Patent ID: 7904932

Claim:
In a hybrid fiber cable signal distribution network, a node apparatus for the division, frequency conversion and multiplexing of at least four signal sub-bands included in a high frequency band signal of a wideband signal of about 5 to 3000 MHz, said wideband signal received in the upstream direction from a distribution segment of a CATV network, the apparatus comprising the elements of: a triplexer device to separate in an upstream direction the wideband signal into the high frequency band signal and a CATV signal of about 5 to 860 MHz, wherein said high frequency band signal includes at least four frequency sub-bands, each frequency sub-band carry respective upstream data; an amplifier device to amplify the high frequency band signal in the upstream direction; a splitter device to split the amplified high frequency band signal into at least four reproduced signals in the upstream direction, each reproduced signal in the respective frequency sub-band of said high frequency band signal; a first frequency converter device to down-convert the first frequency sub-band of the first reproduced signal into a first down-converted signal of about 12 to 42 MHz in the upstream direction; a second frequency converter device to down-convert the second frequency sub-band of the second reproduced signal into a second down-converted signal in the upstream direction; a third frequency converter device to down-convert the third frequency sub-band of the third reproduced signal into a third down-converted signal in the upstream direction; a fourth frequency converter device to down-convert the fourth frequency sub-band of the fourth reproduced signal into a fourth down-converted signal in the upstream direction, wherein each of said first down-converted signal, second down-converted signal, third down-converted signal and fourth down-converted signal has substantially the same bandwidth and substantially the same frequency range as the other down-converted signals, and wherein each of said down-converted signals carries the respective upstream data of the respective frequency sub-band from which said down-converted signal was down-converted; and a multiplexer device to multiplex the first down-converted signal, the second down-converted signal, the third down-converted signal and the fourth down-converted signal into a combined signal in the upstream direction.