US-12627958-B2 - Radio frequency communication via plug and receptacle arrangement

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes: detecting, in a computing device, attachment of a surface connector to the computing device and discovering one or more operational characteristics of the surface connector via a wired configuration channel; configuring the connector to communicate with the computing device via at least one wireless channel based on the one or more operational characteristics; and communicating data with the surface connector via the at least one wireless channel. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Inventors

• Bradley N. Saunders

Assignees

• INTEL CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20220627

Claims (20)

1. 1 . An apparatus comprising: a first radio frequency (RF) circuit to transmit and receive first data signals of a first RF channel; a first antenna coupled to the first RF circuit, the first antenna to communicate the first data signals via the first RF channel; an electrical interface to communicate power delivery signaling and configuration channel signaling of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) protocol; and an alignment mechanism to enable the apparatus to surface mate with a device having another RF circuit and a power delivery circuit, the alignment mechanism to enable the apparatus to be retained in surface alignment with the device.
2. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises a cable, the cable comprising a bridge circuit coupled to the first RF circuit to communicate the first data signals with the first RF circuit and to convert the first data signals to a different data rate for communication via one of an electrical data path or an optical data path of the cable.
3. 3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising a first waveguide through which the first data signals are communicated.
4. 4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the first waveguide and a second waveguide included in a receptacle of the device provide the first wireless channel via which RF signals are communicated between a plug of the cable and the receptacle.
5. 5 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the first waveguide extends through the cable to enable wireless communication of the first data signals through the cable.
6. 6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the alignment mechanism comprises a magnetic alignment device.
7. 7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the electrical interface comprises a plurality of surface contacts to communicate the power delivery signaling and the configuration channel signaling of the USB protocol.
8. 8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first RF circuit comprises a first RF integrated circuit (RFIC) to transmit RF signals of the first data signals and a second RFIC to transmit second RF signals of second data signals.
9. 9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising a first die comprising the first RFIC and the second RFIC.
10. 10 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises a USB RF plug to mate with the device comprising a USB RF receptacle, wherein the USB RF plug is retained in the surface alignment with the USB RF receptacle.
11. 11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the USB RF plug is symmetrical and wherein the USB RF plug may be adapted in surface alignment with the USB RF receptacle in a first orientation or a second orientation.
12. 12 . A method comprising: detecting, in a computing device, attachment of a surface connector to the computing device and discovering one or more operational characteristics of the surface connector via a wired configuration channel of an electrical interface, the electrical interface to communicate power delivery signaling and the configuration channel signaling of a Universal Serial Bus USB) protocol; configuring the surface connector to communicate with the computing device via at least one wireless channel based on the one or more operational characteristics; and communicating data with the surface connector via the at least one wireless channel.
13. 13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising maintaining the surface connector in alignment with a surface receptacle of the computing device via at least one of a magnetic member or a mechanical member.
14. 14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising communicating second data with the surface connector via a wired channel.
15. 15 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising providing power to a second device coupled to the computing device via a cable comprising the surface connector.
16. 16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising communicating the data from the surface connector to a second end of the cable wirelessly.
17. 17 . A computing device comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor; a radio frequency (RF) receptacle to enable surface attachment of a RF connector of a cable; a first RF transceiver to transmit and receive first data signals of a first RF channel formed between the RF receptacle and the RF connector; a first antenna coupled to the first RF transceiver, the first antenna to communicate the first data signals via the first RF channel; a power delivery circuit to deliver power via the cable to a device coupled to the cable; and an electrical interface to couple to the power delivery circuit, the electrical interface comprising a first electrical contact to communicate the power and a second electrical contact to communicate configuration channel signaling of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) protocol.
18. 18 . The computing device of claim 17 , further comprising an alignment mechanism to enable the surface attachment of the RF connector.
19. 19 . The computing device of claim 17 , further comprising a waveguide matrix comprising a plurality of waveguides, each of the plurality of waveguides to form a wireless channel with a corresponding waveguide included in the RF connector.
20. 20 . The computing device of claim 17 , wherein when the cable is in the surface attachment, the first antenna is spatially separated from a second antenna of the RF connector by less than approximately 10 millimeters, and the first data signals are communicated at a speed up to approximately 200 gigabits per second (Gbps).

Description

BACKGROUND Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectivity is used to attach a wide variety of peripheral devices to many different computing devices. Based on traditional pin and socket solutions, USB cable connections have limitations in terms of durability, moisture resistance and even data performance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computing environment in which an RF plug mates with an RF receptacle in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a connection in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross section view of an RF plug in accordance with an embodiment. FIGS. 4A and 4B are illustrations of RF cables in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 6 is an embodiment of a fabric composed of point-to-point links that interconnect a set of components. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a computing environment in accordance with another embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a system in accordance with an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION In various embodiments, a near-field, radio frequency (RF)-coupled signaling interface may be provided for a surface-based connector, which in one or more embodiments may be a USB-based connector. In addition, this connector may provide backwards compatibility to one or more existing USB technologies available today such as a USB Type-C solution in accordance with a Universal Serial Bus Type-C Cable and Connector Specification (e.g., Release 2.1 May 2021). In this way, a power delivery interface may be provided to enable a coupled device to be powered. With embodiments, wireless data signaling may be used to eliminate data conductivity issues associated with both optical and electrical contact interfaces having exposed pin and socket data connections. While embodiments described herein are in the context of a USB-based protocol, understand in other implementations the combined RF and wired communications/power delivery may be used for other communication protocols, either proprietary or according to other standards or specifications. Thus with embodiments, exposed pin and socket data connections of a connector can be replaced with closely-coupled RF signal connections between a computing device and a cable that incorporate circuitry to enable data communications. Power and connection detection circuitry may be implemented using copper-based connections using surface contacts as opposed to pin and socket. Additionally, embodiments provide techniques for aligning and maintaining contact between the connector and the device, e.g., using a combination of structural alignment and magnetics. At a high level, embodiments provide a “plug” and “receptacle” that are self-aligning using a combination of mechanical alignment features and magnetics. Note that these RF plug and RF receptacle do not have conventional insertion (male) and receiving (female) mechanisms, as instead a surface-based contact and alignment occur. Wireless communication channels provide a high-speed signal path for data. In one or more embodiments, a signaling protocol can be based on existing USB bus protocols, e.g., USB4®, USB 3.2, etc., or another transport to carry existing USB bus protocols across the RF interface. In addition, wireless communication may support higher data rates than existing USB Type-C technology such that when used with a cable having RF-coupled USB connections on both ends, a future generation of USB can extend well beyond USB4 Gen4 (40 gigabits per second (Gbps)/channel). In this case, the interface may include more channels or be implemented as an optical link of higher performance. Note that the operational characteristics of the RF channel may be adjustable and uniquely configured to associate with a specific instance of the RF-coupled USB port created by this plug and receptacle combination. In this way, multiple ports may co-exist on a given device and work with multiple cables attached to the same device. Referring now to FIG. 1, shown is a block diagram of a computing environment in which an RF plug mates with an RF receptacle in accordance with an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, computing environment 100 may be any type of computing arrangement in which at least one computing device couples to another device via a plug and receptacle arrangement to enable wireless communication between the devices, along with wired power and wired data communication of at least a configuration channel (CC). While the specific implementation shown in FIG. 1 is in the context of an extension to a USB protocol to provide for such wireless data communication, understand embodiments are not limited in this regard. As shown, an RF plug 110 may be implemented at a first end of a cable 120, which in an embodiment may be a USB-based cable. As will be described further herein, data may travel through this cable between this first end and a second end (not shown in FIG. 1) in o