Configurable antenna and method of operating such a configurable antenna
First Claim
1. Antenna apparatus comprising:
- a directional antenna comprising a plurality of antenna array components;
a plurality of RF chains connected to the plurality of antenna array components;
a transceiver connected to the plurality of RF chains,wherein each RF chain comprises in sequence;
a switching stage having switching circuitry selectively to connect an antenna array component;
a phase shifting stage having phase shifting circuitry; and
a summation stage having summation circuitry,wherein at least two of the RF chains connected to different antenna array components share phase shifting circuitry and at least two of the RF chains connected to different antenna array components share summation circuitry, and wherein the plurality of RF chains comprises a further summation stage having further summation circuitry, wherein the further summation stage is between the switching stage and the phase shifting stage, and the further summation stage is configured to combine output from two of the plurality of antenna array components to forward to the shared phase shifting circuitry.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Antenna apparatus and a method of operating the antenna apparatus are provided. The antenna apparatus comprises a directional antenna comprising antenna array components, RF chains connected to the antenna array components, and a transceiver connected to the RF chains. Each RF chain comprises in sequence: a switching stage having switching circuitry selectively to connect an antenna array component, a phase shifting stage having phase shifting circuitry, and a summation stage having summation circuitry, wherein at least two of the RF chains share phase shifting circuitry and at least two of the RF chains share summation circuitry. The at least partial sharing of the RF chains, an in particular of the phase shifting circuitry provides a compact and cheap antenna apparatus, which is nonetheless capable of degree of configurability in direction and beam pattern to enable it to operate in a busy and changing environment.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. Antenna apparatus comprising:
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a directional antenna comprising a plurality of antenna array components; a plurality of RF chains connected to the plurality of antenna array components; a transceiver connected to the plurality of RF chains, wherein each RF chain comprises in sequence; a switching stage having switching circuitry selectively to connect an antenna array component; a phase shifting stage having phase shifting circuitry; and a summation stage having summation circuitry, wherein at least two of the RF chains connected to different antenna array components share phase shifting circuitry and at least two of the RF chains connected to different antenna array components share summation circuitry, and wherein the plurality of RF chains comprises a further summation stage having further summation circuitry, wherein the further summation stage is between the switching stage and the phase shifting stage, and the further summation stage is configured to combine output from two of the plurality of antenna array components to forward to the shared phase shifting circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of operating an antenna apparatus comprising the steps of:
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connecting a plurality of antenna array components via a plurality of RF chains to a transceiver, wherein at least two of the RF chains connected to different antenna array components share phase shifting circuitry and at least two of the RF chains connected to different antenna array components share summation circuitry; and in forward or reverse sequence in at least one RF chain; selectively connecting an antenna array component to a shared RF chain; phase shifting using a shared phase shifting stage of the shared RF chain; summing using a shared summation stage of the shared RF chain; and in the plurality of RF chains, further summing between the selectively connecting and the phase shifting, and the further summing combines output from two RF chains of the plurality of antenna array components to forward to the shared phase shifting stage.
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22. Antenna apparatus comprising:
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means for directionally transmitting and receiving wireless signals comprising a plurality of antenna array components; means for providing a plurality of RF chains to connected the plurality of antenna array components to a transceiver; means for transceiving signals carried by the plurality of RF chains, wherein each RF chain comprises in sequence; means for selectively disconnecting an antenna array component; means for phase shifting; and means for summing, wherein at least two of the RF chains connected to different antenna array components share the means for phase shifting and at least two of the RF chains connected to different antenna array components share the means for summing, wherein; the means for providing a plurality of RF chains comprises a further 20 means for summation, wherein the further means for summation is between the means for selectively disconnecting and the means for phase shifting, and the further means for summation for combining output from two of the plurality of antenna array components to forward to the shared means for phase shifting.
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Specification