Abstract:
An electronic device may be provided with a sensor module and an antenna having an antenna arm, ground structures, and a tuner. The tuner may be mounted to a printed circuit overlapping the sensor module. A spring may be mounted to the printed circuit and may couple the tuner to a conductive chassis of the sensor module. The sensor module may include optical sensors that gather sensor data through a display and may form ground paths from the tuner to the ground structures. Conductive interconnect structures such as springs may exert biasing forces in different directions to couple the ground paths to different layers of the ground structures. This may serve to couple the antenna to the ground structures as close as possible to the tuner, thereby maximizing antenna performance, despite the presence of the sensor module.
Abstract:
An electronic device may include an antenna disposed on a substrate. The antenna may include a ring of conductive traces, a fed arm, and an unfed arm. The fed arm and the unfed arm may extend from opposing segments of the ring. The ring may be coupled to ground by fences of conductive vias extending through the substrate. The first arm may have a first radiating edge. The second arm may have a second radiating edge. The first radiating edge may be separated from the second radiating edge by a gap. The first arm may indirectly feed the second arm via near-field electromagnetic coupling across the gap. The first and second arms may collectively radiate in an ultra-wideband (UWB) frequency band.
Abstract:
An electronic device may be provided with first, second, and third antennas and a dock flex. A first feed terminal for the first antenna may be coupled to a second feed terminal for the second antenna over a first path. The first path may be coupled to ground over a second path. Tuning components may be interposed on the first and second paths. The third antenna may be patterned on a first portion of the dock flex. Front end components for the first antenna may be mounted to a second portion of the dock flex. The first and second portions may extend from a tail of the dock flex. The tail may be wrapped around a plastic support block to hold the second portion over the first portion. The plastic support block may have a snap hook clip that holds the second portion in place.
Abstract:
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.
Abstract:
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.
Abstract:
An electronic device may have a display in a housing with a metal wall. An antenna may have an antenna ground formed from the wall and an antenna resonating element. Transceiver circuitry may be coupled to an antenna feed that extends between the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground. A return path may extend between the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground in parallel with the feed. The antenna resonating element may have segments that are coupled by a frequency dependent filter. At a first frequency, the filter may have a low impedance so that the antenna resonating element has a first effectively length. At a second frequency that is greater than the first frequency, the filter may have a high impedance so that the antenna resonating element has a second effective length that is shorter than the first effective length.
Abstract:
An electronic device may have wireless circuitry with antennas. An antenna may have an inverted-F antenna resonating element, an antenna ground, and other resonating element structures. A tip of the antenna resonating element and the antenna ground may be separated by a peripheral housing gap filled with plastic. The antenna may be sensitive to capacitance changes induced by the presence of a user's hand overlapping the gap or other portions of the antenna. A hand capacitance sensing electrode may be mounted in the plastic of the gap or elsewhere in the vicinity of the antenna. A transmission line may couple the hand capacitance sensing electrode to the antenna to retune the antenna in the event that the user's hand overlaps the antenna.
Abstract:
An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. Control circuitry may be used to adjust the wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include antennas that are tuned, adjustable impedance matching circuitry, antenna port selection circuitry, and adjustable transceiver circuitry. Wireless circuit adjustments may be made by ascertaining a current usage scenario for the electronic device based on sensor data, information from cellular base station equipment or other external equipment, signal-to-noise ratio information or other signal information, antenna impedance measurements, and other information about the operation of the electronic device.
Abstract:
Electronic devices may be provided that include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antennas. An antenna may be formed from an antenna resonating element and an antenna ground. The antenna resonating element may have a shorter portion that resonates at higher communications band frequencies and a longer portion that resonates at lower communications band frequencies. The resonating element may be formed from a peripheral conductive electronic device housing structure that is separated from the antenna ground by an opening. A parasitic monopole antenna resonating element or parasitic loop antenna resonating element may be located in the opening. Antenna tuning in the higher communications band may be implemented using an adjustable inductor in the parasitic element. Antenna tuning in the lower communications band may be implemented using an adjustable inductor that couples the antenna resonating element to the antenna ground.
Abstract:
An electronic device may be provided with shared antenna structures that can be used to form both a near-field-communications antenna such as a loop antenna and a non-near-field communications antenna such as an inverted-F antenna. The antenna structures may include conductive structures such as metal traces on printed circuits or other dielectric substrates, internal metal housing structures, or other conductive electronic device housing structures. A main resonating element arm may be separated from an antenna ground by an opening. A non-near-field communications antenna return path and antenna feed path may span the opening. A balun may have first and second electromagnetically coupled inductors. The second inductor may have terminals coupled across differential signal terminals in a near-field communications transceiver. The first inductor may form part of the near-field communications loop antenna.