Networking method with broadband relay

• US 8,600,295 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2012
• Issued: 12/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Theodore S. Rappaport
• Original Assignee: Theodore S. Rappaport
• Inventors: Rappaport, Theodore S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rego, Dominic E
• Application Number:
  US13/676,215
• Publication Number:
  US 20130070809A1
• Time in Patent Office: 384 Days
• Field of Search: 455/3.02, 455/427.7, 455/11.1, 455/12.1, 455/13.1, 455/13.2, 455/16, 370/226, 370/243, 370/246, 370/274, 370/279, 370/293, 370/315, 370/316, 370/492, 370/501
• US Class Current: 455/11.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/719 Interference-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15 Active relay systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15521 combining by calculations packets received from different stations before transmitting the combined packets as part of network coding network coding aspects for detection or prevention of errors in the information received H04L1/0076; network traffic management with optimizing of information sizing, e.g. header compression, by using assembly and disassembly of packets H04W28/065
• 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 7/1555 Selecting relay station antenna mode, e.g. selecting omnidirectional -, directional beams, selecting polarizations
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15557 Selecting relay station operation mode, e.g. between amplify and forward mode, decode and forward mode or FDD - and TDD mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/00 Security arrangements; Authentication; Protecting privacy or anonymity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/12 Detection or prevention of fraud
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/122 Counter-measures against attacks; Protection against rogue devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/125 Protection against power exhaustion attacks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0236 radio quality, e.g. interference, losses or delay
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/04 Error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/569 : of the traffic information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 : Moving wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 : adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

An ultrawideband radio transceiver/repeater provides a low cost infrastructure solution that merges wireless and wired network devices while providing connection to the plant, flexible repeater capabilities, network security, traffic monitoring and provisioning, and traffic flow control for wired and wireless connectivity of devices or networks. The ultrawideband radio transceiver/repeater can be implemented in discrete, integrated, distributed or embedded forms.

Claims

1. A networking method, comprising the steps of:

for a group of one or more wireless and/or wired devices at least one or more of which are ultrawideband devices, wherein said group can be enlarged or reduced by respectively adding or subtracting one or more ultrawideband devices from said group, providing at least one wireless repeater or relay comprising

i) at least one receiver or transceiver for receiving signals or data, at least some of which are sent by said one or more ultrawideband devices in said group, and at least one transmitter or transceiver for transmitting received, modified, stored, or delayed signals or data; and

ii) a controller that is configured or configurable for operation in one or more wireless networks which include said group, wherein said controller controls processing of signals or data received by said at least one receiver or transceiver, said controller cooperating with said at least one receiver or transceiver to receive transmissions of one or more ultrawideband devices wherein said one or more ultrawideband devices either or both transmit and receive electromagnetic signals that have an instantaneous or overall occupied bandwidth of 100 MHz or more or have a data transmission rate of 100 Megabits per second or more,

said at least one wireless repeater or relay and said one or more ultrawideband devices forming at least part of a network; and

controlling said at least one wireless repeater or relay with said controller of said at least one wireless repeater or relay cooperating with said at least one receiver or transceiver which receives signals or data and said at least one transmitter or transceiver which transmits received, modified, stored, or delayed signals or data, to perform one or more of;

a) ignoring or filtering out transmissions or data from one or more undesired transmitters, data sources, or noise sources;

b) instructing one or more ultrawideband devices to ignore or disregard the transmissions or data of one or more undesired transmitters, undesired users or noise sources; and

c) network provisioning or monitoring for one or more devices of said group, including one or more of;

i) bandwidth or delay provisioning, ii) application prioritization, and iii) traffic, bandwidth, delay, or data transmission priorities for one or more devices of said group.

2. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said providing said at least one wireless repeater or relay step includes the step of programming said at least one wireless repeater or relay with at least one of:

a) network information which identifies at least one of said one or more ultrawideband devices in said group;

b) desired or target performance criteria or coverage area for at least one of the wireless devices in said group;

c) security information pertinent to at least one of said one or more ultrawideband devices in said group; and

d) protocol information or air interface definitions for at least one of said one or more ultrawideband devices in said group.

3. The networking method of claim 2 wherein said step of programming is performed either manually or automatically using information that is provided using one or more of:

i) local memory, ii) wireless or wired communications, iii) remote or distributed memory, iv) software or hardware from a different device, or v) the interne.

4. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said network includes at least one wired link.

5. The networking method of claim 2 wherein said controller controls the processing of signals or data by said at least one receiver or transceiver from both of at least one of said one or more ultrawideband devices and at least one of said at least one wired link, or transmission by said at least one transmitter or transceiver to both of at least one of said one or more ultrawideband devices and at least one of said at least one wired link.

6. The networking method of claim 1 further comprising the step of updating instructions in said controller of said at least one wireless repeater or relay which are implemented in said providing and controlling steps.

7. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said network information includes one or more of:

IDs or operating characteristics for each of the components to be used in said network, or IDs or operating characteristics for one or more users permitted to be used in said network.

8. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said network information includes one or more of:

a specified coverage area for one or more wireless devices to permit use of said network, or specified applications permitted to be used in said network.

9. The networking method of claim 1 further comprising the step of storing in a buffer memory received or to be transmitted signals or data for processing by said controller.

10. The networking method of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more ultrawideband devices in said group are located in an automobile or aircraft.

11. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said wireless repeater or relay is associated or associatable with one or more of:

an AC outlet or extension cord, a room fixture, a connection port, a display terminal, a gaming device, an office or home, a night light, a fire alarm, a ceiling fixture, a wall fixture, a human-wearable or pet-wearable device, a computer, a television or video console, a plug-in device, a vehicle, a train, an airplane, a fixed or portable/mobile phone, a moving platform, a computer, a router, a server, or a consumer electronic device.

12. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said at least one receiver or transceiver and at least one transmitter or transceiver may be separate components or combined as one or more receivers, transmitters, or transceivers.

13. The networking method of claim 1 further comprising the step of identifying, using said controller, at least one of said one or more wireless and/or wired devices in said group.

14. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said controller is either pre-programmed or programmable to monitor traffic characteristics or security characteristics related to received and transmitted signals or data, at least some of which are received from or sent to said one or more ultrawideband devices in said group.

15. The networking method of claim 14 wherein said security characteristics includes one or more of:

IDs or operating characteristics for each of the components to be used in said network, or IDs or operating characteristics for one or more users permitted to be used in said network.

16. The networking method of claim 14 wherein said traffic characteristics includes one or more of:

a) reception strength or quality of one or more wireless devices used in said group, b) applications used by one or more devices in said group;

or c) protocols, data transmission rates, or air interface characteristics of one or more devices in said group.

17. The networking method of claim 14 wherein said traffic characteristics or security characteristics are used by said at least one wireless repeater or relay to provide improvements in one or more of:

network coverage, network performance, network security, traffic filtering, device addressability, suppression of the retransmission of unwanted signals or data, device configuration, connectivity, interference mitigation, spectrum utilization, battery/power utilization, application prioritization, setting up of schedules or priorities of transmissions, determining or setting up delays, or setting up of protocols or data transfer mechanisms.

18. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said controller is either pre-programmed or programmable with network information, wherein said controller operates in conjunction with at least one processor in order to pass, ignore, reject, redirect, modify, delay, or kill at least some of said signals or data in order to differentiate between desired or undesired signals or data or to prioritize data flows for improved network security, network management, network performance, or interference management for the individual or collective benefit of one or more of said one or more ultrawideband devices within said group.

19. The networking method of claim 1 wherein providing said at least one wireless repeater or relay includes the step of providing, with said controller, the collecting, reporting, or storing of network usage and network statistics.

20. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said at least one wireless repeater or relay is of a form factor that is either stand-alone, plug-in, embedded, integrated, distributed over one or more devices, included within a network connection port, or integrated as part of a) a vehicle or moving platform, b) a server, router, computer, cellphone or portable consumer electronic device;

c) a home or office environment or appliance, or d) an aircraft.

21. The networking method of claim 1 where wireless transmission or reception by at least one of said one or more ultrawideband wireless devices or said at least one wireless repeater or relay is performed using one or more adaptive antennas that are either steerable, phased, or which use MIMO.

22. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said group has improved network security, network management, network performance, or interference management provided by said controller of said at least one wireless repeater or relay in said providing step.

23. The networking method of claim 21 wherein said group has an improvement of one or more of:

network coverage, network performance, network security, traffic filtering, device addressability, suppression of the retransmission of unwanted signals or data, device configuration, connectivity, interference mitigation, spectrum utilization, battery/power utilization, application prioritization, setting up of schedules or priorities of transmissions, determining delays, or setting up of protocols or data transfer mechanisms provided by said controller of said at least one wireless repeater or relay in said providing step.

24. The networking method of claim 1 further comprising the step of using the controller to provide position location information for at least one of said one or more ultrawideband devices or at least one of said at least one wireless repeater or relay in said group.

25. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said controller performs a).

26. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said controller performs b).

27. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said controller performs a) and b).

28. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said at least one receiver and said at least one transmitter operate in half duplex.

29. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said at least one receiver and said at least one transmitter operate in full duplex.

30. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said at least one receiver and said at least one transmitter operate in simplex.

31. The networking method of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more ultrawideband devices has a higher data rate than if said at least one wireless repeater or relay was not present in said group.

32. The networking method of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more ultrawideband devices has a greater coverage distance than if said at least one wireless repeater or relay was not present in said group.

33. The networking method of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more ultrawideband devices have higher quality of transmission or reception than if said at least one wireless repeater or relay was not present in said group.

34. The networking method of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more ultrawideband devices has less interference than if said at least one wireless repeater or relay was not present in said group.

35. The networking method of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more wireless networks has an improved ability to control its capacity than if said at least one wireless repeater or relay was not present in said group.

36. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said controller is configured to modify received data or transmissions.

37. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said controller is configured to cause said one or more transmitters or transceivers to transmit modified received data or transmissions to one or more ultrawideband devices.

38. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said at least one wireless repeater or relay employs MIMO or adaptive antenna technology.

39. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said controller is self-configurable.

40. The networking method of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more wireless networks is in an in-vehicle environment and said controller is configurable for operation in said in-vehicle environment.

41. The networking method of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more wireless networks is in an indoor environment and said controller is configurable for operation in said indoor environment.

42. The networking method of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more wireless networks is in an outdoor environment and said controller is configurable for operation in said outdoor environment.

43. The networking method of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more wireless networks is a cellular network and said controller is configurable for operation in said cellular network.

44. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said one or more ultrawideband devices are selected from ultrawideband (UWB) equipped television, UWB equipped telephone, UWB equipped cellphone, UWB repeater, UWB equipped computer, UWB equipped camera, UWB equipped video system, UWB equipped airplane, UWB equipped monitor, UWB equipped power plug or wall outlet, UWB equipped watch, UWB Cable modem, UWB equipped vehicle, UWB equipped game console, and UWB Transceiver.

45. The networking method of claim 1 wherein said controller is embedded into an integrated circuit chip which is insertable into said one or more UWB devices.