Method of determining the direction of arrival of a radio signal, as well as radio base station and radiocommunications system

US6008759A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• ALCATEL · FR

Inventors

• Michael Tangemann · Leonberg, DE
• Cornelis Hoek · Stuttgart, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 4, 1998
• Grant date: Dec 28, 1999
• Expiry date: Dec 4, 2018

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01S3/043
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

The determination of the direction of arrival of a radio signal by an antenna array connected to a base station of a radiocommunications system, particularly of an SDMA (Space Division Multiple Access) mobile radio system, is complicated by multipath. A method is known which uses the so-called ESPRIT algorithm and which is especially suited for a reliable estimation of direction, since the receive level (Sm) and the phase position (.phi.m) are measured for each radiating element and entered in a symmetrical matrix (A) in order to then determine the direction of arrival by eigenvalue decomposition. A simpler and faster method (100) is proposed which involves computing the eigenvector (Wn) corresponding to the dominant eigenvalue (.lambda.1) of this matrix (A), which indicates the direction of arrival (DOA) of the strongest radio signal (S) (steps 130 and 140). The computationally intensive eigenvalue decomposition is eliminated.