U.S. patent application number 13/473144 was filed with the patent office on 2013-04-18 for method and system for a repeater network that utilizes distributed transceivers with array processing.
The applicant listed for this patent is Mehran Moshfeghi. Invention is credited to Mehran Moshfeghi.
Application Number | 20130095747 13/473144 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48085937 |
Filed Date | 2013-04-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130095747 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Moshfeghi; Mehran |
April 18, 2013 |
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR A REPEATER NETWORK THAT UTILIZES DISTRIBUTED
TRANSCEIVERS WITH ARRAY PROCESSING
Abstract
A device that comprises a plurality of distributed transceivers,
a central processor and a network management engine may be
configured to function as relay device, relaying an input data
stream from a source device to at least one other device. The
relaying may include configuring one or more of the plurality of
distributed transceivers to particular mode of relay operation and
receiving the input data stream from the source device via at least
one of the configured one or more of the plurality of distributed
transceivers. The relaying may also include transmitting at least
one relay data stream corresponding to the input data stream to the
at least one other device, via at least one of the configured one
or more of the plurality of distributed transceivers.
Inventors: |
Moshfeghi; Mehran; (Rancho
Palos Verdes, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Moshfeghi; Mehran |
Rancho Palos Verdes |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
48085937 |
Appl. No.: |
13/473144 |
Filed: |
May 16, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61548201 |
Oct 17, 2011 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/7 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B 7/0408 20130101;
H04W 72/085 20130101; H04L 5/0032 20130101; H04W 4/80 20180201;
Y02D 30/70 20200801; H04B 7/043 20130101; H04W 88/02 20130101; H04L
27/12 20130101; H04W 72/0473 20130101; H04B 7/0689 20130101; H04B
7/0897 20130101; H04W 24/08 20130101; H04W 84/12 20130101; H04B
1/40 20130101; H04B 7/024 20130101; H04W 72/0453 20130101; H04W
88/06 20130101; H04B 7/0413 20130101; H04W 72/046 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/7 |
International
Class: |
H04W 88/04 20090101
H04W088/04 |
Claims
1. A method, comprising: in a relay device that comprises a
plurality of distributed transceivers, a central processor and a
network management engine: relaying an input data stream from a
source device to at least one other device, wherein said relaying
comprises: configuring one or more of said plurality of distributed
transceivers to operate in a particular mode of relay operation;
receiving said input data stream from said source device via at
least one of said configured one or more of said plurality of
distributed transceivers; and transmitting at least one relay data
stream corresponding to said input data stream to said at least one
other device, via at least one of said configured one or more of
said plurality of distributed transceivers.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one other
device comprises another relay device or a destination device for
said input data stream.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said source device
comprises another relay device or an original source device for
said input data stream.
4. The method according to claim 1, comprising determining said
particular mode of relay operation based on one or more performance
criteria, said performance criteria comprising one or more of: link
quality and propagation environment during said communication.
5. The method according to claim 1, comprising selecting said
particular mode of relay operation from a plurality of modes of
relay operation.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said plurality of modes
of relay operation comprises a passive mode of relay operation and
an active mode of relay operation, said passive mode of relay
operation comprising forwarding said data stream unprocessed and
said active mode of relay operation comprising performing digital
signal processing by said central processor during said reception
of said input data stream and/or transmission of said at least one
relay data stream.
7. The method according to claim 1, comprising monitoring, by said
network management engine, one or more communication parameters or
conditions associated with said configuration of said one or more
of said plurality of distributed transceivers.
8. The method according to claim 7, comprising configuring based on
said monitoring, beamforming settings and antenna arrangement for
said one or more of said plurality of distributed transceivers.
9. The method according to claim 1, comprising determining
connection types and communication protocols, and allocating
resources to said one or more of said plurality of distributed
transceivers.
10. The method according to claim 9, comprising sharing resources
among said one or more of said plurality of distributed
transceivers.
11. A system, comprising: a relay device that comprises a plurality
of distributed transceivers, a central processor and a network
management engine, said relay device being operable to relay an
input data stream from a source device to at least one other
device, wherein during said relay of said input data stream, said
relay device is operable: configure one or more of said plurality
of distributed transceivers to operate in a particular mode of
relay operation; receive said input data stream from said source
device via at least one of said configured one or more of said
plurality of distributed transceivers; and transmit at least one
relay data stream corresponding to said input data stream to said
at least one other device, via at least one of said configured one
or more of said plurality of distributed transceivers.
12. The system according to claim 11, wherein said at least one
other device comprises another relay device or a destination device
for said input data stream.
13. The system according to claim 11, wherein said source device
comprises another relay device or an original source device for
said input data stream.
14. The system according to claim 11, wherein said relay device is
operable to determine said particular mode of relay operation based
on one or more performance criteria, said performance criteria
comprising one or more of: link quality and propagation environment
during said communication.
15. The system according to claim 11, wherein said relay device is
operable to select said particular mode of relay operation from a
plurality of modes of relay operation.
16. The system according to claim 15, wherein said plurality of
plurality of modes of relay operation comprises a passive mode of
relay operation and an active mode of relay operation, said passive
mode of relay operation comprising forwarding said data stream
unprocessed and said active mode of relay operation comprising
performing digital signal processing by said central processor
during said reception of said input data stream and/or transmission
of said at least one relay data stream.
17. The system according to claim 11, wherein said network
management engine is operable to monitor one or more communication
parameters or conditions associated with said configuration of said
one or more of said plurality of distributed transceivers.
18. The system according to claim 17, wherein said relay device is
operable to configure based on said monitoring, beamforming
settings and antenna arrangement for said one or more of said
plurality of distributed transceivers.
19. The system according to claim 11, wherein said relay device is
operable to determine connection types and communication protocols,
and allocating resources to said one or more of said plurality of
distributed transceivers.
20. The system according to claim 19, wherein said relay device is
operable to share resources among said one or more of said
plurality of distributed transceivers.
Description
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
[0001] This patent application makes reference to, claims priority
to and claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.
61/548,201 filed on Oct. 17, 2011.
[0002] The above stated application is hereby incorporated herein
by reference in its entirety.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY
REFERENCE
[0003] This application makes reference to:
U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket Number 25066US02)
filed on May 16, 2012; U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney
Docket Number 25068US02) filed on May 16, 2012; U.S. application
Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket Number 25069US02) filed on May 16,
2012; U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket Number
25070US02) filed on May 16, 2012; U.S. application Ser. No. ______
(Attorney Docket Number 25071 US02) filed on May 16, 2012; and U.S.
application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket Number 25072US02)
filed on May 16, 2012.
[0004] Each of the above stated applications is hereby incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety.
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0005] [Not Applicable]
MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE
[0006] [Not Applicable].
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Certain embodiments of the invention relate to
communications. More specifically, certain embodiments of the
invention relate to a method and a system for a repeater network
that utilizes distributed transceivers with array processing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Millimeter Wave (mmWave) devices are being utilized for high
throughput wireless communications at very high carrier
frequencies. There are several standards bodies such as 60 GHz
wireless standard, WirelessHD, WiGig, and WiFi IEEE 802.11ad that
utilize high frequencies such as the 60 GHz frequency spectrum for
high throughput wireless communications. In the US, the 60 GHz
spectrum band may be used for unlicensed short range data links
such as, for example, data links within a range of 1.7 km, with
data throughputs up to 6 Gbits/s. These higher frequencies may
provide smaller wavelengths and enable the use of small high gain
antennas. However, these higher frequencies may experience high
propagation loss. Other applications may include fixed wireless
communications, such as wireless backhaul links between cellular
base stations.
[0009] Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and
traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the
art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the
present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present
application with reference to the drawings.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] A system and/or method is provided for a repeater network
that utilizes distributed transceivers with array processing,
substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at
least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the
claims.
[0011] These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of
the present invention, as well as details of an illustrated
embodiment thereof, will be more fully understood from the
following description and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
communication system that support centralized distributed
transceiver management, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention.
[0013] FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
communication system that supports configuring a mesh of relay
devices, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary usage
scenario where distributed transceivers are centrally managed to
create a high-performance link between a transmitting device and
one receiving device, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary
transceiver module, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary application
device with a collection of distributed transceivers that are
arranged in a star topology, in accordance with an embodiment of
the invention.
[0017] FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary relay device
that utilizes distributed transceivers in forwarding data streams,
in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0018] FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary relay device
that utilizes distributed transceivers for forwarding data streams,
with varying beamforming configurations for the receive side and
the transmit side, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a flow chart that illustrates exemplary steps for
relaying data streams via a device that comprises distributed
transceivers, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a
method and system for repeater network that utilizes distributed
transceivers with array processing. In various embodiments of the
invention, a relay device that comprises a plurality of distributed
transceivers, a central processor and a network management engine,
may relay an input data stream from a source device to at least one
other device. In this regard, the relaying may comprise configuring
one or more of the plurality of distributed transceivers to operate
in a particular mode of relay operation. The input data stream may
be from the source device via at least one of the configured
distributed transceivers. At least one relay data stream
corresponding to the input data stream may be transmitted to the
other device, via at least one of the configured distributed
transceivers. The one other device may comprise another relay
device, or a destination device for the input data stream. The
source device may comprise another relay device or an original
source device for the input data stream. The particular mode of
relay operation may be determined based on one or more performance
criteria, which may pertain to, for example, link quality and/or
propagation environment.
[0021] The particular mode of relay operation may be selected from
a plurality of modes of relay operation. In this regard, the
plurality of modes of relay operation may comprise a passive mode
of relay operation and an active mode of relay operation. The
passive mode of relay operation may comprise forwarding the data
stream unprocessed, whereas the active mode of relay operation may
comprise performing digital signal processing by the central
processor of the relay device during the reception of the input
data stream and/or transmission of the at least one relay data
stream. The network management engine may monitor during relay
operations, one or more communication parameters or conditions
associated with the configuration of the one or more of the
plurality of distributed transceivers. Beamforming settings and/or
antenna arrangement for at least one of the configured distributed
transceivers may be configured based on the monitoring. The relay
device may determine and/or select connection types and
communication protocols that may be applied to the relay
operations, and may allocate resources to the one or more of the
plurality of distributed transceivers. Resources may be shared
among the one or more of the plurality of distributed transceivers
during the relay operations.
[0022] FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
communication system that support centralized distributed
transceiver management, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention. Referring to FIG. 1A, there is shown a communication
network 100 comprising a plurality of application devices, of which
application devices 111-119 are displayed.
[0023] The application devices 111-119 may comprise suitable logic,
circuitry, code, and/or interfaces that may be operable to
communicate voice and data with one to another over wired and/or
wireless connections. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention,
each of the application devices 111-119 in the communication
network 100 may comprise one or more distributed transceivers (DTs)
for communication in the communication network 100. For example,
distributed transceivers 111a through 119a may be integrated in the
application devices 111 through 119, respectively, and utilized for
receiving and transmitting signals. Each distributed transceiver
may be equipped with an independently configurable antenna or
antenna array that is operable to transmit and receive signals over
the air. For example, the distributed transceivers 111a each may be
equipped with an independently configurable antenna array 111b, and
the distributed transceiver 118a, however, may be equipped with a
single independently configurable antenna 118b to transmit and
receive signals over the air. Depending on device capabilities and
user preferences, distributed transceivers such as the distributed
transceivers 111a within the application device 111, for example,
may comprise radios such as a millimeter Wave (mmWave), a WLAN,
WiMax, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), cellular radios,
WiMAX radio, or other types of radios. In this regard, radios such
as mmWave radios may be utilized at very high carrier frequencies
for high throughput wireless communications.
[0024] In operation, the distributed transceivers 111a through 119a
in the communication network 100 are physically positioned and
oriented at different locations within corresponding application
devices such like laptop, TV, gateway and/or set-top box. The
distributed transceivers 111a through 119a may be centrally managed
by a single network management engine (NME) 120 of the
communication network 100. In an exemplary embodiment of the
invention, the network management engine 120 may reside within a
specific application device in the communication network 100. The
network management engine 120 may be centralized as a full software
implementation on a separate network microprocessor, for example.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, an application device
in the communication network 100 may act or function as a master
application device or an end-user application device. An
application device that comprises the network management engine 120
and/or may have access to manage or control the network management
engine 120 to dynamically configure and manage operation of the
entire distributed transceivers in the communication network 100 is
referred to a master application device. An application device that
does not comprise the network management engine 120 and/or may have
no access to manage or control the network management engine 120 is
referred to as an end-user application device.
[0025] In some instances, the application device 111 acts as a
master application device in the communication network 100. In an
exemplary embodiment of the invention, the network management
engine 120 in the master application device 111 may be utilized to
configure, control, and manage the entire distributed transceivers
111a through 119a in the communication network 100 to optimize
network performance. The application devices 111-119 each may
operate in a transmission mode or in a receiving mode. In instances
where the master application device 111 is transmitting multimedia
information such as images, video, voice, as well as any other form
of data to one or more receiving devices such as the end-user
application devices 112-116, the network management engine 120 in
the master application device 111 may be enabled to monitor and
collect corresponding communication environment information from
the end-user application devices 112-116. The collected
communication environment information may comprise propagation
environment conditions, link quality, device capabilities, antenna
polarization, radiation pattern, antenna spacing, array geometry,
device locations, target throughput, and/or application QoS
requirements reported. The network management engine 120 may be
operable to dynamically configure the distributed transceivers
111a-116a and associated antenna or antenna array 111b-116b, and to
coordinate and manage the operation of the distributed transceivers
111a-116a and associated antenna or antenna array 111b-116b based
on the collected communication environment information supplied
from the end-user application devices 112-116. In this regard, the
network management engine 120 may configure a single application
device such as the application device 117 to maintain continuous
connection with multiple different application devices such as the
application devices 111-113.
[0026] The application device capabilities may comprise battery
life, number of transceivers, number of antennas per transceiver,
device interface types, processing protocols, service types,
service classes and/or service requirements. The interface types
for the application devices 111-119 may comprise access interface
types such as Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), WiFi,
Bluetooth, Ethernet, Femtocell, and/or cordless. The processing
protocols may comprise service layer protocols, IP layer protocols
and link layer protocols, as specified, for example, in the Open
Systems Interconnect (OSI) model. The service layer protocols may
comprise secure protocols such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and
control protocols such as Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). The IP
layer protocols may comprise IP signaling protocols such as SIP and
H.323, and IP media transport protocols such as TCP, UDP, RTP, RTC
and RTCP. The link layer protocols may comprise technology-specific
PHY and MAC layer protocols such as, for example, Multimedia over
Coax Alliance (MoCA), WiFi, Ethernet, Femtocell, and/or
cordless.
[0027] Although communication among the application devices 111-119
with one or more distributed transceivers is illustrated in FIG. 1,
the invention may not be so limited. Accordingly, an application
device may be operable to utilize one or more associated
distributed transceivers to communicate with one or more
application devices with normal transceivers without departing from
the spirit and scope of various embodiments of the invention.
[0028] In an exemplary aspect of the invention, at least some of
the application devices 111-119 may be configured as relay devices,
which may be utilized in relaying data streams between two
devices--that is a source device and a destination device. Using a
particular application device as a relay device may be desirable
when no direct links exist or are available between the source
device and the destination device. For example, relaying data
streams via intermediate relay devices may be utilized where direct
Line-of-sight (LOS) links between the source device and the
destination device are blocked by physical obstacles. Relaying data
streams via intermediate relay devices may also be done in some
instances where there is clear LOS between the source device and
the destination device, and/or when direct links between these
devices are available. For example, in some instances communication
resources in the source device and/or the destination device may
not be sufficient or optimal to maintain direct links therebetween.
Also, in some instances, relaying data streams via intermediate
relay devices may result in enhanced performance, and/or in
reduction of resource use or power consumption, such as, for
example, where communicating data streams via the relay device(s)
may require less power or resources than communicating data streams
directly between the source device and the destination device.
[0029] In an embodiment of the invention, a plurality of
application devices may be combined into a relay mesh to provide
relay services to any devices that may be in operating proximity to
any of the devices in the relay mesh. In this regard, the network
management engine 120 may be operable to, for example, dynamically
select and/or configure application devices that may be included in
the mesh network; to configure distributed transceivers in the mesh
network, and antenna or antenna arrays associated with the
distributed transceivers; and/or to coordinate and manage the
operation of the distributed transceivers and associated antennas
or antenna arrays. Furthermore, at least some of the configuration
and/or other functions performed by the network management engine
120 may be based on the collected communication environment
information supplied from the end-user application devices.
[0030] FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
communication system that supports configuring a mesh of relay
devices, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Referring to FIG. 1B, there is shown a plurality of end-user
application devices (AD) 152.sub.1-152.sub.N, 154, and 156, and the
network management engine 120 of FIG. 1A.
[0031] The application devices 152.sub.1-152.sub.N, 154, and 156
may be similar to the application devices 111-119, substantially as
described with regard to FIG. 1B, for example. In this regard, each
of the application devices 152.sub.1-152.sub.N, 154, and 156 may
comprise distributed transceivers (DTs), which may be utilized to
support distributed based communications, substantially as
described with respect to FIG. 1B, for example. In an exemplary
aspect of the invention, the application devices
152.sub.1-152.sub.N, 154, and 156 may support a relay mode of
operations, whereby one or more application devices may be
configured to support forwarding data on behalf of other devices.
In some embodiments, the devices that are primarily targeted for
relay operation may deploy distributed transceivers with different
beamforming and/or performance capabilities (i.e., covering a wide
range of performance/capability). This may enable providing better
flexibility to select the most suitable and/or optimal set of
transceivers, such as depending on network and/or propagation
conditions.
[0032] In an embodiment of the invention, a plurality of
application devices, such as the application devices
152.sub.1-152.sub.N, may be configured to establish a relay mesh
150. In this regard, the relay mesh 150 may be established by
forming device-to-device links among the application devices
152.sub.1-152.sub.N. The device-to-device links within the relay
mesh 150 may be configured and/or established using distributed
transceivers (DTs) of these devices. In this regard, the
distributed transceivers of the application devices
152.sub.1-152.sub.N may be physically positioned and oriented at
different locations within corresponding application devices, and
may be centrally managed by the network management engine (NME)
120, which may reside within a specific application device
152.sub.x in the relay mesh 150, and/or may be centralized as a
full software implementation on a separate network microprocessor,
for example. The relay mesh 150 may be utilized to relay
communications between applications devices, including application
devices that are outside the mesh relay 150 but in operating
proximity to at least one of the applications devices
152.sub.1-152.sub.N of the mesh network 150. Relaying
communications within the mesh network may comprise traversing more
than one application device. For example, to relay communications
between application devices 154 and 156, application devices
152.sub.1, 152.sub.3, and 152.sub.4 may be utilized.
[0033] In various embodiments of the invention, the relay
operations within the relay mesh 150 may be adaptively managed. In
this regard, adaptive management of relay operation may comprise
dynamically and/or adaptively controlling and/or configuring
communications within the relay mesh 150 and/or interactions among
the application devices 152.sub.1-152.sub.N, to optimize
performance of the application devices 152.sub.1-152.sub.N and/or
the relay mesh 150. For example, the network management engine 120
may query the application devices 152.sub.1-152.sub.N, to determine
available resources and/or capabilities thereof, such as number
and/or positioning of the distributed transceivers (DTs) of these
devices. The network management engine 120 may then utilize data
collected based on such query in selecting and/or configuring the
devices during relay operations. In some embodiments of the
invention, intelligent management of relay operations may comprise
asymmetric communication between transceivers; selecting
transceiver(s) utilized during the interactions based such criteria
as location and/or proximity; adaptive configuration of
transceivers (e.g., selection of optimal interface and/or
attributes thereof); real-time monitoring of communication
environment within the relay mesh 15, and dynamically controlling
(re)configuration of transceivers in the mesh based on the
monitoring; and/or managing frequency and/or channel allocation and
reuse among the application devices and/or the transceivers.
[0034] FIG. 2 is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary usage
scenario where distributed transceivers are centrally managed to
create a high-performance link between a transmitting device and
one receiving device, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention. Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a master application
device 210 and an end-user application device 220.
[0035] The master application device 210 may comprise suitable
logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to
communicate multimedia information such as images, video, voice, as
well as any other forms of data with one or more application
devices such as the end-user application device 220. The master
application device 210 may comprise a collection of distributed
transceivers 212a through 212e, and a central processor 217 that
comprises a central baseband processor 214, a network management
engine 216 and a memory 218. In an exemplary embodiment of the
invention, each of the collection of distributed transceivers 212a
through 212e may be physically positioned and oriented at different
locations within an application device such as a laptop, TV,
gateway, and set-top box. In this regard, the collection of
distributed transceivers 212a through 212e may be implemented in
various ways such as, for example, a single distributed transceiver
integrated in a single chip package; multiple silicon dies on one
single chip; and multiple distributed transceivers on a single
silicon die. Depending on device capabilities and user preferences,
the distributed transceivers 212a-212e may be oriented in a fixed
direction or multiple different directions. In another exemplary
embodiment of the invention, the collection of distributed
transceivers 212a-212e may be operable to receive and/or transmit
radio frequency signals from and/or to the end-user application
device 220 using air interface protocols specified in UMTS, GSM,
LTE, WLAN, 60 GHz/mmWave, and/or WiMAX, for example. The end-user
application device 220 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,
interfaces and/or code that may be operable to enable communication
with other devices, such as the master application device 210. In
this regard, the end-user application device 220 may be
substantially similar to the master application device 210. For
example, the end-user application device 220 may comprise
transceivers 222 and 224, utilizing antennas (or antenna arrays)
222a-222n and 224a-224m, respectively, a baseband processor 226,
and a memory 228.
[0036] The central baseband processor 214 may comprise suitable
logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to
perform baseband digital signal processing needed for transmission
and receiving operation of the entire collection of distributed
transceivers 212a through 212e. For example, the central baseband
processor 214 may be operable to perform waveform generation,
equalization, and/or packet processing associated with the
operation of the collection of distributed transceivers 212a
through 212e. In addition, the central baseband processor 214 may
be operable to configure, manage and control orientations of the
distributed transceivers 212a-212e. The baseband processor 226 may
be substantially similar to the central baseband processor 214.
[0037] The network management engine 216 may comprise suitable
logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to
monitor and collect communication environment information such as
propagation environment conditions, link quality, application
device capabilities, transmitter/receiver locations, target
throughput, and/or application QoS requirements. The network
management engine 216 may utilize the collected communication
environment information to configure system, network and
communication environment conditions as needed. For example, the
network management engine 216 may be operable to perform high level
system configurations such as the number of transceivers that are
activated, the number of application devices that are being
communicated with, adding/dropping application devices to the
communication network 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the network
management engine 216 is residing in the master application device
210. However, in some embodiments the network management engine 216
may reside on different network devices such as separate network
microprocessors and servers on the communication network 100. The
network management engine 216 may comprise a full software
implementation, for example. In addition, the functionality of the
network management engine 216 may be distributed over several
devices in the communication network 100. In some embodiments the
network management engine 216 may be operable to manage
communication sessions over the communication network 100. In this
regard, the network management engine 216 may be operable to
coordinate operation of baseband processors in the communication
network 100 such that various baseband processing may be split or
shared among the baseband processors. For example, the network
management engine 216 may enable multiple central baseband
processors for parallel baseband processing in order to increase
throughput if needed.
[0038] The memory 218 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,
interfaces and/or code that may be operable to store information
such as executable instructions and data that may be utilized by
the central baseband processor 214 and/or other associated
component units such as, for example, the network management engine
216. The memory 218 may comprise RAM, ROM, low latency nonvolatile
memory such as flash memory and/or other suitable electronic data
storage. The memory 228 may be substantially similar to the memory
218.
[0039] In an exemplary operation, a wireless link may be
established between the master application device 210 and the
end-user application device 220 through a reflector 230. In an
exemplary embodiment of the invention, the master application
device 210 may be operable to continuously scan the propagation
environment to identify the directions and antenna patterns that
result in strong reflected signals at the end-user application
device 220. Then, the master application device 210 may associate
each strong reflector with one of the collection of distributed
transceivers 212a through 212e so as to transmit an independent
different data stream to the end-user application device 220 over
each distributed transceiver and through each strong reflector. For
example, the master application device 210 transmits two data
streams to the end-user application device 220 using two different
distributed transceivers 212a and 212d that may use the same
frequency channel. In particular, the distributed transceivers 212a
may choose a beam pattern 250 and orientation for a direct LOS to a
transceiver 222, for example, of the end-user application device
220 (the receiving device) and transmit a first data stream over a
carrier frequency RF.sub.1. On the other hand, the distributed
transceivers 212d may choose a beam pattern 252 and orientation
that is pointing towards the reflector 230 and transmit a second
data stream also over the same carrier frequency RF.sub.1. The
reflector 230 then may reflect the beam 252 towards a different
transceiver 224 of the end-user application device 220. The
selection of the beam patterns 250 and 252 may come from the
central baseband processor 214 and the network management engine
216. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the central
baseband processor 214 may profile channel energy for directions of
arrival and other schemes. The network management engine 216 may
know communication environment information such as the number of
users, number of streams needed, and/or available frequency
channels. For example, the central baseband processor 214 and the
network management engine 216 may select narrow beams for close
devices and may select wide beams for further devices,
respectively.
[0040] In one embodiment of the invention, the master application
device 210 may be operable to utilize the reflector 230 for the
second data stream, for example, to lower the chances of an object
blocking both the first and second data streams, simultaneously. In
other words, if a big enough object blocks the LOS between the
master application device 210 and the end-user application device
220, the second data stream may likely be intact and sustained by
complete direct reflecting through a reflected path 252a. Although
FIG. 2 shows one reflector 230, in one embodiment of the invention,
several reflectors may be used to transmit one data stream or
multiple data streams. The use of multiple reflectors may provide
reflection diversification in case one reflector or a sub-set of
reflectors are blocked. In other words, instead of directing all
transmit power towards one reflector only, the total transmit power
may be distributed to propagate over a set of "good" reflectors in
the environment. This distribution of power over different
reflectors may be done in a controlled, configurable, adaptive, and
intelligent manner. For example, reflectors may be chosen and
targeted that provide better orthogonality between the different
paths.
[0041] In FIG. 2, the master application device 210 may use a
second reflector at a different location and another distributed
transceiver 212c, for example, to communicate with the end-user
application device 220 and send a third data stream. Also the
reflected path 252a may be caused by more than one reflector where,
for example, the distributed transceiver 212e transmits towards the
reflector 230 and the reflection transmits towards a second
reflector and the reflection of the second reflector reaches the
end-user application device 220. In another embodiment of the
invention, the first and second data streams in FIG. 2 may comprise
the same data content and the use of LOS path and one or more
reflector paths may provide link robustness for data content in
case an obstacle blocks some of the paths.
[0042] The master application device 210 may continuously monitor
and collect propagation environment conditions, link quality,
device capabilities, locations, target throughput, and/or
application QoS requirements reported from the end-user application
device 220. In this regard, a feedback or negotiation channel 240
may be utilized to exchange and negotiate system configurations
such as number of transceivers within devices, number of antennas
per transceivers, the measured channel responses, the sequence of
antenna array coefficients being evaluated, and/or device location.
The feedback or negotiation channel 240 may be implemented through
a WLAN, Bluetooth, and/or 60 GHz link, for example
[0043] In some embodiments of the invention, the master application
device 210 and/or the (slave) end-user application device 220 may
deploy a plurality of baseband processors for implementing data
processing requirements and/or demands. For example, multiple
baseband processors may be deployed to generate and/or decode
different data streams that may be transmitted or received by
several distributed transceivers. In such configuration, the NME
(e.g., NME 216) may be used to enable controlling and/or
coordinating operation of the multiple baseband processors. In this
regard, several internal connection topologies may be used. In some
embodiments, each baseband processor may be dedicated and/or
assigned to a subset of distributed transceivers available in the
system, and for each baseband processor, ring and/or star
topologies (explained later) may be used in interacting with
corresponding transceiver(s). In this regard, there may be no data
transfer between the subsets. In another embodiment, however, all
baseband processors and transceivers (within a device) may be
connected together through a ring topology (single cable). In such
scenario, the baseband processors may coordinate sharing the single
cable, such as based on time-multiplexing (same IF frequency) or
frequency-multiplexing (different IF frequencies). The baseband
processors may have different power, processing, and/or
communication characteristics. Accordingly, in some embodiments,
the baseband processor that is most suitable for a particular mode
of operation (e.g., lower power consumption meeting the throughput
requirement) may be selected and activated, with the other baseband
processors remaining inactive and/or getting disabled.
[0044] FIG. 3 is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary
transceiver module, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention. Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a transceiver 300
comprising an antenna array 310, an antenna array with/without
antenna combiner 320, down-converters 330, up-converters 340, and a
multiplexer 350.
[0045] In an exemplary operation, the antenna array 310 may
comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may
be operable to transmit and receive radio frequency (RF) signals
over the air. For transmission the transceiver 300 may be operable
to receive a transmit signal from the central baseband processor
214. The transmit signal received from the central baseband
processor 214 may be up-converted to RF frequency via the
up-converters 340. For reception, the transceiver 300 may pass a
receive signal from the antenna array 310 after down-conversion to
the central baseband processor 214. The multiplexer 350 may
comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may
be operable to multiplex the transmit signal received from the
central baseband processor 214 and the receive signal supplied from
the antenna array 310. In this regard, the multiplexer 350 may
utilize either time-division-multiplexing or
frequency-domain-multiplexing to communicate the transmit signal
and the receive signal over the same medium such as a cable.
[0046] The antenna array with/without antenna combiner 320 may
comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may
be operable to scale and/or phase-shift signals before the
down-converters 330 and/or signals after the up-converters 340. For
example, in transmission operation the signal provided by the
up-converters 340 may be phase-shifted by the shifter by different
values. The resulting phase-shifted signals may be fed to different
antenna elements within the antenna array 310. In another
embodiment of the invention, the antenna array 310 may be oriented
in a fixed direction or multiple different directions depending on
antenna types and user preferences. For example, the antenna array
310 may be implemented as a fixed directional antenna array to
provide maximal directionality (with no explicit combiner). The
same two modules, that is, the antenna array 310 and the antenna
array with/without antenna combiner 320, may be correspondingly
utilized in a reception operation for the transceiver 300. In an
exemplary embodiment of the invention, the operation of the antenna
array with/without antenna combiner 320 may be managed or
programmed by the network management engine 216.
[0047] The down-converters 330 may comprise suitable logic,
circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to translate
a radio frequency (RF) received from the antenna array 310 to an
intermediate-frequency (IF) signal during reception. The
up-converters 340 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,
interfaces and/or code that may be operable to translate an
intermediate-frequency (IF) signal of a corresponding baseband
signal supplied from the central baseband processor 214, for
example to a RF signal during transmission.
[0048] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary application
device with a collection of distributed transceivers that are
arranged in a star topology, in accordance with an embodiment of
the invention. Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown an application
device 400, which may comprise a central processor 420 that is
connected to a collection of transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N. As
shown, the collection of transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N may be
connected to the central processor 420 in a star topology with
direct separate cables, for example, from the central processor 420
to each of the collection of transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N.
[0049] The distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N and the
central processor 420 may be connected using different topologies.
For example, the distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N may
be connected to the central processor 420 using a star topology,
whereby direct separate cables may be used, for example, to connect
the central processor 420 to each of the collection of transceivers
410.sub.1-410.sub.N. Alternatively, a ring topology may be
utilized, whereby a single movable cable or connector, for example,
may be used to couple the central processor 420 to any particular
one of the distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N at any
given point. In other words, the central processor 420 may connect
to one of the distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N, and
that connection may then be moved to a different transceiver when
needed. One or more control channels between the central processer
420 and the distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N may be
utilized for configuring and managing corresponding transceivers.
The number and/or structure of the control channels may differ
based on the connectivity topology. For example, with star
topology, a plurality of control channels 412.sub.1-412.sub.N may
be to connect the central processer 420 to each of the distributed
transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N, and may be utilized for
configuring and managing the transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N,
respectively. In a ring topology, a single control channel 412 may
be used, and may be utilized to the central processer 420 to each
particular distributed transceiver 410.sub.x at any given point, to
enable configuring and managing that transceiver.
[0050] While the interface between the central processor 420 and
the distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N may be described
as utilizing cable (i.e., the central processor 420 being connected
to the distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N via one or more
cables), the invention may not be so limited. Accordingly, in some
embodiments of the invention, the cable connection between the
central baseband processor and the distributed transceivers may be
substituted with an optical connection, printed-board connection,
Ethernet cable, or another wireless connection.
[0051] The central processor 420 comprises a baseband processor
440, a network management engine 430, down-converters 442,
up-converters 444, a multiplexer 450 and a memory 460. The baseband
processor 440 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces
and/or code that may be operable to provide MODEM functionality. In
this regard, the central processor 420 may be operable to perform
various baseband digital processing such as MIMO, OFDM, channel
coding, HARQ, channel estimation and equalization, beamforming
algorithms, Timing/Carrier recovery and synchronization. The
network management engine 430 may operate in substantially the same
manner as the network management engine 218 in FIG. 2. During
transmission, a baseband signal supplied from the baseband
processor 440 may be translated into an intermediate-frequency (IF)
signal. The up-converters 444 may further translate the IF signal
to a final radio-frequency (RF) and send it over the air through an
antenna array such as the antenna array 411.sub.1. For reception,
the transceiver 410.sub.1, for example, may pass a received RF
signal from the antenna array 411.sub.1 to the down-converters 442.
The down-converters 442 may translate the RF signal into an IF
signal. The IF signal may further be translated to a baseband
signal to the baseband processor 440, for example. The multiplexer
450 may be responsible for multiplexing receive/transmit signals
utilizing either time-division-multiplexing or
frequency-domain-multiplexing. The memory 460 may comprise suitable
logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to
store information such as executable instructions and data that may
be utilized by the baseband processor 440 and/or other associated
component units such as, for example, the network management engine
430. The memory 360 may comprise RAM, ROM, low latency nonvolatile
memory such as flash memory and/or other suitable electronic data
storage.
[0052] In some embodiments of the invention, the interface between
the central processor 420 and the distributed transceivers
410.sub.1-410.sub.N may also be configured to allow for supporting
the transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N having digital processing and
mixed-signal capability--i.e., to allow for interactions based on
non-analog IF connections. For example, the transceivers
410.sub.1-410.sub.N may include analog-to-digital-converters (ADCs)
and digital-to-analog-converters (DACs). In such scenario, a
transceiver 410.sub.x may receive digital bits from the central
processor 420 (through a digital link), after processing via the
baseband processor 440 for example, and may use its internal DAC to
generate the analog waveform and then perform the frequency
up-conversion and beamforming steps. Similarly, a transceiver
410.sub.x may receive an RF waveform, down-convert it, and then use
its internal ADC to digitize the waveform and send the digital bits
over a digital connection/cable to the centralized processor 420
(where it may be further processed via the baseband processor 440
for example). In other embodiments of the invention, the
transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N may comprise more digital
processing blocks, in addition to ADC/DAC blocks. In such scenario,
a portion of processing within the central processor 420 may be
moved (e.g., in terms of partitioning) to the transceivers
410.sub.1-410.sub.N. In the above embodiments--i.e., when there may
be need for digital based interfacing between the central processor
and the transceivers--digital connections and/or interfaces such as
Ethernet and various memory bus protocols may be deployed.
[0053] The distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N may operate
in various modes such as spatial diversity mode, frequency
diversity mode, multiplexing mode, multiple-input-multiple-output
(MIMO) mode, and/or relay mode. Furthermore, in some embodiments,
the distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N may be configured
to switch between spatial diversity mode, frequency diversity mode,
multiplexing mode, multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) mode,
and/or relay mode based on corresponding propagation environment
conditions, link quality, device capabilities, device locations,
usage of resources, resource availability, target throughput,
application QoS requirements.
[0054] In spatial diversity mode, the central processor 420 may be
operable to utilize the distributed transceivers
410.sub.1-410.sub.N to establish a spatial diversity link with
intended end user device such as the end-user application device
220. For example, only a portion of the distributed transceivers
410.sub.1-410.sub.N that may have strong propagation channel
responses are activated and other transceivers are switched off for
power saving. In another example, the distributed transceivers
410.sub.1-410.sub.N may be arranged such that the master
application device 210 (the transmitter) with available LOS towards
the end-user device 220 (the receiver) may be configured to
directly beam towards the receiver. In an exemplary embodiment of
the invention, each active distributed transceiver may communicate
data streams utilizing the same final carrier frequency. In
frequency diversity mode, the central processor 420 may manage the
distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N similar to spatial
diversity mode except that each active distributed transceiver may
utilize a different final carrier frequency if such frequency
spectrum channel is available.
[0055] In multiplexing mode, the central processor 420 may manage
the distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N in such a way that
different streams of data may be transmitted through different sets
of the distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N. For example,
in multiplexing mode, different distributed transceivers of the
distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N may be dynamically
programmed such that each transceiver's maximum pattern gain may be
pointing to a different direction or reflector. As the environment
changes (and hence location of reflectors and end user unit
change), the antenna pattern of the distributed transceivers
410.sub.1-410.sub.N may be re-adjusted. In MIMO mode, the central
processor 420 may manage the distributed transceivers
410.sub.1-410.sub.N in such a way that different streams of data
may be transmitted through different sets of the distributed
transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N to a single receiver device such
as the end-user application device 220.
[0056] In relay mode, the central processor 420 may manage the
distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N to support relay mode
of operation, whereby the application device 400 may be utilized in
relaying data streams between two other devices. In this regard,
the star topology implementation may particularly be suited for
relay operations, enabling reception of input data stream from a
first device, via a first set of the distributed transceivers
410.sub.1-410.sub.N, and (re)transmission of the received data
stream to a second device via a second set of the distributed
transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N. The selection of the first and
second sets of the distributed transceivers 410.sub.1-410.sub.N,
and the configuration thereof may be performed adaptively and/or
dynamically. In this regard, the transceivers utilized in receiving
and/or transmitting the relayed streams may be selected in order to
optimize the relaying of communication between the distributed
transceivers. This may comprise, for example, selecting and/or
configuring the transceivers such that radio frequencies and/or
channels may be reused efficiently. For example, use of beamforming
may enable mitigating potential interference between incoming and
outgoing signals so as to allow using the same radio frequency
(RF). In other words, the same RF channel/spectrum may be reused in
a manner that may allow for maintaining links with the two end
devices utilizing physically separated transceivers that may use
non-overlapping antenna patterns to minimize interference.
Furthermore, the transceiver(s) maybe be configured to use only
some of the antennas available therein (e.g., subset of the antenna
array), and/or may allow for use of transceivers without array
processing.
[0057] In an embodiment of the invention, the application device
400 may be dynamically configured to switch between relay mode of
operation and other modes of operation, such as spatial diversity,
frequency diversity, multiplexing, and/or MIMO modes of operation.
The switching between the modes may be done based on the network
management engine 430 reading and analyzing of communication
related data, which may comprise data pertaining to network
requirements, data traffic, throughput and/or QoS requirements,
spectrum availability, and/or desire for relay nodes. Once the
communication related data is read and/or analyzed, the network
management engine 430 and/or the central processor 420 may then use
policies and/or rules to determine when a transition to and/or from
relay mode of operation may be warranted. For example, one such
rule/policy may provide the highest QoS for a first device
regardless of other devices/users. In this case, even if there is
another device/user that is requesting access to spectrum, the
network management engine 430 may still continue to configure the
first device to occupy two frequency channels in order to guarantee
higher QoS and link reliability for the first device. In another
example, if the rule/policy is more neighbor-friendly, the network
management engine 430 continuously instructs the first device to
see if the throughput requirements can be satisfied by using only
one frequency channel and by relying on "spatial multiplexing." As
soon as the first device finds sufficiently orthogonal directions
in one frequency channel, the "network management engine" instructs
the first device to exit the "Frequency Diversity" mode in order to
free up bandwidth for other devices/users. Based on this policy,
even if no other device is requesting access for frequency
spectrum, the first device still switches to using one frequency
channel as soon as its QoS becomes satisfied.
[0058] In an embodiment of the invention, the relay mode of
operation may incorporate attributes and/or configuration policies
and/or rules pertaining to one or more of the other modes of
operations. In this regard, configuring the application device 400
to relay mode of operation may comprise selecting and/or applying
elements from one or more of the spatial diversity, frequency
diversity, multiplexing, and/or MIMO modes of operations. For
example, when utilized as a relay device, the distributed
transceivers of the application device 400 may be configured to
incorporate spatial diversity, frequency diversity, multiplexing,
and/or MIMO to receive input data streams from the source device
and/or for retransmission(s) to one or more of the destination
devices
[0059] FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary relay device
that utilizes distributed transceivers for forwarding data streams,
in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to
FIG. 5A, there is shown a relay device 500, a source device 502A, a
destination device 502B, and an obstacle 504.
[0060] The source device 502A and the destination device 502B may
correspond to the original source of the relayed data stream and
the ultimate destination for the relayed data stream.
Alternatively, one or both of the source device 502A and the
destination device 502B may correspond to another relay device,
such as when the relay device 500 joins a relay mesh, such as relay
mesh 150. In this regard, one or both of the source device 502A and
the destination device 502B may correspond to a relay device
traversed during relaying of data streams between the original
source and the intended destination device(s) for the data
stream.
[0061] The relay device 500 may comprise an application device
supporting distributed transceiver (DT) structure, similar to the
end-user application device 210 of FIG. 2 and/or any of the
application devices 152.sub.1-152.sub.N of FIG. 1B, for example. In
this regard, the relay device 500 may be operable to support relay
modes of operations, whereby the relay device 500 may be configured
to relay data streams between two devices, such as the source
device 502A and the destination device 502B. The relay device 500
may comprise a central processor 520 and a plurality of
transceivers 510.sub.x, of which a first transceiver 510.sub.1 and
second transceiver 510.sub.2 are shown.
[0062] The central processor 520 may be substantially similar to
the Central Processor 420, as described with respect to FIG. 4. In
this regard, the central processor 520 may additionally be operable
to support and/or manage relay mode of operation related functions
in the relay device 500. In particular, the central processor 520
may be operable to select and/or configure transceiver(s) that may
be optimally utilized to handle reception and retransmission of
relayed data streams.
[0063] In some embodiments, the relay device 500 may use different
carrier frequencies (e.g., 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 2.7 GHz, 5 GHz, 60
GHz, etc.) and/or different wireless protocols (e.g., IEEE
802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ad, LTE, WiGig, etc.) to connect to devices 502A
and 502B. For example, the connection to device 502A may be
configured over 60 GHz carrier frequency using, for example, WiGig
air interface, whereas the connection to device 502B may be
configured over 2.7 GHz using, for example, LTE air interface. In
some embodiments, the total available distributed transceivers
within device 500 may be dynamically allocated to different relay
links, such as based on the links' requirements (e.g., link
throughput, link distance). For example, the NME (e.g., NME 430)
may decide to allocate three distributed transceivers to establish
a link with device 502A (where those three transceivers may be
configured in spatial/frequency diversity or MIMO modes) and to
allocate only one distributed transceiver to establish a link with
device 502B.
[0064] In some embodiments, the relay device 500 may establish
relay links to more than two devices. For example, device 500 may
receive data from two source devices (utilizing several of its
transceiver resources), may combine and/or merge the data, then may
split the data into three data streams, and send the three data
streams to three destination devices (by utilizing several of its
transceiver resources).
[0065] In some embodiments, a device with distributed transceivers
(e.g., device 500) may take the role of an "Access Point" or "Base
Station". In this case, the access point device may utilize its
transceiver resources to connect (transmit/receive) to multiple end
devices, such as by dynamic allocation of frequency band resources
and distributed transceiver resources. The access point device may
use some of its transceiver resources to establish a "wireless
backhaul link" to other access points or any other node in the
network. All modes of operation (spatial diversity, frequency
diversity, spatial multiplexing, and MIMO processing) may be
utilized by the access point device for any of its connections.
[0066] Each of the transceivers 510.sub.1 and 510.sub.2 may be
similar to any of the distributed transceivers 410.sub.x,
substantially as described with respect to FIG. 4. In this regard,
each of the transceiver 510.sub.1 and transceiver 510.sub.2 may
comprise a plurality of antennas, which may be configured in
accordance with particular mode of operation, which may comprise in
addition to spatial diversity mode, frequency diversity mode,
multiplexing mode and multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) mode,
one or more relay modes of operations. For example, available relay
modes of operation may comprise a passive (or pass-through) mode of
operation and active mode of operation. In passive mode of
operation, no processing of the received, relayed signal is
performed prior to re-transmission. In this regard, when operating
in passive relay mode, the relay device 500 may simply down-convert
the received radio frequency RF.sub.1 waveform of the signals
received from the source device 502A to intermediate frequency IF,
may re-amplify the signal, and then may up-convert the IF waveform
to frequency RF.sub.2 for transmission to the destination device
502B, without requiring any data demodulation by the central
processer 520. The passive mode of operation may be utilized when
the quality of the received waveform is deemed sufficient for
passive relaying. In this regard, the quality of received waveform
may be determined based on calculation of signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR). With active mode of operation, some processing may be
performed within the relay device 500, such as via the central
processor 520. In this regard, during active relay mode, the
received waveform RF.sub.1 may be demodulated by the central
processor 520, after conversion to the intermediate frequency IF,
and then re-modulated to be transmitted to the destination device
502B over radio frequency RF.sub.2.
[0067] In operation, the relay device 500 may be configured in
relay mode of operation. In this regard, the relay device 500 may
relay data streams between two different devices. The relaying via
the relay device 500 may be necessitated by the lack of
line-of-sight (LOS) between the source device 502A and the
destination device 502B, such as due to the obstacle 504, which
prevents establishing direct links between the devices.
Alternatively, data may be relayed via the relay device 500 even
when the source device 502A and the destination device 502B may be
able to establish direct links, but use of such direct links may be
undesirable. In this regard, determining that relaying data via the
relay device 500 may be optimal may be based on capabilities of the
relay device 500, the source device 502A, and/or the destination
device 502B. For example, one or both of the source device 502A and
the destination device 502B may be a low-power device (or
temporarily low on battery charge) which may not be able to provide
the transmit power required for providing the necessary beamforming
gain, and using the relay device 500 may enable saving power in the
device(s).
[0068] During typical relay operation, the relay device 500 may
receive a stream of data from the source device 502A, over carrier
frequency RF.sub.1 and at a particular direction D1, and may
subsequently retransmit the received data stream to the destination
device 502B, over frequency RF.sub.2 and at a different direction
D2. In some instances, the reception and retransmission can be done
concurrently, over the same or different frequency channels.
Alternatively, the reception and retransmission may be performed in
a time-multiplexed manner. In instances when a plurality of relay
modes of operations are available, such as passive mode and active
mode, a particular mode of operation may be selected, with
communication related components and/or operations being configured
based on that selection. The particular mode of operations may be
selected based on monitoring and/or determining various
communication and/or performance related parameters. For example,
passive mode of operation may be selected when quality of received
signal, which may be determined based on measured SNR, may be
deemed sufficient to enable retransmission without requiring
additional processing (demodulation and re-modulation) of the
carried data.
[0069] In some embodiments of the invention, frequencies RF.sub.1
and RF.sub.2 may be the same radio frequency (RF), to enable
maximizing reuse of frequency spectrum. The use of the same radio
frequency may be made possible by use of propagation configuration
techniques that may mitigate possible interference between the
reception paths and the retransmission paths. In this regard, the
relay device 500 may utilize non-overlapping (non-aligned) beam
patterns 512.sub.1 and 512.sub.2 for receiving and retransmitting
so that the same frequency and/or channel may be utilized for both
reception and re-transmission.
[0070] In some embodiments of the invention, the relay device 500
may perform various optimization measures to improve the
effectiveness and/or efficiency of relay operations. For example,
the relay device 500 may adaptively select antenna(s) used in
receiving and/or transmitting the relayed data streams, to minimize
the number of antennas used. In this regard, the relay device 500
may measure the signal power of the signal received from source
device (502A). Based on the link throughput between the source
device (502A) and the relay device 500, the relay device 500 may
utilize the minimum number of antennas required to establish and
maintain the link (with sufficient margin). These antennas may then
be combined and connected to one RF-to-IF converter chain. The
antennas may correspond to an antenna array (or subset thereof) of
a single transceiver, such as transceiver 510.sub.1. Alternatively,
the minimum number of antenna required may be a combination from
multiple transceivers.
[0071] For example, the relay device 500 may use on the receive
side, a particular transceiver (e.g., transceiver 510.sub.1) with
all antennas thereof being active, and also require use of a second
transceiver (e.g., transceiver 510.sub.2), with only a subset of
antennas thereof being active. On the transmit side, a subset or
all of the remaining antennas of the second transceiver may be
grouped together and connected to the other IF-to-RF up-convertor,
for transmission of signals to the destination device 502B. In this
regard, determining and/or selecting the transmit side antennas may
depend on the distance to the destination device 502B, the transmit
power per antenna, and/or the desired width of the antenna pattern.
In some embodiments, the NME may decide to allocate a subset of
transceivers to receive incoming waveform (e.g., depending on
channel/throughput requirements) and allocate another subset to
transmit the signal to the destination device. When multiple
transceivers are utilized for each link, then various diversity
configurations (frequency, spatial) may be utilized based on
channel/traffic/throughput conditions.
[0072] The relay device 500 may also be operable to improve
frequency spectrum reuse, whereby the relay device 500 may
coordinate the time slots used for packet transmissions and
receptions from the source device and/or to the destination
device(s), to minimize the cross-interference when the same
frequency is used. In this regard, the relay device 500 may use the
same time slots to simultaneously transmit packets to both source
device and the destination device(s) while using common time slots
for simultaneously receiving packets. This may enable minimizing
co-interference between transceiver(s) used on the receive side
(e.g., transceiver 510.sub.1) to transceiver(s) used on the
transmit side (e.g., transceiver 510.sub.2), and vice versa.
[0073] The relay device 500 may re-use the same frequency channel
for linking to both the source device 502A and the destination
device 502B--i.e., F_RF.sub.1 is the same as F_RF.sub.2. This mode
of operation may be enabled when, for example, less frequency
channels are available or the frequency channels are being used by
other devices in the vicinity. The relay device 500 may consider
various communication and/or network related conditions when
determining if/when to switch between the two modes of
operations--that is between using different frequency channels for
F_RF.sub.1 and F_RF.sub.2 and using the same frequency channels for
F_RF.sub.1 and F_RF.sub.2. Exemplary conditions that may be
considered comprise, for example: 1) the distance between
transceivers 510.sub.1 and 510.sub.2 within the relay device 500s
(e.g., the larger the separation, the higher the weight that the
system may give to reusing the same frequency); 2) the widths of
antenna beam patterns of transceivers 510.sub.1 and 510.sub.2, as
well as beam patterns of source device 502A and the destination
device 502B (e.g., the narrower the beam patterns, the less the
cross interference; hence the system gives a higher weight to
reusing the same frequency); 3) level of orthogonality (or angular
separation) between the antenna patterns of transceivers 510.sub.1
and 510.sub.2 within the relay device 500 (e.g., the better the
orthogonality, the system gives higher weight to reusing the same
frequency); 4) angular separation, or difference in directions of
links established by the relay device 500 to the source device 502A
and the destination device 502B (e.g., the larger the angular
separation, the system gives higher weight to reusing the same
frequency); and 5) link quality requirements, such as link SNR
requirements (e.g., the lower the SNR requirements, the links can
tolerate higher level of interference; hence the system gives
higher weight to reusing the same frequency).
[0074] In some embodiments of the invention, resources may be
shared during relay operations in the relay device 500, such as
when the relay device 500 is utilized to concurrently relay
different steams, for example between different pairs of devices.
In this regard, the distributed transceivers of the relay device
500 may be configured to establish multiple parallel wireless
links, and resources of the relay device 500 may be optimally
shared during handling of communications via these parallel
wireless links. For example, dedicated transceivers may be assigned
to different traffic categories--e.g., one link dedicated to CPU
sharing, one to memory sharing for reduced latency, and one
dedicated to internet traffic. Also, different types of traffic may
be partitioned to dedicated wireless links. For example, low
latency traffic may use a low latency link, whereas Internet data
traffic may be routed over an Internet link.
[0075] FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary relay device
that utilizes distributed transceivers for forwarding data streams,
with varying beamforming configurations for the receive side and
the transmit side, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention. Referring to FIG. 5B, there is shown the relay device
500 of FIG. 5A. Also shown in FIG. 5B is a source destination
device 522A and a destination device 522B. The source destination
device 522A and the destination device 522B may be similar to the
source destination device 502A and the destination device 502B,
substantially as described with respect to FIG. 5B.
[0076] In operation, the source destination device 522A and the
destination device 522B may utilize the relay device 500 for
relaying data streams between the destination device 522A and the
destination device 522B when communicating the data streams between
the devices is not possible or desirable. In some instances, the
capabilities of the source and destination devices may vary, and/or
communication requirements and/or limitations associated with
transmission or reception of data to/from the devices may be
different. As such, the relay device 500 may be operable to
configure the transceiver resources based on the capabilities
and/or limitations of each of the source and destination devices,
respectively, and/or links therewith, in a manner that may allow
for different beamforming characteristics--e.g., beams having
different width. For example, the source device 522A may comprise a
low-transmit-power and/or low-power-supply device, and/or may
comprise limited communication capabilities--e.g., comprising only
one antenna transmitter, such as when the source device 522A
comprises a smartphone. The source device 522A, however, may need
to establish a high-throughput link to the destination device 522B,
such as when the destination device 522B may be a TV or similar
display-capable device, to which the source device 522A may seek to
direct its multimedia streams for enhanced playback (i.e.,
larger/better screen).
[0077] In instances where the destination device 5228 is located
too far from the source device 522A (e.g., across a large room),
however, the capabilities and/or resources (including remaining
battery charge) of the source device 522A may not be sufficient to
create and/or maintain such a link. Rather, the data streams may be
sent indirectly, through the relay device 500 for example, such as
when the relay device 500 is located close to the source device
522A and/or where the relay device 500 may comprise more
capabilities and/or resources (e.g., a laptop), and the ability to
re-configure its antenna and transceiver resources into relay
operation mode. In such scenario, the source device 522A may only
need to configure its antenna(s) to create a short link to the
relay device 500, and may be able to achieve the required
throughput (due to the shortness of the distance) while forming a
narrow beam pattern 524.sub.1 that would not interfere with the
transmission of the relay device 500. This may greatly lower the
power consumption in both the smartphone and the relay device 500,
associated with communication of the input data stream from the
source device 522A to the relay device 500 without degrading the
link quality.
[0078] On the transmit side, the relay device 500 may use its
remaining antenna and transceiver resources (or a subset thereof)
to create a link from the relay device 500 and the destination
device 522B. In this regard, the relay device 500 may allocate more
resources, including a larger number of antennas, to the transmit
side, and accordingly the relay device 500 may be able to achieve
more omni-directional antenna pattern (wider beam lobe) 524.sub.2,
while maintaining a high average omni-transmit power. In other
words, the relay device 500 may be able to establish a transmit
side link that is sufficiently powerful to ensure delivery of the
data stream to the destination device 522B, while not encountering
any interference issues. The ability to establish the link with a
wider beam lobe may make the link less susceptible to direction
estimation errors. This asymmetric and dynamic allocation of
resources by the relay device 500 among its links with the source
and destination devices may be determined and/or configured based
on a plurality of communication or performance parameters, such as,
for example, distance between the relay device 500 to the source
device 522A and destination device 522B, respectively; power
available at the transmit and/or receive sides; quality (e.g., SNR)
of the links; power capabilities of the source device 522A and/or
destination device 522B; and/or antenna beamforming capabilities of
the source device 522A and/or destination device 522B.
[0079] FIG. 6 is a flow chart that illustrates exemplary steps for
relaying data streams via a device that comprises distributed
transceivers, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a flow chart 600 comprising a
plurality of exemplary steps for performing repeating service in a
relay device, such as the relay device 500.
[0080] In step 602, an application device with one or more
distributed transceivers for receiving and/or transmitting data to
one or more devices, such as device 500, may be requested to
provide relay of data streams between two devices. For example, the
relay device 500 may receive a request from a source device (e.g.,
the source device 502A) to relay a data stream from the source
device to a destination device (e.g., the destination device 502B).
In step 604, the application device may switch to a relay mode of
operation, and may determine (before or after the switch)
communication related information pertinent to the relay mode. In
this regard, the application device may monitor and/or collect, for
example, propagation environment conditions, link quality, device
capabilities, device locations, target throughput, and/or QoS
requirements from the devices. In step 606, the application device
may select one or more of the distributed transceivers for data
reception and/or transmission based on communication related
information determined in step 604. In step 608, the application
device may determine connection types, communication protocols,
and/or transceiver operation modes for the selected distributed
transceivers based on communication related information. In step
610, the application device may configure the selected distributed
transceivers to support the determined connection types,
communication protocols, and transceiver operating modes. In step
612, the application device may provide relay servicing by
receiving data stream from the source device via receive side
transceiver(s)/antenna(s) and transmitting the data stream to the
destination device via transmit side transceiver(s)/antenna(s).
[0081] Various embodiments of the invention may comprise a method
and system for a repeater network that utilizes distributed
transceivers with array processing. The relay device 500 may be
configured to operate in a relay mode, in which the relay device
500 may be utilized to relay input data streams from source devices
(e.g., 502A or 522A) to one or more destination devices (e.g., 502B
or 522B). In this regard, relay operations may comprise configuring
one or more of the plurality of distributed transceivers (e.g.,
transceiver 510.sub.1 and 510.sub.2) to operate in a particular
mode of relay operation. The input data stream may be then be
received from the source device via at least one of the configured
distributed transceivers. One or more relay data streams,
corresponding to the input data stream, may then be transmitted to
the destination device(s), via at least one of the configured
distributed transceivers. The destination device(s) may comprise
other relay device(s), and/or the intended destination device for
the input data stream. The source device may comprise another relay
device and/or an original source device for the input data stream.
The particular mode of relay operation may be determined, such as
by the central processor 520, based on one or more performance
criteria, which may pertain to link quality and/or propagation
environment.
[0082] The particular mode of relay operation may be selected, by
the central processor 520, from a plurality of modes of relay
operation. In this regard, the plurality of modes of relay
operation may comprise a passive mode of relay operation and an
active mode of relay operation. The passive mode of relay operation
may comprise forwarding the data stream unprocessed The active mode
of relay operation may comprise performing digital signal
processing by the baseband processor 440 of the relay device 500
during the reception of the input data stream and/or transmission
of the at least one relay data stream. The network management
engine 430 may monitor during relay operations, one or more
communication parameters or conditions associated with the
configuration of the one or more of the plurality of distributed
transceivers. Beamforming settings and/or antenna arrangement for
at least one of the configured distributed transceivers may be
configured, via the central processor 520, based on the monitoring.
The relay device 500 may determine and/or select connection types
and communication protocols that may be applied to the relay
operations, and may allocate resources to the one or more of the
plurality of distributed transceivers. Resources may be shared
among the one or more of the plurality of distributed transceivers
during the relay operations.
[0083] All the embodiments may be applied to cases where a set of
devices are used in relay mode to transfer data from a source
device to a destination device. In this case, the data is
transferred after several relay hops through intermediate relay
devices. Intermediate relay devices utilize their transceivers (in
accordance to several of disclosed embodiments) to establish
intermediate wireless links.
[0084] Other embodiments of the invention may provide a
non-transitory computer readable medium and/or storage medium,
and/or a non-transitory machine readable medium and/or storage
medium, having stored thereon, a machine code and/or a computer
program having at least one code section executable by a machine
and/or a computer, thereby causing the machine and/or computer to
perform the steps as described herein for repeater network that
utilizes distributed transceivers with array processing.
[0085] Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in
hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The
present invention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at
least one computer system, or in a distributed fashion where
different elements are spread across several interconnected
computer systems. Any kind of computer system or other system
adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A
typical combination of hardware and software may be a
general-purpose computer system with a computer program that, when
being loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that
it carries out the methods described herein.
[0086] The present invention may also be embedded in a computer
program product, which comprises all the features enabling the
implementation of the methods described herein, and which when
loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods.
Computer program in the present context means any expression, in
any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended
to cause a system having an information processing capability to
perform a particular function either directly or after either or
both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or
notation; b) reproduction in a different material form.
[0087] While the present invention has been described with
reference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those
skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents
may be substituted without departing from the scope of the present
invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a
particular situation or material to the teachings of the present
invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is
intended that the present invention not be limited to the
particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention
will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the
appended claims.
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