Triplexer Base Station Carrier Capacity Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods to increase base station capacity, such as adding antennas or hybrid combiners, result in significant costs, increased footprint, and reduced signal strength, making them inefficient and unreliable.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a triplexer between the base station duplexer/combiner and antenna to separate and combine uplink and downlink signals in sub-bands, effectively doubling carrier capacity without adding antennas or external amplification, while minimizing signal loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If hybrid combiner stage is inserted to increase carrier capacity, then number of carriers increases, but path signal strength reduces by at least 3 dB
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the frequency spectrum into three distinct sub-bands (first, second, and third sub-bands) and assigns different functions to each. The first sub-band handles traditional downlink carriers, the second sub-band handles uplink carriers, and the third sub-band provides additional downlink carriers. This segmentation allows the system to increase carrier capacity without requiring hybrid combiners that would cause signal loss, as each sub-band can be handled independently through the existing antenna system.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a traditional two-sub-band allocation (downlink and uplink) to a three-sub-band allocation by utilizing the third sub-band for additional downlink carriers. This dimensional expansion in frequency spectrum allocation enables the base station to handle more carriers simultaneously without introducing hybrid combiners, thereby avoiding the 3 dB signal loss penalty.
2Productivity
If more antennas are added to increase carrier capacity, then number of carriers increases, but base station footprint and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention makes the existing antenna system multi-functional by enabling it to handle multiple sub-bands simultaneously. The single antenna system can now serve traditional downlink carriers (first sub-band), uplink carriers (second sub-band), and additional downlink carriers (third sub-band). This universalization eliminates the need to add more antennas to increase carrier capacity, as the existing antenna is made capable of handling all three sub-bands through the triplexer and combiner architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the handling of multiple sub-bands into a single antenna system by introducing a triplexer that combines signals from the first and third sub-bands (both downlink) and the second sub-band (uplink) onto one antenna. This merging approach allows the base station to increase carrier capacity by utilizing the third sub-band without physically adding more antennas, thereby avoiding the associated footprint and cost increases.
3Power
If transmitter power is increased to recover downlink signal, then downlink power is recovered, but energy consumption and coverage footprint increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the frequency spectrum allocation parameters by introducing a third sub-band for additional downlink carriers. This parameter change allows the system to increase carrier capacity without increasing transmitter power, as the third sub-band provides extra capacity within the existing power constraints. The triplexer and combiner architecture enables efficient signal combining that minimizes power requirements while maintaining coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
A base station for a mobile communications system, a mobile communications system including the base station and a method of increasing base station capacity. Each base station antenna is coupled to a transmission line that may be connected to a triplexer. The triplexer separates uplink signals from a duplex signal on the transmission line. The uplink and downlink signals are both in two sub-bands that are separated by a third sub-band. The triplexer passes the uplink signal to a duplexer/combiner that forwards the uplink signal to a combiner. The duplexer/combiner and combiner each pass downlink signals in one of the sub-bands to the triplexer, which combines the passes to the duplex signal.