Piconet Base Station TDD Indoor Coverage Extension

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Solution Overview

Problem

Wireless communication networks often fail to provide adequate coverage indoors, leading to poor signal quality and increased resource consumption for communication.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of a piconet base station (PBS) using time division duplexing (TDD) to extend network coverage by communicating with wireless devices via a wireline link and forwarding data between devices and the main network, allowing for efficient data exchange and paging message delivery.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a wireless device communicates directly with a base station using FDD, then communication services can be provided, but coverage is insufficient indoors and signal quality deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesignal qualityVSAvoidcoverage area

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The network is segmented into macro base stations for wide area coverage and pico base stations for indoor coverage. The pico base station divides the indoor coverage area into smaller cells, allowing wireless devices to connect to the nearest appropriate base station type, thereby improving signal quality indoors while maintaining overall network coverage area.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The pico base station acts as an intermediary between the macro base station and wireless devices indoors. It receives data from the macro base station via wireline connection and retransmits to wireless devices locally, improving indoor signal quality without requiring direct connection between devices and macro base stations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Use of energy by moving object

If pico base station uses TDD for communication, then radio resources are conserved, but duplexing flexibility is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveradio resource consumptionVSAvoidduplexing flexibility

Core Design Contradiction:

Use of energy by moving objectVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

Different duplexing modes are applied to different parts of the network: FDD is used for macro base station communication where frequency resources are abundant, while TDD is used for pico base station communication where time-based resource allocation is more efficient. This local differentiation optimizes radio resource consumption in indoor environments while maintaining overall network adaptability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS8687608B2Method and apparatus for supporting communication in pico networks

Publication Date: 2014.04.01 QUALCOMM INC

AI summary

Techniques for extending coverage of a wireless communication network (e.g., a cellular network) to indoor and other locations are described. A wireless device may communicate with a base station in a wireless network via downlink and uplink frequency channels in a licensed frequency band using frequency division duplexing (FDD). The wireless device may communicate with a piconet base station (PBS) in a pico network (piconet) via the uplink frequency channel using time division duplexing (TDD). The PBS may communicate with the wireless device on the uplink frequency channel and may exchange data with the wireless network via a wireline communication link. The PBS may forward data received from the wireless device to the wireless network and may also forward data received from the wireless network for the wireless device to the wireless device. The PBS may receive paging messages from the wireless network for the wireless device and may forward the paging messages to the wireless device.