High-speed wireless LAN system

• US 7,450,854 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2004
• Issued: 11/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Choi, Do-In, Lee, Jong-Hun, Oh, Yun-Je
• Primary Examiner(s): Vanderpuye; Kenneth
• Assistant Examiner(s): Liu; Li
• Application Number:
  US10/860,718
• Publication Number:
  US 20050135811A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,622 Days
• Field of Search: 398115-117, 398/66, 398/67, 398/118, 398/135, 398/128, 372/26, 380/239, 380/270, 380/259, 380/260, 380/273, 380/277, 455/41.2, 455/151.2
• US Class Current: 398/115
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/7163 using impulse radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1125 using a single common optical path

Abstract

A high-speed wireless LAN system is disclosed. The system includes a mobile station for transmitting/receiving data encrypted by a predetermined encryption method, communicating the data to associated access points by an ultra wide-band (UWB) communication method, and communicating an encryption key according to the encryption method to said associated access points by an optical or infra-red (IR) communication method; the plurality of access points, installed in a plurality of predetermined service areas, for relaying between the mobile station and a gateway of a remote place by communicating the data and the encryption key with the mobile station located in the corresponding service area by the UWB and the optical or IR communication methods and transmitting/receiving the data and the encryption key to/from the gateway by an optical communication method; and the gateway for providing an optical interface between an internal network and an external network, being provided with a plurality of gateway sub-modules for transmitting/receiving the data and the encryption key by communicating with the plurality of access points by the optical communication method, and transmitting a subscriber service transmitted from the external network to the corresponding access point.

Claims

1. A high-speed wireless LAN system comprising:

a mobile station, at least one associated access point and a gateway, said at least one access point and gateway connected by at least one optical fiber;

the mobile station for;

transmitting and receiving a data signal encrypted by a predetermined encryption method;

communicating the encrypted data signal by an ultra wide-band (UWB) communication method; and

communicating an encryption key signal according to the encryption method by an optical communication method;

the at least one associated access point, installed in a plurality of predetermined service areas, for;

receiving said encrypted data signal and encryption key;

relaying via an optical fiber communication method the encrypted data signal and the encryption key signal, said access point comprising;

a WDM for multiplexing/de-multiplexing the data signal and the encryption key signal transmitted/received through the gateway sub-module and the optical fiber;

a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) for converting an optical signal corresponding to the data, which is received from the gateway sub-module through the WDM, into a current signal to transmit by wireless the current signal through the UWB antenna, and outputting an optical signal with its gain amplified according to the data signal received through the UWB antenna to transmit the optical signal to the gateway through the WDM;

a controller for providing a current to said SOA, wherein in one communication direction the controller provides a current to less than a threshold current while in an opposite communication direction applying a current more than a threshold current; and

an IR optical antenna for transmitting the encryption key signal received through the WDM to the mobile station as an IR signal, receiving the encryption key signal transmitted from the mobile station, and transmitting the received encryption key signal to the gateway through the WDM; and

the gateway, located at a remote place by providing an optical interface between an internal network and an external network, comprising;

a plurality of gateway sub-modules for transmitting/receiving the encrypted data signal and the encryption key signal via said optical communication method, and transmitting a subscriber service transmitted from the external network to the corresponding access point, said gateway sub-modules comprising;

a 2-channel array optical transmitter/receiver module for transmitting/receiving the encryption key signal through the IR method and the data signal through the UWB method by channels having different center wavelengths; and

a wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) for multiplexing/de-multiplexing the encryption key signal and the data signal.

2. The high-speed wireless LAN system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile station comprises:

an optical module for transmitting/receiving the encryption key signal to/from the access point as an optical signal; and

a UWB module for;

transmitting/receiving wirelessly the data signal to/from the access point through an UWB antenna;

transferring the encrypted data signal transmitted/received through the UWB antenna to a media access control (MAC) layer in a UWB physical (PHY) layer;

interfacing the data signal and the encryption key signal with an upper layer in the MAC layer by exchanging the high-speed data signal through the UWB PHY layer; and

exchanging the encryption key signal with the IR module.

3. The high-speed wireless LAN system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gateway sub-module comprises:

a UWB module for transmitting/receiving the data signal to/from the UWB optical transmitter/receiver in a UWB physical (PHY) layer, and interfacing the data signal and the encryption key signal with an upper layer in a media access control (MAC) layer by exchanging the data signal through the UWB PHY layer and exchanging the encryption key signal with the optical transceiver.

4. The high-speed wireless LAN system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said optical signal for transmitting the encryption key is selected from the group consisting of:

a infra-red frequency range signal, a visible light frequency range signal, and a ultra-violet light frequency range signal.

5. The high-speed wireless LAN system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said optical communication means is a single mode or multi-mode fiber.