Patent Application
20110193751
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to electronic devices receiving wireless transmissions and, more particularly, to providing an radio frequency (RF) radiating element in an attachment member of an electronic device.
2. Background Discussion
Small form factor electronic devices such as personal digital assistants, cell phones, mobile media devices and so on have become increasingly popular in today's society. They serve as work tools, communication devices and provide entertainment, among other functions, and are often carried by hand, clip or in a pocket. Many times, a smaller form factor device will be more popular or able to demand a higher retail price than a functionally equivalent larger device.
Generally, the processor and operative parts of electronic devices are enclosed in housings made of plastic, metal and/or glass that may provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance. The housings provide structural integrity to the devices and protect potentially sensitive component parts of the electronic devices from external influences.
For structural and aesthetic purposes, some electronic devices have a metal or significantly metal housing design. The metal housing creates challenges to providing communication capability, such as through radio frequency (RF) or other frequency transmissions, for the device. One technique for radiating out of a metal housing is creating a plastic cutout pocket. However, this may result in a surface color and texture difference in a finished product. Another technique includes limiting the material selection of the product enclosures to materials such as plastic that are transparent to the frequencies used in communication and thereby no longer using the metal housing.
The foregoing is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admission of prior art
Certain aspects of embodiments disclosed herein by way of example are summarized below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of certain forms an invention disclosed and/or claimed herein might take and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of any invention disclosed and/or claimed herein. Indeed, any invention disclosed and/or claimed herein may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below.
Certain embodiments may take the form of an electronic device having a metal housing encapsulating operative circuitry for the device. The electronic device includes an attachment member coupled to the metal housing at an attachment point. An antenna is coupled to the attachment member and communicatively coupled to the operative circuitry in the metal housing via the attachment point to enable the electronic device to communicate wirelessly.
Another embodiment may take the form of a small form factor, metal housed electronic device. The device includes a metal housing and a radio frequency (RF) component located within the metal housing. An attachment clip is moveably coupled to the metal housing and an antenna is located on the attachment clip. A conduit communicatively couples the RF component and the antenna.
Yet another embodiment may take the form of a method of manufacturing a metallic, small form factor electronic device. The method includes milling a metal housing and a metal attachment member. A portion of the attachment member is relief cut and filled with an RF transparent material. An antenna is positioned in the relief cut portion of the attachment member. Components are secured within the metal housing, a conduit connection is provided external to the housing that is communicatively coupled to an RF component in the metal housing and the housing is sealed. The method includes communicatively coupling the antenna and the conduit and coupling the metal housing and the metal attachment member using a hinge pin.
Certain embodiments may take the form of an electronic device having a metal housing and an attachment clip with an antenna. The antenna is positioned in the attachment clip to facilitate receipt of data transmitted as waveforms by positioning the antenna at least a threshold distance away from the metal housing acting as a ground plane. The threshold distance may vary based on the frequency band, sensitivity, and/or efficiency for which the antenna is designed to operate. In particular, the threshold distance depends highly upon the frequency spectrum for an RF antenna. For example, for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, and so forth, the threshold distance may be approximately 1.25 mm or greater, such as 2, 3 or 4 mm and up, including distances in between. In a cellular frequency spectrum, the threshold distance may be different depending on if a tri-band, quad-band or penta-band antenna is used. The threshold distance in the cellular frequency can vary from approximately 7 to 14 mm.
The antenna is coupled to an RF component located within the metal housing with an electrical conduit. The placement of the antenna in the attachment clip may conceal the antenna clip from casual view, in addition to potentially protecting it from damage that may be suffered if the antenna extended outward from the surface of the electronic device.
While the RF frequency band is specifically mentioned herein, it should be appreciated that other frequency bands may similarly be accommodated. That is devices and antennas that utilize and operate in frequency bands outside of the RF band may be implemented. As such, while RF is used throughout as an example, but other frequency bands are embraced by the present disclosure. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the foregoing threshold distances are given as examples and in an actual implementation other distances besides those mentioned may be used.
In some embodiments the attachment clip is also formed from a metal. Hence, a relief cut may be made in the attachment clip and filled with an RF transparent material, such as a plastic. The antenna may be coupled to the RF transparent material. In other embodiments, the antenna may be located outside the metallic housing. For example, in one embodiment, a hinge pin may serve as the antenna.
The electronic device 100 may have a small form factor such that it is easily carried in a hand or pocket. Typically, an attachment member 104 is coupled to the electronic device 100 to allow the electronic device 100 to be attached in a convenient location for a user, such as clipped on an article of clothing. In some embodiments, the attachment member may be coupled to the housing 102 via a coupling pin 106 that passes through flange members of the attachment member 104 and the housing 102. A spring member (not shown) may be provided to maintain the attachment member 104 in a closed position and to hold the attachment member 104 when attached in a particular place. The attachment member 104 is coupled to the housing such that it is adjacent to the metal housing 102 or portions of the housing that are made of metal or substantially of metal.
The attachment member 104 may be made of the same metal or other material as the housing 102 of the electronic device 100. As such, the attachment member 104 and the housing 102 may serve as ground planes, thereby potentially interfering with the use of antennas with the electronic device 100. As one example, close proximity of a ground plane (e.g., the housing 102) may reduce inductance and impedance of an antenna, resulting in the antenna presenting a capacitive load and influencing the radiation pattern of the antenna.
To facilitate the use of an antenna, the antenna may be placed in or proximate to the attachment member 104. Specifically, a portion of the metallic attachment member 104 may be omitted and an antenna 108 may be positioned within the omitted portion of the attachment member 104. Additionally, an RF transparent material 110 may be used to fill the omitted portion of the attachment member 104. The antenna 108 may be affixed to, located within, or otherwise located adjacent to the RF transparent material 110.
In
The RF component 120 is typically coupled to a printed circuit board (PCB) 122 on which the circuitry of the electronic device 100 is located. For example, a processor, memory, and other components may be located on the PCB 122. In some embodiments, the processor, memory, and RF component, as well as other components, may be integrated into a single chip (e.g., a system on chip) or an application specific integrated circuit located on the PCB 122 to further consolidate components within the housing 102.
In one embodiment, the conductive members 140, 144 are located around the hinge pin 106. In other embodiments, the conductive members 140, 144 are located adjacent to the hinge pin 106. In some embodiments, one or both of the members may be complete circles, semicircles or other shapes. Additionally, the conductive members 140, 144 are configured to contact each other to allow for electrical signals to flow therethrough. In some embodiments, the conductive members may have a convex or conical shape to facilitate contact therebetween. Further, insulating material 148 may be used to separate the conductive members from the metallic housing 102 and the metallic attachment member 104.
Often, data transfer between electronic devices is performed via physical connections. As one example, a common connector type for small form factor electronic devices is a 30 pin connector. In some instances, the 30 pin connector consumes between 20 and 30% of the total size of the associated device. Another common connector for small form factor devices is the 3.5 mm headphone jack. Implementation of a wireless structure to transfer data, such as certain embodiments described herein, between devices may obviate use of the 30 pin connector and other connectors, thus allowing for a smaller sized device. Alternatively, or additionally, the removal of one or more physical connectors may allow for increases in battery size, memory size, or other components and/or the addition of other components that may increase the utility of the devices.
Additionally, placing the antenna element in the attachment member 104 rather than within the housing 102 reduces the number of openings in the metal housing 102 allowing for the metalhousing 102 to be better sealed and increasing the strength of the housing 102. That is, because there is no need to provide an RF transparent region in the housing 102 and a reduced number of physical connectors (i.e., in relief regions), the metal housing 102 may be better sealed and may provide greater structural integrity. The better seal better prevents water intrusion. Moreover, the increased strength in the housing 102 may allow for the use of different and/or thinner materials to be used for the housing and may further allow for a different finishing to provide a more distinguishing aesthetic appearance. Furthermore, because the housing 102 requires fewer relief cuts, the manufacturing process may be streamlined and more efficient, saving time and money.
A relief cut is made in the attachment member 104 (Block 204) and the antenna 108 is positioned within the relief cut (Block 206). The relief cut is then filled with RF transparent material (Block 208). The RF transparent material may be plastic, glass, ceramic, composites, or any other suitable material. In some embodiments, the antenna 108 is positioned adjacent to the RF transparent material, while in other embodiments, the antenna 108 may be positioned or sandwiched within the RF transparent material. In one embodiment, the antenna is insert molded into the relief cut of the attachment member 104. In other embodiments, an aperture may be created in the RF transparent material for placement of the antenna. In any event, the antenna 108 is positioned at least a threshold distance away from the housing 102 by its placement in the attachment clip 104. Additionally, the antenna 108 is positioned at least a threshold distance away from the metal of the attachment member 104. Hence, the relief cut in the attachment member 104 is at least large enough to provide the threshold distance for operation of the antenna 108.
The PCB 122 with the RF component 120, as well as any other components (such as a battery)(, are positioned within the housing 102 (block 210). In some embodiments, the PCB may be secured to the housing with screws, an adhesive or with an interference fit. That is, the PCB may fit securely within the housing 102 simply because the interior of the housing 102 is small in the small form factor design.
The electric conduit 112 is provided external to the housing 102 so that is may be coupled to the antenna 108 (Block 212). As previously mentioned, the electrical conduit 112 may be fixed relative to the antenna 108 or may be movably coupled to the antenna 108. In particular, the conduit 112 may be slidably or rotatably coupled to the antenna 108 to reduce stress and wear on the conduit 112 and the antenna 108.
The housing 102 is then sealed (Block 214). The manner in which the housing 102 is sealed will depend on the housing design and how the housing is made. For example, in one embodiment, the housing 102 may be made with two housing members that are coupled together to form (and seal) the housing 102. In other embodiments, the housing 102 may have an elongated, hollow body that may be sealed with an end cap. The end cap may be coupled to the elongated, hollow body with one or more securing members, such as screws, or with an adhesive, for example.
Once the antenna 108 is positioned and the housing 102 is sealed, the electronic device 100 is assembled (Block 216). Assembly of the electronic device 100 includes communicatively coupling the antenna 108 to the conduit 112 (Block 218) and coupling the attachment member 104 to the housing 102 (Block 220) using a hinge pin, for example. It should be appreciated that some embodiments may include variations of the general method. For example, the order of operations may be changed and/or certain operations may be omitted. Additionally, in some embodiments, the device may be assembled before sealing housing.
Although various specific embodiments have been described above, it will be apparent to those having skill in the art that alternative arrangements and configurations not specifically shown or described herein may be achieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Indeed, there may be other ways to couple an electrical conduit to an antenna beyond those shown in the drawings and described herein. As such, the embodiments described herein are intended as examples and not as limitations.
