Patent Grant
9431717
A large and growing population of users is enjoying entertainment through the consumption of digital media items, such as music, movies, images, electronic books, and so on. The users employ various electronic devices to consume such media items. Among these electronic devices (referred to herein as user devices) are electronic book readers, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable media players, tablet computers, netbooks, laptops and the like. These electronic devices wirelessly communicate with a communications infrastructure to enable the consumption of the digital media items. In order to wirelessly communicate with other devices, these electronic devices include one or more antennas.
The conventional antenna usually has only one resonant mode in the lower frequency band and one resonant mode in the high-band. One resonant mode in the lower frequency band and one resonant mode in the high-band may be sufficient to cover the required frequency band in some scenarios, such as in 3G applications. 3G, or 3rd generation mobile telecommunication, is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications by the International Telecommunication Union.
The present inventions will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various embodiments of the present invention, which, however, should not be taken to limit the present invention to the specific embodiments, but are for explanation and understanding only.
Antenna structures and methods of operating the same of a wideband dual-arm antenna of an electronic device are described. One wideband antenna includes a first feeding arm coupled to a radio frequency (RF) feed and a second feeding arm coupled to the RF feed. At least a portion of the second feeding arm is parallel to the first feeding arm. The wideband dual-arm antenna further includes a third arm coupled to the ground plane. The third arm is a parasitic ground element that forms a coupling to the first feeding arm and the second feeding arm. The parasitic element increases a bandwidth of the wideband antenna. Another wideband dual-arm antenna further includes a grounding line coupled to the ground plane to electrically short the first feeding arm to the ground plane to form an inverted-F antenna (IFA). The wideband dual-arm antenna can be used in a compact single-feed configuration in various portable electronic devices, such as a tablet computer, mobile phones, personal data assistances, electronic readers (e-readers), or the like. In a single-feed antenna, both bandwidth and efficiency in the high-band can be limited by the space availability and coupling between the high-band antenna and the low-band antenna in a compact electronic device. The wideband dual-arm antenna can be used to improve radiation efficiency in desired frequency bands.
The wideband dual-arm antenna can be used for wide band performance for Long Term Evolution (LTE) frequency bands, third generation (3G) frequency bands, or the like. In one implementation, the wideband dual-arm antenna can be configured to operate with multiple resonances in the 3G/LTE frequency bands.
The electronic device (also referred to herein as user device) may be any content rendering device that includes a wireless modem for connecting the user device to a network. Examples of such electronic devices include electronic book readers, portable digital assistants, mobile phones, laptop computers, portable media players, tablet computers, cameras, video cameras, netbooks, notebooks, desktop computers, gaming consoles, DVD players, media centers, and the like. The user device may connect to a network to obtain content from a server computing system (e.g., an item providing system) or to perform other activities. The user device may connect to one or more different types of cellular networks.
In one embodiment, the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 is disposed on an antenna carrier 110, such as a dielectric carrier of the electronic device. The antenna carrier 110 may be any non-conductive material, such as dielectric material, upon which the conductive material of the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 can be disposed without making electrical contact with other metal of the electronic device. In another embodiment, the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 is disposed on, within, or in connection with a circuit board, such as a printed circuit board (PCB). In one embodiment, the ground plane 140 may be a metal chassis of a circuit board. Alternatively, the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 may be disposed on other components of the electronic device or within the electronic device as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. It should be noted that the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 illustrated in
The wideband dual-arm antenna 100 includes a first feeding arm 102, a second feeding arm 104, and a third arm 108. The third arm 108 is a parasitic element and is referred to hereinafter as the parasitic element 108. An RF feed 142 is coupled to a first end of the wideband dual-arm antenna 100. In particular, the RF feed 142 is coupled to a first end of the first feeding arm 102. The first feeding arm 102 may be formed by one or more conductive traces. For example, a first portion of the first feeding arm 102 extends in a first direction from the RF feed 142 until a first fold and a second portion extends from the first fold in a second direction. It should be noted that a “fold” refers to a bend, a corner or other change in direction of the antenna element. For example, the fold may be where one segment of an antenna element changes direction in the same plane or in a different plane. Typically, folds in antennas can be used to fit the entire length of the antenna within a smaller area or smaller volume of a user device. The RF feed 142 is also coupled to a first end of the second feeding arm 104. The second feeding arm 104 may be formed by one or more conductive traces. For example, a line 105 is coupled to the RF feed and a third portion is coupled to the line and extends in the second direction. The third portion is parallel to the second portion of the first feeding arm 102. In one embodiment, the second feeding arm 104 is parallel to the first feeding arm 102 in its entirety and does not include any portion that is perpendicular to corresponding portions of the first feeding arm 102. In other embodiments, some portions of the second feeding arm 104 are parallel to corresponding portions of the first feeding arm 102. In the depicted embodiment, the third portion of the second feeding arm 104 that is folded onto a second side of the antenna carrier 110. In one embodiment, the first feeding arm 102 is disposed on a first plane on a first side of the antenna carrier 110 (e.g., a front side) and one or more portions of the second feeding arm 104, the parasitic element 108, or of both are disposed on one or more additional planes, such as on a second side of the antenna carrier (e.g., a top side). This can be done to fit the wideband dual-arm antenna structure in a smaller volume while maintaining the overall length of the second feeding arm 104 or other portions of the antenna structure.
The parasitic element 108 includes a fourth portion coupled to a ground contact 109, which is coupled to the ground plane 140. The fourth portion extends from the ground contact 109 and forms a gap between a distal end of the second portion of the first feeding arm 102, the distal end being the farthest from the RF feed 142. That is the fourth portion is disposed to form a gap between a distal end of the first feeding arm 102, the distal end being an end of the first feeding arm 102 that is farthest from the RF feed 142. The proximity of the parasitic element 108 to the distal end forms a coupling between the parasitic element 108 and the first feeding arm 102. When driven by the RF feed 142, the first feeding arm 102 parasitically induces current on the parasitic element 108 that is coupled to the ground plane 104. Although there is a gap between the conductive traces, the parasitic element 108 is in close enough proximity to form a close coupling (also referred to herein as “coupling”), such as a capacitive coupling or an inductive coupling, between the parasitic element 108 and the dual-arm antenna element (e.g., first feeding arm 102 and second feeding arm 104). The presence of the parasitic element 108 can change the first feeding arm 102, which is a monopole antenna, into a coupled monopole antenna. A parasitic element is an element of the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 that is not driven directly by the single RF feed 142. Rather, the single RF feed 142 directly drives another element of the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 (e.g., the first feeding arm 102 and second feeding arm 104), which parasitically induces a current on the parasitic element 108. In particular, by directly applying current on the other element by the single RF feed 142, the directly-fed element radiates electromagnetic energy, which induces another current on the parasitic element to also radiate electromagnetic energy. In the depicted embodiment, the parasitic element 108 is parasitic because it is physically separated from the first feeding arm 102 and the second feeding arm 104, which are driven at the single RF feed 142, but the parasitic element 108 forms a coupling between these antenna elements. For example, the first feeding arm 102 (and/or second feeding arm 104) parasitically excites the current flow of the parasitic element 108. By coupling the driven element and the passive element, additional resonant modes can be created or existing resonant modes can be improved, such as decreasing the reflection coefficient or extending the bandwidth. The depicted antenna structure 100 can use two resonant modes to cover a range of about 1.7 GHz to about 2.7 GHz. In other embodiments, additional resonant modes can be achieved. Also, in other embodiments, the frequency range may be between approximately 1.7 GHz and approximately 6 GHz. In another embodiment, the antenna structure can be tuned to operate at approximately 3.5 GHz.
In another embodiment, a tunable element (not illustrated) is coupled between the ground contact 109 and the ground plane 140. The tunable element can be used to tune the resonant frequency of the parasitic element 108.
The second feeding arm 104 is disposed to form a slot 106 between the second feeding arm 104 and the first feeding arm 102. In the depicted embodiment, the second feeding arm 104 also includes an opening (not labeled) in the middle of the third portion. The opening in the middle of the third portion can be used to accommodate other components of the user device, such as a speaker or a microphone. In another embodiment, the third portion can be continuous conductive material and not have an opening as illustrated. The line 105 may be a meandering line that follows the upper perimeter of the first feeding arm 102. The meandering line can be disposed to be parallel to the corresponding folds and bends of the first and second portions of the first arm 102. The slot 106 between the first feeding arm 102 and the second feeding arm 104 can be carefully designed to achieve the wide bandwidth as described herein. The first feeding arm 102 contributes to resonance frequencies of a first resonant mode (low-band), the parasitic element 108 contributes to resonance frequencies of a second resonant mode (high-band) and the second feeding arm 104 expands a bandwidth between the first resonant mode and the second resonant mode. That is, the second feeding arm 104 increases efficiency of the resonance frequencies of the first resonant mode and second resonant mode to expand the bandwidth of the antenna structure 100. For example, the antenna structure 100 can be configured to operate in a frequency range of approximately 1.7 GHz to approximately 2.7 GHz, and the second feeding arm 104 is disposed to form the slot 106, which expands the bandwidth between about 1.7 GHz and about 2.7 GHz. The parasitic element 108 may also contribute to impedance matching of the low-band (e.g., about 1.7 GHz) of the first feeding arm 102. For another example, the antenna structure 100 can be configured to operate in a frequency range of approximately 1.7 GHz to approximately 3.5 GHz, and the second feeding arm 104 is disposed to form the slot 106, which expands the bandwidth between about 1.7 GHz and about 3.5 GHz. The parasitic element 108 may also contribute to impedance matching of the low-band (e.g., about 1.7 GHz) of the first feeding arm 102. In another embodiment, the antenna structure 100 can be configured to operate in a frequency range of approximately 1.7 Ghz to approximately 6 GHz.
The dimensions of the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 may be varied to achieve the desired frequency range as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, however, the total length of the antennas is a major factor for determining the frequency, and the width of the antennas is a factor for impedance matching. It should be noted that the factors of total length and width are dependent on one another. The wideband dual-arm antenna 100 may have various dimensions based on the various design factors. The first feeding arm 102 has a first effective length that is roughly the distance between the RF feed 1420 along the conductive trace(s). In one embodiment, the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 has an overall height (h4), an overall width (W4), and an overall depth (d4). The overall height (h4) may vary, but, in one embodiment, is about 9 mm. The overall width (W4) may vary, but, in one embodiment, is about 30 mm. The overall depth (d4) may vary, but, in one embodiment, is about 5 mm. The first feeding arm 102 has a width (W1) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, 17 X mm. The first feeding arm 102 has a height (h1) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 6 mm. The first feeding arm 102 has a first effective length that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 24 mm. The second feeding arm 104 has a width (W2) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 12 mm. The second feeding arm 104 has a height (h4) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 9 mm. The second feeding arm 104 has a depth (d2) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 4 mm. The second feeding arm 104 has a second effective length that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 30 mm. The slot 106 has a height (not labeled) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 3 mm. The slot 106 has a width (not labeled) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 12 mm (e.g., the width of the second arm (W2). The parasitic element 108 has a width (W3) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 6 mm. The parasitic element 108 has a height (h1) that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 6 mm. The parasitic element 108 has a third effective length that may vary, but, in one embodiment, is 12 mm. Alternatively, other dimensions may be used for the antenna structure 100.
In a further embodiment, as illustrated in
In this embodiment, the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 is a 3D structure as illustrated in the perspective view of
As described herein, strong resonances are not easily achieved within a compact space within user devices, especially within the spaces on smart phones and tablets. The structure of the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 of
In other embodiments, more or less than three resonant modes may be achieved as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. It should also be noted that the first, second, third, fourth and fifth notations on the resonant modes are not be strictly interpreted to being assigned to a particular frequency, frequency range, or elements of the antenna structure. Rather, the first, second, third, fourth and fifth notations are used for ease of description. However, in some instances, the first, second, third fourth and fifth are used to designate the order from lowest to highest frequencies. Alternatively, other orders may be achieved as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. In one embodiment, the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 can be configured for the LTE (700/2700), UMTS, GSM (850, 800, 1800 and 1900), GPS and Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® frequency bands. In another embodiment, the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 can be designed to operate in the following target bands: 1) Verizon LTE band: 746 to 787 MHz; 2) US GSM 850: 824 to 894 MHz; 3) GSM900: 880 to 960 MHz; 4) GSM 1800/DCS: 1.71 to 1.88 GHz; 5) US1900/PCS (band 2): 1.85 to 1.99 GHz; and 6) WCDMA band I (band 1): 1.92 to 2.17 GHz. Alternatively, the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 can be designed to operate in different combinations of frequency bands as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. Alternatively, the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 can be configured to be tuned to other frequency bands as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
The wideband dual-arm antenna 100 can be tuned to be centered at various frequencies, such as, for examples, at approximately 1.77 GHz, at approximately 1.92 GHz or approximately 2.0 GHz. The second frequency range can be tuned to radiate electromagnetic energy in DCS Band 3 when centered at approximately 1.77 GHz, in PCS Band 2 when centered at approximately 1.92 GHz, or in Band 1 when centered at approximately 2.0 GHz. In other embodiments, the second frequency range can be tuned to be centered at other frequencies.
As would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure the total efficiency of the antenna can be measured by including the loss of the structure (e.g., due to mismatch loss), dielectric loss, and radiation loss. The efficiency of the antenna can be tuned for specified target bands. The efficiency of the wideband dual-arm antenna may be modified by adjusting dimensions of the 3D structure, the gaps between the elements of the antenna structure, or any combination thereof. Similarly, 2D structures can be modified in dimensions and gaps between elements to improve the efficiency in certain frequency bands as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
The wideband dual-arm antenna 400 includes a first feeding arm 402, a second feeding arm 404, and a third arm 408. The third arm 408 is a parasitic element and is referred to hereinafter as the parasitic element 408. However, the wideband dual-arm antenna 400, unlike wideband dual-arm antenna 100, further includes a groundling line 427 coupled to the ground plane. The grounding line 427 electrically shorts the first feeding arm 402 to the ground plane to form an inverted-F antenna (IFA).
An RF feed 142 is coupled to a first end of the wideband dual-arm antenna 400. In particular, the RF feed 142 is coupled to a first end of the first feeding arm 402. The first feeding arm 402 may be formed by one or more conductive traces. For example, a first portion of the first feeding arm 402 extends in a first direction from the RF feed 142 until a first fold and a second portion extends from the first fold in a second direction. The RF feed 142 is also coupled to a first end of the second feeding arm 404. The second feeding arm 404 may be formed by one or more conductive traces. For example, a line 405 is coupled to the RF feed 142 and a third portion is coupled to the line 405 and extends in the second direction. The third portion is parallel to the second portion of the first feeding arm 402. In the depicted embodiment, the third portion of the second feeding arm 404 that is folded onto a second side of the antenna carrier (not illustrated). In the depicted embodiment, the second feeding arm 404 also includes an opening (not labeled) in the middle of the third portion. The opening in the middle of the third portion can be used to accommodate other components of the user device, such as a speaker or a microphone. In another embodiment, the third portion of the second feeding arm 404 can be continuous conductive material and not have an opening as illustrated. In one embodiment, the first feeding arm 402 is disposed on a first plane on a first side of the antenna carrier (e.g., a front side) and one or more portions of the second feeding arm 404, the parasitic element 408, or of both are disposed on one or more additional planes, such as on a second side of the antenna carrier (e.g., a top side). This can be done to fit the wideband dual-arm antenna structure in a smaller volume while maintaining the overall length of the second feeding arm 404 or other portions of the antenna structure 400.
The parasitic element 408 includes a fourth portion coupled to a ground contact 409, which is coupled to the ground plane. The fourth portion extends from the ground contact 409 and forms a gap between a distal end of the second portion of the first feeding arm 402, the distal end being the farthest from the RF feed 142. Although there is a gap between the conductive traces, the parasitic element 408 is in close enough proximity to form a close coupling, such as a capacitive coupling or an inductive coupling, between the parasitic element 408 and the dual-arm antenna element (e.g., first feeding arm 402 and second feeding arm 404). The presence of the parasitic element 408 can change the first feeding arm 402, which is a monopole antenna, into a coupled monopole antenna. The first feeding arm 402 (and/or second feeding arm 404) parasitically excites the current flow of the parasitic element 408. By coupling the driven element and the passive element, additional resonant modes can be created or existing resonant modes can be improved, such as decreasing the reflection coefficient or extending the bandwidth. The depicted antenna structure 400 can use two resonant modes to cover a range of about 1.7 GHz to about 2.7 GHz. Alternatively, the antenna structure can cover a frequency range of about 1.7 GHz to about 3.5 GHz.
In another embodiment, a tunable element (not illustrated) is coupled between the ground contact 409 and the ground plane. The tunable element can be used to tune the resonant frequency of the parasitic element 408. In another embodiment, a tunable element is coupled between the ground contact 428 and the ground plane. This tunable element can be used to tune the resonant frequency of the first arm 402.
The second feeding arm 404 is disposed to form a slot 406 between the second feeding arm 404 and the first feeding arm 402. The line 405 may be a meandering line that follows the upper perimeter of the first feeding arm 402. The slot 406 between the first feeding arm 402 and the second feeding arm 404 can be carefully designed to achieve the wide bandwidth as described herein. The first feeding arm 402 contributes to resonance frequencies of a first resonant mode (low-band), the parasitic element 408 contributes to resonance frequencies of a second resonant mode (high-band) and the second feeding arm 404 expands a bandwidth between the first resonant mode and the second resonant mode. That is, the second feeding arm 404 increases efficiency of the resonance frequencies of the first resonant mode and second resonant mode to expand the bandwidth of the antenna structure 400. For example, the antenna structure 400 can be configured to operate in a frequency range of approximately 1.7 GHz to approximately 2.7 GHz, and the second feeding arm 404 is disposed to form the slot 406, which expands the bandwidth between about 1.7 GHz and about 2.7 GHz. The parasitic element 408 may also contribute to impedance matching of the low-band (e.g., about 1.7 GHz) of the first feeding arm 402. For another example, the antenna structure 400 can be configured to operate in a frequency range of approximately 1.7 GHz to approximately 3.5 GHz, and the second feeding arm 404 is disposed to form the slot 406, which expands the bandwidth between about 1.7 GHz and about 3.5 GHz. The parasitic element 408 may also contribute to impedance matching of the low-band (e.g., about 1.7 GHz) of the first feeding arm 402.
The dimensions of the wideband dual-arm antenna 100 may be varied to achieve the desired frequency range as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, however, the total length of the antennas is a major factor for determining the frequency, and the width of the antennas is a factor for impedance matching.
In a further embodiment, as illustrated in
In this embodiment, the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 is a 3D structure as illustrated in the perspective view of
As described herein, strong resonances are not easily achieved within a compact space within user devices, especially within the spaces on smart phones and tablets. The structure of the wideband dual-arm antenna 400 of
In response to the applied current(s), when applicable, the antenna structure radiates electromagnetic energy to communicate information to one or more other devices. Regardless of the antenna configuration, the electromagnetic energy forms a radiation pattern. The radiation pattern may be various shapes as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
In a further embodiment, the antenna structure can be tuned with a tunable element coupled between the third arm (parasitic element) and the ground plane. Alternatively, the antenna structure can be tuned with a tunable element coupled between the first arm and the ground plane (e.g., between the ground contact 428 and the ground plane or between the grounding line and the ground contact 428).
