Wireless network system and method

• US 7,328,033 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2004
• Issued: 02/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Assets 197 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC), TP-Link USA Corporation (TP-Link Technologies Co Limited)
• Original Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Fund 43 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Rappaport, Theodore S., Heath, Robert W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban; Edward F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee; John J.
• Application Number:
  US10/956,499
• Publication Number:
  US 20050113120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,222 Days
• Field of Search: 455/560, 455/561, 455/422.1, 455/446, 455/425, 455/434, 455/562.1, 455/507, 455/511, 455/515, 455/517, 455/500, 455/426.2, 455/554.2, 370/401
• US Class Current: 455/500
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0413 MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0669 using different channel coding between antennas space-time coding H04L1/0618
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/068 using space frequency diversity space-frequency coding H04L1/0606
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/10 Polarisation diversity; Directional diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/10 Small scale networks; Flat hierarchical networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/12 Access point controller devices

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a flexible system for providing wireless broadband access. The system can include a gateway that has a plurality of gateway premises equipment (“GPE”) units and a network fuser connected to the plurality of GPE units to coordinate the activities of the plurality of the GPE units. The network fuser can provide DSP configuration information and RF configuration information to the GPE units. The network fuser is also operable to connect to a high-speed network (e.g., a backhaul network) and to provision data from the high-speed network to each of the plurality of GPE units. The system can also include a plurality of customer premises equipment (“CPE”) units remote from the gateway.

Claims

1. A system for wireless communication comprising:

a first radio frequency and digital signal processing (“

RAD”

) unit;

a second RAD unit;

a plurality of antennas;

a radio frequency (“

RF”

) backplane connecting the plurality of antennas to the first RAD and the second RAD units; and

a network fuser connected to the first RAD and the second RAD unit, wherein the network fuser is operable to;

provide DSP configuration information to the first RAD unit and the second RAD unit;

provide RF configuration information the first RAD unit and the second RAD unit; and

provide control signals to the RF backplane to configure the RF backplane to connect the plurality of antennas to the first RAD unit and the second RAD unit.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first RAD unit is operable to establish a first MIMO communications link and the second RAD unit is operable to establish a second MIMO communications link.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the network fuser is operable to configure the first RAD unit and the second RAD unit based on instantaneous channel data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the network fuser is further operable to instruct the first RAD unit and the second RAD unit to probe one or more communications channels.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the network fuser is further operable to provision bandwidth to communications links established by the first RAD unit and the second RAD unit.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the network fuser is further operable to provide access controls.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of additional RAD units connected to the network fuser, wherein the network fuser is operable to coordinate acitivities of connected RAD units to work together as a base station.