WO2003090384A1

WO2003090384A1 - An arrangement for transmitting and/or receiving electromagnetic signals

Info

Publication number: WO2003090384A1
Application number: PCT/SE2003/000648
Authority: WO
Inventors: Leif Bergstedt; Björn LÖFVING
Original assignee: Imego Ab
Priority date: 2002-04-19
Filing date: 2003-04-22
Publication date: 2003-10-30
Also published as: AU2003224562A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to arrangement (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70) for transmitting and/or receiving electromagnetic signal, said arrangement comprising a sealable housing (21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 70a, 70b), at least one reflective surface (23a-23c, 33, 43, 53a-53e, 63a-63d, 73a-73c) and a radiating/receiving device (22, 32, 42, 52, 72a, 72b) inside said housing, said radiating/receiving device having at least a functional range within light frequency and said housing being of a light transparent glass. The at least one reflective surface is attached to at least one inner or outer surface of said housing to reflect a transmission signal unto/from said radiating/receiving device.

Description

TITLE

AN ARRANGEMENT FOR TRANSMITTING AND/OR RECEIVING ELECTROMAGNETIC SIGNALS

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an antenna arrangement, and specially an antenna arrangement of reflector type for transmitting and/or receiving electromagnetic signals, being one or both of radio signal or light signals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The rapid development of wireless communications, especially digital communications, claims new methods and devices for transmission of signals in high speed. Antennas of different types are available as transceivers. Particularly, parabolic antennas are used for directing signals to certain points or multi-points.

The signal may comprise electromagnetic signals, both in radio frequency band and light, e.g. using laser or other light emitting elements.

The high-speed communications make great demands upon the antennas. If both radio-signals and light signals should be used, the demands are still greater.

The prior art includes amongst others US 5,670,942, which relates to a transparent and impervious sphere containing encapsulated within the electronics and power source for providing non-visible infrared illumination and communication in various military and non-military applications and denied-access environments. The illumination and communication light source is invisible infrared provided by light emitting diodes mounted near and equally spaced about the circumference of each of two orthogonally intersecting circular-shaped and fully encapsulated printed circuit boards. The autonomous encapsulated power source is rechargeable using an inductively coupled probe introduced to a port in the sphere. An external magnet operates encapsulated magnetic field switches to change mode of operation of the invention, including "ON", "OFF", CONTINUOUS, STROBE, and Morse modes, and to change the Morse coding. US 6,348,768 relates to a remote control device of lamp tube for controlling the action of at least a lamp tube through wireless remote control way. The remote control device of lamp tube comprises a remote controller module, at least a base, and at least a remote control receiver inserted into the base. The remote controller module is used to emit a remote control signal to be received by the remote control receiver, of which the addressing code has been learned and set beforehand. After unmistakably recognized, the lamp tube will be triggered to generate the on or off action so that the effect of controlling lamp tubes through wireless remote control way can be achieved. The present invention has the characteristics of convenience and flexibility in use

US 6,198,230 describes an apparatus for generating electromagnetic radiation in which the radiation has both a first and second utility. The electromagnetic radiation is modulated to produce electronically detectable variations to achieve the second utility, the variations not affecting the first utility. In one embodiment, the electromagnetic radiation is visible light. In this embodiment, the first utility is illumination and the second utility is the transmission of data. In another embodiment, the invention provides a lamp for generating visible light capable of providing illumination and transmitting data to a receiver. Any variations in the visible light resulting from the data transmission are imperceptible by a human eye regardless of the nature of the data being transmitted.

In US 5,424,859, a transceiver used for a wireless in-building communication system has a housing, which can be fitted with a luminaire having at least one lamp socket to which AC power supply voltage is supplied. At least one lamp base is projected from the housing and is capable of being engaged with the lamp socket so as to receive the AC power supply voltage from the luminaire. A member for radiating/receiving light or electromagnetic wave is disposed on a surface of the housing or in the housing. A power conversion circuit is disposed in the housing so as to convert the AC power supply voltage received via the lamp base into DC voltage having a predetermined voltage value. At least one transmit-receive circuit is disposed in the housing and is coupled with the radiating/receiving member so as to execute transmit-receive operation. The transmit-receive circuit is operated by the DC voltage supplied from the power conversion circuit. In US 5,959,755 a lamp apparatus comprises at least a trough-shaped main mirror having a parabolic inner surface, a pair of plane mirrors inclined at opposite ends of said main mirror in such a way as to leave the inner surface of said main mirror open, two light-emitting devices for optical communication that are provided to face said plane mirrors, and a small mirror provided around each of said light-emitting devices to reflect light toward said plane mirrors. The mirror assembly, which permits light to spread only in a horizontal direction, is combined with a leadframe, which assures satisfactory heat dissipation even under application of a large current, thereby creating a luminous intensity distribution pattern from the lamp apparatus that covers a wide range in the horizontal direction even if it is used alone.

In US 6,301,035 an infrared transceiver for a directed bi-directional optical data transmission through the air is disclosed having a single-part or multi-part housing in which a stack of components is mounted as follows: an emitter chip for transmitting IR beams, a detector chip for receiving IR beams, and an optical system with a lens and a reflector having an optical axis for focusing the transmitted and received beams. The reflector is arranged concentrically to the optical axis and relative to the components so that transmission power and reception sensitivity of the IR transceiver are increased. This invention relates to one bottom surface reflector.

US 5,347,387 relates to a compact self-aligning transceiver for high bandwidth cooperative duplex communications, laser image projections or surveillance applications comprises a base mounted hermetic transparent sphere encapsulating a system of two or more pancake motors, two of which are being nested and orthogonal to each other to suspend and rotate a system of optical components centrally located within said motors for receiving and selectively transmitting radiation beams. The optical components comprise mirrors arranged on a centrally arranged carrying structure which connected to driving mechanisms providing a less stable solution.

DE 2 724 130 relates to a housing for a microwave receiver having a rotatable reflector. The housing covers the reflector and the housing made of different parts are assembled watertightened by means of seals. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

What is needed is an antenna for transmission or reception of one or several types of electromagnetic signals, e.g. light (visible, invisible) and/or radio frequency, preferably of reflector type, which is highly reliable and easy to produce. Thus, the main object of the preferred embodiment is to solve the problem of providing stable reflectors with distinct distances. The advantage of using light is that no special frequency allocation and licences are needed.

Moreover, the antenna according to the invention provides a hermetical enclosure, which also provides protection for, e.g. microwave and light emitting components.

For these reasons the arrangement for transmitting and/or receiving electromagnetic signals is provided. The arrangement comprises a sealable housing, at least one reflective surface and a radiating/receiving device inside said housing. The radiating/receiving devices have at least a functional range within light frequency and said housing being of a light transparent glass. The reflective surface is attached to at least one inner or outer surface of said housing to reflect a transmission signal unto/from said radiating/receiving device. Thus, a stable reflective structure with respect to the transceiver is achieved. The housing is made of material substantially transparent to the electromagnetic signals, allowing passage of the signals. The electromagnetic signals can be within radio or microwave frequency. The arrangement allows combined techniques by allowing electromagnetic signals in both at light and radio frequency.

A good transmission/reception is achieved if the housing comprises a reflective surface in a first surface in front of said radiator and/or reflective surfaces in a second, opposite surface.

It is possible to obtain different filtration amplification etc., by providing several reflective surfaces having different characteristics or different shapes.

The arrangement may comprise a beam steering arrangement for positioning the radiation from the transmitter. The reflective material may consist of one of mercury, gold, silver, nickel, platinum, aluminium or a diffractive material. It may also be a mirror of metallic sheet attached to one surface (inside and/or outside) of the housing.

The housing can be hermetically sealable allowing use of sensitive transmitter/receiver.

According to one embodiment, an additional sealable housing can be arranged inside the housing allowing different functionalities and use of different environments, e.g. one for a transmitter and one for a receiver.

The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing an arrangement for transmitter and/or receiver for electromagnetic signals, said arrangement comprising a sealable housing, at least one reflective surface and a radiator/receiver inside said housing, the method comprising the steps of making said housing of glass material in at least one piece, and arranging said reflective surface on at least one surface of said glass housing. Preferably, the reflective surface is provided through one or several of evaporation, sputtering, mirror- coating or adhesively attaching a reflective layer. According to one preferred embodiment, the housing is made in several parts and adhered together. The housing can be hermetically sealed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, the invention will be further described in a non-limiting way with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a system evolving antenna arrangements according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of cross section through an antenna arrangement according to a first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of cross section through an antenna arrangement according to a second embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 4 is a schematic illustration of cross section through an antenna arrangement according to a third embodiment of the present invention,

Fig. 5 is a schematic illustration of cross section through an antenna arrangement according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 6 is a schematic illustration of cross section through an antenna arrangement according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention and

Fig. 7 is a schematic illustration of a cross section through an antenna arrangement according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Fig. 1 illustrates a communication network, such as a LAN (Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network), etc., comprising a number of antennas 10, according to the present invention, arranged on objects 11, such as buildings, objects within a compartment etc. Each antenna is connected to receiving and/or transmitting devices 12, such as a base station, a computer, a communication device etc. The operation range of the antenna may include approximately 100 kHz to 800 THz, i.e. from UV radiation to low wave radio frequency.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an antenna arrangement 20 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The antenna arrangement 20 basically comprises a housing 21, a radiator/receiver for electromagnetic waves 22 and reflective surfaces 23a-23c.

The housing 21 is made of a substantially light transparent material (if the antenna is used for light transmission). In the most preferred embodiment glass is used as housing material. However, plastics, different types of glasses or a combination thereof may also be employed. The housing can be made in same way as a conventional glass bulb, e.g. through glassblowing in a first step. The reflective surface is provided through conventional coating and/or mirror manufacturing processes, e.g. through sputtering, evaporation, plating, gals-floating etc. Preferably, the mirrors are made of reflective material such as (polished) aluminium, gold, silver or the like. It is also possible to use diffractive structures as reflective material. The housing can be fielded with a suitable medium, such as a fluid or gas, e.g. air or and inert gas.

It is also possible that the housing is manufactured in two or several parts and attached to each other by adhesive agents. In this case the housing may not be entirely hermetically enclosed. The radiator/receiver 22, in this case arranged as an optical fibre passing through a supporting structure 24, is arranged to guide light beams from a light source or to a light detector (not shown) into the housing. If RF or microwave signals are to be transmitted, a waveguide is used to guide the signals into/out of the housing and a radiator is arranged to radiate them. A laser diode/detector may also be arranged inside the housing as the radiation radiator/ receiver.

One concave reflective surface 23c is arranged in front of the optical fibre end (front end) and surfaces 23a and 23b at the opposite side, i.e. at the bottom end of the housing; thus, forming a reflective parabolic antenna. Arranging the reflective surfaces on the housing of preferably glass provides a stable structure at well- defined distance between the reflectors and the radiator/receiver, because the attachment of the mirrors on one piece and the fastened radiator/receiver provides for same vibrations. The reflective material is obviously a light or electromagnetic wave reflective material. For light, the reflective material can for example consist of mercury, gold, silver, aluminium, platinum, nickel or any other light/electromagnetic reflective material. The material can be applied inside or outside or both sides of the housing material in suitable locations. The application of the material inside or outside the housing is carried out in a known way, as mentioned above. The reflective material can also be provided, e.g. as a metallic sheet attached onto the surface (internally or externally) of the housing. It is obvious that the shape of the reflective parts can be varied due to the demands of the application; thus, it is not limited to concave shape and can be convex, plane etc.

The light (dashed lines) from the optical fibre is transmitted onto the concave reflective surface 23c, reflected onto the bottom reflectors 23a, 23b and transmitted out of the housing. Incoming light is received in opposite way and reflected into the fibre and guided to the receiver.

The support structure is arranged inside the housing and the insertion portion is sealed providing a hermetic enclosure while manufacturing the antenna.

For electromagnetic radiation, it is important that the housing material does not suppress the radiation or suppress with very little. An antenna arrangement can be combined to use both light and RF-transmission and also be used as an illuminator, e.g. ordinary light (bulb). Another embodiment of the antenna arrangement 30, according to the invention, is illustrated in Fig. 3. The housing 31 is arranged as an ordinary, substantially spherical light bulb and provided with a reflective section 33 such as a mirror exteriorly on one side of the bulb. The radiation radiator/receiver 32 (light or RF) is arranged in the centre section directing the radiation into the centre of the reflective section. Also in this case the arrangement of the reflector provides a stable structure at a well-defined distance from the radiator/receiver.

Fig. 4 is another embodiment of the antenna arrangement 40, in which the radiator/receiver 42 is arranged offset from the centre of the housing 41. A reflective surface 42 is arranged on a support 431 and fastened to the inner surface of the housing. The transmission is via the side of the housing. The support 431 can be arranged by variable height so that the radiation path in and out of the housing can be varied and adapted to the application environment.

In the embodiment of Fig. 5, a beam steering arrangement 55 is arranged inside the housing 51 of the antenna arrangement 50. The function of the beam steering arrangement is to position the radiation from/to the radiator/receiver 52 onto different reflective surfaces 53c, 53d, 53e and thus can provide different radiation patterns and characteristics.

The housing material (glass) and the reflective surfaces can expose different characteristics, for example they can be arranged as band-pass filters using different colours and coloured coatings or single/multilayered thinfilm coatings for reflecting different wavelengths and extinguishing others. They may also be provided with non -reflective sections to prevent reflections onto specific areas. Fig.6 illustrates a bottom surface of a housing 61 of an antenna arrangement 60 provided with reflective surfaces 63a-63d, having different shapes and consisting of different material.

Fig. 7 illustrates another embodiment of the invention. In this case the arrangement comprises a first bulb 70a and a second bulb 70b arranged inside the first bulb, e.g. by attaching it on one of the wall of the first bulb. According to this example, a transmitter 72b can be arranged in the second bulb 70b while a receiver 72a is provided in the base of the first bulb 70a. Both bulbs have base reflectors 73a and 73b, respectively. The first bulb 70a is provided with front-end reflectors 73c, which can be used with both bulbs. The reception and transmission lines are illustrated. The advantage with this embodiment is that different radiators and receivers needing different environments can be used, e.g. by filling the bulbs with different material/gas/vacuum.

The antenna arrangement of the invention can clearly be used as an illumination arrangement simultaneously by arranging one or several illuminators inside the housing or using the same light radiator/receiver used for signaling. It is also possible to vary the length of the optical fibre (if used) to change radiation/illumination reflection characteristics.

The invention is not limited to the shown embodiments but can be varied in a number of ways without departing from the scope of the appended claims and the arrangement and the method can be implemented in various ways depending on application, functional units, needs and requirements etc.

Claims

1. An arrangement (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60,70) for transmitting and/or receiving electromagnetic signals, said arrangement comprising a sealable housing (21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 70a, 70b), at least one reflective surface (23a-23c, 33, 43, 53a-

53e, 63a-63d, 73a-73c) and a radiating/receiving device (22, 32, 42, 52, 72a, 72b) inside said housing, said radiating/receiving device having at least a functional range within light frequency and said housing being of a light transparent glass, characterising in that said at least one reflective surface is attached to at least one inner or outer surface of said housing to reflect a transmission signal unto/from said radiating/receiving device.

2. The arrangement of claim 1, characterised in that said housing is made of material substantially transparent to said electromagnetic signals.

3. The arrangement of claim 1, characterised in that said electromagnetic signal is radio or microwave frequency.

4. The arrangement of claim 1, characterised in that said electromagnetic signal is both at light and radio frequency.

5. The arrangement according to any of preceding claims, characterised in that said housing comprises a reflective surface in a first surface in front of said radiator and/or reflective surfaces in a second, opposite surface.

6. The arrangement of claim 1, comprising several reflective surfaces having different characteristics.

7. The arrangement of claim 1, characterised in that said at least one reflective surface has different shape.

8. The arrangement of claim 1, characterised in that said arrangement comprises a beam steering arrangement (55) for positioning said signal from said radiator.

9. The arrangement according to any of preceding claims, characterised in that reflective material consists of one of mercury, gold, silver, nickel, platinum or aluminium.

10. The arrangement of claim 10, characterised in that said reflective surface is a mirror of metallic sheet attached to one surface of the housing.

11. The arrangement according to any of preceding claims, characterised in that said housing is hermetically sealable.

12. The arrangement according to any of preceding claims, characterised by an additional sealable housing (70b) arranged inside said housing (70a).

13. The arrangement according to claim 13, characterised in that said housing and said additional housing comprise one of a transmitter or a receiver.

14. A method of manufacturing an arrangement (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70) for transmitter and/or receiver for electromagnetic signals, said arrangement comprising a sealable housing (21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71), at least one reflective surface (23a-23c, 33, 43, 53a-53e, 63a-63d, 73a-73c) and a radiator/receiver

(22, 32, 42, 52) inside said housing, the method comprising the steps of making said housing of glass material in at least one piece, and arranging said reflective surface on at least one surface of said glass housing.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said reflective surface is provided through one or several of evaporation, sputtering, mirror coating or adhesively attaching a reflective layer.

16. The method of claim 14, characterised in that said housing is made in several parts and adhered together.

17. The method of claim 14, characterised in that said housing is hermetically sealed.