Multiple Antenna Transmit Path Power Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable wireless devices face reduced talk time due to high transmit power consumption when combating signal fading, as they adjust power levels to maintain signal-to-noise ratios in wireless communication systems.
Innovation Solution
Equipping wireless devices with multiple antennas of different designs, allowing for diverse signal paths that can be selectively enabled, disabled, and adjusted in phase and gain to enhance received signal levels at the base station, thereby reducing the average transmit power required.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If transmit power is increased to combat signal fading, then received signal level is improved, but battery power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transmit signal is segmented into multiple independent signal paths, each with its own antenna and transmission characteristics. By dividing the single transmission into multiple paths, the system achieves diversity gain without requiring proportional increases in total transmit power, thus improving received signal reliability while controlling power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes transmission parameters by selectively enabling/disabling signal paths and adjusting phase/gain for each path. This allows dynamic adaptation to channel conditions, achieving reliable signal reception through parameter optimization rather than simply increasing transmit power, thereby reducing battery power consumption.
2Reliability
If multiple transmit signal paths are used to improve received signal level, then device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transmission system is segmented into multiple independent paths that can be controlled individually. This segmentation allows the complexity to be distributed and managed per path rather than requiring complex centralized control, making the overall system more manageable despite having multiple paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamic control of signal paths, selectively enabling and disabling paths based on channel conditions. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt to varying conditions without maintaining all paths active simultaneously, reducing the effective complexity at any given moment while maintaining reliability when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless device is equipped with multiple (e.g., two) antennas, which may be of different designs. Each antenna interacts with the wireless environment in a different manner and achieves different scattering effect. The wireless device has one transmit signal path for each antenna. Each transmit signal path generates an RF output signal for transmission from the associated antenna. The wireless device controls the operation of one or more transmit signal paths to achieve a larger received signal level at a receiving base station. The wireless device may (1) autonomously adjust the transmit signal path(s) without relying on any feedback from the base station or (2) adjust the transmit signal path(s) based on transmit power control (TPC) commands received from the base station. The wireless device may selectively enable and disable each transmit signal path, vary the phase and/or gain of each transmit signal path, and so on.