Apple Inc.

Nortel Networks Corporation

Rockstar Consortium US LP

Andrew Urquhart

Simon John Gale

Dean Kitchener

Martin Stevens Smith

Julius Robson

Steven Raymond Hall

David Neil Adams

Ian A Abraham

James Mark Naden

Guy M Duxbury

David Damian Nicholas Bevan

Christopher John Reed

William Waddoup

Robert Sheffield

David Damain Nicholas Bevan

David Bolzon

David Damian Nichols Bevan

Julius George Robson

Steven Hall

Mark Naden

Embodiments of the invention relate to wireless communications networks, and more specifically to an antenna apparatus for cellular wireless systems. Increasing data capacity of cellular wireless systems places increasing demands on the capacity of the two way connection, known as backhaul, between a cellular base station and a telecommunications network such as the PSTN backhaul, since this is the connection that has to convey the wireless-originating traffic to its destination, often in an entirely different network. Known backhaul links include leased lines, microwave links, optical fiber links or radio resources for relaying backhaul traffic between base stations. The fixed line solutions are expensive to implement and maintain, while the radio solutions antenna configurations that are not ideal for relaying data between base stations. In embodiments of the invention, communication between base stations occurs in a first timeslot by use of a first antenna system and communication between a given base station and a user equipment occurs in a second timeslot using a second antenna system. The benefit of this method is that the first antenna system can be optimized for use in communication between base stations, whereas the second antenna system can be optimized for communication with user equipment which preferably occurs within the area of cellular wireless coverage of the sector served by the second antenna system.

Antennae system

A base station including at least a transceiver switch is provided enabling the base station to transmit and receive data in either FDD or TDD mode from an antenna. The base station may be provided with a synthesizer which can be retuned from FDD to TDD mode or alternatively, an FDD and a TDD synthesizer and a switch enabling the transmitter and receiver of the base station to process FDD or TDD mode data respectively.

Dual mode base station

A base station for use in a mobile telephony network includes an antenna arrangement coupled to a transceiver arrangement for producing a plurality of beams. A method of testing the base station comprises detecting at the transceiver arrangement the signal strengths of a test signal received via the beams; comparing and/or correlating the said signal strengths detected at the transceiver arrangement; and using the results of the comparisons and/or correlations to determine the configuration of the antenna arrangement and transceiver arrangement and/or to detect faults. The comparison of average signal strengths can be used to detect cabling faults, and beam errors. The correlation of un-averaged signal strengths can be used to determine which beams have the same polarization. Beam pointing directions and the allocation of antennas to sectors can be determined by monitoring handovers of mobiles moving between cells. Frequencies may be allocated to sectors according to a frequency re-use scheme.

Antenna auto-configuration

The invention is directed to a method of communicating between a first node including a plurality of antennas and a second node, the method comprising the steps of: transmitting a signal from the first node to said second node using each of the plurality of antennas of the first node; at the second node, selecting one of the plurality of antennas for use; and communicating between the two nodes using this selected antenna. The invention is also directed to apparatus and software for performing the methods.

Antenna Diversity

System and methods of cellular communications network are described herein. In one system, an antenna array is described. The antenna array has a first beamforming arrangement for producing uplink beams and a second beamforming arrangement for producing downlink beams. The first and second beamforming arrangements are different from one another. The wireless communication network communicates with a mobile station by use of the uplink and downlink beamforming arrangements.

Downlink and uplink array and beamforming arrangement for wireless communication networks

Embodiments of the invention relate to wireless communications networks, and more specifically to an antenna apparatus for cellular wireless systems. In some embodiments, a method of transceiving signals in a wireless communications network is described. The method includes receiving, by user equipment, a signal in a time slot and a frequency band from a transceiver system, the transceiver system configured to transceive at least one other signal from one or more base stations in at least one other time slot and at least one other frequency band via at least two antenna systems. The frequency bands at least partially overlap and transmissions of the signals are in at least a portion of the wireless communications network.

