Communication load balancing using distributed antenna beam steering techniques
AssigneeKyocera AVX Components (San Diego), Inc.
InventorsLaurent Desclos, Jeffrey Shamblin, Olivier Pajona
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Abstract
A load balancing method for cellular communication systems and communication systems in general is described where beam steering antenna systems on the client or user side of the communication link are used to optimize load balancing among the base stations or nodes. A system controller containing an algorithm is implemented to control the radiation modes from the client or user devices to assign the client or user devices to the various base stations or nodes and to dynamically vary the network load across the cellular or communication system.
Claims10
A method of load balancing in a communications network comprising a system controller, a plurality of base terminals, and a plurality of wireless client devices, at least one wireless client device of the plurality of wireless client devices comprising a modal antenna configurable in a plurality of radiation modes, the method comprising:
- surveying, by the system controller, communication link performance between the at least one wireless client device and one or more base terminals of the plurality of base terminals when the modal antenna of the at least one wireless client device is configured in each of the plurality of radiation modes, wherein each of the plurality of radiation modes has a different radiation pattern;
- and
- selecting, by the system controller, one of the plurality of radiation modes as a selected mode for the modal antenna of the at least one wireless client device to load balance the communications network based, at least in part, on the communication link performance between the at least one wireless client device and the one or more base terminals when the modal antenna of the at least one wireless client device is configured in each of the plurality of radiation modes,
- wherein in the selected mode:
- downlink communication performance is improved relative to uplink communication performance for one or more of the plurality of base terminals;
- or
- uplink communication performance for one or more base terminals of the plurality of base terminals is improved relative to downlink communication performance for the one or more base terminals.
A system controller for a communications network comprising a plurality of base terminals and a plurality of wireless client devices, at least one of the plurality of wireless client devices comprising a modal antenna configurable in a plurality of radiation modes, the system controller comprising:
- one or more processors configured to:
- survey communication link performance between the at least one wireless client device and one or more base terminals of the plurality of base terminals when the modal antenna of the at least one wireless client device is configured in each of the plurality of radiation modes, wherein each of the plurality of radiation modes has a different radiation pattern;
- and
- select one of the plurality of radiation modes as a selected mode for the modal antenna of the at least one wireless client device for at least one of uplink communications and downlink communications to load balance the communications network based, at least in part, on the communication link performance between the at least one wireless client device and the one or more base terminals when the modal antenna of the at least one wireless client device is configured in each of the plurality of radiation modes,
- wherein in the selected mode:
- downlink communication performance is improved relative to uplink communication performance for one or more of the plurality of base terminals;
- or
- uplink communication performance for one or more base terminals of the plurality of base terminals is improved relative to downlink communication performance for the one or more base terminals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.