Search

US-20260126510-A1 - RF SIGNAL ANGLE OF ARRIVAL IDENTIFICATION WITH ADJUSTABLE ANTENNA ARRAY

US20260126510A1US 20260126510 A1US20260126510 A1US 20260126510A1US-20260126510-A1

Abstract

According to examples, an apparatus for identifying an angle of arrival of RF signals from an RF emitter may include a chassis, an antenna array spacer, and a first RF antenna and a second RF antenna connected to the antenna array spacer. The first RF antenna and the second RF antenna may movable along the antenna array spacer. In addition, the apparatus may include an antenna controller to output combined signals received by the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna and adjust phases of the RF signals received by the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna. The apparatus may further include an interface controller to output the combined signals to a test device having a display, in which the test device may include a processor to determine an angle of arrival of the combined signals.

Inventors

  • Eduardo Inzunza
  • Hyuck In Kwon
  • Seong-Mann Joe

Assignees

  • VIAVI SOLUTIONS INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251216

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . An apparatus for identifying an angle of arrival of radio frequency (RF) signals from an RF emitter, the apparatus comprising: a chassis; an antenna array spacer mounted to the chassis; a first RF antenna connected to the antenna array spacer; a second RF antenna connected to the antenna array spacer, wherein both the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna are movable along the antenna array spacer; an antenna controller to output combined signals received by the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna; and an interface controller to output the combined signals to a test device having a display, the test device comprising a processor to determine an angle of arrival of the combined signals.
  2. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna are RF directional antennas.
  3. 3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising: a camera mounted to the chassis, wherein the camera faces a common direction as the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna and is to capture images in a field of view of the camera.
  4. 4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , further comprising: a processing unit to output images captured by the camera to the test device, wherein the processor of the test device is to cause the captured images to be displayed on a display of the test device with an indication of the determined angle of arrival of the combined signals.
  5. 5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the antenna array spacer is mounted to the chassis to be rotatable with respect to the chassis.
  6. 6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spacing between the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna directly influences a frequency of an RF signal being tested by the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna, and wherein the antenna array spacer comprises marks that identify locations at which the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna are to be positioned for a certain frequency of the RF signal to be tested.
  7. 7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising: a global positioning system device housed in the chassis; and an electronic compass housed in the chassis.
  8. 8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising: a handle mounted on the chassis, the chassis housing an RF coupler to couple signals detected by the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna into the combined signals and to provide the combined signals to the antenna controller.
  9. 9 . A system for identifying and visualizing a direction of arrival of radio frequency (RF) signals from an RF emitter, the system comprising: a test device comprising: a processor; and a display; and an apparatus comprising: an antenna array spacer; a first RF antenna movably mounted on the antenna array spacer; a second RF antenna movably mounted on the antenna array spacer, wherein the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna are to be moved to vary a distance between the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna, and wherein the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna are to detect RF signals; a camera to capture images in a field of view of the camera; and wherein the detected RF signals and the captured images are to be outputted to the test device, and wherein the test device comprises a processor to determine a direction of arrival of the detected RF signals and to cause an indication of the determined direction of arrival and the captured images to be displayed on the display.
  10. 10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the apparatus further comprises: a chassis, wherein the antenna array spacer is mounted to the chassis.
  11. 11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the antenna array spacer is rotatably mounted to the chassis.
  12. 12 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the distance between the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna is defined by a wavelength of an RF signal being tested, and wherein the antenna array spacer comprises marks that identify locations at which the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna are to be positioned for a certain frequency of the RF signal to be tested.
  13. 13 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the apparatus further comprises: an antenna controller to combine RF signals received by the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna, wherein the antenna controller is to output the combined RF signals to the test device.
  14. 14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the processor of the test device is to perform a multiple signal classification algorithm through: control of phases of the combined RF signal received from the antenna controller to identify a peak spectrum that occurs when a steering vector of the RF signals detected by the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna is orthogonal to noise as a peak angle of arrival of the detected RF signals.
  15. 15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is to: output instructions to the antenna controller to adjust the phases of the RF signals detected by the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna; receive combined RF signals corresponding to the adjusted phases; and determine the direction of arrival of the detected RF signals from the received combined RF signals.
  16. 16 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is to cause the indication of the determined direction to be displayed as a heat map overlayed on the displayed captured images.
  17. 17 . A method for identifying and visualizing an angle of arrival of radio frequency (RF) signals from an RF emitter, the method comprising: receiving, by a processor of a test device, data from an apparatus, wherein the data comprises combined RF signals detected by a phased array of a first RF antenna and a second RF antenna over a range of phase shifts and at least one image captured by a camera; determining, by the processor, an angle of arrival of the combined RF signals from the combined RF signals over the range of phase shifts; causing, by the processor, the at least one image captured by the camera to be displayed on a display; and causing, by the processor, the determined angle of arrival to be displayed as an overlay on the displayed at least one image.
  18. 18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising: outputting instructions to an antenna controller of the apparatus to adjust the phases of the RF signals detected by the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna; receiving the combined RF signals corresponding to the adjusted phases from the antenna controller; and determining the angle of arrival of the combined RF signals from the received combined RF signals corresponding to the adjusted phases from the antenna controller.
  19. 19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising: identifying a peak spectrum that occurs when a steering vector of the RF signals caused by the adjusted phases is orthogonal to noise, wherein a direction of the steering vector corresponds to the angle of arrival of the detected RF signals.
  20. 20 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising: determining spectrums of the combined RF signals over the range of phase shifts; generating a heat map corresponding to the determined spectrums of the combined RF signals over the range of phase shifts, wherein the heat map indicates the determined angle of arrival; and causing the heat map to be displayed as the overlay on the displayed at least one image.

Description

PRIORITY This application is a Continuation-in-Part of commonly assigned and co-pending U.S. Patent Application No. 19/097,117, filed April 1, 2025, titled “RF INTERFERENCE LOCALIZATION AND VISUALIZATION,” which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/689,381, filed August 30, 2024, titled “RF INTERFERENCE LOCALIZATION AND VISUALIZATION,” the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates generally to apparatuses for detecting radio frequency (RF) signals. The disclosure relates more particularly to apparatuses for identifying an angle of arrival of RF signals from an RF emitter and for displaying images of an environment in which the RF signals are detected with information regarding the identified angle of arrival of the RF signals. BACKGROUND A cell site, also known as a cell tower or cellular base station, includes a radio, an antenna and electronic communications equipment that are often mounted on towers or rooftops to support cellular communication. The cell site communicates over the air with user equipment (UE) or customer premise equipment (CPE), and has a network interface via wireless or wireline networks, which may include fiber optic cables and coaxial cables. Cellular mobile devices communicating with cell sites generally constitute a local subnetwork, while the connection between the cell site and the rest of the world may be referred to as a backhaul link or simply backhaul. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Features of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of examples shown in the following figures. In the following figures, like numerals indicate like elements, in which: FIG. 1 shows a test environment in which an apparatus for identifying an angle of arrival of radio frequency (RF) signals from an RF emitter may be employed, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the apparatus for identifying an angle of arrival of RF signals from an RF emitter shown in FIG. 1, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a system for identifying an angle of arrival of RF signals from an RF emitter, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the test device shown in FIG. 3, and particularly, the processor and the memory of the test device, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG. 5A shows a graphical representation of a MUSIC spectrum resulting from an example spectrum determination operation, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG. 5B shows a diagram of a heat map that corresponds to the graphical representation shown in FIG. 5A, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of a method for identifying and visualizing an angle of arrival of RF signals from an RF emitter, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIGS. 7A and 7B, respectively, show diagrams of a system for identifying and visualizing a direction or angle of arrival of an RF emitter, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIGS. 8A-8C, respectively, show perspective views of an apparatus for identifying an angle of arrival of RF signals from an RF emitter, according to an example of the present disclosure; and FIG. 8D shows a diagram of the antenna array spacer with a plurality of antenna spacer marks, according to an example of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the present disclosure is described by referring mainly to examples thereof. In the following description, details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. It will be readily apparent however, that the present disclosure may be practiced without limitation to these details. In other instances, some methods and structures have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present disclosure. Throughout the present disclosure, the terms “a” and “an” are intended to be at least one of a particular element. As used herein, the term “includes” means includes but not limited to, the term “including” means including but not limited to. The term “based on” means based at least in part on. In addition, relative terms such as “approximately,” “about,” “substantially,” “around,” and similar expressions, when used in connection with a quantity or condition, should be understood to include the stated value as well as variations dictated by context. Such variations may account for measurement error, manufacturing or assembly tolerances, usage conditions, or other practical considerations. These terms should also be interpreted as covering the range defined by the absolute values of the stated endpoints. For example, the expression “from about 5 to about 10” encompasses the range “from 5 to 10.” In some contexts, the relative terminology may also denote a variation of plus or minus a