Removable electronic device case with supplemental antenna element

• US 9,634,709 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2014
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hu, Hongfei, Ayala Vazquez, Enrique, Xu, Hao, Pascolini, Mattia, Caballero, Ruben, Irci, Erdinc
• Primary Examiner(s): LIAO, HSINCHUN
• Application Number:
  US14/477,596
• Publication Number:
  US 20160072539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 964 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in 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: H04B 1/3888 Arrangements for carrying or protecting transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724092 Interfacing with an external cover providing additional functionalities

Abstract

A removable case may receive an electronic device. A male connector in the case may mate with a female connector in the device. A battery in the case may supply power to the device through the male connector. The electronic device may have an antenna formed from peripheral conductive housing structures and an antenna ground. The case may have a supplemental antenna that restores antenna performance when the device is received within the case. The supplemental antenna may be formed from a monopole antenna resonating element coupled to the antenna ground through the power pin. The monopole element may have a portion that runs parallel to the peripheral conductive housing structures. During operation of the antenna in the electronic device, the supplemental antenna in the case may be indirectly fed by near-field coupling between the supplemental antenna and the antenna of the electronic device.

Claims

1. A removable electronic device case that is configured to mate with an electronic device that has an antenna and a connector port, comprising:

a body that is configured to receive the electronic device;

a connector that mates with the connector port; and

a supplemental antenna element that is configured to be near-field coupled to the antenna, wherein the supplemental antenna element has a first segment that is electrically connected to the connector and a second segment that runs parallel to a portion of the antenna, the second segment is configured to be capacitively coupled to the antenna, and the second segment passes under the first segment.

2. The removable electronic device case defined in claim 1 further comprising a battery that supplies supplemental power to the electronic device when the connector mates with the connector port.

3. The removable electronic device case defined in claim 2 wherein the supplemental antenna element comprises a monopole antenna element.

4. The removable electronic device case defined in claim 3 wherein the antenna resonates in a communications band at a first frequency in the absence of the body, the antenna resonates in a communications band at a second frequency that is lower than the first frequency when the body is adjacent to the electronic device in the absence of the supplemental antenna element, and the supplemental antenna element in the case resonates in the communications band at the first frequency when the body and the supplemental antenna element are adjacent to the electronic device.

5. The removable electronic device case defined in claim 3 wherein the monopole antenna element is configured to be coupled to an antenna ground in the electronic device by a ground pin path in the connector.

6. The removable electronic device case defined in claim 5 further comprising a female connector, wherein a portion of the monopole antenna element is configured to be coupled to the female connector.

7. The removable electronic device case defined in claim 1 wherein the body is formed at least partly from plastic and has a rectangular recess that is configured to receive the electronic device.

8. The removable electronic device case defined in claim 1 wherein the supplemental antenna element is configured to be capacitively coupled to a peripheral conductive housing structure that forms part of the antenna in the electronic device.

9. Apparatus, comprising:

a body formed at least partly from plastic;

a battery mounted in the body;

a male connector;

a female connector coupled to the male connector;

a signal path coupled between the battery and the male connector; and

a monopole antenna resonating element within the body and having first and second opposing ends, wherein the first end is coupled to a pin in the male connector and a portion of the monopole antenna resonating element is interposed between the male and female connectors.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 9 wherein the body is configured to receive a mating electronic device that has an antenna formed from peripheral conductive electronic device housing structures and the signal path overlaps a gap in the peripheral conductive electronic device housing structures when the body receives the mating electronic device.

11. The apparatus defined in claim 10 wherein the antenna of the mating electronic device has an antenna ground and wherein the pin in the male connector is coupled to the antenna ground when the body receives the mating electronic device.

12. The apparatus defined in claim 11 wherein the signal path comprises a flexible printed circuit with metal traces.

13. The apparatus defined in claim 12 wherein the monopole antenna resonating element is formed from a strip of metal that runs parallel to the peripheral conductive electronic device housing structures when the body receives the mating electronic device.

14. A removable case configured to mate with a cellular telephone having an antenna formed from peripheral conductive electronic device housing structures and an antenna ground, the case comprising:

a connector that mates with a connector port on the cellular telephone, wherein the connector has a plurality of pins that includes a grounding power pin that is electrically coupled to the antenna ground when the removable case mates with the cellular telephone;

a body that receives the cellular telephone; and

a supplemental antenna in the body that is configured to be near-field coupled to the antenna in the cellular telephone and that enhances radio-frequency performance by the antenna when the cellular telephone is received by the body, wherein the supplemental antenna has only a single connection to the plurality of pins in the connector, the single connection to the plurality of pins being to the grounding power pin.

15. The removable case defined in claim 14 wherein the cellular telephone has a female connector and the removable case further comprises a male connector that mates with the female connector.

16. The removable case defined in claim 15 further comprising a battery that supplies power to the male connector.

17. The removable case defined in claim 16 wherein the supplemental antenna comprises an antenna element having a portion that runs parallel to the peripheral conductive electronic device housing structures when the cellular telephone is received by the body.

18. The removable case defined in claim 17 wherein the supplemental antenna comprises a monopole resonating element.

19. The removable case defined in claim 15, further comprising a male connector that mates with the connector port on the cellular telephone when the removable case mates with the cellular telephone and further comprising a female connector, a portion of the supplemental antenna being interposed between the male and female connectors.