Multi-functional units incorporating lighting capabilities in converged networks
First Claim
1. A converged network for supporting lighting and communications services, comprising:
- a plurality of electrical conducting power cables and a plurality of communications cables;
a central communications unit configured to distribute downlink communications signals over the plurality of communications cables and receive uplink communications signals over the plurality of communications cables;
a plurality of multi-functional units, at least one multi-functional unit among the plurality of multi-functional units comprising;
at least one power interface circuit configured to be coupled to at least one electrical conducting power cable among the plurality of electrical conducting power cables to receive electrical power distributed over the at least one electrical conducting power cable;
a plurality of wireless communications circuits each comprising at least one antenna configured to transmit the downlink communications signals comprising wireless downlink communications signals received from at least one communications cable among the plurality of communications cables from the central communications unit into an antenna service area associated with a wireless device, and distribute wireless uplink communications signals received over the at least one antenna as the uplink communications signals over at least one communications cables among the plurality of communications cables to the central communications unit; and
a lighting component comprising a light and configured to receive the electrical power to transmit the light into a coverage area of the at least one multi-functional unit, the lighting component comprising a lighting control circuit configured to;
receive a lighting instruction distributed in a received downlink communications signal from the at least one communications cable among the plurality of communications cables from the central communications unit; and
control the electrical power received from the at least one power interface circuit to the light in response to the lighting instruction.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Multi-functional units incorporating lighting capabilities in converged networks, and related networks and methods are disclosed. The multi-functional units are configured to be included at end points in a wireless communications network to serve as distribution points for distribution of communications services. Each multi-functional unit includes a plurality of wireless communications circuits in a single unit or housing to support multiple communications services. Thus, a single multi-functional unit can be installed in a location to support the multiple communications services to minimize installation footprint. To further conserve installation footprint, the wireless communications network can be provided as a converged network that includes a single communications backbone to converge multiple networks for the multiple communications services supported by the multi-functional units. Further, by the multi-functional units also supporting lighting capabilities, the multi-functional units may be installed in lighting fixture locations to minimize the footprint.
31 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A converged network for supporting lighting and communications services, comprising:
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a plurality of electrical conducting power cables and a plurality of communications cables; a central communications unit configured to distribute downlink communications signals over the plurality of communications cables and receive uplink communications signals over the plurality of communications cables; a plurality of multi-functional units, at least one multi-functional unit among the plurality of multi-functional units comprising; at least one power interface circuit configured to be coupled to at least one electrical conducting power cable among the plurality of electrical conducting power cables to receive electrical power distributed over the at least one electrical conducting power cable; a plurality of wireless communications circuits each comprising at least one antenna configured to transmit the downlink communications signals comprising wireless downlink communications signals received from at least one communications cable among the plurality of communications cables from the central communications unit into an antenna service area associated with a wireless device, and distribute wireless uplink communications signals received over the at least one antenna as the uplink communications signals over at least one communications cables among the plurality of communications cables to the central communications unit; and a lighting component comprising a light and configured to receive the electrical power to transmit the light into a coverage area of the at least one multi-functional unit, the lighting component comprising a lighting control circuit configured to; receive a lighting instruction distributed in a received downlink communications signal from the at least one communications cable among the plurality of communications cables from the central communications unit; and control the electrical power received from the at least one power interface circuit to the light in response to the lighting instruction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification