System for and method of providing remote coverage area for wireless communications

• US 7,817,958 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2006
• Issued: 10/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: LGC Wireless Incorporated (TE Connectivity Limited)
• Inventors: Sugarbroad, Ian, Scheinert, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): TRINH, TAN H
• Application Number:
  US11/644,034
• Publication Number:
  US 20080151846A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,397 Days
• Field of Search: 455/3.01, 455/3.02, 455/3.06, 455/12.1, 455/456.6, 455/11.1, 455/41.2, 455/552.1, 455/556.1, 455/131, 455/449, 455/450, 455/444, 455/446, 455/443, 455/101, 455/452, 455/434, 455/67.1, 455/226.1, 455/226.2, 455/280, 455/432.2, 455/93, 455/130, 455/142, 455/554.1, 370/338, 370/342, 370/279, 370/293, 375/221
• US Class Current: 455/3.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2606 Arrangements for base station coverage control, e.g. by using relays in tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/26 Cell enhancers or enhancement, e.g. for tunnels, building shadow
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/047 using dedicated repeater stations

Abstract

The present invention is a system for and a method of providing one or more remote coverage areas for wireless communications. In an embodiment, a system for providing a remote coverage area for wireless communications comprises a local system that generates a first radio communication signal and a remote system located geographically remote from the local system. The remote system comprises a first converter that converts the first radio communication signal to a stream of data packets, a network that receives the stream of data packets from the first converter; and a second converter that receives the stream of data packets from the network and generates the remote coverage area by converting the stream of data packets to a second radio communication signal. The remote coverage area may be located indoors.

Claims

1. A system for providing a remote coverage area for wireless communications, comprising:

a local system that generates a first radio communication signal; and

a remote system located geographically remote from the local system, the remote system comprising;

a first converter that converts the first radio communication signal to a stream of data packets;

a network that receives the stream of data packets from the first converter; and

a second converter that receives the stream of data packets from the network and generates the remote coverage area by converting the stream of data packets to a second radio communication signal;

wherein the second radio communication signal is a regenerated version of the first radio communication signal having the same frequency and content.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the remote coverage area is indoors.

3. The system according to claim 1, further comprising one or more additional converters at the remote system, wherein each of the one or more additional converters receives the stream of data packets from the network and generates a corresponding remote coverage area.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the first radio communication signal is a down-link communication signal and wherein the system supports uplink communication from each remote coverage area to the local system.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first radio communication signal is a broadcast signal.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first radio communication signal is a broadcast television signal.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first radio communication signal is a satellite radio signal.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first radio communication signal is a down-link communication signal and wherein the system supports uplink communication from the remote coverage area to the local system.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the local system comprises a cellular telephone base station.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the local system comprises a cellular telephone repeater.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second converter receives a third radio communication signal from a mobile unit and converts the third radio communication signal into a second stream of data packets, the network receives the second stream of data packets from the second converter and the first converter converts the stream of data packets into a fourth radio communication signal.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the fourth radio communication signal is a regenerated version of the second radio communication signal having the same frequency and content.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the network comprises an Ethernet LAN.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first radio communication signal is down-converted by the first converter to an IF signal and the IF signal is digitally sampled to form the stream of data packets.

15. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first radio communication signal is down-converted by the first converter to a baseband signal and the baseband signal is demodulated to form the stream of data packets.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the first converter is configured to demodulate the first radio communication signal in any of a plurality of modulation schemes.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the first converter is configured to demodulate the first radio communication signal in a highest inclusive one of the plurality of modulation schemes.

18. A system for providing a remote coverage area for wireless communications, comprising:

a local system comprising a base station that generates a first analog communication signal and a first converter that converts the first analog communication signal to a stream of data packets;

a network that receives the stream of data packets from the local system; and

a remote system located geographically remote from the local system, the remote system comprising a second converter that receives the stream of data packets from the network and generates the remote coverage area by converting the stream of data packets to a second analog communication signal;

wherein the second radio communication signal is a regenerated version of the first radio communication signal having the same frequency and content.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein the remote coverage area is indoors.

20. The system according to claim 18, further comprising one or more additional converters at the remote system, wherein each of the one or more additional converters receives the stream of data packets from the network and generates a corresponding remote coverage area.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein the first radio communication signal is a down-link communication signal and wherein the system supports uplink communication from each remote coverage area to the local system.

22. The system according to claim 18, wherein the first radio communication signal is a broadcast signal.

23. The system according to claim 18, wherein the network comprises a wide area network.

24. The system according to claim 23, wherein the wide area network comprises the Internet.

25. A method of providing a remote coverage area for wireless communications, comprising:

generating a first radio communication signal at a first location;

converting the first radio communication signal to a stream of data packets at a second location that is geographically remote from the first location;

communicating the stream of data packets via a network;

receiving the stream of data packets from the network; and

converting the stream of data packets to a second radio communication signal to generate the remote coverage area;

wherein the second radio communication signal is a regenerated version of the first radio communication signal having the same frequency and content.

26. A method of providing a remote coverage area for wireless communications, comprising:

generating a first analog communication signal;

converting the first analog communication signal to a stream of data packets at a first location;

communicating the stream of data packets via a network to a second location that is geographically remote from the first location;

receiving the stream of data packets from the network; and

converting the stream of data packets to a second analog communication signal to generate the remote coverage area;

wherein the second radio communication signal is a regenerated version of the first radio communication signal having the same frequency and content.