Integrated antennas for near field coupling integration

• US 8,907,858 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2012
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Yang, Songnan, Sheng, Changsong
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, THO GIA
• Application Number:
  US13/977,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20140203988A1
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• Field of Search: 343/702, 343/741, 343/742, 343/787, 343/788, 343/866, 343/867
• US Class Current: 343/741
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2266 disposed inside the computer
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/526 Electromagnetic shields
• 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

Abstract

Described herein are techniques related to near field coupling and wireless power transfers. In an implementation, a portable device may include full metallic chassis devices. The full metallic chassis devices may include a keyboard and/or trackpad that include a plastic keycap. The plastic keycap may integrate a booster component to increase near field communications (NFC) range of a coil antenna that is integrated onto a surface plane above a circuit board of a switch that is connected to the plastic keycap. In an implementation, a ferrite material is inserted between the coil antenna and the circuit board to protect the coil antenna from Eddy currents that may be induced on a metallic chassis that lie underneath the circuit board.

Claims

1. A portable device comprising:

one or more processors;

a near field communications (NFC) antenna configured to the processors comprising;

a coil antenna that includes at least one exposed coil antenna loop, wherein a cutout at an inner core of the at least one exposed coil antenna loop allows the coil antenna to be integrated onto a surface plane above a circuit board that includes a switch of the plastic keycap, the inner core being aligned with a center point of the multiple resonant coils; and

a ferrite material that provides isolation of the coil antenna from metallic components underneath the coil antenna, wherein the ferrite material is inserted between the coil antenna and the circuit board; and

a NFC module configured to the NFC antenna to provide tuning adjustment.

2. The portable device of claim 1 further comprising a magnetic field booster that is integrated into a plastic keycap of a keyboard and/or track pad, the magnetic field booster includes multiple resonant coils.

3. The portable device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a magnetic field booster, wherein the magnetic field booster is configured to concentrate magnetic fields generated by the coil antenna for increased NFC range.

4. The portable device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a magnetic field booster, wherein the magnetic field booster includes more number of resonant coil turns than the coil antenna loop that forms the coil antenna.

5. The portable device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a magnetic field booster, wherein the magnetic field booster is tuned by adding and/or removing parasitic reactive components, or by using the NFC module in order to concentrate the magnetic flux of the coil antenna.

6. The portable device as recited in claim 1, wherein the coil antenna includes a rectangular ring shaped coil antenna that is made out of a printed circuit board (PCB), a flexible printed circuit (FPC), a metal wire, created through a laser direct structuring (LDS) process, or directly printed onto the ferrite material.

7. The portable device as recited in claim 1, wherein the coil antenna utilizes a metal-free space clearance underneath the plastic keycap of at least a left touchpad button, a right touchpad button, and/or a middle button of a trackpad.

8. The portable device as recited in claim 1, wherein the coil antenna utilizes a metal-free space clearance underneath the plastic keycap of at least a space key and/or multiple adjacent keys of a keyboard.

9. The portable device as recited in claim 1, wherein the cutout is shaped to utilize metal-free spaces that surround the switch and a spring of the keyboard and/or trackpad.

10. The portable device as recited in claim 1, wherein the coil antenna and the NFC module are integrated to form a single module underneath a metal-free space clearance between trackpad buttons and the circuit board.

11. The portable device as recited in claim 1, wherein the ferrite material protects the coil antenna from Eddy currents that are induced on a metallic chassis, and blocks magnetic fields from the coil antenna.

12. A near field communications (NFC) antenna comprising:

a coil antenna that includes at least one exposed coil antenna loop, wherein a cutout at an inner core of the at least one exposed coil antenna loop allows the coil antenna to be integrated onto a metal-free space clearance underneath a plastic keycap of a keyboard and/or trackpad of a device; and

a ferrite material that guides magnetic flux of the coil antenna.

13. The NFC antenna as recited in claim 12 further comprising a magnetic field booster integrated into the plastic keycap, the integrated booster includes multiple resonant coils, wherein the ferrite material guides magnetic flux of the coil antenna to the direction of the multiple resonant coils.

14. The NFC antenna as recited in claim 12, wherein the plastic keycap is fabricated with the integrated magnetic field booster.

15. The NFC antenna as recited in claim 12, further comprising a magnetic field booster, wherein the magnetic field booster is tuned to be resonant near operating frequency to concentrate magnetic fields generated by the coil antenna for improved NFC range.

16. The NFC antenna as recited in claim 12, further comprising a magnetic field booster, wherein the magnetic field booster is independently integrated from the coil antenna and the magnetic field booster includes more number of turns than the coil antenna loop that forms the coil antenna.

17. The NFC antenna as recited in claim 12, wherein the coil antenna includes a rectangular ring shaped coil antenna that is made out of a printed circuit board (PCB), a flexible printed circuit (FPC), a metal wire, created through a laser direct structuring (LDS) process, or directly printed onto the ferrite material.

18. The NFC antenna as recited in claim 12, wherein the coil antenna utilizes the metal-free space clearance underneath the plastic keycap of at least a left touchpad button, a right touchpad button, and/or a middle button of the trackpad.

19. The NFC antenna as recited in claim 12, wherein the coil antenna utilizes the metal-free space clearance underneath the plastic keycap of at least a space key and/or multiple adjacent keys of the keyboard.

20. The NFC antenna as recited in claim 12, wherein the coil antenna includes the center cutout that is shaped to utilize metal free spaces that surround the switch and a spring of the keyboard and/or trackpad.

21. The NFC antenna as recited in claim 12, wherein the ferrite material protects the coil antenna from Eddy currents that are induced on a metallic chassis, and blocks magnetic fields from the coil antenna in penetrating the metallic chassis.

22. The NFC antenna as recited in claim 12, wherein the ferrite material is inserted between the coil antenna, and at least a circuit board or a metallic chassis.

23. A method of integrating a near field communications (NFC) antenna into a host portable device comprising:

constructing an inner core cutout in a coil antenna that includes at least one exposed coil antenna loop;

installing the coil antenna by utilizing a metal-free space clearance underneath the plastic keycap, wherein the inner core cutout allows the installation of the coil antenna underneath the plastic keycap metal-free space clearance; and

installing a ferrite material that guides magnetic flux of the coil antenna.

24. The method as recited in claim 23 further comprising integrating a magnetic field booster in the plastic keycap of a trackpad and/or a keyboard, wherein the integrated magnetic field booster includes multiple resonant coils, wherein the magnetic field booster is tuned to concentrate the magnetic flux of the coil antenna.

25. The method as recited in claim 23, further comprising integrating a magnetic field booster, wherein the magnetic field booster is separately integrated and the multiple resonant coils include a greater number of turns than the coil antenna loop that forms the coil antenna.

26. The method as recited in claim 23, further comprising integrating a magnetic field booster that includes multiple resonant coils, wherein the multiple resonant coils is fabricated directly into the plastic keycap.

27. The method as recited in claim 23, further comprising integrating a magnetic field booster that includes multiple resonant coils, wherein the multiple resonant coils are coupled to the coil antenna.

28. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the coil antenna utilizes the metal-free space clearance underneath the plastic keycap of at least a left touchpad button, a right touchpad button, and/or a middle button of the trackpad.

29. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the coil antenna utilizes the metal-free space clearance underneath the plastic keycap of at least a space key and/or multiple adjacent keys of the keyboard.

30. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the coil antenna is connected to an NFC module that is integrated to the coil antenna to form a single module.

31. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the coil antenna is made out of a printed circuit board (PCB), a flexible printed circuit (FPC), a metal wire, created through a laser direct structuring (LDS) process, or directly printed onto the ferrite material.

32. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the ferrite material protects the coil antenna from Eddy current that are generated by a metallic chassis in a full metal chassis device.

33. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein tuning of the coil antenna includes configuring a magnetic field booster to be resonant near operating frequency to increase quality factor (Q) of the coil antenna.