Devices, Systems, and Software including Signal Power Measuring and Methods and Software for Measuring Signal Power
20210123959 ยท 2021-04-29
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
International classification
G01R13/02
PHYSICS
Abstract
Systems, devices, software, and methods of the present invention enable frequency-based signal power analyses in software suitable for signal with either stationary and non-stationary spectrums. The methods that may be used throughout various systems including transmitters receivers, repeater, controllers, monitors, etc. and in software simulators to enable various signal power calculations and analyses, such as frequency spectrum analysis, throughout operating systems and that may be consistently applied in system design and operation simulations in a wide range of applications, such as interference and spectrum monitoring or clearance, object tracking, transmission channel and noise analyses, radiated power analysis, signal boundary interference, satellite downlink signal identification, pulsed radar monitoring, audio detection and identification, etc.
Claims
1. A receiver comprising: a signal collector; a software spectrum analyzer to having an input in electrical communication with the signal collector, an output, and at least one processor to: receive an input signal, SIGin, from the input over a time interval, dt, and having a signal length, sig_len, and power distributed over an input frequency spectrum; segmenting the input frequency spectrum into a plurality of frequency bins; calculate, for each frequency bin, a mixing frequency, f_mix, where
f_mix=f_sourcef_target, where f_target=a target intermediate frequency for signal in the frequency bin, f_source=a frequency associated with the frequency bin, and a mixing stream, cos_mix, where
cos_mix=cos(0:rads_per_sample:rads_per_signal), and where
rads_per_sample=f_mix*dt*2*,
rads_per_signal=rads_per_sample*(sig_len1); generate, for each frequency bin, an intermediate frequency signal, sig_IF=SIGin*cos_mix; apply, for each frequency bin, an intermediate frequency (IF) bandpass filter, ifbpf, to sig_IF to generate a filtered IF signal, sig_IF_filtered; calculate, for each frequency bin, a bin power, bin_power, of the filtered IF signal by summing the square of the amplitudes in filtered IF signal and dividing this sum by the time interval, dt; compare the bin power, bin_power, in each frequency bin to at least one expected frequency spectrum; and output the comparison of the bin power in each frequency bin to the at least one expected frequency spectrum.
2. The receiver of claim 1, where the at least one processor is further to identify unexpected signals by comparing the bin power for each frequency bin to the at least one expected frequency spectrum.
3. The receiver of claim 1, where the at least one processor is further to identify an object based on comparing the bin power for each frequency bin to the at least one expected spectrum.
4. The receiver of claim 1, where the signal collector provides multiple input signals and the at least one processor is further to identify unexpected signals having the highest signal power from the multiple input signals.
5. The receiver of claim 1, where the at least one processor is further to identify an undesired signal by comparing the bin powers in each frequency bin to at least one undesired signal spectrum; and adjusting the power level of the undesired signal.
6. The receiver of claim 1, where the receiver is part of one of a radar system, object tracking system, object detection system, terrestrial wireless communication system, satellite wireless communication system, signal detection system and signal monitoring system.
7. The receiver of claim 1, where the expected signal is at least one signal in a communication system having at least one channel in the input frequency spectrum.
8. The receiver of claim 1, where the input signal, SIGin, is at least one of filtered and normalized, and the at least one of filtered and normalized input signal is used to calculate the intermediate frequency signal in lieu of SIGin.
9. The receiver of claim 1, where the bin power in each frequency bin is calculated in parallel.
10. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising: one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive an input signal, SIGin, over a time interval, dt, and having a signal length, sig_len, and power distributed over an input frequency spectrum; segmenting the input frequency spectrum into a plurality of frequency bins; calculate, for each frequency bin, a mixing frequency, f_mix, where
f_mix=f_sourcef_target, where f_target=a target intermediate frequency for signal in the frequency bin, f_source=a frequency associated with the frequency bin, and a mixing stream, cos_mix, where
cos_mix=cos(0:rads_per_sample:rads_per_signal), and where
rads_per_sample=f_mix*dt*2*,
rads_per_signal=rads_per_sample*(sig_len1); generate, for each frequency bin, an intermediate frequency signal, sig_IF=SIGin*cos_mix; apply, for each frequency bin, an intermediate frequency (IF) bandpass filter, ifbpf, to sig_IF to generate a filtered IF signal, sig_IF_filtered; and calculate, for each frequency bin, a bin power, bin_power, of the filtered IF signal by summing the square of the amplitudes in filtered IF signal and dividing this sum by the time interval, dt; and compare the bin power, bin_power, in each frequency bin to at least one expected spectrum; and output the comparison of the bin power in each frequency bin to the at least one expected frequency spectrum.
11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, where the frequency bins in at least 20.
12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, where the one or more processors is part of one of a radar system, object tracking system, object detection system, terrestrial wireless communication system, satellite wireless communication system, signal detection system and signal monitoring system.
13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, where the intermediate frequency (IF) bandpass filter, ifbpf, is the same for each frequency bin.
14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, where each frequency bin has the same frequency width.
15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, where the same input signal, SIGin, is used to calculate the power in each frequency bin.
16. A method of comparing signal spectra comprising: receive an input signal, SIGin, over a time interval, dt, from a signal collector, and having a signal length, sig_len, and power distributed over an input frequency spectrum; segmenting the input frequency spectrum into a plurality of frequency bins; calculating, for each frequency bin, a mixing frequency, f_mix, where
f_mix=f_sourcef_target, where f_target=a target intermediate frequency for signal in the frequency bin, f_source=a frequency associated with the frequency bin, and a mixing stream, cos_mix, where
cos_mix=cos(0:rads_per_sample:rads_per_signal), and where
rads_per_sample=f_mix*dt*2*,
rads_per_signal=rads_per_sample*(sig_len1); generating, for each frequency bin, an intermediate frequency signal, sig_IF=SIGin*cos_mix; applying, for each frequency bin, an intermediate frequency (IF) bandpass filter, ifbpf, to sig_IF to generate a filtered IF signal, sig_IF_filtered; and calculating, for each frequency bin, a bin power, bin_power, of the filtered IF signal by summing the square of the amplitudes in filtered IF signal and dividing this sum by the time interval, dt; and comparing the bin power, bin_power, in each frequency bin to at least one expected spectrum; and outputting the comparison of the bin power in each frequency bin to the at least one expected frequency spectrum.
17. The method of claim 16, where the intermediate frequency signal is the same for each frequency bin.
18. The method of claim 16, further comprising identifying an object based on comparing the bin power for each frequency bin to the at least one expected spectrum.
19. The method of claim 18, where the object is at least one of a bird and an aircraft.
20. The method of claim 16, where the input signal one of an optical, radio and audio signal.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments thereof, which description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are included for the purpose of exemplary illustration of various aspects of the present invention to aid in description, and not for purposes of limiting the invention.
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[0038] In the drawings and detailed description, the same or similar reference numbers may identify the same or similar elements. It will be appreciated that the implementations, features, etc., described with respect to embodiments in specific figures may be implemented with respect to other embodiments in other figures, unless expressly stated, or otherwise not possible.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0039] Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the specification and related drawings, which may be directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. Further, to facilitate an understanding of the description, a discussion of several terms used herein may be included.
[0040] The word exemplary is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration and not as a limitation. Any embodiment described herein as exemplary is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Likewise, the term embodiments of the invention does not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.
[0041] Further, many embodiments are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by field programmable gate arrays, by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination thereof. Additionally, sequence(s) of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of computer readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that upon execution would cause an associated processor to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the invention may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the embodiments described herein, the corresponding form of any such embodiments may be described herein as, for example, logic configured to perform the described action. For example, it will be appreciated that transmitter, receivers, management systems, and other devices in systems of the present invention may include one or more processors, memory, storage, input and components, communication interfaces, as well as other components that may be interconnected as desired by the skilled artisan via one or more buses and circuit boards, cards, etc.
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[0043] The encoder 16 and decoder 18 are shown as single blocks in
[0044] At the receiver 14, a detector 24 may detect the transmission signal and provide the transmission signal to signal processors, which may include the decoder 18 to perform any decoding necessary to output the bits. The bits output from the system 10 may be in the form of data and clock signals, or otherwise. In various embodiments, the system 10 may be locally and/or remotely monitored and/or controlled by a management system 25 as is known in the art. The system 10 may be deployed as part of a local private point-to-point network, as well as part of the global terrestrial and satellite infrastructure and managed accordingly.
[0045]
[0046] Systems 10, such as shown in
[0047] Systems, devices, and methods of the present invention have an electrical signal input, which may have been generated in hardware by receiving a data/information carrying signal, such an optical or radio signals, or in software by simulating the preceding reception. The analysis of the input signal may be performed pursuant to various analysis inputs provided by the user. For example, prior to analyzing the input signal with a center frequency, f_c, the user may specify a frequency spectrum range (f_range) having a minimum frequency (f_min) and a maximum frequency (f_max). Because the analysis is being performed in software and the input signal may be stored, the user may be able to vary the frequency range (f_range) of interest and re-run the analysis to assess the sensitivity of the analysis to various user inputs. One of skill in the art will appreciate that a range of user inputs may provide suitable results; however, increasing the number of calculations performed to produce the results may impact the latency of the results.
[0048] The user may define at least one frequency bin within the frequency spectrum range (f_range) and having a frequency width, f_width. This may be done by specifying the number of frequency bins and segmenting the frequency range (f_range) of interest accordingly. The width of each frequency bin is termed f_width. It is usually desirable to segment the frequency range evenly from an efficiency and ease of use standpoint, but there may be scenarios that it is preferred to unevenly segment the frequency range, such as in frequency ranges where the signal power is expected to change rapidly (narrow bins) and not change significantly (wide bins).
[0049] For each frequency bin, a target intermediate frequency (f_target) and corresponding software intermediate frequency bandpass filter, ifbpf, in terms of f_target, sampling frequency, Fs, and f_width may be defined. Various target intermediate frequencies may be selected by the skilled artisan depending upon the particular application of the present invention. The use of intermediate target frequencies enables the skilled artisan to translate the signal power to a lower frequency. For example, for RF signals in the range of 900 MHz, target intermediate frequencies may be in the range of 100 KHz. The intermediate frequency bandpass filter may be implemented using various techniques as known to those of skill in the art. For example, using the MathWorks MATLAB filter design tools, which may include the designfilt function.
[0050] For the signal power analysis, an input signal sample time interval, dt, may be selected to provide the sampling frequency, Fs=1/dt. The signal length sig_len may be determined from the length of the signal in samples. The sample time interval may be varied by the skilled artisan based on preference and the bit rate of the signal as will be discussed further herein.
[0051] Depending upon the particular application, it may be desirable to provide an input signal software bandpass filter, INbf, to remove frequencies outside of the passband. The bandpass filter may be implemented using various techniques as known to those of skill in the art, such as described above.
[0052] In operation, an input signal, SIGin having power distributed over a signal frequency range is received. The input signal, SIGin, may be stored or buffered or otherwise processed to facilitate the calculation. The input signal software bandpass filter, INbf, may be applied to the input signal, SIGin to produce a filtered input signal, SIGin_filtered, which may be normalized to produce a normalized signal power, SIGin_norm, which may be stored for use in various calculations.
[0053] For each frequency bin, a mixing frequency, f_mix, appropriate for translating from a source frequency, f_source associated with the frequency bin to the target IF frequency, f_target, by mixing (i.e., by pairwise multiplication of samples of two streams), may be determined employing the equation 2*cos(a)*cos(b)=cos(ab)+cos(a+b) and defining a=f_source and b=f_mix, where
f_mix=f_sourcef_target.
[0054] A mixing stream, cos_mix, of length sig_len equal to the input signal length may then be calculated by evaluating the cosine function over the range from 0 to rads_per_signal in increments of rads_per_sample, which may be written as:
cos_mix=cos(0:rads_per_sample:rads_per_signal), where
rads_per_sample=f_mix*dt*2*pi, and
rads_per_signal=rads_per_sample(sig_len1)
[0055] The above equation for cos_mix is also the notation used in MATLAB to calculate cos_mix.
[0056] An intermediate frequency (IF) signal, sig_IF, may be generated using the formula, sig_IF=SIGin_norm*cos_mix.
[0057] If the input signal is not normalized, but filtered, then the filtered input signal, SIGin_filtered, may be used in the preceding equation. If the input signal is not filtered or normalized, then the input signal, SIGin, may be used in the preceding equation.
[0058] The corresponding bandpass filter, ifbpf, is applied to each intermediate frequency (IF) signal, sig_IF, to generate a filtered IF signal, sig_IF_filtered. It will be appreciated that the intermediate frequency bandpass filter, ifbpf, may be the same for each frequency bin, some or none of the frequency bins.
[0059] A bin power, bin_power, in the filtered IF signal, sig_IF_filtered, may be calculated by summing the square of the amplitudes in sig_IF_filtered and dividing this sum by the time interval, and stored.
