阅读说明：本技术 多输入多输出天线系统及其控制方法 (multiple-input multiple-output antenna system and control method thereof ) 是由 张献文 陈治宇 方士豪 许仁源 于 2018-07-26 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种多输入多输出天线系统及其控制方法。多输入多输出天线系统包括第一波束配置装置、第二波束配置装置及控制装置。该第一波束配置装置用以自多个天线进行天线选择程序,以调整波束方向。该第二波束配置装置连接于该第一波束配置装置。该第二波束配置装置用以进行相位位移程序,以调整波束覆盖范围。该控制装置用以控制该第一波束配置装置及该第二波束配置装置。(a MIMO antenna system and a control method thereof are provided. The MIMO antenna system comprises a first beam configuration device, a second beam configuration device and a control device. The first beam configuration device is used for performing an antenna selection procedure from a plurality of antennas so as to adjust the beam direction. The second beam configuration device is connected to the first beam configuration device. The second beam configuration device is used for performing a phase shift procedure to adjust the beam coverage. The control device is used for controlling the first beam configuration device and the second beam configuration device.)

1. a mimo antenna system, comprising:

A first beam configuration device for performing an antenna selection procedure from a plurality of antennas to adjust a beam direction; and

A second beam configuration device connected to the first beam configuration device, the second beam configuration device being used for performing a phase shift procedure to adjust a beam coverage; and

A control device for controlling the first beam configuration device and the second beam configuration device.

2. The mimo antenna system of claim 1 wherein the first beam configuration means is a smart antenna matrix, a phase shift array or a lens array.

3. The mimo antenna system of claim 1 wherein the second beam configuration means is a phase shift array.

4. The mimo antenna system of claim 1, further comprising:

The second beam configuration device is connected with the L radio frequency chains; and

The first beam configuration device is connected to the N antennas, and the first beam configuration array selects U antennas from the N antennas.

5. The mimo antenna system of claim 4 wherein the second beam configuration means comprises:

L input ends connected to the L radio frequency chains;

U output ends connected to the first beam configuration device; and

And each input end is connected with U of the U-by-L phase shifters, and each output end is connected with L of the U-by-L phase shifters.

6. The mimo antenna system of claim 4 wherein the first beam configuration means is a phase shift array, the first beam configuration means comprising:

U input ends connected to the second beam configuration device;

N output ends connected to the N antennas; and

and each input end of the N phase shifters is connected with M of the N phase shifters, M is smaller than N, and each output end of the N phase shifters is connected with one of the N phase shifters.

7. The mimo antenna system of claim 4 wherein the second beam configuration means comprises:

L input ends connected to the L radio frequency chains;

U output ends connected to the first beam configuration device;

U phase shifters; and

The switch is connected between the L input ends and the U phase shifters, and each output end is connected to one of the U phase shifters.

8. A control method for a MIMO antenna system, the control method comprising:

Controlling a first beam configuration device to perform an antenna selection procedure from a plurality of antennas so as to adjust a beam direction; and

And controlling a second beam configuration device to perform a phase shift procedure to adjust a beam coverage, wherein the second beam configuration device is connected to the first beam configuration device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first beam configuration device is a smart antenna array, a phase shift array or a lens array.

10. The method of controlling a mimo antenna system according to claim 8, wherein the second beam configuration means is a phase shift array.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the mimo antenna system further comprises N antennas and L rf chains, the second beam configuration device is connected to the L rf chains, the first beam configuration device is connected to the N antennas, and the first beam configuration array selects U antennas from the N antennas.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second beam configuration device comprises L inputs connected to the L RF chains, U outputs connected to the first beam configuration device, and U by L phase shifters, each of the inputs connected to U of the U by L phase shifters, each of the outputs connected to L of the U by L phase shifters.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first beam configuration device is a phase shift array, the first beam configuration device includes U inputs, N outputs and N phase shifters, the U inputs are connected to the second beam configuration device, the N outputs are connected to the N antennas, each of the inputs is connected to M of the N phase shifters, M is less than N, and each of the outputs is connected to one of the N phase shifters.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the second beam configuration device comprises L inputs connected to the L RF chains, U outputs connected to the first beam configuration device, U phase shifters connected between the L inputs and the U phase shifters, and a switch connected between the U phase shifters and each of the L outputs.

Technical Field

the invention relates to a multi-input multi-output antenna system and a control method thereof.

background

With the development of wireless communication technology, communication systems are continuously emerging. The technologies that may be adopted by the 5G system include multiple input multiple output antenna (MIMO system), Millimeter Wave (mmWave), Heterogeneous Network (HetNet), and other front-end technologies.

In the technical development of mimo antennas, several problems are faced. For example, when a beam is determined by an antenna selection procedure using a smart antenna (or lens array), the formed beam is spatially fixed and requires larger, more expensive array elements to form finer beams.

when using phase adjusters to form beams, if it is desired to increase the beam forming gain, the number of phase adjusters needs to be increased, which grows exponentially with the cost, and is not cost-effective. These problems form a bottleneck for the technological development of mimo antennas.

Disclosure of Invention

the invention relates to a multi-input multi-output antenna system and a control method thereof, which simultaneously perform an antenna selection procedure and a phase displacement procedure through the control of a first beam configuration device and a second beam configuration device so as to control the direction of a beam and the coverage range of the beam and increase the degree of freedom of beam control. Thus, a more finely adjusted beam can be obtained.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a multiple input multiple output antenna system (MIMO antenna system) is provided. The MIMO antenna system comprises a first beam configuration device, a second beam configuration device and a control device. The first beam configuration device is used for performing an antenna selection procedure (antenna selection) from a plurality of antennas so as to adjust the beam direction (beam direction). The second beam configuration device is connected to the first beam configuration device. The second beam configuration apparatus is configured to perform a phase shifting procedure (phase shifting) to adjust a beam coverage (beam coverage). The control device is used for controlling the first beam configuration device and the second beam configuration device.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a method of controlling a mimo antenna system is provided. The control method comprises the following steps. The first beam configuration device is controlled to perform an antenna selection procedure (antenna selection) from the plurality of antennas to adjust a beam direction (beam direction). Controlling a second beam configuration apparatus to perform a phase shifting procedure (phase shifting) to adjust a beam coverage (beam coverage), wherein the second beam configuration apparatus is connected to the first beam configuration apparatus.

In order that the manner in which the above recited and other aspects of the present invention are obtained can be understood in detail, exemplary embodiments are described in the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Drawings

fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a multiple-input multiple-output antenna system according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a control method of a multiple-input multiple-output antenna system according to an exemplary embodiment.

fig. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a multiple-input multiple-output antenna system according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a multiple-input multiple-output antenna system according to another exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of a multiple-input multiple-output antenna system according to another exemplary embodiment.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1, a schematic diagram of a multiple-input multiple-output antenna system (MIMO antenna system)100 according to an exemplary embodiment is shown. The mimo antenna system 100 includes a baseband pre-coder (baseband pre-coder)140, L radio frequency chains (RF chain)150, a first beam configuration device 110, a second beam configuration device 120, a control device 130, and N antennas 160. The baseband precoder 140 is configured to perform linear precoding (1 initial pre-coding) or non-linear precoding (non-linear pre-coding) on the signal to provide L radio frequency chains 150. The non-linear Precoding is, for example, dirty-paper coding (DPC) or vector perturbation coding (VP), and the non-linear Precoding is, for example, a Matched-Filter Pre-coding (Matched-Zero-forcing Precoding), a Conjugate beam forming (Conjugate Beamforming), or the like, but the invention is not limited thereto.

The first beam configuration apparatus 110 is configured to perform an antenna selection procedure (antenna selection) from the N antennas 160 to adjust a beam direction (beam direction). The first beam configuration device 110 is, for example, a smart antenna matrix (smart antenna array), a phase shift array (phase shifter array), or a lens array (1 array). When the first beam configuration apparatus 110 performs the antenna selection procedure, the antennas 160 in some directions may be selected to control the beam direction. Alternatively, when the first beam configuration apparatus 110 performs the antenna selection procedure, the number of antennas 160 to be used may be increased or decreased to control the beam projection distance. In general, the smaller the number of antennas 160, the longer the projected distance of the beam formed by these antennas 160, while providing the same power.

The second beam configuration apparatus 120 is configured to perform a phase shifting procedure (phase shifting) to adjust a beam coverage (beam coverage). The second beam configuration device 120 is, for example, a phase shifting array (phase shifting array). The second beam configuration device 120 can distribute the energy to expand the beam coverage; alternatively, the second beam configuration device 120 can configure the energy intensively, reduce the beam coverage and enhance the central gain value of the beam. In one embodiment, the first beam configuration apparatus 110 and the second beam configuration apparatus 120 may constitute an analog beam former (analog beam former).

The control device 130 is used for controlling the first beam configuration device 110 and the second beam configuration device 120 to perform the above operations. The control device 130 is, for example, a circuit board, a chip, a computer, or a recording device storing several sets of program codes, but the invention is not limited thereto. The operation of the above elements will be described in detail with reference to the flow chart.

referring to fig. 2 and 3, fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a mimo antenna system according to an exemplary embodiment, and fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a mimo antenna system 200 according to an embodiment. In the embodiment of fig. 3, the baseband precoder 240 provides L rf chains 250, and the matrix d of gain values of the L rf chains 250 isd₁～d_Lthe gain values of the L rf chains 250, respectively. The signals of the L rf chains 250 form the required beam through the configuration of the first beam configuration device 210 and the second beam configuration device 220. In the embodiment of fig. 3, the first beam configuration means 210 is a time-delayed-based discrete lens array (time-delay-based discrete lens array) and the second beam configuration means 220 is a fully-connected phase-shift array (full-connected phase-shift array).

First, in step S110, the control device 230 obtains user measurement information UM. In step S110, the user measurement information UM may be fed back from the user side for the control device 230 to analyze the signal condition of the mimo antenna system 200.

next, in step S120, the control device 230 determines whether the user measurement information UM satisfies a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition is, for example, signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio, or signal stability, etc. If the user measurement information UM meets the preset condition, the process is ended; if the user measurement information UM does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the process proceeds to step S130.

In an embodiment, steps S110 and S120 may be omitted, and steps S130 and S140 are performed directly.

next, in step S130, the control device 230 controls the first beam configuration device 210 to perform an antenna selection procedure (antenna selection) from the N antennas to adjust the beam direction (beam direction). The first beam configuration device 210 has a first configuration matrix F_A＝[u₁ … u_U]，u₁～u_UThe vectors are formed for U beams. The control device 230 can adjust the first configuration matrix F_ATo select ones of the antennas 260 to steer the beam.

Then, in step S140, the control device 230 controls the second beam configuration device 220 to perform a phase shifting procedure (phase shifting) to adjust the beam coverage (beam coverage). In the embodiment of fig. 3, the second beam configuration apparatus 220 includes L input terminals I22, U output terminals O22, and U by L (U × L) phase shifters (phase shifters) PS 22. L input terminals I22 are connected to L rf chains 250. The U output terminals O22 are connected to the first beam configuration means 210. Each input I22 is connected to a U phase shifter PS22 and each output O22 is connected to an L phase shifter PS 22.

That is, each U phase shifter PS22 is a group that receives one radio frequency chain 250. U x L phase shifters PS22 are grouped into L groups to receive L rf chains 250. In each group of U phase shifters PS22, a first phase shifter PS22 is connected to the first input terminal I21 of the first beam configuration means 210, and a second phase shifter PS22 is connected to the second input terminal I21 of the first beam configuration means 210. And so on, the U-th phase shifter PS22 is connected to the U-th input terminal I21 of the first beam configuration means 210.

Among the U phase shifters PS22 of each group, the respective phase shifters PS22 have different degrees of phase shift. For example, the U phase shifters PS22 of group 1 have a phase shift ofThe U phase shifters PS22 of the L-th group have phase shifts ofβ_ulIs the phase setting value of the u-th phase shifter PS22 of the 1 st group. The degree of offset of these U x L phase shifters PS22 constitutes a second configuration matrixThe control device 230 can adjust the second configuration matrix F_BThe energy distribution is adjusted to control the beam coverage.

In one embodiment, steps S130 and S140 are performed simultaneously. The control device 230 adjusts the first configuration matrix F according to the requirement_AAnd a second configuration matrix F_BTo obtain the appropriate output beam X. As described in equation (1) below, which illustrates the beam X and the first configuration matrix F_AAnd a second configuration matrix F_BThe relationship of (1):

According to the above embodiment, the control device 230 can control the first beam configuration device 210 and the second beam configuration device 220 to simultaneously perform the antenna selection procedure and the phase shift procedure, so as to control the direction of the beam and the coverage of the beam, thereby increasing the degree of freedom that the beam can be controlled. Thus, a more finely adjusted beam can be obtained.

In another embodiment, the first beam configuration means 210 may not employ a discrete lens array. Referring to fig. 4, a schematic diagram of a mimo antenna system 300 is shown, according to another example embodiment. In the embodiment of fig. 4, the baseband precoder 340 provides L rf chains 350, and the matrix of gain values d of the L rf chains 350 isThe signals of the L rf chains 350 form the desired beam through the configuration of the first beam configuration device 310 and the second beam configuration device 320. The first beam configuration device 310 is a sub-array based phase shift array (sub-array based) and the second beam configuration device 320 is a fully-connected phase shift array (full-connected phase shift array).

In step S130, the control device 330 controls the first beam configuration device 310 to perform an antenna selection procedure (antenna selection) from the N antennas to adjust the beam direction (beam direction). The first beam configuration apparatus 310 includes U inputs I31, N outputs O31, and N phase shifters (phase shifters) PS 31. The U input terminals I31 are connected to the second beam configuration means 320. The N output terminals O31 are connected to the N antennas 360. Each input I31 is connected to M phase shifters PS31, M being smaller than N. Each output O31 is connected to a phase shifter PS 31.

That is, each M phase shifters PS31 is grouped into a group, and there are U by M (U × M) phase shifters PS 31. U × M ═ N. A first phase shifter PS31 is connected to the first antenna 360 and a second phase shifter PS31 is connected to the second antenna 360. And so on, the nth phase shifter PS31 is connected to the nth antenna 360. The first beam configuration device 310 has a first configuration matrixThe M phase shifters PS31 of the group 1 have phase shifts ofThe M phase shifters PS31 of the Uth group have phase shifts ofThe control device 330 can adjust the first configuration matrix F_Ato adjust the energy distribution and select a number of antennas 360 therein to control the direction of the beam.

In step S140, the control device 330 controls the second beam configuration device 320 to perform a phase shifting procedure (phase shifting) to adjust the beam coverage (beam coverage). In the embodiment of fig. 4, the second beam configuration apparatus 320 is similar to the second beam configuration apparatus 220 of fig. 3, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

The control device 330 adjusts the first configuration matrix F according to the requirement_AAnd a second configuration matrix F_BTo obtain the appropriate output beam X. As described in equation (2) below, which illustrates the beam X and the first configuration matrix F_Aand a second configuration matrix F_Bthe relationship of (1):

According to the above embodiment, the control device 330 can control the first beam configuration device 310 and the second beam configuration device 320 to simultaneously perform the antenna selection procedure and the phase shift procedure, so as to control the direction of the beam and the coverage of the beam, thereby increasing the degree of freedom that the beam can be controlled. Thus, a fine-tuned beam can be obtained without increasing excessive cost.

In another embodiment, the first beam configuration means 210 may not employ a fully connected phase shift array. Referring to fig. 5, a schematic diagram of a mimo antenna system 400 according to another exemplary embodiment is illustrated. In the embodiment of fig. 5, the baseband precoder 440 provides L rf chains 450, and the matrix d of gain values for the L rf chains 450 isThe signals of the L rf chains 450 form the desired beam through the configuration of the first beam configuration device 410 and the second beam configuration device 420. In the embodiment of fig. 5, the second beam configuration means 420 is a fully-switched phase shift array (full-switched phase shift array).

In step S130, the control device 430 controls the first beam configuration device 410 to perform an antenna selection procedure (antenna selection) from the N antennas to adjust the beam direction (beam direction). The first beam configuration device 410 has a first configuration matrix F_A＝[u₁ … u_U]. The control device 430 can adjust the first configuration matrix F_ATo select ones of the antennas 460 to steer the beam.

In step S140, the control device 430 controls the second beam configuration device 420 to perform a phase shifting procedure (phase shifting) to adjust the beam coverage (beam coverage). In the embodiment of fig. 5, the second beam configuration apparatus 420 includes L inputs I42, U outputs O42, a switch 421 and U phase shifters (phase shifters) PS 42. L input terminals I42 are connected to L rf chains 450. U output terminals O42 are connected to the first beam configuration means 410. The switch 421 is connected between the L inputs I42 and the U phase shifters PS42, and each input I42 is connected to one of the U phase shifters PS 42.

the switch 421 has a third configuration matrixif the 1 st input I42 is connected to the u-th output O42, c_ul1, otherwise c_ulIs equal to 0, andThe control device 430 may configure the matrix F in a third configuration_CThe switch 421 is controlled to switch the rf chain 450 to the first beam configuration apparatus 410 via a phase shifter PS 42. In addition, the U phase shifters PS42 have a second configuration matrixF_BFor the diagonal matrix, the phase settings of the U phase shifters PS42 are on the diagonal. The control means 430 also adjusts the second configuration matrix F_BThe energy distribution is adjusted to control the beam coverage.

The control device 430 adjusts the first configuration matrix F according to the requirement_AA second configuration matrix F_BAnd a third configuration matrix F_CTo obtain the appropriate output beam X. As described in equation (3) below, which illustrates the beam X and the first configuration matrix F_AA second configuration matrix F_BAnd a third configuration matrix F_CThe relationship of (1):

According to the above embodiment, the control device 430 can control the first beam configuration device 410 and the second beam configuration device 420 to simultaneously perform the antenna selection procedure and the phase shift procedure, so as to control the direction of the beam and the coverage of the beam, thereby increasing the degree of freedom that the beam can be controlled. Thus, a fine-tuned beam can be obtained without increasing excessive cost.

in summary, although the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Various modifications and adaptations may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention is subject to the scope defined by the claims.

[ notation ] to show

100. 200, 300, 400: multiple-input multiple-output antenna system

110. 210, 310, 410: first beam configuration device

120. 220, 320, 420: second beam configuration device

130. 230, 330, 430: control device

140. 240, 340, 440: base frequency precoder

150. 250, 350, 450: radio frequency chain

160. 260, 360, 460: antenna with a shield

421: switching device

d: matrix of gain values

F_A: a first configuration matrix

F_B: second configuration matrix

F_C: third configuration matrix

I21, I22, I31, I42: input terminal

O22, O31, O42: output end

PS22, PS31, PS 42: phase shifter

s110, S120, S130, S140: step (ii) of

UM: user measurement information

X: wave beam