Antenna array structure stacked over printed wiring board with beamforming components
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A directional antenna unit for use with portable data processing equipment which provides communication of digital signals over a radio channel comprising:
- a plurality of antenna elements arranged in a multidimensional array, the antenna elements disposed according to a predetermined position computed as a result of an intended wavelength;
a support structure for supporting the antenna elements in a substantially vertical orientation with respect to an earth plane reference; and
directional steering circuit components mounted to a circuit board plane beneath the antenna element array, the steering circuit components operable for power control of the plurality of antenna elements;
such that the circuit board elements, support structure, and antenna elements are enclosed in a case.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A miniaturized directional antenna for use with system to provide data communication over wireless radio channels. The unit supports multiple antenna elements with a known orientation with respect to an earth ground plane reference. This greatly provides predictability in the steerability and other directional attributes of the antenna array using miniaturized chip multilayer or helical antenna elements, the unit may be constructed in a case or other form factor of approximately 3×3×1 inches for operation within the frequency bands around 1900 MHz.
-
Citations
14 Claims
-
1. A directional antenna unit for use with portable data processing equipment which provides communication of digital signals over a radio channel comprising:
-
a plurality of antenna elements arranged in a multidimensional array, the antenna elements disposed according to a predetermined position computed as a result of an intended wavelength;
a support structure for supporting the antenna elements in a substantially vertical orientation with respect to an earth plane reference; and
directional steering circuit components mounted to a circuit board plane beneath the antenna element array, the steering circuit components operable for power control of the plurality of antenna elements;
such that the circuit board elements, support structure, and antenna elements are enclosed in a case. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A directional antenna unit operable for directional RF communication of digital signals comprising:
-
a housing adapted to maintain positional independence from the portable data processing equipment;
a multilayer printed circuit board in the housing comprising coplaner layers including a supporting ground plane layer, a power divider layer, a ground plane layer, and a component layer having interconnected phase shifters, power dividers, signal wiring, and power wiring;
a support structure on the multilayer printed circuit board comprising outer walls arranged in a rectangular form, the outer walls substantially perpendicular to the multilayer printed circuit board;
a center wall member substantially bisecting two opposed outer walls of the support structure;
a first antenna element and a second antenna element disposed on opposed ends of one of the outer walls bisected by the center wall member, each antenna element adjacent to a comer formed with the adjoining outer walls;
a third antenna element and a fourth antenna element disposed on opposed ends of the outer wall opposed to the outer wall having the first antenna element and the second antenna element, each antenna element adjacent to a comer formed with the adjoining outer walls; and
a fifth antenna element disposed at the middle of the center wall member, each of the antenna elements disposed according to a predetermined position computed as a result of an intended wavelength, the steering circuit components operable for power control of the plurality of antenna elements. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
-
Specification