Frequency domain reallocation in wireless-wired physical convergence architecture

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems, devices and methods for improving performance and range of a wireless wired communication system. In some examples, the architecture utilizes pre-existing copper within the building to allow signals to pass through physical barriers, such as walls, on copper wires while communicating signals in the air both outside and inside the building using wireless portions of the channels. Reallocation of spectrum within the architecture is performed across various embodiments to improve performance and reduce signal attenuation and interference.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 17 / 853,089 [Office Case No. 20182-2564US], filed on June 29, 2022, entitled “FREQUENCY-DOMAIN REALLOCATION IN WIRELESS-WIRELINE PHYSICALLY CONVERGED ARCHITECTURES” and listing Akula Aneesh Reddy, Jisung Oh, and Vinay Joseph as inventors. The above patent document is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates generally to telecommunication systems, and more particularly to wireless and wired communication architectures that improve the use of converged architectures with multiple wired cables for different locations / users. These enhancements enable higher throughput for a given wired infrastructure and support wired infrastructures with long cables. Background Art

[0004] Those skilled in the art will appreciate the importance of wireless communication systems, including LTE, 5G, 5GNR, and Wi-Fi architectures, and the complexity of these systems as they are built and maintained around the world. As the complexity of these systems increases and the resources available for them are allocated at higher and higher frequency spectrums, the management of wireless channels becomes more challenging. For example, a cellular base station must manage a large number of channels within its cell to communicate with UE (user equipment) devices, and the characteristics of these channels are constantly changing. This management of channels becomes more challenging in dense cities, where wireless signals must traverse various physical barriers to reach UEs such as cellular phones. This channel quality and range issue is particularly problematic as the channel frequency increases and becomes more sensitive to interference, noise, and changing channel characteristics.

[0005] Cellular Subscriber Line (hereinafter referred to as "CSL") adopts the novel concept of using existing wired infrastructure (such as telephone lines, fiber optic cables, Ethernet lines, coaxial cables) in combination with wireless infrastructure to quickly, cheaply and securely extend the coverage of wireless signals.

[0006] The architecture of the cloud-based cellular subscriber line network includes CSL intermediate frequency (hereinafter referred to as "CSL-IF") and CSL radio frequency (hereinafter referred to as "CSL-RF") units, such as Figure 1, which shows two low-cost units at both ends of the wired connection: the CSL-IF unit IF modulates the wireless baseband signal, and the CSL-RF unit sends the modulated signal to the other end of the wire. The CSL-RF unit up-converts the signal for wireless transmission to nearby client devices, such as IoT devices and smart phones. The CSL-IF unit is connected to the baseband unit (hereinafter referred to as "BBU") located at the cellular tower or CSP's central office. The CSL-IF unit generates a baseband digital stream from the BBU output (downlink), and converts the baseband digital stream into a specific O-RAN split signal for the BBU input (uplink).

[0007] The wired medium or cable connecting the CSL-IF and CSL-RF units affects the performance of the CSL network. The cable is used to send the IF modulated baseband signal to the CSL-RF, and the CSL-IF sends the received uplink samples after down-conversion from the radio frequency range to the intermediate frequency. Within this CSL architecture, managing the bandwidth usage across the various links is a challenge. Specifically, the resource block scheduler will schedule the uplink and downlink transmissions primarily from a wireless communication perspective. However, as this schedule is mapped onto the wired medium, bandwidth issues can become problematic as the transmitted resource blocks are transmitted over the wired line.

[0008] Therefore, there is a need for systems, devices and methods that solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0009] Embodiments disclosed herein are systems, devices, and methods that can be used to provide improved performance (e.g., data rate, quality of service, etc.) over a network that includes point-to-point communication links and point-to-multipoint / multipoint-to-point communication links. As just one example, the systems, devices, and methods described herein can be used in a wireless-wired physical convergence architecture.

[0010] These embodiments use wired communication systems to improve wireless communication systems. For example, the systems, devices, and methods described herein can be used to perform frequency domain or time domain reallocation of wireless baseband signals for enhancing wireless-wired physical convergence architectures. In some embodiments, the frequencies of baseband signals transmitted over multiple wired mediums are jointly reallocated, and the reallocation associated with each wired medium is intended to reduce the attenuation experienced by a specific subset of signals that are useful / usable by devices utilizing the wired medium. The reallocation can include frequency shifting in the baseband signal and / or suppression / removal of useless portions of the signal.

[0011] As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the frequency band in which a signal is transmitted over a channel depends on many factors, including the characteristics of the communication medium over which the signal is to be transmitted (e.g., how much the channel attenuates signals at various frequencies). In addition, and as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, a baseband signal (e.g., a signal having components at frequencies close to zero) may be transmitted at baseband if the communication channel is suitable.

[0012] The baseband signal generated / processed at the baseband can alternatively be up-converted to be transmitted / received as a passband signal in a higher frequency band. Depending on the position of the passband signal within the spectrum relative to the frequencies of other signals in the system, the passband signal can be referred to as a radio frequency (RF) signal or an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. Conventionally, the IF signal is in a lower frequency band than the RF signal. The RF signal can be created by up-converting the IF signal, and the IF signal can be created by down-converting the RF signal. Up-conversion and down-conversion can be implemented in any number of ways using various well-known hardware components (e.g., mixers, local oscillators, amplifiers, etc.).

[0013] In this document, the disclosure is presented in the context of applications using cellular subscriber lines (CSL), but is not limited thereto. Concepts related to CSL are described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021 / 0099277A1, “Wireless-wireline physically converged architectures,” and WIPO Patent Publication No. WO2021 / 062311, “Wireless-wireline physically converged architectures,” by JM Cioffi et al., both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. CSL systems use existing wired infrastructure (e.g., telephone lines, fiber optic cables, Ethernet cables, coaxial cables, etc.) in combination with wireless infrastructure to quickly, cheaply, and securely extend the coverage of wireless signals. CSL systems may include hardware and / or software components for sending and / or processing signals at various frequencies (including RF and IF).

[0014] Certain features and advantages of the present invention have been generally described in this summary; however, additional features, advantages, and embodiments are given herein or will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the drawings, description, and claims herein. Therefore, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed in this summary. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Reference will be made to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which may be shown in the accompanying drawings. These drawings are intended to be illustrative and non-restrictive. Although the present invention is generally described in the context of these embodiments, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to these specific embodiments.

[0016] Figure 1 A CSL cloud-based architecture is shown, which includes a CSL-IF unit and a CSL-RF unit coupled to each other by a cable (e.g., twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.).

[0017] Figure 2 It is shown that higher frequencies experience more attenuation in the cable, longer cables introduce more attenuation than shorter cables, and that the attenuation characteristics are affected by the type of cable (eg, CAT5e, coaxial, etc.).

[0018] Figure 3 A CSL architecture is shown in which a CSL-IF is coupled to multiple CSL-RF units according to various embodiments of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating transmission of a downlink baseband signal from a CSL-IF unit to a CSL-RF unit according to various embodiments of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 5 A modified transmission of a downlink baseband signal from a CSL-IF unit to a CSL-RF unit is shown according to various embodiments of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 6 An example of frequency reallocation involving a CSL-IF unit in communication with three CSL-RF units according to various embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0022] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a CSL-IF unit according to various embodiments of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a CSL-RF unit according to various embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Embodiments of the present invention provide systems, devices, and methods for addressing interference and scheduling resource blocks within a wireless-wired architecture across various channels within the system. In some examples, the architecture utilizes pre-existing copper within a building to allow signals to pass through physical barriers, such as walls, on the copper wires while using the wireless portion of the channel to transmit the signal in the air both outside and inside the building. Reallocation of spectrum within the architecture is performed across various embodiments to improve performance and reduce signal attenuation and interference.

[0025] In the following description, for the purpose of explanation, specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be practiced without these details. Those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments of the present invention (some of which are described below) can be incorporated into many different electrical components, circuits, devices, and systems. Embodiments of the present invention can work in various different types of environments, where channel sensitivity and range are adversely affected by physical barriers within the signal path. In addition, the connections between the components in the figure are not intended to be limited to direct connections. On the contrary, the connections between these components can be modified, reformatted, or otherwise changed by intermediate components.

[0026] References in the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" mean that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in conjunction with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. The appearance of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0027] Figure 1 A CSL cloud-based architecture is shown, which includes a CSL-IF unit 110 and a CSL-RF unit 120 connected to each other by cables (e.g., twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.). The CSL-IF unit 110, which can be considered as an intermediate transceiver, is connected to a broadband unit (BBU) 140 (or more generally, a base station) located at, for example, a cellular tower or a central office of a cellular service provider (CSP). The CSL-IF unit 110 generates a baseband digital stream from the BBU output (downlink direction) and converts the baseband digital stream into a specific O-RAN split signal for the BBU input (uplink direction).

[0028] In the downlink direction (towards the user equipment), the CSL-IF unit 110 receives baseband samples from the cellular radio access network (RAN), IF modulates the wireless baseband signal (i.e., modulates it onto one or more intermediate frequency carriers), and sends the IF modulated signal through the cable to the CSL-RF unit 120 at the other end of the cable. The CSL-RF unit 120, which can be regarded as a distribution transceiver, then up-converts the signal to RF (i.e., modulates the signal onto a higher radio frequency carrier), and sends the RF signal to the user equipment (UE) (e.g., IoT device, smartphone, etc.) within its range. Similarly, in the uplink direction (towards the BBU), the CSL-RF unit 120 receives the RF signal from the UE, down-converts it to IF, and sends the IF modulated signal to the CSL-IF unit 110 through the cable.

[0029] The wired medium 130 (also referred to herein as a cable) connecting the CSL-IF unit 110 and the CSL-RF unit 120 allows the CSL-IF 100 to send IF modulated baseband signals to the CSL-RF unit 120, and the CSL-RF unit 120 to send received uplink samples after down-conversion from the radio frequency range to an intermediate frequency. The cable has an impact on the performance of the CSL system. For example, wired communications (via cables) are significantly affected by cable attenuation, which is a function of cable length and frequency. Figure 2 Figure 2 is a graph comparing the attenuation of 10m, 100m, and 400m CAT5e and coaxial cables. Figure 2 It shows that (1) higher frequencies experience more attenuation in the cable, (2) longer cables introduce more attenuation than shorter cables, and (3) attenuation characteristics are affected by cable type (e.g., CAT5e, coaxial, etc.).

[0030] Figure 3 Another configuration according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 3 As shown, multiple CSL-RF units 320a-c can be coupled to a single CSL-IF unit 310. In this case, in the downstream direction, a common downlink baseband signal arrives at the CSL-IF unit 310. After IF modulation, the common downlink baseband frequency band signal is sent to each CSL-RF unit 320a-c. Thus, this architecture provides point-to-multipoint (between a single CSL-IF unit and multiple CSL-RF units) communication.

[0031] When the CSL-IF unit 310 applies conventional IF modulation to the baseband frequency signal to transmit the baseband frequency signal to the plurality of CSL-RF units 320a-c via respective communication channels connecting the CSL-IF unit 310 to the CSL-RF units 320a-c, the higher frequencies transmitted through each of the wired media experience higher attenuation than the lower frequencies (see Figure 2 ). Thus, if the resources allocated to a particular UE connected to a particular CSL-RF unit are at a higher frequency rather than a lower frequency, they will experience higher attenuation caused by the wired medium connecting the CSL-IF unit 310 to the particular CSL-RS unit 320a than if they occupied the lower frequency. The higher attenuation may result in poor reception at the CSL-RF unit 320a, which may result in poor wireless performance for the UE connected to the CSL-RF device (e.g., the UE may experience retransmissions, packet losses, higher latency, reduced throughput, and / or other negative effects). This performance degradation is typically more significant if the bandwidth of the baseband signal is high (e.g., 100 MHz) because, for example, Figure 2As shown, wired attenuation increases with frequency and is generally higher at higher frequencies.

[0032] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating transmission of a downlink baseband signal from a CSL-IF unit to a CSL-RF unit according to some embodiments, wherein the CSL-IF unit is connected to a cellular system (e.g., such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown in Figure 4 As shown, resource block (RB) allocation affects the performance of UEs connected to the CSL-RF unit because higher frequency RBs may experience much higher attenuation than lower frequency RBs. If the resource allocation (e.g., RBs at the BBU is dynamic, meaning that it results in higher frequencies being allocated to different UEs connected to different CSL-RF units at different times (e.g., distributing the use of more attenuated frequencies to multiple UEs over time), the associated transmissions may be significantly affected by the wired attenuation caused by the cables between the CSL-IF unit 310 and the CSL-RF units 320a-c. Different UEs may experience performance degradation at different times, depending on the allocation of RBs to the UEs over time. In addition, these transient performance degradations may cause the UE to select a more conservative modulation and coding scheme (MCS) selection, which may in turn result in lower long-term throughput for the UE.

[0033] It should be noted that the problems associated with transmission over cables are less prominent in wireless systems because the relative difference in attenuation between the lowest and highest RF frequencies used for wireless communication will be much smaller than for wired communications (e.g., Figure 2 shown).

[0034] Thus, the result of a CSL-IF unit 310 that simply transmits the same baseband frequency band signal to multiple CSL-RF units 320a-c by applying IF modulation may be a poor wireless experience for at least some of the UEs connected to the CSL-RF units (e.g., the UEs may experience retransmissions, packet losses, higher latency, reduced throughput, and / or other performance degradations). It is desirable to reduce the impact of the substantially higher attenuation experienced by the high frequency RBs of the UEs connected to the CSL-RF units without changing the involved wireless systems or the existing wired cable infrastructure.

[0035] Disclosed herein are systems and methods for utilizing separate communication paths in a point-to-multipoint / multipoint-to-point architecture. Specifically, in the context of CSL, frequency allocations for separate wired media between a CSL-IF unit and each CSL-RF unit are managed separately to improve overall system efficiency. The disclosed techniques allow for higher throughput for a given wired infrastructure and provide support for wired infrastructures with long cables.

[0036] In some embodiments, the CSL-IF unit 310 modifies the baseband signal it receives from the base station so that only the RBs associated with the UE of the CSL-RF unit are sent to and / or received from the CSL-RF unit over the wired medium. This approach reduces the bandwidth consumed by the wired transmission associated with each particular CSL-RF unit because fewer RBs are sent to each CSL-RF unit (compared to the number of RBs received by the CSL-IF unit corresponding to all UEs served by the CSL-IF unit, which UEs can even include microcell UEs). Reducing the bandwidth of the wired transmission eliminates the need to use higher frequencies and therefore reduces the attenuation experienced by the transmission and improves performance.

[0037] Optionally, the RBs allocated to the UE of a particular CSL-RF unit can be restricted to a subset of the entire RB set, which can allow for a simpler CSL-IF unit implementation for downlink signals and a simpler CSL-RF unit implementation for uplink signals. Limiting the RBs allocated to the UE of a CSL-RF unit to a subset essentially results in a static or semi-static partitioning of the RBs between the CSL-RF units (or the UEs associated with each CSL-RF unit). Information about the static or semi-static partitioning can be provided via an overhead channel periodically or occasionally (e.g., at regular intervals or when needed). Alternatively, the static partitioning can be a choice made when the system is designed, or the static partitioning can be defined by a standard, convention, protocol, etc.

[0038] Figure 5 1 shows how the transmission of downlink baseband signals from the CSL-IF unit 310 to the CSL-RF units 320a-c may be modified according to some embodiments, wherein the RBs allocated to the UE of the CSL-RF unit are restricted to a subset of the entire RB set. Figure 5 As shown, RB allocation has a positive impact on the performance of UEs connected to the CSL-RF unit.In settings where there is a constraint on the total transmit power across all transmitted RBs, transmission of a subset of the entire RB set may also help to increase the transmit power per RB.

[0039] It should be understood that the described method can be used without the optional static or semi-static partitioning of RBs between CSL-RF units 320a-c. A suitably fast processing engine of CSL-IF unit 310 (or external thereto) can track the dynamic allocation of RBs to UEs associated with CSL-RF units 320a-c.

[0040] Whether or not an optional static or semi-static partitioning of RBs is included, the partitioning of RBs between CSL-RF units may be accomplished in different ways. As an example, an equal number of RBs may be allocated to each CSL-RF unit 320a-c. As another example, the allocation of RBs to CSL-RF units 320a-c may be accomplished based on the wireless conditions of the UEs of each CSL-RF unit. The partitioning of RBs may take into account the number of UEs connected to each CSL-RF unit 320a-c and the traffic demands of those UEs. As an example, a CSL-RF unit with no UEs (or no active UEs) may be assigned zero RBs, and a CSL-RF unit with a large number of UEs and / or UEs with high traffic demands and / or UEs experiencing poor RF conditions may be assigned a relatively high number of RBs.

[0041] The CSL-IF unit 310 is aware of the RBs used by the UEs of the CSL-RF units 320a-c connected thereto, and is therefore able to perform appropriate processing on the downlink baseband signals. Information about resource allocation (e.g., RB allocation) may be sent to the CSL-IF unit 310 as side information from, for example, a wireless network (e.g., RAN, core, operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM), etc.), for example, via any intermediate node that manages the CSL-IF unit.

[0042] The CSL-RF unit is aware of the RBs used by the UEs connected to it, so it can perform appropriate processing on the uplink baseband signals. Information about resource allocation (e.g., RB allocation) can be sent to the CSL-RF unit as side information from, for example, a wireless network (e.g., RAN, core, OAM, etc.), for example, via the CSL-IF or any other intermediate node that manages the CSL-RF unit.

[0043] It may be desirable to avoid communicating information about RB allocations of UEs of CSL-RF units available at CSL-IF unit 310 and CSL-RF units 320a-c in order to avoid transmitting side information. Therefore, some embodiments provide RAN transparent RB partitioning using shift-based frequency reallocation without significant changes to the wireless network. Downlink and uplink directions may be handled separately and independently. The shifting may be done cyclically or non-cyclically. The frequency reallocation may alternatively be performed in other ways.

[0044] In some embodiments, in the downlink direction, the CSL-IF unit 310 sends the downlink baseband stream (received from the BBU) to some or all of the individual CSL-RF units 320a-c connected to the CSL-IF unit after reallocating the frequencies of the RBs using personalized frequency reallocation. In other words, the CSL-IF unit 310 moves the frequencies of some or all of the RBs by a preferred frequency shift and sends them to some or all of the CSL-RF units 320a-c. The frequency reallocation of each CSL-RF unit 320a-c connected to the CSL-IF unit 310 can be different from all other reallocations, so that different reallocations are used for different CSL-RF units connected to the CSL-IF unit. Before generating an RF signal for transmission to the UE, each CSL-RF unit 320a-c can reverse the frequency reallocation performed for it by the CSL-IF unit 310, thereby restoring the RBs to their original positions at the frequencies received by the CSL-IF unit from the BBU. The CSL-RF units 320a-c may invert the frequency reallocation by, for example, using a cyclic or non-cyclic shift that is the inverse of the shift applied by the CSL-IF unit to "undo" the frequency reallocation performed by the CSL-IF unit. In some embodiments, information for this inversion may be sent by the CSL-IF unit to each CSL-RF unit, for example, via a dedicated control channel.

[0045] A similar reallocation process may be performed in the uplink direction. In some embodiments, in the uplink direction, the CSL-RF unit performs a reallocation of RB frequencies using frequency shifting before sending an uplink baseband signal to the CSL-IF unit. The CSL-IF unit may then reverse the frequency reallocation (e.g., using cyclic or non-cyclic shifting) to "undo" or reverse the reallocation of the CSL-RF before combining the uplink baseband signals from all CSL-RF units and sending the signal to the BBU.

[0046] By using frequency reallocation for transmissions on the wired medium, it is apparent that the CSL-IF unit and the CSL-RF unit can increase the frequency of the RBs sent on the wired medium, thereby reducing the attenuation they experience.

[0047] Figure 6A simple example of frequency reallocation involving a CSL-IF unit 605 is shown, which communicates with three CSL-RF units 610, 620, 630, which are labeled "CSL-RF 1" 610, "CSL-RF2" 620, and "CSL-RF3" 630. In the example shown, the baseband bandwidth is divided into three logical parts, each corresponding to one of the CSL-RF units 610, 620, 630. For ease of explanation, it is assumed that the communication over the cable connecting the CSL-IF 605 unit to the three CSL-RF units 610, 620, 630 is time division duplex (TDD), but the present disclosure is not limited to TDD communications. Figure 6 As shown, between the BBU and the CSL-IF unit 605, the portion "1" going to the CSL-RF unit 1 610 occupies the lowest frequency band, the portion "2" going to the CSL-RF unit 2 620 occupies the next lowest frequency band, and the portion "3" going to the CSL-RF unit 3 630 occupies a higher frequency band than both portions "1" and "2". Figure 6 In FIG. 1 , portions 1 , 2 , 3 are shown as being of unequal sizes, but alternatively some or all of the portions may be of equal size.

[0048] Since portion 1 is already located at the lowest frequency, the CSL-IF unit 605 does not need to apply any reallocation to adjust the position of portion 1 before modulating the baseband signal to an IF and sending it to the CSL-RF unit 610. However, the CSL-IF 605 may apply frequency reallocation to reverse the order of portions 2 and 3 in the signal sent to the CSL-RF unit 1 610. Doing so may be desirable if, for example, the coverage areas covered by the CSL-RF unit 1 610 and the CSL-RF unit 3 630 partially overlap (e.g., adjacent building floors), in which case a UE associated with the CSL-RF unit 3 630 may be able to receive the signal sent by the CSL-RF unit 1 610. In this case, it may be desirable to reduce the attenuation of the RBs allocated to the CSL-RF unit 3 630 in the signal sent to the CSL-RF unit 1 610 by the CSL-IF 605 moving portion 3 below portion 2.

[0049] The RBs allocated to CSL-RF unit 2 620 and CSL-RF unit 3 630 are not in the lowest frequency band. Therefore, the CSL-IF unit 605 determines the frequency reallocation of the two CSL-RF units based at least in part on the frequency boundaries of the three logical parts. Specifically, for CSL-RF unit 2 620, the CSL-IF unit 605 shifts the frequency of the transmission downward by the width of part 1, so that as a result, part 2 occupies the lowest frequency band and thus suffers less attenuation on the way to CSL-RF unit 2 620 than it does in its original frequency band. Figure 6 As shown, after frequency shifting, Part 1 and Part 3 are located above Part 2. After frequency reallocation, Part 1 may be above or below Part 3 (eg, for reasons described above in the discussion of CSL-RF unit 1).

[0050] Similarly, frequency reallocation of CSL-RF unit 3 630 causes the third logical portion of the baseband bandwidth to be shifted to a lower frequency band so that it will experience lower overall attenuation (due to lower wireline attenuation). Figure 6 As shown, after frequency reallocation, sections 1 and 2 are located above section 3. Section 1 may be above or below section 2 (e.g., for the reasons described above in the discussion of CSL-RF unit 1).

[0051] One advantage of the frequency reallocation described herein is that it can improve the apparent quality of the channel between the RAN and the UE from the RAN's perspective. For example, the RAN can determine to allocate RBs to the UE based on channel state information (CSI) reports or other measurements / reports from the UE connected via the CSL-IF unit 605. As a result of the frequency reallocation, the attenuation observed by the UE may be lower than otherwise. For example, referring to Figure 6 , if part 3 is sent to CSL-RF unit 3 630 at its original location, these RBs will reach the UE with a certain attenuation. However, because CSL-IF 605 sends these RBs to CSL-RF unit 3 630 in a lower frequency band, they reach the UE with lower attenuation. Therefore, the UE and RAN detect a channel of higher quality (less attenuation), and the RAN should then give a higher preference to the third logical part when allocating RBs for UEs connected via CSL-RF unit 3 630. Therefore, the efficiency and performance of the entire communication system can be improved.

[0052] exist Figure 6In the example of , all three logical portions of the baseband bandwidth are transmitted over the wired communication path at a frequency band that should have lower attenuation than alternative frequency bands in which they might be transmitted. It should be appreciated that if it is known (e.g., from a channel identification process, previous measurements, etc.) that a particular portion of the bandwidth of a particular wired communication path between the CSL-IF unit 605 and one of the CSL-RF units 610, 620, 630 has more attenuation than expected (e.g., due to defects in the cable), the disclosed techniques can be used to avoid that portion of the wired bandwidth.

[0053] Note that the CSL-IF unit 605 does not need to be aware of the RB allocations associated with the UEs of each CSL-RF unit 610, 620, 630. For the downlink direction, the CSL-IF unit 605 applies different frequency reallocations to the downlink signals sent to different CSL-RF units 610, 620, 630, so that each RB in the different RB sets for different CSL-RF units experiences lower attenuation as explained above. This motivates the RAN to select different RB sets for the UEs of the CSL-RF units in an obvious way. For example, the RAN may observe that a different one of the RB sets has better channel quality (e.g., based on CSI reports, uplink measurements from UEs connected to the CSL, etc.), and may assign the RBs with higher channel quality to the UEs if possible.

[0054] Therefore, if Figure 6 As shown in the example of , the frequency reallocation creates logical portions of bandwidth, each portion being associated with a respective CSL-RF unit 610, 620, 630. The frequency reallocation may be determined in any suitable manner. For example, the reallocation may result in the logical portions being equal or unequal in size, and this may be determined by taking into account any relevant information, such as the number of UEs per CSL-RF unit 610, 620, the radio conditions of the UEs per CSL-RF unit, the traffic requirements of the UEs per CSL-RF unit, etc. For example, the reallocation may be determined such that a CSL-RF unit with no UEs may have logical portions with zero or few RBs, while a CSL-RF unit with a large number of associated UEs, high traffic requirements, or poor RF conditions may have logical portions with a relatively high number of RBs.

[0055] although Figure 6 TDD communication over a wired communication path is shown, but it will be appreciated that frequency division duplex (FDD) communication may also be used. In this case, the upstream and downstream bandwidths will be different, but the principles discussed above (and below) will be the same. For example, if the downstream frequency band is located from f 1 to f 2 , and the upstream band is located from f 3 to f4 ,but Figure 6 If the other aspects of still apply to the downstream direction, the CSL-IF unit 605 can ensure (e.g., by applying one or more personalized frequency repositioning) that part 1 starts at f 1 For transmission to CSL-RF unit 1 610, section 2 starts at f 1 for transmission to CSL-RF unit 2 620, and section 3 begins at f 1 for transmission to CSL-IF unit 3 630. Similarly, in the upstream direction, CSL-RF unit 1 610 may position portion 1 at f 3 Starting at (possibly by applying a frequency shift), CSL-RF unit 2 620 may position portion 2 at f 3 , and CSL-IF unit 3 630 can position section 3 at f 3 Starting at (possibly by applying a frequency shift).

[0056] It should be understood that a CSL-IF unit may be physically connected to multiple CSL-RF units, but may sometimes communicate only with a subset of these CSL-RF units. For example, one or more of the CSL-RF units may be powered off or not serving any UE at a certain point in time. Therefore, in some embodiments, a subset of CSL-RF units may be managed by a configuration entity (e.g., a CSL-IF unit) to facilitate efficient use of available bandwidth. The configuration entity may send messages to the CSL-RF units to instruct them how the CSL-RF units should shift their uplink transmissions and / or how the CSL-IF units will shift their downlink transmissions to the CSL-RF units.

[0057] Many messaging methods are possible. As just one example, a configuration message may include a count value c indicating the number of CSL-RF units and an index assignment i corresponding to each CSL-RF unit. The CSL-RF units may use these values ​​to determine how they should shift uplink transmissions and / or how the CSL-IF units will shift downlink transmissions to the CSL-RF units. The count value may reflect, for example, the total number of CSL-RF units connected to the CSL-IF unit, or the number of active CSL-RF units (e.g., the number of CSL-RF units that are powered or communicatively coupled to at least one UE). In other words, the count value may reflect some or all of the CSL-RF units that are physically connected to the CSL-IF unit.

[0058] As an example of how the CSL-RF unit may use the count and index values, if the bandwidth of the baseband signal is denoted as W, and the lowest value index i is 1, the CSL-RF unit may derive the cyclic shift as W×(i-1) / c. The direction of the shift (e.g., left or right) may also be indicated by a configuration message, or may be pre-arranged (e.g., by convention).

[0059] As Figure 6 In the context of the example configuration shown in , assume that CSL-RF unit 1 610 and CSL-RF unit 2 620 are serving UEs, but CSL-RF unit 3 630 is not serving UEs (for example, it is powered off for some reason or is not serving any UEs at all). It is further assumed that CSL-IF unit 605 is the configuration entity. In this case, CSL-IF unit 605 can send configuration messages to CSL-RF unit 1 610 and CSL-RF unit 2 620 to provide them with the count of active CSL-RF units and the index assigned to them. For example, CSL-IF unit 605 can send a first configuration message to CSL-RF unit 1 containing a count value c=2 and an index assignment i=1. CSL-RF unit 1 can then determine, for example, that the (left or right) cyclic shift to be applied in the frequency domain is W×(1-1) / 2=0, whereby CSL-RF unit 1 610 knows that no frequency shift is required. Similarly, the CSL-IF unit 610 may send a second configuration message including a count value c=2 and an index assignment i=2 to the CSL-RF unit 2 620. The CSL-RF unit 2 620 may then determine, for example, that the (left or right) cyclic shift to be applied in the frequency domain is W×(2-1) / 2=W / 2.

[0060] It should be understood that this same messaging method can be used when all CSL-RF units are active (e.g., serving UEs). Figure 6 If all three CSL-RF units shown in the example are active, the CSL-IF unit (or another configuration entity) can send a message to all CSL-RF units to indicate that the count value is c=3 and assign them an index. The frequency shift applied by the CSL-RF unit assigned i=1 will be W×(1-1) / 3=0, the frequency shift applied by the CSL-RF unit assigned i=2 will be W×(2-1) / 3=1 / 3W, and the frequency shift applied by the CSL-RL unit assigned i=3 will be W×(3-1) / 3=2 / 3W. It should be understood that the count value c, the index value i, and the function W×(i-1) / c are just one example of how the configuration entity transmits the frequency shift and is applied by the CSL-RF unit, and other methods are possible and within the scope of the disclosure herein.

[0061] As explained above, the frequency reallocation used by the CSL-IF unit 605 and / or CSL-RF units 610, 620, 630 may be achieved, for example, by cyclic shifts, non-cyclic shifts, or any other means that allows components to be positioned in frequency as desired.

[0062] The frequency reallocation may be determined by a configuration entity, which may be, for example, the CSL-IF unit 605 or a remote entity (e.g., in the cloud). For example, a cloud-based entity may transmit information about frequency reallocations applied (or to be applied) in uplink and downlink directions to the CSL-IF unit 605 and / or the CSL-RF units 610, 620, 630. As another example, if the CSL-IF unit 605 determines uplink and / or downlink frequency reallocations, the CSL-IF unit 605 may send information describing the frequency reallocations to the CSL-RF units 610, 620, 630. In another example, the CSL-RF units 605 may determine the uplink frequency reallocations that they will apply (or are applying) and send information to the CSL-IF unit 605 to describe the frequency reallocations. The frequency reallocations applied by the CSL-IF unit 605 and the CSL-RF units 610, 620, 630 are transparent to both the BBE / BBU and the UE. The CSL-IF and CSL-RF units may use an overhead channel (eg, in-band or out-of-band) to communicate their frequency reallocations and / or changes in frequency reallocations.

[0063] Each CSL-RF unit 610, 620, 630 is aware of the frequency reallocation applied by the CSL-IF unit 605 to which it is connected for downlink signals, so that the CSL-RF unit can undo (reverse) the frequency reallocation applied by the CSL-IF unit before the CSL-RF generates an RF signal for transmission to the UE. Similarly, the CSL-IF unit 605 is aware of the frequency reallocation applied by each of the CSL-RF units 610, 620, 630 to which it is connected for uplink signals, so that the CSL-IF can undo the frequency reallocation of each CSL-RF before the CSL-IF generates an uplink signal sent to the BBU. Information about frequency reallocations in the uplink and / or downlink directions can be shared between the CSL-IF unit 605 and the CSL-RF units 610, 620, 630, for example, during initialization, or using a control channel between the CSL-IF unit and each CSL-RF unit, or in any other suitable manner.

[0064] It should be understood that it is not necessary to shift every logical portion of the baseband bandwidth. Figure 6, as described above, the portion labeled 1 can remain in its position (eg, its absolute position or its position relative to portions 2 and 3).

[0065] It should also be understood that Figure 5 and Figure 6 The techniques described in the discussion can be used individually or in combination. Unlike the wireless resources shared by the CSL-RF units, the wired media between the CSL-IF unit and each CSL-RF unit are separate dedicated resources, and therefore their frequency allocations can be managed individually to improve the efficiency and performance of the entire system. Different frequency reallocations can be used for different wired communication paths.

[0066] Thus, in some embodiments, an intermediate transceiver (e.g., a CSL-IF unit) receives a downlink signal that includes a first portion for delivery to a first distribution transceiver (e.g., a first CSL-RF unit) and a second portion for delivery to a second distribution transceiver (e.g., a second CSL-RF unit). The first portion and the second portion of the downlink signal occupy disjoint frequency bands (e.g., for a multi-carrier system, the first portion uses a first set of subchannels and the second portion uses a different set of subchannels, none of which are included in the first set of subchannels), the first portion occupies a first frequency band, and the second portion occupies a second frequency band, wherein it is assumed that the first frequency band occupies a lower frequency band than the second frequency band.

[0067] The first distribution transceiver is coupled to the intermediate transceiver via a first wired communication path (e.g., a first cable), and the second distribution transceiver is coupled to the intermediate transceiver via a second wired communication path (e.g., a second cable). Figure 6 , the first distribution transceiver may be, for example, CSL-RF 1 610, and the second distribution transceiver may be, for example, CSL-RF 2 620 or CSL-RF 3 630. Figure 6 In another example in the context of , the first distribution transceiver may be CSL-RF 2 620 and the second distribution transceiver may be CSL-RF 3 630 .

[0068] Because the frequency band occupied by the second portion of the baseband signal may be more severely attenuated by the second wired path than if it occupied a lower frequency band, the intermediate transceiver may apply frequency reallocation to the downlink signal to create an alternative baseband signal for transmission to the second distribution unit, wherein the second portion occupies the lowest frequency band of the baseband bandwidth. The alternative baseband signal may have a baseband bandwidth that is the same as or different from the bandwidth of the downlink signal. For example, if the intermediate transceiver applies some type of (cyclic or non-cyclic) frequency shift to create the alternative baseband signal as described above (e.g., in Figure 6), the baseband bandwidth of the replacement baseband signal may be the same as the bandwidth of the downlink signal.

[0069] In some embodiments, after frequency reallocation, the first portion of the downlink signal occupies a higher frequency band of the baseband bandwidth, wherein the higher frequency band begins above the lowest frequency band. In other words, in some embodiments, the relative positions of the first portion and the second portion of the downlink signal are reversed after frequency reallocation.

[0070] Alternatively, if the intermediate transceiver is as described above (e.g., in Figure 5 (in the discussion of ) when creating the substitute baseband signal, part of the downlink signal is removed, then the baseband bandwidth of the substitute baseband signal may be different from the baseband bandwidth of the downlink signal.

[0071] The intermediate transceiver then sends the replacement baseband signal to the second distribution transceiver via a second wired communication path (e.g., by up-converting it to a desired frequency band and sending the up-converted signal). The intermediate transceiver may send the original, unmodified baseband signal as is to the first distribution transceiver (after up-conversion to an appropriate intermediate frequency), or it may modify the signal (e.g., remove high-frequency portions that are not required or useful to the first distribution transceiver).

[0072] When an intermediate transceiver (e.g., a CSL-IF unit) is connected to other distribution transceivers (e.g., a CSL-RF unit), the intermediate transceiver can apply appropriate ("custom") frequency reallocation to each additional distribution transceiver in the manner described above. For example, in addition to the first and second parts, the downlink signal can also have a third part, whose destination is a third distribution transceiver. The third part can occupy a third frequency band that is disjoint from the first and second frequency bands and is higher than the first and third frequency bands. The intermediate transceiver can apply another frequency reallocation to the downlink signal to create a second alternative baseband signal for transmission to the third distribution transceiver. The second alternative baseband signal has a second baseband bandwidth, which can be the same or different from the bandwidth of the downlink signal. In the second alternative baseband signal, the third part of the downlink signal occupies the lowest frequency band of the second baseband bandwidth. The second baseband signal can then be sent (e.g., subsequently converted to an intermediate frequency) to a third distribution transceiver that is awaiting the third part of the downlink signal. For example, referring to Figure 6 , if CSL-RF 1 610 is a first distribution transceiver and CSL-RF 2 620 is a second distribution transceiver, then CSL-RF 3 630 may be a third distribution transceiver.

[0073] A similar process may be performed in the uplink direction, in addition or alternatively. In some embodiments, an intermediate transceiver (e.g., a CSL-IF unit) is coupled to a first distribution transceiver (e.g., a first CSL-RF unit) via a first wired communication path and is connected to a second distribution transceiver (e.g., a second CSL-RF unit) via a second wired communication path. The intermediate transceiver receives a first uplink signal from the first distribution transceiver via the first wired communication path and receives a second uplink signal from the second distribution transceiver via the second wired communication path. The first uplink signal includes a first portion occupying a first upstream frequency band, and the second uplink signal includes a second portion occupying a second upstream frequency band, wherein the first upstream frequency band and the second upstream frequency band at least partially overlap. For example, at baseband, the first portion may occupy a first low frequency band (e.g., spanning from DC or close to DC to a first high frequency), and the second portion may occupy a second low frequency band (e.g., spanning from DC or close to DC to a second high frequency).

[0074] The first low frequency band and the second low frequency band may be the same or different. For example, the first distribution transceiver and the second distribution transceiver may send uplink signals in the same frequency band. For example, the uplink signals of the two distribution transceivers may be transmitted at a certain frequency f 1 starts, and at a higher frequency f 2 End. For example, you can choose the frequency f 1 and f 2 , to reduce or minimize the signal attenuation caused by the first wired communication path and the second wired communication path (eg, the starting frequency f 1 can be zero or close to zero) while still providing sufficient bandwidth for the uplink signal.

[0075] Typically, the first distribution transceiver can be at f 1 and f 2 The second distribution transceiver can transmit a signal to the intermediate transceiver in the frequency band of f 3 to f 4 The information is sent to the intermediate transceiver in the frequency band. 1 and f 3 The values ​​of can be the same or different. Similarly, f 2 and f 4 The values ​​of can be the same or different. You can choose f 1 、f 2 、f 3 and f 4 to reduce or minimize the signal attenuation caused by the first wired communication path and the second wired communication path (eg, the starting frequency f 1 and f 3 Can be zero or close to zero, the end frequency f 2 and f4 can be only as high as needed) while still providing sufficient bandwidth for the uplink signal. 1 、f 2 、f 3 and f 4 Characteristics of individual wired communication paths (e.g., defects that cause attenuation differences, different materials, different cable types, etc.) and / or interference with other devices and / or systems may also be considered when selecting the value of . For example, if a first wired communication path and a second wired communication path are physically close together such that transmissions on one path may cause interference or crosstalk to the other path (e.g., they are twisted pair cables that may suffer from near-end or far-end crosstalk), the frequency band used upstream may be selected to account for the interference.

[0076] The intermediate transceiver can create a third uplink signal based on the first uplink signal and the second uplink signal (e.g., after down-converting one or both uplink signals). For example, the intermediate transceiver can apply frequency reallocation to the first uplink signal and / or the second uplink signal so that in the third uplink signal, the first part and the second part occupy non-intersecting (non-overlapping) frequency bands (e.g., the first part occupies the third upstream frequency band, and the second part occupies the fourth upstream frequency band, wherein the third upstream frequency band and the fourth upstream frequency band do not overlap). After the frequency reallocation, at least one of the first part or the second part will be in a frequency band different from its position in the first uplink signal and the second uplink signal. For example, in some embodiments, the first upstream frequency band and the third upstream frequency band are substantially the same, and the second frequency band and the fourth frequency band are different. As another example, in some embodiments, the first upstream frequency band and the third upstream frequency band are different, and the second frequency band and the fourth frequency band are different.

[0077] After creating the third uplink signal, the intermediate transmitter may send the third uplink signal to an upstream entity, such as a base station (e.g., a BBU). The transmission may be performed via a wireless or wired communication path. In some embodiments, sending the third uplink signal to the base station of the wireless communication path includes up-converting the signal of the third uplink. In some embodiments, before the intermediate transceiver up-converts the third uplink signal, the third upstream frequency band is the same as the first upstream frequency band, and the fourth upstream frequency band is different from the second upstream frequency band.

[0078] Therefore, in some embodiments, a system is provided to support downlink communication between an intermediate transceiver (e.g., a CSL-IF unit) and a first distribution transceiver (e.g., a first CSL-RF unit) coupled to the intermediate transceiver via a first wired communication path, and between the intermediate transceiver and a second distribution transceiver coupled to the intermediate transceiver via a second wired communication path. In some embodiments, the intermediate transceiver is configured to receive a downlink signal, the downlink signal including a first portion for delivery to the first distribution transceiver via the first wired communication path and a second portion for delivery to the second distribution transceiver via the second wired communication path, wherein the first portion occupies a first frequency band, the second portion occupies a second frequency band, the first frequency band and the second frequency band are non-intersecting (non-overlapping), and the first frequency band is lower than the second frequency band; apply frequency reallocation to the downlink signal to create a baseband signal having a baseband bandwidth, wherein the second portion occupies the lowest frequency band of the baseband bandwidth; and send the baseband signal to the second distribution transceiver via the second wired communication path. In some embodiments, the intermediate transceiver is configured to send the baseband signal to the second distribution transceiver by up-converting the baseband signal and sending the up-converted baseband signal to the second distribution transceiver. In some embodiments, after the frequency reallocation, the first portion occupies a higher frequency band of the baseband bandwidth, the higher frequency band starting above the lowest frequency band.

[0079] In some embodiments, the downlink signal also includes a third portion occupying a third frequency band, which is non-intersecting with the first frequency band and the second frequency band and is higher than the first frequency band and the second frequency band, and the intermediate transceiver is also configured to apply the second frequency reallocation to the downlink signal to create a second baseband signal having a second baseband bandwidth, so that the third portion occupies the lowest frequency band of the second baseband bandwidth; and send the second baseband signal to a third distribution transceiver via a third wired communication path (for example, by up-converting the second baseband signal and sending the up-converted second baseband data to the third distribution transceiver).

[0080] In some embodiments, a system is provided to support upstream communication between an intermediate transceiver (e.g., a CSL-IF unit) and a first distribution transceiver (e.g., a first CSL-RF unit) coupled to the intermediate transceiver via a first wired communication path, and between the intermediate transceiver and a second distribution transceiver coupled to the intermediate transceiver via a second wired communication path. In some embodiments, the intermediate transceiver is configured to receive a first uplink signal from the first distribution transceiver via the first wired communication path, the first uplink signal including a first portion occupying a first upstream frequency band; receive a second uplink signal from the second distribution transceiver via the second wired communication path, the second uplink signal including a second portion occupying a second upstream frequency band, wherein the first upstream frequency band at least partially overlaps with the second upstream frequency band; create an aggregate uplink signal based on the first uplink signal and the second uplink signal; and send the aggregate uplink signal to a base station (e.g., a BBU) via a wireless communication path. In some embodiments, creating the aggregate uplink signal includes applying one or more frequency reallocations to at least one of the first uplink signal or the second uplink signal such that, in the aggregate uplink signal, the first portion occupies a third upstream frequency band and the second portion occupies a fourth upstream frequency band, wherein the third upstream frequency band and the fourth upstream frequency band do not overlap. In some embodiments, the first upstream frequency band and the third upstream frequency band are substantially the same, and the second frequency band and the fourth frequency band are different. In other embodiments, the first upstream frequency band and the third upstream frequency band are different, and the second frequency band and the fourth frequency band are different. In some embodiments, creating the aggregate uplink signal also includes down-converting the first uplink signal and / or the second uplink signal.

[0081] A system may be provided to allow uplink communication and / or downlink communication between an intermediate transceiver (e.g., a CSL-IF unit) and a plurality of N distribution transceivers (e.g., each CSL-RF unit), where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, each of the distribution transceivers being connected to the intermediate transceiver via a corresponding one of N wired communication paths. For downlink communication, the intermediate transceiver may be configured to receive a downlink signal comprising a plurality of N downlink portions occupying a corresponding plurality of N frequency bands, all of which are disjoint (non-overlapping).

[0082] Each of the N downlink portions is associated with a corresponding distribution transceiver in the N distribution transceivers (and each of the N downlink portions is used to deliver a corresponding distribution transceiver in the N distribution transceivers). The intermediate transceiver can be configured to apply one or more frequency reallocations to the downlink signal to create a plurality of N baseband signals from the downlink signal. In some embodiments, the ordering of the plurality of N downlink portions in a first baseband signal in the plurality of baseband signals is different from the ordering of the plurality of N downlink portions in a second baseband signal in the plurality of baseband signals. The intermediate transceiver can also be configured to send each of the plurality of N baseband signals to a corresponding one of the plurality of N distribution transceivers via a corresponding one of the N wired communication paths (e.g., by up-converting each of the plurality of N baseband signals and sending the plurality of N up-converted baseband signals to the plurality of N distribution transceivers). Some or all of the plurality of N distribution transceivers may be configured to receive and process the respective baseband signals from the intermediate transceiver. For example, in some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of N distribution transceivers is configured to receive a respective baseband signal of the plurality of N baseband signals and create a recovered baseband signal. The distribution transceiver may create its respective recovered baseband signal by, for example, removing at least a portion of one or more frequency reallocations from a respective baseband signal of the plurality of N baseband signals it receives (e.g., by applying a cyclic or non-cyclic frequency shift).

[0083] The distribution transceiver may perform the removal based on or using information provided by a configuration entity that is responsible for or involved in determining a frequency reallocation to be applied to one of the plurality of N baseband signals. The configuration entity may be, for example, an intermediate transceiver, a base station (e.g., a BBU), a cloud-based management entity, etc. The distribution transceiver may down-convert a corresponding baseband signal of the received plurality of N baseband signals before removing any frequency reallocation that the intermediate transceiver applied to create the received corresponding baseband signal of the plurality of N baseband signals. The distribution transceiver may then up-convert the recovered baseband signal, for example, for transmission to one or more UEs that it is serving.

[0084] The above-described system may be configured to additionally or alternatively support communications in the uplink direction. For example, the intermediate transceiver may be configured to receive a plurality of N uplink signals from a plurality of N distribution transceivers, create an aggregate uplink signal from the plurality of N uplink signals, and send the aggregate uplink signal to the base station via a wireless communication path. In some embodiments, the intermediate transceiver is configured to create an aggregate uplink signal by applying one or more frequency reallocations to at least a portion of the plurality of N uplink signals, which may occur before or after down-converting at least one of the plurality of N uplink signals (and possibly all of the uplink signals).

[0085] Figure 7 An exemplary CSL-IF block according to various embodiments of the present invention is shown. As shown, the CSL-IF block 700 is coupled to a baseband unit 710, and receives downlink data / control information and sends uplink data / control information. A resource block mapper 720 is coupled within the CSL-IF block 700, and manages resource block frequency shifts for one or more CSL-RF 770 blocks. As previously discussed, the resource block mapper 720 divides the available spectrum into sub-blocks. Dividing the spectrum into sub-blocks allows the resource block mapper to provide a frequency shift across at least one of the sub-blocks before transmission on the wireline segment. As previously discussed, the frequency shift allows the system to influence a scheduler within a wireless device (such as a cellular base station or a Wi-Fi access point) to schedule resource blocks within a particular sub-block to one or more CSL-RF devices. This frequency shift allows improved bandwidth management within the wired portion because the channel estimation information received by the scheduler will be affected by the frequency shift on the wired portion of the system between the CSL-IF block 700 and the one or more CSL-RF blocks 770.

[0086] In certain embodiments for the downlink, the resource block mapper 720 partitions the frequency range into a plurality of frequency sub-blocks and assigns at least one of the sub-blocks to a particular CSL-RF device 770. Frequencies outside of the assigned sub-block are offset by a preferred amount so that these offset frequencies will experience meaningful attenuation and / or degradation when propagating along the wired portion. When a channel estimation process is performed on the channel between the cellular base station / wireless access point and the wireless device within the network associated with the particular CSL-RF device 770, the channel that is frequency shifted to a higher frequency spectrum appears to the scheduler to have a poorer channel quality. As a result, the scheduler will assign resource blocks to the wireless device (both uplink and downlink) within the preferred frequency sub-block.

[0087] One or more transmission paths are defined within the CSL-IF block 700. As shown, an exemplary transmission path includes an inverse fast Fourier transform block (IFFT) 730, which converts a received signal from a frequency domain vector signal to a time domain vector signal. The control plane add / remove block 740 adds control information to the downlink signal, which enables the CSL-RF device 770 to correctly process the signal. In some embodiments, frequency shift information is also included so that the defined frequency shift is performed before transmission on the wired connection. In this particular case, the CSL control block 750 processes the frequency shift information and identifies the amplitude and direction of the frequency shift. The frequency shift information is provided to the baseband to intermediate frequency block 760 so that the signal sent on the wired line is adjusted according to the frequency shift identified by the implemented spanning sub-block. Therefore, when the channel estimation process is applied across a wireless wired connection, the higher shifted frequencies will produce relatively poor channel quality, while the unshifted frequencies will indicate relatively high quality (or at least a portion of these unshifted channels).

[0088] In other embodiments, frequency shift information is also communicated from the resource block mapper 720 to one or more of the other blocks 730 , 740 , 750 , and 760 within the CSL-IF block 700 on discrete control connections.

[0089] In certain embodiments for the uplink, a signal is received from the CSL-RF block 770 via a wired connection, and the intermediate to baseband block 790 shifts the frequency from the intermediate frequency to the baseband frequency based on the previous frequency shift to the intermediate frequency at the CSL-RF block 770. The CSL control block 785 communicates with the intermediate to baseband block 790 to ensure that the appropriate frequency shift occurs to produce an appropriate baseband signal. The CSL control block 785 can extract other types of control information from the signal to further process and / or modify the uplink signal.

[0090] The signal is provided to the CP removal block 780, which removes the control information from the uplink signal. In some embodiments, the control information is inserted into the signal from the CSL-RF device 770. The Fast Fourier Transform block (FFT) 775 converts the signal from a time domain vector signal to a frequency domain vector signal in preparation for sending to the BBU 710. In some embodiments, the resource block mapper 720 confirms that the frequency domain vector signal has been properly adjusted from the wired signal, and / or instructs other blocks to ensure that the frequency domain signal is properly adjusted before sending to the BBU 710.

[0091] In other embodiments, frequency shift information for uplink signals is also communicated from the resource block mapper 720 to one or more of the other blocks 775 , 780 , 785 , and 790 within the CSL-IF block 700 on discrete control connections.

[0092] Figure 8An exemplary CSL-RF block according to various embodiments of the present invention is shown. As shown, the CSL-RF block 800 is coupled to send and receive data / control information within the CSL-IF block 810. The CSL-RF block 800 is capable of inverting the frequency shift performed on the downlink signal and performing a frequency shift on the uplink signal.

[0093] Referring to the downlink signal, the intermediate frequency to baseband block 820 converts the received downlink signal into a corresponding baseband signal. The CSL control block 830 analyzes the control information embedded in the signal. In some embodiments, the CSL control block 830 identifies the frequency shift information corresponding to the signal and transmits the information to the subsequent block. The frequency shift information can be embedded in the signal (as shown in the figure), or can be transmitted through a discrete control line (not shown). The control plane add / remove block 840 removes at least a portion of the control information inserted by the CSL-IF device 810. The fast Fourier transform block 850 converts the signal from a time domain vector signal to a frequency domain vector signal. The resource block demapper 860 receives the frequency shift information and performs an inverse frequency shift relative to the frequency shift performed by the CSL-IF 810. For example, if the sub-block frequency is shifted higher by the CSL-IF 810, the resource block demapper 860 performs a lower frequency shift with an amplitude equal to the frequency shift performed by the CSL-IF 800. The baseband to RF block 870 generates RF which is then transmitted to wireless devices within a cell or Wi-Fi network.

[0094] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the higher frequency shift of the CSL-IF 810 and the corresponding lower frequency shift of the CSL-RF 800 are transparent to both the cellular / Wi-Fi scheduler and the UE / wireless device. However, these frequency shifts take advantage of the transmission characteristics of the wired portion of the connection to increase the probability that the scheduler will assign a resource block within the preferred frequency sub-block corresponding to a particular CSL-RF.

[0095] With reference to the uplink signal, the RF to baseband block 860 receives a signal from one or more UEs and converts the signal to a baseband signal. The resource block demapper 870 identifies the frequency shift of the uplink signal corresponding to the transmission on the wired part of the system. The inverse fast Fourier transform block (IFFT) 850 converts the signal from a frequency domain vector signal to a time domain vector signal. The control plane add / remove block 840 adds control information to the uplink signal, which enables the CSL-IF device 810 to correctly process the signal. In some embodiments, frequency shift information is also included so that the defined shift is performed before the transmission on the wired connection. In this particular case, the CSL control block 830 processes the frequency shift information and identifies the amplitude and direction of the frequency shift. In other embodiments (not shown), discrete control lines are provided from the resource block demapper 870 to one or more of the other blocks 820, 830, 840 and 850. The frequency shift information is provided to the baseband to intermediate frequency block 820 so that the signal sent on the wireline is adjusted according to the frequency shift identified across the sub-blocks. Thus, when applying a channel estimation process across a wireless wired connection, higher shifted frequencies will produce relatively poor channel quality, whereas unshifted frequencies will indicate relatively higher quality (over at least a portion of these unshifted channels).

[0096] It should be understood that although the disclosure herein is primarily in the context of CSL and wireless-wired converged architecture, the disclosure is not limited to the described environment or application. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that operations such as up-conversion and down-conversion can be performed as needed to position the bandwidth of the signal at a desired location in the spectrum for transmission to / from an intermediate transceiver (e.g., CSL-IF unit) and / or to / from a distribution transceiver (e.g., CSL-RF unit).

[0097] In addition, although certain 3GPP / cellular terms and acronyms or abbreviations are used herein (e.g., RB, BBU, RAN, MCS, UE, etc.), one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that other terms may also be used in other contexts (e.g., Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.11 standards, etc.). For example, in a multi-carrier system (such as a system using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing or discrete multi-tone modulation), a resource block (which may also be referred to as a resource element) is simply an amount of time and frequency that can be assigned to a device. It should be understood that the resources allocated for communication on a channel may be described in other ways.

[0098] In the foregoing description and drawings, specific nomenclature has been set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. In some instances, the nomenclature or drawings may suggest specific details that are not necessary to practice the invention.

[0099] In order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, well-known components are shown in block diagram form and / or have not been discussed in detail or, in some cases, not discussed at all.

[0100] Unless expressly defined otherwise herein, all terms are to be given their broadest possible interpretations, including the meanings implied from the specification and drawings and as understood by those skilled in the art and / or as defined in dictionaries, treatises, etc. As expressly set forth herein, some terms may not be conformed to their ordinary or customary meanings.

[0101] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" do not exclude plural referents unless otherwise indicated. The word "or" should be interpreted as inclusive unless otherwise indicated. Thus, the phrase "A or B" should be interpreted to mean all of the following: "both A and B", "A but not B", and "B but not A". Any use of "and / or" herein does not mean that the word "or" alone expresses exclusivity.

[0102] The terms "exemplary" and "embodiment" are used to indicate examples rather than preferences or requirements. The term "coupled" is used herein to indicate both direct connections / attachments as well as connections / attachments through one or more intermediate elements or structures.

[0103] Although specific embodiments have been disclosed, it is apparent that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the present disclosure. For example, the features or aspects of any of the embodiments may be applied, at least where feasible, in conjunction with any other embodiment or in place of corresponding features or aspects thereof. Accordingly, the description and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0104] The foregoing description of the invention has been described for the purposes of clarity and understanding. It is not intended to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Various modifications are possible within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

[0105] It will be appreciated that the described methods have been shown as individual steps performed in a particular order. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that these steps may be combined or performed in a different order while still achieving the desired result.

[0106] It should be understood that embodiments of the present invention can be implemented using various information processing systems. In particular, although the accompanying drawings and discussions thereof provide exemplary computing systems and methods, these are only for providing useful references when discussing various aspects of the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention can be performed on any suitable data processing device, such as a personal computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, a mobile phone, a set-top box, a television, a server computer, etc. Of course, for the purpose of discussion, the description of the system and method has been simplified, and they are just one of many different types of systems and methods that can be used for embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that the boundaries between the logic blocks are only illustrative, and alternative embodiments can merge logic blocks or elements, or alternative decompositions of functions can be applied to various logic blocks or elements.

[0107] It should be understood that the above functions can be implemented as one or more corresponding modules as hardware and / or software. For example, the above functions can be implemented as one or more software components for execution by a processor of the system. Alternatively, the above functions can be implemented as hardware, such as on one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and / or one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and / or one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) and / or other hardware arrangements. The method steps implemented in the flowcharts included herein or as described above can each be implemented by the corresponding corresponding modules; the multiple method steps implemented in the flowcharts included herein or as described above can be implemented together by a single module.

[0108] It should be understood that as long as the embodiments of the present invention are implemented by computer programs, storage media and transmission media carrying computer programs constitute various aspects of the present invention. A computer program may have one or more program instructions or program codes, and when the program instructions or program codes are executed by a computer, they execute embodiments of the present invention. The term "program" used herein may be a sequence of instructions designed to be executed on a computer system, and may include subroutines, functions, processes, modules, object methods, object implementations, executable applications, applets, servlets, source codes, object codes, shared libraries, dynamic link libraries, and / or other sequences of instructions designed to be executed on a computing system. Storage media may be a disk (such as a hard disk drive or a floppy disk), an optical disk (such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a BluRay optical disk), or a memory (such as a ROM, a RAM, an EEPROM, an EPROM, a flash memory, or a portable / removable storage device), etc. Transmission media may be a communication signal, a data broadcast, a communication link between two or more computers, etc.

Claims

1. A method performed by an intermediate transceiver, the method comprising: receiving a downlink signal comprising a first portion for delivery to a first distribution transceiver coupled to the intermediate transceiver via a first wired communication path and a second portion for delivery to a second distribution transceiver coupled to the intermediate transceiver via a second wired communication path, wherein the first portion occupies a first frequency band and the second portion occupies a second frequency band, the first frequency band and the second frequency band being disjoint, the first frequency band being lower than the second frequency band; applying frequency reallocation to the downlink signal to create a baseband signal having a baseband bandwidth, wherein the second portion occupies a lower frequency band of the baseband bandwidth; and The baseband signal is sent to the second distribution transceiver via the second wired communication path.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Sending the baseband signal to the second distribution transceiver includes: up-converting the baseband signal, and The up-converted baseband signal is transmitted to the second distribution transceiver.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: After the frequency reallocation, the first portion occupies an upper frequency band of the baseband bandwidth, the upper frequency band starting above the lower frequency band.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The frequency reallocation is a first frequency reallocation, the baseband signal is a first baseband signal, the baseband bandwidth is a first baseband bandwidth, and wherein the downlink signal further comprises a third portion occupying a third frequency band, the third frequency band being disjoint from both the first frequency band and the second frequency band and being higher than both the first frequency band and the second frequency band, and wherein the method further comprises: applying a second frequency reallocation to the downlink signal to create a second baseband signal having a second baseband bandwidth, wherein the third portion occupies a lower frequency band of the second baseband bandwidth; and The second baseband signal is transmitted to a third distribution transceiver via a third wired communication path.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: Sending the second baseband signal to the third distribution transceiver includes: up-converting the second baseband signal, and The up-converted second baseband signal is transmitted to the third distribution transceiver.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The frequency reallocation is a first frequency reallocation and further comprises: receiving a first uplink signal from the first distribution transceiver via the first wired communication path, the first uplink signal comprising a third portion occupying a first upstream frequency band; receiving a second uplink signal from the second distribution transceiver via the second wired communication path, the second uplink signal comprising a fourth portion occupying a second upstream frequency band, the first upstream frequency band and the second upstream frequency band at least partially overlapping; creating a third uplink signal from the first uplink signal and the second uplink signal, wherein creating the third uplink signal comprises applying a second frequency reallocation to at least one of the first uplink signal or the second uplink signal, wherein, in the third uplink signal, the third portion occupies a third upstream frequency band and the fourth portion occupies a fourth upstream frequency band, wherein the third upstream frequency band and the fourth upstream frequency band do not overlap; and The third uplink signal is transmitted to the base station through the wireless communication path.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The intermediate transceiver includes a cellular subscriber line intermediate frequency (CSL-IF) unit, the first distribution transceiver includes a first CSL radio frequency (CSL-RF) unit, and the second distribution transceiver includes a second CSL-RF unit.

8. A method performed by an intermediate transceiver coupled to a first distribution transceiver via a first wired communication path and to a second distribution transceiver via a second wired communication path, the method comprising: receiving a first uplink signal from the first distribution transceiver via the first wired communication path, the first uplink signal comprising a first portion occupying a first upstream frequency band; receiving a second uplink signal from the second distribution transceiver via the second wired communication path, the second uplink signal comprising a second portion occupying a second upstream frequency band, wherein the first upstream frequency band and the second upstream frequency band at least partially overlap; creating a third uplink signal from the first uplink signal and the second uplink signal, wherein creating the third uplink signal comprises applying frequency reallocation to at least one of the first uplink signal or the second uplink signal, wherein, in the third uplink signal, the first portion occupies a third upstream frequency band and the second portion occupies a fourth upstream frequency band, wherein the third upstream frequency band and the fourth upstream frequency band do not overlap; and The third uplink signal is transmitted to the base station through the wireless communication path.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The first upstream frequency band and the third upstream frequency band are substantially the same, and the second frequency band and the fourth frequency band are different.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The first upstream frequency band and the third upstream frequency band are different, and the second frequency band and the fourth frequency band are different.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein: Creating the third uplink signal further includes down-converting at least one of the first uplink signal or the second uplink signal.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein: Transmitting the third uplink signal to the base station of the wireless communication path includes up-converting the third uplink signal.

13. A system comprising: Intermediate transceiver; as well as a plurality of N distribution transceivers, each of the plurality of N distribution transceivers coupled to the intermediate transceiver via a respective one of the N wired communication paths; And wherein the intermediate transceiver is configured to: receiving a downlink signal, the downlink signal comprising a plurality of N downlink portions occupying a respective plurality of N frequency bands, each of the plurality of N downlink portions being associated with a respective distribution transceiver of the plurality of N distribution transceivers, each of the plurality of N frequency bands occupying a disjoint frequency band; creating a plurality of N baseband signals, wherein creating the plurality of N baseband signals comprises applying one or more frequency reallocations to the downlink signal, wherein an ordering of the plurality of N downlink portions in a first baseband signal in the plurality of baseband signals is different than an ordering of the plurality of N downlink portions in a second baseband signal in the plurality of baseband signals; and Each of the plurality of N baseband signals is transmitted to a corresponding distribution transceiver of the plurality of N distribution transceivers through a corresponding wired communication path of the N wired communication paths.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein: The intermediate transceiver is configured to transmit each of the plurality of N baseband signals to the corresponding distribution transceiver of the plurality of N distribution transceivers at least in part by: Up-converting the plurality of N baseband signals; The plurality of N up-converted baseband signals are transmitted to the plurality of N distribution transceivers.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein: The intermediate transceiver includes a cellular subscriber line intermediate frequency (CSL-IF) unit, and each of the plurality N of distribution transceivers includes a CSL radio frequency (CSL-RF) unit.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein: At least one distribution transceiver of the plurality of N distribution transceivers is configured to: Receiving a corresponding baseband signal among the plurality of N baseband signals; as well as A recovered baseband signal is created, wherein creating the recovered baseband signal comprises removing at least a portion of the one or more frequency reallocations from a received corresponding baseband signal of the plurality of N baseband signals.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein: At least one of the plurality of N distribution transceivers is configured to remove at least a portion of the one or more frequency reallocations from a received corresponding baseband signal of the plurality of N baseband signals based at least in part on information provided by a configuration entity responsible for at least in part determining the at least a portion of the one or more frequency reallocations.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein: The configuration entity comprises the intermediate transceiver, a base station or a cloud-based management entity.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein: The information provided by the configuration entity also includes an indication of a frequency shift direction.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein: The intermediate transceiver includes a cellular subscriber line intermediate frequency (CSL-IF) unit, and each of the plurality N of distribution transceivers includes a CSL radio frequency (CSL-RF) unit.

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