Stratospheric-based communication system for mobile users having adaptive interference rejection

• US 6,895,217 B1
• Filed: 08/21/2000
• Issued: 05/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chang, Donald C. D., Cha, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Torres, Marcos L.
• Application Number:
  US09/644,224
• Time in Patent Office: 1,730 Days
• Field of Search: 455 111- 134, 455427-431, 342372-373, 342/354, 342/157
• US Class Current: 455/13.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18504 Aircraft used as relay or high altitude atmospheric platform

Abstract

A system has a stratospheric platform with a payload controller and a phased array antenna having a plurality of elements. A gateway station communicates with the stratospheric platform. The gateway station scales the plurality of elements to form a reconfigurable plurality of beams. The gateway station communicates a control signal to the stratospheric platform to communicate a scaling of the elements. The stratospheric platform configures the elements of the phased array antenna according to the scaling using adaptive interference rejection. The gateway station has an adaptive beam processor coupled to user position files. The adaptive beam processor with the user position data can adaptively cancel interference from other beams.

Claims

1. A communications system comprising:

stratospheric platform having a payload controller and a phased array antenna having a plurality of elements; and

a gateway station in communication with said atmospheric platform, said gateway station scaling the plurality of elements to form a reconfigurable plurality of beams, said gateway station communicating a control signal to the stratospheric platform to communicate a scaling of elements having adaptive interference rejection, wherein the gateway station comprises a digital beam former circuit having a digital beam former, an adaptive beam processor coupled to user position files, said digital beam former circuit coupled to the beam generator, the digital beam former generates a plurality of element control signals, said adaptive beam processor generating said adaptive interference rejection.

2. A communications system as recited in claim 1, wherein the payload controller comprises a demultiplexer for receiving control signals.

3. A communications system as recited in claim 2, wherein the demultiplexer generates a plurality of element control signals.

4. A system as recited in claim 3, wherein the element control signals are coupled to an RF feed, the RF feed is coupled to elements of said phased array antenna.

5. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the gateway station comprises a beam generator for generating beam signals.

6. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said gateway station further comprises a multiplexer/demultiplexer.

7. A system as recited in claim 6, wherein said multiplexer/demultiplexer comprises a code division multiplexer/demultiplexer.

8. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said ground station is coupled to a terrestrial network.

9. A system as recited in claim 8, wherein said terrestrial network comprises the Internet.

10. A system as recited in claim 8, wherein the terrestrial network comprises the public service telephone network.

11. A communications system, comprising:

a ground station having;

a beam generator for generating a plurality of beam control signals, a digital beam former circuit receiving the beam control signals and generating a plurality of first element control signals having adaptive interference rejection in response to the beam control signals,

a multiplexer multiplexing the first element control signals, and

an RF subsystem for communicating an RF signal corresponding to the first element control signals;

a stratospheric platform having;

a payload receiver for receiving the RF signals,

a demultiplexer demultiplexing the RF signals into a second plurality of element control signals corresponding to the first element control signals and generating a plurality of beams in response to the second plurality of element control signals.

12. A system as recited in claim 11, wherein said ground station comprises a gateway station.

13. A system as recited in claim 11, wherein said ground station is coupled to a terrestrial network.

14. A system as recited in claim 13, wherein said terrestrial network comprises the internet.

15. A system as recited in claim 14, wherein the terrestrial network comprises the public service telephone network.

16. A system as recited in claim 11, wherein a digital beam former circuit having a digital beam former, an adaptive beam processor coupled to user position files, said digital beam former circuit coupled to the beam generator, the digital beam former generates a plurality of element control signals, sad adaptive beam processor generating said adaptive interference rejection.

17. A method of controlling a communications system having a stratospheric platform with a phased array antenna with a plurality of elements, said method comprising the steps of:

forming a plurality of beams in a gateway station by scaling a plurality of elements using adaptive interference rejection by estimating interference values from user position values and creating said adaptive interference rejection by subtracting interference values from the plurality of beams, wherein said step of forming comprises the step of estimating interference on a first beam from a second beam;

communicating the scaling of elements to a stratospheric platform; and

generating the beams in response to the scaling of elements by the stratospheric platform.