1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio-frequency device and wireless communication device, and more specifically, to a radio-frequency device and wireless communication device capable of automatically adjusting output power and radiating frequency.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wireless communication device exchanges radio-frequency signals through an antenna to access information within a wireless communication system. A radio-frequency (RF) signal is a sinusoidal wave with a high oscillating frequency, and governments in the world have defined safety limits, e.g. by electromagnetic standards, for exposure to RF energy produced from wireless communication devices, which mainly exposes to human head or limb. The electromagnetic standards as to the RF energy exposure are based on SAR (specific absorption rate) instead of on the ration of maximum/minimum output power. SAR is a measure of the rate at which energy is absorbed by a human body when exposed to an RF electromagnetic field. According to ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection), a recommended SAR value should not exceed 2.0 W/Kg. According to FCC (Federal Communications Commission), the recommended SAR value should not exceed 1.6 W/Kg.
However, as well known to those skilled in the art, the greater antenna gain, the worse SAR value; the smaller antenna size, the narrower radiating bandwidth. A traditional method for reaching good SAR value is to dispose proximity sensor beside the antenna for detecting approaching status of the human body. In other words, when the proximity sensor detects the human body within a specific range, the wireless communication device decreases the power of the RF signal; once the human body is not detected within the specific range, the power of the RF signal is maintained or increased.
On the other hand, due to a trend of light and compact wireless communication device and growing wireless communication demands, an ideal antenna inside the wireless communication device should be small, antenna gain thereof should be high and radiating bandwidth thereof should be as wider as possible. However, as well known in the art, the antenna requires a longer current route to induce the RF signal with lower frequency. Besides, to reach multiple radiating frequency bands in the lower frequency requires much larger antenna space. To meet these requirements, additional antennas may be required for operating in another frequency band.
As a result, the additional proximity sensors and antennas for covering other frequency bands both increase design and production cost and increase complexity of the material or part management. Thus, how to solve the tradeoff between SAR and antenna performance and the tradeoff between antenna size and radiating band width have become a goal in the wireless communication industry.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an RF device and related wireless communication device capable of automatically adjusting output power and radiating frequency.
The present invention discloses an RF device for a wireless communication device, including a grounding element, for providing grounding, an antenna, including a radiating element, a feed-in element, coupled to the radiating element, for transmitting an RF signal through the radiating element, a coupling element, for coupling the radiating element, a switch, coupled between the coupling element and the grounding element, for connecting or disconnecting the grounding element to the coupling element, such that the antenna respectively operates in a first frequency band and a second frequency band, and a grounding terminal, for coupling the grounding element, a capacitive sensing element, electrically connected to the radiating element of the antenna, for sensing an environment capacitance within a specific range through the radiating element, at least one capacitor, electrically connected between the grounding terminal and the grounding element, for blocking a DC route from the grounding terminal to the grounding element.
The present invention further discloses a wireless communication device, including an RF signal processing device, for generating an RF signal, adjusting a power of the RF signal according to a sensing result, and adjusting an operating frequency band according to the RF signal, and an RF device, including a grounding element, for providing grounding, an antenna, including a radiating element, a feed-in element, coupled to the radiating element, for transmitting an RF signal through the radiating element, a coupling element, for coupling the radiating element, a switch, coupled between the coupling element and the grounding element, for connecting or disconnecting the grounding element to the coupling element, such that the antenna respectively operates in a first frequency band and a second frequency band, and a grounding terminal, for coupling the grounding element, a capacitive sensing element, electrically connected to the radiating element of the antenna, for sensing an environment capacitance within a specific range through the radiating element, at least one capacitor, electrically connected between the grounding terminal and the grounding element, for blocking a DC route from the grounding terminal to the grounding element.
The present invention further discloses an RF device for a wireless communication device, including a grounding element, for providing grounding, an antenna, including a radiating element, including a long side and a plurality of short sides, for transmitting an RF signal, a coupling element, for coupling an RF signal, a feed-in element, coupled to the coupling element, for transmitting the RF signal to the radiating element through the coupling element, and a switch, coupled between the plurality of short sides and the grounding element, for switching one of the plurality of short sides to connect with the grounding element, such that the antenna respectively operates in a first frequency band and a second frequency band, and a capacitive sensing element, electrically connected to the radiating element of the antenna, for sensing an environment capacitance within a specific range through the radiating element.
The present invention further discloses a wireless communication device, including an RF signal processing device, for generating an RF signal, adjusting a power of the RF signal according to a sensing result, and adjusting an operating frequency band according to the RF signal, and an RF device, including a grounding element, for providing grounding, an antenna, including a coupling element, for coupling an RF signal, a feed-in element, coupled to the coupling element, for transmitting the RF signal through the coupling element, a radiating element, including a long side and a plurality of short sides, for transmitting the RF signal from the coupling element, and a switch, coupled between the plurality of short sides and the grounding element, for switching one of the plurality of short sides to connect with the grounding element, such that the antenna respectively operates in a first frequency band and a second frequency band, a capacitive sensing element, electrically connected to the radiating element of the antenna, for sensing an environment capacitance within a specific range through the radiating element.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
In order to maintain antenna performance and have enough radiating bandwidth, the present invention utilizes a radiator of an antenna as a sensor to detect an approaching status of an object, e.g. human body, to monitor whether an environment capacitance stays within a specific range, and accordingly adjust an output power of a wireless signal. Furthermore, the present invention distinguishes an operating frequency according to the received wireless signal to adjust a radiating frequency band of the antenna. In comparison, the conventional method requires additional proximity sensors to detect the approaching status of the object, which causes extra cost and influence on antenna performance and narrows the bandwidth of the antenna. The following description illustrates two antenna types for realizing the present invention.
For an antenna that directly feeds a radio-frequency (RF) signal into the radiator, please refer to
In detail, the RF device 102 includes a grounding element 104, a tunable antenna 106, a capacitive sensor 114, a capacitor 116 and a switch 120. The tunable antenna 106 is used for transmitting and receiving the RF signal RF_sig, and includes a radiating element 108, a feed-in element 110, a grounding terminal 112 and a coupling element 118. The capacitive sensor 114 is coupled to the radiating element 108, for measuring and determining whether the environment capacitance stays within a specific range through the radiating element 108, to generate the sensing result CAP_rst accordingly. Then, the RF signal processing device 100 adjusts the power of the RF signal RF_sig according to the received sensing result CAP_rst. The capacitor 116 is disposed between the grounding terminal 112 and the grounding element 104, for blocking a direct-current (DC) route between the grounding terminal 112 and the grounding element 104, which avoids the capacitive sensor 114 measures the environment capacitance induced from the grounding element 104. The coupling element 118 is used for generating a coupling effect between radiating element 108 and the coupling element 118. The switch 120 is coupled between the coupling element 118 and the grounding element 104, for switching the coupling element 118 to connect or disconnect with the grounding element 104 to change the coupling effect between radiating element 108 and the coupling element 118, such that the operating frequency of the tunable antenna 106 is changed.
Specifically, in the wireless communication device 10, the capacitive sensor 114 utilizes the radiating element 108 of the tunable antenna 106 to measure the environment capacitance, and transmits the sensing result CAP_rst to the RF signal processing device 100, such that the RF signal processing device 100 adjusts the power of the RF signal RF_sig accordingly. Without the capacitor 116, the radiating element 108 is electrically connected to the grounding element 104, which causes the DC route exists between the radiating element 108 and the grounding element 104. In order to avoid such a situation, the RF device 102 utilizes the capacitor 116 to block the DC route between the grounding terminal 112 and the grounding element 104, such that the capacitive sensor 114 measures the environment capacitance only through the radiating element 108. On the other hand, the RF signal processing device 100 determines whether the current operating frequency of the wireless communication device 10 is appropriate according to the carrier frequency of the RF signal RF_sig, and the RF signal processing device 100 transmits a switch signal SW_sig to the switch 120 to connector disconnect the coupling element 118 with the grounding element 104, so as to adjust the operating frequency of the tunable antenna 106 and meet an operating frequency of a local base station.
For example, please refer to
In practice, telecommunication operators in different areas or countries utilize different wireless communication techniques or operating frequency bands. The following table is an example showing practical operating frequency bands among different areas.
To meet the practical requirement, the tunable antenna 206 utilizes the short side 2081 to receive the RF signal RF_sig with high frequency, i.e. 1800 MHz or 1900 MHz, transmitted from the local base station, such that the RF signal processing device 100 determines the frequency band of the local base station according to the carrier frequency of the RF signal RF_sig. In such a situation, the coupling element 118 is close to the long side 2080 to generate the coupling effect with the long side 2080, to adjust the low operating frequency, i.e. 800 MHz or 900 MHz, of the tunable antenna 206. When the RF signal processing device 100 determines the current operating frequency band is 1900 MHz, the RF signal processing device 100 controls the switch 220 to connect the coupling element 118 with the grounding element 204, such that an equivalent current route on the long side 2080 is extended to shift the low operating frequency to 800 MHz. When the RF signal processing device 100 determines the current operating frequency is 1800 MHz, the RF signal processing device 100 controls the switch 220 to disconnect the coupling element 118 with the grounding element 204, such that the equivalent current route on the long side 2080 is shortened, and the operating frequency is shifted from 800 MHz to 900 MHz. As a result, the wireless communication device 10 can work indifferent areas or countries by automatically detecting the operating frequency bands of the local base station and adjusting the operating frequency of the tunable antenna 206 accordingly.
According to above description, the wireless communication device 10 achieves RF power management by utilizing the radiating element 108 to measure the environment capacitance, which ensures SAR value stays within the recommended standard. In contrast to traditional method of adding the proximity sensors beside the antenna to detect approaching objects (i.e. human body), the present invention can save the production cost and mitigate the influence on the antenna performance due to the near proximity sensor, and material or parts management of the RF device 102 can be easier as well. Meanwhile, the wireless communication device 10 also achieves operating frequency adjustment by recognizing the carrier frequency of the RF signal RF_sig to distinguish the operating frequency of the local base station, so as to utilize the limited bandwidth effectively. Those skilled in the art could make modifications or alterations accordingly, which are not limited.
For instance, as shown in
The following description illustrates the antenna that feeds RF signal into a coupling element. Please refer to
In detail, the RF device 302 includes a grounding element 304, a tunable antenna 306, a capacitive sensor 314 and a switch 320. The tunable antenna 306 is used for transmitting and receiving the RF signal RF_sig, and includes a radiating element 308, a feed-in element 310 and a coupling element 318. The capacitive sensor 314 is coupled to the radiating element 308, for measuring and determining whether the environment capacitance stays within the specific range through the radiating element 308, to generate the sensing result CAP_rst accordingly. Then, the RF signal processing device 300 adjusts the power of the RF signal RF_sig according to the received sensing result CAP_rst. The coupling element 318 is electrically connected to the feed-in element 310, for coupling the RF signal RF_sig to the radiating element 308. The switch 320 is coupled between the radiating element 308 and the grounding element 304, for switching one of current routes CR_1 and CR_2 on the radiating element 308 to connect with the grounding element 304, such that the operating frequency of the tunable antenna 306 is changed.
In short, in the wireless communication device 30, the capacitive sensor 314 utilizes the radiating element 308 of the tunable antenna 306 to measure the environment capacitance, and transmits the sensing result CAP_rst to the RF signal processing device 300, such that the RF signal processing device 300 adjusts the power of the RF signal RF_sig accordingly. On the other hand, the RF signal processing device 300 determines whether the current operating frequency of the wireless communication device 30 is appropriate according to the carrier frequency of the RF signal RF_sig, and the RF signal processing device 300 transmits a switch signal SW_sig to the switch 120 to connect one of the current routes CR_1 and CR_2 with the grounding element 304, so as to adjust the operating frequency of the tunable antenna 306 and meet an operating frequency of a local base station.
For example, please refer to
Moreover, an attenuator for adjusting the power of the RF signal RF_sig may be further included in the RF device 402. Please refer to
According to above description, the wireless communication device 30 achieves RF power management by utilizing the radiating element 308 to measure the environment capacitance, which ensures SAR value stays within the recommended standard. In contrast to traditional method of adding the proximity sensors beside the antenna to detect approaching objects (i.e. human body), the present invention may save the production cost and mitigate the influence on the antenna performance due to the near proximity sensor, and material or parts management of the RF device 102 can be easier as well. Meanwhile, the wireless communication device 30 achieves operating frequency adjustment by recognizing the carrier frequency of the RF signal RF_sig to distinguish the operating frequency of the local base station, so as to reach enough antenna bandwidth within a limited antenna space. Those skilled in the art could make modifications or alterations accordingly, which are not limited.
For instance, the capacitive sensing element 414 and the feed-in element 410 are not limited to sharing a same node, as long as the capacitive sensing element 414 is electrically connected to the radiating element 408. Operations of the RF signal processing element 300, the capacitive sensor 314 and the manner of connecting the capacitive sensing elements 314 and 414 with the radiating elements 308 and 408 are not limited, which can refer to TW patent application No. 100142160. Besides, the current routes on the radiating element 408 is not limited to current routes CR_1 and CR_2, and there may be multiple current routes for selection to have different frequency shifting results and better design flexibility. Detailed description and embodiments may refer to TW patent application No. 100147446.
To sum up, in contrast to traditional method that requires additional proximity sensors to detect the approaching status of the object, which causes extra cost and influence on antenna performance, the present invention utilizes the radiator of the antenna as the sensor to detect the approaching of human body, to monitor whether an environment capacitance stays within a specific range, and accordingly adjust an output power of a wireless signal. Meanwhile, the RF signal processing device distinguishes the operating frequency according the received wireless signal to adjust a radiating frequency band of the antenna. As a result, the present invention achieves automatically adjusting output power and radiating frequency at the same time.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
100142160 A | Nov 2011 | TW | national |
100147446 A | Dec 2011 | TW | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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7324054 | Ozkar | Jan 2008 | B2 |
7663556 | Desclos et al. | Feb 2010 | B2 |
7868838 | Tai | Jan 2011 | B2 |
8111195 | Hung et al. | Feb 2012 | B2 |
8134517 | Wang et al. | Mar 2012 | B2 |
8618990 | Somero | Dec 2013 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20130127677 A1 | May 2013 | US |