Analog signal diversity in multichannel communications

摘要

A multichannel communications medium may have two or more channels available for transmitting information. A first transmission signal and a second transmission signal may be prepared from a same analog signal to be transmitted on a first channel and a second channel. For example, a phase shift or amplitude shift may be performed on the first transmission signal or the second transmission signal. The first transmission signal may be transmitted via the first channel, and the second transmission signal may be transmitted via the second channel. The phase shift or amplitude shift may be performed by analog components that are less complex than digital signal processors used for digital signal diversity. The analog components may be digitally controlled. The analog signal diversity may utilize cost effective analog components to improve the performance of the communications system over single channel communications without requiring complex digital signal processing of multiple signal paths.

主权项

1. A device comprising:
a transmitter having an analog portion configured to produce an analog signal for transmission via a multichannel communications medium; and an analog diversity unit configured to:
perform phase shift operations on the analog signal, the phase shift operations producing a plurality of phase shifted signals,select one of the plurality of phase shifted signals as a first transmission signal,prepare a second transmission signal as a duplicate of the analog signal, wherein the first transmission signal is different from the second transmission signal by a phase shift, an amplitude shift, or a combination thereof,couple the first transmission signal to a first channel of the multichannel communications medium, andcouple the second transmission signal to a second channel of the multichannel communications medium.