Apparatus and method for determining relative direction of a wireless peer device from another device
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system comprising:
- an antenna system having an associated radiation pattern, the antenna system includinga ground plane,a first conductor element having a first length that is a quarter-wavelength of a frequency of a wireless communication link and positioned at an origin of a co-ordinate system of the antenna system, anda plurality of second conductor elements having the first length and spaced equidistantly from the origin by approximately the first length;
a plurality of switch elements configured to selectively introduce a null or other reduction in sensitivity into the associated radiation pattern by electrically connecting or disconnecting one or more of the plurality of second conductor elements, each subset of the one or more of the plurality of second conductor configured to introduce the null or other the reduction in sensitivity at different time intervals;
a communications link configure to monitor the performance of the wireless communication link between a first device associated with the antenna system and a second device, the first device and the second device communicating with each other using the wireless communication link; and
a correlation module configured to correlate a reduction in the performance of the wireless communication link with the null or other reduction in sensitivity at the different time intervals, and configured to provide an estimate of the direction of the second device relative to the first device.
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Abstract
Systems, apparatuses, devices, and methods for wireless communications. An antenna in which nulls or directions of reduced performance can be selectively introduced is provided, and the performance of a communication link to a wireless communication device is monitored. By correlating the selectively reduced sensitivity of the antenna with reductions in the communication link performance, the direction of the wireless communication device may be estimated. Embodiments of the present invention may be used in numerous applications, such as cell phones, PDA'"'"'s, and laptops.
15 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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an antenna system having an associated radiation pattern, the antenna system including a ground plane, a first conductor element having a first length that is a quarter-wavelength of a frequency of a wireless communication link and positioned at an origin of a co-ordinate system of the antenna system, and a plurality of second conductor elements having the first length and spaced equidistantly from the origin by approximately the first length; a plurality of switch elements configured to selectively introduce a null or other reduction in sensitivity into the associated radiation pattern by electrically connecting or disconnecting one or more of the plurality of second conductor elements, each subset of the one or more of the plurality of second conductor configured to introduce the null or other the reduction in sensitivity at different time intervals; a communications link configure to monitor the performance of the wireless communication link between a first device associated with the antenna system and a second device, the first device and the second device communicating with each other using the wireless communication link; and a correlation module configured to correlate a reduction in the performance of the wireless communication link with the null or other reduction in sensitivity at the different time intervals, and configured to provide an estimate of the direction of the second device relative to the first device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of determining a direction of a second device relative to a first device, comprising:
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operating the first device so as to receive signals using an antenna system having an associated radiation pattern, the antenna system including a ground plane, a first conductor element having a first length that is a quarter-wavelength of a frequency of a wireless communication link and positioned at an origin of a co-ordinate system of the antenna system, and a plurality of second conductor elements having the first length and spaced equidistantly from the origin by approximately the first length and, a plurality of switch elements; selectively introducing a null or other form of reduced sensitivity into the associated radiation pattern in a desired direction by operating subsets of one or more of the plurality of switch elements to electrically connect or disconnect a subset of one or more of the plurality of second conductor elements, each subset of the one or more of the plurality of second conductor elements configured to introduce the null or other the reduction in sensitivity at different time intervals; monitoring the performance of the wireless communication link between the first device and the second device, the first device and the second device communicating with each other using the wireless communication link; and correlating a reduction in the performance of the wireless communication link with the selectively introduced null or other form of reduced sensitivity at the different time intervals, thereby providing an estimate of the direction of the second device relative to the first device. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A mobile device operable to communicate with a second device using a wireless communications technology, comprising:
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an antenna system having an associated radiation pattern operative to receive signals provided to the mobile device using the wireless communications technology the antenna system including a ground plane, a first conductor element having a first length that is a quarter-wavelength of a frequency of a wireless communication link and positioned at an origin of a co-ordinate system of the antenna system, a plurality of second conductor elements having the first length and spaced equidistantly from the origin by approximately the first length, and a plurality of switch elements; a receiver coupled to the antenna system and operative to detect the received signals; an antenna configuration module operative to selectively alter an aspect of the associated radiation pattern of the antenna system to cause a reduction in the performance of the antenna system by operating one or more of the plurality of switch elements to electrically connect or disconnect one or more of the plurality of second conductor elements at different time intervals; a communications link monitoring module operative to monitor a signal characteristic of a signal exchanged between the second device and the mobile device; and a correlation module operative to determine a correlation between a change in the signal characteristic and the selectively altered aspect of the associated radiation pattern of the antenna system at the different time intervals, thereby providing an estimate of the direction of the second device relative to the mobile device. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification