U.S. patent application number 13/276240 was filed with the patent office on 2012-02-09 for multiple-antenna system for cellular communication and broadcasting.
This patent application is currently assigned to Neocific, Inc.. Invention is credited to Xiaodong Li, Titus Lo.
Application Number | 20120034952 13/276240 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38049391 |
Filed Date | 2012-02-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120034952 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lo; Titus ; et al. |
February 9, 2012 |
MULTIPLE-ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR CELLULAR COMMUNICATION AND
BROADCASTING
Abstract
A multiple-antenna system for use in cellular communication and
broadcasting. The multiple-antenna transmission system can be
controlled, adjusted, configured, or reconfigured to produce
desirable radiation beam patterns suitable for different types of
applications. A signal distribution network may be provided in the
multiple-antenna system. The signal distribution network is
embedded in a transmitter and controls the distribution of signals
to one or more antennas in accordance with application
requirements. Various antenna radiation patterns suitable for
different applications can be generated by reconfiguring the
connections and gain settings in the signal distribution network.
For example, narrow beams may be generated for use in unicast
applications, whereas sector beams may be generated for use in
broadcast applications. Certain techniques may be employed to
manage the transition from one type of transmission mode to another
type of transmission mode.
Inventors: |
Lo; Titus; (Bellevue,
WA) ; Li; Xiaodong; (Kirkland, WA) |
Assignee: |
Neocific, Inc.
Bellevue
WA
|
Family ID: |
38049391 |
Appl. No.: |
13/276240 |
Filed: |
October 18, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11908262 |
Oct 30, 2008 |
8041395 |
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PCT/US06/60888 |
Nov 14, 2006 |
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13276240 |
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60736500 |
Nov 14, 2005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
455/562.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 88/08 20130101;
H01Q 25/00 20130101; H04W 56/0005 20130101; H04B 7/0617 20130101;
H04W 56/001 20130101; H04W 16/28 20130101; H04W 72/0453 20130101;
H04L 27/2605 20130101; H01Q 1/246 20130101; H04L 5/005
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/562.1 |
International
Class: |
H04W 88/00 20090101
H04W088/00 |
Claims
1. A multi-carrier antenna system for cellular communication and
broadcasting in a plurality of transmission modes within a
geographic area divided into a plurality of cells, the
multi-carrier antenna system comprising: a plurality of antennas,
wherein each of the antennas is capable of generating a beam
pattern that may be adjusted in azimuth and elevation for purposes
of transmitting signals to mobile devices; a signal distribution
network coupled to the plurality of antennas, the signal
distribution network enabling a plurality of input signals to be
routed to one or more of the plurality of antennas; and a
controller coupled to the signal distribution network and the
plurality of antennas, the controller enabling the multi-carrier
antenna system to be switched between a first mode of operation
wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas has a beam
pattern with a first azimuth pattern and a first elevation pattern,
and a second mode of operation wherein the at least one of the
plurality of antennas has a beam pattern with a second azimuth
pattern and a second elevation pattern.
2. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 1, wherein the first
mode of operation is selected from the group comprising a unicast,
a cell-specific broadcast, or a multi-cell broadcast.
3. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 1, wherein the second
mode of operation is selected from the group comprising a unicast,
a cell-specific broadcast, or a multi-cell broadcast.
4. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 1, wherein the signal
distribution network further enables the amplification of the input
signal to be controlled.
5. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 4, wherein the signal
distribution network comprises: a plurality of amplifiers, each of
the plurality of amplifiers coupled to a line carrying one of the
plurality of input signals; a plurality of splitters, each of the
plurality of splitters receiving an amplified signal from one of
the plurality of variable-gain amplifiers and splitting the
amplified signal into a plurality of split signals; a plurality of
switches associated with each of the plurality of splitters, each
of the plurality of switches receiving a split signal from the
corresponding splitter and generating a switched signal; and a
plurality of combiners, each of the combiners receiving a switched
signal from a switch that is associated with each of the plurality
of splitters, wherein the plurality of switches may be turned on or
off in accordance with switch control signals to control the
routing of the plurality of input signals to the combiners.
6. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 5, wherein the gain
levels of the plurality of amplifiers may be varied in accordance
with gain control signals.
7. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 1, wherein at least
one of the plurality of antennas is a sector-antenna.
8. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 1, wherein at least
one of the plurality of antennas is an omni-directional
antenna.
9. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 1, wherein at least
one of the plurality of antennas comprises: a plurality of antenna
elements that are controllable to create an elevation pattern; and
at least one beamformer that is coupled to the plurality of antenna
elements, and is controllable to create the azimuth pattern,
wherein the azimuth pattern is created independently of the
elevation pattern.
10. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 9, wherein the
plurality of antenna elements are two-dimensional antenna
elements.
11. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 9, wherein the
plurality of antenna elements are three-dimensional antenna
elements.
12. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 9, wherein the
azimuth pattern is created by weighting subcarriers in the
frequency domain within the beamformers.
13. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 9, wherein each of
the plurality of antenna elements comprises: a plurality of
radiation elements; and a plurality of electronic circuits
interspersed between the plurality of radiation elements, wherein
an elevation beam pattern is created by activating at least some of
the plurality of electronic circuits between the plurality of
radiation elements.
14. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 9, wherein an azimuth
pattern and an elevation pattern is associated with each mode of
operation.
15. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 14, wherein a mode of
operation is a unicast mode, and the azimuth pattern associated
with the unicast mode is a beam pattern that is narrower than the
width of a sector in which unicast transmissions are being
made.
16. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 14, wherein a mode of
operation is a cell-specific broadcast mode, and the azimuth
pattern associated with the cell-specific broadcast mode is a beam
pattern that is the same width as the width of a sector in which
the cell-specific broadcast transmissions are being made.
17. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 14, wherein a mode of
operation is a multi-cell broadcast mode, and the azimuth pattern
associated with the multi-cell broadcast mode is a beam pattern
that is greater than the size of a sector in which the multi-cell
broadcasts are being made.
18. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 1, further comprising
a plurality of signal distribution networks coupled to the
plurality of antennas.
19. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 1, wherein a first
configuration index is associated with a beam pattern associated
with the first mode of operation and a second configuration index
is associated the second mode of operation and wherein the
controller switches between the first mode of operation and the
second mode of operation after receiving a command containing the
first or second configuration index.
20. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 1, wherein a
transition period is inserted between transmissions to mobile
devices to provide sufficient time to switch from the first mode of
operation to the second mode of operation.
21. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 20, wherein the
switch from the first mode of operation to the second mode of
operation takes place between OFDM symbols in the transmissions so
that at least a portion of a cyclic prefix or a cyclic postfix can
be used for the transition period.
22. The multi-carrier antenna system of claim 1, the controller
further enabling the multi-carrier antenna system to be switched
between a plurality of modes of operation.
23. A method of switching between at least two modes of operation
in a multi-carrier antenna system for cellular communication and
broadcasting, the method comprising: identifying a first beam
pattern suitable for a first application, the first beam pattern
having an azimuth pattern and an elevation pattern; configuring a
signal distribution network to route and amplify first signals from
one or more baseband processors to a plurality of antennas for
transmission to a cell within a cellular communication system,
wherein the routing and amplification is selected in order to
generate the first beam pattern suitable for the first application;
identifying a second beam pattern suitable for a second
application, the second beam pattern differing from the first beam
pattern in either an azimuth pattern or an elevation pattern; and
re-configuring the signal distribution network to route and amplify
second signals from the one or more baseband processors to the
plurality of antennas for transmission to the cell within the
cellular communication system, wherein the routing and
amplification is selected in order to generate the second beam
pattern suitable for the second application.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the first beam pattern and
second beam pattern are selected from the group comprising a
unicast, a cell-specific broadcast, or a multi-cell broadcast.
25. The method of claim 23, wherein the routing in the signal
distribution network is configured by turning on or off switches in
the signal distribution network.
26. The method of claim 23, wherein a configuration index is
associated with each beam pattern, and wherein the signal
distribution network is configured using a control instruction
containing a configuration index associated with a desired beam
pattern.
27. The method of claim 23, further comprising inserting a
transition period between the transmission of the first signals and
the second signals in order to allow the multi-carrier antenna
system to be re-configured.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] This application is a continuation application of and
incorporates by reference U.S. patent application Ser. No.
11/908,262, having a 371 date of Oct. 30, 2008, which is a national
stage application of International Application No. PCT/US06/60888,
filed Nov. 14, 2006, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 60/736,500, filed on Nov. 14, 2005.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The disclosed embodiments relate, in general, to wireless
communication and, in particular, to antenna systems for use in
cellular communication and broadcasting.
BACKGROUND
[0003] An antenna system is an indispensable component of any
wireless communication network. Wireless communications is
presently available in many forms, among which the most common one
is cellular/mobile communications.
[0004] In a cellular wireless network, the geographical region to
be serviced by the network is normally divided into smaller areas
called cells. Within each cell are mobile stations (MSs) that are
used by users to access the network. A cell may be further divided
into multiple sectors and in each sector the coverage is provided
by a base station (BS). A BS also serves as a focal point to
distribute information to and collect information from MSs that are
located in the cell by radio signals that are transmitted by the BS
antenna.
[0005] There are different types of transmissions carried out by
BSs. A BS can send specific data to an individual MS within its
sector; a BS may also send a set of common data to all the MSs with
its sector; a BS may also send data via a common channel to all the
MSs within a cell; and a group of BSs may broadcast information via
a common channel simultaneously to all MSs within a group of cells.
Depending on the type of transmission, a distinctive set of
requirements may be required for the BS antenna system in terms of
radiation patterns, power settings, etc. In addition, a
frequency-reuse scheme may impose constraints on the antenna
system. The extent to which an antenna system meets the wide range
of requirements and constraints directly impacts on the wireless
network performance. Therefore, there is a need to create an
antenna system that is reconfigurable, adjustable, and controllable
to enable a BS to carry out transmissions from a type of
application to the other.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 illustrates the coverage of a wireless communication
network that is comprised of a plurality of cells.
[0007] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a receiver and a transmitter,
such as might be used in a multi-carrier wireless communication
network.
[0008] FIG. 3 is a graphical depiction of a multi-carrier signal
structure in the time domain.
[0009] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a particular realization of a
transmitter for cellular communication and broadcast.
[0010] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a variant realization of a
transmitter for cellular communication and broadcast.
[0011] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a distribution network used in
a transmitter for cellular communication and broadcast.
[0012] FIGS. 7A and 7B are block diagrams of alternate
implementations of the distribution network.
[0013] FIG. 8 is a graphical depiction of using different types of
antenna beams for different types of transmissions.
[0014] FIG. 9 is a graphical depiction of using a conformed
elevation beam for unicast and sector-specific broadcast and an
extended elevation beam for broadcast.
[0015] FIGS. 10A and 10B are perspective views of examples of
antenna systems.
[0016] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a beamforming process in an
OFDMA system.
[0017] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an antenna that generates
different elevation beams.
[0018] FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a bank of N distribution
networks used in beamforming, transmit-diversity, or MIMO
applications.
[0019] FIG. 14 is a graphical depiction of inserting a transition
period between a video broadcast slot and a data unicast slot.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] A multiple-antenna system for cellular communication and
broadcasting is disclosed. The multiple-antenna system can be
controlled, adjusted, configured, or reconfigured to produce
desirable radiation beam patterns suitable for different types of
applications (e.g., voice, data, video, etc.). For example, the
multiple-antenna system can be controlled to enable unicast
transmissions with a specific reuse scheme or broadcast
transmissions with one or more channels.
[0021] In some embodiments, a signal distribution network is
provided in the multiple-antenna system. The signal distribution
network is embedded in a transmitter at a base station (BS) and
controls the distribution of signals to one or more antennas.
Various antenna radiation patterns suitable for different
applications can be generated by reconfiguring the connections and
gain settings in the signal distribution network. By shaping the
azimuth pattern of a beam and activating appropriate antenna
elements to produce a predefined elevation pattern of a beam,
different radiation beam patterns may be generated for use in
different types of applications. For example, narrow beams may be
generated for use in unicast applications, whereas sector beams may
be generated for use in broadcast applications.
[0022] In some embodiments, certain techniques are employed to
manage the transition from one type of transmission mode to another
type of transmission mode. A transmission mode may correspond to a
particular antenna beam pattern or to other settings for a
particular application.
[0023] The following discussion contemplates the application of the
disclosed technology to a multi-carrier system, such as Orthogonal
Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Orthogonal Frequency
Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), or Multi-Carrier Code Division
Multiple Access (MC-CDMA). The invention can be applied to either
Time Division Duplexing (TDD) or Frequency Division Duplexing
(FDD). Without loss of generality, OFDMA is therefore only used as
an example to illustrate the present technology.
[0024] The following description provides specific details for a
thorough understanding of, and enabling description for, various
embodiments of the technology. One skilled in the art will
understand that the technology may be practiced without these
details. In some instances, well-known structures and functions
have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily
obscuring the description of the embodiments of the technology. It
is intended that the terminology used in the description presented
below be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though
it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of
certain embodiments of the technology. Although certain terms may
be emphasized below, any terminology intended to be interpreted in
any restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as
such in this Detailed Description section.
I. Wireless Communication Network
[0025] FIG. 1 is a representative diagram of a wireless
communication network 100 that services a geographic region. The
geographic region is divided into a plurality of cells 102, and
wireless coverage is provided in each cell by a base station (BS)
104. One or more mobile devices (MS) 108 may be fixed or may roam
within the geographic region covered by the network. The mobile
devices are used as an interface between users and the network.
Each base station is connected to the backbone of the network,
usually by a dedicated link. A base station serves as a focal point
to transmit information to and receive information from the mobile
devices within the cell that it serves by radio signals. Note that
if a cell is divided into sectors 106, from a system engineering
point of view each sector can be considered as a cell. In this
context, the terms "cell" and "sector" are interchangeable.
[0026] In a wireless communication system with base stations and
mobile devices, the transmission from a base station to a mobile
device is called a downlink (DL) and the transmission from a mobile
device to a base station is called an uplink (UL). FIG. 2 is a
block diagram of a representative transmitter 200 and receiver 220
that may be used in base stations and mobile devices to implement a
wireless communication link. The transmitter comprises a channel
encoding and modulation component 202, which applies data bit
randomization, forward error correction (FEC) encoding,
interleaving, and modulation to an input data signal. The channel
encoding and modulation component is coupled to a subchannel and
symbol construction component 204, an inverse fast Fourier
transform (IFFT) component 206, a radio transmitter component 208,
and an antenna 210. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that
these components construct and transmit a communication signal
containing the data that is input to the transmitter 200. Other
forms of transmitter may, of course, be used depending on the
requirements of the communication network.
[0027] The receiver 220 comprises an antenna 234, a reception
component 232, a frame and synchronization component 230, a fast
Fourier transform component 228, a frequency, timing, and channel
estimation component 226, a subchannel demodulation component 224,
and a channel decoding component 222. The channel decoding
component de-interleaves, decodes, and derandomizes a signal that
is received by the receiver. The receiver recovers data from the
signal and outputs the data for use by the mobile device or base
station. Other forms of receiver may, of course, be used depending
on the requirements of the communication network.
[0028] FIG. 3 depicts the basic structure of a multi-carrier signal
in the time domain, which is generally made up of time frames 300,
subframes 302, time slots 304, and OFDM symbols 306. A frame
consists of a number of time slots, and each time slot is comprised
of one or more OFDM symbols. The OFDM time domain waveform is
generated by applying an inverse-fast-Fourier-transform (IFFT) to
the OFDM signals in the frequency domain. A copy of the last
portion of the time waveform, known as the cyclic prefix (CP) 308,
is inserted in the beginning of the waveform itself to form the
OFDM symbol. In the case of TDD, guard periods (GP1 310 and GP2
312), are inserted between an uplink (UL) subframe and a downlink
(DL) subframe and between a DL subframe and a UL subframe to
account for the time needed to turn on and off transmitters and
receivers, as well as radio propagation delay.
II. Multiple-Antenna System for Cellular Communication and
Broadcasting
[0029] In cellular communications, different types of transmission
modes may be used for different types of applications. When a base
station sends specific data to an individual mobile station within
its sector, the transmission mode is referred to as unicast and
when a base station sends the same data to all mobile stations
within its sector or cell, the transmission mode is referred to as
broadcast. The multiple-antenna system disclosed herein can be
controlled, adjusted, configured, or reconfigured to produce
desirable radiation patterns suitable for different types of
applications, such as unicast transmissions with a specific reuse
scheme or broadcast transmissions with one or more channels.
[0030] Although a cell divided into three sectors is used as an
example herein, those skilled in the art will appreciate that a
cell may be divided into an arbitrary number of sectors and that
the disclosed technology is not limited by the number of sectors
within a cell.
A Cellular Communication and Broadcasting Transmissions
[0031] FIG. 4 depicts a transmitter 400 at a base station for
cellular communication and broadcasting. The transmitter may
consist of the following subsystems: [0032] 1. baseband processors
(BBPs) 404, which process digital data, assembling or disassembling
data payloads and formatting the data in accordance with certain
protocols as was previously described with respect to FIG. 3;
[0033] 2. intermediate frequency (IF) and radio frequency (RF)
transceivers (TRXs) 406 that are coupled to the baseband processors
404 and which convert digital baseband signals from the baseband
processors into analog signals for transmission; [0034] 3. a signal
distribution network 408 coupled to the RF/IF transceivers 406, the
signal distribution network receiving signals from the RF/IF
transceivers and splitting and/or combining the signals in
accordance with the requirements of particular applications being
served by the transmitter; [0035] 4. RF units (RFUs) 410 that are
coupled to the signal distribution network 408, the RF units
amplifying the signals to a certain power level for transmission;
and [0036] 5. a multiple-antenna system 412 that is coupled to the
RF units 410, the multiple-antenna system transmitting the signals
with various beam patterns (sectorial, omni-directional, etc.) in
accordance with a transmission mode that is selected based on the
frequency reuse scheme and the type of application. The
multiple-antenna system depicted in FIG. 4 consists of three
sector-antennas, the radiation pattern of each sector-antenna which
is fan-shaped. Alternatively, the system may consist of an
omni-directional antenna, the radiation pattern of which is
omni-directional in azimuth. In some embodiments, the system may
consist of both omni-directional antennas and sector antennas in a
particular combination. For example, antenna 1 in the
multiple-antenna system 412 may be an omni-directional antenna and
antennas 2 and 3 may be sector antennas.
[0037] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the subsystems
in the transmitter 400 may be constructed with appropriate
components and devices, such as switches, amplifiers, and/or
couplers. The subsystems in the transmitter are controlled by a
controller 402, which is coupled to each of the subsystems.
[0038] While the distribution network 408 is depicted between the
RF/IF transceivers 406 and RF units 410 in FIG. 4, those skilled in
the art will appreciate that the distribution network can be placed
at various other points in the transmitter 400. For example, the
distribution network can be placed between the antenna system 412
and RF units 410. Alternatively, as depicted in FIG. 5, if the
functionality of the RF/IF transceivers 406 is split into IF
transceivers 502 and RF transceivers 504, the distribution network
408 can be placed between the IF and RF transceivers. In the
reuse-3 case (that is, each cell is split into three sectors and
each sector uses a different frequency band for communication),
f.sub.1, f.sub.2, and f.sub.3 in FIG. 4 denote the three bands in
RF or f.sub.IF1, f.sub.IF2, and f.sub.IF3 in FIG. 5 denote the
three bands in IF. In the reuse-1 case, f.sub.1, f.sub.2, and
f.sub.3 represent the same RF channel or f.sub.IF1, f.sub.IF2, and
f.sub.IF3 represent the same IF channel.
[0039] The signal distribution network 408, which consists of
amplifiers, splitters, switches, and combiners, is used to
distribute and adjust signals so as to realize different settings
or configurations required by various transmission modes to
accommodate different applications. FIG. 6 depicts a typical
implementation of the distribution network 408. Three signal paths
through the distribution network are depicted, with three inputs
(1, 2, and 3) to the distribution network and three outputs (A, B,
and C) from the distribution network. Those skilled in the art will
appreciate that the number of inputs to and outputs from the
distribution network can be varied depending on the desired
transmission modes to be implemented. The gain on each path is
controlled via a corresponding amplifier 602. The output from each
amplifier is coupled to a splitter 604, which splits the output
from the amplifier into multiple signals. Each output from the
splitter 604 is coupled to a switch 606, which may be a simple
ON-OFF control device. The output from each switch is coupled to a
combiner 608. The splitters 604 perform the function of splitting
(or fanning out) the input signal and the combiners 608 perform the
function of combining the input signals. In some embodiments, the
combiners may add the signals and operate over a broad range of
frequencies. By selectively controlling the gain of amplifiers 602
and the state of switches 606, the signals on outputs (A, B, and C)
may be any combination of the signals received on inputs (1, 2, 3).
Additional filtering or signal conditioning (not shown) may be
implemented in the signal distribution network as well.
[0040] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other
configurations of components can used to achieve the same
functionality as is implemented by distribution network 408. For
example, the combination of an amplifier, a splitter, and switches
identified by reference numeral 610 in FIG. 6 can be replaced by
one of the variations shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. In FIG. 7A,
switches 606 are replaced by a switch 700 that either directly
connects the amplifier 602 to the combiner, or connects the
amplifier to the splitter 604. In FIG. 7B, switches 606 are
replaced by a coupler 704 and a switch 706 that allows the
amplifier 602 to be directly connected to the combiner, or
connected to the splitter 604.
