Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090256758 | HYBRID ANTENNAS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES - A portable electronic device is provided that has a hybrid antenna. The hybrid antenna may include a slot antenna structure and a planar inverted-F antenna structure. The planar inverted-F antenna structure may be formed from traces on a flex circuit substrate. A backside trace may form a series capacitance for the planar inverted-F antenna structure. The antenna slot may have a perimeter that is defined by the location of conductive structures such as flex circuits, metal housing structures, a conductive bezel, printed circuit board ground conductors, and electrical components. Springs may be used in electrically connecting these conductive elements. A spring-loaded pin may be used as part of an antenna feed conductor. The pin may connect a transmission line path on a printed circuit board to the planar inverted-F antenna structure while allowing the planar inverted-F antenna structure to be removed from the device for rework or repair. | 10-15-2009 |
20110012793 | ELECTRONIC DEVICES WITH CAPACITIVE PROXIMITY SENSORS FOR PROXIMITY-BASED RADIO-FREQUENCY POWER CONTROL - An electronic device may have a housing in which an antenna is mounted. An antenna window may be mounted in the housing to allow radio-frequency signals to be transmitted from the antenna and to allow the antenna to receive radio-frequency signals. Near-field radiation limits may be satisfied by reducing transmit power when an external object is detected in the vicinity of the dielectric antenna window and the antenna. A capacitive proximity sensor may be used in detecting external objects in the vicinity of the antenna. The proximity sensor may have conductive layers separated by a dielectric. A capacitance-to-digital converter may be coupled to the proximity sensor by inductors. The capacitive proximity sensor may be interposed between an antenna resonating element and the antenna window. The capacitive proximity sensor may serve as a parasitic antenna resonating element and may be coupled to the housing by a capacitor. | 01-20-2011 |
20110012794 | ELECTRONIC DEVICES WITH PARASITIC ANTENNA RESONATING ELEMENTS THAT REDUCE NEAR FIELD RADIATION - Antennas are provided for electronic devices such as portable computers. An electronic device may have a housing in which an antenna is mounted. The housing may be formed of conductive materials. A dielectric antenna window may be mounted in the housing to allow radio-frequency signals to be transmitted from the antenna and to allow the antenna to receive radio-frequency signals. Near-field radiation limits may be satisfied by reducing transmit power when an external object is detected in the vicinity of the dielectric antenna window and the antenna. A proximity sensor may be used in detecting external objects. A parasitic antenna resonating element may be interposed between the antenna resonating element and the dielectric antenna window to minimize near-field radiation hotspots. The parasitic antenna resonating element may be formed using a capacitor electrode for the proximity sensor. A ferrite layer may be interposed between the parasitic element and the antenna window. | 01-20-2011 |
20110050509 | CAVITY-BACKED ANTENNA FOR TABLET DEVICE - An electronic device may have a cavity antenna. The cavity antenna may have a logo-shaped dielectric window. An antenna resonating element for the cavity antenna may be formed from conductive traces on a printed circuit board. An antenna resonating element may be formed from the traces. The antenna resonating element may be mounted on an antenna support structure. A conductive cavity structure for the cavity antenna may have a planar lip that is mounted flush with an interior surface of a conductive housing wall. The cavity structure may have more than one depth. Shallower planar portions of the cavity structure may lie in a plane. The antenna resonating element may be located between the plane of the shallow cavity walls and an external surface of the conductive housing wall. | 03-03-2011 |
20110133995 | BEZEL GAP ANTENNAS - Electronic devices are provided that contain wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antenna structures. A parallel-fed loop antenna may be formed from portions of an electronic device bezel and a ground plane. The antenna may operate in multiple communications bands. An impedance matching circuit for the antenna may be formed from a parallel-connected inductive element and a series-connected capacitive element. The bezel may surround a peripheral portion of a display that is mounted to the front of an electronic device. The bezel may contain a gap. Antenna feed terminals for the antenna may be located on opposing sides of the gap. The inductive element may bridge the gap and the antenna feed terminals. The capacitive element may be connected in series between one of the antenna feed terminals and a conductor in a transmission line located between the transceiver circuitry and the antenna. | 06-09-2011 |
20110136447 | BEZEL GAP ANTENNAS - Electronic devices are provided that contain wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antenna structures. A parallel-fed loop antenna may be formed from portions of an electronic device bezel and a ground plane. The antenna may operate in multiple communications bands. An impedance matching circuit for the antenna may be formed from a parallel-connected inductive element and a series-connected capacitive element. The bezel may surround a peripheral portion of a display that is mounted to the front of an electronic device. The bezel may contain a gap. Antenna feed terminals for the antenna may be located on opposing sides of the gap. The inductive element may bridge the gap and the antenna feed terminals. The capacitive element may be connected in series between one of the antenna feed terminals and a conductor in a transmission line located between the transceiver circuitry and the antenna. | 06-09-2011 |
20110313708 | METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING DEVICES WITH FLEX CIRCUITS AND RADIO-FREQUENCY CABLES - A flex circuit may have test structures and antenna structures. The test structures may include test capacitors and transmission lines. The performance of the test structures may be measured using test equipment. Pass/fail criteria may be applied to the flex circuit based on the measured values. If the flex circuit is a failing circuit, flex circuit manufacturing settings may be adjusted. The performance of a radio-frequency (RF) cable may also be measured using the test equipment. Sample portions of the RF cable may be obtained and measured. Pass/fail criteria may be applied to the RF cable based on measured cable loss values. If the RF cable is a failing cable, RF cable manufacturing settings may be adjusted. Antenna structures associated with passing flex circuits and RF cable segments associated with passing sample RF cable segments may be incorporated into a wireless device during production device assembly. | 12-22-2011 |
20120092221 | Hybrid Antennas for Electronic Devices - A portable electronic device is provided that has a hybrid antenna. The hybrid antenna may include a slot antenna structure and a planar inverted-F antenna structure. The planar inverted-F antenna structure may be formed from traces on a flex circuit substrate. A backside trace may form a series capacitance for the planar inverted-F antenna structure. The antenna slot may have a perimeter that is defined by the location of conductive structures such as flex circuits, metal housing structures, a conductive bezel, printed circuit board ground conductors, and electrical components. Springs may be used in electrically connecting these conductive elements. A spring-loaded pin may be used as part of an antenna feed conductor. The pin may connect a transmission line path on a printed circuit board to the planar inverted-F antenna structure while allowing the planar inverted-F antenna structure to be removed from the device for rework or repair. | 04-19-2012 |
20120194393 | ANTENNA, SHIELDING AND GROUNDING - A portable computing device is disclosed. The portable computing device can take many forms such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and so on. The portable computing device can include a single piece housing formed from a radio opaque material with a cover formed from a radio transparent material. To implement a wireless interface, an antenna stack-up can be provided that allows an antenna to be mounted to a bottom of the cover. Methods and apparatus are provided for improving wireless performance. For instance, in one embodiment, a metal housing can be thinned to improve antenna performance. As another example, a faraday cage can be formed around speaker drivers to improve antenna performance. | 08-02-2012 |
20120214412 | ANTENNA WITH INTEGRATED PROXIMITY SENSOR FOR PROXIMITY-BASED RADIO-FREQUENCY POWER CONTROL - An electronic device may have a housing in which an antenna is mounted. An antenna window may be mounted in the housing to allow radio-frequency signals to be transmitted from the antenna and to allow the antenna to receive radio-frequency signals. Near-field radiation limits may be satisfied by reducing transmit power when an external object is detected in the vicinity of the dielectric antenna window and the antenna. A capacitive proximity sensor may be used in detecting external objects in the vicinity of the antenna. The proximity sensor and the antenna may be formed using integral antenna resonating element and proximity sensor capacitor electrode structures. These structures may be formed from identical first and second patterned conductive layers on opposing sides of a dielectric substrate. A transceiver and proximity sensor may be coupled to the structures through respective high-pass and low-pass circuits. | 08-23-2012 |
20120223865 | ANTENNA STRUCTURES WITH CARRIERS AND SHIELDS - Antennas are provided for electronic devices such as portable computers. An electronic device may have a housing in which an antenna is mounted. The housing may be formed of conductive materials. A dielectric window may be mounted in the housing to allow radio-frequency signals to be transmitted from the antenna and to allow the antenna to receive radio-frequency signals. A proximity sensor adjacent to the dielectric window may be used in detecting external objects. The antenna may have an antenna resonating element that is mounted against an inner surface of a display cover glass layer. The antenna resonating element may be mounted to an upper surface of a plastic carrier. An electromagnetic shield may be mounted on a lower surface of the plastic carrier above the proximity sensor. | 09-06-2012 |
20120223866 | MULTI-ELEMENT ANTENNA STRUCTURE WITH WRAPPED SUBSTRATE - Antennas are provided for electronic devices such as portable computers. Multiple resonating elements may be formed on a flexible antenna resonating element substrate. The flexible antenna resonating element substrate may have a first antenna resonating element at one end and a second antenna resonating element at an opposing end. The flexible antenna resonating substrate may be wrapped around a dielectric carrier and mounted within an electronic device under an inactive display region and above a dielectric housing window. Conductive structures such as conductive housing structures may form antenna ground. The resonating elements and antenna ground may form first and second antennas. A parasitic antenna resonating element may form part of the first antenna. | 09-06-2012 |
20130009828 | Bezel Gap Antennas - Electronic devices are provided that contain wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antenna structures. A parallel-fed loop antenna may be formed from portions of an electronic device bezel and a ground plane. The antenna may operate in multiple communications bands. An impedance matching circuit for the antenna may be formed from a parallel-connected inductive element and a series-connected capacitive element. The bezel may surround a peripheral portion of a display that is mounted to the front of an electronic device. The bezel may contain a gap. Antenna feed terminals for the antenna may be located on opposing sides of the gap. The inductive element may bridge the gap and the antenna feed terminals. The capacitive element may be connected in series between one of the antenna feed terminals and a conductor in a transmission line located between the transceiver circuitry and the antenna. | 01-10-2013 |
20130154897 | Methods and Apparatus for Controlling Tunable Antenna Systems - An electronic device may include an adjustable power supply, at least one antenna, and associated antenna tuning circuitry. The antenna tuning circuitry may be an integral part of the antenna and may include a control circuit and at least one tunable element. The tunable element may include radio-frequency switches, continuously/semi-continuously adjustable components such as tunable resistors, inductors, and capacitors, and other load circuits that provide desired impedance characteristics. The power supply may provide power supply voltage signals to the antenna tuning circuitry via inductive coupling. The power supply voltage signals may be modulated according to a predetermined lookup table during device startup so that the control circuit is configured to generate desired control signals. These control signals adjust the tunable element so that the antenna can support wireless operation in desired frequency bands. | 06-20-2013 |
20130214979 | Electronic Device Antennas with Filter and Tuning Circuitry - An electronic device may have an antenna that includes conductive antenna structures forming an antenna resonating element and an antenna ground. A band-stop filter may be coupled between first and second portions of the conductive structures. The band-stop filter may be formed from multiple series-connected resonant circuits. The band-stop filter and an impedance matching circuit may be coupled in series between the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground. The band-stop filter may be characterized by a stop band. The antenna may be configured to operate in a first communications band that is outside of the stop band and a second communications band that is covered by the stop band. The impedance matching circuit may be an adjustable circuit that is used to tune the antenna. The adjustable circuit may be a switch-based adjustable capacitor that is adjusted to tune the response of the antenna in the first communications band. | 08-22-2013 |
20130214986 | ANTENNA WITH FOLDED MONOPOLE AND LOOP MODES - Electronic devices may be provided that contain wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antennas. An antenna may have an antenna ground that is configured to form a cavity for the antenna. The antenna ground may be formed on a support structure. The antenna ground may have an opening. The support structure may have a planar surface on which the opening is formed. A folded monopole antenna resonating element and an L-shaped conductive antenna element may be formed in the opening and may be capacitively coupled. The folded monopole antenna resonating element may have an end at which a positive antenna feed terminal is formed. A ground antenna feed terminal may be formed on the antenna ground. A segment of the antenna ground may extend between the ground antenna feed terminal and an end of the L-shaped conductive antenna element. | 08-22-2013 |
20130241780 | ELECTRONIC DEVICES WITH CAPACITIVE PROXIMITY SENSORS FOR PROXIMITY-BASED RADIO-FREQUENCY POWER CONTROL - An electronic device may have a housing in which an antenna is mounted. An antenna window may be mounted in the housing to allow radio-frequency signals to be transmitted from the antenna and to allow the antenna to receive radio-frequency signals. Near-field radiation limits may be satisfied by reducing transmit power when an external object is detected in the vicinity of the dielectric antenna window and the antenna. A capacitive proximity sensor may be used in detecting external objects in the vicinity of the antenna. The proximity sensor may have conductive layers separated by a dielectric. A capacitance-to-digital converter may be coupled to the proximity sensor by inductors. The capacitive proximity sensor may be interposed between an antenna resonating element and the antenna window. The capacitive proximity sensor may serve as a parasitic antenna resonating element and may be coupled to the housing by a capacitor. | 09-19-2013 |
20130241800 | Electronic Device with Tunable and Fixed Antennas - Electronic devices may be provided that contain wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antennas. The antennas may include a non-tunable antenna and a tunable antenna. The non-tunable antenna may serve as the primary antenna in the electronic device and the tunable antenna may serve as a secondary antenna in the electronic device. The non-tunable antenna may be configured to operate in at least one communications band. The tunable antenna may contain adjustable circuitry. The adjustable circuitry may be used to tune the tunable antenna to cover the same communications band used by the non-tunable antenna. The tunable antenna may have a resonating element and an antenna ground. The adjustable circuit may be coupled between the resonating element and the antenna ground. The adjustable circuit may include electrical components such as inductors and capacitors and a radio-frequency switch for antenna tuning. | 09-19-2013 |
20130278480 | Antenna with Variable Distributed Capacitance - Electronic devices may be provided with antennas. An antenna may be formed from conductive antenna structures that include a frequency-dependent distributed capacitor. The antenna may include an antenna ground and an antenna resonating element that are separated by a gap. A low pass filter circuit may bridge the gap. The antenna resonating element may have antenna resonating element conductive structures that serve as first and second electrodes for the distributed capacitor. The second electrode may have first and second conductive elements coupled by a filter. The filter may be a low pass filter implemented using an inductor. The inductor may have a first terminal coupled to the first conductive element and a second terminal coupled to the second conductive element. A first antenna feed terminal may be coupled to the first conductive element and a second antenna feed terminal may be coupled to the antenna ground. | 10-24-2013 |
20130293424 | Corner Bracket Slot Antennas - A display cover layer may be mounted in an electronic device housing using housing structures such as corner brackets. A slot antenna may be formed from a corner bracket opening, metal traces on a hollow plastic support structure, or other conductive structures. The slot antenna may have a main portion with opposing ends. An antenna feed may be located at one of the ends. The slot antenna may have a slot with one or more bends. The bends may provide the slot antenna with a C-shaped outline. A side branch slot may extend from the main portion of the slot at a location between the two bends. The presence of the side branch slot may enhance antenna bandwidth. A hollow enclosure may serve as an antenna support structure and as a speaker box enclosing a speaker driver. The antenna feed may be positioned so as to overlap the speaker driver. | 11-07-2013 |
20130300618 | Antenna and Proximity Sensor Structures Having Printed Circuit and Dielectric Carrier Layers - An electronic device may have a conductive housing with an antenna window. A display cover layer may be mounted on the front face of the device. Antenna and proximity sensor structures may include a dielectric support structure with a notch. The antenna window may have a protruding portion that extends into the notch between the display cover layer and the antenna and proximity sensor structures. The antenna and proximity sensor structures may have an antenna feed that is coupled to a first conductive layer by a high pass circuit and capacitive proximity sensor circuitry that is coupled to the first conductive layer and a parallel second conductive layer by a low pass circuit. The first conductive layer may be formed from a metal coating on the support structure. The second conductive layer may be formed from patterned metal traces in a flexible printed circuit. | 11-14-2013 |
20130335275 | Structures for Shielding and Mounting Components in Electronic Devices - An electronic device may be provided with a conductive housing. An antenna window structure may be formed in an opening in the housing. The antenna window structure may have an antenna support structure that is attached to the conductive housing and that supports antenna structures. An antenna window cap may be mounted in the opening and attached to the antenna support structure with liquid adhesive. Alignment structures may be provided in the antenna support structure. An antenna support plate with mating alignment structures may be used in attaching the antenna structures to the antenna support structures. Metal shielding structures may be used to provide electromagnetic shielding. A shielding wall may be formed from a sheet metal structure supported by a plastic support structure. A flexible metal shielding foil layer may be welded to the shielding wall using a sacrificial plate. | 12-19-2013 |
20140085161 | Distributed loop antenna with multiple subloops - 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. | 03-27-2014 |
20140086441 | Distributed Loop Speaker Enclosure Antenna - An electronic device may be provided with antenna structures. The antenna structures may be formed using a dielectric carrier structure such as a speaker enclosure, so that interior space within the electronic device that is occupied by a speaker can be used in forming an antenna. A speaker driver may be mounted in the speaker enclosure. Openings in the speaker enclosure may allow sound from the speaker driver to be emitted from the speaker enclosure. 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 a strip of metal with a width that loops around the speaker enclosure. Openings in the second loop antenna resonating element may be aligned with the speaker enclosure openings. | 03-27-2014 |
20140100004 | Tunable Multiband Antenna with Dielectric Carrier - Antenna structures for an antenna may be formed from a dielectric carrier with metal structures. The metal structures may be patterned to cover all sides of the dielectric carrier. The dielectric carrier may have a shape with six sides or other shape that creates a three-dimensional layout for the antenna structures. The antenna structures may have a tunable circuit that allows the antenna to be tuned. The tunable circuit may have first and second terminals coupled to one of the sides of the carrier. The metal structures may be configured to form an inverted-F antenna resonating element. Portions of the metal structures may form a first arm for an inverted-F antenna and portions of the metal structures may form a second arm for the inverted-F antenna. The antenna may operate in multiple communications bands. The tunable circuit may tune one band without significantly tuning other bands. | 04-10-2014 |
20140111684 | Antenna Structures and Electrical Components with Grounding - An electronic device may have a conductive housing with an antenna window. Antenna structures may be mounted adjacent to the antenna window. The antenna structures may have a dielectric carrier. Patterned metal antenna traces may be formed on the surface of the dielectric carrier. A proximity sensor may be formed from a flexible printed circuit mounted on the dielectric carrier. The flexible printed circuit may have a tail that contains a transmission line for feeding the antenna structures. The transmission line may include a positive signal conductor that is maintained at a desired distance from the conductive housing using a polymer sheet. A portion of the antenna structures may protrude between a microphone and a camera module. Plastic camera module housing structures may have an inner surface coated with a shielding metal. A U-shaped conductive fabric layer may be used as a grounding structure. | 04-24-2014 |
20140112511 | Electronic Device With Conductive Fabric Shield Wall - An electronic device may have a housing such as a metal housing. A display may be mounted in the metal housing. Antenna structures may be mounted in the housing under an inactive peripheral portion of the display. Integrated circuits and other electrical components may be mounted in the housing under an active central portion of the display. Shielding structures may be configured to form a wall that extends between the display and the metal housing. The shielding structures may include a sheet of conductive fabric that is shorted to the metal housing and metal chassis structures in the display. The shielding structures may also include a tube of conductive fabric that is capacitively coupled to ground traces in a touch sensor panel. The conductive fabric tube and the sheet of conductive fabric may be shorted to each other using conductive adhesive. | 04-24-2014 |
20140185857 | Antenna, Shielding and Grounding - A portable computing device is disclosed. The portable computing device can take many forms such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and so on. The portable computing device can include a single piece housing formed from a radio opaque material with a cover formed from a radio transparent material. To implement a wireless interface, an antenna stack-up can be provided that allows an antenna to be mounted to a bottom of the cover. Methods and apparatus are provided for improving wireless performance. For instance, in one embodiment, a metal housing can be thinned to improve antenna performance. As another example, a faraday cage can be formed around speaker drivers to improve antenna performance. | 07-03-2014 |
20140253392 | Electronic Device With Capacitively Loaded Antenna - An electronic device may have an antenna for providing coverage in wireless communications bands of interest such as a low frequency communications band, a middle frequency communications band, and a high frequency communications band. Slot structures in the antenna that might reduce efficiency in the high frequency communications band may be avoided by capacitively loading the antenna and omitting meandering paths in the antenna. A capacitor may be coupled between an antenna ground formed from a metal housing structure and an antenna resonating element having a curved shape that conforms to the shape of the edge of the electronic device. The capacitor may have interdigitated fingers and may be adjustable to tune the antenna. The antenna may transmit and receive radio-frequency signals through a display cover layer in a display and a dielectric antenna window portion of the housing. | 09-11-2014 |
20140292587 | Electronic Device With Reduced Emitted Radiation During Loaded Antenna Operating Conditions - An electronic device may have an antenna for providing coverage in wireless communications bands of interest. The wireless communications bands may include a communications band at a first frequency. The antenna may have a parasitic antenna resonating element that supports a low efficiency resonance. In response to operation of the electronic device in free space, the low efficiency resonance will be located at a second frequency that is greater than the first frequency. In response to operation of the electronic device in proximity to a user's body or other external object, the antenna will be loaded and the low efficiency resonance associated with the parasitic antenna resonating element will shift to the communications band at the first frequency. The antenna may include a resonating element formed on a flexible printed circuit or a dielectric carrier such as a plastic support structure. | 10-02-2014 |
