SHARED MULTIBAND ANTENNAS AND ANTENNA DIVERSITY CIRCUITRY FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES

• US 20100260082A1
• Filed: 04/09/2009
• Published: 10/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Sanguinetti, Louie J., Lum, Nicholas W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,208,867 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/297
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0057 using diplexing or multiplexing filters for selecting the desired band
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/48 in circuits for connecting transmitter and receiver to a common transmission path, e.g. by energy of transmitter H04B1/46 takes precedence

Abstract

Electronic devices are provided that contain wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may have antenna diversity circuitry that allows an optimum antenna or optimum antennas in an antenna structure to be switched into use during device operations. The antenna structure may be shared between multiple radio-frequency transceivers in a radio-frequency transceiver circuit. The radio-frequency transceiver circuit may be coupled to the antenna structure using switching and filtering circuitry. The filtering circuitry may include one or more diplexers that divide radio-frequency signals into divided signal paths based on frequency. The filtering circuitry may also include low pass, high pass, and bandpass filters that are interposed in the divided signal paths. Switching circuitry in the switching and filtering circuitry may be used to selectively configure the wireless communications circuitry in transmit and receive modes using multiple communications bands.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

an antenna structure with first and second antennas;

wireless communications circuitry that transmits and receives radio-frequency signals with the antenna structure, wherein the radio-frequency signals include radio-frequency signals in a first communications band and radio-frequency signals in a second communications band; and

first and second diplexers each of which is coupled between the antenna structure and the wireless communications circuitry, wherein the first diplexer conveys the radio-frequency signals from the wireless communications circuitry to the antenna structure and wherein the second diplexer conveys the radio-frequency signals from the antenna structure to the wireless communications circuitry.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising an antenna diversity switch, wherein the antenna diversity switch has terminals respectively coupled to:

the first antenna;

the second antenna;

the first diplexer; and

the second diplexer.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the antenna diversity switch comprises a double pole, double throw switch.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the antenna diversity switch is configurable in:

a first configuration in which the first antenna is coupled to the first diplexer and the second antenna is coupled to the second diplexer; and

a second configuration in which the first antenna is coupled to the second diplexer and the second antenna is coupled to the first diplexer.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a cellular telephone transceiver and cellular telephone antenna.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 further comprising a third antenna that is coupled to the wireless communications circuitry through a path that bypasses the first and second diplexers.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a two-position switch connected to the first diplexer.

8. A portable electronic device, comprising:

an antenna structure having a first antenna and a second antenna;

an antenna diversity switch that selectively switches the first and second antennas into use in response to antenna diversity control signals;

radio-frequency transceiver circuitry that transmits and receives radio-frequency signals through the antenna diversity switch, wherein the radio-frequency signals include radio-frequency signals in a first communications band and radio-frequency signals in a second communications band;

a diplexer coupled between the antenna structure and the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, wherein the diplexer has terminals respectively connected to;

a first path that conveys the radio-frequency signals in the first communications band;

a second path that conveys the radio-frequency signals in the second communications band; and

an antenna path coupled to the antenna diversity switch; and

an output amplifier in the second path that is interposed between the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and the diplexer.

9. The portable electronic device defined in claim 8 further comprising a two-position switch interposed in the second path and a three-position switch interposed in the first path.

10. The portable electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the first and second antennas each cover 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz communications bands and wherein the antenna diversity control signals direct the antenna diversity switch to switch either the first antenna or the second antenna into use.

11. The portable electronic device defined in claim 8 further comprising a cellular telephone transceiver and cellular telephone antenna.

12. The portable electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the diplexer comprises a low-pass filter and a high-pass filter interposed between the antenna structure and the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, the portable electronic device further comprising a bandpass filter interposed between the diplexer and the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry.

13. The portable electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the diplexer comprises a bandpass filter and a high-pass filter interposed between the antenna structure and the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry.

14. Wireless communications circuitry comprising:

a 5 GHz radio-frequency transceiver that operates in a 5 GHz communications band and a 2.4 GHz radio-frequency transceiver that operates in a 2.4 GHz band;

an antenna structure with first and second antennas;

a first bandpass filter that is interposed between the 5 GHz radio-frequency transceiver and the antenna structure;

a second bandpass filter that is interposed between the 2.4 GHz radio-frequency transceiver and the antenna structure; and

an antenna diversity switch, wherein the antenna diversity switch has terminals respectively coupled to;

the first antenna;

the second antenna;

the first bandpass filter; and

the second bandpass filter.

15. The wireless communications circuitry defined in claim 14 wherein the antenna diversity switch is configurable in:

a first configuration in which the first antenna is coupled to the first bandpass filter and the second antenna is coupled to the second bandpass filter; and

a second configuration in which the first antenna is coupled to the second bandpass filter and the second antenna is coupled to the first bandpass filter.

16. The wireless communications circuitry defined in claim 14 further comprising a two-position switch and a three-position switch.

17. The wireless communications circuitry defined in claim 16 wherein the two-position switch is coupled between the first bandpass filter and the 5 GHz radio-frequency transceiver.

18. The wireless communications circuitry defined in claim 16 wherein the three-position switch is coupled between the second bandpass filter and the 2.4 GHz radio-frequency transceiver.

19. The wireless communications circuitry defined in claim 14 further comprising a cellular telephone transceiver and cellular telephone antenna.

20. An electronic device comprising:

a housing;

transceiver circuitry in the housing that handles wireless local area network radio-frequency signals at 5 GHz and radio-frequency signals at 2.4 GHz;

an antenna structure in the housing with first and second antennas;

a cellular telephone transceiver and cellular telephone antenna in the housing;

a diplexer coupled between the antenna structure and the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry; and

an antenna diversity switch, wherein the antenna diversity switch has terminals respectively coupled to;

the first antenna;

the second antenna;

the diplexer; and

a path coupled to the transceiver circuitry that bypasses the diplexer.

21. The electronic device defined in claim 20 wherein the antenna diversity switch is configurable in:

a first configuration in which the first antenna is coupled to the diplexer and the second antenna is coupled to the path that bypasses the diplexer; and

a second configuration in which the second antenna is coupled to the diplexer and the first antenna is coupled to the path that bypasses the diplexer.

22. The electronic device defined in claim 20 further comprising a two-position switch with terminals respectively coupled to:

the diplexer;

a first path that conveys the radio-frequency signals at 5 GHz to the transceiver circuitry from the antenna structure; and

a second path that conveys the radio-frequency signals at 5 GHz from the transceiver circuitry to the antenna structure.

23. The electronic device defined in claim 20 further comprising first, second, and third two-position switches, wherein the first two-position switch has terminals coupled to:

the diplexer;

a first path that conveys the radio-frequency signals at 2.4 GHz from the transceiver circuitry to the antenna structure; and

the second two-position switch, wherein the second two-position switch has terminals coupled to;

the first two-position switch;

a second path that conveys the radio-frequency signals at 2.4 GHz to the transceiver circuitry from the antenna structure; and

the third two-position switch, and wherein the third two-position switch has terminals coupled to;

the second two-position switch;

the antenna structure; and

a third path that conveys the radio-frequency signals at 2.4 GHz from the transceiver circuitry to the antenna structure.

24. The electronic device defined in claim 20 further comprising first, second, and third two-position switches, wherein the first two-position switch is configurable in:

a first configuration in which the diplexer is coupled to a first path that conveys the radio-frequency signals at 2.4 GHz from the transceiver circuitry to the antenna structure; and

a second configuration in which the diplexer is coupled to a first terminal in the second two-position switch, wherein the second two-position switch is configurable in;

a first configuration in which the first terminal is coupled to a second path that conveys the radio-frequency signals at 2.4 GHz to the transceiver circuitry from the antenna structure; and

a second configuration in which the second path is coupled to a second terminal in the second two-position which, and wherein the third two-position switch is configurable in;

a first configuration in which the antenna structure is coupled to the path that bypasses the diplexer; and

a second configuration in which the antenna structure is coupled to the second terminal.

25. The electronic device defined in claim 20 further comprising a bandpass filter in the path that bypasses the diplexer.

26. An electronic device comprising:

an antenna structure with first and second antennas;

wireless communications circuitry that transmits and receives radio-frequency signals with the antenna structure; and

an antenna diversity switch, wherein the antenna diversity switch is configurable in;

a first configuration in which the first antenna is coupled to the wireless communications circuitry through a first communications path and the second antenna is coupled to the wireless communications circuitry through a second communications path; and

a second configuration in which the first antenna is coupled to the wireless communications circuitry through the second communications path and the second antenna is coupled to the wireless communications circuitry through the first communications path.

27. The electronic device defined in claim 26 wherein the wireless communications circuitry comprises transceiver circuitry, wherein the radio-frequency signals include radio-frequency signals in a first communications band and radio-frequency signals in a second communications band, wherein the wireless communications circuitry is configured to convey radio-frequency signals in the first communications band over the first communications path between the wireless communications circuitry and the antenna diversity switch, and wherein the wireless communications circuitry is configured to convey radio-frequency signals in the second communications band over the second communications path between the wireless communications circuitry and the antenna diversity switch.

28. The electronic device defined in claim 26 wherein the wireless communications circuitry comprises transceiver circuitry, wherein the first communications path comprises a transmission line that conveys radio-frequency signals from the transceiver circuitry to the antenna diversity switch, and wherein the second communications path comprises a receiving line that conveys radio-frequency signals from the antenna diversity switch to the transceiver circuitry.