Antenna structures having resonating elements and parasitic elements within slots in conductive elements

• US 9,236,648 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2010
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Guterman, Jerzy, Xu, Hao, Kough, Douglas Blake, Camacho, Eduardo Lopez, Pascolini, Mattia, Schlub, Robert W., Caballero, Ruben
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hoang V
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, HAI V
• Application Number:
  US12/888,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20120068893A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,938 Days
• Field of Search: 343/702, 343/700.MS, 343/767
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2266 disposed inside the computer
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/357 using a single feed point
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/378 Combination of fed elements with parasitic elements

Abstract

Electronic devices may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antenna structures. The antenna structures may include antenna resonating elements such as dual-band antenna resonating elements that resonate in first and second communications bands. The antenna structures may also contain parasitic antenna elements such as elements that are operative in only the first or second communications band and elements that are operative in both the first and second communications bands. The antenna resonating elements and parasitic elements may be mounted on a common dielectric carrier. The dielectric carrier may be mounted within a slot or other opening in a conductive element. The conductive element may be formed from conductive housing structures in an electronic device such as a portable computer. The portable computer may have a clutch barrel with a dielectric cover. The dielectric cover may overlap and cover the slot and the dielectric carrier.

Claims

1. Apparatus, comprising:

a conductive element having a resonant opening;

at least two antenna resonating elements that are located in the resonant opening; and

a parasitic antenna element located in the resonant opening, wherein the parasitic antenna element is formed within the resonant opening at a predetermined distance relative to a side of the resonant opening such that the parasitic antenna element shorts the resonant opening at a resonant frequency of the at least two antenna resonating elements to adjust an effective length of the resonant opening to the predetermined distance at the resonant frequency, wherein each of the antenna resonating elements comprises a dual-band antenna resonating element that operates in a first communications band that includes the resonant frequency and a second communications band, the conductive element comprises conductive housing portions in an electronic device, and the resonant opening comprises a closed slot that includes dielectric clutch barrel structures associated with the electronic device.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the parasitic antenna element comprises conductive traces on a substrate that are configured so that the parasitic antenna element is effective in the first communications band and not the second communications band.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the parasitic antenna element comprises conductive traces on a substrate that are configured so that the parasitic antenna element is effective in both the first communications band and the second communications band.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the conductive element comprises metal housing walls in a portable computer, wherein the parasitic antenna element comprises a first of at least two parasitic elements within the slot, wherein the at least two antenna resonating elements comprises first, second, and third antenna resonating elements, wherein a second of the at least two parasitic elements within the slot is interposed between the first and second antenna resonating elements, and wherein the first antenna resonating element is interposed between the first and second parasitic antenna elements.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the first parasitic antenna element comprises a conductor that is tuned to operate at 2.4 GHz and not 5 GHz and wherein the second parasitic antenna element comprises a conductor that is tuned to operate at both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the conductive element comprises metal housing walls in a portable computer, wherein the antenna resonating elements include first and second antenna resonating elements, and wherein the parasitic antenna element is interposed between the first and second antenna resonating elements.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 6 wherein the first and second antenna resonating elements are the only antenna resonating elements within the slot and wherein the parasitic antenna element comprises a conductor that is tuned to operate at 2.4 GHz and not 5 GHz.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 6 wherein the first and second antenna resonating elements are the only antenna resonating elements within the slot and wherein the parasitic antenna element comprises a conductor that is tuned to operate at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the parasitic antenna element is configured to adjust the effective length of the resonant opening so that the at least two antenna resonating elements are desensitized to an electromagnetic influence of the resonant opening.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the parasitic antenna element is unfed, further comprising transmission line structures configured to directly feed the at least two antenna resonating elements.

11. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the resonant frequency of the at least two antenna resonating elements comprises one of a 2.4 GHz frequency and a 5.0 GHz frequency.

12. Apparatus, comprising:

a conductive element having a resonant opening;

at least two antenna resonating elements that are located in the resonant opening; and

a parasitic antenna element located in the resonant opening, wherein the parasitic antenna element is formed within the resonant opening at a predetermined distance relative to a side of the resonant opening and is configured to short the resonant opening at a resonant frequency of the at least two antenna resonating elements so that the resonant opening has an effective length that is equal to the predetermined distance at the resonant frequency of the at least two antenna resonating elements, wherein each of the antenna resonating elements comprises a dual-band antenna resonating element that operates in a first communications band that includes the resonant frequency and a second communications band, the conductive element comprises metal housing walls in a portable computer, the resonant opening comprises a slot that includes dielectric clutch barrel structures in the portable computer, and the parasitic antenna element is interposed between at least two of the antenna resonating elements.

13. The apparatus defined in claim 12 wherein the parasitic antenna element comprises a conductor that is tuned to operate at 2.4 GHz and not 5 GHz.

14. The apparatus defined in claim 13 wherein the antenna resonating elements comprises first, second, and third antenna resonating elements within the slot.

15. A portable computer, comprising:

a housing having an upper housing portion that contains a display and having a lower housing portion;

hinges that connect the upper housing portion to the lower housing portion, wherein the upper housing portion comprises a clutch barrel in which the hinges are mounted and wherein the upper and lower housings comprises conductive structures, wherein the clutch barrel includes dielectric structures that are surrounded by conductive structures in the upper and lower housing portions to form a slot, wherein the slot has a resonant frequency;

a plurality of antenna resonating elements within the slot each of which has associated positive and ground antenna feed terminals that form an antenna feed for that antenna resonating element, wherein each of the antenna feeds is coupled to a respective transmission line; and

at least one parasitic antenna element within the slot and formed at a location with respect to a side of the slot so that the parasitic antenna element shorts the slot at one of a 2.4 and 5.0 GHz frequency band to prevent interference between the resonant frequency of the slot and a resonant frequency of the plurality of antenna resonating elements, wherein the antenna resonating elements comprises traces on a dielectric carrier and wherein the at least one parasitic antenna element comprises traces on the dielectric carrier.

16. The portable computer defined in claim 15 further comprising traces on the dielectric carrier that form a ground, wherein the traces of the parasitic antenna element have a shape having a first trace segment that is connected to the ground and having a second trace segment that runs parallel to the ground.

17. The portable computer defined in claim 15 further comprising traces on the dielectric carrier that form a ground, wherein the traces of the parasitic antenna element have a shape having a first trace segment that is connected to the ground and having second and third trace segments that run parallel to the ground.

18. Antenna structures in an electronic device, comprising:

conductive electronic device housing structures that completely surround a closed slot, wherein the conductive electronic device housing structures have an upper housing portion, a lower housing portion, and hinge structures that connect the upper housing portion to the lower housing portion, the closed slot includes a dielectric cover that covers the hinge structures, and the dielectric cover substantially overlaps the slot; and

a plurality of antenna resonating elements and at least one parasitic antenna element within the closed slot, wherein the plurality of antenna resonating elements has a first resonant frequency centered within a frequency band, the closed slot has a second resonant frequency, the at least one parasitic antenna element is formed within the closed slot at a selected distance with respect to a side of the closed slot such that the at least one parasitic antenna element prevents interference between the first and second resonant frequencies by adjusting the second resonant frequency to a frequency that is outside of the first frequency band, the closed slot includes a dielectric cover that covers the hinge structures, and the dielectric cover substantially overlaps the closed slot.

19. The antenna structures defined in claim 18 wherein the antenna resonating elements include at least first and second dual-band antenna resonating elements formed from conductive traces on a dielectric substrate that is covered by the dielectric cover, wherein the parasitic antenna element comprises conductive traces on the dielectric substrate, wherein the first and second dual-band antennas each have positive and negative antenna feed terminals, wherein the parasitic antenna elements have no antenna feed terminals, and wherein the parasitic antenna elements and the first and second dual band antennas share a common ground trace on the dielectric substrate.

20. The antenna structure defined in claim 18 wherein the at least one parasitic antenna element is configured to prevent interference between the first and second resonant peaks by electrically shorting the closed slot at a frequency associated with the first resonant peak.

21. The antenna structure defined in claim 18, wherein the first resonant frequency comprises a 2.4 GHz resonant frequency and the frequency band ranges between 2.3 and 2.5 GHz.

22. The antenna structure defined in claim 18, wherein the first resonant frequency comprises a 5.0 GHz resonant frequency and the frequency band ranges between 4.9 and 5.1 GHz.