KR20030058265A - Apparatus of tranceiver for beam-forming and estimating the direction of arrival - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A transmitting/receiving apparatus of a base station for estimating a beam steering and radio wave arrival angle is provided to facilitate a direction detection and beam forming by weighting an amplitude and a phase at an intermediate frequency domain and allowing plural transceivers to have the same transfer characteristics. CONSTITUTION: A local oscillating unit(211) is branched to be applied to each transmitter and receiver to remove a phase change between the transmitter and receiver. A reference transmitter(208) and a reference receiver(209) have the same construction as that of the transmitter(203) and the receiver(202). The local oscillating unit(211) includes a transmitting local oscillator(212) and a receiving local oscillator(213). The same test signals are applied to the reference transmitter and receiver(208,209) and the transmitter and receiver(202,203) during a correction time, and if transfer function characteristics are the same, the result of applying of the same test signal should be the same, for which feedback circuits are provided to make the transfer function characteristics be the same. After the correction time is terminated, the value is stored in memory units and the same result is applied to each transmitter and receiver, thereby removing non-uniformity between the transfer functions due to the different between components. The receiver(202) converts an RF(Radio Frequency) signal received through an antenna(201) into an IF(Intermediate Frequency) signal and transfers it to a weight balancer(204). The transmitter(203) forms transmission beam according to the IF signal weighted by a weight balancer(205) and radiates it through the antenna(201).

Description

Apparatus of tranceiver for beam-forming and estimating the direction of arrival}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transmitting and receiving apparatus of a base station. In particular, a signal received through each antenna element is shifted from a center frequency of a signal to an intermediate frequency region and then weighted in amplitude and phase in the shifted intermediate frequency region. The present invention relates to a base transceiver station for beam steering and propagation angle estimation, which facilitates direction detection and beam formation with a simple structure by allowing a plurality of transceivers behind an antenna element to have the same transmission characteristics.

1 is a block diagram of a transceiver of a base station having a conventional phased array antenna.

In a conventional transceiver system of a base station having a phased array antenna, in order to avoid the difficulty of manufacturing the same RF transceiver, as shown in the figure, one RF transceiver (13, 14) is used and branched to several RF weighting method was used. That is, in the conventional phased array antenna, the phase and the amplitude of the signal received from the phased array antenna 11 composed of several antennas are adjusted and sent to one receiver 14, or the phase and amplitude of the signal to be transmitted are adjusted to the antenna It is used for the beam formation of the.

With the above configuration, by adjusting the weight using a phase shifter and a voltage variable attenuator at radio frequency (RF), the configuration of the same RF transceiver can be avoided and also during transmission Although there is no problem in beam steering, there is a problem in that it is impossible to estimate the propagation angle of the subscribers from the received signal since the signals combined from the respective antennas appear as intermediate frequency outputs.

That is, in the case of the received radio wave, since it is weighted by the weighting regulator 12 and then combined immediately and processed, there is a problem in that it is difficult to grasp information on the location and distribution of the subscriber.

On the other hand, in case of using a method of receiving signals with each transceiver for each antenna for estimating propagation angle as well as beam steering, due to the characteristic difference between components and the phase difference of the local oscillator used in each transceiver, There is a problem in that the transmission characteristics of the transceivers (ie, transmission function characteristics) are different from each other.

The RF transceiver configuration in the above-described conventional methods is focused on being used in a phased array antenna or an adaptive antenna for beamforming, and thus, it is not possible to simultaneously predict the angle of arrival and the beamforming. There was this.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and by shifting the center frequency of the signal received through each antenna element to the intermediate frequency region, weighting the amplitude and phase in the shifted intermediate frequency region To provide a base transceiver station for beam steering and propagation angle estimation, which facilitates direction detection and beam formation with a simple structure by weighting and allowing a plurality of transceivers behind an antenna element to have the same transmission characteristics. There is this.

1 is a block diagram of a transceiver of a base station having a conventional phased array antenna.

2 is a temporary configuration diagram of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver of a base station for beam steering and propagation angle estimation according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a detailed configuration diagram of one embodiment of the equalized receiver of Figure 2 according to the present invention.

4 is a detailed diagram of one embodiment of the equalized transmitter of FIG. 2 in accordance with the present invention;

* Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings

200: phased array antenna 202: equalized receiver

203: equalized transmitter 204, 205: weight regulator

206: reference signal generator 207, 210: test RF / IF signal generator

208, 209: reference transmitter / receiver 211: local oscillator

212: transmitting local oscillator 213: receiving local oscillator

301, 401: switch 302, 402: transmitter / receiver

304, 404: feedback circuit 305, 405: memory

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transceiver of a base station having a plurality of antenna elements, comprising: transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving a signal to each antenna element; Reference transmission and reception means for providing a transmission characteristic as a reference to the transmission and reception means; Test signal generation means for generating and applying the same test signal to each of the transmission and reception means and the respective reference transmission and reception means; Local oscillation means for applying a local oscillation signal to each of the transmission and reception means and the respective reference transmission and reception means so as to convert a center frequency of the transmission and reception signal; The difference between the output of the transmission / reception means and the output of the reference transmission / reception means to which the same test signal is applied is input, so that the transmission characteristics of the transmission / reception means and the reference transmission / reception means are the same for a predetermined correction time. Feedback means for adjusting phase and amplitude; Storage means for storing, by the feedback means, adjustment values of phase and amplitude such that the transmission characteristics of the transmission and reception means and the reference transmission and reception means are the same; Switching means for connecting said transmission / reception means and said feedback means during said predetermined correction time, and connecting said transmission / reception means and said storage means such that said stored adjustment value is applied to said transmission / reception means after said predetermined correction time has elapsed. It includes.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a temporary configuration diagram of an RF transceiver of a base station for beam steering and propagation angle estimation according to the present invention.

For convenience, in the figure, the receiver 202 is connected to all equalized receivers 202 directly without going through the reference receiver 208, or the receive (RX) local oscillator 213 is directly equalized. The connecting line connected to is omitted (see FIG. 3). Also, the test IF signal generator 210 is directly connected to all equalized transmitters 203 without going through the reference transmitter 209, or the transmit (TX) local oscillator 212 is directly connected to the equalized transmitter 203. The connecting line is also omitted (see FIG. 4).

The present invention relates to a multiple input multiple output antenna technique that is newly proposed as a capacity increasing method in an IMT-2000 system.

As shown in the figure, first, the local oscillator 211 necessary for the transceiver is separately configured, branched, and applied to each transceiver, thereby eliminating phase shift between the transceiver caused by the local oscillator 211, and also between the transmitter and the receiver. Reference transceivers 208 and 209 having the same structure are set aside to identify them with other transceivers 202 and 203. Here, the local oscillator 211 includes a transmit (TX) local oscillator 212 and a receive (RX) local oscillator 213.

That is, the same test signal is applied to the reference transceivers 208 and 209 and each of the transceivers 202 and 203 during the calibration time, and 302 and 402, and the same test signal should be the same when the transfer function characteristics are the same. Therefore, the feedback circuits 304 and 404 are provided so that the transfer characteristics (ie, transfer function characteristics) are the same.

After the correction time passes, the value is stored in memory 305 and 405, which is a storage device, and the same result is applied to each transceiver to remove the nonuniformity between the transfer functions due to the difference between components.

The receiver 202 precisely 302 converts a radio frequency (RF) signal received through the antenna 201 into an intermediate frequency (IF) signal and transmits it to the weight adjuster 204 for each of the receivers 202 (exactly 302). In addition, the transmitter 203 (exactly, 402) forms a transmission beam according to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal weighted by the weight adjuster 205 and emits it through the antenna 201.

3 is a detailed block diagram of an embodiment of the equalized receiver of FIG. 2 according to the present invention.

In order to ensure that all receivers corresponding to the number of antennas 200 have the same transfer function, the reference receiver 208 is set in the base station receiver, and the receive (RX) local oscillator 213 is a separate stable frequency source. Branch to supply to the reference receiver 208 and each receiver 302.

By doing this, the local oscillator 213 is made the same, and a separate calibration time is given to inject the same signal into the reference receiver 208 and the receiver 302, and then the feedback circuit 304 to produce the same output. ) And then lock it.

At this time, if the locked signal of the feedback circuit 304 is stored in the memory 305, which is a storage device, and then the radio wave is received using this value, the receivers 302 are in the same state. It is possible to estimate the propagation angle of the subscribers using the signal received from the receiver 302.

In the case of the receiver 302, first during the calibration time, the same test signal generated by the test RF signal generator 207 is input to the reference receiver 208 and the receiver 302, and the output of the receiver 302 and the reference receiver ( The difference 303 in the output of 208 adjusts the phase and amplitude of the receiver 302 via the feedback circuit 304. That is, the feedback circuit 304 inputs the difference 303 between the output of the receiver 302 to which the same test signal is applied and the output of the reference receiver 208, and the transceiver 302 and the reference receiver ( The phase and amplitude of the receiver 302 are adjusted so that the transfer characteristics of 208 are the same.

By doing so, the two receivers 208 and 302 have the same output characteristics. At this time, the value of adjusting the amplitude and phase of the receiver 302 is input to the memory 305, which is a memory device, and the correction time is completed. This value is then applied to the receiver 302 to have the same transfer function characteristics as the reference receiver 208. Here, the memory 305, which is a storage device, stores, by the feedback circuit 304, adjustment values of phase and amplitude that make the transfer characteristics of the receiver 302 and the reference receiver 208 the same.

The switch 301 connects the receiver 302 and the feedback circuit 304 during a constant calibration time by a switching operation, and after the constant calibration time passes, the stored adjustment value is applied to the receiver 302. The memory 305 is connected.

4 is a detailed block diagram of an embodiment of the equalized transmitter of FIG. 2 according to the present invention.

In the case of each transmitter, the transmission characteristics of the reference transmitter and the reference transmitter can be configured to be the same as those of the receiver.

That is, in the case of the transmitter 402, first during the calibration time, the same test signal generated by the test IF signal generator 210 is input to the reference transmitter 209 and the transmitter 402, and the output of the transmitter 402 and the reference The difference 403 in the output of the transmitter 209 adjusts the phase and amplitude of the transmitter 402 via the feedback circuit 404. That is, the feedback circuit 404 inputs the difference 403 between the output of the transmitter 402 and the output of the reference transmitter 209 to which the same test signal is applied, and thus, the transmitter 402 and the reference transmitter ( The phase and amplitude of the transmitter 402 are adjusted so that the transmission characteristics of 209 are the same.

By doing so, the two transmitters 209 and 402 have the same output characteristics. At this time, the values for adjusting the amplitude and phase of the transmitter 402 are input to the memory device 405. The value is applied to the transmitter 402 to have the same transfer function characteristics as the reference transmitter 209. Here, the memory 405, which is a storage device, stores adjustment values of phase and amplitude that make the transfer characteristics of the transmitter 402 and the reference transmitter 209 equal by the feedback circuit 404.

The switch 401 connects the transmitter 402 and the feedback circuit 404 during a constant correction time by a switching operation, and after the constant correction time elapses, the stored adjustment value is applied to the transmitter 402 and the transmitter 402. The memory 405 is connected.

In beam steering, the RF transmitter is locked in the same manner as the equalized receiver shown in FIG. 3, and the amplitude and phase of the signals of each antenna required for beam steering are adjusted at intermediate frequencies to obtain desired beam steering. do

This makes it possible to adjust the phase and amplitude of the signal in the mid-frequency range, making it easy to apply beamforming and angle of arrival measurements.

The present invention described above is capable of various substitutions, modifications, and changes without departing from the spirit of the present invention for those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, and the above-described embodiments and accompanying It is not limited by the drawings.

As described above, the present invention enables both the beam steering and propagation angle estimation of the base station in the IMT2000 system, thereby increasing the capacity by the spatial division technique.

In addition, the present invention makes it possible to weight the phase and the amplitude of the signal on the software (S / W) by allowing the signals received from the plurality of arranged antennas to be processed in the intermediate frequency region, and through the present development It is effective to know the location distribution of a plurality of subscribers using the direction detection algorithm.

Claims (5)

In the transceiver of a base station having a plurality of antenna elements, Transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving signals for each of the antenna elements; Reference transmission and reception means for providing a transmission characteristic as a reference to the transmission and reception means; Test signal generation means for generating and applying the same test signal to each of the transmission and reception means and the respective reference transmission and reception means; Local oscillation means for applying a local oscillation signal to each of the transmission and reception means and the respective reference transmission and reception means so as to convert a center frequency of the transmission and reception signal; The difference between the output of the transmission / reception means and the output of the reference transmission / reception means to which the same test signal is applied is input, so that the transmission characteristics of the transmission / reception means and the reference transmission / reception means are the same for a predetermined correction time. Feedback means for adjusting phase and amplitude; Storage means for storing, by the feedback means, adjustment values of phase and amplitude such that the transmission characteristics of the transmission and reception means and the reference transmission and reception means are the same; And Switching means for connecting the transmission / reception means and the feedback means during the predetermined correction time, and connecting the transmission / reception means and the storage means so that the stored adjustment value is applied to the transmission / reception means after the predetermined correction time has elapsed. Transmitting and receiving apparatus of a base station for beam steering and propagation angle estimation comprising a. The method of claim 1, The transmission means, Transmitting and receiving apparatus of a base station for beam steering and propagation angle estimation, characterized in that the transmission beam (beam) is formed according to the weighted intermediate frequency (IF) signal by the weight adjusting means and radiates through the antenna element . The method of claim 1, The receiving means, A base station for beam steering and propagation angle estimation, characterized in that for converting a radio frequency (RF) signal received through the antenna element into an intermediate frequency (IF) signal and transmitting it to a weight adjusting means for each of the receiving means. Transceiver. The method of claim 1, The transmitting and receiving means, And a transmitting means and a receiving means corresponding to the number of the antenna elements. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The test signal generating means, The same test intermediate frequency (IF) signal is applied to each of the transmitting means, and the same test radio frequency (RF) signal is applied to each of the receiving means. Transceiver.