IF interface

• US 8,520,722 B2
• Filed: 10/22/2007
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ViaSat Incorporated
• Original Assignee: ViaSat Incorporated
• Inventors: Buer, Kenneth V., Noji, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Fan, Chieh M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Aghdam, Freshteh N
• Application Number:
  US11/876,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20090103596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,136 Days
• Field of Search: 375/222, 375/224, 375/219, 455/502
• US Class Current: 375/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/18 Input circuits, e.g. for coupling to an antenna or a transmission line coupling networks between antennas or lines and receivers independent of the nature of the receiver H03H
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/40 Circuits

Abstract

Systems, devices, and methods may be provided for communicating telemetry signals between a satellite modem and transceiver over an IF receive link. In an exemplary embodiment, a communication system comprises a modem, a transceiver, an IF receive communication link coupling the modem and the transceiver and configured to allow IF communication between the modem and the transceiver, and a transceiver interface module and a modem interface module, wherein the modules are configured to allow telemetry communication between the modem and the transceiver over the IF receive communication link.

Claims

1. A method of adding two way telemetry communication between a modem and a transceiver in a satellite communication system, where the modem and transceiver are connected via a single IF receive link, where such two way telemetry communication does not initially exist, the method comprising the steps of:

upgrading the transceiver such that the transceiver is connected to the IF receive link via a transceiver interface;

wherein the transceiver interface is configured to communicate telemetry information by adding a telemetry signal to the IF receive link as a non-multiplexed digital DC signal and extracting a command signal from the IF receive link;

wherein the telemetry signal and the command signal do not interfere with an IF signal on the IF receive link;

wherein the command signal is extracted by way of a first IF choke; and

upgrading the modem such that the modem is connected to the IF receive link via a modem interface;

wherein the modem interface is configured to communicate the telemetry information by adding the command signal to the IF receive link as a non-multiplexed digital DC signal and extracting the telemetry signal from the IF receive link;

wherein the telemetry signal is extracted by the way of a second IF choke.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the modem interface is internal to the modem and wherein the transceiver interface is internal to the transceiver.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of connecting one or more detection modules to the transceiver interface for communicating information to the transceiver interface that is at least in part communicated as telemetry information to the modem.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the detection module is capable of detecting errors with the communication link.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the detection module is capable of measuring a resistance of the communication link.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the modem is a satellite modem, and wherein the transceiver is a Ka-band satellite transceiver.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising converting the telemetry information to a digital signal prior to adding the telemetry information to the IF receive link.

8. A communication system, comprising:

a modem;

a transceiver;

a single IF receive communication link coupling the modem and the transceiver configured to allow IF communication between the modem and the transceiver; and

a transceiver interface module comprising a first IF choke and a modem interface module comprising a second IF choke, wherein the modules are configured to allow non-multiplexed two way telemetry communication between the modem and the transceiver over the IF receive communication link, wherein the non-multiplexed two way telemetry communication comprises a non-multiplexed digital DC telemetry communication signal and a non-multiplexed digital DC command signal that do not interfere with an IF signal on the IF receive communication link, wherein the first IF choke is capable of separating the digital DC command communication signal from the IF signal and the second IF choke is capable of separating the digital DC telemetry signal from the IF signal.

9. The communication system according to claim 8, wherein the modem is a satellite modem, and wherein the transceiver is a Ka-band satellite transceiver.

10. The communication system according to claim 8, wherein at least one of:

(A) said transceiver interface module comprises a circuit configured to add said telemetry signal to said IF receive communication link and said modem interface module comprises a circuit configured to detect said telemetry signal; and

(B) said modem interface module comprises a circuit configured to add said telemetry signal to said IF receive communication link and said transceiver interface module comprises a circuit configured to detect said telemetry signal.

11. The communication system according to claim 8, wherein the transceiver interface module and modem interface module together are configured to enable communication of telemetry signals over the IF receive link without the need to make any change to the IF receive link, where before the addition of the transceiver interface module and modem interface module, such communication of telemetry signals was not possible over the IF receive link.

12. A method of communicating two way telemetry information between a modem and a transceiver, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, by a first interface circuit in the transceiver, non-multiplexed telemetry information associated with the transceiver;

converting, by the first interface circuit, the telemetry information into a telemetry digital DC signal;

adding, by the first interface circuit, the telemetry digital DC signal to a single IF receive link between the modem and the transceiver;

separating, by a choke included in the second interface circuit in the modem, the telemetry digital DC signal from an IF signal on the IF receive link;

receiving, by the second interface circuit, non-multiplexed command information associated with the modem;

converting, by the second interface circuit, the command information into a command digital DC signal;

adding, by the second interface circuit, the command digital DC signal to the IF receive link between the modem and the transceiver; and

separating, by a choke included in the first interface circuit, the command digital DC signal from the IF signal on the IF receive link;

wherein the telemetry digital signal and the command digital signal do not interfere with the IF signal on the IF receive link.

13. A two way telemetry interface circuit system comprising:

a first interface circuit having a receive intermediate frequency (IF) link input configured for connection to a single receive IF link, a receive IF output connection configured for connection to a modem, and a telemetry output;

wherein the first interface circuit is configured to;

a. accept receive IF communications signals at the receive IF link input from a transceiver;

b. add a non-multiplexed command digital DC signal based on command data to the receive IF link input to facilitate communication of the command digital DC signal to the transceiver and extract, by way of a first IF choke, a non-multiplexed telemetry digital DC signal from the receive IF communications signals, and provide the non-multiplexed digital DC signal to the telemetry output; and

c. provide the receive IF communications signals to the receive IF output connection; and

a second interface circuit having a receive IF link output configured for connection to the single receive IF link, a receive IF input connection configured for connection to the transceiver, and a telemetry input;

wherein the second interface circuit is configured to;

a. accept receive IF communications signals at the receive IF input connection from the transceiver;

b. add the non-multiplexed telemetry digital DC signal to the receive IF communications signals and extract by, way of a second IF choke, the non-multiplexed command digital DC signal from the receive IF communications signals; and

c. provide the receive IF communications signals to the receive IF link output;

wherein the non-multiplexed telemetry digital DC signal and the non-multiplexed command digital DC signal do not interfere with the receive IF communications signals on the IF receive link.