Aircraft basestation

• US 9,100,086 B1
• Filed: 01/09/2012
• Issued: 08/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Original Assignee: the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Inventors: Olsen, Randall B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ajit
• Application Number:
  US13/345,957
• Time in Patent Office: 1,303 Days
• Field of Search: 455/431, 455/445, 455/422.1, 455/436, 455/11.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18504 Aircraft used as relay or high altitude atmospheric platform
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 Moving wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/06 Airborne or Satellite Networks space-based or airborne stations H04B7/185

Abstract

A wireless communications basestation that utilizes a light weight high directivity electronically-steerable antenna mounted on an aircraft to providing relay broadband communication service among mobile units in a geographic area is provided. The aircraft carries aloft the antenna; a radio and a switching device for routing. A gateway may also be provided to enable communications with a wide area network. A communication system for a geographic area utilizing the airborne wireless communications basestation is also presented. The system includes a number of user equipment units located in the geographic area in communication with the airborne wireless communications basestation. The user equipment units may utilize omni-directional antennas for low data rate communications, and/or a high directivity antenna.

Claims

1. A communication system for a geographic area, comprising:

an airborne wireless communications base station for use with an aircraft having a single monolithic integrated unit, including a two-dimensional beam forming network connected to an electronically steerable antenna, wherein the two dimensional beam forming network with multiple inputs and multiple outputs is fed at least one RF signal by a means for selectively connecting to at least one of the multiple inputs to produce multiple time delayed copies with a variety of amplitudes relative to the at least one RF signal, and an array of antenna element is connected to the multiple outputs, a radio electrically connected to the antenna, a switching device for routing electrically connected to said radio, wherein the aircraft providing mechanical support for the antenna;

the radio and the switching device for routing;

a plurality of user equipment units located in the geographic area in communication with the airborne wireless communications base station.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the aircraft comprises:

an altitude determining mechanism for generating altitude reference information;

and a position determining mechanism for generating position information of the aircraft relative to each of the users.

3. The system of claim 2 comprising:

a central processing unit for generating targeting signals according to the generated altitude reference information and position information for communications; and

an assignor for assigning at least one transmit and at least one receive data channel of a predefined transmission scheme to each user.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein data channel transmission and reception occur at different time intervals according to a predefined timing protocol.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the airborne vehicle further comprises;

a receive high directivity electronically-steerable antenna for receiving data according to the generated targeting signals,

a switching device for routing data from and to source and destination users;

and a transmit high directivity electronically-steerable antenna for transmitting the received data to the determined destination at the assigned transmit data channel according to the generated targeting signals.

6. The communications system of claim 5, further comprising a wide area network, and wherein the wireless communications basestation further comprises a gateway operatively coupled to the switching device for routing to provide connectivity to the wide area network.

7. The communications system of claim 6, wherein the wide area network is selected from the group consisting of a telephone network (PSTN), a fiber optics network, or a satellites network.

8. The communications system of claim 6, wherein the wide area network comprises a second airborne wireless communications basestation deployed to service a second geographic area.

9. The communications system of claim 6, wherein at least one of the user equipment units comprise an omni-directional antenna for low data rate communications.

10. The communications system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the user equipment units comprise a high directivity antenna, electronically-steerable antenna.

11. An airborne wireless communications base station for use with an aircraft, comprising:

a single monolithic integrated unit having a two dimensional beam forming network connected to an electronically-steerable antenna, wherein the two dimensional beam forming network with multiple inputs and multiple outputs is fed at least one RF signal by a means for selectively connecting to at least one of the multiple inputs to produce multiple time delayed copies with a variety of amplitudes relative to the at least one RF signal, and an array of antenna element is connected to the multiple outputs;

a radio electrically connected to the antenna;

a switching device for routing electrically connected to said radio; and

the aircraft providing mechanical support for the antenna;

the radio and the switching device for routing;

wherein the aircraft comprises

an altitude determining mechanism for generating altitude reference information;

a position determining mechanism for generating position information of the aircraft relative to each of the users;

a central processing unit for generating targeting signals according to the generated altitude reference information and position information for communications; and

an assignor for assigning at least one transmit and at least one receive data channel of a predefined transmission scheme to each user.

12. The wireless communications basestation of claim 11 wherein the radio processes at least one of broadband communications and narrowband communications.

13. The wireless communications basestation of claim 11, further comprising a gateway operatively coupled to the switching device for routing to provide connectivity to at least one wide area network.

14. The wireless communications basestation of claim 11, wherein the antenna has a mass of less than approximately 6 kg.

15. The wireless communications basestation of claim 11, wherein the antenna has a mass of less than approximately 2 kg.

16. The wireless communications basestation of claim 11 wherein the aircraft is a balloon.

17. The wireless communications basestation of claim 16, further comprising a tether coupled to the balloon.

18. The wireless communications basestation of claim 16, wherein the balloon is selected from a group consisting of a rubber pressure balloon, a zero pressure balloon, an internal air bladder balloon, an adjustable volume balloon, or a super pressure balloon.

19. The wireless communications basestation of claim 11, wherein the aircraft comprises a stratospheric altitude platform.

20. The wireless communications basestation of claim 19, wherein the stratospheric altitude platform comprises a free balloon.