Integrated Signal Receiver

• US 20100311334A1
• Filed: 01/02/2009
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm technologies international, ltd. (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cambridge Silicon Radio Limited (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Collier, James Digby Yarlet
• Application Number:
  US12/865,117
• Publication Number:
  US 20100311334A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/35 Constructional details or hardware or software details of the signal processing chain
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3805 with built-in auxiliary receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/406 with more than one transmission mode, e.g. analog and digital modes

Abstract

A signal receiver having: an input for receiving radio signals; a clock; a receiving section for processing signals received at the input, the receiving section being configured to operate in: (a) a first mode for processing the received signals in accordance with a first protocol and in dependence on the state of the clock, and (b) a second mode for processing the received signal in accordance with a second protocol by steps including storing a sample of data received in accordance with the second protocol together with a representation of the state of the clock when that data was received, and subsequently comparing a timing indicated by the content of the stored sample of data with the timing indicated by the stored state of the clock.

Claims

1. A signal receiver having:

an input for receiving radio signals;

a clock;

a receiving section for processing signals received at the input, the receiving section being configured to operate in;

(a) a first mode for processing the received signals in accordance with a first protocol and in dependence on the state of the clock, and (b) a second mode for processing the received signal in accordance with a second protocol by steps including storing a sample of data received in accordance with the second protocol together with a representation of the state of the clock when that data was received, and subsequently comparing a timing indicated by the content of the stored sample of data with the timing indicated by the stored state of the clock.

2. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receiver is configured to operate in the first mode by attributing received signals to different transmitting stations in dependence on the state of the clock when the signals were received.

3. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a transmitter for transmitting signals in accordance with the first protocol, the receiver being configured to transmit signals at times dependent on the state of the clock.

4. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clock has an output of a first frequency and the operations in accordance with the first protocol are dependent on a signal of a second frequency derived by frequency division of the said output.

5. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first protocol is a protocol whose channels are in the ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) band.

6. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first protocol is Bluetooth.

7. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first clock has a frequency greater than 100 MHz.

8. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said step of comparing a timing includes correlating the sample of data with one or more simulated samples of data generated in dependence on the state of the clock as stored together with the stored sample of data and determining an offset between the timing represented by the state of the stored signals as received at the stored time and the state of the clock at that time.

9. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said step of correlating is performed by means of software.

10. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 8, comprising a location estimator configured to estimating the location of the receiver in dependence on the result of the said step of comparing.

11. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second protocol is a satellite location protocol.

12. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second protocol is GPS (Global Positioning System) or Galileo.

31. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 1, which is implemented on a single integrated circuit.

13. A signal receiver having:

an input for receiving radio signals;

a local oscillator for forming a local oscillator signal;

at least one mixing stage for mixing with the local oscillator signal a received signal from the input;

at least one filter for filtering the output of the mixing stage;

the receiver being capable of operating in a first mode for receiving signals in the ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) band and in a second mode for receiving signals of a satellite location protocol, and the frequency divider being configured to divide the output of the local oscillator by a first predetermined value when the receiver is operating in the first mode and to divide the output of the local oscillator by a second predetermined value different from the first value when the receiver is operating in the second mode.

14. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 13, wherein the second predetermined value is 3/2 times the first predetermined value.

15. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 14, wherein the first predetermined value is 4.

16. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 14, wherein the first predetermined value is 2.

17. A signal receiver as clamed in claim 13, wherein the frequency divider is configured to divide the output of the local oscillator by the first predetermined value whenever the receiver is operating in the first mode.

18. A signal receiver as clamed in claim 13, wherein the frequency divider is configured to divide the output of the local oscillator by the second predetermined value whenever the receiver is operating in the second mode.

19. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first protocol is Bluetooth.

20. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 13, wherein the second protocol is GPS (Global Positioning System) or Galileo.

21. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 13, wherein the oscillatory circuit comprises a voltage controlled oscillator.

22. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 13, comprising a filter for filtering the output of the mixer, and wherein the receiver is such that the passband of the filter remains the same irrespective of whether the receiver is operating in the first or second mode.

23. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 22, wherein the said signals in the ISM band are channelized signals and the passband of the filter is approximately equal to the width of the channels of those signals.

24. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 22 or 23, wherein the center of the passband of the filter is located at less than 10 MHz.

32. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 13, which is implemented on a single integrated circuit.

25. A signal receiver capable of operating in a first mode for receiving signals in the ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) band and in a second mode for receiving signals of a satellite location protocol, the receiver having a receive chain comprising:

an input for receiving radio signals;

a local oscillator for forming a local oscillator signal;

at least one mixing stage for mixing the local oscillator signal and a signal from the input;

at least one filter for filtering the output of the mixing stage;

at least one analogue-to-digital converter for converting the output of the filter to the digital domain; and

a decoder for decoding the output of the or each analogue-to-digital converter to extract traffic data therefrom, the decoder being capable of decoding signals in the ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) band when the receiver is operating in the first mode and decoding signals of the satellite location protocol when the receiver is operating in the second mode; and

the receiver being arranged such that the filter(s) and the analog-to-digital converter(s) are unchanged irrespective of whether the receiver is operating in the first or second mode.

26. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 25, comprising one or more further filters located between the input and the mixing stage for filtering a signal received by the input to form the said signal from the input.

27. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 25, wherein the receiver is arranged such that the further filter(s) is/are unchanged irrespective of whether the receiver is operating in the first or second mode.

28. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 25, comprising only a single mixing stage between the input and the analogue-to-digital converter.

29. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 25, wherein the said signals in the ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) band are Bluetooth signals.

30. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 25, wherein the said the satellite location protocol is GPS (Global Positioning System) or Galileo.

33. A signal receiver as claimed in claim 25, which is implemented on a single integrated circuit.