Hybrid RF and optical wireless communication link and network structure incorporating it therein
First Claim
1. A node incorporating hybrid radio frequency and optical wireless communication links, the node comprising:
- a. at least one laser portion for transmitting data;
b. at least one radio frequency portion for transmitting data;
c. a data receiver for receiving data from a data source; and
d. a controller configured to receive data from a data source and connected with the laser portion and the radio frequency portion to allocate portions of the data to be transmitted through the laser portion and the radio frequency portion.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A hybrid wireless link 100 of the present invention provides a gateway between two wired data systems 102, such as backbone fiber networks, and comprises a laser portion 104, a radio frequency portion 106, and a controller 108. The laser portion 104 and the radio frequency portion 106 provide, side-by-side and point-to-point, a free-space optical wireless link and a radio frequency wireless link. The controller 108 may be designed to respond to atmospheric conditions based on environmental information such as weather tables or the transmit/receive power of the laser portion 104 and the radio frequency portion 106, with signal switched between the laser portion 104 and the radio frequency portion 106 with a binary switch or a variety of latched levels using an incremental switch. The hybrid wireless link 100 may also use multiple channels and may be configured for a variety of networks including multi-channel ring topologies.
107 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A node incorporating hybrid radio frequency and optical wireless communication links, the node comprising:
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a. at least one laser portion for transmitting data;
b. at least one radio frequency portion for transmitting data;
c. a data receiver for receiving data from a data source; and
d. a controller configured to receive data from a data source and connected with the laser portion and the radio frequency portion to allocate portions of the data to be transmitted through the laser portion and the radio frequency portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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18. A network incorporating hybrid radio frequency and optical wireless communication links, said network comprising a plurality of nodes, each node including:
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a. at least one laser portion for transmitting data;
b. at least one radio frequency portion for transmitting data;
c. a data receiver for receiving data from a data source; and
d. a controller configured to receive data from a data source and connected with the laser portion and the radio frequency portion to allocate portions of the data to be transmitted through the laser portion and the radio frequency portion.
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Specification