Electronic device having multiple antennas with shared structures for near-field communications and non-near-field communications

• US 10,644,758 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2019
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Irci, Erdinc, Wang, Han, Atmatzakis, Georgios, Ayala Vazquez, Enrique, Tong, Erica J., Gao, Xu, Hu, Hongfei, Jin, Nanbo, Pascolini, Mattia
• Primary Examiner(s): Yun, Eugene
• Application Number:
  US16/265,462
• Publication Number:
  US 20190165836A1
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• Field of Search: 4555757
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/48 Transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0413 MIMO systems

Abstract

An electronic device may include a peripheral conductive wall. A gap in the wall may divide the wall into first and second segments. The device may include a first antenna having a first resonating element arm formed from the first segment and a second antenna having a second resonating element arm formed from the second segment. A non-near-field communications transceiver may perform multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) operations using the first and second antennas. The gap may provide satisfactory isolation between the first and second antennas while the first and second antennas perform MIMO operations. Near-field communications circuitry may convey near-field communications signals over a conductive loop path that includes portions of the first and second segments and the antenna ground. The volume of the conductive loop path may extend across substantially all of a width of the electronic device.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a housing having peripheral conductive structures;

first, second, and third dielectric-filled gaps in the peripheral conductive structures, wherein a first segment of the peripheral conductive structures extends between the first and third dielectric-filled gaps and a second segment of the peripheral conductive structures extends between the third and second dielectric-filled gaps;

an antenna ground, wherein the first dielectric-filled gap separates the first segment from the antenna ground and the second dielectric-filled gap separates the second segment from the antenna ground;

an inductor coupled between the first and second segments across the third dielectric filled-gap; and

near-field communications transceiver circuitry configured to convey near-field communications signals over a conductive loop path that includes the first and second segments, the inductor, and a portion of the antenna ground.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a first antenna feed having a first feed terminal coupled to the first segment and a second feed terminal coupled to the antenna ground;

a second antenna feed having a third feed terminal coupled to the second segment and a fourth feed terminal coupled to the antenna ground; and

non-near-field communications circuitry coupled to the first and second antenna feeds and configured to concurrently convey non-near-field communications signals at a given frequency over both the first and second antenna feeds.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2, wherein the given frequency is in a first non-near-field communications frequency band, an additional frequency is in a second non-near-field communications frequency band that is higher than the first non-near-field communications frequency band, and the non-near-field communications circuitry is configured to concurrently convey the non-near-field communications signals at both the given frequency and the additional frequency over the first and second antenna feeds.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a first additional inductor coupled between the first segment and the antenna ground; and

a second additional inductor coupled between the near-field communications transceiver circuitry and the second segment, wherein the conductive loop path includes the first and second additional inductors.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4, wherein the first additional inductor is coupled to a first point on the first segment, the electronic device further comprising:

a first antenna feed coupled to a second point on the first segment;

a first return path coupled between a third point on the first segment and the antenna ground;

a second return path coupled between a first point on the second segment and the antenna ground; and

a second antenna feed coupled to a second point on the second segment and the antenna ground, wherein the second point on the first segment is interposed between the first and third points on the first segment, the third point on the first segment is interposed between the second point on the first segment and the third dielectric-filled gap, and the first point on the second segment is interposed between the third dielectric-filled gap and the second point on the second segment.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5, wherein the second additional inductor is coupled to the second point on the second segment, the electronic device further comprising:

a first capacitor coupled between the first antenna feed and the second point on the first segment;

a second capacitor interposed on the first return path;

a third capacitor interposed on the second return path; and

a fourth capacitor coupled between the second antenna feed and the second point on the second segment, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth capacitors are configured to form short circuits at a non-near-field communications frequency and to form open circuits at a near-field communications frequency.

7. An electronic device comprising:

a housing having first, second, and third conductive housing structures, wherein the second conductive housing structure is separated from the first conductive housing structure by a first dielectric-filled gap, the third conductive housing structure is separated from the first conductive structure by a second dielectric-filled gap, and the third conductive housing structure is separated from the second conductive housing structure by a third dielectric-filled gap;

an inductor coupled between the second and third conductive housing structures across the third dielectric-filled gap; and

near-field communications transceiver circuitry configured to convey near-field communications signals over a conductive loop path that includes the second and third conductive housing structures, the inductor, and a portion of the first conductive structure.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7, further comprising:

an additional inductor that couples the near-field communications transceiver circuitry to the third conductive housing structure, wherein the conductive loop path includes the additional inductor.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8, further comprising:

an adjustable inductor coupled between the first and second conductive housing structures across the first dielectric-filled gap, wherein the conductive loop path includes the adjustable inductor.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9, further comprising:

a capacitor coupled between the first and second conductive housing structures, wherein the capacitor is separate from the conductive loop path.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10, further comprising:

an additional capacitor coupled between the first and third conductive housing structures, wherein the additional capacitor is separate from the conductive loop path.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 7, wherein the first conductive housing structure is held at a ground potential.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 7, further comprising:

an antenna feed coupled between the first and second conductive housing structures.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13, further comprising:

an additional antenna feed coupled between the first and third conductive housing structures.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14, wherein the antenna feed comprises a first positive antenna feed terminal and the additional antenna feed comprises a second positive antenna feed terminal, the electronic device further comprising:

a first capacitor coupled between the first positive antenna feed terminal and the second conductive housing structure; and

a second capacitor coupled between the second positive antenna feed terminal and the third conductive housing structure.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15, further comprising:

a third capacitor coupled between the first and third conductive housing structures; and

a fourth capacitor coupled between the second and third conductive housing structures.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16, wherein the antenna feed and the additional antenna feed are configured to convey non-near-field communications signals at a frequency greater than 600 MHz.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 7, further comprising:

a display having a display cover layer mounted to the first, second, and third conductive housing structures.

19. An electronic device comprising:

a housing having peripheral conductive structures;

first, second, and third dielectric-filled gaps in the peripheral conductive structures, wherein a first segment of the peripheral conductive structures extends between the first and third dielectric-filled gaps and a second segment of the peripheral conductive structures extends between the third and second dielectric-filled gaps;

ground structures, wherein the first dielectric-filled gap separates the first segment from the ground structures and the second dielectric-filled gap separates the second segment from the ground structures;

an inductor coupled between the first and second segments across the third dielectric filled-gap; and

a near-field communications antenna that includes the first and second segments, the inductor, and a portion of the ground structures.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 19, wherein the electronic device has a first side, a second side that opposes the first side, a third side that extends between the first and second sides, and a fourth side that extends between the first and second sides and that opposes the third side, the first dielectric-filled gap being located along the first side, the second dielectric-filled gap being located along the second side, and the third dielectric-filled gap being located along the third side of the electronic device.