Locating wireless-enabled components and applications thereof

• US 10,013,285 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2010
• Issued: 07/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Avago Technologies General IP PTE Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Behzad, Arya Reza, Boers, Michael, Castaneda, Jesus Alfonso, Rofougaran, Ahmadreza Reza, Zhao, Sam
• Primary Examiner(s): Khan, Omer S
• Application Number:
  US12/877,941
• Publication Number:
  US 20110183618A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,855 Days
• Field of Search: 3405391, 340 36, 340 81, 3405727, 706 24, 4554561, 455 631, 455 634, 342368, 342372, 343757
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/50 Allocation of resources, e.g. of the central processing unit [CPU]
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/10 Polarisation diversity; Directional diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/26 at least one of which is mobile
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems, apparatuses, and methods for locating wireless-enabled components, and applications thereof. Such an apparatus includes a wireless-enabled component (WEC), which may be a functional block of an integrated circuit (IC), an IC, or a device that includes an IC. The WEC includes a functional module (e.g., a processing resource or a memory resource) and an antenna element coupled to the functional module. The antenna element is configured to (i) transmit a search signal to locate a proximally situated WEC and (ii) transmit a communication signal to communicate with the proximally situated WEC. The antenna element may be a phased array, an electrically steered phased array, a mechanically steered phased array, a directional antenna, a mechanically steered directional antenna, an RF antenna, an optical antenna, and/or any combination thereof.

Claims

1. A wireless-enabled component (WEC), comprising:

an antenna element configured to;

transmit a search signal to locate a proximally situated WEC, and

receive at least one of a backscatter-transmitted signal, a scattered signal, or a return-transmitted signal from the proximally situated WEC; and

a first functional module, coupled to the antenna element, configured to;

determine a location of the proximally situated WEC based on the at least one signal received from the proximally situated WEC, and

select a communication mechanism based on the location of the proximally situated WEC, wherein the first functional module of the WEC and a second functional module of the proximally situated WEC are located within one or more chips within a common device, and

wherein the antenna element is further configured to transmit a communication signal to communicate with the proximally situated WEC, in accordance with the selected communication mechanism.

2. A method for locating a wireless-enabled component (WEC), comprising:

transmitting, via an antenna element of the WEC, a search signal to locate a proximally situated WEC;

receiving at least one of a backscatter-transmitted signal, a scattered signal, or a return-transmitted signal from the proximally situated WEC;

determining a location of the proximally situated WEC based on the at least one signal received from the proximally situated WEC;

selecting a unidirectional transmission technique, from a plurality of unidirectional transmission techniques, based on the location of the proximally situated WEC; and

transmitting, via the antenna element of the WEC, a communication signal to communicate with the proximally situated WEC, in accordance with the selected unidirectional transmission technique;

wherein the WEC and the proximally situated WEC further comprise a first and second functional block, respectively, and wherein the first and second functional blocks are located within one or more chips within a common device.

3. A system, comprising:

a first wireless-enable component (WEC) comprising a first functional module and a first antenna element coupled to the first functional module; and

a second WEC comprising a second functional module and a second antenna element coupled to the second functional module;

wherein the first antenna element of the first WEC is configured to;

transmit a search signal to locate the second WEC, and

receive at least one of a backscatter-transmitted signal, a scattered signal, or a return-transmitted signal from the second WEC;

wherein the first functional module of the first WEC is configured to;

determine a location of the second WEC based on the at least one signal received from the second WEC, and

select a unidirectional transmission technique, from a plurality of unidirectional transmission techniques, based on the location of the second WEC;

wherein the first antenna element of the first WEC is further configured to transmit a communication signal to communicate with the second WEC, in accordance with the selected unidirectional transmission technique; and

wherein the first and second WECs further comprise a first and second functional block, respectively, and wherein the first and second functional blocks are located within one or more chips within a common device.