Downlink load sharing by beam selection
View Patent ↗The beam pattern associated with a multi-beam antenna array is adjusted if a first beam of the beam pattern is overloaded. A lobe of a second beam of the beam pattern can be steered away from a main lobe of the first beam. Also, if a user is located in an area covered by a second beam which is adjacent to the first beam, a third beam of the beam pattern can be selected for effectuating communication with the user. If a user is located in an area covered by the first beam, another beam of the beam pattern can be selected for effectuating communication with the user.
1. A method of managing loading in a beam pattern associated with a multi-beam antenna array, comprising:
receiving first information which indicates that a first beam of the beam pattern is overloaded;
receiving second information which indicates that a user is located in an area covered by a second beam which is adjacent to the first beam in the beam pattern; and
in response to said first and second information, selecting a third beam of the beam pattern for effectuating communication with the user.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the third beam has more available communication capacity than the first beam.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user causes more interference to another user than said another user causes to the first-mentioned user.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first-mentioned user is a user of one of a video service, a web browsing service, a file transfer service and a speech service.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second beam spatially overlaps the first beam.
6. An apparatus for managing loading in a beam pattern associated with a multi-beam antenna array, comprising:
an input for receiving first information which indicates that a first beam of the beam pattern is overloaded, and for receiving second information which indicates that a user is located in an area covered by a second beam which is adjacent to the first beam in the beam pattern; and
a selector coupled to said input and responsive to said first and second information for selecting a third beam of the beam pattern for effectuating communication with the user.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the third beam has more available communication capacity than the first beam.
8. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the user causes more interference to another user than said another user causes to the first-mentioned user.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the user is a user of one of a video service, a web browsing service, a file transfer service and a speech service.
10. The apparatus of claim 6 , provided in one of a CDMA base station and a WCDMA base station.
11. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the multi-beam antenna array is a fixed beam (FB) array.
12. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the second beam spatially overlaps the first beam.