Adaptive AGC for Multi-Antenna Wireless Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-antenna short-range wireless systems, automatic gain control (AGC) applied uniformly across all antennas can lead to saturation or underrun due to varying signal strengths, affecting angle-of-arrival determinations and signal quality.
Innovation Solution
Adaptive AGC adjustment techniques, including backing off the initial gain, changing the reference antenna, grouping antennas by signal strength, and applying different AGC settings to prevent saturation and underrun, are employed to dynamically adjust gain settings based on signal conditions across multiple antennas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If uniform AGC is applied to all antennas based on a reference antenna, then the system complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but signal quality deteriorates due to saturation or underrun at antennas with varying signal strengths
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different gain settings to different antennas based on their individual signal characteristics. Each antenna's gain is adjusted according to its specific received signal strength, rather than applying a uniform gain setting across all antennas. This local customization resolves the contradiction by maintaining simple AGC operation while preventing saturation or underrun at each antenna.
2Reliability
If individual AGC adjustment is applied to each antenna, then signal quality and reliability are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the gain parameter individually for each antenna based on measured signal strength conditions. By dynamically adjusting the gain parameter according to each antenna's specific reception characteristics, the system achieves reliable signal quality without requiring complex additional hardware, only parameter adaptation.
3Reliability
If gain is increased to prevent underrun at weak signal antennas, then signal quality improves, but saturation occurs at strong signal antennas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different gain settings to different antennas based on their individual signal characteristics. Each antenna's gain is adjusted according to its specific received signal strength, rather than applying a uniform gain setting across all antennas. This local customization resolves the contradiction by maintaining simple AGC operation while preventing saturation or underrun at each antenna.
Data Source
AI summary
Adjusting automatic gain control of a receiver, in a short-range wireless system having a plurality of channels and a plurality of receiving antennas, includes setting initial gain to be set by receiver AGC based on signals received at a receiver reference antenna, receiving, at each of the receiving antennas, a signal on a current channel, and adjusting gain to be set by AGC for the signal to prevent saturation. Angle-of-arrival estimation may be performed following adjusting of the AGC. Adjusting AGC may include backing off the AGC, changing the reference antenna prior to deriving gain to be set by AGC, or determining gain to be set by AGC at additional receiving antennas, and for each antenna that is not the reference antenna and is not one of the additional antennas, selecting gain to be set by AGC from a closest one of the reference antenna and the additional antennas.