Adjustable Radio-Frequency Splitter-Combiner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024072769-A1
Application number	US-202217900249-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 31, 2022
Priority date	Aug 31, 2022
Publication date	Feb 29, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electronic device may include wireless circuitry with a processor, a transceiver circuit, a front-end module, and an antenna array having multiple antennas. The front-end module may include radio-frequency splitter-combiner circuitry that splits radio-frequency signals from a single port into multiple radio-frequency signals at multiple split ports and/or combines radio-frequency signals from the multiple ports into radio-frequency signals at the single combined port. The radio-frequency splitter-combiner may include adjustable components such as switches, adjustable inductors, and/or adjustable capacitors that place the radio-frequency splitter-combiner in different configurations based on whether or not there are inactive split ports coupled to inactive antennas. This enables improved impedance matching for active split ports even while one or more split ports remain inactive, thereby reducing power loss in this mode of operation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A radio-frequency splitter-combiner comprising:
a first impedance transformer coupling a first port of the radio-frequency splitter-combiner to a second port of the radio-frequency splitter-combiner; a second impedance transformer coupling the first port to a third port of the radio-frequency splitter-combiner; a resistor; and a switch coupled in series with the resistor between the second port and the third port.

2 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner of claim 1 , wherein the first impedance transformer includes a first quarter wave impedance transformer and the second impedance transformer includes a second quarter wave impedance transformer.

3 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner of claim 2 further comprising:
a second switch coupled in parallel with the first quarter wave impedance transformer between the first port and the second port.

4 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner of claim 3 further comprising:
a third switch coupled in parallel with the second quarter wave impedance transformer between the first port and the third port.

5 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner of claim 4 further comprising:
a fourth switch coupling the second port to a reference voltage terminal.

6 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner of claim 5 further comprising:
a fifth switch coupling the third port to the reference voltage terminal.

7 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner of claim 2 , wherein the first port is configured to be coupled to a transmission line exhibiting a characteristic impedance, the first quarter wave impedance transformer has an impedance that is the characteristic impedance multiplied by the square root of two, and the second quarter wave impedance transformer has the impedance that is the characteristic impedance multiplied by the square root of two.

8 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner of claim 1 , wherein the second port is configured to be coupled to a first antenna and the third port is configured to be coupled to a second antenna.

9 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner of claim 8 , wherein the first antenna and the second antenna form at least a portion of a phased antenna array.

10 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner of claim 1 , wherein the first impedance transformer includes a first adjustable inductor and a first adjustable capacitor, and the second impedance transformer includes a second adjustable inductor and a second adjustable capacitor.

11 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner of claim 10 , wherein the first adjustable inductor includes a first inductor and a second switch coupled in parallel with the first inductor between the first port and the second port, and the second adjustable inductor includes a second inductor and a third switch coupled in parallel with the second inductor between the first port and the third port.

12 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner of claim 11 , wherein the first adjustable capacitor includes a first capacitor and a fourth switch coupled in series with the first capacitor between the first inductor and a reference voltage terminal, and the second adjustable capacitor includes a second capacitor and a fifth switch coupled in series with the second capacitor between the second inductor and the reference voltage terminal.

13 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner of claim 10 , wherein the first adjustable inductor is configured to exhibit different inductances, the second adjustable inductor is configured to exhibit the different inductances, the first adjustable capacitor is configured to exhibit different capacitances, and the second adjustable capacitor is configured to exhibit the different capacitances.

14 . Radio-frequency splitter-combiner circuitry comprising:
first impedance matching circuitry coupling a first port of the radio-frequency splitter-combiner circuitry to a second port of the radio-frequency splitter-combiner circuitry; second impedance matching circuitry coupling the first port to a third port of the radio-frequency splitter-combiner circuitry; a resistor coupled between the second port and the third port; a first switch coupled across the first impedance matching circuitry; and a second switch coupled across the second impedance matching circuitry.

15 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner circuitry of claim 14 , wherein the first impedance matching circuitry includes a first quarter wave impedance transformer and the second impedance matching circuitry includes a second quarter wave impedance transformer.

16 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner circuitry of claim 14 , wherein the first impedance matching circuitry includes at least one inductor and at least one capacitor coupled between the first port and the second port and the second impedance matching circuitry includes at least one inductor and at least one capacitor coupled between the first port and the third port.

17 . The radio-frequency splitter-combiner circuitry of claim 14 further comprising:
a third switch coupled in series with the resistor between the first port and the third port.

18 . Wireless circuitry comprising:
a phased antenna array having a plurality of antennas; and a radio-frequency splitter-combiner having a combined port and a plurality of split ports, each split port being coupled to a corresponding antenna in the plurality of antennas, the radio-frequency splitter-combiner including
impedance matching circuitry coupled to each split port in the plurality of split ports,
a resistor coupled to each pair in at least some pairs of split ports in the plurality of split ports, and
switching circuitry coupled to the impedance matching circuitry and the resistor.

19 . The wireless circuitry of claim 18 , wherein the radio-frequency splitter-combiner comprises a plurality of one-to-two splitter-combiner stages, each stage including at least a portion of the impedance matching circuitry, at least one of the resistors, and at least a portion of the switch circuitry.

20 . The wireless circuitry of claim 19 further comprising:
one or more processors configured to provide one or more control signals to the switching circuitry based at least in part on any antennas in the plurality of antennas that are not in use.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Mantha Soumya
• Shin Woorim

Classifications

• H03H11/28 Primary

  Impedance matching networks · CPC title

• H01P5/12 Primary

  Coupling devices having more than two ports (H01P5/04 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01Q1/50

  Structural association of antennas with earthing switches, lead-in devices or lightning protectors · CPC title

• H03H7/48

  Networks for connecting several sources or loads, working on the same frequency or frequency band, to a common load or source (phase shifters providing two or more output signals H03H7/21) · CPC title

• H01Q3/26

  varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture ({H01Q3/12,} H01Q3/22, H01Q3/24 take precedence) · CPC title