Guided Wave Antenna System for High-Bandwidth Wireless Transmission
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing demand for higher bandwidth in wireless communication due to ubiquitous smart phones and portable devices poses challenges for existing macrocell base station devices, which require enhanced infrastructure such as small cell deployment to manage increased data usage, and there is a need for efficient broadband access networks to support services like voice, video, and internet browsing.
Innovation Solution
A guided wave communication system that utilizes electromagnetic waves bound to or guided by transmission media like wires or dielectric materials, allowing for propagation without an electrical return path, using couplers and transceivers to launch and receive guided electromagnetic waves along the transmission medium, enabling efficient data transmission over long distances with reduced loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional wireless communication infrastructure (macrocell base stations) is used to meet increasing data demand, then coverage area is maintained, but bandwidth capacity becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the transmission function by separating the radiating element (antenna) from the feeding system (transmission line). This allows the transmission line to carry high-power guided waves over long distances with reduced loss, while the antenna converts these waves to electromagnetic radiation for wireless transmission. This segmentation enables high bandwidth capacity through efficient power transmission while maintaining infrastructure flexibility through modular antenna deployment.
2Productivity
If small cell deployment is implemented to provide additional mobile bandwidth, then bandwidth capacity increases, but infrastructure complexity and deployment cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal transmission platform that can support multiple antenna types and configurations through a standardized guided wave transmission system. The transmission line architecture can serve various applications (macrocell, small cell, remote radio head) by simply changing the antenna deployment, eliminating the need for separate infrastructure designs for different bandwidth requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional near-field antenna feeding to far-field guided wave transmission, adding the dimension of distance to the feeding system's effective range. This allows base stations to be located far from antennas, enabling flexible small cell deployment without being constrained by proximity to power sources or signal processing equipment.
3Ease of operation
If transmission lines are used to feed antennas over long distances, then base station location flexibility increases, but power loss in transmission lines increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operating parameters of the transmission line by using specialized low-loss transmission line designs and operating at optimized power levels and frequencies. This reduces the attenuation coefficient of the transmission line, allowing long-distance power transmission with minimal loss, thereby enabling base station location flexibility without sacrificing efficiency.
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 solution provides a high-bandwidth communication system that efficiently transmits data along transmission media like power lines, reducing propagation loss and eliminating the need for electrical return paths, thus enhancing network capacity and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
A guided wave communication system is presented for sending and receiving communication signals via guided electromagnetic waves that are bound to or guided by a transmission medium
Implementation Method 2
A coupling device is presented for use in a transmission device. The coupling device couples an electromagnetic wave to a transmission medium to induce a guided wave that propagates along an outer surface of the transmission medium
Data Source
AI summary
In accordance with one or more embodiments, a communication device includes an antenna having a feed point and an aperture. A feedline is coupled to the feed point of the dielectric antenna. A multi-input multi-output (MIMO) transceiver is coupled to feedline, the MIMO transceiver facilitating a transmission of first electromagnetic waves to the feed point of the antenna, wherein the first electromagnetic waves are guided by the feedline, wherein the first electromagnetic waves propagate along the feedline via a plurality of guided wave modes without requiring an electrical return path, wherein the first electromagnetic waves convey first data in accordance with one or more MIMO techniques and wherein the first electromagnetic waves generate first free-space wireless signals at the aperture of the antenna in accordance with the one or more MIMO techniques.