Electronic device with leakage cancellation for range detection

Abstract

This disclosure relates to an electronic device having leakage cancellation for range detection. An electronic device may include a wireless circuit having a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna. Signal bursts may be transmitted by the transmitting antenna. A phase shifter may switch between a first state applying a first phase shift to these signal bursts and a second state applying a second phase shift to these signal bursts. The second phase shift may be out of phase with the first phase shift by approximately 180 degrees. A receiving path may receive a first reflected signal when the phase shifter is in the first state and a second reflected signal when the phase shifter is in the second state. These first reflected signals and these second reflected signals may be used to cancel the effects of on-chip leakage or DC offset to recover the signal of interest associated with the reflection of these signal bursts from an external object. The signal of interest may be used to detect the range from the external object.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 068,990, filed December 20, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 321,047, filed March 17, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates in general to electronic devices, and more specifically to electronic devices having wireless circuitry. Background Technology

[0003] Electronic devices often possess wireless capabilities. Wireless electronic devices have wireless circuitry that includes one or more antennas. This wireless circuitry is used to perform communication using radio frequency signals emitted by the antennas.

[0004] In some cases, wireless circuits are also used to perform sensing operations to detect the distance between external objects and electronic devices. Detecting this distance with high accuracy can be particularly challenging, especially when radio frequency damage such as on-chip leakage exists in the wireless circuitry. Summary of the Invention

[0005] An electronic device may include a wireless circuit controlled by one or more processors. The wireless circuit may include communication circuitry for performing wireless communication. The wireless circuit may include sensing circuitry for performing range detection of external objects. The sensing circuitry may include a transmission path coupled to a transmitting antenna. The sensing circuitry may include a receiving path coupled to a receiving antenna. The transmission path may include a signal generator.

[0006] During range detection operations, the signal generator can generate signal pulse trains. A phase shifter can be positioned on the transmission path. Real-time phase control circuitry can switch the phase shifter between a first state and a second state during the transmission of these signal pulse trains. In the first state, the phase shifter receives a first phase vector element. This first phase vector element controls the phase shifter to apply a first phase shift to these signal pulse trains. In the second state, the phase shifter receives a second phase vector element. This second phase vector element controls the phase shifter to apply a second phase shift to these signal pulse trains. The second phase vector element can be the inverse of the first phase vector element. The second phase shift can be 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the first phase shift. If desired, the transmitting antenna can be integrated into a transmitting phased antenna array. The phase shifter in the transmitting phased antenna array can switch between the first state and the second state without changing the beam pointing direction of the signal beam generated by the transmitting phased antenna array.

[0007] The receiving path can be used to receive a first reflected signal when the phase shifter in the first state transmits these signal pulses. The receiving path can also be used to receive a second reflected signal when the phase shifter in the second state transmits these signal pulses. A mixer circuit can down-convert these first reflected signals to a first baseband signal. The mixer circuit can down-convert these second reflected signals to a second baseband signal. These second baseband signals can be subtracted from these first baseband signals to recover the signal of interest associated with the reflection of these transmitted signal pulses from an external object. Switching the phase shifter between the first and second states and performing this subtraction operation can be used to remove the effects of on-chip leakage and / or other RF impairments on the signal of interest (e.g., without increasing the physical spacing between the transmitting and receiving paths). The signal of interest can then be used to accurately detect the range between the device and the external object.

[0008] One aspect of this disclosure provides an electronic device. The electronic device may include a first antenna coupled to a transmit path and configured to transmit a radio frequency (RF) signal. The electronic device may include a second antenna coupled to a receive path. The electronic device may include a phase shifter disposed on the transmit path or the receive path, the phase shifter having a first state and a second state, wherein in the first state, the phase shifter applies a first phase shift during the transmission of the RF signal by the first antenna, and in the second state, the phase shifter applies a second phase shift during the transmission of the RF signal by the first antenna, the second phase shift being out of phase with the first phase shift by 90 degrees to 270 degrees. The electronic device may include one or more processors. The one or more processors may be configured to use the second antenna to receive a first reflected signal when the phase shifter is in the first state. The one or more processors may be configured to use the second antenna to receive a second reflected signal when the phase shifter is in the second state. The one or more processors may be configured to detect the range between the electronic device and an external object based on the first reflected signal and the second reflected signal.

[0009] One aspect of this disclosure provides a method for operating an electronic device. The method may include: generating a first signal pulse train using a signal generator. The method may include: applying a first phase shift to the first signal pulse train using a phase shifter. The method may include: transmitting the first signal pulse train using a first antenna. The method may include: receiving a first reflected signal corresponding to the first signal pulse train using a second antenna. The method may include: generating a second signal pulse train using the signal generator. The method may include: applying a second phase shift to the second signal pulse train using the phase shifter, the second phase shift being 170-190 degrees out of phase with the first phase shift. The method may include: receiving a second reflected signal corresponding to the second signal pulse train using the second antenna. The method may include: detecting the range from an external object using one or more processors based on the first reflected signals and the second reflected signals.

[0010] One aspect of this disclosure provides a method for operating a wireless circuit having a phase shifter communicatively coupled to a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna. The method may include: providing a first phase vector element to the phase shifter using one or more processors. The method may include: transmitting a first radio frequency (RF) signal using the transmitting antenna while the first phase vector element is provided to the phase shifter. The method may include: receiving a second RF signal using the receiving antenna while the transmitting antenna transmits the first RF signal. The method may include: providing a second phase vector element to the phase shifter using the one or more processors, the second phase vector element being the inverse of the first phase vector element. The method may include: transmitting a third RF signal using the transmitting antenna while the second phase vector element is provided to the phase shifter. The method may include: receiving a fourth RF signal using the receiving antenna while the transmitting antenna transmits the third RF signal. The method may include: detecting a range between the wireless circuit and an external object using the one or more processors based on the third and fourth RF signals received by the receiving antenna. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device having a sensing circuit for performing range detection operations using an antenna, according to some implementation schemes.

[0012] Figure 2 This is a circuit block diagram of an exemplary sensing circuit that mitigates on-chip leakage and / or other radio frequency damage when performing range detection operations, according to some implementation schemes.

[0013] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary operation involving the use of sensing circuitry to mitigate on-chip leakage and / or other radio frequency damage, according to some implementation schemes.

[0014] Figure 4 It is a graph of signal levels as a function of frequency according to some implementation schemes, which shows how an exemplary sensing circuit can remove on-chip leakage to retrieve the signal of interest for performing range detection.

[0015] Figure 5 This is a diagram of an exemplary phased antenna array, according to some implementation schemes, capable of generating a signal beam in a selected beam pointing direction while mitigating on-chip leakage and / or other RF damage for range detection.

[0016] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary operation based on some implementation schemes involving the use of a phased antenna array to mitigate on-chip leakage and / or other radio frequency damage for performing range detection while guiding corresponding signal beams in different beam pointing directions.

[0017] Figure 7 This is a table of exemplary phase configurations based on some implementation schemes, which can be provided to two antennas in a phased antenna array to mitigate on-chip leakage and / or other RF damage for performing range detection while guiding corresponding signal beams in different beam pointing directions. Detailed Implementation

[0018] Figure 1 The electronic device 10 may be: a computing device, such as a laptop computer, desktop computer, computer monitor containing an embedded computer, tablet computer, cellular phone, media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device; a smaller device, such as a wristwatch, a wristband, a headset or handset, a device embedded in glasses; or other equipment worn on a user's head; or other wearable or micro-devices, televisions, computer monitors without an embedded computer, gaming devices, navigation devices, embedded systems (such as systems in which electronic equipment with a display is installed in a kiosk or vehicle), voice-controlled speakers connected to the wireless Internet, home entertainment devices, remote control devices, game controllers, peripheral user input devices, wireless base stations or access points, equipment that enables the functions of two or more of these devices; or other electronic equipment.

[0019] like Figure 1As shown in the functional block diagram, device 10 may include components located on or within an electronic device housing, such as housing 12. Housing 12 (sometimes referred to as a shell) may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramic, fiber composite material, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, metal alloys, etc.), other suitable materials, or combinations of these materials. In some cases, housing 12 may be partially or entirely formed of dielectric or other low-conductivity materials (e.g., glass, ceramic, plastic, sapphire, etc.). In other cases, housing 12 or at least some of the structures constituting housing 12 may be formed of metallic elements.

[0020] Device 10 may include control circuitry 14. Control circuitry 14 may include storage devices, such as storage circuitry 16. Storage circuitry 16 may include hard disk drive storage devices, non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory configured to form a solid-state drive or other electrically programmable read-only memory), volatile memory (e.g., static random access memory or dynamic random access memory), etc. Storage circuitry 16 may include storage devices and / or removable storage media integrated within device 10.

[0021] Control circuitry 14 may include processing circuitry, such as processing circuitry 18. Processing circuitry 18 may be used to control the operation of device 10. Processing circuitry 18 may include one or more processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, host processors, baseband processor integrated circuits, application-specific integrated circuits, central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), etc. Control circuitry 14 may be configured to perform operations in device 10 using hardware (e.g., dedicated hardware or circuitry), firmware, and / or software. Software code for performing operations in device 10 may be stored on storage circuitry 16 (e.g., storage circuitry 16 may include a non-transitory (tangible) computer-readable storage medium storing software code). This software code may sometimes be referred to as program instructions, software, data, commands, or code. The software code stored on storage circuitry 16 may be executed by processing circuitry 18.

[0022] Control circuitry 14 can be used to run software on device 10, such as satellite navigation applications, internet browsing applications, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone calling applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, etc. To support interaction with external equipment, control circuitry 14 can be used to implement communication protocols. Communication protocols that can be implemented using control circuitry 14 include Internet Protocol, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocol—sometimes referred to as...). ), such as Protocols for other short-range wireless communication links, such as protocols for wireless personal area networks (WPANs), IEEE 802.11ad protocols (e.g., ultra-wideband protocols), cellular phone protocols (e.g., 3G protocols, 4G (LTE) protocols, 3GPP fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) protocols, 6G protocols, etc.), antenna diversity protocols, satellite navigation system protocols (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS) protocols, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) protocols, etc.), antenna-based spatial ranging protocols, or any other desired communication protocol. Each communication protocol may be associated with a corresponding radio access technology (RAT), which specifies the physical connection method used to implement the protocol.

[0023] Device 10 may include input-output circuitry 20. Input-output circuitry 20 may include input-output devices 22. Input-output devices 22 may be used to allow data to be supplied to device 10 and to allow data to be supplied from device 10 to external devices. Input-output devices 22 may include user interface devices, data port devices, and other input-output components. For example, input-output devices 22 may include touch sensors, displays (e.g., touch-sensitive displays and / or force-sensitive displays), light-emitting components such as displays without touch sensor capability, buttons (mechanical, capacitive, optical, etc.), scroll wheels, touchpads, keypads, keyboards, microphones, cameras, buttons, speakers, status indicators, audio jacks and other audio port components, digital data port devices, motion sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes, and / or compasses for detecting motion), capacitive sensors, proximity sensors, magnetic sensors, force sensors (e.g., force sensors coupled to a display to detect pressure applied to the display), temperature sensors, etc. In some configurations, keyboards, headphones, displays, pointing devices such as touchpads, mice and joysticks, and other input-output devices may be coupled to device 10 via wired or wireless connections (e.g., some of the input-output devices 22 may be peripherals coupled to the main processing unit or other parts of device 10 via wired or wireless links).

[0024] Input-output circuitry 20 may include wireless circuitry 24 to support wireless communication and radio-based sensing operation. Wireless circuitry 24 (sometimes referred to herein as wireless communication circuitry 24) may include two or more antennas 30. Wireless circuitry 24 may also include baseband processor circuitry, transceiver circuitry, amplifier circuitry, filter circuitry, switching circuitry, analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuitry, digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, RF transmission lines, and / or any other circuitry for transmitting and / or receiving RF signals using antennas 30.

[0025] Antenna 30 can be formed using any desired antenna structure for transmitting radio frequency signals. For example, antenna 30 may include an antenna with resonant elements, formed from a loop antenna structure, patch antenna structure, inverted F-shaped antenna structure, slot antenna structure, planar inverted F-shaped antenna structure, helical antenna structure, monopole antenna, dipole, a combination of these designs, etc. Adjustable filter circuits, switching circuits, impedance matching circuits, and / or other antenna tuning components can be used to adjust the frequency response and wireless performance of antenna 30 over time. If desired, two or more antennas in antenna 30 can be integrated into a phased antenna array (sometimes referred to herein as a phased antenna array antenna), in which each antenna transmits a radio frequency signal with a corresponding phase and magnitude adjusted over time, such that the radio frequency signals are constructive and destructive to produce a signal beam in a given beam pointing direction. As used herein, the term "transmitting radio frequency signals" means the transmission and / or reception of radio frequency signals (e.g., for performing one-way and / or two-way wireless communication with external wireless communication equipment). Antenna 30 can transmit radio frequency (RF) signals by radiating them into free space (or through an intervening device structure such as a dielectric overlay). Alternatively, antenna 30 can receive RF signals from free space (e.g., through an intervening device structure such as a dielectric overlay). The transmission and reception of RF signals by antenna 30 each involve the excitation or resonance of antenna currents on antenna resonant elements within the antenna's operating frequency band by the RF signals.

[0026] Wireless circuit 24 may include communication circuitry 26 (sometimes referred to herein as wireless communication circuitry 26) for transmitting and / or receiving wireless communication data using antenna 30. Communication circuitry 26 may include baseband circuitry (e.g., one or more baseband processors) and one or more radio devices (e.g., radio frequency transceivers, modems, etc.) for transmitting radio frequency signals using one or more antennas 30. Communication circuitry 26 may use antenna 30 to transmit and / or receive radio frequency signals that transmit wireless communication data between device 10 and external wireless communication equipment (e.g., one or more other devices, such as device 10, a wireless access point, or a base station). Wireless communication data may be transmitted bidirectionally or unidirectionally. Wireless communication data may include, for example, data encoded into corresponding data packets, such as wireless data associated with telephone calls, streaming media content, internet browsing, wireless data associated with software applications running on device 10, email messages, etc.

[0027] Communication circuit 26 can transmit and / or receive radio frequency signals within a corresponding frequency band of radio frequencies (sometimes referred to herein as the communication band or simply the "band"). The frequency band processed by communication circuit 26 may include: wireless local area network (WLAN) bands (e.g., (IEEE 802.11) or other WLAN communication bands, such as the 2.4GHz WLAN band (e.g., 2400MHz-2480MHz), the 5GHz WLAN band (e.g., 5180MHz-5825MHz), 6E band (e.g., 5925MHz-7125MHz) and / or others Frequency bands (e.g., 1875MHz-5160MHz); Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) frequency bands such as 2.4GHz Frequency bands or other WPAN communication bands; cellular telephone bands (e.g., bands from approximately 600 MHz to approximately 5 GHz, 3G bands, 4G LTE bands, 5G NR frequency range 1 (FR1) band below 10 GHz, 5G NR frequency range 2 (FR2) band between 20 GHz and 60 GHz, etc.); other centimeter wave or millimeter wave bands between 10 GHz and 300 GHz; near-field communication bands (e.g., 13.56 MHz); satellite navigation bands (e.g., GPS bands from 1565 MHz to 1610 MHz, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) bands, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) bands, etc.); ultra-wideband (UWB) bands operating under the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol and / or other ultra-wideband communication protocols; communication bands belonging to the 3GPP wireless communication standard family; communication bands belonging to the IEEE 802.XX standard family; and / or any other desired bands of interest.

[0028] In addition to transmitting wireless communication data, wireless circuit 24 may also use antenna 30 to perform radio frequency sensing operations (sometimes referred to herein as radio-based sensing operations or simply sensing operations). Sensing operations allow device 10 to detect (e.g., sense or identify) the presence, location, orientation, and / or velocity (motion) of an external object. Detecting, sensing, or identifying the presence, location, orientation, and / or velocity (motion) of an external object at any given time or within a given time period is sometimes simply referred to herein as detecting an external object or performing spatial ranging operations, ranging operations, or range detection. Sensing operations can be performed over a relatively short range, such as a few centimeters from antenna 30 (e.g., using a voltage standing wave ratio detector coupled to antenna 30) or over a longer range, such as tens of centimeters, meters, tens of meters, etc. In one specific implementation described herein as an example, sensing operations can detect the location of an external object as the distance (sometimes referred to herein as range R) between device 10 (e.g., antenna 30) and the external object.

[0029] Control circuitry 14 can use the detected presence, location, orientation, and / or speed of an external object to perform any desired device operation. As an example, control circuitry 14 can use the detected presence, location (e.g., range R), orientation, and / or speed of an external object to identify corresponding user input for one or more software applications running on device 10, such as gesture input performed by the user's hand or other body part or by an external stylus, game controller, headset, or other peripheral device or accessory; determine when one or more antennas 30 need to be disabled or set with a reduced maximum transmit power level (e.g., to meet regulatory restrictions on radio frequency exposure); determine how to guide the radio frequency signal beam generated by antennas 30 for communication circuitry 26 (e.g., in the case where antennas 30 include a phased antenna array); map or model the environment around device 10 (e.g., to generate a software model of the room where device 10 is located for use by augmented reality applications, gaming applications, mapping applications, home design applications, engineering applications, etc.); detect the presence of obstacles near (e.g., around) device 10 or in the direction of movement of the user of device 10; and so on.

[0030] Wireless circuit 24 may include sensing circuitry 28 for performing sensing operations using antenna 30. Sensing circuitry 28 may include a sensing transmitter (e.g., transmitter circuitry including a signal generator, synthesizer, etc.), a sensing receiver, mixer circuitry, amplifier circuitry, filter circuitry, baseband circuitry, ADC circuitry, DAC circuitry, and / or any other desired components used in performing sensing operations using antenna 30. Sensing circuitry 28 may perform sensing operations using radio frequency sensing signals emitted by antenna 30 and reflected versions of the radio frequency sensing signals that have been reflected from external objects around device 10 (e.g., using a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) scheme, a full-duplex ranging scheme, etc.). Antenna 30 may include a separate antenna for transmitting wireless communication data for communication circuitry 26 and for transmitting radio frequency signals, or may include one or more antennas 30 for transmitting wireless communication data and performing sensing operations. Using a single antenna 30 to transmit wireless communication data and perform sensing operations may, for example, be used to minimize the amount of space occupied in device 10 by using antenna 30.

[0031] The sensing circuit 28 can be coupled to the antenna 30 via at least two radio frequency transmission line paths 32. The communication circuit 26 can be coupled to the antenna 30 via at least one radio frequency transmission line path 32. A separate radio frequency transmission line path 32 can couple both the sensing circuit 28 and the communication circuit 26 to the antenna 30 (e.g., as shown in the image). Figure 1(As shown), one or more RF transmission line paths 32 can couple one or more antennas 30 to both the sensing circuit 28 and the communication circuit 26. The RF transmission line path 32 may include coaxial cables, microstrip transmission lines, stripline transmission lines, edge-coupled microstrip transmission lines, edge-coupled stripline transmission lines, transmission lines formed by combinations of these types of transmission lines, etc. If desired, the RF transmission line path 32 may be integrated into rigid and / or flexible printed circuit boards. An RF front-end (RFFE) module may be inserted onto one or more RF transmission line paths 32. The RF front-end module may include a substrate, integrated circuit, chip, or package separate from the sensing circuit 28 and the communication circuit 26, and may include filter circuitry, switching circuitry, amplifier circuitry, impedance matching circuitry, RF coupler circuitry, and / or any other desired RF circuitry for operating on RF signals transmitted through the RF transmission line path 32.

[0032] Figure 1 The examples are merely illustrative. Although for clarity, in Figure 1 In the example, control circuitry 14 is shown separate from wireless circuitry 24, but wireless circuitry 24 may include processing circuitry (e.g., one or more processors) and / or storage circuitry, the processing circuitry forming part of processing circuitry 18, and the storage circuitry forming part of storage circuitry 16 of control circuitry 14 (e.g., portions of control circuitry 14 may be implemented on wireless circuitry 24). As an example, control circuitry 14 may include baseband circuitry (e.g., one or more baseband processors), digital control circuitry, analog control circuitry, and / or other control circuitry forming part of communication circuitry 26 and / or sensing circuitry 28. Baseband circuitry may, for example, access the communication protocol stack on control circuitry 14 (e.g., storage circuitry 20) to: perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and / or PDU layer; and / or perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and / or non-access layer. If desired, PHY layer operation may be additionally or alternatively performed by radio frequency (RF) interface circuitry in wireless circuitry 24.

[0033] Figure 2 This is a circuit diagram illustrating how the sensing circuit 28 can use the antenna 30 to perform spatial ranging operations. (Example) Figure 2 As shown, the sensing circuit 28 may include one or more transmit (TX) paths 42 (sometimes referred to herein as TX chain 42 or TX circuit 42) coupled to the first antenna 30, such as transmit antenna 30TX. The sensing circuit 28 may also include one or more receive (RX) paths 44 (sometimes referred to herein as RX chain 44 or RX circuit 44) coupled to the second antenna 30, such as receive antenna 30RX.

[0034] like Figure 2 As shown, the transmit path 42 may include a signal generator 34, a transmit in-phase quadrature-phase (I / Q) modulator 52, a signal splitter 54, a mixer such as an RF TX mixer 56, a phase shifter such as a phase shifter 58, and an amplifier circuit such as a power amplifier (PA) 60. The output of the signal generator 34 may be coupled to the input of the I / Q modulator 52. The signal splitter 54 may have an input coupled to the output of the I / Q modulator 52 and a first output coupled to a first input of the RF TX mixer 56. The RF TX mixer 56 may have an output coupled to the input of the phase shifter (PS) 58. The phase shifter 58 may have an output coupled to the input of the power amplifier 60. The power amplifier 60 may have (e.g., via...) Figure 1 The corresponding transmission line path 32) is coupled to the output terminal of the transmitting antenna 30TX.

[0035] The receive path 44 may include amplifier circuitry such as a low-noise amplifier (LNA) 64, a first mixer such as an RF RX mixer 66, a second mixer such as a dechirped mixer 70, a baseband (BB) amplifier such as an amplifier 72, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 74, and a decimation chain 76. The inputs of the LNA 64 may (e.g., via...) Figure 1 The corresponding transmission line path 32) is coupled to the receiving antenna 30RX. The output of LNA 64 can be coupled to the first input of RF RX mixer 66. The output of RF RX mixer 66 can be coupled to the first input of dechirped mixer 70. The output of dechirped mixer 70 can be coupled to the input of amplifier 72. The output of amplifier 72 can be coupled to the input of ADC 74. The output of ADC 74 can be coupled to the input of decimation chain 76. The output of decimation chain 76 can be coupled to the input of range detection circuit in sensing circuit 28. Range detection circuit may include RF damage canceller 78 and range detector 80. The input of RF damage canceller 78 can be coupled to the output of decimation chain 76. The output of RF damage canceller 78 can be coupled to the input of range detector 80.

[0036] exist Figure 2In the example, sensing circuit 28 has an FMCW radar architecture, where signal generator 34 generates a chirped signal that is provided to I / Q modulator 52. Signal separator 54 may have a second output coupled to a second input of dechirped mixer 70 via dechirped path 68. Mixers 56 and 66 may have a second input that receives an LO signal from local oscillator (LO) generator 62. Signal generator 34 may include chirped generator 36 having an output coupled to digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 38 (e.g., a first DAC for converting in-phase samples and a second DAC for converting quadrature samples). Output of DAC 38 may be coupled to an input of baseband amplifier such as amplifier 40. Output of amplifier 40 may be coupled to an input of I / Q modulator 52.

[0037] Figure 2 The examples provided are merely illustrative. If desired, DAC 38 can be replaced with a sweep synthesizer. In some configurations, DAC 38 and I / Q modulator 52 can be replaced with a sweep synthesizer. Sensing circuitry 28 need not be implemented using an FMCW radar architecture and can typically be implemented using any desired radar architecture. If desired, additional components (e.g., filters, amplifiers, switches, impedance matching networks, couplers, tuning circuits, transmission lines, mixers, converters, transformers, etc.) can be inserted at one or more locations on transmit path 42 and / or receive path 44. Although this document describes spatial ranging operations in conjunction with (e.g., using chirped signals), transmit antenna 30TX can also be used for transmitting and / or receiving communication circuitry 26 if desired. Figure 1 The receiving antenna 30RX can transmit radio frequency signals for wireless communication data. Similarly, if needed, the receiving antenna 30RX can also be used to transmit and / or receive radio frequency signals for transmitting wireless communication data for the communication circuit 26. If needed, the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna can be the same antenna or part of the same antenna (e.g., a given transmitting path and receiving path can share the same antenna, such as for operation in voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) mode or ultra-short range radar mode).

[0038] During spatial ranging operations, signal generator 34 can generate a ranging signal for transmission via transmission path 42. For example, chirp generator 36 can generate a digital chirp signal, which is converted to an analog chirp signal by DAC 38 and amplified by amplifier 40 before being passed to I / Q modulator 52. The chirp signal generated by signal generator 34 has a frequency that rises periodically over time (e.g., in cases where the chirp signal is a sawtooth signal, ramp signal, step signal, or whose frequency increases or decreases linearly with time). This example is merely illustrative, and in general, signal generator 34 can transmit a ranging signal with any desired waveform for performing spatial ranging operations.

[0039] I / Q modulator 52 performs I / Q modulation on the chirped signal generated by signal generator 34. Signal splitter 54 passes the chirped signal to RF TX mixer 56 and through dechirped path 68 to dechirped mixer 70. If needed, one or more amplifiers (not shown) can be inserted on dechirped path 68 to increase the amplitude of the chirped signal provided to dechirped mixer 46. RF TX mixer 56 can upsample the chirped signal to RF using the LO signal received from LO generator 62. Power amplifier 60 amplifies the RF chirped signal. Transmit antenna 30TX transmits the amplified chirped signal as RF signal 48. RF signal 48 can be reflected from an object outside device 10, such as an external object 46 located at a distance R from device 10, as a reflected signal 50 (e.g., a reflected version of RF signal 48 after reflection from external object 46). External object 46 may be, for example, the ground, a building, part of a building, a wall, furniture, a ceiling, a person, a body part (e.g., the head, hand, or other body part of the user of device 10 or another person near device 10), an animal, a vehicle, a landscape or geographical feature, an obstacle, external communication equipment, another device of the same type as device 10 or a peripheral / accessory device such as a game controller, a stylus (e.g., for providing input to a touch-sensitive and / or force-sensitive display on device 10), or a remote control, or any other physical object or entity outside device 10.

[0040] The receiving antenna 30RX can receive the reflected signal 50 and can pass the reflected signal down to the receiving path 44. The LNA 64 can amplify the reflected signal. The RF RX mixer 66 can use the LO signal from the LO generator 62 to down-convert the reflected signal from RF to baseband (or intermediate frequency). The reflected signal may include a chirped signal transmitted by the transmitting antenna 30TX but reflected from the external object 46 and received by the receiving antenna 30RX. The dechirped mixer 70 can receive the reflected sensing 50 at its first input (e.g., from the RF RX mixer 66). The dechirped mixer 70 can also receive the corresponding transmitted chirped signal via the dechirped path 68. The dechirped mixer 70 mixes signals received at its first and second inputs to generate or produce baseband signals corresponding to a beat associated with the phase difference between the chirped signal in the transmitted RF signal 48 and the chirped signal in the received reflected signal 50. This baseband signal is therefore sometimes referred to as the beat signal. This example is merely illustrative. If desired, the dechirped mixer can be replaced by a down-conversion mixer and an ADC that receives FMCW / chirped wideband signals (e.g., in specific implementations performing joint communication and sensing). The dechirping operation (sometimes also called cross-correlation or pulse compression) originally performed by the dechirped mixer can then be performed in the digital domain (e.g., by a cross-correlation block in the digital domain).

[0041] Amplifier 72 amplifies baseband signals, which are converted from the analog domain to the digital domain by ADC 74. A decimation chain 76 decimates digital signals, which are then passed to the range detection circuitry of sensing circuitry 28. The range detection circuitry processes the digital signals to identify the range R between external object 46 and device 10, and / or to identify / detect the presence, location, orientation, and / or velocity of external object 46. Using sensing circuitry 28 to measure range R for external object 46 offers several advantages over camera-based sensors. For example, sensing circuitry 28 provides improved privacy compared to camera-based sensors, a smaller RF antenna shape factor, a wider field of view, and the ability to operate across lighting conditions. As an example, sensing circuitry 28 can detect range R over a range of up to 20 cm or more.

[0042] During signal transmission, radio frequency (RF) impairments may be present in the sensing circuit 28, which can limit the accuracy and / or precision of the sensing circuit 28 in detecting the range R. RF impairments may include on-chip leakage, RX DC offset, intermodulation products and harmonics associated with parasitic / on-chip leakage, antenna crosstalk, IM3 products between parasitic / on-chip leakage generated by the (2*F_crosstalk-F_leakage) mechanism, and / or other impairments. For example, on-chip leakage occurs when some of the RF signal in the transmit path 42 leaks from the transmit path 42 to the receive path 44, as indicated by arrow 86 (e.g., where the leakage is then received at the RF RX mixer 66). Therefore, the signal received at the first input of the RF RX mixer 66 will include the signal of interest (SOI) corresponding to the transmitted chirped signal received by the receive antenna 30RX in the reflected signal 50, and additional non-SOI corresponding to the on-chip leakage. Since the external object 46 will typically have a relatively small radar cross-section (e.g., the size of a human finger or smaller) and can be located very close to the antenna 30TX / 30RX, there may be a very small time / range gap between the SOI and the non-SOI caused by on-chip leakage. Meanwhile, the non-SOI caused by on-chip leakage can be several orders of magnitude higher than the received SOI. This can limit the ability of the range detection circuit in sensing circuit 28 to accurately detect the SOI in the received signal (which is then used to identify the range R), resulting in inaccurate or imprecise measurements of the range R.

[0043] In some cases, on-chip leakage can be minimized by forming transmit path 42 and receive path 44 on separate chips and / or by increasing the physical spacing between transmit path 42 and receive path 44. However, such physical spacing would undesirably increase the chip layout of wireless circuit 24, thereby consuming excessive power and limiting the amount of space available in device 10 for forming other components. In addition, increasing the physical spacing may only provide a minor improvement to the ratio between SOI and non-SOI.

[0044] To mitigate these issues while allowing sensing circuitry 28 to accurately and precisely measure distance R without increasing the physical spacing between transmit path 42 and receive path 44, phase shifter 58 can be interposed on transmit path 42 between RF TX mixer 56 and power amplifier 60 (or elsewhere on transmit path 42). Phase shifter 58 may have a first state and a second state. In the first state, phase shifter 58 applies a first phase shift (+1) to the signal transmitted through transmit path 42. In the second state, phase shifter 58 applies a second phase shift (-1) to the signal transmitted through transmit path 42, which is 180 degrees out of phase with the first phase shift (e.g., phase shifter 58 may be a 0-degree / 180-degree phase shifter, sometimes also referred to as a +1 / -1 phase shifter or a two-state phase shifter).

[0045] The sensing circuit 28 may also include a real-time phase control circuit 82 coupled to the phase shifter 58 via a control path 84. The real-time phase control circuit 82 may provide a control signal ctrl to the phase shifter 58, which switches / toggles the phase shifter 58 in real time between a first state and a second state during the transmission of the radio frequency signal 48. For example, during a first time period, the signal generator 34 may generate a first burst of chirped signals (or other transmitted signals used for ranging). The signal separator 54 may separate the first burst of chirped signals between the radio frequency TX mixer 56 and the dechirped mixer 68 (via the dechirped path 68). The real-time phase control circuit 82 may put the phase shifter 58 in a first state to control the phase shifter 58 to apply a first phase to the first burst of chirped signals. The transmitting antenna 30TX may then transmit the first burst of chirped signals in the first phase as the radio frequency signal 48.

[0046] The receiving antenna 30RX can receive a first burst of chirped signals from the reflected signal 50. The dechirped mixer 70 can mix the first burst of chirped signals from the reflected signal 50 with a first burst of chirped signals received from the signal separator 54 via the dechirped path 68 to recover the first baseband signal. The first baseband signal can be measured by the RF impairment canceller 78 and stored in a buffer for subsequent processing. The first baseband signal may include both SOI from the reflected signal 50 received, such as from an external object 46, and non-SOI caused by RF impairment, such as on-chip leakage as indicated by arrow 86.

[0047] During a second time period that begins immediately following the first time period, signal generator 45 may generate a second burst of chirped signals (or other transmitted signals used for ranging). Signal separator 54 may separate the second burst of chirped signals between RF TX mixer 56 and dechirped mixer 68 (via dechirped path 68). Real-time phase control circuitry 82 may switch phase shifter 58 to a second state to control phase shifter 58 to apply a second phase to the second burst of chirped signals. Transmitting antenna 30TX may then transmit the second burst of chirped signals in the second phase as RF signal 48 (e.g., out of phase by 180 degrees relative to the first burst of chirped signals transmitted by transmitting antenna 30TX).

[0048] The receiving antenna 30RX can receive a second burst of chirped signals from the reflected signal 50. The dechirped mixer 70 can mix the second burst of chirped signals from the reflected signal 50 with a second burst of chirped signals received from the signal separator 54 via the dechirped path 68 to recover the second baseband signal. The second baseband signal can be measured by the RF impairment canceller 78 and stored in a buffer for subsequent processing. The second baseband signal may include both SOI from the reflected signal 50 received, such as from an external object 46, and non-SOI caused by RF impairment, such as on-chip leakage as indicated by arrow 86.

[0049] The RF damage canceller 78 can then subtract the second baseband signal stored in the buffer from the first baseband signal stored in the buffer (e.g., the RF damage canceller 78 can use a subtractor to generate the difference between the first and second reflected signals). The 180-degree phase difference between the first and second baseband signals causes this subtraction to recover the SOI from the baseband signal while removing non-SOIs caused by RF damage (e.g., on-chip leakage, RX DC offset, etc.). The range detector 80 can then process the recovered SOI to identify (e.g., generate, estimate, produce, calculate, account for, recover, measure, etc.) the range R between device 10 and external object 46. Removing RF damage using phase shifter 58 and RF damage canceller 78 results in a SNDR of SOI that is 30 dB higher than in the case where RF damage has not been removed by phase shifter 58 and RF damage canceller 78. Therefore, despite the presence of RF damage such as on-chip leakage or RX DC offset in the sensing circuit 28, the range detector 80 can still measure the range R more accurately and precisely without changing the physical layout of the wireless circuit 24. Furthermore, the sensing circuit 28 is insensitive to errors in the phase shifter 58 and can perform range detection without affecting broadcast time or SNR loss.

[0050] For example, the range detector 80 and the RF damage canceller 78 can be implemented in digital logic on the sensing circuit 28. The operation of the RF damage canceller 78, the range detector 80, and the real-time phase control circuit 82 can be performed and / or controlled by one or more processors. The RF damage canceller 78, the range detector 80, and / or the real-time phase control circuit 82 can be implemented in hardware (e.g., using one or more logic gates, adders, subtractors, multipliers, dividers, other circuit components, diodes, transistors, switches, arithmetic logic units (ALUs), registers, buffers, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, one or more processors, lookup tables, etc.) and / or in software (e.g., running on memory circuitry and executed by one or more processors). For example, some or all of these components can form... Figure 1The control circuit 14 is a part of the UE device 10, and the operation of some or all of these components can be performed by one or more processors on the UE device 10.

[0051] Phase shifter 58 is inserted into the transmission path 42. Figure 2 The examples are merely illustrative. If desired, phase shifter 58 can be interposed on receive path 44 between LNA 64 and on-chip leakage path (arrow 86), as shown in dashed box 58'. In these specific implementations, the phase shifter can be controlled by a control signal ctrl received via control path 84. The operation of the phase shifter when located on receive path 44 can be similar to its operation when located on transmit path 42. Positioning phase shifter 58 on receive path 44 is particularly advantageous in joint communication and sensing arrangements (e.g., where waveforms transmitted by transmit antenna 30TX are used to transmit wireless communication data and perform range detection). For example, although changing the phase vector in the transmit path does not modify the signal beam direction (e.g., as in a signal beam direction formed by a phased antenna array including transmit antenna 30TX), the change does alter the phase of the communication signal, which could potentially corrupt the decoded signal if the external communication equipment is unaware of the intention to change the phase of the transmitted signal (assuming the communication modulation includes some form of phase modulation). In contrast, placing phase shifter 58 on receive path 44 makes it invisible to external communication equipment.

[0052] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of using sensing circuit 28 to measure distance R (e.g., while mitigating the effects of RF damage such as on-chip leakage and RX DC offset).

[0053] At operation 90, signal generator 34 can generate a first signal pulse train (e.g., a chirped signal or other ranging signal pulse train), while real-time phase control circuitry 82 controls phase shifter 58 to apply a first phase shift (e.g., 0-degree phase shift) to the first signal pulse train. The first phase shift can also be expressed as +1 (e.g., where control signal ctrl uses the corresponding element of the phase vector multiplied by a unit +1 to control phase shifter 58). Transmit antenna 30TX can transmit the first signal pulse train, while dechirped path 68 also routes the first signal pulse train to dechirped mixer 70, and simultaneously on-chip leakage flows from transmit path 42 to receive path 44 (e.g., ...). Figure 2 (As shown by arrow 86).

[0054] Operation 92 can be performed simultaneously with operation 90. At operation 92, the receiving path 44 can receive the first signal and store it in a buffer (e.g., at the RF damage canceller 78). The first signal may include a reflected signal 50 comprising SOI (e.g., a first signal pulse train transmitted by the transmitting antenna 30TX). The first signal may also include non-SOI signals, such as on-chip leakage signals.

[0055] At operation 94, signal generator 34 can generate a second signal pulse train, while real-time phase control circuit 82 controls phase shifter 58 to apply a second phase shift to the second signal pulse train. This second phase shift is the inverse of the first phase shift (e.g., a 180-degree phase shift) (e.g., out of phase with the first phase shift by 180 degrees). The second phase shift can also be represented as -1 (e.g., where control signal ctrl uses the corresponding element of the phase vector multiplied by -1 to control phase shifter 58, -1 being used to invert the elements of the phase vector). Transmit antenna 30TX can transmit the second signal pulse train, while dechirped path 68 also routes the second signal pulse train to dechirped mixer 70, and simultaneously on-chip leakage flows from transmit path 42 to receive path 44.

[0056] Operation 96 can be performed simultaneously with operation 94. In operation 96, the receiving path 44 can receive the second signal and store it in a buffer. The second signal may include a reflected signal 50 comprising SOI (e.g., a first signal pulse train emitted by the transmitting antenna 30TX). The second signal may also include non-SOI signals, such as on-chip leakage signals.

[0057] At operation 98, RF damage canceller 78 can separate SOI from RF damage (based on these signals) in the signals received through receive path 44. For example, RF damage canceller 78 can subtract the second signal received through receive path 44 from the first signal received through receive path 44 (which is 180 degrees out of phase with the second signal) to retrieve / recover SOI without RF damage (e.g., non-SOI without on-chip leakage, RX DC offset, etc.).

[0058] At operation 100, the range detector 80 can detect the range R based on the SOI of the recovered state without RF damage, as generated by the RF damage canceller 78. Control circuit 14 ( Figure 1Optionally, any desired additional processing operations can be performed based on the range R and / or based on the recovered SOI without RF damage. For example, control circuitry 14 can detect the spatial position and / or velocity of an external object 46, detect user input gestures, detect the presence of a user's body part, adjust (e.g., reduce) the maximum transmit power level and / or transmit power level of one or more antennas 30, switch different antennas 30 into use, identify the angle of arrival of the reflected signal 50, etc. Processing can then cycle back to operations 90 and 92 to continue detecting and tracking the range R without RF damage over time.

[0059] Figure 4 This is a graph of the signal level as a function of frequency, which is the frequency of the received signal processed by the range detector 80 for detecting the range R (e.g., after converting the time-domain signal to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform). Curve 102 depicts the signal received as if without using phase shifter 58 and RF damage remover 78 to remove RF damage such as on-chip leakage from the signal. As shown by curve 102, the signal includes a first peak 106 (e.g., at frequency FA) caused by on-chip leakage and a second peak 108 (e.g., at frequency FB) caused by SOI in the reflected signal 50. The signal may also have a DC peak 109. The on-chip leakage associated with the first peak 106 may be much stronger than the SOI associated with the second peak 108.

[0060] Curve 104 depicts the removal of RF damage, such as on-chip leakage, from a signal using phase shifter 58 and RF damage canceller 78 (e.g., by processing...). Figure 3 The signal received during operation. As shown in curve 104, phase shifter 58 and RF damage canceller 78 can cause a significant reduction or removal of peak 106 caused by on-chip leakage (as shown by arrow 107) and a significant reduction or removal of DC peak 109, thereby leaving the SOI associated with peak 108 in the signal. Then, since the on-chip leakage has been removed from the signal, range detector 80 can more easily resolve the SOI in the signal (e.g., by peak detection of peak 108) for accurate detection of range R.

[0061] If needed, the transmitting antenna 30TX can also form part of a phased antenna array for transmitting wireless communication data (e.g., organizing radio data into packets, frames, etc. under a wireless communication protocol such as the 3GPP 5G NR protocol) via a corresponding signal beam oriented in a selected beam pointing direction (e.g., in an integrated radar and communication configuration). In these arrangements, phase shifters are used to adjust the phase between each antenna in the phased antenna array, thereby orienting the signal beam in a selected beam pointing direction. These phase shifters can also be used as... Figure 2The phase shifter 58 is used to mitigate on-chip leakage or other RF damage when performing range detection.

[0062] Figure 5 This is a circuit diagram illustrating how such a phased antenna array 110 can be operated to guide a corresponding signal beam in a selected beam pointing direction and perform range detection, while mitigating on-chip leakage or other RF damage. Figure 5 As shown, the phased antenna array 110 may include a group of N transmit antennas 30TX (e.g., a first transmit antenna 30TX-1, a second transmit antenna 30TX-2, an Nth transmit antenna 30TX-N, etc.). Each transmit antenna 30TX may be coupled to a corresponding transmit path 42 (e.g., transmit path 42-1 may be coupled to transmit antenna 30TX-1, transmit path 42-2 may be coupled to transmit antenna 30TX-2, etc.).

[0063] Each transmit path 42 of the phased antenna array 110 may include Figure 2 The components shown may be other components used for transmitting ranging signals besides those used to transmit wireless communication data via radio frequency signal 48. For example, each transmission path 42 may include a corresponding power amplifier 60 and a corresponding phase shifter 58 (e.g., transmission path 42-1 may include a first phase shifter 58-1, transmission path 42-2 may include a second phase shifter 58-2, etc.). Each phase shifter 58 may receive a control signal that applies a corresponding phase to the signal controlling the transmission of that phase shifter onto its transmission path 42. The control signal applied to each phase shifter 58 may be an element of the corresponding phase vector X (sometimes referred to herein as a phase vector element). For example, phase shifter 58-1 may be controlled by a first element X1 of phase vector X, phase shifter 58-2 may be controlled by a second element X2 of phase vector X, phase shifter 58-N may be controlled by an Nth element XN of phase vector X, and so on. Figure 5 In the example, the phase vector X is a control signal ctrl generated by the real-time phase control circuit 82 (e.g., the real-time phase control circuit 82 controls each of the transmit paths 42 in the phased antenna array 110). This is merely illustrative, and each transmit path 42 may have a corresponding real-time phase control circuit that provides a corresponding control signal ctrl including the corresponding element of the phase vector X, if desired.

[0064] The real-time phase control circuit 82 can use the phase vector X to control the beam pointing direction of the phased antenna array 110, and also controls the phase shifter 58 to mitigate RF damage such as on-chip leakage for range detection. Figure 5As shown, the real-time phase control circuit 82 can receive a phase vector Y corresponding to a specific beam pointing direction of the signal beam generated by the phased antenna array 110. The phase vector Y can be provided by a higher layer or from other control or processing circuitry in the device 10 (e.g., from a beamguide codebook stored on the device 10). The phase vector Y can include N elements (e.g., Y1, Y2, YN, etc.), where each element is intended to control the phase applied by a corresponding phase shifter in the phase shifter 58 of the phased antenna array 110, such that the signals transmitted by each of the corresponding transmit antennas 30TX in the phased antenna array 110 are constructively and destructively interfered to generate a signal beam B oriented in the selected beam pointing direction (e.g., peak gain direction).

[0065] For example, when the phase vector Y has a first set of elements, these elements can configure the phase shifter 58 to apply the first phase shift set to the signals transmitted by the N transmit antennas 30TX in the co-configured phased antenna array 110 to generate (form) a signal beam B1 with a beam pointing direction oriented toward point A. When the phase vector Y has a second set of elements, these elements can configure the phase shifter 58 to apply the second phase shift set to the signals transmitted by the N transmit antennas 30TX in the co-configured phased antenna array 110 to generate (form) a signal beam B2 with a beam pointing direction oriented toward point B. This type of beamforming / guiding can be used to orient the signal beam in a direction that overlaps with external communication equipment such as a wireless base station, a wireless access point, or another device 10. The signal beam can then be used to transmit wireless communication data. Due to the high signal attenuation at these frequencies, this beam guiding arrangement is particularly advantageous at high frequencies such as those greater than 10 GHz.

