Rockwell Collins, Inc.

Gunther B Frank

Robert J Frank

Carlos J Chavez

Karl F Hoech

Richard L Robertson

Bruce S Kloster

Dennis L Hoffman

Dana J Jensen

Michael N Newhouse

Daniel M Zange

Joseph F Jiacinto

Mark W Barglof

Kent D Benson

David K Baugh

Patrick J Murphy

A spread spectrum communication system includes a transceiver configured to transmit a spread spectrum waveform. The spread spectrum waveform comprises transmitted signals at varying frequencies within a radio frequency spectrum of operation. The frequency variation is controlled according to a hopping sequence. A spectral sensor of the communication system is configured to dynamically scan the radio frequency spectrum of operation and to generate channel occupancy data based upon the scans. A real time hopping sequence generator is configured to dynamically generate the hopping sequence in real time as a function of the channel occupancy data.

Cognitive spectral sensor-based PN hopping/spreading sequence generator

The present invention provides a method for using an Organization and Control Proxy (OCP) to configure a network communications infrastructure. OCP functionality is distributed across nodes possessing OCP elements. Intercommunication between the OCP elements is implemented via a unifying mesh waveform for network discovery, propagation of network and radio-frequency (RF) socket usage information, and management and control of instances of dynamic socket waveforms. An extensible language for specification of waveform properties is used by the OCP elements to negotiate spectral use information and to negotiate configurations between two or more endpoints of a dynamic socket waveform connection. A network stack is configured by the OCP to provide requested service to an end user.

Organizational and control mechanism for spectrally-efficient management of dynamic socket waveforms

A system capable of operation with dynamic sockets includes a plurality of communications devices. Each of the plurality of communications devices includes high band channel radio resources capable of communications at 900-2800 MHz and socket radio resources capable of communications at 30-1000 MHz. The high band channel radio resources and the socket radio resources are significantly separated in frequency so that the high band channel radio resources and the socket radio resources are suitable for concurrent operation with no interference and minimal isolation, co-site problems to solve in each of the plurality of communications devices. The plurality of communications devices are connected to a unifying mesh network by the high band channel radio resources. The unifying mesh network is suitable for allowing the plurality of communications devices to communicate with one another. When data needs to be transferred among a group of communications devices, a dynamic socket connection is negotiated on the unifying mesh network and is then formed with the socket radio resources. The dynamic socket formation is suitable for allowing the unifying mesh network to offload continuous receiver-directed or multicast traffic from the unifying mesh network channel and to free up public ad hoc communications bandwidth of the unifying mesh network.

Dynamic socket waveform

In some embodiments, a search and rescue communication may include one or more of the following features: (a) a rescue terminal, (b) a main terminal operably connected to said rescue terminal across a communication network, said main terminal sends an emergency notification message across said communication network to said rescue terminal, and (c) a survival terminal associated with an ejection seat, said survival terminal being in communication with said main terminal, wherein said emergency notification message is delivered by said main terminal when said ejection seat is ejected.

Network enabled survival terminal

A receiver for computationally efficient signal acquisition of spread-spectrum chips affected by Doppler shift in an advanced tactical data link. Received signals with a very low signal-to-noise ratio are parsed in a multi-stage signal acquisition circuit architecture, and compared to a known sequence to determine correlation over a subset of the known sequence. Chip-rate-coherent correlation is performed over an interval of time for which the effect of Doppler shift on the chip rate are negligible. A non-coherent block then integrates intermediate metrics to obtain final metrics for the entire known sequence. The parsing of the correlation into subsets and stages allows for a more computationally efficient solution to the Doppler shift chip rate error problem by reducing the number of intermediate metrics that must be computed at high speed.

Signal acquisition with efficient doppler search

An architecture for a spread-spectrum transmitter-receiver system in an advanced tactical data link that allows the receiver to readily acquire and synchronize to a desired LPD signal. Signal acquisition is performed with a cyclic range search that uses multiple redundant known sequences mapped to a known message sequence in a highly repeated manner. By employing the invariance of the speed of light, and synchronicity between transmitter and receiver, the architecture can significantly reduce the computational complexity of the receiver. Additionally, the architecture enables ad hoc channel access, controlled latency, distance estimation, and distance-directed transmissions.

Architecture for signal acquisition with cyclic range search

A quadrature LINC transmission system processes a baseband input signal for transmission as a linearly amplified RF signal. An in-phase LINC element processes an in-phase baseband signal into an in-phase RF signal. A quadrature LINC element processes a quadrature baseband signal into a quadrature RF signal. An output combiner combines the in-phase RF signal with the quadrature RF signal to provide the linearly amplified RF signal. The in-phase LINC element has a constant envelope decomposition block for decomposing the in-phase baseband signal into in-phase baseband constant envelope components. Two up-converters convert the in-phase baseband constant envelope components to in-phase RF constant envelope components. Two non-linear amplifiers amplify the in-phase RF constant envelope components. A combiner combines the amplified in-phase RF constant envelope components to yield the in-phase RF signal. The quadrature LINC element is similar to the in-phase LINC element and provides the quadrature RF signal.

Quadrature LINC transmission method and apparatus

A direct conversion quadrature receiver and method are provided according to the invention. The receiver according to one embodiment includes a primary local oscillator (LO) that down-converts a received RF signal to a quadrature intermediate frequency (IF) signal. The receiver further includes a dithering controller responsive to the quadrature IF signal generated by the primary LO. The dithering controller communicates a feedback signal back to the primary LO. The feedback signal controls the primary LO in order to offset down-conversion of the RF signal by the quadrature IF signal. The dithering controller offsets the primary LO from a zero-IF signal in order to reduce a phase and gain error of the quadrature IF signal.

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Robins, IA, United States of America

Gunther B Frank