Methods and apparatus for inducing a fundamental wave mode on a transmission medium

• US 10,135,546 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2017
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Henry, Paul Shala, Bennett, Robert, Barzegar, Farhad, Gerszberg, Irwin, Barnickel, Donald J., Willis, III, Thomas M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Siu
• Application Number:
  US15/666,177
• Publication Number:
  US 20170331561A1
• Time in Patent Office: 476 Days
• Field of Search: 375256, 375288, 375295, 333109, 333113, 333114, 333122, 333134, 333136, 333137, 333156, 333157, 333202, 333209
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/22 Longitudinal slot in boundary wall of waveguide or transmission line H01Q13/203 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/90 Non-optical transmission systems, e.g. transmission systems employing non-photonic corpuscular radiation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/52 Systems for transmission between fixed stations via waveguides
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/56 Circuits for coupling, blocking, or by-passing of signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a system for generating electromagnetic waves having a fundamental wave mode, and directing the electromagnetic waves to an interface of a transmission medium for guiding propagation of the electromagnetic waves. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

generating, based on a wireless signal received by an antenna coupled to a transmission medium, an electromagnetic wave that propagates along the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path, wherein the electromagnetic wave has a fundamental wave mode; and

obtaining, by a waveguide system coupled to the transmission medium, instances of the electromagnetic wave, wherein a non-fundamental wave mode is at least substantially absent from the electromagnetic wave, and wherein the electromagnetic wave has a non-optical operating frequency.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the waveguide system comprises waveguide slots that obtain the instances of the electromagnetic wave.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a pair of the waveguide slots is configured to have a relative position to each other to obtain a pair of the instances of the electromagnetic wave, the pair of the instances of the electromagnetic wave having electric field orientations of substantially opposing directions.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein a first instance of the instances of the electromagnetic wave is obtained by a first slot of the waveguide slots, and wherein a second instance of the instances of the electromagnetic wave is obtained by a second slot of the waveguide slots.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the waveguide system comprises receivers positioned around the transmission medium for obtaining the instances of the electromagnetic wave.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein first and second receivers of the receivers are adapted to obtain first and second instances of the instances of the electromagnetic wave having substantially symmetrical electric fields that enable generation of the fundamental wave mode.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic wave includes a modulated signal in a frequency band of the electromagnetic wave.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the wireless signal is generated by an antenna system of a distributed antenna system for down-converting, by the waveguide system, the modulated signal in the frequency band to a modulated signal in a cellular frequency band for wireless delivery to a mobile communication device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the antenna system facilitates up-converting the modulated signal in the cellular frequency band to the modulated signal in the frequency band for transport in the wireless signal.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission medium comprises a conductorless transmission medium.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the conductorless transmission medium comprises a dielectric core.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, by the antenna, a second wireless signal according to a second electromagnetic wave that propagates on the transmission medium.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second electromagnetic wave conveys a modulated signal that has been frequency shifted from a cellular frequency band to a frequency band of the electromagnetic wave.

14. A recipient antenna system of a distributed antenna system, comprising:

an antenna coupled to a transmission medium to facilitate receiving a wireless signal and generating therefrom a combined electromagnetic wave having a fundamental wave mode, wherein the combined electromagnetic wave propagates along the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path, wherein a non-fundamental wave mode is at least substantially absent from the combined electromagnetic wave, and wherein the combined electromagnetic wave has a non-optical operating frequency;

a coupler coupled to the transmission medium that directs reception of the combined electromagnetic wave from an interface of the transmission medium; and

a receiver coupled to the coupler to facilitate receiving instances of the combined electromagnetic wave from the coupler.

15. The recipient antenna system of claim 14, wherein the receiver comprises waveguide slots that receive the instances of the combined electromagnetic wave.

16. The recipient antenna system of claim 14, wherein the receiver comprises a plurality of receivers positioned around the transmission medium for receiving the instances of the combined electromagnetic wave.

17. The recipient antenna system of claim 14, wherein the combined electromagnetic wave includes a modulated signal in a frequency band of the combined electromagnetic wave, and wherein the wireless signal is generated by a source antenna system of the distributed antenna system and directed to the recipient antenna system for down-converting the modulated signal in the frequency band to the modulated signal in a cellular frequency band for wireless delivery to a mobile communication device.

18. A system, comprising:

a processing system including a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising;

generating, based on a wireless signal received by an antenna coupled to a transmission medium, an electromagnetic wave that propagates along the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path, the electromagnetic wave having a fundamental wave mode, wherein a non-fundamental wave mode is at least substantially absent from the electromagnetic wave, and wherein the electromagnetic wave conveys a modulated signal in a frequency band of the electromagnetic wave; and

receiving instances of the electromagnetic wave, wherein the electromagnetic wave has a non-optical operating frequency.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise down-converting the modulated signal in the frequency band of the electromagnetic wave to a modulated signal in a cellular frequency band for wireless delivery to a mobile communication device.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein an antenna system of a distributed antenna system facilitates up-converting a modulated signal in a cellular frequency band to the modulated signal in the frequency band and generates the wireless signal therefrom.