WO1997023016A1 - A portable radio terminal having diversity reception antennas - Google Patents

A portable radio terminal having diversity reception antennas Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO1997023016A1
WO1997023016A1 PCT/IL1996/000178 IL9600178W WO9723016A1 WO 1997023016 A1 WO1997023016 A1 WO 1997023016A1 IL 9600178 W IL9600178 W IL 9600178W WO 9723016 A1 WO9723016 A1 WO 9723016A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
antenna
section
flip down
axis
portable radio
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IL1996/000178
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Oliver A. Hilsenrath
Original Assignee
Geotek Communication, Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Geotek Communication, Inc. filed Critical Geotek Communication, Inc.
Priority to AU77078/96A priority Critical patent/AU7707896A/en
Publication of WO1997023016A1 publication Critical patent/WO1997023016A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H01Q1/22—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles
    • H01Q1/24—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set
    • H01Q1/241—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM
    • H01Q1/242—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM specially adapted for hand-held use
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H01Q1/22—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles
    • H01Q1/24—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set
    • H01Q1/241—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM
    • H01Q1/242—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM specially adapted for hand-held use
    • H01Q1/243—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM specially adapted for hand-held use with built-in antennas
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B1/00—Details of transmission systems, not covered by a single one of groups H04B3/00 - H04B13/00; Details of transmission systems not characterised by the medium used for transmission
    • H04B1/38—Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving
    • H04B1/3827—Portable transceivers
    • H04B1/3833—Hand-held transceivers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B7/00—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
    • H04B7/02—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas
    • H04B7/04—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas
    • H04B7/08—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the receiving station

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to radio communications. More particularly, it relates to antennas in portable radio communication units that use spatial diversity reception to receive communication signals.
  • Portable and mobile radio communications create special problems which are not generally experienced in stationary communication systems. These problems are sometimes addressed by the use of spatial diversity reception techniques. This technique requires the use of two antennas which are preferably spatially separated by an electrically significant distance. Portable radio terminals, being designed to minimize their size, face an inherent difficulty in achieving the preferred spatial separation.
  • a portable radio unit that includes a housing that has a main section and a flip down housing section.
  • the flip down housing section is rotatably mounted to the main section.
  • a first antenna is connected to the main section and a second antenna is housed in the flip down housing section.
  • the second antenna has a first section extending along a first axis in the plane of the flip down housing section and a second section extending along a second axis in the plane of the flip down housing section.
  • the first axis and the second axis are orientated at an angle to each other, for example, at a 90° angle.
  • the portable radio unit also preferably includes processing circuitry, including first RF processing means, second RF processing means and signal analyzer means.
  • the first RF processing means is connected to the first antenna for converting received communication signals to a first digital signal.
  • the second RF processing means is connected to the second antenna for converting received communication signals to a second digital signal.
  • the signal analyzer selects one ofthe two signals for further processing.
  • FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate front and side views, respectively, of a portable radio terminal in accordance with a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a first antenna mounted in a first section of the housing of the portable radio terminal
  • FIG. 4 illustrates a second antenna mounted in a flip down section of the housing of the portable radio terminal.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates the processing circuitry of the portable radio terminal used to select one ofthe two signals received on the two antennas.
  • the radio terminal 10 includes a housing 12.
  • the housing 12 includes a main section 14 and a flip down housing section 16, which is shown in its open position.
  • the flip down housing section 16 is preferably rotatably connected to the main section 14 via a hinge connector 18.
  • the main section 14 of the housing 12 includes a keypad 20 and a display 22. When the radio terminal 10 is not in use, the flip down housing section 16 can be closed so as to cover the keypad 20.
  • the radio terminal 10 also includes a first antenna 24 and a second antenna 26.
  • the first antenna 24 is preferably connected to the top ofthe main section 14 ofthe housing 12 in a conventional manner.
  • the second antenna 26 is preferably housed in the flip down housing section 16.
  • the second antenna 26 is preferably rubberized and is preferably molded directly into the flip down housing section 16 during construction.
  • the second antenna 26 can be shaped in any desired shape, the only constraint being the size of the flip down housing section 16 It is, however, preferred that a first section 28 of the second antenna 26 extend downward along a first axis in the plane ofthe flip down housing section 16 and that a second section 30 ofthe second antenna 26 extend along a second axis in the plane ofthe flip down housing section 16, such that the first axis 28 and the second axis 30 of the second antenna 26 are oriented at an angle to one another. In a preferred embodiment, the angle between the first axis 28 and the second axis 30 is 90°, so that the second antenna 26 is L-shaped.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates the mounting of the first antenna 24 in the main section 14 of the housing 16 of the radio terminal 10.
  • the first antenna 24 is preferably constructed of rubber and retractably mounted to an extension mount 32
  • the extension mount 32 has a channel 34 which allows the retraction of the first antenna 24
  • the first antenna 24 is preferably utilized to transmit and to receive signals
  • the signals to and from the first antenna 24 are supplied from and to processing hardware via a coaxial cable 36
  • FIG 4 illustrates the mounting ofthe second antenna 26 in the flip down section 16 ofthe housing 12
  • the second antenna is preferably constructed from rubber and, as mentioned previously, is embedded in the flip down housing section 16 during the molded construction of the section 16
  • the second antenna 26 can be oriented in any desired fashion in the section 16, subject to the physical characteristics of the section 16, however, the preferred L-shaped orientation is illustrated in FIG 4
  • the second antenna 26 is preferably utilized to receive the same signals as the first antenna 24, i e.
  • the antennas 24 and 26 are adapted to receive signals from the same frequency range It should be noted that the second antenna 26 could also be used to transmit communication signals, however, this is not the preferred arrangement As stated before, the preferred embodiment is to use the second antenna 26 as a spatially diverse receive antenna The signals from the second antenna 26 are supplied to processing circuitry via a coaxial cable 38
  • FIG 5 illustrates the processing circuitry 40 of the radio terminal 10 which is preferably located in the main section 14 of the radio terminal housing 12
  • the processing circuitry 40 includes a first RF front end 42, a second RF front end 44, a signal quality analyzer 46, a baseband signal processor 48 and a central controller 50
  • the signals received by the first antenna 24 are supplied, via the coaxial cable 36, to the first RF front end 42
  • the signals received by the second antenna 26 are supplied, via the coaxial cable 38, to the second RF front end 44
  • the radio signals received by the antennas 24 and 26 are processed by the RF front end circuitry 42 and 44, respectively, and digital signals representative of the received RF signals are provided to a signal quality analyzer 46
  • the analyzer 46 utilizes known techniques for measuring signal quality and/or strength or for estimating the quality of the communication channel over which the signals have been transmitted Based on the analysis, the best signal — either the signal from the first antenna 24 or the signal from the second antenna 26 — is selected for further processing
  • the selected signal is supplied to the baseband processor 48 for the appropriate baseband processing
  • the central controller 50 controls the operation ofthe analyzer 46 and the baseband processor 48

Abstract

A portable radio terminal (10) having diversity receive antennas (24, 26) includes a housing that has a main section (14) and a flip down section (16). A first antenna (24) is connected to the main section (14) and a second antenna (26) is housed in the flip down section (16). The second antenna (26) preferably has a first section (28) extending along a first axis in the plan of the flip down housing section and a second section (30) extending along a second axis in the plan of the flip down housing section.

