Direct Digital Navigation Transmitter Without RF Upconversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are inflexible and require separate hardware for each signal, leading to increased size, weight, power consumption, and cost, as well as the need for up-converters for navigation signal transmission.
Innovation Solution
A digital processing circuit generates navigation signals with specified characteristics, converting them directly to analog RF signals without up-conversion, using a digital-to-analog converter and RF amplifier, allowing for agile frequency and waveform transmission through a single hardware path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate hardware systems are used for each navigation signal, then signal transmission reliability is improved, but system size, weight, and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate hardware systems into a single integrated transmitter that can generate and transmit multiple navigation signals (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo) through one unified hardware platform, thereby reducing overall system weight while maintaining signal transmission reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The transmitter is designed with universal functionality to support multiple navigation satellite systems and signal types through a single hardware system, allowing it to perform multiple functions that previously required separate dedicated hardware for each signal type
2Reliability
If up-converters are used for navigation signal transmission, then signal transmission capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the up-conversion stage from the traditional signal transmission chain, allowing digital signals to be transmitted directly at the desired RF frequency without requiring separate up-converter hardware, thereby reducing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional hardware-based up-conversion mechanism with a software-defined approach where frequency synthesis and signal generation are performed digitally, substituting mechanical/electronic conversion hardware with software-controlled digital signal processing
3Stability of the object's composition
If fixed hardware systems are used for each signal, then signal stability is improved, but adaptability and signal agility are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic signal generation where the transmitter can be reprogrammed via software to change frequencies, waveforms, and signal characteristics in real-time, allowing the system to adapt to different operational requirements while maintaining stable signal transmission through controlled generation processes
4Reliability
If multiple separate hardware systems are deployed, then coverage and reliability are improved, but scalability and deployment flexibility are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The universal transmitter design allows the same hardware platform to be deployed in multiple configurations and locations (ground-based, airborne, space-based) to provide navigation signals, enabling scalable deployment while maintaining system reliability through consistent hardware architecture
Data Source
AI summary
A direct digital synthesis transmitter that uses a programmable digital circuit to generate a digital signal representing at least one radio frequency signal, the generated signal is filtered, amplified by an amplifier, and provided to a transmission antenna without upconversion. The transmitter generating the digital signal at a desired output frequency range such that a frequency upconverter is not needed to produce signals in the desired radio frequency range.