Appliance for wireless reception of radio signals

• US 20020004373A1
• Filed: 12/08/2000
• Published: 01/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt Gmbh (Vantiva SA)
• Original Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt Gmbh (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Hutter, Ingo, Klank, Otto
• Application Number:
  US09/732,569
• Publication Number:
  US 20020004373A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/575.7
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/1257 using the received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/08 for varying two co-ordinates of the orientation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/27 for locating or positioning the transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength

Abstract

The invention relates to an appliance for wireless reception of radio signals such as those which are transmitted, for example, in networks which are not based on wires (“wireless network”). A problem which frequently occurs in these networks is that the field strength distribution in a room is highly inhomogeneous due to reflections on walls, ceilings and objects. This can lead to the signal to be received being very severely attenuated at the location of the receiving antenna while, at a point only a few centimeters away, it can be received virtually without any attenuation. The invention thus provides a signal evaluation circuit which continually evaluates the reception field strength. As soon as the reception field strength falls below a specific threshold value, a drive unit reacts by changing the physical position of the antenna.

Claims

1. Appliance for wireless reception of radio signals having an antenna and a signal evaluation circuit which determines the reception field strength, characterized in that the antenna (8) is designed to be movable, in that a drive unit moves the antenna from rest position during reception operation, and in that, while this is taking place, a signal evaluation circuit evaluates the reception field strength and emits a control signal to the drive unit (14;

41, 39), and the drive unit then changes the physical location of the mid-position of the antenna in the sense of increasing the reception field strength.

2. Appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive unit comprises guidance means (11;

32, 33) which allow the antenna to move in a plane.

3. Appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that the guidance means are in the form of a rotating table (11).

4. Appliance according to claim 3, characterized in that the rotating table is in the form of a circular ring.

5. Appliance according to claim 4, characterized in that the circular ring is provided on a circumferential face (12) with a tooth system (13) in which a drive pinion (14) of a drive motor (14) engages.

6. Appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that the guidance means comprise guide rails (32, 33) which can move in the translational direction.

7. Appliance according to claim 6, characterized in that the guidance means are formed from two guide rails whose translation directions are oriented at right angles to one another.

8. Appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that a transmitter (22) is connected to the antenna and is suitable for transmitting the antenna signal from the moving guidance means to the stationary part of the appliance without wires.

9. Appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the said appliance is equipped with a second moving antenna.

10. Method for readjusting a moving antenna to a position in which the reception field strength is greater, with the method comprising the following steps:

a) the antenna is moved from a mid-position in the form of an oscillation,

b) the reception field strength is measured at the mid-position and at the inversion points of the oscillation,

c) the measured reception field strengths are compared with one another,

d) if the measured reception field strength at one inversion point is greater than at the mid-position, a new mid-position is selected which is closer to the said inversion point than the original mid-position, and

e) if the measured reception field strength at the mid-position is greater than at the inversion points, the location of the mid-position is not changed.