Electronic devices having multiple slot antennas

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10164679-B1
Application number	US-201715717367-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Sep 27, 2017
Priority date	Sep 27, 2017
Publication date	Dec 25, 2018
Grant date	Dec 25, 2018

Abstract

An electronic device may have conductive housing structures and first, second, third, and fourth slot antennas having respective first, second, third, and fourth slot elements in the conductive housing structures. The third slot element may be interposed between the first and second slot elements and the second slot element may be interposed between the third and fourth slot elements. Switching circuitry may be coupled between a transceiver and the slot elements. Control circuitry may control the switching circuitry to activate a selected pair of the slot antennas based on an orientation of the device or other data. The active pair of antennas may convey radio-frequency signals at the same frequencies using a multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) communications scheme. In this way, the device may perform wireless communications at relatively high data throughputs regardless of how the device is being held by a user.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a housing having conductive structures;
radio-frequency transceiver circuitry in the housing and having first and second ports;
a first slot antenna having a first slot element in the conductive structures and a first antenna feed coupled to the first port;
a second slot antenna having a second slot element in the conductive structures and a second antenna feed coupled to the first port; and
a third slot antenna having a third slot element in the conductive structures and a third antenna feed coupled to the second port, wherein at least some of the third slot element is interposed between the first and second slot elements.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , further comprising:
a fourth slot antenna having a fourth slot element in the conductive structures and a fourth antenna feed coupled to the second port, wherein at least some of the second slot element is interposed between the third and fourth slot elements.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 , further comprising:
a first switch that is coupled between the first port and the first and second antenna feeds and that is configured to activate a selected one of the first and second slot antennas at a given time; and
a second switch that is coupled between the second port and the third and fourth antenna feeds and that is configured to activate a selected one of the third and fourth slot antennas at a given time.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 , wherein the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry is configured to convey radio-frequency signals at a given frequency, the electronic device further comprising:
control circuitry configured to control the first and second switches to convey the radio-frequency signals at the given frequency over a selected pair of the first, second, third, and fourth slot antennas under a multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) scheme.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 3 , further comprising:
an orientation sensor configured to generate orientation data indicative of an orientation of the electronic device; and
control circuitry configured to control the first and second switches to activate a selected pair of the first, second, third, and fourth slot antennas based on the orientation data.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to adjust the first and second switches between a first state in which the third and second slot antennas are active and the first and fourth slot antennas are inactive, a second state in which the first and fourth slot antennas are active and the second and third slot antennas are inactive, a third state in which the first and third slot antennas are active and the second and fourth slot antennas are inactive, and a fourth state in which the second and fourth slot antennas are active and the first and third slot antennas are inactive.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to place the first and second switches in:
the first state in response to detecting that the electronic device is in a first orientation using the orientation data,
the second state in response to detecting that the electronic device is in a second orientation using the orientation data,
the third state in response to detecting that the electronic device is in a third orientation using the orientation data, and
the fourth state in response to detecting that the electronic device is in a fourth orientation using the orientation data.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 2 , wherein the second and third slot elements comprise closed slots that are surrounded by the conductive structures and the first and fourth slot elements comprise open slots.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 , wherein the conductive structures comprise peripheral sidewall structures and a planar rear wall structure that extends between the peripheral sidewall structures, the first slot element comprises a first dielectric-filled gap in a first portion of the peripheral sidewall structures, and the fourth slot element comprises a second dielectric-filled gap in a second portion of the peripheral sidewall structures.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 , wherein the first and fourth slot elements each have a first elongated length and the second and third slot elements each have a second elongated length that is greater than the first elongated length.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 9 , wherein the peripheral sidewall structures and the planar rear wall structure define at least some edges of each of the first, second, third, and fourth slot elements.

12. An electronic device comprising:
conductive structures;
a first slot antenna having a first slot element in the conductive structures;
a second slot antenna having a second slot element in the conductive structures;
a third slot antenna having a third slot element in the conductive structures;
radio-frequency transceiver circuitry;
switching circuitry coupled between the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and the first, second, and third slot elements; and
control circuitry configured to adjust the switching circuitry between a first mode in which the second antenna is active and the first and third antennas are inactive, a second mode in which the first and third antennas are active and the second antenna is inactive, a third mode in which the first antenna is active and the second and third antennas are inactive, and a fourth mode in which the second and third antennas are active and the first antenna is inactive.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 , further comprising:
a fourth slot antenna having a fourth slot element in the conductive structures, wherein the switching circuitry is coupled between the fourth slot element and the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, the fourth antenna is active in the first and third modes, and the fourth antenna is inactive in the second and fourth modes.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 , wherein the second slot element is interposed between the fourth and third slot elements and the fourth slot element is interposed between the first and second slot elements.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 , wherein the first slot element includes a first segment that extends along a longitudinal axis, the third slot element includes a second segment that extends along the longitudinal axis, and the second and fourth slot elements each extend along the longitudinal axis.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 13 , further comprising:
a display that forms a front face for the electronic device, wherein the conductive structures comprise rear wall that forms a rear face for the electronic device and a plurality of peripheral conductive structures that extend between the rear wall and the display, and at least one edge of each of the first, second, third, and fourth slot elements is defined by a given one of the peripheral conductive structures in the plurality of peripheral conductive structures.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 12 , further comprising:
an orientation sensor that generates orientation data indicative of whether the electronic device is in first, second, third, or fourth orientations, wherein the control circuitry is configured to place the switching circuitry in:
the first mode when the orientation data indicates that the electronic device is in the first orientation,
the second mode when the orientation data indicates that the ele

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Rajagopalan Harish
• Azad Umar
• Romano Pietro
• Garrido Lopez David
• Zhang Lu
• Gomez Angulo Rodney A
• Pascolini Mattia

Classifications

• H04B1/44 Primary

  Transmit/receive switching · CPC title

• H04M1/0202

  Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets (constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03) · CPC title

• H04B1/3827

  Portable transceivers · CPC title

• H04B7/0413

  MIMO systems · CPC title

• H04M1/026

  Details of the structure or mounting of specific components · CPC title