DEVICE, SYSTEM AND METHOD OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATION OVER A PLURALITY OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATION FREQUENCY CHANNELS

• US 20120163492A1
• Filed: 12/23/2010
• Published: 06/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Banin, Rotem, Degani, Ofir
• Granted Patent: US 9,154,078 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/295
• CPC Class Codes: H03C 1/60 with one sideband wholly or partially suppressed

Abstract

Some demonstrative embodiments include devices, systems and/or methods of wireless communication over a plurality of wireless communication frequency channels. For example, a wireless communication device may include a frequency source to generate a source frequency signal; a plurality of local-oscillator (LO) generators to generate a respective plurality of different carrier signal frequencies based on the source frequency signal; and a plurality of radio-frequency (RF) paths to simultaneously communicate over the plurality of carrier signal frequencies, respectively.

Claims

1. A wireless communication device comprising:

a frequency source to generate a source frequency signal;

a plurality of local-oscillator (LO) generators to generate a respective plurality of different carrier signal frequencies based on said source frequency signal; and

a plurality of radio-frequency (RF) paths to simultaneously communicate over said plurality of carrier signal frequencies, respectively.

2. The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of carrier signal frequencies include a plurality of configurable carrier signal frequencies, and wherein said plurality of LO generators includes a plurality of configurable LO generators to generate said plurality of configurable carrier signal frequencies, respectively.

3. The wireless communication device of claim 2, wherein the configurable LO generators are to generate the configurable carrier signal frequencies by applying a plurality of configurable conversion ratios to the source frequency signal.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein a configurable LO generator of said configurable LO generators comprises:

first and second frequency mixers;

a first programmable divider to generate a first divider output by dividing a first mixer output of the first mixer by a first configurable input value; and

a second programmable divider to generate a second divider output by dividing a second mixer output of the second mixer by a second configurable input value,

wherein the first frequency mixer is to generate the first mixer output based on the second divider output, and the second frequency mixer is to generate the second mixer output based on the first divider output.

5. The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of carrier signal frequencies include at least first and second non-contiguous frequencies of a common non-contiguous communication channel.

6. The wireless communication device of claim 5, wherein the non-contiguous communication channel includes a non-contiguous communication channel within a five Gigahertz frequency band.

7. The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of RF paths includes at least a receive path and a transmit path.

8. The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of carrier signal frequencies include frequencies within at least first and second different wireless communication frequency bands.

9. The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein said frequency source comprises a single phase-locked-loop to generate the source frequency signal.

10. A wireless communication system comprising:

a wireless communication device comprising;

one or more antennas;

a wireless communication unit to simultaneously communicate over a plurality of different configurable carrier signal frequencies,

wherein the plurality of carrier signal frequencies are configured based on a common source frequency signal by applying a plurality of configurable conversion ratios to the common source frequency signal.

11. The wireless communication system of claim 10, wherein said wireless communication device comprises a plurality of configurable LO generators to generate said plurality of configurable carrier signal frequencies, respectively, based on the common source frequency signal.

12. The wireless communication system of claim 11, wherein the configurable LO generators are to generate the configurable carrier signal frequencies by applying a plurality of configurable conversion ratios to the source frequency signal.

13. The wireless communication system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of carrier signal frequencies include at least first and second non-contiguous frequencies of a common non-contiguous communication channel.

14. The wireless communication system of claim 10, wherein the wireless communication unit is to transmit a first transmission over a first carrier signal frequency of the plurality of first carrier signals, and to receive a second transmission over a first carrier signal frequency of the plurality of first carrier signals.

15. The wireless communication system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of carrier signal frequencies include frequencies within at least first and second different wireless communication frequency bands.

16. The wireless communication system of claim 10, wherein said wireless communication unit comprises a single frequency source to generate the common source frequency signal.

17. A device comprising:

a frequency source to generate a common source frequency signal;

a plurality of configurable local-oscillator (LO) generators to generate a respective plurality of different configurable frequencies based on said common source frequency signal.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein a configurable LO generator of the plurality of configurable LO generators is to receive a plurality of input values and to convert the source frequency signal into a frequency of the plurality of frequencies by applying to the source frequency signal a conversion ratio, which is based on a combination of the plurality of input values.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the frequency source comprises a single Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) controlled by a single Phase-locked-loop (PLL).

20. A method of wireless communication, the method comprising:

generating a source frequency signal;

converting said source frequency signal into a plurality of different configurable carrier signal frequencies by applying to the source frequency signal a plurality of respective conversion ratios; and

simultaneously communicating over said plurality of carrier signal frequencies.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the plurality of carrier signal frequencies include at least first and second non-contiguous frequencies of a common non-contiguous communication channel.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein communicating over said plurality of carrier signal frequencies comprises transmitting a first transmission over a first carrier signal frequency of the plurality of first carrier signals, and receiving a second transmission over a first carrier signal frequency of the plurality of first carrier signals.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the plurality of carrier signal frequencies include frequencies within at least first and second different wireless communication frequency bands.

24. A computer-readable storage medium containing instructions that, if executed, enable wireless communication by:

generating a source frequency signal;

converting said source frequency signal into a plurality of different configurable

carrier signal frequencies by applying to the source frequency signal a plurality of respective conversion ratios; and

simultaneously communicating over said plurality of carrier signal frequencies.

25. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein the plurality of carrier signal frequencies include

at least first and second non-contiguous frequencies of a common non-contiguous communication channel.

26. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein communicating over said plurality of carrier signal frequencies comprises:

transmitting a first transmission over a first carrier signal frequency of the plurality of first carrier signals, and

receiving a second transmission over a first carrier signal frequency of the plurality of first carrier signals.

27. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein the plurality of carrier signal frequencies include

frequencies within at least first and second different wireless communication frequency bands.

28. A wireless communication device comprising:

a frequency source to generate a source frequency signal;

a plurality of configurable local-oscillator (LO) generators to generate a respective plurality of configurable carrier signal frequencies based on said source frequency signal, wherein the plurality of carrier signal frequencies include at least first and second non-contiguous channels of a non-contiguous communication channel within a five Gigahertz frequency band, each of the at least first and second non-contiguous channels having a bandwidth of 80 MHz; and

a plurality of radio-frequency (RF) paths to simultaneously communicate over said plurality of configurable carrier signal frequencies, respectively.

29. The wireless communication device of claim 28, wherein the configurable LO generators are to generate the configurable carrier signal frequencies by applying a plurality of configurable conversion ratios to the source frequency signal.

30. The device of claim 29, wherein a configurable LO generator of said configurable LO generators comprises:

first and second frequency mixers;

a first programmable divider to generate a first divider output by dividing a first mixer output of the first mixer by a first configurable input value; and

a second programmable divider to generate a second divider output by dividing a second mixer output of the second mixer by a second configurable input value,

wherein the first frequency mixer is to generate the first mixer output based on the second divider output, and the second frequency mixer is to generate the second mixer output based on the first divider output.