DUAL-FREQUENCY PATCH ANTENNAS

• US 20160261047A1
• Filed: 03/02/2015
• Published: 09/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trimble Inc.
• Original Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Inventors: Wallace, Gregory C., Atkinson, John
• Granted Patent: US 10,193,231 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/32 Multimode operation in a single same satellite system, e.g. GPS L1/L2
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/36 relating to the receiver frond end
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/48 Earthing means; Earth screens; Counterpoises
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/521 reducing the coupling between adjacent antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/335 at the feed, e.g. for impedance matching
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/378 Combination of fed elements with parasitic elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/40 Imbricated or interleaved structures; Combined or electromagnetically coupled arrangements, e.g. comprising two or more non-connected fed radiating elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0407 Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0414 in a stacked or folded configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/045 with particular feeding means for circular polarisation H01Q9/0428

Abstract

A dual-frequency patch antenna includes a first conductive element configured to receive global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals at a first frequency band, a second conductive element configured to receive GNSS signals at a second frequency band, and a ground plane. A first dielectric material is disposed between the first conductive element and the second conductive element, and a second dielectric material disposed between the second conductive element and the ground plane. The second dielectric material has a topside with an area at least as large as the topside of the ground plane.

Claims

1. A dual-frequency patch antenna comprising:

a first conductive element configured to receive global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals at a first frequency band;

a first dielectric material coupled to a backside of the first conductive element;

a second conductive element coupled to a backside of the first dielectric material, the second conductive element configured to receive GNSS signals at a second frequency band, wherein the second conductive element has a topside with an area at least as large as a topside of the first conductive element;

a second dielectric material coupled to a backside of the second conductive element;

a ground plane coupled to a backside of the second dielectric material;

a third dielectric material coupled to a backside of the ground plane;

a routing and placement layer with circuitry coupled to a backside of the third dielectric material, the circuitry electrically coupled to at least one of the first conductive element or the second conductive element; and

a digital cable coupled to the circuitry via the routing and placement layer, wherein the circuitry is configured to;

provide frequency selection, down conversion, and digitization of the GNSS signals at the first frequency band and the GNSS signals at the second frequency band; and

output digitized baseband signals, wherein the digital cable is configured to provide the digitized baseband signals to a soft GNSS receiver.

2. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 1 wherein the GNSS signals at the first frequency band are L1 GNSS signals, and the GNSS signals at the second frequency band are at least one of L2 GNSS signals, L2C GNSS signals, or L5 GNSS signals.

3. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 1 wherein the digital cable is a universal serial bus (USB) cable or an Ethernet cable.

4. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 1 wherein the third dielectric material comprises one or more conductive routing layers each disposed between adjacent dielectric layers.

5. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 1 wherein edges of the first conductive element and the first dielectric material are rotated by about 45°

relative to edges of the second conductive element and the second dielectric material.

6. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 1 further comprising one or more feeds electrically coupling the first conductive element to the circuitry, wherein the second conductive element is electrically isolated from the circuitry and is capacitively coupled to the first conductive element.

7. Using one or more printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) processes to form the second conductive element, the ground plane, the second dielectric material, and the third dielectric material of the dual-frequency patch antenna recited in claim 1.

8. A dual-frequency patch antenna comprising:

a first conductive element configured to receive global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals at a first frequency band;

a second conductive element configured to receive GNSS signals at a second frequency band;

a ground plane;

circuitry electrically coupled to at least one of the first conductive element or the second conductive element, the circuitry configured to provide at least frequency selection of the GNSS signals at the first frequency band and the GNSS signals at the second frequency band;

a first dielectric material disposed between the first conductive element and the second conductive element;

a second dielectric material disposed between the second conductive element and the ground plane, the second dielectric material having a topside with an area at least as large as a topside of the ground plane;

a third dielectric material disposed between the ground plane and the circuitry; and

an output coupled to the circuitry via the routing and placement layer, the output configured to provide at least filtered and amplified GNSS signals from the circuitry.

9. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 8 wherein the third dielectric material comprises one or more conductive routing layers each disposed between adjacent dielectric layers.

10. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 8 wherein the circuitry is also configured to:

provide down conversion and digitization of the GNSS signals at the first frequency band and the GNSS signals at the second frequency band; and

provide the digitized baseband signals to the output.

11. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 8 wherein the circuitry comprises a first circuitry and a second circuitry, the patch antenna further comprising:

an interface coupled to the first circuitry via a first routing and placement layer and to the second circuitry via a second routing and placement layer, the interface configured to provide the filtered and amplified GNSS signals from the first circuitry to the second circuitry, the second circuitry configured to;

provide down conversion and digitization of the filtered and amplified GNSS signals; and

provide the digitized baseband signals to the output.

12. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 8 wherein the circuitry comprises a first circuitry and a second circuitry, and the first circuitry is further configured to provide down conversion of the GNSS signals at the first frequency band and the GNSS signals at the second frequency band, the dual-frequency patch antenna further comprising:

an interface coupled to the first circuitry via a first routing and placement layer and to the second circuitry via a second routing and placement layer, the interface configured to provide filtered, amplified, and down converted GNSS signals from the first circuitry to the second circuitry, the second circuitry configured to;

provide digitization of the filtered, amplified, and down converted GNSS signals; and

provide the digitized baseband signals to the output.

13. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 8 wherein the circuitry includes elements to filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize the GNSS signals at the first frequency band and the GNSS signals at the second frequency band, but does not include elements to perform pseudorange and carrier phase measurements.

14. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 8 further comprising one or more feeds electrically coupling the first conductive element to the circuitry.

15. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 8 wherein the second conductive element is electrically isolated from the circuitry and is capacitively coupled to the first conductive element.

16. Using one or more printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) processes to form the second conductive element, the ground plane, the second dielectric material, and the third dielectric material of the dual-frequency patch antenna recited in claim 8.

17. A dual-frequency patch antenna comprising:

a first conductive element configured to receive global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals at a first frequency band;

a second conductive element configured to receive GNSS signals at a second frequency band;

a ground plane;

a first dielectric material disposed between the first conductive element and the second conductive element; and

a second dielectric material disposed between the second conductive element and the ground plane, the second dielectric material having a topside with an area at least as large as the topside of the ground plane.

18. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 17 wherein the first dielectric material has a topside with an area that is substantially the same size as the topside of the second dielectric material.

19. The dual-frequency patch antenna of claim 17 further comprising:

a third dielectric material disposed adjacent to a bottom of the ground plane, the third dielectric material comprising one or more conductive routing layers each disposed between adjacent dielectric layers; and

circuitry coupled to at least one of the one or more conductive routing layers and electrically coupled to at least one of the first conductive element or the second conductive element, the circuitry configured to filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize the GNSS signals at the first frequency band and the GNSS signals at the second frequency band without performing pseudorange and carrier phase measurements.

20. Using one or more printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) processes to form the second conductive element, the ground plane, and the second dielectric material of the dual-frequency patch antenna recited in claim 17.