Apple Inc.

Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Yijun Zhou

Mattia Pascolini

Hao Xu

Matthew A Mow

Hongfei Hu

Enrique Ayala Vazquez

Ming-Ju Tsai

Robert W Schlub

Nanbo Jin

Liang Han

Yiren Wang

Yuehui Ouyang

Jennifer M Edwards

Erdinc Irci

Salih Yarga

Thomas E Biedka

Jayesh Nath

Xu Han

Anand Lakshmanan

Ruben Caballero

James G Judkins

Yuancheng Xu

Bilgehan Avser

Joshua G Nickel

Dean F Darnell

Ming Chen

Victor C Lee

Han Wang

Jingni Zhong

Juan Zavala

Peter I Bevelacqua

Georgios Atmatzakis

Xu Gao

Yuan Tao

Tiejun Yu

Daisong Zhang

Mohit Narang

Harish Rajagopalan

Qingxiang Li

Victor W Lee

David W Pratt

Josh Nickel

Daejoung Kim

Rubén Caballero

Iyappan Ramachandran

Nirali Shah

Nicholas S Reimnitz

Heesuk Chung

Venkata Vishnu Gurukula

Peter Bevelacqua

A radio frequency device has a multifunctional tuner that stores measurements of reflection coefficient parameter in a register. The radio frequency device also has a transceiver that has a transmitter. The transceiver may detect a transmitter signal from the transmitter to an antenna in an initial tuning state and then determine whether the transmitter signal is stable. In response to the transmitter signal being stable, the transceiver may measuring the reflection coefficient parameters at the multifunctional tuner. Furthermore, the radio frequency device has a baseband controller that has a memory to store instructions and a processor to execute the instructions. The instructions cause the processor to determine an antenna impedance based on the reflection coefficient parameters, and in response to determining that the antenna impedance is greater than or less than a threshold antenna impedance, iteratively tune the antenna using the multifunctional tuner.

Adaptive antenna tuning system

Metallic, electrically conductive, structures on smart glasses, which can be utilized to provide structural integrity and/or thermal dissipation capability, can be leveraged to provide antenna capability as well. Metallic structures on smart glasses are utilized as antenna grounds, with corresponding antenna elements being electrically coupled thereto, and located on the glasses temple. Such antenna elements implement folded antennas having an antenna length selected in accordance with desired communicational frequencies. A shorting pin establishes the electrical connection to the antenna ground. Metallic structures on smart glasses are also utilized as antenna elements, with different metallic structures acting as the antenna ground. Such antenna elements implement monopole antennas having a length selected in accordance with desired communicational frequencies, and a width that can maintain structural integrity and/or thermal dissipation capability. Multiple antenna elements are manufactured onto a single glasses temple, and both temples of the smart glasses comprise antennas.

Antenna design and manufacturing for smart glasses antennas

An electronic device may be provided with an antenna module. A phased antenna array of dielectric resonator antennas may be disposed within the antenna module. The dielectric resonator antennas may include dielectric columns excited by feed probes. A flexible printed circuit may include transmission lines coupled to the feed probes. The flexible printed circuit may have a first end coupled to the antenna module and extending towards peripheral conductive housing structures forming an additional antenna and a second end coupled to transceiver circuitry. Ground traces on the flexible printed circuit may be shorted to ground structures at the first and second ends to improve the antenna efficiency of the additional antenna. The flexible printed circuit may include an elongated slot with overlapping conductive structures and laterally surrounded by a fence of conductive vias to improve the flexibility of the flexible printed circuit while providing satisfactory antenna performance.

Electronic devices with coexisting antennas

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry and a housing with upper and lower ends. The lower end may include first and second open slot antennas that are directly fed by respective feeds and that radiate in a cellular ultra-high band. The lower end may also include first and second inverted-F antennas. The upper end may include third and fourth inverted-F antennas. The first inverted-F antenna may have a first feed that conveys currents below 2700 MHz and a second feed that conveys antenna currents in the cellular ultra-high band, a wireless local area network band, and/or ultra-wideband frequency bands. If desired, the upper end may include a third open slot antenna that is directly fed by a corresponding antenna feed and that radiates in the cellular ultra-high band and/or in the ultra-wideband frequency bands.

Wireless devices having antennas for covering multiple frequency bands

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry and control circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include multiple antennas and transceiver circuitry. An antenna in the electronic device may have an inverted-F antenna resonating element formed from portions of a peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure and may have an antenna ground that is separated from the antenna resonating element by a gap. The antenna ground for the antenna may include a conductive frame for the display. The conductive frame may have a first portion that is separated from the antenna resonating element arm by a first distance and a second portion that is separated from the antenna resonating element arm by a second distance that is less than the first distance. The second portion may be configured to form a distributed impedance matching capacitance with the antenna resonating element arm.

Electronic device antennas including conductive display structures

A device with near-field communications (NFC) capabilities is provided. A housing may include first and second segments and a support plate separated from the segments by a slot. A first inductor may be coupled between the first segment and the plate. A second inductor may be coupled between the second segment and the plate. A transceiver may have a first signal terminal coupled to the first segment over a first path and a second signal terminal coupled to the second segment over a second path. The transceiver may convey differential signals in an NFC band over a loop path for an NFC antenna that includes the first conductive path, the first segment, the first inductor, a portion of the plate between the first and second inductors, the second inductor, the second segment, and the second conductive path. This may optimize wireless performance and volume for the NFC antenna.

Electronic devices having differential-fed near-field communications antennas

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry and control circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include multiple antennas and transceiver circuitry. An antenna in the electronic device may have an inverted-F antenna resonating element formed from portions of a peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure and may have an antenna ground that is separated from the antenna resonating element by a gap. A split return path may bridge the gap. The split return path may be coupled between a first point on the inverted-F antenna resonating element arm and second and third points on the antenna ground. The split return path may include a first inductor coupled between the first and second points and a second inductor coupled between the first and third points. The first and second inductors may be adjustable.

Electronic device antennas having split return paths

Antenna structures at a given end of an electronic device may include antenna structures that are shared between multiple antennas. The device may include an antenna with an inverted-F antenna resonating element formed from portions of a peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure and may have an antenna ground that is separated from the antenna resonating element by a gap. A short circuit path may bridge the gap. The short circuit path may be a split return path coupled between a first point on the inverted-F antenna resonating element arm and second and third points on the antenna ground. The electronic device may include an additional antenna that includes the antenna ground and metal traces that form an antenna resonating element arm. The antenna resonating element arm of the additional antenna may be parasitically coupled to the inverted-F antenna resonating element and a portion of the split return path.

Electronic devices having shared antenna structures and split return paths

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include multiple antennas and transceiver circuitry. The antennas may include antenna structures at opposing first and second ends of the electronic device. The antenna structures at a given end of the device may include antenna structures that are shared between multiple antennas. The electronic device may include a first antenna with an inverted-F antenna resonating element formed from portions of a peripheral conductive housing structure and may have an antenna ground that is separated from the antenna resonating element by a gap. A return path may bridge the gap. The electronic device may also include a second antenna that includes the antenna ground and an additional antenna resonating element. The antenna resonating element of the second antenna may be parasitically coupled to the return path of the inverted-F antenna at given frequencies.

Electronic device having shared antenna structures

An electronic device may include an antenna having a resonating element, an antenna ground, and a feed. First and second tunable components may be coupled to the resonating element. Adjustable matching circuitry may be coupled to the feed. Control circuitry may use the first tunable component to tune a midband antenna resonance when sensor circuitry identifies that the device is being held in a right hand and may use the second tunable component to tune the midband resonance when the sensor circuitry identifies that the device is being held in a left hand. For tuning a low band resonance, the control circuitry may place the antenna in different tuning states by sequentially adjusting a selected one of the matching circuitry and the tunable components, potentially reverting to a previous tuning state at each step in the sequence. This may ensure that antenna efficiency is satisfactory regardless of antenna loading conditions.

Electronic device antennas having multi-band tuning capabilities

An electronic device may be provided with antenna structures and control circuitry. The antenna structures may include an antenna resonating element arm, an antenna ground, and an antenna feed coupled between the antenna resonating element arm and the antenna ground. The electronic device may include a tunable component configured to tune a frequency response of the antenna structures. The electronic device may also include a substrate, a radio-frequency transceiver on the substrate, control circuitry configured to generate control signals, a flexible printed circuit, and a connector. The connector may mechanically secure the flexible printed circuit to the substrate and may be electrically coupled to the transceiver and the control circuitry. The flexible printed circuit may include a radio-frequency transmission line coupled between the antenna feed and the connector and a control signal path coupled between the tunable component and the connector.

Electronic devices having printed circuits for antennas

Electronic devices may be provided that contain wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antenna structures. The antenna structures may form a dual arm inverted-F antenna. The antenna may have a resonating element formed from portions of a peripheral conductive electronic device housing member and may have an antenna ground that is separated from the antenna resonating element by a gap. A short circuit path may bridge the gap. An antenna feed may be coupled across the gap in parallel with the short circuit path. Low band tuning may be provided using an adjustable inductor that bridges the gap. The antenna may have a slot-based parasitic antenna resonating element with a slot formed between portions of the peripheral conductive electronic device housing member and the antenna ground. An adjustable capacitor may bridge the slot to provide high band tuning.

Tunable antenna with slot-based parasitic element

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include multiple antennas and transceiver circuitry. An antenna may have an antenna resonating element formed from portions of a peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure and may have an antenna ground that is separated from the antenna resonating element by a gap. The antenna ground for the antenna may include a first conductive structure that is separated from the antenna resonating element by a first distance and a second conductive structure that is electrically connected to the first conductive structure and separated from the antenna resonating element by a second distance that is less than the first distance. A distributed impedance matching capacitor for the antenna may be formed from the second conductive structure and the antenna resonating element arm. The second conductive structure may be a conductive frame for an electronic component such as a sensor.

Electronic device antennas having distributed capacitances

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Yijun Zhou