Apparatus and method for frequency shifting of a wireless signal and systems using frequency shifting

• US 8,184,681 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2010
• Issued: 05/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Corning Optical Communications Wireless Ltd. (Corning Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Corning Mobileaccess Ltd.
• Inventors: Hazani, Ami, Binder, Yehuda
• Primary Examiner(s): Payne, David C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dsouza, Adolf
• Application Number:
  US12/885,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20110206088A1
• Time in Patent Office: 613 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 375/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15528 Control of operation parameters of a relay station to exploit the physical medium
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15542 Selecting at relay station its transmit and receive resources selection of wireless resources by user or terminal H04W72/02; arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path by two-dimensional division of the resources H04L5/0003, or by allocating sub-channels H04L5/003
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2606 Arrangements for base station coverage control, e.g. by using relays in tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA

Abstract

Systems, methods and apparatus for improving the coverage of a wireless network based on frequency shifting scheme. A wireless signal in a frequency band is shifted to another distinct band, and carried in the shifted band, using wired or wireless mediums to another location, wherein the wireless signal is shifted back to the original frequency band. The frequency shifting may make use of a conventional frequency shifting schemes such as mixer/filter and heterodyne. In one embodiment the wireless signal is frequency shifted by converting it to other representing signals (such as I/Q components) and forming the frequency-shifted signal from the representations. The system is may be used to increase in-door or outdoor coverage, as well as bridging between in-door and outdoor networks. The medium may use dedicated wiring or existing service wiring in a residence or building, including LAN, telephone, AC power and CATV wiring. The system (in whole or in part) may be enclosed as a stand-alone unit, housed in integrated form as part of a service outlet or as a snap-on/plug-in module. Methods and other systems with different advantageous configurations are also described.

Claims

1. An apparatus for faithful frequency shifting of a first spread-spectrum signal without any protocol conversion from a first frequency band to a second frequency band distinct from the first frequency band, said apparatus comprising:

a first port for receiving the first spread-spectrum signal in the first frequency band;

a first I/Q demodulator coupled to said first port to receive the first spread-spectrum signal from said first port, for deriving the I and Q component signals of the first spread spectrum signal;

a first I/Q modulator coupled to said first I/Q demodulator to receive the first spread spectrum signal I and Q component signals, said first I/Q modulator being operative to reconstruct first spread-spectrum signal and to frequency shift the first spread-spectrum signal to the second frequency band; and

a second port coupled to said first I/Q modulator to receive the frequency shifted signal from said first I/Q modulator, for outputting the frequency shifted first spread spectrum signal in the second frequency band

said apparatus further operative for faithful frequency shifting of a second spread-spectrum signal without any protocol conversion from the second frequency band to the first distinct frequency band, said apparatus further comprising;

a third port for receiving the second spread-spectrum signal in the second frequency band;

a second I/Q demodulator coupled to said third port to receive the second spread-spectrum signal from said third port, for deriving the I and Q component signals of the second spread-spectrum signal;

a second I/Q modulator coupled to said second I/Q demodulator to receive the second spread spectrum signal I and Q component signals, said second I/Q demodulator being operative to reconstruct the second spread-spectrum signal frequency shifted to the first frequency band; and

a fourth port coupled to said second I/Q modulator to receive the frequency shifted signal from said second I/Q modulator, for outputting the frequency shifted second spread-spectrum signal in the first frequency band

said apparatus further operative to be in a selected one of distinct first and second states, wherein in the first state a signal is received at said first port and output frequency shifted at said second port, and wherein in the second state a signal is received at said third port and output frequency shifted at said fourth port.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first and third ports are connected to each other, and wherein said second and fourth ports are connected to each other.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a first filter coupled to said first port for substantially passing only signals in the first frequency band;

a first threshold detector coupled to said first filter for detecting the presence of a signal in the first frequency band;

a second filter coupled to said third port for substantially passing only signals in the second frequency band; and

a second threshold detector coupled to said second filter for detecting the presence of a signal in the second frequency band;

wherein said apparatus shifts to said first state upon sensing the presence of a signal in the first frequency band by said first threshold detector, and shifts to said second state upon sensing the presence of a signal in the second frequency band by said second threshold detector.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spread-spectrum signal is a multi-carrier signal based on one of OFDM, DMT, and CMDA modulations.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an attenuator for attenuating a signal to or from one of said ports.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said attenuator produces an attenuation of more than 10 dB.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second frequency bands is selectable from a plurality of adjacent frequency bands.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one of the first and second frequency bands is selected by a switch.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first spread-spectrum signal and the frequency shifted first spread-spectrum signal is a wireless signal, and at least one outputs of said first and second ports is an antenna.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said first I/Q modulator and said first I/Q demodulator are part of a wireless transceiver component.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the wireless signal conforms to at least one of the following standards:

