Method and arrangement for assisting in direction adjustment of a directional antenna

• US 8,971,816 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2008
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Hakansson, Peter, Lennartson, Benny
• Primary Examiner(s): HUANG, WEN WU
• Application Number:
  US12/864,771
• Publication Number:
  US 20100317298A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,588 Days
• Field of Search: 455/63.4, 455/575.7, 455/97
• US Class Current: 455/63.4
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/1257 using the received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/005 using remotely controlled antenna positioning or scanning
• 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 17/318 Received signal strength

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved and simplified mechanism for assisting in antenna direction adjustment. The object is achieved by a method in a wireless communication device 120 for assisting in direction adjustment of a directional antenna 125. The wireless communication device 120 is adapted to be connected to a wireless communication system 100 via a directional antenna 125. The wireless communication system 100 comprises a service node 150.

The method comprises the first step of establishing 510 a radio connection to the wireless communication system 100 via the directional antenna 125 and the second step of sending 520 a request for antenna direction information to the service node 150 and the third step of receiving 530 the requested antenna direction information from the service node 150 and the fourth step of obtaining 540 performance measurement and the fifth step of sending 550 the obtained performance measurement to the service node 150 and the sixth step of receiving 560 an indication of an antenna direction to be used from the service node 150.

Claims

1. A method in a wireless communication device for assisting in direction adjustment of a directional antenna, which wireless communication device is adapted to be connected to the directional antenna, which wireless communication device is adapted to be connected to a wireless communication system via the directional antenna, the wireless communication system comprising a service node, the method comprising the steps of:

establishing a radio connection to the wireless communication system via the directional antenna;

sending a request for antenna direction information to the service node;

receiving the requested antenna direction information from the service node;

obtaining performance measurement according to the received antenna direction information;

sending the obtained performance measurement to the service node; and

receiving from the service node, an indication of an antenna direction to be used which antenna direction was determined by the service node based on the sent performance measurement,

wherein the indication of antenna direction is represented by direction information in the shape of an angle, a compass direction and/or a clock direction.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method steps of receiving the requested antenna direction information from the service node and/or the method step of obtaining performance measurement according to the received antenna direction information and/or the method step of sending the obtained performance measurement to the service node and/or the method step of receiving from the service node an indication of an antenna direction to be used are performed repeatedly/several times.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the indication of antenna direction is presented in the shape of a tone, a spoken message, a written message, an displayed meter, a diagram, a graph and/or a chart.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the performance measurement is performed by measuring at least one of the performance quantities signal strength, bit error rate, mean bit error probability, frame error rate, signal quality and/or block error ration.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the performance measurement is performed by measuring the performance quantity for the uplink and/or the downlink of the radio connection to the wireless communication device.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining performance measurement is triggered by the received antenna adjustment information.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining performance measurement is triggered by user input based on the received antenna adjustment information.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of sending a request for antenna direction information to the service node, is instead sent to an antenna direction unit comprised within the wireless communication device.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of receiving the requested antenna direction information from the service node is instead received from an antenna direction unit comprised within the wireless communication device.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of sending the obtained performance measurement to the service node is instead sent to an antenna evaluation unit comprised within the wireless communication device.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of receiving from the service node, an indication of an antenna direction to be used which antenna direction was determined by the service node based on the sent performance measurement is instead received from the antenna evaluation unit comprised within the wireless communication device, which antenna direction was determined by the antenna evaluation unit based on the sent performance measurement.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the received indication of an antenna direction includes an instruction for rotating the directional antenna by a predetermined amount, the method further comprising:

rotating the directional antenna by the predetermined amount specified in the received indication of an antenna direction.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the received indication of an antenna direction is included in a text message.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the request for antenna direction information is a message specifying that service node provide an instruction for changing a direction of the directional antenna.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the message is a text message.

16. A method in a service node for assisting in direction adjustment of a directional antenna, which service node is comprised in a wireless communication system, the directional antenna is adapted to be connected to a wireless communication device, which wireless communication device is adapted to be connected to the wireless communication system via the directional antenna, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for antenna direction information from the wireless communication device;

sending the requested antenna direction information to the wireless communication device;

receiving from the wireless communication device, an obtained performance measurement, which measurement were performed by the wireless communication device according to the sent requested antenna direction information;

determining an indication of an antenna direction to be used by the wireless communication device, based on the received performance measurement; and

sending the antenna direction indication to the wireless communication device,

wherein the indication of antenna direction is represented by direction information in the shape of an angle, a compass direction and/or a clock direction.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the method step of sending the requested antenna direction information to the wireless communication device and/or the method step of receiving obtained performance measurement and/or the method step of determining an indication of an antenna direction to be used and/or the method step of sending the antenna direction indication are performed repeatedly/several times.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the step of determining an indication of an antenna direction further comprises the method sub steps:

evaluating the received performance measurement regarding at least one antenna direction,

deciding the antenna direction to be used based on the evaluated performance measurement regarding the at least one antenna direction.

19. An arrangement in a wireless communication device for assisting in direction adjustment of a directional antenna, which wireless communication device is adapted to be connected to the directional antenna, which wireless communication device is adapted to be connected to a wireless communication system via the directional antenna, the wireless communication system comprising a service node, the wireless communication device arrangement comprising:

a radio connection unit adapted to establish a radio connection to the wireless communication system via the directional antenna;

a sending unit adapted to send a request for antenna direction information to the service node;

a receiving unit adapted to receive the requested antenna direction information from the service node; and

a measuring unit adapted to obtain performance measurement according to the received antenna direction information,

the sending unit further being adapted to send the obtained performance measurement to the service node, and

the receiving unit further being adapted to receive from the service node, an indication of an antenna direction to be used which antenna direction was determined by the service node based on the sent performance measurement,

wherein the indication of antenna direction is represented by direction information in the shape of an angle, a compass direction and/or a clock direction.

20. The wireless communication device arrangement according to claim 19, wherein

the sending unit further being adapted to send the request for antenna direction information to an antenna direction unit,

the wireless communication arrangement further comprising an antenna direction unit adapted to receive a request for antenna direction information,

the antenna direction unit further being adapted to send the requested antenna direction information to the receiving unit,

the receiving unit further being adapted to receive the requested antenna direction information from the antenna direction unit,

the sending unit further being adapted to send the obtained performance measurement to an antenna evaluation unit,

the wireless communication arrangement further comprising an antenna evaluation unit adapted to receive the obtained performance measurement,

the antenna evaluation unit further being adapted to determine an indication of an antenna direction to be used by the wireless communication device, based on the received performance measurement,

the antenna evaluation unit further being adapted to send the antenna direction indication to the receiving unit, and

the receiving unit further being adapted to receive from the antenna evaluation unit, the antenna direction indication.

21. The wireless communication device arrangement according to claim 20, wherein

the antenna evaluating unit further being adapted to evaluate the received performance measurement regarding at least one antenna direction, and

the antenna evaluating unit further being adapted to decide the antenna direction to be used based on the evaluated performance measurement regarding the at least one antenna direction.

22. The wireless communication device arrangement according to claim 20, wherein each of the antenna direction unit and antenna evaluation unit is an application to be downloaded.

23. An arrangement in a service node for assisting in direction adjustment of a directional antenna, which service node is comprised in a wireless communication system, the directional antenna is adapted to be connected to a wireless communication device, which wireless communication device is adapted to be connected to the wireless communication system via the directional antenna, the node arrangement comprising:

a receiving unit adapted to receive a request for antenna direction information from the wireless communication device;

a sending unit adapted to send the requested antenna direction information to the wireless communication device; and

a determining unit adapted to determine an indication of an antenna direction to be used by the wireless communication device, based on the received performance measurement,

wherein

the receiving unit further being adapted to receive from the wireless communication device an obtained performance measurement, which measurement was performed by the wireless communication device according to the sent requested antenna direction information, and

the sending unit further being adapted to send the antenna direction indication to the wireless communication device,

wherein the indication of antenna direction is represented by direction information in the shape of an angle, a compass direction and/or a clock direction.

24. The service node arrangement according to claim 23, wherein the determining unit further is/being adapted to evaluate the received performance measurement regarding at least one antenna direction, and wherein the determining unit further is/being adapted to decide the antenna direction to be used based on the evaluated performance measurement regarding the at least one antenna direction.