Patent Application
20170373381
A wearable device may include a device that may be worn by a user, such as a watch, a fitness band, a necklace, glasses, an eyeglass, a ring, a belt, or a headset, that also includes computation and communication functions. One example of a wearable device is a “smart” watch. Wearable devices frequently include the ability to communicate, via radio communications, with another device (e.g., with a smartphone or other device carried by a user) or with a network. In this case, the wearable device will include an integrated antenna.
Embodiments of the present disclosure will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, like reference numerals may designate like structural elements. Embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings.
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of embodiments in accordance with the appended claims and their equivalents.
Wearable devices are described herein that include one or more antennas for communicating with a Radio Access Network (RAN) of a cellular wireless telecommunication network. The wearable devices may be User Equipment (UE) devices for the cellular network. Due to the limited size of some wearable devices (e.g., watches), wearable devices are often restricted to using smaller antennas, such as Bluetooth antennas, WiFi antennas, 2nd Generation (2G) antennas, or 3rd Generation (3G) antennas, which are typically less than two inches in length. Larger antennas, such as 4th Generation (4G) antennas, may be much longer and, therefore, more difficult to include (inconspicuously) in wearable devices.
Some wearable devices may include larger antennas (e.g., 4G antennas). However, the manner in which such antennas may be included may limit the ability of the antennas to send and receive radio signals. For example, when a 4G antenna is included in a watch, the antenna is typically inserted into a wristband of the watch because only the wristband is long enough to house the 4G antenna and the wristband, being made of leather (as opposed to metal), might not interfere as much with the 4G antenna's ability to send and receive radio signals. However, including a 4G antenna in a wristband of the watch may limit the 4G antennas ability to send and receive signals due to radio signals being interfered with by a user's body (i.e., the wrist). In addition, due to health concerns of some users with respect to exposing the body to radio signals, positioning the 4G antennas against the skin (via the wristband of a watch) may be unappealing to some potential users.
Techniques described herein may be used to implement a 4G antenna in a wearable device (e.g., a watch) in a manner that optimizes the ability of the antenna to send and receive radio signals while minimizing the wearer's exposure to radio signals. For example, a 4G antenna may be separated into two portions that are positioned inside of a core portion of the watch (i.e., the portion of the watch that includes the digital display). The two portions of the antenna may be located along an outer wall of the core portion of the watch to account for the overall length of the 4G antenna and to still provide ample space for the other components of the watch (e.g., the digital display, a printed circuit board (PCB), etc.). The outer wall may be made of a material (such as a plastic) that does not interfere with radio signals. Additionally, the 4G antenna may be raised above a base portion of the core portion of the watch to limit radio signals being absorbed by the wearer's body, in addition to providing vertical spacing between metal components (such as the PCB, features to which the PCB is attached, etc.) that might otherwise interfere with the antenna's ability to send and receive radio signals.
While one or more of the techniques, described herein, may be presented in an implementation involving a watch; the techniques may also be applied to other types of wearable devices, such as necklaces, glasses, belts, headsets, etc. Additionally, while some of the techniques, described herein, may be presented in an implementation involving a 4G antenna, some of the techniques may also, or alternatively, be applied to wearable devices with other types of antennas (e.g., 3G antennas, 5G antennas, etc.). Furthermore, while some of the techniques described herein, may be described in terms of the physical features of wearable devices, the scope of the techniques may include the use of such wearable devices (e.g., putting on a 4G enabled watch and causing the watch (e.g., by powering the watch on) to communicate with a wireless telecommunication network). Additionally, “4G antenna,” as used herein, may include an antenna that meets, or exceeds, the physical dimensions (e.g., the length) of a standard 4G antenna.
Watch core 130 may include bottom cover 140, a PCB 150, outer wall 160, 4G antenna 170, bezel 180, and display 190. The components (e.g., bottom cover 140, PCB 150, etc.) of watch core 130 are provided for explanatory purposes only. In practice, watch core 130 may include additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than the components illustrated in
Bottom cover 140, outer wall 160, bezel 180, and display 190 may provide a housing for watch components to be disposed therein (e.g., PCB 150, 4G antenna 170, etc.). PCB 150 may include circuitry (hardware, software, or a combination thereof) that enables watch 100 to perform one or more operations. Examples of such operations may include storing data, executing logical instructions, providing and/or receiving information from a wearer (via a display portion), communicating with a network (via the 4G antenna), and more.
4G antenna 170 may be separated into two antenna portions that are disposed along an inner circumference of the outer wall. Separating the 4G antenna into two portions may enhance performance by ensuring that radio signals that are sent or received by 4G antenna 170 do not continue to resonate throughout 4G antenna 170 after the radio signals have been sent or received. Additionally, 4G antenna 170 may be vertically separated from bottom cover 140 and PCB 150 to better ensure that radio signals that are sent or received by 4G antenna 170 are not absorbed by the body of the wearer. The positioning of 4G antenna 170 may also help ensure that, for example, components that may be metallic, such as PCB 150 and/or connector portion 120, do not interfere with the radio signals that are sent to, or received by, 4G antenna 170. The outer wall may be made of plastic or another type of material that has a limited impact on the ability of 4G antenna 170 to send and receive radio signals. As shown, the design and positioning of the antenna portions of 4G antenna 170 may create antenna gaps separating the antenna portion from each other. The antenna gaps may improve performance of 4G antenna 170 by helping to ensure that radio signals that are sent or received by 4G antenna 170 to not continue resonating throughout 4G antenna after the signals are sent/received by 4G antenna 170. While 4G antenna 170 is illustrated in
UE 210 may include a portable computing and communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a cellular phone, a laptop computer with connectivity to a cellular wireless network, a wearable device, a tablet computer, etc. UE 210 may also include a non-portable computing device, such as a desktop computer, a consumer or business appliance, or another device that has the ability to connect to the wireless telecommunication network. UE 210 may also include a computing and communication device that may be worn by a user (also referred to as a “wearable device”), such as a watch, a fitness band, a necklace, glasses, an eyeglass, a ring, a belt, a headset, or another type of wearable device. UE 210 may wirelessly communicate with the wireless telecommunication network via eNB 220.
eNB 220 may include one or more network devices that receive, process, and/or transmit traffic, such as calls, audio, video, text, television programming content, and/or other data, destined for and/or received from UE 210 (e.g., via an air interface). eNB 220 may be connected to a network device, such as site router, that functions as an intermediary for information communicated between eNB 220 and EPC network 230.
EPC network 230 may include various network devices that may operate in accordance with a particular communication standard. Examples of such network devices may include a Serving Gateway (SGW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (PGW), and a Mobility Management Entity (MME). EPC network 230 may operate in accordance with a particular communication standard, such as the 3GPP communication standard. As shown, the EPC network may enable UEs 210 to communicate with external network 240, which may include a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), an Internet Protocol (IP) network (e.g., the Internet), and/or another type of network.
The quantity of devices and/or networks, illustrated in
Base cover 140 may include a bottom most component that may abut against a wearer's wrist when watch 100 is worn. Connector portions 120 may include a component capable of physically coupling wristband 110 to watch core 130. As shown in
Outer wall 160 may include a housing for a 4G antenna 170. Outer wall 160 may couple with base cover 140 and/or holding component 310 in such a manner as to create a vertical space between base cover 140 and/or PCB 150 (which may be positioned on top of base cover 140). For example, outer wall 160 may include base nodes 320 on a bottom side thereof, which may ensure that a vertical space exists between base cover 140 and/or PCB 150 when watch core 130 is assembled.
Display 190 may include an upper most (or top most) component of watch 100, which may vertically abut against outer wall 160. Display 190 may include a transparent material (e.g., glass) that may permit a wearer to view information (e.g., a time, a date, etc.) presented to the wearer. Display 190 may also, or alternatively, include circuitry to display information to a user of watch 100 and/or to receive information from the user (e.g., via a touch-sensitive interface, one or more buttons, etc.). Bezel 180 may couple with display 190 and/or outer wall 160 in order to secure display 190 to outer wall 160.
Bottom cover 140, outer wall 160, bezel 180, and display 190 may provide a housing for watch components to be disposed therein (e.g., PCB 150, 4G antenna 170, etc.). Bottom cover 140 may provide a foundation for securing PCB 150 to a bottom most portion of watch core 130. 4G antenna 170 may be separated into two antenna portions that are disposed along a circumference of the outer wall. Separating the 4G antenna into two antenna portions may create a horizontal space or gap (referred to above, in
Additionally, 4G antenna 170 may be vertically separated from bottom cover 140 and PCB 150 to create a vertical spacing there between. The vertical spacing may help ensure that 4G antenna 170 may send and receive radio signals before they are interfered with by the body of the wearer. The vertical spacing may also help ensure that, for example, metallic components, such as PCB 150 and/or connector portion 120, do not interfere with 4G antenna 170. The vertical spacing may be traversed by electrode features 520 that may provide an electrical connection between PCB and each portion of 4G antenna 170.
Bus 810 may include one or more communication paths that permit communication among the components of device 800. Processor 820 may include a processor, microprocessor, or processing logic that may interpret and execute instructions. Memory 830 may include any type of dynamic storage device that may store information and instructions for execution by processor 820, and/or any type of non-volatile storage device that may store information for use by processor 820.
Input component 840 may include a mechanism that permits an operator to input information to device 800, such as a keyboard, a keypad, a button, a switch, etc. Output component 850 may include a mechanism that outputs information to the operator, such as a display, a speaker, one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs), etc.
Communication interface 860 may include any transceiver-like mechanism that enables device 800 to communicate with other devices and/or systems. For example, communication interface 860 may include an Ethernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, or the like. Communication interface 860 may include a wireless communication device, such as an infrared (IR) receiver, a cellular radio, a Bluetooth radio, or the like. The wireless communication device may be coupled to an external device, such as a remote control, a wireless keyboard, a mobile telephone, etc. In some embodiments, device 800 may include more than one communication interface 860. For instance, device 800 may include an optical interface and an Ethernet interface.
Device 800 may perform certain operations described above. Device 800 may perform these operations in response to processor 820 executing software instructions stored in a computer-readable medium, such as memory 830. A computer-readable medium may be defined as a non-transitory memory device. A memory device may include space within a single physical memory device or spread across multiple physical memory devices. The software instructions may be read into memory 830 from another computer-readable medium or from another device. The software instructions stored in memory 830 may cause processor 820 to perform processes described herein. Alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement processes described herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. As used herein, the term “circuitry” may include hardware, software, or a combination thereof.
In the preceding specification, various preferred embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the broader scope set forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense.
It will be apparent that example aspects, as described above, may be implemented in many different forms of software, firmware, and hardware in the implementations illustrated in the figures. The actual software code or specialized control hardware used to implement these aspects should not be construed as limiting. Thus, the operations and behaviors of the aspects that were described without reference to the specific software code—it being understood that software and control hardware could be designed to implement the aspects based on the description herein.
Further, certain portions may be implemented as “logic” that performs one or more functions. This logic may include hardware, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a combination of hardware and software.
To the extent the aforementioned embodiments collect, store or employ personal information provided by individuals, it should be understood that such information shall be used in accordance with all applicable laws concerning protection” of personal information. Additionally, the collection, storage and use of such information may be subject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example, through well-known “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as may be appropriate for the situation and type of information. Storage and use of personal information may be in an appropriately secure manner reflective of the type of information, for example, through various encryption and anonymization techniques for particularly sensitive information.
Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to be limiting. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification.
No element, act, or instruction used in the present application should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. An instance of the use of the term “and,” as used herein, does not necessarily preclude the interpretation that the phrase “and/or” was intended in that instance. Similarly, an instance of the use of the term “or,” as used herein, does not necessarily preclude the interpretation that the phrase “and/or” was intended in that instance. Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with the phrase “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the terms “one,” “single,” “only,” or similar language is used. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.
