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GoogleGranted patentNetworks & wirelessInterest 4/10

Google patents radio circuit that shares parts for GPS and satellite data

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

This patent describes a radio-frequency circuit that uses shared hardware to handle both GPS signals and satellite internet data at the same time. It uses a simple switching mechanism to manage these signals without needing separate, expensive components for each function.

Why it mattersThis design could make satellite internet features in phones cheaper and more efficient by reusing existing hardware instead of adding new parts.

In the filing’s own words

Techniques and apparatuses are described that implement a radio-frequency front-end (RFFE) circuit for location services and wireless communication. In an example aspect, a computing device includes a radio-frequency front-end circuit, which is used to provide location services via a global navigation satellite system and wireless communication via a non-terrestrial network. In one aspect, an architecture of the radio-frequency front-end circuit supports the concurrent reception of signals for location services and wireless communication. This allows location information to be updated for proper timing adjustment during a downlink time interval. At least some components of the radio-frequency front-end circuit have a shared-use and operate on signals that are received for location services as well as signals that are received for wireless communication. In another aspect, the radio-frequency front-end circuit uses a switching circuit to provide a relatively simple and inexpensive means of coexistence management.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An apparatus comprising: a radio-frequency front-end circuit configured to: couple to an antenna, a first receiver, and a second receiver; accept, from the antenna, a global-navigation-satellite-system signal transmitted by a global navigation satellite system; accept, from the antenna, a downlink signal transmitted by a non-terrestrial network; amplify both the global-navigation-satellite-system signal and the non-terrestrial downlink signal using an amplifier of the radio-frequency front-end circuit; pass at least the amplified global-navigation-satellite-system signal from the amplifier to the first receiver; and pass at least the amplified downlink signal from the amplifier to the second receiver.

Facts

Company
Google (Google LLC)
Official title
Radio-frequency front-end circuit for location services and wireless communication
Patent number
US12771392B2
Application number
18777245
Filed
Jul 18, 2024
Granted
Oct 20, 2026
Inventors
5
Claims
10

Classified under

H04B 1/16 Electricity & electronicsG01S 19/36 Physics & computingG01S 19/37 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.