Switch-Controlled Reconfigurable Antenna for Multi-Band Mobile Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Designing antenna elements for mobile communication devices that are compact and multifunctional is challenging due to limited space, while maintaining improved performance across various frequency bands.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable dual-feed ground plane antenna element with a switch-controlled antenna structure, allowing for different resonant current paths and modes, enabling operation across multiple frequency bands with a significantly reduced antenna size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the antenna element uses a conventional length of at least 0.25 wavelength, then it achieves stable resonance and good radiation performance, but the antenna size becomes too large for compact mobile devices
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna element is divided into a first portion and a second portion that are selectively connected or disconnected via switches. This segmentation allows the antenna to present different effective lengths to the feeding point, enabling resonance at multiple frequency bands while maintaining a physically compact structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna element incorporates switches that dynamically reconfigure the connection between the first and second portions, allowing the electrical length to be adjusted in real-time. This dynamic reconfiguration enables the antenna to adapt its resonant frequency and impedance matching for different operating bands, achieving reliable resonance across multiple frequencies without requiring a physically long structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If the antenna element is designed for single-band operation, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but it cannot meet the multi-band communication requirements of modern mobile devices
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna element is designed with dual portions that can be selectively activated to serve different frequency bands. The first portion is optimized for lower bands (e.g., LTE700, GSM850/900) while the second portion serves higher bands (e.g., GSM1800/1900, UMTS, LTE2300/2500). By incorporating switches and reactive circuits, a single antenna structure achieves multi-band functionality, replacing what would traditionally require multiple separate antennas.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna element utilizes reactive circuits (inductors and capacitors) that can be selectively connected to change the electrical parameters of the antenna. By adjusting the impedance and resonant frequency through these reactive components, the same physical structure can operate across multiple frequency bands, achieving versatility without complicating the basic antenna geometry.
3Volume of moving object
If the antenna element uses a total length smaller than 0.15 wavelength, then the device form factor is reduced, but achieving resonance and impedance matching becomes significantly more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Reactive circuits (inductors and capacitors) are introduced as intermediary components between the antenna portions and the feeding point. These intermediaries provide the necessary impedance transformation and resonance tuning, enabling compact antenna structures to achieve proper impedance matching and resonance at desired frequencies without requiring physically long elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs reactive circuits with adjustable parameters (inductance and capacitance values) to compensate for the electrically short dimensions of the antenna portions. By carefully selecting and switching between different reactive component values, the antenna achieves resonance and impedance matching despite the reduced physical size, managing the complexity through parameter optimization rather than structural complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution allows for efficient multi-band operation in smaller form factors, covering bands from LTE700/GSM850/900 to GSM1800/1900/UMTS/LTE2300/2500, meeting current user requirements with improved antenna efficiency and reduced size.
Implementation Method 1
the switch is further configured to control the antenna element to excite a plurality of different resonant modes
Data Source
AI summary
A communication device including a ground element and an antenna element is provided. The antenna element includes a first portion and a second portion. The first portion has a first end and a second end. The first end is used as a first feeding point of the antenna element. The second portion has a third end and a fourth end. The third end is used as a second feeding point of the antenna element, and the fourth end is open. A first switch is coupled between the second end of the first portion and the third end of the second portion. The first switch is further coupled through the first portion and a first reactive circuit to a communication module. A second switch is coupled to the third end of the second portion. The second switch is further coupled through a second reactive circuit to the communication module.