Array Antenna Arrangement

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, comprising at least one base station in a communication cell. The base station is equipped with at least one array antenna comprising at least two antenna ports which are coupled to respective at least two corresponding antenna Q elements, where at leas two of the at least two antenna elements have essentially the same polarization. The array antenna is arranged for communication via at least two antenna radiation lobes, each antenna radiation lobe communicating an information stream to at least one UE (user equipment) in the cell. According to a certain aspect of the present invention, in a first mode 0 operation, the array antenna is arranged for communication via one antenna radiation lobe. The present invention also relates to a method for performing said communication.

1 - 17 . (canceled) 
   
   
       18 . A wireless communication system comprising:
 at least one array antenna adapted to being coupled to at least one base station in a communication cell;   the array antenna having at least two antenna ports wherein the at least two ports are coupled to respective at least two corresponding antenna elements where at least two of the at least two antenna elements have essentially the same polarization and where, in a first mode of operation, the array antenna is arranged for communication via one antenna radiation lobe communicating one information stream to at least one user equipment (UE) in the cell; and   the array antenna having a second mode of operation arranged for communication via at least two antenna radiation lobes each antenna radiation lobe communicating an information stream to the at least one UE in the cell, thus communicating by means of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO).   
   
   
       19 . The communication system according to  claim 18 , wherein each antenna element comprises at least one radiating element. 
   
   
       20 . The communication system according to  claim 18 , wherein each antenna radiation lobe has a fixed, predetermined azimuth and elevation directional angle. 
   
   
       21 . The communication system according to  claim 20 , wherein each antenna radiation lobe is controlled by being turned on or off, and by distributing different power levels and/or data bit rates in each information stream feeding the at least two antenna elements. 
   
   
       22 . The communication system according to  claim 18 , wherein each antenna radiation lobe is individually controllable in azimuth or elevation, or both in azimuth and elevation, in such a way that the communication of the information streams is essentially optimized. 
   
   
       23 . The communication system according to  claim 18 , wherein the control of the antenna lobes is performed adaptively, based on feed-back information from the UE, said feed-back information being in the form of at least one data bit. 
   
   
       24 . The communication system according to  claim 23 , wherein the feed-back information is in the form of a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) value. 
   
   
       25 . The communication system according to  claim 18 , wherein a total information stream is fed into the communication system, said total information stream always being radiated by the antenna elements utilizing the full area of the antenna element's aperture. 
   
   
       26 . The communication system according to  claim 18 , wherein the array antenna further comprises dual polarized antenna elements. 
   
   
       27 . The communication system according to  claim 26 , wherein the array antenna comprises at least four antenna elements, each antenna element having a first and second polarization, the polarizations being essentially de-correlated, the antenna elements further forming at least two rows and two columns, the rows where the first polarization of the antenna elements in the first row and the first polarization of the antenna elements in the second row are coupled to a beam-forming device, and where the second polarization of the antenna elements in the first column and the second polarization of the antenna elements in the second column are coupled to a beam-forming device, enabling the radiation lobes formed by the rows having the first polarization, to be controlled separate from the radiation lobes formed by the columns having the second polarization, the antenna radiation lobes being incoherently added in the far-field. 
   
   
       28 . A wireless communication system at least one base station in a communication cell, the base station being coupled to at least one array antenna, the at least one array antenna comprising:
 at least two antenna ports wherein the at least two ports are coupled to respective at least two corresponding antenna elements, wherein at least two of the at least two antenna elements have essentially the same polarization, the array antenna arranged for communication via at least two antenna radiation lobes, each antenna radiation lobe communicating an information stream to at least one user equipment (UE) in the cell, thus communicating by means of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO).   
   
   
       29 . The communication system according to  claim 28 , wherein each antenna element comprises at least one radiating element. 
   
   
       30 . The communication system according to  claim 28 , wherein each antenna radiation lobe has a fixed, predetermined azimuth and elevation directional angle. 
   
   
       31 . The communication system according to  claim 30 , wherein each antenna radiation lobe is controlled by being turned on or off, and by distributing different power levels and/or data bit rates in each information stream feeding the at least two antenna elements. 
   
   
       32 . The communication system according to  claim 28 , wherein each antenna radiation lobe is individually controllable in azimuth or elevation, or both in azimuth and elevation, in such a way that the communication of the information streams is essentially optimized. 
   
   
       33 . The communication system according to  claim 28 , wherein the control of the antenna lobes is performed adaptively, based on feed-back information from the UE, said feed-back information being in the form of at least one data bit. 
   
   
       34 . The communication system according to  claim 33 , wherein the feed-back information is in the form of a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) value. 
   
   
       35 . The communication system according to  claim 28 , wherein a total information stream is fed into the communication system, said total information stream always being radiated by the antenna elements utilizing the full area of the antenna element's aperture. 
   
   
       36 . The communication system according to  claim 28 , wherein the array antenna further comprises dual polarized antenna elements. 
   
   
       37 . The communication system according to  claim 36 , wherein the array antenna comprises at least four antenna elements, each antenna element having a first and second polarization, the polarizations being essentially de-correlated, the antenna elements further forming at least two rows and two columns, the rows where the first polarization of the antenna elements in the first row and the first polarization of the antenna elements in the second row are coupled to a beam-forming device, and where the second polarization of the antenna elements in the first column and the second polarization of the antenna elements in the second column are coupled to a beam-forming device, enabling the radiation lobes formed by the rows having the first polarization, to be controlled separate from the radiation lobes formed by the columns having the second polarization, the antenna radiation lobes being incoherently added in the far-field. 
   
   
       38 . An array antenna arranged for use in a communication system comprising:
 at least two antenna ports wherein the at least two ports are coupled to respective at least two corresponding antenna elements where at least two of the at least two antenna elements have essentially the same polarization and where, in a first mode of operation, the array antenna is arranged for communication via one antenna radiation lobe communicating one information stream to at least one user equipment (UE) in the cell; and   the array antenna having a second mode of operation arranged for communication via at least two antenna radiation lobes each antenna radiation lobe communicating an information stream to the at least one UE in the cell, thus communicating by means of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO).   
   
   
       39 . A method for communication of at least one information stream from a base station array antenna in a communication cell, the base station array antenna having at least two antenna ports where the at least two ports are coupled to respective at least two corresponding antenna elements where at least two of the at least two antenna elements have essentially the same polarization, in a first mode of operation comprising the steps of:
 in a first mode of operation, communicating one information stream, to at least one user equipment (UE) in the cell, via one antenna radiation lobe;   in a second mode of operation, communicating at least two information streams, to the at least one UE in the cell via at least two antenna radiation lobes.   
   
   
       40 . The method according to  claim 39  wherein the antenna lobes are controlled adaptively, using feed-back information from the UE, said feed-back information being in the form of at least one data bit. 
   
   
       41 . The method according to  claim 40 , wherein the feed-back uses a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) value. 
   
   
       42 . The method according to  claim 39  wherein dual polarization is used. 
   
   
       43 . A method for communication of at least two information streams from a base station array antenna in a communication cell, the base station array antenna having at least two antenna ports where the at least two ports are coupled to respective at least two corresponding antenna elements where at least two of the at least two antenna elements have essentially the same polarization, comprising the step of:
 communicating the at least two information streams, to at least one user equipment (UE) in the cell via at least two antenna radiation lobes.   
   
   
       44 . The method according to  claim 43  wherein the antenna lobes are controlled adaptively, using feed-back information from the UE, said feed-back information being in the form of at least one data bit. 
   
   
       45 . The method according to  claim 44 , wherein the feed-back uses a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) value. 
   
   
       46 . The method according to  claim 43  wherein dual polarization is used.