Intel Corporation

Apple Inc.

Intel IP Corporation

Michael Kerner

Itay Almog

Elan Banin

Zohar Agon

Rotem Avivi

Nati Dinur

Michael Ney

Uri Parker

Avi Gazneli

Yair Dgani

Ofir Degani

Uri Perlmutter

Rotem Banin

Gil Horovitz

Shachar Shayovitz

Avi Sulimarski

Assaf Gurevitz

Evgeny Shumaker

Shay Gershoni

Gilad Kirshenberg

Yuval Avner

Mik Vh Cohen

Ran Forte

Sharad Deepak Sambhwani

Tom Harel

Alexander Belitzer

Bruno Jechoux

Amir Israel Rubin

Vladimir Kravtsov

Eshel Gordon

Assi Jakoby

Koby Vainapel

Avishay Friedman

Tzvi Maimon

Yaron Yoffe

Aryeh Farber

Ran Shimon

Danniel Nahmanny

Flavio De Angelis

Yaniv Cohen

Ayelet Shahar-Doron

Amit Knoll

Shay Shahaf

Michael Delishansky

Roman Rainov

Avihay Yehezkel

John Zhonghua Wu

Shay I Freundlich

Tami Sela

Ido Kalderon

Uri Perimutter

An electronic device may include communications circuitry, sensing circuitry, and a set of antennas having first and second feeds for covering different polarizations. The communications circuitry may transmit signals with a first polarization using each of the antennas and may concurrently transmit signals with a second polarization using all but a selected one of the antennas. The sensing circuitry may concurrently transmit sensing signals with the first polarization using one of the antennas and may receive sensing signals with the second polarization using the selected antenna. The sensing signals may include chirp signals generated to include muted periods that correspond to a range of frequencies that overlap frequencies at which the wireless circuitry is subject to radio-frequency interference. This may allow for concurrent wireless communications and sensing operations without interference between the communications circuitry and the sensing circuitry.

Electronic devices with concurrent radio-frequency transmission and sensing

An electronic device may include wireless circuitry with sensing circuitry that transmits radio-frequency sensing signals and receives reflected radio-frequency sensing signals. A mixer may generate a series of beat signals based on the sensing signals and the reflected sensing signals. The sensing circuitry may generate a beat phase based on an average of the series of beat signals, a set of phase values based on the series of beat signals, and a phase velocity based on the set of phase values. The sensing circuitry may resolve a phase ambiguity in the beat phase based on the phase velocity to identify a range between the electronic device and an external object. This way may allow the sensing circuitry to generate accurate ranges even in a low signal-to-noise ratio regime, such as when the external object is moving relative to the electronic device.

Electronic devices with low signal-to-noise ratio range measurement capabilities

Accuracy for detecting and tracking one or more objects of interest can be improved using radar-based tracking systems. In some examples, multiple radars implemented in a device can be used to transmit signals to, and receive signals from, the one or more objects of interest. To disambiguate an object of interest from undesired objects such as the hand of a user, the object of interest can include a transponder that applies a delay element to a signal received from a radar, and thereafter transmits a delayed return signal back to the radar. The delay produced by the delay element can separate the return signal from undesired reflections and enable disambiguation of those signals. Clear identification of the desired return signal can lead to more accurate object distance determinations, more accurate triangulation, and improved position detection and tracking accuracy.

Ultra-accurate object tracking using radar in multi-object environment

Embodiments are presented herein of apparatuses, systems, and methods for a wireless device to perform sensing applications using communication signals. The first wireless device may determine to perform a sensing application and to perform the sensing application using a communication signal to be transmitted to a second device. In other words, the first wireless device may use a transmission that is scheduled for communication purposes to additionally perform sensing of one or more types. Example sensing or radar-like applications include estimating distance, motion, and/or angle to one or more objects or structures in the vicinity of the first wireless device. After transmitting the communication signal to the second wireless device, the first wireless device may receive a reflection of the communication signal. The first wireless device may use the reflection to perform the sensing application.

Radio frequency based sensing using communication signals

Some embodiments enable improved packet error rate (PER), signal to noise ratio (SNR), channel capacity, aggregated throughput, and communication range in wireless communication systems. For example, an electronic device includes a buffer that stores a first descrambled bit estimate sequence. The electronic device further includes an encoder that receives a descrambling sequence and generates an encoded descrambling sequence and a multiplier circuit that receives a bit estimate sequence and the encoded descrambling sequence and generates a second descrambled bit estimate sequence. The electronic device also includes an adder circuit that combines the first descrambled bit estimate sequence and the second descrambled bit estimate sequence and a decoder that decodes the combined descrambled bit estimate sequence.

Apparatus and method for WLAN range extension

A transmitter is provided. The transmitter includes an envelope tracking circuit, wherein the envelope tracking circuit includes an envelope circuit configured to generate, based on a baseband signal, an envelope signal indicating a temporal course of the baseband signal's envelope. Further, the envelope tracking circuit includes a bandwidth reduction circuit configured to generate a bandwidth reduced envelope signal based on the envelope signal, and a DC-to-DC converter configured to generate a supply voltage for a power amplifier of the transmitter based on the bandwidth reduced envelope signal. The transmitter additionally includes a predistortion circuit configured to generate a predistorted baseband signal based on the baseband signal and an adjustable predistortion configuration. The predistortion circuit is further configured to adjust the predistortion configuration based on the bandwidth reduced envelope signal.

Transmitters and methods for operating the same

A transceiver having quantization noise compensation is disclosed. The transceiver includes transmitter and receiver circuits. The transmitter is configured to receive and quantize a digital signal to generate a quantized signal. The quantized signal is then converted into an analog transmit signal and transmitted as a wireless signal. The receiver circuit is configured to receive a reflected version of the wireless signal and generate an analog receive signal based thereon. The analog receive signal is converted into a digital receive signal. Thereafter, the receiver cancels quantization noise from the digital receive signal to produce a digital output signal that can be utilized for further processing.

Transceiver system with quantization noise mitigation

Embodiments are presented herein of apparatuses, systems, and methods for a wireless device to perform multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) transmissions using a reduced number of antennas (e.g., a number of transmit antennas that is smaller than a number of layers of the MIMO transmission). The MIMO transmission may communicate multiple streams of data to a second wireless device. The MIMO transmission may further be used for sensing applications, e.g., based on reflection of the MIMO transmission.

MIMO transmission using fewer antennas for communication

This disclosure relates to techniques for performing ranging wireless communication in a secure manner. A first wireless device may receive a plurality of independent sequences from a second wireless device. The first wireless device may perform a combined channel estimate using the sequences. The first wireless device may estimate the distance (or angle/direction, among various possibilities) between the two devices based on the combined channel estimate.

Channel estimation combining for secure time of flight applications

A precursor rejection filter is disclosed. A digital filter is coupled to receive packets from a data source. The filter may operate in one of a first mode or a second mode. In the first mode, the filter may receive communications packets. When operating in the second mode, the filter may receive sensing packets. Furthermore, when operating in the second mode, the filter may cause a precursor of the equivalent impulse response of the transmitter to be attenuated without attenuating the main lobe of the equivalent impulse response of the transmitter.

Precursor rejection filter

Embodiments are presented herein of apparatuses, systems, and methods for a wireless device to perform improved channel estimates for sensing applications such as ranging. The wireless device may determine noise characteristics, e.g., a spectrum of the variance of noise on a channel and may use the noise characteristics to estimate a response of an analog front end of the wireless device. The wireless device may correct a channel estimate based on the estimated response of the analog front end.

Real time analog front end response estimation for sensing applications

Systems and methods configured to cancel spurs in a phase locked loop (PLL) system are provided. A method configured to cancel spurs in a PLL system includes receiving a PLL signal from the PLL system; determining an estimated spur frequency of a spur in the received PLL signal based on the received PLL signal; and canceling the spur in the received PLL signal based on the estimated spur frequency.

Spur frequency estimation inside digital phase locked loop

A time-to-digital converter is provided. The time-to-digital converter includes a delay circuit configured to iteratively delay a reference signal for generating a plurality of delayed reference signals. Further, the time-to-digital converter includes a plurality of sample circuits each configured to sample an oscillation signal based on one of the plurality of delayed reference signals. The time-to-digital converter additionally includes a control circuit configured to de-activate at least one of the plurality of sample circuits based on a predicted value of the phase of the oscillation signal.

Time-to-digital converter, digital phase-locked loop, method for operating a time-to-digital converter, and method for a digital phase-locked loop

Aspects of a digital phase-lock loop (DPLL) with an adjustable delay between an output clock and a reference clock in accordance with phase noise compensation are generally described herein. An apparatus may include processing circuitry configured to, in a first mode, identify a delay element of a plurality of delay elements based on an associated delay value, and set an initial phase difference value to a phase difference value associated with the identified delay element. The processor circuitry may be further configured to, in a second mode, in a second mode, initialize the DPLL using the initial phase difference value, determine a phase error between a reference clock and a feedback clock based on the initial phase difference value, adjust an output clock signal based on the phase error.

DPLL with adjustable delay in integer operation mode

Growing community of inventors

Tel Mond, Israel

Michael Kerner