ANTENNA AIMING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BROADBAND WIRELESS ACCESS

• US 20070066233A1
• Filed: 09/21/2006
• Published: 03/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Purdue Research Foundation (The Trustees of Purdue University (d/b/a Purdue University))
• Original Assignee: Purdue Research Foundation (The Trustees of Purdue University (d/b/a Purdue University))
• Inventors: Smith, Anthony, Kane, Michael, Bentley, Lonnie, Hansen, Raymond
• Granted Patent: US 9,246,207 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/67.110
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/1257 using the received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/08 for varying two co-ordinates of the orientation

Abstract

A system and method are provided for automatically aiming an antenna to communicate with a remote broadband wireless communication device.

Claims

1. A method for aiming an antenna to permit communication with a remote broadband wireless communication device, the method comprising:

moving the antenna along a path;

determining a signal quality value of a signal transmitted by the broadband wireless communication device and received by the antenna at a plurality of different locations along the path;

storing the determined signal quality values and the associated antenna coordinates;

selecting an optimal antenna position based on the stored signal quality values and the associated antenna coordinates;

positioning the antenna at the selected optimal antenna position; and

establishing a communication session between the antenna and the remote broadband wireless communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring the signal quality value of the signal transmitted by the broadband wireless communication device during the communication session.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether a trigger event has occurred;

moving the antenna along an optimization scan path in an area adjacent the optimal antenna position upon occurrence of the trigger event;

determining a signal quality value of a signal transmitted by the broadband wireless communication device and received by the antenna at a plurality of different locations along the optimization scan path;

determining whether a new optimal antenna position exists based the signal quality values along the optimization scan path; and

positioning the antenna at the new optimal antenna position upon determining that a new optimal antenna position exists.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the trigger event occurs when the signal quality value of the signal transmitted by the broadband wireless communication device decreases below a threshold value.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a rate of movement along the optimization scan path and a dimension of the optimization scan path adjusted is based upon at least one of how fast the signal quality value is decreasing and how far the antenna is from the remote broadband wireless communication device.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the trigger event is one of a loss of the signal, expiration of a predetermined time period, and actuation of a mechanical switch.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising repeating the steps recited in claim 1 if a new optimal antenna position is not found along the optimization scan path.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting an optimal antenna position comprises determining which of the stored signal quality values exceeds a threshold value and selecting the optimal antenna position based upon the antenna coordinates associated with signal quality values that exceed the threshold value.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of selecting an optimal antenna position further includes selecting antenna coordinates for the optimal antenna position having a central position relative to the antenna coordinates having an associated signal quality value that exceeds the threshold value.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of moving the antenna along the path includes selectively moving the antenna at varying speeds and along varying path dimensions.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of moving the antenna along the path includes moving the antenna at a first speed until the signal from the remote broadband wireless communication device is detected and then moving the antenna at a second, slower speed once the signal has been detected.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal quality value is based on at least one of Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), Bit Error Rate (BER), noise floor, signal output power/signal strength, signal modulation scheme/technique, signal phase, jitter, signal delay, signal skew, available time, frequency, and code slots.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a second type of communication device adjacent the antenna;

and selectively switching to and from the communication session between the antenna and the remote broadband wireless device and a communication session with the second type of communication device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote broadband wireless communication device is a camera and further comprising selectively transmitting an image signal from the camera and using the steps recited in claim 1 to establish a communication session between the antenna and the camera so that the antenna receives the transmitted image signal from the camera.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the antenna is on a movable vehicle and the remote broadband wireless communication device is at a fixed location.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step determines a signal quality value of a plurality of signals transmitted by a plurality of different broadband wireless communication devices as the antenna moves along the path and the step of storing the determined signal quality values and the associated antenna coordinates also stores an identifier for the particular broadband wireless communication device which transmitted the signal.

17. A method for aiming an antenna to communicate with a broadband wireless communication device, the method comprising:

using a first antenna including a receiver to determine an optimal antenna position by monitoring a signal quality value of a signal transmitted by the broadband wireless communication device and received by the first antenna at a plurality of different locations along a scanning path of the first antenna;

positioning a second antenna including a receiver and a transmitter at the optimal antenna position; and

establishing a communication session between the second antenna and the broadband wireless communication device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of using a first antenna including a receiver to determine an optimal antenna position includes

moving the first antenna along a path;

determining a signal quality value of a signal transmitted by the broadband wireless communication device and received by the first antenna at a plurality of different locations along the path; and

selecting the optimal antenna position based on the signal quality values and the associated first antenna coordinates determined in the determining step.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising continuously repeating the moving, determining and selecting steps to determine whether a new optimal antenna position exists during the communication session between the second antenna and the broadband wireless communication device, and moving the second antenna to the new optimal antenna position if the optimal antenna position has changed.

20. A system for aiming an antenna to communicate with a broadband wireless communication device, the system comprising:

an antenna;

a drive mechanism coupled to the antenna; and

a controller coupled to the drive mechanism, the controller being configured to actuate the drive mechanism to move the antenna along a path, and the controller including means for determining a signal quality value of a signal transmitted by the broadband wireless communication device and received by the antenna at a plurality of different locations along the path, means storing the determined signal quality values and the associated antenna coordinates, means for selecting an optimal antenna position based on the stored signal quality values and the associated antenna coordinates, means for positioning the antenna at the selected optimal antenna position, and means for establishing a communication session between the antenna and the remote broadband wireless communication device.