METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SENSING ENVIRONMENT AND OPTIMIZING POWER EFFICIENCY USING AN ANTENNA
First Claim
1. A method for sensing an environment of an wireless element, the method comprising:
- generating a test signal for transmission into the environment of the wireless element, the test signal generated outside of a data signal operating frequency of the wireless element;
receiving feedback from the antenna corresponding to the test signal, the feedback dependent on the environment of the wireless element;
providing a feedback signal for measurement based on the feedback received from the wireless element; and
measuring the feedback signal to sense one or more properties of the environment impact on the wireless element.
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Abstract
Embodiments relate to a sensing device configured to sense the environment of an antenna in a wireless communications or wireless power transfer device without impacting data signal or transferred power integrity. By incorporating a sensing device in the wireless device that operates outside the data signal operating and operational power transfer frequency(s) of the antenna, send/receive data signal integrity may be retained while sensing the environment of the antenna. The sensing device may further use properties of the sensed environment to adjust the configuration of a tunable antenna to decrease signal degradation due to the environment and increase battery life or power transfer efficiency of the wireless device.
15 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for sensing an environment of an wireless element, the method comprising:
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generating a test signal for transmission into the environment of the wireless element, the test signal generated outside of a data signal operating frequency of the wireless element; receiving feedback from the antenna corresponding to the test signal, the feedback dependent on the environment of the wireless element; providing a feedback signal for measurement based on the feedback received from the wireless element; and measuring the feedback signal to sense one or more properties of the environment impact on the wireless element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A device for sensing an environment of an antenna, the device comprising:
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a signal generator configured to generate a test signal outside of a data signal operating frequency of the antenna, the test signal for transmission into the environment of the antenna; a feedback detector configured to perform one or more measurements on a feedback signal corresponding to the test signal to sense properties of the environment impact on the antenna; a coupler configured to isolate and pass signals between the signal generator, the feedback detector, and the antenna, where the coupler receives the test signal from the signal generator to pass the test signal to the antenna and receives feedback from the antenna to pass the feedback signal to the feedback detector; and an antenna controller configure to generate an output signal to the device, wherein the output signal is based upon the correlation of the test signal to a signature mapping table.
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11. A wireless communication device comprising:
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an antenna having at least one data signal operating frequency; a microprocessor; and a feedback sensor comprising a signal generator, a feedback detector, and a coupler. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 19)
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15. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a memory having a signature mapping database.
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16. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the signature mapping database comprises a table of measured outputs mapped to correlate to one or more distinctive locations on the wireless communication device.
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17. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein a user can touch one or more of the distinctive locations on the wireless communications device, wherein the microprocessor initiates to a function of the mobile device based on the output generated by the antenna controller.
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18. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the wireless communications device includes a display, wherein the additional feature includes adjusting screen brightness of the wireless communications device display.
Specification