TWI811482B - Signal processing apparatuses and method for controlling exposure to wireless communication and terminal capable of connecting to multiple wireless communication systems - Google Patents

Abstract

A signal processing apparatus for controlling exposure to wireless communication includes processing circuitry configured to control transmission through a first antenna module based on a reflection coefficient of a second antenna module, the first antenna module configured for wireless communication in a first frequency band, the second antenna module configured for wireless communication in a second frequency band, the second frequency band being a lower frequency band than the first frequency band.

Description

Signal processing equipment for controlling exposure in wireless communications and methods and terminals capable of connecting to multiple wireless communication systems

The present inventive concept relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for controlling a user's exposure to electromagnetic waves used in wireless communications.

[Cross-reference to related applications]

This application claims the rights and interests of Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2018-0148762 and 10-2019-0041493, which were filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on November 27, 2018 and April 9, 2019 respectively. The entire disclosure of the Korean patent application is hereby incorporated by reference.

Signal transmission in wireless communication systems may be susceptible to path loss, Therefore, high transmission power can be used to prevent or reduce the degradation of wireless communication quality of service (QoS). In particular, in the case of wireless communication using high-frequency band (eg, millimeter wave (mmWave)) signals that are easily attenuated, high transmission power may be used. However, as transmission power increases, heat generation in wireless communication devices may increase. Furthermore, as transmission power increases, electromagnetic waves with high density may be generated during transmission. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the energy absorbed by a user of a wireless communication device (eg, a terminal) due to electromagnetic waves.

The inventive concept provides a method and device for effectively reducing a user's exposure to electromagnetic waves while maintaining wireless communication quality.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, a signal processing device for controlling exposure in wireless communications is provided, the signal processing device includes a processing circuit system configured to be based on a second antenna module The reflection coefficient controls transmission by a first antenna module configured to perform wireless communication in a first frequency band, and the second antenna module is configured to perform wireless communication in a second frequency band. Wireless communication is performed in a frequency band, and the second frequency band is a lower frequency band than the first frequency band.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, a signal processing device for controlling exposure in wireless communications is provided. The signal processing device includes a processing circuit system configured to: from a plurality of first antennas The module receives a plurality of power levels, and the plurality of first antenna modules are configured to perform wireless operation in a first frequency band. Line communication, each corresponding first antenna module among the plurality of first antenna modules includes a corresponding antenna and a corresponding power sensor, the corresponding power sensor is configured to detect via A corresponding power level of a signal received by the corresponding antenna, the corresponding power level is one of the plurality of power levels, and when the lowest power level of the plurality of power levels is the same as the When the difference between the second lowest power level among the plurality of power levels is greater than the first reference value, the transmission power output by the low-power first antenna module among the plurality of first antenna modules is reduced. , the low-power first antenna module corresponds to the lowest power level.

According to aspects of the concept of the present invention, a terminal capable of connecting to multiple wireless communication systems is provided. The terminal includes: a plurality of first antenna modules configured to connect to the first wireless communication system using a first frequency band. ; A plurality of second antenna modules configured to connect to a second wireless communication system using a second frequency band, the second frequency band being a lower frequency band than the first frequency band; and a processing circuit system configured to: A plurality of calculated reflection coefficients of the plurality of second antenna modules are calculated, and transmission by the plurality of first antenna modules is controlled based on the plurality of calculated reflection coefficients.

According to aspects of the inventive concept, a method of controlling exposure in millimeter wave (mmWave) wireless communications is provided, the method comprising: calculating a plurality of calculated reflection coefficients of a plurality of second antenna modules, the plurality of The second antenna module is configured to connect to the low-frequency band wireless communication system using a frequency band lower than the millimeter wave frequency band; and estimate multiplexed reflection coefficients between the external object and the plurality of first antenna modules based on the plurality of calculated reflection coefficients. estimated distance, the plurality of first antenna modules are configured to use Millimeter waves are connected to a millimeter wave wireless communication system; and transmission by the plurality of first antenna modules is controlled based on the plurality of estimated distances.

10:The first base station

20: Second base station

61, 61', 334, 534: Power amplifier (PA)

62, 62': coupler

63, 63', 310, 320, 510, 520, 710, 720: Antenna

100, 200, 400, 600, 600', 800: User Equipment (UE)

111, 112, 210, 300, 500, 410, 700, 810: first antenna module

121, 122, 220, 421, 422, 621, 621', 820: second antenna module

150, 250, 650, 650', 850: signal processor

155, 255, 655, 655', 855: Controller

251, 851: first processing circuit

252, 652, 652', 852: Second processing circuit

330, 340, 530, 540, 730, 740: Front-end radio frequency (RF) circuit

331, 370, 531, 570, 770: switch

332, 532: Low Noise Amplifier (LNA)

333, 533: Receive (RX) phase shifter

335, 535: Transmit (TX) phase shifter

336:Power detector/power sensor

350, 550, 560, 750, 760: buffer

360:TX buffer

537:Temperature sensor

657, 657': lookup table

658:Artificial Neural Network (ANN)

736, 746: Power detector

737, 747: Temperature sensor

780:Data processor

900: Communication device

910: Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)

930: Application Specific Instruction Set Processor (ASIP)

950:Memory

970: Main processor

990: Main memory

C ₁ ,...,C _K : combination

C_TX: control signal

D, _di , D ₁ , D ₂ ,..., D _N : distance

D ₁ : first distance

D ₂ : second distance

d ₁₁ , d ₁₂ ,..., d _1N ,..., d _K1 , d _K2 ,..., d _KN : combination value of distance

P_MIN1: first minimum power

P_MIN2: The second minimum power

R, R ₁ , R ₂ ,..., R _M : Reflection coefficient

r ₁₁ , r ₁₂ ,..., r _1M ,..., r _K1 , r _K2 ,..., r _KM : combination of reflection coefficient values

RAT1: The first wireless communication system

RAT2: The second wireless communication system

REF1: first reference value

S10, S20, S30, S30', S31, S33, S35, S37, S39, S40, S50, S50', S52, S54, S56, S58, S60, S70: Operation

S_FC, S_FC1: forward coupling signal

S_RC, S_RC1: reverse coupled signal

S_RF: RF signal

S_STA: status signal

X, Y, Z: axis

Embodiments of the inventive concepts will be more clearly understood by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the figures appended herein may not be drawn to scale for ease of illustration and may be exaggerated or reduced in size.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless communication system including a wireless communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating user equipment (UE) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart of a method for controlling exposure in wireless communications according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a UE according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a graph showing an example of a reflection coefficient of a second antenna module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a UE including a lookup table according to an embodiment of the present inventive concept.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a lookup table included in a UE according to an embodiment of the present concept.

Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an artificial neural network according to a conceptual embodiment of the present invention. (artificial neural network) block diagram of UE.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation S30 shown in FIG. 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a UE including a controller configured to receive a status signal S_STA according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a first antenna module including a power detector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a method for controlling exposure in wireless communications by controlling transmission of a plurality of first antenna modules including the first antenna module shown in FIG. 11 according to a conceptual embodiment of the present invention. Figure.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation S50 shown in FIG. 12 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a first antenna module including a temperature sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a method for controlling exposure in wireless communications by controlling transmission of a plurality of first antenna modules including the first antenna module shown in FIG. 14 according to a conceptual embodiment of the present invention. Figure.

16 is a block diagram illustrating a first antenna module including a data processor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless communication system including a wireless communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In detail, FIG. 1 shows a user equipment (UE) 100 as a wireless communication device that supports multiple wireless communication systems (such as the first wireless communication system RAT1 and the second wireless communication system RAT2).

Wireless communication systems may include but are not limited to wireless communication systems using cellular networks, such as fifth generation (5G) wireless systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, advanced LTE systems, and code-fractionated multiplex memory systems. (code division multiple access, CDMA) system, global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, wireless local area network (WLAN) system and/or any other wireless communication system. In the following, the wireless communication system will be mainly explained with reference to a wireless communication system using a cellular network, but it should be understood that the exemplary embodiments are not limited thereto.

The UE 100 may be connected to a first wireless communication system RAT1 and a second wireless communication system RAT2 which may be different from each other, and the first wireless communication system RAT1 may use a higher frequency band than the second wireless communication system RAT2. For example, the first wireless communication system RAT1 (such as a millimeter wave wireless communication system) can be a wireless communication system using millimeter waves (mmWave) (such as a 5G system), and the second wireless communication system RAT2 (such as a low-band wireless communication system) can be It is a wireless communication system that uses frequency bands below millimeter waves (such as LTE systems). The second wireless communication system RAT2 can also be called a legacy wireless communication system. As shown in Figure 1, the UE 100 can communicate with the first base station 10 in the first wireless communication system RAT1, and communicate with the second base station 10 in the second wireless communication system RAT2. Base station 20 communications. In some embodiments, different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the UE 100 may communicate with a base station according to two or more different wireless communication systems (for example, via the first wireless communication system RAT1 and the second wireless communication system RAT2). Taiwan communications. Additionally, in some embodiments, UE 100 may support connections with three or more different wireless communication systems.

A base station (BS) (such as the first base station 10 and the second base station 20) can generally refer to a fixed station that communicates with the UE and/or other base stations, and can communicate with the UE and/or other base stations by Communicate to exchange data and/or control information. For example, a base station may be called a Node B, an evolved-Node B (eNB), a next-generation Node B (gNB), a sector, a site, or a base transceiver. System (base transceiver system, BTS), access point (access point, AP), relay node, remote radio head (remote radio head, RRH), radio unit (radio unit, RU), small cell, etc. In this specification, a base station or cell may be understood as indicating a base station controller (BSC) in CDMA, a Node B in wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), eNB in LTE, gNB in 5G, and/or a comprehensive term for a part and/or function covered by a sector (site), and may include various coverage areas, such as megacell, macrocell , microcell, picocell, femtocell, RRH, RU and/or small cell communication range.

The UE 100 may refer to any equipment of fixed or mobile type, and may communicate with a base station (for example, the first base station 10 and/or the second base station 20) to transmit and/or Receive data and/or control information. For example, the UE 100 may be called a terminal, terminal equipment, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), user terminal (UT), subscriber station (subscriber station) ), wireless devices, handheld devices, etc. In the following, exemplary embodiments will be mainly explained with reference to the UE 100 as a wireless communication device, but it should be understood that the exemplary embodiments are not limited thereto.

The wireless communication network between the UE 100 and the first base station 10 or the second base station 20 can support communication among multiple users by sharing available network resources. For example, in wireless communication networks, information can be transmitted using various multi-connection schemes, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (time division multiple access) access, TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (single carrier frequency division multiple access, SC-FDMA), OFDM-FDMA, OFDM-TDMA and /or OFDM-CDMA. As shown in Figure 1, the UE 100 can communicate with the first base station 10 and/or the second base station 20 via uplink and/or downlink. In some embodiments, UEs may communicate with each other via sidelinks (eg, device-to-device (D2D)). For example, UE 100 may communicate with another UE via a sidelink.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the UE 100 may include a plurality of first antenna modules 111 and 112 and a plurality of second antenna modules 121 and 122. Each of the first antenna modules 111 and 112 and the second antenna modules 121 and 122 may include at least one antenna, And can process signals received through the antenna and/or signals to be transmitted through the antenna. For example, each of the first antenna modules 111 and 112 and the second antenna modules 121 and 122 may include a front-end radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), and as described below with reference to FIG. 11, Can include power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, mixers, RF switches, etc. The first antenna modules 111 and 112 can be used by the UE 100 to connect to the first wireless communication system RAT1, and the second antenna modules 121 and 122 can be used by the UE 100 to connect to the second wireless communication system RAT2. Furthermore, in order to be able to communicate with the base station (i.e., the first base station 10 and/or the second base station 20), despite the interference caused by some antennas due to obstacles such as user body parts and/or the orientation of the UE 100 Transmission and/or reception by the modules is interrupted, the first antenna modules 111 and 112 and the second antenna modules 121 and 122 may be arranged separate from the UE 100 (e.g., external to the UE 100 and/or some distance away from UE 100). In some embodiments, unlike that shown in FIG. 1 , the UE 100 may include three or more first antenna modules and may include three or more second antenna modules.

UE 100 may include signal processor 150. The signal processor 150 can communicate with the first antenna modules 111 and 112 and/or the second antenna modules 121 and 122. For example, the signal processor 150 can communicate with the first base station 10 through at least one of the first antenna modules 111 and 112, and/or can communicate with the first base station 10 through at least one of the second antenna modules 121 and 122. The user communicates with the second base station 20. The signal processor 150 may be referred to as a signal processing device, and as shown in FIG. 1 , the signal processor 150 may include a controller 155 .

In high frequency bands such as millimeter wave (mmWave) bands, short wavelength signals may have straightness and may be easily attenuated by obstacles and And therefore, the signal can provide varying reception ratios depending on the orientation of the antenna. Therefore, in wireless communication systems that use high frequency bands to increase throughput, the transmitter can use high transmission power. For example, the first antenna modules 111 and 112 for connecting to the first wireless communication system RAT1 using a relatively high frequency band may use higher transmission power than the second antenna modules 121 and 122, and therefore, the UE 100 The user may be exposed to the electromagnetic waves generated by the first antenna modules 111 and 112 . Metrics such as specific absorption rate (SAR) and/or maximum permissible exposure (MPE) can be used to measure the energy absorbed by the human body due to electromagnetic waves, and as the Federal Communications Commission (Federal Communications Commission) of the United States Organizations such as Communications and Commissions (FFC) define values that wireless communication devices should adhere to. Therefore, for a wireless communication device such as the UE 100, it may be desirable to limit or reduce the user's exposure to electromagnetic waves while maintaining the quality of wireless communication with a base station (eg, the first base station 10).

The controller 155 can estimate the relative position of an external object (such as a user) relative to the UE 100, and can control the transmission power of the first antenna modules 111 and 112 based on the estimated position, thereby controlling the user's movement in the electromagnetic wave. of exposure. In some embodiments, the controller 155 may calculate reflection coefficients of the second antenna modules 121 and 122 included in the UE 100 for connecting to the second wireless communication system RAT2 as the legacy wireless communication system, and based on the The reflection coefficient is used to estimate the relative position of the external object relative to the UE 100. In some embodiments, the controller 155 may obtain information about the received power from each of the first antenna modules 111 and 112 and estimate the relative position of the external object relative to the UE 100 based on the received power. In addition, in In some embodiments, the controller 155 may obtain the temperature from each of the first antenna modules 111 and 112 and may limit the transmission power of the first antenna modules 111 and 112 based on the temperature. According to some example embodiments, the operations described herein as performed by UE 100, signal processor 150, and/or controller 155 may be performed by processing circuitry. The term "processing circuitry" as used in the present invention may, for example, refer to hardware including logic circuits; a hardware/software combination such as a processor that executes software; or a combination thereof. For example, more specifically, the processing circuit system may include, but is not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate Array (field programmable gate array, FPGA), system-on-chip (SoC), programmable logic unit, microprocessor, application-specific integrated circuit (application-specific integrated circuit, ASIC), etc. For example, in some embodiments, the controller 155 may include hardware logic blocks designed by logic synthesis or the like, and may include software blocks and at least one processing core for executing the software blocks. .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a UE 200 according to an embodiment of the present inventive concept, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for controlling exposure in wireless communications according to an embodiment of the present inventive concept. In some embodiments, the method shown in Figure 3 may be performed by the UE 200 (or the controller 255) shown in Figure 2. In the following, FIGS. 2 and 3 will be explained with reference to FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the UE 200 may include a plurality of first antenna modules 210 , a plurality of second antenna modules 220 and/or a signal processor 250 . As mentioned above with reference to Figure 1, the One antenna module 210 can be used to connect to the first wireless communication system RAT1 using a relatively high frequency band, and the second antenna module 220 can be used to connect to the second wireless communication system RAT2 using a relatively low frequency band. In the following, it is assumed that the UE 200 includes N first antenna modules and M second antenna modules (M and N are integers greater than 1).

As shown in FIG. 2 , the signal processor 250 may include a first processing circuit 251 , a second processing circuit 252 and/or a controller 255 . The first processing circuit 251 can communicate with the first antenna module 210, and/or the second processing circuit 252 can communicate with the second antenna module 220. According to some example embodiments, the operations described herein as performed by UE 200, signal processor 250, first processing circuit 251, second processing circuit 252, and/or controller 255 may be performed by processing circuitry. For example, the first processing circuit 251 and the second processing circuit 252 may be called RFIC and/or back-end RFIC, and may communicate with the first antenna module via signals in the RF band or intermediate frequency (IF) band. 210 and second antenna module 220 communication. In addition, the first processing circuit 251 and the second processing circuit 252 may each include a mixer, filter, amplifier, etc. The controller 255 may receive the forward coupling signal S_FC and/or the reverse coupling signal S_RC from the second antenna module 220 and generate a control signal C_TX for controlling the transmission power of the first antenna module 210 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , in operation S10 , an operation for calculating the reflection coefficient of the second antenna module 220 may be performed. For example, the controller 255 may calculate the reflection coefficient of the antenna included in the second antenna module 220 based on the forward coupling signal S_FC and the reverse coupling signal S_RC received from the second antenna module 220 . In this specification, the reflection coefficient (or impedance) of an antenna may be referred to as the reflection coefficient (or impedance) of an antenna module including the corresponding antenna. Reflection coefficient (or impedance). As described below with reference to FIG. 6 , the second antenna module 220 may include a bidirectional coupler, and the bidirectional coupler may couple the forward signal to the second antenna module 220 by coupling the signal provided from the second processing circuit 252 to the second antenna module 220 . Coupling signal S_FC is provided to controller 255 . In addition, the bidirectional coupler may provide the back-coupled signal S_RC to the controller 255 by coupling signals reflected and returned from the antenna included in the second antenna module 220 . The controller 255 can calculate the current impedance of the antenna according to the pair of forward coupling signal S_FC and reverse coupling signal S_RC corresponding to each other, and the calculated impedance of the antenna can be used for antenna impedance tuning (antenna impedance tuning, AIT). For example, the reflection coefficient Γ can be calculated as shown in Equation 1 below.

In Equation 1, r _fwd represents the signal obtained by forward coupling, and r _rev represents the signal obtained by reverse coupling. The controller 255 may calculate the reflection coefficient of the current antenna based on the current impedance of the antenna and the design impedance of the antenna. In some embodiments, the reflection coefficient of the antenna may be calculated based on a standing wave (SW) ratio. According to some exemplary embodiments, the design impedance of the antenna may refer to a design parameter determined through empirical studies.

In operation S20, an operation for estimating a distance between the first antenna module 210 and an external object may be performed. As described above with reference to FIG. 1 , the second antenna module 220 may be arranged spaced apart from the UE 200 , and as described below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 , the reflection of the antenna included in the second antenna module 220 The coefficient can be based on the external object relative to changes depending on the relative position of UE 200. Therefore, the controller 255 may detect the relative position of the external object with respect to the UE 200 based on the pattern of the reflection coefficient of the second antenna module 220 calculated in operation S10, and estimate the relationship between the first antenna module 210 and the external object. distance between. Examples of operation S20 will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 .

In operation S30, operations for controlling transmission through the first antenna module 210 may be performed. For example, the controller 255 may control transmission through the first antenna module 210 based on the distance estimated in operation S20. For example, the controller 255 may reduce the transmission power of a first antenna module of the first antenna module 210 that is estimated to be close to an external object. The controller 255 may increase the transmission power of the first antenna module of the first antenna module 210 that is estimated to be far away from the external object. Therefore, the exposure of external objects (such as users) to electromagnetic waves can be reduced without degrading wireless communication quality. An example of operation S30 will be explained below with reference to FIG. 9 .

FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a UE 400 according to an embodiment of the present inventive concept, and FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating an example of a reflection coefficient of a second antenna module according to an embodiment of the present inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 4 , UE 400 may include a first antenna module 410. The first antenna module 410 can transmit and/or receive signals in high frequency bands such as millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency bands, and as shown in Figure 4, can include: at least one patch antenna (patch antenna), which can be formed toward the UE. A beam (e.g., a front side beam) of the front surface of UE 400 (i.e., a surface perpendicular to the Z-axis); and/or at least one dipole antenna may form a side surface toward the UE 400 (i.e., a surface perpendicular to the surface of the shaft) (e.g., end-fire beam). Although for ease of explanation, only one There is a first antenna module 410, but as described above with reference to the figures, the UE 400 may include multiple first antenna modules.

The UE 400 may include a plurality of second antenna modules 421 and 422. As shown in Figure 4, a second antenna module 421 including a primary antenna may be disposed at one end of the UE 400, that is, at one end in the -X-axis direction, and includes a diversity antenna. The second antenna module 422 may be disposed at the other end, that is, at one end in the +X-axis direction.

Referring to FIG. 5 , when there is no external object adjacent to the second antenna module 422 , the impedance of the second antenna module 422 may be the design impedance, such as 50 ohms (Ω), and therefore, the second antenna module 422 may have a design impedance. The reflection coefficients of group 422 may correspond to the center point in the polar coordinates shown in FIG. 5 . On the other hand, when an external object is located close to the front surface of the UE 400, the reflection coefficient of the second antenna module 422 may move to the lower left in the polar coordinates (eg, impedance polar plot) shown in FIG. 5. Furthermore, when an external object is located close to the side surface of the UE 400, the reflection coefficient of the second antenna module 422 may move to the lower right in the polar coordinates shown in FIG. 5 . In this regard, the reflection coefficients of the plurality of second antenna modules 421 and 422 may vary according to the relative position of the external object with respect to the UE 400, and therefore, the position of the external object may be estimated. Figure 5 shows an example in which the reflection coefficient changes, and it should be understood that in some embodiments, the reflection coefficient may change in a different manner than that shown in Figure 5 depending on the location of the external object.

Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating a UE 600 according to an embodiment of the present concept. Specifically, FIG. 6 shows a signal processor 650 as an example of the signal processor 250 shown in FIG. 2 and a second antenna as an example of one of a plurality of second antenna modules. Mod 621. In the following, descriptions that are the same or similar to those given above with reference to FIG. 2 will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the signal processor 650 may include a second processing circuit 652 , a controller 655 and/or a lookup table 657 . The second processing circuit 652 can communicate with the second antenna module 621. The controller 655 may receive the forward coupling signal S_FC1 and the reverse coupling signal S_RC1 from the second antenna module 621, and refer to the information stored in the lookup table 657 to generate a signal for controlling the plurality of first antenna modules (eg, , the transmission power control signal C_TX of 210) shown in Figure 2. For example, the controller 655 may determine a plurality of calculated reflection coefficients for the plurality of second antenna modules by referring to information stored in the lookup table 657 (e.g., by determining a combination represented by the calculated reflection coefficients A plurality of associated distances) are obtained based on the calculated reflection coefficients to obtain a plurality of obtained distances to the external object, and a control signal C_TX is generated based on the obtained distances to the external object. According to some exemplary embodiments, the operations described herein as performed by UE 600, signal processor 650, second processing circuitry 652, and/or controller 655 may be performed by processing circuitry.

The second antenna module 621 may include a power amplifier (PA) 61 , a coupler 62 and/or an antenna 63 . Coupler 62 includes, for example, may be a bidirectional coupler, and during a transmission period, may be coupled by forward coupling (ie, by coupling (eg, outputting) the signal transmitted from power amplifier 61 to antenna 63 ). The forward coupled signal S_FC1 is provided to the controller 655, and the reverse coupled signal S_RC1 is provided to the controller 655 by reverse coupling (ie, coupling (eg, outputting) a signal reflected by the antenna 63). In some embodiments, coupler 62 may be included in the second Antenna module 621 is used to (eg, can be used to) tune the impedance of antenna 63, and coupler 62 can be used by controller 655 to detect the relative position of an external object relative to UE 600, as described above with reference to the figures. . Therefore, no additional components such as a proximity sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a touch sensor, etc. are needed to estimate the distance between the UE 600 and an external object, and therefore, the UE 600 can exhibit Low cost and/or high space efficiency.

The lookup table 657 may include combinations of reflection coefficients (e.g., reference reflection coefficients) of a plurality of second antenna modules including the second antenna module 621, and information about external object positions corresponding to the corresponding combinations ( For example, reference distance). Therefore, the controller 655 can access the lookup table 657 and detect and detect the reverse coupling signal based on the forward coupled signal including the forward coupled signal S_FC1 (eg, S_FC shown in FIG. 2 ) and the reverse coupled signal including the reverse coupled signal S_RC1 . The calculated reflection coefficient corresponds to the position of the external object corresponding to the coupled signal (e.g., S_RC shown in Figure 2). Lookup table 657 may include memory (e.g., may be stored in memory, and/or may constitute a memory and/or data structure), and when UE 600 and/or signal processor 650 are manufactured, the information (e.g., may be , the information contained in the lookup table 657) is stored in the memory. For example, lookup table 657 may include non-volatile memory, and may include, but is not limited to, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, phase change random access memory, etc. Phase change random access memory (PRAM), resistance random access memory (RRAM), nano floating gate memory (NFGM), polymer random access memory polymer random access memory (PoRAM), magnetic random access memory (MRAM) and/or ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM). An example of lookup table 657 will be described below with reference to FIG. 7 .

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a lookup table included in a UE according to an embodiment of the present concept. In detail, the lookup table 657' shown in FIG. 7 may be an example of the lookup table 657 shown in FIG. 6 . As described above with reference to FIG. 6 , the lookup table 657 ′ may include combinations of reflection coefficients of multiple second antenna modules, and information about external target locations corresponding to the corresponding combinations. In the following, FIG. 7 will be explained with reference to FIG. 6 .

In some embodiments, the lookup table 657' may include distances (eg, reference distances) between a plurality of first antenna modules (eg, the plurality of first antenna modules 210) and external objects, as The positions of external objects respectively correspond to the combinations of reflection coefficients of the second antenna module. In some embodiments, lookup table 657' may be generated and provisioned into UE 600 by testing UE 600 during manufacturing of UE 600. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 , the lookup table 657 ′ may include K combinations C ₁ to C _K (K is an integer greater than 1), as the M reflection coefficients R ₁ to C obtained from the M second antenna modules A combination of values (e.g., r ₁₁ to r _KM ) of R _M (e.g., reference reflection coefficient) (e.g., each of the coefficients R ₁ to R _M may be selected from a corresponding one of the M second antenna modules obtained). In some embodiments, the reflection coefficient values contained in lookup table 657' may indicate a range of reflection coefficients (eg, the full range of possible and/or predicted reflection coefficients). Therefore, the lookup table 657' contains N combination values of the distances D ₁ to D _N between the N first antenna modules and the external objects corresponding to the K combinations C ₁ to C _K respectively (for example, d ₁₁ to d _KN ) (for example, each of the distances D ₁ to _DN may represent a distance between an external object and a corresponding one of the N first antenna modules). In some embodiments, the distance values contained in lookup table 657' may indicate a range of distances, and may indicate a degree of separation from an external object, such as very close, close, or far away.

Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating a UE 600' according to an embodiment of the present concept. Specifically, FIG. 8 illustrates a signal processor 650' as an example of the signal processor 650 shown in FIG. 6 and as a plurality of second antenna modules (eg, the plurality of second antenna modules 220). One example of the second antenna module 621'. In the following, descriptions that are the same or similar to those given above with reference to FIG. 6 will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the signal processor 650' may include a second processing circuit 652', a controller 655', and/or an artificial neural network (ANN) 658. In addition, the second antenna module 621' may include a power amplifier 61', a coupler 62' and/or an antenna 63', and may provide the forward coupling signal S_FC1 and the reverse coupling signal S_RC1 to the controller 655'. Compared with the signal processor 650 shown in FIG. 6, the signal processor 650' shown in FIG. 8 may include an ANN 658 instead of a lookup table 657. According to some exemplary embodiments, the operations described herein as performed by UE 600', signal processor 650', second processing circuit 652', controller 655', and/or ANN 658 may be performed by processing circuitry.

The ANN 658 may receive the reflection coefficients R of the plurality of second antenna modules including the second antenna module 621' from the controller 655' and output the plurality of first antenna modules ( For example, the distance between 210) and the external object shown in Figure 2 away from D. ANN 658 may refer to a structure (eg, trained feature vectors) in which a collection of artificial neurons (or neuron models) are connected to each other. Artificial neurons can produce output data by performing simple operations on input data, and the output data can be passed to other artificial neurons. The ANN 658 may be trained using reflection coefficients (eg, reference reflection coefficients) of a plurality of second antenna modules (eg, a plurality of reference second antenna modules), and accordingly, the ANN 658 may respond to 'Provides the reflection coefficient R and outputs the distance D.

i

N)來控制藉由所述特定第一天線模組進行的傳輸的方法，且可針對所述N個第一天線模組中的每一者重複圖9所示操作S30'。如圖9所示，操作S30'可包括多個操作S31、S33、S35、S37及S39，且在一些實施例中，圖9所示操作S30'可由圖2所示控制器255執行。下文中，將參照圖2闡述圖9。 FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation S30 shown in FIG. 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described above with reference to FIG. 3 , operations for controlling transmission through a plurality of first antenna modules (eg, 210 shown in FIG. 2 ) may be performed in operation S30 ′ shown in FIG. 9 . In detail, FIG. 9 shows a diagram based on the distance _di (1

i

N) to control transmission by the specific first antenna module, and operation S30' shown in FIG. 9 may be repeated for each of the N first antenna modules. As shown in FIG. 9 , operation S30 ′ may include a plurality of operations S31 , S33 , S35 , S37 and S39 , and in some embodiments, operation S30 ′ shown in FIG. 9 may be performed by the controller 255 shown in FIG. 2 . Hereinafter, FIG. 9 will be explained with reference to FIG. 2 .

Referring to FIG. 9 , in operation S31 , an operation for comparing the distance _di with the first distance D ₁ may be performed. The first distance D ₁ may be less than the second distance D ₂ explained below, and may have a small value (eg, 5 millimeters (mm) or 10 mm) to determine a state in which an external object is very close to the first antenna module . Therefore, when the distance d _i is less than the first distance D ₁ , it can be determined that the external object is very close to the first antenna module. As shown in FIG. 9 , when the distance _di is smaller than the first distance D ₁ , operation S33 may be subsequently performed. On the other hand, when the distance d _i is not less than the first distance D ₁ , operation S37 may be subsequently performed.

When it is determined that the distance _di is smaller than the first distance D ₁ in operation S31 , lowering the first antenna module corresponding to the distance _di (eg, the specific first antenna module) may be performed in operation S33 ) transmission power operation. For example, the controller 255 may determine that the external object is very close to the first antenna module corresponding to the distance _di based on the distance _di being less than the first distance D ₁ , and therefore, the controller 255 may reduce the corresponding signal by controlling the signal C_TX. The transmission power of the first antenna module or the corresponding first antenna module is disabled to reduce the energy absorption of electromagnetic waves by external objects.

In operation S35, adding at least one first antenna module corresponding to a desirable distance (eg, a first antenna module different from the first antenna module corresponding to the distance di ₎ may be performed. Group) transmission power operation. For example, the controller 255 may increase the transmission power of at least one first antenna module among the plurality of first antenna modules by controlling the signal C_TX, wherein the at least one first antenna module is separated from an external object. Desired distance. The desired distance may refer to a distance where no external object is detected or the effect on external objects is minimal. In some embodiments, the desired distance may be defined as a distance greater than the first distance D ₁ and the second distance D ₂ . Therefore, the transmission power of the first antenna module close to the external object may be reduced in operation S33, and the transmission power of the at least one first antenna module far away from the external object may be increased in operation S35. Therefore, the user's exposure to electromagnetic waves can be reduced while maintaining the quality of wireless communication.

When it is determined that the distance _di is not smaller than the first distance _D1 in operation S31, an operation of comparing the distance _di with the second distance _D2 may be performed in operation S37. The second distance D ₂ may be greater than the first distance D ₁ and may have a value (eg, 50 mm or 100 mm) for determining a state in which an external object is close to but not very close to the first antenna module. Therefore, when the distance d _i is less than the second distance D ₂ , the distance d _i may be between the first distance D ₁ and the second distance D ₂ , and it may be determined that the external object is close to the first antenna module. As shown in FIG. 9 , when the distance _di is smaller than the second distance D ₂ , operation S39 may be subsequently performed. When the distance d _i is not less than the second distance D ₂ , the operation S30 ′ may be repeated for the first antenna module and/or different first antenna modules among the plurality of first antenna modules.

When it is determined that the distance _di is smaller than the second distance _D2 in operation S37, an operation for extending the beam width of the first antenna module corresponding to the distance _di may be performed in operation S39. For example, the controller 255 can expand the width of the beam formed by the first antenna module corresponding to the distance _di via the control signal C_TX, and therefore, can reduce the energy density absorbed by the user. According to some exemplary embodiments, the first distance D ₁ and/or the second distance D ₂ may be design parameters determined through empirical studies.

Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating a UE 800 according to an embodiment of the present concept. Referring to Figure 10, the UE 800 may include a first antenna module 810, a second antenna module 820 and/or a signal processor 850, and the signal processor 850 may include a first processing circuit 851, a second processing circuit 852 and /or controller 855. In the following, descriptions that are the same or similar to those given above with reference to FIG. 2 will be omitted. According to some example embodiments, the operations described herein as performed by UE 800, signal processor 850, first processing circuit 851, second processing circuit 852, and/or controller 855 may be performed by processing circuitry.

The controller 855 may receive a status signal S_STA indicating the status of the plurality of first antenna modules 810, and may generate a control signal C_TX for controlling the transmission power of the first antenna module 810 based on the status signal S_STA. Although not shown in Figure 10, in some embodiments, the controller 855 can receive the forward coupling signal S_FC and the reverse coupling signal S_RC shown in Figure 2 from the plurality of second antenna modules 820, and based on the forward coupling signal S_FC The forward coupling signal S_FC and the reverse coupling signal S_RC together with the status signal S_STA generate the control signal C_TX.

In some embodiments, as described below with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12 , the controller 855 may receive the status signal S_STA including information about the received power detected by the first antenna module 810 , and based on the first antenna module 810 The received power of the module 810 is used to generate the control signal C_TX. In addition, in some embodiments, as described below with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15 , the controller 855 may receive the status signal S_STA including information about the temperature of the first antenna module 810 , and based on the first antenna module 810 temperature to generate the control signal C_TX.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a first antenna module 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a method of controlling exposure in wireless communications according to an embodiment of the present invention. In detail, the first antenna module 300 shown in FIG. 11 may be an example of one of the first antenna modules 810 shown in FIG. 10 , and the method shown in FIG. 12 is to control the first antenna including the first antenna shown in FIG. 11 A method of transmission of multiple first antenna modules including the module 300. In some embodiments, the method shown in FIG. 12 may be performed by the controller 855 shown in FIG. 10 . In the following, FIGS. 11 and 12 will be explained with reference to FIG. 10 .

Referring to FIG. 11 , the first antenna module 300 may include antennas 310 to 320, Front-end RF circuits 330 to 340, buffers 350 and 360, and/or switch 370. Front-end RF circuit 330 may be connected to antenna 310 and buffers 350 and 360, and may include switch 331, low-noise amplifier (LNA) 332, receive (RX) phase shifter 333, power amplifier 334, transmit (TX) phase shifter 335 and/or power detector 336 (also referred to herein as power sensor 336). Switch 331 can connect antenna 310 to low noise amplifier 332 or power amplifier 334 depending on the receive mode and/or transmit mode. The low noise amplifier 332 can amplify the signal received through the switch 331 in the receive mode and provide the amplified signal to the RX phase shifter 333. The RX phase shifter 333 may shift the phase of the signal output from the low noise amplifier 332 and provide the phase-shifted signal to the RX buffer 350 . TX phase shifter 335 may shift the phase of the signal received from TX buffer 360 and provide the phase-shifted signal to power amplifier 334. Power amplifier 334 may amplify the signal received from TX phase shifter 335 in transmit mode and provide the amplified signal to switch 331 . Switch 331 may provide the signal output from power amplifier 334 to antenna 310 in transmit mode. RX buffer 350 may receive signals from front-end RF circuits 330 - 340 and may provide the signals to switch 370 in receive mode. TX buffer 360 may provide signals received from switch 370 in transmit mode to front-end RF circuits 330 - 340 . The switch 370 may provide the signal received from the RX buffer 350 in the receive mode to the outside (such as the first processing circuit 851 shown in FIG. 10 ) as the RF signal S_RF, and the signal received from the first processing circuit 851 in the transmit mode. RF signal S_RF is provided to TX buffer 360. According to some exemplary embodiments, each of front-end RF circuits 330 to 340 may be the same as or similar to front-end RF circuit 330 .

Power detector 336 may detect the power (eg, power level) of the signal received via antenna 310 . For example, in receive mode, power detector 336 may detect the power of a signal traveling through a path including antenna 310, switch 331, low noise amplifier 332, and RX phase shifter 333. According to some example embodiments, power detector 336 may include a voltage sensor and/or a current sensor. Front-end RF circuits 330 - 340 may each include a power detector (the same as or similar to power detector 336 ), and the power detector may provide status signal S_STA shown in FIG. 10 containing information regarding the detected received power. to controller 855 (eg, via a connection to controller 855, such as a wired connection, not shown). In some embodiments, information regarding all transmission powers detected by the front-end RF circuits 330 - 340 may be provided to the controller 855 via the status signal S_STA, and may be determined by the status signal S_STA based on The value (eg, average) of the detected transmission power calculated (eg, by data processor 780 discussed in connection with FIG. 16 ) at 340 is provided to controller 855 as the value detected by first antenna module 300 Transmit power. According to some example embodiments, the operations described herein as being performed by power detector 336 may be performed by processing circuitry. According to some exemplary embodiments, the first antenna module 300 may have a different number of antennas and corresponding front-end RF circuits than those shown in FIG. 11 .

Referring to FIG. 12 , in operation S40 , an operation for obtaining information about the received power of the first antenna module 810 may be performed. For example, as described above with reference to FIG. 11 , the controller 855 shown in FIG. 10 may receive the status signal S_STA including information about the received power detected by the power detector included in the first antenna module 810 .

In operation S50, determining the relationship with the lowest or low received power may be performed corresponding to the operation of the transmission power of the first antenna module. When the received power detected by a specific first antenna module in the first antenna module 810 is significantly lower than the received power detected by other first antenna modules, it can be estimated that the external object is located close to the detected first antenna module 810 . Low received power is measured at the first antenna module. Therefore, the controller 855 may determine whether to reduce the transmission power of the first antenna module corresponding to the lowest reception power among the reception powers obtained in operation S40 and increase the first day corresponding to the desired reception power. The transmission power of the line module. Therefore, the user's exposure to electromagnetic waves can be reduced while maintaining wireless communication quality. An example of operation S50 will be explained below with reference to FIG. 13 .

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation S50 shown in FIG. 12 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described above with reference to FIG. 12 , in operation S50 ′ shown in FIG. 13 , an operation for determining the transmission power of the first antenna module corresponding to the lowest received power may be performed. As shown in FIG. 13 , operation S50 ′ may include a plurality of operations S52 , S54 , S56 and S58 , and in some embodiments, operation S50 ′ shown in FIG. 13 may be performed by the controller 855 shown in FIG. 10 . Hereinafter, FIG. 13 will be explained with reference to FIG. 10 .

In operation S52, operations for extracting the first minimum power P_MIN1 (eg, the first minimum power level) and the second minimum power P_MIN2 (eg, the second minimum power level) may be performed. The first minimum power P_MIN1 may correspond to the lowest one (eg, the lowest power level) of the receiving powers of the first antenna module 810 , and the second minimum power P_MIN2 may correspond to the receiving power of the first antenna module 810 The second lowest of the powers (eg, the second lowest power level). In other words, the first minimum power P_MIN1 and the second minimum power can be extracted as shown in Equation 2 below P_MIN2.

In Equation 2, P_RX _i may represent the received power detected by one of the N first antenna modules.

In operation S54, an operation for comparing the difference between the first minimum power P_MIN1 and the second minimum power P_MIN2 with the first reference value REF1 may be performed (for example, determining the difference between the first minimum power P_MIN1 and the second minimum power P_MIN2 Whether it is greater than the first reference value REF1). Since the second minimum power P_MIN2 is equal to or greater than the first minimum power P_MIN1, as shown in FIG. 13, when the value P_MIN2-P_MIN1 obtained by subtracting the first minimum power P_MIN1 from the second minimum power P_MIN2 is greater than the first minimum power P_MIN1 which is a positive value When a reference value REF1 is reached, operation S56 may be performed subsequently. Otherwise, operation S50' may terminate.

In operation S56, an operation for reducing the transmission power of the first antenna module corresponding to the first minimum power P_MIN1 may be performed. In other words, when the difference between the first minimum power P_MIN1 and the second minimum power P_MIN2 is greater than the first reference value REF1, the controller 855 may determine that the external object is close to the first antenna module corresponding to the first minimum power P_MIN1, and therefore, The controller 855 can reduce the transmission power of the corresponding first antenna module by controlling the signal C_TX. According to some exemplary embodiments, the first reference value REF1 may be a design parameter determined through empirical studies.

In operation S58, increasing the amount corresponding to the desired reception power may be performed. Operation of at least one first antenna module to transmit power. The expected received power may indicate that a signal from another user's wireless communication device (eg, 10 in FIG. 1 ) reaches the first antenna module without obstacles. In some embodiments, the desired received power may be determined based on statistical characteristics of the received power detected by the plurality of first antenna modules (e.g., via controller 855 and/or data discussed in conjunction with FIG. 16 Processor 780), and may be defined as the average value of the received power of each first antenna module or a value increased by a multiple of the standard deviation from the average value.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a first antenna module 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a method of controlling exposure in wireless communications according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, the first antenna module 500 shown in FIG. 14 may be an example of one of the first antenna modules 810 shown in FIG. 10 , and the method shown in FIG. 15 is to control the first antenna module 500 shown in FIG. 14 A method of transmission of multiple first antenna modules including the module 500. In some embodiments, the method shown in FIG. 15 may be performed by the controller 855 shown in FIG. 10 . Hereinafter, FIGS. 14 and 15 will be explained with reference to FIG. 10 . In the following, descriptions that are the same or similar to those given above with reference to FIG. 11 will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 14 , the first antenna module 500 may include antennas 510 to 520 , front-end RF circuits 530 to 540 , buffers 550 and 560 and/or switches 570 . The front-end RF circuit 530 may include a switch 531, a low-noise amplifier 532, an RX phase shifter 533, a power amplifier 534, a TX phase shifter 535, and/or a temperature sensor 537. The temperature sensor 537 can detect the temperature of the front-end RF circuit 530 . For example, front-end RF circuits 530 - 540 may each include a temperature sensor (e.g., the same as or similar to temperature sensor 537 ), and the temperature sensor may include information about the detected temperature as shown in FIG. 10 . The status signal S_STA is provided to the controller 855 (eg, via a connection to the controller 855, such as a wired connection, not shown). In some embodiments, information regarding all temperatures detected by front-end RF circuits 530 - 540 may be provided to controller 855 via status signal S_STA, and information may be provided via status signal S_STA based on the temperature detected by front-end RF circuits 530 - 540 . A value (eg, an average) of the detected temperature calculated (eg, by data processor 780 discussed in conjunction with FIG. 16 ) is provided to controller 855 as the temperature detected by first antenna module 500 . According to some example embodiments, each of front-end RF circuits 530 - 540 may be the same as or similar to front-end RF circuit 530 . According to some example embodiments, the operations described herein as being performed by temperature sensor 537 may be performed by processing circuitry. According to some exemplary embodiments, the first antenna module 500 may have a different number of antennas and corresponding front-end RF circuitry than shown in FIG. 14 .

Referring to FIG. 15 , in operation S60 , an operation for obtaining information about the temperature of the first antenna module 810 may be performed. For example, as described above with reference to FIG. 14 , the controller 855 shown in FIG. 10 may receive the status signal S_STA including information about the temperature detected by the temperature sensor included in the first antenna module 810 .

In operation S70, an operation for determining transmission powers of the plurality of first antenna modules may be performed. In the case of increasing the transmission power of the first antenna module, components included in the first antenna module (such as the power amplifier 534 shown in FIG. 14) may generate heat due to increased power consumption. The temperature increase of the first antenna module may cause the components included in the first antenna module (eg, low noise amplifier 532, RX phase shifter 533, power amplifier 534, and/or TX phase shifter 535) to failure occurs and the UE 800 temperature rises. Therefore, the controller 855 may reduce the transmission power of the first antenna module among the plurality of first antenna modules whose temperature is detected to be equal to or higher than the second reference value. For example, in operation S35 shown in FIG. 9 and operation S58 shown in FIG. 13 , the transmission power of some first antenna modules among the plurality of first antenna modules may be increased. However, when the temperature of the corresponding first antenna module becomes higher than the second reference value due to the increase in transmission power, the transmission power of the corresponding first antenna module can be reduced again. According to some exemplary embodiments, the second reference value may be a design parameter determined through empirical studies.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a first antenna module 700 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In detail, the first antenna module 700 shown in FIG. 16 may be an example of one of the first antenna modules 810 shown in FIG. 10 . In the following, descriptions that are the same as or similar to those given above with reference to FIGS. 11 and 14 will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 16 , the first antenna module 700 may include antennas 710 to 720 , front-end RF circuits 730 to 740 , buffers 750 and 760 , a switch 770 and/or a data processor 780 . Front-end RF circuit 730 may include power detector 736 and/or temperature sensor 737. Similarly, front-end RF circuit 740 may include power detector 746 and/or temperature sensor 747. According to some example embodiments, each of front-end RF circuits 730 - 740 may be the same as or similar to front-end RF circuit 730 . According to some exemplary embodiments, the operations described herein as performed by data processor 780, power detector 736, power detector 746, temperature sensor 737, and/or temperature sensor 747 may be performed by processing circuitry. . According to some exemplary embodiments, the first antenna module 700 may have a different number of antennas and corresponding front-end RF circuitry than shown in FIG. 16 .

The data processor 780 may receive signals output by the power detectors 736 and/or 746 and/or the temperature sensors 737 and/or 747 of the front-end RF circuits 730 to 740 included in the first antenna module 700, And the status signal S_STA can be generated by processing the received signal. For example, the data processor 780 may calculate the average value, the maximum or maximum value, and the minimum or minimum value of the received power provided from the power detectors 736 and/or 746, and generate the status signal S_STA including the calculated values as a function of the first Information about the received power of the antenna module 700. In addition, the data processor 780 may calculate the average value, the maximum or maximum value, and the minimum or minimum value of the temperatures provided from the temperature sensors 737 and/or 747, and generate the status signal S_STA including the calculated values as the status signal on the first day. Line module 700 temperature information. According to some exemplary embodiments, the data processor 780 may transmit the status signal S_STA to the controller 855 via a connection (eg, a wired connection, not shown). In some embodiments, unlike what is shown in FIG. 16 , the front-end RF circuits 730 to 740 may each include only a power detector or a temperature sensor.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a communication device 900 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In some embodiments, the communication device 900 may be included in the UE 100 shown in FIG. 1 and may perform the operations of the controller 155 .

As shown in Figure 17, the communication device 900 may include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 910, an application specific instruction set processor (ASIP) 930, a memory 950, a main processor 970 and/or a host computer. Memory 990. Two or more of the ASIC 910, ASIP 930, and/or main processor 970 may communicate with each other. In addition, ASIC 910, ASIP 930, At least two of the memory 950, the main processor 970, and/or the main memory 990 may be embedded in one chip.

ASIP 930 can be an integrated circuit customized for a specific purpose. It can support a dedicated instruction set for a specific application and execute the instructions contained in the instruction set. Memory 950 may communicate with ASIP 930 and may be a non-volatile storage device that stores a plurality of instructions to be executed by ASIP 930. For example, memory 950 may include any type of memory that can be accessed by ASIP 930, which may be, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), Tapes, magnetic disks, optical disks, volatile memory, non-volatile memory and combinations thereof.

The main processor 970 can control the communication device 900 by executing a plurality of instructions. For example, the main processor 970 may control the ASIC 910 and/or the ASIP 930, process data received via the wireless communication network, and/or process user input regarding the communication device 900. Main memory 990 may be in communication with main processor 970 and may be a non-volatile storage device that stores a plurality of instructions to be executed by main processor 970 . For example, main memory 990 may include any type of memory accessible by main processor 970, which may be, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), tape, disk, Optical discs, volatile memory, non-volatile memory and combinations thereof.

The method of controlling exposure in wireless communication may be performed by at least one of the components included in the communication device 900 shown in FIG. 17 . In some embodiments, the operations of the controller 155 shown in FIG. 1 may be implemented as a plurality of instructions stored in the memory 950, and the ASIP 930 may perform the control by executing the instructions stored in the memory 950. At least one of the operations of a method of controlling exposure in wireless communications. In some embodiments, at least one of the operations of the method of controlling exposure in wireless communications may be performed by hardware blocks designed by logic synthesis, etc., and such hardware blocks may be included in ASIC 910 . In some embodiments, at least one of the operations of the method of controlling exposure in wireless communications may be implemented as a plurality of instructions stored in the main memory 990, and the main processor 970 may execute the main memory by Instructions stored in 990 to perform at least one of the operations of the method of controlling exposure in wireless communications.

Traditional wireless communication devices that use high-frequency electromagnetic waves (such as millimeter waves) incorporate additional components (such as distance sensors, gyroscope sensors, touch sensors, etc.) to determine when the user is close to the wireless communication device. And in response to this judgment, the transmission power of the wireless communication device is reduced. Such conventional wireless communication devices involve excessive costs and waste limited physical space due to the incorporation of additional components. In addition, when the transmission power of the wireless communication device is reduced, the wireless communication quality in the traditional wireless communication device will be excessively reduced.

However, some exemplary embodiments provide improved wireless communications devices that are capable of determining when a user is proximate to the wireless communications device without incorporating additional components. Therefore, the improved wireless communication device may have lower costs and/or waste less limited physical space (eg, be more space-saving). In addition, when it is determined that the user is adjacent to the antenna module, the improved wireless communication device can reduce the transmission power of the antenna module and increase the transmission power of different antenna modules. Therefore, the improved wireless communication device can reduce the user's exposure to high-frequency electromagnetic waves while maintaining wireless communication quality.

The various operations of the methods described above may be performed by any suitable apparatus (eg, processing circuitry) capable of performing the operations. For example, the operations of the above methods may be performed by various hardware and/or software implemented in some form of hardware (eg, processor, ASIC, etc.).

The software may include an ordered list of executable instructions for implementing logical functions, and may be implemented on any "processor-readable medium" for instruction execution system, apparatus or device (e.g., single-core or multi-core A processor or a system containing a processor) is used by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus or device.

Blocks or operations of methods or algorithms and functions described in conjunction with some of the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented directly in hardware, in software modules executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Software modules can reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), In a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a compact disk read-only memory (CD ROM), or any other form of storage medium known in the art.

While the inventive concepts have been specifically shown and described with reference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various changes may be made in form and details without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims below.

10:The first base station

20: Second base station

100: User equipment (UE)

111, 112: First antenna module

121, 122: Second antenna module

150:Signal processor

155:Controller

RAT1: The first wireless communication system

RAT2: The second wireless communication system

Claims (25)

A signal processing device for controlling exposure in wireless communications, the signal processing device comprising: processing circuitry configured to obtain at least one distance to an external object based on at least one reflection coefficient, and based on the at least one distance to control transmission by a first antenna module, the at least one coefficient including a reflection coefficient of a second antenna module configured to perform wireless communications in a first frequency band, The second antenna module is configured to perform wireless communication in a second frequency band, the second frequency band being a lower frequency band than the first frequency band. The signal processing device as described in item 1 of the patent application further includes: a lookup table including a plurality of reference reflection coefficient combinations associated with a plurality of reference distances, wherein the first antenna module is a plurality of first One of the antenna modules, the second antenna module is one of a plurality of second antenna modules, and the processing circuit system is configured to calculate a plurality of second antenna modules. a plurality of calculated reflection coefficients, a plurality of obtained distances from the plurality of first antenna modules to the external object are obtained based on the plurality of calculated reflection coefficients by referring to the lookup table, and based on the plurality of calculated reflection coefficients The obtained distances are used to control transmission through the plurality of first antenna modules. The signal processing device according to claim 2, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to reduce the transmission power output by a specific first antenna module among the plurality of first antenna modules, The specific first antenna module corresponds to a specific distance smaller than the first distance among the plurality of obtained distances. The signal processing device of claim 3, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to expand the width of a beam generated by a specific first antenna module among the plurality of first antenna modules, The specific first antenna module corresponds to a specific distance among the plurality of obtained distances between the first distance and a second distance, and the second distance is greater than the first distance. The signal processing device as described in item 2 of the patent application, wherein each corresponding first antenna module among the plurality of first antenna modules includes a corresponding antenna and a corresponding power sensor, and the Respective power sensors are configured to detect power levels of signals received via the respective antennas; and the processing circuitry is configured to detect power levels based on detection at the plurality of first antenna modules. A plurality of power levels to control transmission through the plurality of first antenna modules. The signal processing device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to operate when the lowest power level among the plurality of power levels is the same as the second lowest power level among the plurality of power levels. When the difference in power level is greater than the first reference value, the transmission power output by the low-power first antenna module among the plurality of first antenna modules is reduced. The low-power first antenna module corresponds to the lowest power level. The signal processing device of claim 1, wherein the first antenna module includes a temperature sensor configured to sense temperature; and the processing circuit system is configured to detect when the temperature is equal to Or when it is higher than the second reference value, the transmission power output by the first antenna module is reduced. The signal processing device as described in item 1 of the patent application, wherein the first antenna module is one of a plurality of first antenna modules; the second antenna module is a plurality of second antennas one of the modules; and the processing circuitry is configured to calculate a plurality of calculated reflection coefficients of the plurality of second antenna modules, based on the plurality of calculated reflection coefficients and artificial neural network feature vectors, A plurality of obtained distances from the plurality of first antenna modules to the external object are obtained, the artificial neural network feature vector is trained using a plurality of reference reflection coefficients, and is based on the plurality of obtained distances The distance is used to control the transmission power output by the plurality of first antenna modules. The signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein the second antenna module includes an antenna and a coupler coupled to the antenna; and the processing circuit system is configured to, from the coupler receiving a forward coupled signal and a reverse coupled signal, and calculating reflections based on the forward coupled signal and the reverse coupled signal coefficient. The signal processing device as described in item 1 of the patent application, wherein the first frequency band is a millimeter wave frequency band. A signal processing device for controlling exposure in wireless communications, the signal processing device comprising: processing circuitry configured to receive a plurality of power levels from a plurality of first antenna modules, the plurality of The first antenna module is configured to perform wireless communication in the first frequency band, and each corresponding first antenna module in the plurality of first antenna modules includes a corresponding antenna and a corresponding power sensor. , the corresponding power sensor is configured to detect a corresponding power level of a signal received via the corresponding antenna, the corresponding power level being one of the plurality of power levels, and when When the difference between the lowest power level among the plurality of power levels and the second lowest power level among the plurality of power levels is greater than the first reference value, the signal generated by the first antenna mode is reduced. The transmission power output by the low-power first antenna module in the group, the low-power first antenna module corresponding to the lowest power level. The signal processing device according to claim 11, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to: calculate a plurality of calculated reflection coefficients of a plurality of second antenna modules, the plurality of second antenna modules configured to perform wireless communications in a second frequency band, the second frequency band being a lower frequency band than the first frequency band; and controlling the use of the plurality of first antennas based on the plurality of calculated reflection coefficients Transmission by the module. The signal processing device as described in Item 12 of the patent application further includes: a lookup table including a plurality of reference reflection coefficient combinations associated with a plurality of reference distances, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to, by referring to the The lookup table is used to obtain a plurality of obtained distances from the plurality of first antenna modules to external objects based on the plurality of calculated reflection coefficients, and based on the plurality of obtained distances, control by the plurality of obtained distances Transmission by the first antenna module. A terminal capable of connecting to multiple wireless communication systems, the terminal including: a plurality of first antenna modules configured to use a first frequency band to connect to the first wireless communication system; a plurality of second antenna modules , configured to connect to the second wireless communication system using a second frequency band, the second frequency band being a lower frequency band than the first frequency band; and a processing circuit system configured to calculate the plurality of second antennas A plurality of calculated reflection coefficients of the module, and at least one distance to an external object is obtained based on at least one of the plurality of calculated reflection coefficients, and controlling by the plurality of first antennas based on the at least one distance Transmission by the module. The terminal as described in item 14 of the patent application further includes: a lookup table including a plurality of reference reflection coefficient combinations associated with a plurality of reference distances, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to, by referring to the A lookup table, based on the plurality of calculated reflection coefficients, obtains a plurality of obtained distances from the plurality of first antenna modules to the external object, and based on the plurality of obtained distances, controls by the plurality of obtained distances transmission by the first antenna module. The terminal as described in item 14 of the patent application, wherein each corresponding second antenna module among the plurality of second antenna modules includes a corresponding antenna and a corresponding antenna coupled to the corresponding antenna. a coupler; and the processing circuitry is configured to receive a forward coupling signal and a reverse coupling signal from a specific coupler of a specific second antenna module in the plurality of second antenna modules, and based on The forward coupled signal and the reverse coupled signal are used to calculate the reflection coefficient. As in the terminal described in item 14 of the patent application, each corresponding first antenna module among the plurality of first antenna modules includes a corresponding antenna and a corresponding power sensor, and the corresponding first antenna module The power sensor is configured to detect the corresponding power level of the signal received via the corresponding antenna; and the processing circuitry is configured to detect the signal at the plurality of first antenna modules based on The detected power levels are used to control transmission through the first antenna modules. A method of controlling exposure in millimeter wave wireless communications, the method comprising calculating a plurality of calculated reflection coefficients for a plurality of second antenna modules configured to use less than The frequency band of the millimeter wave band is connected to the low-frequency band wireless communication system; estimating a plurality of estimated distances between the external object and the plurality of first antenna modules based on the plurality of calculated reflection coefficients, the plurality of first antennas The module is configured to connect to a millimeter wave wireless communication system using millimeter waves; and to control transmission by the plurality of first antenna modules based on the plurality of estimated distances. The method of claim 18, wherein said estimating the plurality of estimated distances includes: accessing a lookup table containing a plurality of reference reflection coefficient combinations associated with a plurality of reference distances; and The plurality of estimated distances are obtained by referring to the lookup table. The method according to claim 18, wherein estimating the plurality of estimated distances includes: using an artificial neural network feature vector to obtain the plurality of estimated distances, the artificial neural network feature vector being is trained using multiple reference reflection coefficients. The method of claim 18, wherein the controlling transmission includes reducing the transmission power output by a specific first antenna module among the plurality of first antenna modules, the specific first antenna module The antenna module corresponds to a specific distance of the plurality of estimated distances that is smaller than the first distance. The method according to claim 18, wherein the controlling transmission includes extending the width of a beam generated by a specific first antenna module among the plurality of first antenna modules, the specific first antenna module being The antenna module corresponds to a specific distance of the plurality of estimated distances between a first distance and a second distance, the second distance being greater than the first distance. The method described in claim 18 of the patent application further includes: detecting a plurality of power levels corresponding to a plurality of signals received through the plurality of first antenna modules, wherein the control transmission is based on the plurality of estimated distances and the plurality of power levels. The method according to claim 23, wherein the control transmission includes: obtaining the lowest power level among the plurality of power levels and the second lowest power level among the plurality of power levels; and when the difference between the lowest power level and the second lowest power level is greater than the first reference value, reducing the output of the low-power first antenna module among the plurality of first antenna modules. The transmission power of the low-power first antenna module corresponds to the lowest power level. The method described in claim 18 of the patent application further includes: obtaining a plurality of temperatures sensed in the plurality of first antenna modules, wherein the control transmission includes reducing the temperature by the plurality of first antenna modules. The transmission power output by the high-temperature first antenna module in the antenna module detects a temperature equal to or greater than the second reference value at the high-temperature first antenna module.

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