Diversity receiver with channel estimator

A diversity receiver, comprising:

• a plurality of antennas configured to receive radio frequency signals;
• a plurality of receiver circuits each coupled to a respective one of the plurality of antennas and configured to process the received radio frequency signals;
• a channel estimator coupled to at least one of the receiver circuits and configured to determine at least one channel estimation value corresponding to a transfer function of a transmission channel at a given carrier frequency for the respective received radio frequency signals;
• and
• a controller coupled to the channel estimator and to at least one of the receiver circuits, and configured to selectively activate and deactivate the at least one receiver circuit depending on the determined at least one of channel estimation value,
• wherein the radio frequency signals received by the antennas are multi-carrier signals, and wherein:
• the channel estimator is configured to determine channel estimation values for predetermined individual carriers of the received radio frequency signals, and
• the controller is configured to deactivate the at least one receiver circuit if at least one of the determined channel estimation values for a predetermined number of individual carriers exceeds a predetermined threshold.

A diversity receiver, comprising:

• a plurality of antennas configured to receive radio frequency signals, wherein the radio frequency signals propagate to the antennas via transmission channels;
• a plurality of means for processing the received radio frequency signals;
• means for determining at least one channel estimation value for the respective received radio frequency signals, wherein the channel estimation values characterize a transfer function of the respective transmission channels at respective carrier frequencies at which the respective radio signals are received;
• and
• means for selectively activating and deactivating at least one of the means for processing the received radio frequency signals based on the determined at least one channel estimation value, wherein:
• a first plurality of the antennas and the receiver circuits coupled to the first plurality of antennas form a first group, and
• the channel estimation means is coupled to the receiver circuits of the first group and is configured to determine channel estimation values for the radio frequency signals received by the antennas of the first group.

A method, comprising:

• receiving radio frequency signals on a plurality of antennas;
• processing the received radio frequency signals using a plurality of receiver circuits, wherein the radio frequency signals received on each antenna are processed in an individual receiver circuit, respectively;
• determining at least one channel estimation value corresponding to a transfer function of a transmission channel at a given carrier frequency for the radio frequency signals received on at least one of the antennas;
• and
• selectively activating or deactivating at least one of the receiver circuits based on the determined at least one channel estimation value, wherein:
• a first plurality of the antennas and the receiver circuits are coupled to the first plurality of antennas form a first group, and
• determining channel estimation values for the radio frequency signals received by the antennas of the first group.

A method, comprising:

• receiving radio frequency signals on a plurality of antennas;
• processing the received radio frequency signals using a plurality of receiver circuits, wherein the radio frequency signals received on each antenna are processed in an individual receiver circuit, respectively;
• determining at least one channel estimation value corresponding to a transfer function of a transmission channel at a given carrier frequency for the radio frequency signals received on at least one of the antennas;
• and
• selectively activating or deactivating at least one of the receiver circuits based on the determined at least one channel estimation value,
• wherein the radio frequency signals received on the antennas are multi-carrier signals, and wherein:
• channel estimation values are determined for predetermined individual carriers of the received radio frequency signals, and wherein
• the at least one receiver circuit is deactivated if at least one of the determined channel estimation values for a predetermined number of individual carriers crosses a predetermined threshold.

A diversity receiver, comprising:

• a plurality of antennas configured to receive radio frequency signals;
• a plurality of receiver circuits each coupled to a respective one of the plurality of antennas and configured to process the received radio frequency signals;
• a channel estimator coupled to at least one of the receiver circuits and configured to determine at least one channel estimation value for the respective received radio frequency signals;
• and
• a controller coupled to the channel estimator and to at least one of the receiver circuits, and configured to selectively activate and deactivate the at least one receiver circuit depending on the determined at least one of channel estimation value,
• wherein a first plurality of the antennas and the receiver circuits coupled to the first plurality of antennas form a first group, and
• wherein the channel estimator is coupled to the receiver circuits of the first group and is configured to determine channel estimation values for the radio frequency signals received by the antennas of the first group;
• wherein a plurality of the receiver circuits form a second group, and
• wherein the controller is coupled to the receiver circuits of the second group and is configured to deactivate the receiver circuits of the second group if a predetermined number of the determined channel estimation values for the radio frequency signals received by a predetermined number of antennas of the first group exceeds a predetermined threshold.