Common transmit module for a programmable digital radio

A transmit module which is programmed for a specific type of radio function having a corresponding frequency and which is reprogrammable to transmit radio signals for different types of radio functions, the transmit module comprising:

• a digital submodule for receiving a bit stream representing information to be transmitted and for producing a modulated analog intermediate frequency signal;
• and
• an analog submodule, connected to said digital submodule, for receiving the modulated analog intermediate frequency signal and converting the modulated analog intermediate frequency signal into the frequency corresponding to the specific type of radio function,
• said analog submodule including;
• tunable local oscillator for producing a tunable local oscillation signal,
• fixed local oscillators for respectively producing corresponding fixed local oscillation signals, and
• a mixing unit coupled to said digital submodule for receiving the modulated analog intermediate frequency signal, coupled to said tunable local oscillator for receiving the tunable local oscillation signal, and coupled to said fixed local oscillators for receiving the fixed local oscillation signals, selectively mixing the fixed local oscillation signals with the modulated analog intermediate frequency signal to produce a non-final intermediate frequency signal, and mixing the non-final intermediate frequency signal with the tunable local oscillation signal to produce a final converted signal for transmission at the frequency corresponding to the specific type of radio function.

A transmit module which is programmed for a specific type of radio function having a corresponding frequency and which is reprogrammable to transmit radio signals for different types of radio functions, the transmit module comprising:

• a digital submodule for receiving a bit stream representing information to be transmitted and for producing a modulated analog intermediate frequency signal, the digital submodule including;
• a sequential/parallel instruction processor for receiving the information to be transmitted and for producing an in-phase signal, a quadrature signal, a phase signal and a frequency signal in accordance with the specific type of radio function programmed in the transmit modules;
• a reconfigurable format unit, reconfigurable to produce output signals for different types of radio functions and being coupled to said sequential/parallel instruction processor, for receiving the information to be transmitted from said sequential/parallel instruction processor in the form of the in-phase, quadrature, phase and frequency signals and for respectively producing corresponding formatted in-phase, quadrature, phase and frequency signals;
• a numerically controlled oscillator, coupled to said reconfigurable format unit and responsive to the formatted frequency signal and the formatted phase signal, for producing a digital oscillation signal;
• and
• a quadrature mixer, coupled to said reconfigurable format unit and responsive to the formatted in-phase signal and the formatted quadrature signal and coupled to said numerically controlled oscillator and responsive to the digital oscillation signal, for producing the modulated analog intermediate frequency signal;
• and
• an analog submodule, coupled to said digital submodule, for receiving the modulated analog intermediate frequency signal and for converting the modulated analog intermediate frequency signal to the frequency corresponding to the specific type of radio function.

A digital module which is self-contained and programmed for a specific type of radio function having a corresponding frequency, the digital module receiving a bit stream representing information to be transmitted and producing a modulated oscillation signal, the digital module comprising:

• a sequential/parallel instruction processor for receiving the information to be transmitted and for producing an in-phase signal, a quadrature signal, a phase signal and a frequency signal in accordance with the specific type of radio function programmed in the digital module;
• a reconfigurable format unit, reconfigurable to produce output signals for different types of radio functions and being coupled to said sequential/parallel instruction processor, for receiving the information to be transmitted from the sequential/parallel instruction processor in the form of the in-phase, quadrature, phase and frequency signals and for producing output signals in accordance with the specific type of radio function programmed in the transmit module;
• and
• a modulator, coupled to said reconfigurable format unit, for receiving the output signals of said reconfigurable format unit and producing the modulated oscillation signal.

A digital module which receives a serial bit stream representing information to be transmitted and which produces a modulated oscillation signal, the digital module comprising:

• a reconfigurable format unit reprogrammable for transmitting radio signals of different types of radio functions, said reconfigurable format unit producing an in-phase signal, a quadrature signal, a phase signal and a frequency signal in accordance with the specific type of radio function programmed in the digital module;
• a numerically controlled oscillator, coupled to said reconfigurable format unit and responsive to the frequency signal and the phase signal produced by said reconfigurable format unit, for producing a digital oscillation signal;
• a quadrature mixer, coupled to said reconfigurable format unit and responsive to the in-phase signal and the quadrature signal and coupled to said numerically controlled oscillator and responsive to the digital oscillation signal, for producing the modulated oscillation signal, the modulated oscillation signal being a digital signal;
• and
• a digital to analog converter, coupled to said quadrature mixer, for receiving the modulated oscillation signal and for converting the modulated oscillation signal to an analog signal.

An analog module which receives a modulated oscillation signal and which produces a final converted radio frequency signal for a radio function having a corresponding frequency, comprising:

• a tunable local oscillator for producing a tunable local oscillation signal;
• fixed local oscillators for respectively producing corresponding fixed local oscillation signals;
• and
• a mixing unit for receiving the modulated oscillation signal, said mixing unit being coupled to said tunable local oscillator for receiving the tunable local oscillation signal and being coupled to said fixed local oscillators for receiving the fixed local oscillation signals, selectively mixing the fixed local oscillation signals with the modulated oscillation signal to produce a non-final intermediate frequency signal, and mixing the non-final intermediate frequency signal with the tunable local oscillation signal to produce the final converted radio frequency signal for transmission at the frequency corresponding to the type of radio function.

A programmable transmit module comprising:

• a self-contained digital submodule, coupled to a bit stream representing information to be transmitted and programmably reconfigurable for operation in each of different radio modes, for selectively digitally processing the bit stream to generate a digital modulated signal for the different radio modes and converting the digital modulated signal into an analog modulated signal;
• a self-contained analog submodule, having an intermediate frequency, coupled to said self-contained digital submodule and programmably reconfigurable for operation in each of the different radio modes, for selectively frequency translating the analog modulated signal into an RF transmission signal;
• wherein said self-contained analog submodule further comprises,
• frequency synthesizing means for selectively generating local oscillation signals for each of the different radio modes in accordance with control signals generated by said self-contained digital submodule, mixing means for mixing the analog modulated signal with the local oscillation signals, a plurality of filter banks each selectively switchable to provide respective filtering for each of the different radio modes in accordance with the control signals generated by said self-contained digital submodule, and
• a first of said plurality of filter banks being coupled to an output of said mixing means for selectively providing the RF transmission signal as an output of said self-contained analog submodule;
• and
• wherein said self-contained digital submodule generates control signals for respectively reconfiguring said self-contained analog submodule for operation in each of the different radio modes.