Apple Inc.

Gregory N Stephens

David A Pakula

Daniel William Jarvis

Shayan Malek

Scott A Myers

Matthew D Hill

Ian A Spraggs

Douglas G Fournier

Richard P Howarth

Shota Aoyagi

Michael Benjamin Wittenberg

Jared Mitchell Kole

Simon Christopher Helmore

Richard A Besen

James B Smith

James A Bertin

Melissa A Wah

Christopher S Tomasetta

Jon F Housour

Eric W Bates

Eric Steven Jol

Christopher S Graham

Ashutosh Yugesh Shukla

Eric McCallister Bennett

Michael D Quinones

Shimon Elkayam

Dennis R Pyper

Karl Ruben F Larsson

Brandon R Garbus

Amir Salehi

Ashley E Fletcher

Aaron Albert Oro

Derek J Walters

Alex J Crumlin

Michael Victor Yeh

Vu Thanh Vo

Corey S Provencher

Andrew U Leopold

Tang Yew Tan

Richard Hung Minh Dinh

Jun Zhai

Benjamin J Pope

Sawyer Isaac Cohen

Christopher Matthew Werner

Joseph C Poole

Jason S Sloey

Marwan Rammah

Flynn P Carson

John J Baker

Nicholas George Merz

Benjamin Shane Bustle

Tyler B Cater

Shakti Singh Chauhan

Rasamy Phouthavong

Meng Chi Lee

Tyson Benner Manullang

Nicholas G L Merz

Eric N Nyland

Boon Wai Shiu

Michael W Firka

Warren Jones

David A Hurrell

Isabel Yang

Owen D Hale

Sherry Lee

Arun R Varma

Sina Bigdeli

Griffin L Schmitt

Robert Hrabchak

Obinna Onyemepu

Sammy M Khalifa

Daniel Lau

A mobile phone may include an enclosure defining an internal volume, the enclosure including a front cover formed from a transparent material and defining a front exterior surface, a rear cover formed from a glass material and defining a rear exterior surface, and a housing component defining a side exterior surface. The mobile phone may include a circuit board assembly within the internal volume. The circuit board assembly may include a circuit board, a circuit component coupled to an exterior surface of the circuit board, and a cowling coupled to the circuit board and covering the circuit component, the cowling having a thickness less than about 0.5 mm and including a base structure formed from an aluminum alloy having a thickness less than about 0.4 mm and a thermally conductive structure positioned over the base structure and configured to dissipate heat.

Handheld electronic device

An electronic disclosed herein may include a band formed from metal that combines with a bottom wall formed from a non-metal to form an enclosure that carries internal components. The electronic device may include a transparent cover and a display assembly partially covered by a border having a uniform dimension. The electronic device may include a vision system designed for facial recognition of a user of the electronic device. A bracket assembly may hold the vision system. The bracket assembly may not be affixed to the enclosure and may move relative to the enclosure. The electronic device may include a battery assembly having multiple battery components coupled together. The electronic device may further include a receiver coil for wireless charging of the battery assembly. The electronic device may include a circuit board assembly having stacked circuit boards. The electronic device may further include a dual camera assembly.

Portable electronic device

Battery for an electronic device

An electronic device having a battery assembly is disclosed. Unlike traditional battery assemblies that include rectilinear electrodes with two sides of equal length, the battery assemblies described herein may include electrodes having a shape/configuration resembling an L-shape electrode used to form chemical reactions in order to generate electrical energy. However, other shapes/configurations are possible. The shape/configuration of the housing of the battery assembly confirms to the shape/configuration of the electrodes. Further, in order to accommodate an internal component (such as a circuit board assembly), the shape of the battery assembly provides additional space in the electronic device. In order to form the electrodes, the electrodes may undergo a die cutting operation. Also, the housing may include a channel, or reduced dimension, that accommodates a flexible circuit in the electronic device that passes over the battery assembly at the channel.

Battery architecture in an electronic device

A distributed auxiliary hub for a portable electronic device is disclosed. The distributed auxiliary hub, located on a stacked circuit assembly, can distribute electrical signals to multiple different destinations. The distributed auxiliary hub is displaced and separate from a main logic board, and as a result, can provide supplemental functions. Although the distributed auxiliary hub is electrically coupled to the main logic board, the distributed auxiliary hub includes dedicated integrated circuits responsible for executing functions related to battery charging and powering of electronic components (e.g., haptic feedback module, speaker module, etc.). As a result, the distributed auxiliary hub, when executing these aforementioned functions, is not reliant upon the main logic board to transmit electrical current to the battery and/or electronic components. The distributed auxiliary hub, when electrically coupled to an external resource, is capable of directly transmitting electrical current to electronic components.

