Repeater for extending range of time division duplex communication system

• US 20040157551A1
• Filed: 06/20/2003
• Published: 08/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: IPR Licensing Incorporated (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Tantivy Communications Incorporated (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Haenggi, Stefan, Proctor, James A. Jr., Gainey, Kenneth M., Lynch, Michael J., Regnier, John A., Hughes, Jonathan L.
• Application Number:
  US10/601,180
• Publication Number:
  US 20040157551A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/11.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15528 Control of operation parameters of a relay station to exploit the physical medium
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15571 by signal isolation, e.g. isolation by frequency or by antenna pattern, or by polarization

Abstract

A repeater that extends the range of a wireless communication system especially one using Time Division Duplex (TDD) protocols. The device preferably translates signals received on a first radio frequency channel to a second radio frequency channel. The repeater preferably monitors one or more channels for transmissions. When a transmission on one channel is detected, the repeater is configured to translate the received signal to another channel where it is then transmitted. The device thus solves a problem of isolating input and output signal from one another.

Claims

1. A repeater device for a wireless network comprising:

a detector, for determining if a signal is being received on a monitored radio frequency channel;

a delay for delaying said received signal while detecting same, the delay being at least equal to a time need for the detector to determine if a signal is being received; and

a transmitter, for re-transmitting the delayed received signal.

2. A repeater device as in claim 1 wherein the repeater device is packaged in a power converter housing.

3. A repeater device as in claim 1 wherein the delayed received signal is re-transmitted on a different frequency channel than the received signal.

4. A repeater device as in claim 1 wherein the delayed received signal is re-transmitted on a carrier frequency that is different from the carrier frequency of the monitored radio frequency channel.

5. A repeater device as in claim 1 wherein a single antenna is used for receiving signals on the monitored channel and for re-transmitting signals.

6. A repeater device as in claim 1 wherein a separate antenna is used for receiving signals on the monitored channel and for re-transmitting signals.

7. A repeater device as in claim 1 wherein the received signal is a Time Division Duplex (TDD) type signal such that signals are not transmitted and received by the same device at the same time on the same frequency.

8. A repeater device as in claim 6 wherein at least one antenna is a directional antenna.

9. A repeater device as in claim 1 wherein the detector determines if the received signal is present on one of at least two monitored channels.

10. A repeater device as in claim 1 wherein the detector determines if the received signals is present on one of twelve monitored channels.

11. A repeater device as in claim 1 additionally comprising:

a down-converter, for processing the received signal to produce an Intermediate Frequency (IF) received signal.

12. A repeater device as in claim 11 wherein the detector is a diode detector coupled to the IF received signal.

13. A repeater device as in claim 11 wherein the detector is a matched filter coupled to the IF received signal.

14. A repeater device as in claim 1 wherein the detector is a diode detector coupled to the received signal.

15. A repeater device as in claim 1 wherein the detector is a matched filter coupled to the received signal.

16. A repeater device as in claim 1 wherein the transmit frequency may be one of the receive channel frequencies.

17. A repeater device as in claim 1 wherein the received signal arrives at the repeater from a first direction, and the transmitted signal is sent in a second direction.

18. A repeater device as in claim 7 wherein a received signal received on a first channel, F1, is re-transmitted on a second channel, F2, and a signal received on the second channel, F2, is re-transmitted on the first channel, F1.