Base station transmitter/receiver capable of varying composite directivity of antennas

• US 5,745,858 A
• Filed: 11/08/1994
• Issued: 04/28/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Sato, Toshifumi, Furuya, Yukitsuna
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward F.
• Application Number:
  US08/337,835
• Time in Patent Office: 1,267 Days
• Field of Search: 455/63, 455/33.1, 455/101, 455/137, 455/138, 455/273, 455/531, 455/33.3, 455/422, 455/561, 455/562, 379/59, 375/347, 375/267, 342/368, 342/377
• US Class Current: 455/562.1
• 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 3/2605 Array of radiating elements provided with a feedback control over the element weights, e.g. adaptive arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/24 Cell structures

Abstract

In a base station transmitter/receiver of a cellular system, a plurality of antennas are oriented in each sector and radiate radio transmission signals and receive radio reception signals to produce received signals. A signal processing circuit is connected to the antennas to process the received signals into output reception signal and to process input transmission signal into the radio transmission signals in response to the received signal. Thus, the signal processing circuit serves to vary the directivities of the antennas in each sector and to thereby control a composite directivity formed by the varied directivities.

Claims

1. A base station used in a cellular system and installed in a cell of a service area, the cell being divided into a Plurality of sectors, said base station comprising:

a transmitter/receiver designated for a selected sector for transmitting radio transmission signals in said selected sector and receiving radio reception signals in said selected sector to produce an output reception signal;

a plurality of directivity antennas which are oriented in said selected sector for radiating said radio transmission signals and for receiving said radio reception signals to produce received signals, each of said plurality of directivity antennas being connected to said transmitter/receiver unit and each of said directivity antennas receiving said radio transmission signal from said transmitter/receiver unit;

first controllable weighting means for weighting said input transmission signal with each of transmission weight coefficients determined in relation to said radio reception signals to produce weighted transmission signals as said radio transmission signals;

second controllable weighting means for weighting said received signals with reception weight coefficients determined in relation to said radio reception signals into weighted reception signals to add said weighted reception signals to one another and to produce an added signal; and

weight control means connected to said first weighting means and said second weighting means for controlling said transmission weight coefficients and said reception weight coefficients in response to said added signal;

wherein composite transmission and reception directivity of said plurality of directivity antennas is varied depending on the transmission weight coefficients and reception weight coefficients, respectively.

2. A base station as claimed in claim 1, wherein said weight control means controls said reception weight coefficients so that power of said added signal becomes a maximum, said weight control means further controlling said transmission weight coefficients so that said composite directivity on transmission becomes substantially equal to the composite directivity on reception.

3. A base station as claimed in claim 1, wherein said weight control means controls said reception weight coefficients so that a power ratio of a desired signal to an interference signal of said added signal becomes minimum, said weight control means further controlling said transmission weight coefficients so that said composite directivity on transmission becomes substantially equal to said composite directivity on reception.

4. A base station transmitter/receiver as claimed in claim 1, said base station transmitter/receiver further comprising a diversity-receiving antenna for receiving a radio reception signals to produce a diversity received signal;

and deciding means connected to said second controllable weighting means and said diversity receiving antenna for diversity synthesizing said added signal and said diversity-received signal to produce a reception data signal;

wherein said weight control means compares said added signal with said reception data signal to produce an error signal and controls said reception weight coefficients in order to minimize a mean square value of said error signal, said weight control means further controlling said transmission weight coefficients so that said composite directivity on transmission becomes substantially equal to said composite directivity on reception.

5. A base station transmitter/receiver, used in a cellular system and installed in each cell of a service area, each cell being divided into a plurality of sectors, said base station transmitter/receiver transmitting radio transmission signals in each sector in response to an input transmission signal and receiving radio reception signals in each sector to produce an output reception signal, said base station transmitter/receiver comprising:

a plurality of antennas which are oriented in each sector for radiating said radio transmission signals and for receiving said radio reception signals to produce received signals; and

signal processing means connected to said antennas for processing said received signals into said output reception signal and for processing said input transmission signal into said radio transmission signals in response to said received signals to vary said directivities of said antennas and to thereby control a composite directivity formed by the varied directivities;

wherein said signal processing means comprises;

first controllable weighting means for weighting said input transmission signal with each of transmission weight coefficients determined in relation to said radio reception signals to produce weighted transmission signals as said radio transmission signals;

second controllable weighting means for weighting said received signals with reception weight coefficients determined in relation to said radio reception signals into weighted reception signals to add said weighted reception signals to one another and to produce an added signal; and

weight control means connected to said first weighting means and said second weighting means for controlling said transmission weight coefficients and said reception weight coefficients in response to said added signal, said base station transmitter/receiver further comprising a demodulator connected to said second controllable weighting means and said weight control means for demodulating said added signal into said output reception signal to said weight control means, wherein said weight control means for controlling said transmission weight coefficients and said reception weight coefficients in response to both said added signal and said output reception signal.

6. A base station transmitter/receiver as claimed in claim 5, wherein said weight control means compares said added signal with said demodulated signal to produce an error signal and controls said reception weight coefficients in order to minimize a mean square value of said error signal, said weight control means further controlling said transmission weight coefficients so that said composite directivity on transmission becomes substantially equal to said composite directivity on reception.

7. A base station used in a cellular system and installed in a cell of a service area, said base station comprising:

a plurality of transmitter/receiver units transmitting radio transmission signals and receiving radio reception signals to produce an output reception signal;

first controllable weighting means for weighting said radio transmission signal with each of transmission weight coefficients determined in relation to said radio reception signals to produce weighted transmission signals;

two directivity antennas each of which connected to each of said plurality of transmitter/receiver units for radiating said weighted transmission signals corresponding to said radio transmission signals of each of said transmitter/receiver units, and for receiving said radio reception signals to produce received signals;

second controllable weighting means for weighting said received signals with reception weight coefficients determined in relation to said radio reception signals into weighted reception signals to add said weighted reception signals to one another and to produce an added signal;

duplexers connected to said first weighting means, said antennas, and said second weighting means for supplying said weighted transmission signals and said received signals to said antennas and said second weighting means, respectively; and

weight control means connected to said first weighting means and said second weighting means for controlling said transmission weight coefficients and said reception weight coefficient in response to said added signal to change the directivities of said antennas in dependency upon said radio reception signals and to thereby vary a composite directivity of said antennas.

8. The base station of claim 7, further comprising a diversity receiving antenna connected to each of said transmitter/receiver units.

9. A base station used in a cellular system and installed in a cell of a service area, the cell being divided into a plurality of sectors, said base station comprising:

a transmitter/receiver designated for a selected sector for transmitting a first radio transmission signal in said selected sector and receiving a first radio reception signal in said selected sector to produce a first output reception signal;

a plurality of antennas which are oriented in said selected sector for radiating a combined radio transmission signal and for receiving a combined radio reception signal to produce received signals, each of said plurality of antennas being connected to said transmitter/receiver unit and each of said antennas receiving said first radio transmission signal from said transmitter/receiver unit; and

signal processing means connected to said antennas for processing said received signals into said first reception signal and a second reception signal, and for processing said first transmission signal and a second transmission signal into said combined radio transmission signal, in response to said received signals, to vary transmission directivities of said antennas and to thereby control a composite directivity formed by the varied directivities;

wherein said base station further comprises a second receiver/transmitter unit connected to each of said plurality of antennas and transmits said second radio transmission signal and receives said second radio reception signal to produce a second output reception signal.