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SonyPatent applicationNetworks & wirelessInterest 4/10

Sony patents method to find radio wave angles using tiny antenna gaps

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Sony describes a device that calculates the direction of incoming radio waves using two or more antennas spaced very closely together. By measuring the phase of signals sent back and forth between two separate devices, it determines the angle of arrival without needing large physical gaps between antennas.

Why it mattersThis technique could allow smaller devices to accurately pinpoint the location of other wireless devices, improving precision in short-range communication systems.

In the filing’s own words

An angle calculation device according to the present technology includes an angle calculator that calculates, based on receipt signals of each of two or more first antennae and a second antenna, an angle of arrival of a radio wave at the first antennae from the second antenna. The first antennae are disposed in a first device at a spacing of a 0.25 wavelength or less of a carrier wave. The second antenna is disposed in a second device different from the first device. The receipt signals are obtained by performing round-trip communication for phase-based ranging between the first antennae and the second antenna.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An angle calculation device comprising an angle calculator that calculates, based on receipt signals of each of two or more first antennae and a second antenna, an angle of arrival of a radio wave at the first antennae from the second antenna, the first antennae being disposed in a first device at a spacing of a 0.25 wavelength or less of a carrier wave, the second antenna being disposed in a second device different from the first device, and the receipt signals being obtained by performing round-trip communication for phase-based ranging between the first antennae and the second antenna.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
ANGLE CALCULATION DEVICE AND ANGLE CALCULATION METHOD
Publication number
US20260309487A1
Application number
19482790
Filed
May 13, 2024
Published
Oct 8, 2026
Inventors
4
Claims
15

Classified under

G01B 15/00 Physics & computingG01B 21/22 Physics & computingG01S 13/4454 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.