Method and apparatus for mitigating a fault in a distributed antenna system

• US 10,291,311 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2016
• Issued: 05/14/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gerszberg, Irwin
• Primary Examiner(s): Banks Harold, Marsha D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Dharmesh J
• Application Number:
  US15/260,426
• Publication Number:
  US 20180076876A1
• Time in Patent Office: 977 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0831 Compensation of the diversity switching process for non-uniform properties or faulty operations of the switches used in the diversity switching process
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/12 Arrangements for remote connection or disconnection of substations or of equipment thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0668 by dynamic selection of recovery network elements, e.g. replacement by the most appropriate element after failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/245 taking into account received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/42 in systems with time, space, frequency or polarisation diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/085 Access point devices with remote components

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving a first wireless signal at a first carrier frequency, the first wireless signal including a first modulated signal generated by a second antenna system by frequency-shifting the first modulated signal from a first native frequency band to the first carrier frequency, receiving a second wireless signal at a second carrier frequency, the second wireless signal including a second modulated signal generated by a third antenna system by frequency-shifting the second modulated signal from a second native frequency band to the second carrier frequency, detecting a fault in the second antenna system, and responsive to the detecting, adjusting a power level of a first wireless transmission to generate an adjusted first wireless transmission directed to the third antenna system. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a first antenna system of a distributed antenna system, a first wireless signal at a first carrier frequency, wherein the first wireless signal comprises a first modulated signal generated by modulating a first signal according to a first signaling protocol, and wherein a second antenna system of the distributed antenna system generates the first wireless signal by frequency-shifting the first modulated signal in a first cellular band to the first carrier frequency without modifying the first signaling protocol;

receiving, by the first antenna system, a second wireless signal at a second carrier frequency, wherein the second wireless signal comprises a second modulated signal generated by modulating a second signal according to a second signaling protocol, and wherein a third antenna system of the distributed antenna system generates the second wireless signal by frequency-shifting the second modulated signal in a second cellular band to the second carrier frequency without modifying the second signaling protocol;

detecting, by the first antenna system, an operational fault in the second antenna system responsive to determining that a first performance measurement of the first wireless signal compares unfavorably to a second performance measurement of the second wireless signal; and

responsive to the detecting, adjusting, by the first antenna system, a first wireless transmission to generate an adjusted first wireless transmission directed to the third antenna system, wherein prior to the adjusting by the first antenna system, the first wireless transmission was directed to the second antenna system for processing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second antenna system is located at a first distance from the first antenna system, wherein the third antenna system is located at a second distance from the first antenna system, and wherein the second distance exceeds the first distance.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first antenna system receives the first wireless signal at a higher signal strength than the second wireless signal when the second antenna system and the third antenna system are not experiencing operational faults.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusted first wireless transmission is generated by adjusting a power level of the first wireless transmission.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein responsive to the adjusting by the first antenna system, the third antenna system adjusts the second wireless signal to generate an adjusted second wireless signal directed to the first antenna system, wherein prior to the adjusting by the third antenna system, the second wireless signal was directed to the second antenna system for processing.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the adjusted second wireless signal comprises adjusting a power level of the second wireless signal.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless transmission comprises a third modulated signal generated by modulating a third signal according to a third signaling protocol, wherein the first wireless transmission is generated by the first antenna system by frequency-shifting the third modulated signal in a third cellular band to a third carrier frequency without modifying the third signaling protocol.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first signaling protocol differs from the second signaling protocol, and wherein the first carrier frequency differs from the second carrier frequency.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting, by the first antenna system, that the operational fault in the second antenna system has been mitigated responsive to determining that an updated first signal strength of the first wireless signal exceeds a threshold; and

restoring, by the first antenna system, transmission of the first wireless transmission.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the restoring further comprises transmitting a message to notify the third antenna system that the first wireless transmission is being restored.

11. A first antenna system of a distributed antenna system, comprising:

a first antenna;

a processing system including a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

receiving, by the first antenna, a first wireless signal at a first carrier frequency, wherein the first wireless signal comprises a first modulated signal, and wherein a second antenna system of the distributed antenna system generates the first wireless signal by frequency-shifting the first modulated signal in a first cellular band to the first carrier frequency;

receiving, by the first antenna, a second wireless signal at a second carrier frequency, wherein the second wireless signal comprises a second modulated signal, and wherein a third antenna system of the distributed antenna system generates the second wireless signal by frequency-shifting the second modulated signal in a second cellular band to the second carrier frequency;

detecting, by the first antenna system, an operational fault in the second antenna system responsive to determining that the second wireless signal has a first signal strength below a first threshold; and

responsive to the detecting, adjusting a power level of a first wireless transmission, by the first antenna, to generate an adjusted first wireless transmission directed to the third antenna system, wherein prior to the adjusting by the first antenna system, the first wireless transmission was directed to the second antenna system for processing.

12. The first antenna system of claim 11, wherein the adjusting is further responsive to the second wireless signal having a second signal strength that exceeds a second threshold.

13. The first antenna system of claim 11, wherein the second antenna system is located at a first distance from the first antenna system, wherein the third antenna system is located at a second distance from the first antenna system, and wherein the second distance exceeds the first distance.

14. The first antenna system of claim 13, wherein the first antenna receives the first wireless signal at a higher signal strength than the second wireless signal when the second antenna system and the third antenna system are not experiencing operational faults.

15. The first antenna system of claim 11, wherein the adjusted first wireless transmission is generated by adjusting a power level of the first wireless transmission.

16. The first antenna system of claim 11, wherein responsive to the adjusting by the first antenna system, the third antenna system adjusts the second wireless signal to generate an adjusted second wireless signal directed to the first antenna system, wherein prior to the adjusting by the third antenna system, the second wireless signal was directed to the second antenna system for processing.

17. The first antenna system of claim 16, wherein the generating the adjusted second wireless signal comprises adjusting a power level of the second wireless signal.

18. The first antenna system of claim 11, wherein the first wireless transmission comprises a third modulated signal, wherein the first wireless transmission is generated by the first antenna system by frequency-shifting the third modulated signal in a third cellular band to a third carrier frequency.

19. A first antenna system of a distributed antenna system, comprising:

means for receiving a first wireless signal at a first carrier frequency, wherein the first wireless signal comprises a first modulated signal generated by a second antenna system of the distributed antenna system by frequency-shifting the first modulated signal from a first native frequency band to the first carrier frequency;

means for receiving a second wireless signal at a second carrier frequency, wherein the second wireless signal comprises a second modulated signal generated by a third antenna system of the distributed antenna system by frequency-shifting the second modulated signal from a second native frequency band to the second carrier frequency;

means for detecting a fault in the second antenna system; and

responsive to the detecting, means for adjusting a power level of a wireless transmission to generate an adjusted wireless transmission directed to the third antenna system, wherein prior to the adjusting, the wireless transmission was directed to the second antenna system.

20. The first antenna system of claim 19, wherein the first native frequency band comprises a first cellular band, wherein the second native frequency band comprises a second cellular band, and wherein the fault is detected by determining that the second wireless signal has a signal strength that exceeds the first wireless signal.