Patent Description:
Multi-antenna communications has become the mainstream and a development trend of terminal devices in the future, and millimeter wave antennas are gradually introduced to terminal devices as the communications technologies evolve rapidly. In the related art, as the millimeter-wave antenna is generally in the form of an independent antenna module, it is required to provide space for accommodating the independent antenna module in the terminal device. In this case, the volume of the entire terminal device is relatively large, resulting in relatively low overall competitiveness of the terminal device.

<CIT> discloses an antenna device. The antenna device includes radio frequency transceiver circuitry, matching circuit and shell. The annulus is seted up to the shell, and the annulus is separated the exterior zone that becomes to be located outside the annulus with the shell and is located the interior zone of annulus. It has non-signal shielding material to fill in the annulus. The radio frequency transceiver circuitry electricity is connected in the exterior zone, and matching circuit electricity respectively connects in radio frequency transceiver circuitry and interior zone.

<CIT> discloses a ring-slot radiator. The ring-slot radiator has at least one radiating element having a characteristic of dual resonance, double-tuned. An open ended strip and a cavity are structured to resonate at at least two different frequencies. Or, the ring-slot structure has at least one ring-slot opening on an infinite ground plane that forms a radiating element; a probe-fed strip structure that excites the slot; another ground plane underneath the strip; and a plurality of suppression elements around the ring slot to suppress parallel plate and surface wave modes.

<CIT> discloses a millimeter wave array antenna system based on a metal fuselage. The antenna system comprises a metal fuselage and an array antenna. The array antenna is disposed on the metal fuselage. The array antenna comprises more than two slot antennas embedded in the metal fuselage. The slot antennas are coupled and fed through a micro strip arranged inside a metal shell.

<CIT> discloses a cavity backed slot antenna. The antenna comprises a conductive cavity, a conductive film carried by a thin dielectric substrate which is above the cavity. The conductive film includes one or more slots which an electric field is applied to radiate an electromagnetic energy.

<CIT> discloses a directional aerial. The directional aerial comprises a sheet of metal in which a continuous slot is provided along a closed line dividing the sheet into inner and outer members. Means for feeding high frequency energy between two points on opposite sides of the slot, shorting means for connecting the two sides of the slot electrically at a distance from the first mentioned points at two further points on opposite sides of the slot and an empty cavity surrounding the slot on one side of the metal sheet to cut off the radiation on the corresponding side of the sheet the members being electrically connected solely by the shorting means.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a terminal device antenna to resolve the problem of a large overall volume of a terminal device as the terminal device needs to be provided with space for accommodating a millimeter wave antenna.

To resolve the foregoing technical problem, the present disclosure is implemented as follows:.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a terminal device antenna, including a metal frame, where a side of the metal frame is provided with at least two slots, and the slots are ring-shaped slots; portions of the metal frame at two sides of each slot of the at least two slots are provided with two groups of feed points, each group of feed points include an antenna feed point located on a portion of the metal frame at an inner side of the slot, and a ground feed point located on another portion of metal frame at an outer side of the slot; in two groups of feed points (A , B, C , D) corresponding to each slot, a straight line determined by a group of feed points is perpendicular to a straight line determined by another group of feed points; and the metal frame is electrically connected to a ground plate in a terminal device.

A terminal device antenna according to some embodiments of the present disclosure includes a metal frame, where a side of the metal frame is provided with at least two slots, and the slots are ring-shaped slots; the metal frame on a side of each slot of the at least two slots is provided with two groups of feed points, each group of feed points include an antenna feed point on the metal frame at the inner side of the slot, and a ground feed point on the metal frame at outer side of the slot; in two groups of feed points corresponding to each slot, a straight line determined by a group of feed points is perpendicular to a straight line determined by another group of feed points; and the metal frame is electrically connected with a ground plate in the terminal device. In this way, the metal frame provided with the at least two slots is equivalent to a millimeter wave array the terminal device antenna, and the metal frame is also a radiating body of a non-millimeter wave communications antenna, thus saving space for accommodating a millimeter wave antenna, reducing a volume of the terminal device, and supporting a design with a metal appearance in a better way. In addition, it is compatible with a design with a metal appearance as a solution for another antenna, to improve overall competitiveness of the terminal device.

To describe the technical solutions in some embodiments of the present disclosure more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required for describing some embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

The following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions in some embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings in some embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparently, the described embodiments are merely some but not all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained, on the basis of the embodiments in the present disclosure, by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to <FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, it includes the terminal device antenna, the antenna includes a metal frame <NUM> and at least two slots are disposed at a side of the metal frame <NUM>, where the slots are ring-shaped slots; portions of the metal frame <NUM> at two sides of each slot of the at least two slots are provided with two groups of feed points, and each group of feed points include an antenna feed point located on a portion of the metal frame <NUM> at an inner side of the slot, and a ground feed point located on another portion of metal frame <NUM> at an outer side of the slot; and the metal frame <NUM> is electrically connected to a ground plate <NUM> in a terminal device.

In embodiment, the foregoing metal frame <NUM> may include a first side <NUM>, a second side <NUM>, a third side <NUM>, and a fourth side <NUM>, and the metal frame <NUM> may be a frame of which ends are connected or disconnected. The inside of the foregoing slot may be air, or filled with a non-conductive material. The foregoing ground plate <NUM> may be a circuit board, a metal middle cover or the like. The foregoing metal frame <NUM> is electrically connected to the ground plate <NUM> within the terminal device, so that the metal frame <NUM> can be grounded.

In this embodiment, at least two slots are disposed at a side of the metal frame <NUM>, where portions of the metal frame <NUM> at a side of each slot of the at least two slots is provided with two groups of feed points, and each group of feed points include an antenna feed point located on a portion of the metal frame <NUM> at the inner side of the slot, and a ground feed point located on another portion of the metal frame <NUM> at the outer side of the slot. A signal wire of a feed source of a millimeter wave signal is connected to the antenna feed point, and a ground wire of the feed source is connected to the ground feed point. In this way, the at least two slots are equivalent to forming a millimeter wave array antenna for radiating a millimeter wave signal. In the case that at least two slots are disposed on the third side <NUM>, a communications antenna may be as shown by the dashed line in <FIG>, and the communications antenna is composed of the third side <NUM>, a part of the second side <NUM> and a part of the fourth side <NUM>. Additionally, the millimeter wave array antenna composed of the at least two slots is a tiny slot in a radiating body of a non-millimeter wave communications antenna, so that electrical parameters of the non-millimeter wave communications antenna are not affected. It is sure that in addition to setting at least two slots on the third side <NUM>, at least two slots may also be set on the first side <NUM>, the second side <NUM> or the fourth side <NUM>, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In this way, arranging at least two slots at a side of portions of the metal frame <NUM> of the terminal device is equivalent to forming a millimeter wave array antenna, thereby saving space for accommodating a millimeter wave array antenna, skipping occupying antenna space for another antennas, reducing a volume of the terminal device, and improving overall competitiveness of the terminal device. A structure of the terminal device can be fully used as an antenna to enhance a communications effect without affecting metal texture of the terminal device. In addition, it can be avoided that performance of the millimeter wave antenna dropping significantly when the back facet of the terminal device is blocked by a metal table or when a user holds the terminal device in hand, thus providing a better user experience.

Additionally, integrating a millimeter wave array antenna into a communications antenna in the related art, such as <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or sub <NUM>, does not affect communications quality of a non-millimeter wave communications antenna. In addition, a metal frame design based on a terminal device of the present disclosure does not affect metal texture of the terminal device.

It is often difficult to make a current mainstream millimeter wave antenna design, such as an antenna-in-package (AiP) millimeter wave antenna module, to exhibit good antenna performance under a design with a metal appearance, that is, it is difficult to support the design with a metal appearance, thus reducing competitiveness of a product. Such a design pattern of this embodiment can support the design with a metal appearance in a better way, and can be compatible with a design with a metal appearance as a solution for another antenna, to enhance overall competitiveness of a product. It can resolve the problem that it is required to arrange space for accommodating a millimeter wave antenna in a terminal device, which requires a large volume of the whole terminal device, it can also resolve the problem that it is difficult for a terminal device to support a design with a metal appearance.

In this embodiment, the foregoing terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer (Tablet Personal Computer), a laptop computer (Laptop Computer), a personal digital assistant (personal digital assistant, PDA), a mobile Internet device (Mobile Internet Device, MID), a wearable device, or the like.

Alternatively, any group of feed points is located on an inner wall of the metal frame.

In this embodiment, any group of feed points is located on the inner wall of the metal frame, which firstly can facilitate setting of an antenna feed point and a ground feed point in each group of feed points, and secondly will not affect an appearance of the terminal device.

Alternatively, the at least two slots are arranged along a length direction of the metal frame <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the at least two slots are arranged along the length direction of the metal frame <NUM>, which firstly can facilitate setting of multiple slots on the metal frame <NUM>. Secondly, it is convenient for the at least two slots to form the millimeter wave array antenna, to radiate millimeter wave signals or receive millimeter wave signals.

Reference may be made to <FIG> to better understand the foregoing setting way, which is a schematic structural diagram of a side of a metal frame according to the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, at least four slots are provided on the third side <NUM> of the metal frame <NUM>, the at least four slots are arranged along the length direction of the third side <NUM> of the metal frame <NUM> to form a millimeter wave array antenna.

It is sure that a width of each slot of <FIG> may be unlimited. In the case that the inside of the slot is air, an outer circumference and an inner circumference of the slot may be unlimited. It is sure that as an alternative solution, the outer circumference of the slot may be <NUM> millimeter (mm), and the inner circumference of the slot may be <NUM>. In the case that the slot is filled with non-conductive medium, the outer circumference and the inner circumference of the slot may be adjusted according to an actual bandwidth, and cover an operating frequency band of a millimeter wave.

Alternatively, spacing between two adjacent slots is determined by isolation between the two adjacent slots and performance of a beam scanning coverage angle of an array antenna.

In this embodiment, spacing between the foregoing two adjacent slots is determined by isolation between the two adjacent slots and performance of the beam scanning coverage angle of the array antenna, with which the millimeter wave signal can work in a better way.

Alternatively, spacing between any two adjacent slots is the same.

In this embodiment, spacing between any two foregoing adjacent slots is the same, which can make an appearance more symmetrical, and ensure that the millimeter wave array antenna composed of at least two slots has better performance, with which the millimeter wave signal can work in a better way.

Alternatively, a shape of the slot is a rhombus, a circle or a regular polygon.

In this embodiment, a shape of the foregoing slot is the rhombus, the circle or the regular polygon, and the regular polygon may be a regular triangle, a square, a regular pentagon, a regular hexagon, or the like. Thus, the shape of the slot may be set according to an actual need, and different shapes may be set according to different actual situations and needs, so as to meet different needs and adapt to more different scenarios.

In this embodiment, in two groups of feed points corresponding to each slot, a straight line determined by a group of feed points is perpendicular to a straight line determined by another group of feed points.

In this embodiment, a straight line determined by a group of feed points is a straight line determined according to an antenna feed point and a ground feed point in the group. Similarly, a straight line determined by another group of feed points is also a straight line determined by an antenna feed point and a ground feed point in the group.

In this embodiment, the straight line determined by a group of feed points is perpendicular to the straight line determined by another group of feed points. As the straight line determined by a group of feed points is perpendicular to the straight line determined by another group of feed points, an orthogonal feeding mode is used for each slot with respect to electrical properties, so that a multiple input and multiple output (that is, MIMO) function can be generated to improve a data transmission rate on one hand, and wireless connection capability of a millimeter wave antenna array can be improved to reduce probability of communications disconnection and improve a communications effect and user experience on the other hand.

Alternatively, the shape of the slot is the square, different groups of feed points in two groups of feed points corresponding to each slot are respectively located on portions of the metal frame corresponding to midpoints of different sides of the slot.

In this embodiment, reference may be made to <FIG> to better understand the foregoing setting way, which is a schematic structural diagram of a side of a metal frame according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, at least four slots are provided on the third side <NUM> of the metal frame <NUM>. Take the leftmost slot as an example, an antenna feed point A, a ground feed point B, an antenna feed point C and a ground feed point D are provided on the metal frame at a side of the slot. The antenna feed point A and the ground feed point B are a group of feed points, the antenna feed point C and the ground feed point D are another group of feed points.

The antenna feed point A and the antenna feed point C are respectively located on a portion of the metal frame corresponding to midpoints of different inner sides of the slot, and the ground feed point B and the ground feed point D are respectively located on another portion of the metal frame corresponding to midpoints of different outer sides of the slot. A straight line L1 determined by the antenna feed point A and the ground feed point B is perpendicular to a straight line L2 determined by the antenna feed point C and the ground feed point D, that is, they are <NUM> degrees orthogonal. A signal wire of a feed source of a millimeter wave signal is connected to the antenna feed point A and the antenna feed point C, and a ground wire of the feed source is connected to the ground feed point B and the ground feed point D. Each slot is fed with a millimeter wave signal in a same way, and each slot has two feed signals introduced.

Refer to <FIG>, which is a schematic diagram of a return loss of a single slot according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Take the leftmost slot in <FIG> as an example. In <FIG>, (S1, <NUM>) is a return loss generated by a feed signal at the antenna feed point A and the ground feed point B, (S2,<NUM>) is a return loss generated by a feed signal at the antenna feed point C and the ground feed point D, both of which can cover <NUM> to <NUM>.

In this embodiment, a symmetrical design of an antenna shape allows the terminal device to have a better and more competitive metal appearance. With respect to electrical properties, an orthogonal feeding mode is used for each slot, so that a multiple input and multiple output function can be generated to improve a data transmission rate on one hand, and wireless connection capability of a millimeter wave antenna array can be improved to reduce probability of communications disconnection and improve a communications effect and user experience on the other hand.

Alternatively, the shape of the slot is the rhombus, different groups of feed points in two groups of feed points corresponding to each slot are respectively located on portions of the metal frame corresponding to different corners of the slot.

In this embodiment, reference may be made to <FIG> to better understand the foregoing setting way, which is a schematic structural diagram of a side of a metal frame according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, at least four slots are provided on the third side <NUM> of the metal frame <NUM>. Take the leftmost slot as an example, an antenna feed point A, a ground feed point B, an antenna feed point C and a ground feed point D are provided at a side of the slot. The antenna feed point A and the ground feed point B are a group of feed points, the antenna feed point C and the ground feed point D are another group of feed points.

The antenna feed point A and the antenna feed point C are respectively located on a portion of the metal frame corresponding to different corners of the inner side of the slot, and the ground feed point B and the ground feed point D are respectively located on another portion of the metal frame corresponding to different corners of the outer side of the slot. A straight line determined by the antenna feed point A and the ground feed point B is perpendicular to a straight line determined by the antenna feed point C and the ground feed point D, that is, they are <NUM> degrees orthogonal. A signal wire of a feed source of a millimeter wave signal is connected to the antenna feed point A and the antenna feed point C, and a ground wire of the feed source is connected to the ground feed point B and the ground feed point D. Each slot is fed with a millimeter wave signal in a same way, and a metal frame corresponding to each slot has two feed signals introduced.

It is sure that the shape of the slot may also be the circle. It is a circle, reference may be made to <FIG>, which is a schematic structural diagram of a side of a metal frame according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, at least four slots are provided on the third side <NUM> of the metal frame <NUM>. Take the leftmost slot as an example, an antenna feed point A, a ground feed point B, an antenna feed point C and a ground feed point D are provided on the metal frame at a side of the slot. The antenna feed point A and the ground feed point B are a group of feed points, the antenna feed point C and the ground feed point D are another group of feed points.

Both the antenna feed point A and the antenna feed point C are located on a portion of the metal frame at the inner side of the slot, and both the ground feed point B and the ground feed point D are located on another portions of the metal frame at the outer side of the slot. A straight line determined by the antenna feed point A and the ground feed point B is perpendicular to a straight line determined by the antenna feed point C and the ground feed point D, that is, they are <NUM> degrees orthogonal. A signal wire of a feed source of a millimeter wave signal is connected to the antenna feed point A and the antenna feed point C, and a ground wire of the feed source is connected to the ground feed point B and the ground feed point D. Each slot is fed with a millimeter wave signal in a same way, and each slot has two feed signals introduced. It is sure that as long as the straight line determined by the antenna feed point A and the ground feed point B is perpendicular to the straight line determined by the antenna feed point C and the ground feed point D, this embodiment does not limit a specific position of the antenna feed point and the ground feed point.

Alternatively, each slot of the at least two slots is filled with a non-conductive material.

In some embodiments, each slot of the foregoing at least two slots is filled with a non-conductive material. In this way, the appearance can be more aesthetic, the overall structure strength of the metal frame <NUM> is better, and the gap is directly exposed outside.

A terminal device antenna, the antenna includes a metal frame <NUM>, where a side of the metal frame <NUM> is provided with at least two slots, and the slots are ring-shaped slots; portions of the metal frame <NUM> at two sides of each slot of the at least two slots is provided with two groups of feed points, each group of feed points include an antenna feed point located on a portion of the metal frame <NUM> at the inner side of the slot, and a ground feed point located on another portion of the metal frame <NUM> at the outer side of the slot; and the metal frame <NUM> is electrically connected to a ground plate <NUM> in the terminal device. In this way, the metal frame <NUM> provided with the at least two slots is equivalent to a millimeter wave array the terminal device antenna, and the metal frame <NUM> is also a radiating body of a non-millimeter wave communications antenna, thus saving space for accommodating a millimeter wave antenna, reducing a volume of the terminal device, and supporting a design of a metal appearance in a better way. In addition, it is compatible with a design of a metal appearance as a solution for another antenna, to improve overall competitiveness of the terminal device.

Claim 1:
A terminal device antenna, comprising a metal frame (<NUM>), wherein a side of the metal frame (<NUM>) is provided with at least two slots, and the slots are ring-shaped slots;
portions of the metal frame (<NUM>) at two sides of each slot of the at least two slots are provided with two groups of feed points (A , B, C , D), and each group of feed points (A , B, C , D) include an antenna feed point (A, C) located on a portion of the metal frame (<NUM>) at an inner side of the slot, and a ground feed point (B, D) located on another portion of the metal frame (<NUM>) at an outer side of the slot; in two groups of feed points (A , B, C , D) corresponding to each slot, a straight line determined by a group of feed points is perpendicular to a straight line determined by another group of feed points; and
the metal frame (<NUM>) is configured to be electrically connected to a ground plate (<NUM>) in a terminal device.