PASSIVE AUTOMATIC ANTENNA TUNING BASED ON RECEIVED-SIGNAL ANALYSIS

• US 20160028375A1
• Filed: 10/02/2015
• Published: 01/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Altair Semiconductor Ltd. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Feldman, Dima, Bitran, Yigal, Yagil, Ariel
• Granted Patent: US 9,843,307 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/3241 using predistortion circuits H03F1/3211, H03F1/3217 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 7/02 Automatic frequency control H03J7/18 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0458 Arrangements for matching and coupling between power amplifier and antenna or between amplifying stages matching circuits in general H03H
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/0425 with linearisation using predistortion
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method includes receiving a signal from a remote transmitter via an electrically-tunable antenna having a tunable element. An adjustment, to be applied to a response of the electrically-tunable antenna, is calculating by analyzing the received signal. The response of the electrically-tunable antenna is adapted by controlling the tunable element responsively to the estimated adjustment.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a signal from a remote transmitter via an electrically-tunable antenna having a tunable element;

calculating an adjustment to be applied to a response of the electrically-tunable antenna, by analyzing the received signal; and

adapting the response of the electrically-tunable antenna by controlling the tunable element responsively to the estimated adjustment.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein calculating the adjustment and adapting the response comprise carrying out an iterative tuning process that aims to maximize a level of the received signal.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the received signal comprises known signal components, and wherein calculating the adjustment comprises deriving the adjustment from measured received levels of the known signal components.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein calculating the adjustment comprises estimating a slope of the response as a function of frequency over a frequency range, and deriving the adjustment from the estimated slope.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein calculating the adjustment comprises estimating a change in a slope of the response as a function of frequency between at least first and second settings of the tunable element, and deriving the adjustment from the estimated change in the slope.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein calculating the adjustment comprises measuring respective levels of the received signal for at least first and second settings of the tunable element, and deriving the adjustment by comparing the received levels.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein measuring the levels comprises performing a first measurement of the first setting, and performing second measurements of the second setting before and after the first measurement, and wherein comparing the received levels comprises comparing the first measurement to a combination of the second measurements.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein calculating the adjustment comprises evaluating two or more different settings of the tunable element during a single symbol of the received signal.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the signal comprises receiving a sequence of communication time frames, and wherein adapting the response comprises controlling the tunable element at boundaries between the time frames.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the signal comprises operating a receiver that receives the signal in an intermittent reception mode, and comprising waking-up the receiver in order to calculate the adjustment in response to meeting a predefined wake-up criterion.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the received signal is transmitted from a first base station on a first frequency, and wherein calculating the adjustment comprises predicting a setting of the tunable element to be used when receiving a subsequent signal from a second base station on a second frequency.

12. The method according to claim 1, and comprising calculating, based on the adapted response, an antenna tuning setting to be used for signal transmission.

13. Apparatus, comprising:

an electrically-tunable antenna comprising a tunable element;

a receiver configured to receive a signal from a remote transmitter via the electrically-tunable antenna; and

control circuitry, which is configured to calculate an adjustment to be applied to a response of the electrically-tunable antenna by analyzing the received signal, and to adapt the response of the electrically-tunable antenna by controlling the tunable element responsively to the estimated adjustment.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the control circuitry is configured to calculate the adjustment and adapt the response in an iterative tuning process that aims to maximize a level of the received signal.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the received signal comprises known signal components, and wherein the control circuitry is configured to derive the adjustment from measured received levels of the known signal components.

16. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the control circuitry is configured to estimate a slope of the response as a function of frequency over a frequency range, and to derive the adjustment from the estimated slope.

17. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the control circuitry is configured to estimate a change in a slope of the response as a function of frequency between at least first and second settings of the tunable element, and to derive the adjustment from the estimated change in the slope.

18. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the control circuitry is configured to measure respective levels of the received signal for at least first and second settings of the tunable element, and to derive the adjustment by comparing the received levels.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the control circuitry is configured to measure the levels by performing a first measurement of the first setting, and performing second measurements of the second setting before and after the first measurement, and to compare the first measurement to a combination of the second measurements.

20. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the control circuitry is configured to calculate the adjustment by evaluating two or more different settings of the tunable element during a single symbol of the received signal.

21. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the receiver is configured to receive the signal in a sequence of communication time frames, and wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the tunable element at boundaries between the time frames.

22. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, when the receiver operates in an intermittent reception mode, the control circuitry is configured to wake-up the receiver in order to calculate the adjustment in response to meeting a predefined wake-up criterion.

23. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the receiver is configured to receive the signal from a first base station on a first frequency, and wherein the control circuitry is configured to predict a setting of the tunable element to be used when receiving a subsequent signal from a second base station on a second frequency.

24. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the control circuitry is configured to calculate, based on the adapted response, an antenna tuning setting to be used for signal transmission.