Method and System for Implementing a Single Weight Spatial Multiplexing (SM) MIMO System

Abstract

Certain aspects of the method may comprise generating at least one control signal that may be utilized to control at least a first of a plurality of received spatially multiplexed communication signals. An amplitude and/or phase of the first received spatially multiplexed communication signal may be adjusted via the generated control signal so that the amplitude and/or phase of the first received spatially multiplexed communication signal may be equivalent to an amplitude and/or phase of a second received spatially multiplexed communication signal. The amplitude of the first received spatially multiplexed communication signal is adjusted within the processing path used to process the first received spatially multiplexed communication signal.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 adjusting a phase of a first spatially multiplexed communication signal so that the phase of the first spatially multiplexed communication signal is equivalent to a phase of a second spatially multiplexed communication signal;   combining the first and second spatially multiplexed communication signals to form a combined spatially multiplexed communication signal; and   generating a control signal based on the combined communication signal.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising generating a channel estimate using the first and second spatially multiplexed communication signals. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the phase of the first spatially multiplexed communication signal is adjusted based on the generated channel estimate. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising continuously adjusting the phase do the first spatially multiplexed communication signal. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the phase of the first spatially multiplexed communication signal at discrete intervals. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adjusting an amplitude of the first spatially multiplexed communication signal to be equivalent to the amplitude of the second spatially multiplexed communication signal. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the channel estimate is also based on a third spatially multiplexed communication signal. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving a plurality of spatially multiplexed communication signals. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the channel estimate is a baseband combined channel estimate for the plurality of spatially multiplexed communication signals. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control signal is generated utilizing an optimization algorithm comprising at least one of a maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) algorithm, a maximum signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) algorithm, and a minimum bit error rate (BER) algorithm. 
     
     
         11 . A system, comprising:
 one or more processors and/or circuits configured to:
 adjust a phase of a first spatially multiplexed communication signal so that the phase of the first spatially multiplexed communication signal is equivalent to a phase of a second spatially multiplexed communication signal; 
 combine the first and second spatially multiplexed communication signals to form a combined spatially multiplexed communication signal; and 
 generate a control signal based on the combined communication signal. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to generate a channel estimate using the first and second spatially multiplexed communication signals. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to adjust the phase of the first spatially multiplexed communication signal is based on the generated channel estimate. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to continuously adjust the phase do the first spatially multiplexed communication signal. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to adjust the phase of the first spatially multiplexed communication signal at discrete intervals. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to further adjust an amplitude of the first spatially multiplexed communication signal to be equivalent to the amplitude of the second spatially multiplexed communication signal. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to generate the channel estimate based on a third spatially multiplexed communication signal. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to receive a plurality of spatially multiplexed communication signals. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to generate the channel estimate as a baseband combined channel estimate for the plurality of spatially multiplexed communication signals. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium configured to store computer instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform steps comprising:
 adjusting a phase of a first spatially multiplexed communication signal so that the phase of the first spatially multiplexed communication signal is equivalent to a phase of a second spatially multiplexed communication signal;   combining the first and second spatially multiplexed communication signals to form a combined spatially multiplexed communication signal; and   generating a control signal based on the combined communication signal.