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Description  |
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TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an adaptive interference suppression
arrangement and, more particularly, to an adaptive interference
suppression arrangement wherein a desired signal including an interfering
signal and a sample of the interfering signal are separately received, an
estimated cancellation signal is derived and combined with the desired and
interfering signal sample to give a corrected signal, and the power in the
corrected signal is detected and used to generate a control signal for
varying the phase and amplitude of the estimated cancellation signal to
reduce the residual interference in the corrected signal.
BACKGROUND ART
Interference from terrestrial microwave systems is a major consideration in
planning the location of earth stations for satellite communication
systems. As the desirable locations for both microwave relay stations and
satellite earth stations tend to be the same, there will exist some
situations in which interference cannot be avoided.
Adaptive interference suppression systems have been designed to deal with
this problem. In this regard see, for example, "An Adaptive Co-channel
Interference Suppression System to Suppress High Level Interference in
Satellite Communication Earth Terminals" by E. D. Horton in National
Telecommunication Conference Record, Dallas, Tex., Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 1976,
Sect. 13.4, pp. 1-5 and "Suppression of Co-channel Interference with
Adaptive Cancellation Devices at Communications Satellite Earth Stations"
by P. D. Lubell et al in ICC 77 Conference Record, June 12-15, 1977,
Chicago, Ill., Vol. 3, pp. 49.3-284-49.3-289. In these disclosed systems,
an independent sample of the interfering signal is obtained, the phase and
amplitude of which is adjusted by an adaptive filter to provide an
estimate of the interference in the received signal. This estimate is then
subtracted from the received signal to give the undistorted desired signal
and a residue from the subtract operation. The response of the adaptive
filter depends on the correlation between this residue and the
interference sample.
The correlation in the cited articles is done either at RF or IF. The IF
realization requires an independent down converter for the interference
sample adding substantially to the cost of the system. The RF realization
presents problems when a number of interfering sources are present. The
correlation is done over the whole 500 MHz bandwidth and due to the
frequency dependence of the side lobe pattern of the main antenna one can
get varying degrees of cancellation and enhancement over the band.
Therefore, the problem remaining in the prior art is to provide an
adaptive interference suppression arrangement which can avoid the
above-mentioned independent down converter and provides interference
suppression in a desired band of frequencies.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing problem in the prior art has been solved in accordance with
the present invention which relates to an adaptive interference
suppression arrangement and, more particularly, to an adaptive
interference suppression arrangement wherein a desired signal including an
interfering signal and a sample of the interfering signal are separately
received, an estimated cancellation signal is derived and combined with
the desired and interfering signal sample to give a corrected signal, and
the power in the corrected signal is detected and used to generate a
control signal for varying the phase and amplitude of the estimated
cancellation signal to reduce the residual interference in the corrected
signal.
It is an aspect of the present invention to provide an adaptive
interference suppression arrangement wherein a main antenna picks up the
desired signal and some interfering signal and a small auxiliary antenna
is pointed in the direction of the interfering source and picks up a
sample of the interfering signal. The interfering sample is then put
through a quadrature modulator for adjustment of its phase and amplitude
and provide an estimated cancellation signal at the output. This estimated
cancellation signal is then combined with the main antenna output to give
a corrected signal. After down-converting, the present system detects the
power in the corrected signal. A processor, in response to such power
detection, correlates variations in power with a dither signal added to
the control signals, and uses the resulting correlation to adjust the
control signals to vary the phase and amplitude in the quadrature
modulator to minimize the amplitude of the residual interference in the
corrected signal.
Other and further aspects of the present invention will become apparent
during the course of the following description and by reference to the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals represent like parts
in the several views:
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an adaptive interference suppression
arrangement in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary quadrature modulator for
use in the arrangement of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a processor for use in the
arrangement of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an adaptive interference suppression
arrangement in accordance with the present invention. The description
which follows is directed to the use of the present arrangement in a small
earth station receiving terminal associated with a satellite communication
system for suppressing an interfering signal concurrently received from a
different direction with the desired signal from the satellite. It is to
be understood that such description is exemplary only and is for purposes
of exposition and not for purposes of limitation. It will be readily
appreciated that the present arrangement can be used for suppressing a
received interfering signal which concurrently arrives at a receiver from
a different direction than a desired received signal in other than a
satellite system receiver.
In the arrangement of FIG. 1, an antenna 10 is directed to receive a signal
12 transmitted from a satellite repeater (not shown), signal 12 being, for
example, shown with the designation M(t), destined for the earth station
including the present arrangement. Due to the location of the present
earth station or the possibility that the present earth station also
includes equipment associated with one or more terrestrial microwave
systems, a second signal 14, designated I(t), associated with another
communication system is also concurrently received at antenna 10, which
causes interference with the desired signal 12. The signals 12 and 14
received at antenna 10 are amplified in a low noise type amplifier 16 and
applied to one input of a hybrid circuit 18, which amplified signal can be
represented by the expression
A(t)=M(t)+.alpha.I(t) . (1)
A small auxiliary antenna 20 is pointed in the direction of the interfering
signal source for picking up a sample of the interfering signal 14. As the
satellite signal 12 flux density is generally much weaker than the flux
density of the interfering terrestrial microwave signal 14, the sample of
interfering signal 14 can be considered to be essentially free of the
desired signal 12. The received interfering signal sample 14 is amplified
to a predetermined level in a low noise type amplifier 22, which amplified
interfering signal sample is then transmitted through a quadrature
modulator 24 for adjustment of its phase and amplitude as will be
explained in greater detail hereinafter. The adjusted signal from
quadrature modulator 24 is applied to a second input of hybrid circuit 18.
Antennas 10 and 20, amplifiers 16 and 22, quadrature modulator 24 and
hybrid circuit 18 can comprise any suitable circuit or arrangement capable
of performing the function described.
The output signal from quadrature modulator 24 provides an estimated
interference cancellation signal which is combined with the amplified
signal received by main antenna 10 in hybrid circuit 18 to provide a
corrected signal, designated S(t), at the output thereof which is
substantially free of interference signal 14. The corrected signal can
next be demodulated to, for example, IF frequencies in down-converter 26
which demodulated signal is filtered in a band pass filter 28 to pass only
a desired band of frequencies as an output to the receiving terminal (not
shown).
In accordance with the present invention, a sample of the output signal of
filter 28 is also applied to the input of a power detector 30 whose output
voltage, designated p(t), is proportional to magnitude of the corrected
signal squared, e.g., .vertline.S(t).vertline..sup.2. It is to be
understood that down converter 26, filter 28 and power detector 30 can
comprise any suitable circuit which is available and functions as
described. More particularly, power detector 30 obtains the envelope of
the power of the corrected signal which resultant signal is at, for
example, baseband frequencies and has lost coherence with the desired
signal.
The output signal from power detector 30 is applied to the input of a
processor 32 which generates control signals that are transmitted over
leads 33 and 34 to the quadrature modulator 24 to appropriately vary the
phase and amplitude of the interfering signal 14 received by antenna 20.
The processor 32 also generates a dither signal which is added to the
control signals to vary the phase and amplitude of the residual
interference in the corrected signal S(t) from hybrid circuit 18 and
achieve maximal interference suppression.
FIG. 2 illustrates a typical quadrature modulator 24 which can be used for
adjusting the phase and amplitude of the interfering signal 14 received at
antenna 20. The exemplary quadrature modulator 24 comprises a quadrature
hybrid 40 which divides the interference signal sample 14 into two
quadrature phased components which are transmitted as separate outputs on
leads 41 and 42. Each of the quadrature phased components on leads 41 and
42 are modulated in mixers 43 and 44, respectively, by control signals
from processor 32 on respective leads 33 and 34. The two components from
mixers 43 and 44 are then recombined in a hybrid 46 to generate the
estimated cancellation signal which is then combined with the main antenna
10 output in hybrid 18 to give the corrected signal S(t). It is to be
understood that the quadrature hybrid 40, mixers 43 and 44 and hybrid 46
of the exemplary quadrature modulator 24 shown in FIG. 2 can comprise any
suitable circuit which is known. Additionally any other suitable
quadrature modulator which is known may also be used.
FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of processor 32 for use in the present
adaptive interference suppression arrangement to generate the necessary
control signals for appropriately adjusting the phase and amplitude of the
quadrature phased components in mixers 43 and 44 of exemplary quadrature
modulator 24 of FIG. 2. Processor 32 is shown as comprising a first and a
second control signal generating section designated 50 and 60,
respectively.
First control signal section 50 includes a square wave generating source 52
which is capable of generating a square wave signal within a first
frequency band within the baseband frequency but less then the bandwidth
of the IF frequency band, which square wave signal is designated d.sub.1
(t). Square wave signal d.sub.1 (t) is applied to one terminal of a
multiplying circuit 54 which multiplies this signal d.sub.1 (t) with the
output from power detector 30 to generate an output signal which is
representative of such product. The output signal from multiplying circuit
54 is integrated with respect to time in an integrator circuit 55 which
generates an output signal representative of such integration and is
designated .beta..sub.1.
The square wave signal d.sub.1 (t) from generator 52 is also transmitted
through a variable attenuator 56 to generate a desired weighted output
signal which is designated kd.sub.1 (t). Adjustment of variable attenuator
56 in turn adjusts the weighting factor, k, introduced in the square wave
signal d.sub.1 (t) passing therethrough. The output signal .beta..sub.1
from integrator circuit 55 and the weighted square wave signal kd.sub.1
(t) from attenuator 56 are added in summing circuit 58 to generate a
control signal which has a small dither signal added thereto. This control
and dither signal are transmitted over lead 34 to quadrature modulator 24
for appropriately varying the amplitude and phase of the signal being
applied to mixer 44 on lead 42 in the exemplary modulator of FIG. 2.
Second control section 60 of processor 32 comprises an apparatus
arrangement which corresponds to that of first control section 50. In
second control section 60, a square wave generator 62 generates a square
wave signal d.sub.2 (t) at a second frequency band within the baseband
frequency but less than the bandwidth of the IF frequency band. It is to
be understood that the first frequency band and the second frequency band
generated by square wave generators 52 and 62, respectively, comprise
different frequency bands within the bandwidth of the baseband frequency.
The square wave signal from generator 62 and designated d.sub.2 (t) is
multiplied with the output signal from power detector 30 in a multiplying
circuit 64 which resultant signal is integrated over time in integrator
circuit 65. The square wave signal from generator 62 is weighted by
variable attenuator 66 to provide a weighted output signal designated
kd.sub.2 (t). The weighted output signal from variable attenuator can be
controlled by adjustment of the variable attenuator and such desired
signal is added to the output of integrator 65, designated .beta..sub.2,
in summing circuit 68. The output of summing circuit 68 is a control
signal with a small dither signal added which is applied over lead 33 to
quadrature modulator 24 for appropriately varying the amplitude and phase
of the signal being applied to mixer 43 on lead 41 in the exemplary
modulator of FIG. 2. It is to be understood that square wave generators 52
and 62, multipliers 54 and 64, integrators 55 and 65, variable attenuator
56 and 66 and summing circuits 58 and 68 can comprise any suitable circuit
for achieving the functions described hereinbefore.
In operation, antennas 10 and 20 are properly oriented towards the
satellite and interference source, respectively, and the received signals
pass through the various circuits shown in FIGS. 1-3 as outlined
hereinbefore. Attenuators 56 and 66 of processor 32 are then adjusted
until the power level at the output of filter 28 is at a minimum. Such
minimum value indicates that the power level of the interference signal
has been substantially minimized to a zero value and basically only the
desired signal, M(t), forms the output signal of the present adaptive
interference suppression arrangement.
For an analysis of the present arrangement, it will be assumed that the
main antenna 10 output is represented by equation (1) as indicated
hereinbefore, and that the auxiliary antenna 20 output is represented by
B(t)=I(t) (2)
as indicated hereinbefore where M(t) and I(t) are the desired and
interfering signal, respectively. The output from quadrature modulator 24
can then be represented by
[.beta.+k.delta.(t)]I(t) (3)
where k.delta.(t) is a small dither signal which is used for correlation
and is continuously fed by processor 32. This dither signal can be
represented by
##EQU1##
where d.sub.1 (t) and d.sub.2 (t) are the two independent square waves
generated by generators 52 and 62, respectively. .beta.(t)=.beta..sub.1
(t)+j.beta..sub.2 (t) is the control voltage generated by processor 32.
The corrected signal S(t) generated at the output of hybrid 18 will be
S(t)=M(t)+[.alpha.+.beta.+k.delta.(t)]I(t) . (5)
A sample of the corrected signal is fed to a power detector 30 whose output
voltage p(t) is proportional to .vertline.S(t).vertline..sup.2. Therefore,
##EQU2##
where the symbol * denotes the complex conjugate.
The mean of the contribution from terms involving the cross product of the
two signals would be zero as they will be uncorrelated. It would, however,
introduce a variance in the control voltage the magnitude of which would
depend on the frequency separation between the two carriers, their
spectral shape and the filtering before and after the power detector. For
the purpose of this analysis this contribution has been assumed to be zero
from now on. So
p(t)=C[.vertline.M(t).vertline..sup.2
+{.vertline.(.alpha.+.beta.).vertline..sup.2 +k.sup.2
.vertline..delta.(t).vertline..sup.2
+k.delta.(t)(.alpha.+.beta.)*+k.delta.*(t)(.alpha.+.beta.)}.vertline.I(t).
vertline..sup.2 ] . (7)
The output of the power detector 30 is now multiplied by .delta.(t) in
multipliers 54 and 64 to determine the correlation and then integrated in
integrators 55 and 65 to give the control voltage .beta.(t) which is
represented by
p(t).delta.(t)=C[.delta.(t).vertline.M(t).vertline..sup.2
+{.delta.(t).vertline..alpha.+.beta..vertline..sup.2 +k.sup.2
.delta.(t)+k.delta..sup.2
(t)(.alpha.+.beta.)*+k.vertline..delta.(t).vertline..sup.2
(.alpha.+.beta.)}.vertline.I(t).vertline..sup.2 ] . (8)
The time averages .delta.(t) and .delta..sup.2 (t)=0 and, furthermore,
.vertline..delta.(t).vertline..sup.2 =2. Therefore,
##EQU3##
So .beta.(t) the control voltage will in the steady state approach
-.alpha.. The effective time constant of this circuit depends on the
magnitude of the dither k, the loop gain C and also on the interference
power received at the auxiliary antenna.
In an actual system, if the path lengths from the interfering source to the
cancellation point are different for the main and auxiliary antenna
outputs, the phase variations over the bandwidth of the interference will
not be the same for the two paths and so the cancellation will not be
equally effective over the total bandwidth of the interference. Path delay
equalizers can be used in the auxiliary antenna output path to deal with
this problem. Unequal cancellation over the band can also occur due to the
frequency dependence of the sidelobes of the main antenna. It has been
suggested that such problem may be overcome by using an equalizer to
predistort the auxiliary antenna output to resemble the interference
picked up by the main antenna sidelobes.
It is to be understood that the above-described embodiments are simply
illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various other
modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art which
will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and
scope thereof.
* * * * *
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