Sensor circuit with leakage-based local oscillator generation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021055402-A1
Application number	US-201916549689-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 23, 2019
Priority date	Aug 23, 2019
Publication date	Feb 25, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

A sensor circuit included in a computer system may include multiple antennae and transceiver circuits that include transmitter and receiver circuits. A particular transceiver circuit may transmit, via a particular antenna, a transmit signal that is a modulated version of a baseband signal, and generate a leakage signal based on leakage between transmitter and receiver circuits included in the particular transceiver circuit. A different transceiver circuit may generate a received signal using a reflected version of the transmitted signal that is received via a different antenna. An output signal may be generated using the received and leakage signals.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An apparatus, comprising:
a plurality of transceiver circuits each coupled to a respective one of a plurality of antennae; wherein a first transceiver circuit of the plurality of transceiver circuit is configured to:
transmit, via a first antenna of the plurality of antennae, a transmit signal that is a modulated version of a baseband signal; and
generate a leakage signal based on an amount of signal leakage of the transmit signal to a receiver circuit included in the first transceiver circuit;
wherein a second transceiver circuit of the plurality of transceiver circuits is configured to transmit, via a second antenna of the plurality of antennae, the transmit signal; wherein a third transceiver circuit of the plurality of transceiver circuits is configured to receive, via a third antenna of the plurality of antennae, an echo signal that is a reflected version of the transmit signal and generate a received signal using the echo signal; and an output circuit configured to generate an output signal using the received signal and the leakage signal.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first transceiver circuit includes a switch circuit coupled to a transmitter circuit that is configured to drive the first antenna via the switch circuit using the transmit signal.

3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the transmitter circuit includes:
a phase shifter circuit configured to generate a phase-shifted signal using the transmit signal; and a first amplifier circuit configured to drive the first antenna via the switch circuit using the phase-shifted signal.

4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the receiver circuit includes a second amplifier circuit configured to amplify the signal leakage propagating through the switch circuit to generate the leakage signal.

5 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the switch circuit includes an inductor coupled between respective inputs of the receiver circuit and the transmitter circuit, and a device coupled to an input of the receiver circuit and configured to couple the input of the receive circuit to a ground supply node using a transmit enable signal.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the output circuit includes:
a first buffer circuit configured to generate a buffered version of the received signal; a second buffer circuit configured to generate a buffered version of the leakage signal; and a mixer circuit configured to generate the output signal using the buffered version of the received signal and the buffered version of the leakage signal.

7 . A method, comprising:
transmitting, by a first transceiver circuit of a plurality of transceiver circuits, a transmit signal using a first antenna of a plurality of antennae, wherein the first transceiver circuit includes a transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit; generating, by the first transceiver circuit, a leakage signal using leakage of the transmit signal from the transmitter circuit to the receiver circuit within the first transceiver circuit; generating, by a second transceiver circuit of the plurality of transceiver circuit, a received signal using an echo signal received via a second antenna of the plurality of antennae, wherein the echo signal is a reflected version of the transmit signal; and generating, by an output circuit, an output signal using the leakage signal and the received signal.

8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising, transmitting, by a third transceiver circuit of the plurality of transceiver circuits, the transmit signal using a third antenna of the plurality of antennae.

9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the transmit signal is a modulated version of a baseband signal.

10 . The method of claim 7 , wherein generating the output signal includes:
buffering the leakage signal to generate a buffered leakage signal; buffering the received signal to generate a buffered received signal; and mixing the buffered leakage signal and the buffered received signal to generate the output signal.

11 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
phase shifting the transmit signal to generate a phase-shifted transmit signal; and amplifying the phase shifted transmit signal to drive the first antenna.

12 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising, coupling an input of the receiver circuit and an output of the transmitter circuit using an inductor included in a switch circuit.

13 . The method of claim 7 , wherein transmitting the transmit signal includes coupling an input of the receiver circuit to a ground supply node in response to asserting a transmit enable signal.

14 . The method of claim 7 , wherein generating the received signal includes:
amplifying the echo signal to generate an amplified signal; and phase shifting the amplified signal to generate the received signal.

15 . An apparatus, comprising:
a plurality of antennae; a plurality of switch circuits coupled to the plurality of antennae; a plurality of transmitter circuits including a first transmitter circuit coupled to a first switch circuit of the plurality of switch circuits, wherein the first switch circuit is coupled to a first antenna of the plurality of antennae, wherein the first transmitter circuit is configured to transmit, via the first antenna of the plurality of antennae, a transmit signal that is a modulated version of a baseband signal; a plurality of receiver circuits including a first receiver circuit coupled to the first switch circuit, wherein the first receiver circuit is configured to generate a leakage signal based on an amount of signal leakage of the transmit signal to a receiver circuit included in the first transmitter circuit; wherein a second receiver circuit of the plurality of receiver circuits is coupled to a second switch circuit of the plurality of switch circuits, wherein the second switch circuit is coupled to a second antenna of the plurality of antennae, wherein the second receiver circuit is configured to receive, via the second antenna, an echo signal that is a reflected version of the transmit signal and generate a received signal using the echo signal; and an output circuit configured to generate an output signal using the received signal and the leakage signal.

16 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein a second transmitter circuit of the plurality of transmitter circuits is coupled to a third switch circuit of the plurality of switch circuits, wherein the third switch circuit is coupled to a third antenna of the plurality of antennae, wherein the second transmitter circuit is configured to transmit, via the third antenna, the transmit signal.

17 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the first switch circuit includes an inductor coupled between an output of the first transmitter circuit and an input of the first receiver circuit, and wherein the first switch circuit is configured to couple the input of the first receiver circuit to a ground supply node using a transmit enable signal.

18 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the first transmitter circuit is further configured to:
a phase-shifted signal using the transmit signal; and drive the first antenna via the first switch circuit using the phase-shifted signal.

19 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the first receiver circuit is configured to amplify a signal propagating through the first switch circuit to generate the leakage signal.

20 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the output circuit is further configured to:
generate a buffered version of

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Lin Saihua
• Emami-Neyestanak Sohrab
• Wang Hongrui

Classifications

• G01S13/345

  using triangular modulation · CPC title

• G01S7/032 Primary

  Constructional details for solid-state radar subsystems · CPC title

• G01S7/03

  Details of HF subsystems specially adapted therefor, e.g. common to transmitter and receiver · CPC title

• G01S13/34 Primary

  using transmission of continuous, frequency-modulated waves while heterodyning the received signal, or a signal derived therefrom, with a locally-generated signal related to the contemporaneously transmitted signal · CPC title

• H01Q3/34

  by electrical means (active lenses or reflecting arrays H01Q3/46) · CPC title