Electronic device with multiple phased antenna arrays

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device having multiple phased antenna arrays. The electronic device may include a first phased antenna array and a second phased antenna array that transmit radio frequency signals at frequencies greater than 10 GHz. The second array may have fewer antennas than the first array. A control circuit may control the first array and the second array in a diversity mode and in a simultaneous array mode. In the diversity mode, the first array may form a first signal beam while the second array is inactive. When the first array is blocked by an object or otherwise exhibits unsatisfactory performance, the second array may form a second signal beam while the first array is inactive. In the simultaneous mode, the first array and the second array may form a combined array that generates a third signal beam. The combined array may maximize gain. A hierarchical beam search operation may be performed. The arrays may be distributed over one or more modules.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 031,780, filed on September 24, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly to electronic devices having wireless communication circuitry. Background Art

[0003] Electronic devices typically include wireless communication circuitry. For example, cellular telephones, computers, and other devices typically include antennas and wireless transceivers for supporting wireless communication.

[0004] It may be desirable to support wireless communication in millimeter-wave and centimeter-wave communication bands. Millimeter-wave communication (sometimes referred to as extremely high frequency (EHF) communication) and centimeter-wave communication involve communication at frequencies of approximately 10 GHz - 300 GHz. Operation at these frequencies can support high throughput, but can pose significant challenges. For example, radio frequency signals at millimeter-wave and centimeter-wave frequencies can be characterized by substantial attenuation and / or distortion during signal propagation through various media.

[0005] Accordingly, it is desirable to be able to provide improved wireless communication circuitry for electronic devices, such as communication circuitry that supports millimeter and centimeter-wave communication. Summary of the Invention

[0006] An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry and a housing. The housing may have a housing wall. The wireless circuitry may include a first phased antenna array and a second phased antenna array that transmit radio frequency signals at frequencies greater than 10 GHz through the housing wall. The second phased antenna array may have fewer antennas than the first phased antenna array.

[0007] The control circuit can operate in a diversity mode and control the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array in a simultaneous array operation mode. In the diversity operation mode, the control circuit can control the first phased antenna array to form a first signal beam, while the second phased antenna array is inactive. When the first phased antenna array is blocked by an external object or otherwise exhibits unsatisfactory wireless performance, the control circuit can control the second phased antenna array to form a second signal beam, while the first phased antenna array is inactive. In the simultaneous operation mode, the control circuit can control the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array to form a combined phased antenna array, which generates a third signal beam. The control circuit can use the combined phased antenna array to maximize gain and beam resolution. The control circuit can perform a hierarchical beam search operation using the single-array signal beam and then the signal beam of the combined phased antenna array. The first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array can be distributed on one or more antenna modules. The antenna modules can be mounted on the main logic board and / or outside the main logic board. If needed, one of the antenna modules can generate a local oscillator signal provided to another (other) antenna module. Description of the Drawings

[0008] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary electronic device according to some embodiments.

[0009] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary circuit in an electronic device according to some embodiments.

[0010] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary wireless circuit according to some embodiments.

[0011] Figure 4 is an illustration of an exemplary phased antenna array that can form radio frequency signal beams at different beam pointing angles using codebook control according to some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 5 is a rear view of an exemplary electronic device having a primary phased antenna array and a secondary phased antenna array according to some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 6 is a state diagram of an exemplary operation mode of an electronic device having a primary phased antenna array and a secondary phased antenna array according to some embodiments.

[0014] Figure 7 is an illustration of an exemplary beam table of a primary phased antenna array and a secondary phased antenna array according to some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 8is a cross-sectional graph of an exemplary signal beam that can be formed by a primary phased antenna array and a secondary phased antenna array according to some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 9 is a graph showing how operating a primary phased antenna array and a secondary phased antenna array as a single combined phased antenna array can optimize wireless performance according to some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 10 is a flowchart of exemplary steps for performing a beam search operation using a primary phased antenna array and a secondary phased antenna array according to some embodiments.

[0018] Figure 11 is a diagram showing how an exemplary first phased antenna array and a second phased antenna array can be formed on the same antenna module according to some embodiments.

[0019] Figure 12 is a diagram showing how an exemplary radio frequency integrated circuit can feed a first phased antenna array and a second phased antenna array according to some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 13 and Figure 14 is a diagram showing how an exemplary first phased antenna array and a second phased antenna array can be fed by corresponding radio frequency integrated circuits according to some embodiments.

[0021] Figure 15 is a diagram showing how an exemplary first antenna array and a second antenna array can share a local oscillator signal according to some embodiments.

[0022] Figure 16 is a diagram showing how an exemplary radio circuit can include a first phased antenna array, a second phased antenna array, and a third phased antenna array according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] An electronic device such as Figure 1 electronic device 10 may be provided with a radio circuit including an antenna. The antenna can be used to transmit and / or receive radio frequency signals. The antenna may include a phased antenna array for performing wireless communication and / or spatial ranging operations using millimeter-wave and centimeter-wave signals. Millimeter-wave signals, sometimes referred to as extremely high frequency (EHF) signals, propagate at frequencies above about 30 GHz (e.g., at 60 GHz or other frequencies between about 30 GHz and 300 GHz). Centimeter-wave signals propagate at frequencies between about 10 GHz and 30 GHz. If desired, device 10 may also include antennas for processing satellite navigation system signals, cellular phone signals, wireless local area network signals, near-field communication, optical-based wireless communication, or other wireless communications.

[0024] Device 10 can be a portable electronic device or other suitable electronic device. For example, device 10 can be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smaller device (such as a wristwatch device, a pendant device, a headset device, a receiver device, or other wearable or miniature devices), a handheld device (such as a cellular phone), a media player, or other small portable devices. Device 10 can also be a set-top box, a desktop computer, a display integrated with a computer or other processing circuitry, a display without an integrated computer, a wireless access point, a wireless base station, an electronic device incorporated into a newsstand, a building, or a vehicle, or other suitable electronic equipment.

[0025] Device 10 can include a housing such as housing 12. Housing 12 (which may sometimes be referred to as a case) can be formed of plastic, glass, ceramic, fiber composite material, metal (such as stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of these materials. In some cases, components of housing 12 can be formed of a dielectric or other low-conductivity material (such as glass, ceramic, plastic, sapphire, etc.). In other cases, housing 12 or at least some of the structures making up housing 12 can be formed of metal elements.

[0026] If desired, device 10 can have a display such as display 14. Display 14 can be mounted on the front of device 10. Display 14 can be a touchscreen that incorporates capacitive touch electrodes or that is insensitive to touch. The back of housing 12 (i.e., the face of device 10 opposite the front of device 10) can have a substantially flat housing wall, such as rear housing wall 12R (e.g., a planar housing wall). Rear housing wall 12R can have a slit that completely passes through the rear housing wall and thus separates portions of housing 12 from each other. Rear housing wall 12R can include a conductive portion and / or a dielectric portion. If desired, rear housing wall 12R can include a planar metal layer covered by a thin layer or dielectric coating such as glass, plastic, sapphire, or ceramic (e.g., a dielectric overlay). Housing 12 can also have shallow grooves that do not completely pass through housing 12. The slit or grooves can be filled with plastic or other dielectric material. If desired, portions of housing 12 that are separated from each other (e.g., by a through-slot) can be joined by an internal conductive structure (such as a metal sheet or other metal member that bridges the slot).

[0027] The housing 12 may include a peripheral housing structure such as the peripheral structure 12W. The conductive portions of the peripheral structure 12W and the conductive portion of the rear housing wall 12R may sometimes be collectively referred to herein as the conductive structure of the housing 12. The peripheral structure 12W may extend around the periphery of the device 10 and the display 14. In a configuration where the device 10 and the display 14 have a rectangular shape with four edges, the peripheral structure 12W may be implemented using a peripheral housing structure having a rectangular ring shape with four corresponding edges and extending from the rear housing wall 12R to the front of the device 10 (as an example). In other words, the device 10 may have a length (e.g., measured parallel to the Y axis), a width less than the length (e.g., measured parallel to the X axis), and a height less than the width (e.g., measured parallel to the Z axis). If desired, the peripheral structure 12W or a portion of the peripheral structure 12W may be used as the outer frame of the display 14 (e.g., a decorative trim that surrounds all four sides of the display 14 and / or helps hold the display 14 to the device 10). If desired, the peripheral structure 12W may form the sidewall structure of the device 10 (e.g., by forming a metal strip having vertical sidewalls, curved sidewalls, etc.).

[0028] The peripheral structure 12W may be formed of a conductive material such as metal and may therefore sometimes be referred to as a peripheral conductive housing structure, a conductive housing structure, a peripheral metal structure, a peripheral conductive sidewall, a peripheral conductive sidewall structure, a conductive housing sidewall, a peripheral conductive housing sidewall, a sidewall, a sidewall structure, or a peripheral conductive housing member (as examples). The peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may be formed of a metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, an alloy, or other suitable material. One, two, or more than two separate structures may be used to form the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W.

[0029] The peripheral conductive housing structure 12W does not necessarily have a uniform cross-section. For example, if desired, the top of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may have an inwardly protruding flange that helps hold the display 14 in place. The bottom of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may also have an enlarged lip (e.g., in the plane of the back of the device 10). The peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may have substantially straight vertical sidewalls, may have curved sidewalls, or may have other suitable shapes. In some configurations (e.g., when the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W is used as the outer frame of the display 14), the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may extend around the lip of the housing 12 (i.e., the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may only cover the edges of the housing 12 that surround the display 14 rather than the remaining sidewalls of the housing 12).

[0030] The rear housing wall 12R may be located in a plane parallel to the display 14. In a configuration of the device 10, where some or all of the rear housing wall 12R is formed of metal, it may be necessary to form a portion of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W as an integral part of the housing structure forming the rear housing wall 12R. For example, the rear housing wall 12R of the device 10 may include a planar metal structure, and a portion of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W on the side of the housing 12 may be formed as a flat or curved vertically extending integral metal portion of the planar metal structure (e.g., the housing structures 12R and 12W may be formed from a continuous metal sheet in a monolithic configuration). If desired, housing structures such as these may be machined from a metal block and / or may include a plurality of metal pieces assembled together to form the housing 12. The rear housing wall 12R may have one or more, two or more, or three or more portions. The peripheral conductive housing structure 12W and / or the conductive portions of the rear housing wall 12R may form one or more outer surfaces of the device 10 (e.g., surfaces visible to the user of the device 10), and / or may be implemented using internal structures that do not form the outer surfaces of the device 10 (e.g., conductive housing structures that are not visible to the user of the device 10, such as conductive structures covered with layers (such as thin decorative layers, protective coatings, and / or other coatings that may include dielectric materials such as glass, ceramic, plastic)), or other structures that form the outer surfaces of the device 10 and / or are used to hide the conductive portions of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W and / or the rear housing wall 12R from being seen by the user.

[0031] The display 14 may have a pixel array forming an active area AA that displays an image for a user of the device 10. For example, the active area AA may include a display pixel array. The pixel array may be formed by a liquid crystal display (LCD) component, an electrophoretic pixel array, a plasma display pixel array, an organic light emitting diode display pixel or other light emitting diode pixel array, an electrowetting display pixel array, or display pixels based on other display technologies. If desired, the active area AA may include a touch sensor, such as a touch sensor capacitive electrode, a force sensor, or other sensors for collecting user input.

[0032] The display 14 may have an inactive border region extending along one or more edges of the active region AA. The inactive region IA of the display 14 may have no pixels for displaying an image and may overlap with circuits and other internal device structures in the housing 12. To prevent these structures from being viewed by a user of the device 10, the underside of the display cover layer or other layers in the display 14 that overlap with the inactive region IA may be coated with an opaque masking layer in the inactive region IA. The opaque masking layer may have any suitable color. The inactive region IA may include a recessed region or notch extending into the active region AA (e.g., at the speaker port 16). The active region AA may be defined, for example, by the lateral region of a display module (e.g., a display module including pixel circuits, touch sensor circuits, etc.) of the display 14.

[0033] A display cover layer may be used to protect the display 14, such as a layer of transparent glass, light-transmissive plastic, transparent ceramic, sapphire, or other transparent crystalline material, or one or more other transparent layers. The display cover layer may have a planar shape, a convex curved profile, a shape with planar and curved portions, a layout including a planar main region surrounded on one or more edges (where a portion of one or more edges is bent out of the plane of the planar main region), or other suitable shapes. The display cover layer may cover the entire front face of the device 10. In another suitable arrangement, the display cover layer may substantially cover all of the front face of the device 10 or cover only a portion of the front face of the device 10. Openings may be formed in the display cover layer. For example, openings may be formed in the display cover layer to accommodate buttons. Openings may also be formed in the display cover layer to accommodate ports such as the speaker port 16 or the microphone port. If desired, openings may be formed in the housing 12 to form communication ports (e.g., audio jack ports, digital data ports, etc.) and / or audio ports for audio components such as speakers and / or microphones.

[0034] The display 14 may include conductive structures such as a capacitive electrode array of a touch sensor, conductive lines for addressing pixels, driver circuits, etc. The housing 12 may include internal conductive structures such as a metal frame member and a planar conductive housing member (sometimes referred to as a conductive support plate or backplane) that spans the walls of the housing 12 (e.g., a substantially rectangular sheet formed by one or more metal portions welded or otherwise connected between opposite sides of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W). The conductive support plate may form the outer rear surface of the device 10 or may be covered by a dielectric overlay (such as a thin decorative layer, a protective coating, and / or other coatings that may include dielectric materials such as glass, ceramic, plastic) or other structures that form the outer surface of the device 10 and / or are used to hide the conductive support plate from view by the user (e.g., the conductive support plate may form a part of the rear housing wall 12R). The device 10 may also include conductive structures such as a printed circuit board, components mounted on the printed circuit board, and other internal conductive structures. For example, these conductive structures that may be used to form a ground plane in the device 10 may extend under the active area AA of the display 14.

[0035] In regions 22 and 20, openings may be formed within the conductive structures of the device 10 (e.g., between the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W and an opposing conductive ground structure such as a conductive portion of the rear housing wall 12R, conductive traces on a printed circuit board, conductive electronic components in the display 14, etc.). These openings, which may sometimes be referred to as gaps, may be filled with air, plastic, and / or other dielectrics if desired and may be used to form slot antenna resonant elements of one or more antennas in the device 10.

[0036] The conductive housing structure and other conductive structures in the device 10 may be used as a ground plane for the antennas in the device 10. The openings in regions 22 and 20 may be used as slots in an open slot antenna or a closed slot antenna, may be used as a central dielectric region surrounded by the conductive paths of a loop antenna, may be used as a space that separates an antenna resonant element (such as a strip antenna resonant element or an inverted F antenna resonant element) from the ground plane, may contribute to the performance of parasitic antenna resonant elements, or may otherwise be used as part of the antenna structures formed in regions 22 and 20. If desired, the ground plane under the active area AA of the display 14 and / or other metal structures in the device 10 may have a portion that extends into a part of the end of the device 10 (e.g., the ground portion may extend toward the dielectric-filled openings in regions 22 and 20), thereby narrowing the slots in regions 22 and 20. Region 22 may sometimes be referred to in this document as the lower region 22 or the lower end 22 of the device 10. Region 20 may sometimes be referred to in this document as the upper region 20 or the upper end 20 of the device 10.

[0037] Generally speaking, device 10 may include any suitable number of antennas (e.g., one or more, two or more, three or more, four or more, etc.). The antennas in device 10 may be located at opposite first and second ends of the elongated device housing along one or more edges of the device housing (e.g., at Figure 1 lower region 22 and / or upper region 20 of device 10 of Figure 1 ), in the center of the device housing, in other suitable positions, or in one or more of these positions.

[0038] Portions of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may be provided with a peripheral gap structure. For example, the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may be provided with one or more dielectric-filled gaps, such as Figure 1 gap 18 shown. The gaps in the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may be filled with a dielectric such as a polymer, ceramic, glass, air, other dielectric materials, or a combination of these materials. Gap 18 may divide the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W into one or more peripheral conductive segments. If desired, the conductive segments formed in this manner may form a part of an antenna in device 10. Other dielectric openings may be formed in the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W (e.g., dielectric openings other than gap 18) and may be used as dielectric antenna windows for antennas mounted inside device 10. The antennas inside device 10 may be aligned with the dielectric antenna windows for transmitting radio frequency signals through the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W. The antennas inside device 10 may also be aligned with the inactive region IA of the display 14 for transmitting radio frequency signals through the display 14.

[0039] To provide the end user of device 10 with the largest possible display (e.g., maximizing the area of the device for displaying media, running applications, etc.), it may be desirable to increase the amount of area on the front face of device 10 covered by the active area AA of the display 14. Increasing the size of the active area AA can reduce the size of the inactive region IA inside device 10. This can reduce the area available inside device 10 for antennas behind the display 14. For example, the active area AA of the display 14 may include a conductive structure that blocks radio frequency signals processed by an antenna mounted behind the active area AA from radiating through the front face of device 10. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to provide antennas that occupy a small amount of space inside device 10 (e.g., allowing for the largest possible display active area AA), while still allowing the antennas to communicate with wireless equipment outside device 10 with a satisfactory efficiency bandwidth.

[0040] In a typical scenario, device 10 may have one or more upper antennas and one or more lower antennas. For example, the upper antennas may be formed in the upper region 20 of device 10. For example, the lower antennas may be formed in the lower region 22 of device 10. If desired, additional antennas may be formed along the edge of the housing 12 that extends between region 22 and region 20. An example where device 10 includes three or four upper antennas and five lower antennas is described herein as an example. The antennas may be used individually to cover the same communication band, overlapping communication bands, or separate communication bands. The antennas may be used to implement an antenna diversity scheme or a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna scheme. Other antennas for covering any other desired frequencies may also be installed at any desired location inside device 10. Figure 1 The examples are illustrative only. If desired, the housing 12 may have other shapes (e.g., square shape, cylindrical shape, spherical shape, combinations of these shapes, and / or different shapes, etc.).

[0041] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of exemplary components that may be used in device 10 is shown. As Figure 2 shown, device 10 may include control circuitry 28. The control circuitry 28 may include a repository such as storage circuitry 30. The storage circuitry 30 may include hard disk drive storage, non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically programmable read-only memory configured to form a solid-state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random access memory), etc.

[0042] The control circuitry 28 may include processing circuitry such as processing circuitry 32. The processing circuitry 32 may be used to control the operation of device 10. The processing circuitry 32 may include one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, host processors, baseband processor integrated circuits, application-specific integrated circuits, central processing units (CPUs), etc. The control circuitry 28 may be configured to perform operations in device 10 using hardware (e.g., dedicated hardware or circuitry), firmware, and / or software. The software code for performing operations in device 10 may be stored on the storage circuitry 30 (e.g., the storage circuitry 30 may include a non-transitory (tangible) computer-readable storage medium storing the software code). The software code may sometimes be referred to as program instructions, software, data, instructions, or code. The software code stored on the storage circuitry 30 may be executed by the processing circuitry 32.

[0043] The control circuit 28 can be used to run software on the device 10, such as an Internet browsing application, an Internet voice protocol (VOIP) phone call application, an email application, a media playback application, an operating system function, etc. To support interaction with external equipment, the control circuit 28 can be used to implement communication protocols. Communication protocols that can be implemented using the control circuit 28 include Internet protocols, wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocol - sometimes referred to as ), protocols for other short-range wireless communication links such as protocol or other WPAN protocols, IEEE 802.11ad protocol, cellular phone protocol, MIMO protocol, antenna diversity protocol, satellite navigation system protocol, antenna-based spatial ranging protocol (e.g., radio detection and ranging (RADAR) protocol or other required distance detection protocols for signals transmitted at millimeter-wave and centimeter-wave frequencies), etc. Each communication protocol can be associated with a corresponding radio access technology (RAT) that specifies the physical connection method used to implement the protocol.

[0044] The device 10 can include an input-output circuit 24. The input-output circuit 24 can include an input-output device 26. The input-output device 26 can be used to allow data to be supplied to the device 10 and to allow data to be provided from the device 10 to an external device. The input-output device 26 can include user interface devices, data port devices, sensors, and other input-output components. For example, the input-output device can include a touch screen, a display without touch sensor capabilities, buttons, joysticks, rollers, touch pads, keypads, keyboards, microphones, cameras, speakers, status indicators, light sources, audio jacks, and other audio port components, digital data port devices, light sensors, gyroscopes, accelerometers, or other components that can detect motion and the orientation of the device relative to the Earth, capacitive sensors, proximity sensors (e.g., capacitive proximity sensors and / or infrared proximity sensors), magnetic sensors, and other sensors and input-output components.

[0045] The input-output circuit 24 can include a wireless circuit, such as a wireless circuit 34 for wirelessly transmitting radio frequency signals. Although, for clarity, Figure 2 in the example of the control circuit 28 is shown separately from the wireless circuit 34, the wireless circuit 34 can include a processing circuit that forms part of the processing circuit 32 and / or a storage circuit that forms part of the storage circuit 30 of the control circuit 28 (e.g., a part of the control circuit 28 that can be implemented on the wireless circuit 34). For example, the control circuit 28 can include a baseband processor circuit or other control components that form part of the wireless circuit 34.

[0046] The radio circuit 34 may include millimeter-wave and centimeter-wave transceiver circuits such as millimeter-wave / centimeter-wave transceiver circuit 38. The millimeter-wave / centimeter-wave transceiver circuit 38 may support communication at frequencies between approximately 10 GHz and 300 GHz. For example, the millimeter-wave / centimeter-wave transceiver circuit 38 may support communication in the extremely high frequency (EHF) or millimeter-wave communication band between approximately 30 GHz and 300 GHz and / or in the centimeter-wave communication band (sometimes referred to as the super high frequency (SHF) band) between approximately 10 GHz and 30 GHz. For example, the millimeter-wave / centimeter-wave transceiver circuit 38 may support communication in the following communication bands: the IEEE K communication band between approximately 18 GHz and 27 GHz, the K- a communication band between approximately 26.5 GHz and 40 GHz, the K u communication band between approximately 12 GHz and 18 GHz, the V communication band between approximately 40 GHz and 75 GHz, the W communication band between approximately 75 GHz and 110 GHz, or any other desired band between approximately 10 GHz and 300 GHz. If desired, the millimeter-wave / centimeter-wave transceiver circuit 38 may support IEEE 802.11ad communication at 60 GHz (e.g., the WiGig from approximately 57 GHz to 61 GHz or the 60 GHz Wi-Fi band) and / or the 5th generation mobile network or 5th generation wireless system (5G) new radio (NR) frequency range 2 (FR2) communication band between approximately 24 GHz and 90 GHz. The millimeter-wave / centimeter-wave transceiver circuit 38 may be formed by one or more integrated circuits (e.g., multiple integrated circuits mounted on a common printed circuit in a system-in-package device, one or more integrated circuits mounted on different substrates, etc.).

[0047] The millimeter-wave / centimeter-wave transceiver circuit 38 (sometimes referred to herein simply as transceiver circuit 38 or millimeter-wave / centimeter-wave circuit 38) may perform spatial ranging operations using radio frequency signals at millimeter-wave and / or centimeter-wave frequencies transmitted and received by the millimeter-wave / centimeter-wave transceiver circuit 38. The received signal may be a version of the transmitted signal that has been reflected from an external object and returned to the device 10. The control circuit 28 may process the transmitted signal and the received signal to detect or estimate the distance between the device 10 and one or more external objects around the device 10 (e.g., objects external to the device 10 such as the body of a user or other person, other devices, animals, furniture, walls, or other objects or obstacles near the device 10). If desired, the control circuit 28 may also process the transmitted signal and the received signal to identify the two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatial position of the external object relative to the device 10.

[0048] The spatial ranging operation performed by the millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 38 is unidirectional. If desired, the millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 38 may also perform two-way communication with external wireless equipment such as the external wireless equipment 10 (e.g., via a two-way millimeter wave / centimeter wave wireless communication link). The external wireless equipment may include other electronic devices such as the electronic device 10, a wireless base station, a wireless access point, a wireless accessory, or any other desired equipment that transmits and receives millimeter wave / centimeter wave signals. The two-way communication involves the transmission of wireless data by the millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 38 and the reception of the transmitted wireless data by the external wireless equipment. The wireless data may include, for example, data encoded into corresponding data packets, such as wireless data associated with a telephone call, streaming media content, Internet browsing, wireless data associated with a software application running on the device 10, an email message, etc.

[0049] If desired, the wireless circuit 34 may include transceiver circuitry for handling communications at frequencies below 10 GHz, such as a non-millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 36. For example, the non-millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 36 may handle: wireless local area network (WLAN) communication bands, such as 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (IEEE802.11) bands; wireless personal area network (WPAN) communication bands, such as 2.4 GHz Communication frequency bands; cellular telephone communication frequency bands, such as cellular low band (LB) (e.g., 600 MHz to 960 MHz), cellular low intermediate band (LMB) (e.g., 1400 MHz to 1550 MHz), cellular intermediate band (MB) (e.g., 1700 MHz to 2200 MHz), cellular high band (HB) (e.g., 2300 MHz to 2700 MHz), cellular ultra-high band (UHB) (e.g., 3300 MHz to 5000 MHz), or other cellular communication frequency bands between about 600 MHz and about 5000 MHz (e.g., 3G bands, 4G LTE bands, 5G new radio frequency range 1 (FR1) bands below 10 GHz, etc.); near-field communication (NFC) frequency bands (e.g., 13.56 MHz); satellite navigation frequency bands (e.g., L1 global positioning system (GPS) band at 1575 MHz, L5 GPS band at 1176 MHz, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) band, beidou navigation satellite system (BDS) band, etc.); ultra-wideband (UWB) communication frequency bands supported by IEEE802.15.4 protocol and / or other UWB communication protocols (e.g., first UWB communication band at 6.5 GHz and / or second UWB communication band at 8.0 GHz); and / or any other desired communication frequency bands. Communication frequency bands processed by radio frequency transceiver circuits may sometimes be referred to herein as frequency bands or simply "bands" and may span corresponding frequency ranges. The non-millimeter-wave / centimeter-wave transceiver circuit 36 and the millimeter-wave / centimeter-wave transceiver circuit 38 may each include one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuits, low-noise input amplifiers, passive radio frequency components, switch circuits, transmission line structures, and other circuits for processing radio frequency signals.

[0050] Generally speaking, the transceiver circuits in the radio circuit 34 may cover (process) any desired frequency band of interest. As Figure 2 shown, the radio circuit 34 may include an antenna 40. The transceiver circuits may use one or more antennas 40 to transmit radio frequency signals (e.g., the antenna 40 may transmit radio frequency signals for the transceiver circuits). As used herein, the term "transmit radio frequency signals" means the transmission and / or reception of radio frequency signals (e.g., for performing one-way and / or two-way wireless communication with external wireless communication equipment). The antenna 40 may transmit radio frequency signals by radiating the radio frequency signals (or through an intermediate device structure such as a dielectric overlay) into free space. In addition or alternatively, the antenna 40 may receive radio frequency signals from free space (e.g., through an intermediate device structure such as a dielectric overlay). The transmission and reception of radio frequency signals by the antenna 40 each involve the excitation or resonance of antenna current on the antenna resonant elements in the antenna by radio frequency signals within the operating band of the antenna.

[0051] In satellite navigation system links, cellular phone links, and other long-distance links, radio frequency signals are typically used to transmit data over thousands of feet or miles. At 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz links and links, as well as other short-range wireless links, radio frequency signals are typically used to transmit data over tens or hundreds of feet. The millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 38 can transmit radio frequency signals over short distances that travel in a line-of-sight path. To enhance signal reception for millimeter wave and centimeter wave communications, phased antenna arrays and beamforming (steering) techniques can be used (e.g., a scheme in which the antenna signal phase and / or amplitude of each antenna in the array is adjusted to perform beam steering). Since the operating environment of the device 10 can switch to not using and using higher-performance antennas in their place, an antenna diversity scheme can also be used to ensure that the antennas have started to be blocked or otherwise degraded.

[0052] The antenna 40 in the radio circuit 34 can be formed using any suitable antenna type. For example, the antenna 40 can include an antenna having a resonant element, which is formed by a stacked patch antenna structure, a loop antenna structure, a patch antenna structure, an inverted F antenna structure, a slot antenna structure, a planar inverted F antenna structure, a monopole antenna structure, a dipole antenna structure, a spiral antenna structure, a Yagi (Yagi-Uda) antenna structure, a hybrid of these designs, etc. If desired, one or more of the antennas 40 can be cavity-backed antennas. Different types of antennas can be used for different frequency bands and frequency band combinations. For example, one type of antenna can be used to form a non-millimeter wave / centimeter wave radio link for the non-millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 36, while another type of antenna can be used to transmit radio frequency signals at millimeter wave and / or centimeter wave frequencies for the millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 38. The antenna 40 used to transmit radio frequency signals at millimeter wave and / or centimeter wave frequencies can be arranged in one or more phased antenna arrays. In one suitable arrangement described herein as an example, the antenna 40 arranged in the corresponding phased antenna array can be a stacked patch antenna having a patch antenna resonant element that overlaps and is vertically stacked with respect to one or more parasitic patch elements.

[0053] Figure 3 is a diagram showing how a given antenna 40 can be fed by a corresponding radio frequency transmission line path. As Figure 3 shown, the millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 38 can be coupled to a given antenna 40 using a radio frequency transmission line path such as the radio frequency transmission line path 42.

[0054] To provide an antenna structure such as antenna 40 having the ability to cover different frequencies of interest, antenna 40 may be provided with circuitry such as filter circuitry (e.g., one or more passive filters and / or one or more tunable filter circuits). Discrete components such as capacitors, inductors, and resistors may be incorporated into the filter circuit. Capacitive structures, inductive structures, and resistive structures may also be formed by patterned metal structures (e.g., part of the antenna). If desired, antenna 40 may be provided with an adjustable circuit such as a tunable component for tuning the antenna to a communication (frequency) band of interest. The tunable component may be part of a tunable filter or a tunable impedance matching network, may be part of an antenna resonant element, may span a gap between an antenna resonant element and an antenna ground, etc.

[0055] The radio frequency transmission line path 42 may include one or more radio frequency transmission lines (sometimes referred to herein simply as transmission lines). The radio frequency transmission line path 42 (e.g., the transmission lines in the radio frequency transmission line path 42) may include a positive signal conductor such as positive signal conductor 46 and a ground signal conductor such as ground conductor 48.

[0056] The transmission lines in the radio frequency transmission line path 42 may include, for example, coaxial cable transmission lines (e.g., the ground conductor 48 may be implemented as a grounded conductive braid that surrounds the signal conductor 46 along its length), stripline transmission lines (e.g., where the ground conductor 48 extends along both sides of the signal conductor 46), microstrip transmission lines (e.g., where the ground conductor 48 extends along one side of the signal conductor 46), coaxial probes implemented by metallized vias, edge-coupled microstrip transmission lines, edge-coupled stripline transmission lines, coaxial probes implemented by waveguide structures (e.g., coplanar waveguide or grounded coplanar waveguide), combinations of these types of transmission lines, and / or other transmission line structures, etc.

[0057] The transmission lines of the radio frequency transmission line path 42 may be integrated into a rigid and / or flexible printed circuit board. In a suitable arrangement, the radio frequency transmission line path 42 may include transmission line conductors (e.g., signal conductor 46 and ground conductor 48) that are integrated within a multi-layer laminate structure (e.g., layers of conductive material (such as copper) and dielectric material (such as resin) laminated together without an intervening adhesive). If desired, the multi-layer laminate structure may be folded or bent in multiple dimensions (e.g., two-dimensional or three-dimensional) and may maintain its bent or folded shape after bending (e.g., the multi-layer laminate structure may be folded into a specific three-dimensional structural shape to route around other device components and may be rigid enough to maintain its shape after folding without a stiffener or other structure to hold it in place). All of the multiple layers of the laminate structure may be laminated together in batches without an adhesive (e.g., in a single pressing process) (e.g., as opposed to performing multiple pressing processes to laminate multiple layers together with an adhesive layer).

[0058] The matching network may include components such as inductors, resistors, and capacitors for matching the impedance of antenna 40 to the impedance of the radio frequency transmission line path 42. The matching network components may be provided as discrete components (e.g., surface mount technology components) or may be formed by a housing structure, a printed circuit board structure, traces on a plastic bracket, etc. Components such as these may also be used to form filter circuits in antenna 40 and may be tunable components and / or fixed components.

[0059] The radio frequency transmission line path 42 may be coupled to an antenna feed structure associated with antenna 40. For example, antenna 40 may form an inverted-F antenna, a planar inverted-F antenna, a patch antenna, a stacked patch antenna, a dipole antenna, a helical antenna, a monopole antenna, or another type of antenna having an antenna feed section 44. The antenna feed section 44 may have a positive antenna feed terminal and a ground antenna feed terminal. The positive antenna feed terminal may be coupled to the antenna resonant element of antenna 40. The ground antenna feed terminal may be coupled to the antenna ground portion of antenna 40. The signal conductor 46 may be coupled to the positive antenna feed terminal, and the ground conductor 48 may be coupled to the ground antenna feed terminal. If desired, other types of antenna feed arrangements may be used. Figure 3 The illustrative feed configurations are merely illustrative.

[0060] Antenna 40 for transmitting radio frequency signals at millimeter wave and / or centimeter wave frequencies may be arranged in one or more phased antenna arrays. Figure 4 is a diagram showing how antenna 40 for processing radio frequency signals at millimeter wave and centimeter wave frequencies may be formed in a phased antenna array. As Figure 4 shown, the phased antenna array 50 (sometimes referred to herein as array 50, antenna array 50, or array 50 of antenna 40) may be coupled to the radio frequency transmission line path 42. For example, the first antenna 40-1 in the phased antenna array 50 may be coupled to the first radio frequency transmission line path 42-1, the second antenna 40-2 in the phased antenna array 50 may be coupled to the second radio frequency transmission line path 42-2, the Mth antenna 40-M in the phased antenna array 50 may be coupled to the Mth radio frequency transmission line path 42-M, etc. Although antenna 40 is described herein as forming a phased antenna array, the antennas 40 in the phased antenna array 50 may sometimes also be referred to as jointly forming a single phased array antenna (e.g., where each antenna 40 in the phased array antenna forms an antenna element of the phased array antenna). The radio frequency transmission line paths 42 may each be coupled to Figure 3 the millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 38.

[0061] The antennas 40 in the phased antenna array 50 can be arranged in any desired number of rows and columns or in any other desired pattern (e.g., the antennas need not be arranged in a grid pattern with rows and columns). During signal transmission operations, the radio frequency transmission line path 42 can be used to supply signals (e.g., radio frequency signals such as millimeter wave and / or centimeter wave signals) from the millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 38 ( Figure 3 ) to the phased antenna array 50 for wireless transmission. During signal reception operations, the radio frequency transmission line path 42 can be used to convey signals received at the phased antenna array 50 to the millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 38 ( Figure 3 ).

[0062] Using multiple antennas 40 in the phased antenna array 50 allows for the implementation of a radio frequency beamforming arrangement (sometimes referred to herein as a radio frequency beam steering arrangement) by controlling the relative phase and amplitude (amplitude) of the radio frequency signals transmitted by the antennas. In Figure 4 example, each of the antennas 40 in the phased antenna array 50 has a corresponding radio frequency phase and amplitude controller 58 (e.g., the first phase and amplitude controller 58-1 interposed on the radio frequency transmission line path 42-1 can control the phase and amplitude of the radio frequency signal processed by the antenna 40-1, the second phase and amplitude controller 58-2 interposed on the radio frequency transmission line path 42-2 can control the phase and amplitude of the radio frequency signal processed by the antenna 40-2, the Mth phase and amplitude controller 58-M interposed on the radio frequency transmission line path 42-M can control the phase and amplitude of the radio frequency signal processed by the antenna 40-M, etc.).

[0063] Each of the phase and amplitude controllers 58 can include circuitry for adjusting the phase of the radio frequency signal on the radio frequency transmission line path 42 (e.g., a phase shifter circuit) and / or circuitry for adjusting the amplitude of the radio frequency signal on the radio frequency transmission line path 42 (e.g., a power amplifier and / or a low noise amplifier circuit). The phase and amplitude controllers 58 can sometimes be collectively referred to herein as beam steering or beamforming circuitry (e.g., beam steering circuitry that steers the beam of the radio frequency signals transmitted and / or received by the phased antenna array 50).

[0064] The phase and amplitude controller 58 can adjust the relative phase and / or amplitude of the transmitted signals provided to each antenna in the phased antenna array 50, and can also adjust the relative phase and / or amplitude of the received signals received by the phased antenna array 50. If necessary, the phase and amplitude controller 58 can include a phase detection circuit for detecting the phase of the received signals received by the phased antenna array 50. The terms "beam", "signal beam", "radio frequency beam" or "radio frequency signal beam" can be used herein interchangeably to commonly refer to the wireless signals transmitted and received by the phased antenna array 50 in a specific direction. The signal beam can exhibit a peak gain, which is oriented in a specific beam pointing direction at a corresponding beam pointing angle (e.g., based on constructive and destructive interference of the signals combined from each antenna in the phased antenna array). The term "transmit beam" can sometimes be used herein to refer to the radio frequency signal transmitted in a specific direction, while the term "receive beam" can sometimes be used herein to refer to the radio frequency signal received from a specific direction.

[0065] For example, if the phase and amplitude controller 58 is adjusted to generate a first set of phases and / or amplitudes of the transmitted radio frequency signals, the transmitted signals will form a transmit beam oriented in the direction of point A as shown by beam B1 in Figure 4 However, if the phase and amplitude controller 58 is adjusted to generate a second set of phases and / or amplitudes of the transmitted signals, the transmitted signals will form a transmit beam oriented in the direction of point B as shown by beam B2. Similarly, if the phase and amplitude controller 58 is adjusted to generate a first set of phases and / or amplitudes, radio frequency signals can be received from the direction of point A (e.g., the radio frequency signals in the receive beam), as shown by beam B1. If the phase and amplitude controller 58 is adjusted to generate a second set of phases and / or amplitudes, radio frequency signals can be received from the direction of point B, as shown by beam B2.

[0066] Each phase and amplitude controller 58 can be controlled via the control path 56 based on the corresponding control signal S received from the control circuit 28 to generate the desired phase and / or amplitude (e.g., the phase and / or amplitude provided by the phase and amplitude controller 58-1 can be controlled using the control signal S1 on the control path 56-1, the phase and / or amplitude provided by the phase and amplitude controller 58-2 can be controlled using the control signal S2 on the control path 56-2, the phase and / or amplitude provided by the phase and amplitude controller 58-M can be controlled using the control signal SM on the control path 56-M, etc.). If necessary, the control circuit 28 can actively adjust the control signal S in real time to steer the transmit or receive beam to different desired directions over time (e.g., to different desired beam pointing angles). If necessary, the phase and amplitude controller 58 can provide information identifying the phase of the received signals to the control circuit 28.

[0067] When performing wireless communication using radio frequency signals at millimeter wave and centimeter wave frequencies, the radio frequency signals are transmitted on the line-of-sight path between the phased antenna array 50 and external wireless equipment. If the external wireless equipment is located at Figure 4 point A, the phase and amplitude controller 58 can be adjusted to steer the signal beam towards point A (e.g., to form a signal beam with a beam pointing angle pointing to point A). Then, the phased antenna array 50 can transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the direction of point A. Similarly, if the external wireless equipment is located at point B, the phase and amplitude controller 58 can be adjusted to steer the signal beam towards point B (e.g., to form a signal beam with a beam pointing angle pointing to point B). Then, the phased antenna array 50 can transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the direction of point B. In Figure 4 the example of, for simplicity, beam steering is shown to be performed in a single degree of freedom (e.g., left and right on the page of Figure 4 ). However, in reality, the beam can be steered in two or more degrees of freedom (e.g., in three dimensions into and out of the page and left and right on the page of Figure 4 ). The phased antenna array 50 can have a corresponding field of view on which beam steering can be performed (e.g., in a hemisphere or a section of a hemisphere on the phased antenna array). If needed, the device 10 can include multiple phased antenna arrays, each facing a different direction to provide coverage from multiple sides of the device.

[0068] The control circuit 28 can identify the desired beam pointing angle of the signal beam of the phased antenna array 50 and can adjust the control signal S provided to the phased antenna array 50 to configure the phased antenna array 50 to form (steer) a signal beam at that beam pointing angle. During wireless communication, each possible beam pointing angle that the phased antenna array 50 can use can be identified by a beam control codebook such as codebook 54. The codebook 54 can be stored at the control circuit 28, elsewhere on the device 10, or can be located (offloaded) to external equipment and transmitted to the device 10 via a wired or wireless communication link.

[0069] The codebook 54 can identify each possible beam pointing angle that the phased antenna array 50 can use. The control circuit 28 can store or identify the phase and amplitude settings of the phase and amplitude controller 58 for implementing each of those beam pointing angles (e.g., the control circuit 28 or the codebook 54 can contain information that maps each beam pointing angle of the phased antenna array 50 to a corresponding set of phase and amplitude values of the phase and amplitude controller 58). The codebook 54 can be hard-coded or soft-coded at the control circuit 28 or elsewhere in the device 10, can include one or more databases stored at the control circuit 28 or elsewhere in the device 10 (e.g., the codebook 54 can be stored as software code), can include one or more look-up tables at the control circuit 28 or elsewhere in the device 10, and / or can include any other required data structures stored in the hardware and / or software on the device 10. In one suitable arrangement described herein as an example, the codebook 54 can include a beam table that identifies each beam pointing angle that can be formed using the phased antenna array 50 and the corresponding phase and amplitude value settings of each phase and amplitude value controller 58 to form a beam at those beam pointing angles. The codebook 54 can be generated during calibration of the device 10 (e.g., during the design, manufacture, and / or testing of the device 10 before it is received by the end user) and / or can be dynamically updated over time (e.g., after the end user uses the device 10).

[0070] The control circuit 28 can generate a control signal S based on the codebook 54. For example, the control circuit 28 can identify the beam pointing angle required to communicate with external wireless equipment (e.g., the beam pointing angle directed at the external wireless equipment). The control circuit 28 can then identify in the codebook 54 the beam pointing angle that is closest to the identified beam pointing angle. The control circuit 28 can use the codebook 54 to generate phase and amplitude values for the phase and amplitude controller 58. The control circuit 28 can transmit a control signal S identifying these phase and amplitude values to the phase and amplitude controller 58 via the control path 56. The beam formed by the phased antenna array 50 using the control signal S will be directed at the beam pointing angle identified by the codebook 54. The control circuit 28 can perform a beam scanning operation to identify the beam pointing angle to be used. When performing the beam scanning operation, the control circuit 28 can scan some or all of the different beam pointing angles identified by the codebook 54 until the external wireless equipment is found, and can communicate with the external wireless equipment using the corresponding beam pointing angle at which the external wireless equipment is found.

[0071] If desired, device 10 may include multiple phased antenna arrays 50. Mounting different phased antenna arrays 50 at different locations on device 10 may allow each phased antenna array to jointly provide millimeter wave / centimeter wave coverage over the entire sphere surrounding device 10. If desired, device 10 may include multiple phased antenna arrays pointing in the same direction. For example, device 10 may include a first phased antenna array and a second phased antenna array, both of which radiate through a given outer wall of device 10. In a suitable arrangement described herein as an example, device 10 may include a first phased antenna array and a second phased antenna array 50, both of which radiate through device 10( Figure 1 )'s rear outer wall 12R.

[0072] Figure 5 is a rear view showing how device 10 may include a first phased antenna array and a second phased antenna array 50 that both radiate through rear outer wall 12R of device 10. As Figure 5 shown, device 10 may include a first phased antenna array 50A and a second phased antenna array 50B. Both phased antenna arrays 50A and 50B may be aligned with rear outer wall 12R to radiate through rear outer wall 12R (e.g., to radiate through one or more dielectric windows in a conductive support plate in rear outer wall 12R, to radiate through a dielectric overlay in rear outer wall 12R, etc.). Thus, phased antenna arrays 50A and 50B may provide millimeter wave / centimeter wave coverage over part or the entire hemisphere below the back of device 10. Both phased antenna arrays 50A and 50B may be located within upper region 20 of device 10, within lower region 22 of device 10, or may be distributed over different regions of device 10 (e.g., where phased antenna array 50B is located within upper region 20 and phased antenna array 50A is located outside upper region 20, etc.). This example is merely illustrative, and generally speaking, phased antenna arrays 50A and 50B may radiate through any desired wall of device 10.

[0073] In a suitable arrangement described herein as an example, phased antenna array 50A includes more antennas 40 than phased antenna array 50B. This may configure phased antenna array 50A to support greater peak gain and greater signal beam resolution compared to phased antenna array 50B. Thus, phased antenna array 50A may sometimes be referred to herein as the primary phased antenna array (PAA) 50A, while phased antenna array 50B may sometimes be referred to herein as the secondary phased antenna array (PAA) 50B.

[0074] In Figure 5In the example, the primary PAA 50A is a one-dimensional phased antenna array having four antennas 40 arranged in a single row, and the secondary PAA 50B is a one-dimensional phased antenna array having two antennas 40 arranged in a single row. This is merely illustrative. In general, the primary PAA 50A may include any desired number of antennas 40 arranged in any desired number of rows and columns or in any other desired pattern that overlaps with the rear housing wall 12R. Similarly, the secondary PAA 50B may include any desired number of antennas 40 arranged in any desired number of rows and columns or in any other desired pattern that overlaps with the rear housing wall 12R (e.g., where the number of antennas 40 in the secondary PAA 50B is less than the number of antennas 40 in the primary PAA 50A).

[0075] If desired, the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B can operate in a diversity mode, where only the primary PAA 50A is used to transmit radio frequency signals until the wireless performance of the primary PAA 50A drops below a pre-determined threshold level (e.g., due to an external object such as a hand, a tabletop, or other object blocking the primary PAA 50A). When this occurs, the use of the primary PAA 50A can be switched off, and instead, the secondary PAA 50B can be used to transmit radio frequency signals until the primary PAA 50A is no longer blocked (or until the primary PAA 50A again exhibits wireless performance greater than the pre-determined threshold level). Since the secondary PAA 50B has fewer antennas 40 than the primary PAA 50A, the secondary PAA 50B can occupy less space within the device 10. Thus, the secondary PAA 50B can have increased placement flexibility within the device 10 (e.g., while leaving space for other components in the device 10). In this way, the primary PAA 50A (e.g., the PAA with greater peak gain and signal beam resolution) can be used most of the time until the primary PAA 50A no longer exhibits satisfactory wireless performance, in which case, the secondary PAA 50B can be temporarily used until the primary PAA 50A again exhibits satisfactory wireless performance.

[0076] In the diversity mode, the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B are each capable of being independently steered (e.g., the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B can each be controlled by Figure 4controlled by different phase and amplitude controllers 58. The secondary PAA 50B can be separated from the primary PAA 50A by a distance greater than half of the effective wavelength of the operation of the phased antenna arrays 50A and 50B (e.g., measured parallel to the Y-axis) (e.g., where the effective wavelength is equal to the free space wavelength multiplied by a constant value based on the dielectric material surrounding the antenna). At the same time, each antenna 40 in the primary PAA 50A can be separated from one or more adjacent antennas 40 in the primary PAA 50A by a distance approximately equal to half of the effective wavelength of the operation of the primary PAA 50A. Similarly, each antenna 40 in the secondary PAA 50B can be separated from one or more adjacent antennas 40 in the secondary PAA 50B by a distance approximately equal to half of the effective wavelength of the operation of the secondary PAA 50B. The antennas 40 in the primary PAA 50A can generate a signal beam in the desired beam pointing direction (e.g., as Figure 4 identified by the codebook 54). When the secondary PAA 50B is in use, the antennas 40 in the secondary PAA 50B can generate a signal beam in the desired beam pointing direction. In other words, the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B can be separate, independently controllable phased antenna arrays in the device 10.

[0077] In a suitable arrangement described herein as an example, the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA B can also operate in a simultaneous array operation mode. In the simultaneous operation mode, the antennas 40 in the primary PAA 50A and the antennas 40 in the secondary PAA 50B can be active simultaneously. In the simultaneous operation mode, the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B can be controlled as a single combined phased antenna array (PAA) 50'. The combined PAA 50' can generate a single signal beam oriented in the corresponding beam pointing direction (e.g., as Figure 4 identified by the codebook 54) (e.g., having signal contributions from each antenna among the antennas 40 in both the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B). Since the combined PAA 50' has a greater total number of antennas than the primary PAA 50A (e.g., six antennas 40 as Figure 5 shown), the combined PAA 50' can exhibit a greater peak gain and higher beam resolution compared to the primary PAA 50A.

[0078] Figure 6 is a state diagram of an exemplary operation mode of the radio circuit 34 and the device 10. As Figure 6 shown, the radio circuit can operate in a first mode (state) such as the diversity mode 62 and a second mode (state) such as the simultaneous array mode 60.

[0079] In diversity mode 62, at a given time, only one of the primary PAA 50A or the secondary PAA 50B is active. For example, the primary PAA 50A may transmit a radio frequency signal on the corresponding signal beam, unless the primary PAA 50A is blocked by an external object or otherwise exhibits unsatisfactory wireless performance. If the primary PAA 50A is blocked by an external object or exhibits unsatisfactory wireless performance, then the secondary PAA 50B may transmit a radio frequency signal on the corresponding signal beam.

[0080] The control circuit 28( Figure 4 ) may collect wireless performance metric data and / or sensor data to determine whether the primary PAA 50A or the secondary PAA 50B is active in diversity mode 62. The wireless performance metric information may include error rate data, signal-to-noise ratio data, noise data, received power level data, or any other desired radio frequency performance metric information. The sensor data may include impedance sensor data, phase and amplitude sensor data, proximity sensor data, ambient light sensor data, image sensor data, orientation sensor data, temperature sensor data, or any other desired sensor data. The control circuit 28 may switch between the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B over time to ensure that the best PAA is used at any given time (e.g., to allow continuous and uninterrupted wireless communication with external communication equipment, even if an external object temporarily blocks one of the arrays).

[0081] In simultaneous array mode 60, the control circuit 28 may use a combination of the antennas 40 in both the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B to form a signal beam (e.g., the control circuit 28 may use Figure 5 the combined PAA 50' to transmit a radio frequency signal). The signal beam generated by the combined PAA 50' may have a greater peak gain and a greater beam resolution compared to the primary PAA 50A or the secondary PAA 50B.

[0082] The control circuit 28 can transition the wireless circuit from the diversity mode 62 to the simultaneous array mode 60 in response to any desired triggering condition, as shown by arrow 64. For example, when neither the primary PAA 50A nor the secondary PAA 50B exhibits satisfactory wireless performance or when the combined PAA 50' exhibits greater wireless performance compared to the primary PAA 50A or the secondary PAA 50B (e.g., wireless performance exceeding a predetermined margin over the wireless performance of the primary PAA 50A or the secondary PAA 50B), the triggering condition can occur. The triggering condition can also occur when there is a corresponding application call made by an application running on the device 10, when the collected wireless performance metric data and / or sensor data exhibit predetermined values, when the user provides a user input indicating that the device 10 should switch operation modes, etc.

[0083] Similarly, the control circuit 28 can transition the wireless circuit from the simultaneous array mode 60 to the diversity mode 62 in response to any desired triggering condition, as shown by arrow 66. For example, when the primary PAA 50A or the secondary PAA 50B exhibits satisfactory wireless performance (e.g., wireless performance exceeding a predetermined threshold) or when the combined PAA 50' exhibits worse wireless performance than the primary PAA 50A or the secondary PAA 50B (e.g., when the wireless performance of the primary PAA 50A or the secondary PAA 50B is greater than or within a predetermined margin of the wireless performance of the combined PAA 50'), the triggering condition can occur. The triggering condition can also occur when there is a corresponding application call made by an application running on the device 10, when the collected wireless performance metric data and / or sensor data exhibit predetermined values, when the user provides a user input indicating that the device 10 should switch operation modes, etc.

[0084] The codebook 54 ( Figure 5 ) can store each of the signal beams that can be formed by the primary PAA 50A, the secondary PAA 50B, and the combined PAA 50' in a corresponding beam table. Figure 7 is an illustration of an exemplary beam table for the primary PAA 50A, the secondary PAA 50B, and the combined PAA 50'. As Figure 7 shown, the codebook 54 can include a beam table 72. The beam table 72 can be hard-coded into the control circuit 28 ( Figure 4 ), in other locations on the device 10, can be stored in one or more lookup tables on the control circuit 28 or other locations on the device 10, can be stored in a database or other data structure stored on the device 10, etc.

[0085] The beam table 72 may include one or more blocks, such as blocks 74, 76, 78, 80, 82, and 84. The relative size of each of these blocks generally corresponds to the number of formable signal beams contained in that block. Block 78 may identify the phase and amplitude settings for forming a signal beam using only one antenna 40 in the primary PAA 50A (e.g., for the Figure 4 phase and amplitude controller 58). Block 80 may identify the phase and amplitude settings for forming a signal beam using only one antenna 40 in the secondary PAA 50B. Since each signal beam in the signal beams identified by blocks 78 and 74 is generated using only a single antenna, each signal beam in the signal beams may correspond to a relatively low beam resolution (e.g., wide beam width) and a relatively low gain.

[0086] Block 80 of the beam table 72 may identify the phase and amplitude settings for forming a signal beam using two antennas 40 in the primary PAA 50A. Block 76 may identify the phase and amplitude settings for forming a signal beam using two antennas 40 in the secondary PAA 50B. When each signal beam in the signal beams identified by blocks 80 and 76 is generated using two antennas, each signal beam in the signal beams may be a relatively coarse signal beam having a beam resolution greater than that of the signal beams identified by blocks 78 and 74 (e.g., a signal beam having a beam width narrower than the beam width of the signal beams identified by blocks 78 and 74). Similarly, each signal beam in the signal beams identified by blocks 80 and 76 may have a greater gain than the signal beams identified by blocks 78 and 74.

[0087] Block 82 of the beam table 72 may identify the phase and amplitude settings for forming a signal beam using four antennas 40 in the primary PAA 50A (e.g., using each antenna 40 in the primary PAA 50A). In this example, the secondary PAA 50B includes only two antennas 40. Thus, the beam table 72 does not include any four-antenna beams for the secondary PAA 50B. Since each signal beam in the signal beams identified by block 82 is generated using four antennas, each signal beam in the signal beams may be a relatively fine signal beam having a beam resolution greater than that of the signal beams identified by blocks 80 and 76 (e.g., a signal beam having a beam width narrower than the beam width of the signal beams identified by blocks 80 and 76). Similarly, each signal beam in the signal beams identified by block 82 may have a greater gain than the signal beams identified by blocks 80 and 76. Blocks 78, 74, 76, 80, and 82 each identify signal beams generated by only one of the primary PAA 50A or the secondary PAA 50B. For example, these signal beams may be at the radio circuit Figure 6is used in the diversity mode 62 and may thus sometimes be referred to herein as a diversity array beam.

