1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to antenna systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern communication standards have been developed to control wireless communications over widely-spaced frequency bands. Examples are the 802.11 and 802.16 standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) that concern wireless communication in metropolitan area networks. Commonly referred to as WiFi (wireless fidelity) and WiMAX (worldwide interoperability for microwave access), these standards are intended to facilitate wireless networks that provide various communication services.
To make full use of these standards, communication networks must be capable of simultaneously operating in communication bands that have significantly different wavelengths (e.g., first and second wavelengths wherein the first wavelength is at least twice the second wavelength). This is a demanding requirement which current antenna systems generally fail to meet.
The present invention provides antenna system embodiments that are configured for efficient performance over widely-spaced frequency bands. The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
As particularly shown in
Although different system embodiments can be realized with different polarization relationships, the relationship is preferably an orthogonal one to enhance signal isolation. Although different system embodiments can be realized with different polarizations (e.g., elliptical), the polarizations of the embodiment 20 are linear with a polarization difference that is substantially 90 degrees (i.e., they are orthogonally related). For descriptive simplicity, the structure of the first and second antennas may subsequently be said to “have a first polarization” and “have a second polarization” which are respectively shown by arrows 28 and 29 in
In the system 20, the second antennas 24 are circumferentially interleaved with the first antennas about a system axis 26 that is shown in
The circumferentially-interleaved arrangement also facilitates various operational modes of the system. In an exemplary operational mode, each of similar antennas (e.g., the second antennas 24) can be selected for signal radiation and reception in antenna beams directed along a respective one of the beam axes 28 shown extending outward from the system axis 26 in
The first exemplary mode is facilitated with the microstrip feed structure 30 of
Although various antenna structures can be used in different embodiments of the system 20, an exemplary first antenna embodiment includes a beam-shaping member and at least one conductive member which defines a cavity and also defines a slot that communicates with the cavity.
Before describing this antenna embodiment further, it is noted that a conductive member 40 is shown in
A cavity 44 is particularly shown in
The beam-shaping member 48 is preferably a planar member that extends between first and second edges 49 and 50. As best seen in
As shown in
In a radiating mode of each of the first antennas 22, electrical power is coupled along feed lines 32 in
It was stated above that the system 20 includes second antennas 24 which are circumferentially interleaved with first antennas 22 about a system axis 26 and that various antenna structures can be used in different embodiments of the system. An exemplary second antenna embodiment is particularly shown in
In addition, a feed line 80 begins at a tip 81 and couples to the inner patch 76 via a probe 82 that passes through the ground plane 74. The tip 81 is received into one of the feed lines 31 of
The ground plane of the second antenna actually comprises more than one element. A first is the ground plane 74 referenced above and a second and third are additional ground plane segments 75 which are stepped above the ground plane 74 so that they are substantially coplanar with the inner patch 76. As noted above with reference to the first antenna, various pieces of electromagnetically-transparent assembly hardware 64 are used to secure parts of the second antennas.
Antenna system embodiments of the invention are especially suited for operation in widely spaced frequency bands of wireless communication networks. As mentioned in the background, 802.11 and 802.16 standards were developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for wireless communication in metropolitan area networks. These networks are often referred to respectively as WiFi and WiMAX and are intended to provide “the last 100 yards” and “the last mile” in wireless communication networks that connect remote locations (e.g., homes, businesses and local area networks (LANs)) to communication services (e.g., the internet).
These networks use widely-spaced communication bands such as the Industrial, Science and Medicine (ISM) bands and the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (UNII) bands which approximately cover the 2.4-2.5 GHz and 5.2-5.8 GHz regions. Accordingly, communication systems for these standards must be able to operate with signals having first and second wavelengths in which the first wavelength is at least twice the second wavelength.
Antenna system embodiments of the invention are particularly suited to meet these needs and can be installed, for example, in various rooms of a large building to serve as wireless access points which enable wireless communications within and between the rooms. In this application, the first antennas 22 that are particularly shown in
The second antennas 24 (particularly shown in
When the first antenna 22 (particularly shown in
Signals at both the longer and shorter wavelengths excite an electric field across the slot 46 and this flow of power is directed outward by the cavity 44. The beam-shaping member 48 causes this power to be split and directed oppositely through the passages 51 and 52 to radiate from the elongate apertures 53 and 54 as best seen in
The lengths of the cavity, slot and beam-shaping member are selected to shape the omnidirectional beam with elevation beamwidths on the order of 50° and 30° for signals respectively having the first and second wavelengths. The width (between edges 49 and 50) of the beam-shaping member 48 may be selected to realize the desired azimuthal beam shaping. Although the array 70 includes two outer patches in the illustrated embodiment, other system embodiments may use different arrays with different number of outer patches.
When the second antenna 24 (particularly shown in
Via the inner patch 76, a signal at the second wavelength excites the outer patches 72 of the array 70 and they generate a beam with the same polarization (29 in
The outer patches 72 each have a resonant length that is selected to be somewhat shorter than ½ of the second wavelength and the array 70 has an array spacing (25 in
The second antenna 24 can typically generate beams with elevation beamwidths on the order of 50° and 30° at the first and second wavelengths respectively. The widths of the inner patch 76 and the outer patches 72 can be selected to alter the azimuth beam width of the second antennas 24. In one embodiment, the second antenna 25 was configured to generate beams with azimuth beamwidths on the order of 100°.
The length of the shorted transmission line 84 is chosen to present a selected susceptance to the feed line 80 at its intersection with the probe 82. This susceptance is selected to combine in parallel with the impedance presented to the probe by the inner patch 76 and array 70. It is selected so that the combined impedance substantially matches the feed line impedance of the feed line 80 at the first and second wavelengths as shown in the Smith chart 100 of
The Smith chart 100 has a high impedance point 101 and includes an impedance plot 102 that shows the impedance at an exemplary probe (82 in
Antenna system embodiments of the invention thus provide a number of advantageous features for operation over widely-spaced communication bands. They include but are not limited to a) second antennas circumferentially interleaved with first antennas about a system axis to enhance isolation and station coverage, b) beam-shaping members that shape beams associated with cavity-backed slots, c) feed lines shaped to control modes in cavity-backed slots at a shorter second wavelength, d) patch arrays excited by respective inner patches and arranged to provide large radiating apertures at shorter second wavelengths, e) ground plane segments positioned coplanar with inner patches to form ground planes for arrays of outer patches at shorter second wavelengths, and f) shorted transmission lines used to enhance feed line impedance matches at first and second wavelengths.
For clarity of description, antenna embodiments have been described above with reference sometimes to a radiation process and sometimes to a reception process. Because reciprocity is an inherent characteristic of antennas, these descriptions also apply to the other of the radiation and reception processes.
The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/624,684 filed Nov. 2, 2004.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60624684 | Nov 2004 | US |