This disclosure is directed, in general, to wireless communication systems and, more specifically, to antennas, such as directional antennas, that include a Luneburg lens.
Cell phone towers, such as 4G/LTE cell phone towers, are installed throughout the world to provide a network for wireless communication. In the United States alone, there are currently over two hundred thousand 4G/LTE cell towers and over four million throughout the world. A single tower can possess two or more operators and multiple carriers, with each entity employing their own varying antenna arrays (including panel, sector, and other antennas) mounted on platforms that orient the antennas for sector coverage that can range between 90° to 120° sectors.
As the demand for wireless communication continues to expand, so does the need for the wireless communications infrastructure. For example, some areas of the world do not have existing infrastructure or have an insufficient infrastructure. Accordingly, new cell towers are being added and the capacity of existing cell towers is being increased. With future demand for significantly increased bandwidth, signal capacity of current base station antenna designs is insufficient for the growing customer demand. Additionally, with the continual development of 5G, even more cell towers will be needed.
In one aspect, an antenna for wireless communications is disclosed. In one example, the antenna includes: (1) a substantially spherical Luneburg lens, and (2) signal conveyors configured to communicate with corresponding orbiting antennas using radio frequency signals passing though the Luneburg lens.
In another aspect, a communications system is disclosed. In one example, the communications system include: (1) radio equipment, and (2) one or more antennas, wherein at least one of the one or more antennas have (2A) a Luneburg lens and (2B) signal conveyors coupled to the radio equipment via communications circuitry, wherein a first group of the signal conveyors are configured to communicate with corresponding orbiting antennas using radio frequency signals passing though the Luneburg lens.
In yet another aspect, a method of communicating is disclosed. In one example, the method includes: (1) communicating data between a first communication device and a first antenna, wherein the first antenna includes a substantially spherical Luneburg lens and first signal conveyors configured to communicate the data using radio frequency signals passing through the Luneburg lens, and (2) communicating the data between a second antenna and a second communication device, wherein the second antenna includes a second substantially spherical Luneburg lens and second signal conveyors configured to communicate the data using radio frequency signals passing through the second Luneburg lens, wherein the second communication device is an orbiting antenna.
Reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The disclosure recognizes the need for new technology and communication systems that provide a different solution than simply adding more cell towers or antennas. The disclosure provides an improved antenna that can be employed on wireless communications structures, such as cell towers and vehicles. The disclosed antenna, a miniature technology antenna (MTA), can be a directional antenna that is used for communicating within a defined sector and can be used for communicating with satellites. The MTA provides an increased communication capacity for both data and voice communications at multiple frequencies in a significantly smaller package than conventional antenna arrays. The MTA can be used for temporary installations, such as in emergency situations where the communication infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed. The MTA can also be used in more permanent installations. The resulting communications structures that employ the disclosed MTA provide a more visibly appealing option than traditional structures while providing more communications capacity and flexibility. The MTAs include miniaturized feed networks and a Luneburg lens to provide electronic communication antennas that can be highly directional. The MTAs provide solutions to the growing customer demands for wireless signal capacity and requirements for wireless communication. The MTAs can be used as part of a satellite communication system, a terrestrial communication system, or a combination of a satellite and terrestrial communication system. An example of a terrestrial communication system is a cellular communication system.
The MTAs possess materially increased bandwidth (capacity) over current 4G/LTE antenna arrays and provide a solution for implementing 5G communication, such as in rural areas. In addition, a directional antenna array can be used that is significantly smaller than current cell tower antenna arrays and reduces scenic clutter.
The features disclosed herein are not limited by Luneburg lens aperture sizes or radio frequencies. For example, 5″-35″ Luneburg lenses configured with a 5G miniaturized feed network assembly can create a highly effective 5G network in GHz frequencies, such as 1-21 GHz.
Non-limiting examples of the structure and operating parameters of MTAs include: (1) 5 inch Luneburg lens, 7-20 GHz, 17-26 dBi, dual band, 3 pounds, (2) 8 inch Luneburg lens, 5-12 GHz, 18-26 dBi, dual band, 8 pounds, (3) 12 inch Luneburg lens, 3-8 GHz, 17-26 dBi, dual band, 23 pounds, and (4) 18 inch Luneburg lens, 2-6 GHz, 17-27 dBi, dual band, 31 pounds. As disclosed herein, MTAs having a Luneburg lens of 24″ or 35″ that operate at 0.6-2 GHz are also provided as examples. Each of the MTAs can include solid-state electronics and multi-beam scanning with no moving parts.
In addition to terrestrial communication, each of the MTAs can be configured to communicate with orbiting antennas, such as low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, for wireless communication. For example, an MTA can have signal conveyors positioned at the bottom or earth-side of the Luneburg lens for communicating with orbiting antennas. As such, an MTA can be used as a directional antenna that is directed skyward along a first axis for communicating with orbiting antennas and can be used as a directional antenna that is directed along the horizon on a second axis for communicating with terrestrial communicating devices, such as mobile computing devices.
The Luneburg lens and signal conveyors can be aligned during installation for the different types of communications with orbiting or terrestrial antennas. For example, a MAT can be installed with signal conveyors facing upward for communicating with orbiting antennas or can be installed with signal conveyors being aligned for communicating using beams over the horizon. A combination of manufactured tilt and installation alignment can also be used in some installations. The MTAs can be directed to a particular sector of varying degrees for terrestrial coverage or can be directed skyward for communicating with one or more satellites that provide terrestrial coverage. On a single communications structure, one or more MTAs can be used as a conduit between satellite and cellular communication systems.
The MTAs can be used for mobile, fixed, or both by, for example, orienting the feed network skyward, adding two outside rows of feeds, and connecting to existing SATCOM radios. The MTAs can be configured for high speed 120 degree×45 degree sky coverage for mobile and fixed ground base stations. The small size different sizes of the MTAs permit installation on military platforms, first responder vehicles, drones, trains, cars, busses, boats, and other mobile platforms. As such military first responders can stay in contact via reliable satellite internet and VOIP communications. Soldiers can talk to the sky and keep their location hidden from the enemy and train passengers can enjoy internet and VOIP clear communications while on the move.
The MTAs can be mounted on various types of communications structures or supports at various locations, including a tower, elevated structure (roof top, etc.), terrain elevation, aviation platforms, land vehicles, ships, and space platforms. As such, the MTAs can be associated with different fixed or mobile structures. The MTAs are connected to radio equipment that then creates a communication network for, for example, public, private, commercial, space, first responders, and/or military use. The communication network can be used by companies, such transportation companies for inter-company communication.
As disclosed herein, the MTAs can also be added to existing cell towers to increase carriers and customers being served while decreasing weight, volume, wind loading, and appearance concerns when compared to adding more existing antenna arrays. The resulting dramatic reduction of existing cell tower antenna arrays, supporting electronics, and platforms combine to require substantial reductions in annual tower climbs to inspect, repair, and replace equipment compared to existing cell tower antenna arrays. Even with a great reduction in scale compared to present day cell tower antenna arrays and associated platforms, communication systems employing the disclosed MTAs can permit an increase of the number of: carriers; radio frequency signals; defined radio frequency signal regions; and customers being served. Additionally, the defined region or sector of the antennas can vary. The MTAs can be mounted as a 3×120° or 4×90° or other sector systems on elevated structures to create 360° coverage.
Luneburg lens MTAs provide a passive beam-forming, highly directional, and high gain antenna that provide superior beam focusing, which can be used with multi-beam sector coverage with superior customer separation and frequency reuse. The MTAs improve the capabilities of existing Luneburg lens antennas by, for example, geospatial placement of signal conveyors that thereby significantly increase bandwidth (capacity) compared to current technologies. Beams can also be directed skyward for communicating with orbiting antennas.
Proper geospatial placement of signal conveyors onto a substrate material is employed to unlock the unused capabilities as each signal conveyor provides its own beam-forming communication sector. For example, the signal conveyors can be patch antennas that are circular in design and adhere to the formula of: Patch Antenna Diameter=0.25×Wave Length. In some example, proprietary patch antenna designs can reduce patch antenna diameter to 0.20×Wave Length. Carrier/customer frequency specifications can be used to determine actual patch antenna diameter. Additionally, individual patch antenna placement can be customized to fit elevation needs of the customers (example: mountainside communities, high rise buildings, etc.).
Continuing the example of patch antennas, tilting of the communications beams can be provided in different ways, including: 1) alignment of all patch antenna focused beams are down tilted during manufacturing so that the tops of the focused beams are parallel to the horizon; and 2) during installation on a communications structure, such as a cell tower or other elevated structure, network engineers can specify further tilting requirements if needed. Installation procedures permit beams provided by the antenna to be easily tilted by moving the miniaturized feed network assembly slightly up or down in relation to the Luneburg lens. Tilting of the communications beams can also be done during manufacturing, installation, or a combination of both to provide communication. The alignment of different patch antennas can be varied to provide satellite and terrestrial communication via the same Luneburg lens.
The communications system 200 includes a communications structure 210, a first antenna 220, a second antenna 230, and a third antenna 240. The first antenna 220, the second antenna 230, and the third antenna 240, are collectively referred to as the antennas 220, 230, 240. One or more of the antennas 220, 230, 240, can be a MTA as disclosed herein. The communications system 200 can also include tower cabling and radio equipment such as discussed above with respect to
The communications structure 210 is constructed of a sufficient strength to support the antennas 220, 230, 240, and have a sufficient height to position the three antennas for communicating, such as for satellite communications or at an elevation for cellular communications. As such, the height of communications structure 210 can vary depending on installation site. In
The antennas 220, 230, 240, are arranged to provide 360 degree coverage with each one communicating radio frequency signals within a different sector. For example, each of the antennas 220, 230, 240, can be configured to provide 120 degree coverage and positioned on the communications structure 210 to cover a different 120 degrees of the 360 degrees. The degrees of coverage can vary depending on, for example, the configuration or alignment of the signal conveyors with the Luneberg lens. The coverage area can be from zero to 360 degrees.
Each of the antennas 220, 230, 240, includes a Luneburg lens and a feed network of signal conveyors that are located within an outer cover that provides protection against the elements. The signal conveyors can be patch antennas. Outer cover 244 of the third antenna 240 is denoted as an example in
In comparison to
The communications system 200 is smaller, less intrusive, more visually appealing, and has more customer capacity compared to conventional cell structures, such as cell tower 100. Each 35″ Luneburg lens of antennas 220, 230, 240, is capable of hosting up to 72 or more current antennas and three or more carriers in each 120° sector compared to, for example cell tower 100. This greatly increases data and voice transmit/receive capacity compared to conventional cell structures and can reduce the number of cell towers a carrier is currently using, which can benefit the cellular industry.
The antennas 220, 230, 240, advantageously use the geospatial placement of the signal conveyors that are optimized for maximum gain of each associated radio set that results in greater data and voice capacity when compared to existing Luneburg lens antenna technologies. The Luneburg lens's passive beam-forming does not require electronic beam steering. Tower climbs will be substantially reduced, as any casual observer can assess from the
As noted above, Luneburg lenses of other sizes can also be used, such as a 24 inch diameter Luneburg lens. Each 24″ diameter Luneburg Lens can host up to 48 or more current antennas and two or more carriers in each 120 degree sector. The disclosed MTAs are not limited by Luneburg lens aperture sizes or radio frequencies. For example, smaller diameter Luneburg lenses configured with a 5G mid-band frequency miniaturized feed network can help create a highly effective 5G network.
A 35″ MTA can replace up to 72 or more current sector antennas located in each 120° cell tower sector, which provides a dramatic miniaturization of the existing cell tower antenna array landscape and a reduction of scenic clutter. Each 35″ Luneburg lens of antennas 220, 230, 240 in
The disclosed 55 pound, 24″ Luneburg lens MTA can be used to replace up to 48 or more current antennas located in each 120° cell tower. The 24″ Luneburg lens MTA can be used as an add-on sector antenna array (see
The curved substrate 310 is shaped to conform to the spherical shape of the Luneburg lens 320. The curved substrate 310 has a feed network of signal conveyors 312 affixed to a front side and a back side that is a ground plane. The ground plane back side has been removed in this illustrated example for clarity. The signal conveyors 312 form a miniaturized feed network that can be printed on the curved substrate 310. The signal conveyors 312 are feed points that are aligned with the Luneburg lens 320 to communicate (i.e., transmit and receive) radio frequency signals, such as within a sector. In one example the signal conveyors 312 are patch antennas. The feed network of signal conveyors 312 provide multiple feed points for different frequency bands represented by different sized circles in
The Luneburg lens 320 has a spherical shape in which the curved substrate 310 is conformed. As such, the curved substrate 310 can be positioned proximate the Luneburg lens 320 as illustrated. The curved substrate 310 is spaced, e.g., distally spaced, from the Luneburg lens 320 at a distance and location in order to provide optimum focusing of radio beams for communicating through the Luneburg lens 320. The distance, or gap width, can be determined by an operator of the MTA 300 and can be based on such factors as size of the Luneburg lens, refractive properties of the Luneburg lens, frequency of communication, etc.
The protective shell 330 covers the miniaturized feed network 312 on the curved substrate 310. The protective shell 330 can be curved or can include a curved portion that corresponds to the curved substrate, and can be made of a conventional material that protects the components without interfering with the communications. The curved substrate 310 with the miniaturized feed network 312 and the protective shell 330 can be referred to collectively as a curved assembly.
The diameter of the patch antennas 312 is a percentage of the wavelength used for communicating RF signals. In some examples, the diameters are twenty to twenty five percent of the communicating wavelengths. As noted above, carrier/customer frequency specifications can determine the actual diameters of the patch antennas 312. Additionally, the patch antennas 312 can be printed on the curved substrate according to alignment lines that are then used to align the curved substrate 310 with the Luneburg lens 320 to provide desired beam tilts. In
An up tilt can also be manufactured to provide communication in some installations. An up tilt can also be established during installation and can be used with a manufactured up tilt. For example, the alignment line can be below the equator for an up tilt. The direction of coverage can also be changed by physically pointing the antenna in another desired direction. Coverage can also be changed by changing the alignment of the signal conveyors with the Luneburg lens.
In one example, the carrier #1 and carrier #2 switching units 640, 650, can include a processor, data storage, circuitry, and other components that are configured to automatically connect signal conveyors together or disconnect signal conveyors to change a defined region of a sector or within a sector. The processor can be directed by an algorithm to make the changes based on customer demand within a sector. For example, some of the signal conveyors of the feed network 512 can be combined by wiring and connected to the same radio equipment to form larger defined regions of radio signal coverage if the larger defined region does not require, due to lower customer density, smaller defined region coverage. If the customer density increases, the wiring can be modified to activate smaller defined regions. Conversely, if customer density decreases, the wiring can be modified to activate larger defined regions. The switching units 640, 650, can also be used to manually change connections regarding the signal conveyors. For example, the switching units 640, 650, can include a terminal board wherein a technician can manually stack or otherwise combine signal conveyors thereby creating dual or multiple feed points from a single location.
Cell tower 100 includes tower cabling 710 and radio equipment 720. The tower cabling 710 and radio equipment 720 can be conventional components that communicate and process the radio frequency signals for carriers. Communications system 200 also includes cabling 730 and radio equipment 740 that is connected to the MTAs 700 and the other antenna arrays via the cabling 730. The cabling 730 and the radio equipment 740 can provide additional communication capacity compared to the tower cabling 710 and the radio equipment 720 due to the additional transmit and receive capability of the communications system's 200 antennas. The cabling 730 can be part of the communications circuitry as discussed above with respect to
The Luneberg lens 910 is a substantially spherical lens having a 12 inch diameter. In other example, Luneberg lenses of different sizes, such as one of the Luneberg lenses disclosed herein, can also be used. The first signal conveyors 920 are configured to communicate along a first communication axis and the second signal conveyors 930 are configured to communicate along a second communication axis. For example, the first signal conveyors 920 can be configured to communicate using beams along the horizon (horizontal beams) and the second signal conveyors 930 can be configured to use skyward beams.
The first communication system processing equipment 940 and the second communication system processing equipment 950 are configured to receive radio frequency signals from the respective signal conveyors and process them according to the communication system being employed. For example, the first signal conveyors 920 can be C-band (3-6 GHz) antenna feeds for 120° sector 5G wireless cellular service and the second signal conveyors can be x-band (8-12 GHz) antenna feeds for 120° sector satellite communication service. Accordingly, the first communication system processing equipment 940 can be for 5G C-band radio processing and the second communication system processing equipment 950 can be for SATCOM X-band radio processing. The communication interface processing equipment 960 is configured to perform the necessary processing to allow communicating data between the first and second communication systems. For example, the communication interface processing equipment 960 can include the necessary circuitry, software, or combination thereof for translating data between two different communication protocols. For example, continuing the above example, the communication interface processing equipment 960 can be a 5G-SATCOM interface that connects the two communication systems together so that cellular devices can communicate via SATCOM to distant locations.
In step 1010, data is communicated between a first communication device and a first antenna. The first antenna is a MTA that includes a substantially spherical Luneburg lens and first signal conveyors configured to communicate the data using radio frequency signals passing through the Luneburg lens. The radio frequency signals can be captured by a communication beam when the first communication device is within the coverage area of the communication beam. The first communication device has the necessary hardware, software, circuitry, etc. for wireless communication. For example, the first communication device includes an antenna and circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals. Additionally, the first communication device can include processors, memory, user interfaces, etc. for processing data that can be transmitted or received via the multiple communication beams. The data can be, for example, video or audio data, or include a combination of both. The first communication device can be a cell phone, smart phone, a computing pad, a tablet, a laptop, a portable computer, or another type of mobile computing device. The communication device can be compatible with various existing and developing technologies or standards, such as 3G, 4G, and 5G.
In step 1020, the data is communicated between a second antenna and a second communication device. The second antenna is a MTA that includes a second substantially spherical Luneburg lens and second signal conveyors configured to communicate the data using radio frequency signals passing through the second Luneburg lens. The second communication device can be an orbiting antenna. The data from the captured radio frequency signals passing through the first Luneberg lens can be provide to radio equipment for processing before step 1020. For example, the data can be received in step 1010, processed by one of the various radio equipment disclosed herein and then transmitted to the second communication device in step 1020. Communicating includes transmitting and/or receiving. Different communication beams can be used for the capturing and the transmitting. The different communication beams can be associated with different MTAs or with the same MTA. For example, the first antenna and the second antenna can be MTA 900. The method 1000 continues to step 1030 and ends.
A portion of the above-described apparatus, systems or methods, such as some of the functions of the carrier switching units, may be embodied in or performed by various digital data processors or computers, wherein the computers are programmed or store executable programs of sequences of software instructions to perform one or more of the steps of the methods. The software instructions of such programs may represent algorithms and be encoded in machine-executable form on non-transitory digital data storage media, e.g., magnetic or optical disks, random-access memory (RAM), magnetic hard disks, flash memories, and/or read-only memory (ROM), to enable various types of digital data processors or computers to perform one, multiple or all of the steps of one or more of the above-described methods, or functions, systems or apparatuses described herein.
Portions of disclosed embodiments may relate to computer storage products with a non-transitory computer-readable medium that have program code thereon for performing various computer-implemented operations that embody a part of an apparatus, device or carry out the steps of a method set forth herein. Non-transitory used herein refers to all computer-readable media except for transitory, propagating signals. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include, but are not limited to: magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROM disks; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and execute program code, such as ROM and RAM devices. Examples of program code include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter.
Those skilled in the art to which this application relates will appreciate that other and further additions, deletions, substitutions and modifications may be made to the described embodiments.
Each of the aspects of the Summary may have one or more of the elements from the following dependent claims in combination.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/113,016, filed by Ralph E. Hayles on Nov. 12, 2020, entitled “MOBILE NETWORK ARCHITECTURE AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF,” commonly assigned with this application and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2021/059252 | 11/12/2021 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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63113016 | Nov 2020 | US |