Use of over-the-air optical link within a geographically distributed base station
First Claim
1. RF base station apparatus comprising:
- first wireless RF communication equipment; and
wireless optical communication equipment coupled to the first wireless RF communication equipment, the wireless optical communication equipment being adapted to communicate signals between the first wireless RF communication equipment and other equipment of the RF base station, and the first wireless RF communication equipment and the other equipment being non-co-located.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for reducing the cost of an RF base station that services a location where real estate is expensive without reducing the capacity of the system, subjecting the system to significant environmental interference, or purchasing additional licensed frequency spectrum. In accordance with the present invention, communication between two sections of an RF base station of a wireless communication system is implemented using an over-the-air optical link, also referred to as a wireless optical link. In particular, wireless RF communication equipment of either, or both, 1) the RF antenna and RF hardware, and 2) the processing and/or control section of the RF base station is coupled to over-the-air optical communication equipment. Overall, the present invention allows an RF base station to service the location where real estate is expensive at a much lower cost without reducing the capacity or the signal quality of the system.
24 Citations
30 Claims
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1. RF base station apparatus comprising:
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first wireless RF communication equipment; and
wireless optical communication equipment coupled to the first wireless RF communication equipment, the wireless optical communication equipment being adapted to communicate signals between the first wireless RF communication equipment and other equipment of the RF base station, and the first wireless RF communication equipment and the other equipment being non-co-located. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An RF base station comprising:
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an RF antenna;
first wireless optical communication equipment coupled to the RF communication equipment;
a section of equipment of the RF base station, the section of equipment being at a significant distance from the RF antenna;
second wireless optical communication equipment coupled to the section of equipment of the RF base station; and
the first wireless optical communication equipment being adapted to communicate with the second wireless optical communication equipment. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising the steps of:
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receiving an RF signal at an RF antenna of an RF base station;
modulating a signal representing the RF signal onto an optical signal; and
transmitting the optical signal by wireless optical communication equipment to a section of equipment of the RF base station. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method comprising the steps of:
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obtaining a signal at a section of equipment of the RF base station;
modulating a signal representing the signal onto an optical signal; and
transmitting the optical signal over wireless optical communication equipment to an RF antenna of the RF base station. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. RF base station apparatus comprising:
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an RF antenna of the RF base station apparatus; and
a telescope coupled to the RF antenna, the telescope being adapted to communicate signals between the RF antenna and other equipment of the RF base station apparatus, the RF antenna being at a significant distance from the other equipment of the RF base station, and wherein signals received by the RF antenna conform to a predefined wireless communication standard, and the signals communicated by the telescope represent information that conforms to the predefined wireless communication standard. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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Specification