Electrical component with moving mass and flexible cables

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10468956-B2
Application number	US-201615016644-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 5, 2016
Priority date	Feb 5, 2016
Publication date	Nov 5, 2019
Grant date	Nov 5, 2019

Abstract

An electronic device may have an electrical component with a moving portion. The moving portion of the electrical component may include a moving mass and may include coils or other circuitry coupled to the moving mass. The moving mass may be supported within a support structure such as a housing structure. Springs may be coupled between walls in the housing structure and end portions of the moving mass. The coils or other circuitry on the moving mass may be coupled to flexible printed circuit cables. The flexible printed circuit cables may be coupled to the coils at the ends of the moving mass adjacent to the springs. The flexible printed circuit cables may have localized stiffeners that help prevent damage to metal traces in the cables during cable bending. The cables may have U-shapes or other suitable shapes.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electrical component, comprising:
a housing comprising first and second opposing surfaces;
a first magnet coupled to the first surface;
a second magnet coupled to the second surface;
a moving mass assembly within the housing, wherein the moving mass assembly is interposed between the first and second magnets and moves parallel to the first and second opposing surfaces, wherein the moving mass assembly has a first side and a second side that extends from the first side at a non-zero angle;
a flexible printed circuit cable that is coupled to the first side of the moving mass assembly, wherein the flexible printed circuit cable bends around an axis;
a spring that is coupled to the housing and the second side of the moving mass assembly; and
a stiffener that selectively stiffens a portion of the flexible printed circuit cable and that overlaps the axis.

2. The electrical component defined in claim 1 wherein the spring is formed from metal.

3. The electrical component defined in claim 1 wherein the moving mass assembly includes a moving mass and at least one coil on the moving mass.

4. The electrical component defined in claim 3 wherein the flexible printed circuit is coupled to the coil.

5. The electrical component defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible printed circuit cable has a scissor shape with two legs.

6. The electrical component defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible printed circuit cable includes a metal trace that is overlapped by the stiffener.

7. The electrical component defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible printed circuit cable includes a metal trace that is not overlapped by the stiffener.

8. The electrical component defined in claim 1 further comprising coils in the moving mass assembly that receive current through the flexible printed circuit cable.

9. Apparatus, comprising:
a support structure having first and second surfaces, wherein the first surface extends from the second surface at a non-zero angle;
a moving mass that moves relative to the support structure, wherein the moving mass has a first side and a second side that extends from the first side at a non-zero angle;
a spring coupled to the first side of the moving mass and the first surface of the support structure;
a magnet mounted to the second surface of the support structure;
circuitry supported by the moving mass;
a U-shaped flexible printed circuit cable having a first end coupled to the first surface of the support structure and an opposing second end coupled to the circuitry on the second side of the moving mass, wherein the U-shaped flexible printed circuit cable is nested within a portion of the spring that is interposed between the moving mass and the support structure;
a stiffener that selectively stiffens a portion of the U-shaped flexible printed circuit and that is attached between the first end and the moving mass; and
a metal trace that is routed around the stiffener.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 9 wherein the moving mass comprises a metal bar.

11. The apparatus defined in claim 10 further comprising an additional stiffener that is attached between the first end and the metal bar.

12. The apparatus defined in claim 9 wherein the circuitry comprises a plurality of coils of wire.

13. A vibrator, comprising:
a housing;
a metal bar that vibrates within the housing;
a first spring having a first segment coupled to a first end of the metal bar and a second segment coupled to the housing;
a second spring coupled between an opposing second end of the metal bar and the housing;
a first flexible printed circuit formed from a first substrate coupled between the first end of the metal bar and the housing, wherein a portion of the first flexible printed circuit is interposed between the first segment and the second segment of the first spring, and wherein the first and second segments of the first spring are interposed between the first end of the metal bar and the housing; and
a second flexible printed circuit formed from a second substrate coupled between the second end of the metal bar and the housing.

14. The vibrator defined in claim 13 further comprising permanent magnets mounted to the housing.

15. The vibrator defined in claim 14 further comprising coils on the metal bar, wherein current passes from a first metal trace on the first flexible printed circuit to the coils on the metal bar and from the coils on the metal bar to a second metal trace on the second flexible printed circuit.

16. The vibrator defined in claim 15 wherein the first and second flexible printed circuits comprise U-shaped flexible printed circuits.

17. The vibrator defined in claim 15 wherein the springs comprise steel and wherein the first and second flexible printed circuits flex about respective first and second axes and wherein the first and second flexible printed circuits include stiffeners that selectively stiffen the first and second flexible printed circuits adjacent to the respective first and second axes.

18. The vibrator defined in claim 13 wherein the second flexible printed circuit is nested within the second spring.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Zhang Yaocheng
• Froese Kevin M
• Dinh Richard H
• Dabov Teodor

Classifications

• H02K33/18 Primary

  with coil systems moving upon intermittent or reversed energisation thereof by interaction with a fixed field system, e.g. permanent magnets · CPC title