Method and apparatus for using switched multibeam antennas in a multiple access communication system
First Claim
1. In a communication system comprising a plurality of mobile stations and a switched beam antenna system, wherein the switched beam antenna system comprises an infrastructure and a plurality of beams for conveying user information from the infrastructure to the plurality of mobile stations, a method for conveying user information to each mobile station of the plurality of mobile stations, the method comprising a step of scheduling a different mobile station of the plurality of mobile stations for substantially simultaneous use of each beam of the plurality of beams.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In order to increase a capacity, or a number of mobile stations (MSs), or users, that may engaged in concurrent communication sessions, a communication system is provided that schedules a different MS, or user, in each beam of multiple predetermined, fixed beams associated with a coverage area, in particular a sector. By simultaneously scheduling a user in each beam of the multiple beams, a performance and throughput of communication system is significantly increased over the prior art. In one embodiment of the present invention, a portion of a shared communication channel that is allocated to each MS is concurrently transmitted to each MS via a beam associated with the MS. In other embodiments of the present invention, voice channels, data channels, and control channels associated with each MS scheduled in a beam may be concurrently transmitted to each MS via the beam associated with the MS.
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Citations
24 Claims
- 1. In a communication system comprising a plurality of mobile stations and a switched beam antenna system, wherein the switched beam antenna system comprises an infrastructure and a plurality of beams for conveying user information from the infrastructure to the plurality of mobile stations, a method for conveying user information to each mobile station of the plurality of mobile stations, the method comprising a step of scheduling a different mobile station of the plurality of mobile stations for substantially simultaneous use of each beam of the plurality of beams.
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13. In a communication system comprising a switched beam antenna system that generates a plurality of predetermined, fixed beams, a base station subsystem comprising:
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an antenna array comprising a plurality of array elements;
a plurality of weighters, wherein each weighter of the plurality of weighters is coupled to an element of the plurality of elements; and
a processor coupled to each weighter of the plurality of weighters, wherein the processor conveys a first set of weighting coefficients to the weighters for a conveyance of information to a first mobile station of a plurality of mobile stations and further conveys a second set of weighting coefficients to the weighters for a conveyance of information to a second mobile station of the plurality of mobile stations, wherein the first set of weighting coefficients are utilized by the weighters to transmit a first beam of the plurality of beams to the first mobile station and wherein the second set of weighting coefficients are utilized by the weighters to transmit a second beam of the plurality of beams to the second mobile station. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification