Granted Patent B1

US 12,379,814 · App. 18/793,152 · Granted Aug 5, 2025

Inventors: Jon Bertrand (Taylorsville, UT); Paul Glad (Sandy, UT)

Assignee: Cirque Corporation

G06F3/0446G06F2203/04107G06F2203/04111

Abstract

Claims (45)

1. A capacitance module, comprising:

a capacitance electrode on a first substrate;

shielding material disposed on a second substrate where the second substrate is aligned with the first substrate;

an antenna;

wherein the shielding material is between the antenna and the capacitance electrode; and

a continuous opening defined in the shielding material;

wherein the continuous opening includes a branching shape, the branching shape comprising a stem and multiple branches extending from the stem;

wherein the continuous opening overlaps with the antenna;

wherein the multiple branches of the continuous opening form multiple discontinuous annular regions;

wherein at least two of the multiple discontinuous annular regions are electrically connected to each other with a shielding bridge.

2. The capacitance module of claim 1 , wherein a first branch and a second branch of the multiple branches of the continuous opening forms a branch pair that aligns with a loop of the antenna.

3. The capacitance module of claim 1 , wherein the multiple branches form at least one discontinuous ring shape.

4. The capacitance module of claim 1 , wherein the multiple branches define a discontinuous annular region of shielding material.

5. The capacitance module of claim 1 , wherein the continuous opening has the characteristic of minimizing the formation of eddy currents in the shielding material when the antenna is activated.

6. The capacitance module of claim 1 , wherein the continuous opening has the characteristic of increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of the antenna.

7. The capacitance module of claim 1 , further comprising a third substrate where the third substrate is aligned with the second substrate;

the antenna and processing resources are disposed on the third substrate;

the processing resources are connected to the capacitance electrode on the first substrate.

8. The capacitance module of claim 1 , wherein the stem of the continuous opening is in communication with an edge of the shielding material.

9. The capacitance module of claim 1 , wherein the stem extends into a central region of the shield material defined by least one branch of the multiple branches of the continuous opening;

wherein the stem and the at least one branch form a discontinuous annular region of the shield material.

10. The capacitance module of claim 1 , wherein the multiple discontinuous annular regions are electrically connected to the rest of the shielding material that is disposed on the second substrate.

11. A capacitance module, comprising:

a capacitance electrode on a first substrate;

shielding material disposed on a second substrate where the second substrate is aligned with the first substrate; and

a continuous opening defined in the shielding material;

wherein the continuous opening includes a branching shape, the branching shape comprising a stem and multiple branches extending from the stem;

wherein the multiple branches of the continuous opening form multiple discontinuous annular regions;

wherein at least two of the multiple discontinuous annular regions are electrically connected to each other with a shielding bridge.

12. The capacitance module of claim 11 , wherein a first branch and a second branch of the multiple branches of the continuous opening forms a branch pair that aligns with a loop of the antenna.

13. The capacitance module of claim 11 , wherein the multiple branches form at least one discontinuous ring shape.

14. The capacitance module of claim 11 , wherein the multiple branches define a discontinuous annular region of shielding material.

15. The capacitance module of claim 11 , wherein the stem of the continuous opening is in communication with an edge of the shielding material.

16. The capacitance module of claim 11 , wherein the stem extends into a central region of the shield material defined by least one branch of the multiple branches of the continuous opening;

wherein the stem and the at least one branch form a discontinuous annular region of the shield material.

17. The capacitance module of claim 11 , wherein the multiple discontinuous annular regions are electrically connected to the rest of the shielding material that is disclosed on the second substrate.

18. A portable electronic device, comprising:

shielding material disposed on a second substrate where the second substrate is aligned with the first substrate;

an antenna;

wherein the shielding material is between the antenna and the capacitance electrode; and

a continuous opening defined in the shielding material;

wherein the continuous opening includes a branching shape, the branching shape comprising a stem and multiple branches extending from the stem;

wherein at least one branch of the multiple branches is partially aligned with a loop of the antenna;

wherein the multiple branches of the continuous opening form multiple discontinuous annular regions;

wherein at least two of the multiple discontinuous annular regions are electrically connected to each other with a shielding bridge.

Assignments (1)

References Cited (52)