Description

A PORTABLE RADIO TERMINAL HAVING DIVERSITY RECEPTION ANTENNAS
The present invention relates to radio communications. More particularly, it relates to antennas in portable radio communication units that use spatial diversity reception to receive communication signals.
Portable and mobile radio communications create special problems which are not generally experienced in stationary communication systems. These problems are sometimes addressed by the use of spatial diversity reception techniques. This technique requires the use of two antennas which are preferably spatially separated by an electrically significant distance. Portable radio terminals, being designed to minimize their size, face an inherent difficulty in achieving the preferred spatial separation.
To overcome these and other limitations associated with existing portable radio units, new and improved antenna and processing means are needed.
The present invention provides improved reception of radio communication signals by portable radio terminals. In accordance with the present invention, a portable radio unit is provided that includes a housing that has a main section and a flip down housing section. The flip down housing section is rotatably mounted to the main section. A first antenna is connected to the main section and a second antenna is housed in the flip down housing section. In a preferred embodiment the second antenna has a first section extending along a first axis in the plane of the flip down housing section and a second section extending along a second axis in the plane of the flip down housing section. In a further preferred embodiment, the first axis and the second axis are orientated at an angle to each other, for example, at a 90° angle.
The portable radio unit also preferably includes processing circuitry, including first RF processing means, second RF processing means and signal analyzer means. The first RF processing means is connected to the first antenna for converting received communication signals to a first digital signal. The second RF processing means is connected to the second antenna for converting received communication signals to a second digital signal. The signal analyzer selects one ofthe two signals for further processing.
The invention will now be further described in connection with certain illustrated embodiments; however, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that various modifications, additions and subtractions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate front and side views, respectively, of a portable radio terminal in accordance with a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates a first antenna mounted in a first section of the housing of the portable radio terminal;
FIG. 4 illustrates a second antenna mounted in a flip down section of the housing of the portable radio terminal; and
FIG. 5 illustrates the processing circuitry of the portable radio terminal used to select one ofthe two signals received on the two antennas.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a portable radio terminal 10 is shown in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The radio terminal 10 includes a housing 12. The housing 12 includes a main section 14 and a flip down housing section 16, which is shown in its open position. The flip down housing section 16 is preferably rotatably connected to the main section 14 via a hinge connector 18. The main section 14 of the housing 12 includes a keypad 20 and a display 22. When the radio terminal 10 is not in use, the flip down housing section 16 can be closed so as to cover the keypad 20.
The radio terminal 10 also includes a first antenna 24 and a second antenna 26. The first antenna 24 is preferably connected to the top ofthe main section 14 ofthe housing 12 in a conventional manner. The second antenna 26 is preferably housed in the flip down housing section 16. The second antenna 26 is preferably rubberized and is preferably molded directly into the flip down housing section 16 during construction.
The second antenna 26 can be shaped in any desired shape, the only constraint being the size of the flip down housing section 16 It is, however, preferred that a first section 28 of the second antenna 26 extend downward along a first axis in the plane ofthe flip down housing section 16 and that a second section 30 ofthe second antenna 26 extend along a second axis in the plane ofthe flip down housing section 16, such that the first axis 28 and the second axis 30 of the second antenna 26 are oriented at an angle to one another. In a preferred embodiment, the angle between the first axis 28 and the second axis 30 is 90°, so that the second antenna 26 is L-shaped.
FIG. 3 illustrates the mounting of the first antenna 24 in the main section 14 of the housing 16 of the radio terminal 10. As previously mentioned, the mounting is preferably accomplished in a conventional manner. The first antenna 24 is preferably constructed of rubber and retractably mounted to an extension mount 32 The extension mount 32 has a channel 34 which allows the retraction of the first antenna 24 The first antenna 24 is preferably utilized to transmit and to receive signals The signals to and from the first antenna 24 are supplied from and to processing hardware via a coaxial cable 36
FIG 4 illustrates the mounting ofthe second antenna 26 in the flip down section 16 ofthe housing 12 The second antenna is preferably constructed from rubber and, as mentioned previously, is embedded in the flip down housing section 16 during the molded construction of the section 16 As stated previously, the second antenna 26 can be oriented in any desired fashion in the section 16, subject to the physical characteristics of the section 16, however, the preferred L-shaped orientation is illustrated in FIG 4 The second antenna 26 is preferably utilized to receive the same signals as the first antenna 24, i e. the antennas 24 and 26 are adapted to receive signals from the same frequency range It should be noted that the second antenna 26 could also be used to transmit communication signals, however, this is not the preferred arrangement As stated before, the preferred embodiment is to use the second antenna 26 as a spatially diverse receive antenna The signals from the second antenna 26 are supplied to processing circuitry via a coaxial cable 38
FIG 5 illustrates the processing circuitry 40 of the radio terminal 10 which is preferably located in the main section 14 of the radio terminal housing 12 The processing circuitry 40 includes a first RF front end 42, a second RF front end 44, a signal quality analyzer 46, a baseband signal processor 48 and a central controller 50
The signals received by the first antenna 24 are supplied, via the coaxial cable 36, to the first RF front end 42 The signals received by the second antenna 26 are supplied, via the coaxial cable 38, to the second RF front end 44 The radio signals received by the antennas 24 and 26 are processed by the RF front end circuitry 42 and 44, respectively, and digital signals representative of the received RF signals are provided to a signal quality analyzer 46 The analyzer 46 utilizes known techniques for measuring signal quality and/or strength or for estimating the quality of the communication channel over which the signals have been transmitted Based on the analysis, the best signal — either the signal from the first antenna 24 or the signal from the second antenna 26 — is selected for further processing The selected signal is supplied to the baseband processor 48 for the appropriate baseband processing The central controller 50 controls the operation ofthe analyzer 46 and the baseband processor 48 It is understood that changes may be made in the above description without departing from the scope of the invention It is accordingly intended that all matter contained in the above description and in the drawings be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS
1 A portable radio unit, compπsing a housing including a main section and a flip down housing section which is connected to the main section, a first antenna connected to the main section, and a second antenna housed in the flip down housing section
2 The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second antenna is L-shaped
3 The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second antenna has a first section extending along a first axis in the plane ofthe flip down housing section and a second section extending along a second axis in the plane ofthe flip down housing section
4 The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first axis and the second axis are at 90° to each other
5 The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second antenna is molded into the flip down housing section
6 The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the second antenna is rubber
7 The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first antenna is retractable mounted in the main section
8 The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first and second antennas are adapted to receive the same signal
PCT/IL1996/000178 1995-12-15 1996-12-10 A portable radio terminal having diversity reception antennas WO1997023016A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU77078/96A AU7707896A (en) 1995-12-15 1996-12-10 A portable radio terminal having diversity reception antennas

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IL116423 1995-12-15
IL11642395A IL116423A0 (en) 1995-12-15 1995-12-15 A portable radio terminal having diversity reception antennas

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1997023016A1 true WO1997023016A1 (en) 1997-06-26

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ID=11068324

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/IL1996/000178 WO1997023016A1 (en) 1995-12-15 1996-12-10 A portable radio terminal having diversity reception antennas

Country Status (3)

Country Link
AU (1) AU7707896A (en)
IL (1) IL116423A0 (en)
WO (1) WO1997023016A1 (en)

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2000035124A2 (en) * 1998-12-08 2000-06-15 Telital R & D Denmark Dual antenna system
DE19849780C1 (en) * 1998-10-28 2000-09-21 Siemens Ag Signal transmission method for radio communication transmitting speech and image-information
WO2001015267A1 (en) * 1999-08-20 2001-03-01 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Elongate personal communications apparatus
US6342859B1 (en) 1998-04-20 2002-01-29 Allgon Ab Ground extension arrangement for coupling to ground means in an antenna system, and an antenna system and a mobile radio device having such ground arrangement
JP2002171112A (en) * 2000-11-29 2002-06-14 Kyocera Corp Portable telephone
EP1306921A2 (en) * 2001-10-29 2003-05-02 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Antenna apparatus for folder type mobile phone
WO2003103157A3 (en) * 2002-05-30 2004-02-19 Motorola Inc Mobile communication device including an array sensor
US7162284B2 (en) 2002-06-05 2007-01-09 Nec Corporation Mobile phone, analysis device included therein, and analysis method
WO2007024451A1 (en) 2005-08-24 2007-03-01 Thomson Licensing Diversity tuned mobile set-top box
EP2413572A1 (en) * 2010-07-30 2012-02-01 Research In Motion Limited Mobile Wireless Communications Device with Spatial Diversity Antenna and Related Methods
US8649825B2 (en) 2010-07-30 2014-02-11 Blackberry Limited Mobile wireless communications device with spatial diversity antenna and related methods

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US4829591A (en) * 1985-08-29 1989-05-09 Nec Corporation Portable radio
US4992799A (en) * 1989-09-28 1991-02-12 Motorola, Inc. Adaptable antenna
US5170173A (en) * 1992-04-27 1992-12-08 Motorola, Inc. Antenna coupling apparatus for cordless telephone
US5337061A (en) * 1991-02-12 1994-08-09 Shaye Communications Limited High performance antenna for hand-held and portable equipment
US5554996A (en) * 1994-07-15 1996-09-10 Motorola, Inc. Antenna for communication device

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4829591A (en) * 1985-08-29 1989-05-09 Nec Corporation Portable radio
US4992799A (en) * 1989-09-28 1991-02-12 Motorola, Inc. Adaptable antenna
US5337061A (en) * 1991-02-12 1994-08-09 Shaye Communications Limited High performance antenna for hand-held and portable equipment
US5170173A (en) * 1992-04-27 1992-12-08 Motorola, Inc. Antenna coupling apparatus for cordless telephone
US5554996A (en) * 1994-07-15 1996-09-10 Motorola, Inc. Antenna for communication device

Cited By (17)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6342859B1 (en) 1998-04-20 2002-01-29 Allgon Ab Ground extension arrangement for coupling to ground means in an antenna system, and an antenna system and a mobile radio device having such ground arrangement
DE19849780C1 (en) * 1998-10-28 2000-09-21 Siemens Ag Signal transmission method for radio communication transmitting speech and image-information
WO2000035124A3 (en) * 1998-12-08 2000-10-19 Telital R & D Denmark Dual antenna system
WO2000035124A2 (en) * 1998-12-08 2000-06-15 Telital R & D Denmark Dual antenna system
US6901245B1 (en) 1999-08-20 2005-05-31 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Elongate personal communications apparatus
WO2001015267A1 (en) * 1999-08-20 2001-03-01 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Elongate personal communications apparatus
JP2002171112A (en) * 2000-11-29 2002-06-14 Kyocera Corp Portable telephone
EP1306921A2 (en) * 2001-10-29 2003-05-02 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Antenna apparatus for folder type mobile phone
EP1306921A3 (en) * 2001-10-29 2003-05-21 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Antenna apparatus for folder type mobile phone
US6897825B2 (en) 2001-10-29 2005-05-24 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Antenna apparatus for folder type mobile phone
WO2003103157A3 (en) * 2002-05-30 2004-02-19 Motorola Inc Mobile communication device including an array sensor
US7162284B2 (en) 2002-06-05 2007-01-09 Nec Corporation Mobile phone, analysis device included therein, and analysis method
GB2391113B (en) * 2002-06-05 2007-02-21 Nec Corp Mobile phone, analysis device included therein, and analysis method
WO2007024451A1 (en) 2005-08-24 2007-03-01 Thomson Licensing Diversity tuned mobile set-top box
JP2009506633A (en) * 2005-08-24 2009-02-12 トムソン ライセンシング Diversity-tuned portable set-top box
EP2413572A1 (en) * 2010-07-30 2012-02-01 Research In Motion Limited Mobile Wireless Communications Device with Spatial Diversity Antenna and Related Methods
US8649825B2 (en) 2010-07-30 2014-02-11 Blackberry Limited Mobile wireless communications device with spatial diversity antenna and related methods

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IL116423A0 (en) 1996-03-31
AU7707896A (en) 1997-07-14

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