U.S. patent application number 14/821980 was filed with the patent office on 2017-02-16 for systems and methods of analog beamforming for direct radiating phased array antennas.
The applicant listed for this patent is The Boeing Company. Invention is credited to Gregory Clayton Busche, Jeffrey Matthew Jesiolowski, Lindsay E. Krejcarek, Murat E. Veysoglu.
Application Number | 20170047970 14/821980 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56557545 |
Filed Date | 2017-02-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170047970 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Jesiolowski; Jeffrey Matthew ;
et al. |
February 16, 2017 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF ANALOG BEAMFORMING FOR DIRECT RADIATING
PHASED ARRAY ANTENNAS
Abstract
A method for processing data from an antenna array including a
plurality of elements distributed on opposite sides of a central
point is disclosed. The method includes determining an adjustment
for a first signal associated with a beam and a first element of
the plurality of elements. The first element is located on a first
side of the central point of the antenna array. The method includes
applying the determined adjustment to the first signal, and
applying the determined adjustment to a second signal. The second
signal is associated with the beam and a second element of the
plurality of elements. The second element is located on a second
side of the central point of the antenna array substantially a same
distance away from the central point as the first element.
Inventors: |
Jesiolowski; Jeffrey Matthew;
(Playa del Rey, CA) ; Busche; Gregory Clayton;
(Rolling Hills, CA) ; Krejcarek; Lindsay E.;
(Redondo Beach, CA) ; Veysoglu; Murat E.;
(Cypress, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
The Boeing Company |
Huntington Beach |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
56557545 |
Appl. No.: |
14/821980 |
Filed: |
August 10, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B 7/0617 20130101;
H04W 4/06 20130101; H04B 7/0408 20130101; H04B 7/086 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04B 7/04 20060101
H04B007/04; H04W 4/06 20060101 H04W004/06 |
Claims
1. A method for processing data from an antenna array including a
plurality of elements distributed on opposite sides of a central
point, said method comprising: determining an adjustment for a
first signal associated with a beam and a first element of the
plurality of elements, the first element located on a first side of
the central point of the antenna array; applying the determined
adjustment to the first signal; and applying the determined
adjustment to a second signal associated with the beam and a second
element of the plurality of elements, the second element located on
a second side of the central point of the antenna array
substantially a same distance away from the central point as the
first element.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining an adjustment for the
first signal comprises determining at least one weighting
coefficient to be applied to the first signal and the second
signal.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining at least one
weighting coefficient comprises determining an in-phase weighting
coefficient and a quadrature weighting coefficient to be applied to
the first signal and the second signal.
4. The method of claim 3 further comprising; determining an
in-phase component of each of the first signal and the second
signal; and determining a quadrature component of each of the first
signal and the second signal.
5. The method of claim 4 further comprising: summing the first
signal in-phase component and the second signal in-phase component
to create a summed in phase signal; and summing the first signal
quadrature component and the second signal quadrature component to
create a summed quadrature signal.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein applying the determined
adjustment to the first signal and applying the determined
adjustment to a second signal comprises weighting the summed
in-phase signal with the in-phase weighting coefficient and
weighting the summed quadrature signal with the quadrature
weighting coefficient.
7. The method of claim 6 further comprising summing the weighted
summed in-phase signal and the weighted summed quadrature
signal.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the antenna array comprises a
direct radiating array antenna.
9-13. (canceled)
14. A communications satellite comprising: a two dimensional
antenna array including a plurality of elements arranged in a
plurality of rows in a first dimension and a plurality of columns
in a second dimension, wherein each of the plurality of rows
comprises elements of the plurality of elements distributed on
opposite sides of a central point; a system communicatively coupled
to said plurality of elements and configured to perform beamforming
of signals, said system configured to: determine an adjustment for
a first signal associated with a first element in a row, the first
element located on a first side of the central point of the row;
apply the determined adjustment to the first signal; and apply the
determined adjustment to a second signal associated with a second
element in the row, the second element located on a second side of
the central point of the row a same distance away from the central
point as the first element.
15. The communications satellite of claim 14, wherein said system
is configured to process the set of signals in the first dimension
by beamforming the set of signals by rows, and said beamformer is
configured to process the set of signals in the second dimension by
beamforming the set of signals by columns after beamforming the set
of signals by rows.
16. (canceled)
17. The communications satellite of claim 15, wherein said system
is configured to determine an adjustment for the first signal by
determining an in-phase weighting coefficient and a quadrature
weighting coefficient to be applied to the first signal and the
second signal.
18. The communications satellite of claim 17, wherein said system
is configured to: determine an in-phase component of each of the
first signal and the second signal; sum the first signal in-phase
component and the second signal in-phase component to create a
summed in phase signal; determine a quadrature component of each of
the first signal and the second signal; and sum the first signal
quadrature component and the second signal quadrature component to
create a summed quadrature signal.
19. The communications satellite of claim 18, wherein said system
is configured to apply the determined adjustment to the first
signal and apply the determined adjustment to a second signal by
weighting the summed in-phase signal with the in-phase weighting
coefficient and weighting the summed quadrature signal with the
quadrature weighting coefficient.
20. The communications satellite of claim 19, wherein said system
is further configured to sum the weighted summed in-phase signal
and the weighted summed quadrature signal.
21. The communications satellite of claim 14, wherein said system
configured to: process, with a separate beamformer for each of the
plurality of rows, a set of signals associated with the plurality
of elements in the first dimension; and process, with a separate
beamformer for each of the plurality of columns, the set of signals
in the second dimension after processing the set of signals in the
first dimension.
22. A communications satellite comprising: an antenna array
including a plurality of elements arranged distributed on opposite
sides of a central point; and a system communicatively coupled to
said plurality of elements and configured to perform beamforming of
signals, said system configured to: determine an adjustment for a
first signal associated with a beam and a first element of the
plurality of elements, the first element located on a first side of
the central point of the antenna array; apply the determined
adjustment to the first signal; and apply the determined adjustment
to a second signal associated with the beam and a second element of
the plurality of elements, the second element located on a second
side of the central point of the antenna array a same distance away
from the central point as the first element.
23. The communications satellite of claim 23, wherein said antenna
array is a two dimensional antenna array including a plurality of
elements arranged in a plurality of rows in a first dimension and a
plurality of elements arranged in a plurality of columns in a
second dimension, and wherein said system is configured to process
the set of signals in the first dimension by beamforming the set of
signals by rows, and said beamformer is configured to process the
set of signals in the second dimension by beamforming the set of
signals by columns after beamforming the set of signals by
rows.
24. The communications satellite of claim 23, wherein said system
is configured to determine an adjustment for the first signal by
determining an in-phase weighting coefficient and a quadrature
weighting coefficient to be applied to the first signal and the
second signal.
25. The communications satellite of claim 24, wherein said system
is configured to: determine an in-phase component of each of the
first signal and the second signal; sum the first signal in-phase
component and the second signal in-phase component to create a
summed in phase signal; determine a quadrature component of each of
the first signal and the second signal; and sum the first signal
quadrature component and the second signal quadrature component to
create a summed quadrature signal.
26. The communications satellite of claim 25, wherein said system
is configured to apply the determined adjustment to the first
signal and apply the determined adjustment to a second signal by
weighting the summed in-phase signal with the in-phase weighting
coefficient and weighting the summed quadrature signal with the
quadrature weighting coefficient.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to analog
beamforming, and more particularly to systems and methods analog
beamforming for direct radiating phased array antennas.
[0002] Communications systems, such as satellites, sometimes use
multi-beam antennas, such as phased array antennas. Phase array
antennas typically include multiple radiating elements, element and
signal control circuits, a signal distribution network, a power
supply, and a mechanical support structure. Integration of these
components can be time-consuming, can be weight-intensive (heavy),
and can occupy excessive space.
[0003] Some known multi-beam phased array antenna systems include
multiple RF inputs, which are referred to as elements. Each element
has a single input antenna to capture or radiate RF energy followed
by an amplifier. The received input signal is divided into N
signals that correspond to an N number of resulting beams after
amplification. After division, a beamformer applies amplitude and
phase weighting to each channel of each element. For an array of M
elements and N beams, there are M times N beamforming paths. The
signal energy from each beam and each element is combined in a
power combiner, which has an N number of layers. For M elements and
N beams, a quantity of N, M-to-one combiners are required.
[0004] The large number of phase shifters, summers, multipliers and
related components used in some known systems results in a
significantly heavy and large communication system. Moreover, the
complexity of such systems often results in complex assembly and
interconnection requirements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
[0005] In one aspect, a method for processing data from an antenna
array including a plurality of elements distributed on opposite
sides of a central point is disclosed. The method includes
determining an adjustment for a first signal associated with a beam
and a first element of the plurality of elements. The first element
is located on a first side of the central point of the antenna
array. The method includes applying the determined adjustment to
the first signal, and applying the determined adjustment to a
second signal associated with the beam and a second element of the
plurality of elements. The second element is located on a second
side of the central point of the antenna array substantially a same
distance away from the central point as the first element.
[0006] In another aspect, a method for processing data from a two
dimensional antenna array, including a plurality elements arranged
in a first dimension and a second dimension, includes processing a
set of signals associated with the plurality of elements in the
first dimension, and processing the set of signals in the second
dimension after processing the set of signals in the first
dimension.
[0007] In another aspect, a communications satellite includes a two
dimensional antenna array including a plurality of elements
arranged in first dimension and a second dimension, and a system
communicatively coupled to the plurality of elements and configured
to perform beamforming of signals. The system is configured to
process a set of signals associated with the plurality of elements
in the first dimension and process the set of signals in the second
dimension after processing the set of signals in the first
dimension.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an example
environment including a communications satellite and multiple
communications sources.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components of the
communications satellite of FIG. 1.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of antenna elements in a phased
array antenna of the satellite of FIG. 1.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example computing device
that may be included in the communications satellite of FIG. 1.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a high level flow chart of a process for
processing data from an antenna array that may be implemented by
the communications satellite of FIG. 1.
[0013] FIG. 6 is a diagram of a column of the antenna shown in FIG.
3 and a direction of plane wave travel for a beam incident on
antenna.
[0014] FIG. 7 is a diagram of a portion of the satellite shown in
FIG. 1 showing application of weighting coefficients to signals in
accordance with the process of FIG. 5.
[0015] FIG. 8 is a high level flow chart of another process for
processing data from an antenna array that may be implemented by
the communications satellite of FIG. 1.
[0016] FIGS. 9A-9C are diagrams illustrating a process of beamport
sorting for bandwidth that may be implemented by the communications
satellite of FIG. 1.
[0017] FIG. 10 is a simplified diagram of an example modular
beamformer that may be used in the communications satellite of FIG.
