Antenna system with floating conductors

Abstract

The antenna system includes a patch antenna element disposed on a first level of the antenna system, an energy coupler configured to transfer energy between the patch antenna element and the front-end circuit and coupled to the patch antenna element, a ground conductor disposed on a second level of the antenna system, wherein the patch antenna element and the ground conductor are disposed at a separation distance from each other and bound each side of a volume defined by a projection of the patch antenna element onto the ground conductor perpendicular to a surface of the patch antenna element, and a floating conductor displaced from the ground conductor and the patch antenna element, the floating conductor including a body extending outside and adjacent to the volume over a portion of the separation distance.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] (CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 951,924, filed September 23, 2022, entitled "ANTENNA SYSTEM WITH FLOATING CONDUCTOR," which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. [Background technology]

[0002] Wireless communication devices are becoming increasingly prevalent and complex. For example, mobile telecommunications devices have progressed from simple telephones to smartphones with multiple communication capabilities (e.g., multiple cellular communication protocols, Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH, and other short-range communication protocols), supercomputing processors, cameras, etc. Wireless communication devices have antennas to support various functions, such as communication over a range of frequencies and reception of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, also known as Satellite Positioning Signals (SPS signals).

[0003] Because several antennas are disposed within a single wireless communication device, the volume available for antennas is at a premium. For example, a smartphone may have a large number of antennas (e.g., eight antennas, ten antennas, or more) in a very limited volume due to the size of the device desired by consumers. As a result, an antenna assembly (e.g., a module) may be limited to a very small volume, e.g., having a width of 4 mm or less.

[0004] Despite the volume limitations of antennas, the functionality desired for antennas continues to increase. thWith the advent of 5G (Fourth Generation), millimeter-wave phased array antennas have attracted significant attention to address propagation loss and aperture blockage hurdles by introducing higher antenna gain and beamforming capabilities. Multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems are one of the key enablers of 5G technology for increasing spectral efficiency and system capacity by effectively streaming transmit / receive data in desired directions using two orthogonally polarized (cross-polarized) signals. A trend in consumer electronics is to develop RF (radio frequency) assemblies with small form factors that can easily fit within the limited space of emerging smart devices, including mobile phones and tablets. The physical requirements of antennas make it difficult to maintain or improve performance (e.g., in terms of coverage, latency, and quality of service over a desired coverage area). Additionally, upcoming smart devices will be equipped with 5G technology and operate across five bands, including n258, n261, n257, n260, and n259. These require sophisticated RF assemblies that are priced attractively for the market for mass production. Dual-polarized microstrip phased array antennas using antenna-in-package (AIP) or system-in-package (SIP) developed using organic materials and printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing technology, or ceramic materials using low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) manufacturing technology, are potential architectures to address the RF assembly requirements for next-generation consumer electronic devices.

[0005] Designing a compact, low-profile 5G phased array antenna system for operation across all five frequency bands that meets the desired performance (e.g., in terms of efficiency, polarization isolation, cross-polarization level, polarization orthogonality, scan angle, pattern shape, etc.) is challenging. Microstrip antennas are an option for antenna design and can be made compact by using high-dielectric-constant materials and / or selective antenna element topologies. Some techniques for improving the cross-polarization performance of microstrip antennas (e.g., slot patches, reactive impedance surfaces (RISes), etc.) may not work well across all five frequency bands. Summary of the Invention

[0006] An exemplary antenna system includes a patch antenna element disposed on a first level of the antenna system; an energy coupler configured to transfer energy between the patch antenna element and a front-end circuit and coupled to the patch antenna element; a ground conductor disposed on a second level of the antenna system, wherein the patch antenna element and the ground conductor are disposed at a separation distance from each other and bound each side of a volume defined by a projection of the patch antenna element onto the ground conductor perpendicular to a surface of the patch antenna element; and a floating conductor displaced from the ground conductor and the patch antenna element, the floating conductor including a body extending outside and adjacent to the volume over a portion of the separation distance.

[0007] Another exemplary antenna system includes a patch antenna element, a ground conductor, a dielectric material disposed between the patch antenna element and the ground conductor, and means for localizing a fringing electric field corresponding to the patch antenna element and the ground conductor closer to the patch antenna element. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of simplified components of the mobile device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus including an antenna system. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary antenna system. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a side view of the antenna system shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] FIG. 5 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the antenna system shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another exemplary antenna system. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a side view of the antenna system shown in FIG. 7. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another exemplary antenna system. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another exemplary antenna system. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another exemplary antenna system. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a side view of the antenna system shown in FIG. 11. [Figure 13] FIG. 12 is a perspective exploded view of the antenna system shown in FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a linear array of an antenna system. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 is a top view of an edge-fed stacked patch antenna system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Techniques for reducing patch antenna element size and / or reducing cross-polarization of dual-polarized patch antenna elements are discussed herein. For example, one or more floating conductors, which are not electrically connected to either the patch antenna element or the patch antenna element's ground conductor, are disposed adjacent to one or more radiating edges (edges that can emit and / or receive wireless signals). The floating conductors may localize and intersect the fringing electric field of the patch antenna element. However, other configurations may also be used.

[0010] The items and / or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned: The size of patch antenna elements and assemblies including patch antenna elements may be reduced, for example, without using a high-dielectric-constant material. Antenna efficiency may be increased, for example, by reducing extraneous antenna pattern gain toward the sides of the patch antenna element (e.g., reducing side radiation from the patch antenna element). Antenna performance (e.g., polarization performance (e.g., cross-polarization, polarization orthogonality, and / or polarization separation), antenna pattern shape, and / or efficiency) may be improved for a patch antenna element or array of patch antenna elements, and may be improved without significantly, if at all, reducing antenna bandwidth and / or efficiency compared to antennas that do not use floating conductors as discussed herein. Other capabilities may be provided, and every implementation according to the present disclosure need not provide any, much less all, of the capabilities discussed. Furthermore, the above-mentioned effects may be achieved by means other than those mentioned, and the mentioned items / techniques may not necessarily result in the mentioned effects.

[0011] Referring to FIG. 1 , communication system 100 includes a mobile device 112, a network 114, a server 116, and access points (APs) 118, 120. Communication system 100 is a wireless communication system in that the components of communication system 100 can communicate with each other (at least sometimes) using wireless connections, either directly or indirectly, e.g., via network 114 and / or one or more access points 118, 120 (and / or one or more other devices, not shown, such as one or more wireless base stations). In the case of indirect communication, the communication may be altered during transmission from one entity to another, e.g., to change header information in data packets, change their format, etc. The illustrated mobile device 112 is a mobile wireless communication device (although they may communicate wirelessly and via wired connections), including mobile phones (including smartphones), laptop computers, and tablet computers. Additional other mobile devices, whether currently existing or developed in the future, may also be used. Additionally, other wireless devices (mobile or not) may be implemented within the communication system 100 and may communicate with each other and / or with the mobile device 112, the network 114, the server 116, and / or the APs 118, 120. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, automotive devices, etc.Mobile device 112 or other devices may be configured to communicate in different networks and / or for different purposes (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communications, multiple frequencies of Wi-Fi communications, satellite communications and / or positioning, one or more types of cellular communications (e.g., Global System for Mobile (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), etc.), Bluetooth® communications, etc.).

[0012] 2, mobile device 200 is an example of one of mobile devices 112 shown in FIG. 1 and includes a top cover 210, a display layer 220, a printed circuit board (PCB) layer 230, and a bottom cover 240. Mobile device 200 as shown may be a smartphone or a tablet computer, although the embodiments described herein are not limited to such devices (e.g., in other implementations of the concepts described herein, the device may be a router or customer premises equipment (CPE)). Top cover 210 includes a screen 214. Bottom cover 240 has a bottom surface 244. Sides 212, 242 of top cover 210 and bottom cover 240 provide edge surfaces. Top cover 210 and bottom cover 240 include a housing that holds display layer 220, PCB layer 230, and other components of mobile device 200 that may or may not be on PCB layer 230. For example, the housing may hold (e.g., support, house) or be integrated with the antenna system, front-end circuitry, intermediate frequency circuitry, and processor discussed below. The housing may be substantially rectangular with two sets of parallel edges in the illustrated embodiment and may be configured to bend or fold. While the housing has rounded corners in this example, the housing may be substantially rectangular with corners of other shapes, such as right-angled (e.g., 45°) corners, 90° corners, or other non-linear corners. Furthermore, the size and / or shape of the PCB layer 230 may not be commensurate with the size and / or shape of either the top cover or bottom cover or the perimeter of the device. For example, the PCB layer 230 may have a cutout to accommodate a battery. Furthermore, the PCB layer 230 may include a sandwich substrate and / or a PCB daughter substrate. The daughter substrate may be selected to facilitate the design and / or manufacturing process, for example, to enhance functional separation or to better utilize space within the housing. Embodiments of PCB layer 230 other than those shown may be implemented.

[0013] The limited space available in UEs (e.g., smartphones, tablet computers, etc.) presents challenges for antenna design. For example, using 10 or more antennas for LTE and sub-6 GHz bands on a mobile phone may eliminate additional space available for another antenna. Because antenna frequency bandwidth varies with antenna size, small antennas, which typically have narrow bandwidths, make it difficult to design a standalone antenna to cover a wide frequency bandwidth. Furthermore, mechanical stability of the UE (e.g., mobile phone) may be challenging because, for example, a non-conductive (e.g., plastic) break in the UE's metal frame may be required to separate the antenna, which can weaken the stability of the frame and result in thermal problems due to an inability to dissipate heat.

[0014] Referring also to FIG. 3 , the apparatus 300 includes antenna systems 310, 320, and 330. The apparatus 300 may be an example of the mobile device 200. This is an example, and other types of apparatus may be used, and / or other numbers of antennas may be provided to the apparatus 300. For example, the apparatus 300 may be an access point or a portion thereof, a base station or a portion thereof, or any number of other devices or portions thereof. As another example, some current smartphones include eight or more antennas, e.g., eleven or more antennas. Each of the antenna systems 310, 320, and 330 includes one or more energy combiners 312, 322, and 332 and one or more antenna elements 314, 324, and 334, respectively. Each of the one or more energy combiners 312, 322, and 332 is coupled to a front-end circuit (FEC) 342, 344, and 346. The front-end circuits 342, 344, 346 (also referred to as radio frequency (RF) circuits) are coupled to a transceiver 350, which is coupled to a processor 360 including a memory 362. The memory 362 may be a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including software having processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor 360 to perform functions (e.g., after possibly compiling the instructions). The processor 360 may be implemented as a modem or a portion thereof. The processor 360 is communicatively coupled to the transceiver 350, which is communicatively coupled to the front-end circuits 342, 344, 346, which are communicatively coupled to the ECs 312, 322, 332, which are communicatively coupled to the antenna elements of the antenna systems 310, 320, 330.

[0015] The front-end circuits 342, 344, 346 may be configured to provide one or more signals radiated by the antenna elements of the antenna systems 310, 320, 330 and / or may be configured to receive and process one or more signals received by and provided to the front-end circuits 342, 344, 346 from the respective antenna elements of the antenna systems 310, 320, 330. One or more of the front-end circuits 342, 344, 346 may include respective matching circuits to facilitate the transfer of signals from the FECs 342, 344, 346 to the ECs 312, 322, 332 and from the ECs 312, 322, 332 to the FECs 342, 344, 346. The front-end circuits 342, 344, 346 may be configured to process (e.g., amplify, route, filter, etc.) RF signals received from the transceiver 350 or antenna elements of the antenna systems 310, 320, 330, for example, without significantly adjusting their frequency.

[0016] One or more of the antenna systems 310, 320, 330 may be configured to operate at different frequencies. For example, one or more of the antenna systems 310, 320, 330 may be configured to operate over the n258, n261, n257, n260, and n259 frequency bands.

[0017] Numerous implementations of the antenna systems 310, 320, 330 are possible. Different implementations may be used depending, for example, on one or more desired performance characteristics and / or one or more design constraints (e.g., location of one or more antenna systems). For example, one or more of the antenna systems 310, 320, 330 may be configured for dual-polarized operation.

[0018] 4 and 5, antenna system 400 is an example of one of antenna systems 310, 320, and 330 and includes a patch antenna element 410, an energy coupler 420, a ground conductor 430, floating conductors 441 and 442, and one or more layers of dielectric material 450. The patch antenna element 410 and the ground conductor 430 are disposed in or on corresponding layers of a circuit board, such as PCB 230, at each level of the antenna system 400. Different layers of the circuit board may include different materials, or a single layer may include multiple materials (e.g., a dielectric material and a conductive material such as patch antenna element 410). For example, dielectric material 450 may include layers of material each having a dielectric constant between 3.7 and 4.2, although materials having other dielectric constants may also be used. An active layer of the circuit board may be provided on the side of ground conductor 430 opposite patch antenna element 410. 4 and 5, the patch antenna element 410 is disposed on a first level 511 of the antenna system 400, and the ground conductor 430 is disposed on a second level 512 of the antenna system 400. The energy coupler 420 is a probe feed communicatively coupled to front-end circuitry (not shown). The energy coupler 420 is also connected to the patch antenna element 410 at a location to induce single-polarized operation of the antenna system 400 (i.e., transmit and / or receive signals of one polarization).

[0019] The floating conductors 441, 442 are displaced from the ground conductor 430 (also called a ground plane) and the patch antenna element 410, and therefore are not electrically connected to either the ground conductor 430 or the patch antenna element 410. Thus, the floating conductors 441, 442 are "floating" because they are not electrically connected to either the ground conductor 430 or the patch antenna element 410. The floating conductors 441, 442, in this example, are metallized vias through a portion of the dielectric material 450. The floating conductors 441, 442 extend between the first level 511 of the patch antenna element 410 and the second level 512 of the ground conductor 430, and in this example, are entirely disposed between the first level 511 and the second level 512. The floating conductors 441, 442 may include pads 543, 544 at one end of the floating conductors 441, 442 closer to the first level 511 (of the patch antenna element 410) than the second level 512 (of the ground conductor 430), and / or may include pads 545, 546 at another end of the floating conductors 441, 442 closer to the second level 512 than the first level 511.

