Systems and methods for efficient reception and combining of similar signals received on two or more antennas

• US 9,366,761 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2012
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Malaga, Alfonso
• Primary Examiner(s): Barker, Matthew M
• Application Number:
  US13/569,797
• Publication Number:
  US 20140043184A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,406 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/50 wherein the phase angle of the direction-dependent envelope signal is compared with a non-direction-dependent reference signal, e.g. VOR
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/15 Aircraft landing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/043 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0064 with separate antennas for the more than one band H04B1/0053 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0817 with multiple receivers and antenna path selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0825 with main and with auxiliary or diversity antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0871 using different reception schemes, at least one of them being a diversity reception scheme

Abstract

A radio signal processing system includes a first antenna; a second antenna; a first receiver communicatively coupled to the first antenna; a second receiver communicatively coupled to the second antenna; a first processing unit communicatively coupled to the first receiver and configured to receive a first signal from at least one of the first antenna and the second antenna when the system is operating in a first mode; a second processing unit communicatively coupled to the second receiver and configured to receive a second signal from the second antenna when the system is operating in a first mode; and wherein the first processing unit is further configured to receive a third signal from both the first antenna and the second antenna when the system is operating in a second mode.

Claims

1. A radio signal processing system comprising:

a first antenna;

a second antenna;

a first receiver communicatively coupled to the first antenna;

a second receiver communicatively coupled to the second antenna;

a first processing unit communicatively coupled to the first receiver and configured to receive a first signal from at least one of the first antenna and the second antenna when the system is operating in a first mode, wherein the first signal is an instrument landing system (ILS) mode localizer signal;

a second processing unit communicatively coupled to the second receiver and configured to receive a second signal from the second antenna when the system is operating in the first mode, wherein the second signal is a VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) signal; and

wherein the first processing unit is further configured to receive a third signal from both the first antenna and the second antenna when the system is operating in a second mode, wherein the third signal is a VHF Data Broadcast (VDB) signal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein both the first receiver and the second receiver are single channel receivers that can only tune a single channel at once.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a switch communicatively coupling the first receiver to both the first antenna and a power splitter coupled to the second antenna, wherein the power splitter communicatively couples the second antenna to both the second receiver and the switch;

wherein the first receiver is further configured to receive the first signal from the first antenna when the switch is in a first position, and wherein the first receiver is further configured to receive the first signal from the second antenna when the switch is in a second position.

4. The system of claim 2, further comprising a third processing unit positioned between the first receiver and the first processing unit;

and

wherein the first processing unit is further communicatively coupled to the second processing unit and is configured to receive signals from both the second processing unit and the third processing unit simultaneously;

wherein the first processing unit is configured to receive the third signal from the first antenna through the first receiver and the third processing unit when the system is operating in a second mode;

wherein the first processing unit is configured to receive the third signal from the second antenna through the second receiver and the second processing unit when the system is operating in a second mode; and

wherein the first processing unit is configured to either;

select one of the third signal received from the first antenna or the third signal received from the second antenna; and

combine the third signal received from the first antenna with the third signal received from the second antenna.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the second receiver is a wideband multi-channel receiver configured to tune both the second signal and the third signal simultaneously;

and

wherein the first processing unit is communicatively coupled to the second receiver and is configured to simultaneously receive the third signal from the first antenna through the first receiver and the third signal from the second antenna through the second receiver when the system is operating in the second mode; and

wherein the first processing unit is configured to either select one of the third signal received from the first antenna or the third signal received from the second antenna or combine the third signal received from the first antenna with the third signal received from the second antenna.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the first processing unit is further configured to simultaneously receive the first signal from both the first antenna and the second antenna when the system is operating in the first mode;

and

wherein the first processing unit is configured to select one of the first signal received from the first antenna or the first signal received from the second antenna.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first antenna is positioned at a nose of an aircraft;

and

wherein the second antenna is positioned at a vertical tail fin of an aircraft.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first operation mode is an instrument landing system (ILS) mode and the second operation mode is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) landing system (GLS) mode.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the first signal, the second signal, and the third signal are VHF signals.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first signal, the second signal, and the third signal is within a 108-118 MHz radio frequency band.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the first signal, the second signal, and the third signal are within a 108-118 MHz radio frequency band.

12. A method for receiving radio signals comprising:

receiving an operational mode selection;

when a first operation mode is selected, receiving a first signal from a first antenna or a second antenna at a first processing unit, wherein the first signal is an instrument landing system (ILS) mode localizer signal;

when the first operation mode is selected, receiving a second signal from the second antenna at a second processing unit, wherein the second signal is a VHF omni ranging (VOR) signal; and

when a second operation mode is selected, receiving a third signal from both the first antenna and the second antenna at the first processing unit, wherein the third signal is a VHF data broadcast (VDB) signal.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

switching a switch coupling a first receiver to both the first antenna and the second antenna through a power splitter such that receiving a first signal occurs from either the first antenna or the second antenna through the first receiver.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

simultaneously receiving the second signal at the second processing unit and the third signal at the first processing unit from the second antenna through a wideband multi-channel receiver when the system is operating in the second mode.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising simultaneously receiving the first signal at the first processing unit from both the first antenna through a first receiver and the second antenna through the wideband multi-channel receiver and receiving a second signal at the second processing unit through the wideband multi-channel receiver when the system is operating in the first mode.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the first operation mode is an instrument landing system (ILS) mode and the second operation mode is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) landing system (GLS) mode.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the first antenna is positioned at a nose of an aircraft;

and

wherein the second antenna is positioned at a vertical tail fin of an aircraft.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the first signal, the second signal, and the third signal are VHF signals.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the first signal, the second signal, and the third signal is within a 108-118 MHz radio frequency band.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the first signal, the second signal, and the third signal are within a 108-118 MHz radio frequency band.