Adaptive power and antenna management system and microtether device

Abstract

This application discloses an adaptive power and antenna management system and a miniature dongle device. The adaptive power and antenna management system includes a main control MCU, a power management module, an NFC module, a UWB module, and a wireless debugging module. The main control MCU integrates and independently runs a first protocol stack, a second protocol stack, and a third protocol stack. The power management module includes multiple independent LDOs. The NFC module includes an NFC chip and an adaptive matching network composed of adjustable components. The UWB module includes a UWB chip, a low-noise amplifier, and an RF switch. The low-noise amplifier is connected between the UWB chip and the RF switch, and the RF switch is connected to multiple UWB antennas. The wireless debugging module runs a virtual SWD server within the main control MCU, transmitting SWD protocol commands via a wireless communication protocol to achieve wireless reading and writing of the main control MCU's own Flash memory and firmware upgrades.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of near-field communication and ultra-wideband converged device technology, specifically to an adaptive power and antenna management system integrating Bluetooth Low Energy, near-field communication, and ultra-wideband, as well as a miniature dongle device. Background Technology

[0002] With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) era, the number of IoT devices has exploded, and consumer demand for portable communication accessories has evolved from "single-function" to "multi-functional integration." Currently, smartphones, tablets, and laptops generally use the Universal Serial Bus Type-C (USB Type-C) interface as the only wired connection method. Meanwhile, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Near Field Communication (NFC) have become standard protocols for near-field interaction, and Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) technology is rapidly gaining popularity in the field of precise positioning, supported by all major manufacturers. However, existing dongle devices (small USB adapters) on the market still face structural problems such as functional fragmentation, size redundancy, uncontrolled power consumption, poor environmental adaptability, and difficulty in upgrading. There is an urgent need for a highly integrated, ultra-low-power, and environmentally adaptive miniature dongle solution.

[0003] Currently, to achieve similar multifunctional miniature dongles, the industry mainly adopts three technical solutions. The first is a discrete component combination solution, which uses independent BLE chips, NFC chips, USB controllers, and general-purpose microcontroller units (MCUs) for assembly and coordination. The second is a dual-mode system-on-chip (SoC) plus external functional chip solution, which uses a chip integrating BLE and USB functions as the main controller, and connects an independent NFC chip or UWB chip via a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI). Among these, the dual-mode SoC plus external functional chip solution is the closest existing technology to the solution presented in this application. This solution uses an SoC integrating BLE and USB functions as the main controller, which communicates with the external NFC or UWB chip via the SPI bus. During operation, the main controller runs the BLE and USB protocol stacks, while the NFC or UWB functions rely on the external chip. The main controller obtains the processing results from the external chip via interrupts. In terms of PCB layout, the main controller and the external chip occupy different areas, and electrical connections are achieved through PCB traces. The third type is a single-function dedicated SoC solution, such as a dedicated chip designed only for NFC tags or only for UWB positioning. It has a single function but the best performance in that single function.

[0004] However, all of the aforementioned existing technical solutions have significant technical drawbacks. The dual-mode SoC plus external functional chip solution requires an additional independent NFC or UWB chip. Communication between the external chip and the main controller must be via the SPI bus, inevitably increasing data transmission latency and consuming additional dynamic power. Simultaneously, the external chip requires independent power management, and the accumulated static current from multiple chips leads to high overall standby power consumption. Furthermore, the NFC matching network in this solution uses a fixed capacitor design; when the dongle is close to a metal surface, the antenna resonant frequency shifts, causing the card reading distance to plummet from 5mm in air to below 1mm. The UWB antenna is fixed as a single antenna or a passive switching architecture, resulting in positioning errors exceeding 30cm in indoor multipath environments. Since the main controller and external chip are from different suppliers, firmware upgrades require maintaining two separate sets of code, and upgrades typically rely on a physical USB connection. Once the device is sealed or embedded within the product, maintenance becomes extremely difficult. Discrete component solutions typically result in printed circuit board (PCB) areas exceeding 30mm × 20mm, with typical quiescent current accumulation exceeding 200μA. Battery life using a CR2032 coin cell battery is only about 20 days, and the bill of materials (BOM) cost is high, leading to complex supply chain management. Dual-mode SoC plus external functional chip solutions increase communication latency and power consumption due to the use of external chips. Functional combinations lack flexibility, and the NFC antenna suffers severe detuning on metal surfaces, causing the reading distance to plummet from 5mm to below 1mm. The UWB antenna's positioning error exceeds 30cm in indoor multipath environments. Single-function dedicated SoC solutions are completely incapable of multi-mode communication tasks; different functions cannot share data or collaborate. For example, precise UWB positioning information cannot be effectively shared with the host device via BLE connection.

[0005] Therefore, current solutions have failed to simultaneously address the four major technical problems of low integration and large size, high power consumption and short battery life, poor adaptability to complex environments, and difficulty in upgrading and maintaining after sealing. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides an adaptive power supply and antenna management system and a miniature dongle device, which can simultaneously solve four major technical problems: low integration and large size, high power consumption and short battery life, poor adaptability to complex environments, and difficulty in upgrading and maintaining after sealing.

[0007] In a first aspect, this application provides an adaptive power supply and antenna management system, comprising: The main control MCU integrates and independently runs a first protocol stack, a second protocol stack, and a third protocol stack. The power management module is connected to the main control MCU and includes multiple independent LDOs, including at least a first LDO for powering the IO interface, a second LDO for powering the RF phase-locked loop, and a third LDO for powering the digital core; at least one of the LDOs is of programmable output voltage type, and the main control MCU realizes multi-level dynamic power management by adjusting the output voltage of the programmable LDO and its own core frequency. The NFC module, connected to the main control MCU, includes an NFC chip and an adaptive matching network composed of adjustable elements. The main control MCU reads the field strength register of the NFC chip and controls the parameters of the adaptive matching network in a closed loop. The UWB module, connected to the main control MCU, includes a UWB chip, a low-noise amplifier, and an RF switch. The low-noise amplifier is connected between the UWB chip and the RF switch. The RF switch is connected to multiple UWB antennas. The main control MCU controls the channel switching of the RF switch to achieve switching between multiple operating modes. The wireless debugging module runs a virtual SWD server inside the main control MCU. It transmits SWD protocol commands through a wireless communication protocol to enable wireless reading and writing of the main control MCU's own Flash memory and firmware upgrades.

[0008] In the adaptive power and antenna management system provided in this application embodiment, the first protocol stack is a Bluetooth Low Energy protocol stack, the second protocol stack is a USB physical layer protocol stack, and the third protocol stack is a Near Field Communication Type 4 protocol stack.

[0009] In the adaptive power and antenna management system provided in this application embodiment, the multi-level dynamic power management includes: High-performance mode: The main control MCU runs at the first main frequency, and the LDO output voltage is the first voltage value; Low power mode: The main control MCU runs at a second main frequency, and the LDO output voltage is a second voltage value, wherein the second main frequency is lower than the first main frequency, and the second voltage value is lower than the first voltage value; Deep sleep mode: The main control MCU's main clock is turned off, and power consumption is less than 1 microamp; The main control MCU automatically switches between the high-performance mode, the low-power mode, and the deep sleep mode based on the power supply detection results and the system idle time.

[0010] In the adaptive power and antenna management system provided in this application embodiment, the first main frequency is 32 MHz, the second main frequency is 1 MHz; the first voltage value is 3.6 volts, the second voltage value is 3.0 volts; and the power consumption in the deep sleep mode is 0.7 microamps.

[0011] In the adaptive power supply and antenna management system provided in this application embodiment, the power supply source detection result is the USB VBUS voltage detection result. When USB power supply is detected, the main control MCU switches to the high-performance mode. When it is detected that the battery is powered and there is no user interaction for more than a first preset time, the main control MCU switches from the high-performance mode to the low-power mode; When it is detected that there is no battery power and no low-power Bluetooth connection, no near-field communication interruption, and no general input / output activity for a second preset time, the main control MCU switches from the low-power mode to the deep sleep mode.

[0012] In the adaptive power and antenna management system provided in this application embodiment, the NFC module is configured with a quick connection wake-up mechanism, which is as follows: In the deep sleep mode, the field interrupt signal of the NFC chip is directly connected to the wake-up pin of the main control MCU, and the wake-up time is less than 10 microseconds. After waking up, the main control MCU directly reads and sends the unique identifier from the pre-stored buffer, skipping the anti-collision detection and capability negotiation steps of the standard near-field communication protocol.

[0013] In the adaptive power and antenna management system provided in this application embodiment, after the transmission of the unique identifier is completed, if there is no further interaction within a third preset time, the main control MCU automatically shuts down the NFC module and the main crystal oscillator and returns to the deep sleep mode.

[0014] In the adaptive power supply and antenna management system provided in this application embodiment, the multiple operating modes include: Directional selection mode: Before ranging, poll the received signal strength indication of the multiple UWB antennas and select the antenna with the strongest received signal strength indication for subsequent ranging and angle measurement; Diversity reception mode: When the UWB chip is in signal receiving state, the different antennas connected to the RF switch are switched sequentially according to a preset time interval, and the signals received by each antenna are combined by maximum ratio. Radar mode: Controls the UWB chip to emit pulses and receive reflected echoes from obstacles, and detects obstacles or moving targets within a predetermined range by calculating flight time or Doppler effect; High-speed data transmission mode: Lock onto the antenna with the strongest received signal strength indicator, configure the UWB chip in data mode, and perform point-to-point data transmission.

[0015] In the adaptive power supply and antenna management system provided in the embodiments of this application, the directional selection mode adopts a weighted average algorithm of received signal strength indication, and the antenna is switched only when the average received signal strength indication of a certain antenna is more than 3 dB higher than that of other antennas.

[0016] In the adaptive power supply and antenna management system provided in this application embodiment, in the directional selection mode, when the direction of change of the continuously received signal strength indication is consistent, Kalman filtering is activated to predict the target's motion trajectory, and the antenna is switched to the predicted direction in advance.

[0017] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a miniature dongle device, including the adaptive power supply and antenna management system described in any of the above claims.

[0018] In summary, the adaptive power and antenna management system provided in this application includes a main control MCU, a power management module, an NFC module, a UWB module, and a wireless debugging module. The main control MCU integrates and independently runs a first protocol stack, a second protocol stack, and a third protocol stack. The power management module, connected to the main control MCU, includes an LDO with programmable output voltage. The main control MCU achieves multi-level dynamic power management by adjusting the output voltage of the LDO and its own core frequency. The NFC module, also connected to the main control MCU, includes an NFC chip and an adaptive matching network composed of adjustable components. The main control MCU uses the field strength register of the NFC chip to control the parameters of the adaptive matching network in a closed loop. The UWB module, connected to the main control MCU, includes a UWB chip and an RF switch. The RF switch connects to multiple UWB antennas. The main control MCU switches between multiple operating modes by controlling the channel switching of the RF switch. The wireless debugging module runs a virtual SWD server within the main control MCU, transmitting SWD protocol commands via a wireless communication protocol to achieve wireless read / write and firmware upgrades of the main control MCU's own Flash memory. The embodiments of this application can simultaneously solve four major technical problems: low integration and large size, high power consumption and short battery life, poor adaptability to complex environments, and difficulty in upgrading and maintaining after sealing. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the adaptive power supply and antenna management system provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the return loss curve of the miniaturized wide-beam UWB antenna provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the efficiency curve of the miniaturized wide-beam UWB antenna provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the vertical PDOA curve of the miniaturized wide-beam UWB antenna provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the horizontal PDOA curve of the miniaturized wide-beam UWB antenna provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0025] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0026] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element. Furthermore, components, features, and elements with the same names in different embodiments of this application may have the same meaning or different meanings, the specific meaning of which must be determined by its interpretation in that specific embodiment or further in conjunction with the context of that specific embodiment.

[0027] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0028] In the following description, the use of suffixes such as "module," "part," or "unit" to denote elements is solely for the purpose of illustrative purposes and has no specific meaning in itself. Therefore, "module," "part," or "unit" may be used interchangeably.

[0029] The following describes in detail the embodiments involved in this application. It should be noted that the order of description of the embodiments in this application is not intended to limit the priority of the embodiments.

[0030] The technical solutions shown in this application will be described in detail below through specific embodiments. It should be noted that the order of description of the following embodiments is not intended to limit the priority of the embodiments.

[0031] Currently, the industry mainly adopts three technical solutions to achieve similar multi-functional miniature dongles. The first is a discrete component combination solution, which uses independent BLE chips, NFC chips, USB controllers, and general-purpose microcontroller units (MCUs) for assembly and coordination. The second is a dual-mode system-on-chip (SoC) plus external functional chip solution, which uses a chip integrating BLE and USB functions as the main controller, and connects an independent NFC chip or UWB chip via a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI). The third is a single-function dedicated SoC solution, such as a dedicated chip designed solely for NFC tags or solely for UWB positioning; it has a single function but optimal performance in that specific area.

[0032] Based on this, embodiments of this application provide an adaptive power supply and antenna management system and a miniature dongle device. The technical solutions shown in this application will be described in detail below through specific embodiments. It should be noted that the order of description of the following embodiments is not intended to limit the priority of the embodiments.

[0033] Please see Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the adaptive power supply and antenna management system provided in this application. The adaptive power supply and antenna management system may include a main control MCU1, a power management module2, an NFC module3, a UWB module4, and a wireless debugging module5.

[0034] The main control MCU1 integrates and independently operates a first protocol stack, a second protocol stack, and a third protocol stack. The first protocol stack is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol stack, the second is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Physical Layer (PHY) protocol stack, and the third is an NFC Type 4 protocol stack. The main control MCU1 can connect to and control the UWB module 4 via an internal bus (e.g., a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)).

[0035] In this embodiment, by adopting an architecture that integrates three communication protocol stacks on a single chip, there is no need for separate BLE chips, USB controllers, and NFC controllers. This reduces the PCB area to within 15mm×25mm, which is more than 50% smaller than discrete solutions and more than 30% cheaper, achieving miniaturization and low cost.

[0036] The power management module 2 is connected to the main control MCU1 and includes multiple independent low dropout regulators (LDOs). It includes at least a first LDO powering the I / O interface, a second LDO powering the RF phase-locked loop, and a third LDO powering the digital core; at least one of the LDOs has a programmable output voltage. The main control MCU1 achieves multi-level dynamic power management by adjusting the output voltage of the programmable LDO and its own core frequency.

[0037] Specifically, this multi-level dynamic power management can include a high-performance mode, a low-power mode, and a deep sleep mode. In high-performance mode, the main control MCU1 operates at a first clock frequency (e.g., 32 MHz), and the LDO output voltage is a first voltage value (e.g., 3.6 volts). In low-power mode, the main control MCU1 operates at a second clock frequency (e.g., 1 MHz), and the LDO output voltage is a second voltage value (e.g., 3.0 volts), where the second clock frequency is lower than the first clock frequency, and the second voltage value is lower than the first voltage value. In deep sleep mode, the main control MCU1's main clock is turned off, and the power consumption is less than 1 microamp (actually reaching 0.7 microamps), with only the Real-Time Clock (RTC) and General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) wake-up logic remaining operational. The main control MCU1 automatically switches between high-performance mode, low-power mode, and deep sleep mode based on the power source detection results and system idle time.

[0038] The power source detection result can be the Universal Serial Bus VBUS (USBVBUS) voltage detection result, where VBUS represents the bus power pin in the Universal Serial Bus interface. When USB power is detected (i.e., VBUS voltage is present), the main control MCU1 switches to high-performance mode; when battery power is detected (i.e., VBUS voltage is absent) and there is no user interaction for more than a first preset time (e.g., 30 seconds), the main control MCU1 switches from high-performance mode to low-power mode; when battery power is detected and there is no BLE connection, no NFC field interrupt, and no GPIO activity for a second preset time (e.g., 10 minutes), the main control MCU1 switches from low-power mode to deep sleep mode.

[0039] Through the above three-level dynamic power management, the system can intelligently adjust power consumption according to the actual usage scenario. Table 1 shows the measured current data for each operating state.

[0040]

[0041] Table 1 Taking a CR2032 button battery (225mAh capacity) as an example, if the UWB ranging mode is used for 1 hour per day and the rest of the time is in deep sleep mode, the average operating current is (28mA×1h + 0.7μA×23h) / 24h ≈ 1.17mA, and the theoretical battery life is 225mAh / 1.17mA ≈ 192 days. If used for 10 minutes per day, the theoretical battery life can reach more than 360 days. Therefore, the three-level dynamic power management of this application embodiment significantly extends the battery life in battery-powered scenarios, meeting the needs of long-term use.

[0042] In addition, this application sets up multiple independent LDOs to independently power different functional modules (such as IO interfaces, phase-locked loops and digital cores), forming a multi-power domain isolation architecture. This effectively avoids high-frequency noise generated by digital circuits from being coupled to the RF link and power amplifier power domain through the power supply network, thereby reducing the noise floor of the receiving link, improving the receiving sensitivity, and ensuring the stability of the transmitting power, further enhancing the communication reliability of Dongle in complex electromagnetic environments.

[0043] The NFC module 3 is connected to the main control MCU1 and includes an NFC chip and an adaptive matching network composed of adjustable components. These adjustable components can be, for example, digital variable capacitors (such as a digital potentiometer in conjunction with a fixed capacitor). The main control MCU1 can read the field strength register of the NFC chip and control the parameters of the adaptive matching network in a closed-loop manner.

[0044] Specifically, the closed-loop control of the adaptive matching network includes the following steps: Initialization phase: After power-on, the main control MCU1 reads the duty cycle (corresponding capacitor value) of the last successfully calibrated Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) from the Flash memory. If it does not exist, the default value of 50% (corresponding to approximately 50pF) is used. Environmental detection phase: The main control MCU1 reads the NFC field strength register value every 100 milliseconds and uses a moving average filter (window size 5) to eliminate noise. Deviation judgment phase: Set the start calibration threshold (field strength less than 180) and stop calibration threshold (field strength greater than 220), and increase hysteresis to avoid frequent calibration. Binary calibration phase: When the field strength is less than 180, the binary method is used to quickly find the optimal PWM duty cycle (instead of linear scanning), reducing the calibration time from 500 milliseconds to less than 100 milliseconds. Anomaly handling phase: If the field strength still cannot be made greater than 180 after 10 consecutive calibrations, it is determined that the antenna is short-circuited or damaged, the red LED is lit as an alarm, and the system enters a low-power error mode. After successful calibration, the current PWM duty cycle is stored in Flash as the initial value for the next power-on.

[0045] Through the aforementioned closed-loop adaptive impedance matching, the NFC antenna can automatically adjust to the optimal resonance point under different environments (especially metal surfaces), effectively overcoming metal interference. Table 2 presents the measured performance comparison data.

[0046]

[0047] Table 2 As shown in Table 2, in a metal surface environment, the adaptive matching scheme of this application increases the NFC reading distance from less than 1mm in the traditional scheme to more than 4mm, which significantly enhances environmental adaptability.

[0048] Furthermore, NFC module 3 is equipped with a quick-connect wake-up mechanism. In deep sleep mode, the NFC chip's field interrupt signal is directly connected to the wake-up pin of the main control MCU1, without going through the interrupt controller, and the wake-up time is less than 10 microseconds. After waking up, the main control MCU1 directly reads and sends the UID from the pre-stored buffer (e.g., the address of the unique identifier (UID) pre-written in Flash), skipping the anti-collision detection and capability negotiation steps of the standard NFC protocol. This UID is pre-written into the Flash of the main control MCU1 at address 0x1F100 (64-byte aligned) during factory production and is write-protected, so it cannot be modified during operation. After the UID is sent, if there is no further interaction within a third preset time (e.g., 10 seconds), the main control MCU1 automatically shuts down NFC module 3 and the 32 MHz main crystal oscillator, returning to deep sleep mode. This quick-connect wake-up mechanism ensures that the entire process from deep sleep to UID transmission does not exceed 10 milliseconds, greatly improving the pairing speed and reducing average power consumption.

[0049] The UWB module 4, connected to the main control MCU1, includes a UWB chip, a low-noise amplifier (LNA), and an RF switch. The LNA, connected between the UWB chip and the RF switch, amplifies the received UWB signal with low noise to improve receiver sensitivity. The RF switch, for example, can be a single-pole four-throw (SP4T) switch, connecting four UWB antennas facing different directions. The main control MCU1 controls the channel switching of the RF switch to switch between multiple operating modes, including directional selection mode, diversity reception mode, radar mode, and high-speed data transmission mode.

[0050] In directional selection mode, the received signal strength indicators (RSSI) of multiple UWB antennas are polled before ranging, and the antenna with the strongest RSSI is selected for subsequent ranging and angle measurement. To avoid frequent switching, an RSSI weighted averaging algorithm is used. Switching to an antenna only occurs when the average RSSI of a particular antenna is more than 3 dB higher than that of other antennas in three consecutive measurements. It should be noted that the weighting coefficients for the three consecutive samples are 0.2, 0.3, and 0.5 from farthest to closest in time. When consecutive RSSI changes are detected in the same direction (indicating the target is moving), Kalman filtering is activated to predict the target's trajectory, and the antenna in the predicted direction is switched in advance. The tracking speed can reach 5 m / s, with a prediction step size of 20 ms. This mode effectively avoids indoor multipath interference, improving static positioning accuracy from ±30 cm for a single antenna to ±5 cm.

[0051] In diversity reception mode, when the UWB chip is in signal receiving mode, it sequentially switches the different antennas connected to the RF switch at preset time intervals (e.g., 250 microseconds) and performs maximum ratio combining (MRC) processing on the signals received by each antenna. After MRC processing of the four signal bands, the measured signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gain can reach 4.8dB (theoretical value is 6dB), significantly improving communication reliability.

[0052] In radar mode, the main control MCU1 controls the UWB chip to emit pulses and receive reflected echoes from obstacles. By calculating the time of flight (ToF) or the Doppler effect, obstacles or moving targets within a predetermined range (e.g., 0.1 meters to 10 meters) are detected. This mode can reuse the same hardware to implement environmental perception functions without the need for additional radar sensors.

[0053] In high-speed data transmission mode, the antenna with the strongest RSSI is locked, and the UWB chip is configured in data mode (e.g., 6.8Mbps) for point-to-point data transmission (such as audio clips, low-resolution images, and other file transfers).

[0054] Through the above-mentioned four-antenna reconfigurable system based on SP4T RF switch, the embodiments of this application can realize the dynamic switching of positioning, communication and sensing functions on the same UWB hardware, which greatly expands the application boundaries of the micro dongle.

[0055] Among them, the wireless debugging module 5 runs a virtual serial wire debug (SWD) server inside the main control MCU1. It transmits SWD protocol instructions through wireless communication protocols (such as BLE Generic Attribute Profile (GATT) service) to realize wireless reading and writing of the main control MCU1's own Flash and firmware upgrade.

[0056] To ensure security, the wireless debugging module 5 integrates multiple security mechanisms. These are as follows: Encrypted transmission: All BLE communication data is encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)-128-CCM to prevent data eavesdropping; Digital signature verification: The firmware package must be signed using the developer's private key using the Edwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm (Ed25519). The public key is pre-set in the One-Time Programmable (OTP) area of ​​the main control MCU1 and cannot be modified. Anti-rollback protection: The main control MCU1 internally stores the current firmware version number. If the received firmware version number is lower than the current version, writing will be refused. Dual-partition backup and rollback: The Flash of the main control MCU1 is divided into a primary partition (e.g., 0x00000~0x1FFFF) and a secondary partition (0x20000~0x3FFFF). The new firmware is first written to the secondary partition, and the primary partition pointer is switched after successful verification. If the new firmware fails to boot (e.g., watchdog timeout), the bootloader automatically rolls back to the primary partition. Attack Lockout: After three consecutive failed signature verifications, the wireless upgrade function is permanently disabled, and the device can only be unlocked via a physical USB port. This wireless debugging system allows for remote firmware upgrades and security fixes via a mobile application (APP) even after product delivery, extending product lifecycle and reducing after-sales costs.

[0057] Please see Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the return loss curve of the miniaturized wide-beam UWB antenna provided in an embodiment of this application. The return loss curve is used to characterize the impedance matching degree of the antenna. Figure 2 As shown in the return loss curve, the UWB antenna of this application has a return loss of less than -10dB within the operating frequency band (e.g., 3.1GHz to 10.6GHz), indicating that the antenna has good impedance matching within the designed operating frequency band. Good impedance matching means that the RF signal transmitted by the UWB chip can be efficiently transmitted to the antenna and radiated out via the RF switch, while the weak reflected signal received by the antenna can also be transmitted to the receiving link of the UWB chip with low loss. This provides a physical layer guarantee for the UWB module to accurately measure RSSI in directional selection mode, effectively combine MRC in diversity reception mode, and detect weak echoes in radar mode.

[0058] Efficiency curves characterize an antenna's ability to convert input radio frequency energy into radiated electromagnetic waves. For example... Figure 3As shown in the efficiency curve, the antenna radiation efficiency is higher than 60% within the operating frequency band. Higher radiation efficiency means that, with the same UWB chip transmit power, the antenna can radiate a stronger signal, thereby expanding the coverage of point-to-point communication in high-speed data transmission mode. In the receiving direction, higher radiation efficiency also means that the antenna can more effectively capture UWB signals in space, improve the signal quality of each antenna branch in diversity reception mode, and thus enable MRC combining to achieve a higher SNR gain.

[0059] The Phase Difference of Arrival (PDOA) curve characterizes the phase difference response of an antenna at different angles of arrival and is a key determinant of UWB angle measurement accuracy. For example... Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown in the vertical and horizontal PDOA curves, both curves exhibit good linearity within the operating frequency band, meaning that the phase difference and angle of arrival show an approximately monotonic correspondence, supporting high-precision phase difference angle measurement. In directional selection mode, accurate PDOA measurement combined with RSSI weighted averaging can effectively distinguish signals from different directions and suppress multipath interference, thereby improving the positioning accuracy from ±30cm for a single antenna to ±5cm. Furthermore, the linearity of the PDOA curve directly determines the observation quality of the Kalman filter in dynamic tracking mode of the UWB module, providing accurate angle observation information for predicting target trajectory and switching antennas in advance.

[0060] Understandable, Figures 2 to 5 The return loss curve, efficiency curve, and PDOA curves in the vertical and horizontal directions, as shown, collectively characterize the fundamental physical performance of the UWB antenna in this application from three dimensions: impedance matching, radiation efficiency, and phase difference response. These performance characteristics provide physical layer guarantees for the UWB module of this application in high-precision ranging and angle measurement in directional selection mode, SNR improvement in diversity reception mode, weak echo detection in radar mode, and low-power reliable communication in high-speed data transmission mode. This allows the same UWB hardware to seamlessly switch between four operating modes without requiring different antenna hardware for each mode.

[0061] This application also provides a miniature dongle device, which includes the aforementioned adaptive power and antenna management system. Through this system, the miniature dongle device can seamlessly integrate four communication protocols—BLE, NFC, USB, and UWB—within a very small physical space. It supports both USB power and battery power. In battery-powered scenarios, thanks to its three-level dynamic power management, it achieves an ultra-low power consumption of 0.7μA in deep sleep mode, supporting a battery life of over one year. Simultaneously, through its NFC adaptive impedance matching circuit, the miniature dongle device maintains a stable NFC read / write distance (≥4mm) even in complex environments such as metal surfaces. By connecting four UWB antennas with different orientations via an SP4T RF switch, it supports dynamic switching between four operating modes: directional selection, diversity reception, radar detection, and high-speed data transmission, achieving centimeter-level positioning accuracy (±5cm) and environmental awareness. Furthermore, the miniature dongle device supports BLE-based virtual SWD wireless debugging and firmware upgrades, enabling remote maintenance without physical contact.

[0062] This miniature dongle device can be widely used in the following scenarios: as a Type-C expansion adapter for laptops, providing high-precision spatial positioning, fast login authentication, and wireless audio connectivity; as an asset tracking tag, attached to valuable assets such as toolboxes and medical devices, achieving centimeter-level positioning and abnormal movement alarms; embedded inside smart home devices such as smart door locks and thermostats, supporting fast Bluetooth pairing with mobile phones and remote security firmware upgrades; and attached to the bottom of drones to assist in precise landing and low-altitude obstacle avoidance.

[0063] The adaptive power supply and antenna management system provided in this application embodiment will be illustrated below with specific application scenarios.

[0064] For example, this system can be embedded inside a smart door lock or thermostat panel. When a user's phone approaches, an NFC field interrupt quickly wakes the system (<10μs), directly sending the UID to complete Bluetooth pairing without needing to turn on the screen or open the application. After pairing, a BLE connection is established, and the user can configure the device via a mobile app. If a firmware upgrade is needed, the app sends an Ed25519-signed firmware package via the BLE channel. After verifying the signature, the system writes it to the secondary partition and automatically switches. In case of upgrade failure, it can automatically roll back, ensuring the device never becomes unusable. The entire upgrade process requires no physical contact and is suitable for devices that are already sealed.

[0065] For example, the system can be attached to the bottom of a drone. The ground station is equipped with a UWB base station. During drone flight, the system receives signals from the ground base station in diversity reception mode, and obtains SNR gain through four-antenna MRC combining, maintaining stable communication even in strong multipath environments; at the same time, the directional selection mode provides centimeter-level vertical positioning to assist the drone in precise landing. The UWB radar mode can detect obstacles below (such as tree branches and power lines) to achieve low-altitude obstacle avoidance.

[0066] In summary, the adaptive power and antenna management system provided in this application embodiment includes a main control MCU1, a power management module2, an NFC module3, a UWB module4, and a wireless debugging module5. The main control MCU1 integrates and independently runs the first protocol stack, the second protocol stack, and the third protocol stack. The power management module 2, connected to the main control MCU1, includes an LDO with programmable output voltage. The main control MCU1 achieves multi-level dynamic power management by adjusting the LDO's output voltage and its own core frequency. The NFC module 3, also connected to the main control MCU1, includes an NFC chip and an adaptive matching network composed of adjustable components. The main control MCU1 reads the field strength register of the NFC chip and uses closed-loop control to manage the parameters of the adaptive matching network. The UWB module 4, connected to the main control MCU1, includes a UWB chip and an RF switch. The RF switch connects to multiple UWB antennas, and the main control MCU1 switches between various operating modes by controlling the channel switching of the RF switch. The wireless debugging module 5 runs a virtual SWD server within the main control MCU1, transmitting SWD protocol commands via wireless communication to enable wireless reading and writing of the main control MCU1's own Flash memory and firmware upgrades. This embodiment achieves miniaturization, ultra-low power consumption, environmental adaptability, and wireless maintenance through single-chip multi-protocol integration and adaptive resource management.

[0067] The adaptive power supply and antenna management system and the miniature dongle device provided in this application have been described in detail above. Specific examples have been used in this application to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. The description of the above embodiments is only for the purpose of helping to understand the core ideas of this application. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope based on the ideas of this application. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

Claims

1. An adaptive power supply and antenna management system, characterized in that, include: The main control MCU integrates and independently runs a first protocol stack, a second protocol stack, and a third protocol stack. The power management module is connected to the main control MCU and includes multiple independent LDOs, including at least a first LDO for powering the IO interface, a second LDO for powering the RF phase-locked loop, and a third LDO for powering the digital core; at least one of the LDOs is of programmable output voltage type, and the main control MCU realizes multi-level dynamic power management by adjusting the output voltage of the programmable LDO and its own core frequency. The NFC module, connected to the main control MCU, includes an NFC chip and an adaptive matching network composed of adjustable elements. The main control MCU reads the field strength register of the NFC chip and controls the parameters of the adaptive matching network in a closed loop. The UWB module, connected to the main control MCU, includes a UWB chip, a low-noise amplifier, and an RF switch. The low-noise amplifier is connected between the UWB chip and the RF switch. The RF switch is connected to multiple UWB antennas. The main control MCU controls the channel switching of the RF switch to achieve switching between multiple operating modes. The wireless debugging module runs a virtual SWD server inside the main control MCU. It transmits SWD protocol commands through a wireless communication protocol to enable wireless reading and writing of the main control MCU's own Flash memory and firmware upgrades.

2. The adaptive power supply and antenna management system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first protocol stack is a Bluetooth Low Energy protocol stack, the second protocol stack is a USB physical layer protocol stack, and the third protocol stack is a Near Field Communication Type 4 protocol stack.

3. The adaptive power supply and antenna management system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The multi-level dynamic power management includes: High-performance mode: The main control MCU runs at the first main frequency, and the LDO output voltage is the first voltage value; Low power mode: The main control MCU runs at a second main frequency, and the LDO output voltage is a second voltage value, wherein the second main frequency is lower than the first main frequency, and the second voltage value is lower than the first voltage value; Deep sleep mode: The main control MCU's main clock is turned off, and power consumption is less than 1 microamp; The main control MCU automatically switches between the high-performance mode, the low-power mode, and the deep sleep mode based on the power supply detection results and the system idle time.

4. The adaptive power supply and antenna management system as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The first main frequency is 32 MHz, and the second main frequency is 1 MHz; the first voltage value is 3.6 volts, and the second voltage value is 3.0 volts; the power consumption in the deep sleep mode is 0.7 microamps.

5. The adaptive power supply and antenna management system as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The power supply detection result is the USB VBUS voltage detection result. When USB power supply is detected, the main control MCU switches to the high-performance mode. When it is detected that the battery is powered and there is no user interaction for more than a first preset time, the main control MCU switches from the high-performance mode to the low-power mode; When it is detected that there is no battery power and no low-power Bluetooth connection, no near-field communication interruption, and no general input / output activity for a second preset time, the main control MCU switches from the low-power mode to the deep sleep mode.

6. The adaptive power supply and antenna management system as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The NFC module is configured with a quick connection wake-up mechanism, which is as follows: In the deep sleep mode, the field interrupt signal of the NFC chip is directly connected to the wake-up pin of the main control MCU, and the wake-up time is less than 10 microseconds. After waking up, the main control MCU directly reads and sends the unique identifier from the pre-stored buffer, skipping the anti-collision detection and capability negotiation steps of the standard near-field communication protocol.

7. The adaptive power supply and antenna management system as described in claim 6, characterized in that, After the unique identifier is sent, if there is no further interaction within a third preset time, the main control MCU will automatically shut down the NFC module and the main crystal oscillator and return to the deep sleep mode.

8. The adaptive power supply and antenna management system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The various working modes include: Directional selection mode: Before ranging, poll the received signal strength indication of the multiple UWB antennas and select the antenna with the strongest received signal strength indication for subsequent ranging and angle measurement; Diversity reception mode: When the UWB chip is in signal receiving state, the different antennas connected to the RF switch are switched sequentially according to a preset time interval, and the signals received by each antenna are combined by maximum ratio. Radar mode: Controls the UWB chip to emit pulses and receive reflected echoes from obstacles, and detects obstacles or moving targets within a predetermined range by calculating flight time or Doppler effect; High-speed data transmission mode: Lock onto the antenna with the strongest received signal strength, configure the UWB chip in data mode, and perform point-to-point data transmission.

9. The adaptive power supply and antenna management system as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The directional selection mode uses a weighted average algorithm of received signal strength indication, and only switches antennas when the average received signal strength indication of a certain antenna is more than 3 dB higher than that of other antennas. In the directional selection mode, when the direction of change of the continuously received signal strength is detected to be consistent, Kalman filtering is activated to predict the target's trajectory, and the antenna is switched to the predicted direction in advance.

10. A miniature software dongle device, characterized in that, Including the adaptive power supply and antenna management system as described in any one of claims 1-9.

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