Alignment determination for antennas
First Claim
1. A system for determining orientation of a base station antenna, the system comprising:
- a plurality of accelerometers rigidly mounted to the base station antenna, wherein at least one pair of accelerometers are arranged as antipodes so that first axes of each accelerometer in the at least one pair of accelerometers point in opposite directions, second axes of each accelerometer in the at least one pair of accelerometers point in opposite directions, and third axes of each accelerometer in the at least one pair of accelerometers point in the same direction, wherein the first, second, and third axes are perpendicular to each other;
a plurality of magnetometers rigidly mounted to the base station antenna, wherein at least one pair of the magnetometers are arranged as antipodes so that fourth axes of each magnetometer in the at least one pair of magnetometers point in opposite directions, fifth axes of each magnetometer in the at least one pair of magnetometers point in opposite directions, and sixth axes of each magnetometer in the at least one pair of magnetometers point in the same direction, wherein the fourth, fifth, and sixth axes are perpendicular to each other; and
a controller configured to (i) receive signals from the one or more accelerometers and the one or more magnetometers and (ii) determine tilt, roll, and yaw angles of the base station antenna, wherein the controller is configured to;
(1) determine the tilt and roll angles of the base station antenna based on the signals from the one or more accelerometers; and
(2) determine the yaw angle of the base station antenna based on (a) the determined tilt and roll angles and (b) the signals from the one or more magnetometers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An exemplary alignment module for a base station antenna has one or more accelerometers and one or more magnetometers. The one or more accelerometers are used to determine tilt and roll angles of the antenna, while the yaw angle of the antenna is determined using the one or more magnetometers and the determined tilt and roll angles. Using multiple accelerometers and/or multiple magnetometers can improve accuracy of angle determination. A service provider can determine when to re-align the antenna by monitoring the tilt, roll, and yaw angles remotely to detect changes in antenna orientation. Yaw angle determination can also take into account offset values corresponding to soft-iron effects, hard-iron effects, and factory calibration. The need to re-calibrate offset values following changes in local magnetic environment can be detected by comparing different sensor signals, such as the different magnetic fields detected by a plurality of magnetometers.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for determining orientation of a base station antenna, the system comprising:
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a plurality of accelerometers rigidly mounted to the base station antenna, wherein at least one pair of accelerometers are arranged as antipodes so that first axes of each accelerometer in the at least one pair of accelerometers point in opposite directions, second axes of each accelerometer in the at least one pair of accelerometers point in opposite directions, and third axes of each accelerometer in the at least one pair of accelerometers point in the same direction, wherein the first, second, and third axes are perpendicular to each other; a plurality of magnetometers rigidly mounted to the base station antenna, wherein at least one pair of the magnetometers are arranged as antipodes so that fourth axes of each magnetometer in the at least one pair of magnetometers point in opposite directions, fifth axes of each magnetometer in the at least one pair of magnetometers point in opposite directions, and sixth axes of each magnetometer in the at least one pair of magnetometers point in the same direction, wherein the fourth, fifth, and sixth axes are perpendicular to each other; and a controller configured to (i) receive signals from the one or more accelerometers and the one or more magnetometers and (ii) determine tilt, roll, and yaw angles of the base station antenna, wherein the controller is configured to; (1) determine the tilt and roll angles of the base station antenna based on the signals from the one or more accelerometers; and (2) determine the yaw angle of the base station antenna based on (a) the determined tilt and roll angles and (b) the signals from the one or more magnetometers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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8. A system for determining orientation of an apparatus, the system comprising:
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a plurality of accelerometers rigidly mounted to the apparatus, each accelerometer having an X-axis, a Y-axis and a Z-axis, wherein at least one pair of accelerometers are arranged as antipodes on the same X-Y-Z axes; a plurality of magnetometers rigidly mounted to the apparatus, each magnetometer having a first axis, a second axis and a third axis that are perpendicular to each other, wherein at least one pair of the magnetometers are arranged as antipodes on the same first, second, and third axes; and a controller configured to (i) receive signals from the one or more accelerometers and the one or more magnetometers and (ii) determine tilt, roll, and yaw angles of the apparatus, wherein the controller is configured to; (1) determine the tilt and roll angles of the apparatus based on the signals from the one or more accelerometers; and (2) determine the yaw angle of the apparatus based on (a) the determined tilt and roll angles and (b) the signals from the one or more magnetometers, wherein the apparatus is a base station antenna for a wireless communications system.
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19. An alignment module for a base station antenna, the alignment module comprising:
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a plurality of accelerometers rigidly mounted to the base station antenna, wherein at least one pair of accelerometers are arranged as antipodes; a plurality of magnetometers rigidly mounted to the base station antenna, wherein at least one pair of magnetometers are arranged as antipodes; at least one GPS antenna and GPS receiver; and a controller configured to (i) receive signals from the plurality of accelerometers, the plurality of magnetometers, and the at least one GPS antenna and GPS receiver;
(ii) determine the tilt and roll angles of the base station antenna based on the signals received from the plurality of accelerometers;
(iii) determine the yaw angle of the base station antenna based on (a) the determined tilt and roll angles, (b) the signals received from the plurality of magnetometers, (c) offset values for the plurality of magnetometers, and (d) a declination angle based on coordinates received from the at least one GPS antenna and GPS receiver; and
(iv) determine a current alignment of the base station antenna based on the determined tilt, roll, and yaw angles.
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Specification