Patent ID: 8693969

Claim:
A communications device, comprising: an oscillator, having a temperature-dependent frequency characteristic, for generating signals at a nominal frequency; receiver circuitry, for receiving transmitted wireless signals using the signals generated by the oscillator; at least one temperature sensor, having a known positional relationship to the oscillator; an estimation device, for estimating a frequency of the signals generated by the oscillator, based on a measurement from the temperature sensor, and based on the temperature-dependent frequency characteristic of the oscillator; at least one heat source wherein the temperature sensor and the oscillator are mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) and co-located away from the heat source in a thermally isolated area surrounded by a thermal break, wherein the thermal break comprises one or more gaps in one or more layers of the PCB; and a prediction device, for predicting a change in temperature of the oscillator, based on a state of the heat source, and further based on a model of the thermal properties of the communications device, and hence for predicting a change in the frequency of the signals generated by the oscillator, based on the temperature-dependent frequency characteristic of the oscillator, wherein the receiver circuitry uses the estimated frequency of the signals generated by the oscillator, and the predicted change in the frequency of the signals generated by the oscillator, in receiving the transmitted wireless signals.