Patent Application
20250167435
The present invention relates to a multi-band low profile antenna and a vehicle-mounted antenna.
Antennas are commonly used in variable electronics, such as notebooks, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) or other wireless communication devices. Typically, the antennas may be designed to be corresponding to one or more frequency bands to meet user's demands.
In order to meet a demand for multi-band communication, the antenna device is designed to integrate antenna circuits corresponding to different frequency bands. However, the integration of the antenna circuits results in a large size of the antenna device.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a multi-band low profile antenna and a vehicle-mounted antenna. In the multi-band low profile antenna, one connection cable is used to integrate antenna circuits corresponding to different frequency bands for size reduction.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the multi-band low profile antenna includes a base board, a circuit board, a first antenna circuit, a second antenna circuit, a third antenna circuit, a connection cable and a main cable. The circuit board is vertically disposed on a top surface of the base board. The first antenna circuit is disposed on the circuit board. The first antenna circuit is configured to provide a first communication function of a first frequency band. The second antenna circuit is disposed on the circuit board. The second antenna circuit is configured to provide a second communication function of a second frequency band. The third antenna circuit is disposed on the circuit board. The third antenna circuit is configured to provide a third communication function of a third frequency band. The third antenna circuit is configured to provide a third communication function of a third frequency band.
The connection cable is disposed between the first antenna circuit and the second antenna circuit. The connection cable has a first terminal electrically connected to the first antenna circuit, and has a second terminal electrically connected to the second antenna circuit and the third antenna circuit, thereby transmitting the signals of the first antenna circuit, the second antenna circuit and the third antenna circuit. The main cable is electrically connected to the first terminal of the connection cable to transmit the signals of the first antenna circuit, the second antenna circuit and the third antenna circuit to or from an external device. A length of the connection cable is controlled in accordance with the first frequency band, the second band and the third frequency band.
In some embodiments, the first frequency band of the first antenna circuit corresponds to a Very High Frequency (VHF) band, the second frequency band of the second antenna circuit corresponds to a frequency band from 700 MHz to 800 MHZ, and the third frequency band of the third antenna circuit corresponds to an Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) band.
In some embodiments, the circuit board has a first side and a second side opposite to the first side, a part of the main cable is disposed at the first side of the circuit board, and the connection cable is disposed at the second side of the circuit board.
In some embodiments, the first terminal of the connection cable is electrically connected to a first connection point to be electrically connected to the first antenna circuit at the second side of the circuit board, and the part of the main cable passes through the circuit board to be electrically connected to the first connection point at the second side of the circuit board for electric connection to the connection cable.
In some embodiments, the second terminal of the connection cable is electrically connected to a second connection point at the second side of the circuit board for electric connection to the second antenna circuit.
In some embodiments, the first antenna circuit includes a first radiator disposed on a top of the circuit board, the second antenna circuit has a second radiator disposed at a first edge of the circuit board, and the third antenna circuit has a third radiator disposed between the first radiator and the second radiator.
In some embodiments, the first antenna circuit further includes a top loading element disposed on the top of the circuit board.
In some embodiments, the circuit board has an opening at a second edge opposite to the first edge, and the first antenna circuit further includes a metal element disposed in the opening of the circuit board.
In some embodiments, the base board has a ground plane for optimization of the Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) of the multi-band low profile antenna.
In some embodiments, the main cable and the connection cable are coaxial cables.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the vehicle-mounted antenna includes a base board, a circuit board, a second antenna circuit, a third antenna circuit, a connection cable and a main cable. The circuit board is vertically disposed on a top surface of the base board. The first antenna circuit is disposed on the circuit board. The first antenna circuit is designed for a first frequency band. The second antenna circuit is disposed on the circuit board. The second antenna circuit is designed for a second frequency band. The third antenna circuit is disposed on the circuit board. The third antenna circuit is designed for a third frequency band. The connection cable is disposed between the first antenna circuit and the second antenna circuit. The connection cable has a first terminal electrically connected to the first antenna circuit, and has a second terminal electrically connected to the second antenna circuit and the third antenna circuit, thereby transmitting the signals of the first antenna circuit, the second antenna circuit and the third antenna circuit. The main cable is electrically connected to the first terminal of the connection cable to transmit signals of the first antenna circuit, the second antenna circuit and the third antenna circuit to or from an external device. A length of the connection cable is controlled in accordance with the first frequency band, the second band and the third frequency band. The base board has an opening, the main cable has a first part passing through the opening of the base board, and a second part extending against a top surface of the base board, and the base board is adaptive for a roof of a vehicle.
In some embodiments, the first frequency band of the first antenna circuit corresponds to a VHF band, the second frequency band of the second antenna circuit corresponds to a frequency band from 700 MHz to 800 MHZ, and the third frequency band of the third antenna circuit corresponds to an UHF band.
In some embodiments, the circuit board has a first side and a second side opposite to the first side, the second part of the main cable is disposed at the first side of the circuit board, and the connection cable is disposed at the second side of the circuit board.
In some embodiments, the first terminal of the connection cable is electrically connected to a first connection point to be electrically connected to the first antenna circuit at the second side of the circuit board, and the second part of the main cable passes through the circuit board to be electrically connected to the first connection point at the second side of the circuit board for electric connection to the connection cable.
In some embodiments, the second terminal of the connection cable is electrically connected to a second connection point at the second side of the circuit board for electric connection to the second antenna circuit.
In some embodiments, the first antenna circuit includes a first radiator disposed on a top of the circuit board, the second antenna circuit has a second radiator disposed at a first edge of the circuit board, and the third antenna circuit has a third radiator disposed between the first radiator and the second radiator.
In some embodiments, the first antenna circuit further includes a top loading element disposed on the top of the circuit board.
In some embodiments, the circuit board has an opening at a second edge opposite to the first edge, and the first antenna circuit further includes a metal element disposed in the opening the main cable and the connection cable are coaxial cables.
In some embodiments, the base board has a ground plane for optimization of the VSWR of the multi-band low profile antenna.
In some embodiments, the main cable and the connection cable are coaxial cables.
The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows.
Specific embodiments of the present invention are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, however, the embodiments described are not intended to limit the present invention and it is not intended for the description of operation to limit the order of implementation. Moreover, any device with equivalent functions that is produced from a structure formed by a recombination of elements shall fall within the scope of the present invention. Additionally, the drawings are only illustrative and are not drawn to actual size.
The using of “first”, “second”, “third”, etc. in the specification should be understood for identifying units or data described by the same terminology but are not referred to particular order or sequence.
Referring to
The multi-band low profile antenna 100 may further include a housing (not shown) disposed on the base board 110 and covering the base board 110, the circuit board 120, the antenna circuits 131-133 and the connection cable 140 to protect the components of the multi-band low profile antenna 100.
In some embodiments, the multi-band low profile antenna 100 is designed as a vehicle-mounted antenna capable of being mounted on a roof of a vehicle. For example, the base board 110 is designed to be adaptive for the roof of the vehicle, and thus the multi-band low profile antenna 100 can be mounted on the roof of the vehicle. Further, the base board 110 is designed to have an opening 112 for the main cable 150. The main cable 150 has a first part 151 passing through the opening 112 and a second part 152 extending against a top surface of the base board 110, thereby transmitting the signals of the first antenna circuit 131, the second antenna circuit 132 and the third antenna circuit 133 to or from an external device on the vehicle.
The circuit board 120 is vertically disposed on the top surface of the base board 110, and the second part 152 of the main cable 150 is electrically connected to a bottom region of the circuit board 120. The base board 110 has ground planes 114 for optimization of the Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) of the multi-band low profile antenna 100. In this embodiment, the ground planes 114 are disposed corresponding to the opposite sides of the circuit board 120.
As shown in
The first antenna circuit 131 provides a communication corresponding to a first frequency band, the second antenna circuit 132 provides a communication corresponding to a second frequency band, and the third antenna circuit 133 provides a communication corresponding to a third frequency band. The first frequency band of the first antenna circuit 131 is the VHF band. The second frequency band of the second antenna circuit 132 is the frequency band from 700 MHz to 800 MHZ. The third frequency band of the third antenna circuit 133 is the UHF band.
As shown in
The first antenna circuit 131 includes the top loading element 131a, a first radiator 131b, a metal element 131c, and circuit traces 131d-131e. The circuit trace 131e is electrically connected to a connection point CP1 which is electrically connected to the connection cable 140. In this embodiment, the circuit trace 131e is provided for center loading. The circuit trace 131d is disposed at a first side of the circuit board 120, the circuit trace 131e is disposed at a second side of the circuit board 120, and an via (plated through hole) V1 passing through the circuit board 120 is disposed between the circuit trace 131d and the circuit trace 131e to allow electric connection between the circuit trace 131d and the circuit trace 131e. The metal element 131c is disposed in an opening 125 of the circuit board 120 and electrically connected between the circuit trace 131d and the first radiator 131b. In this embodiment, the metal element 131c is designed to have a W shape for high working power (for example, 100 watts). The first radiator 131b is electrically connected between the top loading element 131a and the metal element 131c. As shown in
The second antenna circuit 132 includes a second radiator 132a and circuit traces 132b-132c. The circuit trace 132c is electrically connected to a connection point CP2 which is electrically connected to the connection cable 140. In this embodiment, the circuit trace 132b is disposed at the first side of the circuit board 120, the circuit trace 132c is disposed at the second side of the circuit board 120, and an via V2 passing through the circuit board 120 is disposed between the circuit trace 132b and the circuit trace 132c to allow electric connection between the circuit trace 132b and the circuit trace 132c. The second radiator 132a is electrically connected to the circuit trace 132b, thereby transmitting signals from/to the connection cable 140. In this embodiment, the second radiator 132a is disposed at an edge of the circuit board 120. Specifically, the second radiator 132a and the above metal element 131c are disposed at opposite edges of the circuit board 120.
The third antenna circuit 133 includes a third radiator 133a and circuit traces 133b-133e. The circuit trace 133c is electrically connected to the via V2 for electric connection to the connection cable 140. The circuit trace 133d is electrically connected to the circuit trace 133c. In this embodiment, the circuit trace 133c is disposed at the first side of the circuit board 120, the circuit trace 133d is disposed at the second side of the circuit board 120, and an via V3 passing through the circuit board 120 is disposed between the circuit trace 133c and the circuit trace 133d to allow electric connection between the circuit trace 133c and the circuit trace 133d. The circuit trace 133b is electrically connected between the circuit trace 133d and the third radiator 133a. In this embodiment, the circuit trace 133b is disposed at the first side of the circuit board 120, and an via V4 passing through the circuit board 120 is disposed between the circuit trace 133d and the circuit trace 133b to allow electric connection between the circuit trace 133b and the circuit trace 133d. Further, the circuit trace 133e is provided for center loading and electrically connected to the circuit trace 133d.
In this embodiment, the third radiator 133a is disposed between the first radiator 131b and the second radiator 132a, and the first radiator 131b, the second radiator 132a and the third radiator 133a are disposed at the same side (i.e., the second side) of the circuit board 120.
The connection cable 140 is electrically connected to the connection point CP1 and the connection point CP2. Specifically, a first terminal 141 of the connection cable 140 is electrically connected to the first antenna circuit 131, and a second terminal 142 of the connection cable 140 is electrically connected to the second antenna circuit 132 and the third antenna circuit 133. The connection cable 140 is a coaxial cable having a conductor 143 and a ground layer covering the conductor 143. The conductor 143 of the first terminal 141 is electrically connected to the connection point CP1 to be electrically connected to the first antenna circuit 131. The conductor 143 of the second terminal 142 is electrically connected to the connection point CP2 to be electrically connected to the second antenna circuit 132 and the third antenna circuit 133.
Further, the connection cable 140 is electrically connected to the main cable 150 at the connection point CP1. Specifically, the connection cable 150 is a coaxial cable having a conductor 152a and a ground layer covering the conductor 152a. The conductor 152a of the second part 152 of the main cable 150 passes through the circuit board 120 from the first side of the circuit board 120 to the second side of the circuit board 120, and touches the connection point CP1. Therefore, the connection cable 140 is electrically connected to the main cable 150 at the connection point CP1, and the signals of the first antenna circuit 131, the second antenna circuit 132 and the third antenna circuit 133 can be transmitted to or from an external device through the connection cable 140 and the main cable 150.
Further, in some embodiments, the base board 110 has though holes for protrusions of the circuit board 120. The sizes of the though holes base board 110 matches up the sizes of the protrusions of the circuit board 120, and thus the ground plane of the circuit board 120 can be connected to the ground plane if the base board 110 after the protrusions of the circuit board 120 insert into the though holes of the base board 110. Solders are alternatively used to help the connection of the protrusions of the circuit board 120 and the though holes of the base board 110.
In some embodiments, the circuit trace 131d is electrically connected to the ground plane of the circuit board 120/the base board 110.
Referring to
The multi-band low profile antenna 100 of the embodiments of the present invention integrates antenna circuits 131-133 of three different frequency bands, in which one connection cable 140 is used for the integration to allow currents flow up the connection cable 140 for optimization of power/gain thereby achieving small-sized high-performance antenna.
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.