[0060] The frequency bin having the maximum bin_power, max_power may be identified and used for various purposes. For example, the occupied bandwidth of the input signal may be calculated in various ways, such as by summing the frequency widths of frequency bins based on the bin power, bin_power, in each frequency bin proximate to the frequency bin with maximum power.
[0061] In various embodiments, the OBW may be calculated as a two-sided occupied bandwidth of the input signal by starting with the frequency width of the maximum power bin, then successively summing the frequency widths of the frequency bins with highest power adjacent on either side to the maximum power bin or to a previously summed frequency bin based until the sum of the power in the frequency power bins is equal to 99% or some desired percentage of the input signal power. The single-sided occupied bandwidth may be calculated by dividing the two-sided occupied bandwidth by two to provide an average or by summing the power in frequency bins spanning lower and higher frequencies, respectively, than the frequency bin with the maximum power.
[0062] The OBW may be calculated by successively summing power from the lowest frequency bin to the highest frequency bin and calculating the 99% OBW as the difference between the frequencies at which the 0.5% power and the 99.5% power is reached. This method may be used with the present invention. However, the method described above, which starts from the peak power frequency bin and successively expands to adjacent frequency power bins, may more accurately reflect the desire to define OBW as centered around the peak power. The two methods may be equivalent if the spectrum is symmetric around the peak power, but may diverge if for any reason the spectrum is not symmetric around the peak power.
[0063] Systems 10 and devices of the present invention include software and/or hardware to analyze signal power over a frequency range, which may be useful for OBW and other signal processing and control purposes. The signal analysis methods may be implemented at various points in the system 10 including the transmitters, receivers, and locations along a link as desired, for example, for feedback loops and link performance analyses.
[0064] One of ordinary skill will appreciate that software and hardware systems, devices, methods implementing the present invention may perform the spectrum analysis using the same input signal, SIGin, for each frequency bin calculation. However, it may be desirable in some applications to implement the present invention using multiple input signals from different points in time and/or different frequency spectra. In addition, the calculations may be performed in serially, in parallel, or combinations thereof.
[0065] The performance of the SSA of the present invention was compared to an HP 8590B hardware-based swept-tuned spectrum analyzer (HSTSA) for time amplitude sequences generated by the same Polynomial Symbol Waveform (PSW) alphabets that employ a time-varying signal spectrum. For more information on PSW alphabets, refer to U.S. Pat. No. 10,069,664 incorporated above, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/735,655 filed Mar. 6, 2020 entitled Devices, Systems, And Methods Employing Polynomial Symbol Waveforms, the contents of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, except for the claims and any disclosure contrary to this disclosure. The comparison examines the impact of varying stream/signal length, number of frequency bins, and bandpass filter length.
[0066] In the comparison, an initial set of 8 polynomial symbol waveforms (PSWs) were constructed as shown in
[0067] A three-bit sequence was assigned to each of the PSWs in each of the convolved PSW alphabets.
[0068] In the below discussion, bit stream length refers to the number of bits transmitted. The OBW measurements are based on analyzing time-amplitude sequences generated by converting a random sequence of bits into a corresponding random sequence of PSWs from a particular PSW alphabet. For purposes of this study, all PSW alphabets have 8 symbols, corresponding to bit sequences of length 3, and each polynomial symbol waveform is represented by 25 sample points.
[0069] For all analyses reported below, the following parameters apply: [0070] Symbol time, dt=1 microseconds [0071] f_c=922 MHz, where f_c is the center frequency of the signal [0072] f_min=f_c10 MHz [0073] f_max=f_c+10 MHz [0074] 30 trials per condition [0075] The one-sided OBW is reported.
[0076] OBW is measured in terms of the 99% power spectral density (PSD) width. Two approaches to OBW measurement were performed, although a multiple of other approaches may be selected by the skilled artisan.
[0077] Method I: Adding frequency power bins. Find the range of frequency power bins containing 99% of the signal power. The results of which are shown in
[0078] Method II: Find the frequency difference between the frequency bin of the maximum power point and the frequency bin of 1% signal power. The results of which are shown in
[0079] Method I generally produced better agreement with the HSTSA, and much better test/re-test consistency (lower standard deviation), as further described herein. The second approach produced reasonable results and may prove more appropriate for other applications.
[0080] The following data, derived from trials reported in more detail below, shows consistency between the SSA and the HSTSA to within less than 10%. A summary of the comparison is provided in Table 1 below.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 METHOD I: SSA AND HSTSA OBW COMPARISON PSW Alphabet SSA OBW (MHz) HSTSA OBW (MHz) Gaussian = 0.8 3.4 3.2 Gaussian = 1.0 2.9 2.7 Gaussian = 1.2 2.7 2.6 Gaussian = 1.6 2.5 2.6 Gaussian = 2.0 6.0 6.6
[0081] This data shows consistency between the SSA and the HSTSA to within less than 10%.
[0082] Effect of Bit Stream Length on OBW Measurement
[0083]
[0084] The data used in
[0085] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, bit stream len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.054167(0.027136), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0086] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, bit stream len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.051042(0.015317), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0087] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, bit stream len=10000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.053125(0.014565), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0088] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, bit stream len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.05679(0.028744), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0089] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, bit stream len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.05679(0.018793), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0090] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, bit stream len=10000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.059259(0.018455), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0091] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, bit stream len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.066667(0.026596), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0092] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, bit stream len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.052564(0.018851), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0093] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, bit stream len=10000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.05641(0.019516), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0094] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, bit stream len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.011538(0.12822), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0095] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, bit stream len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.029487(0.024079), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0096] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, bit stream len=10000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.038462(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0097] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, bit stream len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.088889(0.1057), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0098] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, bit stream len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.084848(0.025353), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0099] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, bit stream len=10000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.088384(0.01059), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0100] The (logarithmic) x-axis provides the number of bits transmitted.
[0101] In
[0102] Note that while the SSA OBW results are provided for between 100 and 10,000 simulated transmitted bits, the comparison is against HSTSA OBW based on 1.5 million bits transmitted.
[0103] These data show that the mean SSA OBW measurement agrees with the HSTSA to within less than 10% for 100 or more simulated bits transmitted. The standard deviation in the difference between the SSA and HSTSA measurements decreases with more bits transmitted.
[0104] In operation, the SSA stores the entire input sequence and analyzes it repeatedly for different frequency bins, whereas the HSTSA analyzes different parts of the input signal for each frequency bin. This allows the SSA to be more compact than the HSTSA in terms of required input sequence length.
[0105]
[0106] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=20, Normalized OBW Diff=0.09375(0), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0107] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=40, Normalized OBW Diff=0.09375(0), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0108] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=60, Normalized OBW Diff=0.041667(0), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0109] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=80, Normalized OBW Diff=0.054688(0), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0110] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.055208(0.013443), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0111] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=120, Normalized OBW Diff=0.059896(0.012138), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0112] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=140, Normalized OBW Diff=0.049107(0), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0113] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=20, Normalized OBW Diff=0.11111(0), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0114] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=40, Normalized OBW Diff=0.040123(0.039832), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0115] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=60, Normalized OBW Diff=0.049383(0), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0116] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=80, Normalized OBW Diff=0.064815(0), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0117] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.061728(0.017758), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0118] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=120, Normalized OBW Diff=0.049383(0), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0119] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=140, Normalized OBW Diff=0.057319(0.00483), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0120] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=20, Normalized OBW Diff=0.15385(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0121] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=40, Normalized OBW Diff=0.057692(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0122] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=60, Normalized OBW Diff=0.089744(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0123] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=80, Normalized OBW Diff=0.057692(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0124] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.05(0.017927), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0125] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=120, Normalized OBW Diff=0.057692(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0126] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=140, Normalized OBW Diff=0.046703(0.0083827), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0127] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=20, Normalized OBW Diff=0.15385(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0128] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=40, Normalized OBW Diff=0.038462(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0129] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=60, Normalized OBW Diff=0.038462(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0130] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=80, Normalized OBW Diff=0.038462(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0131] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.038462(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0132] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=120, Normalized OBW Diff=0.038462(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0133] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=140, Normalized OBW Diff=0.039377(0.0050158), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0134] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=20, Normalized OBW Diff=0.16667(0), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0135] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=40, Normalized OBW Diff=0.13005(0.0069157), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0136] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=60, Normalized OBW Diff=0.12626(0.012583), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0137] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=80, Normalized OBW Diff=0.12374(0.0085185), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0138] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.091414(0.010885), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0139] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=120, Normalized OBW Diff=0.12037(0.0089793), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0140] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=140, Normalized OBW Diff=0.12229(0.0071619), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0141]
