Apparatus and method for combining electrical signals

• US 7,221,243 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2004
• Issued: 05/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Wireless Corporation (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Camarillo, Richard J., Toncich, Stanley S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pascal; Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Glenn; Kimberly E
• Application Number:
  US10/974,391
• Publication Number:
  US 20050057322A1
• Time in Patent Office: 938 Days
• Field of Search: 333/203, 333/206
• US Class Current: 333/203
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 27/2694 Measuring dielectric loss, e.g. loss angle, loss factor or power factor
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 7/06 having a dielectric selected for the variation of its permittivity with applied voltage, i.e. ferroelectric capacitors electrets H01G7/02
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/203 Strip line filters
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/20336 Comb or interdigital filters
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/0123 comprising distributed impedance elements together with lumped impedance elements
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/185 comprising distributed impedance elements together with lumped impedance elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/30 for homodyne or synchrodyne receivers demodulator circuits H03D1/22

Abstract

An apparatus and method are presented for combining electrical signals. The apparatus includes a phase-shift distributed element with an input to accept a first signal and an output to supply the first signal with a phase-shift; and a filter with a first signal port connected to the phase-shift element output, a second signal port to accept a second signal, and a third signal port to supply combined and filtered first and second signals. The phase-shift element has a signal path with a predetermined length and the phase-shift element output supplies the first signal with a phase angle shift responsive to the length of the signal path. In one example, the phase-shift element is formed from monoblock and coaxial elements, either singly or in combination, and is a tank circuit resonator in the filter.

Claims

1. An apparatus for combining electrical signals, the apparatus comprising:

a phase-shift distributed element comprising;

a first monoblock element;

a signal path having a predetermined length and a characteristic impedance;

an input to accept a first signal on the signal path; and

an output to supply the first signal with a phase shift responsive to the predetermined length of the signal path; and

a filter for combining and filtering the first signal and a second signal, comprising;

a first tank circuit resonator comprising the first monoblock;

a first signal port connected to the phase-shift distributed element output;

a second signal port to accept the second signal; and

a third signal port to output the combined and filtered first signal and second signal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 the predetermined length of the signal path is a fraction of a guided wavelength of the first signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the phase-shift distributed element includes the first monoblock element connected in series to a first coaxial element, the first monoblock and the first coaxial element interposed between the input and the output of the phase-shift distributed element.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the filter further comprises a pin connecting the first monoblock element to the first coaxial element.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the filter further comprises a wire bond connecting the first monoblock element to the first coaxial element.

6. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the phase-shift distributed element further comprises a second coaxial element;

and,

wherein the first tank circuit resonator comprises the second coaxial element.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the filter includes a third coaxial element used as a second tank circuit resonator.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the filter further comprises a second monoblock element used as a second tank circuit resonator.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the phase-shift distributed element output supplies the first signal with a 180°

phase shift.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the phase-shift distributed element input accepts the first signal with a first phase angle;

wherein the filter second port accepts the first signal with a second phase angle different than the first phase angle; and

,

wherein the phase-shift distributed element output supplies the first signal with a third phase angle equal to the second phase angle.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a variable capacitor operatively connected to the phase-shift distributed element.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the variable capacitor has a control input to accept variable capacitance control signals and includes a ferroelectric material having a dielectric constant responsive to the variable capacitance control signals.

13. A method for combining electrical signals, the method comprising:

accepting a first signal;

accepting a second signal;

conducting the first signal along a signal path in a first monoblock of a distributed element, the signal path having a predetermined length and a characteristic impedance;

shifting the phase of the first signal responsive to the predetermined length of the signal path of the distributed element;

combining the phase-shifted first signal and the second signal; and

filtering the combined signal using a first tank circuit resonator, the first tank circuit resonator comprising the first monoblock.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the distributed element further comprises a first coaxial element in series with the first monoblock.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein filtering the combined signals further comprises using a second monoblock element as a filter second tank circuit resonator.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the first signal has a first phase angle;

wherein the second signal has a second phase angle different than the first phase angle; and

wherein shifting the phase of the first signal responsive to the predetermined length comprises shifting the phase of the first signal to a third phase angle equal to a difference between the first phase angle and the second phase angle.

17. The method of claim 13 further comprising variably shifting the phase of the first signal using a variable impedance element.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the first signal is provided by a first signal source, further comprising:

providing an impedance match to the first signal source using the variable impedance element.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein filtering the combined signal includes adjusting a resonance frequency using the variable impedance element.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the variable impedance element is a ferroelectric (FE) capacitor comprising a ferroelectric (FE) material and connected to a bias voltage, the bias voltage for changing a dielectric constant of the FE material.

21. A device for combining electrical signals, the device comprising:

a phase-shift distributed element (PDSE) comprising;

a signal path having a length and a characteristic impedance;

a PSDE input for accepting a first signal on the signal path, the first signal having a first phase angle; and

a PSDE output for outputting the first signal with an output phase angle responsive to the length of the signal path; and

a filter comprising;

a first signal port connected to the PSDE output;

a second signal port to accept a second signal, the second signal having a second phase angle different than the first phase angle, wherein the second phase angle of the second signal is equal to the output phase angle of the first signal; and

a third signal port coupled to the first signal port and the second signal port for outputting a combined filtered signal.

22. The device of claim 21 wherein the filter further comprises a first tank circuit resonator connected between the first signal port and the second signal port.

23. The device of claim 21 wherein the PSDE further comprises a first monoblock element.

24. The device of claim 23 wherein the PSDE further comprises a first coaxial element in series with the first monoblock element.

25. The device of claim 24 wherein the first monoblock element further comprises:

a second coaxial element connected to the first coaxial element; and

a third coaxial element.

26. The device of claim 23 wherein the filter further comprises a first tank circuit resonator connected to the first signal port, the first tank circuit resonator having a first tank circuit inductance comprising an inductance of the first monoblock element.

27. The device of claim 21 further comprising:

a variable impedance element for variably shifting the first phase angle of the first signal.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the variable impedance is a ferroelectric (FE) capacitor comprising:

a FE dielectric having a dielectric constant;

a bias voltage supplied to the FE dielectric, wherein the dielectric constant of the FE dielectric changes in response to the bias voltage.

29. A device for combining electrical signals, the device comprising:

a phase-shift distributed element comprising;

a signal path having a predetermined length and a characteristic impedance;

an input to accept a first signal on the signal path; and

an output to supply the first signal with a phase shift responsive to the predetermined length of the signal path; and

a filter comprising;

a first signal port connected to the phase-shift distributed element output;

a first tank circuit resonator comprising at least a portion of the phase-shift distributed element;

a second signal port to accept a second signal; and

a third signal port to supply combined and filtered first and second signals.

30. The device of claim 29 wherein the phase-shift distributed element comprises a first dielectric monoblock.

31. The device of claim 29 wherein the filter further comprises a second tank circuit resonator comprising a second portion of the phase-shift distributed element.

32. The device of claim 29 wherein the phase shift distributed element further comprises an extension monoblock connected in series with the first dielectric monoblock.