Compact multi-band, multi-port antenna

• US 20070052587A1
• Filed: 08/23/2005
• Published: 03/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Cheng, Dajun
• Granted Patent: US 7,289,064 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/700.MS
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/378 Combination of fed elements with parasitic elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/385 Two or more parasitic elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0407 Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0457 electromagnetically coupled to the feed line
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0464 Annular ring patch

Abstract

A multi-band, multi-port antenna includes at least one patch radiating element and at least one ring radiating element, that are operative within different frequency bands, on a common conductive layer.

Claims

1. An antenna comprising:

a first conductive layer having;

a first patch radiating element operative within a first frequency band; and

a first ring radiating element operative within a second frequency band, said second frequency band being different from said first frequency band, said first ring radiating element surrounding said first patch radiating element on said first conductive layer; and

a second conductive layer having;

a second patch radiating element operative within said first frequency band; and

a second ring radiating element operative within said second frequency band, said second ring radiating element surrounding said second patch radiating element on said second conductive layer; and

a dielectric layer between said first conductive layer and said second conductive layer.

2. The antenna of claim 1, wherein:

said first patch radiating element and said first ring radiating element are fed radiating elements and said second patch radiating element and said second ring radiating element are parasitic radiating elements.

3. The antenna of claim 2, wherein:

a center point of said first patch radiating element is substantially aligned with a center point of said second patch radiating element in a direction normal to a plane of said first conductive layer; and

a center point of said first ring radiating element is substantially aligned with a center point of said second ring radiating element in a direction normal to a plane of said first conductive layer.

4. The antenna of claim 2, wherein:

a largest dimension of said first patch radiating element in a plane of said first conductive layer is greater than a largest dimension of said second patch radiating element in a plane of said second conductive layer.

5. The antenna of claim 1, wherein:

an outer boundary of said first patch radiating element has substantially the same shape as an outer boundary of said first ring radiating element.

6. The antenna of claim 1, wherein:

said first patch radiating element and said first ring radiating element have substantially the same center point; and

said second patch radiating element and said second ring radiating element have substantially the same center point.

7. The antenna of claim 1, wherein:

portions of an outer boundary of said first patch radiating element are substantially parallel to corresponding portions of an outer boundary of said first ring radiating element;

portions of an outer boundary of said second patch radiating element are substantially parallel to corresponding portions of an outer boundary of said second ring radiating element;

portions of an inner boundary of said first ring radiating element are substantially parallel to corresponding portions of an outer boundary of said first ring radiating element; and

portions of an inner boundary of said second ring radiating element are substantially parallel to corresponding portions of an outer boundary of said second ring radiating element.

8. The antenna of claim 1, wherein:

portions of an outer boundary of said first patch radiating element are substantially parallel to corresponding portions of an outer boundary of said second patch radiating element; and

portions of an outer boundary of said first ring radiating element are substantially parallel to corresponding portions of an outer boundary of said second ring radiating element.

9. The antenna of claim 1, further comprising:

a third conductive layer having a ground plane with at least two slots for use in slot feeding said first patch radiating element, said third conductive layer being on an opposite side of said first conductive layer from said second conductive layer; and

at least one dielectric layer between said first conductive layer and said third conductive layer.

10. The antenna of claim 9, wherein:

said ground plane includes at least one opening to allow at least one probe to extend through said ground plane to act as a feed for said first ring radiating element.

11. The antenna of claim 9, further comprising:

a fourth conductive layer having a first microstrip feed line for use in feeding a first side of said first patch radiating element and a second microstrip feed line for use in feeding a second side of said first patch radiating element, said first microstrip feed line having a first end that is located in coupling relation to a first of said at least two slots in said ground plane and said second microstrip feed line having a first end that is located in coupling relation to a second of said at least two slots in said ground plane; and

at least one dielectric layer between said third conductive layer and said fourth conductive layer.

12. The antenna of claim 11, wherein:

a number of slots in said ground plane is greater than a number of microstrip feed lines on said fourth conductive layer.

13. The antenna of claim 11, further comprising:

a first antenna port formed at a second end of said first microstrip feed line; and

a second antenna port formed at a second end of said second microstrip feed line.

14. The antenna of claim 11, further comprising:

a fifth conductive layer having a first microstrip feed structure for use in feeding said first ring radiating element on said first conductive layer for a first linear polarization orientation;

at least one conductive probe conductively coupling said first microstrip feed structure on said fifth conductive layer to said first ring radiating element on said first conductive layer; and

at least one dielectric layer between said fourth conductive layer and said fifth conductive layer.

15. The antenna of claim 14, wherein:

said at least one conductive probe extends through an opening in said ground plane on said third conductive layer.

16. The antenna of claim 14, wherein:

said first microstrip feed structure on said fifth conductive layer is configured to feed said first ring radiating element using a balanced feed approach.

17. The antenna of claim 14, further comprising:

a third antenna port formed at an end of said first microstrip feed structure.

