RF Blanking Control for Platform Receiver Saturation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile platforms like ships and airplanes face interference issues due to strong platform-generated EM transmission signals that saturate and overload receiver systems, such as ESM systems, affecting signal quality and duty cycle.
Innovation Solution
A blanking system and method that employs multiple blanking processes to minimize the negative influence of transmission signals on RF signal reception, including tuning to different frequency and time ranges, filtering, attenuating, and marking unwanted signal components, using a blanking unit that determines the influence of transmission signals in real-time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If strong EM transmission signals are emitted by the platform, then communication and broadcasting capabilities are improved, but the receiver systems experience saturation and compression products in received signals
Solution Approach 1:
The blanking unit determines the influence of transmission signals on RF signal reception before the transmission occurs, and selects appropriate blanking processes in advance. This preliminary action allows the system to prepare the receiver unit (tuning to different frequencies, preparing filters or attenuators) to avoid or minimize the harmful effects of upcoming transmissions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and removes the harmful transmission signal components from the received RF signals through various blanking processes. The blanking unit identifies portions of transmission signals in the received signals and selectively removes them through frequency tuning, filtering, attenuation, or digital blanking, thereby separating the desired RF signals from the harmful transmission components.
2Power
If strong EM transmission signals are emitted by the platform, then communication and broadcasting capabilities are improved, but the processing capacity of receiver systems becomes overloaded
Solution Approach 1:
The blanking unit extracts and removes transmission signal components from the received signals before they reach the processing stages of the receiver system. By eliminating these harmful components early in the signal chain through frequency tuning, filtering, or digital blanking, the processing capacity is protected from being overloaded by strong transmission signals.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary processing to remove or attenuate transmission signal components before they can overload the receiver's processing capacity. The blanking unit prepares and applies appropriate blanking processes in advance, reducing the burden on subsequent processing stages.
3Productivity
If transmission signals are emitted during RF signal reception, then platform communication capabilities are maintained, but the reception range and duty cycle of receiver systems are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic or time-selective blanking processes that are activated only during transmission periods. The blanking unit determines when transmission signals are present and applies blanking processes selectively during these periods, allowing the receiver to operate at full capacity during non-transmission periods and thus maintaining a high overall duty cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention removes only the specific time-frequency portions of received signals that contain transmission signal components, rather than blocking the entire receiver. This selective extraction allows the receiver to maintain its reception range and duty cycle for all other signals that are not affected by transmissions.
Data Source
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AI summary
A blanking system (10) for a platform (16) comprises at least one on-board emitter (11) configured to transmit transmission signals; and a receiver system (12). The receiver system (12) comprises at least one antenna (15)having at least one antenna segment (15-1) which is configured to receive radio frequency, RF, signals, at least one receiver unit (13) connected to the antenna (15). The receiver unit (13) is configured to digitalize the RF signals received with the at least one antenna (15), The on-board emitter (11) is configured to announce an upcoming transmission of a transmission signal to a blanking unit (14); wherein the blanking unit (14) is configured to determine an influence of said transmission of the transmission signal on the reception of the RF signals based on said announcement and/or based on a real-time analysis of the received RF signals; and wherein the blanking unit (14) is configured to carry out one or more blanking processes out of a plurality of blanking processes in order to reduce said influence.