Communications: radio wave antennas – Antennas – With coupling network or impedance in the leadin
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-09
2002-06-04
Ho, Tan (Department: 2821)
Communications: radio wave antennas
Antennas
With coupling network or impedance in the leadin
C342S374000, C342S372000, C455S453000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06400335
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is generally directed to antennas and loads on antennas created by wireless communication.
2. Description of Related Art
Wireless communication systems typically involve information from individual wireless or landline callers being sent to and from other wireless or landline callers via base stations and wireless communication switching centers. Each base station typically includes three antennas, or a single three component antenna
20
as shown in prior art
FIG. 1
(which is most times a 3 pole or 3 component antenna as represented by element
20
A,
20
B and
20
C). The coverage area or cell
10
serviced by the base station antenna
20
varies in size, depending upon the strength or power of the antenna; the distance between base station antennas
20
; and other various parameters.
Base station antenna
20
typically includes three antenna components
20
A,
20
B and
20
C, each component being set up and remaining in a fixed position. Each of the three antenna components
20
A,
20
B and
20
C provides a fixed beam pattern and orientation covering a fixed sector such as that shown in
FIG. 1
, and represented by elements
30
A,
30
B and
30
C. The beam patterns
30
A-C as shown in
FIG. 1
dictate the area or sector from which information can be received from wireless communication units and to which information can be sent.
In one aspect of a wireless communication, namely in cellular/PCS, code division multiple access (CDMA) technology provides for a large capacity of information to be communicated. The capacity in a CDMA system, in essence, does not have a hard limit. Problems occur, however, due to limits of the antenna
20
as shown in
FIG. 1
, created by the fixed beam patterns and orientations, and the fixed sectors of coverage
30
A,
30
B and
30
C. Basically, although each component
20
A,
20
B and
20
C of antenna
20
covers a certain fixed sector or area of the cell
10
, wireless activity or traffic between sectors within the cell
10
may not be equal. Thus, a need exists for dynamically distributing the traffic load among various antenna components and coverage sectors within a cell.
Further, each cell
10
includes neighboring cells as shown by the dashed lines in
FIG. 1
, with each neighboring cell similarly including a base station antenna
20
with the antenna components
20
A,
20
B and
20
C, for handling a traffic load within the neighboring cell. However, while traffic loads can vary among sectors within a cell, traffic loads can also vary from cell to cell. Thus, a need exists for dynamically distributing traffic load among neighboring cells.
In current CDMA systems, with cells including antennas
20
and antenna sector components
20
A,
20
B and
20
C including fixed beam patterns and orientations, one known way of achieving some dynamic load sharing functionality between cells is by adjusting transmit power of the base station within a certain range. However, this only achieves a very limited amount of dynamic loading sharing. Further, any reduction in base station transmit power may potentially create a coverage hole where a wireless communication call may inadvertently be dropped or unable to be connected. Thus a need for a better way to dynamically distribute a traffic load among neighboring cells exists.
When a cell is heavily loaded, it may reject requests to establish and handle a new wireless call. Further, it may also deny soft handoffs to another base station in a neighboring cell when the traffic load gets too heavy. Each of these can cause degradation in the performance and restriction on capacity of the overall system. Finally, in the real world, traffic load distributions are extremely non-uniform and time varying, thus creating more of a need for dynamic load sharing within cells and among neighboring cells.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A system and method have been developed wherein a cylindrical antenna array is used in a system involving dynamic load sharing. Antenna component configurations of the cylindrical antenna array are adjusted, including beam configuration and orientation for example, based on the determined load to thereby vary antenna coverage areas or sectors to accommodate varying traffic densities. The dynamic load sharing can accommodate such variations within a cell, and/or between cells.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5276907 (1994-01-01), Meidan
patent: 5805996 (1998-09-01), Salmela
patent: 5812542 (1998-09-01), Bruckert et al.
patent: 5889494 (1999-03-01), Reudink et al.
patent: 5966094 (1999-10-01), Ward et al.
patent: 6094166 (2000-07-01), Martek et al.
patent: 6188373 (2001-02-01), Martek
patent: 0 777 400 (1997-06-01), None
patent: 98/39851 (1998-09-01), None
Weaver Carl Francis
Wu Xiao Cheng
Clinger James
Harness & Dickey & Pierce P.L.C.
Ho Tan
Lucent Technologies - Inc.
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