Measurement-based method of optimizing the placement of antennas in a RF distribution system
First Claim
1. A method of optimizing the placement of permanent antennas in a coverage area of a wireless communications distribution system, said method comprising the steps of:
- a) placing a test antenna at a test antenna site within said coverage area, said test antenna site being chosen from a set of potential installation sites for said permanent antennas and a set of potential communication unit locations;
b) measuring a strength of a signal from said test antenna at a measurement location within said coverage area, said measurement location being chosen from said set of potential installation sites and said set of potential communication unit locations;
c) storing said strength; and
d) choosing from said see of potential installation sites an optimal subset of installation sites for installing said permanent antennas.
12 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The placement of repeater or base station antennas in an in-building or urban wireless RF communications network is optimized using field measurements. Test antennas are placed at a number of sites within the coverage area, and the signal from each test antenna is measured at different locations within the coverage area. The measurement allows the simulation of the coverage provided by different arrangements of antennas. An optimum arrangement can then be chosen. The optimum arrangement of antennas is chosen by maximizing a utility function that depends on the quality of the coverage within the area and on the cost of installing an arrangement. A database of architectural categories (building plans) and measurement results for each category is built by a method of the present invention. A new building is then matched to the closest component categories in the database, thus allowing the optimization of coverage in a coverage area without the measurement of signals from nest antennas in the new building.
259 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of optimizing the placement of permanent antennas in a coverage area of a wireless communications distribution system, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) placing a test antenna at a test antenna site within said coverage area, said test antenna site being chosen from a set of potential installation sites for said permanent antennas and a set of potential communication unit locations; b) measuring a strength of a signal from said test antenna at a measurement location within said coverage area, said measurement location being chosen from said set of potential installation sites and said set of potential communication unit locations; c) storing said strength; and d) choosing from said see of potential installation sites an optimal subset of installation sites for installing said permanent antennas. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of building a coverage database for optimizing, the placement of permanent antennas and for simulating the coverage provided in a coverage area by an arrangement of permanent antennas of a communications distribution system, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) storing in said database an indicator to a map of said coverage area, said map including a location of an obstacle within said coverage area; b) placing a test antenna at a test antenna site within said coverage area, said test antenna site being chosen from a set of potential installation sites for said permanent antennas and a set of potential communication unit locations; c) measuring a signal strength from said test antenna at a measurement location within said coverage area, said measurement location being chosen from said set of potential installation sites and said set of potential communication unit locations; and d) storing said signal strength in said database. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of selecting an optimal subset from a set of potential installation sites for permanent antennas in a coverage area of a wireless communications distribution system, said coverage area comprising an architectural category, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) selecting from a coverage database a closest stored coverage category, said closest stored coverage category being a stored coverage category architecturally similar to said architectural category; b) selecting from said coverage database a measurement result for said closest stored coverage category; c) choosing a subset of a set of potential installation sites, said subset being characterized by a coverage parameter; d) computing a utility value of a utility function for said subset, said value depending on said coverage parameter and said measurement result; and e) if said utility value is an optimal value of said utility function, choosing said subset as said optimal subset. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of optimizing the coverage provided in a coverage area of a wireless communications distribution system by an arrangement of permanent antennas, said coverage area comprising an architectural category, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) selecting from a coverage database a closest stored coverage category, said closest stored coverage category being a stored coverage category architecturally similar to said architectural category; b) selecting a stored optimal subset of installation sites for said closest stored coverage category; and c) selecting an optimal subset of installation sites for said architectural category, said optimal subset being substantially identical to said stored optimal subset. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. An apparatus for optimizing the placement of permanent antennas in a coverage area of a wireless communications distribution system, said apparatus comprising:
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a) a test antenna; b) a measuring means for measuring the strength of a signal from said test antenna; and c) a storage means for storing said strength, said storage means being capable of communication with said measuring means; and d) a selection means for choosing an optimal subset of installation sites from a set of potential installation sites for said permanent antennas, said selection means being capable of communication with said storage means. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification