Mobile wireless communications device with human interface diversity antenna and related methods

• US 7,379,027 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2006
• Issued: 05/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Qi, Yihong, Kezys, Vytas
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Hoang V
• Application Number:
  US11/616,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20070132647A1
• Time in Patent Office: 517 Days
• Field of Search: 343/702, 343/700.MS, 343/867, 455/575.1, 455/101, 455/90
• US Class Current: 343/702
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/245 with means for shaping the antenna pattern, e.g. in order to protect user against rf exposure
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0608 Antenna selection according to transmission parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0615 of weighted versions of same signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0814 based on current reception conditions, e.g. switching to different antenna when signal level is below threshold
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0848 Joint weighting
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering

Abstract

A mobile wireless communications device may include a portable handheld housing, and a wireless transceiver carried by the housing. A pair of an antennas are positioned in side-by-side relation preferably in the upper portion of the portable handheld housing. A human interface diversity controller is connected to the wireless transceiver to preferentially operate with the plurality of antennas based upon a relative position of the portable handheld housing with respect to a hand of a human user. The device can select or weight the antennas based upon the position of the device when being held by a user.

Claims

1. A mobile wireless communication device comprising:

a portable handheld housing;

a wireless transceiver carried by said portable handheld housing;

a circuit board carried by said portable handheld housing;

a plurality of antennas positioned in side-by-side relation in said portable handheld housing;

each antenna comprising

a conductive loop branch on said circuit board to define an open loop antenna configuration, and

at least one conductive feed branch on said circuit board and connected to said conductive loop branch to define at least one feed point; and

a human interface diversity controller connected to said wireless transceiver to preferentially operate with the plurality of antennas based upon a relative position of said portable handheld housing with respect to a hand of a human user.

2. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein said human interface diversity controller preferentially weights transmit signals.

3. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein said human interface diversity controller preferentially weights transmit signals based upon received signal strength.

4. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein said human interface diversity controller preferentially switches at least one antenna on and at least one antenna off for transmit signals.

5. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein said human interface diversity controller preferentially switches at least one antenna on and at least one antenna off for transmit signals based upon received signal strength.

6. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of antennas are operable on a same frequency.

7. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of antennas have different polarizations.

8. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of antennas have different conductive patterns.

9. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of antennas have different frequencies for transmit and receive.

10. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of antennas comprises a pair of first and second antennas.

11. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein the portable handheld housing has opposing parallel front and back surfaces and wherein said plurality antennas are arranged in side-by-side relation in an upper portion of the portable handheld housing and extending in a plane parallel to the front and back surfaces.

12. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 further comprising a display carried by said portable handheld housing and connected to said transceiver.

13. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 further comprising at least one user input device carried by said portable handheid housing and connected to said transceiver.

14. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 further comprising at least one input/output transducer carried by said portable handheld housing and connected to said transceiver.

15. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein said transceiver and said plurality of antennas are operable in at least one of a LAN wireless network and a cellular wireless network.

16. A mobile wireless communication device comprising:

a portable handheld housing having opposing parallel front and back surfaces;

a wireless transceiver carried by said portable handheld housing;

a circuit board carried by said portable handheld housing;

a plurality of antennas arranged in side-by-side relation in an upper portion of the portable handheld housing and extending in a plane parallel to the front and back surfaces thereof;

each antenna comprising

a conductive loop branch on said circuit board to define an open loop antenna configuration, and

at least one conductive feed branch on said circuit board and connected to said conductive loop branch to define at least one feed point; and

a human interface diversity controller connected to said wireless transceiver to preferentially weight transmit signals to the plurality of antennas based upon received signal strength.

17. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 16 wherein the plurality of antennas are operable on a same frequency.

18. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 16 wherein the plurality of antennas have different polarizations.

19. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 16 wherein said transceiver and said plurality of antennas are operable in at least one of a LAN wireless network and a cellular wireless network.

20. A method of operating a mobile wireless communications device to account for different human interface, the mobile wireless communications device including a portable handheld housing and a wireless transceiver therein, and a pair of antennas side-by-side in an upper portion of the portable handheld housing and connected to the wireless transceiver, each antenna comprising a conductive loop branch on a circuit board to define an open loop antenna configuration, and at least one conductive feed branch on the circuit board and connected to the conductive loop branch to define at least one feed point, the method comprising:

controlling the wireless transceiver to preferentially operate with the pair of antennas based upon a relative position of the portable handheld housing with respect to a hand of a human user.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein controlling the wireless transceiver comprises preferentially weighting transmit signals.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein controlling the wireless transceiver comprises preferentially switching one antenna on and one antenna off for transmit signals.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein the pair of antennas are operated on a same frequency.

24. The method of claim 20 wherein each antenna of the pair of antennas has a different conductive pattern.

25. The method of claim 20 wherein the portable handheld housing has opposing parallel front and back surfaces and wherein the pair of antennas are arranged in side-by-side relation extending in a plane parallel to the front and back surfaces.