Patent ID: 6842632

Claim:
Apparatus for a communication system the utilizes closed-loop transmit diversity and has a first communication station, a second communication station, and at least a third communication station, the first communication station and the third communication station selectably together for transmitting, at a first, first-station transmit antenna, at least a second first-station transmit antenna, and at least a first third-station transmit antenna, a communication signal to the second communication station, the communication signal weighted at a first weighting element associated with the first, first-station transmit antenna of the first communication station by a first antenna weight, the communication signal weighted at least at a second weighting element associated with the at least the second first-station transmit antenna of the first communication station with at least a second antenna weight, and the communication signal selectably weighted at least at a third weighting element associated with the first third-station transmit antenna of the third communication station, said apparatus for facilitating optimization of selection of the first, second, and at least third antenna weights, respectively, by which best to facilitate transmission of the communication signal to the second communication station, said apparatus comprising: a perturbation vector selector coupled to the first communication station and to the third communication station, said perturbation vector selector for selecting at least a first set of perturbation vector values to form at least a first selected perturbation vector, and a perturbation vector applicator coupled to said perturbation vector selector, said perturbation vector applicator for selecting application of the perturbation values forming the at least the first selected perturbation vector to the first and at least second weighting elements associated with the first and at least second first-station transmit antennas, respectively, of the first communication station and selectably further for selecting application of the perturbation values forming the at least the first perturbation vector to the third antenna weighting element associated with the first third-station transmit antenna, the perturbation values applied to the first, second, and, selectably, at least third weighting element at least in part determinative of the first and at least second antenna weights, and the communication signal, weighted by the first, second, and at least third antenna weights transmitted pursuant to the closed-loop transmit diversity.