Phase-combined transmitter module and modular transmitter system

• US 20040219889A1
• Filed: 04/29/2003
• Published: 11/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Honcharenko, Walter
• Application Number:
  US10/424,693
• Publication Number:
  US 20040219889A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/91
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0483 Transmitters with multiple parallel paths

Abstract

A transmitter module is provided that includes a discrete-coefficients phase-combiner and an analog-coefficients phase combiner sandwiched on either side of a middle section having at least a bank of up-converters and a bank of amplifiers. Despite a transmission scenario changing, e.g., by the addition of another carrier frequency, it is not necessary to replace the transmitter module with new equipment. Rather, the transmitter module can be retained and reused in combination with an additional transmitter module whose software aspects (discrete-coefficients phase-combiner) can be tuned so that the transfer function of the additional transmitter module matches the transfer function of the retained transmitter module.

Claims

1. A phase-combined transmitter module comprising:

a discrete-coefficients phase-combiner, inputs of the discrete-coefficients phase-combiner representing the inputs to the transmitter module;

an up-conversion and amplification (UCA) unit to receive digital signals from the discrete-coefficients phase-combiner, up-convert and amplify the received signals and output amplified analog signals; and

an analog-coefficients phase-combiner to receive the amplified analog signals from the UCA unit, outputs of the analog-coefficients phase-combiner unit representing outputs of the transmitter module.

2. The transmitter module of claim 1, wherein the UCA unit includes:

an up-converter unit to convert the received signals into a corresponding number of analog RF signals; and

a plurality of linear amplifiers, corresponding in number to the number of analog RF signals, to provide the amplified analog signals.

3. The transmitter module of claim 1, wherein the UCA unit includes:

a signal-processor unit to digitally peak-limit and digitally pre-distort the received signals and output processed signals;

an up-converter unit to convert the received signals into a corresponding number of analog RF signals; and

a plurality of amplifiers, corresponding in number to the number of analog RF signals, to provide the amplified analog signals.

4. The transmitter module of claim 1, wherein at least one of the analog-coefficients phase-combiner and the discrete-coefficients phase-combiner is a Butler-type phase-combiner.

5. The transmitter module of claim 1, wherein the module has at least two inputs and a corresponding number of outputs.

6. The transmitter module of claim 5, wherein the module has 6 inputs and 6 outputs.

7. The transmitter module of claim 6, wherein each transmitter module can accommodate a scheme in which there is

one carrier frequency (F1), and

three sectors to be sourced by each transmitter module,

each sector being supplied with an F1-based, and

each sector consuming 2 of the 6 transmitter module outputs, with a first one of the sector outputs representing a first transmit diversity branch and a second one of the sector outputs representing a second transmit diversity branch.

8. A modular phase-combined transmitter system comprising:

at least two phase-combined transmitter modules, each module including

a discrete-coefficients phase-combiner, inputs of the discrete-coefficients phase-combiner representing the inputs to the transmitter module,

an up-conversion and amplification (UCA) unit to receive digital signals from the discrete-coefficients phase-combiner, up-convert and amplify the received signals and output amplified analog signals, and

an analog-coefficients phase-combiner to receive the amplified analog signals from the UCA unit, outputs of the analog-coefficients phase-combiner unit representing outputs of the transmitter module.

9. The transmitter system of claim 8, wherein the UCA unit includes:

an up-converter unit to convert the received signals into a corresponding number of analog RF signals; and

a plurality of linear amplifiers, corresponding in number to the number of analog RF signals, to provide the amplified analog signals.

10. The transmitter system of claim 8, wherein the UCA unit includes:

a signal-processor unit to digitally peak-limit and digitally pre-distort the received signals and output processed signals;

an up-converter unit to convert the received signals into a corresponding number of analog RF signals; and

a plurality of amplifiers, corresponding in number to the number of analog RF signals, to provide the amplified analog signals.

11. The transmitter system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the analog-coefficients phase-combiner and the discrete-coefficients phase-combiner is a Butler-type phase-combiner.

12. The transmitter system of claim 8, wherein each module has at least two inputs and a corresponding number of outputs.

13. The transmitter system of claim 12, wherein the module has 6 inputs and 6 outputs.

14. The transmitter system of claim 13, wherein:

the transmitter includes two transmitter modules such that there are a total of 12 transmitter system outputs; and

together the two transmitter modules accommodate a scheme in which there is

a first carrier frequency (F1) and a second carrier frequency (F2), and

three sectors to be sourced by each transmitter module

each sector being supplied with an F1-based signal and an F2-based signal, and

each sector consuming 2 of the 12 transmitter system outputs and feeding two antennas, respectively, with a first one of the sector outputs representing a first transmit diversity branch and a second one of the sector outputs representing a second transmit diversity branch.

15. The transmitter system of claim 14, wherein the system takes on either of the following configurations,

a first configuration in which

the first transmitter module accommodates the first transmit diversity branches for each sector,

the second transmitter module accommodates the second transmit diversity branches for the second sector, and

each module sources three antennas and has the other three outputs terminated in a dummy load;

a second configuration in which

the first transmitter module accommodates the first and second transmit diversity branches for the first sector and the first transmit diversity branch for the second sector, and

the second transmitter module accommodates the first and second transmit diversity branches for the third sector and the second transmit diversity branch for the second sector;

or

a third configuration in which

the first transmitter module accommodates the first transmit diversity branches for each sector,

the second transmitter module accommodates the second transmit diversity branches for the second sector, and

each transmit diversity branch for each sector sources a pairing of intelligent antennas such that each of the 6 outputs of each transmitter module sources an intelligent antenna, respectively.

16. The transmitter system of claim 13, wherein:

the transmitter includes three transmitter modules such that there are a total of 18 transmitter system outputs; and

together the three transmitter modules accommodate a scheme in which there is

a first carrier frequency (F1), a second carrier frequency (F2) and a third carrier frequency (F3), and

three sectors to be sourced by each transmitter module,

each sector being supplied with an F1-based signal, an F2-based signal and an F3-based signal, and

each sector consuming 2 of the 18 transmitter system outputs and feeding two antennas, respectively, with a first one of the sector outputs representing a first transmit diversity branch and a second one of the sector outputs representing a second transmit diversity branch.

17. The transmitter system of claim 16, wherein the system takes on one of the following configurations,

a first configuration in which

each transmitter module accommodates a sector, respectively,

each transmit diversity branch for each sector sourcing a pair of antennas such that each module sources two antennas and has the other four outputs terminated in a dummy load;

a second configuration in which

each transmitter module accommodates two transmit diversity branches,

the two transmit diversity branches accommodated by each transmitter module corresponding to different sectors,

each transmit diversity branch for each sector sourcing a pair of antennas such that each module sources two antennas and has the other four outputs terminated in a dummy load;

or

a third configuration in which

each transmitter module accommodates a sector, respectively,

each transmit diversity branch for each sector sourcing a pair of intelligent antennas such that each module sources four antennas and has the other two outputs terminated in a dummy load;

18. A method of modularly reconfiguring a first transmitter system having M transmitter modules where M is an integer and M≧

1, the first system having been configured to accommodate a first set of N carrier frequencies where N is an integer and N≧

1, into a second transmitter system that can accommodate a set of N+K carrier frequencies where K is an integer and K≧

1, the first transmitter system sourcing a plurality of antennas,

the method comprising;

retaining the M transmitter modules; and

providing K additional transmitter modules that are substantially the same as the M retained transmitter modules;

connecting the inputs of the M+K transmitter modules similarly;

connecting the outputs of the M+K transmitter modules to the plurality of antennas similarly; and

calibrating coefficients of each of the K additional transmitter modules in order to make the transfer function of each of the K additional transmitter modules match the transfer function of the M retained transmitter modules.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein each of the M+K modules has 6 inputs and 6 outputs.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein M, N and K take one of the following combinations:

M=1, N=1 and K=1;

M=1, N=1 and K=2;

or M=2, N=2 and K=1.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

altering connections between some of the outputs of the M transmitter modules and some of the plurality of antennas;

wherein the connecting of outputs of the K transmitter modules to the plurality of antennas is done in a manner corresponding to the altered connections of the M transmitter modules.

22. A reconfigured phase-combined transmitter system comprising:

at least one original transmitter module; and

at least one additional transmitter module added during the reconfiguration;

each original transmitter module having

an input phase-combiner, inputs of the phase-combiner representing the inputs to the original transmitter module,

a middle section to at least amplify signals from the input phase-combiner, and

an analog-coefficients phase-combiner to receive the amplified signals from the middle section, outputs of the analog-coefficients phase-combiner unit representing outputs of the original transmitter module; and

each additional transmitter module having

a discrete-coefficients phase-combiner, inputs of the discrete-coefficients phase-combiner representing the inputs to the additional transmitter module,

an up-conversion and amplification (UCA) unit to receive digital signals from the discrete-coefficients phase-combiner, up-convert and amplify the received signals and output amplified analog signals, and

an analog-coefficients phase-combiner to receive the amplified analog signals from the UCA unit, outputs of the analog-coefficients phase-combiner unit representing outputs of the transmitter module,

coefficients of the discrete-coefficients phase-combiner having been tuned so that the transfer function of each additional transmitter module matches the transfer function of the at least one original transmitter module.

23. The transmitter system of claim 22, wherein

the input phase-combiner is a discrete-coefficients phase-combiner that outputs digital signals;

the middle section is an up-conversion and amplification (UCA) unit to receive digital signals from the discrete-coefficients phase-combiner, up-convert and amplify the received signals.