This disclosure relates to the field of antennae for wireless terminals configured for wireless communication, and in particular to an antenna arrangement for use in at least two frequency ranges.
Electronic devices often include wireless communications circuitry, and such electronic devices may be referred to as wireless terminals. For example, cellular telephones, computers, and other devices often contain antennas and wireless transceivers for supporting wireless communications.
A large number of systems for wireless communication have been developed and used, for different purposes. Various specifications forming standard requirements for wireless communication have for example been administered through the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) throughout the years. Progressing generations of specifications have been provided for setting up common rules for setting up and operating both a wireless radio interface between a wireless terminal and a base station, and various levels of operation of the wireless network. In 3GPP documentation, a wireless terminal, or wireless communication device, is commonly referred to as a User Equipment (UE). A base station defines a cell and is operative to serve a surrounding area with radio access for UEs, by providing radio access to UEs within a cell. A base station is also referred to herein as a node or access node, and various terms are used in 3GPP for different types of systems or specification. An access network, or Radio Access Network (RAN), typically includes a plurality of access nodes, and is connected to a Core Network (CN) which inter alia provides access to other communication networks. In the so-called 3G specifications, the term NodeB is used to denote an access node, whereas in the so-called 4G specifications, also referred to as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the term eNodeB (eNB) is used. A further developed set of specifications for radio communication are referred to as the 5G type radio communication system (5GS), including the New Radio (NR) technology, wherein the term gNB is used to denote an access node.
Progressive development of wireless communication technology and requirements includes operation in higher frequency bands. It may for example be desirable to support wireless communications in millimeter wave communications bands. Millimeter wave communications, which are sometimes referred to as extremely high frequency communications, involve communications at frequencies of about 10-400 GHz. Operation at these frequencies may support high bandwidths and controlled directional communication, such as beam-steering, but may also raise significant challenges. For example, millimeter wave communications are often line-of-sight communications and can be characterized by substantial attenuation during signal propagation. In 3GPP, mm wave communication is defined under the aforementioned 5G NR. This may include communication capability at different frequencies, including millimeter wave spectrum above 24 GHz.
For implementation in electronic devices configured to act as wireless terminals, new antenna solutions may be required to accommodate operation in the higher frequency range of mm wavelength bands. At the same time, operation shall preferably still be supported at lower frequency bands, to support legacy communication.
In view of the general objective of providing an antenna solution for use in a wireless terminal to provide communication capability in different frequency ranges, an antenna, an antenna arrangement and a wireless terminal as outlined in the independent claims is provided. These antenna solutions include inter alia
An antenna, for use in a wireless terminal including a ground plane and a metal frame encompassing the ground plane with a gap between the metal frame and the ground plane;
Various embodiments are outlined in the dependent claims.
Various embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings, in which
The invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
It will be understood that, when an element is referred to as being “connected” to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. It will furthermore be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense expressly so defined herein.
Embodiments of the invention are described herein with reference to schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments of the invention. As such, variations from the shapes and relative sizes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodiments of the invention should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes and relative sizes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes and/or relative sizes that result, for example, from different operational constraints and/or from manufacturing constraints. Thus, the elements illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the actual shape of a region of a device and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
Various solutions are presented herein related to improvements in the art of edge mounted antennae, supporting at least two frequency ranges (FR). Common for such embodiments is that a first frequency range FR1 has an associated upper frequency limit, whereas a second, higher, frequency range FR2 has an associated a lower frequency limit which is higher than the upper limit of FR1. Embodiments are primarily presented for a metal frame antenna arrangement for 3GPP frequency ranges FR1 and FR2, where FR1 e.g. has an associated upper frequency of 7.125 GHz, and FR2 (mm wave) e.g. has an associated lower frequency limit of 24 GHz, for a 5G wireless terminal. However, alternative frequency ranges are plausible within the concept of the described embodiments
In various embodiments, the open cavity structure 100 is a waveguide structure which is at least partially open-ended in said gap 13. In other words, the grounding connection 15 is designed as an open cavity structure, or open-end waveguide structure where a first surface 101, e.g. a top surface, is partially open-ended. Thereby, and open surface portion 104 is arranged at the gap 13, between the metal frame 12 and ground plane 11. At least one other surface or portion of the open cavity structure 100 is directly connected with the metal frame 12 to ensure the antenna 1 behaves as grounding connection at FR1. Said at least one other surface may include an edge or side surface 107 which connects to the first surface 101, and/or a second surface 102, opposite the first surface 101, of the open cavity structure 100.
In some embodiments, said open cavity structure 100 comprises a dielectric member 103, and a conductive member configured to connect the ground plane with the metal frame. That is, in these embodiments the conductive member forms the grounding connection 15 between the ground plane and the metal frame for operation in the first frequency range FR1. The dielectric member 103 may e.g. include a ceramic, plastic or other dielectric material. The conductive member may include a surface coating on said dielectric member, such as a metal cover 102, 105, 107 or metallized surfaces 102, 105, 107 of the dielectric member 103. In an alternative embodiment, the dielectric member may be air, such as a void, shaped and confined within metal surface portions 102, 105, 107.
The conductive member, providing the grounding connection 15, may be arranged to partially cover the dielectric member 103 so as to present the open surface portion 104 of the dielectric member at said gap 13, in the first surface 101 of the open cavity structure 100.
It may be noted that
The dimensions of the open surface portion 104 impact the frequency and bandwidth of the frequency range FR2 at which the antenna 1 is configured to operate. The grounding element 15, formed by the conductive member configured to connect to the metal frame 12 over the gap 13, has a width W in a plane parallel with the ground plane 11, as indicated in
The proposed antenna arrangement thus achieves a high gain since the proposed structure feeds the energy on the metal frame, which enlarges the antenna aperture as a larger radiator.
As shown in the embodiments of
In some embodiments, each antenna 1A-1D may be selectively used to realize a beam switch antenna system for FR2 in a wireless terminal incorporating the antenna arrangement 10. A benefit of such a beam switch antenna system is that it can achieve a large spherical coverage, a fundamental aspect for antenna systems in 3GPP requirements.
By means of various embodiments of the proposed antenna 1 employed in an antenna arrangement 10, the antenna 1 is configured to conveniently radiate or receive at the gap 13 arranged interior of the metal frame. This is beneficial in that it provides a convenient way of obtaining coverage even if a display module, or other conductive member, is placed over the ground plane 11.
As indicated in
In one embodiment, as indicated in
In an alternative embodiment, as indicated in
The lens may take any suitable shape for the purpose of collimating the radiation to and from the antenna 1. This includes a wedge, trapezoid and convex shapes. The lens 130 may be manufactured in a material which is highly transmissive to the desired wavelength region of FR2 and having a suitable refractive index.
The foregoing disclosure thus present various antenna designs realized by feeding energy from an open cavity waveguide-like structure 100 into a metal frame 12 for use in a wireless terminal. The large aperture on the metal frame helps to realize high gain at FR2, such as mm wave frequency bands, and also to shape the beam. For antenna systems, the larger aperture it has, the higher gain it can reach. The metal frame 12 behaves as a reflector, reflecting the energy toward certain desired direction. The proposed open cavity structure 100 further acts as grounding connection in FR1, which provides a convenient solution of integration of a multi band antenna system. Moreover, the open surface portion 104 on the open cavity structure 100 consumes very little space and is arranged in the small gap immediately interior of the metal frame 12. This way, the antenna of the proposed solution can be integrated on a full display wireless terminal.
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1951096-5 | Sep 2019 | SE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2020/068428 | 6/30/2020 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2021/058153 | 4/1/2021 | WO | A |
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