Circuit board having a peripheral antenna apparatus with selectable antenna elements

• US 20060109191A1
• Filed: 12/23/2004
• Published: 05/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ruckus IP Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: Video54 Technologies Inc (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shtrom, Victor, Kish, William S., Milton, Darin T.
• Granted Patent: US 7,193,562 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/795
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/38 formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support patch antennas H01Q9/0407; microstrip dipole antennas H01Q9/065; microstrip slot antennas H01Q13/106; transmission line microstrip antennas H01Q13/206; manufacturing reflecting surfaces using insulating material for supporting the reflecting surface H01Q15/142
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/20 the units being spaced along or adjacent to a curvilinear path slotted waveguide arrays H01Q21/005; circularly or helically slotted waveguides H01Q21/0062
• 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 25/00 Antennas or antenna systems providing at least two radiating patterns arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern H01Q3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/24 varying the orientation by switching energy from one active radiating element to another, e.g. for beam switching
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/04 Resonant antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/16 with feed intermediate between the extremities of the antenna, e.g. centre-fed dipole H01Q9/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/28 Conical, cylindrical, cage, strip, gauze, or like elements having an extended radiating surface; Elements comprising two conical surfaces having collinear axes and adjacent apices and fed by two-conductor transmission lines waveguide horns or mouths H01Q13/00; slot antennas H01Q13/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/285 Planar dipole H01Q9/065 takes precedence; patch antenna H01Q9/0407
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/16 incorporating printed electric components, e.g. printed resistor, capacitor, inductor

Abstract

A circuit board for wireless communications includes communication circuitry for modulating and/or demodulating a radio frequency (RF) signal and an antenna apparatus for transmitting and receiving the RF signal, the antenna apparatus having selectable antenna elements located near one or more peripheries of the circuit board. A first antenna element produces a first directional radiation pattern; a second antenna element produces a second directional radiation pattern offset from the first radiation pattern. The antenna elements may include one or more reflectors configured to provide gain and broaden the frequency response of the antenna element. A switching network couples one or more of the selectable elements to the communication circuitry and provides impedance matching regardless of which or how many of the antenna elements are selected. Selecting different combinations of antenna elements results in a configurable radiation pattern; alternatively, selecting several elements may result in an omnidirectional radiation pattern.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

communication circuitry located in a first area of a circuit board, the communication circuitry configured to generate an RF signal into an antenna feed port of the circuit board;

a first antenna element located near a first periphery of the circuit board, the first antenna element configured to produce a first directional radiation pattern when coupled to the antenna feed port; and

a second antenna element located near a second periphery of the circuit board, the second antenna element configured to produce a second directional radiation pattern offset from the first directional radiation pattern when coupled to the antenna feed port.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a switching network configured to selectively couple the antenna feed port to the first antenna element and the second antenna element.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the switching network comprises a first RF switch located at about a multiple of one-half wavelength from the antenna feed port, the first RF switch configured to selectively couple the antenna feed port to the first antenna element.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a first feed line of the circuit board configured to couple the antenna feed port to the first antenna element; and

a second feed line of the circuit board configured to couple the antenna feed port to the second antenna element, the second feed line having electrical length of about a multiple of one-half wavelength as compared to the first feed line.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the first antenna element and the second antenna element produce a substantially omnidirectional radiation coverage when the first antenna element and the second antenna element are coupled to the antenna feed port.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the first antenna element comprises a modified dipole.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the modified dipole comprises a bent dipole component.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the first antenna element further comprises a reflector, the reflector configured to concentrate the radiation pattern of the first antenna element.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the first antenna element further comprises a reflector, the reflector configured to broaden the frequency response of the first antenna element.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the first antenna element comprises a first dipole component and a second dipole component, at least one of the first dipole component and the second dipole component formed on an exterior surface of the circuit board.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the first antenna element comprises a first dipole component formed on a surface of the circuit board and a second dipole component formed on an opposite surface of the circuit board, the second dipole component coupled to an internal ground layer of the circuit board.

12. A system, comprising:

communication circuitry located in a first area of a circuit board, the communication circuitry configured to generate an RF signal into an antenna feed port of the circuit board;

a plurality of antenna elements arranged near at least two edges of the circuit board, each of the antenna elements configured to form a directional radiation pattern when coupled to the antenna feed port; and

a switching network configured to selectively couple the antenna feed port to each of the plurality of antenna elements to result in a configurable radiation pattern ranging from highly directional to substantially non-directional.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the switching network comprises an RF switch for each of the antenna elements, the RF switch located at about a multiple of one-half wavelength from the antenna feed port.

