Abstract:
Smaller footprint electronic devices may be contained in a wearable housing, for example in a housing forming a portion of a watch that is worn on a user&#39;s wrist. Incorporating antennas into such small footprint devices often precludes the use of anything other than short range communications with another device. Incorporating an antenna into a watch band or bracelet provides a possible avenue to improving the long range communication capabilities and consequent utility of such smaller footprint electrical devices.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to antenna systems. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The ever decreasing size of electronics, particularly computing devices, has opened a new spectrum of wearable devices such as Google Glass® (GOOGLE, INC., Mountain View, Calif.), FitBit® (FITBIT Inc., San Francisco, Calif.), and the Apple Watch® (APPLE, INC., Cupertino, Calif.). Many of these wearable computing devices include transceivers with limited range due, at least in part, to the inherently limited real estate in smaller wearable devices. For example, the Apple Watch is unable to independently place cellular telephone calls and must be paired to an iPhone® in order to place or receive cellular telephone calls. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Features and advantages of various embodiments of the claimed subject matter will become apparent as the following Detailed Description proceeds, and upon reference to the Drawings, wherein like numerals designate like parts, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram depicting an example system including a wearable antenna system communicably coupled to a wearable electronic device, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2A  is a plan view depicting an example wearable electronic device and antenna system in the form of a wristwatch, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2B  is a perspective view depicting the example wearable electronic device and antenna system in the form of a wristwatch depicted in  FIG. 2A , in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure 
         FIG. 3A  is a perspective view depicting an example wearable electronic device and antenna system in the form of a bracelet in a closed or latched position, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3B  is a perspective view depicting an example wearable electronic device and antenna system in the form of a bracelet in an open or unlatched position, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3C  is an elevation view depicting an example wearable electronic device and antenna system in the form of a bracelet in a closed or latched position, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is a high-level flow diagram of an example method for including a wearable antenna system communicably coupled to a wearable electronic device, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 5  is a high-level flow diagram of an example method for including a wearable antenna system communicably coupled to a wearable electronic device in the form of a hinged bracelet, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     When fashion and communication systems collide in the world of wearable computing or electronic devices, creative solutions are required to provide an optimal environment that maximizes electronic system performance while maintaining desired aesthetic impact. Beneficially, in the fashion world few limitations exist regarding the usage of materials and form factors. Such inherent flexibility frees the fashion designer to craft wearable items that include metallic structures integrated in an appealing and attractive way to consumers. However, to the wearable electronics designer, such metallic structures may cause serious degradation to antenna performance if antennas are placed or positioned either in close proximity of, or within, such metallic structures. In fact, metallic structures may cause sufficient impairment to antenna performance that the antenna is effectively rendered inoperable. Thus, an electronic designer often attempts to provide the widest possible separation between antennas and metal structures, particularly in the tight confines found within wearable devices which are often a combination of electronic device and fashion statement. While electronic designers seek to improve antenna performance by changing the housing material about the electronic device to a non-conductive material, such a substitution may detrimentally compromise the esthetic value of the device. 
     Using an 800 MHz cellular band antenna as an illustrative example, such an antenna is relatively large and requires a proportionately larger footprint if placed, in its entirety, within an electronic device housing. In addition, such an antenna may require a significantly larger chassis or ground plane (herein referred to as a “counterpoise”) to operate at an acceptable level of efficiency. In some instances, a portion of the wearable device (e.g., a portion of a bracelet or wrist band) may be formed from a conductive material to provide a counterpoise to an, otherwise, small electronic device housing. Such a counterpoise may be positioned opposite to one or more antennas used by the electronic device for wireless communications. 
     A wearable electronic device may include an electronic circuit board disposed in a housing. Electronic circuit board communicably couples to a number of antennas extending from the exterior surface of the housing. The wearable electronic device may further include a structure adapted to be worn on a limb, the structure including a first member physically and electrically conductively coupled to the housing, and a second member physically coupled to the housing, where the second member incorporates at least a portion of at least some of the antennas extending from the housing. 
     A method of combining a number of antennas with a wearable electronic device may include electrically conductively coupling each of the antennas to an electronic circuit board disposed in the housing. The method may further include extending number of antennas from an exterior surface of the housing. The method may additionally include physically and electrically conductively coupling a first end of a first member to a first location of the housing and physically coupling a first end of a second member of the structure to a second location of the housing, the second location of the housing separated by a first distance from the first location of the housing. The method may further include incorporating at least some of the number of antennas projecting from the exterior of the housing into the second member. 
     An antenna system may include a housing defining an interior space and an electronic circuit board disposed either wholly or partially within the interior space. The electronic device may include a number of conductively coupled antennas extending from an exterior of the housing. The antenna system may also include a flexible member having a first end and a second end, the flexible member including a number of conductive segments and a number of electrically non-conductive segments, the first end including an electrically non-conductive segment physically coupled to a first external attachment point on the housing and the second end including an electrically conductive segment physically and electrically conductively coupled to a second external attachment point on the housing, where each of the number of antennas extends a respective distance from the exterior of the housing and into the electrically non-conductive material at the first end of the flexible member. 
     A wearable electronic system may include means for electrically conductively coupling number of antennas to an electronic circuit board disposed in a housing and means for extending number of antennas from an exterior surface of the housing. The wearable antenna system may further include means for physically and electrically and conductively coupling a first end of a first member to a first location of the housing. The wearable antenna system may also include means for physically coupling a first end of a second member of the structure to a second location of the housing, the second location of the housing separated by a first distance from the first location of the housing and means for incorporating into the second member a portion of antennas extending from the exterior surface of the housing. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a network system  100  in which an example wearable electronic device  102  that includes a first member  108  physically and electrically conductively coupled to a housing  106  having at least one electronic device  104  communicably coupled to a number of antennas  112 A- 112   n  (collectively, antennas  112 ) integrated into a second member  110  physically coupled to the housing  106  is able to wirelessly communicate with one or more networked devices, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The wearable electronic device  102  may unidirectionally or bidirectionally communicate with one or more computers  120 , one or more servers  130 , one or more remote data storage centers  140 , one or more portable, wearable, cellular, smartphone, or handheld electronic devices  150 , or combinations thereof via one or more networks  160 . Such communicable coupling may facilitate the transfer of data including, but not limited to, audio and video data and text and IP data from the wearable electronic device  100  to one or more portable electronic devices such as one or more cellular telephones or smartphones  150 . Such communicable coupling may also facilitate the reception of data, such as Webpages, by the wearable electronic device  102 . 
     The electronic device  104  may include any current or future developed electronic device including any number or combination of the following: one or more receivers, one or more transceivers, one or more controllers, one or more processors, one or more microprocessors, one or more user input devices, one or more output devices, one or more sensors, and similar. In some instances, the electronic device  106  may include one or more single- or multi-core processors, single- or multi-core microprocessors, one or more systems on a chip (SoCs), one or more reduced instruction set computers (RISCs), one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or combinations thereof. In some implementations, the electronic device  106  may include one or more circuits capable of executing machine-readable instructions that, upon execution by the circuit, transform the circuit into one or more specialized or particular circuits. Such machine-readable instructions may be stored in whole or in part in a local storage device (e.g., a storage device local to the wearable electronic device  102 ) communicably coupled to the circuit. Such machine-readable instructions may be stored in whole or in part on one or more servers  130  or one or more data storage centers  140  that are accessed via the network  160 . 
     The electronic device  104  may be disposed in whole or in part within a space, void, or cavity formed at least partially by the housing  106 . The housing  106  may include, in whole or in part, a chassis or similar structure formed using an electrically conductive material, such as one or more electrically conductive metals or electrically conductive metal containing alloys. In some instances, an electrically conductive housing  106  may provide at least a portion of the ground plane for some or all of the number of antennas  112 . Given the relatively small footprint of the wearable electronic device  102 , such a ground plane may be inadequate and may compromise the performance of all or, at least, some of the antennas  112 . In some implementations, at least a portion of the housing  106  may be formed from a material that is transparent or semi-transparent to at least electromagnetic radiation in the radio frequency spectrum (e.g., from about 3 kHz to about 300 GHz). 
     The first member  108  may include any device, system, or combination of systems and devices suitable for attaching, affixing, or otherwise permanently or detachably coupling the wearable electronic device  102  to a user or to an article worn by a user. In one example, the first member  108  may include a flexible member, such as a portion of a watch band or bracelet, adapted for wear about a user&#39;s arm. In another example, the first member  108  may include a rigid or semi-rigid member, such as a portion of a bracelet or similar device adapted for wear about a user&#39;s arm. 
     In some instances, the first member  108  may be physically and electrically conductively coupled to housing  106 . For example, the first member  108  may be pivotably coupled to the housing  106  using a metallic or similar electrically conductive member to permanently or detachably attach the first member  108  to the housing  106 . In another example, all or a portion of the first member  108  may be integrally formed with the housing  106 . In another example, all or a portion of the first member  108  may be affixed to the housing  106  via an electrically conductive adhesive or via welding. In another example, all or a portion of the first member  108  may be formed integrally with the housing  106 . 
     At least a portion of the first member  108  proximate the housing  106  may be formed using an electrically conductive material, for example an electrically conductive metal or metal alloy. In various embodiments, the first member  108  may be of unitary or single piece construction. In other embodiments, the first member  108  or may include any number of physically connected or coupled portions or segments, for example an electrically conductive first segment  108 A and an electrically insulative or non-conducting second segment  108 B. The second segment  108 B of the first member  108   
     The first member  108  may be conductive for all or a portion of its length. The conductive part of the first member  108  may be exposed or may be embedded, enclosed, encapsulated, or otherwise partially or completely covered with a non-conductive material (e.g., leather) as long as the conductive element within the structure is electrically connected to the housing  106 . Such a covering may improve an esthetic character of the first member  108 . 
     The housing  106  may have a length  114  as measured between the connection point for the first member  108  to the housing  106  and the second member  110  to the housing  106 . The electrically conductive first segment  108 A of the first member  108  may have a length  116  as measured from the connection point to the housing  106  to the end or extent of the first segment  108 A of the first member  108 . The sum of the housing length  114  and the first member first segment  108 A length may be a defined value, such as a value that optimizes the efficiency of the antennas  112  by forming a ground plane or counterpoise of appropriate size and dimension. In one example, the sum of the housing length  114  and the first member first segment  108 A length may approximately equal one-quarter (¼) to one-half (½) of the wavelength of the signal frequency transmitted or received by one or more of the antennas  112 . By way of example, the sum of the housing length  114  and the first member first segment  108 A, including antenna length, ideally, must have an electrical length to cause the entire antenna system (antenna and ground plane) to resonate at a desired frequency, which would include its harmonics. 
     The electrically conductive segment of the first member  108  may include one or more electrically conductive materials. In one example, the electrically conductive segment of the first member  108  may be formed using one or more electrically conductive metals or metal alloys. The electrically conductive segment of the first member  108  may have any shape, size, or geometric configuration. For example, the electrically conductive segment of the first member  108  may be coincident with the first segment  108 A of the first member  108 . In such an instance, the first segment  108 A may include a solid, flexible metal link, or flexible metal lattice type watch band or bracelet. In some instances, for example where a rigid first member  108  is used to form a portion of a watch band, the shape or size of the watch band may be in such way that contact with the user&#39;s skin is preferentially maintained. In such instances, the bracelet or watch band may have an inside diameter such that the bracelet maintains contact at a limited number of skin contact points or distanced by design to improve the efficiency of the antennas  112 . 
     The electrically non-conductive segment of the first member  108  may include any number or combination of electrically non-conductive or electrically insulative materials. In one example, the electrically non-conductive segment of the first member  108  may be formed using one or more insulators such as leather or cloth. The electrically non-conductive segment of the first member  108  may have any size, shape, or geometric configuration. For example, the electrically non-conductive segment of the first member  108  may be coincident with the second segment  108 B of the first member  108 . 
     In some instances, the second member  110  may be physically coupled to the housing  106 . For example, the second member  110  may be pivotable or solidly coupled to the housing  106  using a pin or similar attachment device to permanently attach the second member  110  to the housing  106 . In some implementations, the one or more antennas  112  extending from the exterior surface of the housing  106  may be placed or positioned internal to or inside of the electrically non-conductive segment of the second member  110 . For example, all or a portion of the one or more antennas  112  that extend from the exterior surface of the housing  106  may be partially or completely encapsulated in the electrically non-conductive material used to provide the second member  110  (e.g., inside of a leather portion of a watch band). 
     The antennas  112  extending from the exterior of the housing  106  may be left exposed to incorporated into (e.g., embedded, encapsulated, or otherwise covered by) the first segment  110 A of the second member  110 . The antennas  112  couple to the electronic circuit board  104  disposed within the housing  106  and exit from the housing  106  via one or more apertures, passages, or similar conduits. The first segment  110 A of the second member  110  may be rigidly coupled to the housing  106  or may be coupled to the housing  106  using a limited or restricted rotation or movement attachment fixture to protect the portion of the antenna  112  exiting the housing  106  from damage due to mechanical fatigue. 
     In various embodiments, the second member  110  may include a unitary or single piece construction. For example, the second member  110  may include a single, flexible, member fabricated from an electrically non-conductive material such as cloth or leather. In other embodiments, the second member  110  or may include or be apportioned into any number of physically connected or coupled portions or segments. For example an electrically non-conductive or insulative first segment  110 A in which the number of antennas  112  may be incorporated, encapsulated, housed, or otherwise positioned and an electrically conducting second segment  110 B. 
     In embodiments, the second segment  108 B of the flexible first member  108  may include a conductive portion. In embodiments, the second segment  110 B of the flexible second member  110  may include a conductive material. However, when implemented as a flexible watch band or similar appliance in which the second segment  110 B of the flexible second member  110  is proximate the one or more antennas  112 , the second segment  108 B of the flexible first member  108  and the second segment  110 B of the flexible second member  110  may not both include a conductive material that couple together when in use. 
     In implementations such as a rigid bracelet, all or a portion of the housing  106 , a rigid first member  108 , and a rigid second member  110 , may be integrally formed using one or more electrically conductive materials. In such implementations, rather than being placed or positioned inside of a non-electrically conductive segment  110 A of the rigid second member  110 , some or all of the number of antennas  112  may instead be incorporated, coupled, combined, or otherwise integrally formed with the rigid second member  110  such that all or a portion of the rigid second member  110  forming a portion of the bracelet serves as an antenna  112 . 
     Each of the number of antennas  112  are communicably coupled to at least one receiver, transmitter or transceiver in the electronic device  104 . Each of the one or more antennas  112  may have the same or different lengths, transmission properties, structure or geometries. In some implementations, at least one of the one or more antennas  112  may include an antenna coupled to a cellular transceiver operating at a frequency of from about 824 megahertz (MHz) to about 960 MHz or from about 1.71 gigahertz (GHz) to about 2.17 GHz. In some implementations at least one of the one or more antennas  112  may include an antenna coupled to a geolocation (e.g., global positioning system GPS; global navigation satellite system of GLONASS) receiver operating at center frequency of about 1.575 GHz and 1.602 GHz respectively. In some implementations, at least one of the one or more antennas  112  may include an antenna coupled to a BLUETOOTH® or IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) transceiver operating at a frequency of about 2.4 GHz or about 5 GHz. 
     In at least some implementations, signal interference may occur between two or more of the number of antennas  112 . For example, between the high-band (1.71 GHz to 2.17 GHz) cellular antenna and the geolocation antenna (1.575 GHz). In such instances, the electronic device  104  may include an appropriate low-pass matching circuit for a first antenna  112 A and high-pass matching circuit for a second antenna  112 B to improve the isolation of the two antennas, and consequently improve their efficiency of the antennas. 