20140292591 | Antennas Mounted Under Dielectric Plates - Electronic devices are provided that contain wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antenna structures. The antenna structures may include antennas such as inverted-F antennas that contain antenna resonating elements and antenna ground elements. Antenna resonating elements may be formed from patterned conductive traces on substrates such as flex circuit substrates. Antenna ground elements may be formed from conductive device structures such as metal housing walls. Support and biasing structures such as dielectric support members and layer of foam may be used to support and bias antenna resonating elements against planar device structures. The planar device structures against which the antenna resonating elements are biased may be planar dielectric members such as transparent layers of display cover glass or other planar structures. Adhesive may be interposed between the planar structures and the antenna resonating elements. | 10-02-2014 |
20140313087 | Tunable Multiband Antenna With Passive and Active Circuitry - An electronic device may have an antenna for providing coverage in wireless communications bands of interest such as a low frequency communications band and a high frequency communications band. The antenna may have an antenna ground and an antenna resonating element. The antenna resonating element may have a high band arm that contributes to a first high band resonance in the high band and may have a low band arm that exhibits a low band resonance in the low band. A passive filter that is coupled between first and second portions of the antenna resonating element may be configured to exhibit a short circuit impedance associated with a bypass path that allows the antenna resonating element to contribute to a second high band resonance in the high band. A tunable inductor coupled to the antenna resonating element may be used to tune the low band resonance. | 10-23-2014 |
20140315592 | Wireless Device With Dynamically Adjusted Maximum Transmit Powers - An electronic device may be provided with antenna structures. Proximity sensors and other sensors may be used in determining how the electronic device is being operated. Wireless circuitry such as a radio-frequency transmitter associated with a cellular telephone communications band, a wireless local area network band, or other communications band may be used in transmitting radio-frequency signals through the antenna structures at a transmit power. Control circuitry may adjust the wireless circuitry to ensure that the transmit power is capped at a maximum transmit power. The maximum transmit power may be adjusted dynamically by the control circuitry based on data from the proximity sensors, data from a magnetic sensor that detects whether a cover is present on the device, a connector sensor that detects whether the device is coupled to a dock or other accessory, and other sensors. | 10-23-2014 |
20150099474 | Electronic Device With Antennas Isolated Using Phase Shifter - An electronic device may be provided with a primary antenna that is used for transmitting and receiving signals and a secondary antenna that is used for receiving signals. The primary and secondary antennas may be used together in a diversity arrangement when receiving signals. The electronic device may have a transceiver. A phase shifter may be interposed between the transceiver and the secondary antenna. Control circuitry may select a communications band of interest for transmitting signals with the primary antenna. The control circuitry can adjust the phase shifter in real time based on which communications band of interest has been selected for transmission with the primary antenna. The phase shifter may impose a phase shift on signals carried between the secondary antenna and the transceiver that ensures that primary antenna efficiency degradation associated with the presence of the secondary antenna in the vicinity of the primary antenna is avoided. | 04-09-2015 |
20150109167 | Electronic Device With Balanced-Fed Satellite Communications Antennas - An electronic device may include balance-fed antenna structures that do not have direct paths to ground. The antenna structures may serve as a Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna and may have a dipole structure having a first and second antenna resonating element arms. The antenna structures may include a conductive path that conveys antenna signals between a first feed terminal on the first antenna resonating element arm and a transmission line. The conductive path may overlap with the second antenna resonating element arm such that current flow through the conductive path induces corresponding current flow in the second antenna resonating element arm. The antenna structures may include an impedance matching short-circuit stub path that couples the first antenna resonating element arm to the second antenna resonating element arm. Choke inductors may be used to help block indirect paths from the antenna structures to ground through adjacent circuitry. | 04-23-2015 |
20150236426 | Electronic Device With Satellite Navigation System Slot Antennas - An electronic device may be provided with a satellite positioning system slot antenna. The slot antenna may include a slot in a metal housing. The slot may be directly fed or indirectly fed. In indirectly fed configurations, the antenna may include a near-field-coupled antenna feed structure that is near-field coupled to the slot. The near-field-coupled antenna feed structure may be formed from a planar metal structure. The planar metal structure may be a metal patch that overlaps the slot and that has a leg that protrudes towards the metal housing. A positive antenna feed terminal may be coupled to the leg and a ground antenna feed terminal may be coupled to the metal housing. | 08-20-2015 |
20150255851 | Electronic Device With Dual Clutch Barrel Cavity Antennas - An electronic device has antennas formed from cavity antenna structures. The electronic device may have a metal housing. The metal housing may have an upper housing in which a component such as a display is mounted and a lower housing in which a component such as a keyboard is mounted. Hinges may be used to mount the upper housing to the lower housing for rotation about a rotational axis. Cavity antennas may be formed in a clutch barrel region located between the hinges and running along the rotational axis. A flexible printed circuit may be formed between the cavity antennas. Each cavity antenna may have a first end that is adjacent to one of the hinges and a second end that is adjacent to the flexible printed circuit. Cavity walls for the cavity antennas may be formed from metal housing structures such as metal portions of the lower housing. | 09-10-2015 |
20150255869 | Methods and Apparatus for Controlling Tunable Antenna Systems - An electronic device may include an adjustable power supply, at least one antenna, and associated antenna tuning circuitry. The antenna tuning circuitry may be an integral part of the antenna and may include a control circuit and at least one tunable element. The tunable element may include radio-frequency switches, continuously/semi-continuously adjustable components such as tunable resistors, inductors, and capacitors, and other load circuits that provide desired impedance characteristics. The power supply may provide power supply voltage signals to the antenna tuning circuitry via inductive coupling. The power supply voltage signals may be modulated according to a predetermined lookup table during device startup so that the control circuit is configured to generate desired control signals. These control signals adjust the tunable element so that the antenna can support wireless operation in desired frequency bands. | 09-10-2015 |
20150270598 | Electronic Device With Dual Clutch Barrel Cavity Antennas - An electronic device has antennas formed from cavity antenna structures. The electronic device may have a metal housing. The metal housing may have an upper housing in which a component such as a display is mounted and a lower housing in which a component such as a keyboard is mounted. Hinges may be used to mount the upper housing to the lower housing for rotation about a rotational axis. Cavity antennas may be formed in a clutch barrel region located between the hinges and running along the rotational axis. A flexible printed circuit may be formed between the cavity antennas. Each cavity antenna may have a first end that is adjacent to one of the hinges and a second end that is adjacent to the flexible printed circuit. Cavity walls for the cavity antennas may be formed from metal housing structures such as metal portions of the lower housing. | 09-24-2015 |
20150270599 | Electronic Device With Dual Clutch Barrel Cavity Antennas - An electronic device has antennas formed from cavity antenna structures. The electronic device may have a metal housing. The metal housing may have an upper housing in which a component such as a display is mounted and a lower housing in which a component such as a keyboard is mounted. Hinges may be used to mount the upper housing to the lower housing for rotation about a rotational axis. Cavity antennas may be formed in a clutch barrel region located between the hinges and running along the rotational axis. A flexible printed circuit may be formed between the cavity antennas. Each cavity antenna may have a first end that is adjacent to one of the hinges and a second end that is adjacent to the flexible printed circuit. Cavity walls for the cavity antennas may be formed from metal housing structures such as metal portions of the lower housing. | 09-24-2015 |
20150270618 | Electronic Device With Indirectly Fed Slot Antennas - An electronic device may be provided with antennas. Antennas for the electronic device may be formed from slot antenna structures. A slot antenna structure may be formed from portions of a metal housing for an electronic device. The slots of the slot antenna structures may be indirectly fed to form first and second indirectly fed slot antennas. The first and second indirectly fed slot antennas may be formed from slots in a rear surface of an electronic device and a sidewall of the electronic device. The slots may have open ends along an edge of the sidewall and may have closed ends that face each other. A hybrid antenna may also be formed in the electronic device. | 09-24-2015 |
20150270619 | Electronic Device With Slot Antenna and Proximity Sensor - 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. | 09-24-2015 |
20150280313 | Structures for Shielding and Mounting Components in Electronic Devices - An electronic device may be provided with a conductive housing. An antenna window structure may be formed in an opening in the housing. The antenna window structure may have an antenna support structure that is attached to the conductive housing and that supports antenna structures. An antenna window cap may be mounted in the opening and attached to the antenna support structure with liquid adhesive. Alignment structures may be provided in the antenna support structure. An antenna support plate with mating alignment structures may be used in attaching the antenna structures to the antenna support structures. Metal shielding structures may be used to provide electromagnetic shielding. A shielding wall may be formed from a sheet metal structure supported by a plastic support structure. A flexible metal shielding foil layer may be welded to the shielding wall using a sacrificial plate. | 10-01-2015 |
20150311594 | Electronic Devices With Hybrid Antennas - An electronic device may be provided with hybrid planar inverted-F slot antennas and indirectly fed slot antennas. A hybrid antenna may be used to form a dual band wireless local area network antenna. An indirectly fed slot antenna may be use to form a cellular telephone antenna. Antenna slots may be formed in a metal electronic device housing wall. The housing wall may have a planar rear portion and sidewall portions that extend upwards from the planar rear portion. The slots may have one or more bends. A hybrid antenna may have a slot antenna portion and a planar inverted-F antenna portion. The planar inverted-F antenna portion may have a metal resonating element patch that is supported by a support structure. The support structure may be a plastic speaker box containing a speaker driver that is not overlapped by the metal resonating element patch. | 10-29-2015 |
20150311960 | Electronic Device With Near-Field Antenna Operating Through Display - An electronic device may have a display. A display cover layer and a transparent inner display member may overlap a display pixel layer. The display pixel layer may have an array of display pixels for displaying images for a user. A touch sensor layer may be interposed between the display pixel layer and the transparent display member. A ferromagnetic shielding layer may be mounted below the display pixel layer. A flexible printed circuit containing coils of metal signal lines that form a near-field communications loop antenna may be interposed between the ferromagnetic shielding layer and the display pixel layer. A non-near-field antenna such as an inverted-F antenna may have a resonating element mounted on an inner surface of the display cover layer. The resonating element may be interposed between the transparent display member and the display cover layer. | 10-29-2015 |
20150338523 | Electronic Device Having Array of Satellite Navigation System Antennas - An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include a pair of antennas. The antennas may be formed from inverted-F antenna resonating elements located along one of the peripheral edges of a device housing. The housing may be formed of metal and may serve as an antenna ground for the antennas. The antennas may be used to receive satellite navigation system signals that are processed by a satellite navigation system receiver. An orientation sensor may be used to gather information on the orientation of the electronic device relative to the Earth. Information on received signal strength may be obtained from the satellite navigation system receiver. Based on orientation information or received signal strength information or other information, switching circuitry may be adjusted to switch an optimum one of the antennas into use or phase shifter circuitry may be adjusted to optimize signal reception. | 11-26-2015 |
20150363013 | Antenna for Computer Stylus - A computer stylus may have an elongated body with a metal tube that serves as an antenna ground for an antenna. An antenna resonating element for the antenna may be formed from metal traces that wrap around a longitudinal axis for the elongated body. The antenna may be an inverted-F antenna. A ground antenna feed terminal for the inverted-F antenna may be coupled to the metal tube with a sheet metal member, conductive fabric, and solder. A clip may run along a side of the elongated body at a location that does not overlap the metal traces of the antenna resonating element. The antenna may be fed at a location on an opposing side of the elongated body from the clip. Antenna signals from the inverted-F antenna may be reflected towards the tip by metal structures at the end of the elongated body opposing the tip. | 12-17-2015 |
20150364815 | Electronic Device With Patch Antenna - 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. | 12-17-2015 |
20160056526 | Electronic Device With Peripheral Display Antenna - An electronic device may be provided with electrical components mounted in a housing. The electronic device may include wireless transceiver circuitry and antenna structures. A display may be mounted in the housing. The display may have a transparent layer such as display cover layer. The display cover layer may have an inner surface with a recess. The recess may be a groove that runs along a peripheral edge of the display cover layer. An antenna structure such as an inverted-F antenna resonating element may be formed from a metal trace on a plastic support structure. The metal trace and support structure may be mounted in the groove with adhesive. The housing may be a metal housing that forms an antenna ground. Springs may be used in forming an antenna feed and an antenna return path that couples the antenna resonating element to ground. | 02-25-2016 |
20160104944 | Electronic Device Cavity Antennas With Slots and Monopoles - An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include cavity antennas. A cavity antenna may be formed from a metal antenna cavity and resonating element structures. The metal antenna cavity may be formed from metal traces on a dielectric carrier. The resonating element structures may include directly fed and indirectly fed slot antenna resonating elements and monopole antenna resonating elements. The metal antenna cavity may exhibit a resonance that is tuned using a transmission line tuning stub. Filters and duplexer circuits may be used in routing signals at different frequency bands among the antenna resonating elements. | 04-14-2016 |