Multi-Feed Antenna Switching for Deformable Display Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices with deformable displays face challenges in maintaining effective wireless communication as they change shape, particularly in sliding or folding configurations, due to the dynamic movement of antenna structures.
Innovation Solution
The electronic device incorporates a multi-feed antenna system with conductive portions on opposing sides of the housing that can be selectively connected to a radio frequency front end (RFFE) via a switch circuit, allowing seamless communication signal transmission and reception regardless of the device's deformation state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single antenna structure is used in deformable devices, then the device structure is simple, but wireless communication performance deteriorates when the device changes shape
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna system is divided into multiple independent antenna elements (first antenna and second antenna) with different feed points. Each antenna element can be independently activated through the switch circuit, allowing the system to segment the communication function across multiple structures to maintain performance during device deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna system incorporates a dynamic switching mechanism that can selectively activate different antenna elements based on the device's deformation state. The switch circuit dynamically reconfigures which antenna feed points are active, adapting the antenna system's behavior to match the changing physical configuration of the deformable device.
2Reliability
If multiple antenna elements are added to maintain communication during deformation, then communication reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The multiple antenna elements share common structural support and control infrastructure. The same housing structure supports both antenna elements, and a single switch circuit controls both, allowing the system to perform multiple communication functions through a unified multi-functional platform rather than separate independent systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple antenna elements into a single integrated antenna system that shares common components including the housing structure, feed lines, and control circuitry. This merging approach allows multiple antenna functions to coexist while minimizing the total component count and structural complexity compared to fully separate antenna systems.
3Ease of manufacture
If antenna structures are fixed in deformable devices, then manufacturing is simple, but communication effectiveness deteriorates during shape changes
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna system incorporates dynamic switching capability that allows the same physical antenna structure to adapt its electrical configuration based on device deformation. The switch circuit enables real-time reconfiguration of feed points and antenna elements, providing communication effectiveness during shape changes without requiring complex mechanical adjustments to the antenna physical structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes electrical parameters (which feed points are active, which antenna elements are energized) in response to device deformation states. This parameter-based adaptation allows the antenna system to maintain communication effectiveness through electrical reconfiguration rather than mechanical transformation, keeping the physical structure simple while achieving adaptive performance.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device includes: a first housing; a second housing movably coupled to the first housing, the second housing being configured to slide with respect to the first housing along a first direction and a second direction that is opposite to the first direction; a display including a first area and a second area, the first area being disposed on the second housing, the second area extending from the first area, the second area being configured to (i) be exposed to an outside environment as the second housing moves in the first direction and (ii) be rolled into the first housing as the second housing moves in the second direction; and at least one processor configured to communicate with an external electronic device and to receive and/or transmit a communication signal by feeding to a first conductive portion and/or a second conductive portion.