Distributed auxiliary hub for a portable electronic device

The present disclosure is related to printed circuit board packages and methods of assembly that may be used in the fabrication of electrical devices. Printed circuit board packages may be manufactured by stacking printed circuit board assemblies. Each printed circuit board assembly may have multiple printed circuit boards supported by a resin mold. The printed circuit board assemblies may be shaped to improve space utilization efficiency and to accommodate large electrical components that are attached to the printed circuit board package.

Stacked printed circuit board packages

A circuit board assembly in an electronic is disclosed. To conserve space in the electronic device, the circuit board assembly includes stacked circuit boards in electrical communication with each other, such as a first circuit board stacked over a second circuit board. Each circuit board may include multiple surfaces that carry operational components. Moreover, the first circuit board may include a first surface and the second circuit board may include a second surface facing the first surface. The first and second surfaces may include operational components in corresponding locations. Also, the operational components may include corresponding shapes such that one component is positioned in another component. The components may electrically connect to each other. Also, the circuit board assembly may include EMI shields around an outer perimeter in order to shield the operational components form EMI and to components in the electronic device from EMI emanating from the operational components.

Stacked circuit board architecture in an electronic device

Electrical components may be shielded using a shielding can or other shielding structure that covers the electrical components. The electrical components and the shielding structure may be mounted on a substrate such as a printed circuit board using solder or other conductive material. The shielding structure may have one or more shielding layers. The shielding layers may include high conductivity material for providing shielding for radio-frequency electromagnetic interference and magnetic material for blocking magnetic flux. Shielding structures may be formed from materials such as ferritic stainless steel, coatings that enhance solderability, corrosion resistance, and conductivity, magnetic materials printed or otherwise formed on metal layers, and other shielding structures.

Component shielding structures with magnetic shielding

An antenna may be formed from a peripheral conductive housing structure in an electronic device that is separated from an antenna ground by a gap. An antenna feed may be formed from a metal trace on a flexible printed circuit that spans the gap. The metal trace may have a line segment that joins a wider pad portion of the trace at a junction. A stiffener on the flexible printed circuit may have a protrusion that overlaps the junction. A metal bracket attached to the peripheral housing structure may be soldered to the pad. A metal member with meandering paths may form a return path in the antenna. The meandering path may have parallel segments that extend along an inner surface of the peripheral conductive housing structure to prevent the metal member from rotating when a screw is used to screw the metal member to the peripheral conductive housing structure.

Electronic device antenna feed and return path structures

An electronic device may have a printed circuit to which electrical components are mounted. The electrical components may include a thermal sensor and a pressure sensor. A through hole in the printed circuit may receive the shaft of a standoff. The standoff may be soldered to plated metal on the sides of the through hole. A screw or other fastener may secure the printed circuit to a housing for the electronic device. A ring-shaped metal member may be soldered to the printed circuit. The ring-shaped metal member may form a bumper that surrounds the screw or other fastener and the thermal sensor. The pressure sensor may have a port through which ambient pressure measurements are made. A dust protection cover such as a fabric or other porous layer may cover the port.

Component protection structures for electronic devices

This application relates to batteries that are capable of routing signals that are separate from the charge supplied by the batteries. In some embodiments, a battery can incorporate a conductive trace that extends through a portion of the battery to allow for signals to be routed through the battery, as opposed to around the battery. The conductive trace can be a single wire, multiple wires, a coaxial trace, optical cable, or any other mechanism for allowing a signal to be transmitted between one or more components. By providing the conductive trace within the battery, shorter pathways to components can be created thereby reducing signal or power loss over the pathways.

Battery for routing signals

A portable electronic device comprises an electromechanical module having an actuator for positioning a mechanical element between first and second positions, and a controller coupled to the electromechanical module. The controller is configured to detect a mechanical event coupling to the electromechanical module, select an actuation signal to position the mechanical element in a safe position between the first and second positions, and transmit the selected signal, such that the mechanical element is positioned in the safe position during the event.

Low Z-fold battery seal

Growing community of inventors

Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Gregory N Stephens