Hybrid antennas for electronic devices

• US 8,410,986 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2012
• Issued: 04/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hill, Robert J., Myers, Scott A., Schlub, Robert W., Darnell, Dean Floyd, Zhang, Zhijun
• Primary Examiner(s): DUONG, DIEU HIEN
• Application Number:
  US13/343,420
• Publication Number:
  US 20120098720A1
• Time in Patent Office: 454 Days
• Field of Search: 343/702, 343/767
• US Class Current: 343/702
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 11/00 Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing waveguides or resonators, lines, or other devices of the waveguide type
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/48 Earthing means; Earth screens; Counterpoises
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/10 Resonant slot antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/103 with variable reactance for tuning the antenna tuning resonant circuits H03J
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/30 Combinations of separate antenna units operating in different wavebands and connected to a common feeder system
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0421 with a shorting wall or a shorting pin at one end of the element H01Q9/0414 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/06 Details
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/42 with folded element, the folded parts being spaced apart a small fraction of the operating wavelength
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49018 with other electrical component

Abstract

A portable electronic device is provided that has a hybrid antenna. The hybrid antenna may include a slot antenna structure and an inverted-F antenna structure. The slot antenna portion of the hybrid antenna may be used to provide antenna coverage in a first communications band and the inverted-F antenna portion of the hybrid antenna may be used to provide antenna coverage in a second communications band. The second communications band need not be harmonically related to the first communications band. The electronic device may be formed from two portions. One portion may contain conductive structures that define the shape of the antenna slot. One or more dielectric-filled gaps in the slot may be bridged using conductive structures on another portion of the electronic device. A conductive trim member may be inserted into an antenna slot to trim the resonant frequency of the slot antenna portion of the hybrid antenna.

Claims

1. A hybrid antenna in a portable electronic device, comprising:

conductive structures in the portable electronic device that define an antenna slot for the hybrid antenna, wherein the antenna slot has a longitudinal axis;

an inverted-F antenna structure having a first conductive portion that extends from a first terminal to a second terminal and that bridges the slot and having a second conductive portion that is electrically connected to the first conductive portion and that at least partly runs parallel to the longitudinal axis of the antenna slot, wherein the second terminal is shorted to the conductive structures adjacent to a first side of the slot; and

a flex circuit transmission line having a positive signal conductor and a ground signal conductor, wherein the positive signal conductor is connected to the first terminal and wherein the ground signal conductor is connected to the conductive structures adjacent to a second side of the slot, wherein the conductive structures comprise a switch mounting bracket and wherein the ground signal conductor is connected to the switch mounting bracket.

2. The hybrid antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the ground signal conductor is connected to the switch mounting bracket with a screw.

3. The portable electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a solder joint that electrically connects the positive signal conductor to the first terminal.

4. The hybrid antenna defined in claim 3 wherein the ground signal conductor is connected to the switch mounting bracket with a screw.

5. The hybrid antenna defined in claim 4 wherein the conductive structures comprise a conductive bezel and wherein the second terminal is connected to the conductive bezel.

6. The hybrid antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the conductive structures comprise a conductive bezel, wherein the second terminal is connected to the conductive bezel.

7. A hybrid antenna in a portable electronic device, comprising:

conductive structures in the portable electronic device that define an antenna slot for the hybrid antenna, wherein the antenna slot has a longitudinal axis;

an inverted-F antenna structure having a first conductive portion that extends from a first terminal to a second terminal and that bridges the slot and having a second conductive portion that is electrically connected to the first conductive portion and that at least partly runs parallel to the longitudinal axis of the antenna slot, wherein the second terminal is shorted to the conductive structures adjacent to a first side of the slot; and

a flex circuit transmission line having a positive signal conductor and a ground signal conductor, wherein the positive signal conductor is connected to the first terminal and wherein the ground signal conductor is connected to the conductive structures adjacent to a second side of the slot, wherein the conductive structures comprise a conductive bezel and wherein the second terminal is connected to the conductive bezel.