Method and apparatus for tuning a communication device

• US 8,594,584 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2011
• Issued: 11/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Greene, Matthew R., Manssen, Keith R., Mendolia, Gregory
• Primary Examiner(s): GONZALES, APRIL GUZMAN
• Application Number:
  US13/108,463
• Publication Number:
  US 20120295554A1
• Time in Patent Office: 925 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/67.11, 455/121, 455/77, 455/129, 455/193.1, 333/32, 333/17.3, 343/853, 343/860, 343/787, 343/745, 375/135
• US Class Current: 455/77
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/50 Structural association of antennas with earthing switches, lead-in devices or lightning protectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/50 Feeding or matching arrangements for broad-band or multi-band operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0458 Arrangements for matching and coupling between power amplifier and antenna or between amplifying stages matching circuits in general H03H
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/18 Input circuits, e.g. for coupling to an antenna or a transmission line coupling networks between antennas or lines and receivers independent of the nature of the receiver H03H
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/48 in circuits for connecting transmitter and receiver to a common transmission path, e.g. by energy of transmitter H04B1/46 takes precedence

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a tuning system for a communication device having an antenna, where the tuning system includes at least one first tunable element connected with at least one radiating element of the antenna for tuning the antenna where the adjusting of the at least one first tunable element is based on at least one of a use case associated with the communication device and location information associated with the communication device, and a matching network having at least one second tunable element coupled at a feed point of the antenna, wherein the matching network receives control signals for adjusting the at least one second tunable element to tune the matching network. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A tuning system for a communication device having an antenna, the tuning system comprising:

at least one first tunable element connected with at least one radiating element of the antenna for tuning the antenna, wherein adjusting of the at least one first tunable element is based on a use case associated with the communication device; and

a matching network having at least one second tunable element coupled to a feed point of the antenna, wherein the matching network receives control signals for adjusting the at least one second tunable element to tune the matching network,

wherein the adjusting of the at least one second tunable element of the matching network comprises a closed loop process,

wherein the at least one first tunable element is a plurality of first tunable elements,

wherein the at least one radiating element comprises a first radiating element associated with a first frequency range and a second radiating element associated with a second frequency range,

wherein at least one of the plurality of first tunable elements that is associated with the first radiating element is tuned based on a desired Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) associated with the antenna, and

wherein at least another of the plurality of first tunable elements that is associated with the second radiating element is tuned based on a different performance metric.

2. The tuning system of claim 1, wherein tuning parameters for the use case associated with the communication device are stored in a look-up table of the communication device.

3. The tuning system of claim 1, wherein the use case comprises at least one of an earpiece speaker status, a speakerphone status, a headset status, and a slider status.

4. The tuning system of claim 1, wherein the use case comprises position information obtained from at least one of an accelerometer and a proximity detector of the communication device.

5. The tuning system of claim 1, wherein the closed loop process includes obtaining an operational parameter using a directional coupler connected between the antenna and a transceiver of the communication device.

6. The tuning system of claim 5, wherein the operational parameter is obtained during transmission by the transceiver of the communication device.

7. The tuning system of claim 1, wherein the closed loop process includes obtaining an operational parameter using a detector coupled between the antenna and the matching network without using a measuring component coupled between the matching network and a transceiver of the communication device.

8. The tuning system of claim 1, wherein the closed loop process includes obtaining an operational parameter using a directional coupler coupled between the matching network and a transceiver of the communication device.

9. The tuning system of claim 1, wherein the different performance metric is based on attenuation of an undesired frequency.

10. The tuning system of claim 9, wherein the undesired frequency is a harmonic frequency.

11. The tuning system of claim 9, wherein the undesired frequency is associated with an interferer.

12. The tuning system of claim 11, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of first tunable elements are adjusted based on first metrics obtained from a detector coupled in proximity to the antenna, and wherein the adjusting of the at least one second tunable element is based on second metrics obtained from a directional coupler.

13. The tuning system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the at least one first tunable element and the at least one second tunable element is electrically tunable capacitors.

14. The tuning system of claim 13, wherein Low Band (LB) radiating elements of the antenna are tuned using a different process than is utilized in tuning High Band (HB) radiating elements of the antenna.

15. A tuning system for a communication device having an antenna, the tuning system comprising:

at least one first tunable element connected with at least one radiating element of the antenna for tuning the antenna, wherein adjusting of the at least one first tunable element is based on a use case associated with the communication device; and

a matching network having at least one second tunable element coupled to a feed point of the antenna, wherein the matching network receives control signals for adjusting the at least one second tunable element to tune the matching network,

wherein the adjusting of the at least one second tunable element of the matching network comprises a closed loop process,

wherein the at least one first tunable element is a plurality of first tunable elements,

wherein the at least one radiating element comprises a Low Band (LB) radiating element and a High Band (HB) radiating element,

wherein at least one of the plurality of first tunable elements that is associated with the LB radiating element is tuned based on a desired Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) associated with the antenna, and

wherein at least another of the plurality of first tunable elements that is associated with the HB radiating element is tuned based on a different performance metric.

16. The tuning system of claim 15, wherein the different performance metric is based on attenuation of an undesired frequency, and wherein the undesired frequency is associated with one of a harmonic frequency and an interferer.

17. A method comprising:

tuning, by a controller, an antenna of a communication device by adjusting at least one first tunable element of the communication device that is connected with at least one radiating element of the antenna, wherein the adjusting of the at least one first tunable element is based on a use case associated with the communication device, wherein the at least one first tunable element is a plurality of first tunable elements, wherein the at least one radiating element comprises a first radiating element associated with a first frequency range and a second radiating element associated with a second frequency range;

tuning, by the controller, a matching network of the communication device by adjusting at least one second tunable element of the matching network that is coupled between the antenna and a transceiver of the communication device, wherein the adjusting of the second tunable element comprises a closed loop process based on an operational parameter of the communication device;

tuning, by the controller, at least one of the plurality of first tunable elements that is associated with the first radiating element based on a first performance metric; and

tuning, by the controller, at least another of the plurality of first tunable elements that is associated with the second radiating element based on a second performance metric that is different from the first performance metric.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein tuning parameters for the use case associated with the communication device is stored in a look-up table of the communication device, and wherein the use case comprises at least one of an earpiece speaker status, a speakerphone status, a headset status, and a slider status.

19. The method of claim 17, comprising obtaining the operational parameter of the communication device using a detector coupled between the antenna and the matching network without using a measuring component coupled between the matching network and the transceiver.

20. The method of claim 17, comprising obtaining the operational parameter of the communication device using a directional coupler coupled between the matching network and the transceiver without using a measuring component between the antenna and the matching network.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the first performance metric is based on a desired Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) associated with the antenna.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first radiating element is a low band radiating element, and wherein the second radiating element is a high band radiating element.