Patent Application
20140145899
The present disclosure generally relates to mobile devices.
Near-field proximity effects from a human body may degrade the performance of a portable wireless device. In some cases, the wireless communication capability of a mobile device can be disabled due to energy absorption by the human body and/or because of severe frequency detuning. In an attempt to avoid these situations, much effort is involved with determining the antenna type, antenna feed, and antenna placement location that is used in a mobile device. Unfortunately, users tend to hold mobile devices differently. Thus, it is very challenging to find an optimal antenna solution in order to improve user experiences.
Reconfigurable, tunable and/or diversity antennas have been proposed as a potential solution to address this issue. However, these approaches typically involve the use of additional components including switches, variable capacitors, and/or diodes. These components also may involve the use of additional high-voltage bias signal lines that tend to increase the complexity of a circuit board. Further, an algorithm may be required in order to reconfigure the antenna structure and/or select the antenna. These solutions also may require one or more sensors to detect user behavior so that reconfiguring of the antenna with the algorithm may take place.
Mobile devices with conductive liquid antennas and related methods are provided. Briefly described, one embodiment, among others, is a mobile device comprising: a first antenna having a first channel and a first liquid, the first channel defining a first interior volume, the first liquid being electrically conductive and located within the first channel, the first liquid further exhibiting a first volume smaller than the first interior volume; and a first antenna feed mounted such that, responsive to the device being in a first orientation, the first liquid electrically communicates with the first antenna feed.
Another embodiment is a method for reconfiguring a mobile device comprising: using gravity-induced flow of a conductive liquid to select an antenna of the mobile device.
Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be or may become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
Many aspects of the disclosure may be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Having summarized various aspects of the present disclosure, reference will now be made in detail to that which is illustrated in the drawings. While the disclosure will be described in connection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit the scope of legal protection to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein. Rather, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
In this regard, mobile devices with conductive liquid antennas and related methods are provided, in which gravity-induced flow of a conductive liquid is used to select an antenna of the mobile device. In some embodiments, the conductive liquid is contained within non-conductive channels that are configured to permit the liquid to flow therein. Antenna feeds are mounted to the channels so that, depending upon the orientation of the device, the liquid in at least one of the channels electrically communicates with its associated antenna feed(s). As such, additional components for determining orientation and/or user hand position (among possible other components) may not be required in order to provide for selective use from among multiple antennas.
Various conductive liquids may be used. By way of example, Mercury may exhibit suitable fluidic and conductive properties (although other considerations may make Mercury a poor choice). Additionally, Galistan (liquid Gallium with Indium and Tin), among possible others, may be used, with or without the inclusion of coatings on the interiors of the channels.
In this embodiment, the channel is configured with multiple segments, although various other configurations may be used in other embodiments. Specifically, the channel incorporates segments 132, 134, which extend outwardly from an interconnecting intermediate segment 136. Notably, segments 132 and 134 are spaced from and are oriented parallel to corresponding side edges of the housing.
Segment 134 (which is shown in its entirety) extends linearly from the intermediate segment to a distal end 138. Segment 134 also exhibits a uniform cross-sectional area (in this case, circular) along its length. In other embodiments, various other configurations may be used.
An antenna feed 140 is mounted to the intermediate segment, which is positioned adjacent to corner 113. So configured, the liquid may flow to a position in which the antenna feed and liquid electrically communicate with each other. In some embodiments, electrical communication may involve physical contact between the liquid and the antenna feed. For instance, in some embodiments, a portion of the antenna feed may protrude into the channel.
In the first orientation depicted in
As shown in
In this regard,
The processing device 170 may include a custom made or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU) or an auxiliary processor among several processors, a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip), one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), a plurality of suitably configured digital logic gates, and other electrical configurations comprising discrete elements both individually and in various combinations to coordinate the overall operation of the system.
The memory 180 may include any or a combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., random-access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, and SRAM, etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements. The memory typically comprises native operating system 182, one or more native applications, emulation systems, or emulated applications for any of a variety of operating systems and/or emulated hardware platforms, emulated operating systems, etc. For example, the applications may include application specific software which may comprise some or all the components of the system. In accordance with such embodiments, the components are stored in memory and executed by the processing device.
Touchscreen interface 176 is configured to detect contact within the display area of the display 174 and provides such functionality as on-screen buttons, menus, keyboards, soft keys, etc. that allows users to navigate user interfaces by touch.
One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the memory may, and typically will, comprise other components which have been omitted for purposes of brevity. Note that in the context of this disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores one or more programs for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
With further reference to
Antennas 186 and 188 selectively (and, in this case, alternately) electrically interconnect with the network/communication interface to transmit and/or receive data. In particular, each of the antennas incorporates a channel that encapsulates a conductive liquid. In operation, the liquid flows within the respective channels responsive to movement and/or orientation of the device so that one of the antennas is functioning at any given time.
An example embodiment of an antenna that may be used in a mobile device is depicted schematically in
Segments 194 and 196 define an included angle (ΓΈ) which, in this embodiment, is approximately 90 degrees. In some other embodiments, it is not necessary for the included angle to be 90 degrees to make sure at least one of the antennas is activated.
An antenna feed 206 is mounted to the intermediate segment, which is configured as a rather bulbous outward extending portion of the channel. Notably, the bulbous portion protrudes from the portion of the channel opposite the included angle.
Impedance-matching components (e.g., components 208, 210) are distributed along the segments to assist in correcting for dynamic changes in the effective length and/or shape of the antenna attributable to various user behaviors while using a mobile device. In particular, the impedance-matching components of this embodiment are located on the outboard portions of the segments and help to tune the antenna to desired operational frequencies. Notably, the number of impedance-matching components active at any given time is associated with the positioning of the liquid within the channel, as electrical communication with the liquid effectively activates a component. Thus, as the orientation of the antenna changes, the number of activated components changes.
In some embodiments, an impedance-matching component may include a conductive material, which may be provided in various configurations (e.g., a wire). The shape of the conductive material may be similar to the shape of the cross-sectional shape of the channel, such as may be achieved by the material conforming to a surface of the channel. An example of such an embodiment is depicted schematically in
As shown in
An example of an embodiment of a mobile device that incorporates multiple antennas is depicted schematically in
In the orientation depicted in
In contrast, the orientation of the device in
In order to cover 360 degree use of the mobile device, the short-length side channel may be filled with just enough conductive liquid to activate the device. If 360 degree use is not necessary depending on an user's typical behavior and/or particular system form-factor, for example, the amount of liquid and the detail shape of the channel may be modified such as to accommodate the user's behavior.
In the orientation depicted in
The vertical orientation of segment 250 (which corresponds to a horizontal position of the device) is depicted in
In
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely examples of possible implementations. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the principles of the present disclosure. By way of example, the systems described may be implemented in hardware, software or combinations thereof. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.
