Wireless electronic device with antenna switching circuitry

• US 20130148636A1
• Filed: 09/28/2012
• Published: 06/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Lum, Nicholas W., Dimpflmaier, Ronald W.
• Granted Patent: US 9,484,961 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/336
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/241 used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM H01Q1/247, H01Q1/248 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0053 with common antenna for more than one band
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0064 with separate antennas for the more than one band H04B1/0053 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0067 with one or more circuit blocks in common for different bands
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0404 the mobile station comprising multiple antennas, e.g. to provide uplink diversity

Abstract

A wireless electronic device may include antennas formed at different locations on the device. The wireless electronic device may include transceivers that are used to wirelessly communicate in different frequency bands by transmitting and receiving radio-frequency signals in the frequency bands. The transceivers may include Wi-Fi® transceivers and cellular transceivers such as Long Term Evolution transceivers. The wireless electronic device may include antenna switching circuitry interposed between the transceivers and the antennas. The wireless electronic device may include control circuitry that controls the antenna switching circuitry to ensure that radio-frequency transmissions in adjacent frequency bands are routed to different antennas. By routing radio-frequency transmissions in adjacent frequency bands to different antennas, self-interference between communications in the adjacent frequency bands may be reduced. Self-interference may also be reduced by performing time division multiplexing to isolate radio-frequency signals that are transmitted in adjacent frequency bands.

Claims

1. A method of operating a wireless electronic device having at least first and second antennas located at opposite ends of the wireless electronic device, wherein the wireless electronic device is operable to communicate in at least first and second frequency bands, the method comprising:

with control circuitry, selecting an antenna of the first and second antennas to use for radio-frequency transmissions in the first frequency band; and

with switching circuitry, routing radio-frequency transmit signals in the second frequency band to the second antenna in response to selecting the first antenna to use for the radio-frequency transmissions in the first frequency band.

2. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising:

with the switching circuitry, routing the radio-frequency transmit signals in the second frequency band to the first antenna in response to selecting, with the control circuitry, the second antenna to use for the radio-frequency transmissions in the first frequency band.

3. The method defined in claim 2 further comprising:

with the switching circuitry, routing radio-frequency transmit signals in the first frequency band to the first antenna in response to selecting the first antenna with the control circuitry.

4. The method defined in claim 3 further comprising:

with the switching circuitry, routing radio-frequency transmit signals in the first frequency band to the second antenna in response to selecting the second antenna with the control circuitry.

5. The method defined in claim 4 further comprising:

with a first transceiver, providing the radio-frequency signals in the first frequency band to the switching circuitry; and

with a second transceiver, providing the radio-frequency signals in the second frequency band to the switching circuitry.

6. The method defined in claim 2 wherein the first frequency band comprises a Wi-Fi frequency band, wherein the second frequency band comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) frequency band, and wherein the switching circuitry is interposed between the first and second antennas and first and second transceivers, the method further comprising:

in response to selecting the first antenna to use for the radio-frequency transmissions in the first frequency band, using the control circuitry to configure the switching circuitry in a first configuration in which the first antenna is coupled to the first transceiver and the second antenna is coupled to the second transceiver; and

in response to selecting the second antenna to use for the radio-frequency transmissions in the first frequency band, using the control circuitry to configure the switching circuitry in a second configuration in which the first antenna is coupled to the second transceiver and the second antenna is coupled to the first transceiver.

7. The method defined in claim 2 wherein the control circuitry comprises a baseband processor and wherein selecting the given one of the at least first and second antennas to use for the radio-frequency transmissions in the first frequency band comprises:

with the baseband processor, selecting the given one of the at least first and second antennas to use for the radio-frequency transmissions in the first frequency band.

