Radio transceiver architectures and methods

• US 20040017847A1
• Filed: 07/26/2002
• Published: 01/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola Mobility LLC (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Stengel, Robert, Klomsdorf, Armin, Alberth, William Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 8,340,215 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0003 Software-defined radio [SDR] systems, i.e. systems wherein components typically implemented in hardware, e.g. filters or modulators/demodulators, are implented using software, e.g. by involving an AD or DA conversion stage such that at least part of the signal processing is performed in the digital domain digital baseband systems H04L25/00; digital modulation/demodulation H04L27/00; CDMA H04B1/707; TDMA H04B7/2643; image transmission H04N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/001 Channel filtering, i.e. selecting a frequency channel within the SDR system multiplexing of multicarrier modulation signals being represented by different frequencies H04L5/06; multiplexing of multicarrier modulation signals H04L5/023
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/406 with more than one transmission mode, e.g. analog and digital modes

Abstract

A radio communications device 100 including a processor 120 having a digital signal processor (DSP) coupled to a transceiver 110. The transceiver includes a digital-to-phase synthesizer having one or more independently variable frequency or phase signal outputs coupled to a transmitter and/or to a receiver. The variable frequency and phase outputs of the digital-to phase synthesizer are mixed with corresponding received signals and are capable of frequency or phase modulating information signals for transmission. Amplitude modulated signals may be provided through polar modulation by combining synthesizer outputs at a summer.

Claims

1. A method in a radio transmitter, comprising:

receiving a first signal;

down-converting the first signal received by mixing it with a first digital-to-phase synthesizer output signal;

receiving a second signal while receiving the first signal;

down-converting the second signal received by mixing it with a second digital-to-phase synthesizer output signal while down-converting the first signal received.

2. The method of claim 1,

generating the first digital-to-phase synthesizer output signal by multiplexing a first plurality of signals tapped along a delay line,

generating the second digital-to-phase synthesizer output signal by multiplexing a second plurality of signals tapped along a delay line.

3. The method of claim 1,

receiving the first signal at a first antenna, receiving the second signal at a second antenna,

the first and second digital-to-phase synthesizer output signals having the same frequency and the same phase.

4. The method of claim 1,

receiving the first signal at a first antenna, receiving the second signal at a second antenna;

the first and second digital-to-phase synthesizer output signals having the same frequency,

realizing an adaptive array by changing the phases of at least one of the first and second digital-to-phase synthesizer output signals.

5. The method of claim 1,

the first and second signals having different frequencies

the first and second digital-to-phase synthesizer output signals having different frequencies.

6. The method of claim 1,

the first signal is the same as the second signal;

receiving the first signal at a first antenna, receiving the second signal at a second antenna,

the first and second digital-to-phase synthesizer output signals having the same frequency.

7. The method of claim 1,

the first signal has a different frequency than the second signal,

scanning a neighbor list by receiving the second signal while receiving the first signal,

the first and second digital-to-phase synthesizer output signals having different frequencies.

8. The method claim 1, mixing the first signal with quadrature components of the first digital-to-phase synthesizer output signal.

9. The method of claim 1, down-converting the first and second signals received by mixing the first and second signals with corresponding first and second fixed frequency digital-to-phase synthesizer output signals.

10. A radio transceiver, comprising:

a digital-to-phase synthesizer having a reference frequency input and a plurality of digital-to-phase synthesizer signal outputs,

an antenna;

a first mixer having a first input coupled to the antenna, a first one of the plurality of digital-to-phase synthesizer signal outputs coupled to the first mixer;

a second mixer having a second input coupled to the antenna, a second one of the plurality of digital-to-phase synthesizer signal outputs coupled to the second mixer;

a demodulator, an output of the first mixer coupled to a first input of the demodulator, an output of the second mixer coupled to a second input of the demodulator.

11. The radio transceiver of claim 10, the digital-to-phase synthesizer comprising:

an integrated phase-locked loop (PLL) voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) having the reference frequency input and an integrated PLL VCO signal output,

a delay line having a delay line input coupled to the integrated PLL VCO signal output;

a phase detector having an input coupled to an output of the delay line, an output of the phase detector coupled to an input of the delay line;

a first multiplexor having a plurality of inputs coupled to signal taps along the delay line, the first multiplexor having the first one of the plurality of digital-to-phase synthesizer signal outputs coupled to the input of the first mixer;

a second multiplexor having a plurality of inputs coupled to signal taps along the delay line, the second multiplexor having the second one of the plurality of digital-to-phase synthesizer signal outputs coupled to the input of the second mixer.

12. The radio transceiver of claim 11, the digital-to-phase synthesizer comprising a digital-to-phase processor and a tap selector for controlling inputs of the first and second multiplexors.

13. The radio transceiver of claim 10, the first and second of the plurality of digital-to-phase synthesizer signal outputs having the same frequency.

14. The radio transceiver of claim 10, the first and second of the plurality of digital-to-phase synthesizer signal outputs having the same phase.

15. The radio transceiver of claim 10, the first and second of the plurality of digital-to-phase synthesizer signal outputs having a different phase.

16. The radio transceiver of claim 10, one of the first and second of the plurality of digital-to-phase synthesizer signal outputs include quadrature components.

17. The radio transceiver of claim 10, the demodulator includes a global positioning system (GPS) baseband processing portion, the demodulator includes a cellular communications baseband processing portion.

18. The radio transceiver of claim 10, the demodulator includes a wireless wide area network (WAN) baseband processing portion, the demodulator includes a cellular communications baseband processing portion.

19. A method in a radio transmitter, comprising:

providing a first modulated signal by modulating a first signal with a digital-to-phase synthesizer;

transmitting the first modulated signal.

20. The method of claim 19, frequency modulating the first signal with a digital-to-phase synthesizer by selectively tapping signals along a delay line of the digital-to-phase synthesizer.

21. The method of claim 19, phase modulating the first signal with a digital-to-phase synthesizer by selectively tapping signals along a delay line of the digital-to-phase synthesizer.

22. The method of claim 19,

providing a second modulated signal by frequency modulating a second signal with a digital-to-phase synthesizer;

transmitting the second modulated signal.

23. The method of claim 22,

providing an amplitude modulated signal by summing the first and second phase modulated signals;

transmitting the amplitude modulated signal.

24. The method of claim 22,

realizing an adaptive array transmitter by changing the phase of at least one of the first and second frequency modulated signals.

25. The method of claim 22, transmitting the first and second modulated signals from a two terminal differential antenna.

26. A radio transceiver comprising

a digital-to-phase synthesizer having a reference frequency input, the digital-to-phase synthesizer having a first frequency modulated signal output;

an antenna,

the first modulated signal output of the digital-to-phase synthesizer coupled to the antenna.

27. The radio transceiver of claim 26, the digital-to-phase synthesizer comprising:

an integrated phase-locked loop (PLL) voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) having the reference frequency input and an integrated PLL VCO signal output,

a delay line comprising having a delay line input coupled to the integrated PLL VCO signal output;

a phase detector having an input coupled to an output of the delay line, an output of the phase detector coupled to an input of the delay line;

a first multiplexor having a plurality of inputs coupled to the delay line, the first multiplexor having the first one of the plurality of digital-to-phase synthesizer signal outputs coupled to the input of the first mixer;

a second multiplexor having a plurality of inputs coupled to the delay line, the second multiplexor having the second one of the plurality of digital-to-phase synthesizer signal outputs coupled to the input of the second mixer.

28. The radio transceiver of claim 26, the digital-to-phase synthesizer having a second modulated signal output coupled to the antenna, frequency modulating the first and second modulated outputs if the digital-to-phase synthseizer.

29. The radio transceiver of claim 28, the antenna is a two terminal differential antenna

30. The radio transceiver of claim 26,

the digital-to-phase synthesizer having a second frequency modulated signal output;

a summer having inputs, the summer having an output coupled to the antenna,

the first frequency modulated signal output of the digital-to-phase converter coupled to a first input of the summer, the second frequency modulated signal output of the digital-to-phase converter coupled to a second input of the summer.

31. A method in a radio transceiver, comprising:

receiving a signal;

down-converting the signal received by mixing it with a digital-to-phase synthesizer output signal;

demodulating the down-converted signal.

32. The method of claim 31, down-converting the signal received by mixing it with a first and second digital-to-phase synthesizer output signals having the same frequency and phase.

33. The method of claim 31,

receiving the signal at first and second separate antennas;

mixing the signal with the first and second digital-to-phase synthesizer output signals having the same frequency,

realizing an adaptive array by changing the phases of at least one of the first and second digital-to-phase synthesizer output signals.

34. The method of claim 31, generating the output signal of the digital-to-phase synthesizer by selecting taps along a delay line of the digital-to-phase synthesizer.

35. The method of claim 31, receiving the signal by receiving first and second signals at a two terminal differential antenna, down-converting the first and second signals received by mixing the first and second signals with corresponding first and second digital-to-phase synthesizer output signals, demodulating the down-converted signals.