Electronic device with millimeter wave antennas

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12512864-B2
Application number	US-202217744213-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 13, 2022
Priority date	Apr 17, 2015
Publication date	Dec 30, 2025
Grant date	Dec 30, 2025

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include one or more antennas. The antennas may include phased antenna arrays each of which includes multiple antenna elements. Phased antenna arrays may be mounted along edges of a housing for the electronic device, behind a dielectric window such as a dielectric logo window in the housing, in alignment with dielectric housing portions at corners of the housing, or elsewhere in the electronic device. A phased antenna array may include arrays of patch antenna elements on dielectric layers separated by a ground layer. A baseband processor may distribute wireless signals to the phased antenna arrays at intermediate frequencies over intermediate frequency signal paths. Transceiver circuits at the phased antenna arrays may include upconverters and downconverters coupled to the intermediate frequency signal paths.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An electronic device comprising:
a display having a display cover layer; and a phased antenna array facing the display cover layer and configured to convey radio-frequency signals through the display cover layer.

2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the phased antenna array comprises antennas coupled to respective phase and magnitude controllers, the phase and magnitude controllers being configured to perform beam steering on the radio-frequency signals.

3 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the phased antenna array comprises four antennas arranged in a one-dimensional pattern.

4 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the radio-frequency signals are at frequencies greater than 10 GHz.

5 . The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising:
peripheral conductive housing structures, wherein the display is mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structures.

6 . The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a substrate, wherein the phased antenna array comprises antenna elements mounted to a surface of the substrate, the antenna elements are configured to radiate the radio-frequency signals, the antenna elements face the display cover layer, and the surface of the substrate faces and extends parallel to a lateral area of the display cover layer.

7 . An electronic device comprising:
a display; a housing wall opposite the display; and a phased antenna array facing the housing wall and configured to convey radio-frequency signals through the housing wall.

8 . The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the housing wall comprises glass.

9 . The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the housing wall comprises metal and an antenna window in the metal, the phased antenna array being configured to convey the radio-frequency signals through the antenna window.

10 . The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the phased antenna array comprises four antennas arranged in a two-dimensional pattern.

11 . The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the phased antenna array comprises four phase and magnitude controllers each coupled to a respective one of the four antennas, the phase and magnitude controllers being configured to perform beam steering on the radio-frequency signals.

12 . The electronic device of claim 7 , further comprising:
peripheral conductive housing structures, wherein the display and the housing wall are mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structures.

13 . The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the radio-frequency signals are at frequencies greater than 10 GHz.

14 . The electronic device of claim 7 , further comprising:
a substrate, wherein the phased antenna array comprises antenna elements mounted to a surface of the substrate, the antenna elements are configured to radiate the radio-frequency signals, the antenna elements face the housing wall, and the surface of the substrate faces and extends parallel to a lateral area of the housing wall.

15 . An electronic device comprising:
conductive housing structures that run around a periphery of the electronic device; a display mounted to the conductive housing structures; one or more openings in the conductive housing structures; a substrate; a ground structure on the substrate; and an array of antenna elements configured to convey radio-frequency signals through the one or more openings in the conductive housing structures, wherein the antenna elements in the array include metal traces on the substrate, the metal traces being interposed between the ground structure and the one or more openings in the conductive housing structures.

16 . The electronic device of claim 15 , further comprising:
phase and magnitude controllers coupled to the antenna elements in the array of antenna elements and configured to perform beam steering on the radio-frequency signals.

17 . The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the antenna elements comprise slot antenna structures.

18 . The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the antenna elements comprise patch antenna structures.

19 . The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the radio-frequency signals are at frequencies greater than 10 GHZ.

20 . The electronic device of claim 15 , further comprising:
radio-frequency transmission lines on the substrate, wherein the radio-frequency transmission lines are coupled to the metal traces through openings in the ground structure.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Ouyang Yuehui
• Jiang Yi
• Mow Matthew A
• Noori Basim
• Pascolini Mattia
• Caballero Ruben

Classifications

• H04B2001/0408

  with power amplifiers · CPC title

• H04B1/03

  Constructional details, e.g. casings, housings · CPC title

• H04B1/1081

  Reduction of multipath noise (by equalising H04B7/005) · CPC title

• H01Q21/062

  using dipole aerials; (H01Q21/067, H01Q21/068 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01Q21/28

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