Electronic device and data control method

• US 9,344,141 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2013
• Issued: 05/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Chen, Jia-Ming, Liu, Jia-Wei, Tseng, Ming-Chien, Chen, Shi-Yang
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang, Charles C
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUTT, WALLI Z
• Application Number:
  US14/144,234
• Publication Number:
  US 20150003339A1
• Time in Patent Office: 869 Days
• Field of Search: 370/329, 398/116, 398/139, 398/22, 398/58, 398/115
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/48 in circuits for connecting transmitter and receiver to a common transmission path, e.g. by energy of transmitter H04B1/46 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/14 Two-way operation using the same type of signal, i.e. duplex

Abstract

The disclosure provides an electronic device including a coupler, a transceiver, and a control circuit. The coupler generates a coupled downlink signal according to a downlink signal from a head-end unit. The transceiver switches between the transmission of a downlink signal and the reception of an uplink signal according to a control signal. The control circuit receives the coupled downlink signal, generates a status counting signal according to the power status of the coupled downlink signal, and generates the control signal according to the status counting signal. Only when the level of the coupled downlink signal is lower than an amplitude threshold level with a duration longer than a status counting time, the control circuit converts the status counting signal from a first logic level to a second logic level opposite to the first logic level. Otherwise, the control circuit maintains the status counting signal on the first logic level.

Claims

1. An electronic device, arranged to receive at least one downlink signal and transmit at least one uplink signal, the electronic device comprising:

a coupler, arranged on a downlink path, and arranged to generate a coupled downlink signal according to the downlink signal from a head-end unit (HEU);

a transceiver, arranged to switch between the transmission of the downlink signal and the reception of the uplink signal according to a control signal; and

a control circuit, arranged to;

receive the coupled downlink signal,

generate a status counting signal according to a power of the coupled downlink signal, and

generate the control signal according to the status counting signal and transmit the control signal to the transceiver, wherein only when a level of the coupled downlink signal is lower than an amplitude threshold value and longer than a status counting time, the control circuit advances the time of switching the status control signal from a first logic level to a second logic level opposite to the first logic level by a time sequence adjusting time, otherwise the control circuit maintains the status control signal on the first logic level, and postponing the time sequence adjusting time by a delay time.

2. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control circuit further comprises a control signal generator comprising:

a status counter, arranged to determine whether a received level comparison signal is switched from the first logic level to the second logic level and generate the status counting signal, wherein the status counting signal is generated according to the coupled downlink signal, and the status counting signal is maintained on the first logic level when the level comparison signal is on the first logic level, and the status counting signal is switched from the first logic level to the second logic level when the level comparison signal is on the second logic level and longer than the status counting time, and the status counting signal is maintained on the first logic level when the level comparison signal is on the second logic level and not longer than the status counting time.

3. The electronic device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control circuit generator further comprises a time-sequence adjuster, coupled to the status counter, arranged to advance the time of switching the status counting signal from the first logic level to the second logic level by the time-sequence adjusting time for generating a time-sequence adjusting signal.

4. The electronic device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the control circuit generator further comprises a delay circuit, coupled to the time-sequence adjuster, and arranged to postpone the time-sequence adjusting signal by the delay time for generating the control signal synchronized with the downlink signal.

5. The electronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the status counting time is greater than or equal to a duration of a resource block.

6. The electronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein a range of the time-sequence adjusting time is:

τ

₁>

τ

₂>

τ

₁−

(GAP₁+GAP₂)/2

wherein τ

₂ is the time-sequence adjusting time, τ

₁ is the status counting time, GAP₁ is a duration for any one of the at least one uplink signal switched to any one of the at least one downlink signal, and GAP₂ is a duration for any one of the at least one downlink signal switched to any one of the at least one uplink signal.

7. The electronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein a range of the delay time is:

Ts>

τ

₃>

Ts−

GAP₁/2

Wherein τ

₃ is the delay time, Ts is a period of a frame, and GAP₁ is a duration for any one of the at least one uplink signal switched to any one of the at least one downlink signal.

8. The electronic device as claimed in claim 7, wherein a beginning time of the control signal advances a beginning time of the coupled downlink signal by a first time, and an ending time of the control signal postpones an ending time of the coupled downlink signal by a second time, the ranges of the first time Δ

₁ and the second time Δ

₂ are;

GAP₁/2>

Δ

₁>

0

GAP₂/2>

Δ

₂>

0

Wherein Δ

₁ is the first time, Δ

₂ is the second time, and GAP₂ is a duration for any one of the at least one downlink signal switched to any one of the at least one uplink signal.

9. The electronic device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control circuit further comprises a power detector coupled the coupler and arranged to detect a power of the coupled downlink signal for generating a power detecting signal.

10. The electronic device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the control circuit further comprises a level comparator coupled between the power detector and the control signal generator and arranged to generate the level comparison signal according to the power detecting signal, wherein the level comparator maintains the level comparison signal on the first logic level when the level of the power detecting signal is greater than or equal to the amplitude threshold value, and the level comparator maintains the level comparison signal on the second logic level when the level of the power detecting signal is lower than the amplitude threshold value.

11. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an antenna coupled to the transceiver, and arranged to receive the downlink signal transmitted by the transceiver or transmit the received uplink signal to the transceiver.

12. The electronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the control signal generator is implemented by a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or a microprocessor.

13. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a remote antenna unit (RAU).

14. A control method, applied to an electronic device receiving at least one downlink signal and transmitting at least one uplink signal, wherein the electronic device comprises a coupler arranged on a downlink path, a transceiver and a control circuit, the control method comprising:

generating a coupled downlink signal according to the downlink signal from a HEU;

generating a status counting signal according to a power of the coupled downlink signal, wherein only when a level of the coupled downlink signal is lower than an amplitude threshold value and longer than a status counting time, the control circuit advances the time of switching the status control signal from a first logic level to a second logic level opposite to the first logic level by a time sequence adjusting time, otherwise the control circuit maintains the status control signal on the first logic level, and postponing the time sequence adjusting time by a delay time;

generating a control signal according to the status counting signal and transmitting the control signal to the transceiver by the control circuit; and

switching between the transmission of the downlink signal and the reception of the uplink signal according to the control signal.

15. The control method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the step of generating the status counting signal according to the power of the coupled downlink signal further comprising:

determining whether a level comparison signal is switched from the first logic level to the second logic level wherein the level comparison signal is generated according to the coupled downlink signal;

maintaining the status counting signal on the first logic level when the level comparison signal is on the first logic level;

switching the status counting signal from the first logic level to the second logic level when the level comparison signal is on the second logic level and longer than the status counting time; and

maintaining the status counting signal on the first logic level when the level comparison signal is on the second logic level and not longer than the status counting time.

16. The control method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising advancing the time of switching the status counting signal from the first logic level to the second logic level by the time-sequence adjusting time for generating a time-sequence adjusting signal.

17. The control method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the step of postponing the time-sequence adjusting signal by the delay time generates the control signal synchronized with the downlink signal.

18. The control method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the status counting time is greater than or equal to a duration of a resource block.

19. The control method as claimed in claim 17, wherein a range of the time-sequence adjusting time is:

τ

₁>

τ

₂>

τ

₁−

(GAP₁+GAP₂)/2

wherein τ

₂ is the time-sequence adjusting time, τ

₁ is the status counting time, GAP₁ is a duration for any one of the at least one uplink signal switched to any one of the at least one downlink signal, and GAP₂ is a duration for any one of the at least one downlink signal switched to any one of the at least one uplink signal.

20. The control method as claimed in claim 17, wherein a range of the delay time is:

Ts>

τ

₃>

Ts−

GAP₁/2

Wherein τ

₃ is the delay time, Ts is a period of a frame, and GAP₁ is a duration for any one of the at least one uplink signal switched to any one of the at least one downlink signal.

21. The control method as claimed in claim 20, wherein a beginning time of the control signal advances a beginning time of the coupled downlink signal by a first time, and an ending time of the control signal postpones an ending time of the coupled downlink signal by a second time, the ranges of the first time Δ

₁ and the second time Δ

₂ are;

GAP₁/2>

Δ

₁>

0

GAP₂/2>

Δ

₂>

0

Wherein Δ

₁ is the first time, Δ

₂ is the second time, and GAP₂ is a duration for any one of the at least one downlink signal switched to any one of the at least one uplink signal.

22. The control method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising detecting a power of the coupled downlink signal for generating a power detecting signal.

23. The control method as claimed in claim 22, further comprising generating the level comparison signal according to the power detecting signal, wherein the level comparator maintains the level comparison signal on the first logic level when the level of the power detecting signal is greater than or equal to the amplitude threshold value, and the level comparator maintains the level comparison signal on the second logic level when the level of the power detecting signal is lower than the amplitude threshold value.