Communication apparatuses

• US 9,369,162 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2015
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accton Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: Accton Technology Corporation
• Inventors: Lo, Wen-Pin, Kang, Hsin-Hsiung, Ho, Sao-An, Lai, Chi-Yu
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayard, Emmanuel
• Application Number:
  US14/610,655
• Publication Number:
  US 20150295602A1
• Time in Patent Office: 501 Days
• Field of Search: 375/350, 375/346, 375/285
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0475 with means for limiting noise, interference or distortion H04B1/0483 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/10 Means associated with receiver for limiting or suppressing noise or interference
• 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 1/525 with means for reducing leakage of transmitter signal into the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A communication apparatus includes a first communication module, a second communication module, an antenna module and a filtering module. The first communication module transmits and receives a first RF signal on a first channel. The second communication module transmits and receives a second RF signal on a second channel. The antenna module includes multiple antennas for transmitting and receiving the first and second RF signals. The filtering module is coupled between the first and second communication modules and the antenna module. The filtering module filters the first RF signal according to a first frequency response, and it filters the second RF signal according to a second frequency response to ensure the first RF signal and the second RF signal do not interfere with each other.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus, comprising:

a first communication module, transmitting and receiving a first radio frequency (RF) signal on a first channel;

a second communication module, transmitting and receiving a second RF signal on a second channel;

an antenna module, comprising a plurality of antennas for transmitting and receiving the first and the second RF signals; and

a filter module, coupled to the first communication module, the second communication module and the antenna module, filtering the first RF signal according to a first frequency response and filtering the second RF signal according to a second frequency response to ensure the first RF signal and the second RF signal do not interfere with each other, wherein the first channel has a first bandwidth, the second channel has a second bandwidth, and wherein a space between a central frequency of the first channel and a central frequency of the second channel is greater than an average of the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth.

2. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first communication module and the second communication module are WiFi communication modules, and wherein the first channel and the second channel are different channels in a 2.4 GHz frequency band or a 5 GHz frequency band.

3. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the antenna module comprises a first antenna and a second antenna, and the filter module comprises:

a first filter, coupled to the first antenna, filtering the first RF signal according to the first frequency response; and

a second filter, coupled to the second antenna, filtering the second RF signal according to the second frequency response.

4. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first communication module further transmits and receives a third RF signal on the first channel and the second communication module further transmits and receives a fourth RF signal on the second channel, and the antenna module comprises a first antenna, a second antenna, a third antenna and a fourth antenna, wherein the first antenna transmits and receives the first RF signal, the second antenna transmits and receives the second RF signal, the third antenna transmits and receives the third RF signal and the fourth antenna transmits and receives the fourth RF signal, and the filter module comprises:

a first filter, coupled to the first antenna, filtering the first RF signal according to the first frequency response;

a second filter, coupled to the second antenna, filtering the second RF signal according to the second frequency response;

a third filter, coupled to the third antenna, filtering the third RF signal according to the first frequency response; and

a fourth filter, coupled to the fourth antenna, filtering the fourth RF signal according to the second frequency response.

5. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first communication module further transmits and receives a third RF signal on the first channel and the second communication module further transmits and receives a fourth RF signal on the second channel, and the antenna module comprises a first antenna and a second antenna, wherein the first antenna transmits and receives the first RF signal and the second RF signal, the second antenna transmits and receives the third RF signal and the fourth RF signal, and the filter module comprises:

a first duplexer, coupled to the first antenna, receiving the first RF signal and the second RF signal and filtering the first RF signal according to the first frequency response and filtering the second RF signal according to the second frequency response; and

a second duplexer, coupled to the second antenna, receiving the third RF signal and the fourth RF signal and filtering the third RF signal according to the first frequency response and filtering the fourth RF signal according to the second frequency response.

6. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first communication module supports A*B multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications to transmit and receive a plurality of first RF signal streams on the first channel, the second communication module supports C*D MIMO communications to transmit and receive a plurality of second RF signal streams on the second channel, wherein A, B, C and D are positive integers greater than or equal to 1, and the filter module comprises:

an N-port duplexer, coupled to the antennas, receiving the first RF signal streams and the second RF signal streams, filtering the first RF signal streams according to the first frequency response and filtering the second RF signal streams according to the second frequency response, wherein N equals to the maximum value among the A, B, C and D.

7. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprises:

a third communication module, transmitting and receiving a third RF signal on a third channel,

wherein the antennas are further used for transmitting and receiving the third RF signal, and the filter module is further coupled to the third communication module and filters the third RF signal according to a third frequency response to ensure the first RF signal, the second RF signal and the third RF signal do not interfere with each other.

8. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the first communication module further transmits and receives a fourth RF signal on the first channel, the second communication module further transmits and receives a fifth RF signal on the second channel, and the third communication module further transmits and receives a sixth RF signal on the third channel, the antenna module comprises a first antenna and a second antenna, the first antenna transmits and receives the first RF signal, the second RF signal and the third RF signal, the second antenna transmits and receives the fourth RF signal, the fifth RF signal and the sixth RF signal, and wherein the filter module comprises:

a first triplexer, coupled to the first antenna, receiving the first RF signal, the second RF signal and the third RF signal and filtering the first RF signal according to the first frequency response, filtering the second RF signal according to the second frequency response and filtering the third RF signal according to the third frequency response; and

a second triplexer, coupled to the second antenna, receiving the fourth RF signal, the fifth RF signal and the sixth RF signal and filtering the fourth RF signal according to the first frequency response, filtering the fifth RF signal according to the second frequency response and filtering the sixth RF signal according to the third frequency response.

9. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the first communication module supports A*B multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications to transmit and receive a plurality of first RF signal streams on the first channel, the second communication module supports C*D MIMO communications to transmit and receive a plurality of second RF signal streams on the second channel, the third communication module supports E*F MIMO communications to transmit and receive a plurality of third RF signal streams on the third channel, wherein A, B, C, D, E and F are positive integers greater than or equal to 1, and the filter module comprises:

an N-port triplexer, coupled to the antennas, receiving the first RF signal streams, the second RF signal streams and the third signal streams and filtering the first RF signal streams according to the first frequency response, filtering the second RF signal streams according to the second frequency response and filtering the third RF signal streams according to the third frequency response, wherein N equals to the maximum value among the A, B, C, D, E and F.