METAL BACK COVER WITH COMBINED WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER AND COMMUNICATIONS

• US 20160072303A1
• Filed: 06/08/2015
• Published: 03/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Jeong, Seong Heon
• Granted Patent: US 10,164,439 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/24 with receiving set
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/00 Waveguide horns or mouths; Slot antennas; Leaky-waveguide antennas; Equivalent structures causing radiation along the transmission path of a guided wave
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/10 Resonant slot antennas
• 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: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/38 Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3888 Arrangements for carrying or protecting transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer

Abstract

Systems, apparatus and methods for seamless metal back cover for combined wireless power transfer, cellular, WiFi, and GPS communications are provided. In one aspect, an apparatus for wirelessly coupling with other devices comprises a metallic cover comprising a first metallic portion separated by a first non-conductive portion from a second metallic portion of the metallic portion to define a first slot. The apparatus further comprises a conductor comprising a first end portion electrically coupled to the metallic cover at the first metallic portion and a second end portion crossing the first end portion and electrically coupled to the metallic cover at the second metallic portion. The metallic cover and the conductor form a coupler configured to wirelessly receive power sufficient to charge or power a load of the apparatus from a wireless power transmitter.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wirelessly coupling with other devices, comprising:

a metallic cover comprising a first metallic portion separated by a first non-conductive portion from a second metallic portion of the metallic cover to define a first slot; and

a conductor comprising a first end portion electrically coupled to the metallic cover at the first metallic portion and a second end portion crossing the first end portion and electrically coupled to the metallic cover at the second metallic portion,

wherein the metallic cover and the conductor form a coupler configured to wirelessly receive power sufficient to charge or power a load of the apparatus from a wireless power transmitter.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conductor is disposed along an outer perimeter of the metallic cover.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic cover further comprises a third metallic portion separated by a second non-conductive portion from a fourth metallic portion of the metallic cover to define a second slot.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first non-conductive portion is defined on a first edge of the metallic cover and extends toward a center of the metallic cover and wherein the second non-conductive portion is defined on a second edge of the metallic cover opposite the first edge and extends toward the center of the metallic cover.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first metallic portion, the first non-conductive portion and the second metallic portion form a first slot antenna and the third metallic portion, the second non-conductive portion and the fourth metallic portion form a second slot antenna.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the coupler comprises:

a first turn formed by the conductor;

a second turn formed by the first end portion electrically coupled to the metallic cover at the first metallic portion and the second end portion crossing the first end portion and electrically coupled to the metallic cover at the second metallic portion; and

a third turn formed by the third metallic portion and the fourth metallic portion separated by the second non-conductive portion.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of a plurality of portions of the metallic cover and the conductor comprise a respective one of a plurality of antennas configured to wirelessly receive data in a plurality of frequency bands.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising at least one capacitor electrically connected between the metallic cover and the conductor, the at least one capacitor configured to:

provide substantially a short circuit between the metallic cover and the conductor when at least one of the plurality of antennas receives data in the plurality of frequency bands, and

provide substantially an open circuit between the metallic cover and the conductor when the coupler wirelessly receives power from the wireless power transmitter at a wireless power transmission frequency.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of feed points configured to extract one or both of the wirelessly received power and the wirelessly received data, each feed point electrically connected to a respective location on one or both of the metallic cover and the conductor.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one slot antenna is formed from an edge of the metallic cover, a portion of the conductor, and a gap separating the edge of the metallic cover from the portion of the conductor.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a current induced in one or both of the metallic cover and the conductor flows in a same clockwise or counterclockwise direction in the metallic cover and in the conductor.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first non-conductive portion causes eddy currents induced in the metallic cover to flow around the first non-conductive portion.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a resonant circuit comprising the conductor and a capacitor electrically coupled to the conductor, the resonant circuit configured to resonate at a wireless power transfer frequency.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one of a cellular phone, a GPS unit, a watch, a mobile media device, a laptop computer, or a key fob.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a housing coupled to the metallic cover.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic cover is configured as a metallic back cover of a portable electronic device.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conductor comprises first and second turns disposed along the outer perimeter of the metallic cover and a choke is electrically connected in series with at least one of the first and second turns to:

provide a substantially open circuit in the at least one of the first and second turns when at least one of a plurality of slot antennas receives data in one of a plurality of frequency bands, the plurality of slot antennas formed based on a separation between the conductor and the metallic cover, and

provide substantially a short circuit in the at least one of the first and second turns when the coupler wirelessly receives power from the wireless power transmitter at a wireless power transmission frequency.

18. A method for wirelessly coupling an electronic device with other devices, comprising:

wirelessly receiving power sufficient to charge or power a load of the electronic device via a coupler comprising a metallic cover having a first metallic portion separated by a first non-conductive portion from a second metallic portion to define a first slot and a conductor comprising a first end portion electrically coupled to the metallic cover at the first metallic portion and a second end portion crossing the first end portion and electrically coupled to the metallic cover at the second metallic portion, and

wirelessly receiving communications data via an antenna comprising at least a portion of the metallic cover and at least a portion of the conductor.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

providing substantially a short circuit between the metallic cover and the conductor via a capacitor when at least one of a plurality of antennas including the antenna receives data in one of a plurality of frequency bands, and

providing substantially an open circuit between the metallic cover and the conductor via the capacitor when the coupler wirelessly receives power at a wireless power transmission frequency.

20. The method of claim 18, comprising extracting one or both of the wirelessly received power and the wirelessly received communications data from at least one of a plurality of feed points coupled to one or both of the metallic cover and the conductor.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein at least one slot antenna is formed from an edge of the metallic cover, a portion of the conductor, and a gap separating the edge of the metallic cover from the portion of the conductor.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein a current induced in one or both of the metallic cover and the conductor flows in a same clockwise or counterclockwise direction in the metallic cover and in the conductor.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the first non-conductive portion causes eddy currents induced in the metallic cover to flow around the first non-conductive portion.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein the conductor and a capacitor electrically coupled to the conductor form a resonant circuit configured to resonate at a wireless power transfer frequency.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein the electronic device comprises at least one of a cellular phone, a GPS unit, a watch, a mobile media device, a laptop computer, or a key fob.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein the conductor comprises first and second turns disposed along the outer perimeter of the metallic cover and wherein a choke is connected in series with at least one of the first and second turns to:

provide substantially an open circuit in the at least one of the first and second turns when at least one of a plurality of antennas including the antenna receives data in one of a plurality of frequency bands, and

provide substantially a short circuit in the at least one of the first and second turns when the coupler wirelessly receives power at a wireless power transmission frequency.

27. An apparatus for wirelessly coupling power via a magnetic field generated by a transmitter, the apparatus comprising:

a metallic portion configured to form a portion of a housing; and

a conductor having at least one turn and having a portion thereof electrically separated from the metallic portion to form a gap between the conductor and the metallic portion, the conductor configured to inductively couple power via the magnetic field and provide electrical current to a receive circuit to charge or power a load,

a first slot antenna formed based on the gap between the conductor and the metallic portion.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising:

a communications circuit configured to transmit or receive data via the first slot antenna.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the metallic portion comprises a first metallic portion and a second metallic portion separated by a first non-conductive gap to define a first slot, a second slot antenna formed from the metallic portion based on the first slot.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the metallic portion comprises a third metallic portion and a fourth metallic portion separated by a second non-conductive gap to define a second slot, a third slot antenna formed from the metallic portion based on the second slot.

31. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the conductor is disposed along an outer perimeter of the metallic portion.

32. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising at least one capacitor connected between the metallic portion and the conductor, the at least one capacitor configured to:

provide substantially a short circuit between the metallic portion and the conductor when the first slot antenna receives data at a communications frequency, and

provide substantially an open circuit between the metallic portion and the conductor when the conductor inductively couples power from the transmitter at a wireless power transmission frequency.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein a current induced in one or both of the metallic portion and the conductor flows in a same clockwise or counterclockwise direction in the metallic portion and in the conductor.

34. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the metallic portion comprises a first metallic portion and a second metallic portion separated by a first non-conductive portion to define a first slot, and wherein the first non-conductive portion causes eddy currents induced in the metallic portion to flow around the first non-conductive portion.

35. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising a resonant circuit comprising the conductor and a capacitor electrically coupled to the conductor, the resonant circuit configured to resonate at a wireless power transfer frequency.

36. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one of a cellular phone, a GPS unit, a watch, a mobile media device, a laptop computer, or a key fob.

37. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the metallic portion is configured as a metallic back cover of the apparatus.