Distributed receiver

• US 8,106,825 B1
• Filed: 01/17/2008
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omniphase Research Laboratories, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Omniphase Research Laboratories, Inc.
• Inventors: Wangsness, Todd
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Nga X
• Application Number:
  US12/016,187
• Time in Patent Office: 1,475 Days
• Field of Search: 342367-368
• US Class Current: 342/368
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0025 Modular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 25/00 Antennas or antenna systems providing at least two radiating patterns arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern H01Q3/00

Abstract

A distributed receiver in signal communication with an active antenna array is described. The distributed receiver may include an exciter, a plurality of transmit/receive (“T/R”) modules, and a frequency source operable to provide a frequency reference signal to the T/R modules.

Claims

1. A distributed receiver in signal communication with an active antenna array, the distributed receiver comprising:

an exciter operable to provide an RF signal;

a plurality of transmit/receive (“

T/R”

) modules configured to receive the RF signal from the exciter through a first transmission network, each of the T/R modules configured to phase-shift the RF signal responsive to a control signal and transmit a resulting phase-shifted RF signal through a corresponding antenna, each of the T/R modules also being configured to phase-shift a received RF signal from the corresponding antenna to provide a phase-shifted received RF signal; and

a frequency source operable to provide a frequency reference signal to each of the T/R module through a second transmission network, wherein each T/R module is configured to direct down-convert its phase-shifted received RF signal responsive to the frequency reference signal to provide a down-converted phase-shifted received RF signal.

2. The distributed receiver of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of analog-to-digital converters corresponding to each of the T/R modules, each analog-to-digital converter operable to digitize the down-converted phase-shifted received RF signal from the corresponding T/R module to provide a digital down-converted phase-shifted received RF signal.

3. The distributed receiver of claim 1, further including a transmission network in signal communication with the plurality of T/R modules and the active antenna array.