U.S. patent number RE43,964 [Application Number 11/937,255] was granted by the patent office on 2013-02-05 for cellular communications system with sectorization.
This patent grant is currently assigned to ADC Telecommunications, Inc.. The grantee listed for this patent is Jeffrey O. Brennan, Larry G. Fischer, Charles R. Ratliff, David S. Russell, Philip M. Wala. Invention is credited to Jeffrey O. Brennan, Larry G. Fischer, Charles R. Ratliff, David S. Russell, Philip M. Wala.
United States Patent |
RE43,964 |
Fischer , et al. |
February 5, 2013 |
Cellular communications system with sectorization
Abstract
A method and apparatus for sectorizing coverage of a cellular
communications area includes providing a remote unit having
microcell antenna units. Each microcell antenna unit is configured
to cover a particular sector. The remote unit is connected to a
sectorized base station unit which is connected to a mobile
telecommunications switching office. Separate digitized streams
representative of telephone signals received from the mobile
telecommunications switching office are generated corresponding to
the microcell antenna units and the separate digitized streams are
multiplexed and transmitted to the remote unit. The remote unit
demultiplexes the multiplexed digitized streams into the separate
digitized streams corresponding to the microcell antenna units and
the separate digitized streams are converted to RF signals for
coverage of a particular sector by the corresponding microcell
antenna unit. Separate digitized streams are separately generated
for each microcell antenna unit representative of RF signals
received at the microcell antenna unit for a particular sector. The
separately generated digitized streams are multiplexed at the
remote unit and transmitted to the sectorized base station unit. At
the sectorized base station unit, the multiplexed digitized streams
are demultiplexed into the separate digitized streams corresponding
to microcell antenna units and the separate digitized streams are
converted to RF signals for provision to the mobile
telecommunications switching office. Diversity at the remote units
is also provided.
Inventors: |
Fischer; Larry G. (Waseca,
MN), Russell; David S. (St. Paul, MN), Wala; Philip
M. (Waseca, MN), Ratliff; Charles R. (Guatemala,
GT), Brennan; Jeffrey O. (Waseca, MN) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Fischer; Larry G.
Russell; David S.
Wala; Philip M.
Ratliff; Charles R.
Brennan; Jeffrey O. |
Waseca
St. Paul
Waseca
Guatemala
Waseca |
MN
MN
MN
N/A
MN |
US
US
US
GT
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
ADC Telecommunications, Inc.
(Shakopee, MN)
|
Family
ID: |
27371325 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/937,255 |
Filed: |
November 8, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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09747273 |
Dec 22, 2000 |
Re. 40564 |
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08204660 |
Mar 2, 1994 |
5627879 |
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08183221 |
Jan 14, 1994 |
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08068389 |
May 28, 1993 |
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07946402 |
Sep 17, 1992 |
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07946964 |
Sep 17, 1992 |
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07946931 |
Sep 17, 1992 |
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07946548 |
Sep 17, 1992 |
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Reissue of: |
08299159 |
Aug 31, 1994 |
5852651 |
Dec 22, 1998 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/56.2;
455/562.1; 398/115; 398/41 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W
88/085 (20130101); H04W 36/18 (20130101); H04W
16/24 (20130101) |
Field of
Search: |
;455/279,279.2,354 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
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Primary Examiner: Ghebretinsae; Temesgh
Assistant Examiner: Chan; Richard
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Fogg & Powers LLC
Parent Case Text
This .Iadd.Reissue Application is a continuation of Reissue
application Ser. No. 09/747,273, filed Dec. 22, 2000, now U.S. Pat.
No. Re. 40,564 which is a reissue of application Ser. No.
08/299,159, filed Aug. 31, 1994, (U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,651), which
.Iaddend.is a division of application Ser. No. 08/204,660, filed
Mar. 2, 1994.Iadd., now .Iaddend.U.S. Pat. No. 5,627,879, which is
a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/183,221,
filed Jan. 14, 1994, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part
of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/068,389, filed May 28, 1993, now
abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
.[.application.]. .Iadd.applications .Iaddend.Ser. Nos. 07/946,402,
07/946,964, 07/946,931, and 07/946,548, all filed Sep. 17, 1992,
all of which are now abandoned. .Iadd.More than one reissue
application has been filed for U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,651.
Specifically, Reissue application Ser. No. 09/747,273 was filed
Dec. 22, 2000 and the present application is a continuation
thereof..Iaddend.
Claims
We claim:
.[.1. A method of sectorizing coverage over a cellular
communications area divided into a plurality of microcells each
covering a subarea of the communications area and being divided
into a plurality of angular sectors having separate transmitters
and receivers, the method comprising performing the following
steps: receiving a number of information-bearing telephone signals
from a mobile telecommunications switching office at a common base
station serving the microcells within the cellular communications
area; modulating the information-bearing telephone signals onto a
plurality of different analog radio-frequency carriers representing
a plurality of different channel sets for respective sectors of the
microcells at the base station; combining the analog
radio-frequency signals for all of the sectors into a single
outbound analog signal within a predetermined radio-frequency band,
representing all of the channel sets for all of the sectors;
converting the single outbound analog signal directly to a single
outbound digital representation at the base station; sending the
outbound digital representation of the radio-frequency signal via a
transmission means to a remote unit located in or near the subarea
of at least one microcell; at the remote unit, converting the
outbound digital representation directly to a single analog
representation of the entire outbound single radio-frequency signal
within the same radio-frequency band and containing each of the
plurality of channel sets; sending each of the plurality of channel
sets to a different one of a plurality of antenna units for the
microcell, each of the antenna units being positioned so as to
cover a different angular sector of the microcell; at the antenna
unit covering each sector of the microcell, receiving telephone
signals within the radio-frequency band for the channel set of that
sector; sending the received telephone signals to the remote unit;
at the remote unit, combining all the received telephone signals
from all the sectors to a single combined analog radio-frequency
received signal containing all the channel sets for the microcell;
converting the single combined radio-frequency received signal
directly to a received digital representation of the
radio-frequency band of the channel sets for the sectors; sending
the received digital representation via the transmission means to
the base station; and at the centrally located base station,
converting the received digital representation directly to a
received analog representation; demodulating the received analog
representation to recover the individual inbound telephone
signals..].
.[.2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the step of sending the
digital representation of the radio-frequency signal to the remote
unit includes modulating it onto a transmit optical signal at a
transmit wavelength on an optical fiber; and the step of sending
the received digital representation to the base station includes
modulating it onto a receive optical signal on an optical
fiber..].
.[.3. The method of claim 2, wherein the transmit and receive
optical signals are sent on the same optical fiber, the transmit
and receive wavelengths being different from each other..].
.[.4. The method of claim 1, wherein all the antenna units are
located near the remote unit, and wherein the distance from the
centrally located base station to the remote unit is greater than
the distance from the remote unit to its antenna unit..].
.[.5. A method of sectorizing coverage over a cellular
communications area divided into a plurality of microcells each
covering a subarea of the communications area, and each divided
into a plurality of sectors, the method comprising performing the
following steps for each microcell: receiving a number of
information-bearing telephone signals from a mobile
telecommunications switching office at a common base station
serving the microcells within the cellular communications area;
generating from the information-bearing telephone signals one of a
plurality of different channel sets of signals for each sector of
that microcell at the base station; combining the plurality of
different channel sets into a single analog signal in a
predetermined radio-frequency band; converting the single analog
signal directly to a single digital representation; sending the
digital representation via a transmission means to a remote unit
located in or near the subarea; at the remote unit, converting the
digital representation directly to an analog representation of the
radio-frequency signal for all channel sets within the same
predetermined radio-frequency band; and sending the radio-frequency
signal for each of the plurality of channel sets to a different one
of a plurality of antenna units, each of the antenna units being
positioned so as to cover a different angular sector of that
microcell..].
.[.6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of sending the
radio-frequency signal for each of the channel sets includes:
splitting the channel sets to form multiple parallel paths each
carrying a signal representation for a different one of the channel
sets; and filtering each of the paths differently based upon the
channel set carried on that path..].
.[.7. A method of sectorizing coverage over a cellular
communications area divided into a plurality of microcells each
covering a subarea of the communications area, each microcell being
divided into a plurality of sectors, the method comprising: at a
plurality of antenna units each covering a different sector of a
microcell, receiving analog telephone signals within a
predetermined radio-frequency band for a channel set assigned to
that sector; sending all the analog telephone signals to a remote
unit serving the sectors of the microcell, the remote unit being
located in or near the subarea of the microcell; at the remote unit
for the microcell, combining all the analog telephone signals from
all sectors of the microcell into a single analog signal within the
same radio-frequency band as the channel sets for the sectors of
the microcell; converting the single combined analog signal
directly as a whole to a received digital representation; sending
the received digital representation via the transmission means to a
common base station serving the microcells of the communications
area; at the base station, converting the received digital
representation to an inbound analog signal within the
radio-frequency band; demodulating the inbound analog signal to
recover a plurality of information-bearing signals representing
received analog telephone signals; and sending the
information-bearing signals to a mobile telecommunications
switching office..].
.[.8. The method of claim 7, wherein the antenna unit for said each
microcell includes one or more diversity antenna(s) covering one or
more sector(s) of that microcell..].
.[.9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of: at
each diversity antenna, receiving analog diversity signal(s) within
the radio-frequency band for the channel set of its sector; sending
all diversity signals for said each microcell to the remote unit
for said each microcell; at the remote unit for said each
microcell, converting the diversity signals from all sectors in
that microcell to a diversity digital representation within the
radio-frequency band; and sending the diversity digital
representation via the transmission means to the base
station..].
.Iadd.10. A method of transmitting an RF signal between an optical
node and a head end, the method comprising: generating a digitized
representation of the RF signal at the optical node, wherein the RF
signal is a combined analog signal representing a plurality of
transmissions for a set of channels; and transmitting the digitized
representation to the head end..Iaddend.
.Iadd.11. The method of claim 10, wherein generating a digitized
representation of the RF signal comprises sampling the RF signal to
produce a stream of digital samples..Iaddend.
.Iadd.12. The method of claim 10, wherein transmitting the
digitized representation to the head end comprises transmitting the
digitized representation over a path selected from the group
consisting of a fiber optic cable and a coaxial cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.13. The method of claim 11, wherein the path is a single
fiber optic cable or a single coaxial cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.14. The method of claim 11, wherein the fiber optic is part
of a cable television system..Iaddend.
.Iadd.15. A method of transceiving RF signals between a head end
and at least one optical node, the method comprising: generating a
digitized representation of a first RF signal at the head end,
wherein the first RF signal is a combined analog signal
representing a plurality of transmissions for a set of channels;
transmitting the digitized representation to the optical node;
receiving a second RF signal at the at least one optical node;
generating a digitized representation of the second RF signal at
the optical node, wherein the second RF signal is a combined analog
signal representing a plurality of transmissions for a set of
channels; and transmitting the digitized representation to the head
end..Iaddend.
.Iadd.16. The method of claim 15, wherein the optical node is
coupled to a cable television system..Iaddend.
.Iadd.17. The method of claim 15, wherein generating a digitized
representation of the first and second RF signals comprises:
sampling the RF signal to produce a stream of digital
samples..Iaddend.
.Iadd.18. The method of claim 15, wherein transmitting the
digitized representation of the first and second RF signals
comprises transmitting the digitized representation over a path
selected from the group consisting of a fiber optic cable and a
coaxial cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.19. The method of claim 18, wherein the path is a single
fiber optic cable or a single coaxial cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.20. A method of communicating an RF signal from an at least
one optical node to a head end, the method comprising: receiving an
RF signal at an at least one optical node; generating a digitized
representation of the RF signal at the at least one optical node,
wherein the RF signal is a combined analog signal representing a
plurality of transmissions for a set of channels; and transmitting
the digitized representation to the head end..Iaddend.
.Iadd.21. The method of claim 20, wherein generating a digitized
representation of the RF signal comprises sampling the RF signal to
produce a stream of digital samples..Iaddend.
.Iadd.22. The method of claim 20, wherein transmitting the
digitized representation to the head end comprises transmitting the
digitized representation over a path selected from the group
consisting of a fiber optic cable and a coaxial cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.23. The method of claim 22, wherein the path is a single
fiber optic cable or a single coaxial cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.24. The method of claim 22, wherein the fiber optic is part
of a cable television system..Iaddend.
.Iadd.25. A communications system for transmission of an RF signal
from an optical node to a head end, comprising: an optical node
coupled to a carrier medium, wherein the optical node digitizes a
received RF signal and transmits the digitized RF signal on the
carrier medium, where the RF signal is a combined analog signal
representing a plurality of transmissions for a set of channels;
and a head end coupled to the carrier medium..Iaddend.
.Iadd.26. The communications system of claim 25, wherein digitizing
the RF signal comprises sampling the RF signal to produce a stream
of digital samples..Iaddend.
.Iadd.27. The communications system of claim 25, wherein
transmitting the digitized RF signal on the carrier medium
comprises transmitting the digitized representation over a carrier
medium selected from the group consisting of a fiber optic cable
and a coaxial cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.28. The communications system of claim 25, wherein the
carrier medium is a single fiber optic cable or a single coaxial
cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.29. The communications system of claim 25, wherein the fiber
optic is part of a cable television system..Iaddend.
.Iadd.30. A communications system for transceiving RF signals from
an optical node to a head end, comprising: at least one optical
node coupled to a carrier medium, wherein the at least one optical
node digitizes an first RF signal and transmits the digitized first
RF signal on the carrier medium, where the first RF signal is a
combined analog signal representing a plurality of transmissions
for a set of channels; and a head end coupled to the carrier
medium, wherein the head end digitizes a second RF signal and
transmits the digitized second RF signal on the carrier medium,
where the second RF signal is a combined analog signal representing
a plurality of transmissions for a set of channels..Iaddend.
.Iadd.31. The communications system of claim 30, wherein digitizing
the first and second RF signals comprises sampling the RF signal to
produce a stream of digital samples..Iaddend.
.Iadd.32. The communications system of claim 30, wherein
transmitting the digitized first and second RF signals on the
carrier medium comprises transmitting the digitized representation
over a carrier medium selected from the group consisting of a fiber
optic cable and a coaxial cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.33. The communications system of claim 30, wherein the
carrier medium is a single fiber optic cable or a single coaxial
cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.34. The communications system of claim 30, wherein the fiber
optic is part of a cable television system..Iaddend.
.Iadd.35. A method of transmitting an RF signal between an optical
node and a head end, the method comprising: generating a digitized
representation of the RF signal at the optical node; and
transmitting the digitized representation to the head
end..Iaddend.
.Iadd.36. The method of claim 35, wherein generating a digitized
representation of the RF signal comprises sampling the RF signal to
produce a stream of digital samples..Iaddend.
.Iadd.37. The method of claim 35, wherein transmitting the
digitized representation to the head end comprises transmitting the
digitized representation over a path selected from the group
consisting of a fiber optic cable and a coaxial cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.38. The method of claim 37, wherein the path is a single
fiber optic cable or a single coaxial cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.39. The method of claim 37, wherein the fiber optic is part
of a cable television system..Iaddend.
.Iadd.40. A communications system for transmission of an RF signal
from an optical node to a head end, comprising: an optical node
coupled to a carrier medium, wherein the optical node digitizes a
received RF signal and transmits the digitized RF signal on the
carrier medium; and a head end coupled to the carrier
medium..Iaddend.
.Iadd.41. The communications system of claim 40, wherein digitizing
the RF signal comprises sampling the RF signal to produce a stream
of digital samples..Iaddend.
.Iadd.42. The communications system of claim 40, wherein
transmitting the digitized RF signal on the carrier medium
comprises transmitting the digitized representation over a carrier
medium selected from the group consisting of a fiber optic cable
and a coaxial cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.43. The communications system of claim 40, wherein the
carrier medium is a single fiber optic cable or a single coaxial
cable..Iaddend.
.Iadd.44. The communications system of claim 40, wherein the fiber
optic is part of a cable television system..Iaddend.
.Iadd.45. A first unit for communicating with a remote unit over a
communication medium, the first unit comprising: a framer that
frames a digital representation of a base station signal from a
base station in order to produce a framed signal, the base station
signal comprising a single signal that includes a plurality of
channels, the plurality of channels including information being
transmitted to a plurality of remote wireless communication units;
wherein the first unit transmits a transmission signal over the
communication medium to the remote unit; wherein the transmission
signal is derived from at least a portion of the framed signal; and
wherein the remote unit is physically remote from the first
unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.46. The first unit of claim 45, wherein the base station
signal is output from the base station..Iaddend.
.Iadd.47. The first unit of claim 45, wherein the digital
representation of the base station signal is generated at the first
unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.48. The first unit of claim 45, wherein the base station is
communicatively coupled to the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.49. The first unit of claim 48, wherein the base station is
directly connected to the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.50. The first unit of claim 45, wherein the first unit
comprises the base station..Iaddend.
.Iadd.51. The first unit of claim 45, wherein the plurality of
channels comprises a plurality of carriers, wherein each of a
plurality of baseband signals is modulated onto at least one of the
plurality of carriers, wherein the plurality of baseband signals
conveys the information..Iaddend.
.Iadd.52. The first unit of claim 51, wherein each of the plurality
of carriers comprises at least one of a radio frequency carrier and
an intermediate frequency carrier..Iaddend.
.Iadd.53. A first unit for communicating with a remote unit over a
communication medium, the first unit comprising: a framer that, in
order to produce a framed signal, frames a representation of a
wireless signal, the wireless signal for wirelessly communicating
with a plurality of remote wireless communication units, the
wireless signal comprising a plurality of channels, the plurality
of channels comprising a plurality of carriers on which information
being transmitted to the plurality of remote wireless communication
units is modulated; wherein the first unit transmits a transmission
signal over the communication medium to the remote unit; wherein
the transmission signal is derived from at least a portion of the
framed signal; and wherein the remote unit is physically remote
from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.54. The first unit of claim 53, wherein the representation of
the wireless signal comprises a digital representation of the
wireless signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.55. The first unit of claim 53, wherein the plurality of
channels comprises a plurality of baseband signals that comprise
the information, wherein each of the plurality of baseband signals
is modulated onto at least one of the plurality of
carriers..Iaddend.
.Iadd.56. The first unit of claim 53, wherein the framed signal
comprises a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a digital
sample of the plurality channels..Iaddend.
.Iadd.57. The first unit of claim 56, wherein each frame comprises
at least one of control data and monitoring data..Iaddend.
.Iadd.58. The first unit of claim 56, wherein each frame comprises
error detection and correction data..Iaddend.
.Iadd.59. The first unit of claim 56, wherein each frame comprises
data associated with multiple services..Iaddend.
.Iadd.60. The first unit of claim 53, wherein the plurality of
carriers comprises at least one of a plurality of radio frequency
carriers and a plurality of intermediate frequency
carriers..Iaddend.
.Iadd.61. The first unit of claim 53, wherein the communication
medium comprises an optical communication medium and the
transmission signal comprises an optical transmission
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.62. The first unit of claim 53, wherein the first unit
receives, from a base station in the form of an analog combined
signal, the plurality of channels..Iaddend.
.Iadd.63. The first unit of claim 62, wherein the first unit is at
the base station..Iaddend.
.Iadd.64. A remote unit for communicating with a first unit over a
communication medium, the remote unit comprising: a demultiplexer
to extract, from a framed signal derived from a transmission signal
transmitted from the first unit to the remote unit via the
communication medium, a digital representation of a plurality
channels, the plurality of channels comprising a plurality of
carriers on which information being transmitted to a plurality of
remote wireless communication units is modulated; and a converter
to output a radio frequency signal from the digital representation
for wireless radio frequency transmission to a plurality of
wireless communication devices; wherein the remote unit is
physically remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.65. The remote unit of claim 64, wherein the framed signal
comprises a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a digital
sample of the plurality of channels..Iaddend.
.Iadd.66. The remote unit of claim 65, wherein each frame comprises
at least one of control data and monitoring data..Iaddend.
.Iadd.67. The remote unit of claim 65, wherein each frame comprises
error detection and correction data..Iaddend.
.Iadd.68. The remote unit of claim 65, wherein each frame comprises
data associated with multiple services..Iaddend.
.Iadd.69. The remote unit of claim 64, wherein the plurality of
carriers comprises at least one of a plurality of radio frequency
carriers and a plurality of intermediate frequency
carriers..Iaddend.
.Iadd.70. A remote unit for communicating with a first unit over a
communication medium, the remote unit comprising: a framer that
frames a digital representation of a radio frequency signal from an
antenna in order to produce a framed signal, the radio frequency
signal comprising a plurality of radio frequency channels, the
plurality of radio frequency channels including information being
transmitted from a plurality of remote wireless communication
units; wherein the remote unit transmits a transmission signal over
the communication medium to the first unit; wherein the
transmission signal is derived from at least a portion of the
framed signal; and wherein the remote unit is physically remote
from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.71. The remote unit of claim 70, wherein the framer frames a
digital representation of a second analog radio frequency
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.72. The remote unit of claim 71, wherein the second analog
radio frequency signal is a diversity signal from a diversity
antenna..Iaddend.
.Iadd.73. A first unit for communicating with a remote unit over a
communication medium, the first unit comprising: a demultiplexer to
extract, from a framed signal derived from a transmission signal
transmitted from the remote unit to the first unit via the
communication medium, a digital representation of a radio frequency
signal from an antenna, the radio frequency signal comprising a
plurality of radio frequency channels; and a converter to output a
base station signal from the digital representation for
communication to a base station unit, the base station signal
comprising a representation of at least a subset of the plurality
of radio frequency channels; wherein the remote unit is physically
remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.74. The first unit of claim 73, wherein the first unit is
located at the base station..Iaddend.
.Iadd.75. The first unit of claim 74, wherein base station is
connected to the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.76. A method of communicating from a first unit to a remote
unit over a communication medium, the method comprising: producing
a framed signal from a digital representation of a base station
signal originating from a base station, the base station signal
comprising a single signal that includes a plurality of channels,
the plurality of channels including information being transmitted
to a plurality of remote wireless communication units; and
transmitting a transmission signal from the host unit to the remote
unit over the communication medium; wherein the transmission signal
is derived from at least a portion of the framed signal; and
wherein the remote unit is physically remote from the first
unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.77. The method of claim 76, wherein the base station signal
is output from the base station..Iaddend.
.Iadd.78. The method of claim 76, further comprising generating the
digital representation of the base station signal at the first
unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.79. The method of claim 76, wherein the base station is
communicatively coupled to the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.80. The method of claim 79, wherein the base station is
directly connected to the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.81. The method of claim 76, wherein the first unit comprises
the base station..Iaddend.
.Iadd.82. The method of claim 76, wherein the plurality of channels
comprises a plurality of carriers, wherein each of a plurality of
baseband signals is modulated onto at least one of the plurality of
carriers, wherein the plurality of baseband signals conveys the
information..Iaddend.
.Iadd.83. The method of claim 82, wherein each of the plurality of
carriers comprises at least one of a radio frequency carrier and an
intermediate frequency carrier..Iaddend.
.Iadd.84. A method of communicating from a first unit to a remote
unit over a communication medium, the method comprising: producing
a framed signal from a representation of a wireless signal, the
wireless signal for wirelessly communicating with a plurality of
remote wireless communication units, the wireless signal comprising
a plurality channels, the plurality of channels comprising a
plurality of carriers on which information being transmitted to the
plurality of remote wireless communication units is modulated; and
transmitting a transmission signal from the host unit to the remote
unit over the communication medium; wherein the transmission signal
is derived from at least a portion of the framed signal; and
wherein the remote unit is physically remote from the first
unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.85. The method of claim 84, wherein the representation of the
wireless signal comprises a digital representation of the wireless
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.86. The method of claim 84, wherein the plurality of channels
comprises a plurality of baseband signals that comprise the
information, wherein each of the plurality of baseband signals is
modulated onto at least one of the plurality of
carriers..Iaddend.
.Iadd.87. The method of claim 84, wherein the framed signal
comprises a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a digital
sample of the plurality channels..Iaddend.
.Iadd.88. The method of claim 87, wherein each frame comprises at
least one of control data and monitoring data..Iaddend.
.Iadd.89. The method of claim 87, wherein each frame comprises
error detection and correction data..Iaddend.
.Iadd.90. The method of claim 87, wherein each frame comprises data
associated with multiple services..Iaddend.
.Iadd.91. The method of claim 84, wherein the plurality of carriers
comprises at least one of a plurality of radio frequency carriers
and a plurality of intermediate frequency carriers..Iaddend.
.Iadd.92. The method of claim 84, wherein the communication medium
comprises an optical communication medium and the transmission
signal comprises an optical transmission signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.93. The method of claim 84, wherein the first unit receives,
from a base station in the form of an analog combined signal, the
plurality of channels..Iaddend.
.Iadd.94. The method of claim 93, wherein the first unit is at the
base station..Iaddend.
.Iadd.95. A method of communicating from a first unit to a remote
unit over a communication medium, the method comprising: receiving,
at the remote unit from the communication medium, a transmission
signal transmitted from the first unit; extracting, from a framed
signal derived from the transmission signal, a digital
representation of a plurality channels, the plurality of channels
comprising a plurality of carriers on which information being
transmitted to a plurality of remote wireless communication units
is modulated; and producing a radio frequency signal from the
digital representation for wireless radio frequency transmission to
a plurality of wireless communication devices; wherein the remote
unit is physically remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.96. The method of claim 95, wherein the framed signal
comprises a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a digital
sample of the plurality channels..Iaddend.
.Iadd.97. The method of claim 96, wherein each frame comprises at
least one of control data and monitoring data..Iaddend.
.Iadd.98. The method of claim 96, wherein each frame comprises
error detection and correction data..Iaddend.
.Iadd.99. The method of claim 96, wherein each frame comprises data
associated with multiple services..Iaddend.
.Iadd.100. The method of claim 95, wherein the plurality of
carriers comprises at least one of a plurality of radio frequency
carriers and a plurality of intermediate frequency
carriers..Iaddend.
.Iadd.101. A method of communicating from a remote unit to a first
unit over a communication medium, the method comprising: producing
a framed signal from a digital representation of a radio frequency
signal from an antenna, the radio frequency signal comprising a
plurality of radio frequency channels, the plurality of radio
frequency channels including information being transmitted from a
plurality of remote wireless communication units; transmitting a
transmission signal from the remote unit to the first unit over the
communication medium; wherein the transmission signal is derived
from at least a portion of the framed signal; and wherein the
remote unit is physically remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.102. The method of claim 101, wherein producing the framed
signal further comprises producing the framed signal from the
digital representation of the radio frequency signal from the
antenna and a digital representation of a second radio frequency
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.103. The method of claim 102, wherein the second radio
frequency signal is a diversity signal from a diversity
antenna..Iaddend.
.Iadd.104. A method of communicating from a remote unit to a first
unit over a communication medium, the method comprising: receiving,
at the first unit from the communication medium, a transmission
signal transmitted from the remote unit; extracting, from a framed
signal derived from the transmission signal, a digital
representation of a radio frequency signal from an antenna, the
radio frequency signal comprising a plurality of radio frequency
channels; and producing a base station signal from the digital
representation for communication to a base station, the base
station signal comprising a representation of at least a subset of
the plurality of radio frequency channels; wherein the remote unit
is physically remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.105. The method of claim 104, wherein the first unit is
located at the base station..Iaddend.
.Iadd.106. The method of claim 105, wherein base station is
connected to the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.107. A first unit for communicating with a remote unit over a
communication medium, the first unit comprising: a digital unit to
output a digital representation of a base station signal from a
base station, the base station signal comprising a single signal
that includes a plurality of channels, the plurality of channels
including information being transmitted to a plurality of remote
wireless communication units; wherein the first unit transmits a
transmission signal over the communication medium to the remote
unit; wherein the transmission signal is derived from at least a
portion of the digital representation; and wherein the remote unit
is physically remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.108. The first unit of claim 107, wherein the digital unit
comprises an analog to digital converter..Iaddend.
.Iadd.109. The first unit of claim 108, wherein the digital unit
comprises a down converter that down converts the base station
signal, wherein the analog to digital converter digitizes the down
converted base station signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.110. The first unit of claim 107, wherein the plurality of
channels comprises at least one of a plurality of radio frequency
channels and a plurality of intermediate frequency
channels..Iaddend.
.Iadd.111. The first unit of claim 107, wherein the communication
medium comprises an optical communication medium and the
transmission signal comprises an optical transmission
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.112. The first unit of claim 107, wherein the first unit
receives, from a base station in the form of an analog combined
signal, the base station signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.113. The first unit of claim 112, wherein the first unit is
at the base station..Iaddend.
.Iadd.114. A first unit for communicating with a remote unit over a
communication medium, the first unit comprising: a digital unit to
output a digital representation of a plurality channels, the
plurality of channels comprising a plurality of carriers on which
information being transmitted to a plurality of remote wireless
communication units is modulated; wherein the first unit transmits
a transmission signal over the communication medium to the remote
unit; wherein the transmission signal is derived from at least a
portion of the digital representation; and wherein the remote unit
is physically remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.115. The first unit of claim 114, wherein the digital unit
comprises an analog to digital converter..Iaddend.
.Iadd.116. The first unit of claim 115, wherein the digital unit
comprises a down converter that down converts a combined signal
comprising the plurality of channels, wherein the analog to digital
converter digitizes the down converted combined
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.117. The first unit of claim 114, wherein the plurality of
carriers comprises at least one of a plurality of radio frequency
carriers and a plurality of intermediate frequency
carriers..Iaddend.
.Iadd.118. The first unit of claim 114, wherein the communication
medium comprises an optical communication medium and the
transmission signal comprises an optical transmission
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.119. The first unit of claim 114, wherein the first unit
receives, from a base station in the form of an analog combined
signal, the plurality of channels..Iaddend.
.Iadd.120. The first unit of claim 119, wherein the first unit is
at the base station..Iaddend.
.Iadd.121. A first unit for communicating with a remote unit over a
communication medium, the first unit comprising: an interface to
receive, from the communication medium, a transmission signal
transmitted from the remote unit, wherein the transmission signal
comprises a digital representation of a radio frequency signal from
at least one antenna communicatively coupled to the remote unit,
the radio frequency signal comprising a plurality of radio
frequency channels; and a digital unit to output a base station
signal from the digital representation that is communicated to a
base station, the base station signal comprising a representation
of at least a subset of the plurality of radio frequency channels;
wherein the remote unit is physically remote from the first
unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.122. The first unit of claim 121, wherein the digital unit
comprises a digital to analog converter..Iaddend.
.Iadd.123. The first unit of claim 122, wherein the digital unit
comprises an up converter that up converts an analog signal output
by the digital to analog converter..Iaddend.
.Iadd.124. The first unit of claim 121, wherein the communication
medium comprises an optical communication medium and the
transmission signal comprises an optical transmission
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.125. The first unit of claim 121, wherein the first unit is
at the base station..Iaddend.
.Iadd.126. A remote unit for communicating with a first unit over a
communication medium, the remote unit comprising: an interface to
receive, from the communication medium, a transmission signal
transmitted from the first unit, wherein the transmission signal
comprises a digital representation of a plurality channels, the
plurality of channels comprising a plurality of carriers on which
information being transmitted to a plurality of wireless
communication units is modulated; and a digital unit to output a
radio frequency signal from the digital representation for wireless
radio frequency transmission to the plurality of wireless
communication devices; wherein the remote unit is physically remote
from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.127. The remote unit of claim 126, wherein the digital unit
comprises a digital to analog converter..Iaddend.
.Iadd.128. The remote unit of claim 127, wherein the digital unit
comprises an up converter that up converts an analog signal output
by the digital to analog converter in order to output the radio
frequency signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.129. The remote unit of claim 126, wherein the communication
medium comprises an optical communication medium and the
transmission signal comprises an optical transmission
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.130. The remote unit of claim 126, wherein the antenna is
located at the remote unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.131. A remote unit for communicating with a first unit over a
communication medium, the remote unit comprising: a digital unit to
output a digital representation of a radio frequency signal from an
antenna, the radio frequency signal comprising a single signal that
includes a plurality of radio frequency channels, the plurality of
radio frequency channels including information being transmitted
from a plurality of remote wireless communication units; wherein
the remote unit transmits a transmission signal over the
communication medium to the first unit; wherein the transmission
signal is derived from at least a portion of the digital
representation; and wherein the remote unit is physically remote
from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.132. The remote unit of claim 131, wherein the digital unit
comprises an analog to digital converter..Iaddend.
.Iadd.133. The remote unit of claim 132, wherein the digital unit
comprises a down converter that down converts the radio frequency
signal, wherein the analog to digital converter digitizes the down
converted radio frequency signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.134. The remote unit of claim 131, wherein the communication
medium comprises an optical communication medium and the
transmission signal comprises an optical transmission
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.135. The remote unit of claim 131, wherein the antenna is
located at the remote unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.136. A method of communicating from a first unit to a remote
unit over a communication medium, the method comprising: producing
a digital representation of a base station signal originating from
a base station, the base station signal comprising a single signal
that includes a plurality of channels, the plurality of channels
including information being transmitted to a plurality of remote
wireless communication units; transmitting a transmission signal
from the first unit to the remote unit over the communication
medium; wherein the transmission signal is derived from at least a
portion of the digital representation; and wherein the remote unit
is physically remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.137. The method of claim 136, wherein producing the digital
representation of the base station signal comprises down converting
the base station signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.138. The method of claim 136, wherein the plurality of
channels comprises at least one of a plurality of radio frequency
channels and a plurality of intermediate frequency
channels..Iaddend.
.Iadd.139. The method of claim 136, wherein the communication
medium comprises an optical communication medium and the
transmission signal comprises an optical transmission
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.140. The method of claim 136, further comprising receiving,
from a base station in the form of an analog combined signal, the
base station signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.141. A method of communicating from a first unit to a remote
unit over a communication medium, the method comprising: producing
a digital representation of a plurality channels, the plurality of
channels comprising a plurality of carriers on which information
being transmitted to a plurality of remote wireless communication
units is modulated; transmitting a transmission signal from the
first unit to the remote unit over the communication medium;
wherein the transmission signal is derived from at least a portion
of the digital representation; and wherein the remote unit is
physically remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.142. The method of claim 141, wherein producing the digital
representation of the plurality channels comprises down converting
a combined signal comprising the plurality of
channels..Iaddend.
.Iadd.143. The method of claim 141, wherein the plurality of
carriers comprises at least one of a plurality of radio frequency
carriers and a plurality of intermediate frequency
carriers..Iaddend.
.Iadd.144. The method of claim 141, wherein the communication
medium comprises an optical communication medium and the
transmission signal comprises an optical transmission
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.145. The method of claim 141, further comprising receiving,
from a base station in the form of an analog combined signal, the
plurality of channels..Iaddend.
.Iadd.146. A method of communicating from a remote unit to a first
unit over a communication medium, the method comprising: receiving,
at the first unit from the communication medium, a transmission
signal transmitted from the remote unit, wherein the transmission
signal comprises a digital representation of a radio frequency
signal from at least one antenna communicatively coupled to the
remote unit, the radio frequency signal comprising a plurality of
radio frequency channels; and producing a base station signal from
the digital representation that is communicated to a base station,
the base station signal comprising a representation of at least a
subset of the plurality of radio frequency channels; wherein the
remote unit is physically remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.147. The method of claim 146, wherein producing the base
station signal from the digital representation comprises up
converting an analog signal output by the digital to analog
converter..Iaddend.
.Iadd.148. The method of claim 146, wherein the communication
medium comprises an optical communication medium and the
transmission signal comprises an optical transmission
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.149. A method of communicating from a first unit to a remote
unit over a communication medium, the method comprising: receiving,
at the remote unit from the communication medium, a transmission
signal transmitted from the first unit, wherein the transmission
signal comprises a digital representation of a base station signal
from a base station, the base station signal comprising a plurality
of channels; and producing a radio frequency signal from the
digital representation for wireless radio frequency transmission to
a plurality of wireless communication devices; wherein the remote
unit is physically remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.150. The method of claim 149, wherein producing the radio
frequency signal from the digital representation comprises up
converting an analog signal output by the digital to analog
converter in order to output the radio frequency
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.151. The method of claim 149, wherein the communication
medium comprises an optical communication medium and the
transmission signal comprises an optical transmission
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.152. The method of claim 149, wherein the antenna is located
at the remote unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.153. A method of communicating from a remote unit to a first
unit over a communication medium, the method comprising: receiving
a radio frequency signal from an antenna, the radio signal
comprising a single signal that includes a plurality of radio
frequency channels, the plurality of radio frequency channels
including information being transmitted from a plurality of remote
wireless communication units; producing a digital representation of
the radio frequency signal; transmitting a transmission signal from
the remote unit to the first unit over the communication medium;
wherein the transmission signal is derived from at least a portion
of the digital representation; and wherein the remote unit is
physically remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.154. The method of claim 153, wherein producing the digital
representation comprises down converting the radio frequency
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.155. The method of claim 153, wherein the communication
medium comprises an optical communication medium and the
transmission signal comprises an optical transmission
signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.156. The method of claim 153, wherein the antenna is located
at the remote unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.157. A first unit for communicating with a remote unit over
an optical communication medium, the first unit comprising: an
interface to receive a plurality channels, the plurality of
channels comprising a plurality of carriers on which information
being transmitted to a plurality of wireless communication units is
modulated; and a digitally modulated optical modulator to digitally
modulate an optical signal with at least a portion of a digital
representation of the plurality of channels in order to produce a
modulated optical signal; wherein the remote unit is physically
remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
.Iadd.158. A remote unit for communicating with a first unit over
an optical communication medium, the first unit comprising: an
interface to receive a radio frequency signal from an antenna, the
radio frequency signal comprising a plurality of radio frequency
channels, the plurality of radio frequency channels including
information being transmitted from a plurality of wireless
communication units; and a digitally modulated optical modulator to
digitally modulate an optical signal with at least a portion of a
digital representation of the radio frequency signal in order to
produce a modulated optical signal; wherein the remote unit is
physically remote from the first unit..Iaddend.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to high capacity mobile
communications systems, and more particularly to a digital
microcellular communication system.
BACKGROUND
A conventional cellular phone system 5 is shown in FIG. 1A. Such
systems are currently in widespread use in the United States. As
illustrated in FIG. 1A, system 5 has a fixed number of channel sets
distributed among the base stations 12, 13 serving a plurality of
cells 11, 16 arranged in a predetermined reusable pattern. Typical
cell areas range from 1 to 300 square miles. The larger cells
typically cover rural areas and smaller cells cover urban areas.
Cell antenna sites utilizing the same channel sets are spaced by a
sufficient distance to assure that co-channel interference is held
to an acceptably low level.
A mobile unit 10 in a cell 11 has radio telephone transceiver
equipment which communicates with similar equipment in base station
sites 12, 13 as the unit moves from cell to cell. Each base station
12, 13 relays telephone signals between mobile units 10 and a
mobile telecommunications switching office (MTSO) 17 by way of
communication lines 18. The lines 18 between a cell site and the
MTSO 17, typically T1 lines, carry separate voice grade circuits
for each radio channel equipped at the cell site, and data circuits
for switching and other control functions. The MTSO 17 is also
connected through paths 19 to a switched telephone network 15
including fixed subscriber telephone stations as well as various
telephone switching offices.
MTSO 17 in FIG. 1A includes a switching network for establishing
call connections between the public switched telephone network 15
and mobile units 10 located in cell sites 11, 16, and for switching
call connections from one cell site to another. In addition, the
MTSO 17 includes a dual access feeder for use in switching a call
connection from one cell site to another. Various handoff criteria
are known in the art and utilize features such as phase ranging to
indicate the distance of a mobile unit from a receiving cell site,
triangulation, and received signal strength to indicate the
potential desirability of a handoff. Also included in the MTSO 17
is a central processing unit for processing data received from the
cell sites and supervisory signals obtained from the network 15 to
control the operation of setting up and taking down call
connections.
A conventional base station 12 is illustrated in FIG. 1B. A radio
controller unit 22 provides the interface between the T1 lines from
the MTSO and the base station radio equipment. Transmitters 23, one
for each channel serviced by the base station, are driven by
circuit 22, which supplies each transmitter with an analog voice
signal. Next, the signals are passed to a separate nonlinear power
amplifier for each channel, or the signals may be combined and
applied to a single linear power amplifier 24 as shown in FIG. 1B.
The output of power amplifier 24 is applied through duplexer 25 to
antenna 26, to be broadcast into the cellular area serviced by the
base station.
Signals received in antenna 26 are applied through duplexer 25 to
filter 27. Filter 27 isolates the entire cellular band signal from
adjacent bands and applies it to receivers 28, one for each
channel. The analog voice signal outputs of receivers 28 are
applied to circuit 22. Base station 20 may optionally include a
diversity antenna 26' and corresponding diversity filter 27' and a
plurality of diversity receivers 28', one for each associated main
receiver 28. Where implemented, the outputs of diversity receivers
28' are applied to circuit 22, which would thus include circuitry
for selecting the strongest signal as between corresponding
receivers 28 and 28' using known techniques.
In densely populated urban areas, the capacity of a conventional
system 5 is severely limited by the relatively small number of
channels available in each cell 11, 16. Moreover, the coverage of
urban cellular phone systems is limited by blockage, attenuation
and shadowing of the RF signals by high rises and other structures.
This can also be a problem with respect to suburban office
buildings and complexes.
To increase capacity and coverage, a cell area can be subdivided
and assigned frequencies reused in closer proximities at lower
power levels. Subdivision can be accomplished by dividing the
geographic territory of a cell, or for example by assigning cells
to buildings or floors within a building. While such "microcell"
systems are a viable solution to capacity and coverage problems, it
can be difficult to find space at a reasonable cost to install
conventional base station equipment in each microcell, especially
in densely populated urban areas. Furthermore, maintaining a large
number of base stations spread throughout a densely populated urban
area can be time consuming and uneconomical.
AT&T has proposed a system to solve the problem of coverage in
urban areas without having to deploy a large number of conventional
base stations. The system is shown and described with respect to
FIG. 1 of AT&T's European Patent Application No. 0 391 597,
published on Oct. 10, 1990. In that system a grid of antennas sites
40 is placed throughout the microcellular system. An optical fiber
network 42 interconnects the antennas with the base station 44.
Optical wavelength carriers are analog modulated with RF mobile
radio channels for transmission through the optical fiber network
26 to the antennas sites 22. A detector circuit 27 is provided for
each antenna site 22 to receive the modulated carrier and
reconstruct an RF signal to be applied to the antenna sites 22, for
transmission into the microcell area 21. RF signals received at
antenna sites 22 from mobile units are likewise modulated onto a
fiber and transmitted back through optical fiber network 26 to base
station 25. All of the channels transmitted from base station 25
are distributed to all antenna sites 22. Also, all the channels
transmitted from the base station 25 can be received from the
mobile units in any microcell 21 and transmitted via optical fiber
to base station 25.
The above-described AT&T system has certain limitations. The
ability to analog modulate and demodulate light, the limitations
imposed by line reflections, and path loss on the fiber all
introduce significant distortion and errors into an analog
modulated signal and therefore limit the dynamic range of the
signals which can be effectively carried via an analog system,
especially in the uplink direction. These factors limit the
distance from the base station to the antenna sites.
Moreover, in AM systems an out-of-band signal is required to
transmit control and alarm information to and from the antenna
sites, again adding to the expense of the modulation and
demodulation equipment. Moreover, provision of other services such
as paging systems, personal communications networks (PCN's) or
mobile data services are not easily added to analog AM systems such
as that shown in AT&T's European application.
Furthermore, the AT&T system teaches the use of dedicated fiber
lines installed for each remote antenna site. It would be desirable
if preexisting transmission lines or fiber paths could be utilized
so that installation of new fibers could be avoided.
Another approach to increasing coverage is disclosed in U.S. Pat.
No. 4,932,049 to Lee. The Lee patent describes a "passive handoff"
system wherein a cell is subdivided into several zones, with a
directional antenna oriented to cover each zone. All the antenna's
in the cell are serviced by the same set of transmitters and
receivers. A zone switch is used to selectively connect the
transmitters and receivers to the antenna units. In operation, the
antenna best able to service a mobile unit on a given channel is
connected to the transmitter/receiver pair assigned to the mobile
unit by the MTSO, and the other antennas disconnected from that
transmitter/receiver pair. To control the switching of transmitters
and receivers to the antennas, a scanning receiver continuously
polls the strength of signals received at the antenna units on all
active channels in the cell. The zone having the best receiver
signal strength is selected as the active zone for the associated
channel. The system disclosed in the Lee patent thus allows for
improving communications with mobile units while at the same time
reducing interference with other cells by directionalizing and
limiting overall signal strength in a cell.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides improved coverage and increased
capacity by assignment of reusable channel sets throughout the
microcell system, without the need to deploy independent,
conventional base stations in each microcell area. It also provides
good dynamic range over extended distances as compared to analog
systems such as the AT&T system described above.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention,
there is provided a microcell system wherein a plurality of
commonly located microcell base station units communicate with a
corresponding plurality of microcell antenna units deployed in
respective microcell areas. Each base station unit includes
conventional RF base station transmitter and receiver pairs, one
for each channel assigned to the microcell. Additional receivers
are also provided to receive diversity channels. The RF signal
outputs from the transmitters are combined and applied to a
broadband analog-to-digital converter. The digitized signal is
transmitted over optical fiber to a microcell unit. Each microcell
unit receives a digitized RF signal and reconstructs the analog RF
signal using a digital-to-analog converter. The reconstructed RF
signal is applied to a power amplifier, the output of which is fed
to an antenna for broadcast into the microcell area.
The antenna units include both a main and a diversity antenna. The
antennas each independently receive RF signals from the mobile
units. The RF signal from the main antenna is filtered through a
first set of filters, one for each channel assigned to the
microcell, and the combined filtered main signal applied to an
analog-to-digital converter. A second set of filters receives the
diversity signal from the diversity antenna. The diversity signal
is also applied to an analog-to-digital converter. The digitized
main signal and diversity signal are multiplexed and transmitted
over the optical fiber back to the microcell base station. The base
station in turn includes a pair of digital-to-analog converters
which reconstruct the main and diversity analog RF signals for
application to the receivers. The strongest signal is selected for
use in accordance with conventional diversity technology.
Conventional circuitry interfaces the transmitters and receivers to
the MTSO.
Thus, the exemplary embodiment outlined above contemplates that the
microcell base station/antenna unit pairs are arranged to provide a
reusable pattern of channels (as in conventional cellular
technology) in the microcell system. The microcell base station
units do not normally include an antenna, and can be located in a
convenient and preferably low cost location, which may be outside
of the microcell system territory if desired.
According to another exemplary embodiment, the invention may be
deployed to extend the coverage in a conventional cell. In this
embodiment, the base station may include an antenna for
transmission and reception of analog RF directly from the
transmitters and receivers, while at the same time transmitting and
receiving from a microcell antenna unit using the digital carrier
over a fiber as described with respect to the first exemplary
embodiment.
According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the
digitized microcell traffic is carried in a frame format to and
from the antenna units. Each frame includes a plurality of bits
assigned to carry a sample of the digitized microcell traffic, with
other bits employed for control and monitoring of equipment, error
detection and correction, and end-to-end point-to-point voice
traffic between the base station and the antenna unit. Alternate
services such as personal communications network traffic, paging
services and mobile data services may also be carried using the
framing format.
According to yet another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the
fiber carrier may be replaced with cable or other carrier
medium.
According to still anther exemplary embodiment, the invention can
be deployed to distribute a single set of channels to a plurality
of micro cell areas. In this embodiment, a single base station unit
sends the same set of digitized channels to a plurality of
microcell antenna units, which in turn return the same set of
channel signals to the microcell base station.
Therefore, the invention eliminates the problems associated with
analog AM (or FM) systems, such as that illustrated in the
above-mentioned AT&T application, by using a digital transport
resulting in better signal quality and for greater range between a
base station and a microcell antenna unit. As employed in one
exemplary embodiment, the invention greatly increases system
capacity over existing mobile telephone systems without the
requirement of deploying conventional base station equipment in
each microcell area, and allows for provision of alternative
services such as paging systems, mobile data services or personal
communication networks. The present invention also improves the
dynamic range of the signal and extends the distance signals may be
reliably transported from the base stations to the antenna units.
In another exemplary embodiment, the invention provides readily for
the transmission of control and monitoring information to and from
the microcell antenna unit.
To provide additional advantages, an exemplary all-digital
embodiment of a microcell system is also provided wherein a
plurality of commonly located digital microcell base station units
communicate with a corresponding plurality of microcell antenna
units deployed in respective microcell areas. According to this all
digital embodiment, the base stations are fully digital and
synthesize a digital signal directly from the T1 carrier received
from the MTSO. The digital signal is transmitted over optical fiber
to the microcell units. The microcell units receive the digital
signal, and construct an analog RF signal using a digital-to-analog
converter. The RF signal is applied to a power amplifier, the
output of which is fed to an antenna for broadcast into the
microcell area. The antenna units receive RF signals from the
mobile units. The RF signal is filtered through a set of filters,
one for each channel assigned to the microcell, and the filtered
signal applied to an analog-to-digital converter. The digitized
signal is transmitted over the optical fiber back to the digital
microcell base station. The base station in turn directly
synthesizes the digital signal onto the T1 carrier back to the
MTSO. Conventional circuitry interfaces the transmitters and
receivers to the MTSO. Thus, this exemplary embodiment contemplates
that the microcell base station units are fully digital and
eliminate the need for RF equipment at the base station as well as
for analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, thus
providing the opportunity to reduce both the cost and volume of
equipment required at the base station site, and to reduce
maintenance needs on inherently less reliable analog equipment. The
digital microcell base station units can be located in a convenient
and preferably low cost location, which may be outside of the
microcell system territory if desired.
A method which allows for the rapid deployment of a system of the
type using analog-type base stations while permitting the easy
upgrade of such base stations to all digital technology is also
provided. The method's first stage calls for deploying a plurality
of microcell base station units as described above, each including
conventional RF base station transmitters and receivers, one for
each channel assigned to the microcell.
In the second stage of deployment, the analog base stations are
replaced with all-digital base stations wherein the base stations
are fully digital and synthesize a digital signal directly from the
T1 carrier received from the MTSO. The digital signal is
transmitted over optical fiber to the microcell antenna units
installed in the first stage of deployment. The microcell antenna
units receive the digital signal, and construct an analog RF signal
using a digital-to-analog converter. The RF signal is applied to a
power amplifier, the output of which is fed to an antenna for
broadcast into the microcell area. The antenna units also receive
RF signals from the mobile units. The RF signal is filtered through
a set of filters, one for each channel assigned to the microcell,
and the filtered signal applied to an analog-to-digital converter.
The digitized signal is transmitted over the optical fiber back to
the digital microcell base station. The base station in turn
directly synthesizes the digital signal onto the T1 carrier back to
the MTSO.
Thus, the exemplary embodiment outlined above contemplates that the
antenna units installed in the first stage do not need alteration
or replacement when the analog microcell base station units are
replaced with all digital microcell base stations. The method thus
allows the full benefit of the all-digital base station to be
accomplished without the expense of modifying existing installed
microcell antenna units.
According to yet another alternate, exemplary embodiment, the
digitized RF signal, carrying either microcell or PCN traffic, is
framed for transmission over a switched telephone network. In this
embodiment, a limited number of digitized microcell or PCN channels
are grouped together, in a standard framing format for transmission
using a standard DS-3, OC-1, or other protocol.
In yet another alternate, exemplary embodiment, digitized microcell
or PCN RF signals are transmitted over the installed fiber
infrastructure of a cable system from the head end to the optical
nodes, in an amplified modulated (AM) format.
A still further exemplary embodiment contemplates the transmission
of the microcell or PCN traffic in digital form over the cable
system feeder lines, using QAM modulation or other digital
modulation formats.
Thus, according to these embodiments, microcell or PCN channels may
be transmitted over an established switched network or using
established cable system infrastructure.
According to still another embodiment of the invention, there is
provided a passive handoff system using digital signal analysis to
rapidly switch transmitters and receivers among different antenna
units in different microcell zones of a cell.
According to yet still another embodiment of the invention, there
is provided decimation filters for digitally filtering out a
selected number of channels from the digital stream output from the
analog-to-digital converter, and multiplexing the selected channels
onto one or more lower speed carriers, such as a T1 line or SONET
carrier.
According to yet still another embodiment of the invention, a
passive switching method is described for use in a cellular phone
system having a plurality of macrocells including a first
macrocell, each macrocell sharing a common set of channels, the
method comprising the steps of providing a plurality of primary and
secondary microcell antenna units; dividing the first macrocell
into a plurality of primary microcells, wherein the step of
dividing includes placing the primary microcell antenna units so as
to provide coverage over the first macrocell; providing a plurality
of secondary microcell antenna units; placing the secondary
microcell antenna units to provide macrocell coverage overlapping
the primary microcells; at a base station, generating a digitized
representation of a telephone signal received from a mobile
telephone switching office, selecting a microcell from said
plurality of primary and secondary microcells and transmitting the
digitized representation to the microcell antenna unit of the
selected microcell; receiving, at the selected microcell, the
digitized representation, generating a corresponding RF signal by
digital-to-analog conversion, and broadcasting the RF signal in the
selected microcell; receiving RF signals in each of the plurality
of primary and secondary microcells for the set of channels, and
converting the RF signals received to corresponding digitized RF
signal representations for transmission back to the base station;
at the base receiving the digitized RF signal representations from
the primary and secondary microcells; and monitoring the digitized
RF signal representations from each of the primary and secondary
microcells and based on the energy level of each channel in each
zone, selectively controlling the channels broadcast into each of
the primary and secondary microcells and selectively choosing the
microcell from the plurality of primary and secondary microcell in
which a received channel is received so that passive switching may
be accomplished.
According to yet still another embodiment of the invention, a
method of sectorizing coverage over a particular cellular
communications area is described, the method comprising the steps
of providing a remote unit having a plurality of microcell antenna
units, including a first and a second microcell antenna unit,
wherein each microcell antenna unit comprises an antenna configured
to cover a particular sector and a channel filter unit used to
filter channels assigned to the particular sector; connecting the
remote unit to a sectorized base station unit, wherein the step of
connecting comprises providing a unique sector frequency associated
with each antenna unit sector; connecting the sectorized base
station unit to a mobile telecommunications switching office;
generating, at the sectorized base station unit, a digitized
representation of a telephone signal received from the mobile
telephone switching office; transmitting the digitized
representation to the microcell antenna unit for a particular
sector; receiving, at the first microcell antenna unit, a first RF
signal, digitizing the first RF signal and converting the digitized
first RF signal to a first sector frequency; receiving, at the
second microcell antenna unit, a second RF signal, digitizing the
second RF signal and converting the digitized second RF signal to a
second sector frequency; and multiplexing the digitized first RF
signal at the first sector frequency and the digitized second RF
signal at the second sector frequency and transmitting the
multiplexed signal to the sectorized base station.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A more complete understanding of the invention and its various
features, objects and advantages may be obtained from a
consideration of the following detailed description, the appended
claims, and the attached drawings in which:
FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram of a first prior art mobile
communications system;
FIG. 1B is a functional block diagram of a prior art base
station;
FIG. 1C is a functional block diagram of a prior art microcell
mobile communications system;
FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of
the microcell communications system of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a more detailed block diagram of the base station
embodiment shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a more detailed block diagram of the base station shown
in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a more detailed block diagram of the frame
generator/multiplexer 134 shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a simplified diagram of the structure of one exemplary
data frame;
FIG. 7 is a diagram of the structure of another exemplary data
frame;
FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a microcell antenna unit
according to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of the demultiplexer 142 and
associated interfaces of FIG. 4;
FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of an all-digital exemplary
embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 11A is a more detailed block diagram of the system illustrated
in FIG. 10;
FIG. 11B is an alternative embodiment of the system illustrated in
FIG. 11A;
FIG. 11C is yet another alternate embodiment of the system
illustrated in FIG. 11A;
FIG. 11D is still another alternative embodiment of the system
illustrated in FIG. 11A;
FIG. 12 is a simplified illustration of an alternate embodiment of
the microcell communication system according to the present
invention;
FIG. 13 is a functional block design of the alternate embodiment
106' of the system of FIG. 12;
FIG. 14 is another alternate exemplary embodiment of the microcell
communication system of the present invention;
FIG. 15 illustrates yet another alternate exemplary embodiment of
the invention wherein alternate services, such as personal
communication network (PCN) traffic and paging traffic is
multiplexed with cellular system traffic;
FIG. 16 is a simplified illustration of a prior art cable
television system infrastructure;
FIG. 17 is a simplified block diagram of an alternate exemplary
embodiment of the invention, wherein cable system infrastructure is
used to transmit digitized RF to and from a microcell location;
FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a base station unit of the exemplary
embodiment of FIG. 17;
FIG. 19 illustrates the head end unit located at the head end of
the cable system of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 17;
FIG. 20 is a more detailed block diagram of the AM
modulator/demodulator, located in the head end of the cable system
of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 17;
FIG. 21A is a more detailed block diagram of analog-to-digital
converter 132, as used throughout the various embodiments in the
invention;
FIG. 21B is a more detailed block diagram of digital-to-analog
converter 144 as used throughout the various embodiments of the
invention;
FIG. 22 is an alternate preferred framing structure for the
embodiment of FIG. 2 of the present invention;
FIG. 23 is yet another alternate preferred framing structure for
the embodiment of FIG. 2 of the present invention;
FIG. 24 is a more detailed block diagram of the microcell remote
unit to be positioned at the optical node in the cable system
embodiment of FIG. 17;
FIG. 25 is an illustration of the amplitude modulator as used in
the embodiment of FIG. 17;
FIG. 26 is a more detailed illustration of the amplitude
demodulator, as used in the embodiment of FIG. 17;
FIG. 27A is an illustration of a base station of an alternate
exemplary embodiment of the system illustrated in FIG. 17, wherein
the RF microcell or PCN signal is digitally modulated;
FIG. 27B is an illustration of an alternate embodiment of the
system illustrated in FIG. 17, wherein the RF microcell or PCN
signal is digitally modulated;
FIG. 28 is a further illustration of the alternate embodiment using
digital modulation;
FIG. 29 further illustrates the construction of the optical node in
the digital modulation embodiment;
FIG. 30 is an overview diagram of yet another exemplary embodiment
wherein digitized microcell or PCN RF traffic is framed and
transmitted over a switched telephone network;
FIG. 31A is a more detailed block diagram of the base station units
of the embodiment of FIG. 30;
FIG. 31B is an alternate exemplary embodiment of the base station
units of the embodiment of FIG. 30;
FIG. 32A is a more detailed block diagram of the analog-to-digital
converter and framing circuits of the base station units
illustrated in FIG. 31A;
FIG. 32B is a more detailed block diagram of the analog-to-digital
converter and framing circuits of an alternate exemplary embodiment
of the base station units illustrated in FIG. 31B;
FIG. 33A is a more detailed block diagram of the remote antenna
units of the system illustrated in FIG. 30;
FIG. 33B is a more detailed block diagram of an alternate exemplary
embodiment of the remote antenna units of the system illustrated in
FIG. 30;
FIG. 34 illustrates yet another exemplary embodiment of the
invention wherein digitized RF signals are transmitted over a
switched telephone network and a cable system; and
FIG. 35A is an overview functional block diagram of an exemplary
embodiment of a microcell communications system, having passive
handoff capability according to the present invention;
FIG. 35B is a more detailed block diagram of an exemplary base
station unit 114' of the system of 35A according to the present
invention;
FIG. 35C is a schematic illustration of the movement of a mobile
unit from one zone to another;
FIG. 36 shows an exemplary embodiment of digital
transmitting/receiving unit 130'' of the system of FIG. 35A;
FIG. 37 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of controller 810 of
the system of FIG. 35A;
FIG. 38 is a simplified block diagram of the operation of
controller 810 of the system of FIG. 35A;
FIGS. 39A, 39B, 39C and 39D are still other alternate exemplary
embodiments of passive handoff systems with all-digital base
station units;
FIG. 40 is an alternate embodiment of the system of FIG. 35B;
FIGS. 41A, 41B and 41C are exemplary embodiments of redundant
microcell coverage;
FIG. 42 is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of
a sectorized microcell communications system according to the
present invention;
FIG. 43 is a more detailed block diagram of the base station
embodiment shown in FIG. 42;
FIG. 44 is a more detailed block diagram of the remote unit
embodiment shown in FIG. 42;
FIG. 45 is a more detailed block diagram of one example of a
channel filter unit which can be used in the remote unit shown in
FIG. 44;
FIG. 46 is an alternate embodiment of the base station embodiment
shown in FIG. 42; and
FIG. 47 is an alternate embodiment of the remote unit embodiment
shown in FIG. 42.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of
the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which
form a part hereof, in which like numerals refer to like elements
throughout the several views, and which is shown by way of
illustration only, specific embodiments in which the invention may
be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be
utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from
the scope of the present invention.
The general configuration of one exemplary embodiment of the
present invention is shown in FIG. 2. The microcell system includes
a plurality of microcell areas 100. Deployed within each microcell
area 100 is a microcell remote antenna unit 102. Such units may be
deployed on the roof of a building or within a building, or on or
in other structures. For example, a microcell antenna unit 102 may
be deployed on each floor of a building on or adjacent an antenna
tower, or along a highway corridor.
Remote antenna units 102 are connected through fiber 104 (or
optionally another high bandwidth carrier) to respective base
station units 106. Base station units 106 are interfaced to MTSO
110 over T1 lines 112. MTSO 110 is interfaced with a switched
telephone network 120, as in a conventional cellular phone system.
Microcell base station units 106 are preferably located in a single
location 114. Such location may be inside or outside of the area
serviced by the microcell system, but in any event is preferably
conveniently located for maintenance purposes.
Referring now to FIG. 3 there is shown a simplified diagram of a
microcell base station 106 according to one exemplary embodiment of
the present invention. Base station 106 includes conventional
transmitters and receivers 23 and 28, respectively, and
conventional radio controller or interface circuitry 22 to the MTSO
110. A digital transmitter/receiver unit 130 receives the combined
RF signal from transmitters 23, digitizes the combined signal and
transmits it in digital format over fiber 104A connected to a
remote antenna unit 102. Unit 130 also receives a digitized RF
signal over fiber 104B from a remote antenna unit 102, reconstructs
the corresponding analog RF signal, and applies it to receivers 28.
Accordingly, conventional equipment may be used on the downstream
(MTSO) side of digital transmitting/receiving unit 130.
Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown digital
transmitting/receiving unit 130 in greater detail. Unit 130
includes a broadband digitizer 132 receiving the combined RF signal
from transmitters 23. Digitizer 132 provides a digitized microcell
traffic stream, consisting of a series of samples of the incoming
analog RF signal. Frame generator/multiplexer 134 frames the
digitized microcell traffic data, together with control, voice and
error checking data, and applies it to a digitally modulated laser
136. The voice data channel, also termed the order wire channel,
originates from order wire interface 135, which has an input for a
handset 137 or a two-wire phone line. Order wire interface 135
provides for two-way point-to-point voice grade communications.
Typically a handset is used at the remote site to connect with a
handset at the base site. Control signals originate from
control/alarm circuit 131, which generates control information for
the remote antenna unit 102 to monitor error and alarm
information.
The laser signal from digitally modulated laser 136 is applied to
fiber 104A for transmission to the corresponding remote antenna
unit 102. According to one possible embodiment, digitizer 132
preferably provides a 24 bit wide word (parallel structure sample)
running at 30.72 MegaSamples/second (MSamples/s). The frame
generator/multiplexer 134 converts the 30.72 MSamples/s word to a
single serial bit stream running at 819.2 MegaBits/second
(Mb/s).
The digitizer 132 conditions the broadband RF signal by providing
bandpass filtering sufficient to eliminate out of band signals, and
sufficient gain adjustment to prevent overloading of the
analog-to-digital converter. The analog-to-digital converter
converts the conditioned broadband RF signal into a parallel bit
stream, either by direct sampling at RF, or by sampling following
down-conversion to baseband or to an intermediate frequency band.
In the preferred embodiment, the digitizer is obtained from
Steinbrecher Corporation of Woburn, Mass., with sampling performed
on a 12.5 MHz wide signal down-converted to either the first or
second Nyquist zone, with 12 bit sampling occurring at a rate of
30.72 MSamples/s.
Unit 130 further includes a digital optical receiver 140. Receiver
140 outputs an electronic digital signal, which is applied to
demultiplexer 142, which extracts the digitized microcell traffic
data generated at the remote antenna unit 102, as will be explained
further below. Demultiplexer 142 further extracts alarm
(monitoring) and voice information framed with the microcell
traffic data. The digitized microcell traffic signal is applied to
digital-to-analog converter 144, which reconstructs the analog RF
signal, to be applied to receivers 28.
The digital-to-analog converter 144 operates on the microcell
traffic parallel bit stream extracted by demultiplexer 142,
reconstructing a baseband replica of the broadband RF signal
digitized by digitizer 132. The baseband replica is then
up-converted to its original radio frequency by mixing with a local
oscillator and filtering to remove image frequencies. In the
preferred embodiment, the digital-to-analog converter is obtained
from Steinbrecher Corporation of Woburn, Mass., and operates at the
preferred sample rate of 30.72 MSamples/s.
Referring now to FIG. 21A, there is illustrated in more detail the
broadband digitizer or analog-to-digital converter circuit 132 in
FIGS. 4 and 170 in FIG. 8. Analog-to-digital converter circuit 132
preferably includes a local oscillator 132A, which applies its
output to mixer 132B, which receives the combined output from the
transmitters 23. Mixer 132B reduces the high frequency microcell
signal (approximately 850 MHz in the case of conventional cellular
phone service or approximately 1.8 GHz in the case of PCN traffic),
to an intermediate (or baseband) frequency of approximately 1 to 15
MHz (such that the 12.5 MHz frequency fits between these limits)
prior to application to analog-to-digital converter 132C.
Illustrated in FIG. 21B is the digital-to-analog converter 144 and
164, of FIGS. 4 and 8, respectively, which performs the reverse
operation of analog-to-digital converters 132 and 170.
Digital-to-analog converter 144 includes a digital-to-analog
converter 144A, which outputs an intermediate frequency signal,
which is up-converted with mixer 144B, using the local oscillator
144C. Up-conversion restores the operating frequency of the RF to
the broadcast frequencies of the cellular or PCN systems.
Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown in greater detail the frame
generator/multiplexer circuit 134 according to the exemplary
embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4. Circuit 134 includes a
cyclic redundancy check (CRC) generator 155, which receives
microcell traffic data from digitizer 132 and outputs a CRC
code.
According to one exemplary embodiment, framer/multiplexer 154
multiplexes the CRC channel, microcell traffic, order wire (voice)
channel and control (alarm) channel into the frame structure
illustrated in FIG. 6. Each frame includes a 12-bit microcell
traffic word, a one bit CRC channel, a one bit control-alarm/order
wire channel and a six bit framing word. The control-alarm and
order wire data are multiplexed together in a single channel.
FIG. 7 shows an alternate frame structure having 12 bits for the
main antenna channel, 12 bits for 12.5 MHz coverage of alternate
service or diversity channel, a one or two bit CRC channel, 1 bit
control-alarm channel and 6 bit frame word. Other possible framing
structures could involve a total of 48 information bits for full
band coverage and diversity capability, or for carrying additional
services. It shall be understood that the present invention is not
limited to these or any other particular framing format, but rather
that any format could be used without departing from the scope of
the present invention.
To achieve synchronization with the parallel transfer word, the
frame signal shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 runs at 819.2 Mb/s (i.e.
32.times.25.6.times.10.sup.6 bits/second=819.2.times.10.sup.6
bit/second). (The bit rate and sampling rate for 40 MHz/48 bit or
other frame structure would change accordingly.) Synchronization is
achieved at the receiving demultiplexer 142 (162 in FIG. 8
described below) by searching for the frame pattern. Thirty-two
individual frames are grouped into a superframe. One of the 32
frames has a bit sequence different from the other 31 frames. Each
frame byte is a balanced code having an equal number of ones and
zeros. The frame search is initiated by the demultiplexer 142 to
find consecutive patterns, followed by a search for the unique bit
sequence in one of the 32 frames. When the frame and superframe are
found by the demultiplexer 142 (or 162), valid traffic pattern or
data patterns result. Framing methods of this type are well known
in the telecommunications arts, and those of skill in the art will
recognize that various alternate framing methodologies may also be
used. Preferably, frame generator/multiplexer 134 includes
circuitry for scrambling the outgoing data to provide for the
balanced line code preferred for fiber optic transmission.
Referring now to FIGS. 22 and 23, there are shown the alternate
preferred framing structures of the embodiment of FIG. 2. As shown
in FIG. 22, the framing structure includes 12 bits of PCN/microcell
traffic, one framing bit, one bit of CRC and an alarm-control/order
wire channel, and four reserve bits. The framing structure in FIG.
23 is identical, except for 13 bits have been allocated to the
PCN/microcell traffic. Neither of these framing structures is
designed to accommodate diversity traffic, however, they could be
so expanded. The framing structures of FIGS. 22 and 23 assumes a 12
bit sampling at 30.72 Mb/s. The basic framing structure is 18 bits,
which, when run at 30.72 Mb/s, results in a rate of 552.96 Mb/s
serial rate. As shown in FIG. 22, one bit is dedicated to framing.
Another bit is multiplexed between CRC, alarm-control, and the
order wire function. These two bits achieve framing and
multiplexing by virtue of the following sequence:
TABLE-US-00001 Framing Bit CRC, Etc. 00 Frame 1 01 Frame 2 10 Frame
3 10 Frame 4 1C Frame 5 1D Frame 6
As illustrated above, the framing structure of this embodiment
contemplates that six frames make up a "super frame." The first
four frames of each super frame include the 00, 01, 10, 10
sequence. In the fifth frame, the framing bit is a 1, and the other
bit represents one bit of CRC code. In the sixth frame, the framing
bit is a 1 and the other bit is an alarm-control/order wire channel
bit.
Preferably, the CRC code is 32 bits wide, so that 32 frames must be
received in order to accumulate the entire CRC code. Accordingly,
errors are checked every 32 words of data. As in the case of the
previously described framing structure, a balanced line code is
provided.
Referring now to FIG. 8, there is shown a block diagram of the
remote antenna unit 102, according to the first exemplary
embodiment of the present invention. A digital optical receiver 160
receives the optical digital data stream transmitted from the
microcell base station on fiber 104A. Receiver 160 converts the
optical data stream to a corresponding series of electrical pulses,
which are applied to demultiplexer 162. Demultiplexer 162 extracts
the microcell traffic and applies the 12-bit (or 13-bit) samples to
digital-to-analog converter 164. Converter 164 reconstructs the
analog RF signal and applies it to linear power amplifier 24.
Converter 164 is preferably the same as digital-to-analog converter
144 described and shown above with respect to FIG. 4. Amplifier 24
is connected to the main antenna 26 through a duplexer 25.
Accordingly, radio frequency signals originating from transmitters
23 in the microcell base station are transmitted from main antenna
26. Demultiplexer 162 also extracts control signals for application
to a control/alarm circuit 161. Order wire data is also extracted
and applied to order wire interface 163 to provide two-way,
point-to-point voice grade communication.
RF signals received at main antenna 26 are passed through duplexer
25 to filter 27. Power amplifier 24, duplexer 25, main antenna 26
and filter 27 are conventional base station components, as are
described with reference to FIG. 1B. The output of filter 27 is
combined and applied to a broadband analog-to-digital converter 170
(of the same type as 144 described above with respect to FIG. 4),
which digitizes the analog RF signal and applies it to a frame
generator/multiplexer circuit 172. The output of circuit 172 is
applied to digitally modulated laser 174, which applies the
corresponding optical digital stream to fiber 104B. Frame
generator/multiplexer 172 is of substantially the same design as
framer/multiplexer 34. It receives an alarm (or monitoring) signal
data stream from control/alarm circuit 161, and an order wire data
stream signal from order wire interface 163.
Optionally, remote antenna unit 102 may include a diversity antenna
system 180. System 180 includes a diversity antenna 26', which
applies its output to filter 27' and in turn to broadband
analog-to-digital converter 170', which operate in the same manner
as main antenna 26, filter 27 and broadband analog-to-digital
converter 170, respectively. The output of analog digital converter
170' is applied to circuit 172, which multiplexes the digitized RF
signal from the diversity antenna into the data stream applied to
fiber 104B. In such a case, the framing scheme includes diversity
traffic capacity.
Referring now to FIG. 9, there is shown in greater detail
demultiplexer circuit 142 (and correspondingly 162) shown in FIG. 4
and FIG. 8. Circuit 142 (162) includes a demultiplexer 190, which
receives the digital data stream from digital optical receiver 140.
Demultiplexer 190 extracts the control/alarm channel, order wire
channel, CRC channel and microcell traffic channel from the digital
data stream. Optionally, where the diversity function is provided,
the diversity CRC channel and diversity microcell channel are also
extracted. The main CRC channel and microcell traffic channel are
applied to CRC checking circuit 192, which provides an error signal
to the control/alarm circuit 131. Circuit 131 monitors the error
rate of data and alarms occurring at the remote antenna unit 102.
The order wire channel is applied to order wire interface 163, to
provide two-way point-to-point communication.
Where diversity is optionally included, a second CRC checking
circuit 192' receives the diversity CRC channel and diversity
microcell channel and produces an error signal which is applied to
control/alarm circuit 131.
All-Digital Embodiment
Referring now to FIG. 10, there is shown an alternate exemplary
embodiment 200 of the present invention. Alternate embodiment 200
includes a remote antenna unit 102 as described with respect to
FIG. 8. Remote antenna unit 102 is connected to an all-digital
microcell base station 210 through fibers 104A and 104B. Microcell
base station 210 is connected to an MTSO.
All-digital microcell base station 210 is shown in more detail in
FIG. 11A. Circuit 210 includes a T1 interface 202, which extracts
digitized voice channels carried by a T1 line or other carrier from
an MTSO and applies those channels in digital form to digital
synthesizer 212. Digital synthesizer 212 replaces transmitters 23
and the analog-to-digital converter 132 of the embodiment shown in
FIG. 4. Digital synthesizer 212 constructs, with digital logic or
software, an equivalent to the digitized output of broadband
digitizer 132 for application to frame generator/multiplexer 214.
Synthesis may be accomplished, for instance, by electronic or
software simulation of the generation of the analog telephone
signal and the modulation of the transmittal signal therewith. The
simulated signal transmitter output signal can then be directly
represented in digital form that can be processed to emulate the
output of the A/D converter.
An alternate embodiment of the system of FIG. 11A is shown in FIG.
11B. In the system of FIG. 11B, the synthesizer 212' receives an
analog input from radio controller 22, and converts the analog
output signals (corresponding to analog telephone signals) from the
radio controller 22 into a corresponding digitized traffic stream.
In this process, for example, synthesizer 212' can first digitize
the individual analog input signals, and then process them
digitally to produce the digitized signal for delivery to units
106. On the return path, digital demodulator 224' produces a
plurality of analog telephone signals compatible with the input to
the radio controller 22. Multiplexer 214 operates in the same
fashion as described with respect to frame generator/multiplexer
134 described above with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5. The output of
frame generator multiplexer 214 is applied to digitally modulated
laser 216, which outputs the optical data stream on fiber 104A.
Digital optical receiver 220 receives the optical data stream from
fiber 104B and applies it to demultiplexer 222, which operates in
the same fashion as demultiplexer 142 of FIG. 4. The output of
demultiplexer 222 is applied to digital demodulator or receiver
circuit 224, which extracts the microcell channels and applies them
to T1 interface 202 for transmission to the MTSO.
Yet another alternate embodiment of the all digital base station is
shown in FIG. 11C. In FIG. 11C, the frame generation/multiplexer
211' is modified to apply its output directly to the switched
telephone network, in a format compatible with network protocols,
for example DS1, DS3 or SONET. The switched network is then used to
connect the base station with each antenna unit 106. According to
this embodiment, the modified synthesizer 212'' generates a
separate digitized output (for example as shown below with respect
to FIG. 32B) for each channel being used (as opposed to all
channels in the cellular band), such that only the digitized form
of the channels used for each antenna unit 106 are actually
transported thereto, thus greatly reducing the bandwidth required
for this purpose. Similarly, demultiplexer 222' is configured to
receive the individually packaged digitized channels from the
switched network, and demodulator 224'' is modified to receive and
extract the individual channels. The embodiment of FIG. 11B can
also be modified in this manner, as is illustrated in FIG. 11D.
Thus, all-digital base station 210 synthesizes the effect of
digitizing the transmitter data stream, providing for an
all-digital conversion from circuit 202 to the data stream applied
to fiber 104A. The synthesized signal is received at the remote
antenna unit 102, which constructs the radio frequency signal,
using digital-to-analog converter 164, thus eliminating the need
for transmitters 23. Similarly, digital demodulator or receiver
circuit 224 eliminates the need for receivers 28, by converting the
demultiplexed digitized RF data stream directly into digital phone
channels for application to circuit 202 and transport to the
MTSO.
Yet another exemplary alternative embodiment of the invention is
shown in FIG. 12. The alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 12
includes a base station 106', having an antenna 250 for
broadcasting and receiving RF signals into a cellular area. In
addition, 106' includes one or more remote antenna units 102 used
to reach shadowed areas. This embodiment is not for the purpose of
extending capacity, but rather to improve coverage.
Referring to FIG. 13, base station embodiment 106' is shown in more
detail. The configuration of FIG. 13 is the same as FIG. 3, except
the RF signals are connected simultaneously to a main cell site
antenna through a duplexer and power amplifier.
Referring now to FIG. 14, there is illustrated an alternate
preferred embodiment of base station units 106 and antenna unit
102. According to this alternate preferred embodiment shown in FIG.
14, there are provided wave division multiplexers 270 at the base
station 106 and remote antenna unit 102. Wave division multiplexers
270 provide that a single optical fiber 271 can be used in place of
a pair of optical fibers 104A and 104B, as shown with respect to
the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4. Preferably, the wavelengths of
operation for wave division multiplexers 270 are 1310 nm.+-.20 nm,
and 1550 nm.+-.20 nm.
Yet another alternate exemplary embodiment of the invention is
shown in FIG. 15. In FIG. 15, alternate service traffic (personal
communication network (PCN) traffic and/or paging traffic as shown
in FIG. 15, for example) are multiplexed into the digital carrier
and conveyed to the remote antenna unit 102 for transmission as
part of a broadband signal reconstructed by the digital-to-analog
converter. The remote antenna unit is modified to include separate
analog-to-digital converter, digital-to-analog converter, filter,
duplexer, linear power amplifier and antenna for the alternate
service. The optical transceiver and fiber being shared with the
microcell traffic. PCN transmissions are received at the remote
antenna unit 102 and conveyed on the digital carrier back to the
base station 106. The additional services are carried over the same
fiber simply by adding more bits per frame. Therefore, the
embodiment of FIG. 15 can carry the traffic associated with several
different alternate services and cellular traffic simultaneously,
with minimal cost over straight cellular traffic. It is
contemplated that yet other services can be carried, and the
invention is in no way limited to microcellular, paging, PCN or
mobile data service traffic.
Method of Installing and Upgrading the Microcell System
For ease of implementation of the present all-digital embodiment,
two-stage deployment is contemplated. In the first stage, microcell
base station units 106, of the design shown in FIG. 3, are
deployed. These units may be readily constructed with conventional
transmitter and receiver technology in the base station unit, and
conventional interface circuitry to the MTSO. In the second stage,
units 106 may be replaced or upgraded to all digital microcell base
station units 210, wherein the analog transmit and receive circuits
are eliminated. This upgrade may be accomplished without changing
remote antenna units 102, and therefore may be done conveniently
and expeditiously. This method of installation thus allows the
initial units 106 to be constructed readily and at relatively low
cost, and thus providing for rapid deployment, while allowing for
upgrade to more reliable all-digital base station equipment without
change to the remote antenna units 102.
Thus, as described above, the present invention provides not only
improved coverage, but also for increased capacity by assignment of
reusable channel sets throughout the microcell system, without the
need to deploy independent, conventional base stations in each
microcell area. Also, by virtue of digital transmission, it also
provides good dynamic range over extended distances as compared to
analog systems.
The exemplary configuration illustrated with respect to base
station 106 and remote antenna unit 102 provides
control/alarm/monitoring and two-way point-to-point voice channels
to be readily multiplexed on the digital carrier, providing
advantages over analog systems such as that disclosed by AT&T.
Furthermore, a diversity channel can also be multiplexed into the
data stream to provide the diversity function without the need for
additional fiber paths.
The invention also permits ready adaptation to carry alternate
services such as PCN, mobile data and paging services together with
microcellular traffic.
Another advantage of the invention is its ready adaptation to all
digital base station technology, wherein microcell traffic data
received from an MTSO in digital form can be digitally converted to
a synthesized stream of data samples for application to the
digital-to-analog converter in the remote antenna unit 102.
It shall be understood that other control or monitoring type
channels between the base station and antenna units are also
possible, and that the invention is not limited to the particular
channels illustrated in the exemplary embodiments.
Transmission of Microcell and PCN Traffic Over Cable System Fiber
Feeders
A conventional cable system is illustrated in FIG. 16. System 300
includes one or more satellite dishes 304 receiving satellite
television signals from satellite 302. In addition, the head end
may receive video feeds from local sources or over other media such
as fiber, coaxial cable or line of sight microwave link Video unit
308 provides video signal splitting, and provides a video signal to
AM transmitters 310, which apply an amplitude modulated signal,
typically down-converted prior to transmission, for application to
a fiber feeder. The fiber optic feeder transmits the video signal
to a optical node 312, which processes the received signal for
delivery to a plurality of homes 314, typically over copper coax
cable, or in state of the art installations, over a fiber link. In
a typical suburban installation of the type most adaptable to the
benefits of this exemplary embodiment, an optical node 312
preferably provides service to approximately 250 homes, covering a
geographic area of approximately 1-2 square miles.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention, wherein the cable
system 300 is utilized to transmit microcell or PCN traffic to
microcell areas will now be explained with reference to FIG. 17.
The system of FIG. 17 provides the advantage of using the installed
infrastructure of a cable television system to transport microcell
and PCN traffic. As shown in FIG. 17, the head end of the cable
system includes a head end microcell/PCN unit 332, video
multiplexer 308, and a plain old telephone service (POTS) and data
source 336. Although the provision of POTS and data service is
included in this exemplary embodiment, it is not necessary to the
delivery of cellular/PCN service, and may be omitted from the
system. Preferably, the POTS/data are carried on a plurality of
subcarriers within a certain band. A separate subcarrier would be
assigned to each subscriber in the system. Similarly, the video
channels are also contained on a plurality of subcarriers in a
specified band. In addition, the microcell/PCN channels are also
carried on separate subcarries in a defined band. The head end unit
332 is interfaced with a base station unit 330, through a pair of
fibers 331A and 331B. Base station unit 330 is interfaced to the
switched telephone network 320 through a mobile telephone switching
office (MTSO) 322.
The head end further includes a plurality of AM
modulator/demodulators 338, which are coupled to microcell optical
nodes 342 through fibers 340A and 340B. Optical nodes 342 each
include an antenna for the transmission and reception of microcell
or PCN traffic and are interfaced to a plurality of subscriber
homes 343. POTS/data source 336, multiplexer 308 and head end 332
are each connected to the respective AM modulator/demodulators 338,
as more fully illustrated in FIG. 20, to be explained further
below.
Base station unit 330 is shown in more detail in FIG. 18. Unit 330
functions identically to unit 106 as described above with reference
to FIG. 3. The base station unit 330 may be positioned, as in the
embodiment of FIG. 2, in a convenient location, remote from the
head end. Alternatively, base station 330 could be located at the
head end, with the elimination of the fiber link and other
unnecessary components, such that the RF signal output of the
transmitters may be filtered and applied directly to the AM
modulator/demodulators 338 and in return the output of the AM
modulators/demodulators 338 filtered and applied directly to the
receivers 28. Digital transmitter/receiver 130 of base station 330
is configured as illustrated in FIG. 4.
As shown in FIG. 19, head end unit 332 is configured substantially
the same as unit 102 from the embodiment of FIG. 2. RF digitization
and framing for communication between the head end unit 332 and
base station 330 is performed substantially the same as described
above with regard to units 102 and 106. However, the output of
digital-to-analog converter 164 is applied to filters 335, which
filter the RF signal into a plurality of bands, each to be
delivered to a particular microcell associated with a optical node
342. In the exemplary illustrative embodiment illustrated herein,
the channels of the microcell or PCN system are divided into a
plurality of 1 MHz bands, each containing a plurality of channels
of microcell or PCN traffic (for example ten 100 KHz channels or
approximately thirty 30 KHz standard channels). Each of the AM
modulator/demodulators 338 (shown in detail in FIG. 20) receives a
1 MHz band of channels and conveys it to the microcell optical node
342 over the fibers 340A and 340B by AM modulation. In the reverse
path, 1 MHz bands are received back from the microcell optical
nodes 342 (over fiber 340B), demodulated in an AM
modulator/demodulator 338, filtered by filters 337 and combined
before application to broadband analog-to-digital converter 170, on
a return path to the base station unit 330.
Referring now to FIG. 20, there is illustrated in more detail a
modulator/demodulator 338. Each unit 338 includes an AM modulator
338A, which receives a POTS/data input signal, a video input
signal, and a PCN/microcell traffic input signal. AM modulator 338A
combines the signal inputs and produces an AM modulated signal for
application to AM optical transmitter 338B, which in turn applies
its optical wavelength output to fiber 348. On the return path, AM
demodulator 338C receives an input from AM optical receiver 338D,
and provides an output of PCN/microcell and diversity traffic,
together with a POTS/data output signal.
Referring now to FIG. 24, the microcell optical node unit 342 is
shown in more detail. Unit 342 includes an AM optical receiver 400,
which receives the AM modulated signal from an AM
modulator/demodulator 338. The output of optical receiver 400 is
applied to an AM demodulator 402, which outputs a POTS/data signal
and a video signal. The POTS/data is to be delivered to subscriber
homes over the optical node to home data transmission medium. The
video signal is also supplied to subscriber homes over the
transmission medium (usually coaxial cable, or possibly fiber). The
PCN/microcell traffic is separately outputted from AM demodulator
402 and applied to an up-converter comprising mixer 404 and local
oscillator 406, where it is restored to its operating frequency.
The signal is amplified with amplifier 408 and applied through
duplexer 410 for transmission into the microcell area via a main
antenna 412. According to the exemplary embodiment disclosed
herein, the channels carried in the 1 MHz band, are transmitted
from the antenna unit at the optical node. RF signals received at
antenna 412 are fed through duplexer 410 and are applied to filter
420. Diversity antenna 424 may optionally be provided with its
output applied through filter 426 to a mixer 428. A local
oscillator provides an input to mixer 422 and mixer 428, effecting
a down-conversion of the received PCN or microcell traffic before
application to AM modulator 432, together with return POTS/data
traffic. AM modulator 432 combines the main channel, diversity
channel and POTS/data signals and modulates them onto fiber 340B
through AM optical transmitter 434.
The AM modulators (338A, 432) and demodulators (338C, 402) are
illustrated in more detail in FIGS. 25 and 26. Referring now to
FIG. 25, there are shown in more detail AM modulator 338A. The
POTS/data, video channel and microcell/PCN channel signal sources
are applied to respective mixers 350, 352 and 354, where they are
frequency shifted to a desired frequency for combination at
combining circuit 356. The combined signals applied to a
conventional modulator AM modulator 358.
As shown in FIG. 26, on the return path, the AM signal is applied
to a conventional AM demodulator 360, the output of which is
filtered by filters 362 and 364 for application to respective
mixers 366 and 368, where the bands are restored to their desired
carrier frequency.
Thus, as described above, the alternate embodiment illustrated
generally in FIG. 17 provides that microcell or PCN traffic may be
carried over the installed fiber distribution system of an existing
cable TV system. In addition, the system illustrates the provision
of POTS/data service utilizing the same system. However, the
additional provision of POTS/data service is in no way essential
for the invention.
Alternate Digital Modulation/Demodulation
In the above-described system, the digitized RF signal is converted
to an analog form prior to being transported to the remote optical
node unit 342. According to the alternate exemplary embodiment now
to be described, the digitized form of the RF signal may be
maintained through to the remote optical node units 342 by use of
digital modulation such as QAM modulation. In the alternate
exemplary embodiment of FIG. 27A, groups 453 of transmitters apply
a combined output to the input of corresponding analog-to-digital
converters 456 (including down-conversion to an intermediate or
baseband frequency), and the framer/multiplexer 458 frames the
digitized transmitter group signals so that these groups may be
extracted from the framing structure at the other end of the link.
Similarly, a demultiplexer 459 demultiplexes a received signal and
applies a corresponding digitized signal to each of
analog-to-digital converters 457 (including up-conversion) for
application to respective receiver groups 455. Diversity output is
also optionally provided. The transmitter groups may, for example,
contain up to ten transmitters, so that the combined digitized
bandwidth is approximately 1 MHz, consisting of approximately 300
KHz of spectrum digitized at a 2+X rate, plus framing and control
bits. The alternate digital modulation embodiment of the head end
unit 332' is illustrated in FIG. 27B. Although this embodiment
shall be described with respect to QAM modulation, it shall be
understood that other forms of digital modulation are also within
the scope of the present invention. According to this embodiment,
the digitized RF received at the head end unit 332' is
demultiplexed in demultiplexer 450, output group by group, and
applied in digital form to a plurality of QAM
modulators/demodulators 338', as illustrated in FIG. 28. The return
traffic from a QAM demodulator 464 is applied to a
framer/multiplexer unit 452, which in turn applies the digital
signal back to fiber 331B through digitally modulated laser
174.
As illustrated in FIG. 28, QAM modulator 460 receives a digital
POTS/data input signal, a digital video signal and a digital
PCN/microcell traffic signal. QAM modulator 460 multiplexes the
input signals and produces a QAM modulated output signal for
application to AM optical transmitter 462, which is in turn applied
to fiber 340A. On a return path, AM optical receiver 466 receives a
QAM modulated signal from optical fiber 340B and applies an input
to QAM demodulator 464. Demodulator 464 demultiplexes the received
signal and in turn produces a digital microcell/PCN signal and a
digital POTS/data signal.
Referring now to FIG. 29 there is shown the alternate QAM
embodiment of microcell optical node 342'. Alternate optical node
342' includes an AM optical receiver 500 receiving its input from
fiber 340A. QAM demodulator 502 receives an output from AM optical
receiver 500 and demultiplexes and demodulates the signal for
application to digital-to-analog converter 504. Converter 504
outputs an intermediate or baseband frequency signal which is
up-converted with mixer 506 and local oscillator 508 to the
transmission frequency. The signal is applied to amplifier 510,
filtered with filter 512, passed through duplexer 514 and
transmitted from the main antenna unit 516. On the return path, the
RF signal is received at the main antenna unit 516, passed through
duplexer 514, filtered at filter 518 and applied to a
down-converter, comprising mixer 528 and local oscillator 530. A
diversity antenna 520 is optionally provided together with filter
522 and a down-converter comprising a local oscillator 526 and
mixer 524. The main antenna signal and diversity antenna signals
are combined using combining circuit 532 and applied to
analog-to-digital converter 534. The output of analog-to-digital
converter 534 is applied to QAM modulator 536, which applies its
output to AM optical transmitter 538, which in turn applies its
output to fiber 340B for transmission to the head end.
Thus, as described above, this alternate exemplary embodiment
provides a system for maintaining the RF or PCN signal in digital
format all the way to the optical node unit 342. It thus can
advantageously provide a higher quality signal than might otherwise
be obtained with AM modulation schemes.
Transmission of Digitized RF Over Switched Telephone Network
Yet another alternate exemplary embodiment of the present invention
is shown in FIG. 30. In FIG. 30, base station units 600 are
connected to the remote antenna units 602 through a switched
telephone network 120, as illustrated in more detail in FIGS. 31A,
32A, 33A and 34. As illustrated in FIG. 31A, each base station unit
600 includes radio controller and T1 interface circuitry 22
receiving a plurality of PCN or microcell channels from the MTSO.
The output of each of a plurality of groups 610 of transmitters 23
are combined at combining circuit 612 for application to an
analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog
converter/framing/demultiplexing circuits 614. Groups 620 of
receivers 28 receive an analog signal output from circuits 614.
Each of circuits 614 also produces an analog diversity signal,
which is applied to a group 622 of diversity receivers 28'.
Each of circuits 614 functions to convert the analog RF (after
suitable down-conversion) to a digital signal which is framed and
applied to the switched telephone network. In addition, each of
circuits 614 receives a signal from the switched network, which it
demultiplexes and converts back to a corresponding analog RF
signal, for application to a respective receiver group 620 or
diversity receiver 622.
In the exemplary embodiment illustrated herein, it is contemplated
that approximately ten 30 KHz, PCN or AMPS cellular channels (given
current 7 channel spacing requirements) may be digitized into a
respective 1.05 or 1.25 MHz bandwidth which may be formatted as a
44.736 Mb/s DS-3 or OC-1 signal for application to the switched
telephone network through a T1 line or optical fiber link, with
bits available for control and error detection. AMPS, or Advanced
Mobile Phone Service, is the original and standard format for
cellular service consisting of frequency modulated (FM) channels at
30 KHz spacings. However, the system could carry 15 to 18 time
division multiple access (TDMA) signals, or a combination of AMPS
and TDMA signals could be carried. As is well known to those of
skill in the art, TDMA is an alternative modulation technique for
cellular which replaces each AMPS channel with three
time-multiplexed digital signals. Hence 5 to 6 AMPS channels are 15
to 18 TDMA channels.
Referring now to FIG. 32A, there is illustrated in more detail
circuit 614. Circuit 614 is essentially identical to circuit 130,
as illustrated with regard to FIG. 4, but includes a network
interface circuit 630 and 632 in place of digitally modulated laser
136 and digital optical receiver 140, respectively. Interface
circuits 630 and 632 provide the necessary T1 interface or
interface to an optical path.
The remote antenna units 602 are illustrated in more detail in FIG.
33A. Antenna units 602 are essentially identical in construction to
the remote antenna units 102 as illustrated with respect to FIG. 8.
However, in place of the digital optical receiver 160 and digitally
modulated laser 174, there are provided network interfaces 640 and
642 for interfacing to the switched network 120.
The same framing structure illustrated above with respect to FIGS.
6,7,22 and 23 are applicable to this exemplary embodiment of the
invention, except at lower speeds as necessary. In the case where
the diversity function is provided, the return path would include
additional DS-3 or OC-1 signals, requiring additional T1 or SONET
line capacity on the return path.
Referring now to FIGS. 31B, 32B and 33B, there is shown an
alternate exemplary embodiment 600' of the base station 600
illustrated in FIG. 30. Alternate embodiment 600' provides that all
the transmitters 23 in the base station are applied to unit 614',
which is illustrated in FIG. 32B. Similarly, unit 614' services all
of the receivers 28 and 28' in the base station. Thus, the
embodiment of FIG. 31B differs from the embodiment of FIG. 31A in
that a single unit 614' is provided for the base station, and the
transmitters and receivers are ungrouped.
Referring now to FIG. 32B, there is illustrated analog-to digital
and digital-to-analog converter/framing/demultiplexing unit 614'.
Unit 614' receives the combined input from all the transmitters 23
in the base station 600'. A broadband digitizer 132 digitizes the
combined signal. The output of broadband digitizer 132 is applied
to the plurality of digital filters 802. Digital filters 802 each
preferably include a decimation filter and a finite impulse
response (FIR) filter. Decimation filter 802A receives the 30.72
MSamples/s (12-bit wide) data stream and produces a digitized data
stream corresponding to the output of one of the transmitters 23
(i.e. one of the channels) consisting of an approximately 80
KSamples/s data stream, with 12-bit samples. The 80 KSamples/s rate
corresponds to a sampling rate of 2.4.times., of a 30 KHz signal
(the channel width). However, any rate of at least 2.times.
satisfying the Nyquist criterion can be used.
Decimation filter 802 is preferably, for example, a decimating
digital filter, Part Number HSP 43220, available from Harris
Semiconductor, Inc. of Melbourne Fla. Another vendor of such
filters may be ESL, a division of TRW, Inc. Referring back to FIG.
32B, each digital filter 802 is programmed to filter out of the
broadband signal from digitizer 132 a channel corresponding to one
of transmitters 23. Accordingly, a base station installation with
twenty transmitters would require twenty digital filters 802, to
extract the digitized data stream corresponding to each
transmitter. Broadband digitizer 132 digitizes the entire microcell
traffic spectrum, which is, in the case of the original AMPS
system, 12.5 MHz wide. In the case of twenty channels, the
bandwidth to be transported can thus be greatly reduced to 600 KHz,
from 12.5 MHz. Thus, digital filters 802 greatly reduce the amount
of data to be transmitted over the switched network.
A frame generator/multiplexer of generally the same design as
generator multiplexer 134', is provided to multiplex the data
stream from each digital filter 802 onto one or more T1, SONET or
other carriers. For instance, a single channel of 72 KSamples/s,
with 12-bit samples, constitutes an 864 Kb/s serial data stream.
Adding framing and control bits, as, for example, illustrate in
FIG. 22 or 23 (with, for example, a 1-bit CRC channel, a 1-bit
alarm-control/under wire channel and a frame word of 6 bits)
produces a serial data stream of approximately 1.54 mb/s (20
bits.times.72 KHz).
Frame generator/multiplexer 134' can thus multiplex the output of
one of digital filters 802 into a DS1 format on a T1 carrier with a
capacity of 1.55 mb/s, or can combine multiple outputs of digital
filters 802 on a 44.736 Mb/s DS-3 or OC-1 signal for application of
the switched telephone network.
A filter control circuit 803 is also provided in unit 614', and has
an input to each of digital filters 802. Filter control 803 allows
digital filters 802 to be programmed, so that their filtering
characteristics (and channel selection) may be selectively changed,
if desired. Filter control 803 further includes an input from radio
controller 22, which may provide control input, in order to specify
the channels to be extracted from the data stream. A network
interface circuit 630', interfaces frame generator/multiplexer 134'
to the switched telephone network.
Referring now to FIG. 33B, there is shown alternate embodiment
602', which operates in conjunction with alternate embodiment 614'.
A network interface circuit 640' receives one or more T1, SONET or
other carriers from the switched telephone network, carrying
digitized microcell traffic produced by frame generator/multiplexer
134'. The digitized data stream(s) are applied to demultiplexer
162', of generally the same design as demultiplexer 162, which
extracts the digitized stream from each carrier, channel by
channel, and applies each individual extracted channel to a
separate one of digital-to-analog converters 164'. The outputs of
converters 164' are combined, and applied to power amplifier 24, to
be broadcast through antenna 26. Each of digital-to-analog
converters 164' may be of the same design as digital-to-analog
converter 164 of FIG. 21B. However, unlike digital-to-analog
converters 164, digital-to-analog converters 164' need only handle
a single channel, and thus may possibly be of less exacting
design.
Alternate embodiment of remote unit 602' further includes a
plurality of digital filters 802, which operate in the same manner
as digital filters 802 of base station unit 614' to extract
selected microcell digitized channels from the output of the
broadband digitized signal from the output of broadband
analog-to-digital converter 170. Framer/multiplexer 172', of
generally the same design as multiplexer 172, operates in a manner
similar to frame generator/multiplexer 134' to multiplex the
extracted channels onto one or more T1, SONET or other carriers,
applied to the switched telephone network through network interface
642'.
Referring again to FIG. 32B, demultiplexer 142', of generally the
same design as demultiplexer 142, receives the multiplexed signals
from remote unit 602' through network interface 632'. Unit 142'
demultiplexes each of the channels and applies a single channel to
each of digital-to-analog converters 144', which may be of similar
design to digital-to-analog converters 164'. The output of digital
analog converters 144' may be applied to receivers 28.
As illustrated in FIG. 33B, remote unit 602' may also include a
diversity path with digital filters 805 provided to extract the
diversity channels from the digitized diversity signal. The
extracted channels may be multiplexed through framer multiplexer
172' onto the switched telephone network. In base station unit
614', a diversity path is provided from demultiplexer 142', whereby
extracted diversity channels may be applied to diversity receivers
28'. Thus, as described above, the alternative embodiment
illustrated in FIGS. 31B, 32B and 33B provides digital filters to
extract selected microcell channels from the broadband digitized
signal travelling to and from the remote units 602'. The extraction
of selected channels provides that a much more limited bandwidth
capacity is required to carry the signals from transmitters 23 to
the remote units and return the received channels from the remote
units to the base station.
In yet another alternate embodiment, the system of FIG. 11 is
modified to transport the digitized signals over the switched
telephone network, as for example illustrated herein above.
Network Interface to Cable System
FIG. 34 illustrates yet another alternate exemplary embodiment of
the present invention, wherein the transmission of digitized RF
over the switched telephone network is combined with the
transmission of the RF signal over the cable system. More
specifically, as shown in FIG. 34, a network interface 702 is
provided at the head end unit to receive digital PCN/microcell
traffic off the switched telephone network. That traffic is applied
to QAM modulator 460 and AM optical transmitter 462 (see FIG. 28).
Similarly, network interface circuitry 704 provides for application
of digital PCN or microcell traffic to the switched network, as it
is received from QAM demodulator 464. Thus, signals originating
from a base station 600 can be carried through the switched network
to the cable system and back again.
Thus, as described above, this alternate exemplary embodiment of
the invention provides that PCN or microcell traffic may be
conveniently carried over a switched telephone network. This
operation has obvious advantages, permitting rapid installation of
additional capacity, rather than the necessity of installing
additional transmission lines.
Thus, these alternate exemplary embodiments provide for an ability
to transmit radio frequency microcell or PCN traffic through a
switched network and through a cable system installation.
Various modifications and alternate configurations of the
embodiments of FIGS. 17 through 34 are contemplated. An all digital
configuration (similar to the embodiment of FIG. 10) of the
embodiment of FIG. 17 or FIG. 27A eliminates the transmitters,
receivers and analog-to-digital and reverse conversion in the base
station 330. An all digital configuration for the embodiment of
FIG. 30 eliminates these analog components from the base stations
600. The method of installing and upgrading from the analog
embodiments to the all digital embodiments can be carried out
substantially as described above with regard to the embodiments of
FIGS. 2-15. Other modifications to the embodiments of FIGS. 17
through 35 include wave division multiplexing so that the fiber
pairs may be replace with a single fiber.
Passive Handoff System
Referring now to FIG. 35A there is illustrated an exemplary
embodiment of a passive handoff microcell telecommunications system
800. The system shown in FIG. 35A is of like construction to that
of FIG. 2 with the exception of base station units 114', which are
constructed as shown in FIG. 35B to provide passive handoff
switching.
For the purposes of describing system 800, microcell areas 100 are
referred to as "microcell zones," which zones are labeled for the
purposes of one exemplary embodiment as A1-A6, B1-B6 and C1-C6.
Each zone includes an independent antenna for transmitting to and
receiving from mobile units. Zones A1-A6 collectively comprise
"Cell A," zones B1-B6 collectively comprise "cell B," and zones
C1-C6 collectively comprise "cell C." Each cell A, B and C has a
set of reusable frequencies to be used within the cell, according
to conventional cellular system design. Passive handoff system 800
provides that a transmission frequency or channel assigned to a
mobile unit in a given cell may be broadcast from the remote unit
182 in any one of microcell zones 100 under the control of a unit
114' without interaction with or control from MTSO 110. A channel
can thus follow a mobile telephone unit from one microcell zone to
another within a given cell. Accordingly, multiple microcell zones
may be served by the same set of channels (i.e. transmission
frequencies) allowing the signal transmission power level within
each zone to be minimized, and thereby avoiding undesirable
interference with adjoining microcell zones or cells. The system
also reduces the switching load on MTSO 110. However, when a mobile
unit travels from one cell to another, MTSO 110 switches the unit
to a new channel (and corresponding pair of transmit and receive
frequencies) in the newly entered cell, in a conventional
manner.
Referring now to FIG. 35B, there is shown in more detail a base
station unit 114' according to the present invention. Unit 114'
includes a radio controller 22 providing an interface between the
T1 lines from the MTSO 110 and the base station radio equipment.
Transmitters 23-1 to 23-N (where N is a positive integer) are
connected to a matrix switch 802, the outputs of which are in turn
connected to a plurality of combining circuits 804-1 to 804-X
(where X is a positive integer), which are in turn connected
respectively to a plurality of digital transmitting/receiving units
130''-1 to 130''-X. Units 130''-1 to 130''-X are connected to the
microcell areas 102 over respective transmission paths 104-1 to
104-X, as illustrated in FIG. 35A.
The respective outputs of transmitter/receiver digitizing units
130'' carrying the analog microcell traffic, are each applied to
matrix switch 808. Matrix switch 808 selectively connects any input
to any one of receivers 28-1 to 28-N through respective outputs
806-1 to 806-X, and combining circuits 807-1 to 807-X. A controller
810 controls matrix switch 802 and matrix switch 808 using
respective control lines 812 and 814. Controller 810 receives a
sample of digitized microcell traffic from each of the digitization
units 130' over sample lines 816.
As described in more detail below, controller 18 continuously
processes the digital samples received from units 130'' and in
response thereto controls matrix switches 802 and 808 in order to
switch each of transmitter units 23 through to one (or more or
none) of units 130'' and to connect receivers 28 to one (or more or
none) of units 130''. For instance, in one exemplary switching
configuration, matrix switch 802 might connect all three
transmitters 23-1, 23-2 and 23-N through outputs 803-1 to combiner
circuit 804-1, so that all three transmitter frequencies F.sub.1,
F.sub.2, and F.sub.n are combined and applied to unit 130''-1 for
digitization and transport to a microcell zone. In another
configuration, transmitter 23-1 and might be connected to combiner
804-X through one of outputs 803-X, while transmitter 23-2 is
connected to combiner 804-2 through one of outputs 803-2, and
transmitter 23-X is connected to combiner 804-1, through one of
outputs 803-1. Matrix switch 802 thus allows any one of
transmitters 23 to be connected to any one of combiners 804, in any
combination.
Switch 802 thus permits a transmission frequency to "follow" a
mobile unit from one microcell zone to another. For example, with
reference to FIG. 35C consider a mobile unit 820 which initiates a
cellular telephone call at a time T.sub.1 within zone A1. In the
example, mobile unit 820 is located in a car. However, it can be
hand-carried or otherwise transported from zone to zone. To set up
calls and perform control, the control channel(s) for a cell A, B
or C is simultaneously transmitted to and received from all zones
in the respective cell, as accomplished by switches 802 and 808.
Upon call set up, which is accomplished in a conventional fashion,
as for example described in "Mobile Cellular Telecommunications
Systems", by William C. Y. Lee, MTSO 110 assigns mobile unit 820 to
a currently available channel, for example the frequencies handled
by transmitter 23-1 and receiver 28-1 (assuming a
transmitter/receiver pair is currently available for assignment).
MTSO 110 is programmed to recognize that the channels associated
with transmitters 23-1 to 23-N and receivers 28-1 to 28-N are
assigned, collectively, to cell A, which in this example consists
of zones A1-A6. During the initial set up the assigned transmit and
receive channels can be transmitted to received from all zones in
the cell, at least until it can be determined which zone can handle
the call exclusively.
Thus, as initially set up, mobile unit 820 transmits and receives
on frequencies F.sub.1 and F'.sub.1, respectively. Controller 810
constantly monitors the signal strength of transmissions from
mobile units 820 in all zones in Cell A as received at the antenna
units of the remote units 102 positioned in the zones. Signal
strength in each zone is detected by sampling the digitized RF
microcell traffic returning from remote units 102 to units 130''.
While mobile unit 820 is within microcell zone A1, the strength of
the received signal F'.sub.1 is likely the greatest because of the
proximity of mobile unit 820 to the antenna unit of remote unit
102-1 in zone A1. Frequency F'.sub.1 might, however, also be
received at the antenna of remote unit 102 in zone A2, or in the
more distant zone A3. Control unit 810 monitors the strength of
received signal F'.sub.1 in all of the digitized microcell traffic
streams received from all of remote units 102 in the Cell A, and,
according to at least one exemplary approach, identifies the remote
unit 102 which receives the strongest signal at frequency F'.sub.1.
Assuming for this example, that the signal F'.sub.1 received at the
remote unit 102 in zone A1 is the strongest among the zones,
controller 810 signals matrix switch 802 to connect transmitter
23-1 to combiner 804-1, which in turn applies its output to
digitizing 130''-1. Unit 130''-1 in turn transmits the digitized
microcell traffic stream containing the frequency F.sub.1 to the
remote unit in zone A1, which in turn broadcasts frequency F.sub.1
in zone A1 (along with any other frequencies switched into the
combiner 804-1). On the return path, controller 810 causes matrix
switch 808 to connect the output of digitizing unit 130''-1, as
received on line 806-1, to receiver 28-1. Preferably, transmitter
23-1 is connected to no other digitizing units 130'', such that no
other remote unit 102 is broadcasting at the frequency F.sub.1,
except for unit 102-1. Similarly, it is preferable that no other
digitizing units 130'' are connected through matrix switch 808 to
receiver 28-1. As a result, interference between adjacent microcell
zones caused by broadcasting the same frequency is avoided and
interference resulting from a receiver 28 receiving the same
frequency (at different phases and varying distortions) from more
than one zone is avoided.
Extending the example further, consider now that mobile unit 820
moves from zone A1 to microcell zone A2 at a time t.sub.2. As
mobile unit 820 moves from microcell zone A1 to zone A2, controller
810 continues to sample and detect the received signal strength of
transmission frequency F'.sub.1 from all the remote units 102 in
cell A. Upon movement from microcell zone A1 to A2, controller 810
should detect an increasingly stronger signal at frequency F'.sub.1
in microcell area A2, and correspondingly a reduction in signal
strength at that frequency in microcell area zone A1. When certain
switching criteria are met, controller 810 performs a "passive
handoff," by switching transmitter 23-1 from connection to combiner
804-1 to connection with combiner 804-2, and correspondingly
switching receiver 28-1 to receive its input from digitizing
130''-2. As a result, transmission at frequency F.sub.1 ceases at
remote unit 102 in zone A1, and the signal received at that remote
unit 102 is no longer applied through switch 808 to receiver 28.
Thus, system 800 can passively switch a channel from one zone to
another within a cell to follow a mobile unit.
The following example illustrates the operation of system 800 when
the mobile unit moves from one cell to another. For example, if
mobile unit 820 moves from microcell zone A3 to zone B1 at a time
t.sub.3, controller 810 again detects a corresponding reduction in
signal strength received at the remote unit 102 in zone A3.
However, no corresponding increase in signal strength in another
zone in cell A is detected to trigger a passive handoff. Rather,
the handoff from cell A to cell B is handed by MTSO 110 as MTSO 110
senses the movement of the mobile unit 820 between cell A and B.
Prior to leaving the cell, as the signal strength decreases,
transmission and reception may be achieved using all zones in the
cell. As the unit 820 moves into the B cell, MTSO 110 operates to
assign a new channel to the mobile unit, from frequencies assigned
to cell B. The base station unit 114' serving cell B then operates
in the same manner as described above to identify the initial zone
to transmit and receive from, and to perform passive handoffs
within cell B. Accordingly, switching between cells A, B or C is
carried out independently of the passive handoff of assigned
frequencies between zones in a cell. Cell B could, of course, be of
conventional design with a single antenna serving the entire
cell.
Thus, as described above, the present invention provides a passive
handoff system, wherein a transmission frequency is assigned to a
mobile unit, and that frequency tracks or follows the mobile unit
from one microcell zone to another under the control of controller
810, and without intervention from or switching of transmission
frequencies by the MTSO 110. This mode of operation is particularly
advantageous in certain microcell applications, wherein multiple
remote units 102 are required to cover an area, but there is not
enough traffic density in a given zone within the area to support a
conventional cell site installation. For example, a narrowed
depression in the terrain, such as a ravine or along a road
adjacent to a river bed may require multiple antenna installations
to obtain adequate signal coverage, due to blockage from nearby
terrain. Another example might be in an underground parking garage,
or even in large office buildings where larger than normal signal
attenuation results in unacceptable signal levels. Furthermore,
cell sites in some cellular systems are not located close enough
together, thus resulting in poor coverage areas between the cells.
Still another example is along a traffic corridor between
population centers. For these situations and others, it is
advantageous to use a passive handoff system permitting an
expansion of the area covered without assigning separate frequency
sets and corresponding transmitters and receivers for each zone
within the area.
Preferably, each switch 802 and 808 provides support for at least
twenty (20) transmitters and twenty (20) receivers, respectively.
In addition, each of switches 802 and 808 preferably permits
connection of the transmitters and receivers to up to six
digitizing units 130''. Accordingly, matrix switch 802 may be used,
for example, to connect up to twenty (20) transmitters (where
N=20), through to any one of digitizing units 130''. Similarly, the
output from digitizers 130'' may be selectively connected to any
one of receivers 28, such that a single one of digitizers 130'' may
be connected to all of receivers 28, or all of the digitizing units
130'' may be connected to a single one of receivers 28. However, it
shall be understood that switches 802 and 808 may be adapted to
handle more or less than twenty (20) receivers or transmitters, or
more or less than six (6) units 114'.
Switches 802 and 808 are preferably matrix switches, wherein the
combining function is integrated into the switch at the matrix
nodes, in the form of Wilkinson combiners using nonreflective pin
diode attenuators. Such components are available from Salisbury
Engineering, Inc., of Salisbury, Md. The switches are preferably of
the attenuator type, allowing linear control of rise and fall time.
Switching is preferably make before break.
Referring now to FIG. 36, there is shown a first exemplary
embodiment of unit 130''. Unit 130'' is of the same design and
operation as unit 130, except it additionally includes a data bus
830 connected to the bus carrying demultiplexed digitized microcell
traffic from demultiplexer 142 to digital-to-analog converter 144.
Bus 830 is applied to parallel-in parallel-out FIFO buffer 832,
which has an output enable controlled by an enable line 834
received from a controller 810. When enabled, buffer 832 outputs a
replica of the digitized microcell traffic on data bus 836.
Referring now to FIG. 37, there is shown an exemplary embodiment of
controller 810 according to the present invention. Controller 810
of FIG. 38A is adapted for use with unit 130'' shown in FIG. 36.
Controller 810 includes a multiplexer 884 which is connected to the
buffers 832 in each of units 130''-1 to 130''-X, through a twelve
(12) bit data bus 836 with one (1) clock line. Multiplexer 884
(preferably tri-state) selects input from one of the busses 836,
and supplies it to fast-fourier-transform (FFT) processor 856.
Selection is made under control of microprocessor system 860, using
control line 862. FFT processor 856 clocks in digitized microcell
traffic samples consisting of 12 bit words. Digital FFT processor
856 preferably uses a Raytheon Part No. 3310, available from
Raytheon, Inc.
The output of FFT processor 856 is a plurality of 16 bit words in
bins, with each bin representing the strength or amplitude of a 30
KHz channel (or channel of a PCS or other service) within the
digitized cellular data stream. The output of FFT processor 856 is
applied to system 860 over data bus 859, using control line 861. A
select circuit 886 receives a control signal 863 from system 860,
and selectively generates signals on enable lines 834. Enable lines
834 are used to selectively enable the outputs of buffers 832, so
that FFT processor 856 can be selectively filled with digitized
microcell traffic samples from a selected source. Microprocessor
system 860 is connected to a matrix switch driver 875, which drives
matrix switches 802 and 808. The operation of controller 810 as
shown in FIG. 37 will be described in more detail below.
Referring now to FIG. 38, there is shown a simplified flow diagram
of the operation of programmed microprocessor system 860 and its
corresponding control over the operation of system 800. FIG. 39 is
representative of both the program 900 executed by microprocessor
system 860 and the method of system 800. Program 900 include an
initialization/configuration routine 910. System configuration
provides for the identification of the channels serviced by base
station 114'. Preferably, microprocessor system 860 includes
magnetic storage media such as a hard drive or the equivalent for
storage of the configuration information and other data, together
with computer programs. Once configured, polling and switching
operation may be invoked. In this mode of operation, microprocessor
system 860 first selects (routine 912) the digitized traffic stream
for a "first" zone in the cell. In the embodiment of FIG. 37, the
selection is achieved using enable lines 834. A selected one of
enable lines 834 is activated to enable the acquisition and output
of the microcell traffic data from a corresponding one of buffers
832. The enabled buffer 832 applies a replica of the digitized
microcell traffic stream from demultiplexer 142 in unit 130'' to
multiplexer 884, which applies the digitized traffic stream to FFT
processor 856.
Routine 914 provides that FFT processor 856 is activated for
loading of the digitized microcell traffic stream under the control
of microprocessor system 860 using control line 861. A buffer 832
may load, for instance, 1024 samples of the digitized microcell
traffic. As microcell traffic data is received from a buffer 832,
FFT processor 856 clocks in digitized 12 bit microcell traffic
samples or words. The output of FFT processor 856 comprising a
series of 16 bit words specifying the signal strength of the
respective channels carried in the digitized microcell traffic
stream.
Microprocessor system 860 preferably employs an Intel brand "486"
type microprocessor or better running at least 33 MHz. At this
speed, the time between selection of the digitized microcell
traffic stream and the receipt of the frequency spectrum analysis
from FFT processor 856 can be less than 5 milliseconds. Once
microprocessor system 860 has received (916) the frequency spectrum
data from FFT circuit 856, which contains the signal amplitude for
each frequency in the zone, the data is recorded for immediate or
later analysis (routine 918). Optionally, the date and time of the
signal measurement is also recorded, together with any other
parameters of interest. The polling process continues if all zones
in the cell have not yet been measured within the current polling
cycle. If polling continues, the digitized microcell traffic stream
for the next zone in the cell is selected (routine 924) in the
above-described process of data acquisition analysis and storage is
repeated.
Once all zones have been measured in a current cycle,
microprocessor system 860 determines the channel (i.e.,
transmitter/receiver) zone assignments based on the signal levels
recorded during the cycle. The particular manner in which this
determination is made is not essential to the invention, but
preferably may take one of the forms described below.
It is contemplated that the switching algorithms for the transmit
and receive paths of unit 114' will be different. In the transmit
path, it is contemplated that the method of switching will use the
coverage received signal strength in a given zone over a period of
1/2 second to 3 seconds, with the zone with the greatest strength
chosen as the active zone. Alternatively, a zone which is not
currently fading, even if at a lower signal strength, may be
chosen. If it doesn't matter which zone is used, for example, if
signal strengths are comparable, a zone may be chosen which evens
out the distribution of channel assignments in the cell. Where the
optimum zone cannot be determined, several or all zones can be
selected or active, for example, as might occur when a mobile unit
is on the edge of a cell.
For switching receivers, instantaneous and average levels are
tracked, and fades are tracked so that trends can be predicted and
the switching from one zone to another on the receive side can be
anticipated. If the received signal strength is below a threshold
level, then a receiver may be connected for reception from all
zones, for instance where a mobile unit is on the edge of a cell.
Switching on the receive side is typically accomplished at a much
faster rate of change, than on the transmit side owing to the
greater problem of reception and fading from the relative low power
transmitters in the mobile units.
Of course, other switching algorithms for both the transmit and
receive channels are possible, and certainly those applicable to
conventional cellular switching are good candidates.
Once the new channel (transmitter/receiver) assignment has been
determined, system 860 switches the transmitters and receivers
using switches 802 and 808, through matrix switch drivers 875.
As an alternative to the operation specified for program 900
described above, channel (transmitter/receiver) zone assignments
may be determined on a continual basis after each new frequency
spectrum measurement is obtained. For instance, program 900 of FIG.
38 may be modified by inserting steps 930 and 932 between step 920
and 924, and eliminating decision step 922. Thus, as described
above, system 810 may complete an analysis of all channels in a
given zone in under 2 ms. In a handoff system with 6 zones, all
analysis can be done in under 12 ms. One advantage to such fast
channel analysis is in the capability of base station receive
diversity, which may improve signal quality in areas at the fringes
of cell coverage or where signal is momentarily blocked on one
zone. Since fading is a major problem in, for example, remote
areas, the ability to quickly switch between receiver sources
allows a form of diversity reception using the antennas in
different zones as "diversity" antennas for each other.
A possible side advantage of fast analysis would be to accumulate
statistical data on fading that might assist service providers in
finding optimum antenna/microcell placement.
As mentioned above, microprocessor system 860 may optionally record
the date and time of each measurement of the frequency spectrum of
the digitized microcell traffic stream. Accordingly, a history of
channel usage and signal strength within any given channel may be
readily obtained, and later used for the purpose of reconfiguring
the system, for example, by moving antenna units. Accordingly, the
present invention further contemplates a method of recording the
use of the channels within the zones and the corresponding signal
strength, and later using this information to reconfigure the
system.
As an alternate exemplary embodiment, the system of FIG. 35A (and
FIG. 39 below) can be modified so that the digitized RF signal is
carried to the zones over a switched telephone network, as for
example illustrated in FIG. 30, or modified to transport the
digitized RF over a cable system, as for example illustrated
herein.
In the alternate embodiment of FIG. 39A, base station 114' is
modified to provide all digital base station 114''. All digital
base station 114'', like the system of FIG. 11A, uses a digital
synthesizer 212' and digital demodulator 224 to replace the analog
RF radio equipment in the base station. A T1 Interface 202
interfaces to MTSO 110, and applies a digital form of each
telephone signal all control signal from the MTSO to each digital
synthesizer 212'. Each synthesizer receives control signals from
the controller 810' over line 812'. Each digital synthesizer 212'
is responsive to controller 810' to create a synthesizer digital
data stream for framing and transport to an associated unit 106 in
a zone, so that any combination of the channels assigned to the
cell can be broadcast in the cell.
On the return path, the digitized sample 816 is taken from the
demultiplexed digital data stream returning from the units 106, and
supplied to controller 810'. The digital samples are obtained from
the demultiplexer 221' in a like manner as described above with
respect to FIG. 36. Controller 810' in turn uses the sample data as
described above with respect to control 810 to control switching.
Selector 880 can be used to select the received signal for any
desired channel from any one of demodulators 224, for application
to T1 interface 202. Alternatively, selector/processor 880 is
configured to process two or more of the incoming streams for each
channel to create a reduced noise composite stream.
An alternate embodiment of the system of FIG. 39A is illustrated in
FIG. 39B. The system of FIG. 39B is similar to the system of FIG.
11B, in that the digital synthesizer 212''' receives an analog
telephone signal input from radio controller 22, and operates like
synthesizer 212' of FIG. 11B. Similarly, digital demodulator 224'
operates like demodulator 224' of FIG. 11B, delivering an analog
signal to radio controller 22.
Yet another two alternate embodiments of the system of FIG. 35 are
shown in FIGS. 39C and 39D, which are modified in a manner similar
to the systems of FIGS. 11C and 11D, so that transport is over the
switched network and the synthesizer produces individual digitized
channels for application to the network.
Referring now to FIG. 40, there is shown yet another exemplary
embodiment of the system of FIG. 35A, in this case modified to
communicate through the switched telephone network by replacing
units 130'' with a modified version 614'' (modified to obtain the
samples of the digitized traffic stream) of circuit 614' of FIG.
32B. In this embodiment, only those channels actually used in the
antenna units 106 are transported to the units, saving bandwidth in
the same way as system 614'.
Referring to FIGS. 41A-C, there is illustrated other alternate
exemplary embodiments of the passive handoff microcell system of
the present invention. In the systems of FIGS. 41A-C, redundancy is
achieved by arranging the microcell units 102 such that each area
of the cell, or "macro cell", is covered by at least two microcell
units. Accordingly, in the event of a failure of one of the units,
the redundant microcells 103 are available to provide coverage in
the area lost due to the failure.
In FIG. 41 A, a macrocell 103 is covered by three primary
microcells 102 and by three secondary microcells 105. In the
example shown secondary microcells 105 are placed in a distribution
similar to that of primary microcells 102 but rotated 45 degrees
around the center of macrocell 103. It should be apparent that
other distributions could be used advantageously to provide similar
redundant coverage.
In normal operation, primary microcells 102 provide full coverage
over macrocell 103. In case of a failure in one of the microcells
102, however, the two adjacent microcells 105 can provide coverage
over the region served by the failed primary microcell 102. In
another embodiment, primary microcells 102 provide primary coverage
to first regions of macrocell 103 and secondary coverage to second
regions of macrocell 103 while secondary microcells 105 provide
primary coverage to the second regions of macrocell 103 and
secondary coverage to the first regions.
A second method of providing redundant coverage is illustrated in
two embodiments shown in FIGS. 41B and C, respectively. In the
embodiments shown in FIGS. 41B and 41C, each microcell 102 is
provided with two power levels. In normal operation, each microcell
102 is operated at the power level necessary to provide microcell
102 coverage. In cases where, however, a microcell 102 fails,
adjoining microcells 102 are raised to a higher power level (shown
as 102'). As can be seen in FIGS. 41B and 41C, such an increase in
power level provides coverage over the failed microcell 102.
Although the microcells 102 of FIGS. 41A and 41B are shown divided
into three sectors, it should be apparent that other sectorization,
or no sectorization, can be used within the above-described
redundancy scheme.
Sectorization
Sectorization will be discussed next.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, the microcell
system of the present invention may be used to replace the
conventional base station transmitter 12 in a conventional cell as
for example shown in FIG. 1A. In addition, as can be seen in FIGS.
41A and 41B, each microcell could be split into a number of
sectors, each sector driven by a directional microcell antenna
unit. According to such embodiments, shown generally in FIG. 42, a
sectorized antenna unit 900 having a plurality of transmit and
receive antenna pairs 902 divides a micro or macrocell into a
number of sectors. Each antenna pair 902 broadcasts and receives
using a different channel set. For example, according to one
preferred embodiment, a microcell 16 is divided into three
120-degree sectors with one antenna pair 902 assigned to each
sector. Each antenna pair 902 utilizes ten transmit and receive
channels for its sector, with a 21 channel separation between
channels within the sector. In addition, according to one exemplary
embodiment, there is provided seven channel separation between
channels, between sectors.
The antenna pairs 902 in each macrocell are supported by a remote
unit 904 which receives digitized RF for the channels in all three
sectors, and converts the digitized RF into analog RF for
transmission into the sectors covered by the antenna pairs 902.
Remote units 904 further include analog-to-digital converters for
digitizing RF received in each sector, and for transmitting the
digitized RF to the sectorized base station units 906. Each of the
sectorized base station units 906 is connected to the MTSO 17,
which in turn is connected in turn to the switched telephone
network 15.
Each sectorized base station unit 906 includes radio frequency
transmitters and receivers for each of the channel sets used in
each of the sectors of the macrocell, and digital-to-analog and
analog-to-digital conversion units for transmitting digitized RF to
the remote units and for receiving digitized RF and applying it to
the receiver units. Sectorized base station units 906 are
preferably connected to remote units 904 over a single fiber optic
link 905 using wave division multiplexing as described above,
although separate transmit and receive links could be used if
desired.
Referring now to FIG. 43, there is shown in more detail a
sectorized base station unit 906. Each sectorized base station unit
906 includes a radio controller 22 for each of the sectors serviced
by the base station unit 906. Each of the radio controllers 22 are
connected to the MTSO 17. A corresponding number of transmitter and
receiver banks 912 are provided, each with a plurality of
transmitters and receivers. Preferably, according to the exemplary
embodiment shown herein, each bank 912 includes ten transmitters
and ten receivers. The output of the transmitters of each bank 912
is combined and applied to analog-to-digital conversion unit 914,
which may be of a design similar to those described hereinabove,
for example as shown in FIG. 4. Analog-to-digital conversion unit
914 digitizes and frames the digitized RF, and applies an optical
output to wave division multiplexer 916, which is in turn connected
to fiber 905. At the same time, optical information received from
remote unit 904 is applied through wave division multiplexer 916 to
an optical filter 918 which filters out the signal received from
remote units 904 as distinct optical wavelengths, for example in
the case of a three sector system, wavelengths of 1520, 1550, and
1580 nm can be used. Each of the filtered, separate wavelengths is
applied to the input of one or more digital-to-analog conversion
units 920, which demultiplex and convert from digital-to-analog
form RF signals received from the remote units 904, for each of the
sectors serviced by the remote unit 904. The analog output of
digital-to-analog conversion units 920 is applied to the respective
receivers in each bank 912.
Referring now to FIG. 44, there is shown in more detail a remote
unit 904. Each remote unit 904 includes a wave division multiplexer
930 connected to fiber 905. Wave division multiplexer 930 receives
from sectorized base station unit 906 the digitized optical signal
carrying the channels of all sectors serviced by remote unit 904,
and applies the digital optical signal to digital-to-analog
converter unit 932, the output of which is an analog RF signal
representative of all channels represented in the sectors serviced
by the remote unit 904. The analog output of conversion unit 932 is
applied to splitter 934, which splits the analog RF signal into N
paths (where N=the number of sectors) corresponding to channels
assigned to each of the antenna pairs 902 applies the analog RF to
channel filter units 936. Each antenna pair 902 has its own channel
filter unit 936 to filter out of the RF signals from splitters 934,
those channels to be transmitted in the respective sector. The
output of channel filter unit 936 is applied to an amplifier 938,
which is in turn applied to a band pass filter 940, which passes
only those channels within the band assigned to the particular
sector. The output of band pass filter 940 is applied to a
transmitter antenna 902a of antenna pair 902. Meanwhile, a
receiving antenna 902b of that antenna pair 902, receives RF
signals predominantly from within the same sector, and applies the
received signals to a band pass filter 942. Band pass filter 942
passes only those channels within the band, and applies the
filtered radio frequency signal to analog-to-digital conversion
unit 944, which converts the analog RF signal to a corresponding
digitized optical output signal at a unique optical wavelength, for
example, one of the optical wavelengths noted above. Each of
analog-to-digital conversion units 944 may be of generally the same
design shown with respect to unit 102 shown in FIG. 8. The optical
outputs of each of the units 944 is applied to optical combiner
946, which in turn applies its output to wave division multiplexer
930. Digital-to-analog conversion units 932 are preferably of
generally the same design shown with respect to unit 130 in FIG.
4.
Referring now to FIG. 45, there is shown in more detail one of
channel filter units 936. Each unit 936 preferably includes a
linear programmable pre-amplifier 950, which is used to provide the
gain needed to compensate for the losses of the splitters and
combiners. The output of amplifier 950 is applied to splitter 952,
which splits the analog signal into M paths (where M=the number of
transmit channels assigned to a sector) a plurality of paths. Each
path in turn passes through a narrow band filter 954 tuned to the
particular channel. Each narrow band filter 954 is preferably
programmable, and designed to maintain a bandwidth of 30 KHz over
temperature. Preferably, this is accomplished by first
downconverting the required RF channel to a 70 MHz IF signal. The
70 MHz signal is then passed through a crystal filter in a manner
known in the art to achieve the narrow filtering required. The IF
frequency is then upconverted to the required RF frequency.
Preferably, the frequency is microprocessor controlled, and the RF
frequency can be set in 1 Hz increments to the required frequency
using a computer, such as a laptop unit. Frequency stability is
preferably achieved using a clock recovered from the encoded signal
sent over fiber link 905. Ideally, narrow band filter 954 should be
narrow enough that an adjacent channel within the sector will be
greater than 50 dB down a master clock generated at base station
unit 906. The output of each of the narrow band filters 954 is
applied to a combiner 956, which in turn provides its output to the
amplifier 938. In the exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, amplifier 938 preferably constitutes a 25 watt PA.
In the preferred embodiment, frequency offset will be minimized by
synchronizing remote unit 904 with sectorized base station unit
906. In one such embodiment, sectorized base station unit 906
transports the RF spectrum by down-converting from RF to an IF (in,
for example, the 0-30 MHz range), and then digitizing. After being
transported to the other end, the IF signal is reconstructed, and
then up-converted back to RF.
The down-conversion and up-conversion are implemented by mixing the
signal with a local oscillator (LO). In order for the original
frequency of the signal to be restored, the signal must be
up-converted with an LO that has exactly the same frequency as the
LO that was used for down conversion. Any difference in LO
frequencies will translate to an equivalent end to end frequency
offset. In the embodiment described above, the down conversion and
up conversion LO's are at locations remote from one another.
Therefore, in one preferred embodiment, frequency coherence between
the local and remote LO's is established as follows: at the host
end, there is a 552.96 MHz master clock which establishes the bit
rate over the fiber. This clock also generates a 30.72 MHz clock
(30.72=522.96/18), which serves as a reference to which the host
digitizer LO's are locked.
At the remote end, there is another 552.96 MHz clock, which is
recovered from the optical bit stream with the help of a phase lock
loop. Because this clock is recovered from the bit stream generated
at the host, it is frequency coherent with the master clock. A
30.72 MHz clock is then generated to serve as a reference for the
remote local oscillators. Because the 552.96 MHz clocks are
frequency coherent, so are the 30.72 MHz references, and any LO's
locked to them, thus ensuring that host and remote LO's are locked
in frequency.
Referring now to FIGS. 46 and 47, there is shown yet another
alternate exemplary embodiment to the sectorized microcell system
according to the present invention. In this embodiment, sectorized
base station unit 906, provides that an analog-to-digital
multiplexer and digital-to-analog demultiplexer unit 960 receives a
separate input from each of the channel banks 912, and separately
converts each of the RF composite signals from the channel banks to
a corresponding digitized RF stream. This digitized RF stream is in
turn multiplexed into a single digitized stream, which is output in
optical form for application to wave division multiplexer 916. In
the reverse direction, a single digitized RF stream is received
from wave division multiplexer 916, and demultiplexed into N
separate digital streams, each corresponding to one of N sectors
(where N=3 in the example shown in FIG. 42). Each of the digital
streams represents a desynchronized of the analog RF received by
the respective sector antenna in pair 902. The demultiplexed
digital stream is then converted from digital-to-analog form, and
applied to each of the respective receivers in the channel banks
912.
FIG. 47 illustrates an alternate embodiment of remote unit 904 of
FIG. 42. Remote units 900 of FIG. 47 include a
multiplexer/demultiplexer unit 970, which receives the digitized
stream from wave division multiplexer 930, and converts the
multiplexed digitized signals from each of the respective banks in
the sectorized base station unit 906 shown in FIG. 46. The
demultiplexed data streams for each of the banks is applied to
respective digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversion units
972 which convert the digitized signal to a corresponding analog RF
signal. The analog RF signal is applied to an amplifier 938, which
is in turn applied to band pass filter 940 and to transmitter
antenna 902a, in a manner similar to that described for FIG. 44.
Similarly, RF receiving antenna 902b is applied to band pass filter
942, which in turn applies its output to unit 972, wherein the
analog signal is converted to a digital form for application to
multiplexer/demultiplexer 970. The digitized data streams from each
of units 972 is multiplexed in unit 970, converted to an optical
output, and applied to wave divisional multiplexer 932, for
transmission over fiber 905 to sectorized base station unit 906 of
FIG. 46. The digitized data stream is received by wave division
multiplexer 916, in sectorized base station unit 906 of FIG. 46,
applied to unit 960. Unit 960 demultiplexes the digitized stream
into a digital stream associated with each sector and converts each
sector digital stream to a sector RF signal. The sector RF signal
is applied to the receivers of the respective channel banks for the
sectors.
Thus, the sectorized microcell system of the present invention
allows for the replacement of the conventional cell site base
station in a convention macrocell. In the above described
embodiments, the antennas used for each sector are directional, and
are all located in the same place. Each directional antenna, one
transmit and receive for each sector, is then directed outwardly
across the sector serviced by them. For instance, the sectors may
be pie-shaped, with the directional antennas positioned at the
center of the pie. Alternatively, nondirectional antennas could be
used and positioned at different locations in the cell site. In
such a case, the antennas are coupled to the cell site through
coaxial cables. In addition, though the above sectorization
examples have been described using antenna pairs, it should be
obvious to one skilled in the art that sector units having one
antenna, or even units having three or more antennae may be used
advantageously within such a system. Furthermore, although the
examples described entail only the digitization of RF signals
generated from the telephone signal received from the MTSO, it
should be apparent that the techniques of digital synthesis
described in the context of FIG. 10 et al. also apply to a
sectorized microcell system. Diversity channels may also be
implemented as described above.
Finally, although each of the examples above describes the use of
an analog RF signal transmitted and received by each remote unit,
it should be obvious that the above system and method can be
applied advantageously to a digital RF cellular system in a manner
well known in the art.
Thus, as described above, the sectorized cell replacement system
provides for greater reuse of channels, by dividing conventional
cells or even microcells into a plurality of sectors. Furthermore,
the system provides all the benefits and advantages of the
microcell systems described hereinabove, wherein the transmitters
and receivers for all the channels in the cell are centrally
located in a convenient and inexpensive location.
Thus, as described above, the present inventions provide a variety
of digital systems and methods for transporting cellular traffic to
and from antenna units, and for passively switching. Although the
invention(s) has been described in its preferred form, those of
skill in the art will recognize that many modifications and changes
may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and the scope
of the claims appended hereto.
* * * * *