Wireless electronic device with radio-frequency sensors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10554240-B2
Application number	US-201514980603-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2015
Priority date	Dec 28, 2015
Publication date	Feb 4, 2020
Grant date	Feb 4, 2020

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include one or more antennas. The electronic device may have a housing in which control circuitry and radio-frequency transceiver circuitry is mounted. The transceiver circuitry may be used to transmit and receive radio-frequency signals using the antennas. The electronic device may have radio-frequency sensors. The radio-frequency sensors may include current sensors, voltage sensors, power sensors, sensors with taps and switching circuitry that tap signals flowing in a signal path and that may make measurements such as impedance measurements, and radio-frequency sensors with sensor antennas and associated sensor circuits that measure radio-frequency signals received using the sensor antennas. The control circuitry may make wireless circuit adjustments based on measured radio-frequency signals.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing;
control circuitry in the housing;
radio-frequency transceiver circuitry coupled to the control circuitry;
antennas coupled to the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry; and
a plurality of radio-frequency sensors including at least a first sensor that produces a first sensor output and a second sensor that produces a second sensor output that are coupled to the control circuitry and that measure radio-frequency signals produced when the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry uses at least one of the antennas to transmit wireless radio-frequency signals, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the transmission of the wireless radio-frequency signals with the transceiver circuitry based at least partly on a ratio between the first sensor output and the second sensor output.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising switching circuitry coupled between the antennas and the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, wherein the control circuitry adjusts the switching circuitry to switch at least one of the antennas into use and at least one other of the antennas out of use in response to the measured radio-frequency signals.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the antennas include at least one inverted-F antenna having a return path and wherein the plurality of radio-frequency sensors includes at least one radio-frequency sensor that measures signals in the return path and wherein the control circuitry is configured to adjust wireless transmit power levels associated with the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry at least partly based on the measured radio-frequency signals.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the antennas include at least one inverted-F antenna having a return path and wherein the plurality of radio-frequency sensors includes at least one radio-frequency sensor that measures signals in the return path.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 further comprising a tunable component in at least one of the antennas, wherein the control circuitry is configured to adjust the tunable component in response to the signals measured in the return path.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the control circuitry is configured to adjust a maximum transmit power level at which the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry transmits signals through the antennas in response to the measured radio-frequency signals.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the antennas are arranged in a phased antenna array and wherein the control circuitry is configured to adjust the phased antenna array in response to the measured radio-frequency signals.

8. An electronic device, comprising:
control circuitry;
radio-frequency transceiver circuitry coupled to the control circuitry;
antennas coupled to the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry that transmit wireless radio-frequency signals;
radio-frequency sensors including at least a first sensor that produces a first sensor output and a second sensor that produces a second sensor output that are coupled to the control circuitry and that measure; and
switching circuitry coupled between the antennas and the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry that switches one of the antennas into use and at least one other of the antennas out of use based partly on a ratio between the first sensor output and the second sensor output.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the control circuitry determines a current operating environment of the electronic device and wherein the switching circuitry switches one of the antennas into use and one other of the antennas out of use based partly on the current operating environment.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 wherein the control circuitry determines the current operating environment based on a type of object adjacent to the electronic device.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Han Liang
• Mow Matthew A

Classifications

• H04B1/40 Primary

  Circuits · CPC title

• H04B1/18

  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

• H04B17/102

  Power radiated at antenna · CPC title

• H04B1/44

  Transmit/receive switching · CPC title

• H01Q21/00

  Antenna arrays or systems (arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system H01Q3/00) · CPC title