Method, control system and communication system for adapting beam patterns
AssigneeTelefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ)
InventorsLars Manholm, Sven Petersson, Stefan Johansson
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a method and control system for adapting beam patterns generated by at least one array antenna serving one or more users. Each array antenna comprising multiple antenna subarrays within an aperture and is configured to provide coverage to a service area using a set of fixed beams, each fixed beam having a beam pattern covering a portion of the service area which beam pattern is generated by applying weights to the antenna subarrays.
Claims16
A method for adapting beam patterns generated by at least one array antenna serving one or more users using multiple spatial MIMO streams, each array antenna comprising multiple antenna subarrays within an aperture and is configured to provide coverage to a service area using a set of fixed beams, each fixed beam having a beam pattern covering a portion of said service area which beam pattern is generated by applying weights to said antenna subarrays, wherein the method comprises:
- a) generating several sets of weights for each fixed beam, wherein each set of weights generates similar coverage in a main direction and side lobe levels lower than one or more thresholds in other directions than said main direction, said other directions corresponding to the main direction of a limited number of fixed beams belonging to said set of fixed beams,
- b) storing said sets of weights for each fixed beam,
- c) receiving information from a scheduler regarding at least two fixed beams intended to be used for communication purposes, wherein a first fixed beam and a second fixed beam provides coverage to said one or more users,
- d) selecting a set of weights from said stored sets of weights for said first fixed beam based on the side lobe levels in the main direction of said second fixed beam, and a set of weights from said stored sets of weights for said second fixed beam based on the side lobe levels in the main direction of said first fixed beam to minimize interference between said first and second beams, and
- e) applying said selected set of weights for each fixed beam to the antenna subarrays of the at least one array antenna when generating the respective beam pattern.
A control system for adapting beam patterns generated by at least one array antenna serving one or more users using multiple spatial MIMO streams, each array antenna comprising multiple antenna subarrays within an aperture and is configured to provide coverage to a service area using a set of fixed beams, each fixed beam having a beam pattern covering a portion of said service area which beam pattern is generated by applying weights to said antenna subarrays, said control system comprises:
- a memory associated with each array antenna configured to store several sets of weights for each fixed beam, wherein each set of weights is configured to generate similar coverage in a main direction and side lobe levels lower than one or more thresholds in other directions than said main direction, said other directions corresponding to the main direction of a limited number of fixed beams belonging to said set of fixed beams, and
- at least one processing unit configured to:
- receive information regarding at least two fixed beams intended to be used for communication purposes, wherein a first fixed beam and a second fixed beam provides coverage to said one or more users,
- select a set of weights from said memory for said first fixed beam based on the side lobe levels in the main direction of the second fixed beam, and a set of weights from the memory for said second fixed beam based on the side lobe levels in the main direction of the first fixed beam to minimize interference between said first and second fixed beams, and
- provide information regarding set of weights for each fixed beam intended for communication to be applied to the antenna subarrays of the at least one array antenna when generating the respective beam pattern.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.