Antenna apparatus and method for handover using the same

• US 10,096,907 B2
• Filed: 10/13/2016
• Issued: 10/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Hong, Seung Eun, Lee, Moon Sik, Song, Young Seog, Lee, Jun Hwan, Choi, Eun Young, Kim, Il Gyu, Bang, Seung Chan
• Primary Examiner(s): Levi, Dameon E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alkassim, Jr., Ab Salam
• Application Number:
  US15/292,897
• Publication Number:
  US 20170033447A1
• Time in Patent Office: 726 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/061 Two dimensional planar arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/065 Patch antenna array
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/205 providing an omnidirectional coverage turnstile aerials H01Q21/26
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/22 Antenna units of the array energised non-uniformly in amplitude or phase, e.g. tapered array or binomial array
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/26 Turnstile or like antennas comprising arrangements of three or more elongated elements disposed radially and symmetrically in a horizontal plane about a common centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0072 of resource information of target access point

Abstract

There are provided an antenna apparatus and a method of handover using the antenna apparatus. The antenna apparatus may comprise a plurality of antenna elements forming a plurality of beams in a predetermined service area. The plurality of antenna elements are arranged in a plurality of rows, and a number of antenna elements included in an uppermost row of the plurality of rows is smaller than a number of antenna elements included in a downmost row of the plurality of rows, and differences between center angles of beams formed by the antenna elements included in the downmost row are larger than differences between center angles of beams formed by the antenna elements included in the uppermost row.

Claims

1. An antenna apparatus of a base station comprising:

N planes supporting communication services of the base station in a 360 degree area; and

a plurality of antenna elements disposed in each of the N planes,

wherein the N is an integer equal to or more than 3, each of the N planes supports the communication services of the base station in a 360/N degree area, the plurality of antenna elements are arranged in a plurality of rows in each of the N planes, a number of antenna elements included in a downmost row of the plurality of rows is smaller than a number of antenna elements included in an uppermost row of the plurality of rows, differences between center angles of beams formed by the antenna elements included in the downmost row are larger than differences between center angles of beams formed by the antenna elements included in the uppermost row, the beams formed by the antenna elements included in the uppermost row are directed to coverage boundaries of the base station, and beams formed by antenna elements included in remaining rows except for the uppermost row among the plurality of rows are directed to inside of coverage of the base station.

2. The apparatus of the claim 1, wherein horizontal beam widths of beams formed by antenna elements included in the same row of the plurality of rows are configured to be identical.

3. The apparatus of the claim 1, wherein vertical beam widths of beams formed by antenna elements included in the downmost row are larger than vertical beam widths of beams formed by antenna elements included in the uppermost row.

4. The apparatus of the claim 1, wherein a horizontal angle of a beam formed by the antenna elements of each row increases sequentially with each row in a sequence progressing a row at a time from the uppermost row to the downmost row, and the horizontal angle is an angle between a horizontal axis and a direction axis of the beam formed by the antenna elements of each row.

5. The apparatus of the claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a first row, a second row, a third row, and a fourth row;

antenna elements included in the first row and the second row have the same horizontal and vertical beam widths; and

antenna elements included in the fourth row have vertical beam widths larger than vertical beam widths of antenna elements included in antenna elements included in the first and second rows.

6. The apparatus of the claim 5, wherein differences between center angles of beams formed by antenna elements included in the third row are larger than differences between center angles of beams formed by antenna elements included in the first and second rows, and differences between center angles of beams formed by the antenna elements included in the fourth row are larger than differences between center angles of beams formed by antenna elements included in the third row.