Embodiments of the invention relate to wireless communications networks, and more specifically to method and apparatus relating to wireless backhaul for cellular wireless systems. Increasing data capacity of cellular wireless systems places increasing demands on the capacity of the two way connection, known as backhaul, between a cellular base station and a telecommunications network such as the PSTN backhaul, since this is the connection that has to convey the wireless-originating traffic to its destination, often in an entirely different network. Known backhaul links include leased lines, microwave links, optical fibre links or radio resources for relaying backhaul traffic between base stations. The fixed line solutions are expensive to implement and maintain, while the radio solutions suffer from interference from transmissions between base stations with transmissions from user equipment to base stations which are not communicating with other base stations. In embodiments of the invention, the relaying of access data between base stations utilises radio resources other than radio resources used by transmissions from user equipment within an area of contiguous wireless coverage. The benefit of this approach is that it provides a means of avoiding interference between inter-base station transmissions and user equipment to base station transmissions.

Shared radio backhaul system

The present invention relates to an RE antenna structure that includes a planar structure and a loading plate, such that the planar structure is mounted between a ground plane and the loading plate to form an RF antenna. The loading plate may be about parallel to the ground plane and the planar structure may be about perpendicular to the loading plate and the ground plane. The loading plate may allow the height of the RF antenna structure above the ground plane to be relatively small. For example, the height may be significantly less than one-quarter of a wavelength of RF signals of interest. The planar structure may include two conductive matching elements to help increase the bandwidth of the RF antenna structure.

Low-profile wide-bandwidth radio frequency antenna

Embodiments of the invention relate to an antenna structure and are particularly suited to array antennas. An antenna according to an embodiment of the invention employs an enclosure having an aperture in one end; in preferred arrangements the aperture provides the enclosure with a substantially open end, over which the cover is placed. The cover has a slot therein, of a smaller size than the size of the aperture presented by the open ended enclosure and the slot in the cover then acts as the radiating slot.

Antenna structures and arrays

Embodiments of the invention relate to wireless communications networks, and more specifically to an antenna apparatus for cellular wireless systems. Increasing data capacity of cellular wireless systems places increasing demands on the capacity of the two way connection, known as backhaul, between a cellular base station and a telecommunications network such as the PSTN backhaul, since this is the connection that has to convey the wireless-originating traffic to its destination, often in an entirely different network. Known backhaul links include leased lines, microwave links, optical fibre links or radio resources for relaying backhaul traffic between base stations. The fixed line solutions are expensive to implement and maintain, while the radio solutions antenna configurations that are not ideal for relaying data between base stations. In embodiments of the invention, communication between base stations occurs in a first timeslot by use of a first antenna system and communication between a given base station and a user equipment occurs in a second timeslot using a second antenna system. The benefit of this method is that the first antenna system can be optimised for use in communication between base stations, whereas the second antenna system can be optimised for communication with user equipment which preferably occurs within the area of cellular wireless coverage of the sector served by the second antenna system.

The present invention relates to an RF antenna structure that includes a planar structure and a loading plate, such that the planar structure is mounted between a ground plane and the loading plate to form an RF antenna. The loading plate may be about parallel to the ground plane and the planar structure may be about perpendicular to the loading plate and the ground plane. The loading plate may allow the height of the RF antenna structure above the ground plane to be relatively small. For example, the height may be significantly less than one-quarter of a wavelength of RF signals of interest. The planar structure may include two conductive matching elements to help increase the bandwidth of the RF antenna structure.

The invention provides an antenna array suitable for use in a base station in a wireless communications network, the antenna array having a first beamforming arrangement for producing uplink beams and a second beamforming arrangement for producing downlink beams, wherein the first and second beamforming arrangements are different from one another. Preferably the first and second beamforming arrangements feed a common antenna array to produce the uplink and downlink beams. Particularly preferably a plurality of (sin x/x) beams are formed for the uplink, and a plurality of low cusp beams are formed for the downlink. These are advantageously dual polar, in order to achieve diversity gain. In a preferred embodiment, the antenna array is arranged such that three dual polar low cusp beams are formed for the downlink, and six dual polar (sin x/x) beams are formed for the uplink. A cellular communications network and a base station transceiver having such antenna arrays are also provided, as are a radio signal transmitted as a plurality of (sin x/x) beams forming an uplink of a cellular communications network, and a method of operating a wireless communications network.

The invention is directed to a method of communicating between a first transceiver including a plurality of antennas and a second transceiver, the method comprising the steps of: transmitting a signal from the first transceiver to said second transceiver using each of the plurality of antennas of the first transceiver; at the second transceiver, selecting one of the plurality of antennas for use; and communicating between the two transceivers using this selected antenna. The invention is also directed to apparatus and software for performing the methods.

Growing community of inventors

Bishops Stortford, United Kingdom

Andrew Urquhart