An encoded information reading (EIR) terminal can comprise a microprocessor, a memory communicatively coupled to the microprocessor, an EIR device, a multi-band antenna, and a wireless communication interface. The EIR reading device can be provided by a bar code reading device, an RFID reading device, and/or a card reading device. The EIR device can be configured to output raw message data comprising an encoded message and/or output decoded message data corresponding to an encoded message. The wireless communication interface can be configured to support at least two wireless communication protocols. The multi-band antenna can be configured to simultaneously receive two or more radio signals in two or more frequency regulatory domains. The EIR terminal can be configured to dynamically select a wireless communication network and/or a wireless communication protocol by optimizing a value of a wireless communication protocol selection criterion which can be based on said two or more radio signals.

Encoded information reading terminal with multi-band antenna

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there are 285 million visuallyimpaired people worldwide. Among these individuals, there are 39 million who are totally blind. There have been several systems designed to support visually-impaired people and to improve the quality of their lives. Unfortunately, most of these systems are limited in their capabilities. In this paper, we present a comparative survey of the wearable and portable assistive devices for visuallyimpaired people in order to show the progress in assistive technology for this group of people. Thus, the contribution of this literature survey is to discuss in detail the most significant devices that are presented in the literature to assist this population and highlight the improvements, advantages, disadvantages, and accuracy. Our aim is to address and present most of the issues of these systems to pave the way for other researchers to design devices that ensure safety and independent mobility to visually-impaired people.

Sensor-Based Assistive Devices for Visually-Impaired People: Current Status, Challenges, and Future Directions

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including computer instructions to obtain at least one operational parameter associated with a communication device and to adjust a steerable antenna of the communication device when the communication device does not satisfy an impedance threshold, where the satisfying of the impedance threshold is determined based on the at least one operational parameter. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for tuning a communication device

This paper is a survey of internal antennas in mobile phones from 1997 to 2010. It covers almost 60 GSM and 3G handsets, ranging from the first GSM handset with an internal antenna to the current Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, Motorola, and Apple handsets. The paper discusses different types of mobile-phone antennas, feeding structures, active antennas, isolation, and antenna loading techniques. This paper examines different design techniques for mobile-phone antennas, and the limitations of antenna design due to manufacturing technologies and the effect of handset materials. Antenna performance parameters, including S parameters, radiation efficiency, SAR, and TRP/TIS are reported for the surveyed handsets. The effective antenna volume for every antenna is calculated, in order to determine the average volume/space required for each antenna type and the corresponding performance. Some of the handsets are further simulated using commercial electromagnetic simulators to illustrate the electromagnetic-field distributions. This paper summarizes the antenna design parameters as a function of handset performance, and presents a short summary of design procedure.

Mobile-Phone Antenna Design

Methods for generating a look-up table relating a plurality of complex reflection coefficients to a plurality of matched states for a tunable matching network. Typical steps include measuring a plurality of complex reflection coefficients resulting from a plurality of impedance loads while the tunable matching network is in a predetermined state, determining a plurality of matched states for the plurality of impedance loads, with a matched state determined for each of the plurality of impedance loads and providing the determined matched states as a look-up table. A further step is interpolating the measured complex reflection coefficients and the determined matching states into a set of complex reflection coefficients with predetermined step sizes.

Methods for tuning an adaptive impedance matching network with a look-up table

Measurements of the free-space radiation characteristics of small antennas, such as in mobile communications handsets, typically suffer from the influence of the attached radio frequency (RF) feed. A sleeve-like balun choke placed on the feed cable close to the antenna under test (AUT) prevents surface currents of the AUT from propagating onto the outer shield of the RF feed cable. Therefore, measurement results with the balun correspond well to those of an isolated AUT, much better than without any measures against cable effects. The balun can typically be used at a 10% relative bandwidth. A dual-frequency balun minimizes the cable-related effects at two separate frequency bands. This is useful in the measurements of dual-frequency antennas. The results of both simulations and measurements for a dual-band balun are presented in this paper, proving the usefulness of the proposed balun and its advantages over alternative means to decrease the cable-related effects.

Use of balun chokes in small-antenna radiation measurements

We investigate how the user's body affects the radiation characteristics, e.g., radiation pattern and total radiated power (TRP), of mobile phones. We carried out measurements for two Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) 900/1800 phones with two measurement systems: a 3-D far-field pattern measurement system and the Rapid Antenna Measurement System (RAMS). Up to 13 mobile phone users participated in the measurements. The main objectives are to study how much the TRP varies between the users and how large an influence the user's hand, particularly its position on the mobile phone, has on the TRP. The contributions of the head and the hand to the total loss are separately studied as well. The standard deviation of the TRP results between the 13 users in the RAMS measurements was relatively low, i.e., less than 1 dB, when the users held the mobile phone in a predefined talk position on the left side of their heads. The standard deviation of the corresponding result was up to 3 dB when the users were allowed to freely select the way to hold the phone. The TRP results for two phantoms agreed well with the average TRP results for the test persons when only the loss contribution of the head was included. Hence, we conclude that the variable hand position and grip on the mobile phone are the main reasons for the large differences in the TRP between the users.

Effect of the Human Body on Total Radiated Power and the 3-D Radiation Pattern of Mobile Handsets

The invention relates to a radio antenna (100) and, more specifically, to an internal multiband antenna for use, e.g., in a portable telecommunication device, such as a mobile phone. In particularly the invention relates to an antenna module for a mobile terminal including a non-resonant antenna element (102), two resonant antenna elements (104, 106) each covering at least any one of a first, second, third and fourth frequency band, said two resonant elements are substantially in the same plane and define a planar surface wherein the two resonant elements (104, 106) are each positioned at a corner of the planar surface and the non-resonant element (102) is positioned along an edge of the planar surface.

Multiband antenna arrangement

An apparatus comprising: a first cover member configured to define an exterior surface of an electronic device, the first cover member including a first conductive portion (30) defining at least a first edge (32) and a second edge (34) of the electronic device, the first edge (32) being shorter than the second edge (34) and defining an aperture (36) therein; a first feed point (26) coupled to the first conductive portion along the first edge (32) at a first side of the aperture (36); and a second feed point (28) coupled to the first conductive portion along the first edge (32) at a second side of the aperture (36), opposite to the first side of the aperture.

Apparatus and methods for wireless communication

An apparatus comprising: a first port configured to receive signals from a transceiver and to receive a first antenna, the first antenna being configured to operate in a first operational resonant frequency band; a second port configured to receive signals from a transceiver and to receive a second antenna, the second antenna being configured to operate in a second operational resonant frequency band; a first reactive component coupled to the first port; a second reactive component coupled to the first reactive component at a first junction and to the second port, wherein at least the first reactive component is configured to have an impedance that shifts the phase of a first signal, in the second operational resonant frequency band, received from the first antenna, and the second reactive component is configured to have an impedance that shifts the phase of a second signal, in the second operational resonant frequency band, received from the transceiver, so that the first signal and the second signal at least partially destructively interfere with one another at the first junction.

Joonas Krogerus

Papers

Use of balun chokes in small-antenna radiation measurements

Effect of the Human Body on Total Radiated Power and the 3-D Radiation Pattern of Mobile Handsets

Multiband antenna arrangement

Apparatus and methods for wireless communication

Apparatus, methods, computer programs and computer readable storage mediums for wireless communication