Electronic device with dual clutch barrel cavity antennas

• US 9,350,068 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2015
• Issued: 05/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Pascolini, Mattia, Guterman, Jerzy, Li, Qingxiang
• Primary Examiner(s): MANCUSO, HUEDUNG XUAN CAO
• Application Number:
  US14/733,746
• Publication Number:
  US 20150270598A1
• Time in Patent Office: 351 Days
• Field of Search: 343/702, 343/767, 343/770, 343/846, 343/700.MS
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1681 Details related solely to hinges hinge details related to the transmission of signals or power are classified in G06F1/1683
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1683 for the transmission of signal or power between the different housings, e.g. details of wired or wireless communication, passage of cabling
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2266 disposed inside the computer
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/18 the slot being backed by, or formed in boundary wall of, a resonant cavity longitudinally slotted cylinder H01Q13/12 ; Open cavity antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/42 with folded element, the folded parts being spaced apart a small fraction of the operating wavelength
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0215 Grounding of printed circuits by connection to external grounding means
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0224 Patterned shielding planes, ground planes or power planes H05K1/0253 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/028 Bending or folding regions of flexible printed circuits H05K1/0283 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 9/0054 specially adapted for display applications

Abstract

An electronic device has antennas formed from cavity antenna structures. The electronic device may have a metal housing. The metal housing may have an upper housing in which a component such as a display is mounted and a lower housing in which a component such as a keyboard is mounted. Hinges may be used to mount the upper housing to the lower housing for rotation about a rotational axis. Cavity antennas may be formed in a clutch barrel region located between the hinges and running along the rotational axis. A flexible printed circuit may be formed between the cavity antennas. Each cavity antenna may have a first end that is adjacent to one of the hinges and a second end that is adjacent to the flexible printed circuit. Cavity walls for the cavity antennas may be formed from metal housing structures such as metal portions of the lower housing.

Claims

1. A portable computer, comprising:

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

hinges that connect the upper housing portion to the lower housing portion so that the upper housing portion rotates relative to the lower housing portion about a rotational axis between a closed position and an open position, wherein there is a gap between opposing metal portions of the upper and lower housing portions; and

an antenna having an antenna resonating element in the lower housing portion between the hinges that transmits and receives antenna signals through the gap, wherein the antenna resonating element is interposed between upper and lower metal surfaces of the lower housing portion.

2. The portable computer defined in claim 1 wherein the gap has a slot shape and runs parallel to the rotational axis and the antenna transmits and receives antenna signals through the gap when the upper housing portion is in the closed position.

3. The portable computer defined in claim 2 wherein the antenna is a cavity antenna.

4. The portable computer defined in claim 3 wherein there is an upper gap between the upper and lower housing portions when the upper housing portion is in the open position and the antenna transmits and receives antenna signals through the upper gap when the upper housing portion is in the open position.

5. The portable computer defined in claim 4 wherein there is a lower gap between the upper and lower housing portions when the upper housing portion is in the open position.

6. The portable computer defined in claim 5 wherein the antenna transmits and receives antenna signals through both the lower gap and the upper gap when the upper housing portion is in the open position.

7. The portable computer defined in claim 6 wherein the antenna is one of a pair of first and second cavity antennas located between the hinges.

8. The portable computer defined in claim 7 further comprising a signal path that passes between the upper housing portion and the lower housing portion and that is interposed between the first and second cavity antennas.

9. The portable computer defined in claim 8 wherein the first and second cavity antennas comprises dual band antennas.

10. The portable computer defined in claim 9 wherein the first and second cavity antennas are configured to operate in a 2.4 GHz communications band and a 5 GHz communications band.

11. The portable computer defined in claim 10 wherein the upper and lower gaps have slot shapes that run parallel to the rotational axis.

12. The portable computer defined in claim 11 wherein the upper housing portion comprises a metal upper housing and wherein the lower housing portion comprises a metal lower housing.

13. A portable computer, comprising:

an upper metal housing that contains a display;

a lower metal housing that contains a keyboard;

hinges that connect the upper metal housing to the lower metal housing so that the upper metal housing rotates relative to the lower metal housing about a rotational axis between a closed position and an open position, wherein when the upper metal housing is in the open position there is an upper gap between the upper metal housing and the lower metal housing that runs parallel to the rotational axis and there is a lower gap between the upper metal housing and the lower metal housing that runs parallel to the rotational axis; and

an antenna in the lower metal housing between the hinges that transmits and receives antenna signals through the upper gap and through the lower gap when the upper metal housing is in the open position.

14. The portable computer defined in claim 13 wherein the antenna transmits and receives the antenna signals through the lower gap when the upper metal housing is in the closed position.

15. The portable computer defined in claim 14 wherein the antenna is a dual band cavity antenna.

16. The portable computer defined in claim 15 wherein the dual band cavity antenna is configured to operate in communications bands at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

17. A portable computer, comprising:

an upper metal housing that contains a display;

a lower metal housing that contains a keyboard;

hinges that connect the upper metal housing to the lower metal housing so that the upper metal housing rotates relative to the lower metal housing about a rotational axis between a closed position and an open position, wherein when the upper metal housing is in the open position there is an upper gap between the upper metal housing and the lower metal housing that runs parallel to the rotational axis and there is a lower gap between the upper metal housing and the lower metal housing that runs parallel to the rotational axis and wherein when the upper metal housing is in the closed position the lower gap is between the upper metal housing and the lower metal housing; and

first and second cavity antennas in the lower metal housing between the hinges that transmit and receive antenna signals through the upper gap and through the lower gap when the upper metal housing is in the open position and that transmit and receive antenna signals through the lower gap when the upper metal housing is in the closed position.

18. The portable computer defined in claim 17 wherein the first and second cavity antennas are dual-band antennas.

19. The portable computer defined in claim 18 wherein the first and second cavity antennas are each configured to operate in communications bands at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

20. The portable computer defined in claim 19 wherein the first cavity antenna comprises a first inverted-F resonating element and wherein the second cavity antenna comprises a second inverted-F resonating element.