Invented by Solyman Ashrafi, NxGen Partners IP LLC
The NxGen Partners IP LLC invention works as follows
A system that allows signal penetration through a building comprises first circuitry located on the exterior of the structure for transmitting and receiving at a frequency that suffers losses when entering the interior, converting the received at that frequency signals into a format that overcomes the losses that are caused by the wireless communication link, and converting signals received in the format to the frequency. First circuitry associated with a first antenna transmits signals in a first format to the interior via a wireless communication link, and receives signals from inside the building using the wireless communication link. A first power circuitry supplies system power to the first circuitry, the first antenna and each circuitry in response to the power signal. The second circuitry is located inside the building, and it communicates with the first one via a wireless communication link. It receives and transmits converted signals in the format of the first signal to counteract the loss caused by the first circuitry penetrating the interior. Second antennas associated with the second system transmit the signals in first format from the interior of the building to the exterior via wireless communications links and receive signals in first format from the exterior via wireless communications links. A second power circuitry supplies system power to the second circuitry, the second antenna and each circuitry in response to a power signal generated. The first wireless power transmission system located in the building’s interior generates a power signal to be transmitted to the exterior via a wireless link. The second wireless power transmission system located on the outside of the building receives wireless power signals over the wireless link and generates a generated power signal in response to the wireless signal.
Background for System and Method for Powering Re-Generation and Re-Transmission of Millimeter Waves for Building Penetration
Millimeter Wave Transmissions was developed as a plan to make 1300 MHz local multipoint distribution spectrum (LMDS), available in the United States. Millimeter wave transmissions are a solution to meet the growing bandwidth requirements and applications for mobile wireless devices. Millimeter wave transmissions are able to increase bandwidth, but they have a problem with building penetration. Signals are severely degraded by trying to penetrate building structures. This is a problem, since most wireless signaling originates from inside buildings. The inability to use millimeter-wave bandwidths will limit the implementation of this technology in the modern market. There is a need to improve the building penetration characteristics for millimeter-wave transmissions.
The present invention as described and disclosed herein comprises, in one aspect, a system to enable signal penetration into a structure. This includes first circuitry located on the exterior of the structure for transmitting and reception signals at a frequency that experiences losses when entering the interior of a building via a wireless communication link, converting the received at the frequency received signals into a format that overcomes losses caused by the penetration of an interior building through a wireless communication link, and converting signals received in the format converted into signals in the frequency The first antenna, which is associated with the circuitry, transmits the signal in the first form into the interior building via wireless communication link. It also receives the signal from the interior building in the same format. A first power circuitry supplies system power to the first circuitry, the first antenna and each circuitry in response to a power signal. The second circuitry is located inside the building, and it communicates with the first one via the wireless communication link. It receives and transmits converted signals in the format of the first signal to counter the losses that are caused by the first circuitry penetrating the interior. Second antennas associated with the second system transmit the signals in first format from the interior of the building to the exterior via wireless communications links and receive signals in first format from the exterior via wireless communications links. A second power circuitry supplies system power to the second circuitry, the second antenna and each circuitry in response to a power signal generated. The first wireless power transmission system located in the building’s interior generates a power signal to be transmitted to the exterior via a wireless link. The second wireless power transmission system located on the outside of the building receives wireless power signals over the wireless link and generates a generated power signal in response to the wireless signal.
The drawings are a good place to start. Similar numbers are used to identify similar elements. This allows for a consistent look throughout. Figures are not always drawn to scale. In some cases, the figures have been simplified or exaggerated for illustration purposes. The following examples will allow anyone with ordinary knowledge of the art to appreciate the various applications and variations.
Wireless telecommunications has a problem with high-frequency RF waves not being able to penetrate walls and windows of houses and offices. Signals can be lost by up to 50 dB if a window has an infrared shielding to conserve energy in the building. The millimeter-wave system described in this invention allows for tunneling of optical and radio waves at high frequencies without the need to drill a hole through glass, windows, or buildings to create a physical portal. This would be incredibly beneficial to wireless communication technologies. This can be done with any frequency that is unable to penetrate through glass or buildings. Due to its constant improvement in solar and thermal performance, glass is one of most popular and versatile materials. This performance can be achieved by using low emissivity passive and solar control coatings. Low emissivity materials create huge losses for millimeter-wave spectrum transmissions. They also cause a problem with millimeter-wave transmissions through these glass materials. The system described below allows frequencies that have a hard time penetrating a glass building or home to be processed so as to allow the signals to enter or leave a building or home.
The FCC developed millimeter wave signals when it devised a plan that made 1300 MHz local multipoint distribution services (LMDS) available in each basic trading areas across the United States. The plan allocated 2 LMDS licenses to each BTA (basic Trading Area), an ‘A Block’ The plan allocated two LMDS licenses per BTA (basic trading area), an?A Block? Each block had a?B Block? The A Block licence consisted of 1150 MHz total bandwidth and the B Block of 150 MHz total bandwidth. Teligent, a license holder, developed a fixed wireless point-to-multipoint system that would allow high speed broadband to be sent from rooftops around small and medium sized businesses. The system, along with others offered by Winstar or NextLink, failed to succeed, and many LMDS licences were returned to the FCC. These licenses, along with the related spectrum, are seen as being useful for 5G services and trials.
Referring to FIG. The general block diagram for the building penetration transmission is shown in Figure 1A. The building penetration system 102 deploys 5G fixed millimeter waves to overcome high penetration losses in buildings due to RF or optical obstructions, such as brick and concrete walls. The building penetration system 102 increases the number enterprise and residential buildings that can use 5G millimeter waves to deliver gigabyte-ethernet services. The system creates an optical or radio tunnel through the wall or window 106, without the need to drill holes or create a signal-permeable portal. The system described allows the tunneling of low-e glass and walls using directional radio waves. The system allows link budgets to be satisfied between interior and exterior transceviers. The system increases the number buildings that can use millimeter waves to deliver Gigabit Ethernet with consumer-installed devices.
The exterior repeater transmitter is located at the outside of the wall or window 106. The repeater transmitter transmits and receives frequencies such as 2.5 GHz, 3.5GHz, 5GHz, 24GHz, 28GHz (A1, A2, and B1 and B2) and 39GHz bands, 60GHz, 71GHz, and 81GHz. The 3.5GHz band (Citizens Band Radio Service) is the V-band, while the 60GHz band and 71GHz and 81GHz are the E-band. The repeater transmitter is powered by magnetic resonance or inductive coupled, so that the outside unit does not require an external power source. The repeater transmits signals received through the wall or window 106 to the transceiver located inside the building. Transceiver includes antenna 110 to provide ethernet or power connections. The building penetration transmission 102 can provide a one gigabit-per-second throughput tunneling traffic through a structure like a wall or window. The antenna 110 transmits Wi-Fi inside using the transceiver. It may have a port 112. The ethernet and power connections can also be hardwired directly to the transceiver. The building penetration system 102 can be installed at any point along a wall, window or structure. The building transmission system 102 can be used with a variety of windows and walls to allow millimeter waves to penetrate the structure. The repeater and transceiver are made of metal/plastic to withstand harsh environments, including rain, cold weather and high/low humidities.
The transceiver includes dual flash image support, USB 2.0 ports and gigabyte Ethernet ports. The building penetration system 102 has a range up to 60 m (200 feet). The system uses a passive gigabyte of power at 24 V/M and a maximum power consumption of 20 W. In one embodiment, the system can be powered by magnetic resonance wireless charging. The system offers a channel bandwidth of 60 GHz at 2 GHz.
FIGS. The bidirectional communication is shown in 1B and 1C between the transceiver located on exterior of window or wall and the transceiver located on interior of window or wall. A wireless signal is transmitted by a remote base station transmitter to an external transceiver. The communication transmissions between the exterior transceiver and the interior transceiver take place over a communication link 114. Signals transmitted from the exterior to the interior can be sent to CPE 111 via WiFi 113 or beam forming 113 by an internal router. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. The internal transceiver is provided with the signals by the internal router 115. Transceiver 100 transmits signals from the interior to the exterior of the wall or window 106 via communications link 116. The external transceiver transmits signals to the external station 109. The system allows bidirectional communication using RF, optical, or other types.
Referring to FIG. “In FIG. 1A-1C. A provider network 130 is connected to the local network via fiber PoP cabinets 132. Cabinets 132 are connected via fiber 134 to access points 136. Wireless communication links are used to wirelessly connect each of the access point 136 with another network of access points that may be located, for example, on light poles in a localized area. The access points communicate with the transceiver system 138, which comprises the building penetration described herein. Signals are wirelessly sent to an external transceiver before being transmitted into the interior of a business or home. Information can be transmitted bi-directionally from the provider network to/from devices within the interiors of various structures. This allows data to be transmitted between the network provider and all devices located inside the structure using wireless communications.
Referring to FIG. In Figure 2, a millimeter-wave transmission system 202 is used for communication. The base station (204), which generates millimeter waves transmissions 206 and 208, transmits them to the receivers 210 and 212. The millimeter wave transmissions that travel directly from the station 204 to the receiver 210 can be received easily without any ambient interference. Interference will be a major issue for millimeter wave transmissions from a base 204 to receivers 212 inside the building 214. The transmissions of millimeter waves 208 are not able to penetrate buildings 204. Signals are significantly reduced when they pass through transparent walls or windows. “The 28 GHz and higher frequencies cannot penetrate the glass and walls of buildings, yet 85% communication traffic originates from inside of buildings.
These frequencies are used for applications with a very short range of approximately a mile. A low-power Wi Fi can cover a home that is less than 3000 square feet at 2.4 GHz. A 5 GHz WiFi signal, however, would only cover about 60% of a 2-story house. This is because the signal travels less at higher frequencies. “5G applications have a higher power, but higher frequencies suffer from higher propagation losses through space and other media.
The losses that occur as millimeter waves penetrate a building reduce data rates to virtually nothing. When transmitting a downlink signal from a basestation to an interior of a building or home through clear glass the maximum data rate can be 9.93 Gb/second. Data rate for transmitting through tinted glasses is 2.2 Mb/s. The data rate for brick is 14 Mb/s, while the rate for concrete drops to 0.018bps. When transmitting an uplink towards a basestation from inside the building, the maximum data rates through clear glass are 1.57 Gb/s and through tinted glasses is 0.37 Mb/s. Signals transmitted via the uplink have a data rate between 0.0075 bits and 5.5 Mb when they are transmitted through brick. There are also differences in the uplink and downlink for transmitting from/to older or more modern buildings. Older buildings can be defined as those that use a composite wall model consisting of 30% standard glass and 70% cement. Newer buildings consist of composite models with 70% IRR glass and 30% concrete. The downlink transmissions from the base station to the interior of the building for older buildings are 32 Mb/s and 0.32 Mb/s for newer ones. “Similarly, uplink transmissions are 2,56 Mb/second for older buildings and 25.6 kb/second for newer ones.
Despite the shortcomings of the current carrier frequencies, the RF service providers are moving to higher frequency carriers to meet the increasing demand for bandwidth. The 28 GHz band is a new frequency for local multipoint distribution services (LMDS). FCC is considering the 28 GHz and 38 GHz bands for small cell deployments in order to support 5G networks at subscriber premises by using beam forming or beam steering. The FCC is considering the use of higher frequency bands to support 5G networks. These bandwidths are more advantageous than the large penetration losses caused by building materials and windows. These benefits include a faster frequency rate, the ability to more precisely beamform and a more effective beam steering within a smaller footprint for the components that provide the millimeter waves frequencies.
FIG. 3A shows one way to transmit millimeter waves inside a building by using an opticalbridge 302 mounted on a window. The optical bridge 302 consists of a first portion mounted on the outside of the glass 304, and a second part 308 on the inside. The first portion 306 comprises a transceiver 28 GHz that is mounted outside the window 304. The 28 GHz transmitter 310 receives millimeter-wave transmissions, such as those transmitted by a base station, like the one described in FIG. 1. A receiver optical subassembly 312 (ROSA)/transmission optic subassembly (312 TOSA) is used to transmit and receive the received/transmitted signal from/to the transceiver. A receiver optical assembly is a component that receives optical signals within a fiber-optic system. A transceiver subassembly transmits optical signals through a fiber-optic system. The ROSA/TOSA 312 component transmits or receives optical signals via the window 304, to a ROSA/TOSA 314 component located inside the window. The ROSA/TOSA component 314 transmits the signals to the Wi-Fi transmitter for transmissions inside the building.
FIG. In 3B, a further embodiment is shown where a signal received at a frequency that cannot easily pass through a tinted wall or window 330 down is converted to a lower frequency in order for transmission between the wall or window 330. A signal is received by an antenna 332 on the exterior of the building at a frequency which does not penetrate easily a window or a wall. The transceiver sends the signal to the down/up converter to convert it to a lower frequency that can penetrate the wall/window 330. A second transceiver transmits the down-converted signal through the window or wall 330. Transceiver 342 receives the received signal at the converted frequency. The signal received is then passed through an up/down convertor 342 in order to convert it to a level suitable for transmission inside the building. This is often the Wi-Fi spectrum. The signal up-converted is sent to router 344 and transmitted within the building. The incoming signal from devices within the building is processed and sent in reverse to transmit the signal from transceiver 334
Referring to FIG. The components used to transmit millimeter waves through a wall or window of a building are shown in detail on Figure 4. The transceiver includes a optional antenna gain element for receiving millimeter waves transmitted by a down/uplink 404 from the base station 204. The down/uplink comprises a beam transmission at 28 GHz. Other frequencies may be used. A RF receiver 406 receives information from the basestation 204 via the down/up links 404. The RF transmitter 408 is also used to transmit information over the down/up links 404. The received signals are sent to a demodulator (410) for demodulation. The demodulated signal is then provided to a groomer 412, which configures the signals for optical transmission. There are some signaling conversions (such as from high-order QAM to On-Off Keying), which require grooming or signal conditioning to ensure that all bits translate correctly and provide a low BER. The current system converts from RF with a high QAM to OOK raw bit rates to allow transmissions through the window using VCSELs. VCSELs can only operate with OOK, so a translation is required using groomer 412. We would not have to worry about translating the signal to low-order modulation if we were to down-convert a received 28 GHz signal directly to 5.8GHz (because this frequency can pass through glass and walls). Down-converting signal from 28, GHz to 5,8 GHz is expensive and requires expensive components. The groomer 412 converts a 28 GHz received signal into a frequency that can be transmitted through glass or walls without expensive components.
The signals are amplified by an amplifier 414 before transmission. The signal is amplified and sent to the VCSELs for optical transmission. The VCSEL 416, a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser is a type semiconductor laser diode that emits laser beams in a perpendicular direction from its top surface. In a preferred embodiment the VCSEL 416 is a Finisar VCSEL with a wavelength of 780 nm and a modulation of 4 Gb/s. It also has an optical output of 2.2 mW (3,4 to dBm). The components that transmit the optical signals through the window 404 can be an LED (light-emitting diode), or EELs (edge emitting Lasers). Different lasers can be used to enable different optical retransmissions based on the characteristics of a glass, such as its tint.
The VCSEL includes a Transmission optical subassembly for generating optical signals to be transmitted from VCSEL416 to VCSEL418 located on opposite side of window 404. The VCSELs (416 and 418) each include a laser for generating optical signals to be transmitted across the window 404. In one embodiment, a Finisar VCSEL is used to provide a 780 nm signal with a modulation rate up to 4 Gb/s when operating at 1 Gb/s and an optical output of 3 mW (or 5 dBm) The TOSA comprises a laser or LED device that converts electrical signals from amplifier 414 to light signal transmissions. Transmissions from outside VCSEL to inside VCSEL and an associated receiver optic subassembly.
The optical signals are sent through the window 404 by using optical focusing circuitry. On the transmitter and receiver sides, FIG. 417 will provide a more detailed description of the optical focusing circuitry. 7. There is an optical budget for the optical link 428 that connects VCSELs 416 and 418. This budget defines the acceptable losses while transmitting information between the VCSELs. The VCSEL output power is approximately 5 dBm. The receiver detector within the VCSEL is capable of detecting a signal up to?12 dBm. Glass losses are 7.21 dB for the optical signal that passes through glass at 780 nm wavelength. The coupling loss, and the lens gain associated with transmission are approximately 0.1 dB. Maximum displacement loss is 6.8dB for a lens displacement that is 3.5mm. The total link margin is 2.88 dB if you subtract the output power of the VCSEL from the detector sensitivity and the glass losses and coupling loss. The 2.88 dB is a link margin that allows for extra losses, such as Len’s loss and unexpected output variations.
Lens misalignment or displacement can account for an important portion of the loss in the system. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. As the misalignment moves from 6.5 mm, alignment losses 404 can range between 0.6 dB and 6.8 dB. As shown at 406, the maximum misalignment is allowed to be 9.4 dB.
