Patent Publication Number: US-7916096-B2

Title: Communication system having configurable 3-D antenna grid and method for configuring the communication system

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Communication systems have been developed to receive RF signals. However, the communication systems have not utilized a configurable 3-D antenna grid that allows improved reception of RF signals. 
     The inventor herein has recognized a need for an improved communication system that utilizes a configurable 3-D antenna grid that allows for improved reception of RF signals. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An antenna system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment is provided. The antenna system includes a configurable 3-D antenna grid having a plurality of antenna elements operably coupled to a plurality of switching elements. The antenna system further includes a switch controller operably coupled to the plurality of switching elements. The switch controller is configured to close selected ones of the plurality of switching elements to obtain a first 3-D antenna configuration in the configurable 3-D antenna grid. The first 3-D antenna configuration has at least a portion of the plurality of antenna elements electrically coupled together. 
     A communication system in accordance with another exemplary embodiment is provided. The communication system includes an antenna system having a configurable 3-D antenna, grid and a switch controller. The configurable 3-D antenna grid has a plurality of antenna elements operably coupled to a plurality of switching elements. The switch controller is operably coupled to the plurality of switching elements. The communication system further includes a memory device operably coupled to the switch controller. The memory device is configured to store data representing a plurality of antenna configurations. The communication system farther includes a processor operably communicating with the switch controller and the memory device. The processor is configured to generate a signal to induce the memory device to send first data corresponding to a first 3-D antenna configuration to the switch controller. The switch controller is configured to close selected ones of the plurality of switching elements to obtain the first 3-D antenna configuration in the configurable 3-D antenna grid in response to the first data. The first 3-D antenna configuration is one of the plurality of antenna, configurations wherein at least a portion of the plurality of antenna elements are electrically coupled together. 
     A method for configuring a communication system in accordance with another exemplary embodiment is provided. The communication system has an antenna system with a 3-D antenna grid. The configurable 3-D antenna grid has a plurality of antenna elements operably coupled to a plurality of switching elements. The method includes selecting a first 3-D antenna configuration associated with the configurable 3-D antenna grid from a plurality of antenna configurations. The method further includes controlling a memory device to output first data corresponding to the first 3-D antenna configuration. The method further includes closing selected ones of the plurality of switching elements to obtain the first 3-D antenna configuration in the configurable 3-D antenna grid in response to the first data. The first 3-D antenna configuration is one of the plurality of antenna configurations wherein at least a portion of the plurality of antenna elements are electrically coupled together. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic of a communication system having an antenna system with a configurable 3-D antenna grid in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; 
         FIGS. 2-3  are flowcharts of a method for configuring the communication system in accordance with another exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic of another exemplary 3-D antenna grid: 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic of an exemplary rectangular-shaped antenna portion; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic of an exemplary square-shaped antenna portion; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic of an exemplary triangular-shaped antenna portion; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic of an exemplary rhombus-shaped antenna portion; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic of another exemplary complex antenna portion; 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic of another exemplary complex antenna portion; 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic of an exemplary cube-shaped 3-D antenna grid; 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic of an exemplary pyramid-shaped 3-D antenna grid; 
         FIG. 13  is a schematic of an exemplary pyramid-shaped 3-D antenna grid; 
         FIG. 14  is a schematic of an exemplary cylindrical-shaped 3-D antenna grid; 
         FIG. 13  is a schematic of an exemplary cone-shaped 3-D antenna grid; and 
         FIG. 16  is a schematic of an exemplary complex-shaped 3-D antenna grid. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a communication system  10  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment is illustrated. The communication system  10  includes a configurable 3-D antenna grid  20 , an RF receiver  22 , a processor  24 , a read-only memory (ROM)  26 , a memory device  28 , a switch controller  30 , communication buses  32 ,  34 ,  36 ,  38 ,  40 , and control lines  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  56 ,  53  and  60 . 
