Radio frequency module and communication device

Abstract

The present application relates to a radio frequency module and a communication device. The radio frequency module comprises a radio frequency transceiver (110), a voltage regulation block (120), and a radio frequency block (130), wherein the voltage regulation block (120) is connected to a power supply block (200), and may perform voltage step-down processing on a first power supply voltage outputted by means of the power supply block (200), so as to output a second power supply voltage to the radio frequency block (130), such that the radio frequency block (130) performs transmission processing on a radio frequency signal to be transmitted of a wireless short-range standard that is outputted by means of the radio frequency transceiver (110). The second power supply voltage is determined on the basis of the voltage range of the first power supply voltage, and is obtained on the basis of the voltage step-down processing of the first power supply voltage.

Description

RF modules and communication equipment

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 2024106598031, filed on May 24, 2024, entitled "Radio Frequency Module and Communication Equipment", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of radio frequency technology, and in particular to a radio frequency module and communication equipment. Background Technology

[0004] The statements herein are provided only as background information in connection with this application and do not necessarily constitute exemplary technology.

[0005] In communication equipment, radio frequency devices are usually powered by the system voltage of the communication equipment, which cannot be dynamically adjusted, resulting in high power consumption and affecting the battery life of the communication equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0006] According to various embodiments of this application, a radio frequency module and communication device are provided that can reduce power consumption and improve battery life.

[0007] This application provides a radio frequency (RF) module, including: an RF transceiver, a voltage regulation module, and an RF module. The voltage regulation module, connected to a power supply module, is used to step down a first power supply voltage output by the power supply module to output a second power supply voltage, wherein the second power supply voltage is determined based on the voltage range of the first power supply voltage. The RF module is connected to both the RF transceiver and the voltage regulation module, and is used to transmit a short-range wireless RF signal output by the RF transceiver under the influence of the second power supply voltage.

[0008] A second aspect of this application provides a communication device, including: a power supply module; and a radio frequency module as described above.

[0009] Details of one or more embodiments of this application are set forth in the following drawings and description. Other features, objects, and advantages of this application will become apparent from the specification, drawings, and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0010] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the 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.

[0011] Figure 1 is a structural block diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment.

[0012] Figure 2 is a structural block diagram of a communication device according to one embodiment.

[0013] Figure 3 is a second structural block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment.

[0014] Figure 4 is one of the structural block diagrams of an embodiment of an RF module.

[0015] Figure 5 is an EVM curve of one embodiment.

[0016] Figure 6 is a second structural block diagram of an embodiment of a radio frequency module.

[0017] Figure 7 is a structural block diagram of the radio frequency module in one embodiment.

[0018] Figure 8 is a FEM revenue curve in one embodiment.

[0019] Figure 9 is a measured power consumption gain curve for a 2.4G FEM SISO scenario in one embodiment.

[0020] Figure 10 is a measured power consumption gain curve for a 5G FEM SISO scenario in one embodiment.

[0021] Figure 11 is a third structural block diagram of a communication device in one embodiment.

[0022] Figure 12 is a fourth structural block diagram of a communication device in one embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0024] It is understood that the terms "first," "second," etc., used in this application may be used herein to describe various elements, but these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this application, "multiple" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified. It should be noted that when an element is considered to be "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intervening element present simultaneously.

[0025] The radio frequency module involved in this application embodiment can be applied to communication devices with wireless communication functions. These communication devices can be handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, smart cars, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, as well as various forms of user equipment (UE) (e.g., mobile phones), mobile stations (MS), etc. For ease of description, the devices mentioned above are collectively referred to as communication devices.

[0026] The communication device 10 of this embodiment can be applied to a communication system, as shown in FIG1. ​​The communication system may include a communication server and multiple communication devices 10. The communication server may be, for example, a base station, a router, or other connection site. The communication device 10 of this embodiment can support communication with the connection site and also support communication with other communication devices 10. The communication device 10 of this embodiment may include a radio frequency module 100 and a power supply module 200. The power supply module 200 can be used to supply power to the radio frequency module 100 and can also be used to power other load devices in the communication device 10 to ensure the normal operation of the communication device 10.

[0027] Optionally, as shown in Figure 3, the power supply module 200 may include a battery module 210 and a power management module 220. The power management module 220 can be used to convert the battery voltage output by the battery module 210 to output the system voltage for the various load devices of the communication device 10. Optionally, the power management module 220 may be an integrated circuit (PMIC) that integrates multiple power management functions, including power management, charging management, battery management, power conversion, etc., which can help improve the power efficiency and performance of the device. Optionally, the battery module 210 may use different battery types depending on the actual situation. For example, it may use graphite batteries, with a corresponding battery voltage range of 3.3V-4.5V; or it may use silicon anode batteries, with a corresponding battery voltage range of 2.7-4.5V. It is understood that the battery module 210 may also use other battery types, which will not be described in detail in this embodiment.

[0028] The radio frequency module 100 of this embodiment can be used to support short-range wireless communication, such as supporting the transmission and reception processing of radio frequency signals for short-range wireless communication. Optionally, the short-range wireless communication may include either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (BT). The Wi-Fi standard may include at least one of 2.4G Wi-Fi and 5G Wi-Fi, and the Bluetooth standard may include at least one of 2.4G BT and 5G BT. In the following embodiments, for ease of description, Wi-Fi is used as an example. It is understood that the embodiments of this application are not limited to the aforementioned Wi-Fi and BT standards, and these will not be described in detail in this embodiment.

[0029] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG4, the radio frequency module 100 includes: radio frequency transceiver 110, voltage regulation module 120 and radio frequency module 130.

[0030] The voltage regulation module 120 is connected to the power supply module 200 and is used to step down the first power supply voltage output by the power supply module 200 to output a second power supply voltage. The second power supply voltage is determined based on the voltage range of the first power supply voltage. The radio frequency module 130 is connected to the radio frequency transceiver 110 and the voltage regulation module 120 respectively. The radio frequency module 130 is used to transmit the radio frequency signal of the short-range wireless standard output by the radio frequency transceiver 110 under the action of the second power supply voltage.

[0031] The radio frequency (RF) module 130 is connected to both the RF transceiver 110 and the antenna to receive the RF signal to be transmitted from the RF transceiver 110 and to process the RF signal for transmission via the antenna. Transmission processing may include, for example, power amplification and filtering. Optionally, the RF module 130 may also support reception processing, processing the RF signal received by the antenna before transmitting it to the RF transceiver 110. Optionally, transmission processing may include power amplification and filtering; reception processing may include low-noise amplification and filtering.

[0032] Optionally, the RF module 130 can be an integrated RF device, such as an FEM (Front-end Module). The FEM can integrate a power amplifier (PA), a low-noise amplifier (LNA), and switches to support functions such as power amplification, low-noise amplification, and path selection switching of RF signals.

[0033] Optionally, the number of radio frequency modules 130 in the radio frequency module 100 can be one or more. For each radio frequency module 130, it can support transmission processing and reception processing. Further optionally, each radio frequency module 130 can support SISO (Single-Input Single-Output) transmission and reception scenarios, or DBS (Dual Band Simultaneous) dual transmission scenarios. For multiple radio frequency modules 130, the combination of multiple radio frequency modules 130 can support MIMO (Multiple-Input Single-Output) or DBS.

[0034] The radio frequency transceiver 110 may be configured with a radio frequency port to connect to the radio frequency module 130. The radio frequency transceiver 110 may include a transmitter to transmit radio frequency signals to the radio frequency module 130; optionally, the radio frequency transceiver 110 may also include a receiver to receive the radio frequency signals received and processed by the radio frequency module 130, and may perform mixing, demodulation, decoding and other processing on the received radio frequency signals.

[0035] The voltage regulation module 120 is connected to both the power supply module 200 and the radio frequency module 130. It receives a first power supply voltage from the power supply module 200 and, based on a defined voltage range, steps down the first power supply voltage to output a second power supply voltage for powering the radio frequency module 130. When the radio frequency module 130 needs to transmit a radio frequency signal, the voltage regulation module 120 steps down the first power supply voltage to obtain a second power supply voltage that ensures normal operation of the radio frequency module 130 while avoiding unnecessary voltage boosting and losses. This maximizes power consumption reduction during the transmission scenario while maintaining the performance of the radio frequency module 130.

[0036] Generally, in the field of radio frequency (RF), whether it is a short-range wireless standard or a cellular standard, the power supply voltage of the RF module 130 is usually followed by and dependent on the system voltage (corresponding to the first power supply voltage) of the power supply module 200, and cannot be dynamically adjusted. For example, when the battery voltage of the battery module 210 in the power supply module 200 is large, the corresponding power is large, and the system voltage may always be higher than the typical value required by the RF module 130. This causes the RF module 130 to generate additional power consumption during the transmission of RF signals in the short-range wireless standard, affecting the battery life of the communication device 10. On the other hand, when the battery voltage is small, the corresponding power is low. In order to avoid the system voltage VPH from falling below the typical value, the battery management module in the power supply module 200 usually performs voltage boosting on the battery voltage. The voltage boosting process also generates additional power consumption, which similarly affects the battery life of the communication device 10.

[0037] However, the inventors made a creative discovery that, for the transmission process of short-range wireless radio frequency signals by the radio frequency module 130, the performance of the radio frequency module 130 is almost the same under different voltage power supply within a certain voltage range, but instead leads to additional power consumption.

[0038] The RF module 100 provided in this embodiment includes a voltage regulation module 120, an RF module 130, and an RF transceiver 110. The voltage regulation module 120 can step down a first supply voltage to output a second supply voltage to the RF module 130. The second supply voltage is determined based on the voltage range of the first supply voltage and obtained by stepping down the first supply voltage. On the one hand, the second supply voltage can be dynamically adjusted in combination with the voltage range of the first supply voltage to achieve normal power supply to the RF module 130 and ensure the normal operation of the RF module 130. On the other hand, it can avoid unnecessary high typical values ​​and unnecessary boosting, avoiding additional losses in transmission scenarios such as SISO, DBS, and MIMO scenarios mentioned above, thereby avoiding negative gain. Therefore, the RF module 100 of this embodiment can achieve dynamic adjustment, maximizing the reduction of power consumption in transmission scenarios while ensuring the performance of the RF module 130.

[0039] In one embodiment, when the first supply voltage is greater than a preset supply threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 is used to reduce the first supply voltage to a first target voltage, wherein the first target voltage is less than or equal to the preset supply threshold.

[0040] The preset power supply threshold can be understood as a corresponding first power supply voltage that is relatively high, i.e., a higher system voltage and higher power consumption. When the first power supply voltage is greater than the preset power supply threshold, the power supply voltage of the RF module 130 in the related technology is usually at a relatively high typical value. However, the inventors have creatively discovered that when the voltage differs from the preset power supply threshold by a certain voltage range, the transmission performance of the RF module 130 is almost identical.

[0041] Optionally, the preset power supply threshold can be 3.5V. Voltages higher than 3.5V, such as 3.8V, correspond to a battery level of around 50%, indicating a relatively high battery capacity. Taking the RF module 130 as an example of a WIFI FEM, its typical higher value is often 3.85V, as shown in Figure 5. Actual testing of the performance of a certain manufacturer's FEM at different voltages showed almost no difference in performance between 3.5V and 4V for the WIFI FEM.

[0042] Therefore, in this embodiment, the voltage regulation module 120 reduces the first power supply voltage to less than or equal to the preset power supply threshold when the first power supply voltage is greater than the preset power supply threshold, thereby reducing the power consumption in the transmission scenario while ensuring the performance of the radio frequency module 130.

[0043] Furthermore, in some embodiments, voltage adjustment can be achieved based on the specific transmission scenario of the RF module 130 application, combined with the voltage range of the first supply voltage. For example, the following optional embodiments can be referred to:

[0044] In one embodiment, when the first supply voltage is greater than a preset supply threshold and the RF module 130 is in communication connection with the connection station, the voltage regulation module 120 is used to reduce the first supply voltage to a first voltage range; when the first supply voltage is greater than the preset supply threshold and the RF module 130 is in communication connection with the RF module 130 of an external device, the voltage regulation module 120 is used to reduce the first supply voltage to a second voltage range; wherein the maximum value of the first voltage range is less than or equal to the preset supply threshold, and the maximum value of the second voltage range is less than or equal to the minimum value of the first voltage range.

[0045] The first scenario, where the RF module 130 communicates with the connection station, can be understood as a client / server communication scenario. The second scenario, where the RF module 130 communicates with the RF module 130 of an external device, can be understood as a client / client communication scenario, also known as a peer-to-peer (P2P) network scenario. The maximum value of the first voltage range being less than or equal to a preset power supply threshold can be understood as the upper limit of the first voltage range being the preset power supply threshold. Similarly, the maximum value of the second voltage range being less than or equal to the minimum value of the first voltage range can be understood as the upper limit of the second voltage range being equal to the lower limit of the first voltage range.

[0046] On the one hand, the required transmission power of the RF module 130 in the first scenario is greater than that in the second scenario. On the other hand, in the second scenario, the RF module 130 can act as both a transmitter and a receiver, which may lead to temperature rise issues. In this embodiment, when the first power supply voltage is greater than the preset power supply threshold, if the RF module 130 is in the first scenario, the first power supply voltage is reduced to a first voltage range; if the RF module 130 is in the second scenario, the first power supply voltage is reduced to a second voltage range. The maximum value of the first voltage range is less than or equal to the preset power supply threshold, and the maximum value of the second voltage range is less than or equal to the minimum value of the first voltage range. This can achieve gradient dynamic power supply, ensuring that the RF module 130 can match the transmission power requirements in both scenarios, and greatly reducing power consumption while matching the transmission power requirements. In addition, it can also effectively solve the temperature rise problem in P2P scenarios.

[0047] In one embodiment, when the first power supply voltage is greater than a preset power supply threshold and the uplink rate of the radio frequency module 130 is lower than a preset rate threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a third voltage range; wherein the maximum value of the third voltage range is less than or equal to the minimum value of the second voltage range.

[0048] The preset rate threshold can be a low rate threshold, such as MCS4 (16QAM). The third scenario, where the uplink rate of the RF module 130 is lower than the preset rate threshold, can be understood as the RF module 130 requiring a slower transmission rate; the RF module 130 only needs lower transmission power to transmit data to ensure successful data transmission. The maximum value of the third voltage range being less than or equal to the minimum value of the second voltage range can be understood as the upper limit of the third voltage range being equal to the lower limit of the second voltage range.

[0049] In the third scenario, if the first power supply voltage is greater than the preset power supply threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 can reduce the first power supply voltage to the third voltage range. The maximum value of the third voltage range is less than or equal to the minimum value of the second voltage range, so that the second power supply voltage is lower than the voltage in other scenarios. While ensuring the transmission performance of the radio frequency module 130, power consumption is reduced to a greater extent.

[0050] In one embodiment, when the first supply voltage exceeds a preset supply threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 may include a buck or boost (BOB) circuit, which has both boost and buck modes. In any of the above embodiments, when the first supply voltage exceeds the preset supply threshold, the BOB circuit may operate in buck mode to reduce the first supply voltage. During the buck mode, regardless of whether the battery type included in the power supply module 200 is a graphite battery or a silicon anode battery, no additional voltage drop is generated, thus avoiding any impact on the power supply stability of the battery module 210.

[0051] In one embodiment, when the first supply voltage is greater than a preset supply threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 includes a buck circuit to reduce the first supply voltage to the preset supply threshold. The buck circuit only has a buck mode. In any of the above embodiments, when the first supply voltage is greater than the preset supply threshold, the buck circuit can activate the buck mode to reduce the first supply voltage. During this process, regardless of whether the battery type included in the power supply module 200 is a graphite battery or a silicon anode battery, the buck circuit will not generate an additional voltage drop, which can avoid affecting the power supply stability of the battery module 210. Furthermore, the buck circuit has a simpler structure and lower cost, which helps to reduce costs.

[0052] It should be noted that any of the above embodiments is not limited to the specific battery type of the battery module 210 in the power supply module 200. That is, when the first power supply voltage is greater than the preset power supply threshold, any of the above embodiments is applicable to different types of battery modules 210.

[0053] In one embodiment, when the first supply voltage is less than a preset supply threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 is used to step down the first supply voltage to a second target voltage, where the second target voltage is less than the preset supply threshold.

[0054] When the first supply voltage is lower than the preset supply threshold, it can be understood that the battery voltage and system voltage are low, resulting in low power consumption. In related technologies, the power supply module 200 will activate Boost mode when the first supply voltage is lower than the preset supply threshold. At this time, the Boost voltage increase will bring an additional negative gain of 1-4mA. However, the inventors have creatively discovered that when the voltage differs from the preset supply threshold by a certain voltage range, the transmission performance difference of the RF module 130 is almost negligible. However, the inventors have creatively discovered that the RF module 130, which supports short-range wireless RF signals, can support a lower operating voltage.

[0055] Optionally, in this embodiment, the preset power supply threshold can be 3.5V. For a graphite battery, 3.5V corresponds to approximately 10% battery capacity, and below 3.5V is close to the shutdown voltage. Taking the RF module 130 as a WIFI FEM as an example, in scenarios below 3.5V, only WIFI performance needs to be guaranteed. The FEM's power supply voltage can continue to decrease while ensuring basic WIFI performance. Most FEMs support a minimum operating voltage of 2.5V, which can meet the requirements of scenarios below 3.5V.

[0056] Therefore, to completely eliminate this negative benefit, the switching point of the Boost is dynamically adjusted. When the first supply voltage is lower than the preset supply threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 adopts a step-down mode to reduce the first supply voltage to a second target voltage. The second target voltage is less than or equal to the preset supply threshold, thus reducing power consumption in the transmission scenario while ensuring the performance of the RF module 130. Therefore, even under power supply conditions close to the shutdown voltage, this embodiment can still maintain battery life, greatly improving the negative benefit state under low power conditions and enhancing the user experience.

[0057] Furthermore, in some embodiments, voltage regulation can be achieved based on the specific transmission scenario of the RF module 130 application, combined with the voltage range of the first power supply voltage and the battery type inside each power supply module 200. For example, the following optional embodiments can be referred to:

[0058] In one embodiment, the power supply module 200 includes a power management module 220 and a battery module 210. The power management module 220 is used to convert the output voltage of the battery module 210 to output a first power supply voltage. The battery module 210 includes a graphite battery.

[0059] When the first supply voltage is less than a preset supply threshold and the RF module 130 is in communication connection with the connection station, the voltage regulation module 120 is used to reduce the first supply voltage to a first voltage range; when the first supply voltage is less than a preset supply threshold and the RF module 130 is in communication connection with the RF module 130 of an external device, the voltage regulation module 120 is used to reduce the first supply voltage to a fourth voltage range; wherein, the maximum value of the first voltage range is less than or equal to the preset supply threshold, the maximum value of the fourth voltage range is less than or equal to the minimum value of the first voltage range, and the minimum value of the fourth voltage range is less than the minimum battery voltage of the graphite battery.

[0060] The scenarios where the RF module 130 communicates with the connection station and with an external device can be referred to the above embodiments and will not be repeated here. The maximum value of the first voltage range being less than or equal to a preset power supply threshold can be understood as the upper limit of the first voltage range being the preset power supply threshold. Similarly, the maximum value of the fourth voltage range being less than or equal to the minimum value of the first voltage range can be understood as the upper limit of the fourth voltage range being equal to the lower limit of the first voltage range. Optionally, the minimum battery voltage of the graphite battery can be, for example, 3.3V, and the minimum value of the fourth voltage range is less than the minimum battery voltage of the graphite battery, i.e., the minimum value of the fourth voltage range is less than 3.3V, for example, it can be 3.0V.

[0061] On the one hand, the required transmission power of the RF module 130 in the first scenario is greater than that in the second scenario. On the other hand, in the second scenario, the RF module 130 can act as both a transmitter and a receiver, which may lead to overheating. In this embodiment, when the first power supply voltage is less than a preset power supply threshold, if the RF module 130 is in the first scenario, the first power supply voltage is reduced to a first voltage range; if the RF module 130 is in the second scenario, the first power supply voltage is reduced to a fourth voltage range. The maximum value of the first voltage range is less than or equal to the preset power supply threshold, the maximum value of the fourth voltage range is less than or equal to the minimum value of the first voltage range, and the minimum value of the fourth voltage range is less than the minimum battery voltage of the graphite battery. This allows for gradient dynamic power supply, ensuring that the RF module 130 can match the transmission power requirements in both scenarios while significantly reducing power consumption. Furthermore, it effectively solves the overheating problem in P2P scenarios. Therefore, even with a power supply close to the shutdown voltage, this embodiment can still maintain battery life, greatly improving the negative impact of low battery conditions and enhancing the user experience.

[0062] In one embodiment, when the first power supply voltage is less than a preset power supply threshold and the uplink rate of the radio frequency module 130 is less than a preset rate threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a fifth voltage range; wherein the maximum value of the fifth voltage range is less than the minimum value of the fourth voltage range.

[0063] The third scenario, where the uplink rate is lower than the preset rate threshold, can be referred to the above embodiments and will not be repeated here. The fact that the maximum value of the fifth voltage range is less than the minimum value of the fourth voltage range can be understood as the upper limit of the fifth voltage range being less than the graphite battery voltage. Optionally, the minimum battery voltage of the graphite battery can be, for example, 3.3V, and the minimum value of the fourth voltage range can be 3.0V. Therefore, the upper limit of the fifth voltage range can be, for example, 2.7V, which can still meet the performance requirements of WIFI FEM.

[0064] In the third scenario, if the first power supply voltage is less than the preset power supply threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 can reduce the first power supply voltage to the fifth voltage range. The maximum value of the fifth voltage range is less than the graphite battery voltage, making the second power supply voltage lower than the voltage in other scenarios. While ensuring the transmission performance of the radio frequency module 130, power consumption is further reduced, thereby further improving the battery life.

[0065] In one embodiment, the power supply module 200 includes a power management module 220 and a battery module 210. The power management module 220 is used to convert the output voltage of the battery module 210 to output a first power supply voltage. The battery module 210 includes a graphite battery. When the first power supply voltage is less than a preset power supply threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 is also used to transmit the first power supply voltage to supply power to the radio frequency module 130.

[0066] In this embodiment, transmitting the first supply voltage to power the RF module 130 can be understood as the voltage regulation module 120 reducing the first supply voltage by 0, keeping the first supply voltage equal to the second supply voltage, equivalent to a bypass transmission (BYPASS) state. When the battery module 210 is a graphite battery, the first supply voltage being less than a preset supply threshold is close to the power level in a shutdown state. At this time, the first supply voltage is relatively low, resulting in low power consumption. Without voltage reduction, the first supply voltage can meet the performance requirements of the RF module 130 while also achieving low power consumption. Therefore, in this embodiment, the voltage regulation module 120 transmits the first supply voltage to power the RF module 130 when the first supply voltage is less than the preset supply threshold, which can reduce power consumption while matching the transmission power requirements.

[0067] In one embodiment, the power supply module 200 includes a power management module 220 and a battery module 210. The power management module 220 is used to convert the output voltage of the battery module 210 to output a first power supply voltage. The battery module 210 includes a silicon anode battery. When the first power supply voltage is less than a preset power supply threshold but greater than the first voltage, the voltage regulation module 120 is used to step down the first power supply voltage to the first voltage. When the first power supply voltage is less than the first voltage but greater than the second voltage, the voltage regulation module 120 is used to step down the first power supply voltage to the second voltage. The second voltage is equal to the minimum battery voltage of the silicon anode battery.

[0068] The minimum battery voltage of the silicon anode is less than that of the graphite battery. Optionally, the battery voltage range of the silicon anode battery can be 2.7V-4.5V, and the preset power supply threshold can be 3.5V. For the silicon anode battery, 3.5V corresponds to a battery capacity greater than 10%. For the graphite battery, when the first power supply voltage of the power supply module 200 of the silicon anode battery is less than the preset power supply threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 can further reduce the first power supply voltage by a larger amount until it is reduced to the minimum battery voltage of the silicon anode battery.

[0069] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the first power supply voltage is less than a preset power supply threshold but greater than the first voltage, the voltage regulation module 120 reduces the first power supply voltage to the first voltage; when the first power supply voltage is less than the first voltage but greater than the second voltage, it reduces the first power supply voltage to the minimum battery voltage of the silicon anode battery, which can greatly reduce power consumption and increase battery life.

[0070] In one embodiment, the power supply module 200 includes a power management module 220 and a battery module 210. The power management module 220 is used to convert the output voltage of the battery module 210 to output a first power supply voltage. The battery module 210 includes a silicon negative electrode battery. When the first power supply voltage is less than a preset power supply threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to the minimum battery voltage of the silicon negative electrode.

[0071] In conjunction with the relevant description of the previous embodiment, when the first supply voltage is less than the first preset voltage, the voltage regulation module 120 can greatly reduce power consumption through two gradient voltage reduction adjustments. In this embodiment, the voltage regulation module 120 directly uses a single gradient voltage reduction adjustment, which makes the voltage difference between the input voltage and the output voltage of the voltage regulation module 120 larger, the higher the efficiency, and the greater the power consumption benefit, until the first supply voltage is reduced to the minimum voltage of the silicon anode battery. This can further reduce power consumption to the extreme within a limited power supply, ensuring improved battery life while meeting radio frequency performance requirements.

[0072] In one embodiment, when the first supply voltage is less than a preset supply threshold, the voltage regulation module 120 may include a BOB circuit, which has a boost mode and a buck mode. In any of the above embodiments, when the first supply voltage is less than the preset supply threshold, the BOB circuit can operate in buck mode to reduce the first supply voltage. During the buck mode, the BOB circuit does not generate additional voltage drop regardless of whether the battery type included in the power supply module 200 is a graphite battery or a silicon anode battery, thus avoiding any impact on the power supply stability of the battery module 210.

[0073] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG6, there are multiple RF modules 130 (four are illustrated in the figure as an example), and each RF module 130 is configured with a power port; the voltage regulation module 120 is connected to the power port of each RF module 130 to output a second supply voltage to each RF module 130. Thus, based on any one or a combination of the above embodiments, the voltage regulation module 120 can greatly reduce the overall power consumption of the RF system and improve the battery life while ensuring the RF performance of each RF module 130.

[0074] The following examples, using a 3.3V-4.5V graphite battery, a 2.7V-4.5V silicon anode battery, a preset power supply threshold of 3.5V, and four WIFI FEMs (including 2.4G FEM1, 2.4G FEM2, 5G FEM1, and 5G FEM2, as shown in Figure 7), provide several optional embodiments to further explain the above embodiments:

[0075] (1) For graphite batteries with a voltage of 3.3V-4.5V

[0076] Example 1

[0077] When the first supply voltage is >3.5V, the voltage regulation module 120 can use a BOB circuit to step down the first supply voltage based on the determined scenario type (please refer to the above embodiments for the description of each scenario): In the first scenario, the BOB circuit steps down the first supply voltage to 3.4V-3.5V, saving 10-25mA of power consumption during WIFI TX SISO and 20-50mA during MIMO; In the second scenario, the BOB circuit steps down the first supply voltage to 3.3V-3.4V, saving 20-30mA of power consumption during WIFI TX SISO and 40-60mA during MIMO; In the third scenario with a low data rate below MCS4 (16QAM), the BOB circuit steps down the first supply voltage to 3.3V, saving 10-30mA of power consumption during WIFI TX SISO and 20-60mA during WIFI TX MIMO.

[0078] When the first supply voltage is <3.5V, the voltage regulation module 120 can use a BOB circuit to step down the first supply voltage based on the determined scenario type: In the first scenario, the BOB circuit steps down the first supply voltage to 3.4V-3.5V, saving 10-25mA of power consumption during WIFI TX SISO and 20-50mA during MIMO; In the second scenario, the BOB circuit steps down the first supply voltage to 3.0V-3.4V, saving 20-30mA of power consumption during WIFI TX SISO and 40-60mA during MIMO; In the third scenario with a low data rate below MCS4 (16QAM), the BOB circuit steps down the first supply voltage to 2.7V, saving 5-30mA of power consumption during WIFI TX SISO and 10-60mA during WIFI TX MIMO.

[0079] Example 2

[0080] When the first supply voltage is greater than 3.5V, the voltage regulation module 120 can use a Buck circuit to directly reduce the first supply voltage to 3.5V; when the first supply voltage is less than 3.5V, the voltage regulation module 120 can bypass the power consumption of 10-25mA during WIFI TX SISO and 20-50mA during MIMO.

[0081] (2) For silicon anode cells of 2.7V-4.5V

[0082] Example 3

[0083] When the first supply voltage is >3.5V, the voltage regulation module 120 can use a BOB circuit to step down the first supply voltage based on the determined scenario type: In the first scenario, the BOB circuit steps down the first supply voltage to 3.4V-3.5V, saving 10-25mA of power consumption during WIFI TX SISO and 20-50mA during MIMO; In the second scenario, the BOB circuit steps down the first supply voltage to 3.0V-3.4V, saving 20-30mA of power consumption during WIFI TX SISO and 40-60mA during MIMO; In the third scenario with a low data rate below MCS4 (16QAM), the BOB circuit steps down the first supply voltage to 2.7V, saving 5-30mA of power consumption during WIFI TX SISO and 10-60mA during WIFI TX MIMO.

[0084] When the first supply voltage < 3.5V, the voltage regulation module 120 can select a BOB circuit to step down the first supply voltage based on a preset supply threshold range: when 3.0V < VPH < 3.5V, the BOB circuit steps down the first supply voltage to 3.0V; when 2.7V < VPH < 3.0V, the BOB circuit steps down the first supply voltage to 2.7V. This can maximize the compression of the WIFI TX scenario power consumption while ensuring WIFI performance. The measured benefits of a certain manufacturer's FEM are shown in Figure 8.

[0085] Embodiment 4

[0086] When the first supply voltage > 3.5V, the voltage regulation module 120 can select a Buck circuit to directly reduce the first power supply module 200 to 3.5V; when the first supply voltage < 3.5V, the voltage regulation module 120 can select a BOB circuit, and the BOB circuit steps down the first supply voltage to 2.7V.

[0087] In any of the above embodiments, in combination with the actual performance of the devices of the BOB circuit or Buck circuit, the output voltage is dynamically adjusted according to the battery voltage and the scene type gradient to ensure that each device operates in the step-down area, so that the WIFI Tx scenario changes with the battery power but there is no negative benefit. Compared with the related art, the above embodiments can compress the WIFI FEM supply voltage to the extreme, maximize the reduction of the WIFI Tx power consumption, and greatly increase the battery life. Among them, in the embodiment of dynamically stepping down the voltage in combination with the scene, dynamically adjusting the voltage can bring power consumption benefits of 10 - 30 mA in the SISO scenario, 20 - 60 mA in the MIMO scenario, and 40 - 120 mA in the DBS scenario (the measured power consumption benefits of a certain manufacturer's 2.4&5G FEM SISO scenario are shown in Figures 9 and 10), corresponding to an increase in the battery life model of more than 20 mAh, and can also effectively solve the problem of temperature rise in the P2P scenario. When the radio frequency module 100 is applied to the communication device 10, it is estimated that the overall housing temperature drops by 0.5 - 1°C and the local temperature rise decreases by 2°C.

[0088] The present application also provides a communication device 10, including: a power supply module 200; and a radio frequency module 100 as in any of the above embodiments. For the power supply module 200 and the radio frequency module 100, please refer to the above embodiments and will not be elaborated here.

[0089] Based on the radio frequency module 100 in any of the above embodiments, the power consumption of the communication device 10 is greatly improved, the battery life is greatly enhanced, and the user experience can be greatly improved.

[0090] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG11, the communication device 10 further includes a processing module 300, which is connected to the voltage regulation module 120 in the radio frequency module 100. The processing module 300 can be used to obtain the current communication scenario type of the communication device 10 and control the regulation function of the voltage regulation module 120 based on the determined communication scenario type, thereby realizing the gradient dynamic voltage regulation function of the voltage regulation module 120. The processing module 300 may be, for example, an AP (Application Processor), a system chip integrating multiple processor cores such as CPU, GPU, and DSP. Optionally, the processor can be connected to the voltage regulation module 120 via I2C to output control signals to the voltage regulation module 120 to control the regulation function of the voltage regulation module 120.

[0091] Furthermore, taking the aforementioned communication device 10 as an example of a mobile phone 11, specifically, as shown in FIG12, the mobile phone 11 may include a memory 21 (which optionally includes one or more computer-readable storage media), a processor 22, a peripheral device interface 23, a radio frequency module 24 of the above embodiment, and an input / output (I / O) subsystem 26. These components optionally communicate via one or more communication buses or signal lines 29. Those skilled in the art will understand that the mobile phone 11 shown in FIG12 does not constitute a limitation on the mobile phone, and may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements. The various components shown in FIG12 are implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software, including one or more signal processing and / or application-specific integrated circuits.

[0092] Memory 21 optionally includes high-speed random access memory, and also optionally includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices. Exemplary examples include software components stored in memory 21 such as an operating system 211, a communication module (or instruction set) 212, a global positioning system (GPS) module (or instruction set) 213, etc.

[0093] The processor 22 and other control circuits can be used to control the operation of the mobile phone 11. The processor 22 can be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors, power management units, audio codec chips, application-specific integrated circuits, etc.

[0094] The processor 22 can be configured to implement control algorithms for controlling the use of the antenna in the mobile phone 11. The processor 22 can also issue control commands for controlling the switches in the radio frequency module 24, etc.

[0095] I / O subsystem 26 couples input / output peripherals on mobile phone 11, such as a keypad and other input control devices, to peripheral interface 23. I / O subsystem 26 optionally includes a touchscreen, buttons, a tone generator, an accelerometer (motion sensor), an ambient light sensor and other sensors, LEDs and other status indicators, data ports, etc. For example, a user can control the operation of mobile phone 11 by supplying commands via I / O subsystem 26, and can use the output resources of I / O subsystem 26 to receive status information and other outputs from mobile phone 11. For example, a user can press button 261 to turn the phone on or off.

[0096] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0097] The above embodiments merely illustrate several implementation methods of this application, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of this patent application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this application, and these all fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this patent application should be determined by the appended claims.

[0098] The following numbered clauses describe some implementation examples:

[0099] 1. A radio frequency module, comprising:

[0100] Radio frequency transceiver;

[0101] A voltage regulation module, connected to the power supply module, is used to step down the first power supply voltage output by the power supply module to output a second power supply voltage, wherein the second power supply voltage is determined based on the voltage range of the first power supply voltage.

[0102] The radio frequency module is connected to the radio frequency transceiver and the voltage regulation module respectively. The radio frequency module is used to transmit the radio frequency signal of the short-range wireless standard output by the radio frequency transceiver under the action of the second power supply voltage.

[0103] 2. The radio frequency module according to Clause 1, wherein when the first power supply voltage is greater than a preset power supply threshold, the voltage regulation module is used to step down the first power supply voltage to a first target voltage, the first target voltage being less than or equal to the preset power supply threshold.

[0104] 3. The radio frequency module according to Clause 2, wherein when the first power supply voltage is greater than the preset power supply threshold and the radio frequency module is in communication connection with the connection station, the voltage regulation module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a first voltage range;

[0105] When the first power supply voltage is greater than a preset power supply threshold and the radio frequency module is in communication connection with the radio frequency module of an external device, the voltage regulation module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a second voltage range.

[0106] Wherein, the maximum value of the first voltage range is less than or equal to the preset power supply threshold, and the maximum value of the second voltage range is less than or equal to the minimum value of the first voltage range.

[0107] 4. The radio frequency module according to Clause 3, wherein the transmit power required by the radio frequency module when communicating with a connection site is greater than the transmit power required by the radio frequency module when communicating with an external device's radio frequency module.

[0108] 5. The radio frequency module according to Clause 3, wherein when the first power supply voltage is greater than the preset power supply threshold and the uplink rate of the radio frequency module is lower than the preset rate threshold, the voltage regulation module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a third voltage range;

[0109] The maximum value of the third voltage range is less than or equal to the minimum value of the second voltage range.

[0110] 6. The radio frequency module according to Clause 2, wherein when the first supply voltage is greater than the preset supply threshold, the voltage regulation module includes a step-down circuit for stepping down the first supply voltage to the preset supply threshold.

[0111] 7. The radio frequency module according to Clause 2, wherein the power supply module includes a power management module and a battery module, the power management module being used to convert the output voltage of the battery module to output the first power supply voltage; the battery module includes a graphite battery;

[0112] When the first supply voltage is less than a preset supply threshold, the voltage regulation module is also used to transmit the first supply voltage to supply power to the radio frequency module.

[0113] 8. The radio frequency module according to Clause 1, wherein the voltage regulation module has a boost mode and a buck mode, and when the first supply voltage is less than a preset supply threshold, the voltage regulation module is used to operate in buck mode to step down the first supply voltage.

[0114] 9. The radio frequency module according to Clause 1, wherein when the first power supply voltage is less than a preset power supply threshold, the voltage regulation module is used to step down the first power supply voltage to a second target voltage, the second target voltage being less than the preset power supply threshold.

[0115] 10. The radio frequency module according to Clause 9, wherein the power supply module includes a power management module and a battery module, the power management module being used to convert the output voltage of the battery module to output the first power supply voltage; the battery module includes a graphite battery;

[0116] When the first power supply voltage is less than the preset power supply threshold and the radio frequency module is in communication connection with the connection station, the voltage regulation module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a first voltage range; the maximum value of the first voltage range is less than or equal to the preset power supply threshold.

[0117] 11. The radio frequency module according to Clause 10, wherein when the first supply voltage is less than a preset supply threshold and the radio frequency module is communicatively connected to the radio frequency module of an external device, the voltage regulation module is used to reduce the first supply voltage to a fourth voltage range;

[0118] Wherein, the maximum value of the fourth voltage range is less than or equal to the minimum value of the first voltage range, and the minimum value of the fourth voltage range is less than the minimum battery voltage of the graphite battery.

[0119] 12. The radio frequency module according to Clause 11, wherein when the first power supply voltage is less than the preset power supply threshold and the uplink rate of the radio frequency module is less than the preset rate threshold, the voltage regulation module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a fifth voltage range;

[0120] The maximum value of the fifth voltage range is less than the minimum value of the fourth voltage range.

[0121] 13. The radio frequency module according to Clause 2, wherein the power supply module includes a power management module and a battery module, the power management module being used to convert the output voltage of the battery module to output the first power supply voltage; the battery module includes a silicon negative electrode battery;

[0122] When the first power supply voltage is less than a preset power supply threshold but greater than the first voltage, the voltage regulation module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to the first voltage.

[0123] When the first supply voltage is less than the first voltage but greater than the second voltage, the voltage regulation module is used to step down the first supply voltage to the second voltage; the second voltage is equal to the minimum battery voltage of the silicon negative electrode cell.

[0124] 14. The radio frequency module according to Clause 2, wherein the power supply module includes a power management module and a battery module, the power management module being used to convert the output voltage of the battery module to output the first power supply voltage; the battery module includes a silicon negative electrode battery;

[0125] When the first supply voltage is less than a preset supply threshold, the voltage regulation module is used to step down the first supply voltage to the minimum battery voltage of the silicon anode battery.

[0126] 15. The radio frequency module according to any one of clauses 1-14, wherein the number of radio frequency modules is plurality of, each radio frequency module is configured with a power supply port; the voltage regulation module is connected to the power supply port of each radio frequency module respectively to output the second power supply voltage to each radio frequency module respectively.

[0127] 16. The radio frequency module according to any one of clauses 1-14, wherein the short-range wireless standard includes either WIFI or Bluetooth.

[0128] 17. The radio frequency module according to Clause 16, wherein the WIFI standard includes at least one of 2.4G WIFI standard and 5G WIFI standard, and the Bluetooth standard includes at least one of 2.4G BT standard and 5G BT standard.

[0129] 18. A communication device, comprising:

[0130] Power supply module; and

[0131] RF modules as described in any of Clauses 1-17.

[0132] 19. The communication device according to Clause 18, wherein the power supply module comprises:

[0133] Battery module; and

[0134] The power management module is used to transform the battery voltage output by the battery module to output the first power supply voltage.

[0135] 20. A communication system, comprising:

[0136] Communication server; and

[0137] Multiple communication devices as described in Clause 18 or 19, the communication devices being used to support communication with the communication server and to support communication with different communication devices.

Claims

1. A radio frequency module, comprising: Radio frequency transceiver; A voltage regulation module, connected to the power supply module, is used to step down the first power supply voltage output by the power supply module to output a second power supply voltage, wherein the second power supply voltage is determined based on the voltage range of the first power supply voltage. The radio frequency module is connected to the radio frequency transceiver and the voltage regulation module respectively. The radio frequency module is used to transmit the radio frequency signal of the short-range wireless standard output by the radio frequency transceiver under the action of the second power supply voltage.

2. The radio frequency module according to claim 1, wherein when the first power supply voltage is greater than a preset power supply threshold, the voltage adjustment module is used to step down the first power supply voltage to a first target voltage, wherein the first target voltage is less than or equal to the preset power supply threshold.

3. The radio frequency module according to claim 2, wherein when the first power supply voltage is greater than the preset power supply threshold and the radio frequency module is communicatively connected to the connection station, the voltage adjustment module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a first voltage range; When the first power supply voltage is greater than a preset power supply threshold and the radio frequency module is in communication connection with the radio frequency module of an external device, the voltage regulation module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a second voltage range. in, The maximum value of the first voltage range is less than or equal to the preset power supply threshold, and the maximum value of the second voltage range is less than or equal to the minimum value of the first voltage range.

4. The radio frequency module according to claim 3, wherein the transmit power required by the radio frequency module when communicating with a connection station is greater than the transmit power required by the radio frequency module when communicating with an external device's radio frequency module.

5. The radio frequency module according to claim 3, wherein when the first power supply voltage is greater than the preset power supply threshold and the uplink rate of the radio frequency module is lower than the preset rate threshold, the voltage adjustment module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a third voltage range; in, The maximum value of the third voltage range is less than or equal to the minimum value of the second voltage range.

6. The radio frequency module according to claim 2, wherein when the first power supply voltage is greater than the preset power supply threshold, the voltage regulation module includes a step-down circuit, the step-down circuit being used to step down the first power supply voltage to the preset power supply threshold.

7. The radio frequency module according to claim 2, wherein the power supply module includes a power management module and a battery module, the power management module is used to convert the output voltage of the battery module to output the first power supply voltage; the battery module includes a graphite battery; When the first supply voltage is less than a preset supply threshold, the voltage regulation module is also used to transmit the first supply voltage to supply power to the radio frequency module.

8. The radio frequency module according to claim 1, wherein the voltage regulation module has a boost mode and a buck mode, and when the first power supply voltage is less than a preset power supply threshold, the voltage regulation module is used to operate in buck mode to reduce the voltage of the first power supply voltage.

9. The radio frequency module according to claim 1, wherein when the first power supply voltage is less than a preset power supply threshold, the voltage regulation module is used to step down the first power supply voltage to a second target voltage, the second target voltage being less than the preset power supply threshold.

10. The radio frequency module according to claim 9, wherein the power supply module includes a power management module and a battery module, the power management module is used to convert the output voltage of the battery module to output the first power supply voltage; the battery module includes a graphite battery; When the first power supply voltage is less than the preset power supply threshold and the radio frequency module is in communication connection with the connection station, the voltage regulation module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a first voltage range; the maximum value of the first voltage range is less than or equal to the preset power supply threshold.

11. The radio frequency module according to claim 10, wherein when the first power supply voltage is less than a preset power supply threshold and the radio frequency module is communicatively connected to the radio frequency module of an external device, the voltage adjustment module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a fourth voltage range; in, The maximum value of the fourth voltage range is less than or equal to the minimum value of the first voltage range, and the minimum value of the fourth voltage range is less than the minimum battery voltage of the graphite battery.

12. The radio frequency module according to claim 11, wherein when the first power supply voltage is less than the preset power supply threshold and the uplink rate of the radio frequency module is lower than the preset rate threshold, the voltage adjustment module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to a fifth voltage range; in, The maximum value of the fifth voltage range is less than the minimum value of the fourth voltage range.

13. The radio frequency module according to claim 2, wherein the power supply module includes a power management module and a battery module, the power management module is used to convert the output voltage of the battery module to output the first power supply voltage; the battery module includes a silicon negative electrode battery; When the first power supply voltage is less than a preset power supply threshold but greater than the first voltage, the voltage regulation module is used to reduce the first power supply voltage to the first voltage. When the first supply voltage is less than the first voltage but greater than the second voltage, the voltage regulation module is used to step down the first supply voltage to the second voltage; the second voltage is equal to the minimum battery voltage of the silicon negative electrode cell.

14. The radio frequency module according to claim 2, wherein the power supply module includes a power management module and a battery module, the power management module is used to convert the output voltage of the battery module to output the first power supply voltage; the battery module includes a silicon negative electrode battery; When the first supply voltage is less than a preset supply threshold, the voltage regulation module is used to step down the first supply voltage to the minimum battery voltage of the silicon anode battery.

15. The radio frequency module according to any one of claims 1-14, wherein the number of radio frequency modules is multiple, and each radio frequency module is configured with a power supply port; the voltage regulation module is connected to the power supply port of each radio frequency module respectively to output the second power supply voltage to each radio frequency module respectively.

16. The radio frequency module according to any one of claims 1-14, wherein the short-range wireless standard includes either WIFI or Bluetooth.

17. The radio frequency module according to claim 16, wherein the WIFI standard includes at least one of 2.4G WIFI standard and 5G WIFI standard, and the Bluetooth standard includes at least one of 2.4G BT standard and 5G BT standard.

18. A communication device, comprising: Power supply module; and The radio frequency module as described in any one of claims 1-17.

19. The communication device according to claim 18, wherein the power supply module comprises: Battery module; and The power management module is used to transform the battery voltage output by the battery module to output the first power supply voltage.

20. A communication system, comprising: Communication server; and Multiple communication devices as described in claim 18 or 19, wherein the communication devices are configured to support communication with the communication server and to support communication with different communication devices.

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