Directional Antenna Selection via Compass for Wireless Terminals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile wireless terminals with omni-directional antennas cause interference and energy wastage due to mismatched antenna configurations with directional cellular network sectors, leading to unbalanced link budgets and reduced battery life.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a directional antenna system with three directional antennas, each covering 120 degrees, and using a digital compass for antenna selection to ensure efficient transmission and reception, without altering existing system architecture or using decoded information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If omni-directional antennas are used in mobile terminals, then signal reception from all directions is achieved, but interference to neighboring users increases and energy is wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single omni-directional antenna into multiple directional antennas (typically three), each covering a specific sector (120 degrees). This segmentation allows the terminal to transmit and receive signals directionally, reducing interference to users in other sectors while maintaining comprehensive coverage through the combination of multiple antennas.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If directional antennas are implemented in mobile terminals, then interference is reduced and energy efficiency improves, but system complexity and implementation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a compass-based direction detection mechanism as an intermediary to automatically determine the optimal antenna selection. This mediator simplifies the control logic by using readily available compass data to switch between directional antennas, avoiding complex signal processing while achieving interference reduction and energy efficiency.
3Reliability
If directional antennas are used, then uplink link budget is balanced with downlink, but broadcast and paging information reception from any direction becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic antenna selection based on real-time direction detection. The system switches between directional antennas according to the detected signal direction, enabling the terminal to maintain directional transmission for balanced link budget while dynamically adapting to receive broadcast and paging information from any direction by selecting the appropriate directional antenna for each reception task.
4Reliability
If existing terminal architecture is modified to support directional antennas, then antenna performance improves, but manufacturing cost and design changes increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the directional antenna system to be universally compatible with existing terminal architectures. The same antenna array can serve both directional communication functions and traditional omni-directional reception by dynamically selecting appropriate antennas, eliminating the need for separate hardware systems and reducing manufacturing complexity while improving performance.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention discloses directional antenna systems, antenna combining and transmission antenna selection mechanism for wireless communication terminals such mobile handsets, mobile embedded laptops, mobile CPEs (Customer premises equipment), nomadic wireless CPEs, fixed wireless terminals and etc. The disclosed systems and methods only require analog circuitry and compass readings therefore are easy to implement and well fit into the current wireless terminals architectures. The inventive systems and methods resolve the problem that a directional antenna may not receive properly when user turn around and the antenna direction is deviated from transmitter; the inventive systems and methods further reduce the interference caused by omni antenna systems by selecting a directional antenna for transmit.