ELECTRONIC DEVICE WITH NFC ANTENNA ADJACENT DISPLAY AND RELATED METHODS

• US 20140141835A1
• Filed: 01/27/2014
• Published: 05/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: ZHU, LIZHONG, OOI, SOO LIAM, ZHU, LIBO, DILL, SCOTT LEONARD, DIKUN, RAYMOND MICHAEL, NGUYEN, PHA CONG, WIESSNER, RANDY ALAN
• Granted Patent: US 9,609,096 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/552.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/24 with receiving set
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/526 Electromagnetic shields
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3888 Arrangements for carrying or protecting transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/26 using coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/026 Details of the structure or mounting of specific components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0266 for a display module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/04 including near field communication means, e.g. RFID
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49018 with other electrical component

Abstract

An electronic device may include a housing having a display opening therein, processing circuitry within the housing, and wireless transceiver circuitry within the housing and coupled to the processing circuitry. The electronic device may also include NFC transceiver circuitry within the housing and coupled to the processing circuitry, a display within the housing and coupled to the processing circuitry, the display having an external surface exposed through the display opening and having an internal surface within the housing, and an NFC antenna positioned within the housing behind and aligned with the internal surface of the display and coupled to the NFC transceiver circuitry.

Claims

1-24. -24. (canceled)

25. An electronic device comprising:

a housing;

at least one wireless transceiver carried by said housing;

a near field communications (NFC) device carried by said housing;

a display carried by said housing and having an internal surface within said housing; and

an NFC antenna extending across at least a portion of the internal surface of said display and coupled to said NFC device.

26. The electronic device of claim 25 wherein said NFC antenna comprises a substrate and electrically conductive traces thereon defining a plurality of loops.

27. The electronic device of claim 26 wherein said substrate has a rectangular shape;

and wherein said plurality of loops is adjacent a periphery of said substrate.

28. The electronic device of claim 25 further comprising a flexible circuit coupling said NFC antenna to said NFC device.

29. The electronic device of claim 26 wherein said substrate comprises a ferrite layer.

30. The electronic device of claim 25 further comprising a frame carried by said housing behind the internal surface of said display;

and wherein said NFC antenna is mounted on said frame.

31. The electronic device of claim 25 wherein said NFC antenna is mounted to the internal surface of said display.

32. The electronic device of claim 25 wherein said display comprises a touch screen display.

33. The electronic device of claim 25 wherein said at least one wireless transceiver comprises at least one of a cellular transceiver, a WiMAX transceiver, and a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver.

34. The electronic device of claim 25 further comprising tablet computer processing circuitry carried by said housing and coupled to said at least one wireless transceiver.

35. A tablet computing device comprising:

a housing;

tablet computing circuitry carried by said housing;

at least one wireless transceiver carried by said housing and coupled to said tablet computing circuitry;

a near field communications (NFC) device carried by said housing and coupled to said tablet computing circuitry;

a display carried by said housing and coupled to said tablet computing circuitry, said display having an internal surface within said housing;

an NFC antenna extending across at least a portion of the internal surface of said display; and

a flexible circuit coupling said NFC antenna to said NFC device.

36. The tablet computing device of claim 35 wherein said NFC antenna comprises a substrate and electrically conductive traces thereon defining a plurality of loops.

37. The tablet computing device of claim 36 wherein said substrate comprises a ferrite layer.

38. The tablet computing device of claim 35 further comprising a frame within said housing behind the internal surface of said display;

and wherein said NFC antenna is mounted on said frame.

39. The tablet computing device of claim 35 wherein said NFC antenna is mounted to the internal surface of said display.

40. The tablet computing device of claim 35 wherein said display comprises a touch screen display.

41. The tablet computing device of claim 35 wherein said at least one wireless transceiver comprises at least one of a cellular transceiver, a WiMAX transceiver, and a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver.

42. A method of making an electronic device comprising:

mounting at least one wireless transceiver within a housing;

mounting a near field communications (NFC) device within the housing;

mounting a display to the housing having an internal surface within the housing; and

mounting an NFC antenna within the housing extending across at least a portion of the internal surface of the display.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein the NFC antenna comprises a substrate and electrically conductive traces thereon defining a plurality of loops.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein the substrate has a rectangular shape and wherein the plurality of loops is adjacent a periphery of the substrate.

45. The method of claim 42 further comprising coupling a flexible circuit between the NFC antenna and the NFC device.

46. The method of claim 43 wherein the substrate comprises a ferrite layer.

47. The method of claim 42 further comprising mounting a frame within the housing and behind the internal surface of the display;

and wherein mounting the NFC antenna comprises mounting the NFC antenna on the frame.

48. The method of claim 42 wherein mounting the NFC antenna comprises mounting the NFC antenna to the internal surface of the display.