System and method providing variable-frequency IF conversion in a multimode communication device

• US 7,912,428 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2006
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Behzad, Arya, Rofougaran, Ahmadreza
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Lee
• Application Number:
  US11/376,531
• Publication Number:
  US 20070110019A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,833 Days
• Field of Search: 455/76, 455 85- 86, 455/260, 455/552.1, 455/553.1, 370336-337, 370/347
• US Class Current: 455/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/28 the receiver comprising at least one semiconductor device having three or more electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/406 with more than one transmission mode, e.g. analog and digital modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/0002 analog front ends; means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line duplex arrangements H04L5/143

Abstract

A system and method providing variable-frequency IF conversion in a multimode communication device. Various aspects of the present invention provide a multimode communication device comprising at least one RF signal receiver adapted to receive at least a first RF signal corresponding to a first communication protocol and a second RF signal corresponding to a second communication protocol. A controllable frequency source may, for example, be adapted to output a mixing signal characterized by one of a plurality of selectable frequencies. Such selectable frequencies may, for example, comprise a first frequency corresponding to the first communication protocol and a second frequency corresponding to the second communication protocol. A mixer may, for example, receive a received RF signal from the RF signal receiver, receive a mixing signal from the controllable frequency source, and convert the received RF signal to an IF signal utilizing the received mixing signal.

Claims

1. A multimode communication device comprising:

at least one RF signal receiver operable to receive a first RF signal corresponding to a first communication protocol and a second RF signal corresponding to a second communication protocol in a time-multiplexed manner;

a frequency source operable to;

receive at least one frequency control signal; and

in response to the at least one frequency control signal, output a mixing signal at one of a plurality of selectable frequencies, wherein the plurality of selectable frequencies comprises a first mixing frequency corresponding to the first communication protocol and a second mixing frequency corresponding to the second communication protocol;

a mixer, communicatively coupled to the at least one RF signal receiver and the frequency source; and

at least one module, communicatively coupled to the frequency source, operable to;

direct the frequency source to output the mixing signal at a selected one of the plurality of selectable frequencies;

direct the frequency source to output the mixing signal at the first mixing frequency during time windows corresponding to the first communication protocol; and

direct the frequency source to output the mixing signal at the second mixing frequency during time windows corresponding to the second communication protocol.

2. The multimode communication device of claim 1, wherein the frequency source comprises a fractional-N synthesizer.

3. The multimode communication device of claim 1, wherein the frequency source is programmable.

4. The multimode communication device of claim 1, wherein the first communication protocol is GSM and the second communication protocol is EDGE.

5. The multimode communication device of claim 4, wherein the first mixing frequency is an intermediate frequency less than 150 KHz, and the second mixing frequency is an intermediate frequency greater than 150 KHz.

6. The multimode communication device of claim 1, wherein the first communication protocol is WCDMA.

7. The multimode communication device of claim 1, wherein the first mixing frequency is an RF frequency utilized by the mixer for direct conversion of the first RF signal to a baseband frequency.

8. The multimode communication device of claim 1, further comprising a filter, communicatively coupled to the mixer, operable to filter a signal in accordance with a selected one of a plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics.

9. The multimode communication device of claim 8, wherein the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics comprises:

a first set of filter characteristics corresponding to the first communication protocol and comprising a first bandwidth; and

a second set of filter characteristics corresponding to the second communication protocol and comprising a second bandwidth.

10. The multimode communication device of claim 8, wherein the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics comprises:

a first set of filter characteristics corresponding to the first communication protocol and comprising a first center frequency; and

a second set of filter characteristics corresponding to the second communication protocol and comprising a second center frequency.

11. The multimode communication device of claim 8, wherein the filter is programmable.

12. The multimode communication device of claim 8, wherein the at least one module is communicatively coupled to the filter and operable to direct the filter to filter a received signal at a selected one of the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics.

13. The multimode communication device of claim 8, further comprising an AGC module, communicatively coupled to the mixer and the filter, operable to amplify a received signal corresponding to a plurality of communication protocols comprising the first communication protocol and the second communication protocol.

14. The multimode communication device of claim 8, wherein the at least one module is further operable to direct the filter to filter in accordance with a first set of filter characteristics during time windows corresponding to the first communication protocol and in accordance with a second set of filter characteristics during time windows corresponding to the second communication protocol.

15. The multimode communication device of claim 1, wherein the at least one module is further operable to direct the at least one RF signal receiver to receive a particular RF signal of a plurality of RF signals comprising the first RF signal and the second RF signal.

16. In a multimode communication device, a method for receiving a plurality of RF signals corresponding to a plurality of respective communication protocols, the method comprising:

receiving a first RF signal corresponding to a first communication protocol and a second RF signal corresponding to a second communication protocol in a time-multiplexed manner;

directing a frequency source to generate a first mixing signal characterized by a first frequency corresponding to the first communication protocol during time windows corresponding to the first communication protocol;

mixing the first RF signal and the first mixing signal at a mixer;

directing the frequency source to generate a second mixing signal characterized by a second frequency corresponding to the second communication protocol during time windows corresponding to the second communication protocol; and

mixing the second RF signal and the second mixing signal at the mixer.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising generating the first and second mixing signals with a fractional-N synthesizer.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein:

directing a frequency source to generate a first mixing signal characterized by a first frequency corresponding to the first communication protocol comprises programming the frequency source to generate the first mixing signal; and

directing the frequency source to generate a second mixing signal characterized by a second frequency corresponding to the second communication protocol comprises programming the frequency source to generate the second mixing signal.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the first communication protocol is GSM and the second communication protocol is EDGE.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the first mixing frequency is an intermediate frequency less than 150 KHz, and the second mixing frequency is an intermediate frequency greater than 150 KHz.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the first communication protocol is WCDMA.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein the first mixing frequency is an RF frequency utilized by the mixer for direct conversion of an RF signal to a baseband frequency.

23. The method of claim 16, further comprising filtering a mixed signal in accordance with a selected one of a plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics comprises:

a first set of filter characteristics corresponding to the first communication protocol and comprising a first bandwidth; and

a second set of filter characteristics corresponding to the second communication protocol and comprising a second bandwidth.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics comprises:

a first set of filter characteristics corresponding to the first communication protocol and comprising a first center frequency; and

a second set of filter characteristics corresponding to the second communication protocol and comprising a second center frequency.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein filtering a mixed signal in accordance with a selected one of a plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics comprises programming a programmable filter to filter the mixed signal in accordance with the selected one of the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising performing automatic gain control on the mixed signal prior to filtering the mixed signal.

28. The method of claim 23, further comprising filtering the mixed signal in accordance with a first set of filter characteristics during time windows corresponding to the first communication protocol and in accordance with a second set of filter characteristics during time windows corresponding to the second communication protocol.

29. The method of claim 23, further comprising directing a filter to filter the mixed signal at a selected one of the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics.

30. The method of claim 16, further comprising directing an RF signal receiver to receive a selected one of at least the first RF signal and the second RF signal.

31. A multimode communication device comprising:

at least one RF signal receiver operable to receive a first RF signal corresponding to a first communication protocol and a second RF signal corresponding to a second communication protocol;

a frequency source operable to;

receive at least one frequency control signal; and

in response to the at least one frequency control signal, output a mixing signal at one of a plurality of selectable frequencies, wherein the plurality of selectable frequencies comprises a first mixing frequency corresponding to the first communication protocol and a second mixing frequency corresponding to the second communication protocol;

a mixer, communicatively coupled to the at least one RF signal receiver and the frequency source;

a filter, communicatively coupled to the mixer, operable to filter a signal in accordance with a selected one of a plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics, the plurality of sets of filter characteristics comprising;

a first set of filter characteristics corresponding to the first communication protocol and comprising a first bandwidth; and

a second set of filter characteristics corresponding to the second communication protocol and comprising a second bandwidth; and

at least one module, communicatively coupled to the frequency source, operable to direct the frequency source to output the mixing signal at a selected one of the plurality of selectable frequencies,

wherein;

the at least one RF signal receiver is operable to receive the first RF signal and the second RF signal in a time-multiplexed manner; and

the at least one module is operable to direct the frequency source to output the mixing signal at the first mixing frequency during time windows corresponding to the first communication protocol and at the second mixing frequency during time windows corresponding to the second communication protocol.

32. The multimode communication device of claim 31, wherein the frequency source comprises a fractional-N synthesizer.

33. The multimode communication device of claim 31, wherein the frequency source is programmable.

34. The multimode communication device of claim 31, wherein the first communication protocol is GSM and the second communication protocol is EDGE.

35. The multimode communication device of claim 34, wherein the first mixing frequency is an intermediate frequency less than 150 KHz, and the second mixing frequency is an intermediate frequency greater than 150 KHz.

36. The multimode communication device of claim 31, wherein the first communication protocol is WCDMA.

37. The multimode communication device of claim 31, wherein the first mixing frequency is an RF frequency utilized by the mixer for direct conversion of the first RF signal to a baseband frequency.

38. The multimode communication device of claim 31, wherein the first bandwidth corresponds to a narrowband communication protocol and the second bandwidth corresponds to a wideband communication protocol.

39. The multimode communication device of claim 31, wherein the filter is an analog/digital hybrid filter.

40. The multimode communication device of claim 31, wherein the first set of filter characteristics comprises a first center frequency, and the second set of filter characteristics comprises a second center frequency.

41. The multimode communication device of claim 31, wherein the filter is programmable.

42. The multimode communication device of claim 31, wherein the at least one module is communicatively coupled to the filter and operable to direct the filter to filter a received signal at a selected one of the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics.

43. The multimode communication device of claim 31, further comprising an AGC module, communicatively coupled to the mixer and the filter, operable to amplify a received signal corresponding to a plurality of communication protocols comprising the first communication protocol and the second communication protocol.

44. The multimode communication device of claim 31, wherein the at least one module is further operable to direct the at least one RF signal receiver to receive a particular RF signal of a plurality of RF signals comprising the first RF signal and the second RF signal.

45. In a multimode communication device, a method for receiving a plurality of RF signals corresponding to a plurality of respective communication protocols, the method comprising:

receiving a first RF signal corresponding to a first communication protocol;

directing a frequency source to generate a first mixing signal characterized by a first frequency corresponding to the first communication protocol;

mixing the first RF signal and the first mixing signal at a mixer;

receiving a second RF signal corresponding to a second communication protocol;

directing the frequency source to generate a second mixing signal characterized by a second frequency corresponding to the second communication protocol; and

mixing the second RF signal and the second mixing signal at the mixer; and

filtering a mixed signal in accordance with a selected one of a plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics, the plurality of sets of filter characteristics comprising;

a first set of filter characteristics corresponding to the first communication protocol and comprising a first bandwidth; and

a second set of filter characteristics corresponding to the second communication protocol and comprising a second bandwidth, wherein;

receiving the first RF signal and receiving the second RF signal are performed in a time-multiplexed manner;

directing the frequency source to generate the first mixing signal characterized by the first frequency corresponding to the first communication protocol comprises directing the frequency source to generate the first mixing signal during time windows corresponding to the first communication protocol; and

directing the frequency source to generate the second mixing signal characterized by the second frequency corresponding to the second communication protocol comprises directing the frequency source to generate the second mixing signal during time windows corresponding to the second communication protocol.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising generating the first and second mixing signals with a fractional-N synthesizer.

47. The method of claim 45, wherein:

directing a frequency source to generate a first mixing signal characterized by a first frequency corresponding to the first communication protocol comprises programming the frequency source to generate the first mixing signal; and

directing the frequency source to generate a second mixing signal characterized by a second frequency corresponding to the second communication protocol comprises programming the frequency source to generate the second mixing signal.

48. The method of claim 45, wherein the first communication protocol is GSM and the second communication protocol is EDGE.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the first mixing frequency is an intermediate frequency less than 150 KHz, and the second mixing frequency is an intermediate frequency greater than 150 KHz.

50. The method of claim 45, wherein the first communication protocol is WCDMA.

51. The method of claim 45, wherein the first mixing frequency is an RF frequency utilized by the mixer for direct conversion of an RF signal to a baseband frequency.

52. The method of claim 45, wherein the first bandwidth corresponds to a narrowband communication protocol and the second bandwidth corresponds to a wideband communication protocol.

53. The method of claim 45, wherein the filter is an analog/digital hybrid filter.

54. The method of claim 45, wherein the first set of filter characteristics comprises a first center frequency, and the second set of filter characteristics comprises a second center frequency.

55. The method of claim 45, wherein filtering a mixed signal in accordance with a selected one of a plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics comprises programming a programmable filter to filter the mixed signal in accordance with the selected one of the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics.

56. The method of claim 45, further comprising performing automatic gain control on the mixed signal prior to filtering the mixed signal.

57. The method of claim 45, further comprising directing an RF signal receiver to receive a selected one of at least the first RF signal and the second RF signal.

58. The method of claim 45, further comprising directing a filter to filter the mixed signal at a selected one of the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics.

59. A multimode communication device comprising:

at least one RF signal receiver operable to receive a first RF signal corresponding to a first communication protocol and a second RF signal corresponding to a second communication protocol;

a frequency source operable to;

receive at least one frequency control signal; and

in response to the at least one frequency control signal, output a mixing signal at one of a plurality of selectable frequencies, wherein the plurality of selectable frequencies comprises a first mixing frequency corresponding to the first communication protocol and a second mixing frequency corresponding to the second communication protocol;

a mixer, communicatively coupled to the at least one RF signal receiver and the frequency source;

a filter, communicatively coupled to the mixer, operable to filter a signal in accordance with a selected one of a plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics, the plurality of sets of filter characteristics comprising;

a first set of filter characteristics corresponding to the first communication protocol and comprising a first center frequency; and

a second set of filter characteristics corresponding to the second communication protocol and comprising a second center frequency; and

at least one module, communicatively coupled to the frequency source, operable to direct the frequency source to output the mixing signal at a selected one of the plurality of selectable frequencies,

wherein;

the at least one RF signal receiver is operable to receive the first RF signal and the second RF signal in a time-multiplexed manner; and

the at least one module is operable to direct the frequency source to output the mixing signal at the first mixing frequency during time windows corresponding to the first communication protocol and at the second mixing frequency during time windows corresponding to the second communication protocol.

60. The multimode communication device of claim 59, wherein the frequency source comprises a fractional-N synthesizer.

61. The multimode communication device of claim 59, wherein the frequency source is programmable.

62. The multimode communication device of claim 59, wherein the first communication protocol is GSM and the second communication protocol is EDGE.

63. The multimode communication device of claim 62, wherein the first mixing frequency is an intermediate frequency less than 150 KHz, and the second mixing frequency is an intermediate frequency greater than 150 KHz.

64. The multimode communication device of claim 59, wherein the first communication protocol is WCDMA.

65. The multimode communication device of claim 59, wherein the first mixing frequency is an RF frequency utilized by the mixer for direct conversion of the first RF signal to a baseband frequency.

66. The multimode communication device of claim 59, wherein the first center frequency corresponds to a narrowband communication protocol and the second center frequency corresponds to a wideband communication protocol.

67. The multimode communication device of claim 59, wherein the filter is an analog/digital hybrid filter.

68. The multimode communication device of claim 59, wherein the first set of filter characteristics comprises a first bandwidth, and the second set of filter characteristics comprises a second bandwidth.

69. The multimode communication device of claim 59, wherein the filter is programmable.

70. The multimode communication device of claim 59, wherein the at least one module is communicatively coupled to the filter and operable to direct the filter to filter a received signal at a selected one of the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics.

71. The multimode communication device of claim 59, further comprising an AGC module, communicatively coupled to the mixer and the filter, operable to amplify a received signal corresponding to a plurality of communication protocols comprising the first communication protocol and the second communication protocol.

72. The multimode communication device of claim 59, wherein the at least one module is further operable to direct the at least one RF signal receiver to receive a particular RF signal of a plurality of RF signals comprising the first RF signal and the second RF signal.

73. In a multimode communication device, a method for receiving a plurality of RF signals corresponding to a plurality of respective communication protocols, the method comprising:

receiving a first RF signal corresponding to a first communication protocol;

directing a frequency source to generate a first mixing signal characterized by a first frequency corresponding to the first communication protocol;

mixing the first RF signal and the first mixing signal at a mixer;

receiving a second RF signal corresponding to a second communication protocol;

directing the frequency source to generate a second mixing signal characterized by a second frequency corresponding to the second communication protocol; and

mixing the second RF signal and the second mixing signal at the mixer; and

filtering a mixed signal in accordance with a selected one of a plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics, the plurality of sets of filter characteristics comprising;

a first set of filter characteristics corresponding to the first communication protocol and comprising a first center frequency; and

a second set of filter characteristics corresponding to the second communication protocol and comprising a second center frequency,

wherein;

receiving the first RF signal and receiving the second RF signal are performed in a time-multiplexed manner;

directing the frequency source to generate the first mixing signal characterized by the first frequency corresponding to the first communication protocol comprises directing the frequency source to generate the first mixing signal during time windows corresponding to the first communication protocol; and

directing the frequency source to generate the second mixing signal characterized by the second frequency corresponding to the second communication protocol comprises directing the frequency source to generate the second mixing signal during time windows corresponding to the second communication protocol.

74. The method of claim 73, further comprising generating the first and second mixing signals with a fractional-N synthesizer.

75. The method of claim 73, wherein:

directing a frequency source to generate a first mixing signal characterized by a first frequency corresponding to the first communication protocol comprises programming the frequency source to generate the first mixing signal; and

directing the frequency source to generate a second mixing signal characterized by a second frequency corresponding to the second communication protocol comprises programming the frequency source to generate the second mixing signal.

76. The method of claim 73, wherein the first communication protocol is GSM and the second communication protocol is EDGE.

77. The method of claim 76, wherein the first mixing frequency is an intermediate frequency less than 150 KHz, and the second mixing frequency is an intermediate frequency greater than 150 KHz.

78. The method of claim 73, wherein the first communication protocol is WCDMA.

79. The method of claim 73, wherein the first mixing frequency is an RF frequency utilized by the mixer for direct conversion of an RF signal to a baseband frequency.

80. The method of claim 73, wherein the first center frequency corresponds to a narrowband communication protocol and the second center frequency corresponds to a wideband communication protocol.

81. The method of claim 73, wherein the filter is an analog/digital hybrid filter.

82. The method of claim 73, wherein the first set of filter characteristics comprises a first bandwidth, and the second set of filter characteristics comprises a second bandwidth.

83. The method of claim 73, wherein filtering a mixed signal in accordance with a selected one of a plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics comprises programming a programmable filter to filter the mixed signal in accordance with the selected one of the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics.

84. The method of claim 73, further comprising performing automatic gain control on the mixed signal prior to filtering the mixed signal.

85. The method of claim 73, further comprising directing an RF signal receiver to receive a selected one of at least the first RF signal and the second RF signal.

86. The method of claim 73, further comprising directing a filter to filter the mixed signal at a selected one of the plurality of selectable sets of filter characteristics.