Patent Grant
11228093
Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119, this application claims the benefit of an earlier filing date and right of priority to International Application No. PCT/KR2020/006396, filed on May 15, 2020, the contents of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to an electronic device having antennas. One particular implementation relates to an antenna arrangement in an electronic device with a rollable or foldable device.
Electronic devices may be divided into mobile/portable terminals and stationary terminals according to mobility. Also, the electronic device may be classified into handheld types and vehicle mount types according to whether or not a user can directly carry.
Functions of electronic devices are diversified. Examples of such functions include data and voice communications, capturing images and video via a camera, recording audio, playing music files via a speaker system, and displaying images and video on a display. Some mobile terminals include additional functionality which supports electronic game playing, while other terminals are configured as multimedia players. Specifically, in recent time, mobile terminals can receive broadcast and multicast signals to allow viewing of video or television programs.
As it becomes multifunctional, an electronic device can be allowed to capture still images or moving images, play music or video files, play games, receive broadcast and the like, so as to be implemented as an integrated multimedia player.
Efforts are ongoing to support and increase the functionality of electronic devices. Such efforts include software and hardware improvements, as well as changes and improvements in the structural components.
In addition to those attempts, the electronic devices provide various services in recent years by virtue of commercialization of wireless communication systems using an LTE communication technology. In the future, it is expected that a wireless communication system using a 5G communication technology will be commercialized to provide various services. Meanwhile, some of LTE frequency bands may be allocated to provide 5G communication services.
In this regard, mobile terminals may be configured to provide 5G communication services in various frequency bands. Recently, attempts have been made to provide 5G communication services using a Sub-6 band below a 6 GHz band. In the future, it is also expected to provide 5G communication services by using a millimeter wave (mmWave) band in addition to the Sub-6 band for faster data rate.
Recently, flexible displays which are largely deformable by virtue of sufficient elasticity have been developed. The flexible display may be deformed to a degree that it can be rolled. A mobile terminal accommodates the rolled flexible display and allows the display to protrude to outside of a body to a desired size. Accordingly, the electronic device may have a more compact structure by using such a flexible display. In addition, by including such a rollable display, the mobile terminal can be called a rollable electronic device.
To use such a rollable electronic device, the display can be drawn out of the body, and simultaneously be expanded to a size desired by a user. However, the display may be expanded in various directions by the user, and a relative orientation or arrangement of the display with respect to the user may also vary depending on an expanded direction. Therefore, in order to show an intended content or screen to the user well, the mobile terminal needs to orient the content or screen on the display in consideration of the changing display or the relative orientation of the user. Furthermore, the mobile terminal also needs to adjust the oriented content in consideration of an expanded direction and orientation.
Meanwhile, such a rollable electronic device may also provide 5G communication services. An antenna operating in a 5G Sub-6 band may be provided in the form of a metal rim on a side surface of the rollable device. However, when existing LTE antennas and some 5G antennas are already provided in the form of metal rims on side surfaces of the electronic device, a space limitation problem may occur for some of the antennas operating in the Sub-6 band.
On the other hand, an antenna module, which operates in an mmWave band, needs to be provided in a rollable electronic device, in addition to the LTE antenna and the 5G Sub-6 antenna. In this regard, the antenna module operating in the mmWave band should be disposed inside the electronic device. In this case, there is a problem that interference may occur between the mmWave antenna module and the metal rims for the LTE antenna and the 5G Sub-6 antenna.
On the other hand, heat may be generated by Radio Frequency (RF) signals transmitted to the mmWave antenna module and the antennas implemented as the metal rims. In this regard, there is a problem that heat is difficult to be released (dissipated, discharged) to outside by a mechanical structure supporting the mmWave antenna module.
One aspect of the present disclosure is to solve the aforementioned problems and other drawbacks. Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an electronic device having a plurality of antennas, which can be implemented as a metal frame of the electronic device, and an mmWave antenna module.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an antenna structure capable of securing characteristics of antennas disposed in a rollable device.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an antenna structure capable of maintaining antenna performance when a display region of a rollable device is expanded and reduced in a rollable device.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an antenna structure capable of securing antenna performance in a display structure with a minimized bezel region in a rollable device.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an antenna arrangement structure capable of minimizing radio wave interference in a rollable device when a user grips an electronic device.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a structure for reducing heat generation due to RF signals when a plurality of antennas and an mmWave antenna module are disposed.
An electronic device for solving the aforementioned problems is provided. The electronic device according to one embodiment may include a conductive member antenna implemented as one of a plurality of metal rims and configured to radiate a signal, and an antenna module disposed between the metal frame and a sliding module of the electronic device, and configured to radiate a signal in a millimeter wave (mmWave) band.
According to one implementation, the electronic device may further include a plurality of frames including a first frame, a second frame slidable in a first direction relative to the first frame, and a third frame located on a rear surface of the second frame and moving in the first direction relative to the second frame. One of the first frame and the third frame may be disposed on a side surface of the electronic device and configured as a metal frame having the plurality of metal rims.
According to one implementation, the sliding module may be coupled to the conductive member antenna and disposed between the conductive member antenna and a moving portion of the electronic device to operate as a slide support portion. The slide support portion may be in contact with the antenna module to fix the antenna module, and partially inserted into the metal frame.
According to one implementation, the sliding module may include a cover slide partially inserted into the metal frame and configured to surround a rear surface of the metal frame.
According to one implementation, the sliding module may further include a rolling plate coupled to the cover slide and configured to arrange a rear display thereon.
According to one implementation, the antenna module may be disposed on a seating portion of the metal frame, separated from the conductive member antenna disposed on an upper end portion of the electronic device.
According to one implementation, the electronic device may further include a dielectric portion disposed to be coupled to the conductive member antenna and defining appearance of an upper end portion of the electronic device. The antenna module may radiate a signal through a side surface of the upper end portion via the dielectric portion.
According to one implementation, the metal frame may be implemented as a front cover of the electronic device and the dielectric portion may be implemented by a dielectric mold portion surrounding the front cover and a second dielectric mold portion.
According to one implementation, the dielectric portion may be formed longer than the antenna module. The dielectric portion and the metal frame may be coupled to each other in a first region of the upper end portion where the antenna module is not disposed. The antenna module may be disposed between the dielectric portion and the metal frame in a second region of the upper end portion where the antenna module is disposed.
According to one implementation, the electronic device may further include a front glass cover configured to surround the front cover. The electronic device may further include a cover frame disposed between the front glass cover and the metal frame. The electronic device may further include a front display disposed between the seating portion of the cover frame and the front glass cover.
According to one implementation, the electronic device may further include a circuit board disposed in a part of a slot region of the metal frame and electrically connected to the conductive member antenna to transmit a signal. The circuit board may further include a switch module configured to be switched on or off so that the conductive member antenna operates in different bands.
According to one implementation, the electronic device may further include a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) disposed in the slot region where the circuit board is not disposed and configured to transmit a signal to the antenna module.
According to one implementation, the flexible printed circuit board may have one end portion disposed perpendicular to the electronic device so as to be electrically connected to antenna elements within the antenna module.
According to one implementation, the flexible printed circuit board may have another end portion disposed in parallel to the circuit board, so as to be electrically connected to the circuit board. The flexible printed circuit board may be bent in a region between one end portion thereof disposed perpendicular to the electronic device and the another end portion disposed in parallel to the circuit board. The bent flexible printed circuit board may be disposed between the metal frame and the sliding module inserted into the metal frame.
According to one implementation, the electronic device may further include a flexible display having a first region coupled to a front surface of the first frame, a second region coupled to the third frame, and a third region located between the first region and the second region. The flexible display may further include a front display provided on a front surface of the electronic device and a rear display provided on a rear surface of the electronic device.
According to one implementation, the electronic device may further include a plurality of antennas configured as the plurality of metal rims on a fixed portion of the electronic device. The plurality of antennas may include a first antenna disposed on one side region and a lower region of the electronic device, and a second antenna spaced apart from one end portion of the first antenna and disposed on the lower region. The plurality of antennas may further include a third antenna spaced apart from another end portion of the first antenna and disposed on the one side region.
According to one implementation, the electronic device may further include a main circuit board disposed inside the electronic device, and electrically connected to the circuit board and the flexible printed circuit board. The electronic device may further include a transceiver circuit disposed on the main circuit board and configured to control a signal transmitted to the conductive member antenna and the antenna module, and a processor operably coupled to the transceiver circuit and configured to control the transceiver circuit.
According to one implementation, the processor may be operably coupled to the transceiver circuit and control the transceiver circuit to perform an EN-DC operation through the first to third antennas.
According to one implementation, the electronic device may further include a fourth antenna spaced from one end portion of the second conductive member adjacent to the third antenna, and disposed on the one side region. The processor may control the transceiver circuit to perform Multi-input and Multi-output (MIMO) and Carrier Aggregation (CA) through at least two of the first to fourth antennas.
According to one implementation, the electronic device may further include a fifth antenna spaced apart from one end portion of the fourth antenna and disposed on the one side region and an upper region of the electronic device, and a sixth antenna spaced apart from one end portion of the fifth antenna and disposed on the upper region. The processor may control the transceiver circuit to perform diversity in an LTE communication system through the fifth antenna and the sixth antenna. The processor may control the transceiver circuit to perform communication in an mmWave band through the antenna module disposed adjacent to the conductive member antenna corresponding to the sixth antenna.
According to one implementation, the electronic device may further include a second antenna module disposed to be spaced apart a predetermined interval from the plurality of antennas disposed on the one side region, and configured to radiate a signal in the millimeter wave band. The processor may control first and second beams to be directed to different directions by performing beamforming through the first antenna module and the second antenna module. The processor may control the transceiver circuit to perform Multi-input and Multi-output (MIMO) or diversity through the first beam and the second beam.
According to the present disclosure, various communication systems can be supported by arranging a plurality of antennas, which can be implemented as a metal frame of an electronic device, and a plurality of mmWave antenna modules disposed in the electronic device.
According to the present disclosure, an antenna structure capable of securing characteristics of antennas disposed in a rollable device can be provided, thereby minimizing interference among a plurality of antennas while optimizing performance of the plurality of antennas.
According to the present disclosure, an antenna structure capable of maintaining antenna performance in a rollable device can be provided, thereby maintaining stable communication performance even when a display region is expanded or reduced.
According to the present disclosure, an antenna structure capable of securing antenna performance in a display structure with a minimized bezel region in a rollable device can be provided, thereby minimizing an antenna arrangement space.
According to the present disclosure, antenna performance can be improved without changing a mechanical structure and design factors of an electronic device such as a rollable device.
According to the present disclosure, an antenna arrangement structure capable of minimizing radio wave interference when a user grips an electronic device can be provided.
According to the present disclosure, an mmWave antenna can be mounted on a seating portion of a metal frame when a plurality of antennas and the mmWave antenna module are disposed, thereby reducing heat generation due to RF signals.
According to the present disclosure, E-UTRAN NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC), carrier aggregation (CA), and Multiple-input and Multi-output (MIMO) can be supported in a rollable device without changing a mechanical structure and a design shape.
Further scope of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, such as the preferred embodiment of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
Description will now be given in detail according to exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, with reference to the accompanying drawings. For the sake of brief description with reference to the drawings, the same or equivalent components may be provided with the same or similar reference numbers, and description thereof will not be repeated. In general, a suffix such as “module” and “unit” may be used to refer to elements or components. Use of such a suffix herein is merely intended to facilitate description of the specification, and the suffix itself is not intended to give any special meaning or function. In describing the present disclosure, if a detailed explanation for a related known function or construction is considered to unnecessarily divert the gist of the present disclosure, such explanation has been omitted but would be understood by those skilled in the art. The accompanying drawings are used to help easily understand the technical idea of the present disclosure and it should be understood that the idea of the present disclosure is not limited by the accompanying drawings. The idea of the present disclosure should be construed to extend to any alterations, equivalents and substitutes besides the accompanying drawings.
It will be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are generally only used to distinguish one element from another.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected with” another element, the element can be connected with the another element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected with” another element, there are no intervening elements present.
A singular representation may include a plural representation unless it represents a definitely different meaning from the context.
Terms such as “include” or “has” are used herein and should be understood that they are intended to indicate an existence of several components, functions or steps, disclosed in the specification, and it is also understood that greater or fewer components, functions, or steps may likewise be utilized.
Electronic devices presented herein may be implemented using a variety of different types of terminals. Examples of such devices include cellular phones, smart phones, user equipment, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable multimedia players (PMPs), navigators, portable computers (PCs), slate PCs, tablet PCs, ultra books, wearable devices (for example, smart watches, smart glasses, head mounted displays (HMDs)), and the like.
By way of non-limiting example only, further description will be made with reference to particular types of mobile terminals. However, such teachings apply equally to other types of terminals, such as those types noted above. In addition, these teachings may also be applied to stationary terminals such as digital TV, desktop computers, and the like.
Referring to
Meanwhile, referring to
Referring to
In more detail, among others, the wireless communication module 110 may typically include one or more modules which permit communications such as wireless communications between the electronic device 100 and a wireless communication system, communications between the electronic device 100 and another electronic device, or communications between the electronic device 100 and an external server. Further, the wireless communication module 110 may typically include one or more modules which connect the electronic device 100 to one or more networks. Here, the one or more networks may be a 4G communication network and a 5G communication network, for example.
Referring to
The 4G wireless communication module 111 may perform transmission and reception of 4G signals with a 4G base station through a 4G mobile communication network. In this case, the 4G wireless communication module 111 may transmit at least one 4G transmission signal to the 4G base station. In addition, the 4G wireless communication module 111 may receive at least one 4G reception signal from the 4G base station. In this regard, Uplink (UL) Multi-input and Multi-output (MIMO) may be performed by a plurality of 4G transmission signals transmitted to the 4G base station. In addition, Downlink (DL) MIMO may be performed by a plurality of 4G reception signals received from the 4G base station.
The 5G wireless communication module 112 may perform transmission and reception of 5G signals with a 5G base station through a 5G mobile communication network. Here, the 4G base station and the 5G base station may have a Non-Stand-Alone (NSA) structure. For example, the 4G base station and the 5G base station may be a co-located structure in which the stations are disposed at the same location in a cell. Alternatively, the 5G base station may be disposed in a Stand-Alone (SA) structure at a separate location from the 4G base station.
The 5G wireless communication module 112 may perform transmission and reception of 5G signals with a 5G base station through a 5G mobile communication network. In this case, the 5G wireless communication module 112 may transmit at least one 5G transmission signal to the 5G base station. In addition, the 5G wireless communication module 112 may receive at least one 5G reception signal from the 5G base station.
In this instance, 5G and 4G networks may use the same frequency band, and this may be referred to as LTE re-farming. Meanwhile, a Sub-6 frequency band, which is a range of 6 GHz or less, may be used as the 5G frequency band.
On the other hand, a millimeter wave (mmWave) range may be used as the 5G frequency band to perform broadband high-speed communication. When the mmWave band is used, the electronic device 100 may perform beamforming for communication coverage expansion with a base station.
On the other hand, regardless of the 5G frequency band, 5G communication systems can support a larger number of Multi-input and Multi-output (MIMO) to improve a transmission rate. In this instance, UL MIMO may be performed by a plurality of 5G transmission signals transmitted to a 5G base station. In addition, DL MIMO may be performed by a plurality of 5G reception signals received from the 5G base station.
On the other hand, the wireless communication module 110 may be in a Dual Connectivity (DC) state with the 4G base station and the 5G base station through the 4G wireless communication module 111 and the 5G wireless communication module 112. As such, the dual connectivity with the 4G base station and the 5G base station may be referred to as E-UTRAN NR DC (EN-DC). Here, EUTRAN is an abbreviated form of “Evolved Universal Telecommunication Radio Access Network”, and refers to a 4G wireless communication system. Also, NR is an abbreviated form of “New Radio” and refers to a 5G wireless communication system.
On the other hand, if the 4G base station and 5G base station are disposed in a co-located structure, throughput improvement is achieved by inter-Carrier Aggregation (inter-CA). Accordingly, when the 4G base station and the 5G base station are disposed in the EN-DC state, the 4G reception signal and the 5G reception signal may be simultaneously received through the 4G wireless communication module 111 and the 5G wireless communication module 112.
The short-range communication module 113 is configured to facilitate short-range communications. Suitable technologies for implementing such short-range communications include Bluetooth, Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra-WideBand (UWB), ZigBee, Near Field Communication (NFC), Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, Wireless USB (Wireless Universal Serial Bus), and the like. The short-range communication module 114 in general supports wireless communications between the electronic device 100 and a wireless communication system, communications between the electronic device 100 and another electronic device, or communications between the electronic device and a network where another electronic device (or an external server) is located, via wireless area networks. One example of the wireless area networks is a wireless personal area network.
Meanwhile, short-range communication between electronic devices may be performed using the 4G wireless communication module 111 and the 5G wireless communication module 112. In one embodiment, short-range communication may be performed between electronic devices in a device-to-device (D2D) manner without passing through base stations.
Meanwhile, for transmission rate improvement and communication system convergence, Carrier Aggregation (CA) may be carried out using at least one of the 4G wireless communication module 111 and the 5G wireless communication module 112 and the WiFi communication module 113. In this regard, 4G+WiFi CA may be performed using the 4G wireless communication module 111 and the Wi-Fi communication module 113. Or, 5G+WiFi CA may be performed using the 5G wireless communication module 112 and the WiFi communication module 113.
The location information module 114 is generally configured to detect, calculate, derive or otherwise identify a position (or current position) of the electronic device. As an example, the location information module 115 includes a Global Position System (GPS) module, a Wi-Fi module, or both. For example, when the electronic device uses a GPS module, a position of the electronic device may be acquired using a signal sent from a GPS satellite. As another example, when the electronic device uses the Wi-Fi module, a position of the electronic device can be acquired based on information related to a wireless access point (AP) which transmits or receives a wireless signal to or from the Wi-Fi module. If desired, the location information module 114 may alternatively or additionally function with any of the other modules of the wireless communication module 110 to obtain data related to the position of the electronic device. The location information module 114 is a module used for acquiring the position (or the current position) of the electronic device and may not be limited to a module for directly calculating or acquiring the position of the electronic device.
Specifically, when the electronic device utilizes the 5G wireless communication module 112, the position of the electronic device may be acquired based on information related to the 5G base station which performs radio signal transmission or reception with the 5G wireless communication module. In particular, since the 5G base station of the mmWave band is deployed in a small cell having a narrow coverage, it is advantageous to acquire the position of the electronic device.
The input device 120 may include a pen sensor 1200, a key button 123, a voice input module 124, a touch panel 151a, and the like. On the other hand, the input device 120 may include a camera module 121 for inputting an image signal, a microphone 152c or an audio input module for inputting an audio signal, or a user input unit 123 (e.g., a touch key, a push key (or a mechanical key), etc.) for allowing a user to input information. Data (for example, audio, video, image, and the like) may be obtained by the input device 120 and may be analyzed and processed according to user commands.
The camera module 121 is a device capable of capturing still images and moving images. According to one embodiment, the camera module 121 may include one or more image sensors (e.g., a front sensor or a rear sensor), a lens, an image signal processor (ISP), or a flash (e.g., LED or lamp).
The sensor module 140 may typically be implemented using one or more sensors configured to sense internal information of the electronic device, the surrounding environment of the electronic device, user information, and the like. For example, the sensor module 140 includes at least one of a gesture sensor 340a, a gyro sensor 340b, an air pressure sensor 340c, a magnetic sensor 340d, an acceleration sensor 340e, a grip sensor 340f, and a proximity sensor 340g, a color sensor 340h (e.g. RGB (red, green, blue) sensor), a bio-sensor 340i, a temperature/humidity sensor 340j, an illuminance sensor 340k, an ultra violet (UV) sensor 340l, a light sensor 340m, and a hall sensor 340n. The sensor module 140 may also include at least one of a finger scan sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor (for example, camera 121), a microphone (see 152c), a battery gauge, an environment sensor (for example, a barometer, a hygrometer, a thermometer, a radiation detection sensor, a thermal sensor, and a gas sensor, among others), and a chemical sensor (for example, an electronic nose, a health care sensor, a biometric sensor, and the like). The electronic device disclosed herein may be configured to utilize information obtained from one or more sensors, and combinations thereof.
The output interface 150 may typically be configured to output various types of information, such as audio, video, tactile output, and the like. The output interface 150 may be shown having at least one of a display 151, an audio output module 152, a haptic module 153, and an indicator 154.
With regard to this, the display 151 may have an inter-layered structure or an integrated structure with a touch sensor in order to implement a touch screen. The touch screen may function as the user input unit 123 which provides an input interface between the electronic device 100 and the user and simultaneously provide an output interface between the electronic device 100 and a user. For example, the display 151 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, a microelectromechanical system (micro) electromechanical systems (MEMS) displays, or an electronic paper display. For example, the display 151 may display various contents (e.g., text, images, videos, icons, and/or symbols, etc.). The display 151 may include a touch screen, and may receive a touch, gesture, proximity, or hovering input using, for example, an electronic pen or a part of a user's body.
Meanwhile, the display 151 may include a touch panel 151a, a hologram device 151b, and a projector 151c and/or a control circuit for controlling them. In this regard, the panel may be implemented to be flexible, transparent, or wearable. The panel may include a touch panel 151a and one or more modules. The hologram device 151b may show a stereoscopic image in the air by using interference of light. The projector 151c may display an image by projecting light on a screen. The screen may be located, for example, inside or outside the electronic device 100.
The audio module 152 may be configured to interwork with the receiver 152a, the speaker 152b, and the microphone 152c. Meanwhile, the haptic module 153 may convert an electrical signal into a mechanical vibration, and generate a vibration or a haptic effect (e.g., pressure, texture). The electronic device may include a mobile TV supporting device (e.g., a GPU) that may process media data as per, e.g., digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), digital video broadcasting (DVB), or mediaFlo™ standards. The indicator 154 may indicate a particular state of the electronic device 100 or a part (e.g., the processor 310) of the electronic device, including, e.g., a booting state, a message state, or a recharging state.
The wired communication module 160 which may be implemented as an interface unit serves as a passage with various types of external devices connected to the electronic device 100. The wired communication module 160 may include an HDMI 162, a USB 162, a connector/port 163, an optical interface 164, or a D-sub (D-subminiature) 165. Also, the wired communication module 160, for example, may include any of wired or wireless ports, external power supply ports, wired or wireless data ports, memory card ports, ports for connecting a device having an identification module, audio input/output (I/O) ports, video I/O ports, earphone ports, and the like. In some cases, the electronic device 100 may perform assorted control functions associated with a connected external device, in response to the external device being connected to the wired communication module 160.
The memory 170 is typically implemented to store data to support various functions or features of the electronic device 100. For instance, the memory 170 may be configured to store application programs executed in the electronic device 100, data or instructions for operations of the electronic device 100, and the like. At least some of these application programs may be downloaded from an external server (e.g., a first server 310 or a second server 320) through wireless communication. Other application programs may be installed within the electronic device 100 at the time of manufacturing or shipping, which is typically the case for basic functions of the electronic device 100 (for example, receiving a call, placing a call, receiving a message, sending a message, and the like). It is common for application programs to be stored in the memory 170, installed in the electronic device 100, and executed by the controller 180 to perform an operation (or function) for the electronic device 100.
In this regard, the first server 310 may be referred to as an authentication server, and the second server 320 may be referred to as a content server. The first server 310 and/or the second server 320 may be interfaced with the electronic device through a base station. Meanwhile, a part of the second server 320 corresponding to the content server may be implemented as a mobile edge cloud (MEC) 330 in a base station unit. Accordingly, a distributed network may be implemented through the second server 320 implemented as the mobile edge cloud (MEC) 330, and content transmission delay may be shortened.
The memory 170 may include a volatile and/or nonvolatile memory. Also, the memory 170 may include an internal memory 170a and an external memory 170b. The memory 170 may store, for example, commands or data related to at least one of other components of the electronic device 100. According to one embodiment, the memory 170 may store software and/or a program 240. For example, the program 240 may include a kernel 171, middleware 172, an application programming interface (API) 173, an application program (or “application”) 174, or the like. At least one of the kernel 171, the middleware 172, or the API 174 may be referred to as an operating system (OS).
The kernel 171 may control or manage system resources (e.g., the bus, the memory 170, or the processor 180) that are used for executing operations or functions implemented in other programs (e.g., the middleware 172, the API 173, or the application program 174). In addition, the kernel 171 may provide an interface to control or manage system resources by accessing individual components of the electronic device 100 in the middleware 172, the API 173, or the application program 174.
The middleware 172 may function as an intermediary so that the API 173 or the application program 174 communicates with the kernel 171 to exchange data. Also, the middleware 172 may process one or more task requests received from the application program 247 according to priorities. In one embodiment, the middleware 172 may give at least one of the application programs 174 a priority to use the system resources (e.g., the bus, the memory 170, or the processor 180) of the electronic device 100, and process one or more task requests. The API 173 is an interface for the application program 174 to control functions provided by the kernel 171 or the middleware 1723, for example, at least one for file control, window control, image processing, or text control. Interface or function, for example Command).
The processor 180 typically functions to control an overall operation of the electronic device 100, in addition to the operations associated with the application programs. The processor 180 may provide or process information or functions appropriate for a user by processing signals, data, information and the like, which are input or output by the foregoing components, or executing application programs stored in the memory 170. Furthermore, the processor 180 may control at least part of the components illustrated in
The processor 180 may include one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), an image signal processor (ISP), a communication processor (CP), and a low power processor (e.g., sensor hub). For example, the processor 180 may execute a control of at least one of other components and/or an operation or data processing related to communication.
The power supply unit 190 may be configured to receive external power or provide internal power in order to supply appropriate power required for operating elements and components included in the electronic device 100. The power supply unit 190 may include a power management module 191 and a battery 192, and the battery 192 may be an embedded battery or a replaceable battery. The power management module 191 may include a power management integrated circuit (PMIC), a charging IC, or a battery or fuel gauge. The PMIC may have a wired and/or wireless recharging scheme. The wireless charging scheme may include, e.g., a magnetic resonance scheme, a magnetic induction scheme, or an electromagnetic wave based scheme, and an additional circuit, such as a coil loop, a resonance circuit, a rectifier, or the like may be added for wireless charging. The battery gauge may measure an amount of remaining power of the battery 396, and a voltage, a current, or a temperature while the battery 396 is being charged. The battery 396 may include, e.g., a rechargeable battery or a solar battery.
Each of the external device 100a, the first server 310, and the second server 320 may be the same or different type of device (e.g., external device or server) as or from the electronic device 100. According to an embodiment, all or some of operations executed on the electronic device 100 may be executed on another or multiple other electronic devices (e.g., the external device 100a, the first server 310 and the second server 320. According to an embodiment, when the electronic device 100 should perform a specific function or service automatically or at a request, the electronic device 100, instead of executing the function or service on its own or additionally, may request another device (e.g., the external device 100a, the first server 310, and the second server 320) to perform at least some functions associated therewith. The another electronic device (e.g., the external device 100a, the first server 310, and the second server 320) may execute the requested function or additional function and transfer a result of the execution to the electronic device 100. The electronic device 100 may provide the requested function or service by processing the received result as it is or additionally. To that end, a cloud computing, distributed computing, client-server computing, or mobile-edge cloud (MEC) technology may be used, for example.
At least part of the components may cooperably operate to implement an operation, a control or a control method of an electronic device according to various embodiments disclosed herein. Also, the operation, the control or the control method of the electronic device may be implemented on the electronic device by an activation of at least one application program stored in the memory 170.
Referring to
The electronic device 100 may include at least one of an external device authentication module 100-1, a content/function/policy information DB 100-2, an external device information DB 100-3, or a content DB 104. The at least one external device 100a, as an assistant apparatus associated with the electronic device 100, may be a device designed for various purposes, such as ease of use, increased appearance aesthetics, and enhanced usability of the electronic device 100. The at least one external device 100a may or may not be in physical contact with the electronic device 100. According to one embodiment, the at least one external device 100a may be functionally connected to the electronic device 100 using a wired/wireless communication module to control information for controlling content or a function in the electronic device 100.
According to one embodiment, the at least one external device 100a may include an authentication module for encrypting/decrypting at least one of various pieces of information included in the external device information, or storing or managing it in a physical/virtual memory area that is not directly accessible from the outside. According to one embodiment, the at least one external device 100a may perform communication with the electronic device 100 or may provide information through communication between the external devices. According to one embodiment, the at least one external device 100a may be functionally connected to the server 410 or 320. In various embodiments, the at least one external device 100a may be various types of products such as a cover case, an NFC dongle, a car charger, an earphone, an ear cap (e.g., an accessory device mounted on a mobile phone audio connector), a thermometer, an electronic pen, a BT earphone, a BT speaker, a BT dongle, a TV, a refrigerator, and a WiFi dongle.
In this regard, for example, the external device 100a such as a wireless charger may supply power to the electronic device 100 through a charging interface such as a coil. In this case, control information may be exchanged between the external device 100a and the electronic device 100 through in-band communication through a charging interface such as a coil. Meanwhile, control information may be exchanged between the external device 100a and the electronic device 100 through out-of-band communication such as Bluetooth or NFC.
On the other hand, the first server 310 may include a server or a cloud device for a service associated with the at least one external device 100a, or a hub device for controlling a service in a smart home environment. The first server 310 may include at least one of an external device authentication module 311, a content/function/policy information DB 312, an external device information DB 313, and an electronic device/user DB 314. The first server 310 may be referred to as an authentication management server, an authentication server, or an authentication related server. The second server 320 may include a server or cloud device for providing a service or content, or a hub device for providing a service in a smart home environment. The second server 320 may include at least one of a content DB 321, an external device specification information DB 322, a content/function/policy information management module 323, and a device/user authentication/management module 324. The second server 130 may be referred to as a content management server, a content server, or a content related server.
On the other hand, the electronic device 100 described herein may maintain a connection state between a 4G base station (eNB) and a 5G base station (eNB) through the 4G wireless communication module 111 and/or the 5G wireless communication module 112. In this regard, as described above,
Referring to
The NR frequency band is defined as a frequency range of two types (FR1, FR2). The FR1 is a Sub-6 GHz range, and the FR2 is a range of above 6 GHz, which may denote millimeter waves (mmWs).
Operating bands for dual connectivity may be specified to operate in EN-DC, NGEN-DC, or NR-DC configuration. EN-DC or NGEN-DC band combinations may include at least one E-UTRA operating band. Specifically, operating bands for intra-band contiguous EN-DC, intra-band non-contiguous EN-DC, inter-band EN-DC in FR1, inter-band EN-DC including FR2, inter-band EN-DC including FR1 and FR2, and inter-band EN-DC between FR1 and FR2 may be defined.
A UE channel bandwidth for EN-DC may be defined. In this regard, a UE channel bandwidth for intra-band EN-DC in FR1 may be defined. Channel arrangements for DC may be defined. In this regard, channel spacing for intra-band EN-DC carriers may be defined.
The configuration for EN-DC may be defined. Specifically, configurations for intra-band contiguous EN-DC, intra-band non-contiguous EN-DC, inter-band EN-DC in FR1, inter-band EN-DC including FR2, inter-band EN-DC including FR1 and FR2, and inter-band EN-DC between FR1 and FR2 may be defined.
As an example, UL EN-DC configuration may be defined for 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 bands in FR1. In this regard, the UL EN-DC configuration for 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 bands in FR1 may be made of a combination of EUTRA and NR configurations. This EN-DC, NGEN-DC, or NR-DC configuration may also be defined for downlink (DL) as well as uplink (UL).
Transmitter power may be defined in relation to EN-DC. UE maximum output power and UE maximum output power reduction may be defined for each configuration of the above-described EN-DCs. UE additional maximum output power reduction may be defined in relation to EN-DC. Configured output power for EN-DC and configured output power for NR-DC may be defined.
With regard to the base station type, the eNB is a 4G base station, which is also called an LTE eNB, and is based on the Rel-8-Rel-14 standard. On the other hand, ng-eNB is an eNB capable of interworking with a 5GC and gNB, which is also called an eLTE eNB, and is based on the Rel-15 standard. Furthermore, the gNB is a 5G base station interworking with a 5G NR and 5GC, which is also called an NR gNB, and is based on the Rel-15 standard. In addition, the en-gNB is a gNB capable of interworking with an EPC and an eNB, also called an NR gNB, and is based on the Rel-15 standard. With regard to the Dual Connectivity (DC) type, option 3 represents E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC). Option 7 represents NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (NGEN-DC). Furthermore, option 4 represents NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity (NE-DC). Furthermore, option 2 represents NR-NR Dual Connectivity (NR-DC). In this regard, the technical features of double connection according to option 2 through option 7 are as follows.
There are three types of option 3, which are options 3/3a/3x, depending on the user traffic split schemes. Bearer split is applied to options 3/3x, but is not applied to option 3a. The main scheme is option 7x.
Option 3a: Both the eNB and the gNB are connected to the EPC, and thus user traffic is directly transferred from the EPC to the gNB. User traffic is transmitted to LTE or NR.
Option 3x: It is a combination of option 3 and option 3a, which differs from Option 3 in that user traffic is split at the secondary node (gNB).
The advantages of option 3 are i) that LTE can be used as a capacity booster for eMBB services, and ii) the terminal is always connected to LTE to provide service continuity through LTE even if it is out of 5G coverage or NR quality deteriorates so as to provide stable communication.
Compared to the second state, the roll-slide mobile terminal 100 in the first state has a smaller size in a first direction. The roll-slide mobile terminal 100 in the second state expands in size in the first direction, and the display 151 disposed on the front surface of the mobile terminal 100 increases in size more than that in the first state. A direction in which the roll-slide mobile terminal 100 expands is referred to as the first direction and a direction in which the roll-slide electronic device 100 is contracted to switch its state from the second state to the first state is referred to as a second direction. Also, a direction perpendicular to those directions is referred to as a third direction.
The roll-slide electronic device 100 of the present disclosure may be switched from a first state in which the display is located on the front surface, like a bar-type mobile terminal, into to a second state in which its screen is expanded as illustrated in (b) of
As such, a flexible display to be bent or curved may be used as the display 151 so that the position of the display can vary. The flexible display refers to a durable display that is lightweight and does not break easily by being fabricated on a thin, flexible substrate, such as paper, which is bent, curved, folded, twisted or rolled while maintaining characteristics of an existing flat panel display.
In addition, an electronic paper is a display to which general ink characteristics are applied, and is different from the existing flat panel display in view of using reflected light. The electronic paper may change information by using a twist ball or electrophoresis (electrophoresis) using a capsule.
In a state where the flexible display 151 is not deformed (e.g., a state having an infinite radius of curvature, hereinafter, referred to as a default state), the display region of the flexible display is flat. When the default state is switched to a state where the flexible display is deformed by an external force (e.g., a state having a finite radius of curvature, hereinafter, referred to as a deformed state), the display region may be curved. As illustrated in the drawing, information displayed in the deformed state may be visual information output on a curved surface. Such visual information is realized by independently controlling an emission of unit pixels (sub-pixels) arranged in a matrix form. The unit pixel denotes an elementary unit for representing one color.
The flexible display 151 may be placed in a curved state (e.g., curved up or down or to left or right), other than a flat state, in the default state. In this case, if an external force is applied to the flexible display 151, the flexible display 151 may be deformed into a flat state (or a less curved state) or a more curved state.
Meanwhile, the flexible display 151 may be combined with a touch sensor to implement a flexible touch screen. When a touch is input to the flexible touch screen, the controller 180 (see
A touch sensor senses a touch (or a touch input) applied to the touch screen using at least one of a variety of touch methods. Examples of such touch methods include a resistive type, a capacitive type, an infrared type, an ultrasonic type, and a magnetic field type, among others.
As one example, the touch sensor may be configured to convert changes of pressure applied to a specific part of the display 151, or convert capacitance occurring at a specific part of the display 151, into electric input signals. The touch sensor may also be configured to sense not only a touched position and a touched area, but also touch pressure and/or touch capacitance.
Meanwhile, the roll-slide electronic device 100 according to this varied embodiment may be provided with a deformation detecting unit to detect the deformation of the flexible display 151. The deformation detecting unit may be included in the sensing unit 140 (see
The deformation detecting unit may be provided in the flexible display 151 or the case 201 to detect information related to deformation of the flexible display 151. Here, the information related to the deformation may be a deformed direction of the flexible display 151, a deformed degree, a deformed position, a deformed time, and an acceleration at which the deformed flexible display 151 is restored. In addition, the deformation-related information may be various information which can be detectable due to the flexible display 151 being curved. In addition, the controller 180 may change information displayed on the flexible display 151 or generate a control signal for controlling the function of the electronic device 100 based on the information related to the deformation of the flexible display 151 detected by the deformation detecting unit.
The state of the flexible display 151 is not always changed by the external force. For example, when the flexible display 151 is in the first state, the first state may be changed to the second state by a command of a user or an application. In this way, in order to deform the flexible display without an external force, a driving unit 210 may be provided.
The flexible display 151 disclosed herein may be bent by 180 degrees so as to be partially located on the front surface of the roll-slide electronic device 100 and partially located on the rear surface of the roll-slide electronic device 100. The flexible display 151 has a fixed area. Accordingly, if an area of the flexible display 151 located on the front surface is increased, an area of the flexible display 151 located on the rear surface is decreased.
As the flexible display 151 covers even the rear surface as well as the front surface, a space in which an antenna implemented on the rear case may be mounted is limited. Instead, the antenna may be implemented on the flexible display 151. An antenna on display (AOD) is an antenna in which a patterned electrode layer and a dielectric layer are layered to form a transparent film. The AOD can be implemented thinner than a laser direct structuring (LDS) antenna which is implemented by the existing copper nickel plating method, so it has the advantage of not appearing outside without affecting a thickness. In addition, the AOD antenna can transmit and receive signals even in a direction in which the display is located, and can be used in a terminal having a display located on both surfaces as illustrated in the present disclosure.
The first frame 101 and the second frame 102 may include a front surface portion, a rear surface portion, and side surface portions, and may define appearance of the hexahedral roll-slide electronic device 100. In the flexible display 151, a first region 1511 located on one side is fixed to a front surface of the first frame 101. A third region 1513 neighboring the first region 1511 in the first direction partially covers a front surface of the second frame 102 and partially covers a rear surface of the second frame 102.
A second region located on another side of the flexible display 151 is located on the rear surface of the electronic device. The second region is not directly coupled to the second frame 102 but coupled to the third frame 103. The third frame 103 is a plate-shaped member that is slidably coupled to the rear surface of the second frame 102 in the first direction. As illustrated in (b) of
In summary, the flexible display 151 includes a first region 1511 fixed to the first frame 101, a second region 1512 fixed to the third frame 103, and a third region 1513 located between the first region 1511 and the second region 1512 and disposed on the front or rear surface depending on the state of the roll-slide electronic device 100.
The first region 1511 and the second region 1512 are maintained in a flat default state without any change in curvature, but the third region 1513 is bent from another side of the second frame 102 and curved to the rear surface. When switching from the first state to the second state, the third region 1513 located in the first direction with respect to the first region 1511 is widened. A bent position of the third area 1513 may vary depending on a sliding position of the second frame 102. In case of a foldable electronic device 100 which is opened like a book, a force is repeatedly applied to a specific position, causing a great risk of damage. On the other hand, a bent portion of the flexible display 151 disclosed herein varies depending on the state of the electronic device 100, thereby reducing fatigue due to deformation applied intensively to one position. This may result in preventing damage to the flexible display 151.
The first frame 101 may include a first front surface portion 1011 to which the first region 1511 of the flexible display 151 is coupled, a first rear surface portion 1012 exposed to outside on the rear surface even in the first state as illustrated in (a) of
Since the first rear surface portion 1012 is always exposed to the outside, a camera 121, a flash, a proximity sensor 141, and the like may be disposed on the first rear surface portion 1012. In a typical bar-type terminal, since a display is provided only on one side, cameras are required on both rear and front surfaces to photograph a user as well as an object located on an opposite side of the user.
However, the roll-slide electronic device 100 disclosed herein has the flexible display 151 located even on the rear surface, which may allow the user not only to photograph an object located at an opposite side of the user but also to photograph himself/herself using the single camera. The camera may include a plurality of cameras having different angles of view, such as a wide angle, a super-wide angle, and telephoto. In addition to the camera, a proximity sensor, a sound output module, or the like may be located on the first rear surface portion 1012, and an antenna 116 may also be provided on the first rear surface portion 1012.
The first frame 101 may include a side surface portion 1014 surrounding a periphery thereof. The side surface portion 1014 covers both sides of the first frame 101 in the third direction and a side surface of one side of the first frame 101 in the first direction, except for an end portion of the first frame in the first direction in which the second frame 102 is slid in and out, thereby defining appearance of the roll-slide electronic device 100. The side surface portion 1014 may be provided with an interface for connecting a power port or an ear jack or a user input unit such as a volume button. When a metal material is included, the side surface portion 1014 may serve as an antenna.
The second frame 102 may include a second front surface portion 1021 located on a rear surface of the first front surface portion 1011 and a third rear surface portion 1022 covering a rear surface of the second rear surface portion 1013. The second front surface portion 1021 supports the rear surface of the expanded flexible display 151 of the front surface portion when switched to the second state. That is, the second front surface portion 1021 supports the third region 1513 of the flexible display 151 in the second state.
The third region 1513 of the flexible display 151 may be rolled on an end portion of the second frame 102 in the first direction, and a cylindrical roller 1028 may be provided so that the rolled portion is gently bent with a predetermined curvature.
The roller 1028 may be located on the end portion of the second frame 102 in the first direction and brought into contact with an inner surface of the flexible display 151. Accordingly, the roller 1028 can rotate, in response to the movement of the flexible display 151, so that the flexible display 151 can be slid from the rear surface to the front surface or from the front surface to the rear surface during the sliding of the second frame 102.
Since the flexible display 151 rolled on the roller 1028 is located on an end portion of the roll-slide electronic device 100 in the first direction, there is a risk of damage when an impact is applied, for example, when the roll-slide electronic device 100 is dropped. In order to prevent such damage, as illustrated in
Meanwhile, the electronic device includes a plurality of low noise amplifiers (LNAs) 410 to 440 in the receiver. Here, the first power amplifier 1210, the second power amplifier 1220, the RFIC 1250, and the plurality of low noise amplifiers 1310 to 1340 are all operable in a first communication system and a second communication system. In this case, the first communication system and the second communication system may be a 4G communication system and a 5G communication system, respectively.
As illustrated in
On the other hand, when the RFIC 1250 is configured as the 4G/5G separated type, the separated RFIDs may be referred to as 4G RFIC and 5G RFIC, respectively. In particular, when a band difference between the 5G band and the 4G band is large, such as when the 5G band is configured as a millimeter wave (mmWave) band, the RFIC 1250 may be configured as a 4G/5G separation type. As such, when the RFIC 1250 is configured as a 4G/5G separation type, there is an advantage that the RF characteristics can be optimized for each of the 4G band and the 5G band.
Meanwhile, even when the RFIC 1250 is configured as a 4G/5G separation type, the 4G RFIC and the 5G RFIC may be logically and functionally separated but physically implemented on a single chip.
On the other hand, the application processor (AP) 1450 is configured to control the operation of each component of the electronic device. Specifically, the application processor (AP) 1450 may control the operation of each component of the electronic device through the modem 1400.
For example, the modem 1400 may be controlled through a power management IC (PMIC) for low power operation of the electronic device. Accordingly, the modem 1400 may operate the power circuits of the transmitter and the receiver in a low power mode through the RFIC 1250.
In this regard, when it is determined that the electronic device is in an idle mode, the application processor (AP) 500 may control the RFIC 1250 through the modem 300 as follows. For example, when the electronic device is in an idle mode, the application processor 280 may control the RFIC 1250 through the modem 300, such that at least one of the first and second power amplifiers 110 and 120 operates in the low power mode or is turned off.
According to another embodiment, the application processor (AP) 500 may control the modem 300 to provide wireless communication capable of performing low power communication when the electronic device is in a low battery mode. For example, when the electronic device is connected to a plurality of entities among a 4G base station, a 5G base station, and an access point, the application processor (AP) 1450 may control the modem 1400 to enable wireless communication at the lowest power. Accordingly, the application processor (AP) 500 may control the modem 1400 and the RFIC 1250 to perform short-range communication using only the short-range communication module 113, even at the expense of throughput.
According to another embodiment, when the remaining battery level of the electronic device is above the threshold, the modem 300 may be controlled to select an optimal wireless interface. For example, the application processor (AP) 1450 may control the modem 1400 to receive data through both the 4G base station and the 5G base station according to the remaining battery level and the available radio resource information. In this case, the application processor (AP) 1450 may receive the remaining battery information from the PMIC, and the available radio resource information from the modem 1400. Accordingly, when the remaining battery level and the available radio resources are sufficient, the application processor (AP) 500 may control the modem 1400 and the RFIC 1250 to receive data through both the 4G base station and 5G base station.
Meanwhile, the multi-transceiving system of
Furthermore, since the front-end parts can be controlled by an integrated transceiver, the front-end parts may be more efficiently integrated than when the transceiving system is separated by communication systems.
In addition, when separated by communication systems, it may be impossible to control other communication systems as required, or impossible to perform efficient resource allocation since system delay increases due to this. On the other hand, the multi-transceiving system as illustrated in
Meanwhile, the first power amplifier 1210 and the second power amplifier 1220 may operate in at least one of the first and second communication systems. In this regard, when the 5G communication system operates in a 4G band or a Sub-6 band, the first and second power amplifiers 1210 and 1220 may operate in both the first and second communication systems.
On the contrary, when the 5G communication system operates in a millimeter wave (mmWave) band, the first and second power amplifiers 1210, 1220 may operate in either the 4G band and the other in the millimeter wave band.
On the other hand, a transmitter and a receiver may be integrated to implement two different wireless communication systems using a single antenna using a dual transmit/receive antenna. In this case, 4×4 MIMO may be implemented using four antennas as illustrated in
In this regard, Multi-input and Multiple-output (MIMO) is a key technology to improve the throughput. In this regard,
It uses multiple antennas both on the transmitter and receiver sides, so as to enable multi-layer data transmission. NR supports multi-layer data transmission for a single UE (single-user MIMO) with a maximum of eight transmission layers for DL and four for UL. NR also supports multi-layer data transmission to multiple UEs on different layers (multi-user MIMO) using a maximum of twelve transmission layers for DL and UL transmissions.
Reference Signals (RSs) are specified by assuming multi-layer transmissions. For demodulation of date/control information for both uplink and downlink, demodulation RS (DM-RS) is supported. For measurement of channel state information of downlink, channel state information RS (CSI-RS) is supported. CSI-RS is also used for mobility measurement, measurement of gNB transmission beamforming, and frequency/time tracking. The CSI-RS used for the frequency/time tracking is named as tracking RS (TRS). In a high frequency range, phase noise is a problem that degrades the transmission performance. A phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS) is applied with respect to PDSCH and PUSCH to enable a receiver to track the phase and mitigate performance loss due to the phase noise. For uplink channel sounding, sounding RS (SRS) is supported.
For UL multi-layer data transmission, both codebook-based precoding and non-codebook-based precoding are supported. In codebook-based UL transmission, precoding matrix applied for PUSCH transmission is selected by gNB. In non-codebook-based UL transmission, precoded multiple SRS are transmitted and then the gNB selects a desired transmission layer for PUSCH based on the reception of the SRS.
Since NR supports a multi-beam operation where every signal/channel is transmitted on directional beam, beamforming is an important technique for achieving higher throughput and sufficient coverage especially in a high frequency range. For DL transmission beamforming, a gNB applies transmission beamforming to SS/PBCH block and/or CSI-RS transmissions, and a UE measures reference signal received power on a physical layer (L1-RSRP) on the configured SS/PBCH block and/or CSI-RS resource. The UE reports an SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS resource with a maximum L1-RSRP value as L1-RSRP beam reporting. The gNB can decide gNB transmission beamforming for the UE based on the reported L1-RSRP. For PDCCH/PDSCH transmission, the gNB informs the UE that the gNB transmission beamforming applied to a certain SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS resource is applied to the PDCCH/PDSCH transmission so that the UE can apply reception beamforming which fits into the gNB transmission beamforming. For UL transmission beamforming, two mechanisms are supported. In one of the mechanisms, the UE transmits multiple SRS symbols with different UE transmission beamforming so that the gNB can measure them and identify the best UE transmission beamforming. In another mechanism, the UE generates UL transmission beamforming which is the same as DL reception beamforming used for SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS resource reception. In addition, beam failure recovery (BFR) is supported to achieve quick recovery from the beam failure. The UE can identify the beam failure and informs the gNB of the index of SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS resource as new candidate beam.
For DL channel state information (CSI) acquisition, NR supports two precoding matrix indicator (PMI) definitions, type I and II codebooks that provide different levels of CSI granularity.
With respect to carrier aggregation (CA), 5-CA that aggregates up to 5 bands may be applied. The CA may be applied in combination with MIMO. Referring to
Meanwhile, 3-CA and 2-4×4 MIMO (2.6 GHz and 1.8 GHz) may support up to 900 Mbps. 3-CA may be supported for Bands 3, 5, and 7. 4×4 MIMO may be applied to Band 7.
Meanwhile, 4-CA and 2-4×4 MIMO supporting 1 Gbps may be supported. 4-CA may be supported for Bands 1, 3, 5, and 7. Bands 1, 3, 5, and 7 may have bandwidths of 10, 20, 10, and 20 MHz, respectively. 4×4 MIMO may be applied to Bands 3 and 7. In addition, 5-CA and 3-4×4 MIMO supporting 1.2 Gbps may be supported.
By aggregating 5 carriers and applying 256 QAM and 4×4 MIMO in all bands, a data rate can be improved up to 1.4 Gbps. However, a 4.5G or 5G data rate may be gradually improved depending on processing performance of a UE in use (e.g., the number of data streams that can be simultaneously processed).
The combination of CA and MIMO may be applied to 5G NR in addition to 4G LTE. CA and MIMO for 4G LTE or 5G NR may be referred to as intra-CA+MIMO. On the other hand, CA and MIMO for both 4G LTE and 5G NR may be referred to as inter-CA+MIMO.
Meanwhile, when the 5G band is a Sub-6 band, first to fourth antennas ANT1 to ANT4 may be configured to operate in both the 4G band and the 5G band. In this regard, UL-MIMO and/or DL-MIMO may be performed through the first to fourth antennas ANT1 to ANT4.
In the case of PC2 UE having two transmitting antennas in a closed-loop spatial multiplexing scheme, maximum output power for all transmission bandwidths in a channel bandwidth may be specified. These maximum output power requirements may comply with the specified UL-MIMO configuration. For UE supporting UL-MIMO, the maximum output power may be measured as the sum of maximum output power at each UE antenna connector. A measurement period may be defined as at least one subframe (1 ms), but is not limited thereto. In the case of UE having two transmitting antennas in a closed-loop spatial multiplexing scheme, the maximum power reduction (MPR) allowable for maximum output power may be specified. In the case of UE having two transmitting antennas in a closed loop spatial multiplexing scheme, a specific additional maximum output power reduction (A-MPR) value may be applied to specific maximum output power. In the case of UE supporting UL-MIMO, transmission power may be configured for each UE. Definitions of the configured maximum output power PCMAX, c, a lower limit PCMAX_L, c and an upper limit PCMAX_H, c may be applied to the UE supporting UL-MIMO.
Regarding the output power adjustment (dynamics) for UL-MIMO, the minimum output power for the UL-MIMO, transmission OFF power, transmission ON/OFF time mask, and power control may be applied. For UE having two transmitting antennas in a closed-loop spatial multiplexing scheme, the minimum output power is defined as the sum of an average power of each transmitting antenna in one subframe (1 ms). It may be controlled so that the minimum output power does not exceed a specific value.
If a 5G band is a mmWave band, UL-MIMO and/or DL-MIMO may be performed in the mmWave band through the first to fourth antennas ANT1 to ANT4. The operating band for UL-MIMO may be at least one of n257, n258, n260, and n261 bands. Transmission power for UL-MIMO may be defined. UE maximum power for UL-MIMO may be defined for each power class (PC). For PC1 UE, the UE maximum power may be defined as the maximum output power radiated by the UE using UL-MIMO for all transmission bandwidths within a channel bandwidth for non-CA configuration.
For each of PC1 UE to PC4 UE, the UE minimum peak EIRP (dBm) for UL-MIMO, UE maximum power limit, and UE spherical coverage may be defined for each band. In relation to these requirements, a measurement period may be at least one subframe (1 ms).
Meanwhile, a channel bandwidth for UL-MIMO and UE maximum power for modulation may be defined for each power class (PC). Regarding the output power adjustment (dynamics) for UL-MIMO, the minimum output power for the UL-MIMO, transmission OFF power, transmission ON/OFF time mask, and power control may be applied.
Each of the first to fourth antennas ANT1 to ANT4 may be configured as an array antenna. Meanwhile, 2×2 MIMO may be implemented using two antennas connected to the first power amplifier 1210 and the second power amplifier 1220 among the four antennas. At this time, 2×2 UL MIMO (2 Tx) may be performed through uplink (UL). Alternatively, the present disclosure is not limited to 2×2 UL MIMO, and may also be implemented as 1 Tx or 4 Tx. In this case, when the 5G communication system is implemented with 1 Tx, only one of the first and second power amplifiers 1210, 1220 may operate in the 5G band. Meanwhile, when the 5G communication system is implemented using 4Tx, an additional power amplifier operating in the 5G band may be further provided. Alternatively, a transmission signal may be branched in each of one or two transmission paths, and the branched transmission signals may be connected to the plurality of antennas.
On the other hand, a switch-type splitter or power divider is embedded in an RFIC corresponding to the RFIC 1250. Accordingly, a separate external component is not needed, thereby improving a component mounting configuration. In more detail, a single pole double throw (SPDT) type switch may be provided in the RFIC corresponding to the controller 1250 to select transmitters (TXs) of two different communication systems.
In addition, the electronic device that is operable in the plurality of wireless communication systems according to an embodiment may further include a duplexer 1231, a filter 1232, and a switch 1233.
The duplexer 1231 is configured to separate signals in a transmission band and a reception band from each other. In this case, signals in a transmission band transmitted through the first and second power amplifiers 1210 and 1220 are applied to the antennas ANT1 and ANT4 through a first output port of the duplexer 1231. On the contrary, signals in a reception band received through the antennas ANT1 and ANT4 are received by the low noise amplifiers 310 and 340 through a second output port of the duplexer 1231.
The filter 1232 may be configured to pass signals in a transmission band or a reception band and block signals in the remaining bands. In this case, the filter 1232 may include a transmission filter connected to the first output port of the duplexer 1231 and a reception filter connected to the second output port of the duplexer 1231. Alternatively, the filter 1232 may be configured to pass only signals in the transmission band or only signals in the reception band according to a control signal.
The switch 1233 is configured to transmit only one of the transmission signal and the reception signal. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the switch 1233 may be configured in a single-pole double-throw (SPDT) type to separate a transmission signal and a reception signal in a time division duplex (TDD) scheme. In this case, the transmission signal and the reception signal are signals of the same frequency band, and thus the duplexer 1231 may be implemented as a type of circulator.
Meanwhile, in another implementation of the present invention, the switch 1233 may also be applied to a frequency division multiplex (FDD) scheme. In this case, the switch 1233 may be configured in the form of a double-pole double-throw (DPDT) to connect or block a transmission signal and a reception signal, respectively. On the other hand, the transmission signal and the reception signal may be separated by the duplexer 1231, and thus the switch 1233 is not necessarily required.
Meanwhile, the electronic device according to an embodiment may further include a modem 1400 corresponding to the controller. In this case, the RFIC 1250 and the modem 1400 may be referred to as a first controller (or a first processor) and a second controller (a second processor), respectively. On the other hand, the RFIC 1250 and the modem 1400 may be implemented as physically separated circuits. Alternatively, the RFIC 1250 and the modem 1400 may be logically or functionally distinguished from each other on one physical circuit.
The modem 1400 may perform control of signal transmission and reception through different communication systems using the RFID 1250 and processing of those signals. The modem 1400 may be acquired through control information received from the 4G base station and/or the 5G base station. Here, the control information may be received through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
The modem 1400 may control the RFIC 1250 to transmit and/or receive signals through the first communication system and/or the second communication system at specific time and frequency resources. Accordingly, the RFIC 1250 may control transmission circuits including the first and second power amplifiers 1210 and 1220 to transmit a 4G signal or a 5G signal at a specific time interval. In addition, the RFIC 1250 may control reception circuits including the first to fourth low noise amplifiers 310 to 340 to receive a 4G signal or a 5G signal at a specific time interval.
Meanwhile, as shown in
The program module 410 may include a kernel 420, middleware 430, an API 450, a framework/library 460, and/or an application 470. At least part of the program module 410 may be pre-loaded on an electronic device or downloaded from an external device or a server.
The kernel 420 may include a system resource manager 421 and/or a device driver 423. The system resource manager 421 may perform control, allocation, or retrieval of system resources. According to one embodiment, the system resource manager 421 may include a process manager, a memory manager, or a file system manager. The device driver 423 may include a display driver, a camera driver, a Bluetooth driver, a shared memory driver, a USB driver, a keypad driver, a WiFi driver, an audio driver, or an inter-process communication (IPC) driver. The middleware 430 may provide functions commonly required by the application 470 or provide various functions to the application 470 through the API 460, for example, to allow the application 470 to use limited system resources inside the electronic device.
The middleware 430 may include at least one of a runtime library 425, an application manager 431, a window manager 432, a multimedia manager 433, a resource manager 434, a power manager 435, a database manager 436, a package manager 437, a connectivity manager 438, a notification manager 439, a location manager 440, a graphic manager 441, a security manager 442, a content manager 443, a service manager 444 and an external device manager 445.
The framework/library 460 may include a general-purpose framework/library 461 and a special-purpose framework/library 462. Here, the general-purpose framework/library 461 and the special-purpose framework/library 462 may be referred to as a first framework/library 451 and a second framework/library 452, respectively. The first framework/library 461 and the second framework/library 462 may be interfaced with a kernel space and hardware through the first API 451 and the second API 452, respectively. Here, the second framework/library 452 may be an exemplary software architecture capable of modularizing artificial intelligence (AI) functions. Using the architecture, the various processing blocks of hardware implemented with a System on Chip (SoC) (e.g., CPU 422, DSP 424, GPU 426, and/or NPU 428) may perform functions for supporting operations during the runtime operation of the application 470.
The application 470 may include a home 471, a dialer 472, an SMS/MMS 473, an instant message 474, a browser 475, a camera 476, an alarm 477, a contact 478, a voice dial 479, an email 480, a calendar 481, a media player 482, an album 483, a watch 484, a payment 485, an accessory management 486, a health care, or an environmental information providing application.
An AI application may be configured to call functions defined in a user space capable of allowing the electronic device to provide for detection and recognition of a scene indicating a location at which the electronic device is currently operating. The AI application may configure a microphone and a camera differently depending on whether the recognized scene is an indoor space or an outdoor space. The AI application may make a request for compiled program codes associated with a library defined in a scene detect application programming interface (API) to provide an estimate of the current scene. This request may rely on the output of a deep neural network configured to provide scene estimates based on video and location data.
The framework/library 462, which may be compiled codes of the Runtime Framework, may be further accessible by the AI application. The AI application may cause a runtime framework engine to request scene estimation triggered at specific time intervals or by events detected by the application's user interface. When estimating a scene, the runtime engine may then send a signal to an operating system such as a Linux kernel running on the SoC. The operating system may cause the operation to be performed on the CPU 422, the DSP 424, the GPU 426, the NPU 428, or some combination thereof. The CPU 422 may be accessed directly by the operating system and other processing blocks may be accessed via a driver such as a driver 414 to 418 for the DSP 424, the GPU 426, or the NPU 428. In an illustrative example, a deep neural network and an AI algorithm may be configured to run on a combination of processing blocks, such as the CPU 422 and the GPU 426, or an AI algorithm such as a deep neural network may run on the NPU 428.
The AI algorithm performed through the special-purpose framework/library as described above may be performed only by the electronic device or by a server supported scheme. When the AI algorithm is performed by the server supported scheme, the electronic device may receive and transmit information associated AI processing with the AI server through the 4G/5G communication system.
Meanwhile, referring to
A new RAT system including the NR uses an OFDM transmission scheme or a similar transmission scheme. The new RAT system may follow OFDM parameters different from the OFDM parameters of LTE. Alternatively, the new RAT system may follow the existing numerology of LTE/LTE-A as it is but have a larger system bandwidth (e.g., 100 MHz). Alternatively, a single cell may support a plurality of numerologies. In other words, electronic devices operating with different numerologies may coexist in a single cell.
In this regard, in the case of 4G LTE, since the maximum bandwidth of the system is limited to 20 MHz, a single sub-carrier spacing (SCS) of 15 KHz is used. However, since 5G NR supports a channel bandwidth between 5 MHz and 400 MHz, FFT processing complexity may increase to process the entire bandwidth through a single subcarrier spacing. Accordingly, the subcarrier spacing used for each frequency band may be extended and applied.
A numerology corresponds to one subcarrier spacing in the frequency domain. By scaling a reference subcarrier spacing to an integer N, different numerologies may be defined. In this regard,
An NR system may support a number of numerologies. Here, a numerology may be defined by a subcarrier spacing and a cyclic prefix overhead. Here, a plurality of subcarrier spacings may be derived by scaling a basic subcarrier spacing to an integer N. Furthermore, even when it is assumed that a very low subcarrier spacing is not used at a very high carrier frequency, the used numerology may be selected independently of the frequency band. In addition, in an NR system, various frame structures according to a number of numerologies may be supported.
Hereinafter, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) numerology and frame structure that can be considered in the NR system will be described. A number of OFDM numerologies supported in the NR system may be defined as shown in Table 1 below.
NR supports a number of numerologies (or subcarrier spacings (SCSs)) for supporting various 5G services. For example, NR supports a wide area in traditional cellular bands when the SCS is 15 kHz, and supports a dense-urban, a lower latency and a wider carrier bandwidth when the SCS is 30 kHz/60 kHz, and supports a bandwidth greater than 24.25 GHz to overcome phase noise when the SCS is 60 kHz or higher. The NR frequency band is defined as a frequency range of two types (FR1, FR2). The FR1 is a Sub-6 GHz range, and the FR2 is a range of above 6 GHz, which may denote millimeter waves (mmWs). Table 2 below shows the definition of the NR frequency band.
With regard to a frame structure in a NR system, the sizes of various fields in the time domain are expressed in multiples of a specific time unit.
In 5G NR, a basic unit of scheduling may be defined as a slot, and the number of OFDM symbols included in a single slot may be limited to 14 as shown in
In consideration of the foregoing technical features, slots in 5G NR described herein may be provided at the same interval as those in 4G LTE or may be provided with slots of various sizes. For an example, in 5G NR, the slot interval may be configured to be 0.5 ms equal to that of 4G LTE. For another example, the slot interval in 5G NR may be configured to be 0.25 ms, which is a narrower interval than that in 4G LTE.
In this regard, the 4G communication system and the 5G communication system may be referred to as a first communication system and a second communication system, respectively. Accordingly, a first signal (first information) of the first communication system may be a signal (information) in a 5G NR frame having a slot interval that is scalable to 0.25 ms, 0.5 ms, and the like. On the contrary, a second signal (second information) of the second communication system may be a signal (information) in a 4G LTE frame having a fixed slot interval of 0.5 ms.
Meanwhile, the first signal of the first communication system may be transmitted and/or received through a maximum bandwidth of 20 MHz. On the contrary, the second signal of the second communication system may be transmitted and/or received through a variable channel bandwidth of 5 MHz to 400 MHz. In this regard, the first signal of the first communication system may be FFT-processed at a single sub-carrier spacing (SCS) of 15 KHz.
On the other hand, the second signal of the second communication system may be FFT-processed at subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, and 60 kHz according to the frequency band/bandwidth. In this case, the second signal of the second communication system may be modulated and frequency-converted into a FR1 band and transmitted through a 5G Sub-6 antenna. Meanwhile, the FR1 band signal received through the 5G Sub-6 antenna may be frequency-converted and demodulated. Then, the second signal of the second communication system may be IFFT-processed at subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, and 60 kHz according to the frequency band/bandwidth.
On the other hand, the second signal of the second communication system may be FFT-processed at subcarrier spacings of 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz according to the frequency band/bandwidth and data/synchronous channel. In this case, the second signal of the second communication system may be modulated in a FR2 band and transmitted through a 5G mmWave antenna. Meanwhile, the FR2 band signal received through the 5G mmWave antenna may be frequency converted and demodulated. Then, the second signal of the second communication system may be IFFT-processed through subcarrier spacings of 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz according to the frequency band/bandwidth and data/synchronous channel.
In 5G NR, symbol-level time alignment may be used for transmission schemes using various slot lengths, mini-slots, and different subcarrier spacings. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides flexibility to efficiently multiplex various communication services such as enhancement mobile broadband (eMBB) and ultra-reliable low latency communication (uRLLC) in the time domain and the frequency domain. In addition, unlike 4G LTE, 5G NR may define uplink/downlink resource allocation at a symbol level within a single slot as shown in
Unlike 4G LTE, 5G NR may support a common frame structure constituting an FDD or TDD frame through a combination of various slots. Accordingly, a dynamic TDD scheme may be adopted to freely dynamically adjust the transmission direction of individual cells according to traffic characteristics.
On the other hand, a detailed operation and function of the electronic device having a plurality of antennas according to an embodiment provided with a multi-transceiving system as shown in
In a 5G communication system according to an embodiment, the 5G frequency band may be a Sub-6 band. In this regard,
Referring to
Referring to
Meanwhile, a plurality of signals that can be branched through the plurality of antennas ANT1 to ANT8 may be transmitted to the input of the front-end modules FEM1 to FEM11 or to the plurality of switches SW1 to SW10 through one or more filters.
For an example, the first antenna ANT1 may be configured to receive signals in a 5G band. In this case, the first antenna ANT1 may be configured to receive a second signal of a second band B2 and a third signal of a third band B3. Here, the second band B2 may be an n77 band and the third band B3 may be an n79 band, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The second band B2 and the third band B3 may be changed according to an application. Meanwhile, the first antenna ANT1 may also operate as a transmitting antenna in addition to a receiving antenna.
In this regard, the first switch SW1 may be configured as an SP2T switch or an SP3T switch. When implemented as an SP3T switch, one output port may be used as a test port. The first and second output ports of the first switch SW1 may be connected to the inputs of the first front-end module FEM1.
For an example, the eighth antenna ANT2 may be configured to transmit and/or receive signals in the 4G band and/or the 5G band. In this case, the second antenna ANT2 may be configured to transmit/receive a first signal of a first band B1. Here, the first band B1 may be an n41 band, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the first band B1 may be changed according to an application.
Meanwhile, the second antenna ANT2 may operate in a low band LB. In addition, the second antenna ANT2 may be configured to operate in a mid-band MB and/or a high band HB. Here, the middle band MB and high band HB may be referred to as MHB.
A first output of the first filter bank FB1 connected to the second antenna ANT2 may be connected to the second switch SW2. Meanwhile, a second output of the first filter bank FB1 connected to the second antenna ANT2 may be connected to the third switch SW3. Furthermore, a third output of the first filter bank FB1 connected to the second antenna ANT2 may be connected to the fourth switch SW4.
Accordingly, an output of the second switch SW2 may be connected to an input of the second front-end module FEM2 operating in the low band LB. Meanwhile, a second output of the third switch SW3 may be connected to an input of the third front-end module FEM3 operating in the MHB band. In addition, a first output of the third switch SW3 may be connected to an input of a fourth front-end module FEM4 operating in a first 5G band B1. Furthermore, a third output of the third switch SW3 may be connected to an input of the fifth front-end module FEM5 operating in the MHB band operating in the first 5G band B1.
In this regard, a first output of the fourth switch SW4 may be connected to an input of the third switch SW3. Meanwhile, a second output of the fourth switch SW4 may be connected to an input of the third front-end module FEM3. In addition, a third output of the fourth switch SW4 may be connected to an input of the fifth front-end module FEM5.
For an example, the third antenna ANT3 may be configured to transmit and/or receive signals in the LB band and/or the MHB band. In this regard, a first output of the second filter bank FB2 connected to the second antenna ANT2 may be connected to an input of the fifth front-end module FEM5 operating in the MHB band. Meanwhile, a second output of the second filter bank FB2 connected to the second antenna ANT2 may be connected to the fifth switch SW5.
In this regard, an output of the fifth switch SW5 may be connected to an input of the sixth front end module FEM6 operating in the LB band.
For an example, the fourth antenna ANT4 may be configured to transmit and/or receive a signal in a 5G band. In this regard, the fourth antenna ANT4 may be configured such that the second band B2 that is a transmission band and the third band B3 that is a reception band are frequency-division multiplexed FDM. Here, the second band B2 may be an n77 band and the third band B3 may be an n79 band, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The second band B2 and the third band B3 may be changed according to an application.
In this regard, the fourth antenna ANT4 may be connected to the sixth switch SW6, and one of the outputs of the sixth switch SW6 may be connected to a reception port of the seventh front-end module FEM7. Meanwhile, another one of the outputs of the sixth switch SW6 may be connected to the transmission port of the seventh front-end module FEM7.
For an example, the fifth antenna ANT5 may be configured to transmit and/or receive signals in a WiFi band. Furthermore, the sixth antenna ANT5 may be configured to transmit and/or receive signals in the MHB band.
In this regard, the fifth antenna (ANT5) may be connected to the third filter bank (FB3), and a first output of the third filter bank (FB3) may be connected to a first WiFi module (WiFi FEM1). On the other hand, a second output of the third filter bank (FB3) may be connected to a fourth filter bank FB4. In addition, a first output of the fourth filter bank FB4 may be connected to the first WiFi module (WiFi FEM1). Meanwhile, a second output of the fourth filter bank FB4 may be connected to the eighth front-end module FEM8 operating in the MHB band through the seventh switch SW7. Therefore, the fifth antenna ANT5 may be configured to receive WiFi band and 4G/5G band signals.
Similarly, the sixth antenna ANT6 may be configured to transmit and/or receive signals in a WiFi band. Furthermore, the sixth antenna ANT6 may be configured to transmit and/or receive signals in the MHB band.
In this regard, the sixth antenna ANT6 may be connected to a fifth filter bank FB5, and a first output of the fifth filter bank FB5 may be connected to a second WiFi module (WiFi FEM2). On the other hand, a second output of the fifth filter bank FB5 may be connected to a sixth filter bank FB6. In addition, a first output of the sixth filter bank FB6 may be connected to a second WiFi module (WiFi FEM2). A second output of the sixth filter bank FB6 may be connected to the ninth front-end module FEM9 operating in the MHB band through the eighth switch SW8. Therefore, the sixth antenna ANT6 may be configured to receive the WiFi band and 4G/5G band signals.
Referring to
For an example, the seventh antenna ANT7 may be configured to receive signals in a 5G band. In this case, the seventh antenna ANT7 may be configured to receive a third signal of a second band B2 and a third signal of a third band B3. Here, the second band B2 may be an n77 band and the third band B3 may be an n79 band, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The second band B2 and the third band B3 may be changed according to an application. Meanwhile, the seventh antenna ANT7 may also operate as a transmitting antenna in addition to a receiving antenna.
In this regard, the ninth switch SW9 may be configured as an SP2T switch or an SP3T switch. When implemented as an SP3T switch, one output port may be used as a test port. On the other hand, the first and second output ports of the ninth switch SW9 may be connected to the inputs of the tenth front-end module FEM10.
For an example, the eighth antenna ANT8 may be configured to transmit and/or receive signals in the 4G band and/or the 5G band. In this case, the eighth antenna ANT8 may be configured to transmit/receive a signal of the second band B2. In addition, the eighth antenna ANT8 may be configured to transmit/receive a signal of the third band B3. Here, the second band B2 may be an n77 band and the third band B3 may be an n79 band, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The second band B2 and the third band B3 may be changed according to an application. In this regard, the eighth antenna ANT8 may be connected to the eleventh front-end module FEM11 through the tenth switch SW10.
Meanwhile, the antennas (ANT1 to ANT8) may be connected to impedance matching circuits MC1 to MC8 to operate in a plurality of bands. In this regard, when operating in adjacent bands such as the first antenna (ANT1), the fourth antenna (ANT4), the seventh antenna (ANT7) and the eighth antenna (ANT8), only one variable element may be used. In this case, the variable element may be a variable capacitor configured to vary the capacitance by varying the voltage.
On the contrary, when operating in spaced bands such as the second antenna (ANT2), the third antenna (ANT3), the fifth antenna (ANT5), and the sixth antenna (ANT6), only two or more variable elements may be used. In this case, the two or more variable elements may be two or more variable capacitors or a combination of variable inductors and variable capacitors.
Referring to
Hereinafter, a description will be given of detailed operations and functions of the electronic device including the flexible display 151 of
The aforementioned flexible display 151 may be implemented in the form of the rollable display 151 by use of the frame of the electronic device. Therefore, the flexible display 151 may also be referred to as the rollable display 151. In this regard,
Referring to
Accordingly, when the second frame 102 is slid in the first direction relative to the first frame 101, an area of the third region 1513 which is located in the first direction in the first region 1511 of the flexible display is widened, and the state of the flexible display is switched from the first state to the second state.
Meanwhile, referring to
In this regard, the second frame 102 and the third frame 103 are movable in the second direction opposite to the first direction. Accordingly, when the second frame 102 and the third frame 103 move in the second direction, an area of the front surface of the flexible display is reduced and its state is switched from the second state to the first state.
The present disclosure can provide an arrangement structure of a plurality of antennas in an electronic device such as a rollable device, and also provide various communication services using the plurality of antennas. In this regard, one aspect of the present disclosure is to solve the aforementioned problems and other drawbacks. Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an electronic device having a plurality of antennas which can be implemented as a metal frame of the electronic device and an mmWave antenna module.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an antenna structure capable of securing characteristics of antennas disposed in a rollable device.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an antenna structure capable of maintaining antenna performance when a display region of a rollable device is expanded and reduced in a rollable device.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an antenna structure capable of securing antenna performance in a display structure in which a bezel region is minimized in a rollable device.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an antenna arrangement structure capable of minimizing radio wave interference in a rollable device when a user grips an electronic device.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a structure for reducing heat generation due to RF signals when a plurality of antennas and an mmWave antenna module are disposed.
In order to achieve those aspects according to the present disclosure, a description will be given of a display change and an antenna arrangement in a rollable device in which a plurality of antennas can be disposed.
Main technical features of an antenna arrangement structure in a rollable device disclosed in the present disclosure are as follows.
1) Antenna arrangement structure using metal region and new antenna platform to maintain expandable front display
2) One-sided antenna arrangement structure for rollable display
3) Top and bottom antenna arrangement structure for edge-bending display
4) Antenna structure capable of minimizing the number of antennas and area (pattern) in zero-bezel structure, and capable of employing multi-band integrated design structure, adaptive antenna matching, and interference cancellation technology between antennas
5) Optimal arrangement of plural mmWave antenna modules as well as LTE/5G Sub-6 antennas inside rollable device. In this regard, signal radiation by the mmWave antenna modules may be made toward one side region and a rear region. However, there may be a limit in securing antenna performance in an mmWave band due to the signal radiation toward the rear region. Therefore, the mmWave antenna module disclosed herein is intended to be arranged adjacent to a metal rim antenna on an upper end portion of the electronic device.
In this regard,
Referring to
The display 151 may include a fixed portion and a moving portion. In this regard, referring to
The cover frame 201, the middle cover 212, the PCB/battery module 213, and the front cover 202 may define the fixed portion of the rollable device.
The cover frame 201 may be arranged to define the fixed portion of the rollable device. The middle cover 212 is referred to as a middle B housing, and may be disposed between the inner cover 211 and the PCB/battery module 213 with a motor interposed therebetween. The PCB/battery module 213 is a module in which a PCB corresponding to a circuit board and a battery are coupled, and may be disposed between the middle cover 212 and the front cover 202. The front cover 202 may be configured to accommodate the PCB/battery module 213 and engage with the rear cover 203. The front cover 202 may be formed of a metal frame, and segmented metal rims may be disposed on one side region of the front cover 202 to operate as antennas.
The display 151, the inner cover 211, and the rear cover 203 may define the moving portion of the rollable device.
The first region 1511 and the second region 1512 of the display 151 may correspond to the moving portion. The inner cover 211 may be disposed between the cover frame 201 and the middle cover 212 so as to define the moving portion of the rollable device. The rear cover 203 may be coupled to an RF guide 203a. The rear cover 203 may configure a rear body of the rollable device and may define the moving portion of the rollable device.
Meanwhile,
Referring to
The second frame 102 may be configured to be slidable in the first direction relative to the first frame 101. The third frame 103 may be located on the rear surface of the second frame 102 and may be configured to be movable in the first direction relative to the second frame 102. In this regard, the first frame 101 may be located on a side surface of the electronic device and may be configured as a metal frame including a plurality of metal rims.
For example, the side surface portion 1014 of the first frame 101 may be defined by a plurality of metal rims segmented by slits. The plurality of segmented metal rims may operate as different antennas from one another. These different antennas may be disposed on the side surface portion 1014 of the electronic device corresponding to the rollable device, and may also be disposed on upper and lower regions extending from the side surface portion 1014.
The flexible display 151 may include the first region 1511, the second region 1512, and the third region 1513. The first region 1511 may be coupled to the front surface of the first frame 101. The second region 1512 may be coupled to the third frame 103. The third region 1513 may be located between the first region 1511 and the second region 1512.
A shared antenna S-ANT may be implemented as one of the plurality of metal rims, and connected to a first feeding unit F1 and a second feeding unit F2, so as to radiate signals through different bands.
The plurality of antennas disclosed herein may include first to sixth antennas ANT1 to ANT6 in addition to the shared antenna S-ANT. In this regard, the plurality of antennas ANT may further include a seventh antenna ANT1 operated by the first feeding unit F1 and an eighth antenna ANT8 operated by the second feeding unit F2.
The transceiver circuit 1250 may be operably coupled to the antennas ANT. The transceiver circuit 1250 may be configured to control signals transmitted to the antennas ANT through the first feeding unit F1 and the second feeding unit F2. The transceiver circuit 1250 may be operably coupled to the first to eighth antennas ANT1 to ANT8. The transceiver circuit 1250 may be configured to control signals transmitted to the first to eighth antennas ANT1 to ANT8 through the different feeding units.
The processor 1400 may be operably coupled to the transceiver circuit 1250. The processor 1400 may be a baseband processor corresponding to a modem. The processor 1400 may be configured to perform carrier aggregation (CA) through the antennas ANT. In this regard, the antennas ANT may be configured to operate in a mid-band MB and a high-band HB by the first feeding unit F1. For example, the processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to perform the CA in the mid-band MB and the high-band HB through the antennas ANT operated by the first feeding unit F1.
The shared antenna S-ANT may be configured to operate in the high-band HB by the second feeding unit F2. For example, the processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to perform the CA in the mid-band MB and the high-band HB through the shared antenna S-ANT operated by the first feeding unit F1 and the second feeding unit F2. In this case, MIMO may be performed in the high-band HB together with the CA through the shared antenna S-ANT operated by the first feeding unit F1 and the second feeding unit F2.
In this regard, a very-low-band VLB, a low-band LB, a mid-band MB, a high-band HB and an ultra-high-band UHB may be set as follows. In this case, a plurality of communication systems may be provided through the corresponding bands. A first communication system and a second communication system may be provided through the corresponding bands. For example, a 4G LTE communication system and a 5G NR communication system may be provided through the corresponding bands.
The ultra-low-band VLB may be 617 MHz to 750 MHz, but is not limited thereto, and may be changed depending on applications. For example, the low-band LB may be 750 MHz to 960 MHz, but is not limited thereto, and may be changed depending on applications. The mid-band LB may be 1710 MHz to 2200 MHz, but is not limited thereto, and may be changed depending on applications. The high-band HB may be 2300 MHz to 2700 MHz, but is not limited thereto, and may be changed depending on applications. The ultra-high-band VHB may be 3400 MHz to 3700 MHz, but is not limited thereto, and may be changed depending on applications.
The plurality of antennas ANT1 to ANT8 disclosed herein may be disposed on one side region of the electronic device. Accordingly, an antenna arrangement structure suitable for a rollable form factor is proposed by the plurality of antennas ANT1 to ANT8 disclosed herein. That is, a one-sided antenna arrangement due to a rolling structure is proposed. Meanwhile, some of the plurality of antennas ANT1 to ANT8 may be disposed on partial regions of the upper and lower regions of the rollable device. For example, the first antenna ANT1 may be disposed on one side region, that is, the first frame 101 and a part of the lower region.
The plurality of antennas may be disposed on an upper region of the rollable device based on the shared antenna S-ANT.
The shared antenna S-ANT may be disposed on one side region of the electronic device, for example, on the first frame 101. The first antenna ANT1 may be disposed on one side region and the lower region of the electronic device. The first antenna ANT1 may be configured to operate in a first band of a 5G communication system. Meanwhile, the shared antenna S-ANT may be configured to operate in a second band higher than the first band and a third band higher than the second band. In this regard, the first band may be configured to include an ultra-low-band VLB and a low-band LB, but is not limited thereto. The second band may be configured as a mid-band MB, but is not limited thereto. The third band may be configured to include a high-band HB and an ultra-high-band UHB, but is not limited thereto.
The second antenna ANT2 may be spaced apart from one end of the first antenna ANT1 and may be disposed on the lower region. The second antenna ANT2 may be spaced apart from the first antenna ANT1 by a slit, and a dielectric material may be disposed in a slit region. The third antenna ANT3 may be spaced apart from another end of the first antenna ANT1 and may be disposed on the one side region. The third antenna ANT3 may be spaced apart from the first antenna ANT1 by a slit, and a dielectric material may be disposed in a slit region. The third antenna ANT3 may be arranged to be spaced apart from the shared antenna S-ANT by a predetermined distance on the one side region. The third antenna ANT3 may be spaced apart from the shared antenna S-ANT by a slit, and a dielectric material may be disposed in a slit region.
A plurality of antennas may also be disposed on the upper region of the rollable device based on the shared antenna S-ANT.
The fourth antenna ANT4 may be spaced apart from one end of the shared antenna S-ANT, and may be disposed on the one side region. The processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to perform MIMO in the second band and/or the third band through the shared antenna S-ANT and the second to fourth antennas ANT2 to ANT4. In this regard, the processor 1400 may perform CA through antennas operating in both the second band and the third band. In addition, the processor 1400 may perform CA and MIMO simultaneously through those antennas operating in both of the second band and the third band.
In this regard, four MB/HB antennas for supporting 4×4 MIMO may be provided in the present disclosure. An MB/HB first antenna may be implemented as the second antenna ANT2, and may be an antenna exhibiting optimal antenna performance. An MB/HB second antenna may be implemented as the seventh antenna ANT1 to minimize interference with an MB/HB first Tx antenna. The MB/HB third antenna may be designed separately because it includes Tx for UL CA. The MB/HB third antenna may be implemented as the third antenna ANT5. The MB/HB third antenna may include MB3 (B1/B3 Tx ULCA) and HB3 (B7 Tx ULCA). The MB/HB fourth antenna may operate as a shared antenna that also operates as an LB (2nd) antenna. The MB/HB fourth antenna may be implemented as the fourth antenna ANT4. 4×4 MIMO can be supported through the MB/HB first antenna to the MB/HB fourth antenna.
Two LB antennas may be disposed on a side surface of the electronic device to support 2×2 MIMO. In addition, in order to reduce interference between the LB antennas, the two LB antennas may be disposed on an upper end corresponding to the upper region and a lower end corresponding to the lower region. An LB first antenna may be implemented as the first antenna ANT1. From the perspective of a ground, the LB first antenna may be disposed in a region where E-Field is most widely distributed, so as to ensure antenna performance. In addition, an LB second antenna may be implemented as the fourth antenna ANT4 to minimize interference with a lower antenna, thereby ensuring isolation.
Four 5G (SUB6) antennas may be arranged on a side region of the rollable device. In order to increase data throughput, a 5G (SUB6) first antenna and a 5G (SUB6) second antenna may also operate as LTE antennas. Therefore, the number of antennas can be minimized by virtue of the 5G (SUB6) antennas operating even as the LTE antennas. In addition, the 5G (SUB6) first antenna and the 5G (SUB6) second antenna may be a shared antenna S-ANT implemented as one conductive member. In this regard, the 5G (SUB6) first antenna may be implemented as the seventh antenna ANT7, and the 5G (SUB6) second antenna may be implemented as the eighth antenna ANT8.
The seventh antenna ANT7 and the eighth antenna ANT8 share one conductive member, and may be configured to connect an antenna body corresponding to the conductive member to a ground frame, in order to reduce mutual interference. As the antenna body and the ground frame are connected to each other, the shared antenna S-ANT operating as the seventh antenna ANT7 and the eighth antenna ANT8 may be implemented as a T-type antenna.
Meanwhile, the 5G second antenna, the 5G third antenna, and the 5G fourth antenna may be arranged in a manner of sharing an antenna with an LTE Legacy. In this regard, the shared antenna S-ANT and the first antenna ANT1 to the third antenna ANT3 may be the shared antennas operating in both 5G (SUB6) NR band and 4G LTE band. For example, an antenna used as a metal frame may be used as an LTE Legacy antenna, and a 5G (SUB6) antenna may be designed as a metal pattern on a rear surface portion. However, it is not limited to this structure, and both the 5G (SUB6) antenna and the LTE Legacy antenna may be implemented as the metal frame.
The fifth antenna ANT5 may be spaced apart from one end of the fourth antenna ANT4 and disposed on one side region and the upper region of the electronic device. The sixth antenna ANT6 may be spaced apart from one end of the fifth antenna ANT5 and may be disposed on the upper region of the electronic device. The processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to perform diversity in the LTE communication system through the fifth antenna ANT5 and the sixth antenna ANT6.
Connectivity antennas such as the fifth antenna ANT5 and the sixth antenna ANT6 may be disposed on a top of the rollable device. A GPS L1 antenna may be implemented as the fifth antenna ANT5, and a GPS L5 antenna may be implemented as the sixth antenna ANT6. Accordingly, the GPS L5 antenna and the GPS L1 antenna can be designed separately. The fifth antenna ANT5, which operates as GPS L1 (1.575 Ghz) and WiFi first antenna, may be disposed on the top so as to be implemented as an antenna strong for body effects. Diversity may be performed in an LTE B46 band through the fifth antenna ANT5 and the sixth antenna ANT6. Accordingly, information included in a signal received through the fifth antenna ANT5 and information included in a signal received through the sixth antenna ANT6 may be the same information (data). The fifth antenna ANT5 may receive a PRx signal through a primary channel. The sixth antenna ANT6 may receive a DRx signal through a diversity channel. Information included in the PRx signal and information included in the DRx signal may be the same information (data).
The plurality of antennas ANT1 to ANT8 may be disposed on the fixed portion of the electronic device corresponding to the rollable device. On the other hand, a driving unit that allows the display region of the rollable device to be switched between the first state and the second state may be disposed on another side region of the rollable device. The driving unit may include a roller 1028 that allows the second frame 102 and the third frame 103 to be movable.
In this regard, when the second frame 102 is slid in the first direction relative to the first frame 101, an area of the third region 1513 which is located in the first direction in the first region 1511 of the flexible display is widened, and the state of the flexible display is switched from the first state to the second state. Here, the first state may be a display-out state, that is, a closed state, and the second state may be a display-in state, that is, an open state.
Hereinafter, a feeding structure and a ground shorting structure of the plurality of antennas disposed on the fixed portion of the rollable device will be described with reference to
The first antenna ANT1 is provided with a switch for covering the LB band, for example, a B71 band (617 to 698 MHz) and a B8 band (880 to 960 MHz). The switch of the first antenna ANT1 may be disposed at a position 10 to 12 mm apart from the feeding unit based on a Y axis, so as to ensure a range capable of sweeping frequencies as large as possible. The switch of the first antenna ANT1 may be implemented as a SP4T switch and operate in at least three or more frequency sweep scenarios. The antenna performance can be secured by implementing the first antenna ANT1 corresponding to the LB antenna to have a size of at least 60 mm or more.
With respect to the second antenna ANT2, there may be a restriction that an additional antenna metal pattern cannot be used due to interference of a mechanical structure corresponding to the driving unit of the rollable device. An MB/HB dual mode may be generated by using various antenna paths in an FPCB including an antenna feeding unit. In addition, the second antenna ANT2 may be configured to generate an additional mode for sharing a 5G-3 (Sub-6) antenna in addition to the LTE antenna.
With respect to the sixth antenna ANT6, there may be a restriction that an additional antenna metal pattern cannot be used due to interference of a mechanical structure corresponding to the driving unit of the rollable device. The sixth antenna ANT6 may generate a GPS L5 (1.2 Ghz) and WiFi dual mode by utilizing various antenna paths in the FPCB including the antenna feeding unit, in order to cover the GPS L5 (1.2 Ghz) and WiFi band.
The third antenna ANT3 may be configured to cover the MB (3rd & B1, B3 ULCA)/5G-3 (option2) band. The third antenna ANT3 may arrange a feeding point at a middle position of an antenna body to avoid interference with the adjacent first antenna ANT1 and eighth antenna ANT5. In addition, a device implemented as a specific element may be inserted into a short portion of an antenna end to select a Loop & IFA mode. The device implemented as the specific element may be a device having specific L and C values.
In this regard, the third antenna ANT3 may be connected to or disconnected from the ground at one end thereof spaced apart from the feeding unit for feeding the third antenna ANT3 and another end. Accordingly, the third antenna ANT3 may operate in a first mode in which the one end and the another end are connected to the ground, or in a second mode in which one of the one end and the another end is connected to the ground. Here, the first mode may be a loop mode and the second mode may be an IFA mode.
The fourth antenna ANT4 may operate as an LB second antenna. The fourth antenna ANT4 may generate an antenna mode using an antenna body corresponding to a conductive member. The fourth antenna ANT4 may also operate as an MB & HB fourth antenna. The fourth antenna ANT4 may be configured by generating an additional antenna metal pattern on a dielectric carrier. In addition, the fourth antenna ANT4 may be spaced apart 10 to 15 mm from the feeding unit based on an Y axis, in order to install the LB switch S/W.
The fourth antenna ANT4 may be configured to be connected to or disconnected from the ground through the switch S/W. In this regard, when the fourth antenna ANT4 operates in the second band and the third band, the fourth antenna ANT4 may be configured to have an antenna pattern disposed on a carrier inside the electronic device. That is, the fourth antenna ANT4 may be configured to radiate signals of the second band and the third band through the antenna pattern disposed on the carrier inside the electronic device. On the other hand, when the fourth antenna ANT4 operates in the first band, the fourth antenna ANT4 may be configured to have a conductive member. That is, the fourth antenna ANT4 may be configured to radiate a signal of the first band through the conductive member.
The fifth antenna ANT5 may operate as a GPS L1 (1.575 Ghz) and WiFi first antenna. The fifth antenna ANT5 may generate an antenna mode for minimizing interference with the fourth antenna ANT4 and the sixth antenna ANT6. Also, an L/C device having a specific L/C value may be inserted into an antenna short portion. The GPS antenna may be vulnerable to noise generated during USB charging and hand-effects of a consumer-use scene, and thus may be placed on a top of the electronic device.
The shared antenna S-ANT may be configured such that one point between the first feeding unit F1 and the second feeding unit F2 is connected to the ground. In this regard, a signal of the second band or the third band may be transmitted by being delivered to the shared antenna S-ANT through the first feeding unit F1. In addition, the signal of the third band may be transmitted by being delivered to the shared antenna S-ANT through the second feeding unit F2.
The shared antenna S-ANT may be functionally configured to include a seventh antenna ANT7 and an eighth antenna ANT8. The seventh antenna ANT7 and the eighth antenna ANT8 share a conductive member corresponding to the same antenna body. A main ground and a metal body may be connected to each other at a midpoint of the antenna body to be used as a common short of the seventh antenna ANT7 and the eighth antenna ANT8. A band to be covered by the seventh antenna ANT7 is lower than a band to be covered by the eighth antenna ANT8. Accordingly, the seventh antenna ANT7 may have a short point so as to have an antenna body longer than that of the eighth antenna ANT8. Also, with respect to the eighth antenna ANT8, since 5G-1 includes Tx, the number of shared LTE Legacy bands can be minimized. In addition, with respect to the eighth antenna ANT8, a 5G-1 band may be arranged in a frequency band adjacent to the LTE HB.
Like other antennas, a switch element that can use an L/C element may be inserted into an end of the shared antenna S-ANT to selectively use the Loop & IFA mode. Accordingly, the shared antenna S-ANT may be configured to be connected to or disconnected from the ground at one point and another point spaced apart from the feeding unit feeding the shared antenna S-ANT. Accordingly, the shared antenna S-ANT may operate in a first mode in which the one point and the another point are connected to the ground, or in a second mode in which one of the one point and the another point is connected to the ground. Here, the first mode may be a loop mode and the second mode may be an IFA mode.
For example, the seventh antenna ANT7 may be configured to be connected to or disconnected from the ground at one point and another point spaced apart from the feeding unit feeding the seventh antenna ANT7. Accordingly, the seventh antenna ANT7 may operate in a first mode in which the one point and the another point are connected to the ground, or in a second mode in which one of the one point and the another point is connected to the ground. Here, the first mode may be a loop mode and the second mode may be an IFA mode.
For example, the eighth antenna ANT8 may be configured to be connected to or disconnected from the ground at one point and another point spaced apart from the power feeding unit feeding the seventh antenna ANT8. Accordingly, the eighth antenna ANT8 may operate in a first mode in which the one point and the another point are connected to the ground, or in a second mode in which one of the one point and the another point is connected to the ground. Here, the first mode may be a loop mode and the second mode may be an IFA mode.
Hereinafter, main technical features of the plurality of antennas will be described, in relation to the arrangement and operations of the plurality of antennas described above.
1) Reduction of the total number of antennas by virtue of antenna miniaturization and LTE+5G Sub-6 combined antenna design
2) Application of low-loss SP4T switch for LB antenna switching
3) Metal pattern-less antenna design by virtue of antenna arrangement on one side region of rollable device
Accordingly, the plurality of antennas disposed in the rollable device disclosed herein have the following technical features.
At least one of the plurality of antennas arranged in the rollable device described herein can be dynamically configured to operate in different bands. In this regard,
Referring to
In consideration of a user's use scene, the mmWave antenna modules disposed inside the rollable device can be arranged in optimal positions and directions. Referring to
As illustrated in
According to one embodiment, an antenna operating in an LTE or 5G Sub-6 band and an antenna operating in an mmWave band may be disposed in an electronic device such as a rollable device. As illustrated in
Accordingly, deviation of the antenna characteristics in the close and open states can be improved by changing a switch topology of a switch unit. In this regard, the operation modes of the second antenna ANT2 and the sixth antenna ANT6 may be changed so that those antennas can operate in a plurality of bands. Referring to
Meanwhile, the sixth antenna ANT6 at the top may be electrically connected to a circuit board 182b or the main circuit board 181 to be connected to the feeding unit and the ground. For an example, the sixth antenna ANT6 may be configured to be grounded with the main circuit board 181. On the other hand, the sixth antenna ANT6 may be connected to a feeding unit disposed on the circuit board 182b. As another example, the sixth antenna ANT6 may be grounded with the circuit board 182b. On the other hand, the sixth antenna ANT6 may be connected to a feeding unit disposed on the main circuit board 181.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The first antenna module ARRAY1 and the second antenna module ARRAY2 operating in the mmWave band may be operably coupled to the transceiver circuit 1250. The transceiver circuit 1250 may be operably coupled to the plurality of antennas ANT1 to ANT8. For example, the transceiver circuit 1250 may be operably coupled to the sixth antenna ANT6 implemented as the first conductive member 1110 that is disposed on the top of the electronic device and adjacent to the first antenna module ARRAY1. The transceiver circuit 1250 may be operably coupled to the shared antenna S-ANT implemented as the second conductive member 1120 that is disposed on one side region of the electronic device and adjacent to the second antenna module ARRAY2. The shared antenna S-ANT may operate as a plurality of different antennas through the first feeding unit F1 and the second feeding unit F2. That is, the shared antenna S-ANT may operate as the seventh antenna ANT7 and the eighth antenna ANT8 through the first feeding unit F1 and the second feeding unit F2.
The processor 1400 may be operably coupled to the transceiver circuit 1250 and may be configured to control the transceiver circuit 1250. The processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to perform beamforming through the first antenna module ARRAY1 and the second antenna module ARRAY2. The processor 1400 may control the plurality of antennas ANT1 to ANT8 through the transceiver circuit 1250, to perform MIMO, EN-DC, and CA in the LTE band and the 5G Sub-6 band.
Referring to
The second frame 102 may be configured to be slidable in the first direction relative to the first frame 101. The third frame 103 may be located on the rear surface of the second frame 102 and may be configured to be movable in the first direction relative to the second frame 102. In this regard, one of the first frame 101 and the third frame 103 may be located on a side surface of the electronic device and may be configured as a metal frame including a plurality of metal rims.
For example, the side surface portion 1014 of the first frame 101 may be defined by a plurality of metal rims segmented by slits. The plurality of segmented metal rims may operate as different antennas from one another. These different antennas may be disposed on the side surface portion 1014 of the electronic device corresponding to the rollable device, and upper and lower regions extending from the side surface portion 1014.
The flexible display 151 may include the first region 1511, the second region 1512, and the third region 1513. The first region 1511 may be coupled to the front surface of the first frame 101. The second region 1512 may be coupled to the third frame 103. The third region 1513 may be located between the first region 1511 and the second region 1512.
The conductive member antenna 1110 is implemented as one of the plurality of metal rims and is configured to radiate a signal. For example, the conductive member antenna 1110 may be formed on the upper region of the electronic device. The antenna module ARRAY1 may be disposed between the metal frame 1010 and a sliding module 1020 of the electronic device.
The sliding module 1020 may be coupled to the conductive member antenna 1110 and disposed between the conductive member antenna 1110 and the moving portion of the electric appliance to operate as a slide support portion. The slide support portion may be configured to come in contact with the antenna module ARRAY1 to fix the antenna module ARRAY1, and to be partially inserted into the metal frame 1010.
The sliding module 1020 may include a cover slide 1021 and a rolling plate 1022. The cover slide 1021 and the rolling plate 1022 may be referred to as a cover slide mold and a rolling plate array, respectively. The cover slide 1021 may be partially inserted into the metal frame 1010 and may surround a rear surface of the metal frame 1010. The rolling plate 1022 may be coupled to the cover slide 1021, and a rear display 151b may be disposed on the rolling plate 1022.
The metal frame and the conductive member antenna disclosed herein may be configured to be separated from each other. In this regard, an antenna module may be disposed between the metal frame and the conductive member antenna separated from each other. In this regard, referring to
Referring to
The radiating elements may be arranged in a lengthwise direction with being spaced apart from one another by predetermined intervals, and perform beamforming in a horizontal direction. In this regard, the antenna module ARRAY1 may be configured as a one-dimensional antenna. For example, the antenna module ARRAY1 may be configured as a 4×1, 6×1 or 8×1 array antenna. However, the antenna module ARRAY1 is not limited to a one-dimensional array antenna and may alternatively be configured as a two-dimensional array antenna depending on applications.
Since there is no region where a metal is disposed in a forward direction in which a signal is radiated from the antenna module ARRAY1, electromagnetic wave blockage can be prevented. In this case, the antenna module ARRAY1 may be disposed on the seating portion 1010a formed below the antenna module ARRAY1. Meanwhile, an external configuration of the antenna module ARRAY1 may be configured in the form of a dielectric mold, thereby protecting the antenna module ARRAY1 from the outside. A beamformed radio signal radiated through the antenna module ARRAY1 may be radiated through a side region of the electronic device.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The front glass cover 1041 may be configured to surround a front cover. For example, the front cover may be the metal frame 1010. The cover frame 1042 may be configured to be disposed between the front glass cover 1041 and the metal frame 1010. The front display 151a may be disposed between the seating portion of the cover frame 1042 and the front glass cover 1041.
According to one embodiment, the dielectric portion may be implemented by different dielectric mold portions. In this regard,
Referring to
In this regard, since most of signals radiated from the antenna module ARRAY1 pass through the second dielectric mold portion 1032, the second dielectric constant may be set to a value lower than the first dielectric constant of the dielectric mold portion 1031. On the other hand, the dielectric mold portion 1031 that surrounds the metal frame 1010 and defines the appearance requires greater rigidity than the second dielectric mold portion 1032. Therefore, the first dielectric constant of the dielectric mold portion 1031 may be set to a value higher than that of the second dielectric constant of the second dielectric mold portion 1032.
The second dielectric mold portion 1032 may be configured to surround the antenna module ARRAY1. The seating portion 1010a may be formed on one side region of the antenna module ARRAY1 so that the antenna module can be seated thereon. The cover slide 1021 may be configured as the dielectric mold portion. The cover slide 1021 may be partially inserted into the metal frame 1010 and may surround the rear surface of the metal frame 1010.
The antenna module operating in the mmWave band disclosed herein may be disposed in a slot region of a metal rim in a manner of being adjacent to the metal rim. On the other hand, the conductive member antenna operating in a band under Sub-6 may be configured to be connected to the circuit board. In this regard,
Referring to
The electronic device may further include a circuit board 182 disposed in a portion of a slot region SR of the metal frame 1010.
The circuit board 182 may be electrically connected to the conductive member antenna 1110 to transmit a signal. A switching unit (SW) 1150 may be disposed on the circuit board 182. The circuit board 182 on which the switching unit (SW) 1150 may be electrically connected to the conductive member antenna 1110 through the feeding unit FU. That is, the circuit board 182 may include the switch module (SW) 1150 configured to perform switch-on/off so that the conductive member antenna 1110 operates in different bands. The switch module (SW) 1150 may include a plurality of switches SW1 to SW4.
The conductive member antenna 1110 may be tuned to operate in different bands through On/Off control of the plurality of switches SW1 to SW4. In this regard, different matching circuits may be connected to the plurality of switches SW1 to SW4. By connecting one of the plurality of switches SW1 to SW4, the conductive member antenna 1110 may be operated in a specific band through one matching circuit among the different matching circuits.
The feeding unit FU may be implemented as a feeding clip FC, but is not limited thereto. An RF transmission line of the circuit board 182 may be connected to the conductive member 1100 through the feeding clip. The RF transmission line forms an RF path in an operating band of the antenna by the conductive member 1100.
The feed clip FC and a contact clip CC may be connected to the conductive member 1100, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the feeding unit FU may be connected to the conductive member 1100 and the contact clip CC may be connected to the cover frame 201. As another example, the feeding clip FC may be connected to the conductive member 1100, and the contact clip CC may be connected to the conductive member 1100 and the cover frame 201.
In this regard, a ground pad of the circuit board 182 configured to be connected to output terminals of the switching unit (SW) 1150 may be connected to the cover frame 201 of
The antenna module operating in the mmWave band disclosed herein may be connected to a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) separate from the circuit board. In this regard,
Referring to
The conductive member antenna 1110 may be connected to the circuit board 182 through a feeding unit FU. Meanwhile, unlike the conductive member antenna of
Referring to
Referring to
Meanwhile, referring to
As described above, the electronic device corresponding to the rollable device may include the plurality of antennas ANT1 to ANT8. In this regard, referring to
The first antenna ANT1 may be configured to be disposed on the one side region and the lower region of the electronic device. That is, the first antenna ANT1 may correspond to a metal rim defining the lower region and the one side region. The first antenna ANT1 may be configured to operate in a first band of a 4G communication system. Meanwhile, the second antenna ANT2 may be spaced apart from one end of the first antenna ANT1 and may be disposed on the lower region. The second antenna ANT2 may be configured to operate in a second band higher than the first band and a third band higher than the second band. Here, the first band, the second band, and the third band may be a low-band LB, a mid-band MB, and a high-band HB, respectively, of the LTE bands, but may not be limited thereto. Also, the second antenna ANT2 may be configured to operate in a Sub-6 band of a 5G communication system. The third antenna ANT3 may be configured to be spaced apart from another end of the first antenna ANT1 and disposed on the one side region.
Referring to
The electronic device 100 may further include the transceiver circuit 1250 and the processor 1400. Referring to
The processor 1400 may be operably coupled to the transceiver circuit 1250 and may be a baseband processor corresponding to a modem. However, the processor 1400 is not limited to a modem, and may alternatively be any processor that controls the transceiver circuit 1250. The processor 1400 may be operably coupled to the transceiver circuit 1250 and may be configured to control the transceiver circuit 1250. The processor 1400 may perform an EN-DC operation through the first to third antennas ANT1 to ANT3. In this regard, the processor 1400 may perform the EN-DC operation using two or more of the first to third antennas ANT1 to ANT3. Alternatively, one of the first to third antennas ANT1 to ANT3 may be connected to a plurality of feeding units and thus the EN-DC operation may be performed by using the one antenna.
The plurality of antennas may further include the fourth antenna ANT4. The fourth antenna ANT4 may be configured to be spaced apart from one end of the second conductive member 1120 adjacent to the third antenna ANT3 and may be disposed on the one side region.
The processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to perform MIMO and CA operations through the first to fourth antennas ANT1 to ANT4. In this regard, the MIMO may be performed in an MB band of a 4G communication system through different antennas. Also, the MIMO may be performed in an HB band of the 4G communication system through different antennas. The MIMO may also be performed in a Sub-6 band of a 5G communication system through different antennas.
The CA may be performed through two or more antennas of the first to fourth antennas ANT1 to ANT4. On the other hand, the CA may be performed through one of the first to fourth antennas ANT1 to ANT4. For example, the second antenna ANT2 may perform CA through the MB band and the HB band. Alternatively, the second antenna ANT2 may perform CA through at least one of the MB band and the HB band, and the Sub-6 band.
Meanwhile, MIMO and CA may be performed simultaneously. In this regard, the CA may be performed while the MIMO is performed using at least two of the first to fourth antennas ANT1 to ANT4.
The plurality of antennas may further include the fifth and sixth antennas ANT5 and ANT6. The fifth antenna ANT5 may be spaced apart from one end of the fourth antenna ANT4 and disposed on the one side region and the upper region of the electronic device. The sixth antenna ANT6 may be spaced apart from one end of the fifth antenna ANT5 and may be disposed on the upper region of the electronic device. The processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to perform diversity in the LTE communication system through the fifth antenna ANT5 and the sixth antenna ANT6.
Meanwhile, the processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to perform communication in the mmWave band through the antenna module ARRAY1 disposed adjacent to the conductive member antenna corresponding to the sixth antenna.
The plurality of antennas may further include the seventh antenna ANT7 and the eighth antenna ANT8 operating as the plurality of antennas through one second conductive member 1120. The seventh antenna ANT7 may operate as a radiator through the first feeding unit F1 connected to one point of the second conductive member 1120 spaced apart from one end of the fourth antenna ANT4. The seventh antenna ANT7 may be configured to operate in a 4G communication system through the first feeding unit F1 connected to the one point of the second conductive member 1120. The eighth antenna ANT8 may be configured to operate in a 5G communication system through the second feeding unit F2 connected to another point of the second conductive member 1120. Accordingly, the seventh antenna ANT7 and the eighth antenna ANT8 may share the second conductive member 1120 as the same radiator.
The antenna module operating in the mmWave band disclosed herein may be provided in plurality in the electronic device. In this regard, referring to
Referring to
The processor 1400 may perform MIMO or diversity through the first antenna module ARRAY1 and the second antenna module ARRAY2. In this regard, the processor 1400 may control a first beam and a second beam to be directed in different directions by performing beamforming through the first antenna module ARRAY1 and the second antenna module ARRAY2. In addition, the processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to perform MIMO or diversity through the first beam and the second beam.
The plurality of antennas disclosed herein may perform various EN-DC operations through the plurality of front-end modules (FEMs) and the transceiver circuit. In this regard,
Referring to (a) of
Referring to (b) of
A transmission band and a reception band of a B41 band and an N41 band corresponding to the HB band may be 2496 to 2690 MHz. Therefore, a TDD operation can be performed through the B41 band and the N41 band corresponding to the HB band. A transmission band and a reception band of an N78 band corresponding to the UHB band may be 3300 to 3800 MHz. Therefore, a TDD operation can be performed through the B41 band and the N41 band corresponding to the UHB band. Accordingly, the TDD operation in which a transmission section and a reception section are separated in a time domain may be performed through the HB band and UHB band.
Referring to
The processor 1400 may perform MIMO while performing the EN-DC operation. The processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to perform MIMO in the first band through the first antenna ANT1 and the fourth antenna ANT4 while maintaining the EN-DC connectivity state through the fourth antenna ANT4. In this regard, MIMO may be performed in the N5 band through the first antenna ANT1 and the fourth antenna ANT4. In addition, MIMO may be performed in the B66 band through the second antenna ANT2, the third antenna ANT3, the fourth antenna ANT4, and the seventh antenna ANT1.
Meanwhile, signals of different bands may be branched through a plurality of front-end modules. In this regard, the electronic device may further include the first front-end module FEM1 and the second front-end module FEM2. The first front-end module FEM1 may be operably coupled to the third antenna ANT3. The second front-end module FEM2 may be operably coupled to the second antenna ANT2. The first front-end module FEM1 may be a power amplifier modules including duplexer (PAMiD) operating in the 4G communication system. In addition, the second front-end module FEM2 may be a power amplifier modules including duplexer (PAMiD) operating in the 5G communication system.
The transceiver circuit 1250 may control the first front-end module FEM1 such that the first antenna ANT1 transmits and receives the signal of the first band. For example, the transceiver circuit 1250 may control the first front-end module FEM1 such that the first antenna ANT1 transmits and receives the signal of the N5 band.
In addition, the transceiver circuit 1250 may control the second front-end module FEM2 such that the second antenna ANT2 transmits and receives the signal of the second band and the third antenna ANT3 receives the signal of the second band. As an example, the transceiver circuit 1250 may control the second front-end module FEM2 such that the second antenna ANT2 transmits and receives the signal of the B66 band and the third antenna ANT3 receives the signal of the B66 band.
Referring to
In this regard, the processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to maintain an EN-DC connectivity state with the 5G communication system and the 4G communication system in the second band through the second antenna ANT2 and the third antenna ANT3. For example, the processor 1400 may transmit the first signal of the second band and the second signal of the second band through the second antenna ANT2 and the third antenna ANT3. Also, the processor 1400 may transmit and receive the first signal of the second band and the second signal of the second band through the second antenna ANT2 and the third antenna ANT3. Here, the first signal of the second band may be a signal of an B2 band, which is the MB band, and the second signal of the second band may be a signal of an N66 band, which is the MB band.
The processor 1400 may perform MIMO while performing the EN-DC operation. The processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to perform MIMO in the second band through the shared antenna S-ANT and the second to fourth antennas ANT2 to ANT4 while maintaining the EN-DC connectivity state in the second band through the shared antenna S-ANT and the fourth antenna ANT4. In this regard, MIMO may be performed in the N66 band through the shared antenna S-ANT and the second to fourth antennas ANT2 to ANT4. In addition, MIMO may be performed in the B2 band through the shared antenna S-ANT and the second to fourth antennas ANT2 to ANT4
Meanwhile, signals of different bands may be branched through a plurality of front-end modules. In this regard, the electronic device may further include the first front-end module FEM1 and the second front-end module FEM2. The first front-end module FEM1 may be operably coupled to the first antenna ANT1. The second front-end module FEM2 may be operably coupled to the second antenna ANT2. The first front-end module FEM1 may be a power amplifier modules including duplexer (PAMiD) operating in the 5G communication system. In addition, the second front-end module FEM2 may be a power amplifier modules including duplexer (PAMiD) operating in the 4G communication system.
The transceiver circuit 1250 may control the first front-end module FEM1 such that the third antenna ANT3 transmits and receives the signal of the second band. The transceiver circuit 1250 may control the first front-end module FEM1 such that the third antenna ANT3 transmits and receives the signal of the N66 band.
In addition, the transceiver circuit 1250 may control the second front-end module FEM2 such that the second antenna ANT2 transmits and receives the signal of the second band and the third antenna ANT3 receives the signal of the second band. As an example, the transceiver circuit 1250 may control the second front-end module FEM2 such that the second antenna ANT2 transmits and receives the signal of the B2 band and the third antenna ANT3 receives the signal of the B2 band.
Referring to
In this regard, the processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to maintain an EN-DC connectivity state with the 5G communication system and the 4G communication system in the third band through the second antenna ANT2 and the third antenna ANT3. For example, the processor 1400 may transmit the first signal of the third band and the second signal of the third band through the second antenna ANT2 and the third antenna ANT3. Also, the processor 1400 may transmit and receive the first signal of the third band and the second signal of the third band through the second antenna ANT2 and the third antenna ANT3. Here, the first signal of the second band may be a signal of an B2 band, which is the MB band, and the second signal of the second band may be a signal of an N66 band, which is the MB band.
The processor 1400 may perform MIMO while performing an EN-DC operation. The processor 1400 may control the transceiver circuit 1250 to perform MIMO in the third band through the shared antenna S-ANT and the second to fourth antennas ANT2 to ANT4 while maintaining the EN-DC connectivity state in the third band through the shared antenna S-ANT and the fourth antenna ANT4. In this regard, MIMO may be performed in the N41 band through the shared antenna S-ANT and the second to fourth antennas ANT2 to ANT4. In addition, MIMO may be performed in the B41 band through the shared antenna S-ANT and the second to fourth antennas ANT2 to ANT4.
Meanwhile, signals of different bands may be branched through a plurality of front-end modules. In this regard, the electronic device may further include the first front-end module FEM1 and the second front-end module FEM2. The first front-end module FEM1 may be operably coupled to the shared antenna S-ANT. The second front-end module FEM2 may be operably coupled to the second antenna ANT2 and the third antenna ANT3. The first front-end module FEM1 may be a power amplifier module (PAM) operating in a 5G communication system. In addition, the second front-end module FEM2 may be a power amplifier modules including duplexer (PAMiD) operating in a 4G communication system.
The transceiver circuit 1250 may control the first front-end module FEM1 such that the shared antenna S-ANT transmits and receives the signal of the third band. The transceiver circuit 1250 may control the first front-end module FEM1 such that the third antenna ANT3 transmits and receives the signal of the N41 band.
In addition, the transceiver circuit 1250 may control the second front-end module FEM2 such that the second antenna ANT2 transmits and receives the signal of the third band and the third antenna ANT3 receives the signal of the third band. As an example, the transceiver circuit 1250 may control the second front-end module FEM2 such that the second antenna ANT2 transmits and receives the signal of the B41 band and the third antenna ANT3 receives the signal of the B41 band.
A dual connectivity configuration and a MIMO operation may be performed using the plurality of antennas disposed on the side region of the rollable device disclosed herein. A dual connectivity state may be specified such that the electronic device is operated in an EN-DC, NGEN-DC, or NR-DC configuration as illustrated in
A UE channel bandwidth for EN-DC may be defined. In this regard, a UE channel bandwidth for intra-band EN-DC in FR1 may be defined. Channel arrangements for DC may be defined. In this regard, channel spacing for intra-band EN-DC carriers may be defined.
The configuration for EN-DC may be defined. Specifically, configurations for intra-band contiguous EN-DC, intra-band non-contiguous EN-DC, inter-band EN-DC in FR1, inter-band EN-DC including FR2, inter-band EN-DC including FR1 and FR2, and inter-band EN-DC between FR1 and FR2 may be defined.
As an example, UL EN-DC configuration may be defined for 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 bands in FR1. In this regard, the UL EN-DC configuration for 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 bands in FR1 may be made of a combination of EUTRA and NR configurations. This EN-DC, NGEN-DC, or NR-DC configuration may also be defined for downlink (DL) as well as uplink (UL).
Transmitter power may be defined in relation to EN-DC. UE maximum output power and UE maximum output power reduction may be defined for each configuration of the above-described EN-DCs. UE additional maximum output power reduction may be defined in relation to EN-DC. Configured output power for EN-DC and configured output power for NR-DC may be defined.
In the rollable device disclosed herein, the display region may be expanded in a slide-open state. In this regard,
Referring to
The rear cover 203 may correspond to a metal region and be made of an STS material. The second antenna (ANT2) 1100 may be disposed by being spaced by a slit apart from the one side region where the plurality of antennas is disposed. The second antenna (ANT2) 1100 may be disposed on the lower region of the rollable device, and operate in the MB band and the HB band of the 4G communication system and the Sub-6 band of the 5G communication system. The sixth antenna ANT6 may be disposed on the upper region of the rollable device. The sixth antenna ANT6 may be configured to operate in a GPS L5 band and a WiFi band.
In the slide-open state, the ground region may be expanded due to a mechanical structure corresponding to the moving portion. For example, the ground region may be expanded due to the rolling plate, the display 151, and the slide mold. As the ground region is expanded, antenna characteristics may be changed in the slide-open state. Therefore, in order to compensate for different antenna deviation characteristics in the slide-close/open of the rollable device disclosed herein, antenna characteristics for each band may be optimized through the switching unit.
Referring to
In this regard, a metal pattern operating in the Sub-6 band may be disposed on the lower FPCB. Accordingly, an operating frequency can be adjusted by controlling a resonant mode of the second antenna ANT2 (1100). In addition, the FPCB may be grounded with the cover frame 201 through the contact clip CC to remove unwanted resonance due to unnecessary radiation with other antennas including the second antennas ANT2 (1100).
Referring to
The foregoing description has been given of the configuration that the electronic device having the plurality o9f transceivers and antennas according to the embodiment performs the MIMO and/or the CA. In this regard, the electronic devices that performs the MIMO and/or the CA may operate in an EN-DC configuration so as to be in an EN-DC state with eNB and gNB. Hereinafter, a wireless communication system including an electronic device performing MIMO and/or CA operations and a base station will be described. In this regard,
Referring to
The base station (BS) may be replaced with a term such as a fixed station, a Node B, an evolved-NodeB (eNB), a Next Generation NodeB (gNB), a base transceiver system (BTS), an access point (AP), or a general NB (gNB), a 5G system, a network, an AI system, a road side unit (RSU), robot or the like. In addition, a terminal may be fixed or mobile, and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a user terminal (UT), a mobile subscriber station (MSS), a subscriber station (SS), and an advanced mobile (AMS), a wireless terminal (WT), a machine-type communication (MTC) device, an machine-to-machine (M2M) device, a device-to-device (D2D) device, a vehicle, a robot, an AI module or the like.
The first communication device and the second communication device include a processor 911, 921, a memory 914, 924, at least one Tx/Rx RF module 915, 925, a Tx processor 912, 922, an Rx processor 913, 923, and an antenna 916, 926. The processor implements the functions, processes and/or methods described above. More specifically, in a DL communication (communication from the first communication device to the second communication device), upper layer packets from a core network (NGC) are provided to the processor 911. The processor implements the function of an L2 layer. In the DL, the processor provides multiplexing, radio resource allocation between a logical channel and a transport channel to the second communication device 920, and is responsible for signaling to the second communication device. A transmit (TX) processor 912 implements various signal processing functions for a L1 layer (i.e., physical layer). The signal processing functions facilitate forward error correction (FEC) in the second communication device, and include coding and interleaving. The encoded and modulated symbols are divided into parallel streams, and each stream is mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, and multiplexed with a reference signal (RS) in a time and/or frequency domain, and combined together using an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) to create a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDMA symbol stream. An OFDM stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Each spatial stream may be provided to different antennas 916 through individual Tx/Rx modules (or transceivers 915). Each Tx/Rx module may modulate an RF carrier with each spatial stream for transmission. In the second communication device, each Tx/Rx module (or transceiver) 925 receives a signal through each antenna 926 of each Tx/Rx module. Each Tx/Rx module recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier, and provides it to the receive (RX) processor 923. The RX processor implements various signal processing functions of layer 1. The RX processor may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the second communication device. If multiple spatial streams are directed to the second communication device, they may be combined into a single OFDMA symbol stream by multiple RX processors. The RX processor converts the OFDMA symbol stream from a time domain to a frequency domain using fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes an individual OFDMA symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signal on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal placement points transmitted by the first communication device. Such soft decisions may be based on channel estimate values. The soft decisions are decoded and deinterleaved to recover data and control signals originally transmitted by the first communication device on the physical channel. The corresponding data and control signals are provided to the processor 921.
The UL (communication from the second communication device to the first communication device) is processed at the first communication device 910 in a similar manner to that described in connection with a receiver function at the second communication device 920. Each Tx/Rx module 925 receives a signal via each antenna 926. Each Tx/Rx module provides an RF carrier and information to the RX processor 923. The processor 921 may be associated with the memory 924 that stores program codes and data. The memory may be referred to as a computer readable medium.
Meanwhile, technical effects of an electronic device having a plurality of antennas operating according to the present disclosure will be described as follows.
According to the present disclosure, various communication systems can be supported by arranging a plurality of antennas, which can be implemented as a metal frame of an electronic device, and a plurality of mmWave antenna modules disposed in the electronic device.
According to the present disclosure, an antenna structure capable of securing characteristics of antennas disposed in a rollable device can be provided, thereby minimizing interference among a plurality of antennas while optimizing performance of the plurality of antennas.
According to the present disclosure, an antenna structure capable of maintaining antenna performance in a rollable device can be provided, thereby maintaining stable communication performance even when a display region is expanded or reduced.
According to the present disclosure, an antenna structure capable of securing antenna performance in a display structure with a minimized bezel region in a rollable device can be provided, thereby minimizing an antenna arrangement space.
According to the present disclosure, antenna performance can be improved without changing a mechanical structure and design factors of an electronic device such as a rollable device.
According to the present disclosure, an antenna arrangement structure capable of minimizing radio wave interference when a user grips an electronic device can be provided. According to the present disclosure, an mmWave antenna can be mounted on a seating portion of a metal frame when a plurality of antennas and the mmWave antenna module are disposed, thereby reducing heat generation due to RF signals.
According to the present disclosure, EN-DC, carrier aggregation (CA), and Multi-input and Multi-output (MIMO) can be supported in a rollable device without changing a mechanical structure and design shape.
Further scope of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, such as the preferred embodiment of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
With regard to the present disclosure described above, the design of an antenna including processors 180, 1250, and 1400 and a controller for controlling the same in an electronic device 180 having a plurality of antennas, and a control method thereof may be implemented as codes readable by a computer on a medium written by a program. The computer-readable media includes all types of recording devices in which data readable by a computer system can be stored. Examples of such computer-readable media may include hard disk drive (HDD), solid state disk (SSD), silicon disk drive (SDD), ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage element and the like. Also, the computer-readable medium may also be implemented as a format of carrier wave (e.g., transmission via an Internet). The computer may include the processor 180 of the terminal. Therefore, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in the appended claims, Therefore, all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2020/006396 | May 2020 | WO | international |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20170346164 | Kim | Nov 2017 | A1 |
| 20190261519 | Park | Aug 2019 | A1 |
| 20200161745 | Khripkov | May 2020 | A1 |
| 20210066799 | Avser | Mar 2021 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2010178188 | Aug 2010 | JP |
| 1020180014630 | Feb 2018 | KR |
| 1020190115888 | Oct 2019 | KR |
| 1020190116883 | Oct 2019 | KR |
| 1020200012106 | Feb 2020 | KR |
| Entry |
|---|
| PCT International Application No. PCT/KR2020/006396, International Search Report dated Feb. 9, 2021, 9 pages. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210359392 A1 | Nov 2021 | US |
