WO2023048613A1

WO2023048613A1 - An electronic device, a method, a computer program product, and a single-chip radio

Info

Publication number: WO2023048613A1
Application number: PCT/SE2022/050808
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bengt Lindoff; Per-Olof Brandt
Original assignee: Beammwave Ab
Priority date: 2021-09-24
Filing date: 2022-09-13
Publication date: 2023-03-30
Also published as: EP4406063A1

Abstract

An electronic device (100) comprising: a first antenna (102) having a first orientation, the first antenna (102) being an integrated antenna; a second antenna (152) having a second orientation, different from the first orientation; a first switch (162) connectable to the first and second antennas (102, 152); first radio frequency, RF, circuitry (112), the first RF circuitry (112) being connectable to one of the first antenna (102) and the second antenna (152) via the first switch (162) and the first RF circuitry (112) comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a digital to analog converter, DAC; a first control unit for controlling the first switch (162) to connect the first RF circuitry (112) to one of the first and second antennas (102, 152), wherein the first antenna (102) is integrated together with the first RF circuitry (112) in a first encapsulation (132) and wherein the second antenna (152) is an external antenna. Corresponding method, computer program product and single-chip radio are also disclosed.

Description

An electronic device, a method, a computer program product, and a single-chip radio

Technical field

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device, a method, a computer program product, and a single-chip radio. More specifically, the disclosure relates to an electronic device, a method, a computer program product, and a single-chip radio as defined in the introductory parts of the independent claims.

Background art

Wireless communication is expanding to new radio spectrum parts in order to meet the requirements for higher data rates. For example, the newly defined fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) standard not only introduces new services (e.g., low latency high reliability services), but also supports increased capacity and higher data rates.

To facilitate capacity increase, NR introduces wireless communication on millimeter wavelength (mmW) radio frequencies (e.g., frequency bands above 10 GHz, such as the 28 GHz frequency band or the 39 GHz frequency band). Due to the fact that mmW radio frequencies typically entail higher path loss than lower frequency signaling, cells of a mmW cellular wireless communication system will typically cover smaller areas than those of a lower frequency communication system. Therefore, communication devices supporting 5G NR in the mmW frequency range will typically support also wireless communication using lower frequencies (e.g., below 6 GHz) for coverage.

One advantage with mmW transmission is that the short wavelength enables use of small antennas, which in turn makes it possible to have massive-MIMO transceiver arrangements comprised in small (e.g., handheld) wireless communication devices. For example, it may be possible to fit antenna panels with, e.g., 4x2 antennas in a module having a size of approximately 25x10 mm. This advantage enables application of beamforming for mmW, which may significantly increase the cellular capacity and/or coverage. Transceiver architectures for Massive MIMO and beamforming are generally realized in two different ways - analog and digital beamforming. However, in some applications hybrid beamforming is employed, which may be understood as a combination of the two. In more detail, analog beamforming is performed at the Radio Frequency (RF) chip through a bank of phase shifters, one per antenna element, and an analog power combiner (receiver) and power splitter (transmitter). The beam direction of the combined radio signal of the antenna array can by controlled by tuning the phase shifters. Different, or the same, directions may be applied for transmission and reception. This architecture only requires one pair of analog-to-digital converters (ADC) and digital-to-analog converters (DAC) at the receiver and transmitter, respectively, reducing the complexity. The antenna elements are typically clustered and implemented in an antenna panel.

A disadvantage with analog beamforming is that the antenna array can only apply a single (transmit and/or receive) beam at the same time. This leads to that simultaneous multiuser scenarios using the same antenna array are not possible. Furthermore, abrupt changes of channel conditions (e.g., due to blocking of antennas, rotation of the transceiver, etc.) are hard to track with a single beam limitation. Thus, there is a high risk of signal outage in connection to abrupt changes of channel conditions. Digital beamforming may provide increased flexibility compared to analog beamforming. In digital beamforming implementations, the beamforming is performed in the digital baseband (BB) chip. Each transceiver chain has a pair of ADCs at the receiver and DACs at the transmitter enabling the transceiver to simultaneously direct beams in, theoretically, an infinite number of directions at a given time. Thereby, several beams can be tracked simultaneously, and it may be possible to follow fast changes of channel conditions, thereby improving receiver and/or transmitter performance. Moreover, digital beamforming provides advantages from a flexibility of antenna placement point of view, especially in handheld devices, where the antennas generally need to be distributed over the device in order to combat blocking of the mmW radio signals caused by e.g., hand-placement while handling the device. Furthermore, some digital beamforming architectures comprise multiple (N) analog mmW RF chips or modules that are connected to a baseband chip via an analog interface. Each analog mmW RF chip comprises one or more antennas, front-end receiver (TRX) and front-end transmitter (TRX), as well as an analog baseband receiver and transmitter filter. The output analog baseband signal (from each mmW RF chip) is input to each of the N inputs of the baseband chip. The baseband chip is accordingly provided with N ADCs/DACs and suitable pre-processing and coding/decoding circuitry. Such an architecture is disclosed in in e.g., US 2019/0199380 Al.

However, other digital beamforming architectures utilize a digital interface between the N number of mmW RF chips and the baseband chip. In contrast to the analog interface realization, in the digital interface realization some of the circuitry (e.g., ADCs, DACs, and digital filters) is provided in the mmW RF chips instead of the baseband chip. Accordingly, the output from each mmW RF chip is a digital signal over the digital interface, which is provided to the inputs of the baseband chip, which comprises the pre-processing circuitry and the coding/decoding circuitry. Going to a digital interface, and incorporating ADC/DACS in the RF chips, it may also be possible to have serial connection between the TRX chips as shown in e.g, WO 2020/052880 Al.

Current mmW radio architectures in smartphones are based on analog beamforming. Due to the risk of blocking antenna panels with a hand, there are several antenna panels 10a, 10b, 10c included in the smartphone 1, and distributed in different orientations (in XYZ plane) as seen in figure 7. The dashed arrows show the main antenna gain direction for the respective antenna panel 10a, 10b, 10c. The antenna panels 10a, 10b, 10c are connect to a mmW radio chip 15, down-converting the mmW radio signal to a sub 6 GHz radio signal. Then a switch 16 selects which of the antenna panels 10a, 10b, 10c is used (i.e., only a single antenna panel is enabled at the same time). The signal from the mmW chip is then sent to the sub 6GHz RF chip 17 and then down converted to a baseband signal and sent to a BB processing unit 19.

The current smartphone implementation with antenna panels has the disadvantages that it is bulky, and that in case the antenna panel directed towards the network node is blocked by a hand another antenna panel, with a much worse radio channel/signal quality towards the NW node needs to be used implying significant signal loss and hence lower data rates or even a dropped radio link.

Therefore, there is a need for mmW RF architectures handling the problem of blocking of signals in handheld devices. There may also be a need for space saving solutions.

US 2020/0083948 Al discloses an electronic device including an antenna module. However, the antenna module of US 2020/0083948 Al is rather spacious and the space of the antenna module and/or the electronic device (or components thereof) may need to be reduced. Furthermore, clustered antennas in an antenna panel, such as the ones mentioned in US 2020/0083948 Al (wherein all antenna elements are positioned on a single printed circuit board) may be disadvantageous since a hand can block all antennas at the same time. Distributed architecture (with antennas in different directions and/or located in different positions) reduces the risk of all antennas being blocked. An object of the present disclosure is to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies and disadvantages in the prior art and solve at least the above-mentioned problem. Furthermore, in some embodiments, an objective is to provide an output, which information content follows the information content of the input of the system as closely as possible, possibly with a prediction component.

According to a first aspect there is provided an electronic device comprising a first antenna having a first orientation, the first antenna being an integrated antenna. Furthermore, the electronic device comprises a second antenna having a second orientation, different from the first orientation. Moreover, the electronic device comprises a first switch connectable to the first and second antennas. The electronic device comprises first radio frequency, RF, circuitry, the first RF circuitry being connectable to one of the first antenna and the second antenna via the first switch and the first RF circuitry comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a digital to analog converter, DAC. Furthermore, the electronic device comprises a first control unit for controlling the first switch to connect the first RF circuitry to one of the first and second antennas. The first antenna is integrated together with the first RF circuitry in a first encapsulation. By integrating the first antenna together with the first RF circuitry in a first encapsulation, less space is needed for components in the electronic device, thus facilitating placement of component in the electronic device and/or providing for smaller electronic devices.

According to some embodiments, the first control unit is a baseband processor separate from the first RF circuitry and connected via a zero-intermediate frequency, zero-IF signal, to the first RF circuitry.

According to some embodiments, the second antenna is an external antenna, such as an external dipole antenna.

According to some embodiments, the first control unit is configured to control the first switch to connect the first RF circuitry to the first or the second antenna based on a total received signal strength. According to some embodiments, the first and second antennas are tuned for the same or a similar frequency range.

According to some embodiments, the electronic device further comprises: a third antenna having a third orientation, the third antenna being an integrated antenna; a fourth antenna having a fourth orientation, different from the third orientation; a second switch connectable to the third and fourth antennas; second RF circuitry, the second RF circuitry being connectable to one of the third antenna and the fourth antenna via the second switch and the second RF circuitry comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a digital to analog converter, DAC; a second control unit for controlling the second switch to connect the second RF circuitry to one of the third and fourth antennas. The third antenna is integrated together with the second RF circuitry in a second encapsulation and the first antenna and the third antenna have the same orientation and the second antenna and the fourth antenna have the same orientation.

According to some embodiments, the electronic device further comprises: a fifth antenna having a fifth orientation, the fifth antenna being an integrated antenna; a sixth antenna having a sixth orientation, different from the fifth orientation; a third switch connectable to the fifth and sixth antennas; third RF circuitry, the third RF circuitry being connectable to one of the fifth antenna and the sixth antenna via the third switch and the third RF circuitry comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a DAC; a third control unit for controlling the third switch to connect the third RF circuitry to one of the fifth and sixth antennas. At least one of the fifth and sixth orientations are different from the first, the second, the third and the fourth orientations. At least one of the first and second RF circuitries is configured to be in an operating mode, in which reception or transmission of radio signals is performed. The third RF circuitry is configured to be in a stand-by mode, in which no reception or transmission or radio signals is performed, while at least one of the first and second RF circuitries is in the operating mode.

According to some embodiments, the first antenna is an integrated antenna with horizontal polarization, the second antenna is an external antenna, the third antenna is an integrated antenna with vertical polarization, and the fourth antenna is an external antenna. According to some embodiments, the fifth antenna is integrated together with the third RF circuitry in a third encapsulation.

According to some embodiments, the first, second and third encapsulations are all arranged in the same orientation/direction.

According to some embodiments, the first, second and third encapsulations are all arranged in different orientations/directions

According to a second aspect there is provided a method of operating an electronic device. The method comprises measuring a total received signal quality/strength. Furthermore, the method comprises controlling, by a first control unit, a first switch to connect a first RF circuitry to a first or a second antenna based on the measured total received signal quality/strength. Moreover, the method comprises controlling, by a second control unit, a second switch to connect a second RF circuitry to a third or a fourth antenna based on the measured total received signal quality/strength. The method comprises controlling, by a third control unit, a third switch to connect a third RF circuitry to a fifth or a sixth antenna based on the measured total received signal quality/strength. Furthermore, the method comprises configuring each of the first, second and third RF circuitries to be in an operating mode, in which reception or transmission of radio signals is performed, or to be in a stand-by mode, in which no reception or transmission of radio signals is performed, based on the measured total received signal quality/strength. By configuring each of the first, second and third RF circuitries to be in an operating mode or to be in a stand-by mode, based on the measured total received signal quality/strength, the negative impact of blocking of signals, e.g., by a hand, is prevented or mitigated. By measuring total received signal strength instead of total received signal quality, the measuring may be simplified, thus saving power. By measuring total received signal quality instead of total received signal strength, controlling may be more accurate, but more energy consuming.

According to a third aspect there is provided a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium, having stored thereon a computer program comprising program instructions, the computer program being loadable into a data processing unit and configured to cause execution of the method of claim 9 when the computer program is run by the data processing unit. According to a fourth aspect there is provided a single-chip radio for bi-directional wireless communication. The single-chip radio comprises a first antenna having a first orientation, the first antenna being an integrated antenna. Furthermore, the single-chip radio comprises a first switch connectable to the first antenna and connectable to a second antenna, the second antenna having a second orientation, different from the first orientation and the second antenna being an integrated antenna or an external antenna. Moreover the single-chip radio comprises first radio frequency, RF, circuitry, the first RF circuitry being connectable to one of the first antenna and the second antenna via the first switch and the first RF circuitry comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a digital to analog converter, DAC. The single-chip radio is connectable to a first control unit. The first control unit is configured to control the first switch to connect the first RF circuitry to one of the first and second antennas. The first antenna is integrated together with the first RF circuitry and the first switch in a first encapsulation.

Effects and features of the second, third and fourth aspects are to a large extent analogous to those described above in connection with the first aspect and vice versa. Embodiments mentioned in relation to the first aspect are largely compatible with the second, third and fourth aspects and vice versa.

An advantage of some embodiments is that less (physical) space is needed for components in the electronic device, thus facilitating placement of component in the electronic device and/or providing for smaller electronic devices.

A further advantage of some embodiments is that routing is facilitated and/or reduced.

Another advantage of some embodiments is that the negative impact of blocking of signals, e.g., by a hand, is prevented or mitigated.

Yet another advantage of some embodiments is that a better radio signal quality is provided or that radio signal loss is reduced.

A further advantage of some embodiments is that power consumption is reduced. Yet a further advantage of some embodiments is that higher data rates are provided.

Another advantage of some embodiments is that the dropping of a radio link is prevented or mitigated.

Yet another advantage of some embodiments is that the antenna radiation around the electronic device becomes more spherical, thus improving performance (and user satisfaction) of the radio communication.

A further advantage of some embodiments is that the number of transceivers utilized to cover a direction/range of directions/space may be reduced. The present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description given below. The detailed description and specific examples disclose preferred embodiments of the disclosure by way of illustration only. Those skilled in the art understand from guidance in the detailed description that changes, and modifications may be made within the scope of the disclosure.

Hence, it is to be understood that the herein disclosed disclosure is not limited to the particular component parts of the device described or steps of the methods described since such apparatus and method may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. It should be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claim, the articles "a", "an", "the", and "said" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements unless the context explicitly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a unit" or "the unit" may include several devices, and the like. Furthermore, the words "comprising", "including", "containing" and similar wordings does not exclude other elements or steps.

Brief descriptions of the drawings

The above objects, as well as additional objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of example embodiments of the present disclosure, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic drawing illustrating an electronic device according to some embodiments; Figure 2 is a schematic drawing illustrating a single-chip radio according to some embodiments;

Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating method steps according to some embodiments;

Figure 4 is a schematic drawing illustrating a transceiver chip for a multi-antenna transceiver system according to some embodiments;

Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating method steps implemented in an apparatus according to some embodiments;

Figure 6 is a schematic drawing illustrating antenna structures according to some embodiments;

Figure 7 is a schematic drawing illustrating a prior art smartphone;

Figure 8 is a schematic drawing illustrating a computer readable medium according to some embodiments;

Figure 9 is an antenna radiation plot illustrating the radiation patterns from first and second antennas according to some embodiments; and

Figure 10 is an antenna radiation plot illustrating the radiation patterns from first, second and third antennas according to some embodiments.

Detailed description

The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred example embodiments of the disclosure are shown. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in other forms and should not be construed as limited to the herein disclosed embodiments. The disclosed embodiments are provided to fully convey the scope of the disclosure to the skilled person.

Terminology

The term "routing" below refers to wire routing, which is a step in the design of printed circuit boards (PCBs) when connecting different integrated circuits (ICs) to each other with wires. The term "external antenna" below refers to an antenna, which is external to an encapsulation that may comprise a radio/transceiver chip. One example of an external antenna is an antenna, which is external to the electronic device, e.g., the antenna is located on the outside of the electronic device, or the antenna is located on or about a casing of the electronic device. Another example of an external antenna is an antenna, which is located externally to an encapsulation that may comprise a radio/transceiver chip, to which it is connected, but located inside the casing of the electronic device.

The term "baseband signal" below refers to a signal, which has been down converted to a baseband in a radio receiver from one or more signals received by a respective antenna.

The term "total received signal quality" below refers to a measurement of the combined signal quality delivered by one or more antennas (connected to RF circuitry) to a baseband signal. Each of the antennas (connected to RF circuitry) may make a contribution to the total received signal quality (if utilized). One example of a total received signal quality is a signal to noise ratio, SNR. SNR is estimated, utilizing well known techniques, from the baseband signal for each respective antenna, utilizing e.g., transmitted pilot or synchronization (sync) symbols, such as reference symbols (RS), Primary synchronization signals (PSS) or secondary synchronization signals (SSS), in e.g., 5G-NR.

The term "total received signal strength" below refers to a measurement of the combined signal strength delivered by one or more antennas (connected to RF circuitry) to a baseband signal. Each of the antennas (connected to RF circuitry) may make a contribution to the total received signal strength (if utilized).

The term "orientation" below refers to the orientation, angular position, attitude, or direction of an object, such as an antenna, and describes how the object is placed in the space it occupies.

Below reference is made to a zero-intermediate frequency (zero-IF) signal or connection. An intermediate frequency (IF) is a frequency to which a carrier wave is shifted as an intermediate step in transmission or reception. The intermediate frequency is created by mixing the carrier signal with a local oscillator signal in a process called heterodyning, resulting in a signal at the difference or beat frequency. Intermediate frequencies are used in superheterodyne radio receivers, in which an incoming signal is shifted to an IF for amplification before final detection is done. A zero-IF signal is to be interpreted as a signal that does not need to go through an intermediate step in transmission or reception before being sent to a baseband processor, e.g., a baseband signal. Thus, a zero-IF signal can be utilized by a baseband processor directly.

The polarization of an antenna refers to the orientation of the electric field of the radio wave transmitted by it and is determined by the physical structure of the antenna and its orientation. E.g., an antenna composed of a linear conductor (such as a dipole or whip antenna) oriented vertically will result in vertical polarization; if turned on its side the same antenna's polarization will be horizontal.

Below is referred to x-axis, xy-plane etc. A Cartesian coordinate system is assumed.

Below reference is made to an integrated circuit (IC). An IC comprises a die and an encapsulation.

In the following, embodiments will be described where figure 1 illustrates an example electronic device 100. The electronic device 100 comprises a first antenna 102. The first antenna 102 has a first orientation. The first orientation may be (only) along an x-axis (e.g., if the first antenna 102 is a dipole antenna) or along an xy-plane (e.g., if the first antenna 102 is a patch antenna), i.e., the first antenna 102 extends (only) along an x-axis or along an xy- plane. Furthermore, the first antenna 102 is an integrated antenna, e.g., the antenna 102 is built within an integrated chip or more specifically within an encapsulation. Moreover, the electronic device 100 comprises a second antenna 152. The second antenna 152 has a second orientation, different from the first orientation. The second orientation may be along a y-axis (e.g., if the second antenna 152 is a dipole antenna) or along an xz-plane (e.g., if the second antenna 152 is a patch antenna), i.e., the second antenna 152 extends (only) along a y-axis or along an xz-plane. In some embodiments, the second antenna 152 is an external antenna, such as an external dipole antenna, an external patch antenna or an external fractal antenna. Furthermore, the second antenna may be located at or on, such as exterior to, a casing of the electronic device 100. By utilizing an external antenna (instead of another internal antenna) as the second antenna 152, the size of the first encapsulation 132 may be reduced, e.g., while still having extended coverage in the 3D sphere (extended spherical coverage/antenna radiation pattern). The first and second antennas 102, 152 may be tuned for the same or a similar frequency range, i.e., tuned to operate in the same or overlapping frequency range(s), such as 26 - 39, or 26 - 47 GHz frequency range, or tuned to operate in the same or overlapping range(s) of wavelengths, such as mmW). Thus, the first and second antennas 102, 152 are largely interchangeable and either of the first and second antennas 102, 152 may be selected for reception/transmission of radio signals. In some embodiments, the antenna orientations of the first and second antennas 102, 152 are described by 3D antenna gain information/plots. Thus, if the first antenna 102 has a main antenna gain direction of (radiates mainly towards) 0 degrees, whereas the second antenna 152 has a main antenna gain direction of (radiates mainly towards) 90 degrees, the first and second antennas 102, 152 have different orientations. Figure 9 illustrates the radiation patterns 182, 184 from the first and second antennas 102, 152 according to some embodiments. As can be seen from figure 9, the first antenna 102 has a radiation pattern 182 with a main antenna gain direction being (pointing towards) 0 arc degrees (in a plane, such as the XY-plane). Furthermore, the second antenna 152 has a radiation pattern 184 with a main antenna gain direction being (pointing towards) 90 arc degrees (in a plane, such as the XY-plane). Thus, in the example shown in figure 9, the orientations of the first and second antennas 102, 152 are separated with at least 90 degrees in at least one of an XY-, YZ- or XZ-plane, i.e., the main antenna gain direction of the first and second antennas 102, 152 are separated with at least 90 degrees in at least one of an XY-, YZ- or XZ-plane. In some embodiments, the first, third and fifth antennas 102, 104, 106 have different orientations, i.e., the first antenna 102 has a first orientation, the third antenna 104 has a third orientation, the fifth antenna 106 has a fifth orientation, and the first orientation is different from the third and fifth orientations and the fifth orientation is different from the third orientation. The orientations of the first, third and fifth antennas 102, 104, 106 may be separated with at least 90 degrees in at least one of an XY-, YZ- or XZ-plane, i.e., the main antenna gain direction of the first, third and fifth antennas 102, 104, 106 may be separated with at least 90 degrees in at least one of an XY-, YZ- or XZ-plane. Figure 10 illustrates the radiation patterns 192, 194, 196 from the first, third and fifth antennas 102, 104, 106 according to some embodiments. As can be seen from figure 10, the first antenna 102 has a radiation pattern 192 with a main antenna gain direction being (pointing towards) 0 arc degrees (in a plane, such as the XY-plane). Furthermore, the third antenna 104 has a radiation pattern 194 with a main antenna gain direction being (pointing towards) 120 arc degrees (in a plane, such as the XY-plane). Moreover, the fifth antenna 106 has a radiation pattern 196 with a main antenna gain direction being (pointing towards) 240 arc degrees (in a plane, such as the XY-plane). Thus, in the example shown in figure 10, the orientations of the first, third and fifth antennas 102, 104, 106 are separated with at least 90 degrees in at least one of an XY-, YZ- or XZ-plane, i.e., the main antenna gain direction of the first, third and fifth antennas 102, 104, 106 are separated with at least 90 degrees in at least one of an XY-, YZ- or XZ-plane. By separating the orientations of the first, third and fifth antennas 102, 104, 106 with at least 90 arc degrees, such as 120 arc degrees, in at least one of an XY-, YZ- or XZ-plane, the antenna radiation around the electronic device becomes more spherical (or the coverage is increased/improved), thus improving performance/quality (and user satisfaction) of the radio communication.

The electronic device 100 comprises a first switch 162. The first switch 162 is connected or connectable to the first and second antennas 102, 152. The first switch 162 may switch between the first and second antennas 102, 152. Furthermore, the electronic device 100 comprises first radio frequency, RF, circuitry 112. The first RF circuitry 112 is connectable or connected to one of the first antenna 102 and the second antenna 152 via the first switch 162. Moreover, the first RF circuitry 112 comprises one or more of a Low Noise Amplifier, LNA, a Mixer, a Local Oscillator, LO, a Phase Locked Loop, PLL, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, VGA, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier, PA, and a digital to analog converter, DAC. In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 112 comprises a transceiver. Alternatively, the RF circuitry 112 comprises a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may comprise a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, Local oscillators, and Phase locked loops, analog filters, Voltage Gain Amplifiers and optionally an ADC and digital filters. The transmitter may comprise Power Amplifiers, a Mixer, Local oscillators, and Phase locked loops, analog filters and optionally a DAC. The electronic device 100 comprises a first control unit for controlling the first switch 162 to connect the first RF circuitry 112 to one of the first and second antennas 102, 152. The first control unit is configured/configurable to control the first switch 162 to connect the first RF circuitry 112 to the first or the second antenna 102, 152 based on a total received signal quality or a total received signal strength. As an example, the first antenna 102 may be connected to the first RF circuitry 112 if it is determined that the first antenna 102 contributes more to the total signal quality/strength than the second antenna 152 and vice versa. By connecting the first RF circuitry 112 to the first or the second antenna 102, 152 based on a total received signal quality or a total received signal strength, the negative impact of blocking of signals, e.g., by a hand, is prevented or mitigated. In some embodiments, the first control unit is separate from the first RF circuitry 112, i.e., the first control unit is a component other than the first RF circuitry 112. In some embodiments, the first control unit is a baseband, BB, processor 120. The BB processor 120 is, in some embodiments, connected via a zero-intermediate frequency, zero-IF signal or connection, to the first RF circuitry 112. The Zero-IF signal/connection facilitates/reduces routing between the first RF circuitry 112 and the BB processor 120, due to the low frequency of the Zero-IF signal. In addition, the Zero-IF signal/connection facilitates/reduces routing (and shortens the down-conversion chain) as there is no need for any intermediate down-conversion of the radio signal to intermediate frequencies. The first antenna 102 is integrated together with the first RF circuitry 112 in a first encapsulation 132. By integrating the first antenna 102 together with the first RF circuitry 112 in a first encapsulation 132, less space is needed for components in the electronic device 100 and/or routing inside the electronic device 100 is reduced, thus facilitating placement of component in the electronic device and/or providing for smaller electronic devices 100.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 comprises a third antenna 104. The third antenna 104 has a third orientation. The third orientation may be (only) along an x-axis or along an xy-plane, i.e., the third antenna 104 extends (only) along an x-axis or along an xy- plane. Furthermore, the third antenna 104 is an integrated antenna. Moreover, in some embodiments, the electronic device 100 comprises a fourth antenna 154. The fourth antenna 154 has a fourth orientation. The fourth orientation is different from the third orientation. The fourth orientation may be (only) along a y-axis or along an xz-plane, i.e., the fourth antenna 154 extends (only) along a y-axis or along an xz-plane. In these embodiments, the electronic device 100 comprises a second switch 164 connected or connectable to the third and fourth antennas 104, 154. Furthermore, in these embodiments, the electronic device 100 comprises second RF circuitry 114. The second RF circuitry 114 is connected or connectable to one of the third antenna 104 and the fourth antenna 154 via the second switch 164. Moreover, the second RF circuitry 114 comprises one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a digital to analog converter, DAC. In some embodiments, the second RF circuitry is identical or similar to the first RF circuitry 112. For controlling the second switch 164 to connect the second RF circuitry 114 to one of the third and fourth antennas 104, 154, the electronic device 100 comprises a second control unit. In some embodiments, the second control unit is separate from the second RF circuitry 114, i.e., the second control unit is a component other than the second RF circuitry 114. The second control unit may be the same unit as the first control unit, e.g., the BB processor 120. The third antenna 104 is integrated together with the second RF circuitry 114 in a second encapsulation 134. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the first antenna 102 and the third antenna 104 have the same orientation. Moreover, in these embodiments, the second antenna 152 and the fourth antenna 154 have the same orientation (different from the orientation of the first and third antennas 102, 152). Alternatively, the first antenna 102 and the fourth antenna 154 have the same orientation, e.g., a first orientation/direction, and the second antenna 152 and the third antenna 104 have the same orientation, e.g., a second orientation/direction different from the first orientation/direction. Thus, each orientation/direction (first and second orientation/direction) may be covered by an external antenna (with possibly higher loss) and an internal antenna (with possible lower loss).

In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 comprises a fifth antenna 106. The fifth antenna 106 has a fifth orientation. Furthermore, the fifth antenna 106 is an integrated antenna. The electronic device 100 comprises a sixth antenna 156. The sixth antenna 156 has a sixth orientation. The sixth orientation is different from the fifth orientation. Moreover, the electronic device 100 comprises a third switch 166 connected or connectable to the fifth and sixth antennas 106, 156. The electronic device 100 comprises third RF circuitry 116. The third RF circuitry 116 is connected or connectable to one of the fifth antenna 106 and the sixth antenna 156 via the third switch 166. Furthermore, the third RF circuitry 116 comprises one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier, and a DAC. In some embodiments, the third RF circuitry 116 is identical or similar to the first RF circuitry 112 or the second RF circuitry 114. In some embodiments, the fifth antenna 106 is integrated together with the third RF circuitry 116 in a third encapsulation 136. Moreover, the electronic device 100 comprises a third control unit. The third control unit controls the third switch 166 to connect the third RF circuitry 116 to one of the fifth and sixth antennas 106, 156. In some embodiments, the third control unit is separate from the third RF circuitry 116, i.e., the third control unit is a component other than the third RF circuitry 116. The third control unit may be the same unit as the first and/or second control unit(s), e.g., the BB processor 120. At least one of the fifth and sixth orientations are different from the first, the second, the third and the fourth orientations. As an example, the fifth orientation is (only) along a z-axis or along a yz- plane, i.e., the fifth antenna 106 extends (only) along a z-axis or along a yz-plane. At least one, such as both, of the first and second RF circuitries 112, 114 is configured/configurable to be in an operating mode, in which reception or transmission of radio signals is performed. When the first and/or second RF circuitries 112, 114 is in the operating mode, the electronic device 100 may communicate, via a respective antenna 102, 104, 152, 154 with a first network, NW, node 212 and/or with a second network, NW, node 214. The third RF circuitry 116 is configured/configurable to be in a stand-by mode, in which no reception or transmission of radio signals is performed, e.g., while at least one of the first and second RF circuitries is in the operating mode. In some embodiments, all of the first, second and third RF circuitries 112, 114, 116 are configurable to be in an operating mode and configurable to be in a stand-by mode, i.e., all of the first, second and third RF circuitries 112, 114, 116 are configured to be in either an operating mode or in a stand-by mode. In some embodiments, all of the RF circuitries 112, 114 being set to the operating mode communicates with a first network, NW, node 212 or the first RF circuitry 112 communicates with the first NW node 212 when in the operating mode and the second RF circuitry 114 communicates with a second NW node 214 when in the operating mode. In some embodiments, the first antenna 102 is an integrated antenna with horizontal polarization, the second antenna 152 is an external antenna, the third antenna 104 is an integrated antenna with vertical polarization, and the fourth antenna 154 is an external antenna. Moreover, in some embodiments, the (first, second and third) encapsulations 132, 134, 136 are all arranged in the same orientation/direction. However, the (first, third and fifth) antennas 102, 104, 106 integrated inside the encapsulations 132, 134, 136 may have different orientations/directions. Alternatively, the (first, second and third) encapsulations 132, 134, 136 are all arranged in different orientations/directions, while the (first, third and fifth) antennas 102, 104, 106 integrated inside the (first, second and third) encapsulations 132, 134, 136 may have the same orientation/direction. By placing antennas or encapsulations in different orientations/directions, the antenna radiation around the device becomes more spherical, thus improving performance and/or signal quality/strength (and/or user satisfaction) of the radio communication. In some embodiments, the first and second encapsulations 132, 134 is one single encapsulation 138. In these embodiments, the first antenna 102 may be an integrated antenna with horizontal polarization, the second antenna 152 may be an external antenna, the third antenna 104 may be an integrated antenna with vertical polarization, and the fourth antenna 154 may be an external antenna. Thus, in some embodiments, the single encapsulation 138 comprises/encapsulates a first antenna 102 being an integrated antenna with horizontal polarization, a third antenna 104 being an integrated antenna with vertical polarization, first RF circuitry 112, second RF circuitry 114, a first switch 162 and a second switch 164. Furthermore, in some embodiments (of these embodiments), a single antenna structure (within/inside the single encapsulation 138), such as a patch antenna, comprises the first and third antennas 102, 104. In some embodiments, a plurality of antennas (such as 4, 8, 16 or 32 antennas), each antenna having a different orientation, and a plurality of RF circuitries (such as 4, 8, 16 or 32 RF circuitries, each connected to a respective antenna) are comprised/encapsulated in the single encapsulation 138. In these embodiments, the single encapsulation 138 may be a digital beamforming panel. This may be advantageous as it may then be possible to integrate all antennas in all different directions needed for an electronic device, such as the electronic device 100, in a single encapsulation. Thus, less (physical) space is needed for components in the electronic device, thereby facilitating placement of components in the electronic device and/or enabling the use of (small) Internet of things (loT) devices and/or reducing the size of the electronic device, such as an loT device.

Figure 2 illustrates an example single-chip radio 200. The single-chip radio 200 is for bidirectional wireless communication and comprises a first antenna 102 having a first orientation. The first antenna 102 is an integrated antenna. Furthermore, the single-chip radio 200 comprises a first switch 162. The first switch 162 is connected or connectable to the first antenna 102. Moreover, the first switch 162 is connected or connectable to a second antenna 152. The second antenna 152 has a second orientation. The second orientation is different from the first orientation. The second antenna 152 is an integrated antenna or an external antenna. By utilizing an integrated antenna (instead of an external antenna) as the second antenna 152, the same encapsulation may be utilized, while the antennas cover a larger portion of a 3D sphere (for transmission and/or reception) or the first encapsulation 132 may be enlarged. The single-chip radio 200 comprises first radio frequency, RF, circuitry 112. The first RF circuitry 112 is connected or connectable to one of the first antenna 102 and the second antenna 152 via the first switch 162. Furthermore, the first RF circuitry 112 comprises one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a digital to analog converter, DAC. In some embodiments, the first RF circuitry 112 is the same as/identical to the first RF circuitry 112 described above in connection with the electronic device 100. The single-chip radio 200 is connected or connectable to a first control unit 220. In some embodiments, the first control unit 220 is a BB processor, such as the BB processor 120. The first control unit 220 is configured/configurable to control the first switch 162 to connect the first RF circuitry 112 to one of the first and second antennas 102, 152. The first antenna 102 is integrated together with the first RF circuitry 112 and the first switch 162 in a first encapsulation 132. In some embodiments, the single-chip radio 200 comprises one or more of the components of the electronic device 100, such as third antenna 104, second RF circuitry 114, second encapsulation 134, and second switch 164; and/or a fifth antenna 106, third RF circuitry 116, third encapsulation 136, and third switch 166.

Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating method steps of a method 300 for an electronic device 100. The method 300 comprises measuring 310 a total received signal quality. Alternatively, or additionally, the method 300 comprises measuring 310 a total received signal strength. The measuring 310 may be performed by a measurement/control unit comprised by the BB processor 120 or external to the BB processor 120. Furthermore, the method 300 comprises controlling 320, by a first control unit, a first switch 162 to connect a first RF circuitry 112 to a first or a second antenna 102, 152 based on the measured total received signal quality and/or strength. The first antenna 102 is integrated together with the first RF circuitry 112 in a first encapsulation 132. Furthermore, the second antenna 152 may be an external antenna. The first control unit may be a BB processor 120. Moreover, the method 300 comprises controlling 330, by a second control unit, a second switch 164 to connect a second RF circuitry 114 to a third or a fourth antenna 104, 154 based on the measured total received signal quality/strength. The second control unit may be the BB processor 120. The method 300 comprises controlling 340, by a third control unit, a third switch 166 to connect a third RF circuitry 116 to a fifth or a sixth antenna 106, 156 based on the measured total received signal quality/strength. The third control unit may be the BB processor 120. Furthermore, the method 300 comprises configuring 350 each of the first, second and third RF circuitries 112, 114,116 either to be in an operating mode, in which reception and/or transmission of radio signals is performed, or to be in a stand-by mode, in which no reception or transmission of radio signals is performed, based on the measured total received signal quality/strength. Alternatively, or additionally, the method comprises configuring 360 the baseband processor 120 to set each of the first, second and third RF circuitry 112, 114, 116 in either the operating mode or the stand-by mode based on information from one or more sensors 140, such as one or more of a camera, a fingerprint sensor or a touch sensitive sensor.

