Base station device achieving effective use of frequencies by changing structures of antennas

• US 20050085266A1
• Filed: 10/14/2004
• Published: 04/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Narita, Masahiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,200,421 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/561
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 25/002 providing at least two patterns of different beamwidth; Variable beamwidth antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/24 varying the orientation by switching energy from one active radiating element to another, e.g. for beam switching
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/26 varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture H01Q3/12, H01Q3/22, H01Q3/24 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0691 using subgroups of transmit antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0874 using subgroups of receive antennas

Abstract

A base station device provided with a plurality of antennas has a mode, in which all the antennas are used, and a mode, in which the plurality of antennas are divided into a plurality of groups each including two or more antennas to be used independently. An array antenna pattern is formed selectively in these modes. When the array antenna pattern is to be formed in the mode of using all the antennas, a signal of one synthesizer is applied to transmission/reception circuits of all the antennas. In the mode of using antennas divided into the plurality of groups, signals of different synthesizers are supplied to the transmission/reception circuits of the antennas.

Claims

1. A base station device comprising:

a plurality of local oscillation units generating local frequency signals;

a plurality of radio units using said local frequency signals as input for operation;

a path switching switch arranged between said plurality of local oscillation units and said plurality of radio units for selecting connections between said local oscillation units and said radio units;

a transmission/reception form switching control unit performing switching between a transmission/reception operation using the same frequency in all the plurality of radio units and a transmission/reception operation performed by dividing said plurality of radio units into a plurality of groups and using different frequencies in the respective groups; and

a path switching control unit controlling said path switching switch to connect the one local oscillation unit to all the radio units when said transmission/reception form switching control unit performs the transmission and reception by all the radio units, and controlling the path switching switch to connect the different local oscillation units corresponding to the respective groups to the radio units, respectively, when said transmission/reception form switching control unit performs the transmission and reception by each of the groups.

2. The base station device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a power supply control unit controlling supply of a power to said local oscillation unit, wherein

said power supply control unit controls said path switching switch to shut off the power to the local oscillation unit not connected to said radio unit.

3. The base station device according to claim 1, wherein

said transmission/reception form switching control unit performs selection on a slot-by-slot basis of a radio signal to select the transmission/reception operation by all the radio units or the transmission/reception operation by the radio units corresponding to each of the groups.

4. The base station device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage unit storing correction information for radio characteristics corresponding to the number of the paths set by said path switching control unit between said plurality of local oscillation units and said plurality of radio units, wherein

said storage unit commonly uses the correction information for the path(s) included in the paths between said local oscillation units and said radio units and commonly used in both the case of the transmission/reception operation by all the radio units and the case of the transmission/reception operation by the radio units corresponding to each of the groups.