US 9,705,571 B2Granted

Method and apparatus for use with a radio distributed antenna system

AssigneeAT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.

InventorsIrwin Gerszberg, Paul Shala Henry, Robert Bennett, Farhad Barzegar, Donald J Barnickel, Thomas M. Willis, III

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Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving, by a network element of a distributed antenna system, a reference signal and a first modulated signal at a first carrier frequency, the first modulated signal including first communications data provided by a base station and directed to a mobile communication device. The element converts the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal in a first spectral segment based on an analog signal processing of the first modulated signal and utilizing the reference signal to reduce distortion during the converting. The network element wirelessly transmits the first modulated signal at the first spectral segment to the mobile communication device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims23

Dependent claims

A method, comprising:

receiving, by a system including signal processing circuitry, a first modulated signal in a first spectral segment directed to a mobile communication device, wherein the first modulated signal conforms to a signaling protocol;
converting, by the system, the first modulated signal in the first spectral segment to the first modulated signal at a first carrier frequency based on a signal processing of the first modulated signal and without modifying the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal, wherein the first carrier frequency is outside the first spectral segment;
and
transmitting, by the system, a transmission signal including a first reference signal with the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to a network element of a plurality of network elements of a distributed antenna system, the first reference signal enabling the network element to reduce a phase error when reconverting the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal in the first spectral segment for wireless distribution of the first modulated signal to the mobile communication device in the first spectral segment, and the network element retransmitting the transmission signal to another network element of the plurality of network elements of the distributed antenna system without frequency conversion of the transmission signal.

1 more element

A device, comprising:

a base station interface configured to receive from a base station a first modulated signal in a first spectral segment for transmission to a mobile communication device, wherein the first modulated signal conforms to a signaling protocol;
and
a transceiver configured to convert the first modulated signal in the first spectral segment to the first modulated signal at a first carrier frequency based on signal processing of the first modulated signal and without modifying the signaling protocol of the first modulated signal, wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit a transmission signal including a reference signal with the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to a network element of a plurality of network elements of a distributed antenna system for wireless distribution of the first modulated signal to the mobile communication device in the first spectral segment, the reference signal enabling the network element to reduce a phase error during processing of the first modulated signal from the first carrier frequency to the first spectral segment, and the network element retransmitting at least a portion of the transmission signal to another network element of the plurality of network elements of the distributed antenna system without frequency conversion.

A method, comprising:

receiving, by a first network element of a plurality of network elements of a distributed antenna system, a first wireless signal including a first reference signal and a first modulated signal at a first carrier frequency, the first modulated signal including communications data provided by a base station and directed to a mobile communication device;
converting, by the first network element, the first modulated signal at the first carrier frequency to the first modulated signal in a first spectral segment based on signal processing of the first modulated signal and utilizing the first reference signal to reduce distortion during the converting;
transmitting, by the first network element, a second wireless signal including the first modulated signal at the first spectral segment to the mobile communication device;
and
generating, by the first network element, a third wireless signal based at least in part on the first wireless signal, the third wireless signal directed to a second network element of the plurality of network elements of the distributed antenna system without performing frequency conversion of the first wireless signal.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/179,396Filed 10 Jun 2016 · continuation in part
Priority: 16 Sep 2015
Published: US 2017/0077998 A116 Mar 2017
Granted: 11 Jul 2017
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

H04B 7/022
Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas: site diversity; Macro-diversity
H04B 1/04
Transmitters: circuits
H04B 3/54
Line transmission systems: systems for transmission via power distribution lines
H04L 5/003
Arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path: arrangements for allocating sub-channels of the transmission path

Family

Application14/855,499Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 16 Sep 2015
US 2017/0077998 A1Pre-grant publication · published 16 Mar 2017
US 10,009,901 B2Related patent
US 2017/0079024 A1Published application
US 9,705,571 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.