Dynamically configured antenna for multiple frequencies and bandwidths

• US 20030219035A1
• Filed: 05/24/2002
• Published: 11/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Gallitzin Allegheny LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Schmidt, Dominik J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,260,424 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/478
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/241 used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM H01Q1/247, H01Q1/248 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0442 with particular tuning means
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0457 electromagnetically coupled to the feed line
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/14 Length of element or elements adjustable telescopic elements H01Q1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/005 adapting radio receivers, transmitters andtransceivers for operation on two or more bands, i.e. frequency ranges
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/006 using switches for selecting the desired band H04B1/0057 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/38 Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving

Abstract

A wireless communication device includes a reconfigurable antenna and one or more wireless transceivers coupled to the antenna. The reconfigurable antenna can be dynamically configured to transmit and receive wireless signals at a plurality of frequencies and bandwidths. A processor core is coupled to the reconfigurable antenna and the wireless transceivers. The processor core dynamically controls the configurations of the reconfigurable antenna and processes the wireless signals transmitted and received at the plurality of frequencies.

Claims

1. A wireless communication device, comprising:

a) a reconfigurable antenna that can be dynamically configured to transmit and receive wireless signals having a plurality of frequencies and bandwidths;

b) one or more wireless transceivers coupled to the antenna; and

c) a processor core coupled to the reconfigurable antenna and the wireless transceivers, for dynamically controlling the configurations of the reconfigurable antenna and processing the wireless signals transmitted and received at the plurality of frequencies.

2. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable antenna are dynamically configured by the open and the close states of switches.

3. The wireless communication device of claim 2 wherein the switches include low-loss switches such as micro-electro-mechanical (MEM) switches or p-HEMT switches.

4. The wireless communication device of claim 2 wherein the switches include the re-use of one or more of existing transmission switches and receiver switches, as well as existing diversity switches.

5. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable antenna includes an active portion that can be dynamically controlled to resonate at the plurality of frequencies.

6. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable antenna includes a passive portion that are dedicated to resonate at fixed frequencies.

7. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable antenna includes both a capacitive load and an inductive load for broadening the resonance bandwidth.

8. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable antenna resonates at narrow-band frequency, such narrow-band frequency being tunable by varying the antenna loading.

9. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the processor core includes a controller that can dynamically control the configurations of the reconfigurable antenna to enable the reconfigurable antenna to transmit and receive wireless signals at different frequencies.

10. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable antenna includes a plurality of antenna bodies, such antenna bodies can be electrically connected or disconnected by one or more low-loss switches.

11. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable antenna includes a plurality of antenna bodies that are electrically connected by conductive lines.

12. The wireless communication device of claim 11 wherein a plurality of conductive lines are connected to a single low-loss switch that controls the electric connections of the conductive lines between the antenna bodies.

13. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of frequencies include one or more of 900 MHz, 15-70 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, 2400 MHz, and 5700 MHz.

14. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the presence and the strength of wireless signals are detected in a narrowband mode before switching to a wideband mode to allow proper demodulation.

15. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the carrier frequencies in a frequency-hopping wireless mode are fed into the antenna switch control so that the antenna parameters can be adjustably optimized before each frequency hop to improve instantaneous gain.

16. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable antenna comprises

i) a first substrate including a plurality of antenna bodies that can be electrically connected under the control of one or more low-loss switches;

ii) a second substrate including a transmission line and a plurality of passive antennas that resonate at fixed frequencies; and

iii) a ground plane separating the first and the second substrates, such ground plane comprising an aperture for connecting the antenna bodies and the passive antennas.

17. The wireless communication device of claim 16 wherein the antenna bodies are printed on the first substrate.

18. The wireless communication device of claim 16 wherein the passive antennas are printed on the second substrate.

19. The wireless communication device of claim 16 wherein the passive antennas include frequency matching stubs, each of which having a length of approximately a quarter of the wavelength at the corresponding resonance frequency.

20. The wireless communication device of claim 16 wherein the second substrate includes one or more filter stubs that can be electrically connected or disconnected to the transmission line by low-loss switches.

21. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable antenna, the transceivers, and the processor core are adapted to handle a plurality of wireless communication protocols.

22. The wireless communication device of claim 21 wherein the wireless communication protocols conform to one of Bluetooth™

, IEEE802.11, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) protocols, and an Enhance Data Rates for GSM Evolution (Edge) protocols.

23. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the wireless transceivers include a cellular radio core or a short-range wireless transceiver core.

24. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the processor core includes one or more of digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processors, and routers.

25. The wireless communication device of claim 1 further comprising a high-density memory array coupled to the processor core.

26. A portable computer system, comprising:

a) a computer processor;

b) a program storage device coupled to the computer processor;

c) a wireless communication device coupled to the computer processor, comprising;

i) a reconfigurable antenna that can be dynamically configured to transmit and receive wireless signals at a plurality of frequencies and bandwidths;

ii) one or more wireless transceivers coupled to the antenna; and

iii) a processor core coupled to the reconfigurable antenna and the wireless transceivers, for dynamically controlling the configurations of the reconfigurable antenna and processing the wireless signals transmitted and received at the plurality of frequencies; and

d) a computer readable code embodied in the program storage device and coupled to the wireless communication device for receiving and transmitting data via the wireless communication device.