SPACE-FILLING MINIATURE ANTENNAS

• US 20090303134A1
• Filed: 07/06/2009
• Published: 12/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fractus SA
• Original Assignee: Fractus SA
• Inventors: PUENTE BALIARDA, CARLES, ANGUERA PROS, JAIME, ROZAN, EDOUARD JEAN LOUIS
• Granted Patent: US 8,207,893 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/700.MS
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/36 Structural form of radiating elements, e.g. cone, spiral, umbrella; Particular materials used therewithH01Q1/08, H01Q1/14 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/38 formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support patch antennas H01Q9/0407; microstrip dipole antennas H01Q9/065; microstrip slot antennas H01Q13/106; transmission line microstrip antennas H01Q13/206; manufacturing reflecting surfaces using insulating material for supporting the reflecting surface H01Q15/142
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/10 Resonant slot antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/25 Ultra-wideband [UWB] systems, e.g. multiple resonance systems; Pulse systems
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/357 using a single feed point
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0407 Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/40 Element having extended radiating surface
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/42 with folded element, the folded parts being spaced apart a small fraction of the operating wavelength

Abstract

A novel geometry, the geometry of Space-Filling Curves (SFC) is defined in the present invention and it is used to shape a part of an antenna. By means of this novel technique, the size of the antenna can be reduced with respect to prior art, or alternatively, given a fixed size the antenna can operate at a lower frequency with respect to a conventional antenna of the same size.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an antenna in which at least one portion of the antenna is shaped as a substantially non-periodic curve;

wherein the antenna radiates at multiple different operating wavelengths; and

wherein at least one of the operating wavelengths corresponds to an operating wavelength of a cellular telephone system.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said non-periodic curve comprises a multiplicity of connected segments in which the segments are spatially arranged such that no two adjacent and connected segments form another longer straight segment.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each segment is shorter than one tenth of at least one operating free-space wavelength of the antenna.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said curve is shaped so that the arrangement of the segments of the curve are not self-similar with respect to the entire curve.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each pair of adjacent segments forms a bend such that said curve has a physical length larger than that of any straight line that can be fitted in the same area in which the segments of the curve are arranged, and so that the resulting antenna curve can be fitted inside the radian sphere of at least one operating frequency of the antenna.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the antenna is adapted to radiate across at least three cellular telephone system frequency bands.

7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the antenna is adapted to radiate and receive electromagnetic waves across at least four cellular telephone system frequency bands.

8. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the antenna is adapted to radiate electromagnetic waves across at least five cellular telephone system frequency bands.

9. The apparatus as said forth in claim 1, wherein the curve is arranged over two or more surfaces.

10. An antenna, comprising:

a radiating element at least a portion of which is defined by a multi-segment curve, each of said segments being spatially arranged such that no two adjacent and connected segments form another longer straight segment and none of said segments intersects with another segment other than at the beginning and at the end of said multi-segment, irregular curve to form a closed loop;

wherein the antenna radiates at multiple different operating wavelengths; and

wherein at least one of the operating wavelengths corresponds to an operating wavelength of a cellular telephone system.

11. The antenna of claim 10, wherein the multi-segment curve has a box counting dimension larger than one.

12. The antenna of claim 10, wherein said multi-segment curve is shaped so that the arrangement of a portion of said multi-segment curve including bends is not self-similar with respect to the entire multi-segment curve.

13. The apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein the antenna is adapted to radiate across at least three cellular telephone system frequency bands.

14. The apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein the antenna is adapted to radiate and receive electromagnetic waves across at least four cellular telephone system frequency bands.

15. The apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein the antenna is adapted to radiate electromagnetic waves across at least five cellular telephone system frequency bands.

16. The apparatus as said forth in claim 10, wherein the curve is arranged over two or more surfaces.

17. An apparatus, comprising:

an antenna in which at least one portion of the antenna is shaped as a substantially non-periodic curve;

wherein said non-periodic curve is shaped so that an arrangement of a portion of said non-periodic curve includes a set of multiple bends that are not self-similar with respect to the entire curve, and said portion of said curve has a physical length larger than that of any straight line that can be fitted in the same area in which said portion of the curve can be arranged;

wherein the antenna radiates at multiple different operating wavelengths; and

wherein at least one of the operating wavelengths corresponds to an operating wavelength of a cellular telephone system.

18. The apparatus as set forth in claim 17, wherein the antenna is adapted to radiate across at least three cellular telephone system frequency bands.

19. The apparatus as set forth in claim 17, wherein the antenna is adapted to radiate and receive electromagnetic waves across at least four cellular telephone system frequency bands.

20. The apparatus as set forth in claim 17, wherein the antenna is adapted to radiate electromagnetic waves across at least five cellular telephone system frequency bands.

21. The apparatus as said forth in claim 17, wherein the curve is arranged over two or more surfaces.