Communication system with multi-beam communication antenna
First Claim
1. A multi-beam cellular communication system for providing last-mile communication to a large number of users in a communication cell comprising:
- A) a plurality of multi-beam radio transceivers, each transceiver comprising at least one multi-beam antenna configured to transmit a plurality of narrow beam radio beams, each beam having a divergence of less than 10 degrees with each beam transmitting information to a plurality of some of said large number of users, B) a large number of users transceivers, each user transceiver comprising at least one transceiver comprising at least one narrow beam antenna directed toward one of said plurality of multi-beam radio transceivers and configured to transmit a narrow beam radio beam having a divergence of less than 10 degrees, and C) a trunk line means for providing communication between each of said multi-beam radio transceivers and a telephone central switching office;
wherein narrow beam width communication is provided between said plurality of multi-beam transceivers and said very large number of users permitting an available radio bandwidth to be utilized many times in said communication cell.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A wireless cellular communication system in which cellular base stations utilize multi-beam antenna to communicate with a large number of users. Each of the base station beams is a narrow beam of less than 10 degrees permitting reuse of available spectrum many times. A preferred antenna is described which broadcasts about 12 simultaneous beams, each about 5 degree, the 12 beams together covering a fan arc of about 60 degrees with the beams overlapping somewhat but interference is avoided by having adjacent beams broadcast at different frequencies within an authorized broadcast bandwidth. Six antennae mounted in a hexagonal manner thus cover a 360-degree azimuthal range. Preferably, users of the system communicate with the base station using a single narrow beam antenna directed at the base station. Since all beam are narrow beams many base stations may be located in the same cellular region permitting more than an order of magnitude increase in the utilization of available bandwidth and permitting a huge increase in bandwidth per customer. In a preferred embodiment the base stations communicate with a central office via a narrow-beam millimeter wave trunk line. The transceivers are equipped with antennas providing beam divergence small enough to ensure efficient spatial and directional partitioning of the data channels so that an almost unlimited number of point-to-point transceivers will be able to simultaneously use the same millimeter wave spectrum.
210 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A multi-beam cellular communication system for providing last-mile communication to a large number of users in a communication cell comprising:
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A) a plurality of multi-beam radio transceivers, each transceiver comprising at least one multi-beam antenna configured to transmit a plurality of narrow beam radio beams, each beam having a divergence of less than 10 degrees with each beam transmitting information to a plurality of some of said large number of users, B) a large number of users transceivers, each user transceiver comprising at least one transceiver comprising at least one narrow beam antenna directed toward one of said plurality of multi-beam radio transceivers and configured to transmit a narrow beam radio beam having a divergence of less than 10 degrees, and C) a trunk line means for providing communication between each of said multi-beam radio transceivers and a telephone central switching office;
wherein narrow beam width communication is provided between said plurality of multi-beam transceivers and said very large number of users permitting an available radio bandwidth to be utilized many times in said communication cell. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A multibeam communication lens antenna for simultaneous transmission of a plurality of radio signals, comprising:
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A) a linear array of antenna elements, B) a sandwich structure comprised of;
1) a top conducting plate,
2) a thin dielectric plate, and
3) a bottom conducting plate,C) a plurality of antenna lens feeds in electrical contact with said top conducting plate, D) a plurality of bootlace elements, each bootlace element defining a bootlace length and connecting one antenna of said linear array of antenna elements to one lens feed of said plurality of lens feeds, E) a plurality of transceiver lens feeds in electrical contact with said top conductor plate, and F) a plurality of electronic to radio transceivers, each one of said electronic to radio transceivers in communication with one lens feed of said plurality of lens feeds and also in electronic communication with a single line of a plurality of communication lines forming a part of a communication network, said sandwich structure being shaped such that radio signals emitted by each of said radio transceivers are broadcast by said linear array of antennas in a predetermined direction in a beam having a divergence of less than 10 degrees. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification