Agc Automotive Americas R&d, Inc.

Agc Flat Glass North America, Inc.

Ming Lee

Yasutaka Horiki

Jesus Gedde

Jun Noda

Frederick M Schaible, Iii

Wladimiro Villarroel

Kwan-ho Lee

Ledion Shkembi

Fredrick M Schaible Iii

A window assembly for a vehicle has a transparent layer including a metal compound such that the transparent layer is electrically conductive. The transparent layer defines an area covering the window assembly. An outer region which is electrically non-conductive surrounds the area. The window assembly includes an antenna element including wire or transparent coating which overlaps the transparent layer and overlaps the outer region. The antenna element is configured to receive linearly or circularly polarized radio frequency (RF) signals. A feeding element is coupled to the antenna element for energizing the antenna element. The antenna element is capacitively coupled to the transparent layer. The transparent layer operates as a parasitic or active antenna element with respect to the antenna element.

Window assembly having an antenna element overlapping a transparent layer and an adjacent outer region

A window assembly for a vehicle has a transparent layer including a metal compound such that the transparent layer as is electrically conductive. The transparent layer defines an area covering the window assembly. An outer region which is electrically non-conductive surrounds the area. The window assembly includes an antenna element including wire or transparent coating disposed within and surrounded by the outer region without extending into the transparent layer. The antenna element is electrically disconnected from the transparent layer such that the antenna element operates independent of the transparent layer. A feeding element is coupled to the antenna element for energizing the antenna element. The feeding element is electrically disconnected from the transparent layer such that the feeding element energizes the antenna element independent of the transparent layer.

Window assembly having a transparent layer and an outer region for an antenna element

Antenna

A window assembly includes an electrically conductive transparent layer and an antenna element disposed on a substrate. The transparent layer has an area defining a periphery with a plurality of edges. An outer region devoid of the transparent layer is defined adjacent the transparent layer along the periphery. The antenna element includes a first antenna segment and a second antenna segment. The first antenna segment is elongated and disposed in the outer region and spaced from the periphery and extends solely along one edge of the periphery. The second antenna segment extends integrally from the first antenna segment towards the transparent layer such that the second antenna segment crosses a periphery of the transparent layer. A feeding element is coupled to the first antenna segment to energize the antenna element and the transparent layer such that the antenna element and the transparent layer collectively transmit and/or receive radio frequency signals.

Window assembly with transparent layer and an antenna element

A window assembly includes an electrically conductive transparent layer and an antenna element disposed on a substrate. The antenna element includes a first antenna segment and a second antenna segment. The first antenna segment is elongated and disposed in an outer region devoid of the transparent layer. The second antenna segment extends from the first antenna segment toward the transparent layer such that the second antenna segment crosses a periphery of the transparent layer. The second antenna segment abuts and is in direct electrical contact with the transparent layer. A feeding element is coupled to the antenna element and energizes the first and second antenna segments and the transparent layer such that the first and second antenna segments and the transparent layer collectively transmit and/or receive radio frequency signals.

A window assembly for a vehicle includes a substrate that is substantially transparent and has a surface. A transparent layer is disposed on the surface and comprises a metal compound such that the transparent layer is electrically conductive. The transparent layer defines a first region and a second region that are spaced from one another by a section cut that is devoid of the transparent layer. The first and second regions are non-congruent to one another. A feeding arrangement is coupled to the first and second regions to energize the first and second regions such that the first and second regions operate as antenna elements. The first and second regions each define at least one performance enhancing slit that is devoid of the transparent layer. The slits are configured to operate as at least one of an impedance matching element and a radiation pattern altering element.

Window assembly with transparent regions having a performance enhancing slit formed therein

An antenna system and method utilize a splitter electrically connectable to a single antenna for splitting an RF signal into two signals. A variable phase shifter shifts the phase of one of the signals. A combiner combines the phase shifted and non-phase shifted signals to produce a conditioned signal. A quality examiner circuit changes the amount of phase shift provided by the variable phase shifter to produce a plurality of different conditioned signals. The quality examiner circuit then determines a quality of each conditioned signal and changes the phase shift again to provide the highest quality conditioned signal to a receiver.

Antenna system and method for mitigating multi-path effect

An antenna system and method utilize an evaluation branch circuit and an implementation branch circuit. These circuits are each connected to both a first antenna input and a second antenna input. An output of the evaluation branch circuit is in communication with a controller while an output of the implementation branch circuit is in communication with a receiver. Each branch circuit includes at least one signal conditioner to change an electrical characteristic of RF signals received from antennas via the antenna inputs. The evaluation branch circuit, controlled by the controller, changes the electrical characteristics of the RF signals in a variety of different ways to discover an optimized evaluation RF signal. Once the optimized evaluation RF signal is determined, the implementation branch circuit is controlled, by the controller, to produce an optimized implementation RF signal in accordance with that discovered by the evaluation branch circuit.

Antenna system and method for optimizing an RF signal

An antenna system for receiving an RF signal from a first antenna and a second antenna includes a phase shift circuit. The phase shift circuit shifts a phase of the RF signal from the second antenna by one of a plurality of possible phase shifts to produce a phase shifted signal. A combiner combines the RF signal from the first antenna and the phase shifted signal to produce a combined signal. A comparator circuit compares a signal quality of the combined signal with a minimum threshold value to determine if the signal quality of the combined signal is equal to or greater than the threshold value. The comparator circuit is in communicative control of the phase shift circuit and maintains the phase shift of the RF signal received by the second antenna in response to the signal quality of the combined signal being equal to or greater than the threshold value.

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Ypsilanti, MI, United States of America

Ming Lee