Transceiver with closed loop control of antenna tuning and power level
First Claim
1. A transmitter for transmitting a device activation signal or other data, for remotely actuating a device, the device activation signal having an RF carrier frequency and a power level, said transmitter comprising:
- a controller operable in an operating mode for providing a tune level signal that identifies the RF carrier frequency of the device activation signal;
a signal generator circuit coupled to the controller for generating the device activation signal, such that the RF carrier frequency corresponding to the controller tune level signal is generated;
a transmission antenna assembly coupled to the signal generator circuit and the controller, the transmitter antenna assembly operable for transmitting the device activation signal; and
a detector circuit for detecting the power level of the device activation signal, the detector circuit providing the detected power level to the controller;
wherein the controller is further operable for tuning the transmission antenna assembly based on the detected power level including tuning the transmission antenna assembly before applying a modulation scheme such that the power level of the device activation signal is controlled and tuning the transmission antenna assembly over a limited tuning range while applying the modulation scheme.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A trainable transceiver for learning and transmitting an activation signal that includes an RF carrier frequency modulated with a code for remotely actuating a device, such as a garage door opener. The trainable transceiver preferably includes a controller, a signal generator, and a dynamically tunable antenna having a variable impedance that may be selectively controlled in accordance with a detector circuit signal. The detector circuit provides a measurement of the transmission power and is also used to vary the applied transmission power of the transceiver in response to operating and environmental parameters.
89 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A transmitter for transmitting a device activation signal or other data, for remotely actuating a device, the device activation signal having an RF carrier frequency and a power level, said transmitter comprising:
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a controller operable in an operating mode for providing a tune level signal that identifies the RF carrier frequency of the device activation signal; a signal generator circuit coupled to the controller for generating the device activation signal, such that the RF carrier frequency corresponding to the controller tune level signal is generated; a transmission antenna assembly coupled to the signal generator circuit and the controller, the transmitter antenna assembly operable for transmitting the device activation signal; and a detector circuit for detecting the power level of the device activation signal, the detector circuit providing the detected power level to the controller; wherein the controller is further operable for tuning the transmission antenna assembly based on the detected power level including tuning the transmission antenna assembly before applying a modulation scheme such that the power level of the device activation signal is controlled and tuning the transmission antenna assembly over a limited tuning range while applying the modulation scheme. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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5. A transmitter for transmitting a device activation signal or other data, for remotely actuating a device, the device activation signal having an RF carrier frequency and a power level, said transmitter comprising:
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a controller operable in an operating mode for providing a tune level signal that identifies the RF carrier frequency of the device activation signal, the controller including an antenna tuning module; a signal generator circuit coupled to the controller for generating the device activation signal, such that the RF carrier frequency corresponding to the controller tune level signal is generated; a detector circuit for detecting the power level of the device activation signal, the detector circuit providing the detected power level to the controller; and a transmission antenna assembly coupled to the signal generator circuit for transmitting the device activation signal, transmission antenna assembly having an impedance and being tunable in response to a tuning signal such that the impedance of the transmission antenna assembly is controllable thereby controlling the power level of the transmitted device activation signal; wherein the controller generates the tuning signal in response to the detected power level; wherein the antenna tuning module of the controller is operable for tuning the impedance of the transmission antenna assembly in response to the detected power level of the device activation signal and includes a coarse tuning module operable to tune the transmission antenna assembly before applying the modulation scheme such that power level of the device activation signal is controlled; and a fine tuning module operable to tune the transmission antenna assembly over a limited tuning range while applying the modulation scheme. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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11. A transmitter system for transmitting a device activation signal that includes an RF carrier frequency, modulation scheme, and data code for remotely actuating a device, comprising:
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a controller operable in an operating mode for providing an output signal that identifies the frequency and code of the device activation signal; a signal generator circuit coupled to the controller for generating the device activation signal such that the RF carrier frequency and data code corresponding to the controller output signal are generated; a transmission antenna assembly, being coupled to the signal generator circuit for transmitting the device activation signal, the transmitted activation signal having a power output; and a detector circuit for detecting a power level representative of the transmitted activation signal power output, the detector circuit coupled to the controller for providing the detected power level; wherein the controller is further operable for tuning the transmission antenna assembly based on the detected power level including tuning the transmission antenna assembly before applying a modulation scheme such that the power level of the device activation signal is controlled and tuning the transmission antenna assembly over a limited tuning range while applying the modulation scheme. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of transmitting a device activation signal for remotely actuating a device, the device activation signal having an RF carrier frequency and a power level, comprising the steps of:
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providing a transmission antenna assembly having a tunable impedance; generating the RF carrier frequency; generating an antenna assembly tuning signal for controlling the antenna assembly impedance; transmitting the device activation signal; detecting the activation signal power level; and adjusting the antenna assembly tuning signal in response to the detected activation signal power levels; wherein the antenna assembly tuning signal is adjusted before applying a modulation scheme such that the activation signal power level is controlled and the antenna assembly tuning signal is adjusted while applying the modulation scheme. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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19. A method of transmitting a device activation signal for remotely actuating a device, the device activation signal having an RF carrier frequency and a power level, comprising the steps of:
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providing a transmission antenna assembly having a tunable impedance; generating the RF carrier frequency; generating an antenna assembly tuning signal for controlling the antenna assembly impedance; transmitting the device activation signal; detecting the activation signal power level; adjusting the antenna assembly tuning signal in response to the detected activation signal power level; storing a starting point transmission power value; determining a target detector voltage based on the starting point transmission power value; comparing the detected activation signal power level to the target detector voltage; generating a power level control signal for controlling the power level of the device activation signal; and adjusting the power level control signal such that the detected activation signal power level approximately corresponds to the target detector voltage.
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21. A transmitter for transmitting a device activation signal or other data, for remotely actuating a device, the device activation signal having an RF carrier frequency and a phase shift, said transmitter comprising:
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a controller operable in an operating mode for providing a tune level signal that identifies the RF carrier frequency of the device activation signal; a signal generator circuit coupled to the controller for generating the device activation signal, such that the RF carrier frequency corresponding to the controller tune level signal is generated; a transmission antenna assembly coupled to the signal generator circuit and the controller, the transmitter antenna assembly operable for transmitting the device activation signal; and a detector circuit for detecting the phase shift of the device activation signal, the detector circuit providing the detected phase shift to the controller; wherein the controller is further operable for tuning the transmission antenna assembly based on the detected phase shift including tuning the transmission antenna assembly before applying a modulation scheme such that the phase shift of the device activation signal is controlled and tuning the transmission antenna assembly over a limited tuning range while applying the modulation scheme.
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Specification