PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10476136-B2
Application Number: US-201715655015-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic device with speaker port aligned antennas

Abstract:
An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry, a conductive housing, and a display. The display may have an active area that displays image data and an inactive area that does not display image data. The active area may completely surround the inactive area at a front face of the device. A speaker port may be aligned with the inactive area and may emit sound through the inactive area. The wireless circuitry may include first and second antenna arrays. The first array may be configured to transmit and receive wireless signals at frequencies between 10 GHz and 300 GHz through the inactive area of the display. The second array may be configured to transmit and receive wireless signals at frequencies between 10 GHz and 300 GHz through a slot in a rear wall of the conductive housing. Control circuitry may perform beam steering using the first and second arrays.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a conductive housing having first, second, third, and fourth peripheral walls, wherein the first peripheral wall opposes the second peripheral wall, the third peripheral wall opposes the fourth peripheral wall, and the third and fourth peripheral walls extend from the first peripheral wall to the second peripheral wall; 
 a display mounted to the conductive housing, wherein the display comprises an active region and an inactive region, the active region has pixel circuitry that displays images, and the inactive region has:
 a first edge defined by a first portion of the active region, 
 a second edge that is defined by a second portion of the active region and that opposes the first edge, and 
 a third edge that is defined by a third portion of the active region and that extends from the first edge to the second edge; 
 
 a speaker aligned with the inactive region of the display and configured to emit sound through the inactive region of the display, wherein the speaker is interposed between the first peripheral wall and the third edge of the inactive region, the first portion of the active region is interposed between the first edge of the inactive region and the third peripheral wall, the second portion of the active region is interposed between the second edge of the inactive region and the fourth peripheral wall, and the third portion of the active region is interposed between the third edge of the inactive region and the second peripheral wall; and 
 an antenna aligned with the inactive region of the display and configured to convey wireless signals at a frequency greater than 10 GHz through the inactive region of the display. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a dielectric substrate, wherein the antenna is mounted to the dielectric substrate; and 
 transceiver circuitry mounted to the dielectric substrate. 
 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 2 , further comprising:
 an additional antenna on the substrate, wherein the conductive housing comprises a dielectric-filled opening aligned with the additional antenna and the additional antenna is configured to convey additional wireless signals at a frequency greater than 10 GHz through the dielectric-filled opening. 
 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 3 , wherein the substrate has opposing first and second sides, the antenna is formed at the first side of the substrate, the additional antenna is formed at the second side of the substrate, and the speaker is interposed between the substrate and the inactive region of the display. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 3 , wherein the substrate has opposing first and second sides and the antenna and the additional antenna are both formed at the first side of the substrate. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 5 , wherein the substrate is folded around the speaker and the speaker is interposed between the first and second antennas. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 3 , wherein the substrate has opposing first and second sides, the antenna is formed at the first side of the substrate, the additional antenna is formed at the second side of the substrate, and the substrate comprises a first bend in a first direction around a first axis and a second bend in a second direction around a second axis parallel to the first axis. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 3 , further comprising:
 a first phased antenna array that includes the antenna, wherein the first phased antenna array is configured to convey the wireless signals through the inactive region of the display; 
 a second phased antenna array that includes the additional antenna, wherein the second phased antenna array is configured to convey the additional wireless signals through the dielectric-filled opening in the conductive housing; and 
 control circuitry that is configured to control the first and second phased antenna arrays to perform beam steering operations. 
 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , further comprising a sensor selected from the group consisting of: an ambient light sensor, an infrared light sensor, and a proximity sensor, wherein the sensor is aligned with the inactive region of the display. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the display comprises a display module having a plurality of dielectric layers and a transparent cover layer formed over the display module, the pixel circuitry is formed on the plurality of dielectric layers within the active region of the display, a first opening is formed in the plurality of dielectric layers within the inactive region of the display, a second opening is formed in the transparent cover layer within the inactive region of the display, and the first and second openings are aligned with the speaker and the antenna. 
     
     
       11. An electronic device, comprising:
 a display having an active region and an inactive region, wherein the active region defines at least first and second opposing edges of the inactive region; 
 a housing having a conductive housing wall that opposes the display, wherein a dielectric-filled opening is formed in the conductive housing wall; 
 a dielectric substrate; 
 a first phased array of antennas on the dielectric substrate that is configured to convey first wireless signals through the inactive region of the display; and 
 a second phased array of antennas on the dielectric substrate that is configured to convey second wireless signals through the dielectric-filled opening in the conductive housing wall. 
 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 11 , further comprising:
 transceiver circuitry for the first and second phased arrays of antennas mounted to the dielectric substrate. 
 
     
     
       13. The electronic device defined in  claim 12 , wherein the first phased array of antennas comprises a first phased array of millimeter wave antennas, the second phased array of antennas comprises a second phased array of millimeter wave antennas, the first wireless signals comprise first millimeter wave signals, and the second wireless signals comprise second millimeter wave signals. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a speaker coil aligned with the inactive region of the display, wherein the first phased array of antennas is configured to convey the first wireless signals through the speaker coil. 
 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14 , wherein the display comprises a display module and a transparent cover layer over the display module, further comprising:
 a sensor aligned with the inactive region of the display and configured to receive light through the display cover layer. 
 
     
     
       16. An electronic device, comprising:
 a display having an inactive area that does not display image data and an active area that displays image data and completely surrounds the inactive area at a face of the electronic device; and 
 an antenna aligned with the inactive area of the display, wherein the antenna is configured to transmit and receive wireless signals through the inactive area of the display. 
 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 16 , wherein the electronic device has opposing first and second ends, further comprising:
 a conductive housing having a first peripheral sidewall at the first end and a second peripheral sidewall at the second end, wherein the active area of the display comprises a first region interposed between the first peripheral sidewall and the inactive area and a second region interposed between the second peripheral sidewall and the inactive area. 
 
     
     
       18. The electronic device defined in  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a phased antenna array that includes the antenna, wherein the phased antenna array is configured to transmit and receive the wireless signals through the inactive area of the display. 
 
     
     
       19. An electronic device having opposing first and second ends, the electronic device comprising:
 a display having an inactive area that does not display image data and having an active area that displays image data, the active area defining an edge of the inactive area at a face of the electronic device; 
 a phased antenna array having an antenna aligned with the inactive area of the display; 
 a conductive housing having a first peripheral sidewall at the first end and a second peripheral sidewall at the second end, the edge of the inactive area being interposed between the inactive area and the first peripheral sidewall, the inactive area being interposed between the edge of the inactive area and the second peripheral sidewall, and the phased antenna array being configured to transmit and receive radio-frequency signals at a frequency greater than 10 GHz through the inactive area of the display; 
 a first additional antenna having a first antenna resonating element arm formed from the first peripheral sidewall; 
 a second additional antenna having a second antenna resonating element arm formed from the second peripheral sidewall; and 
 transceiver circuitry configured to transmit and receive cellular telephone signals using the first and second additional antennas. 
 
     
     
       20. The electronic device defined in  claim 19 , wherein the display has a display cover layer with an opening, the opening is aligned with the inactive area, the active area defines at least two additional edges of the inactive area, and the electronic device further comprises a speaker aligned with the inactive area and an image sensor aligned with the inactive area.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with wireless communications circuitry. 
     Electronic devices often include wireless communications circuitry. For example, cellular telephones, computers, and other devices often contain antennas and wireless transceivers for supporting wireless communications. 
     It may be desirable to support wireless communications in millimeter wave and centimeter wave communications bands. Millimeter wave communications, which are sometimes referred to as extremely high frequency (EHF) communications, and centimeter wave communications involve communications at frequencies of about 10-300 GHz. Operation at these frequencies may support high data rates, but may raise significant challenges. For example, millimeter wave communications are often line-of-sight communications and can be characterized by substantial attenuation during signal propagation. In addition, the presence of conductive structures can influence antenna performance. For example, the presence of conductive housing structures or other device structures may limit the volume available for implementing antennas, thereby adversely affecting antenna bandwidth, and/or may block the antennas from wirelessly communicating with external communications equipment. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide electronic devices with improved wireless communications circuitry such as communications circuitry that supports communications at frequencies greater than 10 GHz. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry, a conductive housing, and a display. The display may have an active area that includes pixel circuitry that displays image data and an inactive area that does not display image data. The active area may completely surround the inactive area at a front face of the device. A speaker port may be aligned with the inactive area and may emit sound through the inactive area. 
     The wireless circuitry may include one or more antennas and transceiver circuitry such as millimeter wave transceiver circuitry. The antennas may be organized in beam steering arrays. Multiple beam steering arrays may be formed from metal traces on one or more sides of a substrate such as a printed circuit. The millimeter wave transceiver circuitry may be mounted to the substrate. The printed circuit may be mounted within the conductive housing so that a first array is aligned with the inactive area of the display and a second array is aligned with a dielectric-filled opening in a rear wall of the conductive housing. The first array may transmit and receive wireless signals at frequencies between 10 GHz and 300 GHz through the inactive region of the display. The second array may transmit and receive wireless signals at frequencies between 10 GHz and 300 GHz through the dielectric-filled opening in the rear wall. 
     The substrate may be flat or may include one or more bends. If desired, the substrate may be flat and the first and second arrays may be formed on opposing sides of the substrate. If desired, the first and second arrays may be formed on the same side of the substrate and the substrate may be folded around a speaker associated with the speaker port or other components aligned with the inactive area of the display. If desired, the first and second arrays may be formed on opposing sides of the substrate and the substrate may include multiple bends around the speaker. 
     Control circuitry in the electronic device may perform beam steering operations using the first and second arrays. When configured in this way, the first and second arrays may transmit and receive wireless signals at frequencies between 10 GHz and 300 GHz over a full sphere around the electronic device, despite the presence of conductive housing structures and active display components in the vicinity of the wireless circuitry. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device with wireless communications circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device with wireless communications circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of an illustrative electronic device with wireless communications circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram of an illustrative transceiver circuit and antenna in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an illustrative patch antenna that may be used in an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an illustrative integrated antenna module having one or more antenna arrays in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having an integrated antenna module with an antenna array that is aligned with a speaker port and an inactive region of a display in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having an integrated antenna module that is wrapped around speaker components in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having an integrated antenna module that is folded over speaker components in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An electronic device such as electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  may contain wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include one or more antennas. The antennas may include phased antenna arrays that are used for handling millimeter wave and centimeter wave communications. Millimeter wave communications, which are sometimes referred to as extremely high frequency (EHF) communications, involve signals at 60 GHz or other frequencies between about 30 GHz and 300 GHz. Centimeter wave communications involve signals at frequencies between about 10 GHz and 30 GHz. If desired, device  10  may also contain wireless communications circuitry for handling satellite navigation system signals, cellular telephone signals, local wireless area network signals, near-field communications, light-based wireless communications, or other wireless communications. 
     Electronic device  10  may be a computing device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wristwatch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a device embedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user&#39;s head, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which electronic equipment with a display is mounted in a kiosk or automobile, equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices, or other electronic equipment. Other configurations may be used for device  10  if desired. The example of  FIG. 1  is merely illustrative. 
     Device  10  may include a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12 , which may sometimes be referred to as an enclosure or case, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramics, fiber composites, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of any two or more of these materials. In some scenarios, housing  12  may be formed from dielectric or other low-conductivity material. In other situations, housing  12  or at least some of the structures that make up housing  12  may be formed from metal elements. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing illustrative components that may be used in device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , device  10  may include storage and processing circuitry such as control circuitry  14 . Control circuitry  14  may include storage such as hard disk drive storage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solid state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in control circuitry  14  may be used to control the operation of device  10 . This processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processor integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits, etc. 
     Control circuitry  14  may be used to run software on device  10 , such as internet browsing applications, voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) telephone call applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, etc. To support interactions with external equipment, control circuitry  14  may be used in implementing communications protocols. Communications protocols that may be implemented using control circuitry  14  include internet protocols, wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocols—sometimes referred to as WiFi®), protocols for other short-range wireless communications links such as the Bluetooth® protocol or other WPAN protocols, IEEE 802.11ad protocols, cellular telephone protocols, MIMO protocols, antenna diversity protocols, satellite navigation system protocols, etc. 
     Device  10  may include input-output circuitry  16 . Input-output circuitry  16  may include input-output devices  18 . Input-output devices  18  may be used to allow data to be supplied to device  10  and to allow data to be provided from device  10  to external devices. Input-output devices  18  may include user interface devices, data port devices, and other input-output components. For example, input-output devices may include touch screens, displays without touch sensor capabilities, buttons, joysticks, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, microphones, cameras, speakers, status indicators, light sources, audio jacks and other audio port components, digital data port devices, light sensors (e.g., infrared light sensors, ambient light sensors, etc.), accelerometers or other components that can detect motion and device orientation relative to the Earth, capacitance sensors, proximity sensors (e.g., a capacitive proximity sensor and/or an infrared proximity sensor), magnetic sensors, and other sensors and input-output components. 
     Input-output circuitry  16  may include wireless communications circuitry  34  for communicating wirelessly with external equipment. Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, low-noise input amplifiers, passive RF components, one or more antennas  40 , transmission lines, and other circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications). 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include transceiver circuitry  20  for handling various radio-frequency communications bands. For example, circuitry  34  may include transceiver circuitry  22 ,  24 ,  26 , and  28 . 
     Transceiver circuitry  24  may be wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver circuitry. Transceiver circuitry  24  may handle 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands for WiFi® (IEEE 802.11) communications and may handle the 2.4 GHz Bluetooth® communications band. 
     Circuitry  34  may use cellular telephone transceiver circuitry  26  for handling wireless communications in frequency ranges such as a communications band from 700 to 960 MHz, a communications band from 1710 to 2170 MHz, and a communications band from 2300 to 2700 MHz or other communications bands between 700 MHz and 4000 MHz or other suitable frequencies (as examples). Circuitry  26  may handle voice data and non-voice data. 
     Millimeter wave transceiver circuitry  28  (sometimes referred to as extremely high frequency (EHF) transceiver circuitry  28  or transceiver circuitry  28 ) may support communications at frequencies between about 10 GHz and 300 GHz. For example, transceiver circuitry  28  may support communications in Extremely High Frequency (EHF) or millimeter wave communications bands between about 30 GHz and 300 GHz and/or in centimeter wave communications bands between about 10 GHz and 30 GHz (sometimes referred to as Super High Frequency (SHF) bands). As examples, transceiver circuitry  28  may support communications in an IEEE K communications band between about 18 GHz and 27 GHz, a K a  communications band between about 26.5 GHz and 40 GHz, a K n  communications band between about 12 GHz and 18 GHz, a V communications band between about 40 GHz and 75 GHz, a W communications band between about 75 GHz and 110 GHz, or any other desired frequency band between approximately 10 GHz and 300 GHz. If desired, circuitry  28  may support IEEE 802.11ad communications at 60 GHz and/or 5 th  generation mobile networks or 5 th  generation wireless systems (5G) communications bands between 27 GHz and 90 GHz. Circuitry  28  may be formed from one or more integrated circuits (e.g., multiple integrated circuits mounted on a common printed circuit in a system-in-package device, one or more integrated circuits mounted on different substrates, etc.). While circuitry  28  is sometimes referred to herein as millimeter wave transceiver circuitry  28 , millimeter wave transceiver circuitry  28  may handle communications at any desired communications bands at frequencies between 10 GHz and 300 GHz (e.g., in millimeter wave communications bands, centimeter wave communications bands, etc.). 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include satellite navigation system circuitry such as Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver circuitry  22  for receiving GPS signals at 1575 MHz or for handling other satellite positioning data (e.g., GLONASS signals at 1609 MHz). Satellite navigation system signals for receiver  22  are received from a constellation of satellites orbiting the earth. 
     In satellite navigation system links, cellular telephone links, and other long-range links, wireless signals are typically used to convey data over thousands of feet or miles. In WiFi® and Bluetooth® links at 2.4 and 5 GHz and other short-range wireless links, wireless signals are typically used to convey data over tens or hundreds of feet. Extremely high frequency (EHF) wireless transceiver circuitry  28  may convey signals over these short distances that travel between transmitter and receiver over a line-of-sight path. To enhance signal reception for millimeter and centimeter wave communications, phased antenna arrays and beam steering techniques may be used (e.g., schemes in which antenna signal phase and/or magnitude for each antenna in an array is adjusted to perform beam steering). The phased antenna arrays may include, for example, two or more antennas arranged in a grid having rows and columns or in other patterns (e.g., a pattern of concentric rings, circular patterns, etc.). Antenna diversity schemes may also be used to ensure that the antennas that have become blocked or that are otherwise degraded due to the operating environment of device  10  can be switched out of use and higher-performing antennas used in their place. 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  can include circuitry for other short-range and long-range wireless links if desired. For example, wireless communications circuitry  34  may include circuitry for receiving television and radio signals, paging system transceivers, near field communications (NFC) circuitry, etc. 
     Antennas  40  in wireless communications circuitry  34  may be formed using any suitable antenna types. For example, antennas  40  may include antennas with resonating elements that are formed from patch antenna structures, loop antenna structures, inverted-F antenna structures, slot antenna structures, planar inverted-F antenna structures, monopole antenna structures, dipole antenna structures, helical antenna structures, Yagi (Yagi-Uda) antenna structures, hybrids of these designs, etc. If desired, one or more of antennas  40  may be cavity-backed antennas. Different types of antennas may be used for different bands and combinations of bands. For example, one type of antenna may be used in forming a local wireless link antenna and another type of antenna may be used in forming a remote wireless link antenna. Dedicated antennas may be used for receiving satellite navigation system signals or, if desired, antennas  40  can be configured to receive both satellite navigation system signals and signals for other communications bands (e.g., wireless local area network signals and/or cellular telephone signals). Antennas  40  can one or more antennas such as antennas arranged in one or more phased antenna arrays for handling millimeter and centimeter wave communications. 
     Transmission line paths may be used to route antenna signals within device  10 . For example, transmission line paths may be used to couple antenna structures  40  to transceiver circuitry  20 . Transmission lines in device  10  may include coaxial probes realized by metalized vias, microstrip transmission lines, stripline transmission lines, edge-coupled microstrip transmission lines, edge-coupled stripline transmission lines, coaxial cable structures, waveguide structures, transmission lines formed from combinations of transmission lines of these types, etc. Filter circuitry, switching circuitry, phase shifter circuitry, amplifier circuitry, impedance matching circuitry, and other circuitry may be interposed within the transmission lines, if desired. 
     In devices such as handheld devices, the presence of an external object such as the hand of a user or a table or other surface on which a device is resting has a potential to block wireless signals such as millimeter wave signals. Accordingly, it may be desirable to incorporate multiple antennas or phased antenna arrays into device  10 , each of which is placed in a different location within device  10 . With this type of arrangement, an unblocked antenna or phased antenna array may be switched into use. In scenarios where a phased antenna array is formed in device  10 , once switched into use, the phased antenna array may use beam steering to optimize wireless performance. Configurations in which antennas from one or more different locations in device  10  are operated together may also be used. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of electronic device  10  having antennas for conveying signals at frequencies greater than 10 GHz such as millimeter wave signals. As shown in  FIG. 2 , device  10  may include a display such as display  56  mounted to housing  12 . Display  56  may be mounted on the front face of device  10  (e.g., display  56  may include a cover layer that forms an exterior surface of device  10 ). Display  56  may be a touch screen that incorporates capacitive or resistive touch electrodes or may be insensitive to touch. The rear face of housing  12  (i.e., the face of device  10  opposing the front face of device  10 ) may have a planar housing wall. The rear housing wall may have slots that pass entirely through the rear housing wall and that therefore separate housing wall portions (and/or sidewall portions) of housing  12  from each other. Housing  12  (e.g., the rear housing wall, sidewalls, etc.) may also have shallow grooves that do not pass entirely through housing  12 . The slots and grooves may be filled with plastic or other dielectric. If desired, portions of housing  12  that have been separated from each other (e.g., by a through slot) may be joined by internal conductive structures (e.g., sheet metal or other metal members that bridge the slot). 
     Display  56  may include pixels formed from light-emitting diodes (LEDs), organic LEDs (OLEDs), plasma cells, electrowetting pixels, electrophoretic pixels, liquid crystal display (LCD) components, or other suitable pixel structures. A display cover layer such as a layer of clear glass or plastic may cover the surface of display  56  or the outermost layer of display  56  may be formed from a color filter layer, thin-film transistor layer, or other display layer. Buttons such as button  58  may pass through openings in the cover layer or may be formed under the cover layer. 
     The cover layer may have openings such as an opening for speaker port  50 . Speaker port  50  may include, for example, an ear speaker that plays audio for a user of device  10  (e.g., speaker port  50  may be located adjacent to a user&#39;s ear when the user is holding device  10  to their head to conduct a telephone call or may form a right or left stereo speaker when device  10  is held in a landscape orientation). Speaker port  50  may be located at an opposite end of housing  12  from button  58  and microphone components in device  10  (e.g., speaker port  50  may be formed at the upper end of device  10  whereas button  58  and the microphone of device  10  may be formed at the lower end of device  10 ). 
