Remote antenna system
View Patent ↗Various methods, apparatuses, and systems are described in which a WAP is coupled to an antenna unit and provides a wireless LAN. In one embodiment, the antenna unit includes at least one remote antenna circuit having one or more ports to receive a control signal and a transmit signal transmitted from the WAP located in a multi-tone transmitter-receiver. Each remote antenna circuit includes a transmit amplifier unit that amplifies the transmit signal, a receive amplifier unit that amplifies a receive signal, and control unit that receives the control signal. The control unit controls an operation of the transmit and the receive amplifier units to extend a range of the wireless WAP with the at least one remote antenna circuit.
1. A system comprising:
a network interface device (NID) having a wide area network communication gateway with an wireless access point that has a first frequency converter to convert a transmit signal with a first frequency band into a second frequency band;
an input to receive the transmit signal from a digital subscriber loop access multiplexer with the transmit signal carried across a public telephone network to the NID; and
one or more ports of the wireless access point to transmit the transmit signal to at least one antenna circuit coupled to the wide area network communication gateway via a coaxial cable, one or more ports of each antenna circuit to receive the transmit signal from the one or more ports of the wireless access point and to convert the second frequency band into the first frequency band with a second frequency converter, an antenna of each antenna circuit to receive a receive signal with the first frequency band and to convert the first frequency band into a third frequency band with a third frequency converter, the receive signal is sent to the wireless access point, the second and third frequency bands are selected to minimize the attenuation of the transmit and receive signals between the wireless access point and each antenna circuit.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein each antenna circuit to extend a range of the wireless access point located in the wide area network communication gateway that is a digital subscriber line communication gateway.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein each antenna circuit comprises the third frequency converter to convert the receive signal with the first frequency band into one of a plurality of frequency bands with each one of the plurality of frequency bands being associated with a different antenna circuit.
4. The system of claim 3 , wherein each antenna circuit further comprises:
one or more transmit amplifiers to amplify the transmit signal; and
one or more receive amplifiers to amplify the receive signal.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein each one of the plurality of frequency bands associated with the receive signal of a different antenna circuit is different than the second frequency band of the transmit signal in order to provide communication between the wireless access point and each remote antenna without control unit to control the transmit and receive amplifiers.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein each antenna circuit further comprises an automatic gain controller to control a gain of the one or more transmit amplifiers based on a power detector detecting the output power level of the one or more transmit amplifiers.
7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the automatic gain controller to control a gain of the one or more receive amplifiers based on the gain of the one or more transmit amplifiers and a loopback adjustment.
8. An apparatus, comprising:
means for sending a control signal and a transmit signal from a wireless access point to at least one remote antenna circuit via a coaxial line with each remote antenna circuit having a transmit amplifier unit to amplify the transmit signal, a receive amplifier unit to amplify a receive signal, and control unit to receive the control signal;
means for determining an amount of control signal loss from transmission of the control signal over the coaxial line;
means for adjusting a gain of at least one of the transmit amplifier unit and the receive amplifier unit located in the remote antenna circuit in response to the determination of the amount of the control signal loss; and
means for sending the receive signal from each remote antenna circuit to the wireless access point located in a multi-tone transmitter-receiver.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising:
means for adjusting a gain of at least one of a transmit amplifier unit and a receive amplifier unit located in the wireless access point in response to the determination of the control signal loss.