CONTROL METHOD OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, WIRELESS COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, AND ADJUSTMENT METHOD OF ARRAY WEIGHT VECTOR

• US 20120092217A1
• Filed: 04/28/2010
• Published: 04/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Hosoya, Kenichi, Maruhashi, Kenichi, Orihashi, Naoyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,933,840 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/373
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/267 Phased-array testing or checking devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/30 varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array H01Q3/2605, H01Q3/2658, H01Q3/2682, H01Q3/44 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/086 using weights depending on external parameters, e.g. direction of arrival [DOA], predetermined weights or beamforming
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering

Abstract

To suppress adverse effects caused by side lobes of an antenna array when an AWV to be used for communication is determined based on a transmission/reception result of a training signal. A first transceiver generates a fixed beam pattern and transmits a training signal. In that state, a second transceiver receives the training signal while scanning for the main beam direction, and thereby determines a plurality of direction of arrivals (DOAs). Next, the second transceiver receives the training signal in a state where the signal receptions from the plurality of DODs are restricted one by one (e.g., a null direction or a direction close to the null direction is fixed in the DOA), and calculates the change of the signal characteristics from that obtained in the first reception. The transceivers obtain and use at least one AWV having the main beam direction or a sub-beam direction close to the main beam pointing to one of the plurality of DOAs except for the DOA for which the change is lower than a predefined threshold.

Claims

1. A control method of a wireless communication system comprising first and second communication devices, the second communication device comprising an antenna array, and an array weight vector (hereinafter “

AWV”

) control circuit that changes at least one of amplitudes and phases of transmission signals or received signals of a plurality of antenna elements included in the antenna array, the control method comprising;

when an AWV of at least two antenna elements among the plurality of antenna elements included in the antenna array is independently controlled,

(a) receiving, in the second communication device, while scanning a beam direction by changing an AWV of the antenna array of the second communication device, a training signal transmitted from the first communication device by using a fixed beam pattern;

(b) determining at least one direction of arrival (DOA) in the second communication device based on reception signal characteristics of the training signal;

(c) receiving, in the second communication device, the training signal transmitted by the first communication device while changing the AWV of the antenna array of the second communication device in such a manner that a null direction or a direction close to the null direction is successively pointed to one by one from the at least one DOA;

(d) comparing a reception signal characteristic obtained in the step (a) with a reception signal characteristic obtained in the step (c) for each of the at least one DOA, and specifying a DOA for which a ratio or a difference between these reception signal characteristics is smaller than a predefined threshold;

(e) obtaining at least one AWV each having a main beam direction or a sub-beam direction close to the main beam pointing to one of the at least one DOA in the second communication device determined in the step (b) except for the DOA specified in the step (d); and

(f) using the at least one AWV obtained in the step (e) for communication between the first and second communication devices.

2. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein

the first communication device, similarly to the second communication device, comprises an antenna array, and an array weight vector (AWV) control circuit that changes at least one of amplitudes and phases of transmission signals or received signals of a plurality of antenna elements included in the antenna array, and

the control method further comprises a step (g) of obtaining at least one AWV each having a main beam or a sub-beam direction close to the main beam pointing to one of at least one DOA in the first communication device by interchanging the transmitting operation and the receiving operation of the training signal performed by the first and second communication devices and then by performing the steps (a) to (e), and

in the step (f), a combination of an AWV out of the at least one AWV obtained in the step (e) and an AWV out of the at least one AWV obtained in the step (g) is used for communication between the first and second communication devices.

3. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the step (b) comprises:

obtaining a data string representing a relation between DOAs and reception signal characteristics in the second communication device based on a reception result of the training signal; and

determining the at least one DOA in the second communication device by using the data string.

4. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 3, wherein the steps (a) and (b) of scanning the beam direction by changing an AWV of the antenna array and obtaining the data string in the second communication device performing the receiving operation are performed by using a DOA estimation algorithm.

5. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the fixed beam pattern is an omni (nondirectional) pattern or a quasi-omni (quasi-nondirectional) pattern.

10. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein a priority order is assigned to the at least one AWV obtained in the step (e) in a descending order of the reception signal characteristic, and wireless communication is performed by using an AWV that is selected one by one according to this priority order.

11. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 2, wherein the AWV combination between the first and second communication devices is determined by combining AWVs ranked at same places when AWVs obtained in each of the communication devices are arranged according to the reception signal characteristic obtained at the time of training.

12. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 11, wherein a priority order is assigned to a at least one AWV combination obtained by the procedure recited in claim 11 in a descending order of the reception signal characteristic, and wireless communication is performed by using an AWV combination that is selected one by one according to this priority order.

13. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 2, wherein communication quality of at least one of the plurality of AWV combinations obtained in the procedure recited in claim 2 or 7 is measured, and an AWV combination to be used for communication is selected or based on the measured communication quality.

14. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 13, wherein a priority order is assigned to a at least one AWV combination obtained by the procedure recited in claim 13 in a descending order of the communication quality, and an AWV combination to be used for communication between the first and second communication devices is selected based on the priority order.

15. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 10, wherein communication quality is observed during communication;

an AWV or an AWV combination at a next rank is selected according to the priority order in response to deterioration in the communication quality; and

wireless communication is performed by applying the selected AWV or the AWV combination.

16. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the reception signal characteristic includes at least one of a received-signal power, a signal to noise ratio (SNR), a bit error rate (BER), a packet error rate (PER), and a frame error rate (FER).

17. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein a first radio wave containing a signal that is mainly used for data communication, and a second radio wave having a smaller data transmission rate or a narrower transmission frequency band in comparison with the first radio wave;

and a training is carried out by using the second radio wave.

18. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 4, wherein the DOA estimation algorithm is a beam former method.

6. A control method of a wireless communication system comprising first and second communication devices, the second communication device comprising an antenna array, and an array weight vector (AWV) control circuit that changes at least one of amplitudes and phases of transmission signals or received signals of a plurality of antenna elements included in the antenna array, the control method comprising:

when an AWV of at least two antenna elements among the plurality of antenna elements forming the antenna array is independently controlled,

(a) radiating, by the second communication device, a training signal while scanning a beam direction by changing an AWV of the antenna array in a state where the first communication device is performing a receiving operation by using a fixed beam pattern;

(b) determining at least one direction of departure (DOD) of the second communication device based on reception signal characteristics of the training signal in the first communication device;

(c) radiating, from the second communication device, the training signal while changing the AWV of the antenna array in such a manner that a null direction or a direction close to the null direction is successively pointed to one by one from the at least one DOD in a state where the first communication device is performing a receiving operation by using the fixed beam pattern;

(d) comparing a reception signal characteristic of the first communication device obtained in the step (a) with a reception signal characteristic of the first communication device obtained in the step (c) for each of the at least one DOD, and specifying an DOD for which a ratio or a difference between these reception signal characteristics is smaller than a predefined threshold;

(e) obtaining at least one AWV each having a main beam direction or a sub-beam direction close to the main beam pointing to one of the at least one DOD of the second communication device determined in the step (b) except for the DOD specified in the step (d); and

(f) using the at least one AWV obtained in the step (e) for communication between the first and second communication devices.

7. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 6, wherein

the first communication device, similarly to the second communication device, comprises an antenna array, and an array weight vector (AWV) control circuit that changes at least one of amplitudes and phases of transmission signals or received signals of a plurality of antenna elements included in the antenna array, and

the control method further comprises a step (g) of obtaining at least one AWV each having a main beam or a sub-beam direction close to the main beam pointing to one of at least DOD in the first communication device by it interchanging the transmitting operation and the receiving operation of the training signal performed by the first and second communication devices and then by performing the steps (a) to (e), and

in the step (f), a combination of an AWV out of the at least one AWV obtained in the step (e) and an AWV out of the at least one AWV obtained in the step (g) is used for communication between the first and second communication devices.

8. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 6, wherein the step (b) comprises:

feeding back, to the second communication device, reception signal data indicating a reception result of the training signal measured in the first communication device;

obtaining a data string representing a relation between DODs in the second communication device and reception signal characteristics in the first communication device based on the reception signal data; and

determining the at least DOD in the second communication device by using the data string.

9. The control method of a wireless communication system according to claim 6, wherein the fixed beam pattern is an omni (nondirectional) pattern or a quasi-omni (quasi-nondirectional) pattern.

19. A wireless communication system comprising:

a first communication device configured to be capable of emitting a signal in a fixed beam pattern; and

a second communication device comprising an antenna array, and an array weight vector (hereinafter “

AWV”

) control circuit that changes at least one of amplitudes and phases of transmission signals or received signals of a plurality of antenna elements included in the antenna array, wherein

the first and second communication devices are configured to perform an AWV determination process, the AWV determination process comprising;

(a) receiving, in the second communication device, while scanning a beam direction by changing an AWV of the antenna array of the second communication device, the training signal transmitted from the first communication device by using the fixed beam pattern;

(b) determining at least one direction of arrival (DOA) in the second communication device based on reception signal characteristics of the training signal;

(c) receiving, in the second communication device, the training signal transmitted by the first communication device while changing the AWV of the antenna array of the second communication device in such a manner that a null direction or a direction close to the null direction is successively pointed to one by one from the at least one DOA;

(d) comparing a reception signal characteristic obtained in the step (a) with a reception signal characteristic obtained in the step (c) for each of the at least one DOA, and specifying a DOA for which a ratio or a difference between these reception signal characteristics is smaller than a predefined threshold;

(e) obtaining at least one AWV each having a main beam direction or a sub-beam direction close to the main beam pointing to one of the at least one DOA in the second communication device determined in the step (b) except for the DOA specified in the step (d); and

(f) using the at least AWV obtained in the step (e) for communication between the first and second communication devices.

20. A wireless communication system comprising:

a first communication device configured to be capable of receiving a signal in fixed beam pattern; and

a second communication device comprising an antenna array, and an array weight vector (hereinafter “

AWV”

) control circuit that changes at least one of amplitudes and phases of transmission signals or received signals of a plurality of antenna elements included in the antenna array, wherein

the first and second communication devices are configured to perform an AWV determination process, the AWV determination process comprising;

(a) radiating, by the second communication device, a training signal while scanning a beam direction by changing an AWV of the antenna array in a state where the first communication device is performing a receiving operation by using the fixed beam pattern;

(b) determining at least one direction of departure (DOD) of the second communication device based on reception signal characteristics of the training signal in the first communication device;

(c) radiating, from the second communication device, the training signal while changing the AWV of the antenna array in such a manner that a null direction or a direction close to the null direction is successively pointed to one by one from the at least one DOD in a state where the first communication device is performing a receiving operation by using the fixed beam pattern;

(d) comparing a reception signal characteristic of the first communication device obtained in the step (a) with a reception signal characteristic of the first communication device obtained in the step (c) for each of the at least one DOD, and specifying an DOD for which a ratio or a difference between these reception signal characteristics is smaller than a predefined threshold;

(e) obtaining at least one AWV each having a main beam direction or a sub-beam direction close to the main beam pointing to one of the at least one DOD of the second communication device determined in the step (b) except for the DOD specified in the step (d); and

(f) using the AWV obtained in the step (e) for communication between the first and second communication devices.

21. A wireless communication device comprising:

an antenna array;

an array weight vector (AWV) control unit that changes amplitudes and phases of received signals of a plurality of antenna elements included in the antenna array;

a receiving unit that performs a process for the received signals; and

a processing unit that determines an AWV used for wireless communication with a corresponding device, and supplies the determined AWV to the control unit, wherein

the processing unit performs;

(a) determining at least one direction of arrival (DOA) based on reception signal characteristics obtained by receiving a training signal transmitted from the corresponding device at the receiving unit while scanning a beam direction by changing an AWV of the antenna array;

(b) comparing a reception signal characteristic obtained by receiving the training signal at the receiving unit while changing the AWV of the antenna array in such a manner that a null direction or a direction close to the null direction is successively pointed to one by one from the at least one DOA, with the reception signal characteristic obtained in the step (a), and specifying an DOA for which a ratio or a difference between these reception signal characteristics is smaller than a predefined threshold; and

(c) obtaining at least one AWV each having a main beam direction or a sub-beam direction close to the main beam pointing to one of the at least one DOA determined in the step (a) except for the DOA specified in the step (b).

22. A wireless communication device comprising:

an antenna array;

an array weight vector (AWV) control unit that changes amplitudes and phases of transmission signals of a plurality of antenna elements included in the antenna array; and

a processing unit that determines an AWV used for wireless communication with a corresponding device, and supplies the determined AWV to the control unit, wherein

the processing unit performs;

(a) determining at least one direction of departure (DOD) based on reception signal characteristics of a training signal in the corresponding device, the reception signal characteristics being obtained by radiating the training signal while scanning a beam direction by changing an AWV of the antenna array;

(b) comparing a reception signal characteristic of the training signal in the corresponding device obtained by radiating the training signal while changing the AWV of the antenna array in such a manner that a null direction or a direction close to the null direction is successively pointed to one by one from the at least one DOD, with the reception signal characteristic obtained in the step (a), and specifying a DOD for which a ratio or a difference between these reception signal characteristics is smaller than a predefined threshold; and

(c) obtaining at least one AWV having a main beam direction or a sub-beam direction close to the main beam pointing to one of the at least one DOD determined in the step (a) except for the DOD specified in the step (b).

23. An array weight vector (hereinafter “

AWV”

) adjustment method of a wireless communication device comprising an antenna array, and an AWV control unit that changes amplitudes and phases of received signals of a plurality of antenna elements included in the antenna array, the AWV adjustment method comprising;

(a) receiving, while scanning a beam direction by changing an AWV of the antenna array, a training signal transmitted from a corresponding device;

(b) determining at least one direction of arrival (DOA) based on reception signal characteristics of the training signal;

(c) comparing a reception signal characteristic obtained by receiving the training signal while changing the AWV of the antenna array in such a manner that a null direction or a direction close to the null direction is successively pointed to one by one from the at least one DOA, with the reception signal characteristic obtained in the step (a), and specifying an DOA for which a ratio or a difference between these reception signal characteristics is smaller than a predefined threshold;

(d) obtaining at least one AWV having a main beam or a sub-beam direction close to the main beam pointing to one of the at least one DOA determined in the step (b) except for the DOA specified in the step (c); and

(e) using the at least one AWV obtained in the step (d) for wireless communication with the corresponding device.

24. An array weight vector (hereinafter “

AWV”

) adjustment method of a wireless communication device comprising an antenna array, and an AWV control unit that changes amplitudes and phases of transmission signals of a plurality of antenna elements included in the antenna array, the AWV adjustment method comprising;

(a) radiating a training signal while scanning a beam direction by changing an AWV of the antenna array;

(b) determining at least one direction of departure (DOD) based on reception signal characteristics of the training signal obtained in a corresponding device;

(c) comparing a reception signal characteristic of the training signal in the corresponding device obtained by radiating the training signal while changing the AWV of the antenna array in such a manner that a null direction or a direction close to the null direction is successively pointed to one by one from the at least one DOD, with the reception signal characteristic obtained in the step (a), and specifying a DOD for which a ratio or a difference between these reception signal characteristics is smaller than a predefined threshold;

(d) obtaining at least one AWV having a main beam direction or a sub-beam direction close to the main beam pointing to one of the at least one DOD determined in the step (b) except for the DOD specified in the step (c); and

(e) using the at least one AWV obtained in the step (d) for wireless communication with the corresponding device.