Wireless terminals

• US 20070040751A1
• Filed: 05/06/2004
• Published: 02/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Breakwaters Innovations LLC
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Boyle, Kevin
• Granted Patent: US 7,848,771 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/702
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/242 specially adapted for hand-held use
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/521 reducing the coupling between adjacent antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/106 Microstrip slot antennas patch antenna elements H01Q9/0407
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/30 Combinations of separate antenna units operating in different wavebands and connected to a common feeder system
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0421 with a shorting wall or a shorting pin at one end of the element H01Q9/0414 takes precedence

Abstract

A wireless terminal includes a housing (10) containing a substrate (12) having a ground plane, RF components mounted on the substrate, a PIFA (Planar Inverted-F Antenna) (16) carried by the substrate and coupled electrically to the RF components for transmitting and receiving signals and a notch antenna (14) in the substrate for receiving signals in a frequency band at least partially overlapping the transmission bandwidth of some of the signals transmitted by the PIFA. The notch antenna is de-activated when the PIFA (16) is being used for transmitting a signal lying within the said transmission bandwidth.

Claims

1. A wireless terminal including a substrate having a ground plane (12) thereon, RF components mounted on the substrate and a PIFA (Planar Inverted-F Antenna) (16) having connections electrically coupled to the ground plane, and the RF components characterised in that a notch antenna (14) is provided in the substrate for receiving signals and in that de-activating means (SW1, SW2, 36) are provided for de-activating the notch antenna when the PIFA (16) is being used for transmitting signals.

2. A wireless terminal as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the PIFA is a dual band slotted planar patch antenna.

3. A wireless terminal as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the de-activating means is responsive to activation of the notch antenna to de-activate the PIFA.

4. A wireless terminal as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the de-activating means comprises means for de-tuning the notch antenna.

5. A wireless terminal as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that capacitance means are connected across the notch for tuning the notch antenna and in that the means for de-activating the notch antenna comprises means for shorting the capacitance means.

6. A wireless terminal as claimed in claim 5, characterised in that the de-activating means comprises a passive network (46) presenting an open circuit at the operating frequency of the patch antenna and a short circuit at the operating frequency of the PIFA.

7. A wireless terminal as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the de-activating means has a diversity operating mode in which both the PIFA and the notch antenna are active in a receive mode and in that means are provided for summing output signals from the PIFA and the notch antenna.

8. A wireless terminal as claimed in claim 1, characterised by means (54) for measuring the contemporaneous quality of signals received by the PIFA and the notch antenna and for selecting for receiving signals that one of the PIFA and notch antenna receiving the better quality signals.

9. A wireless module comprising a substrate (12) having RF components mounted thereon and means for connection to a PIFA (Planar Inverted-F Antenna) (16), characterised in that a notch antenna (14) is provided in the substrate and in that de-activating means (SW1, SW2) are provided for de-activating the notch antenna.

10. A wireless module as claimed in claim 9, characterised in that capacitance means are connected across the notch for tuning the notch antenna and in that the means for de-activating the notch antenna comprises means for shorting the capacitance means.