Motorola Corporation

Ray Owen

Michael D Kotzin

Luis Lopes

Mathieu Villion

Eric Villier

Pradeep Garani

Stephen Aftelak

An adaptive antenna array () includes a muliplicity of antenna elements () responsive to uplink communications () and arranged to support directional-orientated downlink communication to subscriber units (). The adaptive antenna array () is operationally responsive to a signal processor () that co-operates with direction of arrival estimation logic () to assess an angle of arrival of uplink communications incident to the array. To avoid inter-cell interference, especially during early stages of a call, the signal processor operates to ensure that a wide area downlink beam () is provided for a downlink path to an addressed subscriber unit. With time and/or with reported () downlink quality of service (QoS) metrics, the signal processor () regulates () a width of the downlink beam by altering the number of antenna elements used to support the downlink beam, thereby altering the downlink beam aperture. Generally, with time, more antenna elements () are used and so the beam is narrowed, although in-call fluctuations in downlink quality of service are dynamically addressed by the signal processor () by either narrowing or broadening the width of the downlink beam by respectively switching antenna elements () into () or out () of the adaptive antenna array (), as shown in FIG.

Adaptive antenna array and method of controlling operation thereof

A method of enhancing a communication capability of a communication unit (), operating in a communication system () that facilitates communication to and/or from a plurality of communication units. The method includes the step of operably coupling a first communication unit () to one or more neighboring communication units () such that said communication unit is able to utilize at least one operational capability of one or more of its neighboring communication units to enhance communication to and/or from said first communication unit.

Method for enhancing the communication capability in a wireless telecommunication system

This invention relates to an antenna array system. A problem with antenna array systems is that they provide rather inefficient use of hardware and have inflexible resource allocation. The invention provides a flexible antenna array system architecture, which has very flexible allocation of transceiver elements to beams. The invention comprise switching means ( ) which associate transceiver elements ( ) to beam ports of a beam former ( ) connected to a antenna array ( ). The association of transceiver elements ( ) to beam ports are rearranged regularly, typically for each time slot, and the association is optimized for overall performance for all subscriber units. The invention is applicable for example to cellular communication systems such as GSM.

Growing community of inventors

Bath, United Kingdom

Ray Owen