Electronic Device With Millimeter Wave Antennas

• US 20160308563A1
• Filed: 04/13/2016
• Published: 10/20/2016
• 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
• Granted Patent: US 9,667,290 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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, comprising:

a housing;

a baseband processor;

a plurality of phased antenna arrays;

a plurality of transceiver circuits each of which is associated with a respective one of the phased antenna arrays and each of which includes a radio-frequency transceiver; and

a plurality of intermediate frequency signal paths each of which is coupled between the baseband processor and a respective one of the transceiver circuits, wherein each transceiver circuit includes an upconverter that receives intermediate frequency signals from the baseband processor over a respective one of the plurality of intermediate frequency signal paths and that upconverts those intermediate frequency signals to radio-frequency signals that are provided to a respective one of the phased antenna arrays and wherein each transceiver circuit includes a downconverter that receives radio-frequency antenna signals from that respective one of the phased antenna arrays and downconverts those received radio-frequency antenna signals to intermediate frequency signals that are conveyed to the baseband processor over the intermediate frequency signal path that is coupled to that respective transceiver circuit.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein each phased antenna array includes multiple antenna elements on a dielectric.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein each phased antenna array includes a ground reflector.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the antenna elements comprises patch antenna elements.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the dielectric comprises a dielectric layer that is interposed between the patch antenna elements and the ground reflector.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein each phased antenna array comprises:

at least one dielectric layer; and

at least one electrical component on the dielectric layer that forms part of the transceiver circuit that is associated with that phased antenna array.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein each phased antenna array has a metal ground layer, a first array of antenna elements, a first dielectric layer interposed between the metal ground layer and the first array of antenna elements, a second array of antenna elements, and a second dielectric layer interposed between the metal ground layer and the second array of antenna elements.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 wherein the first and second arrays of antenna elements comprise patch antenna elements.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 further comprising a transceiver circuit component on the first dielectric layer.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the housing has four corners and wherein each of the phased antenna arrays is located at one of the four corners.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein each phased antenna array has an array of antenna elements and wherein at least one of the arrays of antenna elements runs parallel to an edge of the housing.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a display mounted in the housing that has a display cover layer, wherein at least one of the phased antenna arrays emits antenna signals through the display cover layer.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a dielectric logo on a rear face of the housing, wherein one of the phased antenna arrays is mounted under the dielectric logo.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the phased antenna arrays comprise millimeter wave phased antenna arrays.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the housing comprises a portable electronic device housing for an electronic device selected from the group consisting of:

a cellular telephone, a tablet computer, and a laptop computer.

16. A millimeter wave phased antenna array that transmits and receives millimeter wave signals in a portable electronic device, comprising:

a ground layer; and

a first array of antenna elements, a first dielectric layer interposed between the metal ground layer and the first array of antenna elements, a second array of antenna elements, and a second dielectric layer interposed between the metal ground layer and the second array of antenna elements.

17. The millimeter wave phased antenna array defined in claim 16 wherein the first and second arrays of antenna elements comprise first and second arrays of patch antenna elements.

18. The millimeter wave phased antenna array defined in claim 17 further comprising transceiver circuitry mounted on the first dielectric layer.

19. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing having corners with dielectric portions;

a display having a dielectric layer that is mounted in the housing; and

a plurality of millimeter wave phased antenna arrays mounted in the housing at the corners so that antenna signals from the millimeter wave phased antenna arrays pass through the dielectric layer and through the dielectric portions.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 19 wherein each millimeter wave phased antenna array comprises a first array of antenna elements, a first dielectric layer interposed between the metal ground layer and the first array of antenna elements, a second array of antenna elements, and a second dielectric layer interposed between the metal ground layer and the second array of antenna elements.