PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10886599-B2
Application Number: US-201815912937-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Time-variant antenna module for wireless communication devices

Abstract:
A plug-and-play antenna may be used with many different types of wireless communication devices. An antenna may be coupled to an impedance tuning component and a waveform generator. A calibration control module receives radio status information, controls the waveform generator to vary a response of the antenna, and tunes the impedance tuning component to match impedances between a radio and the antenna.

Claims:
The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus comprising:
 an antenna; 
 impedance-tuning circuitry, coupled with the antenna, to provide a tunable impedance; 
 control circuitry, coupled with the impedance-tuning circuitry, to control the tunable impedance based on a control waveform applied to the antenna, wherein to control the tunable impedance the control circuitry is configured to:
 receive radio status information from a sensor, 
 compare the radio status information to a predetermined threshold, and 
 control the tunable impedance based on the comparison; and 
 
 the sensor, coupled with the control circuitry, to sense a signal power based on the control waveform and to generate the radio status information based on the sensed signal power. 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the impedance-tuning circuitry includes switch circuitry and a plurality of capacitors; and to control the tunable impedance, the control circuitry is to control the switch circuitry to selectively activate one or more capacitors of the plurality of capacitors. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is to control application of the control waveform to the antenna to establish an operational mode of the apparatus. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is to control application of the control waveform to the antenna to calibrate the apparatus. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry has:
 a first control interface to provide a first control signal to control the control waveform; and 
 a second control interface to provide a second control signal to control the tunable impedance. 
 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is to control application of the control waveform to the antenna to vary a resonance response of the antenna. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the control circuitry is to control application of the control waveform to the antenna based on pre-programmed tuning parameters. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the control circuitry is to control application of the control waveform to the antenna based on operational parameters. 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the antenna comprises a passive antenna structure designed for one or more wireless communication frequencies. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises an antenna module to be coupled with a transceiver to receive a radio frequency signal. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the control waveform includes a frequency and an amplitude. 
     
     
       12. A wireless communication device, comprising:
 an antenna; 
 a radio module to generate a radio-frequency signal to be transmitted by the antenna; 
 impedance-tuning circuitry, coupled with the antenna and the radio module, to match an impedance associated with the antenna with an impedance associated with the radio module; and 
 control circuitry coupled with the impedance-tuning circuitry, the control circuitry to control the impedance-tuning circuitry based on a control waveform applied to the antenna such that a change in shape of the control waveform is to change a selectable antenna response of the antenna, wherein to control the impedance-tuning circuitry the control circuitry is configured to:
 receive radio status information from a sensor circuitry, 
 compare the radio status information to a predetermined threshold, and 
 control the impedance-tuning circuitry based on the comparison. 
 
 
     
     
       13. The wireless communication device of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 the sensor circuitry to sense changes in a signal power on a transmission line based on the control waveform and provide feedback to the control circuitry based on the sensed changes, wherein the feedback includes the radio status information. 
 
     
     
       14. The wireless communication device of  claim 12 , wherein the control circuitry is to control application of the control waveform to the antenna to establish an operational mode of the wireless communication device. 
     
     
       15. The wireless communication device of  claim 12 , wherein the control circuitry is to control application of the control waveform to the antenna to calibrate the wireless communication device. 
     
     
       16. The wireless communication device of  claim 12 , wherein the control circuitry has:
 a first control interface to provide a first control signal to control the control waveform; and 
 a second control interface to provide a second control signal to control the impedance-tuning circuitry. 
 
     
     
       17. The wireless communication device of  claim 12 , wherein: the impedance-tuning circuitry includes switch circuitry and a plurality of capacitors; and to control the impedance-tuning circuitry, the control circuitry is to control the switch circuitry to selectively activate one or more capacitors of the plurality of capacitors. 
     
     
       18. The wireless communication device of  claim 12 , wherein the control waveform includes a frequency and an amplitude. 
     
     
       19. The wireless communication device of  claim 12 , wherein the shape of the waveform is one of a square waveform, a tri-step waveform, and a sawtooth waveform.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/226,050, filed Aug. 12, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/529,244, filed Feb. 23, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,444,511, which claims priority benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/603,749, filed Sep. 5, 2012, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of wireless communication devices, and more particularly, to plug-and-play, time-variant antenna modules for wireless communication devices. 
     BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
     Specified antenna performance characteristics are difficult to maintain after antennas are installed in different mobile devices. Even among mobile devices with identical or similar form factors, slightly different antenna-installation locations that may be attributable to manufacturing tolerances or errors typically result in deviations between the specified and the actual antenna performance. These deviations can negatively affect antenna performance and efficiency. For example, an antenna installed at a location offset by some distance (e.g., one or two millimeters) from its specified location may cause the antenna to deviate from its specified resonate frequency, which may result in a power amplifier wasting power while tuning the antenna to its originally specified resonant frequency. This inefficiency prematurely drains a battery of the mobile device, or results in suboptimal transmission and reception. 
     To address potential performance concerns, conventional antennas are specifically designed for various form factors. However, specifically designed antennas increase development costs and time-to-market for mobile devices. Moreover, once the antenna is installed, its efficiency cannot be readily improved because the conventional antenna is specifically designed and fully integrated with the transceiver in the mobile device. Furthermore, even for specifically designed antennas, unpredictable manufacturing errors, interference from the human body, or other environmental conditions may degrade performance. For example, a user&#39;s hand or head touching the mobile device will typically detune the antenna to a degree that is often unpredictable, as it depends on a user&#39;s physical characteristics, the way mobile devices are held, or other environmental factors. Performance degradation of multi-band or broadband antennas is difficult to dynamically improve because the environmental factors affecting the antenna may simultaneously detune multiple (or broad) frequency bands employed by the antenna. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Aspects of embodiments will be apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a plug-and-play antenna module and a transceiver in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a plug-and-play antenna module and a transceiver in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a plug-and-play antenna module and a transceiver in accordance with some embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart depicting a calibration operation in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a system that may be used to practice various embodiments described herein. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     In the following detailed description, reference is made the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout, and In which is shown by way of illustration, embodiments in which the subject matter of the present disclosure may be practiced. 
     Various operations are described as multiple discrete operations in turn, in a manner that is helpful in understanding the claimed subject matter. However, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations may not be performed in the order of presentation. Operations described may be performed in a different order than the described embodiment. Various additional operations may be performed and/or described operations may be omitted in additional embodiments. 
     For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “A and/or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “A, B, and/or C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C). 
     The description may use the phrases “in an embodiment,” or “in embodiments,” which may each refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. Furthermore, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like, as used with respect to embodiment of the present disclosure, are synonymous. 
     As used herein, the term “module” may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality. 
     Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) develop proprietary industrial designs for mobile devices of various form factors. To account for industrial design differences that negatively affect antenna performance, conventional antennas are specifically designed and integrated into particular mobile device models. However, it is challenging to affordably and timely design for every different device a specific, optimized antenna. Furthermore, manufacturing errors and unpredictable environmental factors can degrade the antenna performance, even for fully integrated antenna designs. 
     According to embodiments described below, a dynamically configurable plug-and-play antenna module is capable of changing a resonance response of the antenna (hereinafter “antenna response”) for multiband, single band, and/or broadband operational modes. Additionally, the plug-and-play antenna module may be calibrated to match impedances for various mobile device form factors, to adjust for variances in antenna-installation locations attributable to manufacturing tolerances or errors, and to dynamically compensate for various environmental factors. Thus, without changing the antenna structure, the plug-and-play antenna module may accommodate a variety of form factors having a wide range of proprietary designs and manufacturing differences. Furthermore, once deployed and configured for multi-band and broadband operation, the plug-and-play antenna module dynamically enhances antenna performance in response to human body affects or other environmental influences. Therefore, embodiments for a plug-and-play antenna module provide multiple operating modes and self-calibration capability in wireless antenna systems for various mobile communication devices such as smartphones, tablets, notebooks, netbooks, or other mobile devices. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a plug-and-play antenna modulo  102  in accordance with some embodiments. The plug-and-play antenna module  102  is a time-variant antenna module including a waveform generator  108 , an antenna  112 , an impedance-tuning component (ITC)  114 , and a calibration control module  116 . In certain embodiments, the antenna  112  includes a passive antenna structure designed under mobile device boundary conditions for one or more wireless communication frequencies. The waveform generator  108 , ITC  114 , and calibration control module  116  may be collectively implemented in silicon. As explained below, the calibration control module  116  is configured to control the antenna response for multiband, single band, and/or broadband operational modes by producing with the waveform generator  108  a voltage waveform (also referred to herein as a control waveform) that controls the capacitance of an impedance-varying component (IVC)  120 . In addition, the calibration control module  116  is configured to improve antenna efficiency by tuning the impedance of the ITC  114  to match the impedance of the antenna  112  with a transceiver  118  at operating frequencies. 
     The transceiver  118  includes a radio module  124 . The radio module  124  may be coupled with the ITC  114  by a signaling interface  130  (e.g., a coaxial cable) for transmission of a data-carrying signal, such as a radio-frequency (RF) signal. The radio module  124  includes a transmission line  132  to communicate (e.g., transmit/receive) the RF signal with the antenna module  102  by way of the signaling interface  130 . In some embodiments, the radio module  124  is disposed on a circuit board, such as printed circuit board (PCB)  138 . The radio module  124  may be directly coupled with the PCB  138  or coupled with the PCB  138  through another circuit board (e.g., wireless card  140 ). The antenna module  102  receives power from a power interface  144 , which may be disposed separately from the PCB  138  in some embodiments. 
     The waveform generator  108  is configured so generate one of a plurality of control waveforms that it provides to a filter  152  via a control waveform interface  154 . The filter  152  is coupled with the IVC  120  by an antenna signaling interface, which may be a coaxial cable, to facilitate transmission of the control waveform to the IVC  120 . The control waveform is excited to the antenna  112  via the IVC  120 , which may be a varactor, for example. The filter  152  passes the control waveform to the IVC  120  by the antenna signaling interface while inhibiting the RF signal from interfering with the waveform generator  108 . Thus, the filter  152  provides at least some degree of isolation between the waveform generator  108  and the transceiver  118 . 
     The voltages of the control waveform vary (i.e., modulate and/or control) the capacitance of the IVC  120  and produce controlled variations of the characteristic resonant frequencies of the antenna  112 . A modulation frequency of the control waveform may be greater than twice the radio signal bandwidth to meet the Nyquist sampling theorem for transmitting/receiving data without data contamination. By varying the impedance of the IVC  120 , the antenna response is configured (or dynamically reconfigured) to change a resonating frequency from a first band to a second band, from one band to multi-bands, and/or from a relatively narrowband to a relatively wideband. For example, in some embodiments, a control waveform that is a square waveform results in a dual-band antenna response, a control waveform that is a tri-step waveform results in a tri-band antenna response, and a control waveform that is a sawtooth waveform results in a wideband antenna response. Thus, varying amplitude, frequency, and/or shape of the control waveform provides selectable antenna responses without any changes to the antenna structure. The capability of dynamically reconfiguring the antenna response allows for the antenna  112  to be smaller than a conventional antenna and/or allows for the use of fewer antennas altogether. In some embodiments, the antenna  112  may be smaller than a conventional antenna by thirty percent or more. 
     The ITC  114  includes a switchable impedance module  100  that is dynamically tunable to match impedances between the antenna module  102  and a corresponding transceiver, such as the transceiver  118 . The ITC  114  may be designed to interface with the transceiver  118  at a standardized or predetermined impedance (e.g., fifty Ohms or another impedance value), and the switchable impedance module  160  is dynamically tunable to adjust for variations in the standardized or predetermined impedance value. 
     In addition to impedance matching capabilities, the switchable impedance module  160  may also provide impedance at the antenna signaling interface that effects the antenna response and can therefore tune the antenna frequencies to compensate for environmental changes attributable to human hands or other environmental conditions, to different installation locations for various different phone models and/or manufacturing deviations, or to other conditions that change the impedance of the transceiver  118 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , in certain embodiments, the switchable impedance module  160  includes an array of capacitors  162  (or other impedance tuning components) of different values that are addressable with switch logic  164 . The switch logic  164  is configured to electrically activate or deactivate individual capacitors, and establish selected combinations of active/inactive capacitors depending on a desired impedance value. For example, the impedance of the antenna module may be configurable by switching individual capacitors in the array of capacitors  162  between the RF signaling interface  130  and ground. In some embodiments, and depending on the desired resolution and range of impendence values, five or six (for example) individual capacitor elements are included in the array  162 . For example, a digitally tunable capacitor (DTC) that includes switchable capacitors is model number PE64904 DuNE™ DTC, available from Peregrine Semiconductor of San Diego, Calif., USA. Persons skilled in the art will recognize from the disclosure herein, however, that other DTC may be used, any number of capacitors may be used, and that various different capacitor values may be used to achieve a desired impedance tuning resolution. 
     The calibration control module  116  is coupled with the antenna module  102  and provides digital control signals to the waveform generator  108  via an operational control interface  170 , and provides digital control signals to the ITC  114  via a calibration control interface  172 , which may be a serial data interface. 
     The calibration control module  116  provides an input to the waveform generator  108  to configure the antenna  112  for a desired witness transmission protocol. The calibration control module  116  controls the waveform generator  108  in a manner to apply control waveforms with appropriate amplitude, shape and/or frequency to establish various operational modes. In some embodiments, the calibration control module  116  controls the waveform generator  108  based on operational parameters  174 . The operational parameters  174 , in some embodiments, are parameters that relate to an operational mode of the transceiver  118 . For example, in some embodiments, the transceiver  118  switches from operating in a first operational mode in accordance with a first protocol—e.g., digital television (DTV), long-term evolution (LTE), WiFi, WiMAX, Bluetooth, global positioning satellite (GPS), near field communication (NFC) or another protocol—that uses a first antenna response, to operating in a second operational mode in accordance with a second protocol that uses a second antenna response. Additionally, in some embodiments, different operational modes may also be used within one protocol. For example, the transceiver  118  may use a first antenna response for uplink communications and a second antenna response for downlink communications. Other operational parameters may be additionally/alternatively used in other embodiments. 
     The calibration control module  116  also controls values input to the ITC  114  by receiving impedance values for the transceiver  118  and for the antenna  112 , determines a desired calibration control value, and provides the desired calibration control value to the ITC  114 . In some embodiments, the calibration control module  116  also concurrently controls the waveform generator  108  based on the tuning parameters  176 . 
     The tuning parameters  176 , in some embodiments, are parameters that relate to the operating environment of the transceiver  118 , or its components. For example, in some embodiments, the position of a user&#39;s hand holding a mobile communication device hosting the transceiver  118  detunes the antenna response. In another example, an antenna response deviates from an expected antenna response to a less optimal antenna response upon installation and placement of the antenna module  102  in a mobile communication device. In either example, the calibration control module  116  controls the ITC  114  to tune the antenna response to compensate for environmental changes. In such a manner, the antenna response may be adapted to a particular environment in which the antenna  112  is operating. 
     In various embodiments, the calibration control modulo  116  may be pre-programmed with the tuning parameters  176  (e.g., at assembly of the mobile communication device) and/or may receive the tuning parameters  176  dynamically through operation. In one embodiment, the radio module  124  may include a sensor  184  to sense changes in electrical characteristics associated with the transmission line  132  and/or RF signal on the signaling interface  130 . For example, the sensor  184  detects signal power of the RF signal, output impedance of the radio module  124 , or other electrical characteristics. These sensed changes may indicate that an antenna response has become detuned. The sensor  184  may generate radio status information (RSI) based on these sensed electrical characteristics and feed the RSI back to the calibration control module  116  via an RSI interface  190 . The calibration control module  116  then adjusts the antenna response based on the RSI. In other embodiments, a similar sensor may be located in or coupled to the antenna module  102  and/or outside the radio module  124  in the transceiver  118 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a plug-and-play antenna module  202  in accordance with some embodiments. The antenna module  202  includes a waveform generator  208 , an antenna  112 , an ITC  114 , and a calibration control module  116  that are similar to previously described components, except as noted below. Additionally, a transceiver  118  shown in  FIG. 2  and its components operate similar to the transceiver  118  shown in  FIG. 1  and its components, except as otherwise noted. 
     In this embodiment, rather than producing a voltage waveform, the waveform generator  208  includes a switchable impedance module  250  that is similar to the switchable impedance module  160 . The switchable impedance module  250  includes an array of capacitors  251  and switch logic  253 , which the waveform generator  208  uses to produce a plurality of different digitally controlled “capacitance waveforms” to modulate the impedance at an antenna signaling interface and control the antenna response, as described above. For example, the switchable impedance module  250  may switch back and forth between two capacitance values to generate a square capacitance waveform applied to an input of the antenna  112  that produces a dual-band antenna response. As other examples, the switchable impedance module  250  generates a tri-step capacitance waveform that produces a tri-band antenna response, and the switchable impedance module  250  generates a sawtooth capacitance waveform that produces a wideband antenna response. Skilled persons will recognize from the disclosure herein that other capacitance waveforms may be used to generate other antenna responses. Thus, varying amplitude, frequency, and/or shape of the capacitance waveform provides selectable antenna responses without any changes to the antenna structure. The capacitance values of the switchable impedance module  250  are selected to produce the capacitance waveforms with desired resolutions. In other embodiments, an ITC and waveform generator are combined and use a single switchable impedance module that functions in a similar manner as a standalone ITC, waveform generator, and/or IVC. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a plug-and-play antenna module  302  according to another embodiment. The antenna module  302  includes a waveform generator  208 , an antenna  112 , and an ITC  114  that are similar to previously described components. However, in this embodiment, a calibration control component  316  communicates to a transceiver  318  via a calibration control interface  319 . The transceiver  318  includes an operational control module  334  that has operational parameters  374  similar to operational parameters  174 . The transceiver  318  receives RSI from sensor  384  via an RSI interface  390  that is internal to the transceiver  318 , and establishes an operational mode based on the operational parameters  374 . Operational mode information is conveyed to the calibration control module  316  by way of the control interface  319 . The calibration control module  316  uses operational mode information alone, or in combination with other electrical characteristics received from, for example, an antenna sensor  394  via an antenna sensor interface  396 , to control the waveform generator  208  and the ITC  114 , as previously described. 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart depicting a tuning operation  400  in accordance with some embodiments. The tuning operation  400  includes sensing  402  (e.g., with sensor  184 ,  384 , and/or  394 ) electrical characteristics (EC) of a signal, radio module, and/or transmission line. The EC may be sensed on a radio module&#39;s transmission line that is coupled with a signaling interface, and/or by characteristics of other signals within the radio module itself. In various embodiments, various electrical characteristics may be sensed including, but not limited to, signal power and output impedance. 
     The tuning operation  400  also includes comparing  404  sensed electrical characteristics (SEC) to predetermined desired electrical characteristics (DEC). The DEC may be a range of permissible or expected values of the particular electrical characteristics. The comparing  404  may include determining whether an absolute value of a difference between the SEC and the DEC is greater than a predetermined threshold value. The predetermined threshold value may correspond with the range of permissible or expected values. 
     If it is determined that the difference between the SEC and the DEC is greater than the predetermined threshold value, the tuning operation  400  includes adjusting  406  an impedance of a plug-and-play antenna module (e.g., antenna modules  102 ,  202 , and  302 ) and/or adjusting a control waveform. The adjusting may occur by a calibration control module (e.g., calibration control module  118  or  316 ) providing appropriate digital control signals to an impedance tuning component (e.g., ITC  114 ) and to a waveform generator (e.g., waveform generator  108  or  208 ). The toning operation  400  may then loop back to sensing  402  of the EC. 
     If, however, it is determined  404  that the deference between the SEC and the DEC is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold value, the tuning operation  400  may loop back to sensing  402  of the EC. 
     Calibration of the antenna module, according to certain embodiments, can be performed dynamically and at various times depending on actual or anticipated factors that affect the antenna response. For example, three calibration routines are contemplated as follows, presented in order of increasing calibration precision: a primary, secondary, and final calibration. 
     The primary calibration is a relatively coarse calibration performed prior to installation (or following shortly thereafter) of the antenna module. The primary calibration routine accounts for different transceiver impedance specifications, for mobile-device boundary conditions attributable to form factor differences, or for other proprietary industrial design differences. 
     The secondary calibration routine is employed upon completion of the OEM-assembly stage to automatically account for manufacture errors or deviations among similar or identical mobile communication devices. 
     Once the mobile communication device is shipped to a user, the final calibration routine is employed to sense conditions such as the presence of a human hand, or other environmental changes, and then dynamically adjust the impedance with ITC based on the transceiver impedance and optionally tune the antenna response depending on how the user is holding the phone, for example. 
     The plug-and-play antenna modules described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitable hardware and/or software to configure as desired.  FIG. 5  illustrates, for one embodiment, an example system  500 , such as a mobile phone or other mobile communication device, comprising one or more processor(s)  504 , system control logic  508  coupled with at least one of the processor(s)  504 , system memory  512  coupled with the system control logic  508 , non-volatile memory (NVM)/storage  518  coupled with the system control logic  508 , and a network interface  520  coupled with the system control logic  508 . 
     The processor(s)  504  may include one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s)  504  may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, or other processors). 
     System control logic  508  for one embodiment may include any suitable interface controllers to provide for any suitable interface to at least one of the processor(s)  504  and/or to any suitable device or component in communication with the system control logic  508 . 
     The system control logic  508  for one embodiment may include one or more memory controller(s) to provide an interface to the system memory  512 . The system memory  512  may be used to load and store data and/or instructions, for example, for the system  500 . The system memory  512  for one embodiment may include any suitable volatile memory, such as suitable dynamic random access memory (DRAM), for example. 
     The NVM/storage  516  may include one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media used to store data and/or instructions, for example. The NVM/storage  516  may include any suitable non-volatile memory, such as flash memory, for example, and/or may include any suitable non-volatile storage device(s), such as one or more hard disk drive(s) (HDD(s)), one or more compact disk (CD) drive(s), and/or one or more digital versatile disk (DVD) drive(s) for example. 
     The NVM/storage  516  may include a storage resource physically part of a device on which the system  500  is installed or it may be accessible by, but not necessarily a part of, the device. For example, the NVM/storage  516  may be accessed over a network via the network interface  520 . 
     The system memory  612  and the NVM/storage  516  may respectively include, in particular, temporal and persistent copies of tuning logic  524  and parameters  526 , e.g., operational and tuning parameters. The tuning logic  524  may include instructions that, when executed by at least one of the processor(s)  504 , result in the system  500  performing tuning operations described herein. In some embodiments, the tuning logic  524 , or hardware, firmware, and/or software components thereof, may additionally/alternatively be located in the system control logic  508 , the network interface  520 , and/or the processor(s)  504 . 
     The network interface  520  may have a transceiver  522  coupled to a plug-and-play antenna module  523  to provide a radio interface for the system  500  to communicate over one or more network(s) and/or with any other suitable device. The network interface  520  may include any suitable hardware and/or firmware. The network interface  520  may include a plurality of antenna modules to provide a MIMO radio interface. The network interface  520 , for one embodiment, may include a network adapter, a wireless network adapter, a telephone modem, and/or a wireless modem. 
     The transceiver  522  may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, transceivers  118  and/or  318 . Likewise, the antenna module  523  may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, antenna modules  102 ,  202 , and/or  302 . In various embodiments, the transceiver  522  or antenna module  523  may be integrated with other components of the system  500 . For example, the transceiver  522  may include a processor of the processor(s)  504 , memory of the system memory  512 , and NVM/Storage of the NVM/Storage  516 . 
     For one embodiment, at least one of the processor(s)  504  may be packaged together with logic for one or more controller(s) of the system control logic  508 . For one embodiment, at least one of the processor(s)  504  may be packaged together with logic for one or more controllers of the system control logic  508  to form a System in Package (SiP). For one embodiment, at least one of the processor(s)  504  may be integrated an the same die with logic for one or more controller(s) of the system control logic  508 . For one embodiment, at least one of the processor(s)  504  may be integrated on the same die with logic for one or more controller(s) of the system control logic  508  to form a System on Chip (SoC). 
     The system  500  may further include input/output (I/O) devices  532 . The I/O devices  582  may include user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with the system  500 , peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interaction with the system  500 , and/or sensors designed to determine environmental conditions and/or location information related to the system  500 . 
     In various embodiments, the user interfaces could include, but are not limited to, a display (e.g., a liquid crystal display, a touch screen display, etc.), a speaker, a microphone, one or more cameras (e.g., a still camera and/or a video camera), a flashlight (e.g., a light emitting diode flash), and a keyboard. 
     In various embodiments, the peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, an audio jack, and a power supply interface. 
     In various embodiments, the sensors may include, but are not limited to, a gyro sensor, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, and a positioning unit. The positioning unit may also be part of or interact with, the network interface  520  to communicate with components of a positioning network, e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) satellite. 
     In various embodiments, the system  500  may be a mobile computing device such as, but not limited to, a laptop computing device, a tablet computing device, a netbook, a smartphone, etc. In various embodiments, the system  500  may have more or less components, and/or different architectures. 
     It will be understood by skilled persons that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. The scope of the present invention should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20180306
Publication Date: 20210105
Grant Date: 20210105
Priority Date: 20120905
Inventors: SUH, SEONG-YOUP
SKINNER, HARRY G.
KESLING, W. Dawson
MANTEGHI, MAJID
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04B1/006", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/006", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/0458", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L41/0809", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/18", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/401", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/40", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B17/12", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/18", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/406", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/006", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q9/0442", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B17/21", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/0458", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/401", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/18", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/406", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B17/12", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B17/21", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/401", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/0458", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q9/0442", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/406", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/40", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/0458", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L41/0809", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/18", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B17/21", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/243", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B17/12", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/006", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/401", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 50188203