Diversity receiver with channel estimator

1. A diversity receiver, comprising:

a plurality of antennas configured to receive radio frequency signals;

a plurality of receiver circuits each coupled to a respective one of the plurality of antennas and configured to process the received radio frequency signals;

a channel estimator coupled to at least one of the receiver circuits and configured to determine at least one channel estimation value corresponding to a transfer function of a transmission channel at a given carrier frequency for the respective received radio frequency signals; and

a controller coupled to the channel estimator and to at least one of the receiver circuits, and configured to selectively activate and deactivate the at least one receiver circuit depending on the determined at least one of channel estimation value, wherein:

a first plurality of the antennas and the receiver circuits coupled to the first plurality of antennas form a first group, and

the channel estimator is coupled to the receiver circuits of the first group and is configured to determine channel estimation values for the radio frequency signals received by the antennas of the first group.

2. The diversity receiver of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to deactivate the at least one receiver circuit if the determined at least one of channel estimation value exceeds a predetermined threshold.

3. The diversity receiver of claim 2 , wherein the controller activates the at least one receiver circuit if determined at least one of channel estimation value exceeds a further predetermined threshold.

4. The diversity receiver of claim 1 , wherein

a plurality of the receiver circuits form a second group, and

the controller is coupled to the receiver circuits of the second group and is configured to deactivate the receiver circuits of the second group if a predetermined number of the determined channel estimation values for the radio frequency signals received by a predetermined number of antennas of the first group exceeds a predetermined threshold.

5. The diversity receiver of claim 1 , wherein

a plurality of the receiver circuits form a second group,

the controller is coupled to the receiver circuits of the second group and is configured to selectively activate and deactivate the receiver circuits of the second group depending on a number of different thresholds, and wherein

the controller is configured to deactivate at least one of the receiver circuits of the second group every time the determined channel estimation value for at least one of the radio frequency signals received by a predetermined number of antennas of the first group exceeds one of the thresholds.

6. The diversity receiver of claim 1 , wherein an operational mode of the diversity receiver is selectable in which a predetermined number of the receiver circuits is activated based on the selected operational mode.

7. The diversity receiver of claim 1 , wherein the radio frequency signals received by the antennas are multi-carrier signals.

8. The diversity receiver of claim 7 , wherein the radio frequency signals are OFDM-signals.

9. The diversity receiver of claim 1 , where the at least one channel estimation value corresponds to a quotient of a pilot signal actually received over a propagation path and a known pilot signal expected to be received.

10. A diversity receiver, comprising:

a plurality of antennas configured to receive radio frequency signals;

a plurality of receiver circuits each coupled to a respective one of the plurality of antennas and configured to process the received radio frequency signals;

a channel estimator coupled to at least one of the receiver circuits and configured to determine at least one channel estimation value corresponding to a transfer function of a transmission channel at a given carrier frequency for the respective received radio frequency signals; and

a controller coupled to the channel estimator and to at least one of the receiver circuits, and configured to selectively activate and deactivate the at least one receiver circuit depending on the determined at least one of channel estimation value,

wherein the radio frequency signals received by the antennas are multi-carrier signals, and wherein:

the channel estimator is configured to determine channel estimation values for predetermined individual carriers of the received radio frequency signals, and

the controller is configured to deactivate the at least one receiver circuit if at least one of the determined channel estimation values for a predetermined number of individual carriers exceeds a predetermined threshold.

11. A diversity receiver, comprising:

a plurality of antennas configured to receive radio frequency signals, wherein the radio frequency signals propagate to the antennas via transmission channels;

a plurality of means for processing the received radio frequency signals;

means for determining at least one channel estimation value for the respective received radio frequency signals, wherein the channel estimation values characterize a transfer function of the respective transmission channels at respective carrier frequencies at which the respective radio signals are received; and

means for selectively activating and deactivating at least one of the means for processing the received radio frequency signals based on the determined at least one channel estimation value, wherein:

a first plurality of the antennas and the receiver circuits coupled to the first plurality of antennas form a first group, and

the channel estimation means is coupled to the receiver circuits of the first group and is configured to determine channel estimation values for the radio frequency signals received by the antennas of the first group.

12. A method, comprising:

receiving radio frequency signals on a plurality of antennas;

processing the received radio frequency signals using a plurality of receiver circuits, wherein the radio frequency signals received on each antenna are processed in an individual receiver circuit, respectively;

determining at least one channel estimation value corresponding to a transfer function of a transmission channel at a given carrier frequency for the radio frequency signals received on at least one of the antennas; and

selectively activating or deactivating at least one of the receiver circuits based on the determined at least one channel estimation value, wherein:

a first plurality of the antennas and the receiver circuits are coupled to the first plurality of antennas form a first group, and

determining channel estimation values for the radio frequency signals received by the antennas of the first group.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the at least one receiver circuit is deactivated if the determined at least one channel estimation value crosses a predetermined threshold in a predetermined direction.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the at least one receiver circuit is activated if the determined at least one channel estimation value crosses a further predetermined threshold in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein

a plurality of the receiver circuits form a second group, and

deactivating the receiver circuits of the second group if the determined at least one channel estimation value for the radio frequency signals received by a predetermined number of antennas of the first group crosses a predetermined threshold.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein

a plurality of the receiver circuits form a second group, and

selectively activating or deactivating the receiver circuits of the second group based on a number of different thresholds, wherein

at least one of the receiver circuits of the second group is deactivated every time the determined at least one channel estimation value for the radio frequency signals received by a predetermined number of antennas of the first group crosses one of the thresholds.

17. The method of claim 12 , wherein an operational mode is selectable in which a predetermined number of the receiver circuits is activated based on the selected operational mode.

18. The method of claim 12 , wherein the radio frequency signals received on the antennas are multi-carrier signals.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the radio frequency signals are OFDM-signals.

20. A method, comprising:

receiving radio frequency signals on a plurality of antennas;

processing the received radio frequency signals using a plurality of receiver circuits, wherein the radio frequency signals received on each antenna are processed in an individual receiver circuit, respectively;

determining at least one channel estimation value corresponding to a transfer function of a transmission channel at a given carrier frequency for the radio frequency signals received on at least one of the antennas; and

selectively activating or deactivating at least one of the receiver circuits based on the determined at least one channel estimation value,

wherein the radio frequency signals received on the antennas are multi-carrier signals, and wherein:

channel estimation values are determined for predetermined individual carriers of the received radio frequency signals, and wherein

the at least one receiver circuit is deactivated if at least one of the determined channel estimation values for a predetermined number of individual carriers crosses a predetermined threshold.

21. A diversity receiver, comprising:

a plurality of antennas configured to receive radio frequency signals;

a plurality of receiver circuits each coupled to a respective one of the plurality of antennas and configured to process the received radio frequency signals;

a channel estimator coupled to at least one of the receiver circuits and configured to determine at least one channel estimation value for the respective received radio frequency signals; and

a controller coupled to the channel estimator and to at least one of the receiver circuits, and configured to selectively activate and deactivate the at least one receiver circuit depending on the determined at least one of channel estimation value,

wherein a first plurality of the antennas and the receiver circuits coupled to the first plurality of antennas form a first group, and

wherein the channel estimator is coupled to the receiver circuits of the first group and is configured to determine channel estimation values for the radio frequency signals received by the antennas of the first group;

wherein a plurality of the receiver circuits form a second group, and

wherein the controller is coupled to the receiver circuits of the second group and is configured to deactivate the receiver circuits of the second group if a predetermined number of the determined channel estimation values for the radio frequency signals received by a predetermined number of antennas of the first group exceeds a predetermined threshold.