Transmitting beam forming in smart antenna array system

• US 6,453,177 B1
• Filed: 02/23/2000
• Issued: 09/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: F Poszat Hu LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Metawave Communications Corp.
• Inventors: Scherzer, Shimon B., Wong, Piu Bill
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): PEREZ GUTIERREZ, RAFAEL
• Application Number:
  US09/511,665
• Time in Patent Office: 937 Days
• Field of Search: 455/562, 455/450, 455/453, 455/561, 455/513, 455/440, 455/67.1, 455/67.6, 455/67.3, 455/67.5, 375/148, 375/149, 375/150, 375/346, 375/349
• US Class Current: 455/562.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• 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 7/0408 using two or more beams, i.e. beam diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0619 using feedback from receiving side feedback signaling for adaptive modulation/coding H04L1/0001
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/42 in systems with time, space, frequency or polarisation diversity

Abstract

Traffic channel signals and pilot channel signals are transmitted from a base station to a mobile station using different beams. The beam carrying the pilot channel signal is a sector-wide beam, while the beam carrying the traffic channel signal has been minimized based on the number of frame errors associated with the traffic channel signal. The pilot and traffic channel signals are also phase matched. All traffic channel antenna beams in the same direction are maintained at approximately the same effective radiated power.

Claims

1. A method of operating a wireless communication system, comprising:

transmitting a pilot channel signal from a base station to a mobile station;

determining a direction for transmitting a traffic channel signal from the base station to the mobile station;

determining a beam width for the traffic channel signal based on a number of frame errors, wherein the traffic channel signal has a 3-dB beam width narrower than the beam width of the pilot channel signal;

transmitting the traffic channel signal from the base station and to the mobile station;

adjusting a target signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINRt) for the mobile station based on the number of frame errors, wherein when a threshold number of frame errors is met or exceeded;

increasing the beam width for the traffic channel signal if a first condition is met;

increasing the target SINRt if a second condition is met;

or

leaving the beam width for the traffic channel signal and the target SINRt unchanged if a third condition is met.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first condition is met when any one of the following is met;

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was decreased last time;

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was increased last time, but not to a maximum beam width, and the traffic SINRt is at a maximum allowable SINRt;

or

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was neither changed last time nor at the maximum beam width, and the target SINRt was increased last time;

the second condition is met when any of the following is met;

if the target SINRt was decreased last time;

if the target SINRt was increased last time, but not to the maximum allowable SINRt, and the beam width for the traffic channel signal is at the maximum beam width;

or

if the target SINRt was neither changed last time nor at the maximum allowable SINRt, and the beam width for the traffic channel signal was increased last time; and

the third condition is met when the beam width for the traffic channel signal is at the maximum beam width and the traffic SINRt is at the maximum allowable SINRt.

3. A method of operating a wireless communication system, comprising:

transmitting a pilot channel signal from a base station to a mobile station;

determining a direction for transmitting a traffic channel signal from the base station to the mobile station;

determining a beam width for the traffic channel signal based on a number of frame errors, wherein the traffic channel signal has a 3-dB beam width narrower than the beam width of the pilot channel signal;

transmitting the traffic channel signal from the base and station to the mobile station;

adjusting a target signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINRt) for the mobile station based on the number of frame errors, wherein when a threshold number of frame errors is not met;

decreasing the beam width for the traffic channel signal if a first condition is met;

decreasing the target SINRt if a second condition is met;

or

leaving the beam width for the traffic channel signal and the target SINRt unchanged if a third condition is met.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the first condition is met when any one of the following is met;

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was changed last time, but not to a minimum beam width, and the target SINRt is at a minimum allowable SINRt;

or

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was neither changed last time nor at the minimum beam width;

the second condition is met when any of the following is met;

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was changed last time and the target SINRt is not at the minimum allowable SINRt;

or

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was not changed last time, but is at the minimum beam width, and the target SINRt is not at the minimum allowable SINRt; and

the third condition is met when the beam width for the traffic channel signal is at the minimum beam width and the traffic SINRt is at the minimum allowable SINRt.

5. A method of operating a wireless communication system, comprising:

transmitting a pilot channel signal from a base station to a mobile station;

determining a direction for transmitting a traffic channel signal from the base station to the mobile station;

determining a beam width for the traffic channel signal based on a number of frame errors, wherein the traffic channel signal has a 3-dB beam width narrower than the beam width of the pilot channel signal;

transmitting the traffic channel signal from the base station to the mobile station; and

matching, approximately, the phase of the pilot channel signal to the phase of the traffic channel signal, wherein the matching comprises introducing a phase correction factor to traffic channel signal beam weights and, wherein the phase correction factor is dependent on the average of the phase difference between the pilot and traffic channel signals.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the matching comprises:

determining differences of the phase of the pilot channel signal and the phase of the traffic channel signal over dominant paths of the traffic channel signals;

squaring the differences;

summing the squared differences; and

minimizing the summed squared differences.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising maintaining an approximate constant effective radiated power for all antenna array beam patterns with a different antenna gains but directed in approximately the same direction.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the maintaining comprises adjusting beam forming coefficients for the traffic channel signals.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the beam width determination comprises selecting the narrowest beam width having a downlink frame error rate less than a downlink frame error rate threshold.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the beam width for the traffic channel signal is a function of an estimated distance between the base station and the mobile station.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the maximum beam width for the traffic signal decreases as the estimated distance increases.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein the direction is determined based on angle of arrival information for signals transmitted from the mobile station to the base station.

13. The method of claim 5, wherein the beam width determination comprises increasing the beam width if a threshold number of frame errors is met or exceeded.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the beam width determination further comprises decreasing the beam width if the threshold number of frame errors is not met.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the increasing and the decreasing are with different size steps.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the increasing and the decreasing are with same size steps.

17. The method of claim 5, further comprising adjusting a target signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINRt) for the mobile station based on the number of frame errors.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the adjusting comprises increasing the SINRt if a threshold number of frame errors is met or exceeded.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the adjusting further comprises decreasing the SINRt if the threshold number of frame errors is not met.

20. The method of claim 5, wherein the beam width for the traffic channel signal is a function of an estimated angular spread as observed from the base station.

21. The method of claim 5, wherein the average is over dominant paths of the traffic channel signals.

22. A method of operating a wireless communication system, comprising:

transmitting a pilot channel signal from a base station to a mobile station;

determining a direction for transmitting a traffic channel signal from the base station to the mobile station;

determining a beam width for the traffic channel signal based on a number of frame errors, wherein the traffic channel signal has a 3-dB beam width narrower than the beam width of the pilot channel signal; and

transmitting the traffic channel signal from the base station to the mobile station, wherein the beam width for the traffic channel signal is a function of an estimated angular spread as observed from the base station and, wherein the maximum beam width for the traffic signal just exceeds the estimated angular spread when the estimated angular spread is available.

23. A method of operating a wireless communication system, comprising:

transmitting a pilot channel signal from a base station to a mobile station;

determining a direction for transmitting a traffic channel signal from the base station to the mobile station;

determining a beam width for the traffic channel signal based on a number of frame errors, wherein the traffic channel signal has a 3-dB beam width narrower than the beam width of the pilot channel signal; and

transmitting the traffic channel signal from the base station to the mobile station, wherein the beam width for the traffic channel signal is a function of an estimated angular spread as observed from the base station and, wherein the maximum beam width for the traffic signal is a sector-wide beam width when the estimated angular spread is not available.

24. A method of operating a wireless communication system, comprising:

transmitting a traffic channel signal from a base station to a mobile station;

adjusting the beam width of the traffic channel signal based on a number of frame errors; and

adjusting a target signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINRt) for the mobile station based on the number of frame errors, wherein when a threshold number of frame errors is met or exceeded;

increasing the beam width for the traffic channel signal if a first condition is met;

increasing the target SINRt if a second condition is met;

or

leaving the beam width for the traffic channel signal and the target SINRt unchanged if third condition is met.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein:

the first condition is met when any one of the following is met;

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was decreased last time;

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was increased last time, but not to a maximum beam width, and the traffic SINRt is at a maximum allowable SINRt;

or

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was neither changed last time nor at the maximum beam width, and the target SINRt was increased last time;

the second condition is met when any of the following is met;

if the target SINRt was decreased last time;

if the target SINRt was increased last time, but not to the maximum allowable SINRt, and the beam width for the traffic channel signal is at the maximum beam width;

or

if the target SINRt was neither changed last time nor at the maximum allowable SINRt, and the beam width for the traffic channel signal was increased last time; and

the third condition is met when the beam width for the traffic channel signal is at the maximum beam width and the traffic SINRt is at the maximum allowable SINRt.

26. A method of operating a wireless communication system, comprising:

transmitting a traffic channel signal from, a base station to a mobile station;

adjusting the beam width of the traffic channel signal based on a number of frame errors; and

adjusting a target signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINRt) for the mobile station based on the number of frame errors, wherein when a threshold number of frame errors is not met;

decreasing the beam width for the traffic channel signal if a first condition is met;

decreasing the target SINRt if a second condition is met;

or

leaving the beam width for the traffic channel signal and the target SINRt unchanged if third condition is met.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein:

the first condition is met when any one of the following is met;

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was changed last time, but not to a minimum beam width, and the target SINRt is at a minimum allowable SINRt;

or

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was neither changed last time nor at the minimum beam width;

the second condition is met when any of the following is met;

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was changed last time and the target SINRt is not at the minimum allowable SINRt;

or

if the beam width for the traffic channel signal was not changed last time, but is at the minimum beam width, and the target SINRt is not at the minimum allowable SINRt; and

the third condition is met when the beam width for the traffic channel signal is at the minimum beam width and the traffic SINRt is at the minimum allowable SINRt.

28. A method of transmitting signals wirelessly from a base station to a mobile station, comprising:

determining a phase of a first signal;

determining a phase of a second signal;

minimizing the difference between the phase of the first signal and the phase of the second signal; and

transmitting the first signal on a first channel having a first 3-dB beam width and transmitting the second signal on a second channel having a second 3-dB beam width wider than the first 3-dB beam width, wherein the first signal is a traffic signal and the second signal is a pilot signal, wherein the first 3-dB beam width is a function of an estimated angular spread as observed from the base station, and wherein the maximum first 3-dB beam width just exceeds the estimated angular spread when the estimated angular spread is available.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising maintaining an approximately constant effective radiated power between the first antenna beam and the second antenna beam in the direction of the first beam, when both beams have the same power control values.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the first 3-dB beam width is a function of an estimated distance between the base station and the mobile station.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the maximum first 3-dB beam width decreases as the estimated distance increases.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein the second 3-dB beam width is sector wide.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising minimizing the first 3-dB beam width based on the number of frame errors, wherein the minimized first 3-dB beam width is associated with a number of frame errors not exceeding a frame error threshold.