Multi-beam crest factor reduction

1. A system for use with a plurality of beam signals, said system comprising:

a crest factor reduction (CFR) circuit having a plurality of inputs and a corresponding plurality of outputs, wherein each of the inputs of the plurality of inputs is for receiving a corresponding different beam signal of the plurality of beam signals and wherein each output of the plurality of outputs corresponds to a different input of the plurality of inputs and is for outputting a different CFR-adjusted signal of a plurality of CFR-adjusted signals, each CFR-adjusted signal of the plurality of CFR-adjusted signals corresponding to a different beam signal of the plurality of beam signals;

wherein the CFR circuit is configured to perform crest factor reduction on the plurality of beam signals to generate the plurality of CFR-adjusted signals, and wherein the crest factor reduction performed on the plurality of beam signals is based on a weighted sum of the magnitudes of multiple beam signals among the plurality of beam signals, wherein the weighted sum of the magnitudes of multiple beam signals employs weights that are not all equal.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the CFR circuit is configured to use the weighted sum of the magnitudes of multiple beam signals among the plurality of beam signals to determine when to reduce the magnitudes of the beam signals of the plurality of beams signals.

3. The system of claim 2 , further comprising a transmitter connected to the plurality of outputs of the CFR circuit, the transmitter comprising:

a plurality of up-conversion modules, each electrically coupled to a corresponding different one of the outputs of the plurality of outputs of the CFR module and for up-converting a signal derived from the CFR-adjusted signal for that output;

a combiner for combining signals from the plurality of up-conversion modules and generating a combined signal; and

a power amplifier electrically coupled to the output of the combiner.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the power amplifier has an output and the system further comprises an antenna electrically connected to the output of the power amplifier.

5. The system of claim 2 , wherein the crest factor reduction performed on the plurality of beam signals is based on a weighted sum of the magnitudes of all of the beam signals among the plurality of beam signals.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the CFR circuit further comprises a peak detector for detecting when the weighted sum of the magnitudes of all of the beam signals of the plurality of beam signals exceeds a predetermined threshold.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the crest factor reduction that the CFR circuit is configured to perform involves hard clipping.

8. The system of claim 2 , wherein the weighted sum of the magnitudes of multiple beam signals among the plurality of beam signals is a sum of the magnitudes of all of the beam signals among the plurality of beam signals.

9. The system of claim 2 , wherein the CFR circuit comprises a plurality of coordinate conversion modules, and wherein each coordinate conversion module of the plurality of coordinate conversion modules is coupled to a different corresponding input of the plurality of inputs and is for determining a magnitude of the beam signal received over that input.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the CFR circuit further comprises a plurality of multipliers, each multiplier of the plurality of multipliers coupled to a corresponding different coordinate conversion module.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the CFR circuit further comprises an adder for adding signals derived from each of the coordinate conversion modules of the plurality of coordinate conversion modules to generate the weighted sum of the magnitudes of all of multiple beam signals among the plurality of beam signals.

12. The system of claim 2 , wherein the crest factor reduction that the CFR circuit is configured to perform involves peak cancellation.

13. The system of claim 2 , wherein the crest factor reduction that the CFR circuit is configured to perform involves iterative clipping.

14. A method for processing a plurality of beam signals, said method comprising:

determining a magnitude of each beam signal of the plurality of beam signals;

computing a weighted sum of the magnitudes of the plurality of beam signals, wherein the weighted sum of the magnitudes of the plurality of beam signals employs weights that are not all equal; and

performing crest factor reduction on the plurality of beam signals to generate a corresponding plurality of CFR-adjusted signals, wherein performing crest factor reduction on the plurality of beam signals is based on the computed weighted sum of the magnitudes of the plurality of beam signals.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

processing the plurality of CFR-adjusted signals to generate a plurality of processed signals; and

combining the plurality of processed signals to generate a combined transmit signal.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising delivering the combined transmit signal to an antenna for wireless transmission.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein performing crest factor reduction comprises using the weighted sum of the magnitudes to determine when to reduce the magnitudes of any of the beam signals of the plurality of beam signals.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein performing crest factor reduction on the plurality of beam signals comprises detecting when the weighted sum of the magnitudes of all of the beam signals of the plurality of beam signals exceeds a predetermined threshold.

19. The method of claim 14 , wherein performing crest factor reduction on the plurality of beam signals comprises hard clipping.

20. The method of claim 14 , wherein performing crest factor reduction on the plurality of beam signals comprises peak cancellation.

21. The method of claim 14 , wherein performing crest factor reduction on the plurality of beam signals comprises iterative clipping.