Abstract
A wireless device includes at least one radiating system having a redundancy system and a combining system. The redundancy system includes two or more radiation boosters. The radiating system is characterized by its simplicity that facilitates its integration within the wireless device and achieves enhanced radio-electric performance in at least one frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum, which may include multiple wireless services. The combining system enables a substantially balanced power distribution among the radiation boosters of the redundancy system, and the radiating system provides an increased robustness to human loading effects in at least one frequency region of operation.
Claims
1. A wireless device comprising: a radiating system included within the wireless device and configured to operate in a frequency region, the radiating system comprising: an external port; a redundancy system comprising: first and second radiation boosters each having a resonant frequency above a highest frequency of the frequency region, the first and second radiation boosters being substantially non-radiating for frequencies within the frequency region and being configured to contribute to the operation of the radiating system in the frequency region; a first internal port coupled to the first radiation booster, the first radiation booster featuring at the first internal port a first input impedance having a reactive component within the frequency region; a second internal port coupled to the second radiation booster, the second radiation booster featuring at the second internal port a second input impedance having a reactive component within the frequency region; and a ground plane layer; and a combining system comprising: a first port connected to the first internal port of the redundancy system; a second port connected to the second internal port of the redundancy system; a third port connected to the external port of the radiating system; a first reactance cancellation element connected to the first port and configured to provide an impedance having an imaginary part substantially close to zero for a frequency within the frequency region; a second reactance cancellation element connected to the second port and configured to provide an impedance having an imaginary part substantially close to zero for a frequency within the frequency region; a first delay module configured to transform the first input impedance into a first impedance within the frequency region; and a second delay module configured to transform the second input impedance into a second impedance within the frequency region, the combining system combining the first and second input impedances into a combined impedance at the external port to produce a substantially balanced power distribution between the first and second radiation boosters, wherein the first impedance is out-of-phase with the second impedance by between 45 and 315 and an average resistance of the first impedance differs from an average resistance of the second impedance by less than 30%.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the combining system further comprises a fine tuning circuit connected to the external port of the radiating system.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first radiation booster and the second radiation booster protrude beyond the ground plane layer.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein each of the first and second radiation boosters is located at a distance from a short edge of the ground plane layer that is less than 5% of the free-space wavelength corresponding to the lowest frequency of the frequency region.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first and second radiation boosters are located in opposite corners of a short edge of the ground plane layer.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein each of the first and second radiation boosters features a polyhedral shape comprising six faces.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) Embodiments of the invention are shown in the enclosed figures.
(2) FIG. 1 shows a radiating structure of a typical wireless hand-held or portable device.
(3) FIG. 2A shows an example of a wireless device including one radiating system according to the present invention.
(4) FIG. 2B shows an example of a wireless device including one radiating system according to the present invention.
(5) FIG. 3A shows a block diagram representation of a radiating system according to the present invention suitable for operation in one frequency region.
(6) FIG. 3B shows a schematic representation of a radiating system comprising radiation boosters suitable for operation in one frequency region.
(7) FIG. 4A shows a block diagram representation of a radiating system according to the present invention suitable for operation in two frequency regions.
(8) FIG. 4B shows a schematic representation of a radiating system according to the present invention suitable for operation in two frequency regions.
(9) FIG. 5 shows a block diagram representation of a radiating system according to the present invention suitable for operation in at least three or more frequency regions.
(10) FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic representation of a radiating system according to the invention.
(11) FIG. 7A shows a Smith chart illustrating in-phase impedances for an embodiment of the invention.
(12) FIG. 7B shows a Smith chart illustrating out-of-phase impedances for an embodiment of the invention.
(13) FIG. 8A shows a first schematic representation of a combining system used in a radiating system of the present invention; the combining system is for a redundancy system including two radiation boosters.
(14) FIG. 8B shows a second schematic representation of a combining system used in a radiating system of the present invention; the combining system is for a redundancy system including two radiation boosters.
(15) FIG. 8C shows a third schematic representation of a combining system used in a radiating system of the present invention; the combining system is for a redundancy system including two radiation boosters.
(16) FIG. 9A shows a partial perspective view for an example of a redundancy system for a radiating system, the redundancy system including a first and a second radiation booster, each one comprising a conductive part.
(17) FIG. 9B is similar to FIG. 9A, but showing the redundancy system from a different perspective as compared to FIG. 9A.
(18) FIG. 10 shows an example of two redundancy systems for two radiating systems, the first redundancy system including two radiation boosters, the second redundancy system including two radiation boosters, and each radiation booster comprising a conductive part.
(19) FIG. 11 shows a schematic representation of an in-phase combining system for a radiating system whose redundancy system is shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B.
(20) FIG. 12A illustrates the input impedance at the first internal port and at the second internal port of the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B when disconnected from the in-phase combining system of FIG. 11.
(21) FIG. 12B illustrates the typical impedance transformation caused by the in-phase combining system illustrated in FIG. 11 on the input impedance of the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B; the input impedance is illustrated after the connection of a reactance cancellation element to each internal port of the two radiation boosters.
(22) FIG. 12C illustrates the typical impedance transformation caused by the in-phase combining system illustrated in FIG. 11 on the input impedance of the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B; the input impedance is illustrated after the connection of a delay module to each reactance cancellation element.
(23) FIG. 12D illustrates the typical impedance transformation caused by the in-phase combining system illustrated in FIG. 11 on the input impedance of the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B; the input impedance is illustrated after the connection of a broadband matching circuit to the delay module.
(24) FIG. 12E illustrates the typical impedance transformation caused by the in-phase combining system illustrated in FIG. 11 on the input impedance of the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B; the input impedance is illustrated after the connection of a fine tuning circuit to the broadband matching circuit, being the input impedance measured at the external port of the radiating system.
(25) FIG. 12F illustrates the reflection coefficient measured at the external port of the radiating system resulting from the interconnection of the in-phase combining system of FIG. 11 to the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B.
(26) FIG. 13 shows a schematic representation of an out-of-phase combining system for a radiating system whose redundancy system is illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B.
(27) FIG. 14A illustrates the input impedance at the first internal port and the second internal port of the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B when disconnected from the out-of-phase combining system of FIG. 13.
(28) FIG. 14B illustrates the typical impedance transformation caused by the out-of-phase combining system illustrated in FIG. 13 on the input impedance of the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B; the input impedance is illustrated after the connection of a reactance cancellation element to each internal port of the two radiation boosters.
(29) FIG. 14C illustrates the typical impedance transformation caused by the out-of-phase combining system illustrated in FIG. 13 on the input impedance of the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B; the input impedance is illustrated after the connection of a delay module to each reactance cancellation element.
(30) FIG. 14D illustrates the typical impedance transformation caused by the out-of-phase combining system illustrated in FIG. 13 on the input impedance of the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B; the input impedance is illustrated after the connection of a fine tuning circuit to the delay module, being the input impedance measured at the external port of the radiating system.
(31) FIG. 15 illustrates the reflection coefficient measured at the external port of the radiating system resulting from the interconnection of the out-of-phase combining system of FIG. 13 to the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B.
(32) FIG. 16A shows a planar view of a prior-art radiating structure for a radiating system; the radiating structure having a single radiation booster.
(33) FIG. 16B shows a schematic representation of a radiofrequency system for the radiating structure illustrated in FIG. 16A.
(34) FIG. 17 illustrates the impact on the reflection coefficient of the human loading effects for the radiating system resulting from the interconnection of the in-phase combining system of FIG. 11 to the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B, and for the prior-art radiating system of FIGS. 16A and 16B. The reflection coefficient is measured at the external port of the radiating system in free-space and in the presence of human loading effect.
(35) FIG. 18 illustrates the impact on the efficiency of the human loading effects for the radiating system resulting from the interconnection of the in-phase combining system of FIG. 11 to the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B, and for the prior-art radiating system of FIGS. 16A and 16B. The efficiency is measured at the external port of the radiating system in free-space and in the presence of human loading effect.
(36) FIG. 19 illustrates the effect on the efficiency of a substantially balanced power distribution enabled by the in-phase combining system of FIG. 11.
(37) FIG. 20 illustrates another embodiment of a redundancy system representative of a laptop computer.
(38) FIG. 21 illustrates another embodiment of a redundancy system representative of a tablet device.
(39) FIGS. 22A-22D illustrate further embodiments for redundancy systems according to the invention.
(40) FIG. 23 illustrates an example of a delay module comprising a transmission line and lumped components (inductors and capacitors).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(41) Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent in view of the detailed description of some preferred embodiments which follows. Said detailed description of some preferred embodiments of the invention is given for purposes of illustration only and in no way is meant as a definition of the limits of the invention, made with reference to the accompanying figures.
(42) A prior-art radiating system for a wireless device typically includes a radiating structure comprising an antenna element which operates in combination with a ground plane layer providing a determined radio-electric performance in one or more frequency regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. FIG. 1 shows a prior-art radiating structure 10 comprising an antenna element 11 and a ground plane layer 12. Typically, the antenna element has a dimension close to an integer multiple of a quarter of the wavelength at a frequency of operation of the radiating structure, so that the antenna element is resonant at said frequency and a radiation mode is excited on said antenna element.
