POLARIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR SUPPRESSION OF HARMONIC COUPLING AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND METHODS

• US 20170176572A1
• Filed: 12/16/2016
• Published: 06/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Humatics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Humatics Corporation
• Inventors: Mindell, David A., Charvat, Gregory L.
• Granted Patent: US 11,050,133 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/02 using radio waves G01S19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/878 Combination of several spaced transmitters or receivers of known location for determining the position of a transponder or a reflector G01S13/874 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0215 Interference
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0284 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2223/6677 for antenna, e.g. antenna included within housing of semiconductor device
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16227 the bump connector connecting to a bond pad of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2216 used in interrogator/reader equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2283 mounted in or on the surface of a semiconductor substrate as a chip-type antenna or integrated with other components into an IC package
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/24 with receiving set
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/247 with frequency mixer, e.g. for direct satellite reception or Doppler radar
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/38 formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support patch antennas H01Q9/0407; microstrip dipole antennas H01Q9/065; microstrip slot antennas H01Q13/106; transmission line microstrip antennas H01Q13/206; manufacturing reflecting surfaces using insulating material for supporting the reflecting surface H01Q15/142
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/521 reducing the coupling between adjacent antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/525 between emitting and receiving antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/36 with variable phase-shifters
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/10 Resonant antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0428 radiating a circular polarised wave
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0492 circularly polarised
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/26 with folded element or elements, the folded parts being spaced apart a small fraction of operating wavelength resonant loop antennas H01Q7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/27 Spiral antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 : for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 : using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/001 : Synchronization between nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 : locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 : with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination

Abstract

A system comprising: an interrogator device, comprising: a first transmit antenna configured to transmit radio-frequency (RF) signals circularly polarized in a first rotational direction; and a first receive antenna configured to receive RF signals circularly polarized in a second rotational direction different from the first rotational direction; and a target device, comprising: a second receive antenna configured to receive RF signals circularly polarized in the first rotational direction and a second transmit antenna configured to transmit, to the interrogator device, RF signals circularly polarized in the second rotational direction.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

an interrogator device, comprising;

a first transmit antenna configured to transmit radio-frequency (RF) signals circularly polarized in a first rotational direction; and

a first receive antenna configured to receive RF signals circularly polarized in a second rotational direction different from the first rotational direction; and

a target device, comprising;

a second receive antenna configured to receive RF signals circularly polarized in the first rotational direction and

a second transmit antenna configured to transmit, to the interrogator device, RF signals circularly polarized in the second rotational direction.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein, in response to receiving a first RF signal using the second receive antenna, the first RF signal being circularly polarized in the first rotational direction, the target device is configured to transmit a second RF signal circularly polarized in the second rotational direction using the second transmit antenna.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the target device is configured to generate the second RF signal using the first RF signal.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the interrogator device comprises a substrate and the first transmit antenna comprises a circularly polarized printed antenna that is printed on the substrate.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the circularly polarized printed antenna comprises a patch antenna.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the circularly polarized printed antenna comprises a planar spiral antenna.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the circularly polarized printed antenna comprises a first linearly polarized antenna and a second linearly polarized antenna disposed orthogonally to the first linearly polarized antenna.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first transmit antenna is a directional antenna.

9. The system of claim 4, wherein the first receive antenna comprises a second circularly polarized printed antenna that is printed on the substrate.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the second transmit antenna comprises a folded dipole.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the second transmit antenna is an isotropic antenna.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the first transmit antenna has a higher power aperture than the second transmit antenna.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the first transmit antenna is configured to transmit RF signals circularly polarized in a clockwise direction and the first receive antenna is configured to receive RF signals circularly polarized in a counter-clockwise direction.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the first transmit antenna is configured to transmit microwave RF signals.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the first transmit antenna is configured to transmit millimeter wave RF signals.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the first transmit antenna is configured to transmit RF signals having a center frequency off Gigahertz (GHz), and wherein the first receive antenna is configured to receive at least RF signals having a center frequency of that is a harmonic frequency off.

17. A method, comprising:

transmitting, using a first transmit antenna, a first radio-frequency (RF) signal circularly polarized in a first rotational direction;

receiving, using a second receive antenna, a second RF signal circularly polarized in the first rotational direction, the second RF signal resulting from propagation of the first RF signal;

transmitting, using a second transmit antenna, a third RF signal circularly polarized in a second rotational direction different from the first rotational direction, the third signal generated using the second RF signal; and

receiving, using a first receive antenna, a fourth RF signal circularly polarized in the second rotational direction, the fourth signal resulting from propagation of the third RF signal.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein transmitting the first RF signal comprises transmitting a microwave RF signal circularly polarized in the first rotational direction.

19. A device, comprising:

a first transmit antenna configured to transmit, to a target device, a first radio-frequency (RF) signal circularly polarized in a first rotational direction;

a first receive antenna configured to receive, from the target device, a second RF signal circularly polarized in a second rotational direction different from the first rotational direction; and

circuitry configured to determine a distance between the device and the target device using the first RF signal and the second RF signal.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein the device comprises a semiconductor die and at least some of the circuitry is integrated with the semiconductor die.