Electronic device and electromagnetic shielding assembly thereof

This application claims priority to Taiwan Application Serial Number 107140462, filed Nov. 14, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device having an electromagnetic shielding assembly.

A circuit board of an electronic device typically has multiple electronic components installed thereon. These electronic components are sometimes covered with electromagnetic shielding elements to protect the electronic components from electromagnetic interference (EMI).

In certain applications, each electronic component has to be covered by an individual shielding element, so to prevent interference between the electronic components resulted from the electromagnetic waves emitted by the electronic components. The employment of shielding elements reduce the available space on the circuit board since the space occupied by the side walls of the shielding elements, the area adjacent to the side walls and the area between the shielding elements are not available for circuit layout.

One way to deal with the problem of insufficient circuit board space is to enlarge the circuit board. However, such an approach has limitations and drawbacks such as an increase in weight of the electronic device and a potential need to redesign the chassis (e.g., to accommodate the enlarged circuit board).

Consequently, how to provide an electromagnetic shielding element to resolve the aforementioned issues is one of the directions that should be urgently endeavored.

In view of the foregoing, one of the objects of the present disclosure is to provide an electromagnetic shielding assembly that improves the efficiency of space utilization.

To achieve the objective stated above, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electromagnetic shielding assembly configured to be disposed on a circuit board with at least one electronic component includes a plurality of shielding housings. The shielding housings form a gap therebetween. Each of the shielding housings has a first opening adjoining the gap. The shielding housings are configured to accommodate part of the electronic component. The electronic component is configured to pass through the first openings of the shielding housings and the gap.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the shielding housing includes a frame and a lid. The frame is fixedly attached to the circuit board and has a first side wall. The first opening is formed on the first side wall.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the lid includes a top wall and a second side wall. The second side wall is connected to the top wall and extends to an outer side of the first side wall of the frame. The second side wall has a second opening positioned corresponding to first opening.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the first side wall has an engaging slot. The second side wall has a protrusion interlocking with the engaging slot.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the first side wall has a plurality of fixing portions. The fixing portions are arranged on a periphery of the first side wall and are configured to be secured on the circuit board.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a width of the gap is less than or equal to 1.6 mm.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device includes a circuit board and an electromagnetic shielding assembly. The circuit board has at least one electronic component. The electromagnetic shielding assembly is disposed on the circuit board. The electromagnetic shielding assembly includes a plurality of shielding housings forming a gap therebetween. Each of the shielding housings has a first opening adjoining the gap. The shielding housings accommodate part of the electronic component. The electronic component passes through the first openings of the shielding housings and the gap.

In sum, the electromagnetic shielding assembly of the present disclosure is featured with two neighboring shielding housings each having a side opening. The side openings are configured to face each other. Consequently, the available space on the circuit board is increased as the area between the side openings is made available for circuit layout.

To make the objectives, features, advantages, and embodiments of the present disclosure, including those mentioned above and others, more comprehensible, descriptions of the accompanying drawings are provided as follows.

FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of an electromagnetic shielding assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, with the electromagnetic shielding assembly being disposed on a circuit board;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of one of the shielding housings of the electromagnetic shielding assembly shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the other one of the shielding housings of the electromagnetic shielding assembly shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the shielding housing shown in FIG. 2 taken from another angle;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the shielding housing shown in FIG. 3 taken from another angle;

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged cross sectional view of the electromagnetic shielding assembly and the circuit board shown in FIG. 1 ; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

For the sake of the completeness of the description of the present disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and the various embodiments described below. Various features in the drawings are not drawn to scale and are provided for illustration purposes only. To provide full understanding of the present disclosure, various practical details will be explained in the following descriptions. However, a person with an ordinary skill in relevant art should realize that the present disclosure can be implemented without one or more of the practical details. Therefore, the present disclosure is not to be limited by these details.

Reference is made to FIG. 1 , which illustrates a top view of an electromagnetic shielding assembly 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electromagnetic shielding assembly 100 is disposed on a circuit board 200 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the electromagnetic shielding assembly 100 includes two shielding housings 300 a and 300 b . The shielding housings 300 a and 300 b cover electronic components 200 a and 200 b (depicted with dashed lines in FIG. 1 ) on the circuit board 200 respectively, so as to protect the electronic components 200 a and 200 b from electromagnetic interference (EMI). The shielding housings 300 a and 300 b are physically separated such that a gap G is formed between the shielding housings 300 a and 300 b . The electromagnetic shielding assembly 100 may be made of metal or other conductive materials to enable the shielding capability of the electromagnetic shielding assembly 100 . Alternatively, the electromagnetic shielding assembly 100 may have metallic coatings.

Reference is made to FIGS. 2 and 3 , which are exploded views of the shielding housings 300 a and 300 b of the electromagnetic shielding assembly 100 respectively. The shielding housing 300 a includes a frame 310 a and a lid 320 a . The shielding housing 300 b includes a frame 310 b and a lid 320 b . The frames 310 a and 310 b are fixedly attached to the circuit board 200 . The frame 310 a has a first side wall 311 a and the frame 310 b has a first side wall 311 b . The lid 320 a covers a side of the frame 310 a away from the circuit board 200 , such that the lid 320 a , the first side wall 311 a of the frame 310 a and the circuit board 200 form a shielded space therebetween. The lid 320 b covers a side of the frame 310 b away from the circuit board 200 , such that the lid 320 b , the first side wall 311 b of the frame 310 b and the circuit board 200 form another shielded space therebetween. The electronic components 200 a and 200 b which are disposed in said shielding spaces are free of EMI accordingly.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the first side wall 311 a has a first opening 312 a adjoining the gap G. The first side wall 311 b has a first opening 312 b adjoining the gap G. The first opening 312 a of the first side wall 311 a and the first opening 312 b of the first side wall 311 b face each other across the gap G. The formation of the first openings 312 a and 312 b enables the gap G to be utilized for circuit layout and increases the available space on the circuit board 200 accordingly. For instance, as shown in FIG. 1 , a third electronic component 200 c may be partially accommodated in the shielding housings 300 a and 300 b , and passes through the gap G and the first openings 312 a and 312 b . In other words, the electronic component 200 c has a first portion located within the shielding housing 300 a , a second portion located within the shielding housing 300 b and a third portion located within the gap G.

It is to be noted that the space between the lid 320 a , the first side wall 311 a and the circuit board 200 is not a closed space since the first opening 312 a is formed on the first side wall 311 a . Likewise, the space between the lid 320 b , the first side wall 311 b and the circuit board 200 is also not a closed space. Consequently, to provide effective EMI shielding to the electronic components 200 a , 200 b and 200 c , a width W of the gap G (see FIG. 6 ) has to be less than or equal to a predetermined effective shielding width. In some embodiments, the width W of the gap G substantially falls within a range of 1.4 mm to 1.6 mm.

The numbers provided above are only examples. The width W of the gap G may be adjusted to take account of the requirements in different application scenarios. For instance, the width W of the gap G may be reduced if the electronic components 200 a , 200 b and 200 c are highly susceptible to external electromagnetic waves. The width W of the gap G may be adjusted by changing the sizes, the shapes and the positions of the shielding housings 300 a and 300 b , or using other suitable means.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2 , the lid 320 a includes a top wall 321 a and a second side wall 322 a connected to the top wall 321 a . The top wall 321 a covers the frame 310 a . The second side wall 322 a extends to an outer side of the first side wall 311 a and has a second opening 323 a positioned corresponding to first opening 312 a . The second opening 322 a has dimension greater than or equal to the dimension of the first opening 312 a , so as to prevent the first opening 312 a and the electronic component 200 c from being blocked by the second side wall 322 a.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the lid 320 b of the shielding housing 300 b includes a top wall 321 b and a second side wall 322 b with a second opening 323 b . The top wall 321 b , the second side wall 322 b and the second opening 323 b are structurally similar to the top wall 321 a , the second side wall 322 a and the second opening 323 a respectively. Please refer to the preceding paragraphs for the descriptions regarding the top wall 321 a , the second side wall 322 a and the second opening 323 a . They are not repeated herein for brevity.

Reference is made to FIG. 4 , which is an exploded view of the shielding housing 300 a shown in FIG. 2 taken from another angle. In some embodiments, the first side wall 311 a has a plurality of engaging slots 313 a . The second side wall 322 a has a plurality of protrusions 324 a . Each of the protrusions 324 a interlocks with a corresponding engaging slot 313 a to hold the lid 320 a and the frame 310 a firmly together. Therefore, the lid 320 a may be prevented from inadvertently detaching from the frame 310 a , which would result in the shielding housing 300 a being unable to provide EMI shielding for the electronic components. In addition, compared to other fixation means (e.g., assembling the lid 320 a and the frame 310 a by screwing), the aforementioned engaging structures (i.e., the engaging slots 313 a and the protrusions 324 a ) facilitate easy assembly and disassembly of the shielding housing 300 a . Accordingly, the electronic components 200 a may be replaced effortlessly.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4 , the first side wall 311 a has a plurality of fixing portions 314 a . The fixing portions 314 a are arranged on a periphery of the first side wall 311 a and are configured to be secured on the circuit board 200 .

Reference is made to FIG. 5 , which is an exploded view of the shielding housing 300 b shown in FIG. 3 taken from another angle. The first side wall 311 b of the frame 310 b has engaging slots 313 b and the second side wall 322 b has protrusions 324 b . The engaging slots 313 b and the protrusions 324 b are structurally similar to the engaging slots 313 a and the protrusions 324 a . The first side wall 311 b further has at least one fixing portion 314 b , which is structurally similar to the fixing portion 314 a . Please refer to the preceding paragraphs for the descriptions regarding the engaging slots 313 a , the protrusions 324 a and the fixing portion 314 a . They are not repeated herein for brevity.

Reference is made to FIG. 6 , which is a partially enlarged cross sectional view of the electromagnetic shielding assembly 100 and the circuit board 200 shown in FIG. 1 . The height of the second opening 323 a depends on a distance D from an upper edge of the second opening 323 a to the top wall 321 a . In some embodiments, the lid 320 a is formed by means of sheet metal bending. The second side wall 322 a is bending from the top wall 321 a by substantially 90 degrees. In cases where the lid 320 a is manufactured by means of bending process, the distance D is required to be greater than or equal to a minimum bended edge length, which depends on the material of the sheet metal, the thickness of the sheet metal and/or other properties. In some embodiments, the minimum bended edge length is substantially 1.1 mm.

The numbers provided above are only examples. The height of the second opening 323 a (or the distance D) may be adjusted to take account of the requirements in different application scenarios. For instance, to accommodate taller electronic components, the distance D may be reduced and the height of the second opening 323 a may be increased.

Reference is made to FIG. 7 , which illustrates a perspective view of an electronic device 400 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 400 (e.g., a mobile device) includes a chassis 410 (depicted with dashed lines in FIG. 7 ) and the electromagnetic shielding assembly 100 and the circuit board 200 shown in FIG. 1 . The electromagnetic shielding assembly 100 and the circuit board 200 are disposed in the chassis 410 . Compared to conventional EMI shielding tools, the electromagnetic shielding assembly 100 of the present disclosure improves utilization efficiency of the space on the circuit board 200 by introducing additional circuit layout space. Consequently, the size of the circuit board 200 may be reduced, enabling thinner and lighter design for the electronic device 400 .

It is to be noted that the technical means specified above may be generalized to electromagnetic shielding assembly with three or more shielding housings. In such embodiments, a gap may be formed between any pair of neighboring shielding housings and the pair of shielding housings may each have a side opening. The side openings of the pair of shielding housings may face each other across said gap. Accordingly, the space available for circuit layout may be increased.

In sum, the electromagnetic shielding assembly of the present disclosure is featured with two neighboring shielding housings each having a side opening. The side openings are configured to face each other. Consequently, the available space on the circuit board is increased as the area between the side openings is made available for circuit layout.

Although the present disclosure has been described by way of the exemplary embodiments above, the present disclosure is not to be limited to those embodiments. Any person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protective scope of the present disclosure shall be the scope of the claims as attached.