US-20260126288-A1 - ANTENNA ALIGNMENT SYSTEM INCLUDING EARTH BROWSER OBTAINED ACTUAL POSITION DATA AND RELATED METHODS

Abstract

An antenna alignment system for point-to-point alignment of first and second spaced apart antennas may include an antenna alignment tool configured to be temporarily mounted adjacent the first antenna and determine actual alignment data for the first antenna. The antenna alignment system may also include a technician tool configured to display a geographical earth representation within an earth browser, permit user selection of the second antenna within the earth browser, and obtain actual position data for the second antenna as selected within the earth browser. The technician tool may also be configured to determine target alignment data for aligning the first antenna toward the second antenna based upon the actual position data for the second antenna.

Inventors

• James A. Wattwood
• Nicole ICOVITTI

Assignees

• SUNSIGHT HOLDINGS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251030

Claims (20)

1. 1 . An antenna alignment system for point-to-point alignment of first and second spaced apart antennas, the antenna alignment system comprising: an antenna alignment tool configured to be temporarily mounted adjacent the first antenna and determine actual alignment data for the first antenna; and a technician tool configured to display a geographical earth representation within an earth browser, permit user selection of the second antenna within the earth browser, obtain actual position data for the second antenna as selected within the earth browser, and determine target alignment data for aligning the first antenna toward the second antenna based upon the actual position data for the second antenna.
2. 2 . The antenna alignment system of claim 1 wherein the technician tool is configured to display the actual alignment data and target alignment data.
3. 3 . The antenna alignment system of claim 1 wherein the actual position data for the second antenna comprises at least one of latitude, longitude, and elevation of the second antenna.
4. 4 . The antenna alignment system of claim 1 wherein the actual alignment data for the first antenna comprises at least one of an actual azimuth alignment and an actual elevation angle alignment for the first antenna.
5. 5 . The antenna alignment system of claim 1 wherein the antenna alignment tool comprises: an antenna alignment tool housing to be temporarily mounted to the first antenna; a geographic position determining device carried by the antenna alignment tool housing; at least one alignment sensor carried by the antenna alignment tool housing; an antenna alignment tool wireless transceiver carried by the antenna alignment tool housing; and an antenna alignment tool processor carried by the antenna alignment tool housing and coupled to the geographic position determining device, the at least one alignment sensor and the antenna alignment tool wireless transceiver.
6. 6 . The antenna alignment system of claim 1 wherein the technician tool comprises: a technician tool housing; a technician tool wireless transceiver carried by the technician tool housing; a technician tool display carried by the technician tool housing; and a technician tool processor carried by the technician tool housing and coupled to the technician tool wireless transceiver, and technician tool display.
7. 7 . The antenna alignment system of claim 1 wherein the technician tool is configured to communicate via the Internet to display the geographical earth representation within the earth browser and obtain the actual position data for the second antenna.
8. 8 . The antenna alignment system of claim 1 wherein the earth browser comprises Google Earth.
9. 9 . An antenna alignment system for point-to-point alignment of first and second spaced apart antennas, the antenna alignment system comprising: an antenna alignment tool configured to be temporarily mounted adjacent the first antenna and comprising an antenna alignment tool housing to be temporarily mounted to the first antenna, a geographic position determining device carried by the antenna alignment tool housing, at least one alignment sensor carried by the antenna alignment tool housing, an antenna alignment tool wireless transceiver carried by the antenna alignment tool housing, and an antenna alignment tool processor carried by the antenna alignment tool housing and coupled to the geographic position determining device, the at least one alignment sensor and the antenna alignment tool wireless transceiver, the antenna alignment tool processor configured to determine actual alignment data for the first antenna; and a technician tool configured to display a geographical earth representation within an earth browser, permit user selection of the second antenna within the earth browser, obtain actual position data for the second antenna as selected within the earth browser, determine target alignment data for aligning the first antenna toward the second antenna based upon the actual position data for the second antenna, and display the actual alignment data and the target alignment data.
10. 10 . The antenna alignment system of claim 9 wherein the actual position data for the second antenna comprises at least one of latitude, longitude, and elevation of the second antenna.
11. 11 . The antenna alignment system of claim 9 wherein the actual alignment data for the first antenna comprises at least one of an actual azimuth alignment and an actual elevation angle alignment for the first antenna.
12. 12 . The antenna alignment system of claim 9 wherein the technician tool comprises: a technician tool housing; a technician tool wireless transceiver carried by the technician tool housing; a technician tool display carried by the technician tool housing; and a technician tool processor carried by the technician tool housing and coupled to the technician tool wireless transceiver, and technician tool display.
13. 13 . The antenna alignment system of claim 9 wherein the technician tool is configured to communicate via the Internet to display the geographical earth representation within the earth browser and obtain the actual position data for the second antenna.
14. 14 . The antenna alignment system of claim 9 wherein the earth browser comprises Google Earth.
15. 15 . A method of aligning first and second spaced apart antennas, the method comprising: using an antenna alignment tool configured to be temporarily mounted adjacent the first antenna to determine actual alignment data for the first antenna; and using a technician tool to display a geographical earth representation within an earth browser, permit user selection of the second antenna within the earth browser, obtain actual position data for the second antenna as selected within the earth browser, and determine target alignment data for aligning the first antenna toward the second antenna based upon the actual position data for the second antenna.
16. 16 . The method of claim 15 wherein using the technician tool comprises using the technician tool to display the actual alignment data and target alignment data.
17. 17 . The method of claim 15 wherein the actual position data for the second antenna comprises at least one of latitude, longitude, and elevation of the second antenna.
18. 18 . The method of claim 15 wherein the actual alignment data for the first antenna comprises at least one of an actual azimuth alignment and an actual elevation angle alignment for the first antenna.
19. 19 . The method of claim 15 wherein the antenna alignment tool comprises: an antenna alignment tool housing to be temporarily mounted to the first antenna; a geographic position determining device carried by the antenna alignment tool housing; at least one alignment sensor carried by the antenna alignment tool housing; an antenna alignment tool wireless transceiver carried by the antenna alignment tool housing; and an antenna alignment tool processor carried by the antenna alignment tool housing and coupled to the geographic position determining device, the at least one alignment sensor and the antenna alignment tool wireless transceiver.
20. 20 . The method of claim 15 wherein the technician tool comprises: a technician tool housing; a technician tool wireless transceiver carried by the technician tool housing; a technician tool display carried by the technician tool housing; and a technician tool processor carried by the technician tool housing and coupled to the technician tool wireless transceiver, and technician tool display.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims the priority benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 63/717,250 filed on Nov. 6, 2024, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present embodiments are directed to the field of antennas, and, more particularly, to antenna alignment systems and related methods. BACKGROUND It may be desirable to have antennas aligned, not only for operation, but for increased communication efficiency. Present day alignment techniques may be relatively time consuming and involve picking visible landmarks somewhere between two end points or antennas. An educated guess or estimate is made on where the other end point would likely be relative to a given end point. Either or both antennas may be physically adjusted, for example, in azimuth and tilt, in an attempt to align the antennas. This may be particularly difficult as microwave links, for example, can have a length in the 40-mile range, which is beyond a human's visible sight range. This present day guess and check method involves an increased amount of time for a technician to be on top of a tower moving the antenna back and forth in an attempt to find the other end point. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0056525 to Hansryd et al. is directed to a radio antenna alignment tool. More particularly, Hansryd et al. discloses a sensor unit connected to a first directive antenna. The sensor unit determines a present direction of the first directive antenna. An interface on which sensor information that includes the present direction can be accessed. A guide device receives, on a first input port, the present direction of the first directive antenna from the interface of the sensor unit and indicates to a user at least one of the present direction of the first directive antenna, the location of the second antenna, and a preferred direction of the first directive antenna. The preferred direction of the first directive antenna is determined to maximize a signal quality metric for communication between the first directive antenna and at least one second antenna. SUMMARY An antenna alignment system for point-to-point alignment of first and second spaced apart antennas may include an antenna alignment tool configured to be temporarily mounted adjacent the first antenna and determine actual alignment data for the first antenna. The antenna alignment system may also include a technician tool configured to display a geographical earth representation within an earth browser, permit user selection of the second antenna within the earth browser and obtain actual position data for the second antenna as selected within the earth browser. The technician tool may also be configured to determine target alignment data for aligning the first antenna toward the second antenna based upon the actual position data for the second antenna. The technician tool may be configured to display the actual alignment data and target alignment data, for example. The actual position data for the second antenna may include at least one of latitude, longitude, and elevation of the second antenna. The actual alignment data for the first antenna may include at least one of an actual azimuth alignment and an actual elevation angle alignment for the first antenna, for example. The antenna alignment tool may include an antenna alignment tool housing to be temporarily mounted to the first antenna and a geographic position determining device carried by the antenna alignment tool housing. The antenna alignment tool may also include at least one alignment sensor carried by the antenna alignment tool housing and an antenna alignment tool wireless transceiver carried by the antenna alignment tool housing. The antenna alignment tool may further include an antenna alignment tool processor carried by the antenna alignment tool housing and coupled to the geographic position determining device, the at least one alignment sensor and the antenna alignment tool wireless transceiver. The technician tool may include a technician tool housing and a technician tool wireless transceiver carried by the technician tool housing. The technician tool may also include a technician tool display carried by the technician tool housing and a technician tool processor carried by the technician tool housing and coupled to the technician tool wireless transceiver, and technician tool display, for example. The technician tool may be configured to communicate via the Internet to display the geographical earth representation within the earth browser and obtain the actual position data for the second antenna. The earth browser may include Google Earth, for example. A method aspect is directed to a method of aligning first and second spaced apart antennas. The method may include using an antenna alignment tool configured to be temporarily mounted adjacent the first antenna to determine actual alignment data for the first antenna. The method may als