Electronic device with through-display near field communication capability

An electronic device (200) includes a control circuit (304) disposed on a substrate (220). The control circuit is operable with a display (509), a near field communication circuit (201) and a wide area communication circuit (302). The near field communication circuit is operable with a near field communication circuit antenna (344). The wide area communication circuit is operable with one or more wide area communication circuit antennas (312). In a housing (511) of the electronic device, the substrate separates the near field communication antenna from the battery and the wide area network communication antenna.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This disclosure relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly to electronic devices with near field communication capabilities.

2. Background Art

Electronic devices configured for communication, such as mobile telephones, tablet computers, and radios, each use antennas to transmit and receive radio-frequency communication signals. These antennas communicate with networks to transmit and receive data. The antennas allow the device to be truly wireless, in that all communication may occur over the air.

While once large, retractable devices, the antennas found on most common communication devices are quite small today. For example, at one time a mobile telephone was a relatively large device with a long, floppy, protruding antenna. Due to advances in technology, modern mobile telephones are slimmer and lighter. Antenna design has advanced to the point that many modern mobile telephones do not include protruding antennas at all. They rather rely upon internal antenna structures for communication with networks. The use of internal antennas has allowed designers and engineers to create sleeker and more fashionable products.

At the same time, the number of networks with which an electronic device must communicate has increased. This has increased the complexity of the circuitry of electronic devices, as well as the number of antennas required to communicate with the various networks. It would be advantageous to have an electronic device with simplified circuits without sacrificing device functionality.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Before describing in detail embodiments that are in accordance with the present disclosure, it should be observed that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of method steps and apparatus components related to near field communication through, and optionally data presentation on, a display of an electronic device. Any process descriptions or blocks in flow charts should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code that include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternate implementations are included, and it will be clear that functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved. Accordingly, the apparatus components and method steps have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide an electronic device having the communication capabilities with both a near field communication device and with a wide area network. To communicate with the near field communication device, in one embodiment the electronic device includes a near field communication circuit and near field communication antenna. In one embodiment, the near field communication antenna is disposed on a first side of a printed circuit board, while a battery and the wide area network antenna(s) are disposed on the other side of the printed circuit board. Advantageously, disposing the near field communication circuit antenna and the wide area network communication antennas on opposite sides of the printed circuit board increases the separation between the near field communication antenna and the wide area network antenna. In prior art designs, attempts at increasing physical separation between antenna elements requires a reduction in size of near field communication antenna, thereby degrading its performance. This malady is avoided with embodiments of the present invention due to the fact that the printed circuit board and battery physically separate the near field communication antenna from the wide area communication network antenna.

Another advantage offered by embodiments herein involves the “z-stackup.” The z-stackup refers to the vertical height from the front surface of the electronic device to the rear surface. With prior art devices, the near field communication circuit antenna is always placed at the back of the device, behind the battery and printed circuit board. This results in an increased Z-dimension stackup height, which corresponds to a thicker overall electronic device. By placing the near field communication circuit antenna between the display and the printed circuit board, and on a side opposite the battery, the z-stackup can be reduced, as the near field communication circuit antenna fills space between the display and the printed circuit board, and eliminates the need for additional z height behind the battery.

A third advantage is that embodiments described below allow any material, such as metal, to be used as the rear housing of the electronic device. In one embodiment, the near field communication circuit antenna is disposed between a display and circuit substrate. When communicating with a near field communication device, the near field communication antenna transmits and receives signals through the display, which is made of glass or plastic. Since the near field communication circuit antenna no longer needs to communicate through the back of the device, the back can be made of metals and other conductive materials. The ability to use metal or other materials offered by embodiments of the present disclosure provides designers with opportunities for designing more durable and aesthetically pleasing electronic devices.

In one embodiment, the electronic device includes a near field communication circuit and a first antenna element. The electronic device also includes a wide area network communication circuit and a corresponding second antenna element. A substrate in the electronic device, which may be a flexible circuit substrate, a printed circuit board, or other substrate, has disposed thereon one or more of the near field communication circuit or the wide area network communication circuit. A battery provides power to the circuits on the substrate. In one embodiment, the first antenna element is disposed on a first side of the substrate, while both the second antenna element and the battery disposed on a second side of the substrate. In one embodiment, the first antenna element is disposed between a display and the substrate, with a circuit connector passing around the first antenna element to electrically connect the display to the circuits on the substrate.

Embodiments of the disclosure, in one embodiment, replace empty space that may reside between the display and the substrate by collocating the near field communication circuit antenna and display on one side of the substrate, while the battery and wide area network antenna are disposed on the other side. Advantageously, this configuration can result in two electrical connectors—one from the substrate to the near field communication circuit antenna and another from the substrate to the display—being combined into a single connector, thereby reducing cost. Moreover, when the two connectors become one, mechanical reliability is increased due to the fact that one less connector is wrapping about an edge of the substrate. This is in addition to the elimination of complicated electrical shielding required in prior art designs.

Yet another advantage offered by embodiments of the disclosure is improved near field communication circuit performance. By disposing the near field communication circuit between the display and the circuit substrate, the size of the near field communication circuit antenna, which is configured as a ferrite and coil assembly in one or more embodiments, is limited in area only by the size of the display. Accordingly, the area of the near field communication circuit antenna can be increased over prior art designs, where proximity to wide area network communication antennas limit its size. This increased size results in improved near field communication performance.

Turning now toFIG. 1, illustrated therein is one embodiment of an electronic device100configured in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure. The explanatory electronic device100ofFIG. 1is shown as a smart phone for illustrative purposes. However, it will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that other electronic devices may be substituted for the explanatory smart phone ofFIG. 1. For example, the electronic device100may be configured as a palm-top computer, a tablet computer, a gaming device, wearable computer, a media player, or other device.

A user110is holding the electronic device100. The operating system environment, which is configured as executable code operating on one or more processors or control circuits of the electronic device100, has associated therewith various applications or “apps.” Examples of such applications shown inFIG. 1include a cellular telephone application102for making voice telephone calls, a web browsing application105configured to allow the user110to view webpages on the display101of the electronic device100, an electronic mail application106configured to send and receive electronic mail, a near field communication application107configured to permit the electronic device100to communicate with near field communication object, and a camera application108configured to capture still (and optionally video) images. These applications are illustrative only, as others will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

As will be described in more detail with reference toFIGS. 2 and 3below, in one embodiment the near field communication application107is operable with a wireless near field communication transceiver, which in one embodiment is a form of radio-frequency device configured to send and receive radio-frequency data to remote near field communication devices. Using a financial transaction as an illustrative example, the wireless near field communication transceiver may wirelessly communicate with a payment terminal having a near field communication reader. Information such as account number, user, and the like may be transmitted to the payment terminal. Purchase price, purchase location, date stamp, and confirmation number may be transmitted from the payment terminal to the wireless near field communication transceiver.

In addition to operating with devices such as payment terminals, the near field communication application107may work with other objects as well. For instance, a smart poster is a poster that includes a near-field communication tag capable of being read by the wireless near field communication transceiver. A smart poster for a movie may include a near field communication tag having information about show times, movie merchandise, and the like. When the user110activates the near field communication application107and passes the electronic device100within a predetermined distance of such a poster, the device may read the information and present corresponding information on the display101.

Turning now toFIG. 2, illustrated therein is one embodiment of a portable electronic device200having near field communication capability in accordance with one or more embodiments. Specifically, the portable electronic device200includes a near field communication circuit201having a near field communication circuit controller202coupled thereto. The near field communication circuit controller202provides a near field communication interface such that the portable electronic device200can wirelessly communicate with a variety of near field communication devices employing various near field communication technologies and protocols. Exemplary near field communication devices include a payment terminal203, a transportation ticket terminal204, a smart poster205, and a RFID tag206.

The near field communication circuit201can include—as an antenna—a communication coil that is configured for near-field communication at a particular communication frequency. In one embodiment, the communication coil is wrapped about a ferrite or other material. The term “near-field” as used herein refers generally to a distance of less than about a meter or so. The communication coil communicates by way of a magnetic field emanating from the communication coil when a current is applied to the coil. A communication oscillator applies a current waveform to the coil. The near field communication circuit controller may further modulate the resulting current to transmit and receive data.

The near field communication circuit controller202can be a microprocessor running embedded code, a transceiver integrated circuit, an application specific integrated circuit, an RFID device, or equivalent device. The near field communication circuit controller202works to facilitate data communication with other near field communication devices by transmitting data in radio frequency form. One may refer to the publicly available standard at www.ecma-intemational.org/publications/files/ECMA-ST/Ecma-340.pdf, which is incorporated herein by reference, for more details. Where the near-field communication is RFID communication, for example, this frequency may be about 13.56 MHz as is directed by recognized RFID standards.

Turning toFIG. 3, illustrated therein is an exemplary schematic block diagram of one electronic device in accordance with one or more embodiments. In one embodiment, the electronic device includes a wide area communication circuit302for communication with wide area networks through a wide area communication circuit antenna312and a near field communication circuit316for communicating with a near field communication circuit antenna344.

The wide area communication circuit302can include wireless communication circuitry, such as one of a receiver, a transmitter, or transceiver. The wide area communication circuit antenna312is used for communication with the wide area network. In one embodiment, the wide area communication circuit antenna312can comprise two or more antenna elements. Additionally, other antennas can be present in the electronic device, for example for use with GPS circuits.

In one or more embodiments, the wide area communication circuit302can be configured for data communication with at least one wide area network. For illustration, the wide area network can be a cellular network being operated by a service provider. Examples of cellular networks include GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, CDMA-2000, iDEN, TDMA, 2.5 Generation 3GPP GSM networks, 3rd Generation 3GPP WCDMA networks, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, and 3GPP2 CDMA communication networks, UMTS networks, E-UTRA networks, and other networks. It should be understood that the wide area communication circuit302could be configured to communicate with multiple wide area networks as well.

A control circuit304is configured for executing the operations of the electronic device. In one embodiment, the control circuit304comprises as one or more processors. The control circuit304can be a microprocessor, a group of processing components, one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), programmable logic, or other type of processing device. The control circuit304can be operable with the user interface310, as well as various peripheral ports (not shown) that can be coupled to peripheral hardware devices via interface connections.

The control circuit304can be configured to process and execute executable software code to perform the various functions of the electronic device. A storage device, such as memory332, stores the executable software code used by the control circuit304for device operation. The memory332may also store identification, configuration, and personalization information suitable for identifying the electronic device or its user.

The executable software code used by the control circuit304can be configured as one or more modules350that are operable with the control circuit304. Such modules350can comprise instructions, such as control algorithms, that are stored in a computer-readable medium such as the memory332described above.

Other standard components can be included, such as an analog to digital converter (A/D)306, an input decoder308, a display driver314, and a digital to analog converter (D/A)318. The near field communication circuit316, which will be explained in more detail below, is also shown. Each component is coupled together through a communication bus320. In one embodiment, the communication bus320and the components ofFIG. 3are disposed on a substrate220, which is shown inFIG. 2. Turning briefly toFIG. 2, in one embodiment, the substrate220comprises a printed circuit board. In another embodiment, the substrate220comprises a flexible circuit substrate. In one or more embodiments, the substrate220includes a ground plane221spanning one or more portions of the substrate220. The components ofFIG. 3can be embodied in the electrical circuit components and interconnections disposed along the substrate in one or more embodiments.

Turning now toFIG. 4, illustrated therein is one embodiment of a near field communication circuit in accordance with one or more embodiments. A near field communication circuit controller401, which may be a microprocessor, application specific integrated circuit, or other similar device, is configured to facilitate near field communication with external near field communication devices. The near field communication circuit controller401is coupled to a near field communication circuit antenna344, which may be embodied in a coil disposed on a printed circuit board or other substrate. Communication signals403are transmitted and received through the near field communication circuit antenna344. The near field communication circuit controller401communicates by way of a near field communication transceiver421.

The near field communication circuit controller401can be configured to identify a near field communication technology, a data protocol, and an identifier associated with a remote near field communication device. The near field communication circuit controller401can identify this information from the communication signals403received from the remote near field communication device.

The near field communication circuit controller401, in one embodiment, is capable of communication with a wide variety of near field communication technologies and devices. The near field communication circuit controller401accomplishes this by emulating a single near field communication circuit interface412when communicating with remote near field communication devices. As such, a near field communication circuit interface412can be configured as a near field communication card or reader, depending upon mode, to the external near field communication device.

As noted above, the near field communication circuit can be capable of communication with a variety of near field communication technologies. For instance the near field communication circuit interface412, in one embodiment, is capable of emulating near field communication application execution in accordance with the timing requirements defined by ISO/IEC 14444-3 and NFCIP standard. Further, the near field communication circuit interface412may be configured to support other legacy applications such as Mifare, Felica, and others.

Turning now toFIG. 5, illustrated therein is the electronic device200ofFIG. 2shown in a sectional view, with the section being taken along the sectional line shown inFIG. 2. As noted above, in one embodiment the electronic device200a near field communication circuit (201) that is operable with a near field communication circuit antenna344. In one embodiment, the near field communication circuit antenna344comprises a ferrite501and a coil. As also noted above, the electronic device200can include a wide area communication circuit (302) operable with a wide area communication circuit antenna (312). In this illustrative embodiment, the wide area communication circuit antenna (312) comprises two antennas503,504. The electronic device200of this illustrative embodiment also includes a GPS antenna505operable with a navigation circuit.

In one embodiment, one or both the near field communication circuit (201) and the wide area communication circuit (302) are disposed on the substrate220, which in this illustrative embodiment is a printed circuit board. A battery506is electrically coupled to the substrate220to provide power to the electrical components disposed on the substrate220.

As shown in this explanatory embodiment, the near field communication circuit antenna344is disposed on a first side507of the substrate220, while both the battery506and the wide area communication circuit antennas503,504are disposed on a second side508of the substrate220. In this illustrative embodiment, the battery506is disposed between the substrate220and the wide area communication circuit antennas503,504. This arrangement places the near field communication circuit antenna344between the substrate220and the display509of the electronic device200. Accordingly, the near field communication circuit (201) employs the near field communication circuit antenna344to communicate through remote devices through the display509.

An electrical connector516, which is configured as a flexible circuit substrate in this embodiment, electrically couples the display509to the substrate220. In one embodiment, a single electrical connector516can be used to couple both the display509and the near field communication circuit antenna344to the substrate220. This is the case inFIG. 5. Had the near field communication circuit antenna344been placed between the rear housing511and the battery506, as is the case in prior art designs, two electrical connectors would have been required. Not only does this increase cost by adding an additional connector, but it reduces mechanical reliability, as one of the connectors has to wrap about the substrate220. Friction between the substrate220and this second electrical connector can lead to mechanical and electrical failure.

Additionally, had the near field communication circuit antenna344been placed between the rear housing511and the battery506, as is the case in prior art designs, there is a requirement to compromise between near field communication circuit antenna performance and wide area antenna performance due to the close proximity of the two radiating elements. Making the near field communication circuit antenna344larger improves its performance. However, this larger size causes it to be positioned closer to the wide area communication circuit antennas503,504, and thus degrades the wide area network antenna performance. To maintain acceptable wide area network antenna performance, the radiating area of the near field communication circuit antenna344and performance in prior art designs must be reduced. By disposing the near field communication circuit antenna344between the substrate220and the display509, such that the substrate220separates the near field communication circuit antenna344from the battery506and the wide area communication circuit antennas503,504, we can maintain acceptable wide area network antenna performance and can have a larger radiating area at the near field communication circuit antenna344. A larger radiating area, achieved by placing the near field communication circuit antenna344between the substrate220and the display509, results in more reliable and robust near field communication characteristics compared to a smaller radiating areas, such as those required by prior art designs where all antennas are placed between the rear housing511and the battery506.

The fact that the near field communication circuit antenna344communicates through the display509of the electronic device200offers yet another advantage. In the embodiment ofFIG. 5, the display509defines a first major face of the electronic device200, and the rear housing511or rear housing element defines a second major face of the electronic device. Since the need for near field communication through the rear housing511is eliminated, the rear housing511can be manufactured from electrically conductive materials such as metal. As shown inFIG. 6, this allows the rear housing511to be curved604and take on contours that are not possible when reinforced glass or other non-conductive materials are used. Moreover, using a material like metal makes it possible to accommodate additional features along the rear housing511such as a camera601, loudspeaker602, or customized logos603.

Turning now toFIG. 7, since near field communication occurs through the display509in one or more embodiments, in one embodiment the control circuit (304) can be configured to present indicia701on the display to assist the user in optimally using the near field communication circuit (316). In this illustrative embodiment, the control circuit (304) is configured to present a near field communication circuit antenna emission indicator702on the display509. In one embodiment, the near field communication circuit antenna emission indicator702corresponds to a portion of the display through which near field communication signals pass. By aiming the near field communication circuit antenna emission indicator702at an external near field communication device, efficient communication can occur. Turning toFIG. 8, the user110is shown aiming the near field communication circuit antenna emission indicator (702) at a near field communication device801. Near field communication signals802, which in one embodiment are directed through the near field communication circuit antenna emission indicator (702) are then transmitted to the near field communication device801.

Turning toFIG. 9, illustrated therein is one embodiment of a method900for manufacturing an electronic device in accordance with one or more embodiments. At step901, the components of the electronic device are provided. In one embodiment, these components include a circuit substrate. The circuit substrate can have a control circuit disposed thereon. In one or more embodiments, the circuit substrate includes a near field communication circuit and a wide area communication circuit as well. Step901can also include providing a display, a battery, a near field communication circuit antenna, and a wide area communication circuit antenna.

At step902, the components are arranged within a housing element. In one embodiment, the components are arranged such that the circuit substrate separates the near field communication circuit antenna from the wide area communication circuit antenna. In one embodiment, the circuit substrate also separates the near field communication circuit antenna from the battery as well. At step903, when all the components are disposed within the housing element, a display is coupled to the housing so as to define a second major face of the electronic device.

In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the claims below. Thus, while preferred embodiments of the disclosure have been illustrated and described, it is clear that the disclosure is not so limited. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions, and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the following claims. For example, while embodiments above describe a near field communication circuit being disposed between the display and a substrate, a wireless charging circuit could be similarly situated so as to couple to a wireless charger through the display. Such an embodiment would allow charging through the display while wireless communication occurs through other major faces of the display. Moreover, in one or more embodiments both the near field communication circuit and the wireless charging circuit can be placed behind the display such that either near field communication or wireless charging could occur through the display. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present disclosure. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims.