Antenna Apparatus and Method of Performing Spatial Nulling Within the Antenna Apparatus
First Claim
1. Antenna apparatus for operating as a base station in a wireless network, comprising:
- an antenna assembly to employ a reception beam pattern selected from a plurality of reception beam patterns;
a reception beam pattern controller to cause the antenna assembly to employ each of said plurality of reception beam patterns during a nulling test operation;
quality metric determination circuitry to determine, for each reception beam pattern employed during said nulling test operation, a link quality metric for each of a plurality of wireless terminals based on communication between the plurality of wireless terminals and the base station whilst the antenna assembly is employing that reception beam pattern; and
reception beam determination circuitry to determine, from the link quality metrics determined for the plurality of wireless terminals for each of the plurality of reception beam patterns, a reception beam pattern from said plurality of reception beam patterns to be used for a subsequent communication with the plurality of wireless terminals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An antenna apparatus operates as a base station in a wireless network with spatial nulling performed within such apparatus. The apparatus has an antenna assembly employing a selected reception beam pattern. During a nulling test, a reception beam pattern controller causes the assembly to employ each reception beam pattern. Quality metric determination circuitry determines for each reception beam pattern a link quality metric for each of several wireless terminals, based on communication between those wireless terminals and the base station whilst the assembly employs that reception beam pattern. Reception beam determination circuitry determines, from the various link quality metrics, a reception beam pattern from the reception beam patterns for use for subsequent communication with the wireless terminals. A reception beam pattern can be altered seeking to reduce interference source effects and to maintain an appropriate level of link quality regarding each wireless terminal communicating with the base station.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. Antenna apparatus for operating as a base station in a wireless network, comprising:
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an antenna assembly to employ a reception beam pattern selected from a plurality of reception beam patterns; a reception beam pattern controller to cause the antenna assembly to employ each of said plurality of reception beam patterns during a nulling test operation; quality metric determination circuitry to determine, for each reception beam pattern employed during said nulling test operation, a link quality metric for each of a plurality of wireless terminals based on communication between the plurality of wireless terminals and the base station whilst the antenna assembly is employing that reception beam pattern; and reception beam determination circuitry to determine, from the link quality metrics determined for the plurality of wireless terminals for each of the plurality of reception beam patterns, a reception beam pattern from said plurality of reception beam patterns to be used for a subsequent communication with the plurality of wireless terminals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of performing spatial nulling in an antenna apparatus to operate as a base station in a wireless network, the antenna apparatus having an antenna assembly to employ a reception beam pattern selected from a plurality of reception beam patterns, the method comprising:
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controlling the antenna assembly, during performance of a nulling test operation, to employ each of said plurality of reception beam patterns; determining, for each reception beam pattern employed during said nulling test operation, a link quality metric for each of a plurality of wireless terminals based on communication between the plurality of wireless terminals and the base station whilst the antenna assembly is employing that reception beam pattern; and determining, from the link quality metrics determined for the plurality of wireless terminals for each of the plurality of reception beam patterns, a reception beam pattern from said plurality of reception beam patterns to be used for a subsequent communication with the plurality of wireless terminals.
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20. Antenna apparatus for operating as a base station in a wireless network, comprising:
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antenna means for employing a reception beam pattern selected from a plurality of reception beam patterns; reception beam pattern control means for controlling the antenna means to employ each of said plurality of reception beam patterns during a nulling test operation; quality metric determination means for determining, for each reception beam pattern employed during said nulling test operation, a link quality metric for each of a plurality of wireless terminal means based on communication between the plurality of wireless terminal means and the base station whilst the antenna means is employing that reception beam pattern; and reception beam determination means for determining, from the link quality metrics determined for the plurality of wireless terminal means for each of the plurality of reception beam patterns, a reception beam pattern from said plurality of reception beam patterns to be used for a subsequent communication with the plurality of wireless terminal means.
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Specification