Patent Grant
9484631
A large and growing population of users is enjoying entertainment through the consumption of digital media items, such as music, movies, images, electronic books, and so on. The users employ various electronic devices to consume such media items. Among these electronic devices (referred to herein as user devices) are electronic book readers, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable media players, tablet computers, netbooks, laptops and the like. These electronic devices wirelessly communicate with a communications infrastructure to enable the consumption of the digital media items. In order to wirelessly communicate with other devices, these electronic devices include one or more antennas.
All consumer portable devices need to meet the FCC's SAR requirement. SAR is a measure of the rate at which energy is absorbed by the body when exposed to a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field. In addition, the user's body can block the RF electromagnetic field in the direction of the user's body, thus reducing the gain in that direction.
The present inventions will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various embodiments of the present invention, which, however, should not be taken to limit the present invention to the specific embodiments, but are for explanation and understanding only.
Antenna structures and methods of operating the same of an electronic device are described. One apparatus includes a single radio frequency (RF) feed and a folded monopole element coupled to the single RF feed. The folded monopole element is an integrated WAN/GNSS antenna that radiates electromagnetic energy in a first frequency band and radiates electromagnetic energy in a second frequency band. The first frequency band is a wireless area network (WAN) frequency band and the second frequency band is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) frequency band. The apparatus further includes an impedance matching circuit coupled to the single RF feed. The impedance matching circuit includes a diplexer to extract out GNSS frequency signals received by the folded monopole element from WAN signals received by the folded monopole element. The folded monopole element radiating within the first frequency range permits communications in a first set of operating bands, including at least one of band 1, band 2, band 4, wireless communication service (WCS) and band 7 of Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks. The folded monopole element radiating within the second frequency range permits reception of GPS signals. The high-band antenna element radiating within the first frequency range, as described herein, permits communications in a third set of operating bands, including at least band 1, band 2, and band 4. The-low-band antenna element radiating within the third frequency band, as described herein, permits communications in a fourth set of operating bands, including at least band 17, band 5, band 8, band 20, and band 29.
The antenna structures described herein can be used for Long Term Evolution (LTE) frequency bands, third generation (3G) frequency bands, Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® frequency bands or other wireless local area network (WLAN) frequency bands, wide area network (WAN) frequency bands, global positioning system (GPS) frequency bands, or the like.
The electronic device (also referred to herein as user device) may be any content rendering device that includes a wireless modem for connecting the user device to a network. Examples of such electronic devices include electronic book readers, portable digital assistants, mobile phones, laptop computers, portable media players, tablet computers, cameras, video cameras, netbooks, notebooks, desktop computers, gaming consoles, DVD players, media centers, and the like. The user device may connect to a network to obtain content from a server computing system (e.g., an item providing system) or to perform other activities. The user device may connect to one or more different types of cellular networks.
Multi-Antenna User Device
In one embodiment, the antenna system of the user device 105 may cover the following frequency bands listed in the following table.
For purposes of description, when antenna locations are discussed, it is with respect to looking at the user device 100 from a back side (an opposite side of a display on a front side) with a top edge of the user device 100 pointing upwards to the sky. The primary TX/RX antenna elements (e.g., first antenna 102 and second antenna 104), also sometimes referred to as the main antenna, is located at a bottom side 200 of the user device 100, as illustrated in
The user device 100 can cover various frequency bands using the five antennas, such as follows: frequency bands B1, B2, B4 by Antenna 1102; frequency bands B17, B5, B8, B20, B29 by Antenna 2104; frequency bands B1, B2, B4, Wireless Communication Service (WCS), B7 by Antenna 3106; frequency bands Bluetooth®/Wi-Fi®/5 GHz frequency bands by Antenna 4108; and frequency bands B17, B5, B8, B20, B29 by Antenna 5110.
Primary Antenna: Antenna 1 High-Band Tx/Rx
The primary antenna 1102, which is the high-band element of the primary or main antenna located at the first corner 202 of the bottom side is a wideband dual-arm antenna. The wideband antenna may include a first feeding arm coupled to a radio frequency (RF) feed and a second feeding arm coupled to the RF feed. At least a portion of the second feeding arm is parallel to the first feeding arm. The wideband dual-arm antenna further includes a third arm coupled to the ground plane. The third arm is a parasitic ground element that forms a coupling to the first feeding arm and the second feeding arm. The parasitic element increases a bandwidth of the wideband antenna. Another wideband dual-arm antenna further includes a grounding line coupled to the ground plane to electrically short the first feeding arm to the ground plane to form an inverted-F antenna (IFA), such as illustrated in
The ground plane may be various parts of metal interconnected so that the metal appears to be one solid piece of metal to the antenna elements. The ground plane of the user device may be made up of metal from the device chassis 112, PCB, display housing, flexible grounding components, as well as grounding pieces for various components of the user device, such as cameras, audio components, USB ports, vibrators, touch keys, or the like.
In one embodiment, the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 is disposed on an antenna carrier, such as a dielectric carrier of the electronic device. The antenna carrier may be any non-conductive material, such as dielectric material, upon which the conductive material of the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 can be disposed without making electrical contact with other metal of the electronic device. In another embodiment, the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 is disposed on, within, or in connection with a circuit board, such as a printed circuit board (PCB). In one embodiment, the ground plane may be a metal chassis of a circuit board. Alternatively, the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 may be disposed on other components of the electronic device or within the electronic device. It should be noted that the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 illustrated in
The wideband dual-arm antenna 400 includes a first feeding arm 402, a second feeding arm 404, and a third arm 408. The third arm 408 is a parasitic element and is referred to hereinafter as the parasitic element 408. A single RF feed 442 is coupled to a first end of the wideband dual-arm antenna 400. In particular, the single RF feed 442 is coupled to a first end of the first feeding arm 402. The first feeding arm 402 may be formed by one or more conductive traces. For example, a first portion of the first feeding arm 402 extends in a first direction from the single RF feed 442 until a first fold and a second portion extends from the first fold in a second direction. It should be noted that a “fold” refers to a bend, a corner or other change in direction of the antenna element. For example, the fold may be where one segment of an antenna element changes direction in the same plane or in a different plane. Typically, folds in antennas can be used to fit the entire length of the antenna within a smaller area or smaller volume of a user device. The single RF feed 442 is also coupled to a first end of the second feeding arm 404. The second feeding arm 404 may be formed by one or more conductive traces. For example, a line 405 is coupled to the RF feed and a third portion is coupled to the line and extends in the second direction. The third portion is parallel to the second portion of the first feeding arm 402. In one embodiment, the second feeding arm 404 is parallel to the first feeding arm 402 in its entirety and does not include any portion that is perpendicular to corresponding portions of the first feeding arm 402. In other embodiments, some portions of the second feeding arm 404 are parallel to corresponding portions of the first feeding arm 402. In the depicted embodiment, the third portion of the second feeding arm 404 that is folded onto a second side of the antenna carrier. In one embodiment, the first feeding arm 402 is disposed on a first plane on a first side of the antenna carrier 410 (e.g., a rear side) and one or more portions of the second feeding arm 404, the parasitic element 408, or of both are disposed on one or more additional planes, such as on a second side of the antenna carrier (e.g., a top side). This can be done to fit the wideband dual-arm antenna structure in a smaller volume while maintaining the overall length of the second feeding arm 404 or other portions of the antenna structure.
The parasitic element 408 includes a fourth portion coupled to a ground contact 409, which is coupled to the ground plane. The fourth portion extends from the ground contact 409 and forms a gap between a distal end of the second portion of the first feeding arm 402, the distal end being the farthest from the single RF feed 442. That is the fourth portion is disposed to form a gap between a distal end of the first feeding arm 402, the distal end being an end of the first feeding arm 402 that is farthest from the single RF feed 442. The proximity of the parasitic element 408 to the distal end forms a coupling between the parasitic element 408 and the first feeding arm 402. When driven by the single RF feed 442, the first feeding arm 402 parasitically induces current on the parasitic element 408 that is coupled to the ground plane (i.e., via ground contact 409). Although there is a gap between the conductive traces, the parasitic element 408 is in close enough proximity to form a close coupling (also referred to herein as “coupling”), such as a capacitive coupling or an inductive coupling, between the parasitic element 408 and the dual-arm antenna element (e.g., first feeding arm 402 and second feeding arm 404). The presence of the parasitic element 408 can change the first feeding arm 402, which is a monopole antenna, into a coupled monopole antenna. A parasitic element is an element of the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 that is not driven directly by the single RF feed 442. Rather, the single RF feed 442 directly drives another element of the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 (e.g., the first feeding arm 402 and second feeding arm 404), which parasitically induces a current on the parasitic element 408. In particular, by directly applying current on the other element by the single RF feed 442, the directly-fed element radiates electromagnetic energy, which induces another current on the parasitic element to also radiate electromagnetic energy. In the depicted embodiment, the parasitic element 408 is parasitic because it is physically separated from the first feeding arm 402 and the second feeding arm 404, which are driven at the single RF feed 442, but the parasitic element 408 forms a coupling between these antenna elements. For example, the first feeding arm 402 (and/or second feeding arm 1404) parasitically excites the current flow of the parasitic element 408. By coupling the driven element and the passive element, additional resonant modes can be created or existing resonant modes can be improved, such as decreasing the reflection coefficient or extending the bandwidth. In another embodiment, a tunable element (not illustrated) is coupled between the ground contact 409 and the ground plane. The tunable element can be used to tune the resonant frequency of the parasitic element 408.
The second feeding arm 404 is disposed to form a slot 406 between the second feeding arm 404 and the first feeding arm 402. In the depicted embodiment, the second feeding arm 404 also includes an opening (not labeled) in the middle of the third portion. The opening in the middle of the third portion can be used to accommodate other components of the user device, such as a speaker or a microphone. In another embodiment, the third portion can be continuous conductive material and not have an opening as illustrated. The line 405 may be a meandering line that follows the upper perimeter of the first feeding arm 402. The meandering line can be disposed to be parallel to the corresponding folds and bends of the first and second portions of the first feeding arm 402. The slot 406 between the first feeding arm 402 and the second feeding arm 404 can be carefully designed to achieve the wide bandwidth as described herein. The first feeding arm 402 contributes to resonance frequencies of a first resonant mode (mid-band), the parasitic element 408 contributes to resonance frequencies of a second resonant mode (high-band) and the second feeding arm 404 expands a bandwidth between the first resonant mode and the second resonant mode. That is, the second feeding arm 404 increases efficiency of the resonance frequencies of the first resonant mode and second resonant mode to expand the bandwidth of the wideband dual-arm antenna 400. For example, the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 can be configured to operate in a frequency range of approximately 1.7 GHz to approximately 2.7 GHz, and the second feeding arm 404 is disposed to form the slot 406, which expands the bandwidth between about 1.7 GHz and about 2.7 GHz. The parasitic element 408 may also contribute to impedance matching of the mid-band (e.g., about 1.7 GHz) of the first feeding arm 402. For another example, the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 can be configured to operate in a frequency range of approximately 1.7 GHz to approximately 3.5 GHz, and the second feeding arm 404 is disposed to form the slot 406, which expands the bandwidth between about 1.7 GHz and about 3.5 GHz. The parasitic element 408 may also contribute to impedance matching of the mid-band (e.g., about 1.7 GHz) of the first feeding arm 402. In another embodiment, the antenna structure 4100 can be configured to operate in a frequency range of approximately 1.7 GHz to approximately 6 GHz.
The depicted antenna structure (e.g., wideband dual-arm antenna 400) can use two resonant modes to cover a range of about 1.7 GHz to about 2.7 GHz. In other embodiments, additional resonant modes can be achieved. Also, in other embodiments, the frequency range may be between approximately 1.7 GHz and approximately 6 GHz. In another embodiment, the antenna structure can be tuned to operate at approximately 3.5 GHz.
In a further embodiment, as illustrated in
In this embodiment, the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 is a 3D structure as illustrated in the perspective view of
The dimensions of the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 may be varied to achieve the desired frequency range as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, however, the total length of the antennas is a major factor for determining the frequency, and the width of the antennas is a factor for impedance matching. It should be noted that the factors of total length and width are dependent on one another. The wideband dual-arm antenna 400 may have various dimensions based on the various design factors. The first feeding arm 402 has a first effective length that is roughly the distance between the single RF feed 442 along the conductive trace(s). In one embodiment, the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 has an overall height (h4), an overall width (W4), and an overall depth (d4). The overall height (h4) may vary, but, in one embodiment, is about 9 mm. The overall width (W4) may vary, but, in one embodiment, is about 30 mm. The overall depth (d4) may vary, but, in one embodiment, is about 5 mm. The first feeding arm 402 has a width (W1) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, 17×mm. The first feeding arm 402 has a height (h1) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 6 mm. The first feeding arm 402 has a first effective length that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 24 mm. The second feeding arm 404 has a width (W2) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 12 mm. The second feeding arm 404 has a height (h4) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 9 mm. The second feeding arm 404 has a depth (d2) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 4 mm. The second feeding arm 404 has a second effective length that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 30 mm. The slot 406 has a height (not labeled) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 3 mm. The slot 406 has a width (not labeled) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 12 mm (e.g., the width of the second arm (W2). The parasitic element 408 has a width (W3) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 6 mm. The parasitic element 408 has a height (h1) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 6 mm. The parasitic element 408 has a third effective length that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 12 mm. Alternatively, other dimensions may be used for the wideband dual-arm antenna 400.
As described herein, strong resonances are not easily achieved within a compact space within user devices, especially within the spaces on smart phones and tablets. The structure of the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 of
The wideband dual-arm antenna 400 may be configured to operate in multiple resonant modes. For example, in another embodiment, the antenna structure may include one or more additional arm elements, slot antennas in the antenna structure or notches to create one or more additional resonant modes. In another embodiment, the antenna structure may include additional parasitic elements, such as a parasitic ground element (e.g., a monopole that extends from the ground plane that couples to the other antenna elements), to create an additional resonant mode. The embodiments described herein are not limited to use in these frequency ranges, but could be used to increase the bandwidth of a multi-band frequency in other frequency ranges, such as for operating in one or more of the following frequency bands Long Term Evolution (LTE) 700, LTE 2700, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) (also referred to as Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA)) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800 (also referred to as Digital Cellular Service (DCS) 1800) and GSM 1900 (also referred to as Personal Communication Service (PCS) 1900). The antenna structure may be configured to operate in multiple resonant modes. References to operating in one or more resonant modes indicates that the characteristics of the antenna structure, such as length, position, width, proximity to other elements, ground, or the like, decrease a reflection coefficient at certain frequencies to create the one or more resonant modes as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. Also, some of these characteristics can be modified to tune the frequency response at those resonant modes, such as to extend the bandwidth, increase the return loss, decrease the reflection coefficient, or the like. The embodiments described herein also provide a single-feed antenna with increased bandwidth in a size that is conducive to being used in a user device.
Primary Antenna: Antenna 2 Low-Band Tx/Rx
As described above, the primary antenna is split into two separate antenna elements with separate RF feeds, one for MB and HB and another for LB. The first antenna 102 is described above with respect to
The SAR and HAC for the specific bands are shown in the following table. The SAR on left cheek is higher than on right cheek except Band 4 with net input power 250 mW. HAC is M4 rating for LTE and UMTS bands with net input power of 250 mW but M3 rating for DCS 1800 and PCS 1900 bands with net input power of 1 W.
In some embodiments, grounding may impact antenna performance. There may be locations that affect efficiency at 1.8 to 2 GHz or the B7 resonance is shifted lower and radiation energy is absorbed at t2.6 GHz. In one embodiment, a home key flex grounding point a ground seal from the back cover metal inlay to the metal chassis can be well grounded to not impact antenna performance.
The low-band primary antenna structure 800 may be tunable antenna, which employs a reconfigurable matching network based on an antenna tuner (not illustrated in
The S11 parameter response of the second antenna 104 lies in the capacitive region between 700 MHz and 960 MHz. The return loss magnitude of the antenna element indicates a match at the desired frequency region, but maybe too shallow in magnitude. The antenna radiation efficiency indicates that the structure is a sufficiently-efficient radiator and can offer good system efficiency with suitable matching. Based on the antenna S11 response, a matching topology with a shunt inductor (L) and series capacitance (C) is found to provide a good match. Since the second antenna 104 is being used for various frequency bands within the covered frequency range, an antenna tuner can be used to provide different matching for the different frequency bands, such as illustrated in
In one embodiment, the antenna tuner 906 is the QFE1520 antenna tuner, developed by Qualcomm Inc. of San Diego Calif. As illustrated in
In one embodiment, when open loop control is used, based on the S11 response of the low-band primary antenna structure 800, a shunt L and series C matching network topology is suitable and the antenna tuner 906 can switch in and out the appropriate inductors from the impedance matching network 900. The values of the shunt inductors 910, 912, 914 are selected in such a way that the shunt inductor 914 (L13) in conjunction with the variable series capacitance 916 (C1) provides a good match for Band 17. Then inductor value for shunt inductor 910 (L4) is chosen such that inductors 914 (L13) and 910 (L4) in parallel provide an effective inductance which in conjunction with the variable series capacitor 916 (C1) provides a good match for Band 5. Extending this approach, the shunt inductor 912 (L7) is selected such that the inductance offered with shunt inductor 912 (L7) and shunt inductor 914 (L13) in parallel in conjunction with the variable series capacitor 916 (C1) provides a good match for Band 8. The match for Band 20 may be achieved by utilizing the available shunt variable capacitor 908 (C2) to form a tank circuit with shunt inductor 910 (L4) and connected in series to the variable series capacitor 916 (C1). The return losses for these bands are illustrated in
The following table shows an example of a state table for the antenna tuner 906 for tuning to the various bands. Alternatively, other state tables may be used for other tuners and other matching network configurations.
As shown in the table above, three states may be used to cover the various bands and one state may use different values for C1, C2 or both to tune to different bands within the same state.
In these embodiments, the second antenna 104 can achieve return loss with the antenna tuner 906 being configured into three tuning states (illustrated in the three different graphs), to cover the low-bands, e.g., Bands 17, 29, 20, 5 & 8. The shift in the sharp resonances illustrated in the graphs are due to the impedance matching networks achieved by the antenna tuner 906, since the S11 response of the monopole element 802 by itself may be more flat and shallow over a wide frequency range of 700 MHz to 960 MHz.
In another embodiment, the main antenna may be a tri-feed antenna architecture; one feed for LB (bands 17, 20, 29, 5, 8, GSM 860, EGSM 900); one feed for MB (bands 1, 2, 3, 4, DCS, PCS); and one feed for HB (Band 7 and WCS). The LB antenna may need larger spaces because of the nature of the longer wavelength. The dual-feed antenna architecture of
The following description is directed to the secondary antenna (third and fourth antennas) and auxiliary antennas (fifth antenna, etc.).
Secondary Antenna: Antenna 5 Low-Band Rx
In one embodiment, in order to improve radiation efficiency, a pre-matching component is placed at the junction (T-receptacles 1512) between the low-band diversity antenna element 1510 (e.g., LDS part) and the 50-ohm transition line 1514 (e.g., distal end of the flex part). Pre-matching of the fifth antenna 110 may be used to improve the impedance transition from the antenna element to 50-ohm transmission line, such as illustrated in
In one exemplary embodiment, the low-band diversity antenna element 1510 is a printed through LDS process. The one end is connected to the T-line receptacles 1512 that feeds the low-band diversity antenna element 1510 from the low-band diversity antenna T-line 1514. A capacitor (not illustrated) (e.g., 1.5 pF capacitor) is placed between the low-band diversity antenna element 1510 and the T-line receptacles 1512. The other distal end 1513 is connected to the PCB ground through the ground termination capacitor 1516 (e.g., 2.5 pF capacitor) for loop termination. The ground termination capacitor 1516 that connects the low-band diversity antenna element 1510 to the ground. As shown in
In one embodiment, the T-line receptacles 1512 can be replaced with a spring contact on the flex to improve the reliability. For example, both the spring contact and a pre-matching component may be placed on the flex where the receptacle used to be. The spring contact may be a low profile (e.g., 1.3 to 2 mm tall) with a 1.5 pF pre-matching component placed on the flex. Ground layers underneath the spring contact may be removed so that there is no parasitic capacitance.
The low-band secondary diversity antenna 110 can be used to cover LTE Band 29, 17, 19, 20, 5 and 8. The low-band secondary diversity antenna is placed on the top left corner of the device. In one embodiment, the low-band diversity antenna element 1510 is printed on LDS and is fed through a 50-ohm transmission line designed to be connected to an antenna tuner 1530 disposed on the PCB. The antenna tuner 1530 may be the QFE1550 antenna tuner, developed by Qualcomm, Inc. of Sand Diego. Alternatively, other antenna tuners may be used. On the feed side, the low-band secondary diversity antenna 110 is connected to the receptacle soldered on the LDS part through a 1.5 pF capacitor in series. The distal end 1513 is connected to the PCB ground through 2.5 pF capacitor creating a loop structure. The antenna tuner 1530 is used to tune the antenna resonance. The antenna tuner1530 may include one variable capacitor in series, one variable capacitor in shunt and two switches. Two extra components, one inductor and one capacitor, are connected to the variable series capacitor and shunt capacitor, respectively in order to provide better tuning range. The following table is an example matrix used to tune the resonance frequency of the low-band secondary diversity antenna 110. Each tuner state shown in the table is used to determine the resonant frequency of the low-band secondary diversity antenna 110 and results in system efficiency that is appropriate for the band desired.
The low band diversity antenna 110 is designed so that it can meet both efficiency and ECC requirements specified by carriers in different regions. The performance assessment shows that it can satisfy the requirements on LTE Band 17 and 5 with a margin (e.g., 5.1 dB and 0.7 dB, respectively).
Patterns for the antenna element have impact on the radiation efficiency and ECC. One pattern is illustrated in
In one embodiment, the low band diversity antenna 110 has an L-shape strip for grounding. The L-shape strip may impact the low-band diversity antenna positively when grounded to the device chassis 112, such as grounding to a metal stiffener bracket (e.g., for another component (speaker) and the device chassis (rear housing). Alternatively, the L-shape strip can be grounded between the PCB and a front chassis.
In one embodiment, the antenna tuner 1806 is the QFE1550 antenna tuner, developed by Qualcomm Inc. of San Diego Calif. As illustrated in the tuner block diagram of
After the 50-ohm transmission line without a pre-matching component, the impedance presented to the tuner from transmission line moves the impedance by about ¼ λ from the antenna placing the antenna impedance to the tuner near short condition or low resistance (1.2˜2.5 Ohms). In a contrary, the impedance transition from the antenna to the tuner through the 50-ohm transmission line with a pre-matching series capacitor (pre-matching component 1826) (e.g., 1.5 pF series capacitor) results in different impedance to the tuner.
Referring back to
Secondary Antenna: Antenna 3 Integrated High-Band RX/GPS
The integrated high-band diversity/GPS antenna 2100 includes a folded monopole structure. The folded monopole structure includes a first arm 2104, a second arm 2106, a widened portion 2108 and an extension portion 2110. The first arm 2104 extends in a first direction from the RF feed point 2102 until a first fold, and from the first fold the first arm 2104 extends in a second direction until the widened portion 2108. The second arm 2106 extends back in a third direction that is opposite the second direction towards a distal end 2107. The second arm 2106 forms a gap with a portion of the first arm 2104. The extension portion 2110 extends out in a fourth direction that is opposite the first direction. In other embodiments, some portions of the second arm 2106 are parallel to corresponding portions of the first arm 2104. In the depicted embodiment, portions of the first arm 2104, widened portion 2018 and extension portion 2110 are disposed on a top surface (rear surface) of the user device, and portions of the first arm 2104, second arm 2106, widened portion 2108 and extension portion 2110 are folded onto a second side of the antenna carrier as illustrated in
The GPS antenna of the integrated high-band diversity/GPS antenna 2100 covers GPS L1 and GNSS technologies with high sensitivity while the High-band diversity antenna of the integrated high-band diversity/GPS antenna 2100 covers B3, B4, B2, B1, WCS, and Band 7 for more international roaming. These multiple frequency bands span from 1.55 GHz 2.7 GHz. In one embodiment, the high-band diversity antenna is connected to a WAN module (also referred to as WAN chip), which may be located in the middle-bottom portion of the PCB, the antennas radiation region is chosen on the top right corner (in the perspective of facing the rear side of the user device). Generally, RF circuitry can be organized into different RF modules to control respective communication technologies. For example, the WAN module can be used to communicate over LTE networks, while a WLAN module can be used to communicate over a WLAN (e.g., Wi-Fi® network). Similarly, a GPS module can be used to receive GPS signals. The GPS module may include a GPS receiver. The RF modules may include one or more transceivers, power amplifiers, impedance circuits, or the like. Also, WAN modules can be configured to send and receive WAN signals, and a GPS module can be configured to receive GPS signals.
The top right corner area may be easier for efficiency wide band radiation and antenna around this area could be connected to the WAN chip with the shorter transmission lines. Also, the flex routing schemes along the peninsula region is not preferred for transmission lines routing if the antenna system is deployed on the top left corner. Specifically, the high speed signal lanes for audio, camera functionalities are so crowded and noisy to accommodate additional high frequency WAN signal lines with good isolations. Consequently, the integrated high-band diversity/GPS antenna 2100 is deployed on the top right corner, as shown in
Typical a GPS antenna element for GPS may be about 25 mm long to achieve λ/4 resonance. Compared to that, the volume in the top right corner is very small to compromise the existence of other components (RFC, corner camera, flash circuits, flash and bling rings). To utilize the radiations volume effectively: First, a height (+z) may be achieved by adopting the LDS technology to gain 0.5 mm over the antenna. The antenna metal may be placed between LDS and Nylon with 50% glass, which is an additional layer to strengthen the structure other than the TPU. Second, the sides of the corner within LDS tooling are effectively utilized. Moreover, different antenna types may be used. For examples, various combinations of PIFA, monopole, parasitic element, and a folded monopole. The folded monopole structure of
The dimensions of the integrated high-band diversity/GPS antenna 2100 may be varied to achieve the desired frequency range as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, however, the total length of the antennas is a major factor for determining the frequency, and the width of the antennas is a factor for impedance matching. It should be noted that the factors of total length and width are dependent on one another. The integrated high-band diversity/GPS antenna 2100 may have various dimensions based on the various design factors.
As described herein, strong resonances are not easily achieved within a compact space within user devices, especially within the spaces on smart phones and tablets. The structure of the integrated high-band diversity/GPS antenna 2100 of
To facilitate the functionalities of HB diversity and GPS systems, a single feed structure is connected to a GPS extractor with one port (GPS port) going to a GPS module and another port (WAN port) passing through all the high bands (B3, B4, B2 B1, WCS, and Band 7) to the WAN module, such as illustrated in
In one embodiment, the GPS extractor 2206 is a diplexer. The diplexer may be diplexers developed by Epochs, Murata, and Avago, as well as other manufactures of diplexers. A diplexer may be selected that performs well in terms of GPS insertion loss, but also more tolerant with antenna impedance values on the rest of the HB frequency ranges.
In one embodiment, the GPS/HB pre-matching circuitry 2204 may be used to minimize the possible mismatch loss. In the free space condition, the original return loss of the optimized antenna is shown in
The integrated high-band diversity/GPS antenna 2100 of
Auxiliary Antennas: Dual-Band WLAN/PAN Antenna
The dual-band antenna 2500 is coupled to a RF feed 2506, such as by a feed pad, and coupled to a ground point 2508. A transmission line 2510 is coupled between the RF feed 2506 and the IFA structure 2502. The transmission line 2510 can be printed on the flexible circuitry material disposed underneath the device chassis. In one embodiment, the transmission line embedded within an L-shaped grounding strip. The end of the ground strip can be sandwiched between a bracket and the FFC connector. The L-shaped grounding strip can make the connection to a metal bracket on flexible material with audio lines. In another embodiment, a spring clip (or connection) can be added between the bracket and the flex circuitry material for the transmission line 2510.
In one embodiment, the IFA structure 2502 includes a base arm 2512 that extends from a point where the transmission line 2510 is connected to the IFA structure towards a first fold in a first direction. From the first fold, a first arm 2514 extends from the base arm 2512 in a second direction to a second fold and from the third fold to a fourth fold in the first direction. From the fourth fold, the first arm 2514 extends in a third direction that is opposite the second direction towards a fifth fold, and in a fourth direction that is opposite the first direction towards a sixth fold. The first arm 2514 extends in the second direction again to a distal end 2516. The IFSA structure 2502 also includes a second arm 2518 that extends from the base arm 2512 in the second direction to a seventh fold and extends from the seventh fold to a ground plane 2520.
In one embodiment, the shorted parasitic arm 2504 includes a folded arm that extends from a ground point 2522 at the ground plane 2520 in the first direction towards an eighth fold, and in the second direction from the eight fold to a ninth fold, and back in the fourth direction back towards the ground plane 2520 but not connected to the ground plane 2520.
The dual-band antenna 2900 is coupled to a RF feed 2906. A transmission line 2908 is coupled between the RF feed 2906 and the RF circuitry on the PCB as described herein. The transmission line 2908 can be printed on the flexible circuitry material disposed underneath the device chassis. In one embodiment, the transmission line embedded within an L-shaped grounding strip. The end of the ground strip can be sandwiched between a bracket and the FFC connector. The L-shaped grounding strip can make the connection to a metal bracket on flexible material with audio lines. In another embodiment, a spring clip (or connection) can be added between the bracket and the flex circuitry material for the transmission line 2908.
In one embodiment, the first arm 2902 extends out from a base portion coupled to the RF feed 2906. The first arm 2902 extends out from the base portion in a first direction to a distal end. In order to get additional length, there may be one or more folds in the first arm. In the depicted embodiment, there are four folds in the first arm 2094. The second arm 2904 extends out from the base portion in a second direction that is opposite the first direction. The second arm 2904 extends out a second length. The second length of the second arm 2904 contributes to the 5 GHz band. In a further embodiment, an additional arm extends out from the distal end of the first arm, extending the first arm in a third direction opposite from the RF feed. The length of the first arm 2902 (including the additional arm) contributes to the 2.4 GHz band.
Auxiliary Antennas: Antenna 6 NFC
As described above, the user device may include a sixth NFC antenna (not illustrated 1) may be used, such as under a plastic insert within an opening in a device chassis. The user device may also include a RFID tag, as well as other types of antennas. NFC communication is essentially a transformer system that operates at 13.56 MHz, with an active source on one end (reader mode), and a variable load on the other end (card mode). The NFC antennas are basically a coupled inductor system. One serves as the transducer that converts electric current to magnetic field and vice versa. Since the antenna has to act as an inductor, it is important to note that unlike a classic antenna, it does not operate at its resonance frequency, and its resistance has to be minimized instead of match to 50 ohms. As such, NFC antenna is evaluated like an inductor. It needs to be placed in device environment, and measure its 2-port S-parameter with a VNA to obtain the S2P. The following table includes the recommend circuit parameters for the NFC coil.
The following antenna characteristics of the NFC antenna and their implications on the performance are described below:
Inductance (L)—Higher inductance will allow higher coupling with external reader, thereby increase the operating range. However, over-coupling could happen when the separation between reader and card is small. When this happens, either the reader or card or both can be detuned, and the NFC operation may fail. For a 30×50 mm size antenna, a 4 to 5 turn antenna will typically yield an inductance value within this range.
Series Resistance (Rs)—Series resistance is the loss element for the transformer system. In battery off operation, NFC antenna relies on extracting energy from the external reader field. High series resistance will reduce the power transfer.
Parallel Resistance (Rp)—Parasitic element of the antenna.
Parallel Capacitance (Ca)—Parasitic element of the antenna. Can be contributed by the capacitance between the coil traces and the capacitance between the coil and surrounding metal.
Self-Resonance Frequency (Fres)—The antenna needs to act as an inductor at 13.56 MHz, so the self-resonance frequency needs to be as high as possible.
Quality Factor (Q)—The quality factor affects the shape of the time domain waveform. ISO specifies the rise time, fall time, and overshoot of the reader mode waveform. For compact mobile devices, it is highly improbable to have too high of quality factor, hence only the lower limit is specified here.
In one embodiment, the NFC antenna is located in the rear cover assembly, sandwiched between an aluminum stiffener and a rear cover glass. The antenna dimension is up to 34 mm×54.5 mm×0.15 mm. Due to device thickness constraints, only 0.07 mm thick ferrite could be used. Ferrite is an important part of the NFC antenna construction, as it isolates the antenna from the metal surface the antenna is sitting on. The thicker the ferrite, the more isolation there is, the better the NFC performance will be. A hole in the stiffener is opened for the antenna to transit into the inside of the device and to make contact with the PCB.
The user device 3205 also includes a data storage device 3214 that may be composed of one or more types of removable storage and/or one or more types of non-removable storage. The data storage device 3214 includes a computer-readable storage medium 3216 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions embodying any one or more of the functions of the user device 3205, as described herein. As shown, instructions may reside, completely or at least partially, within the computer-readable storage medium 3216, system memory 3206 and/or within the processor(s) 3230 during execution thereof by the user device 3205, the system memory 3206 and the processor(s) 3230 also constituting computer-readable media. The user device 3205 may also include one or more input devices 3220 (keyboard, mouse device, specialized selection keys, etc.) and one or more output devices 3218 (displays, printers, audio output mechanisms, etc.).
The user device 3205 further includes a wireless modem 3222 to allow the user device 3205 to communicate via a wireless network (e.g., such as provided by a wireless communication system) with other computing devices, such as remote computers, an item providing system, and so forth. The wireless modem 3222 allows the user device 3205 to handle both voice and non-voice communications (such as communications for text messages, multimedia messages, media downloads, web browsing, etc.) with a wireless communication system. The wireless modem 3222 may provide network connectivity using any type of digital mobile network technology including, for example, cellular digital packet data (CDPD), general packet radio service (GPRS), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), UMTS, 1 times radio transmission technology (1×RTT), evaluation data optimized (EVDO), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), WLAN (e.g., Wi-Fi® network), etc. In other embodiments, the wireless modem 3222 may communicate according to different communication types (e.g., WCDMA, GSM, LTE, CDMA, WiMax, etc.) in different cellular networks. The cellular network architecture may include multiple cells, where each cell includes a base station configured to communicate with user devices within the cell. These cells may communicate with the user devices 3205 using the same frequency, different frequencies, same communication type (e.g., WCDMA, GSM, LTE, CDMA, WiMax, etc.), or different communication types. Each of the base stations may be connected to a private, a public network, or both, such as the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a public switched telephone network (PSTN), or the like, to allow the user devices 3205 to communicate with other devices, such as other user devices, server computing systems, telephone devices, or the like. In addition to wirelessly connecting to a wireless communication system, the user device 3205 may also wirelessly connect with other user devices. For example, user device 3205 may form a wireless ad hoc (peer-to-peer) network with another user device.
The wireless modem 3222 may generate signals and send these signals to transceivers 3280 for amplification, after which they are wirelessly transmitted via the antenna structures 3200. Although
In one embodiment, the user device 3205 establishes a first connection using a first wireless communication protocol, and a second connection using a different wireless communication protocol. The first wireless connection and second wireless connection may be active concurrently, for example, if a user device is downloading a media item from a server (e.g., via the first connection) and transferring a file to another user device (e.g., via the second connection) at the same time. Alternatively, the two connections may be active concurrently during a handoff between wireless connections to maintain an active session (e.g., for a telephone conversation). Such a handoff may be performed, for example, between a connection to a WLAN hotspot and a connection to a wireless carrier system. In one embodiment, the first wireless connection is associated with a first resonant mode of an antenna structure that operates in a first frequency band and the second wireless connection is associated with a second resonant mode of the antenna structure that operates in a second frequency band. In another embodiment, the first wireless connection is associated with a first antenna element and the second wireless connection is associated with a second antenna element. In other embodiments, the first wireless connection may be associated with a media purchase application (e.g., for downloading electronic books), while the second wireless connection may be associated with a wireless ad hoc network application. Other applications that may be associated with one of the wireless connections include, for example, a game, a telephony application, an Internet browsing application, a file transfer application, a global positioning system (GPS) application, and so forth.
Though a wireless modem 3222 is shown to control transmission and reception via antenna structures 3200, the user device 3205 may alternatively include multiple wireless modems, each of which is configured to transmit/receive data via a different antenna and/or wireless transmission protocol.
The user device 3205 delivers and/or receives items, upgrades, and/or other information via the network. For example, the user device 3205 may download or receive items from an item providing system. The item providing system receives various requests, instructions and other data from the user device 3205 via the network. The item providing system may include one or more machines (e.g., one or more server computer systems, routers, gateways, etc.) that have processing and storage capabilities to provide the above functionality. Communication between the item providing system and the user device 3205 may be enabled via any communication infrastructure. One example of such an infrastructure includes a combination of a wide area network (WAN) and wireless infrastructure, which allows a user to use the user device 3205 to purchase items and consume items without being tethered to the item providing system via hardwired links. The wireless infrastructure may be provided by one or multiple wireless communications systems, such as one or more wireless communications systems. One of the wireless communication systems may be a wireless local area network (WLAN) hotspot connected with the network. The WLAN hotspots can be created by Wi-Fi® products based on IEEE 802.11x standards by Wi-Fi Alliance. Another of the wireless communication systems may be a wireless carrier system that can be implemented using various data processing equipment, communication towers, etc. Alternatively, or in addition, the wireless carrier system may rely on satellite technology to exchange information with the user device 3205.
The communication infrastructure may also include a communication-enabling system that serves as an intermediary in passing information between the item providing system and the wireless communication system. The communication-enabling system may communicate with the wireless communication system (e.g., a wireless carrier) via a dedicated channel, and may communicate with the item providing system via a non-dedicated communication mechanism, e.g., a public Wide Area Network (WAN) such as the Internet.
The user devices 3205 are variously configured with different functionality to enable consumption of one or more types of media items. The media items may be any type of format of digital content, including, for example, electronic texts (e.g., eBooks, electronic magazines, digital newspapers, etc.), digital audio (e.g., music, audible books, etc.), digital video (e.g., movies, television, short clips, etc.), images (e.g., art, photographs, etc.), and multi-media content. The user devices 3205 may include any type of content rendering devices such as electronic book readers, portable digital assistants, mobile phones, laptop computers, portable media players, tablet computers, cameras, video cameras, netbooks, notebooks, desktop computers, gaming consoles, DVD players, media centers, and the like.
In the above description, numerous details are set forth. It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the description.
Some portions of the detailed description are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers or the like.
It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “inducing,” “parasitically inducing,” “radiating,” “detecting,” determining,” “generating,” “communicating,” “receiving,” “disabling,” or the like, refer to the actions and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
Embodiments also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions.
The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below. In addition, the present embodiments are not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the present invention as described herein. It should also be noted that the terms “when” or the phrase “in response to,” as used herein, should be understood to indicate that there may be intervening time, intervening events, or both before the identified operation is performed.
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the above description. The scope of the present embodiments should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7859468 | Ali | Dec 2010 | B2 |
| 7917096 | Wilcox | Mar 2011 | B2 |
| 8791864 | Merz | Jul 2014 | B2 |
| 8890753 | Lee | Nov 2014 | B1 |
| 20150054701 | Kim | Feb 2015 | A1 |
