Wireless Device Multi-Antenna Service Scanning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless devices take a long time to synchronize with base stations due to the need to scan multiple radio channels, especially in systems like WCDMA, which can delay service activation from several seconds to several minutes.
Innovation Solution
A wireless device with multiple antennas can simultaneously scan for and switch between different communications services, reducing overall scan time by using each antenna to determine availability at different frequencies and dynamically allocate antennas for scanning and communication tasks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wireless device scans multiple radio channels sequentially to find available services, then it can ensure comprehensive service detection, but the synchronization time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single antenna into multiple virtual antennas through code division, creating multiple independent scanning channels. Each virtual antenna scans a subset of frequency channels simultaneously, segmenting the overall scanning task to reduce total synchronization time while maintaining complete service detection coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables a single physical antenna to perform multiple scanning functions simultaneously by using different spreading codes. The same hardware resource (antenna) is made multi-functional through code separation, allowing parallel scanning of multiple frequency channels without requiring additional physical antennas.
2Loss of time
If multiple physical antennas are used to scan different frequency channels simultaneously, then scan time is reduced, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of the antenna function through code division rather than using physical copies. Multiple virtual antenna channels are generated from a single physical antenna by assigning different spreading codes, achieving the scanning parallelism of multiple antennas without the hardware complexity and cost of actual multiple antenna implementations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a wireless device supports multiple radio access technologies and frequency bands, then service versatility is improved, but the time to find available services increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the scanning task by assigning different spreading codes to scan different frequency bands and radio access technologies simultaneously. This segmentation allows the device to search multiple service types in parallel rather than sequentially, reducing the time penalty associated with supporting multiple standards and bands.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains continuous scanning across all supported frequency bands and radio access technologies by using code division to enable simultaneous monitoring. Instead of interrupting scanning to switch between different service types, the system continuously scans all bands in parallel, eliminating idle time and maintaining constant service search capability.
Data Source
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AI summary
In one embodiment, a wireless device having two or more antennas. The wireless device substantially concurrently determines (a) using a first antenna, whether a first communications service is available for data transfer, and (b) using a second antenna, whether a second communications service is available for data transfer. After determining that at least one communications service is available for data transfer, the wireless device uses both antennas to transfer data using a selected communications service.