Interchangeable receive inputs for band and system swappability in communication systems and related methods
First Claim
1. A communication system having band swappable receive inputs, comprising:
- receive path circuitry within an integrated circuit chip having;
one or more low noise amplifiers (LNAs) each having an input pin and each being configured to operate in multiple frequency bands with a performance degradation of lower than 1.0 dB between frequency bands and each configured to receive multiple frequency bands on a respective LNA input pin; and
control circuitry to provide one or more control signals to select a single frequency band of operation for respective LNAs; and
external circuitry coupled to the respective LNAs, the external circuitry having a filter stage and an input match stage configured for the multiple frequency bands for each respective LNA; and
a printed circuit board (PCB) that couples the integrated circuit to the external circuitry via fixed connections, each of the fixed connections connecting the external circuitry to one of the input pins of the LNAs.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Interchangeable high band low-noise-amplifiers (LNAs) and low band low-noise-amplifiers (LNAs) and related methods are disclosed that greatly enhance the efficiency of designing handsets for different combinations of frequency bands. The input signals to particular pins on a receiver or transceiver integrated circuit (IC) are swappable such that multiple frequency bands can be input to the same input pins thereby allowing for simplified system design. Efficient programmable techniques are also disclosed for controlling a swap mode within communication ICs. These interchangeable or band swappable input paths, for example, can be utilized to allow interchangeability between high band (PCS, DCS) and low band (GSM, E-GSM) inputs for cellular communications. In this way, for example, handset manufacturers can build a single printed circuit board (PCB) that can be utilized for cellular communications in the United States of America, where 850 MHz (GSM) and 1900 MHz (PCS) bands are utilized, and in Europe, wherein 900 MHz (E-GSM) and 1800 MHz (DCS) bands are utilized.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A communication system having band swappable receive inputs, comprising:
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receive path circuitry within an integrated circuit chip having; one or more low noise amplifiers (LNAs) each having an input pin and each being configured to operate in multiple frequency bands with a performance degradation of lower than 1.0 dB between frequency bands and each configured to receive multiple frequency bands on a respective LNA input pin; and control circuitry to provide one or more control signals to select a single frequency band of operation for respective LNAs; and external circuitry coupled to the respective LNAs, the external circuitry having a filter stage and an input match stage configured for the multiple frequency bands for each respective LNA; and a printed circuit board (PCB) that couples the integrated circuit to the external circuitry via fixed connections, each of the fixed connections connecting the external circuitry to one of the input pins of the LNAs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for receiving communications with band swappable receive inputs in a communication system having fixed frequency bands of operation for receive inputs, comprising:
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providing an integrated circuit with receive path circuitry having one or more low noise amplifiers (LNAs), each LNA having an input pin and configured to operate in multiple frequency bands with a performance degradation of lower than 1.0 dB between frequency bands, each LNA configured to receive signals in the multiple frequency bands on a respective input pin; determining a fixed set of frequency bands of operation for the communication systems; configuring external circuitry for operation in the fixed set of frequency bands, the external circuitry comprising a filter stage and input match stage for each frequency band of operation; coupling the integrated circuit and the external circuitry to a printed circuit board (PCB), the PCB having fixed connection paths, each connection path connecting the external circuitry to one of the input pins of a respective LNA; selecting through software programming the frequency bands of operation associated with the LNAs to match the fixed set of frequency bands of operation determined for the communication system such that a particular frequency band is always received through the same LNA during operation of the communication systems; and receiving one or more input signals within the fixed frequency bands for the LNAs at input pins to the integrated circuit. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification