US 6,275,679 B1 · Secure communication using array transmitter

Abstract

The radio transmission circuit comprises 16 antenna elements in a broadside array. A carrier wave is routed to the 16 elements and the phase to each element is adjusted to direct the transmitted wavefront toward a selected receive point. Prior to transmission, however, the carrier to each element is independently modulated by a two-state (0/π) phase shifter. Each of the 16 carriers is modulated with the first 16 orthogonal Walsh waveforms (a digital counterpart of the Fourier Transform). The output power levels at all antennas are equal, only the phase of the RF carriers change. Depending upon the sign conditions (inverted or noninverted) for the various 16 modulation waveforms, a pulse position modulation (PPM) signal is transmitted in which the pulse can occupy one of 16 time positions. This PPM signal will be received clearly at the intended location, however, at other locations, approximately a degree or more to the side of the transmitted direction, the signal will become garbled due to the improper phase relation of the 16 signals arriving at those locations. This circuit is unique in that signals transmitted by broad side array elements are modulated using two-state (0/π) phase shifters controlled by orthogonal Walsh elements. The Walsh elements are selectively inverted or noninverted in such a manner as to generate a PPM data signal along the intended direction of reception, and produce garbled data to receivers off the signal beam.

Claims7

Dependent claims

Wherein said phase shift means in each of the N channels comprises a two-state phase shifter and a variable phase shifter in tandem, said function means being coupled to the two-state phase shifter of all N channels, and said beam steering control means being coupled to the variable phase shifter of all N channels.

An orthogonally modulated PPM array transmitter comprising:

an antenna array comprising N antenna elements coupled to N channels;
phase conjugate beam steering means comprising a common phase conjugate signal generator, and N phase conjugate amplifier units individual to said channels;
wherein the phase conjugate signal generator comprises an RF signal source, an IF signal source, a mixer with inputs from the RF and IF signal sources and an output to two filters, which are a sum filter tuned to the sum of the signals from the RF and IF signal sources, and a difference filter tuned to the difference of the signals from the RF and IF signal sources, outputs from the two filters being coupled to inputs of the N phase conjugate amplifier units;
wherein each phase conjugate amplifier unit comprises a first mixer with an input from said sum filter, a second mixer with an input from said difference filter, an IF amplifier having an input from the first mixer and an output to the second mixer, a circulator coupled to the antenna elements for the channel, with coupling from the circulator to an input of the first mixer, and coupling from an output of the second mixer to the circulator;
each of the N channels having phase shift means for providing a first phase shift in each channel;
function means coupled to the phase shift means of all N channels for controlling the first phase shift in each channel to selectively have a first or a second phase value which differ by 180°;
wherein said function means comprises a function generator which produces a given set of N two-valued functions in repetitive cycles, each cycle being divided into N equal intervals, the value of each function being fixed during each interval with one of two values, the character of the set of functions being such that during one interval of each cycle all the functions have the same value while in other intervals half the functions have one value and half the other value, with the interval in which the values are all equal being changed if some of the functions are inverted, and modulation means for selectively controlling which if any functions are inverted during each cycle to thereby selectively determine the interval during which the functions all have the same value, the value of said first phase shift in each channel being controlled during each interval in accordance with the value of one of the functions for the duration of a cycle as controlled by the modulation means.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Secure communication using array transmitter

Life of this patent

Secure communication using array transmitter

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims7