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US 10,594,385 B2Granted
Flexible beamforming, channelization, and routing folded processing architecture for digital satellite payloads
AssigneeSeakr Engineering, Inc.
InventorsErik Buehler, Richard E. Perego
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electronic device for a communications satellite for beamforming, channelization, and/or routing is implemented using a digital folded architecture to reduce the number of serial communication paths and provide more flexible routing and network configurability and scalability. A method for configuring the switching network of a system comprising multiple electronic devices allows the system to be dynamically reconfigured to implement different types of networks.
Claims19
A satellite communication system comprising:
- a first communication circuit having a first analog to digital converter (ADC) configurable to convert a first radio frequency (RF) input signal to a first digital signal, a first channelizer circuit configurable to generate sub-channel signals from digital signals, a first beamformer circuit configurable to generate beam signals, a first reconstructor circuit configurable to generate reconstructed digital signals, a first digital to analog converter (DAC) circuit configurable to convert a reconstructed digital signal to an RF output signal, and a first routing network configurable to route signals of the first communication circuit;
- a second communication circuit having a second ADC, a second channelizer circuit, a second beamformer circuit, a second reconstructor circuit, a second DAC, and a second routing network configured to route signals of the second communication circuit;
- a communication network having a plurality of communication lanes communicatively coupleable to the first communication circuit and the second communication circuit;
- and
- wherein the first routing network is configurable to transmit a first portion of the first digital signal to at least one of the first channelizer circuit, the first beamformer circuit, or the first reconstructor circuit and to transmit a second portion of the first digital signal different than the first portion to the second communication circuit via the communication network;
- and
- wherein the first routing network includes routing paths internal to the first communication circuit to transmit and receive signals among circuits internal to the first communication circuit and external routing paths to transmit and receive signals among other communication circuits.
4 more elements
An electronic device comprising:
- an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuit connected to an input of the electronic device;
- a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit connected to an output of the electronic device;
- a channelizer circuit having an input connected to an output of the ADC, wherein the channelizer circuit is configured to output a first sub-channel signal;
- a first beamformer circuit configurable to receive a second sub-channel signal on an input of the first beamformer circuit and configurable to output a first output beam signal based on the second sub-channel signal;
- a reconstructor circuit configured to receive a first input beam signal on an input of the reconstructor circuit, wherein an output of the reconstructor circuit is connected to an input of the DAC circuit;
- a switch network capable of receiving a first signal and a second signal on a first communication channel, wherein the first signal and the second signal are different types of signals;
- and
- wherein the switch network includes routing paths internal to the electronic device to transmit and receive signals among circuits internal to the switch network and external routing paths to transmit and receive signals among other electronic devices.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.