Electronic device antenna with reduced lossy mode

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9531061-B2
Application number	US-201414476490-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 3, 2014
Priority date	Sep 3, 2014
Publication date	Dec 27, 2016
Grant date	Dec 27, 2016

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with an antenna. The antenna may have an antenna resonating element and an antenna ground. An adjustable inductor may be coupled between the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground. An antenna feed may have a positive feed terminal coupled to the antenna resonating element and a ground antenna feed coupled to the antenna ground. The adjustable inductor may have first and second inductors coupled to respective first and second ports of a switch. The switch may have a third port coupled to the antenna ground. A capacitor may have a first terminal coupled to ground and a second terminal coupled to the first inductor at the first port of the switch. An inductor may be coupled between the antenna resonating element and antenna ground at a location between the adjustable inductor and the antenna feed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus, comprising:
an antenna resonating element;
an antenna ground;
an adjustable inductor coupled between the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground, wherein the adjustable inductor has a plurality of fixed inductors and a switch;
an inductor coupled between the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground in parallel with the adjustable inductor; and
at least one capacitor having a first terminal coupled to one of the fixed inductors at a node between that one of the fixed inductors and the switch and a second terminal coupled to the antenna ground.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the antenna resonating element and antenna ground form an antenna having an antenna feed with a positive antenna feed terminal and a ground antenna feed terminal and wherein the inductor is coupled between the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground at a location between the adjustable inductor and the antenna feed.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 2 wherein the plurality of fixed inductors includes first and second inductors coupled to respective first and second ports in the switch, wherein the switch has a third port, and wherein the switch operates in a first mode in which the first and second inductors are switched out of use, a second mode in which the first inductor is switched out of use and the second inductor is switched into use, a third mode in which the first inductor is switched into use and the second inductor is switched out of use, and a fourth mode in which the first and second inductors are switched into use.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein the one of the fixed inductors to which the capacitor is coupled is the first inductor, wherein the first inductor has a first terminal coupled to the antenna resonating element, wherein the first inductor has a second terminal coupled to the first port at the node, and wherein the first terminal of the capacitor is coupled to the second terminal of the first inductor.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 4 further comprising an electronic device housing having peripheral conductive structures, wherein the antenna resonating element is formed from at least part of the peripheral conductive structures.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 5 wherein the resonating element comprises an inverted-F antenna resonating element.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 6 wherein the antenna comprises a hybrid inverted-F slot antenna having a slot antenna resonating element.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the first inductor and the second inductor have different respective inductance values.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 8 wherein the antenna resonating element comprises a peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure running along at least one peripheral edge of an electronic device.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the antenna resonating element has first and second branches, wherein the adjustable inductor is coupled between the second branch and the antenna ground, wherein an antenna feed is coupled to the antenna resonating element, and wherein the inductor is coupled between the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground at a location that is between the antenna feed and the adjustable inductor.

11. The apparatus defined in claim 10 further comprising control circuitry that issues control signals to adjustable inductor to tune the antenna when the antenna is operating at a frequency between 700 and 960 MHz.

12. An antenna, comprising:
an antenna ground;
an antenna resonating element separated from the antenna ground by a gap;
an antenna feed having a positive antenna feed terminal coupled to the antenna resonating element and a ground antenna feed terminal coupled to the antenna ground;
an adjustable inductor circuit having first and second inductors and a switch coupled to the first and second inductors at respective first and second ports, wherein the adjustable inductor circuit is coupled between the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground; and
a capacitor having a first terminal coupled to the first inductor at the first port of the switch.

13. The antenna defined in claim 12 wherein the capacitor has a second terminal coupled to the antenna ground, the antenna further comprising an inductor coupled between the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground in parallel with the adjustable inductor circuit at a location between the antenna feed and the adjustable inductor circuit.

14. The antenna defined in claim 13 wherein the switch has a third port that is coupled to the antenna ground.

15. The antenna defined in claim 14 wherein the antenna resonating element includes metal electronic device housing structures.

16. The antenna defined in claim 15 wherein the metal electronic device housing structures comprise peripheral housing structures that run along at least one edge of an electronic device housing.

17. An electronic device, comprising:
peripheral conductive housing structures;
a hybrid inverted-F slot antenna, wherein the hybrid inverted-F slot antenna has an inverted-F antenna portion formed from an inverted-F antenna resonating element and an antenna ground, wherein the inverted-F antenna resonating element is formed from the peripheral conductive housing structures, wherein the hybrid inverted-F slot antenna has a slot antenna portion formed from an opening between the inverted-F antenna resonating element and the antenna ground, and wherein the hybrid inverted-F antenna has an antenna feed that feeds both the inverted-F antenna portion and the slot antenna portion;
an adjustable inductor having at least first and second inductors coupled to first and second ports of a switch, wherein the adjustable inductor is coupled between the inverted-F antenna resonating element and the antenna ground; and
a capacitor having a first terminal coupled to the antenna ground and a second terminal coupled to the first inductor at the first port of the switch.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 17 further comprising an inductor that is coupled between the inverted-F antenna resonating element and the antenna ground in parallel with the adjustable inductor.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 18 wherein the inductor is coupled between the inverted-F antenna resonating element and the antenna ground at a location that is between the adjustable inductor and the antenna feed.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 19 wherein the first and second inductors have different first and second inductor values and wherein adjustments to the adjustable inductor tune the antenna.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Han Liang
• Mow Matthew A
• Tsai Ming-Ju
• Zhou Yijun
• Hu Hongfei
• Yarga Salih
• Pascolini Mattia
• Ouyang Yuehui
• Irci Erdinc
• Ayala Vazquez Enrique
• Schlub Robert W

Classifications

• H01Q13/10

  Resonant slot antennas · CPC title

• H01Q9/42

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

• H01Q5/328

  between a radiating element and ground · CPC title

• H01Q1/243 Primary

  with built-in antennas · CPC title