The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 31, 1996
Filed:
Feb. 06, 1995
Mohammad Soleimani, Silver Spring, MD (US);
John E Corrigan, III, Chevy Chase, MD (US);
Mohammad Bukhari, Germantown, MD (US);
David A Roos, Boyds, MD (US);
Hughes Electronics, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for positioning a directional antenna of a remote ground terminal which transmits and receives signals to and from a satellite via the antenna. The apparatus includes a signal generator for producing a frequency variable reference signal having a variable duty cycle, and a controller which operates to analyze the signals received from the satellite and to vary the duty cycle of the reference signal in accordance with an identification tag forming part of the received signals. The apparatus further includes a detector which receives the reference signal and produces an antenna pointing signal having an average amplitude proportional to the duty cycle of the reference signal. The controller commands the signal generator to produce a reference signal having a first duty cycle when a signal having an identification tag not corresponding to a designated central hub station is received by the antenna, and a reference signal having a second duty cycle when a signal having an identification tag corresponding to the designated central hub station is received by the antenna. The reference signal having the first duty cycle causes the average amplitude of the antenna pointing signal to equal a first value, while a reference signal having the second duty cycle causes the average amplitude of the antenna pointing signal to equal a second value. During installation, the antenna is rotated until the average amplitude of the antenna pointing signal equals the second value.