Antenna structures having planar inverted F-antenna that surrounds an artificial magnetic conductor cell

• US 10,490,346 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2018
• Issued: 11/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Energous Corporation
• Original Assignee: Energous Corporation
• Inventors: Contopanagos, Harry
• Primary Examiner(s): Lauture, Joseph J
• Application Number:
  US16/121,519
• Publication Number:
  US 20190074133A1
• Time in Patent Office: 448 Days
• Field of Search: 343909, 343700 MS, 343846, 343718, 343770, 343767
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/2804 Printed windings
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/273 Adaptation for carrying or wearing by persons or animals
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/38 formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support patch antennas H01Q9/0407; microstrip dipole antennas H01Q9/065; microstrip slot antennas H01Q13/106; transmission line microstrip antennas H01Q13/206; manufacturing reflecting surfaces using insulating material for supporting the reflecting surface H01Q15/142
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/10 Resonant slot antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/0006 Devices acting selectively as reflecting surface, as diffracting or as refracting device, e.g. frequency filtering or angular spatial filtering devices H01Q15/12, H01Q15/22, H01Q15/24 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/0086 said selective devices having materials with a synthesized negative refractive index, e.g. metamaterials or left-handed materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/10 using reflecting surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/185 wherein the surfaces are plane
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/44 varying the electric or magnetic characteristics of reflecting, refracting, or diffracting devices associated with the radiating element
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0421 with a shorting wall or a shorting pin at one end of the element H01Q9/0414 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/005 Mechanical details of housing or structure aiming to accommodate the power transfer means, e.g. mechanical integration of coils, antennas or transducers into emitting or receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/20 using microwaves or radio frequency waves
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/23 characterised by the type of transmitting antennas, e.g. directional array antennas or Yagi antennas

Abstract

Integrated antenna structures described herein include, as one example, a multi-layered printed circuit board (PCB), including an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) cell that includes a backing metal layer defining a first inner layer of the multi-layered PCB and an AMC metal layer defining a second inner layer of the multi-layered PCB. The metal layer defining the second inner layer is separated from at least one edge of the multi-layered PCB, and a planar inverted F antenna (PIFA) surrounds the AMC cell. The AMC metal layer is configured to reflect energy radiated by the PIFA. In some embodiments, the energy radiated by the PIFA includes radio frequency waves that can be used by a receiver to power or charge an electronic device.

Claims

1. An antenna structure comprising:

a multi-layered printed circuit board (PCB), comprising an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) cell that includes (i) a backing metal layer defining a first inner layer of the multi-layered PCB and (ii) an AMC metal layer defining a second inner layer of the multi-layered PCB, wherein the metal layer defining the second inner layer is separated from at least one edge of the multi-layered PCB; and

a planar inverted F antenna (PIFA) surrounding the AMC cell, wherein the AMC metal layer is configured to reflect energy radiated by the PIFA.

2. The antenna structure of claim 1, wherein the AMC metal layer is separated from all edges of the multi-layered PCB.

3. The antenna structure of claim 1, wherein the AMC metal layer has a square shape.

4. The antenna structure of claim 3, wherein the square shape includes a metal divider that defines at least one inner rectangle.

5. The antenna structure of claim 4, wherein the metal divider defines at least two inner rectangles, each of the two inner rectangles have a same set of dimensions, and the same set of dimensions determines the frequency tuning and bandwidth of the AMC cell.

6. The antenna structure of claim 1, wherein the AMC metal layer is configured to reflect energy radiated by the PIFA to produce a directional radiation pattern.

7. The antenna structure of claim 1, wherein the AMC metal layer comprises a metamaterial.

8. The antenna structure of claim 1, wherein:

the PIFA further comprises an antenna element disposed over a part of a top portion of the multi-layered PCB and a ground element disposed over a part of a bottom portion of the multi-layered PCB, and

the antenna element is coupled to the ground element and a different part of the bottom portion of the multi-layered PCB through a first ground via and a signal via, respectively, and

the antenna structure further includes a folded ground formed over a different part of the top portion of the multi-layered PCB, and

the folded ground is coupled to the ground element through a second ground via.

9. The antenna structure of claim 8, wherein the ground element comprises a ground slot and the antenna element comprises an antenna slot.

10. The antenna structure of claim 8, wherein the top and bottom portions of the multi-layered printed circuit board PCB comprise a conductive metal.

11. The antenna structure of claim 1, wherein a transmitter coupled to the PIFA is configured to provide a signal for radiation by the PIFA.

12. The antenna structure of claim 11, wherein the transmitter comprises a processing apparatus for adjusting at least one of a phase of the signal and a magnitude of the signal.

13. The antenna structure of claim 1, wherein the energy radiated by the PIFA includes radio frequency waves.

14. The antenna structure of claim 13, wherein the radio frequency waves are used by a receiver to power or charge an electronic device.

15. An apparatus for providing 3-dimensional pockets of energy through pocket-forming, the apparatus comprising:

a multi-layered printed circuit board (PCB), comprising a plurality of artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) cells, wherein each of the AMC cells comprises a backing metal layer and an AMC metal layer defining inner layers of the multi-layered PCB and is separated from at least one edge of the multi-layered PCB, wherein each of the AMC layers is configured to reflect energy independently as radiated by each of a plurality of planar inverted F antennas (PIFAs) to enable pocket-forming of energy,

wherein each of the PIFAs surrounds at least one AMC cell of the plurality of the AMC cells.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the AMC metal layers is separated from all edges of the multi-layered PCB.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the AMC metal layers has a square shape.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein each of the square shapes includes a metal divider that defines at least one inner rectangle.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the metal divider defines at least two inner rectangles, each of the two inner rectangles have a same set of dimensions, and the same set of dimensions determines the frequency tuning and bandwidth of the AMC cells.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein at least one of the AMC metal layers is configured to reflect energy radiated by at least one of the plurality of PIFAs to produce a directional radiation pattern.