KR20190017919A - Backhaul link with reference signal for distributed antenna system - Google Patents

Abstract

Distributed antenna and backhaul systems provide network connectivity for small cell deployment. Rather than building new structures to install additional fibers and cables, the embodiments described herein disclose the use of high-bandwidth millimeter wave communications. An overhead millimeter wave system can be used to provide backhaul connections. Modules may be deployed in existing infrastructure such as streetlights and telephone poles, and the modules may include antennas and base stations for transmitting and receiving millimeter waves with other modules. The uplink and downlink signals (i. E. Signals directed from the base station to the communication node / from the communication node to the base station) include control channels; Uplink / downlink spectrum segments each comprising modulated signals that can be frequency translated into their original / original frequency bands to enable communication nodes to communicate with one or more mobile or stationary devices; And pilot signals that may be supplied with some or all of the spectral segments to mitigate distortion that is generated between the communication nodes. The pilot signals may be processed by the transceivers of the upstream and downstream communication nodes to remove distortion (e.g., phase distortion) from the received signal.

Description

Backhaul link with reference signal for distributed antenna system

Cross-reference to related application

This application claims priority from U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15 / 179,204, filed June 10, 2016. All parts of the aforementioned applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to providing backhaul connections to distributed antennas and base stations.

Smartphones and other handheld devices are becoming more and more common, data usage is spiked, macrocell basestations and existing wireless infrastructure can not afford it. In order to provide additional mobile bandwidth, small cell deployments are being pursued through microcells and picocells that provide high cost coverage for areas much smaller than conventional macrocells.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a distributed antenna system according to various aspects described herein.
2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a backhaul system in accordance with various aspects set forth herein.
3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a distributed antenna system according to various aspects described herein.
4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a distributed antenna system according to various aspects described herein.
5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a backhaul system in accordance with various aspects set forth herein.
6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a backhaul system in accordance with various aspects described herein.
7 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of quasi-optical coupling according to various aspects described herein.
8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a backhaul system in accordance with various aspects described herein.
9 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a millimeter-band antenna device according to various aspects described herein.
10 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of an underground backhaul system according to various aspects described herein.
Figure 11 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method for providing a backhaul connection as described herein.
12 is a block diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a computing environment according to various aspects described herein.
13 is a block diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a mobile network platform according to various aspects described herein.
14A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a communication system according to various aspects described herein.
14B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a portion of the communication system of FIG. 14A according to various aspects described herein.
14C and 14D are block diagrams illustrating exemplary non-limiting embodiments of communication nodes of the communication system of FIG. 14A according to various aspects described herein.
15A is a graphical diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of downlink and uplink communication techniques that enable a base station in accordance with various aspects described herein to communicate with communication nodes.
15B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a communication node according to various aspects described herein.
15C is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a communication node according to various aspects described herein.
15D is a graphical diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum according to various aspects described herein.
15E is a graphical diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum according to various aspects described herein.
15F is a graph illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum according to various aspects described herein.
15G is a graph illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum according to various aspects described herein.
15H is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a transmitter according to various aspects described herein.
Figure 15i is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a receiver in accordance with various aspects described herein.
16A shows a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method according to various aspects described herein.
16B shows a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method according to various aspects described herein.
16C shows a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method according to various aspects described herein.
FIG. 16D shows a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method according to various aspects described herein.
16E shows a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method according to various aspects described herein.
Figure 16f shows a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method according to various aspects described herein.
Figure 16g shows a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method according to various aspects described herein.
Figure 16h shows a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method according to various aspects described herein.
Figure 16i illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method according to various aspects described herein.
Figure 16j shows a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method according to various aspects described herein.
16K illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method according to various aspects described herein.

Reference is now made to one or more embodiments with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to generally denote like elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments. However, it is evident that various embodiments may be practiced without these details (and without applying to any particular networking environment or standard).

To provide network connectivity to additional base stations, the backhaul network that connects the microcells and macrocells to the mobile network is accordingly extended. It is difficult to provide a wireless backhaul connection due to the limited bandwidth available at commonly used frequencies. Fiber and cable have bandwidth, but installing a connector can be costly due to the dispersion characteristics of small-scale cell deployments.

For these considerations and other considerations, in one or more embodiments, the system includes a memory for storing instructions, and enabling reception of a first guided wave received via a transmission line, And a processor communicatively coupled to the memory to enable execution of the instruction to perform the operation including converting the wave into an electronic transmission. The operation also includes enabling the electronic signal determined from the electronic transmission to be transmitted to the base station device. The operation may also include converting the electronic transmission to a second derived wave, and enabling transmission of the second derived wave through the transmission line.

Another embodiment is a system and method for communicatively coupling to a memory to enable execution of instructions for performing an operation comprising: a memory for storing instructions; and enabling reception of a first transmission from a first wireless repeater device ≪ / RTI > The operation may include directing a second wireless transmission to a second wireless repeater device, wherein the first and second transmissions are at a frequency of at least about 57 GHz. The operation further includes determining an electronic signal from the first transmission, and directing the electronic signal to the base station device.

In another embodiment, the method includes receiving a first surface wave transmission over a transmission line by a device including a processor, and converting the first surface wave transmission to an electronic transmission. The method may also include extracting a communication signal from the electronic transmission, and transmitting the communication signal to the base station device. The method may also include transmitting the electronic transmission through a transmission line as a second surface wave transmission, wherein the first surface wave transmission and the second surface wave transmission are at a frequency of at least 30 GHz.

The various embodiments described herein are directed to a system for providing a distributed antenna system for small cell deployment and / or backhaul connection for small cell deployment. Rather than building new structures to install additional fibers and cables, the embodiments described herein disclose the use of high-bandwidth millimeter wave communications and existing transmission line infrastructure. In addition to ground-based backhaul connections over line-of-sight millimeter waveband signals and transmission lines as described above, underground backhaul connections through buried conduits can provide connectivity to distributed base stations.

In an embodiment, an overhead millimeter wave system may be used to provide backhaul connections. Modules may be deployed in existing infrastructure such as streetlights and telephone poles, and the modules may include antennas and base stations for transmitting and receiving millimeter waves with other modules. One of the modules or nodes in the network may be communicatively coupled by fiber / cable or by a microwave connection within a standard 57-64 GHz GHz visible distance to a point of the macrocell physically connected to the mobile network.

In another embodiment, the base station node may be installed on a pole and the backhaul connection may be provided by a transmitter that transmits a millimeter wave-band surface wave transmission over a transmission line between the nodes. In addition, a single point with one or more base stations may be coupled to the distributed antenna system via surface wave transmission over the transmission line, where a cellular antenna is located. In another embodiment, an underground channel can be used to transmit the guide wave, and the guide wave propagates in the void space between the channel and the transmission line. The signal extractor and the base station may be located in a conventional transformer box.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a distributed antenna system 100 according to various aspects described herein.

The distributed antenna system 100 includes one or more base stations (e.g., base station device 104) communicatively coupled to a macrocell point 102. Base station device 104 may be connected by fiber and / or cable, or by microwave wireless connection to macrocell point 102. The macrocell, such as the macrocell point 102, may have a dedicated connection to the mobile network and the base station device 104 may piggyback off the connection of the macrocell point 102. The base station device 104 may be mounted on or attached to a telephone pole 116. In other embodiments, the base station device 104 may be located near the transformer and / or at other locations located near the transmission line.

The base station device 104 may provide a connection for the mobile devices 122 and 124. The antennas 112 and 114 mounted on or near the poles 118 and 120 may receive signals from the base station device 104 and the antennas 112 and 114 may be located at or near the base station device 104. [ Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 122 < / RTI >

It should be appreciated that, for the sake of simplicity, FIG. 1 shows three pole posts with one base station device. In another embodiment, the pole 116 may have more base station devices and more than one pole with a distributed antenna is possible.

The launcher 106 may transmit signals from the base station device 104 to the antennas 112 and 114 via power line (s) connecting the poles 116, 118 and 120. To transmit the signal, the launcher 106 upconverts the signal from the base station device 104 to a millimeter waveband signal and the launcher 106 fires a millimeter waveband surface wave that propagates as a guide wave traveling along the wire Lt; / RTI > (shown in more detail in FIG. 3). At the telephone pole 118, the repeater 108 may receive surface waves and amplify them to transmit them forward through the transmission line. The repeater 108 may also extract the signal from the millimeter waveband surface wave and may down-shift the frequency to its original cellular band frequency (e.g., 1.9 GHz). The antenna may transmit the downwardly displaced signal to the mobile device 122. The process may be repeated by repeater 110, antenna 114 and mobile device 124. [

In addition, transmissions from mobile devices 122 and 124 may be received by antennas 112 and 114, respectively. The repeaters 108 and 110 may upwardly displace the cellular band signal to a millimeter waveband (e.g., 60 to 110 GHz) and transmit the signal to the base station device 104 as a surface wave transmission through the transmission line (s) .

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a backhaul system 200 in accordance with various aspects described herein is shown. The embodiment shown in Fig. 2 differs from the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 in that the base station device itself is distributed through the system and the backhaul connection is made by surface wave transmission over the transmission line, rather than having the distributed antenna system with the remote antennas, Which is different from Fig.

The system 200 includes an RF modem 202 that receives a network connection over a physical or wireless connection to an existing network infrastructure. The network connection may be via fiber and / or cable, or by a high-bandwidth microwave connection. The RF modem can receive the network connection and process it for distribution to base station devices 204 and 206. The RF modem 202 may use a protocol such as DOCSIS to modulate the millimeter waveband transmission and output the signal to the launcher 208. The launcher 208 may include a cone (shown in more detail in FIG. 5) that emits a millimeter wave-band surface wave that propagates as a guide wave traveling along the wire.

At the pole 216, the repeater 210 may receive the surface wave, amplify it, and forward it to the repeater 212 through the transmission line. The repeater 210 may also include a modem for extracting a signal from the surface wave and may output a signal to the base station device 204. The base station device 204 may then enable communication with the mobile device 220 using a backhaul connection.

The repeater 212 may receive the millimeter waveband surface wave transmissions transmitted by the repeater 210 and may extract signals through the modem and may be coupled to a base station device 206 as shown in FIG. The backhaul connections may also be operated in reverse direction and transmissions from mobile devices 220 and 222 are received by base station devices 204 and 206 that communicate communications to repeaters 210 and 212 through a backhaul network. The repeaters 210 and 212 can convert the communication signal to millimeter wave-band surface waves and transmit it back to the launcher 208, the RF modem 202 and the mobile network via the transmission line.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a distributed antenna system 300 is shown. Figure 3 shows the base station 104 and launcher 106 described in Figure 1 in greater detail. The base station device 302 may include a router 304 and a microcell 308 (or picocell, femtocell, or other small cell deployment). The base station device 302 may receive an external network connection 306 that is connected to an existing infrastructure. The network connection 306 may be physical (e.g., fiber or cable) or wireless (high-bandwidth microwave connection). The existing infrastructure to which the network connection 306 may be connected may be a macrocell point in some embodiments. For such a macrocell point with a high data rate network connection, the base station device 302 may share a network connection with the macrocell point.

The router 304 may provide a connection to the microcell 308 to enable communication with the mobile device. Although FIG. 3 shows base station device 302 as having one microcell, in other embodiments, base station device 302 may include more than one microcell. The RF output of the microcell 308 can be used to modulate the 60 GHz signal and can be connected to the launcher 318 via fiber. It should be appreciated that launcher 318 and repeater 108 include similar functionality and network connection 306 may be connected to launcher 318 or repeater 108 (and 106, 110, etc.).

In another embodiment, base station device 302 may be coupled to launcher 318 by quasi-optical coupling (shown in more detail in FIG. 7). The launcher 318 includes a millimeter wave interface 312 that displaces the RF output frequency into a millimeter waveband signal. The signal may then be transmitted by conical transceiver 314 as surface wave transmission through transmission line 316. [

The conical transceiver 314 may generate an electromagnetic field specifically configured to propagate as a guided wave traveling along the wire. The guided wave or surface wave is kept parallel to the wire even when the wire is curved and bent. Curves depending on wire diameter, frequency, and material can increase transmission loss.

The millimeter wave interface 312 and the conical transceiver 314 may be powered by an inductive power supply 310 that receives power inductively from a medium or high voltage transmission line. In another embodiment, the power can be supplemented by the battery feeder.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a distributed antenna system according to various aspects described herein is shown. The system 400 includes a repeater 402 having conical transceivers 404 and 412, millimeter wave interfaces 406 and 410, an inductive power supply 408 and an antenna 414.

The transceiver 404 may receive the millimeter waveband surface wave transmission transmitted along the transmission line. The millimeter wave interface 406 may convert the signal to an optical signal or an electronic signal of the cable and may transmit signals to the millimeter wave interface 410 and the conical transceiver 412 to emit a signal onto the transmission line as surface wave transmission have. The millimeter wave interfaces 406 and 410 may also down-shift and up-shift the frequency of the signal between the millimeter waveband and the cellular band, respectively. An antenna 414 may transmit a signal to a mobile device in the transmission range.

Antenna 414 may receive return signals from the mobile device and forward them to millimeter wave interfaces 406 and 410 to upwardly shift the frequency to other frequency bands in the millimeter wave frequency range. Conical transceivers 404 and 412 may then send the return signal back to the base station device (e.g., base station device 302) located near the launcher as a surface wave transmission.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a backhaul system 500 in accordance with various aspects described herein is shown. The backhaul system 500 further illustrates the RF modem 202 and launcher 208 shown in FIG. 2 in greater detail. The RF modem 502 may include a router 504 and a modem 508. The RF modem 502 may receive an external network connection 506 that is connected to an existing infrastructure. The network connection 506 can be physical (e.g., fiber or cable) or wireless (high-bandwidth microwave connection). The existing infrastructure to which the network connection 506 may be connected may be a macrocell point in some embodiments. Because the macro cell point already has a high data rate network connection, the RF modem 502 can share the network connection with the macro cell point.

The router 504 and the modem 508 can modulate the millimeter waveband transmission using a protocol such as DOCSIS and output the signal to the launcher 516. [ The RF modem 502 may send a signal to the launcher 516 via a fiber or cable connection. In some embodiments, the RF modem 502 may be coupled to the launcher 516 by quasi-optical coupling (shown in more detail in FIG. 7).

The launcher 516 may include a millimeter wave interface 512 that displaces the frequency of the output RF modem 502 into a millimeter waveband signal. The signal may then be transmitted by conical transceiver 514 as a surface wave transmission. The conical transceiver 514 may generate an electromagnetic field specifically configured to propagate as a guided wave traveling along an electrical line 518. The guided wave or surface wave is kept parallel to the wire even when the wire is curved and bent. Curves depending on wire diameter, frequency, and material can increase transmission loss.

The millimeter wave interface 512 and the conical transceiver 514 may be powered by an inductive power supply 510 that receives power inductively from a medium or high voltage transmission line. In another embodiment, the power can be supplemented by the battery feeder.

Figure 6 shows a block diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a backhaul system in accordance with various aspects set forth herein. The system 600 includes a repeater 602 having conical transceivers 604 and 612, millimeter wave interfaces 606 and 610, an inductive power supply 608 and a microcell 614.

The transceiver 604 may receive millimeter waveband surface wave transmissions transmitted along the transmission line. The millimeter wave interface 606 may convert the signal to an optical signal or an electronic signal of the cable and may transmit the signal to the millimeter wave interface 610 and the conical transceiver 612 to emit a signal onto the transmission line as surface wave transmission have. In addition, the millimeter wave interfaces 606 and 610 may upwardly and downwardly displace the frequency of the signal between the millimeter waveband and the cellular band. The millimeter wave interfaces 606 and 610 may also include a multiplexer and demultiplexer that enable multiplexed signals in the time domain and / or frequency domain. In addition, the millimeter wave interfaces 606 and 610 may include a modem capable of demodulating the signal using a protocol such as DOCSIS. The signal may then be transmitted to the microcell 614 to enable communication with the mobile device.

The millimeter wave interfaces 606 and 610 may also include a wireless access point. The wireless access point (e.g., 802.11ac) allows the microcell 614 to be located anywhere within the range of the wireless access point, and does not need to be physically connected to the repeater 602.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a quasi-optical coupling 700 according to various aspects described herein. There is a need for a specially trained and certified technician to work with high and medium voltage transmission lines. Placing the circuit away from the high and medium voltage transmission lines allows a typical technician to install and maintain the circuit. Thus, this exemplary embodiment is a semi-optical coupler that allows the base station and surface wave transmitter to be separated from the transmission line.

At millimeter wave frequencies that are less than the macroscopic size of the instrument, millimeter wave transmissions can be transmitted from one place to another and can be converted through lenses and reflectors, much like visible light. Thus, the reflectors 706 and 708 can be placed and oriented on the transmission line 704 such that the millimeter waveband transmission transmitted from the transmitter 716 is reflected parallel to the transmission line and guided by the transmission line as surface waves. Similarly, a millimeter wave band (60 GHz or greater in the present embodiment) surface waves transmitted along transmission line 704 may be reflected by reflectors 706 and 708 and transmitted to a monolithic transmitter May be transmitted as a collimated beam to waveguide 718 and dielectric lens 710 on integrated circuit 716. [

Base station 712 and transmitter device 716 may receive power from transformer 714, which may be part of an existing utility company infrastructure.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a backhaul system in accordance with various aspects described herein is shown. The backhaul system 800 includes a base station device 808 that receives a network connection over a physical or wireless connection to an existing network infrastructure. The network connection may be made by fibers and / or cables, or by microwave connections within high-bandwidth visible distances to nearby macrocell points. The base station device 808 may include a microcell (or other small cell deployment) that may enable communication with the mobile device 820.

The wireless repeater 802 communicatively coupled to the base station device 808 may transmit the millimeter band signal to the wireless repeater 804. [ The wireless repeater 804 may also transmit transmissions to the wireless repeater 806 and both the wireless repeaters 804 and 806 may share signals with the microcells 810 and 812. In this way, the network connection from the existing infrastructure can be distributed to the mesh networks of the microcells through millimeter-band transmissions within the visible range by the wireless repeaters.

In some embodiments, wireless repeaters may broadcast transmissions at frequencies above 100 GHz. Antennas with lower gain and wider beamwidth than conventional millimeter-wave wireless links provide high availability at short link lengths (~ 500 feet) while keeping wireless repeaters low and in small size.

In some embodiments, the wireless repeater and microcells may be mounted on existing infrastructures such as louvers 814, 816, and 818. In another embodiment, the wireless repeater and microcells may be mounted on a telephone pole for transmission lines, buildings, and other structures.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a millimeter waveband antenna device 900 in accordance with various aspects described herein is shown. The wireless repeater 904 may have a plastic cover 902 to protect the wireless antenna 906. The wireless repeater 904 may be mounted on a telephone pole, a canopy, or other structure 908 having a mounting arm 910. The wireless repeater may also receive power through wire 912 and output signals to adjacent microcells using fiber or cable 914. [

In some embodiments, the wireless repeater 904 may include 16 antennas. These antennas may be arranged radially, and each may have an azimuth beam width of about 24 degrees. Thus, there may be a small overlap between each antenna beam width. The wireless repeater 904 can automatically select the best sector antenna to use for connection based on signal measurements such as signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio, etc., when receiving transmissions or transmissions. Because the wireless repeater 904 can automatically select the antenna to use, precise antenna alignment is not implemented in one embodiment, and there is no stringent requirement for mounting structure twist rate, tilt, and vibration.

In some embodiments, the wireless repeater 904 may include microcells in the device, thereby enabling communication with the mobile device as well as allowing the standalone device to become a repeater on the backhaul network. In another embodiment, the wireless repeater may include a wireless access point (e.g., 802.11ac).

Referring now to FIG. 10, there is shown a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of an underground backhaul system according to various aspects described herein. Pipes can support the transmission of inductive electromagnetic waves whether metallic or dielectric. Thus, the distributed antenna backhaul system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be repeated using the underground conduit 1004 instead of the above ground transmission line. The underground conduit may carry a transmission line or other cable 1002 and the RF / optical modem of the transformer box 1006 may convert the backhaul signal to a millimeter wave (more than 40 GHz in the embodiment) or a millimeter wave to a backhaul signal Modulation or demodulation). A fiber or cable 1310 may transfer the converted backhaul signal to a nearby microcell.

A single channel can provide several backhaul connections along its path by delivering a multiplexed millimeter wave signal in either time domain or frequency domain mode.

Figure 11 illustrates a method associated with the system described above. The method of FIG. 11 may be implemented, for example, by the systems 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 1000 shown in FIGS. 1-7 and 10, respectively. For simplicity of explanation, the method is shown and described as a series of blocks, but since some blocks may be performed in a different order and / or concurrently with other blocks than those shown and described herein, It is to be understood and appreciated that the invention is not limited thereto. Also, not all illustrated blocks may be necessary to implement the method described below.

Figure 11 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a method for providing a backhaul connection as described herein. In step 1102, the first surface wave transmission is received over the transmission line. Surface wave transmission may be received by a conical transceiver in some embodiments. In another embodiment, a reflector positioned on a transmission line can reflect a surface wave to a dielectric lens and a waveguide to convert the surface wave into an electronic transmission. In step 1104, the first surface wave transmission is converted to an electronic transmission. Conical transceivers can receive electromagnetic waves and convert them into electronic transmissions that propagate through the circuit.

At step 1106, a communication signal is extracted from the electronic transmission. The communication signal may be extracted using an RF modem using a protocol such as DOCSIS. The RF modem can extract the communication signal by modulating and demodulating the electronic signal. The communication signal may be a signal received from a mobile network and may be provided to confer a network connection to a distributed base station.

At 1108, the communication signal may be transmitted to a nearby base station device. Communications may be transmitted over fiber or cable, or wirelessly using Wi-Fi (e.g., 802.11ac).

At 1110, the electronic transmission is transmitted as a second surface wave transmission through the transmission line. A second conical transceiver or reflector may emit surface waves on the transmission line to the next node of the backhaul system. The first surface wave transmission and the second surface wave transmission are at a frequency of at least 30 GHz.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a block diagram of a computing environment in accordance with various aspects described herein is shown. For example, in some embodiments, a computer may be included or included in the mobile device data rate control system 200, 400, 500 and / or 600.

12 and the following discussion provides a brief general description of a suitable computing environment 1200 in which the various embodiments of the embodiments described herein may be implemented, to provide additional background to the various embodiments described herein. . Although embodiments have been described above as a general background of computer-executable instructions that may be executed on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments may be implemented in combination with other program modules and / or in combination of hardware and software .

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the methods of the present invention may be practiced with other computer systems, including single processor or multiprocessor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, portable computing devices, microprocessor- Configuration, each of which may be operably coupled to one or more associated devices.

As used in the claims, the terms "first", "second", "third", and the like are for clarity only, Do not. For example, "first decision", "second decision", and "third decision" do not indicate or imply that the first decision is made before the second decision, and vice versa.

Furthermore, the embodiments shown in the embodiments of the present application can be executed in a distributed computing environment in which a specific operation is performed by a remote processing apparatus connected through a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

A computing device typically includes a variety of media, which may include a computer-readable storage medium and / or a communication medium, wherein the two terms are used differently as follows. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available storage medium that can be accessed by a computer and includes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example and not limitation, computer readable storage media can be embodied in connection with any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, program modules, structured data, or unstructured data.

The computer-readable storage medium may be a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory or other memory technology, a compact disk read only memory (CD ROM) But are not limited to, general purpose digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other types of tangible and / Media, but are not limited thereto. In this regard, the term " type " or " non-transient " as applied to a storage device, memory or computer readable medium excludes only the propagating transient signal itself as a modifier, But is not to be construed as conferring any rights with respect to any standard storage, memory or computer readable medium.

The computer-readable storage medium may be accessed by one or more local or remote computing devices, for example via an access request, query or other data retrieval protocol, for various operations associated with information stored by the medium.

Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other structured or unstructured data in a modulated data signal, e.g., a data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, Or transmission medium. The term " modulated data signal " or signal refers to a signal having one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By way of example and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

12, an exemplary environment 1200 for implementing various embodiments of the aspects described herein includes a computer 1202 including a processing unit 1204, a system memory 1206 and a system bus 1208 ). The system bus 1208 couples system components including, but not limited to, the system memory 1206 to the processing unit 1204. The processing unit 1204 may be any of a variety of commercially available processors. A dual microprocessor and other multiprocessor architectures may also be used as the processing unit 1204.

The system bus 1208 may use any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures to implement any of a number of bus architectures that may further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, Type bus structure. The system memory 1206 includes a ROM 1210 and a RAM 1212. The basic input / output system (BIOS) may be stored in nonvolatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), EEPROM, and the BIOS may store information Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > routines. ≪ / RTI > The RAM 1212 may also include a high speed RAM, such as static RAM, for caching data.

The computer 1202 may include an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 1214 (e.g., EIDE, SATA) that may be configured for external use with a suitable chassis (not shown); A magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 1216 (e.g., for reading from or writing to a removable disk 1218); And an optical disk drive 1220 (e.g., for reading from or writing to a CD-ROM disk 1222 from other high capacity optical media such as a read or DVD). The hard disk drive 1214, magnetic disk drive 1216 and optical disk drive 1220 are connected to the system bus 1208 by a hard disk drive interface 1224, a magnetic disk drive interface 1226 and an optical drive interface 1228. [ Respectively. The interface 1224 for external drive implementation includes at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and American Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 994 interface technologies. Other external drive coupling techniques are within the considerations of the embodiments described herein.

The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media provide non-volatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and the like. In the case of computer 1202, the drive and the storage medium accept storage of any data in a suitable digital format. Although the above description of a computer-readable storage medium refers to a hard disk drive (HDD), a removable magnetic disk, and a removable optical medium such as a CD or DVD, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the computer, such as a home drive, magnetic cassette, flash memory card, cartridge, It should be appreciated that other types of storage medium readable by the computer system may be used in the exemplary operating environment and that any such storage medium may comprise computer executable instructions for performing the methods described herein.

A number of program modules including operating system 1230, one or more application programs 1232, other program modules 1234 and program data 1236 may be stored in the drive and RAM 1212. In addition, all or a portion of the operating system, applications, modules, and / or data may be cached in the RAM 1212. The systems and methods described herein may be implemented using a variety of commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

A user may enter commands and information into the computer 1202 via one or more wired / wireless input devices, such as a keyboard 1238 and a pointing device, such as a mouse 1240. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, an infrared (IR) remote control, a joystick, a game pad, a stylus pen, a touch screen, and the like. These input devices and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 1204 through an input device interface 1242 that can be coupled to the system bus 1208, but may be a parallel port, an IEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an IR interface, and the like.

A monitor 1244 or other type of display device may also be coupled to the system bus 1208 via an interface, such as a video adapter 1246. [ In addition to the monitor 1244, the computer typically includes other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, and the like.

The computer 1202 may be operated in a networking environment using logical connections via wired and / or wireless communication to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer (s) The remote computer (s) 1248 may be a workstation, a server computer, a router, a personal computer, a portable computer, a microprocessor-based entertainment device, a peer device or other common network node, Includes a number of elements or all of the elements described, but for brevity, only memory / storage device 1250 is shown. The depicted logical connections include wired / wireless connections to a larger network, such as a local area network (LAN) 1252 and / or a wide area network (WAN) These LAN and WAN networking environments are commonplace in offices and corporations and enable enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, that can be connected to global communication networks, such as the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1202 may be connected to the local area network 1252 via a wired and / or wireless communication network interface or adapter 1256. The adapter 1256 may enable wired or wireless communication to the LAN 1252, which may also include a wireless AP disposed thereon for communicating with the wireless adapter 1256.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1202 may include a modem 1258, may be coupled to the communication server via a WAN 1254, or may be coupled to the communication server via, for example, the Internet, And other means for establishing communication. A modem 1258, which may be internal or external, and may be a wired or wireless device, may be coupled to the system bus 1208 via an input device interface 1242. In a networking environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 1202 or portions thereof may be stored in the remote memory / storage device 1250. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communication connection between the computers may be used.

The computer 1202 may be any wireless device or entity that is operably disposed in wireless communication, such as a printer, a scanner, a desktop and / or portable computer, a portable data terminal, a communication satellite, Or any portion of the facility (e.g., a kiosk, a newsstand, a toilet). This may include Wi-Fi and BLUETOOTH® wireless technology. Thus, the communication may be a predefined structure, such as in a conventional network, or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi can be connected to the Internet wirelessly from a sofa at home, a bed in a hotel room, or a meeting room at work. Wi-Fi is a wireless technology similar to that used in cell phones, allowing for such devices, such as computers, to transmit and receive data both indoors and outdoors, anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use wireless technology, referred to as IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, n, ac, etc.) to provide secure, reliable, and fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect computers together, connect to the Internet, and connect to a wired network (IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet can be used). A Wi-Fi network, for example, can operate at unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, at 11 Mbps (802.11a) or 54 Mbps (802.11b) data rates, or as products containing two bands To provide real-world performance similar to the native 10BaseT wired Ethernet network used in many office networks.

13 illustrates an exemplary embodiment 1300 of a mobile network platform 1310 that can implement and utilize one or more aspects of the disclosed subject matter described herein. In general, the wireless network platform 1310 is configured to receive packet switched (PS) (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP), Frame Relay, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Such as nodes, gateways, interfaces, servers, or disparate platforms, that enable both creation of data and control, as well as enabling control generation for networked wireless communications. As a non-limiting example, the wireless network platform 1310 may be included in a carrier network and may be considered a provider-side component as discussed elsewhere herein. Mobile network platform 1310 may be a legacy system such as legacy systems such as telephony network (s) 1340 (e.g., public switched telephone network (PSTN) or public land mobile network (PLMN)) or signaling system # And CS gateway node (s) 1312 capable of interfacing CS traffic received from the network. Circuit-switched gateway node (s) 1312 may authorize and authenticate traffic (e.g., voice) originating from such networks. In addition, the CS gateway node (s) 1312 can access mobility or roaming data generated via the SS7 network 1370, for example, a visited location register (VLR) To access the stored mobility data. In addition, CS gateway node (s) 1312 interfaces CS-based traffic and signaling, and PS gateway node (s) 1318. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, the CS gateway node (s) 1312 may be implemented, at least in part, in a gateway GPRS support node (s) (GGSN). The functions and specific operations of the CS gateway node (s) 1312, PS gateway node (s) 1318 and serving node (s) 1316 may be performed by a wireless technology Quot;) < / RTI >

In addition to receiving and processing CS-switched traffic and signaling, the PS gateway node (s) 1318 may authorize and authenticate a PS-based data session with the serving mobile device. A data session may be initiated by a wireless network platform (s) 1370, such as a service network (s) 1380 and a corporate network (s) 1370, which may be implemented as a wide area network (WAN) 1350, a local area network 1310), and may also be interfaced with the mobile network platform 1310 via the PS gateway node (s) It should be noted that the WANs 1350 and the enterprise network (s) 1360 may at least partially implement a service network (s) such as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). Based on the available radio technology layer (s) of the technology resource (s) 1317, the packet-switching gateway node (s) 1318 may create a packet data protocol context if a data session is established; Other data structures may also be generated that allow routing of the packetized data. To this end, in one aspect, the PS gateway node (s) 1318 may include a tunnel interface (e.g., a 3GPP UMTS network (s)) capable of enabling packetized communication with a heterogeneous wireless network (s) (TTG) (not shown) of the base station (s)).

1310. The wireless network platform 1310 may also be configured to transmit various packets received via the PS gateway node (s) 1318, based on the available wireless technology layer (s) (S) 1316 that carry the data stream of the aggregated flow. It should be noted that, in the case of the technology resource (s) 1317 that is primarily dependent on the CS communication, the serving node (s) can deliver traffic without relying on the PS gateway node (s) 1318; For example, the serving node (s) may at least partially implement a mobile switching center. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, serving node (s) 1316 may be implemented with serving GPRS support node (s) (SGSN).

For wireless technology using packetized communications, the server (s) 1314 of the wireless network platform 1310 may generate a plurality of heterogeneous packetized data streams or flows to manage (e.g., schedule, Queuing, formatting, etc.). Such application (s) may include add-on features for standard services (e.g., provisioning, billing, customer support, etc.) provided by wireless network platform 1310. A data stream (e.g., a piece of content that is part of a voice call or data session) may be delivered to the PS gateway node (s) 1318 for authorization / authentication and initiation of the data session, 1316). ≪ / RTI > In addition to the application server, the server (s) 1314 can include a utility server (s), which can implement a provisioning server, an operation and maintenance server, at least in part, a certificate authority and a firewall, A security server capable of implementing a security mechanism, and the like. (S) 1312 and the PS gateway node (s) 1318, in addition to the authorization and authentication procedures that the CS gateway node (s) 1312 and the PS gateway node (s) 1318 can perform, Thereby protecting the communication served through the wireless network platform 1310. (S), such as a WAN 1350 or a GPS (Global Positioning System) network (s) (not shown), that is operated by a heterogeneous service provider Can be provisioned. The provisioning server (s) may also be used by the UE 1375 to offload RAN resources to improve the subscriber service experience within the home or business environment and to communicate with the femto- (E.g., deployed and operated by the same service provider) that is interfaced with the wireless network platform 1310, such as a wireless network (not shown) (not shown).

It should be noted that the server (s) 1314 may include one or more processors configured to at least partially provide the functionality of the macro network platform 1310. To this end, one or more processors may execute code instructions stored in memory 1330, for example. It should be appreciated that the server (s) 1314 may include a content manager 1315 that operates in substantially the same manner as described above.

In an exemplary embodiment 1300, the memory 1330 may store information related to the operation of the wireless network platform 1310. Other operational information includes subscriber database, provisioning information of mobile devices served through wireless platform network 1310; Pricing methods such as promotional rates, flat rate programs, coupon delivery campaigns, application intelligence; The technical specification (s) in accordance with the communication protocol for operation of the heterogeneous wireless communication device or radio technology layer; And the like. The memory 1330 may also store information from at least one of the telephony network (s) 1340, the WAN 1350, the enterprise network (s) 1370, or the SS7 network 1360. In an aspect, memory 1330 may be accessed, for example, as part of a data storage component or as a remotely connected memory store.

To provide a background for various aspects of the disclosed subject matter, FIG. 13 and the following description are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable environment in which the various aspects of the disclosed subject matter may be implemented. Although the subject matter has been described above in the general context of computer-executable instructions of a computer program running on a computer and / or computer, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed subject matter may be implemented in combination with other program modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks and / or implement particular abstract data types.

Referring now to FIG. 14A, a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a communication system 1400 in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure is shown. Communication system 1400 may include a macro base station 1402, such as a base station or access point, having an antenna that covers one or more sectors (e.g., six or more sectors). The macro base station 1402 may be a communication node 1404A serving as a master or distribution node for other communication nodes 1404B through 1404E distributed within or across the coverage area of the macro base station 1402 at different geographic locations As shown in FIG. Communication nodes 1404 may be mobile devices (e.g., cellular phones) and / or fixed / stationary devices (e.g., residential or commercial facilities) that are wirelessly coupled to any of the communication nodes 1404 Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > communication < / RTI > device). In particular, the radio resources of the macro base station 1402 may be redirected to enable and / or utilize specific mobile and / or stationary devices to utilize the radio resources of the communication node 1404 in the communication range of mobile or stationary devices, ≪ / RTI >

Communication nodes 1404A through 1404E may be communicatively coupled to each other via interface 1410. [ In one embodiment, the interface 1410 may comprise a wired or tethered interface (e.g., a fiber optic cable). In other embodiments, the interface 1410 may comprise a wireless RF interface forming a wireless distributed antenna system. In various embodiments, communication nodes 1404A through 1404E may be configured to provide communication services to mobile and stationary devices in accordance with commands provided by macro base station 1402. [ However, in other examples of operation, communication nodes 1404A-1404E only operate as analogue repeaters that spread the coverage of macro base station 1402 over the entire range of individual communication nodes 1404A-1404E.

The micro base stations (shown as communication nodes 1404) may be different from the macro base station in several ways. For example, the communication range of the micro base stations may be smaller than the communication range of the macro base station. Thus, the power consumed by the micro base stations may be less than the power consumed by the macro base station. The macro base station may optionally determine which carrier frequency, spectral segment (s), and / or such spectral segments (s) (s) are to be communicated when communicating with certain mobile or stationary devices and with which mobile and / To be used by the micro base stations. In such cases, control of the micro base stations by the macro base station may be performed in a master-slave configuration or other suitable control configurations. The resources of the micro base stations may be simpler and less expensive than the resources utilized by the macro base station 1402, whether they operate independently or under the control of the macro base station 1402. [

Referring now to FIG. 14B, a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of communication nodes 1404B-1404E of communication system 1400 of FIG. 14A is shown. In this example, the communication nodes 1404B through 1404E are located on a public fixture such as a streetlight. In other embodiments, some of the communication nodes 1404B through 1404E may be located on a pole or pole that is used to distribute buildings, or transmission lines and / or communication lines. In these examples, communication nodes 1404B through 1404E may be configured to communicate with each other via interface 1410, and interface 1410 is shown as an air interface in this example. Communication nodes 1404B through 1404E may communicate with one or more communication protocols (e.g., fourth generation (4G) wireless signals such as LTE signals or other 4G signals, fifth generation (5G) wireless signals, WiMAX, (E.g., 802.11 signals, ultra-wideband signals, etc.) via a wireless interface 1411. The wireless interface 1411 may be configured to communicate with the mobile or stationary devices 1106A-1106C. Communication nodes 1404 may be higher than the operating frequency (e.g., 1.9 GHz) used to communicate with mobile or stationary devices via interface 1411 (e.g., 28 GHz, 38 GHz, 60 GHz, 80 GHz or higher) at the operating frequency. (E.g., 900 MHz band, 1.9 GHz band, 2.4 GHz band, and / or 5.8 GHz band), as will be exemplified by the spectrum downlink and uplink figures of FIG. Etc.) and / or a higher carrier frequency and a wider bandwidth enabling communication nodes 1404 to provide communication services to multiple mobile or stationary devices via one or more different protocols. Lt; / RTI > In other embodiments, a broadband spectrum (e.g., in the range of 2 to 6 GHz, 4 to 10 GHz, etc.) of a lower frequency range (e.g., 2 to 6 GHz, etc.) Can be used.

Referring now to Figures 14C and 14D, block diagrams illustrating exemplary non-limiting embodiments of communication node 1404 of communication system 1400 of Figure 14A are shown. The communication node 1404 may be attached to a support structure 1418 of a public fixture, such as a pole or a pole, as shown in Figure 14C. The communication node 1404 may be attached to the support structure 1418 with an arm 1420 comprised of plastic or other suitable material attached to the end of the communication node 1404. [ The communication node 1404 may further include a plastic housing assembly 1416 that covers components of the communication node 1404. Communications node 1404 may be powered by transmission line 1421 (e.g., 110/220 VAC). The transmission line 1421 may originate from a backplane or may be coupled to a transmission line of a telephone pole.

In one embodiment, in which communication nodes 1404 communicate wirelessly with other communication nodes 1404 as shown in FIG. 14B, an upper portion 1412 of communication node 1404 (also shown in FIG. 14D) For example, a plurality of antennas 1422 (e.g., sixteen dielectric antennas without metal planes) coupled to one or more transceivers, such as the transceiver 1400 shown in Figure 14, wholly or partially, . ≪ / RTI > Each of the plurality of antennas 1422 of the top side 1412 may operate as a sector of the communication node 1404 and each sector is configured to communicate with at least one communication node 1404 in the communication range of the sector . Alternatively, or in combination, the interface 1410 between the communication nodes 1404 may be a tethered interface (e.g., a fiber optic cable, or a transmission line used to transmit the induced electromagnetic waves, as described above). In other embodiments, the interface 1410 may be different between the communication nodes 1404. That is, some of the communication nodes 1404 may communicate via the air interface, while other communication nodes 1404 communicate via the tethered interface. In still other embodiments, some of the communication nodes 1404 may utilize a combined wireless and tethered interface.

The lower portion 1414 of the communication node 1404 includes a plurality of antennas 1424 for wirelessly communicating with one or more mobile or stationary devices 1406 at an appropriate carrier frequency to mobile or stationary devices 1406 You may. As noted above, the carrier frequency used by communication node 1404 to communicate with mobile or stationary devices via wireless interface 1411, shown in FIG. 14B, is communicated via communication interface 1404 to communication nodes 1404 May be different from the carrier frequency used to communicate between the base station and the base station. The plurality of antennas 1424 of the lower portion 1414 of the communication node 1404 may utilize a transceiver, such as the transceiver 1400 shown in FIG. 14, for example, in whole or in part.

Referring now to FIG. 15A, a block diagram illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of downlink and uplink communication techniques that enables the base stations to communicate with the communication nodes 1404 of FIG. 14A is shown. 15A, downlink signals (i.e., signals directed from the macro base station 1402 to the communication nodes 1404) are transmitted over the control channels 1502, one or more mobile or stationary devices 1506, Downlink spectrum segments 1506 that each include modulated signals that can be frequency translated to the original / natural frequency band of the modulated signals to enable communication nodes 1404 to communicate, And may be spectrally divided into pilot signals 1504 that may be supplied with some or all of the spectral segments 1506 to mitigate distortion generated between the spectral segments 1504. The pilot signals 1504 are processed by the upper portion 1416 (tethered or wireless) transceivers of the downstream communication nodes 1404 to remove distortion (e.g., phase distortion) . Each downlink spectrum segment 1506 is sufficiently wide to include one or more downlink modulated signals located in the frequency channel (or frequency slots) of the corresponding pilot signal 1504 and spectral segment 1506 For example, a 50 MHz bandwidth 1505 may be allocated. WLAN channels or other modulated communication signals (e. G., 10 to < / RTI > < RTI ID = 0.0 > 20 MHz).

The uplink modulated signals generated by the mobile or stationary communication devices in the intrinsic / original frequency bands of the uplink modulated signals are frequency converted and thereby the frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 ). ≪ / RTI > The uplink modulated signals may represent cellular channels, WLAN channels or other modulated communication signals. Each uplink spectrum segment 1510 may include a portion or each of the spectral segments 1402 and / or 1404 to enable upstream communication nodes 1404 and / or macro base station 1402 to remove distortion (e.g., phase error) A similar or the same bandwidth 1505 may be allocated to include a pilot signal 1508, which may be provided with a pilot signal 1510.

In the depicted embodiment, the downlink and uplink spectrum segments 1506 and 1510 may comprise any number of unique / original frequency bands (e.g., 900 MHz band, 1.9 GHz band, 2.4 GHz band, and / or 5.8 (Or frequency slots) that can be occupied by modulated signals that have been frequency-transformed from the frequency bands (e.g. The modulated signals may be upconverted to adjacent frequency channels of the downlink and uplink spectral segments 1506 and 1510. In this way, some adjacent frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 may inherently contain the same intrinsic / original frequency band modulated signals, while other adjacent frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 may be originally different May be modulated to be frequency-translated to be located in adjacent frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506, although in their native / original frequency bands. For example, the first modulated signal in the 1.9 GHz band and the second modulated signal in the same frequency band (i.e., 1.9 GHz) are frequency converted and thereby located in adjacent frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 . In another example, a first modulated signal in the 1.9 GHz band and a second communication signal in a different frequency band (i.e., 2.4 GHz) may be frequency translated and thereby be located in adjacent frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 have. Thus, the frequency channels of downlink spectrum segment 1506 may be occupied by the same or different signaling protocols and any combination of modulated signals of the same or different unique / original frequency bands.

Likewise, although some adjacent frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 can inherently contain modulated signals of the same frequency band, adjacent frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 are inherently different / inherent frequency bands But may be modulated to be frequency shifted to be located in adjacent frequency channels of the uplink segment 1510. [ For example, the first communication signal in the 2.4 GHz band and the second communication signal in the same frequency band (i.e., 2.4 GHz) may be frequency converted and thereby located in adjacent frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 . In another example, the first communication signal in the 1.9 GHz band and the second communication signal in the different frequency band (i.e., 2.4 GHz) may be frequency converted and thereby located in adjacent frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 . Thus, the frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 may be occupied by the same or different signaling protocols and any combination of modulated signals of the same or different unique / original frequency bands. The fact that the downlink spectrum segment 1506 and the uplink spectrum segment 1510 may be separated by a guard frequency band or separated by a larger frequency separation may themselves be dependent on the spectral allocation of their positions adjacent to each other It should be noted.

Referring now to FIG. 15B, a block diagram 1520 illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a communication node is shown. In particular, a communication node device, such as a communication node 1404A of a wireless distributed antenna system, includes a base station interface 1522, a duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524 and two transceivers 1530 and 1532. However, when communication node 1404A is assigned with a base station, such as macro base station 1402, duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524 and transceiver 1530 may be omitted and transceiver 1532 may be coupled to base station interface 1522 ). ≪ / RTI >

In various embodiments, base station interface 1522 receives a first modulated signal having one or more downlink channels of a first spectral segment for transmission to a client device, such as one or more mobile communication devices. The first spectral segment represents the original / natural frequency band of the first modulated signal. The first modulated signal may be one or more downlink communications in accordance with a signaling protocol such as LTE or other 4G wireless protocol, 5G wireless communication protocol, UWB protocol, WiMAX protocol, 802.11 or other wireless local area network protocol, and / Channels. The duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524 couples the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to the transceiver 1530 for direct communication with one or more mobile communication devices in the range of the communication node 1404A as a free- Lt; / RTI > In various embodiments, transceiver 1530 filters, amplifies, amplifies, and transmits downlink channels and spectrums of uplink channels of modulated signals of the original / natural frequency bands of modulated signals while attenuating out- Is implemented through analog circuitry that provides transmit / receive switching, duplexing, diplexing, and impedance matching to drive one or more antennas to transmit and receive wireless signals of interface 1410.

In other embodiments, the transceiver 1532 may, in various embodiments, convert the first modulated signal to a first modulated signal based on the analog signal processing of the first modulated signal without changing the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal To a first modulated signal at a first carrier frequency of the first carrier frequency. The first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency may occupy one or more frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506. The first carrier frequency may be in millimeter wave or microwave frequency band. The analog signal processing as used herein includes, but is not limited to, filtering, switching, duplexing, diplexing, amplification, frequency up and down conversion, and, for example, analog to digital conversion, digital to analog conversion, And other analog processing that does not require digital signal processing. In other embodiments, the transceiver 1532 may apply digital signal processing to the first modulated signal without altering the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal without utilizing any form of analog signal processing, To a first carrier frequency of the first modulated signal of the first modulated signal. In yet other embodiments, the transceiver 1532 may apply a combination of digital signal processing and analog processing to the first modulated signal without altering the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal, such that the first modulated signal < RTI ID = 0.0 > And to perform frequency conversion to the first carrier frequency of the signal.

Once the transceiver 1532 has been frequency transformed by the network element into the first spectral segment, the transceiver 1532, along with the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency, for wireless distribution of the first modulated signal to the one or more other mobile communication devices, One or more corresponding reference signals, such as one or more control channels, pilot signals, or other reference signals, and / or one or more clock signals, to one or more downstream communication nodes 1404B through 1404E, May be further configured to transmit to the network element. In particular, the reference signal enables the network element to reduce the phase error (and / or other types of signal distortion) during the processing of the first modulated signal from the first carrier frequency to the first spectral segment. The control channel may direct the communication node of the decentralized antenna system to convert the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to provide frequency selections and reuse patterns, handoffs, and / Or other control signaling. In embodiments in which the instructions transmitted and received via the control channel are digital signals, the transceiver 1532 provides analog to digital conversion, digital to analog conversion, and processing digital data transmitted and / or received via the control channel Digital signal processing components. The clock signals supplied with the downlink spectrum segment 1506 are used by the downstream communication nodes 1404B through 1404E to synchronize the timing of digital control channel processing to recover instructions from the control channel and / .

In various embodiments, transceiver 1532 may receive a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency from a network element, such as communication node 1104B through 1104E. The second modulated signal may be modulated by one or more modulated signals conforming to a signaling protocol such as LTE or other 4G wireless protocol, 5G wireless communication protocol, ultra wideband protocol, 802.11 or other wireless local area network protocol, and / And may include one or more uplink frequency channels to be occupied. In particular, a mobile or stationary communication device generates a second modulated signal of a second spectral segment, such as an original / natural frequency band and a network element frequency, and a second modulated signal of a second spectral segment, Modulated signal and transmits a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency received by communication node 1404A. The transceiver 1532 is operative to convert the second modulated signal of the second carrier frequency to a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment and to transmit the second modulated signal of the second spectral segment to the duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524 And a base station interface 1522 to a base station such as the macro base station 1402 for processing.

Consider the following example where communication node 1404A is implemented as a distributed antenna system. The uplink frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 and the downlink frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 may be transmitted using a 4G (Radio Frequency Identification) protocol such as the DOCSIS 2.0 or higher standard protocol, the WiMAX standard protocol, the UWB protocol, the 802.11 standard protocol, Or 5G voice and data protocol, and / or signals that are otherwise modulated and formatted according to other standard communication protocols. In addition to protocols conforming to current standards, any of these protocols may be modified to work with the system of FIG. 14A. For example, an 802.11 protocol or other protocol may be used to communicate with network elements that are communicating (e.g., through network elements or downlink spectrum segment 1506 or a particular frequency channel of uplink spectrum segment 1510) Or additional data channels to provide collision detection / multiple access over a wider area (which allows the combined communication devices to hear one another). In various embodiments, both uplink frequency channels of uplink spectrum segment 1510 and downlink frequency channel of downlink spectrum segment 1506 may all be formatted according to the same communication protocol. However, alternatively, two or more different protocols may be used on both the uplink spectrum segment 1510 and the downlink spectrum segment 1506, for example, to be compatible with the wider client devices and / or to operate in different frequency bands. Can be used.

When two or more different protocols are used, the first subset of downlink frequency channels of downlink spectrum segment 1506 may be modulated according to a first standard protocol and the downlink frequency segments of downlink frequency channels < RTI ID = 0.0 > The second subset may be modulated according to a second standard protocol different from the first standard protocol. Similarly, a first subset of the uplink frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 may be received by the system for demodulation according to the first standard protocol, and the first subset of uplink frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510, 2 subset may be received according to a second standard protocol for demodulation according to a second standard protocol different from the first standard protocol.

According to these examples, base station interface 1522 receives modulated signals, such as one or more downlink channels of the original / unique frequency bands of one or more downlink channels from a base station or other communication network element, such as macro base station 1402 . Similarly, the base station interface 1522 is configured to supply modulated signals received from other network elements that are frequency converted to modulated signals having one or more uplink channels of the original / unique frequency bands of one or more uplink channels to the base station . The base station interface 1522 is configured to receive communication signals, such as uplink and downlink channels of the original / natural frequency bands of the uplink and downlink channels, communication control signals, and other network signaling in both directions Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or < / RTI > The duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524 is coupled to a transceiver 1532 that frequency converts the frequency of the downlink channels from the original / natural frequency bands of the downlink channels to the frequency spectrum of the interface 1410, In which case the wireless communication link is configured to transmit communication signals downstream from one or more of the other communication nodes (1404B-1404E) of the distributed antenna system in the range of the communication device (1404A) It is used for transmission.

In various embodiments, the transceiver 1532 is operable to receive the downlink channel signals 1506 through mixing or other heterodyne operation to produce frequency converted downlink channel signals occupying the downlink frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 And an analog radio device for frequency conversion of the downlink channel signals of the original / natural frequency bands. In this example, the downlink spectrum segment 1506 is within the downlink frequency band of the interface 1410. In one embodiment, the downlink channel signals are transmitted from the original / natural frequency bands of the downlink channel signals for wireless communication within the visible distance to one or more of the other communication nodes 1404B through 1404E, , 38 ㎓, 60 ㎓, 70 ㎓ or 80 ㎓. However, it is noted that other frequency bands (e.g., 3 GHz to 5 GHz) for downlink spectrum segment 1506 may be used as well. For example, the transceiver 1532 may determine that one of the original / intrinsic spectral bands of one or more downlink channel signals in cases where the frequency band of the interface 1410 is less than the original / unique spectral bands of the one or more downlink channel signals And downconvert the downlink channel signals.

The transceiver 1532 may include a plurality of individual antennas, such as the antennas 1422 provided with the Fig. 14d for communicating with the communication nodes 1404B, a phased antenna array or a steerable beam, or a plurality of devices Beam antenna system to communicate with a multi-beam antenna system. The duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524 may include a duplexer, a triplexer, a diplexer, a diplexer, a diplexer, a diplexer, a diplexer, a diplexer, Splitter, switch, router and / or other assembly.

In addition to downstream downstream of modulated signals that are frequency transformed to other communication nodes 1404B through 1404E at carrier frequencies different from the original / unique spectral bands of the frequency translated modulated signals, communication node 1404A may be a modulated All or selected portions of the modulated signals that have not been altered in the original / unique spectral bands of the signals may be communicated to the client devices in the wireless coverage of the communication node 1404A via the air interface 1411. [ The duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524 transmits the modulated signals of the original / unique spectral bands of the modulated signals to the transceiver 1530. Transceiver 1530 may include a channel selection filter for selecting one or more downlink channels for transmission of downlink channels to mobile or fixed wireless devices via wireless interface 1411 and antennas 1424, And a power amplifier coupled to one or more of the same antennas.

In addition to downlink communications towards client devices, communication node 1404A may also operate in a reciprocal manner to handle uplink communications originating from client devices. In operation, the transceiver 1532 receives the uplink channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 via the uplink spectrum of the interface 1410 from the communication nodes 1404B through 1404E. The uplink frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 are converted from the original / unique spectral bands of the modulated signals to the uplink frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 by the communication nodes 1404B through 1404E, ≪ / RTI > In situations where the interface 1410 operates at a higher frequency band than the intrinsic / original spectral segments of the modulated signals provided by the client devices, the transceiver 1532 may convert the upconverted modulated signals into an up- Down to the original frequency bands of the received signals. However, in situations where the interface 1410 operates at a lower frequency band than the intrinsic / original spectral segments of the modulated signals provided by the client devices, the transceiver 1532 may convert the downconverted modulated signals to a down- Lt; / RTI > to the original frequency bands of the modulated signals. In addition, the transceiver 1530 operates to receive all or selected of the modulated signals of the original / natural frequency bands of the modulated signals via the wireless interface 1411 from the client devices. The duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524 provides modulated signals of the original / natural frequency bands of the modulated signals received via the transceiver 1530 to be transmitted to the macro base station 1402 or other network elements of the communication network to the base station interface 1522). Similarly, the modulated signals occupying the uplink frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510, which are frequency translated into the original / natural frequency bands of the signals modulated by the transceiver 1532, Is supplied to duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524 for transmission to base station interface 1522 to be transmitted to other network elements.

Referring now to FIG. 15C, a block diagram 1535 illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a communication node is shown. In particular, a communication node device such as a communication node 1404B, 1404C, 1404D or 1404E of a wireless distributed antenna system includes a transceiver 1533, a duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524, an amplifier 1538 and two transceivers 1536A and 1536B.

In various embodiments, transceiver 1536A may receive, from communication node 1404A or upstream communication nodes 1404B through 1404E, channels (e.g., one or more) of a first modulated signal of the transformed spectrum of the distributed antenna system Lt; / RTI > of the first carrier frequency corresponding to the arrangement of frequency channels (e. G., Frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segments 1506 above). The first modulated signal includes first communication data provided by the base station and directed to the mobile communication device. The transceiver 1536A may receive from the communication node 1404A one or more corresponding reference signals, such as one or more control channels and pilot signals or other reference signals associated with the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency, and / Or one or more clock signals. The first modulated signal may be one or more downlink communications in accordance with a signaling protocol such as LTE or other 4G wireless protocol, 5G wireless communication protocol, UWB protocol, WiMAX protocol, 802.11 or other wireless local area network protocol, and / Channels.

As discussed above, the reference signal may cause a phase error (and / or other types of signal distortion) during processing of the first modulated signal from the first carrier frequency to the first spectral segment (i.e., the original / unique spectrum) / RTI > The control channel may direct the communication node of the decentralized antenna system to convert the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to provide frequency selections and reuse patterns, handoffs, and / Or other control signaling. The clock signals may be synchronized with the timing of digital control channel processing by downstream communication nodes 1404B through 1404E to recover instructions from the control channel and / or provide other timing signals.

Amplifier 1538 amplifies the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency along with reference signals, control channels and / or clock signals coupled to transceiver 1536B via a duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524 And the transceiver 1536B may be coupled to one or more of the communication nodes 1404B-1404E operating in a similar manner, downstream from the illustrated communication nodes 1404B-1404E, in this example, , Control channels and / or clock signals as repeaters for retransmitting the amplified first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency.

The amplified first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency along with the reference signals, control channels and / or clock signals is also coupled to the transceiver 1533 via the duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524. The transceiver 1533 performs digital signal processing on the control channel to recover instructions in the form of, for example, digital data from the control channel. The clock signal is used to synchronize the timing of digital control channel processing. The transceiver 1533 may then utilize the reference signal to reduce distortion during the conversion process, based on analog (and / or digital) signal processing of the first modulated signal and in accordance with subsequent instructions, And performs frequency conversion of the first modulated signal to the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment. Transceiver 1533 wirelessly transmits a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment for direct communication with one or more mobile communication devices in the range of communication nodes 1404B through 1404E as free space wireless signals.

In various embodiments, transceiver 1536B may receive uplink spectrum segment 1510 from other network elements, such as one or more other communication nodes 1404B through 1404E downstream from the illustrated communication nodes 1404B through 1404E. Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > of the second carrier frequency. ≪ / RTI > The second modulated signal includes one or more uplink communication channels conforming to a signaling protocol such as LTE or other 4G wireless protocol, 5G wireless communication protocol, ultra wideband protocol, 802.11 or other wireless local area network protocol, and / or other communication protocol can do. In particular, one or more mobile communication devices generate a second modulated signal of a second spectral segment, such as an original / natural frequency band, and a downstream network element generates a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency, 2 modulated signal and transmits a second modulated signal at a second carrier frequency of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 received by the illustrated communication nodes 1404B through 1404E. The transceiver 1536B communicates again through the duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524 to the amplifier 1538 for amplifying and retransmitting the second modulated signal at the second carrier frequency through the transceiver 1536A for additional retransmission Node 1404A or upstream communication nodes 1404B through 1404E to the base station, such as macro base station 1402, for processing.

Transceiver 1533 may receive a second modulated signal of a second spectral segment from one or more mobile communication devices in the range of communication nodes 1404B through 1404E. Transceiver 1533 is operable to perform frequency translation to a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency for a second modulated signal of a second spectral segment under control of commands received via, for example, a control channel Control channels and / or clock signals for use by the communication node 1404A to re-convert the second modulated signal back to the original / unique spectral segments, To the transceiver 1536A via the duplexer / diplexer assembly 1524 and amplifier 1538 for amplification and retransmission of the second modulated signal and back to the communication node 1404A or upstream communication nodes 1404B To 1404E to the base station such as the macro base station 1402 for processing.

Referring now to FIG. 15D, there is shown a graphical plot 1540 illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum. In particular, the spectrum 1542 may be transmitted to the downlink segment 1506 after the modulated signals are frequency converted (e.g., via up-conversion or down-conversion) from one or more of the original / unique spectral segments to the spectrum 1542. [ Or a modulated signal occupying frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510. [

In the example provided, the downstream (downlink) channel band 1544 includes a plurality of downstream frequency channels represented by separate downlink spectrum segments 1506. Likewise, the upstream (uplink) channel band 1546 includes a plurality of upstream frequency channels represented by separate uplink spectrum segments 1510. The spectral shapes of the separate spectral segments are considered to be placeholders for the frequency assignment of each modulated signal with associated reference signals, control channels and clock signals. The actual spectral response of each frequency channel of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 or uplink spectrum segment 1510 will vary based on the protocol and modulation used and additionally over time.

The number of uplink spectrum segments 1510 may be less than or greater than the number of downlink spectrum segments 1506, depending on the asymmetric communication scheme. In this case, the upstream channel band 1546 may be narrower or wider than the downstream channel band 1544. Alternatively, the number of uplink spectrum segments 1510 may be equal to the number of downlink spectrum segments 1506 when a symmetric communication scheme is implemented. In this case, the width of the upstream channel band 1546 may be equal to the width of the downstream channel band 1544 and bit stuffing or other data filling techniques may be used to compensate for changes in upstream traffic. The downstream channel band 1444 may be at a higher frequency than the upstream channel band 1546 while the downstream channel band 1544 is represented by a lower frequency than the upstream channel band 1546. In other embodiments, . In addition, the number of spectral segments of spectrum 1542 and the respective frequency positions of the spectral segments may change dynamically over time. For example, a general control channel (not shown), which may indicate the frequency location of each downlink spectrum segment 1506 and each uplink spectrum segment 1510 to the communication nodes 1404, Lt; / RTI > The number of downlink spectrum segments 1506 and uplink spectrum segments 1510 may change over a common control channel, depending on the traffic conditions or network requirements that make it necessary to reallocate bandwidth. In addition, downlink spectrum segments 1506 and uplink spectrum segments 1510 need not be grouped separately. For example, the common control channel may identify the downlink spectrum segment 1506 followed by the uplink spectrum segment 1510 in an alternating manner, or in any other combination that may or may not be symmetric. It is further noted that instead of utilizing a general control channel, multiple control channels may be used, each identifying a frequency location of one or more spectral segments and a type of spectral segment (i.e., uplink or downlink).

In addition, while downstream channel band 1544 and upstream channel band 1546 are shown occupying a single close frequency band, in other embodiments, two or more upstream and / or two or more downstream channel bands May be used depending on available spectrum and / or communication standards used. The frequency channels of uplink spectrum segments 1510 and downlink spectrum segments 1506 may be transmitted using a 4G or 5G voice and data protocol such as DOCSIS 2.0 or higher standard protocol, WiMAX standard protocol, ultra wide band protocol, 802.11 standard protocol, LTE protocol , ≪ / RTI > and / or other standard communication protocols. In addition to protocols conforming to current standards, any of these protocols may be modified to work with the system shown. For example, 802.11 protocols or other protocols may be used to provide collision detection / multiple access over a wider area (e.g., enabling devices communicating over a particular frequency channel to listen to each other) And / or a separate data channel. In various embodiments, both the uplink frequency channels of uplink spectrum segments 1510 and the downlink frequency channels of downlink spectrum segments 1506 are all formatted according to the same communication protocol. However, alternatively, two or more different protocols may be used, for example, to support uplink frequency channels of one or more uplink spectrum segments 1510 and one or more uplink frequency channels of one or more uplink spectrum segments 1510 to be compatible with and / May be used on both downlink frequency channels of downlink spectrum segments 1506. [

It should be noted that the modulated signals may be collected from different original / unique spectral segments for aggregation into spectrum 1542. In this manner, a first portion of the uplink frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 may include a second portion of the uplink frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 that was frequency transformed from the one or more different original / unique spectral segments Respectively. Likewise, the first portion of the downlink frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 is adjacent to the second portion of the downlink frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 that were frequency transformed from the one or more different original / unique spectral segments can do. For example, one or more 2.4 GHz 802.11 channels that were frequency translated may be adjacent to one or more 5.8 GHz 802.11 channels that were also frequency translated to a spectrum 1542 centered at 80 GHz. Can be used to generate a local oscillator signal of frequency and phase that provides frequency translation of one or more frequency channels of such a spectral segment from the arrangement of each spectral segment of spectrum 1542 back to the original / unique spectral segment of each spectral segment It should be noted that each spectral segment may have an associated reference signal, such as a pilot signal.

Referring now to FIG. 15E, there is shown a graphical illustration 1550 illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum. In particular, spectral segment selection as discussed with the signal processing performed on the spectral segments selected by the transceivers 1530 of the communication node 1440A or the transceiver 1532 of the communication nodes 1404B through 1404E is provided. As shown, the downlink spectrum segments of the downlink channel frequency band 1544 and the specific uplink frequency portion 1558, including one of the uplink spectrum segments 1510 of the uplink frequency channel band 1546, A particular downlink frequency portion 1556 comprising one of the downlink frequency band 1546 and the downlink frequency band 1546 is selected to be passed by channel selective filtering and the remaining portions of the uplink frequency channel band 1546 and downlink channel frequency band 1544 are filtered out Is attenuated to mitigate the adverse effects of processing of the desired frequency channels passed by the transceiver. It should be noted that although a single specific uplink spectrum segment 1510 and a particular downlink spectrum segment 1506 are shown as being selected, two or more uplink and / or downlink spectrum segments may be passed in other embodiments do.

Although transceivers 1530 and 1532 may operate based on fixed static channel filters with uplink and downlink frequency portions 1558 and 1556, as discussed above, the transceivers 1530 and 1532 may be used to dynamically configure transceivers 1530 and 1532 for a particular frequency selection. In this manner, the upstream and downstream frequency channels of the corresponding spectral segments can be dynamically allocated to the various communication nodes by the macro base station 1402 or other network element of the communication network to optimize performance by the distributed antenna system have.

Referring now to FIG. 15F, there is shown a graphical drawing 1560 illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum. In particular, spectrum 1562 may be used to determine whether uplink or downlink spectrum (e.g., uplink or downlink) to be transmitted after the frequency of the modulated signals is converted from one or more of the original / unique spectral segments Is shown for a distributed antenna system that carries modulated signals occupying frequency channels of the segments.

As discussed above, two or more different communication protocols may be used to transmit upstream and downstream data. When two or more different protocols are used, the first subset of downlink frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 may be occupied by the modulated signals that are frequency transformed in accordance with the first standard protocol and the same or different down The second subset of downlink frequency channels of link spectrum segment 1506 may be occupied by the modulated signals that are frequency transformed in accordance with a second standard protocol different from the first standard protocol. Similarly, a first subset of the uplink frequency channels of the uplink spectrum segment 1510 may be received by the system for demodulation according to the first standard protocol, The second subset of channels may be received according to a second standard protocol for demodulation according to a second standard protocol different from the first standard protocol.

In the illustrated example, the downstream channel band 1544 includes a first plurality of downstream spectral segments, represented by separate spectral shapes of a first type indicating the use of the first communication protocol. Downstream channel band 1544 'includes a second plurality of downstream spectral segments represented by separate spectral shapes of a second type indicating use of a second communication protocol. Likewise, the upstream channel band 1546 includes a first plurality of upstream spectral segments represented by separate spectral shapes of a first type indicating the use of the first communication protocol. The upstream channel band 1546 'includes a second plurality of upstream spectral segments represented by separate spectral shapes of a second type indicating the use of a second communication protocol. These separate spectral shapes are believed to be placeholders for frequency assignment of each individual spectral segment with associated reference signals, control channels and / or clock signals. It should be noted that although the individual channel bandwidth is shown to be approximately the same for the first and second types of channels, the upstream and downstream channel bands 1544, 1544 ', 1546 and 1546' may be different bandwidths. In addition, the spectral segments of these channel bands of the first and second types may be different bandwidths depending on the available spectrum and / or communication standards used.

Referring now to FIG. 15g, there is shown a graphical drawing 1570 illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum. Particularly, a portion of the spectrum 1542 or 1562 of FIGS. 15d-15f includes a modulated (e.g., up-converted or down-converted) channel signal in the form of channel signals whose frequency has been converted from one or more original / unique spectral segments ≪ / RTI > is shown for a distributed antenna system that transmits signals.

Portion 1572 includes a portion of the downlink or uplink spectrum segments 1506 and 1510 that are represented in spectral form and represent a portion of the bandwidth reserved for the control channel, reference signal, and / or clock signal. The spectral shape 1574 represents a control channel separate from the reference signal 1579 and the clock signal 1578, for example. It should be noted that clock signal 1578 is shown in a spectral shape representing a sinusoidal signal that may require adjustment in the form of a more conventional clock signal. In other embodiments, however, a typical clock signal may be transmitted as a modulated carrier by modulating the reference signal 1579 through amplitude modulation or other modulation techniques that preserve the phase of the carrier for use as a phase reference. In other embodiments, the clock signal may be transmitted by modulating the other carrier or as another signal. It is further noted that both clock signal 1578 and reference signal 1579 are shown as being outside the frequency band of control channel 1574. [

In another example, portion 1575 includes a portion of the downlink or uplink spectrum segments 1506 and 1510, which are shown as part of a spectral shape representing a portion of the bandwidth reserved for the control channel, reference signal, and / or clock signal do. Spectral shape 1576 represents a control channel having instructions including digital modulation to modulate the reference signal through amplitude modulation, amplitude displacement keying, or other modulation techniques that preserve the phase of the carrier for use as a phase reference. Clock signal 1578 is shown as being outside the frequency band of spectral shape 1576. The reference signal modulated by the control channel commands is indeed the subcarrier of the control channel and in-band with respect to the control channel. Once again, clock signal 1578 is shown in a spectral shape representing a sinusoidal signal, but in other embodiments a typical clock signal may be transmitted as a modulated carrier or other signal. In this case, instructions of the control channel may be used to modulate the clock signal 1578 instead of the reference signal.

The control channel 1576 is passed through the modulation of the reference signal in the form of a continuous wave (CW) in which the phase distortion of the receiver is again corrected during frequency conversion of the downlink or uplink spectral segments to the original / unique spectral segment of the reference signal Consider the following example. Control channel 1576 may be used to transmit commands such as network operations, operational and management traffic, and other control data between network elements of the distributed antenna system, such as pulse amplitude modulation, binary phase shift keying, Can be modulated with a strong modulation such as a modulation scheme. In various embodiments, the control data may include, without limitation:

● Status information indicating the online status, offline status, and network performance parameters of each network element.

● Network device information, such as module names and addresses, hardware and software versions, device capacities, and so on.

Spectral information such as frequency conversion coefficients, channel spacing, guard bands, uplink / downlink assignments, uplink and downlink channel selections, and the like.

Environmental measurements such as climatic conditions, image data, power outage information, and direct line obstructions.

In a further example, the control channel data may be transmitted over ultra wideband (UWB) signaling. The control channel data may be transmitted by generating radio energy in specific time intervals and occupying a larger bandwidth through pulse location or time modulation and / or by encoding polarity or amplitude of UWB pulses and / or by using orthogonal pulses. have. In particular, UWB pulses may be transmitted sporadically at relatively low wave rates to support time or position modulation, but may also be transmitted at rates up to the inverse of the UWB pulse bandwidth. In this manner, the control channel can be spread over the UWB spectrum without interfering with the CW transmissions of the reference signal and / or the clock signal, which can occupy in-band portions of the UWB spectrum of the control channel and at relatively low power.

Referring now to FIG. 15H, a block diagram 1580 illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a transmitter is shown. In particular, a transmitter 1582 is shown for use with a receiver 1581 and a digital control channel processor 1595, for example, in a transceiver, such as the transceiver 1533 provided with FIG. 15C. As shown, the transmitter 1582 includes an analog front end 1586, a clock signal generator 1589, a local oscillator 1592, a mixer 1596, and a transmitter front end 1584.

The amplified first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency along with the reference signals, control channels and / or clock signals is coupled from the amplifier 1538 to the analog front end 1586. The analog front end 1586 includes one or more filters or other frequency selectors that separate the control channel signal 1587, the clock reference signal 1578, the pilot signal 1591 and the one or more selected channel signals 1594 .

Digital control channel processor 1595 performs digital signal processing on the control channel to recover instructions from control channel signal 1587, for example, through demodulation of digital control channel data. Clock signal generator 1589 generates a clock signal 1590 from clock reference signal 1578 to synchronize the timing of digital control channel processing by digital control channel processor 1595. In embodiments where the clock reference signal 1578 is a sinusoid, the clock signal generator 1589 may provide amplification and limiting to generate a typical clock signal or other timing signal from the sinusoid. In embodiments where the clock reference signal 1578 is a modulated carrier signal such as a reference or pilot signal, or a modulation of another carrier, the clock signal generator 1589 provides demodulation to generate a typical clock signal or other timing signal .

In various embodiments, control channel signal 1587 may be a digitally modulated signal in the range of frequencies separated by pilot signal 1591 and clock reference 1588, or as a modulation of pilot signal 1591. In operation, the digital control channel processor 1595 provides demodulation of the control channel signal 1587 to extract the instructions contained therein to generate the control signal 1593. In particular, the control signal 1593 generated by the digital control channel processor 1595 in response to commands received over the control channel converts the frequencies of the channel signals 1594 for transmission over the air interface 1411 May be used to select particular channel signals 1594 with the corresponding pilot signal 1591 and / or clock reference 1588 used. In situations where the control channel signal 1587 carries instructions through the modulation of the pilot signal 1591, the pilot signal 1591 may be sent to the digital control channel processor 1595 rather than to the analog front end 1586 as shown It can be extracted through the < / RTI >

The digital control channel processor 1595 may be a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, microcomputer, central processing unit, field programmable gate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logic circuit, digital circuit, Digital-to-analog converters, and / or any device that manipulates (analog and / or digital) signals based on hard coding of circuitry and / or operational instructions. The processing module may be a memory device and / or an integrated memory element, module, processing circuit, and / or processing device, which may be a single memory device, a plurality of memory devices, and / . Such memory devices may be read-only memory, random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, static memory, dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory, and / or any device that stores digital information. If the processing module includes more than one processing device, the processing devices may be centrally located (e.g., coupled together directly through a wired and / or wireless bus structure) or may be located (e.g., And / or cloud computing through indirect coupling via a network and / or a wide area network). The memory and / or memory element that stores the corresponding operating instructions may be a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, microcomputer, central processing unit, field programmable gate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logic circuit, , Analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters, or other devices, or external to them. Hard-coded and / or operational instructions corresponding to at least some of the steps and / or functions described herein may be stored by a memory element and executed by a processing module, such memory device or memory element may be implemented as an article of manufacture It should be further noted that this can be achieved.

The local oscillator 1592 utilizes the pilot signal 1591 to reduce distortion during the frequency conversion process to generate the local oscillator signal 1597. In various embodiments, the pilot signal 1591 includes channel signals 1594 at a carrier frequency associated with the placement of the channel signals 1594 in the spectrum of the distributed antenna system for transmission to fixed or mobile communication devices. The local oscillator signal 1597 is at the exact frequency and phase of the local oscillator signal 1597 to produce a local oscillator signal 1597 of the appropriate frequency and phase to convert to the original / unique spectral segments of the channel signals 1594. In this case, the local oscillator 1592 may generate a sinusoidal local oscillator signal 1597 that preserves the frequency and phase of the pilot signal 1591 using bandpass filtering and / or other signal conditioning. In other embodiments, the pilot signal 1591 has a frequency and phase that can be used to derive the local oscillator signal 1597. In this case, the local oscillator 1592 transmits channel signals 1594 of the carrier frequency associated with the placement of the channel signals 1594 in the spectrum of the distributed antenna system for transmission to fixed or mobile communication devices, Frequency enhancement, or other frequency synthesis based on the pilot signal 1591 to generate a local oscillator signal 1597 of appropriate frequency and phase, to convert it to the original / unique spectral segments of the signals 1594 do.

The mixer 1596 frequency shifts the channel signals 1594 based on the local oscillator signal 1597 to generate frequency converted channel signals 1598 of the corresponding original / unique spectral segments of the channel signals 1594 . Although a single mixing step is shown, multiple mixing steps can be used to shift the channel signals to the baseband and / or one or more intermediate frequencies as part of the total frequency conversion. Transmitter (Xmtr) front end 1584 may transmit frequency converted channel signals 1598 in the range of communication nodes 1404B through 1404E to one or more mobile devices, such as antennas 1424, Or fixed-line communications devices. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > [0031] < / RTI >

Referring now to FIG. 15i, a block diagram 1585 is shown illustrating an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of a receiver. In particular, a receiver 1581 is shown for use with a transmitter 1582 and a digital control channel processor 1595, for example, in a transceiver, such as transceiver 1533, provided with FIG. 15C. As shown, the receiver 1581 includes an analog receiver (RCVR) front end 1583, a local oscillator 1592 and a mixer 1596. The digital control channel processor 1595 operates under the control of commands from the control channel to generate a pilot signal 1591, a control channel signal 1587 and a clock reference signal 1578.

The control signal 1593 generated by the digital control channel processor 1595 in response to commands received via the control channel is used to convert the frequencies of the channel signals 1594 for reception via the air interface 1411 May be used to select specific channel signals 1594 along with the corresponding pilot signal 1591 and / or clock reference 1588. [ The analog receiver front end 1583 includes a low noise amplifier and one or more filters or other frequency selectors to receive one or more selected channel signals 1594 under the control of the control signal 1593.

The local oscillator 1592 utilizes the pilot signal 1591 to reduce distortion during the frequency conversion process to generate the local oscillator signal 1597. In various embodiments, the local oscillator may be coupled to a local oscillator signal 1597 of appropriate frequency and phase based on the pilot signal 1591 using bandpass filtering and / or other signal conditioning, frequency division, frequency enhancement, The pilot signal 1591, the control channel signal 1587 and the clock reference signal 1578 for transmission to the other communication nodes 1404A through 1404E to the spectrum of the distributed antenna system < RTI ID = 0.0 > . In particular, mixer 1596 frequency shifts channel signals 1594 based on local oscillator signal 1597 to amplifier 1538, to transceiver 1536A for amplification and retransmission, and to transceiver 1536A for further retransmission Frequency-transformed at the desired location in the spectral segment of the distributed antenna system coupled back to the communication node 1404A or upstream communication nodes 1404B through 1404E via the base station 1402 to the base station, such as the macro base station 1402, Channel signals 1598. < / RTI > One more, single mixing step is shown, but multiple mixing steps can be used to shift the channel signals to the baseband and / or one or more intermediate frequencies as part of the total frequency conversion.

Referring now to FIG. 16A, a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of method 1600 is shown. The method 1600 may be used with one or more of the features and features presented in connection with FIGS. 1-15. The method 1600 may begin with a base station, such as the macro base station 1402 of FIG. 14A, determining 1602 the traveling speed of the communication device. The communication device may be a mobile communication device, such as one of the mobile devices 1406 shown in FIG. 14B, or a stationary communication device (e.g., a residential or commercial facility communication device). The base station may be a wireless cellular communication technology (e. G., ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > e. G., ≪ / RTI > For example, LTE can be used to communicate directly with a communication device. During a communication session, the base station and the communication device utilize one or more spectral segments (e.g., resource blocks) of a particular bandwidth (e.g., 10 to 20 MHz) to determine a specific inherent / 900 MHz band, 1.9 ㎓ band, 2.4 ㎓ band and / or 5.8 ㎓ band, etc.). In some embodiments, the spectral segments are used according to a time slot schedule assigned to the communication device by the base station.

The speed of movement of the communication device may be determined in step 1602 from GPS coordinates provided by the communication device to the base station via cellular radio signals. If the rate of movement is greater than a threshold (e.g., 25 miles per hour) in step 1604, the base station may continue to provide wireless services to the communication device in step 1606 utilizing the base station ' s radio resources. On the other hand, if the communication device has a traveling speed below the threshold, the base station may configure the communication device to further determine whether it can be redirected to the communication node to make the base station ' .

For example, it is assumed that the base station detects that the communication device has a slow moving speed (e.g., 3 mph or nearly stopped). Under certain circumstances, the base station may determine that the current location of the communication device places the communication device in the communication range of the particular communication node 1404. The base station can determine the communication range (s) of the particular communication node 1404 during a period of time sufficient to justify redirecting the communication device to the particular communication node 1404 (another threshold test that can be used by the base station) It may be determined that the communication device will be held within the communication device. When such a determination is made, the base station proceeds to step 1608 and may select the communication node 1404 in the communication range of the communication device to provide communication services to the communication device.

Thus, the selection process performed in step 1608 may be based on the location of the communication device determined from the GPS coordinates provided to the base station by the communication device. The selection process may be based on the movement trajectory of the communication device, and the movement trajectory of the communication device may be determined from several instances of GPS coordinates provided by the communication device. In some embodiments, the base station may determine that the trajectory of the communication device will ultimately place the communication device in the communication range of the next communication node 1404 neighboring the communication node selected in step 1608. [ In such an embodiment, the base station may notify multiple communication nodes 1404 of this trajectory to enable communication nodes 1404 to coordinate the handoff of communication services provided to the communication device.

If more than one communication nodes 1404 were selected in step 1608, then the base station may transmit one or more spectral segments (e. G., Resource < RTI ID = 0.0 > Blocks) to the base station (step 1610). It is not necessary that the first carrier frequency and / or spectral segments selected by the base station be the same as the carrier frequency and / or spectral segments being used between the base station and the communication device. For example, it is assumed that the base station and the communication device utilize a carrier frequency of 1.9 GHz for wireless communication with each other. The base station may select a different carrier frequency (e.g., 900 MHz) in step 1610 to allow the communication node selected in step 1608 to communicate with the communication device. Similarly, the base station may determine the time slot (s) of the spectral segment (s) being used between the base station and the communication device and / or the spectral segment (s) (e.g., resource blocks) and / The schedule can be assigned to the communication node.

In step 1612, the base station may generate the first modulated signal (s) of the spectral segment (s) allocated in step 1610 of the first carrier frequency. The first modulated signal (s) may include data directed to a communication device, wherein the data represents a voice communication session, a data communication session, or a combination thereof. In step 1614, the base station transmits the first modulated signal (s) to one or more frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 directed to the communication node 1404 selected in step 1608 (E.g., 80 GHz) of the first modulated signal (s) at a first characteristic carrier frequency (e.g., 1.9 GHz) to a second carrier frequency (e.g., 80 GHz) . Alternatively, the base station may be configured for up conversion to a second carrier frequency for transmission to one or more frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 directed to the communication node 1404 selected in step 1608 (S) of the first carrier frequency to the first communication node 1404A (shown in Figure 14A).

In step 1616, the base station may send instructions to transfer the communication device to the communication node 1404 selected in step 1608. [ The instructions may be directed to the communication device while the communication device is in direct communication with the base station utilizing the base station ' s radio resources. Alternatively, the instructions may be passed to the communication node 1404 selected in step 1608 via the control channel 1502 of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 shown in FIG. 15A. Step 1616 may occur before, after, or concurrently with steps 1612 through 1614. [

If commands are sent, the base station transmits a first modulated signal of a second carrier frequency (e.g., 80 GHz) to the downlink spectrum segment (e.g., 80 GHz) for transmission by the first communication node 1404A The base station may proceed to step 1618 where the base station transmits to one or more frequency channels of the base station 1506. Alternatively, the first communication node 1404A may receive the first modulated signal (s) of the first intrinsic carrier frequency from the base station and the second communication node 1404A to the one or more frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 Up conversion in step 1614 for transmission of the first modulated signal of the carrier frequency. The first communication node 1404A sends downlink signals generated by the base station to downstream communication nodes 1404 according to downlink spectrum segments 1506 assigned to each communication node 1404 in step 1610. [ As a master communication node. The assignment of downlink spectrum segments 1506 may be provided to communication nodes 1404 via instructions transmitted by first communication node 1404A of control channel 1502 shown in FIG. 15A. In step 1618, the communication node 1404 receiving the first modulated signal (s) of the second carrier frequency with one or more frequency channels of the downlink spectrum segment 1506 transmits the second carrier frequency to the first carrier (E. G., Phase distortion) caused by the distribution of downlink spectral segments 1506 through communication hops between communication nodes 1404B-1404D. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > (s) < / RTI > In particular, the pilot signal may be derived from a local oscillator signal that is used to generate a frequency up-conversion (e.g., via frequency increase and / or division). When down-conversion is required, the pilot signal may be modulated (e.g., by frequency-increasing and / or dividing) to return the modulated signal to the original portion of the modulated signal of the frequency band having the minimum phase error And a phase correct version. In this manner, the frequency channels of the communication system may be transformed for transmission over a distributed antenna system and then returned to the original location of the frequency channels of the spectrum for transmission to the wireless client device.

Once the down conversion process is complete, the communication node 1404 utilizes the same spectral segment assigned to the communication node 1404 to generate a first modulated (e.g., 1.9GHz) first carrier frequency Signal to the communication device. Step 1622 may be adjusted to cause step 1622 to occur after the communication device has transitioned to communication node 1404 in accordance with the instructions provided in step 1616. [ To smooth out such transitions and to avoid aborting the existing wireless communication session between the base station and the communication device, the instructions provided in step 1616 may be performed between the communication device and the communication node 1404 selected in step 1608 (S) and / or time slot schedules as part of the registration process of the communication device and / or communication node (s) 1404 and / or after that. In some cases, such a transition may require that the communication device have wireless communication coexisting with the base station and communication node 1404 for a short period of time.

If the communication device successfully transitions to the communication node 1404, the communication device may terminate the wireless communication with the base station and continue the communication session via the communication node 1404. [ Termination of the wireless services between the base station and the communication device makes certain radio resources of the base station available for use with other communication devices. Note that although the base station has passed a wireless connection to the communication node 1404 selected in the above steps, the communication session between the base station and the communication device continues as before through the network of communication nodes 1404 shown in FIG. 14A . However, the difference is that the base station does not need to further utilize the base station's own radio resources to communicate with the communication device.

In order to provide bi-directional communication between the base station and the communication device over the network of communication nodes 1404, the communication node 1404 and / or the communication device may communicate with one or more uplink spectrum segments (e.g., 1510. < / RTI > The uplink instructions may be provided to the communication node 1404 and / or the communication device at step 1616 as part of the registration process between the communication device and the communication node 1404 selected at step 1608 and / . Thus, when the communication device has data that the communication device needs to transmit to the base station, the communication device may transmit a second modulated signal (e. G., A first modulated signal Can be wirelessly transmitted. The second modulated signal (s) may be included in one or more frequency channels of one or more uplink spectral segments 1510 designated by instructions provided to the communication device and / or the communication node in step 1616.

In order to communicate the second modulated signal (s) to the base station, the communication node 1404 transmits these signals from a first specific carrier frequency (e.g., 1.9 GHz) to a second carrier frequency (e.g., For example, 80 GHz). The second modulated signal (s) of the second carrier frequency may be transmitted to the communication node 1404 along with one or more uplink pilot signals 1508 to enable upstream communication nodes and / In step 1628. < / RTI > When the base station receives the second modulated signal (s) of the second carrier frequency through communication node 1404A, the base station downconverts these signals from the second carrier frequency to the first carrier frequency in step 1630 In step 1632, data provided by the communication device may be obtained. Alternatively, the first communication node 1404A may perform down-conversion to the first unique carrier frequency of the second modulated signal (s) of the second carrier frequency and provide the resulting signals to the base station. The base station then processes the second modulated signal (s) at the first unique carrier frequency to provide a signal to the communication device in a similar or similar manner to how the base station has handled the signals from the communication device that was in direct wireless communication with the communication device Data can be recovered.

The above described method 1600 may be used to reduce the amount of wireless resources available to rapidly moving communication devices 1404 by redirecting slow moving communication devices to one or more communication nodes 1404 that are communicatively coupled to base station 1402. [ (E.g., sector antennas, spectrum), and in some embodiments, provides a way to increase bandwidth utilization. For example, assume that base station 1402 has ten (ten) communication nodes 1404 through which base station 1402 can redirect mobile and / or stationary communication devices. It is further assumed that ten communication nodes 1404 have communication ranges that do not substantially overlap.

The base station 1402 may be configured to allocate specific spectrum segments (e.g., resource blocks 5, 7, and 9) for a particular time slot and for a particular carrier frequency that the base station 1402 allocates to all ten communication nodes 1404 ) Is assumed. During operations, the base station 1402 may be configured not to utilize the time slot schedules reserved for the communication nodes 1404 to avoid interference and resource blocks 5, 7, and 9 during the carrier frequency. As the base station 1402 detects slow moving or stopped communication devices, the base station 1402 may redirect the communication devices to the different ones of the ten communication nodes 1404 based on the location of the communication devices. For example, when the base station 1402 redirects the communication of a particular communication device to a particular communication node 1404, the base station 1402 transmits the resource blocks 5, 7, and 9 for the allocated time slots and at the carrier frequency To one or more spectrum ranges (s) on the downlink (see FIG. 15A) assigned to the communication node 1404.

The communication node 1404 may communicate with one or more frequency channels 1510 of the one or more uplink spectrum segments 1510 on the uplink that the base station 1402 may use to redirect communication signals provided by the communication device to the base station 1402. [ Lt; / RTI > These communication signals may be upconverted by communication node 1404 and transmitted to base station 1402 for processing according to the assigned uplink frequency channels of one or more corresponding uplink spectrum segments 1510. [ The downlink and uplink frequency channel assignments may be transmitted by base station 1402 to each communication node 1404 via a control channel as shown in FIG. 15A. The downlink and uplink assignment procedures described above may be used for other communication nodes 1404 to provide communication services to other communication devices that are redirected to the other communication nodes 1404 by the base station 1402. [

In this example, the reuse of resource blocks 5, 7, and 9 during the carrier frequency and corresponding time slot schedules by 10 communication nodes 1404 effectively increases the bandwidth utilization by the base station 1402 to a factor of 10 . Although base station 1402 can no longer use resource blocks 5, 7 and 9 reserved for ten communication nodes 1404 in which base station 1402 communicates wirelessly with other communication devices, The ability of the base station 1402 to reuse and redirect the communication devices to ten different communication nodes 1404 effectively increases the bandwidth capacity of the base station 1402. Thus, in certain embodiments, the method 1600 may increase the bandwidth utilization of the base station 1402 and make the resources of the base station 1402 available to other communication devices.

The spectrum allocated to communication nodes 1404 is determined by selecting one or more sectors of the antenna system of base station 1402 that indicates communication nodes 1404 to which base station 1402 is assigned to the same spectral segments. Segments may be configured to reuse. Thus, in some embodiments, base station 1402 avoids reusing certain spectral segments assigned to particular communication nodes 1404, in some embodiments by selecting specific sectors of base station 1402's antenna system, and in other embodiments, May be configured to reuse other spectral segments that are assigned to other communication nodes (1404). Similar concepts may be applied to the sectors of the antenna system 1424 used by the communication nodes 1404. Certain reuse schemes can be used between the base station 1402 and one or more communication nodes 1404 based on the base stations 1402 and / or sectors utilized by the one or more communication nodes 1404.

The method 1600 also enables reuse of legacy systems when the communication devices are redirected to one or more communication nodes. For example, a signaling protocol (e.g., LTE) utilized by a base station to communicate wirelessly with a communication device may be preserved in communication signals exchanged between the base station and communication nodes 1404. [ Thus, when assigning spectral segments to the communication nodes 1404, the exchange of modulated signals of these segments between the base station and the communication nodes 1404 is used by the base station to perform direct wireless communication with the communication device Lt; / RTI > Thus, legacy base stations may be updated with hardware and / or software to process the modulated signals of the first unique carrier frequency, while the legacy base stations may be updated to perform the uplink and downconversion processes described above with additional features of distortion mitigation All other functions may remain substantially unchanged. It should also be noted that, in further embodiments, the channels from the original frequency band may be converted to other frequency bands utilized by the same protocol. For example, LTE channels in the 2.5 GHz band may be up converted to the 80 GHz band for transmission and then downconverted as 5.8 GHz LTE channels if needed for spectral diversity.

It is further noted that method 1600 may be adapted without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, when a base station (or corresponding communication nodes) detects that a communication device has a trajectory that will cause a transition from one communication node's coverage to another, Monitor these trajectories through the periodic GPS coordinates provided by the base station and adjust the handoff of the communication device to the other communication node accordingly. Method 1600 can be used to determine whether a command is to be transmitted to a particular spectral segment 1600 to successfully transition communication without interrupting an existing communication session when the communication device is near the point of transition from the communication range of one communication node to the communication range of another communication node. (Or active communication node) to instruct the communication device and / or other communication node to utilize the time slots of the downlink and uplink channels, and / or to utilize time slots of the downlink and uplink channels.

When the base station or active communication node 1404 detects that the method 1600 is to transition at some point outside of the communication range of the communication node and that no other communication node is in the communication range of the communication device, It is further noted that the wireless communication between the device and the communication node 1404 may be adapted to adjust the handoff back to the base station. Other configurations of method 1600 are contemplated by this disclosure. It is further noted that when the carrier frequency of the downlink or uplink spectral segments is lower than the natural frequency band of the modulated signal, the opposite process of frequency conversion will be required. That is, when transmitting a modulated signal of the downlink or uplink spectral segments, a frequency downconversion will be used instead of the upconversion. And, when extracting the modulated signal of the downlink or uplink spectral segments, frequency up-conversion will be used instead of down-conversion. The method 1600 may be further adapted to use the above-mentioned clock signal to synchronize the processing of the digital data of the control channel. The method 1600 may be adapted to use a reference signal that is modulated by instructions of the control channel or a clock signal that is modulated by instructions of the control channel.

Method 1600 avoids tracking the movement of the communication device and instead transmits a modulated signal of a particular communication device at a natural frequency of the modulated signal without knowledge of which communication node is in the communication range of the particular communication device. May be further adapted to point to nodes 1404. Likewise, each communication node receives signals modulated from a particular communication device without knowledge of which communication node is to receive modulated signals from a particular communication device, and transmits to the particular frequency channels < RTI ID = 0.0 >Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > signals. ≪ / RTI > Such an implementation may help to reduce the implementation complexity and cost of the communication nodes 1404.

For the sake of simplicity of the description, although each process is shown and described as a series of blocks in Figure 16A, some blocks may be performed in different orders and / or concurrently with other blocks than those shown and described herein , It is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be necessary to implement the methods described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 16B, a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of method 1635 is shown. Method 1635 may be used with one or more of the functions and features presented in connection with FIGS. 1-15. Step 1636 includes receiving, by a system including circuitry, a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment directed to the mobile communication device, wherein the first modulated signal is in accordance with a signaling protocol. Step 1637 is performed by the system, based on the signal processing of the first modulated signal and without changing the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal, to transmit the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment at a first carrier frequency Into a first modulated signal, wherein the first carrier frequency is outside the first spectral segment. Step 1638 includes transmitting, by the system, a reference signal with a first modulated signal of a first carrier frequency to a network element of the distributed antenna system, wherein the reference signal is transmitted to the mobile communication device by a first spectral segment Transforms the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment for wireless distribution of the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment.

In various embodiments, signal processing does not require analog to digital conversion or digital to analog conversion. The transmitting may include transmitting a first modulated signal of a first carrier frequency to the network element as a free space radio signal. The first carrier frequency may be in the millimeter wave frequency band.

The first modulated signal may be generated by modulating signals of a plurality of frequency channels in accordance with a signaling protocol for generating a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment. The signaling protocol may include a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless protocol or a fifth generation cellular communication protocol.

The step of converting by the system comprises the steps of up-converting the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to a first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency, or upconverting the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to a first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency And downconverting the first modulated signal into a first modulated signal. The step of converting by the network element further comprises the steps of downconverting the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment or modulating the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency into a first spectral segment To a first modulated signal of the first modulated signal.

The method may further comprise, by the system, receiving a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency from a network element, wherein the mobile communication device generates a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment, Converts the second modulated signal of the second spectral segment to a second modulated signal of the second carrier frequency and transmits a second modulated signal of the second carrier frequency. The method comprising: converting, by the system, a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency to a second modulated signal of a second spectral segment; And transmitting, by the system, a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment to the base station for processing.

The second spectral segment may be different from the first spectral segment, and the first carrier frequency may be different from the second carrier frequency. The system may be mounted on a first telephone pole and the network element may be mounted on a second telephone pole.

For purposes of simplicity of explanation, each of the processes is shown and described as a series of blocks in Figure 16B, but since some blocks may be performed in different orders and / or concurrently with other blocks than those illustrated and described herein , It is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be necessary to implement the methods described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 16C, a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of method 1640 is shown. Method 1635 may be used with one or more of the functions and features presented in connection with FIGS. 1-15. Step 1641 includes receiving, by a network element of the distributed antenna system, a reference signal and a first modulated signal at a first carrier frequency, wherein the first modulated signal is provided by a base station And first communication data directed to the device. Step 1642 uses a reference signal to reduce distortion, based on the signal processing of the first modulated signal and by the network element during the transforming step, by the network element to produce a first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency at a first Into a first modulated signal of the spectral segment. Step 1643 comprises wirelessly transmitting, by the network element, the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to the mobile communication device.

In various embodiments, the first modulated signal conforms to a signaling protocol, the signal processing does not alter the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal, and the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment 1 modulated signal. The step of converting by the network element may comprise converting the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment without changing the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal have. The method includes receiving, by a network element, a second modulated signal of a second spectral segment generated by a mobile communication device; Converting, by the network element, a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment into a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency; And transmitting, by the network element, the second modulated signal of the second carrier frequency to another network element of the distributed antenna system. Another network element of the distributed antenna system is capable of receiving a second modulated signal at a second carrier frequency and converting a second modulated signal at a second carrier frequency to a second modulated signal in a second spectral segment, And provides a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment to the base station for processing. The second spectral segment may be different from the first spectral segment, and the first carrier frequency may be different from the second carrier frequency.

For the sake of simplicity of the description, although each process is shown and described as a series of blocks in Figure 16C, some blocks may be performed in different orders and / or concurrently with other blocks as shown and described herein , It is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be necessary to implement the methods described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 16D, a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of method 1645 is shown. Method 1645 may be used with one or more of the features and features presented in connection with FIGS. 1-15. Step 1646 includes receiving, by a system including circuitry, a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment directed to the mobile communication device, wherein the first modulated signal is in accordance with a signaling protocol. Step 1647 is performed by the system based on the signal processing of the first modulated signal and without altering the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal so that the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment Into a first modulated signal, wherein the first carrier frequency is outside the first spectral segment. Step 1648 is to transmit, by the system, instructions of the control channel that direct the network element of the distributed antenna system to convert the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment . Step 1649 includes transmitting, by the system, a reference signal with a first modulated signal of a first carrier frequency to a network element of the distributed antenna system, wherein the reference signal is a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment, Transforming a first modulated signal of a first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment to wirelessly distribute the signal to a mobile communication device, The reference signal is transmitted at the out-of-band frequency for the control channel.

In various embodiments, the control channel is transmitted at a frequency adjacent to the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency and / or at a frequency adjacent to the reference signal. The first carrier frequency may be in the millimeter wave frequency band. The first modulated signal may be generated by modulating signals of a plurality of frequency channels in accordance with a signaling protocol for generating a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment. The signaling protocol may include a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless protocol or a fifth generation cellular communication protocol.

The step of converting by the system comprises the steps of up-converting the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to a first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency, or upconverting the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to a first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency And downconverting the first modulated signal into a first modulated signal. The step of converting by the network element further comprises the steps of downconverting the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment or modulating the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency into a first spectral segment To a first modulated signal of the first modulated signal.

The method may further comprise, by the system, receiving a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency from a network element, wherein the mobile communication device generates a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment, Converts the second modulated signal of the second spectral segment to a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency and transmits a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency. The method comprising: converting, by the system, a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency to a second modulated signal of a second spectral segment; And transmitting, by the system, a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment to the base station for processing.

The second spectral segment may be different from the first spectral segment, and the first carrier frequency may be different from the second carrier frequency. The system may be mounted on a first telephone pole, and the network element may be mounted on a second telephone pole.

For the sake of simplicity of the description, although each process is shown and described as a series of blocks in Figure 16d, some blocks may be performed in different orders and / or concurrently with other blocks as shown and described herein , It is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be necessary to implement the methods described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 16E, a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of method 1650 is shown. Method 1650 may be used with one or more of the features and features presented in connection with FIGS. 1-15. Step 1651 comprises receiving, by a network element of the distributed antenna system, a first modulated signal of a reference signal, a control channel and a first carrier frequency, wherein the first modulated signal is provided by a base station Wherein the instructions of the control channel are adapted to convert a first modulated signal of a first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment, the first communication data being directed to a mobile communication device, Element, and the reference signal is received at the out-of-band frequency for the control channel. Step 1652 is performed by the network element using the reference signal to reduce distortion based on the signal processing of the first modulated signal and during the transforming step according to the instructions, Converted signal into a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment. Step 1653 includes wirelessly transmitting, by the network element, the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to the mobile communication device.

In various embodiments, the control channel may be adjacent to and / or received at a frequency adjacent to the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency.

For the sake of simplicity of the description, although each process is shown and described as a series of blocks in Figure 16E, some blocks may be performed in different orders and / or concurrently with other blocks than those shown and described herein , It is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be necessary to implement the methods described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 16F, a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of method 1655 is shown. Method 1655 may be used with one or more of the features and features presented in connection with Figs. 1-15. Step 1656 includes receiving, by a system including circuitry, a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment directed to the mobile communication device, wherein the first modulated signal is in accordance with a signaling protocol. Step 1657 may be performed by the system based on the signal processing of the first modulated signal and without altering the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal to generate a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment at a first carrier frequency Into a first modulated signal, wherein the first carrier frequency is outside the first spectral segment. Step 1658 is to transmit, by the system, commands of the control channel instructing the network element of the distributed antenna system to convert the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment . Step 1659 comprises transmitting, by the system, a reference signal with a first modulated signal at a first carrier frequency to a network element of the distributed antenna system, wherein the reference signal is a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment, Transforming a first modulated signal of a first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment for wireless distribution to a mobile communication device, the network element being capable of reducing phase error, The reference signal is transmitted at the in-band frequency for the control channel.

In various embodiments, the instructions are transmitted via modulation of the reference signal. The command can be transmitted as digital data through amplitude modulation of the reference signal. The first carrier frequency may be in the millimeter wave frequency band. The first modulated signal may be generated by modulating signals of a plurality of frequency channels in accordance with a signaling protocol for generating a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment. The signaling protocol may include a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless protocol or a fifth generation cellular communication protocol.

The step of converting by the system comprises the steps of up-converting the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to a first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency, or upconverting the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to a first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency And downconverting the first modulated signal into a first modulated signal. The step of converting by the network element further comprises the steps of downconverting the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment or modulating the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency into a first spectral segment To a first modulated signal of the first modulated signal.

The method may further comprise, by the system, receiving a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency from a network element, wherein the mobile communication device generates a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment, Converts the second modulated signal of the second spectral segment to a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency and transmits a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency. The method comprising: converting, by the system, a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency to a second modulated signal of a second spectral segment; And transmitting, by the system, a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment to the base station for processing.

The second spectral segment may be different from the first spectral segment, and the first carrier frequency may be different from the second carrier frequency. The system may be mounted on a first telephone pole, and the network element may be mounted on a second telephone pole.

For simplicity of the description, although each method is shown and described as a series of blocks in Figure 16f, some blocks may be performed in a different order and / or concurrently with other blocks than those shown and described herein, It should be understood and appreciated that the invention is not limited by the order of the blocks. Also, not all illustrated blocks may be necessary to implement the method described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 16g, a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of method 1660 is shown. Method 1660 may be used with one or more of the functions and features presented in connection with Figs. 1-15. Step 1661 includes receiving, by a network element of the distributed antenna system, a first modulated signal of a reference signal, a control channel, and a first carrier frequency, wherein the first modulated signal is provided by a base station Wherein the command of the control channel comprises a first communication data directed to a mobile communication device and wherein the control channel command is adapted to convert a first modulated signal of a first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment, Element, and the reference signal is received at the in-band frequency for the control channel. Step 1662 includes transforming the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency into a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment based on the command and the signal processing of the first modulated signal by the network element And using the reference signal to reduce distortion during the conversion. Step 1663 includes wirelessly transmitting, by the network element, the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to the mobile communication device.

In various embodiments, the instructions are received as digital data through demodulation of the reference signal and / or amplitude demodulation of the reference signal.

For simplicity of illustration, although each method is shown and described as a series of blocks in Figure 16G, some blocks may be performed in a different order and / or concurrently with other blocks than those shown and described herein, It should be understood and appreciated that the invention is not limited by the order of the blocks. Also, not all illustrated blocks may be necessary to implement the method described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 16H, a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of method 1665 is shown. Method 1665 may be used with one or more of the functions and features presented in connection with FIGS. 1-15. Step 1666 includes receiving, by a system including circuitry, a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment directed to the mobile communication device, wherein the first modulated signal is in accordance with a signaling protocol. Step 1667 may be performed by the system without changing the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal and based on the signal processing of the first modulated signal to transmit the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to the first carrier frequency Into a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment, wherein the first carrier frequency is outside of the first spectral segment. Step 1668 is to transmit, by the system, a command to the control channel to instruct the network element of the distributed antenna system to convert the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment . Step 1669 includes transmitting, by the system, a clock signal to the network element of the distributed antenna system along with the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency, wherein the clock signal restores the command from the control channel To synchronize the timing of the digital control channel processing of the network element.

In various embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, by the system, a reference signal with a first modulated signal of a first carrier frequency to a network element of the distributed antenna system, wherein the reference signal comprises a first spectral segment of the first spectral segment In order to wirelessly distribute the first modulated signal to the mobile communication device, when the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency is retransformed to the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment, the network element may reduce the phase error . The command may be transmitted as digital data via the control channel.

In various embodiments, the first carrier frequency may be in the millimeter wave frequency band. The first modulated signal may be generated by modulating signals of the plurality of frequency channels in accordance with a signaling protocol to generate a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment. The signaling protocol may include a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless protocol or a fifth generation cellular communication protocol.

The step of converting by the system comprises the steps of up-converting the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to a first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency, or converting the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to a first carrier frequency Downconverted to a first modulated signal of the first modulated signal. The step of converting by the network element comprises the steps of downconverting the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment or converting the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency into a first spectrum And upconverting the first modulated signal of the segment to a first modulated signal of the segment.

The method may further comprise, by the system, receiving a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency from the network element, wherein the mobile communication device generates a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment, Converts the second modulated signal of the second spectral segment to a second modulated signal of the second carrier frequency and transmits a second modulated signal of the second carrier frequency. The method includes converting, by the system, a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency to a second modulated signal of a second spectral segment; And transmitting, by the system, a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment to the base station for processing.

The second spectral segment may be different from the first spectral segment, and the first carrier frequency may be different from the second carrier frequency. The system may be mounted on a first telephone pole, and the network element may be mounted on a second telephone pole.

For simplicity of the description, although each method is shown and described as a series of blocks in Figure 16h, some blocks may be performed in a different order and / or concurrently with other blocks than those shown and described herein, It should be understood and appreciated that the invention is not limited by the order of the blocks. Also, not all illustrated blocks may be necessary to implement the method described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 16i, a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of method 1670 is shown. Method 1670 may be used with one or more of the features and features presented in connection with FIGS. 1-15. Step 1671 comprises receiving, by a network element of the distributed antenna system, a clock signal, a control channel, and a first modulated signal of a first carrier frequency, wherein the first modulated signal is provided by a base station Wherein the clock signal synchronizes the timing of the digital control channel processing by the network element to recover the command from the control channel, and the command of the control channel includes a first carrier frequency To the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment, to the network element of the distributed antenna system. Step 1672 includes converting the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment, based on the command and the signal processing of the first modulated signal, . Step 1673 includes wirelessly transmitting, by the network element, the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to the mobile communication device. In various embodiments, the instructions are received as digital data over a control channel.

For simplicity of the description, although each method is shown and described as a series of blocks in Figure 16i, some blocks may be performed in a different order and / or concurrently with other blocks than those shown and described herein, It should be understood and appreciated that the invention is not limited by the order of the blocks. Also, not all illustrated blocks may be necessary to implement the method described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 16J, a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of method 1675 is shown. Method 1675 may be used with one or more of the functions and features presented in connection with Figs. 1-15. Step 1676 includes receiving, by a system including circuitry, a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment directed to the mobile communication device, wherein the first modulated signal is in accordance with a signaling protocol. Step 1677 may be performed by the system without changing the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal and on the basis of signal processing of the first modulated signal to transmit the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to the first carrier frequency Into a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment, wherein the first carrier frequency is outside of the first spectral segment. Step 1678 is directed by the system to send a command to the network element of the decentralized antenna system to convert the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency into a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment, And transmitting. Step 1679 includes transmitting, by the system, a reference signal with a first modulated signal of a first carrier frequency to a network element of the distributed antenna system, wherein the reference signal is a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment, Converts the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to wirelessly distribute the signal to the mobile communication device.

In various embodiments, the first reference signal is transmitted with an in-band frequency for the UWB control channel. The method may further comprise receiving control channel data from a network element of the distributed antenna system over an UWB control channel, the control channel data including status information indicating a network status of the network element, , Or environmental measurement values indicating environmental conditions near the network elements. The command may further include channel spacing, guard frequency band parameters, uplink / downlink allocation, or uplink channel selection.

The first modulated signal may be generated by modulating signals of the plurality of frequency channels in accordance with a signaling protocol to generate a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment. The signaling protocol may include a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless protocol or a fifth generation cellular communication protocol.

The step of converting by the system comprises the steps of up-converting the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to a first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency, or converting the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to a first carrier frequency Downconverted to a first modulated signal of the first modulated signal. The step of converting by the network element comprises the steps of downconverting the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment or converting the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency into a first spectrum And upconverting the first modulated signal of the segment to a first modulated signal of the segment.

The method may further comprise, by the system, receiving a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency from the network element, wherein the mobile communication device generates a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment, Converts the second modulated signal of the second spectral segment to a second modulated signal of the second carrier frequency and transmits a second modulated signal of the second carrier frequency. The method includes converting, by the system, a second modulated signal of a second carrier frequency to a second modulated signal of a second spectral segment; And transmitting, by the system, a second modulated signal of the second spectral segment to the base station for processing.

The second spectral segment may be different from the first spectral segment, and the first carrier frequency may be different from the second carrier frequency. The system may be mounted on a first telephone pole, and the network element may be mounted on a second telephone pole.

For the sake of simplicity of the description, although each process is shown and described as a series of blocks in Figure 16j, some blocks may be performed in different orders and / or concurrently with other blocks as shown and described herein , It is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be necessary to implement the methods described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 16K, a flow diagram of an exemplary non-limiting embodiment of method 1680 is shown. Method 1680 can be used with one or more of the functions and features presented in connection with FIGS. 1-15. Step 1681 comprises receiving, by a network element of the distributed antenna system, a first modulated signal of a reference signal, an UWB control channel and a first carrier frequency, wherein the first modulated signal is received by a base station Wherein the instructions of the UWB control channel include first communication data that is provided and directed to the mobile communication device, wherein instructions of the UWB control channel are transmitted to the mobile communication device via a dispersive antenna to convert the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency into a first modulated signal of the first spectral segment. To the network element of the system, and the reference signal is received at the in-band frequency for the control channel. Step 1682 is performed by the network element using the reference signal to reduce distortion based on the signal processing of the first modulated signal and during the transforming step according to the instructions, Converted signal into a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment. Step 1683 comprises wirelessly transmitting, by the network element, the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to the mobile communication device.

In various embodiments, the first reference signal is received at an in-band frequency for the UWB control channel. The method includes receiving from the network element of the distributed antenna system over the UWB control channel status information indicating network status of the network element, network device information indicating device information of the network element, And transmitting the control channel data including the control channel data. The instructions may further comprise channel spacing, guard frequency band parameters, uplink / downlink allocation or uplink channel selection.

For purposes of simplicity of explanation, although each process is illustrated and described as a series of blocks in Figure 16k, some blocks may be performed in different orders and / or concurrently with other blocks than those illustrated and described herein, It should be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be necessary to implement the methods described herein.

As used herein, terms such as "storage", "storage device", "data storage", "data storage device", "database" and substantially any other information storage component related to the operation and functioning of the components, Memory elements " or " memory " or memory. The memory components described herein may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include non-volatile memory such as volatile memory, non-volatile memory, disk storage, and memory storage devices, and non- It can include everything. The non-volatile memory may also be included in a read only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may include a random access memory (RAM) that operates as an external cache memory. The RAM may be a synchronous RAM (SRAM), a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), a double speed SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), an enhanced SDDRAM (ESDRAM), a Synchlink DRAM SLDRAM) and Direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM). Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methods herein are intended to encompass but not be limited to these and any other suitable forms of memory.

Moreover, it is to be understood that the disclosed subject matter is not limited to single-processor or multi-processor computer systems, mini-computing devices, mainframe computers as well as personal computers, hand-held computing (e.g., PDAs, Computer-based or programmable consumer or industrial electronics, and the like, which may be implemented in any computer system, including, but not limited to, computers, telephones, watches, tablet computers, netbook computers, The depicted aspects may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network; However, some aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in stand-alone computers. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

The embodiments described herein may also use artificial intelligence (AI) to enable automating one or more features described herein. Embodiments (e.g., in connection with automatically identifying acquired cell points that provide maximum value / benefit after being added to an existing communication network) may use various AI-based schemes to perform various embodiments thereof . Moreover, a classifier may be used to determine the ranking or priority of each cell point in the acquired network. The classifier is a function that maps the input attribute vector x = (x1, x2, x3, x4, ..., xn) to the confidence that the input belongs to the class, that is, f (x) = reliability (class). This classification may use probabilistic and / or statistical based analysis (e.g., factoring analysis utilities and costs) to predict or infer an action that the user desires to be performed automatically. A support vector machine (SVM) is an example of a classifier that can be used. The SVM works by finding the hypersurface in the space of possible inputs where the hypersurface attempts to divide the triggering references from the non-triggering events. Intuitively, this performs a classification correction on test data that is close to but not identical to the training data. Other directional and non-directional model classification approaches include, for example, Naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models, and stochastic classification models that provide different independent patterns that can be used . The classification used here also includes the statistical regression used to develop the priority model.

As will be readily appreciated, one or more embodiments may be used not only explicitly trained (e.g., via general training data) (e.g., observing UE behavior, operator preferences, historical information, external information, etc.) (By doing so). For example, the SVMs may be configured through a learning or training step within the classifier generator and feature selection module. Thus, the classifier (s) may be used to automatically learn and perform a number of functions, wherein the plurality of functions may be used to determine which of the acquired cell points is a benefit to the maximum number of subscribers and / Based on predetermined criteria of whether to add a minimum value to existing communication network coverage, etc., but is not limited thereto.

As used in some contexts of the present application, in some embodiments, the terms "component", "system" refer to an entity associated with a computer-related entity, which may be one, or an operating device having one or more specific functions Or the like, and the entity may be any combination of hardware, hardware and software, software, or software in execution. By way of example, an element may be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable execution thread, computer executable instructions, a program, and / or a computer. To illustrate without limitation, both the application running on the server and the server may be components. One or more components may reside within a process and / or thread of execution, and the components may be localized on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components may execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may include, for example, one or more data packets (e.g., from one component interacting with another component via a network, such as the Internet and other systems via a local system, distributed system, and / Lt; / RTI > and / or remote processes, depending on the signal having the data). As another example, a component may be a device having a specific function provided by mechanical parts operated by an electrical or electronic circuit operated by software or a firmware application executed by a processor, And may execute at least a portion of the software or firmware application. As another example, a component may be a device that provides a specific function through electronic components without mechanical parts, and the electronic components may include software to perform the functions of the electronic components, at least in part, A processor may be included. Although the various components are shown as separate components, it will be understood that many components may be implemented as a single component or a single component may be implemented as a plurality of components without departing from the exemplary embodiment.

In addition, various embodiments can be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques to create software, firmware, hardware or any combination thereof to control the computer to implement the disclosed subject matter . The term " article of manufacture " as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device or computer-readable storage / communication medium. For example, the computer readable storage medium can be any type of storage medium such as magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk , Smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive). Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many modifications may be made to this configuration without departing from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

In addition, the words " exemplary " and " exemplary " are used herein to mean either serving as an example or instance. Any embodiment or design described herein as " exemplary " or " exemplary " is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the word " example " is intended to present concepts in a specific manner. As used in this application, the term "or" is intended to mean "exclusive" or "rather than" or ". That is, unless otherwise stated or contextually clear, it is intended that the term " X uses A or B " is intended to mean any reasonable inclusive substitutions. That is, when X uses A; X uses B; Or if X uses both A and B, " X uses A or B " is satisfied in any of the preceding cases. Furthermore, the singular forms used in this application and the appended claims should be interpreted to generally mean " one or more ", unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Furthermore, the terms "user equipment", "mobile station", "mobile", "subscriber base station", "access terminal", "terminal", "handset", "mobile device" The terms may refer to a wireless device used by a subscriber or user of a wireless communication service to receive or transmit data, control, voice, video, sound, game or substantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. The foregoing terms are used interchangeably with reference to the present specification and the associated drawings.

Also, the terms " user ", " subscriber ", " customer ", " consumer ", and the like are used interchangeably as a whole unless the context guarantees certain distinctions between terms. These terms may refer to human entities or automated components supported through artificial intelligence (e.g., the ability to make inferences based on at least complex mathematical formalisms), which may include simulated visuals, sound recognition, etc. .

As used herein, the term " processor " Single-core processors; Single processors with software multi-threaded execution; A multi-core processor; Multi-core processors with software multi-threaded execution capability; Multi-core processors by hardware multi-thread technology; Parallel platforms; And parallel platforms with distributed shared memory. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > [0033] < / RTI > Additionally, the processor may be implemented as an integrated circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller A programmable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Processors may utilize nano-scale architectures, such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum dot based transistors, switches and gates to optimize space usage or improve the performance of user equipment. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing processing devices.

As used herein, terms such as " data storage device ", " database ", and substantially any other information storage component related to the operation and functionality of the component may be embodied in a " memory component " Referenced entities, or memory. It will be appreciated that the memory components or computer-readable storage medium described herein may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory.

The memory disclosed herein may include volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, non-volatile memory may include read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) . The volatile memory may include a random access memory (RAM) that functions as an external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM may be implemented as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double speed SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), sinklink DRAM And is available in many forms such as Rambus RAM (DRRAM). An embodiment memory (e.g., a data storage device, a database) is intended to include but is not limited to such memories and any other suitable type of memory.

What has been described above includes only embodiments of various embodiments. Of course, it is not possible to describe every derivable combination of components or methods for purposes of describing such an embodiment, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many additional combinations and permutations of this embodiment are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed and / or claimed herein are intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Also, to the extent that the term " includes " is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term " comprising "quot; comprising " are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term " comprising ".

Claims (20)

As a system,
antenna; And
A communication circuit for enabling operation,
The operation includes:
Receiving, by the antenna, a first radio signal comprising a first modulated signal of a first spectral segment, the first modulated signal being modulated according to a signaling protocol; step;
Converting the first radio signal into a first electronic signal comprising the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment;
Frequency-transforming the first electronic signal to produce an updated first electronic signal, wherein the updated first electronic signal is transmitted to the first spectral segment without changing the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal, Frequency conversion of the first electronic signal including the first modulated signal frequency-shifted to a first carrier frequency, wherein the first carrier frequency is not superimposed on the frequency of the first spectral segment; And
And converting the updated first electronic signal into a second radio signal comprising the first modulated signal and the reference signal at the first carrier frequency,
Wherein the second radio signal is received by a network element of the distributed antenna system and wherein the reference signal reconverts the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal of the second spectral segment Said network element being capable of reducing signal distortion,
system. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the frequency conversion step further comprises frequency shifting the reference signal. The method according to claim 1,
The second wireless signal includes an instruction to instruct the network element of the distributed antenna system to reconvert the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal of the second spectral segment Further comprising: a control channel that is configured to communicate with the base station. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the reference signal is modulated with a command of a control channel. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the second radio signal further comprises a control channel and wherein the reference signal is modulated with a clock signal used by the network element to receive an instruction of the control channel. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the second spectral segment is at least substantially similar to the first spectral segment. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the signaling protocol comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless protocol or a fifth generation cellular communication protocol. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the frequency conversion step includes up-converting the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the re-conversion by the network element comprises downconverting the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal of the second spectral segment. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the step of frequency conversion includes downconverting the first modulated signal of the first spectral segment to the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the re-conversion by the network element comprises up-converting the first modulated signal of the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal of the second spectral segment. The method according to claim 1,
The operation includes:
Receiving a third wireless signal of a second carrier frequency from the network element, wherein the third wireless signal comprises a second modulated signal modulated according to the signaling protocol, the mobile communication device comprising a third spectrum segment Wherein the network element enables frequency conversion of the second modulated signal of the third spectral segment to the second modulated signal of the second carrier frequency and the second modulated signal of the second spectral segment is frequency- Receiving a third radio signal at the second carrier frequency, the third radio signal transmitting the third radio signal comprising the second modulated signal at a carrier frequency;
Converting the third wireless signal to a second electronic signal comprising the second modulated signal at the second carrier frequency;
To generate an updated second electronic signal that shifts the second modulated signal of the second carrier frequency to a fourth spectral segment without changing the signaling protocol of the second modulated signal, Frequency conversion of the second electronic signal in which the second carrier frequency does not overlap the frequency of the fourth spectral segment; And
Further comprising transmitting the updated second electronic signal including the second modulated signal of the fourth spectral segment to a base station. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the fourth spectral segment is at least substantially similar to the third spectral segment. As a method,
Receiving, by an antenna system of a first network element of a distributed antenna system, a first wireless signal comprising a modulated signal of a first spectral segment, the first wireless signal being generated by a mobile communication device, The modulated signal being in accordance with a signaling protocol;
Converting, by the first network element, the first wireless signal into an electronic signal comprising the modulated signal of the first spectral segment;
Frequency conversion of the electronic signal to produce an updated electronic signal by the first network element, wherein the updated electronic signal is transmitted to the first network element without changing the signaling protocol of the modulated signal, Frequency conversion of the electronic signal including the modulated signal frequency shifted from the carrier frequency to the carrier frequency, wherein the carrier frequency is not superimposed on the frequency of the first spectral segment; And
By the antenna system of the first network element, the updated electronic signal into a second radio signal comprising the modulated signal and the reference signal at the carrier frequency,
Wherein the second radio signal is received by a second network element of the distributed antenna system and wherein the reference signal is used to transmit the modulated signal at the carrier frequency to the modulated signal of the second spectral segment, 2 < / RTI > network element to reduce signal distortion,
Way. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the step of frequency conversion comprises upconverting, by the first network element, the modulated signal of the first spectral segment to the modulated signal of the carrier frequency, Wherein the re-conversion comprises down-converting the modulated signal of the carrier frequency to the modulated signal of the second spectral segment. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein said frequency conversion step comprises downconverting, by said first network element, said modulated signal of said first spectral segment to said modulated signal of said carrier frequency, Wherein the re-conversion comprises up-converting the modulated signal of the carrier frequency to the modulated signal of the second spectral segment. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the second radio signal includes a control channel comprising instructions to direct the second network element of the distributed antenna system to re-convert the modulated signal of the carrier frequency to the modulated signal of the second spectral segment Wherein the reference signal is modulated with the command of the control channel. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the second spectral segment is at least substantially similar to the first spectral segment. A first network element of a distributed antenna system,
Antenna system;
A communication circuit for enabling operation,
The operation includes:
Receiving, by the antenna system, a first radio signal of a carrier frequency from a second network element of the distributed antenna system, the first radio signal comprising a modulated signal of the carrier frequency and a reference signal, Receiving a first radio signal at the carrier frequency; And
And transmitting, by the antenna system, a second radio signal at the carrier frequency,
Wherein the second radio signal is received by a third network element of the distributed antenna system, the second radio signal comprising the modulated signal of the carrier frequency and the reference signal, Wherein the reference signal corresponds to retransmission of the modulated signal of the carrier frequency and the reference signal and wherein the reference signal is a signal distortion of the third network element when reconverting the modulated signal of the carrier frequency to the modulated signal of the spectral segment, And the carrier frequency is set such that the frequency does not overlap with the spectrum segment,
A first network element of a distributed antenna system. 20. The method of claim 19,
Wherein the first wireless signal further comprises a control channel including instructions to instruct the first network element to retransmit the modulated signal of the carrier frequency and the reference signal to the third network element, Lt; / RTI >

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