Carrier aggregation with tunable antennas

• US 9,750,020 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2014
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Lahti, Saku, Mustonen, Petri T., Leppnen, Jukka, Komulainen, Mikko S.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, MINH TRANG T
• Application Number:
  US14/227,480
• Publication Number:
  US 20150282170A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,251 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/30 Combinations of separate antenna units operating in different wavebands and connected to a common feeder system
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0064 with separate antennas for the more than one band H04B1/0053 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0404 the mobile station comprising multiple antennas, e.g. to provide uplink diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA

Abstract

A wireless device having a first tunable antenna tuned to a first frequency band; and a second tunable antenna tuned to a second frequency band that is different than the first frequency band, wherein the first and second antennas are configured to transmit, receive, or a combination of transmit and receive transmission signals by carrier aggregation at the respective first and second frequency bands simultaneously.

Claims

1. A wireless device, comprising:

a first tunable antenna tuned to a first frequency band;

a second tunable antenna tuned to a second frequency band that is different than the first frequency band;

a third tunable antenna tuned to the first frequency band; and

a fourth tunable antenna tuned to the second frequency band,

wherein the first and third tunable antennas are configured to transmit, receive, or a combination of transmit and receive transmission signals at the first frequency, and the second and fourth tunable antennas are configured to transmit, receive, or a combination of transmit and receive transmission signals at the second frequency, with carrier aggregation simultaneously.

2. The wireless device of claim 1, further comprising a processor configured to perform the carrier aggregation of the received transmission signals.

3. The wireless device of claim 1, further comprising a processor configured to perform the carrier aggregation of the transmitted transmission signals.

4. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the first tunable antenna is configured to transmit and receive transmission signals, and the second tunable antenna is configured only to receive transmission signals.

5. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the first tunable antenna is configured to transmit and receive transmission signals, and the second tunable antenna is configured only to transmit transmission signals.

6. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second tunable antennas is configured to both transmit and receive transmission signals.

7. The wireless device of claim 1, further comprising:

a first antenna tuner configured to tune the first antenna dynamically; and

a second antenna tuner configured to tune the second antenna dynamically.

8. A method of operating a wireless device, the method comprising:

tuning a first antenna to a first frequency band;

tuning a second antenna to a second frequency band that is different than the first frequency band;

tuning a third antenna to the first frequency band;

tuning a fourth antenna to the second frequency band;

at least one of transmitting and receiving transmission signals by the first and third antennas at the first frequency band, and the second and fourth antennas at the second frequency band, with carrier aggregation simultaneously.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising carrier aggregating the received transmission signals.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising carrier aggregating the transmitted transmission signals.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting and receiving transmission signals by the first antenna; and

transmitting only transmission signals from the second antenna.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising transmitting and receiving transmission signals by each of the first and second antennas.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

tuning by a first antenna tuner the first antenna dynamically; and

tuning by a second antenna tuner the second antenna dynamically.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a computer program with a program code for performing, when the program is executed on a computer, a method of operating a wireless device, the method comprising:

tuning a first antenna to a first frequency band;

tuning a second antenna to a second frequency band that is different than the first frequency band;

tuning a third antenna to the first frequency band;

tuning a fourth antenna to the second frequency band; and

at least one of transmitting and receiving transmission signals by the first and third antennas at the first frequency band, and the second and fourth antennas at the second frequency band, with carrier aggregation simultaneously.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, further comprising carrier aggregating the received transmission signals.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, further comprising carrier aggregating the transmitted transmission signals.