Systems and methods for managing antenna use

• US 7,561,904 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2005
• Issued: 07/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Lagnado, Isaac
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah; Charles N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Addy; Anthony S
• Application Number:
  US11/259,687
• Publication Number:
  US 20070093270A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,357 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 455/63.1, 455/67.13, 455/90.3, 455/101, 455/550.1, 455/552.1, 455/553.1, 455/556.1, 455/556.2, 455/562.1, 455/575.1, 455/575.7, 375/267, 343/702
• US Class Current: 455/575.7
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0689 using different transmission schemes, at least one of them being a diversity transmission scheme
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0871 using different reception schemes, at least one of them being a diversity reception scheme

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method for controlling antenna use in a computing device comprises determining which wireless transceiving devices are active, and if multiple wireless transceiving devices are active, disabling transmission/reception diversity such that each wireless transceiving device may only use one respective antenna.

Claims

1. A method for controlling antenna use in a computing device comprising a first antenna, a second antenna, and a third antenna, the first and second antennas being available for use by a first wireless technology and the third antenna being available for use by a second wireless technology, the third antenna being physically proximate to the first antenna but physically distant from the second antenna, the method comprising:

enabling switching between the first and second antennas while the first wireless technology is active so as to enable utilization of the antenna that receives the strongest signal;

determining whether the second wireless technology becomes active; and

if the second wireless technology becomes active, disabling the switching and limiting use of the first wireless technology to the second antenna.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining comprises using a basic input-output system of the computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein disabling comprises providing a transceiving device status accessible by transceiving device drivers of the computing device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein providing a transceiving device status comprises providing a transceiving device status to an operating system of the computing device.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein providing a transceiving device status comprises updating a look-up table accessible by the transceiving device drivers.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a default antenna identification that indicates to transceiving device drivers which antenna to use.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a default antenna for use by the first wireless technology using a transceiving device driver.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein disabling comprises providing a control signal to a transceiving device driver that indicates which of the first and second antennas the transceiving device is to use.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising selecting an antenna using a transceiving device driver according to the control signal.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein disabling comprises controlling a physical switch associated with one of the first and second antennas.

11. A computer-readable medium that stores instructions for controlling antenna use in a computing device, the instructions being executable by a processor to cause the computing device to perform the following actions:

enabling a first wireless technology to switch between a first and a second antenna to enable utilization of the antenna that receives the strongest signal;

enabling a second wireless technology to use a third antenna that is proximate to the first antenna but distant to the second antenna;

determining when a second wireless technology becomes active; and

disabling the switching and limiting the first wireless technology to use of the second antenna when the second wireless technology becomes active.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the means for determining comprises a basic input-output system of the computing device.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the means for disabling comprises means for providing a transceiving device status accessible by transceiving device drivers of the computing device and that indicates to the transceiving device drivers which antenna to use.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the means for disabling comprises means for providing a control signal to a transceiving device driver that indicates which antenna the transceiving device is to use.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the means for disabling comprises means for controlling a physical switch associated with an antenna.

16. A computing device for controlling antenna use in a computing device, the computing device comprising:

a first antenna available for use by a first wireless technology;

a second antenna also available for use by the first wireless technology;

a third antenna available for use by a second wireless technology, the third antenna being physically proximate to the first antenna but physically distant from the second antenna;

logic configured to enable switching between the first and second antennas while the first wireless technology is active so as to enable utilization of the antenna that receives the strongest signal;

logic configured to determine when the second wireless technology becomes active; and

logic configured to disable switching use of the first antenna such that the first wireless technology may only use the second antenna when both wireless technologies are active.

17. The computing device of claim 16, wherein the logic configured to determine which wireless technologies are active comprises logic of a basic input-output system of the computing device.

18. The computing device of claim 16, wherein the logic configured to disable use of the first antenna comprises logic configured to provide a transceiving device status accessible by transceiving device drivers of the computing device and that indicates to the transceiving device drivers which antenna to use.

19. The computing device of claim 16, wherein the logic configured to disable use of the first antenna comprises logic configured to provide a control signal to a transceiving device driver that indicates which antenna the transceiving device is to use.

20. The computing device of claim 16, wherein the logic configured to disable use of the first antenna comprises logic configured to control a physical switch associated with the first antenna.