Dynamic antenna tuning for multi-band multi-carrier wireless systems

• US 9,693,238 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2014
• Issued: 06/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Zhang, Haining, Mucke, Christian W., Hu, Ming
• Primary Examiner(s): Bilodeau, David
• Application Number:
  US14/257,915
• Publication Number:
  US 20150305035A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,163 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for the design and dynamic tuning of antenna circuitry for use across multiple radio frequency bands in wireless communication devices is disclosed herein. An antenna apparatus includes antenna tuning control, antenna tuning circuitry, and a set of one or more physical antennas. The antenna tuning controller includes a combination of baseband and front-end hardware and software. The antenna circuitry collectively includes antenna tuning circuitry and the set of one or more physical antennas. Based on a set of radio frequency bands and on communication channel conditions, the antenna tuning controller determines an optimal antenna tuning configuration and provides appropriate parameters to the antenna tuning circuitry. The antenna apparatus configures and optimizes the tuning of the antenna circuitry for a future time period, which can be a next time slot. The antenna tuning controller utilizes a cost/gain function to calculate the optimal antenna tuning configuration.

Claims

1. An apparatus for dynamically tuning antenna circuitry of a user equipment (UE) in a multi-band multi-carrier wireless system, the apparatus comprising:

antenna tuning circuitry, the antenna tuning circuitry coupled between a front-end of a transceiver and one or more physical antennas, wherein the antenna tuning circuitry comprises a plurality of adjustable hardware components; and

an antenna tuning controller comprising;

a processor, and

a memory comprising instructions that when executed by the processor cause the antenna tuning controller to;

determine, for a future time period, an active transmit carrier frequency, and

tune the one or more physical antennas for the future time period with respect to;

i) a first receive component carrier (CC) ii) a second receive CC, and iii) a transmit CC,

wherein;

i) the antenna tuning controller is coupled to the antenna tuning circuitry, ii) the antenna tuning controller tunes the one or more physical antennas by determining values for the plurality of adjustable hardware components, iii) the transmit CC corresponds to the active transmit carrier frequency, iv) the first receive CC is in a first band, v) the second CC is in a second band, and vi) the first band and the second band are associated with a carrier aggregation (CA) protocol, and

wherein the antenna tuning controller calculates an argument to determine values of the plurality of adjustable hardware components based at least in part on;

i) a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) associated with the first receive CC and ii) a second RSSI associated with the second receive CC.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the argument is associated with a cost/gain function.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the argument comprises:

antenna frequency response information for two or more antenna tuning configurations of the one or more physical antennas; and

a set of states characterizing current uplink communication channel conditions.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the argument is based at least in part on a transmit power of the transmit CC.

5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of adjustable hardware components comprises adjustable capacitors and adjustable inductors.

6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein an execution time to configure and optimize tuning of the one or more physical antennas is less than 1 millisecond.

7. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the UE is configured to use a set of carrier frequencies that comprises a combination of one or more active receive carrier frequencies and one or more active transmit carrier frequencies.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more physical antennas comprises at least two physical antennas.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

i) the first band is an 800 MHz band, and ii) the second band is a 1900 MHz band or a 2500 MHz band.

10. A method for dynamically tuning antenna circuitry of a user equipment (UE) in a multi-band multi-carrier wireless system, wherein:

i) the UE comprises antenna tuning circuitry, ii) the antenna tuning circuitry coupled between a front-end of a transceiver and one or more physical antennas, and iii) the antenna tuning circuitry comprises a plurality of adjustable hardware components, the method comprising;

at an antenna tuning controller;

determining, for a future time period, an active transmit carrier frequency, and

tuning the one or more physical antennas for the future time period with respect to;

i) a first receive component carrier (CC) ii) a second receive CC, and iii) a transmit CC, wherein the tuning comprises calculating an argument to determine values of the plurality of adjustable hardware components based at least in part on;

i) a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) associated with the first receive CC and ii) a second RSSI associated with the second receive CC,

wherein;

i) the antenna tuning controller is coupled to the antenna tuning circuitry, ii) the antenna tuning controller tunes the one or more physical antennas by determining values for a plurality of adjustable hardware components, iii) the transmit CC corresponds to the active transmit carrier frequency, iv) the first receive CC is in a first band, v) the second CC is in a second band, and vi) the first band and the second band are associated with a carrier aggregation (CA) protocol.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein:

i) the first band is an 800 MHz band, and ii) the second band is a 1900 MHz band or a 2500 MHz band.

12. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the plurality of adjustable hardware components comprises adjustable capacitors and adjustable inductors.

13. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein an execution time to configure and optimize tuning of the one or more physical antennas is less than 1 millisecond.

14. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the UE is configured to use a set of carrier frequencies that comprises a combination of one or more active receive carrier frequencies and one or more active transmit carrier frequencies.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more physical antennas comprises at least two physical antennas.

16. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the argument is associated with a cost/gain function.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the argument comprises:

antenna frequency response information for two or more antenna tuning configurations of the one or more physical antennas; and

a set of states characterizing current uplink communication channel conditions.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the argument is based at least in part on a transmit power of the transmit CC.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor in a user equipment (UE) cause an antenna tuning controller in the UE to:

determine, for a future time period, an active transmit carrier frequency, and

tune one or more physical antennas of the UE for the future time period with respect to;

i) a first receive component carrier (CC) ii) a second receive CC, and iii) a transmit CC, wherein the instructions cause the UE to tune by calculating an argument to determine values of the plurality of adjustable hardware components based at least in part on;

i) a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) associated with the first receive CC and ii) a second RSSI associated with the second receive CC,

wherein;

i) the antenna tuning controller is coupled to antenna tuning circuitry, ii) the instructions cause the antenna tuning controller to tune the one or more physical antennas by determining values for a plurality of adjustable hardware components, iii) the transmit CC corresponds to the active transmit carrier frequency, iv) the first receive CC is in a first band, v) the second CC is in a second band, and vi) the first band and the second band are associated with a carrier aggregation (CA) protocol.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein:

i) the first band is an 800 MHz band, and ii) the second band is a 1900 MHz band or a 2500 MHz band.