Electronic device with millimeter wave antennas on stacked printed circuits

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9972892-B2
Application number	US-201615138689-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 26, 2016
Priority date	Apr 26, 2016
Publication date	May 15, 2018
Grant date	May 15, 2018

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include one or more antennas and transceiver circuitry such as millimeter wave transceiver circuitry. The antennas may be formed from metal traces on a printed circuit. The printed circuit may be a stacked printed circuit including multiple stacked substrates. Metal traces may form an array of patch antennas, Yagi antennas, and other antennas. Antenna signals associated with the antennas may pass through an inactive area in a display and through a dielectric-filled slot in a metal housing for the electronic device. Waveguide structures may be used to guide antenna signals within interior portions of the electronic device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a display having an active area with an array of pixels and having an inactive area that is free of pixels;
a metal housing having a dielectric-filled slot;
millimeter wave radio-frequency transceiver circuitry; and
antenna structures coupled to the millimeter wave radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, wherein the antenna structures include at least a first antenna that operates through the inactive area of the display and a second antenna that operates through the dielectric-filled slot.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a stacked printed circuit having a first printed circuit substrate that is stacked with a second printed circuit substrate, wherein the antenna structures are formed from metal traces on the stacked printed circuit.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the antenna structures include an array of patch antenna resonating elements on the stacked printed circuit and wherein the first antenna is formed from one of the patch antenna resonating elements.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the antenna structures include Yagi antennas each of which has metal traces on the stacked printed circuit that form a reflector, a radiator, and directors, wherein the second antenna is one of the Yagi antennas, and wherein the directors include directors on the second printed circuit substrate.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the array of patch antenna resonating elements includes patch antenna resonating elements on the first printed circuit substrate.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the stacked printed circuit includes at least a third printed circuit substrate stacked with the first printed circuit substrate and wherein the array of patch antenna resonating elements includes a patch antenna resonating element on the third printed circuit substrate.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising an antenna signal waveguide, wherein the antenna signal waveguide has a first end aligned with the second antenna and a second end aligned with the slot.

8. An electronic device, comprising:
a stacked printed circuit having at least first and second printed circuit substrates that are stacked with each other;
metal traces on the stacked printed circuit that form an antenna that handles antenna signals at millimeter wave frequencies, wherein the metal traces are configured to form at least one Yagi antenna and include metal traces on the first printed circuit substrate and on the second printed circuit substrate; and
a metal housing with a dielectric-filled slot through which the antenna signals pass.

9. An electronic device, comprising:
a stacked printed circuit having at least first and second printed circuit substrates that are stacked with each other;
metal traces on the stacked printed circuit that form an antenna that handles antenna signals at millimeter wave frequencies; and
a metal housing with a dielectric-filled slot through which the antenna signals pass, wherein the metal traces form a Yagi antenna that is aligned with the dielectric-filled slot and the metal traces further form an array of patch antenna resonating elements.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Noori Basim H
• Shiu Boon W
• Marks Kevin M
• Mow Matthew A
• Pascolini Mattia
• Tsai Ming-Ju
• Caballero Ruben
• Ouyang Yuehui
• Salam Khan

Classifications

• H01Q1/241

  used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM (H01Q1/247, H01Q1/248 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01Q1/242

  specially adapted for hand-held use · CPC title

• H01Q19/10

  using reflecting surfaces · CPC title

• H01Q1/2266

  disposed inside the computer · CPC title

• H01Q1/24

  with receiving set · CPC title