Reconfigurable intelligent surface, RIS, with sensing capabilities and method for operating the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12592494-B2
Application number	US-202218852518-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 20, 2022
Priority date	Aug 1, 2022
Publication date	Mar 31, 2026
Grant date	Mar 31, 2026

Abstract

A reflective device includes a control element and an array of reflective elements. Each reflective element of the array of reflective elements has an antenna element and a phase shifter and is under control of the control element so as to reflect a radio-frequency (RF) signal incident on the each reflective element with an adjustable phase shift, where different phase shifts are realized by the phase shifter channeling the RF signal into a specific one of a number of different delay lines. Each of the different delay lines includes an extension unit configured to extract a portion of a power of the RF signal channeled into the respective specific one delay line by the phase shifter and to measure or estimate the voltage, the current and/or the power of the extracted portion of the RF signal.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A reflective device, comprising:
a control element; and an array of reflective elements, wherein each reflective element of the array of reflective elements comprises an antenna element and a phase shifter and is under control of the control element so as to reflect a radio-frequency (RF) signal incident on the each reflective element with an adjustable phase shift, wherein different phase shifts are realized by the phase shifter channeling the RF signal into a specific one of a number of different delay lines; wherein one or more of the different delay lines each comprise an extension unit configured to extract a portion of a power of the RF signal channeled into the respective specific one delay line by the phase shifter and to measure or estimate the voltage, the current and/or the power of the extracted portion of the RF signal.

2 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the extension unit comprises:
an impedance placed at an end of the respective specific one delay line; and an RF signal transmission line connecting the impedance with a sensor capable of measuring or estimating the voltage, current and/or power of an RF signal.

3 . The device according to claim 2 , wherein the sensors is configured to provide their measured or estimated voltage, current and/or power of the extracted portion of the RF signal to the control element.

4 . The device according to claim 3 , wherein the control element is configured to process the measured or estimated voltage, current and/or power values from all reflective elements for channel estimation.

5 . The device according to claim 2 , wherein the impedance is implemented as in form of a purely resistive impedance load.

6 . The device according to claim 2 , wherein the impedance is implemented as a varactor with a configurable impedance.

7 . The device according to claim 2 , wherein a length of the RF signal transmission line connecting the impedance with the sensor is determined in such a way that a first phase of the RF signal received at the sensor and second phase of the RF signal being reflected back to the antenna element are identical.

8 . The device according to claim 2 , wherein each extension unit comprises a second sensor.

9 . The device according to claim 2 , wherein extension units belonging to the same reflective element or to a number of neighbored reflective elements are configured to share a common sensor.

10 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein all extension units across all reflective elements of the array of reflective elements connect to an RF bus, which aggregates the RF signals from all reflective elements of the array of reflective elements in a common aggregation point to preserve phase information across the array of reflective elements.

11 . The device according to claim 10 , wherein the aggregated RF signal from the aggregation point feeds an RF power sensor, which is configured to communicate measurement results to the control element.

12 . The device according to claim 10 , wherein the RF signal transmission lines of the extension units each terminate in an RF switch element, which lets the RF signal pass through or not based on a configuration of the respective phase shifter.

13 . A method of operating a reflective device comprising a control element, and an array of reflective elements, wherein each reflective element of the array of reflective elements comprises an antenna element and a phase shifter and is under control of the control element so as to reflect a radio-frequency (RF) signal incident on the each reflective element with an adjustable phase shift, the method comprising:
channeling, by the phase shifter, an RF signal into a specific one of a number of different delay lines to realize a specific phase shift; extracting, by an extension unit of the respective specific one delay line, a portion of the power of the RF signal channeled into the respective specific one delay line; and measuring or estimating, by one or more sensors, the voltage, the current and/or the power of the extracted portion of the RF signal.

14 . The method according to claim 13 , further comprising:
providing, by the one or more sensors, the measured or estimated voltage, current and/or power of the extracted portion of the RF signal to the control element.

15 . The method according to claim 14 , further comprising:
processing, by the control element, the measured or estimated voltage, current and/or power values from all reflective elements of the array of reflective elements for channel estimation.

Assignees

• NEC Laboratories Europe GmbH
• Nec Corp

Inventors

• Rossanese Marco
• Mursia Placido
• Garcia-Saavedra Andres
• Sciancalepore Vincenzo
• Costa-Perez Xavier

Classifications

• H04B7/0617

  for beam forming · CPC title

• H01Q3/46 Primary

  Active lenses or reflecting arrays · CPC title

• H04B7/04013

  Intelligent reflective surfaces · CPC title

• H04B17/364

  Delay profiles · CPC title

• H01Q15/148 Primary

  with means for varying the reflecting properties (H01Q15/147 takes precedence) · CPC title