Patent ID: 9712238
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: H04B,H04J,H04L,H04W

Claim:
1. A communications system, comprising: RF processing circuitry for receiving a plurality of data streams and processing the plurality of data streams to associate with each of the plurality of data streams an orthogonal function to cause each of the plurality of data streams to be mutually orthogonal to each other on an RF link to enable transmission of each of the plurality of data streams on the RF link at a same time, wherein the orthogonal function comprises at least one of a Hermite-Gaussian function, a Laguerre-Gaussian function, a Jacobi polynomial, a Gegenbauer polynomial, a Legendre polynomial, a Chebyshev polynomial, a Q-function, a time-limited and bandwidth-limited function, a rectangular function, a cylindrical function and a spherical function; optical processing circuitry for receiving the plurality of data streams and processing the plurality of data streams to associate with each of the plurality of data streams the orthogonal function to cause each of the plurality of data streams to be mutually orthogonal to each other on an optical link to enable transmission of each of the plurality of data streams on the optical link at a same time; switching circuitry for multiplexing between the RF link and the optical link responsive to operating conditions on the RF link and the optical link; a signal separator for separating the plurality of data streams having different orthogonal functions applied thereto from each other that are received over the RF link or the optical link; second RF processing circuitry for processing data received over the RF link to remove the orthogonal function from each of the plurality of data streams received together over the RF link; second optical processing circuitry for processing data received over the optical link to remove the orthogonal function from each of the plurality of data streams received together over the optical link; and second switching circuitry for switching between the second RF processing circuitry and the second optical processing circuitry responsive to the operating conditions on the RF link and the optical link.