Rapid in-the-field auto-alignment for radio frequency and free-space optical data communication transceivers
First Claim
1. A method for aligning a local apparatus with a remote apparatus comprising:
- adjusting an orientation of the local apparatus according to a first search pattern;
detecting a radio frequency (RF) signal from the remote apparatus;
adjusting the orientation of the local apparatus based on a spatial gradient of the detected RF signal;
determining an orientation of the local apparatus that corresponds to a local maximum in an intensity of the detected RF signal;
adjusting the orientation of the local apparatus according to a second search pattern;
determining an orientation of the local apparatus that corresponds to a global maximum in the intensity of the detected RF signal;
adjusting a field-of-view of a free space optical (FSO) transceiver of the local apparatus according to a third search pattern;
detecting a FSO signal from the remote apparatus; and
performing an iterative step search to align the FSO transceiver with the detected FSO signal.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A local communications apparatus is aligned with a remote apparatus, each apparatus comprising radio frequency (RF) and free space optical (FSO) transceivers with substantially parallel boresight. Coarse alignment is performed using the RF transceiver and fine alignment is performed using the FSO transceiver. A patterned search is performed to locate the RF signal from the remote apparatus and known features of the intensity profile are utilized to locate the global maximum, thus coarsely aligning the pair of apparatuses. A second patterned search is performed to locate the FSO signal from the remote apparatus and an iterative step-search is used to align the FSO signal centroid with the FSO transceiver, thus finely aligning the pair of apparatuses.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for aligning a local apparatus with a remote apparatus comprising:
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adjusting an orientation of the local apparatus according to a first search pattern; detecting a radio frequency (RF) signal from the remote apparatus; adjusting the orientation of the local apparatus based on a spatial gradient of the detected RF signal; determining an orientation of the local apparatus that corresponds to a local maximum in an intensity of the detected RF signal; adjusting the orientation of the local apparatus according to a second search pattern; determining an orientation of the local apparatus that corresponds to a global maximum in the intensity of the detected RF signal; adjusting a field-of-view of a free space optical (FSO) transceiver of the local apparatus according to a third search pattern; detecting a FSO signal from the remote apparatus; and performing an iterative step search to align the FSO transceiver with the detected FSO signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable computer-program code, the executable computer-program code comprising instructions for:
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adjusting an orientation of the local apparatus according to a first search pattern; detecting a radio frequency (RF) signal from the remote apparatus; adjusting the orientation of the local apparatus based on a spatial gradient of the detected RF signal; determining an orientation of the local apparatus that corresponds to a local maximum in an intensity of the detected RF signal; adjusting the orientation of the local apparatus according to a second search pattern; determining an orientation of the local apparatus that corresponds to a global maximum in the intensity of the detected RF signal; adjusting a field-of-view of a free space optical (FSO) transceiver of the local apparatus according to a third search pattern; detecting a FSO signal from the remote apparatus; and performing an iterative step search to align the FSO transceiver with the detected FSO signal. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification