US 12,445,226 B2
Scalable decentralized redistributor and method of redistributing signals
Seyed Ali Hajimiri, La Canada, CA (US); Austin C. Fikes, Pasadena, CA (US); Parham Porsandeh Khial, Pasadena, CA (US); and Samir Nooshabadi, Pasadena, CA (US)
Assigned to California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (US)
Filed by California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (US)
Filed on Dec. 15, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/122,783.
Application 17/122,783 is a continuation in part of application No. 16/723,943, filed on Dec. 20, 2019, granted, now 11,601,183.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/931,634, filed on Nov. 6, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/897,764, filed on Sep. 9, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/783,011, filed on Dec. 20, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0105092 A1, Apr. 8, 2021
Int. Cl. H04L 1/08 (2006.01); H04B 7/06 (2006.01)
CPC H04L 1/08 (2013.01) [H04B 7/0617 (2013.01); H04B 7/0667 (2013.01); H04B 7/0697 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A spatial redistributor, comprising:
an array of channels, where each of a plurality of independently operating channels in the array comprises:
at least one antenna element configured to wirelessly receive a signal of a first frequency and a second frequency;
an in phase RF chain configured to apply a first phase shift to the received signal and configured to apply a first time delay to the received signal prior to retransmission, where the in phase RF chain comprises:
a first down converting mixer which receives a first signal from a reference oscillator and down converts the received signal in the in phase RF chain prior to the first phase shift and the first time delay; and
a first up converting mixer which receives a second signal from the reference oscillator and up converts the down converted signal in the in phase RF chain after the first phase shift and the first time delay;
a quadrature RF chain configured to apply a second phase shift to the received signal and configured to apply a second time delay to the received signal prior to retransmission, where the quadrature RF chain comprises:
a second down converting mixer which receives a third signal from the reference oscillator and down converts the received signal in the quadrature RF chain prior to the second phase shift and the second time delay; and
a second up converting mixer which receives a fourth signal from the reference oscillator and up converts the down converted signal in the quadrature RF chain after the second phase shift and the second time delay; and
control circuitry configured to control the time delays and the phase shifts applied by the in phase RF chain and the quadrature RF chain;
a summing circuit configured to create an output signal by merging the up converted signal from the in phase RF chain and the up converted signal from the quadrature RF chain; and
wherein the first signal from the reference oscillator received by the first down converting mixer is a cosine phase signal and the third signal from the reference oscillator received by the second down converting mixer is a sine phase signal;
wherein the at least one antenna element is further configured to wirelessly retransmit the output signal; and
wherein the array of channels is configured to steer the signal of the first frequency in a first direction and steer the signal of the second frequency in a second direction different from the first direction.