Antenna system for notebook computer and method for communicating in multiple wireless systems

• US 7,733,276 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2006
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Levy, Shmuel, Leeper, David G.
• Primary Examiner(s): DINH, TRINH VO
• Application Number:
  US11/558,139
• Publication Number:
  US 20080111746A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,307 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 343/702
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2266 disposed inside the computer
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00

Abstract

Embodiments of an antenna system for notebook, laptop and portable computers and methods for communicating in multiple wireless systems are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed. In some embodiments, a notebook computer comprises a plurality of transceivers, a plurality of antennas coupled to the transceivers with coaxial cables, and signal separation circuitry coupled to at least one of the coaxial cables to allow the at least one coaxial cable to be shared by two or more of the transceivers.

Claims

1. An antenna system comprising:

a first diplexer having a first port coupled to a first coaxial cable;

a first antenna coupled to a second port of the first diplexer;

a second antenna coupled to a third port of the first diplexer;

a second diplexer having a first port coupled to the first coaxial cable, a second port coupled to a receive port of a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver, and a third port coupled to a receive and transmit (RX/TX) port of an ultra-wide band (UWB) transceiver;

a switch to selectively couple a second coaxial cable to either a first RX/TX port of the WLAN transceiver or a broadband wireless access (BWA) network transceiver; and

a third antenna coupled to the second coaxial cable.

2. The antenna system of claim 1 wherein the first and second coaxial cables are provided through one or more hinges coupling a base and a lid of a wireless communication device, and

wherein the first coaxial cable is shared by the UWB transceiver and the receive port of the WLAN transceiver.

3. The antenna system of claim 2 further comprising:

a fourth antenna coupled to a second RX/TX port of the WLAN transceiver with a third coaxial cable; and

a fifth antenna coupled to a third RX/TX port of the WLAN transceiver with a fourth coaxial cable,

wherein the third and fourth coaxial cables are further provided through the one or more hinges.

4. The antenna system of claim 3 wherein the wireless communication device is a notebook computer,

wherein the first, second, third, fourth and fifth antennas, and the first diplexer are provided in the lid,

wherein the second diplexer, the switch, the UWB transceiver, the WLAN transceiver and the BWA network transceiver are provided in the base.

5. The antenna system of claim 3 wherein the second, third and fourth antennas are patch antennas having dimensions selected to communicate narrower-band RF signals between 2 and 11 GHz, and

wherein the first antenna comprises a wide-band antenna selected to communication UWB RF signals.

6. The antenna system of claim 4 wherein the WLAN transceiver is a 3×

4 multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transceiver that transmits WLAN signals using the third, fourth and fifth antennas and receives WLAN signals using the second, third, fourth and fifth antennas.

7. The antenna system of claim 4 wherein one or more of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth antennas comprise a monopole antenna, and

wherein a metallic frame associated with a display in the lid serves as a ground plane for the one or more of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth antennas.

8. The antenna system of claim 6 further comprising a front-end module (FEM) coupled between the first antenna and the second port of the first diplexer to downconvert UWB signals received through the first antenna and to upconvert and amplify UWB signals for transmission by the first antenna,

wherein the FEM is provided in the lid.

9. The antenna system of claim 6 wherein the first antenna transmits and receives UWB communication signals,

wherein the second antenna receives WLAN communication signals,

wherein the first and second diplexers separate the WLAN communication signals from the UWB communication signals,

wherein the third antenna, the fourth antenna and the fifth antenna transmit and receive the WLAN communication signals,

wherein the third antenna further transmits and receives BWA network communication signals, and

wherein the first and second diplexers allow simultaneous operation of the UWB transceiver and the WLAN transceiver.

10. The antenna system of claim 8 wherein a transmit power level of the UWB transceiver is reduced to help prevent the receive port from being exposed to high signal levels from the UWB transceiver,

wherein the FEM includes a power amplifier to amplify signals from the UWB transceiver prior to transmission by the first antenna, and

wherein the first and second diplexers provide isolation between their second and third ports to further help prevent the receive port of the WLAN transceiver from being exposed to high signal levels from the UWB transceiver.

11. The antenna system of claim 2 wherein the wireless communication device is a notebook computer, and

wherein when the UWB transceiver and the WLAN transceiver operate simultaneously, a first application running on the notebook computer communicates using the UWB transceiver, and a second application running on the notebook computer communicates using the WLAN transceiver.