Wireless device with antenna array and separate antenna

• US 9,490,548 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2013
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Weissman, Haim Mendel, Raviv, Lior
• Primary Examiner(s): Hsieh, Ping
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yang, James
• Application Number:
  US13/777,768
• Publication Number:
  US 20140242918A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,351 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 25/002 providing at least two patterns of different beamwidth; Variable beamwidth antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/26 varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture H01Q3/12, H01Q3/22, H01Q3/24 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/267 Phased-array testing or checking devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0689 using different transmission schemes, at least one of them being a diversity transmission scheme
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0871 using different reception schemes, at least one of them being a diversity reception scheme
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering

Abstract

An apparatus (e.g., a wireless device) includes an antenna array and a separate antenna. The antenna array includes a plurality of antenna elements having a first antenna beam. The separate antenna includes an antenna element having a second antenna beam. The antenna element of the separate antenna is separate from the antenna elements of the antenna array. The antenna array and the separate antenna are active at different times in an operational mode. The antenna array may transmit and the separate antenna may be inactive in a transmit mode. The separate antenna may receive and the antenna array may be inactive in a receive mode. The antenna array may receive and the separate antenna may transmit in a test mode. Alternatively, the antenna array may transmit and the separate antenna may receive in the test mode.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an antenna array comprising a plurality of beamforming antenna elements;

a first antenna comprising an omni-directional or quasi omni-directional antenna element, the omni-directional or quasi omni-directional antenna element being separate from the plurality of beamforming antenna elements of the antenna array and located outside a grid containing the plurality of beamforming antenna elements, the antenna array and the first antenna configured to operate at either different times or concurrently based on an operational mode of the apparatus, the operational mode selected from a group consisting of a transmit mode, a receive mode, a first test mode, and a second test mode;

a splitter/combiner coupled to the antenna array via a plurality of beamforming transmit/receive (TX/RX) chains;

a transmitter coupled to the splitter/combiner, the transmitter configured to generate an output radio frequency (RF) signal, wherein the output RF signal is transmitted through the first antenna in the first test mode and the output RF signal is transmitted through the antenna array in the second test mode;

a receiver coupled to the splitter/combiner, the receiver configured to obtain input samples from an input RF signal, wherein the input RF signal is received through the antenna array in the first test mode and the input RF signal is received through the first antenna in the second test mode;

a test circuit configured to make test measurements during the second test mode; and

a switch configured to selectively couple the first antenna either to the splitter/combiner or to the test circuit based on the operational mode via a first TX/RX chain, the first TX/RX chain separate from the plurality of beamforming TX/RX chains.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first test mode comprises a receive test mode and the second test mode comprises a transmit test mode.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein during the receive test mode:

the transmitter configured to generate a test signal;

the first antenna configured to transmit the test signal;

the antenna array configured to receive the test signal; and

the receiver configured to process the test signal.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein during the transmit test mode:

the transmitter configured to generate a test signal;

the antenna array configured to transmit the test signal;

the first antenna configured to receive the test signal; and

the test circuit configured to process the test signal.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, the antenna array configured to transmit during the second test mode and the first antenna configured to receive during the second test mode.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, the first antenna configured to transmit during the first test mode and the antenna array configured to receive during the first test mode.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, the first TX/RX chain comprising:

a power amplifier (PA) configured to receive an output RF signal and to provide a transmit RF signal to the first antenna; and

a low noise amplifier (LNA) configured to receive a received RF signal from the first antenna and to provide an input RF signal to the splitter/combiner.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, the apparatus including a front-end portion of a transceiver, the transceiver included in a first wireless device, the first antenna and the antenna array are further configured to operate concurrently during the first test mode or the second test mode, and the first antenna is further configured to transmit information to a wireless device during the transmit mode.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the test circuit comprises:

a power detector configured to receive the input RF signal from the first TX/RX chain; and

an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) configured to perform analog-to-digital conversion on an output of the power detector.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first antenna is located at least a first distance from the antenna array, and wherein the first distance is greater than a second distance between two adjacent antenna elements of the antenna array.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, the first antenna comprises the quasi omni-directional antenna element, wherein the quasi omni-directional antenna element comprises an antenna beam having a coverage angle and an antenna gain variation of less than a fixed amount across the coverage angle, the minimum of the coverage angle being 120 degrees.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the switch couples the first antenna to the transmitter via the splitter/combiner in response to selection of the first test mode and the switch couples the first antenna to the test circuit via the first TX/RX chain in response to selection of the second test mode.

