Antenna array integrated on the metal back cover of the 5G mobile terminal

Abstract

An antenna element includes a feed probe, an insulating sleeve, and a reflecting cavity. The reflecting cavity is formed by an inner concave of an outer side of the metal frame of the metal back cover. The reflecting cavity includes a first wall and a second wall. One end of the feed probe is connected with the first wall. The middle of the feed probe is connected with the second wall through an insulating sleeve, and the other end of the feed probe is connected with a signal feeder line. The present invention also provides an RF frontend system which includes the above mentioned antenna system. Through an architecture which includes a feed probe and a reflecting cavity, the present invention realizes that the 5G antenna is arranged at the sides of the mobile terminal. Therefore the 5G antenna can coexist with 3G, 4G, GPS, WIFI and other antennas.

Claims

1. An antenna applied on a metal back cover of a 5G mobile terminal, comprising: a metal back cover, a signal feeder line; and at least one antenna element, wherein the antenna element is composed of a feed probe, an insulating sleeve, and a reflecting cavity, wherein the reflecting cavity is formed by an inner concave of an outer side of a metal frame of the metal back cover, wherein the reflecting cavity includes a first wall and a second wall, wherein a first end of a feed probe is connected with the first wall, wherein a middle of the feed probe is connected with the second wall through the insulating sleeve, and a second end of the feed probe is connected with the signal feeder line.

2. The antenna applied on a metal back cover of a 5G mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein a shape of the reflecting cavity is a cuboid, and wherein a length, a height, and a width of the reflecting cavity are ranging from , , and 1/10, respectively.

3. The antenna applied on the metal back cover of a 5G mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the metal back cover includes a metal bottom case and a metal frame, and wherein the first wall is a part of the metal bottom case or a part of the metal frame.

4. The antenna applied on the metal back cover of a 5G mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the reflecting cavity is filled with low loss materials.

5. The antenna applied on the metal back cover of a 5G mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein a feed hole is disposed on the first wall, and wherein the feed probe is connected with the feed hole.

6. The antenna applied on the metal back cover of a 5G mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein one of the first end and the second end of the feed probe connected with the feed hole includes a larger diameter, wherein the feed probe includes a screw structure, and wherein a longitudinal section of the feed probe can be a T shape, a triangular, or a trapezoidal.

7. The antenna applied on the metal back cover of a 5G mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the antenna element is disposed on a long side of the metal back cover.

8. The antenna applied on the metal back cover of a 5G mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein an antenna array includes N elements, and wherein N is a positive integer which is larger than 1.

9. The antenna applied on the metal back cover of a 5G mobile terminal of claim 8, wherein the antenna array applied in the metal back cover of the mobile terminals includes at least two antenna sub-arrays which are disposed on both sides of the metal back cover respectively.

10. A mobile terminal system, comprising: a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, a receiving and processing circuit, a transmitting and processing circuit, a speaker, a microphone, and a main processor, which are enclosed by a metal back cover; and an antenna applied on the metal back cover, wherein the antenna includes a signal feeder line, and at least one antenna element, wherein the antenna element is composed of a feed probe, an insulating sleeve, and a reflecting cavity, wherein the reflecting cavity is formed by an inner concave of an outer side of a metal frame of the metal back cover, wherein the reflecting cavity includes a first wall and a second wall, wherein a first end of a feed probe is connected with the first wall, wherein a middle of the feed probe is connected with the second wall through the insulating sleeve, and a second end of the feed probe is connected with the signal feeder line.

11. The mobile terminal system of claim 10, wherein a shape of the reflecting cavity is a cuboid, and wherein a length, a height, and a width of the reflecting cavity are ranging from , , and 1/10, respectively.

12. The mobile terminal system of claim 10, wherein the metal back cover includes a metal bottom case and a metal frame, and wherein the first wall is a part of the metal bottom case or a part of the metal frame.

13. The mobile terminal system of claim 10, wherein the reflecting cavity is filled with low loss materials.

14. The mobile terminal system of claim 10, wherein a feed hole is disposed on the first wall, and wherein the feed probe is connected with the feed hole.

15. The mobile terminal system of claim 14, wherein one of the first end and the second end of the feed probe connected with the feed hole includes a larger diameter, wherein the feed probe includes a screw structure, and wherein a longitudinal section of the feed probe can be a T shape, a triangular, or a trapezoidal.

16. The mobile terminal system of claim 10, wherein the antenna element is disposed on a long side of the metal back cover.

17. The mobile terminal system of claim 10, wherein an antenna array includes N elements, and wherein N is a positive integer which is larger than 1.

18. The mobile terminal system of claim 17, wherein the antenna array applied in the metal back cover of the mobile terminals includes at least two antenna sub-arrays which are disposed on both sides of the metal back cover respectively.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 illustrates an example front view of a 5G mobile terminal with a metal back cover in accordance with this disclosure.

(2) FIG. 2 illustrates an enlarged structure schematic of an antenna element in FIG. 1 in accordance with this disclosure.

(3) FIG. 3 illustrates an example back view of a 5G mobile terminal with a metal back cover in FIG. 1 in accordance with this disclosure.

(4) FIG. 4 illustrates an example profile of an antenna element along AA line in FIG. 3 in accordance with this disclosure.

(5) FIG. 5 illustrates an example reflection coefficient curve diagram of an antenna element operating at 26-30 GHz in FIG. 1 in accordance with this disclosure.

(6) FIG. 6 illustrates an example radiation pattern of an antenna element operating at 28 GHz in FIG. 1 in accordance with this disclosure.

(7) FIG. 7 illustrates an example position schematic of 2G/3G/4G/5G/GPS/WIFI/BT antennas on a metal back cover in accordance with this disclosure.

(8) FIG. 8 illustrates an example 3D radiation pattern of an antenna array with 0 degree phase difference between each element in accordance with this disclosure.

(9) FIG. 9 illustrates an example 3D radiation pattern of an antenna array with 45 degree phase difference between each element in accordance with this disclosure.

(10) FIG. 10 illustrates an example 3D radiation pattern of an antenna array with 90 degree phase difference between each element in accordance with this disclosure.

(11) FIG. 11 illustrates an example 3D radiation pattern of an antenna array with 135 degree phase difference between each element in accordance with this disclosure.

(12) FIG. 12 illustrates an example 3D radiation pattern of an antenna array with 170 degree phase difference between each element in accordance with this disclosure.

(13) FIG. 13 illustrates an example system structure schematic of a 5G mobile terminal in accordance with this disclosure.

(14) FIG. 14 illustrates an example system structure schematic of an RF frontend system in FIG. 1 in accordance with this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(15) Figures discussed above, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the invention in this patent application are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the invention. Drawings and embodiments are provided so that the invention will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

(16) Description of appendix mark: 1 denotes a metal back cover, 2 denotes an antenna element, 3 denotes a feed probe, 4 denotes an insulating sleeve, 5 denotes a reflecting cavity, 6 denotes a first wall, 7 denotes a second wall, 8 denotes a main board of a 5G mobile terminal, 9 denotes a signal feeder line, 11 denotes an antenna array, 12 denotes an RF transceiver, 13 denotes receiving and processing circuit, 14 denotes transmitting and processing circuit, 15 denotes a speaker, 16 denotes a microphone, 17 denotes a main processor, 18 denotes an input and output port, 19 denotes a keyboard, 20 denotes a screen, 21 denotes a memory, 100a-100n denote antenna elements, 110a-110n denote receiving and transmitting switches, 120a-120n denote power amplifiers, 130a-130n denote low noise amplifiers, 140a-140n denote low loss switches, 150a-150n denote phase shifters, and 160a-160n denote RF signals.

Embodiment 1

(17) FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate an antenna system applied in a metal back cover of a 5G mobile terminal, which includes a metal back cover and at least one antenna element. The antenna element is composed of a feed probe, an insulating sleeve, and a reflecting cavity, reflecting cavity is formed by an inner concave of the outer side of a metal frame of the metal back cover. The reflecting cavity includes a first wall and a second wall. One end of the feed probe is connected with the first wall and the middle of the feed probe is connected with the second wall through the insulating sleeve. The other end of the feed probe is connected with a signal feeder line. The signal feeder line is disposed on a main board of the mobile terminal.

(18) This embodiment realizes the antenna feed process and the RF radiation to a free space through a feed probe connected with the first wall of the reflecting cavity and a feeder line. According to the application requirements, the positions of the reflecting cavity on the mobile terminal, the forms of the feed probe, the filling materials of the reflecting cavity, and the filling methods can be selected.

Embodiment 2

(19) As illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, this embodiment is similar to Embodiment 1. 8 antenna elements are disposed on a metal back cover of a 5G mobile terminal. Each antenna sub-array has 4 antenna elements. Two sub-arrays are disposed at both long sides of the metal back cover respectively. A reflecting cavity is formed by an inner concave of an outer side of a metal frame of the metal back cover through a computer numerical control (CNC) process. The antenna's operating wavelength is ( is the wavelength of 28 GHz in free space). When the length, width, and height of the reflecting cavity are ranging from , 1/10, and , respectively, the antenna element can achieve a better directional radiation. It is simple and convenient to open slots on the metal back cover through the CNC and other processes, and it also does not affect the overall appearance of the metal back cover of the mobile terminal.

(20) FIG. 5 illustrates a reflection coefficient curve diagram of an antenna element operating at 26-30 GHz. FIG. 6 illustrates a two-dimensional (2D) radiation pattern of the antenna element operating at 28 GHz. Curve 1 denotes a radiation pattern of a vertical section, and curve 2 denotes a radiation pattern of a horizontal section.

Embodiment 3

(21) As illustrated in FIG. 7, a 5G antenna in this embodiment is similar to Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2. Zone A is the position of a long term evolution (LTE) diversity antenna and GPS/WIFI/BT antennas. Zone B is the position of an LTE main antenna. Zone C is the position of a 5G antenna.

Embodiment 4

(22) This embodiment is similar to Embodiment 1. 16 antenna elements are disposed on a metal back cover of a 5G mobile terminal. Each antenna sub-array has 8 antenna elements. Two sub-arrays are disposed at both long sides of the metal back cover. A reflecting cavity is formed by an inner concave of an outer side of a metal frame of the metal back cover through a CNC process. The antenna's operating wavelength is ( is the wavelength of 28 GHz in free space). When the length, width, and height of the reflecting cavity are ranging from , 1/10, and , respectively, the antenna element can achieve a better directional radiation.

(23) FIGS. 8-12 illustrate radiation patterns of an eight-antenna element array. The differences between the adjacent antenna elements are 0 degree, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 135 degrees, and 170 degrees, respectively. As illustrated in FIG. 8, a radiation direction is 0 when the phase difference between the adjacent antenna elements is 0 degree. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the radiation direction tilts 15 degrees when the phase difference between the adjacent antenna elements is 45 degrees. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the radiation direction tilts 30 when the phase difference between the adjacent antenna elements is 90 degrees. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the radiation direction tilts 45 degrees when the phase difference between the adjacent antenna elements is 135 degrees. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the radiation direction tilts 60 degrees when the phase difference between the adjacent antenna elements is 170 degrees.

(24) Embodiment 4 describes the beam scanning pattern of two 8 antenna elements sub-array that are integrated on the metal back cover of the 5G mobile terminal, and the scanning angle of the antenna sub-array is from 60 degrees to 60 degrees.

Embodiment 5

(25) As illustrated in FIG. 13, this disclosure provides a 5G mobile terminal system with the above mentioned antenna systems, which includes an antenna array 11, an RF frontend module 12, a base band receiving & processing circuit 13, a base band transmitting & processing circuit 14, a speaker 15, a microphone 16, a main processor 17, an input and output port 18, a keyboard 19, a screen 20, and a memory 21. The RF frontend module 12 receives an RF signal from the base stations through the antenna array and produces an intermediate frequency (IF) signal and a baseband signal through a down conversion module. The baseband signal is filtered and decoded via receiver (RX) circuit 13, and the above processed signal is transmitted to the speaker 15 or the main processor 17 for further processing. The transmitter (TX) circuit 14 receives a voice signal from microphone 16 and the baseband signal from the main processor 17. After digitally processed in TX circuit 14, the baseband signal will be up-converted to be an RF signal which can be transmitted by the antenna array 11.

Embodiment 6

(26) As illustrated in FIG. 14, this embodiment is similar to embodiment 5 of this disclosure. The RF frontend transceiver module described in this embodiment can realize the beam scanning function described in Embodiment 4. As shown in FIG. 14, the RF frontend module includes antenna elements 100a to 100n, T/R switches 110a to 110n, power amplifiers 120a to 120n of the transmitter, low noise amplifiers 130a to 130n of the receiver, low noise switches 140a to 140n, phase shifters 150a to 150n, and RF signals 160a to 160n. The transceiver switches 110a to 110n and the low loss switches 140a to 140n can control whether the antenna elements 110a to 110n in the system receive RF signals or transmit RF signals. When the RF signals are controlled to be transmitted, the RF signals 160a to 160n have different phase information for each link through the phase shifters 150a to 150n, and then the RF signals are amplified by the power amplifiers 120a to 120n, which consists of a pre-power amplifier and a power amplifier, and finally RF signals are transmitted to the antenna elements 100a to 100n. With different phases of the antenna elements, antenna array can form different beam directions, so that an optimum beam pointing can be achieved in real time.

(27) Obviously, the above embodiments of the present invention are merely for the purpose of clearly stating examples of the invention rather than the limitation of the embodiments of the present invention. As for those skilled in the art in the field, there may be other variations or variations on the basis of the foregoing instructions. There is no need to be exhaustive of all implementations. Any modifications, equivalents, substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention shall be included in the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.