Patent · US Expired

Measurement-based method of optimizing the placement of antennas in a RF distribution system

US5668562A · kind A · utility

229Cited by
6References
30Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 19, 1996
Grant dateSep 16, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 19, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01R29/10
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

The placement of repeater or base station antennas in an in-building or urban wireless RF communications network is optimized using field measurements. Test antennas are placed at a number of sites within the coverage area, and the signal from each test antenna is measured at different locations within the coverage area. The measurement allows the simulation of the coverage provided by different arrangements of antennas. An optimum arrangement can then be chosen. The optimum arrangement of antennas is chosen by maximizing a utility function that depends on the quality of the coverage within the area and on the cost of installing an arrangement. A database of architectural categories (building plans) and measurement results for each category is built by a method of the present invention. A new building is then matched to the closest component categories in the database, thus allowing the optimization of coverage in a coverage area without the measurement of signals from nest antennas in the new building.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.