Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that dynamically allocates communication streams to provide flexible bandwidth to terminals of a communications system. In one embodiment the invention includes identifying a first terminal and a second terminal to each other for the communication of traffic over at least one of multiple streams; and dynamically allocating and de-allocating further streams based on the traffic to be carried and the traffic capacity of opened streams between the first and the second terminals. The invention may further include comparing traffic to be carried between the first terminal and the second terminal to the capacity of any open streams between the first terminal and the second terminal and allocating or de-allocating at least one stream based on the comparison.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that generate, transmit, or receive a training sequence in a communications system, where the training sequence exhibits certain desirable characteristics when used by a peak to average power constrained modulation formal. In one embodiment, the invention includes selecting an original training sequence from a set of possible original training sequences having at least one desired property, forming a modified training sequence by modifying the original training sequence based on a corresponding modifying sequence, such that the modified training sequence exhibits the desired property of the original training sequence when used in a peak to average power constrained modulation format that would otherwise impair the desired property of the original training sequence.

Abstract: A wireless communication system includes base stations with adaptive antenna arrays that communicate with remote communication devices. The base stations monitor the power of uplink signals received from user terminals, and generate a downlink array pattern that directs signals toward desired users and directs nulls toward undesired users. A base station will increase the strength of the downlink signals directed to a desired user from which it senses an increasing uplink signal power and will deepen the null directed to an undesired user from which it senses an increasing uplink signal power. The remote devices monitor the quality of downlink signals they receive and increase the power of the uplink signal they transmit in order to improve received downlink signal quality.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that allows beamforming to be used on a user-specific signal together with a sector-wide pilot signal in a communication system, such as a CDMA system. In one embodiment, the invention includes a plurality of elements in a defined order to transmit spatially directed signals to specific receiving radio terminals, and a single element, substantially in the center of the ordering to transmit a single pilot signal simultaneously to a plurality of receiving radio terminals.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that quickly and efficiently closes a stream between two communicating terminals that use repeating time slots in a time division channel. In one embodiment, the invention includes sending a closing message in a first slot from the first terminal to the second terminal to request that the communications stream be closed, listening to the communications stream at the first terminal to determine whether any messages are sent from the second terminal to the first terminal in a slot after the first slot, and closing the stream, if no further messages are received from the second terminal.

Abstract: The present invention is a method for operating a base station (BS) for transmitting information to a subscriber unit (SU) in a cellular communication system. The information is included in a downlink signal sent from a signal processing circuit through an array of antennae. The processing depends on a weight set that is utilized in generating individual signals to be sent on individual antennae in the array to the SU. The weight set is determined by transmitting a plurality of pilot downlink signals from BS to the SU, each pilot downlink signal being processed with a different weight set than that used to process the other pilot downlink signals. Report signals are received for each of the pilot downlink signals and are compared to determine which weight set should be utilized. The present invention may be practiced within existing CDMA cellular standards such as the IS-95 standard.

Abstract: The present invention allows a radio receiver or a transmitter, with a plurality of antennas configured into an array, to be calibrated. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving a plurality of signals from a plurality of remote transmitters at the antenna array, sampling the signals received at at least two antennas of the array, computing a relative phase and amplitude of the sampled signals for each antenna, and computing calibration coefficients based on the relative phase and amplitude for the plurality of sampled signals from the plurality of remote transmitters for each antenna.

Abstract: A method, communication apparatus, and machine-readable medium to transmit a downlink signal in a substantially non directional manner from a first communication station of a communication system on a first downlink conventional channel. The first communication station includes a smart antenna system having a plurality of antenna elements. The method includes providing a first set of sequential time intervals for the communication device for communication with its remote communication devices. One or more remote communication devices of the communication system known to the first communication station to be undesired remote communication devices transmit a signal on a first uplink conventional channel. The signals transmitted are received. In one version, they are received at the first communication station, and in another version, by another communication station of the communication system.

Abstract: A system and related methods for clustering multi-point communication targets is presented. According to one aspect of the invention, a method comprising measuring one or more performance characteristics associated for each of at least a subset of a plurality of targets in a wireless communication system, and selectively building one or more clusters, each cluster including one or more target(s) and sharing a wireless communication channel, based at least in part on the performance characteristics.

Abstract: Calibration signals can be sent on a traffic channel without interrupting a connection between two radios. In one embodiment, the present invention includes receiving, at a second radio, a first traffic signal transmitted on a traffic channel by a first radio during a first time interval, receiving, at the second radio, a calibration signal transmitted on the traffic channel by the first radio during a second time interval, and receiving, at the second radio, a second traffic signal transmitted on the traffic channel by the first radio during a third time interval, wherein the traffic channel supports a connection between the first and second radios.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the present invention can be used to correct one more error in an extended codeword encoded with a block code and a single parity check code than the block code is able to correct. In one embodiment, a communications device includes a decoder that has a soft decoder to receive an extended codeword and a strength of each bit of the extended codeword, and to produce a codeword by soft decoding the extended codeword using the received strengths, and a block decoder coupled to the soft decoder to produce a corrected codeword by block decoding the codeword using an error correcting block code.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that a highly efficient broadcast channel that can be shared among many different base stations. In one embodiment, the invention includes a broadcast channel structure with a first burst having a first reuse factor, a plurality of secondary bursts having a second reuse factor greater than the first reuse factor, and a plurality of segments of each secondary burst, each segment being associated with a different set of unchanging spatial parameters, each secondary burst including at least one repetition of the plurality of segments.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that can combine the benefits of beamforming with transmit diversity. In one embodiment, the invention includes sampling a signal received from a remote radio at elements of an antenna array, deriving spatial parameters for transmitting a signal to the remote radio from an antenna array, sampling the signal received from the remote radio at elements of at least one additional antenna array, and deriving spatial parameters for transmitting a signal to the remote radio from the at least one additional antenna array. The invention further includes generating diversity parameters for transmitting a signal to the remote radio using each antenna array as an element of a diversity array, and transmitting a signal to the remote radio using the spatial parameters and the diversity parameters.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for adaptively producing transmitted signals and processing received signals in a communication system which includes smart antenna array of antenna elements. When processing received signals, the invention modifies an existing processing scheme by incorporating information about a second set of signals for which training or other characteristic information such as a reference is unknown to information about a first set of signals for which characteristic information such as a reference is known, prior to executing the processing scheme. This approach can be used to modify the receive weights which determine the relative weight assigned to the signals received from each of a plurality of antenna elements to take into account the presence of a changing interference environment.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for mitigating co-channel and inter-channel interference in an antenna array system. It is determined by a base station or other transmitter employing an antenna array that transmission of at least a first downlink signal will generate a co-channel or inter-channel ghost signal at at least one location that may be susceptible to such ghost signal (e.g., as interference). As such, a weight to be applied to the at least first downlink signal is adjusted to reduce mitigate the undesirable effect of the ghost signal at the location before transmission of the at least first downlink signal.

Abstract: In one embodiment of the present invention, a receiver can only properly receive signals that were intended for the receiver because the data descrambling depends on the identity of the receiver. In one embodiment, the invention is a communication device including a data source containing data to be transmitted to a remote radio, and a randomizer to scramble the data using an identifier related to the remote radio. In one embodiment, at least a part of the identifier related to the remote radio is used as at least part of a seed of the randomizer.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the present invention can be used to correct one more error in an extended codeword encoded with a block code and a single parity check code than the block code is able to correct. In one embodiment, a communications device includes a decoder that has a soft decoder to receive an extended codeword and a strength of each bit of the extended codeword, and to produce a codeword by soft decoding the extended codeword using the received strengths, and a block decoder coupled to the soft decoder to produce a corrected codeword by block decoding the codeword using an error correcting block code.

Abstract: A method, communication device, and machine-readable medium. The method includes sending a first poll from a first base station having a smart antenna system to a first user terminal. The first base station receives a first uplink response signal from the first user terminal as a result of the first user terminal successfully receiving the first poll. The first base station also receives at least one other uplink response signals as a result of at least one other remote user terminal successfully receiving a second poll from a second base station. The first base station transmits downlink data to the first user terminal using a downlink smart antenna processing strategy for transmitting to the first user terminal, including mitigating interference to the first and one or more other remote communication devices from which the first base station received a first or other uplink response signal and that may be receiving during transmission of downlink data to the first user terminal.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that determine group delay for a set of transmit or receive chains over a wide frequency band without causing significant interference with simultaneous users of the system. In one embodiment, the invention includes an antenna array adapted to transmit and receive radio communications signals with a plurality of other terminals, the communications signals each using a particular minimum bandwidth, a transmit chain to transmit a calibration signal through the antenna array to a transponder on at least two different frequency bands within the minimum bandwidth, and a receive chain to receive through the antenna array a transponder signal from the transponder, the transponder signal being received on at least two different frequency bands and being based on the calibration signal. A signal processor determines a frequency dependent calibration vector based on the at least two frequency bands of the transponder signal as received through the receive chain.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for distinguishing between two or more signals, each associated with a particular remote user terminal, in a shared-channel wireless communication system. A communication device, for example, a base station, causes an offset (e.g., a time and/or a frequency offset) between the transmission of first and second uplink signals that simultaneously occupy the same channel and that are transmitted by first and second remote user terminals, respectively. According to one aspect of the invention, the offset is relatively small enough such that the first and second uplink signals remain within the same channel, but relatively large enough such that based on the offset, the communication device may identify that the first uplink signal is associated with the first remote user terminal.