US 9,807,919 B2Granted

Electronic devices having electrostatic discharge paths

AssigneeApple Inc.

InventorKelvin Kwong

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Abstract

An electronic device may have a display and other electrical components that are sensitive to electrostatic charge. A button may pass through an opening in a layer of the display. A metal trim may surround the button. The housing may have an opening with a clear lens surrounded by a metal trim. To prevent damage from electrostatic discharge, an electrostatic discharge path may be formed in the device that includes a metal trim surrounding a component such as a button member or camera lens, metal traces on the inner surface of a display layer or a housing, a grounded metal housing structure, and a spring or other conductive structure that couples the metal traces to the grounded metal housing structure. Displays may be provided with electrostatic discharge paths that route electrostatic charge to grounded metal housing structures.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An electronic device, comprising:

a housing;
a display mounted in the housing, wherein the display includes an outermost display layer, wherein the display has an active area in which images are displayed, wherein the display has an inactive area that surrounds the active area, wherein the outermost display layer has first and second surfaces, and wherein the outermost display layer has an opening that extends from the first surface to the second surface;
a grounded metal structure in the housing;
an electrostatic discharge path that includes a conductive trace on the outermost display layer, that includes the grounded metal structure, and that includes a conductive structure coupled between the conductive trace and the grounded metal structure that shorts the conductive trace to the grounded metal structure;
and
a metal trim structure formed in the opening in the outermost display layer, wherein the electrostatic discharge path also includes the metal trim structure, and wherein the conductive structure shorts the metal trim structure to the grounded metal structure.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.