阅读说明：本技术 具有互补的单极子和槽的天线 (Antenna with complementary monopole and slot ) 是由 赖建伯 吴适煌 P·C·陈 于 2019-06-11 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种天线包括导电单极子和非导电槽。该天线的非导电槽具有与该天线的导电单极子的形状互补的形状。该天线的导电单极子和该天线的非导电槽关于该天线的中心相对彼此180度旋转对称。(An antenna includes a conductive monopole and a non-conductive slot. The non-conductive slot of the antenna has a shape complementary to the shape of the conductive monopole of the antenna. The conductive monopole of the antenna and the non-conductive slot of the antenna are rotationally symmetric with respect to each other by 180 degrees about the center of the antenna.)

1. An antenna, comprising:

a conductive monopole having a shape; and

a non-conductive slot adjacent to the conductive monopole and having a shape complementary to the shape of the conductive monopole.

2. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the conductive monopole and the non-conductive slot have 180 degree rotational symmetry with respect to each other about a center of the antenna.

3. The antenna of claim 1, further comprising:

a conductive material comprising the conductive monopole; and

a hole within the conductive material and corresponding to the non-conductive slot.

4. The antenna of claim 1, further comprising:

a conductive material patterned to form the conductive monopole and the non-conductive slot within the conductive material.

5. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the conductive monopole comprises a single continuous monopole sub-region and the non-conductive slot comprises a single continuous slot region that is complementary to the single continuous monopole sub-region.

6. The antenna defined in claim 5 wherein the single continuous monopole region and the single continuous slot region are each L-shaped.

7. The antenna defined in claim 5 wherein the single continuous monopole region and the single continuous slot region are each rectangular.

8. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the conductive monopole comprises a plurality of discontinuous monopole sub-regions and the non-conductive slot comprises a plurality of discontinuous slot regions that are complementary to the discontinuous monopole sub-regions.

9. The antenna defined in claim 8 wherein the discontinuous monopole region comprises an L-shaped monopole region and a rectangular monopole region,

and wherein the discontinuous slot regions comprise an L-shaped slot region complementary to the L-shaped monopole region and a rectangular slot region complementary to the rectangular monopole region.

10. The antenna defined in claim 8 wherein the discontinuous monopole region comprises a C-shaped monopole region and a rectangular monopole region,

and wherein the discontinuous slot regions comprise a C-shaped slot region complementary to the C-shaped monopole region and a rectangular slot region complementary to the rectangular monopole region.

11. A computing device, comprising:

a conductive housing; and

an antenna formed within the conductive chassis and having a conductive monopole and a non-conductive slot that are 180 degrees rotationally symmetric with respect to each other about a center of the antenna.

12. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the non-conductive slot has a shape that is complementary to a shape of the conductive monopole.

13. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the conductive chassis has antenna areas at corners of the conductive chassis, the antenna areas being patterned to form the conductive monopole and the non-conductive slot within the conductive chassis.

14. The computing device of claim 11, further comprising:

an input device for inputting the information of the user,

wherein the antenna is disposed to one side of the input device.

15. The computing device of claim 11, further comprising:

the display device is provided with a display device,

wherein the antenna is disposed on a rear side of the display device.

Background

Computing devices, including computers such as desktop, laptop, notebook, and convertible computers, as well as computing devices such as smartphones, tablet computing devices, and other types of computing devices, typically include wireless communication capabilities. Such wireless communication capabilities may allow computing devices to communicate using Wi-Fi and bluetooth communication protocols as well as over mobile networks, also referred to as cellular networks. Current mobile networks use fourth generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication protocols and to a lesser extent slower third generation (3G) or even second generation (2G) protocols. However, infrastructures have been deployed to take advantage of next generation fifth generation (5G) protocols, which offer even faster speeds than the 4G LTE protocol, and indeed, the early basis for the sixth generation (6G) protocols has been laid.

Drawings

Fig. 1A and 1B are diagrams depicting a first example of an antenna.

Fig. 2A and 2B are diagrams depicting a second example of an antenna.

Fig. 3A and 3B are diagrams depicting a third example of an antenna.

Fig. 4A and 4B are diagrams depicting a fourth example of the antenna.

Fig. 5 and 6 are diagrams of exemplary computing devices in which exemplary antennas may be disposed.

Fig. 7 is a frequency response diagram for the exemplary antenna of fig. 1A and 1B.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram of an exemplary antenna.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing device including an antenna.

Detailed Description

As described in the background, computing devices typically include wireless communication capabilities. To enable wireless communication, a computing device includes one or more antennas to transmit and receive data. For example, a computing device may have a pair of antennas to communicate over a mobile or cellular network. One or both of the antennas may be a transceiving antenna that may be used for both data transmission and data reception, or there may be one antenna for data transmission purposes and another antenna for data reception purposes.

For different communication protocols, such as 4G LTE and 3G, wireless data communication may occur on different frequencies. Furthermore, different countries or regions may use different frequencies for the same communication protocol, and different network providers within the same country or region may even use different frequencies for the same protocol. Computing device manufacturers either have to include different antennas depending on where the computing device is intended for use and/or the network provider that the device is intended for use, or use antennas that can communicate over broadband at different frequencies.

This problem has been further complicated by the upcoming adoption of 5G communication protocols. The wide transition from 4G LTE to 5G will require time and both communication protocols will be actively used within a few years. For example, urban areas may be more heavily populated with 5G over more rural, less populated areas. Thus, the computing device manufacturer has to include additional 5G frequency antennas, or use antennas that can communicate over both 4G LTE and 5G frequencies.

Furthermore, the available space for antennas within all types of computing device space is becoming increasingly valuable; weight limitations are also a problem. Devices like smart phones have become thinner, like laptop and notebook computers, and manufacturers have attempted to make later generations of devices lighter in weight, or to reserve more space and weight for batteries at the expense of other components like antennas. At the same time, manufacturers try to increase the screen size without increasing the overall device size, or to maintain the screen size while minimizing the overall device size, by reducing the visible border around the screen and thus increasing the so-called screen-to-Space (STB) ratio.

One type of antenna that can provide multiple frequencies and thus accommodate both 5G and 4G LTE frequencies within a single antenna is known as a self-complementary antenna (SCA). An SCA is an arbitrarily shaped antenna that includes halves of a planar sheet conductor that extend indefinitely so that the shape of its complementary structure is either identical to or self-complementary to the shape of the original structure. However, compact SCAs suffer from excessive complexity, making them costly to include in computing devices in many cases. In contrast, a less complex SCA requires a relatively large conductive plane and antenna gap, requiring a greater amount of space within the computing device.

Described herein are exemplary antennas that provide a wide frequency band, including both 5G and 4G LTE frequencies, while improving on the problems with SCA. Such an antenna may include a conductive monopole and a non-conductive slot adjacent the conductive monopole. The monopole and the slot have shapes that are complementary to each other. The monopole and slot may have 180 degree rotational symmetry with respect to each other about the center of the antenna.

Thus, a computing device manufacturer may include a single antenna within its device for communicating over both 5G and 4G LTE frequencies. There may be one instance of the antenna for data transmission and another instance for data reception. In the context of a laptop or notebook computer, the antenna may be positioned to either side of a touch pad or other pointing device, rather than within a bezel above the screen, to maximize STB ratio. The antenna may be located on the back side of the display of a computing device, including a laptop or notebook computer, or other computing device, such as a smartphone, tablet computing device, to also maximize STB ratio.

Fig. 1A and 1B illustrate an exemplary antenna 100. Fig. 1A depicts the antenna 100 relative to the location of the antenna 100 at the corners of a conductive chassis 102, the conductive chassis 102 may be a chassis of a computing device of which the antenna 100 is a part. Fig. 1B depicts antenna 100 in isolation in more detail. The conductive housing 102 is made of a conductive material such as metal.

The antenna 100 includes a conductive monopole 104 and a non-conductive slot 106 adjacent the monopole 104. The monopole 104 may be conductive because it is part of the conductive material of the chassis 102. The slot 106 may be non-conductive in that it is made of a different non-conductive material, such as a plastic resin or other non-metallic or non-metallic material, or, as specifically depicted in the example of fig. 1A, corresponds to a hole or void within the conductive material of the chassis 102. As such, in one embodiment, the conductive material of the casing 102 is patterned to form the monopole 104 and the slot 106, wherein the slot 106 is a void and thus an air or other ambient gas hole or dielectric material.

The monopole 104 and the slot 106 have shapes that are complementary to each other. This means that the shape of the monopole 104 corresponds to and fits the shape of the slot 106, and vice versa. As such, each edge of the edges of the monopoles 104 facing the slots 106 is in contact with the edge because the monopoles 104 and the slots 106 are adjacent to each other. In the exemplary antenna 100, the monopole 104 is comprised of one continuous L-shaped monopole area and the slot 106 is similarly comprised of one continuous L-shaped slot area.

The complementarity of the monopole 104 and the slot 106 also extends to their corresponding edges. The width 110 of the short leg of the monopole 104 is equal to the width 112 of the short leg of the slot 106. The length 114 of the long leg of the monopole 104 is equal to the length 116 of the long leg of the slot 106. The length 118 of the short leg of the monopole 104 is equal to the length 120 of the short leg of the slot 106. The width 122 of the long leg of the monopole 104 is equal to the width 124 of the long leg of the slot 104.

The monopole 104 and the slot 106 have 180 degree rotational symmetry with respect to each other about the center 108 of the antenna 100. 180 degree rotational symmetry means that the shape is retained after 180 degree rotation. That is, rotating the antenna 100 180 degrees about the center 108 results in the position and orientation of the shape of the monopole 104 corresponding to the position and orientation of the shape of the slot 106 prior to the rotation, and results in the position and orientation of the shape of the slot 106 corresponding to the position and orientation of the shape of the slot 106 prior to the rotation.

For example, in the exemplary antenna 100, the monopole 104 and the slot 106 are each L-shaped. The long leg of the monopole 104 extends upward from its outer lower right corner and the short leg extends leftward from the outer lower right corner. The long leg of the slot 106 extends downward from the outer upper left corner thereof and the short leg extends rightward from the outer upper right corner. Thus, rotating the antenna 100 will cause the long and short legs of the monopole 104 to extend downward and rightward from the outer upper left corner, respectively, and the long and short legs of the slot 106 to extend upward and leftward from the outer lower right corner, respectively, because the monopole 104 and the slot 106 have 180 degree rotational symmetry.

Fig. 2A and 2B illustrate another exemplary antenna 200. Fig. 2A depicts the antenna with respect to its position at the corners of the conductive chassis 202, which conductive chassis 202 may be the chassis of a computing device of which antenna 200 is a part, as with chassis 102 of fig. 1A. Fig. 2B depicts the antenna 200 in isolation in more detail. As with the chassis 102, the conductive chassis 202 is made of a conductive material, such as a metal.

The antenna 200 includes a conductive monopole 204 and a non-conductive slot 206 adjacent the monopole 204. As with the monopole 104 of fig. 1A and 1B, the monopole 204 may be conductive because it is part of the conductive material of the housing 202. As with the slot 106 of fig. 1A and 1B, the slot 206 may be non-conductive in that it is made of a different non-conductive material, such as a plastic resin or other non-metallic or non-metallic material, or, as specifically depicted in the example of fig. 2A, corresponds to a hole or void within the conductive material of the chassis 202. As such, in one embodiment, the conductive material of the chassis 202 is patterned to form the monopole 204 and the slot 206, wherein the slot 206 is a void and thus an air or other ambient gas hole or dielectric material.

As in fig. 1A and 1B, the monopole 204 and the slot 206 have shapes that are complementary to each other. In the exemplary antenna 200, the monopole 204 is comprised of one continuous rectangular area. The slot 206 is also formed by a continuous rectangular area. As in fig. 1A and 1B, the complementarity of the monopole 204 and the slot 206 extends to their corresponding edges. The monopole 204 and the slot 206 have the same length 210. The width 212 of the monopole 204 is equal to the width 214 of the slot 206. As in fig. 1A and 1B, the monopole 204 and the slot 206 have 180 degree rotational symmetry with respect to each other about the center 208 of the antenna 200.

Fig. 3A and 3B illustrate another exemplary antenna 300. Fig. 3A depicts the antenna relative to its position at the edge of the conductive chassis 302, and thus relative to two corners of the chassis 302, as with the chassis 102 of fig. 1A, the chassis 302 may be a chassis of a computing device of which the antenna 300 is a part. Fig. 3B depicts the antenna 300 in isolation in more detail. As with the chassis 102, the conductive chassis 302 is made of a conductive material, such as a metal.

The antenna 300 includes a conductive monopole and a non-conductive slot. In particular, the antenna 300 includes two discontinuous conductive monopole regions 304A and 304B, which together are referred to as forming a conductive monopole. The monopole region 304A is L-shaped and the monopole region 304B is rectangular. The monopole sub-regions 304A and 304B are discontinuous because, according to fig. 3B, the regions 304A and 304B are discontinuous within the antenna 300 itself, even though, according to fig. 3A, the regions 304A and 304B are continuous with each other, considering the housing 302 of which the antenna 300 is a part, as a whole.

Antenna 300 includes two discontinuous non-conductive slot regions 306A and 306B, which together are referred to as forming a non-conductive slot. The trough region 306A is L-shaped and the trough region 306B is rectangular. Slot regions 306A and 306B are similarly discontinuous because region 306A is discontinuous with region 306B within antenna 300 itself, in accordance with fig. 3B. Even if, according to fig. 3A, the areas 306A and 306B are continuous with each other, considering the housing 302 of which the antenna 300 is a part as a whole.

As with the monopole 104 of fig. 1A and 1B, the monopole of the antenna 300 may be conductive because it is part of the conductive material of the housing 302. As with slot 106 of fig. 1A and 1B, the slot of antenna 300 may be non-conductive in that it is made of a different non-conductive material, such as a plastic resin or other non-metallic or non-metallic material, or, as specifically depicted in the example of fig. 3A, holes or voids corresponding to a plurality of holes or void areas (which correspond to slot areas 306A and 306B) within the conductive material of housing 302. As such, in one embodiment, the conductive material of the chassis 302 is patterned to form the monopole and slot of the antenna 100, where the slot (i.e., slot regions 306A and 306B) is a void and thus an air or other ambient gas hole or dielectric material.

As in fig. 1A and 1B, the monopole and the slot of the antenna 300 have shapes complementary to each other. Specifically, the shape of the monopole region 304A and the corresponding slot region 306A are complementary to each other, and likewise, the shape of the monopole region 304B and the corresponding slot region 306B are complementary to each other. As in fig. 1A and 1B, the complementarity of the monopoles and slots of the antenna 300 extends to their corresponding edges, where the length and width of the corresponding monopole and slot regions are equal to each other. As in fig. 1A and 1B, the monopole and slot of the antenna 300 have 180 degree rotational symmetry with respect to each other about the center 308 of the antenna 300.

Fig. 4A and 4B illustrate another exemplary antenna 400. Fig. 4A depicts the antenna relative to its position at the edge of the conductive chassis 402, and thus relative to the two corners of the chassis 402, as with the chassis 102 of fig. 1, the chassis 402 may be a chassis of a computing device of which the antenna 400 is a part. Fig. 4B depicts the antenna 400 in isolation in more detail. As with the chassis 102, the conductive chassis 402 is made of a conductive material, such as a metal.

The antenna 400 includes a conductive monopole and a non-conductive slot. In particular, similar to the antenna 300 of fig. 3A and 3B, the antenna 400 includes a plurality of (particularly four) discontinuous monopole sub-regions 404A, 404B, 404C and 404D that together form a conductive monopole. The monopole sub-regions 404A, 404C, and 404D are rectangular, and the monopole sub-region 404B is C-shaped. The regions 404A and 404C in the example of fig. 4A and 4B are the same in size and dimension.

Also similar to antenna 300 of fig. 3A and 3B, antenna 400 includes a plurality of (particularly four) discontinuous slot regions 406A, 406B, 406C, and 406D, which together form a non-conductive slot. The slot regions 406A, 406C, and 406D are rectangular and the monopole region 406B is C-shaped. The regions 406A and 406C in the example of fig. 4A and 4B are the same in size and dimension.

As with the monopole 104 of fig. 1A and 1B, the monopole of the antenna 300 may be conductive because it is part of the conductive material of the housing 402. As with slot 106 of fig. 1A and 1B, the slot of antenna 400 may be non-conductive in that it is made of a different non-conductive material, such as a plastic resin or other non-metallic or non-metallic material, or, as specifically depicted in the example of fig. 4A, holes or voids corresponding to a plurality of hole or void regions within the conductive material of housing 402 (which correspond to slot regions 406A, 406B, 406C, and 406D). As such, in one embodiment, the conductive material of the chassis 402 is patterned to form the monopoles and slots of the antenna 400, where the slots (i.e., slot regions 406A, 406B, 406C, and 406D) are voids and thus air or other ambient gas pores or dielectric material.

As in fig. 1A and 1B, the monopole and the slot of the antenna 400 have shapes complementary to each other. Specifically, the shape of the monopole region 404A and the slot region 406A are complementary to each other; the shapes of regions 404B and 406B are complementary to each other; the shapes of regions 404C and 406C are complementary to each other; and the shapes of regions 404D and 406D are complementary to each other. As in fig. 1A and 1B, the complementarity of the monopoles and slots of the antenna 400 extends to their corresponding edges, where the length and width of the corresponding monopole and slot regions are equal to each other. As in fig. 1A and 1B, the monopole and slot of the antenna 400 have 180 degree rotational symmetry with respect to each other about the center 408 of the antenna 400.

Four different exemplary antennas have been described having complementary monopoles and slots that are 180 degree rotationally symmetric with respect to each other. The antenna 100 of fig. 1A and 1B and the antenna 200 of fig. 2A and 2B have a monopole and a slot made up of a single continuous monopole and slot region. The antenna 300 of fig. 3A and 3B and the antenna 400 of fig. 4A and 4B have a monopole and slot made up of multiple discrete monopole and slot regions. Antennas according to the techniques described herein may also be different from and combined with the exemplary antennas already presented, as long as their monopoles and slots are complementary and/or 180 degree rotationally symmetric with respect to each other.

The exemplary antennas that have been described may be used in a variety of different computing devices, including desktop computers as well as more portable computers, such as laptop computers, notebook computers, and convertible computers. Other types of computing devices that may employ the exemplary antenna include smartphones, tablet computing devices, and the like. The computing device may include one or more instances of an antenna. For example, there may be one antenna for data transmission and another antenna for data reception, or each antenna may be a transceiving antenna that can be used for both data transmission and data reception.

Fig. 5 and 6 illustrate exemplary computing devices 500 and 600 in which the exemplary antennas described may be used. In fig. 5, computing device 500 is a laptop or notebook computer having a display device 502, a trackpad 504, and a keyboard 506. The trackpad 504 is one type of pointing device, and the computing device 500 may include different types of pointing devices (or no pointing device). Both the touchpad and the keyboard 506 are types of input devices.

In one implementation, the antennas may be disposed in antenna areas 508A and 508B under the keyboard 506 on either or both sides of the trackpad 504 as part of the chassis of the computing device 500 and within the housing of the device 500. In another embodiment, an antenna may be disposed in either or each antenna region 510A and 510B on the back side of the display device 502, as part of the chassis of the computing device 500 and within the housing of the device 500. In both embodiments, the STB ratio may be able to be increased compared to embodiments in which one or more antennas are provided within the bezel above the screen, since the bezel may then be thinner.

In fig. 6, computing device 600 is a smartphone, but a tablet computing device or other similar computing device may have the same form factor as a rectangular "tablet. Computing device 600 includes a display device 602. Similar to one implementation of FIG. 5, an antenna may be disposed in either or each of antenna regions 604A and 604B on the back side of display device 602 as part of the chassis of computing device 500 and within the housing of device 600. The STB ratio may be able to increase as well as compared to embodiments in which one or more antennas are provided within a bezel above the screen.

Fig. 7 shows a frequency response diagram 700 of an exemplary antenna, particularly the antenna 100 of fig. 1A and 1B, having monopoles and slots that are complementary to each other. The y-axis 704 of the graph represents the antenna gain in units of isotropic decibels (dBi) at the frequency represented by the x-axis 702. The solid line 708 represents the frequency response of a conventional antenna that does not have monopoles and slots that are complementary to each other.

Dashed line 710 represents the frequency response of the exemplary antenna 100 of fig. 1A and 1B. As shown in fig. 7, the gain of the exemplary antenna 100 is better for almost all frequencies compared to the gain of existing antennas. The exemplary antenna 100 has particularly good gain compared to existing antennas between 3,300 and 5,000 megahertz (MHz), which in some areas is the dominant 5G frequency.

Fig. 8 shows a block diagram of an exemplary antenna 800. The antenna 800 includes a conductive monopole 804 and a non-conductive slot 806. The slots 806 are disposed adjacent to the monopoles 804, and the shape of the slots 806 is complementary to the shape of the monopoles 804.

Fig. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computing device 910. The computing device 910 includes a conductive chassis 902 and an antenna 900 formed within the chassis 902. The antenna 900 has a conductive monopole 904 and a non-conductive slot 906 that are 180 degrees rotationally symmetric with respect to each other about the center of the antenna.

Example antennas are described herein that may have a wide frequency response, particularly over a frequency range spanning both 4G LTE and 5G frequencies. The antenna has complementary monopoles and slots that have 180 degree rotational symmetry with respect to each other about the center of the antenna. Unlike SCAs, the example antennas herein may require less space and may have lower complexity, resulting in lower manufacturing costs.