Multi-antenna station with distributed antennas

• US 20060276227A1
• Filed: 06/02/2005
• Published: 12/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Dravida, Subrahmanyam
• Granted Patent: US 7,603,141 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/562.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0413 MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0691 using subgroups of transmit antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/085 Access point devices with remote components

Abstract

A multi-antenna station with distributed antennas and capable of providing good performance for terminals distributed throughout the coverage area of the multi-antenna station is described. The multi-antenna station includes multiple antennas, a controller, and at least one transmitter unit. The multiple antennas are coupled to the multi-antenna station and include at least one remote antenna that is located away from the multi-antenna station. The controller selects a set of one or more antennas from among the multiple antennas for data transmission to a terminal. The at least one transmitter unit transmits data to the terminal via the set of one or more antennas.

Claims

1. A multi-antenna station comprising:

a plurality of antennas coupled to the multi-antenna station and comprising at least one remote antenna that is located away from the multi-antenna station;

a controller to select a set of one or more antennas from among the plurality of antennas for data transmission to a terminal; and

at least one transmitter unit to transmit data to the terminal via the set of one or more antennas.

2. The multi-antenna station of claim 1, wherein the controller obtains measurements for the plurality of antennas and selects the set of one or more antennas based on the measurements.

3. The multi-antenna station of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one power detector to measure received power at the plurality of antennas and to provide power measurements for the plurality of antennas.

4. The multi-antenna station of claim 3, wherein the controller selects a predetermined number of antennas with highest power measurements among the plurality of antennas.

5. The multi-antenna station of claim 3, wherein the controller selects antennas with power measurements above a predetermined power threshold.

6. The multi-antenna station of claim 1, wherein the controller selects the set of one or more antennas based on known locations of the plurality of antennas.

7. The multi-antenna station of claim 1, wherein the controller selects the set of one or more antennas based on location information for the plurality of antennas.

8. The multi-antenna station of claim 1, wherein the controller selects a transmission mode from among a plurality of supported transmission modes based on the number of antennas in the set, the selected transmission mode being used for data transmission to the terminal.

9. The multi-antenna station of claim 1, further comprising:

a memory unit to store the set of one or more antennas for the terminal and to provide the set of one or more antennas for a subsequent data transmission to the terminal.

10. The multi-antenna station of claim 1, wherein the controller further selects a second set of one or more antennas from among the plurality of antennas for reception of an uplink transmission from the terminal.

11. The multi-antenna station of claim 10, wherein the controller selects the second set of one or more antennas based on a transmission mode used by the terminal for the uplink transmission.

12. The multi-antenna station of claim 10, wherein the controller selects the set of one or more antennas used for data transmission to the terminal as the second set of one or more antennas used for reception of the uplink transmission from the terminal.

13. The multi-antenna station of claim 10, further comprising:

at least one receiver unit to receive the uplink transmission from the terminal via the second set of one or more antennas.

14. The multi-antenna station of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one remote front-end coupled to the at least one remote antenna, each remote front-end performing signal conditioning for radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted and received via an associated remote antenna.

15. The multi-antenna station of claim 1, further comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) switch to couple the at least one transmitter unit to the plurality of antennas.

16. The multi-antenna station of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antennas comprise at least two remote antennas that are located away from the multi-antenna station and are distributed within a coverage area of the multi-antenna station.

17. The multi-antenna station of claim 1, wherein at least two antennas among the plurality of antennas have different radiation patterns.

18. A method of transmitting data, comprising:

selecting a set of one or more antennas from among a plurality of antennas for data transmission from a multi-antenna station to a terminal, wherein the plurality of antennas comprise at least one remote antenna that is located away from the multi-antenna station; and

transmitting data to the terminal via the set of one or more antennas.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

obtaining measurements for the plurality of antennas.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the selecting the set of one or more antennas comprises

selecting a predetermined number of antennas with highest measurements among the plurality of antennas.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the selecting the set of one or more antennas comprises

selecting antennas with measurements above a predetermined threshold.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the selecting the set of one or more antennas comprises

selecting the set of one or more antennas based on location information for the plurality of antennas.

23. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

storing the set of one or more antennas for the terminal; and

using the stored set of one or more antennas for a subsequent data transmission to the terminal.

24. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

selecting a second set of one or more antennas from among the plurality of antennas for reception of an uplink transmission from the terminal; and

receiving the uplink transmission via the second set of one or more antennas.

25. An apparatus comprising:

means for selecting a set of one or more antennas from among a plurality of antennas for data transmission to a terminal, wherein the plurality of antennas comprise at least one remote antenna that is located away from the apparatus; and

means for transmitting data to the terminal via the set of one or more antennas.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for obtaining measurements for the plurality of antennas.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the means for selecting the set of one or more antennas comprises

means for selecting a predetermined number of antennas with highest measurements among the plurality of antennas.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the means for selecting the set of one or more antennas comprises

means for selecting antennas with measurements above a predetermined threshold.

29. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for storing the set of one or more antennas for the terminal; and

means for using the stored set of one or more antennas for a subsequent data transmission to the terminal.

30. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for selecting a second set of one or more antennas from among the plurality of antennas for reception of an uplink transmission from the terminal; and

means for receiving the uplink transmission via the second set of one or more antennas.

31. A computer readable media including instructions for transmitting data, the instructions comprising:

instructions for selecting a set of one or more antennas from among a plurality of antennas for data transmission from a multi-antenna station to a terminal, wherein the plurality of antennas comprise at least one remote antenna that is located away from the multi-antenna station; and

instructions for transmitting data to the terminal via the set of one or more antennas.

32. The computer readable media of claim 31, further comprising instructions for obtaining measurements for the plurality of antennas.

33. The computer readable media of claim 32, wherein the instructions for selecting the set of one or more antennas comprise instructions for selecting a predetermined number of antennas with highest measurements among the plurality of antennas.

34. The computer readable media of claim 32, wherein the instructions for selecting the set of one or more antennas comprise instructions for selecting antennas with measurements above a predetermined threshold.

35. The computer readable media of claim 31, wherein the instructions for selecting the set of one or more antennas comprise instructions for selecting the set of one or more antennas based on location information for the plurality of antennas.

36. The computer readable media of claim 31, further comprising instructions for selecting a second set of one or more antennas from among the plurality of antennas for reception of an uplink transmission from the terminal;

and