[0142] The data used to generate
[0143] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, filter len=50, Normalized OBW Diff=0.084375(0.014565), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0144] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, filter len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.0625(0), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0145] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, filter len=250, Normalized OBW Diff=0.057292(0.011845), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0146] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, filter len=500, Normalized OBW Diff=0.052083(0.014983), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0147] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, filter len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.054167(0.014056), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0148] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, filter len=50, Normalized OBW Diff=0.074074(0), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0149] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, filter len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.074074(0), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0150] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, filter len=250, Normalized OBW Diff=0.069136(0.012805), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0151] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, filter len=500, Normalized OBW Diff=0.060494(0.018153), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0152] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, filter len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.055556(0.018835), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0153] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, filter len=50, Normalized OBW Diff=0.11538(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0154] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, filter len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.076923(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0155] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, filter len=250, Normalized OBW Diff=0.061538(0.019164), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0156] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, filter len=500, Normalized OBW Diff=0.052564(0.018851), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0157] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, filter len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.053846(0.019164), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0158] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, filter len=50, Normalized OBW Diff=0.038462(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0159] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, filter len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.038462(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0160] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, filter len=250, Normalized OBW Diff=0.038462(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0161] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, filter len=500, Normalized OBW Diff=0.038462(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0162] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, filter len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.038462(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0163] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, filter len=50, Normalized OBW Diff=0.081818(0.009416), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0164] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, filter len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.087374(0.0094858), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0165] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, filter len=250, Normalized OBW Diff=0.087374(0.0094858), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0166] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, filter len=500, Normalized OBW Diff=0.087879(0.010066), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0167] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, filter len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.089394(0.010027), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0168] For purposes of efficient run-time, particularly when used as part of PSW alphabet design, an important question is how light-weight can the SSA parameters be, while maintaining performance. Based on the data used in
[0169] Bits transmitted: 10,000
[0170] Number of frequency bins: 100
[0171] IF filter length: 100
[0172]
[0173]
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 METHOD II: SSA AND HSTSA OBW COMPARISON PSW Alphabet SSA OBW (MHz) HSTSA OBW (MHz) Gaussian = 0.8 3.6 3.2 Gaussian = 1.0 3.0 2.7 Gaussian = 1.2 3.0 2.6 Gaussian = 1.6 2.0 2.6 Gaussian = 2.0 5.0 6.6
[0174] For the Method II comparison, the number of bits transmitted was 1.5 million for both the SSA and the HSTSA. The data shows consistency between the SSA and the HSTSA to within about 20%, which is worse than for Method I as documented above. Also, Method II calculation has a standard deviation across trials that is much higher. These results may suggest that for these alphabets, Method I may be preferred based on the HSTSA comparison or the time averaging of the HSTSA does not adequately capture the spectrum, or some combination thereof.
[0175]
[0176] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, bit stream len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.11042(0.34922), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0177] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, bit stream len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.2625(0.39542), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0178] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, bit stream len=10000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.28125(0.4235), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0179] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, bit stream len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.14815(0.34015), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0180] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, bit stream len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.25926(0.36132), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0181] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, bit stream len=10000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.34074(0.32918), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0182] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, bit stream len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.15641(0.48038), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0183] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, bit stream len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.16154(0.40166), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0184] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, bit stream len=10000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.2359(0.1905), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0185] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, bit stream len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.012821(0.39744), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0186] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, bit stream len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.082051(0.31744), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0187] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, bit stream len=10000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.084615(0.23761), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0188] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, bit stream len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.43737(0.24743), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0189] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, bit stream len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.28889(0.20394), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0190] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, bit stream len=10000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.23939(0.17167), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0191]
[0192] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=20, Normalized OBW Diff=0.5(0.15132), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0193] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=40, Normalized OBW Diff=0.25(0.20517), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0194] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=60, Normalized OBW Diff=0.26736(0.27092), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0195] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=80, Normalized OBW Diff=0.24479(0.29868), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0196] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.19792(0.4321), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0197] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=120, Normalized OBW Diff=0.28819(0.29077), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0198] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, f_num=140, Normalized OBW Diff=0.15179(0.28583), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0199] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=20, Normalized OBW Diff=0.48148(0), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0200] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=40, Normalized OBW Diff=0.42593(0.15494), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0201] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=60, Normalized OBW Diff=0.28395(0.23957), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0202] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=80, Normalized OBW Diff=0.2716(0.22802), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0203] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.37531(0.34288), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0204] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=120, Normalized OBW Diff=0.29218(0.21865), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0205] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, f_num=140, Normalized OBW Diff=0.18166(0.24946), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0206] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=20, Normalized OBW Diff=0.29487(0.18851), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0207] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=40, Normalized OBW Diff=0.26923(0.13923), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0208] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=60, Normalized OBW Diff=0.25641(0.12776), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0209] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=80, Normalized OBW Diff=0.20192(0.21685), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0210] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.28462(0.22418), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0211] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=120, Normalized OBW Diff=0.23504(0.2613), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0212] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, f_num=140, Normalized OBW Diff=0.28205(0.31525), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0213] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=20, Normalized OBW Diff=0.53846(0), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0214] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=40, Normalized OBW Diff=0.13462(0.19786), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0215] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=60, Normalized OBW Diff=0.089744(0.23265), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0216] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=80, Normalized OBW Diff=0.099359(0.26325), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0217] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.010256(0.23361), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0218] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=120, Normalized OBW Diff=0.10043(0.23331), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0219] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, f_num=140, Normalized OBW Diff=0.043956(0.24741), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0220] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=20, Normalized OBW Diff=0.23737(0.027663), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0221] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=40, Normalized OBW Diff=0.22727(0.10969), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0222] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=60, Normalized OBW Diff=0.23906(0.10438), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0223] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=80, Normalized OBW Diff=0.25758(0.13552), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0224] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.32828(0.15268), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0225] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=120, Normalized OBW Diff=0.26178(0.14972), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0226] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, f_num=140, Normalized OBW Diff=0.26623(0.15725), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0227]
[0228] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, filter len=50, Normalized OBW Diff=0.1875(0.46713), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0229] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, filter len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.1875(0.46713), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0230] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, filter len=250, Normalized OBW Diff=0.23958(0.4631), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0231] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, filter len=500, Normalized OBW Diff=0.2125(0.42757), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0232] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 0.8, filter len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.22083(0.42666), HSTSA OBW=3.2e+06
[0233] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, filter len=50, Normalized OBW Diff=0.27407(0.22043), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0234] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, filter len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.42963(0.28732), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0235] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, filter len=250, Normalized OBW Diff=0.45926(0.28797), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0236] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, filter len=500, Normalized OBW Diff=0.43457(0.2934), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0237] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.0, filter len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.39506(0.33303), HSTSA OBW=2.7e+06
[0238] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, filter len=50, Normalized OBW Diff=0.30513(0.12368), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0239] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, filter len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.2641(0.062862), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0240] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, filter len=250, Normalized OBW Diff=0.2359(0.12605), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0241] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, filter len=500, Normalized OBW Diff=0.24359(0.15128), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0242] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.2, filter len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.30769(0.12935), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0243] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, filter len=50, Normalized OBW Diff=0.13077(0.21771), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0244] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, filter len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.0076923(0.25097), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0245] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, filter len=250, Normalized OBW Diff=0.04359(0.28186), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0246] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, filter len=500, Normalized OBW Diff=0.058974(0.21539), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0247] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 1.6, filter len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.028205(0.27881), HSTSA OBW=2.6e+06
[0248] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, filter len=50, Normalized OBW Diff=0.22525(0.10181), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0249] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, filter len=100, Normalized OBW Diff=0.27778(0.14697), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0250] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, filter len=250, Normalized OBW Diff=0.29394(0.13787), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0251] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, filter len=500, Normalized OBW Diff=0.28788(0.14363), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0252] PSW=Gaussian Sigma 2.0, filter len=1000, Normalized OBW Diff=0.27172(0.15359), HSTSA OBW=6.6e+06
[0253]
[0254] The SSA of the present invention was used in MATLAB software simulations to calculate the OBW at 99% power for the 8-PSK waveform. In addition, the OBW was also calculated using the MATLAB FT-based OBW function called obw. The OBW calculated using the SSA and FT-based techniques were in close agreement to within a few percent. Hence, the present invention has demonstrated good performance for signals with a stationary spectrum when compared to FT-based techniques and for signals with a non-stationary spectrum when compared to HSTSA techniques.
[0255] The present invention may be deployed in a wide range of applications and systems where spectrum analysis may be desired, such as interference and spectrum monitoring or clearance, object tracking, transmission channel and noise analyses, radiated power analysis, signal boundary interference, satellite downlink signal identification, pulsed radar monitoring, moving object audio detection and identification, etc.
[0256]
[0257] The receiver 14 may include an antenna or other signal collector 32 to receive incoming signals, such as RF, audio, etc., SIGin having a center frequency f_c over a frequency range for the specific application. The received signal SIGin may be filtered using a bandpass filter 36 to eliminate unwanted frequencies. While the bandpass filter 36 is depicted within the SSA 34, the bandpass filter 36 does not need to be used or may be embodied as one or more hardware-based filters. Similarly, a power normalization block is not shown in the
[0258] The filtered received signal SIGin_filtered may then be downconverted from the frequency range of the application for each frequency bin, f_source, e.g., 900 MHz, to the target frequency, f_target, e.g., 100 kHz, using a mixing signal or function, cos_mix at frequency f_mix using a mixer 38. The downconverted signal siglF at the target frequency f_target may be filtered using the software intermediate frequency bandpass filter ifbpf 40 prior to determining the signal power in each frequency bin.
[0259] A processing and calibration block 42 may process and use the bin power measurements employing one or more of the preceding methods to determine the OBW, spectral distribution, calibrate the SSA 34, etc. as desired by the skilled artisan, and output the information for use and/or for further processing, etc. It will be appreciated that, while not shown for ease of illustration, the SSA 34 may include memory/storage that may be accessible at some or all stages of signal processing.
[0260] In monitoring and clearance applications, the system 10 may include the receiver 14 with an integrated or separate SSA. The signal spectrum determined by the SSA may be compared against a known or expected spectrum to determine whether a system is operating properly or whether unexpected signals are being received. A scanning directional antenna may be employed to locate the source of the unexpected signals by determining the signal direction in which the unexpected signals have the highest power levels and/or other metrics. Spectrum clearing may be conducted with specific threshold power levels where an unexpected signal might be considered problematic. The threshold values may be only a few dBs above the noise floor. Unexpected signals below a threshold limit may be flagged or trigger warnings and alerts. The spectrum monitoring may be used to eliminate the unexpected signals from data collection and analysis, which may be especially important when the unexpected signal is non-stationary. Equivalent Isotropic Radiated
[0261] Power (EIRP) analyses may be performed when assessing the source of the unexpected signals.
[0262] Locating an interfering source of unexpected signals may be accomplished utilizing an off-the-shelf Yagi or Discone antenna and triangulating the unexpected signal source. An external noise source (tone) can be configured to emit an audio signal that changes in pitch and volume as the power of the interfering signal changes. By connecting a Yagi (or other) antenna to the present invention and sweeping the antenna in a systematic pattern in the direction of the interfering signal, then noting the antenna direction when the tone is at a maximum, makes it possible to quickly identify the precise direction from which the signal is coming.
[0263] Geo-locating RF signals of interest may be performed using Power of Arrival (POA), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), or Angle of Arrival (AOA). In situations where modulated signal bandwidths are greater than 25 kHz, including those associated with drone detection and mitigation, TDOA may be most accurate. TDOA can provide a very precise location estimate to within approximately 100 meters in a short period of time. The TDOA results depend on the geometry of the measurement based upon the probes and source locations; the sources of uncertainty and how to mitigate them; and how to detect if the answer is meaningful. Each measurement updates the signal position to provide tracking points for the path taken, so the faster the data can be processed the greater the success, which is important for fast moving objects, such as drones.
[0264]
[0265] As depicted in
[0266] In cellular (e.g., 3G/4G/5G) applications, base station transmitters generate side lobes that can cause interference in other cells, e.g. signal boundary interference. The SSA may be used to measure the side lobe power levels to ensure that when high-powered signals are transmitted the side lobes are below a strength level threshold where they would cause interference. In sound detection applications for moving objects, such as drones and bird detection and identification, the moving object (e.g., drone, bird) may be identified by distance, movement, phase, amplitude and sound using AOA, TDOA and PDOA. Sound analysis, variability in statistical history (mean, standard deviation and variance) may be conducted using information derived from the nonstationary spectrum data provided by the SSA, such as zero crossing rate, autocorrelation, and energy signatures
[0267] The foregoing description and accompanying drawings illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
[0268] Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.