Digital repeater
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of repeating radio frequency (RF) signals comprising:
- in a downlink path, down converting a first RF signal to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal;
converting the IF signal into a digital signal;
processing the digital signal with a digital signal processor;
amplifying the digital signal into an amplified signal;
converting the amplified signal into an analog signal;
up converting the analog signal to a second RF signal suitable for antenna transmission and forwarding the second RF signal to a broadcast antenna; and
in an uplink path operating generally independently of the downlink path, down converting a third RF signal to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal;
converting the IF signal into a respective digital signal;
processing the respective digital signal with a digital signal processor;
amplifying the respective digital signal into an amplified signal;
converting the amplified signal Into an analog signal; and
up converting the analog signal to a fourth RF signal suitable for antenna transmission and forwarding the fourth RF signal to a link antenna;
in at least one of the uplink and downlink paths producing an in-phase version of the digital signal and a quadrature version of the digital signal, and down converting the in-phase and the quadrature versions of the digital signal to a down converted signal without significantly varying the modulation scheme in that path.
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Abstract
A method of using a digital repeater for receiving and retransmitting radio frequency (RF) signals. The method including down converting a first RF signal to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal, converting the IF signal into a digital signal, processing the digital signal with a the digital signal processor, amplifying the digital signal into an amplified signal using the digital signal processor, and converting the amplified signal into an analog signal. The method further including up converting the analog signal to a second RF signal suitable for antenna transmission.
415 Citations
58 Claims
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1. A method of repeating radio frequency (RF) signals comprising:
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in a downlink path, down converting a first RF signal to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal;
converting the IF signal into a digital signal;
processing the digital signal with a digital signal processor;
amplifying the digital signal into an amplified signal;
converting the amplified signal into an analog signal;
up converting the analog signal to a second RF signal suitable for antenna transmission and forwarding the second RF signal to a broadcast antenna; and
in an uplink path operating generally independently of the downlink path, down converting a third RF signal to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal;
converting the IF signal into a respective digital signal;
processing the respective digital signal with a digital signal processor;
amplifying the respective digital signal into an amplified signal;
converting the amplified signal Into an analog signal; and
up converting the analog signal to a fourth RF signal suitable for antenna transmission and forwarding the fourth RF signal to a link antenna;
in at least one of the uplink and downlink paths producing an in-phase version of the digital signal and a quadrature version of the digital signal, and down converting the in-phase and the quadrature versions of the digital signal to a down converted signal without significantly varying the modulation scheme in that path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A digital repeater for repeating (RF) signals, the digital repeater comprising:
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a downlink path including;
a down converter for down converting a first RF signal to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal;
an analog-to-digital converter for converting the IF signal into a digital signal;
a digital signal processor for processing the digital signal and amplifying the digital signal into an amplified signal;
a digital-to-analog converter for converting the amplified signal into an analog signal; and
an up converter for up converting the analog signal to a second RF signal suitable for antenna transmission; and
an uplink path including;
a second down converter for down converting a third RF signal, a second analog-to-digital converter, a second digital signal processor, a second digital-to-analog converter and a second up converter for up converting the analog signal to a fourth RF signal;
the downlink path configured for coupling to a broadcast antenna and the uplink path configured for coupling to a link antenna, each path operating generally independently of the other;
in at least one of the uplink and downlink paths, a numerically controlled oscillator which produces an in-phase local oscillator signal and a quadrature local oscillator signal, and a pair of digital mixers which produce an in-phase version of the digital signal and a quadrature version of the digital signal;
the digital signal processors of at least one of the uplink and downlink paths processing the signals without significantly varying the modulation scheme in that path. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A digital repeater for transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals, the digital repeater comprising:
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a forward path for receiving a first RF signal, the forward path including;
a first RF down converter for down converting the first RF signal to a first intermediate frequency (IF) signal, a first analog-to-digital converter for converting the first IF signal into a first digital signal, a first digital signal processor including a pair of digital mixers which produce an in-phase version of the first digital signal and a quadrature version of the first digital signal, the digital mixers down converting the in-phase and the quadrature versions of the first digital signal to a down converted signal centered around 0 Hz, the first digital signal processor filtering and decimating the first digital signal, amplifying the first digital signal, multiplexing the in-phase and the quadrature versions of the first digital signal into one multiplexed signal, demultiplexing the in-phase and the quadrature versions of the multiplexed signal into separate signals, interpolating and filtering the separate signals, the first digital signal processor further including a second pair of digital mixers and a digital adder, the digital mixers up converting the in-phase and quadrature versions of the separate signals to up converted signals each having in-phase and the quadrature versions, the digital adder adding the in-phase and the quadrature versions of the up converted signals to produce one output signal, and a first digital-to-analog converter for converting the one output signal into a first analog signal, a first RF up converter for up converting the first analog signal to a second RF signal suitable for antenna transmission;
a reverse path for receiving a third RF signal, the reverse path including;
a second RF down converter for down converting the third RF signal to a second intermediate frequency (IF) signal, a second analog-to-digital converter for converting the second IF signal into a second digital signal, a second digital signal processor for down converting, amplifying, and up converting the second digital signal into an up converted signal, a second digital-to-analog converter for converting the up converted signal into an analog signal, and a second RF up converter for up converting the analog signal to a fourth RF signal suitable for antenna transmission. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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Specification