ELECTRONIC DEVICE WITH NFC ANTENNA ADJACENT DISPLAY AND RELATED METHODS

• US 20170163314A1
• Filed: 02/15/2017
• Published: 06/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Dikun, Raymond Michael, Nguyen, Pha Cong, Wiessner, Randy Alan, Zhu, Lizhong, Zhu, Libo, Dill, Scott Leonard, Ooi, Soo Liam
• Granted Patent: US 10,623,540 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49018 with other electrical component

Abstract

An electronic device may include a housing, processing circuitry carried by the housing, and at least one wireless transceiver carried by the housing and a NFC device carried by the housing. The electronic device may also include a display carried by the housing and having an internal surface within the housing and a display surface opposite the internal surface, and an NFC antenna mounted on and extending across at least a portion of the internal surface of the display, wherein the NFC antenna comprises a substrate and electrically conductive traces thereon defining a plurality of loops.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a housing;

processing circuitry carried by the housing;

at least one wireless transceiver carried by the housing;

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

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

an NFC antenna mounted on and extending across at least a portion of the internal surface of the display, wherein the NFC antenna comprises a substrate and electrically conductive traces thereon defining a plurality of loops.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the NFC antenna further comprises a backing layer, and wherein the backing layer comprises an inductive shield that shields the NFC antenna.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the backing layer comprises ferrite.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the NFC antenna is positioned within the housing behind and aligned with the internal surface of the display.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a rectangular shape, and wherein the plurality of loops is adjacent a periphery of the substrate.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 further comprising a flexible circuit coupling the NFC antenna to the NFC device.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the display comprises a touch screen display.

8. A tablet computing device comprising:

a housing;

processing circuitry carried by the housing;

at least one wireless transceiver circuitry carried by the housing and coupled to the processing circuitry;

a near field communications (NFC) circuitry carried by the housing and coupled to the processing circuitry;

a display carried by the housing and coupled to the processing circuitry, the display having an internal surface within the housing and a display surface opposite the internal surface; and

an NFC antenna mounted on and extending across at least a portion of the internal surface of the display, wherein the NFC antenna comprises a substrate and electrically conductive traces thereon defining a plurality of loops.

9. The tablet computing device of claim 8, wherein the NFC antenna further comprises a backing layer, and wherein the backing layer comprises an inductive shield that shields the NFC antenna.

10. The tablet computing device of claim 9, wherein the backing layer comprises ferrite.

11. The tablet computing device of claim 8, wherein the NFC antenna is positioned within the housing behind and aligned with the internal surface of the display.

12. The tablet computing device of claim 8, wherein the substrate has a rectangular shape, and wherein the plurality of loops is adjacent a periphery of the substrate.

13. The tablet computing device of claim 8 further comprising a flexible circuit coupling the NFC antenna to the NFC circuitry.

14. The tablet computing device of claim 8, wherein the display comprises a touch screen display.

15. 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, the display having an internal surface within the housing and a display surface opposite the internal surface; and

mounting an NFC antenna to the internal surface of the display within the housing, wherein the NFC antenna extends across at least a portion of the internal surface of the display, and wherein the NFC antenna comprises electrically conductive traces defining a plurality of loops.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the NFC antenna comprises a substrate including the electrically conductive traces thereon defining the plurality of loops.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the substrate has a rectangular shape and wherein the plurality of loops is adjacent a periphery of the substrate.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising coupling a flexible circuit between the NFC antenna and the NFC device.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the NFC antenna comprises a backing layer that shields the NFC antenna.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the backing layer comprises ferrite.