阅读说明：本技术 用于无线通信的紧凑型天线技术 (Compact antenna technology for wireless communication ) 是由 J·安古拉 A·安杜哈尔 C·普恩特 于 2019-12-11 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种使用辐射系统的无线设备,其能够在一个以上的通信系统中工作,其特征在于通过包括辐射结构而具有紧凑的尺寸,该辐射结构包括紧凑的增强器布置,该增强器布置包括第一增强器和第二增强器,以使得增强器不级联在它们之间,即不彼此相邻放置,所述增强器中的一个增强器具有包括接地平面层中的槽或间隙的配置的特征,并且所述增强器中的另一个增强器包括导电部件或元件,导电部件或元件至少在一点处连接到包括馈电点的附加导电元件。所述辐射结构还包括接地平面层和射频系统,并且辐射系统还包括至少一个端口,优选地两个,每个端口提供至少在操作的通信系统之一处的操作。(A wireless device using a radiating system, which is capable of operating in more than one communication system, characterized by having compact dimensions by comprising a radiating structure comprising a compact booster arrangement comprising a first booster and a second booster such that the boosters are not cascaded between them, i.e. are not placed adjacent to each other, one of said boosters having the characteristics of a configuration comprising a slot or gap in a ground plane layer, and the other of said boosters comprising a conductive part or element connected at least at one point to an additional conductive element comprising a feeding point. The radiating structure further comprises a ground plane layer and a radio frequency system, and the radiating system further comprises at least one port, preferably two, each port providing operation at least at one of the operating communication systems.)

1. A wireless device including a radiating system, comprising:

at least one port; and

a radiating structure comprising:

at least one booster arrangement comprising a first booster and a second booster arranged in a non-cascaded deployment;

a ground plane layer comprising at least one gap, the at least one gap comprising a slot defined by a curve, the curve comprising a first connection point and a second connection point; and

at least one radio frequency system;

wherein the boosters included in each of the booster arrangements are at least partially included in a booster component characterized by a largest dimension less than λ divided by 20, λ being a free-space wavelength corresponding to a lowest operating frequency of the radiation system;

wherein each booster component is mounted on one of the ground plane gaps;

wherein the first booster included in each of the booster arrangements comprises at least a conductive element comprising at least one connection point to an additional conductive element comprised in the component, the additional conductive element comprising a feed point;

wherein the second booster included in each of the booster arrangements includes a feed element including a feed point, the feed element being connected to the first and second connection points included in the ground plane layer slot curve contained in the gap in which the corresponding booster component is mounted;

wherein each feeding element connecting the first and second connection points comprised in the slot curve is positioned at a distance d2 from the nearest edge of its corresponding booster component;

wherein each additional conductive element including a feed point is positioned at a distance d1 defined from an edge of its corresponding enhancer component at which the feed element connected to the slot is located; and is

Wherein at least one of the feed points associated with each booster arrangement is connected to the radio frequency system comprised in the radiating structure.

2. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the radiating system comprises two ports and a radiating structure configured to provide operation at the two ports of the radiating system.

3. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the radiating system comprises one port and a radiating structure configured to provide operation only at the one port of the radiating system.

4. A wireless device including a radiating system, comprising:

two ports; and

a radiating structure comprising:

an enhancer component comprising, at least in part, a first enhancer and a second enhancer arranged in a non-cascaded disposition, and at least one non-electrically connecting element included for securing the component to a board containing the radiating structure;

a ground plane layer comprising a gap containing a slot defined by a curve containing a first connection point and a second connection point; and

a radio frequency system;

wherein the booster component is characterized by a maximum dimension less than λ divided by 20, λ being the free-space wavelength corresponding to the lowest operating frequency of the radiation system;

wherein the reinforcing component is mounted on the ground plane gap;

wherein the first booster comprises a conductive surface contained in a top surface of the component, the conductive surface comprising at least one connection point connected to at least one via contained in the component, at least one of the vias comprising a feed point;

wherein the second booster comprises a feed conductive strip included in the component, the feed strip being connected to the first and second connection points included in the ground plane layer slot curve and including a feed point when the component is mounted on the ground plane gap;

wherein the feed conductive strip connecting the first and second connection points included in the slot curve is positioned at a distance d2 from the nearest edge of the booster component;

wherein the via including a feed point is located at a defined distance d1 from an edge of the enhancer component at which the feed conductive strip connected to the slot is located; and

wherein at least one of the feed points associated with the booster comprised at least partly in the booster component is connected to the radio frequency system comprised in the radiating structure by means of a conductive pad and the radiating structure plate distributed in the booster component.

5. The wireless device of claim 4, wherein the first booster included in the booster component contains only one via, the via including a feed point.

6. The wireless device of claim 4, wherein the booster component is a symmetric component and includes a first booster that includes two vias.

7. The wireless device of claim 4, wherein the at least one non-electrical connection element included to secure the component to the board containing the radiating structure comprises one or more connection pads.

8. The wireless device of claim 4, wherein the at least one non-electrical connection element included to secure the component to the board containing the radiating structure comprises a stripline.

9. The wireless device of claim 4, wherein the at least one non-electrical connection element included to secure the component to the board containing the radiating structure comprises a U-shaped stripline.

10. The wireless device of claim 1 or claim 4, wherein at least the booster component is characterized by a length to width ratio greater than 1, the length being a dimension perpendicular to a dimension of the booster component along which the slot feed element is contained, both dimensions being contained in the same plane; and said width is a dimension of said enhancer along which said slot feed element is contained.

11. The wireless device of claim 1 or claim 4, wherein at least the booster component is characterized by a length to width ratio of less than 1, the length being a dimension perpendicular to a dimension of the booster component along which the slot feed element is contained, both dimensions being contained in the same plane; and said width is a dimension of said enhancer along which said slot feed element is contained.

12. The wireless device of claim 1 or claim 4, wherein the radio frequency system comprises the same number of filters as the number of ports comprised in the radiating system.

13. The wireless device of claim 1 or claim 4, wherein the radio frequency system comprises a number of filters that is less than a number of ports comprised in the radiating system.

14. The wireless device of claim 1 or claim 4, wherein at least a ground plane gap is as large as the booster component footprint.

15. The wireless device of claim 1 or claim 4, wherein at least a ground plane gap is larger than the booster component footprint.

16. The wireless device of claim 1 or claim 4, wherein at least a slot included in a ground plane gap is as large as the ground plane gap including the slot.

17. The wireless device of claim 1 or claim 4, wherein at least a slot included in a ground plane gap is smaller than the ground plane gap including the slot.

18. The wireless device of claim 4, wherein the slot feed element is positioned at a distance d2 that is greater than a distance d1 at which a feed via is positioned.

19. The wireless device of claim 4, wherein the slot feed element is positioned at a distance d2 that is less than a distance d1 at which a feed via is positioned.

20. The wireless device of claim 1 or claim 4, wherein at least a slot feed element is positioned at a distance of zero from a nearest edge of its corresponding booster component.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless devices that need to operate in more than one communication system and/or frequency band.

Background

Today, wireless devices are often required to operate in different communication systems, which typically operate in different frequency regions, because they need to cover different applications, often requiring different communication protocols or standards. Then, as the free space available in wireless devices for allocating radiation systems decreases, wireless device platforms comprising radiation systems capable of meeting these functional requirements are now necessary and challenging.

Current antenna technology has attempted to overcome difficulties that arise when integrating radiating systems into wireless devices. The patent application with application number PCT/EP2018/068436 provides a generic solution that has been able to cover different communication protocols or standards by providing a modular antenna system comprising an antenna assembly comprising different parts, allowing the antenna system to be configured to cover different communication systems and more than one. The antenna system disclosed in patent application PCT/EP2018/068436 is characterized in that a single piece or unit is required to implement it. A feature of this multi-section arrangement is the coupling between the sections, which makes it difficult to isolate different ports of the antenna system in certain configurations. Depending on the communication system that the wireless device needs to cover, the antenna system disclosed in patent application PCT/EP2018/068436 may require a matching network comprising a plurality of filters to isolate its different ports, each port typically covering the operation of one of said communication systems. Using multiple filters may reduce the performance achievable by the solution. Another property that can be improved with the antenna system disclosed in patent application PCT/EP2018/068436 is the size of the components that host the antenna system containing the multi-section antenna assembly, since it is disclosed in patent application PCT/EP2018/068436 that the multi-section antenna assembly usually comprises cascaded sections, arranged adjacent to each other.

Patent US 9,379,443B2 discloses a radiating system comprising one or more (typically two) radiation boosters (boost) coupled to a close ground plane layer for operation covering multiple frequency regions. The booster technology provided in patent US 9,379,443B2 is based on compact radiation booster solutions, where the coupling and distance between boosters (for multiple boosters) has been characterized to develop these solutions. However, even though these solutions are more compact than previous solutions, the space occupied by those booster configurations can still be reduced while at least maintaining the performance achieved. With respect to radiation booster technology, patent US 9,331,389B2 also provides a plurality of compact and small-sized radiation boosters, suggested for operation covering single or multiple frequency bands. Patent US 8,237,615B2 also discloses some other multi-band antennaless configurations. Patent US 8,203,492B2 proposes an antennaless technique based on the use of boosters as excitation elements of radiation patterns in the ground plane layer contained in the radiation system.

Thus, as previously introduced, the radiating system comprises a radiating structure of reduced or compact size capable of operating in different frequency bands and communication systems and standards, and it is therefore an advantageous solution to provide operation in different applications while providing suitable performance. The invention disclosed herein provides a wireless device and radiating system that is capable of operating on more than one communication system (advantageously two), while providing a compact radiating structure that performs efficiently, and that can be otherwise installed anywhere on a wireless platform.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless device using a radiating system capable of operating in more than one communication system, advantageously two, characterized by a reduced size by comprising a compact radiating structure comprising a compact booster arrangement. It has been found that an intensifier arrangement comprising a first intensifier and a second intensifier is arranged such that the intensifiers are not cascaded between them, i.e. are not placed adjacent to each other. The booster arrangement includes a booster characterized by a configuration that includes a slot or gap in the ground plane layer, and includes a booster that includes a conductive portion connected at one point to a feed point by an additional conductive element, providing a compact booster arrangement characterized by an isolation booster. As previously mentioned, the booster arrangement comprises a booster comprising a slot or gap contained in the ground plane layer, the slot or gap being fed by a feeding element, typically a feed line, in some embodiments a stripline, and which comprises a booster comprising at least one conductive component or element connected at one point to an additional conductive element, typically a via, but not limited to this type of conductive element, the additional conductive element comprising a feed point. The booster arrangement related to the present invention is further characterized by having an additional conductive element located at a distance dl from the edge of its corresponding booster component, which additional conductive element is included in the booster arrangement, the feeding element of the slotted booster being located at this edge, and the feeding element with the slotted booster being located at a distance d2 from the nearest edge of the booster device; thus, the additional conductive element and the slotted booster feed element are located at a distance d3 from each other. As previously mentioned, the booster arrangement described herein features isolation boosters, thus providing good isolation between the ports of the radiation system that includes the booster arrangement, each radiation system port typically being associated with one booster. In some booster arrangement embodiments, the feeding element of the notch booster is positioned at a distance d2, which distance d2 is less than the distance dl at which the additional conductive element included in the conductive booster is located. In some of those embodiments, there is no distance between the slot feed element and the edge of the reinforcing device from which d2 is defined. In other embodiments, the feeding element of the grooved enhancer is located at a distance d2 greater than the distance d1 at which the additional conductive element included in the conductive enhancer is located, such that the feeding point of the non-grooved enhancer, i.e., the included feeding point, is located outside the grooves included in the grooved enhancer in the additional conductive element included in the non-grooved enhancer. It has been found that by assigning the feed points of the non-slotted boosters to positions outside the slots included in the slotted boosters, isolation between boosters and between the radiating system ports associated with these boosters is further improved. Better isolation of the radiating system ports provides a more performance embodiment and a more robust embodiment in terms of operational aspects with respect to the efficiency achieved. In addition to the compactness and isolation boosters of the non-cascaded booster arrangement described herein, another advantage of the booster configuration is good performance, particularly in terms of efficiency, for booster arrangements implemented by such a compact configuration at different ports comprising the radiating system, which provides operation over the communication bands and systems sought. The radiating system according to the invention then comprises a radiating structure comprising the first and second boosters, the ground plane layer and the radio frequency system arranged as described above, the radiating system further comprising at least one port, advantageously two, each port providing operation on at least one of the operating communication systems.

In the context of the present invention, at least one of the boosters is contained in a booster component as described herein, which excites an appropriate radiation pattern on the ground plane layer to provide operation in the communications system sought, the booster component typically being configured such that each booster contained therein operates at least on one communications system, providing operation on at least one port of the radiation system. In some embodiments of the radiation system related to the present invention, one of the boosters comprised in the radiation structure is not comprised in the booster component, but in the PCB containing said radiation structure and system.

A radio frequency system comprised in the radiating structure of the radiating system disclosed herein comprises at least a matching network which, when more than one matching network is comprised, matches the radiating structure at the frequency band sought and the respective communication system at the respective radiating system port, and at least one filter is comprised in the radiating system, the filter being configured to operate at more than one port, the filters being added to improve isolation between ports at the operating frequency band, each filter blocking operating frequencies corresponding to another port or ports. Advantageously, the radio frequency system comprises a matching network and a filter for matching each port comprised in the radiation system, such that the number of ports and filters is the same as the number of matching networks. Some radiation system embodiments include a fewer number of filters than ports and some embodiments include a fewer number of matching networks than ports.

The radiation system according to the invention may also be configured in a single port configuration if desired, whereby the radiation system comprises only one port, but this is not the most typical use of radiation systems in connection with the invention. Generally, the radiation system associated with the present invention is configured in a two-port configuration. In some embodiments of the radiation system comprising more than one port, each booster comprised in the booster arrangement or booster component comprised in the radiation system provides operation at one port. In some other embodiments, one of the boosters or the boost device included in the booster arrangement provides operation at both ports.

The boosters associated with the present invention generally comprise a first booster and a second booster, arranged in a compact configuration, wherein said boosters are not cascaded between them, said configuration minimizing the coupling between the boosters and improving the isolation between the ports associated with the different boosters, and thereby improving the performance, in particular in terms of efficiency, achieved in the communication system of the operation of the radiating system. The first booster includes at least one conductive element or portion contained in a non-perpendicular plane with respect to a plane containing the ground plane layer, at least one of the conductive element or elements containing at least one connection point. The first booster further comprises at least one additional conductive element connected to the at least one connection point and one of those additional conductive elements containing the feed point, the additional conductive element being comprised in the booster component. In some embodiments, the at least one additional conductive element is a via. The second booster includes a feeding element including a feeding point, which for some embodiments of the radiating structure is contained in a surface or face of the booster component that also contains the radiating structure layer in a non-perpendicular plane with respect to the plane containing the ground plane. The surface or face containing the feeding element is typically a non-conductive surface. Advantageously, in some booster component embodiments, the feeding element is comprised in a plane parallel to a plane comprising the ground plane layer comprised in the radiating structure. In some other enhancer component embodiments, the feeding element is contained in an outer surface of the enhancer component. More specifically, in other embodiments, the feeding element is comprised in an outer bottom surface of the booster component, said surface being parallel to the plane of the ground plane layer containing the radiating structure. In some booster component embodiments, the feeding element is a stripline. The feeding element comprised in said second booster excites a slot or gap comprised in a ground plane layer comprised in the radiating structure in the radiating system associated with the present invention. The booster component also comprises at least one non-electrical connecting element which is added for mechanical purposes to fix or attach or more specifically to solder the component to a PCB containing the entire radiating structure. In some embodiments, the mechanical connection element is one or more connection points, typically realized with a solder pad, or in other embodiments a strip, more particularly in some of those last embodiments, the strip is a U-shaped strip. Combining these booster configurations in a single piece, as described in the context of the present invention, provides a very compact and high performance booster capable of providing operation in more than one communication band and system (advantageously two). Once the booster component is mounted on the PCB containing the radiating structure and the radiating system, the feed point comprised in the booster component is connected to the radio frequency system comprised in the radiating structure. The PCB comprises the corresponding connections required to connect the feeding points to the radio frequency system.

The ground plane layer included in the radiating structure associated with the present invention comprises a gap or slot contained in the ground plane gap, said gap or slot being defined by a curve comprising a first connection point and a second connection point connected therebetween by a feed. According to the invention, the feeding element connecting said first and second connection points comprised in the slot curve is either comprised in the booster component, as already described, or in other embodiments it is comprised in the slot itself, e.g. it is printed on a PCB supporting the radiating structure comprising the ground plane layer containing the slot. In some other embodiments, the feeding element may even be included in the booster component and the PCB containing the slot.

A radiation system relevant to the present invention comprises a radiation structure comprising a ground plane layer, a radio frequency system and a reduced-size booster component, characterized in that the maximum size, defined by the maximum size of the tank in which the booster is completely enclosed, is smaller than λ divided by 20, in which the radiation booster is inscribed. More specifically, the box is defined as a parallelepiped of minimum dimensions completely enclosing a square or rectangular face of an intensifier component, wherein each face of the parallelepiped of minimum dimensions is tangent to at least one point of the intensifier component and wherein each pair of possible faces of the parallelepiped of minimum dimensions sharing an edge forms an internal angle of 90 °. And λ is the free-space wavelength corresponding to the lowest operating frequency of the radiating system or wireless device. The booster component relevant to the invention is mounted on a ground plane gap in the ground plane layer comprised in the radiating structure according to the invention, said ground plane gap being an area without a ground plane and thus lacking grounding properties. An advantage of the booster arrangement and/or booster component associated with the present invention is that it performs correctly in terms of bandwidth and efficiency when mounted on a ground plane gap as large as its footprint. If the available space in the wireless device for allocating the booster components is larger than its footprint, the ground plane gap for carrying the booster arrangement and/or blocks may be larger, so that the performance of the respective radiating structure may be improved. Some embodiments of the radiating structure are then characterized by a gap larger than the footprint size of the booster component comprised in the radiating structure, other embodiments are characterized by a gap smaller than said footprint, and other embodiments are preferably characterized by a booster component with a gap area as large as the footprint. More specifically, some of these embodiments have an enhancer slot as large as the ground plane gap, while some other embodiments feature a ground plane gap that is larger than the enhancer slot. Being able to minimize the space necessary for distributing the intensifier components to the space occupied by the intensifier components is an additional advantage of the invention disclosed herein.

In addition, some enhancer component embodiments are symmetrical. The symmetry of the symmetrical part of the booster allows to mount the part in different positions on the gap of the ground plane layer comprised in the radiating structure of the radiating system according to the invention. It would also be advantageous to have a radiating system that includes a radiating structure that can be distributed anywhere on a wireless device platform.

Drawings

The above and further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in view of the detailed description of some embodiments thereof, which are illustrated by the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended as a definition of any limitation of the invention.

Fig. 1 provides an embodiment of a booster component according to the invention comprising two non-cascaded boosters, one of which is a slot-based booster, the booster component comprising two feed points, one for each booster, and being capable of operating in more than one communication system. The component is shown mounted on a ground plane layer included in the radiating structure associated with the present invention. For this embodiment, the component is longer than it is wide.

Fig. 2 provides another embodiment of a booster component according to the invention, also comprising two non-cascaded boosters, one of which is a slot-based booster comprising two feed points and characterized by an aspect ratio smaller than 1. The component is placed along the edge of the ground plane layer comprised in the radiating structure associated with the invention.

Fig. 3 provides some embodiments of a non-cascaded booster arrangement including a slot-based booster in a PCB supporting radiating structures and systems associated with the present invention, including booster components including a non-slot-based booster. More specifically, the feeding elements for exciting the slots required to implement the slot-based enhancer are printed on the PCB rather than in the enhancer component.

Fig. 4 shows a general example of a radio frequency system comprised in a radiating structure according to the present invention.

Figure 5 shows different positions of the enhancer component according to the invention in relation to the invention once mounted on the ground plane layer comprised in the radiating structure.

Fig. 6 is an example of a radiating structure incorporating a booster component according to the invention, characterized by an aspect ratio greater than 1, located in the middle of the longer edge of the ground plane layer.

Fig. 7 shows a booster component according to the invention comprising a conductive booster comprising a vertical conductor fed at its feed point. In this embodiment, the notch enhancer is fed by a stripline including a feed point at one end thereof.

Fig. 8 presents a radio frequency system comprised in the embodiment of the radiating structure as provided in fig. 6, comprising an enhancer component as shown in fig. 7 for matching a two port radiating system operating under bluetooth and GNSS services.

Fig. 9 provides input reflection coefficients and isolation between ports associated with the radiating structure embodiment provided in fig. 6, including the booster component shown in fig. 7 and the radio frequency system provided in fig. 8.

Fig. 10 illustrates antenna efficiencies associated with a radiation system embodiment comprising the radiation structure embodiment provided in fig. 6, a radiation structure comprising the booster component shown in fig. 7, and a radio frequency system, radiation system matching provided in fig. 8 as shown in fig. 9.

Fig. 11 illustrates the footprint (footprint) of the booster component and booster configuration associated with the present invention, included on the ground plane layer in the radiating structure embodiment shown in fig. 6. A pad configuration for a distributed radio frequency system is also shown.

Fig. 12 presents a radio frequency system included in an embodiment of a radiating structure characterized by a footprint as shown in fig. 11 for matching a radiating system operating at two ports of the bluetooth and GNSS bands.

Fig. 13 presents another enhancer component according to the present invention including a conductive enhancer including two vertical vias, one of which is fed at a feed point contained at an end that is not connected to a conductive surface of the conductive enhancer. In this embodiment, the notch enhancer is fed by a stripline including a feed point at one end thereof. The component is characterized by a symmetrical shape.

Fig. 14 presents a radio frequency system comprised in the radiating structure embodiment as provided in fig. 6, comprising an enhancer component as shown in fig. 13 for matching the radiating system of two ports operating in bluetooth and GNSS services.

Fig. 15 provides input reflection coefficients measured between ports included in a radiation system including the radiation structure embodiment provided in fig. 6, including the booster component shown in fig. 13 and the radio frequency system provided in fig. 14.

Fig. 16 illustrates a measured antenna efficiency associated with a GNSS port of a radiation system embodiment comprising the radiation structure embodiment provided in fig. 6, a radiation structure comprising the booster component shown in fig. 13 and the radio frequency system provided in fig. 14, and a matched radiation system as shown in fig. 15.

Fig. 17 illustrates the measured antenna efficiency associated with the bluetooth port of the radiation system embodiment comprising the radiation structure embodiment provided in fig. 6, the radiation structure comprising the booster component shown in fig. 13 and the radio frequency system provided in fig. 14, and the matched radiation system as shown in fig. 15.

Fig. 18 provides another enhancer component according to the present invention including a conductive enhancer including a vertical via fed at a feed point at one end thereof. In this embodiment, the notch enhancer is also fed by a stripline containing a feed point at one end thereof. The component contains a slot-based enhancer with a slot smaller than the gap containing the enhancer work.

Fig. 19 presents the booster component footprint associated with the booster component from fig. 18 and the pad distribution or configuration for the distribution radio frequency system included in the radiating structure embodiment including the booster component.

Fig. 20 provides a radio frequency system included in an embodiment of a radiating structure similar to that provided in fig. 6, including an enhancer component similar to that shown in fig. 18, for matching a two-port radiating system operating in the bluetooth and GNSS frequency bands.

Figure 21 shows input reflection coefficients of GNSS frequencies obtained at a port of a radiating system comprising a radiating structure including an enhancer similar to that provided in figure 18 and the radio frequency system of figure 20.

Fig. 22 presents the antenna efficiency obtained at GNSS frequencies at the GNSS port of a radiating system comprising a radiating structure containing an enhancer component similar to that provided in fig. 18, the radiating system being matched at said port by the radio frequency system provided in fig. 20, as shown in fig. 21.

Figure 23 shows the input reflection coefficients of bluetooth frequencies obtained at the bluetooth port of a radiating system comprising a radiating structure including an enhancer similar to that provided in figure 18 and the radio frequency system of figure 20.

