METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR USE WITH A RADIO DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEM

• US 20170077998A1
• Filed: 06/10/2016
• Published: 03/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: GERSZBERG, IRWIN, HENRY, PAUL SHALA, BENNETT, ROBERT, BARZEGAR, FARHAD, BARNICKEL, DONALD J., WILLIS, THOMAS M. III
• Granted Patent: US 9,705,571 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/04 Circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/0491 with frequency synthesizers, frequency converters or modulators
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/54 Systems for transmission via power distribution lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/022 Site diversity; Macro-diversity using two or more spaced independent antennas H04B7/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/003 Arrangements for allocating sub-channels of the transmission path
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving, by a network element of a distributed antenna system, a reference signal and a first modulated signal at a first carrier frequency, the first modulated signal including first communications data provided by a base station and directed to a mobile communication device. The element converts the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal in a first spectral segment based on an analog signal processing of the first modulated signal and utilizing the reference signal to reduce distortion during the converting. The network element wirelessly transmits the first modulated signal at the first spectral segment to the mobile communication device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a system including signal processing circuitry, a first modulated signal in a first spectral segment directed to a mobile communication device, wherein the first modulated signal conforms to a signaling protocol;

converting, by the system, the first modulated signal in the first spectral segment to the first modulated signal at a first carrier frequency based on a signal processing of the first modulated signal and without modifying the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal, wherein the first carrier frequency is outside the first spectral segment; and

transmitting, by the system, a transmission signal including a first reference signal with the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to a network element of a plurality of network elements of a distributed antenna system, the first reference signal enabling the network element to reduce a phase error when reconverting the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal in the first spectral segment for wireless distribution of the first modulated signal to the mobile communication device in the first spectral segment, and the network element retransmitting the transmission signal to another network element of the plurality of network elements of the distributed antenna system without frequency conversion of the transmission signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal processing circuitry comprises analog signal processing circuitry that facilitates analog signal processing, wherein the signal processing of the first modulated signal comprises the analog signal processing of the first modulated signal without performing digital signal processing of the first modulated signal, and wherein the analog signal processing does not require either an analog to digital conversion or a digital to analog conversion.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting to the network element the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency as a free space wireless signal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first carrier frequency is in a millimeter-wave frequency band.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first modulated signal is generated by modulating signals in a plurality of frequency channels according to the signaling protocol to generate the first modulated signal in the first spectral segment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the signaling protocol comprises a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) wireless protocol or a fifth generation cellular communications protocol.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting by the system comprises up-converting the first modulated signal in the first spectral segment to the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the reconverting by the network element comprises down-converting the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal in a selected spectral segment.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting by the system comprises down-converting the first modulated signal in the first spectral segment to the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the reconverting by the network element comprises up-converting the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal in the first spectral segment.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the system, a second modulated signal at a second carrier frequency from the network element, wherein the mobile communication device generates the second modulated signal in a second spectral segment, and wherein the network element converts the second modulated signal in the second spectral segment to the second modulated signal at the second carrier frequency and transmits the second modulated signal at the second carrier frequency and a second reference signal.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

converting, by the system, the second modulated signal at the second carrier frequency to the second modulated signal in the second spectral segment utilizing the second reference signal to remove distortion in the second modulated signal at the second carrier frequency; and

sending, by the system, the second modulated signal in the second spectral segment to a base station for processing.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the second spectral segment differs from the first spectral segment, and wherein the first carrier frequency differs from the second carrier frequency.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal processing comprises analog signal processing that does not require either an analog to digital conversion or a digital to analog conversion.

15. A device, comprising:

a base station interface configured to receive from a base station a first modulated signal in a first spectral segment for transmission to a mobile communication device, wherein the first modulated signal conforms to a signaling protocol; and

a transceiver configured to convert the first modulated signal in the first spectral segment to the first modulated signal at a first carrier frequency based on signal processing of the first modulated signal and without modifying the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal, wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit a transmission signal including a reference signal with the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to a network element of a plurality of network elements of a distributed antenna system for wireless distribution of the first modulated signal to the mobile communication device in the first spectral segment, the reference signal enabling the network element to reduce a phase error during processing of the first modulated signal from the first carrier frequency to the first spectral segment, and the network element retransmitting at least a portion of the transmission signal to another network element of the plurality of network elements of the distributed antenna system without frequency conversion.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the signal processing comprises analog signal processing that does not require either an analog to digital conversion or a digital to analog conversion, and wherein the first carrier frequency is outside a frequency range of the first spectral segment.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the transceiver receives a second modulated signal at a second carrier frequency from the network element, wherein the mobile communication device generates the second modulated signal in a second spectral segment, and wherein the network element converts the second modulated signal in the second spectral segment to the second modulated signal at the second carrier frequency and transmits the second modulated signal at the second carrier frequency.

18. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a first network element of a plurality of network elements of a distributed antenna system, a first wireless signal including a first reference signal and a first modulated signal at a first carrier frequency, the first modulated signal including communications data provided by a base station and directed to a mobile communication device;

converting, by the first network element, the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal in a first spectral segment based on signal processing of the first modulated signal and utilizing the first reference signal to reduce distortion during the converting;

transmitting, by the first network element, a second wireless signal including the first modulated signal at the first spectral segment to the mobile communication device; and

generating, by the first network element, a third wireless signal based at least in part on the first wireless signal, the third wireless signal directed to a second network element of the plurality of network elements of the distributed antenna system without performing frequency conversion of the first wireless signal.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first modulated signal conforms to a signaling protocol, wherein the signal processing comprises analog signal processing, and wherein the analog signal processing converts the first modulated signal in the first spectral segment to the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency without modifying the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the converting by the first network element comprises converting the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal in the first spectral segment without modifying the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving, by the first network element, a fourth wireless signal including a second modulated signal in a second spectral segment generated by the mobile communication device; and

converting, by the first network element, the second modulated signal in the second spectral segment to the second modulated signal at a second carrier frequency based on a second reference signal; and

transmitting, by the first network element, a fifth wireless signal to a third network element of the plurality of network elements of the distributed antenna system, the fifth wireless signal including the second modulated signal at the second carrier frequency and the second reference signal.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the third network element of the plurality of network elements of the distributed antenna system receives the second modulated signal at the second carrier frequency, converts the second modulated signal at the second carrier frequency to the second modulated signal in the second spectral segment utilizing the second reference signal to remove distortion in the second modulated signal at the second carrier frequency, and provides the second modulated signal in the second spectral segment to the base station for processing.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the second spectral segment differs from the first spectral segment, and wherein the first carrier frequency differs from the second carrier frequency.