A Handbag Zipper Antenna for the Applications of Body-Centric Wireless Communications and Internet of Things

The idea of making use of the metal zipper on the handbag to serve as an off-body antenna is proposed, and the simulations together with measurements have been carried out. The feeding point can be located at the bottom of the zipper, and to be more specific, around one of the teeth. The excitation at certain tooth of the zipper would bring variations in the reflection coefficients as well as the radiation patterns. No matter the zipper is totally closed, quarterly opened, half opened, or is even totally opened, the antenna can operate with acceptable performance, though the common status of the handbag zipper is closed. Thus, it is to some extent reconfigurable, especially for radiation patterns. A fractional bandwidth of 4.92% at 2.44 GHz of the industrial, scientific, and medical band with a gain of about 5 dBi has been achieved. The impact of the human body has been evaluated. It is noticeable but affordable. The measured results indicate reasonable agreements to that of the simulations in both the matching performance and the radiation feature for the zipper antenna, which seems to be a promising candidate for body-centric wireless communications and the Internet of Things.