Electronic device antenna with multiple feeds for covering three communications bands

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9276319-B2
Application number	US-201313889987-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 8, 2013
Priority date	May 8, 2013
Publication date	Mar 1, 2016
Grant date	Mar 1, 2016

Abstract

Electronic devices may be provided that include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antennas. An antenna may be formed from an antenna resonating element and an antenna ground. The antenna resonating element may have a shorter portion that resonates at higher communications band frequencies and a longer portion that resonates at lower communications band frequencies. An extended portion of the antenna ground may form an inverted-F antenna resonating element portion of the antenna resonating element. The antenna resonating element may be formed from a peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure that is separated from the antenna ground by an opening. A first antenna feed may be coupled between the peripheral conductive electronic device housing structures and the antenna ground across the opening. A second antenna feed may be coupled to the inverted-F antenna resonating element portion of the antenna resonating element.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
control circuitry; and
an antenna that is tuned by the control circuitry, wherein the antenna has an inverted-F antenna resonating element and an antenna ground that are separated by a gap, wherein the antenna has a first antenna feed coupled across the gap, wherein the inverted-F antenna resonating element has conductive structures configured to form an additional inverted-F antenna resonating element portion of the inverted-F antenna resonating element, wherein the additional inverted-F antenna resonating element portion has a resonating element arm formed from the conductive structures that is separated from the antenna ground by an opening and has a return path formed from a portion of the conductive structures, and wherein the antenna has a second antenna feed coupled across the opening.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the antenna is configured to resonate in at least a first communications band, a second communications band that is higher in frequency than the first communications band, and a third communications band that is higher in frequency than the first communications band.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the antenna includes an adjustable inductor that bridges the gap and that is controlled by the control circuitry to tune the antenna.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the inverted-F antenna resonating element has at least first and second arms, wherein the first arm is longer than the second arm, wherein the first arm is configured to resonate in at least a first communications band, and wherein the second arm is configured to resonate in at least a second communications band that is higher in frequency than the first communications band.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the additional inverted-F antenna resonating element portion of the inverted-F antenna resonating element is configured to resonate in at least a third communications band that is higher in frequency than the second communications band.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the first arm includes first and second branches that resonate in the first communications band.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 wherein the first and second branches are configured to produce first and second antenna resonances at different respective frequencies in the first communications band and wherein the antenna includes an adjustable inductor that bridges the gap and that is controlled by the control circuitry to tune the first and second antenna resonances in the first communications band.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising an adjustable electrical component that is coupled in parallel with the first antenna feed across the gap.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 further comprising a short circuit path formed from a portion of the conductive structures, wherein the short circuit path is coupled between the inverted-F antenna resonating element and the antenna ground in parallel with the first antenna feed.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 wherein the first antenna feed is between the adjustable electrical component and the short circuit path.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a peripheral conductive housing member, wherein the inverted-F antenna resonating element comprises a portion of the peripheral conductive housing member.

12. An electronic device, comprising:
control circuitry; and
an antenna that is tuned by the control circuitry, wherein the antenna has an antenna resonating element and an antenna ground configured to resonate in at least a first communications band, a second communications band that is at a higher frequency than the first communications band, and a third communications band that is higher in frequency than the second communications band, and wherein the antenna resonating element has a first arm that is separated from the antenna ground by an opening and is configured to resonate in the first communications band and a second arm that is separated from the antenna ground by the opening and that is configured to resonate in the second communications band and conductive structures that are configured to resonate in the third communications band.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the antenna comprises a tunable component coupled between the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground and wherein the control circuitry tunes that antenna by controlling the tunable component.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 wherein the tunable component includes switching circuitry and an inductor.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the conductive structures comprise an extended portion of the antenna ground, wherein a portion of the extended portion of the antenna ground is separated from the antenna ground by a gap, wherein the antenna has a first feed coupled between the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground across the opening, and wherein the antenna has a second antenna feed that is coupled across the gap.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15 wherein the portion of the extended portion of the antenna ground forms an inverted-F arm that is coupled to a positive antenna feed terminal in the second antenna feed.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16 further comprising:
a ground antenna feed terminal in the second antenna feed that is coupled to the antenna ground; and
additional conductive structures in the antenna, wherein the first arm comprises a portion of a peripheral conductive housing member, wherein the portion of the peripheral conductive housing member forms a first branch of the first arm and wherein the additional conductive structures form a second branch of the first arm.

18. An antenna, comprising:
a portion of a peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure; and
an antenna ground that is separated from the portion of the peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure by an opening;
a first antenna feed that bridges the opening; and
a second antenna feed coupled to an extended portion of the antenna ground, wherein the extended portion of the antenna ground forms an inverted-F antenna resonating element.

19. The antenna defined in claim 18 wherein a portion of the extended portion of the antenna ground forms a short circuit path between the portion of the peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure and the antenna ground, wherein the portion of the peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure and the antenna ground are configured to resonant in first and second communications bands using at least the first antenna feed, wherein the inverted-F antenna resonating element is configured to resonate in a third communications band using the second antenna feed, and wherein the second communications band is at frequencies between the first communications band and the third communications band.

20. The antenna defined in claim 19 wherein the portion of the peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure forms a first branch of an inverted-F antenna resonating element arm that resonates in the first communications band and wherein the antenna further comprises a second branch of the inverted-F antenna resonating element arm.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Vazquez Enrique Ayala
• Hu Hongfei
• Pascolini Mattia
• Mow Matthew A
• Tsai Ming-Ju
• Schlub Robert W
• Darnell Dean F
• Ouyang Yuehui
• Jin Nanbo
• Han Liang
• Pratt David

Classifications

• H01Q9/42

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

• H01Q5/35

  using two or more simultaneously fed points · CPC title

• H01Q9/06 Primary

  Details · CPC title

• H01Q5/371

  Branching current paths · CPC title

• H01Q5/328

  between a radiating element and ground · CPC title