AGC Circuit for Accurate RSSI Under Signal Distortion

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems for determining received signal strength indicators (RSSI) of magnetic fields in vehicle access systems are prone to inaccuracies due to signal distortion, leading to incorrect distance measurements.

Innovation Solution

An automatic gain control (AGC) circuit comprising a pre-divider circuit, pre-amplifier, post-divider circuit, analog-to-digital converter, and logic to sample and set divider settings, generating accurate RSSI values by improving carrier-to-noise ratio and signal linearity, and allowing for fast envelope tracking and noise reduction.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a continuous waveform signal is used for RSSI measurement, then the measurement process is simple, but signal distortion causes the constant envelope to vary leading to inaccurate RSSI information

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemeasurement process simplicityVSAvoidRSSI measurement accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic gain adjustment through multiple gain stages that can be individually controlled. The system transitions from a static measurement approach to a dynamic one where gain settings are continuously adjusted based on signal conditions, allowing the measurement system to adapt to varying signal strengths while maintaining envelope stability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the parameter of gain control by introducing multiple adjustable gain stages with different gain values. By varying the gain parameters dynamically according to signal conditions, the system maintains accurate RSSI measurements across different signal strengths without being affected by envelope variations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Measurement precision

If multiple gain stages are used to improve signal processing accuracy, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveRSSI measurement accuracyVSAvoidcircuit structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the gain control function into multiple independent gain stages, each with its own control mechanism. This segmentation allows each stage to be optimized independently and controlled separately, improving measurement precision while keeping the complexity manageable through modular design.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements feedback control where the system monitors signal conditions and automatically adjusts the gain stage settings. This feedback mechanism enables the complex multi-stage gain control system to operate autonomously, reducing the need for manual intervention and simplifying the overall control complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If gain control settings are adjusted dynamically, then RSSI measurement accuracy improves, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveRSSI measurement accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent pre-configures multiple gain stages with predetermined gain values and settings. When a measurement is needed, the system can quickly select from these pre-prepared configurations rather than calculating optimal settings in real-time, thus maintaining high measurement accuracy while minimizing processing time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs periodic sampling and measurement cycles where gain settings are adjusted at specific intervals rather than continuously. This periodic approach allows the system to maintain accurate measurements while reducing the overall processing time by avoiding constant adjustments.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

Data Source

PatentEP3424144B1Automatic gain control for received signal strength indication
Publication Date: 2022.01.19 ATMEL CORP
  • EP3424144B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3424144B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3424144B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

In some implementations, an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit comprises: a pre-divider circuit operable to pre-divide an input signal according to a pre-divider circuit setting and output a pre-divided signal; a pre-amplifier operable to pre-amplify the pre-divided signal and output a pre-amplified signal; a post-divider circuit operable to post-divide the pre-amplified signal according to a post-divider circuit setting; an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) operable to generate a digital data stream from the post-divided signal; logic operable to sample the digital data stream; determine a pre-divider circuit setting and a post-divider circuit setting based on the sampled data stream; set the pre-divider circuit and the post-divider circuit based on the determined settings; and generate a received signal strength value based on the pre-divider circuit setting and the post-divider circuit setting.