Post-correlation beamforming reduces correlator count
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional receiver systems require a large number of correlators to simultaneously correlate over multiple beam patterns, leading to high signal processing resources and inefficiency as the number of beams increases, making it difficult to achieve fast directional discovery in tactical communication environments.
Innovation Solution
The receiver system employs post-correlation beamforming, where signals are duplicated and processed through a first set of correlators, then beamformed, and subsequently normalized using power estimates from a second set of beamforming, reducing the need for multiple correlators and minimizing computational complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional beamforming is performed before correlation, then multiple beam patterns can be processed, but the number of correlators increases linearly with the number of beams, leading to high signal processing resources and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional processing order by performing correlation first on the received signals from antenna elements, then applying beamforming to the correlation outputs. This reversal allows a single correlator to serve multiple beam patterns, reducing the number of correlators from M (number of beams) to L (number of antenna elements), while still enabling processing of multiple beam patterns through subsequent beamforming operations on the correlated signals
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes a single correlator perform the work of multiple correlators by processing signals that will subsequently be beamformed into multiple patterns. The correlation operation is performed once on the raw signals, and the results are then distributed across multiple beam patterns through the beamforming module, allowing one correlator to effectively serve multiple beam processing functions
2Device complexity
If the number of correlators is reduced, then signal processing resources and complexity decrease, but the ability to simultaneously correlate over multiple beam patterns may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs the correlation operation preliminarily on the received signals before the beamforming stage. By computing the correlation of the received signals with the known sequence first, and then applying beamforming weights to the correlation outputs, the system prepares the data in advance for multiple beam patterns without requiring separate correlators for each beam, thus reducing complexity while maintaining multi-beam capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent separates the correlation operation from the beam pattern dimension. Instead of correlating separately for each beam pattern (one dimension), the system correlates once across all antenna elements and then applies beamforming in a separate dimensional transformation. This allows the correlation results to be reused across multiple beam patterns, effectively adding a beamforming dimension without increasing the correlation dimension
Data Source
AI summary
A receiver system for correlating one or more signals (beam patterns) is disclosed. One or more antenna elements are configured to receive the signals. A controller generates correlator outputs based on a first set of duplicated signals, generates a first set of beams based on the one or more correlator outputs using a first beamforming module, generates a second set of beams based on a second set of duplicated signals using a second beamforming module, generates one or more power estimates based on the second set of beams, and divides each of the first set of beams by a corresponding power estimate to generate one or more normalized correlations.