Structure for multiple antenna configurations

• US 6,801,790 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2001
• Issued: 10/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Rudrapatna, Ashok N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOW, CHARLES CHIANG
• Application Number:
  US09/764,791
• Publication Number:
  US 20020132600A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,357 Days
• Field of Search: 455/277.1, 455/19, 455/82, 455/562.1, 455/121, 455/279.1, 455/129, 455/422, 455/424, 455/509, 455/561, 455/575.7, 455/575.1, 455/550.1, 455/272, 455/273, 455/276.1, 455/274, 455/101, 455/103, 342/373, 342/361, 342/362, 342/368, 342/372, 342/374, 375/267, 375/299, 375/298, 375/146, 375/285, 370/204, 370/209, 370/210, 343/725, 343/789, 343/853, 343/893, 343/844, 343/872, 343/890, 343/797, 343/700, 343/803, 343/816, 343/817, 343/818, 343/819, 343/368, 343/810, 343/892, 343/354
• US Class Current: 455/562.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/245 provided with means for varying the polarisation polarising devices H01Q15/24; tracking by comparing linear polarisation compounds G01S3/146; reducing depolarisation effects H04B7/00; polarisation diversity H04B7/10
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/26 varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture H01Q3/12, H01Q3/22, H01Q3/24 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0602 using antenna switching H04B7/0686 takes precedence; antenna beam directivity switching H01Q3/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0689 using different transmission schemes, at least one of them being a diversity transmission scheme
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0871 using different reception schemes, at least one of them being a diversity reception scheme
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/10 Polarisation diversity; Directional diversity

Abstract

An antenna array comprising at least two groups of antennas where each group comprises at least two pairs of antennas. Each of the pairs in a group contains orthogonally polarized antennas and at least one antenna in a pair is similarly polarized to one antenna in at least another pair in the group. The antenna array further comprises circuitry coupled to the antenna groups to select and activate certain antennas in a group to enable the antenna array to operate in either a beam forming/steering mode, a diversity mode or a MIMO mode or any combination thereof. The antennas in the groups are activated based on the characteristics of the signals being transmitted or received by the antenna array.

Claims

1. An antenna array comprising:

at least one group of antennas comprising at least two pairs of antennas where each pair has orthogonally polarized antennas and at least one antenna from one pair is similarly polarized to at least one antenna from another pair; and

switching circuitry coupled to the at least one group for dynamically reconfiguring the antenna array by selecting and activating certain antennas in the group based on characteristics of signals to be transmitted and/or being received by the antenna array or on an external control signal, based on which antennas are selected and activated by the switching circuitry, the antenna array being able to independently and simultaneously operate on different signals in a beam forming/steering mode, a MIMO BLAST mode, and/or a diversity mode, wherein some of the antennas that are selected and activated for one of the modes are also selected and activated for at least another one of the modes.

2. The antenna array of claim 1 where the at least two antenna pairs are separated by a distance of $\frac{\lambda }{}$

2

where λ

is equal to $\frac{c}{f}$

where c is a mathematical constant representing light speed in a vacuum and f represents a frequency at which the at least two antenna pairs are operating.

3. The antenna array of claim 1 where any antenna in a first group is positioned at a distance of 10λ

from any antenna in another group where λ

is equal to $\frac{c}{f}$

where c is a constant representing light speed in a vacuum and f represents a frequency at which the antenna pairs in the groups are operating.

4. The antenna array of claim 1 where the circuitry selects and activates at least two similarly polarized antennas in the at least one group to enable the antenna array to operate in the beam forming/steering mode.

5. The antenna array of claim 4 where the beam forming/steering mode is a Steered STS mode.

6. The antenna array of claim 1 where the circuitry selects and activates at least two orthogonally polarized antennas in the at least one group to enable the antenna array to operate in the MIMO mode.

7. The antenna array of claim 1 where the circuitry selects and activates at least two orthogonally polarized antennas in the at least one group to enable the antenna array t operate in the diversity mode.

8. The antenna array of claim 1 where the antennas in the at least one group operate at one frequency or in a same range of frequencies.

9. The antenna array of claim 1 where the switching circuitry comprises:

switches used to select antennas from the at least one group of antennas; and

signal transmission and/or reception circuitry for activating the selected antennas.

10. The antenna array of claim 9 where the switches route the signals to be transmitted and/or received based on services associated with the signals.

11. The antenna array of claim 9 where the switches route the signals to be transmitted and/or received based on signal characteristics determined by the switches.

12. The antenna array of claim 9 where the signal transmission and/or reception circuitry generates control signals causing the switches to route certain signals to certain antennas within a group of antennas.

13. The antenna array of claim 1 where each of the antennas in the at least one group comprises a multiple of antenna elements.

14. The antenna array of claim 1 where the at least one group comprises a pair of orthogonal polarized antennas and a single antenna where the single antenna is similarly polarized to one of the antennas in the pair.