US 2003/0171103 A1 · Transmitter circuit architecture and method for reducing in-band noise in point to multipoint communication systems

Abstract

A novel wireless point to multipoint communication system which maximizes the number of remote stations capable of communicating with a base station is disclosed. Independent gain control of the transmitter on the remote stations as a function of the distance between the remote station and the base station is used. The gain control may be accomplished by attenuators in the RF transmit circuit of the remote stations. The attenuators may be placed immediately preceding the RF amplifiers in the RF transmit circuit of the remote stations. The amount of attenuation of the attenuators may be controlled by a microprocessor. By minimizing the gain from the remote station transmitters, the noise floor of the base station receiver is minimized thereby increasing the performance of the base station receiver. This increase in performance permits more remote stations to communicate with the base station.

Claims25

Dependent claims

In a wireless point to multipoint communication system having a base station and a plurality of stationary remote stations each including a transmitter for transmitting an RF communication signal to the base station, said plurality of remote stations being located at various distances from the base station, where each one of the plurality of remote stations communicate with the base station by the method of transmitting an RF communication signal with substantially the same amount of gain, the improvement comprising the steps of:

(a) providing transmitter gain control for a first set of remote stations of said plurality of remote stations;
and
(b) selectively adjusting the transmitter gain control of each one of said first set of remote stations independent of the transmitter gain control of the other ones of said first set of remote stations,
wherein the transmitter gain control of a one of said first set of remote stations is selectively adjusted as a function of the distance between said one of the first set of remote stations and the base station.

1 more element

A wireless point to multipoint communication system comprising:

a base station including an antenna;
a plurality of stationary remote stations each including an antenna and a transmitter for transmitting an RF communication signal from the remote station antenna to the base station antenna, said plurality of remote stations being located at various distances from the base station;
a first set of said plurality of remote stations including an antenna and a transmitter, the transmitter of each one of said first set of remote stations comprising:
a first RF circuit adapted to receive an intermediate frequency signal and capable of providing a first RF signal;
a lookup table for storing information representative of the distance between the remote station and the base station;
a microprocessor operatively connected to the lookup table and an attenuator circuit, said microprocessor capable of providing a control signal to said attenuator circuit, said control signal being a function of the information stored in the lookup table;
said attenuator circuit operatively connected to the microprocessor, the first RF circuit and a second RF circuit such that the attenuator circuit modifies the first RF signal as a function of the control signal to thereby provide a second RF signal to the second RF circuit;
said second RF circuit operatively connected to the attenuator and the antenna, said second RF circuit amplifying the second RF signal to provide a third RF signal to the antenna;
and
said antenna providing said RF communication signal in response to the second RF signal and transmitting said RF communication signal to the base station antenna.

7 more elements

In a wireless point to multipoint communication system comprising a base station including an antenna and a receiver and a plurality of remote stations each including an antenna and a transmitter, the method of maximizing the number of remote stations that can communicate with the base station by minimizing the noise floor of the receiver at the base station comprising the steps of:

(a) providing transmitter gain control for a first set of remote stations of said plurality of remote stations;
(b) selectively adjusting the transmitter gain control of each one of said first set of remote stations independent of the transmitter gain control of the other ones of said first set of remote stations,
wherein the transmitter gain control of a one of said first set of remote stations is selectively adjusted as a function of the distance between said one of the first set of remote stations and the base station to thereby minimize the noise floor of the receiver at the base station to thereby maximize the number of remote stations that can communicate with the base station.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Transmitter circuit architecture and method for reducing in-band noise in point to multipoint communication systems

Life of this patent

Transmitter circuit architecture and method for reducing in-band noise in point to multipoint communication systems

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims25