ANTENNA DEVICE

• US 20130017786A1
• Filed: 09/09/2011
• Published: 01/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GN Hearing A/S (GN Store Nord A/S)
• Original Assignee: GN Resound A/S (GN Store Nord A/S)
• Inventors: KVIST, Sren, ZDEN, Sinasi
• Granted Patent: US 10,601,128 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/273 Adaptation for carrying or wearing by persons or animals
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/52 Means for reducing coupling between antennas; Means for reducing coupling between an antenna and another structure absorbing means H01Q17/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/521 reducing the coupling between adjacent antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop
• 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

An antenna device includes a first antenna configured to operate within a first frequency band, a second antenna configured to operate within a second frequency band, wherein the second antenna is separated from the first antenna by a distance, and at least one parasitic antenna element, wherein the at least one parasitic element is substantially orthogonal to the first antenna, to the second antenna, or to both the first and second antennas, so as to substantially isolate between the first antenna and the second antenna.

Claims

1. An antenna device comprising:

a first antenna configured to operate within a first frequency band;

a second antenna configured to operate within a second frequency band, wherein the second antenna is separated from the first antenna by a distance; and

at least one parasitic antenna element;

wherein the at least one parasitic element is substantially orthogonal to the first antenna, to the second antenna, or to both the first and second antennas, so as to substantially isolate between the first antenna and the second antenna.

2. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second frequency bands are at least overlapping

3. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second antennas are configured to operate substantially at a same frequency.

4. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the parasitic antenna element has a length of a quarter wavelength of a main operating frequency for at least one of the first and second antennas.

5. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the first antenna is a proximity antenna configured to communicate with a hearing aid and the second antenna is a Bluetooth or wireless local area network antenna.

6. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the first antenna and the second antenna is between a half wavelength and a full wavelength of a main operating frequency of the first antenna or the second antenna.

7. The antenna device according to claim 1, further comprising one or more supporting structures, wherein the first antenna, the second antenna, and the parasitic antenna element are coupled to the one or more supporting structures.

8. The antenna device according to claim 7, wherein the one or more supporting structures comprise a printed circuit board.

9. The antenna device according to claim 7, wherein the one or more supporting structures comprise an electrically conducting structure having a ground plane, a reflecting plane, or both the round plane and the reflecting plane, for the first and second antennas.

10. The antenna device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one parasitic element is configured to draw electromagnetically induced current in the one or more supporting structures between the first antenna and the at least one parasitic antenna element in a first direction, and is configured to draw electromagnetically induced current in the one or more supporting structures between the second antenna and the at least one parasitic antenna element in a second direction that is different from the first direction.

11. The antenna device of claim 10, wherein the first and second directions are substantially orthogonal.

12. The antenna device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one parasitic element protrudes from the one or more supporting structures.

13. The antenna device according to claim 7, wherein the first antenna is a PIFA antenna on a protruding element, and is connected to ground via a conductor on the protruding element.

14. The antenna device according to claim 7, wherein the one or more supporting structures form a ground plane, and wherein the first antenna is located along and connected to the ground plane at a first edge of the one or more supporting structures, and the second antenna is provided along and connected to the ground plane at the same first edge.

15. The antenna device according to claim 14, wherein the at least one parasitic antenna element is located along a second edge of the one or more supporting structures, the first and second edges being in a same plane, and the second edge being substantially orthogonal to the first edge.

16. The antenna device according to claim 7, wherein:

the one or more supporting structures comprise an elongated plane substrate, the first antenna is located along a first longitudinal side of the elongated plane substrate,

the second antenna is located along the same longitudinal side adjacent a corner of the elongated plane substrate, and

the at least one parasitic antenna element is located along a transversal side of the elongated plane substrate adjacent the corner.

17. A method of decoupling between closely spaced first and second antennas, the first antenna being configured to operate within a first frequency band, and the second antenna being configured to operate within a second frequency band, the method comprising decoupling the first and second antennas via a parasitic antenna element that is substantially orthogonal to the first antenna, to the second antenna, or to both the first and second antennas.

18. A coupling device facilitating communication between a hearing aid and a communication device, the coupling device comprising:

a first antenna configured to communicate with the hearing aid;

a second antenna configured to communicate with the communication device; and

at least one parasitic antenna element, wherein the at least one parasitic element is substantially orthogonally to the first antenna, to the second antenna, or to both the first and second antennas, so as to substantially isolate between the first antenna and the second antenna.