Directivity optimization for short-range wireless mobile communication systems

• US 7,515,874 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2005
• Issued: 04/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nikolajevic, Vladimir, Uno, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Lana N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): AKBAR, MUHAMMAD A
• Application Number:
  US10/544,166
• Publication Number:
  US 20070054617A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,364 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/63.4, 455/115.4, 455/456.1, 455/456.6, 455/25, 455/266, 455/556.1, 342/126, 342/146, 342/352, 342/359, 342/78, 342/367, 343/702, 343/790
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0619 using feedback from receiving side feedback signaling for adaptive modulation/coding H04L1/0001
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/086 using weights depending on external parameters, e.g. direction of arrival [DOA], predetermined weights or beamforming
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

The present invention provides a short-range wireless mobile communication system with a first terminal and a mobile terminal that are each adapted for transmitting and receiving an information carrying signal wave, whereby at least the first terminal or the mobile terminal comprise a directional signal wave converter for transmitting and/or receiving the information carrying signal wave with a directional characteristic and a control means for controlling the directional characteristic according to a position of the mobile terminal relative to the first terminal.

Claims

1. A terminal for a short range wireless mobile communication system, comprising

a directional signal wave converter;

and

a controller configured to determine an optimum beam and to adjust said directional signal-wave converter to transmit/receive an information-carrying signal wave by said optimum beam;

the controller further configured to detect whether a distance between the terminal and a further terminal falls short of a predefined distance value;

the controller further configured to, when said distance falls short of said predefined distance value, determine a beamwidth so that the beamwidth is increased to a fixed beamwidth value, determine a set of allowed beam directions to comprise a unique beam direction, and determine the optimum beam as a beam having said fixed beamwidth value and said unique beam direction value; and

the controller configured to, when said distance does not fall short of said predefined distance value, determine a beamwidth according to a function which increases when the distance decreases, determine a set of allowed beam directions based on said beamwidth to comprise a plural number of allowed beam directions, said number decreasing when the beamwidth increases, and determine the optimum beam as a beam for which a reported quality is the highest according to a beam-tracking algorithm wherein, sequentially for each particular beam direction among said set of allowed beam directions, a burst is transmitted by a beam having said particular beam direction and said determined beamwidth and in response thereof a report including an indication of the quality of the beam is received from the further terminal.

2. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the beamwidth is a Half Power Beam Width.

3. The terminal of claim 2, wherein the fixed beamwidth value corresponds to an omnidirectional characteristic.

4. The terminal of claim 1, further comprising:

a distance determination means for determining the distance between the terminal and the further terminal.

5. The terminal of claim 4, wherein the distance determination means comprises an ultrasonic distance measurement system.

6. The terminal of claim 4, wherein the distance determination means comprises an optical distance measurement system.

7. The terminal of claim 4, wherein the distance determination means determines the distance between the terminal and the further terminal based on a Received Signal Strength Indicator value.

8. The terminal of claim 1, further comprising:

a mechanical steering for steering the radiation angle of the directional signal wave converter.

9. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the directional signal wave converter comprises an adaptive signal wave converter array.

10. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the signal wave converter on the terminal is configured to transmit and receive information in form of a radio wave and/or light wave.

11. A short range wireless mobile communications system including a first terminal and a second terminal each adapted for transmitting and receiving an information carrying signal wave, the first terminal being the terminal according to claim 1, and the second terminal being the terminal according to claim 1.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first terminal comprises a distance determination means.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the first terminal is a stationary terminal.