Radio-over-fiber (ROF) system for protocol-independent wired and/or wireless communication
First Claim
1. A wireless communication system, comprising:
- an optical switch bank;
a plurality of remote access points distributed throughout multiple floors of a building infrastructure; and
at least one fiber optic cable, the at least one fiber optic cable comprising a plurality of optical fibers and being configured to carry Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) signals from the optical switch bank for communication with the remote access points, whereina first one of the plurality of remote access points is configured to form a corresponding first coverage area,a second one of the plurality of remote access points is configured to form a corresponding second, different coverage area,the optical switch bank is configured to establish a RoF-based optical link over at least one of the fiber optic cables such that a first peer device in the first coverage area can communicate with a second peer device in the second coverage area at least in part over the RoF-based optical link, andat least one of the first and second ones of the plurality of remote access points is configured to communicate via both Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and broadband signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A switched wireless system is used to increase the range of peer-to-peer communications. The optically-switched fiber optic communication system includes a head-end unit (HEU) having a switch bank. Cables couple the HEU to one or more remote access points in different coverage areas. The switch bank in the HEU provides a link between the remote access points in the different coverage areas such that devices in the different cellular coverage areas communicate with each other, such as through videoconferencing. By using the switched communication system, the range and coverage of communication between devices may be extended such that devices in different coverage areas and devices using different communication protocols can communicate.
863 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A wireless communication system, comprising:
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an optical switch bank; a plurality of remote access points distributed throughout multiple floors of a building infrastructure; and at least one fiber optic cable, the at least one fiber optic cable comprising a plurality of optical fibers and being configured to carry Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) signals from the optical switch bank for communication with the remote access points, wherein a first one of the plurality of remote access points is configured to form a corresponding first coverage area, a second one of the plurality of remote access points is configured to form a corresponding second, different coverage area, the optical switch bank is configured to establish a RoF-based optical link over at least one of the fiber optic cables such that a first peer device in the first coverage area can communicate with a second peer device in the second coverage area at least in part over the RoF-based optical link, and at least one of the first and second ones of the plurality of remote access points is configured to communicate via both Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and broadband signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A wireless communication system, comprising:
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an optical switch bank; a plurality of remote access points distributed throughout multiple floors of a building infrastructure; and at least one fiber optic cable, the at least one fiber optic cable comprising a plurality of optical fibers and being configured to carry Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) signals from the optical switch bank for communication with the remote access points, wherein a first one of the plurality of remote access points is configured to form a corresponding first coverage area, a second one of the plurality of remote access points is configured to form a corresponding second, different coverage area, the optical switch bank is configured to establish a RoF-based optical link over at least one of the fiber optic cables such that a first peer device in the first coverage area can communicate with a second peer device in the second coverage area at least in part over the RoF-based optical link, at least one of the first and second ones of the plurality of remote access points is configured to communicate via at least one of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and broadband signals, the at least one optical fiber cable includes thirty-six optical fibers, and the system is configured to automatically establish the RoF-based optical link between the first coverage area and the second coverage area when signals received from the first peer device in the first coverage area and signals received from the second peer device in the second coverage area have common radio frequencies. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification