TW201931669A - Wireless communication chipset, mobile communication device and method for auto-detection of antenna isolation - Google Patents

Abstract

A wireless communication chipset, a mobile communication device and a method for auto-detection of antenna isolation are provided. The wireless communication chipset includes a first antenna port, a second antenna port, and a controller. The controller detects the power level used for transmitting a wireless signal via the first antenna port, and detects the signal strength of the wireless signal received via the second antenna port. Also, the controller further determines the isolation between the first antenna port and the second antenna port according to the power level and the signal strength.

Description

Wireless communication chipset, mobile communication equipment, and method for detecting antenna isolation

The present invention relates generally to integrated antennas, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for automatically detecting antenna isolation in a multi-antenna system.

With the growing demand for ubiquitous computing and interconnection, various wireless technologies have been developed, such as Short Range Wireless (SRW) technology and cellular technology. Examples of short-range wireless technologies include Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, and Zigbee technology. Examples of cellular technologies include Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) Technology, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) technology, Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA-2000) technology, Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) technology, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technology, Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, Time Division LTE (LTE Time-Division LTE (TD-LTE) technology and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) technology.

For user convenience and flexibility, most mobile communication devices (such as smartphones, laptops, panel personal computers (PCs), etc.) are now equipped with multiple antennas to improve the performance of wireless transmission and reception and to support Different wireless technologies. To meet the needs of users for small wireless devices, manufacturers have tried to miniaturize antennas used in mobile communication devices. For miniaturization, the antennas are close together, which makes them easy to interfere with each other. Therefore, antenna isolation is a problem that needs to be solved.

Traditionally, manufacturers must manually set up external test equipment to plug into the control interface of a mobile communication device. Through the control interface, the test equipment can monitor the power applied to one antenna port for transmitting wireless signals and the signal strength of the wireless signals received at the other antenna port. Manufacturers can use this monitoring to determine antenna isolation and select the appropriate configuration for the antenna port.

However, the control interface of a mobile communication device is often hidden inside the casing of the mobile communication device. For testing, manual inspection will inevitably involve damaging these casings. Disadvantageously, traditional solutions for detecting antenna isolation are costly and time consuming.

In view of this, the present invention provides a wireless communication chipset, a mobile communication device, and a method for detecting antenna isolation to solve the above problems.

According to at least one embodiment, a wireless communication chipset is provided, including: a first antenna port; a second antenna port; and a controller configured to detect a power level of a wireless signal transmitted through the first antenna port. Standard, detecting a signal strength of the wireless signal received through the second antenna port, and determining a difference between the first antenna port and the second antenna port according to the power level and the signal strength. Isolation.

According to at least one embodiment, a method for detecting antenna isolation is provided. The method is performed by a wireless communication chipset including a first antenna port and a second antenna port. The method includes: Power level of the wireless signal sent by the port; detecting the signal strength of the wireless signal received via the second antenna port; and determining the first antenna port and the signal strength based on the power level and the signal strength Isolation between the second antenna ports.

According to at least one embodiment, a mobile communication device is provided, including: a wireless communication chipset including a first antenna port, a second antenna port, and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to detect via the first port The power level of the wireless signal sent by the antenna port, detecting the signal strength of the wireless signal received through the second antenna port, and determining the first antenna port according to the power level and the signal strength Isolation from the second antenna port.

The invention realizes the automatic detection of the antenna isolation by using a wireless communication chipset to determine the antenna isolation without the need to set up external test equipment. The time and cost of detecting antenna isolation in the present invention can be significantly reduced.

The details of the preferred embodiment illustrated in the reading of the various figures are as follows These and other objects of the invention will undoubtedly become apparent to those having ordinary knowledge in the art after the description.

100‧‧‧Wireless communication environment

110‧‧‧Mobile communication equipment

120‧‧‧Telecom Network

130‧‧‧Wireless LAN

140‧‧‧personal LAN

121‧‧‧ access network

122‧‧‧ Core Network

131‧‧‧AP

141‧‧‧Peripheral equipment

10‧‧‧Wireless Communication Chipset

20‧‧‧ Controller

30‧‧‧Storage Equipment

40‧‧‧display equipment

50‧‧‧ input / output devices

11‧‧‧ Radio Frequency (RF) Equipment

12‧‧‧ baseband processing equipment

P1, P2‧‧‧ Antenna Port

13, 14‧‧‧ two antennas

15‧‧‧Memory

10'‧‧‧Wireless Communication Chipset

20'‧‧‧Controller

30'‧‧‧Storage

40'‧‧‧ Display Equipment

50'‧‧‧ input / output device

17‧‧‧Memory

11'‧‧‧RF Equipment

12'‧‧‧Baseband processing equipment

P1 ', P2'‧‧‧ Antenna Port

13'‧‧‧ Antenna

14'‧‧‧RF Equipment

15'‧‧‧Baseband processing equipment

16‧‧‧ Antenna

S410, S420, S430‧‧‧ steps

After reviewing the following specific embodiments and corresponding drawings, those skilled in the art will more readily understand the above-mentioned objects and advantages of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile communication device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for automatically detecting antenna isolation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Although the invention has been described in connection with preferred embodiments, it should be understood that this does not mean that the invention is limited to these embodiments only. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which are encompassed by the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the scope of the appended patent applications. In addition, in the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, many specific details are set forth for a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. The well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of embodiments of the present invention. Although a method may be described as a series of numbered steps for clarity, the step numbers do not necessarily indicate the order of the steps. It should be understood that some steps can be skipped, performed concurrently, or performed without maintaining a strict order Row. The drawings are semi-schematic, and are not drawn to scale. In particular, some dimensions are merely for the purpose of clearly presenting the drawings, and are shown enlarged in the drawings. Similarly, although the views in the drawings are generally shown in similar orientations for ease of description, the orientation may be arbitrary in most cases. Generally, the invention can be operated in any direction.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication environment according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless communication environment 100 includes a mobile communication device 110, a telecommunications network 120, a wireless local area network (WLAN) 130, and a personal area network (PAN) 140. The mobile communication device 110 may be selectively connected to one or more of the telecommunications network 120, the WLAN 130, and the PAN 140 to obtain wireless services.

The mobile communication device 110 may be a smart phone, a panel personal computer, a laptop, or any computing device that supports at least one wireless technology used by the telecommunications network 120, WLAN 130, and PAN 140.

The telecommunication network 120 may be a GSM system, an EDGE system, a GPRS system, a WCDMA system, a CDMA-2000 system, a TD-SCDMA system, a WiMAX system, an LTE system, a TD-LTE system, or an LTE-A system, etc., depending on the used Cellular technology.

Specifically, the telecommunications network 120 includes an access network 121 and a core network 122. The access network 121 is responsible for processing radio signals, terminating radio protocols, and connecting mobile communication devices 110 to the core network. The network 122 is connected, and the core network 122 is responsible for performing mobility management, network-side authentication, and interfaces with public / external networks (for example, the Internet). Each of the access network 121 and the core network 122 may include One or more network nodes performing the above functions.

For example, if the telecommunication network 120 is a GSM / EDGE / GPRS system, the access network 121 may be a base station subsystem (BSS), which includes at least one base transceiver station (BTS) and at least one A base station controller (Base Station Controller, BSC), and the core network 122 may be a GPRS core including a gateway GPRS support node (Gateway GPRS support node, GGSN) and a serving GPRS support node (Serving GPRS support node, SGSN).

If the telecommunications network 120 is a WCDMA system, the access network 121 may be a universal terrestrial radio access network including at least one base station (BS) and at least one radio network controller (RNC). (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, UTRAN), and the core network 122 may be a GPRS core including a GGSN and a SGSN.

If the telecommunications network 120 is an LTE / TD-LTE / LTE-A system, the access network 121 may be an evolved UTRAN including at least one evolved Node B (eNB) (e.g., macro eNB, femto eNB, or pico eNB) (Evolved-UTRAN, E-UTRAN), the core network 122 may include a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), a Mobility Management Entity (MME), and a Serving Gateway (S- GW) and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) of a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN-GW or P-GW).

WLAN 130 can be built by AP 131 using Wi-Fi technology As an alternative to providing wireless services to the mobile communication device 110. Specifically, the AP 131 may be connected to a local area network via an Ethernet cable, wherein the local area network may be connected to the Internet directly or via the core network 122. For example, if the telecommunications network 120 is an LTE / TD-LTE / LTE-A system, the AP 131 may connect to the PDN-GW / P-GW of the core network 122 and then connect to the Internet through it. The AP 131 typically receives, buffers, and transmits data between the WLAN 130 and the mobile communication device 110. Generally, the AP 131 has an average coverage of 20 to 100 meters in an area with obstacles (walls, stairs, elevators, etc.) to a clear line of sight area.

PAN 140 may be established by peripheral devices 141, such as wireless headphones or wireless speakers, using BT / BLE technology to exchange data (e.g., voice data, digital music, etc.) within a short distance from mobile communication device 110 ). Alternatively, the peripheral device 141 may utilize other SRW technology such as Zigbee technology, and the application should not be limited to this.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile communication device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile communication device 110 includes a wireless communication chipset 10, a controller 20, a storage device 30, a display device 40, and an input / output (I / O) device 50.

The wireless communication chipset 10 is responsible for wireless transmission and reception with one or more of the telecommunications network 120, the WLAN 130, and the PAN 140. Specifically, the wireless communication chipset 10 includes a radio frequency (RF) device 11, a baseband processing device 12, two antenna ports P1 and P2, two antennas 13 and 14, and a memory 15. The RF device 11 is coupled to the antennas 13 and 14 via antenna ports P1 and P2, respectively. The baseband processing device 12 is coupled to the RF device 11 and the memory 15.

In one embodiment, the wireless communication chipset 10 may be a Wi-Fi communication chipset with dual antennas. In another embodiment, the wireless communication chipset 10 may include more than two antennas.

The baseband processing device 12 may include multiple hardware components, such as a baseband processor, to perform baseband signal processing, including analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) / digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) ), Gain adjustment, modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, etc.

The baseband processor (not shown) may be a general-purpose processor, a micro control unit (MCU), an application processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and the like, which include functions for providing the following functions: Various circuits: data processing and calculation, controlling the RF device 11 and baseband processing device 12 for wireless communication, storing and retrieving data in the memory 15, and receiving instructions or outputting signals from the controller 20 to the controller 20. In particular, the baseband processor can coordinate the above operations of the RF device 11, the baseband processing device 12, and the memory 15 for performing the method of the present invention.

The memory 15 may be configured as a register for storing a certain degree of isolation between the antenna ports P1 and P2 (to be described later in FIG. 4), and / or storing a code of a communication protocol and a method currently applied .

The RF device 11 can receive RF wireless signals via the antennas 13 and 14, convert the received RF wireless signals into baseband signals processed by the baseband processing device 12, or receive baseband signals from the baseband processing device 12, and convert the received baseband signals into RF wireless signals are then transmitted via antennas 13 and 14. The RF device 11 may also include multiple hardware devices that perform radio frequency conversion. example For example, the RF device 11 may include a mixer to multiply the baseband signal by a carrier oscillating in a radio frequency of a supported wireless technology, wherein the radio frequency may be GPRS / EDGE / GPRS technology according to the wireless technology used 900MHz, 1800MHz, or 1900MHz in use, or 900MHz, 1900MHz, or 2100MHz in WCDMA technology, or 900MHz, 2100MHz, or 2.6GHz in LTE / TD-LTE / LTE-A technology, or Wi-Fi 2.4GHz or 5GHz used in, or 2.4GHz used in BT / BLE technology, or other radio frequencies.

In one embodiment, the antennas 13 and 14 may be directly disposed on the antenna ports P1 and P2, respectively. In another embodiment, as long as the antennas 13 and 14 are located inside the housing of the mobile communication device 110, each of the antennas 13 and 14 may be disposed at a short distance from the antenna ports P1 and P2.

The controller 20 may be a general-purpose processor, a Micro Control Unit (MCU), an application processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and the like, and includes various circuits for the following functions: data processing And computing, controlling the wireless communication chipset 10 for wireless communication, storing and retrieving data to and from the storage device 30, and transmitting a series of frame data to the display device 40 (for example, the frame data represents a text message, Graphics, images, etc.), and receiving user input or output signals from the I / O device 50 to the I / O device 50.

In another embodiment, the controller 20 may be included in the baseband processing device 12 to function as a baseband processor. That is, the baseband processor can also control the operations of the storage device 30, the display device 40, and the I / O device 50.

As understood by those skilled in the art, baseband processing The circuits of the controller and controller 20 typically include transistors that are configured to control the operation of the circuits in accordance with the functions and operations described herein. The specific structure or interconnection of the transistor will typically be determined by a compiler such as a Register Transfer Language (RTL) compiler. The RTL compiler can be operated by the processor on a script very similar to assembly language code, compiling the script into a form that can be used for wiring or making the final circuit. In fact, the role and use of RTL is known in the design of electronic and digital systems.

The storage device 30 is a permanent machine-readable storage medium such as a memory (for example, a FLASH memory or a non-volatile random access memory (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM)), magnetic storage devices (such as hard drives or magnetic tapes), optical discs, or any combination thereof.

The display device 40 may be a liquid crystal display (Liquid-Crystal Display, LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, an organic LED (Organic LED, OLED) display, or an electronic paper display ( Electronic Paper Display (EPD) or Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) displays, etc. Alternatively, the display device 40 may further include one or more touch sensors disposed above or below the display for sensing a touch, contact, or approach of an object such as a finger or a stylus.

The I / O device 50 may include one or more buttons, a keyboard, a mouse, a trackpad, a camera, a microphone, and / or a speaker, etc., as a man-machine interface (MMI) for interacting with a user.

It should be understood that the elements described in the embodiment of FIG. 2 are for illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. For example, the wireless communication chipset 10 and / or the mobile communication device 110 may include fewer or more elements. In one embodiment, the wireless communication chipset 10 may not include the memory 15, and once the antenna isolation is determined, the antenna isolation may be output to the controller 20. In another embodiment, the mobile communication device 110 may include additional components, such as a power supply and a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, where the power supply may be a mobile / portable device that provides power to all other components of the mobile communication device 110. Replacing the battery, the GPS device can provide the location information of the mobile communication device 110 for use in location-based services or applications.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile communication device 110 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The mobile communication device 110 includes a wireless communication chipset 10 ', a controller 20', a storage device 30 ', a display device 40', and an I / O device 50 '.

The wireless communication chipset 10 'is configured to wirelessly communicate with at least two of the telecommunications network 120, the WLAN 130, and the PAN 140. Specifically, the wireless communication chipset 10 'includes two sets of wireless communication modules and a memory 17, wherein a group of wireless communication modules includes an RF device 11', a baseband processing device 12 ', an antenna port P1', and an antenna 13 '. A set of wireless communication modules includes an RF device 14 ', a baseband processing device 15', an antenna port P2 ', and an antenna 16. The RF device 11 'is coupled to the antenna 13' via the antenna port P1 ', and the RF device 14' is coupled to the antenna 16 via the antenna port P2 '. The baseband processing device 12 'is coupled to the RF device 11', the memory 17 and the controller 20 '. The baseband processing device 15 'is coupled to the RF device 14', the memory 17 and the controller 20 '.

In one embodiment, one set of wireless communication modules can support wireless communication with WLAN 130, and the other set of wireless communication modules can support communication with PAN. 140 wireless communications.

Each baseband processing device 12 'and 15' may include multiple hardware components such as a baseband processor to perform baseband signal processing, including ADC / DAC, gain adjustment, modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, and so on. The baseband processors in the baseband processing devices 12 'and 15' may be configured to coordinate the operation of other elements in the wireless communication chipset 10 'to perform the method of the present invention.

The detailed descriptions of the RF devices 11 ′ and 14 ′, the baseband processing devices 12 ′ and 15 ′, the antennas 13 ′ and 16, and the memory 17 are similar to the embodiment of FIG. 2, and therefore are not repeated here for brevity.

Similarly, the detailed descriptions of the controller 20 ', the storage device 30', the display device 40 ', and the I / O device 50' are similar to the embodiment in FIG.

Alternatively, the controller 20 ′ may be incorporated into one of the baseband processing devices 12 ′ and 15 ′ to function as a baseband processor, and the wireless communication chipset 10 ′ may not include the memory 17.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for automatically detecting antenna isolation according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the method for automatically detecting antenna isolation may be applied to a mobile communication device (e.g., mobile communication device 110), and more specifically, a wireless communication chipset (e.g., wireless communication) in the mobile communication device Chipset 10 or 10 ′), the mobile communication device includes a first antenna port and a second antenna port.

First, the wireless communication chipset detects a power level used for transmitting a wireless signal through the first antenna port (step S410). The power level may refer to a transmission power level to which a predetermined value is specified.

Next, the wireless communication chipset detects the signal strength of the wireless signal received via the second antenna port (step S420). The signal strength may refer to the received signal strength, and it may be represented by a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) measured at the second antenna port.

Taking the wireless communication chipset 10 as an example, the wireless signal transmission via the antenna port P1 and the wireless signal reception via the antenna port P2 can be performed using the same wireless technology (for example, Wi-Fi technology).

Taking the wireless communication chipset 10 'as an example, the wireless signal transmission through the antenna port P1' can be performed using the first wireless technology, and the wireless signal reception through the antenna port P2 'can be performed using the second wireless technology. Specifically, the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology may be any two of the following technologies: Wi-Fi technology, BT technology, BLE technology, Zigbee technology, and LTE / TD-LTE / LTE-A technology (or other cellular technology) technology).

After that, the wireless communication chipset determines the isolation between the first antenna port and the second antenna port according to the power level and signal strength (step S430), and then the method ends.

For example, if the transmission power level at the first antenna port is 16 dBm and the received signal strength at the second antenna port is -35 dBm, the antenna isolation can be determined to be 51 dB.

Please note that the determined antenna isolation can then be used to adjust the antenna arrangement within the mobile communication device. Since different antenna arrangements can lead to different antenna isolation, the method for automatically detecting antenna isolation can effectively explain finding an antenna arrangement with proper antenna isolation.

According to the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention makes a wireless communication chip The group determines the antenna isolation without the need to set up external test equipment, and realizes the automatic detection of the antenna isolation. Unlike conventional solutions that take more than 10 seconds to complete antenna isolation detection (ie, manual detection using external test equipment), the present invention only takes about 1 second to complete antenna isolation detection. Advantageously, the time and cost of detecting antenna isolation can be significantly reduced.

Although the present invention has been described through examples and preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto. Various changes and modifications can be made by a person having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be defined and protected by the scope of the attached application patents and their equivalents.

The ordinal numbers used in the present invention, such as "first", "second", "third", etc. do not in themselves imply any order, priority or order of one element relative to another element or the order of performing method steps It is only used as a label to distinguish one element with a certain name from another element with the same name.

Claims (15)

A wireless communication chipset includes: a first antenna port; a second antenna port; and a controller configured to detect a power level of a wireless signal transmitted through the first antenna port, and detect a power level transmitted through the second antenna port. The signal strength of the wireless signal received by the antenna port, and the isolation between the first antenna port and the second antenna port is determined according to the power level and the signal strength. The wireless communication chipset according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the wireless signal transmission through the first antenna port is performed using a first wireless technology, and the wireless signal reception through the second antenna port is performed. This is performed using a second wireless technology. The wireless communication chipset according to item 2 of the scope of patent application, wherein the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology are any two of the following technologies: Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fidelity, Wi- Fi) technology; Bluetooth (BT) technology; Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology; ZigBee technology; and Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. The wireless communication chipset according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the wireless signal transmission through the first antenna port and the wireless signal reception through the second antenna port are performed using the same wireless technology. of. The wireless communication chipset according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, further comprising: a memory configured to store the determined isolation. A method for detecting antenna isolation, the method is performed by a wireless communication chipset including a first antenna port and a second antenna port, and the method includes: detecting a power level of a wireless signal sent through the first antenna port ; Detecting a signal strength of the wireless signal received via a second antenna port; and determining a distance between the first antenna port and the second antenna port according to the power level and the signal strength Isolation. The method for detecting antenna isolation according to item 6 of the scope of patent application, wherein the wireless signal transmission through the first antenna port is performed using a first wireless technology, and the wireless signal transmission through the second antenna port is performed. Signal reception is performed using a second wireless technology. The method for detecting antenna isolation according to item 7 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology are any two of the following technologies: Wireless Fidelity (Wireless-Fidelity, (Wi-Fi) technology; Bluetooth (BT) technology; Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology; ZigBee technology; and Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. The method for detecting antenna isolation according to item 6 of the scope of patent application, wherein the wireless signal transmission through the first antenna port and the wireless signal reception through the second antenna port use the same wireless technology To perform. The method for detecting antenna isolation according to item 6 of the scope of patent application, further comprising: The determined isolation is stored in a memory of the wireless communication chipset. A mobile communication device includes a wireless communication chipset including a first antenna port, a second antenna port, and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to detect a power of a wireless signal transmitted through the first antenna port. Level, detecting a signal strength of the wireless signal received via the second antenna port, and determining the first antenna port and the second antenna port according to the power level and the signal strength Isolation. The mobile communication device according to item 11 of the scope of patent application, wherein the wireless signal transmission through the first antenna port is performed using a first wireless technology, and the wireless signal reception through the second antenna port is Performed using a second wireless technology. The mobile communication device according to item 12 of the scope of patent application, wherein the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology are any two of the following technologies: Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi) ) Technology; Bluetooth (BT) technology; Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology; ZigBee technology; and Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. The mobile communication device according to item 11 of the scope of patent application, wherein the wireless signal transmission through the first antenna port and the wireless signal reception through the second antenna port are performed using the same wireless technology . The mobile communication device according to item 11 of the patent application scope, wherein the wireless communication chipset further includes: The memory is configured to store the determined degree of isolation.