(43) Furthermore, the prior-art radiating structure characterized by a resonant antenna element is typically sensitive to external effects (such as for instance the presence of plastic or dielectric covers that surround the wireless device), to components of the wireless device (such as for instance, but not limited to, a speaker, a microphone, a connector, a display, a shield can, a vibrating module, a battery, or an electronic module or subsystem) placed either in the vicinity of, or even underneath, the antenna element, and/or to the presence of the user of the wireless device.
(44) Any of the above mentioned aspects may alter the current distribution and/or the electromagnetic field distribution of a radiation mode of the antenna element, which usually translates into detuning effects, degradation of the radio-electric performance of the radiating structure and/or the radio-electric performance wireless device, and/or greater interaction with the user (such as an increased level of SAR).
(45) FIG. 2A shows an illustrative example of a wireless device 200 configured to operate in one frequency region according to the present invention. In FIG. 2A, there is shown an exploded perspective view of the wireless device 200 comprising a redundancy system that includes a first radiation booster 251a, a second radiation booster 251b and a ground plane layer 252 (which could be included in a layer of a multilayer PCB). The wireless device 200 also comprises a combining system 253, which is interconnected to said redundancy system.
(46) FIG. 2B shows an illustrative example of a wireless device 201 configured to operate in one frequency region according to the present invention. In FIG. 2B, there is shown an exploded perspective view of the wireless device 201 comprising a redundancy system that includes a first radiation booster 271a, a second radiation booster 271b and a ground plane layer 272 (which could be included in a layer of a multilayer PCB). The wireless device 200 also comprises a combining system 273, which is interconnected to said redundancy system.
(47) FIG. 3A illustrates a block diagram representation of a radiating system for a wireless device according to the present invention. The radiating system 301a is configured to operate in one frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The radiating system 301a comprises a redundancy system 302a, a combining system 303a, and an external port 304a. The combining system is interconnected between the redundancy system and the external port.
(48) FIG. 3B shows a schematic representation of a radiating system for a wireless device according to the invention. The radiating system is configured to operate in one frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In particular, the radiating system 320b comprises a redundancy system 312b, a combining system 330b, and an external port 321b. The redundancy system 312b comprises a ground plane layer 305b, said ground plane layer including a connection point 308b and two radiation boosters: a first radiation booster 301b, which includes a connection point 303b, and a second radiation booster 302b, which includes a connection point 304b. The redundancy system 312b further comprises a first internal port 306b defined between the connection point of the first radiation booster 303b and the connection point of the ground plane layer 308b; and a second internal port 307b defined between a connection point of the second radiation booster 304b and the same connection point of the ground plane layer 308b. In this particular example, the internal ports are defined between the connection points of each one of the radiation boosters and the connection point of the ground plane layer. However, in a preferred embodiment two different connection points of the ground plane layer can be used to define the two internal ports of the redundancy system, that is a first internal port is preferably defined between a first connection point of a first radiation booster and a first connection point of the ground plane layer and the second internal port is preferably defined between a second connection point of a second radiation booster and a second connection point of the ground plane layer. Furthermore, the combining system 330b comprises three ports: a first port 332b is connected to the first internal port of the redundancy system 306b, a second port 333b is connected to the second internal port of the redundancy system 307b; and a third port 331b is connected to the external port of the radiating system 321b. That is, the combining system 330b comprises a port connected to each of the at least one internal ports of the redundancy system 312b, and a port connected to the external port of the radiating system 321b.
(49) FIG. 4A illustrates a block diagram representation of two radiating systems for a wireless device according to the present invention. The first radiating system 401a is configured to operate in a first frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the second radiating system 404a is configured to operate in second frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum, wherein preferably the first frequency region and the second frequency region are non-overlapped frequency regions. The first radiating system 401a comprises a redundancy system 402a, a combining system 403a, and an external port 407a. The combining system 403a is interconnected between the redundancy system 402a and the external port 407a. The second radiating system 404a comprises a redundancy system 405a, a combining system 406a, and an external port 408a. The combining system 406a is interconnected between the redundancy system 405a and the external port 408a. A multiplexing system 409a is interconnected to the external port 407a of the first radiating system 401a, the external port of 408a of the second radiating system 404a and an external port 410a. However, in other embodiments the first and second radiating systems are not interconnected to the multiplexing system, that is, the wireless device does not require the multiplexing system interconnecting the first and the second radiating system, and the external port.
(50) FIG. 4B shows a schematic representation of two radiating systems for a wireless device according to the invention. The first radiating system 400b is used for providing operation in a first frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the second radiating system 460b is used to provide operation in second frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum, wherein preferably the first frequency region and the second frequency region are non-overlapped frequency regions. In particular, the first radiating system 400b comprises a redundancy system 412b, a combining system 430b, and an external port 491b. The redundancy system 412b comprises a ground plane layer 405b, said ground plane layer including a connection point 408b and two radiation boosters: a first radiation booster 401b, which includes a connection point 403b, and a second radiation booster 402b, which includes a connection point 404b. The redundancy system 412b further comprises a first internal port 406b defined between the connection point of the first radiation booster 403b and the connection point of the ground plane layer 408a; and a second internal port 407b defined between a connection point of the second radiation booster 404b and the a connection point of the ground plane layer 408b. Furthermore, the combining system 430b comprises three ports: a first port 432b is connected to the first internal port of the redundancy system 406b, a second port 433b is connected to the second internal port of the redundancy system 407b; and a third port 493b is connected to the external port of the first radiating system 491b. That is, the combining system 430b comprises a port connected to each of the at least one internal ports of the redundancy system 412b, and a port connected to the external port of the first radiating system 491b. In particular, the second radiating system 460b system comprises a redundancy system 452b, a combining system 470b, and an external port 492b. The redundancy system comprises a first radiation booster 441b, a second radiation booster 442b, and a ground plane layer 405b. In a similar manner as explained above for the first radiating system, a first internal port 446b is defined between a connection point of the first radiation booster 443b and a connection point of the ground plane layer 408b; and a second internal port 447b is defined between a connection point of the second radiation booster 444b and a connection point of the ground plane layer 408b. The first internal port 446b is connected to a first port of the combining system 472b, the second internal port is 447b is connected to a second port of the combining system 473b, and a third port of the combining system 494b is connected to the external port of the second radiating system 492b. In this particular example, the internal ports are defined between the connection points of each one of the radiation boosters and the connection point of the ground plane layer. It is important to emphasize that just for the sake of simplicity a single connection point of the ground plane layer is depicted. However, according to the present invention the ground plane layer can present two or more connection points each one of them defining together with a connection point of a radiation booster an internal port of the redundancy system. The external port 491b of the first radiating system 400b, the external port 492b of the second radiating system 460b and an external port 421b are connected to a multiplexing system 490b. However, in other embodiments the first and second radiating systems are not interconnected to the multiplexing system, that is, the wireless device does not require the external port 421b and the multiplexing system interconnecting the first radiating system, the second radiating system, and the external port. Furthermore, in some cases the ground plane layer of the first redundancy system is different than the ground plane layer of the second redundancy system.
(51) FIG. 5 shows a block diagram representation of multiple radiating systems 501a, 511a, 591a for a wireless device operating in multiple frequency regions of the electromagnetic spectrum according to the present invention. Each radiating system is capable of operation in a frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum; wherein preferably the multiple frequency regions are non-overlapped frequency regions. Each radiation system 501a, 511a, 591a comprises a redundancy system 502a, 512a, 592a, a combining system 503a, 513a, 593a and an external port, as described above for the radiating system 301a illustrated in FIG. 3A. Two or more external ports 504a, 514a, 594a of the multiple radiation systems 501a, 511a, 591a and an external port 559a are connected to a multiplexing system 598a. However, in other embodiments the multiple radiating systems are not interconnected to the multiplexing system, that is, the wireless device does not require the external port and the multiplexing system. Furthermore, in some cases two or more multiplexing system may be included in the wireless device. Each multiplexing system interconnected to two or more different external ports of the multiple radiating systems.
(52) In order to illustrate the resulting impedance for an in-phase and out-of-phase feeding schemes, FIG. 6 illustrates another schematic representation of a radiating system 600 for a wireless device according to the invention and FIGS. 7A and 7B respectively illustrate an example of an impedance for in-phase feeding scheme and an example of an impedance for an out-of-phase feeding scheme. The radiating system is capable of operating in a frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The first radiation booster is represented by a block 601; the second radiation booster is represented by a block 602. The combining system is represented by blocks 603, 604, 605, 606, and 607; the first stage being the block 603, the first delay module being the block 605, the second stage being the block 604, the second delay module being the block 606, and the third stage being the block 607. The first radiation booster 601 is connected to the first stage 603 of the combining system, and a first delay module 605 is connected to said first stage. The second radiation booster 602 is connected to a second stage 604 of the combining system, and a second delay module 606 is connected to said second stage of the combining system. A first impedance (Z1) is defined at a port 608 of the first delay module, and the second impedance (Z2) is measured at a port 609 of the second delay module. Thus, the first impedance (Z1) is mainly determined by the first radiation booster 601, the first stage 603 of the combining system and the first delay module 605; the second impedance (Z2) is mainly determined by the second radiation booster 602, the second stage 604 of the combining system and the second delay module 606. The first impedance (Z1) and the second impedance (Z2) are measured when the third stage 607 is not connected to the ports 608 and 609.
(53) In the embodiments for an in-phase feeding scheme, the combining system provides a first impedance (Z1) being in-phase of the second impedance (Z2). FIG. 7A illustrates an example of impedances for an in-phase feeding scheme of a radiating system according to the invention; a first impedance (Z1) 701 and a second impedance (Z2) 704 are represented in the Smith chart. The first impedance (Z1) 701 shows substantially the same phase than the second impedance (Z2) 704 across a frequency region of operation of the radiating system; the frequency region of operation is delimited by the points 702 and 703 for the first impedance, and by the points 705 and 706 for the second impedance. An average of a first refection coefficient has a modulus of 0.28 and a phase of 116 and an average of a second reflection coefficient has a modulus of 0.28 and a phase of 153, being a phase different (absolute value) between the average of the first reflection coefficient and the average of the second reflection coefficient 37. The first reflection coefficient is the reflection coefficient for the first impedance (Z1) 701 and the second reflection coefficient is the reflection coefficient for the second impedance (Z2) 704. Thus, an in-phase difference for the impedances of FIG. 7A is smaller than 45 as required in this document for the first impedance being in-phase of the second impedance.
(54) Furthermore, an average resistance of the first impedance (Z1) 701 is 34 and an average resistance of the second impedance (Z2) 704 is 29. In this case, the combining system is characterized by the average resistance of the first impedance differing from the average resistance of the second impedance by less than 30%.
(55) In the embodiments for an in-phase feeding scheme, the delay modules are selected to minimize the reflection coefficient measured at the external port of the radiating system in the frequency region of operation when both impedances (Z1 and Z2) are combined into a single input/output port. As the first impedance (Z1) is substantially similar to the second impedance (Z2), the combining system for an in-phase feeding scheme ensures a substantially balanced power distribution between the first and the second radiation boosters.
(56) In some embodiments, a radiating system includes a redundancy system comprising three or more radiation boosters and an in-phase combing system; the in-phase combining system including three or more delay modules. In the present document an in-phase combining system refers to a combining system using an in-phase feeding scheme. The in-phase combining system enables in-phase impedances (Zi) at each port of the delay module; each port of the delay module is defined as the ports 608, 609 in FIG. 6 for the embodiment with two delay modules. As in-phase impedances (Zi) are achieved at each port of the delay module, the in-phase combing system enables a substantially balanced power distribution among the radiation boosters of the redundancy system.
(57) In the embodiments for an out-of-phase feeding scheme, the combining system provides a first impedance (Z1) being out-of-phase of a second impedance (Z2). FIG. 7B illustrates an example of impedances for an out-of-phase feeding scheme of a radiating system according to the invention; the first impedance (Z1) 731 and the second impedance (Z2) 730 are represented in the Smith chart.
(58) A frequency region of operation for the first impedance and the second impedance is delimited by the points 732 and 733 for the first impedance (Z1) 731, and by the points 734 and 735 for the second impedance (Z2) 730. An average of a first refection coefficient has a modulus of 0.25 and a phase of 137 and an average of a second reflection coefficient has a modulus of 0.14 and a phase of 110, being a phase different (absolute value) between the average of the first reflection coefficient and the average of the second reflection coefficient 247. The first reflection coefficient is the reflection coefficient for the first impedance (Z1) 731 and the second reflection coefficient is the reflection coefficient for the second impedance (Z2) 730. Thus, an out-of-phase difference for the impedances of FIG. 7B is between 45 and 315 as required in this document for the first impedance being out-of-phase of the second impedance.
(59) Furthermore, an average resistance of the first impedance (Z1) 731 is 42 and an average resistance of the second impedance (Z2) 730 is 37. In this case, the combining system is characterized by the average resistance of the first impedance differing from the average resistance of the second impedance by less than 30%.
(60) In the embodiment for an out-of-phase feeding scheme, the delay modules are selected to minimize the reflection coefficient measured at the external port of the radiating system in the frequency region of operation when both impedances (Z1 and Z2) are combined into a single input/output port, and to guaranty a substantially balanced power distribution between the first and second radiation boosters. As the first impedance (Z1) is out-of-phase of the second impedance (Z2), the combining system guaranties a substantially balanced power distribution between the first and the second radiation boosters.
(61) In some other embodiments, a radiating system includes a redundancy system comprising three or more radiation boosters, and an out-of-phase combining system; the out-of-phase combining system comprising two or more delay modules. In the present document an out-of-phase combining system refers to a combining system using an out-of-phase feeding system. The out-of-phase combining system enables out-of-phase impedances (Zi) at at least two ports of the at least two or more delay modules; a port of the delay module is defined as the ports 608 or 609 are defined in FIG. 6 for the embodiment with two delay modules. As out-of-phase impedances (Zi) are achieved at the at least two ports of the two or more delay modules, the combing system enables a substantially balanced power distribution among the radiation boosters of the redundancy system.
(62) FIGS. 8A-8C respectively show the block diagrams of three preferred examples of combining systems according to the present invention.
(63) In FIG. 8A the combining system 830a comprises a first port 832a connected to a first internal port 806a and a second port 833a connected to a second internal port 807a. The combining system further comprises a third port 831a connected to an external port of a radiating system. The first port 832a is connected to a first reactance cancellation element 834a which is connected to a first delay module 838a. The second port 833a is connected to a second reactance cancellation element 835a which is connected to a second delay module 836a. The first reactance cancellation element is intended for providing resonance in a frequency associated to a frequency region of operation, and the second reactance cancellation element is selected for providing resonance in a frequency allocated in the same frequency region of operation of the electromagnetic spectrum. The combining system 830a further comprises a fine tuning stage 837a interconnected between the first delay module 838a, the second delay module 836a and a third port 831a. In some embodiments, an in-phase feeding scheme is used for the combining system 830a; such combining systems are referred in this document as in-phase combining systems. Furthermore, in some embodiments, an out-of-phase feeding scheme is used for the combining system 830a; such combining system are referred in this document as out-of-phase combining systems.
(64) In some other embodiments, a radiating system comprises a redundancy system including three or more radiation boosters and a combining system; the redundancy system further includes three or more internal ports. The combining system comprises three or more ports, each of such three or more ports being connected to an internal port of the redundancy system, and an additional port connected to an external port of the radiating system. The combining system further comprises three or more reactance cancellation elements, and two or more delay modules; the three or more reactance cancellation elements and the two or more delay modules are connected in a similar way as that shown in FIG. 8A for the embodiment with two radiation boosters including two reactance cancellation elements, and the two delay modules. Each reactance cancellation element is connected to a port of the combining system, and each delay module is connected to a reactance cancellation element as shown in FIG. 8A. The combining system may further comprise a fine tuning stage interconnected with each delay module, with the reactance cancellation elements not connected to a delay module, and with the additional port. In some embodiments, an in-phase feeding scheme is used for the combining system; such combining systems are referred in this document as in-phase combining systems. Furthermore, in some embodiments, an out-of-phase feeding scheme is used for the combining system; such combining system are referred in this document as out-of-phase combining systems.
(65) Referring now to FIG. 8B, the combining system 830b comprises a first port 832b connected to a first internal port 806b, a second port 833b connected to a second internal port 807b, and a third port 831b connected to an external port of a radiating system. The combining system further comprises a first reactance cancellation element 834b connected to the first port 832b; a first broadband matching circuit 839b connected to the first reactance cancellation element; a first delay module 838b connected to the broadband matching circuit 839b; a second reactance cancellation element 850b connected to the second port 833b; a second broadband matching circuit 840b connected to the second reactance cancellation element; a second delay module 836b connected to the second broadband matching circuit. The combining system further comprises a fine tuning circuit 837b interconnected between the first delay module, the second delay module and the third port 831b. In some examples, an in-phase feeding scheme is used for the combining system 830b; while in some other examples an out-of-phase feeding scheme is used for the combining system 830b.
(66) In some other embodiments, a radiating system comprises a redundancy system including three or more radiation boosters and a combining system; the redundancy system further includes three or more internal ports. The combining system comprises three or more ports, each of such three or more ports being connected to an internal port of the redundancy system, and an additional port connected to an external port of the radiating system. The combining system further comprises three or more reactance cancellation elements, three or more broadband matching circuits, and two or more delay modules; the three or more reactance cancellation elements, the three or more broadband matching circuits and the two or more delay modules are connected in a similar way as that shown in FIG. 8B for the two reactance cancellation elements, the two broadband matching circuits and the two delay modules of the embodiment with two radiation boosters. Each reactance cancellation element is connected to a port of the combining system, each broadband matching circuit is connected to a reactance cancellation element and each delay module is connected to a broadband matching circuit as shown in FIG. 8B. The combining system may further comprise a fine tuning stage interconnected with each delay module, with the broadband matching circuits not connected to the delay modules and with the additional port. In some embodiments, an in-phase feeding scheme is used for the combining system; such combining systems are referred in this document as in-phase combining systems. Furthermore, in some embodiments, an out-of-phase feeding scheme is used for the combining system; such combining system are referred in this document as out-of-phase combining systems.
(67) FIG. 8C depicts a further example of a combining system according to the present invention. The combining system 830c comprises a first port 832c connected to a first internal port 806c; a second port 833c connected to a second internal port 807c; and a third port 831c connected to an external port of a radiating system. The combining system 830c further comprises a first reactance cancellation element 839c connected to the first port 832c; a first delay module 838c connected to the reactance cancellation element 839c; a second reactance cancellation element 840c connected to the second port 833c; a second delay module 836c connected to the second reactance cancellation element. The combining system further comprised a broadband matching circuit 837c and a fine tuning circuit 850c; the broadband matching circuit is interconnected to the fine tuning circuit and to the first and second delay modules. In some cases the fine tuning circuit is not required, and the broadband matching is interconnected to the first and second delay modules and to the third port 831c. In some cases, the broadband matching circuit is not required since the combining system without the broadband matching circuit enables compact impedance loops centered in a circle of VSWR4 of the Smith Chart. In some cases, the broadband matching circuit and the fine tuning circuit are not required to achieve compact impedance loops centered in a circle of VSWR4. In some examples, an in-phase feeding scheme is used for the combining system 830c; while in some other examples an out-of-phase feeding scheme is used for the combining system 830c.
(68) In some other embodiments, a radiating system comprises a redundancy system including three or more radiation boosters and a combining system; the redundancy system further includes three or more internal ports. The combining system comprises three or more ports, each of such three or more ports being connected to an internal port of the redundancy system, and an additional port connected to an external port of the radiating system. The combining system further comprises three or more reactance cancellation elements, and two or more delay modules; the three or more reactance cancellation elements and the two or more delay modules are connected in a similar way as that shown in FIG. 8C for the two reactance cancellation elements, and the two delay modules of the embodiment with two radiation boosters. Each reactance cancellation element is connected to a port of the combining system, and each delay module is connected to a reactance cancellation element as shown in FIG. 8C. The combining system may further comprise a broadband matching circuit; the broadband matching circuit interconnected with each delay module, with the reactance cancellation elements not connected to the delay modules, and with the fine tuning stage. In some embodiments, an in-phase feeding scheme is used for the combining system; such combining systems are referred in this document as in-phase combining systems. Furthermore, in some embodiments, an out-of-phase feeding scheme is used for the combining system; such combining system are referred in this document as out-of-phase combining systems.
(69) FIG. 9A shows a preferred example of a redundancy system suitable for a radiating system operating in a frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum between 690 MHz and 960 MHz. In this sense, the redundancy system operates in at least three frequency bands each one associated to a particular communication standard, namely LTE700, GSM850, and GSM900.
(70) The redundancy system 912 comprises a first radiation booster 901, a second radiation booster 902, and a ground plane layer 907. In FIG. 9B, there is shown in a top plan view the ground plane rectangle 950 associated to the ground plane layer 907. In this example, since the ground plane layer 907 has a substantially rectangular shape, its ground plane rectangle 950 is obtained as the rectangular perimeter of said ground plane layer 907.
(71) The ground plane rectangle 950 has a long side of approximately 120 mm and a short side of approximately 50 mm. Therefore, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the ratio between the long side of the ground plane rectangle 950 and the free-space wavelength corresponding to the lowest frequency of the frequency region (i.e., 690 MHz) is advantageously larger than 0.2. Moreover, said ratio is advantageously also smaller than 2.0.
(72) In this example, the first radiation booster 901 and the second radiation booster 902 are of the same type, shape and size. However, in other examples the radiation boosters 901, 902 could be of different types, shapes and/or sizes. Thus, in FIGS. 9A and 9B, each of the first and the second radiation boosters 901, 902 includes a conductive part featuring a polyhedral shape comprising six faces. Moreover, in this case said six faces are substantially square having an edge length of approximately 5 mm, which means that, said conductive part is a cube. In this case, the conductive part of each of the two radiation boosters 901, 902 is not connected to the ground plane layer 907. A first booster box 951 for the first radiation booster 901 coincides with the external area of said first radiation booster 901. Similarly, a second booster box 952 for the second radiation booster 902 coincides with the external area of said second radiation booster 902. In FIG. 9B, it is shown a top plan view of the redundancy system 912, in which the top face of the first booster box 951 and that of the second booster box 952 are observed.
(73) In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a maximum size of the first radiation booster 901 (said maximum size being a largest edge of the first booster box 951) is advantageously smaller than 1/50 times the free-space wavelength corresponding to the lowest frequency of the frequency region of operation of the redundancy system 912, and a maximum size of the second radiation booster 902 (said maximum size being a largest edge of the second booster box 952) is also advantageously smaller than 1/50 times said free-space wavelength. In particular, said maximum sizes of the first and second radiation boosters 901, 902 are also advantageously larger than 1/180 times said free-space wavelength.
(74) In FIGS. 9A and 9B, the first and second radiation boosters 901, 902 are arranged with respect to the ground plane layer 907 so that the upper and bottom faces of the first radiation booster 901 and the upper and bottom faces of the second radiation booster 902 are substantially parallel to the ground plane layer 907. Moreover, the bottom face of the first radiation booster 901 is advantageously coplanar to the bottom face of the second radiation booster 902, and the bottom faces of both radiation boosters 901, 902 are also advantageously coplanar to the ground plane layer 907. With such an arrangement, the height of the radiation boosters 901, 902 with respect to the ground plane layer is not larger than 2% of the free-space wavelength corresponding to the lowest frequency of the frequency region.
(75) In the redundancy system 912, the first radiation booster 901 and the second radiation booster 902 protrude beyond the ground plane layer 907, so that the orthogonal projection of the first 901 and second radiation boosters 902 on the plane containing the ground plane layer 907 is outside the ground plane rectangle 950. The first radiation booster 901 is located substantially close to a first corner of the ground plane layer 907, while the second radiation booster 902 is located substantially close to a second corner of said ground plane layer 907. In particular, said first and second corners are at opposite ends of a short edge of the substantially rectangular ground plane layer 907.
(76) The first radiation booster 901 comprises a connection point 903 located on the bottom face of the first radiation booster 901. In turn, the ground plane layer 907 also comprises a first connection point 904 substantially on a corner of the ground plane layer 907. A first internal port of the redundancy system 912 is defined between said connection point 903 and said first connection point 904. Furthermore, the second radiation booster 902 comprises a connection point 905 located on the bottom face of the second radiation booster 902, and the ground plane layer 907 also comprises a second connection point 906 substantially on another corner of the ground plane layer 907. A second internal port of the redundancy system 912 is defined between said connection point 905 and said second connection point 906.
(77) Due to the dimensions of the first and second radiation boosters 901, 902, the redundancy system 912 features at each internal port, when disconnected from the combining system, a first resonant frequency located above (i.e., higher than) the frequency region of operation of the radiating system. In this case, the ratio between the first resonant frequency of the redundancy system 912 at each internal port (when disconnected from the combining system) and the highest frequency of the frequency region of operation is advantageously larger than 4.
(78) Being the first 901 and second radiation boosters 902 so small, and with the redundancy system including said first and second radiation boosters operating in a frequency much lower than the first resonant frequency at each internal port associated to each radiation booster, the input impedance of the redundancy system 912 (measured at each internal port when the combining system is disconnected) features an important reactive component within the range of frequencies of the frequency region of operation.
(79) Furthermore, the embodiment of FIGS. 9A and 9B is also suitable for a radiating system operating in a frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum between 1710 MHz and 2690 MHz. In this sense, the redundancy system operates in at least six frequency bands each one associated to a particular communication standard, namely GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS, LTE2100, LTE2300, and LTE2500 or CDMA1800, CDMA1900, UMTS, LTE2100, LTE2300 and LTE2500.
(80) In the embodiment associated to the 1710 MHz-2690 MHz frequency region, the first and second radiation boosters have each a maximum size smaller than 1/20 times the free-space wavelength corresponding to the lowest frequency of such frequency region of operation of the redundancy system 912, but advantageously larger than 1/120 times said free-space wavelength. Furthermore, the first resonance frequency at each of the first and second internal ports of the redundancy system 912 when disconnected from the combining system is also at a frequency much higher than the frequencies of the frequency region between 1710 MHz and 2690 MHz, that is, an input impedance at each of the internal ports of the redundancy system when disconnected from the combining system is non-resonant across the frequency region between 1710 MHz and 2690 MHz.
