IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,289,122
Granted Patent B2
US 12,289,122 · App. 17/930,054 · Granted Apr 29, 2025

Dynamic antenna tuner setting by a wireless device

Inventors: Kexin Ma (San Diego, CA); Zhengbo Zhu (San Diego, CA); Alex Yee Kit Ho (San Jose, CA); Mei Wang (Cupertino, CA)
Assignee: Apple Inc.
H04B1/0064H04B17/309H04W88/06
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,289,122
App. No.
17/930,054
Filed
Sep 6, 2022
Granted
Apr 29, 2025
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2648
USPC
455/77
Abstract

Embodiments described herein include methods and apparatus for dynamically selecting antenna settings for reception of wireless signals in multiple radio frequency band by wireless devices. A wireless device includes at least two SIM/eSIM profiles that each use different radio frequency bands and dynamically selects an antenna tuner setting based on requirements of one or more applications in use and key radio frequency performance indicators. In some embodiments, the antenna hardware tuner setting is selected to improve paging reception for a secondary SIM/eSIM from a second cellular wireless network when applications communicating using a first SIM/eSIM via a first cellular wireless network can accommodate performance degradation for a period of time.

Claims (84)

1. A method for dynamic antenna tuner setting by a multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device, the method comprising:

by a baseband component of the multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device:

determining one or more performance indicators for signal reception from a first cellular wireless network associated with a first SIM/eSIM and from a second cellular wireless network associated with a second SIM/eSIM;

receiving, from an applications processor of the multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device, application status information for one or more applications communicating data via the first cellular wireless network;

selecting an antenna tuner setting for tunable antenna hardware of the multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device based on the one or more performance indicators and the application status information; and

configuring the tunable antenna hardware in accordance with the selected antenna tuner setting,

wherein:

the first SIM/eSIM is designated as a data-preferred SIM/eSIM and the second SIM/eSIM is designated as a non-data-preferred SIM/eSIM; and

the first and second cellular wireless networks operate in different radio frequency (RF) bands.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

by the baseband component of the multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device:

obtaining updated application status information for the one or more applications communicating data via the first cellular wireless network;

selecting an updated antenna tuner setting for the tunable antenna hardware of the multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device based on the updated application status information; and

re-configuring the tunable antenna hardware in accordance with the selected updated antenna tuner setting.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the application status information indicates at least one application of the one or more applications communicating data via the first cellular wireless network requires data throughput above a high data throughput threshold; and

the antenna tuner setting balances performance for simultaneous communication via the first cellular wireless network and reception via the second cellular wireless network.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the application status information indicates no application of the one or more applications communicating data via the first cellular wireless network requires data throughput above a high data throughput threshold;

a first performance indicator of the one or more performance indicators indicates radio frequency reception via the first cellular wireless network satisfies a high performance threshold;

a second performance indicator of the one or more performance indicators indicates radio frequency reception via the second cellular wireless network does not satisfy a low performance threshold; and

the antenna tuner setting improves performance for reception via the second cellular wireless network and degrades communication via the first cellular wireless network.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein:

the first performance indicator indicates a first reference signal received power (RSRP) level for signals received via the first cellular wireless network exceeds a first RSRP threshold; and

the second performance indicator indicates a second RSRP level for signals received via the second cellular wireless network falls below a second RSRP threshold.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein:

the first performance indicator indicates a first signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) value for signals received via the first cellular wireless network exceeds a first SINR threshold; and

the second performance indicator indicates a second SINR level for signals received via the second cellular wireless network falls below a second SINR threshold.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the antenna tuner setting balances performance for simultaneous communication via a primary cell of the first cellular wireless network and reception via the second cellular wireless network.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the first cellular wireless network operates in accordance with a 5G wireless communication protocol; and

the second cellular wireless network operates in accordance with a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless communication protocol.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the first cellular wireless network operates in accordance with a 5G wireless communication protocol using a frequency range 2 (FR2) RF band above 24 GHz; and

the second cellular wireless network operates in accordance with a 5G wireless communication protocol using a frequency range 1 (FR1) RF band below 8 GHz.

10. A multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device configured for dynamic antenna tuner setting, the multi-SIM/eSIM wireless comprising:

a first SIM/eSIM configured as a data-preferred SIM/eSIM;

a second SIM/eSIM configured as a non-data-preferred SIM/eSIM;

tunable antenna hardware;

an applications processor; and

a baseband component communicatively coupled to the applications processor and to the tunable antenna hardware and configured to:

determine one or more performance indicators for signal reception from a first cellular wireless network associated with the first SIM/eSIM and from a second cellular wireless network associated with the second SIM/eSIM;

receive, from the applications processor, application status information for one or more applications communicating data via the first cellular wireless network;

select an antenna tuner setting for the tunable antenna hardware based on the one or more performance indicators and the application status information; and

configure the tunable antenna hardware in accordance with the selected antenna tuner setting,

wherein the first and second cellular wireless networks operate in different radio frequency (RF) bands.

11. The multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device of claim 10 , wherein the baseband component is further configured to:

obtain, from the applications processor, updated application status information for the one or more applications communicating data via the first cellular wireless network;

select an updated antenna tuner setting for the tunable antenna hardware based on the updated application status information; and

re-configure the tunable antenna hardware in accordance with the selected updated antenna tuner setting.

12. The multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device of claim 10 , wherein:

the application status information indicates at least one application of the one or more applications communicating data via the first cellular wireless network requires data throughput above a high data throughput threshold; and

the antenna tuner setting balances performance for simultaneous communication via the first cellular wireless network and reception via the second cellular wireless network.

13. The multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device of claim 10 , wherein:

the application status information indicates no application of the one or more applications communicating data via the first cellular wireless network requires data throughput above a high data throughput threshold;

a first performance indicator of the one or more performance indicators indicates radio frequency reception via the first cellular wireless network satisfies a high performance threshold;

a second performance indicator of the one or more performance indicators indicates radio frequency reception via the second cellular wireless network does not satisfy a low performance threshold; and

the antenna tuner setting improves performance for reception via the second cellular wireless network and degrades communication via the first cellular wireless network.

14. The multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device of claim 13 , wherein:

the first performance indicator indicates a first reference signal received power (RSRP) level for signals received via the first cellular wireless network exceeds a first RSRP threshold; and

the second performance indicator indicates a second RSRP level for signals received via the second cellular wireless network falls below a second RSRP threshold.

15. The multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device of claim 13 , wherein:

the first performance indicator indicates a first signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) value for signals received via the first cellular wireless network exceeds a first SINR threshold; and

the second performance indicator indicates a second SINR level for signals received via the second cellular wireless network falls below a second SINR threshold.

16. The multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device of claim 10 , wherein the antenna tuner setting balances performance for simultaneous communication via a primary cell of the first cellular wireless network and reception via the second cellular wireless network.

17. The multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device of claim 10 , wherein:

the first cellular wireless network operates in accordance with a 5G wireless communication protocol; and

the second cellular wireless network operates in accordance with a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless communication protocol.

18. The multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device of claim 10 , wherein:

the first cellular wireless network operates in accordance with a 5G wireless communication protocol using a frequency range 2 (FR2) RF band above 24 GHz; and

the second cellular wireless network operates in accordance with a 5G wireless communication protocol using a frequency range 1 (FR1) RF band below 8 GHz.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for dynamic antenna tuner setting by a multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device, the instructions comprising:

instructions for determining one or more performance indicators for signal reception from a first cellular wireless network associated with a first SIM/eSIM and from a second cellular wireless network associated with a second SIM/eSIM;

instructions for receiving, from an applications processor of the multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device, application status information for one or more applications communicating data via the first cellular wireless network;

instructions for selecting an antenna tuner setting for tunable antenna hardware of the multi-SIM/eSIM wireless device based on the one or more performance indicators and the application status information; and

instructions for configuring the tunable antenna hardware in accordance with the selected antenna tuner setting,

wherein:

the first SIM/eSIM is designated as a data-preferred SIM/eSIM and the second SIM/eSIM is designated as a non-data-preferred SIM/eSIM; and

the first and second cellular wireless networks operate in different radio frequency (RF) bands.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein:

the application status information indicates no application of the one or more applications communicating data via the first cellular wireless network requires data throughput above a high data throughput threshold;

a first performance indicator of the one or more performance indicators indicates radio frequency reception via the first cellular wireless network satisfies a high performance threshold;

a second performance indicator of the one or more performance indicators indicates radio frequency reception via the second cellular wireless network does not satisfy a low performance threshold; and

the antenna tuner setting improves performance for reception via the second cellular wireless network and degrades communication via the first cellular wireless network.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 6, 2022
From: MA, KEXIN; ZHU, ZHENGBO; HO, ALEX YEE KIT; WANG, MEI
To: APPLE INC.
Reel/Frame 061001/0909 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240080049A1 · Mar 7, 2024
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