Distributed loop antenna with multiple subloops

• US 20140085161A1
• Filed: 09/27/2012
• Published: 03/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Zhu, Jiang, Li, Qingxiang, Schlub, Robert W., Caballero, Ruben
• Granted Patent: US 8,922,443 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/867
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/378 Combination of fed elements with parasitic elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with antenna structures. The antenna structures may be formed using a dielectric carrier structure. The antenna structures may have first and second loop antenna resonating elements. The first loop antenna resonating element may indirectly feed the second loop antenna resonating element. The second loop antenna resonating element may be a distributed loop element formed from multiple antenna resonating element subloops. The second loop antenna resonating element may be formed from a strip of metal with a width that loops around the dielectric carrier. An opening in the metal may separate first and second subloop antenna resonating elements from each other in the second loop antenna resonating element. Openings in the metal may form metal segments that collectively form an inductance for the first subloop. Antenna currents may flow through metal traces on the carrier and portions of an electronic device housing wall.

Claims

1. An antenna, comprising:

a dielectric carrier having a longitudinal axis; and

a loop antenna resonating element that extends around the longitudinal axis and surrounds at least part of the dielectric carrier, wherein the loop antenna resonating element includes at least first and second parallel subloops.

2. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the first subloop includes a first strip of conductive structures wrapped around the longitudinal axis and wherein the second subloop includes a second strip of conductive structures wrapped around the longitudinal axis.

3. The antenna defined in claim 2 wherein the first strip of conductive structures includes metal traces on the dielectric carrier.

4. The antenna defined in claim 3 wherein the metal traces are configured to form a plurality of parallel openings, wherein metal segment structures are formed between the parallel openings, and wherein the metal segment structures collectively produce an inductance in the first subloop.

5. The antenna defined in claim 4 wherein the first strip of conductive structures includes a gap that produces a capacitance in the first subloop.

6. The antenna defined in claim 5 wherein at least part of the first strip of conductive structures is separated from at least part of the second strip of conductive structures by an opening in the loop antenna resonating element.

7. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the antenna loop resonating element comprises metal traces on the dielectric carrier and wherein an opening in the metal traces separates at least part of the first subloop from at least part of the second subloop.

8. The antenna defined in claim 7 further comprising an indirect feeding loop antenna element formed from metal on the dielectric carrier.

9. The antenna defined in claim 8 wherein the indirect feeding loop antenna element has positive and ground antenna feed terminals and wherein at least the first subloop includes a gap that produces a capacitance for the first subloop.

10. The antenna defined in claim 9 wherein the first subloop includes a plurality of parallel metal segments that collectively provide the first subloop with an inductance.

11. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the dielectric carrier has a hollow interior and wherein the antenna further comprises a speaker driver in the hollow interior.

12. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the dielectric carrier has a recess configured to receive a portion of a display module.

13. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the loop antenna resonating element includes metal traces on the dielectric carrier and includes portions of a metal electronic device housing wall.

14. The antenna defined in claim 13 further comprising a screw for attaching the metal traces to the metal electronic device housing wall.

15. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the dielectric carrier has a curved portion without antenna traces that is configured to run parallel to a curved portion of a metal electronic device housing wall that forms at least part of the loop antenna resonating element.

16. A distributed loop antenna, comprising:

an antenna feed; and

an antenna resonating element formed from first and second antenna resonating element loops that run parallel to each other around an axis.

17. The distributed loop antenna defined in claim 16 wherein the first antenna resonating element loop includes a capacitance and an inductance.

18. The distributed loop antenna defined in claim 17 wherein the second antenna resonating element loop includes a capacitance.

19. The distributed loop antenna defined in claim 16 wherein the first antenna resonating element loop is characterized by an antenna resonance at a first operating frequency and wherein the second antenna resonating element loop is characterized by an antenna resonance at a second operating frequency that is different than the first operating frequency.

20. The distributed loop antenna defined in claim 17 further comprising an elongated dielectric carrier that extends along the axis, wherein the first antenna resonating element loop includes metal traces on the elongated dielectric carrier that extend in a strip around the axis.

21. Apparatus, comprising:

an electronic device housing having an edge;

an elongated dielectric carrier that extends along a longitudinal axis parallel to the edge; and

metal structures on the elongated dielectric carrier that form a distributed loop antenna having a loop antenna resonating element that has a width and that extends around the longitudinal axis, wherein the loop antenna resonating element includes first and second parallel subloops.

22. The apparatus defined in claim 21 wherein the metal structures include metal traces on the dielectric carrier and wherein the metal traces include a slot that separates at least part of the first subloop from at least part of the second subloop.

23. The apparatus defined in claim 22 wherein the metal structures includes parallel elongated openings that form segments of metal that collectively produce an inductance for the first subloop.

24. The apparatus defined in claim 23 wherein the first subloop includes a capacitance formed from a gap in the metal traces.