Nulling direct radiating array
First Claim
1. A nulling antenna system comprising:
- a main phased array including a plurality of antenna elements, said main phased array combining signals received by the antenna elements into a plurality of pixel beams, said plurality of pixel beams defining at least one communications channel;
a plurality of auxiliary phased arrays positioned around and spaced from the main array, each of the auxiliary phased arrays including a plurality of antenna elements, each of the auxiliary arrays combining signals received by the auxiliary antenna elements into an auxiliary beam; and
at least one adaptive weighting system responsive to a plurality of pixel beams defining the at least one communications channel and the plurality of auxiliary beams from the auxiliary arrays, said adaptive weighting system determining if a jamming signal is being received by the main array and weighting the pixel beams so that the jamming signal is nulled from the at least one channel.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A nulling direct radiating array (30) that includes a main phased array (32) and a plurality of auxiliary arrays (70, 72, 74) symmetrically disposed about the main array (32). The main array (32) includes a plurality of antenna elements (34) and a beam forming system (56) that generates one or more channels made up of several pixel beams. The pixel beams from the main array (32) are connected to a nulling processor (108) along with the combined signal from the antenna elements (80) of the auxiliary arrays (70, 72, 74). An adaptive weighting network (112) and an adaptive weight generator (114) within the nulling processor (108) determine whether a jamming signal exists in the channel beam, and weight the pixel beams from the main array (32) accordingly to block the jamming signal. The auxiliary arrays (70, 72, 74) provide a wider beam aperture that is able to more narrowly define the null in the radiation pattern of the main array (32).
21 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A nulling antenna system comprising:
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a main phased array including a plurality of antenna elements, said main phased array combining signals received by the antenna elements into a plurality of pixel beams, said plurality of pixel beams defining at least one communications channel;
a plurality of auxiliary phased arrays positioned around and spaced from the main array, each of the auxiliary phased arrays including a plurality of antenna elements, each of the auxiliary arrays combining signals received by the auxiliary antenna elements into an auxiliary beam; and
at least one adaptive weighting system responsive to a plurality of pixel beams defining the at least one communications channel and the plurality of auxiliary beams from the auxiliary arrays, said adaptive weighting system determining if a jamming signal is being received by the main array and weighting the pixel beams so that the jamming signal is nulled from the at least one channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of nulling a jamming signal received by a communications antenna array, said method comprising the steps of:
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positioning a plurality of auxiliary antenna arrays around the communications array and spaced therefrom to provide a nulling array;
sampling a plurality of pixel beams from the communications array and a plurality of auxiliary beams from the auxiliary arrays to determine if the jamming signal is being received by the communications array; and
weighting the pixel beams to null the jamming signal if the jamming signal is being received. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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Specification