[0041] Various types of transmissions can be carried out by
controlling the amplification provided by the amplifiers and the
state of the switches. For example, to enable unicast transmission,
switches 1, 5, and 9 are turned on and switches 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and
8 are turned off. When the switches are in this state, the signals
received on inputs (1, 2, 3) of the distribution network are
directly coupled to the outputs (A, B, C) of the distribution
network. Referring to FIG. 4, if the signal flow for a sector 1
transmission were to be followed, the signals would flow from the
baseband processor BBP1 through the distribution network to RFU A
and antenna 1.
[0042] To enable broadcast transmission using only one channel but
three sector antennas, only the switches connected to a particular
splitter (for example, switches 1, 2, and 3) are turned on and the
rest of the switches (in this example, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) are
turned off. Signals generated by a particular BBP (BBP1) are
thereby transmitted via all three antennas while other BBPs (BBP2
and BBP3) are not transmitted.
[0043] To enable broadcast transmission using two channels but
three sector antennas, only the switches connected to a particular
splitter (for example, switches 7, 8, and 9) are turned off and the
rest of the switches (in this example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) are
turned on. Signals generated by the two BBPs (BBP1 and BBP2) are
thereby transmitted via all three antennas while the other BBP
(BBP3) is not transmitted.
[0044] Turning on all switches enables broadcast transmission using
three channels and three sector antennas. That is, signals
generated by any BBP are transmitted via all three sector antennas.
Some typical examples of transmission modes are listed in Table 1
with their corresponding switch states. A configuration index is
provided in Table 1 to distinguish the different transmission modes
and enable quick look-up of configuration information as will be
described in additional detail below.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Schemes of frequency reuse and types of
transmission and their corresponding configuration index and
settings Frequency reuse and Config- type uration of trans- ON OFF
Gain Elevation Index mission switches switches settings beam 1
Unicast 1, 5, 9 2, 3, 4, Amp1 = x1 Conformed 6, 7, 8 Amp 2 = y1 Amp
3 = z1 2 Broadcast 1, 2, 3 4, 5, 6, Amp1 = x2 Extended using one 7,
8, 9 Amp 2 = y2 channel Amp 3 = z2 3 Broadcast 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9
Amp1 = x3 Extended using two 4, 5, 6 Amp 2 = y3 channels Amp 3 = z3
4 Broadcast 1, 2, 3, N/A Amp1 = x4 Extended using all 4, 5, 6, Amp
2 = y4 channels 7, 8, 9 Amp 3 = z4
[0045] While Table 1 represents many of the most common
transmission modes, other combinations of the switch states can be
employed to enable transmissions for specific applications. For
example, with switches 1, 2, 4, 5, and 9 on and the rest of the
switches off, signals generated by BBP1 and BBP2 are transmitted
using two channels in both Sector 1 and Sector 2, whereas signals
generated by BBP3 are only transmitted in its own corresponding
sector (i.e., Sector 3). The number of transmission modes is only
limited by the construction of the signal distribution network and
antennas.
[0046] The switch configuration necessary to achieve a desired
transmission mode may also depend, in part, on the types of
antennas used in the multi-antenna system 412. For example, if
antenna 1 in the multiple-antenna system 412 is an omni-directional
antenna and antennas 2 and 3 are sector antennas, a broadcast
transmission mode can be enabled using only the omni-directional
antenna. With switch 1 turned on, signals from BBP1 (one channel)
are transmitted through antenna 1. With switches 1 and 4 turned on,
signals from both BBP1 and BBP2 (two channels) are transmitted
through antenna 1. With switches 1, 4, and 7 turned on, signals
from all BBPs (three channels) are transmitted through antenna
1.
[0047] In other embodiments, the gain setting on each path is set
according to a specific scheme of frequency reuse and a specific
type of transmission by the adjustable amplifier.
B Controllable Beam Patterns for Cellular Communication and
Broadcasting
[0048] By shaping the azimuth beam patterns and activating a
predefined elevation beam pattern, different radiation beam
patterns are generated by the antennas for transmissions in
different types of applications. For example, FIG. 8 depicts the
radiation beam pattern of a cell sector antenna as viewed from
overhead. As depicted in FIG. 8, a narrow beam 806 in azimuth is
used for unicast; a sector-specific beam 804 is used for broadcast
transmissions within the cell; and a broadcast beam 806 is used for
multi-cell broadcast transmissions. FIG. 9 depicts the radiation
beam pattern of a cell sector antenna as viewed in elevation. As
shown in FIG. 9, an elevation beam 904 that is conformed within a
cell boundary is used for unicast and sector-specific broadcast,
whereas an elevation beam 902 that extends beyond the cell boundary
is used for multi-cell broadcast.
[0049] FIGS. 10A and 10B are each examples of an antenna system 412
that are controllable in azimuth and elevation, and are suitable
for operating in different transmission modes in cellular
communication and broadcasting. The antennas depicted in FIGS. 10A
and 10B possess the following attributes: [0050] 1. the antenna
consists of a plurality of antenna elements that can be controlled
individually or collectively; and [0051] 2. the azimuth pattern and
elevation pattern of the antenna can be shaped independently. The
antenna system depicted in FIG. 10A is a 2-dimensional antenna
systems 1000, meaning that the antenna elements 1002 are mounted in
an array on a substrate 1004 that orients the antenna elements in
roughly a plane. One or more antenna systems 1000 may be mounted in
a desired configuration in order to transmit within a particular
region. For example, six of the antenna systems may be deployed in
a regular hexagon shape in order to provide 360 degrees of coverage
to a cell. In contrast, the antenna system depicted in FIG. 10B is
a 3-dimensional antenna system 1020, meaning that the array of
antenna elements 1002 are mounted on a substrate that orients the
antenna elements in various directions. The substrate 1024 in FIG.
10B is a cylindrical substrate, creating an antenna capable of
generating a 360 degree radiation pattern.
[0052] The azimuth beam pattern and the elevation beam patterns of
the antenna systems in FIGS. 10A and 10B may be shaped in a variety
of ways. With respect to the azimuth pattern, one or more
beamformers 1022 may be coupled between the RF units (which provide
RF signal feeds) and the antenna systems. The beamformers may be
controlled by the controller 402. Those skilled in the art will
appreciate that beamformers control the amplitude and phase of a
signal at each transmitter, in order to create a pattern of
constructive and destructive interference that controls the
directionality of the radiation pattern emitted by the antennas.
The azimuth patterns can be defined, either in a digital or analog
manner, by the signal weights to the antennas. In general, the
weights are applied in either time or frequency domain. In the case
of OFDMA, the weights are applied to the corresponding subcarriers
in the frequency domain within the beamformers 1106, as shown in
FIG. 11.
[0053] With respect to the elevation beam pattern, a desired beam
pattern can be achieved by controlling how antenna elements 1002
are activated by the system. FIG. 12 depicts two representative
antenna elements 1002, such as might be fixed to an antenna
substrate. The antenna elements comprise one or more electronic
circuits 1202 that are surrounded by radiation elements 1204. By
activating some or all of the electronic circuits 1202, the
resulting emitted radiation beam may be adjusted in elevation.
Certain elevation beam patterns may be predefined and can be
activated, individually or in combination, by the antenna
controller.
[0054] It will be appreciated that in certain applications of
beamforming, transmit-diversity, or multiple-input-multiple-output
(MIMO) transmissions in azimuth, the transmitter 400 design
(including distribution network 408) may be modified to accommodate
greater antenna complexity. FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a
parallel transmitter construction for such an application.
Specifically, the transmitter is modified to generate N outputs
from each BBP, where N corresponds to the number of antenna
subsystems in the azimuth dimension or to the number of azimuth
beams need to cover a desired area (e.g., a sector). The outputs
from the BBPs are coupled to an array of RF transceivers 1302, a
bank of N distribution networks 1304, and an array of RF Units
1306. Outputs from the transmitter with a parallel construction are
coupled to the antenna system and used for beamforming,
transmit-diversity, or MIMO transmission.
[0055] The transmitter and antenna constructions disclosed herein
enable the multiple-antenna system to switch between a variety of
transmission modes that are suitable for different applications,
such as audio, video, voice, etc. In one transmission mode, unicast
data such as user-specific data and pilot subcarriers are
transmitted to MSs by their serving BS using narrow beams
(adaptively shaped or otherwise) or orthogonal beams in azimuth.
Adaptive modulation and coding, as well as power control, can be
jointly applied with these unicast-shaped beams.
[0056] In another transmission mode, sector-specific data and pilot
subcarriers are transmitted to MSs by their serving BS using a
shaped beam that covers its designated sector in azimuth. Signals
that are associated the sector-specific data subcarriers include
preamble, mid-amble, frame control header, downlink resource
allocation, uplink resource allocation, or any information that is
required to be disseminated to the MSs within the sector covered by
the serving BS. Since the directivity gain of a sector beam is
typically smaller than a narrow beam in the unicast case, a
relatively robust modulation and coding scheme may be used for a
sector-specific broadcast with a sector-shaped beam.
[0057] In still another transmission mode, broadcast data and pilot
subcarriers are transmitted by a BS using a beam pattern that is
shaped in both elevation and azimuth to maximize the network
coverage. For example, in the same frequency network (SFN), it is
desirable that the beam pattern of a BS should, to a certain
degree, overlap in both azimuth and elevation with others, so as to
achieve the optimal effects of macro-diversity. The gain from the
macro-diversity should be able to offset, to a certain extent, the
link-budget imbalance as compared to the sector beam case and
narrow beam case.
[0058] The combination of a particular scheme of frequency reuse
and a specific type of transmission can be represented by a
configuration index, such as the configuration index represented in
column 1 of Table 1. For example, an instruction to or from the
controller 402 to modify the transmission mode may be in the form
of the configuration index. The controller may use a look-up table
or other data construct to determine the appropriate switch 606
settings and amplifier 602 gain settings that are associated with
the specified configuration index, as exemplified in Table 1. In
addition, the configuration index may also dictate the type of
elevation beam used for a specific transmission (e.g., "conformed"
or "extended" in Table 1). Given a configuration index, the
controller will control the gain, switch setting, and beamformer or
other antenna control to produce a desired beam pattern for
transmission or reception.
[0059] In some embodiments, mechanisms are employed to deal with
the transition from one transmission mode to another transmission
mode. In particular, a transition period (TP) may be inserted
between transmission slots of different types of applications. For
example, in the time structure shown in FIG. 3, DL Slot #1 may be a
video broadcast slot and DL Slot #2 may be a data unicast slot.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram depicting how the DL subframe 302 may be
modified to incorporate a transition period. As depicted in FIG.
14, a transition period 1404 is inserted between a video broadcast
slot 1402 and a data unicast slot 1406. The transition from one
type of application to the next may require turning on/off switches
and/or amplifiers, antenna control circuits, etc. The TP that is
inserted must be sufficiently long for these devices to reach
steady or near steady states. In addition, necessary MAC functions
dealing with the TP such as scheduling and control messages will be
performed by the MAC processor. It will be appreciated that the
length of the transition period may be a constant that is selected
based on the worst-case amount of time necessary for devices to
reach steady or near steady state when switching from one
transmission mode to another transmission mode. Alternatively, the
length of the transition period may be varied so that it is
optimized depending on the type of transition between transmission
modes.
[0060] Instead of inserting a transition period to accommodate a
switch from one transmission mode to another transmission mode, the
transition can be scheduled to take place between OFDM symbols such
that a portion of the cyclic prefix or postfix can be used for the
switched devices to reach a steady or near-steady state, provided
that the cyclic prefix or postfix is designed to be longer than the
time required for the transition.
[0061] The above detailed description of embodiments of the system
is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the system to the
precise form disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and
examples for, the system are described above for illustrative
purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the
scope of the system, as those skilled in the relevant art will
recognize. For example, while processes are presented in a given
order, alternative embodiments may perform routines having steps in
a different order, and some processes may be deleted, moved, added,
subdivided, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative or
subcombinations. Each of these processes may be implemented in a
variety of different ways. Further any specific numbers noted
herein are only examples: alternative implementations may employ
differing values or ranges.
[0062] These and other changes can be made to the invention in
light of the above Detailed Description. While the above
description describes certain embodiments of the technology, and
describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the
above appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways.
Details of the system may vary considerably in its implementation
details, while still being encompassed by the technology disclosed
herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing
certain features or aspects of the technology should not be taken
to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be
restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of
the technology with which that terminology is associated. In
general, the terms used in the following claims should not be
construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments
disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed
Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the
actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed
embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or
implementing the invention under the claims.
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