WPAN, WLAN, WMAN, WAN, BWA, LMDS, MMDS, WiMAX, HIPERMAN, IEEE802.16, Bluetooth, IEEE802.15, WWB, ZigBee, cellular, IEEE802.11 standards, GSM, GPRS, 2.5G, 3G, UMTS, DCS, PCS, and CDMA.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first and second frequency bands are non-overlapping channels according to a single wireless standard.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one out of the first and second frequency bands is an ISM frequency band.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a single enclosure housing said first and second ports, said first I/Q demodulator and said first I/Q modulator, and wherein said single enclosure is wall mountable.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said single enclosure is shaped to plug-into an outlet.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said single enclosure is further shaped to mechanically attach and electrically connect to an outlet.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said single enclosure is constructed to have at least one of the following:

a form substantially similar to that of a standard outlet;

wall mounting elements substantially similar to those of a standard wall outlet;

a shape allowing direct mounting in an outlet opening or cavity; and

a form to at least in part substitute for a standard outlet.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first spread-spectrum signal is transmitted in the first frequency band in one of a WPAN, WLAN, MAN, and WAN network.

19. A network for wireless communication of a first wireless signal carried in a first frequency band between first and second wireless units, said network comprising:

a first frequency shifter for wireless communication of the first wireless signal with the first wireless unit, said first frequency shifter being operative to frequency shift the first wireless signal between the first frequency band and a second frequency band distinct from the first frequency band; and

a second frequency shifter for wireless communication of the first wireless signal with the second wireless unit, said second frequency shifter being operative to frequency shift said first wireless signal between said first frequency band and said second frequency band

wherein at least one of said frequency shifters comprises;

an I/Q demodulator coupled to receive the first wireless signal, for deriving the I and Q component signals of the first wireless signal; and

an I/Q modulator coupled to receive the first wireless signal I and Q component signals, said I/Q modulator being operative to reconstruct the first wireless signal frequency shifted to the second frequency band.

20. The network of claim 19, wherein at least one of said frequency shifters is based on a heterodyne circuit.

21. The network of claim 19, wherein said I/Q modulator and said I/Q demodulator are part of a wireless transceiver component.

22. The network of claim 19, wherein the first wireless signal is a spread-spectrum signal.

23. The network of claim 19, wherein the first wireless signal is a multi-carrier signal based on one of OFDM, DMT, and CDMA modulations.

24. The network of claim 19, wherein at least one of the first and second frequency bands is selectable from a plurality of adjacent frequency bands.

25. The network of claim 24, wherein at least one of the first and second frequency bands is selected by a switch.

26. The network of claim 19, wherein the wireless signal conforms to at least one of the following standards:

WPAN, WLAN, WMAN, WAN, BWA, LMDS, MMDS, WiMAX, HIPERMAN, IEEE802.16, Bluetooth, IEEE802.15, WWB, ZigBee, cellular, IEEE802.11 standards, GSM, GPRS, 2.5G, 3G, UMTS, DCS, PCS, and CDMA.

27. The network of claim 19, wherein at least one of the first and second frequency bands is an ISM frequency band.

28. The network of claim 19, wherein the first and second frequency bands are non-overlapping channels according to a single wireless standard.

29. The network of claim 19, wherein one of said first and second frequency shifters is enclosed in a single enclosure that is wall mountable.

30. The network of claim 29, wherein the single enclosure is shaped to plug-into an outlet.

31. The network of claim 29, wherein the single enclosure is further shaped to mechanically attach and electrically connect to an outlet.

32. The network of claim 29, wherein the single enclosure is constructed to have at least one of the following:

a form substantially similar to that of a standard outlet;

wall-mounting elements substantially similar to those of a standard wall outlet;

a shape allowing direct mounting in an outlet opening or cavity; and

a form to at least in part substitute for a standard outlet.

33. The network of claim 19, wherein the first wireless signal is transmitted in the first frequency band in one of a WPAN, WLAN, MAN, and WAN network.

34. A network for wireless communication of wireless signals among a plurality of wireless units, the wireless signals being carried in a wireless frequency band, the wireless units being interconnected by a wired medium for carrying wired signals in a wired frequency band distinct from and lower in frequency than the wireless frequency band, said network comprising a plurality of frequency shifters each connected to the wired medium, sand said network having two distinct states, wherein:

in the first state, one of said frequency shifters is operative to wirelessly receive a first wireless signal from one of the wireless units, down frequency shift the received wireless signal to the wired frequency band, and couple the shifted wireless signal to the wired medium, while wherein all other frequency shifters receive the shifted wireless signal from the wired medium, up frequency shift the received shifted wireless signal to the wireless frequency band to reconstruct the first wireless signal, and transmit the reconstructed first wireless signal; and

in the second state, one of said frequency shifters is operative to wirelessly receive a second wireless signal from the wireless unit, down frequency shift the received wireless signal to the wired frequency band, and couple the shifted wireless signal to the wired medium, while all other frequency shifters receive the shifted wireless signal from the wired medium, up frequency shift the received shifted wireless signal to the wireless frequency band to reconstruct the second wireless signal, and transmit the reconstructed second wireless signal.

35. The network of claim 34, wherein at least one of said frequency shifters is based on a heterodyne circuit.

36. The network of claim 34, wherein at least one of said frequency shifters comprises:

an I/Q demodulator coupled to receive the first wireless signal, for providing the I and Q component signals of the first wireless signal; and

an I/Q modulator coupled to receive said first wireless signal I and Q component signals, said I/Q modulator being operative to reconstruct the first wireless signal frequency shifted to the wired frequency band.

37. The network of claim 36, wherein said I/Q modulator and said I/Q demodulator are part of a wireless transceiver component.

38. The network of claim 34, wherein said wireless signal is a spread-spectrum signal.

39. The network of claim 34, wherein the first wireless signal is a multi-carrier signal based on one of OFDM, DMT, and CDMA modulations.

40. The network of claim 34, wherein the wireless frequency band is selectable from a plurality of adjacent frequency bands.

41. The network of claim 40, wherein the wireless frequency band is selected by a switch.

42. The network of claim 34, wherein the wireless signal conforms to at least one of the following standards:

WPAN, WLAN, WMAN, WAN, BWA, LMDS, MMDS, WiMAX, HIPERMAN, IEEE802.16, Bluetooth, IEEE802.15, WWB, ZigBee, cellular, IEEE802.11 standards, GSM, GPRS, 2.5G, 3G, UMTS, DCS, PCS, and CDMA.

43. The network of claim 34, wherein the wireless frequency band is an ISM frequency band.

44. The network of claim 34, wherein one of said frequency shifters is enclosed in a single enclosure that is wall mountable.

45. The network of claim 34, wherein at least part of the wired medium comprises wiring in a wall.

46. The network of claim 45, wherein the single enclosure is shaped to plug-into an outlet.

47. The network of claim 45, wherein the single enclosure is further shaped to mechanically attach and electrically connect to an outlet.

48. The network of claim 45, wherein the single enclosure is constructed to have at least one of the following:

a form substantially similar to that of a standard outlet;

wall-mounting elements substantially similar to those of a standard wall outlet;

a shape allowing direct mounting in an outlet opening or cavity; and

a form to at least in part substitute for a standard outlet.

49. The network of claim 34, wherein the first wireless signal is transmitted in the first frequency band in one of a WPAN, WLAN, MAN, and WAN network.

50. The network of claim 34, wherein the wired medium is one of:

a twisted wire pair;

UTP;

STP;

a telephone wire pair;

AC power wires;

a coaxial cable; and

a LAN cable.

51. The network of claim 34, wherein at least one part of the wired medium is in a building and at least another part of the wired medium is external to the building.

52. The network of claim 34 having a point-to-point topology, wherein the wired medium is a single wiring having two ends, and wherein only two frequency shifters are connected each to a respective end of the wiring.

53. The network of claim 34, wherein the wired medium is configured to have one of a bus, star, tree, and point-to-multipoint topology.

54. The network of claim 34, wherein:

the wired medium is connected to carry DC or AC power signal using FDM;

the power signal is carried in a frequency band distinct from the wired frequency band; and

at least one of said frequency shifters is coupled to be powered by the power signal.

55. The network of claim 34, wherein:

the wired medium is connected to carry a first signal using FDM;

the first signal is carried in a frequency band distinct from the wired frequency band; and

the first signal is one of an analog telephone and CATV-related signal.

56. An apparatus for coupling a wireless signal to a plurality of wired mediums, for use with a wireless unit having an antenna connector and operative to receive and transmit the wireless signal in a wireless frequency band, and with a plurality of distinct wired mediums, each operative for conductive signals in a wired frequency band, said apparatus comprising:

a coaxial connector for connecting to the antenna connector of the wireless unit for receiving and transmitting the wireless signal in the wireless frequency band;

a plurality of wiring connectors each for connecting to a distinct wired medium;

a frequency shifter connected for frequency shifting between the wireless frequency band and the wired frequency band wherein the frequency shifters comprises;

an I/Q demodulator coupled to receive the wireless signal, for deriving the I and Q component signals of the wireless signal; and

an I/Q modulator coupled to receive the wireless signal I and Q component signals, said I/Q modulator being operative to reconstruct the wireless signal frequency shifted to the second frequency band;

an RF attenuator coupled between said coaxial connector and said frequency shifter for substantially attenuating the signal in the wireless frequency band; and

a wired band splitter connected to said frequency shifter and having multiple ports, each port connected to a wiring connector, said splitter being operative to share a signal in the wired frequency band with all devices connected thereto.

57. The apparatus of claim 56, further operative for wireless communication with a second wireless unit, said apparatus further comprising:

an antenna for receiving and transmitting the wireless signal in the wireless frequency band; and

an RF splitter connected between said antenna, said attenuator, and said coaxial connectors.

58. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein said frequency shifter is based on a mixer/filter, heterodyne, or super-heterodyne circuit.

59. The apparatus of claim 56, further comprising, between at least one of said wiring connectors and said wired band splitter:

a protector for absorbing and protecting against transients, over-voltage, and lightning;

a filter for substantially passing only signals in the wired frequency band; and

a signal transformer for providing isolation between said apparatus and the wired medium.

60. The apparatus of claim 56, further comprising an equalizer between one of said wiring connectors and said wired band splitter for compensating for the frequency characteristics of the wired medium.

61. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the wireless signal is a spread-spectrum signal based on a multi-carrier signal modulated according to one of OFDM, DMT, and CDMA modulations.

62. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein said attenuator produces an attenuation of more than 10 dB.

63. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the wireless frequency band is selectable from a plurality of adjacent frequency bands.

64. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the wireless frequency band is selected by a switch.

65. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the wireless signal conforms to at least one of the following standards:

WPAN, WLAN, WMAN, WAN, BWA, LMDS, MMDS, WiMAX, HIPERMAN, IEEE802.16, Bluetooth, IEEE802.15, WWB, ZigBee, cellular, IEEE802.11 standards, GSM, GPRS, 2.5G, 3G, UMTS, DCS, PCS, and CDMA.

66. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the wireless frequency band is an ISM frequency band.

67. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the wireless signal is transmitted in the wireless frequency band in one of:

a WPAN, WLAN, MAN, and WAN network.

68. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein at least one of said wired mediums is one out of:

a twisted pair, UTP, STP, telephone wire pair, AC power wires, coaxial cable and LAN cable, and said respective wiring connector is operative to connect to the wired medium.

69. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein at least one of the wired mediums is further connected to carry a DC or AC power signal, and said apparatus further comprises:

a high pass filter for substantially passing signals in the wired frequency band coupled between said wired frequency splitter and at least one of said wiring connectors;

a power connector for connecting to an AC power source;

a power supply, including an AC/DC or AC/AC converter, connected to be power from said power connector; and

a low pass or band pass filter coupled between said power supply and said wiring connector for substantially passing the power signal.

70. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the apparatus is further adapted to be powered by a DC or AC power signal carried over at least one wired medium, and said apparatus further comprises:

a high pass filter coupled between said wired frequency band switch and at least one of said wiring connectors for substantially passing signals in the wired frequency band;

a power supply, including an AC/DC or DC/DC converter, coupled to power at least said frequency shifter; and

a low pass or band pass filter coupled between said power supply and said wiring connector for substantially passing the power signal.

71. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein at least one of the wired mediums is connected to further carry an analog telephone signal, and said apparatus further comprises:

a high pass filter coupled between said wired frequency band splitter and at least one of said wiring connectors for substantially passing signals in the wired frequency band;

a telephone connector for connecting to a telephone set or to a PBX/PABX/CO; and

a low pass filter coupled between one of said wiring connectors and said telephone connector for substantially passing the telephone signal.

72. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein at least one of the wired mediums is a coaxial cable connected to carry a CATV signal, and said apparatus further comprises:

a band pass filter coupled between said wired frequency band splitter and at least one of said wiring connectors for substantially passing signals in the wired frequency band;

an additional coaxial connector for connecting to a CATV appliance; and

a second band pass filter coupled between said wiring connector and said additional coaxial connector for substantially passing the CATV signal.