US 8,526,553 B2Granted

Wireless communication node connections

AssigneeTelefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ)

InventorsMikael Coldrey, Fredrik Athley, Sven Oscar Petersson

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a wireless communication node (20A) adapted to via feeder ports be connected to antenna ports. It comprises signal handling and estimating means (21A) adapted to collect signals from a mobile station and to generate a plurality of channel estimates, connection combination information holding means (22A) adapted to hold information about all possible feeder port-antenna port connections, processing means (24A) comprising channel modelling means (23A) adapted to provide a channel model for the received signals. If further comprises channel model fitting means (25A) adapted to compare the channel model with the channel estimates for a plurality of permutations obtained by the connection combination information and order identifying means (26A) adapted to identify the feeder port connection order corresponding to the permutation order giving the best fit between channel model and channel estimates, hence allowing identification of the order in which the feeder ports actually are connected to the antenna ports.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A wireless communication node adapted to be connected to or comprising an antenna part with a plurality of antenna elements and an antenna port for each antenna element, the wireless communication node comprising:

a plurality of feeder ports adapted to be connected to the antenna ports, each antenna port being associated with a unique antenna port identification, and each feeder port being associated with a unique feeder port identification;
a signal handling and estimating unit adapted to collect signals from a mobile station and to, for signals received over antenna ports of a first, same, polarization, generate a plurality of channel estimates;
a connection combination information holding unit adapted to hold information about all possible connections between feeder ports and antenna ports;
and
a processing unit comprising or communicating with:
a channel modelling unit adapted to provide a channel model for the signals received over the co-polarized antenna elements;
a channel model fitting unit adapted to compare the channel model with the channel estimates for a plurality of permutations obtained by the connection combination information;
and
an order identifying unit adapted to identify the feeder port connection order corresponding to the permutation order giving the best fit between channel model and channel estimates as the current feeder port connection order.

6 more elements

A method for, in a wireless communication node connected to or comprising an antenna part with a plurality of antenna elements associated with respective antenna ports, determining connection combinations between the antenna ports and feeder ports of the wireless communication node, each antenna port being associated with a unique antenna port identification or order number and each feeder port being associated with a unique feeder port identification, wherein an uplink signal is received over the antenna elements from a mobile station, the method comprising:

performing a channel estimation using a known reference signal to obtain channel estimates;
finding all possible combinations of antenna port and feeder port connections or all possible permutations (N!);
providing or generating, by means of a modeling function, a channel model for a signal received from the mobile station,
for a plurality of permutations:
fitting, for the said plurality of permutations, the channel model to the channel estimates;
identifying the feeder port order corresponding to the permutation giving the best fit between channel model and channel estimate as current feeder port connection order.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.