This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 106117461, filed on May 25, 2017. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
The invention relates to an antenna structure and an electronic device. More particularly, the invention relates to an antenna structure delivering favorable performance and an electronic device including the antenna structure.
Recently, the metallic material has been adopted by some of the notebook computers to replace the original plastic material and been used to form the housings of the notebook computers, so as to satisfy consumers' demands for appearance design and aesthetics. Nevertheless, it may be difficult for antennas to deliver favorable performance as affected by the shielding effect brought by the metal housings. In addition, most of the antennas of the notebook computers in the market are disposed around the display panels. Nevertheless, the sizes of the external frames of the display panels are less likely to be reduced owing to such allocation.
The invention provides an antenna structure in which an antenna assembly is located in a metal casing but is still capable of delivering favorable performance.
The invention further provides an electronic device including the antenna structure.
In an embodiment of the invention, an antenna structure includes a metal casing and an antenna assembly. The metal casing has a slit and a slot adjacent to each other. A length of the slit is greater than a length of the slot, and a width of the slit is less than a width of the slot. The antenna assembly is located in the metal casing and near the slit and the slot. The antenna assembly includes a substrate and an antenna pattern. The antenna pattern is disposed on the substrate and encloses a closed zone. The antenna pattern includes a feed end and a ground end to form a first loop and a second loop. Orthographic projections of the antenna pattern and the enclosed closed zone projected on the metal casing overlap the slot. The antenna pattern resonates with the slit and the slot to generate a first frequency band and a second frequency band, respectively.
In an embodiment of the invention, the antenna pattern includes a first radiating unit and a second radiating unit. The first radiating unit and the second radiating unit include a plurality of widths. The first radiating unit includes a first end portion and a second end portion opposite to each other in a length direction and the feed end located between the first end portion and the second end portion. The second radiating unit includes a third end portion and a fourth end portion opposite to each other in the length direction. The first end portion is connected to the third end portion, and the second end portion is connected to the fourth end portion, as such, the closed zone is enclosed.
In an embodiment of the invention, the second radiating unit includes a ground end corresponding to the feed end. The feed end, the first end portion, the third end portion, and the ground end together form the first loop. A bandwidth of the first frequency band is adapted to be adjusted with the widths of the first radiating unit or a length of a path of the first loop.
In an embodiment of the invention, the antenna pattern further includes an extending radiating unit extending from the feed end to the first end portion. The second radiating unit includes a ground end corresponding to the feed end. The feed end, the second end portion, the fourth end portion, and the ground end together form a second loop. Projections of the extending radiating unit and a portion of the antenna pattern forming the second loop on the metal casing overlap with the slot. A bandwidth of the second frequency band is adapted to be adjusted with a length of the extending radiating unit or a length of a path of the second loop.
In an embodiment of the invention, the antenna assembly further includes a ground layer disposed on the substrate and overlapping with a portion of the antenna pattern to conduct the ground end. The ground layer is connected to the metal casing through a conduction member.
In an embodiment of the invention, the antenna assembly further includes a coaxial transmission line. The substrate includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other and two conduction vias. The antenna pattern is disposed on the first surface, and the coaxial transmission line is disposed on the second surface. The feed end and the ground end of the antenna pattern are electrically connected to an anode and a cathode of the coaxial transmission line, respectively, through the two conduction vias.
An electronic device provided by an embodiment of the invention includes a first machine body. The first machine body includes a metal upper cover, a metal casing, and two antenna assemblies. The metal upper cover covers the metal casing, and the metal casing includes a bottom wall and two side walls opposite to each other. The two side walls include two slits and two slots. The two slits are individually located the corresponding side walls close to the metal upper cover, and the two slots are individually located the corresponding side walls close to the bottom wall. The slit on each of the side walls is adjacent to the slot. A length of the slit is greater than a length of the slot, and a width of the slit is less than a width of the slot. The two antenna assemblies are individually disposed in the metal casing and near the two slits and the two slots. Each of the antenna assemblies includes a substrate and an antenna pattern. The antenna pattern is disposed on the substrate and encloses a closed zone. The antenna pattern includes a feed end and a ground end to form a first loop and a second loop. Orthographic projections of the antenna pattern and the enclosed closed zone on the metal casing overlap with the slot. The antenna pattern resonates with the slit and the slot to generate a first frequency band and a second frequency band, respectively.
In an embodiment of the invention, the two antenna assemblies further comprise two ground layers individually disposed on the two substrates and overlapping with portions of the two antenna patterns to conduct the two ground ends. The second machine body further includes two conductive members and two metal blocking walls located between the metal casing and the metal upper cover. The two conductive members individually connect the two ground layers of the two antenna assemblies to the bottom wall. The two metal blocking walls are individually located next to the two antenna assemblies and are connected to the metal upper cover and the bottom wall such that the two antenna assemblies are individually located between the two metal blocking walls and the two side walls. Projections of the two metal blocking walls on the two side walls overlap with the two slits and the two slots.
In an embodiment of the invention, the first machine body further includes a wireless communication module disposed in the metal casing. The two antenna assemblies further include two coaxial transmission lines electrically connected to the wireless communication module. In each of the antenna assemblies, the substrate includes a first surface, a second surface, and two conduction vias. The antenna pattern is disposed on the first surface, and the coaxial transmission line is disposed on the second surface. The feed end and the ground end of the antenna pattern are electrically connected to an anode and a cathode of the coaxial transmission line respectively through the two conduction vias.
In an embodiment of the invention, the first machine body further includes two supporting members disposed in the metal casing. Curves of the two supporting members correspond to curves of the two side walls. The two substrates of the two antenna assemblies are two flexible substrates individually attached on the two supporting members. The two antenna patterns face the two side walls.
In an embodiment of the invention, the electronic device further includes a second machine body pivoted to one side of the first machine body to rotate with respect to the first machine body.
To sum up, in the electronic device provided by the embodiments of the invention, the housing of the first machine body is constituted by the metal upper cover and the metal casing. The metal casing includes two slits and two slots disposed at the two side walls. The two antenna assemblies are disposed in portions of the metal casing close to the two sides and near the two slits and slots. The antenna pattern of each of the antenna assemblies respectively encloses the closed zone and includes the feed end and the ground end, such that the first loop and the second loop are formed. Moreover, the Orthographic projections of the antenna pattern and the enclosed closed zone projected on the side wall of the metal casing overlap with the slot and are close to the slit. As such, the antenna pattern may resonate with the slit and the slot to generate the first frequency band and the second frequency band, and favorable performance is thereby achieved. Comparing to the conventional electronic devices, in the electronic device provided by the embodiments of the invention, the appearance of the housing may be made of metal. Moreover, since the antenna structure is disposed at the two sides of the first machine body, the width of the external frame of the display panel on the second machine body may thereby be reduced.
To make the aforementioned and other features and advantages of the invention more comprehensible, several embodiments accompanied with drawings are described in detail as follows.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
The first machine body 20 includes two antenna assemblies 100 and a wireless communication module 60 located inside the first machine body 20 as shown in
In this embodiment, a material of housings of the second machine body 12 and the first machine body 20 of the electronic device 10 is, for example, metal, and favorable appearance of the electronic device 10 is provided. Generally, when metal is used to make the housing, an antenna covered by the metal housing is not able to deliver satisfying performance. Nevertheless, in this embodiment, even though the antenna assemblies 100 are located inside the metal housing, performance satisfaction may still be delivered through the special antenna structure design. A detailed description of such design is as follows.
With reference to
The antenna assembly 100 is disposed in the metal casing 30 and near the slit 36 and the slot 38 as shown in
A detailed structure of the antenna assembly 100 is shown in
The antenna pattern 120 is disposed on the substrate 110 and encloses a closed zone 150 as shown in
As shown by the bold lines in
In addition, the substrate 110 includes a first surface 112 (shown in
In this embodiment, owing to the shape of the antenna pattern 120 and allocation of the positions among the antenna pattern 120, the slit 36, and the slot 38, the antenna pattern 120 resonates with the slit 36 and the slot 38 to generate a first frequency band and a second frequency band, respectively. To be more specific, the area of the antenna pattern 120 resonates with the slit 36 to generate the first frequency band, and the closed zone 150 enclosed by the antenna pattern 120 resonates with the slot 38 to generate the second frequency band. In this embodiment, the first frequency band is, for example, WiFi 2.4G with a corresponding frequency of 2400 MHz to 2500 MHz, and the second frequency band is, for example, WiFi 5G with a corresponding frequency of 5150 MHz to 5875 MHz. Nevertheless, the frequencies of the first frequency band and the second frequency band are not limited to the above.
Note that, in this embodiment, a frequency point position or a bandwidth of the first frequency band may be adjusted with a width of the first radiating unit 130 or a length of a path of the first loop R1. In addition, in this embodiment, the antenna pattern 120 further includes an extending radiating unit 160 extending from the feed end 136 towards the first end portion 132. A frequency point position or a bandwidth of the second frequency band may be adjusted with a length of the extending radiating unit 160 or a length of a path of the second loop R2.
In
In addition, the antenna assembly 100 further includes a ground layer 170 in this embodiment. A material of the ground layer 170 is but not limited to, for example, copper. The ground layer 170 is disposed on the substrate 110 and overlaps with a portion of the antenna pattern 120. To be more specific, the ground layer 170 conducts the ground end 146 of the antenna pattern 120 and overlaps with a portion of the second radiating unit 140 of the antenna pattern 120, which is distant from the first radiating unit.
As shown in
The coaxial transmission line 180 is disposed on the second surface 114 and thus is shown by dotted lines in
Certainly, in other embodiments, the substrate 110 may have only one conduction via 116 and one conduction via 118. The feed end 136 and the ground end 146 of the antenna pattern 120 are electrically connected to the signal line 182 (i.e., the anode) and the ground line 184 (i.e., the cathode) of the coaxial transmission line 180 through the two conduction vias 116 and 118, respectively. Numbers of the conduction vias 116 and 118 are not limited to the above.
With reference to
In addition, as shown in
In this embodiment, the antenna assembly 100 is disposed at the first machine body 20 (the lower machine body) rather than the second machine body 12 (the upper machine body), and therefore the width of an external frame of the display panel 14 on the second machine body 12 (the upper machine body) provided by this embodiment may be reduced by a manufacturer. In addition, since the antenna assembly 100 is flexible, thin, and small-sized the antenna assembly 100 can be flexibly attached to the surface of the supporting member 70 or the electronic component and does not take up too much space even if the antenna assembly is designed to locate at the first machine body 20. Therefore, the antenna assembly 100 may be applied onto an ultra-thin laptop computer with the first machine body 20 of only 5.9 mm thick. Besides, the slit 36 and the slot 38 are located at the side wall 34 of the first machine body 20 so no additional slot or slit is required to be disposed on the metal upper cover 22 of the first machine body 20 for the antenna assembly 100. As such, the metal casing 30 gives a user the same feeling when the user is typing and places his/her hand on the metal upper cover 22. As shown in
Performances of the antenna structure of the electronic device of
In view of the foregoing, in the electronic device provided by the embodiments of the invention, the housing of the first machine body is constituted by the metal upper cover and the metal casing. The metal casing includes two slits and two slots individually disposed at the two side walls. The two antenna assemblies are disposed in the first machine body close to the two sides and near the two slits and slots. The antenna pattern of each of the antenna assemblies encloses the closed zone and includes the feed end and the ground end, such that the first loop and the second loop are formed. Moreover, the orthographic projections of the antenna pattern and the enclosed closed zone on the side wall of the metal casing overlap with the slot and are close to the slit. As such, the antenna pattern may resonate with the slit and the slot to generate the first frequency band and the second frequency band, respectively, and thereby favorable performance is achieved. Comparing to the conventional electronic devices, in the electronic device provided by the embodiments of the invention, the appearance of the housing may be made of metal. Moreover, since the antenna structure is disposed at the two sides of the first machine body, the width of the external frame of the display panel on the second machine body may be reduced. In addition, the antenna assembly provided by the embodiments of the invention is attached to the supporting member and has a simple structure and relatively thin thickness, and the antenna assembly may therefore be applied to an ultra-thin machine body.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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106117461 A | May 2017 | TW | national |
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“Office Action of Taiwan Counterpart Application”, dated May 22, 2018, p. 1-p. 4. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20180342791 A1 | Nov 2018 | US |