Radio frequency signal transmission/reception apparatus and radio frequency signal trasmission/reception method

Abstract

A radio frequency (RF) signal transmission/reception apparatus and an RF signal transmission/reception method are disclosed. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus is adapted to perform a transmission/reception duplex function using a bi-directional mixer at the IF band or baseband, not at the RF band. When a reception signal of the RF band is passed through the bi-directional mixer, it is converted into a signal in any one of the IF band and the baseband. Also, when a transmission signal in any one of the IF band and the baseband is passed through the bi-directional mixer, it is converted into a signal of the RF band.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a related RF signal transmission/reception apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another related example of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus;

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of an RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of an RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of an RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of an RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B are block diagrams illustrating signal transmission and reception operations of the embodiment of FIG. 10, respectively;

FIG. 12 is a waveform diagram showing frequency bands of signals which are passed by a signal transmitter and signal receiver in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B;

FIG. 13 is a table illustrating types of filters which can be provided in the embodiment of FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a filter characteristics-based operation of another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a waveform diagram showing frequency bands of signals which are passed by a signal transmitter and signal receiver in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a filter characteristics-based operation of another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a waveform diagram showing frequency bands of signals which are passed by a signal transmitter and signal receiver in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a filter characteristics-based operation of another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a filter characteristics-based operation of another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a filter characteristics-based operation of another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating a filter characteristics-based operation of another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing a modified embodiment of the embodiment of FIG. 22, which processes inphase and quadrature signals;

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating a reception signal processing operation of the embodiment of FIG. 22;

FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating a transmission signal processing operation of the embodiment of FIG. 22;

FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing a modified embodiment of the embodiment of FIG. 26, which processes inphase and quadrature signals;

FIG. 28 is a block diagram illustrating a reception signal processing operation of the embodiment of FIG. 26;

FIG. 29 is a block diagram illustrating a transmission signal processing operation of the embodiment of FIG. 26;

FIG. 30 is a circuit diagram showing a preferred embodiment of a bi-directional mixer in the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 31 is a circuit diagram showing an alternative embodiment of the bi-directional mixer in the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 32 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention, which has an image signal rejection function;

FIG. 33 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention, which has the image signal rejection function;

FIG. 34 is a block diagram showing yet another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to the present invention, which has the image signal rejection function;

FIG. 35 is a flowchart illustrating a preferred embodiment of an RF signal transmission method according to the present invention;

FIG. 36 is a flowchart illustrating a preferred embodiment of an RF signal reception method according to the present invention;

FIG. 37 is a flowchart illustrating a preferred embodiment of an RF signal transmission/reception method according to the present invention;

FIG. 38 is a flowchart illustrating an alternative embodiment of the RF signal transmission method according to the present invention;

FIG. 39 is a flowchart illustrating an alternative embodiment of the RF signal reception method according to the present invention;

FIG. 40 is a flowchart illustrating an alternative embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception method according to the present invention; and

FIG. 41 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of the RF signal transmission/reception method according to the present invention.

Claims

1. A radio frequency (RF) signal transmission/reception apparatus comprising: a frequency synthesizer for outputting an oscillation signal of a frequency;a signal transmitter for outputting a signal of a first frequency band included in any one of a baseband and an intermediate frequency (IF) band;a signal receiver for receiving a signal of a second frequency band included in any one of the baseband and the IF band and isolated from the first frequency band; anda bi-directional mixer for converting the signal of the first frequency band outputted from the signal transmitter into a signal of an RF band and, at the same time, a reception signal of the RF band into the signal of the second frequency band using the oscillation signal outputted from the frequency synthesizer.

2. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal transmitter comprises at least one of a first signal transmitter which transmits an inphase signal of the first frequency band and a second signal transmitter which transmits a quadrature signal of the first frequency band.

3. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal receiver comprises at least one of a first signal receiver which receives an inphase signal of the second frequency band and a second signal receiver which receives a quadrature signal of the second frequency band.

4. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an RF filter for filtering the signals of the RF band.

5. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bi-directional mixer is a double balanced mixer.

6. An RF signal transmission/reception apparatus comprising: a frequency synthesizer for outputting an oscillation signal of a certain frequency;a signal transmitter for outputting a signal of a first frequency band included in any one of a baseband and an IF band;a signal receiver for receiving a signal of a second frequency band included in any one of the baseband and the IF band;a bi-directional mixer for converting the signal of the first frequency band outputted from the signal transmitter into a signal of an RF band and a reception signal of the RF band into the signal of the second frequency band using the oscillation signal outputted from the frequency synthesizer; anda switch for performing a switching operation to transfer the signal of the first frequency band outputted from the signal transmitter to the bi-directional mixer, or the signal of the second frequency band converted by the bi-directional mixer to the signal receiver.

7. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the signal transmitter comprises at least one of a first signal transmitter which transmits an inphase signal of the first frequency band and a second signal transmitter which transmits a quadrature signal of the first frequency band.

8. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the signal receiver comprises at least one of a first signal receiver which receives an inphase signal of the second frequency band and a second signal receiver which receives a quadrature signal of the second frequency band.

9. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an RF filter for filtering the signals of the RF band.

10. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the bi-directional mixer is a double balanced mixer.

11. An RF signal transmission/reception apparatus comprising: a frequency synthesizer for outputting an oscillation signal of a certain frequency;a signal transmitter for outputting a signal of a first frequency band;a signal receiver for receiving a signal of a second frequency band isolated from the first frequency band; anda bi-directional mixer for converting the signal of the first frequency band outputted from the signal transmitter into a signal of an RF band and, at the same time, a reception signal of the RF band into the signal of the second frequency band using the oscillation signal outputted from the frequency synthesizer.

12. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the signal receiver comprises a low pass filter for passing only the second frequency band included in a baseband, and the signal transmitter comprises a band pass filter for passing only the first frequency band included in an IF band.

13. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the signal receiver comprises a low pass filter for passing only the second frequency band included in a baseband, and the signal transmitter comprises a high pass filter for passing only the first frequency band included in an IF band.

14. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the signal receiver comprises a band pass filter for passing only the second frequency band included in an IF band, and the signal transmitter comprises a low pass filter for passing only the first frequency band included in a baseband.

15. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the signal receiver comprises a first band pass filter for passing only the second frequency band included in an IF band, and the signal transmitter comprises a second band pass filter for passing only the first frequency band included in the IF band.

16. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the signal receiver comprises a band pass filter for passing only the second frequency band included in an IF band, and the signal transmitter comprises a high pass filter for passing only the first frequency band included in the IF band.

17. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the signal receiver comprises a high pass filter for passing only the second frequency band included in an IF band, and the signal transmitter comprises a low pass filter for passing only the first frequency band included in a baseband.

18. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the signal receiver comprises a high pass filter for passing only the second frequency band included in an IF band, and the signal transmitter comprises a band pass filter for passing only the first frequency band included in the IF band.

19. An RF signal transmission/reception apparatus comprising: a frequency synthesizer for outputting an oscillation signal of a certain frequency;a signal transmitter for modulating and outputting a signal of a frequency band included in any one of a baseband and an IF band;a signal receiver for receiving a signal of a frequency band included in any one of a baseband and an IF band;a bi-directional mixer for converting the signal of the frequency band outputted from the signal transmitter into a signal of an RF band and, at the same time, a reception signal of the RF band into the signal of the frequency band received by the signal receiver using the oscillation signal outputted from the frequency synthesizer; anda switch for performing a switching operation to transfer the signal of the frequency band outputted from the signal transmitter to the bi-directional mixer or the signal of the frequency band converted by the bi-directional mixer to the signal receiver.

20. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the signal outputted from the signal transmitter and the signal received by the signal receiver are inphase signals.

21. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising a first transmission/reception filter for filtering the inphase signals between the switch and the bi-directional mixer.

22. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the signal outputted from the signal transmitter and the signal received by the signal receiver are quadrature signals.

23. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 22, further comprising a second transmission/reception filter for filtering the quadrature signals between the switch and the bi-directional mixer.

24. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the signal receiver comprises: a first signal receiver for receiving an inphase signal of the signal of the frequency band converted by the bi-directional mixer; anda second signal receiver for receiving a quadrature signal of the signal of the frequency band converted by the bi-directional mixer.

25. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the first signal receiver comprises a first reception filter for channel-filtering the received inphase signal.

26. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the second signal receiver comprises a second reception filter for channel-filtering the received quadrature signal.

27. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the signal transmitter comprises: a first signal transmitter for outputting an inphase signal of the signal of the frequency band to be outputted to the bi-directional mixer; anda second signal transmitter for outputting a quadrature signal of the signal of the frequency band to be outputted to the bi-directional mixer.

28. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the first signal transmitter comprises a first transmission filter for channel-filtering the inphase signal to be outputted.

29. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the second signal transmitter comprises a second transmission filter for channel-filtering the quadrature signal to be outputted.

30. An RF signal transmission/reception apparatus comprising: a frequency synthesizer for outputting an oscillation signal of a certain frequency;a bi-directional mixer for converting a reception signal of an RF band into a first signal in any one of a baseband and an IF band using the oscillation signal outputted from the frequency synthesizer and outputting the converted first signal;a first signal selector for selecting any one of the first signal outputted from the bi-directional mixer and a fourth signal to be transmitted;a modem for receiving and demodulating a third signal processed from the first signal, and modulating and outputting a second signal in any one of the baseband and an IF band;a second signal selector for selecting any one of the second signal outputted from the modem and the third signal; anda signal transmitter/receiver unit for processing the second signal selected by the second signal selector to output the fourth signal, or processing the first signal selected by the first signal selector to output the third signal,wherein the bi-directional mixer converts the reception signal into the first signal and, at the same time, the fourth signal into a signal of the RF band.

31. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the signal transmitter/receiver unit comprises: a low-noise amplifier for amplifying the first signal selected by the first signal selector;a filter for filtering an output signal from the low-noise amplifier; anda variable gain amplifier for variably amplifying an output signal from the filter and outputting the amplified signal as the third signal.

32. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the signal transmitter/receiver unit comprises: a low-noise amplifier for amplifying the second signal selected by the second signal selector;a filter for filtering an output signal from the low-noise amplifier; anda variable gain amplifier for variably amplifying an output signal from the filter and outputting the amplified signal as the fourth signal.

33. An RF signal transmission/reception apparatus comprising: a frequency synthesizer for outputting an oscillation signal of a certain frequency;a bi-directional mixer for converting a reception signal of an RF band into a first signal in any one of a baseband and an IF band using the oscillation signal outputted from the frequency synthesizer and outputting the converted first signal;a modem for receiving and demodulating a third signal processed from the first signal, and modulating and outputting a second signal of any one of the baseband and an IF band; anda signal transmitter/receiver unit for processing the second signal outputted from the modem to output a fourth signal, or processing the first signal outputted from the bi-directional mixer to output the third signal,wherein the bi-directional mixer converts the reception signal of the RF band into the first signal and, at the same time, the fourth signal into a signal of the RF band.

34. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 33, wherein the signal transmitter/receiver unit comprises: a first amplifier for amplifying the first signal outputted from the bi-directional mixer;a first signal selector for selecting an output signal from the first amplifier, of the output signal from the first amplifier and the second signal outputted from the modem;a filter for filtering the signal selected by the first signal selector;a second amplifier for performing a variable-gain amplification with respect to an output signal from the filter to output the third signal; anda second signal selector for performing a switching operation to transfer the third signal outputted from the second amplifier to the modem.

35. The RF signal transmission/reception apparatus according to claim 33, wherein the signal transmitter/receiver unit comprises: a first signal selector for selecting the second signal outputted from the modem, of the first signal outputted from the bi-directional mixer and the second signal;a filter for filtering the second signal selected by the first signal selector;a second amplifier for performing a variable-gain amplification with respect to an output signal from the filter to output the fourth signal; anda second signal selector for performing a switching operation to transfer the fourth signal outputted from the second amplifier to the bi-directional mixer.

36. An RF signal transmission method comprising: modulating a signal to be transmitted;filtering the modulated signal to output a signal of a first frequency band included in any one of a baseband and an IF band;converting only the signal of the first frequency band, of signals of a frequency band including the first frequency band and a second frequency band isolated from the first frequency band, into a signal of an RF band; andtransmitting the signal of the RF band.

37. An RF signal reception method comprising: receiving a signal of the RF band;converting the received RF band signal into a signal of a second frequency band included in any one of a baseband and IF band;filtering signals of a frequency band including the second frequency band and a first frequency band isolated from the second frequency band to pass only the signal of the second frequency band; anddemodulating the signal of the second frequency band.

38. An RF signal transmission/reception method comprising: receiving a signal of an RF band;modulating and outputting a signal of a first frequency band included in any one of a baseband and an IF band; andconverting the received RF band signal into a signal of a second frequency band included in any one of the baseband and an IF band and, at the same time, the signal of the first frequency band into a signal of the RF band.

39. An RF signal transmission method comprising: modulating and outputting a signal of a frequency band included in a baseband and an IF band;selecting the modulated signal, of a signal in any one of the baseband and the IF band into which a received signal of an RF band is converted, and the modulated signal;converting the selected signal into a signal of the RF band; andtransmitting the converted RF band signal.

40. An RF signal reception method comprising: receiving a signal of an RF band;converting the received RF band signal into a signal of a frequency band included in any one of a baseband and an IF band;selecting the converted signal, of the converted signal and a transmission signal of a frequency band included in any one of the baseband and IF band; anddemodulating the selected signal.

41. An RF signal transmission/reception method comprising: receiving a first signal of an RF band;modulating a transmission signal and outputting the modulated signal as a second signal contained in any one of a baseband and an IF band;converting the first signal of the RF band into a signal belonging to any one of the baseband and the IF band if the first signal is selected, of the first signal and the second signal contained in any one of the baseband and the IF band, and converting the second signal into a signal of the RF band if the second signal is selected; anddemodulating the signal converted from the first signal, and transmitting the RF band signal converted from the second first signal.

42. An RF signal transmission/reception method comprising: receiving a signal of an RF band and outputting it as a first signal in any one of a baseband and an IF band;modulating a signal to be transmitted and outputting it as a second signal in any one of the baseband and the IF band;selecting any one of the first signal and the second signal;performing a signal processing including an amplification and filtering with respect to the selected signal;switching and outputting the processed signal according to a result of the selection; anddemodulating the outputted signal if the outputted signal is the signal processed from the first signal, and converting the outputted signal into a signal of the RF band if the outputted signal is the signal processed from the second signal.

43. The RF signal transmission/reception method according to claim 42, wherein the step of performing the signal processing comprises: amplifying the selected signal;filtering the amplified signal; andperforming a variable-gain amplification with respect to the filtered signal.

44. The RF signal transmission/reception method according to claim 42, wherein the step of performing the signal processing comprises: amplifying the first signal to reduce noise in the signal if the selected signal is the first signal;filtering the amplified signal; andperforming a variable-gain amplification with respect to the filtered signal.

45. The RF signal transmission/reception method according to claim 42, wherein the step of performing the signal processing comprises: filtering the second signal if the selected signal is the second signal; andperforming a variable-gain amplification with respect to the filtered signal.