Physical layer repeater with selective use of higher layer functions based on network operating conditions
First Claim
1. A physical layer repeater for conducting a physical layer repeating operation in an environment associated with a wireless network, the physical layer repeating operation including receiving a signal associated with a packet and transmitting the packet without modification of one or more of a source address and a destination address contained in the packet, the physical layer repeater comprising:
- a digital baseband section including at least first and second signal processor and a demodulator; and
a processor coupled to and capable of controlling the baseband section, the processor configured to;
selectively conduct a higher layer function during operation in addition to the physical layer repeating operation, the higher layer function including;
processing first information from at least a demodulated portion of the packet; and
determining a manner in which the packet is handled during the repeating operation based on the first information.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A physical layer frequency translating repeater (600, 700) for use in a wireless network includes signal processor (710-714) coupled with a signal processing bus (711), a processor (627) and a memory (650). The physical layer repeater conducts physical layer repeating and selectively conducts layer 2 and possibly layer 3 functions depending on network conditions and other factors. A demodulator (623) can extract address information such as media access control (MAC) addressing to enable packets to be redirected, terminated, stored and forwarded, if necessary, based on network conditions.
139 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A physical layer repeater for conducting a physical layer repeating operation in an environment associated with a wireless network, the physical layer repeating operation including receiving a signal associated with a packet and transmitting the packet without modification of one or more of a source address and a destination address contained in the packet, the physical layer repeater comprising:
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a digital baseband section including at least first and second signal processor and a demodulator; and
a processor coupled to and capable of controlling the baseband section, the processor configured to;
selectively conduct a higher layer function during operation in addition to the physical layer repeating operation, the higher layer function including;
processing first information from at least a demodulated portion of the packet; and
determining a manner in which the packet is handled during the repeating operation based on the first information. - 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, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A physical layer repeater for conducting a physical layer repeating operation in an environment associated with a wireless network, the physical layer repeating operation including receiving a signal associated with a packet and transmitting the signal associated with the packet without modification of one or more of a source address and a destination address contained in the packet, the physical layer repeater comprising:
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a digital baseband section including at least first and second signal processor, and a demodulator; and
a processor coupled to and capable of controlling the baseband section, the processor configured to;
process the signal associated with the packet on a symbol-by-symbol basis to form a processed symbol; and
regenerate the processed symbol associated with the packet after at least a symbol interval to form a regenerated symbol. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36)
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37. A physical layer repeater for conducting a physical layer repeating operation in an environment associated with a wireless network, the physical layer repeating operation including receiving a signal associated with a packet and transmitting the signal associated with the packet without modification of one or more of a source address and a destination address contained in the packet, the physical layer repeater comprising:
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a digital baseband section including at least first and second signal processor and a demodulator; and
a processor coupled to and capable of controlling the baseband section, the processor configured to;
process the signal associated with the packet on a sample-by-sample basis to generate a signal sample; and
transmit the signal sample. - View Dependent Claims (38)
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39. A system for conducting repeater operations in a wireless network environment including a network client, the system comprising:
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a first physical layer repeater for conducting a first physical layer repeating operation in the wireless network environment, the first physical layer repeating operation including receiving a signal associated with a packet on a first frequency channel and transmitting the signal associated with the packet on a second frequency channel without modification of one or more of a source address and a destination address contained in the packet, the first physical layer repeater capable of performing higher layer operations in connection with the first physical layer repeating operation; and
a second physical layer repeater for conducting a second physical layer repeating operation in the wireless network environment, the second physical layer repeating operation including receiving the signal associated with the packet on the first frequency channel and transmitting the signal associated with the packet on the second frequency channel without modification of one or more of a source address and a destination address contained in the packet, the second physical layer repeater capable of performing higher layer operations in connection with the second physical layer repeating operation, wherein the first physical layer repeater and the second physical layer repeater are configured to communicate using a inter-repeater protocol to establish one or more parameters for deciding which of the first physical layer repeater and the second physical layer repeater will conduct the receiving the signal associated with the packet on the first frequency channel and the transmitting the signal associated with the packet on the second frequency channel. - View Dependent Claims (40)
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Specification