Coordinated digital radio distribution architecture

• US 9,148,822 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2013
• Issued: 09/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alvarion Limited
• Original Assignee: Alvarion Limited
• Inventors: Zack, Rafi, Goshen, Tomer
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhou, Yong
• Application Number:
  US13/779,789
• Publication Number:
  US 20140241258A1
• Time in Patent Office: 943 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/12 Wireless traffic scheduling

Abstract

A communication system architecture is provided, having an aggregator, arranged to centralize the access units and coordinate the radio signals of access units of different types digitally, and remote radio units configured to be modularly connectable to different types of radio elements that correspond to the access units and arranged to communicate with the aggregator digitally. Radio signals are scheduled and delivered with respect to the types of the access units and of the radio elements, and the aggregator is further arranged to handle distribution and combining of the radio signals digitally. The aggregator further comprises a controller arranged to continuously optimize communication with respect to the access units and user mobile communication devices by applying a decision process to cost functions that depends on communication parameters to derive specified dynamically changing parameters, and to manage the aggregator dynamically with respect thereto.

Claims

1. A coordination system for coordinating radio signals in a communication system comprising a first plurality of access units and a second plurality of remote units, the coordination system comprising:

a management system; and

an aggregator arranged to coordinate the radio signals between the access units and the remote units, the aggregator comprising;

a first plurality of access front end modules, each in radio signal communication with a corresponding access unit;

a second plurality of remote unit front ends, each in radio signal communication with a corresponding remote unit;

a first plurality of access processing and analyzing units, each in communication with a corresponding access front end module and comprising;

a signal analysis unit arranged to derive communication parameters of the communication system;

a combiner arranged to provide uplink radio signals to the access front end module; and

a distributor arranged to provide downlink radio signals from the access front end module,

a bi-directional baseband router module arranged to deliver the uplink radio signals from the remote unit front ends to the combiners and to deliver the downlink radio signals from the distributors to the remote unit front ends according to specified dynamically changing parameters; and

a processor unit arranged to continuously determine the specified dynamically changing parameters by applying a decision process to at least one cost function that depends on the communication parameters in respect to instructions from the management system.

2. The coordination system of claim 1, wherein the specified dynamically changing parameters comprise weights applied to the combiners and to the distributers.

3. The coordination system of claim 1, wherein the specified dynamically changing parameters comprise weights relating to the remote units with respect to user communication devices communicating therethrough.

4. The coordination system of claim 1, wherein the bi-directional baseband router further comprises:

an uplink bus associated with a second plurality of de-multiplexers that are arranged to receive the uplink radio signals from corresponding remote unit front ends, the uplink bus arranged to deliver the uplink radio signals to the combiners; and

a downlink bus associated with a second plurality of multiplexers that are arranged to deliver the downlink radio signals to corresponding remote unit front ends, the downlink bus arranged to receive the downlink radio signals from the distributors.

5. The coordination system of claim 4, wherein the bi-directional baseband router further comprises:

an uplink scheduler arranged to schedule the uplink radio signals according to the specified dynamically changing parameters; and

a downlink scheduler arranged to schedule the downlink radio signals according to the specified dynamically changing parameters.

6. The coordination system of claim 5, wherein the scheduling of the radio signals is carried out according to a digital signal sampling rate.

7. The coordination system of claim 1, wherein the aggregator further comprises an aggregator controller arranged to receive the specified dynamically changing parameters from the processor unit and implement them in the bi-directional baseband router and in the access processing and analysis unit.

8. The coordination system of claim 1, wherein the communication parameters comprise at least one of:

a received signal strength, a signal auto-correlation and inter signal cross-correlations.

9. The coordination system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the access units is a WiFi access unit and the aggregator is arranged to provide loop back capability with respect thereto.

10. A communication system comprising

a first plurality of access units;

a second plurality of remote units; and

the coordination system of claim 1, configured to coordinating radio signals between the first plurality of access units and the second plurality of remote units.

11. A communication system comprising:

an aggregator, arranged to centralize and coordinate radio signals of a first plurality of access units of different radio access technology types; and

a second plurality of remote units configured to be modularly connectable to different radio access technology types of radio elements that correspond to the access units and arranged to communicate with the aggregator,

wherein the aggregator is arranged to handle distribution and combining of the radio signals according to specified dynamically changing parameters that are derived by applying a decision process to at least one cost function that depends on communication parameters that are analyzed by the aggregator.

12. The communication system of claim 11, wherein the aggregator comprises:

a resource access plane interfacing the access units;

a distribution plane interfacing the remote units; and

a signal processing and analysis plane in communication with a processor unit arranged to continuously derive the specified dynamically changing parameters from the communication parameters in respect to instructions from a management system.

13. The communication system of claim 11, further comprising the management system implemented at least partly in at least one of:

the processor unit and at least one of the access units.

14. The communication system of claim 11, wherein the aggregator further comprises an aggregator controller arranged to implement the specified dynamically changing parameters within the aggregator in a temporally precise manner.

15. The communication system of claim 11, wherein the specified dynamically changing parameters comprise weights applied to the digital distribution and combining of the radio signals.

16. The communication system of claim 11, wherein the specified dynamically changing parameters comprise weights relating to the remote units with respect to user communication devices communicating therethrough.

17. The communication system of claim 11, wherein the communication parameters comprise at least one of:

a received signal strength, a signal auto-correlation and inter signal cross-correlations.

18. A method of coordinating radio signals in a communication system, the method comprising:

centralizing and coordinating communication of a first plurality of access units of different radio access technology types by an aggregator and digitalizing communication through the aggregator;

configuring a second plurality of remote units to be modularly connectable to different radio access technology types of radio elements that correspond to the access units and communicating the radio signals between the aggregator and the remote units digitally; and

configuring the aggregator to have a controllable resource access plane, a signal processing and analysis plane and a distribution plane, and continuously optimizing communication with respect to the access units and user mobile communication devices by applying a decision process to at least one cost function that depends on communication parameters to derive specified dynamically changing parameters, and managing the aggregator planes dynamically with respect thereto.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the communication parameters comprise at least one of:

a received signal strength, a signal auto-correlation and inter signal cross-correlations, and wherein the specified dynamically changing parameters comprise weights applied to the combiners and to the distributers and weights relating to the remote units with respect to user communication devices communicating therethrough.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein at least one of the access units is a WiFi access unit, and further comprising arranging the aggregator to provide loop back capability with respect thereto.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein specified dynamically changing parameters comprise at least one of weights applied to the combiners and to the distributers and weights relating to the remote units with respect to user communication devices communicating therethrough.