Mobile receiver

• US 7,379,708 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2005
• Issued: 05/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ito, Mamoru, Tsukio, Yasunobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Anderson; Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAO, MINH D
• Application Number:
  US10/551,805
• Publication Number:
  US 20060217091A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• Field of Search: 455/25, 455/63.4, 455/562.1, 455/575.7, 455/121, 455/129, 342/17, 375/346
• US Class Current: 455/25
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/241 used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM H01Q1/247, H01Q1/248 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/32 Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles
• 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: H04B 7/086 using weights depending on external parameters, e.g. direction of arrival [DOA], predetermined weights or beamforming

Abstract

A mobile receiver apparatus is provided where its antenna directivity is controllably determined for improving the response to a desired signal as it moves and its surrounding geographical features and thus its environment for signal reception are varied. The mobile receiver apparatus comprises a directivity variable antenna, an antenna controller connected with the directivity variable antenna for conducting a control action to align the directivity with a desired direction, and an optimum directivity calculator connected with the antenna controller for calculating from the current position of a mobile and its surrounding geographical features an optimum pattern of the directivity.

Claims

1. A mobile receiver apparatus comprising:

a directivity variable antenna including a plurality of antenna elements;

an antenna controller connected with the directivity variable antenna for controlling the directivity of said antenna; and

an optimum directivity calculator coupled to the antenna controller for calculating a pattern for the directivity of the antenna by determining (1) whether to align the plurality of antenna elements in one direction so that antenna directivity is in said direction and (2) whether to align at least one of the plurality of antenna elements in a direction different from at least another one of the plurality of antenna elements so that antenna directivity is omni directional;

wherein the optimum directivity calculator includes;

a current position detector for detecting the current position of the mobile receiver apparatus; and

a geographic data storage for storing geographical features which have respective height components in proximity to the current position of the mobile receiver apparatus, at least one stored geographical feature including a height component having a height different than a height of the mobile receiver apparatus; and

the pattern for the directivity of the antenna is further calculated by a combination of the current position of the mobile receiver apparatus and the height component of the at least one stored geographical feature.

2. A mobile receiver apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the antenna controller is arranged to conduct its control action over the directivity variable antenna in guard intervals which are assigned by an applicable digital broadcast system.

3. A mobile receiver apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the optimum directivity calculator comprises at least:

a directivity calculator;

a broadcasting tower position retriever for detecting the position of a broadcast tower; and

wherein the directivity calculator calculates an optimum pattern of the directivity for improving the response to a desired broadcast signal from the positional relationship between the mobile receiver apparatus and the broadcasting tower further determined by the position of the broadcast tower; and

wherein the antenna controller conducts the control action over the directivity variable antenna corresponding to the output of the directivity calculator.

4. A mobile receiver apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the optimum directivity calculator comprises at least:

a directivity control data retriever;

a current position detector for detecting the current position of the mobile receiver apparatus; and

a directivity control data storage for storing a directivity control data determined from the current position or the geographic data about the current position;

wherein the directivity control data retriever examines the current position of the mobile receiver apparatus received from the current position detector to retrieve a corresponding directivity control data from the directivity control data storage; and

wherein the antenna controller conducts the control action over the directivity variable antenna.

5. A mobile receiver apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the directivity control data storage is connected with a broadcast signal receiver or communicator for receiving directivity control data via the broadcast signal receiver or communicator to update or modify the directivity control data assigned to the current position or the geographical features.

6. A mobile receiver apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the directivity variable antenna is connected at the output to the optimum directivity calculator;

and

wherein the optimum directivity calculator is arranged to calculate an optimum pattern of the directivity using an output of the directivity variable antenna.