18. The antenna of claim 14, further comprising:

a sixth conductive layer having a second microstrip feed structure for use in feeding said first ring radiating element on said first conductive layer for a second linear polarization orientation;

at least one conductive probe conductively coupling said second microstrip feed structure on said sixth conductive layer to said first ring radiating element on said first conductive layer; and

at least one dielectric layer between said fourth conductive layer and said sixth conductive layer.

19. The antenna of claim 18, wherein:

said second microstrip feed structure on said sixth conductive layer is configured to feed said first ring radiating element using a balanced feed approach.

20. The antenna of claim 18, further comprising:

a fourth antenna port formed at an end of said second microstrip feed structure.

21. The antenna of claim 18, wherein:

said second microstrip feed structure on said sixth conductive layer is situated in a substantially orthogonal orientation to said first microstrip feed structure on said fifth conductive layer to reduce coupling therebetween.

22. The antenna of claim 18, wherein:

said first conductive layer further comprises a third ring radiating element that is operative within a third frequency band, said third frequency band being different from said first and second frequency bands, said third ring radiating element surrounding said first ring radiating element on said first conductive layer; and

said second conductive layer further comprises a fourth ring radiating element that is operative within said third frequency band, said fourth ring radiating element surrounding said second ring radiating element on said second conductive layer.

23. The antenna of claim 22, wherein:

said fifth conductive layer includes a third microstrip feed structure for use in feeding said third ring radiating element on said first conductive layer for said first linear polarization orientation; and

said sixth conductive layer includes a fourth microstrip feed structure for use in feeding said third ring radiating element on said first conductive layer for said second linear polarization orientation.

24. The antenna of claim 23, further comprising:

at least one conductive probe conductively coupling said third microstrip feed structure on said fifth conductive layer to said third ring radiating element; and

at least one conductive probe conductively coupling said fourth microstrip feed structure on said sixth conductive layer to said third ring radiating element.

25. The antenna of claim 23, further comprising:

a fifth antenna port formed at an end of said third microstrip feed structure; and

a sixth antenna port formed at an end of said fourth microstrip feed structure.

26. The antenna of claim 9, further comprising:

a plurality of microstrip feed lines for use in feeding radiating elements on said first conductive layer, said plurality of microstrip feed lines being located on conductive layers that are on an opposite side of said ground plane from said first conductive layer to reduce undesired electromagnetic coupling.

27. An antenna comprising:

a patch radiating element to operate within a first frequency band;

a ring radiating element to operate within a second frequency band, said second frequency band being different from said first frequency band, said ring radiating element surrounding said patch radiating element within a common plane;

a first antenna port to feed said patch radiating element for operation in a first linear polarization orientation;

a second antenna port to feed said patch radiating element for operation in a second linear polarization orientation that is orthogonal to said first linear polarization orientation;

a third antenna port to feed said ring radiating element for operation in said first linear polarization orientation; and

a fourth antenna port to feed said ring radiating element for operation in said second linear polarization orientation.

28. The antenna of claim 27, wherein:

said patch radiating element is a first patch radiating element and said ring radiating element is a first ring radiating element; and

said antenna further comprises;

a second patch radiating element to operate within said first frequency band; and

a second ring radiating element to operate within said second frequency band, said second ring radiating element surrounding said second patch radiating element within a common plane, wherein said first patch radiating element and said first ring radiating element are on a first conductive layer of said antenna and said second patch radiating element and said second ring radiating element are on a second conductive layer of said antenna, wherein said second conductive layer is different from said first conductive layer.

29. The antenna of claim 28, wherein:

said first patch radiating element and said first ring radiating element are fed radiating elements and said second patch radiating element and said second ring radiating element are parasitic radiating elements.

30. The antenna of claim 28, further comprising:

a third ring radiating element to operate within a third frequency band that is different from said first and second frequency bands, said third ring radiating element surrounding said first ring radiating element on said first conductive layer.

31. The antenna of claim 30, further comprising:

a fifth antenna port to feed said third ring radiating element for operation in said first linear polarization orientation; and

a sixth antenna port to feed said third ring radiating element for operation in said second linear polarization orientation.

32. The antenna of claim 28, wherein:

said first antenna port is coupled to a first microstrip feed line on a third conductive layer of said antenna; and

said second antenna port is coupled to a second microstrip feed line on said third conductive layer of said antenna;

wherein said first and second microstrip feed lines are used to slot feed said first patch radiating element.

33. The antenna of claim 32, further comprising:

a fourth conductive layer located between said first conductive layer and said third conductive layer, said fourth conductive layer including a ground plane having slots through which said first and second microstrip feed lines can feed said first patch radiating element.

34. The antenna of claim 33, wherein:

said ground plane on said fourth conductive layer has dummy slots, in addition to said slots through which said first and second microstrip feed lines can slot feed said first patch radiating element, to enhance polarization purity in said antenna.

35. The antenna of claim 34, wherein:

said ground plane on said fourth conductive layer includes;

a first feed slot to couple energy between said first patch radiating element and said first microstrip feed line and a first dummy slot for said first linear polarization orientation; and

a second feed slot to couple energy between said first patch radiating element and said second microstrip feed line and a second dummy slot for said second linear polarization orientation.

36. The antenna of claim 28, wherein:

said third antenna port is coupled to a first microstrip transmission structure on a fifth conductive layer of said antenna, said first microstrip transmission structure being conductively coupled to said first ring radiating element through at least one probe.

37. The antenna of claim 36, wherein:

said first microstrip transmission structure is conductively coupled to said first ring radiating element through two probes that feed opposite sides of said first ring radiating element in a balanced manner.

38. The antenna of claim 36, wherein:

said fourth antenna port is coupled to a second microstrip transmission structure on a sixth conductive layer of said antenna, said second microstrip transmission structure being conductively coupled to said first ring radiating element through at least one probe.

39. The antenna of claim 27, wherein:

said first linear polarization orientation is vertical polarization and second linear polarization orientation is horizontal polarization.

40. A communication device comprising:

a multiband, multiport antenna having;

a patch radiating element to operate within a first frequency band; and

a ring radiating element to operate within a second frequency band, said ring radiating element surrounding said patch radiating element within a common plane, wherein said second frequency band is different from said first frequency band; and

a wireless network transceiver coupled to at least one port of said multiband, multiport antenna.

41. The communication device of claim 40, wherein:

said wireless network transceiver is coupled to first and second ports of said multiband, multiport antenna, said first port to feed said patch radiating element in a first linear polarization orientation and said second port to feed said patch radiating element in a second linear polarization orientation that is orthogonal to said first linear polarization orientation.

42. The communication device of claim 41, wherein:

said first and second ports of said multiband, multiport antenna are both balanced ports and are connected to corresponding balanced ports of said wireless network transceiver, without an intervening balun.

43. The communication device of claim 40, wherein:

said wireless network transceiver includes a combiner to combine a vertically polarized receive signal and a horizontally polarized receive signal during receive operations.

44. The communication device of claim 43, wherein:

said combiner also acts as a divider to divide a transmit signal into a vertically polarized transmit signal and a horizontally polarized transmit signal during transmit operations.

45. The communication device of claim 40, wherein:

said wireless network transceiver includes circuitry for supporting polarization diversity operation.

46. The communication device of claim 40, wherein:

said ring radiating element is a first ring radiating element; and

said multiband, multiport antenna further includes at least one additional ring radiating element to operate within at least one additional frequency band, said at least one additional ring radiating element lying in a common plane with said patch radiating element and said first ring radiating element.

47. The communication device of claim 40, further comprising:

a global positioning system (GPS) receiver coupled to at least one port of said multiband, multiport antenna.

48. The communication device of claim 47, wherein:

said GPS receiver is coupled to third and fourth ports of said multiband, multiport antenna, wherein said GPS receiver includes circuitry for supporting reception of circularly polarized signals by said multiband, multiport antenna.

49. The communication device of claim 40, wherein:

said multiband, multiport antenna includes first feed lines, on a first conductive layer, to support operation in said first linear polarization orientation for said ring radiating element and second feed lines, on a second conductive layer, to support operation in said second linear polarization orientation for said ring radiating element, wherein said second conductive layer is different from said first conductive layer.

50. A method comprising:

operating a patch radiating element within a first frequency band; and

operating a ring radiating element within a second frequency band, said second frequency band being different from said first frequency band, said ring radiating element being located on a common plane with and surrounding said patch radiating element.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein:

operating a patch radiating element includes transferring signals in said first frequency band between said patch radiating element and a first antenna port to support operation in a first linear polarization orientation and transferring signals in said first frequency band between said patch radiating element and a second antenna port to support operation in a second linear polarization orientation, wherein said second linear polarization orientation is substantially orthogonal to said first linear polarization orientation.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein:

operating a ring radiating element includes transferring signals in said second frequency band between said ring radiating element and a third antenna port to support operation in said first linear polarization orientation and transferring signals in said second frequency band between said ring radiating element and a fourth antenna port to support operation in said second linear polarization orientation.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein:

transferring signals in said first frequency band between said patch radiating element and a first antenna port includes coupling signals through a first slot in a ground plane; and

transferring signals in said first frequency band between said patch radiating element and a second antenna port includes coupling signals through a second slot in said ground plane.

54. The method of claim 50, wherein:

said patch radiating element is a first patch radiating element, said first patch radiating element having a second patch radiating element located in fixed relation thereto, wherein said first patch radiating element is a fed radiating element and said second patch radiating element is a parasitic radiating element.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein:

said ring radiating element is a first ring radiating element, said first ring radiating element having a second ring radiating element located in fixed relation thereto, wherein said first ring radiating element is a fed radiating element and said second ring radiating element is a parasitic radiating element.