EP1393478A4 - Procede et appareil de transport et de distribution d'informations - Google Patents

Procede et appareil de transport et de distribution d'informations

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Publication number
EP1393478A4
EP1393478A4 EP02731813A EP02731813A EP1393478A4 EP 1393478 A4 EP1393478 A4 EP 1393478A4 EP 02731813 A EP02731813 A EP 02731813A EP 02731813 A EP02731813 A EP 02731813A EP 1393478 A4 EP1393478 A4 EP 1393478A4
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
propagation medium
adapter
spectrum
information
end user
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP02731813A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP1393478A2 (fr
Inventor
Glenn Elmore
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Publication of EP1393478A2 publication Critical patent/EP1393478A2/fr
Publication of EP1393478A4 publication Critical patent/EP1393478A4/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
    • H04L12/2854—Wide area networks, e.g. public data networks
    • H04L12/2856—Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access
    • H04L12/2869—Operational details of access network equipments
    • H04L12/2898—Subscriber equipments
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/10—Adaptations for transmission by electrical cable
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B1/00—Details of transmission systems, not covered by a single one of groups H04B3/00 - H04B13/00; Details of transmission systems not characterised by the medium used for transmission
    • H04B1/69—Spread spectrum techniques

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to the field of wide-area information distribution and high speed data communications, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for information conveyance using electromagnetic carrier signals which provides a high capacity, economical solution to the "last mile problem".
  • CATV Community Access Television. Cable TV and similar broadband content systems
  • FDA Full Duplex Adapter, i.e., an adapter which permits simultaneous bidirectional information flow over a propagation medium
  • Half Duplex A type of operation over a medium designed for duplex operation but which can only be operated in one direction at a time because of the terminating equipment; the transmission facility permits full duplex operation but the terminating equipment does not allow simultaneous bidirectional communication;
  • HDA Half Duplex Adapter, i.e., an adapter which permits alternating bidirectional information flow over a propagation medium;
  • MBE Multi-Band Embodiment, i.e., a corridor utilizing more than a single spectral bandwidth (normally implemented as a means of supporting bi-directional information flow);
  • PMA Propagation Medium Adapter, viz., a device used to convert between different propagation media
  • SBE Single-Band Embodiment, a corridor utilizing only a single spectral bandwidth (normally requiring spatial isolation in order to support bi-directional information flow);
  • the high capacity conduits in these systems also tend to have in common the capacity to efficiently transfer the resource over a long distance. Only a small fraction of the resource transferred is either wasted, lost or misdirected. Typically, the same cannot always be said of the lower capacity conduits.
  • the TCP/IP suite of protocols was born out of the need to connect several of these LANs together, particularly as it related to common projects among the defense department, industry, and select academic institutions.
  • ARPANET the Advanced Research Projects Agency network of the U.S. Department of Defense
  • the TCP/IP protocols provided a standardized way for dissimilar computers and operating systems to exchange information over the inter-network.
  • the funding and support for the connections among LANs could be spread over one or even several LANs, and as each new LAN, or subnet, was added, the new subnet's constituents enjoyed access to the greater network.
  • a good solution to the last mile problem must have: (1) adequate signal power capacity; (2) high availability and reliability; (3) low latency (latency must be small compared to required interaction times); (4) high per-user capacity, i.e., a conduit which is shared among multiple end-users must provide a correspondingly higher capacity in order to support each individual user properly (this must be true for information transfer in each direction); and (5) affordability - suitable capacity must be economical.
  • Wired Systems (including dielectric guides) [0012] Wired systems provide guided conduits for ICE. They all have some degree of shielding, which limits the susceptibility to external noise sources. These transmission lines have losses which are proportional to length. Without the addition of periodic amplification, there is some maximum length beyond which all of these systems fail to deliver adequate S/N to support information flow.
  • LANs Traditional wired local area networking systems require copper coaxial cable or twisted pair to be run between or among the nodes in the network. Common systems operate at 10 Mbps and newer ones support up to 100 Mbps. While the maximum length is limited by collision detection and avoidance requirements, signal loss and reflections over these lines also set a maximum distance. The decrease in information capacity made available to an individual user is roughly proportional to the number of users sharing the system.
  • Telephone - Analog Analog modems for existing telephone lines have improved to the point that their performance is near the Shannon limit. They normally use existing copper telephone lines and equipment but information rate requirements have now exceeded this limit of around 56 kbps.
  • Telephone - ISDN, DSL, and derivatives In recent years, improvements have been made to existing copper telephone lines that have increased their capabilities if maximum line length is controlled. With support for higher transmission bandwidth and improved modulation, these digital schemes have increased capability 20-50 times that of the previous analog systems. Together with CATV, these systems currently provide the bulk of end-user broadband internet connections in the United States.
  • CATV Community Access Cable Television Systems, also known simply as "cable”, have been expanded to provide bidirectional communication over existing physical cables. However, by their heritage they are shared systems, and the spectrum available for reverse information flow and achievable S/N is limited. As was the case with the initial unidirectional (TV) communication, cable loss is mitigated through the periodic placement of amplifiers within the system. These factors set an upper limit on the per-user information capacity, particularly when there are many users sharing a common section of cable.
  • Optical Fiber Fiber is an excellent medium with respect to its information carrying capacity, but it has the drawback of being installed primarily at the large conduit level; as yet, it is not already installed and readily available to most individual end users. Fiber optic cable is generally laid underground in conduits, requiring a relatively expensive installation which is currently prohibitive for most individual users. Until this situation changes, other media must be utilized to economically solve the last mile problem.
  • Wireless Delivery Systems In contrast to wired delivery systems, wireless systems use unguided waves to transmit ICE. They all tend to be unshielded and have some degree of susceptibility to unwanted signal and noise sources. Because their waves are not guided, in free space these systems have attenuation which is inversely proportional to length squared. This means that losses increase more slowly with increasing length than for wired systems. In a freespace environment, beyond some length, the losses in a wireless system are less than those in a wired system. In practice, however, the presence of atmosphere and atmospheric disturbances, and especially obstructions caused by terrain, buildings and foliage, can greatly increase the loss over and above the free space value. Reflections, refraction and diffraction of these waves can also alter their transmission characteristics and require specialized systems to accommodate and correct the accompanying distortions.
  • Wireless systems have an advantage over wired systems in last mile applications in not requiring physical lines to be installed. However, they also have a disadvantage inasmuch as their unguided nature makes them more susceptible to unwanted noise and signals. Spectral reuse can therefore be limited.
  • Radio waves Radio frequencies (RF), from low frequencies through the microwave region, have much longer wavelengths than lightwaves.
  • wireless radio systems have the advantage of being useful for lower information capacity, broadcast communications over longer paths, while wireless lightwave systems are most useful for high information capacity, point-to-point, short range communications.
  • Two-Way Wireless Communications Two way communications systems have primarily been limited to lower information capacity applications, such as audio, facsimile or radio teletype. For the most part, higher capacity systems, such as two way video communications or terrestrial microwave telephone and date trunks, have been limited and confined to UHF or microwave and to point-point paths. Recent higher capacity systems such as third generation, 3G, cellular telephone systems require a large infrastructure of closely spaced cell sites in order to maintain communications within typical environments, where path losses are much greater than free space and which also require omnidirectional access by the users.
  • Satellite Communications For information delivery to end users, satellite systems, by nature, have relatively long path lengths, even for low altitude earth orbiting satellites. They are also very expensive to deploy and each satellite must serve many users. Additionally, the very long paths of geostationary satellites cause information latency that makes many real time applications impractical. Therefore, as a solution to the last mile problem satellite systems have application limitations. For instance, they must be broadcast, and the ICE they transmit must be spread over a relatively large geographical area. This causes the received signal to be functionally weak, unless very large, directional terrestrial antennas are used. A parallel problem exists when a satellite is receiving.
  • the satellite system must have a very great information capacity in order to accommodate a multitude of sharing users, and each user must have large antenna size, with attendant directivity and pointing requirements, in order to obtain even modest information rate transfer.
  • These requirements render high information capacity, bidirectional satellite information systems uneconomical as a solution to the last mile problem. This is a reason that the Iridium satellite system was unsuccessful.
  • broadcast "wireless mesh” systems also sometimes referred to as cells or microcells
  • cells or microcells which are small enough to provide adequate information distribution to and from a relatively small number of local users, require a prohibitively large number of broadcast locations or "points of presence” along with a large amount of excess capacity to make up for the wasted energy.
  • the method and apparatus for information conveyance and distribution of the present invention may be characterized as an information corridor. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information corridor that comprises a system combining a method and apparatus to bidirectionally focus or guide a wide spectrum or bandwidth of electromagnetic waves propagated over a possible variety of propagation media, including free space or wireless, surface wave and, cable or wired transmission lines.
  • the corridor consists of the region within and immediately adjacent to these media wherein information devices, which are not part of the corridor, may achieve electromagnetic access to one another.
  • a corridor is a linear system which maintains adequate signal to noise ratio and low distortion for a possible variety of different signal modulation and encoding types which it can simultaneously support as it serves to transparently permit communications.
  • transparent and “transparently” mean that from the end users' perspectives, the obstacles to communication with one another have been eliminated.
  • Spread spectrum techniques may be used within an information corridor to mitigate propagation medium distortions and impairments as well as to control access and provide a means for securing information within the corridor and for obtaining revenue.
  • An information corridor may include adapters to provide either full or half duplex access to the information devices which utilize it.
  • the information corridor of the present invention is an implemented and verified approach for improving layer one information capacity to the end user. It allows bi-directional transmission of large portions of spectrum, with significant signal/noise ratio, independent of modulation and protocol, over any combination of several available propagation media.
  • the corridor's information capacity is less than that of optical fiber, but it can be much greater than that of current wireless, cable, or phone line approaches. As such, it is an effective solution to the last mile problem.
  • Such a corridor consists of either a single propagation medium (PM), an example of which is shown in FIG. 1, or of a cascade of two or more such PM sections in which each PM is accessed with two or more Propagation Medium Adapters (PMAs), each of which couples energy to and/or from the PM.
  • PMAs Propagation Medium Adapters
  • An example of multiple sections is shown in FIG. 2.
  • multiple sections may be combined at a single juncture or node.
  • a section enhances the conveyance of information along itself and/or between its endpoints by propagating electromagnetic energy within one or more contiguous bandwidths of the electromagnetic spectrum (hereafter referred to as bandwidth), supporting substantial S/N in that bandwidth, between and/or among PMAs.
  • bandwidth contiguous bandwidths of the electromagnetic spectrum
  • Some corridors may support only half duplex information conveyance, but the preferred embodiments support simultaneous multi-directional information conveyance.
  • AMP additional devices providing amplification and/or filtering
  • Additional Full-Duplex Adapter devices may be included for multi- bandwidth embodiments (MBE).
  • MBE allow multiple bandwidths to be utilized to obtain directional separation and provide simultaneous multidirectional information conveyance over a PM.
  • Additional Half-Duplex Adapter devices HDAs may be included for multi- bandwidth embodiments not requiring simultaneous bidirectional communication.
  • Embodiments not using MBE and utilizing only a single bandwidth are referred to as single band embodiments (SBE).
  • Additional spread-spectrum circuits may be included in either MBE or SBE to provide spread spectrum (SS) modulation and demodulation to mitigate against narrow frequency domain propagation impairments such as multipath, reflections, or other imperfections which might be present in a PM.
  • SS spread spectrum
  • An information corridor is configured to enhance the conveyance of information among users' wireless devices (e.g., radio frequency and microwave communications devices) located at physically separate positions along and within the corridor by substantially increasing the information capacity of electro-magnetic information channels between and/or among wireless devices.
  • Wireless devices can include, but are not limited to, wireless networking adapters, personal data assistants, computers, audio and video communication systems, security equipment and "smart appliances," and systems such as Bluetooth devices. Wireless devices may incorporate either digital or analog modulation techniques, or both.
  • the information corridor of the present invention contributes to several complementary technologies, which can be used independently or synergistically.
  • the inventive information corridor can provide simultaneous support of multiple telecommunications services, including Internet/802.1 lx, GMS, police radio, traffic monitoring, stop-light control, and so on. It augments fiber-to-the-neighborhood with a true "last mile" solution, allowing the fiber to stop at a coarser level and economically distribute large amounts of information. It is adapted for use in mobile services, telephones, Internet access, and emergency communication services along rural roads and communities. It expands existing shorter-range systems to include multiple building and campus-wide environments (e.g., Bluetooth, 802.1 lx, etc.). It improves communications through tunnels in metropolitan areas (today's solutions are proprietary and service/protocol specific. Finally, it improves emergency communications in hilly regions with problems maintaining communications with a central radio tower, and for such an application it may be deployed on an as-need basis.
  • multiple telecommunications services including Internet/802.1 lx, GMS, police radio, traffic monitoring, stop-light control, and so on. It augments fiber-to-the
  • the information corridor of the present invention leverages existing facilities, including power lines, streetlight and utility poles, and cell sites, providing much more capacity than the current power line communication (PLC) techniques, and it does so at a lower cost. It exploits presently allocated and authorized domestic and international frequencies for all information-carrying services, though it embodies the capacity to include any part of the RF and microwave spectrum. Accordingly, it provides a temporary, and possibly permanent, economically advantageous solution to the problem of bringing fiber optic cable to the curb and to the home.
  • PLC power line communication
  • the inventive information corridor also provides an economical solution to the bandwidth over-subscription problems, including xDSL Internet access, over-subscribed orbital satellite communications services, and highly shared Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) back or forward data paths.
  • DOCSIS Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications
  • the inventive information corridor can have higher throughput than existing protocol-specific solutions. It does not require store&forward of information content, and it has no storage delays. It does not require demodulation re-modulation of information. It does not exhibit the hidden transmitter problem. Finally, it may incorporate spread-spectrum techniques to mitigate channel distortions and to provide a means for restricting corridor use to an intended (e.g., paying) customer base.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a section of the information corridor of the present invention, having a PMA at each end of the corridor connected to other PMAs, with or without intervening AMP, HD A/FDA or SS circuits;
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the inventive information corridor comprising three different PMs and including AMP and duplex adapter functions;
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an information corridor having several types of PMs, light and "heavy" PMA coupling;
  • FIG. 4 is a detailed schematic view of two interconnected freespace PMs;
  • FIG. 5 is a detailed schematic view of possible AMP and FDA blocks;
  • FIG. 6 is a detailed schematic view of a singlewire PMA, AMP, dual-band FDA, and
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic view of an information corridor with gateways for different types of services
  • FIG. 8 is a schematic view of separate information corridors merged at the physical layer to form a single, larger, corridor, as well as some gateway devices;
  • FIG. 9 is a schematic view of an information corridor implemented to distribute high capacity information services such as streaming audio, streaming video, internet access,
  • FIG. 10 is a schematic view of an information corridor implemented to distribute services for mobile users and providing coverage in and through tunnels and other closed spaces;
  • FIG. 11 is a schematic view of an information corridor distributing information services among urban office environments.
  • FIG. 12 is a schematic view of an information corridor distributing traditional "last mile" information service to users in a rural area.
  • FIG. 1 shows a section 10 of an information corridor of the present invention.
  • a PMA 12, 14, is included at each end, and each can be connected to other PMAs, with or without intervening AMP, HD A/FDA or SS circuits.
  • a lightly coupled PMA 16 allowing a wireless device to access the PM 18 at an intermediate point. Because the coupling is light, operation is possible with little or no disruption of the "through traffic" in the form of greatly increased reflections or other transmission impairments.
  • the intermediate PMA 16 accessed by end-user wireless device 20, may included intervening AMP, HDA, or FDA circuits 22, as required. Because communications are bi-directional, inbound spectrum 24, 26, and outbound spectrum 28, 30, are differentiated at each end of the linear system.
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a sample information corridor 40 comprised of three different PM/PMA sections 42, 44, and 46, comprised of PMs 48, 50, 52, and PMAs 54/56, 58/60, and 62/64, at each end of their respective PMs.
  • the corridor includes AMP and duplex adapters 64, 66 between each corridor section.
  • SS functions could also be included here.
  • User wireless devices 68, 70, 72 are shown intersecting at various locations, the two end wireless devices 68, 70 having intevening AMP, HDA or FDA devices 74, 76, according to requirements.
  • the intermediate wireless device 72 which accesses PM 50 through a lightly coupled PMA 78, and an AMP, HDA or FDA, 80, or a combination thereof, may be provided as needed.
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an information corridor that includes several different types of PMs, including a cable/fiber PM 90, a singlewire PM 92, and a freespace PM 94. Also shown are light PMA couplings 96, heavy PMA couplings 98, PMAs with FDA circuits 99 interposed between the PMA and the end user, PMAs with HDA circuits 99a so interposed, PMAs with both FDA and HDA 99b, PMAs with FDA, HDA and AMP circuits 99c, a cable fiber PM bypass 99d, and the terrain 100 and physical elements, e.g., trees 102, which would greatly limit information communication and distribution if the corridor were not present.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing some detail of two interconnected freespace PMs, 110, 112. This view also shows that the PMA includes a diplexer filtering circuit 111, comprising an AMP 114, and FDA and SS circuits 116 having an interconnection 118.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing detail of possible AMP 120 , and FDA blocks 122 placed between an end user and a PMA.
  • AMP bandpass filters 124, 126, along with FDA bandpass filters 128, 130 define and establish operating bands.
  • Amplifiers 132, 134, 136, and 138 maintain high S/N on inbound information and establish sufficient outbound information energy to maintain adequate information capacity within the corridor.
  • FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing detail of a singlewire PMA 160, AMP, dual- band FDA and SS. Also shown are operating power coupling 162 and PS circuits 164.
  • the launch is shown attaching to a transmission line choke (RF choke assembly) 166 on the singlewire. This choke prevents ICE from flowing to the left in the drawing and allows all ICE in both bands to couple through the launch to the singlewire on the right. It may be implemented either with or without metallic contact. It may be fabricate with a longitudinal slot in the entire assembly to allow easy attachment to existing power lines.
  • RF choke assembly transmission line choke
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an information corridor 170 with gateways 172,
  • FIG. 8 is a schematic of separate information corridors 180, 182, 184, 186, temporarily merged together at a physical layer gateway 188 to form a single, larger, corridor, as well as some exemplary gateway devices 190.
  • FIG. 9 shows an information corridor 200 implemented at a sporting event to distribute to spectators high capacity information services such as streaming audio, streaming video, internet access, "Instant Replay" on demand, telephone, and so forth.
  • the corridor is shown constructed as a ring 202, with inbound spectrum 204 coming from the users' left and outbound spectrum 206 continuing to the right.
  • duplex adapters 208, 210 By using multiple duplex adapters 208, 210,
  • an FDA is a preferred adapter.
  • Two lightly coupled separate or one dual PMA could be used here, one to couple inbound spectrum from the PM to the left and the other to couple outbound spectrum to the PM to the right.
  • FIG. 10 shows an information corridor 220 being used to distribute services for mobile users 222.
  • this arrangement can also provide coverage in and through tunnels 224 and other closed, shielded or shadowed spaces.
  • FIG. 11 shows an information corridor distributing information services among urban office environments and including corridor sections along highly traveled thoroughfares.
  • the corridor sections may be arranged to provide information exchange among different floors of a single building as well as between different buildings or campuses.
  • FIG. 12 is a schematic illustrating an information corridor 240 distributing traditional "last mile" information service to users 242 in a rural area by utilizing existing powerline 244 and wireless 246 sections to overcome incremental attenuation due to terrain and foliage. Because of the high capacity of such a system, it is possible to provide on- demand video services including analog and digital broadcast television, movies, and two- way television communications for education or health and security purposes. [0068] Flexibility of implementation is a key feature of an information corridor and a single preferred embodiment is not optimum for all environments. In fact, it is this ability to adapt to the specific local circumstances and choice of implementation which allows the full benefits of an information corridor to be obtained. The selection of PM types and other particulars of a preferred embodiment will be determined by the terrain, existing PMs, resources, economics or other factors of a given locale. The example which follows is intended to illustrate the key components of one such preferred embodiment.
  • FIG. 3 An example of a preferred MBE of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3.
  • This figure shows a cascade of three different PM types; freespace, surfacewave, and wired. Also indicated are PMAs for these different PMs. Two examples of lightly-coupled PMAs are shown; one in a freespace PM and the other in a surfacewave PM.
  • the surfacewave PMA might be implemented as described in U.S. Patent No. 4,743,916, incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
  • Freespace PM Energy in this type of PM is propagated via freespace with conventional radio waves.
  • the PMAs in this type are antennas which couple a spectrum of ICE to and from the "ether".
  • multiple PMs of this type are arranged to be completely line-of-sight (hereafter referred to as LOS) to at least the .6 Fresnel zone for each PMA's location.
  • AMP circuits are placed between the central antennas as shown in FIG. 4. This allows path losses between the antennas accessing a common PM to be restored to approximately free space loss values.
  • Each antenna is selected to provide maximum directivity consistent with sufficient illumination of all the spatial region which it accesses.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates interconnected freespace PMs.
  • AMP and FDA circuits for this PM are designed and constructed from conventional components using state-of-the-art techniques. Integrated circuitry and surface mount techniques are desirable here. Higher degrees of circuit integration may be beneficial.
  • An On-Channel Active Repeater (OCAR) using free space as a section of a corridor is also possible.
  • OCAR On-Channel Active Repeater
  • an OCAR uses AMP circuits but not FDA circuits as a SBE.
  • spatial isolation must be provided between antennas in order to allow proper AMP circuit operation and avoid oscillation. Isolation at least 10 dB in excess of AMP gains is normally required.
  • Antenna directivity and judicial use of existing physical barriers are of great value to reduce the amount of physical distance required to achieve adequate isolation.
  • the PMAs in this instance are special launches capable of coupling conventional balanced, coaxial or wave-guide transmission lines to a surfacewave propagation mode in a PM of singlewire.
  • the PMAs provide dual-band operation and simultaneous bidirectional information transfer on singlewire.
  • a preferred embodiment integrates the PMA with AMP, FIL, PMA, SS, FDA and power supply (PS) circuits which allow extraction of operating power from low frequency current flowing in the singlewire, which is part of an existing power mains grid. This allows self-contained operation and the entire assembly may "float" at the high line potential.
  • FIG. 6 shows an example of one PMA and related circuits attached to a singlewire.
  • PMA Wired (including coaxial and fiber optic cables)
  • PMAs are connectors or adapters and are used in conjunction with AMPs, FILs for SBE and/or FDAs for MBE.
  • PMAs incorporate electro-optical transducers in conjunction with AMPs, FILs for SBE and/or FDAs for MBE . Construction: Propagation Media
  • Freespace Construction of a freespace PM consists of selecting geographical antenna locations which provide essentially freespace path losses between PMAs (antennas) accessing a common PM. For optimum performance, a PM is arranged to have complete LOS to at least the .6 Fresnel zone for each accessing antenna's location. A single beam antenna can sometimes simultaneously access more than one PM, but multiple, beam-formed antennas are less wasteful of ICE and are preferred.
  • Singlewire PM is best constructed using single conductor wire or shielded cable which is best suspended in a manner which keeps the entire wire, and a region within a few wavelengths of the wire, clear of contact with or obstruction by any intervening obstacle. Such obstacles are typically trees, shrubs and parallel or crossing lines or wires. Existing power mains are excellent candidates.
  • the wire conductor may either be insulated with a dielectric or uninsulated. Direct metallic contact between the wire conductor and the PMA is used unless an open-stub transmission line shorting method is utilized instead.
  • a simple shorted transmission line choke is shown attaching to the singlewire in FIG. 6. Through inclusion of a longitudinal slot, the PMA may be easily attached to an existing line.
  • Wired PM is best constructed from conventional RF or microwave transmission line.
  • the line should have sufficient bandwidth and low enough loss to maintain adequate information capacity between PMAs.
  • Use of existing transmission lines having unused capacity, such as CATV cables, may be possible through the use of PMAs which include diplexer or similar frequency selective circuits.
  • Freespace PMAs are antennas which normally adapt conventional transmission lines or connector types to and from the freespace radio spectrum or "ether". Freespace to singlewire PMAs may also be useful.
  • the preferred embodiments utilize antennas with high aperture efficiency and as much directivity as is possible consistent with adequate illumination of the PM or PMs which are being accessed. More directivity and gain is possible when only a single section of corridor is being accessed. This focusing is desirable because it increases the information capacity of a given PM or allows use of a longer PM.
  • a singlewire PMA (hereafter referred to as LAUNCH) is an adapter which couples conventional transmission line, wave-guide or connector types to and from a surface wave flowing on a wire. Singlewire PMAs which couple to freespace are also possible.
  • the LAUNCH is designed to operate efficiently over an entire band for SBE or more than one band for MBE.
  • FIG. 6 shows an example LAUNCH for MBE.
  • Wired PMAs are usually transmission line connectors which allow the energy flowing in the preferred mode of a conventional RF or microwave transmission line or wave-guide to flow in a different type of conventional transmission line or waveguide.
  • frequency selective circuits such as diplexers, should be included.
  • AGC Automatic gain control circuitry
  • Frequency selective filtering should be designed to have low amplitude and group delay ripple over the desired spectrum being supported. Notch filtering and other special features may be added in some instances to reduce the near-far problem that can occur when one users' transmissions are significantly stronger than another's and would otherwise cause the AGC circuits to reduce system gain, but normally, such adjustments should be performed by protocols and hardware outside of the corridor.
  • FDAs include synchronous frequency conversion circuitry 140 to allow bidirectional conveyance of the selected bandwidth while avoiding any frequency offset errors. It also includes SS modulation and demodulation circuits. FDAs using more than two bands are also possible. [0086] FDAs are used in compatible groups of two or more types. Two types are used when only two bands are used for full-duplex. One FDA is considered the "master” in the sense that it establishes the frequency reference for frequency conversion as well as the reference for any SS modulation being used. The other type is considered a "slave" and synchronizes itself with the master's references, thereby enabling fully synchronous operation. This way, from the point-of-view of the wireless devices, the frequency conversions and the SS operation are invisible.
  • HDAs resemble FDAs with the exception that simultaneous bidirectional operation is not supported. Eliminating this support can reduce complexity and construction cost for many applications.
  • Users intersecting and utilizing an information corridor at a PM not employing MBE may use the corridor directly. That is, they simply couple their wireless information device to the corridor, normally through the wireless device antenna or antennas. In some cases a directional antenna or special coupling device between the wireless device and an additional antenna may be desirable to provide adequate coupling or amplification.
  • the wireless device is then operated normally. Because the wireless device interfaces to the spectrum in the same manner as it would without an information corridor, all protocols, collision detection and avoidance, error correction, modulation types and formats continue to operate normally.
  • the enhanced capacity provided by the corridor transparently allows greater communication range and quality to the device and its applications.
  • the total region within a given information corridor is normally chosen such that the corridor's total information capacity equals or exceeds the information requirements of all users, devices and applications which it serves.
  • Gateway or bridge devices which are protocol specific and not part of the corridor per se, are then added between a corridor and other information pathways, including other corridors, and serve to restrict information intended only for local destinations within a given corridor, to prevent it from traveling beyond the defined limits.
  • protocol-specific devices include physical layer protocol specificity in the form of circuits for modulation and demodulation of information within the corridor's supported frequency spectrum, and may also have mechanisms of higher layer specificity, such as traditional TCP/IP switches and routers, which can serve to determine and direct the information flow as required.
  • An IEEE802.11 wireless gateway is an example of one such device.
  • An example of a corridor with gateways for different types of services is shown in FIG. 7.
  • the need for control of corridor size and of information flow into and out of a corridor is analogous to the need for subnetting within TCP/IP networks, and it is used for the same reasons: namely, to maximize performance and economy while minimizing congestion. For this reason, information corridors may be "sub-netted" so that optimum functionality and economy to the local users and applications can be achieved.
  • FIG. 8 schematically depicts the layout of a golf course.
  • FIG. 8 schematically depicts the layout of a golf course.
  • there are many news reporters, television cameras and spectators needing a large information capacity through a variety of services: telephones, internet access, bidirectional analog television communications links, and so forth.
  • a variety of protocol- specific applications and wireless devices must be supported. With a multitude of live cameras spread out over the length of a very large golf course, several sub-netted information corridors might be arranged.

Abstract

L'invention concerne un procédé et un appareil de transport et de distribution d'informations qui permet de concentrer ou de guider de manière bidirectionnelle un large spectre d'ondes électromagnétiques diffusé sur une variété possible de moyens de propagation, y compris l'espace libre ou sans fil, des ondes de surface et le câble ou des lignes de transmission câblées. L'appareil communique avec des dispositifs d'information immédiatement adjacents à ces moyens de propagation, sachant que les dispositifs qui ne font pas partie de l'appareil, peuvent avoir mutuellement accès par voie électromagnétique. L'appareil maintient un rapport signal-bruit adéquat et une faible distorsion pour une variété possible de différents types de modulation et de codage de signaux qu'il peut supporter tout en permettant des communications transparentes, simultanées dans une variété de dispositifs. Les techniques d'étalement du spectre peuvent être utilisées dans l'appareil pour atténuer la propagation de distortions moyennes et des défaillances ainsi que pour commander l'accès et fournir un moyen de sécurisation d'informations dans le couloir et pour obtenir des recettes. On peut utiliser des adaptateurs pour fournir soit un accès duplex intégral ou un semi-duplex aux dispositifs d'information qui l'utilisent.
EP02731813A 2001-05-11 2002-05-13 Procede et appareil de transport et de distribution d'informations Withdrawn EP1393478A4 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US29048701P 2001-05-11 2001-05-11
US290487P 2001-05-11
PCT/US2002/015430 WO2002093315A2 (fr) 2001-05-11 2002-05-13 Procede et appareil de transport et de distribution d'informations

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EP1393478A2 EP1393478A2 (fr) 2004-03-03
EP1393478A4 true EP1393478A4 (fr) 2008-09-10

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EP (1) EP1393478A4 (fr)
CN (1) CN1528063A (fr)
AU (1) AU2002303757A1 (fr)
MX (1) MXPA03010277A (fr)
RU (1) RU2003135787A (fr)
WO (1) WO2002093315A2 (fr)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7162234B1 (en) 2003-05-20 2007-01-09 Mark J. Smith Wireless communication device
US10225005B1 (en) * 2018-03-09 2019-03-05 Elbex Video Ltd. Communication infrastructure devices and support tools for intelligent residences or businesses and communicating method with and operating intelligent electrical devices

Citations (4)

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US4803485A (en) * 1987-03-23 1989-02-07 Amp Incorporated Lan communication system and medium adapter for use therewith
US5861966A (en) * 1995-12-27 1999-01-19 Nynex Science & Technology, Inc. Broad band optical fiber telecommunications network
WO1999021313A2 (fr) * 1997-10-22 1999-04-29 Netro Corporation Reseau hertzien en mode de transfert asynchrone (mta) a haute qualite de programmation des services
US6137828A (en) * 1997-05-22 2000-10-24 Itt Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. Radio remote interface for modulating/demodulating data in a digital communication system

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4803485A (en) * 1987-03-23 1989-02-07 Amp Incorporated Lan communication system and medium adapter for use therewith
US5861966A (en) * 1995-12-27 1999-01-19 Nynex Science & Technology, Inc. Broad band optical fiber telecommunications network
US6137828A (en) * 1997-05-22 2000-10-24 Itt Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. Radio remote interface for modulating/demodulating data in a digital communication system
WO1999021313A2 (fr) * 1997-10-22 1999-04-29 Netro Corporation Reseau hertzien en mode de transfert asynchrone (mta) a haute qualite de programmation des services

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
MXPA03010277A (es) 2004-12-06
RU2003135787A (ru) 2005-06-10
WO2002093315A3 (fr) 2003-03-13
CN1528063A (zh) 2004-09-08
EP1393478A2 (fr) 2004-03-03
AU2002303757A1 (en) 2002-11-25
WO2002093315A2 (fr) 2002-11-21

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