Soft Handoff Using A Multi-Beam Antenna System
A method for providing soft handoff between antennas in a multi-antenna system is provided according to some embodiments of the disclosure. A first packetized digital data stream may be received from a satellite using a first antenna and the data stream may include a plurality of packets that each include a header and data. The data may be provided, forwarded or stored in memory. In the meantime, a second packetized digital data stream is monitored. The second packetized digital data stream may be received from the satellite using a second antenna. The phase difference between the first packetized digital data stream and the second packetized digital data stream may be determined and added or subtracted from the second packetized digital data stream. The second packetized digital data stream may then be provided, forwarded or stored in memory.
1 . A method comprising:
receiving a first packetized digital data stream, wherein the first packetized digital data stream is received from a satellite using a first antenna, and wherein the first packetized digital data stream includes a plurality of packets comprising a header and data;
providing the data from the first packetized digital data stream;
monitoring a second packetized digital data stream, wherein the second packetized digital data stream is received from the satellite using a second antenna, and wherein the second packetized digital data stream includes a plurality of packets, each packet comprising a header and data;
determining the phase difference between the first packetized digital data stream and the second packetized digital data stream;
subtracting the phase difference to the second packetized digital data stream; and
providing the data from the second packetized digital data stream.
2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining the phase difference determines the phase difference based on the packet headers of the two data streams.
3 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising receiving an indication that the data from the second packetized digital data stream should be received and written into memory.
4 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising determining that the data from the second packetized digital data stream should be received and written into memory.
5 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising determining that the signal-to-noise ratio of the second packetized digital data stream is greater than the signal-to-noise ration of the first packetized digital data stream.
6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the providing includes providing the packetized digital data stream to user through a local network.
7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the providing includes writing the packetized digital data stream to memory.
8 . A method comprising:
receiving a first packetized digital data stream, wherein the first packetized digital data stream is received from a satellite using a first antenna, and wherein the first packetized digital data stream includes a plurality of packets, each packet comprising a header and data;
receiving a second packetized digital data stream, wherein the second packetized digital data stream is received from the satellite using a second antenna, and wherein the second packetized digital data stream includes a plurality of packets, each packet comprising a header and data;
determining the phase difference between the first packetized digital data stream and the second packetized digital data stream;
subtracting the phase difference to the second packetized digital data stream; and
combining the data from the second packetized digital data stream and the first packetized digital data stream.
9 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the determining the phase difference determines the phase difference based on the packet headers of the two data streams.
10 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the combining combines the data streams using maximum ratio combining.
11 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the combining combines the data streams based on the relative strength of each data stream.
12 . A satellite transceiver comprising:
a plurality of antennas, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of antennas are arranged around a central location, wherein the azimuth coverage of the plurality of antennas comprises at least about 360°, and wherein the elevation coverage of each antenna comprises between about 5° and about 90°;
a processor coupled with the plurality of antennas, wherein the processor selects at least one antenna from the plurality of antennas for communication with a satellite; and
memory configured to store processor instructions and data, the processor instructions including:
instructions for receiving a first packetized digital data stream, wherein the first packetized digital data stream is received from a satellite using a first antenna, and wherein the first packetized digital data stream includes a plurality of packets, each packet comprising a header and data;
instructions for writing the data from the first packetized digital data stream into memory;
instructions for monitoring a second packetized digital data stream, wherein the second packetized digital data stream is received from the satellite using a second antenna, and wherein the second packetized digital data stream includes a plurality of packets, each packet comprising a header and data;
instructions for determining the phase difference between the first packetized digital data stream and the second packetized digital data stream;
instructions for subtracting the phase difference to the second packetized digital data stream; and
instructions for writing the data from the second packetized digital data stream into memory.