Electronic device having conductive exterior member and method for detecting leak current regarding same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11379009-B2
Application number	US-201816641218-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 21, 2018
Priority date	Aug 22, 2017
Publication date	Jul 5, 2022
Grant date	Jul 5, 2022

Abstract

An electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a housing including a front plate, a back plate disposed to the opposite side of the front plate, and a side member surrounding a space between the front plate and the back plate, wherein at least a part of the back plate is constructed of a conductive material, and the side member includes an opening, a touch screen display disposed between the front plate and the back plate, a female connector disposed inside the opening, constructed to house a meal connector an external male connector, and including a plurality of pins, a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) disposed inside the space and including a ground plane, a circuit electrically coupled to the ground plane and/or mounted thereon to cut off leak current from the PCB, a first conductive path constructed between the circuit and a first point of at least part of the back plate, and a second conductive path constructed between at least one of the pins and a second point of at least part of the back plate. In addition, various other embodiments are also possible.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a housing including a front plate, a back plate disposed to the opposite side of the front plate, and a side member surrounding a space between the front plate and the back plate, wherein at least a part of the back plate is constructed of a conductive material, and the side member includes an opening;
a touch screen display disposed between the front plate and the back plate;
a female connector disposed inside the opening, constructed to house an external male connector, and including a plurality of pins;
a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) disposed inside the space and including a ground plane;
a circuit electrically coupled to the ground plane and/or mounted thereon to cut off leak current from the PCB;
a first conductive path constructed between the circuit and a first point of at least part of the back plate; and
a second conductive path constructed between at least one of the pins and a second point of at least part of the back plate.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first conductive path and the second conductive path includes a flexible conductive member disposed between the PCB and the back plate.

3. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the flexible conductive member includes at least one of a C-clip, a pogo-pin, a spring, a conductive poron and rubber, a conductive tape, and a cooper connector.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the second conductive path includes:
a contact included in the PCB;
a flexible conductive member disposed between the contact and the second point; and
a conductive pattern included in the PCB and coupling the contact and the at least one pin.

5. The electronic device of claim 4 ,
wherein the female connector is mounted on the PCB, and
wherein the contact is disposed within 20 mm from the female connector.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the PCB includes a first PCB and second PCB physically separated from each other, and a Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPCB) electrically coupling the first PCB and the second PCB, and
wherein the female connector is mounted on the first PCB or the second PCB.

7. The electronic device of claim 6 , further comprising
a contact on the PCB electrically coupled with the second point,
wherein both the contact and the female connector are mounted on one of the first PCB and the second PCB.

8. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the circuit includes a Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC).

9. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the female connector includes a Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 connector, and
wherein the at least one pin is a pin configured as a pin not used in communication through a USB 2.0 protocol.

10. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the female connector includes a USB type-C connector, and
wherein the at least one pin is configured as a pin not used in communication through a USB protocol.

11. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the female connector includes a USB type-C connector, and
wherein the at least one pin is constructed at a portion which is snap-fit engaged with a hook included in the male connector.

12. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the female connector includes a shell aligned with the opening and including a tongue disposed to a space of the shell, and
wherein the at least one pin is constructed by a conductive portion included in the tongue.

13. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first conductive path includes at least part of the circuit.

14. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the back plate and the side member are constructed of an integral conductive material.

15. A method of detecting leakage current cutoff performance for an electronic device having a conductive exterior member, the method comprising:
detecting current leaked through a USB connector of the electronic device; and
recognizing that performance for cutting off current leaked to the conductive exterior member is in a deterioration state if the detected current exceeds a threshold.

16. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein each end portion of the plurality of pins is coupled to pads formed on an outer face of the PCB, and
wherein at least portion of the conductive pattern is disposed inside the PCB.

17. An electronic device comprising:
a housing including a front plate, a back plate disposed opposite to the front plate, and a side member surrounding a space between the front plate and the back plate, wherein at least portion of the back plate is formed of a conductive material, and wherein the side member includes an opening;
a touch screen display disposed between the front plate and the back plate;
a printed circuit board (PCB) disposed inside the space and including a ground plane;
a first circuit electrically connected to the ground plane to cut off leakage current from the PCB;
a conductive path formed between the first circuit and a first point of the back plate;
a second circuit electrically connected to the ground plane and a second point of the back plate to detect leakage current flowing from the PCB to the back plate;
a female connector disposed in the opening and including a plurality of pins, the female connector configured to receive an external male connector; and
a processor electrically connected to the second circuit and the female connector, the processor configured to transmit intensity of the leakage current detected by the second circuit to the external male connector connected to the female connector.

18. The electronic device of claim 17 , the second circuit including a power management circuit (PMIC) electrically connected to a battery mounted on the electronic device.

19. The electronic device of claim 17 , the processor configured to display the intensity of the leakage current detected by the second circuit via a display mounted on the electronic device.

20. The electronic device of claim 17 , the conductive path including a flexible conductive member disposed between the PCB and the back plate.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hyun Jiseob
• Zheng Jicheng
• Kim Beom-Mun
• Kim Seung-Hun
• Kwon Choel-Hwi
• Seo Jaehyung
• Shin Yongmin
• Choi Hyun-Suk

Classifications

• H04M1/0274

  for an electrical connector module · CPC title

• H04M1/24

  Arrangements for testing · CPC title

• H05K5/04 Primary

  Metal casings · CPC title

• H02H3/33

  using summation current transformers (H02H3/347 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F1/1656 Primary

  Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories (mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203) · CPC title