Antenna Array
A circuit board for wireless communications includes communication circuitry for modulating and/or demodulating a radio frequency (RF) signal and an antenna apparatus for transmitting and receiving the RF signal, the antenna apparatus having selectable antenna elements located near one or more peripheries of the circuit board. A first antenna element produces a first directional radiation pattern; a second antenna element produces a second directional radiation pattern offset from the first radiation pattern. The antenna elements may include one or more reflectors configured to provide gain and broaden the frequency response of the antenna element. A switching network couples one or more of the selectable elements to the communication circuitry and provides impedance matching regardless of which or how many of the antenna elements are selected. Selecting different combinations of antenna elements results in a configurable radiation pattern; alternatively, selecting several elements may result in an omnidirectional radiation pattern.
1 . An antenna array for increasing wireless coverage, comprising:
a radio frequency (RF) signal modulator configured to generate a modulated RF signal;
a plurality of modulated RF signal emission points arranged in a substantially circular pattern around the periphery of the antenna array; and
a switching network configured to control a modulated RF signal radiation pattern emitted by each of the plurality of modulated RF signal emission points, wherein each of the plurality of modulated RF signal emission points emits a directional radiation pattern offset from the directional radiation pattern of each of the other modulated RF signal emission points, the directional radiation patterns emitted by the plurality of modulated RF signal emission points collectively generating a substantially 360-degree coverage pattern.