Dielectric Stub Coupler Guided Wave Launcher
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing demand for higher bandwidth in wireless communication due to widespread smartphone use and reliance on broadband services poses challenges for existing wireless infrastructure, particularly in managing utilization of wireless resources effectively.
Innovation Solution
A guided wave communication system that utilizes electromagnetic waves bound to a transmission medium, such as wires, to propagate data without requiring an electrical return path, using couplers like dielectric stub couplers and arc couplers to launch and extract guided waves at millimeter-wave frequencies, enabling efficient data transmission with reduced propagation loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If traditional wireless infrastructure is used to provide broadband access, then wireless coverage can be extended, but propagation loss increases and bandwidth capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a transmission medium (such as a wire or cable) as an intermediary carrier for guided electromagnetic waves. This mediator enables data transmission with significantly reduced propagation loss compared to traditional wireless propagation, while the coupled antennas provide the interface between wireless devices and the guided wave system, thereby achieving both low loss and high bandwidth capability.
2Reliability
If separate electrical return paths are used for data transmission, then signal integrity can be maintained, but system complexity and installation requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the transmission medium serve multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both the signal carrier for electromagnetic waves and the electrical return path. By coupling the antenna to the transmission medium, the same physical structure provides both data transmission and electrical reference, eliminating the need for separate return paths and reducing system complexity while maintaining signal integrity.
3Productivity
If wireless resources are increased to meet growing data demand, then bandwidth capability improves, but resource management complexity and infrastructure cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional wireless electromagnetic wave propagation (which requires complex resource management for frequency allocation, interference control, and bandwidth management) with guided electromagnetic wave propagation through a transmission medium. This substitution provides dedicated, controlled signal paths that inherently manage bandwidth resources more efficiently, reducing the complexity of wireless resource management while increasing overall bandwidth capability.
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 system enhances data transmission efficiency by minimizing propagation loss and eliminating the need for separate electrical return paths, allowing for longer-distance data transmission with lower energy consumption and increased bandwidth utilization.
Implementation Method 1
A dielectric stub coupler receives the first electromagnetic wave from the hollow waveguide to form a second electromagnetic wave that propagates as a guided wave along a portion of the dielectric stub coupler adjacent to a transmission medium
Implementation Method 2
A guided wave communication system that utilizes electromagnetic waves bound to a transmission medium, such as wires, to propagate data without requiring an electrical return path
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a launcher that includes a hollow waveguide that guides a first electromagnetic wave conveying data from a transmitting device. A dielectric stub coupler receives the first electromagnetic wave from the hollow waveguide to form a second electromagnetic wave that propagates along a portion of the dielectric stub coupler adjacent to a transmission medium, wherein second electromagnetic wave propagates along the dielectric stub coupler via a first guided wave mode and a second guided wave mode, and wherein the portion has a length that supports a coupling of the second guided wave mode for propagation along an outer surface of the transmission medium.