WO2002063791A1

WO2002063791A1 - Method and protected microwave radio with flat antenna

Info

Publication number: WO2002063791A1
Application number: PCT/US2002/003321
Authority: WO
Inventors: Costel Nicolae; Fathy Yowakim
Original assignee: Harris Corporation
Priority date: 2001-02-06
Filing date: 2002-02-06
Publication date: 2002-08-15
Also published as: WO2002065577A8; WO2002065577A2; WO2002065655A8; WO2002063716A8; WO2002063716A1; WO2002065655A1; WO2002063711A9; AU2002308795A1; WO2002065580A1; WO2002063711A1; WO2002065577A3

Abstract

A system and method for mounting microwave radios and flat antennas where the microwave radio (18) and the flat antenna (12) are separable. The separation of the flat antenna and microwave radio allows a protected microwave radio to be mounted on the flat antenna thereby ensuring continuous communication.

Description

METHOD AND PROTECTED MICROWAVE RADIO WITH FLAT ANTENNA

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to point to point microwave communications

systems. More specifically, it relates to a flat antenna and microwave radio assembly

wherein the flat antenna is separately mounted from the microwave radio and to a method

of obviating the need to realign the antenna when replacing the radio.

Microwave radio/antenna assemblies are typically mounted on rooftops or towers

where space is a premium and maintenance is dangerous. Known microwave

communication systems generally include a microwave radio integrated with a flat

antenna to form a non-separable assembly. The maintenance cost of such integrated

assemblies is generally high because the entire assembly had to be replaced upon failure

of the radio. Even where the radio and flat antenna are detachable, it has been the

practice to mount the radio to the supporting structure and to detachably mount the flat

antenna to the radio. Failure of the radio required the detaching of the flat antenna from

the radio, supporting the antenna while the radio is detached, replacing the radio and then

reattaching the antenna. This procedure generally disturbs the orientation of the antenna

in space requiring time consuming realignment.

It is known to protect radios, i.e. two radios are enclosed in a common enclosure

with a RF combiner so that the radios operate respectively in a mutually exclusive

active/stand-by mode. The larger size and increased weight of the protected radios only

exacerbates the problems discussed above. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to obviate many of the above

problems and to provide a novel system and method for mounting microwave radios and

flat antennas.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel system and method

for independently mounting microwave radios and flat antennas.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a novel system and

method for removing a microwave radio from a radio and antenna assembly without

disturbing the orientation of the flat antenna in space.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel system and

method for detachably attaching microwave radios and flat antennas within a radio and

antenna assembly.

method for detachably attaching microwave radios and RF combiners to form a protected

radio assembly.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel system and method

for protecting communications within a microwave radio and flat antenna assembly.

These and many other objects and advantages of the present invention will be

readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a perusal of

the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of the

preferred embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a pictorial representation of a prior art integrated radio and flat antenna.

Figure 2 is a partially exploded pictorial view of a flat antenna and radio supported

by a common bracket.

Figure 3 is a partially exploded pictorial view of flat antenna and radio connected

through an interface plate.

Figure 4 is a pictorial view of a split pole mount with the operative connection

established through a flexible waveguide.

Figure 5 is an exploded pictorial view of a protected radio system and flat antenna

operatively connected through an interface plate.

Figure 6 is a pictorial view of a split pole mounted protected radio system and flat

antenna operatively connected through a flexible wave guide.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the drawings where like numerals represent like components,

and particularly to Figure 1, a prior art fully integrated microwave radio and flat antenna

assembly 10 is depicted. Such assemblies are compact but suffer from the disadvantages

discussed above. As shown in Figure 2, the flat antenna 12 may be individually

packaged and attached to the supporting structure, in this instance a pole 14, by a suitable

conventional bracket 16. In this way, the antenna may be oriented in space for

communication with a desired node and the radio 18 attached to and supported by the

antenna 12. Both the antenna 12 and the radio 18 may be provided with mating

operational connectors such as illustrated at 20 and the attachment of the radio 18 to the antenna 12 may be by suitable conventional latches 22. Because the radio is mounted to

the antenna, the radio may be detached from the antenna without disturbing the

orientation of the antenna in space.

In the embodiment of the present invention depicted in Figure 3, the microwave

radio 18 and the flat antenna 12 may both be detachably connected to an interface plate

24 on opposite sides thereof, the interface plate 24 being supported on the underlying

support structure by any suitable conventional mounting bracket 26. In this embodiment,

the operable connection between the radio 18 and the antenna 12 is made by connection

of the components to the interface plate 24.

As shown in Figure 4, the separately housed radio 18 and antenna 12 made be

individually mounted and operatively connected by a flexible wave guide 30. The ability

to physically separate the radio 18 from the antenna 12 provides additional flexibility in

mounting. For example, the less often accessed antenna may be located in a higher and

less accessible location on the supporting structure and the more often accessed radio

located in a more accessible location.

The radio 18 is unprotected, i.e. it has no back-up radio in a stand-by mode to

become operable in the event of failure. Protected radios enclosed in a single housing are

known, and a protected radio may be mounted in any of the ways illustrated for an

unprotected radio. In addition, a protected radio system 50 may comprise an RF

combiner 32 to which are connected unprotected radios 18. The protected radio system

50 may be directly connected to the antenna 12 with the antenna 12 supported by the

supporting structure by a bracket 26 as shown in Figure 5. The RF combiner may be removed without disturbing the antenna as may the individual radios which comprise the

protected radio system 50 leaving the other radio operational.

