Transmit Oscillator Switching for Multi-Receiver Wireless Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless communication devices face challenges in seamlessly transitioning between radio access technologies and frequency bands due to limitations in existing technologies, leading to interruptions and suboptimal performance in mobility scenarios, particularly with abrupt shadowing effects.
Innovation Solution
A multi-receiver wireless communication device that utilizes a switching assembly to decouple the receive oscillator from one receiver and couple the transmit oscillator to it, allowing independent operation of both receivers when the transmitter is not in use, enabling efficient scanning and synchronization across multiple bands and frequencies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If two receivers operate simultaneously for concurrent multiple band searches, then reaction time and performance are improved, but device complexity and cost increase due to requiring a second receive LO
Solution Approach 1:
The transmit LO is made multi-functional by enabling it to serve both the transmitter and the second receiver. When the transmitter is not in use, its LO output is redirected to drive the second receiver, allowing the same hardware component to perform multiple functions and eliminating the need for a dedicated second receive LO
Solution Approach 2:
The transmitter's LO resource is utilized to serve the second receiver's needs when the transmitter is idle. This self-service approach allows the system to reuse existing resources rather than adding new components, thereby improving productivity without proportionally increasing complexity
2Device complexity
If receivers share a single Local Oscillator, then device complexity is reduced, but the receivers cannot be operated independently to search multiple frequencies
Solution Approach 1:
The LO assignment is made dynamic rather than static. The switching assembly allows the system to adaptively assign the transmit LO to different components based on operational needs - to the transmitter when active, or to the second receiver when idle, enabling flexible frequency search capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The LO distribution is segmented into controllable paths with a switching assembly that can route the transmit LO signal to either the transmitter or the second receiver. This segmentation allows independent operation of receivers for frequency searching while maintaining simple hardware architecture
3Productivity
If the transmitter is not in use, then resources can be reallocated to improve cell search performance, but the system must quickly transition between transmission and reception modes
Solution Approach 1:
The switching assembly is pre-configured to rapidly redirect the transmit LO signal to the second receiver as soon as transmission completes. This preliminary setup of the switching mechanism enables quick transition between modes, minimizing the time loss during mode changes while maximizing cell search performance
Data Source
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AI summary
A multi-receiver wireless communication device includes a transmitter, a transmit oscillator communicatively coupled to the transmitter, a receive oscillator communicatively coupled to a first receiver and second receiver, and a switching assembly having a first state in which the receive oscillator is coupled to the first and second receivers and a second state in which the receive oscillator is de-coupled from the second receiver and the transmit oscillator is coupled to the second receiver. The first receiver and the second receiver of the wireless communication device are able to operate independent of one another when the switching assembly is in the second state.