ANTENNA ARRAY AND METHOD FOR OPERATING ANTENNA ARRAY

• US 20120194385A1
• Filed: 01/28/2011
• Published: 08/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Kathrein-Werke KG. (Kathrein SE)
• Inventors: Weckerle, Martin, Schmidt, George
• Granted Patent: US 9,306,270 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/368
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/06 Arrays of individually energised antenna units similarly polarised and spaced apart
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 25/00 Antennas or antenna systems providing at least two radiating patterns arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern H01Q3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/28 varying the amplitude

Abstract

The present invention refers to an active antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements comprising: at least one first subset of the plurality of antenna elements, the at least one first subset relaying a first radio signal having a first antenna beam pattern; and at least one second subset of the plurality of antenna elements, the at least one second subset relaying a second radio signal having a second antenna beam pattern, wherein at least one of the plurality of antenna elements is a common antenna element belonging to both the first subset and the second subset. A method for operating the active antenna array is also disclosed.

Claims

1. An active antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements comprising:

at least one first subset of the plurality of antenna elements, the at least one first subset relaying a first radio signal having a first antenna beam pattern; and

at least one second subset of the plurality of antenna elements, the at least one second subset relaying a second radio signal having a second antenna beam pattern,

wherein at least one of the plurality of antenna elements is a common antenna element belonging to both the at least one first subset and the at least one second subset.

2. The active antenna array of claim 1, said at least one common antenna element being adapted to relay with a total radio signal power that is split up into a first radio signal power of the first radio signal and a second radio signal power of the second radio signal.

3. The active antenna array of claim 2, wherein the total radio signal power is split up unequally between different ones of the plurality of antenna elements.

4. The active antenna array of claim 1, wherein the at least one first subset is arranged in an upper vertical column and the at least one second subset is arranged in a lower vertical column, and wherein the upper vertical column and the lower vertical column overlap by said common antenna element.

5. The active antenna array of claim 1, wherein a non-common antenna element of the at least one first subset and a non-common antenna element of the at least one second subset are connected to a common transceiver module.

6. The active antenna array of claim 5, wherein a total output power of the common transceiver module is split up into a first radio signal power of the first signal relayed through a non-common antenna element of the at least one first subset and a second radio signal power of the second signal relayed through athe non-common antenna element of the at least one second subset.

7. The active antenna array of claim 6, wherein the total output power of the common transceiver module is split up unequally.

8. The active antenna array of claim 5, wherein the non-common antenna element of the at least one first subset is that antenna element of the at least one first subset which is furthest away from the common antenna element.

9. The active antenna array of claim 5, wherein the non-common antenna element of the at least one second subset is that antenna element of the at least one second subset which is furthest away from the at least one common antenna element.

10. A method for operating an active antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements, the method comprising:

relaying a first radio signal having a first antenna beam pattern through at least one first subset of the plurality of antenna elements; and

relaying a second radio signal having a second antenna beam pattern through at least one second subset of the plurality of antenna elements,

wherein at least one of the plurality of antenna elements is used as a common antenna element belonging to both the at least one first subset and the at least one second subset.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising relaying through said at least one common antenna element a total radio signal power that is split up into a first radio signal power of the first signal and a second radio signal power of the second signal.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the total radio signal power is split up unequally.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein relaying the first radio signal through the at least one first subset comprises relaying the first radio signal through an upper vertical column of antenna elements;

and

relaying the second radio signal through the at least one second subset comprises relaying the second radio signal through a lower vertical column of antenna elements, wherein the upper vertical column and the lower vertical column overlap by said common antenna element.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising processing the first signal relayed through a non-common antenna element of the at least one first subset and the second signal relayed through a non-common antenna element of the at least one second subset in a common transceiver module.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising splitting up a total output power of the common transceiver module into a first radio signal power of the first signal relayed through the non-common antenna element of the at least one first subset and a second radio signal power of the second signal relayed through the non-common antenna element of the at least one second subset.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the total output power of the common transceiver module is split up unequally.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the first signal is relayed with the first radio signal power through the non-common antenna element of the at least one first subset that is furthest away from the common antenna element.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the second signal is relayed with the second radio signal power through the non-common antenna element of the second subset that is furthest away from the at least one common antenna element

19. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and the computer-readable medium comprising executable instructions for a manufacture of an active antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements, the active antenna array comprising:

at least one first subset of the plurality of antenna elements, the at least one first subset relaying a first radio signal having a first antenna beam pattern; and

at least one second subset of the plurality of antenna elements, the at least one second subset relaying a second radio signal having a second antenna beam pattern,

wherein at least one of the plurality of antenna elements is a common antenna element belonging to both the at least one first subset and the at least one second subset.

20. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and the computer-readable medium comprising executable instructions for the execution of a method for operating an active antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements, the method comprising:

relaying a first radio signal having a first antenna beam pattern through at least one first subset of the plurality of antenna elements; and

relaying a second radio signal having a second antenna beam pattern through at least one second subset of the plurality of antenna elements,

wherein at least one of the plurality of antenna elements is used as a common antenna element belonging to both the at least one first subset and the at least one second subset.