Antenna for electronic device

Abstract

An antenna is provided. The antenna includes, but is not limited to, a ground element having a first shape, a radiating element having a second shape, and a housing having the second shape. The radiating element is electrically coupled with the ground element, and the housing surrounds the radiating element. The second shape of the housing and the radiating element is different from the first shape of the grounding element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to electronic devices, and more particularly to antennas for electronic devices. Background Art

[0002] Antennas are widely used in electronic devices for the purpose of transmitting data via a communication medium. Antennas are usually embedded in electronic devices and are configured to generate or receive signals via a communication network to interact with other devices.

[0003] However, applicants have recognized many technical challenges and difficulties associated with antennas for electronic devices.Through continued effort, ingenuity and innovation, applicants have solved the problems associated with antennas by developing solutions embodied in the present disclosure, which are described in detail below. Summary of the invention

[0004] Various embodiments described herein relate to components of an antenna for a communication system.

[0005] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an antenna is provided. The antenna includes, but is not limited to, a ground element having a first shape and a radiating element having a second shape. The radiating element is electrically coupled to the ground element. The antenna also includes a housing having a second shape, wherein the housing surrounds the radiating element, and wherein the second shape of the radiating element is different from the first shape of the ground element.

[0006] In some embodiments, the ground element includes a first portion and a second portion.

[0007] In some embodiments, a first portion of the ground element is included within the housing and a second portion of the ground element is external to the housing.

[0008] In some embodiments, the antenna further comprises a housing, wherein the housing surrounds the antenna.

[0009] In some embodiments, the housing limits the electromagnetic field distribution within the first portion of the ground element.

[0010] In some embodiments, the second shape of the housing includes at least one of a square, a circle, or an oval.

[0011] In some embodiments, one or more edges of the housing are parallel to one or more edges of the radiating element.

[0012] In some embodiments, an edge of the radiating element is positioned at a predetermined distance from and parallel to an edge of the housing.

[0013] In some embodiments, an electronic device is provided. The device includes an antenna. The antenna includes, but is not limited to, a ground element having a first shape and a radiating element having a second shape. The radiating element is electrically coupled to the ground element. The antenna also includes a housing having a second shape, wherein the housing surrounds the radiating element, and wherein the second shape of the radiating element is different from the first shape of the ground element.

[0014] In some embodiments, an RFID (radio frequency identification device) device is provided. The RFID device includes an antenna. The antenna includes, but is not limited to, a ground element having a first shape and a radiating element having a second shape. The radiating element is electrically coupled to the ground element. The antenna also includes a housing having a second shape, wherein the housing surrounds the radiating element, and wherein the second shape of the radiating element is different from the first shape of the ground element.

[0015] The above exemplary invention content and other exemplary objects and / or advantages of the present disclosure and the manner of achieving these objects and / or advantages are further explained in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The description of the exemplary embodiments may be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It will be appreciated that, for simplicity and clarity of illustration, the elements shown in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale unless otherwise described. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements unless otherwise described. Embodiments incorporating the teachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respect to the drawings presented herein, in which:

[0017] Figure 1 shows a side view of an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 2 shows a perspective view of an antenna according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 3 shows a side view of an antenna according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 4 shows an exploded view of an antenna according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 5 shows a top view of an antenna according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 6 shows current distribution on the surface of an example antenna according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 7shows radiation patterns produced by antennas according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG8 shows example curves showing the performance parameters of an antenna, namely, return loss, circular polarization gain, and axial ratio of the antenna versus frequency, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] Fig.9A shows alternative structures of antennas according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0026] Fig. 9B Another alternative structure of an antenna according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0027] Fig.10 shows a block diagram of an example RFID communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0028] Fig.11 A block diagram of an example controller of an example RFID communication system is shown in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show some, but not all, embodiments of the present disclosure. In fact, these disclosures can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure satisfies applicable legal requirements. The same reference numerals refer to the same elements throughout.

[0030] As used herein, terms such as "front," "rear," "top," and the like are used for illustrative purposes in the examples provided below to describe the relative positions of certain components or portions of components. Additionally, as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, the terms "substantially" and "approximately" indicate that the referenced element or associated description is accurate within an applicable engineering tolerance.

[0031] As used herein, the term "comprising" means including but not limited to, and should be interpreted in the manner in which it is typically used in a patent context. It should be understood that the use of broad terms such as "comprising," "including," and "having" provides support for narrower terms such as "consisting of," "consisting essentially of," and "consisting essentially of."

[0032] The phrases "in one embodiment," "according to one embodiment," and the like generally mean that the particular feature, structure, or characteristic following the phrase may be included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, and may be included in more than one embodiment of the present disclosure (importantly, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment).

[0033] As used herein, the word “example” or “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations.

[0034] If the specification states that a component or feature "may", "could", "might", "should", "will", "preferably", "likely", "typically", "optionally", "for example", "usually", or "might" (or other such language) be included or have a property, the specific component or feature need not be included or have that property. Such a component or feature may optionally be included in some embodiments, or it may be excluded.

[0035] Antennas are widely used in electronic devices, such as, but not limited to, radio frequency identification (RFID) readers, for the purpose of transmitting data via a wireless medium. Some examples of such antennas include, but are not limited to, patch antennas, coiled rod antennas, corner reflector antennas, etc. Typically, antennas used in such electronic devices are configured to generate signals with a predetermined polarization (e.g., circular polarization). However, the performance metric of such polarized signals depends on the shape of the electronic device itself in which the antenna is embedded. More specifically, the performance metric of circularly polarized signals depends on the shape of the antenna's ground element, which can control the shape of the electronic device.

[0036] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an antenna is provided. The antenna includes, but is not limited to, a ground element having a first shape and a radiating element having a second shape. In some examples, the radiating element may be electrically coupled to the ground element. The antenna also includes a housing having a second shape and is positioned to surround the radiating element. The second shape of the radiating element is different from the first shape of the ground element. In some embodiments, a first portion of the ground element is included in the housing, and a second portion of the ground element is outside the housing. In some embodiments, the housing limits the electromagnetic field distribution within the first portion of the ground element. In some embodiments, the second shape of the housing includes at least one of a square, a circle, or an ellipse. In some embodiments, one or more edges of the housing are parallel to one or more edges of the radiating element. In some embodiments, the edge of the radiating element is positioned at a predetermined distance from the edge of the housing and parallel to the edge of the housing.

[0037] In some examples, an advantage of the example antenna is the enhanced performance metrics of the antenna achieved by the housing so that the antenna can be easily embedded into other electronic devices regardless of the shape of the electronic device.

[0038] Figure 1 A side view 100 of an electronic device 102 is shown in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. In an example embodiment, the electronic device 102 includes a housing 104 and an antenna 106.

[0039] In an example embodiment, the electronic device 102 may correspond to a device capable of sending and receiving messages and / or data via a communication network, such as, but not limited to, a wireless communication network and / or a wired communication network, such as, but not limited to, radio frequency communication, near field communication (NFC), I2C (inter-integrated circuit), TCP / IP (transmission control protocol / internet protocol), UDP (user datagram protocol) or 2G, 3G, 4G or 5G communication protocols or cellular networks, wireless local area networks (WLAN), satellite communication networks or microwave networks, etc. For example, the electronic device 102 may be configured to communicate with one or more RFID tags. To this end, the electronic device 102 may send an interrogation signal to the one or more RFID tags using the antenna 106. In response to the interrogation signal, the electronic device 102 may receive a response from the one or more RFID tags via the antenna 106. Some examples of the electronic device 102 include, but are not limited to, an RFID reader or transceiver, a handheld scanner, a mobile phone, etc.

[0040] In an example embodiment, the housing 104 may correspond to a recessed cover configured to accommodate an antenna 106 of the electronic device. For example, the housing 104 may be made of a non-conductive material such as a polymer. In some examples, the housing 104 may be configured to prevent foreign particles (such as dust or water) from entering the electronic device.

[0041] In an example embodiment, the antenna 106 may be configured to generate or receive a signal via a communication network, such as, but not limited to, a wireless communication network and / or a wired communication network, such as, but not limited to, radio frequency communication, near field communication (NFC), a cellular network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a satellite communication network, or a microwave network. In an example embodiment, the antenna 106 may be configured to generate a signal having a predetermined polarization (such as circular polarization). In an example embodiment, in combination with Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 The structure of the antenna 106 is further described.

[0042] Figure 2A perspective view of the antenna 106 is shown, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In an example embodiment, the antenna 106 includes a ground element 202, a radiating element 204, and a housing 206.

[0043] In an exemplary embodiment, the ground element 202 corresponds to a flat conductive surface that can reflect waves received from other antennas. In some examples, the reflected waves are detected by the radiating element 204. For example, a signal from one or more RFID tags is reflected by the ground element 202 toward the radiating element 204. As another example, a signal generated by the radiating element 204 is reflected by the ground element 202 toward other antennas (such as one or more RFID tags). In an exemplary embodiment, the size of the ground element 202 is λ / 4 of the wavelength of the signal sent / received by the radiating element 204. For example, the ground element 202 is electrically coupled to the radiating element 204. As another example, the ground element 202 is electrically decoupled and / or disconnected from the radiating element 204. In an exemplary embodiment, the ground element 202 has a first shape. Some examples of the first shape may include, but are not limited to, a rectangular shape, a circular shape, and a square shape. Without departing from the scope of the present invention, the ground element may include any other shape. For the purpose of continuous description, the shape of the ground element 202 is considered to be a rectangular shape, however, a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to a ground element 202 having a rectangular shape. In an example embodiment, the ground element 202 has a first edge 208, a second edge 210, a third edge 212, and a fourth edge 214. In some examples, the first edge 208 and the third edge 212 indicate the width of the ground element 202, while the second edge 210 and the fourth edge 214 indicate the length of the ground element 202. In an example embodiment, the ground element 202 includes a first portion 216 and a second portion 218. The first portion 216 extends between the first edge 208, the second edge 210, the third edge 212, the fourth edge 214, and the boundary 220 (between the first portion 216 and the second portion 218). To this end, the second portion 218 and the ground element 202 may correspond to concentric polygons. In some examples, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the second portion 218 of the ground element 202 and the ground element 202 itself corresponding to concentric polygons. In an example embodiment, the second portion 218 of the ground element 202 may be defined at an offset position from the center of the ground element 202. For example, second portion 218 of ground element 202 may be defined proximate at least one of first edge 208, second edge 210, third edge 212, and / or fourth edge 214. Some examples of ground element 202 include, but are not limited to, a ground layer, a substrate, or a printed circuit board.

[0044] In an example embodiment, the second portion 218 of the ground element 202 is configured to receive the housing 206. In some examples, the edge 222 of the housing 206 coincides with the boundary 220 between the first portion 216 of the ground element 202 and the second portion 218 of the ground element 202. The housing 206 may correspond to a frame having a predetermined width along the first axis 224 of the electronic device 202. For example, the width of the housing may range between 19 mm and 20 mm. In an example embodiment, the housing 206 may be made of a metal such as copper, aluminum, and / or any other conductive material. In some examples, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to arranging the housing 206 on the second portion 218 of the ground element 202. In an example embodiment, the housing 206 may be manufactured directly on the ground element 202 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. To this end, the ground element 202 may correspond to a PCB on which the housing 206 is manufactured.

[0045] In an example embodiment, the housing 206 may have a second shape that is different from the first shape of the ground element 202. For example, the second shape of the housing 206 may correspond to a square shape, however, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the housing 206 having a square shape. In some examples, the housing 206 may have a circular shape, an oval shape, and / or any other shape.

[0046] In an exemplary embodiment, the radiating element 204 is disposed within the housing 206 (which is disposed in the second portion 218 of the ground element 202). The radiating element is generally configured to generate electromagnetic (EM) waves that are transmitted to other devices. In some embodiments, the radiating element 204 may be configured to receive EM waves from other electronic devices such as RFID tags. Additionally or alternatively, the radiating element 204 may be configured to transmit an electromagnetic signal to an RFID passive tag antenna to excite the RFID passive tag antenna. In some examples, the tag integrated circuit (IC) information may be transmitted back to the radiating element 204 by the RFID passive tag antenna. In some examples, the electromagnetic waves radiated from the radiating element 204 may be circularly polarized. In some examples, the radiating element 204 may correspond to an etched metal layer (not shown) on a PCB, which may have a second shape to allow transmission and reception of EM waves. For example, the radiating element 204 may have a loop structure in a square shape. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to radiating elements having a square shape. In an exemplary embodiment, the radiating element 204 may have any other shape that allows transmission and reception of EM waves. In an example embodiment, the shape of the radiating element 204 is the same as the shape of the housing 206. Some examples of radiating elements include patch antennas, which may be square, rectangular, circular, or elliptical in shape.

[0047] refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4, showing a side view 300 and an exploded view 400 of the antenna 106 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0048] In some examples, the side view 300 shows the ground element 202, the housing 206, and the radiating element 204. In an example embodiment, the housing 206 is disposed on the ground element 202. In addition, the radiating element 204 is received in the housing 206 and is disposed on the ground element 202. In addition, the front portion 302 of the housing 104 is disposed on the housing 206. In some examples, the shape of the portion of the housing 104 is the same as the first shape of the ground element 202. In an alternative embodiment, the radiating element 204 can be separate from the ground element 202 and can not be disposed on the ground element 202. To this end, the radiating element 204 can be electrically coupled to the ground element 202 and can be located within the housing 206.

[0049] Referring to the exploded view 400, the ground element 202 is received within the rear portion 402 of the housing 104. Further, referring to the exploded view 400, the housing 206 is received within the second portion 218 of the ground element 202. The perimeter / outer periphery of the housing 206 coincides with the boundary 220 between the first portion 216 of the ground element 202 and the second portion 218 of the ground element 202. Further, the radiating element 204 is disposed between the housings 206.

[0050] refer to Figure 5 , which shows a top view 500 of the antenna 106 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In an exemplary embodiment, the edge 502 of the radiating element 204 is positioned at a predetermined distance from the housing 206. In an exemplary embodiment, the predetermined distance d is determined based on the following mathematical relationship (Formula 1):

[0051] d ≥ 0.6 λ Formula 1

[0052] Wherein, λ is the wavelength of the signal sent by the radiation element 204 .

[0053] For example, the predetermined distance d may be in the range between 19 mm and 20 mm.

[0054] In some examples, the housing 206 only limits the current distribution within the second portion 218 of the ground element 202. Figure 6 , provides an example graph illustrating current distribution on a surface of an example antenna 106 according to some example embodiments described herein.

[0055] In some embodiments, the EM field generated by the example antenna 106 may be a combination of an electric field and a magnetic field. For example, the electric field may be proportional to the current on the surface of the example antenna 106. For example, the electric field E may be calculated by the following formula (Formula 2).

[0056] E = J / σ Formula 2

[0057] where J is the current density on the surface of the antenna 106 and σ is the conductivity of the material of the antenna.

[0058] For example, the magnetic field may be proportional to the voltage on the surface of the example antenna 106. For example, the magnetic field B may be calculated by the following formula (Formula 3).

[0059] B = V / L Formula 3

[0060] Where V is the voltage on the surface of the antenna, and L is the inductance of the material of the antenna.

[0061] In some embodiments, the current on the surface of the example antenna 106 can be visualized when the current on the surface of the example antenna 106 is fed at different phases. For example, the current on the surface of the example antenna 106 can be individually varied when the phase of the feed fed to the example antenna 106 varies between 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°.

[0062] For example, when the feed fed to the example antenna 106 has a phase of 0°, the direction of the current may be the horizontal direction 601. For example, when the feed fed to the example antenna 106 has a phase of 90°, the direction of the current may be the vertical direction 602. For example, when the feed fed to the example antenna 106 has a phase of 180°, the direction of the current may be the horizontal direction 603. For example, when the feed fed to the example antenna 106 has a phase of 270°, the direction of the current may be the vertical direction 604.

[0063] For example, in the example antenna 106, circular polarization can be achieved when the phase of the antenna is switched from 0° to 90°, from 90° to 180°, and from 180° to 270°. In some embodiments, when the example antenna 106 can operate with circular polarization, the current on the surface of the example antenna 106 can flow in a circular form. For example, at a phase of 0 degrees, when the current on the surface of the example antenna 106 is changing phase from 0° to 90°, to 180°, and further to 270°, the current flow is in the X direction.

[0064] Figure 7 2 shows a radiation pattern generated by an antenna according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In some examples, the radiation of electromagnetic waves from the radiating element 204 may have a directional radiation pattern. For example, the radiated energy of the electromagnetic waves may be concentrated in the main lobe 718 of the directional radiation pattern.

[0065] Referring now to FIG. 8 , example graphs are provided showing return loss, circular polarization (CP) gain, and axial ratio versus frequency for an example antenna 106 according to some example embodiments described herein.

[0066] As shown in the upper left portion of FIG8 , in some examples, when the frequency of the electromagnetic signal varies within a range between 890 MHz and 940 MHz, the peak return loss of the example antenna 106 may be less than -10 dB. In some embodiments, the frequency band of the antenna 106 may be based on the frequency range in which the peak return loss of the example antenna is less than -10 dB. For example, the frequency band of the example antenna may be 915 MHz.

[0067] As shown in the upper right portion of FIG. 8 , in some examples, when the frequency of the electromagnetic signal is approximately 1110 MHz, the peak CP gain of the example antenna 106 may be greater than 6.5 dBiC.

[0068] 8, in some examples, when the frequency of the electromagnetic signal is about 915 MHz, the axial ratio of the example antenna 106 can be less than -1.5 dB. In some examples, over the operating frequency band of the antenna 106, the axial ratio of the antenna is less than 1.5.

[0069] See now Fig.9A and Fig. 9B , provides example diagrams illustrating example antennas according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In some examples, the second shape of the housing 206 can be circular or elliptical.

[0070] Fig.10 1000 , a block diagram of an example RFID communication system according to one or more embodiments described herein is shown. For example, the example RFID communication system 1000 may include a controller 1002, a first memory device 1004, a first communication interface 1006, an RFID encoder 1008, an RFID reader 1010, a verification unit 1012, a power modification unit 1014, and an antenna 1016. In some examples, the antenna 1016 of the example RFID communication system 1000 described herein may correspond to Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , the antenna 106 described in Figures 8 and 9.

[0071] The controller 1002 may be embodied as a component including one or more microprocessors with an accompanying digital signal processor, one or more processors without an accompanying digital signal processor, one or more coprocessors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more controllers, processing circuits, one or more computers, various other processing elements (including integrated circuits, such as, for example, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), or some combination thereof. Therefore, although shown as a single controller in FIG. 9, in one embodiment, the controller 1002 may include multiple controllers and signal processing modules. The multiple controllers may be embodied on a single electronic device, or may be distributed on multiple electronic devices that are collectively configured to function as the circuits of the example RFID communication system 1000. The multiple controllers may be in operative communication with each other, and may be collectively configured to perform one or more functions of the circuits of the example RFID communication system 1000 as described herein. In an example embodiment, the controller 1002 may be configured to execute instructions stored in the first memory device 1004 or otherwise accessible to the controller 1002. When these instructions are executed by the controller 1002, the circuits of the example RFID communication system 1000 may be caused to perform one or more functions as described herein.

[0072] Whether the controller 1002 is configured by a hardware method, a firmware / software method, or a combination thereof, the controller may include an entity capable of being configured accordingly while performing operations according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. Thus, for example, when the controller 1002 is embodied as an ASIC, FPGA, etc., the controller 1002 may include specially configured hardware for performing one or more operations described herein. Alternatively, for example, when the controller 1002 is embodied as an executor of instructions (such as those that may be stored in the first memory device 1004), these instructions may specifically configure the controller 1002 to perform one or more algorithms and operations described herein.

[0073] Therefore, controller 1002 used herein may refer to a programmable microprocessor, a microcomputer, or one or more multiprocessor chips that can be configured by software instructions (applications) to perform various functions including the functions of the various embodiments described above. In some devices, multiple processors dedicated to wireless communication functions and a processor dedicated to running other applications may be provided. Software applications may be stored in internal memory before being accessed and loaded into the processor. The processor may include an internal memory sufficient to store application software instructions. In many devices, the internal memory may be a volatile or non-volatile memory such as a flash memory or a mixture of the two. The memory may also be located inside another computing resource (e.g., enabling computer-readable instructions to be downloaded via the Internet or another wired or wireless connection).

[0074] The first memory device 1004 may include suitable logic components, circuits and / or interfaces suitable for storing a set of instructions that can be executed by the controller 1002 to perform predetermined operations. Some of the commonly known memory implementations include, but are not limited to, hard disks, random access memories, cache memories, read-only memories (ROMs), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs) and electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), flash memory, cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), digital versatile disk read-only memories (DVD-ROMs), optical disks, circuits configured to store information, or some combination thereof. In one embodiment, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the first memory device 1004 may be integrated with the controller 1002 on a single chip.

[0075] The first communication interface 1006 may correspond to a communication interface that may facilitate sending and receiving messages and data to and from various components of the example RFID communication system 1000. Examples of communication interfaces may include, but are not limited to, an antenna, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a serial port, or any other port that may be suitable for receiving and sending data. The communication interface sends and receives data and / or messages according to various communication protocols, such as I2C, TCP / IP, UDP, and 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G communication protocols.

[0076] The RFID encoder 1008 includes suitable logic components and circuits for encoding electromagnetic signal data. In some example embodiments, the RFID encoder 1008 encodes the electromagnetic signal data according to one or more of the electronic product code (EPC) or the Department of Defense (DOD) format. In some examples, the RFID encoder 1008 may be configured to transmit data via the antenna 1016 on one or more frequency bands, such as but not limited to 13.56 MHz (hereinafter referred to as "high frequency band" or "HF") or 860 MHz-960 MHz (hereinafter referred to as "UHF band"). In addition, the RFID encoder 1008 may be configured to modulate the data on the RF carrier of the HF band or the UHF band before transmitting the data. Some examples of modulation techniques utilized by the RFID encoder 1008 include, but are not limited to, phase jitter modulation (PJM), amplitude shift keying (ASK), and the like.

[0077] In some examples, the RFID encoder 1008 may be configured to send one or more commands to the RFID passive tag antenna, so that the RFID passive tag antenna performs a predetermined operation according to the one or more commands. For example, the RFID encoder 1008 may send a command "write" that instructs the RFID passive tag antenna to write the data accompanying the command into the memory of the RFID passive tag antenna. Similarly, the RFID encoder 1008 may send other commands to the RFID passive tag antenna, such as but not limited to "lock", "access", "block write" and / or any other command according to the EPC global standard.

[0078] The RFID reader 1010 includes suitable logic components and circuits for reading data from the RFID passive tag antenna. In order to read the data encoded in the RFID passive tag antenna, the RFID reader 1010 may send an interrogation command to the RFID inlay on one or more frequency bands (such as HF and UHF). In addition, similar to the RFID encoder 1008, the RFID reader 1010 may also use one or more modulation techniques (such as ASK and PJM) to send the interrogation command on one or more frequency bands. In response to the interrogation command, the RFID reader 1010 may receive the encoded data from the RFID passive tag antenna. In an example embodiment, the RFID reader 1010 may use the antenna 1016 to send the interrogation command and receive the encoded data from the RFID passive tag antenna.

[0079] In some examples, both the RFID reader 1010 and the RFID encoder 1008 may include one or more of the following: filters, analog-to-digital (A / D) converters, digital-to-analog (D / A) converters, matching circuits, amplifiers, and / or tuners that enable the RFID reader 1010 and the RFID encoder 1008 to send and receive data over one or more frequency bands via the antenna 1016.

[0080] The verification unit 1012 includes suitable logic components and circuits, and the verification unit is configured to verify whether the encoding of the RFID passive tag antenna is successful. In some examples, in order to determine whether the encoding is successful, the verification unit 1012 can determine the encoding success rate. The verification unit 1012 can be implemented using one or more hardware components (such as but not limited to FPGA, ASIC, etc.).

[0081] The power modification unit 1014 includes suitable logic components and circuits configured to manage the signal transmission power of the antenna 1016. In an example embodiment, the signal transmission power corresponds to the transmitter power output of the signal transmitted from the antenna 1016. In an example embodiment, the power modification unit 1014 may be configured to modify the signal transmission power according to a plurality of power settings. In an example embodiment, the power setting may correspond to the value of the signal transmission power used to transmit data from the antenna 1016. In some examples, the power modification unit 1014 may modify the input voltage of the antenna 1016 to modify the signal transmission power. In an example embodiment, the power modification unit 1014 may modify the signal transmission power in response to instructions received from the controller 1002. The power modification unit 1014 may be implemented using one or more hardware components (such as, but not limited to, FPGA, ASIC, etc.).

