Antenna-Specific RF Front Ends for Aviation SDR Cost Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Software Defined Radios (SDRs) for commercial avionics communication, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) are costly due to the use of multiple moderate or wideband general-purpose RF front ends with multiple filter banks, making them impractical for transport aviation.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable SDR system with antenna-specific RF front ends, where each antenna is associated with its own RF filter bank, reducing the number of filter banks required and utilizing RF front ends as banded frequency converters with intermediate frequency filtering and automatic gain control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple moderate or wideband general purpose RF front ends with multiple filter banks are used, then the SDR can support multiple radio applications, but the production cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the RF front end into antenna-specific modules, where each antenna has its own dedicated RF front end with filtered frequency conversion. This segmentation allows each module to be optimized for specific frequency bands and applications, reducing the need for multiple general-purpose front ends while maintaining multi-application support through software reconfiguration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates universal antenna-specific RF front end modules that can serve multiple radio applications through software control. Each module is designed to handle multiple frequency bands and modulation types, allowing a single physical hardware configuration to support various communication standards and protocols via software reconfiguration rather than requiring separate hardware for each application.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple filter banks are included in each RF front end, then the SDR can handle different frequency bands, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing each antenna with a dedicated RF front end that includes filtering and frequency conversion tailored to that specific antenna's operational characteristics and frequency band requirements. This localized approach eliminates the need for multiple filter banks in shared front ends, as each antenna-specific module contains only the filtering necessary for its designated band, thereby reducing overall device complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If a single set of hardware is used for multiple functions, then production costs are reduced, but the system requires reconfigurability through software
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics through software-controlled reconfiguration of the antenna-specific RF front ends. The system can dynamically switch between different operational modes, frequency bands, and communication protocols by changing software parameters, allowing a single hardware configuration to adapt to multiple applications without requiring physical reconfiguration or additional hardware components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration significantly reduces the number of filter banks needed, lowering production costs while maintaining functionality, allowing a single set of hardware to perform multiple functions through software reconfiguration.
Implementation Method 1
Each of the RF front ends is implemented with a filtered frequency converter
Implementation Method 2
Each of these RF front ends is implemented with multiple filter banks
Data Source
AI summary
A software defined radio system is described. The software defined radio comprises a modem bank at least partially defined by software running on a processor. The SDR also comprises an antenna group translator coupled to the modem bank. Further, the SDR comprises at least one antenna coupled to the antenna group translator. The antenna group translator comprises an antenna switch comprising RF filtering functions and RF front ends comprising frequency conversion functions. To greatly reduce the complexity and cost of the system, the architecture includes an antenna group translator having RF front end hardware that is specific to the frequency band of each antenna. In addition, the modem bank includes banded frequency converters.