This application claims the benefit of Taiwan application Serial No. 96141205, filed Nov. 1, 2007, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to an antenna device, and more particularly to a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna device capable of adjusting the radiation pattern.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology will become a mainstream technology in wireless communication in the future. Unlike conventional single antenna systems, many antennas are operated concurrently in MIMO systems, so that the data transmission in the wireless network is more stable and the data transmission rate is increased. At present, the MIMO technology has become standardized specification in communication protocols such as IEEE 802.11n (WiFi) and 802.16d/e (WiMAX). Recently, adaptive MIMO systems have been provided. The adaptive MIMO systems refer to systems that the coding method and the antenna characteristics are adjustable, so that the adaptive MIMO system is capable of achieving an optimum working mode according to the real-time state of wireless channels. Therefore, the design of antennas with adjustable radiation characteristics is essential in adaptive MIMO systems.
As too much space of a wireless communication product is occupied by one conventional antenna, it is very difficult to install many antennas whose radiation characteristics are adjustable. Thus, the antenna design is a bottleneck to break through for an electronic product to in-build many communication systems operated in different frequency bands and adopting the MIMO technology.
Accordingly, the MIMO antenna system whose size is small and the radiation characteristics are adjustable heralds whether future small-sized electronic devices can fully utilize the resources of the wireless network.
The invention is directed to an antenna device which achieves a small-sized MIMO antenna device by at least two sets of independent slot antennas incorporating with independent control circuits, respectively.
According to the present invention, an antenna device including a substrate, a ground layer, a first feeding element, a second feeding element, a first control circuit, a second control circuit, a third control circuit and a fourth control circuit is provided. The substrate has a top surface and a lower surface. The ground layer disposed on the lower surface includes a first ground portion, a second ground portion and a third ground portion. The third ground portion is separated from the first ground portion and the second ground portion by a first slot and a second slot, respectively. The first slot has a first segment and a second segment. The first segment and the second segment form a first angle. The second slot has a third segment and a fourth segment. The third segment and the fourth segment form a second angle. The first feeding element and the second feeding element are disposed on the top surface and respectively include a first conductive feeding line and a second conductive feeding line. The first conductive feeding line crosses over the first slot and passes through the substrate to be electrically connected to the first ground portion. The second conductive feeding line crosses over the second slot and passes through the substrate to be electrically connected to the second ground portion. The first control circuit and the second control circuit are disposed on the top surface and respectively include a first wire and a second wire. The first wire crosses over the corresponding position of the first segment of the first slot on the top surface and passes through the substrate to be electrically connected to the first ground portion. The second wire crosses over the corresponding position of the second segment of the first slot on the top surface and passes through the substrate to be electrically connected to the first ground portion. The third control circuit and the fourth control circuit are disposed on the top surface and respectively include a third wire and a fourth wire. The third wire crosses over the corresponding position of the third segment of the second slot on the top surface and passes through the substrate to be electrically connected to the second ground portion. The fourth wire crosses over the corresponding position of the fourth segment of the second slot on the top surface and passes through the substrate to be electrically connected to the second ground portion.
The invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiments. The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
Referring to
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As indicated in
As indicated in
As indicated in
Furthermore, the first control circuit 140 further includes a first diode D1, and the first wire L1 is electrically connected to the cathode of the first diode D1. The second control circuit 150 further includes a second diode D2, and the second wire L2 is electrically connected to the cathode of the second diode D2. By respectively controlling the voltage applied to the anodes of the first diode D1 and the second diode D1, the first diode D1 and the second diode D2 can be selectively conducted. Thus, the current distribution near the first slot 101 can be changed by respectively controlling the current passing through the first wire L1 and the second wire L2, so that the radiation pattern of the antenna formed by the first slot 101 is changed. That is, the radiation pattern of the antenna formed by the first slot 101 is controlled via the first control circuit 140 and the second control circuit 150 in the present embodiment of the invention.
Likewise, the third control circuit 160 further includes a third diode D3, and the third wire L3 is electrically connected to the cathode of the third diode D3. The fourth control circuit 170 further includes a fourth diode D4, and the fourth wire L4 is electrically connected to the cathode of the fourth diode D4. The third control circuit 160 and the fourth control circuit 170 can be used to change the radiation pattern of the antenna formed by the second slot 103 by respectively controlling the third diode D3 and the fourth diode D4 to be conducted or not. Besides, the antennas formed by the first slot 101 and the second slot 103 are independent antennas having independent feeding elements and control circuits, respectively. Thus, the antenna device 10 having a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) structure is capable of changing the radiation pattern. The antenna device 10 of the present embodiment is not only capable of increasing the data transmission rate and enhancing the capability and the stability of the signal transmission, but it is also capable of achieving an optimum mode to receive/transmit signals by changing the radiation pattern.
