Patent Grant
9680203
1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to antenna structures and wireless communication devices, and particularly to an antenna structure formed by a metal shell of a wireless communication device.
2. Description of Related Art
Metal shells are widely used in wireless communication devices because of the advantages of mechanical strength, resistance to deformation, and tactile sensation. However, the metal shells may shield and interfere with signals radiated by antennas of the wireless communications and negatively influences a radiation efficiency of the antennas.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.
Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawing. The components in the drawing are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure.
The FIGURE is a schematic view of a wireless communication device having an antenna structure, according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.
The FIGURE is a schematic view of a wireless communication device 300 having an antenna structure 100, according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. The wireless communication device 300 may be as a mobile phone, or a personal digital assistant, for example, and further includes a circuit board 200 (schematically shown). The circuit board 200 includes a feed point 210 and a ground point 230. The feed point 210 is configured to feed current for the antenna structure 100. The ground point 230 is configured to provide ground for the antenna structure 100.
The antenna structure 100 includes a metal member 10 (partially shown), an extending section 30, and a metal sheet 50.
The metal member 10 is an appearance element of the wireless communication device, such as a metal frame. In this embodiment, the metal member 10 is a frame structure, which includes, in part: a first frame leg 12, a second frame leg 14, and a third frame leg 16. The second frame leg 14 and the third frame leg 16 are respectively connected to two ends of the first frame leg 12. A gap 122 is defined in the first frame leg 12 adjacent to the second frame leg 14 dividing the first frame leg 12 to form a first panel portion 124 and a second panel portion 126 spaced from the first panel portion 124. The first panel portion 124 is connected to the second frame leg 14 to form a first portion of the metal member 10. The second frame leg 14 is secured to the circuit board 200 by a conventional mechanical securing way such as screwing and is electronically connected to the ground point 230 by a first screw (not shown). The first panel portion 124 includes a first connecting contact D. The connecting contact D is electronically connected to the feed point 210 by a connecting member 150 (e.g. a feed line, a probe, an elastic sheet). The extending section 30 is secured to an end of the first panel portion 124 by the conventional mechanical securing way such as soldering (not shown) and also parallel to the second frame leg 14. The first combing portion 124, the second metal frame 14, and the extending section 30 cooperatively form a first antenna operating at a first working mode to receive a first frequency band signal (e.g. a WIFI signal).
The second combing portion 126 is connected to the third frame leg 16 to form a second portion of the metal member 10. The third frame leg 16 is secured to the circuit board 200 by the conventional mechanical securing way such as screwing and also electronically connected to the ground point 230 by a second screw (not shown). The metal sheet 50 includes a second connecting contact E. The second connecting contact E is electronically connected to the ground point 230 by the connecting member 160 (e.g. a feed line, a probe, an elastic sheet) The metal sheet 50 can be positioned at a housing of the wireless communication device. In this embodiment, the metal sheet 50 is a rectangular sheet including two opposite first edges 51 and two opposite second edges 53 shorter than the first edges 51. One of the first edges 51 faces to the gap 122 and is opposite to and parallel with the first frame leg 12. One of the second edges 53 is parallel to and spaced from the extending section 30. Thus, the first frame leg 12, the extending section 30 and the metal sheet 50 generate a coupling and resonance effect so that the first antenna, the second panel portion 126, the third frame leg 16, and the metal 50 cooperatively serve as a second antenna. The second antenna operates a second working mode to receive and transmit a second frequency band signal (e.g. a GPS signal).
In use, the current is fed into the first connecting point D from the feed point 210 by the connecting member 150. A first portion of the current flows through the extending section 30. A second portion of the current flows through the second frame leg 14. The first potion and the second portion of the current finally flow into the ground point 230 by the ground point 230 to form a first antenna path.
On another aspect, a third portion of the current flowing to a distal end of the first panel portion 124 also is coupled to the second panel portion 126 and finally flows into the ground point 230 via the third frame leg 16. Meanwhile, the current flowing though the extending section 30 also is coupled to the metal sheet 50, and then flows through the second panel portion 126 and finally flows into the ground point 230 via the third frame leg 16. In addition, current fed into the metal sheet 50 from the circuit board 200 also is coupled to the second panel portion 126 and finally flows into the ground point 230 via the third frame leg 16. Thus, the first panel portion 124, the metal sheet 50, the second panel portion 126, and the third frame leg 16 cooperatively form a second antenna path.
The antenna structure 100 divides the metal member 10 into the first portion and the second portion by the gap 122 defined in the metal member 10 so that bandwidths of the first antenna and the second antenna can be adjusted by changing a position of the gap 122. For example, when the position of the gap 122 is adjacent to the third metal frame 16, a length of the first antenna path is lengthened so that a central frequency of the first frequency band becomes low. Meanwhile, a length of the second antenna path is shortened so that a central frequency of the second frequency band becomes high. Thus, the frequency band of the antenna structure 100 can be flexiblely changed.
The metal member 10, the extending section 30, and the metal sheet 50 are spaced from each other. Meanwhile, the wireless communication device 300 integrates the metal member 10 as a portion of the antenna structure 100 to avoid the metal member 10 from negatively influencing radiation efficiency of the antenna structure 100.
It is believed that the exemplary embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102117119 A | May 2013 | TW | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20100231470 | Lee | Sep 2010 | A1 |
| 20110136447 | Pascolini | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20140340280 A1 | Nov 2014 | US |
