INCIDENT AND REFLECTED SIGNAL PHASE DIFFERENCE DETECTION
First Claim
1. An apparatus for detecting a relative phase difference between an incident signal and a reflected signal, the apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of phase shifters adapted to apply first phase shifts to a representation of the incident signal and to a representation of the reflected signal in order to produce a plurality of first phase shifted signals, and to apply second phase shifts to the representation of the incident signal and to the representation of the reflected signal in order to produce a plurality of second phase shifted signals;
a plurality of combiners, operatively coupled to the plurality of phase shifters, and adapted to combine different pairs of the plurality of first phase shifted signals in order to produce a plurality of first combined signals, and to combine different pairs of the plurality of second phase shifted signals in order to produce a plurality of second combined signals; and
additional circuitry, operatively coupled to the plurality of combiners, and adapted to detect amplitudes of the plurality of first combined signals in order to produce a plurality of first amplitude signals, to detect amplitudes of the plurality of second combined signals in order to produce a plurality of second amplitude signals, and to compare the plurality of first and second amplitude signals in order to produce a digital signal that indicates a region of a reference circle within which the relative phase difference occurs.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments include methods and apparatus for detecting a phase angle between an incident signal and a reflected signal. The apparatus comprises a plurality of phase shifters and additional circuitry. The plurality of phase shifters is adapted to apply first phase shifts to a representation of the incident signal and to apply second phase shifts to a representation of the reflected signal. The additional circuitry, which is operatively coupled to the plurality of phase shifters, is adapted to produce a first indication of a location of a relative phase difference between the incident signal and the reflected signal within a first region of a first reference circle, and to produce a second indication of the location of the relative phase difference within a second region of a second reference circle, wherein the second reference circle is rotated with respect to the first reference circle.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for detecting a relative phase difference between an incident signal and a reflected signal, the apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of phase shifters adapted to apply first phase shifts to a representation of the incident signal and to a representation of the reflected signal in order to produce a plurality of first phase shifted signals, and to apply second phase shifts to the representation of the incident signal and to the representation of the reflected signal in order to produce a plurality of second phase shifted signals; a plurality of combiners, operatively coupled to the plurality of phase shifters, and adapted to combine different pairs of the plurality of first phase shifted signals in order to produce a plurality of first combined signals, and to combine different pairs of the plurality of second phase shifted signals in order to produce a plurality of second combined signals; and additional circuitry, operatively coupled to the plurality of combiners, and adapted to detect amplitudes of the plurality of first combined signals in order to produce a plurality of first amplitude signals, to detect amplitudes of the plurality of second combined signals in order to produce a plurality of second amplitude signals, and to compare the plurality of first and second amplitude signals in order to produce a digital signal that indicates a region of a reference circle within which the relative phase difference occurs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for detecting a phase angle between an incident signal and a reflected signal, wherein the apparatus comprises:
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a plurality of phase shifters adapted to apply first phase shifts to a representation of the incident signal and to apply second phase shifts to a representation of the reflected signal; and additional circuitry, operatively coupled to the plurality of phase shifters, and adapted to produce a first indication of a location of a relative phase difference between the incident signal and the reflected signal within a first region of a first reference circle, and to produce a second indication of the location of the relative phase difference within a second region of a second reference circle, wherein the second reference circle is rotated with respect to the first reference circle. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for detecting a relative phase difference between an incident signal and a reflected signal, the method comprising the steps of:
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applying first phase shifts to a representation of the incident signal and to a representation of the reflected signal in order to produce a plurality of first phase shifted signals; applying second phase shifts to the representation of the incident signal and to the representation of the reflected signal in order to produce a plurality of second phase shifted signals; combining different pairs of the plurality of first phase shifted signals in order to produce a plurality of first combined signals; combining different pairs of the plurality of second phase shifted signals in order to produce a plurality of second combined signals; detecting amplitudes of the plurality of first combined signals in order to produce a plurality of first amplitude signals; detecting amplitudes of the plurality of second combined signals in order to produce a plurality of second amplitude signals; and comparing the plurality of first and second amplitude signals in order to produce a digital signal that indicates a region of a reference circle within which the relative phase difference occurs. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification