Dynamic Antenna Selection for Wireless Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Battery-powered user communication devices with a large number of antennas face significant battery drain issues due to the complexity of antenna configurations, especially during low-power modes and wireless Device-to-Device (D2D) communications, which complicates the reduction of antenna usage to conserve power.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of transceiver and baseband circuitry that wirelessly receives and processes antenna data to selectively activate subsets of internal antennas based on reserve battery power and geometric orientation, optimizing antenna usage for power conservation while maintaining communication efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large number of antennas are used in user communication devices, then communication performance and capabilities (such as MIMO and beamforming) are improved, but battery drain increases and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic antenna selection where the device switches between different antenna configurations based on operational mode. In normal mode, all antennas are active for optimal communication performance. In low-power mode, the device dynamically reduces to a subset of antennas, balancing communication needs with power conservation requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the full antenna array into multiple subsets or groups. This segmentation allows the device to activate only the necessary portion of antennas for a given communication task, rather than all antennas simultaneously, thereby reducing power consumption while maintaining adequate communication performance.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the number of antennas is reduced in low-power mode, then battery power is conserved, but communication capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
In low-power mode, the patent activates only a partial subset of antennas rather than all antennas. This partial action provides sufficient communication capability for basic operations while consuming significantly less power, accepting that peak performance is not achieved but adequate functionality is maintained.
3Adaptability or versatility
If more antenna configuration options are provided, then adaptability to different communication scenarios is improved, but device complexity and difficulty of control increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-configures multiple antenna subsets with different characteristics (e.g., different numbers of antennas, different spatial distributions). These configurations are prepared in advance and can be quickly switched between based on operational needs, avoiding the complexity of dynamically optimizing antenna selection in real-time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes discrete parameters of antenna configuration (such as the number of active antennas, which specific antennas are active, and their spatial arrangement) to adapt to different communication scenarios. This parameter-based approach provides versatility while maintaining manageable complexity through predefined configuration options.
Data Source
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AI summary
A battery-powered wireless communication device (110, 411, 511) has internal antennas (601-609, 701-702). In the wireless communication device (110, 411, 511), transceiver circuitry (111, 402, 502-503, 600) wirelessly receives external antenna data that indicates on/off status, reserve battery power, and geometric earth-orientation for the individual antennas in a different wireless communication device (120). Baseband circuitry (112, 401, 501) determines internal antenna data that indicates the on/off status, reserve battery power, and geometric earth-orientation for the internal antennas (601-609, 701-702). The baseband circuitry (112, 401, 501) executes a user application that generates and consumes user data. The baseband circuitry (112, 401, 501) selects a set of the internal antennas (601-609, 701-702) to serve the user application based on the internal antenna data and the external antenna data. The transceiver circuitry (111, 402, 502-503, 600) wirelessly exchanges the user data over the selected set of the internal antennas (601-609, 701-702).