Flexible PCB Antenna Feed Structure for Compact Metal Frames
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Solution Overview
Problem
The limited space within electronic devices with metallic frames poses challenges for efficiently accommodating multiple antennas required for advanced communication technologies like MIMO, CA, and ENDC, as traditional printed circuit boards are inflexible and hinder the expansion needed for increased antenna connections.
Innovation Solution
An antenna power feeding structure utilizing a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) with bendable connection parts that electrically connect to both the main board and metallic frames, allowing for efficient use of inner space and flexible arrangement of antenna components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a normal printed circuit board is used to connect the circuit portion and the frame, then the electrical connection is stable, but the board cannot be easily deformed to fit within the limited inner space of the electronic device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) instead of a rigid normal PCB. The FPCB can be bent and deformed to adapt to the limited inner space of the electronic device while maintaining stable electrical connections between the circuit portion and the metallic frame. This resolves the contradiction by providing both flexibility for space adaptation and reliability for electrical connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the circuit board from rigid to flexible. By using a flexible printed circuit board, the board can be deformed into various shapes to fit within the constrained inner space while maintaining its electrical connection functionality. This parameter change enables the board to simultaneously achieve space adaptability and connection stability.
2Quantity of substance
If the printed circuit board is extended to the inside of the frame to connect multiple antennas, then the number of antenna connections increases, but the area required for board expansion increases and is restricted by the limited inner space
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible printed circuit board can be bent and folded to accommodate multiple antenna connections within a compact area. Unlike a rigid PCB that requires large expansion area, the FPCB can be arranged in three-dimensional configurations to connect multiple antennas without requiring proportional increases in board area, thus resolving the contradiction between connection quantity and area consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes three-dimensional space utilization by bending and folding the flexible circuit board in multiple directions. Instead of expanding the board area in two dimensions, the FPCB connects multiple antennas by utilizing vertical and lateral folding, effectively transitioning from planar expansion to spatial arrangement, thereby reducing the required board area while maintaining multiple connections.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device may include: a main substrate; a frame having at least one part exposed outside the electronic device, and formed from a metal material; a flexible printed circuit board having at least one part disposed adjacent to the frame; a first connecting part for electrically connecting the flexible printed circuit board and the main substrate; a second connecting part formed to be bendable to electrically connect the flexible printed circuit board and the frame; and an integrated circuit disposed on, directly or indirectly, the flexible printed circuit board. Various other embodiments are possible.