Wireless access point

• US 9,768,513 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2015
• Issued: 09/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Yau-Shing, Zhu, Jiang, Gummalla, Ajay Chandra Venkata, Statezni, Dieter W., Peri, Patanjali Sastry
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, THO GIA
• Application Number:
  US14/707,769
• Publication Number:
  US 20160329641A1
• Time in Patent Office: 865 Days
• Field of Search: 343700 MS, 343795, 343797, 343799, 343803, 343817, 343833, 343834
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/02 Arrangements for de-icing; Arrangements for drying-out ; Arrangements for cooling; Arrangements for preventing corrosion
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2291 used in bluetooth or WI-FI devices of Wireless Local Area Networks [WLAN] H01Q1/241 takes precedence; WLAN in general H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/525 between emitting and receiving antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/14 Reflecting surfaces; Equivalent structures electromagnetic shields H01Q1/526
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/108 Combination of a dipole with a plane reflecting surface H01Q19/106 takes precedence; strip line H01Q9/065
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/24 varying the orientation by switching energy from one active radiating element to another, e.g. for beam switching
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/26 with folded element or elements, the folded parts being spaced apart a small fraction of operating wavelength resonant loop antennas H01Q7/00

Abstract

An access point includes an access point body and a circuit board supported by the access point body and optionally configured to provide a residential gateway to a network. The circuit board includes a plurality of multi-dipole antennas connected to the circuit board and arranged around a longitudinal axis defined by the circuit board. The access point also includes a reflector disposed on the circuit board and a directional antenna connected to the circuit board and arranged adjacent to the reflector.

Claims

1. An access point comprising:

an access point body;

a circuit board defining a longitudinal axis, the circuit board supported by the access point body to have a vertical orientation with respect to a supporting surface;

a plurality of multi-dipole antennas connected to the circuit board and radially spaced from the longitudinal axis, the plurality of multi-dipole antennas substantially equiangularly arranged around the longitudinal axis of the circuit board;

a reflector disposed on the circuit board and configured to reflect electromagnetic waves;

a directional antenna connected to the circuit board and arranged adjacent to the reflector;

a spectral analysis antenna connected to the circuit board and arranged vertically above the plurality of multi-dipole antennas, the spectral analysis antenna configured to measure radio energy and/or interference outside the access point body; and

a spectral analysis antenna spacer disposed between the spectral analysis antenna and the plurality of multi-dipole antennas, the spectral analysis antenna spacer configured to shield the spectral analysis antenna from interference by the plurality of multi-dipole antennas.

2. The access point of claim 1, wherein each multi-dipole antenna comprises a first dipole antenna and a second dipole antenna orthogonally polarized from the first dipole antenna, the circuit board comprising a switch configured to select between the first dipole antenna and the second dipole antenna for wireless communications through the respective multi-dipole antenna.

3. The access point of claim 2, wherein the first dipole antenna further comprises:

at least two first dipole antenna conductors oriented along a first dipole antenna phase axis defined by the first dipole antenna; and

a first feed line connector disposed on each first dipole antenna conductor.

4. The access point of claim 3, wherein the second dipole antenna further comprises:

at least two second dipole antenna conductors orientated along a second dipole antenna phase axis oriented orthogonal to the first dipole antenna phase axis; and

a second feed line connector disposed on each second dipole antenna conductor.

5. The access point of claim 4, wherein each multi-dipole antenna is positioned to have the first and second dipole antenna phase axes arranged at an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis.

6. The access point of claim 1, wherein the directional antenna is arranged opposite and spaced from the reflector, the reflector shaping a radiation pattern of the antenna to increase a gain of the directional antenna.

7. The access point of claim 1, wherein the directional antenna is a folded dipole antenna.

8. The access point of claim 1, wherein the reflector extends along a majority of the circuit board and is arranged to reflect communication signals to/from the directional antenna substantially along a communication axis at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis, the plurality of multi-dipole antennas substantially equiangularly arranged around the longitudinal axis of the circuit board collectively forming an omnidirectional antenna.

9. The access point of claim 1, wherein the at least one antenna is configured to transmit using Bluetooth standard, Bluetooth low energy standard, and/or IEEE 802.15.4 standard.