter (715) from leaking into the sensing element (716) through the module (702).

[0309] FIG. 7g illustrates a perspective view of a module housing member (704) viewed from the bottom of the housing member. In this example, a light blocking wall (717) is shown extending between a hole (728) and a hole (729), which are formed through the module housing member (704) and are holes where a light guide for a proximity sensing system is located. More specifically, the hole (729) may be positioned above a light emitter (715) to accommodate a light guide that guides light from it, while the hole (728) may be positioned above a light sensor (716) to accommodate a light guide that guides light. The light blocking wall (717) also extends between the areas of the module housing member (704) that accommodate the light emitter and the light sensor for a face recognition sensing system. The light blocking wall (717) may be formed integrally with the module housing member (704). For example, the module housing member (704) may be an integral component (e.g., formed of a molded polymer, metal, etc.) that defines the light blocking wall (717) as a protruding feature. The housing member (704) may be formed of or include an optically opaque material (e.g., a material that is optically opaque within light of at least a target wavelength).

[0310] The front cover assembly may include various masks, coatings, and / or other treatments in the front sensor area to provide not only the target performance of the sensor and imaging components but also the target appearance along the front of the device. FIGS. 8a through 8c illustrate various exemplary configurations of a front cover assembly with masks and / or coatings in the front sensor area.

[0311] FIG. 8a illustrates a face recognition and proximity sensor module (800) (corresponding to and / or an embodiment thereof) and a front cover (802) to which the module (800) can be combined. A mask structure (806) may be positioned on the inner surface (804) of the front cover (802) and may define a hole (807). The hole (807) may be aligned with or otherwise defined with an optically transparent area of ​​the front cover assembly, thereby allowing light to pass into and from the module (800). The mask structure (806) may be formed of any suitable material and / or structure, such as one or more layers of ink, film, coating (e.g., deposited coating), and may be opaque. For example, the mask structure (806) may be positioned to cover (and obscure) the edge of the hole in the display, where the hole provides optical access to the module (800) through the display. A coating (808) that is visually opaque but optically transparent in the wavelength range of a face recognition and proximity sensor system may be positioned on the front cover (802) and on or inside the hole (807). The coating (808) can block the visibility of the underlying component while still allowing light in the target wavelength range to pass through.

[0312] FIG. 8b illustrates a face recognition and proximity sensor module (810) (corresponding to and / or an embodiment thereof) and a front cover (812) to which the module (810) can be combined. A mask structure (816) may be positioned on the inner surface (814) of the front cover (812) and may define a first hole (817) and a second hole (819). The first hole (817) may be aligned with or otherwise defined an optically transparent area for one part of the module (810) (e.g., a light receiver for a face recognition detection system), and the second hole (819) may be aligned with or otherwise defined an optically transparent area for another part of the module (810) (e.g., a light emitter for a face recognition detection system and a light emitter and receiver for a proximity detection system). A web or mask portion extending between the first hole (817) and the second hole (819) may be configured to absorb light from a light emitter that can be reflected through the front cover (812) (and otherwise captured as interference crosstalk by an associated light receiver). The mask structure (816) may be formed of any suitable material and / or structure, such as one or more layers of ink, film, coating (e.g., deposited coating), and may be opaque. The material of the mask structure (816) may be selected to provide targeted light absorption. The mask structure (816) may be positioned to cover (and obscure) the edges of the holes in the display, where the holes provide optical access to the module (810) through the display. A coating (818) that is visually opaque but optically transparent in the wavelength range of the face recognition and proximity sensor system may be positioned over the front cover (812) and over or within the holes (817, 819). The coating (818) can block the visibility of the underlying component while still allowing light in the target wavelength range to pass through.

[0313] FIG. 8c illustrates a face recognition and proximity sensor module (820) (corresponding to and / or an embodiment thereof) and a front cover (822) to which the module (820) can be combined. A mask structure (826) may be positioned on the inner surface (824) of the front cover (822) and may define a hole (827). The hole (827) may be aligned with or otherwise defined with an optically transparent area of ​​the front cover assembly, thereby allowing light to pass into and from the module (820). The mask structure (826) may be formed of any suitable material and / or structure, such as one or more layers of ink, film, coating (e.g., deposited coating), and may be opaque. For example, the mask structure (826) may be positioned to cover (and obscure) the edge of the hole in the display, where the hole provides optical access to the module (820) through the display. A coating (828) that is visually opaque but optically transparent in the wavelength range of a face recognition and proximity sensor system may be positioned on the front cover (822) and on or inside the hole (827). The coating (828) can block the visibility of the underlying component while still allowing light in the target wavelength range to pass through.

[0314] One or more coatings (823, 825) may be applied to the inner surface (824) of the front cover (822). The coatings (823, 825) may extend between parts of the module (820) and may define a web or mask portion configured to absorb light from a light emitter that may be reflected through the front cover (822) (and otherwise captured as interference crosstalk by an associated receiver). The coatings (823, 825) may be formed from any suitable material, such as one or more ink layers, films, coatings (e.g., deposited coatings such as PVD or CVD coatings), and may be opaque. The coatings may have absorbance values ​​between about 0.8 and about 5, between about 1 and about 5, between about 2 and about 5, or between about 3 and about 5 in an applicable wavelength range (e.g., infrared). Other absorbance values ​​are also considered. In some cases, one coating (e.g., coating (823) or coating (825)) is present, while in other cases, more than one coating (two coatings (823, 825 or additional coating)) is present. The coatings (823, 825) may have a thickness of about 3 micrometers to about 10 micrometers.

[0315] FIGS. 9a through 9c illustrate various exemplary configurations of a front cover assembly having a conformal structure in the front sensor area to form a seal for a front sensor module (e.g., a face recognition and proximity sensor module) and to provide a light absorption function.

[0316] FIG. 9a illustrates a face recognition and proximity sensor module (900) (corresponding to and / or an embodiment thereof) and a front cover (902) to which the module (900) can be combined. A mask structure (906) may be positioned on the inner surface (904) of the front cover (902) and may define a hole (907). The hole (907) may be aligned with or otherwise defined with an optically transparent area of ​​the front cover assembly, thereby allowing light to pass into and from the module (900). The mask structure (906) may be formed of any suitable material and / or structure, such as one or more layers of ink, film, coating (e.g., deposited coating), and may be opaque. For example, the mask structure (906) may be positioned to cover (and obscure) the edge of the hole in the display, where the hole provides optical access to the module (900) through the display. A coating that is visually opaque but optically transparent in the wavelength range of a face recognition and proximity sensor system may be positioned on the front cover (902) and on or inside the hole (907), as described in relation to FIG. 8a.

[0317] The conforming members (903, 905) can each be bonded to the inner surface (904) via an adhesive (901-1, 901-2). Mounting surfaces of various parts of the module (900) (e.g., corresponding to the surface of the lens (720) and the mounting surface (706)) can be pushed against the conforming members (903, 905) (optional deforming the conforming members), thereby forming a seal between the conforming members and the module (900). The seal can reduce or suppress light leakage between the optical components of the module (900) and can seal the module (900) against the ingress of dust, liquid, or other contaminants. Furthermore, the conforming members can be configured to absorb light from a light emitter that can be reflected through the front cover (902) (and otherwise captured as interference crosstalk by an associated light receiver).

[0318] FIG. 9b illustrates a face recognition and proximity sensor module (910) (corresponding to and / or an embodiment thereof) and a front cover (912) to which the module (910) can be combined. A mask structure (916) may be positioned on the inner surface (914) of the front cover (912) and may define a hole (917). The hole (917) may be aligned with or otherwise defined with an optically transparent area of ​​the front cover assembly, thereby allowing light to pass into and from the module (910). The mask structure (916) may be formed of any suitable material and / or structure, such as one or more layers of ink, film, coating (e.g., deposited coating), and may be opaque. For example, the mask structure (916) may be positioned to cover (and obscure) the edge of the hole in the display, where the hole provides optical access to the module (910) through the display. A coating that is visually opaque but optically transparent in the wavelength range of a face recognition and proximity sensor system may be positioned on the front cover (912) and on or inside the hole (917), as described in relation to FIG. 8a.

