Patent ID: 8280309
Filing Date: 2012-10-02
Classification: H01Q,H04B,H04W

Abstract:
1. An antenna system of a mobile platform for communicating with first and second base stations comprising: an antenna aperture; a beam former for controlling the antenna aperture to generate a single beam having first and second lobes, said first lobe being used to form a first communications link with said first base station and said second lobe being used to form a second communications link with a second base station; an antenna controller for controlling the beam former to enable steering at least one of the two lobes in a desired direction by adjusting an array phase distribution of signals being communicated via said antenna aperture; the phase distribution of signals for the first and second lobes being accomplished by the beam former determining a plurality of complex voltage distributions required to steer one beam in a corresponding plurality of predetermined directions, and modifying each of the complex voltage distributions by a blending factor, where the sum of the blending factors used is no greater than 1; and said antenna controller adapted to control said beam former so that said lobes are controlled to effect a communications handoff from one to the other of said base stations.