Enhanced wireless signal distribution using in-building wiring

• US 9,143,196 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2012
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Schwengler, Thomas, Elford, Michael L.
• Primary Examiner(s): DEAN, RAYMOND S
• Application Number:
  US13/676,293
• Publication Number:
  US 20140134944A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,042 Days
• Field of Search: 455 14- 25, 370/315
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/52 Systems for transmission between fixed stations via waveguides
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/20 for indoor coverage or short range network deployment

Abstract

Methods and systems of distributing a radio frequency (RF) signal to a wireless device. The methods and systems include providing a RF transmitter having an antenna output, coupling a first end of an existing in-building wire network to the antenna output and transmitting a RF signal from the RF transmitter into the in-building wire network such that the in-building wire network operates as a waveguide. The methods and systems further include transmitting the RF signal from a second end of the in-building wire network to free air and receiving the RF signal with one or more wireless devices.

Claims

1. A method of distributing a radio frequency (RF) signal to a wireless device comprising:

providing a RF transmitter having an antenna output;

coupling a first end of an existing in-building wire network to the antenna output of the RF transmitter;

transmitting a RF signal from the RF transmitter into the in-building wire network such that the in-building wire network operates as a waveguide;

coupling a removable supplemental antenna to a second end of the in-building wire network, wherein the removable supplemental antenna is impedance matched to an impedance of the in-building wire network without the use of a separate impedance matching element;

transmitting the RF signal from the removable supplemental antenna to free air without passing the RF signal through a second active RF transmitting device at the second end of the in-building wire network; and

receiving the RF signal with the wireless device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the in-building wire network comprises at least one of a twisted pair telephone wire network;

a power distribution network;

a co-axial cable network and a data cable network.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising matching the impedance of the existing in-building wire network to the impedance of the antenna output of the RF transmitter.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the second end of the in-building wire network comprises at least one of a RJ11 telephone socket, a RJ45 data socket, a co-axial cable socket and a power outlet.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the second end of the in-building wire network comprises a RJ11 telephone socket and the removable supplemental antenna comprises a telephone and telephone cord connected to the RJ11 socket.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the in-building wire network comprises a telephone cable having at least two twisted pair wire elements, wherein the second end of the in-building wire network comprises a RJ 11 telephone socket, and wherein the supplemental antenna comprises an antenna configured to be received in the RJ 11 telephone socket in electrical communication with the telephone cable.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising filtering the RF signal from portions of the existing in-building wire network to reduce noise in a native signal transmitted.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the RF signal is at least one of an 802.11b, an 802.11a, an 802.11g, an 802.11n Wi-Fi signal, and an 802.11ac signal, and the RF transmitter is a wireless router.

9. A radio frequency (RF) signal distribution system comprising:

a RF transmitter having an antenna output;

an in-building wire network having at least one first end coupled to the antenna output of the RF transmitter such that the in-building wire network operates as a waveguide, the in-building wire network further having at least one second end;

a removable supplemental antenna coupled to the at least one second end of the in-building wire network providing for transmission of the RF signal to free air from the removable supplemental antenna without passing the RF signal through a second active RF transmitting device at the second end of the in-building wire network, wherein the removable supplemental antenna is impedance matched to an impedance of the in-building wire network without the use of a separate impedance matching element; and

a wireless device configured to receive the RF signal.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the in-building wire network comprises at least one of a twisted pair telephone wire network;

a power distribution network;

a co-axial cable network and a data cable network.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the impedance of the existing in-building wire network is matched to the impedance of the antenna output of the RF transmitter.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the second end of the in-building wire network comprises at least one of a RJ11 telephone socket, a RJ45 data socket, a co-axial cable socket and a power outlet.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein the second end of the in-building wire network comprises a RJ11 telephone socket and the removable supplemental antenna comprises a telephone and telephone cord connected to the RJ11 socket.

14. The system of claim 9 wherein the in-building wire network comprises a telephone cable having at least two twisted pair wire elements, wherein the second end of the in-building wire network comprises a RJ11 telephone socket, and wherein the supplemental antenna comprises an antenna configured to be received in the RJ11 telephone socket in electrical communication with the telephone cable.

15. The system of claim 9 further comprising a filter configured to filter the RF signal from portions of the existing in-building wire network to reduce noise in a native signal transmitted by the existing in-building wire network.

16. The system of claim 9 wherein the RF signal is at least one of an 802.11b, an 802.11a, an 802.11g, an 802.11n and an 802.11ac Wi-Fi signal, and the RF transmitter is a wireless router.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the supplemental antenna comprises a four-wire double dipole antenna.