[0066] The real-time phase control circuit 82 can modify the phase vector Y to allow the phased antenna array 110 to perform range detection while mitigating on-chip leakage or other RF damage and without altering the direction of the formed signal beam. For example, the real-time phase control circuit 82 can generate a phase vector X for controlling the phase shifter 58 based on the phase vector Y. The real-time phase control circuit 82 can configure the phase vector X to have the same elements as those in the phase vector Y and to have the ability to operate during alternating time periods (e.g., during...). Figure 3 During the iterations from 90 to 96, the elements are the inverse terms of the elements in the phase vector Y.

[0067] For example, the real-time phase control circuit 82 can be used during the transmission of the first signal pulse train using the phased antenna array 110 (e.g., in...). Figure 3During operations 90 and 92, a phase vector X (e.g., X1 = Y1, X2 = Y2, XN = YN, etc.) with the same elements as the phase vector Y is generated. Then, the real-time phase control circuit 82 can transmit the second signal pulse train immediately after the first signal pulse train (e.g., during...). Figure 3 During operations 94 and 96, a phase vector X is generated with elements opposite to those of the phase vector Y (e.g., X1 = -Y1, X2 = -Y2, ​​XN = -YN, etc.). Inverting the elements of the phase vector Y (e.g., setting X1 = -Y1, X2 = -Y2, ​​XN = -YN, etc.) configures phase shifter 58 to apply an inverted phase shift, which is 180 degrees out of phase relative to the phase shift applied when phase shifter 58 is controlled using phase vector elements X1 = Y1, X2 = Y2, XN = YN, etc. Since all phase vector elements are inverted, the relative phase between antennas does not change, and this change in phase vector X will not change the direction of the signal beam generated by phased antenna array 110. In this way, phased antenna array 110 can be used to perform range detection operations that mitigate on-chip leakage or other RF damage, in addition to being guided to perform wireless communication.

[0068] Consider an example where a two-element phased antenna array is controlled using a phase vector Y = [1,j], where a first element (1) of the phase vector Y controls phase shifter 58-1 to apply a first phase shift, and a second element (j or the square root of -1) of the phase vector Y controls phase shifter 58-2 to apply a second phase shift 90 degrees out of phase with the first phase shift (e.g., because phase vector element j corresponds to a 90-degree phase shift relative to phase vector element 1). A real-time phase control circuit 82 can generate a phase vector X = [1,j] to control phase shifters 58-1 and 58-2 during the transmission of a first signal pulse train, which in turn control the phased antenna array to direct the signal beam in a first direction of the first signal pulse train. For the transmission of a second signal pulse train, the real-time phase control circuit 82 can generate a phase vector X = [-1,-j] to control phase shifters 58-1 and 58-2. Phase vector element -1 corresponds to a phase shift of 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the corresponding phase vector element 1 in phase vector Y. Phase vector element -j corresponds to a phase shift of 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the corresponding phase vector element j in phase vector Y. This will not change the direction of the signal beam, but allows the sensing circuit 28 to process the received reflected signal (e.g., when processing...). Figure 3 (During operation) reduce on-chip leakage.

[0069] Figure 5An example is shown of how a real-time phase control circuit 82 can generate a phase vector X based on a phase vector Y received via path 111 (e.g., a path communicatively coupled to a codebook on device 10). The real-time phase control circuit 82 may include, for example, a multiplier such as multiplier M and switching circuitry such as switch SW (e.g., implemented using digital / analog logic, as in hardware controlled by one or more processors and / or in software executed by one or more processors). Switch SW may have a first terminal coupled to path 111, a second terminal coupled to control path 84, and a third terminal coupled to multiplier M. Multiplier M may be coupled between the third terminal of switch SW and control path 84.

[0070] The switch SW may have a first state in which the switch SW couples path 111 to control path 84 (e.g., bypassing multiplier M simultaneously). In this state, the phase vector X (e.g., control signal ctrl) may be equal to the phase vector Y. The real-time phase control circuit 82 may distribute the elements of the phase vector X (and therefore the elements of the phase vector Y) to the corresponding phase shifters 58 in the phased antenna array 110. The switch SW may have a second state in which the switch SW couples path 111 to multiplier M. In this state, multiplier M may invert each element of the phase vector Y (e.g., by performing an element-wise multiplication of the phase vector Y with -1) to produce a phase vector X (e.g., as control signal ctrl) on control path 84. The real-time phase control circuit 82 may distribute the elements of the phase vector X (e.g., inverted terms of the elements of the phase vector Y) to the corresponding phase shifters 58 in the phased antenna array 110. These elements of the phase vector X will control the phase shifter 58 to apply a phase shift that would be 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the phase shift that would be produced if the phase shifter 58 were controlled only with the non-inverted elements of the phase vector Y. This example is merely illustrative, and in general, real-time phase control circuitry may include any desired components or logic. If desired, the phased antenna array 110 may also be used to receive radio frequency signals.

[0071] In this way, the phase shift setting applied to the phased antenna array 110 is not linearly independent, but rather a rotation of the phase shift vector Y from the viewpoint of spatial coverage, which results in beam pointing in the same direction. In a phased antenna array used to perform wireless communication with range-mitigated detection without on-chip leakage, the goal is to direct the radiated signal in a specific direction, and applying a phase vector that differs only by rotation is impractical because the rotation applied to the phase vector setting gives a signal beam pointing in the same direction, thus providing no additional information in the absence of an internal leakage path. However, although Figure 5The current arrangement introduces unnecessary cost and complexity to systems that only perform wireless communication, but it allows the phased antenna array 110 to also perform range detection while mitigating on-chip leakage, similar to combining... Figure 2 and Figure 3 As described.

[0072] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating exemplary operations involving controlling the phased antenna array 110 to perform both signal beamguiding and range detection while mitigating on-chip leakage. At operation 112, the real-time phase control circuit 82 may provide a first phase vector element (e.g., an element of phase vector X) to the phase shifter 58 in the phased antenna array 110, which configures / controls the phase shifter 58 to apply a first phase shift group to the transmitted radio frequency signal. The first phase shift group may configure the signal beam generated by the phased antenna array 110 to be directed in a first direction (e.g., toward...). Figure 5 Point A) points in the direction. As an example, the first direction can be the direction of external communication equipment (e.g., another device 10, a wireless base station, a wireless access point, etc.). In this example, the signal beam can be used to transmit wireless communication data with the external communication equipment. In another example, the first direction can be the direction in which the control circuit 14 intends to perform a range detection operation (e.g., in the absence of transmitting wireless communication data).

[0073] At operation 114, the phased antenna array 110 can continue to transmit radio frequency (RF) signals. However, the real-time phase control circuit 82 can provide a second phase vector element, which is the inverse of the first phase vector element, to the phase shifter 58 in the phased antenna array 110. The second phase vector element can control / configure the phase shifter 58 to apply a second phase shift group to the transmitted RF signal. Each phase shift in the second phase shift group is out of phase by 180 degrees relative to the corresponding phase shift in the first phase shift group. This rotation of phase shifts across the phased antenna array 110 does not change the relative phase between each of the transmit antennas 30TX in the phased antenna array 110, thereby allowing the phased antenna array 110 to continue transmitting RF signals in the same first direction as when controlled using the first phase vector element. Simultaneously, since the second phase group is out of phase by 180 degrees relative to the first phase group, the RF signal transmitted using both the first and second phase vector elements can be used to perform range detection in the first direction while mitigating the effects of on-chip leakage or other RF damage.

[0074] At operation 116, one or more receiving antennas 30RX and receiving path 44 ( Figure 2The RF damage canceller 78 can receive the reflected signal 50 corresponding to the RF signals transmitted at operations 112 and 114 (e.g., some or all of operations 116 can be performed simultaneously with operations 112 and 114). The RF damage canceller 78 can subtract the signal received using the receive path when the phased antenna array 110 transmits RF signals using the first phase vector element from the signal received using the receive path when the phased antenna array 110 transmits RF signals using the second phase vector element, thereby retrieving the SOI without the influence of on-chip leakage (e.g., as when...). Figure 3 (Processing operation 98). The range detector 80 can use the retrieved SOI to detect the range R.

[0075] At operation 118, the real-time phase control circuit 82 can provide a third phase vector element to the phase shifter 58 in the phased antenna array 110, which configures / controls the phase shifter 58 to apply a third phase shift group to the transmitted radio frequency signal. The third phase shift group (e.g., changing the relative phase between antennas when compared to the first and second phase shift groups) can configure the signal beam generated by the phased antenna array 110 to be directed in a second direction (e.g., towards...). Figure 5 Point B) points in the direction. As an example, the second direction can be the direction of external communication equipment (e.g., another device 10, a wireless base station, a wireless access point, etc.). In this example, the signal beam can be used to transmit wireless communication data with the external communication equipment. In another example, the second direction can be the direction in which the control circuit 14 intends to perform range detection operations (e.g., in the absence of transmitting wireless communication data).

[0076] At operation 120, the phased antenna array 110 can continue to transmit radio frequency (RF) signals. However, the real-time phase control circuit 82 can provide a fourth phase vector element, which is the inverse of the third phase vector element, to the phase shifter 58 in the phased antenna array 110. The fourth phase vector element can control / configure the phase shifter 58 to apply a fourth phase shift group to the transmitted RF signal. Each phase shift in the fourth phase shift group is out of phase by 180 degrees relative to the corresponding phase shift in the third phase shift group. This rotation of phase shifts across the phased antenna array 110 does not change the relative phase between each of the transmit antennas 30TX in the phased antenna array 110, thereby allowing the phased antenna array 110 to continue transmitting RF signals in the same second direction as when controlled using the third phase vector element. Simultaneously, since the fourth phase group is out of phase by 180 degrees relative to the first phase group, the RF signal transmitted using both the third and fourth phase vector elements can be used to perform range detection in the second direction while mitigating the effects of on-chip leakage or other RF damage.

[0077] At operation 122, one or more receiving antennas 30RX and receiving path 44 ( Figure 2The RF damage canceller 78 can receive the reflected signal 50 corresponding to the RF signals transmitted at operations 118 and 120 (e.g., some or all of operations 122 can be performed simultaneously with operations 118 and 120). The RF damage canceller 78 can subtract the signal received using the receive path when the phased antenna array 110 transmits RF signals using the third phase vector element from the signal received using the receive path when the phased antenna array 110 transmits RF signals using the third phase vector element, in order to retrieve the SOI without the influence of on-chip leakage (e.g., as when...). Figure 3 (During processing operation 98). The range detector 80 can use the retrieved SOI to detect the range R. As the phased antenna array 110 changes the direction of its signal beam over time, the processing can loop back to operation 112.

[0078] Figure 7 Including showing in processing Figure 6 Table 124 shows an exemplary phase configuration of the two transmit antennas 30TX-1 and 30TX-2 in the phased antenna array 110 during operation. Although Table 124 shows the configuration of the two transmit antennas 30TX, the phased antenna array 110 may include any desired number of antennas.

[0079] The first row of Table 124 shows the phase configurations that can be provided to the phase shifter 58-1 coupled to the transmit antenna 30TX-1 in different consecutive time periods (e.g., phase vector elements from phase vector X, such as...). Figure 5 The second row of Table 124 shows the phase configuration (e.g., phase vector elements from phase vector X, such as phase vector elements X1) that can be provided to the phase shifter 58-2 coupled to the transmit antenna 30TX-2 during a continuous time period. Figure 5 The phase vector element X2). A continuous time period may include, for example, the period during which the phased antenna array 110 transmits a first portion of a first signal pulse train (labeled pulse train 1A), the period immediately following the period during which the phased antenna array 110 transmits a second portion of the first signal pulse train (labeled pulse train 1B), the period immediately following the period during which the phased antenna array 110 transmits a first portion of a second signal pulse train (labeled pulse train 2A), and the period immediately following the period during which the phased antenna array 110 transmits a second portion of the second signal pulse train (labeled pulse train 2A). The signal pulse train may include a chirped signal pulse train, a pulse train of other range detection signals, or a pulse train of wireless communication data used for communication with external communication equipment.

[0080] As shown in Table 124, during the transmission of pulse train 1A, the phase shifter 58-1 of the transmitting antenna 30TX-1 can be controlled using the phase vector element X1 = +1, and the phase shifter 58-1 of the transmitting antenna 30TX-2 can be controlled using the phase vector element X2 = +1. The relative phase between the transmitting antennas configures the phased antenna array 110 to transmit pulse train 1A within a signal beam oriented in beam direction A. During the transmission of pulse train 1B, phase shifter 58-1 can then be controlled using the phase vector element X1 = -1 (e.g., the inverted term of the phase vector element used for transmitting pulse train 1A), while phase shifter 58-2 is controlled using the phase vector element X2 = -1 (e.g., the inverted term of the phase vector element used for transmitting pulse train 1A). The relative phase between the transmitting antennas remains the same for transmitted pulse train 1B as it is for transmitted pulse train 1A, thus allowing the phased antenna array 110 to transmit pulse train 1B within the same signal beam oriented in beam direction A (e.g., without shifting the signal beam to other orientations between transmitted pulse trains 1A and 1B). If the phased antenna array 110 is used solely for transmitting wireless communication data, inverting the phase vector elements between pulse trains 1A and 1B would introduce unnecessary cost and complexity to the system and would be redundant since it does not change the direction of the signal beam. Therefore, such a system would use the same phase vector elements across the phased antenna array 110 to transmit pulse trains 1A and 1B. However, inverting the phase vector elements between pulse trains 1A and 1B allows the RF impairment canceller 78 to extract the reflected signal 50 from beam direction A (… Figure 2 ) Retrieve SOI without on-chip leakage or other RF impairments (e.g., in Figure 6 Operation 116).

[0081] Subsequently, during the transmission of pulse train 2A, phase shifter 58-1 can be controlled using phase vector element X1 = +1, and phase shifter 58-1 of transmitting antenna 30TX-2 can be controlled using phase vector element X2 = -1 (as an example). The relative phase between the transmitting antennas has been changed between pulse trains 1B and 2A, thereby configuring phased antenna array 110 to transmit pulse train 2B in a signal beam oriented with a different beam direction B. During the transmission of pulse train 2B, phase shifter 58-1 can then be controlled using phase vector element X1 = -1 (e.g., the inverted term of the phase vector element used for transmitting pulse train 2A), while phase shifter 58-2 is controlled using phase vector element X2 = +1 (e.g., the inverted term of the phase vector element used for transmitting pulse train 2A). The relative phase between the transmitting antennas remains the same for transmitted pulse train 2B as it is for transmitted pulse train 2A, thus allowing the phased antenna array 110 to transmit pulse train 2B within the same signal beam oriented in beam direction B (e.g., without shifting the signal beam to other orientations between transmitted pulse trains 2A and 2B). If the phased antenna array 110 is used solely for transmitting wireless communication data, inverting the phase vector elements between pulse trains 2A and 2B would introduce unnecessary cost and complexity to the system and would be redundant since it does not change the direction of the signal beam. Therefore, such a system would use the same phase vector elements across the phased antenna array 110 to transmit pulse trains 2A and 2B. However, inverting the phase vector elements between pulse trains 2A and 2B allows the RF impairment canceller 78 to extract the reflected signal 50 from the beam direction B ( Figure 2 ) Retrieve SOI without on-chip leakage or other RF impairments (e.g., in Figure 6 (Operation 116). This process can be repeated over time across the phased antenna array 110 to perform beamguiding and on-chip leakage mitigation range detection. Generally, the phase vector elements can be complex numbers with any desired value.

[0082] The description used herein of a phase shift "180 degrees out of phase" relative to each other (e.g., a phase shift applied by phase shifter 58 in its first and second states) does not imply that the phase shifts are exactly 180 degrees out of phase with respect to each other. A second phase or phase shift referred to herein as being 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the first phase or phase shift (e.g., as in...) Figure 3 Operations between 90 and 94 or... Figure 6 The phases applied between operations 112 / 114 and between operations 118 / 120 also include phases or phase shifts that are not exactly 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the first phase or phase shift due to circuit defects or other practical effects (e.g., the phase rotation described herein may be slightly different from 180 degrees due to undesirable circuit effects, thermal effects, etc.). If necessary, a second phase or phase shift as described herein (e.g., by...) Figure 3Operation 94 Figure 6 Operation 114 and / or Figure 6 The phase shift generated by the phase vector element applied at operation 120 can alternatively be relative to a first phase or phase shift as described herein (e.g., by the phase vector element applied at operation 120). Figure 3 Operation 90 Figure 6 Operation 112 and / or Figure 6 The phase shift (resulting from the phase vector element applied at operation 118) can be 170-190 degrees out of phase, 160-200 degrees out of phase relative to the first phase or phase shift as described herein, 90-270 degrees out of phase relative to the first phase or phase shift as described herein, 175-185 degrees out of phase relative to the first phase or phase shift as described herein, or other phase rotations approximately equal to 180 degrees. These non-180-degree phase rotations may reduce the on-chip leakage effect less than the case of a 180-degree phase rotation, but this reduction can still improve the accuracy of determining the range R (e.g., a full 180-degree rotation / error can produce a 0.0 dB link budget penalty, a 22.5-degree phase error can produce a -0.2 dB link budget penalty, a 30-degree phase error can produce a -0.3 dB link budget penalty, a 45-degree phase error can produce a -0.7 dB link budget penalty, a 90-degree phase error can produce a -3.0 dB link budget penalty, etc.).

[0083] Device 10 may collect and / or use personally identifiable information. It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to the user.

[0084] The above text combined Figures 1 to 7 The methods and operations described (e.g., Figure 3 and Figure 6 The operations can be performed by components of device 10 using software, firmware, and / or hardware (e.g., dedicated circuitry or hardware). The software code used to perform these operations may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a tangible computer-readable storage medium) stored on one or more components of device 10 (e.g., ...). Figure 1The storage circuit 16). This software code may sometimes be referred to as software, data, instructions, program instructions, or code. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media may include drives, non-volatile memory such as non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), removable flash drives or other removable media, other types of random access memory, etc. The software stored on the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be processed by processing circuitry on one or more components of device 10 (e.g., Figure 1 The processing circuitry (e.g., 18) performs the execution. The processing circuitry may include a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) with processing circuitry, or other processing circuitry.

[0085] According to one embodiment, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a first antenna coupled to a transmission path and configured to transmit a radio frequency (RF) signal; a second antenna coupled to a reception path; a phase shifter disposed on the transmission path or the reception path, the phase shifter having a first state and a second state, wherein in the first state, the phase shifter applies a first phase shift during the transmission of the RF signal by the first antenna, and in the second state, the phase shifter applies a second phase shift during the transmission of the RF signal by the first antenna, the second phase shift being different from the first phase shift; and one or more processors configured to: receive a first reflected signal via the second antenna when the phase shifter is in the first state, receive a second reflected signal via the second antenna when the phase shifter is in the second state, and detect a range between the electronic device and an external object based on the first reflected signal and the second reflected signal.

[0086] According to another embodiment, the one or more processors are configured to recover the signal of interest by generating the difference between the second reflected signal and the first reflected signal.

[0087] According to another implementation, the one or more processors are configured to detect the range based on the recovered signal of interest.

[0088] According to another embodiment, the second phase shift is out of phase with the first phase shift by 90-270 degrees.

[0089] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: a control circuit configured to provide the phase shifter with a first phase vector element that causes the phase shifter to be in the first state, and configured to provide the phase shifter with a second phase vector element that causes the phase shifter to be in the second state.

[0090] According to another implementation, the second phase vector element is the inverse of the first phase vector element.

[0091] According to another implementation, the radio frequency signal includes a chirped signal.

[0092] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes a dechirped path that couples the transmit path to the receive path.

[0093] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: a phased antenna array including the first antenna, the phased antenna array being configured to generate a signal beam in a pointing direction, and the one or more processors being configured to change the phase shifter from the first state to the second state without changing the pointing direction of the signal beam.

[0094] According to one embodiment, a method of operating an electronic device is provided, the method comprising: transmitting a first signal pulse train having a first phase shift using a first antenna; receiving a first reflected signal corresponding to the first signal pulse train having the first phase shift using a second antenna; transmitting a second signal pulse train having a second phase shift different from the first phase shift using the first antenna; receiving a second reflected signal corresponding to the second signal pulse train having the second phase shift using the second antenna; and detecting a range from an external object using one or more processors based on the first reflected signal and the second reflected signal.

[0095] According to another embodiment, the method includes: using a mixer circuit to down-convert the first reflected signals to generate a first baseband signal, and using the mixer circuit to down-convert the second reflected signals to generate a second baseband signal, wherein detecting the range includes detecting the range based on the first baseband signal and the second baseband signal.

[0096] According to another embodiment, detecting the range includes subtracting the second baseband signals from the first baseband signals to retrieve the signal of interest and detecting the range based on the signal of interest.

[0097] According to another embodiment, the first signal pulse train includes a first chirped signal, and the second signal pulse train includes a second chirped signal, the method comprising: mixing the first chirped signal with the first reflected signals using the mixer circuit, and mixing the second chirped signal with the second reflected signals using the mixer circuit.

[0098] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes a phased antenna array including the first antenna, and the method includes: using the phased antenna array to transmit a signal beam in a beam pointing direction, wherein transmitting the signal beam includes transmitting the first signal pulse train in the beam pointing direction and transmitting the second signal pulse train in the beam pointing direction.

[0099] According to another embodiment, the second phase shift is out of phase with the first phase shift by 90-270 degrees.

[0100] According to one embodiment, a method of operating a wireless circuit having a phase shifter communicatively coupled to a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna, the method comprising: transmitting a first radio frequency (RF) signal using the transmitting antenna while configuring the phase shifter with a first phase vector element; receiving a second RF signal using the receiving antenna while the first RF signal is transmitted by the transmitting antenna; transmitting a third RF signal using the transmitting antenna while configuring the phase shifter with a second phase vector element that is an inversion of the first phase vector element; receiving a fourth RF signal using the receiving antenna while the third RF signal is transmitted by the transmitting antenna; and using the one or more processors to detect a range between the wireless circuit and an external object based on the second and fourth RF signals received by the receiving antenna.

[0101] According to another embodiment, the first phase vector element configures the phase shifter to apply a first phase shift to the first radio frequency signal, and the second phase vector element configures the phase shifter to apply a second phase shift to the third radio frequency signal, the second phase shift being 180 degrees out of phase with the first phase shift.

[0102] According to another embodiment, the wireless circuit includes a transmit antenna group having the transmit antenna and a phased antenna array having a phase shifter group having the phase shifter, the method comprising: using the phased antenna array to transmit a signal beam including the first radio frequency signal in a first beam pointing direction when the phase shifter group is configured using the first phase vector.

[0103] According to another embodiment, the method includes: using the phased antenna array, transmitting a signal beam in the first beam pointing direction when the second phase vector is used to configure the phase shifter group, the signal beam including the third radio frequency signal.

[0104] According to another embodiment, the method includes: using the phased antenna array, when configuring the phase shifter group using a third phase vector, transmitting the signal beam in a second beam pointing direction different from the first beam pointing direction.

[0105] The foregoing description is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described implementation scheme. The described implementation scheme can be implemented independently or in any combination.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising: The first antenna is coupled to the transmission path and configured to transmit radio frequency signals; The second antenna is coupled to the receiving path; A phase shifter is disposed on the receiving path. The phase shifter has a first state and a second state. In the first state, the phase shifter applies a first phase shift, and in the second state, the phase shifter applies a second phase shift. as well as One or more processors are configured to When the phase shifter is in the first state, the first reflected signal is received via the second antenna. When the phase shifter is in the second state, the second reflected signal is received via the second antenna, and The range between the electronic device and the external object is estimated based on the first reflected signal and the second reflected signal.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to recover the signal of interest by generating a difference between the second reflected signal and the first reflected signal.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are configured to estimate the range based on the recovered signal of interest.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the second phase shift is out of phase with respect to the first phase shift by 90-270 degrees.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: The control circuit is configured to provide the phase shifter with a first phase vector element that puts the phase shifter in the first state, and is configured to provide the phase shifter with a second phase vector element that puts the phase shifter in the second state.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the second phase vector element is the inverse of the first phase vector element.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the radio frequency signal includes a chirped signal.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7, further comprising: A dechirped path that couples the transmit path to the receive path.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: A phased antenna array, the phased antenna array including the first antenna, the phased antenna array being configured to generate a signal beam in a pointing direction, and the one or more processors being configured to change the phase shifter from the first state to the second state without changing the pointing direction of the signal beam.

10. A method of operating an electronic device, the method comprising: A first signal pulse train with a first phase shift is transmitted using a first antenna; The second antenna is used to receive the first reflected signal corresponding to the first signal pulse train having the first phase shift; After transmitting the first signal pulse train, a second signal pulse train with a second phase shift different from the first phase shift is transmitted using the first antenna; The second antenna is used to receive a second reflected signal corresponding to the second signal pulse train having the second phase shift; as well as One or more processors are used to estimate the range from the external object based on the first reflected signal and the second reflected signal.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: The first reflected signal is down-converted using a mixer circuit to generate a first baseband signal. as well as The mixer circuit is used to down-convert the second reflected signal to generate a second baseband signal, wherein estimating the range includes estimating the range based on the first baseband signal and the second baseband signal.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein estimating the range further comprises: Subtract the second baseband signal from the first baseband signal to retrieve the signal of interest; as well as The range is estimated based on the signal of interest.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first signal pulse train includes a first chirped signal, and the second signal pulse train includes a second chirped signal, the method further comprising: The first chirped signal is mixed with the first reflected signal using the mixer circuit. as well as The mixer circuit is used to mix the second chirped signal with the second reflected signal.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the electronic device includes a phased antenna array including the first antenna, and the method further includes: The phased antenna array is used to transmit a signal beam in the beam pointing direction, wherein transmitting the signal beam includes transmitting a first signal pulse train in the beam pointing direction and transmitting a second signal pulse train in the beam pointing direction.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the second phase shift is out of phase with respect to the first phase shift by 90-270 degrees.

16. A method of operating a wireless circuit, the wireless circuit having a phase shifter communicatively coupled to a transmitting antenna and having a receiving antenna, the method comprising: When the phase shifter is configured using the first phase vector element, the transmitting antenna transmits a first radio frequency signal having a first phase. The receiving antenna is used to receive the second radio frequency signal when the transmitting antenna transmits the first radio frequency signal; When the transmitting antenna is used to configure the phase shifter using a second phase vector element, a third radio frequency signal with a second phase is transmitted, the second phase vector element being the inverse of the first phase vector element, and the second phase being different from the first phase. The receiving antenna is used to receive the fourth radio frequency signal when the transmitting antenna transmits the third radio frequency signal; as well as Using one or more processors, the range between the wireless circuit and the external object is estimated based on the second radio frequency signal and the fourth radio frequency signal received by the receiving antenna.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first phase vector element configures the phase shifter to apply a first phase shift to the first radio frequency signal, and wherein the second phase vector element configures the phase shifter to apply a second phase shift to the third radio frequency signal, the second phase shift being 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the first phase shift.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the wireless circuit comprises an antenna array having an antenna group including the transmitting antenna and a phased antenna array having a phase shifter group including the phase shifter, the method further comprising: When the phased antenna array is used to configure the phase shifter group using the first phase vector element, a signal beam including the first radio frequency signal is transmitted in the first beam pointing direction.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: When the phased antenna array is used to configure the phase shifter group using the second phase vector element, the signal beam is transmitted in the first beam pointing direction, the signal beam including the third radio frequency signal.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: When the phased antenna array is used to configure the phase shifter group using the third phase vector element, the signal beam is transmitted in a second beam pointing direction that is different from the first beam pointing direction.

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