Abstract:
A hand held wireless device, such as hand-held data device or cellular telephone, has a simple internal or partly internal antenna system. The antenna system consists of an essentially internal or partly internal asymmetrical dipole with quarter-wave resonator section and radiating planar section, in conjunction with a planar parasitic element closely spaced to the asymmetrical dipole. The radiating planar section may be the ground traces of the HHWCDs printed wiring board PWB.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application S.N. 60/188,604, of Robert Hill, filed Mar. 9, 2000. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to hand-held wireless communication devices (HHWCDs), such as hand-held data devices, cellular telephones, and the like, having an antenna. In particular, the invention relates to such devices having an antenna system, the antenna system including a parasitic element. The antenna system can be internal or partially internal to the device. The HHWCDs having antennas according to the present invention may be used for transmitting, receiving or for transmitting and receiving. 
     DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
     Dipoles, both symmetric and asymmetric, monopoles, and slot antennas provide linear polarization and a doughnut antenna pattern in free space. 
     Crossed dipoles or slots, referred to as a turnstile antenna, produce circular polarization and near-hemispherical antenna pattern. 
     Helices provide circular polarization and directivity. Quadrifilar helices provide circular polarization, and near-hemispherical antenna pattern. 
     Patch antennas provide hemispherical antenna pattern and circular polarization. 
     Arrays of monopole, dipole, or loop elements provide directivity and linear polarization. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A principal object of the invention is to control the antenna radiation pattern of a HHWCD antenna. 
     A related object of the invention is to control the antenna radiation pattern of a HHWCD antenna without increasing the size of the HHWCD. 
     Another object, applicable only to some of the described embodiments, is to provide a simple low-cost internal antenna system for HHWCDs, suitable for high volume manufacturing and eliminating the susceptibility to damage of external antennas. 
     Another objective of the invention is to use the existing printed wiring board (PWB) or printed circuit board (PCB) of a HHWCD as part of an internal or partly internal antenna system. 
     According to the teachings of the present invention, HHWCDs have an antenna system comprising an asymmetrical dipole driven element with a planar resonator element or section and a planar radiating element or section, in conjunction with a thin planar parasitic element closely spaced to the driven element, particularly the planar radiating section thereof The radiating planar section may be the ground traces of the HHWCD&#39;s printed wiring board (PWB). The resonator element may be planar and configured as a meandering or serpentine conductor in order to save space and allow the antenna to be totally internal within the device. Such a resonator has negligible radiation because of its configuration. Alternatively, the resonator need not be planar and need not be internal. The resonator may be, for example, an essentially quarter-wavelength straight or coiled wire, mounted externally or an essentially quarter-wavelength planar inverted-F. In the case of an internal planar meandering or serpentine conductor, the resonator&#39;s conductor may be the conductive printed wiring trace on a PWB dielectric, a metal stamping, or the like. 
     In accordance with the present invention, a hand held wireless communications device comprises an enclosure for the device and an antenna, at least partly within the enclosure. The antenna operates within a frequency band and includes a driven element and a thin planar parasitic element. The parasitic element has a generally square configuration wherein the major dimensions of the parasitic element are about a half wavelength within the frequency band. The parasitic element is spaced from the driven element by 0.01 to 0.1 wavelength within the frequency band. 
     The antenna has dual polarization in some directions and three polarizations in some directions. 
     The peak gain of a classic dipole antenna or array of dipoles is in a direction perpendicular to the long axis of the dipole. The peak gain of the antenna of the HHWCD of the present invention is nearly normal to the fed dipole axis in one plane and is in one direction, at approximately 195 degrees, as shown in FIG. 5 (described further below). In another plane, the peak gain occurs at angles of approximately 45 and 70 degrees away from the direction perpendicular to the dipole&#39;s major axis as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 (described further below). As will be understood more fully in connection with the antenna patterns described below, this antenna exhibits maximum forward gain on the order of +3 dBi and maximum front-to-back ratio on the order of 7 dB. The antenna demonstrates the characteristic of having two orthogonal polarizations that may combine to result in circular polarization. 
     The pattern of the antenna is thought to be a result of the placement, size, and design of the asymmetric dipole and the parasitic plate conductor. The front-to-back directivity can be utilized to reduce energy in the direction of a user of the HHWCD, while increasing energy in the opposite direction. The polarization diversity minimizes fading caused by multipath, a common problem with HHWCDs. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1A is an idealized plan view of one embodiment of the antenna system according to the present invention. The figure is not to scale. 
     FIG. 1B is an end elevation view of the antenna of FIG.  1 A. 
     FIG. 1C is an idealized plan view of an alternative embodiment of the antenna system of FIG.  1 . The figure is not to scale. 
     FIG. 2 shows the azimuth antenna pattern of a practical embodiment of the antenna system for horizontal polarization, over one range of frequencies. The plane of rotation is that of the paper. 
     FIG. 3 shows the azimuth antenna pattern of the same practical embodiment of the antenna system for vertical polarization over one range of frequencies. The plane of rotation is that of the paper. 
     FIG. 4 shows the VSWR plot vs frequency for the same practical embodiment of the antenna whose patterns are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 above, 
     FIG. 5 shows azimuth antenna patterns of the same practical embodiment of the antenna system for vertical and horizontal polarizations over one range of frequencies. The plane of rotation is along the z-direction. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, a plan view and end elevation view of one embodiment of a HHWCD  9  is shown with an essentially internal antenna system according to the present invention. The antenna system includes a planar resonator  10 , which may be formed by traces  4  on a dielectric  11 , having an electrical length of about one-quarter wavelength in a frequency band, a planar radiating conductor  5 , which may be the ground traces on the dielectric substrate  11  and a rectangular planar parasitic element  3 . A conventional plastic case (not shown) provides a housing for the HHWCD. Parasitic element  3  may be a thin metal layer such as a foil tape, a plating, or a deposited metal attached to the plastic HHWCD housing. Inasmuch as the foil tape, plating or metal deposit can be on an external surface of the HHWCD, this embodiment is referred to as “essentially internal. 
     Elements  10  and  5  constitute an asymmetric dipole driven element  2 . Driven element  2  is shown spaced a distance  8  from the rectangular parasitic conductor  3 . A preferred shape for conductor  3  is square and a preferred size for conductor  3  is at least 0.5 wavelength in each major direction. A preferred value for separation  8  is 0.05 wavelength, although it may range from 0.01 to 0.1 wavelengths and still obtain some of the benefits of the invention. 
     Resonator  10  may be any configuration that results in substantially no radiation from itself while providing the required operating bandwidth. A preferred embodiment of the asymmetric dipole  2  has a quarter-wavelength resonator  10  that has a serpentine conducting trace  4  on a dielectric  11 . Alternatively, resonator  10  may formed of a coiled or helical wire. 
     Additionally, dielectric  11  has a conductor  5  on one surface, which may be provided by the ground traces of the PWB of a HHWCD. Connection  6  electrically connects conductor  5  and trace  4 , and connection  7  electrically connects trace  4  with the 50 ohm feed port of the HHWCD antenna via microstrip line  13 . Peak radiation from the antenna so formed is in direction  9  (in the plane of the conductor  5 ). The plane of the trace  4  may be, but need not be, in the same plane as the plane of conductor  5 . Trace  4  may be perpendicular or at some lesser angle to conductor  5 . 
     FIG. 1C shows an alternative embodiment of the antenna system of FIGS. 1A and 1B. In this alternative embodiment, the location of the rectangular conductor  3  is shifted laterally with respect to the asymmetric dipole  2 . It has been found that the precise location of conductor  3  with respect to the dipole  2  is not critical, although it does affect the system&#39;s peak gain value. It is believed that the centerline of conductor  3  should generally be located above the centerline of conductor  5  (as viewed in FIG.  1 C). 
     For convenience in presentation, conductor  5  is shown as a continuous conductor in FIGS. 1A,  1 B and  1 C; however, in practice it may be array of conductors as is typical of the ground traces of an HHWCD. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, the horizontally polarized azimuth antenna pattern of a practical embodiment of the antenna of the present invention for certain frequencies in the range of 2.4-2.5 GHz is shown. Reference dipole gain of +2 dBi is at the −51 dBi level on this plot, thus gain of the present antenna is +3 dBi maximum in direction  9  at an angle  12  (see FIG. 1A) of 40 degrees. Front-to-back ratio is seen to be 4 dB nominal from the plot. The image at the center of the polar plot is an icon representing the parasitic element located above the radiating portion of the driven element. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, the vertically polarized azimuth pattern of a practical embodiment of the antenna of the present invention for certain frequencies in the range of 2.4-2.5 GHz is shown. Reference dipole gain of +2 dBi is at the −51 dBi level on this plot, thus gain of the present antenna is +2 dBi nominal in direction  9  at angle 68 degrees. Front-to-back ratio is seen to be 5 dB nominal. The image at the center of the polar plot is an icon representing the parasitic element located above the radiating portion of the driven element. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, the VSWR of the antenna whose patterns are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 above is shown, and is seen to be 2:1 maximum (1.97 at marker  1 , 1.8 at marker  2 ), which is an acceptable value. 
     FIG. 5 shows the radiation pattern of a practical embodiment of the antenna of the present invention. The vertical and horizontal polarization gain levels are seen to be very nearly equal over the angular sector of 141 to 219 degrees. The legend shows the orientation of the parasitic element lying over the radiating portion of the asymmetric dipole driven element.