13. A method comprising:

in response to selection of a second test mode;

transmitting an output radio frequency (RF) signal via an antenna array that is coupled to a first wireless device, the antenna array comprising a plurality of beamforming antenna elements coupled to a splitter/combiner via a plurality of beamforming transmit/receive (TX/RX) chains;

receiving an input RF signal corresponding to the output RF signal, the input RF signal received from a first antenna;

providing the input RF signal from the first antenna to a test circuit via a switch, wherein the switch selectively couples the first antenna either to the splitter/combiner or to the test circuit based on an operational mode via a first TX/RX chain, the first TX/RX chain being separate from the plurality of beamforming TX/RX chains and the operational mode comprising a transmit mode, a receive mode, a first test mode, and the second test mode, wherein the first test mode comprises a receive test mode and the second test mode comprises a transmit test mode;

in response to selection of the first test mode;

transmitting the output radio frequency (RF) signal via a first antenna that is coupled to the first wireless device, the first antenna comprising an omni-directional or quasi omni-directional antenna element, the omni-directional or quasi omni-directional antenna element being separate from the plurality of beamforming antenna elements of the antenna array and located outside a grid containing the plurality of beamforming antenna elements;

receiving the input RF signal corresponding to the output RF signal, the input RF signal received from the antenna array; and

providing the input RF signal from the antenna array to the splitter/combiner via the plurality of beamforming TX/RX chains.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein a test signal is generated by a transmitter, transmitted via the first antenna, received by the antenna array, and processed by a receiver in response to selection of the receive test mode.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein a test signal is generated by a transmitter, transmitted via the antenna array, received by the first antenna, and processed by the test circuit in response to selection of the transmit test mode.

16. The method of claim 13, the first antenna comprises the quasi omni-directional antenna element, wherein the quasi omni-directional antenna element comprises an antenna beam having a coverage angle and an antenna gain variation of less than a fixed amount across the coverage angle, the minimum of the coverage angle being 120 degrees.

17. An apparatus comprising:

means for generating an output radio frequency (RF) signal for transmission via an antenna array comprising a plurality of beamforming antenna elements coupled to a splitter/combiner via a plurality of beamforming transmit/receive (TX/RX) chains in response to selection of a second test mode;

means for receiving an input RF signal corresponding to the output RF signal from a first antenna in response to selection of the second test mode;

means for providing the input RF signal from the first antenna to a test circuit via a switch, wherein the switch selectively couples the first antenna either to the splitter/combiner or to the test circuit based on an operational mode via a first TX/RX chain, the first TX/RX chain being separate from the plurality of beamforming TX/RX chains and the operational mode comprising a transmit mode, a receive mode, a first test mode, and the second test mode in response to selection of the second test mode, and wherein the switch couples the first antenna to the transmitter via the splitter/combiner in response to selection of the first test mode and the switch couples the first antenna to the test circuit via the first TX/RX chain in response to selection of the second test mode;

means for transmitting the output radio frequency (RF) signal via a first antenna that is coupled to a first wireless device, the first antenna comprising an omni-directional or quasi omni-directional antenna element, the omni-directional or quasi omni-directional antenna element being separate from the plurality of beamforming antenna elements of the antenna array and located outside a grid containing the plurality of beamforming antenna elements in response to selection of the first test mode;

means for receiving the input RF signal corresponding to the output RF signal, the input RF signal received from the antenna array in response to selection of the first test mode; and

means for providing the input RF signal from the antenna array to the splitter/combiner via the plurality of beamforming TX/RX chains in response to selection of the first test mode.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, the first antenna comprises the quasi omni-directional antenna element, wherein the quasi omni-directional antenna element comprises an antenna beam having a coverage angle and an antenna gain variation of less than a fixed amount across the coverage angle, the minimum of the coverage angle being 120 degrees.