Patent Grant
10511083
This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with wireless communications circuitry.
Electronic devices often include wireless communications circuitry. For example, cellular telephones, computers, and other devices often contain antennas and wireless transceivers for supporting wireless communications.
It can be challenging to form electronic device antenna structures with desired attributes. In some wireless devices, antennas are bulky. In other devices, antennas are compact, but are sensitive to the position of the antennas relative to external objects. If care is not taken, antennas may become detuned, may emit wireless signals with a power that is more or less than desired, or may otherwise not perform as expected.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved wireless circuitry for electronic devices.
An electronic device may have wireless circuitry with antennas. An antenna may be formed from an antenna resonating element arm and an antenna ground. The antenna resonating element arm and antenna ground may be formed from metal housing structures or other conductive structures that are separated by a slot. The antenna resonating element arm may, for example, be formed from peripheral conductive structures running along the edges of the metal housing structures and an elongated opening in the metal housing structures may separate the antenna resonating element arm from a planar portion of the metal housing structures that serves as the antenna ground.
The antenna may have a first antenna feed having a positive feed terminal coupled to a first location on the resonating element arm and a second antenna feed having a positive feed terminal coupled to a second location on the resonating element arm. The resonating element arm may have opposing first and second ends. The antenna feeds and other components may be coupled between the resonating element arm and the antenna ground symmetrically around the longitudinal axis of the device. For example, the second location may be interposed between the first location and the second end of the resonating element arm. A first adjustable component may be coupled between a third location on the resonating element arm and the antenna ground. The third location may be interposed between the first location and the first end of the resonating element arm. A second adjustable component may be coupled between a fourth location on the resonating element arm and the antenna ground. The fourth location may be interposed between the second location and the second end of the resonating element arm. A third adjustable component may be coupled between a fifth location on the resonating element arm and the antenna ground. The fifth location may be interposed between the fourth location and the second end of the resonating element arm.
The first antenna feed terminal may be coupled to the first location on the resonating element arm by a fourth adjustable component. The fourth adjustable component may include a shunt switch coupled between the first antenna feed terminal and the antenna ground. During operation, loading of the antenna by an external object such as a user's hand can detune the antenna. The loading of the antenna may be dependent on how the user holds the device (e.g., whether the user holds the device with a left or right hand).
The electronic device may include control circuitry that controls the first, second, third, and fourth adjustable components and that selectively activates one of the first and second feeds at a given time to place the antenna in a first, second, or third operating mode (e.g., a free space mode, a left hand head mode, and a right hand head mode). As an example, the control circuitry may close the shunt switch to form a short circuit path between the resonating element arm and the antenna ground when the first antenna feed is inactive (disabled) and may open the shunt switch when the first antenna feed is active (enabled). The control circuitry may enable the first antenna feed and disable the second antenna feed in the free space and left hand head operating modes. The control circuitry may enable the second antenna feed and disable the first antenna feed in the right hand head operating mode. The control circuitry may determine which operating mode to use based on sensor data gathered by sensor circuitry and/or any other desired information about the operating environment of the device. By switching between the operating modes, the control circuitry may shift antenna current hot spots across the length of the resonating element arm to ensure satisfactory performance of the antenna in a variety of operating conditions.
Electronic devices such as electronic device 10 of
The wireless communications circuitry may include one more antennas. The antennas of the wireless communications circuitry can include loop antennas, inverted-F antennas, strip antennas, planar inverted-F antennas, monopole antennas, dipole antennas, slot antennas, hybrid antennas that include antenna structures of more than one type, or other suitable antennas. Conductive structures for the antennas may, if desired, be formed from conductive electronic device structures.
The conductive electronic device structures may include conductive housing structures. The housing structures may include peripheral structures such as peripheral conductive structures that run around the periphery of an electronic device. The peripheral conductive structure may serve as a bezel for a planar structure such as a display, may serve as sidewall structures for a device housing, may have portions that extend upwards from an integral planar rear housing (e.g., to form vertical planar sidewalls or curved sidewalls), and/or may form other housing structures.
Gaps may be formed in the peripheral conductive structures that divide the peripheral conductive structures into peripheral segments. One or more of the segments may be used in forming one or more antennas for electronic device 10. Antennas may also be formed using an antenna ground plane formed from conductive housing structures such as metal housing midplate structures and other internal device structures. Rear housing wall structures may be used in forming antenna structures such as an antenna ground.
Electronic device 10 may be a portable electronic device or other suitable electronic device. For example, electronic device 10 may be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a somewhat smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, pendant device, headphone device, earpiece device, or other wearable or miniature device, a handheld device such as a cellular telephone, a media player, or other small portable device. Device 10 may also be a set-top box, a desktop computer, a display into which a computer or other processing circuitry has been integrated, a display without an integrated computer, or other suitable electronic equipment.
Device 10 may include a housing such as housing 12. Housing 12, which may sometimes be referred to as a case, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramics, fiber composites, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of these materials. In some situations, parts of housing 12 may be formed from dielectric or other low-conductivity material. In other situations, housing 12 or at least some of the structures that make up housing 12 may be formed from metal elements.
Device 10 may, if desired, have a display such as display 14. Display 14 may be mounted on the front face of device 10. Display 14 may be a touch screen that incorporates capacitive touch electrodes or may be insensitive to touch. The rear face of housing 12 (i.e., the face of device 10 opposing the front face of device 10) may have a planar housing wall. The rear housing wall may be have slots that pass entirely through the rear housing wall and that therefore separate housing wall portions (and/or sidewall portions) of housing 12 from each other. Housing 12 (e.g., the rear housing wall, sidewalls, etc.) may also have shallow grooves that do not pass entirely through housing 12. The slots and grooves may be filled with plastic or other dielectric. If desired, portions of housing 12 that have been separated from each other (e.g., by a through slot) may be joined by internal conductive structures (e.g., sheet metal or other metal members that bridge the slot).
Display 14 may include pixels formed from light-emitting diodes (LEDs), organic LEDs (OLEDs), plasma cells, electrowetting pixels, electrophoretic pixels, liquid crystal display (LCD) components, or other suitable pixel structures. A display cover layer such as a layer of clear glass or plastic may cover the surface of display 14 or the outermost layer of display 14 may be formed from a color filter layer, thin-film transistor layer, or other display layer. Buttons such as button 24 may pass through openings in the cover layer. The cover layer may also have other openings such as an opening for speaker port 26.
Housing 12 may include peripheral housing structures such as structures 16. Structures 16 may run around the periphery of device 10 and display 14. In configurations in which device 10 and display 14 have a rectangular shape with four edges, structures 16 may be implemented using peripheral housing structures that have a rectangular ring shape with four corresponding edges (as an example). Peripheral structures 16 or part of peripheral structures 16 may serve as a bezel for display 14 (e.g., a cosmetic trim that surrounds all four sides of display 14 and/or that helps hold display 14 to device 10). Peripheral structures 16 may also, if desired, form sidewall structures for device 10 (e.g., by forming a metal band with vertical sidewalls, curved sidewalls, etc.).
Peripheral housing structures 16 may be formed of a conductive material such as metal and may therefore sometimes be referred to as peripheral conductive housing structures, conductive housing structures, peripheral metal structures, or a peripheral conductive housing member (as examples). Peripheral housing structures 16 may be formed from a metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, or other suitable materials. One, two, or more than two separate structures may be used in forming peripheral housing structures 16.
It is not necessary for peripheral housing structures 16 to have a uniform cross-section. For example, the top portion of peripheral housing structures 16 may, if desired, have an inwardly protruding lip that helps hold display 14 in place. The bottom portion of peripheral housing structures 16 may also have an enlarged lip (e.g., in the plane of the rear surface of device 10). Peripheral housing structures 16 may have substantially straight vertical sidewalls, may have sidewalls that are curved, or may have other suitable shapes. In some configurations (e.g., when peripheral housing structures 16 serve as a bezel for display 14), peripheral housing structures 16 may run around the lip of housing 12 (i.e., peripheral housing structures 16 may cover only the edge of housing 12 that surrounds display 14 and not the rest of the sidewalls of housing 12).
If desired, housing 12 may have a conductive rear surface. For example, housing 12 may be formed from a metal such as stainless steel or aluminum. The rear surface of housing 12 may lie in a plane that is parallel to display 14. In configurations for device 10 in which the rear surface of housing 12 is formed from metal, it may be desirable to form parts of peripheral conductive housing structures 16 as integral portions of the housing structures forming the rear surface of housing 12. For example, a rear housing wall of device 10 may be formed from a planar metal structure and portions of peripheral housing structures 16 on the sides of housing 12 may be formed as flat or curved vertically extending integral metal portions of the planar metal structure. Housing structures such as these may, if desired, be machined from a block of metal and/or may include multiple metal pieces that are assembled together to form housing 12. The planar rear wall of housing 12 may have one or more, two or more, or three or more portions.
Display 14 may have an array of pixels that form an active area AA that displays images for a user of device 10. An inactive border region such as inactive area IA may run along one or more of the peripheral edges of active area AA.
Display 14 may include conductive structures such as an array of capacitive electrodes for a touch sensor, conductive lines for addressing pixels, driver circuits, etc. Housing 12 may include internal conductive structures such as metal frame members and a planar conductive housing member (sometimes referred to as a midplate) that spans the walls of housing 12 (i.e., a substantially rectangular sheet formed from one or more parts that is welded or otherwise connected between opposing sides of member 16). Device 10 may also include conductive structures such as printed circuit boards, components mounted on printed circuit boards, and other internal conductive structures. These conductive structures, which may be used in forming a ground plane in device 10, may be located in the center of housing 12 and may extend under active area AA of display 14.
In regions 22 and 20, openings may be formed within the conductive structures of device 10 (e.g., between peripheral conductive housing structures 16 and opposing conductive ground structures such as conductive housing midplate or rear housing wall structures, a printed circuit board, and conductive electrical components in display 14 and device 10). These openings, which may sometimes be referred to as gaps, may be filled with air, plastic, and other dielectrics and may be used in forming slot antenna resonating elements for one or more antennas in device 10.
Conductive housing structures and other conductive structures in device 10 such as a midplate, traces on a printed circuit board, display 14, and conductive electronic components may serve as a ground plane for the antennas in device 10. The openings in regions 20 and 22 may serve as slots in open or closed slot antennas, may serve as a central dielectric region that is surrounded by a conductive path of materials in a loop antenna, may serve as a space that separates an antenna resonating element such as a strip antenna resonating element or an inverted-F antenna resonating element from the ground plane, may contribute to the performance of a parasitic antenna resonating element, or may otherwise serve as part of antenna structures formed in regions 20 and 22. If desired, the ground plane that is under active area AA of display 14 and/or other metal structures in device 10 may have portions that extend into parts of the ends of device 10 (e.g., the ground may extend towards the dielectric-filled openings in regions 20 and 22), thereby narrowing the slots in regions 20 and 22. In configurations for device 10 with narrow U-shaped openings or other openings that run along the edges of device 10, the ground plane of device 10 can be enlarged to accommodate additional electrical components (integrated circuits, sensors, etc.).
In general, device 10 may include any suitable number of antennas (e.g., one or more, two or more, three or more, four or more, etc.). The antennas in device 10 may be located at opposing first and second ends of an elongated device housing (e.g., at ends 20 and 22 of device 10 of
Portions of peripheral housing structures 16 may be provided with peripheral gap structures. For example, peripheral conductive housing structures 16 may be provided with one or more gaps such as gaps 18, as shown in
If desired, openings in housing 12 such as grooves that extend partway or completely through housing 12 may extend across the width of the rear wall of housing 12 and may penetrate through the rear wall of housing 12 to divide the rear wall into different portions. These grooves may also extend into peripheral housing structures 16 and may form antenna slots, gaps 18, and other structures in device 10. Polymer or other dielectric may fill these grooves and other housing openings. In some situations, housing openings that form antenna slots and other structure may be filled with a dielectric such as air.
In a typical scenario, device 10 may have upper and lower antennas (as an example). An upper antenna may, for example, be formed at the upper end of device 10 in region 22. A lower antenna may, for example, be formed at the lower end of device 10 in region 20. The antennas may be used separately to cover identical communications bands, overlapping communications bands, or separate communications bands. The antennas may be used to implement an antenna diversity scheme or a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna scheme, if desired.
Antennas in device 10 may be used to support any communications bands of interest. For example, device 10 may include antenna structures for supporting local area network communications, voice and data cellular telephone communications, global positioning system (GPS) communications or other satellite navigation system communications, Bluetooth® communications, etc.
A schematic diagram showing illustrative components that may be used in device 10 of
Storage and processing circuitry 28 may be used to run software on device 10, such as internet browsing applications, voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) telephone call applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, etc. To support interactions with external equipment, storage and processing circuitry 28 may be used in implementing communications protocols. Communications protocols that may be implemented using storage and processing circuitry 28 include internet protocols, wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocols—sometimes referred to as WiFi®), protocols for other short-range wireless communications links such as the Bluetooth® protocol, cellular telephone protocols, multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) protocols, antenna diversity protocols, etc.
Input-output circuitry 30 may include input-output devices 32. Input-output devices 32 may be used to allow data to be supplied to device 10 and to allow data to be provided from device 10 to external devices. Input-output devices 32 may include user interface devices, data port devices, and other input-output components. For example, input-output devices 32 may include touch screens, displays without touch sensor capabilities, buttons, joysticks, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, microphones, cameras, buttons, speakers, status indicators, light sources, audio jacks and other audio port components, digital data port devices, light sensors, position and orientation sensors (e.g., sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and compasses), capacitance sensors, proximity sensors (e.g., capacitive proximity sensors, light-based proximity sensors, etc.), fingerprint sensors (e.g., a fingerprint sensor integrated with a button such as button 24 of
Input-output circuitry 30 may include wireless communications circuitry 34 for communicating wirelessly with external equipment. Wireless communications circuitry 34 may include radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, low-noise input amplifiers, passive RF components, one or more antennas, transmission lines, and other circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications).
Wireless communications circuitry 34 may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry 90 for handling various radio-frequency communications bands. For example, circuitry 34 may include transceiver circuitry 36, 38, and 42. Transceiver circuitry 36 may handle 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands for WiFi® (IEEE 802.11) communications and may handle the 2.4 GHz Bluetooth® communications band. Circuitry 34 may use cellular telephone transceiver circuitry 38 for handling wireless communications in frequency ranges such as a low communications band from 700 to 960 MHz, a low-midband from 960 to 1710 MHz, a midband from 1710 to 2170 MHz, and a high band from 2300 to 2700 MHz or other communications bands between 700 MHz and 2700 MHz or other suitable frequencies (as examples). Circuitry 38 may handle voice data and non-voice data. Wireless communications circuitry 34 can include circuitry for other short-range and long-range wireless links if desired. For example, wireless communications circuitry 34 may include 60 GHz transceiver circuitry, circuitry for receiving television and radio signals, paging system transceivers, near field communications (NFC) circuitry, etc. Wireless communications circuitry 34 may include global positioning system (GPS) receiver equipment such as GPS receiver circuitry 42 for receiving GPS signals at 1575 MHz or for handling other satellite positioning data. In WiFi® and Bluetooth® links and other short-range wireless links, wireless signals are typically used to convey data over tens or hundreds of feet. In cellular telephone links and other long-range links, wireless signals are typically used to convey data over thousands of feet or miles.
Wireless communications circuitry 34 may include antennas 40. Antennas 40 may be formed using any suitable antenna types. For example, antennas 40 may include antennas with resonating elements that are formed from loop antenna structures, patch antenna structures, inverted-F antenna structures, slot antenna structures, planar inverted-F antenna structures, helical antenna structures, dipole antenna structures, monopole antenna structures, hybrids of these designs, etc. Different types of antennas may be used for different bands and combinations of bands. For example, one type of antenna may be used in forming a local wireless link antenna and another type of antenna may be used in forming a remote wireless link antenna.
As shown in
To provide antenna structures such as antenna(s) 40 with the ability to cover communications frequencies of interest, antenna(s) 40 may be provided with circuitry such as filter circuitry (e.g., one or more passive filters and/or one or more tunable filter circuits). Discrete components such as capacitors, inductors, and resistors may be incorporated into the filter circuitry. Capacitive structures, inductive structures, and resistive structures may also be formed from patterned metal structures (e.g., part of an antenna). If desired, antenna(s) 40 may be provided with adjustable circuits such as tunable components 102 to tune antennas over communications bands of interest. Tunable components 102 may be part of a tunable filter or tunable impedance matching network, may be part of an antenna resonating element, may span a gap between an antenna resonating element and antenna ground, etc. Tunable components 102 may include tunable inductors, tunable capacitors, or other tunable components. Tunable components such as these may be based on switches and networks of fixed components, distributed metal structures that produce associated distributed capacitances and inductances, variable solid state devices for producing variable capacitance and inductance values, tunable filters, or other suitable tunable structures. During operation of device 10, control circuitry 28 may issue control signals on one or more paths such as path 120 that adjust inductance values, capacitance values, or other parameters associated with tunable components 102, thereby tuning antenna structures 40 to cover desired communications bands.
Path 92 may include one or more transmission lines. As an example, signal path 92 of
Transmission line 92 may be coupled to antenna feed structures associated with antenna structures 40. As an example, antenna structures 40 may form an inverted-F antenna, a slot antenna, a hybrid inverted-F slot antenna or other antenna having an antenna feed with a positive antenna feed terminal such as terminal 98 and a ground antenna feed terminal such as ground antenna feed terminal 100. Positive transmission line conductor 94 may be coupled to positive antenna feed terminal 98 and ground transmission line conductor 96 may be coupled to ground antenna feed terminal 92. Other types of antenna feed arrangements may be used if desired. For example, antenna structures 40 may be fed using multiple feeds. The illustrative feeding configuration of
Control circuitry 28 may use an impedance measurement circuit to gather antenna impedance information. Control circuitry 28 may use information from a proximity sensor (see, e.g., sensors 32 of
Main resonating element arm 108 may be coupled to ground 104 by return path 110. An inductor or other component may be interposed in path 110 and/or tunable components 102 may be interposed in path 110 and/or coupled in parallel with path 110 between arm 108 and ground 104.
Antenna 40 may be fed using one or more antenna feeds. For example, antenna 40 may be fed using antenna feed 112. Antenna feed 112 may include positive antenna feed terminal 98 and ground antenna feed terminal 100 and may run in parallel to return path 110 between arm 108 and ground 104. If desired, inverted-F antennas such as illustrative antenna 40 of
Antenna 40 may be a hybrid antenna that includes one or more slot antenna resonating elements. As shown in
Antenna 40 may be a hybrid slot-inverted-F antenna that includes resonating elements of the type shown in both
The presence or absence of external objects such as a user's hand or other body part in the vicinity of antenna 40 may affect antenna loading and therefore antenna performance. Antenna loading may differ depending on the way in which device 10 is being held. For example, antenna loading and therefore antenna performance may be affected in one way when a user is holding device 10 in the user's right hand and may be affected in another way when a user is holding device 10 in the user's left hand. In addition, antenna loading and performance may be affected in one way when a user is holding device 10 to the user's head and in another way when the user is holding device 10 away from the user's head. To accommodate various loading scenarios, device 10 may use sensor data, antenna measurements, information about the usage scenario or operating state of device 10, and/or other data from input-output circuitry 30 to monitor for the presence of antenna loading (e.g., the presence of a user's hand, the user's head, or another external object). Device 10 (e.g., control circuitry 28) may then adjust adjustable components 102 in antenna 40 to compensate for the loading.
In order to help compensate for antenna loading due to the presence of external objects such as the user's hand at different locations relative to device 10, antenna 40 may include multiple antenna feeds (e.g., antenna feeds such as antenna feed 112 of
As shown in
Portions of slot 114 may contribute slot antenna resonances to antenna 40. Peripheral conductive structures 16 may form an antenna resonating element arm such as arm 108 of
Feed leg 170 may be coupled to peripheral conductive structures 16 at point 180 whereas feed leg 168 is coupled to peripheral conductive structures 16 at point 182. Point 182 may, for example, be located at a given distance from gap 18-1 (e.g., along the width of device 10). If desired, point 180 may also be coupled to peripheral structures 16 at the same given distance from gap 18-2. Similarly, ground feed terminal 100-2 may be coupled to ground plane 104 at the same distance with respect to gap 18-1 as ground terminal 100-1 is with respect to gap 18-2. In other words, antenna feeds P1 and P2 may be symmetrically distributed across the width of device 10 (e.g., about the longitudinal axis 190 of device 10 running down the center and along the longest dimension of the device). This example is merely illustrative. In general, antenna feed P2 may be coupled between ground 104 and peripheral structures 16 at any desired location that is interposed between antenna feed P1 and gap 18-1. Antenna feed P1 may be coupled between ground 104 and peripheral structures 16 at any desired location that is interposed between antenna feed P2 and gap 18-2. Ground antenna feed terminals 100-2 and 100-1 may be coupled to antenna ground 104 at any desired locations (e.g., either symmetrically or asymmetrically distributed about longitudinal axis 190) and/or feed legs 168 and 170 may be coupled to conductive structures 16 at any desired locations (e.g., either symmetrically or asymmetrically distributed about the longitudinal axis 190).
Adjustable tuning components 102 of
In one suitable arrangement, adjustable component 158 may include switching circuitry such as a shunt single-pole double-throw (SP2T) switch or any other desired switching circuitry. When antenna feed P1 is to be activated (enabled), control circuitry 28 may adjust the switching circuitry in adjustable component 158 to route radio-frequency antenna signals between antenna feed terminal 98-1 and peripheral structures 16. When antenna feed P1 is to be deactivated (disabled), control circuitry 28 may adjust the switching circuitry in adjustable component 158 to short radio-frequency antenna signals conveyed over path 170 to ground.
If desired, adjustable component 156 may include switching circuitry such as a single-pole single-throw (SPST) switch or any other desired switching circuitry. The SPST switch may, for example, be coupled in series between feed terminal 98-2 and point 182 on peripheral structures 16. When antenna feed P2 is to be activated, control circuitry 28 may close the switch in adjustable component 156 to route signals between feed terminal 98-2 and peripheral structures 16. When antenna feed P2 is to be deactivated, control circuitry 28 may open the switch in adjustable component 156 to form an open circuit between antenna feed terminal 98-2 and peripheral structures 16 (e.g., so that signals are not conveyed between feed terminal 98-2 and peripheral structures 16).
Adjustable component 154 may be coupled between ground 104 and peripheral structures 16 (e.g., a first terminal 192 of adjustable component 154 may be coupled to ground 104 whereas a second terminal 194 of adjustable component 154 is coupled to peripheral structures 16). Terminal 194 of adjustable component 154 may be interposed between point 182 and gap 18-1. Terminal 192 of adjustable component 154 may be interposed between ground antenna feed terminal 100-2 and gap 18-1. Adjustable component 154 may include switchable inductors and resistors coupled in parallel between ground 104 and peripheral structures 16, for example. Control circuitry 28 may adjust component 154 to tune the resonant frequency of antenna 40 and/or to adjust the antenna efficiency of antenna 40. Component 154 may sometimes be referred to herein as aperture tuning circuitry 154 or aperture tuner 154 (e.g., because adjusting component 154 may effectively tune or adjust the aperture or perimeter of slot 114).
Adjustable component 152 may be coupled between ground 104 and peripheral structures 16 (e.g., a first terminal 196 of adjustable component 152 may be coupled to ground 104 whereas a second terminal 198 of adjustable component 152 is coupled to peripheral structures 16). Terminal 198 of adjustable component 152 may be interposed between terminal 194 of adjustable component 154 and gap 18-1. Terminal 196 of adjustable component 152 may be interposed between terminal 192 of adjustable component 154 and gap 18-1. Adjustable component 152 may include switching circuitry such as a single-pole double-throw (SP2T) switch or any other desired switching circuitry. Control circuitry 28 may adjust the switching circuitry in component 152 to tune the resonant frequency of antenna 40, for example.
Adjustable component 160 may be coupled between ground 104 and peripheral structures 16 (e.g., a first terminal 200 of adjustable component 160 may be coupled to ground 104 whereas a second terminal 202 of adjustable component 160 is coupled to peripheral structures 16). Terminal 202 may be interposed between point 180 of feed leg 170 and gap 18-2. Terminal 200 may be interposed between ground antenna feed terminal 100-1 and gap 18-2. Adjustable component 160 may include switching circuitry such as a single-pole double-throw (SP2T) switch or any other desired switching circuitry. Control circuitry 28 may adjust the switching circuitry in component 160 to tune the resonant frequency of antenna 40, for example.
In one suitable arrangement, adjustable component 152 may be identical to adjustable component 160. Control circuitry 28 may control adjustable components 152 and 160 to both be in the same state at any given time, for example. Terminal 198 and 196 may, if desired, be located at the same distance with respect to gap 18-1 as terminals 200 and 202 are located with respect to gap 18-2 (e.g., components 152 and 160 may be symmetrically distributed about longitudinal axis 190). This example is merely illustrative. In general, adjustable component 152 may be coupled between ground 104 and peripheral structures 16 at any desired location between adjustable component 154 and gap 18-1 and adjustable component 160 may be coupled between ground 104 and peripheral structures 16 at any desired location between antenna feed P1 and gap 18-2.
During operation, components 152, 154, 158, and 160 may form return paths for antenna 40 such as path 110 of
Adjustable components such as components 152, 154, 156, 158, and 160 (see, e.g., components 102 of
To enhance frequency coverage for antenna 40, antenna 40 may be provided with a parasitic antenna resonating element such as parasitic antenna resonating element 162. Element 162 may be formed from conductive structures such as conductive housing structures (e.g., an integral portion of housing such as a portion of housing 12 forming ground 104), from parts of conductive housing structures, from parts of electrical device components, from printed circuit board traces, from strips of conductor (e.g., strips of conductor or elongated portions of ground 104 that are embedded or molded into slot 114), or other conductive materials. In one suitable arrangement, parasitic antenna resonating element 162 is coupled to antenna resonating element 108 (e.g., peripheral structures 16) by near-field electromagnetic coupling and is used to modify the frequency response of antenna 40 so that antenna 40 operates at desired frequencies (e.g., parasitic element 162 may be indirectly fed via near-field coupling whereas peripheral structures 60 are directly fed using antenna feeds P1 and P2). As an example, parasitic antenna resonating element 162 may be based on a slot antenna resonating element structure (e.g., an open slot structure such as a slot with one open end and one closed end or a closed slot structure such as a slot that is completely surrounded by metal). If desired, slots for a slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element may be formed between opposing metal structures in peripheral structures 16 and/or antenna ground 104.
Antenna 40 of
Low band LB may extend from 700 MHz to 960 MHz or may include any other suitable frequency range. Peripheral conductive structures 16 may serve as an inverted-F antenna resonating element arm such as arm 108 of
High band HB may extend from 2300 MHz to 2700 MHz or within any other suitable frequency range. Antenna performance in high band HB may be supported by the resonance of parasitic antenna resonating element 162 (e.g., the length of element 162 may exhibit a quarter wavelength resonance at operating frequencies in band HB, etc.).
Midband MB may extend from 1710 MHz to 2170 MHz or within any other suitable frequency range. The resonance of antenna 40 at midband MB may be associated with the distance between the active one of antenna feeds P1 and P2 and a return path between peripheral structures 16 and ground 104 formed by one or more components 152, 154, 156, 158 and 160 of
The presence or absence of external objects such as a user's hand or other body part in the vicinity of antenna 40 may affect antenna loading and therefore antenna performance. For example, in free space, the performance of antenna 40 in midband MB may be characterized by curve 228 of
Antenna loading may differ depending on the way in which device 10 is being held and depending on which antenna feed is active. In the example of
When a user is holding device 10 in the user's left hand, the palm of the user's left hand will rest along the left edge of device 10 (e.g., housing edge 12-1 of
Control circuitry 28 may also adjust components 152, 154, 156, 158, and 160 to ensure that antenna 40 remains properly tuned regardless of which antenna feed is active and regardless of which of the user's hand is being used to hold the device. For example, control circuitry 28 may place components 152, 154, 156, 158, and 160 in a first tuning state (first tuning setting) when antenna 40 is being held by the user's right hand. Control circuitry 28 may place components 152, 154, 156, 158, and 160 in a second tuning state (second tuning setting) when antenna 40 is being held by the user's left hand. Placing the adjustable components of antenna 40 in the first or second tuning states may undesirably detune the antenna in a free space scenario in which neither hand is loading the antenna. If desired, control circuitry 28 may place adjustable components 152, 154, 156, 158, and 160 in a third tuning state (third tuning setting) when device 10 is operated in the free space scenario. Control circuitry 28 may activate antenna feed P1 and deactivate antenna feed P2 in the third tuning state, for example.
In one suitable arrangement, control circuitry 28 may place the adjustable components of antenna 40 in the first or second tuning states only when device 10 is being held adjacent to the head of the user (e.g., using the right or left hands respectively). The first tuning state may therefore sometimes be referred to herein as the right hand head mode of antenna 40 whereas the second tuning state is sometimes referred to herein as the left hand head mode of antenna 40. Control circuitry 28 may place the adjustable components of antenna 40 in the third tuning state when device 10 is not being held adjacent to the head of a user or when neither of the user's hands is loading antenna 40. The third tuning state may therefore sometimes be referred to herein as the free space mode of antenna 40. By suitably controlling adjustable components 152, 154, 156, 158, and 160 and selectively activating only one of antenna feeds P1 and P2 at a given time, control circuitry 28 may control antenna 40 to ensure that antenna 40 exhibits satisfactory midband antenna efficiency (e.g., as shown by curve 228 of
The example of
To ensure that antenna 40 operates satisfactorily when the user's right hand is being used to grip device 10 and when the user's left hand is being used to grip device 10 as well as during free space conditions, control circuitry 28 may determine which type of device operating environment is present and may adjust the adjustable circuitry of antenna 40 accordingly to compensate.
At step 250 of
In a scenario where control circuitry 28 processes orientation information for determining the operating environment of device 10, the orientation information may be gathered using an accelerometer from input-output devices 32 (
At step 252, control circuitry 28 may adjust the configuration of antenna 10 based on the current operating environment of device 10 (e.g., based on data or information gathered while processing step 250). For example, control circuitry 28 may process the data gathered while processing step 250 to determine whether device 10 is being held to the user's head by the user's right hand, whether device 10 is being held to the user's head by the user's left hand, or whether device 10 is in some other operating environment (e.g., a free space environment). If control circuitry 28 determines that device 10 is being held to the user's head by the user's right hand, control circuitry 28 may place antenna 40 in the right hand head mode (e.g., by placing tuning components 152, 154, 156, 158, and 160 in the first tuning state, activating feed P2, and deactivating feed P1). If control circuitry 28 determines that device 10 is being held to the user's head by the user's left hand, control circuitry 28 may place antenna 40 in the left hand head mode (e.g., by placing tuning components 152, 154, 156, 158, and 160 in the second tuning state, activating feed P1, and deactivating feed P2). If control circuitry 28 determines that device 10 is in any other operating environment, control circuitry 28 may place antenna 40 in the free space mode (e.g., by placing tuning components 152, 154, 156, 158, and 160 in the tuning third state, activating feed P1, and deactivating feed P2). By placing antenna 40 in one of these modes, control circuitry 28 may ensure that antenna 40 operates satisfactorily in all frequency bands of interest regardless of how the user is holding device 10.
At step 254, antenna 40 may be used to transmit and receive wireless data in using the currently activated antenna feed and setting for components 152, 154, 156, 158, and 160. This process may be performed continuously, as indicated by line 256.
Control signals on path 268 may be used to switch inductor L1 into use between terminals 262 and 264 while switching inductor L2 out of use, may be used to switch inductor L2 into use between terminals 262 and 264 while switching inductor L1 out of use, may be used to switch both inductors L1 and L2 into use in parallel between terminals 262 and 264, or may be used to switch both inductors L1 and L2 out of use. The switching circuitry arrangement of adjustable inductor 260 of
Resistor 286 in adjustable component 158 may, for example, have a resistance of 0 Ohms or any other desired resistance. Control circuitry 28 may provide control signals over control input 280 to selectively open and close switches 282 and 284. Control circuitry 28 may close switch 284 and open switch 282 to short antenna signals on peripheral structures 16 to ground 104. This may effectively form a return path such as return path 110 of
Control signals on path 310 may be used to switch any desired combination of one or more of inductors L5-L7 and resistor 300 into use between terminals 192 and 194. As an example, control circuitry 28 may close switch 308 while opening switches 302-306 to switch resistor 300 into use between terminals 192 and 194. In this scenario, antenna signals on peripheral conductive structures 16 may be shorted to from terminal 194 to ground 104 at terminal 192 (e.g., circuitry 154 may form a return path such as return path 110 of
If desired, additional switching circuitry may be coupled between radio-frequency transceiver circuitry 90 and antenna feeds P1 and P2 for selectively activating one of antenna feeds P1 and P2 at a given time.
Control circuitry 28 may adjust the switching circuitry of
A state diagram showing illustrative operating modes for antenna 40 is shown in
When operating in free space mode 360, control circuitry 28 may enable antenna feed P1 and may disable antenna feed P2. For example, control circuitry 28 may control switch 320 of
In free space mode 360, control circuitry 28 may collect and analyze sensor data such as proximity sensor data, orientation sensor data, connector sensor data, temperature sensor data, and other sensor data, may collect and analyze received signal strength data, call state data, data indicative of whether audio is being played through ear speaker 26 (
If it is determined that device 10 is being held in the left hand of a user and adjacent to the user's head (e.g., a non-free-space operating environment in which antenna 40 is being loaded along edge 12-1 and device 10 is adjacent to the user's head), control circuitry 28 may adjust the circuitry of antenna 40 to place antenna 40 in left hand head mode 362. When operating in left hand head mode 362, control circuitry 28 may enable antenna feed P1 and may disable antenna feed P2. For example, control circuitry 28 may control switch 320 of
Control circuitry 28 may close switch 308 of aperture tuning circuitry 154 to short terminal 194 on conductive structures 16 to terminal 192 on ground 104 (
By operating antenna 40 in this way during left hand head mode 362, antenna current hotspots may be shifted away from left side 12-1 and towards right side 12-2 of device 10. This may mitigate the loading of antenna 40 by the user's left hand and any corresponding detuning of antenna 40. In left hand head mode 362, control circuitry 28 may monitor for conditions indicating that device 10 is being operated in a free space environment (in which case device 10 can transition to mode 360) or is being held in the right hand and adjacent to the head of the user (in which case device 10 can transition to right hand head mode 364). Control circuitry 28 may continue to operate antenna 40 in left hand head mode 362 while the gathered information indicates that device 10 has not entered the right hand head operating environment or the free space operating environment. Control circuitry 28 may, for example, operate antenna 40 in left hand head mode 360 when the data gathered while processing step 250 of
If it is determined that device 10 is being held in the right hand of a user and adjacent to the user's head (e.g., a non-free-space operating environment in which antenna 40 is being loaded along edge 12-2 and device 10 is adjacent to the user's head), control circuitry 28 may adjust the circuitry of antenna 40 to place antenna 40 in right hand head mode 364. When operating in right hand head mode 364, control circuitry 28 may enable antenna feed P2 and may disable antenna feed P1. For example, control circuitry 28 may control switch 320 of
Control circuitry 28 may control switch 266 in adjustable component 152 to switch at least one of inductors L1 and L2 of adjustable component 152 into use between terminals 196 and 198. This may adjust the resonant frequency of antenna 40 within midband MB. Control circuitry 28 may open switch 308 of aperture tuning circuitry 154 to decouple resistor 300 from ground (
In right hand head mode 364, antenna 40 may cover frequencies in midband MB and high band HB (e.g., coverage in low band LB may not be supported by right hand head mode 364). The midband response of antenna 40 may be supported by, for example, resonance of the portion of conductive structures 16 to the left of disabled antenna feed P1 or any other desired portion of conductive structures 16 and antenna ground 104. Peripheral structures 16 may indirectly feed parasitic element 162 (
By operating antenna 40 in this way during right hand head mode 364, antenna current hotspots may be shifted away from right side 12-2 and towards left side 12-1 of device 10. This may mitigate the loading of antenna 40 by the user's right hand and any corresponding detuning of antenna 40. In right hand head mode 364, control circuitry 28 may monitor for conditions indicating that device 10 is being operated in free space (in which case device 10 can transition to mode 360) or is being held in the left hand and adjacent to the head of the user (in which case device 10 can transition to left hand head mode 362). Control circuitry 28 may continue to operate antenna 40 in right hand head mode 364 while the gathered information indicates that device 10 has not entered the left hand head operating environment or free space operating environment. Control circuitry 28 may, for example, operate antenna 40 in right hand head mode 364 when the data gathered while processing step 250 of
At step 402, control circuitry 28 may process the gathered data and information indicative of the operating environment of device 10 to determine whether device 10 is being held adjacent to the head of a user. If control circuitry 28 determines that device 10 is being held adjacent to the head of a user, processing may proceed to step 410 as shown by path 408. If control circuitry 28 determines that device 10 is not being held adjacent to the head of a user, processing may proceed to step 406 as shown by path 404.
As one example, control circuitry 28 may determine that device 10 is adjacent to the head of a user when it is determined that audio data is being played through ear speaker 26 (
At step 406, control circuitry 28 may place antenna 40 in free space mode 360 (FIG. 14). In other words, control circuitry 28 may operate antenna 40 in free space mode 360 whenever device 10 is not being held adjacent to the head of a user. If desired, processing may loop back to step 402 as shown by path 420 to continually monitor whether device 10 has been moved adjacent to the head of a user.
At step 410, control circuitry 28 may process the gathered data and information indicative of the operating environment of device 10 to determine whether device 10 is being held in the user's left hand or right hand. If control circuitry 28 determines that device 10 is being held in the user's left hand, processing may proceed to step 416 as shown by path 412. If control circuitry 28 determines that device 10 is being held in the user's right hand, processing may proceed to step 418 as shown by path 414.
At step 416, control circuitry 28 may place antenna 40 in left hand head mode 362. In other words, control circuitry 28 may operate antenna 40 in left hand head mode whenever device 10 is determined to be held in the user's left hand and adjacent to the user's head. If desired, processing may loop back to step 402 as shown by path 420 to continually monitor device 10 for changes in operating environment. For example, control circuitry 28 may update the operating mode of antenna 40 when it is determined that device 10 has moved away from the user's head and/or been moved to the user's right hand.
At step 418, control circuitry 28 may place antenna 40 in right hand head mode 364. In other words, control circuitry 28 may operate antenna 40 in right hand head mode whenever device 10 is determined to be held in the user's right hand and adjacent to the user's head. If desired, processing may loop back to step 402 as shown by path 420 to continually monitor device 10 for changes in operating environment. For example, control circuitry 28 may update the operating mode of antenna 40 when it is determined that device 10 has moved away from the user's head and/or been moved to the user's left hand. In some scenarios, the gathered data indicative of the operating environment of device 10 may indicate that neither hand is adjacent to antenna 40 (e.g., that the user is not holding device 10 even though control circuitry 28 determined that device 10 is adjacent to the user's head). In this scenario, processing may jump to step 406 to place antenna 40 in free space mode 360. If desired, control circuitry may adjust the transmit power level of antenna 40 based on the gathered information and data indicative of the operating environment of device 10 (e.g., to minimize signal absorption by the user's body while also ensuring satisfactory communications link quality and conserving battery power). In this way, control circuitry 28 may continually monitor the operating environment of device 10 to ensure that antenna 40 has satisfactory antenna efficiency in each band of interest regardless of how device 10 is being held by a user.
The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 62/398,375, filed Sep. 22, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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| 62398375 | Sep 2016 | US |