8. An electronic device, comprising:

first and second antennas;

first and second transceivers, wherein the first transceiver is operable to produce radio-frequency signals in a selected frequency band of a plurality of frequency bands;

switching circuitry operable in a first configuration in which the first transceiver is coupled to the first antenna and the second transceiver is coupled to the second antenna and further operable in a second configuration in which the first transceiver is coupled to the second antenna and the second transceiver is coupled to the first antenna; and

control circuitry that controls which configuration of the first and second configurations is used by the switching circuitry based on the selected frequency band.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the first antenna is located at a first end of the electronic device and wherein the second antenna is located at a second end of the electronic device.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the first transceiver comprises a cellular transceiver.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the second transceiver comprises a Wi-Fi transceiver.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the cellular transceiver comprises a Long-Term Evolution transceiver.

13. A method of operating wireless communications circuitry, wherein the wireless communications circuitry includes a first transceiver that communicates using a plurality of frequency bands and a second transceiver that communicates using a given frequency band, the method comprising:

selecting a frequency band from the plurality of frequency bands for communications using the first transceiver;

selecting an antenna from the first and second antennas for communications in the selected frequency band;

determining whether the communications in the selected frequency band using the first transceiver interferes with communications in the given frequency band; and

in response to determining that the communications in the selected frequency band interferes with the communications in the given frequency band, routing communications from the first and second transceivers to opposing antennas.

14. The method defined in claim 13 wherein the first transceiver comprises a cellular transceiver and wherein the second transceiver comprises a Wi-Fi transceiver, the method further comprising:

with the cellular transceiver, transmitting radio-frequency signals in the selected frequency band; and

with the Wi-Fi transceiver, transmitting radio-frequency signals in the given frequency band.

15. The method defined in claim 14 wherein routing communications from the first and second transceivers to the opposing antennas comprises:

with switching circuitry, routing the radio-frequency signals transmitted in the selected frequency band to a first antenna; and

with the switching circuitry, routing the radio-frequency signals transmitted in the given frequency band to a second antenna.

16. The method defined in claim 13 further comprising:

in response to determining that the communications in the selected frequency band interferes with the communications in the given frequency band, performing time division multiplexing using the switching circuitry between communications in the selected frequency band and communications in the given frequency band.

17. A method of operating a wireless electronic device having a first transceiver that communicates using a plurality of frequency bands and a second transceiver that communicates using a given frequency band, the method comprising:

selecting a frequency band from the plurality of frequency bands for communications using the first transceiver;

selecting an antenna from the first and second antennas for communications in the selected frequency band;

determining whether the communications in the selected frequency band interferes with communications in the given frequency band; and

in response to determining that the communications in the selected frequency band interferes with the communications in the given frequency band, performing time division multiplexing using the switching circuitry between communications in the selected frequency band and communications in the given frequency band.

18. The method defined in claim 17 wherein performing time division multiplexing using the switching circuitry between communications in the selected frequency band and communications in the given frequency band comprises:

with switching circuitry, routing communications in the selected frequency band between the first transceiver and an antenna during a first time period; and

with the switching circuitry, routing communications in the selected frequency band between the second transceiver and the antenna during a second time period.

19. The method defined in claim 18 wherein the first transceiver comprises a Long-Term Evolution cellular transceiver and wherein the second transceiver comprises a Wi-Fi transceiver, the method further comprising:

with the Long-Term Evolution cellular transceiver, transmitting radio-frequency signals in the selected frequency band; and

with the second transceiver, transmitting radio-frequency signals in the given frequency band.

20. The method defined in claim 17 wherein the plurality of frequency bands comprises a plurality of cellular frequency bands, wherein the given frequency band comprises a Wi-Fi frequency band, and wherein determining whether the communications in the selected frequency band interferes with the communications in the given frequency band comprises:

determining whether the selected frequency band is adjacent to the Wi-Fi frequency band.

21. The method defined in claim 17 wherein the plurality of frequency bands comprises a plurality of cellular frequency bands, wherein the given frequency band comprises a Bluetooth frequency band, and wherein determining whether the communications in the selected frequency band interferes with the communications in the given frequency band comprises:

determining whether the selected frequency band is adjacent to the Bluetooth frequency band.