1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an example
environment 100 including a communications satellite 102, a first
communications source 104, a second communications source 106, and
a third communications source 108. Communications satellite 102
exchanges communication data with first communications source 104
in a first communications beam 112, with second communications
source 106 in a second communications beam 114, and with third
communications source 108 in a third communications beam 116. First
communications source 104, second communications source 106, and
third communications source 108 may be ground-based, air-based, or
space-based.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components of communications
satellite 102. FIG. 2 may be considered a side view of
communication satellite 102. It should be understood that
communication satellite 102 may include additional components that
are not described or shown. Communications satellite 102 includes a
phased array antenna 200. More specifically, phased array antenna
200 is programmable or adjustable to selectively receive/transmit
signals or beams from/to various directions and/or sources. Phased
array antenna 200 includes array elements 202, 204, 206, 208, 210,
212, 214, and 216. Array elements 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212,
214, and 216 receive/transmit electromagnetic radiation transmitted
from/to onse or more sources, for example first communication
source 104, second communication source 106, and/or third
communication source 108. Coupled to array elements 202, 204, 206,
208, 210, 212, 214, and 216 are phase shifters 218, 220, 222, 224,
226, 228, 230, and 232 and corresponding attenuators 234, 236, 238,
240, 242, 244, 246, and 248. For simplicity of illustration, the
number of phase shifters and attenuators shown in FIG. 2 is the
same as the number of elements 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214,
and 216. It should be understood, however, that satellite 102
includes more than one phase shifter per element 202, 204, 206,
208, 210, 212, 214, and 216. A beamformer 250 (sometimes referred
to as a beamforming system, a system configured to perform
beamforming, or a system) is operatively coupled to phase shifters
218, 220, 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, and 232 and attenuators 234,
236, 238, 240, 242, 244, 246, and 248, transmits control signals
thereto to adjust the phase and/or magnitude of received
electromagnetic radiation, and forms one or more corresponding
beams. Each beam is typically associates with a plurality of
elements, a plurality of phase shifters, and a plurality of
attenuators. Each beam is received in a corresponding beamport 252,
254, 256, 258, 260, 262, 264, and 266, which is included in or
coupled to beamformer 250. In implementations in which beamformer
250 is analog, the number of beamports 252, 254, 256, 258, 260,
262, 264, and 266 is limited by hardware. In implementations in
which beamformer 250 is not analog, the number of beamports 252,
254, 256, 258, 260, 262, 264, and 266 is not limited by the
hardware. One or more of the processes described herein may be
implemented with an analog or a non-analog (e.g., digital)
beamformer 250.
[0020] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of phased array antenna 200. FIG.
3 may be considered a front view of phased array antenna 200. In
addition to array elements 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, and
216, which are also shown in FIG. 2, phased array antenna 200
additionally includes array elements 300-355. Array elements
300-307, 315-216, 202-214, and 308-348 form a periphery of phased
array antenna 200. Array elements 300-307 form a first column 360.
Array elements 308-315 form a second column 362. Array elements
316-323 form a third column 364. Array elements 324-331 form a
fourth column 366. Array elements 332-339 form a fifth column 368.
Array elements 340-347 form a sixth column 370. Array elements
348-355 form a seventh column 372, and array elements 202-216 form
an eighth column 374. Additionally, array elements 300, 308, 316,
324, 332, 340, 348, and 202 form a first row 378. Array elements
301, 309, 317, 325, 333, 341, 349, and 204 form a second row 380.
Array elements 302, 310, 318, 326, 334, 342, 350, and 206 form a
third row 382. Array elements 303, 311, 319, 327, 335, 343, 351,
and 208 form a fourth row 384. Array elements 304, 312, 320, 328,
336, 344, 352, and 210 form a fifth row 386. Array elements 305,
313, 321, 329, 337, 345, 353, and 212 form a sixth row 388. Array
elements 306, 314, 322, 330, 338, 346, 354, and 214 form a seventh
row 390, and array elements 307, 315, 323, 331, 339, 347, 355, and
216 form an eighth row 392. In some implementations, phased array
antenna 200 is not square or rectangular in shape. For example, in
some implementations, phased array antenna 200 is circular,
hexagonal, octagonal, or any other suitable shape. Phased array
antenna 200 may include any suitable number of array elements,
whether more or fewer than the sixty-four elements illustrated in
FIG. 3.
[0021] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example computing device 400
that may be included in communications satellite 102 (shown in FIG.
1). In some implementations, beamformer 250 includes computing
device 400. Computing device 400 may include a bus 402, a processor
404, a main memory 406, a read only memory (ROM) 408, a storage
device 410, an input device 412, an output device 414, and a
communication interface 416. Bus 402 may include a path that
permits communication among the components of computing device
400.
[0022] Processor 404 may include any type of conventional
processor, microprocessor, or processing logic that interprets and
executes instructions. Main memory 406 may include a random access
memory (RAM) or another type of dynamic storage device that stores
information and instructions for execution by processor 404. ROM
408 may include a conventional ROM device or another type of static
storage device that stores static information and instructions for
use by processor 404. Storage device 410 may include a magnetic
and/or optical recording medium and its corresponding drive.
[0023] Input device 412 may include a conventional mechanism that
permits computing device 400 to receive commands, instructions, or
other inputs from a user, including visual, audio, touch, button
presses, stylus taps, etc. Additionally, input device may receive
location information. Accordingly, input device 412 may include,
for example, a camera, a mouse, a microphone, one or more buttons,
and/or a touch screen. Output device 414 may include a conventional
mechanism that outputs information to a user, including a display
(including a touch screen) and/or a speaker. Some implementations
do not include input device 412 and/or output device 414.
Communication interface 416 may include any transceiver-like
mechanism that enables computing device 400 to communicate with
other devices and/or systems. For example, communication interface
416 may include mechanisms for communicating with another device,
such as phased array antenna 200, communication sources 104, 106,
108 and/or other devices (not shown).
[0024] As described herein, computing device 400 facilitates
beamforming by transmitting instructions to phase shifters 218,
220, 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, and 232 and attenuators 234, 236,
238, 240, 242, 244, 246, and 248 of phased array antenna 200 to
generate multiple beams 112, 114, and/or 116. Computing device 400
may perform these and other operations in response to processor 404
executing software instructions contained in a computer-readable
medium, such as memory 406. A computer-readable medium may be
defined as a physical or logical memory device and/or carrier wave.
The software instructions may be read into memory 406 from another
computer-readable medium, such as data storage device 410, or from
another device via communication interface 416. The software
instructions contained in memory 406 may cause processor 404 to
perform processes described herein. In other implementations,
hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with
software instructions to implement processes consistent with the
subject matter herein. Thus, implementations consistent with the
principles of the subject matter disclosed herein are not limited
to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.
[0025] FIG. 5 is a high level flow chart of a process 500 for
beamforming with a direct radiating phased array antenna, such as
antenna 200 (shown in FIG. 3). Process 500 may be used for
beamforming for transmission or reception of signals. Process 500
may be implemented by, for example, communications satellite 102
(shown in FIGS. 1 and 2). In other implementations, process 500 is
implemented in an aircraft (not shown), a ground-based station (not
shown), or any other suitable platform. Process 500 will be
described with further reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a diagram 600
of a symmetrical portion of column 374 of antenna 200 and a
direction 602 of plane wave travel for a beam incident on antenna
200. The symmetrical portion of column 374 is substantially
symmetrical about a central point 604.
[0026] At 502, an adjustment is determined for a first signal
associated with a first element, such as element 216, of a
symmetrical portion of antenna 200 and a beam. The symmetrical
portion of antenna 200 may be any portion of antenna 200 that is
substantially symmetrical about a central point. The symmetrical
portion of antenna 200 can be, for example, some or all of a row or
a column of antenna 200. In the example implementation, the
adjustment is a phase shift to be applied to the signal. More
specifically, the adjustment is a weighting coefficient to be
applied to the signal to phase shift the signal the determined
amount. The amount that the received signal is phase shifted is
determined based on a path distance D between a center 605 of
element 216 and a line 606 perpendicular to direction 602 and
passing through central point 604. For element 214, the path
distance is a distance D'.
[0027] In the example implementation, signals such as the first
signal are divided into an in-phase component and a quadrature
component. An adjustment is determined for each component of the
signal.
[0028] The process 500 includes applying 504 the determined
adjustment to the first signal associated with the first element
and to a second signal associated with a second element, such as
element 202, and the beam. With reference to FIG. 6, element 202 is
a conjugate of element 216 because they are substantially the same
distance from central point 604, but on opposite sides of central
point 604. The path distance between element 202 and line 606 is
distance -D, which has the same magnitude, but opposite direction
from path distance D between element 216 and line 606. This
symmetry allows the same weighting to be applied to the signals
associated with elements 202 and 216. This reduces the number of
weighting coefficients that need to be calculated and reduces the
number of components needed for beamforming. The same process may
be applied across each conjugate pair of elements in a symmetrical
portion of a direct radiating phased array antenna. In FIG. 6, for
example, signals from elements 202 and 216 are given the same
weighting, signals from elements 204 and 214 are given the same
weighting, signals from elements 206 and 212 are given the same
weighting, and signals from elements 208 and 210 are given the same
weighting.
[0029] FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 of a portion of satellite 102
showing application of weighting coefficients to signals from
elements 216 and 202 in accordance with the process 500. Unlike
known systems that separately calculate and weight the signals from
each element, process 500 permits a single set of weighting
coefficients to be calculated and applied to signals from conjugate
elements on opposite sides of a centerpoint, such as elements 216
and 202. The first signal from element 216 is split into an in
phase component I and a quadrature component -Q. The desired
adjustment is determined, such as by beamformer 250, for the first
signal, and weights W.sub.I and W.sub.Q are calculated for
application to the in phase component I and the quadrature
component -Q, respectively. The second signal from element 202 is
split into an in phase component I and a quadrature component Q.
Both in phase components I are summed by a summer 702 and both
quadrature components Q and -Q are summed by a summer 704. The
summed in phase components are multiplied by the determined in
phase weight W.sub.I at multiplier 706 and the summed quadrature
components are multiplied by the determined quadrature weight
W.sub.Q by multiplier 708. The phase shifted in phase components
and the phase shifted quadrature components are then summed by
summer 710 and output for use in beamforming.
[0030] FIG. 8 is a high level flow chart of a process 800 for
beamforming with a direct radiating phased array antenna, such as
antenna 200 (shown in FIG. 3). Process 800 may be used for
beamforming for transmission or reception of signals. Process 800
may be implemented by, for example, communications satellite 102
(shown in FIGS. 1 and 2). In other implementations, process 800 is
implemented in an aircraft (not shown), a ground-based station (not
shown), or any other suitable platform. Process 800 may be
performed in combination with process 500 or may be performed in
systems that do not perform process 500.
[0031] Process 800 includes beamforming 802 a first dimension of a
two dimensional array of antenna elements. In the example
implementation, beamformer 250 beamforms each row 378, 380, 382,
384, 386, 388, 390, and 392 to create a set of tall, thin column
beams. Communication traffic for the elements in each row 378, 380,
382, 384, 386, 388, 390, and 392 may be beamformed using the method
500, or any other suitable method of beamforming. At 804, the
second dimension of the two dimensional array of antenna elements
is beamformed. In the example implementation, beamformer 250
beamforms each column 360, 362, 364, 366, 368, 370, 372, and 374 to
convert the column beams into spot beams. Communication traffic for
the elements in each column 360, 362, 364, 366, 368, 370, 372, and
374 may be beamformed using the method 500, or any other suitable
method of beamforming.
[0032] In some implementations, process 800 includes determining
bandwidth requirements for the communication traffic (e.g., the
signals from/to the array elements). Coefficients may be
selectively applied to the beamformed signals to route signals
according to bandwidth requirements and bandwidth capacity of
particular beamports, such as beamports 252, 254, 256, 258, 260,
262, 264, and 266. FIGS. 9A-9C illustrate an example implementation
of beamport sorting for bandwidth. Sixty four beamformed beams 902
of communications traffic are shown for connection to sixty four
beamports, similar to beamports 252, 254, 256, 258, 260, 262, 264,
and 266. The amount of traffic for each beam 902 is indicated by
different shading. Shading 904 indicates no traffic, shading 906
indicates the least traffic, shading 908 indicates the second most
traffic, and shading 910 indicates the greatest traffic. In FIG.
9A, the communications traffic is unsorted. FIG. 9B show the
results after sorting the traffic by column capacity, and FIG. 9C
shows the results after sorting each column in FIG. 9B by rows.
Lines 912 and 914 divide the beams 902 into three groups. The beams
902 to the left of line 912 are connected to wideband beamport
capable of greater bandwidth transmission. The beams 902 to the
right of line 914 are not connected to a beamport. The beams 902
between lines 912 and 914 are connected to lower bandwidth
beamports.
[0033] Cascading one-dimensional beamforming using process 800
permits a modular system to be used for beamforming. Row and column
beamformers may be constructed on planar boards, such as printed
wiring boards (PWBs) without complex wiring interconnects. Each
column of array antenna 200, for example, may have its own
beamformer formed on a single PWB and each the column beamformers
for each column may be substantially identical. Similarly, each row
of antenna 200 may have its own row beamformer on a single PWB that
is substantially identical to each other row beamformer.
[0034] FIG. 10 is an simplified diagram of an example modular
beamformer 1000 (sometimes referred to as a beamforming system, a
system configured to perform beamforming, or a system). Modular
beamformer 1000 can be used as a row beamformer or a column
beamformer. Modular beamformer 1000 can be used for transmission or
reception beamforming. Modular beamformer 1000 includes a board
1002. In the example implementation, board 1002 is a printed wiring
board. In other implementations, board 1002 is a printed circuit
board or any other board suitable for use in a modular beamformer.
Connectors 1004 are used to connect modular beamformer 1000 to
array elements of phased array antenna 200. The beamformed output
of modular beamformer 1000 is output through connectors 1006.
Connectors 1004 and 1006 are coaxial connectors. Alternatively,
connectors 1004 may be any other suitable type of connector.
Modular beamformer 1000 includes a signal splitting circuit 1008
for each connector 1004. The split signals from each splitting
circuit 1008 are distributed by wires 1010 to beamforming circuits
1012. Beamforming circuits 1012 include summers 1014 and
programmable amplifiers, delays, and/or phase shifters 1016 to
beamform received signals. In some implementations, beamforming
circuits 1012 are configured to perform process 500. The beamformed
signals are output from beamformer circuit 1012 and modular
beamformer 1000 via connectors 1006.
[0035] As compared to some known beamforming systems, the
implementations described herein reduce the number of components
and the complexity of a beamforming system. Implementations that
beamform signals associated with elements symmetrically dispersed
around a centerpoint reduces the number of weighting factors that
must be calculated by half because paired feeds use share the same
weighting factor(s). The number of multipliers needed is also
reduced by half Reducing the number of components will typically
reduce the size and/or weight of the beamforming systems. Reducing
the number of distinct weighting factors that need to be determined
may also lead to faster system operation and/or allow the use of
less powerful component, such as processors in digital beamforming
systems. Implementations that utilize cascaded one-dimensional row
beamforming followed by one-dimensional column beamforming reduce
the number of phase shifters required by approximately an order of
magnitude as compared to conventional beamformers that use one
phase shifter per beam per element. Moreover, the row and column
beamformers can be implemented on planar PWBs to increase
modularity and reduce the complexity of the system and
interconnection. Because the example implementations can eliminate
intermediate frequency converters associated with digital
processors, the implementation may result in fewer up/down
converters being required in a system. The example implementations
may also increase efficient use of communications system resources
through the use of coefficient manipulation to provide beamport
routing based on bandwidth requirements and availability.
[0036] A technical effect of systems and methods described herein
includes at least one of: (a) determining an adjustment for a first
signal associated with a beam and a first element of a plurality of
elements; (b) applying the determined adjustment to the first
signal; (c) applying the determined adjustment to a second signal
associated with the beam and a second element of the plurality of
elements; (d) processing a set of signals associated with a
plurality of elements in a first dimension; and (e) processing the
set of signals in a second dimension after processing the set of
signals in the first dimension.
[0037] The description of the different advantageous
implementations has been presented for purposes of illustration and
description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the
implementations in the form disclosed. Many modifications and
variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Further, different advantageous implementations may provide
different advantages as compared to other advantageous
implementations. The implementation or implementations selected are
chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the
implementations, the practical application, and to enable others of
ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various
implementations with various modifications as are suited to the
particular use contemplated. This written description uses examples
to disclose various implementations, which include the best mode,
to enable any person skilled in the art to practice those
implementations, including making and using any devices or systems
and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope is
defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to
those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be
within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements
that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if
they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial
differences from the literal language of the claims.
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