Electronic device with frame antenna

Abstract

A head-mounted device such as a pair of eyeglasses can have a display system. The display system can present images to an eyebox for viewing by a user. The eyeglasses can have a transparent lens through which real-world objects can be viewed from the eyebox. The eyeglasses can have a metal frame that surrounds the lens and can have temples that are coupled to the frame using hinges. Radio frequency transceiver circuitry such as cellular telephone transceiver circuitry can be coupled to one or more antennas in the head-mounted device. The antennas can have antenna resonating elements that are formed by placing dielectric fill gaps in the metal frame to divide the frame into segments. The antenna resonating elements formed by the segments of the metal frame can be coupled to the radio frequency transceiver circuitry using transmission lines.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 075,740, filed on September 8, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates generally to electronic devices, and more specifically to electronic devices such as head-mounted devices. Background Technology

[0003] Electronic devices, such as head-mounted devices, may have a display for showing images. This display may be supported by a head-mounted support structure. Summary of the Invention

[0004] A head-mounted device, such as a pair of glasses, may have a display system. This display system can present images to an eye-fitting area for the user to view. The glasses may have transparent lenses through which real-world objects and images from the display system can be viewed from the eye-fitting area.

[0005] The glasses may have a metal frame surrounding the lenses. The glasses may also have side supports that are hinged to the frame. Parts of the metal frame and / or side supports may be used to form an antenna.

[0006] Radio frequency transceiver circuitry, such as cellular telephone transceiver circuitry, can be coupled to one or more antennas in an antenna. This antenna can be formed by an antenna resonant element created by inserting a dielectric-filled gap into a metal frame that divides the metal frame into one or more segments. The antenna resonant element formed from these segments of the metal frame can be coupled to the radio frequency transceiver circuitry using transmission lines. If desired, a tunable component can be used to adjust the antenna. Attached Figure Description

[0007] Figure 1 A top view of an exemplary electronic device, such as a head-mounted device, according to one embodiment.

[0008] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of an exemplary system with electronic equipment according to one implementation scheme.

[0009] Figure 3 This is a diagram of an exemplary wireless communication circuit for an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0010] Figure 4 This is a diagram of an exemplary antenna for an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0011] Figure 5It is a graph of the antenna efficiency as a function of the operating frequency of an illustrative antenna, based on one implementation scheme.

[0012] Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 and Figure 9 This is a front view of an exemplary head-mounted device with an antenna according to one embodiment.

[0013] Figure 10 This is an illustration of a pair of glasses with an elongated side portion including an antenna, according to one embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0014] The head-mounted device includes a head-mounted support structure that allows the device to be worn on a user's head. The head-mounted device may have a display that shows images to the user when the device is being worn. In some configurations, a waveguide system may be used to route images from the display to the eye-friendly area for viewing. The waveguide system may have a transparent lens that allows the user to view real-world objects as well as computer-generated content from the display. To support wireless communication, the head-mounted device may have an antenna.

[0015] Figure 1 This is a top view of a portion of an exemplary head-mounted device. (Example) Figure 1 As shown, an electronic device 10, which may be a pair of glasses, may include a head-mounted support structure 26 to house components of the device 10 and support the device 10 on the user's head. The support structure 26 may include, for example, structures forming housing walls and other structures located at the front of the device 10 (such as a frame 26F), as well as elongated support structures (such as temples 26E) formed along the sides of the user's face. Hinges such as hinges 26H may be used to attach the temples 26E to the frame 26F at the left and right edges of the device 10. This allows the temples 26E to be folded when the device 10 is not in use (e.g., when the device 10 is stored in a case).

[0016] Frame 26F (which may sometimes be referred to as forming the front support member, the front part of structure 26, the front frame member, the eyeglass frame, or the lens frame) spans the front of the user's face, overlapping and covering the left eye area (see, for example, the left eye area). Figure 1 The left and right adaptive eye zones are defined as follows: 30) and 30) respectively. During the use of the device 10, when the device 10 is worn on the user's head, the user's left eye is located in the left adaptive eye zone and the user's right eye is located in the right adaptive eye zone.

[0017] like Figure 1As shown, frame 26F may include a nose bridge portion, such as nose bridge portion 26NB, configured to support the user's nose. Nose bridge portion 26NB can connect the left and right halves of frame 26F together and may include a nose pad if needed. Temples 26E (sometimes referred to as side frame portions, elongated side members, elongated side support members, or elongated support structures) can be connected to the left and right sides of frame 26F via corresponding left and right hinges 26H, respectively. Temples 26E help hold the rest of structure 26 and the components supported by structure 26 on the user's face. When device 10 is worn, the user can view images from a display system in device 10. Specifically, the user can view the display image when their eyes are within an eye-fitting zone (eye position), such as eye-fitting zone 30. Temples 26E may have an elongated shape with curved ends that receive the user's ears when device 10 is worn on the user's head.

[0018] During operation of device 10, the display system in device 10 can present a computer-generated image to the user's eyes within the eye-adaptive zone 30. The eye-adaptive zone 30 includes a left eye-adaptive zone (e.g., receiving the left image) that receives the left image. Figure 1 The device 10 may include a left display system that presents a left image to the left eye-adaptive zone 30 and a right eye-adaptive zone that receives a right image on the right side of the device 10. The device 10 may include a left display system that presents a left image to the left eye-adaptive zone and a right display system that presents a right image to the right eye-adaptive zone. In an exemplary configuration, the device 10 has a left and a right transparent lens 6 located in front of the user's eyes (within the eye-adaptive zone 30), and a left and a right display system, each having an optical combiner assembly supported by and / or overlapping with a corresponding lens in the lens 6, which helps to project the displayed image (e.g., an image into the left eye-adaptive zone 30) and a right eye-adaptive zone that receives a right image on the right side of the device 10. Figure 1 Computer-generated images 32 (sometimes called virtual images) and real-world images (e.g., light from real-world objects such as...) Figure 1 The optical combiner assembly may include waveguides (e.g., waveguides formed by portions of the left and right transparent lenses 6 and / or waveguide structures supported by the left and right transparent lenses), optical couplers (e.g., input couplers that help couple the image into the waveguide, and output couplers that help couple the image from the waveguide outward toward the eye-friendly area 30 for the user to view, while transmitting the real-world image to the user), and / or other components.

[0019] exist Figure 1 In the example, device 10 has displays (display systems) located on the left and right sides of structure 26. For example... Figure 1As shown, each display includes a display device 14D, an input coupler 14A, a waveguide 14W, and an output coupler 14B. As an example, the display device 14D may be a projector such as a scanning mirror device, or other device supplying an image to the user's left eye. Image light 38 from the display device 14D can be supplied to the input coupler 14A, which couples the light 38 into the waveguide 14W. Subsequently, according to the principle of total internal reflection, the image light 38 is laterally transmitted inside the waveguide 14W to a position in front of the eye-adaptive zone 30. The waveguide 14W may be supported by and / or introduced into a transparent lens, such as lens 6, which is held in place in front of the user's eye and the eye-adaptive zone 30 by a support structure 26 (e.g., frame 26F). The input coupler 14A may be a prism, a holographic input coupler, a grating, and / or other input couplers configured to couple image light from the device 14D into the waveguide 14W. Waveguide 14W can be formed of a layer of transparent material (e.g., polymer, glass, etc.) configured to direct image light from device 14D laterally toward the center of frame 26F (in... Figure 3 (In the +X direction). The output coupler 14B may be a holographic output coupler, a grating, and / or configured to couple the image light 38 out of the waveguide 14W in direction 42 for viewing from the eye-friendly zone 30. Structures such as the output coupler 14B, the waveguide 14W, and the lens 6 are transparent, allowing the user to view the real world (e.g., these structures allow the user to view real-world objects, such as object 34 in direction 43, within the eye-friendly zone 30 using their eyes).

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an exemplary system that may include a head-mounted device 10 is shown. Figure 2 As shown, system 8 may have one or more electronic devices. The electronic devices in system 8 may include head-mounted devices (e.g., Figure 1 Devices 10), such as headphones, accessories, associated computing equipment (e.g., cellular phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, desktop computers and / or telecomputing equipment that supplies content to the head-mounted device), and / or other devices that communicate with the head-mounted device.

[0021] Each electronic device may have control circuitry 12. Control circuitry 12 may include storage and processing circuitry for controlling the operation of the electronic device. Circuitry 12 may include storage devices such as hard disk drive storage devices, non-volatile memory (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory configured to form a solid-state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random access memory), etc. The processing circuitry in control circuitry 12 may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors, power management units, audio chips, graphics processing units, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and other integrated circuits. Software code may be stored on the storage devices in circuitry 12 and run on the processing circuitry in circuitry 12 to implement control operations for device 10 (e.g., data acquisition operations, operations involving adjusting components of device 10 using control signals, etc.). Control circuitry 12 may include wired and wireless communication circuitry. For example, control circuitry 12 may include radio frequency transceiver circuitry, such as cellular telephone transceiver circuitry, wireless local area network transceiver circuitry (e.g., Circuits), millimeter-wave transceiver circuits, and / or other wireless communication circuits.

[0022] To support interaction with external devices, control circuitry 12 can be used to implement communication protocols. Communication protocols that can be implemented using control circuitry 12 include Internet Protocol (IP), wireless LAN protocols (such as IEEE 802.11—sometimes referred to as...). Protocols for other short-range wireless communication links (such as...) Protocols such as IEEE 802.11ad, cellular phone protocols, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) protocols, antenna diversity protocols, satellite navigation system protocols (such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) protocol) and the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) protocol, IEEE 802.15.4 ultra-wideband communication protocol or other ultra-wideband communication protocols, etc.

[0023] During operation, the communication circuitry of the devices in system 8 (e.g., the communication circuitry of control circuitry 12 of device 10) can be used to support communication between electronic devices. For example, one electronic device can transmit video data, audio data, and / or other data to another electronic device in system 8. The electronic devices in system 8 can use wired and / or wireless communication circuitry to communicate over one or more communication networks (e.g., the Internet, a local area network, etc.). The communication circuitry can be used to allow device 10 to receive data from and / or provide data to external equipment (e.g., tethered computers, portable devices such as handheld devices or laptops, online computing equipment such as remote servers or other remote computing equipment, or other electrical equipment).

[0024] Each electronic device in system 8, such as head-mounted device 10, may include an input-output device 22. The input-output device 22 can be used to allow a user to provide user input to device 10. The input-output circuitry 22 can also be used to acquire information about the environment in which each device operates. Output components in circuitry 22 can allow each electronic device to provide output to the user and can be used to communicate with external electrical equipment.

[0025] like Figure 2 As shown, input-output device 22 may include one or more displays such as display 14. In some configurations, electronic devices such as head-mounted device 10 may include a left display device and a right display device. Device 10 may include, for example, left and right components such as a left scanning mirror display device and a right scanning mirror display device or other image projector, silicon-based liquid crystal display device, digital mirror device or other reflective display device; a left and right display panel based on a light-emitting diode pixel array (e.g., an organic light-emitting display panel or display device based on a pixel array formed from crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies); a liquid crystal display panel; and / or other left and right display devices that provide images to the left and right eye-adaptive zones for viewing by the user's left and right eyes, respectively.

[0026] During operation, display 14 can be used to display visual content to the user of device 10. The content presented on display 14 may include virtual objects and other content provided to display 14 by control circuitry 12. This virtual content may sometimes be referred to as computer-generated content. Computer-generated content may be displayed in the absence of real-world content, or it may be combined with real-world content. In some configurations, real-world images may be captured by a camera (e.g., a forward-facing camera, sometimes called a front-facing camera) such that computer-generated content can be electronically overlaid on portions of the real-world image (e.g., when device 10 is a virtual reality goggle). In other configurations, optical combiner systems (e.g., waveguides, output couplers, transparent lenses, etc.) may be used to allow the user to simultaneously view real-world images and computer-generated images.

[0027] Input-output device 22 may include sensor 16. Sensor 16 may include, for example, a 3D sensor (e.g., a 3D image sensor such as a structured light sensor that emits a light beam and uses a 2D digital image sensor to acquire image data for a 3D image from a light spot generated when a target is illuminated by the light beam, a binocular 3D image sensor that acquires 3D images using two or more cameras in a binocular imaging arrangement, a 3D light detection and ranging sensor (sometimes called a lidar sensor), a 3D radio frequency sensor, or other sensors that acquire 3D image data), a camera (e.g., an infrared and / or visible light digital image sensor), and a gaze tracking sensor (e.g., a gaze tracking system based on an image sensor and, if necessary, a light source that emits one or more light beams that, when a target is illuminated by the light beam, acquires image data for a 3D image from a light spot generated when the target is illuminated by the light beam), a camera (e.g., an infrared and / or visible light digital image sensor), and a gaze tracking sensor (e.g., a gaze tracking system based on an image sensor and, if necessary, a light source that emits one or more light beams that, when illuminated by the light beam, acquire image data for a 3D image from a light spot generated when a ... gaze tracking sensor (e.g., a gaze tracking system based on an image sensor and, if necessary, a light source that emits one or more light beams that, when illuminated by the light beam, acquire image data for a 3D image from a light spot generated when a target is illuminated by the light beam), a gaze tracking sensor (e. The sensors include: image sensors (for tracking after reflection from the user's eye), touch sensors, capacitive proximity sensors, light-based (optical) proximity sensors, other proximity sensors, force sensors (e.g., strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, resistive force sensors, etc.), sensors such as switch-based contact sensors, gas sensors, pressure sensors, humidity sensors, magnetic sensors, audio sensors (microphones), ambient light sensors, microphones for acquiring voice commands and other audio inputs, sensors configured to acquire information about motion, position and / or orientation (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, compasses, and / or inertial measurement units including all of these sensors or subgroups of one or both of these sensors), and / or other sensors.

[0028] User input and other information can be acquired using sensors and other input devices in input-output device 22. If desired, input-output device 22 may include other devices 24, such as haptic output devices (e.g., vibrating components), light-emitting diodes and other light sources, speakers such as earphones for generating audio output, circuitry for receiving wireless power, circuitry for wirelessly transmitting power to other devices, batteries and other energy storage devices (e.g., capacitors), joysticks, buttons and / or other components.

[0029] Electronic device 10 may have a head-mounted support structure such as head-mounted support structure 26 (e.g., a head-mounted housing structure such as housing walls, straps, etc.). The head-mounted support structure may be configured to be worn on a user's head (e.g., on the user's face, in front of the user's eyes) during operation of device 10 and may support display 14, sensor 16, other components 24, other input-output devices 22, and control circuitry 12.

[0030] Figure 3 This is a diagram of an exemplary wireless communication circuit used in device 10. Figure 3The wireless circuit 12C may include radio frequency transceiver circuitry 62 for handling various radio frequency communication bands. Transceiver circuitry 62 may include wireless local area network (WLAN) and wireless personal area network (WPAN) transceiver circuitry. Transceiver circuitry 62 may be designed for... (IEEE 802.11) Communication processing is available in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands or other WLAN bands, and it can handle the 2.4 GHz band. The circuit 62 may also include cellular transceiver circuitry for processing wireless communications in a frequency range (communication band) between 600 MHz and 6 GHz and / or other cellular communication bands, such as the cellular low frequency band (LB) from 600 MHz to 960 MHz, the cellular low-mid frequency band (LMB) from 1410 MHz to 1510 MHz, the cellular intermediate frequency band (MB) from 1710 MHz to 2170 MHz, the cellular high frequency band (HB) from 2300 MHz to 2700 MHz, the cellular ultra-high frequency band (UHB) from 3300 MHz to 5850 MHz, or other communication bands between 600 MHz and 5850 MHz (e.g., frequencies between 500 MHz and 6 GHz) or other suitable frequencies (as an example). The cellular transceiver circuitry can process both voice and non-voice data.

[0031] If desired, circuit 62 may include satellite navigation system circuitry, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver circuitry, for receiving GPS signals at 1575 MHz or for processing other satellite positioning data (e.g., GLONASS signals at 1609 MHz). Satellite navigation system signals for circuit 62 are received from a group of satellites orbiting the Earth. If desired, circuit 62 may include circuitry for other short-range and long-range wireless links. For example, circuit 62 may include circuitry for receiving television and radio signals, a paging system transceiver, near-field communication (NFC) transceiver circuitry (e.g., an NFC transceiver operating at 13.56 MHz or another suitable frequency), etc.

[0032] In NFC links, wireless signals are typically transmitted at most a few inches. In satellite navigation system links, cellular phone links, and other long-range links, wireless signals are typically used to transmit data over a range of thousands of feet or miles. WLAN and WPAN links at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, as well as other short-range wireless links (e.g., at 2.4 GHz to 8 GHz), also utilize wireless signals. In a wireless link, wireless signals are typically used to transmit data over a range of tens or hundreds of feet. Since the operating environment of device 10 can be switched to not using and to using higher-performance antennas in their locations, antenna diversity schemes can be used to ensure that antennas have become blocked or otherwise degraded, if needed.

[0033] Transceiver circuit 62 may include ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver circuitry that supports communication using the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol and / or other ultra-wideband communication protocols. In an IEEE 802.15.4 system, a pair of electronic devices can exchange wireless timestamp messages. The timestamps in the messages can be analyzed to determine the time of flight of the messages, thereby determining the distance (range) between the devices and / or the angle between the devices (e.g., the angle of arrival of an incoming radio frequency signal). The UWB transceiver circuitry in circuit 62 can operate at one or more ultra-wideband communication frequencies between approximately 5 GHz and approximately 8.3 GHz, between 3 GHz and 10 GHz, and / or at other frequencies (e.g., the 6.5 GHz UWB communication band, the 8 GHz UWB communication band, and / or other suitable frequency bands). As an example, device 10 may transmit and / or receive radio frequency signals in ultra-wideband frequencies with an external wireless device to determine the distance between device 10 and the external wireless device and / or to determine the angle of arrival of the radio frequency signals (e.g., to determine the relative orientation and / or position of the external wireless device relative to device 10). The external wireless device may be an electronic device in system 8 such as device 10 or may include any other desired wireless device. Radio frequency signals processed by device 10 in an ultra-wideband communication band and using an ultra-wideband communication protocol may sometimes be referred to herein as ultra-wideband signals. Radio frequency signals transmitted and / or received by device 10 in other communication bands (e.g., using communication protocols other than ultra-wideband communication protocols) may sometimes be referred to herein as non-ultra-wideband (non-UWB) signals. Non-UWB signals processed by device 10 may include radio frequency signals in, for example, cellular telephone communication bands, WLAN communication bands, etc.

[0034] Wireless circuit 12C may include antenna 40. Antenna 40 may be formed using any suitable type of antenna structure. For example, antenna 40 may include antennas with resonant elements, formed from loop antenna structures, patch antenna structures, inverted F-shaped antenna structures, slot antenna structures, planar inverted F-shaped antenna structures, helical antenna structures, dipole antenna structures, monopole antenna structures, or combinations of two or more of these designs. If desired, one or more of antennas 40 may be cavity-backed antennas.

[0035] Different types of antennas can be used for different frequency bands and combinations thereof. For example, one type of antenna can be used when forming a local wireless link antenna, and another type of antenna can be used when forming a remote wireless link antenna. Dedicated antennas can be used to transmit radio frequency signals in a specific frequency band. For example, antenna 40 can be configured to handle only cellular telephone signals or only wireless LAN signals. If needed, antenna 40 can handle only signals for the UWB communication band (e.g., UWB signals) or antenna 40 can be configured to transmit radio frequency signals in the UWB communication band and in non-UWB communication bands (e.g., wireless LAN signals and / or cellular telephone signals). Antenna 40 may include two or more antennas for handling signals in a given frequency band (e.g., to implement a MIMO scheme). For example, circuit 62 may use at least two, at least four, or other groups of antennas 40 to handle cellular signals.

[0036] Space within electronic device 10 can be very precious. To minimize space consumption within device 10, the same antenna 40 can be used to cover multiple communication frequency bands. For example, each antenna 40 can be used to cover multiple cellular telephone frequency bands and / or other suitable frequency ranges between 600 MHz and 6 GHz.

[0037] Generally, transceiver circuit 62 may include one or more radio frequency transceivers (e.g., GPS receiver circuitry, WLAN / WPAN circuitry, cellular transceiver circuitry, and / or UWB transceiver circuitry). Transceiver circuit 62 may be coupled to antenna 40 using radio frequency transmission line paths such as radio frequency transmission line path 54.

[0038] To provide an antenna structure such as antenna 40 capable of covering communication frequencies of interest, antenna 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. The capacitor, inductor, and resistor structures may also be formed from patterned metal structures (e.g., a portion of the antenna). If desired, antenna 40 may be provided with adjustable circuitry such as tunable component 50 to tune the antenna in the communication (frequency) band of interest. Tunable component 50 may be part of a tunable filter or a tunable impedance matching network, may be part of an antenna resonant element, may span the gap between the antenna resonant element and the antenna ground, etc.

[0039] The tunable component 50 may include switches, tunable inductors, tunable capacitors, and / or other adjustable components. Tunable components such as these may be based on switches and networks of: fixed components, distributed metal structures that generate associated distributed capacitance and inductance, variable solid-state devices for generating variable capacitance and inductance values, tunable filters, or other suitable tunable structures. During operation of device 10, control circuitry 12 may issue control signals on one or more control paths to adjust the inductance value, capacitance value, or other parameters associated with the tunable component 50, thereby tuning antenna 40 to cover a desired communication frequency band. Antenna tuning components such as tunable component 50 used to adjust the frequency response of antenna 40 may, herein, be referred to as antenna tuning component, tuning element, antenna tuning element, tuning element, adjustable tuning component, adjustable tuning element, switch, or adjustable component.

[0040] The radio frequency transmission line 54 may include a positive signal path and a ground signal path. The radio frequency transmission line 54 may include a coaxial cable transmission line, a strip transmission line, a microstrip transmission line, a structure implemented using metallized vias, an edge-coupled microstrip transmission line, an edge-coupled strip transmission line, a waveguide structure (e.g., a coplanar waveguide or a grounded coplanar waveguide), a combination of these types of radio frequency transmission lines and / or other transmission line structures.

[0041] If desired, the positive signal conductor and ground signal conductor of each RF transmission line 54 may be formed by metal traces on rigid and / or flexible printed circuits. In a suitable arrangement, the RF transmission lines may include metal traces integrated within a multilayer laminate (e.g., layers of conductive materials (such as copper or other metals) and dielectric materials (such as resin) laminated together with or without an intervening adhesive). If desired, the multilayer laminate may be folded or bent in multiple dimensions (e.g., two-dimensional or three-dimensional) and may retain its bent or folded shape after bending (e.g., the multilayer laminate may be folded into a specific three-dimensional structural shape to accommodate other device components and may be rigid enough to retain its shape after folding without being held in place by reinforcements or other structures).

[0042] The matching network (e.g., an adjustable matching network formed using tunable component 50) may include components such as inductors, resistors, and capacitors for matching the impedance of each antenna 40 to the impedance of the corresponding RF transmission line 54. 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 polymer supports, etc. Components such as these matching network components may also be used to form filter circuitry in antenna 40 and may be tunable and / or fixed components. In some configurations, the presence of a user's head near antenna 40 can affect antenna performance (e.g., antenna resonant frequency and / or input impedance). The impedance matching circuitry of antenna 40 may be configured to help adapt to the changed antenna impedance characteristics when device 10 is worn on the head and when device 10 is not worn on the head. As an example, the switch in component 50 may adjust depending on whether device 10 is in a head-mounted or under-head operating mode.

[0043] The RF transmission line 54 can be coupled to an antenna feed configuration associated with the antenna 40. For example, each antenna 40 can be formed as an inverted F-shaped antenna, a slot antenna, a monopole antenna, a dipole antenna, or other antennas having an antenna feed section 56 with a positive antenna feed terminal such as positive antenna feed terminal 58 and a ground antenna feed terminal such as ground antenna feed terminal 60. Other types of antenna feed arrangements can be used if desired. If desired, the antenna 40 can be fed using multiple feed sections, each feed section coupled to a corresponding port of the RF transceiver circuitry 62 via a corresponding RF transmission line path. In some configurations, the transmission line path can be coupled to multiple locations on a given antenna (e.g., the antenna can include multiple positive antenna feed terminals coupled to signal conductors of the RF transmission line). If desired, a switch can be inserted on the signal line between the RF transceiver circuitry 62 and the positive antenna feed terminals (e.g., selectively activating one or more positive antenna feed terminals at any given time). Figure 3 The exemplary power supply configuration is merely illustrative.

[0044] Control circuitry 12 may use information from proximity sensors, wireless performance metrics such as received signal strength information, device orientation information from orientation sensors, device motion data from accelerometers or other motion detection sensors, information about the usage scenario of device 10, information about whether audio and / or video is being played, information from one or more antenna impedance sensors, information about the desired frequency band to be used for communication, and / or other information to determine when antenna 40 is affected by the presence of nearby external objects or otherwise needs to be tuned. In response, control circuitry 12 may adjust adjustable inductors, adjustable capacitors, switches, or other tunable components such as tunable component 50 to ensure antenna 40 operates as needed. Tunable component 50 may also be adjusted to extend the coverage of antenna 40 (e.g., to cover a desired communication frequency band that extends over a wider frequency range than the range antenna 40 would cover without tuning).

[0045] Antenna 40 may include an antenna resonant element structure (sometimes referred to herein as a radiating element structure), an antenna ground plane structure (sometimes referred herein as a ground plane structure, ground structure, or antenna ground structure), an antenna feed section such as antenna feed section 56, and other components (e.g., tunable component 50). Antenna 40 may be configured to form any suitable type of antenna.

[0046] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna structure that can be used to form antenna 40. For example... Figure 4 As shown, antenna 40 may include antenna resonant elements such as antenna resonant element 68 (e.g., an inverted F-shaped antenna resonant element) and antenna grounding portions such as antenna grounding portion 66 (sometimes referred to herein as ground plane). Antenna resonant element 68 may have a main resonant element arm such as arm 70. The length of arm 70 may be selected such that antenna 40 resonates at a desired operating frequency (e.g., where the length of arm 70 is approximately equal to one-quarter of the effective wavelength corresponding to a frequency in the communication band handled by antenna 40). Antenna resonant element 68 may also exhibit resonance at a resonant frequency.

[0047] If necessary, other conductive structures near arm 70 may contribute to the radiation response of antenna 40 (e.g., antenna 40 may include parasitic antenna resonant elements and / or the performance of antenna 40 may be affected by conductive structures separated from arm 70 (such as conductive portions of other antennas near antenna 40)). Arm 70 may be separated from antenna ground 66 by an opening filled with a dielectric (e.g., an air gap or a gap filled with a polymer). Antenna ground 66 may be formed by a housing structure (such as a metal housing structure), a conductive portion of a display, conductive traces on a printed circuit board, a metal portion of an electronic component, or other conductive grounding structures.

[0048] Arm 70 can be coupled to antenna ground 66 via one or more return paths, such as return path 72. Positive antenna feed terminal 58 of antenna feed 56 can be coupled to arm 70. Ground antenna feed terminal 60 can be coupled to antenna ground 66 (e.g., antenna feed 56 can be coupled to resonant element 68 in parallel with return path 72).

[0049] If needed, antenna resonant element 68 may include more than one resonant arm to support radiation in multiple communication frequency bands (e.g., antenna resonant element 68 may include one or more arms other than arm 70, such as...). Figure 4 (Additional arms 70'). Each arm can help support radiation in one or more corresponding communication frequency bands. In a suitable arrangement (which may sometimes be described herein as an example), the antenna resonant element 68 may include two arms (70 and 70') extending from opposite sides of the antenna feed section 56 and / or return path 72. The antenna resonant element arms such as arms 70 and / or 70' may have other shapes and may follow any desired path (e.g., a path with curved segments and / or straight segments). In some configurations, the antenna resonant element structure such as arms 70 and / or 70' may be formed by a housing structure (e.g., a peripheral conductive member forming a frame for the annular shape of the device 10 on the front side of the device 10, a metal housing frame member, and / or other metal housing structures).

[0050] If needed, the antenna resonant element 68 may include one or more tunable components 50. For example... Figure 4 As shown, for example, component 50 can be coupled between arm 70 (and arm 70' when needed) and antenna ground 66, can be inserted into return path 72, can couple discrete segments of arm 70 (and / or arm 70') together, etc. Tunable component 50 can exhibit responsiveness to control circuitry 12 ( Figure 2 Capacitors, resistors, and / or inductors that are adjusted by control signals provided to tunable components. Figure 5 This is an illustrative graph of antenna performance (antenna efficiency) relative to frequency (e.g., the frequency range of 600MHz to 6GHz, frequencies above 6GHz, frequencies below 600MHz, etc.). Figure 5As shown, antenna 40 may exhibit one or more frequency resonances such as frequency resonances BD1, BD2, ... . Using adjustments to the tunable component 50, one or more of these frequency resonances can be tuned during operation of device 10 to cover one or more desired additional frequencies of interest (see, for example, a tuned version of frequency resonance BD1' corresponding to frequency resonance BD1). The tunable component 50 can be adjusted, and / or the size, shape, and position of antenna 40, the position of the fixed impedance matching component of antenna 40, the antenna feed section of antenna 40, and other wireless communication circuitry properties can be selected to accommodate antenna load effects caused by the presence of a user's head against the rear surface of headset 10 (e.g., typically within 0.5 cm to 10 cm of antenna 40). Antenna 40 can also be configured to radiate away from the rear of device 10 (if desired).

[0051] Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 and Figure 9 This is a front view of a portion of device 10 in an exemplary configuration, wherein device 10 has an antenna formed by a metal structure or other conductive structure in support structure 26. As an example, structure 26 may be partially or entirely formed of metal, and one or more metal portions of frame 26F and / or temple 26E may be used to form antenna 40. As an example, these metal portions may form antenna resonant elements 68 (e.g., such as...). Figure 4 The antenna resonant arm 70 and / or 70' is coupled to the transmission line 54 using the antenna feed section 56.

[0052] like Figure 6 As shown, the frame 26F may have portions extending in the form of a pair of rings around the respective left and right lenses 6 and joining at the bridge portion 26NB. The frame 26F may be divided into multiple segments by dielectric-filled (e.g., polymer-filled) gaps 80. One or more segments of the frame 26F may be formed by introducing multiple gaps 80 at various locations along the length of the elongated metal structure forming the frame 26F, each segment having a feature suitable for forming an antenna resonant element for the antenna 40 (see, for example...). Figure 4 The lengths of the resonant element arms 70 and 70' are specified. The antenna grounding structure may be formed by ground traces on printed circuits, conductive housing structures (e.g., portions of frame 26F and / or other portions of structure 26), and / or other grounding elements.

[0053] like Figure 6 As shown in the example, the gap 80 in frame 26F is used to form a frame segment that forms an antenna, such as the exemplary antenna A1 (see, for example, [reference needed]). Figure 3Antenna 40). One or more frame segments may form one or more corresponding antennas 40 on the left side of device 10, and one or more frame segments may form one or more corresponding antennas 40 on the right side of device 10. If desired, the antenna frame segments on the left side and the right side of device 10 may be symmetrical.

[0054] exist Figure 6 In the example, antenna A1 has already been formed along the upper edge of frame 26F (e.g., above lens 6). If needed, the segment used to form antenna 40 can be formed in other parts of frame 26F. For example, as Figure 7 As shown, the section of frame 26F located between a pair of dielectric-filled gaps 80 can be used to form an antenna (antenna A2) along the lower edge of frame 26F (e.g., below lens 6).

[0055] Figure 7 One end of antenna A2 is adjacent to the nose bridge portion 26NB of frame 26. If desired, gap 80 can be formed away from the nose bridge portion 26NB. Figure 8 As shown, for example, gap 80 can be located on frame 26 at a position that places the antenna further away from the nose bridge 26NB (e.g., such that one end of a segment of frame 26F is adjacent to the outer edge of frame 26F, as shown). Figure 8 An example antenna A3 is shown.

[0056] exist Figure 9 In the exemplary configuration, the nose bridge portion (nose bridge) 26NB has a dielectric-filled portion forming a gap 80 that electrically isolates the right half of the frame 26F from the left half of the frame 26F. Two other gaps 80 are formed in the frame 26F to form the frame segment of the antenna A4. Figure 9 The antenna A4 has a first portion A4T along the top edge of the frame 26F above the lens 6, a second portion A4NB adjacent to the nose section 26NB (e.g., the inner portion of the frame 26F laterally adjacent to the section 26NB), and a third portion A4B extending along the lower edge of the frame 26F.

[0057] If needed, antennas can be formed at one or more locations on the side support members in structure 26 (e.g., on the temple 26E). As an example, consider... Figure 10 Equipment 10. In Figure 10In the example, temple 26E has a dielectric-filled gap 80 that isolates a segment of temple 26E to form antenna A5. If desired, temple 26E or other portions of structure 26 may be at least partially formed of dielectric, and one or more patch antennas or other antennas may be supported on temple 26E or other portions of structure 26 (see, for example, exemplary patch antenna A6). Generally, one or more antennas may be present on temple 26E, and one or more antennas may be formed from frame segments or other portions of frame 26F. Antennas 40 may be uniformly distributed on the left and right sides of device 10 (e.g., to implement a MIMO scheme), and / or device 10 may have an asymmetrically distributed antenna structure (e.g., one or more antennas may be formed on the left side of device 10 instead of the right side).

[0058] The support structure 26 can be formed of a metal such as aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, nitinol, silver, gold, other elemental metals and / or metal alloys, or it can be formed of other conductive materials. These conductive structures can provide structural strength to the frame 26F (and, if needed, to the temple 26E). The lens 6 can be formed of clear glass, clear polymers, and / or other clear materials. (As combined...) Figure 1 As described, device 10 can display content using display device 14D. This content can be content received wirelessly using antenna 40 and / or other computer-generated content, and can be combined with real-world content if needed (e.g., using an optical combiner). When device 10 is worn on a user's head, speakers (e.g., left and right speakers) can be located in temples 26E aligned with the user's left and right ear positions. In some configurations, output can be provided to the user using speakers and / or other non-display devices (e.g., haptic output devices), and display 14 can be omitted.

[0059] According to an embodiment, a pair of glasses is provided, comprising: a frame having a lens opening; a lens located in the lens opening aligned with an eye-adaptive area; a display configured to supply an image to the eye-adaptive area; and an antenna having an antenna resonant element formed by a segment of the frame between a first dielectric-filled gap and a second dielectric-filled gap in the frame.

[0060] According to another embodiment, the frame includes an annular metal structure extending around the lens; the eyeglasses include a waveguide and an output coupler on the lens, the waveguide and the output coupler receiving an image from the display and supplying the received image to the eye-adaptive area; a cellular transceiver circuit coupled to the antenna at an antenna feed section; a left temple and a right temple; and a left hinge and a right hinge, the left hinge and the right hinge respectively connecting the left temple and the right temple to the corresponding left edge and right edge of the frame.

[0061] According to another embodiment, the dielectric filling gap and the segment of the frame are formed above one of the lenses along the upper edge of the frame.

[0062] According to another embodiment, the dielectric filling gap and the segment of the frame are formed below one of the lenses along the lower edge of the frame.

[0063] According to another embodiment, the left and right sides of the frame join at the bridge portion of the frame, and one end of the segment is adjacent to the bridge portion.

[0064] According to another embodiment, the left and right sides of the frame join at the bridge portion of the frame, and one end of the segment is adjacent to the outer edge of the frame, which is not adjacent to the bridge portion.

[0065] According to another embodiment, the first dielectric filling gap in the dielectric filling gap is formed within the upper edge of the frame, the second dielectric filling gap in the dielectric filling gap is formed within the lower edge of the frame, and the segment of the frame extends from the upper edge through the bridge portion of the frame to the lower edge.

[0066] According to another embodiment, the glasses include a radio frequency transceiver circuit that is coupled to the antenna resonant element at the antenna feed section.

[0067] According to another embodiment, the radio frequency transceiver circuit includes a cellular telephone transceiver circuit configured to operate at a frequency between 500 MHz and 6 GHz.

[0068] According to another embodiment, the antenna includes a tunable component.

[0069] According to an embodiment, a head-mounted device is provided, comprising: a frame having a left half and a right half connected at a bridge of the nose; a left elongated side member and a right elongated side member connected to the left half and the right half via corresponding left and right hinges; a left display system coupled to the left half, the left display system being configured to generate a left image for a left-adaptive region, the left display system being configured to allow viewing of real-world objects through the left display system from the left-adaptive region; and a right display system coupled to the right half, the right display system being configured to generate a right image for a right-adaptive region, the right display system being configured to allow viewing of real-world objects through the right display system from the right-adaptive region; and a dielectric gap located in the frame, the dielectric gap forming a segment of the frame that acts as an antenna.

[0070] According to another embodiment, the frame includes a metal member surrounding the left and right lenses, and the segment includes a metal segment of the metal member that forms an antenna resonant element for the antenna.

[0071] According to another embodiment, the antenna includes a cellular telephone antenna.

[0072] According to another embodiment, the left display system includes a left output coupler overlapping the left lens, and the right display system includes a right output coupler overlapping the right lens.

[0073] According to another embodiment, the metal segment is formed along the upper edge of the frame.

[0074] According to another embodiment, the metal segment is formed along the lower edge of the frame.

[0075] According to the implementation scheme, a pair of glasses is provided, including: a transparent lens through which real-world objects can be viewed from an eye-friendly area; a display system configured to present an image in the eye-friendly area; a metal frame extending around a peripheral portion of the transparent lens; a radio frequency transceiver circuit; and a dielectric gap located in the metal frame, the dielectric gap forming a segment of the metal frame that acts as an antenna resonant element coupled to the radio frequency transceiver circuit in an antenna.

[0076] According to another embodiment, the radio frequency transceiver circuit includes a cellular telephone transceiver circuit.

[0077] According to another embodiment, the glasses include a tunable component coupled to the antenna resonant element.

[0078] According to another embodiment, the antenna includes an antenna selected from the group consisting of: a monopole antenna and an inverted-F antenna.

[0079] The foregoing description is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described implementation scheme. The described implementation scheme can be implemented independently or in any combination.

Claims

1. A pair of glasses, including: A frame having a lens opening; A lens, the lens being located in a lens opening aligned with the eye area; A display configured to supply an image to the eye-friendly area; as well as The antenna has an antenna resonant element formed by a segment of the frame between a first dielectric-filled gap and a second dielectric-filled gap within the frame. The first dielectric filling gap is formed within the upper edge of the frame, the second dielectric filling gap is formed within the lower edge of the frame, and the segment of the frame extends from the upper edge through the bridge portion of the frame to the lower edge.

2. The eyeglasses of claim 1, wherein the frame comprises an annular metal structure extending around the lens, and the eyeglasses further comprises: A waveguide and an output coupler, located on the lens, the waveguide and the output coupler receiving an image from the display and supplying the received image to the eye-friendly area; A cellular telephone transceiver circuit, wherein the cellular telephone transceiver circuit is coupled to the antenna at the antenna feed section; Left temple and right temple; as well as A left hinge and a right hinge, which respectively connect the left temple and the right temple to the corresponding left and right edges of the frame.

3. The eyeglasses of claim 1, wherein the upper edge of the frame is above one of the lenses.

4. The eyeglasses of claim 3, wherein the lower edge of the frame is below one of the lenses.

5. The eyeglasses of claim 4, wherein the left and right sides of the frame are joined at the bridge portion of the frame, and wherein the bridge portion includes a third dielectric-filled gap that electrically isolates the right side of the frame from the left side of the frame.

6. The eyeglasses of claim 5, wherein the segment is adjacent to the third dielectric filling gap in the bridge of the nose portion.

7. The eyeglasses of claim 5, wherein the first dielectric filling gap, the second dielectric filling gap, and the third dielectric filling gap define the segment.

8. The eyeglasses according to claim 1 further includes a radio frequency transceiver circuit, the radio frequency transceiver circuit being coupled to the antenna resonant element at the antenna feed section.

9. The eyeglasses of claim 8, wherein the radio frequency transceiver circuitry includes a cellular telephone transceiver circuitry configured to operate at a frequency between 500 MHz and 6 GHz.

10. The eyeglasses of claim 9, wherein the antenna includes a tunable component.

11. A head-mounted device, comprising: A frame having a left half and a right half connected at the bridge of the nose; A left slender side member and a right slender side member, the left slender side member and the right slender side member being connected to the left half and the right half by corresponding left hinges and right hinges; A left display system coupled to the left half, the left display system being configured to generate a left image for the left eye region, wherein the left display system is configured to allow viewing of real-world objects from the left eye region through the left display system; as well as A right display system coupled to the right half, the right display system being configured to generate a right image for the right adaptive field of view, wherein the right display system is configured to allow viewing of the real-world object from the right adaptive field of view through the right display system; as well as A dielectric gap is located within the frame, forming a segment of the frame for an antenna, wherein the antenna includes a first antenna resonant arm and a second antenna resonant arm extending from opposite sides of an antenna feed section, wherein each of the first and second antenna resonant arms supports radiation in one or more corresponding communication frequency bands, wherein the first and second antenna resonant arms are formed by the segment of the frame formed by the dielectric gap in the frame, and wherein the antenna is formed along the edge of the frame.

12. The head-mounted device of claim 11, wherein the frame includes a metal member surrounding a left lens and a right lens, and wherein the segment includes a metal segment of the metal member, the metal segment forming the first antenna resonant element arm and the second antenna resonant element arm of the antenna.

13. The head-mounted device of claim 12, wherein the antenna comprises a cellular telephone antenna.

14. The head-mounted device of claim 13, wherein the left display system includes a left output coupler overlapping the left lens, and wherein the right display system includes a right output coupler overlapping the right lens.

15. The head-mounted device of claim 14, wherein the antenna along the edge of the frame formed therein is the upper edge of the frame above the right lens.

16. The head-mounted device of claim 15, wherein the antenna along the edge of the frame formed therein is the lower edge of the frame below the right lens.

17. A pair of glasses, including: A transparent lens through which real-world objects can be viewed from the eye-friendly area; A display system configured to present an image in the eye-friendly area; A metal frame that extends around the periphery of the transparent lens; RF transceiver circuit; as well as A dielectric gap is located within the metal frame, forming a metal frame segment that forms a first antenna resonant arm and a second antenna resonant arm coupled to the RF transceiver circuit in the antenna. The first and second antenna resonant arms extend from opposite sides of the antenna feed, each supporting radiation in one or more corresponding communication frequency bands. The antenna is formed along the edge of the frame above one of the transparent lenses.

18. The eyeglasses of claim 17, wherein the radio frequency transceiver circuit includes a cellular telephone transceiver circuit.

19. The eyeglasses of claim 18, further comprising an tunable component coupled to the first antenna resonant element arm.

20. The eyeglasses of claim 19, wherein the antenna comprises an antenna selected from the group consisting of a monopole antenna and an inverted-F antenna.

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