Method and apparatus for wireless transmission, reception and related operations using reconfigurable matrix of elements

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12368494-B2
Application number	US-202318390681-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2023
Priority date	Dec 20, 2023
Publication date	Jul 22, 2025
Grant date	Jul 22, 2025

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for wireless communication using a matrix of reconfigurable cells is provided. Each cell has an antenna or antenna port and is reconfigurable to operate as a transmitter, receiver, angle-of-arrival detector or power harvester. Cells can be allocated to different tasks as needed. A reference frequency signal is distributed to each cell, with an in-phase version of the signal being delivered to a first subset of cells, and a quadrature version of the signal being delivered to a second subset of cells. The first and second subsets may be interleaved for example in a checkerboard pattern. Cells cooperate in pairs for transmission or reception of quadrature amplitude modulated signals. Groups of four cells may cooperate for angle of arrival detection. The cells may be configured as interferometric transmitter/receiver cells using 90 degree hybrid couplers and power detectors.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a plurality of unit cells arranged in a two-dimensional array, each of the unit cells having an antenna or an antenna port and being selectably reconfigurable to operate in one of a plurality of modes including: a wireless transmitter mode; and a wireless receiver mode; and
a reference frequency distribution component configured to distribute an electrical reference frequency signal to each of the unit cells, such that an in-phase version of the reference frequency signal is delivered to a first subset of the plurality of unit cells, and a quadrature version of the reference frequency signal is delivered to a second subset of the plurality of unit cells, the first subset and the second subset making up the plurality of unit cells,
wherein each one of the unit cells belonging to the first subset and operating in the wireless transmitter mode cooperates with at least another one of the unit cells belonging to the second subset and operating in the wireless transmitter mode to transmit an outgoing wireless signal; and
wherein each one of the unit cells operating in the wireless receiver mode cooperates with at least another one of the unit cells operating in the wireless receiver mode to receive an incoming wireless signal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of modes further includes:
a wireless signal angle of arrival detector mode, wherein four or more of the unit cells operating in the wireless signal angle of arrival detector mode and belonging to a same one of the first subset and the second subset cooperate to determine a wireless signal angle of arrival; and
a wireless energy power harvesting mode, wherein unit cells operating in the wireless energy power harvesting mode convert received wireless signal energy at the antenna or antenna port into electrical energy usable for powering electrical components.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the first subset forms a first two-dimensional pattern of unit cells, the second subset forms a second two-dimensional pattern of unit cells, and the first two-dimensional pattern and the second two-dimensional pattern are interleaved to form a checkerboard pattern within the two-dimensional array, and wherein the four or more of the unit cells operating in the wireless signal angle of arrival detector mode form two parts of a zig-zag pattern within the checkerboard pattern, the two parts being symmetrically arranged about a reference cell separate from the four or more of the unit cells.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein each of the unit cells comprises at least one power detector, and wherein each of the unit cells, when operating in the wireless energy harvesting mode, is configured to switchably engage a low pass filter with an output of said at least one power detector, wherein output of the low pass filter is routed as harvested power to a power sink or a power storage device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to allocate one or more groups of the plurality of unit cells to one or more corresponding transmission or reception tasks, and to configure unit cells of each of the groups to perform said corresponding transmission or reception tasks.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein, for at least one of the groups, the controller determines a number of cells forming said at least one of the groups based on one or more of: a power consumption criterion; a performance criterion for a wireless transmission operation; and a performance criterion for a wireless reception operation.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the controller determines a pattern of cells forming at least one of the groups based on one or more of: a polarization of the outgoing wireless signal or the incoming wireless signal; a frequency of the outgoing wireless signal or the incoming wireless signal; a direction for transmission of the outgoing wireless signal; and an angle of arrival of the incoming wireless signal.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of modes further includes a wireless signal angle of arrival detector mode, and wherein the angle of arrival of the incoming wireless signal is determined using the wireless signal angle of arrival detector mode operating prior to the controller determining the pattern of cells.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the reference frequency distribution component comprises:
one or more 90 degree hybrid couplers, each of the 90 degree hybrid couplers configured to receive the reference frequency signal and to generate a copy of the in-phase version of the reference frequency signal and a copy of the quadrature version of the reference frequency signal,
the reference frequency distribution component further configured to provide each of the unit cells of the first subset with one of the in-phase versions of the reference frequency signal, and to provide each of the unit cells of the second subset with one of the quadrature versions of the reference frequency signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the one or more 90 degree hybrid couplers comprises multiple 90 degree hybrid couplers, the apparatus further comprising a power divider configured to distribute the reference frequency signal to the multiple 90 degree hybrid couplers.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each one of the unit cells belonging to the first subset is adjacent to at least one of the unit cells belonging to the second subset.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first subset forms a first two-dimensional pattern of unit cells, the second subset forms a second two-dimensional pattern of unit cells, and the first two-dimensional pattern and the second two-dimensional pattern are interleaved to form an overall pattern within the two-dimensional array.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the overall pattern is a checkerboard pattern.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the outgoing wireless signal is a quadrature amplitude modulated signal, said one of the unit cells belonging to the first subset and operating in the wireless transmitter mode transmits an in-phase portion of the quadrature amplitude modulated signal, and said another one of the unit cells belonging to the second subset and operating in the wireless transmitter mode transmits a quadrature portion of the quadrature amplitude modulated signal.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein said one of the unit cells is physically adjacent to said another one of the unit cells within the two-dimensional array.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the incoming wireless signal is a quadrature amplitude modulated signal, said one of the unit cells operating in the wireless receiver provides an intermediate signal indicative of an in-phase portion of the quadrature amplitude modulated signal, and said another of the unit cells operating in the wireless receiver mode provides an intermediate signal indicative of a quadrature portion of the quadrature amplitude modulated signal.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein said one of the unit cells is spaced apart from said another one of the unit cells by a distance which depends at least in part on whether or not said one of the unit cells and said another one of the unit cells belong to a same subset, being one of the first subset and the second subset.

18. The apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein each cell of the plurality of unit cells comprises:
a local oscillator synchronized to the reference frequency signal as received by the cell;
an antenna or antenna port, the antenna for transmitting o

Assignees

• Huawei Tech Canada Co Ltd
• La Corp De Lecole Polytechnique De Montreal

Inventors

• Keivaan Seyed Ali
• Burasa Pascal
• Wu Ke

Classifications

• H04B7/0608 Primary

  Antenna selection according to transmission parameters · CPC title

• H04B7/086

  using weights depending on external parameters, e.g. direction of arrival [DOA], predetermined weights or beamforming · CPC title

• H02J50/001

  Energy harvesting or scavenging · CPC title

• H04B7/0802 Primary

  using antenna selection (H04B7/0868 takes precedence; antenna beam directivity switching H01Q3/24) · CPC title