Apparatus for positioning an antenna in a remote ground terminal
First Claim
1. An apparatus for aiding the orientation of a directional antenna of a remote ground terminal which transmits and receives a signal via said antenna, said apparatus comprising:
- a signal generator for producing a frequency variable reference signal having a variable duty cycle of frequency,a controller coupled to said signal generator, said controller operative to analyze said signal received via said antenna and to vary the duty cycle of said reference signal in accordance with an identification tag forming part of said signal received via said antenna, said identification tag identifying a designated central hub station which originates said signal to be transmitted to said remote ground terminal, anda detector coupled to said signal generator to receive said reference signal, said detector producing an output signal having an average amplitude proportional to the duty cycle of said reference signal,wherein said controller commands said signal generator to produce a reference signal having a first duty cycle when a signal having an identification tag not corresponding to the designated central hub station is received by said antenna, and to produce a reference signal having a second duty cycle when a signal having an identification tag corresponding to the designated central hub station is received by said antenna, said first duty cycle causing the average amplitude of said output signal of said detector to equal a first value and said second duty cycle causing the average amplitude of said output signal of said detector to equal a second value.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for positioning a directional antenna of a remote ground terminal which transmits and receives signals to and from a satellite via the antenna. The apparatus includes a signal generator for producing a frequency variable reference signal having a variable duty cycle, and a controller which operates to analyze the signals received from the satellite and to vary the duty cycle of the reference signal in accordance with an identification tag forming part of the received signals. The apparatus further includes a detector which receives the reference signal and produces an antenna pointing signal having an average amplitude proportional to the duty cycle of the reference signal. The controller commands the signal generator to produce a reference signal having a first duty cycle when a signal having an identification tag not corresponding to a designated central hub station is received by the antenna, and a reference signal having a second duty cycle when a signal having an identification tag corresponding to the designated central hub station is received by the antenna. The reference signal having the first duty cycle causes the average amplitude of the antenna pointing signal to equal a first value, while a reference signal having the second duty cycle causes the average amplitude of the antenna pointing signal to equal a second value. During installation, the antenna is rotated until the average amplitude of the antenna pointing signal equals the second value.
28 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for aiding the orientation of a directional antenna of a remote ground terminal which transmits and receives a signal via said antenna, said apparatus comprising:
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a signal generator for producing a frequency variable reference signal having a variable duty cycle of frequency, a controller coupled to said signal generator, said controller operative to analyze said signal received via said antenna and to vary the duty cycle of said reference signal in accordance with an identification tag forming part of said signal received via said antenna, said identification tag identifying a designated central hub station which originates said signal to be transmitted to said remote ground terminal, and a detector coupled to said signal generator to receive said reference signal, said detector producing an output signal having an average amplitude proportional to the duty cycle of said reference signal, wherein said controller commands said signal generator to produce a reference signal having a first duty cycle when a signal having an identification tag not corresponding to the designated central hub station is received by said antenna, and to produce a reference signal having a second duty cycle when a signal having an identification tag corresponding to the designated central hub station is received by said antenna, said first duty cycle causing the average amplitude of said output signal of said detector to equal a first value and said second duty cycle causing the average amplitude of said output signal of said detector to equal a second value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for aiding the orientation of a directional antenna of a remote ground terminal which transmits and receives a signal via said antenna, said method comprising:
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producing a frequency variable reference signal having a variable duty cycle, analyzing a signal received via said antenna and varying the duty cycle of said reference signal in accordance with an identification tag forming part of said signal received via said antenna, said identification tag identifying a designated central hub station which originates the signal to be transmitted to said remote ground terminal, detecting the duty cycle of said reference signal so as to produce an output signal having an average amplitude which varies proportionally with the duty cycle of said reference signal, and controlling the duty cycle of said reference signal such that when a signal having an identification tag not corresponding to the designated central hub station is received by said antenna, said average amplitude of said output signal equals a first value, and when a signal having an identification tag corresponding to the designated central hub station is received by said antenna, said average amplitude of said output signal equals a second value. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification