Communication apparatus and method

• US 10,382,070 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2018
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nuyts, Pieter, Vandenameele, Patrick, Cornelissens, Koen
• Primary Examiner(s): Tieu, Janice N
• Application Number:
  US15/870,441
• Publication Number:
  US 20180138928A1
• Time in Patent Office: 578 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 5/0272 the digital values being used to preset a counter or a frequency divider in a phase locked loop, e.g. frequency synthesizer
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/185 using a mixer in the loop H03L7/187 - H03L7/195 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0028 wherein the AD/DA conversion occurs at baseband stage
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0039 using DSP [Digital Signal Processor] quadrature modulation and demodulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/005 adapting radio receivers, transmitters andtransceivers for operation on two or more bands, i.e. frequency ranges
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/126 having multiple inputs, e.g. auxiliary antenna for receiving interfering signal aerials in general H01Q

Abstract

A communication apparatus including a first mixer configured to generate an analog output signal (X_OUT) from an analog input signal (X_IN) using a first mixing signal, a second mixer configured to generate an analog output signal (Y_OUT) from an analog input signal (Y_IN) using a second mixing signal, and a local oscillator configured to provide a reference frequency (f_REF), where the first mixer is configured to derive a first sampling frequency (f_S,1) from the f_REF, and where the second mixer is configured to derive a second sampling frequency (f_S,2) from the f_REF.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus, comprising:

a first mixer configured to generate an analog output signal (X_OUT) from an analog input signal (X_IN) in a first band using a first mixing signal, the first mixer comprising a first scaler configured to;

sample the X_IN at a plurality of discrete points in time (k) with a first sampling frequency (f_S,1) to obtain a sampled analog input signal (X_IN[k]) having a continuous signal value; and

generate the X_OUT having a continuous signal value by scaling the X_IN[k] on a basis of a plurality of scaling coefficients (A[k]), the A[k] being a time-discrete representation of the first mixing signal;

a second mixer configured to generate another analog output signal (Y_OUT) from another analog input signal (Y_IN) in a second band using a second mixing signal, the second mixer comprising a second scaler configured to;

sample the Y_IN at the k with a second sampling frequency (f_S,2) to obtain another sampled analog input signal (Y_IN[k]) having a continuous signal value; and

generate the Y_OUT having a continuous signal value by scaling the Y_IN[k] on a basis of a plurality of scaling coefficients (B[k]), the B[k] being a time-discrete representation of the second mixing signal, the X_IN and the Y_IN being carrier aggregated, and intermediate frequencies (IFs) of the first mixing signal and the second mixing signal being different; and

a local oscillator coupled to the first mixer and the second mixer and configured to provide a reference frequency (f_REF),

the first mixer being further configured to derive the f_S,1 from the f_REF, and

the second mixer being further configured to derive the f_S,2 from the f_REF.

2. The communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the f_S,1 and the f_S,2 are an integer multiple of the f_REF, and each of the f_S,1 and the f_S,2 being equal to four times the f_REF.

3. The communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the f_S,1 is an integer multiple of the f_REF, and the f_S,1 being equal to four times the f_REF.

4. The communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the f_S,2 is an integer multiple of the f_REF, and the f_S,2 being equal to four times the f_REF.

5. The communication apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a receiver coupled to the first mixer and the second mixer, the local oscillator being a dedicated local oscillator of the receiver, and the local oscillator being an oscillator of a phase-locked loop of the receiver.

6. The communication apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transmitter coupled to the first mixer and the second mixer, the local oscillator being a dedicated local oscillator of the transmitter, and the local oscillator being an oscillator of a phase-locked loop of the transmitter.

7. The communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the A[k] and the B[k] are a time-discrete representation of a sinusoidal function, a sum of a plurality of sinusoidal functions, a clipped sinusoidal function, a square wave function, or another periodic waveform.

8. The communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the A[k] is a time-discrete representation of a sinusoidal function, a sum of a plurality of sinusoidal functions, a clipped sinusoidal function, a square wave function, or another periodic waveform.

9. The communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the B[k] is a time-discrete representation of a sinusoidal function, a sum of a plurality of sinusoidal functions, a clipped sinusoidal function, a square wave function, or another periodic waveform.

10. The communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the A[k] is associated with data stored in a memory of the first mixer, and the B[k] is associated with data stored in a memory of the second mixer.

11. The communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the X_IN is equal to the Y_IN, and the communication apparatus is further configured to combine the Y_OUT of the second mixer with the X_OUT of the first mixer by subtracting the Y_OUT of the second mixer from the X_OUT of the first mixer.

12. The communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first mixing signal is associated with a first mixing frequency (f_MIX,1), the second mixing signal being associated with a second mixing frequency (f_MIX,2), a ratio of the f_MIX,1 and the f_S,1 is given by f_MIX,1/f_S,1=A/B, a ratio of f_MIX,2 and the f_S,2 is given by f_MIX,2/f_S,2=A′

/B′

, and the A, the B, the A′

, and the B′

being integers.

13. The communication apparatus of claim 12, wherein the f_S,1 is equal to the f_S,2.

14. The communication apparatus of claim 12, wherein the f_MIX,1 differs from the f_MIX,2.

15. The communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the A[k] of the first mixer is represented by a different number of bits than the B[k] of the second mixer.

16. The communication apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a frequency divider coupled to the first mixer and the second mixer and configured to reduce the f_REF of the local oscillator, the first mixer being further configured to derive the f_S,1 from the reduced f_REF, and the second mixer being further configured to derive the f_S,2 from the reduced f_REF.

17. The communication apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a frequency divider coupled to the first mixer and the second mixer and configured to reduce the f_REF of the local oscillator, the first mixer being further configured to derive the f_S,1 from the reduced f_REF, or the second mixer being further configured to derive the f_S,2 from the reduced f_REF.

18. The communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first mixer comprises an input terminal and an output terminal coupled to the first scaler of the first mixer, the first scaler of the first mixer comprising a plurality of unit cells coupled in parallel to the input terminal, each unit cell comprising a unit cell capacitor, the unit cell capacitor of an i^th unit cell having a capacitance (C_ui), a sum of capacitances of the plurality of unit cells defining a total capacitance (C_s), each unit cell comprising a charge transfer switch for coupling the unit cell capacitor of each unit cell to the output terminal, and the first scaler of the first mixer being further configured to control the charge transfer switch of each unit cell for scaling the X_IN[k] on the basis of the A[k].

19. The communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second mixer comprises an input terminal and an output terminal coupled to the second scaler of the second mixer, the second scaler of the second mixer comprising a plurality of unit cells coupled in parallel to the input terminal, each unit cell comprising a unit cell capacitor, the unit cell capacitor of an i^th unit cell having a capacitance (C_ui), a sum of capacitances of the plurality of unit cells defining a total capacitance (C_s), each unit cell comprising a charge transfer switch for coupling the unit cell capacitor of each unit cell to the output terminal, and the second scaler of the second mixer being configured to control the charge transfer switch of each unit cell for scaling the Y_IN[k] on the basis of the B[k].

20. A method for generating an analog output signal (X_OUT) from an analog input signal (X_IN) in a first band using a first mixing signal and an analog output signal (Y_OUT) from an analog input signal (Y_IN) in a second band using a second mixing signal, the X_IN and the Y_IN being carrier aggregated, and the method comprising:

providing, by a local oscillator, a reference frequency (f_REF);

sampling, by a first scaler, the X_IN at a plurality of discrete points in time (k) with a first sampling frequency (f_S,1) to obtain a sampled analog input signal (X_IN[k]) having a continuous signal value;

generating, by the first scaler, the X_OUT having a continuous signal value by scaling the X_IN[k] on a basis of a plurality of scaling coefficients (A[k]), the A[k] being a time-discrete representation of the first mixing signal, and the f_S,1 being derived from the f_REF;

sampling, by a second scalar, the Y_IN at the k with a second sampling frequency (f_S,2) to obtain a sampled analog input signal (Y_IN[k]) having a continuous signal value; and

generating, by the second scaler, the Y_OUT having a continuous signal value by scaling the Y_IN[k] on a basis of a plurality of scaling coefficients (B[k]), the B[k] being a time-discrete representation of the second mixing signal, the f_S,2 being derived from the f_REF, and intermediate frequencies (IFs) of the first mixing signal and the second mixing signal being different.