This application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. §119 of European Patent Application No. 15305326.9, filed Mar. 3, 2015.
The present invention generally relates to an antenna, and more particularly, to an architecture for a rotatable antenna for small devices with a radiating element and a swiveling coupler. The coupler is electromagnetically coupled to a pin rigidly connected to a PCB.
Recently small media streaming devices has become common on the marketplace. These devices stream media wirelessly from the internet and user wireless remote controls to control the device. Turning now to
Generally, wireless antennas embedded in small electronic devices, such as USB dongle devices, exhibit very poor performance, in terms of gain, radiation efficiency and radiation pattern. The size of the small electronic device does not enable optimal antenna design as the smaller the size of an antenna with respect to the radiating wavelength, the lower its radiation efficiency. Antenna electromagnetic behavior is very sensitive to conductive objects in its close environment, such as interface connectors, circuit shielding covers, cables, and shielded equipment housings to which the small device is connected. In addition, embedded antennas are often printed on the main circuit board. When a device with an embedded antenna is placed in the back side of a display, the wireless connection could be drastically impaired because of a lack of “visibility”.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a compact, low cost, external antennas which can be configured by a user, in a way to avoid these undesirable wireless performance issues and to offer a more flexible way to improve the coverage performance according the conditions of visibility of the device.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, an antenna is disclosed comprising a feed element, a first element having a cylindrical portion, a second element fixed to said feed element, and a third element fixed to said second element and rotationally fixed to an outside surface of said cylindrical portion of such that a space is maintained between said cylindrical portion and said second element.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus is disclosed comprising a printed circuit board, a cylindrical antenna element affixed at one base to the printed circuit board such that an axis of said cylindrical antenna element is orthogonal to a plane of said printed circuit board, a radiating antenna element having a hollow cylindrical portion, wherein said hollow cylindrical portion is positioned over a portion of said cylindrical antenna element, and a nonconductive element affixed to a portion of said cylindrical antenna element and positioned over said hollow cylindrical portion such that a gap is maintained between said cylindrical antenna element and said hollow cylindrical portion.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a rotatable antenna is disclosed comprising a first element electrically coupled to a printed circuit board, where the first element comprises a first cylindrical portion, a second element having a second cylindrical portion, said second cylindrical portion having a cavity for receiving said first cylindrical portion such that said second element rotates around an axis of said first element, and a third element immovably fixed to a portion of said first element and movably fixed to a portion of said second cylindrical portion such that said second cylindrical portion is prevented from touching said first cylindrical portion.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus is disclosed comprising a printed circuit board, an enclosure for enclosing at least a portion of said printed circuit board, said enclosure having a circular aperture over a portion of said printed circuit board, a cylindrical antenna element affixed at to the printed circuit board such that an axis of said cylindrical antenna element is orthogonal to a plane of said printed circuit board, said axis also being in alignment with said aperture, and a radiating antenna element having a cylindrical portion, wherein said cylindrical portion is positioned over a portion of said cylindrical antenna element, and wherein said cylindrical portion is positioned within said aperture of said enclosure such that cylindrical portion is movably retained by said enclosure such that a gap is maintained between said cylindrical antenna element and said cylindrical portion
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The exemplifications set out herein illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
As described herein, the present invention provides an architecture for a rotatable compact antenna for use in electronic products. While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, the present invention can be further modified within the scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
The printed circuit board 220 is mounted within the housing 210 and includes a wireless transmitter, a wireless receiver, and a processor among other functional circuitry. The printed circuit board 220 has components affixed to one or more surfaces of the circuit board 220 including a portion of the rotational antenna 230. The portion of the rotational antenna is electrically coupled to the transmitter and receiver portions of the device 200.
Turning now to
Ideally, a relative consistent tolerance is desired on the electromagnetic coupling for the distance between the primary element 310 and the secondary element 320. The third element 330 is introduced to maintain the spacing. This third element 330 consists of a dielectric part, over-molding a portion of the second element 320, with a base lying onto the printed circuit board 340, and comprising a cavity hosting the swiveling head of the first element 310.
The design of the third element 330 aims at accommodating several requirements. To ensure the perpendicularity of the secondary element with respect to the PCB plane, the base of the third element 330 is mounted on top of the printed circuit board 340 and over-molded on the secondary element 320. To ensure that the primary element 310 and the secondary element 320 are correctly aligned coaxially the cylindrical portion of the primary element 310 is hosted in the cavity of the secondary element 320 with tight tolerances. By this way, the desired air spacing in the XY plane, between the primary and secondary elements, is also maintained. Finally, to maintain the required air spacing in the Z axis, the cylindrical portion of the primary element 310 is abutted against the hosting internal base of the third element 330. In addition, a clip (not shown) on top of the third element 330 restricts the withdrawal of the primary element 310 from the hosting third element 330.
In the perspective view, the primary element 310A is shown with a cylindrical portion inserted in the third element 330A, such that the radiating portion of the primary element can rotate in the plane of the printed circuit board 340A. The third portion keeps the primary portion 310A consistently coupled to the radiating portion of the secondary element (not shown). There plane of rotation is not limited to the angle formed by the radiating portion of the printed circuit board 340A. The radiating portion may be bent, or the elements may be modified in such a way that rotation occurs in a plane other than that of the printed circuit board 340A.
The third element 330 may be molded with a key or flange operative to engage a groove on the primary element 310. Thus, the primary element 310 can be rotated without becoming disengaged from the third element 330. As show in
Turning now to
Turning now to
Turning now to
The following table shows the values of the parameters of the antenna of the example shown in
Besides devices with small dimensions, the antenna of the embodiment of the invention can be used in devices where the housing is in metal, for reasons of aesthetic, and thus inside which it is impossible to embed the antennas. Other applications may include multi-band LTE gateways, for which the external stick antennas can achieve better radiation patterns and performances in comparison with fully embedded antennas.
While the present invention has been described in terms of a number of specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that modifications may be made which will fall within the scope of the invention. For example, various antenna lengths, mounting configurations and/or antenna driving circuits may be implemented separately or combined, and may be implemented in general purpose discrete components or dedicated data processing hardware.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
15305326 | Mar 2015 | EP | regional |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5317325 | Bottomley | May 1994 | A |
5969685 | Hayes et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
6062912 | Witczak | May 2000 | A |
7042404 | Jo et al. | May 2006 | B2 |
7468701 | Fujikawa et al. | Dec 2008 | B2 |
7986277 | Li | Jul 2011 | B2 |
8102320 | Lin | Jan 2012 | B2 |
20060273980 | Chan | Dec 2006 | A1 |
20070247375 | Huang | Oct 2007 | A1 |
20080165078 | Song | Jul 2008 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
103618676 | Mar 2014 | CN |
2007007318 | Jan 2007 | WO |
Entry |
---|
Ali et al., “Planar Array Antenna with Parasitic Elements for Beam Steering Control”, Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium Proceedings, Aug. 18-21, 2009, pp. 181-185, Moscow, Russia. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20160261041 A1 | Sep 2016 | US |