Ground network for end-to-end beamforming with multifrequency access node clusters
First Claim
1. A system for providing a communication service to user terminals geographically distributed over a user coverage area via an end-to-end relay comprising multiple receive/transmit signal paths, comprising:
- a beam signal interface that obtains multiple forward beam signals comprising forward user data streams for transmission to the user terminals grouped by multiple forward user beam coverage areas;
a beam weight generator that generates a forward beam weight matrix for end-to-end beamforming to the multiple forward user beam coverage areas via the end-to-end relay;
a beamformer coupled with the beam signal interface and the beam weight generator, the beamformer comprising a forward matrix multiplier that obtains a plurality of access-node specific forward signals based on a matrix product of the forward beam weight matrix and a vector of the forward beam signals;
a first access node cluster comprising a first plurality of access nodes, wherein the first plurality of access nodes obtain a first subset of the plurality of access node-specific forward signals and comprise transmitters that transmit a first set of forward uplink signals over a first frequency range to the end-to-end relay based on the first subset of the plurality of access node-specific forward signals; and
a second access node cluster comprising a second plurality of access nodes, wherein the second plurality of access nodes obtain a second subset of the plurality of access node-specific forward signals and comprise transmitters that transmit a second set of forward uplink signals over a second frequency range to the end-to-end relay based on the second subset of the plurality of access node-specific forward signals, wherein the second frequency range is non-overlapping with the first frequency range,wherein the first and second sets of forward uplink signals are pre-corrected to compensate for respective path delays and phase shifts introduced between the first and second pluralities of access nodes and the end-to-end relay.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems are described for providing end-to-end beamforming. For example, end-to-end beamforming systems include end-to-end relays and ground networks to provide communications to user terminals located in user beam coverage areas. The ground segment can include geographically distributed access nodes and a central processing system. Return uplink signals, transmitted from the user terminals, have multipath induced by a plurality of receive/transmit signal paths in the end to end relay and are relayed to the ground network. The ground network, using beamformers, recovers user data streams transmitted by the user terminals from return downlink signals. The ground network, using beamformers generates forward uplink signals from appropriately weighted combinations of user data streams that, after relay by the end-end-end relay, produce forward downlink signals that combine to form user beams.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A system for providing a communication service to user terminals geographically distributed over a user coverage area via an end-to-end relay comprising multiple receive/transmit signal paths, comprising:
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a beam signal interface that obtains multiple forward beam signals comprising forward user data streams for transmission to the user terminals grouped by multiple forward user beam coverage areas; a beam weight generator that generates a forward beam weight matrix for end-to-end beamforming to the multiple forward user beam coverage areas via the end-to-end relay; a beamformer coupled with the beam signal interface and the beam weight generator, the beamformer comprising a forward matrix multiplier that obtains a plurality of access-node specific forward signals based on a matrix product of the forward beam weight matrix and a vector of the forward beam signals; a first access node cluster comprising a first plurality of access nodes, wherein the first plurality of access nodes obtain a first subset of the plurality of access node-specific forward signals and comprise transmitters that transmit a first set of forward uplink signals over a first frequency range to the end-to-end relay based on the first subset of the plurality of access node-specific forward signals; and a second access node cluster comprising a second plurality of access nodes, wherein the second plurality of access nodes obtain a second subset of the plurality of access node-specific forward signals and comprise transmitters that transmit a second set of forward uplink signals over a second frequency range to the end-to-end relay based on the second subset of the plurality of access node-specific forward signals, wherein the second frequency range is non-overlapping with the first frequency range, wherein the first and second sets of forward uplink signals are pre-corrected to compensate for respective path delays and phase shifts introduced between the first and second pluralities of access nodes and the end-to-end relay. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for providing a communication service to user terminals geographically distributed over a user coverage area via an end-to-end relay comprising multiple receive/transmit signal paths, comprising:
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obtaining multiple forward beam signals comprising forward user data streams for transmission to a plurality of the user terminals grouped by multiple forward user beam coverage areas; identifying a forward beam weight matrix for end-to-end beamforming of transmissions from a first plurality of access nodes and a second plurality of access nodes to the multiple forward user beam coverage areas via the end-to-end relay, the first plurality of access nodes comprising access nodes of a first access node cluster and the second plurality of access nodes comprising access nodes of a second access node cluster; generating first and second sets of access node-specific forward signals for transmission by the first and second pluralities of access nodes, respectively, each of the first and second sets of access node-specific forward signals comprising a composite of respective forward beam signals weighted by respective forward beamforming weights of the forward beam weight matrix; transmitting a first set of forward uplink signals from the first plurality of access nodes over a first frequency range based on the first set of access node-specific forward signals; and transmitting a second set of forward uplink signals from the second plurality of access nodes over a second frequency range based on the second set of access node-specific forward signals, wherein the second frequency range is non-overlapping with the first frequency range, wherein the first and second sets of forward uplink signals are pre-corrected to compensate for respective path delays and phase shifts between the first and second pluralities of access nodes and the end-to-end relay. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A system for providing a communication service to user terminals geographically distributed over a user coverage area via an end-to-end relay comprising multiple receive/transmit signal paths, comprising:
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a first access node cluster comprising a first plurality of access nodes, wherein the first plurality of access nodes comprise receivers that receive first return downlink signals from the end-to-end relay over a first frequency range, each of the first return downlink signals comprising a composite of return uplink signals transmitted from a plurality of the user terminals and relayed by at least a subset of a first set of the multiple receive/transmit signal paths of the end-to-end relay to form a first composite return signal; a second access node cluster comprising a second plurality of access nodes, wherein the second plurality of access nodes comprise receivers that receive second return downlink signals from the end-to-end relay over a second frequency range, each of the second return downlink signals comprising a composite of the return uplink signals transmitted from the plurality of the user terminals and relayed by at least a subset of a second set of the multiple receive/transmit signal paths of the end-to-end relay to form a second composite return signal, and wherein the second frequency range is non-overlapping with the first frequency range; a beam weight generator that generates a return beam weight matrix for end-to-end beamforming of transmissions from multiple return user beam coverage areas to the first and second access node clusters via the end-to-end relay; and a return beamformer coupled with the beam weight generator, the return beamformer comprising a matrix multiplier that obtains respective return beam signals for the multiple return user beam coverage areas based on a matrix product of the return beam weight matrix and a vector of the first and second composite return signals, wherein the first and second composite return signals are corrected for timing and phase for respective path delays and phase shifts between the end-to-end relay and the first and second pluralities of access nodes. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method for providing a communication service to user terminals geographically distributed over a user coverage area via an end-to-end relay comprising multiple receive/transmit signal paths, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a first access node cluster comprising a first plurality of access nodes, first return downlink signals from the end-to-end relay over a first frequency range, each of the first return downlink signals comprising a composite of return uplink signals transmitted from a plurality of the user terminals and relayed by at least a subset of a first set of the multiple receive/transmit signal paths of the end-to-end relay to form a first composite return signal; receiving, at a second access node cluster comprising a second plurality of access nodes, second return downlink signals from the end-to-end relay over a second frequency range, each of the second return downlink signals comprising a composite of the return uplink signals transmitted from the plurality of the user terminals and relayed by at least a subset of a second set of the multiple receive/transmit signal paths of the end-to-end relay to form a second composite return signal, and wherein the second frequency range is non-overlapping with the first frequency range; identifying a return beam weight matrix for end-to-end beamforming of transmissions from multiple return user beam coverage areas to the first and second access node clusters via the end-to-end relay; applying, to a vector of the first and second composite return signals, respective beamforming weights of the return beam weight matrix to obtain a respective plurality of weighted composite return signals associated with each of the multiple return user beam coverage areas; and combining, for the each of the multiple return user beam coverage areas, the respective plurality of weighted composite return signals to obtain a return beam signal associated with the each of the multiple return user beam coverage areas, wherein the respective plurality of weighted composite return signals are corrected to compensate for respective path delays and phase shifts between the end-to-end relay and the first and second pluralities of access nodes prior to the combining. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification