Wireless communication node and method for configuring donor and service antennas therefor - Patents.com

Abstract

A wireless communication node employs a method for configuring its antennas at or after node installation. The antennas are positioned at fixed locations in a predefined arrangement. The node includes antennas, one or more processors, and a memory storing processor-executable instructions for the processors. In response to the processor-executable instructions, the processor processes wireless signals received by a first antenna and determines whether such processed signals meet base station discovery criteria. If so, the processor designates the first antenna as a donor antenna and designates some or all of the remaining antennas as serving antennas. If not, the processor processes wireless signals received by a second antenna and determines whether such processed signals meet base station discovery criteria. If so, the processor designates the second antenna as a donor antenna and designates some or all of the remaining antennas, including the first antenna, as serving antennas.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to antennas and antenna selection schemes. More specifically, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to wireless communication nodes, such as repeaters, and methods for configuring donor and service antennas for such nodes. [Background technology]

[0002] Successful deployment of 5G systems utilizing the new 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) bands is complex, has multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas or other antenna structures, adopts emerging standards such as mmWave or C-band 5G, and requires further improvements in performance parameters. mmWave 5G systems may also require more base stations due to the high propagation loss of mmWave signals, especially in urban and other environments. However, the cost of deploying base stations to increase the coverage and capacity of mmWave 5G networks in urban environments can be substantial, considering the cost of equipment, new utility poles, land acquisition, obtaining utility power, and performing fiber backhaul for such installations. Thus, a more cost-effective solution is needed for the densification of mmWave 5G and other common line-of-sight communication systems.

[0003] All of the subject matter described in the Background section is not necessarily prior art and should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its description in the Background section. Along these lines, any recognition of a problem in the prior art that is described in the Background section or that relates to such subject matter should not be treated as prior art unless expressly stated to be prior art. Instead, the description of any subject matter in the Background section should be treated as part of the inventor's approach to a particular problem that may itself also be inventive. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to an exemplary embodiment, the wireless communication node includes, among other things, a donor antenna and a service antenna, an actuator (e.g., a rotary actuator such as a servo, stepper, induction, or other type of motor), one or more processors, and a memory. The donor antenna and the service antenna may be implemented as a phased array antenna having an array of antenna elements, each of which is electronically controllable. The donor antenna and the service antenna are positioned in a predetermined arrangement about a central axis, which may be a central axis of a support structure to which the antenna is coupled. Each donor antenna is operable to communicate wireless signals with (e.g., transmit wireless signals to and receive wireless signals from) a base station (e.g., a 5G gNodeB or gNB) after the base station is discovered by the wireless communication node. Each service antenna is operable to communicate wireless signals within one or more service or coverage areas (e.g., transmit signals to and receive signals from) a mobile device, tablet computer, wireless router, or other user equipment located within the one or more service areas. In an exemplary embodiment, the wireless communication node may be airbornely mounted, such as on a street light, utility pole, or other structure. In another exemplary embodiment, the wireless communication node can function as an infrastructure component such as a repeater, relay node, small cell node, access point, gateway, or router in a wireless communication system (e.g., mmWave or C-band 5G system), or as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node in a 5G IAB network. In a further exemplary embodiment, the wireless communication node can include a total of four antennas, one donor antenna and three service antennas, each antenna configured approximately orthogonal to its adjacent antenna to form an approximately rectangular arrangement. Such an arrangement serves to improve radio frequency isolation between the antennas. In another exemplary embodiment, the wireless communication node can include a total of three antennas, one donor antenna and two service antennas, each antenna configured approximately 120 degrees from its adjacent antenna to form an approximately triangular arrangement.In other embodiments, two antennas or more than four antennas may be used, depending on the quantity and geography of the coverage area served by the serving antenna.

[0005] The processor is operable, among other things, to communicate control signals to the actuator and to process wireless signals received at least by the donor antenna. For example, the processor may be operatively coupled directly or indirectly to the actuator and operatively coupled to the donor antenna and / or the service antenna via conventional wireless transceiver circuitry. The memory stores instructions (e.g., executable code) for execution by the processor. Such instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform various steps or tasks. For example, such instructions, when executed, may cause the processor to process a first wireless signal received by the donor antenna and determine whether the first wireless signal meets base station discovery criteria to enable discovery of a base station. In the context of the present disclosure, a wireless signal received by the donor antenna meets the base station discovery criteria if the wireless signal meets or exceeds the base station discovery criteria. The base station discovery criteria may include one or more of a base station identifier, a signal strength or other signal quality criteria (e.g., a threshold or level), a channel load criterion, and a bandwidth criterion. For example, the base station discovery criteria may include parameters, thresholds, or other criteria for establishing whether a wireless signal received by a donor antenna (a) is of sufficient quality to be decoded by a wireless communication node or user equipment with an acceptable level of accuracy, (b) meets or exceeds a signal strength threshold, (c) includes a base station identifier, (d) includes data or information from which base station loading may be determined, and / or (e) includes data or information regarding channel frequencies and bandwidths supported by the base station.

[0006] When the first wireless signal meets the base station discovery criteria, the stored instructions, when executed, cause the processor to provide one or more beam control signals to the donor antenna to cause the donor antenna to form a beam pattern in the direction of the base station. In accordance with the present disclosure, forming the beam includes any one or more of beamforming, beamsteering, spatial filtering, or other known or future developed beamforming techniques. In an exemplary embodiment, the formed beam pattern is sufficient to achieve a signal strength above a threshold for a subsequent signal received from the base station.

[0007] Execution of the stored instructions causes the processor to communicate a first control signal to the actuator when the first wireless signal does not satisfy the base station discovery criteria. The actuator is operable to rotate the donor antenna and the service antenna as a group about a central axis in response to the control signal from the processor. The first control signal received by the actuator from the processor can cause the actuator to rotate the antennas as a group incrementally clockwise (e.g., to the right) or counterclockwise (e.g., to the left) by an angular displacement relative to a current position of the group of antennas. In an exemplary embodiment, such angular displacement can be between about 5 degrees and about 10 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise relative to a current position of the group of antennas. When the group of donor antennas and service antennas are coupled to a support structure defining a central axis, the actuator can rotate the support structure about the central axis, thereby rotating the donor antennas and the service antennas as a group about the central axis.

[0008] After the group of antennas is collectively rotated by the angular displacement, the stored instructions, when executed, cause the processor to process a second wireless signal received by the donor antenna and determine whether the second wireless signal meets the base station discovery criteria. When the second wireless signal meets the base station discovery criteria, the stored instructions, when executed, cause the processor to provide one or more beam control signals to the donor antenna to cause the donor antenna to form a beam pattern in the direction of the base station. When the second wireless signal does not meet the base station discovery criteria, the stored instructions, when executed, cause the processor to communicate a second control signal to the actuator. The second control signal may cause the actuator to incrementally rotate the antennas as a group by another angular displacement that is the same angular displacement or a different angular displacement used when determining that the first wireless signal did not meet the base station discovery criteria. For example, if the stored instructions implement a coarse and fine adjustment method, the angular displacement used after determining that the second wireless signal does not meet the base station discovery criteria may be less than the angular displacement used in response to determining that the first wireless signal did not meet the base station discovery criteria. In contrast, if the stored instructions implement a uniform rotation method, the angular displacement used after determining that the second wireless signal does not meet the base station discovery criterion may be substantially the same as the angular displacement used in response to determining that the first wireless signal did not meet the base station discovery criterion. When the stored instructions are executed, the processor may continue the iterative process-rotate-process approach until a wireless signal that meets the base station discovery criterion is received by the donor antenna.

[0009] After the donor antenna receives a wireless signal that meets the base station discovery criteria, the stored instructions may cause the processor to provide one or more beam control signals to the donor antenna to form a beam pattern in the direction of the base station. The stored instructions may also cause the processor to establish a wireless connection with the base station (e.g., when the wireless communication node is a small cell node). The stored instructions may also cause the processor to provide one or more beam control signals to each service antenna to form a respective beam pattern to provide wireless coverage to one or more service areas or respective service areas. According to an exemplary embodiment, the beam control signals provided to the donor antenna and the service antenna are such that they cause the donor antenna to form a beam pattern having a higher gain and a narrower beamwidth than the gain and beamwidth of the beam pattern formed by one or more of the service antennas. Thus, the beamforming control signals provided to the donor antenna or the service antenna may be used to form a beam pattern of a desired gain and a desired beamwidth that is directed or steered to a desired azimuth angle and / or a desired elevation angle. Further, the donor antenna, the service antenna, or both may include respective arrays of antenna elements arranged in respective phased antenna arrays, In such a case, the processor may provide beam control signals to the respective phased antenna arrays to cause the phased antenna arrays to form a desired beam pattern directed toward the base station (for the donor antenna) or toward the service area (for the service antenna).

[0010] According to alternative embodiments, the donor antenna and the service antenna may form part of or be housed within an antenna module that includes a housing, cover, or some other protective enclosure. The antenna module may also include a support structure to which the donor antenna and the service antenna are coupled. Additionally, the antenna module and / or the support structure may be attached to another electronic device or module, such as a streetlight mountable device, that includes other circuitry of the wireless communication node and, optionally, circuitry for performing other functions, such as streetlight luminaire control, power metering, location services, etc. In such cases, or if the antenna is coupled to the support structure without the antenna module, the antenna module or the support structure may include a light pipe to direct ambient light to a light sensor in the antenna module, the support structure, or the electronic device to which the antenna module or the support structure is attached. For example, if the antenna module or the support structure is attached to an electronic device mounted on a streetlight luminaire and the electronic device includes a light sensor to facilitate the performance of a light control function, the antenna module or the support structure may include a light pipe to allow ambient light to reach the light sensor of the electronic device. In this embodiment, the electronic device and antenna module or support structure may form all or part of a wireless communication node, and the electronic device may include one or more processors, memory, and various other components of the wireless communication node.

[0011] According to further embodiments of the present disclosure, the stored processor executable instructions, when executed, may cause the processor to communicate an initial control signal to the actuator after detecting that the wireless communication node has been powered on. In this case, the initial control signal may be part of an auto-configuration operation for the wireless communication node, and may cause the actuator to rotate the donor antenna and the service antenna as a group (e.g., rotate the support structure to which the antennas are coupled) incrementally (e.g., 5-10 degree increments) a predetermined angular displacement until the group completes a predetermined amount of displacement or rotation (e.g., 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees, or 360 degrees). At each angular displacement increment, the processor may process one or more wireless signals received by the donor antenna to determine whether the one or more signals meet base station discovery criteria to enable base station discovery. The processor may discover a base station to lock on or establish a connection with prior to completion of the auto-configuration process, or may collect candidate base station data during the auto-configuration process and select (discover) a base station to lock on or establish a connection with upon completion of the auto-configuration (e.g., after the group of antennas has been rotated through the entire predetermined amount of angular displacement).

[0012] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a wireless communication node includes an antenna module, a donor antenna and a service antenna, an actuator, one or more processors, and a memory. The antenna module includes a support structure defining a central axis. The antennas are oriented in a predetermined arrangement about the central axis and coupled to the support structure. The actuator is operable to rotate the support structure about the central axis in response to one or more control signals. The processor is operable to communicate the control signals to the actuator and to process wireless signals received by at least the donor antenna. The memory stores processor-executable instructions. The processor-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform an antenna configuration routine.

[0013] For example, according to this exemplary embodiment, the stored instructions, when executed, cause the processor to process a first wireless signal received by the donor antenna and determine whether the first wireless signal meets a base station discovery criterion to enable connection with a base station. The wireless signal received by the donor antenna meets the base station discovery criterion if the wireless signal meets or exceeds the base station discovery criterion. When the first wireless signal does not meet the base station discovery criterion, the stored instructions, when executed, cause the processor to communicate a first control signal to the actuator, thereby causing the actuator to rotate the support structure by an angular displacement. After the support structure is rotated by the angular displacement, the stored instructions, when executed, cause the processor to process a second wireless signal received by the donor antenna and determine whether the second wireless signal meets the base station discovery criterion. When the second wireless signal does not meet the base station discovery criterion, the stored instructions, when executed, cause the processor to communicate an additional actuation control signal to the actuator, for incrementally rotating the support structure by an angular displacement until the processor determines that at least one received wireless signal meets the base station discovery criterion. When a wireless signal received by the donor antenna satisfies the base station discovery criteria, the wireless communication node, through operation of the processor, may establish a connection with the base station that transmitted the wireless signal that satisfies the criteria. After establishing the connection, or as part of establishing the connection, the stored instructions are executed, and the processor provides beam control signals to the donor antenna to cause the donor antenna to form a desired beam pattern in the direction of the base station.

[0014] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a wireless communication node includes a donor antenna and a service antenna positioned in a predetermined arrangement about a central axis, an actuator, one or more processors, and a memory. The actuator is operable to rotate the antennas as a group about the central axis in response to one or more control signals. The processor is operable to communicate the control signals to the actuator and to process wireless signals received by at least the donor antenna. The memory stores processor-executable instructions. The processor-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform an antenna configuration routine.

[0015] For example, according to this exemplary embodiment, the stored instructions, when executed, may cause the processor to communicate at least one control signal to the actuator to incrementally rotate the plurality of antennas as a group by an angular displacement until the actuator completes a predetermined angular displacement (e.g., 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees, or 360 degrees). The stored instructions, when executed, may cause the processor to process one or more wireless signals received by the donor antenna incrementally by each angular displacement to gather candidate base station data. The stored instructions, when executed, may cause the processor to select a candidate base station with which to establish a connection from the candidate base station data and provide a beam control signal to the donor antenna to cause the donor antenna to form a desired beam pattern in the direction of the selected base station. The stored instructions, when executed, may cause the processor to compare the candidate base station data of each candidate base station to a base station discovery criterion and select a candidate base station having candidate base station data that satisfies the base station discovery criterion. If the candidate base station data indicates that signals from two or more base stations satisfy the base station discovery data, the stored instructions, when executed, may cause the processor to select the base station having the best overall candidate base station data. Further, when the stored instructions are executed, the processor can provide beam control signals to each service antenna to cause the service antenna to form a desired beam pattern directed toward the respective service area. In this embodiment, if the predetermined angular displacement is greater than 180 degrees, when the stored instructions are executed, the processor can send control signals to actuators to rotate the donor antenna and the service antenna as a group by no more than 180 degrees in either direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) from a starting position to mitigate any kinks in the antenna, the antenna module that contains the antenna, or cables that may be connected to a support structure to which the antenna is coupled.

[0016] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, an exemplary method is provided for configuring a donor antenna and a service antenna of a wireless communication node for operation in a wireless communication system including at least one base station and at least one wireless communication node. The method may be executed by one or more processors and / or other components of the wireless communication node. According to this embodiment, the donor antenna and the service antenna are configured in a predetermined arrangement about a central axis.

[0017] According to an exemplary method, a wireless signal received by a donor antenna is processed and a determination is made as to whether the wireless signal meets a base station discovery criterion. When the wireless signal does not meet the base station discovery criterion, the donor antenna and the service antenna are rotated as a group around a central axis by an angular displacement. After the rotation, another wireless signal received by the donor antenna is processed and a determination is made as to whether the wireless signal meets the base station discovery criterion. When the wireless signal meets the base station discovery criterion, a beam pattern is formed for the donor antenna in the direction in which the wireless signal was received (e.g., in the direction of the base station). The donor antenna beam pattern may be formed to achieve a signal strength above a threshold for subsequent signals received from the base station. When the wireless signal does not meet the base station discovery criterion, the donor antenna and the service antenna are rotated as a group around a central axis by another angular displacement. The latter angular displacement may be the same or different from the former angular displacement (e.g., when using a coarse / fine tuning process, the angular displacement may change (e.g., become smaller) over the course of the configuration process). After or during formation of the beam pattern of the donor antenna, a respective beam pattern is formed for each serving antenna to provide wireless coverage to the or each of the serving areas.

[0018] Thus, according to this exemplary embodiment, the wireless communication node uses an iterative signal processing and antenna group rotation method to automatically configure or position groups of donor and service antennas to enable the donor antennas to establish high quality wireless communication signal paths with the base station. Such a method can be highly beneficial in both performance and economics when wireless communication nodes are installed in systems where support structures and utility power for the nodes are already available, such as at or on streetlights or other aerial lighting fixtures, utility poles, buildings, etc.

[0019] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, another exemplary method is provided for configuring a donor antenna and a service antenna of a wireless communication node for operation in a wireless communication system including at least one base station and at least one wireless communication node. The method may be executed by one or more processors and / or other components of the wireless communication node. According to this embodiment, the donor antenna and the service antenna are configured in a predetermined arrangement about a central axis.

[0020] According to this exemplary method, the donor antenna and the service antenna are rotated incrementally by an angular displacement as a group until they complete a predetermined angular displacement (e.g., 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees, 360 degrees, etc.). At each angular displacement increment, one or more wireless signals received by the donor antenna are processed to gather candidate base station data. Upon completing the predetermined angular displacement, a base station is selected or discovered from the candidate base station data. A beam pattern is then formed for the donor antenna in the direction of the selected base station (e.g., to achieve a signal strength or signal quality above a desired level for subsequent signals received from the base station). Further, a respective beam pattern is formed for each service antenna to provide wireless coverage to one or more service areas. If the predetermined angular displacement is greater than 180 degrees, the rotation of the donor antenna and the service antenna as a group may be limited to no more than 180 degrees in either direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) from the starting position to mitigate any twisting of the antenna, the antenna module including the antenna, or cables that may be connected to a support structure to which the antenna is coupled.

[0021] Thus, according to this exemplary embodiment, the wireless communication node uses a more comprehensive analysis approach to automatically configure or position groups of donor and service antennas to enable the donor antennas to establish high quality wireless communication paths with the base station. According to this embodiment, signals received by the donor antennas over a larger angular displacement or rotation are processed before selecting a base station with which to establish a connection. Such a method may be very useful when wireless communication nodes are installed in a system at fixed locations where the node's support structure and utility power are already available, such as at or on street lamps or other aerial lighting fixtures, utility poles, buildings, etc.

[0022] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a wireless communication node includes a plurality of antennas positioned in a predetermined arrangement, one or more processors operable to process wireless signals received by the antennas and communicate one or more control signals to the antennas, and a memory storing processor-executable instructions. In accordance with the stored instructions, the processor processes at least one wireless signal received by a first antenna to generate at least one processed first antenna signal. The processor then determines whether the at least one processed first antenna signal satisfies a base station discovery criterion. The base station discovery criterion may include one or more of a base station identifier, a signal strength or other signal quality criterion, a channel load criterion, and a bandwidth criterion.

[0023] When at least one processed first antenna signal satisfies the base station discovery criteria, the processor designates the first antenna as a donor antenna, and the donor antenna is operable to communicate a subsequent wireless signal with a base station (e.g., a base station discovered by the wireless communication node) that transmitted the wireless signal received by the first antenna. In addition, the processor designates some or all of the remaining antennas as one or more serving antennas when the first antenna is designated as a donor antenna. When at least one processed first antenna signal does not satisfy the base station discovery criteria, the processor processes at least one wireless signal received by a second antenna to generate at least one processed second antenna signal, and designates the second antenna as a donor antenna when the processed second antenna signal satisfies the base station discovery criteria. In such a case, the processor may further designate the other remaining antennas, including the first antenna, as one or more serving antennas. Each serving antenna is operable to communicate wireless signals within one or more service or coverage areas (e.g., to transmit signals to and receive signals from mobile devices, tablet computers, wireless routers, or other user equipment located within the one or more service coverage areas).

[0024] After designating an antenna as a donor antenna, the processor can provide one or more beam control signals to the donor antenna to cause the donor antenna to form a beam pattern in the direction of the base station. Such beam control signals can also cause the donor antenna to form a beam pattern to achieve a signal strength above a threshold for subsequent signals received from the base station. Additionally, the processor can provide one or more beam control signals to each serving antenna to cause the serving antenna to form a respective beam pattern to provide wireless coverage to one or more service areas (e.g., respective service areas). According to another exemplary embodiment, the beam pattern of the donor antenna has a higher gain and a narrower beam width than the gain and beam width of the beam pattern of the serving antenna.

[0025] According to further exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the antenna includes a total of four antennas, each antenna configured approximately orthogonal to adjacent antennas to form an approximately rectangular arrangement. Alternatively or additionally, the antennas may be housed in an antenna module, which includes a light pipe that directs ambient light to a light sensor. In such cases, or in other embodiments, the wireless communication node may be constructed to be mountable on a street light. The wireless communication node may be a repeater in a wireless access network, a relay node in a wireless access network, or an IAB node in an IAB network. In another exemplary embodiment, the wireless communication node may include a total of three antennas, each antenna configured approximately 120 degrees from its adjacent antenna to form an approximately triangular arrangement. In other embodiments, two antennas or five or more antennas may be used, depending on the quantity and geography of the coverage area served by the serving antenna.

[0026] According to a further exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a wireless communication node includes a plurality of antennas positioned in a predetermined arrangement, one or more processors operable to process wireless signals received by the antennas and communicate one or more control signals to the antennas, and a memory storing processor-executable instructions. In accordance with the stored instructions, the processor processes at least one wireless signal received by a first antenna to collect first candidate base station data and processes at least one wireless signal received by a second antenna to collect second candidate base station data. The processor selects a base station to communicate with based on the first candidate base station data and the second candidate base station data. Once a base station is selected from the first candidate base station data, the processor designates the first antenna as a donor antenna operable to communicate subsequent wireless signals with the base station. The processor also designates the remaining antennas as one or more serving antennas. Meanwhile, once a base station is selected from the second candidate base station data, the processor may designate the second antenna as a donor antenna and designate the remaining antennas, including the first antenna, as one or more serving antennas. The designation or selection of a donor antenna may be based on whether the candidate base station data meets base station discovery criteria, such as one or more of a base station identifier, signal strength or other signal quality criteria, a channel loading criterion, and a bandwidth criterion.

[0027] After designating the donor antenna, the processor can provide beam control signals to the donor antenna to cause the donor antenna to form a desired beam pattern toward the base station. Additionally, the processor can provide beam control signals to each serving antenna to cause the serving antenna to form a desired beam pattern directed toward a respective serving area of ​​the one or more serving areas.

[0028] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the wireless communication node has a total of four antennas, each of which is configured generally orthogonal to adjacent ones of the antennas in a generally rectangular arrangement. Alternatively or additionally, the antennas may be housed within an antenna module that includes a light pipe that directs ambient light to a light sensor.

[0029] According to a further exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a wireless communication node includes four antennas, one or more processors operable to process wireless signals received by the antennas and communicate one or more control signals to the antennas, and a memory storing processor-executable instructions. Each of the four antennas is configured substantially orthogonal to adjacent ones of the antennas. In accordance with the stored instructions, the processor processes at least one wireless signal received by a first antenna to generate at least one processed first antenna signal. The processor determines whether the at least one processed first antenna signal satisfies a base station discovery criterion. If so, the processor designates the first antenna as a donor antenna operable to communicate subsequent wireless signals with a base station that transmitted the wireless signal received by the first antenna (i.e., a base station discovered by the wireless communication node). The processor also designates the three remaining antennas as service antennas.

[0030] When the at least one processed first antenna signal does not satisfy the base station discovery criterion, the processor processes the at least one wireless signal received by the second antenna to generate at least one processed second antenna signal, and when the at least one processed second antenna signal satisfies the base station discovery criterion, designates the second antenna as a donor antenna. When the second antenna is a donor antenna, the processor designates the other three remaining antennas, including the first antenna, as serving antennas.

[0031] According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, an exemplary method is provided for configuring an antenna of a wireless communication node for operation in a wireless communication system including at least one base station and a wireless communication node. The method may be performed by one or more processors and / or other components of the wireless communication node. According to this embodiment, the antenna is configured in a fixed position at a predetermined arrangement.

[0032] According to an exemplary method, at least one wireless signal received by a first antenna is processed and a determination is made as to whether the wireless signal meets a base station discovery criterion. When the wireless signal received by the first antenna meets the base station discovery criterion, the first antenna is designated as a donor antenna operable to communicate a subsequent wireless signal with the base station that transmitted the wireless signal. When the first antenna is designated as a donor antenna, some or all of the remaining antennas are designated as one or more serving antennas. However, when the wireless signal received by the first antenna does not meet the base station discovery criterion, at least one wireless signal received by a second antenna is processed and a determination is made as to whether the wireless signal meets the base station discovery criterion. When the wireless signal received by the second antenna meets the base station discovery criterion, the second antenna is designated as a donor antenna, and some or all of the remaining antennas, including the first antenna, may be designated as one or more serving antennas.

[0033] According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, an exemplary method is provided for configuring an antenna of a wireless communication node for operation in a wireless communication system including at least one base station and a wireless communication node. The method may be performed by one or more processors and / or other components of the wireless communication node. According to this embodiment, the antenna is configured in a fixed position at a predetermined arrangement.

[0034] According to this exemplary method, at least one wireless signal received by a first antenna is processed to collect first candidate base station data. Additionally, at least one wireless signal received by a second antenna is processed to collect second candidate base station data. A base station to communicate with is selected based on the first candidate base station data and the second candidate base station data.

[0035] When a base station is selected from the first candidate base station data, the first antenna is designated as a donor antenna operable to communicate subsequent wireless signals with the base station, and some or all of the remaining antennas are designated as serving antennas. When a base station is selected from the second candidate base station data, the second antenna is designated as a donor antenna, and some or all of the remaining antennas, including the first antenna, are designated as serving antennas. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0036] Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments are described with reference to the following drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts or elements throughout the various views unless otherwise specified. Sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, shapes of various elements are selected, enlarged, and positioned to improve the legibility of the drawings. Particular shapes of the depicted elements are selected for ease of recognition in the drawings. [Figure 1] 1 illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication node according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 2 illustrates a perspective view of the wireless communication node of FIG. 1 mounted in an exemplary manner on a street light, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] 2 illustrates a logic flow diagram of steps performed to select donor and service antennas for the wireless communication node of FIG. 1 in accordance with a further exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates a block diagram of an alternative wireless communication node according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] 5 shows a combined top view and block diagram of the wireless communication node of FIG. 4 in an exemplary street light mountable configuration according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 5 shows a perspective view of the wireless communication node of FIG. 4 mounted in an exemplary manner on a street light, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 5 illustrates an exemplary antenna implementation and beam pattern forming for various antennas of the wireless communication node of FIG. 2 or FIG. 4 in accordance with a further exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 5 illustrates a logic flow diagram of steps performed to configure a donor antenna and a service antenna of the wireless communication node of FIG. 4 in accordance with a further exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 5 illustrates an alternative logic flow diagram of steps performed to configure a donor antenna and a service antenna of the wireless communication node of FIG. 4 in accordance with an additional exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] In the following description, certain specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosed embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the embodiments may be practiced without one or more of these specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. Also, in these examples, well-known structures have been omitted or shown and described with reduced detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments.

[0038] 1 and 2, a wireless communication node 200 is shown in block diagram and street light mounted form according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The exemplary wireless communication node 200 includes a set or group of two or more antennas 101-104 (four are shown for illustrative purposes only) oriented in different directions, one or more processors 107 (one is shown for illustrative purposes only), and a memory 109. The wireless communication node 200 may be a repeater, relay node, or small cell node in a radio access network (RAN), or an IAB node in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network.

[0039] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the antennas 101-104 are fixedly positioned and cannot be moved individually or as a group. When the set of antennas 101-104 includes four antennas 101-104, each antenna 101-104 may be configured approximately orthogonal to adjacent antennas 101-104, as shown in FIG. 1. Positioning each antenna 101-104 approximately orthogonal to each adjacent antenna 101-104 helps provide isolation between the antennas 101-104 during operation. In other embodiments, such as those described below with respect to FIGS. 4-9, the antennas 101-104 may be rotatable, as a group, about a central axis (e.g., axis 606 in FIG. 6).

[0040] 1, the antennas 101-104 of the exemplary wireless communication node 200 are shown as being substantially coplanar. However, in alternative embodiments, the antennas 101-104 may be positioned in different planes (e.g., different parallel planes) relative to one another, such as in a stacked arrangement, an offset stacked arrangement, or other multi-planar configuration.

[0041] The memory 109 stores instructions executable by the processor 107 during operation of the wireless communication node 200. The instructions may be implemented as any set of firmware, software, or data executable or usable by the processor 107 to cause the processor 107 to perform various routines, algorithms, processes, or methods. The memory 109 may be used for other purposes, including storing data reported from sensors in or attached to the wireless communication node 200, storing additional instructions to cause the processor 107 to perform artificial intelligence or other functions, and for other purposes as well. The processor 107 may be any known processor, and in some embodiments may be field programmable. If the processor 107 is field programmable, the processor 107 may be implemented as or include a field programmable gate array.

[0042] 1 and described in more detail below, the processor 107 interfaces with the set of antennas 101-104 to receive and process radio signals received by the antennas 101-104 and to provide beam control signals to the antennas 101-104 when the antennas 101-104 are constructed to be capable of receiving and responding to such control signals. The antennas 101-104 may be controllable by the processor 107 if the antennas 101-104 are constructed to facilitate electronic beamforming (e.g., beamforming, beam steering, or spatial filtering), such as when the antennas 101-104 are electronically controllable phased array antennas.

[0043] Those skilled in the art will readily recognize and appreciate that the block diagram of Figure 1 does not depict various components that may be included in a particular wireless communication node 200, including, but not limited to, a power supply, one or more radio transceivers, filters, precision clocks, and various other components and modules that may be included in 5G wireless communication equipment. Such components have been omitted from the drawings to minimize complexity and facilitate a better understanding of the subject matter of the present disclosure.

[0044] To protect the antennas 101-104 from weather and other environmental influences, the antennas 101-104 may form part of an antenna module 105, which may include a housing 201 and / or a support structure. If the wireless communication node 200 also performs a function based on the amount of detected ambient light, for example, providing control of a street light luminaire 206 or other aerial lighting equipment to which the wireless communication node 200 is mounted, attached, or configured to control, the wireless communication node 200 may include a light sensor 130. In some embodiments, the light sensor 130 may be positioned within the antenna module 105 or another electronic device or module 202 of the wireless communication node 200 to which the antenna module 105 is attached. The electronic module 202 may be a small cell node or a multi-function device, including, for example, small cell functionality, light control functionality, power metering, tilt and / or vibration sensing, image capture functionality, and / or general Internet of Things (IoT) functionality. If the wireless communication node 200 includes an antenna module 105 and / or an electronics module 202 to which the antenna module 105 is mounted, the wireless communication node 200 or its antenna module 105 (e.g., as part of the support structure of the antenna module) may further include a light pipe 120 for directing ambient light to the wireless communication node's light sensor 130. If the light sensor 130 is included within the electronics module 202 to which the antenna module 105 is mounted and the electronics module 202 and its light sensor 130 are positioned below (or above, depending on the installation configuration) the antenna module 105, the light pipe 120 may be routed through the antenna module housing 201 or through an antenna module support structure, such as a post configured between the antenna module housing 201 and an opening in the electronics module 202 aligned with the light sensor 130.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication node 200 may be mounted on a street light or other equipment exposed to ambient light. When the wireless communication node 200 is mounted on a street light, the light sensor 130 of the wireless communication node may be used as part of a system for controlling the operation of the street light. In FIG. 1, the light pipe 120 and the light sensor 130 are shown linearly arranged along a central vertical axis of the antenna module 105 or its support structure. However, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the light pipe 120 may be wired in any manner to direct ambient light to the light sensor 130 positioned below the antenna module 105 or elsewhere. In further embodiments, the light sensor 120 may be included in the antenna module 105 rather than in the electronics module 202 to which the antenna module 105 is attached.

[0046] 2, the wireless communication node 200 may be mountable to a street light through the use of an electrical socket built into the top of a street light luminaire 206. To secure the wireless communication node 200 to the street light with sufficient strength to withstand wind loads and various other environmental conditions, the wireless communication node 200, or a portion thereof (e.g., the electronics module 202), may be secured to a light pole 208 through the use of a mounting bracket 204.

[0047] Figure 3 illustrates a logic flow diagram 300 of steps performed to select a donor antenna and one or more serving antennas from the set of antennas 101-104 included as part of an exemplary wireless communication node 200. The logic flow steps of Figure 3 may be performed by one or more processors 107 of the wireless communication node 200 through execution of instructions stored in the memory 109 of the node.

[0048] According to the logic flow of FIG. 3, the processor 107 processes (301) at least one wireless signal received by a first one of the antennas 101-104. The first antenna may be any one of the antennas 101-104 from which the donor antenna and the serving antenna are selected. The processor 107 determines (303) whether any wireless signal received by the first antenna meets base station discovery criteria. Such criteria may include, among others, whether the signal includes an identifier for the base station (e.g., a gNB identifier), whether a signal strength or other signal quality metric for the received signal meets a desired strength or quality level, whether a channel load for the base station is determined to be less than a maximum threshold based on data or information in the signal, and / or whether the frequencies and bandwidths supported by the base station are within a desired frequency range having a minimum bandwidth threshold.

[0049] In some embodiments, multiple wireless signals may be detected from a first antenna (e.g., antenna 101) or any subsequently evaluated antennas (e.g., antennas 102-104). For example, as part of the evaluation of the first antenna, the processor 107 may send control signals to the antenna 101 to form a beam pattern having a predetermined or intelligently selected beam width or cone of view (e.g., a 15 degree cone of view). The processor 107 may then send control signals to the antenna 101 to electronically steer the beam pattern across its azimuth range in which any base station signals are to be received. If the wireless communication node 200 includes four antennas 101-104 configured as shown in FIG. 1, the azimuth range of each antenna 101-104 encompasses approximately 90 degrees (e.g., 360 degrees) of the azimuth range of the set of antennas 101-104. In such a case, each wireless signal received by the antenna 101-104 under evaluation may be processed to determine whether the signal meets base station discovery criteria.

[0050] If the processor 107 determines (303) that the wireless signal received from a first antenna (e.g., antenna 101) meets the base station discovery criteria, the processor 107 designates (305) the antenna 101 as a donor antenna for the wireless communication node 200 and forms (305) a beam pattern for the donor antenna 101 in the direction of the wireless signal or in the direction from which the wireless signal was received, which is likely to be the direction of a discovered base station. To form the donor antenna beam pattern, the processor 107 may provide one or more beam control signals to the donor antenna 101 (e.g., to antenna elements of the antenna's phased array) to cause the beam pattern to have a desired gain, beam width, and / or cone of view, or to achieve a signal strength above a threshold for subsequent signals received from the base station. After designating the donor antenna 101, or simultaneously, the processor 107 designates (307) some or all of the remaining antennas (e.g., antennas 102-104) as serving antennas and forms (307) beam patterns for one or more of those antennas 102-104 to provide wireless coverage to one or more service areas. To form the beam patterns for the service antennas 102-104, the processor 107 can provide one or more beam control signals to each service antenna 102-104 (e.g., to antenna elements of a phased array of antennas) to cause the service antennas 102-104 to form a respective beam pattern to provide wireless coverage to one or more service areas.

[0051] If the processor 107 determines (303) that the wireless signal received from the first antenna 101 does not meet the base station discovery criteria, or if the processor 107 determines that the wireless signal received from the first antenna 101 does not meet the base station discovery criteria (e.g., if the wireless signal is received from the first antenna 101 for a preset or variable period of time), the processor 107 determines (309) whether all antennas 101-104 of the wireless communication node 200 have been processed. If all antennas 101-104 have not yet been processed, the processor 107 processes (301) one or more wireless signals received from another one of the antennas 102-104, and the signal analysis process is repeated until the antennas 101-104 are designated as donor and service antennas and their beam patterns are formed, or no wireless signals are received that meet the base station discovery criteria. If the latter condition occurs, execution of instructions stored in memory 109 may cause processor 107 to wait a predetermined period of time (eg, 30 seconds to 5 minutes) and then repeat the logic flow of FIG.

[0052] If the wireless communication node 200 includes four fixed antennas 101-104 as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1, the beam pattern of each antenna 101-104 may be formed to serve its determined purpose. For example, the beams of the service antennas 102-104 may be formed to cover one or more desired or selected service areas, while the beam pattern of the donor antenna 101 may be formed to achieve maximum signal strength for signals received from discovered base stations. The beam forming for each antenna 101-104 may depend on various factors including the antenna's center frequency and bandwidth, the use case, and the quantity of phased antenna array elements. As an example, if the three service antennas 102-104 are intended to cover 270 degrees in azimuth after the determination of the donor antenna 101, the beam pattern for each service antenna 102-104 may be formed to have a beamwidth of approximately 60 degrees and be electronically steerable to cover a cone field of view of approximately 120 degrees in azimuth.

[0053] According to yet another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor 107 may process at least one wireless signal received by a first antenna (e.g., antenna 101) to collect first candidate base station data and process at least one wireless signal received by a second antenna (e.g., antenna 102, antenna 103, or antenna 104) to collect second candidate base station data. The processor 107 then selects a base station to communicate with based on the first candidate base station data and the second candidate base station data. Once a base station is selected from the first candidate base station data, the processor 107 designates the first antenna (e.g., antenna 101) as a donor antenna operable to communicate subsequent wireless signals with the base station. The processor 107 also designates some or all of the remaining antennas (e.g., antennas 102-104) as one or more serving antennas. On the other hand, when a base station is selected from the second candidate base station data, the processor 107 may designate the second antenna (e.g., antenna 102, antenna 103, or antenna 104, if applicable) as a donor antenna and designate some or all of the remaining antennas including the first antenna (e.g., antenna 101, antenna 102, and antenna 104, if antenna 103 is selected as the donor antenna) as one or more serving antennas. The designation or selection of the donor antenna may be based on whether the candidate base station data meets base station discovery criteria, such as one or more of a base station identifier, a signal strength or other signal quality criterion, a channel loading criterion, and a bandwidth criterion. After designating the donor antenna, the processor 107 may provide a beam control signal to the donor antenna to cause the donor antenna to form a desired beam pattern in the direction of the base station. Additionally, the processor 107 may provide a beam control signal to each serving antenna to cause the serving antenna to form a desired beam pattern directed to one or more service areas. The determination of which antennas 101-104 are donor antennas may be based on whether the candidate base station data meets base station discovery criteria.

[0054] Alternatively, the processor 107 may process the wireless signals received by all the antennas 101-104 for each antenna to collect candidate base station data. The processor 107 may then select or designate a base station to communicate with based on the candidate base station data and designate an antenna that receives one or more wireless signals from the selected base station as a donor antenna. The processor 107 may also designate the remaining antennas as service antennas, although not all of the service antennas may be used. The designation or selection of the donor antenna may be based on whether the candidate base station data meets a base station discovery criterion. After the donor and service antennas are designated, the processor may transmit beam control signals to the antennas 101-104 to form a desired beam pattern in the direction of the selected base station (for the donor antenna) or to form a desired beam pattern directed toward one or more service areas (for the service antenna).

[0055] 4-7, an alternative wireless communication node 400 is shown in block diagram form and in other forms according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The alternative exemplary wireless communication node 400 includes a set or group of two or more antennas 401-404 (four shown for illustrative purposes only) oriented in different directions, one or more processors 407 (one shown for illustrative purposes only), an actuator 408, and a memory 409. The actuator 418 may be a servo, stepper, induction, or other type of motor capable of providing sufficient torque to rotate the antennas 401-404 as a group by a selected angular displacement amount (e.g., to rotate a support structure to which the antennas 401-404 are coupled). The wireless communication node 400 may be a repeater, relay, or small cell node in a radio access network (e.g., a time division duplex (TDD) or frequency division duplex (FDD) 5G network, etc.), or an IAB node in an IAB network.

[0056] In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figures 4-7, the antennas 401-404 are rotatable, as a group, about a central axis 606 by an actuator 408. When the set of antennas includes four antennas 401-404, each antenna 401-404 may be configured approximately orthogonal to adjacent antennas 401-404, as shown in Figures 4 and 5. Positioning each antenna 401-404 approximately orthogonal to each adjacent antenna 401-404 helps provide isolation and reduces crosstalk between the antennas 401-404 during operation.

[0057] The antennas 401-404 of the exemplary wireless communication node 400 are shown as being approximately coplanar. However, in alternative embodiments, the antennas 401-404 may be positioned in different planes (e.g., different parallel planes) relative to one another, such as in a stacked arrangement, an offset stacked arrangement, or other multi-planar configuration.

[0058] The memory 409 stores instructions executable by the processor 407 during operation of the wireless communication node 400. The instructions may be implemented as any set of firmware, software, or data executable by the processor 407 to cause the processor 407 to perform various routines, algorithms, processes, or methods. The memory 409 may be used for other purposes, including storing data reported from sensors in or attached to the wireless communication node 400, storing additional instructions to cause the processor 407 to perform artificial intelligence or other functions, and for other purposes as well. The processor 407 may be any known processor or processors, and in some embodiments may be field programmable. If the processor 407 is field programmable, the processor 407 may be implemented as or include a field programmable gate array.

[0059] 4 and described in more detail below, the processor 407 interfaces with the donor and service antennas 401-404 to receive and process radio signals received by the antennas 401-404 and to provide beam control signals to the antennas 401-404 when the antennas 401-404 are constructed to be capable of receiving and responding to such control signals. The antennas 401-404 may be controllable by the processor 407 if the antennas 401-404 are constructed to facilitate electronic beamforming (e.g., beamforming, beam steering, or spatial filtering), such as when the antennas 401-404 are electronically controllable phased array antennas.

[0060] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the block diagram of Figure 4 does not depict various components that may be included in a particular wireless communication node 400, including, but not limited to, a power supply, one or more radio transceivers, filters, precision clocks, and various other components and modules conventional to 5G wireless communication equipment. Such components have been omitted from the drawings to minimize complexity and facilitate a better understanding of the subject matter of the present disclosure.

[0061] To protect the antennas 401-404 from weather and other environmental influences, the antennas 401-404 may form part of an antenna module 405, which may include a housing 616 and / or a support structure. If included, the support structure may be or include a platform 428, a post 418, a combination thereof, or any other element or component that may support the antennas 401-404 and facilitate their rotation as a group. For example, the support structure may be or include a post 418 or other structure or structures to which the antennas 401-404 may be coupled to facilitate their rotation as a group by an actuator 408. The antenna module 405 or its support structure or a portion thereof (e.g., the post 418) may define a central axis 606 of the antenna module 405 about which the donor and service antennas 401-404 are configured in a predetermined arrangement (e.g., orthogonal to their adjacent antennas when a total of four antennas 401-404 are used).

[0062] If the wireless communication node 400 also performs a function based on the amount of detected ambient light, e.g., providing control of a street light luminaire 206 or other aerial lighting equipment to which the wireless communication node 400 is mounted, attached, or configured to control, the wireless communication node 400 may include a light sensor 430. In some embodiments, the light sensor 430 may be positioned in the antenna module 405 or another electronic device or module 440 of the wireless communication node 400 to which the antenna module 405 is attached. The electronic module 440 may be a small cell node or a multi-function device, including, for example, small cell functionality, light control functionality, power metering, tilt and / or vibration sensing, image capture functionality, and / or general Internet of Things (IoT) functionality. If the wireless communication node 400 includes the antenna module 405 and / or the electronic module 440 to which the antenna module 405 is attached, the wireless communication node 400 or its antenna module 405 may further include a light pipe 420 to direct ambient light to the wireless communication node's light sensor 430. If the light sensor 430 is included within the electronics module 440 to which the antenna module 405 is mounted and the electronics module 440 and its light sensor 430 are positioned below (or above, depending on the installation configuration) the antenna module 405, the light pipe 420 may be routed through the antenna module housing 616 or through an antenna module support structure such as a post 418 configured between the antenna module housing 616 and an opening in the electronics module 440 aligned with the light sensor 430.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 6, the wireless communication node 400 may be mounted on a street light or other equipment exposed to ambient light. When the wireless communication node 400 is mounted on a street light, the light sensor 430 of the wireless communication node may be used as part of a system for controlling the operation of the street light. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the light pipe 420 and the light sensor 430 are shown linearly arranged along a central vertical axis of the antenna module 105, such as along an axis defined by a post 418 of a support structure. However, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the light pipe 420 may be wired in any manner to direct ambient light to the light sensor 430 positioned below the antenna module 405 or elsewhere. In further embodiments, the light sensor 420 may be included in the antenna module 405 rather than in the electronics module 440 to which the antenna module 405 is attached.

[0064] 6, the wireless communication node 400 may be mountable to a street light through the use of an electrical socket built into the top of the street light luminaire 206. To secure the wireless communication node 400 to the street light with sufficient strength to withstand wind loads and various other environmental conditions, the wireless communication node 400, or a portion thereof (e.g., the electronics module 440), may be secured to a light pole 208 through the use of a mounting bracket 204.

[0065] Fig. 7 illustrates an exemplary antenna implementation and beam pattern forming embodiment for the various antennas 401-404 of the wireless communication node 400 of Fig. 4, according to a further exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The antenna implementation and beam pattern forming embodiment illustrated in Fig. 7 may also be used to implement and form beam patterns for the antennas 101-104 of the wireless communication node 200 described above with respect to Figs. 1 and 2.

[0066] In some embodiments, one or more of the donor antennas and service antennas 101-104, 401-404 may be implemented or may include a phased antenna array 611 housing an array of antenna elements 612. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a phased antenna array module 611 may be part of the donor antenna 401 or any other antenna 101-104, 402-404 and may include an array of antenna elements 612 configured on a substrate. The antenna elements 612 of the phased antenna array 611 may be coupled to a local controller board 620, which may form one of the processors 407, to enable the controller board 620 to form and reshape (e.g., steer) a beam pattern 601 for the applicable antenna 101-104, 401-404 (e.g., donor antenna 401 in this example). According to some embodiments, the donor antenna 401 has a higher gain and a narrower beam width than the gain and beam width of the service antennas 402-404. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the donor antenna 401 has a high gain, narrow bandwidth (e.g., 5-20 degree cone of view range) beam pattern directed toward the discovered base station 610. During the beam forming process performed upon base station discovery, one or more of the processors 407 (e.g., local controller 620) provide beam control signals to the antennas 401-404 to form beam patterns for the antennas 401-404 (e.g., pattern 601 for the donor antenna 401, pattern 602 for one serving antenna 402, and pattern 604 for another serving antenna 404). Note that, as shown in FIG. 7, one or more of the serving antennas 402-404 may not be used after discovery of the base station 610 because service coverage may not be required within one or more coverage areas of such one or more antennas.Instructions stored in the memory 409 of the wireless communication node can cause the processor 407 to use only a portion of the service antennas 402-404 after discovering the base station 610, depending on the location of the service area to be supported by the service antennas 402-404.

[0067] 8 illustrates a logic flow diagram 800 of steps performed to configure donor and service antennas 401-404 of an alternative exemplary wireless communication node 400 in accordance with a further exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The logic flow steps of FIG. 8 may be performed by one or more processors 407 of the wireless communication node 400 through execution of instructions stored in the node's memory 409.

[0068] 8, the processor 407 processes 801 at least one wireless signal received by the donor antenna 401 and determines 803 whether the wireless signal received by the donor antenna 401 meets base station discovery criteria. As described above, such criteria may include, among other things, whether the signal includes an identifier for the base station (e.g., a gNB identifier), whether a signal strength or other signal quality metric for the received signal meets a desired strength or quality level, whether a channel loading for the base station is determined to be below a maximum threshold based on data or information in the signal, and / or whether the frequencies and bandwidths supported by the base station are within a desired frequency range having a minimum bandwidth threshold.

[0069] When the processed signals do not meet the base station discovery criteria, the processor 407 rotates (805) the donor and service antennas 401-404 as a group by an angular displacement about the central axis 606. The angular displacement may be any desired displacement. In one exemplary embodiment, the angular displacement is in the range of 5-15 degrees in a particular direction (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise). The processor 407 may perform the rotation by providing one or more control signals to an actuator 408 configured to rotate a support structure to which the antennas 401-404 are coupled.

[0070] After the antennas 401-404 have been rotated by the angular displacement, the processor processes (801) another signal received by the donor antenna 401 while oriented in its new direction and determines (803) whether the received signal meets the base station discovery criteria. When this received signal does not meet the base station discovery criteria, the rotation and processing routine continues until the wireless signal received by the donor antenna 401 meets the base station discovery criteria. The angular displacement during each rotation phase of the antenna configuration process may be the same or different from the previous angular displacement, depending on the algorithm or method selected for base station discovery. For example, if a coarse / fine discovery technique is implemented, the angular displacement of the group of antennas 401-404 may be larger earlier in the process and progressively smaller thereafter.

[0071] When the wireless signal received by the donor antenna 401 meets the base station discovery criteria, the processor forms (807) a beam pattern for the donor antenna 401 in the direction from which the wireless signal that meets the base station discovery criteria was received (e.g., in the direction of the discovered base station 610 that transmitted the wireless signal). The processor 407 can form the beam pattern of the donor antenna by providing one or more beam control signals to the donor antenna 401 (e.g., to the antenna elements 612 of the donor antenna) to cause the donor antenna 401 to form a beam pattern to achieve a signal strength above a threshold for subsequent signals received from the discovered base station 610.

[0072] The processor 407 also forms (809) beam patterns for the service antennas 402-404 to provide wireless coverage to one or more service areas. The beam patterns for the service antennas 402-404 may have a substantially smaller gain and a wider cone of view than the gain and cone of view of the donor antenna 401. The processor 407 may form the beam pattern for each service antenna by providing one or more beam control signals to the respective service antenna 402-404 (e.g., to the antenna elements 612 of the service antenna) to cause the service antenna 402-404 to form a beam pattern having a desired gain and cone of view.

[0073] 9 illustrates an alternative logic flow diagram 900 of steps performed to configure the donor and service antennas 401-404 of the wireless communication node 400 of FIG. 4 in accordance with an additional exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The logic flow steps of FIG. 9 may be performed by one or more processors 407 of the wireless communication node 400 through execution of instructions stored in the node's memory 409.

[0074] 9, the processor 407 processes (901) at least one wireless signal received by the donor antenna 401 and collects (903) candidate base station data from the signal. The candidate base station data may be (a) the direction from which the wireless signal was received by the donor antenna 401 relative to the starting position of the group of antennas 401-404, and (b) any data necessary to determine whether the wireless signal meets base station discovery criteria.

[0075] The processor 407 then determines (905) whether the group of antennas 401-404 has completed a predetermined rotation or angular displacement. When the group of antennas 401-404 has not completed the predetermined angular displacement, the processor 407 incrementally rotates (907) the antennas 401-404 as a group by an angular displacement that may be determined based on a variety of factors including the location of the wireless communication node 400, the use case, the quantity and location of possible signal obstructions, etc. In one exemplary embodiment, the angular displacement increment ranges from 5 to 15 degrees in a particular direction (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise). The processor 407 may perform the rotation by providing one or more control signals to an actuator 408 configured to rotate a support structure to which the antennas 401-404 are coupled.

[0076] After the antennas 401-404 have been incrementally rotated by the angular displacement as a group, the processor 407 processes (901) the wireless signal received by the donor antenna 401, if any, and gathers (903) additional candidate base station data from the signal, if any. The processor 407 then determines whether the group of antennas 401-404 has completed the predetermined rotation. If not, the rotate, process, and gather functions of logic flow blocks 907, 901, and 903 continue until the antennas 401-404 have been rotated by the predetermined angular displacement as a group (e.g., 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees, 360 degrees, or some other selected amount of displacement). If the predetermined angular displacement is greater than 180 degrees, the processor 407 can send a control signal to the actuator 408 to rotate the donor antenna and the service antenna 401-404 as a group by 180 degrees or less in either direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) from the starting position to mitigate any kinks in the antennas 401-404, the antenna module 405 that includes the antennas 401-404, or cables that may be connected to a support structure to which the antennas 401-404 are coupled.

[0077] After the antennas 401-404 have been rotated as a group by a predetermined angular displacement, the processor 407 selects (909) a base station based on the collected candidate base station data and forms (911) a beam pattern for the donor antenna 401 in the direction of the selected base station (e.g., in the direction in which a wireless signal from the selected base station was received during the candidate base station data collection process). The processor 407 can form the beam pattern of the donor antenna by providing one or more beam control signals to the donor antenna 401 (e.g., to the antenna elements 612 of the donor antenna) to cause the donor antenna 401 to form a beam pattern to achieve a signal strength above a threshold for subsequent signals received from the selected base station.

[0078] The processor 407 also forms (913) beam patterns for the service antennas 402-404 to provide wireless coverage to one or more service areas. The beam patterns for the service antennas 402-404 may have a substantially smaller gain and a wider cone of view than the gain and cone of view of the donor antenna 401. The processor 407 may form the beam pattern for each service antenna by providing one or more beam control signals to the respective service antenna 402-404 (e.g., to the antenna elements 612 of the service antenna) to cause the service antenna 402-404 to form a beam pattern having a desired gain and cone of view.

[0079] In some embodiments, the wireless communication node 200, 400 may further include at least one or more processors (not shown) mounted on a substrate which may further include a communications module or transceiver to enable wireless communication of data and control signals via one or any number of known wireless protocols (such as LTE, 5G, Wi-Fi, etc.).

[0080] The wireless communication node 200, 400 can provide wireless communication capabilities to any one or more devices having a corresponding wireless transceiver. In some cases, for example, using the functionality provided by the wireless communication node 200, 400, electronic components embedded in the wireless communication node 200, 400 are configured to operate as a Wi-Fi access point. In this manner, the electronic components enable one or more mobile devices to access the Internet. A local government or other entity can make Internet service available across a determined geographic area (e.g., a neighborhood, a city, a stadium, a construction site, a campus, etc.) to remote mobile devices in proximity to any one of the wireless communication nodes 200, 400. For example, if many street light fixtures within a neighborhood or city are equipped with wireless communication devices such as the wireless communication node 200, 400, Wi-Fi service can be provided to a large number of users. Furthermore, based on seamless communication between multiple wireless communication device embodiments, Wi-Fi service can be configured as a mesh that allows users to perceive constant Internet connectivity even when the mobile device is moving.

[0081] In some embodiments, the wireless communication node 200, 400 may monitor one or more sensors or conditions associated with the corresponding street lighting fixture for events. Examples of events may include, but are not limited to, light source failure (e.g., a burned out bulb), pole tilt, external vibration, light source temperature, external temperature, power usage, image capture, motion detection, audio recordings, vehicular or pedestrian traffic, ambient light levels, or other information that may be acquired or recorded by the wireless communication node 200, 400.

[0082] The wireless communication nodes 200, 400 may be part of a system or network of lamp posts, street lighting fixtures, street lighting sources, etc. in a system level deployment controlled by a local government or other government agency. In other cases, the system may be controlled by a private entity (e.g., a private property owner, a third party service contractor, etc.). In still other cases, multiple entities may share control of a system of lamp posts, street lighting fixtures, street lighting sources, etc.

[0083] In other embodiments, each wireless communication node 200, 400 may be equipped with communications capabilities that allow monitoring or remote control of the light sources of a street light fixture or another utility device. Thus, each light source in each street light fixture, or in a broader context, each device in any fixture, may be remotely monitored and controlled, either independently or in combination. In the case of a street light fixture, each street light fixture may be monitored and / or controlled as an independent light source or in combination with other light sources, and electronics may serve to provide wireless (or wired) communication of light control signals and any other information (e.g., packetized data) between the wireless communication devices.

[0084] As one non-limiting and non-exhaustive example, each wireless communication node 200, 400 may operate as a small cell node, a relay node, or a repeater to provide wireless cellular-based network communication services. A mobile device provided by a mobile network operator or carrier may communicate with the wireless communication node 200, 400 in the same or similar manner as the mobile device communicates with a macrocell tower. In at least some cases, an active communication session formed between the wireless communication node 200, 400 and the mobile device may be handed off to another wireless communication node 200, 400 when the mobile device moves into or out of the active range of the wireless communication node 200, 400. For example, a user having an active communication session enabled by the wireless communication node 200, 400 may be on the move, and when the mobile device is on the move, the active communication session may be handed off automatically and seamlessly and continued via another wireless communication node 200, 400 or via a macrocell tower, as the case may be.

[0085] The wireless communication node 200, 400 may be integrated with a light fixture or a utility pole and may be formed of any number of materials. The wireless communication node 200, 400 may be configured as a network device, although in other embodiments the wireless communication device is a smart sensor device, a combination device, some other wireless network device, or some other control device. In some embodiments, the light fixture may include a light source, which may be an incandescent light source, a light emitting diode (LED) light source, a high pressure sodium lamp, or any other type of light source.

[0086] Again, the wireless communication nodes 200, 400 are not limited to being mounted on streetlights, but may be mounted on any number of objects, including, but not limited to, utility poles, LED boards, brackets, road signs, highway signs, bus stop shelters, automated teller machines (ATMs), telephone booths, buildings, HVAC units, letterboxes, billboards, lighting, parking signs, stop lights, speed limit signs, solar panels, pedestrian crossing signs, tunnels, utility boxes, water towers, cranes, radio antenna towers, stores, awnings, rooftops, or parking toll booths. In some embodiments, each of these items is identified within a map of a map service so that appropriate corrections can be made with base station selection and beamforming of donor and service antennas.

[0087] It should be noted that references herein to a "substrate" or "board" may refer to a circuit board, which may be a printed circuit board ("PCB"), including but not limited to a single-sided PCB, a double-sided PCB, a multi-layer PCB, a rigid PCB, a flex PCB, or a hybrid rigid-flex PCB, or a portion of a housing that functions as a substrate. As will be appreciated, any of the above circuit boards may include various electronic components coupled to or carried by the circuit board, including, for example, integrated circuits, integrated circuit chips or dies (including but not limited to semiconductor chips or dies), wires, transistors, lead frames or pads, antennas, receivers, transmitters, transceivers, or other components. Furthermore, each of the above-mentioned electronic components may be in electronic communication, either via wires or wirelessly, with one or more of the other electronic components (e.g., to transmit power or signals, among other functions). Furthermore, it should be appreciated that any of the above may be coupled to one or more of the other electronic components of the wireless communication node 200, 400 via one or more known coupling techniques or materials.

[0088] Additionally, in some cases, one or more internal or external antennas may be electrically and communicatively coupled to the wireless communication node 200, 400 and may be incorporated into or mounted on various features of external equipment, such as a utility pole. In some examples, one or more wires may extend through the utility pole to communicatively and electrically couple the wireless communication device and the one or more antennas.

[0089] Further, it should be understood that the present disclosure includes methods for forming a wireless communication node, which includes providing electronic components in a housing enclosure suitable for mounting to any of the objects described herein and other similar objects, installing a wireless communication device, and connecting the wireless communication device to a power source or other utility lines for transmitting power and data via one or more wires or cables or over a wireless communication channel.

[0090] In the absence of any specific description associated with its explicit use in a particular context, when the term "substantially" or "about" in any grammatical form is used as a modifier in this disclosure and any accompanying claims (e.g., when modifying a structure, a dimension, a measurement, or any other characteristic), it is understood that the characteristic may vary by up to 30 percent. For example, a wireless communication network device may be described as being mounted "substantially vertically." In these cases, a device mounted exactly vertically is mounted along the "Y" axis and the "X" axis, which is perpendicular (i.e., 90 degrees or at a right angle) to the plane or line formed by the "Z" axis. Unlike the exact precision of the term "vertical," using "substantially" or "about" to modify a characteristic allows for a variation of the particular characteristic up to 30 percent.

[0091] The term "include" and variations thereof in all of their syntactic contexts should be interpreted in an open and inclusive sense (e.g., "including, but not limited to") without limitation. The term "or" is inclusive and / or. The words "related to" and "related to," and their derivatives, can be understood to mean including, contained within, interconnected with, containing, contained within, connecting to or connecting with, coupling to or coupling with, communicable with, cooperating with, interleaving, juxtaposing, adjacent to, connected to or associated with, having, having a characteristic, and the like.

[0092] Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout this specification and the claims which follow, the word "comprise" and variations thereof, such as "comprises" and "comprising," are to be interpreted in their open and inclusive sense (e.g., "including but not limited to").

[0093] Throughout this specification, references to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" or "some embodiments" and variations thereof mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0094] As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the content and context clearly dictate otherwise. It should also be noted that the conjunctive terms "and" and "or" are generally used in their broadest sense to include "and / or," unless the content and context clearly dictate inclusiveness or exclusiveness, as the case may be. In addition, when used herein as "and / or," the "and" and "or" configurations are intended to encompass embodiments including all of the associated items or ideas, as well as one or more other alternative embodiments that include less than all of the associated items or ideas.

[0095] In this disclosure, a conjunctive list utilizes a comma, which may be known as the Oxford comma, Harvard comma, serial comma, or another similar term. Such lists are intended to connect words, clauses, or sentences such that whatever follows the comma is also included in the list.

[0096] As the context may require in this disclosure, singular refers to plural and vice versa unless the context may dictate otherwise. All pronouns are intended to refer to and include the person, entity, company or business with which they are associated.

[0097] When configured as described herein, each computing device may be transformed from a generic, non-specific computing device to a combination device including hardware and software configured for a specific purpose. To the extent that any of the inventive concepts described herein are found by a competent adjudicative body to be encompassed in an abstract idea when arranged as described herein, an ordered combination of elements and limitations is expressly presented to provide the requisite inventive concept by transforming the abstract idea into a tangible, concrete, practical application of the abstract idea.

[0098] The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary, to employ concepts from the various patents, applications, and publications to provide further embodiments.

Claims

1. 1. A wireless communication node, comprising: a plurality of antennas positioned in a predetermined arrangement; one or more processors operable to process wireless signals received by the plurality of antennas and to communicate one or more control signals to the plurality of antennas; a memory for storing processor-executable instructions; Equipped with The processor-executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: processing at least one wireless signal received by a first antenna of the plurality of antennas to generate at least one processed first antenna signal; determining whether the at least one processed first antenna signal satisfies a base station discovery criterion; designating the first antenna as a donor antenna when the at least one processed first antenna signal satisfies the base station discovery criterion, where the donor antenna is operable to communicate subsequent wireless signals with a base station; when the first antenna is designated as the donor antenna, designating one or more remaining antennas of the plurality of antennas as one or more serving antennas, where the remaining antennas include a second antenna of the plurality of antennas; processing at least one wireless signal received by the second antenna to generate at least one processed second antenna signal when the at least one processed first antenna signal does not satisfy the base station discovery criterion; designating the second antenna as the donor antenna when the at least one processed second antenna signal satisfies the base station discovery criterion. Wireless communication node.

2. Execution of the processor-executable instructions further comprises: providing one or more beam control signals to the donor antenna to cause the donor antenna to form a beam pattern in a direction toward the base station; The wireless communication node according to claim 1 .

3. The donor antenna includes an array of antenna elements arranged in a phased antenna array, and when the processor-executable instructions are executed, the one or more processors further: providing the one or more beam control signals to the phased antenna array to cause the phased antenna array to form a desired beam pattern in the direction of the base station; The wireless communication node according to claim 2.

4. Execution of the processor-executable instructions further comprises: providing one or more beam control signals to the donor antenna to cause the donor antenna to form a beam pattern to achieve a signal strength above a threshold for subsequent signals received from the base station; The wireless communication node according to claim 1 .

5. Execution of the processor-executable instructions further comprises: providing one or more beam control signals to each serving antenna of the one or more serving antennas to cause the serving antennas to form respective beam patterns to provide wireless coverage to one or more service areas; The wireless communication node according to claim 1 .

6. Each of the one or more service antennas includes an array of antenna elements arranged in a phased antenna array, and when the processor-executable instructions are executed, the one or more processors further: providing the one or more beam control signals to the phased antenna array of each serving antenna to cause the phased antenna array to form a desired beam pattern directed toward a serving area; 6. A wireless communication node according to claim 5.

7. 2. The wireless communication node of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antennas includes a total of four antennas, each of the four antennas being configured substantially orthogonal to adjacent ones of the four antennas.

8. The wireless communication node of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of antennas are housed within an antenna module, the antenna module including a light pipe that directs ambient light to a light sensor.

9. Execution of the processor-executable instructions further comprises: when the second antenna is designated as the donor antenna, designating one or more remaining antennas of the plurality of antennas as the one or more serving antennas, where the remaining antennas include the first antenna; The wireless communication node according to claim 1 .

10. 1. A method for configuring a plurality of antennas of a wireless communication node for operation in a wireless communication system including at least one base station and a wireless communication node, the method comprising the steps of: processing at least one wireless signal received by a first antenna of the plurality of antennas to generate at least one processed first antenna signal; determining whether the at least one processed first antenna signal satisfies a base station discovery criterion; designating the first antenna as a donor antenna when the at least one processed first antenna signal satisfies the base station discovery criterion, the donor antenna being operable to communicate subsequent wireless signals with a base station; when the first antenna is designated as the donor antenna, designating one or more remaining antennas of the plurality of antennas as one or more serving antennas, the remaining antennas including a second antenna of the plurality of antennas; processing at least one wireless signal received by the second antenna to generate at least one processed second antenna signal when the at least one processed first antenna signal does not satisfy the base station discovery criterion; designating the second antenna as the donor antenna when the at least one processed second antenna signal satisfies the base station discovery criterion; A method comprising:

11. providing one or more beam control signals to the donor antenna to cause the donor antenna to form a beam pattern toward the base station; providing one or more beam control signals to each serving antenna of the one or more serving antennas to cause the serving antennas to form respective beam patterns to provide wireless coverage to one or more service areas; The method of claim 10 further comprising:

12. 1. A wireless communication node, comprising: a plurality of antennas positioned in a predetermined arrangement; one or more processors operable to process wireless signals received by the plurality of antennas and to communicate one or more control signals to the plurality of antennas; a memory for storing processor-executable instructions; Equipped with The processor-executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: processing at least one wireless signal received by a first antenna of the plurality of antennas to gather first candidate base station data; processing at least one wireless signal received by a second antenna of the plurality of antennas to acquire second candidate base station data; selecting a base station to communicate with based on the first candidate base station data and the second candidate base station data; designating the first antenna as a donor antenna when the base station is selected from the first candidate base station data, where the donor antenna is operable to communicate subsequent wireless signals with the base station; when the first antenna is designated as the donor antenna, designating one or more remaining antennas of the plurality of antennas as one or more serving antennas, where the remaining antennas include the second antenna; designating the second antenna as the donor antenna when the base station is selected from the second candidate base station data; Wireless communication node.

13. The wireless communication node of claim 12 , wherein the first antenna is designated as the donor antenna when the first candidate base station data satisfies a base station discovery criterion.

14. Execution of the processor-executable instructions further comprises: providing a first beam control signal to the donor antenna to cause the donor antenna to form a first beam pattern in a direction toward the base station; providing a second beam control signal to each serving antenna of the one or more serving antennas to cause the serving antenna to form a second beam pattern directed toward a respective serving area of ​​the one or more service areas; 13. A wireless communication node according to claim 12.

15. 1. A method for configuring a plurality of antennas of a wireless communication node for operation in a wireless communication system including at least one base station and a wireless communication node, the method comprising the steps of: processing at least one wireless signal received by a first antenna of the plurality of antennas to collect first candidate base station data; processing at least one wireless signal received by a second antenna of the plurality of antennas to collect second candidate base station data; selecting a base station to communicate with based on the first candidate base station data and the second candidate base station data; when the base station is selected based on the first candidate base station data, designating the first antenna as a donor antenna, where the donor antenna is operable to communicate subsequent wireless signals with the base station; when the first antenna is designated as the donor antenna, designating one or more remaining antennas of the plurality of antennas as one or more serving antennas, where the remaining antennas include the second antenna; designating the second antenna as the donor antenna when the base station is selected based on the second candidate base station data; A method comprising:

Images