US 6,806,844 B2Granted

Calibration system for array antenna receiving apparatus

AssigneeNEC Corporation

InventorTomohiro Azuma

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Abstract

A calibration system of an array antenna receiving apparatus is used for cellular mobile communication systems. In the array antenna receiving apparatus of the present calibration system, a calibration time determining unit (111) determines an adaptive calibration time based on detection voltages of the total reception power inputted to antenna radio receiving units (104-1 to 104-N). Next, a calibration signal processing unit (112) detects phase/amplitude information of a calibration signal from multiplexing signals outputted from the antenna radio receiving units based on the longest calibration time among the calibration times. User signal processing units (108-1 to 108-M) correct outputs from the antenna radio receiving units based on the phase/amplitude information. Therefore, the deterioration of the reception sensitivity of a user signal to a mobile machine can be prevented and the reduction of the number of users in the cellular system can further be prevented.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A calibration system of an array antenna receiving apparatus, for inputting a multiplexing signal which is obtained by multiplexing a well-known calibration signal to signals received from antenna devices forming an array antenna corresponding to the antenna devices, for detecting phase/amplitude information of the calibration signal every antenna radio receiving unit connected to each antenna device, based on the calibration signal extracted from the multiplexing signals, and for correcting a user signal to a mobile machine which is received every antenna radio receiving unit connected to each antenna device based on the phase/amplitude information, said calibration system comprising:

radio control means for detecting a detection voltage of the total reception power of the inputted multiplexing signal and for gain controlling the received multiplexing signal in accordance with the detection voltage and for outputting the controlled signal as a signal for extracting the calibration signal;
and
signal processing means for receiving the detection voltage of the total reception power from said control means, for determining an adaptive calibration time every antenna device based on the detection voltage, and for detecting and outputting the phase/amplitude information of the calibration signal from the multiplexing signal based on the longest calibration time among the calibration times.

A calibration system of an array antenna receiving apparatus comprising a calibration radio transmitting unit for transmitting a well-known calibration signal, an antenna radio receiving unit connected to corresponding antenna devices forming an array antenna, for inputting a signal multiplexing the calibration signal to a signal received from each antenna device, a calibration signal processing unit for detecting phase/amplitude information of the calibration signal every antenna radio receiving unit based on the calibration signal extracted from each of said antenna radio receiving units, and a user signal processing unit for correcting a user signal to a mobile machine, which is received by each of said antenna radio receiving units based on the phase/amplitude information every antenna detected by said calibration signal processing unit, said calibration system further comprising:

a radio control unit arranged to each of said antenna radio receiving units, for outputting an AGC control signal for controlling gain in accordance with a detection voltage of the total reception power inputted to the corresponding antenna radio receiving unit;
and
a calibration time determining unit for determining and outputting an adaptive calibration time every antenna radio receiving unit based on the detection voltage of the total reception power inputted to each of said antenna radio receiving units,
wherein each of said antenna radio receiving unit detects the detection voltage of the total reception power of the inputted multiplexing signal, outputs the detection voltage to said radio control unit, and outputs gain of the received multiplexing signal by gain in accordance with the AGC control signal received from the corresponding radio control unit, and
said calibration signal processing unit detects and outputs the phase/amplitude information of the calibration signal from the multiplexing signal outputted from each of said antenna radio receiving units based on the longest calibration time among the calibration times of the antenna radio receiving units outputted from said calibration time determining unit.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/296,157Filed 13 Jun 2003
Priority: JP 2000-15115923 May 2000
Published: US 2003/0236107 A125 Dec 2003
Granted: 19 Oct 2004
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

H04B 17/0085
Using service channels; using auxiliary channels: using test signal generators
H01Q 3/267
Varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of…
H04B 7/08
Using two or more spaced independent antennas: at the receiving station
H04B 17/221
For calibration of the receiver components: of receiver antennas, e.g. as to amplitude or phase