Blossom/wilt for dynamic reallocation in a distributed fiber system

• US 6,415,132 B1
• Filed: 04/21/1999
• Issued: 07/02/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Transcept, Inc. (Crown Castle International Corporation)
• Inventors: Sabat, John Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Nay
• Assistant Examiner(s): BEAMER, TEMICA M
• Application Number:
  US09/296,011
• Time in Patent Office: 1,168 Days
• Field of Search: 455/3.01, 455/436, 455/438, 455/439, 455/442, 455/443, 455/447, 455/450, 455/453, 455/509, 455/522, 455/63, 455/11.1, 725/62, 725/106, 725/114, 725/119
• US Class Current: 455/3.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/25755 Ring network topology
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/18 for allowing seamless reselection, e.g. soft reselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/085 Access point devices with remote components

Abstract

A technique for controlling a wireless communication network to provide for blossoming capacity to a relatively high capacity state and/or wilting capacity to a relatively lower capacity state. Connections in progress with active subscriber units are properly handled without the need to send explicit handoff commands from the base stations. The cell sites may be advantageously implemented with cable microcell integrators that comprise remotely deployed transceiving equipment that are interconnected to centrally located base transceiver station equipment via a broadband cable distribution network. In an initial relatively low capacity state, adjacent cells are operated at the same carrier frequency such that they form simulcast groups so that subscriber units traveling in adjacent cells will operate with the same radio channel. As demand increases, the power level of an auxiliary radio transceiver is gradually increased while the power level of the original transceiver in the cell is gradually decreased. Once the auxiliary transceiver is operating at full power on the second channel, the mobile units in the cell will have completed their internal soft handoff processing and switch over to the new channel. An analogous inverse process can be used to wilt the capacity of the system.

Claims

1. A wireless communication system in which a plurality of cells are located substantially adjacent one another, the wireless communication system operating over a specified frequency range to provide signals in a forward direction from a central base transceiver station towards subscriber units located in the cells, the system comprising:

a hub interface converter, for accepting radio frequency signals from at least one base station, the radio frequency signals comprising at least one base station traffic signal modulated onto a radio frequency carrier (RF), for converting such radio frequency signals to a forward transport signal;

a distribution network for distributing the forward transport signal;

a plurality of cable integrators, each receiving the forward transport signal from the distribution network, with at least a first and second cable integrators associated with a given first one of the cells, and with a third cable integrator associated with an adjacent second one of the cells, each of the first, second and third cable integrators furthermore including a translator to translate the forward transport signal to corresponding transmit radio carrier signals; and

a cable integrator controller, for controlling the transmit radio carrier signals on which the cable integrators operate such that in a low capacity mode, the transmit radio carrier signal active in the first cable integrator in the first cell is the same as the transmit radio carrier signal active in the third cable integrator in the second cell having the same radio carrier signal, and the second cable integrator being inactive, and such that to activate a higher capacity mode, the second cable integrator is gradually activated to an operating power level with a second transmit radio carrier signal after which the first cable integrator is gradually deactivated.

2. A system as in claim 1 wherein the cable integrator controller additionally controls the transmit radio carrier signals on which the cable integrators operate such that in the higher capacity mode, the second cable integrator is gradually deactivated to cease operation with the second transmit radio carrier signal after the first cable integrator has been gradually activated to an operating power level to reestablish operation with the first transmit radio carrier signal.

3. A system as in claim 1 wherein the distribution network uses an optical fiber, and the hub interface converter additionally comprises:

a plurality of radio frequency (RF) down converters, each RF down converter for translating radio frequency energy in a forward link radio frequency bandwidth including the radio frequency carrier to an output intermediate frequency signal at an intermediate frequency carrier;

an RF combiner for combining the output intermediate frequency signals from multiple RF down converters to produce a combined RF signal; and

an optical modulator for upconverting the combined RF signal to produce the transport signal as an optical signal suitable for transmission over the optical fiber.

4. A system as in claim 1 wherein the cells are divided into sectors, and where the first, second, and third cable integrators are deployed in two or more adjacent cell sectors.

5. A system as in claim 1 wherein the cells are divided into microcells, and wherein the first, second, and third cable integrators are deployed in two or more adjacent microcells.

6. A system as in claim 1 wherein Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is used to modulate the traffic signals onto the radio carrier signals, and wherein the transmit radio signals in the two adjacent cells have a same pseudo random noise (PN) code.

7. A system as in claim 1 wherein Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is used to modulate the traffic signals onto the radio carrier signals, and wherein the transmit radio signals in the two adjacent cells have a same pseudo random noise (PN) code phase.