Figure 24 shows the antenna efficiency obtained at the bluetooth frequencies at the bluetooth port of a radiating system comprising a radiating structure containing booster components similar to those provided in figure 18, the radiating system being matched at said port by the radio frequency system provided in figure 20, as shown in figure 23.

Fig. 25 provides a radio frequency system, included in an embodiment of a radiating structure similar to that provided in fig. 6, including an enhancer component similar to that shown in fig. 18, for matching a single port radiating system operating only on the GNSS frequency band.

Fig. 26 shows the input reflection coefficient of GNSS frequencies obtained at the port of the radiation system associated with a slotted booster comprised in a radiating structure comprised in a radiation system comprising a booster device similar to that provided in fig. 18 and the radio frequency system in fig. 25.

Fig. 27 presents antenna efficiencies obtained at GNSS frequencies at a radiation system port associated with a slotted booster included in a radiation structure included in a radiation system including a booster component as provided in fig. 18, the radiation system being matched at said port by a radio frequency system as provided in fig. 25 as shown in fig. 26.

Detailed Description

As already described, the radiation system according to the invention comprises a radiation structure comprising a compact booster arrangement comprising a first booster and a second booster arranged in the configuration described herein, typically contained in a single component, for providing operation that can be provided over a plurality of communication systems. Fig. 1 and 2 provide some embodiments of enhancer components 1, 2 according to the invention. Those booster components are shown mounted on the ground plane layers 10, 20, the ground plane layers 10, 20 being comprised in the radiating structure containing said booster components. Said first booster is comprised in a booster arrangement according to the invention and thus comprises at least one conductive element in a booster component in a booster device similar to that shown in fig. 1 and 2, which conductive element is comprised in a ground plane layer in a non-perpendicular plane with respect to the plane comprised, in which first booster a conductive element 11, 21 is comprised, which conductive element 11, 21 is comprised in a plane parallel to the ground plane layer 10, 20, as is the case for the embodiment of fig. 1 and 2. At least one of the one or more conductive elements comprises at least one connection point, including only one connection point 12, 22 in fig. 1 and 2. Said first booster further comprises at least one additional conductive element, in the embodiment provided in fig. 1 and 2 denoted 13, 23, connected to said at least one connection point (12 and 22 in fig. 1 and 2), in the embodiment of fig. 1 and 2 one of those additional conductive elements is further connected to a feeding point, which is defined in the booster components 14 and 24. The second booster includes a feeding element including a feeding point, which in some radiating structure embodiments is contained in a surface or face of the booster component, the surface being contained in a non-perpendicular plane relative to the plane of the ground plane layer containing the radiating structure. The feeding element comprised in said second booster excites a slot or gap defined in a ground plane layer comprised in the radiating structure. In the embodiment of the enhancer component provided in fig. 1 and 2, said feeding element is a strip line 15, 25 printed on the outer bottom surface of the enhancer component, said surface of said component being a non-conductive surface. The feed points 16, 26 comprised in the strip lines in the component embodiments of fig. 1 and 2 are located at the ends of the strip lines in the embodiment of fig. 1 and at the centre of the strip lines in the embodiment of fig. 2. Furthermore, the enhancer component according to the invention is characterized by a length L, a width W and a height or thickness H, the dimensions being as shown in FIG. 1; length L is a dimension perpendicular to the dimension of the enhancer component along which the slot feed element is included; width W is the size of the enhancement device containing the slot feed element, both the L and W dimensions being contained in the same plane; thickness H is the dimension perpendicular to the plane containing W and L.

In other embodiments, the feeding element comprised in the second booster comprised in the booster arrangement according to the invention is printed on the PCB containing the radiating system, as shown in fig. 3. Fig. 3a shows a booster arrangement comprising a slot-based booster, wherein the slot defined by the curve 31a comprised in the ground plane 32a of the radiating structure is as large as the ground plane gap 33 a. Fig. 3b shows a booster arrangement comprising a slot-based booster, wherein the slot defined by the curve 3lb comprised in the ground plane 32b of the radiating structure is smaller than the ground plane gap 33 b. The booster component relevant to the present invention also comprises at least one non-electrical connecting element added for mechanical purposes, i.e. for attaching or more specifically soldering the component to the PCB containing the radiating structure and system. The embodiments provided in fig. 1 and 2 comprise two floating connection pads 17 and U-shaped strips 27, respectively, as non-electrical connection elements. The groundplane layer included in the radiating structure associated with the present invention includes a gap or slot included in the groundplane gap included in the groundplane layer, the gap or slot being defined by a curve, which in the embodiments of figures 1 and 2 is 18 and 28 including first and second connection points, 19 'and 19 ", and 29' and 29", respectively, in the embodiments connected therebetween by a feed element included in the booster, which is in the radiating structure embodiment provided in figures 1 and 2. The booster relevant to the invention is then mounted on the ground plane gap in the ground plane layer comprised in the radiating structure according to the invention. As shown in the radiating structures of fig. 1 and 2, for those embodiments, the ground plane gap 101, 201 is advantageously as large as the footprint of the booster component mounted thereon.

The PCB containing the radiating system disclosed herein contains the necessary connection points for electrically and mechanically connecting the booster components contained in the radiating structure to the radio frequency system and the PCB, respectively. Fig. 4 shows a generic radio frequency system included in a radiating structure relevant to the present invention. The radio frequency system typically comprises a matching network 41 and a filter 42 for matching each port 43 comprised in the radiation system such that the number of ports 43 is the same as the number of filters 42 and matching networks 41. Each of these filters blocks the operating frequency covered by the other port of the radiating system. Thus, in a radiating system comprising two ports, as shown in fig. 4, each filter included in one port will block the operating frequency of the other port. But depending on the wireless device and the communication system that the radiating system needs to cover, some radiating system embodiments include a smaller number of filters than the number of ports, and some other embodiments even include a smaller number of matching networks than the number of ports.

Another feature of the radiation system associated with the present invention is its integration capability at any location of the wireless device platform that distributes the radiation system. Figure 5 provides a sketch showing some possible locations 51 of the booster component relevant to the invention once mounted on the ground plane layer 52 in the radiating structure comprised in the radiating system.

