RF Redundancy Architecture for Switch-Free Satellite Failover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Satellite communication systems experience service disruptions due to the need for operator intervention and hardware switching when active units fail, leading to inefficiencies in maintaining reliability and prolonging the working life of satellite payloads.
Innovation Solution
A redundancy architecture that employs parallel active RF hardware units, RF signal splitters to distribute input signals, and RF signal combiners to combine processed signals, allowing for seamless failover without the need for redundancy switches or spare units, thereby minimizing service disruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electromechanical switches are used to switch spare units into the signal path when active units fail, then reliability is improved through redundancy, but service disruption occurs during the switching process requiring operator intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-processes and stores multiple copies of input signals at combiners before failure occurs. When a hardware unit fails, the combiners can immediately switch to using signal copies from other active units without waiting for spare units to be physically switched in, thereby eliminating service disruption time while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates multiple copies of input signals that are distributed to multiple active hardware units. These copies serve as immediate backups, allowing the system to maintain output continuity when a unit fails, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and service disruption time
2Reliability
If spare hardware units are maintained for redundancy, then reliability is improved, but hardware complexity and quantity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of multiple active hardware units to compensate for failures. Instead of maintaining separate spare units, the system combines the computational capacity of active units to provide redundant functionality, reducing hardware complexity while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
Active hardware units serve multiple functions: they process signals during normal operation and provide backup capacity when other units fail. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated spare units, reducing overall hardware complexity while maintaining system reliability
3Ease of operation
If electromechanical switches and operator intervention are used for failover, then spare units can be switched in, but the switching process causes service disruption
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic failover without operator intervention by monitoring hardware unit status and dynamically adjusting combiner signal routing. When a unit fails, the system self-corrects by redirecting signal copies to remaining active units, eliminating both operator intervention requirements and service disruption time
Data Source
AI summary
Redundancy architectures for communications systems are provided. An example redundancy architecture includes a plurality of active radio-frequency (RF) hardware units, one or more RF signal splitters configured to couple a plurality of RF input signals to the plurality of active RF hardware units, and one or more RF signal combiners configured to couple RF signals processed by the plurality of active RF hardware units to a plurality of RF output paths. The one or more RF signal splitters are configured to split each RF input signal of the plurality of RF input signals into multiple copies of the RF input signal, and to provide each copy of the multiple copies of the RF input signal to a different one of the plurality of active RF hardware units. The one or more RF signal combiners are configured to combine the multiple copies of the RF input signals into RF output signals.