Alternatively, and as shown for example in Figure 6, the RF combiner 32 may be

separately mounted from the antenna 12 in any suitable location such as exteriorly on a

pole or interiorly in a conventional rack. In all cases, the operable connection is made

through a flexible wave guide 30.

By mounting the RF combiner 32 and the flat antenna 12 on individual mounting

brackets 26, either the microwave radio 18 or the flat antenna 12 may be removed and

replaced without disturbing the other component. In this configuration the operative

connection between the microwave radio 18 via the RF combiner 32 and the flat antenna

12 is through a flexible waveguide 30.

In one aspect, the present invention separates the microwave radio from the flat

antenna, providing flexibility in mounting and facilitating replacement of the radio

without disturbing the orientation of the antenna in space. This separation is also

possible with protected radio systems and the operative connection may be made with a

flexible waveguide.

Using interface plates increases the ease and convenience of maintaining a radio

and antenna assembly with a separate radio and flat antenna. Both the microwave radio

and the flat antenna may be configured to include an interface plate as the back of the

microwave radio or flat antenna housing. The plates are used to mount the microwave

radio or flat antenna to a bracket carrying an opposing interface plate. Alternatively, the

components may be combined into a single interface plate to which both the antenna and radios may connect. In all configurations, the radios may easily be removed and

replaced.

No longer does the fully integrated design of known assemblies prevent the use of

flat antennas with protected radio systems. The non-separable prior art assembly did not

accommodate the use of an RF combiner, and therefore, a point to point microwave

communications system with a flat antenna could not utilize a protected radio system to

ensure continuous communication.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, it is to

be understood that the embodiments described are illustrative only and that the scope of

the invention is to be defined solely by the appended claims when accorded a full range

of equivalence, many variations and modifications naturally occurring to those of skill in

the art from a perusal hereof.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. In a point-to-point communications system having an antenna and two

microwave radios operative in a mutually exclusive active/stand-by mode and connected

through an RF combiner, the improvement wherein the antenna is a flat antenna.

2. The improvement of Claim 1 wherein the antenna, the RF combiner and the

two radios are mutually connected to form a single assembly.

3. In a point-to-point communications system having an antenna and two

through an RF combiner, the improvement wherein the RF combiner and the two radios

are carried by the antenna.

4. A flat antenna and a protected microwave radio assembly for a point-to-

point communications system, said assembly comprising:

a bracket adapted for attachment to a supporting structure;

a flat antenna mounted on said bracket so as to provide a predetermined

orientation in space of said flat antenna;

an RF combiner carried by said flat antenna and being operatively connected

thereto; and

first and second microwave radios operatively connected to said RF combiner,

said first and second radios being mounted on said RF combiner independently of the

mounting of each other and said flat antenna so that each of said microwave radios may

be selectively removed from the assembly and replaced without disturbing the orientation

of said flat antenna in space, and

so that a radio in stand-by mode may be removed without interfering with the

communication system.

5. The flat antenna and microwave radio assembly of Claim 4 wherein said

RF combiner is generally in the form of a cube with the front face mounted to said flat

antenna and with said first and second radios being mounted respectively on opposite

sides thereof.

6. A flat antenna and a protected microwave radio assembly for a point-to-

point communications system, said assembly comprising:

an RF combiner;

a flat antenna operatively connected to said RF combiner; and

first and second microwave radios operatively connected to said RF combiner,

of said flat antenna in space, and so that a radio in stand-by mode may be removed

without interfering with the communications system.

7. The flat antenna and microwave assembly of Claim 6 wherein said RF

combiner is generally in the form of a cube with said first and second radios being

mounted respectively on opposite sides thereof.

8. The flat antenna and microwave assembly of Claim 6 wherein said flat

antenna and said RF combiner are spaced apart and independently supported in space so

that the removal of said RF combiner will not disturb the orientation of said flat antenna

in space, said flat antenna and said RF combiner being operatively connected by a

flexible waveguide.

9. The flat antenna and microwave assembly of Claim 6 wherein said RF

combiner is mounted to said flat antenna to thereby form a single assembly.

10. The flat antenna and microwave assembly of Claim 9 wherein said RF

combiner is mounted to said flat antenna independently of the mounting of said first and

second radios to said RF combiner.

11. In a microwave point-to-point radio communications system having a flat

antenna, a method for protecting the communications comprising the steps of:

(a) mounting a flat antenna to a supporting structure;

(b) mounting an RF combiner to a supporting structure;

(c) mounting first and second microwave radios to the RF combiner

independently of each other so that the radio operating in the stand-by mode may be

selectively removed without interfering with communications;

(d) operatively connecting the first and second radios to the RF combiner in a

mutually exclusive active/stand-by mode; and

(e) operatively connecting the flat antenna to the RF combiner.

12. The system of Claim 11 wherein the flat antenna is operatively connected

to the RF combiner via a flexible waveguide.

13. The system of Claim 11 wherein the RF combiner is mounted to the flat

antenna to form therewith a single assembly and said flat antenna is operatively

connected to the first and second radios through the RF combiner.