Antenna combiner
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of antennas, coupled to a moving platform, to receive signals from a satellite, each antenna in the plurality of antennas having a transmit aperture and a receive aperture, and wherein the receive aperture is operable to receive one of the signals from the satellite, wherein the plurality of antennas comprises a plurality of electronically-steerable flat panel antennas;
a plurality of signal analyzers coupled to the plurality of antennas, each signal analyzer operable to determine signal quality of a distinct one antenna of the plurality of antennas;
a prediction engine to generate predicted motion information indicative of a predicted location of each of the plurality of antennas for an expected time of satellite transmission based on motion information obtained from one or more sensors coupled to the plurality of antennas and expected transmission time;
an arbiter coupled to the plurality of signal analyzers and the prediction engine and operable to select one antenna of the plurality of antennas to transmit to the satellite based on results of determining the signal quality and the predicted location of each antenna of the plurality of antennas coupled to the moving platform;
a first selector coupled to the arbiter and the plurality of antennas to cause data to be sent to the one antenna selected for transmission to the satellite; and
a combiner coupled to the plurality of antennas to combine the signals received by the plurality of antennas into one signal, wherein the combiner is operable to coherently sum signals received by the plurality of antennas while the one antenna transmits to the satellite.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An antenna combiner with transmission arbitration and method for using the same are described. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a plurality of antennas to receive signals from a satellite, each antenna in the plurality of antennas having a transmit aperture and a receive aperture, and wherein the receive aperture is operable to receive one of the signals from the satellite; a plurality of signal analyzers coupled to the plurality of antennas, each signal analyzer operable to determine signal quality of a distinct one antenna of the plurality of antennas; an arbiter coupled to the plurality of signal analyzers and operable to select one antenna of the plurality of antennas to transmit to the satellite based on results of determining the signal quality; and a first selector coupled to the arbiter and the plurality of antennas to cause data to be sent to the one antenna selected for transmission to the satellite.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of antennas, coupled to a moving platform, to receive signals from a satellite, each antenna in the plurality of antennas having a transmit aperture and a receive aperture, and wherein the receive aperture is operable to receive one of the signals from the satellite, wherein the plurality of antennas comprises a plurality of electronically-steerable flat panel antennas; a plurality of signal analyzers coupled to the plurality of antennas, each signal analyzer operable to determine signal quality of a distinct one antenna of the plurality of antennas; a prediction engine to generate predicted motion information indicative of a predicted location of each of the plurality of antennas for an expected time of satellite transmission based on motion information obtained from one or more sensors coupled to the plurality of antennas and expected transmission time; an arbiter coupled to the plurality of signal analyzers and the prediction engine and operable to select one antenna of the plurality of antennas to transmit to the satellite based on results of determining the signal quality and the predicted location of each antenna of the plurality of antennas coupled to the moving platform; a first selector coupled to the arbiter and the plurality of antennas to cause data to be sent to the one antenna selected for transmission to the satellite; and a combiner coupled to the plurality of antennas to combine the signals received by the plurality of antennas into one signal, wherein the combiner is operable to coherently sum signals received by the plurality of antennas while the one antenna transmits to the satellite. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method comprising:
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receiving signals from a satellite using a plurality of antennas coupled to a moving platform, each antenna in the plurality of antennas having a transmit aperture and a receive aperture, wherein the plurality of antennas comprises a plurality of electronically-steerable flat panel antennas; generating predicted motion information indicative of a predicted location of each of the plurality of antennas for an expected time of satellite transmission based on motion information obtained from one or more sensors coupled to the plurality of antennas and based on expected transmission time; combining the signals received by the plurality of antennas into one signal using a combiner; analyzing signal quality for each of the signals received by each of the plurality of antennas; selecting one of the plurality of antennas to transmit to the satellite based on results of analyzing the signal quality and the predicted location of each antenna of the plurality of antennas coupled to the moving platform; and transmitting data to the satellite using the one antenna while the combiner coherently sums signals received by the plurality of antennas. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus comprising:
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a memory operable to store receive signal quality information for each of a plurality of antennas, wherein the plurality of antennas comprises a plurality of electronically-steerable flat panel antennas coupled to a moving platform; a prediction engine to generate predicted motion information indicative of a predicted location of each of the plurality of antennas for an expected time of satellite transmission based on motion information obtained from one or more sensors coupled to the plurality of antennas and expected transmission time; an arbiter coupled to the memory and the prediction engine and operable to select one antenna of the plurality of antennas to transmit to the satellite based on results of determining the signal quality and the predicted location of each antenna of the plurality of antennas coupled to the moving platform; and a first selector coupled to the arbiter to cause data to be sent to the one antenna selected for transmission to the satellite; and a combiner coupled to the plurality of antennas to combine the signals received by the plurality of antennas into one signal, wherein the combiner is operable to coherently sum signals received by the plurality of antennas while the one antenna transmits to the satellite. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification