Multi-mode computing device

• US 10,181,961 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2013
• Issued: 01/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Urban, David, Salinger, Jorge
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Randy A
• Application Number:
  US13/969,692
• Publication Number:
  US 20130340020A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,975 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2861 Point-to-multipoint connection from the data network to the subscribers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2898 Subscriber equipments DSL modems H04M11/062; cable modems H04L12/2801
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42676 for modulating an analogue carrier signal to encode digital information or demodulating it to decode digital information, e.g. ADSL or cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4382 Demodulation or channel decoding, e.g. QPSK demodulation analog front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440218 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 conversion of standards in analogue television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6168 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/102 Circuits therefor, e.g. noise reducers, equalisers, amplifiers H04N7/108 takes precedence

Abstract

A modem system may include modems that have multiple upstream transmitters for transmitting signals upstream in a communication network. In some embodiments herein, one or more of those upstream transmitters may be retasked to transmit downstream signals for reception at devices within a modem'"'"'s premises. The downstream signal may be modulated differently from its original modulation as received by the modem, and may be modulated in a manner that can be received by legacy components on the premises, such as analog televisions.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

causing an upstream transmitter to transmit upstream a first signal indicating content;

receiving a downstream second signal comprising the content;

determining whether a downstream transmitter of a plurality of downstream transmitters is available to transmit downstream;

after a determining that none of the plurality of downstream transmitters is available to transmit downstream, causing the upstream transmitter to switch from transmitting upstream to transmitting at least a portion of the content downstream;

transmitting downstream, by the upstream transmitter, through a filter connected to the upstream transmitter, and within a downstream frequency band, at least the portion of the content;

configuring the filter to filter out the downstream frequency band prior to the causing the upstream transmitter to switch from transmitting upstream to transmitting at least the portion of the content downstream; and

configuring the filter to pass the downstream frequency band after the causing the upstream transmitter to switch from transmitting upstream to transmitting at least the portion of the content downstream.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first signal is modulated within an upstream frequency band, wherein the downstream frequency band is different from the upstream frequency band, and wherein the downstream frequency band comprises one or more of a very-high frequency (VHF) band or a ultra-high frequency (UHF) band.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the upstream transmitter comprises a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulator.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting downstream, through a second filter and to a user device, the downstream second signal;

configuring the second filter to pass the downstream frequency band prior to the causing the upstream transmitter to switch from transmitting upstream to transmitting at least the portion of the content downstream; and

configuring the second filter to filter out the downstream frequency band after the causing the upstream transmitter to switch from transmitting upstream to transmitting at least the portion of the content downstream.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the causing the upstream transmitter to switch from transmitting upstream to transmitting at least the portion of the content downstream is based on a request for the content.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the causing the upstream transmitter to switch from transmitting upstream to transmitting at least the portion of the content downstream is at least partially performed by a computing device that comprises the upstream transmitter and the plurality of downstream transmitters.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving information from the user device;

determining, based on the information, the downstream frequency band and a first format; and

converting the content from a second format to the first format;

wherein the transmitting downstream at least the portion of the content comprises transmitting downstream the converted content.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the upstream transmitter is available to transmit downstream; and

after determining that the upstream transmitter is available to transmit downstream;

providing, to the upstream transmitter, a modulation type; and

providing, to the upstream transmitter, the downstream frequency band;

wherein the causing the upstream transmitter to switch from transmitting upstream to transmitting at least the portion of the content downstream comprises;

modulating, based on the modulation type, the portion of the content; and

retasking the upstream transmitter to transmit downstream, via the downstream frequency band, the modulated portion of the content.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

demodulating at least a portion of the downstream second signal to generate a demodulated signal indicating the content;

prior to determining that none of the plurality of downstream transmitters is available to transmit downstream, supplying the demodulated signal to one of the plurality of downstream transmitters; and

after determining that none of the plurality of downstream transmitters is available to transmit downstream, supplying the demodulated signal to the upstream transmitter.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the content is stored in a local storage; and

after determining that the content is stored in the local storage, and after determining that none of the plurality of downstream transmitters is available to transmit downstream, supplying the content from the local storage to the upstream transmitter.

11. A method, comprising:

reformatting content to a format selected based on a user device;

after a determining that no downstream transmitters, of a plurality of downstream transmitters, are available to transmit downstream, switching an upstream transmitter from transmitting upstream to transmitting the reformatted content downstream;

transmitting downstream, by the upstream transmitter, through a filter connected to the upstream transmitter, and within a frequency band selected based on the user device, the reformatted content;

configuring the filter to filter out the frequency band prior to the switching;

configuring the filter to pass the frequency band after the switching;

filtering out at least the frequency band from a downstream signal to generate a filtered signal;

combining the filtered signal with the reformatted content to generate a combined signal; and

transmitting downstream, to the user device, the combined signal.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the switching is based on a request by the user device for the content.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the filtering out at least the frequency band from the downstream signal comprises filtering out, by a second filter and based on a request by the user device for the content, at least the frequency band from the downstream signal.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving information from the user device; and

selecting the frequency band based on the information.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising switching, after the upstream transmitter is switched to transmitting downstream, the upstream transmitter back to transmitting upstream.

16. A method, comprising:

transmitting upstream, by an upstream transmitter of a device, a first signal modulated within a first frequency band, wherein the first signal indicates content;

receiving, by the device, a downstream second signal comprising the content in a first format;

reformatting the content to a second format;

determining whether any downstream transmitter of a plurality of downstream transmitters is available to transmit downstream;

after determining that none of the plurality of downstream transmitters is available to transmit downstream, instructing the upstream transmitter to transmit, through a filter connected to the upstream transmitter, a third signal modulated within a second frequency band and comprising the content in the second format, wherein the second frequency band is different from the first frequency band;

configuring the filter to filter out the second frequency band prior to the instructing;

configuring the filter to pass the second frequency band after the instructing;

replacing a portion of the downstream second signal that is within the second frequency band with the third signal, to generate a fourth signal; and

transmitting downstream, by the device, the fourth signal.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the replacing comprises:

transmitting, through a second filter, the downstream second signal;

configuring the second filter to pass the second frequency band prior to the instructing; and

configuring the second filter to filter out the second frequency band after the instructing.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the replacing comprises:

filtering out the second frequency band from the downstream second signal to generate a filtered signal; and

summing the filtered signal with the third signal to generate the fourth signal.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the device comprises a gateway configured to be coupled to a network that provides the downstream second signal, and wherein the transmitting downstream the fourth signal comprises transmitting downstream the fourth signal to customer premises equipment.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising instructing, after the transmitting downstream, the upstream transmitter to transmit upstream.