US-12627328-B2 - Shared transmitter for cellular access and wireless charging

Abstract

Some embodiments relate to systems and methods for communication of electronic signals using a communication device. The communication device includes a first transmitter, a second transmitter, a first antenna, coupled to the first transmitter, a second antenna, coupled to the second transmitter, a memory, and a processor, coupled to the memory, the first transmitter, and the second transmitter. The memory includes instructions that, when executed by the processor cause the processor to generate a long-range communication signal, generate a short-range communication signal, transmit the long-range communication signal from the first transmitter over the first antenna, transmit the short-range communication signal from a second transmitter over the second antenna, generate a charging signal, and transmit the charging signal from at least one of the first transmitter over the first antenna and the second transmitter over the second antenna.

Inventors

• Thomas Winiecki
• Nick Taluja
• Jeremy Gosteau

Assignees

• SEQUANS COMMUNICATIONS SA

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20220901

Claims (17)

1. 1 . A communication device, comprising: a first transmitter; a second transmitter; a first antenna, coupled to the first transmitter; a second antenna, coupled to the second transmitter; a memory; and a processor, coupled to the memory, the first transmitter, and the second transmitter, and including instructions that, when executed by the processor cause the processor to: generate a long-range communication signal; generate a short-range communication signal; transmit the long-range communication signal from the first transmitter over the first antenna; transmit the short-range communication signal from the second transmitter over the second antenna; generate a charging signal configured to deliver electrical power to an external device; and control at least one of the first transmitter and the second transmitter to selectively transmit the charging signal during allocated transmission intervals such that the charging signal supplies operating power or charging energy to the external device while maintaining cellular network access.
2. 2 . The communication device of claim 1 , wherein the first transmitter comprises a cellular transmitter.
3. 3 . The communication device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first transmitter and the second transmitter alternates between transmitting the charging signal and at least one of the long-range communication signal and the short range communication signal.
4. 4 . The communication device of claim 3 , wherein the charging signal is transmitted during idle periods of at least one of the long-range communication signal and the short range communication signal.
5. 5 . The communication device of claim 4 , wherein the charging signal is transmitted during idle periods of the long-range communication signal.
6. 6 . A communication system, comprising: a communication device, including: a first transmitter; a second transmitter; a first antenna, coupled to the first transmitter; a second antenna, coupled to the second transmitter; a memory; and a processor, coupled to the memory, the first transmitter, and the second transmitter, and including instructions that, when executed by the processor cause the processor to: generate a long-range communication signal, generate a short-range communication signal; transmit the long-range communication signal from the first transmitter over the first antenna; transmit the short-range communication signal from the second transmitter over the second antenna; generate a charging signal configured to deliver electrical power to an external sensor; and control at least one of the first transmitter and the second transmitter to selectively transmit the charging signal during allocated transmission intervals such that the charging signal supplies operating power or charging energy to the sensor while maintaining cellular network access; and a sensor operatively coupled to the communication device to receive the charging signal and at least one of the long-range communication signal or the short-range communication signal.
7. 7 . The communication system of claim 6 , wherein the first transmitter comprises a cellular transmitter.
8. 8 . The communication system of claim 7 , wherein the sensor is coupled to the communication device through at least one of the first transmitter the second transmitter using the communication signal, the communication signal providing data communication between the sensor and the communication device.
9. 9 . The communication system of claim 6 , wherein the sensor is coupled to the communication device through the charging signal, the charging signal providing energy to the sensor, the sensor converting the energy provided by the charging signal to a direct current (DC) charging voltage.
10. 10 . The communication system of claim 6 , wherein at least one of the first transmitter and the second transmitter alternates between transmitting the charging signal and at least one of the long-range communication signal and the short range communication signal.
11. 11 . The communication system of claim 10 , wherein the charging signal is transmitted during idle periods of at least one of the long-range communication signal and the short range communication signal.
12. 12 . The communication system of claim 11 , wherein the charging signal is transmitted during idle periods of the long-range communication signal.
13. 13 . A method of communication of electronic signals and charging, the method comprising: generating a long-range communication signal; generating a short-range communication signal; transmitting the long-range communication signal from a first transmitter over a first antenna; transmitting the short-range communication signal from a second transmitter over a second antenna; generating a charging signal configured to deliver electrical power to an external device; and selectively transmitting the charging signal during allocated transmission intervals using at least one of the first transmitter and the second transmitter such that the charging signal supplies operating power or charging energy to the external device while maintaining cellular network access.
14. 14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the first transmitter comprises a cellular transmitter.
15. 15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the first transmitter and the second transmitter alternate between transmitting the charging signal and at least one of the long-range communication signal and the short range communication signal.
16. 16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the charging signal is transmitted during idle periods of at least one of the long-range communication signal and the short range communication signal.
17. 17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the charging signal is transmitted during idle periods of the long-range communication signal.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates generally to the field of wireless communications, more specifically and not by way of limitation, some embodiments are related to shared circuitry within communication devices. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Wireless charging (also known as cordless or inductive charging) may be a process of transferring power between electronic devices using electromagnetic coupling. A transmitter may be powered from a mains power line or other power source. The transmitter may generate radio waves that may be picked up by a receiving device and converted to a direct current (DC) in order to charge a battery, supercapacitor, or other suitable charge storage device. For receiving devices that consume very little power, e.g., on the order of a few milliwatts or lower, the process may often be described as “energy harvesting.” Even minute levels of incident radio frequency (RF) signals may be converted to useful power. Devices that successfully extract energy from surrounding electromagnetic waves may continuously charge themselves and devices using these signals for charging may not need the device's batteries replaced at regular intervals. Wireless charging may be limited to relatively modest physical distances. For example, FCC rules limit the power from cellular handheld devices for personal use to 23 dBm (200 mW), which is considered safe by medical and biological experts. When this power is transmitted using an omnidirectional antenna, the power will drop by around 33 dB (assuming 1 GHz carrier frequency) or a factor of 2,000 over a distance of just 1 meter. An energy harvesting device at this distance will only receive 100 μW of RF signal level and more power will be lost in the conversion to usable DC power. Directional antennas and the use of lower carrier frequencies may improve the energy transfer but generally wireless power transfer in a home environment may be limited to a few meters of distance. While low frequencies (e.g., a few hundreds of kHz) may work best for wireless charging, energy harvesting often target higher frequencies, where short-range communication and longer-range communication equipment operates. Examples include, but are not limited to the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, and 2.4 GHz ISM bands. Another recent trend is often described as the connected home. The connect home may use a number of small devices that sense and control various aspects around people's homes. The number of small devices may be sensors for light, humidity or temperature, cameras and intruder alarms or controlling devices for heating, lighting or similar devices. Communication between the devices may often be based on Bluetooth, WiFi, or similar short-range technologies. Many of these devices may need to be mains powered (e.g., surveillance cameras), but some simpler sensors may be battery powered and may use energy harvesting. In many cases, the messages from simple sensors may be aggregated by a hub device that may have a connection with the internet via a cellular link. This cellular link may use low throughput standards such as LTE NB-IoT, Category M1 or NR RedCap, eRedCap or any future cellular technology. Multiple connected sensors may also be deployed in industrial environments, for example on manufacturing lines or laboratories. For these cases, wireless charging is also attractive as it allows flexible placement without the necessary cabling. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Some embodiments relate to systems and methods for a communication device. The communication device includes a first transmitter, a second transmitter, a first antenna, coupled to the first transmitter, a second antenna, coupled to the second transmitter, a memory, and a processor, coupled to the memory, the first transmitter, and the second transmitter. The memory includes instructions that, when executed by the processor cause the processor to generate a long-range communication signal, generate a short-range communication signal, transmit the long-range communication signal from the first transmitter over the first antenna, transmit the short-range communication signal from the second transmitter over the second antenna, generate a charging signal, and transmit the charging signal from at least one of the first transmitter over the first antenna and the second transmitter over the second antenna. Some embodiments relate to systems and methods for a communication system. The communication device includes a first transmitter, a second transmitter, a first antenna, coupled to the first transmitter, a second antenna, coupled to the second transmitter, a memory, and a processor, coupled to the memory, the first transmitter, and the second transmitter. The memory includes instructions that, when executed by the processor cause the processor to generate a long-range communication signal, generate a short-range communication signal, transmit the long-range communication signal from the first transmitter over the first antenna, tran