GNSS-Timed TDD Repeater Switching Without UE Modem Complexity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing repeater architectures for wireless communications, particularly those using a time-division-duplex (TDD) mode, face high costs and complexity due to the need for high-performance silicon chips and complex software implementations, such as custom UE modems, which are costly and difficult to integrate.
Innovation Solution
A timing recovery subsystem utilizing out-of-band communication with a low-cost microcontroller to synchronize with the 5G network, eliminating the need for Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), Digital Signal Processors (DSP), and high-speed ADCs by leveraging GNSS or other synchronization protocols to manage RF chain switching between uplink and downlink modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a UE modem is used for timing recovery in TDD repeaters, then synchronization accuracy is improved, but cost and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the timing recovery function from the complex UE modem and implements it as a separate, simplified subsystem using a microcontroller. This separates the synchronization function from the RF processing, allowing timing recovery to be achieved with simpler, lower-cost components while maintaining accuracy requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive, complex modem hardware with a cheaper microcontroller-based timing recovery subsystem. The microcontroller is a lower-cost component that can achieve the required synchronization accuracy without the substantial startup/license costs and complexity of a full UE modem implementation.
2Measurement precision
If a UE modem is used for timing recovery in TDD repeaters, then synchronization accuracy is improved, but cost increases prohibitively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive, complex modem hardware with a cheaper microcontroller-based timing recovery subsystem. The microcontroller is a lower-cost component that can achieve the required synchronization accuracy without the substantial startup/license costs and complexity of a full UE modem implementation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the timing recovery function from the complex UE modem and implements it as a separate, simplified subsystem using a microcontroller. This separates the synchronization function from the RF processing, allowing timing recovery to be achieved with simpler, lower-cost components while maintaining accuracy requirements.
3Measurement precision
If custom software on high-performance silicon is used for timing recovery, then timing accuracy is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive, complex modem hardware with a cheaper microcontroller-based timing recovery subsystem. The microcontroller is a lower-cost component that can achieve the required synchronization accuracy without the substantial startup/license costs and complexity of a full UE modem implementation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the complex software-on-high-performance-silicon approach with a simpler microcontroller-based system. This replaces the need for FPGAs, DSPs, and high-speed ADCs with a more straightforward microcontroller implementation that achieves the same timing recovery function with reduced complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A repeater for wireless communications systems can include a time-division-duplex (TDD) architecture with a timing recovery system for switching between uplink and downlink. In some approaches, the timing recovery system can receive a timing reference from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), or Galileo.