Remote FM Receiver Architecture for Compact Cellular Phones
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Solution Overview
Problem
The compact form factor of cellular phones makes it challenging to integrate a suitable FM antenna, as multiple antennas are required for different wireless signals, leading to the need for external FM antennas connected via wires, which complicates the design and increases size.
Innovation Solution
A cellular phone system that offloads FM signal processing to a remote device, using a wireless transceiver to receive and process intermediate frequency signals, allowing the cellular phone to focus on cellular phone signal processing while the remote device handles FM signal reception and conversion to baseband signals, eliminating the need for a large FM antenna within the phone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple antennas are integrated into the cellular phone for different wireless signals, then the phone can receive various signals (cellular, Bluetooth, WiFi, FM), but the phone size increases and becomes infeasible for compact designs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the signal reception system into two segments: the cellular phone handles cellular, Bluetooth, and WiFi signals through its existing antennas, while the FM receiver with its own antenna is placed in an external device (headset or car kit). This segmentation allows each device to have optimized antenna sizes for their specific functions without compromising overall compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
The FM receiver and its antenna are extracted from the cellular phone and placed in an external device. This extraction eliminates the need for a large FM antenna within the phone's compact form factor, while still enabling FM radio functionality through wireless connection between the phone and the external FM receiver.
2Adaptability or versatility
If an external FM antenna is connected to the cellular phone via wires, then FM signal reception is enabled, but the design complexity increases and the user experience is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical wire connection system with a wireless communication system. The FM receiver in the external device communicates with the cellular phone via wireless signals (Bluetooth or other wireless interfaces), eliminating the need for physical wire connections between the FM antenna and the phone while maintaining signal transmission capability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the cellular phone includes integrated FM signal processing components, then complete FM functionality is achieved, but the phone size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the FM signal processing functionality with the existing wireless communication capabilities of the cellular phone. The phone's wireless transceiver handles both cellular communications and FM receiver data transmission, while the phone's audio processing components handle both cellular audio and FM audio processing. This merging allows shared use of existing hardware resources without adding duplicate functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
A cellular phone includes a first wireless transceiver that receives intermediate frequency (IF) signals. The IF signals are based on frequency modulated (FM) signals that have been tuned and down-converted from a radio frequency (RF) to an IF by a remote device. An FM processing module that receives the IF signals, that converts the IF signals to baseband signals, and that generates processed FM signals.