Method for automatic adjustment of a tunable passive antenna and a tuning unit, and apparatus for radio communication using this method

An apparatus for radio communication comprising:

• one or more tunable passive antennas, each of the one or more tunable passive antennas comprising at least one antenna control device, said at least one antenna control device having at least one parameter having an effect on one or more characteristics of said each of the one or more tunable passive antennas, said at least one parameter being adjustable by electrical means;
• a single-input-port and single-output-port tuning unit having an input port and an output port, the apparatus for radio communication allowing, at a given frequency, a transfer of power from the input port to an electromagnetic field radiated by the one or more tunable passive antennas, the single-input-port and single-output-port tuning unit comprising p adjustable impedance devices, where p is an integer greater than or equal to one, the p adjustable impedance devices being referred to as the one or more adjustable impedance devices of the tuning unit and being such that, at the given frequency, each of the one or more adjustable impedance devices of the tuning unit has a reactance, the reactance of any one of the one or more adjustable impedance devices of the tuning unit being adjustable by electrical means;
• a sensing unit delivering one or more sensing unit output signals, each of the one or more sensing unit output signals being mainly determined by one or more electrical variables;
• a transmission and signal processing unit, the transmission and signal processing unit delivering one or more antenna adjustment instructions, the transmission and signal processing unit applying an excitation to the input port, the transmission and signal processing unit estimating q real quantities depending on an impedance seen by the output port, where q is an integer greater than or equal to one, by utilizing the one or more sensing unit output signals, the transmission and signal processing unit delivering one or more tuning unit adjustment instructions, the one or more tuning unit adjustment instructions being determined as a function of said q real quantities depending on an impedance seen by the output port;
• and
• a control unit, the control unit delivering one or more antenna control signals to the one or more tunable passive antennas, each of the one or more antenna control signals being determined as a function of at least one of the one or more antenna adjustment instructions, each said at least one parameter of each said at least one antenna control device of each of the one or more tunable passive antennas being mainly determined by at least one of the one or more antenna control signals, the control unit delivering one or more tuning control signals to the single-input-port and single-output-port tuning unit, each of the one or more tuning control signals being determined as a function of at least one of the one or more tuning unit adjustment instructions, the reactance of each of the one or more adjustable impedance devices of the tuning unit being mainly determined by at least one of the one or more tuning control signals.