(81) FIG. 10 shows a preferred embodiment of two redundancy systems for two radiating systems of a wireless device according to the present invention. Each redundancy system is capable of operating in a frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In the embodiment 1000, if the first redundancy system 1014 provides operation in a first frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum, the second redundancy system 1015 provides operation in a second frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum; and if the first redundancy system 1014 provides operation in the second frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum, the second redundancy system 1015 provides operation in the first frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The first frequency region is located between 690 MHz and 960 MHz, and the second frequency region is located between 1710 MHz and 2690 MHz. In this sense, the embodiment 1000 is suitable for operating in at least nine frequency bands each one associated to a particular communication standard, namely LTE700, GSM850, WCDMA850, GSM900, WCDMA900, WCDMA1700, GSM1800, WCDMA1900, GSM1900, UMTS, LTE2100, LTE2300, and LTE2500.
(82) The embodiment 1000 comprises two redundancy systems; a first redundancy system 1014 and a second redundancy system 1015. The first redundancy system comprises two radiation boosters 1001 and 1002, and the second redundancy system comprises two radiation boosters 1003 and 1004. The four radiation boosters are located on a substantially rectangular ground plane layer 1005. The radiation boosters 1001, 1002, 1003, and 1004 include a conductive part featuring a polyhedral shape comprising six faces. This example is based on FIGS. 9A and 9B, further including a replica of the first and second radiation boosters 901 and 902 at a different edge of the ground plane layer.
(83) In the case of the first redundancy system 1014, the first radiation booster 1001 comprises a connection point 1006, and the ground plane layer 1005 comprises a first connection point 1007 substantially on a corner of the ground plane layer. A first internal port of the first redundancy system 1014 is defined between said connection point 1006 and said first connection point 1007. Furthermore, the second radiation booster 1002 comprises a connection point 1008, and the ground plane layer 1005 comprises a second connection point 1009 substantially on another corner of the ground plane layer 1005. A second internal port of the first redundancy system 1014 is defined between said connection point 1008 and said second connection point 1009. Each internal port of the first redundancy system 1014 is connected to a port of a combining system; the first internal port defined by the connection points 1006 and 1007 is connected to a port of the combining system, and the second internal port defined by the connection points 1008 and 1009 is connected to another port of the combining system.
(84) In the case of the second redundancy system 1015, a first radiation booster 1003 comprises a connection point 1012, and the ground plane layer 1005 comprises a first connection point 1013 substantially on a corner of the ground plane layer 1005. A first internal port of the second redundancy system 1015 is defined between said connection point 1012 and said first connection point 1013. Furthermore, the second radiation booster 1004 comprises a connection point 1010, and the ground plane layer 1005 comprises a second connection point 1011 substantially on another corner of the ground plane layer 1005. A second internal port of the second redundancy system 1015 is defined between said connection point 1010 and said second connection point 1011. Each internal port of the second redundancy system 1015 is connected to a port of a combining system; the first internal port defined by the connection points 1012 and 1013 is connected to a port of the combining system, and the second internal port defined by the connection points 1010 and 1011 is connected to another port of the combining system.
(85) FIG. 11 shows a schematic representation of an in-phase combining system 1150 connected to the two internal ports 1102, 1103 of the redundancy system 1101. Furthermore, said in-phase combining system may be also connected to the two internal ports of the redundancy system 912, or the two internal ports of the first redundancy system 1014, or to the two internal ports of the second redundancy system 1015, or other redundancy system comprising two internal ports. The combining system comprises two ports 1112, 1113 connected respectively to the first 1002 and second internal ports 1003 of the redundancy system 1101, and a third port 1130 connected to an external port of the radiating system. The combining system also comprises a first reactance cancellation element 1131 connected to the port 1112, a second reactance cancellation element 1132 connected to the port 1113, a first delay module 1133 connected to the first reactance cancellation element, a second delay module 1134 connected to the second reactance cancellation element, a broadband matching circuit 1135 connected to the first and second delay modules, and a fine tuning stage 1136 interconnected between the broadband matching circuit and the external port of the radiating system. The reactance cancellation element comprises a series inductor; the delay module comprises a transmission line; the broadband matching circuit comprises a Pi-shaped matching network formed by a parallel inductor and a parallel capacitor; the fine tuning stage comprises and L-shaped matching network formed by a series inductor and a parallel capacitor.
(86) The in-phase combining system transforms the input impedance of the redundancy system 1101, providing impedance matching to the radiating system in the frequency region of operation. In order to show the impedance transformation provided by the in-phase combining system of FIG. 11 to the redundancy system 1101, FIGS. 12A to 12E represent the impedance transformation step by step. FIG. 12A illustrates a Smith chart representation for the input impedance at the first internal port and the second internal port of the redundancy system when it is disconnected from the in-phase combing system of FIG. 11. In this representation, the redundancy system 1101 corresponds to the redundancy system 912 of FIGS. 9A and 9B. Curve 1200 represents the input impedance at the first internal port 1102 of the redundancy system 1101, point 1201 corresponds to the input impedance at the lowest frequency of the frequency region of operation, and point 1202 corresponds to the input impedance at the highest frequency of the frequency region of operation. Curve 1203 represents the input impedance at the second internal port of the redundancy system 1101, point 1204 corresponds to the input impedance at the lowest frequency of the frequency region of operation, and point 1205 corresponds to the input impedance at the highest frequency of the frequency region of operation. As curves 1200 and 1203 are located on the lower half of the Smith chart, the input impedance at the first and second internal ports of the redundancy system has a capacitive component (i.e., the imaginary part of the input impedance is negative) for the frequencies of the frequency region of operation (i.e., between point 1201-1202 and between points 1204-1205). In this case, the input impedance associated to the first and second internal ports within the frequency region of operation are substantially similar. According to the present invention, the input impedance at the internal ports of the redundancy system may be different, such as for example, if different radiation boosters are used to excite the ground plane radiation mode.
(87) FIG. 12B illustrates the impedance 1220 measured after the addition of a first reactance cancellation element 1131 to the port 1112 of the combining system when no delay modules, no broadband matching circuit and no tuning circuit are connected. As a result of the first reactance cancellation element, the input impedance 1220 has an imaginary part substantially close to zero in the frequency region of operation. The impedance 1220 crosses the horizontal axis of the Smith Chart at a point 1227 located between point 1221 and point 1222, which means that the impedance 1220 has an imaginary part equal to zero for a frequency advantageously between the lowest 1221 and highest 1222 frequencies of the frequency region of operation. The impedance after the addition of the first reactance cancellation element 1131 shows a resonance at a frequency located within the frequency region of operation. FIG. 12B also illustrates the impedance 1223 measured after the addition of a second reactance cancellation element 1132 to the port 1113 of the combining system when no delay modules, no broadband matching circuit and no tuning circuit are connected. As a result of the second reactance cancellation element, the input impedance 1223 has an imaginary part substantially close to zero in the frequency region of operation. The impedance 1223 crosses the horizontal axis of the Smith Chart at a point 1226 located between point 1224 and point 1225, which means that the impedance 1223 has an imaginary part equal to zero for a frequency advantageously between the lowest 1224 and highest 1225 frequencies of the frequency region of operation. The impedance after the addition of the second reactance cancellation element 1132 shows a resonance behavior at a frequency allocated within the frequency region of operation.
(88) FIG. 12C illustrates the first impedance 1240 measured after the connection of the first delay module 1133 to the first reactance cancellation element 1131 when no broadband matching circuit and no tuning circuit are connected. The first delay module enables the apparition of a first impedance loop 1240 at the frequency region of operation; points 1241 and 1242 stand respectively for the lowest and highest frequencies of the frequency region of operation. FIG. 12C also illustrates the second impedance 1243 measured after the connection of the second delay module 1134 to the second reactance cancellation element 1132 when no broadband matching circuit and no tuning circuit are connected. The second delay module enables the apparition of a second impedance loop 1243 at the frequency region of operation; points 1244 and 1245 stand respectively for the lowest and highest frequencies of the frequency region of operation. According to the first impedance 1240 and the second impedance 1243 plotted in FIG. 12C, an in-phase feeding scheme is used by the combining system of FIG. 11. The phase of the first impedance 1240 measured after the first delay module is in-phase of the second impedance 1243 measured after the second delay module; the in-phase difference (absolute value) is 1.3 that is smaller than 45.
(89) In this embodiment, an average resistance of the first impedance 1240 differs from an average resistance of the second impedance 1243 by 2.9%; being such difference smaller than 30%.
(90) The first delay means comprises a transmission line featuring a characteristic impedance of 50 ohms, and the second delay means also comprises a transmission line featuring a characteristic impedance of 50 ohms. The length of the transmission lines is configured to ensure that the first impedance 1240 is in-phase with the second impedance 1243.
(91) FIG. 12D illustrates the impedance 1260 after the addition of the broadband matching circuit 1135 when no fine tuning circuit is connected; at this stage the first impedance 1240 and the second impedance 1243 impedance are combined into a single port. The broadband matching circuit enables a more compact impedance loop 1260 than the impedance loops 1240 and 1243 in FIG. 12C. Points 1261 and 1262 stand respectively for the lowest and highest frequencies of the frequency region of operation.
(92) Finally, FIG. 12E illustrates the impedance 1280 after the addition of the fine tuning circuit 1136; such impedance 1280 is measured at the external port of the radiating system. The fine tuning stage 1136 places the impedance loop 1280 at the center of the Smith chart inscribed in a circle of VSWR3, referred to a reference impedance of 50 Ohms. Points 1281 and 1282 stand respectively for the lowest and highest frequencies of the frequency region of operation.
(93) The frequency response of the radiating system resulting from the interconnection of the combining system of FIG. 11 to the redundancy system of FIGS. 9A and 9B is shown in FIG. 12F. The curve 1290 represents the reflection coefficient measured at the external port of the radiating system. The reflection coefficient 1290 is below 6 dB in the frequency region of operation; the frequency region of operation being delimited by the points 1291 and 1292. The radiating system is configured to operate in a frequency region between 690 MHz and 960 MHz, which is delimited in the FIG. 12F by a reference line at 6 dB; the point 1291 corresponds to the lowest frequency and the point 1292 corresponds to the highest frequency with a reflection coefficient below 6 dB. The radiating system is suitable for operating in the cellular communication standards LTE700, GSM850 and GSM900. In this sense, such radiating system operates in at least three frequency bands allocated in the frequency region of operation; being the first frequency band between 690-787 MHz, the second frequency band between 824-894 MHz, and the third frequency band between 890 MHz-960 MHz.
(94) FIG. 13 shows a schematic representation of an out-of-phase combining system 1350 connected to the two internal ports 1302, 1303 of the redundancy system 1301. Furthermore, said out-of-phase combining system may be also connected to the two internal ports of the redundancy system 912, or to the two internal ports of the first redundancy system 1014, or to the two internal ports of the second redundancy system 1015, or to other redundancy system comprising two internal ports. The combining system comprises two ports 1312, 1313 connected respectively to the first 1302 and second 1303 internal ports of the redundancy system 1301, and a third port 1330 connected to an external port of the radiating system. The combining system also comprises a first reactance cancellation element 1331 connected to the port 1312, a second reactance cancellation element 1332 connected to the port 1313, a first delay module 1333 connected to the first reactance cancellation element, a second delay module 1334 connected to the second reactance cancellation element, a fine tuning circuit 1135 connected to the first and second delay modules, and to the external port of the radiating system. The reactance cancellation elements comprises a series inductor; the delay modules comprises a transmission line; and the fine tuning stage comprises and L-shaped matching network formed by a series inductor and a parallel capacitor.
(95) The out-of-phase combining system transforms the input impedance of the redundancy system 1301, providing impedance matching to the radiating system in a frequency region of operation. In order to show the impedance transformation provided by the out-of-phase combining system of FIG. 13 to the redundancy system 1301, FIGS. 14A-14D represent the impedance transformation step by step. FIG. 14A illustrates a Smith chart representation for the input impedance at the first internal port and the second internal port of the redundancy system when it is disconnected from the out-of-phase combing system of FIG. 13. In this representation, the redundancy system 1301 corresponds to the redundancy system 1015 of FIG. 10. Curve 1400 represents the input impedance at the first internal port 1302 of the redundancy system 1301, point 1401 corresponds to the input impedance at the lowest frequency of the frequency region of operation, and point 1402 corresponds to the input impedance at the highest frequency of the frequency region of operation. Curve 1403 represents the input impedance at the second internal port 1303 of the redundancy system 1301, point 1404 corresponds to the input impedance at the lowest frequency of the frequency region of operation, and point 1405 corresponds to the input impedance at the highest frequency of the frequency region of operation. As curves 1400 and 1403 are located on the lower half of the Smith chart, the input impedance at the first and second internal ports of the redundancy system has a reactive component, in particular a capacitive component (i.e., the imaginary part of the input impedance is negative) for the frequencies of the frequency region of operation (i.e., between point 1401-1402 and between points 1404-1405). In this case, the input impedance associated to the first and second internal ports within the frequency region of operation are substantially similar. According to the present invention, the input impedance at the internal ports of the redundancy system may be different, such as for example, if different radiation boosters are used to excite the ground plane radiation mode. The points 1401 and 1402 correspond respectively to 1710 MHz and 2690 MHz; and the points 1404 and 1405 correspond respectively to 1710 MHz and 2690 MHz.
(96) FIG. 14B illustrates the impedance 1420 measured after the addition of a first reactance cancellation element 1331 to the port 1312 of the combining system when no delay modules, and no tuning circuit are connected. As a result of the first reactance cancellation element, the input impedance 1420 has an imaginary part substantially close to zero in the frequency region of operation. The impedance 1420 crosses the horizontal axis of the Smith Chart at a point 1426 located between point 1421 and point 1422, which means that the impedance 1420 has an imaginary part equal to zero for a frequency advantageously between the lowest 1421 and highest 1422 frequencies of the frequency region of operation. The impedance after the addition of the first reactance cancellation element 1331 shows a resonance at a frequency located within the frequency region of operation. FIG. 14B also illustrates the impedance 1423 measured after the addition of a second reactance cancellation element 1332 to the port 1313 of the combining system when no delay modules, and no tuning circuit are connected. As a result of the second reactance cancellation element, the input impedance 1423 has an imaginary part substantially close to zero in the frequency region of operation. The impedance 1423 crosses the horizontal axis of the Smith Chart at a point 1427 located between point 1424 and point 1425, which means that the impedance 1423 has an imaginary part equal to zero for a frequency advantageously between the lowest 1424 and highest 1425 frequencies of the frequency region of operation. The impedance after the addition of the second reactance cancellation element 1332 shows a resonance behavior at a frequency located within the frequency region of operation.
(97) FIG. 14C illustrates the first impedance 1440 measured after the connection of the first delay module 1333 to the first reactance cancellation element 1331 when no tuning circuit is connected. The first delay module enables the apparition of a first impedance loop 1440 at the frequency region of operation; points 1442 and 1443 stand respectively for the lowest and highest frequencies of the frequency region of operation. FIG. 14C also illustrates the second impedance 1441 measured after the connection of the second delay module 1334 to the second reactance cancellation element 1332 when no tuning circuit is connected. The second delay module enables the apparition of a second impedance loop 1441 at the frequency region of operation; points 1444 and 1445 stand respectively for the lowest and highest frequencies of the frequency region of operation. According to the first impedance 1440 and the second impedance 1441 plotted in FIG. 14C, an out-of-phase feeding scheme is used by the combining system of FIG. 13. The first impedance 1440 measured after the first delay module is out-of-phase with the second impedance 1441 measured after the second delay module since the out-of-phase difference (absolute value) is 247. That is, such phase difference is between 45 and 315 as required in the present document for the first impedance to be out-of-phase of the second impedance.
(98) In this embodiment, an average resistance of the first impedance 1440 differs from an average resistance of the second impedance 1441 by 14.7%; being such difference smaller than 30%.
(99) The first delay module enables a first compact impedance loop 1440, and the second delay module enables a second compact impedance loop 1441. The first delay means comprises a transmission line featuring a characteristic impedance of 50 ohms and the second delay means also comprises a transmission line featuring a characteristic impedance of 50 ohms. The length of the transmission lines is configured to ensure that the first impedance 1440 is out-of-phase with the second impedance 1441. Thus, the impedance and length of the transmission lines are selected to enable compact impedance loops at the first and second impedances as shown in FIG. 14C.
(100) FIG. 14D illustrates the impedance 1460 after the addition of the fine tuning circuit 1335; such impedance 1460 is measure at the external port of the radiating system. At this stage, the first impedance 1440 and the second impedance 1441 are combined into a single port. The fine tuning circuit enables a more compact impedance loop 1460 than the impedance loops 1440 and 1441 in FIG. 14C. Points 1461 and 1462 stand respectively for the lowest and highest frequencies of the frequency region of operation. The fine tuning stage 1335 places the impedance loop 1460 at the center of the Smith chart inscribed in a circle of VSWR3, referred to a reference impedance of 50 Ohms.
(101) The frequency response of the radiating system resulting from the interconnection of the combining system of FIG. 13 to the redundancy system 1015 of FIG. 10 is shown in FIG. 15. The curve 1500 represents the reflection coefficient measured at the external port of the radiating system. The reflection coefficient 1500 is below 6 dB in the frequency region of operation; the frequency region of operation being delimited by the points 1501 and 1502. Such radiating system is configured to operate in a frequency region between 1710 MHz and 2690 MHz; which is delimited in FIG. 15 by a reference line at 6 dB. The radiating system is suitable for operating in the cellular communication standards GSM1800, CDMA1900, UMTS, LTE2100, LTE2300, and LTE2500. In this sense, such radiating system operates in at least six frequency bands allocated in the frequency region of operation; being the first frequency band between 1710 MHz and 1880 MHz, the second frequency band between 1850 MHz and 1990 MHz, the third frequency band between 1920 MHz and 2100 MHz, the fourth frequency band between 1920 MHz and 2170 MHz, the five frequency band between 2300 MHz and 2400 MHz, and the sixth frequency band 2500 MHz and 2690 MHz.
(102) The radiation patterns associated to the proposed radiating systems are mainly determined by the ground plane modes. In the case of the radiating system operating in the frequency region between 690 MHz and 960 MHz, the radiation pattern is substantially omni-directional. Furthermore, the radiating system operating in the frequency region between 1710 MHz and 2690 MHz, the radiation pattern is substantially omni-directional.
(103) The radiating system resulting from the interconnection of the combining system 1150 of FIG. 11 to the redundancy system 912 of FIGS. 9A and 9B uses two radiation boosters to provide service in the frequency region of operation between 690 MHz and 960 MHz; in this document said radiating system is referred as LFR radiating system. As two radiation boosters are used to provide operation in the frequency region of operation, the LFR radiating system is more robust to human loading effects than a radiating system using a single radiation booster to provide service in the frequency region of operation.
(104) In order to illustrate the robustness to human loading effects of the present invention, the electromagnetic behavior of the LFR radiating system is compared with the electromagnetic behavior of a radiating system that uses a single radiation booster to provide operation in the frequency region of operation. In this document, said radiation system that uses a single radiation booster is referred as SB radiating system, and its radiating structure is referred as SB radiating structure.
(105) FIG. 16A shows an example of a SB radiating structure; the SB radiating structure 1600 comprises only one radiation booster 1601 and a ground plane layer 1602. FIG. 16B shows a schematic representation of a radiofrequency system 1605 connected to the internal port 1614 of the SB radiating structure 1613; the SB radiating structure 1613 corresponds to the SB radiating structure 1600 of FIG. 16A. A SB radiating system results from the interconnection of the SB radiating structure 1600, 1613 with the radiofrequency system 1605.
(106) FIG. 17 illustrates the reflection coefficient of the LFR radiating system and the reflection coefficient of the SB radiating system considering the human loading effects. The curve 1702 represents the measured reflection coefficient for the SB radiating system in free space, and curve 1704 represents the measured reflection coefficient for the SB radiating system in the presence of human loading effects. Furthermore, curve 1703 represents the measured reflection coefficient for the LFR radiating system in free space, and curve 1701 represents the measured reflection coefficient for the LFR radiating system in the presence of human loading effects. In this example, the frequency region of operation is between 690 MHz and 960 MHz, the frequency region is delimited by the reference line 1705 in FIG. 17. In the case of the LFR radiating system, the human loading effect consists on blocking one of the radiation boosters with the hand. And in the case of the SB radiating system, the human loafing effect consists on blocking the radiation booster with the hand. As the SB radiating system only uses one radiation booster for providing operation in the frequency region of operation, the reflection coefficient 1704 is significantly modified by the presence of the human loading effect. As the LFR radiating system uses two radiation boosters for providing operation in the frequency region of operation, the reflection coefficient 1701 is not substantially modified by the presence of the human loading effect. When considering the human loading effects, the level of the reflection coefficient for the LFR radiating system in the frequency region of operation allow the operation of the wireless device in the frequency region of operation, but the level of the reflection coefficient for SB radiating system in the frequency region of operation does not enable a suitable operation of the wireless device in the frequency region of operation.
(107) FIG. 18 illustrate the efficiency of the LFR radiating system and the efficiency of the SB radiating system considering the human loading effects. The curve 1802 represents the measured efficiency for the SB radiating system in free space, and curve 1803 represents the measured efficiency for the SB radiating system when considering the human loading effects. Furthermore, curve 1801 represents the measured efficiency for the LFR radiating system in free space, and curve 1804 represents the measured efficiency for the LFR radiating system when considering the human loading effects. In this example, the frequency region of operation is between 690 MHz and 960 MHz, the frequency region is delimited by the grey region in FIG. 18. The efficiency represented in FIG. 18 corresponds to the antenna efficiency (.sub.a) which takes into account the radiation efficiency (.sub.r) and mismatch losses (1|S.sub.11|.sup.2), that is, .sub.a=.sub.r.Math.(1|S.sub.11|.sup.2). In the case of the LFR radiating system, the human loading effect consists on blocking one of the radiation boosters with the hand. And in the case of the SB radiating system, the human loading effect consists on blocking the radiation booster with the hand. As the SB radiating system uses only one radiation booster for providing operation in the frequency region of operation, the efficiency 1803 is significantly modified by the presence of the human loading effect. Due to the fact that the LFR radiating system uses two radiation boosters for providing operation in the frequency region of operation, the efficiency 1804 is more robust to human loading effects. The efficiency of the LFR radiating system across the frequency region of operation is larger than the efficiency of the SB radiating system across the frequency region of operation; being the LFR radiating system more robust to human loading effects.
(108) When considering the human loading effects on the behavior of the wireless device, the LFR radiating system provides reflection coefficient levels and efficiency levels across the frequency region of operation which enable the operation of the wireless device across the frequency region of operation.
(109) As a result of using a combining system with an in-phase feeding scheme, also referred in the present document as an in-phase combining system, the phase of the first impedance (Z1, 1240) and the phase of the second impedance (Z2, 1243) are substantially similar; being the first impedance and the second impedance represented in FIG. 12C. Such phase similarity guaranties a substantially balanced power distribution between the first radiation booster 901 and the second radiation booster 902 of the redundancy system 912 of FIG. 9A.
(110) In order to illustrate the technical effects derived from a substantially balanced power distribution provided by the combining system to the radiation boosters, FIG. 19 represents the efficiency of the LFR radiating system when considering the human loading effects. The efficiency of the LFR radiating system is represented for three different ways of human loading. The curve 1903 represents the efficiency when the first radiation booster 901 is blocked by the hand; the 1902 represents the efficiency when the second radiation booster 902 is blocked by the hand; the curve 1901 represents the efficiency when the hand is placed between the first and the second radiation boosters. As the first impedance 1240 is in-phase of the phase of the second impedance 1243, the in-phase combining system enables a substantially balanced power distribution between the first radiation booster 901 and the second radiation booster 902. As a result of such substantially balanced power distribution between the first and the second radiation booster, the efficiency of the LFR radiating system in the frequency region of operation is not significantly affected by the manner that the human loading is produced in the wireless device. In case of having a non-balanced power distribution among the radiation boosters, the efficiency of the radiating system would be significantly affected by the manner that the human loading is produced in the wireless device.
(111) FIG. 20 shows an example of a redundancy system representative of a laptop computer. The redundancy system 2000 comprises two radiation boosters 2005 and 2006 and a ground plane layer 2001; the ground plane layer 2001 having dimensions and topology representative of a laptop computer. For this particular example, the radiation boosters 2005 and 2006 are arranged in the ground plane layer 2001; although in other example the radiation boosters could have been arranged in the ground plane layer 2002. In this example, the radiation boosters 2005 and 2006 are located along a short edge of the ground plane layer; although in other example the radiation boosters may be located along a long edge of the ground plane layer.
(112) In this example, the radiation boosters 2005 and 2006 include a conductive part featuring a polyhedral shape comprising six faces, although in other example the radiation boosters may have different shape.
(113) According to the invention, each one of the internal ports of the redundancy system could be connected to an in-phase combining system or to an out-of-phase combing system as those illustrated in FIGS. 8A-8C.
(114) In this example the redundancy system includes two radiation boosters, although in other example the redundancy system could include three or more radiation boosters.
(115) FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a redundancy system representative of a tablet, e-book or similar device. The redundancy system 2100 comprises four radiation boosters 2102, 2103, 2104 and 2105 and a ground plane layer 2101. The four radiation boosters are arranged in a short edge of a substantially rectangular ground plane layer 2101.
(116) In this example, the radiation boosters 2102, 2103, 2104, and 2105 comprise a conductive part featuring a polyhedral shape comprising six faces having a polygonal shape (in this example a square shape). Each radiation booster comprises a connection point located substantially on the perimeter of the conducting part; each connection point defines together with a connection point of the ground plane layer (not shown in the figure) an internal port of the redundancy system. In other examples, the radiation booster may have different shapes. According to the invention, each one of the internal ports of the redundancy system could be connected to an in-phase combining system or to an out-of-phase combing system.
(117) FIG. 22A shows an embodiment comprising radiation boosters with different shapes; the embodiment comprises four radiation boosters 2201, 2202, 2203 and 2204 and ground plane layer 2205.
(118) The first radiation booster 2201 and the second radiation booster 2202 comprise a conductive part featuring a substantially volumetric shape comprising six faces.
(119) The first radiation booster 2201 comprises a connection point 2210, and the ground plane layer 2205 comprises a connection point 2211 substantially on a corner of the ground plane layer 2205. An internal port is defined between the connection point 2210 and the connection point 2211. In the case of the second radiation booster 2205, an internal port is defined between the connection point 2212 of the radiation booster 2202 and the connection point 2213 of the ground plane layer 2205.
(120) The first and second radiation boosters 2201 and 2202 are located at two different corners of the ground plane layer 2205.
(121) The third radiation booster 2203 comprises a gap defined in a ground plane layer; wherein said radiation booster 2203 features a gap comprising at least ten segments. Such shaping of the radiation booster 2203 is suitable for reducing the value of a reactance cancellation element of a combining system. In this example, the reactance cancellation element required by the radiation booster 2203 is a capacitor. As a capacitor with low capacitance generally provides a higher quality factor than a capacitor with high capacitance, a capacitor with low capacitances is preferred. The elements with high quality factors have fewer losses than the elements having smaller quality factors, and the high quality factor elements contribute to the reduction of the losses of the combining system. In the case of the third radiation booster 2203, an internal port is defined between the connection point 2217 of the radiation booster 2203 and the connection point 2216 of the ground plane layer 2005.
(122) The fourth radiation booster 2204 comprises a gap defined in the ground plane layer 2205, and a connection point 2215. The ground plane layer 2205 comprises a connection point 2214 which is substantially on the middle of the long edge of the ground plane layer 2205. An internal port of the redundancy system 2200 is defined between the connection point 2214 of the ground plane layer and the connection point 2215 of the radiation booster.
(123) The radiation booster 2203 and 2204 are located substantially at the middle of the long edge of the ground plane layer 2205. Said location is preferred when an efficient radiation mode featuring a longitudinal current distribution in the ground plane layer 2205 is desired.
(124) In some situations, the embodiment 2200 may be used to include a first redundancy system and a second redundancy system; the first redundancy system comprising two radiations boosters (2201 together with 2202 or 2201 together with 2203), and the second redundancy system comprising two radiation boosters (2203 together with 2204 or 2202 together with 2204). The first redundancy system providing operation a first frequency region, and the second redundancy system providing operation in a second frequency region.
(125) In other situations, the embodiment 2200 may be used to include a redundancy system comprising four radiation boosters 2201, 2202, 2203 and 2204.
(126) FIG. 22B illustrates a redundancy system 2220 comprising two radiation boosters 2221 and 2222 and a ground plane layer 2223. The first radiation booster 2222 and the second radiation booster 2221 comprise a conductive part featuring a substantially volumetric shape. The first radiation booster 2222 comprises a connection point 2225, and the ground plane layer 2223 comprises a first connection point 2224; a first internal port is defined between the connection point 2225 and the first connection point 2224. In the case of the second radiation booster 2221, a second internal port is defined between a connection point 2227 of the radiation booster 2221 and a second connection point 2226 of the ground plane layer 2223. The radiation boosters 2221 and 2222 are located substantially at the middle of the long edge of the ground plane layer 2223. Said location is preferred when an efficient radiation mode featuring a longitudinal current distribution in the ground plane layer 2223 is desired.
(127) The ground plane layer 2223 includes two cut-out portions in which the metal has been removed from the ground plane layer 2223. A first cut-out portion 2228 and a second cut-out portion 2229 have been provided in the ground plane layer 2223. Despite the fact that the ground plane layer 2223 is irregularly shaped (compared to, for instance, the rectangular ground plane layer 907), it has a ground plane rectangle 2230 enclosing the ground plane layer 2223 equal to that associated to the ground plane layer 907.
(128) The first radiation booster 2222 can now be provided on the first cut-out portion 2228, while the second radiation booster 2221 can be provided on the second cut-out portion 2229. That is, the radiation boosters 2221, 2222 have been receded towards the inside of the ground plane rectangle 2229, so that the orthogonal projection of the first and second radiation booster 2221, 2222 on the plane containing the ground plane layer 2223 is completely inside the perimeter of the ground plane rectangle 2230. Such a ground plane and arrangement of the radiation boosters with respect to the ground plane layer are advantageous to facilitate the integration of the redundancy system within a particular handheld or portable wireless device.
(129) However, in another example one of the first or the second radiation booster could not have been arranged on a cut-out portion of the ground plane layer, and one radiation booster is completely outside the perimeter of the ground plane rectangle associated to the ground plane layer of the redundancy system. And yet in another example, both the first and the second radiation boosters could have been arranged at least partially, or even completely, protruding beyond a side of said ground plane rectangle.
(130) FIG. 22C illustrates a redundancy system 2252 comprising two radiation boosters 2240 and 2241 and a ground plane layer 2242; each of the two radiation booster comprising a conductive part featuring a polyhedral shape comprising six faces; and the radiation boosters have different sizes. The radiation boosters 2240 and 2241 are located substantially at the corner of the short edge of the ground plane layer 2242. In this example, the conductive part takes the form of a parallelepiped having substantially a square top face, a bottom face and four substantially rectangular lateral faces. However, other shapes for the top and bottom faces are also possible (such as for instance, but not limited to, triangle, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, circle, or ellipse) and/or for the lateral faces. Furthermore, the conductive part of the radiation booster could also have been shaped as a cylinder having circular or elliptical top and bottom faces.
(131) The placement of the radiation booster 2240 with respect to the ground plane layer 2242 is different from the placement of the radiation booster 2241 with respect to the ground plane layer 2242. While the radiation booster 2240 protrudes beyond the ground plane layer 2242; in the radiation booster 2241, the projection of the radiation booster 2241 onto the plane containing the ground plane layer 2242 overlaps completely the ground plane layer 2242. Despite the radiation booster 2241 is located above the ground plane layer 2242; the radiation booster 2241 is not connected to the ground plane layer 2242. An internal port of the redundancy system 2252 is defined between a connection point of the radiation booster 2241 and a connection point of the ground plane layer 2242.
(132) Other example of the radiation booster is illustrated in FIG. 22D; the embodiment 2260 illustrates a redundancy system 2260 comprising two radiation boosters 2261 and 2262 and a ground plane layer 2263. The first radiation booster 2261 comprises a connection point 2264, and the ground plane layer 2260 comprises a first connection point 2265 substantially on a corner of the ground plane layer 2263. A first internal port is defined between the connection point 2264 and the first connection point 2265. In the case of the second radiation booster 2262, a second internal port is defined between the connection point 2266 of the radiation booster 2262 and the second connection point 2267 of the ground plane layer 2263.
(133) The first radiation booster 2261 and the second radiation booster 2262 include a conductive part comprising a plurality of conductive strips. In this example, the conductive part comprises three conductive strips, although in other examples the conductive part may comprise more or fewer than three conductive strips. As depicted in FIG. 22D, a first conductive strip and a third conductive strip are arranged substantially perpendicular to a ground plane layer 2263. A second strip is arranged substantially parallel to the ground plane layer 2263 and connected to the other two conductive strips, so that a first end of the second conductive strip is connected to a first end of the first conductive strip and a second end of the second conductive strip is connected to a first end of the third conductive strip. Such shape for the radiation booster may be advantageous when it is desired to have a redundancy system that features an input impedance at the internal port (in absence of a combining system) having a positive imaginary part for all the frequencies of the frequency region of operation (i.e., said imaginary part being an inductive component).
(134) In accordance with the present invention, a radiating system includes a redundancy system 2260 and a combining system (830a, 830b, 830c); each internal port of the redundancy system 2260 is connected to a port of the combining system (830a, 830b, 830c).
(135) FIG. 23 shows an example of a delay module comprising a transmission line 2301, two series inductors 2302 and 2303 and two shunt capacitors 2304 and 2305. In an example, the delay module of FIG. 23 substitutes the delay modules 1133 and/or 1134 in FIG. 11.
(136) The use of reactive elements (2302, 2303, 2304, and 2305) provides an additional degree of freedom to design a characteristic impedance of a delay module. The square root of the ratio of the inductance of the inductor 2302 over the capacitance of the capacitor 2304 determines a first equivalent characteristic impedance. Furthermore, the square root of the ratio of the inductance of the inductor 2303 over the capacitance of the capacitor 2305 determines a second equivalent characteristic impedance. The values of the characteristic impedance of the transmission line 2301, the first equivalent characteristic impedance, and the second equivalent characteristic impedance are optimized to enhance the impedance bandwidth of a redundancy system using such delay module.
(137) In yet another example, the delay module comprises a transmission line 2301 and only one stage 2302 and 2304. In a further example, the delay module comprises a transmission line and more than two stages 2302 and 2304. In yet another example, the delay module comprises several transmission lines cascaded with stages 2302 and 2304. In yet another example, the reactive components can be further optimized so as the delay module comprises a transmission line, a series inductor 2302 and 2303 and a shunt capacitor 2304. In yet another example, the stage comprises a series capacitor and a shunt inductor. All these examples add flexibility to optimize the delay module for impedance bandwidth enhancement.
(138) Even though that in the illustrative examples described above in connection with the figures some particular designs of radiation boosters have been used, many other designs of radiation boosters having for example different shape and/or dimensions could have been equally used in the redundancy system.
(139) In the same way, despite the fact some radiation boosters have been chosen to be equal in topology (i.e., a planar versus a volumetric geometry), shape and size, they could have been selected to have different topology, shape and/or size, while preserving for example the relative location of the radiation boosters with respect to each other and with respect to the ground plane.
