Electronic device plate antenna

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9293816-B2
Application number	US-201213543054-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 6, 2012
Priority date	Jul 6, 2012
Publication date	Mar 22, 2016
Grant date	Mar 22, 2016

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with antenna structures. The antenna structures may include a plate antenna. The electronic device may have a conductive housing such as a metal housing with an opening. A dielectric antenna window may be formed within the opening. A dielectric support structure such as a flexible printed circuit may overlap the opening. A conductive trace on the dielectric support structure may form an antenna resonating element plate for the plate antenna. The plate may have a periphery that is separated from adjacent portions of the metal housing by a gap. The antenna resonating element plate may have a rectangular shape with a bend that lies along an edge of the conductive housing. The dielectric antenna window may have a bend that also lies along the edge of the conductive housing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus, comprising:
a plate antenna having an antenna ground and a plate antenna resonating element with a periphery, wherein a dielectric gap separates the periphery of the plate antenna resonating element from the antenna ground;
a conductive electronic device housing having an opening in which the plate antenna resonating element is located and having portions that form the antenna ground;
a dielectric antenna window in the opening;
a dielectric support structure overlapping at least part of the opening, wherein the dielectric support structure is mounted against an inner surface of the dielectric antenna window with a layer of adhesive and the dielectric support structure has a first portion formed in a first plane, a second portion formed in a second plane that is substantially orthogonal to the first plane, and a third portion formed in a third plane that is substantially orthogonal to the first and second planes;
a conductive plate structure on the dielectric support structure, wherein the conductive plate structure is configured to form the plate antenna resonating element; and
an antenna feed trace for the plate antenna resonating element that is formed on the third portion of the dielectric support structure.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the dielectric support structure comprises a flexible printed circuit.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 2 wherein the flexible printed circuit includes at least a first layer of metal and a second layer of metal.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein a portion of the first layer of metal is configured to form the conductive plate structure.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the second layer of metal is shorted to the antenna ground.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 5 wherein the first layer of metal has an extending portion that extends from the conductive plate structure over the gap.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 5 wherein the first layer of metal has first and second extending portions that extend from the conductive plate structure over the gap, the first extending portion has a first end attached to the conductive plate structure and a second end attached to the second layer of metal, and the second extending portion has a first end attached to the conductive plate structure and a second end that is coupled to a conductive line formed from the first layer of metal.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 7 further comprising a transmission line coupled to the plate antenna, wherein the conductive line forms a positive signal conductor in the transmission line and a portion of the second layer of metal is configured to form a ground signal conductor in the transmission line.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 1 , wherein the portions of the conductive electronic device housing that form the antenna ground have a surface that forms an exterior portion of the apparatus.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 9 , wherein the dielectric support structure comprises polyimide, and the dielectric support structure comprises a portion that extends entirely across the dielectric gap.

11. The apparatus defined in claim 1 , wherein the plate antenna resonating element is formed on the first and second portions of the dielectric support structure.

12. An electronic device, comprising:
a metal housing having an opening and having portions that form an antenna ground;
a dielectric antenna window in the opening; and
a conductive antenna resonating element plate in the opening, wherein the conductive antenna resonating element plate and the antenna ground are configured to form a plate antenna, the metal housing has an edge, the opening overlaps the edge, the conductive antenna resonating element plate has a right-angled bend along the edge, the conductive antenna resonating element plate includes at least one additional opening that is formed within the conductive antenna resonating element, that overlaps the edge, and that enhances flexibility of the conductive antenna resonating element along the edge, and the at least one additional opening does not affect radio-frequency performance of the antenna.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the conductive antenna resonating element plate and the portions of the metal housing that form the antenna ground are coplanar.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 wherein the conductive antenna resonating element plate comprises a rectangular metal trace.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 further comprising a flexible dielectric on which the rectangular metal trace is formed.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 12 , wherein the at least one additional opening within the conductive antenna resonating element that overlaps the edge is completely surrounded by the conductive antenna resonating element plate.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16 , wherein the at least one additional opening within the conductive antenna resonating element that overlaps the edge has a size that is smaller than a quarter wavelength of the operating frequency of the conductive antenna resonating element plate.

Assignees

• Samardzija Miroslav
• Gomez Angulo Rodney A
• Li Qingxiang
• Schlub Robert W
• Caballero Ruben
• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Samardzija Miroslav
• Gomez Angulo Rodney A
• Li Qingxiang
• Schlub Robert W
• Caballero Ruben

Classifications

• H01Q1/243

  with built-in antennas · CPC title

• H01Q13/16

  Folded slot antennas · CPC title

• H01Q9/0407

  Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna (dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40) · CPC title

• H01Q1/38

  formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support {(patch antennas H01Q9/0407; microstrip dipole antennas H01Q9/065; microstrip slot antennas H01Q13/106; transmission line microstrip antennas H01Q13/206; manufacturing reflecting surfaces using insulating material for supporting the reflecting surface  H01Q15/142)} · CPC title

• H01Q1/42 Primary

  Housings not intimately mechanically associated with radiating elements, e.g. radome · CPC title