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

• US 9,882,657 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2016
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• 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 M
• Application Number:
  US15/331,402
• Publication Number:
  US 20170041081A1
• Time in Patent Office: 466 Days
• Field of Search: 375316, 375259, 375260
• 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 system, comprising:

a plurality of receivers of a recipient waveguide system for receiving a combined electromagnetic wave substantially having a fundamental wave mode, wherein a non-fundamental wave mode is at least substantially absent from the combined electromagnetic wave, wherein the combined electromagnetic wave is generated by a source waveguide system that generates at a first interface of a transmission medium the combined electromagnetic wave from instances of an electromagnetic wave, and wherein the combined electromagnetic wave propagates along the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path; and

a structure of the recipient waveguide system for directing the combined electromagnetic wave from a second interface of the transmission medium to the plurality of receivers.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the source waveguide system comprises a plurality of transmitters that generates the instances of the electromagnetic wave.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of transmitters generates a first instance and a second instance of the instances of the electromagnetic wave, wherein the first instance of the electromagnetic wave has first electric field orientations of substantially opposing directions to second electric field orientations of the second instance of the electromagnetic wave to produce the combined electromagnetic wave having the fundamental wave mode.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein a first instance of the instances of the electromagnetic wave is radiated by a first transmitter of the plurality of transmitters, and wherein a second instance of the instances of the electromagnetic wave is radiated by a second transmitter of the plurality of transmitters.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the source waveguide system comprises waveguide slots that generate the instances of the electromagnetic wave.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of receivers surrounds the transmission medium for receiving the combined electromagnetic wave.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein first and second receivers of the plurality of receivers are adapted to receive first and second instances of the combined electromagnetic wave, each of the first and second instances of the combined electromagnetic wave having substantially symmetrical electric fields that enable generation of the fundamental wave mode.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the first and second receivers are symmetrically positioned around the transmission medium.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein first and second receivers of the plurality of receivers are adapted according to a phase adjustment to receive first and second instances of the electromagnetic wave having substantially symmetrical electric fields.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the structure of the recipient waveguide system has a tapered cross-section.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the structure of the recipient waveguide system has a cylindrical cross-section.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the first interface of the transmission medium comprises a core, and wherein the combined electromagnetic wave is guided and bound to the core.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmission medium comprises an insulated conductor.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmission medium comprises an uninsulated conductor.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a recipient waveguide system, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

obtaining operational parameters for configuring a plurality of receivers of the recipient waveguide system; and

configuring the plurality of receivers according to the operational parameters to receive a combined electromagnetic wave having a selected wave mode and a non-optical operating frequency, wherein the combined electromagnetic wave is generated by a source waveguide system at an interface with a transmission medium, wherein the transmission medium guides propagation of the combined electromagnetic wave without requiring an electrical return path, wherein the selected wave mode is substantially a fundamental wave mode and where a non-fundamental wave mode is at least substantially absent from the combined electromagnetic wave.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the source waveguide system comprises a first transmitter and a second transmitter, wherein the first transmitter radiates a first instance of an electromagnetic wave, wherein the second transmitter radiates a second instance of the electromagnetic wave, and wherein electric fields of the first instance of the electromagnetic wave and the second instance of the electromagnetic wave are approximately symmetrical to enable the combined electromagnetic wave to be formed at the interface of the transmission medium.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the source waveguide system is adapted to adjust a first phase of a first instance of an electromagnetic wave and a second phase of a second instance of the electromagnetic wave, and wherein electric fields of the first instance and the second instance are approximately symmetrical.

18. A method, comprising:

directing, from a recipient waveguide system to a plurality of receivers, a combined electromagnetic wave substantially having a fundamental wave mode, wherein a non-fundamental wave mode is at least substantially absent from the combined electromagnetic wave, wherein the combined electromagnetic wave is generated by a source waveguide system that generates at an interface of a transmission medium the combined electromagnetic wave from instances of an electromagnetic wave, and wherein the combined electromagnetic wave propagates along the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path; and

receiving, by the plurality of receivers, the combined electromagnetic wave.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the source waveguide system comprises transmitters that generate the instances of the electromagnetic wave.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the transmitters comprise waveguide slots, wherein a pair of the waveguide slots is configured to have a relative position to each other to generate the instances of the electromagnetic wave having electric field orientations of substantially opposing directions to produce the combined electromagnetic wave having the fundamental wave mode.