Base Station Antenna Sharing for MIMO Throughput

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing base stations often lack sufficient antennas to support the increased bandwidth required for 4G technologies, leading to limitations in multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) communication, and sharing antennas among service providers can be costly and disruptive to existing 2G/3G technologies.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a co-sharing interface and components like receiver air interface trays (RX-AIT) to route signals between antennas, allowing multiple-input signals to be received and processed across disparate antennas, thereby increasing throughput by leveraging shared antenna resources.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If additional antennas are installed on base stations to support MIMO for 4G technologies, then MIMO capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase, and physical space constraints are violated

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveMIMO capabilityVSAvoidbase station complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent enables base station antennas to serve multiple functions by allowing one base station's antennas to be shared with another base station for MIMO operations. The antenna structure performs both its original function and an additional MIMO reception function, eliminating the need for dedicated MIMO antennas and reducing overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent combines the antenna resources of two different base stations by establishing a signal path that allows the first base station to receive MIMO signals through the second base station's antennas. This merging of resources provides the required MIMO capability without adding physical antennas to either base station.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Productivity

If antennas are partitioned to multiple service providers, then resource utilization is improved, but the number of usable antennas for a given provider decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveantenna utilization efficiencyVSAvoidavailable antennas per provider

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent establishes a preliminary signal routing configuration where the first base station is pre-configured to route received signals to the second base station's processors. This preliminary action ensures that when MIMO signals are received, the appropriate processing chain is already in place, enabling effective utilization of shared antenna resources.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS8385979B2Sharing antennas for increased multiple-input uplink reception

Publication Date: 2013.02.26 AT&T MOBILITY II LLC

AI summary

Sharing antennas among carriers co-located at a base station such to increase throughput of the individual carriers is provided. Thus, the carriers can effectively receive multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) from mobile devices though the individual antennas of the carrier alone are not sufficient to receive such signals. A co-sharing interface is provided that takes signals from antennas of one carrier and forwards the signals to a second co-located carrier. In this regard, a carrier can receive signals from a related set of antennas as well as the co-sharing interface component (from a set of antennas related to a disparate carrier) and process the signals in conjunction. Thus, the signals can be disparate portions of a MIMO signal. In addition, the co-sharing interface can modify the signals as defined by the carrier receiving the signals from the interface, such as by applying gain control, alarming, bypass circuitry, and/or amplification.