[0088] The block 84 of the beam table 72 can identify the phase and amplitude settings for forming signal beams using the combined PAA 50' (e.g., using each antenna 40 in the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B). Each signal beam in the signal beams identified by the block 84 can be a very thin signal beam having a beam resolution larger than that of the signal beams identified by the block 82 (e.g., a signal beam having a beam width narrower than that of the signal beams identified by the block 82). Similarly, each signal beam in the signal beams identified by the block 84 can have a gain larger than that of the signal beams identified by the block 82. In other words, the block 84 identifies the signal beams generated by the concurrent operation of the antennas 40 in the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B (e.g., when forming a single signal beam on the combined PAA 50'). For example, these signal beams can be used when the radio circuit is in Figure 6 the simultaneous array mode 60, and may thus sometimes be referred to herein as simultaneous array beams.

[0089] Figure 7 The examples are illustrative only. The beam table 72 can include additional blocks for forming beams using any desired number of antennas in one or both of the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B. The simultaneous array beams do not need to be generated by each antenna in both the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B, and if desired, at least one antenna in the primary PAA 50A and at least one antenna in the secondary PAA 50B can be used to generate them (e.g., the beam table 72 can include multiple simultaneous array beam blocks, where each block corresponds to a different number of active antennas). The primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B can be two-dimensional arrays, and the beam table 72 can be adapted to include signal beams formed by antennas arranged in a two-dimensional pattern or any other pattern if needed.

[0090] The control circuit 28 ( Figure 4 ) can perform a beam search operation to identify which signal beams in the beam table 72 are to be used at any given time. The beam search operation can be hierarchical and can generally proceed in an order from coarse to fine, as shown by the arrow 70. This can allow the control circuit to gradually home in on the signal beam that overlaps with the external radio equipment, thereby minimizing the amount of time required to establish and maintain a wireless communication link with the external wireless communication equipment.

[0091] Figure 8 Shows exemplary signal beams that can be formed by the primary PAA 50A and the combined PAA 50' (e.g., as Figure 7a curve (e.g., a cross-sectional view) of the signal beam(s) identified by beam table 72. Figure 8 The horizontal axis of which plots azimuth angle in degrees, and Figure 8 the vertical axis of which plots elevation angle in degrees (e.g., within the hemisphere below the rear housing wall 12R of Figure 5 ).

[0092] Figure 8 Curve 86 of shows an exemplary signal beam 88 formed using all of the antennas 40 in primary PAA 50A. For example, signal beam 88 may be identified by block 82 of beam table 72 ( Figure 7 ). As shown by curve 86, signal beam 88 is a relatively thin (narrow width), high-gain signal beam that collectively covers a relatively large area (envelope) 90 within the hemisphere that overlaps with primary PAA 50A. Control circuit 28 ( Figure 4 ) may select a given signal beam 88 for use at any given time (e.g., a signal beam 88 that overlaps with the location of external wireless communication equipment).

[0093] Figure 8 Curve 92 of shows an exemplary signal beam 94 formed using all of the antennas 40 in combined PAA 50' (e.g., using all of the antennas in both primary PAA 50A and secondary PAA 50B). For example, signal beam 94 may be identified by block 84 of beam table 72 ( Figure 7 ). As shown by curve 92, signal beam 94 is a very thin (narrow width), very high-gain signal beam. Signal beam 94 may collectively cover a relatively large area (envelope) 96 within the hemisphere that overlaps with combined PAA 50'. For example, area 96 may be larger and / or more uniform in shape than area 90. Since signal beam 94 is smaller (higher gain) than signal beam 88, beam table 72 may store more signal beams 94 than signal beams 88 (e.g., Figure 7 block 84 of may be larger than block 82). Control circuit 28 ( Figure 4 ) may select a given signal beam 94 for use at any given time (e.g., a signal beam 94 that overlaps with the location of external wireless communication equipment).

[0094] Figure 8 The examples of are illustrative only. Generally speaking, signal beams 88 and 94 and areas 90 and 96 may have other shapes or dimensions. Area 96 may include any desired number of signal beams 94. Area 90 may include any desired number of signal beams 88. Areas 96 and 90 may span other ranges of azimuth angle and elevation angle.

[0095] Figure 9 is a graph showing how combined PAA 50' can optimize the wireless performance of device 10.Figure 9 The horizontal axis plots power in dB (e.g., EARP). Figure 9 The vertical axis plots the global surface cumulative distribution function (CDF). Curve 98 plots the wireless performance of the primary PAA 50A or secondary PAA 50B (e.g., operating in Figure 6 diversity mode 62 of). Figure 8 The wireless performance of the combined PAA 50' (e.g., operating in the simultaneous array mode 60 and generating

[0096] Figure 10 is an example of steps that can be processed by the control circuit 28 ( Figure 4 ) during the execution of a beam search operation (e.g., using the beam table 72 and in the Figure 7 direction of arrow 70 of). Figure 10 At step 104, the control circuit 28 can sample the beams from all the phased antenna arrays in the device 10. For example, the control circuit 28 can use each phased antenna array in the phased antenna array to generate one or more signal beams and can collect wireless performance metric data for each signal beam in the signal beams. The control circuit 28 can process the wireless performance metric data to identify one or more phased antenna arrays to be used for further communication (e.g., phased antenna arrays with wireless performance metric data exceeding a threshold).

[0097] In response to determining that one of the primary PAA 50A or secondary PAA 50B should be used (e.g., the phased antenna array facing the back that radiates through the rear housing wall 12R), the process can proceed to step 106. The control circuit 28 can determine that the primary PAA50A or secondary PAA 50B should be used when the primary PAA50A or secondary PAA 50B exhibits greater wireless performance than other phased antenna arrays in the device 10 (e.g., as identified by the collected wireless performance metric data) or when the primary PAA 50A or secondary PAA 50B has wireless performance metric data exceeding a threshold.

[0098] At step 106, the control circuit 28 can sample (e.g., sweep) the single antenna beams of the primary PAA 50A and secondary PAA 50B. For example, the control circuit 28 can generate by Figure 7One or more signal beams in the signal beams identified by blocks 78 and 74. The control circuit 28 can collect wireless performance metric data for each signal beam in the signal beams. Since these signal beams are single-antenna beams, the signal beams are relatively wide and low-gain. The wireless performance metric data can identify, for example, the general direction of external wireless equipment. The control circuit 28 can identify the single-antenna beam with the best wireless performance (e.g., based on the collected wireless performance metric data) for further processing.

[0099] At step 108, the control circuit 28 can sample (e.g., sweep through) the dual-antenna beam for the phased antenna array that generates the single-antenna beam with the best wireless performance (e.g., as identified at step 106). For example, if the single-antenna beam with the best wireless performance is generated by the primary PAA 50A, the control circuit 28 can sample the dual-antenna beam as identified by Figure 7 block 80. The control circuit 28 can collect wireless performance metric data for each signal beam in the signal beams. The wireless performance metric data can identify, for example, a more precise direction of the external wireless equipment than that identified using the single-antenna beam. The control circuit 28 can identify the dual-antenna beam with the best wireless performance (e.g., based on the collected wireless performance metric data) for further processing.

[0100] At step 110, the control circuit 28 can sample the four-antenna beam (e.g., Figure 8 signal beam 88) for the phased antenna array that generates the dual-antenna beam with the best wireless performance (e.g., as identified at step 108). For example, if the dual-antenna beam with the best wireless performance is generated by the primary PAA 50A, the control circuit 28 can sample the four-antenna beam as identified by Figure 7 block 82. If desired, to minimize processing time, the sampled four-antenna beams can be only those that overlap or are adjacent to the identified dual-antenna beam with the best wireless performance. The control circuit 28 can identify the four-antenna beam with the best wireless performance (e.g., based on the collected wireless performance metric data) for further processing.

[0101] If desired, the control circuit 28 can determine whether the identified four-antenna beam with the best wireless performance has satisfactory wireless performance. For example, if the wireless performance metric data collected for the four-antenna beam exceeds a threshold level, the four-antenna beam can have satisfactory wireless performance. If the wireless performance metric data collected for the four-antenna beam exceeds a threshold level, the four-antenna beam can be used to perform further communication with the external wireless equipment.

[0102] In Figure 10 the example, where the wireless circuit is atFigure 6 When in the diversity mode 62, steps 104 to 110 are executed. If the wireless performance metric data collected for the four-antenna beam is less than the threshold level, the process can proceed to step 112. This may indicate, for example, that the four-antenna beam does not exhibit sufficient gain to establish a reliable wireless link with external wireless equipment. Subsequently, the control circuit 28 can place the device 10 in Figure 6 the simultaneous array mode 60.

[0103] At step 112 (e.g., in Figure 6 the simultaneous array mode 60), the control circuit 28 can sample (e.g., sweep through) the signal beam for the combined array 50'. In an example where the combined array 50' includes six antennas, the control circuit 28 can sample the six-antenna signal beam identified by block 84 as Figure 7 such (e.g., Figure 8 the signal beam 94). If desired, to minimize processing time, the sampled six-antenna beams can be only those that overlap or are adjacent to the identified four-antenna beam with the best wireless performance. The control circuit 28 can identify the six-antenna beam with the best wireless performance (e.g., based on the collected wireless performance metric data) as the best signal beam for performing further communication. Subsequently, the control circuit 28 can use the best signal beam to communicate with external wireless equipment. If needed, when the wireless performance metric data collected for the best signal beam drops below the threshold (e.g., when the external wireless equipment moves away from the area pointed at by the best signal beam), the process can loop back to step 104.

[0104] Figure 10 The examples are illustrative only. Other beam search operations can be used. If desired, the control circuit 28 can periodically check the signal beam used at Figure 10 one or more steps and / or the best signal beam identified at step 112 to determine if the active signal beam needs to be adjusted (e.g., to determine if the signal beam needs to be steered to a new beam pointing direction, to determine if the device 10 needs to be in Figure 6between diversity mode 62 or simultaneous array mode 60, etc.). Any desired triggering condition such as the collected wireless performance metric data dropping below a predetermined threshold level can trigger a new beam search operation, a switch between diversity mode and simultaneous array mode, a switch between active phased antenna arrays within the diversity mode, etc. As an example, if the primary PAA 50A is being used to sample a dual antenna beam (at step 108) or a four antenna beam (at step 110), and the collected wireless performance metric data identifies a drop in beam power that exceeds the threshold level, this can indicate that the primary PAA 50A has been blocked by an external object. Subsequently, the control circuit 28 can switch to using the secondary PAA 50B, and subsequently, the secondary PAA 50B can be used to perform wireless communication and / or beam search operations (e.g., until the primary PAA 50A is no longer blocked by an external object). Sensor data can also be used to determine whether the primary PAA 50A has been blocked by an external object.

[0105] If desired, the primary PAA 50A and the secondary PAA 50B can be combined within the same antenna module. Figure 11 is a diagram showing how phased antenna arrays can be combined within the same antenna module. As Figure 11 shown, the radio circuit 34 can include an antenna module or package, such as antenna module 116. The components of antenna module 116 can be mounted to a common (shared) antenna module, such as a rigid printed circuit board substrate or a flexible printed circuit substrate. Surface mount technology (SMT), solder balls, conductive pins, ball grid arrays, etc. can be used to mount the components in antenna module 116 to the antenna module substrate.

[0106] A radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), such as RFIC 118, can be mounted to the antenna module substrate. Also, a first phased antenna array (PAA) 50-1 (e.g., the primary PAA 50A or the secondary PAA 50B) and a second PAA 50-2 (e.g., the secondary PAA 50B or the primary PAA 50A) can be formed on the antenna module substrate. The RFIC 118 can be coupled to the PAA 50-1 via a radio frequency path 120. The RFIC 118 can be coupled to the PAA 50-2 via a radio frequency path 122. The radio frequency paths 120 and 122 can include radio frequency transmission line paths (e.g., Figure 4 the radio frequency transmission line path 42).

[0107] The RFIC 118 can be coupled to an intermediate frequency (IF) integrated circuit (IFIC) 126 via an IF path 124. The RFIC 118 and the IFIC 126 can jointly form a millimeter wave / centimeter wave transceiver circuit 38 ( Figure 2)。The IFIC 126 and the RFIC 118 can transmit IF signals through the IF path 124. Transmitting signals at an intermediate frequency can cause less loss than transmitting signals at millimeter wave / centimeter wave frequencies. The RFIC 118 can include mixer circuits (e.g., up-conversion and down-conversion circuits) that convert the IF signals from the IF frequency into RF signals at a radio frequency for transmission through the PAA 50-1 and the PAA 50-2. Similarly, the mixer circuits in the RFIC 118 can convert RF signals at a radio frequency into IF signals at the IF frequency for transmission through the IF path 124 to the IFIC 126. The RFIC 118 can also include phase and amplitude controllers for the PAA 50-1 and the PAA 50-2 (e.g., Figure 4 phase and amplitude controller 58).

[0108] The IFIC 126 can include mixer circuits (e.g., up-conversion and down-conversion circuits) that convert the IF signals received through the IF path 124 into baseband signals at a baseband frequency for transmission through the baseband path 130 to the baseband (BB) processor 128. Similarly, the mixer circuits in the IFIC 126 can convert the baseband signals received through the baseband path 130 into IF signals for transmission through the IF path 124. Power and control signals can also be transmitted through the IF path 124.

[0109] In Figure 11 the example of, a portion of the IFIC 126, the baseband processor 128, the baseband path 130, and the IF path 124 are formed on a lower substrate 114 (e.g., a rigid printed circuit board, a flexible printed circuit, etc.) separate from the antenna module substrate of the antenna module 116. In one suitable arrangement sometimes described herein as an example, the substrate 114 can be the main logic board of the device 10. Thus, the substrate 114 can sometimes be referred to herein as the main logic board (MLB) 114. By forming both the PAA 50-1 and the PAA 50-2 on the same antenna module 116 and by sharing the RFIC 118 between the PAA 50-1 and the PAA 50-2 in this way, the cost, manufacturing complexity, and wiring complexity of the radio circuit 34 can be minimized. Additionally, by simplifying the interconnection between the baseband processor 128 and the phased antenna array in this way, e.g., the radio circuit 34 can exhibit reduced impedance mismatch losses, reduced transmission line losses, and improved reliability. If needed, a flexible printed circuit board can be used to couple any antenna modules external to the MLB 114 to the MLB 114 (e.g., for forming Figure 11 the IF path 124).

[0110] Figure 11The examples are illustrative only. If desired, PAA 50-1 and PAA 50-2 can be formed on separate antenna modules. Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of how PAA 50-1 and PAA 50-2 can be formed on separate antenna modules. As Figure 12 shown, PAA 50-1 can be formed on the first antenna module 116-1, while PAA 50-2 is formed on the second antenna module 116-2 (e.g., the antenna module 116-1 can have a first antenna module substrate, and the antenna module 116-2 has a second antenna module substrate separate from the first antenna module substrate). The RFIC 118 can be mounted (e.g., surface-mounted) to the antenna module 116-2.

[0111] In Figure 12 the example, the antenna module 116-2 is mounted (e.g., surface-mounted) to the MLB 114. This is merely illustrative, and in another suitable arrangement, the antenna module 116-2 can be separate from the MLB 114. Forming the antenna module 116-1 separate from the MLB 114 can allow the antenna module 116-1 to be flexibly placed at a desired location within the device 10. Mounting the antenna module 116-2 to the MLB 114 can allow corresponding radio frequency traces (e.g., portions of the radio frequency paths 122 and / or 120), IF traces (e.g., portions of the IF path 124), control traces (e.g., in the IF path 124), and power traces (e.g., in the IF path 124) to be integrated within the wiring of the MLB 114. Board-to-board (B2B) connectors, flexible traces, and / or radio frequency traces can be used to couple the RFIC 118 to the antenna module 116-1.

[0112] The arrangement in which the same RFIC 118 is shared by both PAA 50-1 and PAA 50-2 Figure 12 is merely illustrative. In another suitable arrangement, PAA 50-1 and PAA 50-2 can each be fed by a corresponding RFIC. As Figure 13 shown, a first RFIC such as RFIC 118-1 can be mounted to the antenna module 116-1. A second RFIC such as RFIC 118-2 can be mounted to the antenna module 116-2. The IFIC 126 can be coupled to the RFIC 118-1 through the IF path 124-1. The IFIC 126 can be coupled to the RFIC 118-2 through the IF path 124-2. IF signals, control signals, and power signals can be transmitted through the IF paths 124-1 and 124-2.

[0113] The arrangement in which the antenna module 116-2 is mounted to the MLB 114 Figure 13The examples are merely illustrative. In another suitable arrangement, the antenna module 116-2 may be formed outside the MLB 114, as Figure 15 shown. This may, for example, allow maximum flexibility in the placement of the PAA 50-1 and PAA 50-2 within the device 10.

[0114] If needed, the RFIC 118-2 may provide a timing (clock) signal, such as a local oscillator signal, to the RFIC 118-1. Figure 15 is a diagram showing how the RFIC 118-2 may provide a local oscillator signal to the RFIC 118-1. As Figure 15 shown, the RFIC 118-2 may be coupled to the RFIC 118-1 via a local oscillator path 132. The RFIC 118-2, other parts of the antenna module 116-2, or the MLB 114 may include a local oscillator generator that generates the local oscillator signal LO. The RFIC 118-2 may transmit the local oscillator signal LO to the RFIC 118-1 via the local oscillator path 132. The RFIC 118-1 and the RFIC 118-2 may each use the local oscillator signal LO to perform upconversion and downconversion and / or perform other timing operations associated with transmitting and / or receiving radio frequency signals using the PAA 50-1 and PAA 50-2. By sharing the local oscillator signal LO between the RFIC 118-1 and the RFIC 118-2, the operations of the PAA 50-1 and PAA 50-2 may be synchronized. When the PAA 50-1 and PAA 50-2 are being used as a single combined PAA 50' ( Figure 5 ), this synchronization may, for example, support coherence between the antennas in the PAA 50-1 and PAA 50-2.

[0115] In the case where the RFIC 118-2 provides the local oscillator signal LO to the RFIC 118-1, the RFIC 118-2 operates as the master RFIC, and the RFIC 118-1 operates as the slave RFIC. This is merely illustrative. In another suitable arrangement, the RFIC 118-1 may operate as the master RFIC and may generate the local oscillator signal LO for the RFIC 118-2 (e.g., the RFIC 118-2 may be the slave RFIC).

[0116] Figures 11 to 15 The examples are merely illustrative. If needed, any combination of the Figures 11 to 15 arrangements may be combined. The radio circuit 34 may include more than two phased antenna arrays (e.g., three or more phased antenna arrays capable of operating in a diversity operation mode and in a simultaneous array operation mode, where each phased antenna array in the phased antenna arrays operates as a single combined phased antenna array, as described above in connection withFigures 5 to 10 As described). The phased antenna arrays may be formed on respective antenna modules, or two or more (e.g., all) of the phased antenna arrays in the phased antenna array may be formed on the same antenna module.

[0117] Figure 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the radio circuit 34 may include three phased antenna arrays. As Figure 16 shown, the radio circuit 34 may include a first PAA 50-1 on a first antenna module 116-1, a second PAA 50-2 on a second antenna module 116-2, and a third PAA 50-3 on a third antenna module 116-3. The antenna module 116-2 and the antenna module 116-3 may be mounted to the MLB 114. The first RFIC 118-1 may be mounted to the antenna module 116-2 and may be shared by the PAA 50-1 and the PAA 50-2 (e.g., the RFIC 118-1 may be coupled to the PAA 50-1 through a radio frequency path 120 and may be coupled to the PAA 50-2 through a radio frequency path 122). The second RFIC 118-2 may be mounted to the antenna module 116-3. The RFIC 118-2 may be used to feed the PAA 50-3. The IFIC 126 may be coupled to the RFIC 118-1 through an IF path 134. The IFIC may be coupled to the RFIC 118-2 through an IF path 136. IF signals, control signals, and power signals may be transmitted through the IF paths 134 and 136.

[0118] The RFIC 118-2 may be coupled to the RFIC 118-1 through an LO path 140. The RFIC 118-2 may generate a local oscillator signal LO and may transmit the local oscillator signal LO to the RFIC 118-1 through the LO path 140. Figure 16 The example is illustrative only. If needed, the RFIC 118-1 may generate the local oscillator signal LO. Any desired combination of the antenna modules 116-1, 116-2, and 116-3 may be mounted to the MLB 114 or formed outside the MLB 114. Each antenna module 116 may have a corresponding RFIC, or one or more antenna modules may share one or more RFICs. Each antenna module 116 may include one or more phased antenna arrays. If needed, the radio circuit 34 may include more than three phased antenna arrays and / or more than three antenna modules.

[0119] Device 10 may collect and / or use personally identifiable information. It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of accidental or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly explained to the user.

[0120] According to one embodiment, an electronic device is provided that includes: a first phased antenna array; a second phased antenna array having fewer antennas than the first phased antenna array, the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array being configured to transmit radio frequency signals at a frequency greater than 10 GHz; and a control circuit coupled to the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array, the control circuit being configured to operate the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array in the following modes: a first mode in which the first phased antenna array forms a first signal beam at a first beam pointing angle while the second phased antenna array is inactive, and a second mode in which the antennas from both the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array form a second signal beam at a second beam pointing angle.

[0121] According to another embodiment, the control circuit is configured to operate the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array in the following mode: a third mode in which the second phased antenna array forms a third signal beam at a third beam pointing angle while the first phased antenna array is inactive.

[0122] According to another embodiment, the control circuit is configured to collect wireless performance metric data associated with the first signal beam and is configured to transition the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array from the first mode to the third mode when the collected wireless performance metric data drops below a threshold level.

[0123] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes a sensor configured to collect sensor data, and the control circuit is configured to transition the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array from the first mode to the third mode when the collected sensor data indicates that an external object is blocking the first phased antenna array.

[0124] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes a beam table that identifies a first set of signal beams for the first mode and a second set of signal beams for the second mode, the second set of signal beams being larger than the first set of signal beams.

[0125] According to another embodiment, the first set of signal beams includes signal beams that can be formed using the entire first phased antenna array, and the control circuit is configured to: sample each of the signal beams that can be formed using the entire first phased antenna array when collecting wireless performance metric data; and transition the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array from the first mode to the second mode when the collected wireless performance metric data is below a threshold level.

[0126] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: a peripheral conductive housing structure; a display mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure; and a rear housing wall mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure opposite the display, and the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array are configured to radiate through the rear housing wall.

[0127] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: a main logic board; a baseband processor mounted to the main logic board; an intermediate frequency integrated circuit (IFIC) mounted to the main logic board and coupled to the baseband processor through a baseband path; and a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) coupled to the first phased antenna array, and the RFIC is coupled to the IFIC through an intermediate frequency (IF) path.

[0128] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes an antenna module, and the first phased antenna array, the second phased antenna array, and the RFIC are on the antenna module.

[0129] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: a first antenna module mounted to the main logic board, and the first phased antenna array and the RFIC are on the first antenna module; and a second antenna module outside the main logic board, and the second phased antenna array is on the second antenna module, and the RFIC is coupled to the second phased antenna array through a radio frequency path.

[0130] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: an additional RFIC coupled to the second phased antenna array, and the IFIC is coupled to the additional RFIC through an additional IF path; a first antenna module mounted to the main logic board, and the RFIC and the first phased antenna array are on the first antenna module; and a second antenna module outside the main logic board, and the second phased antenna array and the additional RFIC are on the second antenna module.

[0131] According to another embodiment, the RFIC is coupled to the additional RFIC through a local oscillator path, and the RFIC is configured to generate a local oscillator signal and is configured to transmit the local oscillator signal to the additional RFIC through the local oscillator path.

[0132] According to another embodiment, an electronic device includes: an additional RFIC coupled to a second phased antenna array, the IFIC being coupled to the additional RFIC through an additional IF path; a first antenna module outside the main logic board, on which the RFIC and the first phased antenna array are located; and a second antenna module outside the main logic board, on which the second phased antenna array and the additional RFIC are located.

[0133] According to another embodiment, an electronic device includes: an additional RFIC coupled to a second phased antenna array, the IFIC being coupled to the additional RFIC through an additional IF path; a first antenna module mounted on the main logic board, on which the RFIC and the first phased antenna array are located; a second antenna module on the main logic board, on which the second phased antenna array and the additional RFIC are located; a third antenna module outside the main logic board; and a third phased antenna array on the third antenna module and coupled to the additional RFIC through a radio frequency path, the RFIC being coupled to the additional RFIC through a local oscillator path, the RFIC being configured to generate a local oscillator signal and being configured to transmit the local oscillator signal to the additional RFIC through the local oscillator path.

[0134] According to one embodiment, there is provided an electronic device including: a housing wall; a first phased antenna array; a second phased antenna array having fewer antennas than the first phased antenna array, the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array being configured to radiate through the housing wall at a frequency greater than 10 GHz; and a control circuit coupled to the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array and configured to: control the first phased antenna array to form a first signal beam while the second phased antenna array is inactive; control the second phased antenna array to form a second signal beam while the first phased antenna array is inactive in response to the first phased antenna array being blocked by an external object; and control the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array to form a combined phased antenna array that generates a third signal beam.

[0135] According to another embodiment, the first phased antenna array has a first antenna, a second antenna, a third antenna, and a fourth antenna, the second phased antenna has a fifth antenna and a sixth antenna, and the combined phased antenna array includes the first antenna, the second antenna, the third antenna, the fourth antenna, the fifth antenna, and the sixth antenna.

[0136] According to another embodiment, the control circuit is configured to: sample the single-antenna signal beams of the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array; after sampling the single-antenna signal beams, sample the dual-antenna signal beams of the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array; after sampling the dual-antenna signal beams, sample the four-antenna signal beams of the first phased antenna array; and after sampling the four-antenna signal beams, sample the six-antenna signal beams of the combined phased antenna array.

[0137] According to another embodiment, the control circuit is configured to collect wireless performance metric data associated with a first signal beam and is configured to control the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array to form a combined phased antenna array in response to the wireless performance metric data being less than a threshold level.

[0138] According to one embodiment, there is provided an electronic device including: a logic board; a first antenna module mounted to the logic board; a first phased antenna array on the first antenna module and configured to transmit radio frequency signals at a frequency greater than 10 GHz; a first radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) mounted to the first antenna module and coupled to the first phased antenna array, the first RFIC being configured to generate a local oscillator signal; a second antenna module; a second phased antenna array on the second antenna module and configured to transmit radio frequency signals at a frequency greater than 10 GHz; a second RFIC mounted to the second antenna module and coupled to the second phased antenna array; and a local oscillator path coupled between the first RFIC and the second RFIC, the first RFIC being configured to transmit the local oscillator signal to the second RFIC through the local oscillator path.

[0139] According to another embodiment, the second antenna module is external to the logic board.

[0140] The foregoing is merely illustrative, and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and essence of the embodiments. The foregoing embodiments can be implemented independently or in any combination.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising: A first phased antenna array; A second phased antenna array having fewer antennas than the first phased antenna array, the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array being configured to transmit radio frequency signals at frequencies greater than 10 GHz; A control circuit coupled to the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array, wherein the control circuit is configured to operate the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array in the following modes: A first mode, wherein the first phased antenna array forms a first signal beam at a first beam pointing angle while the second phased antenna array is inactive, and A second mode, wherein the antennas from both the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array form a second signal beam at a second beam pointing angle; And A beam table that identifies a first set of signal beams for the first mode and a second set of signal beams for the second mode, the second set of signal beams having a greater number of signal beams than the first set of signal beams.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to operate the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array in the following mode: a third mode, wherein the second phased antenna array forms a third signal beam at a third beam pointing angle while the first phased antenna array is inactive.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the control circuit is configured to collect wireless performance metric data associated with the first signal beam and is configured to transition the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array from the first mode to the third mode when the collected wireless performance metric data drops below a threshold level.

4. The electronic device according to claim 2, further comprising: A sensor configured to collect sensor data, wherein the control circuit is configured to transition the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array from the first mode to the third mode when the collected sensor data indicates that an external object is blocking the first phased antenna array.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first set of signal beams includes signal beams that can be formed using the entire first phased antenna array, and the control circuit is configured to: Sample each of the signal beams that can be formed using the entire first phased antenna array when collecting wireless performance metric data; and Transition the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array from the first mode to the second mode when the collected wireless performance metric data is below a threshold level.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: A peripheral conductive housing structure; A display mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure; And A rear housing wall, the rear housing wall being mounted to the peripheral conductive housing structure opposite to the display, and the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array being configured to radiate through the rear housing wall.

7. The electronic device according to claim 6, further comprising: A main logic board; A baseband processor, the baseband processor being mounted to the main logic board; An intermediate frequency integrated circuit (IFIC), the IFIC being mounted to the main logic board and coupled to the baseband processor through a baseband path; And A radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), the RFIC being coupled to the first phased antenna array, and the RFIC being coupled to the IFIC through an intermediate frequency (IF) path.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7, further comprising: An antenna module, wherein the first phased antenna array, the second phased antenna array, and the RFIC are on the antenna module.

9. The electronic device according to claim 7, further comprising: A first antenna module, the first antenna module being mounted to the main logic board, wherein the first phased antenna array and the RFIC are on the first antenna module; And A second antenna module, the second antenna module being outside the main logic board, wherein the second phased antenna array is on the second antenna module, and the RFIC is coupled to the second phased antenna array through a radio frequency path.

10. The electronic device according to claim 7, further comprising: An additional RFIC, the additional RFIC being coupled to the second phased antenna array, wherein the IFIC is coupled to the additional RFIC through an additional IF path; A first antenna module, the first antenna module being mounted to the main logic board, wherein the RFIC and the first phased antenna array are on the first antenna module; And A second antenna module, the second antenna module being outside the main logic board, wherein the second phased antenna array and the additional RFIC are on the second antenna module.

11. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the RFIC is coupled to the additional RFIC through a local oscillator path, the RFIC being configured to generate a local oscillator signal and being configured to transmit the local oscillator signal to the additional RFIC through the local oscillator path.

12. The electronic device according to claim 7, further comprising: An additional RFIC, the additional RFIC being coupled to the second phased antenna array, wherein the IFIC is coupled to the additional RFIC through an additional IF path; A first antenna module, the first antenna module being outside the main logic board, wherein the RFIC and the first phased antenna array are on the first antenna module; And A second antenna module, the second antenna module being outside the main logic board, wherein the second phased antenna array and the additional RFIC are on the second antenna module.

13. The electronic device according to claim 7, further comprising: An additional RFIC, the additional RFIC being coupled to the second phased antenna array, wherein the IFIC is coupled to the additional RFIC through an additional IF path; A first antenna module, the first antenna module being mounted on the main logic board, wherein the RFIC and the first phased antenna array are on the first antenna module; A second antenna module, the second antenna module being on the main logic board, wherein the second phased antenna array and the additional RFIC are on the second antenna module; A third antenna module, the third antenna module being external to the main logic board; and A third phased antenna array, the third phased antenna array being on the third antenna module and coupled to the additional RFIC through a radio frequency path, wherein the RFIC is coupled to the additional RFIC through a local oscillator path, the RFIC being configured to generate a local oscillator signal and being configured to transmit the local oscillator signal to the additional RFIC through the local oscillator path.

14. An electronic device, comprising: A housing wall; A first phased antenna array; A second phased antenna array, the second phased antenna array having fewer antennas than the first phased antenna array, wherein the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array are configured to radiate through the housing wall at a frequency greater than 10 GHz; and A control circuit, the control circuit being coupled to the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array and being configured to: Sample a first set of signal beams in order from a coarse beam to a fine beam, wherein the first set of signal beams is generated by the first phased antenna array when the second phased antenna array is inactive and is generated by the second phased antenna array when the first phased antenna array is inactive; and After sampling the first set of signal beams, sample a second set of signal beams generated by a combined phased antenna array formed by the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array.

15. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the first phased antenna array has a first antenna, a second antenna, a third antenna, and a fourth antenna, the second phased antenna has a fifth antenna and a sixth antenna, and the combined phased antenna array includes the first antenna, the second antenna, the third antenna, the fourth antenna, the fifth antenna, and the sixth antenna.

16. The electronic device according to claim 15, wherein the control circuit is configured to: Sample the single-antenna signal beams of the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array; After sampling the single-antenna signal beams, sample the dual-antenna signal beams of the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array; After sampling the dual-antenna signal beams, sample the four-antenna signal beams of the first phased antenna array; and After sampling the four-antenna signal beams, sample the six-antenna signal beams of the combined phased antenna array.

17. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the control circuit is configured to collect wireless performance metric data associated with the first set of signal beams, and is configured to control the first phased antenna array and the second phased antenna array to form the combined phased antenna array in response to the wireless performance metric data being less than a threshold level.

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