Cascaded coils for multi-surface coverage in near field communication

• US 9,281,118 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2012
• Issued: 03/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Konanur, Anand S, Karacaoglu, Ulun, Yang, Songnan
• Primary Examiner(s): DINH, TRINH VO
• Application Number:
  US13/709,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20140159848A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,184 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 1/273 Adaptation for carrying or wearing by persons or animals
• 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: H01Q 7/06 with core of ferromagnetic material H01Q7/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/23 characterised by the type of transmitting antennas, e.g. directional array antennas or Yagi antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/27 characterised by the type of receiving antennas, e.g. rectennas
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/26 using coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer

Abstract

Described herein are techniques related to near field coupling and wireless power transfers. A device may include a cascaded coil antenna to include a first coil antenna that is connected in series with a second coil antenna. The first and second coil antennas are independent antennas prior to cascading and are located in different surfaces of the device to establish near field coupling through front side, top side, bottom side, or corner side of the portable device. Furthermore, a flux guide may be placed in the cascaded coil antenna to facilitate magnetic flux at the first coil antenna and the second coil antenna to induce current of the same phase during receive mode. During transmit mode, the flux guide facilitates the magnetic flux at the first coil antenna and the second coil antenna to generate magnetic fields of the same direction.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

at least one component defining top and bottom surfaces;

a connecting wire;

a cascaded coil antenna to include a first coil antenna and a second coil antenna that are connected in series through the connecting wire, wherein the first coil antenna is placed at the top surface and the second coil antenna is placed at the bottom surface of the at least one component; and

a flux guide installed to cover top portion of the first coil antenna and spans to a top portion of the second coil antenna, wherein the flux guide at receive mode is configured to generate magnetic flux at the first coil antenna and the second coil antenna to induce current of the same phase, and wherein the flux guide at transmit mode facilitates the magnetic flux at the first coil antenna and the second coil antenna to generate magnetic fields of the same direction.

2. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the cascaded coil antenna includes the first coil antenna installed at one of a palm rest of the portable device, at an edge of a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, or at an edge of a base of the portable device.

3. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the cascaded coil antenna includes the second coil antenna installed in a separate surface other than the surface where the first coil antenna is located.

4. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second coil antennas are independent from one another and are separately installed at different surfaces of the portable device to communicate through front side, top side, bottom side, right side, or corner side of the portable device in tablet mode.

5. The device as recited in claim 1 further comprising a coaxial cable, wherein the series connection includes connecting a positive terminal of the first coil antenna connected to a negative terminal of the second coil antenna to an inner conductor and metallic shield, respectively, of the coaxial cable, wherein the negative terminal of the first coil antenna and the positive terminal of the second coil antenna are linked by the connecting wire to complete cascading of the first and second coil antennas.

6. The device as recited in claim 1 further comprising a coaxial cable that includes an inner conductor and a metallic shield, wherein the connecting wire used to complete cascading of the first and second coil antennas is curled to the inner conductor and the metallic shield of the coaxial cable to avoid parasitic loop.

7. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the flux guide includes a ferrite material that configured to capture the magnetic flux at a receiving coil antenna to penetrate and exit at the second coil antenna or the first coil antenna during the receive mode.

8. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the flux guide during the receive mode is configured to capture and the magnetic flux that is configured to induce a current at a receiving coil antenna in a counter-clockwise direction, wherein the facilitated magnetic flux is configured to induce another current at the second coil antenna or the first coil antenna in a clockwise direction.

9. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the flux guide forms an “

S”

configuration, wherein a top portion and a bottom portion of the “

S”

configuration are placed on top portions of the first coil antenna and the second coil antenna, respectively.

10. The device as recited in claim 1, further including a single Near Field Communication (NFC) module to control the cascaded coil antenna.

11. The device as recited in claim 1, further including a processor, a memory, and one or more antennas to provide Wi-Fi and/or cellular connectivity.

12. A method of coupling a device comprising:

establishing a near field coupling at the device through a cascaded coil antenna, which includes a first coil antenna connected in series with a second coil antenna;

receiving incoming magnetic fields at receive mode through a flux guide installed to cover an outer portion of the first coil antenna and spans to cover an outer portion of the second coil antenna constructed in a different surface, wherein the flux guide is configured to provide a magnetic flux at the first coil antenna and the second coil antenna to induce current of the same phase during the receive mode, and wherein the flux guide is configured to provide the magnetic flux at the first coil antenna and the second coil antenna to generate magnetic fields of the same direction at transmit mode.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein establishing near field coupling includes the first coil antenna installed at one of a palm rest of a device, at an edge of a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen or the device, or at an edge of the device.

14. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the first and second coil antennas are independent from one another and separately installed at different surfaces of the device to read through front side, top side, bottom side, right side, or corner side of the device in tablet mode.

15. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the series connection includes connecting a positive terminal of the first coil antenna and a negative terminal of the second coil antenna to an inner conductor and metallic shield, respectively, of a coaxial cable, wherein the negative terminal of the first coil antenna and the positive terminal of the second coil antenna are linked by the connecting wire to complete cascading of the first and second coil antennas.

16. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein a connecting wire is used to complete cascading of the first and second coil antennas is curled to an inner conductor and metallic shield of a coaxial cable to avoid parasitic loop.

17. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the flux guide includes a ferrite material configured to capture the magnetic flux at a receiving coil antenna to penetrate and exit at the second coil antenna or the first coil antenna during the receive mode.

18. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the flux guide during the receive mode is configured to capture and the magnetic flux that induces a current at a receiving coil antenna in a counter-clockwise direction, wherein the magnetic flux is configured to penetrate and induce another current at the second coil antenna or the first coil antenna in a clockwise direction.

19. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the flux guide during the receive mode captures and facilitates the magnetic flux that induces a current at a receiving coil antenna in a counter-clockwise direction, wherein the facilitated magnetic flux penetrates and induces another current at the second coil antenna or the first coil antenna in a clockwise direction.

20. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the cascaded coil antenna is controlled by a single module.

21. Non transitory computer readable media storing computer readable instructions for causing a device to implement a method of:

establishing a near field coupling at the device through a cascaded coil antenna, which includes a first coil antenna connected in series with a second coil antenna;

initiating a receive mode at the device;

receiving incoming magnetic fields at the receive mode through a flux guide installed to cover an outer portion of the first coil antenna and cover an outer portion of the second coil antenna constructed on a different surface;

establishing magnetic flux at the first coil antenna and the second coil antenna to induce current of the same phase during the receive mode; and

providing the magnetic flux at the first coil antenna and the second coil antenna to generate magnetic fields of the same direction at transmit mode.