The opearation ways of the present embodiment in different working modes are illustrated below. Two independent antennas of the present embodiment of the invention respectively controlled by two independent control circuits have four working modes. For example, when the second diode D2 is conducted, the first slot 101 uses the first segment 101a extending along the X-axis direction as the main radiator to be operated in the working mode X. Meanwhile, the current path near the first slot 101 is illustrated in
The first slot 101 and the second slot 103 are defined as being operated in the working mode X when using the portion extending along the X-axis direction as the main radiator. The first slot 101 and the second slot 103 are defined as being operated in the working mode Y when using the portion extending along the Y-axis direction as the main radiator. The first slot 101 and the second slot 103 are defined as being operated in the working mode XX when the antenna formed by the first slot 101 is operated in the working mode X and the antenna formed by the second slot 103 is operated in the working mode X. The antenna device 10 can also be defined as being operated in the working mode XY, the working mode YX and the working mode YY. The first slot 101 and the second slot 103 are defined as being operated in the working mode XY when the antennas formed by the first slot 101 and the second slot 103 are operated in the working mode X and the working mode Y, respectively. The first slot 101 and the second slot 103 are defined as being operated in the working mode YX when the antennas formed by the first slot 101 and the second slot 103 are operated in the working mode Y and the working mode X, respectively. The first slot 101 and the second slot 103 are defined as being operated in the working mode YY when the antennas formed by the first slot 101 and the second slot 103 are both operated in the working mode Y.
Referring to
Li1+Lc1+Lc2≈0.25λg
Li2+Lc1+Lc2≈0.25λg
wherein λg is the wavelength of the guided wave.
According to the above-described design, no matter what the working mode that the antenna is operated in, the guided wave can resonate with the first slot 101 to generate an electromagnetic signal with a desired frequency. Also, the frequencies of the electromagnetic wave respectively generated when the antenna is operated in the working mode X and working mode Y can be designed to be different as long as the sum of (Li1+Lc1+Lc2) differs from the sum of (Li2+Lc1+Lc2).
Likewise, let the lengths of the third segment at the two sides of the third wire L3 respectively be Li3 and Lc3, and the lengths of the fourth segment at the two sides of the fourth wire L4 respectively be Li4 and Lc4. Preferably, the following conditions are satisfied:
Li3+Lc3+Lc4≈0.25λg
Li4+Lc1+Lc2≈0.25λg
Besides, the first control circuit 140 and the second control circuit 150 respectively include a first capacitor C1 and a second capacitor C2. One terminal of the first capacitor C1 and one terminal of the second capacitor C2 are coupled to the anode of the first diode D1 and the anode of the second diode D2, respectively. The other terminals of the first capacitor C1 and the second capacitor C2 are electrically coupled to the third ground portion 110c, as indicated in
Likewise, the third control circuit 160 and the fourth control circuit 170 respectively include a third capacitor C3 and a fourth capacitor C4. One terminal of the third capacitor C3 and one terminal of the fourth capacitor C4 are coupled to the anode of the third diode D3 and the anode of the fourth diode D4, respectively. The other terminals of the third capacitor C3 and the fourth capacitor C4 are electrically connected to the third ground portion 110c.
The first control circuit 140 further includes a fifth capacitor C5 and a fifth wire L5. The second control circuit 150 further includes a sixth capacitor C6 and a sixth wire L6. One terminal of the fifth capacitor C5 and one terminal of the sixth capacitor C6 are electrically connected to the third ground portion 110c. The fifth wire L5 is connected to the first capacitor C1 and the fifth capacitor C5, and the sixth wire L6 is connected to the second capacitor C2 and the sixth capacitor C6. The length of the fifth wire L5 is approximately ¼ wavelength of the guided wave, and the length of the sixth wire L6 is approximately ¼ wavelength of the guided wave.
Likewise, the third control circuit 160 further includes a seventh capacitor C7 and a seventh wire L7, and the fourth control circuit 170 further includes an eighth capacitor C8 and an eighth wire L8. One terminal of the seventh capacitor C7 and one terminal of the eighth capacitor C8 are electrically connected to the third ground portion 110c. The seventh wire L7 is connected to the third capacitor C3 and the seventh capacitor C7. The eighth wire L8 is connected to the fourth capacitor C4 and the eighth capacitor C8. The length of the seventh wire L7 is approximately ¼ wavelength of the guided wave, and the length of the eighth wire L8 is approximately ¼ wavelength of the guided wave.
The first control circuit 140 further includes a first resistor R1 coupled between a signal input terminal of the first control circuit 140 and one terminal of the fifth capacitor C5. The second control circuit 150 further includes a second resistor R2 coupled between a signal input terminal of the second control circuit 150 and one terminal of the sixth capacitor C6. The third control circuit 160 further includes a third resistor R3 coupled between a signal input terminal of the third control circuit 160 and one terminal of the seventh capacitor C7. The fourth control circuit 170 further includes a fourth resistor R4 coupled between a signal input terminal of the fourth control circuit 170 and one terminal of the eighth capacitor C8. The high current generated to pass through the control circuits can be avoided by the disposition of the resistors.
Referring to
In order to achieve the resonance, the imaginary part of the equivalent impedance Z1 with respect to the anode of the first diode D1 is treated as zero. As the first diode D1 is forward conducted, the first diode D1 has the inductance effect. As the length of the fifth wire L5 is approximately ¼ wavelength of the guided wave. One terminal of the fifth wire L5 is equivalently grounded when in high frequency, the equivalent impedance Z2 with respect to the other side of the fifth wire L5 is infinite. Thus, with the disposition of the first capacitor C1 and the appropriate selection of the capacitant value of the first capacitor C1, the imaginary part of the sum of the impedance of the first capacitor C1 and the impedance of the equivalent inductance of the first diode D1 when being forward conducted can be zero to meet the requirements of the resonance. The operation of the other control circuits are similar to the above disclosure and is not repeated here.
Referring to
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Referring to
One feature of the present embodiment differing from the first embodiment is that a first capacitor C1′ in a first control circuit 240, a second capacitor C2′ in a second control circuit 250, a third capacitor C3′ in a third control circuit and a fourth capacitor C4′ in a fourth control circuit 270 all adopt variable capacitors. The variable capacitors can be, for example, implemented by varactor diodes. The capacitant value of the variable capacitor can be changed by changing the cross-voltage at the two terminals of the variable capacitor. As the capacitant value of the variable capacitor in each control circuit can be adjusted, the first slot and the second slot can transmit/receive electromagnetic signals with different frequencies when being operated in different working modes. Thus, the antenna device 20 is not only capable of adjusting the radiation pattern, but it is also capable of receiving/transmitting electromagnetic signals with different frequencies.
Another different feature between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that a first microstrip line M1′ is electrically connected to the third ground portion 110c via a ninth capacitor C9, and the ninth capacitor C9 is connected in parallel with a fifth resistor R5. Likewise, a second microstrip line M2′ is electrically connected to the third ground portion 110c via a tenth capacitor C10, and the tenth capacitor C10 is connected in parallel with a sixth resistor R6.
Besides, the first conductive feeding line F1 is further electrically connected to the third ground portion 110c via an eleventh capacitor C11, and the second conductive feeding line F2 is electrically connected to the third ground portion 110c via a twelfth capacitor C12.
Referring to
Besides, when the first capacitor C1′ is achieved by changing the cross-voltage at the two terminals of the first capacitor C1′, the disposition of the fifth resistor R5 makes the voltage of the node N2 adjustable and not fixed at the forward cross-voltage of the first diode D1. The voltage at the node N2 is the sum of the forward cross-voltage of the first diode D1 and the cross-voltage of the fifth resistor R5. Thus, the capacitant value of the first capacitor C1′ can be adjusted by changing the voltage of the control signal Ctrl′.
The ninth capacitor C9 makes one terminal of the first microstrip line M1′ grounded when in high frequency. The twelfth capacitor C12 is used for isolating the direct current voltage. The ninth capacitor C9 and the twelfth capacitor C12 can effectively prevent the direct current voltage at the cathode of the first diode D1 from affecting the antenna formed by the first slot 101. The operation of the other control circuits are similar to the above disclosure and is not repeated here.
Referring to
According to the above embodiments of the invention, the antenna device has two sets of slot antennas having the specific structures, so that the antenna device having the MIMO technology can be miniaturized, light weighted and thinned. In addition, each set of the slot antenna is incorporated with two sets of the independent control circuits, so that the antenna device is capable of adjusting the radiation pattern so as to achieve the optimum signal transmission mode according to the communication environment, hence increasing the data transmission rate. If the variable capacitor is adopted in the control circuit, the antenna device will be capable of adjusting the field pattern and the frequency as well. Thus, the antenna device of the embodiment makes the MIMO technology applicable to small-sized portable electronic devices and achieves optimum communication quality by changing the field pattern according to the communication environment. The design of frequency reconfigurable antennas further makes electronic devices capable of adopting different communication protocols, so that communication device with a dual-mode or even a multi-mode can be provided.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements and procedures.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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96141205 | Nov 2007 | TW | national |