System, apparatus and method for providing remote tuner options in a vehicle entertainment system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11979680-B2
Application number	US-202318123895-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2023
Priority date	Sep 11, 2019
Publication date	May 7, 2024
Grant date	May 7, 2024

Abstract

In one example, a remote tuner module includes: a first tuner to receive, process and demodulate a first radio frequency (RF) signal to output an analog audio signal, and to receive and process a second RF signal to output a first downconverted modulated signal; a second tuner to receive and process the second RF signal to output a second downconverted modulated signal; a demodulator circuit coupled to the first and second tuners to demodulate and link the first and second modulated signals, to output a linked demodulated signal. The remote tuner module may further include a gateway circuit coupled to at least the demodulator circuit to output the analog audio signal and the linked demodulated signal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A remote radio tuner comprising:
a first tuner configured to receive and process a first radio frequency signal to output a first downconverted modulated signal;
a second tuner configured to receive and process a second radio frequency signal to output a second downconverted modulated signal;
a demodulator circuit configured to demodulate the first downconverted modulated signal to a first demodulated signal, to demodulate the second downconverted modulated signal to a second demodulated signal, the demodulator circuit including a linker circuit configured to link the first demodulated signal and the second demodulated signal and to provide on an output of the demodulator circuit a demodulated output signal, the linker circuit configured to transition between providing the demodulated output signal based on the first demodulated signal and providing the demodulated output signal based on the second demodulated signal; and
a gateway circuit coupled to the output of the demodulator circuit and configured to provide an output signal to a radio head unit via a link.

2. The remote radio tuner of claim 1 wherein the demodulator circuit is configured to link the first demodulated signal and the second demodulated signal to generate the demodulated output signal.

3. The remote radio tuner of claim 1 wherein, in an operational mode, the demodulated output signal includes information from both the first demodulated signal and the second demodulated signal.

4. The remote radio tuner of claim 1 wherein, in a bypass mode, the gateway circuit outputs the first downconverted modulated signal and the second downconverted modulated signal to the radio head unit.

5. The remote radio tuner of claim 1 further comprising a circuit board including a shunt element, the first tuner and the second tuner residing on the circuit board, the circuit board adapted for either i) a first configuration in which the demodulator circuit is included on the circuit board, or ii) a second configuration in which the demodulator circuit is not included on the circuit board and in which the shunt element directs the first downconverted modulated signal and the second downconverted modulated signal to the gateway circuit.

6. A system comprising the remote radio tuner of claim 1 and a second remote radio tuner including a third tuner and a fourth tuner, wherein the second remote radio tuner is coupled to the remote radio tuner.

7. The remote radio tuner of claim 1 wherein the link includes a wireless link, and the gateway circuit includes a wireless interface circuit.

8. The remote radio tuner of claim 1 wherein the first radio frequency signal and the second radio frequency signal include the same audio content at different frequencies.

9. The remote radio tuner of claim 1 wherein the first tuner is further configured to receive and demodulate a third radio frequency signal to output an analog audio signal, the gateway circuit further configured to output the analog audio signal to the radio head unit via the link.

10. A vehicle radio system comprising:
a remote tuner module configured to receive and process a first radio frequency signal to output a first downconverted modulated signal, to receive and process a second radio frequency signal to output a second downconverted modulated signal, the first radio frequency signal received at a first antenna and the second radio frequency signal received at a second antenna, the remote tuner module further configured to demodulate the first downconverted modulated signal to a first demodulated signal, to demodulate the second downconverted modulated signal to a second demodulated signal, and to link the first demodulated signal and the second demodulated signal such that the remote tuner module can transition between providing an output signal based on the first demodulated signal and providing an output signal based on the second demodulated signal; and
a radio head unit coupled to the remote tuner module via a wireless link, the radio head unit configured to receive and process the output signal received from the remote tuner module.

11. The vehicle radio system of claim 10 wherein the remote tuner module is further configured to link the first demodulated signal and the second demodulated signal to generate a linked demodulated signal, and to provide the linked demodulated signal as the output signal.

12. The vehicle radio system of claim 10 wherein, in an operational mode, the output signal includes information from both the first demodulated signal and the second demodulated signal.

13. The vehicle radio system of claim 10 wherein, in a bypass mode, the output signal includes first downconverted modulated signal and the second downconverted modulated signal.

14. The vehicle radio system of claim 10 wherein the first radio frequency signal and the second radio frequency signal include the same audio content at different frequencies.

15. The vehicle radio system of claim 10 wherein the remote tuner module is further configured to receive and demodulate a third radio frequency signal to output an analog audio signal.

16. A remote radio tuner comprising:
a first tuner configured to receive, process and demodulate a first radio frequency signal to output an audio signal;
a second tuner configured to receive and process a second radio frequency signal to output a first downconverted modulated signal;
a gateway circuit coupled to the first tuner and the second tuner and configured to output the audio signal and the first downconverted modulated signal to a radio head unit via a link; and
a circuit board including a shunt element, the first tuner and the second tuner residing on the circuit board, the shunt element configured to direct the first downconverted modulated signal to the gateway circuit without any demodulation, the remote radio tuner not including a demodulator.

17. The remote radio tuner of claim 16 wherein the first tuner is further to receive and process a third radio frequency signal to output a second downconverted modulated signal, and the gateway circuit further configured to output the second downconverted modulated signal to the radio head unit via the link.

18. The remote radio tuner of claim 17 wherein the second radio frequency signal and the third radio frequency signal include the same audio content at different frequencies.

19. The remote radio tuner of claim 16 wherein the link includes a wireless link.

Assignees

• Skyworks Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Gaxiola-Sosa Jesus Efrain
• Blank Aaron
• Manthiram Kathir
• Davis Shawn
• Schnepp Jan
• Morris Jacob
• Szmulewicz Damian

Classifications

• H04N5/455 Primary

  Demodulation-circuits · CPC title

• H04B1/0003

  Software-defined radio [SDR] systems, i.e. systems wherein components typically implemented in hardware, e.g. filters or modulators/demodulators, are implented using software, e.g. by involving an AD or DA conversion stage such that at least part of the signal processing is performed in the digital domain (digital baseband systems H04L25/00; digital modulation/demodulation H04L27/00; CDMA H04B1/707; TDMA H04B7/2643; image transmission H04N5/00) · CPC title

• H04B1/406

  with more than one transmission mode, e.g. analog and digital modes · CPC title

• H04B7/2637 Primary

  for logical channel control · CPC title

• H04N5/46

  for receiving on more than one standard at will (deflecting circuits of multi-standard receivers H04N3/27) · CPC title