Tunable antenna with slot-based parasitic element

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9331397-B2
Application number	US-201313846471-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 18, 2013
Priority date	Mar 18, 2013
Publication date	May 3, 2016
Grant date	May 3, 2016

Abstract

Electronic devices may be provided that contain wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antenna structures. The antenna structures may form a dual arm inverted-F antenna. The antenna may have a resonating element formed from portions of a peripheral conductive electronic device housing member and may have an antenna ground that is separated from the antenna resonating element by a gap. A short circuit path may bridge the gap. An antenna feed may be coupled across the gap in parallel with the short circuit path. Low band tuning may be provided using an adjustable inductor that bridges the gap. The antenna may have a slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element with a slot formed between portions of the peripheral conductive electronic device housing member and the antenna ground. An adjustable capacitor may bridge the slot to provide high band tuning.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device antenna, comprising:
an antenna ground;
an inverted-F antenna resonating element that has a resonating element arm that is separated from the antenna ground by a gap, wherein the inverted-F antenna resonating element comprises a metal electronic device housing structure;
a slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element that is near-field coupled to the inverted-F antenna resonating element and that comprises a slot having a first edge defined by the metal device housing structure and an opposing second edge defined by the antenna ground; and
an antenna feed having a positive antenna feed terminal coupled to the inverted-F antenna resonating element and a ground antenna feed terminal coupled to the antenna ground, wherein the slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element is not directly fed by the antenna feed.

2. The electronic device antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the inverted-F antenna resonating element has an additional resonating element arm.

3. The electronic device antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the slot has a portion that is interposed between the metal electronic device housing structure and the antenna ground.

4. The electronic device antenna defined in claim 3 further comprising a capacitor that bridges the slot.

5. The electronic device antenna defined in claim 4 wherein the capacitor comprises an adjustable capacitor.

6. The electronic device antenna defined in claim 5 wherein the capacitor comprises switching circuitry and multiple fixed capacitors coupled to the switching circuitry.

7. The electronic device antenna defined in claim 6 further comprising an adjustable inductor that bridges the slot of the slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element.

8. The electronic device antenna defined in claim 7 wherein the adjustable inductor is adjusted to tune a first antenna resonance at a first frequency and wherein the adjustable capacitor is adjusted to tune a second antenna resonance at a second frequency that is greater than the first frequency.

9. The electronic device antenna defined in claim 8 further comprising a short circuit path coupled between the resonating element arm and the antenna ground across the gap.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising an adjustable inductor and an adjustable capacitor.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising an adjustable inductor coupled between the resonating element arm and the antenna ground across the slot of the slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11 further comprising a short circuit path coupled between the resonating element arm and the antenna ground across the gap.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the antenna feed is coupled between the resonating element arm and the antenna ground in parallel with the short circuit path.

14. An antenna, comprising:
an antenna ground;
an inverted-F antenna resonating element that is separated from the antenna ground by a gap; and
a slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element having a slot with an open slot end that is formed between the antenna ground and the inverted-F antenna resonating element and a closed slot end that opposes the open slot end, wherein the closed slot end is surrounded on at least three sides by the antenna ground.

15. The antenna defined in claim 14 further comprising a capacitor that bridges the slot.

16. The antenna defined in claim 15 wherein the capacitor comprises an adjustable capacitor.

17. The antenna defined in claim 16 further comprising an adjustable inductor coupled across the gap between the inverted-F antenna resonating element and the antenna ground.

18. The antenna defined in claim 17 wherein the inverted-F antenna resonating element comprises a dual arm inverted-F antenna resonating element formed from a portion of a peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure.

19. An antenna, comprising:
a dual arm inverted-F antenna resonating element formed from a metal electronic device housing structure;
an antenna ground that is separated from the dual arm inverted-F antenna resonating element by a gap;
a short circuit branch coupled between the dual arm inverted-F antenna resonating element and the antenna ground across the gap;
an antenna feed coupled between the dual arm inverted-F antenna resonating element and the antenna ground across the gap, wherein the dual arm inverted-F antenna resonating element has a low band arm and a high band arm extending from opposing sides of the antenna feed;
a slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element having a slot, wherein the low band arm resonates in a first frequency band, the high band arm resonates in a second frequency band that is greater than the first frequency band, and the slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element resonates in a third frequency band that is greater than the second frequency band; and
an adjustable inductor coupled between the low band arm and the antenna ground that bridges the slot and that is configured to adjust the first frequency band in which the low band arm resonates.

20. The antenna defined in claim 19 further comprising an adjustable capacitor that is coupled between the low band arm and the antenna ground to bridge the slot and that is configured to adjust the third frequency band in which the slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element resonates.

21. The antenna defined in claim 20 wherein the slot has a portion with a first edge that is formed from the antenna ground and a second edge that is formed from the metal electronic device housing structure.

22. The antenna defined in claim 14 , further comprising:
an antenna feed having a positive antenna feed terminal coupled to the inverted-F antenna resonating element at a feed location and having a ground antenna feed terminal coupled to the antenna ground, wherein the inverted-F antenna resonating element has first and second arms that extend from opposing sides of the feed location, and the feed location is interposed between the first arm and the open slot end.

23. The electronic device antenna defined in claim 2 , wherein the antenna resonating element arm resonates in a first frequency band, the additional antenna resonating element arm resonates in a second frequency band that is greater than the first frequency band, the slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element is interposed between the antenna ground and the antenna resonating element arm, and the slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element resonates in a third frequency band that is greater than the second frequency band.

24. The electronic device defined in claim 23 , further comprising:
an adjustable capacitor coupled between the antenna resonating element arm and the antenna ground across the slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element, wherein the adjustable capacitor has first and second configurations, the slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element resonates in the third frequency band while the adjustable capacitor is in the first configuration, and the slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element resonates in a fourth frequency band that is greater than the third frequency band while the adjustable capacitor is in the second configuration.

25. The antenna defined in claim 20 , wherein the slot of the slot-based parasitic antenna resonating el

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Jin Nanbo
• Ouyang Yuehui
• Zhou Yijun
• Ayala Vazquez Enrique
• Lakshmanan Anand
• Schlub Robert W
• Pascolini Mattia
• Mow Matthew A

Classifications

• H01Q1/24 Primary

  with receiving set · CPC title

• H01Q9/06

  Details · CPC title

• H01Q5/10

  Resonant antennas · CPC title

• H01Q1/243 Primary

  with built-in antennas · CPC title

• H01Q21/28 Primary

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