Time domain radio transmission system

Abstract

A time domain communications system wherein a broadband of time-spaced signals, essentially monocycle-like signals, are derived from applying stepped-in-amplitude signals to a broadband antenna, in this case, a reverse bicone antenna. When received, the thus transmitted signals are multiplied by a D.C. replica of each transmitted signal, and thereafter, they are, successively, short time and long time integrated to achieve detection.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10 / 338,238, filed on Jan. 8, 2003, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10 / 186,306, filed on Jun. 28, 2002, now abandoned, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09 / 419,806, filed on Oct. 18, 1999, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08 / 978,367, filed on Nov. 25, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,663, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08 / 335,676, filed on Nov. 8, 1994, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07 / 846,597, filed on Mar. 5, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,108, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07 / 368,831, filed on Jun. 20, 1989, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07 / 192,475, filed on May 10, 1988, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 06 / 870,177, filed on Jun. 3, 1986, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,906.[0...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] With respect to a radio receiver, a like receiving antenna is typically employed to that used for transmission as described above, although a single antenna and transmit-receive switch may Be substituted. Second, a locally generated, coordinately timed signal, to that of the transmitted signal, is either detected from the received signal, as in communications or telemetry, or received directly from the transmitter, as, for example, in the case of radar. Then, the coordinately timed signal, typically including a basic half cycle, or a few, up to 10 half cycles, of signal, is mixed or multiplied by a factor of 1 (as with sampling or gating of the received signals), or ideally, as where the coordinately locally generated signal is curved, the factor is greater than one, giving rise to amplification in the process of detection, a significant advantage. Thus, the modulation on a signal, or position of a target at a selected range, as the case may be, is determined. Such a detection is further effected by an integration of the detected signal, with enhanced detection being accomplished by both a short term (first) and long term (second) integration. In this latter process, individual pulse signals are, first, integrated only during their existence to accomplish short term integration, and following this, the resultant short term integration signals are long term integrated by integrating a selected number of these and particularly by a method which omits the noise signal content which occurs between individual pulse signals, thereby effecting a very significant increase in signal-to-noise ratio.

[0012] Further, transmitted burst signals may be varied in time pattern (in addition to a modulation pattern for communications or telemetry). This greatly increases the security of the system and differentiates signals from nearly, if not all, ambient signals, that is, ambient signals which are not synchronous with transmitted burst signals. This also enables the employment of faster repetition rates with radar which would, absent such varying or dithering, create range ambiguities as between returns from successive transmission and therefore ranges. Burst signals are signals generated when a stepped, or near stepped, voltage change is applied to an impulse-responsive antenna as illustrated and discussed herein.

[0013] As still a further feature of this invention, the repetition rate of burst signals may be quite large, say, for example, up to 100 mHz, or higher, this enabling a very wide frequency dispersion; and thus for a given overall power level, the energy at any one frequency would be extremely small, thus effectively eliminating the problem of interference with existing radio frequency based services.

Problems solved by technology

As a further consideration, power restraints in the past have been generally limited to the application of a few hundred volts of applied signal energy to the transmitting antenna.

In this manner, no metallic triggering communications line extends to the antenna which might otherwise pick up radiation and re-radiate it, adversely affecting signal coupling to the antenna and interfering with the signal radiated from it, both of which tend to prolong the length of a signal burst, a clearly adverse effect.

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