Electronic device with NFC antenna adjacent display and related methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10623540-B2
Application number	US-201715432979-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 15, 2017
Priority date	Oct 7, 2011
Publication date	Apr 14, 2020
Grant date	Apr 14, 2020

Abstract

An electronic device may include a housing, processing circuitry carried by the housing, and at least one wireless transceiver carried by the housing and a NFC device carried by the housing. The electronic device may also include a display carried by the housing and having an internal surface within the housing and a display surface opposite the internal surface, and an NFC antenna mounted on and extending across at least a portion of the internal surface of the display, wherein the NFC antenna comprises a substrate and electrically conductive traces thereon defining a plurality of loops.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a housing defining a display opening therein;
processing circuitry carried by the housing;
at least one wireless transceiver carried by the housing;
a near field communications (NFC) device carried by the housing;
a display carried within the housing and having an internal surface within the housing and a display surface positioned within the housing and exposed through the display opening, wherein the internal surface is opposite and behind the display surface; and
an NFC antenna mounted behind and extending across at least a portion of the internal surface of the display, wherein the NFC antenna comprises a substrate and a single electrically conductive trace thereon defining a plurality of coplanar loops aligned within a plane aligned with the display surface, and wherein the plurality of coplanar loops are positioned behind the display surface and within a perimeter of the display surface.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein an entirety of the NFC antenna extends across at least a portion of the internal surface of the display, and wherein the NFC antenna further comprises a backing layer, and wherein the backing layer comprises an inductive shield that shields the NFC antenna.

3. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the backing layer comprises ferrite, wherein the plurality of coplanar loops comprise a plurality of straight edges arranged in a rectangular form, wherein two edges are substantially perpendicular, and wherein the plurality of coplanar loops abut to two edges of the display.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the NFC antenna is positioned within the housing and aligned with the internal surface of the display, wherein the single electrically conductive trace comprises a plurality of concentric loops, and wherein the display surface comprises a user input surface exposed through the display opening.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the substrate has a rectangular shape, and wherein the plurality of loops is adjacent a periphery of the substrate.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 further comprising a flexible circuit coupling the NFC antenna to the NFC device.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the display comprises a touch screen display, wherein the display surface is exposed through the display opening, and wherein the NFC antenna is positioned behind the internal surface of the display such that the display surface, observed through the display opening, covers the NFC antenna.

8. A tablet computing device comprising:
a housing defining a display opening therein;
processing circuitry carried by the housing;
at least one wireless transceiver circuitry carried by the housing and coupled to the processing circuitry;
a near field communications (NFC) circuitry carried by the housing and coupled to the processing circuitry;
a display carried within the housing and coupled to the processing circuitry, the display having an internal flat surface within the housing and a flat display surface positioned within the housing, the flat display surface aligned in opposition to and parallel to the internal flat surface wherein the internal flat surface is positioned behind the flat display surface; and
an NFC antenna mounted behind and extending across at least a portion of the internal flat surface of the display, wherein the NFC antenna comprises a substrate and a single electrically conductive trace thereon defining a plurality of loops disposed upon a flat surface aligned with and parallel to the internal flat surface, and wherein the plurality of loops are positioned behind the flat display surface and within a perimeter of the flat display surface.

9. The tablet computing device of claim 8 , wherein the NFC antenna further comprises a backing layer, and wherein the backing layer comprises an inductive shield that shields the NFC antenna.

10. The tablet computing device of claim 9 , wherein the backing layer comprises ferrite.

11. The tablet computing device of claim 8 , wherein the NFC antenna is positioned within the housing and mounted on the internal flat surface of the display.

12. The tablet computing device of claim 8 , wherein the substrate has a rectangular shape, and wherein the plurality of loops is adjacent a periphery of the substrate.

13. The tablet computing device of claim 8 further comprising a flexible circuit coupling the NFC antenna to the NFC circuitry.

14. The tablet computing device of claim 8 , wherein the display comprises a touch screen display, wherein the flat display surface is exposed through the display opening, and wherein the NFC antenna is positioned behind the internal flat surface of the display such that the flat display surface, observed through the display opening, covers the NFC antenna.

15. A method of making an electronic device comprising:
mounting at least one wireless transceiver within a housing defining a display opening therein;
mounting a near field communications (NFC) device within the housing;
mounting a display within the housing, the display having an internal planar surface within the housing and a flat display surface positioned within the housing and opposite the internal planar surface, wherein the internal planar surface lies behind the flat display surface; and
mounting an NFC antenna behind the internal planar surface of the display within the housing, wherein the NFC antenna extends across at least a portion of the internal planar surface of the display, and wherein the NFC antenna comprises an electrically conductive trace defining a plurality of coplanar loops positioned behind the flat display surface and within a perimeter of the flat display surface.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the NFC antenna comprises a substrate including the electrically conductive trace thereon defining the plurality of loops, wherein the flat display surface is exposed through the display opening.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the substrate has a rectangular shape and wherein the plurality of loops is adjacent a periphery of the substrate, and wherein the NFC antenna is positioned behind the internal planar surface of the display such that the flat display surface, observed through the display opening, covers the NFC antenna.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising coupling a flexible circuit between the NFC antenna and the NFC device.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the NFC antenna comprises a backing layer that shields the NFC antenna.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the backing layer comprises ferrite.

Assignees

• Blackberry Ltd

Inventors

• Zhu Lizhong
• Zhu Libo
• Dill Scott Leonard
• Dikun Raymond Michael
• Nguyen Pha Cong
• Ooi Soo Liam
• Wiessner Randy Alan

Classifications

• H04M2250/04

  including near field communication means, e.g. RFID · CPC title

• H01Q7/00

  Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop · CPC title

• H04M1/026 Primary

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

• H04M2250/22

  including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector · CPC title

• H01Q21/28

  Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems {(multiple beam H01Q25/00)} · CPC title