Electronic device with slot antenna and proximity sensor

• US 9,559,425 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2014
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Zhu, Jiang, Gomez Angulo, Rodney A., Li, Qingxiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Levi, Dameon E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alkassim, Jr., Ab Salam
• Application Number:
  US14/221,133
• Publication Number:
  US 20150270619A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,048 Days
• Field of Search: 343/700.MS, 343/702, 343/725, 343/729, 343/767, 343/789, 455/41.1, 455/41.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/00 Electric or magnetic prospecting or detecting; Measuring magnetic field characteristics of the earth, e.g. declination, deviation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1613 for portable computers cooling arrangements therefor G06F1/203; constructional details or arrangements for pocket calculators, electronic agendas or books G06F15/0216; constructional details of portable telephone sets: with several bodies H04M1/0202
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2266 disposed inside the computer
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/10 Resonant slot antennas

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with slot antennas. A slot antenna may be formed from metal structures that have a dielectric gap defining an antenna slot. The metal structures may include multiple metal layers that overlap a plastic antenna window and that serve as capacitive electrodes in a capacitive proximity sensor. The metal structures may also include a metal electronic device housing. The metal electronic device housing and the metal layers may be formed on opposing sides of the antenna slot. The metal layers may have a notch that locally widens the antenna slot at an open end of the antenna slot. One of the metal layers may be shorted to the metal electronic device housing at an opposing closed end of the antenna slot. The antenna slot may be indirectly fed using a near-field-coupled antenna feed structure such as a metal patch that overlaps the antenna slot.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

radio-frequency transceiver circuitry that generates radio-frequency signals at a given frequency;

a slot antenna that transmits the radio-frequency signals at the given frequency;

a metal housing;

a dielectric antenna window in the metal housing;

metal structures on the dielectric antenna window that are separated from the metal housing by a slot antenna resonating element in the slot antenna, wherein the metal structures and the metal housing define a shape of the slot antenna resonating element, and the slot antenna comprises a near-field-coupled antenna feed structure that is formed over and near-field coupled to the slot antenna resonating element.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the slot antenna resonating element comprises an indirectly fed slot antenna resonating element.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the near-field-coupled antenna feed structure has a planar metal structure that is near-field coupled to the indirectly fed slot antenna resonating element.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the planar metal structure comprises a patch that overlaps the indirectly fed slot antenna resonating element.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the metal structures comprise capacitive proximity sensor electrode structures.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the capacitive proximity sensor electrode structures comprises a first metal layer and a second metal layer.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 wherein the second metal layer is coupled to the metal housing through a capacitor.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 further comprising a first inductor coupled to the first metal layer and a second inductor coupled to the second metal layer.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 further comprising proximity sensor circuitry coupled to the first and second inductors.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 wherein the second metal layer has a protruding portion that is shorted to the metal housing.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the indirectly fed slot antenna resonating element has a closed end formed by the protruding portion and has an open end.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11 wherein the indirectly fed slot antenna resonating element has a locally widened portion at the open end.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the first and second metal layers have a notch and wherein the locally widened portion is formed by the notch in the first and second metal layers.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the slot antenna is an indirectly fed slot antenna having a near-field-coupled antenna feed structure that is near-field coupled to the slot antenna resonating element of the indirectly fed slot antenna and the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry is coupled to the near-field-coupled antenna feed structure, the electronic device further comprising:

capacitive proximity sensor circuitry coupled to the metal structures.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 further comprising inductors coupled between the capacitive proximity sensor circuitry and the metal structures.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15 wherein the metal structures comprise first and second metal layers, the electronic device further comprising a dielectric layer between the first and second metal layers.

17. An electronic device, comprising:

a dielectric member;

first metal structures overlapping the dielectric member, wherein the first metal structures comprise first and second metal layers;

second metal structures separated from the first metal structures by an antenna slot, wherein the second metal structures comprise a metal electronic device housing and the second metal layer has a protruding portion that extends over the antenna slot and is shorted to the metal electronic device housing during operation of the antenna slot; and

a near-field-coupled antenna feed structure that is near-field coupled to and formed above the antenna slot, wherein the near-field-coupled antenna feed structure and the antenna slot form a slot antenna.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 17 further comprising capacitive proximity sensor circuitry coupled to the first and second metal layers.

19. Apparatus, comprising:

a metal electronic device housing;

a plastic antenna window in the metal electronic device housing;

first and second metal layers overlapping the plastic antenna window, wherein the first and second metal layers are separated from the metal electronic device housing by an antenna slot, the first metal layer is between the second metal layer and the plastic antenna window, the antenna slot has opposing open and closed ends, and the second metal layer is coupled to the metal electronic device housing at the closed end of the antenna slot; and

capacitive proximity sensor circuitry coupled to the first and second metal layers.

20. The apparatus defined in claim 19 further comprising:

a near-field-coupled antenna feed structure that is near-field coupled to the antenna slot, wherein the near-field-coupled antenna feed structure and the antenna slot form a slot antenna.

21. The apparatus defined in claim 20 wherein the near-field-coupled antenna feed structure comprises a metal patch that overlaps the slot.

22. The apparatus defined in claim 21 wherein the antenna slot has opposing open and closed ends, the apparatus further comprising:

a radio-frequency transceiver coupled to the near-field-coupled antenna feed structure, wherein the first and second metal layers have a notch that locally widens the slot at the open end of the slot and wherein the second metal layer is coupled to the metal electronic device housing at the closed end of the slot.

23. An electronic device, comprising:

radio-frequency transceiver circuitry that generates radio-frequency signals at a given frequency;

a slot antenna that transmits the radio-frequency signals at the given frequency;

a metal housing;

a plastic antenna window in the housing; and

metal structures on a surface of the plastic antenna window that are separated from the metal housing by a slot antenna resonating element in the slot antenna, wherein portions of the metal structures on the plastic antenna window and portions of the metal housing define a shape of the slot antenna resonating element in the slot antenna, the slot antenna resonating element has opposing open and closed ends, and the metal structures are coupled to the metal housing at the closed end of the antenna slot resonating element.

24. The electronic device defined in claim 23 wherein the slot antenna comprises an indirectly fed slot antenna.

25. The electronic device defined in claim 24 wherein the slot antenna comprises a first indirectly fed slot antenna and wherein the electronic device further comprises a second indirectly fed slot antenna formed from portions of the metal structures on the plastic antenna window and portions of the metal housing.

26. The electronic device defined in claim 25 wherein the first and second indirectly fed slot antennas have open ends that face each other.