Fig. 6 provides a radiating structure 60 comprising an enhancer component 61 according to the invention, which is characterized by an aspect ratio larger than 1 and located in the middle of the longer edge of the ground plane layer comprised in the radiating structure. As shown in fig. 6, the ground plane layer 62 has dimensions of 80mm x 40 mm. Other embodiments of the radiating structure include ground plane layers characterized by other dimensions. A more detailed picture of the enhancer component included in the radiation structure embodiment provided in fig. 6 is shown in fig. 7. The part dimensions were 7mm x 3mm x 2mm (l x W x h) and therefore the aspect ratio was greater than 1. The component comprises a first booster comprising a conductive surface 74 included in the upper surface of the component, the conductive surface including a connection point, in this example a connection edge 75. The first booster also includes a vertical conductor connected to the connecting edge and to the feed pad 72, which contains a feed point 78. In this embodiment, the vertical conductors are strips 76 characterized by a width of 1mm and a length of 2 mm. In some other embodiments, the vertical wires are implemented by vias having a length and a diameter, and in some embodiments, the vias are even hand-made wires. The component also includes a second booster whose functional configuration requires a slot 73 contained in the ground plane layer on which the booster component is mounted. The slot is located in the middle of one of the longest edges of the ground plane layer for the radiating structure embodiment described herein and shown in fig. 6. The slot is fed by a 1mm wide strip line 77, connected to a feed pad 71, which is included at one end of the strip line, the feed pad containing a feed edge or point 79. The strip line is connected at its other end to a ground plane layer comprised in the radiating structure. The feed points contained in the components are connected to the radio frequency system for matching.

The radio frequency system implemented and included in the radiating structure example of fig. 6 includes two matching networks provided in fig. 8, one for each feed point and radiating system port, but one filter instead of two. The feeding point 72, or equivalently the connection point 82 in fig. 8, is directly connected to a matching network 820 matching the radiating structure of bluetooth frequencies from 2400MHz to 2500MHz at port P2, while the feeding point 71, or equivalently the connection point 81 in fig. 8, is connected to a filter 810a rejecting bluetooth frequencies before being connected to a matching network 810b, which matching network 810b performs matching of the radiating structure at the corresponding port P1 for GNSS frequencies from 1561MHz to 1606 MHz. In this particular radiating system embodiment, filter 810a includes a capacitor 811 and an inductor 812 connected in parallel therebetween, a capacitor of 0.8pF and an inductor of 5.8 nH. Matching network 810b is a T-type network comprising three capacitors, a first series capacitor 813 of 0.5pF, a second parallel capacitor 814 of 0.8pF and a third series capacitor 815 of 1.2 pF. Finally, the matching network 820 comprises a first series inductance 821 of 3.1nH, followed by a parallel inductance 822 of 1.58nH or 1.6 nH. Thus, the enhancer component 70 contained in the radiating structure 60 shown in fig. 6 is configured to provide operation in bluetooth and GNSS services as previously described. Fig. 9 provides input reflection coefficients obtained at the operating frequency bands of the two communication services, each service being provided at one of the ports comprised in the radiation system. The input reflection coefficient obtained at GNSS is lower than-10 dB and the input reflection coefficient obtained at bluetooth is lower than-7 dB. Fig. 10 provides the antenna efficiency associated with the radiating structure embodiment of fig. 6, from 1561MHz (item 1 in fig. 10) to 1606MHz (item 2 in fig. 10) and from 2400MHz (item 3 in fig. 10) to 2500MHz (item 4 in fig. 10) when it is matched at GNSS and bluetooth frequencies as shown in fig. 9. The GNSS antenna efficiency reaches more than 70% in the full frequency band, the Bluetooth minimum antenna efficiency is 55%, and the GNSS antenna efficiency is obtained under 2400 MHz.

Fig. 11 provides another embodiment of a radiating structure included in a radiating system associated with the present invention, showing the footprint of the booster component included in the radiating structure, which is required to operate in GNSS and bluetooth services. The dimensions of the ground plane layer contained in the radiating structure are also 80mm x 40mm, with the booster component placed at the midpoint of the long side of said ground plane. The dimensions of the enhancer component are the same as those included in the radiating structure embodiment of figure 6 and as shown in figure 7. This radiating structure embodiment includes some pads 116, more specifically a total of six, in the ground plane layer for enabling the allocation of the matching and filters contained in the radio frequency system. For this particular embodiment, the pads are 1mm x 1mm in size, but in other embodiments they may range between 0.5mm x 0.5mm and 2mm x 2mm, typically square pads, but in other embodiments their shape is not limited to square. There is a 0.5mm gap between these pads. In some embodiments, the pad is 2mm x 2 mm. In this embodiment the conductive element contained in the upper surface of the component is connected to a via with a diameter of 0.5mm, which via is also connected to a feeding point 111, which is connected to the radio frequency system distributed in the pad area 113. The width of the strip line feeding the ground plane slot defined by curve 117 is 0.5mm, which is represented by strip line 118 in the booster component footprint provided in fig. 11, and is included in the second one of the booster components. The radio frequency system comprised in the present embodiment is provided in fig. 12, which comprises a bluetooth filter 1210a connected to a matching network 1210b, the matching network 1210b being connected to the feed point 112 for matching the port 114 of GNSS frequencies, and which comprises a matching network 1220 without any filter connected at the feed point 111 for matching the port 115 of bluetooth frequencies. Both port 114 and port 115 achieve very good matching values when the aforementioned radio frequency system is incorporated in the radiating structure, more specifically input reflection coefficients below-9 dB for GNSS and below-8 dB for bluetooth. This particular embodiment is characterized by very good isolation between the ports, below-19 dB in both frequency bands of interest, and a corresponding antenna efficiency of above 50% achieved by the radiating structure and system over the entire operating frequency range.

Fig. 13 illustrates another embodiment of an enhancer component 150 associated with the present invention that is included in some embodiments similar to the radiating structures provided in fig. 6. The part dimensions were 7mm x 3mm x 2mm (l x W x h) and therefore the aspect ratio was greater than 1. The component comprises a first booster comprising a conductive surface 151 included in the upper surface of the component, which conductive surface comprises two connection points 152 at a distance from the short side 153 of the booster component. The first booster also comprises two vertical wires 154 connected to the connection point, more particularly, for this particular case, two through holes of 0.5mm diameter. Typically, one of the vias contains the feed point 155, while the other via does not. In some embodiments, both vias may be connected to a feed point. Those feed points are typically included in the conductive pads, as shown by conductive pad 1512 in fig. 13. The component also includes a second booster comprising a conductive strip printed along a short side of the component from which a connection point 152 located in the top conductive surface of the via is included in the component. For this particular example, the through-hole is placed 2mm from the short side of the enhancer component, measured from the center of the through-hole. The strips included in the second booster excite the slot defined by the curve 156 included in the gap 1514 of the ground plane layer 157, over which gap 1514 the booster component is mounted. In some radiating structure embodiments, the slot is located in the middle of one of the longest edges of the ground plane layer, as shown in fig. 6, and is as large as the ground plane gap into which the booster component 150 is integrated. The slot is fed by a strip line included in the enhancement device, said strip line 158 having a width of 1mm or 0.5mm, being connected to a feeding point or edge 159 included in a conductive pad 1510, the conductive pad 1510 also being included in the enhancer component, the feeding point 159 and the conductive pad 1510 being included at the end points of the strip line 158. Said strip line is connected at its other end to another conductive pad 1511, which conductive pad 1511 is also comprised in the booster component, which connects the strip line to a ground plane layer comprised in the radiating structure, which comprises the booster component. The mentioned feeding points are connected to the radio frequency system provided in fig. 14, comprised in the radiating structure. A pad area 113 similar to that shown in the footprint provided in fig. 11 may be used to distribute the radio frequency system from fig. 14. The feed point 155 included in the booster component of fig. 13 is connected to the point 162 included in fig. 14. The radio frequency system from fig. 14, in some embodiments, more specifically the point 162 includes an exemplary branch 163 of the radiating system for use in bluetooth matching connected at its end to port P216 by a conductive pad on the PCB of the distributed radiating system, as shown in the footprint of fig. 11. The feed point 159 is connected to a point 161 of the radio frequency system provided in fig. 14, in some embodiments by a conductive pad on the PCB of the distributed radiating system, as again shown in the footprint of fig. 11, the point 161 being more particularly included in a GNSS matching branch 164, which matching branch 164 is connected at its end at port P116 for this radiating system example. Two floating conductive pads 1513 are added to the components provided in fig. 13 and described herein, which are used to solder the booster component to the PCB containing the radiating system. An additional advantage of this booster component embodiment is its symmetry, which allows to mount the component anywhere on the gap of the ground plane layer comprised in the radiating structure. The booster component may also be configured in some radiating structure embodiments such that one via is connected to ground and the other is connected to a feed.

As previously mentioned, fig. 14 provides a radio frequency system for matching a radiating system that includes a radiating structure that includes a booster device 150 similar to that shown in fig. 13. A filter 1610 rejecting bluetooth frequencies is installed before the matching network used for matching port P116 at GNSS frequency, said filter being a parallel circuit, in this particular example consisting of an inductor 1611 in parallel with a capacitor 1612, and said matching network consisting of a series capacitor 1613 and a parallel capacitor 1614. Port P216 is matched at bluetooth frequencies by a matching network comprising a series inductor 1621 and a series capacitor 1622. Other matching network topologies may be used for other radiation system embodiments, including the booster component 150 presented in fig. 13, for achieving the sought input matching performance on the ports P116 and P216, typically with GNSS and bluetooth frequency matching mechanisms. Values for the circuit components included in the radio frequency system previously described and shown in fig. 14 are also provided in the figure.

Fig. 15 provides an input reflection coefficient achieved by a radiation system according to the present invention comprising a radiation structure comprising a booster component 150 and a radio frequency system similar to the radio frequency system provided in fig. 14. The curves GNSS and bluetooth in fig. 15 show the matching performance achieved in GNSS and bluetooth services, with corresponding operating bands between 1.561GHz to 1.606GHz for GNSS services and 2.4GHz to 2.5GHz for bluetooth services. Good matching values below-6 dB are obtained for two-port radiation system embodiments operating in GNSS and bluetooth services, which include a radiating structure containing an enhancer component similar to that of figure 13, and a radio frequency system similar to that of figure 14. Fig. 16 and 17 show measured antenna efficiencies associated with the last embodiment of the radiation system. Fig. 16 provides the antenna efficiency associated with the GNSS port plotted as curve 180, while fig. 17 provides the antenna efficiency associated with the bluetooth port and represented by curve 190. An average of the antenna efficiency is achieved above 65% and above 20% and measured in the GNSS band and bluetooth band, respectively. The antenna efficiencies achieved at the limiting frequencies of each band are represented by markers 181, 182, 191 and 192, with markers 181 and 191 pointing to the antenna efficiency at the minimum frequency and markers 182 and 192 pointing to the antenna efficiency at the maximum frequency.

Another embodiment of an enhancer component 200 according to the present invention is provided in fig. 18. The part has dimensions of 7mm x 3mm x 2mm (l x W x h) and therefore has an aspect ratio greater than 1. The component comprises a first booster comprising a conductive surface 201 on the upper surface of the component, which conductive surface in this case contains only one connection point 202 connecting the conductive surface to a vertical via 203, which via 203 is connected at its other end to a feed point 204 comprised in a conductive pad 205, as shown in fig. 18, for allowing electrical connection with a radio frequency system comprised in the radiating structure mounted thereon. A second booster included in the booster component 200 includes a slot defined by a curve 207 that is included in a gap 208 of a ground plane layer 209, the booster component being mounted on the gap 208. In the radiating structure embodiment provided in fig. 18, the slot is located in the middle of one of the longest edges of the ground plane layer 209. The slot is fed by a strip line comprised in the booster component, said strip line 206 being characterized by a width of 0.5mm, one end being connected to the feed point 2010 and the other end being connected to the ground plane layer of the radiating structure. The vertical via 203 is located at a distance dl from the short side of the booster component where the feed conductor strip comprised in the second booster is located, the distance dl being defined as the centre of the via for the case of a via element. As already mentioned, the component also contains a second booster comprising a conductive strip 206 (1.5 mm for this particular embodiment) at a distance d2 from the short edge of the component closest to the feed via 203 included in the first booster, which is therefore also located at a distance d3 from the via, for this particular example 1mm from the center of the via. The booster component is characterized by having the strip line 206 located at a distance d2 greater than the distance d1 of the via 203 at a distance d2 such that the feed point 204 of the first booster is outside the slot excited by the strip line after the component is mounted on the PCB containing the entire radiating system. It has been found that by assigning the feed point of the first booster to a position outside the slot excited by the conductive strip comprised in the second booster, as is the case with this booster component embodiment, the isolation between the boosters and between the radiating systems is further improved for the ports associated with these boosters. Better isolation of the radiating system ports provides a higher performance and more robust embodiment in terms of operation, more specifically with respect to the efficiency achieved. Another feature of the radiating structure and radiating system that includes the booster component 200 as shown in fig. 18 is that the slot excited by the conductive strip 206 is not as large as the ground plane gap into which the booster component 200 is integrated. In this embodiment, some conductive pads 2011 are included and printed along the striplines for enabling electrical connection between the booster component and the PCB containing the radiating structure and system. The pads printed along the strip line enhance the interaction between the strip line and the slot comprised in the ground plane of the radiating structure. For mechanical reasons, i.e. to have more solder joints on the PCB distributing the radiation system, a floating or non-conductive pad 2012 is added to the component provided in fig. 18.

Figure 19 shows the footprint of an enhancer component similar to that provided in figure 18, together with the pads used in this radiating structure example for distributing the radio frequency system which can typically operate at two ports, in some embodiments overlaid in the GNSS and bluetooth bands. In some other embodiments, the radiating structure is configured to provide operation at only one port. Fig. 19 provides an embodiment of a radiating structure comprising a ground plane layer having dimensions of 80mm long by 40mm wide, the booster of fig. 18 being placed at the midpoint of the long side of said ground plane layer. When the booster of fig. 18 is integrated into the overall radiating structure, the feed point conductive pad 205 is soldered to the feed conductive pad 211 of the component footprint, and the stripline pad 2011 is soldered to the stripline pad 212 included in the overall radiating structure. For mechanical reasons only, mechanical pads 2012 included in the PCB footprint and the booster component are soldered to conductive pads 213 included in the footprint. In the footprint shown in fig. 19, it is clearly demonstrated that the slot 214 defined by curve 215 includes no footprint pad 211 in the gap 216 of the ground plane, which pad is connected to the feed point pad 205 of the first amplifier when the workpiece is mounted on the PCB. Thus, the land area 217 used to allocate the matching network and filter (if needed) for matching the port 218 associated with the first booster included in the tile at the frequency sought does not interfere with the time slot operation. Thus, like the radiating structure embodiment provided in fig. 19, components similar to the enhancer provided in fig. 18 are allocated, advantageously featuring good isolation between ports 218 and 219, and providing a high performance and robust embodiment, particularly in efficiency.

One particular embodiment of a radiation system incorporating the radiation structure described previously and featuring the booster component footprint provided in fig. 19 is a dual port radiation system configured to operate in both bluetooth and GNSS frequency bands by incorporating the radio frequency system provided in fig. 20. The radio frequency system comprises a bluetooth filter 2210a and a matching network 2210b, the matching network 2210b being connected to a feeding point 2110 for matching the port 219 at GNSS frequencies through a first pad 2111 of a pad area 2112, and it comprises a matching network 2220 without any filter connected at a feeding conductive pad 211 for matching the port 218 at bluetooth frequencies. Values and part numbers of actual circuit components included in the radio frequency system of fig. 20 are also provided. Good matching values are achieved at both port 218 and port 219 after the previously described radio frequency system is included in a radiating structure as shown in fig. 19, which includes the booster component 200 as shown in fig. 18. Fig. 21 and 22 show the input reflection coefficient and antenna efficiency, respectively, provided at port 219 at GNSS frequencies. An input reflection coefficient of less than-6 dB and an antenna efficiency of more than 40% are obtained for the entire frequency band from 1.561GHz to 1.606 GHz. The markers 231, 241 and 232, 242 included in fig. 21 and 22 point to the minimum and maximum frequencies of the GNSS band, respectively. For this band of operation at port 219, the antenna efficiency averages over 50%. Fig. 23 and 24 show the input reflection coefficient and antenna efficiency, respectively, for a port 218 matched to the bluetooth frequencies at which they are provided. For the entire frequency band from 2.4GHz to 2.5GHz, input reflection coefficients below-7 dB and antenna efficiencies above 45% are obtained. The markers 251, 261 and 252, 262 included in fig. 23 and 24 point to the minimum and maximum frequencies of the bluetooth band, respectively. Then, an antenna efficiency of on average more than 40% is achieved at port 218 of the embodiment of the radiation system provided in fig. 19, which includes the radio frequency system provided in fig. 20 and the booster component in fig. 18. The efficiency obtained is for this embodiment improved isolation between the ports relative to a radiating system comprising two ports and a radiating structure comprising a booster device, such as the booster of fig. 13, comprising a feed through hole comprised in a first booster, a second booster within a slot comprised in the first booster.

Another embodiment of a radiating system including a radiating structure is a radiating structure having the booster component footprint shown in fig. 19 and including the booster component in fig. 18, being a single port radiating system configured to operate in the GNSS band for this particular case by including and mounting the radio frequency system provided in fig. 25 in the pad topology also provided in fig. 19. The single port radiation system embodiment typically does not include any filters, as in the case of the radio frequency system in fig. 25 which includes a matching network connected to the feed pad 2111 included in the pad area 2112 of fig. 19 but not a filter, for matching the port 219 at GNSS frequencies. Values and part numbers of actual circuit components included in the radio frequency system provided in fig. 25 are also included in the figure. For this particular case, ports 218 do not match, and therefore no matching network is included in pad region 217. The input reflection coefficients associated with port 219 of the single port embodiment described above are provided in fig. 26. Good matching values achieved below-8 dB in the entire GNSS band from 1.561GHz to 1.606GHz and antenna efficiencies above 60% were obtained, as shown in fig. 27. The labels 281, 291 and 282, 292 contained in fig. 26 point to the minimum and maximum frequencies of the GNSS band, respectively, in fig. 27. For this particular embodiment, an antenna efficiency of more than 65% on average is achieved at port 219 of the GNSS operating band.