Active antenna system with fault detection
First Claim
1. An active antenna power interface circuit for coupling a supply voltage from a radio receiver to an antenna feed, comprising:
- a DC power input;
a power switching element connected in series between said DC power input and said antenna feed, said power switching element having a control input for selecting a conducting state or a nonconducting state of said power switching element;
a high side voltage sensor sensing a first voltage proportional to a voltage at said DC power input;
a low side voltage sensor sensing a second voltage proportional to a voltage at said antenna feed; and
a controller coupled to said control input and to said voltage sensors, said controller placing said power switching element into said conducting state, sampling said first and second voltages, calculating a voltage difference in response to said first and second voltages, comparing said voltage difference to an upper limit and a lower limit, if said voltage difference is greater than said upper limit then signaling a short-circuit fault, and if said voltage difference is less than said lower limit then signaling an open-circuit fault.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An active antenna power interface circuit couples a supply voltage from a radio receiver to an antenna feed. The circuit comprises a DC power input and a power switching element connected in series between the DC power input and the antenna feed. The power switching element has a control input for selecting a conducting state or a nonconducting state of the power switching element. A high side voltage sensor senses a first voltage proportional to a voltage at the DC power input. A low side voltage sensor senses a second voltage proportional to a voltage at the antenna feed. A controller is coupled to the control input and to the voltage sensors. The controller places the power switching element into the conducting state, samples the first and second voltages, calculates a voltage difference in response to the first and second voltages, compares the voltage difference to an upper limit and a lower limit. If the voltage difference is greater than the upper limit then the controller signals a short-circuit fault. If the voltage difference is less than the lower limit then the controller signals an open-circuit fault.
51 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An active antenna power interface circuit for coupling a supply voltage from a radio receiver to an antenna feed, comprising:
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a DC power input;
a power switching element connected in series between said DC power input and said antenna feed, said power switching element having a control input for selecting a conducting state or a nonconducting state of said power switching element;
a high side voltage sensor sensing a first voltage proportional to a voltage at said DC power input;
a low side voltage sensor sensing a second voltage proportional to a voltage at said antenna feed; and
a controller coupled to said control input and to said voltage sensors, said controller placing said power switching element into said conducting state, sampling said first and second voltages, calculating a voltage difference in response to said first and second voltages, comparing said voltage difference to an upper limit and a lower limit, if said voltage difference is greater than said upper limit then signaling a short-circuit fault, and if said voltage difference is less than said lower limit then signaling an open-circuit fault. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of powering a remote active antenna from a radio receiver via an antenna signal line, said method comprising the steps of:
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coupling a DC power supply voltage to said antenna signal line through a power switch transistor;
sampling a first voltage proportional to said DC power supply voltage;
sampling a second voltage at a point between said power switch transistor and said antenna signal line;
calculating a voltage difference between said first and second voltages;
comparing said voltage difference to an upper limit and a lower limit;
if said voltage difference is greater than said upper limit then signaling a short-circuit fault; and
if said voltage difference is less than said lower limit then signaling an open circuit fault. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification