DIRECTIONAL WIRELESS DROP SYSTEMS FOR BROADBAND NETWORKS AND RELATED METHODS

• US 20180262363A1
• Filed: 09/20/2016
• Published: 09/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Outdoor Wireless Networks LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: CHAMBERLAIN, John Charles, BROBSTON, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 10,263,805 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/25751 Optical arrangements for CATV or video distribution adaptations of television systems for optical transmission H04N7/22
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/64 Heterodyne , i.e. coherent receivers where, after the opto-electronic conversion, an electrical signal at an intermediate frequency [IF] is obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/36 Repeater circuits H04B3/58 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/78 CATV [Community Antenna Television] systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/10 Current supply arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2861 Point-to-multipoint connection from the data network to the subscribers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2885 Arrangements interfacing with optical systems optical network equipment H04B10/00; optical multiplexers H04J14/05 and H04J14/07
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2889 Multiservice, e.g. MSAN
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2898 Subscriber equipments DSL modems H04M11/062; cable modems H04L12/2801
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6421 Medium of transmission, e.g. fibre, cable, radio, satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6106 specially adapted to the downstream path of the transmission network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/20 Adaptations for transmission via a GHz frequency band, e.g. via satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0067 Provisions for optical access or distribution networks, e.g. Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network (GE-PON), ATM-based Passive Optical Network (A-PON), PON-Ring

Abstract

Directional wireless drop systems are provided. These systems include a tap unit that is connected to a communications line of the broadband network; a cable modem unit connected to the tap unit; a plurality of wireless routers connected to the cable modem unit; and a directional antenna unit that is connected to at least a first of the wireless routers. Each wireless router is associated with a respective one of a plurality of subscriber premises that are served by the directional wireless drop system and is configured to communicate with at least one device that is located at the respective one of plurality of subscriber premises.

Claims

1-15. -15. (canceled)

16. An access point for a broadband network, comprising:

a baseband unit that is configured to receive an output from a passive optical network;

a millimeter wave radio coupled to the baseband unit; and

a beam-forming millimeter wave antenna.

17. The access point of claim 16, wherein the baseband unit includes a beam-forming controller that is configured to adjust a beam of the millimeter wave antenna.

18. The access point of claim 16, wherein the baseband unit includes an optical-to-electrical converter, a deserializer and a plurality of baseband integrated circuit chip sets.

19. The access point of claim 18, further comprising a digital front end unit that is configured to digitally up-convert the outputs of the baseband integrated circuit chip sets to an intermediate frequency band that is lower than a millimeter wave band.

20. The access point of claim 16, where the millimeter wave antenna comprises an active antenna that has separate radio channels attached to respective ones of a plurality of sub-groups of the antenna elements.

21. The access point of claim 16, wherein the access point is configured to communicate with a plurality of subscriber premises via a time division multiple access scheme, and wherein the beam-forming millimeter wave antenna is configured to perform beam-forming operations between at least some of the time slots of the time division multiple access scheme.

22. The access point of claim 21, wherein the beam-forming millimeter wave antenna forms a single antenna beam during each time slot.

23. The access point of claim 21, wherein each time slot includes an upstream portion and a downstream portion that do not overlap in time.

24. The access point of claim 21, wherein the percentage of a time slot in a frame that is occupied by the upstream portion is independent of the percentage of other time slots in the frame that are occupied by the upstream portion.

25. The access point of claim 16, wherein the access point is configured to communicate with a plurality of subscriber premises via a time and frequency division multiple access scheme.

26-27. -27. (canceled)

28. A wireless drop unit for a subscriber premises, comprising:

a millimeter wave antenna;

a millimeter wave radio coupled to the millimeter wave antenna; and

a baseband unit coupled to the millimeter wave radio.

29. The wireless drop unit of claim 28, further comprising an orthomode transducer coupled between the millimeter wave antenna and the millimeter wave radio.

30. The wireless drop unit of claim 28, further comprising an optical network terminal that is coupled to the baseband unit.

32. The wireless drop unit of claim 30, wherein the baseband unit and the millimeter wave radio are powered via a Power-over-Ethernet link that is part of the Ethernet connection.

35. The wireless drop unit of claim 28, wherein the wireless drop unit is configured to communicate with an access point via a time division multiple access scheme, and wherein the baseband unit includes a plurality of baseband integrated circuit chips.

31. (canceled)

33-34. -34 (canceled)

36. (canceled)

37. A directional wireless drop system, comprising:

a passive optical network; and

a wireless drop system coupled to the passive optical network, the wireless drop system including;

an optical-to-electrical converter; and

a directional antenna,

wherein the wireless drop system is configured to communicate with a plurality of subscriber premises.

38. The directional wireless drop system of claim 37, wherein the wireless drop system further includes:

an optical tap unit that is connected to a communications cable of the passive optical network, the optical tap unit including the optical-to-electrical converter;

a router that is connected to a tap port of the optical tap unit;

a plurality of wireless routers that are connected between the router and the directional antenna.

39. The directional wireless drop system of claim 37, wherein the wireless drop system further includes a baseband unit that is coupled to an output of the optical-to-electrical converter.

40. The directional wireless drop system of claim 39, wherein the wireless drop system further includes a digital front end unit that is coupled between the baseband unit and the directional antenna.

41-42. -42. (canceled)