Radiation synthesizer receive and transmit systems

• US 6,614,403 B1
• Filed: 04/01/2002
• Issued: 09/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Incorporated (BAE Systems Plc)
• Original Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Incorporated (BAE Systems Plc)
• Inventors: Merenda, Joseph T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Tho
• Application Number:
  US10/114,102
• Time in Patent Office: 519 Days
• Field of Search: H01/Q 1.112, 343/701, 343/741, 343/742, 343/866, 343/867, 343/876, 331/16, 331/17, 331/25, 333/103, 333/104
• US Class Current: 343/741
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/1555 for the generation of a regulated current to a load whose impedance is substantially inductive
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/158 including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/30 for homodyne or synchrodyne receivers demodulator circuits H03D1/22

Abstract

Radiation synthesizer systems provide efficient wideband operation with an antenna, such as a loop, which is small relative to operating wavelength. Energy dissipation is substantially reduced by cycling energy back and forth between a high-Q radiator and a storage capacitance under control of a switching circuit. In addition to transmit operation using an energy source such as a battery, by reciprocity receive systems deliver received signals to an output device, such as a speaker or other audio or visual transducer device. By efficient direct processing, via controlled activation of switch devices of switch modules, incident RF signals are converted to baseband signals. Commercial type AM receivers may be provided without IF processing and detection or analog filters.

Claims

1. A radiation synthesizer system, to receive incident signals, comprising:

an antenna element having a first reactive characteristic;

a storage element having a second reactive characteristic;

a switch module coupled between the antenna element and the storage element and including switch devices arranged for controlled activation to transfer energy back and forth between the storage element and the antenna element;

an output device coupled to the storage element to enable use of output signals derived, via activation of the switch devices, from signals incident at the antenna element; and

a control device coupled to the switch module to control activation of the switch devices, the control device responsive to indicia of synchronization between activation of the switch devices and the signals incident at the antenna element.

2. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 1, wherein the antenna element is a loop antenna element and the storage element is storage capacitance.

3. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 1, wherein the output device comprises an output port and the system further comprises:

a transducer unit coupled to the output port to provide a perceptible output.

4. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 3, wherein said transducer unit is an audio output unit.

5. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 1, arranged to receive and transmit signals, wherein the control device includes a selectable transmit mode in which the control device is responsive to an input signal representative of a signal to be transmitted and is not responsive to said indicia of synchronization, the system further comprising:

an input device coupled to the control device to enable coupling of said input signal representative of a signal to be transmitted.

6. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 5, further comprising:

a source of energy for transmission of signals coupled to the storage element when the control device is in said selectable transmit mode.

7. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 6, wherein said source of energy is a battery.

8. A radiation synthesizer system, to receive incident signals, comprising:

a loop antenna element;

storage capacitance;

at least one switch module coupled between the loop antenna and the storage capacitance and including switch devices arranged for controlled activation to transfer energy back and forth between the storage capacitance and the antenna element;

an output device coupled to the storage capacitance to enable use of output signals derived, via activation of the switch devices, from signals incident at the antenna element; and

a control device coupled to the switch module to control activation of the switch devices, the control device responsive to indicia of synchronization between activation of the switch devices and the signals incident at the antenna element.

9. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 8, wherein the output device comprises an output port and the system further comprises:

a transducer unit coupled to the output port to provide a perceptible output.

10. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 9, wherein said transducer unit is an audio output unit.

11. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 8, arranged to receive and transmit signals, wherein the control device includes a selectable transmit mode in which the control device is responsive to an input signal representative of a signal to be transmitted and is not responsive to said indicia of synchronization, the system further comprising:

an input device coupled to the control device to enable coupling of said input signal representative of a signal to be transmitted.

12. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 11, further comprising:

a source of energy for transmission of signals coupled to the storage element when the control device is in said selectable transmit mode.

13. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 8, wherein said storage capacitance comprises a plurality of storage capacitance portions.

14. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 8, wherein:

said loop antenna element comprises a plurality of loop segments;

said at least one switch module comprises a plurality of switch modules, each coupled between a different pair of said loop segments and to at least a portion of the storage capacitance; and

the control device is coupled to each said switch module.

15. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 14, arranged to receive and transmit signals, wherein the control device includes a selectable transmit mode in which the control device is responsive to an input signal representative of a signal to be transmitted and is not responsive to said indicia of synchronization, the system further comprising:

an input device coupled to the control device to enable coupling of said input signal representative of a signal to be transmitted.

16. A radiation synthesizer system, to receive incident signals, comprising:

a first loop antenna element;

an offset loop antenna element having an operating position offset in azimuth from the first loop antenna;

a storage capacitance;

at least one switch module coupled to a said antenna element, each switch module including switch devices arranged for controlled activation to transfer energy back and forth between the storage capacitance and a loop antenna element;

an output device coupled to the storage capacitance to enable use of output signals derived, via activation of the switch devices, from signals incident at the antenna element; and

at least one control device coupled to a switch module to control activation of the switch devices, each control device responsive to indicia of synchronization between activation of those switch devices and the signals incident at the antenna element.

17. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 16, arranged to receive and transmit signals, wherein each control device includes a selectable transmit mode in which the control device is responsive to an input signal representative of a signal to be transmitted and is not responsive to said indicia of synchronization, the system further comprising:

an input device coupled to a control device to enable coupling of said input signal representative of a signal to be transmitted.

18. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 17, further comprising:

a source of energy for transmission of signals coupled to the storage element when the control device is in said selectable transmit mode.

19. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 16, wherein said storage capacitance comprises a plurality of storage capacitance portions.

20. A radiation synthesizer system, to receive and transmit signals, comprising:

an antenna element having a first reactive characteristic;

a storage element having a second reactive characteristic;

a switch module coupled between the antenna element and the storage element and including switch devices arranged for controlled activation to transfer energy back and forth between the storage element and the antenna element;

a control device coupled to the switch module to control activation of the switch devices in response to an input signal representative of a signal to be transmitted; and

an output device selectively coupled to the antenna element to enable use of output signals received via the antenna element during receive periods in which said switch devices are not subject to said controlled activation to transfer energy.

21. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 20, further comprising:

a low noise amplifier coupled between the antenna element and the output device.

22. A radiation synthesizer system as in claim 20, wherein the output device comprises an output port and the system further comprises:

a radio unit coupled to the output port to provide a perceptible output.