PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10707558-B2
Application Number: US-201715837873-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic device antenna with embedded parasitic arm

Abstract:
An electronic device may have wireless circuitry with antennas. An antenna resonating element arm for an antenna may be formed from peripheral conductive structures running along the edges of a device housing. The peripheral conductive structures may form housing sidewalls. A slot may be machined into a metal housing that separates the housing sidewalls from a planar rear housing portion that forms a ground for an antenna. The slot may be filled with plastic filler. A parasitic antenna resonating element arm that supports an antenna resonance at high band frequencies may be embedded within the plastic filler. The parasitic antenna resonating element may be formed from a portion of the planar rear housing portion.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device comprising:
 a display having pixel circuitry and a display cover layer; 
 a housing having a rear wall that opposes the display cover layer and a peripheral conductive sidewall that extends between the rear wall and the display cover layer, wherein the rear wall forms a first exterior surface of the electronic device and the peripheral conductive sidewall forms a second exterior surface of the electronic device; 
 an antenna having a resonating element arm formed from the peripheral conductive sidewall and an antenna ground that is separated from the peripheral conductive sidewall by a slot that runs along an edge of the housing; and 
 dielectric filler in the slot, wherein the dielectric filler has a curved surface that lies flush with the first and second exterior surfaces of the electronic device, and the curved surface of the dielectric filler forms a third exterior surface of the electronic device. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the second exterior surface of the electronic device is curved. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 2 , wherein the first exterior surface of the electronic device is planar. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 3 , wherein the second exterior surface is continuously curved from the curved surface of the dielectric filler to the display cover layer. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 4 , wherein the antenna comprises a parasitic antenna resonating element formed from a metal arm that extends into the slot. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 3 , wherein the rear wall comprises a metal rear wall that forms a part of the antenna ground. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the antenna comprises a parasitic antenna resonating element formed from a metal arm that extends into the slot. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 7 , wherein the metal arm is embedded in the dielectric filler. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the dielectric filler comprises first and second shots of molded plastic, the antenna further comprising a metal arm that lies at an interface between the first and second shots of molded plastic. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a gap in the peripheral conductive sidewall that extends from the second exterior surface to the display cover layer. 
 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 10 , wherein the dielectric filler comprises a portion formed in the gap in the peripheral conductive sidewall. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 11 , wherein the dielectric filler extends continuously from the slot into the gap in the peripheral conductive sidewall. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the peripheral conductive sidewall comprises a dielectric-filled gap that divides the peripheral conductive sidewall, the dielectric filler having an end that fills the dielectric-filled gap. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 13 , wherein the slot has a first segment and a second segment that couples the first segment to the dielectric-filled gap, the second segment extending perpendicular to the first segment. 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14 , wherein the electronic device has a length, a width that is less than the length, and a height that is less than the width, the peripheral conductive sidewall extends across the height, and the dielectric-filled gap extends across the height. 
     
     
       16. The electronic device defined in  claim 15 , wherein the antenna has a positive antenna feed terminal coupled to the resonating element arm and a ground antenna feed terminal coupled to the antenna ground. 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the antenna comprises a parasitic antenna resonating element formed from a metal arm that overlaps the slot, the electronic device further comprises a printed circuit on the dielectric filler, and the parasitic antenna resonating element arm comprises a metal trace on the printed circuit. 
     
     
       18. An electronic device having first and second faces, comprising:
 a display having pixel circuitry and a display cover layer, wherein the display cover layer forms the first face of the electronic device; 
 a housing having a planar rear wall that forms at least part of the second face of the electronic device and having a curved conductive sidewall that extends between the planar rear wall and the display cover layer; 
 an antenna having a resonating element arm formed from the curved conductive sidewall and an antenna ground that is separated from the curved conductive sidewall by a slot running along an edge of the housing; and 
 dielectric in the slot, wherein the dielectric has a curved surface that extends from a surface of the curved conductive sidewall to a surface of the planar rear wall, the curved surface being curved continuously from the surface of the curved conductive sidewall to the surface of the planar rear wall. 
 
     
     
       19. The electronic device defined in  claim 18 , wherein the antenna further comprises a parasitic antenna resonating element arm on the dielectric that extends into the slot. 
     
     
       20. The electronic device of  claim 19 , wherein the curved conductive sidewall comprises a dielectric-filled gap that divides the curved conductive sidewall, the dielectric has an end that fills the dielectric-filled gap, the slot has a first segment and a second segment that couples the first segment to the dielectric-filled gap, the second segment extends perpendicular to the first segment, the electronic device has a length, a width that is less than the length, and a height that is less than the width, the curved conductive sidewall extends across the height and is curved along the height, the dielectric-filled gap extends across the height, and the antenna has a positive antenna feed terminal coupled to the resonating element arm and a ground antenna feed terminal coupled to the antenna ground. 
     
     
       21. An electronic device comprising:
 a display having pixel circuitry and a display cover layer; 
 a housing having a rear wall that opposes the display cover layer and a peripheral conductive sidewall that extends between the rear wall and the display cover layer, wherein the rear wall forms a first exterior surface of the electronic device and the peripheral conductive sidewall forms a second exterior surface of the electronic device; 
 an antenna having a resonating element arm formed from the peripheral conductive sidewall and an antenna ground that is separated from the peripheral conductive sidewall by a slot that runs along an edge of the housing; and 
 dielectric filler in the slot, wherein the dielectric filler has a curved surface that lies flush with the first and second exterior surfaces of the electronic device, the curved surface of the dielectric filler forms a third exterior surface of the electronic device, the electronic device has an interior, the dielectric filler has first and second surfaces that are different from the third exterior surface and that each extend from the third exterior surface towards the interior, the peripheral conductive sidewall has a third surface that is different from the second exterior surface and that extends from the second exterior surface towards the interior, the rear wall has a fourth surface that is different from the first exterior surface and that extends from the first exterior surface towards the interior, the first surface of the dielectric filler directly contacts the third surface of the peripheral conductive sidewall, the second surface of the dielectric filler directly contacts the fourth surface of the rear wall, and the second exterior surface of the peripheral conductive sidewall is at least partially curved. 
 
     
     
       22. The electronic device defined in  claim 21 , wherein the second exterior surface of the peripheral conductive sidewall is curved continuously from the third exterior surface of the dielectric filler to the display cover layer, the third exterior surface of the dielectric filler is curved continuously from the second exterior surface of the peripheral conductive sidewall to the first exterior surface of the rear wall, and the first exterior surface of the rear wall is planar.

Description:
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/829,008, filed Aug. 18, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. This application claims the benefit of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/829,008, filed Aug. 18, 2015. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with wireless communications circuitry. 
     Electronic devices often include wireless circuitry with antennas. For example, cellular telephones, computers, and other devices often contain antennas for supporting wireless communications. 
     It can be challenging to form electronic device antenna structures with desired attributes. In some wireless devices, the presence of conductive structures such as conductive housing structures can influence antenna performance. Antenna performance may not be satisfactory if the housing structures are not configured properly and interfere with antenna operation. Device size can also affect performance. It can be difficult to achieve desired performance levels in a compact device, particularly when the compact device has conductive housing structures. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved wireless circuitry for electronic devices such as electronic devices that include conductive housing structures. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may have wireless circuitry with antennas. The device may have a housing such as a rectangular housing with four edges. The housing may have conductive structures such as peripheral conductive structures that run along the edges of the housing. The peripheral conductive structures may form housing sidewalls. 
     Antennas may be formed using slots in the housing. A slot may run along an edge of a device between a sidewall portion of the housing and a rear wall portion of the housing. The rear wall portion may form part of an antenna ground for an antenna. The sidewall portion may be used in forming an antenna resonating element arm for the antenna. The antenna formed from the antenna ground and antenna resonating element arm may have an antenna feed with a first feed terminal coupled to the sidewall portion and a second feed terminal coupled to the rear wall portion. 
     The slot may be filled with a dielectric material such as plastic. A parasitic antenna resonating element arm may be embedded within the plastic and may extend along the slot. The parasitic antenna resonating element arm may be formed from a portion of the rear housing wall that extends from the rear wall into the slot and then runs along the length of the slot between the sidewall portion and the rear wall portion. 
     The embedded parasitic antenna resonating element arm may be formed by milling operations to form the slot in the housing, injection molding operations to place plastic into the slot, milling operations to free the edges of the parasitic arm from the housing while the arm is supported by the injected molded plastic, and additional injection molding operations to embed the arm into the plastic in the slot. A milling operation may be performed after the arm has been embedded in the plastic to create a curved sidewall profile or other desired profile in the sidewall portions of the housing. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of illustrative circuitry in an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of illustrative wireless circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative inverted-F antenna in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative slot antenna in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 6 and 7  are diagrams of illustrative antenna structures that include a parasitic antenna resonating element arm embedded within an antenna slot in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a graph in which antenna performance (standing wave ratio) has been plotted as a function of operating frequency in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12  are rear perspective views of illustrative electronic devices having antennas with an embedded parasitic elements in accordance with embodiments. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an antenna having a parasitic element formed from a metal trace on a printed circuit in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 14  is a diagram of equipment of the type that may be used in processing antenna structures and assembling electronic devices in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional side view of metal housing structures into which a slot has been milled and a first shot of plastic has been molded in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional side view of the metal housing structures of  FIG. 15  following removal of some of the first shot of plastic and some of the metal housing structure during a milling operation in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 17  is a cross-sectional side view of the metal housing structures of  FIG. 16  following the addition of a second shot of plastic in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 18  is a cross-sectional side view of the metal housing structures of  FIG. 17  following a milling operation to form a curved outer sidewall surface on the housing structures in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Electronic devices such as electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  may be provided with wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may be used to support wireless communications in multiple wireless communications bands. 
     The wireless communications circuitry may include one more antennas. The antennas of the wireless communications circuitry can include loop antennas, inverted-F antennas, strip antennas, planar inverted-F antennas, slot antennas, hybrid antennas that include antenna structures of more than one type, or other suitable antennas. Conductive structures for the antennas may, if desired, be formed from conductive electronic device structures. 
     The conductive electronic device structures may include conductive housing structures. The housing structures may include peripheral structures such as peripheral conductive structures that run around the periphery of an electronic device. The peripheral conductive structure may serve as a bezel for a planar structure such as a display, may serve as sidewall structures for a device housing, may have portions that extend upwards from an integral planar rear housing (e.g., to form vertical planar sidewalls or curved sidewalls), and/or may form other housing structures. 
     Gaps may be formed in the peripheral conductive structures that divide the peripheral conductive structures into peripheral segments. One or more of the segments may be used in forming one or more antennas for electronic device  10 . Antennas may also be formed using an antenna ground plane formed from conductive housing structures such as metal housing midplate structures and other internal device structures. Rear housing wall structures may be used in forming antenna structures such as an antenna ground. 
     Electronic device  10  may be a portable electronic device or other suitable electronic device. For example, electronic device  10  may be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a somewhat smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, pendant device, headphone device, earpiece device, or other wearable or miniature device, a handheld device such as a cellular telephone, a media player, or other small portable device. Device  10  may also be a set-top box, a desktop computer, a display into which a computer or other processing circuitry has been integrated, a display without an integrated computer, or other suitable electronic equipment. 
     Device  10  may include a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12 , which may sometimes be referred to as a case, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramics, fiber composites, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of these materials. In some situations, parts of 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. 
     Device  10  may, if desired, have a display such as display  14 . Display  14  may be mounted on the front face of device  10 . Display  14  may be a touch screen that incorporates capacitive 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 be 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  14  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  14  or the outermost layer of display  14  may be formed from a color filter layer, thin-film transistor layer, or other display layer. Buttons such as button  24  may pass through openings in the cover layer. The cover layer may also have other openings such as an opening for speaker port  26 . 
     Housing  12  may include peripheral housing structures such as structures  16 . Structures  16  may run around the periphery of device  10  and display  14 . In configurations in which device  10  and display  14  have a rectangular shape with four edges, structures  16  may be implemented using peripheral housing structures that have a rectangular ring shape with four corresponding edges (as an example). Peripheral structures  16  or part of peripheral structures  16  may serve as a bezel for display  14  (e.g., a cosmetic trim that surrounds all four sides of display  14  and/or that helps hold display  14  to device  10 ). Peripheral structures  16  may also, if desired, form sidewall structures for device  10  (e.g., by forming a metal band with vertical sidewalls, curved sidewalls, etc.). 
     Peripheral housing structures  16  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). Peripheral housing structures  16  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 peripheral housing structures  16 . 
     It is not necessary for peripheral housing structures  16  to have a uniform cross-section. For example, the top portion of peripheral housing structures  16  may, if desired, have an inwardly protruding lip that helps hold display  14  in place. The bottom portion of peripheral housing structures  16  may also have an enlarged lip (e.g., in the plane of the rear surface of device  10 ). Peripheral housing structures  16  may have substantially straight vertical sidewalls, may have sidewalls that are curved, or may have other suitable shapes. In some configurations (e.g., when peripheral housing structures  16  serve as a bezel for display  14 ), peripheral housing structures  16  may run around the lip of housing  12  (i.e., peripheral housing structures  16  may cover only the edge of housing  12  that surrounds display  14  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  14 . 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 peripheral conductive housing structures  16  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 peripheral housing structures  16  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  14  may have an array of pixels that form an active area AA that displays images for a user of device  10 . An inactive border region such as inactive area IA may run along one or more of the peripheral edges of active area AA. 
     Display  14  may include conductive structures such as an array of capacitive electrodes for a touch sensor, conductive lines for addressing pixels, driver circuits, etc. 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 member  16 ). 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 of display  14 . 
     In regions  22  and  20 , openings may be formed within the conductive structures of device  10  (e.g., between peripheral conductive housing structures  16  and opposing conductive ground structures such as conductive housing midplate or rear housing wall structures, a printed circuit board, and conductive electrical components in display  14  and 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 in device  10 . 
     Conductive housing structures and other conductive structures in device  10  such as a midplate, traces on a printed circuit board, display  14 , and conductive electronic components may serve as a ground plane for the antennas in device  10 . The openings in regions  20  and  22  may serve as slots in open or closed slot antennas, may serve as a central dielectric region that is surrounded by a conductive path of materials in a loop antenna, may serve as a space that separates an antenna resonating element such as a strip antenna resonating element or an inverted-F antenna resonating element from the ground plane, may contribute to the performance of a parasitic antenna resonating element, or may otherwise serve as part of antenna structures formed in regions  20  and  22 . If desired, the ground plane that is under active area AA of display  14  and/or other metal structures in device  10  may have portions that extend into parts of the ends of device  10  (e.g., the ground may extend towards the dielectric-filled openings in regions  20  and  22 ), thereby narrowing the slots in regions  20  and  22 . In configurations for device  10  with narrow U-shaped openings or other openings that run along the edges of device  10 , the ground plane of device  10  can be enlarged to accommodate additional electrical components (integrated circuits, sensors, etc.) 
     In general, device  10  may include any suitable number of antennas (e.g., one or more, two or more, three or more, four or more, etc.). The antennas in device  10  may be located at opposing first and second ends of an elongated device housing (e.g., at ends  20  and  22  of device  10  of  FIG. 1 ), 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. 1  is merely illustrative. 
     Portions of peripheral housing structures  16  may be provided with peripheral gap structures. For example, peripheral conductive housing structures  16  may be provided with one or more gaps such as gaps  18 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . The gaps in peripheral housing structures  16  may be filled with dielectric such as polymer, ceramic, glass, air, other dielectric materials, or combinations of these materials. Gaps  18  may divide peripheral housing structures  16  into one or more peripheral conductive segments. There may be, for example, two peripheral conductive segments in peripheral housing structures  16  (e.g., in an arrangement with two of gaps  18 ), three peripheral conductive segments (e.g., in an arrangement with three of gaps  18 ), four peripheral conductive segments (e.g., in an arrangement with four gaps  18 , etc.). The segments of peripheral conductive housing structures  16  that are formed in this way may form parts of antennas in device  10 . 
     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 peripheral housing structures  16  and may form antenna slots, gaps  18 , 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. 
     In a typical scenario, device  10  may have upper and lower antennas (as an example). An upper antenna may, for example, be formed at the upper end of device  10  in region  22 . A lower antenna may, for example, be formed at the lower end of device  10  in region  20 . The antennas may be used separately to cover identical communications bands, overlapping communications bands, or separate communications bands. The antennas may be used to implement an antenna diversity scheme or a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna scheme. 
     Antennas 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. 
     A schematic diagram showing illustrative components that may be used in device  10  of  FIG. 1  is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , 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 . This processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, 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, multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) protocols, antenna diversity protocols, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry  30  may include input-output devices  32 . Input-output devices  32  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  32  may include user interface devices, data port devices, and other input-output components. For example, input-output devices  32  may include touch screens, displays without touch sensor capabilities, buttons, joysticks, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, microphones, cameras, buttons, speakers, status indicators, light sources, audio jacks and other audio port components, digital data port devices, light sensors, position and orientation sensors (e.g., sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and compasses), capacitance sensors, proximity sensors (e.g., capacitive proximity sensors, light-based proximity sensors, etc.), fingerprint sensors (e.g., a fingerprint sensor integrated with a button such as button  24  of  FIG. 1  or a fingerprint sensor that takes the place of button  24 ), etc. 
     Input-output circuitry  30  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, 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 radio-frequency transceiver circuitry  90  for handling various radio-frequency communications bands. For example, circuitry  34  may include transceiver circuitry  36 ,  38 , and  42 . 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 frequency ranges such as a low communications band from 700 to 960 MHz, a low-midband from 960-1710 MHz, a midband from 1710 to 2170 MHz, and a high band from 2300 to 2700 MHz or other communications bands between 700 MHz and 2700 MHz or other suitable frequencies (as examples). Circuitry  38  may handle voice data and non-voice data. 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 60 GHz transceiver circuitry, circuitry for receiving television and radio signals, paging system transceivers, near field communications (NFC) circuitry, etc. Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include global positioning system (GPS) receiver equipment such as GPS receiver circuitry  42  for receiving GPS signals at 1575 MHz or for handling other satellite positioning data. 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 include antennas  40 . Antennas  40  may be formed using any suitable antenna types. For example, antennas  40  may include antennas with resonating elements that are formed from loop antenna structures, patch antenna structures, inverted-F antenna structures, slot antenna structures, planar inverted-F antenna structures, helical antenna structures, 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. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , transceiver circuitry  90  in wireless circuitry  34  may be coupled to antenna structures  40  using paths such as path  92 . Wireless circuitry  34  may be coupled to control circuitry  28 . Control circuitry  28  may be coupled to input-output devices  32 . Input-output devices  32  may supply output from device  10  and may receive input from sources that are external to device  10 . 
     To provide antenna structures such as antenna(s)  40  with the ability to cover communications frequencies of interest, antenna(s)  40  may be provided with circuitry such as filter circuitry (e.g., one or more passive filters and/or one or more tunable filter circuits). Discrete components such as capacitors, inductors, and resistors may be incorporated into the filter circuitry. Capacitive structures, inductive structures, and resistive structures may also be formed from patterned metal structures (e.g., part of an antenna). If desired, antenna(s)  40  may be provided with adjustable circuits such as tunable components  102  to tune antennas over communications bands of interest. Tunable components  102  may be part of a tunable filter or tunable impedance matching network, may be part of an antenna resonating element, may span a gap between an antenna resonating element and antenna ground, etc. Tunable components  102  may include tunable inductors, tunable capacitors, or other tunable components. Tunable components such as these may be based on switches and networks of fixed components, distributed metal structures that produce associated distributed capacitances and inductances, variable solid state devices for producing variable capacitance and inductance values, tunable filters, or other suitable tunable structures. During operation of device  10 , control circuitry  28  may issue control signals on one or more paths such as path  120  that adjust inductance values, capacitance values, or other parameters associated with tunable components  102 , thereby tuning antenna structures  40  to cover desired communications bands. 
     Path  92  may include one or more transmission lines. As an example, signal path  92  of  FIG. 3  may be a transmission line having a positive signal conductor such as line  94  and a ground signal conductor such as line  96 . Lines  94  and  96  may form parts of a coaxial cable or a microstrip transmission line (as examples). A matching network formed from components such as inductors, resistors, and capacitors may be used in matching the impedance of antenna(s)  40  to the impedance of transmission line  92 . Matching network components may be provided as discrete components (e.g., surface mount technology components) or may be formed from housing structures, printed circuit board structures, traces on plastic supports, etc. Components such as these may also be used in forming filter circuitry in antenna(s)  40  and may be tunable and/or fixed components. 
     Transmission line  92  may be coupled to antenna feed structures associated with antenna structures  40 . As an example, antenna structures  40  may form an inverted-F antenna, a slot antenna, a hybrid inverted-F slot antenna or other antenna having an antenna feed with a positive antenna feed terminal such as terminal  98  and a ground antenna feed terminal such as ground antenna feed terminal  100 . Positive transmission line conductor  94  may be coupled to positive antenna feed terminal  98  and ground transmission line conductor  96  may be coupled to ground antenna feed terminal  92 . Other types of antenna feed arrangements may be used if desired. For example, antenna structures  40  may be fed using multiple feeds. The illustrative feeding configuration of  FIG. 3  is merely illustrative. 
     Control circuitry  28  may use an impedance measurement circuit to gather antenna impedance information. Control circuitry  28  may use information from a proximity sensor (see, e.g., sensors  32  of  FIG. 2 ), received signal strength information, device orientation information from an orientation sensor, information from one or more antenna impedance sensors, or other information in determining when antenna  40  is being affected by the presence of nearby external objects or is otherwise in need of tuning. In response, control circuitry  28  may adjust an adjustable inductor, adjustable capacitor, switch, or other tunable component  102  to ensure that antenna  40  operates as desired. Adjustments to component  102  may also be made to extend the coverage of antenna  40  (e.g., to cover desired communications bands that extend over a range of frequencies larger than antenna  40  would cover without tuning). 
       FIG. 4  is a diagram of illustrative inverted-F antenna structures that may be used in implementing antenna  40  for device  10 . Inverted-F antenna  40  of  FIG. 4  has antenna resonating element  106  and antenna ground (ground plane)  104 . Antenna resonating element  106  may have a main resonating element arm such as arm  108 . The length of arm  108  and/or portions of arm  108  may be selected so that antenna  40  resonates at desired operating frequencies. For example, if the length of arm  108  may be a quarter of a wavelength at a desired operating frequency for antenna  40 . Antenna  40  may also exhibit resonances at harmonic frequencies. 
     Main resonating element arm  108  may be coupled to ground  104  by return path  110 . An inductor or other component may be interposed in path  110  and/or tunable components  102  may be interposed in path  110  and/or coupled in parallel with path  110  between arm  108  and ground  104 . 
     Antenna  40  may be fed using one or more antenna feeds. For example, antenna  40  may be fed using antenna feed  112 . Antenna feed  112  may include positive antenna feed terminal  98  and ground antenna feed terminal  100  and may run in parallel to return path  110  between arm  108  and ground  104 . If desired, inverted-F antennas such as illustrative antenna  40  of  FIG. 4  may have more than one resonating arm branch (e.g., to create multiple frequency resonances to support operations in multiple communications bands) or may have other antenna structures (e.g., parasitic antenna resonating elements, tunable components to support antenna tuning, etc.). For example, arm  108  may have left and right branches that extend outwardly from feed  112  and return path  110 . Multiple feeds may be used to feed antennas such as antenna  40 . 
     Antenna  40  may be a hybrid antenna that includes one or more slot antenna resonating elements. As shown in  FIG. 5 , for example, antenna  40  may be based on a slot antenna configuration having an opening such as slot  114  that is formed within conductive structures such as antenna ground  104 . Slot  114  may be filled with air, plastic, and/or other dielectric. The shape of slot  114  may be straight or may have one or more bends (i.e., slot  114  may have an elongated shape following a meandering path). The antenna feed for antenna  40  may include positive antenna feed terminal  98  and ground antenna feed terminal  100 . Feed terminals  98  and  100  may, for example, be located on opposing sides of slot  114  (e.g., on opposing long sides). Slot-based antenna resonating elements such as slot antenna resonating element  114  of  FIG. 5  may give rise to an antenna resonance at frequencies in which the wavelength of the antenna signals is equal to the perimeter of the slot. In narrow slots, the resonant frequency of a slot antenna resonating element is associated with signal frequencies at which the slot length is equal to a half of a wavelength. Slot antenna frequency response can be tuned using one or more tunable components such as tunable inductors or tunable capacitors. These components may have terminals that are coupled to opposing sides of the slot (i.e., the tunable components may bridge the slot). If desired, tunable components may have terminals that are coupled to respective locations along the length of one of the sides of slot  114 . Combinations of these arrangements may also be used. 
     Antenna  40  may be a hybrid slot-inverted-F antenna that includes resonating elements of the type shown in both  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 . An illustrative configuration for an antenna with slot and inverted-F antenna structures is shown in  FIG. 6 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , antenna  40  (e.g., a hybrid slot-inverted-F antenna) may be fed by transceiver circuitry that is coupled to antenna feed  112 . One or more additional feeds may be coupled to antenna  40 , if desired. Antenna  40  may include a slot such as slot  114  that is formed from an elongated gap between peripheral conductive structures  16  and ground  104  (e.g., a slot formed in housing  12  using machining tools or other equipment). The slot may be filled with dielectrics such as air and/or plastic. For example, plastic may be inserted into the portions of slot  114  that are flush with the outside of housing  12 . 
     Portions of slot  114  may contribute slot antenna resonances to antenna  40 . Peripheral conductive structures  16  may form an antenna resonating element arm such as arm  108  of  FIG. 4  that extends between gaps  18 - 1  and  18 - 2  (e.g., gaps  18  in peripheral conductive structures  16 ). A return path such as path  110  of  FIG. 4  may be formed by a fixed conductive path bridging slot  114  or an adjustable component such as a switch that can be closed to form a short circuit across slot  114 . 
     To enhance frequency coverage for antenna  40 , antenna  40  may be provided with a parasitic antenna resonating element such as parasitic antenna resonating element  158 . Device  10  may also have one or more supplemental antennas such as antenna  150  to enhance the frequency coverage of antenna  40 . Antenna  150  may be fed using a feed that is separate from feed  112 . 
     Optional adjustable components such as components  152 ,  154 , and  156  may be used in adjusting the operation of antenna  40 . Components  152 ,  154 , and  156  may include switches, switches coupled to fixed components such as inductors and capacitors and other circuitry for providing adjustable amounts of capacitance, adjustable amounts of inductance, etc. Adjustable components in antenna  40  may be used to tune antenna coverage, may be used to restore antenna performance that has been degraded due to the presence of an external object such as a hand or other body part of a user, and/or may be used to adjust for other operating conditions and to ensure satisfactory operation at desired frequencies. 
     Parasitic antenna resonating element  158  may have a first end such as end  160  that protrudes into slot  114  from antenna ground  104  at a given location along the length of slot  114  and may have a second end such as end  162  that lies within slot  114 . Slot  114  may have an elongated shape (e.g., a slot shape) or other suitable elongated gap shape. In the example of  FIG. 6 , slot  114  has a U shape that runs along the periphery of device  10  between peripheral conductive structures  16  (e.g., housing sidewalls) and portions of the rear wall of device  10  (e.g., ground  104 ). In this type of configuration, parasitic antenna resonating element  158  may extend from end  160  to end  162  along the length of slot  114  without touching peripheral conductive structures  16  or ground  104  on the opposing side of slot  114  (i.e., without allowing the edges of element  158  to contact the inner surfaces of the metal housing forming slot  114 ). 
     The length of slot  114  may be about 4-20 cm, more than 2 cm, more than 4 cm, more than 8 cm, more than 12 cm, less than 25 cm, less than 15 cm, less than 10 cm, or other suitable length. Element  158  may have a width D 3  of about 0.5 mm (e.g., less than 0.8 mm, less than 0.6 mm, more than 0.3 mm, 0.4 to 0.6 mm, etc.) or other suitable width. Slot  114  may have a width of about 2 mm (e.g., less than 4 mm, less than 3 mm, less than 2 mm, more than 1 mm, more than 1.5 mm, 1-3 mm, etc.) or other suitable width. The length of element  158  may be 1-10 cm, more than 2 cm, 2-7 cm, 1-5 cm, less than 10 cm, less than 5 cm, or other suitable length). The portions of slot  114  that separate element  158  from ground  104  and peripheral conductive housing structures  16  may have a width D 2  of about 0.75 (e.g., more than 0.4, more than 0.6, less than 0.8, less than 1 mm, 0.3-1.2 mm, etc.). 
     Element  158  may resonate in a desired communications band and thereby provide enhanced frequency coverage for antenna  40  in the desired communications band (e.g., element  158  may resonant at frequencies in a high communications band at 2300-2700 MHz or other suitable band). Element  158  may be formed from a metal structure on a printed circuit, from a portion of a conductive housing structure, or from other conductive structures in device  10 . 
     In the example of  FIG. 6 , slot  114  has a U shape. If desired, slot  114  may have other shapes such as the straight slot shape of slot  114  of  FIG. 7 . In an arrangement of the type shown in  FIG. 6 , the tip of element  158  may be bent to accommodate a bend of slot  114  at the corner of device  10 . In the illustrative arrangement of  FIG. 7 , element  158  is straight and unbent. In other configurations for antenna  40 , slot  114  and element  158  may have different shapes. The arrangements of  FIGS. 6 and 7  are illustrative. 
       FIG. 8  is a graph in which antenna performance (standing-wave ratio SWR) has been plotted as a function of operating frequency f for an illustrative antenna such as antenna  40  of  FIGS. 6 and 7  (including parasitic element  158  and supplemental antenna element  150 ). As shown in  FIG. 8 , antenna  40  may exhibit resonances in a low band LB, low-middle band LMB, midband MB, and high band HB. 
     Low band LB may extend from 700 MHz to 960 MHz or other suitable frequency range. Peripheral conductive structures  16  may serve as an inverted-F resonating element arm such as arm  108  of  FIG. 4 . The resonance of antenna  40  at low band LB may be associated with the distance along peripheral conductive structures  16  between component  152  of  FIG. 6  and gap  18 - 2 . Gap  18 - 2  may be one of gaps  18  in peripheral conductive housing structures  16 .  FIG. 6  is a rear view of device  10 , so gap  18 - 2  of  FIG. 6  lies on the left edge of device  10  when device  10  is viewed from the front. Component  152  may include a switch that can be closed to form a return path for an inverted-F antenna (e.g., an inverted-F antenna that has a resonating element arm formed from structures  16 ) and/or other return path structures may be formed for antenna  40 . 
     Low midband LMB may extend from 1400 MHz to 1710 MHz or other suitable frequency range. An antenna resonance for supporting communications at frequencies in low midband LMB may be associated with a monopole element or other antenna element such as element  150 . 
     Midband MB may extend from 1710 MHz to 2170 MHz or other suitable frequency range. Antenna  40  may exhibit first and second resonances in midband MB. A first of these midband resonances may be associated with the distance between feed  112  and gap  18 - 1 . A second of these resonances may be associated with the distance between feed  112  and component  152  (e.g., a switch that may be used in forming a return path). 
     High band HB may extend from 2300 MHz to 2700 MHz or other suitable frequency range. Antenna performance in high band HB may be supported by the resonance of parasitic antenna resonating element  158  (e.g., the length of element  158  may exhibit a quarter wavelength resonance at operating frequencies in band HB). 
       FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12  are rear perspective views of device  10  in illustrative configurations in which parasitic antenna resonating element  158  has been embedded in slot  114 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , slot  114  may run along the edge of housing  12 . Slot  114  may extend entirely through the rear surface of housing  12  and may therefore isolate peripheral conductive structures  16  from ground portion  104  of housing  12 . Dielectric filler material such as plastic  114 F may fill slot  114 . Parasitic antenna resonating element  158  may be embedded within plastic filler  114 F in slot  114 . During use of device  10 , plastic filler  114 F may help retain parasitic antenna resonating element  158  at a fixed location relative to adjacent conductive structures such as peripheral conductive housing structures  16  (e.g., wall portions of housing  12 ) and the rear wall of housing  12  that forms ground  104 . An end portion of slot  114  may extend down sidewall  12 W of housing  12  to the front face of device  10  (e.g., to a layer of display cover glass covering display  14  on the front of device  10 ). 
     In the example of  FIG. 9 , the rear surface of housing  12  has also been provided with a shallow groove such as groove  114 ′ to form a cosmetic slot. Groove  114 ′ need not extend entirely through housing  12  or may be bridged by internal conductive structures and may therefore not electrically isolate portions of housing  12  from each other. Plastic or other filler material  114 F′ may be placed within groove  114 ′. 
     In the configuration of  FIG. 9 , groove  114 ′ has a straight shape that extends between opposing peripheral conductive housing structure gaps  18 - 1  and  18 - 2 . In the example of  FIG. 10 , groove  114 ′ extends between gaps  18 - 1  and  18 - 2  on the right and left edges of device  10 , respectively, while bending away from slot  114 . 
     Another illustrative configuration for slot  114  is shown in  FIG. 11 . In the example of  FIG. 11 , slot  114  has a straight shape that extends between gaps  18 - 1  and  18 - 2  and the cosmetic slot formed from groove  114 ′ has been omitted.  FIG. 12  shows how slot  114  may have a curved U shape that follows the lower edge of housing  12  while extending between gaps  18 - 1  and  18 - 2 . Other configurations may be used for forming slots in device housing  12 , if desired. The illustrative configurations of  FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12  are merely illustrative. 
       FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of device  10  in the vicinity of slot  114 . As shown in  FIG. 13 , filler material  114 F (e.g., plastic or other dielectric) may be placed within slot  114 . In the example of  FIG. 13 , parasitic antenna resonating element  158  has been implemented using a metal trace in printed circuit  164  (e.g., a rigid printed circuit board formed from a rigid printed circuit board material such as fiberglass-filled epoxy or a flexible printed circuit formed from a sheet of polyimide or other flexible polymer). With this type of arrangement, parasitic antenna resonating element  158  may run along the middle of slot  114  equidistant from the sides of slot  114 , as shown in  FIGS. 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 12 . 
     If desired, parasitic antenna resonating element  158  may be formed from a metal structure such as a portion of housing  12  or other metal member that is embedded within the dielectric in slot  114 . Illustrative equipment for forming a device such as device  10  having an antenna with a parasitic antenna resonating element such as element  158  embedded within a housing slot is shown in  FIG. 14 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 14 , electronic device structures  170  (e.g., parts of device  10  such as structures for forming antenna  40  and other structures) may be fabricated using injection molding equipment such as injection molding tool  166 . Injection molding tools such as tool  166  may be used to apply one or more shots of molten plastic to slots and other features in housing  12  and other structures in device  10 . Molding tool  166  may have a die with a cavity that allows heated liquid plastic to flow into slots such as slot  114 , other grooves or slots (e.g., cosmetic slots formed from grooves that do not penetrate entirely through housing  12  such as grooves  114 ′), and other features in housing  12  and other portions of device  10 . Following cooling, the liquid plastic may solidify to form filler material such as filler  114 F and  114 F′. Other types of arrangements may be used for incorporating dielectric into slots and grooves in housing  12  if desired. The use of an injection molding tool to mold molten plastic into slot  114  and groove  114 ′ is merely illustrative. 
     Structures  170  may also be processed using machining equipment  168 . Machining equipment  168  may include a computer-controlled milling tool, drill press, or other equipment with moving bits to remove metal, dielectric, and/or other material from structures  170 . Laser drilling and other techniques for shaping structures  170  may also be used. The use of milling equipment to process structures  170  is merely illustrative. 
     In addition to being processed using machining equipment  168  and molding equipment  166 , structures  170  may be processed using additional processing and assembly equipment such as equipment  172 . Equipment  172  may include robotic equipment for assembling components together for device  10  and for combining assemblies together to form a finished device. Equipment  172  may include equipment for attaching radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, radio-frequency transmission lines, and other circuitry to printed circuits, for coupling transmission lines and other structures to housing structures and/or antenna structures, equipment for joining structures with fasteners, adhesive, and other attachment mechanisms, and other equipment for assembling the part of device  10  together. 
