Beamforming devices and methods
Devices and methods are provided for directionally receiving and/or transmitting acoustic waves and/or radio waves for use in applications such as wireless communications systems and/or radar. High directional gain and spatial selectivity are achieved while employing an array of receiving antennas that is small as measured in units of the wavelength of radio waves being received or transmitted, especially in the case of spatially oversampled arrays. Frequency/wavenumber, multi-dimensional spectrum analysis, as well as one-dimensional frequency spectrum analysis can be performed.
1. A device for receiving signals from a transmitting device, the device comprising:
an array of N antennas receiving N signals, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to three;
sampling circuitry for deriving digital data from the N antennas;
a spatial filter for receiving digital data from the sampling circuitry;
a spatial interpolator for receiving signals derived from the spatial filter and providing M interpolated signals using a Hermetic transform, where M>N, M representing a set of beams; and
a selector for selecting one of the beams to identify a location of the transmitting device.
2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the digital data includes in-phase and quadrature data.
3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the sampling circuitry uses oversampling.
4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the interpolator applies a matrix based on a selected cost function.
5. The device of claim 4 , wherein the spatial filter uses pre-stored matrices.
6. A device for receiving signals from a transmitting device, the device comprising:
an array of N antennas receiving N signals, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to three;
sampling circuitry for deriving digital data from the N antennas;
a spatial filter for obtaining signals from a desired sector;
a spatial interpolator for receiving signals derived from the digital data and providing M interpolated signals, where M>N, M representing a set of beams;
a selector for selecting one of the beams to identify a location of the transmitting device; and
a second spatial filter for receiving output signals derived from the spatial interpolator, and a second spatial interpolator for receiving the filtered signals from the second spatial filter and providing P beams, where P>M.
7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the antennas receive radiofrequency (RF) signals.
8. A method for receiving signals from a transmitting device, the method comprising:
receiving N signals with an array of N antennas, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to three;
sampling the signals to derive digital data from the N elements;
spatial filtering for filtering sampled signals;
spatially interpolating the N signals to provide M interpolated signals, where M>N, M representing a set of beams; and
selecting one of the beams to identify a location of the transmitting device.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the interpolating includes applying a matrix based on a selected cost function.
10. A method for receiving signals from a transmitting device, the method comprising:
receiving N signals with an array of N antennas, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to three;
sampling the signals to derive digital data from the N elements;
spatial filtering for obtaining signals from a desired sector;
spatially interpolating the N signals to provide M interpolated signals, where M>N, M representing a set of beams;
selecting one of the beams to identify a location of the transmitting device; and
a second spatial filtering for receiving output signals derived from the spatial interpolating, and a second spatial interpolating for receiving the filtered signals from the second spatial filtering and providing P beams, where P>M.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the sampling includes oversampling.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the interpolating includes applying a matrix based on a selected cost function.
13. A device for receiving signals from a transmitting device, the device comprising:
an array of N antennas receiving N signals, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to three; and
a processor configured to:
sample data from the N antennas, and
use a Hermetic transform on the sampled data to form M beams, where M>N.
14. The device of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to select one of the beams to identify a location of the transmitting device.
15. The device of claim 14 , wherein the received signals are RF signals received at a base station from a mobile device.
16. A method for receiving signals from a transmitting device, the method comprising:
receiving N signals with an array of N antennas, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to three;
sampling the signals to derive digital data from the N elements; and
using a Hermetic transform on the sampled data to derive M beams, where M>N.
17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising selecting one of the beams to identify a location of the transmitting device.
18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the received signals are RF signals received at a base station from a mobile device.
19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the antennas are arranged in a cylindrical array.
20. The device of claim 13 , wherein the antennas are arranged in a cylindrical array.