[0319] The conforming member (923) may be bonded to the inner surface (914) via an adhesive (921). FIG. 9a illustrates a separate conforming member (and its adhesive), while FIG. 9b illustrates an example having a single conforming member that defines multiple holes (925, 926, 927) (e.g., separate holes for the lens (720) and the mounting surface (706)) to allow optical access to various optical systems of the module (900). As described in relation to FIG. 7d through 7e, the hole (927) located over the lens of the light emitter may be configured so that a portion of the conforming member (923) blocks a portion of the emitted light to reduce interfering optical crosstalk.

[0320] The mounting surface of a component of the module (900) can be pushed against the conforming member (923) (optional deforming the conforming member), thereby forming a seal between the conforming member and the module (910). The seal can reduce or suppress light leakage between the optical components of the module (910) and can seal the module (910) against the ingress of dust, liquid, or other contaminants. Furthermore, the conforming member can be configured to absorb light from a light emitter that can be reflected through the front cover (912) (and otherwise captured as interference crosstalk by an associated receiver).

[0321] FIG. 9c illustrates the face recognition and proximity sensor module (910) of FIG. 9b and the front cover (912) having a conforming member (930) that defines multiple holes (931, 932, 933, 934) to allow optical access to different optical systems of the module (900). In this example, the holes (931, 934) may define optical access to the receiver and emitter of the face recognition system, while the holes (932, 933) may define optical access to the receiver and emitter of the proximity sensing system. In contrast, the conforming member (923) defines a single hole that provides optical access to both the light emitter and receiver of the proximity sensing system. By providing separate holes to the emitter and receiver of the proximity sensing system, more material can be used between the various emitters and receivers of the face recognition and proximity sensor module (910), thereby reducing interfering optical crosstalk between the various emitters and receivers.

[0322] The conforming member described in relation to FIGS. 9a through 9c generally corresponds to or is an embodiment of the gasket member (722), and the discussion of the gasket member (722) will be understood to apply to the conforming member of FIGS. 9a through 9c. For example, the conforming member of FIGS. 9a through 9c may be formed of the same or similar material and may have the same or similar optical properties and the same or similar functions as the gasket member (722).

[0323] As described herein, particularly in relation to FIGS. 7d ​​through 9c, a coating (e.g., coating (808)) that is visually opaque but optically transparent in the wavelength range of the face recognition and proximity sensor system may be positioned over the front cover and the face recognition and proximity sensor system. In some cases, the coating (808) is a polarizing coating, or otherwise configured to block light incident at an oblique angle to the coating (808) while transmitting light incident at a perpendicular angle to or near the coating (808). This type of coating may further reduce or suppress interference crosstalk between the light emitter and the light receiver of the face recognition and proximity sensor system.

[0324] FIG. 10a illustrates a part of a housing structure (1003) (corresponding to or an embodiment thereof) to which a circuit board (1012) is attached. As previously described, the housing components of the housing structure (1003) (e.g., housing components (1001, 1002)) can serve as radiating antenna elements for a wireless communication system. Non-conductive joint structures (1004) (e.g., 1004-1 to 1004-3) may be positioned between the housing components to provide electrical insulation between the housing components as well as mechanically join the housing components.

[0325] As a radiating antenna element, the dimensions of the housing component (e.g., a length corresponding to or limiting the conductive length) may at least partially limit the frequency at which the antenna element can operate (or operate with power and / or efficiency suitable for use in a mobile phone). Thus, the housing component (1001) may be configured to operate in a frequency band (e.g., low band) different from the housing component (1002) (which may be configured to operate in the mid and / or high band) because the conductive lengths of the housing components (1001, 1002) are different. In other words, the shorter housing component (e.g., a housing component having a shorter conductive length) may be configured to resonate at a higher electromagnetic frequency compared to the longer housing component (e.g., a housing component having a longer conductive length) which resonates at a lower frequency. As described, the housing component (1001, 1002) defines the antenna connection feature (1006) (e.g., 1006-1 to 1006-4), wherein the antenna circuit may be conductively coupled to the housing component.

[0326] As illustrated in FIG. 10a, the device (1000) may include a charging and / or communication cable connector module (1008) configured to accommodate a charging and / or communication cable and to be conductively coupled thereto. The connector module (1008) may be positioned in proximity to a hole (1010) formed through a housing component (1001), and the connector end of the cable (e.g., a charging and / or communication cable) may extend into or through the hole (1010) to engage with the connector module (1008).

[0327] In some cases, when a cable (e.g., a charging and / or communication cable) is connected to the connector module (1008) and / or when current or a signal is transmitted through the cable and the connector module (1008), the antenna operation of the housing component (1001) may be affected. For example, an electrical signal passing through the cable or an electrical signal otherwise generated while the cable is connected may cause interference or noise to the housing component (1001), thereby degrading antenna performance or having a negative effect. In such cases, wireless communication (e.g., for low-band signals) through the housing component (1001) may be impaired.

[0328] To maintain low-band communication performance, an optionally connectable auxiliary conductive element, also simply referred to as an auxiliary conductive element, may be connected to the housing component (1002) to provide an extended conductive path that includes both the housing component (1002) and the optionally connectable auxiliary conductive element. FIG. 10b illustrates a portion of a housing structure (1003) having an optionally connectable auxiliary conductive element (1016) (auxiliary conductive element (1016)). The auxiliary conductive element (1016) may be a conductive trace located on a circuit board (1012), may be conductively connected to an antenna connection feature (1006-2), and may be optionally conductively connected to an antenna connection feature (1006-1) (e.g., via a switching component (1014)). When the switching component (1014) is engaged, the auxiliary conductive element (1016) communicates through a different frequency range (e.g., a frequency range lower than that of the housing component (1002) alone) in combination with the length of the housing component (1002).

[0329] The auxiliary conductive element (1016) may be selectively engaged based on the determination that the operating conditions of the connector module (1008) are satisfied. The operating conditions may correspond, for example, to a cable connected to the connector module (1008). For example, the auxiliary conductive element (1016) may be engaged in response to a determination that a cable (e.g., a charging and / or communication cable) is connected to the connector module (1008) (thus, a radiating element having different lengths and / or tunings may be created). In another example, the auxiliary conductive element (1016) may be engaged in response to a specific charging or communication operation performed in the connector module (1008). For example, the auxiliary conductive element (1016) may be engaged in response to a connector module (1008) communicating via a USB 3.0 protocol (e.g., via a USB cable coupled to the connector module (1008)) or a specific display protocol (e.g., thereby the device provides graphic information via the connector module (1008) to display graphic output on an external display). Other operating conditions are also considered.

[0330] In addition to selectively engaging an auxiliary conductive element (1016) in response to satisfying operating conditions, the device may also disable the operation of the housing component (1001) as a radiating element for a specific frequency band. Thus, the device may essentially use a conductively extended housing component (1002) instead of the housing component (1001) as a radiating element for a specific frequency band.

[0331] In some cases, in a first operating mode (e.g., when the operating conditions as described above are not satisfied), the processing system of the device (1000) may cause the housing component (1001) to operate as a radiating element for a first frequency band and the housing component (1002) to operate as a radiating element for a second frequency band. In a second operating mode (e.g., when the operating conditions as described above are satisfied), the processing system may cause an auxiliary conductive element (1016) to be selectively coupled to the housing component (1002) and the housing component (1002) and the auxiliary conductive element (1016) to be used as radiating elements for a first frequency band. The first operating mode may correspond to a charging cable that is uncoupled from a connector module (e.g., connector module (1008)), and the second operating mode may correspond to a charging cable that is coupled to a connector module (e.g., connector module (1008)).

[0332] FIG. 10c illustrates a portion of an exemplary device (1020) comprising an auxiliary conductive element (1028). The auxiliary conductive element (1028) may operate substantially the same as the optionally combinable auxiliary conductive element (1016), and the discussion of the element (1016) applies equally to the element (1028). The auxiliary conductive element (1028) may be combined with a separate module, component, or structure within the device. For example, the auxiliary conductive element (1028) may be at least partially encapsulated in a molded polymer structure. In some cases, the auxiliary conductive element (1028) (e.g., a metal strip, a conductive trace, a wire, or other conductive member) may be at least partially (and optionally completely) contained in the housing of another module. In some cases, the auxiliary conductive element (1028) may be at least partially (and optionally completely) encapsulated in the polymer housing material of the module (e.g., through an insert molding process). As an example, an auxiliary conductive element (1028) may be coupled to a speaker module (1024) configured to include a speaker and direct audio output through an audio port (1027) of the housing. The speaker module (1024) may be conductive and may also define a mounting feature (1025) that can serve as a conductive coupling feature between the auxiliary conductive element (1028) and other components. For example, the auxiliary conductive element (1028) may be conductively coupled to the mounting feature (1025), which is then used to secure the speaker module (1024) to the device housing. A conductive member (1029) may be conductively coupled to the mounting feature (1025) and the antenna connection feature (1026-1), thereby allowing the auxiliary conductive element (1028) to be conductively coupled to the housing member.The other conductive end of the auxiliary conductive element (1028) can be coupled to another antenna connection feature (1026-2), thereby completing the conductive coupling of the auxiliary conductive element (1028) to the housing. A switching component can be located inside the module housing or elsewhere in the antenna circuit to switch the auxiliary conductive element (1028) in and out of the antenna circuit.

[0333] FIG. 10d illustrates a corner portion of the front cover assembly (1030) that may be positioned over a housing component configured to allow an auxiliary conductive element to be optionally coupled. As illustrated, the auxiliary conductive element (1031) may be positioned on the inner surface of the front cover (1034). When the front cover assembly (1030) is coupled to the housing, the conductive connection feature (1032, 1033) may be conductively coupled to the antenna connection feature of the device. A switching component may be connected to the front cover (1034) or elsewhere in the antenna circuit to optionally conductively coupled the conductive element (1031) to the housing component. The auxiliary conductive element (1031) may be a wire, a conductive trace, a conductive ribbon, or another conductive component. The auxiliary conductive element (1031) may be coupled to the front cover (1034) via adhesive, plating, deposition processes (e.g., CVD, PVD), mechanical fasteners, etc. In some cases, the auxiliary conductive element (1031) is at least partially encapsulated in a polymer frame structure molded into the front cover (1034). In some cases, the auxiliary conductive element (1031) is a conductive trace on a circuit element coupled to the front cover (1034).

[0334] The foregoing example describes an auxiliary conductive element that can be optionally coupled; however, such a conductive element may, in some cases, allow the switching component to be omitted and instead maintain the housing component in a continuously conductively coupled state, thereby extending the effective conductive length of the housing component for use in a target frequency range. Additionally, using the conductive element described herein allows the radiation length of the antenna element to be decoupled from the constraints of external housing dimensions. Thus, for example, for a given housing component size, different conductive lengths (and therefore different frequency ranges) can be achieved by selecting different lengths of the conductive element.

[0335] FIG. 10e illustrates an exemplary housing structure (1035) in which a housing component may include an internal conductive segment that defines a conductive length longer than the dimensions of the outer surface of the housing component. The housing structure (1035) may include housing components (1037-1, 1037-2) joined by a joint structure (1036-2). Each of the housing components (1037-1, 1037-2) may function as a radiating antenna element (or in some cases, the housing component (1037-1) may not function as a radiating antenna element). Although the length of the outer surface defined by the housing component (1037-2) may not provide a sufficient length to function as an allowable band antenna, the housing component (1037-2) includes an internal segment (1038-2) separated by a gap from the outer segment (1038-1) (defining the outer surface of the housing). In other words, the effective conductive length of the housing component (1037-2) may include the lengths of both the inner and outer segments (1038-2, 1038-1). This length may facilitate the operation of the housing component (1037-2) as a radiating element for a low-band antenna system. The housing component (1037-2) may be conductively coupled to the antenna circuit via a conductive coupler (1039-1, 1039-2) (which may serve as a feed and / or ground point for the radiating element for the antenna circuit).

[0336] As described in this specification, a housing component can operate as a radiating element for an antenna system. To facilitate the use of the housing component as a radiating element, a conductive member of the housing structure may be joined to another housing component through a non-conductive joint structure, thereby helping to limit a specific radiation length and otherwise configure the frequency band that the conductive member can radiate. However, as mentioned above, certain components, such as charging and communication connector modules, may interfere with the antenna operation of the conductive housing component. FIGS. 10f through 10g illustrate exemplary housing structures in which a conductive housing component is joined together using a non-conductive joint structure to facilitate the use of a specific housing component as a radiating element for an antenna.

[0337] FIG. 10f illustrates an exemplary device (1040) comprising a main housing component (1041). The main housing component (1041) may be a ring-shaped member that defines a portion of each of the four peripheral sides of the device (1040). The housing may also include housing components (1043-1 to 1043-3) that define a portion of one or more peripheral sides of the device (1040). As illustrated, the housing component (1043) defines a portion of the corner of the housing, and thus each defines a portion of two peripheral sides.

[0338] The housing component (1043) may be formed of a conductive material (e.g., a metal such as aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, or other conductive materials) and may be conductively coupled to an antenna circuit portion within the device (1040) to function as a radiating element. The housing component (1043) may have a length that is adjustable to a specific frequency range as described herein and may limit or be coupled to an internal conductive member (e.g., an optionally connectable auxiliary conductive element) to provide a target conductive length.

[0339] A housing component (1043) may be joined to a main housing component (1041) through joint structures (1044-1 to 1044-3). The joint structures (1044) may be formed of a non-conductive material and may mechanically join the housing component (1043) to the main housing component (1041), while also providing electrical insulation between them. The joint structures (1044) may be similar to or comparable to other joint structures defined herein (e.g., with respect to function, structure, interlocking and interlocking features, etc.), and it will be understood that this description applies equally to the joint structures (1044). FIG. 10f illustrates one drawing of a device (1040) to illustrate several exemplary housing components (1043), but the device (1040) may also include other housing components (1043) (e.g., along a side away from the page).

[0340] In some cases, the device (1040) may also include a conductive structure (1045) that at least partially surrounds (and / or limits) the periphery of the rear camera assembly (1047) (which may protrude from the surface of the rear cover). The conductive structure (1045-1, 1045-2) may be combined with a joint structure (1046-1 and 1046-2) similarly to other housing structures and joint structures described herein, and it will be understood that this description applies equally to the conductive structure (1045) and the joint structure (1046). The size, length, and position of the housing structure, conductive structure, and joint structure of FIG. 10f are merely examples, and other sizes, lengths, and positions of these components are also considered.

[0341] In an exemplary device (1040), the connector module may be positioned close to the hole (1042) so that a cable can be connected to the connector module through the hole (1042). By positioning the connector module and the hole (1042) in the main housing component (1041) and using the housing component (1043) as a radiating antenna element (e.g., instead of the main housing component (1041)), antenna performance can be maintained without excessive interference from the connector module.

[0342] FIG. 10g illustrates an exemplary device (1050) comprising a main housing component (1051). The main housing component (1051) may be a ring-shaped member that defines a portion of each of the four peripheral sides of the device (1050). The housing may also include housing components (1053) (e.g., 1053-1 to 1053-6) that define a portion of one or more peripheral sides of the device (1050).

[0343] The housing component (1053) may be formed of a conductive material (e.g., a metal such as aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, or other conductive materials) and may be conductively coupled to an antenna circuit portion within the device (1050) to function as a radiating element. The housing component (1053) may have a length that is adjusted to a specific frequency range as described herein and may define or be coupled to an internal conductive member (e.g., an optionally attachable auxiliary conductive element) to provide a target conductive length. The housing component (1053) may define a portion of the side surface of the device (1050) and may generally extend around the peripheral side of the rear cover of the device (1050). FIG. 10g illustrates one drawing of the device (1050) to illustrate several exemplary housing components (1053), but the device (1050) may also include other housing components (1053) (e.g., along the side away from the page).

[0344] A housing component (1053) may be joined to a main housing component (1051) through a joint structure (1052). The joint structure (1052) may be formed of a non-conductive material and may mechanically connect the housing component (1053) to the main housing component (1051) while also defining an electrical insulation portion between them. The joint structure (1052) may be similar to or comparable to other joint structures defined herein (e.g., with respect to function, structure, interlocking and interlocking features, etc.), and it will be understood that such description applies equally to the joint structure (1052). The joint structure (1052) may define a plurality of segments located between a plurality of different housing components and / or a plurality of different faces of the housing components. In some cases, the joint structure (1052) may be formed as an integral polymer structure and may define a portion of each side surface of the device (1050) (e.g., may define a portion of each side surface of the device). For example, a portion of the joint structure (1052) may define a ring extending around the entire periphery of the device (1050). The joint structure (1052) may also define an extension extending from the ring and located between the ends of the housing component (1053).

[0345] In an exemplary device (1050), the connector module may be positioned close to the hole (1055) so that a cable can be connected to the connector module through the hole (1055). By positioning the connector module and the hole (1055) in the main housing component (1051) and using the housing component (1053) as a radiating antenna element (e.g., instead of the main housing component (1051)), antenna performance can be maintained without excessive interference from the connector module.

[0346] In some cases, the device (1050) may also include a conductive structure (e.g., identical or similar to the conductive structure (1045)) that at least partially surrounds (and / or limits) the periphery of a rear camera assembly that can be combined with a joint structure (e.g., identical or similar to the joint structure (1046)). It will be understood that the description of these features applies equally to the device (1050). The size, length, and position of the housing structure, conductive structure, and joint structure of FIG. 10g are merely examples, and other sizes, lengths, and positions of these components are also considered.

[0347] FIG. 10h illustrates an exemplary device (1060) comprising a main housing component (1061) capable of defining at least two portions of the peripheral side of the device as well as a housing component (1062) (e.g., 1062-1 to 1062-3 and other components on the hidden side of the other device).

[0348] At least some of the housing components (1061, 1062) may be formed of a conductive material (e.g., a metal such as aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, or other conductive material) and may be conductively coupled to an antenna circuit portion within the device (1060) to function as a radiating element. The housing components (1062) may have a length that is adjusted to a specific frequency range as described herein and may limit or be coupled to an internal conductive member (e.g., an optionally connectable auxiliary conductive element) to provide a target conductive length.

[0349] The housing component (1062) is coupled to the main housing component (1061) and can be coupled to each other through joint structures (1063) (e.g., 1063-1 to 1063-5 and others on the hidden side of the device). The joint structures (1063) can be formed of a non-conductive material and can mechanically join the housing components together while also defining an electrical insulation portion between them. ...

Claims

Claim 1 A mobile phone comprising: a front cover defining the front outer surface of the mobile phone; a display below the front cover; a rear cover defining the rear outer surface of the mobile phone; and a housing positioned between the front cover and the rear cover, wherein the housing comprises: a first housing component ― the first housing component defines a hole extending through the first housing component, and the first housing component defines a first portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone, a sleeve portion extending toward the interior of the mobile phone and defining the surface of the hole extending through the first housing component, and a first portion of a mounting surface, and is formed of a first metal; a cladding portion; and a core portion coupled to the cladding portion ― the core portion is formed of a second metal different from the first metal and the core portion defines a part of the interior surface of the mobile phone and a second portion of the mounting surface ―; and a second housing component defining the second portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone; A mobile phone comprising: a coating positioned on the mounting surface and covering a seam between the core portion and the cladding portion; and a joint structure coupled to the first housing component and the second housing component and defining a third portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone between the first portion of the side outer surface and the second portion of the side outer surface, wherein the front cover is coupled to the first housing component along the first portion of the mounting surface and the second portion of the mounting surface. Claim 2 A mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the cladding portion is a first cladding portion; the core portion is a first core portion; and the second housing component comprises: a second cladding portion formed of the first metal and defining the second portion of the side outer surface of the mobile phone; and a second core portion coupled to the second cladding portion and formed of the second metal. Claim 3 A mobile phone according to paragraph 2, wherein the first metal is a titanium alloy; and the second metal is an aluminum alloy. Claim 4 delete Claim 5 A mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the mounting surface is a first mounting surface; the cladding portion defines a first portion of a second mounting surface; the core portion defines a second portion of the second mounting surface; and the rear cover is coupled to the second mounting surface. Claim 6 In claim 1, the cladding portion is a first cladding portion; the core portion is a first core portion; the side outer surface is a first side outer surface; the housing comprises a third housing component — the third housing component comprises a second cladding portion formed of the first metal and defining a portion of the second side outer surface of the mobile phone; and a second core portion coupled to the second cladding portion and formed of the second metal —; and further comprises a lower chassis section, wherein the lower chassis section is welded to the first core portion along a first surface of the lower chassis section and welded to the second core portion along a second surface of the lower chassis section, and the lower chassis section defines a component mounting structure extending between the first housing component and the third housing component, a mobile phone. Claim 7 A mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the cladding portion is directly bonded to the core portion. Claim 8 A portable electronic device comprising: a housing that defines a portion of the side outer surface of the portable electronic device—the housing comprises: a first housing component—the first housing component comprises: a first cladding portion formed of a first metal and defining a first portion of the side outer surface and a first portion of the mounting surface of the portable electronic device; and a first core portion coupled to the first cladding portion—the first core portion is formed of a second metal different from the first metal and defines a second portion of the mounting surface, and the first cladding portion further defines a sleeve portion that extends through the first core portion and defines the surface of a hole that extends through the first housing component—; and a second housing component coupled to the first housing component—the second housing component comprises: a second cladding portion formed of the first metal and defining a second portion of the side outer surface of the portable electronic device; and a second core portion formed of the second metal. and a coating positioned on the mounting surface and extending over a portion of the first core portion and a portion of the first cladding portion —; a front cover assembly coupled to the mounting surface — the front cover assembly comprises a transparent cover defining the front surface of the portable electronic device; and a display coupled to the transparent cover —; and a rear cover assembly coupled to the housing and defining the rear surface of the portable electronic device, wherein the front cover assembly is coupled to the first housing component along the first portion of the mounting surface and the second portion of the mounting surface. Claim 9 A portable electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the first housing component is an extruded member comprising the first cladding portion directly bonded to the first core portion. Claim 10 In claim 8, the portable electronic device, wherein the second housing component defines the outer corner surface of the portable electronic device. Claim 11 A portable electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the housing further comprises a joint structure coupled to the first housing component and the second housing component and defining a third portion of the side outer surface of the portable electronic device between the first portion of the side outer surface and the second portion of the side outer surface. Claim 12 A portable electronic device according to claim 11, wherein the first housing component defines a first interlock structure; the second housing component defines a second interlock structure; and the joint structure engages with the first interlock structure and the second interlock structure. Claim 13 A portable electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the second core portion defines the third portion of the mounting surface; and the second cladding portion defines the fourth portion of the mounting surface. Claim 14 A portable electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the first cladding portion defines a first portion of a flange extending along the peripheral side surface of the transparent cover; and the second cladding portion defines a second portion of the flange extending along the peripheral side surface of the transparent cover. Claim 15 An electronic device comprising: a front cover defining the front outer surface of the electronic device; a display below the front cover; a rear cover defining the rear outer surface of the electronic device; and a housing positioned between the front cover and the rear cover and including a wall segment, wherein the wall segment defines a cladding portion formed of a first metal ― said cladding portion defines a part of the side surface of the electronic device; a first portion of a mounting surface; a part of a first flange extending along the peripheral side surface of the front cover; a part of a second flange extending along the peripheral side surface of the rear cover; and a sleeve portion defining the surface of a hole extending through the housing ―; and a core portion formed of a second metal different from the first metal and fused to the cladding portion along a seam ― said core portion at least partially surrounds the sleeve portion and defines the second portion of the mounting surface and at least a part of the internal cavity of the electronic device ―; An electronic device comprising a coating positioned on the mounting surface and covering at least partially the seam, wherein the front cover is coupled to the housing along the mounting surface. Claim 16 An electronic device according to claim 15, wherein the core portion further defines a part of an additional mounting surface—the rear cover being coupled to the additional mounting surface. Claim 17 An electronic device according to claim 15, wherein the first metal is a titanium alloy; and the second metal is an aluminum alloy. Claim 18 In claim 15, the wall segment is a first wall segment; the portion of the side surface is a first portion of the side surface; the portion of the first flange is a first portion of the first flange; the portion of the second flange is a first portion of the second flange; the housing further comprises a second wall segment, the second wall segment comprising a second cladding portion formed of the first metal—the second cladding portion defines the second portion of the side surface of the electronic device; the second portion of the first flange; and the second portion of the second flange—; and a second core portion formed of the second metal and fused to the second cladding portion, an electronic device. Claim 19 An electronic device according to claim 18, wherein the housing further comprises a molded polymer member positioned between the first wall segment and the second wall segment and defining a third portion of the side surface of the electronic device. Claim 20 An electronic device according to claim 19, wherein the molded polymer member further defines the third portion of the first flange and the third portion of the second flange.

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