Antenna tuner with zero volts impedance fold back

• US 20080136714A1
• Filed: 12/12/2006
• Published: 06/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Paratek Microwave Incorporated (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Boire, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 7,813,777 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/702
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/40 Automatic matching of load impedance to source impedance
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/0008 using a central processing unit, e.g. a microprocessor digital tuning in general H03J5/0245
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 2200/06 Tuning of antenna

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus, comprising a wireless handset and an antenna tuner within the wireless handset that is adapted to preset its impedance to the transmit/receive circuitry in the handset.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a wireless handset; and

an antenna tuner within said wireless handset that is adapted to preset its impedance to the transmit/receive circuitry in said handset.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein preset impedance is 50 ohms.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein when said apparatus is in a passive state there is minimal impact on performance and extend handset battery life by not needing its bias voltages generated to provide acceptable service in a standby mode.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein with voltages applied, said antenna tuner corrects for mismatches at an antenna to improve current draw and performance of the transmit/receive circuitry.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising voltage tunable dielectric varactors enabling impedance variation with applied voltages.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising using voltage tunable dielectric varactors for impedance variation.

6. An antenna tuner, comprising:

a circuit operable in a wireless handset and comprising tunable varactors; and

wherein said circuit is adapted to preset its impedance to the transmit/receive circuitry in said handset.

7. The antenna tuner of claim 6, wherein said tunable varactors are voltage tunable dielectric varactors.

8. The antenna tuner of claim 6, wherein preset impedance is 50 ohms.

9. The antenna tuner of claim 6, wherein when said circuit is in a passive state there is minimal impact on performance and extend handset battery life by not needing its bias voltages generated to provide acceptable service in a standby mode.

10. The antenna tuner of claim 6, wherein with voltages applied, said circuit corrects for mismatches at an antenna to improve current draw and performance of transmit/receive circuitry.

11. A method, comprising:

using an antenna tuner within a wireless handset, said antenna tuner set to a preset impedance equal to the transmit/receive circuitry in said handset.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising setting said preset impedance to 50 ohms.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein when said apparatus is in a passive state there is minimal impact on performance and extend handset battery life by not needing its bias voltages generated to provide acceptable service in a standby mode.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising correcting for mismatches at an antenna to improve current draw and performance of the transmit/receive circuitry.