ANTENNA ASSEMBLY

• US 20100103052A1
• Filed: 10/23/2008
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: YING, Zhinong
• Granted Patent: US 7,999,749 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/702
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• 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 21/24 Combinations of antenna units polarised in different directions for transmitting or receiving circularly and elliptically polarised waves or waves linearly polarised in any direction circularly polarised patch antennas H01Q9/0428; circularly polarised horns H01Q13/0241; cross-polarised horns H01Q13/0258; polarisation converters H01Q15/242; cross-polarised rear feeds H01Q19/136; crossed polarisation dual antenna H01Q25/001
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/29 Combinations of different interacting antenna units for giving a desired directional characteristic H01Q25/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0485 Dielectric resonator antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0492 circularly polarised

Abstract

An antenna assembly may include a carrying structure having a number of faces, each face having at least partly a ground plane and each face being provided with at least one dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) element. The antenna assembly may include a controller arrangement, a switching arrangement connected to each of said DRA elements, the controller arrangement being configured to switch the antenna elements and alter frequency, polarization and/or radiation pattern of each DRA element.

Claims

1. An antenna assembly comprising:

a carrying structure having a number of faces, each face having at least partly a ground plane and each face being provided with at least one dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) element;

a controller arrangement; and

a switching arrangement connected to each of the DRA elements, the controller arrangement to switch the antenna elements and alter at least one of frequency, polarization, or radiation pattern of each DRA element.

2. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein each antenna element comprises:

a dielectric volume having a central axis normal to the ground plane; and

two or more mode-exciting elements, including, a first mode-exciting element provided in or attached to the dielectric volume and extending in a plane provided at a first distance from the central axis and being perpendicular to the ground plane, and a second mode-exciting element provided in or attached to the dielectric volume and extending in a plane provided at a second distance from the central axis and being perpendicular to both the ground plane and the plane of the first mode-exciting element.

3. The antenna assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

an adder/weight controller,

a sensor,

a storage unit,

a demodulator,

a passband processor, and

switching elements.

4. The antenna assembly of claim 1, further comprising a phase shifter.

5. The antenna assembly of claim 1, further comprising an adaptive matching circuit.

6. The antenna assembly of claim 1, where the carrying structure has a cubic shape.

7. The antenna assembly of claim 1, where the carrying structure is at least one a spherical, a hemispherical, a cylindrical, a semi-cylindrical, a circular, a half-circular, or a pyramidal shape.

8. The antenna assembly of claim 1, the antenna assemble being functionally associated with a MIMO (Multi-Input, Multi-Output), MISO (Multi-Input, Single-Output), SIMO (Single-Input, Multi-Output) or SISO (Single-Input, Single-Output) antenna system.

9. A communication device comprising:

an antenna arrangement including;

a carrying structure having a number of faces, each face having at least partly a ground plane and each face being provided with at least one dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) element; and

a controller arrangement, a switching arrangement connected to each of the DRA elements, the controller arrangement to switch the antenna elements and alter at least one of frequency, polarization, or radiation pattern of each DRA element.

10. The device of claim 9, where the antenna element comprises:

a dielectric volume having a central axis normal to the ground plane; and

a number of mode-exciting elements, including;

a first mode-exciting element provided in or attached to the dielectric volume and extending in a plane provided at a first distance from the central axis and being perpendicular to the ground plane, and

a second mode-exciting element provided in or attached to the dielectric volume and extending in a plane provided at a second distance from the central axis and being perpendicular to both the ground plane and the plane of the first mode-exciting element; and

a separate signal feeder for each mode-exciting element.

11. The communication device of claim 9, where the communication device comprises a cellular phone.

12. The communication device of claim 9, where the communication device comprises at least one of a base station, a wireless router/gateway, a communication card, a camera, a laptop, or a PDA.

13. A method of enhancing at least one diversity for weak S/N, strong fading, spatial division multiple access (SDMA) for multi-users, MIMO for data rate, strong S/N, strong fading, beam forming for weak S/N, weak fading, in a communication device, the method comprising:

using at least one dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) element on a carrying structure having a number of faces, each face having at least partly a ground plane and each face being provided with; and

using a controller arrangement and a switching arrangement connected to each of the DRA elements switching the antenna elements and altering one or several of frequency, polarization, or radiation pattern of each DRA element.