| US 7,525,493 B2 | ||
| Adaptive antenna apparatus including a plurality sets of partial array antennas having different directivities | ||
| Hiroshi Iwai, Osaka (Japan); Atsushi Yamamoto, Kyoto (Japan); and Tsutomu Sakata, Osaka (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Panasonic Corporation, Osaka (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Aug. 30, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/896,252. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2006-235386 (JP), filed on Aug. 31, 2006. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2008/0068271 A1, Mar. 20, 2008 | ||
| Int. Cl. H01Q 1/24 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 343—702 [343/853; 343/876; 455/132] | 8 Claims |

| 1. An adaptive antenna apparatus for receiving a radio frequency signal, said adaptive antenna apparatus comprising:
a plurality of receiving circuits, said plurality of receiving circuits being M in number, each of said plurality of receiving
circuits configured to adjust at least one of an amplitude and a phase of a received signal and to output an adjusted received
signal;
a plurality of antenna elements configured to receive a radio frequency signal, said plurality of antenna elements being N
in number, the number N being greater than the number M, said plurality of antenna elements constituting a plurality of sets
of partial array antennas, each set of partial array antennas including M antenna elements of said plurality of antenna elements;
an antenna switching circuit configured to connect M antenna elements of said plurality of antenna elements to respective
receiving circuits of said plurality of receiving circuits;
a combiner configured to combine M adjusted received signals outputted from respective receiving circuits of said plurality
of receiving circuits into a combined received signal;
a signal quality determination circuit configured to determine signal quality including a CNR (Carrier to Noise Ratio) of
the combined received signal; and
a controller configured to control said antenna switching circuit, configured to adaptively control said plurality of receiving
circuits so as to form a radiation pattern with a beam in a direction of a desired wave and nulls in directions of interference
waves, and configured to cause said antenna switching circuit to connect M antenna elements of said plurality of antenna elements
included in one set of partial array antennas of said plurality of sets of partial array antennas to respective receiving
circuits of said plurality of receiving circuits,
wherein said plurality of antenna elements is disposed so that for any first set of partial array antennas of said plurality
of sets of partial array antennas, and for any second set of partial array antennas of said plurality of sets of partial array
antennas different from said first set of partial array antennas, there is a first line defined by feeding points of two antenna
elements of said first set of partial array antennas and a second line defined by feeding points of two antenna elements of
said second set of partial array antennas such that the first line and the second line are not parallel,
wherein said controller is further configured to cause, when the CNR is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold
value, a signal from one receiving circuit of said plurality of receiving circuits to be outputted directly to said signal
quality determination circuit, and the adjusted received signals from other receiving circuits of said plurality of receiving
circuits to be attenuated, and
wherein said controller is further configured to control said antenna switching circuit, when the CNR is smaller than the
predetermined threshold value and based on signal strengths of the adjusted received signals, to connect M antenna elements
of said plurality of antenna elements included in one set of partial array antennas of said plurality of sets of partial array
antennas to respective receiving circuits of said plurality of receiving circuits so as to improve the signal quality.
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