Smart antenna solution for mobile handset

• US 8,102,956 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2003
• Issued: 01/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ST-Ericcson SA (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: ST-Ericcson SA (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Dai, Yanzhong, Xu, Luzhou
• Primary Examiner(s): Liu, Shuwang
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUANG, DAVID S
• Application Number:
  US10/540,682
• Publication Number:
  US 20060176970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,955 Days
• Field of Search: 375/147, 375/267, 375/347
• US Class Current: 375/347
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/242 specially adapted for hand-held use
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0848 Joint weighting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 7/005 Correction by an elastic buffer

Abstract

A mobile terminal with smart antennas, comprises a plurality of groups of radio frequency signal processing modules (300), for transforming received multi-channel radio frequency signals to multi-channel baseband signals; a smart antenna processing module (306), for smart antenna baseband processing said multi-channel baseband signals output from said plurality of groups of radio frequency signal processing module so as to combine said multi-channel baseband signals into single-channel baseband signals, according to control information received one-off as said smart antenna processing module is enabled; and a baseband processing module (303-305), for providing said control information to said smart antenna processing module according to data from said smart antenna processing module, and baseband processing said single-channel baseband signals outputted from said smart antenna processing module.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal with smart antennas, comprising:

a plurality of groups of radio frequency signal processing modules configured to transform received multi-channel radio frequency signals to multi-channel baseband signals;

a smart antenna processing module configured to smart antenna baseband process said multi-channel baseband signals outputted from said plurality of groups of radio frequency signal processing modules so as to combine said multi-channel baseband signals into single-channel baseband signals, according to control information received one-off as said smart antenna processing module is enabled; and

a baseband processing module configured to provide said control information to said smart antenna processing module, and baseband process said single-channel baseband signals outputted from said smart antenna processing module;

wherein said control information at least includes;

a signal used to enable the smart antenna processing module, downlink pilot time slot data and a Midamble, and

wherein said smart antenna processing module includes;

a plurality of buffers configured to cache received data information, wherein input ends of the plurality of buffers are respectively connected with the plurality of groups of radio frequency signal processing modules;

a plurality of weight adjusting modules, each configured to weigh data outputted from each of the plurality of buffers according to a respectively received weight;

a combiner configured to combine the weighted data outputted from each of the plurality of weight adjusting modules and outputting combined data; and

a controller configured to receive data information outputted from the plurality of radio frequency signal processing modules, synchronize data streams inputted into the smart antenna processing module according to the control information, and provide said weight to each of the plurality of weight adjusting modules.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein said buffers are ring-FIFOs.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 2, wherein a size of each ring-FIFO is one time slot.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein said controller includes a synchronization controller configured to synchronize sub-frames of the input multi-channel signals by matching the input multi-channel signals with said down-link pilot time slot data of said control information, and synchronize time slots of the input multi-channel signals by matching the input multi-channel signals with said Midamble of said control information;

and

said controller includes a combining controller configured to calculate said weights provided to the weight adjusting module according to one or more Midambles of the input multi-channel signals and said Midamble of the control information.

5. A method for a mobile terminal with smart antennas comprising:

(a) receiving multi-channel radio frequency signals, and transforming the radio frequency signals into multi-channel baseband signals;

(b) generating control information according to one channel baseband signals within the multi-channel baseband signals;

(c) enabling smart antenna baseband processing, and combining the multi-channel baseband signals into single-channel baseband signals according to the control information received one-off; and

(d) baseband processing said single-channel baseband signals,

wherein step (c) further includes;

(c1) caching the input multi-channel baseband signals before enabling the smart antenna baseband processing;

(c2) synchronizing said input multi-channel baseband signals with synchronization information included in the control information according to said control information, after enabling the smart antenna baseband processing;

(c3) calculating weights according to said input multi-channel baseband signals and said control information;

(c4) respectively weighting said cached data according to said calculated weights; and

(c5) combining said weighted data to carry out said baseband processing.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein step (b) is completed in a baseband processing module.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein step (c2) is completed within one channel of a smart antenna processing module.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein said control information at least includes:

a signal used to enable the smart antenna baseband processing, down-link pilot time slot data and a Midamble.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step (c2) further includes:

(c21) synchronizing sub-frames of said input multi-channel baseband signals by matching the down-link pilot time slot data of said control information with said input multi-channel baseband signals; and

(c22) synchronizing down-link pilot time slots of said input multi-channel baseband signals by matching the Midamble of said control information with said input multi-channel baseband signals.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein said control information at least includes:

a signal used to enable the smart antenna baseband processing, a weight-algorithm selecting signal, down-link pilot time slot data and a Midamble.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the control information employed in step (c3) is a Midamble.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein the method is applied to cellular communication mobile terminals or other mobile wireless communication terminals, wireless LAN terminals employing one of following standards:

TD-SCDMA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, CDMA IS95, CDMA2000.

13. A mobile terminal with smart antennas, comprising:

a plurality of groups of radio frequency signal processing modules configured to transform received multi-channel radio frequency signals to multi-channel baseband signals;

a smart antenna processing module configured to smart antenna baseband process said multi-channel baseband signals outputted from said plurality of groups of radio frequency signal processing modules so as to combine said multi-channel baseband signals into single-channel baseband signals, according to control information received one-off as said smart antenna processing module is enabled; and

a baseband processing module configured to provide said control information to said smart antenna processing module, and baseband process said single-channel baseband signals outputted from said smart antenna processing module;

wherein said smart antenna processing module includes;

a plurality of buffers configured to cache received data information, wherein input ends of the plurality of buffers are respectively connected with the plurality of groups of radio frequency signal processing modules;

a plurality of weight adjusting modules, each configured to weigh data outputted from each of the plurality of buffers according to a respectively received weight;

a combiner configured to combine the weighted data outputted from each of the plurality of weight adjusting modules and output the combined data; and

a controller configured to receive data information outputted from the plurality of radio frequency signal processing modules, synchronize data streams inputted into the smart antenna processing module according to the control information, and provide said weight to each of the plurality of weight adjusting modules.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 13, wherein said buffers are ring-FIFOs.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 14, wherein a size of each ring-FIFO is one time slot.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 13, wherein said control information at least includes:

a signal used to enable the smart antenna processing module, a weight-algorithm selecting signal, downlink pilot time slot data and a Midamble.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 16, wherein

said controller includes a synchronization controller configured to synchronize sub-frames of the input multi-channel signals by matching the input multi-channel signals with said down-link pilot time slot data of said control information, and synchronize time slots of the input multi-channel signals by matching the input multi-channel signals with said Midamble of said control information;

and

said controller includes a combining controller configured to calculate said weights provided to the weight adjusting module according to one or more Midambles of the input multi-channel signals and said Midamble of the control information.