KR100985950B1 - Repeater method for telecommunication and system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A communication relay method and a communication relay system using the method are provided. The communication relay method provides first and second repeaters installed in a building, and the second repeater measures the amount of interference while scanning an industrial scientific medical (ISM) band region, and the second repeater considers the amount of interference, Selecting a band to use within, and the first and second repeaters include communicating with each other using the selected band.

Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) band area, donor device, remote device, interference amount, scan

Description

Communication relay method and a communication relay system using the method {Repeater method for telecommunication and system using the same}

The present invention relates to a communication relay method and a communication relay system using the method.

In a communication system such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) or Wide Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), a shadow area, such as an underground parking lot, an underground mall, or a building, may not be reached. In order to eliminate such a range, the relay device is currently widely used.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a communication relay method for solving the shadow area inside the building.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a communication relay system for solving the shadow area inside the building.

Problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

One aspect of the communication relay method of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem provides a first and a second repeater installed in the building, the second repeater measures the amount of interference while scanning the Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) band region, The second repeater may select a band to be used within the ISM band region in consideration of the amount of interference, and the first and second repeaters may communicate with each other using the selected band.

In addition, when selecting a band to be used by the second repeater, the second repeater may select a band having the least amount of interference in the ISM band region.

Also, the second repeater may select two bands (ie, first and second bands). In this case, the second repeater may select a band in consideration of the distance between the first and second bands as well as the amount of interference. The first band may be used to transmit the forward signal from the first repeater to the second repeater, and the second band may be used to transmit the backward signal from the second repeater to the first repeater.

Here, the first repeater may be a donor device, and the second repeater may be a remote device.

Another aspect of the communication relay method of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem is to install the first and second repeaters in a building, scan the ISM band area, the band to be used when the first and second repeaters communicate with each other Is selected within the ISM band region, and the first and second repeaters communicate with each other using the selected band.

One aspect of the communication relay system of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem is a donor device and a remote device installed in the building and communicating with each other using a first band in the Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) band region; And an electronic device installed in the building and using the second band in the ISM band region, wherein the first band and the second band are different from each other.

Here, the remote device includes a local oscillator for providing a test signal, a signal used by the electronic device, a mixer for mixing and outputting a test signal, an SAW filter for filtering the output signal of the mixer, and an output signal of the SAW filter. A detector for sensing power and a controller for selecting a first band to be used in the ISM band using the detection result of the detector may be included.

Here, the donor device may use the battery as a power source or perform a reverse off operation. In addition, an antenna of the donor device for communicating with the base station may be attached to the window of the building.

Other specific details of the invention are included in the detailed description and drawings.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various forms, and only the present embodiments are intended to complete the disclosure of the present invention, and the general knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Although the first, second, etc. are used to describe various elements, components and / or sections, these elements, components and / or sections are of course not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component or section from another element, component or section. Therefore, the first device, the first component, or the first section mentioned below may be a second device, a second component, or a second section within the technical spirit of the present invention.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. In the present specification, the singular form includes plural forms unless otherwise specified in the specification. As used herein, “comprises” and / or “comprising” refers to the presence of one or more other components, steps, operations and / or elements. Or does not exclude additions.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the present specification may be used in a sense that can be commonly understood by those skilled in the art. In addition, the terms defined in the commonly used dictionaries are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless they are specifically defined clearly.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a communication relay system according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a communication relay system according to some embodiments of the present invention includes a base station (not shown), a donor device 10, a remote device 20_1, and a mobile communication terminal 30.

The donor apparatus 10 and the remote apparatus 20_1 are a repeater and are installed in the shaded area (for example, a building). The donor device 10 and the remote device 20_1 smoothly relay the communication between the base station and the mobile communication terminal 30. For example, the donor device 10 may be installed in the window of the living room, and the remote device 20_1 may be installed in the living room, the room, or the like.

The base station (not shown) and the donor device 10 communicate with each other using a signal of a service frequency fs, and the donor device 10 and the remote device 20_1 communicate with each other using a signal of a link frequency fl. In addition, the remote device 20_1 and the mobile communication terminal 30 communicate with each other using a signal having a service frequency fs.

Specifically, when forwarding a signal from the base station to the mobile communication terminal 30, the donor device 10 converts the signal of the service frequency (fs) received from the base station into a signal of the link frequency (fl) and outputs the remote, The device 20_1 converts the signal of the link frequency fl output from the donor device 10 into a signal of the service frequency fs and outputs the signal to the mobile communication terminal 30.

In addition, when the mobile communication terminal 30 transmits the signal to the base station in the reverse direction, the remote device 20_1 receives the signal of the service frequency fs from the mobile communication terminal 30 and converts it into a signal of the link frequency fl. The donor device 10 converts the signal of the link frequency fl output from the remote device 20_1 into a signal of the service frequency fs and outputs the signal to the base station.

That is, the forward transmission path of the signal is the base station, the donor device, the remote device, and the mobile communication terminal, and the backward transmission path of the signal is the mobile communication terminal, the remote device, the donor device, and the base station.

However, the link frequency fl used in the communication relay system according to the embodiments of the present invention may be a frequency in an industrial scientific medical band (ISM) band region. The ISM band region is a frequency band that can be used in industrial, scientific and medical machinery. The ISM band area is very useful because you do not have to pay the license fee for using the frequency. The ISM band region that can be used in Korea is, for example, 2.4 ~ 2.48 GHz (bandwidth: 80MHz).

Since the donor device 10 and the remote device 20_1 perform wireless communication in the building, space utilization inside the building may be free. For example, if the donor device 10 and the remote device 20_1 are connected through a cable, a cable must be installed in the building. Cables not only hinder space utilization inside the building, but can also damage the aesthetics of the building if it doesn't fit with other expensive objects in the building. In addition, the cable installation is difficult to install by the customer, so the engineer will need to be dispatched to install the cable, incurring the installation cost. In the embodiments of the present invention, the donor device 10 and the remote device 20_1 do not have this problem because they communicate wirelessly. In other words, the user only needs to attach the remote device 20_1 where necessary.

The antenna 12 of the donor device 10 for communicating with the base station may be attached to a window. When the donor device 10 and the integrated donor antenna 12 are attached to the window, the call quality can be improved, and the antenna 14 for communicating with the donor antenna 12 and the remote device 20_1 is properly separated. (isolation).

On the other hand, the donor device 10 may use an alternating current power supply, and may use a battery as a power supply. In particular, when the donor device 10 uses AC power as a power source, the power supply line may harm the appearance. When the battery is used as a power source, since no power line is used, installation can be facilitated without spoiling the aesthetics.

However, when the donor device 10 uses the battery as a power source, the donor device 10 may perform a reverse off function. That is, only when the mobile communication terminal 30 wants to talk, the remote device 20_1 transmits a wake up signal to the donor device 10 to wake up the donor device 10. When the donor device 10 performs the reverse off function, the battery can be used longer.

However, as mentioned above, since the ISM band region does not pay a license fee for use of frequency, the ISM band region is used for communication of various electronic devices such as wireless LAN service, Bluetooth, wireless identification system (RFID), and digital codeless telephone. It is used. Therefore, when communicating using a frequency of a specific band in the ISM band region as a link frequency, the amount of interference by other electronic devices in a building, etc. may be high. Therefore, in the communication relay system according to some embodiments of the present invention, the most suitable band is found while scanning the ISM band region, and the found frequency is used as the link frequency.

Hereinafter, a scan operation of the ISM band region will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. 2 to 5 are diagrams for describing a communication relay method according to some embodiments of the present invention. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary remote device for implementing the communication relay method of FIGS.

First, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the remote device measures the amount of interference while scanning the ISM band region (S110).

Specifically, the ISM band region (2.4-2.48 GHz) consists of four bands (when one band is 20 MHz). Therefore, the four bands are sequentially scanned, and the amount of interference in each band is measured. For example, band 2 may have the highest interference amount, and the interference amount may be smaller in order of band 4, band 3, and band 1. A band with a particularly high amount of interference (ie, band 2) may be a band used by an electronic device (for example, a wireless LAN service device) in a building.

While the remote device measures the amount of interference, the donor device may not output any signal. For example, the remote device can signal the donor device to power off the donor device. This is to prevent the amount of interference of a specific band from being measured by the operation of the remote device.

2, 4, and 5, the remote device selects a band to be used in the ISM band region in consideration of the measured interference amount (S120).

Specifically, two bands having the smallest interference amount can be selected. In the above example, band 1 and band 3 are selected (see Fig. 4). For example, band 1 may be used for reverse signaling and band 3 may be used for forward signaling.

Meanwhile, the remote device may select not only the measured interference amount but also the distance between two bands to be used. Because, a signal transmitted in the forward direction and a signal transmitted in the reverse direction may interfere with each other. Therefore, in order to reduce interference between the signal transmitted in the forward direction and the signal transmitted in the reverse direction, the distance between the band for forward signal transmission and the band for reverse signal transmission is better. Thus, in the above example, band 1 and band 4 may be selected as bands to be used in the ISM band region (see FIG. 5). For example, band 1 may be used for reverse signaling and band 4 may be used for forward signaling.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, the donor device and the remote device communicate using the selected band (S130).

Specifically, the remote device transmits information about the band 3 (or band 4) to be used for forward signal transmission to the donor device. The donor device receives and sets this information and uses band 3 (or band 4) to forward signals from the donor device to the remote device. The remote device may use band 1 when forwarding signals back to the donor device.

In some embodiments of the present invention described so far, the remote device has been described as performing an interference measurement operation, but is not limited thereto. That is, the donor device may perform the interference amount measuring operation.

In addition, when the forward signal transmission and the reverse signal transmission, for example using different bands, but is not limited thereto. If the amount of interference is not large, the same band may be used for forward signal transmission and reverse signal transmission.

In addition, although only the measurement of the amount of interference through the scan operation in the ISM band region has been described, it is not limited thereto. That is, when a reference other than the interference amount is used, another preset reference amount may be measured while scanning.

Referring to FIG. 6, the remote device 20_1 may include a first low noise amplifier (LNA) 220, a first mixer 230, and a first power amplifier for forwarding signals. A PA 240, a second low noise amplifier 222, a second mixer 232, and a second power amplifier 242 for reverse propagation of the signal. In addition, the remote device 20_1 may include a local oscillator 270 that provides a signal of a predetermined frequency to the first and second duplexers 210 and 212 and the first and second mixers 230 and 232 that transmit and receive signals. 1 A surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter 250 for filtering the signal output from the mixer 230, a sensor 280 for detecting the output signal of the SAW filter 250, a controller provided with the detection result of the detector 280 290. In particular, the remote device 20_1 of FIG. 6 performs a scan operation using the local oscillator 270, the SAW filter 250, and the like. The scan operation will be described later in detail.

The first and second low noise amplifiers 220 and 222 are high frequency amplifiers designed to lower the noise figure of the entire remote device 20_1. The first and second low noise amplifiers 220 and 222 may be used to receive and propagate a small input voltage such as a communication line having a large propagation loss. Parametric amplifiers, low-noise transistor amplifiers, major, and the like, and recently, with the development of semiconductor technology, room temperature parametric amplifiers, GaAs, field effect transistors and the like are used.

The first and second power amplifiers 240 and 242 may be end amplifiers using power tubes. As a transmitter, an RF amplifier for supplying power to an antenna is particularly called a termination power amplifier. Depending on the frequency handled it can be classified into a low frequency power amplifier and a high frequency power amplifier.

The first and second duplexers 210 and 212 are circuit blocks required for common use of one antenna for transmission / reception. The first and second duplexers 210 and 212 are devices that protect the receiver from the transmission output when transmitting and provide an echo signal to the receiver when receiving.

SAW filter 250 is used to accurately pick the frequency of the desired signal with a narrow bandwidth. In detail, two comb-shaped metal plates are arranged on both sides of the piezoelectric plate, and when an electrical signal is input in one direction, SAW (surface acoustic wave) is generated on the piezoelectric plate. The mechanical vibrations, called surface acoustic waves, are converted back to electrical signals on the other side, where if the surface acoustic wave frequency of the piezoelectric plate itself is different from the frequency of the input electrical signal, the signal is not transmitted and dies. In other words, it becomes a BPF (Bandpass Filter) which passes only the same frequency as the mechanical-material frequency of the filter itself. The SAW filter 250 has a very narrow bandwidth to pass compared to a filter using the principle of artificial LC resonance, thus almost completely filtering out signals of unnecessary frequencies. Therefore, the SAW filter 250 is best when it is desired to accurately select the frequency of the desired signal with a narrow bandwidth. It is also significantly smaller in size than ceramic filters of similar performance. For example, in FIG. 6, the SAW filter 250 may be a filter in units of 20 MHz.

Referring to the operation, the remote device 20_1 measures the amount of interference, selects a band to be used by the remote device 20_1 and the donor device 10 in the ISM band region, and enters a normal operation (forward / reverse signal transmission operation).

First, an operation of selecting a band to be used by the remote device 20_1 and the donor device 10 by measuring the amount of interference in the ISM band region will be described.

The remote device 20_1 sends a signal to the donor device 10 so that the donor device 10 does not output any signal.

Subsequently, the remote device 20_1 provides a test signal of a predetermined frequency to the first mixer 230. For example, a test signal of 2.42 GHz frequency may be provided to the first mixer 230.

The first mixer 230 may mix and output a test signal and a signal used in the building (that is, a signal used by the electronic device installed in the building).

The SAW filter 250 filters the output signal of the first mixer 230.

The detector 280 senses the power of the output signal of the SAW filter 250.

The controller 290 stores the detection result (ie, the amount of interference) of the SAW filter 250. If the output signal of the SAW filter 250 is large, it means that the frequency used by the electronic device installed in the building is close to the frequency of the test signal. If the output signal of the SAW filter 250 is small, it means that the frequency used by the electronic device installed in the building is far from the frequency of the test signal. In this way, it is examined whether there is a frequency used by the electronic device in a band close to the test signal of the 2.42 GHz frequency.

After reviewing the test signal at the 2.42 GHz frequency, the same process as described above is repeated for the test signal at the 2.44 GHz, 2.46 GHz, and 2.48 GHz frequencies to scan the ISM band region.

The controller 290 may select two most suitable bands (for example, band 1 and band 3 in FIG. 4) by using the detection result for each test signal. One selected band (e.g., band 3) is used when the donor device 10 transmits the forward signal, and the remaining one selected band (e.g., band 1) is used when the remote device 20_1 transmits the reverse signal. do.

Here, the forward signal transmission process of the remote device 20_1 will be described.

The first low noise amplifier 220 amplifies the signal of the service frequency fs transmitted through the first duplexer 210. The local oscillator 270 provides a signal of the link frequency fl (eg, the link frequency using band 3 in FIG. 4) to the first mixer 230 in the ISM band region, and the first mixer 230 The signal at the service frequency fs is converted into the signal at the link frequency fl. The first power amplifier 240 amplifies the signal converted into the signal of the link frequency fl and transmits it to the second duplexer 212.

Here, the reverse signal transfer process of the remote device 20_1 will be described.

The second low noise amplifier 222 amplifies the signal of the service frequency fs delivered through the second duplexer 212. The local oscillator 270 provides a signal of the link frequency fl in the ISM band region (e.g., the link frequency using band 1 in FIG. 4) to the second mixer 232, and the second mixer 232 The signal at the service frequency fs is converted into the signal at the link frequency fl. The second power amplifier 242 amplifies the signal converted into the signal of the link frequency fl and transmits it to the first duplexer 210.

7 and 8 are conceptual views illustrating a communication relay system according to some other embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, in the communication relay system according to some embodiments of the present invention, there may be several remote devices 20_1 to 20_m corresponding to one donor device 10. For example, when the service coverage of one remote device 20_1 is limited to the first area 40_1 (eg, a living room), the second area 40_m (eg, a study room, You may not be able to make calls in your study or bedroom). In order to prevent this, the remote device 20_m is installed in the second area 40_m. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the donor device 10 may be installed in a window of the living room, and the plurality of remote devices 20_1 to 20_m may be installed in the living room, room 1, and room 3. In theory, there is no limitation on the number of remote devices 20_1 to 20_m corresponding to one donor device 10.

However, when there are several remote devices 20_1 to 20_m corresponding to one donor device 10, when viewed from the donor device 10, the plurality of reverse gains according to the plurality of reverse transmission paths are all substantially the same. It is good. That is, even if they are not completely the same, it is preferable that a number of backward gains are similar within an acceptable range. Because, if the reverse gain of a particular reverse transmission path is good, only the specific reverse transmission path is mainly used and other reverse transmission paths cannot be used well. For example, if the reverse gain of the reverse transmission path using the remote devices 20_1 to 20_m in the living room is good, when the mobile communication terminal is used in the living room, it becomes difficult to use the mobile communication terminal in the study room or study room. . Thus, as in the present invention, by making the plurality of reverse gains along the plurality of reverse forward paths substantially the same, it is easy to talk using all the reverse forward paths.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may implement the present invention in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features thereof. I can understand that. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a communication relay system according to some embodiments of the present invention.

2 to 5 are diagrams for describing a communication relay method according to some embodiments of the present invention.

6 is a block diagram of an exemplary remote device for implementing the communication relay method of FIGS.

7 and 8 are conceptual views illustrating a communication relay system according to some other embodiments of the present invention.

(Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing)

10: donor device 20_1 ~ 20_m: remote device

30: mobile communication terminal

Claims (13)

Providing a first repeater and a second repeater installed in the building, The second repeater measures the amount of interference while scanning the Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) band region, The second repeater selects a band to be used in the ISM band region in consideration of the interference amount, And the first repeater and the second repeater communicate with each other using the selected band. The method of claim 1, Selecting a band to be used by the second repeater is, the second relay repeater selects the band with the least amount of interference. The method of claim 1, Selecting a band to be used by the second repeater, the second repeater selects the first and second bands, The first and second repeaters communicating with each other using the selected band, use the first band when forward signal transfer from the first repeater to the second repeater, the second repeater to the first repeater And the second band is used to transmit a reverse signal over a network. The method of claim 3, wherein The selecting of the first and second bands to be used by the second repeater may include selecting the first and second bands in consideration of the distance between the first band and the second band as well as the amount of interference. The method of claim 3, wherein After selecting the first and second bands to be used by the second repeater, the second repeater further comprises transmitting information about the first band to the first repeater. The method of claim 1, And the first repeater does not output a signal while the second repeater measures the amount of interference. The method of claim 1, And the first repeater is a donor device, and the second repeater is a remote device. Install the first repeater and the second repeater in the building, Scan the ISM band region to select a band within the ISM band region to use when the first repeater and the second repeater communicate with each other, And the first repeater and the second repeater communicate with each other using the selected band. The method of claim 8, Selecting the band to be used, selecting the first and second bands, The first and second relays communicate with each other using the selected band, using the first band when forwarding the signal from the first repeater to the second repeater, and the first repeater in the second repeater. And the second band is used to transmit a backward signal to a repeater. The method of claim 9, The selecting of the band to be used comprises selecting the first and second bands in consideration of the amount of interference and the distance between the first band and the second band. A donor device and a remote device installed in the building and communicating with each other using a first band in an Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) band region; And An electronic device installed in the building and utilizing a second band in the ISM band region, And the first band and the second band are different from each other. The method of claim 11, The first band includes a first_1 band and a first_2 band, which are distinguished from each other, The donor device forwards the signal of the link frequency of the first_1 band to the remote device; And the remote device forwards the signal of the link frequency of the first_2 band to the donor device in a reverse direction. 12. The device of claim 11, wherein the remote device is A local oscillator that provides a test signal, A mixer for mixing and outputting a signal used by the electronic device and the test signal; SAW filter for filtering the output signal of the mixer, respectively; A detector for detecting power of an output signal of the SAW filter; And a controller for selecting a first band to be used in the ISM band by using the detection result of the detector.

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