Parallel Wideband and Narrowband RF Sensor Architecture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Radio frequency infrastructure sites face challenges in monitoring and evaluating transmitter health due to intermodulation distortion, spectral component degradation, and compliance with regulatory requirements, especially in densely populated environments with emergency service equipment, where existing narrowband sensors are inefficient and limited by the need for hard connections.
Innovation Solution
A system employing a wideband sensor in parallel with a narrowband sensor, controlled by an electronic processor, to quickly identify frequencies of interest, determine signal attenuation, and validate data, reducing the need for rescanning and improving resource efficiency, while also accounting for external influences and nonlinearities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a narrowband sensor is used to scan the spectrum sequentially, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to slow scanning speed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the spectrum scanning task into two segments: a wideband sensor performs coarse scanning to identify regions of interest, while a narrowband sensor performs detailed spectral analysis only in those identified regions. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high measurement precision where needed while improving overall scanning productivity by avoiding detailed analysis of entire spectrum.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial action by using the narrowband sensor only partially - specifically in identified regions of interest rather than across the entire spectrum. The wideband sensor performs the excessive action of scanning the full spectrum initially, enabling the narrowband sensor to focus resources only where necessary for precise measurement.
2Productivity
If a wideband sensor is used to scan the spectrum, then productivity is improved through faster scanning, but measurement precision deteriorates due to lower resolution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the measurement task into two stages: first, the wideband sensor performs rapid low-resolution scanning to identify regions of interest; second, the narrowband sensor performs detailed high-resolution measurement only in those specific regions. This segmentation allows the system to achieve both high productivity in the initial scan and high measurement precision in the final analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The wideband sensor performs partial action by scanning only enough to identify regions of interest, not the entire spectrum in detail. The narrowband sensor then performs the excessive action of detailed spectral analysis but only in the identified regions of interest, not across the entire spectrum, thus achieving high precision where needed while maintaining overall system productivity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple transmitters are combined at a radio frequency site, then adaptability is improved, but object-generated harmful factors worsen due to intermodulation distortion and spectral artifacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a monitoring system with wideband and narrowband sensors as an intermediary between the multiple transmitters and the evaluation process. This intermediary detects and characterizes intermodulation distortion and spectral artifacts generated by the transmitters, enabling operators to identify and mitigate harmful effects while maintaining the flexible multi-transmitter configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system provides feedback about intermodulation distortion and spectral artifacts generated by the combined transmitters. This feedback enables operators to adjust transmitter configurations, power levels, or frequencies to reduce harmful effects while maintaining the desired adaptability and versatility of having multiple transmitters at the site.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for combined parallel processing of spectral information in a radio frequency environment. One example method includes controlling, with an electronic processor, a wideband receiver coupled to a receive path to scan a band of interest. The method includes receiving, from the wideband receiver, wideband scan data for the band of interest. The method includes identifying, based on the wideband scan data, a spectral region including a signal of interest. The method includes controlling, with the electronic processor, a narrowband receiver coupled to the receive path in parallel with the wideband receiver to collect a sample of the signal of interest.