Antenna arrangement

• US 9,578,684 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2014
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cambridge Communication Systems Limited
• Original Assignee: Cambridge Communication Systems Limited
• Inventors: Porter, John David, Noakes, Melvyn
• Primary Examiner(s): Trinh, Sonny
• Application Number:
  US14/782,704
• Publication Number:
  US 20160050715A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,051 Days
• Field of Search: 455/562.1, 455/25, 455/575.7, 343/772, 343/786, 343/773
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/00 Waveguide horns or mouths; Slot antennas; Leaky-waveguide antennas; Equivalent structures causing radiation along the transmission path of a guided wave
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0056 Conically or cylindrically arrayed
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/20 the units being spaced along or adjacent to a curvilinear path slotted waveguide arrays H01Q21/005; circularly or helically slotted waveguides H01Q21/0062
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A wireless node (10) comprises an RF modem (12), an RF switch array (14) connected to the RF modem (12), the RF switch array (14) comprising a layer of circuit board (18) sandwiched between layers of conductive material (20, 22) and a plurality of antennas (16) connected to the circuit board (18) of the RF switch array (14) via waveguides (36) present in the layers of conductive material (20, 22), a first subset of the antennas (16) arranged in a first horizontal plane H1 and a second subset of the antennas (16) arranged below the first horizontal plane H1 in a second horizontal plane H2.

Claims

1. A wireless node comprising:

an RF modem, the RF modem comprising a layer of circuit board sandwiched between layers of conductive material,

an RF switch array connected to the RF modem, the RF switch array comprising a layer of circuit board sandwiched between layers of conductive material, and

a plurality of antennas connected to the circuit board of the RF switch array via waveguides present in the layers of conductive material, a first subset of the antennas arranged in a first horizontal plane and a second subset of the antennas arranged below the first horizontal plane in a second horizontal plane, wherein adjacent antennas in each subset of the antennas are spaced apart from each other and wherein the spacing between two adjacent antennas in a subset of the antennas is filled by an antenna in the other subset of the antennas.

2. The wireless node according to claim 1 , wherein each antenna comprises a horn connected to the RF switch array at a proximal end of the horn and open at a distal end of the horn.

3. The wireless node according to claim 1 wherein each subset of the antennas defines an arc around the RF switch array greater than 180 degrees.

4. The wireless node according to claim 1 wherein the antennas define an arc around the RF switch array less than 270 degrees.

5. The wireless node according to claim 1, wherein half the number of antennas are located in the first horizontal plane and half the number of antennas are located in the second horizontal plane.

6. A method of operating a wireless node comprising an RF modem and an RF switch array connected to the RF modem, each of the RF modem and RF switch array comprising a layer of circuit board sandwiched between layers of conductive material, and the node further a plurality of antennas connected to the circuit board of the RF switch array via waveguides present in the layers of conductive material, a first subset of the antennas arranged in a first horizontal plane and a second subset of the antennas arranged below the first horizontal plane in a second horizontal plane, wherein adjacent antennas in each subset of the antennas are spaced apart from each other and wherein the spacing between two adjacent antennas in a subset of the antennas is filled by an antenna in the other subset of the antennas, the method comprising:

generating radio signals at the RF modem, communicating the generated radio signals to the RF switch array, selecting an antenna for transmitting the generated radio signals and transmitting the generated radio signals from the selected antenna.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein each antenna comprises a horn connected to the RF switch array at a proximal end of the horn and open at a distal end of the horn.

8. The method according to claim 6 wherein each subset of the antennas defines an arc around the RF switch array greater than 180 degrees.

9. The method according to claim 6 wherein the antennas define an arc around the RF switch array less than 270 degrees.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein half the number of antennas are located in the first horizontal plane and half the number of antennas are located in the second horizontal plane.

11. A wireless node comprising:

an RF modem,

an RF switch array connected to the RF modem, and

a plurality of antennas connected to the RF switch array via waveguides, a first subset of the plurality of antennas arranged in an arc in a first horizontal plane with intermediate spacings therebetween and a second subset of the plurality of antennas arranged in an arc in a second horizontal plane with intermediate spacings therebetween, wherein the intermediate spacings of the first subset are vertically aligned with the antennas of the second subset and the intermediate spacings of the second subset are vertically aligned with the antennas of the first subset.