Electronic device with configurable symmetric antennas

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9843091-B2
Application number	US-201514701323-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 30, 2015
Priority date	Apr 30, 2015
Publication date	Dec 12, 2017
Grant date	Dec 12, 2017

Abstract

An electronic device may have wireless circuitry with antennas. An antenna resonating element arm for an antenna may be formed from peripheral conductive structures running along the edges of a device housing that are separated from a round by an elongated opening. The electronic device may have a central longitudinal axis that divides the antenna resonating element arm and other antenna structures into symmetrical halves that exhibit mirror symmetry with respect to the central longitudinal axis. The antenna structures may include symmetrical slot antenna resonating elements on opposing sides of the central longitudinal axis. Electrical components such as switches and antenna tuning inductors may be coupled to the antenna structures in a configuration that is symmetrical with respect to the central longitudinal axis. The electrical components may be used to place the antenna structures in an unflipped configuration or in a symmetrical flipped configuration.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having a central axis;
electrical components; and
antenna structures in the housing that include antenna resonating element structures and the electrical components, wherein the antenna structures form first and second symmetrical halves divided by the central axis and the electrical components have a first configuration in which the antenna structures form a first antenna having a first antenna resonating element and a second configuration in which the antenna structures form a second antenna having a second antenna resonating element that includes a portion of the first antenna resonating element.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the second antenna is a version of the first antenna that has been flipped about the central axis.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the antenna resonating element structures include an inverted-F antenna resonating element arm.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the electrical components include a first switch in the first symmetrical half and a second switch in the second symmetrical half.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the first and second switches are coupled to the inverted-F antenna resonating element arm at equal distances from the central axis.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 further comprising a first antenna feed coupled to the inverted-F antenna resonating element arm in the first symmetrical half and a second antenna feed coupled to the inverted-F antenna resonating element arm in the second symmetrical half, wherein the first antenna feed and the second antenna feed are at equal distances from the central axis.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 wherein the first antenna resonating element comprises a first slot antenna resonating element in the first symmetrical half and the second antenna resonating element comprises a second slot antenna resonating element in the second symmetrical half.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 wherein the first antenna is a hybrid inverted-F-slot antenna formed from the inverted-F antenna resonating element arm and the first slot antenna resonating element in a configuration in which the second switch is closed and wherein the second antenna is a hybrid inverted-F-slot antenna formed from the inverted-F antenna resonating element arm and the second slot antenna resonating element in a configuration in which the first switch is closed.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the electrical components include a first tunable inductor in the first symmetrical half and a second tunable inductor in the second symmetrical half, wherein the first and second tunable inductors are coupled to the inverted-F antenna resonating element arm at equal distances from the central axis.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 wherein the second tunable inductor tunes the first hybrid inverted-F-slot antenna when the second switch is closed and the first switch is open and wherein the first tunable inductor tunes the second hybrid inverted-F-slot antenna when the first switch is closed and the second switch is open.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the housing includes peripheral conductive housing structures and wherein the inverted-F antenna resonating element arm includes at least a portion of the peripheral conductive housing structures.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11 further comprising a third switch that bridges the first slot antenna resonating element in the first symmetrical half and fourth switch that bridges the second slot antenna resonating element in the second symmetrical half.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the third and fourth switches are located at equal distances from the central axis.

14. An electronic device, comprising:
a rectangular housing having peripheral conductive housing structures, wherein the rectangular housing has a central longitudinal axis;
antenna structures that exhibit mirror symmetry with respect to the central longitudinal axis and that include electrical components and an antenna resonating element formed from a portion of the peripheral conductive housing structures; and
control circuitry that selectively places the electrical components in a selected one of:
a first configuration in which the antenna structures form a first hybrid inverted-F-slot antenna resonating element from the antenna resonating element; and
a second configuration in which the antenna structures form a second hybrid inverted-F-slot antenna resonating element from the antenna resonating element.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the antenna resonating element formed from the portion of the peripheral conductive housing structures comprises an inverted-F antenna resonating element.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15 wherein the central longitudinal axis divides the antenna structures into first and second symmetrical halves and wherein the antenna structures include a first slot antenna resonating element in the first half and a symmetrical second slot antenna resonating element in the second half.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16 wherein the
first hybrid inverted-F-slot antenna resonating element is formed from the first slot antenna resonating element and
the second hybrid inverted-F-slot antenna resonating element is formed from and the second slot antenna resonating element.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 17 wherein the electrical components include first and second switches that respectively bridge the first and second slots at equal distances from the central longitudinal axis.

19. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having peripheral conductive structures and characterized by a central axis; and
an inverted-F antenna resonating element arm formed from the peripheral conductive structures;
an antenna ground that is separated from the inverted-F antenna resonating element arm by an opening; and
first and second switches coupled between the inverted-F antenna resonating element arm and the antenna ground at equal distances from the central axis.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 19 further comprising a first slot antenna resonating element formed from an opening in the antenna ground on one side of the central axis and a symmetric second slot antenna resonating element formed from an opening in the antenna ground on an opposing side of the central axis.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Mow Matthew A
• Han Xu
• Judkins James G
• Han Liang
• Pascolini Mattia
• Tsai Ming-Ju
• Jin Nanbo
• Biedka Thomas E
• Lee Victor C
• Ouyang Yuehui

Classifications

• H01Q5/335

  at the feed, e.g. for impedance matching · CPC title

• H01Q5/321

  within a radiating element or between connected radiating elements · CPC title

• H01Q5/328

  between a radiating element and ground · CPC title

• H01Q13/103

  with variable reactance for tuning the antenna (tuning resonant circuits H03J) · CPC title

• H01Q9/42

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