Centrally located equipment for wireless telephone system

• US 6,301,240 B1
• Filed: 02/19/1998
• Issued: 10/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Transcept, Inc. (Crown Castle International Corporation)
• Inventors: Slabinski, Richard P., Dawson, Michael T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jung, Min
• Application Number:
  US09/026,274
• Time in Patent Office: 1,328 Days
• Field of Search: 370/480, 370/486, 370/487, 370/401, 370/481, 370/485, 370/338, 370/343, 370/489, 370/490, 455/426, 455/557
• US Class Current: 370/343
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/085 Access point devices with remote components

Abstract

Simplified centrally located equipment for use in a wireless telephone system that uses of an existing broadband distribution network to carry telephony signals between an existing telephone network and remote transceivers sites in defined cells or sectors is disclosed. The simplification is accomplished by reducing the number of frequency translation steps between elements of the centrally located equipment by using the same carrier frequency for signal handling within the elements of the centrally located equipment as is used to transmit telephony signals between elements.

Claims

1. Centrally located equipment for use in a wireless telephone system that utilizes a broadband distribution network to carry telephony signals between a telephone network and wireless telecommunications devices using carrier signals, said centrally located equipment comprising:

a first circuit that interfaces with said telephone network, said first circuit receiving telephony signals from said telephone network and encoding said telephony signals into a first encoded telephony signal that is used to modulate a carrier signal having a first frequency to create a first IF carrier signal, and transmitting said first IF carrier signal; and

a second circuit that interfaces with said first circuit and with said broadband cable network, said second circuit receiving said first IF carrier signal from said first circuit and processing same before translating the frequency of said first IF carrier signal to a second frequency to create a first RF carrier signal that is transmitted over said broadband distribution network to said wireless telecommunications devices; and

wherein telephony signals from a wireless telecommunications device are encoded and used to modulate a carrier signal having a third frequency to create a second RF carrier signal that is transmitted over said broadband distribution network to said second circuit, wherein said second circuit processes said second RF carrier signal and then translates the frequency of said second RF carrier signal to a fourth frequency to create a second IF carrier signal that is transmitted to said first circuit, wherein said first circuit demodulates said second IF carrier signal to obtain said encoded telephony signal from said wireless telecommunications device, and wherein said first circuit decodes said last mentioned encoded telephony signal to obtain the telephony signals from said wireless telecommunications devices which are sent to said telephone network.

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first circuit comprises:

means for encoding telephony signals received from said telephone network to create said first encoded telephony signal; and

means for modulating said carrier signal having said first frequency with said first encoded telephony signal to create said first IF carrier signal which is transmitted to said second circuit.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 2 wherein said first circuit further comprises:

means for demodulating said second IF carrier signal received from said second circuit to obtain said encoded telephony signal from said wireless telecommunications device; and

means for decoding said last mentioned encoded telephony signal, which originated at a wireless telecommunications device, to obtain said telephony signal which is then sent to said telephone network.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said second circuit comprises:

means for performing signal processing on said second RF carrier signal received over said broadband distribution network from said wireless telecommunications device; and

means for translating the frequency of said second RF carrier signal to a fourth frequency to create said second IF carrier signal which is then transmitted to said first circuit.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 4 wherein said second circuit comprises:

means for multiplexing said first IF carrier signal from said first circuit with other signals; and

means for transmitting said multiplexed signals over said broadband distribution network to said wireless telecommunications device.

6. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein said second circuit comprises:

means for performing signal processing on said second RF carrier signal modulated with an encoded telephony signal and received over said broadband distribution network from said wireless telecommunications device; and

means for translating the frequency of said second RF carrier signal to a fourth frequency to create said second IF carrier signal which is transmitted to said first circuit.

7. The invention in accordance with claim 6 wherein said second circuit further comprises:

means for multiplexing said first IF carrier signal from said first circuit with other signals; and

means for transmitting said multiplexed signals over said broadband distribution network to said wireless telecommunications device.

8. The invention in accordance with claim 5 wherein said first circuit comprises:

means for encoding telephony signals received from said telephone network to create said first encoded telephony signal; and

means for modulating said carrier signal having said first frequency with said first encoded telephony signal to create said first IF carrier signal which is transmitted to said second circuit.

9. The invention in accordance with claim 8 wherein said first circuit further comprises:

means for demodulating said second IF carrier signal received from said second circuit to obtain said encoded telephony signal; and

means for decoding said last mentioned encoded telephony signal, which originated at a wireless telecommunications device, to obtain the telephony signal which is sent to said telephone network.

10. A method for transferring encoded telephony signals between a first and a second system member of centrally located equipment used in a wireless telephone system that utilizes a broadband distribution network to carry telephony signals between a telephone network and a wireless telecommunications device, said method comprising:

modulating a carrier signal having a first frequency with a telephony signal received from said telephone network in said first system member to create a first IF carrier signal, said modulation being done in said first system member;

transmitting said first IF carrier signal from said first system member to said second system member;

multiplexing with said second system member said first IF carrier signal with other signals originating at said telephone network;

translating with said second system member the frequency of said first IF carrier signal to a second frequency to create a first RF carrier signal; and

transmitting from said second system member said first RF carrier signal over said broadband distribution network to said wireless telecommunications device.

11. The method in accordance with claim 10 further comprising:

performing signal processing in said second system member on a second RF carrier signal modulated with an encoded telephony signal which originates at a wireless telecommunications device and received over said broadband distribution network;

translating with said second system member the frequency of said second RF carrier signal to a fourth frequency to create a second IF carrier signal;

transmitting said second IF carrier signal from said second system member to said first system member; and

demodulating with said first system member said second IF carrier signal to obtain said encoded telephony signal which is then forwarded to said telephone network.

12. A wireless telephone system, comprising:

a base transceiver station including;

an encoder for encoding a digitized telephony signal received from a telephone network into a first encoded telephony signal;

a D/A converter in communication with the first encoder for converting the first encoded telephony signal into a first analog encoded telephony signal; and

a modulator in communication with the D/A converter for modulating a first IF carrier signal with the first analog encoded telephony signal; and

a remote antenna signal processor in communication with the base transceiver station, the remote antenna signal processor including a first heterodyne stage for upconverting the first IF carrier signal received from the base transceiver station to a first RF carrier signal for transmission to a remote antenna driver in communication with the remote antenna signal processor via a broadband distribution network.

13. The wireless telephone system of claim 12, wherein:

the remote antenna signal processor further includes a second heterodyne stage for downconverting a second RF carrier signal received from the remote antenna driver via the broadband distribution network to a second IF carrier signal, wherein the second RF carrier signal and the second IF carrier signal are modulated by a second encoded telephony signal received by the remote antenna driver from a wireless telecommunications device; and

the base transceiver station further includes;

a demodulator for demodulating the second IF carrier signal received from the remote antenna signal processor to obtain the second encoded telephony signal;

an A/D converter in communication with the demodulator for digitizing the second encoded telephony signal; and

a decoder for decoding the second encoded telephony signal.

14. The wireless telephone system of claim 12, wherein the encoder encodes the digitized telephony signal received from the telephone network according to one of a CDMA technique and a GSM technique.

15. A wireless telephone system, comprising:

a remote antenna signal processor including a first heterodyne stage for downconverting an RF carrier signal received from a remote antenna driver via a broadband distribution network to an IF carrier signal, wherein the RF carrier signal and the IF carrier signal are modulated by an encoded telephony signal received by the remote antenna driver from a wireless telecommunications device; and

a base transceiver station in communication with the remote antenna signal processor, the base transceiver station including;

a demodulator for demodulating the IF carrier signal received from the remote antenna signal processor to obtain the encoded telephony signal;

an A/D converter in communication with the demodulator for digitizing the encoded telephony signal; and

a decoder in communication with the A/D converter for decoding the encoded telephony signal.