Dynamic Tuning in Dense Arrays of Electrically Small Elements

Abstract

A system and method for dynamically tuning antenna elements is disclosed. The method comprises: receiving requests to capture over the air broadcasts; selecting an antenna element from a group of available antenna elements to capture one of the requested over the air broadcasts; applying default settings to tune the selected antenna element to capture the one of the requested over the air broadcasts; and dynamically tuning the selected antenna element to enhance reception of the one of the requested over the air broadcasts. The method may further comprise measuring parameters toward optimizing the selected antenna element. The method may also include maintaining the tuning of the selected antenna element until the received request is automatically released because time has elapsed. The method may additionally include recording and/or streaming the requested broadcast to an end-user.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for dynamically tuning antenna elements, the method comprising:
 receiving requests to capture over the air broadcasts;   selecting an antenna element from a group of available antenna elements to capture one of the requested over the air broadcasts;   applying default settings to tune the selected antenna element to capture the one of the requested over the air broadcasts; and   dynamically tuning the selected antenna element to enhance reception of the one of the requested over the air broadcasts.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising measuring parameters of the selected antenna element to determine how to optimize the selected antenna element, wherein the parameters are selected from the group comprising received power, signal quality, temperature of the antenna element, and automatic gain control. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising prioritizing the measured parameters. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprises maintaining the tuning of the selected antenna element until the received request is released. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4  wherein the requests to capture over the air broadcasts include a time attribute, the time attribute identifying at least a broadcast expiration time, the method further comprises automatically releasing the selected antenna element after the broadcast expiration time. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 5  wherein the time attribute further identifies a broadcast start time, selecting the antenna element from the group of available antenna elements automatically occurs before the broadcast start time. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 6  further comprising recording the one of the requested over the air broadcasts into a memory associated with an end-user that submitted a request to capture the one of the requested over the air broadcasts. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7  further comprising transcoding the captured one of the requested over the air broadcasts into a format that is more efficient for storage than the over the air broadcast format. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 7  further comprising transcoding the captured one of the requested over the air broadcasts into a format that is more efficient for streaming to the end-user than the over the air broadcast format. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1  further comprising transcoding the captured one of the requested over the air broadcasts into a format that is more efficient for streaming to the end-user than the over the air broadcast format. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 1  further comprising recording the one of the requested over the air broadcasts into a memory associated with an end-user that submitted a request to capture the one of the requested over the air broadcasts. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11  further comprising transcoding the captured one of the requested over the air broadcasts into a format that is more efficient for storage than the over the air broadcast format. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein the requests to capture over the air broadcasts include a real time attribute, the real time attribute identifying at least a broadcast start time, selecting the antenna element from the group of available antenna elements automatically occurs before the broadcast start time. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 13  further comprising setting a countdown timer and automatically releasing the selected antenna element after the expiration of the countdown timer. 
     
     
         15 . An antenna element tuning system, comprising:
 a server that receives requests to capture over the air broadcasts from broadcasting entities; and   an antenna controller that selects an antenna element from a group of available antenna elements to capture one of the requested over the air broadcasts and then dynamically tunes the selected antenna element to enhance reception of the one of the requested over the air broadcasts.   
     
     
         16 . The system according to  claim 15  further comprising a timer operably connected to the antenna controller such that the selected antenna element is automatically released after the expiration time of the one of the requested over the air broadcasts. 
     
     
         17 . The system according to  claim 16  wherein the timer is a countdown timer. 
     
     
         18 . The system according to  claim 15  further comprising a timer operably connected to the antenna controller such that the selected antenna element is tuned and released based on the timing of the one of the requested over the air broadcasts. 
     
     
         19 . The system according to  claim 18  wherein the timer is a real time clock. 
     
     
         20 . The system according to  claim 15  further comprising memory for storing the one of the request over the air broadcasts. 
     
     
         21 . The system according to  claim 20  further comprising a transcoder to convert the captured one of the requested over the air broadcasts into a format that is more efficient for storage than the over the air broadcast format. 
     
     
         22 . The system according to  claim 15  further comprising a transcoder to convert the captured one of the requested over the air broadcasts into a format that is more efficient for streaming to the end-user than the over the air broadcast format. 
     
     
         23 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the antenna controller applies parameter limits to prevent dynamically tuning antenna elements above a frequency threshold.