Figure 4 schematically illustrates an example transceiver chip 400 for a multi-antenna transceiver system according to some embodiments. For example, the transceiver chip 400 may be used as any one of the first, second and third RF circuitries 112, 114, 116 of Figure 1. The transceiver chip 400 comprises a front end 494, an interface 493, a receiver path 491 and a transmitter path 492. The receiver path 491 comprises a low-noise amplifier 402, a downconverter in the form of a mixer (MIX) 495, a low-pass filter (LPF) 403, a variable gain amplifier (VGA) 404, and possibly an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) instance 405. The transmitter path 492 comprises a low-pass filter (LPF) 407, an up-converter in the form of a mixer (MIX) 496, a power amplifier 406, and possibly a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) instance 408. The interface 493 is for connection to baseband processing circuitry, such as the baseband processor 120, and can have any suitable functional and/or physical components. The interface 493 is a digital interface when an ADC instance 405 and a DAC instance 408 are comprised on the transceiver chip, and the interface 493 is an analog interface when the transceiver chip does not comprise any ADC or DAC (ADC/DAC may be implemented in separate circuitry or in the baseband processing circuitry). As illustrated by the dashed schematic antenna element 498 in Figure 4, the front-end 494 may be for connection to one or more antenna elements (e.g., via an antenna port of the transceiver chip), such as the second, fourth or sixth antenna 152, 154, 156 and/or may comprise one or more on-chip (integrated) antenna elements, such as the first, third or fifth antenna 102, 104 106. Thus, the transceiver chip 400 is associated with one or more corresponding antenna elements. The antenna element may, for example, comprise a broadband antenna tuned to transmit and receive signals in an applicable collection of frequency ranges. Furthermore, the front-end 494 may comprise any suitable functional and/or physical components. For example, the front end 494 may comprise an antenna isolator (Al; e.g., duplexer or diplexer circuitry, antenna switch circuitry, or any suitable combination thereof) 401, for separation of received signals from signals to be transmitted. The antenna isolation arrangement may, for example, comprise an isolation device adapted to isolate transmitter and receiver for each other in an applicable collection of frequency ranges. Generally, a duplexer or diplexer may be implemented with Surface-Acoustic Wave (SAW) technology, Bulk-Acoustic Wave (BAW) technology, with waveguide technology, with lumped RLC elements (on-chip and/or discrete components), and/or with transmission-lines. The down-converter mixer 495 and up-converter mixer 496 of the transceiver chip 400 each receives a conversion frequency (for on-chip frequency conversion of a transceiver signal) from an on-chip (or otherwise chip-associated) frequency generator (OFG) 497. As explained above, the on-chip frequency generator 497 is configured to provide the conversion frequency based on a control signal 412 indicative of a dynamic setting for the conversion frequency and possibly based on a reference frequency 411 provided to the transceiver chip 400. Put more generally, the chip-associated frequency generator is configured to provide the conversion frequency based on the control signal 412 and possibly based on a reference frequency provided to the chip-associated frequency generator for the transceiver chip. The control signal 412 may be provided by a controller external to the transceiver chip (e.g., a common controller for all the transceiver chips, such as the baseband processor 120) or by an on-chip, or chip-associated, controller (CNTR) 430 (e.g., a controller for only that transceiver chip). A chip-associated controller 430 may, in turn, be instructed (e.g., by the baseband processor 120) via an input signal 413. When an ADC instance 405 and a DAC instance 408 are comprised on the transceiver chip, the controller (whether chip-associated or not) may be further adapted to cause configuration of the on-chip ADC and/or the on-chip DAC for dynamically setting a sampling rate of the on-chip ADC and/or DAC based on a bandwidth associated with the respective conversion frequency (e.g., the signal bandwidth). For example, a relatively large bandwidth may require relatively high sampling rate, and vice versa. The transceiver chip 400 may comprise a reference frequency output (in addition to a reference frequency input) for providing the reference frequency 411 to one or more further transceiver chips. Put more generally, a package comprising a transceiver chip and a chip-associated frequency generator may comprise a reference frequency input and a reference frequency output, the latter for providing the reference frequency to one or more further transceiver chip packages.

Figure 5 illustrates example method steps implemented in an apparatus 300. The apparatus 300 comprises controlling circuitry. The controlling circuitry may be one or more processors, such as a BB processor 120. The controlling circuitry is configured to cause measurement 510 of a total received signal quality. Alternatively, or additionally, the controlling circuitry is configured to cause measurement 510 of a total received signal strength. To this end, the controlling circuitry may be associated with (e.g., operatively connectable, or connected, to) a measurement unit (e.g., measurement circuitry or a measurer). The measurement unit may be the BB processor 120 or a control unit comprised by the BB processor 120 or external to the BB processor 120. Furthermore, the controlling circuitry is configured to cause control 520 of a first switch 162 to connect a first RF circuitry 112 to a first or a second antenna 102, 152 based on the measured total received signal quality and/or strength. To this end, the controlling circuitry may be associated with (e.g., operatively connectable, or connected, to) a first control unit (e.g., first control circuitry or a first controller). The first control unit may be a BB processor 120. Moreover, the controlling circuitry is configured to cause control 530 of a second switch 164 to connect a second RF circuitry 114 to a third or a fourth antenna 104, 154 based on the measured total received signal quality/strength. To this end, the controlling circuitry may be associated with (e.g., operatively connectable, or connected, to) a second control unit (e.g., second control circuitry or a second controller). The second control unit may be the BB processor 120. The controlling circuitry is configured to cause control 540 of a third switch 166 to connect a third RF circuitry 114 to a fifth or a sixth antenna 106, 156 based on the measured total received signal quality/strength. To this end, the controlling circuitry may be associated with (e.g., operatively connectable, or connected, to) a third control unit (e.g., third control circuitry or a third controller). The third control unit may be the BB processor 120. Thus, the BB processor may function as the first, second and third control units. Furthermore, the controlling circuitry is configured to cause configuration 350 of each of the first, second and third RF circuitries 112, 114, 116 either to be in an operating mode, in which reception or transmission of radio signals is performed, or to be in a stand-by mode, in which no reception or transmission is performed, based on the measured total received signal quality/strength. To this end, the controlling circuitry may be associated with (e.g., operatively connectable, or connected, to) a configuration unit (e.g., configuration circuitry or a configurer). The configuration unit may be the BB processor 120.

Figure 6 schematically illustrates example antenna structures according to some embodiments. The antenna structures/specifics of figure 6 may, for example, be used to implement a broadband on-chip antenna element comprised in, integrated with, or otherwise connected to a transceiver chip according to some embodiments, e.g., the transceiver chips described in connection with figure 4. As shown in Figure 6, an example dual patch antenna 600 comprises a ground plane with a diversity patch 610 tuned for a first transmission/reception frequency (or first transmission/reception frequency range) which may be used by the transceiver chip. Typically, the ground plane with a diversity patch is tuned for the higher transmission/reception frequency (or transmission/reception frequency range) when two different conversion frequencies may be used by the transceiver chip. For example, the ground plane with a diversity patch 610 may be tuned for 39 GHz. Antenna ports 611 and 612, enable respective polarization operation; a first polarization (e.g., horizontal) is enabled by 611 and a second polarization (e.g., vertical) is enabled by 612. Additional patches 620, 630, 640, 650 may extend the frequency interval covered by the antenna 600, e.g., to a second transmission/reception frequency (or second transmission/reception frequency range) which may be used by the transceiver chip. Typically, the additional patches 620, 630, 640, 650 extend the frequency interval covered by the antenna to the lower transmission/reception frequency (or transmission/reception frequency range) when two different transmission/reception frequencies may be used by the transceiver chip. For example, the additional patches 620, 630, 640, 650 may extend the frequency interval covered by the antenna from 39 GHz down to 28 GHz. In the example of Figure 6, the additional patches 620, 630 extend the frequency interval for the first polarization and the additional patches 640, 650 extend the frequency interval for the second polarization.

In some embodiments, the first antenna 102 comprises the patches 610, 620, 630 and the third antenna 104 comprises the patches 610, 640, 650. Thus, the common antenna structure comprises the first and third antennas 102, 104, i.e., the first and third antennas 102, 104 together form the antenna structure, e.g., the dual patch antenna 600. Furthermore, in some embodiments the second and fourth antennas 152, 154 form a common antenna structure in the same or a similar manner as described above for the first and third antennas 102, 104.

Moreover, in some embodiments an encapsulation 638 encapsulates the patches 610, 620, 630, 640, 650. Thus, the first and third antennas 102, 104 are comprised in one single encapsulation 638. In some embodiments, the single encapsulation 638 comprises/encapsulates a first antenna 102 being an integrated antenna with horizontal polarization (comprising patches 610, 620, 630), a third antenna 104 being an integrated antenna with vertical polarization (comprising patches 610, 640, 650), first RF circuitry 112, second RF circuitry 114, and optionally a first and a second switch 162, 164. In some embodiments, the single encapsulation 638 is utilized as the single encapsulation 138. A rudimentary plot of antenna gain versus frequency is also presented in Figure 6, showing an example antenna gain 660 of the dual patch antenna 600 with high antenna gain in a first frequency range 662 (e.g., comprising 39 GHz) and a second frequency range 661 (e.g., comprising 28 GHz). Thus, the broadband antenna element 600 is a dual band patch antenna, that is designed such that two resonance peaks are achieved at respective transmission/reception frequencies. Generally, the antenna element(s) of a transceiver chip may be implemented using any suitable approach (e.g., dipole antenna(s), vertical antenna(s), patch antenna(s), or any combination thereof). In some embodiments, the antenna element(s) of a transceiver chip comprise two (or more) antenna elements; one for each frequency range. Generally, a transmission/reception frequency may correspond to a respective conversion frequency (e.g., the respective conversion frequency may be equal to the transmission/reception frequency for conversion to baseband, and the respective conversion frequency may be lower than - but depending on - the transmission/reception frequency for conversion to intermediate frequency).

According to some embodiments, a computer program product comprises a non- transitory computer readable medium 800 such as, for example a universal serial bus (USB) memory, a plug-in card, an embedded drive, a digital versatile disc (DVD) or a read only memory (ROM). Figure 8 illustrates an example computer readable medium in the form of a compact disc (CD) ROM 800. The computer readable medium has stored thereon, a computer program comprising program instructions. The computer program is loadable into a data processor (PROC) 820, which may, for example, be comprised in a computer or a computing device 810. When loaded into the data processing unit, the computer program may be stored in a memory (MEM) 830 associated with or comprised in the data-processing unit. According to some embodiments, the computer program may, when loaded into and run by the data processing unit, cause execution of method steps according to, for example, the method illustrated in figure 3, which is described herein.

The above-described transceiver architecture is preferably used, but not limited to, in radio transceiver architectures where multiple transceiver chip with first and second antennas 102, 152 are distributed over the electronic device operating using Massive-MIMO and/or digital beamforming techniques on mmW frequencies (from 25GHz up to, but not limited to 300 GHz). The advantage of this architecture in mmW applications is that antennas are small and can easily be integrated in the transceiver chip. By connecting each transceiver chip/RF circuitry to either of two antennas, the number of transceiver chips/RF circuitries needed is reduced (for N possible antennas only N/2 transceiver chips/RF circuitries are needed). This reduction is achieved while still having the same spherical coverage (antenna radiation pattern) around the device. Hence the routing complexity of signals from the BB processor to the transceiver chips/circuitries is reduced, e.g., since fewer wires are needed.

In some embodiments, the first and second antennas 102, 152 are distributed over the electronic device 100, i.e., the second antenna 152 is located/positioned remotely from the first antenna 102 (but still inside, on or at the electronic device 100). Furthermore, in some embodiments, the first, second, third and fourth antennas 102, 152, 104, 154 are distributed over the electronic device 100, i.e., the second antenna 152 is located/positioned away/remotely from the first antenna 102 (but still inside, on or at the electronic device 100), the third antenna 104 is located/positioned away/remotely from the first and second antennas 102, 152 (but still inside, on or at the electronic device 100) and the fourth antenna 154 is located/positioned away/remotely from the first, second and third antennas 102, 104, 152 (but still inside, on or at the electronic device 100). Similarly, the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth antennas 102, 152, 104, 154, 106, 156 are in some embodiments distributed over the electronic device 100 away/remotely from each other (and with different orientations). Thus, the risk of all antennas being blocked (e.g., by a hand; e.g., at the same time) is reduced.

List of examples:

1. An electronic device 100 comprising: a first antenna 102 having a first orientation, the first antenna 102 being an integrated antenna; a second antenna 152 having a second orientation, different from the first orientation; a first switch 162 connectable to the first and second antennas 102, 152; first radio frequency, RF, circuitry 112, the first RF circuitry 112 being connectable to one of the first antenna 102 and the second antenna 152 via the first switch 162 and the first RF circuitry 112 comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a digital to analog converter, DAC; a first control unit for controlling the first switch 162 to connect the first RF circuitry 112 to one of the first and second antennas 102, 152, and wherein the first antenna 102 is integrated together with the first RF circuitry 112 in a first encapsulation 132.

2. The electronic device of example 1, wherein the first control unit is a baseband processor 120 connected via a zero-intermediate frequency, zero-IF signal, to the first RF circuitry 112.

3. The electronic device of any of examples 1-2, wherein the second antenna 152 is an external antenna, such as an external dipole antenna.

4. The electronic device of any of examples 1-3, wherein the first control unit is configured to control the first switch 162 to connect the first RF circuitry 112 to the first or the second antenna 102, 152 based on a total received signal quality.

5. The electronic device of any of examples 1-4, wherein the first and second antennas 102, 152 are tuned for the same or a similar frequency range.

6. The electronic device of any of examples 1-5, further comprising: a third antenna 104 having a third orientation, the third antenna 104 being an integrated antenna; a fourth antenna 154 having a fourth orientation, different from the third orientation; a second switch 164 connectable to the third and fourth antennas 104, 154; second RF circuitry 114, the second RF circuitry 114 being connectable to one of the third antenna 104 and the fourth antenna 154 via the second switch 164 and the second RF circuitry 114 comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a digital to analog converter, DAC; a second control unit, such as a baseband processor 120, for controlling the second switch 164 to connect the second RF circuitry 114 to one of the third and fourth antennas 104,

154; and wherein the third antenna 104 is integrated together with the second RF circuitry 114 in a second encapsulation 134 and wherein the first antenna 102 and the third antenna 104 have the same orientation and wherein the second antenna 152 and the fourth antenna 154 have the same orientation.

7. The electronic device of example 6, further comprising: a fifth antenna 106 having a fifth orientation, the fifth antenna 106 being an integrated antenna; a sixth antenna 156 having a sixth orientation, different from the fifth orientation; a third switch 166 connectable to the fifth and sixth antennas 106, 156; third RF circuitry 116, the third RF circuitry 116 being connectable to one of the fifth antenna 106 and the sixth antenna 156 via the third switch 166 and the third RF circuitry 116 comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier, and a DAC; a third control unit, such as a baseband processor 120, for controlling the third switch 166 to connect the third RF circuitry 116 to one of the fifth and sixth antennas 106, 156; and wherein at least one of the fifth and sixth orientations are different from the first, the second, the third and the fourth orientations; and wherein at least one of the first and second RF circuitries 112, 114 is configured to be in an operating mode, in which reception or transmission of radio signals is performed; and wherein the third RF circuitry 116 is configured to be in a stand-by mode, in which no reception or transmission is performed.

8. The electronic device of any of examples 1-7, wherein the first antenna 102 is an integrated antenna with horizontal polarization, the second antenna 152 is an external antenna, the third antenna 104 is an integrated antenna with vertical polarization, and the fourth antenna 154 is an external antenna.

9. A method 300 for an electronic device 100, comprising: measuring 310 a total received signal quality/strength; controlling 320, by a first control unit, a first switch 162 to connect a first RF circuitry 112 to a first or a second antenna 102, 152 based on the measured total received signal quality/strength; controlling 330, by a second control unit, a second switch 164 to connect a second RF circuitry 114 to a third or a fourth antenna 104, 154 based on the measured total received signal quality/strength; controlling 340, by a third control unit, a third switch 166 to connect a third RF circuitry 116 to a fifth or a sixth antenna 106, 156 based on the measured total received signal quality/strength; and configuring 350 each of the first, second and third RF circuitries 112, 114,116 to be in an operating mode, in which reception or transmission of radio signals is performed, or to be in a stand-by mode, in which no reception or transmission is performed, based on the measured total received signal quality/strength.

10. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium 1900, having stored thereon a computer program comprising program instructions, the computer program being loadable into a data processing unit 1920 and configured to cause execution of the method of example 9 when the computer program is run by the data processing unit.

11. A single-chip radio 200 for bi-directional wireless communication, comprising: a first antenna 102 having a first orientation, the first antenna 102 being an integrated antenna; a first switch 162 connectable to the first antenna 102 and connectable to a second antenna 152, the second antenna 152 having a second orientation, different from the first orientation and the second antenna 152 being an integrated antenna or an external antenna; first radio frequency, RF, circuitry 112, the first RF circuitry 112 being connectable to one of the first antenna 102 and the second antenna 152 via the first switch 162 and the first RF circuitry 112 comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a digital to analog converter, DAC; wherein the single-chip radio 200 is connectable to a first control unit 220, the first control unit 220 being configured to control the first switch 162 to connect the first RF circuitry 112 to one of the first and second antennas 102, 152 and wherein the first antenna 102 is integrated together with the first RF circuitry 112 and the first switch 162 in a first encapsulation 132.

Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context in which it is used. Reference has been made herein to various embodiments. However, a person skilled in the art would recognize numerous variations to the described embodiments that would still fall within the scope of the claims. For example, the method embodiments described herein discloses example methods through steps being performed in a certain order. However, it is recognized that these sequences of events may take place in another order without departing from the scope of the claims. Furthermore, some method steps may be performed in parallel even though they have been described as being performed in sequence. Thus, the steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. In the same manner, it should be noted that in the description of embodiments, the partition of functional blocks into particular units is by no means intended as limiting. Contrarily, these partitions are merely examples. Functional blocks described herein as one unit may be split into two or more units. Furthermore, functional blocks described herein as being implemented as two or more units may be merged into fewer e.g., a single) unit. Any feature of any of the embodiments/aspects disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment/aspect, wherever suitable. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Hence, it should be understood that the details of the described embodiments are merely examples brought forward for illustrative 5 purposes, and that all variations that fall within the scope of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

1. An electronic device (100) comprising: a first antenna (102) having a first orientation, the first antenna (102) being an integrated antenna; a second antenna (152) having a second orientation, different from the first orientation; a first switch (162) connectable to the first and second antennas (102, 152); first radio frequency, RF, circuitry (112), the first RF circuitry (112) being connectable to one of the first antenna (102) and the second antenna (152) via the first switch (162) and the first RF circuitry (112) comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a digital to analog converter, DAC; a first control unit for controlling the first switch (162) to connect the first RF circuitry (112) to one of the first and second antennas (102, 152), wherein the first antenna (102) is integrated together with the first RF circuitry (112) in a first encapsulation (132), and wherein the second antenna (152) is an external antenna.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first control unit is a baseband processor (120) separate from the first RF circuitry (112) and connected via a zero-intermediate frequency, zero-IF signal, to the first RF circuitry (112).

3. The electronic device of any of claims 1-2, wherein the second antenna (152) is an external dipole antenna.

4. The electronic device of any of claims 1-3, wherein the first control unit is configured to control the first switch (162) to connect the first RF circuitry (112) to the first or the second antenna (102, 152) based on a total received signal strength.

5. The electronic device of any of claims 1-4, wherein the first and second antennas (102, 152) are tuned for the same or a similar frequency range.

6. The electronic device of any of claims 1-5, further comprising: a third antenna (104) having a third orientation, the third antenna (104) being an integrated antenna; a fourth antenna (154) having a fourth orientation, different from the third orientation; a second switch (164) connectable to the third and fourth antennas (104, 154); second RF circuitry (114), the second RF circuitry (114) being connectable to one of the third antenna (104) and the fourth antenna (154) via the second switch (164) and the second RF circuitry (114) comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a digital to analog converter, DAC; a second control unit for controlling the second switch (164) to connect the second RF circuitry (114) to one of the third and fourth antennas (104, 154); and wherein the third antenna (104) is integrated together with the second RF circuitry (114) in a second encapsulation (134) and wherein the first antenna (102) and the third antenna (104) have the same orientation and wherein the second antenna (152) and the fourth antenna (154) have the same orientation.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, further comprising: a fifth antenna (106) having a fifth orientation, the fifth antenna (106) being an integrated antenna; a sixth antenna (156) having a sixth orientation, different from the fifth orientation; a third switch (166) connectable to the fifth and sixth antennas (106, 156); third RF circuitry (116), the third RF circuitry (116) being connectable to one of the fifth antenna (106) and the sixth antenna (156) via the third switch (166) and the third RF circuitry (116) comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a DAC; and a third control unit for controlling the third switch (166) to connect the third RF circuitry

(116) to one of the fifth and sixth antennas (106, 156); and wherein at least one of the fifth and sixth orientations are different from the first, the second, the third and the fourth orientations; and wherein at least one of the first and second RF circuitries (112, 114) is configured to be in an operating mode, in which reception or transmission of radio signals is performed; and wherein the third RF circuitry (116) is configured to be in a stand-by mode, in which no reception or transmission of radio signals is performed, while at least one of the first and second RF circuitries is in the operating mode.

8. The electronic device of any of claims 6-7, wherein the first antenna (102) is an integrated antenna with horizontal polarization, the third antenna (104) is an integrated antenna with vertical polarization, and the fourth antenna (154) is an external antenna.

9. The electronic device of any of claims 7-8, wherein the fifth antenna (106) is integrated together with the third RF circuitry (116) in a third encapsulation (136).

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the first, second and third encapsulations (132, 134, 136) are all arranged in the same orientation/direction.

11. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the first, second and third encapsulations (132, 134, 136) are all arranged in different orientations/directions.

12. A method (300) for an electronic device (100), comprising: measuring (310) a total received signal strength; controlling (320), by a first control unit, a first switch (162) to connect a first RF circuitry (112) to a first or a second antenna (102, 152) based on the measured total received signal strength, wherein the first antenna (102) is integrated together with the first RF circuitry (112) in a first encapsulation (132), and wherein the second antenna (152) is an external antenna; controlling (330), by a second control unit, a second switch (164) to connect a second RF circuitry (114) to a third or a fourth antenna (104, 154) based on the measured total received signal strength; controlling (340), by a third control unit, a third switch (166) to connect a third RF circuitry (116) to a fifth or a sixth antenna (106, 156) based on the measured total received signal strength; and configuring (350) each of the first, second and third RF circuitries (112, 114,116) to be in an operating mode, in which reception or transmission of radio signals is performed, or to be in a stand-by mode, in which no reception or transmission of radio signals is performed, based on the measured total received signal strength.

13. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium (1900), having stored thereon a computer program comprising program instructions, the computer program being loadable into a data processing unit (1920) and configured to cause execution of the method of claim 12 when the computer program is run by the data processing unit.

14. A single-chip radio (200) for bi-directional wireless communication, comprising: a first antenna (102) having a first orientation, the first antenna (102) being an integrated antenna; a first switch (162) connectable to the first antenna (102) and connectable to a second antenna (152), the second antenna (152) having a second orientation, different from the first orientation and the second antenna (152) being an external antenna; and first radio frequency, RF, circuitry (112), the first RF circuitry (112) being connectable to one of the first antenna (102) and the second antenna (152) via the first switch (162) and the first RF circuitry (112) comprising one or more of a Low Noise amplifier, a Mixer, a Local oscillator, a Phase locked loop, an analog filter, a Voltage Gain Amplifier, an analog to digital converter, ADC, a digital filter, a Power Amplifier and a digital to analog converter, DAC; and wherein the single-chip radio (200) is connectable to a first control unit (220), the first control unit (220) being configured to control the first switch (162) to connect the first RF circuitry (112) to one of the first and second antennas (102, 152) and wherein the first antenna (102) is integrated together with the first RF circuitry (112) and the first switch (162) in a first encapsulation (132).