Hinged portable electronic device with display circuitry located in base

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9804639-B2
Application number	US-201313968254-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 15, 2013
Priority date	Aug 15, 2013
Publication date	Oct 31, 2017
Grant date	Oct 31, 2017

Abstract

An electronic device may have a housing with a lid that rotates relative to a base. A display in the lid may have a thin-film transistor layer. Display driver circuitry may be mounted to the thin-film transistor layer. A display timing controller integrated circuit may be mounted in the base. A rigid flex printed circuit may have a rigid portion in the base to which the display timing controller integrated circuit is mounted and may have a rigid portion in the lid. A flexible printed circuit portion of the rigid flex printed circuit may be used to couple the rigid printed circuit portion in the lid to the thin-film transistor layer. A flexible printed circuit portion of the rigid flex printed circuit that extends between the lid and the base may be formed from a double-shield-layer single-signal-line-layer flexible printed circuit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having a base and having a lid that rotates relative to the base; and
a rigid flex printed circuit having a first rigid printed circuit board portion in the lid, a second rigid printed circuit board portion in the base, a flexible printed circuit portion that extends between the first rigid printed circuit board portion and the second rigid printed circuit board portion, and a metal signal line layer that forms part of the first rigid printed circuit board portion, the second rigid printed circuit board portion, and the flexible printed circuit portion.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a display in the lid.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the display comprises:
liquid crystal display layers; and
a backlight unit, wherein the rigid flex printed circuit has a flexible printed circuit portion that extends between the first rigid printed circuit board portion and the liquid crystal display layers.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the liquid crystal display layers include a thin-film transistor layer, wherein the display further comprises at least one column driver integrated circuit mounted on the thin-film transistor layer, and wherein the flexible printed circuit board portion that extends between the first rigid printed circuit board portion and the liquid crystal display layers is attached to the thin-film transistor layer.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 further comprising a display timing controller integrated circuit mounted on the second rigid printed circuit board portion in the base.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the flexible printed circuit portion that extends between the first rigid printed circuit board portion and the second rigid printed circuit portion comprises a single-signal-line-layer flexible printed circuit.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 wherein the flexible printed circuit portion that extends between the first rigid printed circuit board portion and the second rigid printed circuit board portion has opposing outer layers of shielding metal that provide electromagnetic shielding.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 wherein the flexible printed circuit portion that extends between the first rigid printed circuit board portion and the second rigid printed circuit board portion has a single layer of metal signal lines and has a neutral stress plane aligned with the single layer of metal signal lines.

9. A portable computer, comprising:
a housing having a first housing portion and having a second housing portion that rotates relative to the first housing portion about a hinge axis;
a display in the first housing portion;
a printed circuit that is coupled to the display in the first housing portion, wherein the printed circuit comprises a first rigid printed circuit board portion in the first housing portion, a second rigid printed circuit board portion in the second housing portion, a flexible printed circuit portion that traverses the hinge axis and extends between the first rigid printed circuit board portion and the second rigid printed circuit board portion, and a metal signal line layer that forms part of the first rigid printed circuit board portion, the second rigid printed circuit board portion, and the flexible printed circuit portion; and
a display timing controller integrated circuit mounted on the second rigid printed circuit board portion in the second housing portion.

10. The portable computer defined in claim 9 wherein the flexible printed circuit portion comprises a single-signal-line-layer flexible printed circuit.

11. The portable computer defined in claim 9 wherein the flexible printed circuit portion comprises a double-shield-layer single-signal-line-layer flexible printed circuit.

12. The portable computer defined in claim 9 wherein the display comprises display layers and a display driver integrated circuit mounted to one of the display layers.

13. A portable computer, comprising:
a housing having a lid that rotates relative to a base;
a display in the lid;
display driver circuitry coupled to the display in the lid;
display control circuitry in the base; and
a printed circuit to which the display control circuitry is mounted, wherein the printed circuit is coupled between the display control circuitry in the base and the display driver circuitry, and wherein the printed circuit comprises a first rigid printed circuit board portion in the base, a first flexible printed circuit portion that extends between the first rigid printed circuit board portion and the display driver circuitry, and a metal signal line layer that forms part of both the first rigid printed circuit board portion and the first flexible printed circuit portion.

14. The portable computer defined in claim 13 wherein the display comprises a substrate layer and wherein the display driver circuitry comprises a column driver integrated circuit mounted to the substrate layer.

15. The portable computer defined in claim 14 wherein the printed circuit comprises a rigid flex printed circuit.

16. The portable computer defined in claim 15 wherein the display control circuitry comprises a display timing controller integrated circuit mounted on the printed circuit.

17. The portable computer defined in claim 16 wherein the printed circuit further comprises:
a second rigid printed circuit board portion in the lid, wherein the display timing controller integrated circuit is mounted to the first rigid printed circuit board portion in the base.

18. The portable computer defined in claim 17 wherein the printed circuit further comprises:
a second flexible printed circuit portion that extends between the first rigid printed circuit board portion and the substrate layer, wherein the first flexible printed circuit portion extends between the first and second rigid printed circuit board portions.

19. The portable computer defined in claim 18 wherein the first flexible printed circuit portion has opposing outer metal shielding layers.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Posner Bryan W
• Mathew Dinesh C
• Benson Eric L
• Gomez Jason N
• Qi Jun
• Cao Robert Y
• Yin Victor H
• Ligtenberg Christiaan A
• Lin Wey-Jiun

Classifications

• G02F1/13306

  Circuit arrangements or driving methods for the control of single liquid crystal cells (G02F1/132, G02F1/133382 take precedence) · CPC title

• G02F1/1368

  in which the switching element is a three-electrode device {(G02F1/136277 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• H05K1/148

  Arrangements of two or more hingeably connected rigid printed circuit boards, i.e. connected by flexible means · CPC title

• G06F1/1683 Primary

  for the transmission of signal or power between the different housings, e.g. details of wired or wireless communication, passage of cabling · CPC title

• G06F1/1681

  Details related solely to hinges (hinge details related to the transmission of signals or power are classified in G06F1/1683) · CPC title