The antenna structure of the wideband dual-arm antenna can provide different resonant modes for various bands, such as a low-band, mid-band, high-band, or any combination thereof. For example, the antenna structure provides two resonant modes. In one embodiment, the electromagnetic energy is radiated at a first frequency range of approximately 1.7 GHz to approximately 2.7 GHz. In another embodiment, the electromagnetic energy is radiated at a first frequency range of approximately 1.7 GHz to approximately 3.5 GHz.
The user device 805 also includes a data storage device 814 that may be composed of one or more types of removable storage and/or one or more types of non-removable storage. The data storage device 814 includes a computer-readable storage medium 816 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions embodying any one or more of the functions of the user device 805, as described herein. As shown, instructions may reside, completely or at least partially, within the computer readable storage medium 816, system memory 806 and/or within the processor(s) 830 during execution thereof by the user device 805, the system memory 806 and the processor(s) 830 also constituting computer-readable media. The user device 805 may also include one or more input devices 820 (keyboard, mouse device, specialized selection keys, etc.) and one or more output devices 818 (displays, printers, audio output mechanisms, etc.).
The user device 805 further includes a wireless modem 822 to allow the user device 805 to communicate via a wireless network (e.g., such as provided by a wireless communication system) with other computing devices, such as remote computers, an item providing system, and so forth. The wireless modem 822 allows the user device 805 to handle both voice and non-voice communications (such as communications for text messages, multimedia messages, media downloads, web browsing, etc.) with a wireless communication system. The wireless modem 822 may provide network connectivity using any type of digital mobile network technology including, for example, cellular digital packet data (CDPD), general packet radio service (GPRS), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), UMTS, 1 times radio transmission technology (1×RTT), evaluation data optimized (EVDO), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), WLAN (e.g., Wi-Fi® network), etc. In other embodiments, the wireless modem 822 may communicate according to different communication types (e.g., WCDMA, GSM, LTE, CDMA, WiMax, etc.) in different cellular networks. The cellular network architecture may include multiple cells, where each cell includes a base station configured to communicate with user devices within the cell. These cells may communicate with the user devices 805 using the same frequency, different frequencies, same communication type (e.g., WCDMA, GSM, LTE, CDMA, WiMax, etc), or different communication types. Each of the base stations may be connected to a private, a public network, or both, such as the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a public switched telephone network (PSTN), or the like, to allow the user devices 805 to communicate with other devices, such as other user devices, server computing systems, telephone devices, or the like. In addition to wirelessly connecting to a wireless communication system, the user device 805 may also wirelessly connect with other user devices. For example, user device 805 may form a wireless ad hoc (peer-to-peer) network with another user device.
The wireless modem 822 may generate signals and send these signals to power amplifier (amp) 880 or transceiver 886 for amplification, after which they are wirelessly transmitted via the wideband dual-arm antenna 800 or antenna 884, respectively. Although
In one embodiment, the user device 805 establishes a first connection using a first wireless communication protocol, and a second connection using a different wireless communication protocol. The first wireless connection and second wireless connection may be active concurrently, for example, if a user device is downloading a media item from a server (e.g., via the first connection) and transferring a file to another user device (e.g., via the second connection) at the same time. Alternatively, the two connections may be active concurrently during a handoff between wireless connections to maintain an active session (e.g., for a telephone conversation). Such a handoff may be performed, for example, between a connection to a WLAN hotspot and a connection to a wireless carrier system. In one embodiment, the first wireless connection is associated with a first resonant mode of the wideband dual-arm antenna 800 that operates at a first frequency band and the second wireless connection is associated with a second resonant mode of the wideband dual-arm antenna 800 that operates at a second frequency band. In another embodiment, the first wireless connection is associated with the wideband dual-arm antenna 800 and the second wireless connection is associated with the antenna 884. In other embodiments, the first wireless connection may be associated with a media purchase application (e.g., for downloading electronic books), while the second wireless connection may be associated with a wireless ad hoc network application. Other applications that may be associated with one of the wireless connections include, for example, a game, a telephony application, an Internet browsing application, a file transfer application, a global positioning system (GPS) application, and so forth.
Though a single modem 822 is shown to control transmission to both antennas 800 and 884, the user device 805 may alternatively include multiple wireless modems, each of which is configured to transmit/receive data via a different antenna and/or wireless transmission protocol. In addition, the user device 805, while illustrated with two antennas 800 and 884, may include more or fewer antennas in various embodiments.
The user device 805 delivers and/or receives items, upgrades, and/or other information via the network. For example, the user device 805 may download or receive items from an item providing system. The item providing system receives various requests, instructions and other data from the user device 805 via the network. The item providing system may include one or more machines (e.g., one or more server computer systems, routers, gateways, etc.) that have processing and storage capabilities to provide the above functionality. Communication between the item providing system and the user device 805 may be enabled via any communication infrastructure. One example of such an infrastructure includes a combination of a wide area network (WAN) and wireless infrastructure, which allows a user to use the user device 805 to purchase items and consume items without being tethered to the item providing system via hardwired links. The wireless infrastructure may be provided by one or multiple wireless communications systems, such as one or more wireless communications systems. One of the wireless communication systems may be a wireless local area network (WLAN) hotspot connected with the network. The WLAN hotspots can be created by Wi-Fi® products based on IEEE 802.11x standards by Wi-Fi Alliance. Another of the wireless communication systems may be a wireless carrier system that can be implemented using various data processing equipment, communication towers, etc. Alternatively, or in addition, the wireless carrier system may rely on satellite technology to exchange information with the user device 805.
The communication infrastructure may also include a communication-enabling system that serves as an intermediary in passing information between the item providing system and the wireless communication system. The communication-enabling system may communicate with the wireless communication system (e.g., a wireless carrier) via a dedicated channel, and may communicate with the item providing system via a non-dedicated communication mechanism, e.g., a public Wide Area Network (WAN) such as the Internet.
The user devices 805 are variously configured with different functionality to enable consumption of one or more types of media items. The media items may be any type of format of digital content, including, for example, electronic texts (e.g., eBooks, electronic magazines, digital newspapers, etc.), digital audio (e.g., music, audible books, etc.), digital video (e.g., movies, television, short clips, etc.), images (e.g., art, photographs, etc.), and multi-media content. The user devices 805 may include any type of content rendering devices such as electronic book readers, portable digital assistants, mobile phones, laptop computers, portable media players, tablet computers, cameras, video cameras, netbooks, notebooks, desktop computers, gaming consoles, DVD players, media centers, and the like.
In the above description, numerous details are set forth. It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the description.
Some portions of the detailed description are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers or the like.
It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “inducing,” “parasitically inducing,” “radiating,” “detecting,” determining,” “generating,” “communicating,” “receiving,” “disabling,” or the like, refer to the actions and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
Embodiments also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions.
The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below. In addition, the present embodiments are not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the present invention as described herein. It should also be noted that the terms “when” or the phrase “in response to,” as used herein, should be understood to indicate that there may be intervening time, intervening events, or both before the identified operation is performed.
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the above description. The scope of the present embodiments should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6456249 | Johnson | Sep 2002 | B1 |
| 7050010 | Wang | May 2006 | B2 |
| 7256743 | Korva | Aug 2007 | B2 |
| 7518555 | Heng | Apr 2009 | B2 |
| 8957827 | Lee | Feb 2015 | B1 |
| 9002262 | Kuo | Apr 2015 | B1 |
