Antenna device for transmitting and/or receiving RF waves

• US 6,392,610 B1
• Filed: 11/15/2000
• Issued: 05/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Allgon AB (Bure Equity AB)
• Inventors: Donghui, Liu, Edvardsson, Olov, Braun, Christian, Eriksson, Leif
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho, Tan
• Application Number:
  US09/712,131
• Time in Patent Office: 552 Days
• Field of Search: 343/700.MS, 343/702, 343/742, 343/867, 343/770, 343/767, 343/876, 343/853, 343/795
• US Class Current: 343/876
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• 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 3/24 varying the orientation by switching energy from one active radiating element to another, e.g. for beam switching
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/26 with folded element or elements, the folded parts being spaced apart a small fraction of operating wavelength resonant loop antennas H01Q7/00
• 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

Abstract

An antenna device for transmitting and/or receiving RF waves connectable to a radio communication device and including a radiating structure with at least two switchable antenna elements. At least one switching element, arranged in a central switching unit, selectively connects and disconnects the at least two switchable antenna elements. The at least two antenna elements can be individually switched between different coupling states by the central switching unit. The central switching unit has a control port for reception of control signals enabling the central switching unit to effect a centralized switching of said at least two switchable antenna elements.

Claims

1. An antenna device for transmitting and/or receiving electromagnetic waves connectable to a communication device, comprising:

a radiating structure comprising at least two switchable antenna elements; and

at least one switching element for selectively connecting and disconnecting said antenna elements,

said at least one switching element being arranged in a central switching unit;

said at least two switchable antenna elements being connected to said switching unit, said at least two switchable antenna elements adapted to be individually switched between different coupling states; and

said central switching unit having a control port for reception of control signals enabling the central switching unit to effect a centralized switching of said at least two switchable antenna elements;

the antenna device comprises a first and a second radiating structure of switchable antenna elements, and a first and a second central switching unit each assigned to a respective one of the radiating structures;

the first and the second radiating structures are separated from each other; and

said at least two switchable antenna elements of the first radiating structure are connectable to transmitting circuits of the communication device, and said at least two switchable antenna elements of the second radiating structure are connectable to receiving circuits of the communication device.

2. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

an RF feed device is connected to the central switching unit, so that said at least two switchable antenna elements can receive RF signals via said central switching unit.

3. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

an RF ground device is connected to said central switching unit, so that at least two switchable antenna elements are RF groundable via said central switching unit.

4. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

at least one of said at least two switchable antenna elements is provided with a plurality of spaced connection points adapted to be connectable to an RF feed or to RF ground;

and

said connection points are connected to said central switching unit, whereby said central switching unit switches an RF feed point and/or an RF ground point between different positions on said one of said at least two switchable antenna elements.

5. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

said central switching unit is arranged to switch each of said at least two switchable antenna elements of said radiating structure in any of the manners of the group consisting essentially of:

connecting one of said at least two switchable antenna elements to an RF feed device in series or in parallel with any other antenna element;

connecting one of said at least two switchable antenna elements as a parasitic element;

short-circuiting one of said at least two antenna elements; and

completely disconnecting one of said at least two antenna elements.

6. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

said radiating structure comprises at least one permanently and parasitically coupled antenna element.

7. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

said central switching unit is arranged to be controlled in response to at least one measurable optimization parameter of antenna performance.

8. The antenna device according to claim 7, wherein

said at least one optimization parameter is selected from the group consisting essentially of:

measures of the transmitter reflection coefficient;

measures of received signal quality;

measures of received signal strength; and

measures of diversity performance.

9. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

said central switching unit is arranged to be controlled to switch the radiating structure of antenna elements between a plurality of antenna configuration states, each of said plurality of antenna configuration states being adapted for use of the antenna device in the communication device in a respective predefined operation environment.

10. The antenna device according to claim 9, wherein

a first antenna configuration state of said plurality of antenna configuration states is adapted for use of the antenna device in the communication device in free space and a second antenna configuration state of said plurality of antenna configuration states is adapted for use of the antenna device in said radio communication device in a talk position.

11. The antenna device according to claim 10, wherein

a third antenna configuration state of said plurality of antenna configuration states is adapted for use of the antenna device in the communication device in a waist position.

12. The antenna device according to claim 11, wherein

a fourth antenna configuration state of said plurality of antenna configuration states is adapted for use of the antenna device in the communication device in a pocket position.

13. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

said central switching unit comprises a matrix of electrically controllable a switching elements.

14. The antenna device according to claim 13, wherein

said matrix includes MEMS switches.

15. The antenna device according to claim 13, wherein

said matrix includes PIN diode switches.

16. The antenna device according to claim 13, wherein

said matrix includes GaAs FET switches.

17. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

at least two switchable antenna elements are selected from the group consisting essentially of loop elements, meander elements, slot elements, patch elements, whip elements, spiral elements, and helical elements.

18. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

said at least two switchable antenna elements of said radiating structure form a symmetrical pattern around said central switching unit.

19. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

said at least two switchable antenna elements of said radiating structure, and said central switching unit are arranged in a common plane on a carrier board.

20. The antenna device according to claim 19, wherein

said at least two switchable antenna elements and said central switching unit are arranged on a printed circuit board of the communication device connected to the antenna device.

21. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

said central switching unit is arranged in a plane spaced from the plane of said radiating structure.

22. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

at least a portion of said radiating structure is shaped as a three-dimensional structure;

and

parts of said structure passes around an edge of and/or through a printed circuit board of the radio communication device connected to the antenna device, so that a portion of the radiating structure is disposed on each of two main surfaces of a printed circuit board.

23. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

at least a portion of said radiating structure extends perpendicularly to main surfaces of a printed circuit board of the communication device.

24. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

said at least two switchable antenna elements and said central switching unit are arranged on a first surface of a carrier board;

an RF feed device is arranged on an opposite surface of said carrier board; and

an RF ground plane is laminated in said carrier board.

25. The antenna device according to claim 24, wherein

said RF feed device comprises a strip line.

26. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein

said at least two switchable antenna elements or two groups of said at least two switchable antenna elements are controllable to supply receiving signals of low correlation to the radio communication device to obtain a diversity function.

27. A radio communication device comprising an antenna device according to claim 1.

28. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein said central switching unit is arranged to be controlled depending on one or more measurable optimization parameters of the antenna performance.

29. The antenna device according to claim 28, wherein the optimization parameter or parameters are selected from the group consisting essentially of measures of the Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR), the Carrier to Noise Ratio(C/N), the Carrier to Interference Ratio (C/I), Bit Error Rate (BER), the received signal strength, and the correlation between the signals.

30. An antenna device for transmitting and/or receiving electromagnetic waves connectable to a communication device, comprising:

a radiating structure comprising at least two switchable antenna elements; and

at least one switching element for selectively connecting and disconnecting said antenna elements,

said at least one switching element being arranged in a central switching unit;

said at least two switchable antenna elements being connected to said switching unit, said at least two switchable antenna elements adapted to be individually switched between different coupling states; and

said central switching unit having a control port for reception of control signals enabling the central switching unit to effect a centralized switching of said at least two switchable antenna elements,

said at least two switchable antenna elements, jointly operate as a transmitting antenna and are connectable to transmitting circuits of the communication device; and

said at least two antenna elements, jointly operating as a receiving antenna and are connectable to receiving circuits of said radio communication device.

31. An antenna device for transmitting and/or receiving RF waves connectable to a radio communication device, comprising:

a radiating structure comprising at least one antenna element; and

at least one switching element connected to the at least one antenna element, wherein

said at least one antenna element is provided with a plurality of spaced connection points adapted to be connectable to an RF signal feed device or to ground;

at least two of said connection points are connectable to said switching element;

said at least one switching element being arranged in a central switching unit; and

said central switching unit having a control port for reception of control signals enabling said switching unit to effect a centralized switching of said connection points, wherein

said at least one antenna element is a patch antenna element provided with at least a first and a second slot;

said plurality of connection points include a first and a second RF feed connection point; and

said switching unit is adapted to connect said RF feed connection points to said RF signal feed device one at a time.

32. The antenna device according to claim 31, wherein

said connection points are arranged at short intervals, so that there is a limited change only of the antenna performance when switching the connection point of said RF feed device or said RF ground between two adjacent connection points.

33. The antenna device according to claim 31, wherein

said central switching unit is arranged to switch said RF feed device and/or said RF ground sequentially between said connection points of said at least one antenna element to optimize one or more measurable optimization parameters of antenna performance.

34. The antenna device according to claim 31, wherein

said RF feed or said RF ground can be connected to more than one of said connection points at the same time.

35. The antenna device as claimed in claim 31, wherein said antenna device is optimized for receiving and/or transmitting RF waves in a first frequency band when said first RF feed connection point is connected and optimized for receiving and/or transmitting RF waves in a second frequency band when said second RF feed connection point is connected, said first and said second frequency bands being different.

36. The antenna device as claimed in claim 35, wherein said first and second frequency bands are chosen from the group consisting essentially of:

CDMA800/DAMPS800, GSM900, DCS1800/PCN, CDMA1900/PCS1900, and CDMA2000/UMTS.

37. The antenna device as claimed in claim 31, wherein

said plurality of said connection points further include a first ground connection point;

and

said central switching unit is adapted to connect said first ground connection point to ground concurrently with said first RF feed connection point being connected to said RF signal feed device.

38. The antenna device as claimed in claim 37, wherein

said plurality of connection points further include a second ground connection point;

and

said central switching unit is adapted for connection of said second ground connection point to ground when said second RF feed connection point is connected to said RF signal feed device.

39. The antenna device as claimed in claim 38, wherein

said patch antenna element is provided with a third slot;

and

said antenna device is optimized for receiving and/or transmitting RF waves in a third frequency band when said second RF feed connection point and said second ground connection point are connected, said third frequency band being different than said first and second frequency bands.

40. The antenna device as claimed in claim 39, wherein said first frequency band is the CDMA800/DAMPS800 band;

said second frequency band is chosen from the group consisting essentially of DCS1800/PCN, CDMA1900/PCS1900 and CDMA2000/UMTS; and

said third frequency band is the GSM900 band.

41. The antenna device as claimed in claim 31, wherein said antenna device is adapted to receive RF waves and wherein said antenna device has an input impedance in the range of approximately 50Ω

to approximately 400Ω

.

42. A method for transmitting and/or receiving electromagnetic waves using an antenna device connectable to a communication device, the method comprising:

switching of at least one of at least two switchable antenna elements centrally from a central switching unit including a switching element, and to which said at least two switchable antenna elements are individually connected;

using a first radiating structure comprising at least two of said at least two antenna elements connected to a first central switching unit as a transmitting antenna; and

using a second radiating structure comprising at least two of said at least two antenna elements connected to a second central switching unit as a receiving antenna.

43. The method according to claim 42, comprising

feeding selected antenna elements with RF signals via said central switching unit.

44. The method according to claim 42, comprising

RF grounding selected antenna elements via said central switching unit.

45. The method according to claim 42, comprising

switching the RF feed point and/or the RF ground point between different locations on one of said at least two antenna elements, said one of said at least two switchable antenna elements provided with a plurality of spaced connection points.

46. The method according to claim 42, comprising

switching each of said at least two switchable antenna elements of a radiating structure in any of the manners of the group consisting:

of connecting an element to an RF feed device in series or in parallel with any other of said at least two antenna elements;

connecting one of said at least two antenna elements as a parasitic elements;

short-circuiting one of said at least two antenna elements; and

completely disconnecting one of said at least two antenna elements.

47. The method according to claim 42, comprising

controlling said central switching unit in dependence on one or more measurable optimization parameters of antenna performance.

48. The method according to claim 47, comprising

controlling said central switching unit in dependence on a measurable optimization parameter selected from the group consisting essentially of:

measures of the transmitter reflection coefficient, measures of received signal quality, measures of received signal strength, and measures of diversity performance.

49. The method according to claim 42, comprising

controlling said central switching unit to switch said radiating structure of said at least two switchable antenna elements between a plurality of antenna configuration states;

adapting a first of said plurality of states for use of the antenna device in the communication device in free space; and

adapting a second of said plurality of states for use of the antenna device in the communication device in a talk position.

50. The method according to claim 49, comprising

adapting a third of said plurality of antenna configuration states for use of the antenna device in a radio communication device in waist position or in pocket position.

51. The method according to claim 42, comprising

controlling said at least two switchable antenna elements or two groups of said at least two switchable antenna elements to supply receiving signals of low correlation to the communication device in order to obtain a diversity function.

52. A method for transmitting and/or receiving RF waves using an antenna device connectable to a radio communication device, the method comprising:

providing at least one antenna element with a plurality of spaced connection points adapted to be connectable to an RF signal feed device or to RF ground;

connecting at least two of said connection points to a switching element arranged in a central switching unit; and

effecting a centralized switching of said connection points from said switching unit, wherein

said at least one antenna element is a patch antenna element provided with at least a first and a second slot;

said at least two of said connection points that are connected to the switching element include a first and a second RF feed connection point; and

said RF feed connection points are connected to said RF signal feed device, one at a time, by said switching element.

53. The method as claimed in claim 52, wherein RF waves in a first frequency band are received and/or transmitted when said first RF feed connection point is connected and RF waves in a second frequency band are received and/or transmitted when said second RF feed connection point is connected, said first and second frequency bands being different.

54. The method as claimed in claim 53, wherein said first and second frequency bands are chosen from the group of CDMA800/DAMPS800, GSM900, DCS1800/PCN, CDMA1900/PCS1900, and CDMA2000/UMTS.

55. The method as claimed in claim 52, wherein

said at least two of said connection points being connected to the switching element further include a first ground connection point; and

said first ground connection point is connected to ground concurrently with said first RF feed connection point being connected to said RF signal feed device.

56. The method as claimed in claim 55, wherein

said at least two of said connection points further include a second ground connection point;

and

said second ground connection point is connected to ground provided that said second RF feed connection paint being connected to said RF signal feed device.

57. The method as claimed in claim 56, wherein

said patch antenna element is provided with a third slot;

and

said antenna device is optimized for receiving and/or transmitting RF waves in a third frequency band when said second RF feed connection point and said second ground connection point are connected, said third frequency band being different than said first and second frequency bands.

58. An antenna device for receiving and/or transmitting RF waves and being connectable to a radio communication device provided with RF circuitry, said antenna device comprising:

a patch antenna element provided with at least two slots and at least two spaced RF feed connection points such that the antenna device is adapted to receive and/or transmit RF waves in a first frequency band when a first of said RF feed connection points is connected to said RF circuitry and adapter to receive and/or transmit RF waves in a second frequency band when the other of said RF feed connection points is connected to said RF circuitry, said first and second frequency bands being different; and

a controllable switching device adapted for connection and/or disconnection of said first and said other of the at least two RF feed connection points to and/or from said RF circuitry in dependence on being supplied with control signals.

59. In an antenna device for receiving and/or transmitting RF waves and being connectable to a radio communication device provided with RF circuitry, said antenna device comprising a patch antenna element provided with at least two slots and at least two spaced RF feed connection points such that the antenna device is adapted to receive and/or transmit RF waves in a first frequency band when a first of said RF feed connection points is connected to said RF circuitry and adapted to receive and/or transmit RF waves in a second frequency band when the other of said RF feed connection points is connected to said RF circuitry, said first and second frequency bands being different, a method for switching between said at least two frequency bands comprising:

connecting said first of the at least two RF feed connection points to said RF circuitry and disconnecting said other of the at least two RF feed connection points from said RF circuitry and/or

disconnecting said first of the at least two RF feed connection points from said RF circuitry and connecting said other of the at least two RF feed connection points to said RF circuitry by means of a controllable switching device.