Electronic Device Having Antenna on Grounded Speaker Box

• US 20170069954A1
• Filed: 09/03/2015
• Published: 03/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Lui, Timothy S., Meyer, Robert F., Hristov, Stoyan P., Fletcher, Ashley E.
• Granted Patent: US 9,876,273 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/241 used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM H01Q1/247, H01Q1/248 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/242 specially adapted for hand-held use
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/44 using equipment having another main function to serve additionally as an antenna , e.g. means for giving an antenna an aesthetic aspectH01Q1/27 - H01Q1/34 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/42 with folded element, the folded parts being spaced apart a small fraction of the operating wavelength

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with a housing in which electrical components are mounted. The housing may include a metal portion that serves as ground. An antenna for the electronic device may be formed from metal traces on an antenna support such as a flexible printed circuit. The flexible printed circuit may be mounted to a speaker box. The speaker box may have one or more walls formed from metal plates. A metal plate in a speaker box may be coupled to a metal clip. The metal clip may be shorted to a metal stiffener that overlaps a tail portion of the flexible printed circuit. The metal stiffener may have an opening that is aligned with an opening in the metal clip. A metal fastener such as a screw may pass through the openings to short the metal clip, stiffener, and metal plate to ground.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a conductive housing structure;

a speaker box having a wall that includes at least one metal structure;

grounding path structures that ground the metal structure to the conductive housing structure; and

an antenna supported by the speaker box.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the metal structure comprises a metal plate and wherein the speaker box comprises plastic molded over at least part of the metal plate.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the grounding path structures include a metal clip that is shorted to the metal plate.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the metal clip has an opening, wherein the grounding path structures include a metal fastener, and wherein the metal fastener passes through the opening.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the conductive housing structure comprises a metal housing wall and wherein the metal housing wall has an opening that receives the metal fastener.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the grounding path structures include a metal clip and wherein the speaker box includes a first plastic portion in which the metal plate is embedded and includes a second portion in which the metal clip is embedded.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 wherein the metal plate and the metal clip are welded together after the first and second portions of the speaker box are joined together to form the speaker box.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the antenna comprises a flexible printed circuit that has metal antenna resonating element traces and that is attached to a surface of the speaker box.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the flexible printed circuit has a tail portion, the electronic device further comprising a stiffener that overlaps the tail portion.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 further comprising a coaxial cable that is coupled to pads on the flexible printed circuit tail portion, wherein the stiffener comprises a metal stiffener and has an opening, and wherein the grounding path structures include the metal stiffener and a metal screw that is shorted between the metal stiffener and the conductive housing structures.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the speaker box comprises plastic and comprises a metal clip that is embedded in the plastic and that is shorted to the metal stiffener, wherein the metal clip forms a portion of the grounding path structures and is shorted to the metal structure.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11 wherein the metal clip has a hole through which the metal screw passes and wherein the metal structure comprises a metal plate that forms a wall in the speaker box.

13. Apparatus, comprising:

an antenna support structure;

metal traces on the antenna support structure that form an antenna;

a metal stiffener that overlaps a portion of the antenna support structure;

a ground structure; and

a grounding path structure that shorts the metal stiffener to the ground structure.

14. The apparatus defined in claim 13 wherein the ground structure comprises a metal electronic device housing wall.

15. The apparatus defined in claim 14 wherein the antenna support structure comprises a flexible printed circuit.

16. The apparatus defined in claim 14 further comprising a coaxial cable that is coupled to the portion of the antenna support structure that is overlapped by the metal stiffener, wherein the grounding path structure comprises a metal clip that is shorted to the metal stiffener.

17. The apparatus defined in claim 16 further comprising a speaker box having plastic structures that are molded over at least part of the metal clip.

18. The apparatus defined in claim 17 further comprising a metal plate that forms a wall for the speaker box, wherein the plastic structures are molded over at least part of the metal plate.

19. An electronic device, comprising:

a metal structure that serves as ground;

a speaker box having plastic portions and at least one metal plate;

a flexible printed circuit having metal traces that form an antenna, wherein the flexible printed circuit is supported by the speaker box; and

a coaxial cable coupled to a tail portion of the flexible printed circuit; and

a metal stiffener that overlaps the tail portion, wherein the metal stiffener is coupled to the metal plate and is shorted to the metal structure that serves as ground.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 19 wherein the metal structure comprises a metal electronic device housing, the electronic device further comprising:

a metal fastener; and

a metal member in the plastic portions of the speaker box, wherein the metal member is electrically coupled to the metal plate and to the metal stiffener and wherein the metal fastener grounds the metal plate, metal member, and metal stiffener to the metal electronic device housing.