     Housing  12  may include peripheral housing structures. The peripheral housing structures may run around the periphery of device  10  and display  56 . In configurations in which device  10  and display  56  have a rectangular shape with four edges, the peripheral housing structures may be implemented using peripheral housing structures that have a rectangular ring shape with four corresponding edges (as an example). The peripheral housing structures or part of the peripheral housing structures may serve as a bezel for display  56  (e.g., a cosmetic trim that surrounds all four sides of display  56  and/or that helps hold display  56  to device  10 ). The peripheral housing structures may also, if desired, form sidewall structures for device  10  (e.g., by forming a metal band with vertical sidewalls, curved sidewalls, etc.). 
     The peripheral housing structures may be formed of a conductive material such as metal and may therefore sometimes be referred to as peripheral conductive housing structures, conductive housing structures, peripheral metal structures, or a peripheral conductive housing member (as examples). The peripheral housing structures may be formed from a metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, or other suitable materials. One, two, or more than two separate structures may be used in forming the peripheral housing structures. 
     It is not necessary for the peripheral housing structures to have a uniform cross-section. For example, the top portion of the peripheral housing structures may, if desired, have an inwardly protruding lip that helps hold display  56  in place. The bottom portion of the peripheral housing structures may also have an enlarged lip (e.g., in the plane of the rear surface of device  10 ). The peripheral housing structures may have substantially straight vertical sidewalls, may have sidewalls that are curved, or may have other suitable shapes. In some configurations (e.g., when the peripheral housing structures serve as a bezel for display  14 ), the peripheral housing structures may run around the lip of housing  12  (i.e., the peripheral housing structures may cover only the edge of housing  12  that surrounds display  56  and not the rest of the sidewalls of housing  12 ). 
     If desired, housing  12  may have a conductive rear surface. For example, housing  12  may be formed from a metal such as stainless steel or aluminum. The rear surface of housing  12  may lie in a plane that is parallel to display  56 . In configurations for device  10  in which the rear surface of housing  12  is formed from metal, it may be desirable to form parts of the peripheral conductive housing structures as integral portions of the housing structures forming the rear surface of housing  12 . For example, a rear housing wall of device  10  may be formed from a planar metal structure and portions of the peripheral housing structures on the sides of housing  12  may be formed as flat or curved vertically extending integral metal portions of the planar metal structure. Housing structures such as these may, if desired, be machined from a block of metal and/or may include multiple metal pieces that are assembled together to form housing  12 . The planar rear wall of housing  12  may have one or more, two or more, or three or more portions. 
     Display  56  may have an array of pixels that form an active area AA that displays images for a user of device  10 . If desired, active area AA may also include touch screen circuitry (e.g., touch sensor circuitry) that is configured to receive a touch input from a user. In order to maximize the viewable area of display  56  for a user of device  10 , active area AA may extend between two, three, or all four of the edges of housing  12  (e.g., from the left side to the right side and from the bottom side to the top side of the front face of device  10  as shown in  FIG. 2 ). 
     In order to accommodate speaker port  50  (sometimes referred to herein as ear speaker  50  or ear speaker port  50 ) and/or other device components, display  56  may include an inactive area such as inactive area IA that overlaps (e.g., aligns with) speaker port  50  (e.g., the entirety of speaker port  50  may lie within the outline of inactive area IA). Inactive area IA (sometimes referred to herein as inactive region IA) may be free from the active circuitry of display  56  such as display pixels, touch sensor circuitry (e.g., touch sensor electrodes), or other active components. This may allow space within display  56  for forming speaker port  50  even though active area AA extends between each edge of housing  12 . When configured in this way, active area AA may fill substantially all of the area of device  10  between the peripheral conductive housing structures (e.g., between the sidewalls of housing  12 ) except for inactive area IA at speaker port  50 . 
     Inactive area IA may be surrounded by active area AA of display  56  (e.g., completely surrounded on four sides at the front face of device  10  such that opposing first and second edges and opposing third and fourth edges of area IA are defined by area AA). For example, different portions of active area AA may be interposed between inactive area IA and each of the four sidewalls of device  10  at the front face of device  10 . In other words, display  56  may display image data (e.g., pixels in active area AA may display images) and, if desired, may gather touch sensor input along all sides of inactive area IA (e.g., on all sides surrounding speaker port  50 ) whereas inactive area IA itself does not display images or gather touch sensor input. This may serve to maximize the size of active area AA across the front face of device  10  while still accommodating an ear speaker (e.g., so that audio data can still be emitted by device  10  through speaker port  50 ), for example. 
     Housing  12  may include internal conductive structures such as metal frame members and a planar conductive housing member (sometimes referred to as a midplate) that spans the walls of housing  12  (i.e., a substantially rectangular sheet formed from one or more parts that is welded or otherwise connected between opposing sides of the sidewalls of housing  12 ). Device  10  may also include conductive structures such as printed circuit boards, components mounted on printed circuit boards, and other internal conductive structures. These conductive structures, which may be used in forming a ground plane in device  10 , may be located in the center of housing  12  and may extend under active area AA and inactive area IA of display  56 , for example. 
     If desired, openings may be formed within the conductive structures of device  10  (e.g., between the peripheral conductive housing structures of housing  12  and opposing conductive ground structures such as conductive housing midplate or rear housing wall structures, a printed circuit board, or other components in device  10 ). These openings, which may sometimes be referred to as gaps, may be filled with air, plastic, and other dielectrics and may be used in forming slot antenna resonating elements for one or more antennas  40  in device  10  or may be used in forming antenna windows for one or more antennas located within housing  12 . 
     Conductive housing structures and other conductive structures in device  10  such as a midplate, traces on a printed circuit board, display  56 , and conductive electronic components may serve as a ground plane for the antennas in device  10 . In general, device  10  may include any suitable number of antennas  40  (e.g., one or more, two or more, three or more, four or more, etc.). Some of the antennas  40  in device  10  may be located at opposing first and second ends of an elongated device housing (e.g., at different ends of device  10  as taken along the Y-axis of  FIG. 2 ), along one or more edges of a device housing, in the center of a device housing, in other suitable locations, or in one or more of these locations. The arrangement of  FIG. 2  is merely illustrative. 
     Portions of the peripheral conductive housing structures of housing  12  may be provided with peripheral gap structures. For example, the peripheral conductive housing structures may be provided with one or more gaps such as gap  52 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The gaps in the peripheral housing structures may be filled with dielectric such as polymer, ceramic, glass, air, other dielectric materials, or combinations of these materials. Gaps such as gap  52  may divide the peripheral housing structures into one or more peripheral conductive segments. There may be, for example, two peripheral conductive segments in the peripheral housing structures (e.g., in an arrangement with one gap  52 ), three peripheral conductive segments (e.g., in an arrangement with three of gaps  52 ), four peripheral conductive segments (e.g., in an arrangement with four gaps  52 , etc.). The segments of the peripheral conductive housing structures that are formed in this way may form parts of one or more antennas  40  in device  10  (e.g., may form a resonating element and/or ground plane for one or more antennas  40 ). 
     If desired, openings in housing  12  such as grooves that extend partway or completely through housing  12  may extend across the width of the rear wall of housing  12  and may penetrate through the rear wall of housing  12  to divide the rear wall into different portions. These grooves may also extend into the peripheral housing structures and may form antenna slots, gaps  52 , and other structures in device  10 . Polymer or other dielectric may fill these grooves and other housing openings. In some situations, housing openings that form antenna slots and other structure may be filled with a dielectric such as air. 
     Antennas  40  in device  10  may be used to support any communications bands of interest. For example, device  10  may include antenna structures for supporting local area network communications, voice and data cellular telephone communications, global positioning system (GPS) communications or other satellite navigation system communications, Bluetooth® communications, etc. In one suitable arrangement, device  10  may include a first antenna at the upper end of housing  12  and a second antenna at the lower end of housing  12  that each cover cellular telephone communications bands. The first and second antennas may both have antenna resonating element arms formed from segments of housing  12 . Other antennas such as arrays of antennas for conveying signals at frequencies greater than 10 GHz may be formed within housing  12 . 
     In configurations in which housing  12  is formed entirely or nearly entirely from a dielectric, antennas  40  internal to housing  12  may transmit and receive antenna signals through any suitable portion of the dielectric. In configurations in which housing  12  is formed from a conductive material such as metal, conductive structures in device  10  such as metal portions of housing  12  and conductive components within display active area AA may block or disrupt wireless communications performed by antennas  40  within housing  12 . In order to accommodate antennas internal to housing  12 , openings may be formed in the metal portions of housing  12 . 
       FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of housing  12  of device  10  of  FIG. 2  showing how housing  12  may include openings for accommodating internal antennas within housing  12 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , housing  12  of device  10  may include a rear wall portion  12 R and sidewall portions (edge portions)  12 E (sometimes referred to herein as peripheral conductive structures  12 E or peripheral conductive housing structures  12 E). Rear wall portion  12 R and sidewall portion  12 E of housing  12  may be formed from metal (e.g., to enhance the aesthetic and structural properties of device  10 ). Rear wall portion  12 R and sidewall portion  12 E may be formed from a single integral piece of metal or may be formed from separate pieces of metal, for example. Rear wall portion  12 R may lie in a plane parallel to the face of display  56  at the front side of device  10 , for example. 
     An opening such as opening  60  may be formed within rear wall  12 R. Opening  60  may be plastic-filled opening or other dielectric filled opening. One or more antennas  40  within device  10  (e.g., a phased array of antennas  40  for conveying wireless signals at frequencies greater than 10 GHz) may be mounted in alignment with opening  60  (e.g., within region  61 ). Opening  60  may sometimes be referred to as a dielectric antenna window, dielectric gap, dielectric-filled opening, dielectric-filled slot, elongated dielectric opening region, etc., and may allow antenna signals to be transmitted to external equipment from antennas  40  mounted within the interior of device  10  and may allow internal antennas  40  to receive antenna signals from external equipment. 
     The example of  FIG. 3  is merely illustrative. If desired, there may be more than one opening  60  for accommodating internal antennas  40 . Opening  60  may have any desired shape. Opening  60  may extend across the entire width of device  10  (e.g., between two gaps  52  in housing  12  as shown in  FIG. 2 ) or across some of the width of device  10 . Gaps  52  may serve as antenna windows for internal antennas  40  if desired. 
     While slots such as slot  60  of  FIG. 3  may allow antennas  40  within device  10  to freely convey wireless signals out of the back side of device  10 , conductive components (e.g., display pixel circuitry, touch sensor electrodes, etc.) within active area AA of display  56  may block wireless signals at the front face of device  10 . If desired, one or more internal antennas  40  (e.g., an array of antennas for conveying wireless signals at frequencies greater than 10 GHz) may be aligned with inactive area IA of display  56 . Because inactive area IA is free of the conductive components that are used to form active area AA and that serve to block wireless signals, wireless signals for these antennas  40  may be freely conveyed through the front face of device  10  via inactive area IA. This may allow internal antennas  40  within device  10  to provide coverage over an entire sphere around device  10  despite the presence of conductive housing structures  12  and active circuitry in display  56 . 
     A schematic diagram of an antenna  40  for conveying wireless signals at frequencies from 10 GHz to 300 GHz or another antenna  40  coupled to transceiver circuitry  20  (e.g., millimeter wave transceiver circuitry  28  and/or other transceiver circuitry  20  of  FIG. 1 ) is shown in  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , radio-frequency transceiver circuitry  20  may be coupled to antenna feed  102  of antenna  40  using transmission line  92 . Antenna feed  102  may include a positive antenna feed terminal such as positive antenna feed terminal  98  and may have a ground antenna feed terminal such as ground antenna feed terminal  100 . Transmission line  92  may be formed form metal traces on a printed circuit or other conductive structures and may have a positive transmission line signal path such as path  94  that is coupled to terminal  98  and a ground transmission line signal path such as path  96  that is coupled to terminal  100 . Transmission line paths such as path  92  may be used to route antenna signals within device  10 . For example, transmission line paths may be used to couple antenna structures such as one or more antennas in an array of antennas to transceiver circuitry  90 . Transmission lines in device  10  may include coaxial cable paths, coaxial probes, waveguide structures, microstrip transmission lines, stripline transmission lines, edge-coupled microstrip transmission lines, edge-coupled stripline transmission lines, transmission lines formed from combinations of transmission lines of these types, etc. Filter circuitry, switching circuitry, impedance matching circuitry, phase shifting circuitry, amplifier circuitry, and other circuitry may be interposed within transmission line  92  and/or circuits such as these may be incorporated into antenna  40  (e.g., to support antenna tuning, to support operation in desired frequency bands, etc.). 
     Device  10  may contain multiple antennas  40 . The antennas may be used together or one of the antennas may be switched into use while other antenna(s) are switched out of use. If desired, control circuitry  14  may be used to select an optimum antenna to use in device  10  in real time and/or to select an optimum setting for adjustable wireless circuitry associated with one or more of antennas  40 . Antenna adjustments may be made to tune antennas to perform in desired frequency ranges, to perform beam steering with a phased antenna array, and to otherwise optimize antenna performance. Sensors may be incorporated into antennas  40  to gather sensor data in real time that is used in adjusting antennas  40 . 
     In some configurations, antennas  40  may include antenna arrays (e.g., phased antenna arrays to implement beam steering functions). For example, the antennas that are used in handling millimeter wave signals or other signals at frequencies between 10 GHz and 300 GHz for transceiver circuitry  28  may be implemented within phased antenna arrays. The radiating elements in a phased antenna array for supporting wireless communications at frequencies between 10 GHz and 300 GHz (e.g., millimeter wave communications) may be patch antennas, dipole antennas, dipole antennas with directors and reflectors in addition to dipole antenna resonating elements (sometimes referred to as Yagi antennas or beam antennas), or other suitable antenna elements. Transceiver circuitry can be integrated with the phased antenna arrays to form integrated phased antenna array and transceiver circuit modules. 
     An illustrative patch antenna is shown in  FIG. 5 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , patch antenna  40  may have a patch antenna resonating element  104  that is separated from and parallel to a ground plane such as antenna ground plane  106 . Arm  108  may be coupled between patch antenna resonating element  104  and positive antenna feed terminal  98  of antenna feed  102 . Ground antenna feed terminal  100  of feed  102  may be coupled to ground plane  106 . 
     Patch antenna resonating element  104  and ground  106  may be formed from conductive traces patterned on a dielectric substrate such as layers of rigid or flexible printed circuit board substrate, metal foil, sheet metal (e.g., strips of sheet metal embedded in molded plastic or attached to dielectric supports using adhesive, etc.), electronic device housing structures, or any other desired conductive structures. The length of the sides of patch antenna resonating element  104  (sometimes referred to herein as patch  104 ) may be selected so that antenna  40  resonates at a desired operating frequency. For example, the sides of element  104  may each have a length that is approximately equal to half of the wavelength of the signals conveyed by antenna  40 . 
     The example of  FIG. 5  is merely illustrative. If desired, multiple feeds  102  may be coupled to the patch antenna of  FIG. 5  to cover other polarizations (e.g., horizontal and vertical polarizations, elliptical or circular polarizations, etc.). Patch  104  may have any desired shape. 
     Antennas of the types shown in  FIG. 5  and/or other antennas  40  (e.g., dipole antennas, Yagi antennas, etc.) may be used in forming antennas for handling wireless signals between 10 GHz and 300 GHz (e.g., millimeter wave antennas for handling millimeter wave signals). Phased antenna arrays of these types may be formed on an integrated phased antenna array and transceiver module (sometimes referred to herein as an integrated antenna module or integrated antenna array module). 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an illustrative integrated antenna module for handling signals at frequencies greater than 10 GHz (e.g., millimeter wave signals) or other signals. As shown in  FIG. 6 , device  10  may be provided with an integrated antenna module such as module  109 . Module  109  may include one or more antennas  40  (e.g., patch antennas of the type shown in  FIG. 5  or other suitable antennas for conveying signals between 10 GHz and 300 GHz) formed on a dielectric substrate such as substrate  112 . 
     Substrate  112  may be, for example, a rigid printed circuit board formed from rigid printed circuit board substrate material (e.g., fiberglass-filled epoxy), a flexible printed circuit board (e.g., a printed circuit formed from sheets of polyimide or other flexible polymer layers), or a substrate that includes both rigid and flexible portions (e.g., portions formed from rigid printed circuit board material and portions formed from flexible printed circuit board material). In one suitable arrangement, substrate  112  includes multiple dielectric layers, and the antenna ground plane  106  ( FIG. 5 ) of each antenna  40  is located on a different layer than the resonating elements  104  of the antennas. If desired, substrate  112  may include other dielectric materials such as plastic, epoxy, ceramic, polymers, glass, etc. 
     Any desired number of antennas  40  may be formed on substrate  112  (e.g., one antenna  40 , two antennas  40 , etc.). If desired, antennas  40  may be arranged in one or more phased antenna arrays  110  on substrate  112 . For example, antennas  40  may be arranged in a first array  110 - 1  on first side  114  of substrate  112 , a second array  110 - 2  on second side  116  of substrate  112 , and/or a third array  110 - 3  on second side  116  of substrate  112 . Second array  110 - 2  may, for example, be formed on the opposing side of the same segment of substrate  112  as first array  110 - 1  whereas third array  110 - 3  is formed on a different segment of substrate  112 . Each array  110  may have any desired number of antennas  40  (e.g., two antennas, more than two antennas, four antennas, nine antennas, twelve antennas, sixteen antennas, etc.). Each array  110  may have the same number of antennas  40  or two or more arrays  110  may have a different number of antennas  40 . Module  109  may include one, two, or all three of arrays  110 - 1 ,  110 - 2 , and  110 - 3  or may include other arrays if desired. Module  109  may include more than three arrays if desired. Arrays  110  may include antennas  40  arranged in any desired pattern. 
     The use of phased arrays  110  allows the signals conveyed by antennas  40  to be steered using beam steering techniques (e.g., where the phase and magnitude of each antenna in the array is adjusted to steer the collective signals of the entire array in a particular direction). Each array  110  may be steerable over a corresponding hemisphere of possible coverage, for example. Control circuitry  14  ( FIG. 1 ) may control two arrays  110  to cover two hemispheres of coverage and thus, an entire sphere around device  10  if desired. For example, circuitry  14  may steer an array on side (surface)  114  of module  109  such as array  110 - 1  and may steer an array on side (surface)  116  of module  109  such as array  110 - 2  and/or  110 - 3  to cover an entire sphere around module  109 . In another suitable arrangement, flexible substrate  112  may be bent (folded) and two arrays on a single side of substrate  112  may be steered to cover an entire sphere around module  109 . 
     One or more electrical components  118  may be mounted on side  114  of substrate  112 . If desired, one or more components  118  may be mounted on side  116  of substrate  112  (as shown by dashed lines  120 ) in addition to or instead of mounting components  118  on side  114  of substrate  112 . Components  118  may include, for example, transceiver circuitry such as transceiver circuitry  28  of  FIG. 1 . Components  118  may include integrated circuits (e.g., a transceiver integrated circuit or chip that includes transceiver  28 ) or integrated circuit packages mounted to substrate  120 . Components  118  may sometimes be referred to herein as transceiver  118 , transceiver components  118 , or transceiver chips  118 . If desired, components  118  may include control circuitry (e.g., some or all of control circuitry  14  of  FIG. 1 ) or any other desired electrical components. Components  118  may, if desired, be enclosed within a metal shielding layer that shields components  118  from electromagnetic interference. 
     Conductive layers or other metal traces on substrate  112  may be used in forming transmission lines  92  for the antennas  40  in arrays  110 . The transmission lines may be used to convey signals at frequencies between 10 GHz and 300 GHz (e.g. millimeter wave signals) between transceiver  118  and antennas  40 . 
       FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional side view of device  10  (e.g., taken in the Y-Z plane of  FIG. 2 ) showing how antenna module  109  may be arranged within device  10  to align antennas  40  with inactive region IA of display  56  (e.g., to convey millimeter wave signals through the front face of device  10 ). As shown in  FIG. 7 , display  56  may be mounted to housing  12  (e.g., to peripheral housing structures  12 E of  FIG. 3 ). Display  56  may include an associated display module  130  and display cover layer  140 . Display module  130  may be a liquid crystal display module, a light-emitting diode display module (e.g., an organic light-emitting diode display module), or other display for producing images for a user. Display module  130  may include touch sensitive components for gathering user input (e.g., in scenarios where display  56  is a touch screen). Display cover layer  140  may be a clear sheet of glass, a transparent layer of plastic, sapphire, or other transparent member. 
     In active area AA, an array of display pixels associated with display structures such as display module  130  may present images to a user of device  10 . In inactive display region IA, display  56  may be free from display module  130  (e.g., from the pixels and touch sensor components of active area AA). Display module  130  may include multiple dielectric layers (e.g., a stack of dielectric layers) on which the pixels, touch sensor components, and other active circuitry are formed. 
     In one suitable arrangement, display  56  may include an opening  132  in display module  130  within inactive area IA. In another suitable arrangement, the dielectric layers of display module  130  may extend across opening  132  (e.g., so that the dielectric layers extend continuously across display  56 ) but without any display pixels or other active circuitry formed within region IA. In yet another suitable arrangement, dielectric material may be formed within opening  132 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , inactive area IA (e.g., opening  132 ) may align with speaker port  50  of device  10 . Speaker port  50  may include an opening  138  in display cover layer  140 . Opening  138  may be filed with a dielectric such as air or with solid material (e.g., to prevent moisture or other contaminants from being received within device  10 ). Speaker port  50  may include components  136  aligned with inactive area IA of display  56  and opening  138  in display cover layer  140 . 
