ANTENNA TUNING CIRCUIT, MODULE, AND SYSTEM

Abstract

An automatically tunable mobile antenna is provided with toroidal inductors connected in series between the antenna feed point and a whip and a shunt inductor to ground at the RF input, with the inductors forming an L network impedance matching circuit having values which are in a binary sequence and which are selectively added to impedance match the whip to the output impedance of a transmitter.

Claims

1. An antenna tuning circuit comprising: a radio frequency (RF) input configured to be operatively coupled with an antenna feed point; an RF output configured to be operatively coupled with an antenna; a plurality of inductors electrically connected in series between the RF input and the RF output and having respective inductance values provided in a binary sequence; and a plurality of relays electrically connected with the plurality of inductors and configured to selectively switch the individual inductors into and out of the antenna tuning circuit to achieve a target standing wave ratio (SWR) in tuning the antenna for a given target frequency or frequency band.

2. The antenna tuning circuit of claim 1, wherein in being configured to selectively switch the inductors into and out of the antenna tuning circuit, at least one of the relays is configured to selectively un-short at least one of the inductors associated therewith to adjust inductance between the antenna feed point and the antenna.

3. The antenna tuning circuit of claim 1, wherein an amount of inductance switched into the antenna tuning circuit starts at a lowest inductance available via the inductors and increases upon opening each relay.

4. The antenna tuning circuit of claim 1, wherein the relays are configured to sequence from a lower inductance to a higher inductance such that an increasing amount of inductance is provided by the antenna tuning circuit with the switching in of each inductor.

5. The antenna tuning circuit of claim 1, wherein at least one of the inductors is toroidal in configuration.

6. The antenna tuning circuit of claim 1, wherein the inductance values are linearly stepped and additive such that, for each increment of inductance adjustment, a next higher inductance is added to a lower inductance.

7. The antenna tuning circuit of claim 1, wherein as each inductor is selectively switched into the antenna tuning circuit, the inductance added is cumulative, with a total amount of inductance provided between the antenna feed point and the antenna increasing in a linear, stepped manner.

8. The antenna tuning circuit of claim 1, wherein at least one of the relays is configured to receive a control signal from a control signal source and, in response thereto, adjust in switch state.

9. The antenna tuning circuit of claim 8, wherein the control signal source is external to the antenna tuning circuit.

10. The antenna tuning circuit of claim 1, further comprising a fixed shunt inductor disposed between the antenna feed point and ground.

11. The antenna tuning circuit of claim 10, wherein the plurality of inductors and the fixed shunt inductor are constituents of an L-network impedance-matching circuit of the antenna tuning circuit.

12. An antenna tuning module comprising: the antenna tuning circuit of claim 1; and a housing configured to have the antenna tuning circuit at least partially disposed therein; wherein the antenna tuning module is configured to be operatively disposed between the antenna feed point and the antenna.

13. A system comprising: the antenna tuning circuit of claim 1; and a controller configured to set switch states of the relays in selectively switching the inductors into and out of the antenna tuning circuit.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to store switch states of the relays associated with achieving the target SWR in tuning the antenna for the target frequency or frequency band.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the stored switch states of the relays are recalled automatically from the controller when the target frequency or frequency band is selected.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the controller is further configured to store the target frequency or frequency band.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured such that, in tuning the antenna for the target frequency or frequency band, the specific relays that result in the target SWR are opened.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured such that when the target frequency or frequency band utilized to drive the antenna is detected, the relays are set in accordance with previously stored settings.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the controller is external to the antenna tuning circuit.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the controller comprises a control head including at least one rotary encoder switch operable to effectuate setting of the switch states of the relays.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] These and other features of the subject invention will be better understood in connection with the Detailed Description in conjunction with the Drawings of which:

[0019] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the utilization of an automatic screwdriver antenna attached to the bumper of a vehicle, illustrating that tuning of the antenna requires driving of the inner coil of the screwdriver antenna up and down until a suitable standing wave ratio is achieved;

[0020] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic and cut away illustration of an automatically tunable mobile antenna mounted to the rear bumper of a vehicle in which binary series-related inductors are series connected and located within an inductor housing having an RF input at the bottom and a whip mounted on top of the inductor housing, with control of the switching of the inductors in and out of the circuit controlled by a control head internal to the body of the vehicle;

[0021] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of series-connected inductors connected between the antenna input and the RF output connected to a whip antenna which are selectively left open or shorted utilizing relays to selectively short selected coils for reducing the standing wave ratio to an acceptable level, with relay selection being under the control of a microprocessor coupled to a rotary encoder switch to initially set the relays until an appropriate SWR match is achieved, also showing that upon achieving of a suitable SWR for a given frequency or frequency band, the relay states are memorized along with the frequency or frequency band, with the relay states recallable when the operator of the transmitter wishes to operate on the memorized frequency or frequency band;

[0022] FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of the control head mounted within the vehicle for use in initially setting relay states to achieve a minimum SWR and for thereafter recalling the relay states for a given frequency or frequency band;

[0023] FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration and top view of the mounting of eight inductors on a circuit board, the majority being toroidal to minimize crosstalk, mounted to a central nonconductive support shaft within the inductor housing, also showing the location of relays to control the amount of inductance added between the RF input to the antenna and the whip; and

[0024] FIG. 6 is a detailed schematic diagram showing the switching circuits utilized in the control of the relays illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 is provided with an automatic screwdriver antenna 12 which is composed of a stationary cylindrical housing 14 over which is mounted a translatable outer housing 16. Interior to housing 16 is a loading coil 17 attached at its top to housing 16 and to one end to a whip 18. Note that coil 17 translates as illustrated by double-ended arrow 19 within stationary cylindrical housing 14. Within cylindrical housing 14 is a shorting contact assembly which contacts coil 17 as it translates to short out various segments of the coil to establish tuning. Thus, the loading coil has turns which are shorted in accordance with the position of coil 17 and the shorting contact in stationary housing 14, such that when coil 17 translates as illustrated by double-ended arrow 20, the amount of interior coil shorted is controlled.

[0026] For a given length of antenna 12 and a given exterior configuration involving the vehicle 10 itself, a motor (not shown) drives coil 17 up-and-down until the standing wave ratio presented by the antenna 12 to the transceiver within the vehicle 10 is minimized. While this type of antenna 12 works satisfactorily and is relatively efficient, it sometimes takes as long as 3 minutes to be able to move the coil 17 up-and-down until the appropriate tap is made to the internally carried coil. Thus, changing frequency, and more especially when changing frequency bands, it takes a fair amount of time to be able to tune the mobile antenna 12 to a particular band and thence to a particular frequency within the band.

[0027] Moreover, the weight of such an antenna 12 is excessive and because of its size and wind resistance it is only mounted with difficulty on a vehicle 10. Additionally, the cost of such an efficient antenna 12 incorporates not only the cost of the coil 17 and sliding mechanism as well as its housings 14, 16, it also includes the cost of a drive motor and drive control circuitry as well as SWR monitoring. Importantly, automatic screwdriver antennas 12 are said to be unsightly and, for those wishing anonymity, it can hardly be said that such antennas 12 will be relatively unnoticeable.

[0028] Rather than mounting the automatic screwdriver assemblage 12 depicted in FIG. 1 on a vehicle 10, the subject automatically tuned antenna includes a cylindrical housing 30 in which is housed serially connected coils 32 which, when selected, provide a selectable amount of inductance to be able to tune the whip antenna 34 to the output impedance of a transceiver 36 housed within vehicle 38. It will be appreciated that the physical size of housing 30 is considerably less than that associated with the automatic screwdriver antenna 12 of FIG. 1 and is considerably less costly and less unsightly. Moreover, wind resistance is kept to a minimum and because of its light weight, the entire package may be mounted not necessarily on the vehicle 38 bumper but may be mounted anywhere on the vehicle 38 such as with a window mount or a roof mount due to the fact that the entire package weighs less than 12 ounces, in one embodiment.

[0029] Most importantly, toroidal inductors are used to minimize interference with other coils, with the binary sequence coils connected in series to effectuate a perfect match for a given frequency band when, for instance, the relays that control the shorting of the coils are set when a sufficiently low standing wave ratio exists. The switching of the relays is almost instantaneous such that one can go from one frequency band to another almost instantaneously once the states of the relays for the band have been established. Moreover, control for the relays comes from a control head 40 within the body of vehicle 38, which is removed from the high current and voltage conditions at the mobile antenna. Removal of the control circuitry from the antenna is important because, in the past, RF fields from the antenna can affect electronic circuits located at an antenna. These RF fields can cause instability, and because the control head 40 is within the vehicle, which functions as a Faraday cage, the stability of the tuning of the antenna is not deleteriously affected by RF transmissions.

[0030] Also central to the stability of the mobile antenna is the use of toroidal inductors where needed. It is a feature of toroidal inductors that the RF fields are located solely within the torus and, thus, there is no crosstalk between the toroidal inductors. As a result, there is no necessity to calculate the interaction between inductors when designing the inductor circuit. Furthermore, the values of the inductors are binarily related such that if, for instance, the smallest inductor is 2 micro-henrys, the next larger inductor has a value of 4 microhenrys, with the next larger inductor having a value of 8 microhenrys. In short, the values of the inductance are multiplied by 2 for each step. Note also that the granularity of the tuning is determined by the inductor having the lowest inductance. Thus, when all the inductances are added together to create an acceptable standing wave ratio, the combination of inductances can be tailored in a cut-and-try operation to minimize the standing wave ratio.

[0031] Additionally, a shunt coil is connected between the antenna feed point and ground to match the impedance at the base of the antenna to the output impedance of the transmitter to which the antenna is connected.

[0032] Tuning of the subject antenna is quite easy. The easiest way to tune the antenna is to listen to a receiver coupled to the antenna and to turn the rotary tuning knob until one obtains maximum noise. In one embodiment, a knob push of the tuning knob increases tuning speed, such that the speed with which the relays are changed increases by a factor of 10 when the knob is depressed. Rotation of the knob results in adding or subtracting inductance with each rotary click of the knob. After coarse tuning is achieved, the knob is again pressed such that the tuning control goes to a slow mode. This permits one to transmit and observe the SWR until fine tuning of the inductance to the whip results in a low SWR.

[0033] Once a low SWR is achieved for a given band or a given frequency, in one embodiment, the relay states are set with the touch of a separate button, and a light emitting diode or LED will blink telling the operator that the state of the relays that resulted in the low SWR is stored temporarily in memory. Then, a second knob is turned to the band or frequency to be permanently stored with the related relay states. When the aforementioned LED goes out, the information is transferred from temporary memory to permanent memory at the band position indicated by the second knob. Thereafter, if one wishes to go to the particular frequency or band, one simply rotates the second knob to the position corresponding to that particular band or frequency, and the relays will be set in accordance with the previously memorized states.

[0034] As will be described, mobile antenna matching utilizing selectable series connected inductors is facilitated in a small package, which is both lightweight and inexpensive and which is mountable anywhere on a vehicle with a minimum amount of specialized mounting hardware. In one embodiment, the connector at the base of the inductor housing is a common threaded stud utilized in mounting a large variety of antennas to mobile mounts.

[0035] Referring now to FIG. 3, in one embodiment, a number of series-connected inductors 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, and 56 are serially connected between an input antenna terminal 58 and an output terminal 60 to which a mobile antenna, normally a whip, is mounted. The whip presents an impedance which is generally quite high due to its short length for mobile applications, and the series connected loading coils are interposed between the antenna feed point and the base of the whip to bring down the associated impedance to that which matches the output impedance of the transmitter to which the antenna is coupled. In one embodiment, a series of relays 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, and 82 are shown initially shorting out the associated coils. In order to match the impedance of the shortened antenna to the transmitter output impedance, a microprocessor 84 controls the position of the switches to short associated coils. In one embodiment, antenna matching is accomplished on a cut-and-try ad hoc basis utilizing a digital rotary encoder switch 86, decoded by microprocessor 84, which selectively shorts various of the associated coils. During this process, the standing wave ratio is measured by SWR meter 88 to indicate when in the rotation of the digital rotary encoder switch 86 a minimum SWR has been achieved. When a minimum SWR has been achieved, memory within microprocessor 84 is set as illustrated at 90, which memorizes the relay states as well as the frequency band 92 of the RF driving the antenna.

[0036] Having memorized the frequency or frequency band and the switch states, one can return the relays to the required states for the desired frequency or frequency band.

[0037] It is noted that a shunt coil 94 is utilized to match the tuned antenna to the transmitter output impedance, as is common with screwdriver antennas. Note that there is no specialized impedance transformer at the base of this antenna, with the inductors and the shunt coil 94 providing all of the necessary inductance values for the matching.

[0038] In this embodiment, there are a number of toroids, which are controlled over a multiline cable 96 connected by connector 98 to microprocessor 84. As illustrated, these lines connect to relay actuators 100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, and 120. These drive circuits are isolated from any RF fields due to the capacitor and diode networks coupled to the input to these actuators, as illustrated by capacitor 122, diode 124, and capacitor 126 for actuator 100 and additionally diode 128 and capacitor 130 for actuator 102. While in some cases it is only necessary to provide one relay to short an inductor, in some instances, the voltages at the inductor are relatively large, necessitating series-connected relays. Relays of a common variety can handle 1,000 volts. However, when serially connected, they can handle twice the voltage. Thus, it is not necessary in the high-RF environment of the mobile antenna to utilize exotic reed switches, which are both bulky and expensive, but rather one can utilize standard inexpensive relays, connected in series, to be able to withstand the high voltages at various points in the circuit. Here, the double relay configuration is utilized to short toroidal inductor 52, toroidal inductor 54, and toroidal inductor 56.

[0039] Referring now to FIG. 4, when the mobile antenna of FIG. 2 is driven by a transceiver 130, for instance, set to 14.300 MHz, control head 40, in one embodiment, includes rotary encoder switch 86, which is utilized to set the switch states of the relays of FIG. 3. A button 132 is utilized to memorize the switch states of the relays when the standing rave ratio set by the relays is at an acceptable level. This may be determined by an SWR meter on the transceiver itself or by a separate SWR meter on the control head 40. As mentioned before, the frequency or frequency band is memorized at microprocessor 84. When wishing to return to a given frequency or frequency band, a rotary frequency band switch 86 is utilized to read out the memory corresponding to the frequency band and return the relays to the switch states associated with the frequency in the frequency band. The frequency band selected by switch 86 may be indicated on meter 134 so as to give the radio operator an indication of the frequency band to which the antenna is being tuned. Further, rotary frequency band switch 86 may be replaced by multiple push-button switches.

[0040] Referring now to FIG. 5, the mechanical construction of housing 30 is illustrated. Here, a cylindrical housing 30 houses a central vertically upstanding nonconductive rod 140, which is attached to a threaded stud (not shown) and a top whip connector (not shown). Affixed to this central rod 140 is a circuit board 142 on which are mounted coils 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, and 56. The shorted or open state of each of these coils is controlled by relays 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, and 82.

[0041] In operation, relay 62 is connected to short coil 42 utilizing circuit board traces 63 and 65, whereas relay 64 shorts out coil 44 utilizing traces 65 and 67. Relay 66 shorts out coil 46 utilizing traces 67 and 69, and relay 68 shorts out coil 48 utilizing traces 69 and 71. Relay 70 shorts out coil 50 utilizing trace 71 and trace 73. Relays 72 and 74 are serially connected together such that in series they short coil 52 utilizing traces 73 and 75. Relays 76 and 78 are serially connected together and short out coil 54 utilizing traces 75 and 77, whereas relays 80 and 82 are serially connected together and are used to short out coil 56 utilizing traces 77 and 79. The relays can be any relays capable of handling the required voltage and current and can be single relays not in series.

[0042] It will be noted that coils 46 and 50 are preferably air wound, whereas the remainder of the coils 42, 44, 48, 52, 54, and 56 are toroidal coils used to prevent interference and crosstalk. The air wound coils 46 and 50 are located sufficiently far apart to eliminate crosstalk and are used for their low inductance values and because they are much more efficient. However, the majority of the coils are toroidal coils, used to eliminate crosstalk, keep the coil sizes small, and increase the stability of antenna operation. Also, mounted outside the inductor housing is shunt coil 94, as illustrated. It will be appreciated that all of the coils 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, and 56, both toroidal or air wound, as well as the relays 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, and 82, are housed within housing 30 and are mounted to the aforementioned central shaft 140.

[0043] In one embodiment, the inductances of the 8 coils 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, and 56 are given by the following table:

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE I L1 0.070 H L2 0.140 H L3 0.281 H L4 0.562 H L5 1.125 H L6 2.25 H L7 4.5 H L8 9 H

[0044] Note that the order of the mounting of the coils 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, and 56 on the circuit board 142 does not necessarily reflect the binary series of inductance values, and their location is dictated by non-interference considerations and mechanical mounting convenience.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 6, a detailed schematic diagram illustrates the transistorized switching circuits utilized to control the aforementioned relays 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, and 82, as well as a mechanical rotary switch 220 utilized to initially manually set the relays 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, and 82. Also shown is a meter utilized in indicating the frequency band to which the autotune antenna is set.

