Electronic device with millimeter wave antennas

• US 10,680,663 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2018
• Issued: 06/09/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Ouyang, Yuehui, Jiang, Yi, Mow, Matthew A., Noori, Basim, Pascolini, Mattia, Caballero, Ruben
• Primary Examiner(s): Trinh, Sonny
• Application Number:
  US16/138,881
• Publication Number:
  US 20190020365A1
• Time in Patent Office: 627 Days
• Field of Search: 4555621, 4555757
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2266 disposed inside the computer
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2283 mounted in or on the surface of a semiconductor substrate as a chip-type antenna or integrated with other components into an IC package
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0025 Modular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/062 using dipole aerials; H01Q21/067, H01Q21/068 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/065 Patch antenna array
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 25/005 providing two patterns of opposite direction; back to back antennas H01Q25/004 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/03 Constructional details, e.g. casings, housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/04 Circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1081 Reduction of multipath noise by equalising H04B7/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/0408 with power amplifiers

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include one or more antennas. The antennas may include phased antenna arrays each of which includes multiple antenna elements. Phased antenna arrays may be mounted along edges of a housing for the electronic device, behind a dielectric window such as a dielectric logo window in the housing, in alignment with dielectric housing portions at corners of the housing, or elsewhere in the electronic device. A phased antenna array may include arrays of patch antenna elements on dielectric layers separated by a ground layer. A baseband processor may distribute wireless signals to the phased antenna arrays at intermediate frequencies over intermediate frequency signal paths. Transceiver circuits at the phased antenna arrays may include upconverters and downconverters coupled to the intermediate frequency signal paths.

Claims

1. An electronic device having opposing first and second faces, comprising:

a display having a display cover layer at the first face;

a housing having a dielectric wall at the second face;

an antenna in the housing and configured to convey first radio-frequency signals in a given frequency band through the display cover layer; and

a phased antenna array in the housing that is configured to convey second radio-frequency signals in the given frequency band through the dielectric wall.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the dielectric wall comprises glass.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2, wherein the display cover layer comprises glass.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3, wherein the frequency band comprises a frequency greater than 10 GHz.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the frequency band comprises a frequency greater than 10 GHz.

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

a baseband processor in the housing;

a first transceiver coupled to the baseband processor and the antenna; and

a second transceiver coupled to the baseband processor and the phased antenna array.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6, further comprising a power amplifier coupled between the first transceiver and the antenna.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 6, further comprising a dielectric substrate, wherein the second transceiver and the phased antenna array are mounted to the dielectric substrate.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the antenna comprises a patch antenna.

10. An electronic device having opposing first and second faces, comprising:

a display having a display cover layer at the first face and having pixel circuitry configured to emit light through the display cover layer;

a housing having a dielectric wall at the second face; and

a phased antenna array in the housing that is configured to convey radio-frequency signals at a frequency greater than 10 GHz through the dielectric wall.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10, wherein the phased antenna array comprises a plurality of cavity-backed antennas on a dielectric substrate.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11, wherein each of the cavity-backed antennas in the plurality of cavity-backed antennas comprises a patch antenna element on the dielectric substrate.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 11, wherein each of the cavity-backed antennas in the plurality of cavity-backed antennas comprises a dipole antenna element.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 11, wherein the dielectric wall comprises glass.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14, wherein the dielectric substrate comprises ceramic.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 11, wherein the phased antenna array comprises a ground layer in the substrate.

17. An electronic device that has opposing front and rear faces, comprising:

a display on the front face of the electronic device;

a conductive housing having a sidewall portion that extends from the rear face towards the front face;

at least one slot in the sidewall portion of the conductive housing; and

a phased antenna array mounted within the conductive housing and aligned with the at least one slot, wherein the phased antenna array is configured to convey radio-frequency signals through the at least one slot in the sidewall portion of the conductive housing.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 17, wherein the phased antenna array is configured to convey the radio-frequency signals at a frequency greater than 10 GHz.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 17, wherein the phased antenna array comprises at least three radiating elements arranged in a single row.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 17, wherein the conductive housing has a rear wall portion at the rear face.