     The configurable 3-D antenna grid  20  has antenna elements  70 ,  72 ,  74 ,  76 ,  78 ,  80 ,  82  and  84  and switching elements  90 ,  92 ,  94 ,  96 ,  93 ,  100 ,  102 ,  104 ,  106 ,  108 ,  110  and  112 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the antenna elements and the switching elements van be arranged in patterns other than the exemplary pattern depicted in  FIG. 1 . The antenna elements  70 ,  72 ,  74 ,  76 ,  78 ,  80 ,  82  and  84  can be implemented by wires or other conductors, including conductive traces for example. In one exemplary embodiment, the switching elements  90 - 112  are implemented using bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) controlled by applying appropriate base voltages. In an alternative embodiment, the switching elements  90 - 112  are implemented using field-effect transistors (FETs). In another alternative embodiment, the switching elements  90 - 112  are implemented using a combination of BJTs and FETs. During operation, the switching elements  90 ,  92 ,  94 ,  96 ,  98 ,  100 ,  102 ,  104 ,  106 ,  108 ,  110  and  112  are controllable to be placed in an open operational state or a closed operational state via application of an appropriate control voltage or control signal, on the control lines  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  56 ,  58  and  60 , respectively. Thus, during operation, the configurable 3-D antenna grid  20  can implement a wide variety of different 3-D or 2-D antenna configurations, including hut not limited to loops, dipoles, and stubs for example. 
     The switch controller  30  is provided to generate control signals to the switching elements  90 - 112  to open or close the switching elements  90 - 112  to implement particular antenna configurations. The switch controller  30  is operably coupled to the switching elements  90 ,  92 ,  94 ,  96 ,  98 ,  100 ,  102 ,  104 ,  106 ,  108 ,  110  and  112  via the control lines  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  56 ,  58  and  60 . The switch controller  30  operably communicates with the processor  24  and the memory device  28  via the communication buses  36 ,  38 , respectively. 
     The memory device  28  is provided to store a plurality of antenna configurations or switching element states. In one exemplary embodiment, each switching element may be represented by a bit having a value of “1” if the switching element is to nave an open operational state or a value of “0” if the switching element is to have a closed operational slate in a particular antenna configuration. Accordingly, each antenna configuration is stored as a binary word having a number of bits equal to a number of switching elements in the configurable 3-D antenna grid  20 . It should be noted that additional information can be stored in the memory device  28  and associated with each antenna configuration including antenna position information, a time of day, a date, and operational performance characteristics. The exemplary 3-D antenna grid  20  includes twelve switching elements. Therefore, in such an embodiment, each antenna configuration would be represented as a 12-bit binary word. Further, in an alternative embodiment, a single bit can represent groups of multiple switching elements. The memory device  28  operably communicates with the switch controller  30  and the processor  24 . 
     The processor  24  is provided to select an antenna configuration in the configurable 3-D antenna grid  20  based on a desired operational state of the communication system  10 . In particular, the processor  24  can select an antenna configuration in the 3-D antenna grid  20  based on a type of radiated electromagnetic signal to be received by the RF receiver  22  or the particular frequency or frequency band in which the communication system  10  is operating. During operation, the RF receiver  22  provides a control signal to the processor  24  or the memory device  28  that indicates an operational mode of the configurable 3-D antenna grid  20 . For example, the control signal can indicate whether the configurable 3-D antenna grid  20  is to be configured to receive an amplitude modulation (AM) or a frequency modulation (FM) signal; an ultra high frequency (UHF) or a very high frequency (VHF) signal; a remote function access (RFA) signal; a code division multiple access (CDMA) signal, global system for mobile communications (GSM) signal, or other wireless data and voice communication signals; a global positioning system (GPS) signal; or a satellite-based digital audio radio services (SDARS) signal. 
     During operation, the processor  24  responds to the control signal from the RF receiver  22  by initiating a search process of possible antenna configurations to select an appropriate antenna configuration for the configurable 3-D antenna grid  20 . Rather than beginning at a randomly selected antenna configuration each time the search process is initiated, the processor  24  starts the search process at an antenna configuration that is known to have produced operational and 10 characteristics under the prevailing operating conditions at some point during the usage history of the communication system  10 . For example, the processor  24  can address the memory device  28  to retrieve a default antenna configuration for a given operating frequency. If the default antenna configuration produces acceptable operational characteristics, the processor  24  utilizes the default antenna configuration. Alternately, if the default antenna configuration no longer produces acceptable operational characteristics, the processor  24  searches for a new antenna configuration using the default antenna configuration as a starting point. Once the processor  24  finds a new antenna configuration which provides acceptable operational characteristics, the processor  24  updates the memory device  28  via the communication bus  38  to replace the default antenna configuration with the new antenna configuration. 
     Further during operation, the processor  24  sends data indicating the selected antenna configuration to the switch controller  30  via the communication bus  36 . In response to the data, the switch controller  30  addresses the memory device  28  via the communication bus  40  to access a binary word stored in the memory device  28  that corresponds to the selected antenna configuration. The switch controller  30  receives the binary word via the communication bus  40  and, based on the binary word, outputs appropriate switch control signals to the switching elements  90 ,  92 ,  94 ,  96 ,  98 ,  100 ,  102 ,  104 ,  106 ,  108 ,  110  and  112  via the control lines  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  56 ,  58  and  60 , respectively, to obtain the selected antenna configuration. 
     Use processor  24  is configured to operably communicate with the ROM device  26 . The ROM device  26  is provided to store computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data that is utilized by the processor  24  for implementing the functionality of the processor  24  described herein. The processor  24  operably communicates with the RF receiver  22 , the ROM  26 , the switch controller  30 , and the memory device  28  via the communication buses  32 ,  34 ,  36 ,  38 , respectively. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2-3 , a flowchart of a method for configuring the communication system  10  will now be explained. In one exemplary embodiment, the following method is implemented using software algorithms stored in the ROM  26  and executed by the processor  24 . It should be noted that although the following method, will be described as obtaining 3-D antenna configurations in a 3-D antenna grid, the method could additionally obtain 2-D antenna configurations in the 3-D antenna grid. 
     At step  140 , the RF receiver  22  sends a control signal to the processor  24 . 
     At step  142 , the processor  24  accesses the memory device  28  that has data representing a plurality of antenna configurations associated with a configurable 3-D antenna grid  20 , to obtain first data associated with a first 3-D antenna configuration based on the control signal. The first 3-D antenna configuration is one of the plurality of antenna configurations. 
     At step  144 , the processor  24  sends a first signal to the memory device  28  to induce the memory device  28  to send the first data corresponding to the first 3-D antenna configuration to the switch controller  30 . 
     At step  146 , the switch controller  30  closes selected ones of the plurality of switching elements in the configurable 3-D antenna grid  20  to obtain the first 3-D antenna configuration in response to the first signal from the processor  24 . 
     At step  148 , the processor  24  makes a determination as to whether the configurable 3-D antenna grid  20  has acceptable performance. If the value of step  148  equals “yes”, the method advances to step  150 . Otherwise, the method advances to step  152 . 
     At step  150 , the processor  24  stores first data corresponding to the selected 3-D antenna configuration in the memory device  28 . After step  150 , the method returns to step  140 . 
     At step  152 , the processor  24  accesses the memory device  28  to obtain second data associated with a second 3-D antenna configuration. The second 3-D antenna configuration is one of the plurality of antenna configurations. After step  152 , the method advances to step  154 . 
     At step  154 , the processor  24  sends a second signal to the memory device  28  to induce the memory device  28  to send the second data corresponding to the second 3-D antenna configuration to the switch controller  30 . 
     At step  156 , the switch controller  30  closes selected ones of the plurality of switching elements in the configurable 3-D antenna grid  20  to obtain the second 3-D antenna configuration in response to the second signal from the processor  24 . After step  156 , the method returns to step  148 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , an alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid  180  that can be utilized in the communication system  10 , instead of the configurable 3-D antenna grid  20 , is illustrated. The primary difference between the configurable 3-D antenna grid  180  and the configurable 3-D antenna grid  20  is that the configurable 3-D antenna grid  180  has a greater number of switching elements and antenna elements than the configurable 3-D antenna grid  20 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a rectangular-shaped antenna portion  200  that can be utilized in an alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid is illustrated. The rectangular-shaped antenna portion  200  includes antenna elements  202 ,  204 ,  206 ,  208  operably coupled to switching elements  210 ,  212 ,  214 ,  216 . The alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid can be constructed utilizing a plurality of rectangular-shaped antenna portions  200 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , a square-shaped antenna portion  220  that can be utilized in an alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid is illustrated. The square-shaped antenna portion  200  includes antenna elements  222 ,  224 ,  226 ,  228  operably coupled to switching elements  230 ,  232 ,  234 ,  236 . The alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid can be constructed utilizing a plurality of square-shaped antenna portions  220 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , a triangular-shaped antenna portion  250  that can be utilized in an alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid is illustrated. The triangular-shaped antenna portion  250  includes antenna elements  252 ,  254 ,  256  operably coupled to the switching elements  258 ,  260 ,  262 . The alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid can be constructed utilizing a plurality of triangular-shaped antenna portions  250 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , a rhombus-shaped antenna portion  280  that can be utilized in an alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid is illustrated. The rhombus-shaped antenna portion  280  includes antenna elements  282 ,  284 ,  286 ,  288  operably coupled to the switching elements  290 ,  292 ,  294 ,  296 . The alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid can be constructed utilizing a plurality of rhombus-shaped antenna portions  280 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , a complex-shaped antenna portion  310  that can be utilized in an alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid is illustrated. The complex-shaped antenna portion  310  includes antenna elements  312 ,  314 ,  316 ,  318  operably coupled to the switching elements  320 ,  322 ,  324 ,  326  and  328 . The alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid can be constructed utilizing a plurality of complex-shaped antenna portions  310 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , another complex-shaped antenna portion  340  that can be utilized in an alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid is illustrated. The complex-shaped antenna portion  340  includes antenna elements  342 ,  344 ,  346 ,  348  operably coupled to the switching elements  350 ,  352 ,  354 ,  356 ,  358 ,  360 ,  362 ,  364 . The alternative configurable 3-D antenna grid can be constructed utilizing a plurality of complex-shaped antenna portions  340 . 
     It should be noted that a configurable 3-D antenna grid can have a shape determined by the desired operational characteristics of the 3-D antenna grid. Referring to  FIGS. 11-16 , 3-D antenna grids are illustrated having exemplary shapes For example, referring to  FIG. 11 , a configurable 3-D antenna grid  400  is illustrated. The configurable 3-D antenna grid  400  has a closed-cube shape with six external surfaces. Farther, for example, referring to  FIG. 12 , a configurable 3-D antenna grid  402  is illustrated. The configurable 3-D antenna grid  402  has a closed-pyramid shape with four external surfaces. Further, for example, referring to  FIG. 13 , a configurable 3-D antenna grid  404  is illustrated. The configurable 3-D antenna grid  404  has an open-pyramid shape with four external surfaces. Further, for example, referring to  FIG. 14 , a configurable 3-D antenna grid  406  is illustrated. The configurable 3-D antenna grid  406  has a closed-cylindrical shape with three external surfaces. Further, for example, referring to  FIG. 15 , a configurable 3-D antenna grid  408  is illustrated. The configurable 3-D antenna grid  408  has a cone-shape. Further, for example, referring to  FIG. 16 , a configurable 3-D antenna grid  410  is illustrated. The configurable 3-D antenna grid  410  has a cylindrically-shaped portion coupled to a cone shaped portion. 
     The communication system having a configurable 3-D antenna grid represents a substantial improvement over other systems and antennas. In particular, the communication system provides a technical effect of utilizing a configurable 3-D antenna grid to modify its antenna configuration to receive wireless signals at a predetermined acceptable performance level. 
     While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalent elements may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. do not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Further, the use of the terms a, an, etc. do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.