JP2017103554A - Propagation channel information acquisition device and propagation channel information acquisition method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a propagation channel information acquisition device capable of efficiently acquire a piece of propagation channel information of each antenna with a small error at a base station controlling the antenna directivity using a plurality of antennas.SOLUTION: The propagation channel information acquisition device calculates a piece of propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas by carrying out a series of steps of: receiving a known signal for estimating a piece of propagation channel information which is transmitted from a terminal station by a plurality of antennas at a base station; estimating the propagation channel information while switching one by one other antennas being a pair of one reference antenna; and coupling the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other all antennas.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a plurality of antenna propagation channels for transmitting and receiving a known signal between a terminal station and a base station and selecting an antenna directivity pattern in a base station that performs antenna directivity control using a plurality of antennas. The present invention relates to a propagation channel information acquisition apparatus and a propagation channel information acquisition method for acquiring information.

  In recent years, with the spread of portable and high-performance wireless terminals such as laptop computers and smartphones, wireless LANs based on the IEEE 802.11 standard have been widely used not only in businesses and public spaces, but also in general homes. The IEEE802.11 standard wireless LAN includes an IEEE802.11b / g / n standard wireless LAN using the 2.4 GHz band and an IEEE802.11a / n / ac standard wireless LAN using the 5 GHz band.

  In the wireless LAN of IEEE802.11b standard or IEEE802.11g standard, 13 channels are prepared at intervals of 5 MHz between 2400 MHz and 2483.5 MHz. However, when a plurality of channels are used at the same location, if the channels are used so that the spectra do not overlap in order to avoid interference, a maximum of 3 channels, and in some cases, 4 channels can be used simultaneously.

  In the wireless LAN of IEEE802.11a standard, in Japan, a total of 19 channels of 8 channels and 11 channels that do not overlap each other are defined between 5170 MHz and 5330 MHz and between 5490 MHz and 5710 MHz. In the IEEE802.11a standard, the bandwidth per channel is fixed at 20 MHz.

  The maximum transmission speed of the wireless LAN is 11 Mbps for the IEEE802.11b standard, and 54 Mbps for the IEEE802.11a standard or the IEEE802.11g standard. However, the transmission rate here is the transmission rate on the physical layer. Actually, since the transmission efficiency in the MAC (Medium Access Control) layer is about 50 to 70%, the upper limit of the actual throughput is about 5 Mbps in the IEEE802.11b standard, and 30 Mbps in the IEEE802.11a standard and the IEEE802.11g standard. Degree. In addition, the transmission rate further decreases as the number of communication stations that attempt to transmit information increases.

  In the IEEE802.11n standard, which was standardized in 2009, the channel bandwidth, which had been fixed at 20 MHz, has been expanded to a maximum of 40 MHz, and the introduction of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology has been introduced. It has been determined. When transmission / reception is performed by applying all functions defined in the IEEE802.11n standard, a maximum communication speed of 600 Mbps can be realized in the physical layer.

  Furthermore, in the IEEE802.11ac standard, which was standardized in 2013, the channel bandwidth was expanded to 80 MHz and up to 160 MHz, and multi-user MIMO (MU) that applied space division multiple access (SDMA) -MIMO) The introduction of a transmission method has been decided (Non-Patent Document 1). If transmission and reception are performed by applying all the functions specified in the IEEE802.11ac standard, a maximum communication speed of about 6.9 Gbps can be realized in the physical layer.

  In the SDMA system, communication between a base station and a plurality of terminal stations is enabled in the same frequency band and the same time zone by dividing the radio wave space by using antenna directivity (beam). That is, the base station is equipped with an adaptive array antenna (smart antenna), and by adjusting a phase shifter (phase converter) and attenuator (amplitude converter) connected to each antenna, On the other hand, by generating individual antenna directivities, a base station and a plurality of terminal stations can communicate simultaneously (Non-Patent Document 2).

  In addition, the communication speed can be improved by setting the antenna directivity at which the reception power is highest for the receiving station and performing communication by the antenna directivity control.

IEEE. Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications: Enhancements for Very High Throughput for Operation in Bands below 6 GHz.IEEE Std. 802.11ac-2013. S.S. Jeon, et al., “A novel smart antenna system implementation for broad-band wireless communications,” IEEE Trans. On antenna and propagation, vol.50, no.5, pp.600-606, Aug. 2002.

  In the antenna directivity control technique, it is necessary to prepare different antenna directivity patterns in advance. There are a random pattern generation method and a pattern generation method based on propagation channel information as a method for generating an antenna directivity pattern when the antenna directivity is changed by adjusting a phase shifter or an attenuator connected to each antenna. In the random pattern generation method, an antenna directivity pattern in which phase shifters and attenuators are randomly adjusted is generated. In this method, when there are a large number of antenna directivity patterns to be prepared, there is a high possibility that an antenna directivity pattern that is expected to improve reception output is selected, but the number of antenna directivity patterns is limited. There is a possibility that the effect of improving the received power cannot be obtained sufficiently.

  On the other hand, in the pattern generation method based on propagation channel information, an antenna directivity pattern is generated from propagation channel information between a communication partner station and each antenna. For this purpose, it is necessary to acquire in advance the propagation channel information between the communication partner station and each antenna, and this can provide a high reception power improvement effect even with a small antenna directivity pattern.

FIG. 17 shows a configuration example of the base station and the antenna directivity control unit.
In FIG. 17, the antenna directivity control unit 101 connected to the base station 100 includes a combiner / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N, A plurality of antennas 105-1 to 105-N and a phase / amplitude control unit 106 are included. Here, the antenna directivity control unit 101 is described as a configuration externally attached to the base station 100, but a configuration in which part or all of the antenna directivity control unit 101 is built in the base station 100 may be employed.

  The combiner / distributor 102 distributes the downlink radio signal addressed to the terminal station 200 input from the base station 100 to the phase converters 103-1 to 103-N. Alternatively, the uplink radio signals addressed to the base station 100 are synthesized from the terminal station 200 input from the phase converters 103-1 to 103 -N and output to the base station 100.

  The phase converters 103-1 to 103-N control the phase of the downlink radio signal input from the combiner / distributor 102 or the uplink radio signal input from the amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N. Amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N control the amplitude of the downlink radio signal input from phase converters 103-1 to 103-N or the uplink radio signal input from antennas 105-1 to 105-N.

  The antennas 105-1 to 105-N transmit downlink radio signals input from the amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N in the air, and output the received uplink radio signals to the amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N. To do.

  The phase / amplitude control unit 106 controls each phase of the phase converters 103-1 to 103-N and each amplitude of the amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N according to a control signal input from the base station 100. A desired antenna directivity pattern is formed. Note that only one of the amplitude converter and the phase converter may be used.

  FIG. 17 shows a terminal station 200 that communicates with the base station 100 and its antenna 201. Propagation channel information between the antennas 105-1 to 105-N of the base station 100 and the antenna 201 of the terminal station 200 is assumed to be a matrix H. The base station 100 controls the phase of the phase converters 103-1 to 103-N and the amplitude of the amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N according to the propagation channel information of the antennas 105-1 to 105-N, The antenna directivity with respect to the terminal station 200 is controlled.

  Here, the propagation channel information of antennas 105-1 to 105-N of base station 100 is received from each antenna by a known signal for estimating the propagation channel information transmitted by the terminal station, and is estimated from the received signal of each antenna. However, in order to estimate simultaneously, a processing system corresponding to the number of antennas is required. On the other hand, when the propagation channel information is estimated by sequentially switching the reception signal of each antenna, it can be handled by one processing system, but the propagation channel information acquired at different timings has an error component due to a reception timing shift. As a result, the accuracy of the propagation channel information of each antenna deteriorates.

  The present invention provides a propagation channel information acquisition apparatus and a propagation channel information acquisition method capable of efficiently acquiring propagation channel information of each antenna with a small error in a base station that performs antenna directivity control using a plurality of antennas. The purpose is to do.

  A first invention includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection unit that selects an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. In the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus that acquires the propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern at the base station including the antenna directivity control unit, the propagation channel information transmitted by the terminal station is estimated. For receiving a known signal for a plurality of antennas and branching and outputting the signals via antenna directivity pattern selection means, and a known signal output from an antenna other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas via the coupling unit. A switch for selecting one, a known signal output from the reference antenna via the coupling unit, and an existing signal output via the switch. Combines the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other antennas estimated by the propagation channel information estimation unit while switching the switch and the propagation channel information estimation unit that inputs signals and estimates the propagation channel information of each corresponding antenna. And a propagation channel information combining unit for calculating propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas.

  The second invention includes a plurality of antennas and antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. Propagation channel information for acquiring propagation channel information of multiple antennas of each antenna directivity control unit in order to select the antenna directivity pattern of each antenna directivity control unit in a base station including multiple antenna directivity control units A coupling unit that receives a known signal for estimating propagation channel information transmitted by a terminal station at a plurality of antennas of each antenna directivity control unit and branches and outputs the signals via antenna directivity pattern selection means in the acquisition device; The multiple antenna directivity control units select one of the known signals output from the multiple antennas via the coupling unit. And a known signal output via a switch from a reference antenna of one antenna directivity control unit among a plurality of antenna directivity control units and a switch of another antenna directivity control unit. The reference antenna estimated by the propagation channel information estimation unit and the propagation channel information estimation unit while switching the switches of the propagation channel information estimation unit for estimating the propagation channel information of each corresponding antenna and the other antenna directivity control unit A propagation channel information combining unit that combines the propagation channel information of the antennas of the other antenna directivity control units and calculates the propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas of the other antenna directivity control units.

  A third invention includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection unit that selects at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas to select an antenna directivity pattern. In the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus that acquires the propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern at the base station including the antenna directivity control unit, the propagation channel information transmitted by the terminal station is estimated. A combination unit that receives a known signal for a plurality of antennas and branches and outputs the signal through an antenna directivity pattern selection unit; and a known signal output from an antenna other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas through the combination unit. The synthesis unit to be synthesized, the known signal output from the reference antenna through the coupling unit, and the known signal output through the synthesis unit are input. The propagation channel information estimation unit for estimating the propagation channel information of each corresponding antenna, and the reference antenna estimated by the propagation channel information estimation unit while switching the antenna directivity pattern other than the reference antenna by the antenna directivity pattern selection unit And a propagation channel information combining unit for combining propagation channel information of other antennas and calculating propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas using setting information of antenna directivity patterns.

  The fourth invention includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. Propagation channel information for acquiring propagation channel information of multiple antennas of each antenna directivity control unit in order to select the antenna directivity pattern of each antenna directivity control unit in a base station including multiple antenna directivity control units A coupling unit that receives a known signal for estimating propagation channel information transmitted by a terminal station at a plurality of antennas of each antenna directivity control unit and branches and outputs the signals via antenna directivity pattern selection means in the acquisition device; A combination of known signals output from a plurality of antennas via a coupling unit by a plurality of antenna directivity control units. And a known signal output from a reference antenna of one antenna directivity control unit among a plurality of antenna directivity control units via a combining unit, and output via a combining unit of another antenna directivity control unit Propagation channel information estimation unit that estimates the propagation channel information of each corresponding antenna and the antenna directivity pattern selection means of the other antenna directivity control unit while switching the antenna directivity pattern. Combining the propagation channel information of the reference antenna estimated by the channel information estimation unit and the antenna of another antenna directivity control unit, and further using the antenna directivity pattern setting information, a plurality of antennas of other antenna directivity control units A propagation channel information combining unit that calculates the propagation channel information of

  A fifth invention includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection unit that selects at least one of the phase or amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas to select an antenna directivity pattern. In a propagation channel information acquisition apparatus for acquiring propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in a base station including an antenna directivity control unit, two different ones for estimating propagation channel information are used. A known signal generating unit that generates two known signals, and a first known signal generated by the known signal generating unit is transmitted from a reference antenna of the plurality of antennas via an antenna directivity pattern selecting unit, and a second A coupling unit for transmitting a known signal from an antenna other than the reference antenna among a plurality of antennas via an antenna directivity pattern selection unit A switch that selects and inputs one of the coupling units connected to an antenna other than the reference antenna, and a first known signal transmitted from the reference antenna and an antenna other than the reference antenna. The terminal station receiving the second known signal estimates the propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna, receives the propagation channel information transmitted from the terminal station, and propagates the reference antenna and other antennas while switching the switch. A propagation channel information combining unit that combines channel information to calculate propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas.

  The sixth invention includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. Propagation channel information for acquiring propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas of each antenna directivity control unit in order to select an antenna directivity pattern of each antenna directivity control unit in a base station including two antenna directivity control units In the acquisition apparatus, a known signal generation unit that generates two different known signals for estimating propagation channel information, and a first known signal generated by the known signal generation unit are converted into one antenna directivity control unit. Transmitting from the reference antenna of the plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selection means, and transmitting the second known signal to the other antenna A coupling unit that transmits from a plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selection unit of the directivity control unit and one coupling unit that connects the second known signal to the antenna of the other antenna directivity control unit are selected. And the terminal station receiving the first known signal transmitted from the reference antenna and the second known signal transmitted from an antenna other than the reference antenna respectively estimates the propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna. Receiving the propagation channel information transmitted from the terminal station, combining the propagation channel information of the antenna of the reference antenna and the antenna directivity control unit of the other antenna while switching the switch, and a plurality of antennas of the other antenna directivity control unit A propagation channel information combining unit that calculates the propagation channel information of

  A seventh invention includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection unit that selects an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. In a propagation channel information acquisition apparatus for acquiring propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in a base station including an antenna directivity control unit, two different ones for estimating propagation channel information are used. A known signal generating unit that generates two known signals, and a first known signal generated by the known signal generating unit is transmitted from a reference antenna of the plurality of antennas via an antenna directivity pattern selecting unit, and a second A coupling unit for transmitting a known signal from an antenna other than the reference antenna among a plurality of antennas via an antenna directivity pattern selection unit A distribution unit that distributes the second known signal to a coupling unit connected to an antenna other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas, and a first known signal transmitted from the reference antenna and an antenna other than the reference antenna. The terminal station that receives the second known signal estimates the propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna, receives the propagation channel information transmitted from the terminal station, and receives antennas other than the reference antenna by the antenna directivity pattern selection means. Propagation channel information combining unit for combining propagation channel information of reference antenna and other antennas while switching directivity pattern and calculating propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas using setting information of antenna directivity pattern .

  The eighth invention includes a plurality of antennas and antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. Propagation channel information for acquiring propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas of each antenna directivity control unit in order to select an antenna directivity pattern of each antenna directivity control unit in a base station including two antenna directivity control units In the acquisition apparatus, a known signal generation unit that generates two different known signals for estimating propagation channel information, and a first known signal generated by the known signal generation unit are converted into one antenna directivity control unit. Transmitting from the reference antenna of the plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selection means, and transmitting the second known signal to the other antenna Distribution that distributes the second known signal to a coupling unit that transmits from a plurality of antennas via an antenna directivity pattern selection unit of a directivity control unit, and a coupling unit that is connected to an antenna other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas And the terminal station that receives the first known signal transmitted from the reference antenna and the second known signal transmitted from an antenna other than the reference antenna respectively estimate the propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna, and The transmitted propagation channel information is received, and the antenna directivity pattern selection means switches the antenna directivity pattern other than the reference antenna while combining the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and the antenna of the other antenna directivity control unit, In addition, propagation channel information that calculates propagation channel information for multiple antennas using the antenna directivity pattern setting information is used. And an information combining unit.

  A ninth invention includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection unit that selects an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. In a propagation channel information acquisition method for acquiring propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in a base station including an antenna directivity control unit, estimation of propagation channel information transmitted by a terminal station Step 1 for receiving a known signal for receiving from a plurality of antennas and branching and outputting the same via antenna directivity pattern selecting means, and one of the known signals output in Step 1 from an antenna other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas Step 2 for selecting the known signal output in Step 1 from the reference antenna and the known signal output in Step 2 The reference channel and the propagation channel information of other antennas estimated in step 3 while switching the selection of antennas other than the reference antenna in step 3 and step 2 for estimating the propagation channel information of each corresponding antenna. To calculate propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas.

  A tenth aspect of the invention includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection unit that selects at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas and selects an antenna directivity pattern. In a propagation channel information acquisition method for acquiring propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in a base station including an antenna directivity control unit, estimation of propagation channel information transmitted by a terminal station Step 1 for receiving a known signal for receiving at a plurality of antennas and branching and outputting the signals through antenna directivity pattern selection means, and combining the known signals output at Step 1 from antennas other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas Step 2, the known signal output in Step 1 from the reference antenna, and the known signal output in Step 2 Input the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and the other antennas estimated in step 3 while switching the antenna directivity pattern other than the reference antenna in step 3 and step 2 for estimating the propagation channel information of each corresponding antenna. And a step 4 of calculating propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas using the setting information of the antenna directivity pattern.

  An eleventh invention includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection unit that selects at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas to select an antenna directivity pattern. In a propagation channel information acquisition method for acquiring propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in a base station including an antenna directivity control unit, two different ones for estimating propagation channel information are used. Step 1 for generating two known signals, the first known signal generated in step 1 is transmitted from the reference antenna of the plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selection means, and the second known signal is transmitted to the antenna A step of selecting and transmitting one of the plurality of antennas other than the reference antenna through the directivity pattern selection means. 2 and the terminal station receives the first known signal transmitted from the reference antenna and the second known signal transmitted from an antenna other than the reference antenna, and estimates the propagation channel information of each corresponding antenna, Transmitting the received propagation channel information to the base station, receiving the propagation channel information transmitted from the terminal station, combining the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other antennas while switching the antenna other than the reference antenna And calculating propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas.

  A twelfth invention includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection unit that selects at least one of the phase or amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas to select an antenna directivity pattern. In a propagation channel information acquisition method for acquiring propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in a base station including an antenna directivity control unit, two different ones for estimating propagation channel information are used. Step 1 for generating two known signals, the first known signal generated in step 1 is transmitted from the reference antenna of the plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selection means, and the second known signal is transmitted to the antenna Step 2 of transmitting from antennas other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas via the directivity pattern selection means; Distributing the second known signal to antennas other than the reference antenna among the other antennas, and the second known signal transmitted from the antenna other than the reference antenna and the first known signal transmitted from the reference antenna by the terminal station Step 4 for receiving the signal, estimating the propagation channel information of each corresponding antenna, and transmitting the obtained propagation channel information to the base station; receiving the propagation channel information transmitted from the terminal station; and receiving the antenna directivity pattern While switching the antenna directivity pattern other than the reference antenna by the selection means, the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other antennas are combined, and the propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas is calculated using the setting information of the antenna directivity pattern. Step 5 is included.

  In the first, second, and ninth inventions, a known signal for estimating propagation channel information transmitted from a terminal station is received by a plurality of antennas of a base station, and another antenna that is paired with one reference antenna The propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas can be obtained by estimating the propagation channel information while switching one by one and combining the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and all other antennas.

  In the third, fourth, and tenth inventions, a known signal for estimating propagation channel information transmitted from a terminal station is received while varying antenna directivity with a plurality of antennas of a base station, and one reference antenna is received. By estimating the propagation channel information obtained from the received signal combined with the other antennas, combining the propagation channel information for each antenna directivity, and using the parameters that set the antenna directivity The propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas can be acquired.

  In the fifth, sixth, and eleventh inventions, the base station transmits different known signals while switching one other antenna paired with one reference antenna one by one, and the reference station and the other antenna are transmitted on the terminal station side. The propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas can be acquired by estimating the propagation channel information of the base station, transmitting the propagation channel information to the base station, and combining the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and all other antennas.

  In the seventh, eighth and twelfth inventions, the base station transmits different known signals while changing the directivity pattern with one reference antenna and another antenna, and the terminal station side transmits the reference antenna and the other antenna. The propagation channel information of each antenna is transmitted to the base station, the propagation channel information for each antenna directivity is combined, and the calculation process using parameters for setting the antenna directivity is used. Propagation channel information can be acquired.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of Example 1 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of an antenna directivity control unit 101A according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of Example 2 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of Example 3 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of Example 4 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of an antenna directivity control unit 101D according to the fourth embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of Example 5 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of Example 6 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of Example 7 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process sequence of the antenna directivity control part 101G of Example 7, and the base station 100G. It is a figure which shows the structural example of Example 8 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of Example 9 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of Example 10 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process sequence of the antenna directivity control part 101J of Example 10, and base station 100J. It is a figure which shows the structural example of Example 11 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of Example 12 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a base station and an antenna directivity control part.

  In the following first to third embodiments, known signals for estimating propagation channel information transmitted from a terminal station are received by a plurality of antennas of a base station, and other antennas paired with one reference antenna. The propagation channel information is estimated while switching one by one, and the propagation channel information H of a plurality of antennas is calculated by combining the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and all other antennas.

Example 1
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of Embodiment 1 of a propagation channel information acquisition apparatus according to the present invention.
In FIG. 1, the antenna directivity control unit 101A according to the first embodiment connected to the base station 100A includes a combiner / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, and an amplitude converter 104- similar to the conventional configuration. 1-104-N, antennas 105-1 to 105-N, phase / amplitude control unit 106, couplers 107-1 to 107-N, switch 108, propagation channel information estimation unit 109, and propagation channel information combination unit 110.

  The combiner 107-1 receives the uplink radio signal received by the antenna 105-1 via the phase converter 103-1 and distributes it to the combiner / distributor 102 and the propagation channel information estimation unit 109. The couplers 107-2 to 107-N receive the uplink radio signals received by the antennas 105-2 to 105-N via the phase converters 103-2 to 103-N, and combine / synthesizer 102 and the switch 108. To distribute. The couplers 107-1 to 107-N output the downlink radio signals input from the combiner / distributor 102 to the phase converters 103-1 to 103-N.

  The switch 108 selects an uplink radio signal corresponding to one antenna 105-n from the uplink radio signals input from the couplers 107-2 to 107-N, and outputs the uplink radio signal to the propagation channel information estimation unit 109.

  Propagation channel information estimation section 109 receives an uplink radio signal (known signal) corresponding to antenna 105-1 input from coupler 107-1, and an uplink radio signal corresponding to one antenna 105-n that is sequentially switched by switch 108. (Known signal) is input, propagation channel information in antennas 105-1 and 105-n is estimated, and propagation channel information estimated in pairs is output to propagation channel information combining section 110 in accordance with switching of switch.

Here, at time t _n−1 when the switch 108 sequentially switches the uplink radio signals received by the antennas 105-2 to 105-N and the antenna 105-n is selected, the antenna 105− estimated by the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 is obtained. The propagation channel information of 1,105-n is assumed to be h ₁ (t _n-1 ) and h _n (t _n-1 ). The propagation channel information combining unit 110 receives the propagation channel information h ₁ (t ₁ ) to h ₁ (t _N-1 ) of the antenna 105-1 serving as a reference input from the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 and the pair of antennas 105. −2 to 105-N, the propagation channel information h ₂ (t ₁ ) to h _N (t _N−1 ) is combined as shown in the following equation to calculate the propagation channel information H of the antennas 105-1 to 105-N. To the base station 100A.

FIG. 2 shows a processing procedure example of the antenna directivity control unit 101A of the first embodiment.
In FIG. 2, an antenna directivity control unit 101A connected to the base station 100A receives a known signal for estimating propagation channel information transmitted by a terminal station (S1), and serves as a reference antenna 105-1. Propagation channel information h ₁ (t _n-1 ) and h _n (t _n-1 ) are estimated from the received signal of the antenna 105-n selected by the switch 108 (S2). Furthermore, the processing of steps S1 and S2 is repeated while switching the switch 108 until the propagation channel information of all the antennas 105-2 to 105-N to be compared with the reference antenna 105-1 is acquired (S3). When the antenna directivity control unit 101A acquires the propagation channel information of all the antennas 105-2 to 105-N to be compared with the reference antenna 105-1, the antenna directivity control unit 101A combines the propagation channel information using the equation (1), The propagation channel information H is calculated (S4).

  Next, the antenna directivity control unit 101A notifies the calculated propagation channel information H to the base station 100A (S5). The base station 100A calculates an antenna directivity pattern used for communication with the terminal station based on the notified propagation channel information H, and controls the antenna directivity control unit 101A. The phase / amplitude control unit 106 of the antenna directivity control unit 101A controls the phase and amplitude of each antenna to set the directivity pattern calculated by the base station (S6), and performs communication with the terminal station.

(Example 2)
FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of Embodiment 2 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of the present invention.
In FIG. 3, the antenna directivity control unit 101B of the second embodiment connected to the base station 100B includes a combiner / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, and amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N. In addition to the antennas 105-1 to 105-N and the phase / amplitude control unit 106, the couplers 107-1 to 107-N and the switch 108 are provided. In the first embodiment, the propagation provided in the antenna directivity control unit 101A is provided. In this configuration, channel information estimation section 109 and propagation channel information combining section 110 are arranged in base station 100B.

  The operations of the combiners 107-1 to 107-N, the switch 108, the propagation channel information estimation unit 109, and the propagation channel information combination unit 110 are the same as those in the first embodiment. In the propagation channel information combination unit 110, the propagation channel information estimation unit Based on the propagation channel information of each antenna inputted from 109, the propagation channel information H can be calculated by the equation (1).

(Example 3)
FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of Embodiment 3 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of the present invention.
4, the third embodiment includes two antenna directivity control units 101C-1 and 101C-2 connected to the base station 100C, and is configured to be able to perform MIMO transmission with the terminal station. The same applies even if there are three or more antenna directivity control units.

  The antenna directivity control units 101C-1 and 101C-2 of the third embodiment include a synthesizer / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N, and an antenna 105-, respectively. 1 to 105-N, in addition to the phase / amplitude control unit 106, couplers 107-1 to 107-N and a switch 108 are provided. Similarly to the second embodiment, the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 and the propagation channel information combination unit 110 is arranged in the base station 100C.

  The switches 108 of the antenna directivity control units 101C-1 and 101C-2 select an uplink radio signal corresponding to one antenna 105-n from the uplink radio signals input from the couplers 107-1 to 107-N, respectively. And output to propagation channel information estimation section 109 of base station 100C.

The propagation channel information H2 of the antenna directivity control unit 101C-2 is calculated by the following procedure. At time t _{n when} the switch 108 of the antenna directivity control unit 101C-2 sequentially switches the antennas 105-1 to 105-N and selects the antenna 105-n, the antenna 105-n estimated by the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 is selected. _{Let the} propagation channel information be h _n ⁽²⁾ (t _n ). At this time, the switch 108 of the antenna directivity control unit 101C-1 selects one antenna (here, 105-1), and the propagation channel information of the antenna 105-1 estimated by the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 is h. _{Let 1} ⁽¹⁾ (t _n ).

Propagation channel information combining unit 110, the propagation channel information h ₁ of the antenna directivity control unit 101C-1 of the antenna 105-1 as a reference input from the propagation channel information estimation unit _{^{109 (1) (t 1)}} ~h 1 ( ¹⁾ (t _N ) and propagation channel information h ₁ ⁽²⁾ (t ₁ ) to h _N ⁽²⁾ (t _N ⁾ of the antennas 105-1 to 105-N of the paired antenna directivity control unit 101C-2 ) Are combined as in the following equation to calculate the propagation channel information H2 of each antenna of the antenna directivity control unit 101C-2.

Similarly, the propagation channel information H1 of the antenna directivity control unit 101C-1 is calculated by the following procedure. At time t _{n when} the switch 108 of the antenna directivity control unit 101C-1 sequentially switches the antennas 105-1 to 105-N and selects the antenna 105-n, the antenna 105-n estimated by the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 is selected. _{Let the} propagation channel information be h _n ⁽¹⁾ (t _n ). At this time, the switch 108 of the antenna directivity control unit 101C-2 selects one antenna (here, 105-1), and the propagation channel information of the antenna 105-1 estimated by the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 is h. _{Let 1} ⁽²⁾ (t _n ).

Propagation channel information combining unit 110, the propagation channel information ^{_{h 1 (2) (t 1}} ) of the antenna directivity control section 101C-2 antennas 105-1 as a reference input from the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 to h ₁ ^{( 2)} (t _N ) and propagation channel information h ₁ ⁽¹⁾ (t ₁ ) to h _N ⁽¹⁾ (t _N ⁾ of the antennas 105-1 to 105-N of the antenna directivity control unit 101C-1 as a pair ) Are combined as in the following equation to calculate the propagation channel information H1 of each antenna of the antenna directivity control unit 101C-1.

  In the following fourth to sixth embodiments, a known signal for estimating propagation channel information transmitted from a terminal station is received while varying the antenna directivity with a plurality of antennas of the base station, and one reference antenna is received. By estimating the propagation channel information obtained from the received signal combined with the other antennas, combining the propagation channel information for each antenna directivity, and using the parameters that set the antenna directivity In this configuration, propagation channel information H of a plurality of antennas is calculated.

Example 4
FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of Embodiment 4 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of the present invention.
In FIG. 5, the antenna directivity control unit 101D of the fourth embodiment connected to the base station 100D includes a combiner / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, and an amplitude converter 104 similar to those of the first embodiment. -1 to 104-N, antennas 105-1 to 105-N, phase / amplitude control unit 106, couplers 107-1 to 107-N, combining unit 111, propagation channel information estimation unit 109, and propagation channel information The coupling unit 110 is configured.

  Combining section 111 combines the uplink radio signals input from combiners 107-2 to 107 -N and outputs the combined signals to propagation channel information estimating section 109. At this time, the phase / amplitude control unit 106 sequentially changes the directivity pattern by controlling the phase and amplitude of each antenna under the control of the base station 100D, and the synthesized wave corresponding to each directivity pattern is transmitted through the propagation channel. The information is input to the information estimation unit 109. Note that the synthesis unit 111 performs a selection function equivalent to that of the switch 108 of the first embodiment under the control of the phase / amplitude control unit 106.

  Propagation channel information estimation section 109 corresponds to the uplink radio signal (known signal) corresponding to antenna 105-1 input from combiner 107-1 and antennas 105-2 to 105-N combined by combining section 111. An uplink radio signal (known signal) is input, and propagation channel information in antenna 105-1 and antennas 105-2 to 105-N is calculated and output to propagation channel information combining section 110.

Here, the phase / amplitude control unit 106 sequentially switches the amplitude and phase corresponding to each antenna, sets the amplitude and phase values at the time of the an _n- th switching to W (a _n ) as a complex number, and propagates the channel information estimation unit 109. There propagation channel information of the antenna 105-1 as a reference to estimate the h ₁ (a _n), the propagation channel information obtained from the composite wave of the antenna 105-1 through 105-n and h _n (a _n). The propagation channel information combining unit 110 receives the propagation channel information h ₁ (a ₁ ) to h ₁ (a _N-1 ) of the antenna 105-1 as a reference input from the propagation channel information estimation unit 109, and the antennas 105-2 to 105-2. The propagation channel information h ₂ (a ₁ ) to h _N (a _N-1 ) obtained from the composite wave of 105-N is combined as shown in equation (4), and the phase and amplitude values W (a _n ) are further combined. The propagation channel information H of the antennas 105-1 to 105-N is calculated and notified to the base station 100D by the arithmetic processing using the equations (5) and (6).

FIG. 6 illustrates a processing procedure example of the antenna directivity control unit 101D of the fourth embodiment.
In FIG. 6, the antenna directivity control unit 101D connected to the base station 100D receives a known signal for estimating propagation channel information transmitted by the terminal station (S11). At this time, under the control of the base station 100D, the phase / amplitude control unit 106 switches the amplitude and phase corresponding to each antenna (S12), and the antenna 105-1 serving as the reference and the antenna 105-2 combined by the combining unit 111 The propagation channel information h ₁ (a _n-1 ) and h _n (a _n-1 ) are estimated from the received signals of 105 to 105-n (S13). Further, the processing of steps S11 to S13 is repeated while switching the amplitude of the amplitude converter and the phase of the phase converter until the number of propagation channel information corresponding to the total number of antennas compared with the reference antenna 105-1 is acquired. (S14). When the antenna directivity control unit 101D acquires the propagation channel information of the reference antenna 105-1 and all the other antennas 105-2 to 105-N, each propagation channel is expressed by using the equations (4) to (6). The information is combined to calculate propagation channel information H (S15).

  Next, the antenna directivity control unit 101D notifies the calculated propagation channel information H to the base station 100D (S16). The base station 100D calculates an antenna directivity pattern used for communication with the terminal station based on the notified propagation channel information, and controls the antenna directivity control unit 101D. The phase / amplitude control unit 106 of the antenna directivity control unit 101D sets the directivity pattern calculated by the base station by controlling the phase and amplitude of each antenna (S17), and performs communication with the terminal station.

(Example 5)
FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of Embodiment 5 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of the present invention.
In FIG. 7, the antenna directivity control unit 101E of the fifth embodiment includes a synthesizer / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N, and antennas 105-1 to 105. -N, in addition to the phase / amplitude control unit 106, combiners 107-1 to 107-N and a synthesis unit 111, and in the fourth embodiment, the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 provided in the antenna directivity control unit 101D and In this configuration, the propagation channel information combining unit 110 is arranged in the base station 100E.

  The operations of the combiners 107-1 to 107-N, the combining unit 111, the propagation channel information estimation unit 109, and the propagation channel information combination unit 110 are the same as those in the fourth embodiment. In the propagation channel information combination unit 110, the propagation channel information estimation is performed. Based on the propagation channel information input from the unit 109, the propagation channel information H can be calculated by the equations (4) to (6).

(Example 6)
FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of Embodiment 6 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of the present invention.
In FIG. 8, the sixth embodiment includes two antenna directivity control units 101F-1 and 101F-2 connected to the base station 100F, and is configured to be able to perform MIMO transmission with the terminal station. The same applies even if there are three or more antenna directivity control units.

  The antenna directivity control units 101F-1 and 101F-2 of the sixth embodiment include a synthesizer / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N, and an antenna 105-, respectively. 1 to 105-N, in addition to the phase / amplitude control unit 106, combiners 107-1 to 107-N and a combining unit 111 are provided. Similarly to the fifth embodiment, the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 and the propagation channel information combination are provided. The unit 110 is arranged in the base station 100F.

  The combining units 111 of the antenna directivity control units 101F-1 and 101F-2 combine the uplink radio signals input from the couplers 107-1 to 107-N, respectively, and output them to the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 of the base station 100F. To do. At this time, the phase / amplitude control unit 106 of the antenna directivity control units 101F-1 and 101F-2 sequentially changes the directivity pattern corresponding to the phase and amplitude values of each antenna under the control of the base station 100F. Therefore, a composite wave corresponding to each directivity pattern is input to the propagation channel information estimation unit 109.

  Hereinafter, similarly to the third embodiment, the propagation channel obtained from the combined wave of the other antenna directivity control unit 101F-2 with reference to the propagation channel information obtained from the combined wave of one antenna directivity control unit 101F-1 Based on the information, the propagation channel information H2 of each antenna of the antenna directivity control unit 101F-2 is calculated as in the third embodiment. Further, based on the propagation channel information obtained from the combined wave of one antenna directivity control unit 101F-1 based on the propagation channel information obtained from the combined wave of the other antenna directivity control unit 101F-2, the embodiment 3, the propagation channel information H1 of each antenna of the antenna directivity control unit 101F-1 is calculated.

  In Embodiments 7 to 9 shown below, different known signals are transmitted from the base station while switching one other antenna paired with one reference antenna one by one by reverse operation to Embodiments 1 to 3. The terminal station estimates the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other antennas, transmits the propagation channel information to the base station, and combines the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and all other antennas to In this configuration, propagation channel information H of the antenna is calculated.

(Example 7)
FIG. 9 shows a configuration example of Embodiment 7 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of the present invention.
In FIG. 9, the antenna directivity control unit 101G of the seventh embodiment connected to the base station 100G includes a combiner / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, and an amplitude converter 104 similar to those of the first embodiment. -1 to 104-N, antennas 105-1 to 105-N, phase / amplitude controller 106, couplers 107-1 to 107-N, switch 108, and known signal generator 112, and In this configuration, the propagation channel information combining unit 110 is arranged in 100G.

  The known signal generator 112 generates two known signals. One known signal 1 is transmitted from the antenna 105-1 via the coupler 107-1, the phase converter 103-1, and the amplitude converter 104-1. The other known signal 2 is transmitted from the antenna 105-n via the coupler 107-n, the phase converter 103-n, and the amplitude converter 104-n selected by the switch 108. The terminal station that receives the two known signals estimates the propagation channel information of the antennas 105-1 and 105-n by the same processing as the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 used in the first embodiment. Further, the propagation channel information estimated by the terminal station while switching the switch 108 is transmitted to the base station 100G and accumulated in the propagation channel information combining unit 110.

The propagation channel information combining unit 110 of the base station 100G includes the propagation channel information h ₁ (t ₁ ) to h ₁ (t _N-1 ) of the reference antenna 105-1 transmitted from the terminal station and a pair of antennas. The propagation channel information h ₂ (t ₁ ) to h _N (t _N-1 ) of 105-2 to 105-N are combined as shown in the equation (1), and the propagation channel information H of the antennas 105-1 to 105-N is combined. Is calculated.

FIG. 10 illustrates a processing procedure example of the antenna directivity control unit 101G and the base station 100G according to the seventh embodiment.
In FIG. 10, the antenna directivity control unit 101G connected to the base station 100G generates known signals 1 and 2 for estimating propagation channel information to be transmitted to the terminal station (S21), and serves as a reference antenna 105−. The known signal 1 is transmitted from 1 and the known signal 2 is transmitted from the antenna 105-n selected using the switch 108 (S22). In the terminal station, the propagation channel information corresponding to the antennas 105-1 and 105-n is estimated using the known signals 1 and 2, and transmitted to the base station 100G. The antenna directivity control unit 101G receives the propagation channel information estimated by the terminal station and notifies the base station 100G (S23). Further, the processes of steps S22 and S23 are repeated while switching the switch 108 until the propagation channel information of all the antennas 105-2 to 105-N to be compared with the reference antenna 105-1 is acquired (S24).

  When the propagation channel information combining unit 110 of the base station 100G obtains the propagation channel information of all the antennas 105-2 to 105-N to be compared with the reference antenna 105-1, each propagation channel information is obtained using Expression (1). And propagation channel information H is calculated (S25). The base station 100G calculates an antenna directivity pattern used for communication with the terminal station based on the calculated propagation channel information H, and controls the antenna directivity control unit 101G. The phase / amplitude control unit 106 of the antenna directivity control unit 101G controls the phase and amplitude of each antenna to set the directivity pattern calculated by the base station 100G (S26), and performs communication with the terminal station.

(Example 8)
FIG. 11 shows an example of the configuration of the eighth embodiment of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of the present invention.
In FIG. 11, the antenna directivity control unit 101H according to the eighth embodiment connected to the base station 100H includes a combiner / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, and amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N. In addition to the antennas 105-1 to 105-N and the phase / amplitude control unit 106, couplers 107-1 to 107-N and a switch 108 are provided. In the seventh embodiment, the antenna directivity control unit 101G is known. The signal generator 112 and the propagation channel information combiner 110 are arranged in the base station 100H.

  The operations of the combiners 107-1 to 107-N, the switch 108, the known signal generation unit 112, and the propagation channel information combining unit 110 are the same as those in the seventh embodiment, and the propagation channel information combining unit 110 is notified from the terminal station. Based on the propagation channel information of each antenna, the propagation channel information H can be calculated by Equation (1).

Example 9
FIG. 12 shows a configuration example of Embodiment 9 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of the present invention.
In FIG. 12, the ninth embodiment includes two antenna directivity control units 101I-1 and 101I-2 connected to the base station 100I, and is configured to be able to perform MIMO transmission with the terminal station. The same applies even if there are three or more antenna directivity control units.

  The antenna directivity control units 101I-1 and 101I-2 according to the ninth embodiment include a combiner / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N, and an antenna 105-, respectively. 1 to 105-N, in addition to the phase / amplitude control unit 106, couplers 107-1 to 107-N and a switch 108 are provided. As in the eighth embodiment, the known signal generation unit 112 and the propagation channel information combination unit 110 Is arranged in the base station 100I.

  One antenna (for example, 105-1) selected by the switch 108 of one antenna directivity control unit 101I-1 is used as a reference antenna, and the antennas 105-1 to 105-1 are selected by the switch 108 of the other antenna directivity control unit 101I-2. 105-N are sequentially switched, and two known signals generated by the known signal generator 112 are transmitted. The terminal station that receives the two known signals receives the antenna 105-1 of the antenna directivity control unit 101I-1 and the antenna directivity control unit by the same processing as the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 used in the first embodiment. 101I-2 105-n propagation channel information is estimated. Further, propagation channel information estimated by the terminal station is notified to the base station 100I while switching the switch 108 of the antenna directivity control unit 101I-2.

  Next, the antenna directivity control unit 101I-1 and the antenna directivity control unit 101I-2 are interchanged to perform the same processing, and the propagation estimated by the terminal station while switching the switch 108 of the antenna directivity control unit 101I-1 Channel information is notified to the base station 100I.

  The propagation channel information combining unit 110 of the base station 100I includes the propagation channel information of the antenna 105-1 of one antenna directivity control unit 101I-1 and the other antenna directivity control unit 101I serving as a reference notified from the terminal station. -2 antennas 105-1 to 105-N are combined, and the propagation channel information H2 of each antenna of the other antenna directivity control unit 101I-2 is calculated. Similarly, the propagation channel information of the antenna 105-1 of the other antenna directivity control unit 101I-2 as a reference notified from the terminal station, and the antennas 105-1 to 105-105 of the one antenna directivity control unit 101I-1. -N propagation channel information is combined, and propagation channel information H1 of each antenna of one antenna directivity control unit 101I-1 is calculated.

  In the following tenth to twelfth embodiments, one base antenna and another antenna transmit different known signals from the base station while varying the directivity pattern, and the base station and other antennas are transmitted on the terminal station side. The propagation channel information of each antenna is transmitted to the base station, the propagation channel information for each antenna directivity is combined, and the calculation process using parameters for setting the antenna directivity is used. In this configuration, propagation channel information H is calculated.

(Example 10)
FIG. 13: shows the structural example of Example 10 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of this invention.
In FIG. 13, the antenna directivity control unit 101J of the tenth embodiment connected to the base station 100J includes a combiner / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, and an amplitude converter 104 similar to those of the seventh embodiment. -1 to 104-N, antennas 105-1 to 105-N, phase / amplitude control unit 106, couplers 107-1 to 107-N, known signal generation unit 112, and distribution unit 113. In this configuration, a propagation channel information combining unit 110 is arranged in the station 100J.

  The known signal generator 112 generates two known signals. One known signal 1 is transmitted from the antenna 105-1 via the coupler 107-1, the phase converter 103-1, and the amplitude converter 104-1. The other known signal 2 is sent from the distribution unit 113 to the antennas 105-2 through the couplers 107-2 to 107-N, the phase converters 103-2 to 107-N, and the amplitude converters 104-2 to 104-N. 105-N. At this time, the phase / amplitude control unit 106 sequentially changes the directivity pattern of each antenna under the control of the base station 100J, and a known signal corresponding to each directivity pattern is transmitted. The terminal station that receives the two known signals estimates the propagation channel information by the same processing as the propagation channel information estimation unit 109 used in the fourth embodiment. Further, the propagation channel information estimated by the terminal station according to the change of the directivity pattern is transmitted to the base station 100J and stored in the propagation channel information combining unit 110.

  The propagation channel information combining unit 110 of the base station 100J uses the propagation channel information of the antenna 105-1 to be a reference transmitted from the terminal station and the propagation channel information of the antennas 105-2 to 105-N using the equations (4) to (4) (6) is used to calculate propagation channel information H of antennas 105-1 to 105-N.

FIG. 14 illustrates a processing procedure example of the antenna directivity control unit 101J and the base station 100J according to the tenth embodiment.
In FIG. 14, the antenna directivity control unit 101J connected to the base station 100J generates known signals 1 and 2 for estimating propagation channel information to be transmitted to the terminal station (S31). Further, under the control of the base station 100J, the phase / amplitude control unit 106 switches the amplitude and phase corresponding to each antenna (S32), transmits the known signal 1 from the reference antenna 105-1 and connects to the distribution unit 113 The known signal 2 is transmitted from the antennas 105-2 to 105-N (S33). In the terminal station, the propagation channel information corresponding to the antennas 105-1 and 105-2 to 105-N is estimated using the known signals 1 and 2, and transmitted to the base station 100J. The antenna directivity control unit 101J receives the propagation channel information estimated by the terminal station and notifies the base station 100J (S34). Further, the processing in steps S32 to S34 is repeated while switching the amplitude of the amplitude converter and the phase of the phase converter until the number of propagation channel information corresponding to the total number of antennas compared with the reference antenna 105-1 is acquired. (S35).

  When the propagation channel information combining unit 110 of the base station 100J acquires the propagation channel information of all the antennas 105-2 to 105-N to be compared with the reference antenna 105-1, the expression (4) to the expression (6) are used. Then, the propagation channel information is combined to calculate propagation channel information H (S36). The base station 100J calculates an antenna directivity pattern used for communication with the terminal station based on the combined propagation channel information, and controls the antenna directivity control unit 101J. The phase / amplitude control unit 106 of the antenna directivity control unit 101J controls the phase and amplitude of each antenna to set the directivity pattern calculated by the base station 100J (S37), and performs communication with the terminal station.

(Example 11)
FIG. 15 shows a configuration example of Example 11 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of the present invention.
In FIG. 15, the antenna directivity control unit 101K according to the eleventh embodiment connected to the base station 100K includes a combiner / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, and amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N. In addition to the antennas 105-1 to 105-N and the phase / amplitude control unit 106, couplers 107-1 to 107-N and a distribution unit 113 are provided. In the tenth embodiment, the antenna directivity control unit 101J is provided. The known signal generator 112 and the propagation channel information combiner 110 are arranged in the base station 100K.

  The operations of the combiners 107-1 to 107-N, the distributing unit 113, the known signal generating unit 112, and the propagation channel information combining unit 110 are the same as those in the tenth embodiment, and the propagation channel information combining unit 110 is notified from the terminal station. On the basis of the propagation channel information of each antenna, the propagation channel information H can be calculated by the equations (4) to (6).

(Example 12)
FIG. 16 shows a configuration example of embodiment 12 of the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus of the present invention.
In FIG. 16, the twelfth embodiment includes two antenna directivity control units 101L-1 and 101L-2 connected to the base station 100L, and is configured to be able to perform MIMO transmission with the terminal station. The same applies even if there are three or more antenna directivity control units.

  The antenna directivity control units 101L-1 and 101L-2 of the twelfth embodiment include a synthesizer / distributor 102, phase converters 103-1 to 103-N, amplitude converters 104-1 to 104-N, and an antenna 105-, respectively. 1 to 105-N, in addition to the phase / amplitude controller 106, couplers 107-1 to 107-N and a distributor 113 are provided. Similarly to the eleventh embodiment, the known signal generator 112 and the propagation channel information combiner 110 is arranged in the base station 100L.

  Distribution units 113 of antenna directivity control units 101L-1 and 101L-2 respectively transmit known signals input from known signal generation unit 112 from antennas 105-1 to 105-N. At this time, the phase / amplitude control unit 106 of the antenna directivity control units 101L-1 and 101L-2 sequentially changes the directivity pattern of each antenna under the control of the base station 100L, and according to each directivity pattern. The known signal is received by the terminal station, and propagation channel information is estimated at the terminal station.

  The propagation channel information combining unit 110 of the base station 100L transmits the propagation channel information of the antennas 105-1 to 105-N of the one antenna directivity control unit 101L-1 that is a reference notified from the terminal station and the other antenna directivity. The propagation channel information of the antennas 105-1 to 105-N of the antenna control unit 101L-2 is combined, and the propagation channel information H2 of each antenna of the other antenna directivity control unit 101L-2 is calculated. Similarly, the propagation channel information of the antennas 105-1 to 105-N of the other antenna directivity control unit 101L-2 that is the reference notified from the terminal station, and the antenna 105 of the one antenna directivity control unit 101L-1 -1 to 105-N are combined, and the propagation channel information H1 of each antenna of one antenna directivity control unit 101L-1 is calculated.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Base station 101 Antenna directivity control part 102 Synthesizer / distributor 103 Phase converter 104 Amplitude converter 105 Antenna 106 Phase / amplitude control part 107 Combiner 108 Switch 109 Propagation channel information estimation part 110 Propagation channel information combination part 111 Synthesis part 112 Known signal generation unit 113 Distribution unit 200 Terminal station 201 Antenna

Claims (12)

An antenna directivity control unit comprising: a plurality of antennas; and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. In the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus for acquiring the propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in the including base station,
A coupling unit that receives the known signals for estimating the propagation channel information transmitted by the terminal station, to the plurality of antennas, and branches and outputs the signals via the antenna directivity pattern selection unit;
A switch for selecting one of the known signals output from the antennas other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas via the coupling unit;
A propagation channel information estimation unit that inputs a known signal output from the reference antenna through the coupling unit and a known signal output through the switch, and estimates propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna, respectively.
A propagation channel information combining unit that calculates propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas by combining the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other antennas estimated by the propagation channel information estimation unit while switching the switch; Propagation channel information acquisition apparatus characterized by the above. A plurality of antenna directivities each having a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of the phase or amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas In a propagation channel information acquisition apparatus that acquires propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas of each antenna directivity control unit in order to select an antenna directivity pattern of each antenna directivity control unit in a base station including a control unit,
A coupling unit that receives a known signal for estimating the propagation channel information transmitted by a terminal station to a plurality of antennas of each of the antenna directivity control units, and branches and outputs the signals via the antenna directivity pattern selection unit;
A switch for selecting one of the known signals output from the plurality of antennas via the coupling unit in each of the plurality of antenna directivity control units;
The known signal output from the reference antenna of one antenna directivity control unit among the plurality of antenna directivity control units via the switch, and output via the switch of another antenna directivity control unit A propagation channel information estimation unit that inputs a known signal and estimates propagation channel information of each corresponding antenna;
While switching the switch of the other antenna directivity control unit, combining the reference antenna estimated by the propagation channel information estimation unit and the propagation channel information of the antenna of the other antenna directivity control unit, the other antenna A propagation channel information acquisition apparatus comprising: a propagation channel information combining unit that calculates propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas of a directivity control unit. An antenna directivity control unit comprising: a plurality of antennas; and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. In the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus for acquiring the propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in the including base station,
A coupling unit that receives the known signals for estimating the propagation channel information transmitted by the terminal station, to the plurality of antennas, and branches and outputs the signals via the antenna directivity pattern selection unit;
A synthesizing unit that synthesizes a known signal output from the antenna other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas via the coupling unit;
A propagation channel information estimation unit that inputs a known signal output from the reference antenna through the coupling unit and a known signal output through the combining unit, and estimates propagation channel information of a corresponding antenna;
While switching antenna directivity patterns other than the reference antenna by the antenna directivity pattern selection means, the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other antennas estimated by the propagation channel information estimation unit are combined, and further the antenna directivity A propagation channel information acquisition apparatus comprising: a propagation channel information combining unit that calculates propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas using setting information of a characteristic pattern. A plurality of antenna directivities each having a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of the phase or amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas In a propagation channel information acquisition apparatus that acquires propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas of each antenna directivity control unit in order to select an antenna directivity pattern of each antenna directivity control unit in a base station including a control unit,
A coupling unit that receives a known signal for estimating the propagation channel information transmitted by a terminal station to a plurality of antennas of each of the antenna directivity control units, and branches and outputs the signals via the antenna directivity pattern selection unit;
In the plurality of antenna directivity control units, a synthesis unit that synthesizes known signals output from the plurality of antennas through the coupling unit, and
The known signal output from the reference antenna of one antenna directivity control unit among the plurality of antenna directivity control units via the combining unit, and output via the combining unit of another antenna directivity control unit A propagation channel information estimator that receives the received known signals and estimates the propagation channel information of the corresponding antennas,
The reference antenna estimated by the propagation channel information estimation unit and the antenna of the other antenna directivity control unit while switching the antenna directivity pattern by the antenna directivity pattern selection unit of the other antenna directivity control unit A propagation channel information combining unit for calculating propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas of the other antenna directivity control unit using the setting information of the antenna directivity pattern. A characteristic propagation channel information acquisition apparatus. An antenna directivity control unit comprising: a plurality of antennas; and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. In the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus for acquiring the propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in the including base station,
A known signal generator for generating two different known signals for estimating the propagation channel information;
The first known signal generated by the known signal generation unit is transmitted from the reference antenna of the plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selection means, and the second known signal is selected by the antenna directivity pattern selection. A coupling section for transmitting from an antenna other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas via a means;
A switch for selecting and inputting one of the coupling units connected to an antenna other than the reference antenna, the second known signal;
A terminal station that receives the first known signal transmitted from the reference antenna and the second known signal transmitted from an antenna other than the reference antenna estimates propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna, and the terminal station A propagation channel information combining unit that receives the propagation channel information transmitted from the base station and combines the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other antennas while switching the switch to calculate the propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas. Propagation channel information acquisition apparatus characterized by comprising. Two antenna directivities each having a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of the phase or amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas In a propagation channel information acquisition apparatus that acquires propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas of each antenna directivity control unit in order to select an antenna directivity pattern of each antenna directivity control unit in a base station including a control unit,
A known signal generator for generating two different known signals for estimating the propagation channel information;
A first known signal generated by the known signal generation unit is transmitted from a reference antenna of the plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selection unit of the one antenna directivity control unit; A coupling unit that transmits the known signal from the plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selection unit of the other antenna directivity control unit;
A switch for selecting and inputting one of the coupling units connected to the antenna of the other antenna directivity control unit, the second known signal;
A terminal station that receives the first known signal transmitted from the reference antenna and the second known signal transmitted from an antenna other than the reference antenna estimates propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna, and the terminal station Receiving the propagation channel information transmitted from the antenna, and combining the propagation channel information of the antenna of the reference antenna and the other antenna directivity control unit while switching the switch, A propagation channel information acquisition apparatus comprising: a propagation channel information combining unit that calculates propagation channel information of an antenna. An antenna directivity control unit comprising: a plurality of antennas; and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. In the propagation channel information acquisition apparatus for acquiring the propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in the including base station,
A known signal generator for generating two different known signals for estimating the propagation channel information;
The first known signal generated by the known signal generation unit is transmitted from the reference antenna of the plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selection means, and the second known signal is selected by the antenna directivity pattern selection. A coupling section for transmitting from an antenna other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas via a means;
A distribution unit that distributes the second known signal to the coupling unit connected to an antenna other than a reference antenna among the plurality of antennas;
A terminal station that receives the first known signal transmitted from the reference antenna and the second known signal transmitted from an antenna other than the reference antenna estimates propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna, and the terminal station Receiving the propagation channel information transmitted from the antenna, combining the antenna directivity pattern other than the reference antenna with the antenna directivity pattern selection means, combining the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other antennas, and A propagation channel information acquisition apparatus comprising: a propagation channel information combining unit that calculates propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas using setting information of antenna directivity patterns. Two antenna directivities each having a plurality of antennas and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of the phase or amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas In a propagation channel information acquisition apparatus that acquires propagation channel information of a plurality of antennas of each antenna directivity control unit in order to select an antenna directivity pattern of each antenna directivity control unit in a base station including a control unit,
A known signal generator for generating two different known signals for estimating the propagation channel information;
A first known signal generated by the known signal generation unit is transmitted from a reference antenna of the plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selection unit of the one antenna directivity control unit; A coupling unit that transmits the known signal from the plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selection unit of the other antenna directivity control unit;
A distribution unit that distributes the second known signal to the coupling unit connected to an antenna other than a reference antenna among the plurality of antennas;
A terminal station that receives the first known signal transmitted from the reference antenna and the second known signal transmitted from an antenna other than the reference antenna estimates propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna, and the terminal station The propagation channel information of the reference antenna and the antenna of the other antenna directivity control unit while receiving the propagation channel information transmitted from the antenna and switching the antenna directivity pattern other than the reference antenna by the antenna directivity pattern selection means A propagation channel information acquisition apparatus comprising: a propagation channel information combining unit that combines information and calculates propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas using setting information of the antenna directivity pattern. An antenna directivity control unit comprising: a plurality of antennas; and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. In the propagation channel information acquisition method for acquiring the propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in the including base station,
Receiving a known signal for estimating the propagation channel information transmitted by a terminal station at the plurality of antennas, and branching and outputting the signals via the antenna directivity pattern selection means;
Selecting one of the known signals output in step 1 from an antenna other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas;
Inputting the known signal output in step 1 from the reference antenna and the known signal output in step 2, and estimating propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna, respectively;
Step of calculating propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas by combining propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other antennas estimated in Step 3 while switching selection of an antenna other than the reference antenna in Step 2 And a propagation channel information acquisition method. An antenna directivity control unit comprising: a plurality of antennas; and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. In the propagation channel information acquisition method for acquiring the propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in the including base station,
Receiving a known signal for estimating the propagation channel information transmitted by a terminal station at the plurality of antennas, and branching and outputting the signals via the antenna directivity pattern selection means;
Step 2 for combining the known signals output in Step 1 from antennas other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas;
Inputting the known signal output in step 1 from the reference antenna and the known signal output in step 2, and estimating propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna, respectively;
While switching antenna directivity patterns other than the reference antenna in step 2, the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other antennas estimated in step 3 are combined, and the setting information of the antenna directivity pattern is used. And a step 4 of calculating propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas. An antenna directivity control unit comprising: a plurality of antennas; and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. In the propagation channel information acquisition method for acquiring the propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in the including base station,
Generating two different known signals for estimating the propagation channel information;
The first known signal generated in step 1 is transmitted from the reference antenna of the plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selecting means, and the second known signal is transmitted to the antenna directivity pattern selecting means. Step 2 of selecting and transmitting one of the plurality of antennas other than the reference antenna,
The terminal station receives the first known signal transmitted from the reference antenna and the second known signal transmitted from an antenna other than the reference antenna, estimates propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna, and obtains Transmitting the transmitted propagation channel information to the base station; and
The propagation channel information transmitted from the terminal station is received, and the propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas is calculated by combining the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other antennas while switching the antenna other than the reference antenna. Propagation channel information acquisition method comprising: step 4; An antenna directivity control unit comprising: a plurality of antennas; and an antenna directivity pattern selection means for selecting an antenna directivity pattern by controlling at least one of a phase or an amplitude of a radio signal transmitted / received via the plurality of antennas. In the propagation channel information acquisition method for acquiring the propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas for selecting the antenna directivity pattern in the including base station,
Generating two different known signals for estimating the propagation channel information;
The first known signal generated in step 1 is transmitted from the reference antenna of the plurality of antennas via the antenna directivity pattern selecting means, and the second known signal is transmitted to the antenna directivity pattern selecting means. Step 2 for transmitting from an antenna other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas,
Distributing the second known signal to antennas other than the reference antenna among the plurality of antennas; and
The terminal station receives the first known signal transmitted from the reference antenna and the second known signal transmitted from an antenna other than the reference antenna, estimates propagation channel information of the corresponding antenna, and obtains Transmitting transmitted propagation channel information to the base station; and
Receiving the propagation channel information transmitted from the terminal station, combining the propagation channel information of the reference antenna and other antennas while switching the antenna directivity pattern other than the reference antenna by the antenna directivity pattern selection means. And further comprising a step 5 of calculating propagation channel information of the plurality of antennas using the setting information of the antenna directivity pattern.

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