[0082] Fig.11 A block diagram of a controller 1002 of an example RFID communication system 1000 is shown according to one or more embodiments described herein. The controller 1002 includes a processor 1102, a second memory device 1104, a second communication interface 1106, an input / output (I / O) device interface unit 1108, a calibration unit 1110, an encoding operation unit 1112, and a signal processing unit 1114.

[0083] The processor 1102 may be embodied as a component including one or more microprocessors with an accompanying digital signal processor, one or more processors without an accompanying digital signal processor, one or more coprocessors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more controllers, processing circuits, one or more computers, various other processing elements (including integrated circuits, such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), or some combination thereof. Therefore, although shown as a single processor in FIG. 9, in one embodiment, the processor 1102 may include multiple processors and signal processing modules. The multiple processors may be embodied on a single electronic device or may be distributed on multiple electronic devices that are collectively configured to function as the circuit of the controller 1002. The multiple processors are in operative communication with each other and may be collectively configured to perform one or more functions of the circuit of the controller 1002 described herein. In an example embodiment, the processor 1102 may be configured to execute instructions stored in the second memory device 1104 or otherwise accessible to the processor 1102. These instructions, when executed by the processor 1102, may cause the circuit of the controller 1002 to perform one or more functions as described herein.

[0084] Whether the processor 1102 is configured by a hardware method, a firmware / software method, or a combination thereof, the processor may include an entity capable of being configured accordingly while performing operations according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. Thus, for example, when the processor 1102 is embodied as an ASIC, FPGA, etc., the processor 1102 may include specially configured hardware for performing one or more operations described herein. Alternatively, for example, when the processor 1102 is embodied as an executor of instructions (such as those that may be stored in the second memory device 1104), these instructions may specifically configure the processor 1102 to perform one or more algorithms and operations described herein.

[0085] Therefore, processor 1102 used herein may refer to a programmable microprocessor, a microcomputer, or one or more multiprocessor chips that can be configured by software instructions (applications) to perform various functions including the functions of the various embodiments described above. In some devices, multiple processors dedicated to wireless communication functions and a processor dedicated to running other applications may be provided. Software applications may be stored in an internal memory before being accessed and loaded into the processor. The processor may include an internal memory sufficient to store application software instructions. In many devices, the internal memory may be a volatile or non-volatile memory such as a flash memory or a mixture of the two. The memory may also be located inside another computing resource (e.g., enabling computer-readable instructions to be downloaded via the Internet or another wired or wireless connection).

[0086] The second memory device 1104 may include suitable logic components, circuits and / or interfaces suitable for storing a set of instructions that can be executed by the processor 1102 to perform predetermined operations. Some of the commonly known memory implementations include, but are not limited to, hard disks, random access memories, cache memories, read-only memories (ROMs), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs) and electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), flash memories, cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), digital versatile disk read-only memories (DVD-ROMs), optical disks, circuits configured to store information, or some combination thereof. In an example embodiment, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the second memory device 1104 may be integrated with the processor 1102 on a single chip.

[0087] The second communication interface 1106 may correspond to a second communication interface 1106 that can facilitate sending messages and data to various devices and receiving messages and data from these devices. For example, the second communication interface 1106 is communicatively coupled to a computing device (not shown). For example, through the second communication interface 1106, the example RFID communication system 1000 may be configured to receive a command / job from a computing device, and the example RFID communication system 1000 may perform a predetermined operation based on the command / job. Examples of the second communication interface 1106 may include, but are not limited to, an antenna, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a serial port, or any other port that may be suitable for receiving and sending data. The second communication interface 1106 sends and receives data and / or messages according to various communication protocols (such as I2C, TCP / IP, UDP, and 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G communication protocols).

[0088] The I / O device interface unit 1108 may comprise suitable logic components and / or circuits, and the I / O device interface unit may be configured to communicate with the device according to one or more device communication protocols (such as, but not limited to, an I2C communication protocol, a serial peripheral interface (SPI) communication protocol, a serial communication protocol, a control area network (CAN) communication protocol, and a 1- Communication protocols) to communicate with one or more components of the example RFID communication system 1000. In an example embodiment, the I / O device interface unit 1108 can communicate with other components of the example RFID communication system 1000. Some examples of the I / O device interface unit 1108 can include, but are not limited to, a data acquisition (DAQ) card, an electric drive driver circuit, and the like.

[0089] The calibration unit 1110 may comprise suitable logic and / or circuitry for calibrating the example RFID communication system 1000. In an example embodiment, the calibration unit 1110 may be configured to determine one or more characteristics of the example antenna 106. The calibration unit 1110 may be implemented using one or more hardware components such as, but not limited to, an FPGA, an ASIC, etc.

[0090] The encoding operation unit 1112 may include suitable logic components and / or circuits for operating the example RFID communication system 1000 in the encoding mode. In an example embodiment, the encoding operation unit 1112 may be configured to cause the RFID encoder 1008 in the example RFID communication system 1000 to encode the RFID passive tag antenna through the antenna 1016. The encoding operation unit 1112 may be implemented using one or more hardware components (such as, but not limited to, FPGA, ASIC, etc.).

[0091] The signal processing unit 1114 may include suitable logic components and / or circuits for analyzing the input signal received from the media sensor. For example, the signal processing unit 1114 may include a digital signal processor (e.g., 1102) that may be configured to identify peaks and valleys in the input signal. In addition, the signal processing unit 1114 may analyze the input signal using one or more signal processing techniques such as, but not limited to, a fast Fourier transform (FFT), a discrete Fourier transform (DFT), a discrete time Fourier transform (DTFT). The signal processing unit 1114 may be implemented using one or more hardware components such as, but not limited to, an FPGA, an ASIC, etc.

[0092] In some examples, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to having a separate controller 1002 for the example RFID communication system 1000. In an alternative embodiment, the various units / modules of the controller 1002 can be implemented on the example RFID communication system 1000, thereby forming an integrated single device, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In another alternative embodiment, the various functions of the example RFID communication system 1000 can be implemented in the controller 1002, thereby forming an integrated single device, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In such a specific implementation, the antenna 1016 can be directly communicatively coupled to the controller 1002.

[0093] As described above and as will be understood based on the present disclosure, the embodiments of the present disclosure may include various components, including complete hardware or any combination of software and hardware. In addition, the embodiment may take the form of a computer program product on at least one non-transient computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program product has computer-readable program instructions (e.g., computer software) embodied in the storage medium. Similarly, the embodiment may take the form of a computer program code stored on at least one non-transient computer-readable storage medium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilized, including a non-transient hard disk, a CD-ROM, a flash memory, an optical storage device, or a magnetic storage device.

[0094] It should be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation unless otherwise specified.

Claims

1. An antenna, comprising: a ground element having a first shape; a radiating element having a second shape, wherein the radiating element is electrically coupled to the ground element; as well as A housing having the second shape, wherein the housing surrounds the radiating element, and wherein the second shape of the housing and the radiating element is different from the first shape of the ground element. The antenna of claim 1 , wherein the ground element comprises a first portion and a second portion. 3 . The antenna of claim 2 , wherein the second portion of the ground element is included within the housing and the first portion of the ground element is outside the housing. The antenna of claim 3 , wherein the housing limits current distribution within the second portion of the ground element. 5 . The antenna of claim 1 , wherein the second shape of the housing comprises at least one of a square, a circle, or an oval.

6. The antenna of claim 1, wherein one or more edges of the housing are parallel to one or more edges of the radiating element.

7. The antenna element of claim 1, wherein an edge of the radiating element is positioned at a predetermined distance from an edge of the housing and parallel to the edge of the housing.

8. An electronic device comprising an antenna, the antenna comprising: a ground element having a first shape; a radiating element having a second shape, wherein the radiating element is electrically coupled to the ground element; as well as A housing having the second shape, wherein the housing surrounds the radiating element, and wherein the second shape of the housing and the radiating element is different from the first shape of the ground element.

9. An electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the ground element comprises a first part and a second part, wherein the second shape of the shell comprises at least one of a square, a circle or an ellipse, wherein one or more edges of the shell are parallel to one or more edges of the radiating element, and wherein the edge of the radiating element is positioned at a predetermined distance from the edge of the shell and parallel to the edge of the shell.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the second portion of the ground element is included within the housing and the first portion of the ground element is outside the housing, wherein the housing limits the current distribution within the second portion of the ground element.

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