Abstract:
An electronic device and a related antenna module for integrating GPS signals and digital mobile television signals are provided. With variances of both frequency domains and bandwidths between GPS signals and digital mobile television signals in the VHF and UHF bands, said signals may be transmitted inside the electronic device with different paths without interfering with each other.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to an electronic device and an antenna module, and more particularly, to an electronic device and an antenna module for integrating a global positioning system antenna and a digital mobile television antenna. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    With gradual growth of electronic products, certain electronic products may receive radio global positioning system (GPS) signals or digital mobile television (DIMO TV) signals, such as digital video broadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T) signals, for watching radio channels. 
         [0005]    Since a frequency domain of a GPS signal is significantly separated from a frequency domain of a DIMO TV signal, it is impossible for a conventional electronic product to receive and to integrate both the GPS signal and the DIMO TV signal simultaneously. For example, a frequency domain of a DIMO TV signal from digital video broadcasting-terrestrial is classified into a first frequency domain lying within the Very High Frequency (VHF) band, which ranges between 30 MHz and 300 MHz, and a second frequency domain lying within the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band, which ranges between 300 MHz and 3000 MHz. The first frequency domain roughly ranges between 150 MHz and 250 MHz. The second frequency domain roughly ranges between 450 MHz and 900 MHz. A frequency domain of a GPS signal lies roughly above 1500 MHz. The three abovementioned frequency domains are not overlapped with each other. Therefore, an electronic product capable of receiving and integrating signals of the three abovementioned frequency domains is required to acquire a bandwidth of at least 1300 MHz. It indicates the fact that a huge bottleneck will be met while designing an electronic product having such a huge bandwidth. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The claimed invention provides an electronic device for integrating a GPS antenna and a DIMO TV antenna. The electronic device comprises an antenna module and a receiving module. The antenna module comprises a first antenna for receiving a first GPS signal, a low noise amplifier (LNA) having a first input terminal coupled to the first antenna, a second antenna for receiving a first DIMO TV signal, a first filter module coupled to both the LNA and the second antenna, for filtering both the first GPS signal and the first DIMO TV signal to generate a second GPS signal and a second DIMO TV signal, for receiving a first DC voltage, and for filtering out noise within said first DC voltage to input the filtered first DC voltage to the LNA. A mix signal is generated by mixing the second GPS signal with the second DIMO TV signal. A receiving module comprises a second filter module coupled to the first filter module for receiving the mix signal, for filtering both the second GPS signal and the second DIMO TV signal, for generating a third GPS signal, a third DIMO TV signal, and a fourth DIMO TV signal, for receiving a second DC voltage, and for filtering out noise within said second DC voltage to generate the first DC voltage. A frequency domain of the third DIMO TV signal lies within the frequency domain of the VHF band, and a frequency domain of the fourth DIMO TV signal lies within the frequency domain of the UHF band. 
         [0007]    The claimed invention also provides an antenna module for integrating signals of a GPS antenna and a DIMO TV antenna. The antenna module comprises a first antenna for receiving a first GPS signal, a LNA having a first input terminal coupled to the first antenna, a second antenna for receiving a first DIMO TV signal, and a first filter module coupled to both the LNA and the second antenna, for filtering both the first GPS signal and the first DIMO TV signal to generate both a second GPS signal and a second DIMO TV signal. A mix signal is generated by mixing the second GPS signal with the second DIMO TV signal. 
         [0008]    These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an electronic device for integrating both a GPS antenna and a DIMO TV antenna according to the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an electronic device having a smaller volume for integrating both a GPS antenna and a DIMO TV antenna according to the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a diagram of an electronic device for integrating both a GPS antenna and a DIMO TV antenna according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  illustrates a path of GPS signals transmitted with the electronic device shown in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  illustrates a path of DIMO TV signals transmitted within the electronic device shown in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  illustrates a path of DC voltages transmitted within the electronic device shown in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a diagram of the first filter shown in  FIG. 3  according to a preferred embodiment of said first filter. 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a diagram of the second filter shown in  FIG. 3  according to a preferred embodiment of said second filter. 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a diagram of the third filter shown in  FIG. 3  according to a preferred embodiment of said third filter. 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a diagram of the seventh filter shown in  FIG. 3  according to a preferred embodiment of said seventh filter. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    Therefore, the present invention provides an electronic device and an antenna module for integrating a GPS antenna and a DIMO TV antenna to solve the abovementioned defect. 
         [0020]    Please refer to  FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram of an electronic device  500  for integrating both a GPS antenna and a DIMO TV antenna according to the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the electronic device  500  includes a first antenna  502  and a second antenna  504 , wherein both the first antenna  502  and the second antenna  504  are connected to a core of the electronic device  500  with both a cable  508  and a slot  506 . The first antenna  502  is utilized for receiving a GPS signal. The second antenna  504  is utilized for receiving a DIMO TV signal. When the first antenna  502  and the second antenna  504  receive a GPS and a DIMO TV signal respectively, the GPS and the DIMO TV signal are directly mixed and transmitted through the cable  508  into the electronic device  500 . 
         [0021]    Please refer to  FIG. 2 , which is a schematic diagram of an electronic device  600  having a smaller volume for integrating both a GPS antenna and a DIMO TV antenna according to the present invention. The electronic device  600  is similar with the electronic device  500  in conformation. A primary difference between the electronic devices  500  and  600  lies in the fact that a first antenna  602  and a second antenna  604  of the electronic device  600  may be combined into a single module so that the electronic device  600  is smaller than the electronic device  500  in size. 
         [0022]    Please refer to  FIG. 3 , which is a diagram of an electronic device  700  for integrating both a GPS antenna and a DIMO TV antenna according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device  700  includes an antenna module  702 , a cable  704 , a connector  722 , and a receiving module  706 . The antenna module  702  includes a first antenna  708 , a second antenna  710 , a LNA  712 , and a first filter module  714 . The first antenna  708  is utilized for receiving a first GPS signal. The second antenna  710  is utilized for receiving a first DIMO TV signal. The LNA  712  has a first input terminal coupled to the first antenna  708 , for amplifying the first GPS signal into a second GPS signal. The first filter module  714  includes a first filter  716 , a second filter  718 , and a third filter  720 . The first filter  716  has an input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the LNA  712  for filtering the second GPS signal to generate a third GPS signal. The second filter  718  has an input terminal coupled to the second antenna  710  for filtering the first DIMO TV signal to generate a second DIMO TV signal. The third filter  720  has an input terminal coupled to both an output terminal of the first filter  716  and an output terminal of the second filter  718 , and an output terminal coupled to a second input terminal of the LNA  712 . The third filter  720  is utilized for filtering a first DC voltage, which is inputted at the input terminal of the third filter  720 , to generate a second DC voltage, and for inputting the second DC voltage at the second input terminal of the LNA  712  to provide an operating voltage for the LNA  712 . The cable  704  has a first terminal coupled to the output terminal of the first filter  716 , the output terminal of the second filter  718 , and the input terminal of the third filter  720 . The cable  704  is utilized for receiving and transmitting a mix signal generated by mixing the third GPS signal with the second DIMO TV signal, and for transmitting the first DC voltage to the third filter  720 . The connector  722  has a first terminal coupled to a second terminal of the cable  704  for receiving the mix signal transmitted by the cable  704 , and for transmitting the first DC voltage to the cable  704 . It indicates the fact that the connector  722  is utilized for implementing functions of the slots  506  and  606  shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  respectively. Note that when the antenna module  702  is disposed inside the electronic device  700 , the cable  704  and the connector  722  can be omitted. The receiving module  706  includes a second filter module  724 , a GPS engine  726 , a tuner  728 , a first capacitor  730 , and a DC voltage source  750 . The first capacitor  730  has a first terminal coupled to a second terminal of the connector  722  for preventing the first DC voltage from being transmitted through the first capacitor  730  with the mix signal. Note that the mix signal is not affected by the first capacitor  730 . The second filter module  724  includes a fourth filter  732 , a fifth filter  734 , and a sixth filter  736 , and a seventh filter  738 . The fourth filter  732  has an input terminal coupled to a second terminal of the first capacitor  730 , for receiving the mix signal through the connector  722  and the first capacitor  730 , and for filtering the mix signal to generate a fourth GPS signal according to an adequate frequency domain of a GPS signal. The GPS engine  726  has an input terminal coupled to an output terminal of the fourth filter  732  for receiving the fourth GPS signal and for performing related processes. The fifth filter  734  has an input terminal coupled to the second terminal of the connector  722  for receiving and filtering the mix signal to generate a third DIMO TV signal having a frequency lying within the VHF band. The sixth filter  736  has an input terminal coupled to the second terminal of the connector  722 , for receiving the mix signal, and for filtering the mix signal to generate a fourth DIMO TV signal having a frequency lying within the UHF band. The tuner  728  includes a first DIMO TV signal module  740  and a second DIMO TV signal module  742 . The first DIMO TV signal module  740  has an input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the fifth filter  734 , for specifically processing a DIMO TV signal lying within the VHF band, i.e., the third DIMO TV signal. The second DIMO TV signal module  742  has an input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the sixth filter  736  for specifically processing a DIMO TV signal lying within the UHF band, i.e., the fourth DIMO TV signal. The seventh filter  738  has an output terminal coupled to the second terminal of the connector  722 , and an input terminal coupled to the DC voltage source  750 . The DC voltage source  750  is utilized for generating a third DC voltage. The seventh filter  738  is utilized for filtering out noise from the third DC voltage to generate the first DC voltage, and for transmitting the first DC voltage to the connector  722 . 
         [0023]    Please refer to  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 5 ,  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 4  illustrates a path of GPS signals transmitted with the electronic device  700  shown in  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 5  illustrates a path of DIMO TV signals transmitted within the electronic device  700 .  FIG. 6  illustrates a path of DC voltages transmitted within the electronic device  700 . All the above-illustrated paths are distributed according to the descriptions of  FIG. 3 , and are thus not described further. 
         [0024]    Please refer to  FIG. 7 , which is a diagram of the first filter  716  shown in  FIG. 3  according to a preferred embodiment. The first filter  716  may be a high-pass filter specifically designed for a frequency domain of a GPS signal, and may also be a high-pass filter including inductors and capacitors as shown in  FIG. 7 , for filtering out noise from the first GPS signal. According to the preferred embodiment, the first filter  716  includes a second capacitor  802 , a first inductor  804 , and a third capacitor  806 . The second capacitor  802  has a first terminal coupled to the output terminal of the LNA  712  shown in  FIG. 3 . The first inductor  804  has a first terminal coupled to a second terminal of the second capacitor  802 , and a second terminal coupled to ground. The third capacitor  806  has a first terminal coupled to both the second terminal of the second capacitor  802  and the first terminal of the first inductor  804 , and a second terminal coupled to the first terminal of the cable  704  shown in  FIG. 3 . In the preferred embodiment of the first filter  716 , a capacitance of the second capacitor  802  is 1 pF, an inductance of the first inductor  804  is 5.6 nH, and a capacitance of the third capacitor  806  is 1 pF. 
         [0025]    Please refer to  FIG. 8 , which is a diagram of the second filter  718  shown in  FIG. 3  according to a preferred embodiment. The second filter  718  is specifically designed for filtering out noise from DIMO TV signals lying within the VHF or UHF bands. Therefore, the second filter  718  has to be a filter, includes inductors and capacitors, having a larger bandwidth for covering both of the VHF and UHF bands. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the second filter  718  includes a first inductor  902 , a second capacitor  904 , a second inductor  906 , a third capacitor  908 , a third inductor  910 , and a fourth capacitor  912 . The first inductor  902  has a first terminal coupled to the second antenna  710  shown in  FIG. 3 . The second capacitor  904  has a first terminal coupled to a second terminal of the first inductor  902 . The second inductor  906  has a first terminal coupled to a second terminal of the second capacitor  904 , and a second terminal coupled to ground. The third capacitor  908  has a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the second capacitor  904 , and a second terminal coupled to ground. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the second inductor  906  and the third capacitor  908  are coupled to each other in a parallel connection. The third inductor  910  has a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the second capacitor  904 , to the first terminal of the second inductor  906 , and to the first terminal of the third capacitor  908 . The fourth capacitor  912  has a first terminal coupled to a second terminal of the third inductor  910 , and a second terminal coupled to the first terminal of the cable  704  shown in  FIG. 3 . In the preferred embodiment of the second filter  718 , the first inductor  902  has an inductance of 22 nH, the second capacitor  904  has a capacitance of 8.2 pF, the second inductor  906  has an inductance of 33 nH, the third capacitor  908  has a capacitance of 4.2 pF, the third inductor  910  has an inductance of 22 nH, and the fourth capacitor  912  has a capacitance of 8.2 pF. 
         [0026]    Please refer to  FIG. 9 , which is a diagram of the third filter  720  shown in  FIG. 3 . The third filter  720  is utilized for providing a supply path of a DC voltage required by the LNA  712  shown in  FIG. 3 . Therefore, the third filter  720  may be implemented with a filter having a smaller bandwidth, or with a combination of a plurality of capacitors and inductors in layers, for reducing a degree of the required DC voltage affecting on other signals in the electronic device  700 , more particularly, on DIMO TV signals having a similar frequency domain. As shown in  FIG. 9 , the third filter  720  includes a second capacitor  1002 , a first inductor  1004 , a third capacitor  1006 , a second inductor  1008 , a fourth capacitor  1010 , and a third inductor  1012 . The second capacitor  1002  has a first terminal coupled to the second input terminal of the LNA  712 , and a second terminal coupled to ground. The first inductor  1004  has a first terminal coupled to both the second input terminal of the LNA  712  and the first terminal of the second capacitor  1002 . The third capacitor  1006  has a first terminal coupled to a second terminal of the first inductor  1004 , and a second terminal coupled to ground. The second inductor  1008  has a first terminal coupled to both the second terminal of the first inductor  1004  and the first terminal of the third capacitor  1006 . The fourth capacitor  1010  has a first terminal coupled to a second terminal of the second inductor  1008 , and a second terminal coupled to ground. The third inductor  1012  has a first terminal coupled to both the second terminal of the second inductor  1008  and the first terminal of the fourth capacitor  1010 , and a second terminal coupled to the first terminal of the cable  704  shown in  FIG. 3 . In the preferred embodiment of the third filter  720 , the second capacitor  1002  has a capacitance of 22 pF, the first inductor  1004  has an inductance of 100 nH, the third capacitor  1006  has a capacitance of 47 pF, the second inductor  1008  has an inductance of 120 nH, the fourth capacitor  1010  has a capacitance of 150 pF, and the third inductor  1012  has an inductance of 100 nH. All of the first inductor  1004 , the second inductor  1008 , and the third inductor  1012  may be implemented with a radio frequency choke (RFC) respectively. 
         [0027]    Since the frequency domain of the GPS signal is not wide, the required bandwidth for filtering the GPS signal is small. For preventing unnecessary noise from mixing with the GPS signal, the fourth filter  732  may be implemented with a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter. 
         [0028]    Since the circuitry of the fifth filter  734  and the sixth filter  736  are the same as the second filter  718  shown in  FIG. 8 , components of the fifth filter  734  and the sixth filter  736  are not described further. In the preferred embodiment of the fifth filter  734 , the first inductor has an inductance of 120 nH, the second capacitor has a capacitance of 6 pF, the second inductor has an inductance of 15 nH, the third capacitor has a capacitance of 47 pF, the third inductor has an inductance of 120 nH, and the fourth capacitor has a capacitance of 6 pF. 
         [0029]    In the preferred embodiment of the sixth filter  736 , the first inductor has an inductance of 20 nH, the second capacitor has a capacitance of 2.6 pF, the second inductor has an inductance of 12 nH, the third capacitor has a capacitance of 6 pF, the third inductor has an inductance of 6 nH, and the fourth capacitor has a capacitance of 1000 pF. 
         [0030]    Please refer to  FIG. 10 , which is a diagram of the seventh filter  738  shown in  FIG. 3 . As mentioned above, the seventh filter  738  is utilized for filtering out noise from the DC voltage inputted from the DC voltage source  750  shown in  FIG. 6 . Moreover, the seventh filter  738  is required to be a low-pass filter having a small bandwidth for reducing a degree that the inputted DC voltage affects on a DIMO TV signal, which lies within the VHF band and has a frequency domain close to a frequency domain of the inputted DC voltage. As shown in  FIG. 10 , the seventh filter  738  includes a first inductor  1302  and a second capacitor  1304 . The first inductor  1302  has a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the connector  722  shown in  FIG. 3 , and a second terminal coupled to the DC voltage source  750 . The second capacitor  1304  has a first terminal coupled to both the second terminal of the first inductor  1302  and the DC voltage source  750 , and a second terminal coupled to ground. In the preferred embodiment of the seventh filter  738 , the first inductor  1302  has an inductance of 100 nH, and the second capacitor  1304  has a capacitance of 22 pF. Moreover, the first inductor  1302  may be implemented with a radio frequency chock. 
         [0031]    In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an applied DC voltage conventionally lies within a frequency domain below 100 MHz. A DIMO TV signal lying within the VHF band and generated by the electronic device  700  of the present invention conventionally lies within a frequency domain between 177.5 MHz and 226.5 MHz. A DIMO TV signal lying within the UHF band and generated by the electronic device  700  of the present invention conventionally lies within a frequency domain between 474.0 MHz and 858.0 MHz. A GPS signal generated by the electronic device  700  of the present invention conventionally lies along a frequency domain of about 1575.42 MHz with a standard deviation of 10 MHz, i.e., between 1565.42 MHz and 1585.42 MHz. 
         [0032]    Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention.