Patent ID: 11916625
Assignee: TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)
Field: Telecommunications (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 8:
9. An antenna device adapted for use in an antenna arrangement of a distributed massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system, wherein the distributed massive MIMO system comprises a central unit and wherein the antenna arrangement comprises a chain of antenna devices, including the antenna device, the antenna device comprising:
an antenna element and processing circuitry configured for performing per-antenna-element processing with respect to the corresponding antenna element;
wherein the processing circuitry in each antenna device is configured to:
locally perform a channel estimate based on a pilot signal received at the antenna device from a wireless communication terminal;
receive a processed signal from a next antenna device in the chain of antenna devices;
using the channel estimate, process an antenna signal received from the wireless communication terminal via the antenna element;
add the processed antenna signal to the received processed signal to form a combined signal; and
forward the combined signal to a previous antenna device for further forwarding along the chain of antenna devices to the central unit.