SYNCHRONIZED MULTIPLE-RADIO ANTENNA SYSTEMS AND METHODS
Multi-radio antenna apparatuses and stations for wireless networks including multiple radios coupled to a single transmit/receive antenna, in which the antenna is highly synchronized by an external (e.g., GPS) signal. These multi-radio antenna systems may provide highly resilient links. Synchronization may allow these apparatuses to organically scale the transmission throughput while preventing data loss. The single transmit/receive antenna may have a single dish or a compound (e.g., a single pair of separate transmitting and receiving dishes) and connections for two or more radios.
1 . A method for operating a radio system, the method comprising:
simultaneously transmitting, by a plurality of radios, transmit and receive duty cycle information;
generating an output signal by at least a subset of the plurality of radios, wherein a frequency of a first output signal for a first radio is different from a frequency of a second output signal for each other radio;
combining the first output signal and the second output signal from the plurality of radios to form a transmission signal; and
transmitting the transmission signal from a single antenna in accordance with the transmit and receive duty cycle information.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the output signals from the subset of the plurality of radios are generated simultaneously.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein timing of the transmit and receive duty cycle information transmission is based on a global positioning satellite (GPS) signal.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmit and receive duty cycle information is transmitted within a preamble.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the preamble indicates a beginning of a transmit frame.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of radios simultaneously transmit and receive data symbols in accordance with the transmit and receive duty cycle information.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein combining the respective output signals includes coupling the respective output signals to a passive power combiner and forming, by the passive power combiner, the transmission signal.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising simultaneously receiving a plurality of different radio frequency (RF) signals through the single antenna.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of received RF signals include a plurality of RF signals having different frequency channels.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitted transmit and receive duty cycle information aligns transmit and receive operations associated with radios receiving the transmission signal.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein timing of the transmitted transmit and receive duty cycle information is based on an external clock signal.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the external clock signal is received though the single antenna.
13 . An apparatus for transmitting radio signals comprising:
a plurality of radios configured to:
simultaneously transmit, by the plurality of radios, transmit and receive duty cycle information;
generate, from at least a subset of the plurality of radios, an output signal, wherein a frequency of a first output signal for a first radio is different from a frequency of a second output signal for each other radio;
combine, by a combiner, the first output signal and the second output signal from the plurality of radios to form a transmission signal; and
a single antenna configured to transmit the transmission signal in accordance with the transmit and receive duty cycle information.
14 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the output signals from the subset of the plurality of radios are generated simultaneously.
15 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein timing of the transmit and receive duty cycle information transmission is based on a global positioning satellite (GPS) signal.
16 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of radios are further configured to transmit the transmit and receive duty cycle information within a preamble.
17 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the preamble indicates a beginning of a transmit frame.
18 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of radios are configured to simultaneously transmit and receive data in accordance with the transmit and receive duty cycle information.
19 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the transmitted transmit and receive duty cycle information aligns transmit and receive operations associated with radios receiving the transmission signal.
20 . A method for operating a radio system, the method comprising:
receiving, from a plurality of radios, transmit and receive duty cycle information; and
receiving a transmission signal from a single antenna in accordance with the transmit and receive duty cycle information, wherein the transmission signal includes a first output signal and a second output signal, wherein the first output signal is from a first radio using a first frequency and the second output signal is from a second radio using a second frequency different from the first frequency.