14. The system of claim 13 further comprising a feed line coupling the RF switch to the antenna element, the plurality of feed lines having electrical length of about a multiple of one-half wavelength as compared to each other.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein at least one of the antenna elements comprises a modified dipole.

16. The system of claim 15 further comprising at least one phase inverted modified dipole.

17. The system of claim 15 further comprising a reflector for the modified dipole, the reflector configured to concentrate the radiation pattern of the modified dipole.

18. The system of claim 15 further comprising a reflector for the modified dipole, the reflector configured to broaden the frequency response of the modified dipole.

19. A method, comprising:

generating an RF signal in communication circuitry located on a first area of a circuit board;

routing the RF signal from the communication circuitry to an antenna feed port of the circuit board; and

coupling the RF signal from the antenna feed port to a first antenna element and a second antenna element, the first antenna element located near a first periphery of the circuit board, the second antenna element located near a second periphery of the circuit board, the first antenna element configured to produce a first directional radiation pattern when coupled to the antenna feed port, the second antenna element configured to produce a second directional radiation pattern offset from the first radiation pattern when coupled to the antenna feed port.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein coupling the RF signal from the antenna feed port to the first antenna element comprises enabling an RF switch, the RF switch coupled to the circuit board at about a multiple of one-half wavelength of the RF signal from the antenna feed port.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the RF switch comprises a PIN diode.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein the RF switch is coupled to the circuit board at an offset from the multiple of one-half wavelength of the RF signal from the antenna feed port, the offset based upon a stray capacitance of at least one of the antenna feed port and the RF switch.

23. The method of claim 19 wherein coupling the RF signal to the first antenna element and the second antenna element comprises energizing a first feed line of the circuit board and a second feed line of the circuit board, the second feed line comprising about a multiple of one-half wavelength as compared to the first feed line.

24. The method of claim 19 wherein coupling the RF signal to the first antenna element and the second antenna element comprises routing the RF signal to the first antenna element and the second antenna element so that the first antenna element is substantially in phase with the second antenna element.

25. The method of claim 19 wherein first periphery and the second periphery comprise substantially opposite edges of the circuit board.

26. The method of claim 19 wherein the first antenna element comprises a modified dipole.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the first antenna element further comprises a reflector.

30. The system of claim 20, wherein the means for coupling further comprises means for selectively coupling the distribution port to the first means and the second means.

28. A system, comprising:

communication circuitry located on a first area of a circuit board, the communication circuitry configured to generate an RF signal into a distribution port of the circuit board;

first means for radiating the RF signal in a first directional radiation pattern, the first means formed in a first periphery of the circuit board;

second means for radiating the RF signal in a second directional radiation pattern offset from the first directional radiation pattern, the second means formed in a second periphery of the circuit board; and

means for coupling the distribution port to the first means for radiating the RF signal and the second means for radiating the RF signal.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the first means for radiating the RF signal comprises means for concentrating the first directional radiation pattern.

31. A circuit board, comprising:

an antenna feed port configured to distribute an RF signal generated by communication circuitry located on the circuit board;

a first antenna element located near a first periphery of the circuit board, the first antenna element configured to produce a first directional radiation pattern when coupled to the RF signal; and

a second antenna element located near a second periphery of the circuit board, the second antenna element configured to produce a second directional radiation pattern offset from the first directional radiation pattern when coupled to the RF signal.

32. The circuit board of claim 31 further comprising a switching network adapted to receive a first RF switch and a second RF switch, the switching network configured to couple the antenna feed port to the first antenna element when the first RF switch is enabled and to the second antenna element when the second RF switch is enabled.

33. The circuit board of claim 32 wherein the switching network is configured with the first RF switch at about a multiple of one-half wavelength of the RF signal from the antenna feed port.

34. The circuit board of claim 31 wherein the first antenna element comprises a modified dipole.

35. The circuit board of claim 34 wherein the first antenna element further comprises a reflector, the reflector configured to concentrate the radiation pattern of the first antenna element.

36. The circuit board of claim 34 wherein the first antenna element further comprises a reflector, the reflector configured to broaden the frequency response of the first antenna element.

37. The system of claim 31 wherein the first antenna element comprises a first dipole component formed on a surface of the circuit board, a second dipole component formed on an opposite surface of the circuit board, the second dipole component coupled to an internal ground layer of the circuit board.