MXPA00009846A - Distribution system for external communication signals and data - Google Patents

Abstract

A distribution system for communicating signals and data without the need for continuous telephone lines is described. This system provides a base unit (101) connected to incoming signals (105), such as cable, satellite, PCS, cellular, fiber optics, XDSL, ISDN, etc., one or more extension units (107) connected to the user's telephone or electronics equipment (111, 112) and a communication link (106) between the base unit and the one or more extension units. The preferred communication link is an A/C power line carrier or alternatively a wireless RF channel. This system provides for the distribution of communication signals from a variety of sources through out a building or office without requiring dedicated telephone lines. This invention, in one of its preferred embodiments, is specially adapted to meet the technical requirements of A/C power line communications.

Description

SYSTEM OF DISTRIBUTION FOR SIGNALS AND EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION DATA BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to electronic communication systems for both data and voice signals. More specifically, the invention relates to the distribution of signals from a variety of sources, including conductor cable; satelite; PCS; cell phone (both AMPS and digital); fiber optic cable; XDSL; ISDN lines, to one or more telephones, computers or other electronic devices within buildings that use A / C or wireless RF lines as a communication channel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED TECHNIQUE A variety of voice and / or data communication systems for power line and cordless telephone have been developed and are used to facilitate communication in locations where there is little or no availability of specialized telephone / data cables. Although these proposals can solve some of the problems found in communications with power or wireless lines, they typically do not face the aspects associated with the distribution of signals to a variety of receivers that could be connected in the communication channel. The above systems for power line or wireless communications, to which the reader is directed for background, include the following U.S. patent documents. and foreign: 2,510,273, 2,516,211, 2, 516,763, 2,535,446, 2,567,908, 2,577,731, 2,654,805, 2,820,097, 2,828,363, 2,932,794, 3,045,066, 3,280,259, 3,334,185, 3,369,078, 3,399,397, 3,400,221, 3,475,561, 3,521, 267, 3,529,216, 3,659,280, 3,693,155, 3,796,920 , 3,810,096, 3,818,481, 3,846,638, 3,852,740, 3,876,984, 3,911, 415, 3,922,664, 3,924,223, 3,925,763, 3,925,728, 3,942,168, 3,949,172, 3,967,264, 3,973,087, 3,980,954, 4,008,467, 4,012,733, 4,012,734, 4,016,429, 4,057,793, 4,058,678, 4,065,763, 4,107,656, 4,161 , 027, 4,173,754, 4,174,517, 4,218,655, 4,222,035, 4,239,940, 4,239,940, 4,254,403, 4,300,126, 4,307,380, 4,321, 581, 4,323,882, 4,344,066, 4,355,303, 4,357,598, 4,371, 867, 4,377,804, 4,386,436, 4,400,688, 4,408,185, 4,408,186, 4,429,299, 4,433,326 , 4,438,519, 4,442,319, 4,471, 399, 4,473,817, 4,475,193, 4,479,033, 4,495,386, 4,514,594, 4,523,307, 4,535,447, 4,538,136, 4,556,864, 4,556,865, 4,556,866, 4,559,520, 4,563,650, 4,573,170, 4,599,598, 4,602,240, 4,609,839, 4,611 , 274, 4,633,218, 4,638,298, 4,638,299, 4,641, 126, 4,641, 322, 4,642,607, 4,644,321, 4,675,648, 4,701, 945, 4,745,391, 4,745,392, 4,746,897, 4,749,992, 4,759,016, 4,763,103, 4,772,870, 4,774,493, 4,783,780, 4,788,527, 4,809,296, 4,829,570 , 4,835,517, 4,845,466, 4,847,903, 4,864,589, 4,866,733, 4,885,563, 4,890,089, 4,912,553, 4,962,496, 4,963,853, 4,968,970, 4,988,972, 4,995,053, 5,003,457, 5,032,833, 5,049,876, 5,063,563, 5,065,133, 5,066,939, 5,136,612, 5,151, 838, 5,155,466, 5,168,510, 5,187,865 , 5,192,231, 5,210,518, 5,241, 283, 5,255,268, 5,257,006, 5,262,755, 5,278,862, 5,289,476, 5,297,193, 5,303,285, 5,319,634, 5,327,230, 5,349,644, 5,351,268, 5,351, 272, 5,355,114, 5,357,541, 5,379,290, 5,400,327, 5,404,127, 5,406,248, 5,406,249 , 5,410,292, 5,412,369, 5,424,709, 5,448,593, 5,452,344, 5,461, 629, 5,463,662, 5,467,011, 5,471, 190, 5,504,454, 5,554,968, 5,559,377, 5,570,367, 5,592,470, 5,630,204, 5,636,213, 5,708,655, 5,721, 733, GB 2,094,598, AU-B1 - 12,488 / 76, Canada 10 57436, Canada 1216689, EPO 0 078 171 A2, EPO 0 555 869 A2, PCT / US83 / 01717, PCT / US90 / 02291, PCT / US90 / 06701, PCT / US92 / 08510, PCT / US93 / 04726, PCT / US94 / 03110, and PCT / US95 / 00354 each of which is incorporated in the present invention for reference in its entirety as to the material described therein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It is desirable to provide means to distribute communication signals between a variety of sources and a variety of destinations within buildings without requiring specialized wireline telephone lines, using communication channels such as the A / C or wireless RF power lines. It is particularly desirable to provide a distribution system that is adapted to the unique requirements of the wireless power line communication channels A C and RF. Wireless communication systems and A / C power lines provide many important advantages over wireline telephone systems. This is particularly the case in which standard telephone terminals are limited or not available, or in which multiple devices require communication through the same channel. Many of the advantages are discussed in greater detail in the aforementioned patent literature. Accordingly, it is the main objective of this invention to provide a distribution system for signal and data communication that makes use of the A / C power lines or the wireless RF signals and that provides the distribution of signals and data to one. or more than several destinations. Another object of the invention is to provide a distribution system for communicating signals and data that provides a base unit which is connected to the incoming external signal sources. Another objective of this invention is to provide a distribution system for communicating signals and data that provides an extension unit connected with telephone or electronic equipment to receive signals from the A / C power line or the wireless RF channel and send signals to through the A / C power line or the wireless RF channel to the external communication equipment. A further objective of this invention is to provide a distribution system for communicating signals through the A / C power lines or wireless RF signals where error correction is performed to maintain the integrity of the data. Still another objective of this invention is to provide a distribution system for communicating signals through the A / C power lines or wireless RF signals using a digital communications link. It is also another object of this invention to provide a distribution system for communicating signals through the A / C power lines or wireless RF signals using a modulation scheme in the modulation family of the Pulse Shift Key (Pulse Shift Key). ). It is even another object of the invention to provide a distribution system for communicating signals through the A / C power lines or wireless RF signals using the data coding for security of the signals between the units. It is even another object of this invention to provide a distribution system for communicating signals through the A / C power lines or wireless RF signals where the extension unit is provided with the means of direct connection to a digital computer, a system of entertainment and / or a telephone that receives digital information. The objects, advantages and other additional novel features of this invention will be set forth in part in the following description and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art after examining what follows or can be learned with the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of this invention can be realized and obtained by means of the instrumental means and combinations particularly indicated in the appended claims. Even other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description in which the preferred embodiment of this invention is shown and described, by way of illustration only, of one of the most suitable modes for performing this invention. As will be understood, this invention can be modalized in a different way, and its various details, and specific electronic circuits can be modified in various aspects without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be considered as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. To achieve the above objectives and other objectives, and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention, a base unit and an extension unit are provided. The base unit includes a line interface circuit; a signal processor and a data link transceiver. The extension unit includes a data link transceiver, a signal processor and means for connecting the extension unit to a computer, an entertainment system and / or a communication device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings incorporated in, and forming a part of the specification, illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the following description some, but not all, alternative modalities are described. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a block diagram of top level showing the main sections of the invention. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the main component sections of the base unit of the invention. Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the main component sections of the extension unit of the invention. Reference will now be made in greater detail to the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, of which an example is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 shows the upper level of the distribution system of the preferred embodiment of the invention. The base unit 101 is shown with three main components: a line interface 102, a signal processor 103 and a data link transceiver 104. The extension unit 107 is shown with three main components: a data link transceiver 108 , a signal processor 109 and a subscriber line interface circuit 110. The base unit 101 receives telephone-type service connections 105 by connection to the line interface 102. Telephone-type service connections 105 can be of a wide variety of types, including but not limited to: ISDN, XDSL, fiber optic, cable, satellite, PCS and cell phone. The line interface 102 is used for connection to the different types of signals found in the wide variety of telephone-type service connections 105. These incoming signals may be digital, analog, packetized. The line interface 102 also provides the interface between the telephone-type service connections 105 and the signal processor 103. The signal processor 103 processes the resident data in the signals received or to be sent to the telephone-type service connections. 105. Such processing includes: formatting and correcting the error of the digital data. In addition, the signal processor 103 acts as a controller for the data link transceiver 104. The data link transceiver 104 performs modulation / demodulation of the digital and / or analog data and transmits and receives the data through the link 106. to the extension unit 107. The link 106, in the preferred embodiment, is over the A / C power lines although, alternatively, the link 106 can be a wireless RF channel, i.e. through air waves . On the other link side 106 is the data link transceiver 108 of the extension unit 107, which performs modulation / demodulation of the digital and / or analog data and transmits and receives the data through the link 106 to the data link transceiver 104 of the base unit 101. The signal processor 109 of the extension unit 107 is connected to the data link transceiver 108. As with the signal processor 103 of the base unit 101, this signal processor 109 formats the data, provides the error correction function and controls the data link transceiver 108. However, unlike the signal processor 103 of the base unit 101, this signal processor 109 is provided with a direct connection to a digital computer device 112 and this signal processor 109 is connected to a subscriber line interface circuit (SLIC) 110 which in turn provides the interface to the television equipment. external phonic 111. This preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes standard electrical components and is adapted to work with standard telephony equipment and telephone service connections. Alternatively, electronic devices for special purposes could be replaced and customary or strange telephone equipment and / or connections could be supported without departing from the concept of this invention. Figure 2 shows the component sections of the base unit of the preferred embodiment of the invention. In this figure a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown, which uses the link A / C power line 106 having the base u101 seen in terms of the functional blocks. The data is received and sent through the data interface 201 to the external signal 105. The data interface function 201 conditions the data to be used by the system processor 202. The processor of the system 202 performs the necessary functions to control the base u101, format the data, add error correction and is the central controller for the base u The transceiver 203, electrically connected to the system processor 202, provides the modulation and demodulation of the data link as well as provides the carrier signal for the transmission and reception of data. In the case of the link 106 of the A / C power line, a power conditioning u204 is provided to interface with the data signals on the A / C 205 power line. The data that is provided to the SLIC in A standard wired telephone system, in this invention are transmitted to and from the power lines 205 (or alternatively a wireless RF channel) using a digital communications system. The preferred modulation scheme to be used through link 106 is OQPSK, since this modulation scheme has good spectral efficiency and is cost effective for both modulating and demodulating. Alternative modulation schemes can be substituted without departing from the concept of this invention. Typically, in this preferred line link mode, the base u101 receives digital data from the telephone service connections 105, from a cable or other connection means, encodes the data, adds the error correction feed to reduce data errors and ensure reliable data communications, add data encryption for security between the u and send this processed data through the power line to the extension u 107. Figure 3 shows the sections components of the extension uof the preferred embodiment of the invention. In this figure, a preferred embodiment of the extension u107 of the invention is shown, which uses an A / C power line link 106, seen in terms of the functional blocks. In this embodiment of the extension u107 an energy supply and a conditioning u301 provide both the interface for the power line link 106 and the electrical power for the extension u107. In communication with the power supply and the conditioning u301 is a transceiver 302, which in the preferred embodiment is a digital PLC transceiver. This transceiver 302 performs essentially the same function as described above regarding the transceiver 203 of the base u101, ie it modulates and demodulates, transmits and receives the signal and is controlled by the system processor 303. The system processor 303 controls the function of the extension u107, as well as the data formatting and provides the error correction feed for the extension u107. This system processor 303 is also provided with a direct connection to a 306 digital computer device , surpassing the subscriber line interface circuit 304. A subscriber line interface circuit 304 is electrically connected to the system processor 303 to provide the interface to the external telephone type devices 305. The subscriber line interface circuit 304 includes a codec (encoder-decoder). The preferred extension u using an A / C power line link 106, is provided with through-connectors for filtering unwanted interference in the extension u107. The above description is that of a preferred embodiment of the invention and it has been presented for the purpose of illustration and as a description of the best mode of the invention currently known to the inventors. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the form, connections or choice of preferred described components. Modifications or obvious variations are possible and can be contemplated in light of the previous teachings. This embodiment of the invention was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles thereof and its practical application, whereby one skilled in the art is allowed to use the invention in various modalities and with various modifications as best it may be. appropriate for the particular contemplated use. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when they are construed in accordance with the scope to which they are legally entitled and in equal manner.

Claims (32)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A distribution system for communicating signals and data, comprising: a) a base unit, characterized in that said base unit also comprises a service connection that is selected from the group consisting of XDSL, optical fibers, cable, satellite, PCS and cell phone; b) an extension unit; and c) a communication link connecting said base unit to said extension unit.

2. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said base unit also comprises a line interface adapted to send and receive signals from a variety of telephone service connections.

3. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 2, further characterized in that said variety of telephone service connections is selected from the group consisting of ISDN, XDSL, optical fibers, cable, satellite, PCS and cell phone.

4. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said base unit also comprises a system processor for controlling said base unit.

5. - A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 4, further characterized in that said system processor formats the data.

6. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 4, further characterized in that said system processor performs the error correction.

7. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said base unit also comprises a transceiver to provide the modulation of the signals.

8. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said base unit also comprises a transceiver to demodulate the signals.

9. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said base unit also comprises a transceiver for sending and receiving the signals.

10. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said base unit also comprises a transceiver that uses a modulation scheme PSK.

11. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said base unit also comprises a transceiver that uses a frequency reflection modulation scheme.

12. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said base unit also comprises an energy conditioning unit for providing an electrical interface to an A / C power line.

13. A distribution system for communicating signals and data in accordance with claim 1, further characterized in that said communication link is a communication channel carrying power line.

14. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said communication link is a wireless RF communication channel.

15. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a power supply to provide electric power to said extension unit.

16. A distribution system for communicating signals and data in accordance with claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a power conditioning unit for said extension unit to interface with an A / C power line.

17. - A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a transceiver to provide modulation of the signals.

18. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a transceiver for demodulating the signals.

19. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a transceiver for sending and receiving the signals.

20. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a transceiver that uses a modulation scheme PSK.

21. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a transceiver that uses a frequency reflection modulation scheme.

22. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a processor system for controlling said extension unit.

23. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 4, further characterized in that said system processor formats the data.

24. A distribution system for communicating signals and data in accordance with claim 4, further characterized in that said system processor performs the error correction.

25. A distribution system for communicating signals and data in accordance with claim 4, further characterized in that said system processor interfaces with a digital electronic computer.

26. A distribution system for communicating signals and data in accordance with claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a subscriber line interface circuit having a codec and which can be electrically connected to the communications devices standard telephone

27. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a subscriber line interface circuit having a codec and that can be electrically connected to a digital telephone.

28. A distribution system for communicating signals and data in accordance with claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a subscriber line interface circuit having a codec and which can be electrically connected to a digital television.

29. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a subscriber line interface circuit having a codec and that can be electrically connected to an audio system digital.

30. A distribution system for communicating signals and data according to claim 1, further characterized in that said extension unit also comprises a subscriber line interface circuit having a codec and which can be electrically connected to a conference device digital distance. 31.- A distribution system for communicating signals and data comprising: (A) a base unit, characterized in that said base unit also comprises a service connection that is selected from the group consisting of XDSL, optical fibers, cable, satellite, PCS and cell phone; (B) a plurality of extension units; and (C) a communication link connecting said base unit to said plurality of extension units. 32.- A distribution system for communicating signals and data, comprising: (A) a plurality of base units, characterized in that each of said base units also comprises a service connection that is selected from the group consisting of XDSL, fibers optical, cable, satellite, PCS and cell phone; (B) an extension unit; and (C) a communications link connecting said plurality of base units with said extension unit.