Antenna tuning for wireless links

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a dynamic antenna tuning system for improving a wireless link between a host device and one or more other devices that implements the dynamic antenna tuning system. For example, the host device can be a smart watch or other wearable device, and the other device can be a pair of wireless earbuds or a smart phone. The antenna tuning system can use both an impedance tuner and an aperture tuner to dynamically tune the antenna based on both the impedance of the antenna at its feed and its radiation pattern. The system can tune the antenna and prioritize multiple wireless links of some devices connected to the host device over others. The system adjusts the tuning parameters in real time and in response to changes in the connection strength of the wireless link between the host device and one or more other devices, such as caused by the movement of the user.

Description

Background Art

[0001] Portable electronic devices include one or more antennas for transmitting and receiving signals in various communication frequency bands. Antenna design for small electronic devices such as wearable devices can be very challenging due to the constrained form factor of such devices. For example, while a smartphone may have limited space for accommodating its antenna, wearable devices with compact form factors such as smart watches and earbuds will necessarily have even less space. Limited space typically affects antenna performance, which can be measured by radiation efficiency and bandwidth. Antenna performance of wearable devices may also be severely affected by body effects due to close proximity to the body of the user wearing the device, which can result in detuning, attenuation, and shadowing.

[0002] Because portable electronic devices typically have limited battery capacity, compensating for a degraded communication link between one device and another by increasing the transmit power of the antenna can severely reduce battery life and degrade the portability of the device. Battery consumption is exacerbated when the portable device communicates with other devices operated by the user, such as both earbuds and smartphones. Summary of the invention

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a dynamic antenna tuning system for improving a communication link between a host device and one or more other devices. The antenna tuning system can be implemented across one or more of the host device and one or more other devices. For example, the antenna tuning system can be implemented on a host device, which can be a smart watch or other wearable device, and the other device can be a pair of wireless earbuds or smart phones. The antenna tuning system can use both an impedance tuner and an aperture tuner to dynamically tune the antenna, for example, based on the impedance of the antenna at its feed and its radiation pattern. The system can tune the antenna and prioritize multiple communication links of some devices connected to the host device over other communication links. The system adjusts the tuning parameters in real time and in response to changes in the connection strength of the communication link between the host device and one or more other devices.

[0004] In some examples, the antenna tuning system can use a single aperture tuner without an impedance tuner to adjust the antenna based on both the impedance of the antenna at its feed and its radiation pattern. In other examples, the antenna tuning system can use multiple aperture tuners with or without an impedance tuner. The antenna tuning system can be implemented on a device with reduced complexity, such as on a device with only an aperture tuner and without an impedance tuner.

[0005] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to an antenna tuning system, which includes an aperture tuner, an impedance tuner, and one or more processors, for example, including at least one aperture tuner, at least one impedance tuner, and one or more processors. One or more processors can be configured to: when tuning the antenna according to one or more first tuning parameters, generate a first antenna performance metric for a communication link between the antenna and a first device, the first antenna performance metric being based on an impedance metric for the antenna and a signal strength metric for the communication link. One or more processors can update a tuning configuration for the antenna according to one or more second tuning parameters. One or more processors can generate a second antenna performance metric for the communication link when tuning the antenna according to the updated tuning configuration and using both an impedance tuner and an aperture tuner. One or more processors can determine that the first antenna performance metric is higher than the second antenna performance metric, and in response, restore the tuning configuration for the antenna according to one or more first tuning parameters.

[0006] The technology described herein can provide the following technical advantages: an antenna tuning system can improve the quality and reliability of a communication link between a host device implementing the antenna tuning system and one or more other devices. The system improves the performance of an antenna in maintaining a communication link by basing an antenna performance metric on both an impedance metric of the antenna at its antenna feed and a signal strength metric of the communication link.

[0007] Instead of tuning for both impedance and signal strength separately, aspects of the present disclosure provide a tuning process in which the antenna is tuned to balance impedance and signal strength together by adjusting power delivery, such as by adjusting the impedance of the antenna at its feed, and adjusting the radiation pattern of the antenna, such as by tuning the antenna using an aperture tuner. The antenna tuning system not only improves the quality of the communication link through this combined tuning, but also reduces power consumption of the device's battery, at least because less energy can be output to improve the radiation pattern while maintaining comparable quality of communication link strength.

[0008] Updating the tuning configuration and restoring the configuration in response to determining that the first antenna performance metric is higher than the second antenna performance metric allows for a simplified design and implementation of the antenna tuning system without sacrificing accuracy. No more complex circuitry or hardware is required to estimate or simulate changes in the performance of the antenna with the updated tuning configuration, which may also be prone to error.

[0009] In addition to the aspects of the disclosure described herein, aspects of the disclosure can include one or more of the following features.Some aspects of the disclosure include a combination of all of the following features.

[0010] In updating a tuning configuration for the antenna, the one or more processors can be configured to provide one or more tuning parameters to both the impedance tuner and the aperture tuner.

[0011] The techniques described herein can provide the following technical advantages: By balancing both aperture and impedance tuning and the signal strength of the communication links, the tuning system can improve cross-body communication between linked devices while consuming less energy from the typically limited battery of the host device. In some examples, the tuning system can improve cross-body communication strength by an average of 2-3dB, which can produce a 40-50% improvement in battery life relative to other methods. The antenna tuning system can achieve this by using a combination of impedance, aperture tuning, and the signal strength of different communication links to adjust the radiation pattern of the device antenna to point away from the null zone of the device communicating with the host device.

[0012] In generating the first antenna performance metric, the one or more processors can be configured to calculate the first antenna performance metric based on values ​​of the impedance metric and the signal strength metric weighted according to a predetermined weight.

[0013] The techniques described herein can provide the following technical advantages: predetermined weights can adjust the relative contributions that the values ​​of the impedance metric and the signal strength metric have to the total antenna performance metric. At least because the weights can encode certain tuning preferences and design constraints that are specific to the host device, the predetermined weights can improve the performance of the antenna after tuning. For example, the design of the host device, such as the materials used to construct the host device, or the arrangement of various components within the host device, can inspire the weight values ​​to prioritize improvements to impedance and / or signal strength, respectively. Also as described herein, the predetermined weights can affect which devices coupled to the host device are prioritized over other devices for their corresponding performance metrics.

[0014] The communication link can be a first communication link. The antenna can communicate with each of the one or more second devices via a corresponding second communication link. When calculating the first antenna performance metric, the one or more processors can be configured to further calculate the first antenna performance metric based on additional signal strength metrics, each of the additional signal strength metrics characterizing a signal strength of the corresponding second communication link weighted by a corresponding one of the predetermined weights.

[0015] The techniques described herein can provide the following technical advantages: certain devices can be prioritized over other devices coupled to a host device to improve user interaction with the host device. For example, an audio streaming device can have a larger predetermined weight to favor an antenna configuration that results in an antenna performance metric that is more heavily based on a corresponding impedance / signal strength metric for communication with the audio streaming device. In general, weighted metrics corresponding to connections between a host device and other devices that communicate in situations where latency is not tolerated (such as streaming audio or voice call data) can be prioritized over other connections that can be more tolerant of latency, such as connections for transmitting push notification content between a host device and, for example, a mobile device.

[0016] The impedance metric can be based on an S11 parameter for the antenna, and the signal strength metric can be based on a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the communication link. The antenna can include an antenna feed. When generating the first antenna performance metric, the one or more processors can be configured to calculate the first antenna performance metric according to the following formula: 0 (1-S 11 *S 11 )+w 1 (RSSI 1 ), where w 0 is a weight associated with the impedance metric among the predetermined weights, S 11 is the reflection coefficient that depends on the impedance of the antenna at the antenna feed, w 1 is a weight associated with the first signal among the predetermined weights, and RSSI 1 is the signal strength of the communication link.

[0017] The technology described herein can provide the following technical advantages: predetermined weights can adjust the relative contributions of the values ​​of the impedance metric and the signal strength metric to the overall antenna performance metric. At least because the weights can encode certain tuning preferences and design constraints specific to the host device, the predetermined weights can improve the performance of the antenna after tuning.

[0018] When updating the tuning configuration, the one or more processors can be configured to perform one or more iterations of: updating the tuning configuration of the antenna using corresponding one or more tuning parameters of a plurality of tuning parameters applied to an aperture tuner, an impedance tuner, or both an aperture tuner and an impedance tuner. The one or more iterations can also include generating a corresponding antenna performance metric when updating the tuning configuration according to the corresponding one or more tuning parameters. The one or more iterations can also include determining that the corresponding antenna performance metric is the highest antenna performance metric identified from the one or more iterations, and in response, generating the corresponding antenna performance metric as a second antenna performance metric, and updating the tuning configuration according to the corresponding one or more tuning parameters for the highest antenna performance metric.

[0019] The techniques described herein can provide the following technical advantages: iteratively updating the tuning configuration as described herein can improve the performance of the antenna tuning system when identifying the tuning configuration with the best antenna performance metric at a given point in time. As described herein, the antenna tuning system can periodically perform multiple tuning checks, wherein the antenna tuning system searches for the tuning configuration with the highest corresponding performance metric. The antenna tuning system can perform tuning checks more frequently in response to the changing spatial relationship between the host device (such as a smart watch worn by a user) and one or more other devices (such as a pair of wireless earbuds). Rapid iteration through candidate tuning configurations allows more frequent tuning checks to be performed in response to potential changes between linked devices that require re-tuning of the host device's antenna. For example, it is possible to iterate through tuning configurations on the order of milliseconds, such as in some examples, iterating through 5-10 configurations in approximately 100 milliseconds.

[0020] In generating the second antenna performance metric, the one or more processors can be configured to adjust a value of the predetermined weight based on whether a communication link corresponding to a signal strength value weighted by the predetermined weight is active or inactive.

[0021] The one or more processors can be further configured to: receive input indicating that at least one of the first communication link and the one or more second communication links is to be prioritized over the other communication links. The one or more processors can be further configured to adjust the predetermined weight based on the received input.

[0022] The technology described herein can provide the following technical advantages: the received indication can be used to prioritize certain communication links, such as audio streaming that supports delay-intolerant between devices, over other communication links. In addition, the indication can be received by user input or as part of a predetermined configuration from the device itself. Responding to the indication described herein by adjusting the priority of the communication link through corresponding adjustments to predetermined weights can improve device connectivity, particularly in response to specific delay-tolerant and delay-intolerant use cases. In addition, various aspects of the present disclosure provide a flexible user interface for adjusting the priority ordering between different devices according to user preferences, which can improve the user experience and therefore improve the performance of the host device when communicating with other devices along multiple communication links.

[0023] When updating the tuning configuration, the one or more processors can be configured to adjust both the impedance and the radiation pattern for the antenna.

[0024] The techniques described herein can provide the following technical advantages: adjusting both the impedance and the radiation pattern for an antenna can improve antenna performance while reducing the energy consumption of the antenna caused by tuning only through impedance. Tuning only through impedance value can result in wasted energy, at least because the orientation and intensity of the resulting radiation pattern can be more efficient in maintaining a strong communication link.

[0025] The one or more processors can also be configured to: determine that time for a tuning check has passed, and in response: generate a first antenna performance metric, update a tuning configuration for the antenna, generate a second antenna performance metric, and determine that the first antenna performance metric is higher than the second antenna performance metric.

[0026] Upon determining that time for a tuning check has elapsed, the one or more processors can be configured to determine whether one or more of an antenna performance metric, an impedance metric for the antenna, and a signal strength metric for the communication link is below or above one or more predetermined thresholds.

[0027] Upon determining that time for the tuning check has elapsed, the one or more processors can be configured to reduce the elapsed time for the tuning check based on one or more of an antenna performance metric, an impedance metric for the antenna, and a signal strength metric for the communication link falling below one or more predetermined thresholds.

[0028] The techniques described herein can provide the following technical advantages: periodic antenna tuning can improve the quality of the communication link between a host device and other devices, particularly when the host devices are frequently moved and change orientation relative to each other. For example, the movement and orientation of a user wearing a host device such as a smartwatch and one or more other devices such as a pair of wireless earbuds and / or a mobile phone can change more frequently than other situations where antenna tuning may be necessary, for example, for communicating with devices that are not in the immediate vicinity of the base station. Due to the dynamic nature of the spatial relationship between the devices, the tuning checks can be timed to continuously allow for the identification of updated tuning configurations based on newly measured antenna performance metrics.

[0029] In addition, when the antenna performance metric for the communication link falls below a predetermined threshold, the tuning check time period can be reduced, which can provide for faster re-tuning of the link antenna even before the time for the tuning check has elapsed. The antenna tuning system as described herein can reduce the time for tuning checks regardless of the mobility or orientation state of a device connected via a communication link (e.g., as a wearable device relative to a fixed base station).

[0030] The one or more processors can be further configured to receive one or more of the predetermined weights as input from a user or from an application installed on a computing device implementing the antenna tuning system.

[0031] Other aspects of the present disclosure include computing devices (e.g., wearable computing devices) implementing antenna tuning systems, methods performed by one or more processors, and computer-readable storage media, including non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the operations of one or more methods described herein. Other aspects can include one or more of the aforementioned optional features in any of various different combinations.

[0032] In some examples, the present disclosure relates to a dynamic antenna tuning system for improving a wireless link between a host device and one or more other devices that implements a dynamic antenna tuning system. For example, the host device can be a smart watch or other wearable device, and the other device can be a pair of wireless earbuds or smart phones. In other examples, the dynamic antenna tuning system can be implemented at least partially on the host device and at least partially on one or more other devices. The antenna tuning system can use both an impedance tuner and an aperture tuner to dynamically tune the antenna based on both the impedance of the antenna at its feed and its radiation pattern. The system can tune the antenna and prioritize multiple wireless links of some devices connected to the host device over other wireless links. The system adjusts the tuning parameters in real time and in response to changes in the connection strength of the wireless link between the host device and one or more other devices, such as caused by the movement of the user.

[0033] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to an antenna tuning system comprising one or more aperture tuners and one or more processors. The one or more processors can be configured to: when tuning the antenna according to one or more first tuning parameters, generate a first antenna performance metric for a communication link between the antenna and a first device, the first antenna performance metric being based on an impedance metric for the antenna and a signal strength metric for the communication link. The one or more processors can update a tuning configuration for the antenna according to one or more second tuning parameters. The one or more processors can generate a second antenna performance metric for the communication link when tuning the antenna according to the updated tuning configuration and using one or more aperture tuners. The one or more processors can determine that the first antenna performance metric is higher than the second antenna performance metric, and in response, restore the tuning configuration for the antenna according to the one or more first tuning parameters.

[0034] The antenna tuning system can include a plurality of aperture tuners and a plurality of antennas, each antenna being tuned with a respective aperture tuner in a respective tuning state. The one or more processors are further configured to update a respective tuning configuration for each antenna.

[0035] The techniques described herein can provide the following technical advantages: an antenna tuning system implemented on a device having one or more aperture tuners can use available tuners on a device with reduced hardware complexity (e.g., a device having an aperture tuner but no impedance tuner). In these examples, the antenna tuning system can adjust for both impedance and radiation pattern, enabling the antenna to improve antenna performance while reducing energy consumption from an antenna tuned only by impedance. The antenna tuning system can change the state of one or more aperture tuners, which changes both the impedance value and the radiation pattern of the antenna. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] Figure 1 is an illustration of a user of a host wearable device coupled to two other devices via respective communication links.

[0037] Figure 2 An initial antenna radiation pattern before tuning by an example antenna tuning system and a tuned antenna radiation pattern after tuning by the example antenna tuning system are illustrated.

[0038] Figure 3 is a block diagram of an example antenna tuning system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0039] Figure 4 is a flow chart of an example process for generating an updated tuning configuration in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0040] Figure 5 is a flow chart of an example process for identifying a highest antenna performance metric over a set of tuning configurations for an antenna tuning system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0041] Figure 6 The second antenna radiation pattern is illustrated before and after being tuned by an example antenna tuning system.

[0042] Figure 7 Example antenna radiation patterns are illustrated before and after tuning by an example antenna tuning system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] Overview:

[0044] Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to an antenna tuning system on a device with a small form factor, such as a smart watch or mobile phone. The antenna tuning system is capable of dynamically tuning the device antenna using both impedance and aperture tuning. The antenna tuning system identifies tuning parameters for improving the quality of a communication link between a host device and another device, such as a wearable device. The antenna tuning system tunes based on both the impedance of the antenna and the signal strength of the communication link to tune the antenna more efficiently than tuning by impedance alone.

[0045] For small devices, including devices with small form factors, and especially for wearable devices and devices carried close to the user's body, antenna placement and tuning are often limited by several factors, such as the limited space available within the device and the limited battery capacity of small device batteries. Environmental factors such as the electromagnetic environment between communicating devices can also affect the performance of antennas in certain devices. Additional factors can include cross-body interference between different devices operated or worn by a user (e.g., earbuds and smart watches, smart watches and phones, phones and earbuds, etc.). Cross-body interference can include interference in a communication link between communication devices caused by physical interference of the user's body. For example, the quality of a communication link between a pair of earbuds and a smart watch worn by a user can be at least partially attenuated based on the orientation and position of the user's body.

[0046] The antenna tuning system can be implemented on a device (referred to as a host device in this specification). In other examples, the antenna tuning system can be implemented on one or more client devices (such as one or more other devices that are not designated as host devices). According to various aspects of the present disclosure described herein, the antenna tuning system can communicate with one or more antennas across one or more client devices and / or host devices. The tuning system tunes one or more antennas of the system to communicate with one or more devices linked to the host device. The tuning system can include an impedance tuner and an aperture tuner. The host device maintains a corresponding communication link with each of the one or more other devices. For example, the host device can be a smart watch that maintains a first link to one or both earbuds in a pair of wireless earbuds and a second link to a mobile device such as a smart phone.

[0047] Aspects of the present disclosure provide multiple technical advantages. By balancing aperture and impedance tuning and the signal strength of the communication links, the tuning system is able to improve cross-body communication between linked devices while consuming less energy from the typically limited battery of the host device. In some examples, the antenna tuning system is able to improve cross-body communication strength by 2-3dB on average, which can produce a 40-50% improvement in battery life over other methods. The antenna tuning system is able to achieve this by adjusting the radiation pattern of the device antenna to point away from the dead zone of the device communicating with the host device using a combination of impedance, aperture tuning, and / or the signal strength of different communication links.

[0048] Reduced battery consumption can also help alleviate heat issues on the host device. For example, the antenna tuning system reduces the need to increase signal power to compensate for weak communication links, which would otherwise result in increased heat dissipation. A more reliable communication link can also result in improved throughput and reduced packet loss, which can be particularly important for audio streaming or real-time audio calls, where even minor packet losses or delays can seriously impact the user experience. In addition, the antenna tuning system can adapt to different materials used to house the components of the host device and bind the device to one or more device accessories and / or users. In other words, the antenna tuning system can improve antenna signal quality without pre-configuration even near different device accessories such as device housings, watch straps, etc. made of different materials such as metal, rubber and / or leather.

[0049] In addition, the antenna tuning system as described herein can use an aperture tuner to tune the radiation pattern of the antenna without using an antenna diversity switch, multiple antennas with phase shifters, or parasitic elements. In this way, the antenna tuning system can reduce the number of additional components required for a host device that implements the system, which can further improve energy efficiency and allow for a smaller form factor in the design of the host device.

[0050] Aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented for a wide variety of different small form factor devices and across different architectures and designs of aperture tuners and impedance tuners, including devices with a combination of both aperture tuners and impedance tuners, as well as devices with one or more aperture tuners, and devices with one or more aperture tuners but no impedance tuner. This flexibility of implementation can facilitate continuous design iterations of different small form factor devices, at least because the antenna tuning system itself does not impose strict hardware design requirements.

[0051] Example System

[0052] Figure 11 is an illustration of a user 101 of a host device 100 implementing an antenna tuning system according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 1 , host device 100 is a smart watch, device 110 is a smart phone, and device 120 is a wireless earbud headset. Figure 1 The host device 100 and devices 110, 120 shown illustrate only one possible combination of host devices and other devices. In fact, the host device and other devices can include any combination of small form factor devices. Communication link 112 (represented as a two-way arrow between device 120 and host device 100) can be a wireless connection between devices 100, 120. Devices 100, 120 can be configured to communicate data back and forth across communication link 112. Communication link 122 (represented as a two-way arrow between device 110 and host device 100) can also be a wireless connection between devices 100, 110. In some examples, both communication links 110, 112 are active at the same time, meaning that data is transmitted to and from the host device 100 and one of the devices 110, 120. For example, the host device 100 can stream audio data (e.g., music or audio messages) to device 120 while receiving messages, such as text messages, from device 110.

[0053] Figure 2 An initial antenna radiation pattern before being tuned by an example antenna tuning system and a tuned antenna radiation pattern after being tuned by an example antenna tuning system are illustrated. Host device 100 emits a radiation pattern during operation, for example, as shown by initial radiation pattern 200A. The radiation pattern corresponds to radio waves emitted by the host device, for example, through one or more antennas, and the intensity of the radio waves can vary across the pattern. Initial radiation pattern 200A has a specific geometry and orientation, and in this example includes null regions 205A-B.

[0054] The null zone can refer to a direction in the radiation pattern where the host device transmits little or no radio signals. The null zone can occur for a variety of different reasons, including but not limited to the type of antenna (e.g., monopole antenna, slot antenna, etc.), and the electromagnetic environment in which the radiation pattern exists, such as an environment affected by the user's posture, the user's body size, the user's activity (such as running or standing, etc.). In the context of wearable devices, when the user of the device 100, 110, 120 moves around, the null zone can often appear at different parts of the radiation pattern. When the radiation pattern itself changes, the null zone can move around in the radiation pattern. The radiation pattern can change due to different factors (such as changes in the orientation of the device and / or the orientation of the user's body wearing the device). Not only do the positions of the devices 100, 110 and 120 change relative to each other, such as when the user moves or changes position, but the user's body itself can cause interference, resulting in the appearance of a null zone across the initial radiation pattern 200A. Due to the rapidly changing spatial relationship between the various devices 100, 110, 120, the null zone is particularly interesting in the context of the radiation pattern of the antenna of the wearable device.

[0055] like Figure 2 As shown, the dead zones 205A-B are directed toward devices 110, 120 communicating with the host device 200. As a result, the communication links 112, 122 are significantly weakened and susceptible to failure, such as by dropping packets of data being transmitted between the devices. While it is possible to increase the transmission power of the antenna for the host device to overcome the weakened communication link, this approach is untenable in the context of wearable devices with limited battery power (such as the example host device 100). Furthermore, the dynamically changing relationship of the positions between the devices gradually undermines any performance gains caused by the original power transmission increase, for example because the device on the other end of the communication link may move away relative to the host device and no longer be in the direction of the transmitted signal.

[0056] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an antenna tuning system that utilizes both an impedance tuner and an aperture tuner to tune an antenna and combines both the impedance of the antenna at the antenna feed and the signal strength of a communication link based on an antenna performance metric.

[0057] For example, after tuning the antenna of the host device using an antenna tuning system as described herein, the initial radiation pattern 200A shifts to a tuned radiation pattern 200B. The tuned radiation pattern 200B has shifted in both intensity and orientation, reflecting the change in the radiation pattern caused by both impedance and aperture tuning. The null regions 205A-B in the tuned radiation pattern 200B are shifted away from the devices 110, 120, thereby improving the signal strength of the corresponding link between the devices 110, 120 and the host device 100. Figure 2 As shown in the size comparison between radiation patterns 200A, B, tuned radiation pattern 200B also requires less power to maintain. Although the antennas draw less power, communication links 112, 122 are improved, for example, by reducing or eliminating lost packets of data transmitted over the respective communication links.

[0058] Figure 3 is a block diagram of an example antenna tuning system 300 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The system 300 can include a modem 310, a tuning controller 320, an aperture tuner 330, an antenna 340, a radio frequency front end (RFFE) 350, and an impedance tuner 360. The modem 310, the tuning controller 320, and the RFFE 350 can be configured as one or more digital circuits configured to perform operations as described herein. The digital circuits can include one or more processors, such as a combination of one or more central processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, embedded processors, microcontrollers, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and other application specific circuits such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). As described herein and with reference to Figure 3 and 4 As described above, the tuning controller 320 can be configured to perform operations for tuning one or more communication links based on the impedance value of the antenna 340 and the signal strength of each communication link between the host device 100 and one or more other devices.

[0059] Antenna tuning system 300 can be implemented on a computing device (such as the one described herein). Figure 1370) on the host device 100 described above. Each of the modem 310, the tuning controller 320, and / or the RFFE 350 can be communicatively coupled to the memory device 370, for example, by a wire or integrated with the memory device 370 on a control board. The memory device 370 can be a combination of volatile and non-volatile memory. The memory device 370 can include one or more memory sources, for example, as a separate component of the host device 100 and / or implemented on a device different from the host device 100 and communicating with the host device 100 through a communication link. For example, the memory device 370 can include any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium capable of storing information, such as a hard drive, a solid-state drive, a memory card, a ROM, a RAM, a cache memory, a writable and read-only memory.

[0060] The memory device 370 can store data 372 and instructions 374. The memory 370 can store information accessible by other components of the host device 100, such as the modem 310, the tuning controller 320, and / or the RFFE 350, including instructions 374 that can be executed by the modem 310, the tuning controller 320, and / or the RFFE 350. The memory 314 can also include data 323 that can be retrieved, manipulated, or stored by the modem 310, the tuning controller 320, and the RFFE 350.

[0061] Instructions 374 can include one or more instructions that, when executed by the tuning controller 320, cause the tuning controller 320 to perform actions defined by the instructions. Instructions 374 can be stored in an object code format for direct processing by the antenna tuning controller 320 or in other formats including interpretable scripts or a collection of independent source code modules that are interpreted on demand or pre-compiled. Instructions 321 can include instructions for implementing components of the system 100 consistent with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0062] Data 323 can be retrieved, stored, or modified by processor 313 according to instructions 321. Data 323 can be stored in a computer register. Data 323 can also be formatted in a computer readable format, such as, but not limited to, binary values, ASCII, or Unicode. In addition, data 323 can include information sufficient to identify the relevant information, such as numbers, descriptive text, proprietary codes, pointers, references to data stored in other memories including other network locations, or information used by functions to calculate relevant data.

[0063] Host device 100 can be configured to receive user input and / or generate user output. Host device 100 can include user input 380 and user output 390. User input 380 can include any suitable mechanism or technology for receiving input from a user, such as a mechanical actuator, a soft actuator, a touch screen, a microphone and a sensor. Host device 100 can be configured to display at least a portion of the received data on a display implemented as a part of user output 390. User output 326 can also be used to display an interface between host device 100 and one or more other devices (such as devices 110, 120). User output 326 can alternatively or additionally include one or more speakers, transducers or other audio outputs, tactile interfaces or other tactile feedback that provides non-visual and non-auditory information to the user of host device 100.

[0064] Modem 310 can be configured to receive signals at different radio frequency (RF) bands and convert the signals into a format that can be processed by host device 100 .

[0065] In some embodiments, host device 100 includes multiple antennas, including antenna 340. Each antenna can be configured to receive and transmit signals at different RF frequency bands. For example, host device 100 can include separate antennas for supporting various short-range connections and long-range connections. Additionally or alternatively, host device 100 includes at least one antenna configured to support one or more types of short-range connections and long-range connections. Short-range connections and long-range connections can be made at different bandwidths, such as 2.402 GHz to 2.480 GHz (commonly associated with 100 GHz and 2.402 GHz). standards), 2.4GHz and 5GHz (usually associated with communication protocol); 13.56 MHz (often associated with the Near Field Communication (NFC) standard); or using various communication standards, such as for wireless broadband communication Standard, or for communicating with a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as a global positioning system (GPS). Each antenna can be coupled to a corresponding aperture tuner and an impedance tuner. In some examples, each antenna can have its own one or more aperture tuners, and one or more impedance tuners. In some examples, at least one antenna can have one or more aperture tuners without an impedance tuner. In other examples, at least some of the aperture tuners and impedance tuners of the antenna tuning system 300 are configured to tune multiple antennas.

[0066] Modem 310 can be configured to measure and / or receive values ​​that at least partially characterize antenna 340, including the relationship between antenna 340 and one or more other devices (e.g., Figure 1The values ​​can include impedance metrics for the antennas, and signal strength metrics for the communication link between the antenna of the host device and the antenna of the other device.

[0067] Modem 310 can measure an impedance metric for antenna 340 at antenna feed 345. The impedance metric can be an S11 parameter representing a reflection coefficient, which depends on the impedance of antenna 340 at the end antenna feed 345. The signal strength metric can be a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) that characterizes the signal strength of a communication link (such as communication link 112 or 122) between the host device and one or more other devices. In some examples where host device 100 is connected to multiple other devices, modem 310 is configured to measure the signal strength for each communication link separately.

[0068] The RFFE 350 can include a number of components (not shown) for receiving and transmitting signals at different RF frequency bands. For example, the RFFE 350 can include RF filters and amplifiers for filtering and amplifying signals received and transmitted by the RFFE 350. The RFFE 350 can receive and transmit signals at a variety of different frequencies, for example, as described herein.

[0069] Antenna 340 can be any of a variety of different types of antennas, such as monopole antennas, dipole antennas, planar antennas, slot antennas, hybrid antennas, loop antennas, inverted-F antennas, etc. Antenna 340 can be made of any of a variety of conductive materials (e.g., different metals or alloys).

[0070] The aperture tuner 330 can be configured to adjust the radiation pattern of the antenna 340. For example, the aperture tuner 330 can be positioned on the antenna body so that the same antenna can be designed to support multiple different radiation patterns. For example, on an inverted-F antenna, the aperture tuner 330 can be positioned just next to the feed or far away from the feed. The aperture tuner 330 can have different switch states to use these patterns. As shown in FIG. Figure 3-5 Described in more detail, the antenna tuning system 300 uses both the aperture tuner 330 and the impedance tuner 360 , as well as the performance characteristics of the antenna 340 , to improve the communication link between the host device 100 and the other devices 110 , 120 .

[0071] The aperture tuner 330 can be configured to have a plurality of preset configurations, each preset configuration corresponding to a respective tuning code. The aperture tuner 340 can include an aperture tuning controller and can be configured to adjust to one of the preset configurations in response to receiving a tuning code from the tuning controller 320. Figure 4-5Described in more detail, tuning controller 320 can iteratively provide each of a plurality of tuning codes to aperture tuner 330 and compare the corresponding performance characteristics of antenna 340 under each configuration. When antenna 340 is tuned according to a corresponding tuning code, aperture tuner 340 is said to be in a corresponding aperture tuning state.

[0072] The impedance tuner 360 can be configured to adjust the impedance of the antenna 340. The impedance tuner 360 can identify one or more tuning values ​​for tuning the antenna 340 to achieve a desired impedance value. For example, the impedance tuner 360 can include one or more matching networks, open loops, and / or feedback-based impedance matching circuits for matching the impedance value of the antenna 340 with the impedance value of the RFFE 350. The impedance tuner 360 can be in one of any number of impedance tuning states based on different possible tuning values. The impedance tuner 360 can be configured to automatically tune the antenna 340 whenever a mismatch between the impedance of the antenna 340 and the impedance of the RFFE 350 is detected.

[0073] Impedance tuner 360 and aperture tuner 330 can be implemented in a variety of different ways. Figure 3 As shown, the aperture tuner 330 and the impedance tuner 360 can be implemented as separate components, wherein the impedance tuner 360 is configured to adjust the signal reflection at the antenna feed, and the aperture tuner 330 is configured to adjust the radiation pattern toward the secondary computing device 110 and / or 120. In some examples, the impedance tuner 360 has a fixed impedance match at the antenna feed 345. In these examples, the overall hardware complexity can be reduced, and the aperture tuner 360 can be configured to adjust the radiation pattern toward the secondary computing device 110 and / or 120, and ensure continuous impedance matching at the antenna feed 345.

[0074] In some examples, the antenna tuning system 300 includes one or more aperture tuners, such as aperture tuner 330, and does not include an impedance tuner. In those examples, the tuning controller 320 can use only one or more aperture tuners based on balancing both the impedance value and the signal strength metric for the communication link. Even without an impedance tuner, in some cases, changes in how the aperture tuner 330 tunes the antenna 340 can also affect the radiation pattern of the antenna 340 and the impedance value for the antenna feed 345.

[0075] In some examples, the antenna tuning system 300 includes a plurality of aperture tuners 330. Each aperture tuner can be used to tune a corresponding antenna. The tuning controller 320 can identify, for each aperture tuner, tuning parameters for a corresponding tuning configuration of the aperture tuner.

[0076] The tuning controller 320 is configured to calculate and compare performance metrics of the antenna under various different tuning configurations. The tuning controller 320 can select a tuning configuration that will cause the antenna 340 to perform the best candidate tuning configuration over a set of candidate tuning configurations, and pass the tuning parameters to the aperture tuner 360. The tuning controller 320 can calculate the performance metric based on the impedance metric, the signal strength metric, and one or more weight values. The weight values ​​can adjust the relative impact, for example, the impedance metric and / or signal strength metric for a given communication link has on the overall performance metric.

[0077] For each of the various different tuning configurations, the tuning controller 320 can calculate a corresponding performance metric for the antenna in that configuration and restore the tuning configuration for the antenna when the performance of the antenna is not improved according to the performance metric. The tuning controller 320 can generate a performance metric that takes into account signal strength metrics for multiple communication links to identify the configuration that has the highest performance gain overall.

[0078] The tuning configuration can include a combination of impedance tuner and aperture tuner states. For example, one state of the impedance tuner can be represented by the codes 10111100 ("BC" when expressed in hexadecimal format) and 11110000 ("F0" when expressed in hexadecimal format) for the impedance tuner and aperture tuner, respectively. The tuning configuration can be BCF0. Based on the codes applied, different inductors and capacitors for the aperture and impedance tuners can be connected to the antenna. For example, the code for F0 on the aperture tuner can correspond to a 3.1nH (nanohenry) inductor, while the code for FC can correspond to a 4.7nH inductor, and so on.

[0079] The antenna tuning controller 320 can periodically check whether to tune the antenna according to a new tuning configuration based on the antenna performance metric of the antenna 340 at the current point in time and the antenna performance metric of the antenna 340 tuned according to different candidate tuning configurations. As part of performing the antenna tuning check, the tuning controller 320 can perform the following steps as described herein. Figure 4 The process 400 described. The tuning controller 320 can be configured to periodically poll the modem 310 to obtain metric data characterizing the antenna 340 and to use the metric data to calculate an antenna performance metric for the antenna 340.

[0080] For example, an antenna tuning check performed by the antenna tuning controller 320 can occur after a predetermined time period, or in response to the antenna tuning controller 320 detecting that the current antenna performance metric has fallen below a particular threshold. For example, a tuning check can occur approximately every 2.5 seconds. In some examples, the time between tuning checks can be increased or decreased based on the antenna performance metric reaching above or below a predetermined threshold. For example, if the tuning controller 320 determines that the antenna performance metric is above a predetermined threshold of performance, the time between antenna checks can be increased. Similarly, if the tuning controller 320 determines that the antenna performance metric is below another predetermined threshold of performance, the time between tuning checks can be reduced. In some examples, instead of calculating the antenna performance metric, the tuning controller 320 can receive individual metrics such as impedance or signal strength and compare these individual metrics to one or more thresholds for determining whether to perform a tuning check.

[0081] As another example, in addition to or in lieu of the examples herein, the time between tuning checks can be based at least in part on design factors of the host device 100. For example, the frequency with which tuning checks are performed by the tuning controller 320 can vary based on the power consumption of performing the tuning checks and / or calculating antenna performance metrics of the antenna 340 in its current configuration. In some examples, the tuning check can occur approximately every 2.5 seconds and be reduced to approximately every 500 milliseconds, for example, based on the antenna performance metrics. Other design factors can affect the timing between tuning checks, such as battery life and the amount of battery power allocated for performing wireless operations on the host device. In some examples, these allocations can be predetermined at design time.

[0082] The antenna performance metric can be expressed as the following equation 1:

[0083] Antenna performance metric = w 0 (1-S 11 *S 11 )+w 1 (RSSI 1 ) (1)

[0084] Among them, w 0 is a weight associated with the impedance metric among the predetermined weights, S 11 is the reflection coefficient that depends on the impedance of the antenna at the antenna feed, w 1 is a weight associated with the first link among predetermined weights, and RSSI 1 is the signal strength of the communication link.

[0085] For each state of the aperture tuner and impedance tuner, the antenna tuning system can calculate an antenna performance metric and save the highest result. If the highest antenna performance metric is lower than the antenna performance metric of the tuning configuration before iterating through the aperture tuning code, the antenna tuning system can revert to the original tuning configuration.

[0086] The antenna tuning system can adaptively update the tuning configuration of the antenna based on multiple communication links with multiple devices. For two communication links, such as a first link between a host device and an earbud headset and a second link between the host device and a smart phone, the antenna performance metric can be expressed as Equation 2, as follows:

[0087] Antenna performance metric = w 0 (1-S 11 *S 11 )+w 1 (RSSI 1 )+w 2 (RSSI 2 ) (2)

[0088] Among them, RSSI 1 is the signal strength metric for the first communication link, and RSSI 2 is a signal strength metric for the second communication link.

[0089] In some examples, the weight w 1 and w 2 The priority order can be predetermined based on a desired priority order of one communication link relative to another communication link. For example, a communication link for streaming audio between a host device and earbuds can be prioritized over a connection between the host device and a smartphone or mobile device at least because the communication link for streaming audio between the host device and earbuds is more sensitive to connectivity issues. In some examples, the priority order can be based on user input received, for example, through a user interface on the host device.

[0090] In other examples, the value of the predetermined weight can be based on the activity of the corresponding communication link along which the signal strength metric is measured. For example, the antenna tuning system can determine whether a communication link is "active". An active communication link is actively transmitting data. An "inactive" link is not actively transmitting data. For example, by changing the weight value of the active link to be higher than the weight of the inactive link, the active communication link can be prioritized over the inactive communication link.

[0091] In other examples, software applications installed on the host device 100, such as a music streaming application, a navigation application using GPS, or an application that controls different wearable devices connected to the host device (such as a wireless earbud headphone application), can interact with the tuning controller 320 using inputs to prioritize or deprioritize a corresponding communication link used by the application.

[0092] When prioritizing a particular communication link, the tuning controller 320 can calculate the antenna performance metric using a larger weight value for the signal strength metric corresponding to the communication link. Similarly, when deprioritizing a communication link, the tuning controller 320 can calculate the antenna performance metric using a smaller weight value for the signal strength metric corresponding to the communication link.

[0093] In some examples, weights can be pre-determined to bring the metrics to a common scale. For example, the reflection coefficient S 11 The tuning controller 320 can use the weight w to adjust the RSSI value of different communication links, for example, from 0 to 120 dB for WiFi-based communication links, from -26 to -100 dB for Bluetooth-based communication links, and from -44 to -141 dB for some LTE-based communication links. 0 to w n To calculate the antenna performance metric, the values ​​of these weights are adjusted to compensate for the difference in scale between the impedance metric and the signal strength metric.

[0094] Example Method

[0095] Figure 4 is a flow chart of an example process 400 for tuning an antenna in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0096] According to block 410, the antenna tuning system generates a first antenna performance metric. Figure 1 The antenna performance metrics can include impedance and signal strength metrics, denoted as S for the antenna and the communication link, respectively. 11 Parameters and RSSI. In examples where the antenna is linked to multiple other antennas of other devices, generating the antenna performance metric can include retrieving an impedance metric of the antenna at the antenna feed and a corresponding signal strength metric, such as a corresponding RSSI, for each communication link.

[0097] According to block 420, the antenna tuning system updates the tuning configuration for the antenna based on the one or more second tuning parameters. As part of updating the tuning configuration, the antenna tuning system can perform the steps described herein. Figure 5The process 500 described herein. While performing the process 500, the antenna tuning system can identify the updated tuning configuration and generate a second antenna performance metric for the antenna using the updated tuning configuration, according to block 430. In some examples, instead of performing the process 500, the antenna tuning system can be configured to randomly generate an updated tuning configuration and generate the second antenna performance metric from an antenna that has been tuned according to the randomly updated tuning configuration.

[0098] In some examples, the check for more tuning parameters according to block 540 can be performed after the stored metrics and tuning parameters are output according to block 550. In these examples, outputting the stored metrics and tuning parameters that have been identified as being greater than the currently stored metrics according to block 520 can provide improvements to antenna tuning with reduced latency, at least because the check at block 540 is not performed before the metrics and parameters are output. After outputting the stored metrics and tuning parameters according to block 540, the system can then perform a check for more tuning parameters according to block 550. According to blocks 530 and 550, if the metric for the next tuning parameter is higher than the stored metric, the system can update and output the metric and tuning parameters. In these examples, the continuously improved tuning parameters are applied immediately, rather than waiting for the system to iterate through all available tuning parameters before outputting the identified optimal parameters.

[0099] According to diamond 440, the antenna tuning system determines whether the first antenna performance metric is greater than the second antenna performance metric. If the antenna tuning system determines that the first antenna performance metric is not greater than the second antenna performance metric ("No"), process 400 ends. Because process 400 ends if the first antenna performance metric is not greater than the second antenna performance metric, the updated tuning configuration performs the same as (if not better than) the first tuning configuration. Additionally, when the antenna tuning system updates to a tuning configuration, such as in block 420, if the updated tuning configuration performs the same as or better than the first tuning configuration, no additional action is required.

[0100] If the antenna tuning system determines that the first antenna performance metric is greater than the second antenna performance metric ("yes"), the antenna tuning system reverts back to the original tuning configuration, according to block 450. Because the first antenna performance metric is greater, not reverting from the updated tuning configuration to the first tuning configuration is a direct degradation in performance and is avoided by reverting to the first tuning configuration.

[0101] Figure 5 is a flow chart of an example process 500 for identifying a highest antenna performance metric over a set of tuning configurations for an antenna tuning system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Per block 420, some or all of process 500 can be performed as part of updating a tuning configuration for an antenna.

[0102] According to block 510, the antenna tuning system calculates a next antenna performance metric when the aperture tuner is set according to the next tuning parameters. The antenna tuning system can iteratively process a predetermined set of tuning parameters for one or both of the aperture tuner and the impedance tuner. Figure 1-3 As described, in some examples, the impedance tuner performs a process for matching the impedance of the antenna to the RFFE. In those examples, the antenna tuning system iterates through a pair of tuning parameters, wherein the impedance tuning parameters are selected based on the matching process performed by the impedance tuner, and the aperture tuning parameters are iterated as part of process 500.

[0103] To calculate a next antenna performance metric corresponding to the next tuning parameter, the antenna tuning system can temporarily tune the antenna according to the next tuning parameter. For example, the tuning controller can provide the next aperture tuning parameter to the aperture tuner, and in an example where the impedance tuner does not perform an automatic matching process, provide the impedance tuning parameter to the impedance tuner. The antenna tuning system uses the next tuning parameter to maintain the tuning configuration for the antenna long enough to calculate the corresponding antenna performance metric.

[0104] In an example where the antenna tuning system maintains multiple communication links, the tuning parameters include parameters for tuning one or more antennas of the host device for each of the multiple communication links. In some examples, if the host device includes more than one antenna for maintaining each respective communication link, an aperture tuner and an impedance tuner are used to tune each antenna.

[0105] Also in the example where the antenna tuning system maintains multiple communication links, the next antenna performance metric is generated using the impedance value of the antenna and the corresponding signal strength metric for each communication link (e.g., RSSI for each communication link). Each signal strength metric can be weighted with a corresponding weight to change or modify the impact that each signal strength metric has on the overall performance metric.

[0106] The antenna tuning system determines whether the next antenna performance metric is greater than the stored antenna performance metric, according to diamond 520. If the antenna system determines that the next antenna performance metric is greater than the stored antenna performance metric ("yes"), then according to block 530, the antenna tuning system updates the stored antenna performance metric and tuning parameters using the next antenna performance metric and tuning parameters corresponding to the next antenna performance metric.

[0107] If the antenna tuning system determines that the next antenna performance metric is not greater than the stored antenna performance metric ("No"), the antenna tuning system determines whether there are more tuning parameters to iterate through, according to diamond 540. If the antenna tuning system determines that there are more tuning parameters ("Yes"), the antenna tuning system repeats the steps according to blocks 510, 520, and 530 for the next antenna tuning parameter. If the antenna tuning system determines that there are no additional tuning parameters ("No"), the antenna tuning system outputs the currently stored metric and tuning parameters, according to block 550.

[0108] Figure 6 A second antenna radiation pattern is illustrated before and after tuning by an example antenna tuning system. In some examples, the antenna tuning system can be implemented on a host device regardless of design considerations of the type, placement, or size of one or more antennas also implemented on the host device or an accessory (such as a case, strap, etc.) attached to the host device. In other words, a device designer can design a host device according to a variety of different potential configurations and can implement the antenna tuning system independent of those configurations. The antenna tuning system can tune one or more antennas regardless of whether the antennas are implemented with the antenna tuning system in mind.

[0109] For the same antenna, the tuning system supports multiple radiation patterns, such as radiation patterns 600A and 600B. 600A has an invalid (null) direction, for example, an invalid area pointing to a computing device communicating with a device implementing the antenna tuning system. Communication with the device in these directions is limited. The antenna tuning system as described herein calculates antenna performance metrics and switches the host device implementing the system to radiation pattern 600B, thereby maintaining the desired antenna impedance by changing the tuning configuration and overcoming the limitations of radiation pattern 600A. The antenna tuning system overcomes the performance limitations of radiation pattern 600A by simultaneously adjusting the impedance value of the feed source of the antenna and the signal strength of the communication link. The antenna tuning system as described herein identifies the tuning configuration to change the radiation pattern emitted from the tuned antenna, for example, from a region 605A with an invalid area to a region 605B with a reduced or eliminated invalid area pointing to a secondary computing device.

[0110] Figure 7Example antenna radiation patterns 700A-C are illustrated according to various aperture tuner configurations. An aperture tuner can have an inductor or capacitor bank that facilitates many states of the aperture tuner. For example, the aperture of the aperture tuner can be open. Radiation pattern 700A can correspond to an open aperture. For example, code 1111010 ("FA" when converted to hexadecimal format) can correspond to a 7nH (nanohenry) inductor in an aperture tuner connected to an antenna. Radiation pattern 700B can correspond to an aperture tuner set to an example code corresponding to 7nH. As another example, code 00001010 ("0A" in hexadecimal) can correspond to a 3.5pF (picofarad) capacitor connected to an antenna using a switch inside the aperture tuner. Radiation pattern 700C can correspond to an aperture tuner set to an example code corresponding to 3.5pF. As part of identifying an improved performance metric, the antenna tuning system described herein can iterate through various tuning codes. In some examples, region 705A illustrates a change from radiation pattern 700A to radiation pattern 700B, for example, when the antenna corresponding to radiation pattern 700A is tuned according to a different tuning configuration. Region 705A changes, for example, to improve a communication link to a device in the direction of region 705A.

[0111] Aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented in digital circuits, computer-readable storage media, as one or more computer programs, or a combination of one or more of the above. According to aspects of the present disclosure, the computer-readable storage medium can be non-transitory, for example, as one or more instructions executable by a computing device hosting the antenna tuning system and stored on a tangible storage device.

[0112] In this specification, the phrase "configured to" is used in different contexts related to a part of a computer system, hardware or computer program, engine or module. When a system is referred to as being configured to perform one or more operations, this means that the system has appropriate software, firmware and / or hardware installed on the system that causes the system to perform one or more operations when in operation. When some hardware is referred to as being configured to perform one or more operations, this means that the hardware includes one or more circuits that receive input when in operation and generate output corresponding to the one or more operations based on the input. When a computer program, engine or module is referred to as being configured to perform one or more operations, this means that the computer program includes one or more program instructions that cause one or more computers to perform one or more operations when executed by one or more computers.

[0113] Although the operations shown in the drawings and described in the claims are shown in a particular order, it should be understood that the operations can be performed in an order different from that shown, and some operations can be omitted, performed more than once, and / or performed in parallel with other operations. In addition, the separation of different system components configured to perform different operations should not be understood as requiring the components to be separated. The components, modules, programs, and engines described can be integrated together as a single system, or can be part of multiple systems.

[0114] Unless otherwise stated, the foregoing alternative examples are not mutually exclusive, but can be implemented in various combinations to achieve unique advantages. Since these and other variations and combinations of the above-mentioned features can be utilized without departing from the subject matter defined by the claims, the above description of the examples should be understood by way of illustration rather than by way of limitation of the subject matter defined by the claims. In addition, the provision of the examples described herein and the terms "such as", "including", etc. should not be interpreted as limiting the subject matter of the claims to specific examples; on the contrary, these examples are intended to illustrate only one of many possible implementations. In addition, the same reference numerals in different figures can identify the same or similar elements.

Claims

1. An antenna tuning system, comprising: one or more aperture tuners; and one or more processors configured to: generate a first antenna performance metric for a communication link between the antenna and a first device when the antenna is tuned according to one or more first tuning parameters, the first antenna performance metric being based on an impedance metric for the antenna and a signal strength metric for the communication link; update a tuning configuration for the antenna according to one or more second tuning parameters; generate a second antenna performance metric for the communication link based on the impedance metric of the antenna and the signal strength metric of the communication link when the antenna is tuned according to the updated tuning configuration using the one or more aperture tuners; determine whether the first antenna performance metric is higher than the second antenna performance metric, and in response to determining that the first antenna performance metric is higher than the second antenna performance metric, restore the tuning configuration for the antenna according to the one or more first tuning parameters, wherein, when generating the first antenna performance metric and the second antenna performance metric, the one or more processors are configured to calculate the first antenna performance metric and the second antenna performance metric respectively based on values of the impedance metric and the signal strength metric weighted according to a predetermined weight.

2. The antenna tuning system according to claim 1, wherein, when updating the tuning configuration for the antenna, the one or more processors are configured to provide one or more tuning parameters to the one or more aperture tuners.

3. The antenna tuning system according to claim 1, wherein, updating the tuning configuration for the antenna includes selecting one of two or more different predetermined candidate tuning configurations.

4. The antenna tuning system according to claim 1, wherein, the antenna tuning system further includes an impedance tuner, wherein, when generating the second antenna performance metric for the communication link, the one or more processors are further configured to generate the second antenna performance metric for the communication link when the antenna is tuned according to the updated tuning configuration using the one or more aperture tuners and the impedance tuner.

5. The antenna tuning system according to claim 4, wherein, when updating the tuning configuration for the antenna, the one or more processors are configured to provide one or more tuning parameters to both the one or more aperture tuners and the impedance tuner.

6. The antenna tuning system according to claim 5, wherein, the communication link is a first communication link; wherein the antenna is configured to communicate with each of one or more second devices via a respective second communication link; and Wherein, when calculating the first antenna performance metric, the one or more processors are configured to further calculate the first antenna performance metric based on additional signal strength metrics, each of the additional signal strength metrics representing the signal strength of the corresponding second communication link weighted by a corresponding predetermined weight among the predetermined weights.

7. The antenna tuning system according to claim 6, in, The impedance metric is based on the S 11 parameter, and the signal strength metric is based on a received signal strength indicator RSSI of the first communication link.

8. The antenna tuning system according to claim 7, in, The antenna is connected to an antenna feed; as well as Wherein, when generating the first antenna performance metric, the one or more processors are configured to calculate the first antenna performance metric according to the following formula: w 0 (1-S 11 *S 11 )+w 1 (RSSI 1 ) Among them, w 0 is a weight associated with the impedance metric in the predetermined weights, S 11 is the reflection coefficient that depends on the impedance of the antenna at the antenna feed, w 1 is a weight associated with the first communication link among the predetermined weights, and RSSI 1 is the signal strength of the first communication link.

9. The antenna tuning system according to claim 8, in, In updating the tuning configuration, the one or more processors are configured to perform one or more iterations of: updating the tuning configuration of the antenna using corresponding one or more tuning parameters of a plurality of tuning parameters applied to the one or more aperture tuners, the impedance tuner, or the one or more aperture tuners and the impedance tuner, generating a corresponding antenna performance metric when the tuning configuration is updated according to the corresponding one or more tuning parameters, determining that the corresponding antenna performance metric is a highest antenna performance metric identified from the one or more iterations, and In response, the corresponding antenna performance metric is generated as the second antenna performance metric, and the tuning configuration is updated according to the corresponding one or more tuning parameters for the highest antenna performance metric.

10. The antenna tuning system according to claim 8, in, In generating the second antenna performance metric, the one or more processors are configured to adjust a value of the predetermined weight based on whether a communication link corresponding to a signal strength value weighted by the predetermined weight is active or inactive.

11. The antenna tuning system according to claim 8, in, The one or more processors are further configured to: receiving input indicating that at least one of the first communication link and one or more second communication links is to be prioritized over other communication links, and The predetermined weights are adjusted based on the received input.

12. The antenna tuning system according to claim 1, in, When updating the tuning configuration, the one or more processors are configured to adjust both an impedance and a radiation pattern for the antenna.

13. The antenna tuning system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, in, The antenna tuning system further includes an antenna tuning controller, and the one or more processors are configured to update a tuning configuration in response to a tuning check performed by the antenna tuning controller a) after a predetermined time period and / or b) in response to the antenna tuning controller detecting that the first antenna performance metric has fallen below a threshold.

14. The antenna tuning system according to claim 13, in, The one or more processors are configured to vary a time between subsequent tuning checks based on the first antenna performance metric.

15. The antenna tuning system according to claim 14, in, The one or more processors are configured to increase or decrease the time between subsequent tuning checks based on the first antenna performance metric reaching above or below a predetermined threshold.

16. A method for tuning an antenna, include: generating, by one or more processors, a first antenna performance metric for a communication link between the antenna and a first device when the antenna is tuned according to one or more first tuning parameters, the first antenna performance metric being based on an impedance metric for the antenna and a signal strength metric for the communication link; updating, by one or more processors, a tuning configuration for the antenna based on one or more second tuning parameters; generating, by one or more processors, a second antenna performance metric for the communication link based on an impedance metric of the antenna and a signal strength metric of the communication link when the antenna is tuned according to the updated tuning configuration; determining, by one or more processors, whether the first antenna performance metric is greater than the second antenna performance metric, and in response to determining that the first antenna performance metric is higher than the second antenna performance metric, restoring, by the one or more processors, the tuning configuration for the antenna based on the one or more first tuning parameters, Wherein, when generating the first antenna performance metric and the second antenna performance metric, the first antenna performance metric and the second antenna performance metric are respectively calculated by the one or more processors based on values ​​of the impedance metric and the signal strength metric weighted according to a predetermined weight.

17. The method according to claim 16, in, Updating the tuning configuration for the antenna includes providing, by the one or more processors, one or more tuning parameters to both an impedance tuner and an aperture tuner coupled to the one or more processors.

18. The method according to claim 17, in, Updating the tuning configuration for the antenna includes selecting one of two or more different predetermined candidate tuning configurations.

19. The method according to claim 17, in, The communication link is a first communication link; wherein the antenna is configured to communicate with each second device of the one or more second devices through a corresponding second communication link; and Wherein, calculating the first antenna performance metric includes calculating, by the one or more processors, the first antenna performance metric further based on additional signal strength metrics, each of the additional signal strength metrics representing a signal strength of a corresponding second communication link weighted by a corresponding predetermined weight of the predetermined weights.

20. The method according to claim 19, in, The impedance metric is based on the S 11 parameter, and the signal strength metric is based on a received signal strength indicator RSSI of the first communication link.

21. The method according to claim 20, in, The antenna is connected to an antenna feed; and The generating the first antenna performance metric includes calculating, by the one or more processors, the first antenna performance metric according to the following formula: w 0 (1-S 11 *S 11 )+w 1 (RSSI 1 ) Among them, w 0 is a weight associated with the impedance metric in the predetermined weights, S 11 is the reflection coefficient that depends on the impedance of the antenna at the antenna feed, w 1 is a weight associated with the first communication link among the predetermined weights, and RSSI 1 is the signal strength of the first communication link.

22. The method according to claim 21, in, The one or more processors are coupled to one or more aperture tuners and one or more impedance tuners at the antenna feed; as well as Wherein updating the tuning configuration comprises performing, by the one or more processors, one or more iterations of: updating the tuning configuration of the antenna using corresponding one or more tuning parameters of a plurality of tuning parameters applied to the one or more aperture tuners, the one or more impedance tuners, or both the one or more aperture tuners and the one or more impedance tuners, generating a corresponding antenna performance metric when the tuning configuration is updated according to the corresponding one or more tuning parameters, determining that the corresponding antenna performance metric is a highest antenna performance metric identified from the one or more iterations, and In response, the corresponding antenna performance metric is generated as the second antenna performance metric, and the tuning configuration is updated according to the corresponding one or more tuning parameters for the highest antenna performance metric.

23. The method according to claim 21, in, Generating the second antenna performance metric includes adjusting, by the one or more processors, a value of the predetermined weight based on whether a communication link corresponding to a signal strength value weighted by the predetermined weight is active or inactive.

24. The method according to claim 16, in, Updating the tuning configuration includes adjusting, by the one or more processors, both an impedance and a radiation pattern for the antenna.

25. The method of any one of claims 16 to 24, further comprising updating a tuning configuration in response to a tuning check performed a) after a predetermined period of time and / or b) in response to detecting that the first antenna performance metric has fallen below a threshold.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising varying a time between subsequent tuning checks based on the first antenna performance metric.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising increasing or decreasing the time between subsequent tuning checks based on the first antenna performance metric going above or below a predetermined threshold.

28. A wearable device, include: Impedance tuner; Aperture tuner; antenna; as well as One or more processors configured to: generating a first antenna performance metric for a communication link between the antenna and a first device when the antenna is tuned according to one or more first tuning parameters, the first antenna performance metric being based on an impedance metric for the antenna and a signal strength metric for the communication link; updating a tuning configuration for the antenna based on one or more second tuning parameters; generating a second antenna performance metric for the communication link based on an impedance metric of the antenna and a signal strength metric of the communication link when the antenna is tuned according to an updated tuning configuration; determining whether the first antenna performance metric is greater than the second antenna performance metric, and in response to determining that the first antenna performance metric is higher than the second antenna performance metric, restoring the tuning configuration for the antenna according to the one or more first tuning parameters, Wherein, when generating the first antenna performance metric and the second antenna performance metric, the one or more processors are configured to respectively calculate the first antenna performance metric and the second antenna performance metric based on values ​​of the impedance metric and the signal strength metric weighted according to a predetermined weight.

29. A wearable device comprising the antenna tuning system according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

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