Adjusting an antenna configuration of a terminal device in a cellular communication system

• US 10,193,584 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2017
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Mobile Communications Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ying, Zhinong, Bengtsson, Erik
• Primary Examiner(s): Shiue, Dong-Chang
• Application Number:
  US15/593,876
• Publication Number:
  US 20170346517A1
• Time in Patent Office: 627 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/242 specially adapted for hand-held use
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/273 Adaptation for carrying or wearing by persons or animals
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1027 assessing signal quality or detecting noise/interference for the received signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1081 Reduction of multipath noise by equalising H04B7/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/336 Signal-to-interference ratio [SIR] or carrier-to-interference ratio [CIR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0404 the mobile station comprising multiple antennas, e.g. to provide uplink diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0452 Multi-user MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0608 Antenna selection according to transmission parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0689 using different transmission schemes, at least one of them being a diversity transmission scheme
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0808 comparing all antennas before reception
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0871 using different reception schemes, at least one of them being a diversity reception scheme
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0888 with selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/0204 of multiple channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/0224 using sounding signals

Abstract

A method for adjusting an antenna configuration of the terminal device (30) in a cellular communication system (10). The system (10) includes a base station (20) and a terminal device (30) having a plurality of antenna elements (40-43). In the terminal device (30) a plurality of preset antenna configurations is provided. Each antenna configuration defines at least one reception parameter for the plurality of antenna elements (40-43). For each antenna configuration of the plurality of preset antenna configurations the antenna configuration is applied to the plurality of antenna elements (40-43) and a reception characteristic of a signal transmission from the base station (20) is determined. Based on the plurality of reception characteristics one antenna configuration is selected and applied to the plurality of antenna elements (40-43) for further signal transmissions.

Claims

1. A method for adjusting an antenna configuration of a terminal device in a cellular communication system, the cellular communication system comprising a base station and the terminal device. the terminal device being a portable user equipment and comprising a plurality of antenna elements, the method comprising:

providing, in the terminal device, a plurality of preset antenna configurations, each antenna configuration of the plurality of preset antenna configurations defining phase information and amplitude information for each of the plurality of antenna elements, the phase information and the amplitude information used in combining signals respectively received by the antenna elements,

determining a reception characteristic of a signal transmission sent from the base station and received at the plurality of antenna elements,

comparing the determined reception characteristic with a threshold value,

in response to the determined reception characteristic is greater than the threshold value, adjusting the antenna configuration according to a channel sounding procedure, and

in response to the determined reception characteristic is less than the threshold value, adjusting the antenna configuration by;

performing consecutively for each preset antenna configuration of the plurality of preset antenna configurations;

applying the antenna configuration to the plurality of antenna elements, and

determining a reception characteristic of a signal transmission sent from the base station and received at the plurality of antenna elements with the applied antenna configuration,

selecting one antenna configuration of the plurality of preset antenna configurations based on the plurality of reception characteristics determined for the plurality of preset antenna configurations, and

applying the selected antenna configuration to the plurality of antenna elements for further signal transmissions.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of antenna elements are arranged at different respective locations of the terminal device to form a conformal antenna conforming a prescribed shape of a component of the terminal device, each antenna element having different transmission properties with respect to polarization, phase and gain for different directions.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of preset antenna configurations is provided in the terminal device as predefined data which has been specifically determined for the type of the terminal device during development of the type of terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

optimizing the applied antenna configuration by an iterative algorithm.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein a transmission frequency of the signal transmission is above 26 GHz.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reception characteristic comprises a signal to noise ratio.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of antenna elements are arranged at different respective locations of the terminal device to form a conformal antenna conforming a prescribed shape of a component of the terminal device, each antenna element having different transmission properties with respect to polarization, phase and gain for different directions.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the signal transmission comprises at least one of:

a pilot signal transmission of the channel sounding procedure sent from the base station and received at the plurality of antenna elements, and

a payload signal transmission sent from the base station and received at the plurality of antenna elements.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value is a signal to noise ratio below 1 dB.

10. A terminal device for a cellular communication system, the cellular communication system comprising a base station and the terminal device, the terminal device being a portable user equipment and comprising:

a plurality of antenna elements,

a memory storing a plurality of preset antenna configurations, each antenna configuration of the plurality of preset antenna configurations defining phase information and amplitude information for each of the plurality of antenna elements, the phase information and the amplitude information used in combining signals respectively received by the antenna elements, and

a processing unit configured

to determine a reception characteristic of a signal transmission sent from the base station and received at the plurality of antenna elements,

to compare the determined reception characteristic with a threshold value,

when the determined reception characteristic is greater than the threshold value, to adjust the antenna configuration according to a channel sounding procedure, and

when the determined reception characteristic is less than the threshold value, the processor unit is further configured to;

apply consecutively for each preset antenna configuration of the plurality of preset antenna configurations the antenna configuration to the plurality of antenna elements, and

determine for each antenna configuration of the plurality of preset antenna configurations a reception characteristic of a signal transmission sent from the base station and received at the plurality of antenna elements with the applied antenna configuration,

select one antenna configuration of the plurality of preset antenna configurations based on the plurality of reception characteristics determined for the plurality of preset antenna configurations, and

apply the selected antenna configuration to the plurality of antenna elements for further signal transmissions.

11. The terminal device according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of antenna elements are arranged at different respective locations of the terminal device to form a conformal antenna conforming a prescribed shape of a component of the terminal device, each antenna element having different transmission properties with respect to polarization, phase and gain for different directions.

12. The terminal device according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of antenna elements comprises four to sixteen antenna elements.