CN100493237C - Mobile radio communication equipment including satellite positioning system antenna and conductive guiding elements thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A mobile wireless communications device may include a portable housing, at least one wireless transceiver carried by the portable housing, and a satellite positioning signal receiver carried by the portable housing. An antenna may also be carried by the portable housing and connected to the satellite positioning signal receiver. Further, at least one electrically conductive director element may be carried by the portable housing in spaced apart relation from the antenna and inductively coupled thereto for directing a beam pattern thereof.

Description

Mobile radio communication equipment including satellite positioning system antenna and conductive guiding elements thereof

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communication devices, and more particularly, to mobile wireless communication devices and related methods.

Background technique

Cellular communication systems continue to gain in popularity and have become an integral part of personal and business communications. Cellular telephones allow users to optimally make and receive voice calls wherever they travel. Also, as cellular telephone technology has grown, so has the functionality of cellular devices. For example, many cellular devices now include personal digital assistant (PDA) features such as calendars, address books, task lists, and the like. Moreover, such multifunction devices may also allow users to send and receive electronic mail (email) messages, as well as access the Internet, wirelessly, such as via a cellular network and/or a wireless local area network (WLAN).

Another feature that matches cellular communication capabilities is satellite positioning. That is, specific devices now include cellular and satellite positioning devices, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. One such device is described in U.S. Patent No. 6,857,016 to Motoyama et al., which relates to a computerized remote location reporting device that includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, monitoring software, and an Internet access module for tracking and map the position of the moving object. In one embodiment, the obtained locations are collected, logged and communicated via a wireless cellular transceiver to desired Location.

As the functionality of cellular communication devices continues to increase, the demand for smaller devices that are easier and more user-portable has also increased. Thus, including GPS capability in very small cellular telephones has become increasingly difficult due to space constraints leading to the need for smaller GPS antenna designs. Therefore, one challenge to the designer is to provide a GPS antenna with suitable signal reception characteristics in a relatively small size.

Various attempts have been made to improve mobile device satellite positioning antennas. An antenna arrangement for a GPS signal locating device is disclosed in US Patent No. 6,720,923 to Hayward et al., wherein the antenna member is mounted on a circuit board. The antenna member includes first, second and third surfaces. The third surface connects the first and second surfaces. The first, second and third surfaces define a cavity within which a dielectric material is positioned. At least one conductive connector includes first and second ends in communication with the antenna-building first surface, and an amplifier in communication with each conductive connector second end.

Another example is presented in PCT Publication No. WO 02/29988 A1, which discloses a folded inverted-F antenna (FIFA) comprising an L-shaped receiving element with a first planar portion and a second planar portion connected along a folded edge . A printed circuit board (PCB) is disposed perpendicular to the second planar portion forming the ground surface of the PCB. The FIFA includes a second ground plane disposed below and parallel to the second planar portion. A shorting conductor connects the receiving element to the PCB and the second ground plane, and a receiving conductor connects the receiver circuit to the receiving element. The FIFA is used in wireless communication devices, such as cellular phones, for receiving location signals from GPS satellites.

Notwithstanding the availability of such GPS antenna configurations, other GPS antenna configurations may be desired that are relatively compact yet provide the required beam steering or shaping, for example to optimize GPS satellite signal reception.

Contents of the invention

With the foregoing background in mind, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide enhanced satellite signal reception features and related methods to mobile wireless communication devices including satellite positioning capabilities.

This and other objects, features and advantages in accordance with the present invention are provided by a mobile wireless communications device that may include an antenna and at least one conductive guide for the antenna. More specifically, the mobile wireless communication may include: a portable housing, at least one wireless transceiver carried by the portable housing, and a satellite positioning signal receiver carried by the portable housing. The antenna may also be carried by the portable housing and connected to a satellite positioning signal receiver. Additionally, at least one conductive steering element may be carried by the portable housing in a spaced-apart relationship to the antenna and inductively coupled to the antenna for steering its beam pattern. That is, advantageously, the steering element steers or shapes the beam pattern of the antenna to provide the desired reception of satellite signals and may also provide increased antenna efficiency.

The mobile wireless communications device may also include a printed circuit board (PCB) carried by the portable housing, and the antenna and PCB may be positioned relative to each other such that the PCB further directs the beam pattern of the antenna. For example, the antenna may include one or more wire traces on a PCB, and the PCB may be positioned to provide reflectors to direct the antenna beam pattern into the air for improved satellite positioning signal reception performance. In one embodiment, a dielectric extension may extend outwardly from the PCB, and the antenna may be carried by the dielectric extension. The conductive guiding element may also be carried by the node extension.

The portable case can have an upper portion and a lower portion, and the antenna can be positioned adjacent the upper portion of the portable case. Furthermore, the at least one wireless transceiver may be a cellular transceiver, and the device may further include: a cellular antenna carried by the portable housing and connected to the cellular transceiver. As an example, the cellular antenna may be carried adjacent to the bottom of the portable case.

The at least one conductive guiding element may comprise, for example, a pair of parallel, spaced apart conductive guiding elements. The device may also include a controller carried by the portable housing and connected to the satellite positioning signal receiver, and a display carried by the portable housing and cooperating with the controller to display satellite positioning information. As an example, the antenna may be an inverted-F antenna or a monopole antenna.

The method solution of the invention is to form a mobile wireless communication device such as briefly described above. The method may include positioning a satellite positioning signal receiver and at least one wireless transceiver in a portable housing, and connecting an antenna carried by the portable housing to the satellite positioning signal receiver. Additionally, at least one conductive steering element may be positioned in a spaced-apart relationship to the antenna to inductively couple thereto to steer its beam pattern.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a mobile radio communication device according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of an alternative embodiment of the mobile wireless communications device of Figure 1;

3 is a schematic perspective view of a PCB and antenna arrangement of the wireless communication device of FIG. 1;

4 is a schematic block diagram of the wireless communication device of FIG. 1 illustrating a satellite positioning information display feature;

Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a PCB and antenna arrangement of the wireless communication device of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary mobile wireless communication device arrangement for use with the present invention;

7 is a schematic diagram of a prior art monopole antenna;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a monopole antenna and associated conductive steering element according to the present invention, for performance test comparison with respect to the prior art antenna of FIG. 7 .

Detailed ways

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. However, this invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and thorough, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Throughout the drawings, like numerals refer to like components, and primary numerals are used to refer to similar elements in alternative embodiments.

Referring initially to Figures 1 and 2, a mobile wireless communications device 20 in accordance with the present invention illustratively includes a portable housing 21 and one or more wireless transceivers 22 carried by the portable housing. In the example shown in FIG. 2, a cellular transceiver 22' cooperates with a cellular antenna 23' to communicate over a cellular network via a base station 25', which is shown as a cellular tower for simplicity of illustration. In other embodiments, the wireless transceiver 22 may be a wireless local area or personal area network (LAN/PAN) transceiver communicating via, for example, a wireless LAN/PAN. For example, in alternative embodiments, both cellular and wireless LAN/PAN transceivers may be included, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

The device 20 also illustratively includes a satellite positioning signal receiver 26 carried by the portable housing. As an example, the satellite positioning signal receiver 26 may be a GPS receiver, although receivers compatible with other satellite positioning systems, such as Galileo, may also be used. An antenna 27 is also carried by the portable housing 21 and is connected to a satellite positioning signal receiver 26 for receiving positioning signals from GPS satellites 28, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. It should be noted that in some embodiments, the antenna 27 may also be connected to the wireless transceiver 22 for communicating over a wireless network, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Additionally, the device 20 illustratively includes one or more conductive steering elements 29 carried by the portable housing 21 in a spaced-apart relationship to, and inductively coupled to, the satellite positioning system antenna 27 for aligning its beam pattern ( beam pattern) for guidance. That is, advantageously, the steering element 29 steers or shapes the beam pattern of the antenna 27 airborne toward the GPS antenna 28 while the mobile wireless communication device 20 remains in the operative position, as will be discussed further below.

Turning now additionally to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the mobile wireless communication device 20 may also include a printed circuit board (PCB) 30 carried by the portable housing 21 . In one illustrative embodiment, satellite positioning signal receiver 26 is illustratively shown as the signal source for simplicity of illustration. The relative positioning of the antenna 23 and the PCB 30 allows the PCB to further guide the beam pattern of the antenna. More specifically, in the illustrative example, the antenna 23 is a monopole antenna comprising printed circuit elements on the upper surface of the PCB 30. In addition, a pair of conductive parallel spaced-apart traces provide guides 29a, 29b for the antenna 23 .

The device 20 also illustratively includes a controller 31 carried by the portable housing 21 and connected to the satellite positioning signal receiver 26, and a display 32 carried by the portable housing and cooperating with the controller to display satellite positioning information. As an example, the controller 31 may include a microprocessor and associated circuitry/memory, and the display 32 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), although other suitable components or displays may also be used. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the controller 31 may be carried by the PCB 30, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. It should be noted that in FIG. 4 , those components that are located within the portable housing and are not visible from the outside are shown in dashed lines for clarity of illustration.

When using the GPS functionality of device 20, the user may hold the device in an operating position where display 32 is visible to the user. In an example embodiment, the controller 31 executes a mapping program to convert the positioning data received from the satellite positioning signal receiver 26 into location coordinates displayed at corresponding locations on a map, as known by those skilled in the art will realize. Thus, when a user holds the device 20 such that the display 32 is facing it at the operative position, the PCB 30 acts as a reflector for directing the antenna beam pattern into the air to improve satellite positioning signal reception performance. The steering elements 29a, 29b not only help to steer/shape the beam pattern in the desired direction, it can also provide increased antenna efficiency.

As an example, compare the performance of a first monopole antenna 70 (FIG. 7) without a steering element to the performance of a second monopole antenna 80 with a conductive steering element 81 coupled thereto (as shown in FIG. 8). Both the first and second antennas 70, 80 were mounted adjacent to the top of the mobile phone circuit board for testing, similar to the configuration shown in FIG. 5 . The first antenna 70 is designed to provide peak gain at the frequency of interest. However, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, inductively coupling the directing element 81 to the first antenna 70 will change the characteristics of the antenna so that it no longer provides peak gain at the same frequency. Therefore, in order to provide a meaningful comparison, the second antenna 80 is designed so that when the guiding element 81 is coupled thereto, its peak gain will also occur at the same frequency as the first element 70 without the guiding element. Due to the inductive coupling of the steering element 81 to the second antenna 80, the second antenna provided an average gain improvement of 1 dB better than the first antenna 70 at the three different test frequencies, as summarized in Table 1, as follows.

1565.42MHZ 1575.42MHZ 1585.42MHZ Gain of the first antenna 70 without the guiding element -4.06188dB -4.20504dB -4.51069dB The gain of the second antenna 80 with the guiding element 81 -2.96706dB -2.94389dB -3.13042dB

Table 1

According to an alternative embodiment now described with reference to FIG. 5, a dielectric extension 33' illustratively extends outwardly from the PCB 30', and the antenna 23' and conductive guide element 29' are carried on an upper surface of the dielectric extension. superior. In the exemplary embodiment, antenna 23' is a printed inverted-F antenna, although other antenna configurations than those shown here may also be used. The guide element 29' may also be a printed conductive track on the dielectric extension 33'.

Advantageously, with this arrangement, the dielectric extension 33' and the antenna 23' can be positioned adjacent to the upper or top portion of the portable housing 21'. Advantageously, this configuration also directs or shapes the beam pattern into the air while the user is holding the device 20 so that he can see the display 32 himself, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Furthermore, this allows a cellular (or other wireless) antenna 23 to be carried adjacent to the bottom of the portable housing 21 , as schematically shown in FIG. 2 . This not only reduces interference between the two antennas, but also by moving the cellular antenna 23 further away from the user when the user places the input audio transducer (not shown) of the device 20 adjacent to his ear Farther away, it is helpful to comply with a Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

The method scheme of the present invention is to form a mobile wireless communication device 20 and may include positioning a satellite positioning signal receiver 26 and at least one wireless transceiver 22 in a portable housing 21 and connecting an antenna 27 carried by the portable housing to a satellite The positioning signal receiver is connected. Additionally, at least one conductive steering element 29 is positioned in a spaced-apart relationship to the antenna 27 and is inductively coupled thereto to steer its beam pattern, as discussed above.

Additional features and components of a mobile wireless communication device according to the present invention will be further understood with reference to FIG. 6 . The device 1000 includes a housing 1200 , a keyboard 1400 and an output device 1600 . The output device shown is a display 1600, preferably a full graphics LCD. Alternatively, other types of output devices may be employed. The processing device 1800 is contained in the housing 1200 and connected between the keyboard 1400 and the display 1600 . The processing device 1800 controls the operation of the display 1600 , as well as the overall operation of the mobile device 1000 , in response to activation of keys on the keypad 1400 by the user.

Housing 1200 may be vertically elongated, or may take other sizes and shapes, including clamshell housing configurations. The keypad may include a mode selection key or other hardware or software for switching between text entry and telephony entry.

Apart from the processing device 1800 , other parts of the mobile device 1000 are schematically shown in FIG. 6 . These components include communication subsystem 1001 , short range communication subsystem 1020 , keyboard 1400 and display 1600 , and other input/output devices 1060 , 1080 , 1100 and 1120 , and storage devices 1160 , 1180 and various other device subsystems 1201 . Preferably, the mobile device 1000 is a two-way RF communication device having voice and data communication capabilities. In addition, preferably, the mobile device 1000 has the ability to communicate cooperatively with other computers via the Internet.

Operating system software executed by processing device 1800 is preferably stored in persistent storage, such as flash memory 1160, but may be stored in other types of storage devices, such as read-only memory (ROM) and similar storage units. Additionally, system software, device-specific applications, or portions thereof, may be temporarily loaded into volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 1180 . Communication signals received by the mobile device may be stored in RAM 1180 .

In addition to operating system functions, the processing device 1800 is capable of executing software applications 1300A- 1300N on the device 1000 . A predetermined set of applications for controlling basic device operations, such as data and voice communications 1300A and 1300B, may be installed on device 1000 during manufacture. Additionally, a Personal Information Manager (PIM) application can be installed during manufacture. Preferably, the PIM is capable of organizing and managing data items such as emails, calendar events, voicemails, appointments and task items. Additionally, preferably, the PIM application is capable of sending and receiving data items via the wireless network 1401 . Preferably, via the wireless network 1401, the PIM data item is seamlessly integrated, synthesized and updated with the corresponding data item of the device user stored or associated with the host computer system.

Communication functions, including data and voice communications, are performed through the communications subsystem 1001 and possibly through the short-range communications subsystem. The communication subsystem 1001 includes a receiver 1500 , a transmitter 1520 and one or more antennas 1540 and 1560 . In addition, the communication subsystem 1001 also includes processing modules such as a digital signal processor (DSP) 1580 and a local oscillator (LO) 1601 . The specific design and implementation of the communication subsystem 1001 depends on the communication network in which the mobile device 1000 is intended to operate. For example, mobile device 1000 may include a communications subsystem 1001 designed to operate with a Mobitex ^™ , Data TAC ^™ , or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) mobile data communications network, and also designed to operate with a mobile data communications network such as AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, PCS, The communication subsystem 1001 operated by any of various voice communication networks such as GSM. Other types of data and voice networks (separate and integrated) can also be used with mobile device 1000 .

Network access requirements vary according to the type of communication system. For example, in the Mobitex and DataTAC networks, mobile devices are registered on the network with a unique personal identification number or PIN associated with each device. However, in a GPRS network, network access is associated with the subscriber or user of the device. Accordingly, GPRS devices require a Subscriber Identity Module, commonly referred to as a SIM card, in order to operate on the GPRS network.

When required network registration or activation procedures have been completed, the mobile device 1000 can send and receive communication signals over the communication network 1401 . Signals received by antenna 1540 from communication network 1401 are routed to receiver 1500, which provides signal amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channel selection, etc., and may also provide analog to digital conversion. Analog-to-digital conversion of the received signal allows the DSP 1580 to perform more complex communication functions such as demodulation and decoding. In a similar manner, signals to be transmitted to network 1401 are processed (e.g., modulated and encoded) by DSP 1580 and then provided to transmitter 1520 for digital-to-analog conversion, up-conversion, filtering, amplification, and transmission via antenna 1560 to communication Network 1401.

In addition to processing communication signals, the DSP 1580 provides control of the receiver 1500 and transmitter 1520. For example, the gain applied on the communication signal in receiver 1500 and transmitter 1520 may be adaptively controlled by an automatic gain control algorithm implemented in DSP 1580.

In data communication mode, received signals such as text messages or web page downloads are processed by the communication subsystem 1001 and input to the processing device 1800 . This received signal is then further processed by the processing device 1800 for output to the display 1600 or optionally connected to some other auxiliary I/O device 1060 . A device user may also utilize the keyboard 1400 and/or some other auxiliary I/O device 1060 (eg, a touchpad, rocker switch, thumbwheel, or some other type of input device) to compose data items, such as email messages. The constructed data item may then be communicated over the communication network 1401 via the communication subsystem 1001 .

In the voice communication mode, the overall operation of the device is substantially similar to the data communication mode, except that the received signal is output to the speaker 1100 and the signal for transmission is generated by the microphone 1120 . An optional voice or audio I/O subsystem may also be implemented on device 1000, such as a voice message recording subsystem. Additionally, display 1600 may also be utilized in a voice communication mode, eg, to display the identity of the calling party, the duration of the voice call, or other voice call related information.

The short-range communications subsystem enables communications between the mobile device 1000 and other proximate systems or devices (not necessarily similar devices). For example, the short-range communication subsystem may include an infrared device and related circuits and components, or a Bluetooth communication module to provide communication with similarly functioning systems and devices.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (19)

1, a kind of mobile radio communication apparatus comprises:

Portable housing;

At least one transceiver by described portable housing carrying;

Satellite positioning signal receiver by described portable housing carrying;

By described portable housing carrying and the antenna that links to each other with described satellite positioning signal receiver; And

By at least one electrically conductive director element therefor of described portable housing carrying, there is the relation of apart with described antenna and is coupled, so that its beam pattern is led with described antenna induction ground.

2, mobile radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, it is characterized in that also comprising: by the printing board PCB of described portable housing carrying, and described antenna and described PCB are carried out relative positioning, thereby described PCB is further led to the beam pattern of described antenna.

3, mobile radio communication apparatus according to claim 2 is characterized in that described antenna is included at least one conductive traces on the described PCB.

4, mobile radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, it is characterized in that also comprising: by the printing board PCB of described portable housing carrying with from the outward extending dielectric of described PCB extension, and described antenna is assigned to carry by described dielectric extension.

5, mobile radio communication apparatus according to claim 4 is characterized in that described at least one electrically conductive director element therefor is also carried by described dielectric extension.

6, mobile radio communication apparatus according to claim 1 is characterized in that described portable housing has the upper and lower, and is adjacent to be provided with described antenna with the top of described portable housing.

7, mobile radio communication apparatus according to claim 1 is characterized in that described at least one transceiver comprises cellular transceiver, and comprises the cellular antenna that is carried and linked to each other with described cellular transceiver by described portable housing.

8, mobile radio communication apparatus according to claim 1 is characterized in that described at least one electrically conductive director element therefor comprises electrically conductive director element therefor pair of parallel, apart.

9, mobile radio communication apparatus according to claim 1 is characterized in that also comprising: cooperating by described portable housing carrying and the controller that links to each other with described satellite positioning signal receiver and by described portable housing carrying and with described controller shows the display of satellite fix information.

10, mobile radio communication apparatus according to claim 1 is characterized in that described antenna comprises inverse-F antenna.

11, mobile radio communication apparatus according to claim 1 is characterized in that described antenna comprises unipole antenna.

12, a kind of method that forms mobile radio communication apparatus comprises;

Satellite positioning signal receiver and at least one transceiver are positioned in the portable housing;

To link to each other with described satellite positioning signal receiver by the antenna of described portable housing carrying; And

Locate at least one electrically conductive director element therefor with described antenna according to the relation of apart, so that the coupling of itself and described antenna induction ground, so that its beam pattern is led.

13, method according to claim 12 is characterized in that also comprising: printing board PCB is positioned in the portable housing, and locatees described antenna with respect to PCB, thereby described PCB is further led to the beam pattern of antenna.

14, method according to claim 13 is characterized in that locating described antenna and comprises: form at least one conductive traces on PCB.

15, method according to claim 12 is characterized in that also comprising: will have from the printing board PCB of its outward extending dielectric extension and be positioned at the housing, and comprise: with Antenna Positioning on the dielectric extension.

16, method according to claim 15 is characterized in that locating at least one electrically conductive director element therefor and comprises: at least one electrically conductive director element therefor is positioned on the dielectric extension.

17, method according to claim 12 is characterized in that described portable housing has the upper and lower, and comprises the adjacent position of Antenna Positioning on portable housing top.

18, method according to claim 12 is characterized in that described at least one transceiver comprises cellular transceiver, and comprises: cellular antenna is positioned in the portable housing and with described cellular antenna links to each other with cellular transceiver.

19, method according to claim 12, it is characterized in that also comprising: controller is positioned in the portable housing and with controller links to each other with described satellite positioning signal receiver, and display is positioned in the portable housing, shows satellite fix information so that cooperate with described controller.

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