Antenna combination device

• US 10,446,930 B1
• Filed: 06/25/2018
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Gomme, Liesbeth, Kerselaers, Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Mai, Lam T
• Application Number:
  US16/016,915
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: 343702, 343700 MS, 342368, 342174, 342374, 342373
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/273 Adaptation for carrying or wearing by persons or animals
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/32 Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/0053 Selective devices used as spatial filter or angular sidelobe filter
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/29 Combinations of different interacting antenna units for giving a desired directional characteristic H01Q25/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/2605 Array of radiating elements provided with a feedback control over the element weights, e.g. adaptive arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/38 the phase-shifters being digital

Abstract

One example discloses an antenna combination device, comprising: a modulation unit; wherein the modulation unit is configured to be coupled to: a first antenna, having a first set of electromagnetic field lobes and configured to pass a first signal; a second antenna, having a second set of electromagnetic field lobes and configured to pass a second signal; wherein the modulation unit is configured to vary the first signal and the second signal, resulting in a third set of electromagnetic field lobes from a combination of the first and second sets of electromagnetic field lobes; wherein the first, second and third electromagnetic field lobes are in a same plane; and wherein a number of the third set of lobes is less than or equal to either a number of the first set of lobes or a number of the second set of lobes.

Claims

1. An antenna combination device, comprising:

a modulation unit;

wherein the modulation unit is configured to be coupled to;

a first antenna, having a first set of electromagnetic field lobes and configured to pass a first signal;

a second antenna, having a second set of electromagnetic field lobes and configured to pass a second signal;

wherein the modulation unit is configured to vary the first signal and the second signal, resulting in a third set of electromagnetic field lobes from a combination of the first and second sets of electromagnetic field lobes;

wherein the first, second and third electromagnetic field lobes are in a same plane; and

wherein a number of the third set of lobes is less than or equal to either a number of the first set of lobes or a number of the second set of lobes.

2. The device of claim 1:

wherein at least one of the respective first and second sets of lobes of the first and second antennas is not an omnidirectional lobe.

3. The device of claim 1:

wherein the third set of lobes are distributed over at least 180 arc degrees.

4. The device of claim 1:

wherein the third set of lobes are distributed over at least 270 arc degrees.

5. The device of claim 1:

wherein the third set of lobes includes a null;

wherein the modulation unit is configured to identify an interference source; and

wherein the modulation unit is configured to select the first signal and the second signal, such that the null is oriented toward the interference source.

6. The device of claim 5:

wherein the modulation unit is configured to receive information corresponding to a location of the interference source and a current location of the set of networked antennas; and

wherein the modulation unit is configured to pre-orient the null toward the interference source before signals from the interference source are detected by the modulation unit.

7. The device of claim 1:

wherein the third set of lobes has a quasi-omnidirectional composite antenna pattern.

8. The device of claim 1:

wherein the third set of lobes has a composite antenna pattern in the plane that differs from an omnidirectional antenna pattern by a predetermined standard deviation.

9. The device of claim 8:

wherein the standard deviation is at least 4 dB.

10. The device of claim 1:

wherein the antenna combination device is embedded in at least one of;

a vehicle, a pair of earbuds, or a smartphone.

11. The device of claim 1:

wherein the first and second antennas are V2X antennas on a vehicle;

wherein the first antenna is a directional antenna oriented toward a front of the vehicle; and

wherein the second antenna is a directional antenna oriented toward a back of the vehicle.

12. The device of claim 1:

wherein the first signal of the first antennal includes a first amplitude and a first phase;

wherein the second signal of the second antennal includes a second amplitude and a second phase; and

wherein the modulation unit includes;

an amplitude modulation unit; and

a phase modulation unit;

wherein the amplitude and phase modulation units are configured to be coupled to the first and second antennas;

wherein the amplitude modulation unit is configured to vary a difference between the first amplitude of the first signal and the second amplitude of the second signal; and

wherein the phase modulation unit is configured to vary a difference between the first phase of the first signal and the second phase of the second signal.

13. The device of claim 12:

wherein the modulation unit is configured to obtain a set of individual and combined antenna E-field patterns for the first and second antennas; and

wherein the first and second amplitudes are kept equal as a difference between the first and second phase is varied from 0 to 360 degrees.

14. The device of claim 13:

wherein the modulation unit is configured to obtain a set of calibration factors based on the set of individual and combined E-field patterns.

15. The device of claim 14:

wherein the modulation unit is configured to generate a new combined antenna E-field pattern based on the set of calibration factors and the individual antenna E-field patterns.

16. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

the first antenna and the second antenna coupled to the modulation unit; and

a transceiver coupled to the modulation unit;

wherein the transceiver includes transmitter and/or receiver circuitry for generating and/or receiving the first and second signals.

17. An article of manufacture including at least one non-transitory, tangible machine readable storage medium containing executable machine instructions for antenna combination when executed by a processor, comprising:

wherein the article includes,

a modulation unit configured to be coupled to a first antenna and a second antenna;

wherein the first antenna, includes a first set of lobes and is configured to pass a first signal;

wherein the second antenna, includes a second set of lobes and is configured to pass a second signal; and

wherein the instructions include,

selecting a new third set of lobes;

wherein a number of the third set of lobes is less than or equal to either a number of the first set of lobes or a number of the second set of lobes;

calculating a first new signal having a first new amplitude and a first new phase, and a second new signal having a second new amplitude and a second new phase, based on the new third set of lobes, a first and second set of lobes, and a calibration factor stored in memory;

applying the first new signal to the first antenna, and the second new signal to the second antenna, such that the new third set of lobes is generated.

18. The article of claim 17, wherein the calibration factors were previously calculated by:

obtaining the first set of lobes by driving the first antenna by the first signal having a first amplitude and a first phase;

obtaining the second set of lobes by driving the second antenna by the first signal having the first amplitude and the first phase;

obtaining a default third set of lobes by driving both the first antenna and the second antenna by the first signal having the first amplitude and the first phase;

calculating a calibration factor based on the first set of lobes, the second set of lobes, and the default third set of lobes;

storing the first and second antenna patterns and the calibration factor in memory;

incrementing the first phase to a second phase;

repeating the obtaining, calculating, and storing for a second signal having the first amplitude and the second phase; and

repeating the incrementing, obtaining, calculating, and storing for an additional set of phases, while keeping the first amplitude.

19. The article of claim 17, wherein the calibration factors were previously calculated according to the following equation:

20. The article of claim 17, wherein the new third set of lobes is calculated according to the following equations:

E_TOT,Ph2(i),j²=E_1,j²+E_2,j²+E_1,jE_2,j×

CalFactor(Ph₂(i))