Automatically adjustable radiofrequency link

• US 9,549,406 B1
• Filed: 09/14/2015
• Issued: 01/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Bowers, Jeffrey A., Chan, Alistair K., Hannigan, Russell J., Hyde, Roderick A., Kare, Jordin T., Kundtz, Nathan, Myhrvold, Nathan P., Pendry, John Brian, Smith, David R., Tegreene, Clarence T., Tuckerman, David B., Whitmer, Charles, Wood, Lowell L. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Nhan
• Application Number:
  US14/853,049
• Time in Patent Office: 491 Days
• Field of Search: 455/62, 455/63.1, 455/67.11, 455/68, 455/69, 455/70, 455/71, 455/115.1, 455/126, 455/161.1, 455/164.1, 455/226.1, 455/507
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/02 Transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1027 assessing signal quality or detecting noise/interference for the received signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1081 Reduction of multipath noise by equalising H04B7/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/1072 by tuning the receiver frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0026 Transmission of channel quality indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA

Abstract

An automatically adjustable radiofrequency link system includes a radiofrequency transmitter configured to transmit a signal at a frequency of transmission within an extremely high frequency (EHF) band. The system further includes a receiving device configured to receive the transmitted signal and provide feedback to a processing circuit communicatively coupled to the transmitter and the receiving device, wherein the feedback is related to the received signal. The processing circuit is configured to determine required signal properties based on the feedback and determine signal loss properties including an effect of atmospheric absorption, as a function of frequency; determine a modification to the transmitted signal using the signal loss properties and the required signal properties; and adjust the frequency of transmission to obtain a desired transmission signal using the modification.

Claims

1. An automatically adjustable radiofrequency link system, comprising:

a radiofrequency transmitter configured to transmit a signal at a frequency of transmission within an extremely high frequency (EHF) band;

a receiving device configured to;

receive the transmitted signal; and

provide feedback to a processing circuit communicatively coupled to the transmitter and the receiving device, wherein the feedback is related to the received signal; and

the processing circuit configured to;

determine required signal properties based on the feedback;

determine signal loss properties including an effect of atmospheric absorption, as a function of frequency;

determine a modification to the transmitted signal using the signal loss properties and the required signal properties; and

adjust the frequency of transmission to obtain a desired transmission signal using the modification.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a backlink transmitter coupled to the receiving device, the back link transmitter configured to transmit a feedback signal comprising signal property information to the radiofrequency transmitter; and

a back link receiver coupled to the radio frequency transmitter, the back link receiver configured to receive the feedback signal.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the signal loss properties are determined in part from a model of atmospheric absorption properties versus frequency.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the atmospheric absorption properties are based on absorption due to oxygen molecules in the atmosphere.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the signal loss properties further include an effect of absorption properties due to water in the atmosphere.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the desired transmission signal has frequency such that a desired attenuation is induced by atmospheric absorption.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the frequency is between 57 GHz and 64 GHz.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein adjusting the frequency of transmission comprises optimizing at least one property related to the radiofrequency link system.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein optimizing the property includes minimizing interference caused by the signal.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein optimizing the property includes minimizing a probability of interception of the signal.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein optimizing the property includes minimizing a probability of detection of the signal.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the property includes transmitter power usage.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the property includes a bandwidth of the signal.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

analyze the signal loss properties to determine a parameter adjustment to a parameter of the radiofrequency transmitter; and

adjust the parameter of the radiofrequency transmitter based on the determined parameter adjustment.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the parameter includes a power usage of the radiofrequency transmitter.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the parameter includes an antenna gain amount corresponding to the radiofrequency transmitter.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein adjusting the parameter is further based on an environmental condition.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the feedback is based on characteristics of the signal as measured at the receiving device.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to generate a command corresponding to adjusting the frequency, and wherein the command instructs the receiving device how to track the adjusted frequency.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the command is embedded in the transmitted signal.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the command is transmitted via a communications channel separate from the radiofrequency transmitter.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the atmospheric absorption model is updated via input from a sensor.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the sensor includes at least one of a barometric sensor, temperature sensor, or precipitation sensor, and the input includes at least one of pressure data, temperature data, or precipitation data.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the sensor includes a humidity sensor, and the input includes humidity data.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein the sensor includes an oxygen sensor, and the input includes oxygen concentration data.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions forming a program executable by a processing circuit to cause the processing circuit to perform operations comprising:

transmitting, by a radiofrequency transmitter, a radiofrequency signal at a frequency of transmission within an extremely high frequency (EHF) band;

receiving, by a receiving device, the transmitted signal;

providing, by the receiving device, feedback to a processing device communicatively coupled to the radiofrequency transmitter and the receiving device, wherein the feedback is related to the received signal;

determining, by the processing circuit, required signal properties based on the feedback;

determining, by the processing device, signal loss properties including an effect of atmospheric absorption, as a function of frequency;

determining, by the processing device, a modification to the transmitted signal using the signal loss properties and the required signal properties; and

adjusting, by the processing device, the frequency of transmission to obtain a desired transmission signal using the modification.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, further comprising instructions to cause the processing circuit to perform operations comprising:

transmitting, by a backlink transmitter coupled to the receiving device, a feedback signal comprising signal property information to the radiofrequency transmitter; and

receiving, by a back link receiver coupled to the radio frequency transmitter, the feedback signal.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein signal loss properties are determined in part from a model of atmospheric absorption properties versus frequency.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the desired transmission signal has a frequency such that a desired attenuation is induced by atmospheric absorption.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the frequency is between 57 GHz and 64 GHz.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein adjusting the frequency of transmission comprises optimizing at least one property related to the radiofrequency link system.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the operations further comprise:

analyzing the signal loss properties to determine a parameter adjustment to a parameter of the radiofrequency transmitter; and

adjusting the parameter of the radiofrequency transmitter based on the determined parameter adjustment.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the feedback is based on reception characteristics of the transmitted signal.

34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the operations further comprise generating a command corresponding to adjusting the frequency, and wherein the command instructs the receiving device how to track the adjusted frequency.

35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the atmospheric absorption model is updated via input from a sensor.