622results about "Repeater/relay circuits" patented technology

The present invention relates to wireless networks using relaying. In the method according to the present invention of performing communication in a two-hop wireless communication network, a transmitter 210, a receiver 220 and at least one relay station 215 are engaged in a communication session. The relay station 215 forwards signals from a first link between the transmitter 210 and the relay station 215 to a second link between the relay stations 215 and the receiver 220. The forwarding performed by the at least one relay station 215 is adapted as a response to estimated radio channel characteristics of at least the first link. Preferably the forwarding is adapted as a response to estimated radio channel characteristics of both the first and second link.

A low cost, robust, repeater for a wireless ambient sensor system that provides an extended period of operability without maintenance is described. The repeater includes a controller and first and second transceivers. The controller is configured to control operation of said first transceiver and said second transceiver. The wireless repeater includes a repeater identification. The controller is configured to manage a sensor unit identification table that contains a list of sensor unit identification codes, where entries for the sensor unit identification table are received by the second transceiver from the base unit and identified by the repeater identification. The controller controls the first transceiver and the second transceiver to forward data from sensor units listed in said sensor unit identification table and to ignore data from sensor units not listed in said sensor unit identification table. The controller also controls the first transceiver and the second transceiver to forward data from the base unit that is addressed to sensor units listed in said sensor unit identification table and to ignore data from the base unit that is addressed to sensor units not listed in said sensor unit identification table. The controller places the first transceiver and the second transceiver in a low-power mode when no transmissions are expected from the base unit or from the sensor units listed in the sensor identification table.

A communication network and method, including an information signal line which carries a plurality of selectable information signals. Electrical lines run throughout a building, with electrical outlets connected to the electrical line. An electrical line distribution panel connects the information signal line and the electrical line for distributing the selectable information signals over the electrical line to the location of a given electrical outlet. Dielectric-core couplers which are impedance-matched with the electrical line are connected to the electrical outlets. At least one communication station is connected to a dielectric-core coupler for receiving the selectable information signals.

A PLCS network element that provides communications to one or more user devices and may also repeat data for other network elements is provided. In one embodiment, the device includes software for discovering its upstream gateway, for acting as a gateway for other devices, and for relaying DHCP transmissions. In addition, the device includes software for receiving and processing commands from a remote computer system that may include commands enabling and disabling the repeater functionality. Finally, the device may also include software for receiving and processing configuration information that may include, for example, information of the other network devices for which it will repeat.

A non-frequency translating repeater (110, 210, 300) for use in a time division duplex (TDD) radio protocol communications system includes detection retransmission and automatic gain control. Detection is performed by detectors (309, 310) and a processor (313). Detection can be overridden by processor (313) using logic elements (314). Antennae (220, 230) having various form factors can be used to couple a base station (222) to a subscriber terminal (232) which can be located in a sub-optimal location such as deep inside a building or the like.

A method and apparatus for controlling an output power level of a radio frequency (RF) repeater (100 or 200). A system includes a receiver to receive a signal, a filtering unit configured to pass frequency components at or around a frequency band of a predetermined communication channel, an attenuator (124 or 142) to produce an attenuated signal by attenuating a parameter of the signal, a power amplifier (150) to adjust the output power level of repeater to a desired level by adjusting the gain of one or more components of the system, and a microprocessor (170) to receive an input responsive to the output power level of the repeater and, in response to the input, to transfer control signals to the receiver and the attenuator. The method includes sampling traffic load characteristics during operation of a network and adjusting a gain of one or more components of the repeater based on the traffic load characteristics.

An apparatus and method for cooperative relay in a multiple-antenna wireless communication system based on relay stations (RSs) are provided. The apparatus includes a serial / parallel converter for dividing data into N number of streams, a channel estimator for calculating a first transmission rate at which a RS performing the cooperative relay can perform decoding and a second transmission rate at which all relay stations performing the cooperative relay can commonly perform decoding, and determining transmission rates for each of the N-number streams, and an adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) unit for encoding and modulating the N-number streams according to their respective transmission rates.

An embodiment method for power control in a multi-hop communications system includes transmitting a power usage pattern for each relay node in a subset of relay nodes served by a communications controller, where the power usage pattern specifies transmit power levels for the relay node while the relay node is operating in a power control mode. The method also includes receiving channel measurements of access links between the relay nodes in the subset of relay nodes and subscriber equipment served by the relay nodes, determining backhaul link transmit power levels and access link transmit power levels based on the channel measurements of access links and channel measurements of backhaul links between the communications controller and the relay nodes, and transmitting the access link power levels to the subset of relay nodes.

A multi-sector in-building repeater, including: a master transmitting unit for receiving multi-sector signals of a carrier from a base station, mixing the multi-sector signals with different transmission intermediate frequency signals, and outputting mixed multi-sector signals to a same transmission line; a plurality of slave transmitting units for extracting sector signals assigned to the multi-sector signals from the master transmitting unit, converting extracted sector signals into high frequency signals, and transmitting converted high frequency signals through an antenna to a mobile terminal.

A single frequency relay station receives a signal from a master station, and retransmits it. Before retransmitting the signal, the relay station uses a digital filter to subtract from the signal components which arise from multipath interference and coupling interference. The coefficients used by the digital filter are derived from characteristics of the multipath interference and the overall transfer function of the relay station. These are derived by turning off the retransmission, so that the multipath interference can be estimated from the received signal, and commencing the retransmission again, to determine the transfer function. A simplified inverse fast Fourier transform is used to simplify the calculations.

A multi-hop wireless, for example cellular, communications system is provided comprising a source equipment which may be one of a base station or an end user terminal for transmitting signals towards a destination equipment which may be the other of a base station or an end user terminal via at least one relay equipment. The relay equipment receives a plurality of signals transmitted from one or more source equipments of the system and from this plurality of signals selects a signal to relay. In this way the decision about which relays are included in which communication paths in the system is distributed to the relay equipments of the system, thus reducing the signalling overhead as compared with link state protocols which are typically used for routing in such multi-hop systems.

A powerline network system having data relay function includes a plurality of power monitoring zones mutually connected with a powerline network and at least one repeater. Each of the power monitoring zones has at least one power monitoring device. The repeater is connected with each power monitoring device in two adjacent power monitoring zones through powerlines and has a first and a second relay units. The first and second relay units employ two different sets of transmitting and receiving bands to fetch data contained in powerline signals transmitted by each power monitor in adjacent power monitoring zones. The data are received by a relay unit are modulated with different transmitting band and then transmitted to powerlines of another power monitoring zone. The repeaters are not required to be serially connected to the powerlines, and incorrect data read can be also eliminated.

A low cost, robust, wireless sensor system that provides an extended period of operability without maintenance is described. The system includes one or more intelligent sensor units and a base unit that can communicate with a large number of sensors. When one or more of the sensors detects an anomalous condition (e.g., smoke, fire, water, etc.) the sensor communicates with the base unit and provides data regarding the anomalous condition. The base unit can contact a supervisor or other responsible person by a plurality of techniques, such as, telephone, pager, cellular telephone, Internet, etc. In one embodiment, one or more wireless repeaters are used between the sensors and the base unit to extend the range of the system and to allow the base unit to communicate with a larger number of sensors.

A communication system and method for extending coverage of a base transceiver station. The communication system includes processing circuitry that receives a communication signal over a wireless channel. The received communication signal is processed through an adaptable equalizer to reduce noise, distortion, interference, and frequency errors. In another aspect of the invention, a frequency of a reference signal in the communication system is adjusted to compensate for frequency errors between the communication system and the source of the communication signal. The equalized and frequency adjusted communication signal is then retransmitted into an extended coverage area. Wireless coverage is thereby provided between a base transceiver station and a mobile device in the extended coverage area.

Systems and methods are described for long subscriber loops using automatic gain control. A method includes extending a digital subscriber loop including: producing an output signal in a first direction from a variable gain amplifier at a mid-span extender unit responsive to an input signal in the first direction from the digital subscriber loop; monitoring a signal strength of said output signal in the first direction at the mid-span extender unit; generating a gain control signal responsive to the signal strength at the mid-span extender unit; controlling a gain of the variable gain amplifier at the mid-span extender unit responsive to the gain control signal; and controlling a second gain of a second variable gain amplifier at said mid-span extender unit responsive to said gain control signal to produce an output signal in a second direction from said second variable gain amplifier at said mid-span extender unit responsive to a second input signal in said second direction from said digital subscriber loop.

Aspects of a method and system for communicating via a spatial multilink repeater are provided. In this regard, a received signal may be frequency shifted to generate a plurality of repeated signals, wherein each repeated signal may be shifted by a different frequency with respect to the received signal. Each repeated signal may comprise one or more signal components and a phase and / or amplitude of each of the components may be controlled to control a directivity of the repeated signals. Each of the repeated signals may be generated by quadrature down-converting said received signal by mixing the received signal with a first LO signal pair, up-converting the down-converted signal by mixing it with a second LO signal pair, and adding or subtracting an in-phase portion and a quadrature-phase portion of the up-converted signal.

An apparatus and method for interference cancellation and synchronization maintenance over interference channel estimation in a communication system are provided. An interference channel estimator fixes synchronization and estimates an interference signal. An interference signal controller eliminates the estimated interference signal from a received RF signal. A synchronization unit unfixes fixed synchronization and tracks synchronization when the interference signal cancellation is stable. A data buffer stores data from which the interference signal is canceled.

A low cost, robust, wireless sensor system that provides an extended period of operability without maintenance is described. The system includes one or more intelligent sensor units and a base unit that can communicate with a large number of sensors. When one or more of the sensors detects an anomalous condition (e.g., smoke, fire, water, etc.) the sensor communicates with the base unit and provides data regarding the anomalous condition. The base unit can contact a supervisor or other responsible person by a plurality of techniques, such as, telephone, pager, cellular telephone, Internet, etc. In one embodiment, one or more wireless repeaters are used between the sensors and the base unit to extend the range of the system and to allow the base unit to communicate with a larger number of sensors.

Aspects of a method and system for inter-PCB communication utilizing a spatial multi-link repeater are provided. In this regard, a signal may be transmitted between printed circuit boards via one or more repeaters, wherein the repeaters may frequency shift received signals to generate repeated signals. Each of the repeated signals may be generated by quadrature down-converting said received signal by mixing the received signal with a first LO signal pair, up-converting the down-converted signal by mixing it with a second LO signal pair, and adding or subtracting an in-phase portion and a quadrature-phase portion of the up-converted signal. Each repeated signal may comprise one or more signal components and a phase and / or amplitude of each of the components may be controlled to control a directivity of the repeated signals. The repeater may reside on one of the plurality of printed circuit boards.

A method of detecting oscillation in an on-frequency repeater having an RF signal path coupled between an input antenna and an output antenna. In accordance with the present invention, a first RF signal power level within the RF signal path is detected during an un-muted period in which transmission of an output RF signal through the output antenna is enabled. A second RF signal power level within the RF signal path is detected during a mute period in which transmission of an RF signal through the output antenna is disabled. The first and second detected RF signal power levels are then compared, which provides an indication of signal leakage, and thus oscillation.

A device for seamlessly providing 10BASE-T compatible data communications over an ordinary single twisted-pair home phone line between multiple computers and / or peripherals is disclosed. Each component that is to communicate over a home phone line needs a 10BASE-T compatible network interface card (NIC) for interfacing with the device. A transmit / receive switch is used to switch the device between a transmit mode and a receive mode. When a signal is being transmitted from a component, a Manchester decoder converts the signals received from the NIC into a raw data stream. A differential converter converts the raw data signal received from the NIC to a differential signal. A modulator is used to modulate the signal to a RF signal using a PSK, QPSK, QAM, MCM or similar modulation schemes. A filter is used to limit the bandwidth of the modulated signal and a driver is used to amplify the signal to match the impedance of the phone line. When the device receives a signal over the phone line, the signal is filtered using a bandpass filter and then amplified. The signal is then demodulated using an appropriate demodulation scheme before being differentially encoded. A Manchester encoder encodes the received signal for compatible operation with a receiving NIC.

A low cost, robust, repeater for a wireless ambient sensor system that provides an extended period of operability without maintenance is described. The repeater includes a controller and first and second transceivers. The controller is configured to control operation of said first transceiver and said second transceiver. The wireless repeater includes a repeater identification. The controller is configured to manage a sensor unit identification table that contains a list of sensor unit identification codes, where entries for the sensor unit identification table are received by the second transceiver from the base unit and identified by the repeater identification. The controller controls the first transceiver and the second transceiver to forward data from sensor units listed in said sensor unit identification table and to ignore data from sensor units not listed in said sensor unit identification table. The controller also controls the first transceiver and the second transceiver to forward data from the base unit that is addressed to sensor units listed in said sensor unit identification table and to ignore data from the base unit that is addressed to sensor units not listed in said sensor unit identification table. The controller places the first transceiver and the second transceiver in a low-power mode when no transmissions are expected from the base unit or from the sensor units listed in the sensor identification table.

A system and method for implementing a wireless sensor network. The system comprises a plurality of motes, each mote having a sensor and a wireless communication system for communicating with neighboring motes; a distributed routing table distributed amongst each of the plurality of motes; and an update system for periodically updating the distributed routing table.

A relay station in a wireless communication system is configured to relay communications between the base station and a plurality of subscriber stations. The relay station includes at least one antenna configured to transmit and receive data and control information. The relay station also includes a controller coupled to the antenna. The controller is configured to transmit control information to a subscriber station during a first set of symbols in a relay station to subscriber station (RS-to-SS) subframe. The controller also switches the antenna to a receive mode; and receives control information during a second set of symbols in the RS-to-SS subframe.

A method, device, and system in which radio links between relays and users are optimized separately from the links between relays and base stations and in which multiple simultaneous data streams between relays and base stations are created. The system includes transceivers of at least three kinds with two kinds of radio interfaces. The first kind of transceiver, a base station (BS), is connected to the core network with a link of wire line quality. The second kind, a relay station (RS), is connected to the BS with a first radio interface, and to the third kind, the user equipment (UE), with a second radio interface. The first and second radio interfaces can operate, at least in part, using the same frequency bandwidth. The UE can also connect directly to the BS using the second radio interface if the BS is closer than any RS.

Provided is an apparatus and method for transmitting and receiving data using multiple paths in a wireless communication system using a distributed Media Access Control (MAC). More particularly, provided is an apparatus and method for transmitting and receiving data that may select a path with a better channel status from multiple paths that include a direct path using a Line of Sight (LOS) and a relay path passing through a relay apparatus, in a wireless communication system that may transmit data via the LOS using a distributed MAC and a directional antenna.

A transceiver module having integrated eye diagram opening functionality for reducing jitter is described. The transceiver module may include a transmitter eye opener and a receiver eye opener integrated in a single circuit. The transceiver module may also include serial control and various other integrated components. Other functionalities that may be integrated on the transceiver module include loopback modes, bypass features, bit error rate testing, and power down modes.

Methods, apparatuses, and systems are presented for providing self-interference cancellation in two-way relayed electromagnetic communication between a first and a second device through a relay station, involving retrofitting existing equipment comprising a transmitter system and a receiver system at the first device by adding a canceler module, providing a version of a modulated near signal as a first non-baseband interface signal from the transmitter system to the canceler module, providing a version of a composite signal as a second non-baseband interface signal from the receiver system to the canceler module, generating a cancellation signal at the canceler module corresponding to a relayed version of the modulated near signal, using the first and the second non-baseband interface signals, applying the cancellation signal at the canceler module to a version of the second non-baseband interface signal, to produce a cancellation-processed signal as a third non-baseband interface signal provided to the receiver system.

The disclosed invention provides apparatus and methods that can convert frequencies of time-encoded signals. In one aspect, a down-converter circuit includes low-pass filters, a switch, a time encoder, and an output low-pass filter. In another aspect, an up-converter circuit includes an analog or digital input time encoder, low-pass filters, a switch, an output time encoder, and a time-encoded band-pass filter. In yet another aspect, a complete receiver system is provided. The receiver system can operate effectively with signals in the radio frequency range.