The present disclosure relates to Radio Frequency (RF) communications and, more specifically, to systems and methods facilitating increased capacity in RF communications.
Presently, RF data communication links, e.g., between stationary antennas, utilize two wireless RF signals superimposed in time, space, and frequency, wherein the polarities of the two signals define an orthogonal angle therebetween. This orthogonal polarity angle difference between the two signals allows for the simultaneous transmission of the two signals in the same direction at the same time, space, and frequency, e.g., using Polarization Division Multiplexing (PDM). However, as perfect orthogonality of the polarization angle difference between the two signals is difficult to achieve and maintain, cross-pole interference cancellation (XPIC) may be utilized to minimize errors in the data transmission.
The terms “about,” substantially,” and the like, as utilized herein, are meant to account for tolerances and variations, up to and including differences of 10%. Further, to the extent consistent, any of the aspects described herein may be used in conjunction with any or all of the other aspects described herein.
Systems and methods of the present disclosure enable increased capacity of communication in an RF data communication link, e.g., between stationary transmission and receiver antennas, by providing at least three RF signals (N signals, wherein N>=3) superimposed in time, space, and frequency and defining non-orthogonal polarity angles between each signal and the adjacent signal(s) (wherein “adjacent signal(s)” of a particular signal are defined as the signal or signals having the smallest polarity difference from the particular signal). Each signal is transmitted through a different channel (of the corresponding polarity) and is capable of carrying its own data stream. This configuration enables signal polarity to be utilized as the primary discriminator for the at least three signals and, thus, increases the data communication capacity of the RF data communication link proportional to the number of signals according to (N/2*100) - 100. For example, the data communication capacity is increased by 50% where N=3 (as compared to the presently-available two signal communication), and the data communication capacity is increased by 100% where N=4 (as compared to the presently-available two signal communication). This increase in capacity does not require any additional usage of the RF spectrum, with each N channels supporting the same data rate and delivering approximately the same signal quality.
The polarity angle differences between each pair of adjacent signals may be fixed and pre-determined. In aspects, the polarity angle difference between each pair of adjacent signals is substantially non-orthogonal and less than 90 degrees. In aspects, the polarity angle difference between each pair of adjacent signals is defined according to 180/N. In other aspects, the polarity angle difference for at least two adjacent signal pairs is different, such that the polarity angle differences across the plural signals are non-uniform.
The systems and methods of the present disclosure may be configured for use with stationary antennas (transmission antennas, receiver antennas, and/or transceiver antennas) configured to maintain substantially constant polarity isolation between channels (with each corresponding to a different pre-determined polarity). The systems and methods may also employ a multi-channel synchronized RF tuner and/or a Multi-Polarity Interference Cancellation (MPIC) system configured to remove the associated multi-channel interference from each channel. The angle differences between the signals are used as the primary discriminators for the MPIC system to remove cross-channel interference for each distinct channel.
In aspects, the systems and methods of the present disclosure may also be applied, in addition to the RF communication link described above, to a reciprocal RF communication link utilizing a different frequency, thereby enabling at least a six channel two-way communication system.
The systems and methods of the present disclosure may be implemented in an RF wireless communication system and, more specifically, for data communication between first and second fixed base stations or nodes. For example, the first base station may be configured for communication (wireless and/or cable-connected) with a plurality of user devices or user equipment such as, for example, mobile devices, computers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc., and the second base station may be configured for communication with a broader network. The communication between the first and second base stations, according to the systems and methods of the present disclosure, thus enables connection of the plurality of user devices to the broader network.
Although described herein with respect to RF communication systems, other implementations of the disclosure are also contemplated. The systems and methods of the present disclosure may be utilized in varies configurations involving wireless transport including but not limited to microwave communications systems.
Various aspects and features of the present disclosure are described hereinbelow with reference to the drawings wherein:
Referring to
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RF tuner 240 converts the N IF signals to RF or carrier frequency, as noted above, to support transmission from Tx system 200 to Rx system 300, where N corresponds to the number of data streams the system supports (or, in aspects, a number less than the number of data streams the system supports - for configurations wherein less than all available channels are utilized). RF tuner 240, in aspects, is configured as a phase coherent multi-channel (3+ channels) tuner. In other aspects, RF tuner 240 includes multiple single-channel RF tuners that are phase-synchronized, e.g., using a common reference signal to synchronize channel phase between multiple single-channel RF tuners. In other aspects, RF tuner 240 includes multiple dual-channel phase coherent RF tuners that are phase synchronized between dual-channel tuners using a common reference signal. Other aspects incorporate some combination of the above-mentioned tuners.
The data streams, at the RF frequency, are transmitted from RF tuner 240 via connectors, cabling, and/or amplifiers, to the transmission antenna(s), with each channel corresponding to a polarity-specific antenna element 250. In aspects, the RF tuner 240 (or tuners) along with the cabling, connectors, amplifiers, and/or antenna elements 250 corresponding to each channel (data stream) are generally phase matched. Each antenna element 250 is configured to output one of the data streams at a static, pre-determined polarity, thereby defining a channel. More specifically, the number, N, of polarity-specific antenna elements 250 is greater than or equal to three wherein each antenna element 250 is configured with a static, pre-determined polarity. In aspects, the polarity angle difference between each antenna element 250 and any adjacent antenna elements 250 (defined as the other antenna element(s) 250 with the smallest polarity difference to the antenna element 250) is substantially non-orthogonal and, in aspects, less than 90 degrees. Further, the polarity angle difference between each pair of adjacent antenna elements 250 may be defined according to 180/N. In other aspects, the polarity angle differences for at least two pairs of adjacent antenna elements 250 are different from one another, such that the polarity angle differences across different pairs of adjacent antenna elements 250 are non-uniform. The number of antenna elements 250 corresponds to the number of channels which, in turn, corresponds to the number of data streams to be transmitted simultaneously (sharing time, space, and frequency resources).
As a result of the above-detailed configuration of the polarity-specific antenna elements 250, each data stream is transmitted, as a signal, through an RF communication channel from one of the antenna elements 250 of the Tx system 200 to Rx system 300, wherein the number of signals, N, is greater than or equal to three. The polarities of the different signals are non-orthogonal relative to any adjacent signals and may otherwise be configured similarly as detailed above with respect to the corresponding antenna elements 250.
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Antenna elements 250, 350 may be included in any one of, or combinations of, various different antennas such as, for example, 3+ polarity antennas (wherein the antennas that include antenna elements 250, 350 each consists of single or multiple reflectors married with 3+ antenna elements 250, 350 corresponding to at least three different polarities), 4+ polarity antennas (wherein the antennas that include antenna elements 250, 350 each consists of single or multiple reflectors married with 4+ antenna elements 250, 350 corresponding to at least four different polarities), etc. Antennas incorporating a common-phase-center with the 3+ polarity antenna elements as described above are also contemplated. In other aspects, traditional orthogonal cross-polarized antennas, single polarity antennas, etc. are utilized to achieve the required geometrically aligned antenna elements 250, 350. In other aspects, antenna elements 250, 350 both transmit and receive RF signals as part of systems 200, 300, thereby reducing the total number of antenna elements and associated reflectors required for system 10 (
The signals received at antenna elements 350 of Rx system 300 are transmitted to RF tuner 340 of Rx system 300 which converts the data streams (at the carrier or RF frequency) to IF signals. RF tuner 340 may be configured similar to RF tuner 240 except operating in reverse. The signals, at the IF, are then transmitted to a sub-system 330 including a Multi-Polarity Interference Cancellation (MPIC) feature, an equalizer, and a demodulator, although separate systems for each are also contemplated. Despite alignment of the matched pairs of antenna elements 250, 350 and isolation of the polarities thereof, some amount of signal mixing between channels typically occurs as the RF signals travel between the antenna elements 250, 350. Thus, the removal of multi-channel interference is necessary to avoid significant degradation of signal quality, which may result in limited or no data transmission.
The MPIC of sub-system 330 may employ a polarization division multiplexing technique to nullify non-target channel interference present in each target channel, where the antenna elements 250, 350 of each matched pair are optimally aligned (as noted above). More specifically, for each N target channels, an adaptive, closed-loop MPIC feature may be employed to vary the phase and amplitude of the N-1 interfering non-target channels and combine the optimal phase and amplitude adjusted N-1 interfering signals with each target channel in order to maximize the demodulated signal quality of the target channel, thereby nullifying non-target channel interference present in the target channel.
For scenarios where the antenna elements 250, 350 of each matched pair are not optimally aligned, the MPIC feature isolates the target channels present in non-target channels and combines the signals in order to maximize the demodulated signal quality of each target channel. In aspects, signal separation, and the destructive and constructive combining are combined into a single stage.
Operating in series or in combination with the MPIC feature described above, the equalizer feature may be adaptive, multi-tap, and designed to mitigate complex frequency response impairments (amplitude and phase versus frequency) of each polarity-specific channel caused in many instances by multipath fading. In aspects, the use of a closed-loop receive-site IF and/or baseband multi-tap adaptive equalizer(s) that are adjusted to maximize the signal quality of each dynamic RF channel as measured by the demodulated signal quality for each polarity specific channel may be employed. Alternatively or additionally, closed-loop baud rate and carrier recovery may be optimized based on demodulated signal quality for each polarity-specific channel. A transmit site pre-equalizer, e.g., of Tx system 200, optimized based on feedback from the receive-site equalizer, e.g., of Rx system 300, may also be provided. Similar to modulator 230, sub-system 330 may include a plurality of sub-systems 330, one for each of the data streams (channels). The plurality of sub-systems of sub-system 330 are synchronized with one another, e.g., using a common reference signal.
The sub-system 330, after completing MPIC, equalization, and demodulation functions, transmits the N data streams via digital baseband to the demultiplexer 320 which separates the aggregate baseband signals into output data streams 310 for use at the site of the node including Rx system 300 and/or onward transmission to another network node or, for example, the broader network 400 (
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It will be understood that various modifications may be made to the aspects and features disclosed herein. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of various aspects and features. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended thereto.
This application claims the benefit of, and priority to, U.S. Provisional Pat. Application No. 63/303,609, filed on Jan. 27, 2022, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63303609 | Jan 2022 | US |