Wearable device with an antenna system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10367927-B2
Application number	US-201715787703-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 18, 2017
Priority date	Feb 1, 2016
Publication date	Jul 30, 2019
Grant date	Jul 30, 2019

Abstract

A wearable device and methods for using the same provided. In one embodiment, a wearable device includes an antenna disposed in a controller and/or a band. The antenna is an electrically conductive element with three connection points, defining three segments. With one of the connection points driven and the other two grounded, the antenna has characteristics of an inverted-F antenna along with a parasitic element between the two grounded points, parasitic element altering the antenna's directionality. In an embodiment, the antenna includes apertures through which portions of a shielded cable protrude to allow conductors in each cable portion to connect to the printed circuit board which is enclosed within the periphery of the antenna. The shields of the cable portions connect to a ground plane of the printed circuit board and both the shields and the ground plane of the printed circuit board act as a ground for the antenna.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A wearable electronic device comprising:
a first earphone and a second earphone;
a controller module that comprises:
a printed circuit board having a ground plane;
electrical components that include a transceiver; and
an antenna configured to wirelessly communicate with an external electronic device, wherein the antenna has a loop shape and comprises a first connection point that is electrically connected to the ground plane and a second connection point that is electrically connected to the transceiver; and
a cable having a first cable portion that includes one or more first conductors that electrically couple the electrical components of the controller module to the first earphone and a second cable portion that includes one or more second conductors that electrically couple the electrical components of the controller module to the second earphone, wherein
the first cable portion comprises a first shield surrounding the one or more first conductors and having a first length,
the second cable portion comprises a second shield surrounding the one or more second conductors and having a second length that is different from the first length,
the first and second shields are electrically coupled to a first point and a second point on the ground plane of the printed circuit board, respectively, and
the first length of the first cable portion and the second length of the second cable portion are designed to improve the efficiency of the antenna at a wireless communication frequency.

2. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the antenna further comprises a third connection point that is connected to the ground plane.

3. The wearable electronic device of claim 2 ,
wherein the antenna has a first segment between the first and second connection points, a second segment between the second and third connection points, and a third segment between the first and third connection points; and
wherein the first segment operates as a first pole and the second segment operates as a second pole in an inverted-F antenna and the third segment operates as a parasitic element to the inverted-F antenna.

4. The wearable electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the first segment is longer than the second segment.

5. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the loop shaped antenna surrounds the printed circuit board.

6. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a gap between the antenna surrounding the printed circuit board and the printed circuit board, wherein
the gap has a first size near a hot point that is formed on the antenna at the wireless communication frequency and a second size near a non-hot point that is formed on the antenna at the wireless communication frequency, and
wherein the first size is larger than the second size.

7. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the antenna is a structural part of the controller module.

8. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first length is shorter than the second length.

9. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein
a first distance between the first point on the ground plane and the second point on the ground plane and the first length are equal to about a wavelength of the wireless communication frequency received by or transmitted by the antenna.

10. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the antenna includes a first and a second aperture configured to allow the one or more first conductors and the one or more second conductors, respectively, to connect to the printed circuit board and the first and second shields to connect to the ground plane.

11. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the printed circuit board includes:
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory contains instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the transceiver to send or receive data via the antenna.

12. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the printed circuit board includes:
one or more electronic modules; and
a metallic enclosure that is mounted on the printed circuit board and covers the one or more electronic modules, wherein the metallic enclosure is connected to the ground plane of the printed circuit board and is formed from a highly permeable metal.

13. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the printed circuit board includes one or more biometric modules; and
wherein the transceiver communicates information collected by the one or more biometric modules to an external device via the antenna.

14. A wearable electronic device comprising:
a pair of earphones;
a controller module that includes:
a printed circuit board having a ground plane;
a transceiver; and
an antenna that is connected to the ground plane and the transceiver, wherein
the antenna has a loop shape,
the antenna includes a first, a second, and a third connection point, and
the antenna is connected to the transceiver at the first connection point and to the ground plane at the second and third connection points; and
a cable having a first cable portion and a second cable portion, each cable portion containing one or more conductors that couple the controller module to one of the pair of earphones, each cable portion having a shield surrounding the one or more conductors, wherein
the shield in the first cable portion and the shield in the second cable portion are both electrically coupled to the ground plane of the printed circuit board,
the shield in the first cable portion and the shield in the second cable portion have different lengths, and
the length of the first cable portion and the length of the second cable portion are designed to improve the efficiency of the antenna at a wireless communication frequency.

15. The wearable electronic device of claim 14 ,
wherein the antenna has a first segment between the first and second connection points, a second segment between the first and third connection points, and a third segment between the second and third connection points; and
wherein the first segment operates as a first pole and the second segment operates as a second pole in an inverted-F antenna and the third segment operates as a parasitic element to the inverted-F antenna.

16. The wearable electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the first segment is longer than the second segment.

17. The wearable electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the antenna is a structural part of the controller module and the loop shape of the antenna surrounds the printed circuit board.

18. The wearable electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the length of the shield in the first cable portion is shorter than the length of the shield in the second cable portion.

19. The wearable electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the antenna includes a first and a second aperture configured to allow the one or more conductors of the first and second cable portions of the cable to connect to the printed circuit board and the shields of the first and second cable portions of the cable to connect to the ground plane.

20. The wearable electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the printed circuit board includes:
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory contains instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the transceiver to send or receive data via the antenna.

Assignees

• Logitech Europe Sa

Inventors

• Shamsoddini Ahmad
• Duddy Stephen

Classifications

• H01Q13/10

  Resonant slot antennas · CPC title

• H01Q1/273 Primary

  Adaptation for carrying or wearing by persons or animals · CPC title

• H01Q9/04

  Resonant antennas · CPC title

• H01Q1/38

  formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support {(patch antennas H01Q9/0407; microstrip dipole antennas H01Q9/065; microstrip slot antennas H01Q13/106; transmission line microstrip antennas H01Q13/206; manufacturing reflecting surfaces using insulating material for supporting the reflecting surface  H01Q15/142)} · CPC title

• H01Q9/42

  with folded element, the folded parts being spaced apart a small fraction of the operating wavelength · CPC title