Nortel Networks Corporation

Northern Telecom Limited

Apple Inc.

Stc, Inc

Rockstar Bidco, LP

Martin Stevens Smith

Dean Kitchener

Sonya Victoria Amos

Andrew Urquhart

Julius Robson

Keith S Wilson

Roger Adrian Perrott

Dawn K Power

Andrew William Jeffries

David Neil Adams

Ian Paul Llewellyn

James Edward Dalley

Chris Ward

Christopher Robert Ward

Adrian David Smith

David Damian Bevan

Fiona Wilson

John Edward Hudson

Steven John Baines

David Damian Nicholas Bevan

Ian A Abraham

Steven William Sparksman

Mark Watkins

Julius George Robson

Peter Glanville Gwynn

Anton Keith Bush

Andrew P Norris

Stephen John McKenna

Anthony Dalby

David Damian Nichols Bevan

David Damain Nicholas Bevan

Eric George Hasell

Mark Newton

Dawn Power

Roger Perrott

Keith Wilson

To reduce costs in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and other wireless communication systems an arrangement is described whereby adaptive combination is used at user equipment in order to produce two or more directional antenna beams. Improvements in carrier to interference levels result.

Radio communications device with adaptive combination

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

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 relates to improving the quality of a received downlink signal in a time division multiple access wireless cellular communications network. The method of the invention comprises measuring a signal quality characteristic at a user equipment and comparing this to a threshold to determine it a desired signal quality level exists. It so then a certain level or type of service on the downlink can be effected. It not, the method comprises identifying an interferer signal or signals and removing at least one of such interferer signals by arranging for it to either not be transmitted on the same TDMA timeslot as the downlink signal or to be transmitted at a lower power, for example, in said timeslot.

Method and apparatus for improving a transmission signal characteristic of a downlink signal in a time division multiple access wireless communication system

Space division multiple access scheduling for a transmitter having an antenna array with multiple beams includes determining, and storing at the transmitter, angles of arrival of signals and identifiers from user equipments, such as cellular telephones. The user equipment identifiers are sorted at the transmitter in order of angle of arrival to form an ordered list. The ordered list is subdivided into ordered sub-lists of user equipment identifiers in order of angle of arrival. The transmitter sequentially transmits simultaneously to a group of each respective ordinal member of each sub-list of user equipments, which are well-spaced.

Space division multiple access scheduling

The invention is directed to methods and apparatus for transmitting data between a first node and a second node in a communications network, for example a wireless network. The method comprises the steps of selecting a transmission channel from a predetermined set of transmission channels according to probability information and transmitting data using the selected channel. The probability information is based on a determination of a characteristic of previous transmissions using each of said set of channels. The invention is also directed to a method of selecting a channel at a node in a communications network for communication with a second node.

Channel selection

The invention provides a multiple beam antenna and a method of fabricating such an antenna. The multiple beam antenna comprises: a flexible substrate having a conductive layer; a plurality of directional antennas; and a plurality of electrical connections being routed from each of the plurality of directional antennas to at least one area of the substrate. The plurality of directional antennas and the plurality of electrical connections are formed in the conductive layer, and the flexible substrate is shaped so that the plurality of directional antennas point in prescribed directions. This provides a low cost, high functionality multiple beam antenna. The multiple beam antenna can be shaped such that the directional antennas cover a full 360&#xb0; or alternatively cover any range of other angles, (e.g. 270&#xb0; or 180&#xb0;).

Multibeam planar antenna structure and method of fabrication

A base station for a wireless network has multiple channels for communicating with user equipments, and has multiple channel reuse patterns. The patterns are complementary such that areas of low carrier to interference ratio C/I of one pattern are not coincident with areas of low C/I of other patterns. An allocator allocates channels such that for user equipment located in an area of low C/I of any of the complementary patterns, the allocator favors allocation of a channel of another of the complementary patterns. The sacrifice of capacity can be reduced as there is less need for a capacity-hungry high re-use factor pattern. The channels may be frequencies, time slots or CDMA codes. The reuse patterns can involve reuse on selected base stations, or on selected sectors, or different polarizations. The network can be of any type including fixed wireless access FWA, or mobile networks.

Multiple reuse patterns for channels of wireless networks

Provided is an apparatus adapted to transmit a first channel on at least two adjacent fixed beams of a plurality of fixed beams defining a coverage area, with each pair of adjacent fixed beams of the plurality of fixed beams partially overlapping and having substantially orthogonal polarizations. The apparatus has a respective transmitter adapted to transmit on each of the plurality of fixed beams a respective unique composite signal, each composite signal containing said first channel and a respective unique traffic channel.

Wireless transmitter, transceiver and method

Current deployment methods for fixed wireless access communications networks typically give rise to a trade off between link performance and capacity. It is difficult to maintain specified levels of link performance while maximizing capacity. When a request to change a fixed wireless access network is received, for example, by adding a subscriber, moving a subscriber or adding a sector to a base station, the link performance at each communications link is determined. For example, by measuring the link performance at each link or by predicting or estimating these link performance levels. If the proposed change to the network does not compromise link performance, that is, the predicted or actual link performance levels are greater than a specified level, proposed change is implemented. Otherwise the now subscriber is placed on hold, pending change to the network such as addition of a new base station or sector. Estimates of the link budgets for each communications link are calculated for 'worst case' scenario situations. This may be done using known deployment tools. The method is used in conjunction with fixed frequency planning or without fixed frequency planning. In the absence of fixed frequency planning, deployment of the communications network is eased.

Method of deploying a fixed wireless access communications network such that a specified level of link performance is maintained

A sea surface antenna comprises a cylindrical tube of metallic material 13 on a dielectric former. The tube has a longitudinal slot shorted at each end and coupled at its midpoint to a coaxial feed. The slot is bridged by two groups of capacitances each group being distributed along a respective half of the slot. The length of the antenna is less than 0.25 &#x3bb; and the diameter of the antenna is less than 0.02 &#x3bb;, where &#x3bb; is the free space wavelength at the operating frequency. The antenna is dimensioned so as to operate in an evanescent mode at a resonant frequency less than the cut-off frequency.

Sea surface antenna

Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems are able to provide wireless communications at increased data rates. These systems involve using a plurality of antennas on both the transmitter and receiver and the problem of how to accommodate such structures in user terminals, which are often required to be hand held then arises. An antenna arrangement which is suitable for MIMO communications and which can be incorporated into a user terminal such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) is described. A pair of co-polarised umbrella monopoles and a slot antenna are incorporated into a flap which extends at approximately 90&#xb0; to the body of the PDA. A fourth monopole is mounted and protrudes from the PDA itself.

User terminal antenna arrangement for multiple-input multiple-output communications

Previous MIMO systems have used spatially diverse antenna elements in order not to reduce the number of orthogonal channels that can be realized. The present invention recognizes that this leads to large antenna sizes, as compared to multiple beam antenna systems which use closely spaced antenna elements. In order to provide a compact antenna unit, while still allowing a MIMO system to be exploited, the present invention recognizes that polarization diversity only can be used in a MIMO system without the need for spatially diverse antenna elements. Closely spaced antenna elements are used and this enables a compact MIMO antenna unit to be provided. In addition, such MIMO systems with polarization diversity but no spatial diversity can advantageously be used in line of sight situations and also combined with multi-beam antenna systems to further increase capacity.

MIMO wireless communication system

The present invention relates to a communications antenna structure. The communications antenna structure comprises first and second antennas each having an axis about which a mode of electrical field vector polarisation can be generated. In a first orientation, with an axis associated with the structure vertical, the first antenna operates in a horizontal mode of electrical field vector polarisation and the second antenna operates in a vertical mode of electrical field vector polarisation; and, in a second orientation, with said structure axis horizontal, the first antenna operates in a vertical mode of electrical field vector polarisation and the second antenna operates in a horizontal mode of electrical field vector polarisation.

Growing community of inventors

Chelmsford, United Kingdom

Martin Stevens Smith