Radio-frequency receiver device

• US 7,860,535 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2007
• Issued: 12/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Kuramoto, Katsuyuki, Fukui, Tomoyasu
• Primary Examiner(s): Jackson; Blane J
• Application Number:
  US11/671,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20070224942A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,421 Days
• Field of Search: 455/90.1, 455/90.2, 455/193.1, 455/214, 455/226.1, 455/226.2, 455/562.1, 455/63.2, 455/63.4, 455/114.2, 4554561-457, 455/269, 455272-294
• US Class Current: 455/562.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2216 used in interrogator/reader equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/2605 Array of radiating elements provided with a feedback control over the element weights, e.g. adaptive arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0842 Weighted combining

Abstract

A radio-frequency receiver device including receiver antenna elements each arranged to receive a signal from a desired communication object, a phased-array control portion to perform a phased array antenna control for controlling the directivity of reception of the signals by the receiver antenna elements, an adaptive-array control portion to perform an adaptive array antenna control for controlling the directivity of reception of the signals by the receiver antenna elements, a received-signal-quality determining portion to determine whether the signals received by the receiver antenna elements has a quality higher than a predetermined threshold, and a directivity control switching portion configured to enable the phased-array control portion to perform the phased array antenna controls, and to enable the adaptive-array control portion to perform the adaptive array antenna control only if a negative determination is obtained by the received-signal-quality determining portion after the phased array antenna control.

Claims

1. A radio-frequency receiver device including a plurality of receiver antenna elements each arranged to receive signals transmitted from communication objects, said radio-frequency receiver device comprising:

a phased-array control portion configured to perform a phased array antenna control for controlling a directivity of reception of the signals by said plurality of receiver antenna elements;

an adaptive-array control portion configured to perform an adaptive array antenna control for controlling the directivity of reception of the signals by said plurality of receiver antenna elements;

a received-signal-quality determining portion configured to determine whether the signals received by said plurality of receiver antenna elements have a quality of at least than a predetermined threshold; and

a directivity control switching portion configured to enable said phased-array control portion to perform said phased array antenna control for controlling said directivity of reception of the signals, and to enable said adaptive-array control portion to perform said adaptive array antenna control for controlling said directivity of reception of the signals only if said received-signal-quality determining portion makes a negative determination that the quality of at least one signal is less than the predetermined threshold after said phased array antenna control.

2. The radio-frequency receiver device according to claim 1, wherein said adaptive-array control portion determines initial values of weights to be respectively given to the signals received by said plurality of receiver antenna elements, on the basis of a result of said phased array antenna control by said phased-array control portion.

3. The radio-frequency receiver device according to claim 1, wherein said directivity control switching portion enables said phased-array control portion to perform said phased array antenna control if the negative determination is obtained by said received-signal-quality determining portion while the directivity of reception of the signals received by said plurality of receiver antenna elements is set at an initial value.

4. The radio-frequency receiver device according to claim 1, wherein said received-signal-quality determining portion comprises a received-signal-strength determining portion configured to determine whether the signals received by said plurality of receiver antenna elements have a strength of at least a predetermined strength threshold, said received-signal-quality determining portion makes the negative determination when said received-signal-strength determining portion determines that at least one signal has a strength less than the predetermined strength threshold.

6. The radio-frequency receiver device according to claim 1, further comprising a decoding portion configured to decode the signals received by said plurality of receiver antenna elements, into a decoded signal, and wherein said received-signal-quality determining portion comprises an error determining portion configured to determine whether a quality of said decoded signal generated by said decoding portion is at least of a predetermined decoding threshold, said received-signal-quality determining portion makes the negative determination when said error determining portion determines that the quality of at least one signal is less than the predetermined decoding threshold.

7. The radio-frequency receiver device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said communication objects is a radio-frequency tag configured to transmit the signal in response to a transmitted signal received from a radio-frequency communication device which is provided with the radio-frequency receiver device.

5. A radio-frequency receiver device including a plurality of receiver antenna elements each arranged to receive signals transmitted from communication objects, said radio-frequency receiver device comprising:

a phased-array control portion configured to perform a phased array antenna control for controlling a directivity of reception of the signals by said plurality of receiver antenna elements;

an adaptive-array control portion configured to perform an adaptive array antenna control for controlling the directivity of reception of the signals by said plurality of receiver antenna elements;

a received-signal-quality determining portion configured to determine whether the signals received by said plurality of receiver antenna elements have a quality of at least a predetermined threshold; and

a directivity control switching portion configured to enable said phased-array control portion to perform said phased array antenna control for controlling said directivity of reception of the signals, and to enable said adaptive-array control portion to perform said adaptive array antenna control for controlling said directivity of reception of the signals only if said received-signal-quality determining portion makes a negative determination that the quality of at least one signal is less than the predetermined threshold after said phased array antenna control,

wherein said received-signal-quality determining portion comprises an interfering-wave determining portion configured to determine whether the signals received by said plurality of receiver antenna elements include an interfering wave, and said received-signal-quality determining portion makes the negative determination when said interfering-wave determining portion determines that at least one signal includes an interfering wave.

8. A radio-frequency receiver device comprising:

a plurality of antenna elements each arranged to receive, by radio communication, a signal transmitted from a plurality of communication objects;

a first control portion configured to perform a first control of gradually changing a directivity of reception of said plurality of antenna elements;

a second control portion configured to perform a second control of changing said directivity of reception of said plurality of antenna elements, said second control portion comprising an adaptive-array control portion for maximizing a sensitivity of reception of the signals from said communication objects;

a directivity control portion configured to control the directivity of reception of said plurality of antenna elements, by operating said first and second control portions, said directivity control portion includes;

a weight determining portion configured to determine weights to be given to the signals received by said plurality of antenna elements, on the basis of the result of said first control by said first control portion, such that a composite signal obtained by combining together the signals multiplied by the determined weights approaches a reference signal; and

a composite-signal generating portion configured to generate said composite signal by combining together the signals multiplied by said weights determined by said weight determining portion; and

a demodulating portion configured to demodulate said composite signal generated by said composite-signal generating portion, or a signal based on said composite signal,

wherein said directivity control portion operates said second control portion to maximize the sensitivity of reception of the signals from said communication objects, on the basis of a result of said first control by said first control portion, and

wherein said directivity control portion further includes a judging portion configured to determine whether the signals received by said plurality of antenna elements are signals received from said communication objects, depending upon a result of a demodulating operation of said demodulating portion, and said weight determining portion determines said weights on the basis of a result of a judgment by said judging portion.

9. The radio-frequency receiver device according to claim 8, wherein said directivity control portion controls the directivity of reception of said plurality of antenna elements, by selectively enabling said first and second control portions to operate.

10. The radio-frequency receiver device according to claim 8, wherein said weight determining portion determines said weight, such that a sensitivity of reception of the signals by said plurality of antenna elements is made higher in a direction in which an affirmative determination is obtained by said judging portion, than in a direction in which a negative determination is obtained by said judging portion.

11. The radio-frequency receiver device according to claim 8, wherein said directivity control portion includes:

an arithmetic portion;

a first weight determining portion configured to determine first weights for said first control, on the basis of a phase control signal received from said arithmetic portion;

a first composite-signal generating portion configured to generate a first composite signal for said first control, on the basis of said first weights determined by said first weight determining portion;

a second weight determining portion configured to determine second weights for said second control, on the basis of a phase/amplitude control signal received from said arithmetic portion; and

a second composite-signal generating portion configured to generate a second composite signal for said second control, on the basis of said second weights determined by said second weight determining portion.

12. The radio-frequency receiver device according to claim 11, wherein said first composite-signal generating portion and said second composite-signal generating portion are constituted by a common composite-signal generating portion which is configured to selectively generate said first composite signal for said first control on the basis of said first weights, or said second composite signal for said second control on the basis of said second weights.

13. The radio-frequency receiver device according to claim 12, wherein said directivity control portion includes a switching portion configured to selectively apply said first weights or said second weights to said common composite-signal generating portion.

14. The radio-frequency receiver device according to claim 13, wherein said directivity control portion includes a switching control portion configured to control said switching portion such that said first weights determined by said first weight determining portion are applied to said common composite-signal generating portion, during a first time division, while said second weights determined by said second weight determining portion are applied to said common composite-signal generating portion, during a second time division.

15. The radio-frequency receiver device according to claim 14, wherein said switching control portion controls said switching portion such that a ratio of said first and second time division is variable.