PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9680202-B2
Application Number: US-201313910986-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic devices with antenna windows on opposing housing surfaces

Abstract:
An electronic device housing may have a base unit and a lid. Aligned antenna windows may be formed on opposing upper and lower surfaces of the base unit along a hinge. Antenna structures that are located between respective upper and lower antenna windows on the upper and lower surfaces may be based on a pair of antennas that are coupled to switching circuitry that can select which antenna to switch into use or may be based on an antenna having a position that may be adjusted relative to the upper and lower antenna windows using a mechanical coupling to the lid or using a positioner. A sensor such as a lid position sensor may monitor how the lid is positioned relative to the base unit. Information from the lid position sensor may be used in adjusting the antenna structures to optimize performance.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a first housing structure having opposing upper and lower conductive surfaces; 
 at least one upper antenna window in the upper conductive surface that is completely surrounded by the upper conductive surface; 
 at least one lower antenna window on the lower conductive surface that is completely surrounded by the lower conductive surface; 
 a second housing structure that is coupled to the first housing structure and that rotates relative to the first housing structure; and 
 an antenna that is mounted within the first housing structure between the upper and lower antenna windows. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the first housing structure comprises a laptop computer base housing and the second housing structure comprises a laptop computer lid. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 2  further comprising:
 a display in the laptop computer lid; 
 a keyboard in the laptop computer base housing; and 
 radio-frequency transceiver circuitry coupled to the antenna. 
 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 3  further comprising:
 an additional antenna between the upper and lower antenna windows. 
 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 4  wherein the antenna is adjacent to the upper antenna window, the additional antenna is adjacent to the lower antenna window, and the electronic device further comprises switching circuitry coupled between the antenna, the additional antenna, and the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 5  wherein the switching circuitry is configured to switch a selected one of the antenna and the additional antenna into use to transmit and receive signals for the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  further comprising a lid position sensor configured to monitor how the laptop computer lid is positioned relative to the laptop computer base housing. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 7  wherein the switching circuitry is configured to switch the selected one of the antenna and the additional antenna into use based on information from the lid position sensor. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in claim further comprising a positioner that positions the antenna relative to the upper and lower antenna windows. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 9  further comprising a lid position sensor configured to monitor how the laptop computer lid is positioned relative to the laptop computer base housing, wherein the positioner is configured to position the antenna relative to the upper and lower antenna windows based on information from the lid position sensor. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 3  wherein the laptop computer lid is configured to position the antenna adjacent to the upper antenna window in response to opening the laptop computer lid and is configured to position the antenna adjacent to the lower antenna window in response to closing the laptop computer lid. 
     
     
       12. An electronic device, comprising:
 a metal housing having opposing parallel planar upper and lower surfaces with respective upper and lower antenna windows; 
 upper and lower antennas, wherein the upper antenna is located between the upper antenna window and the lower antenna window, the lower antenna is located between the upper antenna window and the lower antenna window, the upper antenna is located adjacent to the upper antenna window, and the lower antenna is located adjacent to the lower antenna window; 
 a first transmission line structure directly connected to the upper antenna that conveys radio-frequency signals for the upper antenna; and 
 a second transmission line structure directly connected to the lower antenna that conveys radio-frequency signals for the lower antenna, wherein the upper antenna window is completely enclosed by the planar upper surface of the metal housing and the lower antenna window is completely enclosed by the planar lower surface of the metal housing. 
 
     
     
       13. The electronic device defined in  claim 12  further comprising:
 radio-frequency transceiver circuitry that is coupled to the upper antenna through the first transmission line structure and that is coupled to the lower antenna through the second transmission line structure; and 
 switching circuitry that selectively switches a given one of the upper and lower antennas into use by the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry. 
 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 13  further comprising:
 a housing structure that is configured to move relative to the metal housing; and 
 a sensor that detects movement of the housing structure relative to the metal housing. 
 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  wherein the switching circuitry is configured to selectively switch the given one of the upper and lower antennas into use based on information from the sensor. 
     
     
       16. The electronic device defined in  claim 15  further comprising a hinge that couples the housing structure to the metal housing, wherein the housing structure covers the upper antenna window in a closed position for the housing structure, the upper antenna window is uncovered by the housing structure in an open position for the housing structure, the switching circuitry is configured to switch the upper antenna into use in response to detecting with the sensor that the housing structure is in the open position, and the switching circuitry is configured to switch the lower antenna into use in response to detecting with the sensor that the housing structure is in the closed position. 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 13 , further comprising:
 proximity sensor circuitry that is configured to identify when a given one of the upper and lower antennas is being blocked by an external object, wherein the switching circuitry is configured to switch the given one of the upper and lower antennas that is being blocked by the external object out of use by the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry in response to identifying, with the proximity sensor circuitry, that the given one of the upper and lower antennas is being blocked by the external object. 
 
     
     
       18. A laptop computer, comprising:
 a conductive base housing having a keyboard and having opposing upper and lower conductive surfaces; 
 a lid that is coupled to the conductive base housing and that rotates relative to the conductive base housing; 
 a display in the lid; and 
 aligned upper and lower antenna windows formed respectively on the upper and lower conductive surfaces, wherein the upper antenna window is completely surrounded by the upper conductive surface and the lower antenna window is completely surrounded by the lower conductive surface. 
 
     
     
       19. The laptop computer defined in  claim 18  further comprising additional aligned upper and lower antenna windows formed respectively on the upper and lower conductive surfaces. 
     
     
       20. The laptop computer defined in  claim 18 , further comprising a hinge that couples the conductive base housing to the lid, wherein the upper and lower antenna windows are interposed between the keyboard and the hinge. 
     
     
       21. The laptop computer defined in  claim 20  further comprising:
 radio-frequency transceiver circuitry; 
 switching circuitry coupled to the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry; 
 first antenna structures that are coupled to the switching circuitry and that are located between the upper and lower antenna windows; and 
 second antenna structures that are coupled to the switching circuitry and that are located between the additional upper and lower antenna windows.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to electronic devices with wireless communications circuitry. 
     Electronic devices such as portable computers and handheld electronic devices are often provided with wireless communications capabilities. For example, electronic devices may have wireless communications circuitry to communicate using cellular telephone bands and to support communications with satellite navigation systems and wireless local area networks. 
     To satisfy consumer demand for small form factor wireless devices, manufacturers are continually striving to implement wireless communications circuitry such as antenna components using compact structures. At the same time, it may be desirable to include conductive structures in an electronic device such as metal device housing components. Because conductive components can affect radio-frequency performance, care must be taken when incorporating antennas into an electronic device that includes conductive structures. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved wireless communications circuitry for wireless electronic devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may have a housing in which components are mounted. The housing may have a base unit and a lid that are coupled by a hinge. The electronic device may be a laptop computer having a keyboard in the base unit and a display in the lid. The position of the lid relative to the housing may be adjusted by rotating the lid relative to the housing with the hinge. 
     Aligned antenna windows may be formed on opposing upper and lower surfaces of the base unit at one or more locations along the hinge. Antenna structures may be located between respective upper and lower antenna windows on the upper and lower surfaces. 
     The antenna structures may include upper and lower antennas that are coupled to switching circuitry. The switching circuitry can switch either the upper or the lower antenna into use. In response to determining that the lid is closed, the lower antenna can be used. In response to determining that the lid is open, the upper antenna can be used. 
     If desired, the antenna structures may be based on a single antenna. The antenna in this type of arrangement may be coupled to a positioner. The positioner may adjust the position of the antenna relative to the upper and lower antenna windows based on information on whether the lid is open or closed. A sensor such as a lid position sensor may monitor how the lid is positioned relative to the base unit. Information from the lid position sensor may be used in adjusting the antenna structures to optimize antenna performance. Mechanical coupling schemes for positioning the antenna based on lid position may also be used. 
     Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device such as a laptop computer of the type that may be provided with antennas in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative laptop computer showing how an antenna may be mounted within housing structures so as to transmit and receive wireless signals through a lower (downward facing) antenna window in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative laptop computer showing how an antenna may be mounted within housing structures so as to transmit and receive wireless signals through an upper (upward facing) antenna window in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative laptop computer showing how an antenna may be mounted within housing structures so as to transmit and receive wireless signals through upper and lower antenna windows in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a front perspective view of a portion of an illustrative laptop computer showing how a pair of upper antenna windows may be located on the right and left sides of an upper surface of a base unit housing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a rear perspective view of a portion of the illustrative laptop computer of  FIG. 6  showing how a pair of lower antenna windows that correspond to the upper antenna windows of  FIG. 6  may be located on the right and left sides of a lower surface of the base unit housing so as to overlap with the upper antenna windows of  FIG. 6  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative laptop computer showing how an antenna may be mounted between opposing upper and lower antenna windows in a base unit housing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative laptop computer in which switching circuitry is being used to select between use of an antenna that is located adjacent to an upper antenna window and an antenna that is located adjacent to a lower antenna window based on information from a lid position sensor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram that shows how a pair of upper antennas and a pair of lower antennas may be coupled to radio-frequency transceiver circuitry using switching circuitry in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative laptop computer in which an antenna is being moved between a position in which the antenna is adjacent to an upper antenna window and a position in which the antenna is adjacent to a lower antenna window based on information from a lid position sensor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative laptop computer in which a lid has been placed in an open position and in which an antenna that is coupled to the lid has been moved into a corresponding position adjacent to an upper antenna window in a base unit housing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional side view of the illustrative laptop computer of  FIG. 12  in which the lid has been placed in a closed position and in which the antenna that is coupled to the lid has been moved into a corresponding position adjacent to a lower antenna window in the base unit housing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional side view of illustrative structures that may be used to position an antenna between upper and lower antenna windows in a laptop computer housing based on lid position in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional side view of the illustrative structures of  FIG. 14  in a configuration in which the lid has been closed and the antenna has been positioned adjacent to the lower antenna window in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 16  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in operating an electronic device with a movable structure such as a lid and in selecting and using an appropriate antenna location for transmitting and receiving wireless signals based on lid position in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Electronic devices may include wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include antenna structures. The antenna structures may include one or more antennas. Using radio-frequency transceiver circuitry coupled to the antennas, electronic devices may transmit and receive wireless signals. An electronic device of the type that may be provided with wireless circuitry is shown in  FIG. 1 . Electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  may be a laptop computer or other electronic device that has a folding lid or may be other electronic equipment. In general, electronic device  10  may be 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 wrist-watch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, 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. The electronic device configuration of  FIG. 1  is shown as forming a laptop computer, but this is merely illustrative. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , electronic device  10  may have portions that move relative to each other such as upper housing  12 A and lower housing  12 B. Lower housing  12 B may sometimes be referred to as a main housing or base housing. Upper housing  12 A may sometimes be referred to as a lid or display housing. 
     Components such as keyboard  16  and touchpad  18  may be mounted on lower housing  12 B. Device  10  may have hinge structures in region  20  that allow upper housing  12 A to rotate in directions  22  about rotational axis  24  relative to lower housing  12 B. Display  14  may be mounted in upper housing  12 A. Upper housing  12 A may be placed in a closed position by rotating upper housing  12 A towards lower housing  12 B about rotational axis  24 . 
     Housing  12  of device  10 , which is sometimes referred to as a case, may be formed of materials such as plastic, glass, ceramics, carbon-fiber composites and other fiber-based composites, metal (e.g., machined aluminum, stainless steel, or other metals), other materials, or a combination of these materials. Device  10  may be formed using a unibody construction in which most or all of housing  12  is formed from a single structural element (e.g., a piece of machined metal or a piece of molded plastic) or may be formed from multiple housing structures (e.g., outer housing structures that have been mounted to internal frame elements or other internal housing structures). 
     Display  14  may be a touch sensitive display that includes a touch sensor or may be insensitive to touch. Touch sensors for display  14  may be formed from an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes, a resistive touch array, touch sensor structures based on acoustic touch, optical touch, or force-based touch technologies, or other suitable touch sensor components. 
     Display  14  for device  10  includes display pixels formed from liquid crystal display (LCD) components, organic light-emitting diode display components, electrophoretic display components, plasma display components, or other suitable display pixel structures. 
     A display cover layer may cover the surface of display  14  or a display layer such as a color filter layer or other portion of a display may be used as the outermost (or nearly outermost) layer in display  14 . The outermost display layer may be formed from a transparent glass sheet, a clear plastic layer, or other transparent member. 
     To prevent wireless antenna signals from being blocked, it may be desirable to form housing  12  or portions of housing  12  from dielectric. As an example, housing  12  may be formed form a dielectric such as plastic. If desired, housing  12  may be formed from a conductive material such as metal. With this type of configuration, openings in the metal of housing  12  may be filled with a dielectric such as plastic. The plastic in the openings of metal housing  12  may form antenna windows such as antenna windows  26  of  FIG. 1 . 
     There may be any suitable number of antenna windows in housing  12  of  FIG. 1 . As an example, there may be one or more, two or more, or three or more antenna windows on the upper surface of housing  12 B of  FIG. 1  and there may be one or more, two or more, or three or more antenna windows on the lower surface of housing  12 B of  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , there may be, for example, a pair of antenna windows  26  located along the hinge of device  10  in region  20  (i.e., upper left antenna window  26 TL and upper right antenna window  26 TR). As another example, there may be a single unified antenna window  26  on the upper surface of housing  12  along the hinge that covers two or more antennas (e.g., two or more antennas in two or more respective antenna cavities in housing  12 ). A respective rear surface antenna window  26  may also be provided that covers two or more antennas. 
     A schematic diagram of an illustrative configuration that may be used for electronic device  10  is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , electronic device  10  may include control circuitry such as storage and processing circuitry  28 . Storage and processing circuitry  28  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 storage and processing circuitry  28  may be used to control the operation of device  10 . The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors, power management units, audio codec chips, application specific integrated circuits, etc. 
     Storage and processing circuitry  28  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, storage and processing circuitry  28  may be used in implementing communications protocols. Communications protocols that may be implemented using storage and processing circuitry  28  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, cellular telephone protocols, etc. 
     Circuitry  28  may be configured to implement control algorithms that control the use of antennas and other wireless circuitry in device  10 . For example, circuitry  28  may perform signal quality monitoring operations, sensor monitoring operations, lid position monitoring operations, and other data gathering operations and may, in response to the gathered data (e.g., in response to information on lid position from lid position sensor  42 ) and in response to information on which communications bands are to be used in device  10 , control which antenna structures within device  10  are being used to receive and process data, control one or more switches (e.g., switches to switch particular antennas into use), control the position of one or more antennas relative to the housing of device  10 , control tunable elements, or may control other components in device  10  to adjust antenna attributes (i.e., the position of one or more antennas, the selection of one or more antennas to serve as active antennas in device  10 , or other antennas settings may be adjusted). As an example, circuitry  28  may control which of two or more antennas is being used to receive incoming radio-frequency signals, may control which of two or more antennas is being used to transmit radio-frequency signals, may position antenna(s) within device  10 , may control the process of routing incoming data streams over two or more antennas in device  10  in parallel, may tune an antenna to cover a desired communications band, etc. 
     In performing these control operations, circuitry  28  may open and close switches, may turn on and off receivers and transmitters, may adjust impedance matching circuits, may configure switches in front-end-module (FEM) radio-frequency circuits that are interposed between radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antenna structures (e.g., filtering and switching circuits used for impedance matching and signal routing), may adjust switches, tunable circuits, and other adjustable circuit elements that are formed as part of an antenna or that are coupled to an antenna or a signal path associated with an antenna, may adjust power amplifier gain settings, may control transceiver output powers, may adjust antenna locations using electrically controlled antenna positioners and/or manually operated antenna positioning structures and may otherwise control and adjust the components of device  10 . 
     Input-output circuitry  30  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 circuitry  30  may include input-output devices  32 . Input-output devices  32  may include touch screens, buttons, joysticks, click wheels, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, light-emitting diodes and other status indicators, data ports, audio components such as microphones and speakers, etc. 
     Input-output devices  32  may also include sensors  44 . For example, input-output devices  32  may include an ambient light sensor, a proximity sensor, an accelerometer, and one or more position sensors that measure the relative position between structures within device  10 . As an example, device  10  may include a position sensor such as lid position sensor  42  that monitors the position of upper housing  12 A relative to lower housing  12 B. Lid position sensor  42  may be implemented using a switch (e.g., sensor  42  may be a binary position sensor that determines whether housing  12 A is in a closed position or is not in a closed position), may be implemented using an angle sensor (e.g., a sensor that produces an output that represents the angular orientation of upper housing  12 A relative to lower housing  12 B about rotational axis  24 ), or may be implemented using other position sensitive sensor structures that monitor the status of upper housing (lid)  12 A. 
     During operation, a user can control the operation of device  10  by supplying commands through input-output devices  32  and may receive status information and other output from device  10  using the output resources of input-output devices  32 . 
     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, filters, duplexers, 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 satellite navigation system receiver circuitry such as Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver circuitry  35  (e.g., for receiving satellite positioning signals at 1575 MHz) or satellite navigation system receiver circuitry associated with other satellite navigation systems. Wireless local area network transceiver circuitry such as transceiver circuitry  36  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  38  for handling wireless communications in cellular telephone bands such as bands in frequency ranges of about 700 MHz to about 2700 MHz or bands at higher or lower frequencies. 
     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 wireless circuitry for receiving radio and television signals, paging circuits, etc. Near field communications may also be supported (e.g., at 13.56 MHz). In WiFi® and Bluetooth® links and other short-range wireless links, wireless signals are typically used to convey data over tens or hundreds of feet. In cellular telephone links and other long-range links, wireless signals are typically used to convey data over thousands of feet or miles. 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  may have antenna structures such as one or more antennas  40 . Antenna structures  40  may be formed using any suitable antenna types. For example, antenna structures  40  may include antennas with resonating elements that are formed from loop antenna structures, patch antenna structures, inverted-F antenna structures, dual arm inverted-F antenna structures, closed and open slot antenna structures, planar inverted-F antenna structures, helical antenna structures, strip antennas, monopoles, dipoles, hybrids of these designs, etc. 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 structures in device  10  such as one or more of antennas  40  may be provided with one or more antenna feeds, fixed and/or adjustable components, and optional parasitic antenna resonating elements so that the antenna structures cover desired communications bands. 
     Device  10  may have housing structures that move relative to each other during operation of device  10  by a user. In some configurations, these movable housing structures may block antennas or otherwise affect antenna structures in device  10 . As an example, device  10  may have a movable housing structure such as lid  12 A. 
     As shown in the cross-sectional side view of  FIG. 3 , device  10  may have one or more antennas  40  that are mounted so as to transmit and receive wireless radio-frequency signals through lower antenna window structures in housing  12  such as lower antenna window  26 B of  FIG. 3 . Antennas  40  may, for example, be mounted in a conductive cavity or other structure  54  within lower housing  12 B in a configuration that allows wireless signals to be transmitted and received through lower antenna window structure  26 B on lower planar surface  50  of lower housing  12 B without transmitting or receiving wireless signals through upper planar surface  52  of lower housing  12 B. 
     In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 4 , upper antenna window  26 T has been formed on upper planar surface  52  of lower housing  12 B of device  10 . One or more antennas such as antenna  40  may be located in a conductive cavity or other structure  54  within lower housing  12 B in a configuration that allows wireless signals to be transmitted and received through upper antenna window structure  26 T without transmitting or receiving signals through lower planar surface  50  of lower housing  12 B. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , device  10  may, if desired, have both upward facing and downward facing antenna windows that are aligned above and below antenna structures  40 . As an example, one or more antennas  40  may be mounted in cavity  54  or other structures in housing  12 B in alignment with upper antenna window  26 T on upper planar surface  52  of housing  12 B and in alignment with corresponding lower antenna window  26 B on lower planar surface  50  of housing  12 B. Planar lower surface  50  and planar upper surface  52  may lie parallel to each other. With this type of arrangement, wireless signals may be transmitted and received through upper antenna window  26 T and/or lower antenna window  26 B. Upper antenna window  26 T may have the same size as lower antenna window  26 B or may have a different size than lower antenna window  26 B. When viewed from above, upper antenna window  26 T may overlap lower window  26 B exactly or may partly overlap lower antenna window  26 B (as examples). 
     When lid  12 A is in an open position, upper surface  52  of lower housing structure  12 B may be uncovered by the metal associated with lid  12 A. Antennas mounted under antenna windows on upper surface  52  (see, e.g., locations  26  of  FIG. 1  and illustrative antenna windows  26 T of  FIGS. 4 and 5 ) may therefore operate without impairment from the presence of conductive metal structures in lid  12 A. When lid  12 A is in a closed position, however, there is a potential that antenna windows such as antenna windows  26 T that are formed on the upper surface of housing  12 B may be adversely affected by the presence of lid  12 A. In particular, lid  12 A may cover and electromagnetically block antennas under windows  26 TL and  26 TR of  FIG. 1  or under windows  26 T of  FIGS. 4 and 5 . Electromagnetic blocking may occur due the use of metal in forming the exterior surfaces of lid  12 A and/or due to the use of displays or other conductive structures within lid  12 A (e.g., a display in a plastic housing). 
     With configurations of the type shown in  FIG. 3 , there are no upper antenna windows that can be blocked by lid  12 A, but lower window  26 B may sometimes be blocked by a metallic table top, a lossy surface such as wood or a human body, or other structure on which device  10  is resting. With configurations of the type shown in  FIG. 4 , antenna window  26 T will not be blocked by a structure on which device  10  is resting, but can be blocked when lid  12 A is closed. Configurations of the type shown in  FIG. 5  allow signals to pass through upper antenna window  26 T when lid  12 A is open (even if device  10  is resting on a conductive support surface) and/or through lower antenna window  26 B (e.g., when lower antenna window  26 B is not blocked, even if lid  12 A is closed). 
     Configurations of the type shown in  FIGS. 3, 4 , and  5  may have a single antenna window on the upper surface that covers multiple antennas (and antenna cavities) and/or may have a single corresponding antenna window on the lower surface that covers the multiple antennas. Use of this type of unified antenna window structure may be cosmetically appealing. If desired, multiple antenna windows may be formed on the upper surface each of which covers one or more antennas and/or multiple corresponding antenna windows may be formed on the lower surface each of which covers one or more antennas. 
     It may be desirable to use an array of two or more antennas  40  in handling wireless signals for device  10 . With one suitable arrangement, antennas  40  may be located under antenna windows that are formed in housing  12  at different locations along hinge axis  24  (or using a unified antenna window that overlaps multiple antenna locations). 
     As shown in the front perspective view of device  10  of  FIG. 6 , for example, upper antenna windows  26 TL and  26 TR may be formed in upper surface  52  of lower housing  12 A adjacent to the hinge  56  at different positions along hinge axis  24 . Windows  26 TL and  26 TR may be located a distance D 1  from respective left and right edges  58  of housing  12 B and may be separated from each other by a distance D 2 . 
     As shown in the rear perspective view of device  10  of  FIG. 7 , lower antenna windows may be formed in lower surface  50  of lower housing  12 B. For example, lower antenna window  26 BR may be formed on lower surface  50  in alignment with corresponding upper antenna window  26 TR on opposing upper surface  52 . Similarly, lower antenna window  26 BL may be formed on lower surface  50  in alignment with corresponding upper antenna window  26 TL on upper surface  52 . Distance D 1  may separate window  26 BR from housing edge  58  and may separate window  26 BL from housing edge  58 . Distance D 2  may separate windows  26 BR and  26 BL from each other, so that antennas  26 BR and  26 BL overlap respective antennas  26 TR and  26 TL when viewed from above or below the antenna windows. During operation of laptop  10  on a lap of a user, separations D 1  may help ensure that antennas are located inboard of the user&#39;s legs, thereby helping to minimize emitted radiation directed towards the user&#39;s legs. Separation D 2  may help minimize emitted radiation that is directed towards the user&#39;s hand and arm when the user is carrying device  10  with the user&#39;s hand between the antenna windows. 
     A first antenna structure (e.g., one or more antennas  40 ) may be located between windows  26 TR and  26 BR and a second antenna structure (e.g., one or more antennas  40 ) may be located between windows  26 TL and  26 BL. As described in connection with windows  26 B and  26 T of  FIG. 5 , when an antenna is located between a pair of aligned upper and lower antenna windows in this way, wireless signals can enter and exit cavity  54  in housing  12  in a variety of operating conditions (e.g., with the lid open/closed, with the laptop resting on metal table or other conductive surface, etc.). 
     To ensure adequate antenna performance (i.e., satisfactory antenna efficiency) it may be desirable to locate each antenna  40  at a position that is midway in vertical dimension Z between the upper and lower antenna windows. As shown in  FIG. 8 , for example, it may be desirable to mount an antenna such as antenna  40  at a position that is equidistant from lower antenna window  26 B and upper antenna window  26 T. Antenna(s)  40  may be mounted in this position within device  10  to allow wireless operation through both upper antenna window  26 T and lower antenna window  26 B. When lid  12 A is rotated in direction  22 C about rotational axis  24  of hinge  56 , lid  12 A will move into a closed position (shown by lid  12 A′). In this position, lid  12 A will potentially block upper antenna window  26 T. Lower antenna window  26 B may, however, remain unblocked by lid  12 A. 
     Antenna  40  of  FIG. 8  may be located near the center of housing  12 B, at a distance H from upper window  26 T and at an equal distance H from lower window  26 B. In configurations of the type shown in  FIG. 8 , the separation H between antenna  40  and the respective antenna windows in housing  12  may be larger than is desired for optimum antenna efficiency. To enhance wireless efficiency, antenna structures can be provided in which an antenna is moved between an upper position and a lower position as needed by a positioner or can be provided with a pair of antennas one of which is located at the upper antenna and one of which is located at the lower antenna. 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , for example, device  10  may have a cavity or other internal structure in housing  12 B such as cavity  54 . A first antenna such as upper antenna  40 T may be mounted in cavity  54  adjacent to upper antenna window  26 T. A second antenna such as lower antenna  40 B may be mounted in cavity  54  adjacent to lower antenna window  26 L. Switching circuitry  64  may have a first port such as input  68  that is coupled to upper antenna  40 T and may have a second port such as input  70  that is coupled to lower antenna  40 B. Position sensor  42  may measure angle A of lid  12 A relative to upper surface  52  of housing  12 B and may supply lid position information to control circuitry  28 . Control signals may be provided to switch  64  from control circuitry  28 . 
     When lid  12 A is open (i.e., when angle A is greater than a predetermined threshold), device  10  can conclude that antenna window  26 T and antenna  40 T will not be blocked by lid  12 A. In response, switch  64  may be directed to couple path  68  to output path  66  to switch upper antenna  40 T into use. When lid  12 B is closed (i.e., when A is less than the predetermined threshold), device  10  can conclude that lid  12 A is blocking antenna window  26 T and antenna  40 T. In response, switch  64  may be directed to couple path  70  to output path  66  to switch lower antenna  40 B into use. Output path  66  may be a transmission line path that routes signals between the antenna that has been switched into use and transceiver circuitry in wireless communications circuitry  34 . 
     The use of position sensor  42  and corresponding angular lid position information in controlling which of the antennas in cavity  54  is switched into use is merely illustrative. Any suitable criteria may be used in selecting which antenna to switch into use (e.g., binary open/closed lid status information, received signal strength information or other signal strength information indicating which antenna has been blocked, information from a capacitive proximity sensor indicating which antenna has been blocked, information from a light-based proximity sensor or other proximity sensor indicating which antenna has been blocked, or other information). 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , there may be four antennas U 1 , L 1 , U 2 , and L 2  in device  10 . As an example, antenna U 1  may be located adjacent to antenna window  26 TL, antenna L 1  may be located adjacent to antenna window  26 BL, antenna U 2  may be located adjacent to antenna window  26 TR, and antenna L 2  may be located adjacent to antenna window  26 BR. Switch  64 L may be used to switch either antenna U 1  or L 1  into use and switch  64 R may be used to switch either antenna U 2  or L 2  into use. Switching decisions may be made by control circuitry  28  based on sensor data from lid position sensor  42  or other information. 
       FIG. 11  shows how a positioner such as positioner  76  (e.g., a positioner controlled by control circuitry  28  based on lid position data from lid position sensor  42  or other data) may be used to move a single antenna between an upper position and a lower position. Positioner  76  may, for example, place an antenna in cavity  54  in lower housing  12 B in upper position  40 - 1  adjacent to upper antenna window  26 A by moving the antenna in upward direction  78  or may place the antenna in lower position  40 - 2  adjacent to lower antenna window  26 B by moving the antenna in downward direction  80 . Positioner  76  may include electromechanical positioning components such as a motor, a solenoid, or other mechanical actuator. 
     If desired, an antenna in cavity  54  may be moved using mechanical positioning structures (e.g., structures coupled to movable lid  12 A that move the antenna without using electromechanical components such as motor or solenoid components). This type of configuration is shown in the example of  FIGS. 12 and 13 . As shown in  FIG. 12 , antenna  40  may be mounted to hinge  56 . When lid  12 A is in its open position, antenna  40  may be positioned adjacent to upper antenna window  26 T by virtue of clockwise rotation of hinge  56 , as shown in  FIG. 12 . In this position, antenna performance will be high, because antenna  40  is close to window  26 T and is unobstructed by lid  12 A. When lid  12 A has been rotated counterclockwise about rotational axis  24  using hinge  56  into the closed lid position of  FIG. 13 , antenna  40  will be rotated into the position shown in  FIG. 13  in which antenna  40  is adjacent to lower antenna window  26 B. This position for antenna  40  can potentially enhance antenna performance by avoiding the use of upper window  26 T, which is blocked. 
       FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional side view of device  10  in a configuration in which a mechanical antenna positioning structure such as expandable support structure  81  is being used to position antenna  40  based on the position of lid  12 A. When lid  12 A is open, antenna  40  is located adjacent to upper antenna window  26 T of  FIG. 14 . As shown in  FIG. 15 , rotation of hinge  56  counterclockwise (in the orientation of  FIG. 15 ) when closing lid  12 A causes expandable support structure  80  to expand and position antenna  40  adjacent to lower antenna window  26 B. 
     If desired, device  10  may include one or more mechanically reconfigurable antennas in which the distance between each antenna window and each antenna varies as a function of lid angle. For example, a configuration of the type shown in  FIG. 15  or a hinge with a slot and lever system and/or multiple slots and levers can be configured to produce a desired antenna position versus lid angle characteristic. As an example, the antenna positioning system may be configured so that below a first lid angle, the antenna is placed in a first position (i.e., a position in which the antenna is placed against the lower antenna window or is placed in the middle of the housing or another suitable position within the housing) and so that above a second lid angle, the antenna is placed in a second position (i.e., a position in which the antenna is placed against the upper antenna window or is placed at another suitable position within the housing). At lid angles between the first and second lid angles, the antenna may be positioned at intermediate positions between the first and second positions in proportion to the lid angle (e.g., in linear proportion to the lid angle, etc.).  FIG. 16  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in operating an electronic device such as laptop computer  10  so that antenna performance is optimized. At step  90 , control circuitry  28  may gather information on the operating state of device  10  such as information from one of sensors  44 . As an example, control circuitry  28  may gather information on lid position (e.g., information on angle A between lid  12 A and upper planar surface  52  of lower housing  12 B, open/closed information, or other information on how the lid is positioned relative to the base of housing  12 ), control circuitry  28  may gather information on received wireless signal strength from transceiver circuitry in wireless communications circuitry  34 , control circuitry  28  may gather information from a proximity sensor indicating whether certain antenna structures have been blocked by external objects and should therefore be switched out of use in favor of unblocked antenna structures, or control circuitry  28  may gather other information associated with the selection of which antenna window(s) to use in device  10 . 
     If lid  12 A is in an open position, an antenna  40  that is adjacent to upper antenna windows  26 T (e.g., windows  26 TR and/or  26 TL) may be used in transmitting and receiving wireless signals (step  92 ). If lid  12 B is in a closed position, an antenna  40  that is adjacent to lower antenna windows  26 B (e.g., windows  26 BR and/or  26 BL) may be used in transmitting and receiving wireless signals (step  94 ). In mechanical antenna adjustment schemes in which antenna  40  is mechanically coupled to hinge  56 , rotation of lid  12 A into its open position will move antenna(s)  40  adjacent to the upper antenna window(s) of device  10  as part of step  92  and rotation of lid  12 A into its closed position will move antenna(s)  40  adjacent to the lower antenna window(s) of device  10  as part of step  92 . In arrangements in which lid position information from a lid position sensor or other device status information has been gathered at step  90 , device  10  may use switching circuitry  64  to electrically switch the appropriate upper or lower antenna(s) into use and/or may use positioners such as positioner  76  of  FIG. 11  to move antenna(s) into an appropriate upper or lower position in cavity  54  in response to the lid position information or other status information. As illustrated by lines  96 , after a lid-position-appropriate configuration for antenna(s)  40  has been implemented, processing may return to step  90  for additional lid position monitoring using lid position sensor  42 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20130605
Publication Date: 20170613
Grant Date: 20170613
Priority Date: 20130605
Inventors: IRCI ERDINC
GUTERMAN JERZY
PASCOLINI MATTIA
SCHLUB ROBERT W.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/2266", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q21/28", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/2266", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q21/28", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/2266", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q21/28", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 50733443