Devices and methods for ultra-wideband communications
First Claim
1. A method for generating an ultra-wideband communications signal, comprising in combination:
- generating at least one piecewise linear pulse having at least two substantially linear parts, wherein at least one of the substantially linear parts is formed by charging at least a first capacitor and a second capacitor and at least the other of the substantially linear parts is formed by discharging at least the first and second capacitors;
generating a piecewise linear ultra-wideband baseband signal having at least one of the piecewise linear pulses, wherein the baseband signal is generated based on an inputted data signal;
generating a carrier tone having a carrier frequency suitable for wireless transmission;
upconverting the baseband signal with the carrier tone to the carrier frequency, thereby generating the ultra-wideband communications signal;
generating a timing signal arranged for timing the charging and the discharging of at least the first and second capacitors, wherein the timing signal is based on the output of a comparator comparing a voltage on the first capacitor and the second capacitor with a reference voltage; and
connecting and disconnecting at least the first capacitor from the comparator using a data signal controlled switch, wherein the second capacitor is parallel to the first capacitor and the switch.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for generating an ultra-wideband communications signal is described. The method includes generating a piecewise linear ultra-wideband baseband signal comprising at least one pulse, based on an inputted data signal; generating a carrier tone having a carrier frequency suitable for wireless transmission; and upconverting the baseband signal with the carrier tone to the carrier frequency. A method for interpreting a received ultra-wideband communications signal, the signal having a center frequency in the RF domain, is also described. The method includes generating at least one local signal template, synchronized with the received ultra-wideband communications signal and having substantially the same center frequency; correlating the received ultra-wideband communications signal with each of the local signal templates in the analog domain, obtaining at least one ultra-wideband baseband signal; and interpreting the at least one ultra-wideband baseband signal to generate a data signal. Devices for implementing these methods are also described.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method for generating an ultra-wideband communications signal, comprising in combination:
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generating at least one piecewise linear pulse having at least two substantially linear parts, wherein at least one of the substantially linear parts is formed by charging at least a first capacitor and a second capacitor and at least the other of the substantially linear parts is formed by discharging at least the first and second capacitors; generating a piecewise linear ultra-wideband baseband signal having at least one of the piecewise linear pulses, wherein the baseband signal is generated based on an inputted data signal; generating a carrier tone having a carrier frequency suitable for wireless transmission; upconverting the baseband signal with the carrier tone to the carrier frequency, thereby generating the ultra-wideband communications signal; generating a timing signal arranged for timing the charging and the discharging of at least the first and second capacitors, wherein the timing signal is based on the output of a comparator comparing a voltage on the first capacitor and the second capacitor with a reference voltage; and connecting and disconnecting at least the first capacitor from the comparator using a data signal controlled switch, wherein the second capacitor is parallel to the first capacitor and the switch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for interpreting a received ultra-wideband communications signal, the signal having a center frequency in a radio frequency domain, comprising in combination:
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generating a timing signal by charging at least a first capacitor and a second capacitor parallel to the first capacitor with a current source and comparing a voltage on the first capacitor and the second capacitor with a reference voltage using a comparator, wherein the timing signal is based on the result of the comparison; connecting and disconnecting at least the first capacitor from the comparator using a data signal controlled switch; generating a plurality of local signal templates according to the timing signal, wherein the plurality of local signal templates are phase-shifted with respect to each other by approximately 120°
, are synchronized with the received ultra-wideband communications signal, and have substantially the same center frequency;correlating the received ultra-wideband communications signal with each of the local signal templates in an analog domain, thereby obtaining an ultra-wideband baseband signal for each correlation; and interpreting the ultra-wideband baseband signals to generate a data signal. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A device for generating an ultra-wideband communications signal, comprising in combination:
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a signal generator for generating a piecewise linear ultra-wideband baseband signal having at least one pulse, wherein the baseband signal is generated based on an inputted data signal; wherein the signal generator includes at least a first capacitor, and wherein the signal generator is operative to generate at least one substantially linear part of the pulse by charging at least the first capacitor and to generate at least another substantially linear part of the pulse by discharging at least the first capacitor; an oscillator for generating a carrier tone having a frequency in the RF domain; a mixer for upconverting the baseband signal with the carrier tone to the RF domain, thereby generating the ultra-wideband communications signal; and a timing circuit for generating a timing signal for the signal generator and the oscillator, wherein the timing circuit comprises at least a second capacitor, a current source for supplying current to at least the second capacitor, and a comparator for comparing voltage on at least the second capacitor with a reference voltage, and wherein the comparator provides an output which forms the timing signal. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A device for interpreting a received ultra-wideband communications signal, the signal having a center frequency in the RF domain, comprising in combination:
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a signal generator for generating at least three phase-shifted local signal templates having substantially a same center frequency as the received ultra-wideband communications signal, the local signal templates being phase-shifted by approximately 120°
;a timing circuit for synchronizing the local signal templates with the received ultra-wideband communications signal, wherein the timing circuit includes; at least a first capacitor and a second capacitor parallel to the first capacitor, a current source for supplying current to at least the first and second capacitors, and a comparator for comparing voltage on at least the first capacitor and the second capacitor with a reference voltage, wherein the device includes a data signal controlled switch operable to connect and disconnect the first capacitor from the comparator, and wherein the comparator provides an output which forms a timing signal; an analog correlator for each local signal template, wherein the analog correlator correlates the received ultra-wideband communications signal with each local signal template, thereby obtaining an ultra-wideband baseband signal per correlator; and interpretation means for deriving a data signal from the received ultra-wideband baseband signal. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification