Electronic device with housing slots for antennas

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10965008-B2
Application number	US-201916252311-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 18, 2019
Priority date	Apr 22, 2015
Publication date	Mar 30, 2021
Grant date	Mar 30, 2021

Abstract

An electronic device housing may have a rear housing wall that forms a metal ground plane. A slot may be formed in the metal ground plane. The slot may have one or more open ends along an edge of the ground plane. A near-field communications loop antenna may overlap the slot. The near-field communications loop antenna may have one or more turns. A current path through the metal ground plane may form one of the turns in the near-field communications loop antenna. The slot may form portions of non-near-field-communications antennas in addition to the near-field communications loop antenna. The slot in the non-near-field-communications antennas may be fed using an indirect antenna feed structure. Components such as a capacitor and inductor may help allow non-near-field communications antenna and the near-field communications antenna to be formed from common portions of the metal ground plane.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having first and second conductive portions;
a slot element that separates the first and second conductive portions of the housing;
a conductive structure coupled across the slot element; and
a near-field communications antenna having first and second antenna feed terminals coupled to the housing, wherein the near-field communications antenna is formed from a conductive path through the housing and the conductive structure.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the first antenna feed terminal is coupled to the first conductive portion of the housing on a first side of the slot element and the second antenna feed terminal is coupled to the second conductive portion of the housing on a second side of the slot element that opposes the first side of the slot element.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 , wherein the conductive path is formed through the first and second conductive portions of the housing.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 , further comprising:
a first slot antenna resonating element formed from a first portion of the slot element; and
a second slot antenna resonating element formed from a second portion of the slot element.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 , further comprising:
near-field communications transceiver circuitry coupled to the first and second antenna feed terminals; and
non-near-field communications transceiver circuitry coupled to the first and second slot antenna resonating elements.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the slot element has an open end at an edge of the housing.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 , wherein the slot element extends from the open end into the housing and towards the conductive structure.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 , wherein the slot element has a first slot portion that extends along a first direction and has a second slot portion that extends along a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a rear housing wall and a housing sidewall, and the slot element extends through the rear housing wall and the housing sidewall to separate the first and second conductive portions of the housing.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 1 ,
wherein the conductive structure is an inductor having a first terminal coupled to the first conductive portion of the housing on a first side of the slot element and having a second terminal coupled to the second conductive portion of the housing on a second side of the slot element.

11. An electronic device, comprising:
conductive housing structures;
a slot in the conductive housing structures;
a near-field communications antenna formed from a conductive path that overlaps the slot and having an antenna feed coupled to the conductive housing structures;
near-field communications transceiver circuitry coupled to the antenna feed and configured to convey near-field communications signals using the near-field communications antenna;
a slot antenna resonating element formed from the slot; and
non-near-field communications transceiver circuitry configured to convey non-near-field communications signals using the slot antenna resonating element.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11 , further comprising:
an electrical component overlapping the slot to separate the slot into first and second slot portions.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 , wherein the slot antenna resonating element is formed from the first slot portion.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 , further comprising:
an additional slot antenna resonating element formed from the second slot portion, wherein the non-near-field communications transceiver circuitry is configured to convey the non-near-field communications signals using the additional slot antenna resonating element.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 12 , further comprising:
a conductive structure overlapping the slot, wherein the conductive path is formed through the conductive housing structures and the conductive structure.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15 , wherein the conductive housing structures comprise an electronic device sidewall and the electronic device sidewall is separated into first and second portions by the slot.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16 , wherein the conductive housing structures comprise an electronic device rear wall that is separated into first and second portions by the slot and the conductive path is formed through the first and second portions of the electronic device rear wall.

18. An electronic device, comprising:
conductive housing structures that include a conductive rear housing wall having an edge;
a slot in the conductive rear housing wall, wherein the slot has an open end along the edge, a first portion of the slot extends from the open end into the rear housing wall, and a second portion of the slot extends from the first portion of the slot to a conductive structure that bridges the slot; and
a near-field communications loop antenna having first and second antenna feed terminals coupled to the conductive housing structures and having a conductive loop path that overlaps the slot.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 18 , wherein the first and second antenna feed terminals are respectively coupled on opposing sides of the first slot portion and the conductive path is formed around the first and second slot portions and across the slot.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 19 , wherein the first portion of the slot extends along a first direction and the second portion of the slot extends along a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Azad Umar
• Rajagopalan Harish
• Pascolini Mattia
• Gomez Angulo Rodney A

Classifications

• H01Q13/10

  Resonant slot antennas · CPC title

• H01Q9/42

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

• H01Q1/48

  Earthing means; Earth screens; Counterpoises · 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

• H01Q1/243 Primary

  with built-in antennas · CPC title