Receiver with hybrid reception estimation and methods for use therewith

1. A receiver comprising:

an antenna array that generates a plurality of received signals from at least a first remote transmitter and a second remote transmitter, the antenna array having a beam pattern that is controllable based on at least one control signal;

a plurality of receiver sections, coupled to the antenna array, that process the plurality of received signals to generate a plurality of down-converted signals;

a receiver processing module, coupled to the plurality of receiver sections, that:

generates the at least one control signal to control the beam pattern to a first pattern for reception from the first remote transmitter and that generates a first reception estimate based on the plurality of down-converted signals during a first time period;

generates the at least one control signal to control the beam pattern to a second pattern for reception from the second remote transmitter and that generates a second reception estimate based on the plurality of down-converted signals during a second time period; and

generating inbound data based on the first reception estimate and the second reception estimate.

2. The receiver of claim 1 wherein the receiver is implemented in a multi-input multi-output transceiver.

3. The receiver of claim 1 wherein the received signals are formatted in accordance with a wireless telephony protocol.

4. The receiver of claim 3 wherein the first remote transmitter corresponds to a first base station and the second remote transmitter corresponds to a base station.

5. The receiver of claim 1 wherein the first pattern includes a null in a direction corresponding to the second remote transmitter.

6. The receiver of claim 1 wherein the first pattern includes a main lobe in a direction corresponding to the first remote transmitter.

7. The receiver of claim 1 wherein the second pattern includes a null in a direction corresponding to the first remote transmitter.

8. The receiver of claim 1 wherein the second pattern includes a main lobe in a direction corresponding to the second remote transmitter.

9. The receiver of claim 1 wherein the first reception estimate is a maximum likelihood estimate corresponding to the first remote transmitter.

10. The receiver of claim 1 wherein the second reception estimate is a maximum likelihood estimate corresponding to the second remote transmitter.

11. A method comprising:

generating a plurality of received signals from at least a first remote transmitter and a second remote transmitter via an antenna array having a beam pattern that is controllable based on at least one control signal;

processing the plurality of received signals to generate a plurality of down-converted signals;

generating the at least one control signal to control the beam pattern to a first pattern for reception from the first remote transmitter;

generating a first reception estimate based on the plurality of down-converted signals during a first time period;

generating the at least one control signal to control the beam pattern to a second pattern for reception from the second remote transmitter;

generating a second reception estimate based on the plurality of down-converted signals during a second time period; and

generating inbound data based on the first reception estimate and the second reception estimate.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the received signals are formatted in accordance with a wireless networking protocol.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the first remote transmitter corresponds to a first base station and the second remote transmitter corresponds to a second base station.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the first pattern includes a null in a direction corresponding to the second remote transmitter.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the first pattern includes a main lobe in a direction corresponding to the first remote transmitter.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the second pattern includes a null in a direction corresponding to the first remote transmitter.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein the second pattern includes a main lobe in a direction corresponding to the second remote transmitter.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein the first reception estimate is a maximum likelihood estimate corresponding to the first remote transmitter.

19. The method of claim 11 wherein the second reception estimate is a maximum likelihood estimate corresponding to the second remote transmitter.

20. A receiver for use in a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) transceiver comprising:

an antenna array, coupled to the MIMO transceiver, that generates a plurality of received signals from at least a first remote transmitter and a second remote transmitter, the antenna array having a beam pattern that is controllable based on at least one control signal;

a plurality of receiver sections, coupled to the antenna array, that process the plurality of received signals to generate a plurality of down-converted signals;

a receiver processing module, coupled to the plurality of receiver sections, that:

generates the at least one control signal to control the beam pattern to a first pattern for reception from the first remote transmitter and that generates a first reception estimate based on the plurality of down-converted signals during a first time period;

generates the at least one control signal to control the beam pattern to a second pattern for reception from the second remote transmitter and that generates a second reception estimate based on the plurality of down-converted signals during a second time period; and

generating inbound data based on the first reception estimate and the second reception estimate.