Use of RDS data to select matching network

• US 8,948,310 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2009
• Issued: 02/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Warren, Daniel Adam, Yang, James Tsung-Tai, Fisher, Joseph Roi Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): SHAH, TANMAY K
• Application Number:
  US12/554,077
• Publication Number:
  US 20110058627A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,978 Days
• Field of Search: 375/316
• US Class Current: 375/316
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/38 Impedance-matching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0458 Arrangements for matching and coupling between power amplifier and antenna or between amplifying stages matching circuits in general H03H
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/18 Input circuits, e.g. for coupling to an antenna or a transmission line coupling networks between antennas or lines and receivers independent of the nature of the receiver H03H

Abstract

Devices and methods for dynamically selecting a matching network for an antenna are provided. In one example, an electronic device capable of selecting such a matching network may include an antenna, several selectable matching networks, a radio receiver, and matching network control circuitry. The radio receiver may couple to the antenna via one of the selectable matching networks to receive a radio signal with both an analog and digital component. The matching network control circuitry may select the matching network from among the several selectable matching networks based at least in part on a characteristic of the digital component of the radio signal.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a radio broadcast signal from an antenna into a radio receiver via one of a plurality of selectable matching networks, the antenna comprising a flexible conductor, a network profile of the antenna varying when the flexible conductor is physically reconfigured;

decoding an analog audio signal and a digital signal from the radio broadcast signal using the radio receiver;

evaluating a signal quality of the digital signal and a signal quality of the analog audio signal or of the radio broadcast signal using the radio receiver; and

selecting another one of the plurality of selectable matching networks when the signal quality of the digital signal, the signal quality of the analog audio signal, or the signal quality of the radio broadcast signal falls beneath a threshold using matching network control circuitry;

wherein the signal quality of the digital signal is evaluated based at least in part by applying a discrete value to a signal characteristic of the digital signal, and wherein the other one of the plurality of selectable matching networks is selected when the discrete value falls beneath the threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal quality of the digital signal is evaluated based at least in part on a locking speed of the digital signal;

a completeness of the digital signal;

a block error rate of the digital signal;

or a confidence of the digital signal;

or any combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the other one of the plurality of selectable matching networks is selected when the signal quality of the digital signal falls beneath the threshold, wherein the threshold is lower when the digital signal indicates that the analog audio signal comprises spoken audio than when the digital signal indicates that the analog audio signal comprises music.

4. An electronic device comprising:

a headphone jack configured to connect to a wired headset;

a radio receiver configured to decode an audio signal and a non-audio signal from a broadcast radio signal;

matching network circuitry electrically disposed between the headphone jack and the radio receiver and configured to selectably function as one of a plurality of matching networks between the wired headset and the radio receiver, such that the radio receiver is capable of receiving the broadcast radio signal when the wired headset is connected to the headphone jack, a network profile of the wired headset varying when a flexible conductor in the wired headset is physically reconfigured;

matching network control circuitry configured to supply a control signal to the matching network circuitry to cause the matching network circuitry to function as the one of the plurality of matching networks; and

data processing circuitry configured to control the matching network control circuitry based at least in part on a quality of the non-audio signal and the audio signal, wherein the quality of the audio signal is determined by evaluating a received signal strength indicator of the broadcast radio signal;

a signal-to-noise ratio of the broadcast radio signal;

or the presence of multipath characteristics in the broadcast radio signal;

or any combination thereof;

wherein the matching network control circuitry comprises common matching network circuitry coupled to one or more switches, wherein the one or more switches are coupled to a plurality of matching network elements, wherein the matching network control circuitry is configured to function as the one of the plurality of matching networks when a corresponding one of the plurality of matching network elements is coupled to the common matching network circuitry, and wherein the control signal is configured to cause the one or more switches to couple the one of the plurality of matching network elements to the common matching network circuitry.

5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the plurality of matching networks comprises a first matching network configured to transmit the broadcast radio signal when the broadcast radio signal is in a first radio frequency band and a second matching network configured to transmit the broadcast radio signal when the broadcast radio signal is in a second radio frequency band.

6. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the matching network circuitry comprises a first switch configured to electrically couple the headphone jack to one of the plurality of matching networks and a second switch configured to electrically couple the one of the plurality of matching networks to the radio receiver, wherein the control signal is configured to cause the first switch and the second switch to connect to the one of the plurality of matching networks.

7. A method comprising:

receiving a broadcast radio signal from an antenna into a radio receiver via one of a plurality of selectable matching networks, the antenna comprising a flexible conductor, an antenna network profile of the antenna varying when the flexible conductor is physically reconfigured;

decoding an analog audio signal and a digital signal from the radio broadcast signal using the radio receiver;

selecting the one of the plurality of selectable matching networks from among the plurality of selectable matching networks based at least in part on a quality of the digital signal using matching network control circuitry;

storing data relating to a context of use and the one of the plurality of selectable matching networks into volatile or nonvolatile memory, wherein the data comprises data relating to a frequency of the broadcast radio signal;

a location determined by location-sensing circuitry;

an orientation determined by one or more accelerometers;

or a global unique identifier associated with the antenna;

or any combination thereof; and

initializing the radio receiver after the data relating to the context of use the one of the plurality of selectable matching networks has been stored, evaluating a new context of use, and selecting the one of the plurality of selectable matching networks or another of the plurality of selectable matching networks using the matching network control circuitry based at least in part on a comparison between the new context of use and the stored context of use.

8. The method of claim 7, comprising storing data relating to the quality of the digital signal when data relating to the context of use and the one of the plurality of selectable matching networks are stored.