RF power transmission, modulation, and amplification, including direct cartesian 2-branch embodiments

• US 9,197,164 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2014
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ParkerVision, Inc.
• Original Assignee: ParkerVision, Inc.
• Inventors: Sorrells, David F., Rawlins, Gregory S., Rawlins, Michael W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Lana N
• Application Number:
  US14/556,734
• Publication Number:
  US 20150087251A1
• Time in Patent Office: 358 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H03C 5/00 Amplitude modulation and angle modulation produced simultaneously or at will by the same modulating signal H03C7/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/02 Modifications of amplifiers to raise the efficiency, e.g. gliding Class A stages, use of an auxiliary oscillation
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0205 in transistor amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0233 by using a signal derived from the output signal, e.g. bootstrapping the voltage supply
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0294 using vector summing of two or more constant amplitude phase-modulated signals
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/32 Modifications of amplifiers to reduce non-linear distortion by negative feedback H03F1/34
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/3205 in field-effect transistor amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/3223 using feed-forward H03F1/3211 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/336 A I/Q, i.e. phase quadrature, modulator or demodulator being used in an amplifying circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/387 A circuit being added at the output of an amplifier to adapt the output impedance of the amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/451 the amplifier being a radio frequency amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2201/3215 To increase the output power or efficiency
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/193 with field-effect devices H03F3/195 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/211 using a combination of several amplifiers H03F3/60 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/24 of transmitter output stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/245 with semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/45071 with semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3042 in modulators, frequency-changers, transmitters or power amplifiers transmission power control in bidirectional transmission systems H04W52/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/04 Circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0475 with means for limiting noise, interference or distortion H04B1/0483 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0483 : Transmitters with multiple parallel paths
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/045 : with means for improving efficiency
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/0491 : with frequency synthesizers, frequency converters or modulators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/20 : Modulator circuits; Transmitter circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/36 : Modulator circuits; Transmitter circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/362 : Modulation using more than one carrier, e.g. with quadrature carriers, separately amplitude modulated H04L27/366 takes precedence

Abstract

Methods and systems for vector combining power amplification are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a plurality of signals are individually amplified, then summed to form a desired time-varying complex envelope signal. Phase and/or frequency characteristics of one or more of the signals are controlled to provide the desired phase, frequency, and/or amplitude characteristics of the desired time-varying complex envelope signal. In another embodiment, a time-varying complex envelope signal is decomposed into a plurality of constant envelope constituent signals. The constituent signals are amplified equally or substantially equally, and then summed to construct an amplified version of the original time-varying envelope signal. Embodiments also perform frequency up-conversion.

Claims

1. A method of amplification, comprising:

receiving a representation of a desired output signal;

generating a normalized clock signal;

generating, using the normalized clock signal, first and second substantially constant envelope signals based on the representation of the desired output signal;

phase-shifting the first or the second substantially constant envelope signals;

amplifying the first and second substantially constant envelope signals; and

summing the first and second substantially constant envelope signals to generate an output signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a representation comprises receiving in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) phase components of a baseband information signal.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising generating amplitude information based on the received I and Q components of the baseband information signal.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and second substantially constant envelope signals are generated using the amplitude information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a representation comprises receiving a magnitude and a phase of the desired output signal.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the normalized clock signal is generated based on a received clock signal.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising determining a phase shift angle of the normalized clock signal.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first or the second substantially constant envelope signal is phase-shifted by the determined phase shift angle.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein amplifying the first and the second substantially constant envelope signals comprises amplifying the first and the second substantially constant envelope signals individually.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and the second substantially constant envelope signals are amplified using a multiple-input single-output (MISO) amplifier.