Electronic device with tunable hybrid antennas

• US 10,218,052 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2015
• Issued: 02/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Pascolini, Mattia, Azad, Umar, Gomez Angulo, Rodney A., Irci, Erdinc, Li, Qingxiang, Mow, Matthew A., Rajagopalan, Harish, Samardzija, Miroslav, Tsai, Ming-Ju
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong, Dieu Hien T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jegede, Bamidele A
• Application Number:
  US14/710,377
• Publication Number:
  US 20160336643A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,386 Days
• Field of Search: 343772
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/103 with variable reactance for tuning the antenna tuning resonant circuits H03J
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/30 Combinations of separate antenna units operating in different wavebands and connected to a common feeder system
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/328 between a radiating element and ground
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0421 with a shorting wall or a shorting pin at one end of the element H01Q9/0414 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0442 with particular tuning means

Abstract

An electronic device may have hybrid antennas that include slot antenna resonating elements formed from slots in a ground plane and planar inverted-F antenna resonating elements. The planar inverted-F antenna resonating elements may each have a planar metal member that overlaps one of the slots. The slot of each slot antenna resonating element may divide the ground plane into first and second portions. A return path and feed may be coupled in parallel between the planar metal member and the first portion of the ground plane. Tunable components such as tunable inductors may be used to tune the hybrid antennas. A tunable inductor may bridge the slot in hybrid antenna, may be coupled between the planar metal member of the planar inverted-F antenna resonating element and the ground plane, or multiple tunable inductors may bridge the slot on opposing sides of the planar inverted-F antenna resonating element.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing having a metal housing wall that forms a ground plane;

a slot in the metal housing wall that forms a slot antenna resonating element for a hybrid antenna;

a planar inverted-F antenna resonating element for the hybrid antenna that indirectly feeds antenna signals for the slot antenna resonating element via near-field electromagnetic coupling; and

first and second tunable components that are configured to tune the hybrid antenna, wherein the planar inverted-F antenna resonating element overlaps the slot across an area, the first and second tunable components extend across the slot at first and second respective locations, and the area is interposed between the first and second locations.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the planar inverted-F antenna resonating element has a planar metal element, a return path coupled between the planar metal element and the ground plane, and an antenna feed having a positive antenna feed terminal and a ground antenna feed terminal coupled between the planar metal element and the ground plane in parallel with the return path.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the slot divides the ground plane into first and second ground plane portions on opposing sides of the slot and wherein the return path and the ground antenna feed terminal are both coupled to the first ground plane portion.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the first tunable component includes a tunable inductor.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the tunable inductor bridges the slot and is coupled between the first and second ground plane portions.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the second tunable component comprises an additional tunable inductor that bridges the slot and is coupled between the first and second ground plane portions.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 wherein the slot has an open end and a closed end and wherein the tunable inductor bridges the slot at a location between the planar inverted-F antenna resonating element and the closed end.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 wherein the additional tunable inductor bridges the slot at a location between the planar inverted-F antenna resonating element and the open end.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the tunable inductor and the additional tunable inductor are switchable between open and closed states to tune the hybrid antenna to at least three different low band resonances.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the first tunable component has first and second terminals respectively coupled to first and second opposing sides of the slot.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the slot divides the ground plane into first and second ground plane portions on opposing sides of the slot, and a conductive member that bisects the slot and that shorts the first ground plane portion to the second ground plane portion.

12. An electronic device, comprising:

a metal housing with four edges;

first and second antennas located along one of the four edges, wherein each of the first and second antennas is a hybrid antenna that includes;

a ground plane formed from a portion of the metal housing;

a slot in the ground plane that forms a slot antenna resonating element for the hybrid antenna, wherein a conductive structure separates the slot of the first antenna from the slot of the second antenna;

a planar inverted-F antenna resonating element for the hybrid antenna that indirectly feeds the slot antenna resonating element, wherein the conductive structure is interposed between the planar inverted-F antenna resonating element of the first antenna and the planar inverted-F antenna resonating element of the second antenna; and

a tunable inductor that tunes the hybrid antenna.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the tunable inductor for the first antenna is coupled between a portion of the planar inverted-F antenna resonating element for the first antenna and the ground plane for the first antenna.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the tunable inductor for the first antenna bridges the slot.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the metal housing has a metal rear housing wall and metal housing sidewalls wherein the ground plane for the first antenna is formed from the metal rear housing wall and metal housing sidewalls.

16. The electronic device in claim 12, wherein the conductive structure comprises a shorting structure having first and second opposing sides, the first side forms a first closed end for the slot of the first antenna, and the second side forms a second closed end for the slot of the second antenna.

17. The electronic device in claim 12, wherein the planar inverted-F antenna resonating element of the first antenna overlaps the slot of the first antenna at a first location, the planar inverted-F antenna resonating element of the second antenna overlaps the slot of the second antenna at a second location and the conductive structure is interposed between the first and second locations.

18. The electronic device in claim 12, wherein the slot for each of the first and second antenna has a closed end defined by the conductive structure and an open end that terminates at the one of the four edges.

19. An antenna, comprising:

a metal electronic device housing wall;

a slot in the metal electronic device housing wall, wherein first and second portions of the metal electronic device housing wall are located on opposing first and second sides of the slot;

a planar inverted-F antenna resonating element that has a planar metal element having an edge on the first side of the slot, a return path coupled between the edge of the planar metal element and the first portion of the metal electronic device housing wall on the first side of the slot, and an antenna feed having a positive antenna feed terminal coupled to the edge of the planar metal element on the first side of the slot and a ground antenna feed terminal coupled to the first portion of the metal electronic device housing wall on the first side of the slot; and

a tunable inductor having a first terminal coupled to a location along the edge of the planar metal element between the return path and the positive antenna feed terminal and having a second terminal coupled to the first portion of the metal electronic device housing wall on the first side of the slot between the return path and the ground antenna feed terminal.

20. The antenna defined in claim 19 further comprising a tunable inductor having a terminal coupled to the first portion of the metal electronic device housing wall.