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AssigneeQUALCOMM Incorporated
InventorsRobert P. Gilmore, Daniel Laramie
Estimating the term…
A system and method for using a sectored antenna arrangement within a cellular base station to provide redundant coverage within the surrounding cell is disclosed herein. An antenna feed network connects elements of the sectored antenna arrangement to a set of communication transceivers, wherein the feed network includes a combiner array for combining selected ones of the antenna beams upon failure of one of the communication transceivers. A switch network serves to provide the resultant combined beam to an operative one of the communication transceivers. Alternately, the sectored antenna arrangement includes an antenna array having a plurality of switchable antenna elements, each connected to one of the communication transceivers. The switchable antenna elements project a set of variable-width antenna beams over the plurality of cell sectors. Upon one of the communication transceivers becoming inoperative, an antenna control network operates to adjust beam width of a selected one of the variable-width antenna beams by switching configuration of an associated one of the switchable antenna elements. In another approach each antenna within a primary array is disposed to project a beam over a single sector, while each element within a redundant array is designed to encompass a pair of adjacent sectors. Upon one of the transceivers becoming inoperative, a transceiver nominally assigned to cover a sector neighboring the failed sector is connected to the element within the redundant array encompassing both the failed and neighboring sectors.
In a cellular subscriber communication system in which a cell-site is used to communicate information signals to and from users within a first cell having a plurality of sectors, said cell-site including a plurality of communication transceivers in communication through a sectored antenna arrangement with said users disposed in corresponding ones of said plurality of sectors, said sectored antenna arrangement comprising:
In a cellular subscriber communication system in which a cell-site is used to communicate information signals to and from users within a first cell having a plurality of sectors, said cell-site including a plurality of communication transceivers in communication through a sectored antenna arrangement with said users disposed in corresponding ones of said plurality of sectors, said sectored antenna arrangement comprising:
In a cellular subscriber communication system in which a cell-site is used to communicate information signals to and from users within a first cell having a plurality of sectors, said cell-site including a plurality of communication transceivers in communication through a sectored antenna arrangement with said users disposed in corresponding ones of said plurality of sectors, said sectored antenna arrangement comprising:
In a cellular subscriber communication system in which a cell-site is used to communicate information signals to and from users within a first cell having a plurality of sectors, said cell-site including a plurality of communication transceivers in communication through a sectored antenna arrangement with said users disposed in corresponding ones of said plurality of sectors, said sectored antenna arrangement comprising:
In a cellular subscriber communication system in which a cell-site is used to communicate information signals to and from users within a first cell having a plurality of sectors, said cell-site including a plurality of communication transceivers in communication through a sectored antenna arrangement with said users disposed in corresponding ones of said plurality of sectors, a method for providing redundant coverage of said sectors comprising the steps of:
In a cellular subscriber communication system in which a cell-site is used to communicate information signals to and from users within a first cell having a plurality of sectors, said cell-site including a plurality of communication transceivers in communication through a sectored antenna arrangement with said users disposed in corresponding ones of said plurality of sectors, a method for providing redundant coverage of said sectors comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.