Patent Application
20200168993
This application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 107142393 filed on Nov. 28, 2018, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The disclosure generally relates to a mobile device, and more particularly, it relates to a mobile device and an antenna structure therein.
With the advancements being made in mobile communication technology, mobile devices such as portable computers, mobile phones, multimedia players, and other hybrid functional portable electronic devices have become more common. To satisfy user demand, mobile devices can usually perform wireless communication functions. Some devices cover a large wireless communication area; these include mobile phones using 2G, 3G, and LTE (Long Term Evolution) systems and using frequency bands of 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, and 2700 MHz. Some devices cover a small wireless communication area; these include mobile phones using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth systems and using frequency bands of 2.4 GHz, 5.2 GHz, and 5.8 GHz.
In order to improve their appearance, designers often incorporate metal elements into mobile devices. However, these newly added metal elements tend to negatively affect the antennas used for wireless communication in mobile devices, thereby degrading the overall communication quality of the mobile devices. As a result, there is a need to propose a mobile device with a novel antenna structure, so as to overcome the problems of the prior art.
In an exemplary embodiment, the disclosure is directed to a mobile device that includes a metal mechanism element, a ground plane, a parasitic radiation element, a feeding radiation element, and a dielectric substrate. The metal mechanism element has a slot. The slot has a first closed end and a second closed end. The parasitic radiation element has a connection end and an open end. The connection end of the parasitic radiation element is coupled to the ground plane. The parasitic radiation element includes a first widening portion. The first widening portion is positioned at a bend of the parasitic radiation element. The parasitic radiation element has a vertical projection on the metal mechanism element. The vertical projection of the parasitic radiation element at least partially overlaps the first closed end of the slot. The feeding radiation element has a feeding point. The feeding radiation element is disposed between the parasitic radiation element and the ground plane. The dielectric substrate is adjacent to the metal mechanism element. The parasitic radiation element and the feeding radiation element are disposed on the dielectric substrate. An antenna structure is formed by the parasitic radiation element, the feeding radiation element, and the slot of the metal mechanism element.
In some embodiments, the mobile device further includes a tuning radiation element and a circuit element. The tuning radiation element extends across the slot. The tuning radiation element includes a first portion and a second portion. The first portion and the second portion are respectively coupled to the metal mechanism element. The circuit element is coupled between the first portion and the second portion of the tuning radiation element.
The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In order to illustrate the purposes, features and advantages of the invention, the embodiments and figures of the invention are shown in detail as follows.
Certain terms are used throughout the description and following claims to refer to particular components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, manufacturers may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following description and in the claims, the terms “include” and “comprise” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “include, but not limited to . . . ”. The term “substantially” means the value is within an acceptable error range. One skilled in the art can solve the technical problem within a predetermined error range and achieve the proposed technical performance. Also, the term “couple” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct electrical connection. Accordingly, if one device is coupled to another device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections.
The metal mechanism element 110 may be a metal housing of the mobile device 100. In some embodiments, the metal mechanism element 110 is a metal upper cover of a notebook computer or a metal back cover of a tablet computer, but it is not limited thereto. The metal mechanism element 110 has a slot 120. The slot 120 of the metal mechanism element 110 may substantially have a straight-line shape. Specifically, the slot 120 has a first closed end 121 and a second closed end 122 which are away from each other. The mobile device 100 may further include a nonconductive material, which fills the slot 120 of the metal mechanism element 110.
The dielectric substrate 130 may be an FR4 (Flame Retardant 4) substrate, a PCB (Printed Circuit Board), or an FCB (Flexible Circuit Board). The dielectric substrate 130 has a first surface E1 and a second surface E2 which are opposite to each other. The parasitic radiation element 150 and the feeding radiation element 160 are both disposed on the first surface E1 of the dielectric substrate 130. The second surface E2 of the dielectric substrate 130 is adjacent to the slot 120 of the metal mechanism element 110. In some embodiments, the parasitic radiation element 150 and the feeding radiation element 160 are both disposed on the second surface E2 of the dielectric substrate 130. In alternative embodiments, the parasitic radiation element 150 is disposed on the first surface E1 of the dielectric substrate 130 and the feeding radiation element 160 is disposed on the second surface E2 of the dielectric substrate 130, or the parasitic radiation element 150 is disposed on the second surface E2 of the dielectric substrate 130 and the feeding radiation element 160 is disposed on the first surface E1 of the dielectric substrate 130. It should be noted that the term “adjacent” or “close” over the disclosure means that the distance (spacing) between two corresponding elements is smaller than a predetermined distance (e.g., 5 mm or shorter), or means that the two corresponding elements directly touch each other (i.e., the aforementioned distance/spacing therebetween is reduced to 0). In some embodiments, the second surface E2 of the dielectric substrate 130 is directly attached to the metal mechanism element 110, and the dielectric substrate 130 extends across the slot 120 of the metal mechanism element 110. The ground plane 140 may be a ground copper foil, which may substantially have a stepped-shape. For example, the ground plane 140 may be coupled to the metal mechanism element 110, and the ground plane 140 may extend from the metal mechanism element 110 onto the first surface E1 of the dielectric substrate 130. In a preferred embodiment, an antenna structure is formed by the parasitic radiation element 150, the feeding radiation element 160, and the slot 120 of the metal mechanism element 110.
The parasitic radiation element 150 may substantially have a width-varying L-shape. The parasitic radiation element 150 has a connection end 151 and an open end 152. The connection end 151 of the parasitic radiation element 150 may be coupled to a corner of the ground plane 140. The parasitic radiation element 150 includes a first widening portion 155. The first widening portion 155 is positioned at a bend (e.g., the right-angle bend of the L-shape) in the parasitic radiation element 150. The first widening portion 155 of the parasitic radiation element 150 may substantially have a rectangular shape. Alternatively, the first widening portion 155 of the parasitic radiation element 150 may substantially have a triangular shape (not shown), such that the width of the first widening portion 155 is greater than the width of the other portion of the parasitic radiation element 150. The parasitic radiation element 150 has a vertical projection on the metal mechanism element 110, and the vertical projection of the parasitic radiation element 150 at least partially overlaps the first closed end 121 of the slot 120. For example, the vertical projection of the connection end 151 or the vertical projection of the first widening portion 155 may be substantially aligned with the first closed end 121 of the slot 120. According to different design requirements, the first widening portion 155 of the parasitic radiation element 150 may extend across at least a portion of the width WS of the slot 120, or may not extend across the slot 120 at all. In other words, the vertical projection of the first widening portion 155 may at least partially overlap the slot 120, or may not overlap the slot 120 at all.
The feeding radiation element 160 may substantially have an equal-width L-shape. Alternatively, the feeding radiation element 160 may substantially have a rectangular shape or a trapezoidal shape. The feeding radiation element 160 has a first end 161 and a second end 162. A feeding point FP is positioned at the first end 161 of the feeding radiation element 160. The second end 162 of the feeding radiation element 160 is an open end. For example, the feeding point FP may be coupled to a signal source (not shown), and the signal source may be an RF (Radio Frequency) module for exciting the antenna structure of the mobile device 100. The feeding radiation element 160 may be disposed in a notch region, which is defined between the parasitic radiation element 150 and the ground plane 140. The feeding radiation element 160 extends across at least a portion of the width WS of the slot 120. That is, the feeding radiation element 160 has a vertical projection on the metal mechanism element 110, and the vertical projection of the feeding radiation element 160 at least partially overlaps the slot 120.
According to practical measurements, the antenna structure of the mobile device 100 can cover a first frequency band and a second frequency band. The first frequency band may be from about 2400 MHz to about 2500 MHz, and the second frequency band may be from about 5150 MHz to about 5850 MHz. Therefore, the mobile device 100 can support at least the dual-band operations of WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networks) 2.4 GHz/5 GHz. The following embodiments will introduce a variety of configurations of the proposed mobile device and antenna structure. It should be understood that these figures and descriptions are merely exemplary, rather than limitations of the invention.
In some embodiments, the element sizes of the mobile device 300 are as described as follows. The length L1 of the slot 120 (i.e., the length L1 from the first closed end 121 to the second closed end 122) may be substantially equal to 0.5 wavelength (λ/2) of the first frequency band FB1. The length L2 of the parasitic radiation element 250 (i.e., the length L2 from the connection end 251 to the open end 252) may be longer than or equal to 0.25 wavelength (λ/4) of the first frequency band FB1. The length L3 of the feeding radiation element 160 (i.e., the length L3 from the first end 161 to the second end 162) may be substantially equal to 0.25 wavelength (λ/4) of the second frequency band FB2. When the shape of the feeding radiation element 160 is changed to a T-shape or a rectangular shape, its length L3 may be correspondingly adjusted. The width of the first coupling gap GC1 may be from 0.5 mm to 5 mm. The distance D1 between the feeding radiation element 160 and the first closed end 121 of the slot 120 may be 0.25 to 0.33 times the length L1 of the slot 120. The above ranges of element sizes are calculated and obtained according to the results of many experiments, and they help to optimize the operation bandwidth and impedance matching of the antenna structure of the mobile device 300.
The feeding radiation element 660 may substantially have a T-shape. The feeding radiation element 660 is disposed between the ground plane 640, the parasitic radiation element 650, and the additional radiation element 670. Specifically, the feeding radiation element 660 has a first end 661, a second end 662, and a third end 663. A feeding point FP is disposed at the first end 661 of the feeding radiation element 660. The second end 662 of the feeding radiation element 660 is an open end, which extends toward the first widening portion 655 of the parasitic radiation element 650. The third end 663 of the feeding radiation element 660 is another open end, which extends away from the second end 662 of the feeding radiation element 660. The additional radiation element 670 also may substantially have a T-shape. The additional radiation element 670 has a first end 671, a second end 672, and a third end 673. The first end 671 of the additional radiation element 670 is coupled to a second corner of the ground plane 640 (the second corner is opposite to the aforementioned first corner). The second end 672 of the additional radiation element 670 is an open end, which extends toward the feeding radiation element 660. The third end 673 of the additional radiation element 670 is another open end, which extends away from the second end 672 of the additional radiation element 670. In alternative embodiments, adjustments are made such that the additional radiation element 670 substantially has an L-shape, and the third end 673 of the additional radiation element 670 is omitted. Alternatively, the additional radiation element 670 may substantially have a rectangular shape or a trapezoidal shape. A second coupling gap GC2 is formed between the feeding radiation element 660 and the parasitic radiation element 650. A third coupling gap GC3 is formed between the feeding radiation element 660 and the additional radiation element 670.
The tuning radiation element 680 may substantially have a straight-line shape. The tuning radiation element 680 extends across the whole width WSL of the slot 620. Specifically, the tuning radiation element 680 includes a first portion 681 and a second portion 682, and a partition gap 685 is formed between the first portion 681 and the second portion 682. The first portion 681 and the second portion 682 of the tuning radiation element 680 are respectively coupled to the metal mechanism element 610. That is, each of the first portion 681 and the second portion 682 of the tuning radiation element 680 extends from the first surface of the dielectric substrate 630 onto the metal mechanism element 610. The circuit element 690 is coupled in series between the first portion 681 and the second portion 682 of the tuning radiation element 680. In some embodiments, the circuit element 690 is a capacitor or an inductor. For example, the aforementioned capacitor may be a fixed capacitor or a variable capacitor, and the aforementioned inductor may be a fixed inductor or a variable inductor. An antenna structure is formed by the parasitic radiation element 650, the feeding radiation element 660, the additional radiation element 670, the tuning radiation element 680, the circuit element 690, and the slot 620 of the metal mechanism element 610.
In some embodiments, the element sizes of the mobile device 600 are described as follows. The length of the slot 620 (i.e., the length from the first closed end 621 to the second closed end 622) may be substantially equal to 0.5 wavelength (λ/2) of the third frequency band FB3. The length of the parasitic radiation element 650 (i.e., the length from the connection end 651 to the open end 652) may be longer than or equal to 0.25 wavelength (λ/4) of the fifth frequency band FBS. The length of the additional radiation element 670 (i.e., the length from the first end 671 to the second end 672) be substantially equal to 0.25 wavelength (λ/4) of the sixth frequency band FB6. The width of the second coupling gap GC2 may be from 0.5 mm to 5 mm. In some embodiments, the second coupling gaps GC2 of
The invention proposes a novel mobile device and a novel antenna structure, which are integrated with a metal mechanism element. The metal mechanism element does not negatively affect the radiation performance of the antenna structure because the metal mechanism element is considered as an extension portion of the antenna structure. In comparison to the conventional design, the invention has at least the advantages of small size, wide bandwidth, and beautiful device appearance, and therefore it is suitable for application in a variety of mobile communication devices.
Note that the above element sizes, element shapes, and frequency ranges are not limitations of the invention. An antenna designer can fine-tune these settings or values according to different requirements. It should be understood that the mobile device and antenna structure of the invention are not limited to the configurations of
Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having the same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 107142393 | Nov 2018 | TW | national |
