Electronic Device With Over-The-Air Wireless Self-Testing Capabilities

• US 20180219637A1
• Filed: 03/29/2018
• Published: 08/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Mow, Matthew A., Noori, Basim, Ouyang, Yuehui, Jiang, Yi, Pascolini, Mattia, Caballero, Ruben
• Granted Patent: US 10,454,596 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/14 of the whole transmission and reception path, e.g. self-test loop-back
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/19 Self-testing arrangements

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include antennas. The antennas may include phased antenna arrays for handling millimeter wave signals. Antennas may be located in antenna signal paths. The antenna signal paths may include adjustable components such as adjustable filters, adjustable gain amplifiers, and adjustable phase shifters. Circuitry may be incorporated into an electronic device to facilitate wireless self-testing operations. Wireless self-testing may involve use of one antenna to transmit an over-the-air antenna test signal that is received by another antenna. The circuitry that facilitates the wireless self-testing operations may include couplers, adjustable switches for temporarily shorting antenna signal paths together, mixers for mixing down radio-frequency signals to allow digitization with analog-to-digital converters, and other circuitry for supporting self-testing operations.

Claims

1. Apparatus, comprising:

a first antenna in a first signal path;

a second antenna in a second signal path;

wireless communications circuitry configured to convey radio-frequency signals at a frequency greater than 10 GHz using the first and second antennas;

a coupler interposed in the first signal path; and

control circuitry configured to gather impedance measurements using the coupler.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a switching circuit coupled between the first and second signal paths.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 2, further comprising:

an additional coupler interposed in the second signal path, wherein the switching circuit is coupled between the coupler and the additional coupler.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the impedance measurements comprise S-parameter measurements.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 1, further comprising:

an adjustable electrical component interposed in the first signal path, wherein the control circuitry is configured to generate calibration data for the adjustable electrical component based at least on antenna signals received using the second antenna.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a phased antenna array, wherein the phased antenna array comprises the first and second antennas.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a first phased antenna array that comprises the first antenna; and

a second phased antenna array that comprises the second antenna.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a touch screen display.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the wireless communications circuitry comprises:

baseband processor circuitry, and

transceiver circuitry interposed between the baseband processor circuitry and the first and second antennas.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the wireless communications circuitry is configured to transmit the radio-frequency signals using the first antenna and to receive the radio-frequency signals transmitted by the first antenna using the second antenna.

11. The apparatus defined in claim 10, further comprising:

a housing having first and second corners, wherein the first antenna is mounted the housing at the first corner and the second antenna is mounted in the housing at the second corner.

12. The apparatus defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a housing; and

a display having a display cover layer mounted to the housing, wherein the first and second antennas are configured to convey the radio-frequency signals through the display-cover layer.

14. The apparatus defined in claim 3, wherein the transceiver circuitry comprises:

a first transceiver in the first signal path and interposed between the baseband processor circuitry and the first antenna; and

a second transceiver in the second signal path and interposed between the baseband processor circuitry and the second antenna.

13. Apparatus, comprising:

a first antenna in a first signal path;

a second antenna in a second signal path;

wireless communications circuitry configured to convey radio-frequency signals at a frequency between 10 GHz and 400 GHz using the first and antennas; and

a switching circuit coupled between the first and second signal paths, wherein the wireless communications circuitry comprises;

baseband processor circuitry, and

transceiver circuitry interposed between the baseband processor circuitry and the first and second antennas.

15. The apparatus defined in claim 13, further comprising:

a coupler interposed in the first signal path.

16. The apparatus defined in claim 13, wherein the wireless communications circuitry is configured to transmit the radio-frequency signals using the first antenna and is configured to receive the radio-frequency signals transmitted by the first antenna using the second antenna.

17. The apparatus defined in claim 13, further comprising:

a housing; and

a display having a display cover layer mounted to the housing, wherein the first and second antennas are configured to convey the radio-frequency signals through the display cover layer.

18. An electronic device comprising:

a conductive housing;

a display having a display cover layer that is mounted to the conductive housing;

a first millimeter wave antenna mounted in conductive the housing; and

a second millimeter wave antenna mounted in the conductive housing, wherein the first and second millimeter wave antennas are configured to transmit antenna signals through the display cover layer.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 18, wherein the conductive housing has first and second corners, the first millimeter wave antenna is mounted in the conductive housing at the first corner, and the second millimeter wave antenna is mounted in the conductive housing at the second corner.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 19, further comprising:

a first millimeter wave phased antenna array that is mounted in the housing at the first corner and that includes the first millimeter wave antenna; and

a second millimeter wave phased antenna array that is mounted in he housing at the second corner and that includes the second millimeter wave antenna.