Non-SDMA system with an SDMA method

• US 6,801,514 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2001
• Issued: 10/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: BenQ Corporation (Qisda Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BenQ Corporation (Qisda Corporation)
• Inventors: Ma, Ching-Wen
• Primary Examiner(s): VINCENT, DAVID ROBERT
• Application Number:
  US09/777,017
• Publication Number:
  US 20010012278A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,337 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310, 370/312, 370/328, 370/334, 370/339, 370/343, 370/252, 370/535, 455/422, 455/423, 455/456, 455/451, 455/19, 455/25, 455/67.1, 455/560, 455/561, 455/562, 455/101.2
• US Class Current: 370/339
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0408 using two or more beams, i.e. beam diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/00 Wireless channel access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/12 Access point controller devices

Abstract

A communications system providing SDMA communication channels in a non-SDMA (non-spatial division multiple access) system and used in a specific area to establish wireless communications with mobile stations in the area comprises a smart antenna to establish wireless communications with the mobile stations, a base station controller managing transmissions and receiving information between every mobile station and an outgoing communications network, a plurality of base transceiver stations electrically connected with the base station controller, each of them establishing the wireless communications between the mobile stations and the base station controller, and a spatial spectrum management system connected between the smart antenna and the base transceiver stations. The spatial spectrum management system uses the spatial spectrum from the smart antenna and chooses a set of communication channels from a plurality of communication channels according to the position of every mobile station to establish the wireless communications with mobile stations in the communication area.

Claims

1. A communications system providing SDMA (spatial division multiple access) communication channels in a non-SDMA system and used in a communications area to effect wireless communications with a plurality of mobile stations in the area, the communication system comprising:

a smart antenna that uses a special spectrum to effect the wireless communications with the mobile stations in the communications area;

a base station controller that manages transmissions and passes information between every mobile station and an outgoing communications network;

a plurality of base transceiver stations electrically connected with the base station controller, each of the base transceiver stations effecting the wireless communications between the mobile stations and the base station controller;

a spatial spectrum management system connected between the smart antenna and the plurality of base transceiver stations, the spatial spectrum management system using the spatial spectrum from the smart antenna and choosing a set of communication channels from a plurality of predetermined communication channels according to the position of every mobile station to effect the wireless communications with the mobile stations in the communications area;

wherein the spatial spectrum management system uses the smart antenna to emit a plurality of spatial spectrums that are used to transmit the information by taking advantage of the same set of communication channels to respectively effect the wireless communications with the mobile stations and effect the wireless communications between mobile stations via different base transceiver stations and the base station controller to ensure that the wireless communications available to the mobile stations suffers no information interference conditions when the mobile stations in effectively different directions in the communications area are trying to simultaneously effect the wireless communications.

2. The communications system of claim 1 wherein the mobile stations in the communications area simultaneously effect the wireless communications, and the spatial spectrum management system uses the smart antenna to emit the spatial spectrums with different communication channels to effect the wireless communications with the mobile stations and avoid information interference of the wireless communications between the mobile stations and the smart antenna if the wireless communications of the mobile stations and the smart antenna are in almost the same direction.

3. The communications system of claim 1 wherein the spatial spectrum management system enables the mobile stations via a same or different base transceiver stations to effect the wireless communications with the base station controller.

4. The communications system of claim 1 wherein the smart antenna is a switched-beam smart antenna.

5. The communications system of claim 1 wherein the smart antenna is an adaptive-array smart antenna.

6. The communications system of claim 1 wherein the spatial spectrum management system comprises a spatial multiplexer/demultuplexer connected with the smart antenna to transmit the information received from mobile stations from every direction to corresponding base transceiver stations.

7. The communications system of claim 6 wherein the spatial multiplexer/demultiplexer comprises a beam controller connected with the smart antenna to control the spatial spectrums from the smart antenna and dynamically trace the positions of the mobile stations in the communications area.

8. The communications system of claim 7 wherein the spatial spectrum management system comprises a spatial channel management center to control both the spatial multiplexer/demultiplexer and the beam controller and to assign a set of communication channels to a mobile station that wants to effect wireless communications.

9. The communications system of claim 8 wherein the spatial spectrum management system comprises an interference measurement device used to determine occurrences of information interference in the wireless communications according to the spatial spectrums received from the smart antenna, and to transmit an index to the spatial channel management center to determine an assignment to a mobile station of another set of communication channels.

10. The communications system of claim 9 wherein the index is a bit error rate.

11. The communications system of claim 1 wherein the mobile stations are mobile phones.

12. A communications method for a communications system providing SDMA (spatial division multiple access) communication channels in a non-SDMA system, the communications method being used to effect wireless communications with a plurality of mobile stations in a communications area, the communications system comprising:

a smart antenna used to transmit and receive a plurality of spatial spectrums;

a base station controller that manages transmissions and passes information between every mobile station and an outgoing communications network; and

a plurality of base transceiver stations electrically connected with the base station controller, each of the base transceiver stations effecting the wireless communications between the mobile stations and the base station controller;

the method comprising;

using the spatial spectrums transmitted and received by the smart antenna to trace the positions of the mobile stations in the communications area;

choosing a set of communication channels from a plurality of sets of predetermined communication channels to effect the wireless communications with the mobile stations according to the position of the mobile stations;

using the smart antenna to emit spatial spectrums used to transmit the information by taking advantage of the same set of communication channels to effect the wireless communications with the mobile stations and suffering no information interference conditions if mobile stations at different positions in the communications area simultaneously try to effect the wireless communications; and

effecting the wireless communications between the mobile stations via different base transceiver stations and the base station controller to ensure that the wireless communications is available between the base station controller and the mobile stations.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the mobile stations in the communications area effect the wireless communications at the same time, and the spatial spectrum management system uses the smart antenna to emit the spatial spectrums with different communication channels to effect the wireless communications with the mobile stations and avoid information interference of the wireless communications between the mobile stations and the smart antenna if the wireless communication between the mobile stations and the smart antenna are in nearly the same direction.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the communications system enables the mobile stations via a same or different base transceiver stations to effect the wireless communications with the base station controller.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the communications system comprises a spatial multiplexer/demultuplexer connected with the smart antenna to transmit information received from the mobile stations from every direction to corresponding base transceiver stations.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the spatial multiplexer/demultiplexer comprises a beam controller connected with the smart antenna to control the spatial spectrums from the smart antenna and dynamically trace the positions of the mobile stations in the communications area.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the communications system comprises a spatial channel management center to control both the spatial multiplexer/demultiplexer and the beam controller and to assign a set of communication channels to a mobile station that wants to effect wireless communications.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the communications system comprises an interference measurement device used to determine occurrences of information interference in the wireless communications according to the spatial spectrums received from the smart antenna, and to transmit an index to the spatial channel management center to determine an assignment to a mobile station of another set of communication channels.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the index is a bit error rate.

20. The method of claim 12 wherein the mobile stations are mobile phones.