Method and apparatus for selecting multi-antenna transmission mode in electronic device

Abstract

A method for selecting a multi-antenna transmission mode of an electronic device is provided. The method includes determining, by using a detection signal from a sensor, whether there is a contact with a human body, changing a second transmission mode to a first transmission mode when there is a contact with a human body that affects the electromagnetic field around an antenna, and transmitting the same data stream through at least two antennas according to the first transmission mode.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of operating an electronic device, the method comprising:
 determining, by using a detection signal from at least one sensor, whether there is a contact with a human body that affects an antenna performance of the electronic device; 
 selecting a spatial diversity scheme among a plurality of multi-antenna transmission modes if there is a contact with the human body, and selecting a spatial multiplexing scheme among the plurality of multi-antenna transmission modes if there is no contact with the human body; and 
 transmitting a data stream through a plurality of antennas based on the selected spatial diversity scheme or spatial multiplexing scheme. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising setting, to a slave antenna, at least one of the plurality of antennas that is affected by the contact with a human body, and the other at least one of the plurality of antennas to a master antenna, if there is a contact with the human body that affects the antenna performance. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the master antenna performs both transmission and reception and the slave antenna performs transmission. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the sensor is a grip sensor, and 
 wherein the determining, by using the detection signal from the at least one sensor, of whether there is a contact with the human body that affects the antenna performance comprises: 
 detecting a change in pressure or in capacitance by using the grip sensor; and 
 determining that there is a contact with the human body, if the change in pressure or in capacitance is equal to or greater than a threshold. 
 
     
     
       5. An electronic device comprising:
 a plurality of antennas; 
 at least one sensor; 
 a memory; and 
 at least one processor configured to:
 determine, by using a detection signal from the at least one sensor, whether there is a contact with a human body that affects an antenna performance of the electronic device, 
 select a spatial diversity scheme among a plurality of multi-antenna transmission modes if there is a contact with the human body and select a spatial multiplexing scheme among the plurality of multi-antenna transmission modes if there is no contact with the human body, and 
 transmit a data stream through the plurality of antennas based on the selected spatial diversity scheme or spatial multiplexing scheme. 
 
 
     
     
       6. The electronic device of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to set, to a slave antenna, at least one of the plurality of antennas that is affected by the contact with the human body, and the other at least one of the plurality of antennas to a master antenna, if there is a contact with the human body that affects the antenna performance. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device of  claim 6 , wherein the master antenna performs both transmission and reception and the slave antenna performs transmission. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device of  claim 5 ,
 wherein the at least one sensor is a grip sensor, and 
 wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
 detect a change in pressure or in capacitance by using the grip sensor, and 
 determine that there is a contact with the human body, if the change in pressure or in capacitance is equal to or greater than a threshold.