Patent Application
20250183937
Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and, more particularly, to multiple subscriber identity module (MSIM) wireless devices.
A wireless device may include one or more transceivers and multiple antennas for transmitting and/or receiving radio frequency (RF) signals. The wireless device may include multiple subscriber identity modules (SIMs) where each SIM is associated with a different subscriber.
The following presents a simplified summary of one or more implementations in order to provide a basic understanding of such implementations. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated implementations and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all implementations nor delineate the scope of any or all implementations. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more implementations in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
A first aspect relates to a system for wireless communications. The system includes a first receive circuit coupled to a first antenna and a second receive circuit coupled to a second antenna. The first receive circuit includes a first low-noise amplifier coupled to the first antenna, and a first mixer coupled to the first low-noise amplifier. The second receive circuit includes a second low-noise amplifier coupled to the second antenna, and a second mixer coupled to the second low-noise amplifier. The system also includes a first frequency synthesizer configured to generate a first local oscillator (LO) signal, a second frequency synthesizer configured to generate a second LO signal, a first multiplexer configured to selectively couple the first LO signal or the second LO signal to the first mixer, and a second multiplexer configured to selectively couple the first LO signal or the second LO signal to the second mixer.
A second aspect relates to a method of operating a wireless device. The method includes, in a first configuration, receiving a first copy of a first radio frequency (RF) signal via a first antenna, receiving a second copy of the first RF signal via a second antenna, and generating a combined signal based on the first copy of the first RF signal and the second copy of the first RF signal. The method also includes, in a second configuration, receiving a second RF signal via the first antenna, receiving a third RF signal via the second antenna, recovering data or control information for a first subscriber based on the second RF signal, and recovering data or control information for a second subscriber based on the third RF signal.
A third aspect relates to an apparatus. The apparatus includes means for receiving a first copy of a first radio frequency (RF) signal via a first antenna, means for receiving a second copy of the first RF signal via a second antenna, and means for generating a combined signal based on the first copy of the first RF signal and the second copy of the first RF signal. The apparatus also includes means for receiving a second RF signal via the first antenna, means for receiving a third RF signal via the second antenna, means for recovering data or control information for a first subscriber based on the second RF signal, and means for recovering data or control information for a second subscriber based on the third RF signal.
A fourth aspect relates to a system for wireless communications. The system includes a first receive circuit coupled to a first antenna, wherein the first receive circuit is configured to receive a first copy of a first radio frequency (RF) signal via the first antenna, and receive a second RF signal via the first antenna. The system also includes a second receive circuit coupled to a second antenna, wherein the second receive circuit is configured to receive a second copy of the first RF signal via the second antenna, and receive a third RF signal via the second antenna. The system further includes a processor coupled to the first receive circuit and the second receive circuit, wherein the processor is configured to generate a combined signal based on the first copy of the first RF signal and the second copy of the first RF signal, recover data or control information for a first subscriber based on the second RF signal, and a recover data or control information for a second subscriber based on the third RF signal.
The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.
In the environment 100, the wireless devices 130 may communicate with the first base station 110 via a first wireless link 115, which may include a downlink of data and/or control information transmitted from the first base station 110 to the wireless device 130 and an uplink of other data and/or control information transmitted from the wireless device 130 to the first base station 110. The wireless devices 130 may also communicate with the second base station 120 via a second wireless link 125, which may include a downlink of data and/or control information transmitted from the second base station 120 to the wireless device 130 and an uplink of other data and/or control information transmitted from the wireless device 130 to the second base station 120. Each of the wireless links 115 and 125 may be implemented using any suitable communication protocol or standard, such as 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long-Term Evolution (3GPP LTE, 3GPP NR 5G), IEEE 1302.13, IEEE 1302.13, Bluetooth™, and so forth.
In certain aspects, the wireless device 130 may be a multi-subscriber identity module (multi-SIM) wireless device that supports communication using multiple SIMs where each SIM may be associated with a different subscriber. In these aspects, the wireless device 130 may communicate with the first base station 110 using a first SIM associated with a first subscriber and communicate with the second base station 120 using a second SIM associated with a second subscriber, as discussed further below. In these aspects, the first base station 110 and the second base station 120 may be associated with different carrier networks or the same carrier network.
The memory 240 may store instructions 245 that are executable by the processor 220 to cause the wireless device 130 to perform one or more of the operations described herein. The processor 220 may include a general-purpose processor, a modem, a baseband processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof. The memory 240 may include, by way of example, random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), registers, magnetic disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any other suitable storage medium, or any combination thereof.
The transceiver 230 is configured to communicate with base stations (e.g., the first base station 110 and the second base station 120) via the antennas 235. More particularly, the transceiver 230 is configured to transmit signals to the base stations and receive signals from the base stations via the antennas 235, as discussed further below.
The user interface 250 may be configured to receive data from a user (e.g., via keypad, mouse, touchscreen, etc.) and provide the data to the processor 220. The user interface 250 may also be configured to output data from the processor 220 to the user (e.g., via a display, a speaker, etc.).
In certain aspects, the first SIM 255 includes memory (e.g., in a removable integrated circuit card) that stores an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), user account information, authentication information, and/or other information used to identify and/or authenticate a first subscriber with a network. The first subscriber may have a subscription for one or more services (e.g., data services, voice services, IMS services, etc.) on the network. In one example, the wireless device 130 transmits the IMSI and the authentication information for the first subscriber to the first base station 110 to access the network (e.g., carrier network) via the first base station 110 as the first subscriber,
The second SIM 260 includes memory (e.g., in a removable integrated circuit card) that stores an IMSI, user account information, authentication information, and/or other information used to identify and/or authenticate a second subscriber with the same network as the first SIM 255 or a different network. The second subscriber may have a subscription for one or more services (e.g., data services, voice services, IMS services, etc.) on the network. In one example, the wireless device 130 transmits the IMSI and the authentication information for the second subscriber to the second base station 120 to access the network (e.g., carrier network) via the second base station 120 as the second subscriber. In another example, the wireless device 130 transmits the IMSI and the authentication information for the second subscriber to the first base station 110 to access the network (e.g., carrier network) via the first base station 110 as the second subscriber (e.g., for the case where the first subscriber and the second subscriber have subscription with the same carrier network).
The first and second subscribers may have subscriptions with the same carrier network or different carrier networks. Also, the first and second subscribers may have subscriptions for the same services and/or different services.
The wireless device 130 may support one or more modes of operations for multiple subscribers. For example, the wireless device 130 may support a dual SIM dual standby (DSDS) mode, in which one of the subscribers may actively receive and transmit signals via the transceiver 230 at a time while the other subscriber may be put on standby. In another example, the wireless device 130 may support a dual SIM dual active (DSDA) mode, in which both subscribers may actively receive and transmit signals via the transceiver 230 at the same time. It is to be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples.
The transceiver 230 may include multiple transceivers to support multiple subscribers. However, as discussed further below, it is desirable to share one or more transceivers among multiple subscribers (e.g., the first subscriber and the second subscriber) to reduce area and cost.
In certain aspects, the wireless device 130 may employ antenna diversity to improve the quality and reliability of a wireless link (e.g., the first wireless link 115 or the second wireless link 125). In this regard,
In this example, the antennas 235 in
The diversity transceiver 305 includes a transmit circuit 320, a first receive circuit 330, and a second receive circuit 340. The first receive circuit 330 may be referred to as a primary receive circuit, and the second receive circuit 340 may be referred to as a secondary or diversity receive circuit. In this example, the transmit circuit 320 and the first receive circuit 330 are coupled to the first antenna 310 via an antenna coupler 318. The antenna coupler 318 may include a duplexer, a diplexer, switches, or another type of antenna coupler configured to couple a transmit circuit and a receive circuit to a shared antenna. The second receive circuit 340 may be coupled to the second antenna 315 through an RF switch 350 allows the second antenna 315 to be selectively coupled to the second receive circuit 340. The RF switch 350 may also allow the second antenna 315 to be selectively coupled to one or more other receive circuits and/or transmitters (not shown).
In the example in
In this example, the transmit circuit 320 includes a transmit mixer 322 and a power amplifier 324. The transmit mixer 322 may be configured to receive a baseband signal or an intermediate frequency (IF) signal, and mix the baseband signal or the IF signal with a transmit local oscillator (TXLO) signal to frequency upconvert the baseband signal or the IF signal into a transmit radio frequency (RF) signal. The power amplifier 324 is configured to amplify the transmit RF signal, and output the amplified RF signal to the antenna coupler 318 (e.g., duplexer) for transmission via the first antenna 310. It is to be appreciated that the transmit circuit 320 may include one or more additional components not shown in
In this example, the first receive circuit 330 (also referred to as the primary receive circuit) includes a first low-noise amplifier 334 and a first receive mixer 332. The first low-noise amplifier 334 is configured to receive an RF signal from the first antenna 310 via the antenna coupler 318, amplify the received RF signal, and output the amplified RF signal to the first receive mixer 332. The first receive mixer 332 may be configured to mix the amplified RF signal with a receive local oscillator (RXLO) signal to frequency downconvert the amplified RF signal into a baseband signal or an IF signal. It is to be appreciated that the first receive circuit 330 may include one or more additional components not shown in
In this example, the second receive circuit 340 (also referred to as the secondary receive circuit) includes a second low-noise amplifier 344 and a second receive mixer 342. The second low-noise amplifier 344 is configured to receive an RF signal from the second antenna 315, amplify the received RF signal, and output the amplified RF signal to the second receive mixer 342. The second receive mixer 342 may be configured to mix the amplified RF signal with the receive local oscillator (RXLO) signal to frequency downconvert the amplified RF signal into a baseband signal or an IF signal. It is to be appreciated that the second receive circuit 340 may include one or more additional components not shown in
It is to be appreciated that, in some implementations, each of the mixers 322, 332, and 342 shown in
In operation, the wireless device 130 may use the diversity transceiver 305 to communicate with the first base station 110 using antenna diversity for reception. To transmit data and/or control information to the first base station 110, the processor 220 may process the data and/or control information into a digital baseband signal. The processing performed by the processor 220 may include modulation, coding, etc. The transmit circuit 320 may then convert the digital baseband signal into an RF signal and transmit the RF signal to the first base station via the first antenna 310.
To receive an RF signal transmitted from the first base station 110 using antenna diversity, the first antenna 310 receives a first copy of the RF signal and the second antenna 315 receives a second copy of the RF signal. Because the first antenna 310 and the second antenna 315 are spaced apart and/or orientated in different directions, the first copy of the RF signal and the second copy of the RF signal may experience different levels of fading, interference, etc. In some cases, the first copy of the RF signal and the second copy of the RF may travel along different paths from the first base station 110 to the respective antenna (i.e., the RF signal may travel along multiple paths from the first base station 110 to the wireless device 130).
The first receive circuit 330 converts the first copy of the RF signal into a first baseband signal and outputs the first baseband signal to the processor 220. The second receive circuit 340 converts the second copy of the RF signal into a second baseband signal and outputs the second baseband signal to the processor 220. The processor 220 combines the first baseband signal and the second baseband signal into a combined signal to provide diversity gain (e.g., to increase signal-to-interference ratio). The processor 220 may employ one or more combining techniques known in the art to combine the first baseband signal and the second baseband signal including maximal ratio combining, minimum mean square error, equal-gain combining, active null steering, and/or another combining technique. The processor 220 may then process the combined signal to recover data and/or control information. For example, the processor 220 may perform demodulation, decoding, and/or other operations on the combined signal to recover the data and/or control information.
In certain aspects, the transceiver 230 may include a separate instance of the diversity transceiver 305 for each of the first subscriber and the second subscriber discussed above. However, providing a separate instance of the diversity transceiver 305 for each subscriber increases area and cost.
To address this, aspects of the present disclosure allow multiple subscribers (e.g., the first subscriber and the second subscriber) to share one or more diversity transceivers to reduce area and cost, as discussed further below.
In this example, the wireless device 130 includes a first frequency synthesizer 410 and a second frequency synthesizer 420. The first frequency synthesizer 410 is configured to generate a first receive local oscillator (RXLO1) signal for the first subscriber, and the second frequency synthesizer 420 is configured to generate a second receive local oscillator (RXLO2) signal for the second subscriber. The first frequency synthesizer 410 and the second frequency synthesizer 420 may each be implemented with a phase-locked loop (PLL), an inductor-capacitor (LC) oscillator, a ring oscillator, or the like. The RXLO1 signal may be used to frequency downconvert an RF signal for the first subscriber into a baseband or IF signal, and the RXLO2 signal may be used to frequency downconvert an RF signal for the second subscriber into a baseband or IF signal.
In certain aspects, the RF signal for the first subscriber and the RF signal for the second subscriber may have different frequencies. In these aspects, the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 have different frequencies to frequency downconvert the respective RF signal. In certain aspects, the RF signal for the first subscriber and the RF signal for the second subscriber may use different radio access technologies (RATs) or the same RAT.
In this example, the wireless device 130 includes a first multiplexer 430 and a second multiplexer 440. The first multiplexer 430 has a first input 432, a second input 434, and an output 436. The first input 432 is coupled to the first frequency synthesizer 410 to receive the RXLO1 signal, the second input 434 is coupled to the second frequency synthesizer 420 to receive the RXLO2 signal, and the output 436 is coupled to the first receive mixer 332. The first multiplexer 430 is configured to receive a first select signal (labeled “sel1”) at select input 438 and selectively couple the RXLO1 signal or the RXLO2 to the first receive mixer 332 based on the first select signal. For example, the first multiplexer 430 may select the RXLO1 signal when the first select signal has a first logic value and select the RXLO2 signal when the first select signal has a second logic value. The first logic value may be one and the second logic value may be zero, or vice versa.
The second multiplexer 440 has a first input 442, a second input 444, and an output 446. The first input 442 is coupled to the first frequency synthesizer 410 to receive the RXLO1 signal, the second input 444 is coupled to the second frequency synthesizer 420 to receive the RXLO2 signal, and the output 446 is coupled to the second receive mixer 342. The second multiplexer 440 is configured to receive a second select signal (labeled “sel2”) at select input 448 and selectively couple the RXLO1 signal or the RXLO2 to the second receive mixer 342 based on the second select signal. For example, the second multiplexer 440 may select the RXLO1 signal when the second select signal has the first logic value and select the RXLO2 signal when the second select signal has the second logic value, or vice versa.
In this example, the wireless device 130 includes a controller 460 for generating the first select signal and the second select signal. The individual connections between the controller 460 and the multiplexers 430 and 440 are not explicitly shown in
In a first configuration, the diversity transceiver 305 is configured to receive a first RF signal for the first subscriber using both receive circuits 330 and 340 for antenna diversity. In this configuration, the controller 460 causes the first multiplexer 430 and the second multiplexer 440 to both select the RXLO1 signal using the first and second select signals. Thus, the RXLO1 signal is output to both the first receive mixer 332 and the second receive mixer 342.
In the first configuration, the first antenna 310 receives a first copy of the first RF signal and the second antenna 315 receives a second copy of the first RF signal. The first RF signal may be transmitted from the first base station 110 (shown in
In the first configuration, the first receive circuit 330 (also referred to as the primary receive circuit) receives the first copy of the first RF signal via the antenna coupler 318.
The first low-noise amplifier 334 amplifies the first copy of the first RF signal, and the first receive mixer 332 mixes the first copy of the first RF signal with the RXLO1 signal to frequency downconvert the first copy of the first RF signal into a first baseband signal or first IF signal. For the example of the first IF signal, the first receive circuit 330 may include an additional mixer (not shown) to frequency downconvert the first IF signal into the first baseband signal.
The second receive circuit 340 (also referred to as the secondary or diversity receive circuit) receives the second copy of the first RF signal. The second low-noise amplifier 344 amplifies the second copy of the first RF signal, and the second receive mixer 342 mixes the second copy of the first RF signal with the RXLO1 signal to frequency downconvert the second copy of the first RF signal into a second baseband signal or second IF signal. For the example of the second IF signal, the second receive circuit 340 may include an additional mixer (not shown) to frequency downconvert the second IF signal into the second baseband signal.
The processor 220 receives the first baseband signal from the first receive circuit 330 and receives the second baseband signal from the second receive circuit 340. The processor 220 combines the first baseband signal and the second baseband signal into a combined signal to provide diversity gain (e.g., to increase signal-to-interference ratio). The processor 220 may employ one or more combining techniques known in the art to combine the first baseband signal and the second baseband signal including maximal ratio combining, minimum mean square error, equal-gain combining, active null steering, and/or another combining technique. The processor 220 may then process the combined signal to recover data and/or control information for the first subscriber.
It is to be appreciated that the controller 460 may also configure the diversity transceiver 305 to receive an RF signal for the second subscriber using antenna diversity. In this configuration, the controller 460 causes the first multiplexer 430 and the second multiplexer 440 to both select the RXLO2 signal using the first and second select signals. Thus, the RXLO2 signal is output to both the first receive mixer 332 and the second receive mixer 342. In this configuration, the first receive circuit 330 receives a first copy of the RF signal for the second subscriber via the first antenna 310, and the second receive circuit 340 receives a second copy of the RF signal for the second subscriber via the second antenna 315. The processor 220 may receive the corresponding baseband signals from the receive circuits 330 and 340, and combine the baseband signals using one or more combining techniques including maximal ratio combining, minimum mean square error, equal-gain combining, active null steering, and/or another combining technique.
In a second configuration, the diversity transceiver 305 is configured to receive a second RF signal for the first subscriber using the first receive circuit 330 and receive a third RF signal for the second subscriber using the second receive circuit 340. The second RF signal may have the same frequency as the first RF signal discussed above or a different frequency. In the second configuration, the controller 460 causes the first multiplexer 430 to select the RXLO1 signal and causes the second multiplexer 440 to select the RXLO2 signal using the first and second select signals. Thus, the RXLO1 signal is output to the first receive mixer 332 and the RXLO2 signal is output to the second receive mixer 342.
The second RF signal may be transmitted from the first base station 110 and the third RF signal may be transmitted from the second base station 120. However, it is to be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited to this example. In another example, the second RF signal and the third RF signal may both be transmitted from the first base station 110. The first RF signal and the second RF signal may be transmitted using different frequencies and/or different RATs.
In the second configuration, the first antenna 310 receives the second RF signal for the first subscriber, and the second antenna 315 receives the third RF signal for the second subscriber. In the second configuration, the wireless device 130 may also transmit an RF signal for the first subscriber via the first antenna 310 using the transmit circuit 320. The second configuration may be operate the wireless device 130 in dual receive DSDS (DR-DSDS) mode, in which the wireless device 130 may transmit and receive RF signals (e.g., the second RF signal) for the first subscriber while receiving an RF signal (e.g., the third RF signal) for the second subscriber.
In the second configuration, the first receive circuit 330 receives the second RF signal for the first subscriber via the antenna coupler 318. The first low-noise amplifier 334 amplifies the second RF signal, and the first receive mixer 332 mixes the second RF signal with the RXLO1 signal to frequency downconvert the second RF signal into a third baseband signal or third IF signal. For the example of the third IF signal, the first receive circuit 330 may include an additional mixer (not shown) to frequency downconvert the third IF signal into the third baseband signal.
The second receive circuit 340 receives the third RF signal for the second subscriber via the second antenna 315. The second low-noise amplifier 344 amplifies the third RF signal, and the second receive mixer 342 mixes the third RF signal with the RXLO2 signal to frequency downconvert the third RF signal into a fourth baseband signal or fourth IF signal. For the example of the fourth IF signal, the second receive circuit 340 may include an additional mixer (not shown) to frequency downconvert the fourth IF signal into the fourth baseband signal.
The processor 220 receives the third baseband signal from the first receive circuit 330 and receives the fourth baseband signal from the second receive circuit 340. The processor 220 may process the third baseband signal to recover data and/or control information for the first subscriber and process the fourth baseband signal to recover data and/or control information for the second subscriber. Processing performed by the processor 220 may include demodulation, decoding etc.
In the second configuration, the wireless device 130 may transmit and receive RF signals (e.g., the second RF signal) for the first subscriber using the transmit circuit 320 and the first receive circuit 330 while receiving an RF signal (e.g., the third RF signal) for the second subscriber using the second receive circuit 340. In this example, the wireless device 130 may actively receive and/or transmit signals for the first subscriber (e.g., to support a voice call for the first subscriber and/or a data transfer for the first subscriber). Also, in this example, the wireless device 130 may receive a signal (e.g., the third RF signal) providing data and/or control information for the second subscriber. For example, the signal may include a paging message indicating that the second subscriber has a text message, an alert, and/or an incoming call. In this example, the processor 220 may determine the second subscriber has a text message, an alert, and/or an incoming call based on the paging message, and notify the user of the text message, alert, and/or the incoming call via the user interface 250 (shown in
In a third configuration, the diversity transceiver 305 is configured to receive the second RF signal for the first subscriber using the second receive circuit 340 and receive the third RF signal for the second subscriber using the first receive circuit 330. The third configuration differs from the second configuration discussed above in that the second receive circuit 340 is used to receive the second RF signal for the first subscriber instead of the first receive circuit 330, and the first receive circuit 330 is used to receive the third RF signal for the second subscriber instead of the second receive circuit 330.
In the third configuration, the controller 460 causes the first multiplexer 430 to select the RXLO2 signal and causes the second multiplexer 440 to select the RXLO1 signal using the first and second select signals. Thus, the RXLO2 signal is output to the first receive mixer 332 and the RXLO1 signal is output to the second receive mixer 342.
In the third configuration, the first receive circuit 330 receives the third RF signal for the second subscriber from the first antenna 310 via the antenna coupler 318. The first low-noise amplifier 334 amplifies the third RF signal, and the first receive mixer 332 mixes the third RF signal with the RXLO2 signal to frequency downconvert the third RF signal into the fourth baseband signal or the fourth IF signal discussed above. For the example of the fourth IF signal, the first receive circuit 330 may include an additional mixer (not shown) to frequency downconvert the fourth IF signal into the fourth baseband signal.
The second receive circuit 340 receives the second RF signal for the first subscriber via the second antenna 315. The second low-noise amplifier 344 amplifies the second RF signal, and the second receive mixer 342 mixes the second RF signal with the RXLO1 signal to frequency downconvert the second RF signal into the third baseband signal or the third IF signal. For the example of the third IF signal, the second receive circuit 340 may include an additional mixer (not shown) to frequency downconvert the third IF signal into the third baseband signal. In this configuration, the second receive circuit 340 may be associated with the transmit circuit 320 in order to transmit an RF signal for the first subscriber via the first antenna 310 using the transmit circuit 320.
The processor 220 receives the fourth baseband signal from the first receive circuit 330 and receives the third baseband signal from the second receive circuit 340. The processor 220 may process the third baseband signal to recover data and/or control information for the first subscriber and process the fourth baseband signal to recover data and/or control information for the second subscriber, as discussed above. In this example, the controller 460 may indicate to the processor 220 that the third baseband signal is received from the second receive circuit 340 and the fourth baseband signal is received from the first receive circuit 330.
In a fourth configuration, the diversity transceiver 305 is configured to receive a fourth RF signal for the first subscriber using the first receive circuit 330. In this configuration, the second receive circuit 340 may be powered down to conserve power. The fourth RF signal may have the same frequency as the first RF signal discussed above or a different frequency. Thus, in the fourth configuration, an RF signal (e.g., fourth RF signal) is received for the first subscriber without the antenna diversity used in the first configuration. The fourth configuration may be used, for example, when the fourth RF signal has a high signal strength and antenna diversity is not needed to reliably receive the fourth RF signal. In the fourth configuration, the wireless device 130 may also transmit an RF signal for the first subscriber via the first antenna 310 using the transmit circuit 320.
In the fourth configuration, the controller 460 causes the first multiplexer 430 to select the RXLO1 signal using the first select signal. Thus, the RXLO1 signal is output to the first receive mixer 332.
In the fourth configuration, the first receive circuit 330 receives the fourth RF signal for the first subscriber from the first antenna 310 via the antenna coupler 318. The first low-noise amplifier 334 amplifies the fourth RF signal, and the first receive mixer 332 mixes the fourth RF signal with the RXLO1 signal to frequency downconvert the fourth RF signal into a fifth baseband signal or fifth IF signal. For the example of the fifth IF signal, the first receive circuit 330 may include an additional mixer (not shown) to frequency downconvert the fifth IF signal into the fifth baseband signal. The processor 220 receives the fifth baseband signal from the first receive circuit 330 and processes the fifth baseband signal to recover data and/or control information for the first subscriber.
In a fifth configuration, the diversity transceiver 305 is configured to receive the fourth RF signal for the first subscriber using the second receive circuit 340 instead of the first receive circuit 330. The fifth configuration may be used, for example, when the second antenna 315 is able to receive the fourth RF signal with higher signal strength than the first antenna 310 and/or another factor. In the fifth configuration, the controller 460 causes the second multiplexer 440 to select the RXLO1 signal using the second select signal. Thus, the RXLO1 signal is output to the second receive mixer 342.
In the fifth configuration, the second receive circuit 340 receives the fourth RF signal for the first subscriber via the second antenna 315. The second low-noise amplifier 344 amplifies the fourth RF signal, and the second receive mixer 342 mixes the fourth RF signal with the RXLO1 signal to frequency downconvert the fourth RF signal into the fifth baseband signal or the fifth IF signal discussed above. For the example of the fifth IF signal, the second receive circuit 340 may include an additional mixer (not shown) to frequency downconvert the fifth IF signal into the fifth baseband signal. The processor 220 receives the fifth baseband signal from the second receive circuit 340 and processes the fifth baseband signal to recover data and/or control information for the first subscriber. In this example, the controller 460 may indicate to the processor 220 that the fifth baseband signal is received from the second receive circuit 340 instead of the first receive circuit 330.
Thus, in the example shown in
It is to be appreciated that the wireless device 130 may support all of the exemplary configurations discussed above or a subset of the exemplary configurations. In some implementations, the first multiplexer 430 may be omitted with the first frequency synthesizer 410 coupled to the first receive mixer 332 without the multiplexer 430. In these implementations, the wireless device 130 may support at least the first configuration and the second configuration since the first frequency synthesizer 410 outputs the RXLO1 signal to the first receive mixer 332 in both of these configurations. In these implementations, the controller 460 causes the second multiplexer 440 to select the RXLO1 signal in the first configuration and causes the second multiplexer 440 to select the RXLO2 signal in the second configuration, as discussed above.
It is to be appreciated that first antenna 310 and the second antenna 315 may be shared among multiple transceivers that include the diversity transceiver 305. For example, the first antenna 310 may be coupled to the multiple transceivers through a diplexer or a triplexer (not shown) located between the antenna coupler 318 and the first antenna 310. In this example, the multiple transceivers may operate in different frequency bands, and the diplexer or triplexer may separate and/or combine RF signals in the different frequency bands to allow the multiple transceivers to share the first antenna 310. Thus, the antenna coupler 318 may be coupled to the first antenna 310 through a diplexer or a triplexer. The second antenna 315 may be coupled to the multiple transceivers in a similar manner using a diplexer or a triplexer (e.g., to support multiple frequency bands).
In a further aspect in an example implementation, a gating circuit may be provided between the multiplexers 430 and 440 and the frequency synthesizer 410 and 420 to improve isolation between the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 signal, as discussed further below. This may allow for further isolation between the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 signals when one of the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 signal is selected based on the first select signal (e.g., where isolation may help in configurations where there may be some coupling between the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 which can degrade the performance of the first receive circuit 330).
In this example, the first gating circuit 510 and the second gating circuit 520 may be configured such that one of the first gating circuit 510 and the second gating circuit 520 passes one of the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 signal to the first multiplexer 430 at a time based on the first control signal C1. For example, the first gating circuit 510 may pass the RXLO1 signal to the first multiplexer 430 and the second gating circuit 520 may gate the RXLO2 signal when the first control signal C1 has a first logic value. The first gating circuit 510 may gate the RXLO1 signal and the second gating circuit 520 may pass the RXLO2 signal to the first multiplexer 430 when the first control signal C1 has a second logic value. The first logic value may be one and the second logic value may be zero, or vice versa.
The first control signal C1 may be generated by the controller 460. In some implementations, the first control signal C1 may be the same as the first select signal. In these implementations, the first gating circuit 510 may be configured to pass the RXLO1 signal and the second gating circuit 520 may be configured to gate the RXLO2 signal when the first select signal causes the first multiplexer 430 to select the RXLO1 signal. Also, the first gating circuit 510 may be configured to gate the RXLO1 signal and the second gating circuit 520 may be configured to pass the RXLO2 signal when the first select signal causes the first multiplexer 430 to select the RXLO2 signal.
In this example, the controller 460 causes the first gating circuit 510 to pass the RXLO1 signal and the second gating circuit 520 to gate the RXLO2 signal in the first configuration, the second configuration, and the fourth configuration using the first control signal C1 (which may be the same as the first select signal). The controller 460 causes the first gating circuit 510 to gate the RXLO1 signal and the second gating circuit 520 to pass the RXLO2 signal in the third configuration.
Thus, in this example, only one of the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 signal is input to the first multiplexer 430 at a time. This significantly reduces coupling between the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 signal in the first multiplexer 430, improving isolation between the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 signal.
In the example in
In this example, the third gating circuit 530 and the fourth gating circuit 540 may be configured such that one of the third gating circuit 530 and the fourth gating circuit 540 passes one of the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 signal to the second multiplexer 440 at a time based on the second control signal C2. For example, the third gating circuit 530 may pass the RXLO1 signal to the second multiplexer 440 and the fourth gating circuit 540 may gate the RXLO2 signal when the second control signal C2 has the first logic value. The third gating circuit 530 may gate the RXLO1 signal and the fourth gating circuit 540 may pass the RXLO2 signal to the second multiplexer 440 when the second control signal C2 has the second logic value.
The second control signal C2 may be generated by the controller 460. In some implementations, the second control signal C2 may be the same as the second select signal. In these implementations, the third gating circuit 530 may be configured to pass the RXLO1 signal and the fourth gating circuit 540 may be configured to gate the RXLO2 signal when the second select signal causes the second multiplexer 440 to select the RXLO1 signal. Also, the third gating circuit 530 may be configured to gate the RXLO1 signal and the fourth gating circuit 540 may be configured to pass the RXLO2 signal when the second select signal causes the second multiplexer 440 to select the RXLO2 signal.
In this example, the controller 460 causes the third gating circuit 530 to pass the RXLO1 signal and the fourth gating circuit 540 to gate the RXLO2 signal in the first configuration, the third configuration, and the fifth configuration using the second control signal C2 (which may be the same as the first select signal). The controller 460 causes the third gating circuit 530 to gate the RXLO1 signal and the fourth gating circuit 540 to pass the RXLO2 signal in the second configuration.
Thus, in this example, only one of the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 signal is input to the second multiplexer 440 at a time. This significantly reduces coupling between the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 signal in the second multiplexer 440, improving isolation between the RXLO1 signal and the RXLO2 signal.
Each of the gating circuits 510, 520, 530, and 540 may be implemented with a logic gate including an AND gate, a NAND gate, or another type of logic gate.
In the example in
The wireless device 130 may include one or more drivers between the frequency synthesizers 410 and 420 and the mixers 332 and 342. In this regard,
In the example in
It is to be appreciated that one or more of the drivers 610, 620, 630, and 640 may be omitted in some implementations. The drivers 610, 620, 630, and 640 may also be referred to as LO drivers, LO amplifiers, or another term.
The first frequency synthesizer 410 and the second frequency synthesizer 420 may each be implemented with a phase-locked loop (PLL), an inductor-capacitor (LC) oscillator, a ring oscillator, or the like. In some implementations, the frequency synthesizer 410 may include a frequency divider in combination with a PLL. In this regard,
The wireless device 130 in the example in
It is to be appreciated that the second transmit circuit 920 may include one or more additional components (not shown) in the transmit path. In the discussion below, the transmit circuit 320 is referred to as the first transmit circuit, the transmit mixer 322 is referred to as the first transmit mixer, and the power amplifier 324 is referred to as the first power amplifier.
In one example, the first transmit mixer 322 may be configured to mix a baseband signal or an IF signal for the first subscriber with a first transmit local oscillator (TXLO1) signal to frequency upconvert the baseband signal or the IF signal into an RF signal for the first subscriber. The first power amplifier 324 may then amplify the RF signal (e.g., for transmission via the first antenna 310). Also, in this example, the second the second transmit mixer 922 may be configured to mix a baseband signal or an IF signal for the second subscriber with a second transmit local oscillator (TXLO2) signal to frequency upconvert the baseband signal or the IF signal into an RF frequency signal for the second subscriber. The second power amplifier 924 may then amplify the RF signal (e.g., for transmission via the third antenna 910). It is to be appreciated that the first transmit circuit 320 and the second transmit circuit 920 are not limited to this example.
In this example, the wireless device 130 may support one or more of the exemplary configurations discussed above with reference to
Also, in this configuration, the second transmit circuit 920 transmits a transmit RF signal for the second subscriber via the third antenna 910 and the second receive circuit 340 receives a receive RF signal for the second subscriber via the second antenna 315. The second multiplexer 440 (shown in
In this example, the wireless device 130 may support one or more of the exemplary configurations discussed above with reference to
Also, in this configuration, the second transmit circuit 920 transmits a transmit RF signal for the second subscriber via the second antenna 315 and the second receive circuit 340 receives a receive RF signal for the second subscriber via the second antenna 315. The second multiplexer 440 (shown in
At block 1110, in a first configuration, a first copy of a first radio frequency (RF) signal is received via a first antenna. The first antenna may correspond to the first antenna 310.
At block 1120, in the first configuration, a second copy of the first RF signal is received via a second antenna. The second antenna may correspond to the second antenna 315.
At block 1130, in the first configuration, a combined signal is generated based on the first copy of the first RF signal and the second copy of the first RF signal. The combining may be performed by the processor 220. The combined signal may be processed by the processor 220 to recover data and/or control information for the first subscriber.
At block 1140, in a second configuration, a second RF signal is received via the first antenna.
At block 1150, in the second configuration, a third RF signal is received via the second antenna.
At block 1160, in the second configuration, data or control information is recovered for a first subscriber based on the second RF signal. For example, the data or control information may be recovered by the processor 220.
At block 1170, in the second configuration, data or control information is recovered for a second subscriber based on the third RF signal. For example, the data or control information may be recovered by the processor 220.
In certain aspects, the first subscriber is associated with a first subscriber identity module (SIM) (e.g., first SIM 255) and the second subscriber is associated with a second SIM (e.g., second SIM 260).
In certain aspects, the second RF signal is transmitted from a first base station (e.g., the first base station 110), and the third RF signal is transmitted from a second base station (e.g., the second base station 120).
In certain aspects, the method 1100 also includes converting the first copy of the first RF signal into a first baseband signal, and converting the second copy of the first RF signal into a second baseband signal, wherein generating the combined signal comprises combining the first baseband signal and the second baseband signal. For example, the first receive circuit 330 may convert the first copy of the first RF signal into the first baseband signal and the second receive circuit 340 may convert the second copy of the first RF signal into the second baseband signal.
In certain aspects, combining the first baseband signal and the second baseband signal comprises combining the first baseband signal and the second baseband signal using maximal ratio combining, minimum mean square error, equal-gain combining, active null steering, and/or another combining technique.
In certain aspects, converting the first copy of the first RF signal into the first baseband signal comprises mixing the first copy of the first RF signal with a first local oscillator (LO) signal (e.g., RXLO1) using a first mixer, and converting the second copy of the first RF signal into the second baseband signal comprises mixing the second copy of the first RF signal with the first LO signal using a second mixer. The first mixer may correspond to the first receive mixer 332 and the second mixer may correspond to the second receive mixer 342.
In certain aspects, the method 1100 further includes converting the second RF signal into a third baseband signal, and converting the third RF signal into a fourth baseband signal. For example, the first receive circuit 330 may convert the second RF signal into the third baseband signal, and the second receive circuit 340 may convert the third RF signal into the fourth baseband signal.
In certain aspects, recovering the data or the control information for the first subscriber comprises recovering the data or the control information for the first subscriber based on the third baseband signal, and recovering the data or the control information for the second subscriber comprises recovering the data or the control information for the second subscriber based on the fourth baseband signal. For example, the processor 220 may recover the data or control information for the first subscriber, and recover the data or control information for the second subscriber.
In certain aspects, converting the first copy of the first RF signal into the first baseband signal comprises mixing the first copy of the first RF signal with a first local oscillator (LO) signal (e.g., RXLO1) using a first mixer, converting the second copy of the first RF signal into the second baseband signal comprises mixing the second copy of the first RF signal with the first LO signal using a second mixer, converting the second RF signal into the third baseband signal comprises mixing the second RF signal with the first LO signal using the first mixer, and converting the third RF signal into the fourth baseband signal comprises mixing the third RF signal with a second LO signal (e.g., RXLO2) using the second mixer. For example, the multiplexers 430 and 440 may output the first LO signal (e.g., RXLO1 signal) to the first mixer and the second mixer in the first configuration, and output the first LO signal to the first mixer and output the second LO signal (e.g., RXLO2) to the second mixer in the second configuration.
Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:
Within the present disclosure, the word “exemplary” is used to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation or aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of the disclosure. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation. The term “coupled” is used herein to refer to the direct or indirect electrical coupling between two structures. It is also to be appreciated that the term “ground” may refer to a DC ground or an AC ground, and thus the term “ground” covers both possibilities.
The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
