Power Amplifier Protection Using CRC-Checked Digital Payload Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless and mobile network operators face challenges in maximizing DAS network capacity while ensuring cost-effective deployments and high remote unit availability, particularly due to sensitivity of power amplifiers to signal spikes caused by abrupt disconnections in communication media.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that performs Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) on data at both the host and remote units, modifying payload data in response to errors to protect power amplifiers from damage, using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) to control data flow and manage potential signal fluctuations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If data is transmitted over digital links without protection mechanisms, then data transmission speed and network capacity are improved, but power amplifiers become vulnerable to signal spikes and corruption
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs CRC calculations on transmitted data before it reaches the power amplifier, and validates received data against expected CRC values. This preliminary verification action prevents corrupted data from reaching the power amplifier, resolving the contradiction by maintaining high transmission speeds while adding protective validation mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces CRC check bits as an intermediary element between the transmitted data and the power amplifier. These check bits serve as a mediator that detects data corruption without interfering with the main data transmission, allowing high-speed communication while protecting the power amplifier from signal spikes.
2Device complexity
If conventional data transmission is used without error detection, then device complexity is reduced, but power amplifiers suffer from signal corruption and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the data transmission parameters by adding CRC check bits to the data stream. This parameter change introduces error detection capability with minimal complexity increase, as the CRC calculation and verification processes are straightforward mathematical operations that can be implemented with simple hardware circuits.
3Ease of manufacture
If no data validation is performed at remote units, then network deployment cost is reduced, but power amplifier availability decreases due to signal damage
Solution Approach 1:
The remote units perform self-diagnosis and self-protection by calculating CRC values on received data and comparing them against expected values. This self-service mechanism allows remote units to detect and respond to signal corruption independently, maintaining high availability without requiring complex external monitoring systems that would increase deployment costs.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of conditioning payload data includes providing a processor and receiving a packet comprising payload data, a first error code, and a second error code. The method also includes computing, using the processor, a first recalculated error code and determining a difference between the first error code and the first recalculated error code. The method further includes modifying the payload data in response to determining the difference.