     Components  136  may include sound generation circuitry such as speaker components, audio cavity structures (e.g., an acoustic chamber or enclosure), diaphragm structures, speaker driver structures, a speaker coil (e.g., a conductive coil having a 4-6 mm diameter that is driven by audio signals to produce sound), or any other desired circuitry and structures for generating sound (e.g., for converting electronic audio data to mechanical sound). The speaker components may emit sound through opening  132  in display module  130  and through opening  138  in display cover layer  140 , as shown by lines  134 . If desired, components  136  may include other components such as one or more sensors (e.g., a proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, etc.), device status indicators, etc. The sensors may gather information through inactive region IA of display  56  (e.g., components  136  may include a light sensor that receives light through inactive area IA, a capacitive proximity sensor that detects changes in capacitance through inactive region IA, etc.). 
     Active area AA and display module  130  may completely surround inactive area IA, opening  132 , opening  138 , and speaker port  136  (e.g., laterally in the X-Y plane of  FIG. 8 ). In this way, a first portion of display module  130  and active area AA may be interposed between speaker port  50  (e.g., display cover opening  138 , opening  132 , and components  136 ) and a first sidewall of housing  12  (e.g., a sidewall  12 E as shown in  FIG. 3 ) whereas a second portion of display module  130  and active area AA are interposed between speaker port  50  and a second sidewall of housing  12 . Similarly, a third portion of display module  130  and active area AA may be interposed between speaker port  50  and a third sidewall of housing  12  and a fourth portion of module  130  and area AA may be interposed between port  50  and a fourth sidewall of housing  12 . 
     Antenna module  109  may be mounted within housing  12  so that one or more antennas  40  are aligned with speaker port  50  and inactive region IA of display  56 . In the example of  FIG. 7 , phased array  110 - 1  of antennas  40  on side  114  of substrate  112  is aligned with speaker port  50  and inactive region IA. Phased array  110 - 1  may transmit and receive wireless signals (e.g., at frequencies between 10 GHz and 300 GHz) through components  136 , opening  132 , and opening  138  (e.g., through speaker port  50  and inactive area IA of display  56 ) as shown by arrow  156 . Wireless signals conveyed by array  110 - 1  may pass through one or more openings in components  136  or through dielectric portions of components  136  (e.g., a speaker diaphragm or the center of a speaker coil). In another suitable arrangement, array  110 - 1  and/or substrate  112  may be laterally offset along the X-axis of  FIGS. 2 and 7  with respect to components  136  so that any conductive material in components  136  do not block path  156 . If desired, array  110 - 1  and/or substrate  112  may be coplanar with the speaker or other portions of components  136  in the X-Y plane (e.g., in scenarios where components  136  include openings for accommodating substrate  112  or in scenarios where substrate  112  is laterally offset along the X-axis with respect to components  136 ). 
     Module  109  may be secured to housing  12  (e.g., to rear housing wall  12 R as shown in  FIG. 4 ) using conductive fastener  142 . Conductive fastener  142  may include a conductive screw, conductive pin, conductive spring structures, conductive adhesive, or other fastening structures. Conductive fastener  142  may secure module  109  in place (e.g., to ensure that array  110 - 1  remains aligned with inactive region IA). If desired, conductive fastener  142  may serve as a heat spreader for transceiver  118  (e.g., conductive fastener  142  may transfer heat generated by circuitry  118  or other components to housing  12 ) and/or may serve to ground antennas  40  on substrate  112  to metal housing  12 . 
     Module  109  may be mounted within housing  12  at a first distance  160  with respect to display cover layer  140  (e.g., the front face of device  10 ) and at a second distance  162  with respect to the rear of housing  12 . Distance  160  may be greater than distance  162 . For example, distance  160  may be between 3 mm and 6 mm (e.g., 4 mm) whereas distance  162  is between 0 mm and 2 mm (e.g., 1 mm). Substrate  112  may be in contact with the rear wall of housing  12 , may be attached to the rear wall of housing  12  using adhesive, or may be separated from the rear wall of housing  12  by a non-zero distance. If desired, other components such as components  120  of  FIG. 6 , housing structures, printed circuit boards, brackets, or other structures may be formed between substrate  112  and the rear wall of housing  12  (e.g., to hold module  109  in place above the rear wall of housing  12 ). 
     In the example of  FIG. 7 , in order to provide coverage through the rear side of device  10 , antenna module  109  may include a second array such as array  110 - 2  on side  116  of substrate  112 . Array  110 - 2  may be aligned with opening  60  in the rear wall of conductive housing  112 . Array  110 - 2  may transmit and receive wireless signals (e.g., signals at frequencies between 10 GHz and 300 GHz) through opening (aperture)  60 , as shown by arrow  150 . Ground traces for antennas  40  in arrays  110 - 1  and  110 - 2  may serve to shield array  110 - 1  from array  110 - 2  (e.g., to prevent interference between the signals handled by arrays  110 - 1  and  110 - 2 ). If desired, plastic or other dielectric materials may be formed in opening  60 . If desired, dielectric layer  152  may be formed across the rear wall of conductive housing  12  (e.g., layer  152  may form an exterior rear surface of device  10 ). Dielectric layer  152  may include plastic, glass, ceramic, or any other desired dielectric material. In scenarios where dielectric layer  152  is formed, opening  60  may be filled with air if desired. 
     In this way, antenna module  109  may convey wireless signals at frequencies between 10 GHz and 300 GHz through both the front and rear faces of device  10 . Control circuitry  14  may use beam steering techniques may to provide a complete sphere of coverage around all sides of device  10  using arrays  110 - 1  and  110 - 2 . The example of  FIG. 7  is merely illustrative. If desired, additional openings  60  may be aligned with additional arrays on side  116  of substrate  112  such as array  110 - 3 . If desired, array  110 - 2  may be omitted and array  110 - 3  of  FIG. 6  may be formed on module  109 . In this scenario, opening  60  may be aligned with the location of array  110 - 3  (e.g., opening  60  need not be aligned with array  110 - 1  and inactive area IA). If desired, an opaque masking layer such as an ink layer may be formed on the inner surface of cover glass  140  within region IA and/or within aperture  60  to hide components  136  from view. 
     In another suitable arrangement, antenna module  109  may be wrapped around components  136  at inactive area IA.  FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side view of device  10  showing how module  109  may be wrapped around components  136 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , module  109  may include multiple arrays formed on the same side  116  of substrate  112  such as arrays  110 - 2  and  110 - 3 . 
     In this example, substrate  112  includes flexible material such as a flexible printed circuit board substrate. The flexible printed circuit board substrate may be used to form the entirety of substrate  112  or may be used to form the part of substrate  112  on which array  110 - 2  and, if desired, array  110 - 3  are formed (e.g., module  109  may include a rigid substrate on which transceiver  118  is formed and a flexible tail on which array  110 - 2  and optionally array  110 - 3  are formed). 
     Substrate  112  may be folded, bent, or wrapped around axis  180  (e.g., an axis parallel to the X-axis of  FIG. 8 ) so that the end of substrate  112  on which array  110 - 2  is formed wraps around components  136  (e.g., so that arrays  110 - 2  and  110 - 3  lie within two parallel planes despite being formed on the same surface  116  of substrate  112 ). When configured in this way, array  110 - 2  may transmit and receive wireless signals (e.g., millimeter wave signals) through opening  132  and opening  138  (e.g., through speaker port  50  and inactive region IA of display  56 ) as shown by arrow  170 . At the same time, array  110 - 3  may transmit and receive wireless signals through opening  60  in the rear wall of metal housing  12 . Array  110 - 2  may lie within opening  132  in module  130  or may lie below the lower surface of module  130  (e.g., in scenarios where opening  132  is filled with the dielectric stack of module  130 ). 
