LPWAN Relay IQ Inversion for Shadow Area Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) face challenges in providing comprehensive IoT service coverage due to service shadow areas, particularly in urban areas where line-of-sight communication is not secured, leading to reduced communication coverage and signal quality.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for message relaying in a communication system that involves transmitting a join request message without IQ inversion initially, and if failed, inverting IQ for retransmission through a relay, with the relay performing decoding and retransmitting only valid, non-IQ-inverted messages to expand coverage and improve communication performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If line-of-sight communication scheme is used in LPWAN, then communication coverage is extended, but service shadow areas occur in urban environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces relay nodes as intermediaries between base stations and terminals in shadow areas. These relay nodes receive signals from base stations, perform IQ inversion processing, and retransmit them to terminals, enabling communication in areas where direct line-of-sight is blocked by buildings or other obstacles.
2Reliability
If IQ inversion is applied to all messages, then signal quality improves in relayed communication, but transmission complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies IQ inversion preprocessing to join request messages before they are transmitted through relay nodes. This preliminary action ensures that when the messages pass through multiple relays, the signal quality is maintained without requiring complex real-time processing at each relay node, thus reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies IQ inversion selectively only to messages that need to pass through relay nodes, rather than all messages in the system. This localized application of signal processing improves signal quality where needed (in relayed communication paths) while avoiding unnecessary processing complexity in direct communication paths.
3Reliability
If relay nodes are introduced to extend coverage, then service shadow areas are resolved, but network complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces relay nodes as intermediary devices that simplify network architecture by providing dedicated signal forwarding functions. These relay nodes handle IQ inversion and signal retransmission, allowing the network to extend coverage into shadow areas without requiring complex multi-hop routing or advanced signal processing at terminal devices.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are methods and apparatuses for relaying messages in LPWAN. An operation method of a terminal may comprise transmitting a first join request message to a base station without IQ inversion; when a number of failed transmissions of the first join request message is greater than or equal to a preconfigured threshold, transmitting an IQ-inverted second join request message to a relay; and receiving a join response message from the relay that is a response to the second join request message. Accordingly, the performance of the communication system can be improved.