     An illustrative process for forming an antenna such as antenna  40  having a slot with an embedded parasitic antenna resonating element is shown in  FIGS. 15, 16, 17, and 18 .  FIGS. 15, 16, 17, and 18  are cross-sectional side views of the lower edge of housing  12  showing how antenna  40  may be formed using injection molding tool  166  and machining equipment  168 . Housing  12  may be formed from aluminum, stainless steel, or other metals (as an example). 
     Initially, housing portion  12 - 1  (e.g., a sidewall portion) and housing portion  12 - 2  (e.g., a rear housing wall) are separated from each other by machining a slot (e.g., a slot equal in width to the final version of slot  114  or slightly narrow than the final version of slot  114 ) into housing  12 , as shown in  FIG. 15 . A first shot of plastic filler such as filler  114 F- 1  may be injection molded into slot  114  using tool  166  after slot  114  has been formed using machining equipment  168 . When milling housing  12  with the first milling operation to form slot  114 , engagement features such as recesses and protrusions may be incorporated into the walls of slot  114  to help retain plastic filler  114 F- 1 . Some of housing  12  such as housing portion  158 P may protrude into slot  114  and may later be used in forming parasitic antenna resonating element  158 . Housing portion  158 P may be supported by supporting housing portion  158 - 1  during the process of injection molding filler  114 F into slot  114 . 
     As show in  FIG. 16 , the structures of  FIG. 15  may be milled using a second milling operation that forms a groove along the outer surface of slot  114  (and that may widen slot  114 , if desire). The second milling operation may remove the outermost portion of filler  114 F- 1 . The second milling operation may also remove supporting portion  158 - 1 , thereby freeing the protruding portion of housing  12  (protruding portion  158 P of  FIG. 15 ) from housing  12  along its length except at end  160 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . This forms parasitic antenna resonating element  158 . The portion of filler  114 F- 1  that remains in the inner portion of slot  114  may support parasitic antenna resonating element  158  so that element  158  does not shift with respect to housing  12  during milling. As a result, the metal of element  158  remains accurately located between the opposing inner surfaces of slot  114  even though element  158  is no longer is connected to housing  12  along its length by supporting portion  158 - 1  of  FIG. 15 . The milling process of  FIG. 16  leaves an elongated groove such as groove portion  174  of slot  114  that runs along the edge of device  10  between peripheral conductive housing structures  16  and opposing portions of housing  12  forming ground  104 . Groove  174  may include engagement features such as notches and/or protrusions to engage injection molded plastic. 
     As shown in  FIG. 17 , after forming groove  174  and thereby freeing the edge of parasitic antenna resonating element  158  from housing  12 , injection molding tool  166  may be used to injection mold a second shot of plastic into slot  114 . The second shot of plastic may form outer plastic filler layer  114 F- 2  of  FIG. 17 . The plastic that forms outer filler  114 F- 2  may be of the same type that forms inner filler  114 F- 1  or may be a different type of plastic. For example, plastics  114 F- 1  and  114 F- 2  may have different hardness, different colors, and other material properties that are different from each other. Retention features in groove  174  may help retain second plastic filler layer  114 F- 2 . 
     Following the formation of outer filler layer  114 F- 2  on top of inner filler layer  114 F- 1  to form filler  114 F in slot  114 , the housing of device  10  may be machined again using tool  168  to form a curved sidewall shape or other desired exterior shape for the edge of housing  12  (e.g., peripheral conductive structures  16 ), as shown in  FIG. 18 . Parasitic antenna resonating element  158  may remain suspended and supported by surrounding dielectric structures such as filler  114 F (except at end  160  of  FIG. 6  where element protrudes from housing  12  into slot  114 ) during the process of machining the exterior of housing  12  to a desired edge profile, so that the edges of element  158  may be maintained at a desired distance from the inner metal surfaces of slot  114 . There is an interface (interface  180 ) between filler  114 F- 1  and filler  114 F- 2  and parasitic antenna resonating element  158  lies on this interface. 
     Element  158  in the example of  FIGS. 15, 16, 17, and 18  is an integral portion of housing  12  and has been machined from housing  12  by running milling bits or other milling tools along the edges of element  158  while supporting element  158  by injection molded plastic. If desired, element  158  may be formed from a separate piece of metal (e.g., an elongated metal member) that is suspended within slot  114  using a shot of plastic such as shot  114 F- 1 . In this type of scenario, end  160  of element  158  may be shorted to housing  12 - 1  using solder, welds, wire, a strip of metal, printed circuit traces, or other conductive structures. 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20171211
Publication Date: 20200707
Grant Date: 20200707
Priority Date: 20150818
Inventors: HU, HONGFEI
Bustle, Benjamin hane
AYALA VAZQUEZ, ENRIQUE
JIN, NANBO
CHRISTOPHY, MIGUEL
IRCI, Erdinc
YARGA, SALIH
Tong, Erica
LAKSHMANAN, ANAND
PASCOLINI, MATTIA
CATER, TYLER
CHENG, CHRISTOPHER T.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H01Q5/357", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q13/103", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K5/04", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q5/357", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/36", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K5/0217", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q13/103", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/2266", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/22", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q13/103", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q5/357", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 57961361