Closed-loop adjustable aperture antenna

Abstract

An apparatus includes a radio frequency (RF) antenna circuit; an antenna aperture tuning circuit; an antenna impedance measurement circuit; and a processor circuit electrically coupled to the tunable antenna aperture circuit and the impedance measurement circuit. The processor circuit is configured to: set the antenna aperture tuning circuit to an antenna aperture tuning state according to one or more parameters of an RF communication network; initiate antenna impedance measurement; and change the antenna aperture tuning state to an antenna aperture tuning state indicated by the antenna impedance.

Description

[0001] Cross-application of related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. non-provisional patent application No. 15 / 167,279, filed on May 27, 2016, entitled “Closed-Loop Adjustable Aperture Antenna,” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0003] Wireless access networks are used to provide data, voice, and video communications to devices such as cellular phones, smartphones, and tablets. These devices are often covered in metal housings, so it is challenging to design antennas for the devices to provide the functionality that the device users require. The metal housings may have a shielding effect that prevents electromagnetic energy from reaching the antennas. Therefore, there is a general need for devices, systems, and methods to provide stable communications in wireless access devices in order to provide a satisfactory experience for users. Summary of the invention

[0004] Embodiments relate to portable electronic devices that communicate using wireless access networks. These devices are increasingly being designed with metal housings. However, the metal housings of such devices can present challenges for antenna design. The more metal the device is wrapped in, the more difficult it is to provide sufficient volume for an effective antenna design. Additionally, changes in the orientation of the device by the user and the way the user interacts with the device (sometimes referred to as "use cases") also complicate antenna design.

[0005] The present invention provides an aperture adjustable antenna to solve these problems. To tune the antenna aperture, an antenna aperture tuning circuit is provided. The antenna aperture tuning circuit may include one or more RF switches. The RF switch may be coupled between the radiating element of the antenna and a circuit component, such as an inductor, a capacitor, another radiating element of the antenna, and a circuit ground. The antenna aperture tuning state may be changed by changing the configuration of the RF switch.

[0006] In some embodiments, the antenna impedance is obtained and it is determined whether the current antenna aperture tuning state is the desired tuning state or the optimal tuning state for the impedance. If not, the device changes its antenna tuning state accordingly. Therefore, the antenna aperture tuning state can be closed-loop controlled based on the antenna impedance.

[0007] An embodiment of the apparatus includes a radio frequency (RF) antenna circuit; an antenna aperture tuning circuit; an antenna impedance measurement circuit; and a processor circuit electrically coupled to the tunable antenna aperture circuit and the impedance measurement circuit. The processor circuit is configured to: set the antenna aperture tuning circuit to an antenna aperture tuning state according to one or more parameters of an RF communication network; initiate antenna impedance measurement; and change the antenna aperture tuning state to an antenna aperture tuning state determined by the antenna impedance.

[0008] Method embodiments include setting an antenna aperture tuning state based on one or more parameters of the RF communication network; determining an antenna impedance; and changing the antenna aperture tuning state to an antenna aperture tuning state indicated by the determined antenna impedance.

[0009] The present invention content is intended to provide an overview of the subject matter of this patent application and is not meant to provide an exclusive or exhaustive explanation of the present invention. To provide further information about this patent application, a detailed description is included, such as discussing dependent claims and explaining dependent and independent claims in addition to the statements made in the present invention content. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 is a diagram of parts of an example cellular communication network;

[0011] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a user equipment for a cellular communication network;

[0012] Figure 3 is a block diagram of parts of an embodiment of an RF communication device;

[0013] Figure 4 is a block diagram of portions of an antenna aperture tuning circuit embodiment;

[0014] Figure 5 is a flow chart of an embodiment of an antenna aperture tuning method for an RF communication device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The following description and accompanying drawings fully illustrate specific embodiments so that those skilled in the art can practice these specific embodiments. Other embodiments may contain structural, logical, electrical, process and other changes. Parts and features of some embodiments may be included in or replace parts and features of other embodiments. The embodiments set forth in the claims cover all available equivalents of these claims.

[0016] Figure 1An example of various parts of a cellular communication network is shown. In some embodiments, the network is a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network. The network 100 may include macro cells 105 and 110 serving a larger area, and may also include smaller cells 115 and 120 serving a smaller cellular area. Figure 1 Also shown is a user equipment (UE) 102 operating in the network. UE 102 may be a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capabilities, a web tablet, a wireless phone, a smart phone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor and a blood pressure monitor, etc.), or other devices that can wirelessly receive and / or transmit information.

[0017] Figure 2 A functional block diagram of a UE for a cellular communication network is shown. The UE may be suitable for use as Figure 1 Any one or more UEs in the UE102 shown in . The UE may include a physical layer (PHY) circuit 203, which is used to send radio frequency electrical signals to one or more nodes of the wireless access network using one or more antennas 201 and receive radio frequency electrical signals from the nodes. The PHY circuit 203 may include circuits for modulation / demodulation, up-conversion / down-conversion, filtering and amplification. The UE may also include a medium access control layer (MAC) circuit 204, which is used to control access to the wireless medium and configure frames or data packets to communicate through the wireless medium. The UE may also include a processing circuit 206 and a memory 208, which are used to configure various elements of the UE to perform the operations described herein. The memory 208 can be used to store information for configuring the processing circuit 206 to perform the operations.

[0018] Although the UE is shown as having several separate functional elements, one or more functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by a combination of software configuration elements, such as a processing element including a digital signal processor (DSP) and / or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and combinations of various hardware and logic circuits for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional element may refer to one or more processes running on one or more processing elements.

[0019] Each embodiment may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware and software. The embodiment may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the instructions may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage medium may include any non-temporary mechanism for storing information in a machine (e.g., computer) readable form. For example, a computer-readable storage medium may include a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a disk storage medium, an optical storage medium, a flash memory device, and other storage devices and media. In these embodiments, instructions may be used to configure one or more processors to perform the operations described herein.

[0020] The one or more antennas 201 utilized by the UE 200 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting radio frequency (RF) signals. In some embodiments, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used instead of two or more antennas. In these embodiments, each aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, antennas may be effectively separated to utilize spatial diversity and different channel characteristics that may be generated between each antenna and the antenna of the transmitting station. In some MIMO embodiments, antennas may be separated by up to 1 / 10 wavelength or more.

[0021] Figure 3300 includes an RF antenna circuit 301, an antenna aperture tuning circuit 310, and a processor circuit 306. The device 300 also includes an antenna impedance measurement circuit, which includes a power phase and amplitude detector 312. In addition, Figure 3 3 shows an impedance matching network 314 circuit, an RF transceiver 316, a directional coupler 318, and an RF front end 320. The RF front end 320 includes an RF filter, which is used to suppress out-of-band signals when transmitting and receiving RF signals. Figure 3 As shown, the antenna aperture tuning circuit 310 may include one or more RF switches 322, and may also include one or more tunable capacitors 324. The RF switch 322 may be coupled between the radiating element of the antenna 301 and a circuit component, such as an inductor, a capacitor, another radiating element of the antenna, and a circuit ground. One or more tuning capacitors 324 may be coupled between the radiating element of the antenna 301 and another radiating element of the antenna or a circuit ground.

[0022] Figure 4 4 is a block diagram of various parts of an embodiment of an antenna aperture tuning circuit 410. The antenna radiating element 401 is connected to the RF circuit 405 at the feed port 426 through one or more tuning ports 428 separate from the feed port 426. The RF circuit 405 may include Figure 3 One or more RF circuit blocks in the RF circuit blocks shown. Figure 4As shown in detail, the tuning port 428 may include one or more inductors 430, capacitors 432, at least one second antenna radiating element 434, and circuit ground 436, wherein the inductor 430 is coupled between the antenna radiating element 401 and the circuit ground through the RF switch 422; the capacitor 432 is coupled between the antenna radiating element 401 and the circuit ground through the RF switch 422; at least one second antenna radiating element 434 is coupled to the first antenna radiating element 401 through the RF switch 422; and the circuit ground 436 is coupled to the antenna radiating element 401 through the RF switch 422. In the illustrated embodiment, the tuning port includes a single-pole four-throw (SP4T) switch, which connects the antenna radiating element 401 to one of the inductor 430, the capacitor 432, the second antenna radiating element 434, or the circuit ground 436. In some embodiments, the tuning port 428 may include different RF switch configurations for connecting one or a combination of an inductor, a capacitor, a second radiating element, and a circuit ground to the antenna radiating element 401. A processor 406 (e.g., a modem processor) is connected to the RF switch. The antenna aperture tuning state is changed by the processor 406 changing the configuration of the one or more RF switches.

[0023] In some embodiments, the antenna aperture tuning state is set using an adjustable capacitor 424. In some variations, the total capacitance of the tunable capacitor can be adjusted or tuned by adding or removing a unit-sized capacitor to the tunable capacitor circuit. In other variations, the total capacitance can be tuned by changing the bias voltage provided to the capacitor dielectric material. The tuning port 428 may include one or two of the following devices: an antenna radiating element 401 and a second antenna radiating element, wherein the antenna radiating element 401 is coupled to the circuit ground via an adjustable capacitor; the second antenna radiating element is coupled to the first antenna radiating element 401 via an adjustable capacitor 424. The adjustable capacitor may be replaced by a circuit including a tunable capacitor connected in series with an inductor, a tunable capacitor connected in parallel with an inductor, or a combination of series and parallel connections with one or more inductors. The processor 406 sets the antenna aperture tuning state by setting the capacitance value of one or more tunable capacitors of one or more tuning ports. The tuning port 428 may include an RF switch and a tuning capacitor. In some embodiments, the antenna aperture tuning circuit 410 includes one or more tuning ports, which include components that can be switched to the antenna radiating element through one or more RF switches 422 and components that are electrically coupled to the antenna radiating element 401 through one or more tunable capacitors 424. The processor 406 changes the antenna aperture tuning state by changing the capacitance value of one or more tunable capacitors and activating / deactivating one or more RF switches.

[0024] return Figure 3 As shown, the required antenna aperture tuning state is determined according to the antenna impedance measured by the antenna impedance measurement circuit. As mentioned above, the impedance measurement circuit measures the complex reflection coefficient (Γ M ). The impedance measurement circuit may include a power phase and amplitude detector 312. To measure the antenna impedance, an RF signal is transmitted and the forward signal and the reverse signal are extracted using a directional coupler 318. The amplitudes of the forward signal and the reverse signal (or the amplitude ratio of the forward signal and the reverse signal) and the relative phase between the forward signal and the reverse signal are measured. The complex reflection coefficient (Γ M ) can be determined based on the ratio of the amplitude to the relative phase, and the impedance at the reference plane is derived using the reflection coefficient. The impedance matching network 314 can derive the original impedance (Γ by de-embedding ANT ). The de-embedding may be analytical, done in real time or at run time using the current circuit model (or two-port network mathematical model) of the impedance matching network. The de-embedding may be implicit in a lookup table based implementation, where the effect of the impedance matching network 314 may be predetermined and factored into the calculations.

[0025] In some embodiments, the forward signal and the reverse signal have two separate signal paths leading to the power phase and amplitude detector 312. This allows the forward signal and the reverse signal to be extracted using a directional coupler 318, and also allows the forward signal and the reverse signal to be measured simultaneously. In other embodiments, the forward signal and the reverse signal are extracted and measured sequentially. In some embodiments, the detection circuit is a differential detection circuit, and the forward and reverse signals extracted simultaneously are fed to the differential detection circuit to obtain the ratio of the amplitude and the relative phase. In other embodiments, the amplitude determination of the forward and reverse signals is performed separately, and the ratio of the amplitude is calculated based on the detection value. The phase detection is achieved by associating the extracted forward / reverse signal with a transmitted reference signal (or I / Q signal). The detected phase of each signal in the forward signal and the reverse signal is compared to obtain the relative phase between the forward signal and the reverse signal. The amplitude and phase detection may be implemented in discrete circuits using either or both analog and digital circuits, or the detection may be integrated into the RF transceiver using the modem processor and done in the digital domain.

[0026] When the antenna original impedance is obtained, it is determined whether the current antenna aperture tuning state is the desired state or the optimal state of the impedance. If not, the processor circuit 306 changes the antenna aperture tuning state accordingly. Therefore, the antenna aperture tuning state can be closed-loop controlled based on the antenna impedance. A lookup table can be used to map the antenna aperture tuning state that can be used for a predetermined antenna impedance. The lookup table can be stored in a memory circuit 338 that is separate from or integral with the processor circuit 306.

[0027] Table 1 below is an example of each part of the lookup table. The leftmost column of Table 1 is the antenna aperture tuning state corresponding to the current tuning state of the device. Each tuning state includes multiple impedance ranges. For example, the impedance ranges of tuning state 1 are impedance range 11, impedance range 12, impedance range 13...impedance range 1N. The impedance ranges of tuning state 2 are impedance range 21, impedance range 22, impedance range 23...impedance range 2N. The impedance ranges of tuning state N are impedance range N1, impedance range N2, impedance range N3...impedance range NN.

[0028] Table 1

[0029]

[0030]

[0031] The lookup table maps the current tuning state and the determined antenna impedance to the desired tuning state. The lookup table may indicate that the current tuning state is optimal tuning, or the lookup table may indicate that a different tuning state is the optimal tuning state. For example, if the current tuning state is tuning state 1 and the antenna impedance belongs to impedance range 11, the lookup table indicates that tuning state 1 is the optimal antenna aperture tuning state and the tuning state is not changed. If the current tuning state is tuning state 1 and the antenna impedance belongs to impedance range 13, the lookup table indicates that tuning state 2 is the optimal antenna aperture tuning state and the tuning state is changed to tuning state 2.

[0032] The tuning states of Table 1 may correspond to a configuration of an RF switch, a configuration of settings of one or more tunable capacitors or tunable inductors, or any combination of RF switch configurations, capacitor configurations, and inductor configurations. The number of antenna aperture tuning states that may be configured may exceed the number of aperture tuning states that are actually available or desired. The tuning states of Table 1 may be mapped to a specific circuit configuration, for example using a lookup table. The mapping may be incorporated into a single lookup table that includes the impedance mapping, or a separate lookup table may be dedicated to the configuration mapping.

[0033] Table 2 below is an example of a lookup table that maps tuning states to actual circuit configurations. The tuning state values ​​are mapped to a row that includes values ​​that can be used to set the antenna aperture tuning state. For example, assuming the antenna aperture tuning state is Figure 4 The numerical value may be used to set the position of the RF switch 422 to couple the antenna radiating element 401 to one of an inductor 430, a capacitor 432, an additional antenna radiating element 434, or a circuit ground 436. The entries of Table 2 may be merged into Table 1 by extending the tuning state row to include the circuit configuration setting. When a new tuning is determined using the antenna impedance value, the number for the circuit configuration may be loaded and used to reconfigure the antenna aperture tuning state.

[0034] Table 2

[0035]

[0036]

[0037] The exemplary lookup table is intended to be illustrative and not limiting. The more configurable options that the antenna aperture tuning state may include, the more entries in the lookup table. For example, the circuit components may be connected to the antenna radiating element 401 via individually controllable RF switches 422. As previously described, if the antenna aperture tuning circuit includes one or more adjustable capacitors 424, the values ​​in a row of the lookup table may be used to set the capacitance value of the adjustable capacitor. In other embodiments, the antenna aperture tuning state may be obtained using an equation or other means, but the lookup table may be sufficient to effectively meet this purpose.

[0038] Changing the antenna aperture tuning state can be considered as a coarse adjustment of the antenna performance or efficiency. Figure 3 As shown, the impedance matching network 314 may be tunable to provide fine tuning for the antenna. The tunable impedance matching network may include one or more of the following devices: a tunable shunt capacitor, a tunable capacitor, a tunable inductor, and one or more RF switches. The tunable shunt capacitor is coupled between the antenna radiating element and ground; the tunable capacitor is coupled in series between the antenna radiating elements; the tunable inductor is coupled in a series or parallel configuration; the RF switch is coupled to the capacitor or inductor. The processor circuit 306 changes the impedance of the impedance matching circuit by changing one or more of the following configurations: the capacitance value of the tunable capacitor, the inductance value of the tunable inductor, and the state of one or more RF switches of the impedance matching circuit 314.

[0039] Once the processor circuit 306 configures the antenna aperture tuning state, the processor circuit 306 can adjust the impedance matching network 314 to optimize the sensitivity value of the antenna, for example, by tuning the impedance matching circuit to increase the converter gain of the impedance matching circuit 314. Thus, the tuning of the processor circuit 306 can provide closed-loop coarse tuning and closed-loop fine tuning of the antenna circuit. The processor circuit 306 can continue to make fine adjustments and continue to monitor the antenna raw impedance. When the antenna raw impedance changes to a new impedance value or changes to a new impedance range of an entry in the lookup table, the processor circuit 306 loads and configures the new antenna aperture tuning state.

[0040] Figure 5 5 is a flow chart of an embodiment of an antenna aperture tuning method 500 for an RF communication device. At 505, an initial or current antenna aperture tuning state is set according to one or more parameters of the RF communication network. Some examples of the network parameters include a radio access technology (RAT) of the RF communication network, a channel frequency band of the RF communication network, and a bandwidth of the RF communication network. As previously described, the antenna aperture tuning state can be set by configuring a tunable capacitor, a tunable inductor, and an RF switch.

[0041] The next step is to determine the antenna impedance and determine whether the current antenna aperture tuning state is the best state for the measured impedance. The processor can cyclically start measuring the antenna impedance according to a specified schedule. In some embodiments, the measurement of the antenna impedance can be initiated when the parameters of the RF communication network change.

[0042] At 510, it is determined whether the timer has expired to start the next antenna impedance measurement. As described above, the antenna impedance can be measured using the forward signal and the reverse signal of the transmitted signal. At 515, the power (P Tx ) is strong enough to make accurate impedance measurements.

[0043] At 520, if the transmit power is less than a specified threshold power, the current aperture tuning state is maintained at 525 and the process waits until another antenna impedance measurement is made. If the transmit power meets the specified threshold power, the antenna impedance is derived at 530, for example, as previously described, by determining reflection coefficients for forward and reverse signals and using the reflection coefficients to derive the antenna impedance.

[0044] At 535, an optimal antenna aperture tuning state is determined based on the measured antenna impedance, for example, using a lookup table. At 540, based on the measured antenna impedance, if the optimal antenna aperture tuning state is the same as the current antenna aperture tuning state, the process returns to 510 to wait for the next antenna impedance measurement to be started. Which aperture is the optimal aperture may depend on the current usage of the device, such as whether the device is currently used in free space (FS), next to the user's head (BH), next to the head and left hand side (BHHL), or next to the head and right hand side (BHHR). Other reasons may also cause the overall antenna radiation efficiency to become less than the efficiency of another antenna aperture tuning state. If the optimal antenna aperture tuning state is different from the current antenna aperture tuning state, at 545, the current antenna aperture tuning state is changed to the determined optimal state. The process returns to 510 to wait for the next antenna impedance measurement to be started.

[0045] In some embodiments, further fine tuning is performed when the antenna aperture tuning state changes. The RF communication device may include a tunable impedance matching circuit, for example, by adjusting an adjustable capacitor of the impedance matching circuit. Further aperture tuning may be performed using a coarse aperture state adjustment. The coarse aperture state is implemented by an RF switch, while fine aperture tuning is implemented using a tunable capacitor or a tunable inductor with a fine tuning function. A lookup table may be created for the coarse aperture state, and the aperture fine tuning may be implemented by monitoring the reflection coefficient and by comparing it with a predetermined value of a desired sensitivity parameter. The sensitivity parameter may be used as feedback for the processor to adjust the capacitance value of the adjustable capacitor.

[0046] In some embodiments, only fine tuning is included under closed-loop control of the processor. An initial antenna aperture tuning state may be selected (e.g., via a lookup table) from several coarse tuning states based on one or more operating parameters such as RAT, band, frequency, and usage. After setting the initial antenna aperture tuning state, the processor fine tunes one or more adjustable circuit elements of the impedance matching circuit to optimize a sensitivity parameter. In some embodiments, the fine tuning is achieved by monitoring a reflection coefficient and adjusting the one or more circuit elements to adjust the reflection coefficient to a predetermined value.

[0047] Several examples described provide a solution for optimizing antenna efficiency across all frequency bands under varying conditions of use of the RF device. The RF device achieves this by reconfiguring the antenna aperture in real time.

[0048] Additional description and examples

[0049] Example 1 includes a subject (e.g., an apparatus) comprising a radio frequency (RF) antenna circuit; an antenna aperture tuning circuit; an antenna impedance measurement circuit; a processor circuit electrically coupled to the tunable antenna aperture circuit and the impedance measurement circuit, wherein the processor circuit is used to: set the antenna aperture tuning circuit to an antenna aperture tuning state based on one or more parameters of an RF communication network; initiate antenna impedance measurement to obtain antenna impedance; and adjust the antenna aperture tuning state based on the antenna impedance.

[0050] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 optionally includes an antenna aperture tuning circuit, wherein the antenna aperture tuning circuit includes one or more of the following devices: an inductor, a capacitor, at least one first antenna radiating element, and an antenna radiating element, wherein the capacitor is coupled to the RF antenna circuit via an RF switch, the first antenna radiating element is coupled to the second antenna radiating element via the RF switch, and the antenna radiating element is coupled to a circuit ground via the RF switch; and wherein the processor circuit is used to set the antenna aperture tuning state by configuring one or more RF switches of the antenna aperture tuning circuit.

[0051] In Example 3, the subject matter of one or both of Examples 1 and 2 optionally includes an antenna aperture tuning circuit, wherein the antenna aperture tuning circuit includes one or more of the following devices: at least one first antenna radiating element and an antenna radiating element, wherein the first antenna radiating element is coupled to the second antenna radiating element via an adjustable capacitor; the antenna radiating element is coupled to a circuit ground via an adjustable capacitor; and wherein the processor circuit is used to set the antenna aperture tuning state by setting the capacitance value of one or more adjustable capacitors.

[0052] In Example 4, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-3 optionally includes an impedance matching circuit electrically coupled to the RF antenna circuit, wherein the processor circuit is optionally used to: change the impedance of the impedance matching circuit to change the converter gain of the RF antenna circuit when the antenna aperture tuning state is set to the antenna aperture tuning state indicated by the antenna impedance.

[0053] In Example 5, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-4 optionally includes a memory circuit for storing a lookup table including antenna aperture tuning states indexed according to antenna impedance, wherein the processor circuit is for setting the antenna aperture tuning state using the lookup table.

[0054] In Example 6, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-5 optionally includes an adjustable capacitor electrically coupled between one of the radiating element and the circuit and the second radiating element or electrically coupled between the first radiating element and the second radiating element, wherein the processor circuit is used to set the antenna aperture tuning state by changing the capacitance value of the adjustable capacitor.

[0055] In Example 7, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-6 optionally includes a transmit power measurement circuit for determining a measurement of transmit power, and wherein the processor circuit is for initiating the measurement of transmit power and initiating the antenna impedance measurement, but conditionally, the measurement of transmit power satisfies a specified measured transmit power threshold.

[0056] In Example 8, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-7 optionally includes an antenna impedance measurement circuit for determining the amplitude and phase of a forward signal and a reverse signal of a transmitted signal, and wherein the processor circuit is used to determine the antenna impedance measurement using a phase difference between the forward signal and the reverse signal and a ratio of the amplitudes of the forward signal and the reverse signal.

[0057] In Example 9, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-8 optionally includes a processor circuit for cyclically initiating measurement of antenna impedance according to a specified schedule and changing the antenna aperture tuning state based on the determined antenna impedance.

[0058] In Example 10, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-9 optionally includes a processor circuit for setting the aperture tuning circuit to an antenna aperture tuning state and initiating measurement of the antenna aperture adjustment state when a change in one or more parameters of the RF communication network is detected.

[0059] In Example 11, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-10 optionally includes a processor circuit, wherein the processor circuit is used to set the antenna aperture tuning circuit to an antenna aperture tuning state based on one or more parameters, wherein the parameters include one or more of the following: a radio access technology (RAT) of the RF communication network, a channel of the RF communication network, and a bandwidth of the RF communication network.

[0060] Example 12 includes a subject matter (e.g., a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a processing circuit of an RF communication device, cause the RF communication device to perform specified operations), and Example 12 may also optionally include this subject matter in combination with the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-11, including setting an antenna aperture tuning state based on one or more parameters of the RF communication network; determining an antenna impedance; and changing the antenna aperture tuning state based on the determined antenna impedance.

[0061] In Example 13, the subject matter of Example 12 optionally includes one or more of the following operations: changing the RF coupling state of the first antenna radiating element to a second radiating element, changing the RF coupling state of the antenna radiating element to ground, changing the RF coupling state of the antenna radiating element to an inductor of an antenna circuit of the RF circuit, changing the RF coupling state of the antenna radiating element to a capacitor of the antenna circuit, and changing the RF coupling position of the ground branch of the RF antenna circuit of the RF circuit.

[0062] In Example 14, the subject matter of one or both of Examples 12 and 13 optionally includes changing a converter gain of an RF antenna circuit of the RF circuit by tuning an impedance matching circuit and changing the antenna aperture tuning state.

[0063] In Example 15, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 12-14 optionally includes identifying an antenna aperture tuning state using a lookup table, the lookup table including specified antenna aperture tuning states indexed according to antenna impedance, and setting the antenna aperture tuning state to the specified antenna aperture tuning state identified using the lookup table.

[0064] In Example 16, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 12-15 optionally includes setting the antenna aperture tuning state by adjusting a capacitance value of a capacitor, wherein the capacitor is electrically coupled between one of the radiating element and the circuit and the second radiating element or is electrically coupled between the first radiating element and the second radiating element.

[0065] In Example 17, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 12-16 optionally includes determining the magnitude of the transmit power, wherein the determined antenna impedance is conditioned on the magnitude of the transmit power that satisfies a specified threshold amplitude value. In Example 18, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 12-17 optionally includes determining the amplitude and phase of the transmit signal from the forward and reverse directions, and using the phase difference between the forward and reverse transmit signals to determine the antenna impedance, and including the ratio of the magnitude of the forward and reverse transmit signals.

[0066] Example 19 may include a subject matter (e.g., a method of operating a mobile medical device, an apparatus for performing an action, or a machine-readable medium comprising instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform an action), and Example 19 may also optionally include this subject matter in combination with the subject matter of an example or any combination of examples 1-18, including setting an antenna aperture tuning state based on parameters of the RF communication network; determining antenna impedance; using the antenna impedance to determine a sensitivity value parameter of the antenna aperture tuning state; and changing the antenna aperture tuning state based on the sensitivity value parameter.

[0067] In Example 20, the subject matter of Example 19 optionally includes a computer-readable storage medium including instructions to cause a processing circuit of the RF communication device to select an antenna aperture tuning state using a lookup table including antenna aperture tuning states indexed according to antenna impedance, and to set the antenna aperture tuning state to the selected antenna aperture tuning state.

[0068] Example 21 may include, or alternatively, may be combined with any portion or combination of any portion of any one or more of Examples 1-20 to include a subject matter of an apparatus for performing any one or more of the functions of Examples 1-20 or a machine-readable medium including instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by a machine, the machine performs any one or more of the functions of Examples 1-20.

[0069] These non-limiting examples may be combined in any permutation or combination.

[0070] The above detailed description includes references to the accompanying drawings, which are part of the detailed description. As an illustration, the accompanying drawings show specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. These embodiments are also referred to herein as "examples". All publications, patents, and patent documents mentioned in this document are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, just as if they were individually incorporated by reference. If there is an inconsistency between the usage of this document and the documents incorporated by reference, the usage in the incorporated reference should be considered to supplement this document; for irreconcilable inconsistencies, the usage in this document shall prevail.

[0071] The method examples described herein may be at least partially machine or computer implemented. Some examples may include a computer-readable storage medium or machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions, which may be used to configure an electronic device to perform the methods described in the above examples. The implementation of these methods may include code, such as microcode, assembly language code, or higher-level language code, etc. Such code may include computer-readable instructions for performing various methods. The code may form part of a computer program product. The code may be tangibly stored on one or more volatile, non-temporary or non-volatile tangible computer-readable media, such as during execution or at other times. Examples of these tangible computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to, hard disks, removable disks, removable optical disks (e.g., compact disks and digital video disks), cassettes, memory cards or sticks, random access memory (RAM for short) and read-only memory (ROM for short), etc.

[0072] The purpose of providing the abstract is to enable the reader to ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It is understood that the abstract will not be used to limit or interpret the scope or meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, and each claim represents an independent embodiment. Moreover, in the following claims, the terms "including" and "comprising" are open-ended, that is, in addition to the system, device, article or process that includes the elements listed in the claim, the system, device, article or process that includes the elements is still considered to belong to the scope of the claim. In addition, in the following claims, the terms "first", "second", and "third", etc. are used only as labels and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

Claims

1. A communication device, characterized in that: include: Radio frequency (RF) antenna circuit; an antenna aperture tuning circuit electrically coupled to the RF antenna circuit; Antenna impedance measurement circuit; a processor circuit electrically coupled to the antenna aperture tuning circuit and the antenna impedance measurement circuit, wherein the processor circuit is configured to: Setting an initial aperture tuning state of the antenna aperture tuning circuit according to one or more parameters of the RF communication network; obtaining an impedance measurement value through the antenna impedance measurement circuit; determining a first aperture tuning state based on the initial aperture tuning state and the impedance measurement value; adjusting the antenna aperture tuning circuit from the initial aperture tuning state to the first aperture tuning state; as well as A memory circuit is configured to store a lookup table including the first aperture tuning state indexed according to the impedance measurement and the initial aperture tuning state, wherein the processor circuit is configured to determine the first aperture tuning state using the lookup table.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The antenna aperture tuning circuit includes one or more of the following devices: an inductor, a capacitor, a first antenna radiating element, and a second antenna radiating element, wherein the capacitor is coupled to the first antenna radiating element via an RF switch, the first antenna radiating element is coupled to the second antenna radiating element via the RF switch, and the first antenna radiating element is coupled to a circuit ground via the RF switch; and wherein the processor circuit is used to adjust to the first aperture tuning state by configuring the RF switch of the antenna aperture tuning circuit.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The antenna aperture tuning circuit includes one or more of the following devices: a first antenna radiating element and a second antenna radiating element, wherein the first antenna radiating element is coupled to the second antenna radiating element via a first adjustable capacitor; the first antenna radiating element is coupled to a circuit ground via a second adjustable capacitor; and wherein the processor circuit is used to adjust to the first aperture tuning state by setting the capacitance values ​​of the first adjustable capacitor and the second adjustable capacitor.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that An impedance matching circuit is included, the impedance matching circuit is electrically coupled to the RF antenna circuit, wherein the processor circuit is used to: when adjusted to the first aperture tuning state, change the impedance of the impedance matching circuit to change the converter gain of the RF antenna circuit.

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that An adjustable capacitor is included, the adjustable capacitor is electrically coupled between one of the radiating element and the circuit and the second radiating element or electrically coupled between the first radiating element and the second radiating element, wherein the processor circuit is used to adjust to the first aperture tuning state by changing the capacitance value of the adjustable capacitor.

6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The antenna impedance measurement circuit is used to determine the amplitude and phase of the forward signal and the reverse signal of the transmitted signal, and wherein the processor circuit is used to determine the impedance measurement value using the phase difference between the forward signal and the reverse signal and the ratio of the amplitudes of the forward signal and the reverse signal.

7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The device also includes: A transmission power measurement circuit, wherein the transmission power measurement circuit is used to measure the transmission power; The processor circuit is further configured to: Measuring the transmit power by the transmit power measurement circuit; When the transmission power is equal to the power threshold, the impedance measurement value is obtained through the antenna impedance measurement circuit.

8. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The processor circuit is used to cyclically initiate measurement of the antenna impedance according to a specified schedule.

9. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The processor circuit is configured to initiate measurement of an antenna aperture adjustment state upon detecting a change in the one or more parameters of the RF communications network.

10. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The one or more parameters of the RF communication network include one or more of a radio access technology (RAT) of the RF communication network, a channel band and a frequency of the RF communication network, and a bandwidth of the RF communication network.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: setting an initial aperture tuning state of an antenna aperture tuning circuit according to one or more parameters of the RF communication network; obtaining an impedance measurement value through an antenna impedance measurement circuit; determining a first aperture tuning state based on the initial aperture tuning state and the impedance measurement using a lookup table, the lookup table comprising the first aperture tuning state indexed based on the impedance measurement and the initial aperture tuning state; and The antenna aperture tuning circuit is adjusted from an initial aperture tuning state to the first aperture tuning state.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that Adjusting the antenna aperture tuning circuit to the first aperture tuning state includes: changing the RF coupling state of the first antenna radiating unit to the second radiating element, changing the RF coupling state of the first antenna radiating unit to ground, changing the RF coupling state of the first antenna radiating unit to the inductor of the antenna circuit, changing the RF coupling state of the first antenna radiating unit to the capacitor of the antenna circuit, and changing the RF coupling position of the ground branch of the antenna circuit.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The method also includes changing a transducer gain of the antenna circuit by tuning the impedance matching circuit.

14. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The method also includes setting the first aperture tuning state by adjusting a capacitance value of a capacitor electrically coupled between one of a radiating element and a circuit ground and a second radiating element or electrically coupled between the first radiating element and the second radiating element.

15. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The method also includes determining the amplitude and phase of the transmitted signal from the forward and reverse directions, and using the phase difference between the forward and reverse transmitted signals and the ratio of the magnitude of the forward and reverse transmitted signals to determine the impedance measurement value.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: Measuring transmit power; and When the transmission power is equal to the power threshold, the impedance measurement value is obtained through the antenna impedance measurement circuit.

17. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The method comprises instructions, and when a processing circuit of an RF communication device executes the instructions, the RF communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 11 to 16.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A processor circuit, wherein the processor circuit is configured to: setting an initial aperture tuning state of an antenna aperture tuning circuit according to one or more parameters of the RF communication network; Obtain impedance measurements; determining a first aperture tuning state based on the initial aperture tuning state and the impedance measurement using a lookup table, the lookup table including the first aperture tuning state indexed based on the impedance measurement and the initial aperture tuning state; and The antenna aperture tuning circuit is adjusted from an initial aperture tuning state to the first aperture tuning state.

19. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that The processor circuit is configured to adjust to the first aperture tuning state by configuring one or more RF switches of the antenna aperture tuning circuit.

20. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that The processor circuit is used to adjust to the first aperture tuning state by setting the capacitance value of one or more adjustable capacitors.

21. The device according to any one of claims 18 to 20, characterized in that The processor circuit is further configured to: Measure transmit power; When the transmit power is equal to a power threshold, the impedance measurement value is obtained.

22. The device according to any one of claims 18 to 20, characterized in that The processor circuit is configured to initiate measurement of an impedance value upon detecting a change in the one or more parameters of the RF communications network.

23. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that The one or more parameters of the RF communication network include one or more of a radio access technology (RAT) of the RF communication network, a channel band and a frequency of the RF communication network, and a bandwidth of the RF communication network.

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