Method and apparatus for adapting antenna array to reduce adaptation time while increasing array performance

An antenna apparatus for use with a transmitter in a wireless communication system, said antenna apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of antenna elements for transmitting a composite beam;
• a like plurality of weight control components, each respectively coupled to one of said plurality of antenna elements;
• and
• said plurality of weight control components operable in a first mode for jointly adjusting at least two of said plurality of weight control components and operable in a second mode for independently adjusting each one of said plurality of weight control components to form the composite beam.

An antenna apparatus for use with a transceiver in a wireless communication system, said antenna apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of antenna elements for transmitting and receiving a composite beam;
• a like plurality of weight control components, each respectively coupled to one of said plurality of antenna elements;
• and
• said plurality of weight control components operable in a first mode for jointly adjusting at least two of said plurality of weight control components and operable in a second mode for independently adjusting each one of said plurality of weight control components to form the composite beam.

An antenna apparatus for use with a subscriber unit operative in a wireless communication system, said antenna apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of antenna elements for transmitting and receiving a composite beam;
• a like plurality of weight control components, each respectively coupled to one of said plurality of antenna elements;
• and
• said plurality of weight control components operable in a first mode for jointly adjusting at least two of said plurality of weight control components and operable in a second mode for independently adjusting each one of said plurality of weight control components to form the composite beam.

A method for setting optimal weight control component arrangements for a plurality of antenna elements of a transceiver, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) detecting a received pilot signal at each of the plurality of antenna elements;
• (b) combining the received pilot signal detected at each of the plurality of antenna elements to produce a combined received pilot signal;
• (c) determining a signal quality metric for the combined received pilot signal;
• (d) jointly adjusting the weight control components associated with at least two of the plurality of antenna elements in the subscriber unit in response to the signal quality metric of the received pilot signal;
• (e) repeating the step (d) until an optimum signal quality metric is achieved;
• (f) independently adjusting the weight control components in response to the signal quality metric of the received signal;
• and
• (g) repeating the step (e) until the determined signal quality metric of the combined received pilot signal reaches an optimum value.

A method for optimizing a signal transmitted from or received by a transceiver, said transceiver comprising a plurality of antenna elements and a like plurality of weight control components for configuring the weight of the signal transmitted or received by the antenna elements, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) detecting a received signal at each of the plurality of antenna elements;
• (b) combining the received signal detected at each of the plurality of antenna elements to produce a combined received signal;
• (c) determining a signal quality metric for the combined received signal;
• (d) jointly adjusting the weight control component associated with at least two of the plurality of antenna elements in response to the signal quality metric of the combined received signal to optimize the signal quality metric;
• and
• (e) independently adjusting the signal control components in response to the signal quality metric of the combined received signal to further optimize the signal quality metric.

An antenna apparatus for use with a transceiver in a wireless communications system, said antenna apparatus comprising:

• at least one active antenna element;
• a plurality of parasitic antenna elements;
• a like plurality of weight control components, each respectively coupled to one of said plurality of parasitic elements;
• a controller for controlling each one of said plurality of weight control components to produce a parasitic signal in response to the received signal at each one of the plurality of parasitic antenna elements, wherein said controller adjusts the plurality of weight control components in a first mode for jointly adjusting at least two of said plurality of weight control components and further adjusts the weight control components in a second mode for independently adjusting each one of said plurality of weight control components.
• wherein the parasitic signal is radiated from each one of the plurality of the parasitic antenna elements;
• and
• wherein a composite signal is formed at said active element by combining the plurality of parasitic signals.