     The wearable electronic device  102  unidirectionally or bidirectionally communicates with one or more remote devices via the network  160 . In some instances, the network  160  may include one or more local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), one or more metropolitan area networks (MANs), one or more cellular networks (e.g., global system for mobile devices or GSM networks, code division multiple access or CDMA networks), or one or more worldwide networks such as the World Wide Web or Internet. In some embodiments, the one or more antennas  112  may be used to unidirectionally or bidirectionally communicably couple with one or more computing devices  120  such as one or more desktop, laptop, notebook, ultraportable, or tablet computers via the network  160 . In some embodiments, the one or more antennas  112  may be used to unidirectionally or bidirectionally communicably couple with one or more servers  130  via the network  160 . In some embodiments, the one or more antennas  112  may be used to unidirectionally or bidirectionally communicably couple with one or more network storage devices  140  via the network  160 . In some embodiments, the one or more antennas  112  may be used to unidirectionally or bidirectionally communicably couple with one or more portable electronic devices  150  such as one or more cellular telephones, smartphones, personal digital assistants, wearable computing devices, or similar via the network  160 . 
       FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B  illustrate an example wearable electronic device  102  in the form of a wristwatch  200  having a flexible first member  108  that is physically and electrically conductively coupled to the housing  106  and a flexible second member  110  that is physically coupled to the housing  106 , in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. In embodiments, the electronic device  104  may include any number of machine-readable instruction sets that cause the electronic device  102  to function variously as a timekeeper/watch and as a communications device. In such embodiments, the electronic device may be communicably coupled to various input/output (I/O) devices such as a display device  202 , an audio output device (e.g., speaker)  204 , an audio input device (e.g., microphone)  206 , and a user input device  208  such as a pushbutton or scroll wheel. 
     The first segment  108 A of the flexible first member  108  includes an electrically conductive structure providing an extended ground plane or antenna counterpoise. In some implementations, the first segment  108 A of the flexible first member  108  may be hidden or otherwise partially or completely covered in one or more materials selected based on antenna performance or based at least in part on aesthetics. The first segment  108 A of the flexible first member  108  may be embedded in aesthetically appealing or attractive conductive or non-conductive materials. The first segment  110 A of the flexible second member  110  includes one or more electrically non-conductive materials in which the number of antennas  112  extending from the surface of the housing  106  are disposed. The antennas  112  incorporated or otherwise disposed in the first segment  110 A of the flexible second member  110  are electrically coupled to the first segment  108 A of the flexible first member  108 . 
     The flexible first member  108  and the flexible second member  110  may be linked or otherwise joined to form the wristband of the watch  200 . As illustrated in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the second end  218  of the flexible first member  108  and the second end  220  of the flexible second member  110  may be joined or otherwise attached such that the watch  200  is retained on the user&#39;s arm. 
     Although the flexible first member  108  and the flexible second member  110  are each divided into two sections ( 108 A,  108 B and  110 A,  110 B) as depicted in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B , the flexible first member  108  and the flexible second member  110  may be apportioned into an equal or unequal number of portions. Further, each of the portions may have equal or unequal lengths. Regardless of the number of portions or the length of each portion, the first segment  108 A of the flexible first member  108  functions as a counterpoise or ground plane for one or more antennas  112 . To function as a ground plane for the one or more antennas  112 , the first segment  108 A of the first flexible member  108  is fabricated from a conductive material. To improve the efficiency of the one or more antennas  112 , the first segment  108 A of the flexible first member  108  may be of a length at least partially determined by the operating frequency or frequencies of each of the one or more antennas  112 . 
     Similarly, regardless of the number of portions or the length of each portion, at least some of the number of antennas  112  extending from the exterior of the housing  106  are incorporated into the first segment  110 A of the flexible second member  110 . The first segment  110 A of the flexible second member  110  is formed or fabricated using a non-conductive material. The use of a non-conductive material for the first segment  110 A of the flexible second member  110  insulates at least some of the number of antennas  112  from the remaining portion of the flexible second member  110  and from the surface of an object placed proximate the flexible second surface (e.g., a user&#39;s wrist placed inside the watch band). To improve the efficiency of at least some of the one or more antennas  112 , the first segment  110 A of the flexible second member  110  may be of a length at least partially determined by the operating frequency or frequencies of each of the one or more antennas  112 . 
     In implementations, the first segment  108 A of the flexible first member  108  may be partially or completely covered or even encapsulated in an electrically non-conductive material. In such implementations, the electrically non-conductive material used to cover or encapsulate the first segment  108 A of the flexible first member  108  may be the same as or different than an electrically non-conductive material used to fabricate the non-electrically conductive second segment  108 B of the flexible first member  108 . In some implementations, the second segment  108 B of the flexible first member  108  may be fabricated from an electrically conductive material such as one or more electrically conductive metals or one or more electrically conductive, metal alloys. 
     In implementations, the second segment  110 B of the flexible second member  110  may be fabricated in whole or in part using an electrically non-conductive material. In such instances, the electrically non-conductive material used for the second segment  110 B of the flexible second member  110  may be the same as or different from the electrically non-conductive material encapsulating the one or more antennas  112  incorporated into the first segment  110 A of the flexible second member  110 . 
     The one or more antennas  112  electrically couple to the ground plane formed by the first segment  108 A of the flexible first member  108  via the electric circuit board  104  and the housing  106 . In embodiments where the flexible first member  108  is apportioned into a first segment  108 A and a second segment  108 B, and the second member  110  is apportioned into a first segment  110 A and a second segment  110 B, the antennas  112  remain electrically separated from the ground plane by one or more electrically non-conductive segments in either (or both) the flexible first member  108  (e.g., the second segment  108 B of the flexible first member  108 ) or the flexible second member  110  (e.g., the second segment  110 B of the flexible second member  110 ). 
     Such electrical isolation of the number of antennas  112  from the ground plane may be accomplished, for example, by ensuring that the second segment  110 B of the flexible second member  110  and the second segment  108 B of the flexible first member  108  are not both fabricated using an electrically conductive material, particularly when the two segments  110 B and  108 B connect in close proximity of the antenna structures leaving no sufficient distance to avoid coupling of antennas to the conductive  110 B segment. In embodiments, to improve the efficiency and performance of the number of antennas  112  incorporated or otherwise combined into the first segment  110 A of the flexible second member  110 , at least one electrically non-conductive segment may be disposed between the ground plane formed by the first segment  108 A of the flexible first member  108  and the first segment  110 A of the flexible second member  110 . 
       FIG. 3A ,  FIG. 3B , and  FIG. 3C  illustrate an example wearable electronic device  102  in the form of a bracelet  300  having a rigid first member  108  that is physically and electrically conductively coupled to the housing  106  and a rigid second member  110  that is physically and electrically coupled to the housing  106 , in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Bracelet  300  may include a rigid third member  306  having a first end  310  and a second end  312 . In embodiments, the first end  310  of the rigid third member  306  is electrically coupled to the electronic circuit board  104  via a plurality of conductive elements  314 , such as a coaxial cable. In embodiments, the first end  310  of the rigid third member  306  may be pivotably coupled to the first member  108  using one or more non-conductive rotatable connectors  302  such as one or more hinges. Such a non-conductive rotatable connector  302  may be used to rotatably couple the first end  310  of the rigid third member  306  to the first member  108  while physically separating and electrically isolating the rigid third member  306  from the first member  108 . 
     In embodiments, the second end  312  of the rigid third member  306  may include one or more latching elements  304  that are used to physically and electrically couple the rigid third member  306  to the rigid second member  110 . Thus, when the bracelet  300  is closed, the rigid third member  306  is physically and electrically coupled to the rigid second member  110  via one or more latches  304  and is electrically coupled to the electronic circuit board  104  via the plurality of conductors  308 . 
     The third member  306  provides the antenna  112  for bracelet  300 . The plurality of conductors  314  coupled to the electronic circuit board  104  and extending from the housing  106  are physically incorporated, combined, or otherwise integrated into the rigid third member  306  to provide the antenna  112 . 
     In embodiments, the bracelet  300  provides a loop antenna (i.e., when the rigid third segment  306  is connected to the rigid second segment  110 ) and a dipole antenna (i.e., when the rigid third segment  306  is disconnected from the rigid second segment  110 ). In one embodiment, the loop antenna created by coupling the rigid third member  306  to the rigid second member  110  may resonate at a base resonant frequency of approximately 1800 MHz and all odd harmonics of the base resonant frequency. In one embodiment, the dipole antenna created by decoupling the rigid third member  306  from the rigid second member  110  may resonate at a base resonant frequency of approximately 750 MHz and all odd harmonics of the base resonant frequency. 
     In some implementations, the electronic device  104  may include one or more matching circuits useful for impedance matching the loop antenna (i.e., a closed bracelet) and the dipole antenna (i.e., the open bracelet) to the operating frequency of the antenna. In embodiments, the fit of the bracelet  300  about a user&#39;s wrist may affect the efficiency of the antenna  112 . For example, significant attenuation may occur when the bracelet  300  is tightly fitted to the user&#39;s wrist due to the detuning that occurs as a consequence of broad contact with the user&#39;s wrist and the energy losses caused by the user&#39;s hand. In another example, less attenuation may occur when the bracelet  300  is loosely fitted to the user&#39;s wrist such that the contact between the bracelet and the user&#39;s wrist is limited to a few (i.e., two) locations. 
       FIG. 4  is a high-level flow diagram of an illustrative method  400  of including a wearable antenna system communicably coupled to a wearable electronic device  102 , in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The method  400  commences at  402 . 
     At  404 , any number of antennas  112  are electrically conductively coupled to an electronic device  104  disposed in a housing  106 . Such antennas  112  may include one or more antennas operating in one or more current or future cellular frequency bands. Example cellular frequency bands are 824 MHz to 960 MHz and 1710 MHz to 2170 MHz. Such antennas  112  may include one or more antennas operating in one or more current or future Wi-Fi or BLUETOOTH® operating frequencies. An example Wi-Fi or BLUETOOTH® frequency is 2.4 GHz. Such antennas  112  may include one or more antennas operating in one oClaimsr more current or future global positioning system operating frequencies. An example global positioning system frequency is 1.575 GHz. 
     At  406 , at least some of the number of antennas  112  are extended from the electronic device  104  through one or more exterior surfaces of the housing  106  disposed about at least a portion of the electronic device  104 . 
     At  408 , the first member  108  physically and electrically conductively couples to a first location on the housing  106 . In some implementations, the first member  108  and the housing  106  may be mechanically and electrically coupled using one or more fixtures or similar attachment devices that provide a pivotable connections between the first member  108  and the housing  106 . In one example, the one or more fixtures or attachment devices may include one or more pins or similar devices permitting motion (i.e., rotation) along or about one or more axes. In some implementations, the first member  108  and the housing  106  may be affixed or otherwise permanently or detachably attached to each other in a manner providing a physical and electrical connection. For example, the first member  108  may be formed integral with at least a portion of the housing  106 . 
     At  410 , the second member  110  physically couples to a second location on the housing  106 . In embodiments, the first location where the first member  108  attached to the housing  106  and the second location where the second member  110  attached to the housing  106  may be separated by a first distance. In some implementations, the first location where the first member  108  attaches to the housing  106  and the second location where the second member  110  attaches to the housing  106  may be on opposing sides of the housing  106  such that the first distance separating the first member  108  and the second member  110  is the length of the housing  106  itself. 
     In some instances, the conductive first segment  108 A of the first member  108  may extend a second distance from the second location where the second member  110  attaches to the housing  106 . In such instances, the sum of the antenna  112  length, the length of the housing  106  (i.e., the first distance) and the length of the first segment  108 A of the first member  108  (i.e., the second distance) may be approximately equal to the wavelength of the signals transmitted or received by one or more of the number of antennas  112 . 
     At  412 , at least some of the number of antennas  112  extending from the exterior of the housing  106  are incorporated into the first segment  110 A of the second member  110 . In some implementations, the number of antennas  112  may be at least partially encapsulated in an electrically non-conductive material in the first segment  110 A of the second member  110 . In some implementations, the number of antennas  112  may be formed integral with all or a portion of the first segment  110 A of the second member  110 . The method  400  terminates at  414 . 
       FIG. 5  is a high-level flow diagram of an illustrative method  500  of including a wearable antenna system communicably coupled in a wearable electronic device  102  in the form of a hinged bracelet  300 , in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one or more bracelet embodiments, a third rigid member may provide at least a portion of one or more antennas  112  electrically coupling the electronic circuit board  104  to a first end of the rigid third member  306 . In such instances, the entire bracelet  300  may function as a loop antenna when closed and as a dipole antenna when opened. In such an embodiment, all or a portion of the first member  108  and all or a portion of the second member  110  may be rigid and formed integral with the housing  106 . As depicted in and described in detail above with regard to  FIG. 3 , a first end  310  of the rigid third member  306  may be pivotably coupled to the first member  108  via one or more nonconductive hinges  302  or similar. The second end  312  of the rigid third member  306  may be detachably physically and electrically coupled to the second member  110 . The method  500  commences at  502 . 
     At  504 , a first end of the rigid third member  306  pivotably couples to a rigid first member  108  via one or more hinged or pivotable connections. In some implementations, the first end of the rigid third member  306  pivotably couples to the rigid first member  108  via one or more electrically non-conductive pins. In at least some implementations, the first end of the rigid third member  306  may be physically isolated from the rigid first member  108  such that physical contact does not occur between the rigid third member  306  and the rigid first member  108 . 
     At  506 , the first end  310  of the rigid third member  306  electrically conductively couples to the electronic circuit board  104  in the housing  106  via the plurality of conductors  312 . For example, in at least one implementation, the first end  310  of the rigid third member  306  electrically conductively couples to the electronic circuit board  104  in the housing  106  via a coaxial cable. 
     At  508 , a second end of the rigid third member  306  detachably physically and electrically conductively couples to the rigid second member  110 . The physical and electrical conductive coupling or connection of the rigid third member  306  to the rigid second member  110  causes the bracelet  300  to function as a loop antenna. The physical and electrical conductive decoupling or disconnection of the rigid third member  306  to the rigid second member  110  causes the bracelet  300  to function as a dipole antenna. The method  500  concludes at  510 . 
     The following examples pertain to further embodiments. The following examples of the present disclosure may comprise subject material such as a device, a method, at least one machine-readable medium for storing instructions that when executed cause a machine to perform acts based on the method, means for performing acts based on the method and/or a system for binding a trusted input session to a trusted output session to prevent the reuse of encrypted data obtained from prior trusted output sessions. 
     According to example 1 there is provided a wearable electronic device. The wearable electronic device may include an electronic circuit board disposed at least partially in a housing. The electronic circuit board may be communicably coupled to at least one antenna that extends from a surface of the housing. The wearable electronic device may include a structure adapted to be worn on a limb, the structure including a first member physically and electrically conductively coupled to the housing, and a second member physically coupled to the housing, where the second member incorporates at least a portion of the at least one antenna. 
     Example 2 may include elements of example 1 and the wearable electronic device may be adapted to be worn on the wrist. 
     Example 3 may include elements of example 2 where the first member comprises an electrically conductive first segment physically and electrically conductively coupled to the housing. 
     Example 4 may include the elements of example 3 where the first member further comprises an electrically non-conductive second segment physically coupled to the electrically conductive first segment. 
     Example 5 may include the elements of example 3 where the second member comprises an electrically non-conductive first segment, the non-conductive first segment physically coupled to the housing and where the second member incorporates at least a portion of the at least one antenna by encapsulating the portion of the at least one antenna that extends into the electrically non-conductive segment. 
     Example 6 may include the elements of example 5 and may additionally include at least one fastener to physically couple the second segment of the first member to the second member. 
     Example 7 may include the elements of example 2, where the first member and the second member comprise electrically conductive, rigid, members and the rigid first member and the rigid second member are integrally formed with the housing. 
     Example 8 may include elements of example 7, and may additionally include an electrically conductive third member having a first end and a second end, the first end pivotably coupled to the first member via a non-electrically conductive hinge, wherein the first end of the third member does not physically contact the first member. 
     Example 9 may include elements of example 8 and may additionally include a plurality of conductors electrically conductively coupling the electronic circuit board to the first end of the third member. 
     Example 10 may include elements of example 9 where the plurality of conductors comprises a coaxial cable. 
     Example 11 may include elements of example 10 and may additionally include at least one detachable latch that physically and electrically conductively couples the second end of the third member to the second member where at least a portion of the third member provides at least a portion of the at least one antenna. 
     Example 12 may include elements of any of examples 1 through 11 where the housing comprises a metallic material having a first length measured between a first attachment point of the first member to the housing and a second attachment point of the second member to the housing, the first member comprises an electrically conductive segment having a second length measured from the first attachment point to an end point of the electrically conductive segment, and the sum of a length of the at least one antenna, the first length, and the second length equals about a wavelength of an operating frequency of the at least one antenna. 
     Example 13 may include elements of any of examples 1 through 11 where the at least one antenna includes an antenna operating at a frequency of about 1.575 GHz, a transceiver operating at about 2.4 GHz, or a transceiver operating in a frequency band of either: from about 824 MHz to about 960 MHz and from about 1710 MHz to about 2170 MHz. 
     Example 14 may include elements of any of examples 1 through 11 where the at least one antenna includes a first antenna operating at a frequency of about 1.575 GHz and a second antenna operating at a frequency band of from about 824 MHz to about 960 MHz or a frequency band of from about 1710 MHz to about 2170 MHz. 
     Example 15 may include elements of example 14 where the electronic circuit board may further include a low-pass matching circuit communicably coupled to the first antenna and a high-pass matching circuit communicably coupled to the second antenna to improve isolation between the first antenna and the second antenna. 
     According to example 16, there is provided a method of combining at least one antenna with a wearable electronic device. The method may include electrically conductively coupling the at least one antenna to an electronic circuit board disposed at least partially in a housing and extending the at least one antenna from the electronic circuit board to a location external to the housing. The method may further include physically and electrically conductively coupling a first end of a first member to a first location of the housing. The method may additionally include physically coupling a first end of a second member to a second location of the housing, the second location of the housing separated by a first distance from the first location of the housing and incorporating the at least one antenna into the second member. 
     Example 17 may include elements of example 16 where incorporating the at least one antenna into the second member may include at least partially encapsulating at least a portion of the at least one antenna in an electrically non-conductive material that forms at least a portion of the first end of the second member. 
     Example 18 may include the elements of example 16 where physically and electrically conductively coupling a first end of a first member to a first location of the housing comprises integrally forming the first end of an electrically conductive, rigid, first member with at least a portion of the housing and where physically coupling a first end of a second member to a second location of the housing comprises integrally forming the first end of an electrically conductive, rigid, second member with at least a portion of the housing. 
     Example 19 may include elements of example 18 and may additionally include physically separating and pivotably coupling a first end of an electrically conductive, rigid, third member to a second end of the first member via at least one, electrically non-conductive, hinged connection. 
     Example 20 may include elements of example 19 and may further include electrically conductively coupling the first end of the rigid third member to the electronic circuit board via a plurality of electrical conductors that extend through and are electrically isolated from at least a portion of the electrically conductive, rigid, first member. 
     Example 21 may include elements of any of examples 16 through 20 where electrically conductively coupling the at least one antenna to an electronic circuit board disposed at least partially in a housing may include electrically conductively coupling a first antenna and a second antenna to the electronic circuit board disposed at least partially in the housing. 
     Example 22 may include elements of example 21 and may further include configuring the first antenna to operate at one of: a frequency of about 1.575 GHz, a frequency of about 2.4 GHz, a frequency band of about 824 MHz to about 960 MHz or a frequency band of about 1710 MHz to about 2170 MHz. 
     Example 23 may include elements example 22, and may further include communicably coupling a low-pass matching circuit to the first antenna configured to operate at a frequency of about 1.575 GHz and communicably coupling a high-pass matching circuit to the second antenna. 
     Example 24 may include elements of any of example 16 through 20 and may further include configuring the at least one antenna to operate at a frequency band of about 824 MHz to about 960 MHz or at a frequency band of about 1710 MHz to about 2170 MHz. 
     Example 25 may include elements of any of claims  16  through  20 , and may further include configuring the at least one antenna to operate at a frequency of about 2.4 GHz 
     According to example 26, there is provided an antenna system that may include a housing defining an interior space. The antenna system may further include an electronic circuit board disposed at least partially within the interior space, the electronic circuit board including at least one conductively coupled antenna that extends from an exterior surface of the housing. The system may further include a flexible member having a first end and a second end, the flexible member including a number of conductive segments and a number of electrically non-conductive segments, the first end including an electrically conductive segment physically and electrically conductively coupled to a first external attachment point on the housing and the second end including an electrically non-conductive segment physically coupled to a second external attachment point on the housing and. The at least one antenna may extend a respective distance from the exterior of the housing and into the electrically non-conductive material at the second end of the flexible member. 
     Example 27 may include elements of example 26 where the housing and the flexible member are adapted for fitment about a limb. 
     Example 28 may include elements of example 26 where the at least one antenna extends into the second end of the flexible member and are at least partially encapsulated by the electrically non-conductive material. 
     Example 29 may include elements of example 26 where the electrically conductive segment of the first end of the flexible member is encapsulated by an electrically non-conductive material. 
     According to example 30, there is provided a wearable electronic system. The wearable electronic system may include a means for electrically conductively coupling at least one antenna to an electronic circuit board disposed at least partially in a housing. The wearable electronic system may further include a means for extending each of the number of antennas to a location external to the housing and a means for physically and electrically conductively coupling a first end of a first member to a first location of the housing. The wearable electronic system may further include a means for physically coupling a first end of a second member to a second location of the housing, the second location of the housing separated by a first distance from the first location of the housing. The system may further include a means for incorporating the at least one antenna into the second member. 
     Example 31 may include elements of example 30 where the means for incorporating the at least one antenna into the second member may include a means for at least partially encapsulating at least a portion of the at least one antenna in an electrically non-conductive material that forms at least a portion of the first end of the second member. 
     Example 32 may include elements of example 30 where the means for incorporating at least a portion of the at least one antenna may include a means for integrally forming the first end of an electrically conductive, rigid, first member with at least a portion of the housing. Further, the means for physically coupling a first end of a second member to a second location of the housing may include a means for integrally forming the first end of an electrically conductive, rigid, second member with at least a portion of the housing. 
     Example 33 may include elements of example 32 and may additionally include a means for physically separating and pivotably coupling a first end of an electrically conductive third member to a second end of the first member via at least one, electrically non-conductive, hinged connection, a means for electrically conductively coupling the first end of the electrically conductive third member to the second end of the first member; and a means for detachably attaching a second end of the electrically conductive third member to a second end of the second member via at least one electrically conductive detachable latch. 
     Example 34 may include elements of example 33 where the means for physically and electrically conductively coupling a first end of a first member to a first location of the housing may include a means for physically separating and pivotably coupling a first end of an electrically conductive, rigid, third member to a second end of the first member via at least one, electrically non-conductive, hinged connection. 
     Example 35 may include elements example 34 and may additionally include a means for electrically conductively coupling the first end of the rigid third member to the electronic circuit board via a plurality of electrical conductors that extend through and are electrically isolated from at least a portion of the electrically conductive, rigid, first member. 
     Example 36 may include elements of any of examples 30 through 35 where the means for electrically conductively coupling at least one antenna to an electronic circuit board disposed at least partially in a housing may include a means for electrically conductively coupling a first antenna and electrically conductively coupling a second antenna to the electronic circuit board disposed at least partially in the housing. 
     Example 37 may include elements of example 36 and may additionally include a means for operating the first antenna at one of: a frequency of about 1.575 GHz, a frequency of about 2.4 GHz, a frequency band of about 824 MHz to about 960 MHz or a frequency band of about 1710 MHz to about 2170 MHz. 
     Example 38 may include elements example 37 and may additionally include a means for low-pass filtering of a signal received by the first antenna operating at a frequency of about 1.575 GHz and a means for high-pass filtering of a signal received by the second antenna. 
     Example 39 may include elements of any of examples 30 through 35 and may additionally include a means for configuring the at least one antenna to operate at a frequency band of about 824 MHz to about 960 MHz or at a frequency band of about 1710 MHz to about 2170 MHz. 
     Example 40 may include elements of any of examples 30 through 35 and may additionally include a means for receiving one or more signals at an operating frequency of about 2.4 MHz communicably coupled to the at least one antenna. 
     As used in any embodiment herein, the terms “system” or “module” may refer to, for example, software, firmware and/or circuitry configured to perform any of the aforementioned operations. Software may be embodied as a software package, code, instructions, instruction sets and/or data recorded on non-transitory computer readable storage mediums. Firmware may be embodied as code, instructions or instruction sets and/or data that are hard-coded (e.g., nonvolatile) in memory devices. “Circuitry”, as used in any embodiment herein, may comprise, for example, singly or in any combination, hardwired circuitry, programmable circuitry such as computer processors comprising one or more individual instruction processing cores, state machine circuitry, and/or firmware that stores instructions executed by programmable circuitry or future computing paradigms including, for example, massive parallelism, analog or quantum computing, hardware embodiments of accelerators such as neural net processors and non-silicon implementations of the above. The modules may, collectively or individually, be embodied as circuitry that forms part of a larger system, for example, an integrated circuit (IC), system on-chip (SoC), desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, servers, smartphones, etc. 
     Any of the operations described herein may be implemented in a system that includes one or more storage mediums (e.g., non-transitory storage mediums) having stored thereon, individually or in combination, instructions that when executed by one or more processors perform the methods. Here, the processor may include, for example, a server CPU, a mobile device CPU, and/or other programmable circuitry. Also, it is intended that operations described herein may be distributed across a plurality of physical devices, such as processing structures at more than one different physical location. The storage medium may include any type of tangible medium, for example, any type of disk including hard disks, floppy disks, optical disks, compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), compact disk rewritables (CD-RWs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor devices such as read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs) such as dynamic and static RAMs, erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), flash memories, Solid State Disks (SSDs), embedded multimedia cards (eMMCs), secure digital input/output (SDIO) cards, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions. Other embodiments may be implemented as software modules executed by a programmable control device. 
     The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described (or portions thereof), and it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the claims are intended to cover all such equivalents.