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EP-4735971-A1 - ROTATING CIRCULAR WAVEGUIDE CHANNEL FOR FOLDABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES

EP4735971A1EP 4735971 A1EP4735971 A1EP 4735971A1EP-4735971-A1

Abstract

A rotatable circular waveguide structure is described that may comprise circular waveguide sections configured to propagate electromagnetic radiation. The circular waveguide sections may enable data signals to be transmitted between portions of an electronic device, such as a chassis and display portion, which may be rotatable with respect to one another. The rotatable circular waveguide structure may comprise one or more circular waveguide sections that are routed through a hinge of the electronic device, as well as one or more rotatable junctions. The rotatable junctions enable a rotation of circular waveguide sections with respect to one another as the coupled portions of the electronic device are also rotated. The rotatable circular waveguide structure may replace the use of data cables that are conventionally used to carry data signals between portions of an electronic device.

Inventors

  • CHOUDHURY, DEBABANI
  • STEVENS, Kerry
  • YEPES, ANA
  • CHEN, HUIMIN
  • GANTNER, Eric
  • HALL, STEPHEN
  • LEVY, Cooper
  • MCEUEN, SHAWN
  • PANIAGUA ACUNA, LUIS
  • SAGAZIO, PETER
  • SKINNER, HARRY

Assignees

  • INTEL Corporation

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20231023

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A rotatable circular waveguide structure, comprising: a first circular waveguide coupled to a display portion of an electronic device; and a second circular waveguide coupled to a chassis portion of the electronic device, wherein the first circular waveguide and the second circular waveguide are coupled to one another via a coupling section that is routed through a hinge of the electronic device, and wherein the first circular waveguide, the second circular waveguide, and the coupling section are configured to enable a propagation of data signals between the chassis portion and the display portion of the electronic device.
  2. 2. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 1, wherein the coupling section is coupled to the first circular waveguide at a first rotatable junction that enables a rotation of a section of the first circular waveguide and the coupling section with respect to one another as the chassis portion and the display portion are rotated with respect to one another.
  3. 3. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the coupling section is coupled to the second circular waveguide at a second rotatable junction.
  4. 4. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 3, wherein the second rotatable junction is configured to enable a rotation of a section of the second circular waveguide and the coupling section with respect to one another as the chassis portion and the display portion are rotated with respect to one another.
  5. 5. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the first circular waveguide is coupled to a first radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) in the display portion of the electronic device via a first waveguide to RFIC transition.
  6. 6. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 5, wherein the second circular waveguide is coupled to a second RFIC in the chassis portion of the electronic device via a second waveguide to RFIC transition.
  7. 7. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 6, wherein the first waveguide to RFIC transition and the second waveguide to RFIC transition comprise an edge-coupled waveguide to RFIC transition.
  8. 8. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 6, wherein the first waveguide to RFIC transition and the second waveguide to RFIC transition each comprises a respective signal exciter configured to perform excitation of a TM01 mode in the first circular waveguide and the second circular waveguide, respectively.
  9. 9. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 7, wherein the edge-coupled waveguide to RFIC transition of the first waveguide to RFIC transition and the edge-coupled waveguide to RFIC transition of the second waveguide to RFIC transition comprise a ground arc configured to be galvanically coupled to the first circular waveguide and the second circular waveguide, respectively.
  10. 10. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 9, wherein the ground arc is formed by a plurality of vias interconnecting metal layers in a substrate package.
  11. 11. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 6, wherein the second RFIC in the chassis portion is configured to perform upconversion to generate the data signals that are transmitted to the first RFIC in the display portion via propagation though the first circular waveguide, the second circular waveguide, and the coupling section in accordance with a TM01 excitation mode, and wherein the first RFIC is configured to downconvert the data signals.
  12. 12. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 2, wherein the first rotatable junction is formed via a mated coupling between the first circular waveguide and the coupling section.
  13. 13. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 12, wherein the mated coupling comprises a non-conductive sleeve that is coupled between the first circular waveguide and the coupling section while maintaining a galvanic coupling between the first circular waveguide and the coupling section.
  14. 14. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 2, wherein the first rotatable junction is formed via a mated coupling between the first circular waveguide and the coupling section.
  15. 15. The rotatable circular waveguide structure of claim 14, wherein the mated coupling comprises a non-conductive sleeve that is formed over a portion of the first circular waveguide or a portion of the coupling section while maintaining a galvanic coupling between the first circular waveguide and the coupling section.
  16. 16. An electronic device, comprising: a chassis means; a display means, the chassis means and the display means being configured to be rotatable with respect to one another, a first circular waveguide coupled to the chassis means; a second circular waveguide coupled to the display means; and a coupling section that is routed through a hinge of the electronic device, wherein the first circular waveguide, the second circular waveguide, and the coupling section are configured to enable a propagation of data signals between the chassis means and the display means of the electronic device.
  17. 17. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the first circular waveguide and the second circular waveguide are coupled to one another via the coupling section, the coupling section being coupled to the first circular waveguide at a first rotatable means that enables a rotation of a section of the first circular waveguide and the coupling section with respect to one another as the chassis means and the display means are rotated with respect to one another, and
  18. 18. The electronic device of claim 16 or claim 17, wherein the coupling section is coupled to the second circular waveguide at a second rotatable means, and wherein the second rotatable means is configured to enable a rotation of a section of the second circular waveguide and the coupling section with respect to one another as the chassis means and the display means are rotated with respect to one another.
  19. 19. The electronic device of claim 16 or claim 17, further comprising: a first radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) means in the display means coupled to the first circular waveguide via a first waveguide to RFIC transition means, and a second RFIC means in the chassis means coupled to the second circular waveguide via a second waveguide to RFIC transition means.
  20. 20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the first waveguide to RFIC transition means and the second waveguide to RFIC transition means comprise an edge-coupled waveguide to RFIC transition.

Description

ROTATING CIRCULAR WAVEGUIDE CHANNEL FOR FOLDABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. patent application no. 18/345,044, filed on June 30, 2023, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The disclosure described herein generally relates to rotating circular waveguides and, in particular, to a rotatable circular waveguide structure that leverages the use of an electronic device hinge structure to eliminate wired interconnections between rotating device components. BACKGROUND [0003] Next generation, foldable electronic devices often require high-data rate cables to be routed through a hinge from the base (chassis) portion to the lid (display) portion. These high-data rate cables may carry video or other data signals (e.g. 40 Gbps and greater), and are typically implemented as high-speed interconnect I/O (HSIO) cables, which must withstand dynamic bend cycles (i.e. as the chassis and display are rotated with respect to one another) while maintaining high-data-rate performance. The reliability of these high-data rate cables is a significant issue when such repeated rotational use causes mechanical stress on the wired interconnects, which can eventually lead to failure. This issue is further complicated as the bend radius of the hinge becomes even smaller for next generation platforms with thinner form factors. [0004] Moreover, the mechanical assembly of the wired interconnects such as flexible flat cable (FFCs), flexible printed circuits (FPCs), and coaxial cables through the hinge adds further assembly constrains and overall cost, particularly as such components may require the use of high performance materials. This issue is exacerbated as high-end devices may require a greater number of FPCs, FFCs, coaxial cables, and connectors to support the higher data rates. Thus, the current solutions of coupling high speed data signals between the chassis and display portions of electronic devices while withstanding the stress caused by repeated rotation or bending of these components, are inadequate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES [0005] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present disclosure and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the techniques discussed herein. [0006] In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure. In the following description, reference is made to the following drawings, in which: [0007] FIGs. 1A-1F illustrate various views of conventional electronic device construction, components, and signal routing techniques. [0008] FIG. 1G illustrates a portion of a circular waveguide structure implementing rotating junctions, in accordance with the disclosure. [0009] FIGs. 2A-2F illustrate various rotatable circular waveguide structures and routings, in accordance with the disclosure. [0010] FIGs. 3A-3B illustrate a first rotatable circular waveguide junction, in accordance with the disclosure. [0011] FIG. 4 illustrates a second rotatable circular waveguide junction, in accordance with the disclosure. [0012] FIG. 5 A illustrates simulated TM01 mode excitation of an ideal rotatable circular waveguide junction , in accordance with the disclosure. [0013] FIG. 5B illustrates the simulated performance of the ideal rotatable circular waveguide junction with TM01 mode excitation as shown in FIG. 5 A, in accordance with the disclosure. [0014] FIG. 6A illustrates the simulated TM01 mode excitation of a mechanical rotatable circular waveguide junction, in accordance with the disclosure. [0015] FIG. 6B illustrates the simulated performance of the mechanical rotatable circular waveguide junction with TM01 mode excitation as shown in FIG. 6B, in accordance with the disclosure. [0016] FIG. 7 illustrates the simulated performance for different lengths of a circular waveguide section coupled to a rotatable waveguide junction, in accordance with the disclosure. [0017] FIG. 8 illustrates an E-field plot through a rotatable waveguide junction, in accordance with the disclosure. [0018] FIG. 9 illustrates a circular waveguide to RFIC top-package transition, in accordance with the disclosure. [0019] FIG. 10 illustrates a circular waveguide to RFIC edge -package transition, in accordance with the disclosure. [0020] FIG. 11 illustrates an electronic device, in accordance with the present disclosure. [0021] The present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawing in which an element first appears is typically indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number