Abstract:
A wireless apparatus with embedded data source or data sink is used to measure radio transmission quality on installation. Indicators are used to display the transmission quality and to assist the installer how to orient the antenna.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 62/310,072 filed on Mar. 18, 2016, the contents of that are incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    The subject matter herein generally relates to an antenna aligning system. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    As communication technology evolves, the use of wireless communication technology has become pervasive. The demand for wireless communication technology as a transmission medium is ever increasing. No matter it is in a point-to-point architecture or in an access point (base stations) architecture with a plurality of terminal devices (such as mobile phones, laptops, personal digital assistants, internet appliances, etc.), wireless communications between individuals and groups of terminal devices are extensively being used. The use of directional antennas for wireless connections between the two end points is very common. As the wireless spectrum becomes more crowded, directional antennas are being used to avoid or mitigate interference with other wireless networks. In addition, high-gain directional antennas can also be used to overcome the distance between nodes of a wireless network, and to increase the signal to noise ratio (SNR) to improve link quality. Parabolic antennas are commonly being used in the directional communication needs. Two parabolic antennas are to align their directional radio beams with each other to establish a wireless link. When two parabolic antennas are within naked eye distance, they may be visually aligned. When the distance exceeds the naked eye capabilities, we have to turn to geometrical means such as a compass or GPS positioning to accurately rotate the antenna to establish an initial contact. 
         [0004]    Once the initial radio contact is being established, the installer will further count on performance data such as signal strength (RSSI) or data throughput to fine tune the tilt angle and azimuth of the parabolic antenna to achieve optimal performance. In an indoor environment electromagnetic waves are susceptible to reflection or refraction of objects such as furniture, walls and floors. These create interferences, attenuation or offset due to multiple paths of the electromagnetic waves. For a pair of radio devices in an indoor environment, using visual means or turning to geographical means such as a map, a compass or GPS positioning may turn out to be futile in optimization of antenna orientation. The signal strength (RSSI) or data throughput and other performance figures will be better indicators for the installation of the antenna. For long-distance and short-range high-performance data radio network installers it is therefore very important if there is a simple method to provide indicators such as signal strength (RSSI) or data throughput and other performance figures. A rudimental way is to use an array of illuminated LED lights on the radio to indicate the signal strength (RSSI). But RSSI rather indicates the signal strength but not signal quality. The signal quality (or alternatively being referred to as “transmission quality” in this work) usually represents the composition of the signal strength, the correctness of modulation/demodulation, and the effects of interference. A good radio installation must focus on better signal quality, rather than signal strength, to achieve higher bandwidth. 
         [0005]    If a radio installer needs to orient the antenna according to the signal quality, a series of test equipment is usually required. This is because the electronic part of the radio is usually partitioned into functional blocks such as a radio transceiver, a modulation/demodulation baseband, and data source/sink on server (information source) and client (information destination) which have the ultimate communication needs. The server and client data source/data sink is usually separated from the radio transceiver and the modulation/demodulation baseband. This is because radios are often designed to be used in a different variety of data services, not just for a single purpose. While a point-to-point microwave link is being installed, the signal quality test equipment located at two ends represents data source/data sink on the server and client. This is to simulate the actual data communication link. In radio communications, well-known signal quality testers include I-perf and Chariot for signal quality testing in which data is being continuously streamed. To measure instantaneous throughput, computers located at two ends running file transfer (FTP) can be used as a client/server data source/data sinks. The quality of data transmission can be attested by measuring the time required to transfer a complete file with a known size. For radio installers, if the data source/data sink and wireless transceiver and baseband circuit can be integrated as one, the equipment needed for antenna orientation can be much simpler. Once the antenna is being oriented to the best data transmission quality, it can be determined that the optimal transmission/receiving state has been reached. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    In one aspect of the disclosure, a data source/a data sink, or the file delivery mechanism is integrated into the radio device. It is usually a piece of software being executed in the radio device. It measures and displays the signal quality of the data transmission, as the assistance toward installation. The indicator of signal quality may be integrated into the radio device itself, or can be externally displayed. As examples, indicators may be LED, LCD, display panel, or a vibrator. If a smart phone can be connected to the radio device, we can rather use the smart phone as a display interface to show the signal quality. The signal quality may be shown in numbers, figures, vibration, or sound. In case the radio devices support WI-FI, smart phones may be used as user interface to help the installer to orient of the antenna. 
         [0007]    An exemplary embodiment of the disclosure provides the wireless transceiver device which comprises an antenna, the data source generating the data packets on the transmitting side, the data sink on the receiving side measuring the signal quality according to the data packets received from the data source, a baseband transceiver configured to transmit or receive wireless signals and the data packets, a processor with executable software that generates the data packets at the transmitting end and measures signal quality with respect to the received data packets at the receiving end, and an indicator that indicates the signal quality. 
         [0008]    An exemplary embodiment of the disclosure provides the wireless transceiver system, which comprises a first wireless transceiver and a second wireless transceiver. The first wireless transceiver comprises a first antenna, a first processor, and a first baseband transceiver. The first processor comprises executable software that generates the data packets to be used for measuring the transmission quality. The first baseband transceiver is configured to transmit/receive wireless signal and transmit the data packets. The second wireless transceiver comprises a second antenna, a second processor, and a second baseband transceiver. The second processor comprises executable software which measures transmission quality according to the completeness of the data packets received and the time spent. The second baseband transceiver is configured to transmit/receive wireless signal and receive the data packets. The indicator may generate the indicating signal according to the signal quality. 
         [0009]    An exemplary embodiment of the disclosure provides the antenna alignment method. The first wireless transceiver generates the data packets. The first wireless transceiver transmits the data packets through the first antenna. The second wireless transceiver receives the data packets through the second antenna. The signal quality is determined by reference to the completeness of data packets received and the time spent. The indicator signal is generated according to the signal quality. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached figures, wherein: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  illustrates an antenna aligning system according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  illustrates a test flow chart of a forward type of transmission quality of an antenna aligning system according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  illustrates the antenna aligning system according to another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  illustrates the antenna aligning system according to another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  illustrates a multiple antenna system according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the exemplary embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts have been exaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the disclosure. 
         [0017]    Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented. 
         [0018]    The term “coupled” is defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The connection may be such that the objects are permanently connected or releasably connected. The term “substantially” is defined to be essentially conforming to the particular dimension, shape, or other feature that the term modifies, such that the component need not be exact. The term “comprising,” when utilized, is “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in the so-described combination, group, series, and the like. References to “an” or “one” exemplary embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same exemplary embodiment, and such references mean “at least one.” 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  shows an antenna aligning system according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the antenna aligning system comprises a first wireless transceiver  100  and a second transceiver  110 . The first wireless transceiver  100  comprises a first antenna  101 , a first baseband transceiver  102 , and a first processor  103 . The first processor  103  comprises executable software that may generate data packets. The first baseband transceiver  102  transmits data packets through the first antenna  101  (via intermediate function blocks such as modulation, frequency-shifting and amplification, not shown in the  FIG. 1 ) to the second wireless transceiver  110 . The second wireless transceiver  110  comprises a second antenna  111 , a second baseband transceiver  112 , and a second processor  113 . The second baseband transceiver  112  receives the data packets from the first wireless transceiver  100  through the second antenna  111  (via intermediate function blocks such as demodulation, frequency-shifting, and amplification, not shown in the  FIG. 1 ). The second processor  113  comprises executable software that measures the signal quality according to the completeness of data packets received and the time spent. The first wireless transceiver  100  comprises an indicator  104  and the second wireless transceiver  110  comprises an indicator  114 . Taking this antenna alignment system as an example, the indicator  114  generates indicator signals according to the quality of signal quality. The installer orients the second antenna  111  according to the indicator signals. The second baseband transceiver  112  can also transmits the signal quality data back to the first wireless transceiver  100  through the second antenna  111 . The first baseband transceiver  102  receives the signal quality data through the first antenna  101 . The first processor  103  comprises executable software that may receive the signal quality data sent from the second antenna  111 . The indicator  104  of the first wireless transceiver  100  displays the signal quality and thereby the installer of the first wireless transceiver  100  can orients the first antenna  101  according to the indicator signals. The first antenna  101  can be oriented manually by an installer with the reference to the indicator  104 , or be dynamically oriented by a motor according to the link quality data. 
         [0020]    Strictly speaking, the above-mentioned transmission quality is based on the arrangement that the first wireless transceiver  100  transmits and the second wireless transceiver  110  receives the data packets (to be referred to as “forward” transmission quality). In general, if the designs of wireless transmission/receiving devices on two ends are of the same type, the electromagnetic wave characteristics to and from will be symmetrical and equivalent. The measurement arrangement in which the second wireless transceiver  110  transmits and the first wireless transceiver  100  receives (to be referred to as “reverse” transmission quality) will no longer be necessary. The task of antenna orientation of the two antennas  101  and  111  is therefore being completed. However, if the designs of the wireless transceivers differ in bandwidths, antenna types, modulation and demodulation mechanisms, furthermore if the forward and reverse electromagnetic waves differ in transmission, interference and reflection characteristics, the reverse transmission quality may also be of significant value and may also affect antenna orientation. The reverse transmission quality can be made available by the second wireless transceiver  110  transmitting data packets through the second antenna  111  to the first wireless transceiver  100 . The first wireless transceiver  100  measures the (reverse) transmission quality and generates indicator signal based on the transmission quality to instruct the installer to adjust the first antenna  101  and in turn transmits the reverse transmission quality to the second wireless transceiver  110  to assist the installer to adjust the orientation of the second antenna  111 . By repeated two-way adjustment, both forward and reverse paths are optimized for the transmission quality. 
         [0021]    The first antenna and the second antenna can be in any type, such as single polarized antenna, dipole antenna, loop antenna, slot antenna, microstrip antenna, and dish antenna, etc. Most antennas being used in long distance communication are directional. It is common that in doing installation, the installer will gradually adjust the antenna orientations toward the highest gain (the peak). In complicated installation environments, there can be reflection, interference and other factors, so that the peak in antenna gain may not necessarily be the orientation for optimal transmission quality and the best throughput. The indicator in this work is created according to the transmission quality, rather than peak gain, thus providing the installer with the most valuable assistance. The antenna can also be non-stationary. In this case dynamically orienting the antenna by using the motor would be more appropriate. 
         [0022]    There are two different approaches for testing signal quality. The first approach is using a fixed-sized data file. Some packets may be lost during radio waves transmission in the air because of the interference by noise. Modern chipset solutions include algorithms to retransmit the packets if they get lost, at the expense of spending more time in receiving the complete set of packets. In this case signal quality (in terms of Mbps) is being measured by transmitting rate and the time spent to receive the complete set of packets in that fixed-sized data file. The other approach is to transmit a continuous, fixed-rate data stream. Because of the interference by noise, some packets will be lost. Modern chipset solutions include algorithms to retransmit which reduce the effectiveness of the data flow if the interference is severe. In this case the signal quality is being calculated by successful data being received per unit time. 
         [0023]    The indicator may be any kind of indicator for human sense, such as the display embedded in the wireless transceiver, the light indication by an array of LEDs, the frequency of a mechanical vibration, volume or pitch of a buzzer, or an application installed on a smart phone to provide a graphical display (such as a rotating needle). 
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart showing how to carry out a (forward) transmission quality test in an antenna aligning system according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in  FIG. 2 , in step S 1 , data packets are transmitted from the first antenna  101  of the first wireless transceiver  100  to the second wireless transceiver  110 . The data packets may be a fixed-sized data file or a continuous, fixed-rate data stream. In step S 2 , the second wireless transceiver  110  measures the signal quality. In step S 3 , the second wireless transceiver  110  generates an indicator signal according to the signal quality. In step S 4 , the installer orients the second antenna for better transmission quality according to the indicator. In step S 5 , the second baseband transceiver  112  transmits the signal quality data back to the first wireless transceiver  100 . The first baseband transceiver  102  receives the signal quality data by using the first antenna  101 . The first processor  103  comprises the executable software that receives the transmission quality from the second antenna  111 . In step S 6 , the indicator  104  of first wireless transceiver  100  generates the indicator signal according to the signal quality. In step S 7 , the indicator  104  of the first wireless transceiver  100  assists the installer how the antenna should be oriented. 
         [0025]      FIG. 3  shows an antenna aligning system according to another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. This disclosure applies the aforementioned antenna aligning principle to a scenario where a wireless device (in a role of an Access Point or AP) is to provide radio services to multiple wireless devices (in the roles of clients to the AP). As shown in  FIG. 3 , the antenna system comprises a first wireless transceiver and a plurality of second wireless transceivers. The first wireless transceiver is an access point  300  and the plurality of second wireless transceivers are a plurality of clients  310 . Both the access point  300  and the clients  310  include implicit function blocks such as frequency shifting, amplification, and modulation/demodulation baseband (not shown for clarity). The access point  300  comprises an antenna  301 , a baseband transceiver  302 , a processor  303 , and an indicator  304 . The clients  310  may be smart mobile devices that link to the same access point  300 . Each of the clients  310  comprises an antenna  311 , a baseband transceiver  312 , a processor  313 , and an indicator  314 . 
         [0026]    The processor  303  in the AP comprises executable software that generates the data packets. The data packets are transmitted by the baseband transceiver  302  and the antenna  301 , and received by the antenna  311  and then the baseband transceiver  312 . The processor  313  of the client  310  comprises executable software that measures the signal quality according to the completeness of the data packets received and the time spent. The indicator  314  of the client may be user interface of the smart mobile devices. User may adjust the orientation of the antenna  311  of the smart device according to the indicator signal, or adjust the antenna  311  by application software automatically. The signal quality data can further be transmitted back to the access point  300 , to create a display on the indicator. The indication can either be from the embedded indicator  304  or from the client&#39;s user interface. The antenna orientation is adjusted according to the indicator signal to improve the signal quality from the access point  300  to the clients  310 . Furthermore, the access point  300  may serve a plurality of clients  310  in the field. Each of the plurality of clients  310  is located at different locations with different radio transmission paths in differentiated obstructions, reflections and interferences to the access point  300 . The processor  303  of the access point  300  can generate a composite indicator signal according to signal qualities from those clients  310 , preferably weighted according to locations of the clients. The installer adjusts the direction of the antenna  301  according to the composite indicator signal. The plurality of clients in the same field thus may have the same level of signal quality or have differentiated signal qualities according to the importance of different locations. 
         [0027]      FIG. 4  shows an antenna aligning system according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. Assume that one of client devices connected to the wireless transceiver  400  has the capability to generate the test data packets. Also assume that another client device has the capability to measure the signal quality according to the completeness of the received data packets and the time spent. In this case, the wireless transceiver  400  can further be simplified. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the antenna system comprises the wireless transceiver  400 , a first client  410  and a second client  420 . Both the wireless transceiver  400  and the second client  420  include implicit function blocks such as frequency shifting, amplification, and modulation/demodulation baseband (not shown for clarity). The first client  410  may be a wired or wireless device. The wireless transceiver  400  comprises an antenna  401 , a baseband transceiver  402 , and a processor  403 . The first client  410  and the second client  420  may be smart mobile devices. The first client  410  comprises an antenna  411 , a baseband transceiver  412 , a processor  413 , and an indicator  414 . The second client  420  comprises an antenna  421 , a baseband transceiver  422 , a processor  423 , and an indicator  424 . 
         [0028]    The first client  410  in intended to be located near the wireless transceiver  400 . The first client  410  is used as an assistance tool to help the installer adjust the orientation of the antenna  401 . The processor  413  of the first client  410  comprises executable software for generating data packets. The data packets are transmitted to the wireless transceiver  400  via the antenna  411 , or a cable if the link to the wireless transceiver  400  is made wired (not shown in  FIG. 4 ). The wireless transceiver  400  acts as a relay between the first client  410  and the second client  420 . The wireless transceiver  400  transmits the received data packets to the second client  420 . The processor  423  of the second client  420  comprises executable software that measures the signal quality according to the completeness of received data packets and the time spent. The indicator  424  of the second client is the user interface provided by the application of the smart mobile devices. The user may adjust the antenna  421  of the second client according to the indicator signal, or adjust the antenna  421  by an application automatically. The processor  413  can generates the indicator signals according to the signal quality feedback from the second client  420  via the wireless transceiver  400 . Possibly being a smart mobile devices, the indicator  414  of the first client  410  acts as the installer&#39;s user interface. Since the first client  410  is nearby the wireless transceiver  400 , the installer orients the antenna  401  according to the indicator signal provided by the indicator  414 . The antenna direction is adjusted according to the indicator signal to improve the signal quality from the wireless transceiver  400  to the second clients  420 . Since smart mobile devices are widely available, the wireless transceiver  400  just needs to connect to one smart mobile device nearby (such as the first client  410 ), to exempt the need of an embedded processor or executable software to generate the test data packets. The first client  410  takes over the role of a processor with executable software, simplifying the function of the wireless transceiver  400 . The processor  403  of the wireless transceiver is only left with the function of relaying the data packets between the first client  410  and the second client  420 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 5  shows a multiple antenna system according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. The same principles as disclosed may also be used in a wireless device having multiple antennas (especially multi-input multi-output, MIMO, beam forming, or frequency multiplexing). As shown in  FIG. 5 , a multiple antenna system according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure comprises a first wireless transceiver  500  and a second wireless transceiver  510 . The first wireless transceiver  500  comprises a first antenna  501 A, a third antenna  501 B, a first baseband transceiver  502 , and a first processor  503 . The second wireless transceiver  510  comprises a second antenna  511 A, a fourth antenna  511 B, a second baseband transceiver  512 , and a second processor  513 . The first wireless transceiver  500  may comprise an indicator  504 , and the second wireless transceiver  510  may comprise an indicator  514 . 
         [0030]    The first wireless transceiver  500  uses the first antenna  501 A and the third antenna  501 B to communicate simultaneously with the second antenna  511 A and the fourth antenna  511 B of the second wireless transceiver  510 , using MIMO or beam forming communication technology. The first antenna  501 A or the third antenna  501 B also may communicate singularly with the second antenna  511 A or the fourth antenna  511 B, in making use of the skills of beam forming or frequency multiplexing. The operation of MIMO, beam forming, or frequency multiplexing are being processed by the first processor  503  and the second processor  513 , in an independent or coordinated effort. The first processor  503  comprises executable software to generate the data packets for MIMO, beam forming, or frequency multiplexing. The second processor  513  comprises executable software to assess the signal quality according to the completeness of receiving data packets and the time spent. The indicator  504  of the first wireless transceiver  500  assists the installer to find the optimal the orientations of the first antenna  501 A and the third antenna  501 B according to the signal quality, to improve the signal quality from the first wireless transceiver  500  to the second transceiver  510 . Algorithms of MIMO or beam-forming antenna already have the capability of self-adjusting to the best bandwidth or the strongest signal in a complicated terrain with electromagnetic wave reflections. If the installer can pre-adjust the orientations of the antennas according to aforementioned procedure as general baseline antenna orientations, MIMO or beam-forming mechanism can further improve the coverage dynamically for time-varying environment changes. This way the optimizations are multiplied. 
         [0031]    The exemplary embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Therefore, many such details of the art are neither shown nor described. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in the detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present disclosure, up to and including the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims. It will therefore be appreciated that the exemplary embodiments described above may be modified within the scope of the claims.