# US 2020/0403308 A1 · Dynamic Effective Radiated Power (ERP) Adjustment > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2020/0403308 A1 - Document ID: US20200403308A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/007,212 - Filed: 2020-08-31 - Published: 2020-12-24 - Earliest claimed: 2016-07-01 - Assignees: Gogo LLC - Applicants: Gogo LLC - Inventors: Tuan M. Dang; Sean Scott Cordone; Jeff Bruggemann - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20200403308A1 ## CPC - H01Q 3/28: varying the amplitude - G01C 21/20: Instruments for performing navigational calculations (G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence) - G01S 19/02: Details of the space or ground control segments - H01Q 3/267: {Phased-array testing or checking devices} - H04B 7/18506: {Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service} - H04W 16/28: using beam steering - H01Q 1/28: Adaptation for use in or on aircraft, missiles, satellites, or balloons - H04B 7/18508: {with satellite system used as relay, i.e. aeronautical mobile satellite service} - Y02D 30/70: in wireless communication networks - H01Q: ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS (radiators or antennas for microwave heating H05B6/72) - G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - H04B: TRANSMISSION - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) - Y02D: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE ## Abstract Antennas used aboard aircraft to communicate with satellites or ground stations may have complex antenna patterns, which may vary as the aircraft moves throughout a given coverage area. Techniques are disclosed for dynamically adjusting the instantaneous power fed to an antenna system to ensure that the antenna transmits at the regulatory or coordinated effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) spectral limit. The antenna may transmit, in accordance with aircraft location and attitude, steerable beam patterns at different scan and skew angle combinations, causing variations in antenna gain and fluctuations in the transmitted EIRP. Using on-board navigational data, an antenna gain and ESD limit may be calculated for a particular scan and skew angle, which may be used to adjust power fed to the antenna such that the antenna transmits substantially at maximum allowable EIRP as the steerable beam pattern is adjusted. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An earth station aboard aircraft (ESAA), the ESAA comprising: a variable beamwidth antenna configured to transmit in accordance with a steerable beam pattern; a variable gain amplifier unit coupled to the variable beamwidth antenna; and a processing unit coupled to the variable gain amplifier unit, and configured to utilize navigational data to determine the steerable beam pattern towards a target station, determine a gain of the variable gain amplifier based upon the determined steerable beam pattern and an effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) spectral density (ESD) limit, and adjust a gain of the variable gain amplifier unit to the determined gain. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The ESAA of claim 1, wherein the target station direction data includes a target scan angle and a target skew angle for the determined steerable beam pattern to direct the steerable beam pattern towards the target station. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The ESAA of claim 1, wherein a gain of the variable beamwidth antenna changes with changes in the target station direction data, and wherein the processing unit is configured to determine the target amplifier instantaneous power output that corresponds to the ESD limit based upon the ESD limit and based upon a gain of the variable beamwidth antenna that corresponds to the target station direction data. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The ESAA of claim 3, wherein the variable gain amplifier unit includes a gain trim block and an amplifier block, and wherein the processing unit is configured to adjust a gain trim of the gain trim block based upon the ESD limit and based upon the gain of the variable beamwidth antenna that corresponds to the target station direction data so as to cause the gain of the variable gain amplifier unit to be adjusted to set the variable amplifier instantaneous power output to the target amplifier instantaneous power output. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The ESAA of claim 3, wherein the processing unit is configured to use the target station direction data to determine the ESD limit and the gain of the variable beamwidth antenna that corresponds to the target station direction data using an ESD limit lookup table (LUT) and an antenna gain LUT, respectively. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The ESAA of claim 1, wherein the processing unit is further configured to measure the variable amplifier instantaneous power output, use the measured variable amplifier instantaneous power output to determine a transmitted EIRP associated with the variable beamwidth antenna, determine whether the transmitted EIRP is greater than a maximum transmitted EIRP based upon the ESD limit for the target station direction data, and cause the gain of the variable gain amplifier unit to be further adjusted when the transmitted EIRP is greater than the maximum transmitted EIRP. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The ESAA of claim 1, wherein the processing unit is further configured to utilize updated navigational data to determine updated target station direction data, determine, based upon the updated target station direction data, an updated target amplifier instantaneous power output that corresponds to an updated ESD limit, and cause the gain of the variable gain amplifier unit to be adjusted so that the variable amplifier instantaneous power output is set to the updated target amplifier instantaneous power output. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The ESAA of claim 1, wherein the ESAA is located in a vehicle, and wherein the navigational data includes at least one of (i) a latitude of the vehicle, (ii) a longitude of the vehicle, (iii) an altitude of the vehicle, (iv) a latitude of the target station, (v) a longitude of the target station, (vi) an altitude of the target station, (vii) a roll orientation of the vehicle, (viii) a pitch orientation of the vehicle, or (ix) a yaw orientation of the vehicle. ### Claim 9 A method, comprising: determining, by a processing unit, a steerable beam pattern from the an earth station aboard aircraft (ESAA) towards a target station based upon navigational data; determining, by the processing unit, a gain of a variable gain amplifier coupled to a variable beamwidth antenna of the ESAA based upon the determined steerable beam pattern and an effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) spectral density (ESD) limit; and adjusting, by the processing unit, a gain of the variable gain amplifier to the determined gain. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising determining, by the processing unit, target station direction data associated with steering of the steerable beam pattern from the ESAA towards the target station by determining a target scan angle and a target skew angle for the steerable beam pattern to direct the steerable beam pattern towards the target station. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising determining a target amplifier instantaneous power output that corresponds to the ESD limit associated with the target station direction data and based upon a gain of the variable beamwidth antenna that corresponds to the target station direction data. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising determining, by the processing unit based upon the target station direction data, the ESD limit associated with the target station direction data and the gain of the variable beamwidth antenna that corresponds to the target station direction data using an ESD limit lookup table (LUT) and an antenna gain LUT, respectively. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising: using a measurement of the variable amplifier instantaneous power output to determine a transmitted EIRP associated with the variable beamwidth antenna; determining whether the transmitted EIRP is less than a maximum transmitted EIRP based upon the ESD limit associated with the target station direction data; and causing the gain of the variable gain amplifier unit to be further adjusted when the transmitted EIRP is greater than the maximum transmitted EIRP. ### Claim 14 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising: utilizing updated navigational data to determine updated target station direction data; determining, based upon the updated target station direction data, an updated target amplifier instantaneous power output that corresponds to an updated ESD limit; and causing the gain of the variable gain amplifier unit to be adjusted so that the variable amplifier instantaneous power output is set to the updated target amplifier instantaneous power output. ### Claim 15 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the ESAA is located in a vehicle, and wherein the navigational data includes at least one of (i) a latitude of the vehicle, (ii) a longitude of the vehicle, (iii) an altitude of the vehicle, (iv) a latitude of the target station, (v) a longitude of the target station, (vi) an altitude of the target station, (vii) a roll orientation of the vehicle, (viii) a pitch orientation of the vehicle, or (ix) a yaw orientation of the vehicle. ### Claim 16 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the steerable beam pattern includes a target scan angle and a target skew angle to direct the steerable beam pattern towards the target station. ### Claim 17 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein a gain of the variable beamwidth antenna changes with changes in the target station direction data, and wherein the ESAA is configured to determine the target amplifier instantaneous power output that corresponds to the ESD limit associated with the target station direction data based upon a gain of the variable beamwidth antenna that corresponds to the target station direction data. ### Claim 18 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising: determining, using a measurement of the variable amplifier instantaneous power output, a transmitted EIRP associated with the variable beamwidth antenna; determining whether the transmitted EIRP is greater than a maximum transmitted EIRP based upon the ESD limit for the target station direction data; and further adjusting the gain of the variable gain amplifier unit when the transmitted EIRP is greater than the maximum transmitted EIRP. ### Claim 19 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising: determining updated target station direction data based upon a change in the navigational data; determining, based upon the updated target station direction data, an updated target amplifier instantaneous power output that corresponds to an updated ESD limit; and further adjusting the gain of the variable gain amplifier unit so that the variable amplifier instantaneous power output is set to the updated target amplifier instantaneous power output. ### Claim 20 A machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause an earth station aboard aircraft (ESAA) to: utilize navigational data to determine a steerable beam pattern towards a target station; determine a gain of the variable gain amplifier based upon the determined steerable beam pattern and an effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) spectral density (ESD) limit; configure a variable beamwidth antenna to transmit in accordance with the determined steerable beam pattern; and adjust a gain of the variable gain amplifier unit coupled to a variable beamwidth antenna to the determined gain.