ANTENNA ARRAY

• US 20130241789A1
• Filed: 04/15/2013
• Published: 09/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ruckus IP Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: Ruckus Wireless, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shtrom, Victor, Milton, Darin T., Kish, William S.
• Granted Patent: US 9,379,456 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/818
• 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 21/20 the units being spaced along or adjacent to a curvilinear path slotted waveguide arrays H01Q21/005; circularly or helically slotted waveguides H01Q21/0062
• 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 25/00 Antennas or antenna systems providing at least two radiating patterns arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern H01Q3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/24 varying the orientation by switching energy from one active radiating element to another, e.g. for beam switching
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/04 Resonant antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/16 with feed intermediate between the extremities of the antenna, e.g. centre-fed dipole H01Q9/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/28 Conical, cylindrical, cage, strip, gauze, or like elements having an extended radiating surface; Elements comprising two conical surfaces having collinear axes and adjacent apices and fed by two-conductor transmission lines waveguide horns or mouths H01Q13/00; slot antennas H01Q13/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/285 Planar dipole H01Q9/065 takes precedence; patch antenna H01Q9/0407
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/16 incorporating printed electric components, e.g. printed resistor, capacitor, inductor

Abstract

A circuit board for wireless communications includes communication circuitry for modulating and/or demodulating a radio frequency (RF) signal and an antenna apparatus for transmitting and receiving the RF signal, the antenna apparatus having selectable antenna elements located near one or more peripheries of the circuit board. A first antenna element produces a first directional radiation pattern; a second antenna element produces a second directional radiation pattern offset from the first radiation pattern. The antenna elements may include one or more reflectors configured to provide gain and broaden the frequency response of the antenna element. A switching network couples one or more of the selectable elements to the communication circuitry and provides impedance matching regardless of which or how many of the antenna elements are selected. Selecting different combinations of antenna elements results in a configurable radiation pattern; alternatively, selecting several elements may result in an omnidirectional radiation pattern.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a circuit board;

communication circuitry coupled to the circuit board, the communication circuitry configured to provide an RF signal into an antenna feed port of the circuit board;

a first antenna element located near a first periphery of the circuit board, the first antenna element configured to produce a first directional radiation pattern when coupled to the antenna feed port; and

a second antenna element located near a second periphery of the circuit board, the second antenna element configured to produce a second directional radiation pattern offset from the first directional radiation pattern when coupled to the antenna feed port.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a switching network configured to selectively couple the antenna feed port to the first antenna element and the second antenna element.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the switching network comprises a first RF switch located at about a multiple of one-half wavelength from the antenna feed port, the first RF switch configured to selectively couple the antenna feed port to the first antenna element.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a first feed line of the circuit board configured to couple the antenna feed port to the first antenna element; and

a second feed line of the circuit board configured to couple the antenna feed port to the second antenna element, the second feed line having electrical length of about a multiple of one-half wavelength as compared to the first feed line.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the first antenna element and the second antenna element produce a substantially omnidirectional radiation coverage when the first antenna element and the second antenna element are coupled to the antenna feed port.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the first antenna element comprises a modified dipole.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the modified dipole comprises a bent dipole component.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the first antenna element further comprises a reflector, the reflector configured to concentrate the radiation pattern of the first antenna element.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the first antenna element further comprises a reflector, the reflector configured to broaden the frequency response of the first antenna element.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the first antenna element comprises a first dipole component and a second dipole component, at least one of the first dipole component and the second dipole component formed on an exterior surface of the circuit board.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the first antenna element comprises a first dipole component formed on a surface of the circuit board and a second dipole component formed on an opposite surface of the circuit board, the second dipole component coupled to an internal ground layer of the circuit board.

12. A system, comprising:

a circuit board;

communication circuitry coupled to the circuit board, the communication circuitry configured to provide an RF signal into an antenna feed port of the circuit board;

a plurality of antenna elements arranged near at least two edges of the circuit board, each of the antenna elements configured to form a directional radiation pattern when coupled to the antenna feed port; and

a switching network configured to selectively couple the antenna feed port to each of the plurality of antenna elements to result in a configurable radiation pattern ranging from highly directional to substantially non-directional.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the switching network comprises an RF switch for each of the antenna elements, the RF switch located at about a multiple of one-half wavelength from the antenna feed port.

14. The system of claim 13 further comprising a feed line coupling the RF switch to the antenna element, the plurality of feed lines having electrical length of about a multiple of one-half wavelength as compared to each other.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein at least one of the antenna elements comprises a modified dipole.

16. The system of claim 15 further comprising at least one phase inverted modified dipole.

17. The system of claim 15 further comprising a reflector for the modified dipole, the reflector configured to concentrate the radiation pattern of the modified dipole.

18. The system of claim 15 further comprising a reflector for the modified dipole, the reflector configured to broaden the frequency response of the modified dipole.