Patent ID: 8254988
Filing Date: 2012-08-28
Classification: H04B

Abstract:
1. A method of controlling a wireless communication system in which a plurality of communication devices perform communication, each communication device having transmission and reception antenna arrays and array weight vector (hereinafter referred to as AWV) control circuits each of which changes at least one of an amplitude and a phase of a signal, the signal being transmitted from a plurality of antenna elements constituting the transmission antenna array or received at a plurality of antenna elements constituting the reception antenna array, the method, when independently controls AWVs of at least two antenna elements among the plurality of antenna elements, comprising: (a) setting a fixed beam pattern in the transmission antenna array possessed by a first communication device included in the plurality of communication devices, and transmitting a first training signal from the first communication device; (b) receiving the first training signal in a second communication device included in the plurality of communication devices while scanning a beam direction by changing an AWV of the reception antenna array possessed by the second communication device; (c) obtaining a first data string describing a relation between an incoming direction and a received-signal characteristic in the second communication device based on a reception result of the first training signal; (d) obtaining first AWVs having a main beam direction or a sub-beam direction in an incoming direction of plural or single signal in the second communication device, the incoming direction of plural or single signal being determined by using the first data string; (e) setting a fixed beam pattern in the reception antenna array possessed by the second communication device, and receiving a second training signal from the first communication device; (f) transmitting the second training signal from the first communication device while scanning a beam direction by changing an AWV of the transmission antenna array possessed by the first communication device; (g) feeding received signal data indicating a reception result of the second training signal measured in the second communication device back to the first communication device; (h) obtaining a second data string describing a relation between an emitting direction of a signal in the first communication device and a received-signal characteristic in the second communication device based on a reception result of the second training signal; (i) obtaining second AWVs having a main beam direction or a sub-beam direction in an emitting direction of plural or single signal in the first communication device, the emitting direction of plural or single signal being determined by using the second data string; (j) obtaining third AWVs having a main beam direction or a sub-beam direction in an incoming direction of plural or single signal in the first communication device, and forth AWVs having a main beam direction or a sub-beam direction in an emitting direction of plural or single signal in the second communication device, by carrying out the steps (a) to (i) after the transmitting operation and the receiving operation of the training signal are interchanged between the first and second communication devices; and (k) using a first AWV combination of one of the first AWVs and one of the second AWVs for first communication between the transmission antenna array of the first communication devices and the reception antenna array of the second communication devices, and using a second AWV combination of one of the third AWVs and one of the fourth AWVs for second communication between the reception antenna array of the first communication devices and the transmission antenna array of the second communication devices.