Tower top antenna structure with fiber optic communications link
First Claim
1. A tower top antenna structure for use in communicating with a base station in a cellular communications network, the tower top antenna structure comprising:
- (a) a distributed active antenna;
(b) a receiver circuit coupled to the distributed active antenna and including a downconverter and an optical transmitter, the receiver circuit configured to receive a radio frequency (RF) receive signal from the distributed active antenna and generate therefrom a downconverted optical receive signal for transmission to the base station over a fiber optic communications link; and
(c) a transmitter circuit coupled to the distributed active antenna and including an optical receiver and an upconverter, the transmitter circuit configured to receive an optical transmit signal from the base station over the fiber optic communications link and generate therefrom an upconverted RF transmit signal for transmission by the distributed active antenna.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An intermediate frequency (IF) fiber optic communications link communicates receive and transmit signals between a distributed active antenna and base station electronics in an antenna installation. In addition, a tower top antenna structure incorporates both an RF transceiver and an optical transceiver in connection with a distributed active antenna to permit conversion between the RF signals utilized by a distributed active antenna with optical IF signals communicated over the fiber optic communications link. Complementary electronics at the base station then convert between the optical IF signals and digital IF signals for interface with base station electronics.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A tower top antenna structure for use in communicating with a base station in a cellular communications network, the tower top antenna structure comprising:
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(a) a distributed active antenna;
(b) a receiver circuit coupled to the distributed active antenna and including a downconverter and an optical transmitter, the receiver circuit configured to receive a radio frequency (RF) receive signal from the distributed active antenna and generate therefrom a downconverted optical receive signal for transmission to the base station over a fiber optic communications link; and
(c) a transmitter circuit coupled to the distributed active antenna and including an optical receiver and an upconverter, the transmitter circuit configured to receive an optical transmit signal from the base station over the fiber optic communications link and generate therefrom an upconverted RF transmit signal for transmission by the distributed active antenna. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A tower top structure for use in connection with a distributed active antenna to communicate with a base station in a cellular communications network, the tower top structure comprising:
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(a) a receiver circuit configured to be coupled to a distributed active antenna and including a downconverter and an optical transmitter, the receiver circuit configured to receive a radio frequency (RF) receive signal from the distributed active antenna and generate therefrom a downconverted optical receive signal for transmission to the base station over a fiber optic communications link; and
(b) a transmitter circuit configured to be coupled to the distributed active antenna and including an optical receiver and an upconverter, the transmitter circuit configured to receive an optical transmit signal from the base station over the fiber optic communications link and generate therefrom an upconverted RF transmit signal for transmission by the distributed active antenna.
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18. An apparatus for use in a cellular communications network, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) a base station;
(b) a fiber optic communications link coupled to the base station;
(c) a distributed active antenna; and
(d) a tower top structure coupled to the distributed active antenna and the fiber optic communications link, the tower top structure comprising;
(i) a tower top receiver circuit including a downconverter and an optical transmitter, the tower top receiver circuit configured to receive a radio frequency (RF) receive signal from the distributed active antenna and output therefrom a downconverted optical receive signal over the fiber optic communications link; and
(ii) a tower top transmitter circuit including an optical receiver and an upconverter, the tower top transmitter circuit configured to receive an optical transmit signal from the fiber optic communications link and generate therefrom an upconverted RF transmit signal for transmission by the distributed active antenna. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A tower top antenna structure for use in communicating with a base station in a cellular communications network, the tower top antenna structure comprising:
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(a) a distributed active antenna;
(b) a radio frequency (RF) transceiver coupled to the distributed active antenna and configured to convert transmit and receive signals between RF and intermediate frequency (IF) representations; and
(c) an optical transceiver coupled to the RF transceiver and to a fiber optic communications link, the optical transceiver configured to convert the transmit and receive signals between IF and optical representations. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of communicating with a base station in a cellular communications network, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving a radio frequency (RF) receive signal from a distributed active antenna;
(b) generating a downconverted optical receive signal from the RF receive signal using a tower top receiver circuit that includes a downconverter and an optical transmitter;
(c) communicating the downconverted optical receive signal to the base station over a fiber optic communications link;
(d) receiving an optical transmit signal from the base station over the fiber optic communications link;
(e) generating an upconverted RF transmit signal from the optical transmit signal using a tower top transmitter circuit that includes an optical receiver and an upconverter; and
(f) transmitting the upconverted RF transmit signal using the distributed active antenna. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification