Wireless electronic device with antenna switching circuitry

• US 9,484,961 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2012
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Lum, Nicholas W., Dimpflmaier, Ronald W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Orgad, Edan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah, Saumit
• Application Number:
  US13/631,483
• Publication Number:
  US 20130148636A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,495 Days
• Field of Search: 370/278, 370/282, 370/297, 370/336, 370/338, 370/334, 370/339, 370/343, 455/73, 455/75, 455/78, 455/82, 455/83, 455/272, 455/276.1, 455/277.1, 455/277.2, 455/280, 455/289, 455/552.1, 455/553.1, 455/575.7, 455/63.1, 343/702, 343/853, 343/876, 343/904
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/241 used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM H01Q1/247, H01Q1/248 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0053 with common antenna for more than one band
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0064 with separate antennas for the more than one band H04B1/0053 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0067 with one or more circuit blocks in common for different bands
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0404 the mobile station comprising multiple antennas, e.g. to provide uplink diversity

Abstract

A wireless electronic device may include antennas formed at different locations on the device. The wireless electronic device may include transceivers that are used to wirelessly communicate in different frequency bands by transmitting and receiving radio-frequency signals in the frequency bands. The transceivers may include Wi-Fi® transceivers and cellular transceivers such as Long Term Evolution transceivers. The wireless electronic device may include antenna switching circuitry interposed between the transceivers and the antennas. The wireless electronic device may include control circuitry that controls the antenna switching circuitry to ensure that radio-frequency transmissions in adjacent frequency bands are routed to different antennas. By routing radio-frequency transmissions in adjacent frequency bands to different antennas, self-interference between communications in the adjacent frequency bands may be reduced. Self-interference may also be reduced by performing time division multiplexing to isolate radio-frequency signals that are transmitted in adjacent frequency bands.

Claims

1. A method of operating a wireless electronic device having three antennas, the method comprising:

with control circuitry, selecting a first antenna of the three antennas to use for radio-frequency transmissions in a first frequency band that is susceptible to intermodulation interference with a second frequency band; and

with switching circuitry, mitigating intermodulation interference between the first and second frequency bands by performing time division multiplexing between radio-frequency transmissions in the first frequency band and radio-frequency transmissions in the second frequency band, wherein performing the time division multiplexing comprises;

periodically routing radio-frequency signals in the first frequency band to the selected first antenna for a first duration;

periodically routing radio-frequency signals in the second frequency band to the selected first antenna for a second duration subsequent to the first duration; and

while routing the respective radio-frequency signals in the first and second frequency bands to the selected first antenna, dynamically adjusting a ratio of the first duration to the second duration to provide increased bandwidth for communications in a given one of the first and second frequency bands.

2. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising:

with a first transceiver, providing the radio-frequency signals in the first frequency band to the switching circuitry; and

with a second transceiver, providing the radio-frequency signals in the second frequency band to the switching circuitry.

3. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the first frequency band comprises a wireless local area network frequency band.

4. The method defined in claim 3 wherein the second frequency band comprises a cellular telephone frequency band.

5. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the first frequency band comprises a cellular telephone frequency band.

6. The method defined in claim 5 wherein the cellular telephone frequency band comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) frequency band.

7. The method defined in claim 6 wherein the LTE frequency band comprises LTE band 7.

8. An electronic device, comprising:

a conductive rectangular housing at an exterior surface of the electronic device that extends from a first face to an opposing second face of the electronic device, wherein the conductive rectangular housing has first and second opposing ends, a first portion at the first end, and a second portion at the second end;

first, second, and third antennas, wherein the first antenna is formed at least partially from the first portion and the second antenna is formed at least partially from the second portion;

first and second transceivers, wherein the first transceiver is operable to produce radio-frequency signals in a first frequency band of a plurality of frequency bands and the second transceiver is operable to produce radio-frequency signals in a second frequency band of the plurality of frequency bands;

switching circuitry operable in a first configuration in which the first transceiver is coupled to the first antenna and further operable in a second configuration in which the second transceiver is coupled to the first antenna; and

control circuitry that mitigates intermodulation interference between the first and second frequency bands by controlling the switching circuitry to operate in the first configuration during a first time period, by controlling the switching circuitry to operate in the second configuration during a second time period subsequent to the first time period, by controlling the switching circuitry to operate in the first configuration during a third time period subsequent to the second time period, and by controlling the switching circuitry to operate in the second configuration during a fourth time period subsequent to the third time period, wherein the duration of the third time period is different from the duration of the first time period and the duration of the fourth time period is different from the duration of the second time period.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the first antenna is located at a first end of the electronic device and wherein the second antenna is located at a second end of the electronic device.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the first transceiver comprises a cellular transceiver.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the second transceiver comprises a Wi-Fi transceiver.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the cellular transceiver comprises a Long-Term Evolution transceiver.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the first frequency band comprises a wireless local area network frequency band.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 wherein the second frequency band comprises a cellular telephone frequency band.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the first frequency band comprises a cellular telephone frequency band.

16. A method of operating wireless communications circuitry in an electronic device, wherein the wireless communications circuitry includes a first transceiver that communicates using a plurality of frequency bands and a second transceiver that communicates using a Wi-Fi frequency band, the method comprising:

selecting a frequency band between 2.5 and 2.57gigahertz (GHz) from the plurality of frequency bands for communications using the first transceiver;

selecting an antenna from one of first and second antennas for communications in the selected frequency band;

determining whether the communications in the selected frequency band using the first transceiver interferes with communications in the Wi-Fi frequency band; and

in response to determining that the communications in the selected frequency band interferes with the communications in the Wi-Fi frequency band, performing time division multiplexing using the switching circuitry between communications in the selected frequency band and communications in the Wi-Fi frequency band over the selected antenna, wherein performing the time division multiplexing comprises;

periodically routing radio-frequency signals in the selected frequency band to the selected antenna for a first duration;

periodically routing radio-frequency signals in the Wi-Fi frequency band to the selected antenna for a second duration subsequent to the first duration; and

while routing the respective radio-frequency signals in the selected frequency band and the Wi-Fi frequency band to the selected antenna, dynamically adjusting a ratio of the first duration to the second duration to provide increased bandwidth for communications in a given one of the Wi-Fi and selected frequency bands.

17. The method defined in claim 16 wherein the first transceiver comprises a cellular transceiver and wherein the second transceiver comprises a Wi-Fi transceiver, the method further comprising:

with the cellular transceiver, transmitting radio-frequency signals in a LTE band 7 frequency band; and

with the Wi-Fi transceiver, transmitting radio-frequency signals in the Wi-Fi frequency band.

18. The method defined in claim 17, wherein the first and second antennas are formed at opposing ends of the electronic device, the method further comprising:

with switching circuitry, routing the radio-frequency signals transmitted in the LTE band 7 frequency band to the first antenna; and

with the switching circuitry, mitigating interference in the LTE band 7 frequency band by routing the radio-frequency signals transmitted in the Wi-Fi frequency band to the second antenna.

19. A method of operating a wireless electronic device having a first transceiver that communicates using a plurality of cellular telephone frequency bands and a second transceiver that communicates using a given frequency band, the method comprising:

selecting a cellular telephone frequency band that is different from given frequency band from the plurality of frequency bands for communications using the first transceiver;

selecting an antenna from first and second antennas for communications in the selected cellular telephone frequency band;

determining whether the communications in the selected cellular telephone frequency band interferes with communications in the given frequency band; and

in response to determining that the communications in the selected cellular telephone frequency band interferes with the communications in the given frequency band, performing time division multiplexing using the switching circuitry between communications in the selected cellular telephone frequency band and communications in the given frequency band, wherein performing the time division multiplexing comprises;

with switching circuitry, routing communications in the selected cellular telephone frequency band between the first transceiver and the selected antenna during a first time period; and

with the switching circuitry, routing communications in the given frequency band between the second transceiver and the selected antenna during a second time period subsequent to the first time period;

with the switching circuitry, routing communications in the selected cellular telephone frequency band between the first transceiver and the selected antenna during a third time period subsequent to the second time period, wherein the duration of the third time period is different from the duration of the first time period; and

with the switching circuitry, routing communications in the given frequency band between the second transceiver and the selected antenna during a fourth time period subsequent to the third time period, wherein the duration of the fourth time period is different from the duration of the second time period.

20. The method defined in claim 19 wherein the first transceiver comprises a Long-Term Evolution cellular transceiver and wherein the second transceiver comprises a Wi-Fi transceiver, the method further comprising:

with the Long-Term Evolution cellular transceiver, transmitting radio-frequency signals in the selected cellular telephone frequency band over the selected antenna during the first time period; and

with the second transceiver, transmitting radio-frequency signals in the given frequency band over the selected antenna during the second time period.

21. The method defined in claim 19 wherein the plurality of frequency bands comprises a plurality of cellular frequency bands, wherein the given frequency band comprises a Wi-Fi frequency band, and wherein determining whether the communications in the selected cellular telephone frequency band interferes with the communications in the given frequency band comprises:

determining whether a LTE frequency band is adjacent to the Wi-Fi frequency band.

22. The method defined in claim 19 wherein the plurality of frequency bands comprises a plurality of cellular frequency bands, wherein the given frequency band comprises a Bluetooth frequency band, and wherein determining whether the communications in the selected cellular telephone frequency band interferes with the communications in the given frequency band comprises:

determining whether the selected cellular telephone frequency band is adjacent to the Bluetooth frequency band.