TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of antennas, and particularly relates to a flexible antenna structure and an electronic device having the same.

BACKGROUND

With the advent of the 5G era, communication requirements of higher-order multi-input and multi-output (MIMO), coverage requirements of more new frequency bands, and even addition of millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) bands have led to a need of an electronic device such as a mobile phone for having more antennas (i.e., including mm-Wave and non-mm-Wave antennas). If the whole space cannot be significantly enlarged, higher antenna design difficulty will be caused, and even the production competitiveness is caused because of increase in the overall size due to less compact antenna placement or design. A 5G frequency band is divided into a mm-Wave band and a non-mm-Wave band. A current mainstream antenna for the non-mm-Wave band is designed to be a discrete antenna. Mainstream implementation methods include stamped iron sheets, flexible printed circuits (FPC), laser direct structuring (LDS), printed direct structuring (PDS), etc.; and a current mainstream antenna for the mm-Wave band is designed to be an integrated antenna-in-package (AiP), that is, an antenna and a chip (especially a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) are integrated into an AiP module. As mentioned earlier, the number of antennas in the 5G era has increased significantly, so a plurality of discrete 5G non-mm-Wave antennas and several 5G mm-Wave antenna modules are required in a 5G device (if the device can support mm-Wave communication).

In view of the above-mentioned problems related to the increasing number of antennas, the existing art <CN 111,430,942 B> provides integrating a mm-Wave antenna and a non-mm-Wave antenna in the same module. However, mobile phones and other electronic devices are quite aspiring and exquisite for their visual thicknesses, grip thicknesses, and shapes, so sides of their shells are mostly of an arc-shaped design to present a thinner visual thickness and grip thickness and a more competitive appearance. Therefore, for multiple and various kinds of antennas (including mm-Wave and non-mm-Wave antennas) in mobile phones and other electronic devices, how to be conformal with an are shell and how to achieve better antenna placement in an internal system to achieve a better design solution for the space utilization rate in a limited space are critical and serious issues now and in the future. Furthermore, the two issues are challenges that cannot be overcome in the existing art <CN 111,430,942 B>.

SUMMARY

In view of this, it is necessary to provide a flexible antenna structure and an electronic device to improve the above-mentioned problems.

In order to achieve the above purpose, in a first aspect, one embodiment of the present disclosure discloses a flexible antenna structure, including:

a flexible printed circuit board;

a mm-Wave antenna disposed on the flexible printed circuit board and conformal with the flexible printed circuit board;

a non-mm-Wave antenna disposed on the flexible printed circuit board and conformal with the flexible printed circuit board.

Compared with the existing art, by means of the flexible antenna structure provided with the mm-Wave antenna and the non-mm-Wave antenna on the flexible printed circuit board, the present disclosure realizes integration of the mm-Wave antenna and the non-mm-Wave antenna, solves a challenge of numerous antennas in the electronic device, and realizes conformation with a bent part of a shell, thus increasing the space utilization rate in a limited space. Furthermore, the overall size and cost cannot be increased, thus improving the competitiveness of a product.

In one embodiment, the flexible printed circuit board includes a first surface and a second surface located on a side opposite to the first surface, and the mm-Wave antenna and at least part of the non-mm-Wave antenna are located on the first surface. By means of disposing the mm-Wave antenna and the non-mm-Wave antenna on the same surface, a compact design of the flexible antenna structure can be realized, and the requirement of the flexible antenna structure for the overall size of the electronic device is lowered, thus reducing the cost and improving the competitiveness of the product. In addition, when the mm-Wave antenna and the non-mm-Wave antenna are located on the first surface and are close to an outer side of the electronic device, the flexible antenna structure further has a technical effect of good radiation effect.

In one embodiment, the non-mm-Wave antenna is located on at least one side of the mm-Wave antenna and is independent of the mm-Wave antenna by a distance. By means of independently spaced arrangement of the non-mm-Wave antenna and the mm-Wave antenna, mutual interference between the two antennas can be reduced, and the radiation effect of the flexible antenna structure is enhanced.

In one embodiment, the flexible antenna structure further includes a first conductive layer having at least one opening region; the mm-Wave antenna is arranged in the opening region and is away from the first conductive layer by a distance; the non-mm-Wave antenna is located on at least one side of the first conductive layer and is away from the first conductive layer by a distance; and the first conductive layer is grounded. By means of the arrangement of the first conductive layer that is grounded, a reference ground potential of a radio frequency can be provided for the flexible antenna structure, which is favorable for designing the flexible antenna structure, guaranteeing the basic performance of the flexible antenna structure, and enhancing the radiation effect of the product. Meanwhile, the first conductive layer can achieve a more effective effect of reducing crosstalk between mm-Wave antenna signals, so that the flexible antenna structure has good radiation effect, and a more compact mm-Wave antenna structure can be achieved. The flexible antenna structure is more compact.

In one embodiment, the non-mm-Wave antenna has at least one opening region, and the mm-Wave antenna is arranged in the opening region and is away from the non-mm-Wave antenna by a distance. By the arrangement of the distance, mutual interference between the mm-Wave antenna and the non-mm-Wave antenna can be reduced, and the radiation effect of the flexible antenna structure is enhanced.

In one embodiment, the non-mm-Wave antenna includes a first non-mm-Wave antenna unit and a second non-mm-Wave antenna unit; the first non-mm-Wave antenna unit and the second non-mm-Wave antenna unit are independent of each other by a distance; and the first non-mm-Wave antenna unit and the second non-mm-Wave antenna unit are further used to be electrically connected to one non-mm-Wave antenna feed source assembly, respectively. It can be understood that by means of the arrangement of the two non-mm-Wave antenna units, a usage requirement of two or more non-mm-Wave antennas of the existing electronic device can be met.

In one embodiment, the flexible printed circuit board includes a first surface and a second surface located on a side opposite to the first surface, and at least part of the mm-Wave antenna and at least part of the non-mm-Wave antenna are located on the first surface and the second surface, respectively. By the above arrangement, at least part of the mm-Wave antenna and at least part of the non-mm-Wave antenna are distributed on different planes, and spaces on front and back surfaces of the flexible printed circuit board can be fully used, so that the flexible antenna structure has a relatively small planar size, and the comprehensive competitiveness of the entire product can be improved.

In one embodiment, along a direction from the first surface to the second surface, the mm-Wave antenna at least partially overlaps the position of at least part of the non-mm-Wave antenna. By means of the above arrangement, the flexible antenna structure can be designed to be more compact to increase the space utilization rate, thus improving the comprehensive competitiveness of the product.

In one embodiment, at least part of the non-mm-Wave antenna located on the second surface is used to be electrically connected to at least two non-mm-Wave antenna feed source assemblies and grounded. It can be understood that by means of the above-mentioned arrangement, one non-mm-Wave antenna can be electrically connected to one non-mm-Wave antenna feed source assembly and grounded to form a radiation effect of two non-mm-Wave antennas, so that the space utilization rate can be increased, and the product performance can also be improved.

In one embodiment, the non-mm-Wave antenna includes a first non-mm-Wave antenna unit and a second non-mm-Wave antenna unit; the first non-mm-Wave antenna unit and the mm-Wave antenna are disposed on the first surface and are independent of each other by a distance; and the second non-mm-Wave antenna unit is disposed on the second surface. By the spaced arrangement, the mutual interference between the mm-Wave antenna and the first non-mm-Wave antenna unit can be reduced, and the radiation effect of the flexible antenna structure can be enhanced. By disposing the second non-mm-Wave antenna unit on the second surface, the space utilization rate can be increased, and the radiation effect of the non-mm-Wave antenna can also be enhanced.

In one embodiment, the first non-mm-Wave antenna unit has at least one opening region, and the mm-Wave antenna is located in the opening region. By the above arrangement, the flexible antenna structure can be designed to be more compact to increase the space utilization rate, which is favorable for reducing the interference between the mm-Wave antenna and the non-mm-Wave antenna and reducing the crosstalk between the mm-Wave antenna signals, thus improving the comprehensive competitiveness of the product.

In one embodiment, the flexible antenna structure further includes a first conductive layer that is disposed on the first surface and includes at least one opening region. The mm-Wave antenna is arranged in the opening region. By the arrangement of the first conductive layer, the crosstalk between different mm-Wave antenna signals of the mm-Wave antenna can be better prevented. Since the mm-Wave antenna is arranged in the opening region, the flexible antenna structure can be designed to be more compact to increase the space utilization rate, thus improving the radiation effect of the product.

In one embodiment, the number of the at least one opening region is multiple; the mm-Wave antenna includes a plurality of mm-Wave antenna units; and the plurality of mm-Wave antenna units are respectively arranged in the plurality of opening regions. By the arrangement of the plurality of mm-Wave antenna units, the communication capability of the mm-Wave antenna can be improved to meet the usage requirement of the existing electronic device for the plurality of mm-Wave antennas. The plurality of mm-Wave antenna units are respectively arranged in the plurality of opening regions, so that the first conductive layer can effectively improve the signal crosstalk between the plurality of mm-Wave antennas and enhance the radiation effect.

In one embodiment, the non-mm-Wave antenna includes a first part and a second part. The first part and the mm-Wave antenna are disposed on the first surface and are independent of each other at an interval. The second part is disposed on the second surface. The first part and the second part are electrically connected through a via hole running through the flexible printed circuit board. The first part and the second part are respectively disposed on the first surface and the second surface and are electrically connected through the via hole running through the flexible printed circuit board, so that the area of the non-mm-Wave antenna can be enlarged. The radiation effect is enhanced while the space of the flexible printed circuit board is fully used, thus improving the comprehensive competitiveness of the product,

In one embodiment, the non-mm-Wave antenna includes a first non-mm-Wave antenna unit and a second non-mm-Wave antenna unit; the mm-Wave antenna is disposed on the first surface; and the first non-mm-Wave antenna unit and the second non-mm-Wave antenna unit are independent of each other and are disposed on the second surface at an interval. By the foregoing arrangement, the mutual interference between the mm-Wave antenna and the non-mm-Wave antenna can be reduced, the radiation effect is enhanced, and the space utilization rate is also increased, thus improving the comprehensive competitiveness of the product. In addition, by means of the arrangement of the two non-mm-Wave antenna units, a usage requirement of two or more non-mm-Wave antennas of the existing electronic device can be met.

In one embodiment, the flexible antenna structure further includes a second conductive layer which is disposed on the second surface and used for being grounded. By means of the arrangement of the second conductive layer that is grounded, a reference ground potential of a radio frequency can be provided for the flexible antenna structure, which is favorable for designing the flexible antenna structure, guaranteeing the basic performance of the flexible antenna structure, and enhancing the radiation effect of the product.

In one embodiment, the flexible printed circuit board has a second via hole running through the flexible printed circuit board; a conductor is arranged in the second via hole; the non-mm-Wave antenna covers a side of the via hole and is also used to be electrically connected to a feed source of the non-mm-Wave antenna via the conductor on the other side of the second via hole. By the foregoing arrangement, the antenna efficiency can be improved, and the space utilization rate is increased, thus improving the comprehensive competitiveness of the product.

In one embodiment, the flexible printed circuit board includes a first medium layer and a second medium layer which are disposed oppositely, and a conductive line clamped between the first medium layer and the second medium layer; the mm-Wave antenna is disposed on a side of the first medium layer away from the second medium layer; the conductive line is clamped between the first medium layer and the second medium layer; the first medium layer has a third via hole; a conductor is arranged in the third via hole; the mm-Wave antenna is electrically connected with the conductive line through the conductor in the third conductive hole; and the mm-Wave antenna can be electrically connected to an external device via the flexible printed circuit board through the first medium layer, the second medium layer, and the third via hole. Since the flexible printed circuit board is bendable and has relatively high flexibility, it is convenient for electrical connection and assembling of the flexible antenna structure, the design flexibility is improved, the design and assembling cost is reduced, and the assembling efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment, the flexible printed circuit board includes a main body part and an extension part connected with one side of the main body part; a width of the extension part in a preset direction is less than that of the main body part in the preset direction; the mm-Wave antenna is disposed on the main body part and is used to be electrically connected to a mm-Wave radio-frequency integrated circuit via the extension part; and the non-mm-Wave antenna is located on the main body part. Since the flexible printed circuit board is bendable and has relatively high flexibility, the narrower extension part is electrically connected to the mm-Wave radio-frequency integrated circuit, which is favorable for the electrical connection and assembling of the flexible antenna structure, the design flexibility is improved, the design and assembling cost is reduced, and the assembling efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment, the main body part includes a middle region, a first region connected to one side of the middle region, and a second region connected to the other side of the middle region; and the extension part is connected to the middle region. By means of the arrangement of the extension part connected to the middle region, an internal route can respectively extend from the first region and the second region to the middle region and then extend to the extension part, which is conductive to reducing the wiring length and area, thereby facilitating reducing the size of the entire flexible antenna structure and improving the product competitiveness.

In one embodiment, the main body part has a rectangular planar shape, and the extension part has a rectangular planar shape; and the main body part and the extension part are perpendicularly connected into a T shape. The flexible antenna structure of the T-shaped structure is very convenient for the extension part to bend with respect to the main body part, so that electrical connection between the extension part and an external device is facilitated, and the assembling efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment, a joint of at least one of the first region and the second region and the middle region has an opening part. The arrangement of the opening part is very convenient for the extension part to bend with respect to the main body part. Furthermore, after the bending, the bottom of the extension part and the bottom of the main body part may be approximately on the same plane, which is favorable for improving the assembling flatness of the flexible antenna structure.

In one embodiment, the extension part includes a first extension part and a second extension part; the first extension part is connected with one end of the main body part; the second extension part is connected with the first extension part and is used to be electrically connected to the mm-Wave radio-frequency integrated circuit; a first edge of the main body part located on a first side of the flexible printed circuit board and a second edge of the first extension part located on the first side are collinear; a width of the first extension part in a direction perpendicular to the second edge is less than a width of the main body part along the first edge; and the second extension part and the first extension part are connected in a bent manner. By means of the foregoing design, the main body part and the first extension part can be disposed on the inner side of a shell of the electronic device to achieve a good radiation effect. The first edge and the second edge can be disposed in a manner of corresponding to a surface of a main circuit board in the shell; and the second extension part can bend to be superposed with the surface of the main circuit board relative to the first extension part, so as to be electrically connected to the main circuit board and then electrically connected to the mm-Wave radio-frequency integrated circuit located on the main circuit board. The above-mentioned structure is convenient for the arrangement of the flexible antenna structure, so that the flexible antenna structure can guarantee the radiation effect, is also convenient to assemble, and has relatively high space utilization rate. It is favorable for reducing the size of the flexible antenna structure, thus reducing the overall size and cost and improving the comprehensive competitiveness of the product.

In a second aspect, the present disclosure further discloses an electronic device. The electronic device includes a shell, a main circuit board located in the shell, and the flexible antenna structure according to any one of the embodiments. The main circuit board is provided with a non-mm-Wave antenna feed source assembly and a mm-Wave radio-frequency integrated circuit; the shell includes a bent part; the flexible antenna structure is disposed on the bent part and is conformal with the bent part; the flexible antenna structure is also electrically connected with the main circuit board, so that the mm-Wave antenna is electrically connected with the mm-Wave radio-frequency integrated circuit; and the non-mm-Wave antenna is electrically connected with the non-mm-Wave antenna feed source assembly.

In the electronic device, by means of the flexible antenna structure provided with the mm-Wave antenna and the non-mm-Wave antenna on the flexible printed circuit board, integration of the c is realized, a challenge of numerous antennas in the electronic device is solved, and conformation with the bent part of the shell is realized, so that the space utilization rate is increased in a limited space. Furthermore, the overall size and cost cannot be increased, thus improving the competitiveness of a product. In addition, the electronic device uses the flexible antenna structure in the foregoing embodiment, so that it also has other further features and advantages of the flexible antenna structure, and descriptions thereof are omitted here.

