Wireless communication apparatus

• US 10,381,723 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2015
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Uchida, Shigeru, Okazaki, Akihiro, Taira, Akinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Henson, Jamaal
• Application Number:
  US15/564,095
• Publication Number:
  US 20180138590A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,469 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/01 varying the shape of the antenna or antenna system
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0413 MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0619 using feedback from receiving side feedback signaling for adaptive modulation/coding H04L1/0001
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0695 using beam selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 11/0069 Cell search, i.e. determining cell identity [cell-ID] design of multiplexing codes H04J13/00; processing access restriction or access information H04W48/16; discovery of network devices for network data management H04W8/005; sounding signals for channel estimation H04L25/0226; structure of reference signals in multicarrier modulation systems H04L27/2613; frame, time or carrier synchronisation in multicarrier modulation systems H04L27/2655
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering

Abstract

A wireless communication apparatus, for example a wireless base station that spatially multiplexes data for transmission, includes plural array antennas and a beam shape controller that controls the array antennas to form beams of different shapes and each transmit signals for communication quality measurement in an area to be covered by the apparatus, and determines an initial value of a beam shape to be used in data transmission to a counterpart device that has received the signal for communication quality measurement, and after the initial value is determined, repeatedly executes processing to control the array antennas to tentatively change a beam shape in use in data transmission to the counterpart device, and redetermine a beam shape to be used in data transmission to the counterpart device, based on communication quality measured when the post-tentative-change beam shape is used and communication quality measured when the pre-tentative-change beam shape is used.

Claims

1. A wireless communication apparatus that spatially multiplexes data for transmission, comprising:

a plurality of array antennas,

a first processor, and

a first memory to store the first program which, when executed by the first processor, performs processes of,

controlling the plurality of array antennas so that the array antennas form beams of different shapes and each transmit signals for communication quality measurement in an area to be covered by the apparatus,

determining an initial value of a beam shape to be used in data transmission to a counterpart device that has received the signals for communication quality measurement, based on communication quality of each beam measured by the opposite apparatus, and

after the initial value is determined, repeatedly executing processing to control the array antennas to tentatively change a beam shape in use in data transmission to the counterpart device, and to redetermine a beam shape to be used in data transmission to the counterpart device, based on communication quality measured when a post-tentative-change beam shape is used and communication quality measured when a pre-tentative-change beam shape is used, wherein the first processor sets a beam shape to be used in data transmission to the counterpart device to a beam shape indicated by the initial value when an array antenna used in data transmission to the counterpart device is changed.

2. A wireless communication apparatus that spatially multiplexes data for transmission, comprising:

a plurality of array antennas,

a first processor, and

a first memory to store the first program which, when executed by the first processor, performs processes of,

controlling the plurality of array antennas so that the array antennas form beams of different shapes and each transmit signals for communication quality measurement in an area to be covered by the apparatus,

determining an initial value of a beam shape to be used in data transmission to a counterpart device that has received the signals for communication quality measurement, based on communication quality of each beam measured by the opposite apparatus, and

after the initial value is determined, repeatedly executing processing to control the array antennas to tentatively change a beam shape in use in data transmission to the counterpart device, and to redetermine a beam shape to be used in data transmission to the counterpart device, based on communication quality measured when a post-tentative-change beam shape is used and communication quality measured when a pre-tentative-change beam shape is used, wherein

on each radio frame basis, the first processor determines counterpart devices to which data are transmitted, and executes radio resource assignment processing to select each of the determined counterpart devices to which data is transmitted one by one sequentially, and assign one or more of the array antennas, which is to be used in data transmission to each selected counterpart device, to the selected counterpart device, and

in the radio resource assignment processing, the first processor redetermines a beam shape to be used in data transmission to the selected counterpart device each time the array antenna is assigned to the selected counterpart device.

3. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when there is an array antenna that is not assigned to any one of the counterpart devices and there is data addressed to a counterpart device to which no array antennas are assigned in the radio resource assignment processing after the first processor has executed the radio resource assignment processing, the first processor assigns an array antenna, which is not assigned to any one of the counterpart devices, to the counterpart device to which the data is addressed.