Patents by Inventor Mattia Pascolini

Mattia Pascolini has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20210306014
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include one or more antennas. The antennas may include phased antenna arrays each of which includes multiple antenna elements. Phased antenna arrays may be mounted along edges of a housing for the electronic device, behind a dielectric window such as a dielectric logo window in the housing, in alignment with dielectric housing portions at corners of the housing, or elsewhere in the electronic device. A phased antenna array may include arrays of patch antenna elements on dielectric layers separated by a ground layer. A baseband processor may distribute wireless signals to the phased antenna arrays at intermediate frequencies over intermediate frequency signal paths. Transceiver circuits at the phased antenna arrays may include upconverters and downconverters coupled to the intermediate frequency signal paths.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2021
    Publication date: September 30, 2021
    Inventors: Yuehui Ouyang, Yi Jiang, Matthew A. Mow, Basim Noori, Mattia Pascolini, Ruben Caballero
  • Patent number: 11128032
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a housing, a logic board, and wireless circuitry on the logic board. The wireless circuitry may include first and second antennas formed from conductive traces on a surface of the logic board. The first and second antennas may include resonating element arms at opposing sides of the logic board. The first antenna may have a fundamental mode that radiates in a Bluetooth® communications band at 2.4 GHz. The second antenna may radiate in a first ultra-wideband communications band such as a 6.5 GHz ultra-wideband communications band. If desired, the second antenna may also radiate in a second ultra-wideband communications band such as an 8.0 GHz ultra-wideband communications band. In another suitable arrangement, a harmonic mode of the first antenna may radiate in the second ultra-wideband communications band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Eduardo Jorge Da Costa Bras Lima, Andrea Ruaro, Carlo Di Nallo, Dimitrios Papantonis, Jayesh Nath, Jiaxiao Niu, Johan Avendal, Mattia Pascolini, Max O. Landaeus, Ryan C. Perkins
  • Patent number: 11121447
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with wireless communications circuitry and control circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include centimeter and millimeter wave transceiver circuitry and a phased antenna array. A dielectric cover may be formed over the phased antenna array. The phased antenna array may transmit and receive wireless radio-frequency signals through the dielectric cover. The dielectric cover may have first and second opposing surfaces. The second surface may face the phased antenna array and may have a curvature. The curvature of the second surface may include one or more recessed regions of the dielectric cover. The one or more recessed regions of the second surface may serve to maximize and broaden the coverage area for the phased antenna array. The first surface may be conformal to other structures in the electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jiangfeng Wu, Siwen Yong, Yi Jiang, Lijun Zhang, Mattia Pascolini
  • Patent number: 11114748
    Abstract: An electronic device may have peripheral conductive housing structures divided into first and second segments. First and second antennas may be formed from the segments and may be fed using a flexible printed circuit structure. The structure may include a first substrate attached to the first segment, a second substrate soldered to the first substrate and attached to the second segment, and a third substrate soldered to the second substrate. Third and fourth antennas may be formed on the first substrate whereas fifth and sixth antennas are be formed on the second substrate. The second substrate may be folded and may have a lateral area oriented perpendicular to the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth antennas. Modularly forming the structure in this way may maximize the flexibility with which the structure can accommodate other components, thereby minimizing the space consumption associated with mounting and feeding the antennas without sacrificing wireless performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Salih Yarga, Soroush Akbarzadeh, Jonathan M. Lee, Gareth L. Rose, Javier Gomez Tagle, Joshua G. Nickel, Mattia Pascolini, Ian A. Spraggs, Daniel W. Jarvis, Sunitha Seshadri
  • Patent number: 11108139
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a rear housing wall, antenna resonating element, coil, sensor board, and antenna grounding ring structures. The coil may receive wireless charging signals through the grounding ring structures and the rear housing wall. The grounding ring structures may include concentric ring-shaped traces. The ring-shaped traces may be separated by at least one gap. The ring-shaped traces and the gaps may configure the grounding ring structures to short antenna currents at relatively high frequencies from the antenna resonating element to a ground trace on the sensor board while blocking currents at relatively low frequencies. This may allow the ground trace to form part of an antenna without substantially impairing wireless charging efficiency of the coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Eduardo Jorge Da Costa Bras Lima, Andrea Ruaro, Dimitrios Papantonis, Jayesh Nath, Jiaxiao Niu, Mario Martinis, Mattia Pascolini, Michael R. Parker, Rex T. Ehman
  • Publication number: 20210265745
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a dielectric cover layer, a dielectric substrate, and a phased antenna array on the dielectric substrate for conveying millimeter wave signals through the dielectric cover layer. The array may include conductive traces mounted against the dielectric layer. The conductive traces may form patch elements or parasitic elements for the phased antenna array. The dielectric layer may have a dielectric constant and a thickness selected to form a quarter wave impedance transformer for the array at a wavelength of operation of the array. The substrate may include fences of conductive vias that laterally surround each of the antennas within the array. When configured in this way, signal attenuation, destructive interference, and surface wave generation associated with the presence of the dielectric layer over the phased antenna array may be minimized.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2021
    Publication date: August 26, 2021
    Inventors: Jennifer M. Edwards, Harish Rajagopalan, Simone Paulotto, Bilgehan Avser, Hao Xu, Rodney A. Gomez Angulo, Siwen Yong, Matthew A. Mow, Mattia Pascolini
  • Patent number: 11089562
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with first and second antennas and satellite navigation receiver circuitry. The first antenna may receive first satellite navigation signals in a first satellite navigation frequency band such as the L5 band. The second antenna may receive second satellite navigation signals in a second satellite navigation frequency band such as the L1 band. Control circuitry may process the satellite navigation signals received in the first and second satellite navigation frequency bands to identify a geographic location of the electronic device with a high degree of precision and accuracy. The first and second antennas may transmit radio-frequency signals in non-satellite frequency bands such as cellular telephone bands using a multiple-input and multiple-output scheme. The antennas may include antenna resonating elements formed from segments of peripheral conductive housing structures for the electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Mattia Pascolini
  • Patent number: 11088452
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a phased antenna array. Each antenna in the array may include a patch element having first, second, third, and fourth positive antenna feed terminals. The first and second terminals may convey first signals with a first polarization. The third and fourth terminals may convey second signals with a second polarization. Phase shifting components such as phase shifting transmission line segments or phase shifter circuits may ensure that the first signals at the first terminal are out of phase with respect to the first signals at the second terminal and may ensure that the second signals at the third terminal are out of phase with respect to the second signals at the fourth terminal. This may allow antenna current density for both polarizations to be symmetrically distributed about a normal axis of the patch element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Bilgehan Avser, Jennifer M. Edwards, Simone Paulotto, Harish Rajagopalan, Hao Xu, Rodney A. Gomez Angulo, Matthew A. Mow, Mattia Pascolini
  • Publication number: 20210218430
    Abstract: A radio frequency device has a multifunctional tuner that stores measurements of reflection coefficient parameter in a register. The radio frequency device also has a transceiver that has a transmitter. The transceiver may detect a transmitter signal from the transmitter to an antenna in an initial tuning state and then determine whether the transmitter signal is stable. In response to the transmitter signal being stable, the transceiver may measuring the reflection coefficient parameters at the multifunctional tuner. Furthermore, the radio frequency device has a baseband controller that has a memory to store instructions and a processor to execute the instructions. The instructions cause the processor to determine an antenna impedance based on the reflection coefficient parameters, and in response to determining that the antenna impedance is greater than or less than a threshold antenna impedance, iteratively tune the antenna using the multifunctional tuner.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2020
    Publication date: July 15, 2021
    Inventors: Liang Han, Enrique Ayala Vazquez, Thomas E. Biedka, Hongfei Hu, Erdinc Irci, Nanbo Jin, James G. Judkins, Victor C. Lee, Matthew A. Mow, Mattia Pascolini, Ming-Ju Tsai, Yiren Wang, Yuancheng Xu, Yijun Zhou
  • Publication number: 20210210868
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a cover layer and a phased antenna array mounted against the cover layer. Each antenna in the array may include a first patch element that is directly fed using first and second feeds and a second patch element that is directly fed using third and fourth feeds. A slot element may be formed in the first patch element. The first patch element may radiate in a first frequency band through the cover layer. The slot element may radiate in a second frequency band that is higher than the first frequency band through the cover layer. The second patch element may indirectly feed the slot element. Locating the radiating elements for each frequency band in the same plane may allow the antenna to radiate through the cover layer in both frequency bands with satisfactory antenna efficiency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2021
    Publication date: July 8, 2021
    Inventors: Bilgehan Avser, Harish Rajagopalan, Simone Paulotto, Jennifer M. Edwards, Hao Xu, Rodney A. Gomez Angulo, Matthew A. Mow, Mattia Pascolini
  • Patent number: 11038284
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a dielectric cover layer, a dielectric substrate, and a phased antenna array on the dielectric substrate for conveying millimeter wave signals through the dielectric cover layer. The array may include conductive traces mounted against the dielectric layer. The conductive traces may form patch elements or parasitic elements for the phased antenna array. The dielectric layer may have a dielectric constant and a thickness selected to form a quarter wave impedance transformer for the array at a wavelength of operation of the array. The substrate may include fences of conductive vias that laterally surround each of the antennas within the array. When configured in this way, signal attenuation, destructive interference, and surface wave generation associated with the presence of the dielectric layer over the phased antenna array may be minimized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jennifer M. Edwards, Harish Rajagopalan, Simone Paulotto, Bilgehan Avser, Hao Xu, Rodney A. Gomez Angulo, Siwen Yong, Matthew A. Mow, Mattia Pascolini
  • Patent number: 11025285
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include one or more antennas. The antennas may include phased antenna arrays each of which includes multiple antenna elements. Phased antenna arrays may be mounted along edges of a housing for the electronic device, behind a dielectric window such as a dielectric logo window in the housing, in alignment with dielectric housing portions at corners of the housing, or elsewhere in the electronic device. A phased antenna array may include arrays of patch antenna elements on dielectric layers separated by a ground layer. A baseband processor may distribute wireless signals to the phased antenna arrays at intermediate frequencies over intermediate frequency signal paths. Transceiver circuits at the phased antenna arrays may include upconverters and downconverters coupled to the intermediate frequency signal paths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Yuehui Ouyang, Yi Jiang, Matthew A. Mow, Basim Noori, Mattia Pascolini, Ruben Caballero
  • Patent number: 10998616
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include one or more antennas. The antennas may include millimeter wave antenna arrays formed from arrays of patch antennas, dipole antennas or other millimeter wave antennas on millimeter wave antenna array substrates. Circuitry such as upconverter and downconverter circuitry may be mounted on the substrates. The upconverter and downconverter may be coupled to wireless communications circuitry such as a baseband processor circuit using an intermediate frequency signal path. The electronic device may have opposing front and rear faces. A display may cover the front face. A rear housing wall may cover the rear face. A metal midplate may be interposed between the display and rear housing wall. Millimeter wave antenna arrays may transmit and receive antenna signals through the rear housing wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew A. Mow, Basim H. Noori, Mattia Pascolini, Xu Han, Victor C. Lee, Ming-Ju Tsai, Simone Paulotto
  • Patent number: 10992057
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a cover layer and a phased antenna array mounted against the cover layer. Each antenna in the array may include a first patch element that is directly fed using first and second feeds and a second patch element that is directly fed using third and fourth feeds. A slot element may be formed in the first patch element. The first patch element may radiate in a first frequency band through the cover layer. The slot element may radiate in a second frequency band that is higher than the first frequency band through the cover layer. The second patch element may indirectly feed the slot element. Locating the radiating elements for each frequency band in the same plane may allow the antenna to radiate through the cover layer in both frequency bands with satisfactory antenna efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Bilgehan Avser, Harish Rajagopalan, Simone Paulotto, Jennifer M. Edwards, Hao Xu, Rodney A. Gomez Angulo, Matthew A. Mow, Mattia Pascolini
  • Publication number: 20210119338
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a phased antenna array and a display cover layer. The phased antenna array may include a dielectric resonator antenna. The dielectric resonator antenna may include a dielectric resonating element embedded in a lower permittivity dielectric substrate. The substrate and the resonating element may be mounted to a flexible printed circuit. A slot may be formed in ground traces on the flexible printed circuit and aligned with the resonating element. The slot may excite resonant modes of the resonating element. The resonating element may convey corresponding radio-frequency signals through the cover layer. A dielectric matching layer may be interposed between the resonating element and the cover layer. If desired, the slot may radiate additional radio-frequency signals and the matching layer may have a tapered shape. Dielectric resonator antennas for covering different polarizations and frequencies may be interleaved across the array.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2020
    Publication date: April 22, 2021
    Inventors: Bilgehan Avser, Harish Rajagopalan, Simone Paulotto, Jennifer M. Edwards, Hao Xu, Rodney A. Gomez Angulo, Matthew D. Hill, Mattia Pascolini
  • Patent number: 10978797
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a dielectric cover layer and a conductive layer on the dielectric cover layer. The conductive layer may define an opening. A dielectric spacer may be mounted to the cover layer within the opening. A substrate may be mounted to the spacer. Vertical conductive structures may extend from the conductive layer to the substrate and may laterally surround the spacer. A phased antenna array may be formed on the substrate and aligned with the opening. The cover layer may have a dielectric constant and thickness that are selected to form a quarter wave impedance transformer for the array at a wavelength of operation of the array. The spacer and the conductive structures may exhibit a cavity resonance at the wavelength. The array and the conductive structures may radiate radio-frequency signals at millimeter wave frequencies through the dielectric cover layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jennifer M. Edwards, Harish Rajagopalan, Simone Paulotto, Bilgehan Avser, Hao Xu, Rodney A. Gomez Angulo, Siwen Yong, Matthew A. Mow, Mattia Pascolini
  • Patent number: 10978777
    Abstract: A system such as a vehicle may have windows. A window may have a structural window layer formed from one or more glass layers. A conductive coating such as an infrared-light blocking coating or other optical filter layer may be formed on the window. The conductive coating may include one or more silver layers or other conductive material. Unpatterned portions of the conductive coating are conductive along orthogonal dimensions. A region of the conductive coating may have parallel line-shaped openings that render the coating conductive in only a single dimension while enhancing radio transparency. Another region of the conductive coating may have a two-dimensional pattern of openings such as a mesh-shaped opening formed from intersecting straight and/or curved lines. In this region, the coating is locally rendered insulating and radio-frequency transparent. Antennas and ohmic heating elements may be formed in the coating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Yi Jiang, Jiangfeng Wu, Siwen Yong, Lijun Zhang, Mattia Pascolini, James R. Wilson, Martin Melcher
  • Publication number: 20210096515
    Abstract: An electronic device such as a wristwatch device may have a housing with metal sidewalls and a display module having conductive display structures. The conductive display structures may be separated from the sidewalls by a slot element for a first antenna that runs around the display module. A feed element for the first antenna may be coupled between the display structures and the sidewalls. An antenna resonating element for a second antenna may be disposed within the slot element. A printed circuit may include additional antenna elements for the second antenna. The antenna resonating element may extend away from the feed element for the first antenna to provide improved isolation between the two antennas. The first antenna may be operable to provide coverage for frequencies that are lower than frequencies for which the second antenna may be operable to provide coverage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2019
    Publication date: April 1, 2021
    Inventors: Andrea Ruaro, Eduardo Jorge Da Costa Bras Lima, Mario Martinis, Dimitrios Papantonis, Jayesh Nath, Mattia Pascolini
  • Publication number: 20210098869
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a housing with metal sidewalls. One of the metal sidewalls may have an opening. The electronic device may have a speaker module that has a speaker housing member. Conductive structures on the speaker housing member may have an opening that forms a slot element. The opening of the metal sidewall may be aligned with slot element. The slot element and an interior cavity of the speaker housing member may form a cavity-backed slot antenna. An antenna feed structure may be disposed at the opening of the speaker housing member. An antenna feed may be directly coupled to the antenna feed structure. The antenna feed structure may indirectly feed the slot antenna resonating element by capacitive coupling. A sealing member may be disposed at the opening of the metal sidewall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2019
    Publication date: April 1, 2021
    Inventors: Andrea Ruaro, Eduardo Jorge Da Costa Bras Lima, Mario Martinis, Dimitrios Papantonis, Jayesh Nath, Mattia Pascolini
  • Patent number: 10965008
    Abstract: An electronic device housing may have a rear housing wall that forms a metal ground plane. A slot may be formed in the metal ground plane. The slot may have one or more open ends along an edge of the ground plane. A near-field communications loop antenna may overlap the slot. The near-field communications loop antenna may have one or more turns. A current path through the metal ground plane may form one of the turns in the near-field communications loop antenna. The slot may form portions of non-near-field-communications antennas in addition to the near-field communications loop antenna. The slot in the non-near-field-communications antennas may be fed using an indirect antenna feed structure. Components such as a capacitor and inductor may help allow non-near-field communications antenna and the near-field communications antenna to be formed from common portions of the metal ground plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Umar Azad, Harish Rajagopalan, Mattia Pascolini, Rodney A. Gomez Angulo