Conjoining functional components of a mobile device

• US 10,244,089 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2016
• Issued: 03/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Essential Products, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Essential Products, Inc.
• Inventors: Evans, V, David John, Jiang, Xinrui, Rubin, Andrew E., Hershenson, Matthew, Miao, Xiaoyu
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Nguyen T
• Application Number:
  US15/200,778
• Publication Number:
  US 20170126862A1
• Time in Patent Office: 998 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3818 Arrangements for facilitating insertion or removal of identification devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0249 Details of the mechanical connection between the housing parts or relating to the method of assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0274 for an electrical connector module
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/14 including a card reading device

Abstract

A mobile device can include electronic circuitry and a chassis shell adapted to protect the electronic circuitry. The chassis shell includes an opening exposing a tray inside the mobile device. The tray can include an external card slot and a patterned wall. The tray can be disposed within a cavity of a support structure of the mobile device. An input/output (I/O) component, such as a speaker, and a card reader can also be disposed within the cavity. The I/O component can communicate via at least a hole in the patterned wall (e.g., a speaker grill).

Claims

1. A mobile device comprising:

one or more electronic components including a card reader;

a support frame adapted to support and facilitate electrical interconnection for the electronic components within the mobile device, wherein the support frame forms a cavity;

a chassis shell adapted to form at least a part of an exterior of the mobile device and to enclose the support frame, wherein the chassis shell defines at least an opening; and

a tray, fitted at least partially inside the opening of the chassis shell and the cavity of the support frame, formed by at least an external card slot, wherein the tray is adapted to shift outward beyond the exterior formed by the chassis shell or to retract inward within the exterior, and wherein the external card slot is a structure adapted to receive an external card when the tray is shifted outward and to hold the external card to make electrical contact with the card reader when the tray is retracted inward, wherein the tray includes a wall portion that includes an electronic component comprising a speaker to produce an audio output associated with the mobile device.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, the external card slot attached to an acoustic opening, wherein the acoustic opening fills the opening of the chassis shell and forms a second part of the exterior of the mobile device wherein the acoustic opening is a speaker grill or a microphone opening.

3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the support frame further includes a circuit board.

4. The mobile device of claim 3, wherein the card reader is fixated and electrically connected to the circuit board.

5. The mobile device of claim 1, further comprising the speaker attached to the support frame and exposed within the cavity.

6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the tray comprises a locking mechanism adapted to latch the tray onto the support frame or the chassis shell.

7. The mobile device of claim 6, wherein the locking mechanism is a spring-loaded cam structure.

8. The mobile device of claim 6, wherein the chassis shell includes a hole to expose the locking mechanism such that an external object is able to mechanically move the locking mechanism to release the tray.

9. The mobile device of claim 8, further comprising a microphone sensor with at least a voice sensing surface exposed within the hole.

10. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the card reader is disposed at a fixed position on the support frame to make contact with the external card placed in the external card slot when the tray is fully retracted into the mobile device.

11. A mobile device comprising:

a circuit board adapted to support one or more electronic components;

a support structure attached to the circuit board, wherein the support structure forms a cavity;

a chassis shell adapted to form an exterior of the mobile device surrounding the support structure and the circuit board; and

an input/output (I/O) component adapted within the cavity of the support structure;

a tray adapted to fit inside the cavity, wherein the tray has a card slot portion to receive an integrated circuit (IC) card and a wall portion that includes an electronic component comprising a speaker to produce an audio output associated with the mobile device.

12. The mobile device of claim 11, further comprising an anchor adapted to prevent the tray from detaching from the mobile device after sliding substantially beyond the exterior formed by the chassis shell.

13. The mobile device of claim 11, further comprising an IC card reader;

and wherein the IC card reader is fixed to the circuit board at a position directly adjacent to the card slot portion of the tray when the tray is fully retracted inward such that a connection establishable between an external card in the card slot portion and the IC card reader.

14. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the card slot portion is adapted to carry the IC card back to engage with the IC card reader when the tray is retracted inward.

15. The mobile device of claim 11, further comprising a locking mechanism capable of preventing movement of the tray in a first state and enabling movement of the tray in a second state.

16. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the chassis shell includes a microphone hole, wherein the microphone hole exposes at least a trigger portion of the locking mechanism, and wherein a mechanical force against the trigger portion transitions the locking mechanism from the first state to the second state.

17. The mobile device of claim 16, further comprising a microphone exposed within a space containing the trigger portion of the locking mechanism.

18. A mobile device comprising:

an input/output (I/O) component adapted within a cavity of a support frame;

a tray adapted to fit within the cavity, wherein the tray includes a wall portion and an external card slot adapted to hold a card, and wherein the wall portion includes an electronic component comprising a speaker to produce an audio output associated with the mobile device; and

a chassis shell adapted to protect and surround the support frame and exposing the cavity of the support frame, wherein the wall portion of the tray covers the cavity when retracted and exposes the cavity when shifted outward.

19. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein the external card slot is configured to receive a subscriber identification module (SIM) card or a digital memory card.

20. The mobile device of claim 18, further comprising a card reader configured to electronically read the card when the tray is retracted to be entirely within the cavity.

21. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein the I/O component is the speaker, a sensor, a microphone, a light source, a button, a switch, or any combination thereof.