RF Interface Devices for Coaxial Data Distribution
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data distribution methods within buildings, such as Wi-Fi, often fail to provide high-bandwidth data transmission due to propagation loss and interference, especially in older buildings lacking network cabling, limiting the potential of high-bandwidth access communication networks.
Innovation Solution
The use of interface devices that convert high-bandwidth data signals into radio frequency (RF) signals compatible with coaxial electrical cables, enabling point-to-multipoint communication and scaling to support multiple clients, while being tolerant of coaxial cable splitters and using commodity components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If Wi-Fi wireless transmission is used to distribute data throughout the building, then wireless connectivity is achieved, but propagation loss and interference from walls and neighboring access points limit the bandwidth and reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces RF signals as an intermediary medium to carry data through coaxial cable infrastructure. Instead of directly transmitting Wi-Fi signals through walls (which suffer from propagation loss), the system converts data to RF signals that travel through the coaxial cable network, effectively using the cable as a mediator to bypass the harmful effects of wireless propagation through building structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the wireless electromagnetic field-based transmission system with a wired RF signal transmission system through coaxial cable. This substitution eliminates the propagation loss and interference issues inherent in wireless transmission by moving to a guided medium (coaxial cable) that is not affected by walls or neighboring access points.
2Ease of operation
If Wi-Fi access points are deployed to provide wireless connectivity, then client devices can connect wirelessly, but the system cannot provide high-bandwidth transmission to clients distant from the access point
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the data distribution system into a new dimension by utilizing the existing coaxial cable infrastructure that runs throughout the building. Instead of relying solely on wireless propagation in three-dimensional space (which degrades with distance), the system adds a wired dimension using RF signals over coaxial cable, allowing high-bandwidth transmission to distant clients without being constrained by wireless propagation limits.
3Productivity
If Category 5e or Category 6 Ethernet cabling is installed to distribute high-bandwidth data, then high-bandwidth transmission is achieved, but the cost and complexity of new cabling installation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the existing coaxial cable infrastructure universal for high-bandwidth data transmission by implementing RF over coaxial cable technology. Instead of requiring separate Category 5e or Category 6 Ethernet cabling for high-bandwidth applications, the system enables the existing coaxial cable ( originally designed for cable TV) to carry high-bandwidth data signals, allowing one infrastructure to serve multiple functions including high-speed data, voice, and video.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of the Ethernet networking functionality over the coaxial cable medium. By modulating RF signals to carry data and using modems to convert between baseband Ethernet signals and RF signals on the coaxial cable, the system replicates the high-bandwidth data transmission capability of Ethernet cabling without requiring physical Ethernet cables, effectively copying the functionality onto the existing coaxial infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
An interface device for communicatively coupling a first communication medium and a second communication medium includes a radio frequency (RF) processor and a frequency shifting subsystem. The RF processor is configured to receive a first data signal from the first communication medium and convert the first data signal to a plurality of first internal RF signals having a common center frequency. The frequency shifting subsystem is configured to shift the plurality of first internal RF signals having the common center frequency to respective first external RF signals having different respective center frequencies, for transmission on the second communication medium. The second communication medium may be a coaxial electrical cable.