Device and method to calibrate frequency

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10389362-B2
Application number	US-201715610112-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 31, 2017
Priority date	Jul 4, 2016
Publication date	Aug 20, 2019
Grant date	Aug 20, 2019

Abstract

A frequency calibration device includes an input signal generator configured to generate an input signal based on an oscillation signal and an external signal, an envelope detector configured to detect an envelope signal corresponding to the input signal, and a frequency tuner configured to tune an oscillation frequency of the oscillation signal based on an envelope frequency corresponding to the envelope signal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A frequency calibration device, comprising:
an input signal generator configured to generate an input signal based on an oscillation signal and an external signal;
an envelope detector configured to detect an envelope signal corresponding to the input signal; and
a frequency tuner configured to tune an oscillation frequency of the oscillation signal based on an envelope frequency corresponding to the envelope signal.

2. The frequency calibration device of claim 1 , wherein the input signal generator comprises an amplifier configured to amplify the external signal based on a gain set so that an oscillator generates a signal in which the oscillation signal and the external signal are intermodulated as the input signal.

3. The frequency calibration device of claim 2 , wherein the input signal generator comprises a gain controller configured to tune the gain in response to determining that the input signal is not the signal in which the oscillation signal and the external signal are intermodulated.

4. The frequency calibration device of claim 1 , wherein the frequency tuner is further configured to tune the oscillation frequency of the oscillation signal so that the envelope frequency of the envelope signal is less than or equal to a threshold frequency.

5. The frequency calibration device of claim 1 , wherein the input signal generator comprises an oscillator comprising an inductor and a capacitor, and configured to operate at an oscillation frequency determined by the inductor and the capacitor, and
the oscillator is further configured to generate, as the input signal, one of an injection locked signal having an external frequency of the external signal, a natural oscillation signal having the oscillation frequency, and an intermodulated signal having a value of a frequency difference between the external frequency and the oscillation frequency, based on the external frequency of the external signal and the oscillation frequency.

6. The frequency calibration device of claim 5 , wherein the capacitor comprises a capacitor bank that comprises capacitors, and
the frequency tuner is further configured to control a capacitance of the capacitor by determining a control code for the capacitor bank, and to decrease the envelope frequency of the envelope signal by tuning the oscillation frequency.

7. The frequency calibration device of claim 5 , wherein the capacitor comprises:
a first capacitor bank configured to be swept based on a first capacitance unit in response to a control code; and
a second capacitor bank configured to be swept based on a second capacitance unit in response to the control code, wherein
the first capacitance unit is greater than the second capacitance unit.

8. The frequency calibration device of claim 1 , wherein the frequency tuner comprises:
a direct current remover configured to remove a direct current signal from the envelope signal, and to extract an alternating current signal;
an amplifier configured to amplify the alternating current signal to produce an amplified alternating current signal;
a counter configured to count a number of oscillations in which the amplified alternating current signal exceeds a threshold magnitude during a mask time; and
a comparator configured to tune the oscillation frequency based on the counted number of oscillations.

9. The frequency calibration device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a transmitter configured to transmit a signal to an outside area based on the tuned oscillation frequency.

10. The frequency calibration device of claim 1 , wherein the input signal generator is further configured to initialize the oscillation frequency to a target frequency set for a frequency channel of the external signal, in response to definition of the frequency channel of the external signal.

11. The frequency calibration device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a temperature measurer configured to measure a temperature of at least a portion of the frequency calibration device,
wherein the frequency tuner is further configured to detect the envelope signal and to tune the oscillation frequency again in response to the measured temperature being greater than a threshold temperature.

12. A frequency calibration method comprising:
generating an input signal based on an oscillation signal and an external signal;
detecting an envelope signal of the input signal; and
tuning an oscillation frequency of the oscillation signal based on an envelope frequency corresponding to the envelope signal.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
amplifying the external signal based on a gain;
tuning the gain in response to not detecting the envelope frequency from the envelope signal; and
repeatedly tuning the gain until the envelope frequency is detected.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the tuning of the oscillation frequency comprises tuning the oscillation frequency of the oscillation signal so that the envelope frequency of the envelope signal is less than or equal to a threshold frequency.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the tuning of the oscillation frequency comprises:
tuning the oscillation frequency by changing a capacitance of an oscillator;
sequentially changing the capacitance until the envelope frequency is not detected;
tuning a gain for amplifying the external signal, in response to an envelope frequency detected from a capacitance set prior to changing to a capacitance from which an envelope frequency is not detected exceeding a threshold frequency; and
maintaining the capacitance, in response to the envelope frequency detected from the capacitance set prior to changing to the capacitance from which the envelope frequency is not detected being less than or equal to the threshold frequency.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the tuning of the oscillation frequency comprises changing a capacitance of at least one of a first capacitor and a second capacitor included in an oscillator.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the changing of the capacitance comprises:
sequentially changing a capacitance of the first capacitor until the envelope frequency is not detected;
tuning a gain for amplifying the external signal and then changing the capacitance of the first capacitor again, in response to the envelope frequency detected from the envelope signal exceeding a first threshold frequency in a state in which the first capacitor is set to a capacitance changed prior to changing to a capacitance from which an envelope frequency is not detected;
sequentially changing a capacitance of the second capacitor until the envelope frequency is not detected, in response to the envelope frequency detected from the envelope signal being less than or equal to the first threshold frequency in a state in which the first capacitor is set to the capacitance changed prior to changing to the capacitance from which the envelope frequency is not detected;
tuning the gain for amplifying the external signal and then changing the capacitance of the second capacitor again, in response to the envelope frequency detected from the envelope signal exceeding a second threshold frequency in a state in which the second capacitor is set to the capacitance changed prior to changing to the capacitance from which the envelope frequency is not detected; and
maintaining the capacitance of the first capacitor and the capacitance of the second capacitor in response to the envelope frequency detected from the envelope signal being less than or equal to the second threshold frequency in a state in which the secon

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Seong Joong
• Kim Sang Joon
• Kim Jong Pal

Classifications

• H03J7/00

  Automatic frequency control; Automatic scanning over a band of frequencies · CPC title

• H03L1/02 Primary

  against variations of temperature only · CPC title

• H03L7/23

  with pulse counters or frequency dividers · CPC title

• H04B1/18 Primary

  Input circuits, e.g. for coupling to an antenna or a transmission line (coupling networks between antennas or lines and receivers independent of the nature of the receiver H03H) · CPC title

• H04B1/163

  Special arrangements for the reduction of the damping of resonant circuits of receivers (amplifiers H03F; negative impedance networks for line transmission systems H04B3/16) · CPC title