Patent ID: 8116822

Claim:
A multi-carrier antenna system for cellular communication and broadcasting in a plurality of transmission modes within a geographic area divided into a plurality of cells, the multi-carrier antenna system comprising: a plurality of antennas, wherein each of the antennas is capable of generating a beam pattern that may be adjusted in azimuth and elevation for purposes of transmitting signals to mobile devices; a signal distribution network coupled to the plurality of antennas, the signal distribution network enabling a plurality of input signals to be routed to one or more of the plurality of antennas; and a controller coupled to the signal distribution network and the plurality of antennas, the controller enabling the multi-carrier antenna system to be switched between a first mode of operation wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas has a first beam pattern with a first azimuth pattern and a first elevation pattern, and a second mode of operation wherein the at least one of the plurality of antennas has a second beam pattern with a second azimuth pattern and a second elevation pattern; wherein a transition period is inserted between transmissions to mobile devices to provide sufficient time to switch from the first mode of operation to the second mode of operation; wherein the switch from the first mode of operation to the second mode of operation takes place between OFDM symbols in the transmissions so that at least a portion of a cyclic prefix or a cyclic postfix can be used for the transition period; and wherein the first beam pattern is different than the second beam pattern in either an azimuth pattern or an elevation pattern.