     Speaker structures within components  136  may convey sound through openings in substrate  112  or, in another suitable arrangement, speaker structures within components  136  may be laterally offset along the X-axis with respect to array  110 - 2  or substrate  112  (e.g., so that array  110 - 2  and/or substrate  112  do not block sound  134  from being emitted through opening  138  of speaker port  50 ). In the arrangement of  FIG. 8 , antenna array  110 - 2  may be subject to less blocking or interference from components  136  (e.g., array  110 - 2  may exhibit better wireless performance) relative to array  110 - 1  in the arrangement of  FIG. 7 . If desired, array  110 - 2  may be coplanar with the speaker or other portions of components  136  in the X-Y plane (e.g., in scenarios where components  136  include openings for accommodating array  110 - 2  or in scenarios where array  110 - 2  is laterally offset along the X-axis with respect to components  136 ). 
     When configured in this way, control circuitry  14  may perform beam steering using arrays  110 - 2  and  110 - 3  to provide a full sphere of coverage from both sides of device  10  for transceiver circuitry  118 . The example of  FIG. 8  is merely illustrative. Array  110 - 3  and opening  60  need not be aligned with array  110 - 2  and inactive area IA. Additional arrays and additional openings  60  may be formed on side  116  of substrate  112 . If desired, array  110 - 3  may be omitted and array  110 - 1  may be formed on side  114  of substrate  112  for conveying wireless signals through opening  60  and components  136  (e.g., ground traces in substrate  112  may shield arrays  110 - 2  and  110 - 1  in this scenario). If desired, substrate  112  may include more than one bend. 
       FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional side view of device  10  showing how module  109  may include multiple bends. As shown in  FIG. 9 , module  109  may include multiple arrays formed on both sides of substrate  112  such as array  110 - 1  on side  114  of substrate  112  and array  110 - 2  on side  116  of substrate  112 . 
     In this example, substrate  112  includes flexible material such as a flexible printed circuit board substrate. The flexible printed circuit board substrate may be used to form the entirety of substrate  112 , may be used to form the portion of substrate  112  on which arrays  110 - 2  and  110 - 1  are formed, or may be used to form the portion of substrate  112  extending between the portion of substrate  112  on which arrays  110 - 2  and  110 - 1  are formed and the portion of substrate  112  on which transceiver  118  is formed (e.g., module  109  may include a rigid substrate on which transceiver  118  is formed and a flexible tail on which arrays  110 - 2  and  110 - 1  are formed or module  109  may include a first rigid substrate on which arrays  110 - 2  and  110 - 1  are formed, a second rigid substrate on which transceiver  118  is formed, and a flexible substrate extending between the first and second rigid substrates). 
     Substrate  112  may be folded, bent, or wrapped in a first direction around first axis  190  (e.g., an axis parallel to the X-axis of  FIG. 9 ) and in a second direction around second axis  192  (e.g., an axis parallel to axis  190 ) so that the end of substrate  112  on which arrays  110 - 1  and  110 - 2  are formed is interposed between components  136  and inactive region IA of display  56 . When configured in this way, array  110 - 1  may transmit and receive wireless signals (e.g., millimeter wave signals) through opening  132  and opening  138  (e.g., through speaker port  50  and inactive region IA of display  56 ) as shown by arrow  194 . At the same time, array  110 - 2  may transmit and receive wireless signals through opening  60  in the rear wall of metal housing  12 . Ground planes  106  for arrays  110 - 1  and  110 - 2  may serve to electromagnetically isolate the two arrays from each other. Array  110 - 1  may lie within opening  132  in module  130  or may lie below the lower surface of module  130  (e.g., in scenarios where opening  132  is filled with the dielectric stack of module  130 ). 
     Speaker structures within components  136  may convey sound through openings in substrate  112  or, in another suitable arrangement, speaker structures within components  136  may be laterally offset along the X-axis with respect to arrays  110 - 2  and  110 - 1  or substrate  112  (e.g., so that array  110 - 2 , array  110 - 1 , and/or substrate  112  do not block sound  134  from being emitted through opening  138  of speaker port  50 ). In the arrangement of  FIG. 9 , antenna array  110 - 1  may be subject to less blocking or interference from components  136  relative to the arrangement of  FIG. 7 . If desired, array  110 - 2 , array  110 - 1 , and/or substrate  112  may be coplanar with (e.g., in the X-Y plane) the speaker or other portions of components  136  (e.g., in scenarios where components  136  include openings for accommodating substrate  112  or in scenarios where substrate  112  is laterally offset along the X-axis with respect to components  136 ). 
     When configured in this way, control circuitry  14  may perform beam steering operations using arrays  110 - 2  and  110 - 1  to provide a full sphere of coverage from both sides of device  10  for transceiver circuitry  118 . The example of  FIG. 9  is merely illustrative. Array  110 - 2  and opening  60  need not be aligned with array  110 - 1  and inactive area IA. Additional arrays and additional openings  60  may be formed on side  116  of substrate  112 . If desired, array  110 - 2  may be omitted and array  110 - 3  may be formed on side  116  of substrate  112  for conveying wireless signals through opening  60 . 
     When configured in this way (e.g., using an arrangement with two arrays on opposing sides of a flat substrate  112  as shown in  FIG. 7 , using an arrangement with two arrays on the same side of a bent substrate  112  as shown in  FIG. 8 , or using an arrangement with two arrays on opposing sides of a bent substrate as shown in  FIG. 9 ), antennas  40  may provide coverage over an entire sphere around all sides of device  10 , despite the fact that device housing  12  is formed from metal and a display forming the front face of device  10  has active circuitry extending across both the length and width of device  10  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ). 
     The examples of  FIGS. 7-9  are merely illustrative. If desired, opening  60  may be omitted and arrays may be formed from conveying signals through inactive region IA of display  56  only (e.g., over a hemisphere about the front face of device  10 ). Substrate  112  may have any desired shape. Any desired number of antennas and antenna arrays maybe used on antenna module  118 . In another suitable arrangement, transceiver  110  is formed on a separate substrate from the arrays on substrate  112 . If desired, different arrays  110  may be formed on different substrates. 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20170720
Publication Date: 20191112
Grant Date: 20191112
Priority Date: 20170720
Inventors: MOW, MATTHEW A.
NOORI, BASIM H.
SALAM, KHAN M.
PASCOLINI, MATTIA
TSAI, MING-JU
PAULOTTO, Simone
BARBIERI, TRAVIS A.
Lee, Victor C.
HAN, XU
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H01Q13/10", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R5/04", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q25/005", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/026", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0266", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2499/11", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q3/26", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q9/0407", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/03", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/48", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R5/04", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/03", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q13/10", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q9/0407", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q13/106", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/026", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q25/005", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q3/26", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2499/11", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/025", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0266", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q13/106", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0266", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/026", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q9/0407", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q25/005", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q13/10", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/48", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/03", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/025", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q3/26", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 65014087