Dual mode power amplifier for analog and digital cellular telephones

• US 5,423,078 A
• Filed: 03/18/1993
• Issued: 06/06/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Dent, Paul W., Epperson, Darrell
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisenzopf, Reinhard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): VO, NGUYEN THANH
• Application Number:
  US08/033,323
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 455/127, 455/54.1, 455/89, 455/74, 455/93, 455/110, 455/33.1, 455/42, 455/102, 455/95, 455/126, 370/95.3, 370/77, 375/67, 375/71, 330/297, 330/129, 330/127, 363/59, 363/60, 307/110, 379/59
• US Class Current: 455/553.1
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/02 Modifications of amplifiers to raise the efficiency, e.g. gliding Class A stages, use of an auxiliary oscillation
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0244 Stepped control
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/504 the supply voltage or current being continuously controlled by a controlling signal, e.g. the controlling signal of a transistor implemented as variable resistor in a supply path for, an IC-block showed amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/24 of transmitter output stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/72 Gated amplifiers, i.e. amplifiers which are rendered operative or inoperative by means of a control signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/406 with more than one transmission mode, e.g. analog and digital modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/44 Transmit/receive switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/56 with provision for simultaneous communication in two directions
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/045 with means for improving efficiency

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to RF power amplifiers for portable cellular radiotelephones, and more particularly, to dual-mode cellular radiotelephones. A power supply network enables the RF power amplifier in a dual-mode radiotelephone to operate with two separate modes: saturated and unsaturated. Switches in the power supply network, e.g. complementary transistors, are driven to a first set of logic states by a square wave which is synchronized with transmit time slots present in a TDMA frame structure to charge a capacitor from a battery. When the switches are then driven to a second set of logic states, the capacitor is placed in series with the battery to essentially double the supply voltage. When the radiotelephone operates in a digital mode, the increased supply voltage coincides with the transmit time slot and temporarily increases the saturation point of the RF power amplifier to permit linear amplification. When the radiotelephone operates in an analog mode, the switches are fixed at the first set of logic states. The resulting lower supply voltage lowers the saturation point of the RF power amplifier, causing it to operate in a nonlinear but more efficient mode.

Claims

1. A dual-mode portable radiotelephone comprising:

a power supply including;

a dc voltage source;

plural switches, connected to the dc voltage source, actuable in accordance with a drive signal to provide dc power at different voltage levels;

a capacitor connected to the switches such that the capacitor and the dc voltage source are alternately placed in parallel across a diode and in series depending on the actuation states of the switches said diode preventing discharge of the capacitor through the switches; and

an RF power amplifier connected to the power supply wherein the rf power amplifier operable to provide liner and nonlinear amplification of a modulated RF input signal depending on the voltage level of the dc power provided by the power supply, wherein the switches are complementary transistors oppositely biased by the drive signal, including an NPN bipolar transistor and an PNP bipolar transistor, the bases of the transistors being connected to the drive signal, the emitter of the PNP transistor being connected to the dc voltage source and the anode of the diode, and the cathode of the diode being connected to the collectors of both the transistors via the capacitor.

2. The radiotelephone according to claim 1 wherein the modulated RF input signal is a time division multiplexed signal.

3. The radiotelephone according to claim 1 wherein the modulated RF input signal is frequency modulated when the radiotelephone is operated in one mode and π

/4-shifted DQPSK modulated when the radiotelephone is operated in another mode.

4. The radiotelephone according to claim 1 wherein the drive signal is synchronized and activated based on a time division multiplexed signal.

5. The radiotelephone according to claim 4 wherein the drive signal is offset from the time division multiplexed signal.

6. The radiotelephone according to claim 4 wherein the drive signal is a periodic square wave having a frequency associated with the time division multiplexed signal.

7. The radiotelephone according to claim 1 wherein the RF power amplifier uses at least one GaAs field effect transistor.

8. The radiotelephone according to claim 1 wherein the RF power amplifier operates as a high efficiency nonlinear amplifier when a first voltage level dc power signal is received from the power supply and as a linear amplifier when a second voltage level dc power signal is received from the power supply.

9. The radiotelephone according to claim 1 wherein the RF power amplifier operates as a high efficiency, nonlinear amplifier when the radiotelephone operates in an analog mode and as a linear amplifier when the radiotelephone operates in a digital mode.

10. (Amended) A radiotelephone comprising:

a dual-mode power supply for providing dc power at a first voltage level in a first mode and a second voltage level in a second mode including;

a dc voltage source;

complementary bipolar junction transistors, connected to the dc voltage source, oppositely biased in accordance with a drive signal; and

a capacitor connected to the transistors such that the capacitor and the dc voltage source are alternately placed in parallel across a diode and in series depending on the bias applied to the transistors;

the drive signal for determining the mode of the power supply;

an RF power amplifier connected to the power supply wherein the RF power amplifier provides nonlinear amplification of a modulated RF input signal in the first mode and linear amplification of the modulated RF input signal in the second mode, wherein the bases of the transistors are connected to the drive signal, the emitter of one of the transistors is connected to the dc voltage source and the anode of the diode, and the cathode of the diode is connected to the collectors of both the transistors via the capacitor.

11. The radiotelephone according to claim 10, wherein the modulated RF input signal is a time division multiplexed signal.

12. The radiotelephone according to claim 10, wherein the modulated RF input signal is frequency modulated when the radiotelephone is operated in one mode and π

/4-shifted DQPSK modulated when the radiotelephone is operated in another mode.

13. The radiotelephone according to claim 10, wherein the drive signal is synchronized and activated based on a time division multiplexed signal.

14. The radiotelephone according to claim 11, wherein the drive signal is offset from the time division multiplexed signal.

15. The radiotelephone according to claim 11, wherein the drive signal is a periodic square wave having a frequency associated with the time division multiplexed signal.

16. The radiotelephone according to claim 11, wherein the RF power amplifier uses at least one GaAs field effect transistor.

17. The radiotelephone according to claim 10, wherein the RF power amplifier operates as a high efficiency nonlinear amplifier when the first voltage level dc power signal is received from the power supply and as a linear amplifier when second voltage level dc power signal is received from the power supply.

18. The radiotelephone according to claim 10, wherein the RF power amplifier operates as a high efficiency amplifier when the radiotelephone operates in an analog mode and as a linear amplifier when the radiotelephone operates in a digital mode.

19. The radiotelephone according to claim 10, wherein the RF power amplifier uses at least one bipolar junction transistor.

20. A power supply for providing different voltage power to an RF power amplifier in a mobile radiotelephone comprising:

a battery;

complementary bipolar transistors oppositely biased by a drive signal having two logic states, with the bases of the transistors being connected to the drive signal,

a capacitor connected between said transistors such that said capacitor and said battery are alternately placed in parallel across a diode when said drive signal is at a first logic state and in series when said drive signal is at a second logic state,

wherein the emitter of one of the transistors is connected to the battery and the anode of the diode, the cathode of the diode is connected to the collectors of both transistors via the capacitor, a first voltage is generated by the power supply when the drive signal is at said first logic state, and a second voltage is generated by the power supply when the drive signal is at said second logic state.

21. The power supply according to claim 20, wherein said transistors are bipolar transistors.

22. The power supply according to claim 20, wherein said transistors are field effect transistors.

23. The power supply according to claim 20, wherein said drive signal is a periodic square wave signal synchronized with a time division multiplexed signal.

24. A dual-mode portable radiotelephone comprising:

a power supply including;

plural dc voltage source;

plural switches, connected to the dc voltage sources, actuable in accordance with a drive signal to provide dc power at different voltage levels;

a capacitor connected to the switches such that the capacitor and one of the plural dc voltage sources are placed in parallel across a diode and both of the plural dc voltage sources and the capacitor are placed in series depending on the actuation states of the switches, the diode preventing discharge of the capacitor through the switches; and

an RF power amplifier connected to the power supply wherein the RF power amplifier is operable to provide linear and nonlinear amplification of a modulated RF input signal depending on the voltage level of the dc power provided by the power supply.

25. The radiotelephone according to claim 24 wherein the switches are complementary transistors oppositely biased by the drive signal.

26. A power supply for providing different voltage power to an RF power amplifier in a mobile radiotelephone comprising:

a first battery connected in series at a series node to a second battery;

complementary switches alternately actuated by a drive signal, said drive signal having two logic states; and

a capacitor connected between said switches such that said capacitor and one of the first and second batteries are placed in parallel across a diode when said drive signal is at a first logic state and the capacitor and said first and second batteries are placed in series when said drive signal is at a second logic state, said diode preventing discharge of said capacitor through said switches,

wherein a first voltage is generated by the power supply when the drive signal is at said first logic state and a second voltage is generated by the power supply when the drive signal is at said second logic state.

27. The power supply according to claim 26, wherein said switches are bipolar transistors.

28. The power supply according to claim 26, wherein said switches are field effect transistors.

29. The power supply according to claim 26, wherein said drive signal is a periodic square wave signal synchronized with a time division multiplexed signal.