Electronic device with patch antenna

• US 10,686,252 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2014
• Issued: 06/16/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Yong, Siwen, Li, Qingxiang, Jiang, Yi, Schlub, Robert W., Azad, Umar, Gomez Angulo, Rodney A., Ayala Vazquez, Enrique
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Hai V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jegede, Bamidele A
• Application Number:
  US14/306,024
• Publication Number:
  US 20150364815A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,192 Days
• Field of Search: 343702
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• 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 9/0407 Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry that includes a radio-frequency transceiver circuit and an antenna. The antenna may be a patch antenna formed from a patch antenna resonating element and an antenna ground. The patch antenna resonating element may be formed from a metal patch on a printed circuit board. The antenna ground may be formed from a metal housing having a planar rear wall that lies in a plane parallel to the metal patch. The radio-frequency transceiver circuit may be coupled to the metal patch through traces on the printed circuit and may be coupled to rear wall of the housing through a screw and a screw boss in the housing. Buttons and other electrical components may be mounted on the printed circuit board and may be coupled to control circuitry on the printed circuit board through the metal patch.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing having a metal wall that serves as an antenna ground for a patch antenna;

a printed circuit mounted in the housing;

a wireless transceiver coupled to the patch antenna;

a button mounted on the printed circuit; and

control circuitry coupled to the button, the printed circuit having a metal layer that forms an antenna resonating element for the patch antenna, the antenna resonating element forming a ground electrode for the button and the control circuitry, and the button having an additional electrode separated from the ground electrode and connected to the control circuitry.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the additional electrode comprises a central electrode on the printed circuit, the central electrode being surrounded by the ground electrode.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 further comprising a screw that forms a signal path between the printed circuit and the housing, wherein the housing comprises a screw boss that receives the screw.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 1, further comprising:

filter circuitry interposed between the additional electrode and the control circuitry.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the metal layer is configured to form a metal patch for the antenna resonating element, the electronic device further comprising:

an additional button coupled to the control circuitry, the antenna resonating element forming a ground electrode for the additional button.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the ground electrode and the additional electrode are formed on a same surface of the printed circuit and are separated from each other by a gap.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the button includes a switch coupled between the ground electrode and the additional electrode.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7, wherein the control circuitry is connected to the ground electrode through the switch.

9. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing having a metal portion that serves as an antenna ground for an antenna;

a printed circuit board having a metal layer;

wireless transceiver circuitry mounted to the printed circuit board;

a control circuit mounted to the printed circuit board; and

a plurality of buttons mounted to the printed circuit board, wherein each button has an electrode, a compressible dome member formed over the electrode, and a metal coating on the inner surface of the compressible dome member, each metal coating is electrically connected to the metal layer, the metal layer and the metal coating of each button form an antenna resonating element for the antenna, the metal layer has an extended portion that carries signals to the control circuit, and the metal coating of a respective button is configured to directly contact the electrode of that button when that button is pressed.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 wherein the metal layer forms a ground electrode shared by each of the plurality of buttons.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the metal portion of the housing includes a rear housing wall, the electronic device further comprising a screw that carries signals between the wireless transceiver circuitry and the rear housing wall.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 9 further comprising filtering circuitry interposed in respective signal paths between the control circuit and each of the plurality of buttons.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 further comprising a touch pad that provides touch input from a user to the control circuit.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 9, wherein each of metal coating is electrically connected to the metal layer with solder that directly contacts both the metal layer and the corresponding metal coating.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 9, further comprising:

a first filtering circuit that is disposed along the extend portion of the metal layer; and

a second filtering circuit that is interposed between the electrode of the respective button and the control circuit.

16. An electronic device, comprising:

a metal housing that forms an antenna ground in a patch antenna;

a printed circuit board;

a metal patch formed from a metal layer on the printed circuit board, wherein the metal patch forms an antenna resonating element in the patch antenna;

a button mounted to the printed circuit board; and

a control circuit mounted to the printed circuit board, wherein the metal patch is configured to convey a button signal between the button and the control circuit.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16 further comprising:

wireless transceiver circuitry on the printed circuit board that is coupled to the antenna ground through a housing boss in the metal housing and that is coupled to the metal patch through a signal path in the printed circuit board; and

a screw that screws into the housing boss and that shorts a metal trace on the printed circuit board to the metal housing.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 16, wherein the control circuit is electrically connected to the button through the metal patch.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 16, further comprising:

filtering circuitry interposed between the button and the control circuit, wherein the button signal conveyed between the button and the control circuit is configured to pass through the filtering circuitry.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 16, wherein the button signal is indicative of when two electrodes for the button are in contact with each other.