Antenna Beamforming Network Virtual Port Spacing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems face challenges in reconfiguring sector width in cellular networks, leading to poorly matched angular coverage of precoder beams, resulting in high interference and reduced coverage of user-specific data.
Innovation Solution
An antenna arrangement with at least three physical antenna elements and a beam-forming network that transforms physical antenna ports to virtual antenna ports with adjustable virtual distances, allowing for flexible beamforming to match sector width changes, thereby ensuring all beams align with the new sector width.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If sector width is changed by reconfiguring antenna elements, then sector shape adapts to network changes, but angular coverage of precoder beams becomes poorly matched to new sector width
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameter of antenna element spacing by introducing virtual antenna elements with virtual spacing that differs from physical spacing. This parameter transformation allows the beamforming codebook to maintain proper angular coverage matching even when the physical sector width is reconfigured, resolving the contradiction between sector adaptability and beam coverage precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces virtual antenna elements as an intermediary between physical antenna elements and beamforming operations. These virtual elements with virtual spacing act as a mediator that decouples the physical sector reconfiguration from the beamforming angular coverage, allowing independent optimization of both aspects
2Object-generated harmful factors
If sector width is reduced by reconfiguration, then interference to neighboring sectors decreases, but some user-specific beams point outside the new narrow sector
Solution Approach 1:
By transforming physical antenna spacing to virtual antenna spacing through the beamforming network, the patent enables the beam patterns to be rescaled to match the new sector width. This ensures that user-specific beams continue to point accurately within the reconfigured sector boundaries while maintaining reduced interference to neighboring sectors
3Ease of manufacture
If codebook-based precoding is used with fixed beam patterns, then implementation is simple, but beams do not match reconfigured sector width
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the fixed parameter of physical antenna spacing to a variable virtual spacing parameter that can be adjusted to match reconfigured sector widths. This allows the existing codebook structure to be retained while adapting beam patterns to new sector configurations, maintaining implementation simplicity while gaining adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual antenna element concept provides a universal interface that works with both traditional fixed-sector configurations and reconfigured variable-sector configurations. The same codebook-based precoding mechanism can serve multiple sector width requirements through the virtual spacing transformation
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a node in a wireless communication system (W), the node comprises an antenna arrangement with at least three physical antenna elements and a first beam-forming network. Each physical antenna element has a corresponding physical phase center and antenna port. The physical phase centers are separated by corresponding physical distances, and the physical antenna ports are connected to the first beam-forming network. The first beam-forming network is arranged to transform the physical antenna ports to at least two virtual antenna ports which correspond to virtual antenna elements. Each virtual antenna element has a certain virtual phase center where the virtual phase centers are separated by corresponding virtual distances, where the physical distances differ from the virtual distances. The present invention also relates to a corresponding method.