Patent Application
20250023244
This application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 112125838 filed on Jul. 11, 2023, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The disclosure generally relates to an antenna structure, and more particularly, to a wideband antenna structure.
With the advancements being made in mobile communication technology, mobile devices such as portable computers, mobile phones, multimedia players, and other hybrid functional portable electronic devices have become more common. To satisfy consumer demand, mobile devices can usually perform wireless communication functions. Some devices cover a large wireless communication area; these include mobile phones using 2G, 3G, and LTE (Long Term Evolution) systems and using frequency bands of 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2500 MHz. Some devices cover a small wireless communication area; these include mobile phones using Wi-Fi systems and using frequency bands of 2.4 GHz, 5.2 GHz, and 5.8 GHz.
Antennas are indispensable elements for wireless communication. If an antenna used for signal reception and transmission has insufficient bandwidth, it will negatively affect the communication quality of the mobile device in which it is installed. Accordingly, it has become a critical challenge for antenna designers to design a small-size, wideband antenna element.
In an exemplary embodiment, the invention is directed to an antenna structure that includes a ground element, a feeding radiation element, a connection radiation element, a coupling radiation element, a first shorting radiation element, and a second shorting radiation element. The feeding radiation element has a feeding point. The coupling radiation element is coupled through the connection radiation element to the feeding radiation element. The coupling radiation element is also coupled through the first shorting radiation element to a first grounding point on the ground element. The feeding radiation element is also coupled through the second shorting radiation element to a second grounding point on the ground element. A loop structure is formed by the ground element, the connection radiation element, the first shorting radiation element, and the second shorting radiation element.
The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In order to illustrate the purposes, features and advantages of the invention, the embodiments and figures of the invention are shown in detail as follows.
Certain terms are used throughout the description and following claims to refer to particular components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, manufacturers may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following description and in the claims, the terms “include” and “comprise” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “include, but not limited to . . . ”. The term “substantially” means the value is within an acceptable error range. One skilled in the art can solve the technical problem within a predetermined error range and achieve the proposed technical performance. Also, the term “couple” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct electrical connection. Accordingly, if one device is coupled to another device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections.
The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the provided subject matter. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed between the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.
Furthermore, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. The spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. The apparatus may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may likewise be interpreted accordingly.
The ground element 110 may be implemented with a ground copper foil. In some embodiments, the ground element 110 may be further coupled to a ground voltage VSS, which may be provided by a system ground plane (not shown) of the antenna structure 100.
The feeding radiation element 120 has a first end 121 and a second end 122. A feeding point FP is positioned at the first end 121 of the feeding radiation element 120. The feeding point FP may be further coupled to a positive electrode of a signal source 199. A negative electrode of the signal source 199 may be coupled to the ground element 110. For example, the signal source 199 may be an RF (Radio Frequency) module for exciting the antenna structure 100. In some embodiments, the feeding radiation element 120 substantially has a straight-line shape, but it is not limited thereto.
The connection radiation element 130 and the feeding radiation element 120 may be substantially perpendicular to each other, but they are not limited thereto. Specifically, the connection radiation element 130 has a first end 131 and a second end 132. The first end 131 of the connection radiation element 130 is coupled to the second end 122 of the feeding radiation element 120. In some embodiments, the connection radiation element 130 substantially has another straight-line shape, but it is not limited to.
The coupling radiation element 140 has a first edge 141, a second edge 142, and a third edge 143. The first edge 141 and the second edge 142 may be opposite to each other. The third edge 143 may be positioned between the first edge 141 and the second edge 142. Specifically, the coupling radiation element 140 includes a narrow portion 144 and a wide portion 145. The wide portion 145 is coupled through the narrow portion 144 to the second end 132 of the connection radiation element 130. That is, the coupling radiation element 140 is coupled through the connection radiation element 130 to the feeding radiation element 120. In some embodiments, the coupling radiation element 140 substantially has an inverted T-shape, but it is not limited thereto.
Furthermore, the coupling radiation element 140 is adjacent to the feeding radiation element 120. It should be noted that the term “adjacent” or “close” over the disclosure means that the distance (spacing) between two corresponding elements is smaller than a predetermined distance (e.g., 10 mm or the shorter), but often does not mean that the two corresponding elements directly touch each other (i.e., the aforementioned distance/spacing between them is reduced to 0). In some embodiments, a first coupling gap GC1 is formed between the feeding radiation element 120 and the first edge 141 of the coupling radiation element 140, and a second coupling gap GC2 is formed between the ground element 110 and the third edge 143 of the coupling radiation element 140. However, the invention is not limited thereto. In alternative embodiments, the positions of the feeding radiation element 120 and the coupling radiation element 140 are exchanged with each other, such that another first coupling gap GC1 is formed between the feeding radiation element 120 and the second edge 142 of the coupling radiation element 140.
The first shorting radiation element 150 has a first end 151 and a second end 152. The first end 151 of the first shorting radiation element 150 is coupled to a first grounding point GP1 on the ground element 110. The second end 152 of the first shorting radiation element 150 is coupled to the second end 132 of the connection radiation element 130 and the narrow portion 144 of the coupling radiation element 140. That is, both the connection radiation element 130 and the coupling radiation element 140 are coupled through the first shorting radiation element 150 to the ground element 110. In some embodiments, the first shorting radiation element 150 substantially has an L-shape, but it is not limited thereto.
The second shorting radiation element 160 has a first end 161 and a second end 162. The first end 161 of the second shorting radiation element 160 is coupled to a second grounding point GP2 on the ground element 110. The second end 162 of the second shorting radiation element 160 is coupled to the second end 122 of the feeding radiation element 120 and the first end 131 of the connection radiation element 130. That is, both the feeding radiation element 120 and the connection radiation element 130 are coupled through the second shorting radiation element 160 to the ground element 110. In some embodiments, the second grounding point GP2 is different from the aforementioned first grounding point GP1. For example, the first grounding point GP1 and the second grounding point GP2 may be positioned at two ends of the ground element 110, respectively, but they are not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the second shorting radiation element 160 substantially has another L-shape, but it is not limited thereto.
It should be noted that a completely closed loop structure 170 is formed by the ground element 110, the connection radiation element 130, the first shorting radiation element 150, and the second shorting radiation element 160. The feeding radiation element 120 and the coupling radiation element 140 are surrounded by the loop structure 170. For example, if the loop structure 170 substantially has a hollow rectangular shape, both the feeding radiation element 120 and the coupling radiation element 140 can be positioned inside the hollow rectangular shape, but they may not be limited thereto.
In some embodiments, the antenna structure 100 further includes a nonconductive support element 180. The ground element 110, the feeding radiation element 120, the connection radiation element 130, the coupling radiation element 140, the first shorting radiation element 150, and the second shorting radiation element 160 are all disposed on the nonconductive support element 180. Specifically, the nonconductive support element 180 has a first surface E1 and a second surface E2 which are perpendicular to each other. The ground element 110, the feeding radiation element 120, the connection radiation element 130, the coupling radiation element 140, the first shorting radiation element 150, and the second shorting radiation element 160 are distributed over the first surface E1 and the second surface E2 of the nonconductive support element 180. For example, except for the ground element 110 disposed on the first surface E1 and the connection radiation element 130 disposed on the second surface E2, all of the feeding radiation element 120, the coupling radiation element 140, the first shorting radiation element 150, and the second shorting radiation element 160 can extend from the first surface E1 to the second surface E2. However, the invention is not limited thereto. In alternative embodiments, the nonconductive support element 180 is implemented with a PCB (Printed Circuit Board), such that the antenna structure 100 becomes a planar antenna structure, without affecting its practical radiation performance.
In some embodiments, the operational principles of the antenna structure 100 are described as follows. A first resonant path PA1 can be formed along the feeding radiation element 120, the connection radiation element 130, the first edge 141, the third edge 143 and the second edge 142 of the coupling radiation element 140, the first shorting radiation element 150, and the ground element 110. The first resonant path PA1 can be excited to generate the low-frequency band FBL and the second high-frequency band FBH2. Also, a second resonant path PA2 can be formed along the feeding radiation element 120, the connection radiation element 130, and the first edge 141 of the coupling radiation element 140. The second resonant path PA2 can be excited to generate the first high-frequency band FBH1. In the coupling radiation element 140, the length of the first resonant path PA1 and the length of the second resonant path PA2 can be adjusted by changing the width W1 of the narrow portion 144 and the width W2 of the wide portion 145. Variations in the width W1 of the narrow portion 144 can affect the feeding matching of the antenna structure 100. Variations in the width W2 of the wide portion 145 can affect the width of the first coupling gap GC1 and the width of the second coupling gap GC2. Furthermore, a third resonant path PA3 can be formed along the feeding radiation element 120 and the second shorting radiation element 160. The third resonant path PA3 can be excited to generate the third high-frequency band FBH3. According to practical measurements, the first coupling gap GC1 and the second coupling gap GC2 are used to fine-tune the impedance matching of the low-frequency band FBL, the first high-frequency band FBH1, the second high-frequency band FBH2, and the third high-frequency band FBH3 as mentioned above, thereby increasing their operational bandwidths.
In some embodiments, the element sizes of the antenna structure 100 are described as follows. The length of the first resonant path PA1 may be substantially equal to 0.5 wavelength (λ/2) of the low-frequency band FBL of the antenna structure 100. The length of the second resonant path PA2 may be substantially equal to 0.5 wavelength (λ/2) of the first high-frequency band FBH1 of the antenna structure 100. The length of the third resonant path PA3 may be substantially equal to 0.5 wavelength (λ/2) of the third high-frequency band FBH3 of the antenna structure 100. In the coupling radiation element 140, the width W1 of the narrow portion 144 may be from 2 mm to 6 mm, and the width W2 of the wide portion 145 may be from 9 mm to 13 mm. The width of the first coupling gap GC1 may be greater than or equal to the width of the second coupling gap GC2. For example, the width of the first coupling gap GC1 may be from 0.05 mm to 4 mm, and the width of the second coupling gap GC2 may be from 0.05 mm to 3 mm. The above ranges of element sizes are calculated and obtained according to many experiment results, and they help to optimize the operational bandwidth and impedance matching of the antenna structure 100.
The following embodiments will introduce different configurations and detailed structural features of the antenna structure 100. It should be understood that these figures and descriptions are merely exemplary, rather than limitations of the invention.
It should be understood that in the embodiments of
The invention proposes a novel antenna structure, which includes at least one loop structure. In comparison to the conventional design, the invention has at least the advantages of small size, wide bandwidth, low manufacturing cost, and being used in different environments. Therefore, the invention is suitable for application in a variety of mobile communication devices.
Note that the above element sizes, element shapes, and frequency ranges are not limitations of the invention. An antenna designer can fine-tune these settings or values in order to meet specific requirements. It should be understood that the antenna structure of the invention is not limited to the configurations depicted in
Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having the same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 112125838 | Jul 2023 | TW | national |
