Receiver diversity in a communication system

• US 6,760,318 B1
• Filed: 01/11/2002
• Issued: 07/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Airflow Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Bims, Harry
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ajit
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHAH, CHIRAG G
• Application Number:
  US10/044,480
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338, 370/400, 370/401, 370/466, 370/310, 370/315, 370/332, 370/333
• US Class Current: 370/332
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/16 in which the return channel carries supervisory signals, e.g. repetition request signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0097 Relays
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

A communication system is described. In one embodiment, the communication system comprises a mobile station having a transmitter to transmit packets wirelessly according to a protocol and multiple repeaters communicably coupled with the mobile station. Each of the plurality of repeaters receives one or more packets of the wirelessly transmitted packets from the mobile station. Each of the repeaters receives an indication of which of the wirelessly transmitted packets were received without errors by other repeaters and a received signal strength for those packets. The communication system also includes a switch coupled to the repeaters. Each of the repeaters forwards to the switch each packet of the wirelessly transmitted packets that each repeater had received without errors at a received signal strength higher than any other repeater.

Claims

1. A receiver diversity process comprising;

each of a plurality of devices coupled to a switch receiving packets wirelessly transmitted from a mobile station;

each device of the plurality of devices sending information to other devices in the plurality of devices indicating which of the wirelessly transmitted packets were received by said each device without error and a received signal strength for those packets of the wirelessly transmitted packets received without errors;

each device comparing signal strengths of each packet of the wirelessly transmitted packets that said each device has received without errors that has also been received by at least one of the other devices in the plurality of devices; and

in response to the comparison, for each of the wirelessly transmitted packets received without error, a device having a received signal strength higher than any other of the plurality of devices sending an acknowledgement packet to the mobile station, without having a remainder of the plurality of devices sending the acknowledgement packet to the mobile station for the respective wirelessly transmitted packet.

2. The process defined in claim 1 wherein each device of the plurality of devices sending information to other devices in the plurality of devices comprises:

said each device sending a broadcast packet to the switch indicating each packet of the wirelessly transmitted packets received and its received signal strength; and

the switch broadcasting information in the broadcast packet to the other devices in the plurality of devices.

3. The process defined in claim 2 wherein the switch receives the broadcast packet on one of a plurality of ports and wherein the switch broadcasting information in the broadcast packet to the other devices in the plurality of devices comprises the switch routing the broadcast packet to ports in the plurality of ports other than the one port.

4. The process defined in claim 1 wherein said each device forwarding to a switch each packet of the wirelessly transmitted packets comprises said each device sending said each packet via a wired medium.

5. The process defined in claim 1 wherein the wired medium comprises CAT5 wiring.

6. The process defined in claim 1 wherein the wirelessly transmitted packets are transmitted according to the 802.11 family of protocols.

7. The process defined in claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of devices comprises repeaters in a wireless local area network (WLAN).

8. The process defined in claim 1 wherein the mobile station in one selected from a group consisting of a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a headset, a voice-enabled mobile station, a laptop computer system, a personal digital assistant, a computer-data-enabled mobile station, a speakerphone, video game controller, a DVD controller, a stereo controller, a TV controller.

9. A receiver diversity process comprising:

a repeater sending information to other repeaters indicating which wirelessly transmitted packets received by the repeater from a mobile station without error and a received signal strength for those packets of the wirelessly transmitted packets received without errors;

the repeater receiving information from the other repeaters indicating which of the wirelessly transmitted packets were received by the other repeaters without error and a received signal strength for those packets of the wirelessly transmitted packets received without errors;

the repeater comparing signal strengths of each packet of the wirelessly transmitted packets that the repeater has received without errors that has also been received by at least one of the other repeaters; and

the repeater sending an acknowledgement packet to the mobile station for each wirelessly transmitted packet for which the repeater had received at a received signal strength higher than any of the other repeaters, without having the other repeaters sending the acknowledgement packet to the mobile station for the respective wirelessly transmitted packet.

10. The process defined in claim 9 further comprising:

the repeater sending a broadcast packet to the switch indicating each packet of the wirelessly transmitted packets received and its received signal strength; and

the repeater receiving broadcasting information from the switch indicating each packet of the wirelessly transmitted packets received by the other repeaters and their received signal strength.

11. The process defined in claim 9 wherein the repeater forwards packets to the switch using a wired medium.

12. The process defined in claim 11 wherein the wired medium comprises CAT5 wiring.

13. The process defined in claim 9 wherein the wirelessly transmitted packets are transmitted according to the 802.11 family of protocols.

14. The process defined in claim 9 wherein repeater is part of a wireless local area network (WLAN).

15. The process defined in claim 9 wherein the mobile station comprises is one selected from a group consisting of a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a headset, a voice-enabled mobile station, a laptop computer system, a personal digital assistant, a computer-data-enabled mobile station, a video game controller, a DVD controller, a stereo controller, a TV controller.

16. A system comprising:

a mobile station having a transmitter to transmit packets wirelessly;

a plurality of repeaters communicably coupled with the mobile station, wherein each of the plurality of repeaters receives one or more packets of the wirelessly transmitted packets from the mobile station, wherein each of the plurality of repeaters receives an indication of which of the wirelessly transmitted packets were received by other repeaters without error and a received signal strength for those packets and for each wirelessly transmitted packet received without error, a repeater having a received signal strength higher than any other of the plurality of repeaters sending an acknowledgement packet to the mobile station without having a remainder of the plurality of repeaters sending the acknowledgement packet to the mobile station for the respective wirelessly transmitted packet; and

a switch coupled to the plurality of repeaters to receive wirelessly transmitted packets from the plurality of repeaters.

17. The system defined in claim 16 wherein packets are exchanged between the mobile station and the plurality of repeaters using the 802.11 family of protocols.

18. The system defined in claim 16 wherein one repeater indicates reception of a first packet from the mobile station without error and signal strength of the first packet to other repeaters via the switch and compares signal strength for the first packet with the signal strength of the first packet as received by another of the plurality of repeaters to determine whether the one repeater or said another repeater is to send an acknowledgement packet to the mobile station.

19. The process defined in claim 16 wherein the mobile station is one selected from a group consisting of a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a headset, a voice-enabled mobile station, a laptop computer system, and a personal digital assistant, a computer-data-enabled mobile station, a speakerphone, a video game controller, a DVD controller, a stereo controller, a TV controller.

20. A method comprising:

receiving at least one 802.11 packet and associated signal strength encapsulated in at least one Ethernet packet from a first repeater in a wireless local area network (WLAN) via a wired connection;

re-broadcasting the at least one Ethernet packet to at least one other repeater for purposes of allowing the at least one other repeater to compare signal strength of an 802.11 packet received by the at least one other repeater with that of a duplicate 802.11 packet received by the first repeater; and

one of the at least one other repeater sending an acknowledgment without having the first repeater send the acknowledgment in response to determining the signal strength of the 802.11 packet received by the one other repeater is higher than the signal strength of the duplicate 802.11 packet received by the first repeater.