IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,935,676
Granted Patent B2
US 9,935,676 · App. 14/858,791 · Granted Apr 3, 2018

Opportunistic antenna switch diversity (ASDIV) in carrier aggregation

Inventors: Ashrafur Reza (San Diego, CA); Peyman Hesami (San Diego, CA); Ning He (Sammamish, WA); Robert King Chan (La Jolla, CA); Sagar Kakade (San Diego, CA)
Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
H04B1/44H04B7/0404H04B7/0802H04L5/001H04L5/006H04L5/0048H04L43/16H04W24/02H04W24/10
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,935,676
App. No.
14/858,791
Granted
Apr 3, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques for switching antennas in devices that have multiple antennas for communicating via aggregation of multiple carriers.

Claims (53)

1. A method for switching antennas in a user equipment capable of carrier aggregation, comprising:

communicating via a primary component carrier using a first set of antennas;

communicating via a secondary component carrier using a second set of antennas;

obtaining first measurements indicative of a quality of signals received on the first set of antennas;

obtaining second measurements indicative of a quality of signals received on the second set of antennas;

controlling a first switching circuit used to route signals from at least one of the first set of antennas for receive diversity based on first criteria, wherein the first criteria are based on the first measurements, wherein the first switching circuit is used to route signals from the at least one of the first set of antennas to a first primary receiver and a first diversity receiver; and

controlling a second switching circuit used to route signals from at least one of the second set of antennas for receive diversity based on second criteria, different from the first criteria, wherein the second criteria are based on the second measurements, wherein the second switching circuit is used to route signals from the at least one of the second set of antennas to a second primary receiver and a second diversity receiver.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second criteria are such that:

the first switching circuit is controlled to switch the at least one of the first set of antennas if one of the second measurements is maintained above a threshold after the switching of the at least one antenna of the first set of antennas.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second criteria are such that:

the second switching circuit is controlled to switch the at least one antenna of the second set of antennas if one of the first measurements is maintained above a threshold after the switching of the at least one antenna of the second set of antennas.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second measurements comprise reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second measurements comprise transmit power measurements.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the transmit power measurements are performed over a time period.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first or second criteria includes a comparison of a measured reference signal receive power (RSRP) measurement with a threshold value.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first or second criteria includes a comparison of a difference in reference signal receive power (RSRP), as measured on primary and diversity paths, with a threshold value.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first or second criteria are dependent on a previous or current state of the first and second switching circuits.

10. An apparatus for switching antennas in a user equipment capable of carrier aggregation, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory coupled with the at least one processor having instructions stored thereon, the instructions executable by the at least one processor for:

communicating via a primary component carrier using a first set of antennas;

communicating via a secondary component carrier using a second set of antennas;

obtaining first measurements indicative of a quality of signals received on the first set of antennas;

obtaining second measurements indicative of a quality of signals received on the second set of antennas;

controlling a first switching circuit used to route signals from at least one of the first set of antennas for receive diversity based on first criteria, wherein the first criteria are based on the first measurements, wherein the first switching circuit is used to route signals from the at least one of the first set of antennas to a first primary receiver and a first diversity receiver; and

controlling a second switching circuit used to route signals from at least one of the second set of antennas for receive diversity based on second criteria, different from the first criteria, wherein the second criteria are based on the second measurements, wherein the second switching circuit is used to route signals from the at least one of the second set of antennas to a second primary receiver and a second diversity receiver.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the first criteria are such that:

the first switching circuit is controlled to switch the at least one of the first set of antennas if one of the second measurements is maintained above a threshold after the switching of the at least one antenna of the first set of antennas.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the second criteria are such that:

the second switching circuit is controlled to switch the at least one antenna of the second set of antennas if one of the first measurements is maintained above a threshold after the switching of the at least one antenna of the second set of antennas.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the first and second measurements comprise reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the first and second measurements comprise transmit power measurements.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the transmit power measurements are performed over a time period.

16. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the first or second criteria includes a comparison of a measured reference signal receive power (RSRP) measurement with a threshold value.

17. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the first or second criteria involves comparison of a difference in reference signal receive power (RSRP), as measured on primary and diversity paths, against a threshold value.

18. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the first and second criteria are dependent on a previous or current state of the first and second switching circuits.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon for switching antennas in a user equipment capable of carrier aggregation, wherein the instructions cause the user equipment to:

communicate via a primary component carrier using a first set of antennas;

communicate via a secondary component carrier using a second set of antennas;

obtain first measurements indicative of a quality of signals received on the first set of antennas;

obtain second measurements indicative of a quality of signals received on the second set of antennas;

control a first switching circuit used to route signals from at least one of the first set of antennas for receive diversity based on first criteria, wherein the first criteria are based on the first measurements, wherein the first switching circuit is used to route signals from the at least one of the first set of antennas to a first primary receiver and a first diversity receiver; and

control a second switching circuit used to route signals from at least one of the second set of antennas for receive diversity based on second criteria, different from the first criteria, wherein the second criteria are based on the second measurements, wherein the second switching circuit is used to route signals from the at least one of the second set of antennas to a second primary receiver and a second diversity receiver.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the first criteria are such that:

the first switching circuit is controlled to switch the at least one of the first set of antennas if one of the second measurements is maintained above a threshold after the switching of the at least one antenna of the first set of antennas.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the second criteria are such that:

the second switching circuit is controlled to switch the at least one antenna of the second set of antennas if one of the first measurements is maintained above a threshold amount after the switching of the at least one antenna of the second set of antennas.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the first and second measurements comprise reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the first and second measurements comprise transmit power measurements.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 23 , wherein the transmit power measurements are performed over a time period.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein at least one of the first or second criteria includes a comparison of a measured reference signal receive power (RSRP) measurement with a threshold value.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein at least one of the first or second criteria includes a comparison of a difference in reference signal receive power (RSRP), as measured on primary and diversity paths, with a threshold value.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein at least one of the first or second criteria are dependent on a previous or current state of the first and second switching circuits.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 30, 2015
From: REZA, ASHRAFUR; HESAMI, PEYMAN; HE, NING; CHAN, ROBERT KING; KAKADE, SAGAR
To: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
Reel/Frame 037168/0045 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62208505 · Aug 21, 2015
Related Publication 20170054470A1 · Feb 23, 2017