Hybrid antenna system for wearable devices
An antenna system comprises a combination of a loop antenna and a non-loop antenna. The loop antenna and the non-loop antenna is connected in common to a transceiver mechanism or signal feed mechanism. The non-loop antenna is in some embodiments provided by a dipole conductor. An eyewear device incorporates the antenna system, a loop conductor and a dipole conductor of the antenna system being integrated in a body of the eyewear device. The loop conductor may be provided by a lens ring that extends around a lens held by the body. The lens ring may serve both as loop conductor and as a lens retention mechanism.
1. An eyewear device comprising:
an eyewear body comprising:
an eyewear frame configured for supporting one or more lenses within view of a user; and
a pair of temples connected to the eyewear frame for supporting the eyewear frame during wearing of the eyewear device by a user;
onboard electronics incorporated in the eyewear body; and
an antenna system housed in the eyewear body and connected to the onboard electronics to provide wireless connectivity to the onboard electronics, the antenna system comprising:
a loop conductor;
a non-loop conductor that includes a temple portion which is incorporated in and extends along a corresponding one of the temples of the eyewear body such that, when the eyewear device is in a wearable configuration, the temple portion extends transversely to a plane defined by the loop conductor; and
a signal feed mechanism connected in common to the loop conductor and the non-loop conductor to transceive an electrical signal simultaneously through both the loop conductor and the non-loop conductor in common, wherein the signal feed mechanism provides a common signal feed that is operatively connected for signal transmission to both the loop conductor and the non-loop conductor at a common signal feed point, such that the loop conductor and the non-loop conductor are in use driven identically by the common signal feed during signal transmission.
2. The eyewear device of claim 1 , wherein the loop conductor extends in a loop circumferentially around one of the lenses held by the eyewear frame.
3. The eyewear device of claim 1 , wherein the loop conductor is provided by a lens retainer element configured for engagement with a radially outer periphery of a lens held by the eyewear frame, thereby to retain the lens in position on the eyewear body, the lens retainer element being disposable between a locked condition in which it retains a lens on the eyewear body, and a released condition in which it permits removal and replacement of the lens.
4. The eyewear device of claim 1 , wherein the non-loop conductor comprises a dipole conductor connected to the signal feed mechanism to provide dipole antenna functionality, the temple portion forming part of the dipole conductor.
5. The eyewear device of claim 4 , wherein the dipole conductor comprises:
said temple portion extending along the corresponding temple; and
a frame portion incorporated in the eyewear frame to extend laterally across at least part of the eyewear frame.
6. The eyewear device of claim 5 , wherein the dipole conductor provides a pair of temple portions, each temple portion incorporated in an extending along a respective one of the temples of the eyewear body.
7. The eyewear device of claim 5 , wherein the frame portion of the dipole conductor includes a loop-shaped portion that extends circumferentially around one of the lenses supported by the eyewear frame.
8. The eyewear device of claim 7 , wherein the loop conductor extends circumferentially around a lens other than the lens around which the loop-shaped portion of the dipole conductor extends.
9. The eyewear device of claim 8 , wherein the dipole conductor includes a loop-shaped portion that extends circumferentially around a lens other than said lens associated with the loop conductor.
10. The eyewear device of claim 4 , in which the dipole conductor is center-fed, with the feed point being located substantially centrally along the length of the dipole conductor.
11. The eyewear device of claim 4 , in which the dipole conductor is offset-fed, the feed point being offset from a center of the length of the dipole conductor.
12. The eyewear device of claim 11 , wherein the offset feed point separates a shorter arm of the dipole conductor and a longer arm of the dipole conductor, the longer arm of the dipole conductor having, for at least part of its length, an increased width relative to the shorter arm of the dipole conductor.
13. The eyewear device of claim 12 , wherein the increased width of the longer arm is provided by a hollow fattened portion of the longer arm.
14. The eyewear device of claim 13 , wherein the hollow fattened portion of the longer arm of the dipole conductor is loop-shaped, such that the dipol conductor includes a loop-shaped portion defined by the hollow fattened portion of the longer arm of the dipole conductor.
15. The eyewear device of claim 14 , wherein the loop-shaped portion of the dipole conductor extends circumferentially along a lens holder defined by the eyewear frame for holding one of the one or more lenses.
16. The eyewear device of claim 15 , wherein the loop-shaped portion of the dipole conductor comprises a wire conductor providing a lens retainer configured to engage a radially outer periphery of a lens inserted in the lens holder, thereby to retain the lens in the lens holder.
17. The eyewear device of claim 12 , wherein the shorter arm and the longer arm of the dipole conductor each define a respective temple portion that is incorporated in and extends along a respectively corresponding one of the temples.
18. The eyewear device of claim 1 , further comprising a diplexer connected to the non-loop conductor and to the loop conductor to provide frequency-domain multiplexing based on respective frequency domains of the loop conductor and the non-loop conductor, wherein the antenna system and the diplexer are configured such that the non-loop conductor serves as a GPS antenna, and the loop conductor serves as a data communication antenna, the frequency domain of the loop conductor being higher than the frequency domain of the non-loop conductor.
19. The eyewear device of claim 1 , wherein the temple portion of the non-loop conductor is provided by a core wire that provides structural integrity to the temple, the core wire being conductively connected to the onboard electronics.