Electronic device with switchable antenna loop path

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12062858-B2
Application number	US-202217849501-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 24, 2022
Priority date	Jun 24, 2022
Publication date	Aug 13, 2024
Grant date	Aug 13, 2024

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with peripheral conductive housing structures having first and second segments. The device may include an antenna having a resonating arm formed from the first segment, an antenna ground, and a tuning element. The tuning element may have first, second, and third terminals. The first terminal may be coupled to the second segment. The antenna may have a switchable loop path that includes a first path from the second terminal to the first segment, a second path from first segment to a first point on the antenna ground, a portion of the antenna ground from the first point to a second point, and a third path from the second point to the third terminal. The tuning element may selectively activate the switchable loop path to boost performance of the antenna in a frequency band between 3300 MHz and 5000 MHz when needed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
ground structures;
peripheral conductive housing structures having a first segment and a second segment separated from the first segment by a dielectric-filled gap, the first and second segments being separated from the ground structures by a slot;
an antenna feed terminal on the first segment;
a tuning element having a first terminal coupled to the second segment and having a second terminal and a third terminal;
a first conductive path that couples the second terminal to a first point on the first segment across the dielectric-filled gap;
a second conductive path that couples the first point to a second point on the ground structures across the slot; and
a third conductive path that couples the third terminal to a third point on the ground structures across the slot, the third point being separate from the second point.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a flexible printed circuit that runs along the second segment, the tuning element being mounted to the flexible printed circuit.

3. The electronic device of claim 2 , further comprising conductive traces on the flexible printed circuit and coupled to the tuning element.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the tuning element comprises a single-pole three-throw (SP3T) switch.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the tuning element has a first state in which the first terminal is coupled to the third terminal.

6. The electronic device of claim 5 , wherein the tuning element has a second state in which the first terminal is decoupled from the third terminal.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the slot has an extended portion extending beyond the dielectric-filled gap, the third conductive path being coupled across the extended portion of the slot.

8. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein antenna currents flowing through the first conductive path, the second conductive path, a portion of the ground structures extending between the second and third points, and from the third terminal to the first terminal are configured to radiate radio-frequency signals at a frequency between 3300 MHz and 5000 MHz.

9. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a display mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structures and having conductive display structures;
a rear housing wall opposite the display and having a conductive support plate;
a mid-chassis between the display and the conductive support plate; and
conductive interconnect structures that couple the conductive display structures to the mid-chassis and that couple the mid-chassis to the conductive support plate, wherein the ground structures comprise the conductive display structures, the conductive support plate, the mid-chassis, and the conductive interconnect structures.

10. An electronic device comprising:
peripheral conductive housing structures having a dielectric-filled gap that divides the peripheral conductive housing structures into a first segment and a second segment; and
an antenna having
an antenna ground separated from the first and second segments by a slot,
a resonating element arm formed from the first segment, and
a switchable loop path that includes a first conductive path coupled across the dielectric-filled gap, a second conductive path coupled across the slot, a third conductive path coupled across the slot, and a portion of the antenna ground extending from the second conductive path to the third conductive path.

11. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the second conductive path is coupled between the first segment and the antenna ground and the third conductive path is coupled between the second segment and the antenna ground.

12. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the first conductive path is coupled to a first point on the first segment, the second conductive path is coupled between the first point and a second point on the antenna ground, and the third conductive path is coupled between the second segment and a third point on the antenna ground.

13. The electronic device of claim 10 , further comprising:
a switchable component having a first terminal coupled to the second segment, a second terminal coupled to the first conductive path, and a third terminal coupled to the third conductive path.

14. The electronic device of claim 13 , wherein the switchable component has a first state and a second state, the switchable loop path contributing more to a radiative response of the antenna in the first state than in the second state.

15. The electronic device of claim 13 , further comprising:
a printed circuit running along the second segment, wherein the switchable component is surface-mounted to the printed circuit.

16. The electronic device of claim 13 , wherein the switchable loop path extends from the third terminal to the second segment through the first terminal.

17. An antenna comprising:
an antenna ground;
a resonating element arm;
a feed terminal coupled to the resonating element arm;
a conductive structure separated from the resonating element arm by a gap;
a tuning element having a first terminal, a second terminal, and a third terminal, the first terminal being coupled to the conductive structure;
a first conductive path that couples the first terminal to the resonating element arm;
a second conductive path that couples the resonating element arm to the antenna ground; and
a third conductive path that couples the antenna ground to the third terminal.

18. The antenna of claim 17 , wherein the second conductive path is coupled to a first point on the antenna ground and the third conductive path is coupled to a second point on the antenna ground that is separated from the first point.

19. The antenna of claim 17 , wherein the first conductive path is coupled to a point on the resonating element arm and the second conductive path is coupled to the point on the resonating element arm.

20. The antenna of claim 17 , wherein the tuning element comprises a single-pole three-throw (SP3T) switch.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Ayala Vazquez Enrique
• Xu Yuancheng
• Hu Hongfei
• Xu Hao
• Wang Yiren
• Wang Han
• Jain Sidharath
• Kammersgaard Nikolaj Peter Iversen
• Tian Haozhan
• Tao Yuan
• Di Nallo Carlo
• Pascolini Mattia

Classifications

• H01Q5/364

  Creating multiple current paths · CPC title

• H01Q1/243

  with built-in antennas · CPC title

• H01Q1/22

  by structural association with other equipment or articles · CPC title

• H01Q5/378

  Combination of fed elements with parasitic elements · CPC title

• H01Q5/328

  between a radiating element and ground · CPC title