Cavity antennas

• US 9,455,489 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2011
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Shiu, Boon W., Bevelacqua, Peter, Zhu, Jiang, Guterman, Jerzy
• Primary Examiner(s): Levi, Dameon E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lindgren Baltzell, Andrea
• Application Number:
  US13/221,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20130050032A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,855 Days
• Field of Search: 343/702
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2258 used with computer equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/24 with receiving set
• 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 13/18 the slot being backed by, or formed in boundary wall of, a resonant cavity longitudinally slotted cylinder H01Q13/12 ; Open cavity antennas

Abstract

Cavity antennas may be provided for electronic devices. A cavity antenna may have a conductive antenna cavity with an opening. An antenna resonating element may be soldered within the cavity opening. An electronic device may have a display that is covered by a display cover layer. A cavity antenna may be mounted so that the cavity opening is located under a portion of the display cover layer outside of the active display region. An antenna cavity for a cavity antenna may have one or more bends. A curved antenna cavity or a cavity antenna with one or more angled branches may have a portion that extends between a conductive housing wall and internal device components such as a display. A speaker may be formed using the interior volume within a cavity antenna.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a conductive housing having a rear wall;

a cavity antenna having an antenna cavity with conductive walls and an antenna resonating element, wherein the antenna cavity has an opening in which the antenna resonating element is located, the antenna cavity has curved portions that are located between the at least one conductive internal component and the conductive housing, the antenna cavity has a T-shape, and the antenna cavity comprises a first portion extending from the opening and first and second branching portions extending from opposing sides of the first portion;

a display cover layer;

a first electrical component within the conductive housing; and

a second electrical component within the conductive housing, wherein the first electrical component is interposed between the display cover layer and the first branching portion, the second electrical component is interposed between the display cover layer and the second branching portion, the first portion is interposed between the display cover layer and the rear wall, the first portion is interposed between the first and second electrical components, the first branching portion is interposed between the first electrical component and the rear wall, and the second branching portion is interposed between the second electrical component and the rear wall.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the conductive housing comprises a metal housing wall.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the first electrical component comprises a display.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein a region of the display cover layer covers the display and the opening is located adjacent to an area of the display cover layer outside of the region.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the antenna resonating element comprises a laser-patterned antenna resonating element that is soldered to an edge of the conductive walls of the antenna cavity, wherein the edge surrounds the opening.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the antenna resonating element comprises a two-shot plastic substrate.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the cavity antenna is configured to operate at an operating frequency, wherein the antenna cavity has a curved shape characterized by a bend radius, and wherein the bend radius is greater than one quarter of a wavelength at the operating frequency.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 further comprising a speaker having an interior chamber, wherein the conductive walls surround the interior chamber.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the speaker comprises a mesh covering the opening and the antenna resonating element.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the first portion has first and second opposing ends, the first end is located adjacent to the opening, and the branching portions extend from the second end.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16, wherein the first and second branching portions extend substantially perpendicular from the first portion.

10. Apparatus, comprising:

conductive cavity walls forming an antenna cavity in a cavity antenna and forming an interior volume for a speaker, wherein the antenna cavity has an opening that serves as a speaker port through which sound produced by the speaker exits the speaker, the conductive cavity walls defining a cross-sectional area of the antenna cavity;

a diaphragm; and

a speaker driver attached to the diaphragm, wherein the diaphragm and the speaker driver are mounted within the antenna cavity and the diaphragm extends across an entirety of the cross-sectional area of the antenna cavity.

11. The apparatus defined in claim 10 wherein the antenna cavity has a length with at least two bends.

12. The apparatus defined in claim 10 wherein the antenna cavity comprises stamped metal walls and wherein the cavity antenna further comprises a laser-patterned antenna resonating element in the opening.

13. The apparatus defined in claim 12 wherein the opening has an edge and wherein the apparatus further comprises solder connected to the antenna resonating element along at least part of the edge.

18. The apparatus defined in claim 10, further comprising:

an audio line connected to the speaker driver that provides audio signals to the speaker driver, wherein the diaphragm is interposed between the speaker driver and the opening of the antenna cavity and the diaphragm is driven by the speaker driver;

an acoustically transparent cover member formed over the opening of the antenna cavity; and

an antenna resonating element that is affixed to at least one of the cavity walls and that is interposed between the diaphragm and the acoustically transparent cover member.

14. An electronic device, comprising:

a conductive housing having a sidewall structure and a rear wall structure;

a display within the conductive housing, wherein the display comprises a display module and a display cover layer and the display module has a side surface and a rear surface; and

a cavity antenna having an antenna cavity with conductive walls and an antenna resonating element, wherein the antenna cavity has a first portion interposed between the side surface of the display module and the sidewall structure of the conductive housing, a second portion interposed between the rear surface of the display module and the rear wall structure of the conductive housing, and a curved portion that extends between the first and second portions.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the cavity antenna is configured to operate at an operating frequency, wherein the curved portion is characterized by a bend radius, and wherein the bend radius is greater than one quarter of a wavelength at the operating frequency.