With Control (e.g., Automatic Gain Control, Automatic Frequency Control, Etc.) Patents (Class 455/136)
  • Patent number: 11988725
    Abstract: A method for determining a connection status between an antenna amplifier and an antenna structure includes applying a first diagnostic voltage to a connecting link between the antenna amplifier and the antenna structure, reading out a first voltage value at a measuring point of the connecting link, and comparing the first voltage value with the first diagnostic value. The method includes applying a second diagnostic voltage different from the first diagnostic voltage to the connecting link, reading out a second voltage value at the measuring point, and comparing the second voltage value with the second diagnostic voltage. A faulty connection between the antenna amplifier and the antenna structure is determined if the first voltage value corresponds to the first diagnostic voltage and the second voltage value corresponds to the second diagnostic voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2024
    Assignee: Hirschmann Car Communication GmbH
    Inventors: Peter Schaich, Olaf Laemmle
  • Patent number: 11721903
    Abstract: An antenna module includes a multilayer substrate having a first main surface and a second main surface opposing to each other, a patch antenna formed on a side of the first main surface of the multilayer substrate and configured with a radiation electrode and a ground electrode, an RFIC formed on a side of the second main surface of the multilayer substrate, a first filter, and a second filter different from the first filter, wherein the patch antenna has a first feed point and a second feed point provided at different positions in the radiation electrode, the first feed point is electrically connected to the RFIC via the first filter, the second feed point is electrically connected to the RFIC via the second filter, and the first filter and the second filter are formed in the multilayer substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kengo Onaka, Yoshiki Yamada, Keiichi Hirose, Hirotsugu Mori
  • Patent number: 10862515
    Abstract: A circuit component may determine whether first signal indicative of at least one of the plurality of communication interface circuits accessing the FEM during a respective communication slot associated with the FEM has been received, determine a first Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) value for the respective communication slot used by the FEM based on data associated with the respective communication slot, and store the first RSSI value in response to the first signal not being received. The circuit component may then determine a first gain for a subsequent slot based on the first RSSI value and discard the first RSSI value in response to the first signal being received.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Farouk Belghoul, Tideya Kella, Ehsan Haghani
  • Patent number: 10734961
    Abstract: A receiver includes at least a first amplifier configured to receive a received signal and provide a first amplified signal based thereon, a mixer configured to receive the first amplified signal and provide an intermediate frequency signal based thereon and a second amplifier configured to receive the intermediate frequency signal and provide a second amplified signal based thereon. An automatic gain controller for the receiver is configured to, based on a first overload signal indicative of a first frequency range of the first amplified signal having one or more frequency components exceeding a first maximum signal power threshold and a second overload signal indicative of a second frequency range, narrower than the first, of the second amplified signal having one or more frequency components exceeding a second maximum signal power threshold, provide for control of a respective gain of one or both of the first amplifier and the second amplifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Sebastien Robert, Fabian Rivière, Franck Bisson, Christophe Olivier Mertens, Samuel Becqué
  • Patent number: 10560072
    Abstract: In examples, systems and methods for increasing the performance of electrically-small antennas are described. An example system comprises an electrically-small antenna having an antenna feed. The electrically-small antenna is configured to receive a signal. The system also comprises a non-foster circuit having a negative capacitance coupled to the antenna feed in a shunt position. The non-foster circuit is configured to resonate the electrically-small antenna and provide a voltage increase to the received signal. The system also comprises a buffer circuit configured to provide an impedance conversion of the voltage-increased received signal between the antenna feed and an output of the buffer circuit. The buffer circuit includes a field-effect transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Carson R. White, Walter S. Wall
  • Patent number: 10159035
    Abstract: Method, systems, and apparatuses are described for discovery operations in a millimeter wave wireless communication system. A first base station of the millimeter wave wireless communication system may determine a timing parameter and a propagation parameter associated with a second base station of the millimeter wave wireless communication system. The first base station may perform a discovery procedure with the second base station based at least in part on the timing parameter and the propagation parameter. At least a portion of the discovery procedure may be performed wirelessly via the millimeter wave wireless communication system. The first base station may establish a backhaul communication link with the second base station based on the discovery procedure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Muhammad Nazmul Islam, Sundar Subramanian, Ashwin Sampath, Junyi Li
  • Patent number: 10056939
    Abstract: A communication system includes a demodulator configured to demodulate a modulated signal responsive to a first carrier signal. The demodulator includes a filter and a gain adjusting circuit. The filter is configured to generate a filtered first signal based on a first signal. The first signal is a product of the first carrier signal and the modulated signal. The filter has a gain adjusted based on a set of control signals. The gain adjusting circuit is coupled to the filter, and is configured to generate the set of control signals based on at least a voltage of the filtered first signal. The gain adjusting circuit includes a first peak detector coupled to the filter. The first peak detector is configured to output a peak value of the voltage of the filtered first signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Feng Wei Kuo, William Wu Shen, Chewn-Pu Jou, Huan-Neng Chen, Lan-Chou Cho
  • Patent number: 9913129
    Abstract: The present disclosure in some embodiments provides an antenna control system wherein multiple primaries perform selective communications with antenna line devices (ALDs) and its operation method. Some embodiments provide an antenna control system including a switching unit which is interconnected between at least one functional unit for controlling an antenna of a radio base station and a plurality of control devices for transmitting a control signal to the functional unit so as to control as well as power the functional unit, and is configured to selectively electrically connect any of the plurality of control devices to the functional unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: KMW INC.
    Inventors: Sung Hwan So, Myoung Sik Lee, Dong Hun Lee
  • Patent number: 9807777
    Abstract: An antenna switching method of an electronic device is provided. The antenna switching method includes measuring a transmit power variation of a first antenna, monitoring characteristics of received signals of both the first antenna and a second antenna, determining a comparison result by comparing the characteristics of the received signals of both the first antenna and the second antenna when the transmit power variation is greater than or equal to a threshold value, and switching a transmitting antenna based on at least the comparison result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tae Yoon Kim, Keon Young Lee, Chae Man Lim, Sang Won Kim, Yu Shin Kim
  • Patent number: 9743223
    Abstract: Electronic devices may communicate with each other using a “conducted RF link.” Such a conducted RF link is essentially a link that utilizes a conductor or cable that facilitates communication between electronic devices. Instead of the conductor carrying a traditional signal, it carries a modulated RF signal, such as those produced by a typical wireless RF radio like presently available WiFi/Bluetooth® cores.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Hsin-Yuo Liu, Indranil S. Sen, Mohit Narang, Peter M. Agboh, Ruben Caballero
  • Patent number: 9692466
    Abstract: A radio reception circuit that allows for preventing the S/N ratio from being degraded due to the spurious of high-output adjacent channel signals, comprises: a variable bandpass filter for passing one of received signals that has a particular frequency and that is of a particular bandwidth; a demodulation circuit for demodulating the received signal having passed through the variable bandpass filter, thereby outputting an ultimate output signal; a frequency characteristic table that stores a plurality of different parameters about frequencies and bandwidths in advance; an S/N ratio measurement circuit for calculating the S/N ratio of the output signal in a case where one of the plurality of different parameters is applied to the variable bandpass filter; and a control unit for setting, to the variable bandpass filter, a parameter, for which the best S/N ratio can be obtained, out of the plurality of different parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: NEC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Igura
  • Patent number: 9553556
    Abstract: An RF unit receives predetermined signals. The RF unit amplifies the received signals. A gain control unit controls the gain at the RF unit based on the amplified signal and has the RF unit use the controlled gain. The gain control unit performs different controls on the received signals, depending on the case when the received signal is a known signal placed in the beginning of packet signal and the case when the received signal is a signal other than the packet signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Keisuke Higuchi
  • Patent number: 9473099
    Abstract: The automatic gain control (AGC) method contains the following steps: producing a feedback signal and transmitting the feedback signal to a signal processing unit to produce a working signal; transmitting the working signal to a first signal control unit to produce a first control voltage; transmitting the first control voltage to a second signal control unit to produce a second control voltage, which is a fixed voltage; and transmitting the second control voltage to an AGC unit where the fixed second control voltage is used as a reference value. As such, when a radio-frequency (RF) input signal varies due to channel loading variation, an RF output signal by the AGC unit can be maintained within a specified dB range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Inventor: Chih-Chien Chien
  • Patent number: 9305537
    Abstract: A signal processing apparatus (100) comprising a noise detector (102) configured to: receive a stream of information representative of a stream of audio signal samples (112); and detect samples in the received stream of information (112) that are distorted by impulse noise in order to generate a noise detection signal (114), wherein the noise detection signal (114) also identifies preceding and succeeding samples that are undistorted. The signal processing apparatus (100) also comprises a processor (104) configured to replace distorted samples in the received stream of information with composite predicted values (426; 526) to provide a reconstructed stream of audio signal samples (116).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventor: Sebastiaan de Bont
  • Patent number: 9161123
    Abstract: A microphone circuit has a clip detection circuit which detects when an analogue to digital converter output has reached a threshold. A variable attenuator is controlled based on the clip detection circuit output. The feedback is thus based on the ADC output level, and the processing of this signal can be implemented without requiring baseband processing of the signal—it can simply be based on a state of the ADC output. An overrule function is also provided so that the clip detection AGC control can be inhibited or controlled differently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Han Martijn Schuurmans, Maarten Wilhelmus Henricus Marie Van Dommelen
  • Patent number: 9112471
    Abstract: A gain control system for a gain stage of a wireless communication system includes a gain control module and a mode selection module. The gain control module is operable in automatic gain control (AGC) and manual gain control (MGC) modes. The mode selection module checks the presence of first user-data in the first sub-frame based on a received signal strength indication (RSSI) value and/or a decibel amplitude level relative to full scale (dBFS) value, the presence of second user-data in a second sub-frame subsequent to the first sub-frame based on an advance information, calculates an estimated signal power level, and configures the gain control module in one of the AGC and MGC modes. Based on the mode, the gain control module provides a gain value to the gain stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Nitin Jain, Gopikrishna Charipadi
  • Patent number: 8982928
    Abstract: A method for detecting multi-user signals including conducting a first energy burst detection detecting a first plurality of user signals as a first energy burst, attempting to decode a user signal from the first plurality of signals within the first energy burst, cancelling out a first user signal from the first energy burst if the first user signal is successfully decoded from the first energy burst, determining a second user signal to be discarded if the second user signal is not successfully decoded from the first energy burst, conducting a second energy burst detection detecting a second plurality of signals as a second burst, and iteratively cancelling out the first user signal successfully decoded from the first energy burst from the second energy burst, wherein the second energy burst detection is conducted when all user signals within the first energy burst are either cancelled out or determined to be discarded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Comtech Mobile Datacom Corporation
    Inventors: Richard Candell, Paul Ebert, John Fossaceca, Greg Handermann, Mark Holland, Lajuana Johnson, Bruce L. McKinley, Bo Wang, Ralph Eugene Crenshaw
  • Patent number: 8958758
    Abstract: According to one exemplary embodiment, a communication apparatus includes: a measurement module which measures reception power of each field; a determination module which determines whether the reception power is within a range; a calculator which calculates a gain using the reception power if the reception power is not within the range; an adjuster which adjusts a field according to one of an initial gain and the calculated gain; a selector which selects a field length according to the number of field adjustments by the adjuster; and a transmitter which transmits information regarding the field length. When the number of the adjustments is lower than a first threshold value, the selector selects a first value, and when the number of the adjustments is equal to or higher than the first threshold value, the selector selects a second value that is higher than the first value, as the field length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Tomoya Tandai, Kentaro Taniguchi, Ryoko Matsuo, Takeshi Tomizawa
  • Patent number: 8929834
    Abstract: An EHF communication system including an EHF communication chip. The EHF communication chip may include an EHF communication circuit having at least one controllable parameter-based module having a testable and controllable operating parameter The EHF communication chip may further include a test and trim circuit coupled to the EHF communication circuit, where the test and trim circuit includes a logic circuit having one or more memory elements, where the logic circuit is coupled to the controllable parameter-based module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Keyssa, Inc.
    Inventors: Ian A. Kyles, Gary D. McCormack
  • Patent number: 8913975
    Abstract: An adaptive stepped gain amplifier, for example for use in broadband receivers, has a step size which is dynamically compensated (for each received frequency) to cope with step error caused by frequency dependence of the amplifier performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Fabien Laurent Michel Deforeit, Sebastien Robert, Sebastien Amiot
  • Patent number: 8903339
    Abstract: A gain adjustment device for a wireless communication circuit comprising a transmission circuit and a reception circuit includes a signal generator and a gain adjustment circuit. The signal generator is coupled to the transmission circuit, and arranged for generating a test signal to the transmission circuit. The test signal transmitted through a printed circuit board such that the reception circuit coupled to the transmission circuit generates a corresponding reception signal in response to the test signal. The gain adjustment circuit is coupled to the reception circuit and the transmission circuit, and arranged for adjusting a transmitter gain configuration and a receiver gain configuration of the wireless communication circuit according to the reception signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
    Inventor: Chin Su
  • Patent number: 8886141
    Abstract: Provided is a semiconductor device that is capable of performing background calibration during a reception operation without adversely affecting reception characteristics. During a reception operation, the semiconductor device detects a timing at which an invalid received signal occurs upon a gain change or a reception channel change and performs background calibration at the detected timing. In this instance, as the received signal is invalid, performing the calibration does not further decrease the substantial accuracy of reception. Moreover, an unnecessary signal component, which would arise when the background calibration is performed at fixed intervals, will not be generated as far as the background calibration is performed at random timing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Hideo Nakane, Keisuke Kimura, Takaya Yamamoto, Tatsuji Matsuura, Ryuichi Ujiie
  • Patent number: 8886148
    Abstract: In a signal-based gain control scheme, one or more gain levels used for processing signals are selected based on characteristics of previously received signals. For example, different gain levels may be used to receive sets of signals whereupon certain characteristics of the received sets of signals are determined. One or more gain levels are then selected based on these characteristics whereby another signal is processed based on the selected gain level(s). In some aspects, the signal-based gain control scheme may be employed to facilitate two-way ranging operations between two devices. For example, leading edge detection may involve determining a characteristic of a received signal, determining a threshold based on the characteristic, and identifying a leading edge associated with the received signal based on the threshold. In some aspects, the signal-based gain control scheme may be employed in an ultra-low power pulse-based communication system (e.g., in ultra-wideband communication devices).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Petru Cristian Budianu, David Jonathan Julian, Amal Ekbal
  • Patent number: 8885611
    Abstract: Apparatus, methods and computer program products operate a radio network controller in a wireless communications system to determine a factor to be used by user equipment operative in the wireless communications network to determine a gain factor for an E-TFC based on the gain factor of a reference E-TFC; and to signal the factor to the user equipment. The radio network controller may select the factor based on at least one criterion. In another aspect, apparatus, methods and computer program products operate user equipment to receive a factor from a wireless communications network, and to use the factor transmitted by the wireless communications network to determine a gain factor that relates a data signal to be transmitted by the user equipment in a data channel and a control signal transmitted by the electronic device in a control channel, where the control signal transmitted in the control channel carries information for use in receiving the data signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Nokia Corporation
    Inventors: Perttu Mella, Karri Ranta-Aho
  • Patent number: 8866660
    Abstract: A system and method for mitigating Analog to Digital (A/D) clipping is disclosed. The mean and variance of analog input data are tracked and the bits of A/D are dynamically reassigned to keep the input signal within their range. The quantization levels of A/D are dynamically re-mapped to avoid changes in sensitivity of sensor system. The method is based on random walk statistic and keeps the sensitivity of the sensor system constant. Also the system and method provides a way to mitigate A/D clipping that avoids changing the sensitivity by dynamically re-mapping the quantization levels of the A/D, keeping the sensitivity of the system constant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.
    Inventors: Edward C. Real, Joanne K. Como
  • Patent number: 8817825
    Abstract: Methods and systems for processing signals in a receiver are disclosed herein and may comprise receiving spatially multiplexed signals via M receive antennas. A plurality of multiple data streams may be separated in the received spatially multiplexed signals to detect MIMO data streams. Each of the MIMO data streams may correspond to a spatially multiplexed input signal. Complex phase and/or amplitude may be estimated for each detected MIMO data streams utilizing (M-1) phase shifters. Complex waveforms, comprising in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components for the MIMO data streams within the received spatially multiplexed signals may be processed and the processed complex waveforms may be filtered to generate baseband bandwidth limited signals. Phase and/or amplitude for one or more received spatially multiplexed signals may be adjusted utilizing the estimated complex phase and amplitude. Phase and/or amplitude may be adjusted continuously and/or at discrete intervals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Mark Kent, Vinko Erceg, Uri Landau, Pieter Van Rooyen
  • Patent number: 8818313
    Abstract: The present invention relates to the field of communication technologies and discloses a method and an apparatus for auto gain control (AGC) in a radio receiver, which can ensure that a radio frequency device, an analog device, and various nodes in a digital domain are non-saturated and that useful signal power is adjusted to a certain power level. According to the present invention, total signal power on an air interface is subtracted from a preset first target power to obtain an analog auto gain control (AAGC) gain, and then a second target power is subtracted from an interference signal power in a digital baseband to obtain a digital auto gain control (DAGC) gain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jianhua Qin, Junshi Chen, Yunbao Zeng
  • Patent number: 8811537
    Abstract: Provided are a receiving apparatus and method for a wireless communication system using multiple antennas. A receiving method for a wireless communication system using multiple paths, the receiving method comprising: receiving signals through a predetermined number of multiple paths; sensing a carrier according to saturation state degrees of the signals, and providing saturation state information; calculating automatic gain components of the received signals by using the received signals and the saturation state information of the received signals; and performing a noise matching process to amplify noises on the predetermined multiple paths according to the automatic gain components during a predetermined period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
    Inventors: Il-Gu Lee, Jung-Bo Son, Je-Hun Lee, Eun-Young Choi, Sok-Kyu Lee
  • Patent number: 8787827
    Abstract: Improved gain control for a digital signal processing (DSP) repeater, such as a bi-directional repeater, is disclosed. A repeater includes a back-end subsystem which comprises, for each channel in a set of wanted frequency channels that are amplified by the repeater, a coupler (314) arranged to provide a monitor signal corresponding with an output channel power level. A feedback loop (306) receives the monitoring signal, and incorporates a power control circuit (308) that compares the monitored output channel power level with a predetermined maximum output signal level (310). A corresponding control signal is generated, and provided to a variable attenuator (304) in order to maintain the individual output channel power level at or below the maximum output signal level (310). Advantageously, a DSP output level control function (404) is also provided, which maintains the output signal level of each digital channel below a maximum rated value for a digital-to -analogue converter (402).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: RF Industries Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Lambertus Anthony M. Voskulen, Zheng Li, Mykola Kyrylenko, Michael Leigh Beard, Jack Zaprianov Grozev
  • Patent number: 8750940
    Abstract: In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, an information handling system is provided. The information handling system may include a processor; a display coupled to the processor, the display comprising a pixel clock source configured to generate a pixel clock frequency; a memory device coupled to the processor, the memory device having a lookup table stored thereon; and a controller coupled to the processor and configured for: receiving frequency information associated with wireless transmissions of the information handling system; and dynamically adjusting the pixel clock frequency by selecting a frequency from the lookup table in response to a determination that the received frequency information is approximately equal to the pixel clock frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Mohammad Hijazi, Randall Juenger, John Matthew Knadler, IV, Indu Ramamurthi
  • Patent number: 8744020
    Abstract: A frequency offset of a received signal comprising a number of subsequently received data symbols is estimated. A first estimate is determined from a calculated change in phase of the received signal between two received symbols having a first time distance between them. At least one further estimate is determined from a calculated change in phase of the received signal between two received symbols having a different time distance. A frequency periodicity is determined for each estimate from the distance between the two received symbols from which the estimate was determined. A set of integer values is determined for each estimate so that frequency values calculated for each estimate as the frequency periodicity multiplied by the integer value added to the estimate are at least approximately equal to each other, and a corrected estimate of the frequency offset is determined from the integer values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2014
    Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ)
    Inventors: Niklas Andgart, Fredrik Nordström
  • Patent number: 8737941
    Abstract: A system, such as a transceiver, for controlling an adjustable power level includes first and second power detectors, a network of attenuators, a compensator, a comparator, and a controller. The first power detector measures the power of a signal. The network of attenuators receives the signal and generates an attenuated signal. The compensator receives the attenuated signal and generates a compensated signal. The second power detector measures the power of the compensated signal. The comparator receives the respective outputs from the first and second power detectors and generates a first error signal. The controller enables the fixed attenuation, correspondingly adjusts the variable attenuation, receives a second error signal, and provides a control signal to the network of attenuators to nullify an attenuation mismatch introduced between the fixed attenuation and the variable attenuation. A corresponding method for controlling an adjustable power level is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Dmitriy Rozenblit, Darioush Agahi
  • Patent number: 8731209
    Abstract: In order to generate a multi-channel signal having a number of output channels greater than a number of input channels, a mixer is used for upmixing the input signal to form at least a direct channel signal and at least an ambience channel signal. A speech detector is provided for detecting a section of the input signal, the direct channel signal or the ambience channel signal in which speech portions occur. Based on this detection, a signal modifier modifies the input signal or the ambience channel signal in order to attenuate speech portions in the ambience channel signal, whereas such speech portions in the direct channel signal are attenuated to a lesser extent or not at all. A loudspeaker signal outputter then maps the direct channel signals and the ambience channel signals to loudspeaker signals which are associated to a defined reproduction scheme, such as, for example, a 5.1 scheme.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Christian Uhle, Oliver Hellmuth, Juergen Herre, Harald Popp, Thorsten Kastner
  • Patent number: 8731500
    Abstract: A gain control circuit adjusts the signal level of a received signal responsive to the bandwidth a received signal and/or the delay spread of the channel in which the signal has propagated. The bandwidth and delay spread are evaluated to estimate the amount of signal variation that is expected due to fast fading. Adjustments to the signal level are then made to avoid clipping while at the same time ensuring that the dynamic range of a receiver component is efficiently utilized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Publ)
    Inventors: Leif Wilhelmsson, Jan Celander, Lars Sundström
  • Patent number: 8725098
    Abstract: A radio-frequency (RF) front-end circuit includes a tunable filter, a negative transconductance circuit coupled with the tunable filter to produce a tuning oscillation signal, and a counter arranged to determine a frequency of the tuning oscillation signal. The RF front-end circuit also includes a control circuit arranged to shift the frequency of the tuning oscillation signal by adjusting the tunable filter until the frequency of the tuning oscillation signal falls within an acceptable frequency range corresponding to a desired channel frequency band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: MediaTek Singapore Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Osama K A Shana'a, Xu-Dong Jiang, Chin-Heng Leow
  • Patent number: 8699638
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for implementing automatic frequency control, and an apparatus thereof. The method discloses: calculating a correlation value of common pilot symbols in a reception signal of each path and a frequency offset value, calculating a combined frequency offset value according to the frequency offset value of each path, and determining, according to the combined frequency offset value, a frequency offset adjustment value for a voltage controlled oscillator, a frequency offset adjustment value for overall reception signals and a frequency offset adjustment value for the reception signal of each path. The present invention selects a method of small-scope frequency offset estimation, which makes frequency offset estimation more accurate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: ZTE Corporation
    Inventor: Liqiang Yi
  • Patent number: 8682269
    Abstract: A first radio receiver may be configured to receive an RF signal from an RF port and may comprise a first cascode amplifier configured to provide a primary RF signal on a primary path for processing by the first RF receiver and a bypass RF signal on a bypass path. A second radio receiver may be configured to receive a sum of the bypass RF signal and an amplified primary RF signal. As a result, the second radio receiver is coupled to the same RF port and the signal received by the second receiver is maintained constant irrespective of the RF signal current drawn by the first receiver. The product of the impedance of the tuned load of the first radio receiver and the gain of the amplifier amplifying the primary RF signal is set to unity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Gireesh Rajendran
  • Patent number: 8670510
    Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for channel estimation in a MIMO communication system with multiple RF chains for WCDMA/HSDPA may comprise receiving a plurality of communication signals from a plurality of transmit antennas. A plurality of vectors of baseband combined channel estimates may be generated based on phase rotation of the received plurality of communication signals. A matrix of processed baseband combined channel estimates may be generated based on the generated plurality of vectors of baseband combined channel estimates. A plurality of amplitude and phase correction signals may be generated based on the generated plurality of vectors of baseband combined channel estimates. An amplitude and a phase of at least a portion of the received plurality of communication signals may be adjusted based on the generated plurality of amplitude and phase correction signals, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2014
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Mark Kent, Vinko Erceg, Uri M. Landau, Pieter van Rooyen
  • Patent number: 8666350
    Abstract: A circuit includes, an attenuator responsive to an input signal and a feedback signal, a variable gain low-noise amplifier responsive to the attenuator and to the feedback signal, a tracking filter, a frequency converter, and an RSSI responsive to the variable gain amplifier to generate an output signal to which the feedback signal is responsive. The frequency converter may be a mixer having a single-ended input and a differential output. The circuit may further include an analog baseband block responsive to the mixer to filter out high frequency signals. The tracking tuner performs bandpass filtering operation on the output signals of the variable gain low-noise amplifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: MaxLinear, Inc.
    Inventor: Ari Vauhkonen
  • Patent number: 8655295
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a receiving apparatus includes a variable gain amplifier, comparator, and signal processor. The comparator compares a signal level of the second signal with a first threshold to generate a third signal, a signal level of the third signal being set to a high signal if the signal level of the second signal is greater than the first threshold. The signal processor determines presence of a signal if a rate of high signals in third signals for a period is greater than a second threshold. The second threshold is set to a first value when the control of the gain is performed and set to a second value when the demodulation processing is performed. The first value is greater than the second value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Kogawa, Koji Ogura, Shoji Otaka, Hiroaki Ishihara
  • Patent number: 8626098
    Abstract: A transconductance comparator includes a comparator having an output of a detector configured to sense an amplitude of an output of a Variable Gain Amplifier (VGA) of a receiver as a first input and a reference amplitude level as a second input. The comparator generates an error signal based on the first input and the second input. The transconductance comparator also includes a transconductance amplifier having a differential voltage input based on the error signal generated through the comparator and generating an output current. The transconductance amplifier includes current sources associated with programmable current limits thereof and differential pairs associated with the current sources, one or more of which is implemented with a size mismatch between transistors thereof to eliminate an offset error due to a mismatch between the current limits, thereby enabling programmability of an attack time and a decay time during automatic gain control of the VGA.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: Tahoe RF Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventor: Darrell Lee Livezey
  • Patent number: 8620249
    Abstract: In RF transceivers a method and system for process, voltage, and temperature (PVT) measurement and calibration are provided. A nominal DC offset current may be generated at a nominal temperature and may be based on a calibration voltage. A nominal transconductance parameter may be determined based on the nominal DC offset current and the calibration voltage. The nominal transconductance may be stored and may be utilized to determine temperature and process conditions during operation. In another embodiment, a plurality of DC offset currents may be generated at different temperatures and these generated DC offset currents may be based on a calibration voltage. The calibration voltage may be constant over the range of temperatures. Transconductance parameters may be determined based on the DC offset currents and the calibration voltage. The transconductance parameters may be stored and may be utilized to determine temperature and process conditions during operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2013
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventor: Hooman Darabi
  • Patent number: 8606178
    Abstract: An electronic control module assembly includes antenna elements and a PCB. Each antenna element communicates an RF signal in a direction that corresponds with an outer face of a housing of the assembly. The PCB is received in a cavity of the housing and has RF-energy-transfer circuits and a baseband RF device, which demodulates the signal. Each RF-energy-transfer circuit receives the signal. At least two RF-energy-transfer circuits receive the signal from the antenna elements, and at least one RF-energy-transfer circuit does not receive the signal from one of the antenna elements and is a placeholder circuit. The baseband RF device is in communication with at least two of the RF-energy-transfer circuits receiving the signal. A connector provides a connection between each of the antenna elements and the PCB and is received by an aperture of the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2013
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: David R. Petrucci, Mark A. Wisnewski, Charles A. Massoll
  • Patent number: 8605661
    Abstract: Certain aspects of the method may comprise generating at least one control signal that may be utilized to control at least a first of a plurality of received spatially multiplexed communication signals. An amplitude and/or phase of the first received spatially multiplexed communication signal may be adjusted via the generated control signal so that the amplitude and/or phase of the first received spatially multiplexed communication signal may be equivalent to an amplitude and/or phase of a second received spatially multiplexed communication signal. The amplitude of the first received spatially multiplexed communication signal is adjusted within the processing path used to process the first received spatially multiplexed communication signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2013
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Mark Kent, Vinko Erceg, Uri M. Landau, Pieter Van Rooyen, Pieter Roux
  • Patent number: 8588719
    Abstract: A radio receiver includes a plurality of receiver signal strength indicator (RSSI) circuits coupled to respective output taps of various gain stages along the receiver chain. Each of the RSSI circuits generates a respective 1-bit clip information signal. A processor accumulates the clip information signals to estimate the signal strength of an inbound RF signal and sets a gain of the radio receiver based on the estimated signal strength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2013
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventor: Kartikeya Mehrotra
  • Patent number: 8583064
    Abstract: A receiver includes a first mixer configured to provide an in-phase (I) component of a radio frequency (RF) signal to an I channel by down-converting the RF signal, a second mixer configured to provide a quadrature (Q) component of the RF signal to a Q channel by down-converting the RF signal, amplification means, arranged on the I and Q channels, configured to amplify the I and Q components, a mismatch estimator configured to convert the amplified I and Q components into a frequency domain, and estimate a gain mismatch value and a phase mismatch value on the basis of the converted components, and a mismatch compensator configured to compensate for mismatch of the received signal on the basis of the estimated gain and phase mismatch values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: GCT semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Young Hwan Kang, Jiyoung Cho, Suwon Kang
  • Patent number: 8577298
    Abstract: A system and method for enhancing a magnetic communication signal is provided. A multi-element receiver is used to generate a plurality of input signals. A set of weights is generated using, for example, a calculated covariance of the plurality of input signals, and applied to the signals. The weights are used to generate a single output signal representing a weighted sum of the input signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas M. Parks, Richard Wasiewicz, David LeVan
  • Patent number: 8571152
    Abstract: The present invention discloses an apparatus and method for power-saving switch on a pair of configurable analog-to-digital converters. The apparatus mainly comprises an antenna, an antenna switch, a zero-IF RF receiver, and a baseband demodulator. By using a first and a second control signal to control the ON/OFF states of a plurality of switches and a plurality of stage units in the configurable analog-to-digital converters, and the third control signal to control the ON/OFF states of a plurality of LNA stages and the gain of a plurality VGAs, the power saving of the analog-to-digital converter is easily achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: ISSC Technologies Corp.
    Inventors: Jeng-Hong Chen, Chin-Chang Chang, Kuang-Hu Huang, Chih-Ching Huang, Che-Kang Sun, Chun-Yuan Huang
  • Patent number: 8565358
    Abstract: A system provides closed-loop gain control in a WCDMA mode and open loop control in an EDGE/GSM mode. Gain control is distributed across analog devices and a digital scaler in a wireless receiver. In the WCDMA mode, a loop filter generates an error signal that is forwarded to analog and digital control paths. The analog control path includes a first adder, a programmable hysteresis element, and a lookup table. The analog control signal is responsive to thresholds, which when used in conjunction with a previous gain value determine a new gain value. The digital control path includes a second adder, a programmable delay element, and a converter. A control word is responsive to a difference of the error signal, a calibration value, and the analog control signal. Blocker detection is provided in the WCDMA mode of operation. A controller sets system parameters using a state machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Jaleh Komaili, John E. Vasa, Thomas Obkircher
  • Patent number: 8548107
    Abstract: A method for detecting multi-user signals including conducting a first energy burst detection detecting a first plurality of user signals as a first energy burst, attempting to decode a user signal from the first plurality of signals within the first energy burst, cancelling out a first user signal from the first energy burst if the first user signal is successfully decoded from the first energy burst, determining a second user signal to be discarded if the second user signal is not successfully decoded from the first energy burst, conducting a second energy burst detection detecting a second plurality of signals as a second burst, and iteratively cancelling out the first user signal successfully decoded from the first energy burst from the second energy burst, wherein the second energy burst detection is conducted when all user signals within the first energy burst are either cancelled out or determined to be discarded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Comtech Mobile Datacom Corporation
    Inventors: Richard Candell, Paul Ebert, John Fossaceca, Greg Handermann, Mark Holland, Lajuana Johnson, Bruce L. McKinley, Bo Wang, Ralph Eugene Crenshaw