Electronic device case with antenna

• US 8,954,122 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2014
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BluFlux, LLC
• Original Assignee: Bluflux RF Technologies LLC
• Inventors: Wilmhoff, Benjamin R., Rowser, Andrew D.
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, MAHENDRA R
• Application Number:
  US14/322,027
• Publication Number:
  US 20150011273A1
• Time in Patent Office: 223 Days
• Field of Search: 455/83, 455/575.7, 455/575.1, 340/572.5, 340/572.1, 340/572.7, 342/375, 342/368, 342/372, 343/895, 343/720, 343/718, 343/702
• US Class Current: 455/575.7
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/36 relating to the receiver frond end
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/084 Pivotable antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/245 with means for shaping the antenna pattern, e.g. in order to protect user against rf exposure
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/285 Planar dipole H01Q9/065 takes precedence; patch antenna H01Q9/0407
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3838 Arrangements for reducing RF exposure to the user, e.g. by changing the shape of the transceiver while in use
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3888 Arrangements for carrying or protecting transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/26 using coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/00 Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers subscriber services or facilities provided at exchanges H04M3/00; prepayment telephone coin boxes H04M17/00; current supply arrangements H04M19/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/185 Improving the rigidity of the casing or resistance to shocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/04 including near field communication means, e.g. RFID

Abstract

A case for a mobile electronic device is provided. The case includes a shell, a case antenna, a transmission line, and a near-field coupling device. The shell encases at least a portion of the mobile electronic device. The case antenna is attached to the shell. The transmission line is also attached to the shell and electrically interconnects to the case antenna. The near-field coupling device has a feed port electrically interconnected to the transmission line and is configured to near-field couple to a native antenna of the mobile electronic device to capture an electromagnetic signal generated by the native antenna of the mobile electronic device. The near-field coupling device is also configured to conduct the captured electromagnetic signal from the feed port of the near-field coupling device to the case antenna through the transmission line.

Claims

1. A protective case for improving radio frequency (RF) signal quality for a mobile electronic device, the case comprising:

a shell that encases at least a portion of the mobile electronic device;

a case antenna attached to the shell;

a two conductor transmission line attached to the shell and electrically interconnected to the case antenna; and

a near-field coupling device attached to the shell and having a feed port electrically interconnected to the transmission line, the near-field coupling device configured to near-field couple to a native antenna of the encased mobile electronic device to capture an electromagnetic signal generated by the native antenna of the mobile electronic device, the near-field coupling device further configured to conduct the captured electromagnetic signal from the feed port of the near-field coupling device to the case antenna through the transmission line,

wherein the mobile electronic device is configured to execute instructions to determine a location of the mobile electronic device, determine a preferred pointing direction for the case antenna based on information indicating known locations of communication base stations near the determined location, and indicate the preferred pointing direction on a display of the mobile electronic device.

2. The protective case of claim 1 wherein the near-field coupling device is further configured to receive a second electromagnetic signal at the feed port and near-field couple the second electromagnetic signal to the native antenna of the mobile electronic device, the second electromagnetic signal received at the feed port from the case antenna through the transmission line.

3. The protective case of claim 1 wherein the near-field coupling device is substantially impedance matched to the native antenna of the mobile electronic device.

4. The protective case of claim 3 wherein the near-field coupling device reduces an uncoupled radiation level of the native antenna when the near-field coupling device is coupled to the native antenna, the uncoupled radiation level being a level of radiation produced by the native antenna of the mobile electronic device when the near-field coupling device is not coupled to the native antenna of the mobile electronic device.

5. The protective case of claim 1, the case antenna being positionable relative to the shell, the case antenna having at least a stowed position and an unstowed position.

6. The protective case of claim 5 wherein the near-field coupling device is coupled to the native antenna when the case antenna is in the stowed position and when the case antenna is in the unstowed position.

7. The protective case of claim 5 wherein the near-field coupling device is configured to near-field couple to the native antenna in response to the case antenna being moved from the stowed position to the unstowed position.

8. The protective case of claim 1, the case antenna configured to pivot relative to the shell while maintaining the electrical interconnection to the transmission line.

9. The protective case of claim 8, the case antenna having a degree of movement relative to the shell in addition to the pivoting relative to the shell.

10. The protective case of claim 1 wherein the captured signal is passively conducted from the near-field coupler to the case antenna through the transmission line.

11. The protective case of claim 1 wherein conducting the captured signal to the case antenna through the transmission line does not include actively amplifying the captured signal.

12. The protective case of claim 1 wherein the case provides physical protection to the mobile electronic device.

13. A system for improving radio frequency (RF) signal quality for a mobile electronic device, the system comprising:

a protective case for the mobile electronic device, the protective case including;

a shell configured to receive at least a portion of the mobile electronic device;

a positionable supplementary antenna attached to the shell;

a two-conductor transmission line electrically interconnected to the supplementary antenna; and

a near-field coupler having a feed port, the near-field coupler configured to wirelessly receive an RF signal from an internal antenna of the mobile electronic device by near-field coupling to the internal antenna of the mobile electronic device, the near-field coupler further configured to conduct the received signal from the feed port to the supplementary antenna through the two-conductor transmission line; and

a set of non-transitory computer-executable instructions downloadable to the mobile electronic device from a computer server over a network, the instructions executable by at least one computer processor of the mobile electronic device to;

direct the mobile electronic device to determine a location of the mobile electronic device;

determine a preferred pointing direction for the positional supplementary antenna based on information indicating known locations of communication base stations near the determined location; and

indicate the preferred pointing direction on a display of the mobile electronic device.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the information indicating the known locations of communication base stations is stored in the mobile electronic device.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein determining the preferred direction is further based on a signal strength map.

16. A method of improving signal quality for a smartphone using a protective encasement for the smartphone, the protective encasement having a near-field coupler, a supplementary antenna, and an electrical transmission line having at least two conductors, the electrical transmission line electrically interconnecting the near-field coupler and the supplementary antenna, the method comprising:

wirelessly capturing a signal electromagnetically radiated by an internal antenna of the smartphone using the near-field coupling device, the near-field coupling device positioned in proximity to the internal antenna of the smartphone by the encasement to near-field couple to the internal antenna of the smartphone to receive the signal radiated by the internal antenna of the smartphone;

determining a location of the smartphone;

determining a preferred pointing direction for the supplementary antenna based on information indicating at least one known location of a communication base station near the determined location of the smartphone;

transmitting the captured signal by conducting the captured signal from a feed port of the near-field coupling device through the transmission line to the supplementary antenna of the encasement; and

indicating the preferred pointing direction on a display of the mobile electronic device.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the wireless capturing and the transmitting occur only when the near-field coupling device is in an activated state.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the near-field coupling device is toggled between the activated state and a deactivated state based on a position of the supplementary antenna relative to the encasement.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising indicating to a user of the smartphone when the near-field coupling device should be switched to the activated state.