Frequency-Independent Receiver and Beamforming Technique
First Claim
1. A radio receiver comprising:
- a plurality of antenna elements, the plurality of antenna elements comprising a first antenna element, a second antenna element, and a third antenna element;
a plurality of mixers coupled to the plurality of antenna elements; and
a combiner coupled to the plurality of antenna elements, wherein the plurality of antenna elements, the plurality of mixers, and the combiner are arranged such that a signal incident on the first antenna element would be mixed with itself via a first mixer of the plurality of mixers, wherein an output of the first mixer is mixed with a signal incident on the second antenna element via a second mixer of the plurality of mixers, wherein an output of the second mixer is combined via the combiner with a signal incident on the third antenna element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Example systems and methods described herein relate to radio communication architectures and techniques for beamforming and down-conversion without a priori knowledge of the source location or frequency. An example radio receiver includes a plurality of antenna elements that include a first element, a second element, and a third element. The radio receiver also includes a plurality of mixers coupled to the plurality of antenna elements and a combiner coupled to the plurality of antenna elements. A signal incident on the first element is mixed with itself via a first mixer of the plurality of mixers. An output of the first mixer is mixed with a signal incident on the second element via a second mixer of the plurality of mixers, and an output of the second mixer is combined via the combiner with a signal incident on the third element.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A radio receiver comprising:
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a plurality of antenna elements, the plurality of antenna elements comprising a first antenna element, a second antenna element, and a third antenna element; a plurality of mixers coupled to the plurality of antenna elements; and a combiner coupled to the plurality of antenna elements, wherein the plurality of antenna elements, the plurality of mixers, and the combiner are arranged such that a signal incident on the first antenna element would be mixed with itself via a first mixer of the plurality of mixers, wherein an output of the first mixer is mixed with a signal incident on the second antenna element via a second mixer of the plurality of mixers, wherein an output of the second mixer is combined via the combiner with a signal incident on the third antenna element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A radio receiver comprising:
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an input; a first output; and a plurality of mixers arranged such that a received signal at the input of the radio receiver would be mixed with a second signal having a particular frequency, wherein an output of the plurality of mixers is further mixed with the received signal and projected at the first output of the radio receiver. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A demodulation method comprising:
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receiving, at a radio receiver, an input signal; mixing, at a mixer, the input signal with itself, thereby obtaining a squared input signal; converting the squared input signal to a digital input signal, the digital input signal comprising a series of bits; suppressing alternate bits of the digital input signal beginning with a second bit of the series of bits of the digital input signal, thereby obtaining a differential digital input signal; and translating, with a translation circuit, the differential digital input signal to the input signal by detecting transitions in the series of bits of the differential digital input signal and outputting a translated signal that corresponds to the detected transitions, the translated signal being substantially similar to the input signal. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. An antenna array comprising:
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a plurality of antenna elements arranged in a matrix, the matrix having a number of columns and a number of rows, wherein each antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements exists at a position within the matrix at an intersection of a column and a row and wherein each antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements comprises a mixer configured to produce a phased superposition mix of a first signal and a second signal; a first set of phase shifters, each phase shifter of the first set of phase shifters being configured to apply a respective phase shift to an input signal; and a second set of phase shifters, each phase shifter of the second set of phase shifters being configured to apply a respective phase shift to an input signal, wherein the first set of phase shifters are arranged such that the first signal is applied with a same phase shift to each mixer of each antenna element in a respective row of the matrix, and wherein the second set of phase shifters are arranged such that the second signal is applied with a same phase shift to each mixer of each antenna element in a respective row of the matrix. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method comprising:
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applying a first signal to each antenna element of a plurality of antenna elements, the plurality of antenna elements being arranged in a matrix, the matrix having a number of columns and a number of rows, wherein each antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements exists at a position within the matrix at an intersection of a column and a row; and applying a second signal to each antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements; shifting a phase of the first signal such that for each application of the first signal to mixers positioned in a given column of the matrix, the first signal is applied with a same phase shift; shifting a phase of the second signal such that for each application of the second signal to mixers positioned in a respective row of the matrix, the second signal is applied with a same phase shift; and at each respective antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements, mixing the phase-shifted first signal applied to the respective antenna element with the phase-shifted second signal applied to the respective antenna element. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification