Patent ID: 7489282

Claim:
An antenna module that provides a plurality of virtual sectors for servicing a wireless device, the antenna module comprising: a first antenna having a first coverage area; a second antenna having a second coverage area; a third antenna having a third coverage area; and a shield that shapes the first, the second, and the third coverage areas in such a way that a first portion of the first coverage area overlaps a first portion of the second coverage area thereby forming a first virtual sector; a first portion the third coverage area overlaps a second portion of the first coverage area thereby forming a second virtual sector; a second portion of the third coverage area overlaps a second portion of the second coverage area thereby forming a third virtual sector; wherein: at a majority of positions around the antenna module, at least two of the three antennas service the wireless device; the first and the second portion of any one coverage area do not overlap; within any one virtual sector, the wireless device can receive service from either of the two antennas that form the virtual sector; the first, second, and third antennas are assigned a first, a second, and a third channel respectively; and the first, the second, and the third channels are different from each other.