Overlapping subarray patch antenna system
First Claim
1. A high altitude communication device comprising:
- a first array element comprising a plurality of patches for receiving communication signals;
a second array element comprising a plurality of patches for receiving communication signals, said second array element having at least one patch from said first array element;
at least one grouping network selecting said first array element for a first time interval and selecting said second array element for a time interval after said first time interval to convert and form digital combined signals from said communication signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A high altitude communication device is provided using a first array element comprising a plurality of patches and a second array element comprising a plurality of patches. The first array element and the second array element are for receiving communication signals. A patch in the first array element is shared by the second array element. At least one grouping network selects the first array element for a first time interval and selects the second array element for a time interval after the first time interval to convert and form digital combined signals from the communication signals. A method of digitally controlling received signals within a high altitude communication device is also provided.
100 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A high altitude communication device comprising:
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a first array element comprising a plurality of patches for receiving communication signals;
a second array element comprising a plurality of patches for receiving communication signals, said second array element having at least one patch from said first array element;
at least one grouping network selecting said first array element for a first time interval and selecting said second array element for a time interval after said first time interval to convert and form digital combined signals from said communication signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
a plurality of low noise amplifiers electrically coupled to said first array element, said low noise amplifiers converting said communication signals to received signals;
a plurality of downconverters electrically coupled to said plurality of low noise amplifiers, said downconverters converting received signals to baseband signals;
a plurality of analog-to-digital converters electrically coupled to said plurality of downconverters, said analog-to-digital converters transforming said baseband signals to digital baseband signals; and
a digital network electrically coupled to said plurality of analog-to-digital converters, said digital network transforming said digital baseband signals into said digital combined signals.
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5. A system as in claim 4 wherein said digital network further comprises:
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a strip-line electrically coupled to a group of analog-to-digital converters selected from said plurality of analog-to-digital converters;
a plurality of polarizers electrically coupled to said strip-line, said polarizers converting said digital baseband signals into polarized signals; and
a plurality of elements electrically coupled to said plurality of polarizers, said elements summing said polarized signals to form said digital combined signals.
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6. A system as in claim 4 wherein said digital network further comprises a digital beam former.
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7. A system as in claim 4 wherein said digital network further comprises a plurality of filters.
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8. A system as in claim 4 wherein said digital network is part of a solid-state electrical circuit.
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9. A system as in claim 1 wherein spaces between patches in said plurality of patches is approximately equal to half a received signal wavelength.
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10. A system as in claim 1 wherein space between said first array element and said second array element is approximately equal to a received signal wavelength.
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11. A method of digitally controlling a received signal within a high altitude communication device comprising:
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clocking an array element comprising;
selecting a first array element comprising a plurality of patches for receiving communication signals for a first time interval; and
selecting a second array element comprising a patch within said first array element for receiving communication signals for a time interval after said first time interval;
receiving a communication signal;
converting said communication signal into a digital baseband signal; and
forming a digital combined signal from said digital baseband signal. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
amplifying said communication signal to form a received signal;
downconverting said received signal to form a baseband signal; and
transforming said baseband signal into a digital baseband signal.
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13. A method as in claim 11 wherein clocking an array element comprises selecting a plurality of array elements to receive a communication signal for a particular time interval.
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14. A method as in claim 13 wherein transforming said baseband signal into a digital baseband signal further comprises filtering said baseband signal.
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15. A method as in claim 13 further comprising filtering said digital baseband signal.
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16. A method as in claim 11 wherein forming a digital combined signal from said digital baseband signal comprises:
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polarizing said digital baseband signal to form a polarized signal; and
summing said polarized signal to form said digital combined signal.
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17. A high altitude communication device comprising:
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a first array element comprising a plurality of patches for receiving communication signals;
a second array element comprising a plurality of patches for receiving communication signals, said second array element having at least one patch from said first array element;
a plurality of grouping networks, said plurality of grouping networks are electrically coupled to said first array element;
said plurality of grouping networks selecting said first array element for a first time interval and selecting said second array element for a time interval after said first time interval to convert and form digital combined signals from said communication signals;
a plurality of low noise amplifiers electrically coupled to said first plurality of patches, said low noise amplifiers converting said communication signals to received signals;
a plurality of downconverters electrically coupled to said plurality of low noise amplifiers, said downconverters converting received signals to baseband signals;
a plurality of analog-to-digital converters electrically coupled to said plurality of downconverters, said analog-to-digital converters transforming said baseband signals to digital baseband signals; and
a digital network electrically coupled to said analog-to-digital converters, said digital network combining said digital baseband signals to form said digital combined signals. - View Dependent Claims (18)
a strip-line electrically coupled to a group of analog-to-digital converters selected from said plurality of analog-to-digital converters;
a plurality of polarizers electrically coupled to said strip-line, said polarizers converting said digital baseband signals into polarized signals;
a plurality of elements electrically coupled to said plurality of polarizers, said elements summing said polarized signals to form digital combined signals; and
a digital beam former electrically coupled to said plurality of elements.
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Specification