IP Library Granted Patent US 7,751,381
Granted Patent B2
US 7,751,381 · App. 11/065,364 · Granted Jul 6, 2010

Wireless base station using weighting elements of an array antenna

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,751,381
App. No.
11/065,364
Granted
Jul 6, 2010
Kind
B2
Abstract

To provide a wireless base station comprising an array antenna which transmits packets to terminals, a packet scheduler which determines transmission sequence of the packets, a modulator which generates modulated signals based on the packets, and a beam former for transmission signal which multiplies the packets with array weights for transmission signal and outputs the transmission signal to the array antenna the beam former for transmission signal comprises a memory which stores the array weights for transmission signal associated with the terminals' IDs. The beam former for transmission signal receives the IDs of selected terminals from the packet scheduler, refers to the memory, and selects the array weights for transmission signal by the IDs of the terminals.

Claims (20)

1. A wireless base station for transmitting packets to a plurality of terminals, comprising:

an array antenna which transmits packets to terminals;

a packet scheduler which determines transmission sequence of the packets;

a modulator which generates modulated signals based on the packets;

a beam former for a transmission signal which multiplies the packets with array weights for the transmission signal and outputs the transmission signal to the array antenna,

a correlator which calculates correlations between the array weights for the transmission signal; and

a demodulator which demodulates a received signal from the terminal and extracts the states of downlink channels included in the demodulated signal which is estimated by the terminal,

wherein, the beam former for the transmission signal comprises a memory which stores the array weights for transmission signal associated with the terminals' IDs,

wherein the beam former for transmission signal receives the IDs of selected terminals from the packet scheduler, refers to the memory, and selects the array weights for transmission signal by the IDs of the terminals, and

wherein the packet scheduler determines the transmission sequence of the packets, based on the correlations between the array weights and the states of the downlink channels.

2. The wireless base station according to claim 1 , further comprising a beam forming control unit which updates the array weights for transmission signal stored in the memory at frequency lower than the frequency at which the beam former for transmission signal multiplies the packets with the array weights for transmission signal.

3. The wireless base station according to claim 1 , further comprising a correlator which calculates correlations between the array weights for transmission signal, a receiver which receives control information from each terminal, and a channel estimator which estimates states of downlink channels from the control information,

wherein the packet scheduler determines the transmission sequence of the packets, based on the correlations between the array weights and the states of channels.

4. The wireless base station according to claim 1 , wherein the beam former for transmission signal selects the array weights for transmission signal by the ID of terminal to which the base station will transmit packets and the ID of terminal other than the terminals to which the base station will transmit packets.

5. The wireless base station according to claim 1 , further comprising a combining and transforming unit which combines a plurality of sub-carrier signals and transforms them into signals to transmit from the array antenna,

wherein the beam former for transmission signal multiplies each of the modulated sub-carriers generated by the modulator by the array weights for transmission signal and feeds them to the combining and transforming unit, and

wherein the combining and transforming unit combines the signals and feeds the combined signals to the array antenna.

6. The wireless base station according to claim 1 , wherein, if there is a terminal to which a channel has already been allocated for packet transmission thereto by multiple slot allocation, the packet scheduler determines whether to transmit packets to another terminal, based on the result of comparing estimated deterioration of the states of the channels with a predetermined value.

7. The wireless base station according to claim 1 , wherein the downlink channels in which the base station transmits signals to the terminal and uplink channels in which the terminal transmits to the base station are on different frequencies.

8. The wireless base station according to claim 1 , wherein a communication system including the base station and the terminal is a Frequency Division Duplex System.

Assignments (3)
MERGER Recorded Jan 19, 2010
From: HITACHI COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES, LTD.
To: HITACHI, LTD.
Reel/Frame 023810/0429 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE ORIGINAL COVER SHEET, THE ASSIGNEE'S ADDRESSES ARE ALL WRONG, PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 016320 FRAME 0885. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Dec 30, 2009
From: KUWAHARA, MIKIO; FUJISHIMA, KENZABURO; TAIRA, MASANORI; MEGURO, KOJI; OKAMOTO, TORU
To: HITACHI, LTD.; HITACHI COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES, LTD.; HITACHI ADVANCED SYSTEMS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 023719/0632 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 25, 2005
From: KUWAHARA, MIKIO; FUJISHIMA, KENZABURO; TAIRA, MASANORI; MEGURO, KOJI; OKAMOTO, TORU
To: HITACHI LTD.; HITACHI ADVANCED SYSTEMS CORPORATION; HITACHI COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES, LTD.
Reel/Frame 016320/0885 →