[0046] In this figure, microprocessor 84 is utilized to actuate relay drive circuits 200, each of which are composed of a sense transistor 202 connected to the base of a high-power switching transistor 204 such that upon application of a drive signal over line 208 to the base of transistor 202, current through this transistor 202 brings down the voltage at the base of transistor 204 to turn transistor 204 on. The emitter of transistor 204 is connected to the B+, in one embodiment, 12 V, such that when transistor 204 is turned on, this voltage is applied from the collector of transistor 204 to the associated relay drive as illustrated at 208. Note that a capacitor 210 runs from B+ to ground, whereas a capacitor 212 runs from the collector of transistor 204 to ground for filtering out stray RF.

[0047] It will be noted that pin 14 of microprocessor 84 provides a voltage to the base of transistor 202, with pins 11 and 12 controlling the bases of the transistors corresponding to relays K2 and K3. Control for the bases of transistors labeled K4-K9 are available from output pins 24-28 of microprocessor 84 to control the associated relays.

[0048] It will be appreciated that microprocessor 84 is utilized to actuate the relays associated with inductors L1-L8 under the control of a rotary switch generally indicated at 220. With each rotation of the rotary digital encoder switch 220, for instance, clockwise, switch 222 is closed, and microprocessor 84 is utilized to sequentially actuate the associated relays in an up direction, whereas when rotary digital encoder switch 220 is rotated, for instance, counterclockwise, switch 224 is closed, and the relays are actuated in the down direction. The direction which the microprocessor 84 is instructed to go in the sequencing of the relay states is dependent upon the clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of the rotary digital encoder switch 220. The speed by which the microprocessor 84 moves upwardly or downwardly through the relay states can be increased by the closing of switch 226 such that when the switch 226 is closed as, for instance, by the depression of a button on the front panel of the controller, the relay states are rapidly cycled, whereas when the switch 226 is not depressed, the relay states are changed in a relatively slow fashion.

[0049] As mentioned before, when the standing wave ratio is indicated as being within an acceptable range, the relay states are stored in the microprocessor 84 in accordance with the memory set by a second rotary switch 240, which establishes the band of interest. With the depression of a switch here illustrated at 230, the switch states of the relays for the selected band of interest are memorized, with the depression of switch 230 resulting in a signal being applied to input pin 3 of microprocessor 84 to save the particular relay states in the designated band memory when switch 230 is closed.

[0050] In one embodiment, the band of the saved relay states is indicated by analog meter 234 so that the particular band being tuned is readily observable by the radio operator. Additionally, an LED 236 is actuated when the save button is pressed which is activated by a signal at terminal 15 to indicate that a particular relay state has been saved in a designated band.

[0051] In operation, the frequency band associated with the rotary encoder band switch is decoded by the associated switch position of switch 240, which taps a particular voltage from a resistor string composed of resistors 242, 244, 246, 248, and 250, with the resistors having the resistance values illustrated. These resistor values correspond to 6 memory locations corresponding to 6 bands. This type of rotary band encoder decoding system requires only one lead from switch 240 to the microprocessor 84, with the voltage on the lead determining which band is being tuned. Thus, the rotary switch band encoder positions are converted into voltages to define a frequency band that relates to corresponding relay states. While there are only 6 positions illustrated, the number can be doubled so as to accommodate additional memory locations corresponding to more frequency bands.

[0052] Having selected the particular band for which the antenna is to be tuned, rotation of digital rotary encoder switch 220 provides for changing of relay states until such time as a suitable standing wave ratio is achieved. When this standing wave ratio has been achieved, pressing of switch 230 results in the saving of the relay switch states into the band designated by rotary encoder switch 240.

[0053] It will be appreciated that with 8 possibilities for the switching states associated with the operation of digital rotary encoder switch 220, the amount of inductance inserted between the antenna feed point and the antenna whip has 2.sup.8 (or 256) possible values, with the smallest increment being that associated with the smallest value of inductance for a coil, in this case 0.070 H. This gives a sufficient inductance range for a wide variety of operating conditions for whips, for instance, between 5 and 10 feet in length, with the fine-tuning granularity being provided by the coil having the least inductance. When more inductance may be required, for instance, for extending the operation from 40 m to 80 m, additional coils may be added in series.

[0054] While the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications or additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function of the present invention without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the recitation of the appended Claims.