System and method utilizing dynamic beam forming for wireless communication signals

• US 20060111149A1
• Filed: 12/22/2005
• Published: 05/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Interdigital Technology Corporation (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Interdigital Technology Corporation (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chitrapu, Prabhakar R., Goldberg, Steven Jeffrey
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,288 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/562.100
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/2605 Array of radiating elements provided with a feedback control over the element weights, e.g. adaptive arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00 Hand-off or reselection arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/322 by location data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and system using dynamic beam forming for wireless communication signals in a wireless network. Base stations and/or UEs are provided with antenna systems having a range of beam forming selections. Relative base station and UE locations are one type of criteria used to make beam forming decisions.

Claims

1. A method of selectively directing base station RF communication signals in a wireless telecommunication system wherein a base station conducts wireless RF communications with a plurality of user equipments (UEs), the method comprising:

determining an estimated location of a UE;

determining relative location data using the estimated UE location and a known location of a base station antenna system;

calculating beam forming criteria based in part on the relative location data; and

forming a directed beam for RF communication signals between said UE and said base station antenna system based on said calculated beam forming criteria such that said directed beam encompasses the estimated location of said UE.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the determining of location data of an estimated location of a UE is performed by telecommunication system triangulation of UE transmitted signals received by one or more base stations.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the determining of location data of an estimated location of a UE is performed by the UE and the data is transmitted from the UE to a base station.

4. The method according to claim 3 wherein the determining of location data of an estimated location of a UE is performed by the UE using a Global Positioning Satellite system.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the determining of location data of an estimated location of a UE is performed by telecommunication system triangulation of UE transmitted signals received by one or more base stations in conjunction with the UE using a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system where GPS data is transmitted from the UE to a base station.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein:

said calculating beam forming criteria comprises calculating transmission beam forming criteria based in part on the relative location data; and

said beam forming comprises forming a directed transmission beam of base station RF communication signals transmitted from said base station antenna system based on said calculated transmission beam forming criteria such that said directed transmission beam encompasses the estimated location of said UE.

7. The method according to claim 6 further comprising:

calculating reception beam forming criteria based in part on the relative location data; and

forming a directed reception beam for UE RF communication signals received by said base station antenna system based on said calculated reception beam forming criteria such that said directed reception beam encompasses the estimated location of said UE.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein:

said calculating beam forming criteria comprises calculating reception beam forming criteria based in part on the relative location data; and

said beam forming comprises forming a directed reception beam for UE RF communication signals received by said base station antenna system based on said calculated reception beam forming criteria such that said directed reception beam encompasses the estimated location of said UE.

9. A base station for conducting wireless RF communications with a plurality of user equipments (UEs) in a wireless telecommunication system comprising:

an RF module and an associated antenna array system;

a beam former operatively associated with the RF module to form a desired beam within a range of beams of which the antenna array system is capable; and

a geolocation processor coupled to said beam former that is configured to process UE geolocation data relative to data of a location of said antenna array system and output selected parameters to the beam former such that the beam former controls the RF module to transmit or receive communication data for a selected UE in a shaped beam that encompasses an estimated location of the selected UE where geolocation data which corresponds to the estimated location of the selected UE is processed by said geolocation processor.

10. The base station according to claim 9 wherein:

the RF module has the capacity to provide more than one transmission beam such that each transmission beam is capable of carrying communication signals for a separate set of UEs; and

the beam former is operatively associated with the RF module to form a set of desired transmission beams within a range of transmission beams which the antenna array system is capable of producing.

11. The base station according to claim 10 wherein the geolocation processor is configured to calculate reception beam forming parameters by estimating an area of reception beam coverage as a function of RF phase such that phase is selected so the relative location data of the selected UE is within the area of reception beam coverage.

12. A wireless telecommunication system comprising a plurality of base stations according to claim 10.

13. A wireless telecommunication system according to claim 12 further comprising a plurality of mobile user equipments (UEs), each UE including:

an RF module that has an associated antenna; and

a geolocation processor that is configured to determine current UE geolocation data using a global positioning satellite (GPS) system which data is transmitted from said UE RF module antenna for use by said base stations.

14. A user equipment (UE) for conducting wireless RF communications with base stations having known locations in a wireless telecommunication system comprising:

an RF module and an associated antenna array system;

a beam former operatively associated with the RF module to form a desired beam within a range of beams which the antenna array system is capable of producing; and

a geolocation processor coupled to said beam former that is configured to process UE geolocation data of an estimated UE location relative to data of the known location of a selected base station and output selected parameters to the beam former such that the beam former controls the RF module to transmit or receive communication data for the selected base station in a shaped beam that encompasses the known location of the selected base station where UE geolocation data relative to the known location of the selected base station is processed by said geolocation processor.