Single Receive Path Angle of Arrival Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing receiver systems require multiple receive paths to determine the angle of arrival of signals, which increases complexity, cost, and chip area, while systems with a single receive antenna struggle to accurately estimate angles from transmitters with multiple antennas.
Innovation Solution
A receive path configuration that uses a single receive path to determine the angle of arrival by calculating phase differences between signals received from multiple antennas, applying correction factors for frequency offsets, and integrating channel impulse responses to estimate carrier phases, allowing for angle estimation with a single antenna system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple receive paths are used to determine angle of arrival, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the angle of arrival measurement process into distinct functional modules: a correlation module that processes signals from multiple antennas independently, a phase calculation module that computes carrier phases from correlation outputs, and an angle calculation module that determines the final angle from phase differences. This modular segmentation allows accurate multi-antenna processing while maintaining manageable system complexity through clear functional separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from spatial dimension analysis to temporal dimension analysis by using time-domain correlation functions to extract phase information. Instead of directly comparing spatial signal arrivals, the system correlates received signals with reference signals over time to obtain channel impulse responses, then extracts phase information from the correlation outputs. This dimensional transformation simplifies the measurement process while maintaining accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If multiple receive paths are used to determine angle of arrival, then measurement precision is improved, but chip area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the signal processing functions for multiple antennas into a unified receive path architecture. The correlation module processes signals from multiple antennas through shared correlation operations, and the phase calculation module computes phases for all antennas using common computational resources. This merging approach maintains the measurement precision of multiple independent paths while significantly reducing the chip area required compared to fully separate receive paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The receive path is designed with universal, multi-functional modules that can process signals from any antenna. The correlation module can correlate signals from multiple antennas with reference signals, and the phase calculation module can compute phases for any antenna output. This multi-functionality allows a single receive path to perform the work of multiple dedicated paths, reducing chip area while maintaining measurement precision.
3Device complexity
If a single receive antenna is used, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces correlation functions as an intermediary that enables a single receive antenna to effectively process signals from multiple transmit antennas. By correlating the received signal with reference signals corresponding to different transmit antennas, the system extracts phase information that would normally require multiple receive antennas. This intermediary correlation process acts as a virtual antenna array, maintaining measurement precision while using only a single physical receive antenna.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates virtual copies of the receive path functionality through signal correlation. Instead of having multiple physical receive antennas, a single receive antenna's signal is copied and correlated with multiple reference signals, each representing a different transmit antenna. This copying approach generates multiple virtual signal streams from a single physical antenna, enabling angle of arrival estimation with reduced hardware complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach simplifies receiver systems, reduces costs and chip area, and enables accurate angle of arrival estimation for signals from transmitters with multiple antennas using a single receive path, while maintaining accuracy in non-line of sight conditions.
Implementation Method 1
determine a first carrier phase, theta 1 , of the first signal and a second carrier phase, theta 2 , of the second signal
Implementation Method 2
The phase calculation module is configured to: receive a first correlated signal, corresponding to a first portion of a packet from a first antenna
Data Source
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AI summary
A receive path comprising: a processing module configured to: receive a first portion of a packet of received signalling from a first antenna; receive a carrier estimate signal; adjust the first portion based on the carrier estimate signal and correlate the signal with an expected code sequence to provide a first correlated signal; a tracking module configured to: receive the first correlated signal and update the carrier estimate signal, wherein the processing module is further configured to: receive a second portion of the packet from a second antenna; adjust the second portion based on the carrier estimate signal and correlate the signal to provide a second correlated signal, and wherein the receive path further comprises a phase calculation module configured to: receive the first and second correlated signals and determine a respective first and second carrier phase and an angle of arrival of the received signalling.