Arrangements of base transceiver stations of an area-covering network

• US RE37,820 E1
• Filed: 05/24/2001
• Issued: 08/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Littlefeet, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Littlefeet, Inc.
• Inventors: Scheinert, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A
• Assistant Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US09/864,469
• Time in Patent Office: 446 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422, 455/436, 455/443, 455/447, 455/444, 455/446, 455/449, 455/450, 455/464, 455/517, 455/561, 455/524, 455/562, 455/11.1, 455/20
• US Class Current: 455/422.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2609 Arrangements for range control, e.g. by using remote antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/02 Resource partitioning among network components, e.g. reuse partitioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/12 Fixed resource partitioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/24 Cell structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/26 Cell enhancers or enhancement, e.g. for tunnels, building shadow

Abstract

An arrangement of an area covering, cellular radio communication network having cell regions which can be. contiguously replicated without interference. A central transceiver station is coupled to a base station controller and has a plurality of decentral transceiver stations surrounding and coupled to the central transceiver station. Groups of adjacent decentral transceiver stations are grouped in respective cell areas. All of the decentral transceiver stations in each cell area are allocated the same transmission frequencies, but the frequencies of each cell area are different from the other cell areas in the cell region.

Claims

1. An arrangement of base transceiver stations in an area-covering radio network comprising cell regions arranged continuously in rows, each cell region comprising:

(a) a central transceiver station coupled to a base station controller;

(b) a plurality of decentral transceiver stations surrounding and coupled to the central transceiver station; and

(c) a plurality of cell areas, each cell area operated at respectively different transmission frequencies, each cell area being formed by a plurality of adjacent, decentral transceiver stations to which the same transmission frequencies are allocated.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein transmission power of channel units for area coverage of the decentral transceiver stations is lower than transmission power of a channel unit for area coverage of a central cell.

3. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein coupling of the decentral transceiver stations to the respective central transceiver station comprises a wireless point-to-point connection.

4. An arrangement according to claim 3, wherein frequencies of the point-to-point connections differ from the frequencies for the area coverage of a central cell.

5. An arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the point-to-point connections have a transmission power lower than transmission power for the area coverage of the central cell.

6. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the central transceiver station further comprises an aerial for area coverage and a directional aerial or optical transmitter-receiver device for the bidirectional data relay to a further base transceiver station.

7. An arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the two aerials are coupled together via two frequency-selective amplifiers connected in antiparallel.

8. An arrangement according to claim 7 and further comprising a frequency filter assembly and an amplifier connected in series, and having a respective frequency converter inserted between them.

9. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the central transceiver station has channel units for the area coverage and additional channel units for bidirectional data relay to at lease one additional central transceiver station, each additional channel unit comprising:

(a) a terminal assembly with two terminals on a down-link side for separating signals according to the direction of their transmission;

(b) an encoder coupled to an output terminal at the down-link side of the terminal assembly;

(c) a first amplifier receiving the output signal of the encoder;

(d) a band filter assembly with two terminals at an up-link side, receiving at one of these terminals the output signal of the first amplifier, and with one terminal for transmitting and receiving signals to/from an aerial;

(e) a second amplifier, which receives the signal output from the second terminal at the up-link side of the band filter assembly; and

(f) a decoder at an output side of the second amplifier, which is coupled to the second terminal at the down-link side of the terminal assembly.

10. An arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the channel units have transmission devices having a transmission power and the transmission power of the transmission devices of the additional channel units is lower than the transmission power of the transmission device for area coverage.

11. An arrangement according to claim 9, wherein a transceiver station further comprises at least one directional aerial and/or optical transmitter-receiver and a time function element which is started by a transmitter device and after the elapse of a time interval actuates a receiver device.

12. An arrangement according to claim 9, wherein a transceiver station has at least one selection switching circuit for selecting an associated coupling aerial as a function of the reception field strength of a signal relayed by a plurality of coupled base transceiver stations.

13. A method of retrospectively condensing an existing area-covering radio network comprising base transceiver stations coupled via cable or radio link to base station controllers, the method comprising arranging decentrally within the cell region of each existing transceiver station a plurality of additional transceiver stations so that they surround the existing transceiver station of the respective cell region, the additional transceiver stations being coupled to the existing transceiver station;

selecting the frequencies of the additional transceiver stations so that a plurality of cell areas having respectively different transmission frequencies are formed per cell region, and grouping a plurality of adjacent, decentral transceiver stations into one cell area by allocating to these the same transmission frequencies.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the original base transceiver stations are located in the centre of each cell region, and in addition to channel units for area coverage, further channel units are provided for bidirectional data relay to at least one further base transceiver station.

15. An arrangement of base transceiver stations of an area-covering radio network having an area divided into a plurality of cell areas each having a uniform transmission frequency, wherein respectively abutting cell areas are operated at different transmission frequencies, and wherein at least the cell areas which are operated at certain transmission frequencies are each formed of a plurality of cells, whose areas are covered by a respective base transceiver station, each base transceiver station being allocated exclusively to one cell area, the arrangement comprising:

(a) a plurality of base transceiver stations coupled to a base station controller via an associated common connecting station;

(b) common channel units for all base transceiver stations of a cell area which are coupled to the same connecting station for coupling to the base station controller and disposed inside the associated connecting station;

(c) at each base transceiver station, an aerial for area coverage of its associated cell and an additional aerial with a directional characteristic oriented towards the associated connecting station; and

(d) a transmitting and a receiving branch connected in antiparallel coupling both aerials of each transceiver station and comprising at least a respective frequency converter and an amplifier coupled to the output of each frequency converter.

16. An arrangement according to claim 15, wherein the base transceiver stations located at an edge of a cell area have a smaller mutual distance than base transceiver stations located in the interior of the cell area.

17. An arrangement according to claim 15, wherein base transceiver stations located at an edge of a cell area have a lower transmission power than base transceiver stations located in the interior of the cell area.

18. An arrangement according to claim 15 wherein no individual cell is allocated to the connecting stations.

19. An arrangement according to claim 15, wherein at least one running time element is available in each of the connecting stations, which is started by the transmitter of a channel unit and after the elapse of its time interval actuates a receiver of the respective channel unit.

20. An arrangement according to claim 15, wherein a time-lag device with an adjustable time constant is connected at inputs and/or outputs of the transmitting and receiving branches.

21. An arrangement according to claim 19, wherein the time interval of the running time element in the connecting station corresponds to the sum of twice the running time between the connecting station and the most remote base transceiver station, twice the signal running time through a base transceiver station with the time-lag constant (T) set at the minimum, and a fixed, predetermined reaction time.