Wireless point to multi-point communication apparatus and method
View Patent ↗A wireless communication system that provides energy efficient, high bandwidth and low cost wireless communication. In one embodiment, the communication system utilizes a fan out, pencil beam arrangement in which electro-magnetic energy is transmitted from a hub to customer premises equipment (CPE) with a fan or similar antenna and from the CPEs to the hub via pencil beam antennas. The pencil beam antennas provided higher link margin. The hub may include a shared aperture antenna device for receiving pencil beam transmissions from the CPEs. A shared aperture antenna device may also be used for transmission from the hub to the CPEs.
1. A hub apparatus for a millimeter wave wireless communication system, comprising:
a support member;
a fan beam antenna coupled to said support member that propagates electromagnetic energy in a fan pattern;
a receive antenna mechanism coupled to said support member that receives a plurality of pencil beam transmissions from different customer premises equipment (CPEs). located in different physical locations within the range of the radiation pattern of said fan antenna; and
a supplemental pencil beam antenna coupled to said support member and separate from said receive antenna mechanism that is capable of transmitting electro-magnetic energy beyond the range of said fan antenna, such that at a given distance from said hub, the signal propagated from said supplemental pencil beam antenna has a greater signal strength than a signal propagated from said fan antenna.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said fan beam antenna mechanism propagates an electro-magnetic radiation pattern that has an azimuth component that is greater than its elevation component.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said fan antenna propagates millimeter wave electro-magnetic energy.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said receive antenna mechanism includes a shared aperture antenna device.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein said shared aperture antenna device is a phased array antenna device.
6. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein said shared aperture antenna device is a multi-beam antenna device and has a plurality of individual feeds provided therewith, each feed propagating a pencil beam transmission from a different physical location.
7. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein said shared aperture antenna device includes a Luneberg lens.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said receive antenna mechanism is an array of pencil beam receive antennas.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of said fan beam antenna and said receive antenna mechanism is configured to function in 360 degrees in azimuth.
10. A hub apparatus for a millimeter wave wireless communication system, comprising:
a support member;
a transmission antenna coupled to said support member that propagates electromagnetic energy in a pattern that has an azimuth component that is larger than the elevation component;
a receive antenna mechanism coupled to said support member that receives a plurality of pencil beam transmissions from different customer premises equipment (CPEs) located in different physical locations within the range of the radiation pattern of said transmission antenna; and
a supplemental pencil beam antenna coupled to said support member and separate from said receive antenna mechanism that is capable of transmitting electro-magnetic energy beyond the range of said fan antenna, such that at a given distance from said hub, the signal propagated from said supplemental pencil beam antenna has a greater signal strength than a signal propagated from said fan antenna.
11. A hub apparatus for a millimeter wave wireless communication system, comprising:
a support member;
a hub-based transmit antenna coupled to said support member that propagates electromagnetic energy to a plurality of customer premises equipment (CPEs) within the range illuminated by said transmit antenna; and
a hub-based receive antenna mechanism coupled to said support member that receives a plurality of pencil beam transmissions from different CPEs located in different physical locations within the range of the transmit antenna, said receive antenna mechanism including a shared aperture antenna device;
wherein said receive antenna mechanism includes a plurality of receive signal processing channels that each have a first mixer for separation of a first set of IF signals, and wherein each of said mixers is coupled to a common LO signal generator.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein said transmit antenna includes a shared aperture antenna device.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the shared aperture transmit antenna device and the shared aperture receive antenna device utilize at least in part a common shared aperture device; and
said hub apparatus further includes circuitry for processing separate receive and transmit signals from and to, respectively, that common shared aperture device.
14. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein said shared aperture transmit antenna device includes a phased array antenna device.
15. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein said shared aperture transmit antenna device includes a multi-beam antenna device.
16. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein said transmit antenna includes a fan antenna device.
17. A millimeter wave wireless communication system, comprising:
a hub support structure;
a hub-based transmit antenna coupled to said support structure for transmitting electro-magnetic energy;
a plurality of customer premises equipment (CPEs) capable of receiving electro-magnetic radiation from said hub-based antenna, and each CPE including a pencil beam antenna for transmitting electro-magnetic energy towards said hub support structure; and
a receive antenna mechanism coupled to said hub support structure that receives pencil beam electro-magnetic energy from each of said plurality of CPEs;
wherein said receive antenna mechanism includes a plurality of receive signal processing channels that each have a first mixer for separation of a first set of IF signals, and wherein each of said mixers is coupled to a common LO signal generator.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the pencil beam antenna of each CPE is used for transmit and receive.
19. The system of claim 18 , wherein said transmit antenna and said receive antenna mechanism are configured to propagate millimeter wave electro-magnetic energy.
20. The system of claim 17 , wherein said hub-based receive antenna mechanism includes a shared aperture antenna device.
21. The system of claim 17 , wherein said hub-based transmit antenna includes a shared aperture antenna device.
22. The system of claim 17 , wherein said hub-based receive antenna mechanism includes an array of pencil beam receive antennas.