Electronic device having coupler for tapping antenna signals

• US 9,791,490 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2014
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Pascolini, Mattia
• Primary Examiner(s): Levi, Dameon E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lotter, David
• Application Number:
  US14/299,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20150355251A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,226 Days
• Field of Search: 343703, 343850
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 29/10 Radiation diagrams of antennas

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. Control circuitry may be used to adjust transmit power levels for wireless signals, may be used to tune antennas, and may be used to adjust other settings for the wireless circuitry. The electronic device may have a coupler interposed between an antenna and wireless transceiver circuitry. The coupler and a receiver within the transceiver circuitry may be used to make measurements on tapped antenna signals such as transmitted signals and signals reflected from the antenna. By analyzing the tapped antenna signals, S-parameter phase and magnitude information may be gathered that provides insight into whether the electronic device is operating properly and whether an external object is adjacent to the antenna. If an external object is present, the electronic device may limit wireless transmit power and may adjust tunable components in the antenna to compensate for detuning from the external object.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

an antenna;

wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry that transmits radio-frequency signals at a transmit power level through the antenna;

a coupler interposed in a path between the wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and the antenna that taps, from the path, the radio-frequency signals transmitted by the wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry;

a tapped signal path that carries the tapped radio-frequency signals from the coupler;

a receiver in the wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry that receives the tapped radio-frequency signals from the tapped signal path and that measures the tapped radio-frequency signals; and

a processor that processes the tapped radio-frequency signals to produce S-parameter phase and magnitude information, wherein the coupler comprises switching circuitry and the processor is configured to direct the switching circuitry to route the tapped radio-frequency signals to the tapped signal path.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the radio-frequency signals transmitted by the wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry reflect from the antenna, and the processor is configured to direct the switching circuitry to route a tapped version of the reflected transmitted radio-frequency signals to the tapped signal path.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the switching circuitry comprises a first switch and a second switch, and the first and second switches are controlled by the processor.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the first switch has a first terminal coupled to the tapped signal path, a second terminal coupled to a first ground termination, and a third terminal that receives the tapped version of the reflected transmitted radio-frequency signals.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the second switch has a first terminal coupled to the tapped signal path, a second terminal coupled to a second ground termination, and a third terminal that receives the tapped radio-frequency signals.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 further comprising a double-pole-double throw switch interposed between the antenna and the coupler.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 wherein the processor sets a maximum level for the transmit power level based on the phase and magnitude information.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 wherein the antenna comprises tunable components, and the processor adjusts the tunable components to tune the antenna based on the phase and magnitude information.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the antenna is detuned due to an external object in the vicinity of the antenna, the antenna comprises tunable components, and the processor adjusts the tunable components based on the phase and magnitude information to compensate for the detuning due to the external object.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to generate the S-parameter phase and magnitude information based on the tapped radio-frequency signals transmitted by the wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and based on the tapped version of the reflected transmitted radio-frequency signals.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10, wherein the S-parameter phase and magnitude information comprises an S-parameter value computed by the processor as a logarithm of the tapped version of the reflected transmitted radio-frequency signals divided by the tapped radio-frequency signals transmitted by the wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 3, wherein the first switch is configured to route the tapped version of the reflected transmitted radio-frequency signals to the tapped signal path and the second switch is configured to route the tapped radio-frequency signals transmitted by the wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry to the tapped signal path.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the processor comprises a baseband processor that generates the S-parameter phase and magnitude information based on the tapped radio-frequency signals carried by the tapped antenna path.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 5, wherein the first switch is configured to short the second terminal of the first switch to the third terminal of the first switch while the second switch shorts the first terminal of the second switch to the third terminal of the second switch.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14, wherein the second switch is configured to short the second terminal of the second switch to the third terminal of the second switch while the first switch shorts the third terminal of the first switch to the first terminal of the first switch.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 2, wherein the processor comprises a baseband processor, the electronic device further comprising:

an additional receiver in the wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry;

a duplexer having a first terminal coupled to the antenna and having second and third terminals; and

an adjustable switch having a first input coupled to the tapped signal path, a second input coupled to the second terminal of the duplexer, and an output coupled to the additional receiver, wherein the adjustable switch is controlled using a control signal to selectively couple one of the duplexer and the tapped signal path to the additional receiver.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16, further comprising:

a transmitter in the wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry;

an amplifier interposed between the transmitter and the third terminal of the duplexer; and

additional switching circuitry coupled between the first terminal of the duplexer and the antenna, wherein the coupler is interposed between the additional switching circuitry and the duplexer.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 17, further comprising:

an additional antenna; and

a third receiver in the wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, wherein the additional switching circuitry has first, second, third, and fourth terminals, the first terminal of the additional switching circuitry is coupled to the first terminal of the duplexer through the coupler, the second terminal of the additional switching circuitry is coupled to the third transceiver, the third terminal of the additional switching circuitry is coupled to the antenna, and the fourth terminal of the additional switching circuitry is coupled to the additional antenna.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 2, wherein the antenna comprises antenna tuning circuitry, and the processor is configured to:

reduce the transmit power level in response to identifying, in the S-parameter phase and magnitude information, a first amount of magnitude mismatch and a first amount of phase mismatch between the tapped version of the reflected transmitted radio-frequency signals and the tapped radio-frequency signals transmitted by the wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry; and

reduce the transmit power level and adjust the antenna tuning circuitry in response to identifying, in the S-parameter phase and magnitude information, a second amount of magnitude mismatch and the first amount of phase mismatch between the tapped version of the reflected transmitted radio-frequency signals and the tapped radio-frequency signals transmitted by the wireless radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, wherein the second amount of magnitude mismatch is greater than the first amount of magnitude mismatch.