Method and apparatus for adjusting the timing of radio antenna tuning

• US 9,374,113 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2012
• Issued: 06/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Greene, Matthew, Hoirup, Carsten, Manssen, Keith
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Duc M
• Application Number:
  US13/724,040
• Publication Number:
  US 20140177686A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,278 Days
• Field of Search: 455/120, 455/121, 455/123, 455/125, 455/126, 455/276.1, 455/289
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/56 Modifications of input or output impedances, not otherwise provided for
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/40 Circuits

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, determining, by a controller of a mobile communication device, a phase shift criteria and an amplitude shift criteria associated with a modulation being implemented by the mobile communication device. The controller can determine a group of tuning steps that satisfies the phase and amplitude shift criteria and that provides a desired tuning step for a matching network of the mobile communication device. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A mobile communication device, comprising:

an antenna;

a transceiver coupled with the antenna;

a matching network coupled with the transceiver and the antenna, wherein the matching network includes a variable reactance element; and

a controller coupled with the matching network, wherein the controller determines a desired tuning step to be applied to the matching network to adjust a variable reactance of the variable reactance element, wherein the controller determines a phase shift criteria associated with a modulation being implemented by the mobile communication device, wherein the controller selects a group of tuning steps based on satisfying the phase shift criteria and based on adding up to equal the determined desired tuning step, wherein the selection of the group of tuning steps is performed by the controller prior to the controller initiating an adjustment of the variable reactance element based on the selected group of tuning steps, wherein the phase shift criteria is a maximum phase shift limit for each tuning step of the group of tuning steps, and wherein the variable reactance of the variable reactance element is adjusted utilizing the group of tuning steps applied in sequence, wherein a first tuning step of the group of tuning steps has a different step size than a second tuning step of the group of tuning steps, and wherein the controller via a single write command provides a rate of tuning adjustment that represents the selected group of tuning steps and that causes the variable reactance of the variable reactance element to be adjusted.

2. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the controller determines a maximum amplitude shift limit associated with the modulation, and wherein the selection of the group of tuning steps by the controller includes selecting the group of tuning steps that does not exceed the maximum amplitude shift limit.

3. The mobile communication device of claim 2, comprising a memory, wherein the controller identifies the maximum phase shift limit and the maximum amplitude shift limit from a table stored in the memory, wherein the table is indexed based on a modulation type, and wherein the group of tuning steps enables achieving the desired tuning step within a single radio frame.

4. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the variable reactance element comprises a switch and a group of reactance elements including a capacitor, an inductor, or a combination thereof.

5. The mobile communication device of claim 4, wherein the selection of the group of tuning steps by the controller comprises utilizing an adjustable R-C time constant to determine an adjustment of a transition between steps of the group of tuning steps.

6. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the variable reactance element comprises a voltage tunable capacitor.

7. The mobile communication device of claim 6, further comprising a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) coupled with the matching network, wherein the controller via the single write command provides the rate of tuning adjustment to the DAC that represents the selected group of tuning steps, and wherein the DAC generates corresponding bias voltages representing the selected group of tuning steps that adjust the variable reactance of the variable reactance element.

8. The mobile communication device of claim 6, wherein the variable reactance of the variable reactance element is adjusted utilizing the selected group of tuning steps responsive to the controller detecting an absence of a frequency change during the modulation.

9. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the variable reactance of the variable reactance element is adjusted by the controller utilizing the group of tuning steps for both a transmit mode and a receive mode of the mobile communication device.

10. The mobile communication device of claim 9, wherein the variable reactance element includes a voltage tunable capacitor.

11. The mobile communication device of claim 1, further comprising a measurement component to obtain an operational parameter of the mobile communication device, wherein the controller determines the desired tuning step based on the operational parameter.

12. The mobile communication device of claim 11, wherein the measurement component is connected with a directional coupler.

13. A method, comprising:

determining, by a controller of a mobile communication device, a phase shift criteria and an amplitude shift criteria associated with a modulation being implemented by the mobile communication device;

determining, by the controller, a desired tuning step for a matching network of the mobile communication device; and

responsive to the determining of the desired tuning step, determining, by the controller, a group of tuning steps based on satisfying the phase and amplitude shift criteria and based on adding up to equal the determined desired tuning step, wherein the phase and amplitude shift criteria are maximum phase and amplitude shift limits, and wherein the determining of the group of tuning steps by the controller comprises generating a single write command by the controller that includes an adjustable R-C time constant to implement an adjustment of a transition between steps of the group of tuning steps, wherein a first tuning step of the group of tuning steps has a different step size than a second tuning step of the group of tuning steps.

14. The method of claim 13, comprising storing a table in a memory of the mobile communication device, wherein the controller determines the phase shift criteria and the amplitude shift criteria from the table according to the modulation.

15. The method of claim 13, comprising:

providing, by the controller, a rate of tuning adjustment in the single write command that represents the group of tuning steps to a Digital-to-Analog Convertor (DAC) of the mobile communication device;

generating, by the DAC, bias voltages corresponding to the group of tuning steps based on the rate of tuning adjustment; and

providing, by the DAC, the bias voltages to a variable reactance element of the matching network to adjust a variable reactance of the variable reactance element.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising adjusting a variable reactance of a variable reactance element of the matching network based on the determined group of tuning steps responsive to a detection of an absence of a frequency change during the modulation, wherein the group of tuning steps enables achieving the desired tuning step within a single radio frame.

17. The method of claim 13, comprising:

determining a use case for the mobile communication device; and

determining the desired tuning step based on the determined use case.

18. A mobile communication device, comprising:

a memory storing a look-up table, wherein the look-up table is indexed based on a modulation type;

a matching network having a voltage tunable capacitor; and

a controller coupled with the memory and the matching network, wherein the controller determines a desired tuning step to be applied to the matching network to adjust a variable capacitance of the voltage tunable capacitor, wherein the controller determines maximum phase and amplitude shift limits associated with a modulation being implemented by the mobile communication device based on the look-up table, and wherein the controller generates a single control signal that applies a group of tuning steps that does not exceed the maximum phase and amplitude shift limits and that cumulatively provides the determined desired tuning step, wherein a first tuning step of the group of tuning steps has a different step size than a second tuning step of the group of tuning steps.

19. The mobile communication device of claim 18, wherein the control signal includes an adjustable R-C time constant.

20. The mobile communication device of claim 18, further comprising a digital-to-analog converter for generating corresponding bias voltages representing the group of tuning steps.