Apple Inc.

Lucas R Compton

Harish Rajagopalan

Chi Zhang

Erik Andrew Uttermann

Carli E Oster

Lee B Hamstra

Trevor M Cardiff

Kienan D McCarty

Sayooj R Pillai

Tristan Sansbury

Timothy J McHenry

Haowei Wang

James T Handy

Annie T Zhang

John V Abram

Heather M Martin

Kevin K Mayer

An electronic device may have a first phased antenna array that radiates through a display and a second phased antenna array that radiates through a rear wall. The first array may include a front-facing dielectric resonator antenna and the second array may include a rear-facing dielectric resonator antenna. The front and rear-facing antennas may share a dielectric resonating element. Feed probe(s) may excite a first volume of the dielectric resonating element to radiate through the display and may excite a second volume of the dielectric resonating element to radiate through the rear wall. The dielectric resonating element may have a geometry that helps to isolate the front-facing dielectric resonator antenna from the rear-facing dielectric resonator antenna. The first and second arrays may collectively cover an entire sphere around the device while occupying a minimal amount of volume within the device.

Electronic devices having bi-directional dielectric resonator antennas

A portable electronic device can include a housing defining an aperture and a display positioned in the aperture. The portable electronic device can include a number of components that can provide desired functionalities and levels of performance. For example, the device can include one or more couplers that interconnect various portions of the housing together. Additionally or alternatively, the portable electronic device can include one or more millimeter-wave antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the electronic device can include one or more grounding elements or layers that reliably and electrically ground the display to the housing.

Electronic device

An electronic device may be provided with a conductive housing sidewall and a phased antenna array that conveys radio-frequency signals at frequencies greater than 10 GHz. Each antenna in the array may radiate through a respective aperture in the sidewall. The antenna module may include a folded flexible printed circuit having a first portion and a second portion that extends from an end of the first portion and that is folded with respect to the first portion. The antennas in the phased antenna array may have antenna resonating elements that are distributed between the first and second portions. Forming the antenna module from a folded flexible printed circuit in this way may serve to minimize the thickness of the antenna module, thereby allowing the antenna module to fit between a ledge of the sidewall and a rear housing wall without occupying excessive space within the device.

Electronic devices having folded antenna modules

An electronic device may be provided with a phased antenna array having a bent dielectric resonating element. The bent dielectric resonating element may have a first segment, a second segment nonparallel to the first segment, and an angled surface that couples the first segment to the second segment. One or more feed probes may be coupled to the first segment to excite the dielectric resonating element. A reflector may be provided on the angled surface to direct electromagnetic energy from the first segment to the second segment and vice versa. The bent dielectric resonating element may exhibit less overall height than dielectric resonators having straight columns of dielectric material, thereby allowing for a reduction in the thickness of the electronic device. The angled surface and the reflector may optimize the radio-frequency performance of the antenna despite the reduction in overall height.

Electronic devices with bent dielectric resonator antennas

An electronic device may be provided with a phased antenna array that includes a dielectric resonator antenna having a dielectric column mounted to a circuit board. The dielectric column may be embedded in a dielectric substrate such as a plastic overmold. Conductive walls may be disposed on the dielectric substrate and may laterally surround the dielectric substrate and one or more dielectric resonating elements in the phased antenna array. The conductive walls may be grounded. The conductive walls may have a tapered shape. The conductive walls may help to isolate the antenna from electromagnetic influences from nearby conductive components in the electronic device. The conductive walls may form a conductive horn that helps to maximize the gain of the antenna in conveying radio-frequency signals greater than 10 GHz through a display cover layer, housing window, camera sapphire, or rear housing wall.

Electronic devices with dielectric resonator antennas having conductive walls

An electronic device may be provided with a conductive sidewall and a phased antenna array having a dielectric resonator antenna aligned with an aperture in the conductive sidewall. A feed probe may excite the antenna to radiate through the aperture at a frequency greater than 10 GHz. The antenna may include an injection-molded plastic substrate that affixes the antenna to the peripheral conductive housing structures, thereby integrating the antenna into the conductive sidewall. A hole or other machining operation may be used to expose the feed probe through the injection-molded plastic substrate. Conductive interconnect structures may be inserted into the substrate and coupled to the feed probe. The interconnect structures may be soldered to a circuit board. The circuit board may be coupled to the feed probe through the interconnect structures. The circuit board may be mounted to a rear surface or a side surface of the injection-molded plastic substrate.

Electronic devices having housing-integrated dielectric resonator antennas

An electronic device may be provided with a display and conductive sidewalls. The display may include conductive display structures and a cover layer. The cover layer may be mounted to the sidewalls. The sidewalls may define antenna apertures for antennas in the device. Grounding structures may be coupled between the conductive display structures and the sidewalls at locations that at least partially overlap the antenna apertures. The grounding structures may include conductive tape having an adhesive surface. The conductive tape may have a first end at which the adhesive surface is coupled to the conductive display structures. The conductive tape may have a second end that is folded around a layer of heat-activated film and that is coupled to both the display cover layer and the conductive sidewalls. Conductive tape overlapping each antenna aperture may be concurrently assembled into the electronic device as the display is mounted to the sidewalls.

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Lucas R Compton