Calibration and integrated beam control/conditioning system for phased-array antennas
First Claim
1. A method for determining the pointing direction of a phased-array transmit antenna relative to a remote station, where said phased-array antenna includes a beam- direction control arrangement, in a system in which a tone generator provides a test tone for near-field alignment of said beam-direction control arrangement of said transmit antenna, said method comprising the steps of:
- generating said test tone for beam pointing determination, and applying said test tone to a port of said transmit antenna;
controlling at least one of amplitude and phase of said beam-direction control arrangement of said transmit antenna for generating multiple beams;
at a remote station in the case of a transmit antenna, determining, for each of said multiple beams, at least one of amplitude and phase of said tone;
from said at least one of amplitude and phase of said tone, determining the pointing direction of said antenna relative to said remote station.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A near-field calibration arrangement for an antenna array determines the phase shifts or attenuation of the elemental control elements of the array. The calibration system includes a probe located in the near field, and a calibration tone generator. The tone generator is coupled to the probe in the case of calibration of a receive antenna, and to the signal port of the array in the case of calibration of a transmit antenna. A code generator generates sets of values, with each set being orthogonal to the others. The codes are applied to the control input port of the array antenna, so that the codes encode the tone passing through the antenna. The encoded tones are applied to a decoder and processor, which processes the signals to determine the phase shift or attenuation associated with each bit of the control signal. A transmit antenna attitude determination or pointing arrangement uses the calibration tone generator in conjunction with a plurality of remote sites.
504 Citations
4 Claims
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1. A method for determining the pointing direction of a phased-array transmit antenna relative to a remote station, where said phased-array antenna includes a beam- direction control arrangement, in a system in which a tone generator provides a test tone for near-field alignment of said beam-direction control arrangement of said transmit antenna, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating said test tone for beam pointing determination, and applying said test tone to a port of said transmit antenna; controlling at least one of amplitude and phase of said beam-direction control arrangement of said transmit antenna for generating multiple beams; at a remote station in the case of a transmit antenna, determining, for each of said multiple beams, at least one of amplitude and phase of said tone; from said at least one of amplitude and phase of said tone, determining the pointing direction of said antenna relative to said remote station. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method for operating a phased-array transmit antenna in first and second modes, where said first mode includes near-field calibration of the beam-direction control arrangement of said antenna, and said second mode includes determination of the pointing direction of said antenna relative to a remote site, said method comprising the steps of:
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in said first mode of operation, producing a test tone, and applying said test tone to a port of said transmit antenna, for generating a transmitted test tone; in said first mode of operation, applying modulating signals to said beam-direction control arrangement of said antenna, for modulating said transmitted test tone, for generating a modulated transmitted test tone; in said first mode of operation, receiving said modulated transmitted test tone at a near-field probe, to thereby form received modulated test tone; in said first mode of operation, processing said received modulated test tone in conjunction with said modulating signals, for calibrating said beam-direction control arrangement; in said second mode of operation, producing said test tone, and applying said test tone to a port of said transmit antenna, for generating a transmitted test tone; in said second mode of operation, receiving said transmitted test tone at a remote site to thereby define a remote received signal, and determining at least one of the amplitude and phase of said remote received signal; in said second mode of operation, determining from said at least one of said amplitude and phase of said remote received signal the pointing direction of said transmit antenna relative to said remote site.
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4. A method for determining the beam pointing direction of a phased-array receiving antenna including a beam direction control input port and a received signal port, in a system in which said beam direction input port of said phased-array receiving antenna is coupled to a beam-direction control arrangement, and said phased-array receiving antenna is associated with a near-field calibration system including a calibration tone generator coupled to a near-field probe for radiating a tone to said receive antenna, an orthogonal code generator coupled to said beam direction control input port for encoding the tone produced by said receive antenna at said received signal port, an orthogonal code decoder coupled to said received signal port and to said orthogonal code generator, for decoding said tone as encoded for thereby allowing the signals received by the individual elements of the receive antenna array to be separated, and a processor coupled to said decoder, for generating calibration signals representative of the relative phases and amplitudes of said individual elements, said method comprising the steps of
at a remote station, transmitting a test tone toward said receive antenna; -
at said receive antenna, receiving said tone; controlling at least one of amplitude and phase of said beam-direction control arrangement of said receive antenna for generating multiple beams; at a location close to said receive antenna, determining, for each of said multiple beams, at least one of amplitude and phase of said tone; from said at least one of amplitude and phase of said tone, determining the pointing direction of said antenna relative to said remote station.
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Specification