Corner bracket slot antennas

• US 9,318,793 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2012
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Zhu, Jiang, Li, Qingxiang, Schlub, Robert W., Samardzija, Miroslav, Coutts, Gordon, Gomez Angulo, Rodney A., Jiang, Yi, Shiu, Boon W., Yarga, Salih, McMilin, Emily B., Caballero, Ruben
• Primary Examiner(s): DINH, TRINH VO
• Application Number:
  US13/462,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20130293424A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,448 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/44 using equipment having another main function to serve additionally as an antenna , e.g. means for giving an antenna an aesthetic aspectH01Q1/27 - H01Q1/34 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/10 Resonant slot antennas

Abstract

A display cover layer may be mounted in an electronic device housing using housing structures such as corner brackets. A slot antenna may be formed from a corner bracket opening, metal traces on a hollow plastic support structure, or other conductive structures. The slot antenna may have a main portion with opposing ends. An antenna feed may be located at one of the ends. The slot antenna may have a slot with one or more bends. The bends may provide the slot antenna with a C-shaped outline. A side branch slot may extend from the main portion of the slot at a location between the two bends. The presence of the side branch slot may enhance antenna bandwidth. A hollow enclosure may serve as an antenna support structure and as a speaker box enclosing a speaker driver. The antenna feed may be positioned so as to overlap the speaker driver.

Claims

1. Apparatus having front and rear surfaces, comprising:

a display layer at the front surface;

a housing having a rear housing portion at the rear surface and an edge portion that extends between the rear housing portion and the display layer;

a hollow dielectric support structure between the display layer and the rear housing portion, the hollow dielectric support structure having a planar surface that faces the display layer;

a slot antenna formed from a slot in a conductive layer that is interposed between the planar surface of the hollow dielectric support structure and the display layer, wherein the slot has opposing ends and the slot antenna has an antenna feed at one of the ends; and

a speaker driver in the hollow dielectric support structure, wherein the slot antenna is configured so that the antenna feed overlaps the speaker driver, and sound created by the speaker driver passes through an opening in the edge portion of the housing.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the slot comprises a C-shaped slot.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the conductive layer comprises metal traces on the hollow dielectric support structure.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 3, wherein the metal traces are configured to form an antenna cavity for the slot antenna.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the slot comprises a main portion and a side branch that branches from the main portion at a location between the ends.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the slot comprises a C-shaped slot.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the speaker driver is located directly underneath the antenna feed.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the slot antenna has at least one bend.