Transponder for a radio-over-fiber optical fiber cable
First Claim
1. A transponder for a radio-over-fiber (RoF) optical fiber cable, comprising:
- an electrical-to-optical (E/O) converter;
an optical-to-electrical (O/E) converter; and
a dipole antenna system operably coupled to the E/O converter and the O/E converter and arranged relative to the optical fiber cable so as to create an elongate picocell in a direction locally perpendicular to the optical fiber cable when the transponder is addressed.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is a transponder for a radio-over-fiber (RoF) optical fiber cable. The transponder includes a converter unit made up of an electrical-to-optical (E/O) converter and an optical-to-electrical (O/E) converter. The optical fiber cable optically couples the converter unit to a head-end unit that sends and receives optical RF signals. A dipole antenna system is operably coupled to the converter unit and is arranged so as to create elongate picocell in a direction perpendicular to the optical fiber cable when the transponder is in communication with the head-end unit. The asymmetric picocell shape allows for creating a picocellular coverage area using fewer optical fiber cables than is possible with prior art transponders.
102 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A transponder for a radio-over-fiber (RoF) optical fiber cable, comprising:
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an electrical-to-optical (E/O) converter; an optical-to-electrical (O/E) converter; and a dipole antenna system operably coupled to the E/O converter and the O/E converter and arranged relative to the optical fiber cable so as to create an elongate picocell in a direction locally perpendicular to the optical fiber cable when the transponder is addressed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A transponder for forming a picocell as part of a radio-over-fiber (RoF) system having an optical fiber cable optically connected to a head-end unit, comprising:
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a converter unit adapted to convert electrical signals to optical signals and vice versa; and a dipole antenna system arranged relative to the optical fiber cable so as to create a picocell formed by creating a dipole radiation field directed perpendicular to the optical fiber cable at the dipole antenna system location. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of forming an elongate picocell for a radio-over fiber (RoF) system that includes an optical fiber cable, comprising:
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transmitting optical RF signals to a transponder via an optical fiber RF communication link in the optical fiber cable; converting the optical signals to electrical RF signals at the transponder; converting the electrical signals to electromagnetic RF signals at the transponder using a dipole antenna system that creates the elongate picocell in a direction locally perpendicular to the optical fiber cable. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification