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SamsungGranted patentPhones & computersInterest 6/10

Samsung patents foldable phone antenna that adjusts when folded

Samsung has been granted a patent for a foldable electronic device that uses a switch to change how its antenna works. When the device is folded, the circuit connects to the side frame to create a specific electrical current, while it disconnects when the device is open.

Why it mattersThis design helps maintain stable wireless connections in foldable phones, which often struggle with signal quality when the screen is bent.

In the filing’s own words

An electronic device includes: a first housing; a second housing; a hinge structure coupled with the first and second housings so that the first and second housings are foldable relative to each other; and a wireless communication circuit on the second housing, wherein the second housing includes: a sixth side portion; a fifth side portion facing the sixth side portion; a fourth side portion facing the hinge structure; a third corner portion between the sixth side portion and the fourth side portion; a fourth corner portion between the fifth side portion and the fourth side portion; and a first matching circuit coupled with the sixth side portion and configured to induce a second surface current having a second phase opposite to a first phase of a first surface current induced on the first and second housings and the hinge structure based on the electronic device being in a folded state.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An electronic device comprising: a first housing; a second housing comprising a second support member; a hinge structure coupled with the first housing and the second housing so that the first housing and the second housing are foldable relative to each other using the hinge structure as a central axis; and a wireless communication circuit provided on the second support member of the second housing, wherein the second housing further comprises: a sixth side portion provided at a side of the second housing, and comprising a first conductive portion; a fifth side portion facing the sixth side portion and comprising a second conductive portion; a fourth side portion facing the hinge structure and comprising a third conductive portion; a third corner portion between the sixth side portion and the fourth side portion and comprising a fourth conductive portion; a fourth corner portion between the fifth side portion and the fourth side portion and comprising a fifth conductive portion; and a first matching circuit on the second support member, and comprising a second switch and at least one first inductor, and wherein the first matching circuit is configured to: turn on the second switch, to electrically couple between the second support member and the sixth side portion through the at least one first inductor, based on the electronic device being in a folded state; and turn off the second switch, to electrically decouple between the second support member and the sixth side portion, based on the electronic device being in an unfolded state.

Facts

Company
Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
Official title
Electronic apparatus comprising antenna
Patent number
US12763468B2
Application number
18788993
Filed
Jul 30, 2024
Granted
Oct 13, 2026
Inventors
6
Claims
17

Classified under

H01Q 5/378 Electricity & electronicsH01Q 5/50 Electricity & electronicsH04M 1/0216 Electricity & electronicsH01Q 1/241 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.