Time-division-duplex repeaters with global navigation satellite system timing recovery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11937199-B2
Application number	US-202318136238-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 18, 2023
Priority date	Apr 18, 2022
Publication date	Mar 19, 2024
Grant date	Mar 19, 2024

Abstract

A repeater for wireless communications systems can include a time-division-duplex (TDD) architecture with a timing recovery system for switching between uplink and downlink. In some approaches, the timing recovery system can receive a timing reference from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), or Galileo.

First claim

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A method of operating a wireless repeater, comprising:
receiving a reference to absolute time for communication on a wireless network;
determining a reference to start time of a radio frame relative to the absolute time;
determining a slot pattern for communication on the wireless network;
determining a schedule for switching the wireless repeater between uplink and downlink based on the received absolute time reference, the determined radio frame start time, and the determined slot pattern;
wherein the wireless repeater is a repeater for communication within a selected communication frequency band; and
wherein the determining of one or more of the slot pattern or the radio frame start time includes receiving one or more of the slot pattern or the radio frame start time outside of the selected communication frequency band.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining of the start time of the radio frame includes adding a selected integer multiple of radio frame lengths to a start time of a coordinated universal time (UTC) second.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining of the start time of the radio frame includes offsetting the start time by a time of flight between the repeater and a base station.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
switching the wireless repeater between uplink and downlink according to the determined schedule.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the wireless repeater includes one or more RF switches, amplifiers, and/or attenuators, and the switching includes adjusting the one or more RF switches, amplifiers, and/or attenuators.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving of the reference to absolute time is a receiving from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that comprises one or more of Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), or Galileo.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the receiving from the GNSS is an intermittent receiving with one or more outage intervals, and the determining of the schedule for switching the wireless repeater includes:
during the one or more outage intervals, approximating the reference to absolute time with a local oscillator.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the approximating is an approximating with a phase-locked loop (PLL) in holdover mode coupled to the local oscillator.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving of the reference to absolute time is a receiving via a non-GNSS synchronization protocol that comprises Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1588, Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE), or Time Sensitive Networking (TSN).

10. A method of operating a wireless repeater, comprising:
receiving a reference to absolute time for communication on a wireless network;
determining a reference to start time of a radio frame relative to the absolute time;
determining a slot pattern for communication on the wireless network;
determining a schedule for switching the wireless repeater between uplink and downlink based on the received absolute time reference, the determined radio frame start time, and the determined slot pattern;
wherein the wireless repeater is a repeater for communication within a selected communication frequency band; and
wherein the determining of the slot pattern and/or radio frame start time is a receiving of the slot pattern and/or radio frame start time within the selected wireless frequency band.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected communication frequency band is a millimeter wave (mmW) frequency band.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving outside of the selected wireless frequency band includes a receiving via one or more out-of-band modes or protocols that comprises Ethernet, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Bluetooth™, or WiFi™.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving outside of the selected wireless frequency band includes a receiving via key-in during installation of the wireless repeater.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving outside of the selected wireless frequency band includes a receiving via a device management protocol that comprises Lightweight Machine to Machine (LWM2M), Open Mobile Alliance Device Management (OMA-DM), or Message Queues Telemetry Transport (MQTT).

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the receiving via the device management protocol includes a receiving from a cloud-based management system or device management server.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining of the schedule for switching the wireless repeater includes:
determining a nominal start time for an uplink or downlink time interval within the radio frame; and
offsetting an actual start time for the uplink or downlink time interval to be earlier or later than the nominal start time by a selected offset amount greater than or equal to a transient time for switching the wireless repeater between uplink and downlink.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining of the schedule for switching the wireless repeater includes:
determining a nominal end time for an uplink or downlink time interval within the radio frame; and
offsetting an actual end time for the uplink or downlink time interval to be earlier or later than the nominal end time by a selected offset amount greater than or equal to a transient time for switching the wireless repeater between uplink and downlink.

18. A wireless repeater, comprising:
a first antenna for communication with a wireless base station;
a second antenna for communication with user equipment;
one or more of switches, amplifiers, or attenuators coupled to the first and second antennas for alternation between uplink and downlink modes; and
a timing recovery system coupled to the one or more of switches, amplifiers, or attenuators and configured to carry out a method to operate the wireless repeater, comprising:
receiving a reference to absolute time for communication on a wireless network;
determining a reference to start time of a radio frame relative to the absolute time;
determining a slot pattern for communication on the wireless network; and
determining a schedule for switching the wireless repeater between uplink and downlink based on the received absolute time reference, the determined radio frame start time, and the determined slot pattern.

19. A system, comprising:
a wireless receiver configured to perform a method of operation, comprising:
receiving a reference to absolute time for communication on a wireless network;
determining a reference to start time of a radio frame relative to the absolute time;
determining a slot pattern for communication on the wireless network;
determining a schedule for switching the wireless repeater between uplink and downlink based on the received absolute time reference, the determined radio frame start time, and the determined slot pattern; and

wherein the wireless repeater is a repeater for communication within a selected communication frequency band;
wherein the determining of one or more of the slot pattern or the radio frame start time includes receiving one or more of the slot pattern or the radio frame start time outside of the selected communication frequency band;
wherein the receiving outside of the selected wireless frequency band includes a receiving via a device management protocol that comprises Lightweight Machine to Machine (LWM2M), Open Mobile Alliance Devi

Assignees

• Pivotal Commware Inc

Inventors

• Katko Alexander Remley
• Machado Melroy
• Pop Marius Marcel
• Repp-Bartel Jacob Tyler
• Schaeffer Daniel Lee

Classifications

• H04W84/047

  using dedicated repeater stations · CPC title

• H04L5/1469

  using time-sharing · CPC title

• H04W56/001

  Synchronization between nodes · CPC title

• H04W56/0045 Primary

  compensating for timing error by altering transmission time · CPC title

• H04W72/0446

  Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames · CPC title