3D Folded Antenna Design for Compact Wireless Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Removable wireless devices face challenges in achieving a compact size with high antenna efficiency and low cost, while also requiring improved thermal dissipation due to reduced size and increased heat generation from dense component arrangements.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves a dual-antenna design combining a printed antenna element and a 3-dimensional antenna element on a substrate, along with a housing that thermally couples to chips for heat dissipation, using conductive materials and strategic trace layouts to enhance radiation efficiency and dissipate heat effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a printed antenna is used to reduce size, then the device size is reduced, but antenna efficiency deteriorates due to high density layout and large impedance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a 2D printed antenna to a 3D folded antenna structure. The antenna element is folded multiple times to achieve the required electrical length within a compact footprint, utilizing the third dimension (height) to resolve the contradiction between size reduction and efficiency maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna element is folded back on itself multiple times, creating a nested configuration where the antenna path is contained within a small volume. This nesting allows the antenna to achieve its required physical length through folding rather than extending in a straight line, maintaining efficiency while minimizing device footprint.
2Reliability
If a metal folded 3-dimensional antenna is used, then antenna efficiency is improved, but device size increases due to expansion in three dimensional space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes vertical space (z-dimension) by folding the antenna upward and backward, allowing the antenna to achieve its required electrical length without increasing the device's footprint in the x-y plane. The folded structure extends in the vertical dimension while maintaining a compact overall form factor.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna is constructed as a thin, flexible metal structure that can be folded and bent without breaking. This flexibility allows the antenna to achieve complex 3D configurations within a compact space, maintaining the required electrical length while minimizing the device envelope.
3Volume of moving object
If device size is reduced with dense component arrangement, then compactness is achieved, but thermal dissipation deteriorates due to increased heat generation and reduced dissipation area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the thermal management function from the main device body by incorporating a dedicated heat sink structure. The heat sink is attached to the wireless device housing, providing a separate thermal dissipation path that does not interfere with the compact component layout.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a thermal interface material as an intermediary between the heat-generating components and the heat sink. This intermediary ensures efficient thermal coupling while allowing for thermal expansion and contraction, effectively transferring heat from the dense component arrangement to the external heat sink.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach results in a compact wireless device with improved antenna efficiency and thermal dissipation, reducing operating temperatures and maintaining performance in a compact form factor.
Implementation Method 1
The printed antenna element and the 3-dimensional antenna element jointly have a physical length of a desired frequency
Implementation Method 2
The housing is thermally coupled to the first chip, and is utilized for dissipating heat of the first chip
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention discloses a wireless device, which includes a substrate and an antenna. The antenna includes a printed antenna element and a 3-dimensional antenna element. The printed antenna element is printed on the substrate, while the 3-dimensional antenna element is disposed on the substrate and coupled to the printed antenna element. The printed antenna element and the 3-dimensional antenna element jointly have a physical length of a desired frequency.