PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-8995934-B2
Application Number: US-201213631332-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Wireless communications circuitry with a triplexer for separating radio-frequency signals in adjacent frequency bands

Abstract:
A wireless electronic device may be used to communicate using multiple wireless standards in adjacent frequency bands. The wireless standards may include Wi-Fi® and cellular standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE). The wireless electronic device may be provided with wireless communications circuitry that handles Wi-Fi® and cellular signals in adjacent frequency bands such as the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band and LTE bands 38 and 40. The wireless communications circuitry may include a triplexer interposed between transceiver circuitry and an antenna. The triplexer may be used to handle radio-frequency signals in adjacent frequency bands by separating the radio-frequency signals into signals associated with each frequency band. The triplexer may include filters that each pass signals in a respective one of the frequency bands between the transceiver circuitry and the antenna.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A wireless electronic device, comprising:
 an antenna; 
 a first transceiver circuit; 
 a second transceiver circuit; and 
 a triplexer coupled to the antenna, wherein the triplexer comprises:
 a first filter configured to pass radio-frequency signals in a first frequency band between the antenna and the first transceiver circuit; 
 a second filter configured to pass radio-frequency signals in a second frequency band between the antenna and the first transceiver circuit; and 
 a third filter configured to pass radio-frequency signals in a third frequency band between the antenna and the second transceiver circuit, wherein the first filter comprises a high pass filter, the second filter comprises a low pass filter, and the third filter comprises a band pass filter. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The wireless electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the first transceiver circuit comprises a cellular transceiver circuit. 
     
     
       3. The wireless electronic device defined in  claim 2  wherein the third frequency band is adjacent to the first and second frequency bands, wherein the cellular transceiver circuit comprises a Long-Term Evolution transceiver circuit, and wherein the first filter is configured to pass radio-frequency signals in Long-Term Evolution Band 40. 
     
     
       4. The wireless electronic device defined in  claim 3  wherein the second filter is configured to pass radio-frequency signals in Long-Term Evolution Band 38. 
     
     
       5. The wireless electronic device defined in  claim 4  wherein the third filter is configured to pass Wi-Fi signals in a 2.4 GHz frequency band. 
     
     
       6. The wireless electronic device defined in  claim 2  wherein the second transceiver circuit comprises a Wi-Fi transceiver circuit. 
     
     
       7. The wireless electronic device defined in  claim 6  further comprising:
 a diplexer coupled between the triplexer and the antenna, wherein the diplexer is configured to pass radio-frequency signals in at least the first, second, and third frequency bands between the antenna and the triplexer and wherein the diplexer is configured to pass radio-frequency signals in a fourth frequency band between the antenna and the Wi-Fi transceiver. 
 
     
     
       8. The wireless electronic device defined in  claim 7  wherein the diplexer comprises:
 a low pass filter configured to pass the radio-frequency signals in at least the first, second, and third frequency bands between the antenna and the triplexer; and 
 a high pass filter configured to pass the radio-frequency signals in the fourth frequency band between the antenna and the Wi-Fi transceiver. 
 
     
     
       9. The wireless electronic device defined in  claim 8  wherein the third frequency band comprises a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band, wherein the fourth frequency band comprises a 5 GHz Wi-Fi band, wherein the Wi-Fi transceiver is configured to wirelessly communicate in the 2.4 GHz frequency band using the third filter of the triplexer, and wherein the Wi-Fi transceiver is configured to wirelessly communicate in the 5 GHz frequency band using the high pass filter of the diplexer. 
     
     
       10. A method of operating a wireless electronic device having an antenna, the method comprising:
 with a triplexer, passing radio-frequency signals received by the antenna in a first frequency band to a first transceiver circuit; 
 with the triplexer, passing radio-frequency signals received by the antenna in a second frequency band to the first transceiver circuit; 
 with the triplexer, passing radio-frequency signals received by the antenna in a third frequency band to a second transceiver circuit; 
 with a diplexer having first and second filters that are coupled between the antenna and the triplexer, passing radio-frequency signals between the antenna and the triplexer in at least the first, second, and third frequency bands using the first filter; and 
 with the second filter, passing radio-frequency signals in a fourth frequency band between the triplexer and the second transceiver circuit. 
 
     
     
       11. The method defined in  claim 10  wherein the first transceiver circuit comprises a cellular transceiver circuit, the method further comprising:
 with the cellular transceiver circuit, receiving the radio-frequency signals in the first frequency band; and 
 with the cellular transceiver circuit, receiving the radio-frequency signals in the second frequency band. 
 
     
     
       12. The method defined in  claim 11  wherein the second transceiver circuit comprises a Wi-Fi transceiver circuit, the method further comprising:
 with the Wi-Fi transceiver circuit, receiving the radio-frequency signals in the third frequency band. 
 
     
     
       13. The method defined in  claim 10  wherein the triplexer comprises a low pass filter, a band pass filter, and a high pass filter, wherein passing the radio-frequency signals in the first frequency band comprises passing the radio-frequency signals in the first frequency band with the low pass filter, wherein passing the radio-frequency signals in the second frequency band comprises passing the radio-frequency signals in the second frequency band with the high pass filter, and wherein passing the radio-frequency signals in the third frequency band comprises passing the radio-frequency signals in the third frequency band with the band pass filter. 
     
     
       14. Wireless communications circuitry, comprising:
 an antenna; 
 a triplexer, comprising:
 a first filter configured to pass cellular radio-frequency signals in a first frequency band from an antenna to a first triplexer port; 
 a second filter configured to pass cellular radio-frequency signals in a second frequency band from the antenna to a second triplexer port; and 
 a third filter configured to pass Wi-Fi radio-frequency signals in a third frequency band from the antenna to a third triplexer port; 
 
 an additional antenna; and 
 switching circuitry coupled to the antenna via the first and second triplexer ports, the additional antenna, and cellular transceiver circuitry that is coupled to the first and second triplexer ports, wherein the switching circuitry is operable in a first configuration in which the cellular transceiver circuitry is coupled to the antenna and in a second configuration in which the cellular transceiver circuitry is coupled to the additional antenna. 
 
     
     
       15. The wireless communications circuitry defined in  claim 14  further comprising:
 Wi-Fi transceiver circuitry coupled to the third triplexer port. 
 
     
     
       16. The wireless communications circuitry defined in  claim 14  further comprising:
 a diplexer coupled between the triplexer and the antenna, wherein the diplexer is configured to pass radio-frequency signals in at least the first, second and third frequency bands from the antenna to the triplexer and wherein the diplexer is further configured to pass radio-frequency signals in a fourth frequency band from the antenna to the Wi-Fi transceiver circuitry. 
 
     
     
       17. Wireless communications circuitry, comprising:
 an antenna; and 
 a triplexer, comprising:
 a first filter configured to pass cellular radio-frequency signals in a first frequency band from an antenna to a first triplexer port; 
 a second filter configured to pass cellular radio-frequency signals in a second frequency band from the antenna to a second triplexer port; and 
 a third filter configured to pass Wi-Fi radio-frequency signals in a third frequency band from the antenna to a third triplexer port, wherein the first frequency band comprises a first cellular frequency band, the second frequency band comprises a second cellular frequency band, the third frequency band comprises a Wi-Fi frequency band, and the Wi-Fi frequency band is adjacent to the first and second cellular frequency bands.

Description:
This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/570,705 filed Dec. 14, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This invention relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to wireless electronic devices that communicate in adjacent frequency bands. 
     Electronic devices such as handheld electronic devices and other portable electronic devices are becoming increasingly popular. Examples of handheld devices include cellular telephones, handheld computers, media players, and hybrid devices that include the functionality of multiple devices of this type. Popular portable electronic devices that are somewhat larger than traditional handheld electronic devices include laptop computers and tablet computers. 
     Due in part to their mobile nature, portable electronic devices are often provided with wireless communications capabilities. For example, portable electronic devices may use long-range wireless communications to communicate with wireless base stations and may use short-range wireless communications links such as links for supporting the Wi-Fi® (IEEE 802.11) bands at 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz and the Bluetooth® band at 2.4 GHz. 
     Wireless electronic devices may be used to communicate using different wireless technologies at the same time. For example, a wireless electronic device may be used to communicate using Wi-Fi® and cellular technologies at the same time. It may be challenging to design wireless communications circuitry in a wireless electronic device to accommodate simultaneous communications using different technologies. For example, cellular signals can potentially interfere with Wi-Fi® signals. To avoid interference, conventional wireless electronic devices often use separate antennas for Wi-Fi® and cellular communications. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide electronic devices with improved wireless communications capabilities. 
     SUMMARY 
     A wireless electronic device may be used to communicate using different wireless standards in adjacent frequency bands. The wireless standards may include the Wi-Fi® standard and cellular standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE). The wireless electronic device may be provided with wireless communications circuitry that handles Wi-Fi® and cellular signals in adjacent frequency bands such as the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band and LTE bands 38 and 40. The wireless electronic device may include transceiver circuitry used to simultaneously communicate in two or more of the adjacent frequency bands. For example, the transceiver circuitry may be used to transmit and receive Wi-Fi signals in the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz band and transmit and receive cellular signals in LTE band 38 at the same time. 
     The wireless communications circuitry may include a triplexer interposed between the transceiver circuitry and an antenna. The triplexer may be used to handle wireless communications in adjacent frequency bands by separating wireless communications into signals associated with each frequency band. The triplexer may include first, second, and third filters that each pass radio-frequency signals in a respective one of the adjacent frequency bands. The radio-frequency signals may be passed to transceiver circuitry such as a cellular transceiver and a Wi-Fi® transceiver. For example, the first filter may pass radio-frequency signals in LTE band 40, the second filter may pass radio-frequency signals in the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi® frequency band, and the third filter may pass radio-frequency signals in LTE band 38. In this scenario, the first and third filters may be coupled to cellular transceiver circuitry that handles radio-frequency signals in LTE bands 38 and 40 whereas the second filter may be coupled to Wi-Fi® transceiver circuitry that handles Wi-Fi® signals. 
     Further features of the present invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device with wireless communications circuitry in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram showing how radio-frequency transceiver circuitry may be coupled to one or more antennas within an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is an illustrative diagram showing how cellular frequency bands may be adjacent to Wi-Fi® frequency bands in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is an illustrative diagram of wireless communications circuitry with triplexer circuitry in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6A  is a flowchart of illustrative steps that may be performed to receive radio-frequency signals using triplexer circuitry in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6B  is a flowchart of illustrative steps that may be performed to transmit radio-frequency signals using triplexer circuitry in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to wireless electronic devices with triplexer circuitry. 
     The wireless electronic devices may be portable electronic devices such as laptop computers or small portable computers of the type that are sometimes referred to as ultraportables. Portable electronic devices may include tablet computing devices (e.g., a portable computer that includes a touch-screen display). Portable electronic devices may also be somewhat smaller devices. Examples of smaller portable electronic devices include wrist-watch devices, pendant devices, headphone and earpiece devices, and other wearable and miniature devices. With one suitable arrangement, the portable electronic devices may be handheld electronic devices. 
     The wireless electronic devices may be, for example, cellular telephones, media players with wireless communications capabilities, handheld computers (also sometimes called personal digital assistants), remote controllers, global positioning system (GPS) devices, tablet computers, and handheld gaming devices. The wireless electronic devices may also be hybrid devices that combine the functionality of multiple conventional devices. Examples of hybrid portable electronic devices include a cellular telephone that includes media player functionality, a gaming device that includes a wireless communications capability, a cellular telephone that includes game and email functions, and a portable device that receives email, supports mobile telephone calls, has music player functionality and supports web browsing. These are merely illustrative examples. 
     An illustrative wireless electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . Device  10  of  FIG. 1  may be, for example, a portable electronic device. 
     Device  10  may have housing  12 . Antennas for handling wireless communications may be housed within housing  12  (as an example). 
     Housing  12 , which is sometimes referred to as a case, may be formed of any suitable materials including, plastic, glass, ceramics, metal, or other suitable materials, or a combination of these materials. In some situations, housing  12  or portions of housing  12  may be formed from a dielectric or other low-conductivity material, so that the operation of conductive antenna elements that are located in proximity to housing  12  is not disrupted. Housing  12  or portions of housing  12  may also be formed from conductive materials such as metal. An illustrative housing material that may be used is anodized aluminum. Aluminum is relatively light in weight and, when anodized, has an attractive insulating and scratch-resistant surface. If desired, other metals can be used for the housing of device  10 , such as stainless steel, magnesium, titanium, alloys of these metals and other metals, etc. In scenarios in which housing  12  is formed from metal elements, one or more of the metal elements may be used as part of the antennas in device  10 . For example, metal portions of housing  12  may be shorted to an internal ground plane in device  10  to create a larger ground plane element for that device  10 . To facilitate electrical contact between an anodized aluminum housing and other metal components in device  10 , portions of the anodized surface layer of the anodized aluminum housing may be selectively removed during the manufacturing process (e.g., by laser etching). 
     Housing  12  may have a bezel  14 . The bezel  14  may be formed from a conductive material and may serve to hold a display or other device with a planar surface in place on device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , for example, bezel  14  may be used to hold display  16  in place by attaching display  16  to housing  12 . 
     Display  16  may be a liquid crystal diode (LCD) display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, or any other suitable display. The outermost surface of display  16  may be formed from one or more plastic or glass layers. If desired, touch screen functionality may be integrated into display  16  or may be provided using a separate touch pad device. An advantage of integrating a touch screen into display  16  to make display  16  touch sensitive is that this type of arrangement can save space and reduce visual clutter. 
     Display screen  16  (e.g., a touch screen) is merely one example of an input-output device that may be used with electronic device  10 . If desired, electronic device  10  may have other input-output devices. For example, electronic device  10  may have user input control devices such as button  19 , and input-output components such as port  20  and one or more input-output jacks (e.g., for audio and/or video). Button  19  may be, for example, a menu button. Port  20  may contain a 30-pin data connector (as an example). Openings  24  and  22  may, if desired, form microphone and speaker ports. In the example of  FIG. 1 , display screen  16  is shown as being mounted on the front face of portable electronic device  10 , but display screen  16  may, if desired, be mounted on the rear face of portable electronic device  10 , on a side of device  10 , on a flip-up portion of device  10  that is attached to a main body portion of device  10  by a hinge (for example), or using any other suitable mounting arrangement. 
     A user of electronic device  10  may supply input commands using user input interface devices such as button  19  and touch screen  16 . Suitable user input interface devices for electronic device  10  include buttons (e.g., alphanumeric keys, power on-off, power-on, power-off, and other specialized buttons, etc.), a touch pad, pointing stick, or other cursor control device, a microphone for supplying voice commands, or any other suitable interface for controlling device  10 . Although shown schematically as being formed on the top face of electronic device  10  in the example of  FIG. 1 , buttons such as button  19  and other user input interface devices may generally be formed on any suitable portion of electronic device  10 . For example, a button such as button  19  or other user interface control may be formed on the side of electronic device  10 . Buttons and other user interface controls can also be located on the top face, rear face, or other portion of device  10 . If desired, device  10  can be controlled remotely (e.g., using an infrared remote control, a radio-frequency remote control such as a Bluetooth remote control, etc.). 
     Electronic device  10  may have ports such as port  20 . Port  20 , which may sometimes be referred to as a dock connector, 30-pin data port connector, input-output port, or bus connector, may be used as an input-output port (e.g., when connecting device  10  to a mating dock connected to a computer or other electronic device). Device  10  may also have audio and video jacks that allow device  10  to interface with external components. Typical ports include power jacks to recharge a battery within device  10  or to operate device  10  from a direct current (DC) power supply, data ports to exchange data with external components such as a personal computer or peripheral, audio-visual jacks to drive headphones, a monitor, or other external audio-video equipment, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card port to authorize cellular telephone service, a memory card slot, etc. The functions of some or all of these devices and the internal circuitry of electronic device  10  can be controlled using input interface devices such as touch screen display  16 . 
     Components such as display  16  and other user input interface devices may cover most of the available surface area on the front face of device  10  (as shown in the example of  FIG. 1 ) or may occupy only a small portion of the front face of device  10 . Because electronic components such as display  16  often contain large amounts of metal (e.g., as radio-frequency shielding), the location of these components relative to the antenna elements in device  10  should generally be taken into consideration. Suitably chosen locations for the antenna elements and electronic components of the device will allow the antennas of electronic device  10  to function properly without being disrupted by the electronic components. 
     Examples of locations in which antenna structures may be located in device  10  include region  18  (e.g., a first antenna) and region  21  (e.g., a second antenna). Region  18  may be separated from region  21  by a distance D. These are merely illustrative examples. Any suitable portion of device  10  may be used to house antenna structures for device  10  if desired. 
     Wireless electronic devices such as device  10  of  FIG. 2  may be provided with wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may be used to support long-range wireless communications such as communications in cellular telephone frequency bands (e.g., ranges of frequencies associated with wireless standards or protocols). Examples of long-range (cellular telephone) bands that may be handled by device  10  include the 800 MHz band, the 850 MHz band, the 900 MHz band, the 1800 MHz band, the 1900 MHz band, the 2100 MHz band, the 700 MHz band, the 2500 MHz band, and other frequency bands. Each long-range band may be associated with a range of frequencies. For example, the 850 MHz band may be associated with frequency range 824-849 MHz and the 2500 MHz band may be associated with frequency range 2500-2570 MHz. Examples of wireless standards or protocols that are associated with the cellular telephone frequency bands include Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications standard, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) standard, and standards that use technologies such as Code Division Multiple Access, time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, etc. The long-range bands used by device  10  may include the so-called LTE (Long Term Evolution) bands. The LTE bands are numbered (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.) and are sometimes referred to as E-UTRA operating bands. As an example, LTE band 7 corresponds to uplink frequencies between 2.5 GHz and 2.57 GHz (e.g., frequencies used to transmit wireless signals to a base station) and downlink frequencies between 2.62 GHz and 2.69 (e.g., frequencies used to receive wireless signals from a base station). 
     Long-range signals such as signals associated with satellite navigation bands may be received by the wireless communications circuitry of device  10 . For example, device  10  may use wireless circuitry to receive signals in the 1575 MHz band associated with Global Positioning System (GPS) communications. Short-range wireless communications may also be supported by the wireless circuitry of device  10 . For example, device  10  may include wireless circuitry for handling local area network links such as WiFi® links at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, Bluetooth links and Bluetooth Low Energy links at 2.4 GHz, etc. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , device  10  may include storage and processing circuitry  28 . Storage and processing circuitry  28  may include storage such as hard disk drive storage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solid state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in storage and processing circuitry  28  may be used to control the operation of device  10 . This processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, etc. 
     Storage and processing circuitry  28  may be used to run software on device  10 , such as internet browsing applications, voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) telephone call applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, functions related to radio-frequency transmission and reception such as selection of communications frequencies, etc. To support interactions with external equipment, storage and processing circuitry  28  may be used in implementing communications protocols. Communications protocols that may be implemented using storage and processing circuitry  28  include internet protocols, wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocols—sometimes referred to as Wi-Fi®), protocols for other short-range wireless communications links such as the Bluetooth protocol, cellular telephone protocols, MIMO (multiple input multiple output) protocols, antenna diversity protocols, etc. Wireless communications operations such as communications frequency selection operations may be controlled using software stored and running on device  10  (e.g., stored and running on storage and processing circuitry  28 ). 
     Electronic device  10  may include wireless communications circuitry  34  for communicating wirelessly with external equipment. Therefore, electronic device  10  may sometimes be referred to as a wireless device or a wireless electronic device. Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, baseband circuitry, power amplifier circuitry, low-noise input amplifiers, passive RF components, one or more antennas, transmission lines, and other circuitry such as front-end circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications). 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry for handling various radio-frequency communications bands. For example, circuitry  34  may include transceiver circuitry that handles 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands for WiFi (IEEE 802.11) communications and/or handles the 2.4 GHz band for Bluetooth communications. Circuitry  34  may include cellular telephone transceiver circuitry for handling wireless communications in cellular telephone bands such as at 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, 2100 MHz, the LTE bands, and other bands (as examples). Circuitry  34  may handle voice data and non-voice data. If desired, wireless communications circuitry  34  may include global positioning system (GPS) receiver equipment for receiving GPS signals at 1575 MHz or for handling other satellite positioning data. 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  may be configured by storage and processing circuitry  28  to communicate with base station  6  via cellular standards such as GSM, UMTS, LTE, etc. For example, wireless communications circuitry  34  may send and receive radio-frequency signals from base station  6  on radio-frequency bands such as LTE bands 38 and 40. Base station  6  may provide device  10  with access to a cellular network. 
     Device  10  may be provided with input-output devices  32  such as sensors, buttons, speakers, microphones, displays, and other input-output devices that accommodate user interaction with device  10 . For example, input-output devices  32  may include button  19  and display  16 . 
     Wireless communications circuitry  34  may include one or more antennas  40 . Antennas  40  may be formed using any suitable antenna types. For example, antennas  40  may include antennas with resonating elements that are formed from loop antenna structures, patch antenna structures, inverted-F antenna structures, slot antenna structures, planar inverted-F antenna structures, helical antenna structures, hybrids of these designs, etc. Different types of antennas may be used for different bands and combinations of bands. For example, one type of antenna may be used in forming a local wireless link antenna and another type of antenna may be used in forming a remote wireless link antenna. 
     Antenna diversity schemes may be implemented in which multiple redundant antennas are used in handling communications for a particular band or bands. In an antenna diversity scheme, storage and processing circuitry  28  may select which antenna to use in real time based on signal strength measurements or other data. For example, storage and processing circuitry  28  may select which antenna to use for LTE communications with a base station. In multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) schemes, multiple antennas may be used to transmit and receive multiple data streams, thereby enhancing data throughput. 
     Illustrative locations in which antennas  40  may be formed in device  10  are shown in  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , electronic device  10  may have a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12  may include plastic walls, metal housing structures, structures formed from carbon-fiber materials or other composites, glass, ceramics, or other suitable materials. Housing  12  may be formed using a single piece of material (e.g., using a unibody configuration) or may be formed from a frame, housing walls, and other individual parts that are assembled to form a completed housing structure. The components of device  10  that are shown in  FIG. 1  may be mounted within housing  12 . Antenna structures  40  may be mounted within housing  12  and may, if desired, be formed using parts of housing  12 . For example, housing  12  may include metal housing sidewalls, peripheral conductive members such as band-shaped members (with or without dielectric gaps), conductive bezels, and other conductive structures that may be used in forming antenna structures  40 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , antenna structures  40  may be coupled to transceiver circuitry  90  by paths such as paths  45 . Paths  45  may include transmission line structures such as coaxial cables, microstrip transmission lines, stripline transmission lines, etc. Paths  45  may also include impedance matching circuitry, filter circuitry, and switching circuitry. Impedance matching circuitry may be used to ensure that antennas  40  are efficiently coupled to transceiver circuitry  90  in communications bands of interest. Filter circuitry may be used to implement frequency-based multiplexing circuits such as diplexers, duplexers, and triplexers. Switching circuitry may be used to selectively couple antennas  40  to desired ports of transceiver circuitry  90 . For example, in one operating mode a switch may be configured to route one of paths  45  to a given antenna and in another operating mode the switch may be configured to route a different one of paths  45  to the given antenna. The use of switching circuitry between transceiver circuitry  90  and antennas  40  allows device  10  to support multiple communications bands of interest with a limited number of antennas. 
     In a device such as a cellular telephone that has an elongated rectangular outline, it may be desirable to place antennas  40  at one or both ends of the device. As shown in  FIG. 3 , for example, some of antennas  40  may be placed in upper end region  42  of housing  12  and some of antennas  40  may be placed in lower end region  44  of housing  12 . The antenna structures in device  10  may include a single antenna in region  42 , a single antenna in region  44 , multiple antennas in region  42 , multiple antennas in region  44 , or may include one or more antennas located elsewhere in housing  12 . 
     Antenna structures  40  may be formed within some or all of regions such as regions  42  and  44 . For example, an antenna such as antenna  40 T- 1  may be located within region  42 - 1  or an antenna such as antenna  40 T- 2  may be formed that fills some or all of region  42 - 1 . An antenna such as antenna  40 B- 1  may fill some or all of region  44 - 2  or an antenna such as antenna  40 B- 2  may be formed in region  44 - 1 . These types of arrangements need not be mutually exclusive. For example, region  44  may contain a first antenna such as antenna  40 B- 1  and a second antenna such as antenna  40 B- 2 . 
     Transceiver circuitry  90  may contain transmitters such as transmitters  48  and receivers such as receivers  50 . Transmitters  48  and receivers  50  may be implemented using one or more integrated circuits (e.g., cellular telephone communications circuits, wireless local area network communications circuits, circuits for Bluetooth® communications, circuits for receiving satellite navigation system signals). Transceiver circuitry  90  may be formed with associated power amplifier circuits for increasing transmitted signal power, low noise amplifier circuits for increasing signal power in received signals, other suitable wireless communications circuits, and combinations of these circuits. 
     Wireless electronic devices such as device  10  may be used for simultaneous communications in adjacent frequency bands.  FIG. 4  shows an illustrative diagram in which device  10  may be used to communicate in the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band and LTE bands 38 and 40. Radio-frequency signals may be transmitted in the frequency bands at selected power levels. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band may correspond to a frequency range of about 2.4 GHz to 2.48 GHz, LTE band 38 may correspond to a frequency range of about 2.57 GHz to 2.62 GHz, and LTE band 40 may correspond to a frequency range of about 2.3 GHz to 2.37 GHz. LTE bands 38 and 40 may be adjacent to the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band. 
     Device  10  may be used for simultaneous communications using the LTE bands and the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band. For example, device  10  may transmit and receive Wi-Fi signals in the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band and cellular signals in LTE band 40 at the same time. It may be desirable to accommodate wireless communications in adjacent frequency bands such as the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band and LTE bands 38 and 40 with a single antenna (e.g., to reduce the number of antennas that are used to accommodate Wi-Fi® and cellular communications, thereby more efficiently using antenna resources). 
       FIG. 5  is a diagram showing how wireless communications circuitry  34  may be provided with triplexer  102  for accommodating wireless communications in multiple adjacent frequency bands. As shown in  FIG. 5 , triplexer  102  may have filters FLB, FMB, and FHB and ports (terminals) PL, PM, PH, and PA. Port PA may be coupled to antenna  40 A. Filter FLB may be a low pass filter. Filter FMB may be a band pass filter. Filter FHB may be high pass filter. These examples are merely illustrative. If desired, filters FLB and FHB may be band pass filters. 
     Ports PL, PM, and PH may be associated with respective frequency bands. Port PM may be associated with a frequency band that is lower than the frequency band of port PH and higher than the frequency band of port PL (e.g., the frequencies associated with port PL may be lower than the frequencies associated with port PM and the frequencies associated with port PM may be lower than the frequencies associated with port PH). Filters FLB, FMB, and FHB may partition wireless communications into radio-frequency signals corresponding to each frequency band. For example, port PL may be associated with LTE band 40, port PH may be associated with LTE band 38, and port PM may be associated with the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band. In this scenario, filter FLB may route radio-frequency signals in LTE band 40 between port PA and port PL, filter FMB may route radio-frequency signals in the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band between port PA and port PM, and filter FHB may route radio-frequency signals in LTE band 38 between port PA and port PH. 
     Filters FLB, FMB, and FHB may help prevent interference between radio-frequency signals in the adjacent frequency bands by attenuating out-of-band signals. For example, filter FLB may attenuate signal harmonics associated with non-linear operation of switching circuitry  64  or other non-linear components (e.g., transistors) so that the signal harmonics do not reach Wi-Fi® circuitry  104 . By reducing potential signal interference associated with simultaneous operation of WiFi circuitry  104  and cellular communications circuitry such as switching circuitry  64  and cellular transceiver circuitry  106 , triplexer  102  may accommodate simultaneous communications using different technologies in multiple adjacent frequency bands (e.g., Wi-Fi® communications in the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band and LTE communications in LTE bands 38 and 40). 
     Cellular transceiver circuitry  106  may accommodate multiple different cellular standards and protocols. As an example, circuitry  106  may transmit and receive radio-frequency signals using Long Term Evolution-Frequency Division Duplexing (LTE-FDD) via path  110 . In this scenario, duplexer  54  may be used to separate received and transmitted signals based on frequency. As another example, circuitry  106  may transmit and receive radio-frequency signals using Long Term Evolution-Time Division Duplexing (LTE-TDD). In this scenario, transmitted and received signals may be routed between cellular transceiver circuitry  106  and switching circuitry  64  via separate paths  108 . 
     Transmitted radio-frequency signals may be amplified by power amplifiers  60  to ensure that the radio-frequency signals are transmitted at a sufficient strength (e.g., at a power level sufficient for reception by other wireless devices or at a base station). Received radio-frequency signals may be amplified by low noise amplifiers  52  to ensure that the radio-frequency signals have sufficient power to be processed by the device (e.g., processed by baseband circuitry). 
     Switching circuitry  64  may be configured (e.g., controlled) to route radio-frequency signals between cellular transceiver circuitry  106  and antennas  40 A and  40 B. Switching circuitry  64  may be controlled via path  62  using control circuitry such as baseband circuitry and/or storage and processing circuitry  28 . The radio-frequency signals may be routed so that signals in each frequency band are passed along appropriate signal paths. For example, frequency bands associated with LTE-TDD protocols may be routed through paths  108 , whereas frequency bands associated with LTE-FDD protocols may be routed through paths  110 . 
     If desired, switching circuitry  64  may be controlled to perform antenna diversity schemes such as antenna transmit diversity, antenna receive diversity, or other forms of antenna diversity in which radio-frequency signals are routed to a selected one (or more) antennas such as antennas  40 A and  40 B. For example, switching circuitry  62  may be configured to route radio-frequency transmit signals on paths  108  to a selected one of antennas  40 A and  40 B. As another example, switching circuitry  62  may be controlled via path  62  to route received signals from a selected one of antennas  40 A and  40 B to cellular transceiver circuitry  106 . In this scenario, the antenna may be selected based on receive signal strength of each antenna. As another example, the switching circuitry may be operable in a first configuration in which the cellular transceiver circuitry is coupled to antenna  40 A (e.g., paths  108  or  110  are coupled to ports PL and/or PH) and in a second configuration in which the cellular transceiver circuitry is coupled to antenna  40 B (e.g., paths  108  or  110  are coupled to antenna  40 B). 
     If desired, optional filter circuitry  112  (e.g., a diplexer) may be interposed between triplexer  102  and antenna  40 A. Filter circuitry  112  may include combinations of low pass, high pass, and/or band pass filters that handle additional frequency bands. For example, circuitry  112  may include a high pass filter that routes radio-frequency signals in the Wi-Fi® 5 GHz band between Wi-Fi® circuitry  104  and antenna  40 A and routes radio-frequency signals associated with triplexer  102  (e.g., signals at frequencies lower than 5 GHz) between triplexer  102  and antenna  40 A. 
       FIGS. 6A and 6B  are flowcharts of illustrative steps that may be performed by a wireless electronic device such as device  10  to use triplexer circuitry to handle radio-frequency signals in adjacent frequency bands. If desired, the illustrative steps of  FIG. 6A  may be performed in parallel with the steps of  FIG. 6B  (e.g., to receive and transmit radio-frequency signals at the same time). In the examples of  FIGS. 6A and 6B , the frequency bands are associated with Wi-Fi® and cellular standards. These examples are merely illustrative. If desired, device  10  may use triplexer circuitry to separate radio-frequency signals in adjacent frequency bands for any wireless technologies or standards. 
       FIG. 6A  is a flowchart of illustrative steps that may be performed by a wireless electronic device to receive radio-frequency signals in adjacent frequency bands using triplexer circuitry. 
     In step  202 , radio-frequency signals may be received at an antenna such as antenna  40 A of  FIG. 5 . The radio-frequency signals may include signals associated with Wi-Fi® frequency bands and signals associated with cellular frequency bands that are adjacent to the Wi-Fi® frequency bands. For example, the radio-frequency signals may include Wi-Fi® signals in the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band and cellular signals in LTE bands 38 and/or 40. If desired, filter circuitry such as diplexer  112  may be used to support signals in additional frequency bands. For example, signals in the Wi-Fi® 5 GHz frequency band may be passed directly to Wi-Fi® circuitry  104  by a high pass filter in diplexer  112 , whereas other signals may be passed to triplexer  102 . 
     In step  204 , triplexer circuitry such as triplexer  102  may be used to separate Wi-Fi® signals in a first frequency band (e.g., the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band) from cellular signals in frequency bands adjacent to the first frequency band (e.g., signals in LTE bands 38 or 40). For example, filter FMB may be used to isolate radio-frequency signals in the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band, filter FLB may be used to isolate radio-frequency signals in LTE band 40, and filter FHB may be used to isolate radio-frequency signals in LTE band 38. Each filter may pass radio-frequency signals in a corresponding frequency band between the antenna and a desired transceiver circuit. For example, filter FMB may pass signals between Wi-Fi circuitry  104  and antenna  40 A, filter FLB may pass signals between antenna  40 A and cellular transceiver circuitry  106 , and filter FHB may pass signals between antenna  40 A and cellular transceiver circuitry  106 . 
     In step  206 , the device may simultaneously process the Wi-Fi® and cellular signals using transceiver circuitry (e.g., by retrieving data from the Wi-Fi® and cellular signals). The transceiver circuitry may include separate Wi-Fi® and cellular transceivers or may be formed as a single integrated circuit. 
       FIG. 6B  is a flowchart of illustrative steps that may be performed by a wireless electronic device to transmit radio-frequency signals in adjacent frequency bands using triplexer circuitry. 
     In step  302 , device  10  may use transceiver circuitry to transmit radio-frequency signals in adjacent frequency bands. In the example of  FIG. 6B , Wi-Fi® and cellular signals may be transmitted in the Wi-Fi® 2.4 GHz frequency band and LTE bands 38 or 40. 
     In step  304 , triplexer circuitry such as triplexer  102  may be used to merge the Wi-Fi® and cellular signals to form radio-frequency antenna signals that are routed to an antenna such as antenna  40 A. The antenna may be used to wirelessly transmit the radio-frequency antenna signals. 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20120928
Publication Date: 20150331
Grant Date: 20150331
Priority Date: 20111214
Inventors: YU QISHAN
YANG JAMES T.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04B1/44", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/44", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/44", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/0057", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/0057", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 48610638