EXTENDING BEAMFORMING CAPABILITY OF A COUPLED VOLTAGE CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR (VCO) ARRAY DURING LOCAL OSCILLATOR (LO) SIGNAL GENERATION THROUGH FREQUENCY MULTIPLICATION
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- separating phase of Local Oscillator (LO) signals generated by individual Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCOs) of a coupled VCO array through varying voltage levels of voltage control inputs thereto;
frequency multiplying an output of each individual VCO of the coupled VCO array to increase a range of phase differences between the phase separated LO signals generated by the individual VCOs; and
mixing the frequency multiplied outputs of the individual VCOs with signals from antenna elements of an antenna array to introduce differential phase shifts in signal paths coupled to the antenna elements during performing beamforming with the antenna array.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method includes separating phase of Local Oscillator (LO) signals generated by individual Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCOs) of a coupled VCO array through varying voltage levels of voltage control inputs thereto. The method also includes frequency multiplying an output of each individual VCO of the coupled VCO array to increase a range of phase differences between the phase separated LO signals generated by the individual VCOs. Further, the method includes mixing the frequency multiplied outputs of the individual VCOs with signals from antenna elements of an antenna array to introduce differential phase shifts in signal paths coupled to the antenna elements during performing beamforming with the antenna array.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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separating phase of Local Oscillator (LO) signals generated by individual Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCOs) of a coupled VCO array through varying voltage levels of voltage control inputs thereto; frequency multiplying an output of each individual VCO of the coupled VCO array to increase a range of phase differences between the phase separated LO signals generated by the individual VCOs; and mixing the frequency multiplied outputs of the individual VCOs with signals from antenna elements of an antenna array to introduce differential phase shifts in signal paths coupled to the antenna elements during performing beamforming with the antenna array. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A beamforming system comprising:
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a coupled VCO array comprising a plurality of individual VCOs configured to have phase of LO signals generated therethrough separated by varying voltage levels of voltage control inputs thereto; a plurality of frequency multiplier circuits, each of which is configured to frequency multiply an output of each individual VCO of the coupled VCO array to increase a range of phase differences between the phase separated LO signals generated by the individual VCOs; an antenna array comprising a plurality of antenna elements; and a plurality of mixers, each of which is configured to mix the frequency multiplied output of the each individual VCO with a signal from an antenna element of the antenna array to introduce differential phase shifts in signal paths coupled to the antenna elements during performing beamforming with the antenna array. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A wireless communication system comprising:
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a beamforming system comprising; a coupled VCO array comprising a plurality of individual VCOs configured to have phase of LO signals generated therethrough separated by varying voltage levels of voltage control inputs thereto; a plurality of frequency multiplier circuits, each of which is configured to frequency multiply an output of each individual VCO of the coupled VCO array to increase a range of phase differences between the phase separated LO signals generated by the individual VCOs; an antenna array comprising a plurality of antenna elements; and a plurality of mixers, each of which is configured to mix the frequency multiplied output of the each individual VCO with a signal from an antenna element of the antenna array to introduce differential phase shifts in signal paths coupled to the antenna elements during performing beamforming with the antenna array; and a receiver channel configured to receive a combined output of the plurality of mixers. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification