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US 12,756,436 B2Granted
Beamforming communication system with crossbar switch
AssigneeSkyworks Solutions, Inc.
InventorStephen Joseph Kovacic
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Beamforming communication systems with crossbar switches are provided herein. In certain embodiments, a beamforming communication system includes an antenna array partitioned into a plurality of sub-arrays, a plurality of front-end channels each operatively associated with one of the sub-arrays, a plurality of data conversion channels, and a crossbar switch electrically connected between the data conversion channels and the front-end channels. Including the crossbar switch allows for a flexible allocation of the data conversion channels to the front-end channels and subsequently to each individual antenna element in the array.
Claims20
A mobile device comprising:
- an antenna array partitioned into a plurality of sub-arrays each having two or more antennas;
- a plurality of front-end modules each operatively associated with a corresponding sub-array of the plurality of sub-arrays, a first front-end module of the plurality of front-end modules including at least two radio frequency receive channels configured to process at least two radio frequency receive signals from the two or more antennas of the corresponding sub-array, a combiner configured to combine the at least two radio frequency receive signals to generate a combined radio frequency receive signal, and a frequency downconversion circuit configured to downconvert the combined radio frequency receive signal to generate a combined common receive signal representing a combination of the at least two radio frequency receive signals from the two or more antennas of the corresponding sub-array;
- a crossbar switch operating in an analog domain, the crossbar switch including a plurality of analog inputs connected to the plurality of front-end modules, and a plurality of analog outputs, a first analog input of the plurality of analog inputs configured to receive the combined common receive signal representing the combination of the at least two radio frequency receive signals;
- and
- a plurality of data conversion channels each configured to receive an analog receive signal from a corresponding analog output of the plurality of analog outputs of the crossbar switch.
2 more elements
A modular front-end assembly for a mobile device, the modular front-end assembly comprising:
- a plurality of front-end modules each operatively associated with a corresponding sub-array of a plurality of sub-arrays each having two or more antennas, a first front-end module of the plurality of front-end modules including at least two radio frequency receive channels configured to process at least two radio frequency receive signals from the two or more antennas of the corresponding sub-array, a combiner configured to combine the at least two radio frequency receive signals to generate a combined radio frequency receive signal, and a frequency downconversion circuit configured to downconvert the combined radio frequency receive signal to generate a combined common receive signal representing a combination of the at least two radio frequency receive signals from the two or more antennas of the corresponding sub-array;
- and
- a crossbar switch operating in an analog domain, the crossbar switch including a plurality of analog inputs connected to the plurality of front-end modules, and a plurality of analog outputs each configured to provide an analog receive signal to a corresponding data conversion channel, a first analog input of the plurality of analog inputs configured to receive the combined common receive signal representing the combination of the at least two radio frequency receive signals.
A method of beamforming, the method comprising:
- receiving a radio wave using an antenna array that is partitioned into a plurality of sub-arrays each having two or more antennas, a plurality of front-end modules each operatively associated with a corresponding sub-array of the plurality of sub-arrays;
- processing at least two radio frequency receive signals from the two or more antennas of the corresponding sub-array using at least two radio frequency receive channels of a first front-end module of the plurality of front-end modules;
- combining the at least two radio frequency receive signals to generate a combined radio frequency receive signal using a combiner of the first front-end module;
- downconverting the combined radio frequency receive signal to generate a combined common receive signal using a frequency downconversion circuit of the first front-end module, the combined common receive signal representing a combination of the at least two radio frequency receive signals from the two or more antennas of the corresponding sub-array;
- operating a crossbar switch in an analog domain, the crossbar switch including a plurality of analog inputs connected to the plurality of front-end modules, and a plurality of analog outputs, a first analog input of the plurality of analog inputs receiving the combined common receive signal representing the combination of the at least two radio frequency receive signals;
- and
- providing data conversion using a plurality of data conversion channels each receiving an analog receive signal from a corresponding analog output of the plurality of analog outputs of the crossbar switch.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.