[0020] The floating conductors 441, 442 may be disposed proximate to respective edges 461, 462 of the patch antenna element 410. For example, the floating conductors 441, 442 may be disposed adjacent to respective edges 461, 462 of the patch antenna element 410. For example, the pads 543, 544 may be disposed within about 0.025λ of the edges 461, 462. The pads 543, 544 may overlap the patch antenna element 410, for example, by about 0.01λ or less, where λ is the free space wavelength (e.g., at 24.25 GHz). The pads 543, 544 may be disposed on a metal layer immediately below the patch antenna element 410, as in this example, although the floating conductors 441, 442 may be configured so that the pads 543, 544 are disposed elsewhere, for example on the same layer as the patch antenna element 410 (e.g., similar to the pads and patch antenna element discussed below with respect to Figures 7 and 8). The floating conductors 441, 442 may be disposed to intersect the fringing electric fields 521, 522 with respect to the patch antenna element 410, and are disposed within the volume occupied by the fringing electric fields generated by the patch antenna element 410 and the ground conductor 430. The floating conductors 441, 442 may be configured and arranged to conduct the energy of the fringing electric fields 521, 522, with the floating conductor 441 configured and arranged to receive, conduct, and emit the fringing electric field 521, and the floating conductor 442 configured and arranged to receive, conduct, and emit the fringing electric field 522. The floating conductors 441, 442 may be centered along the edges 461, 462 (or may be disposed along the centerline 480 of the antenna element 410, midway along the length 470 of the antenna element 410). The floating conductors 441, 442 help implement field localization techniques that help confine the electric field of the patch antenna element 410 near the patch antenna element 410. Thus, the floating conductors 441, 442 may comprise a means for localizing the fringing electric field of the patch antenna element 410 closer to the patch antenna element 410 than would be the case without the floating conductors 441, 442.

[0021] The floating conductors 441, 442 can be configured and arranged to have little effect on the matching between the antenna element 410 and the energy combiner 420 (and the front-end circuit). For example, referring also to FIG. 6 , an equivalent circuit 600 of the antenna system 400 includes resistors 611, 612 corresponding to the radiating slots provided by the edges 461, 462 of the patch antenna element 410 and the ground conductor 430, and a series-coupled inductor 620 (L) and capacitor 630 (C), with the series-coupled LC in parallel with the resistors 611, 612 corresponding to the radiating edges. The floating conductors 441, 442 can improve polarization performance. The series-coupled LC can be considered an additional parameter in controlling the degenerated electric field component amplitude and / or phase. This can result in improved cross-polarization performance (e.g., cross-polarization isolation) of the patch antenna element 410.

[0022] The floating conductors 441, 442 may be arranged close to the edges 491, 492 of the antenna system 400, so that the edges 461, 462 may be significantly displaced from the edges 491, 492, so that radiation by the antenna element 410 may be concentrated away from the edges 491, 492, thus avoiding undesired radiation in undesired directions (e.g., directly away from the edges 491, 492).

[0023] The use of floating conductors 441, 442 can help reduce the size of antenna system 400 and improve the performance of antenna system 400. For example, antenna system 400 can provide dual-polarized penta-band operation, e.g., for a 5G phased array with acceptable scan angle performance (e.g., at least threshold gain) of + / -45° across the n258, n261, n257, n260, and n259 frequency bands (i.e., penta-band). Without floating conductors 441, 442, patch antenna elements 410 may need to be larger to deliver similar gain and frequency response (e.g., similar backlobe radiation, mutual coupling, cross-polarization, and / or polarization orthogonality) for the same operating frequencies as with floating conductors 441, 442.

[0024] Other numbers of floating conductors may be used, for example, one of the floating conductors 441, 442 may be omitted. As another example, three or more floating conductors may be used, which may help reduce the size of the patch antenna elements and, therefore, the size of the antenna assembly including one or more of the patch antenna elements (e.g., as discussed further below).

[0025] 7 and 8, a dual-polarized antenna system 700 is configured to operate in multiple frequency bands. In FIG. 7, items or portions thereof are shown as transparent or opaque to aid in clarity of the illustration. The antenna system 700 includes low-band patches 710, 720, high-band patches 730, 740, low-band energy combiners 711, 712, high-band energy combiners 731, 732, parasitic elements 741, 742, 743, 744, a ground conductor 750, floating conductors 761, 762, a body 770 (including a dielectric material), a short-circuit conductor 771, and an active layer 780. Although not shown, there may be a gap between the ground conductor 750 and the active layer 780. The ground conductor 750, low-band patch 710, low-band patch 720, high-band patch 730, and high-band patch 740 may be disposed on different levels of the antenna system 700, although for clarity of the drawings, different layers are not shown. The level 810 of the low-band patch 710 is between the level 820 of the low-band patch 720 and the ground conductor 750, the level 820 of the low-band patch 720 is between the level 810 of the low-band patch 710 and the level 830 of the high-band patch 730, and the level 830 of the high-band patch 730 is between the level 820 of the low-band patch 720 and the level 840 of the high-band patch 740. A dielectric material may cover the high-band patch 740, but is not shown in FIG. 8 .

[0026] The low-band patches 710, 720 are configured to operate with (transmit and / or receive) lower frequency signals than the high-band patches 730, 740. For example, the low-band patches 710, 720 may be configured to operate with (e.g., transmit and / or receive) signals having frequencies between 24.25 GHz and 29.5 GHz, and the high-band patches 730, 740 may be configured to operate with signals having frequencies between 37.0 GHz and 43.5 GHz. The low-band patch 710 is approximately square and is capacitively fed by low-band energy couplers 711, 712, whose pads 713, 714 are disposed within openings 791, 792 defined by the low-band patch 710. The low-band energy couplers 711, 712 are coupled to the low-band patch 710 at locations that enable dual-polarized operation (transmit and / or receive) by the low-band patch 710. The low-band patch 720 overlaps, is concentric with, and is disposed sufficiently close to the low-band patch 710 so as to be capacitively coupled to the low-band patch 710 to help improve low-band (i.e., lower frequencies than the high-band patches 730, 740) performance. The low-band patches 710, 720 are approximately, if not exactly, the same size and shape. The low-band patches 710, 720 define recesses 715, 716, 725, 726, respectively, which each extend inward from a respective edge of the respective low-band patch 710, 720, e.g., from edges 717, 718 of the low-band patch 710 (the edges of the low-band patch 720 are not labeled for clarity of the illustration). Here, recesses 715, 716, 725, 726 have an arcuate shape, although recesses of other shapes may be used (i.e., may be defined by low-band patches 710, 720). Recesses 715, 716, 725, 726 are aligned with floating conductors 761, 762 and configured to maintain at least a threshold separation between low-band patches 710, 720 and floating conductors 761, 762.

[0027] Like floating conductors 441, 442, floating conductors 761, 762 are displaced from ground conductor 750 and low-band patch 710, and therefore are not electrically connected to either ground conductor 750 or low-band patch 710 (or low-band patch 720). Also like floating conductors 441, 442, floating conductors 761, 762 may be disposed proximate edges 717, 718, respectively, of low-band patch 710. Floating conductors 761, 762 may be disposed proximate edges 751, 752 of ground conductor 750 (which may be edges of antenna system 700 (e.g., body 770)) to help capture and localize the electric field of low-band patch 710 (and possibly low-band patch 720) beside the edges of low-band patch 710. This can significantly improve the cross-polarization performance of antenna system 700 in which ground conductor 750 has a short width 754, for example, by balancing the amplitudes of the two degenerate modes and correcting for non-orthogonality of these modes (e.g., due to unequal amplitudes of the electric fields in different directions and / or the direction of one or both of the electric fields being different from their respective desired directions). Floating conductors 761, 762 may be centered along the length of each edge of low-band patch 710 (similar to the positioning of floating conductors 441, 442), as in this example. The top pads of floating conductors 761, 762 are disposed at the same level as low-band patch 710, although other configurations may be used (e.g., the top pads may be disposed at a level between the level of low-band patch 710 and ground conductor 750 (e.g., near the level of low-band patch 710)). In an edge-fed stacked patch antenna system, the floating conductors may be offset from the center of their respective patch edges to correct cross-polarization performance by localizing the electric fields and suppressing undesired degenerate modes. 15, edge-fed stacked patch antenna system 1500 includes low-band energy combiners 1511, 1512, high-band patch 1520, high-band energy combiners 1521, 1522, shorting pin 1523, floating conductors 1531, 1532, and dielectric material 1540. Antenna system 1500 includes other features not shown for clarity of illustration.Also, all items are shown in solid lines, even though they may be hidden behind one or more other items (e.g., low-band energy combiners 1511, 1512 are hidden behind high-band patch 1520 and possibly one or more other patches).

[0028] The high-band patches 730, 740 are configured to operate with higher frequency signals than the low-band patches 710, 720. For example, the high-band patches 730, 740 may be approximately square and smaller than the low-band patches 710, 720, while the high-band patches 730, 740 may be approximately, if not exactly, the same size. The high-band patch 730 is directly fed by high-band energy couplers 731, 732 (electrically connected directly to the high-band patch 730), which pass through openings (not labeled for clarity) defined by the low-band patches 710, 720, respectively. The energy couplers 731, 732 are coupled to the high-band patch 730 in locations that enable dual-polarized operation (transmit and / or receive) by the high-band patch 730. The high-band patch 740 is capacitively coupled to the high-band patch 730 to help improve high-band antenna performance. Parasitic elements 741, 742, 743, 744 are disposed at the same level as high band patch 740 of antenna system 700, i.e., level 840, and are constructed and arranged to help improve high band antenna performance (e.g., increase the gain and / or bandwidth of high band patch 740). In this example, parasitic elements 741, 742, 743, 744 comprise rectangular shaped conductors, each of which has a length approximately equal to a respective edge of high band patch 740 and is disposed proximate to a respective edge of high band patch 740.

[0029] The shorting conductor 771 is constructed, arranged, and connected to improve the cross-polarization performance of the antenna system 700. The shorting conductor 771 is electrically connected to the ground conductor 750 and the high band patch 730, for example, at the center of the high band patch 730 as shown.

[0030] The use of floating conductors 761, 762 can improve antenna performance. Simulations have shown that the use of floating conductors 761, 762 reduces radiation at undesired locations in the antenna system 700, such as at one or more corners of the patches 710, 720, 730, and 740. This may be due to the localization of the electric field induced by the floating conductors 761, 762 preventing the electric field from reaching the patch edges where radiation is undesired. The floating conductors 761, 762 may be disposed close to the respective outer edges of the antenna system 700, such as close to the respective outer edges 751, 752 of the ground conductor 750. For example, the floating conductors 761, 762 may be disposed as close to the edges 751, 752 as the manufacturing techniques for fabricating the antenna system 700 allow, such as with the bottom pad 763 within 0.2λ or 0.2 mm of the edge 751.

[0031] 9 and further with reference to FIGS. 3-6, antenna system 900 is another example of any of antenna systems 310, 320, and 330 and includes a patch antenna element 910, a floating conductor 920, a ground conductor 930, an energy coupler 940, and a body 950 (including one or more layers of one or more dielectric materials). In this example, antenna system 900 includes multiple floating conductors 920 that are disposed adjacent to each of multiple edges of patch antenna element 910 (e.g., so as to intersect with fringing electric fields from / to each of the multiple edges of patch antenna element 910), here along edges 911 and 912 of patch antenna element 910. Floating conductor 920 may extend, for example, between the level of ground conductor 930 and the level of patch antenna element 910 without reaching ground conductor 930. The floating conductors 920 may or may not reach the level of the patch antenna element 910 (as shown), and thus extend between the level of the ground conductor 930 and the level of the patch antenna element 910. Two or more floating conductors 920 may be connected; for example, floating conductors 920 disposed along the same edge of the patch antenna element 910 may be electrically connected to each other. In this example, the floating conductors 920 are disposed symmetrically along each of the edges 911 and 912. The antenna system 900 is a single-polarized patch antenna system, and the edges 911 and 912 are radiating edges (edges that can emit and / or receive wireless signals), and the floating conductors 920 are disposed along the radiating edges. In this example, there are three floating conductors 920 disposed along each of the edges 911 and 912, but other numbers of floating conductors may be disposed along the edges of the patch antenna element. The energy combiner 940 may be electrically connected to the patch antenna element 910 and may be disposed at a different location relative to the patch antenna element 910 to direct desired radiation (e.g., vh (vertical-horizontal) polarization) parallel to the edges of the antenna element 910.

[0032] The floating conductor 920 may introduce a series LC circuit in parallel with the radiating slot provided by the radiating edge of the patch antenna element 910 and the ground conductor 930. The LC circuit may increase the effective capacitance of the patch antenna element 910 and therefore reduce the resonant frequency of the patch antenna element 910 so that the resonant frequency of the patch antenna element 910 is smaller than it would be without the floating conductor 920 for a given operating frequency. The series-coupled LC circuit may be considered an additional parameter in controlling the degenerate electric field component amplitude and / or phase. This allows the patch antenna element 910 to be smaller than it would be without the floating conductor 920 for radiating and / or receiving signals of the same frequency. For example, to radiate and / or receive signals at a particular frequency, a patch antenna element may typically be about 0.5λ at that frequency, while patch antenna element 910, in this example, may be a square patch with each side being less than 0.5λ due to floating conductors 920, which may increase the effective capacitance of patch antenna element 910 due to the LC circuit introduced by floating conductors 920 (or, for example, by using floating conductors along three or more sides of the (square) patch antenna element, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 ). For example, patch antenna element 910 may be square, and by using floating conductors 920, the length of the sides is reduced by about 31% compared to when floating conductors 920 are not used. Thus, floating conductors 920 may comprise a means for increasing the effective capacitance of patch antenna element 910.

[0033] Antenna system 900 is an example, and other configurations may be used, for example, having floating conductors disposed adjacently along three or more edges of a patch antenna element. For example, referring also to FIG. 10 , antenna system 1000 includes a patch antenna element 1010, a floating conductor 1020, a ground conductor 1030, an energy coupler 1040, and a body 1050 (including one or more layers of one or more dielectric materials). In this example, floating conductor 1020 is disposed adjacently along all four sides of patch antenna element 1010, which in this example is a square patch antenna element (e.g., so as to intersect fringing electric fields from / to all four sides of patch antenna element 1010). For example, floating conductor 1020 may extend between the level of ground conductor 1030 and the level of patch antenna element 1010, without reaching either the level of ground conductor 1030 or the level of patch antenna element 1010, or may reach the level of patch antenna element 1010. Two or more floating conductors 1020 may be connected; for example, floating conductors 1020 disposed along the same edge of the patch antenna element 1010 may be electrically connected to each other. The floating conductor 1020 may introduce a series LC circuit in parallel with the radiating slot provided by the radiating edge (the edge that can radiate and / or receive wireless signals) of the patch antenna element 1010 and the ground conductor 1030. The LC circuit may increase the effective capacitance of the patch antenna element 1010 and thus decrease the resonant frequency of the patch antenna element 1010 so that the resonant frequency of the patch antenna element 1010 is smaller than it would be without the floating conductor 1020 for a given operating frequency. Simulations of the antenna system 1000 have shown improved field localization, improved cross-polarization, and improved coupling, at similar overall antenna efficiency and bandwidth, compared to a similar antenna system without the floating conductor 1020.For example, for a layered antenna system configuration having a dielectric material with a relative permittivity below about 4.2, the antenna system 1000 may have a width 1060 of less than about 3 mm (e.g., 2.8 mm or less) to operate from about 24 GHz to about 43 GHz without significantly reducing antenna bandwidth and / or antenna efficiency compared to an antenna system without floating conductors.

[0034] 11-13, and further with reference to FIG. 9, antenna system 1100 includes low-band patch antenna element 1110, high-band patch antenna elements 1121 and 1122, floating conductors 1130 and 1140, a ground conductor 1150, low-band energy combiners 1111 and 1112, high-band energy combiners 1123 and 1124, parasitic elements 1125 and 1126, a shorting conductor 1160, a body 1170 (including one or more layers of one or more dielectric materials), and an active layer 1180. Antenna system 1100 is an example of antenna system 900 with dual polarization and tilt polarization. In this example, floating conductors 1140 include four sets of three floating conductors 1140. In each set of floating conductors 1140, the floating conductors 1140 are electrically connected to pads 1141, 1142 at their respective ends. Each of the four sets of floating conductors 1140 is disposed in a respective corner region of the low-band patch antenna element 1110, with the pads 1141 at the same level as the low-band patch antenna element 1110 (although other configurations may be used, such as a configuration in which the pads 1141 are below the level of the low-band patch antenna element 1110 (toward the ground conductor 1150)). The low-band patch antenna element 1110 is a square patch antenna element in this example, with the corners truncated by the floating conductors 1140. Thus, the low-band patch antenna element 1110 is an eight-sided patch antenna element in this example. The floating conductors 1130 are disposed proximate to and centered along two edges of the patch antenna element 1110. The floating conductor 1130 is disposed adjacent the edges 1151, 1152 of the ground conductor 1150, and thus adjacent the width boundary of the antenna system 1100 (or, for example, the width boundary of a linear array of the antenna system 1100, as discussed below). The floating conductor 1130 may be disposed as close as possible (within manufacturing capabilities) to the edges 1151, 1152 (e.g., within 0.2λ or within 0.2 mm of the edges 1151, 1152). The floating conductor 1130 has been shown in simulations to improve cross polarization of the antenna system 1100 compared to a similar antenna system without the floating conductor 1130.Simulations also showed that the floating conductor 1140 improves cross-polarization and effectively increases the capacitance of the antenna element 1110, thereby enabling a significant size reduction of the radiating patch antenna element beside the floating conductor 1140, here the low-band patch antenna element 1110. The floating conductor 1140 can provide a reduction in patch antenna element size while improving radiation performance in terms of coupling between ports within the antenna element, cross-polarization, and polarization orthogonality, for example, by localizing the electric field at appropriate locations. Simulations also showed that the parasitic element 1125 improves polarization performance (e.g., cross-polarization, polarization orthogonality, and / or polarization isolation).

[0035] The low-band energy couplers 1111, 1112 may include L-shaped pads constructed and arranged to provide a proximity feed for the low-band patch antenna element 1110 (capable of supplying energy to and / or receiving energy from the low-band patch antenna element 1110). For example, the L-shaped pads 1113, 1114 (labeled in FIG. 13 ) of the low-band energy couplers 1111, 1112 may be displaced from but sufficiently close to the low-band patch antenna element 1110 to capacitively couple to the antenna element 1110. The low-band energy couplers 1111, 1112 and the high-band energy couplers 1123, 1124 may be coupled to one or more respective front-end circuits in the active layer 1180, including different respective matching networks for the low-band patch antenna element 1110 and the high-band patch antenna elements 1121, 1122. The matching network for the low-band patch antenna element 1110 may not include any open stubs to avoid reflected electric fields (and therefore re-radiation of undesired modes) in the high-band frequency range, which may degrade the performance of the high-band patch antenna elements 1121, 1122 in terms of polarization purity and gain / efficiency.

[0036] The low-band patch antenna element 1110 and the high-band patch antenna elements 1121, 1122 may be configured to operate in different frequency bands, e.g., 24.25 GHz to 29.5 GHz and 37.0 GHz to 43.5 GHz, respectively. For example, the low-band patch antenna element 1110 may be larger than the high-band patch antenna elements 1121, 1122. The high-band energy couplers 1123, 1124 may be probe couplers electrically connected to the high-band patch antenna element 1121, and the high-band patch antenna element 1122 may be arranged and configured to capacitively couple to the high-band patch antenna element 1121. The parasitic elements 1125, 1126 may be configured and arranged to improve the antenna performance (e.g., gain, efficiency) of the high-band patch antenna elements 1121, 1122. The parasitic elements 1125, 1126 may be disposed in the antenna system 1100 at the same level as the associated patch antenna element, in this example, the high-band patch antenna element 1122. The floating conductor 1130 and / or the floating conductor 1140 may be disposed entirely between the level of the ground conductor 1150 and the level of the parasitic element 1125, e.g., the level of the patch antenna element associated with the parasitic element 1125, as in this example. The parasitic element 1125 in this example is disposed on opposite sides of the high-band patch antenna element 1122 and outside the parasitic element 1125. The parasitic element 1125 is disposed symmetrically with respect to the high-band patch antenna element 1122 in this example. The high-band patch antenna elements 1121, 1122 have a circular shape in this example, although other shapes of the high-band (and / or low-band) patch antenna elements may be used. Furthermore, although there are two parasitic elements 1125 and four parasitic elements 1126 in this example, other numbers of parasitic elements may be used (including no parasitic elements 1125 and / or no parasitic elements 1126). Furthermore, the shapes of the parasitic elements 1125, 1126 are exemplary, and other shapes of parasitic elements may be used.The floating conductor 1130 and / or the floating conductor 1140 may, as in this example, be disposed entirely between the level of the ground conductor 1150 and the level of the lowest patch antenna fed by the energy coupler (as opposed to being capacitively coupled by another patch antenna). Thus, in this example, the floating conductor 1130 and / or the floating conductor 1140 may be disposed between the level of the ground conductor 1150 (not connected to the ground conductor 1150) and the level of the low-band patch 1110 or lower (i.e., extending to the level of the low-band patch 1110 or extending below the level of the low-band patch 1110). As another example, the floating conductor may extend from a level separate from the ground conductor to the level (or below) of the energy coupler-fed patch antenna element associated with the floating conductor, and below the level of the patch antenna capacitively coupled to the patch antenna element associated with the floating conductor. A patch antenna element associated with a floating conductor is a patch antenna element configured and arranged relative to the floating conductor such that the fringing electric field of the patch antenna element is crossed by the floating conductor.

[0037] 14, system 1400 comprises a linear array including multiple (here, five) antenna systems 1410, each of which includes an antenna system such as antenna system 400, antenna system 700, antenna system 900, antenna system 1000, antenna system 1100, or antenna system 1500. In system 1400, two of the antenna systems 1410 on each end of the array are integrated together for mechanical strength and to maintain geometric symmetry. System 1400 may also include a slot antenna 1420 integrated with and disposed between each pair of integrated antenna systems 1410. An underfill material may be used to enhance this integration. One or more of the antenna systems 1410 may be out of phase with respect to one or more of the other antenna systems 1410 (e.g., one integrated pair of antenna systems 1410 is out of phase with respect to the other antenna systems 1410), which may help to improve scanning symmetry, cross polarization, and / or polarization orthogonality of the system 1400. Spacing of the antenna systems 1410 may also be used, which may help to suppress any undesired modes (e.g., due to different propagation of different signal polarizations).

[0038] Implementation example Implementation examples are provided in the numbered clauses below.

[0039] Clause 1. An antenna system comprising: a patch antenna element disposed on a first level of the antenna system; an energy combiner coupled to the patch antenna element, the energy combiner configured to transfer energy between the patch antenna element and the front-end circuit; a ground conductor disposed on a second level of the antenna system, the patch antenna element and the ground conductor being disposed at a separation distance from each other and bounding each side of a volume defined by a projection of the patch antenna element onto the ground conductor perpendicular to the surface of the patch antenna element; a floating conductor displaced from the ground conductor and the patch antenna element, the floating conductor including a body extending outside and proximate to the volume for a portion of the separation distance.

[0040] Article 2. the patch antenna element is configured and arranged with respect to the ground conductor such that a fringing electric field is generated by a first energy provided to the patch antenna element by the energy coupler or by a second energy wirelessly received by the antenna system; 10. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the floating conductor is disposed so as to intersect a portion of the fringing electric field.

[0041] Clause 3. The antenna system of claim 2, wherein the floating conductor includes a conductive via and a conductive pad electrically connected to the conductive via, the conductive pad being disposed on the first level.

[0042] Clause 4. The antenna system of claim 3, wherein the conductive pad is adjacent to the patch antenna element.

[0043] Clause 5. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the floating conductor is centered along an edge of the patch antenna element.

[0044] Clause 6. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the floating conductor is a first floating conductor, and the antenna system further includes a second floating conductor, the first floating conductor and the second floating conductor being centered along opposite edges of the patch antenna element.

[0045] Clause 7. The antenna system of claim 6, further comprising a plurality of third floating conductors, each of the plurality of third floating conductors including a set of conductive vias electrically coupled to one another.

[0046] Clause 8. The antenna system of claim 7, wherein the patch antenna element has an octagonal perimeter, and the plurality of third floating conductors includes two pairs of the plurality of third floating conductors, with respective third floating conductors disposed outside and adjacent to the volume along opposite sides of the octagonal perimeter.

[0047] Clause 9. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the floating conductor is disposed adjacent to an edge of the ground conductor.

[0048] Clause 10. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the floating conductor is disposed entirely between a first level of the antenna system and a second level of the antenna system.

[0049] Clause 11. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the floating conductor is part of a plurality of floating conductors arranged symmetrically around the patch antenna element.

[0050] Clause 12. The antenna system of claim 11, wherein the patch antenna element includes a plurality of edges, and two or more of the plurality of floating conductors are disposed along each of at least two of the plurality of edges of the patch antenna element.

[0051] Clause 13. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the periphery of the patch antenna element extends inwardly in the vicinity of the floating conductor while maintaining at least a threshold separation between the patch antenna element and the floating conductor.

[0052] Clause 14. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the patch antenna element is a first patch antenna element, and the antenna system further comprises a second patch antenna element disposed on a third level of the antenna system, the second patch antenna element having a shape and size similar to the shape and size of the first patch antenna element, the first patch antenna element and the second patch antenna element being overlapping and concentric, and the first level of the antenna system being between the third level of the antenna system and the second level of the antenna system and sufficiently close to the third level of the antenna system so that the first patch antenna element is capacitively coupled with the second patch antenna element.

[0053] Clause 15. The patch antenna element is a first frequency band patch antenna element, the front end circuit is a first front end circuit, the energy combiner is a first energy combiner, and the antenna system comprises: a second frequency band patch antenna element disposed on a fourth level of the antenna system, the fourth level of the antenna system being between the fourth level of the antenna system and the second level of the antenna system; a second energy combiner configured to transfer energy between the second frequency band patch antenna element and the second front-end circuit; 10. The antenna system of claim 1, further comprising: a shorting conductor electrically connecting the ground conductor to the center of the second frequency band patch antenna element.

[0054] Clause 16. The second frequency band patch antenna element is a first second frequency band patch antenna element, and the antenna system comprises: a second second frequency band patch antenna element disposed on a fifth level of the antenna system, the fourth level of the antenna system being between the fifth level of the antenna system and the first level of the antenna system; 16. The antenna system of claim 15, further comprising: a plurality of parasitic elements disposed in a fifth level of the antenna system separate from the second second frequency band patch antenna element.

[0055] Clause 17. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the patch antenna element, the energy coupler, and the floating conductor comprise a first antenna system, the antenna system comprising a plurality of antenna systems in a linear array, the plurality of antenna systems including the first antenna system and a plurality of second antenna systems each configured similarly to the first antenna system, and at least two of the plurality of antenna systems are out of phase with respect to each other.

[0056] Clause 18. The antenna system of claim 17, wherein the plurality of antenna systems comprises five antenna systems, a first pair of the five antenna systems disposed at a first end of the linear array that are integrated with each other, and a second pair of the five antenna systems disposed at a second end of the linear array that are integrated with each other, and the first pair of five antenna systems are out of phase with respect to the second pair of five antenna systems.

[0057] Clause 19. The antenna system of claim 1, further comprising a non-excited element corresponding to the associated patch antenna element and disposed at the same level of the antenna system as the associated patch antenna element, the floating conductor being disposed entirely between a second level of the antenna system and the level of the antenna system of the associated patch antenna element.

[0058] Clause 20. Antenna systems comprising: a patch antenna element; a ground conductor; a dielectric material disposed between the patch antenna element and the ground conductor; and means for localizing a fringing electric field corresponding to the patch antenna element and the ground conductor closer to the patch antenna element.

[0059] Clause 21. The antenna system of claim 20, wherein the means for localizing fringing electric fields includes means for increasing the effective capacitance of the patch antenna element.

[0060] Other Considerations Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, configurations other than those shown may be used. Also, due to the nature of software and computers, the functions described above may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. Features that implement the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that portions of the functions are performed at different physical locations.

[0061] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and / or "comprising" specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0062] Also, as used herein, "or" in lists of items (sometimes preceded by "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates a disjunctive list, such that a list of "at least one of A, B, or C," or a list of "one or more of A, B, or C," or a list of "A or B or C" means A, or B, or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (B and C), or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination of two or more features (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a statement that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to perform a function for at least one of A or B, or that an item is configured to perform function A or function B, means that the item can be configured to perform the function for A, or the function for B, or the function for A and B. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B" or "a processor configured to measure A or measure B" means that the processor may be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to measure A and measure B (and may be configured to choose between measuring A and B, or to choose to measure both A and B). Similarly, a reference to a means for measuring at least one of A or B includes a means for measuring A (which may or may not be able to measure B), or a means for measuring B (which may or may not be configured to measure A), or a means for measuring A and B (which may be able to choose between measuring A and B, or to choose to measure both A and B).As another example, a statement that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to at least one of perform function X or perform function Y means that the item may be configured to perform function X, or may be configured to perform function Y, or may be configured to perform function X and perform function Y. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to perform at least one of measuring X or measuring Y" means that the processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or may be configured to measure X and measure Y (and may be configured to select whether to measure X or Y, or to select to measure both X and Y).

[0063] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, a statement that a function or action is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or action is based on the stated item or condition, and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions in addition to the stated item or condition.

[0064] Substantial modifications may be made according to specific requirements. For example, customized hardware may also be used, and / or particular elements may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor (including portable software such as applets), or both. Additionally, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be utilized. Functional or otherwise components shown in the figures and / or discussed herein as being connected to or in communication with each other are communicatively coupled unless otherwise noted. That is, components may be directly or indirectly connected to enable communication therebetween.

[0065] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components, as appropriate. For example, features described with respect to particular configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be similarly combined. Also, technology evolves, and thus many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

[0066] A wireless communication system is a communication system in which communications between wireless communication devices (also referred to as wireless communication devices) are conveyed wirelessly, i.e., by electromagnetic and / or acoustic waves propagating through atmospheric space rather than through wires or other physical connections. A wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless communication system, wireless communication network, or wireless communication network) is configured to have at least some, but not all, communications transmitted wirelessly. Furthermore, the term "wireless communication device" or similar terms does not require that the functionality of the device be exclusively, or even primarily, for communication, or that communication using a wireless communication device be exclusively, or even primarily, wireless, or that the device be a mobile device, but indicates that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (unidirectional or bidirectional), e.g., at least one radio for wireless communication (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver).

[0067] Specific details are given in the description to provide a thorough understanding of example configurations (including implementations). However, the configurations may be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques are shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring the configurations. This description provides example configurations and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configurations of the claims. Rather, the foregoing description of the configurations provides an illustration of implementing the described techniques. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements.

[0068] As used herein, the terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. When using a computing platform, various processor-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code to the processor(s) for execution and / or may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., signals). In many implementations, processor-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0069] While several example configurations have been described, various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used. For example, the above elements may be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the present disclosure. Also, some actions may occur before, during, or after the above elements are considered. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of the claims.

[0070] Unless otherwise specified, "about" and / or "approximately," as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, duration, etc., encompasses a variation of ±20%, or ±10%, or ±5%, or ±0.1% from the specified value, when such variation is appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein. Unless otherwise specified, "substantially," as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, duration, physical attribute (such as frequency), etc., also encompasses a variation of ±20%, or ±10%, or ±5%, or ±0.1% from the specified value, when such variation is appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein.

[0071] A statement that a value exceeds (i.e., is greater than or exceeds) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold that is slightly greater than the first threshold, e.g., the second threshold is a value higher than the first threshold at the resolution of the computing system. A statement that a value is less than (i.e., is within or below) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value is equal to or lower than a second threshold that is slightly lower than the first threshold, e.g., the second threshold is a value lower than the first threshold at the resolution of the computing system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 100 Communication Systems 112 Mobile Devices 114 Network 116 servers 118 Access Points 120 access points 200 mobile devices 210 Upper cover 212 Side 214 screens 220 Display layer 230 PCB layers 240 bottom cover 242 Side 244 bottom 300 equipment 310 Antenna System 312 Energy Combiner 314 Antenna Elements 320 Antenna System 322 Energy Combiner 324 Antenna Elements 330 Antenna System 332 Energy Combiner 334 Antenna Elements 342 Front-end circuit 344 Front-end circuit 346 Front-end circuit 350 Transceiver 360 processor 362 memory 400 Antenna System 410 patch antenna element 420 Energy Combiner 430 Ground Conductor 441 Floating Conductor 442 Floating Conductor 450 Dielectric Materials 461 Edge 462 Edge 480 center line 491 Edge 492 Edge 511 First Level 512 Second Level 521 Fringing Electric Field 522 Fringing Electric Field 543 Pad 544 Pad 545 Pad 546 Pad 600 Equivalent Circuit 611 Resistor 612 resistor 620 Inductor 630 Capacitor 700 Dual Polarized Antenna System 710 Low Band Patch 711 Low-band energy combiner 712 Low-band energy combiner 713 Pad 714 Pad 715 recess 716 Recess 717 Edge 718 Edge 720 Low Band Patch 725 recess 726 Recess 730 High Bandwidth Patches 731 High-Bandwidth Energy Combiner 732 High-Bandwidth Energy Combiner 740 High Bandwidth Patches 741 Parasitic element 742 Parasitic element 743 Parasitic Elements 744 Parasitic Elements 750 Ground Conductor 751 outer edge 752 outer edge 754 width 761 Floating Conductor 762 Floating Conductor 763 Bottom Pad 770 main unit 771 Short-circuiting conductors 780 Active layer 791 Aperture 792 Aperture 810 level 820 level 830 level 840 level 900 Antenna System 910 Patch antenna element 911 Edge 912 Edge 920 Floating Conductor 930 Grounding Conductor 940 Energy Combiner 950 body 1000 Antenna System 1010 Patch antenna element 1020 Floating conductor 1030 Grounding conductor 1040 Energy Combiner 1050 main unit 1060 width 1100 Antenna System 1110 Low-band patch antenna element 1111 Low-band energy combiner 1112 Low-band energy combiner 1113 L-shaped pad 1114 L-shaped pad 1121 High-bandwidth patch antenna element 1122 High-bandwidth patch antenna element 1123 High-Bandwidth Energy Combiner 1124 High-Bandwidth Energy Combiner 1125 Parasitic element 1126 Parasitic element 1130 Floating conductor 1140 Floating Conductor 1141 Pad 1142 Pad 1150 Grounding conductor 1151 Edge 1152 Edge 1160 Short-circuiting conductor 1170 main unit 1180 Active layer 1400 System 1410 Antenna System 1420 Slot Antenna 1500 Edge-fed stacked patch antenna system 1511 Low-band energy combiner 1512 Low-band energy combiner 1520 High Bandwidth Patch 1521 High-Bandwidth Energy Combiner 1522 High-Band Energy Combiner 1523 Shorting Pin 1531 Floating Conductor 1532 Floating Conductor 1540 Dielectric Materials

Claims

1. 1. An antenna system comprising: a patch antenna element disposed on a first level of the antenna system; an energy combiner coupled to the patch antenna element, configured to transfer energy between the patch antenna element and a front-end circuit; a ground conductor disposed on a second level of the antenna system, the ground conductor being disposed at a separation distance between the patch antenna element and the ground conductor, the ground conductor bounding each side of a volume defined by a projection of the patch antenna element onto the ground conductor, perpendicular to a surface of the patch antenna element; a floating conductor displaced from the ground conductor and the patch antenna element, the floating conductor including a body extending outside the volume and proximate to the volume across a portion of the separation distance.

2. the patch antenna element is configured and arranged with respect to the ground conductor such that a fringing electric field is generated by a first energy provided to the patch antenna element by the energy coupler or by a second energy wirelessly received by the antenna system; 2. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the floating conductor is disposed so as to intersect a portion of the fringing electric field.

3. 3. The antenna system of claim 2, wherein the floating conductor includes a conductive via and a conductive pad electrically connected to the conductive via, the conductive pad being disposed on the first level.

4. The antenna system of claim 3 , wherein the conductive pad is adjacent to the patch antenna element.

5. 2. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the floating conductor is centered along an edge of the patch antenna element.

6. 2. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the floating conductor is a first floating conductor, the antenna system further comprising a second floating conductor, the first floating conductor and the second floating conductor being centered along opposite edges of the patch antenna element.

7. The antenna system of claim 6 , further comprising a plurality of third floating conductors, each of the plurality of third floating conductors including a set of conductive vias electrically coupled to one another.

8. 8. The antenna system of claim 7, wherein the patch antenna element has an octagonal perimeter, and the plurality of third floating conductors includes two pairs of the plurality of third floating conductors with respective third floating conductors disposed outside and adjacent to the volume along opposite sides of the octagonal perimeter.

9. 2. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the floating conductor is disposed adjacent an edge of the ground conductor.

10. 2. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the floating conductor is disposed entirely between the first level of the antenna system and the second level of the antenna system.

11. 2. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the floating conductor is part of a plurality of floating conductors arranged symmetrically around the patch antenna element.

12. 12. The antenna system of claim 11, wherein the patch antenna element includes a plurality of edges, and two or more of the plurality of floating conductors are disposed along each of at least two of the plurality of edges of the patch antenna element.

13. 10. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein a periphery of the patch antenna element extends inwardly in the vicinity of the floating conductor while maintaining at least a threshold separation between the patch antenna element and the floating conductor.

14. 2. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the patch antenna element is a first patch antenna element, and the antenna system further includes a second patch antenna element disposed on a third level of the antenna system, the second patch antenna element having a shape and size similar to that of the first patch antenna element, the first patch antenna element and the second patch antenna element being overlapping and concentric, and the first level of the antenna system being between the third level of the antenna system and the second level of the antenna system and sufficiently close to the third level of the antenna system so that the first patch antenna element is capacitively coupled to the second patch antenna element.

15. the patch antenna element is a first frequency band patch antenna element, the front end circuit is a first front end circuit, the energy combiner is a first energy combiner, and the antenna system comprises: a second frequency band patch antenna element disposed on a fourth level of the antenna system, the first level of the antenna system being between the fourth level of the antenna system and the second level of the antenna system; a second energy combiner configured to transfer energy between the second frequency band patch antenna element and a second front-end circuit; 10. The antenna system of claim 1, further comprising: a shorting conductor electrically connecting said ground conductor to a center of said second frequency band patch antenna element.

16. the second frequency band patch antenna element is a first second frequency band patch antenna element, and the antenna system comprises: a second second frequency band patch antenna element disposed on a fifth level of the antenna system, the fourth level of the antenna system being between the fifth level of the antenna system and the first level of the antenna system; 16. The antenna system of claim 15, further comprising: a plurality of parasitic elements disposed in the fifth level of the antenna system separate from the second second frequency band patch antenna element.

17. 2. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the patch antenna element, the energy combiner, and the floating conductor comprise a first antenna system, the antenna system comprising a plurality of antenna systems in a linear array, the plurality of antenna systems including the first antenna system and a plurality of second antenna systems each configured similarly to the first antenna system, and at least two of the plurality of antenna systems being out of phase with respect to each other.

18. 18. The antenna system of claim 17, wherein the plurality of antenna systems comprises five antenna systems, a first pair of the five antenna systems disposed at a first end of the linear array being integrated with one another and a second pair of the five antenna systems disposed at a second end of the linear array being integrated with one another, the first pair of the five antenna systems being out of phase with respect to the second pair of the five antenna systems.

19. 2. The antenna system of claim 1, further comprising a parasitic element corresponding to an associated patch antenna element and disposed at the same level of the antenna system as the associated patch antenna element, wherein the floating conductor is disposed entirely between the second level of the antenna system and the level of the antenna system of the associated patch antenna element.

20. 1. An antenna system comprising: a patch antenna element; a ground conductor; a dielectric material disposed between the patch antenna element and the ground conductor; means for localizing a fringing electric field corresponding to said patch antenna element and said ground conductor closer to said patch antenna element.

21. 21. The antenna system of claim 20, wherein the means for localizing the fringing electric field comprises means for increasing the effective capacitance of the patch antenna element.

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