Apparatus and method for the transparent upgrading of technology and applications in digital radio systems using programmable transmitters and receivers
First Claim
1. A digital radio system, the digital radio system comprising:
- a transmitter unit, the transmitter unit including a transmitter programmable processor, wherein the signal stream transmitted by the transmitter unit is encoded with encoding algorithm installed in the transmitter programmable processor; and
at least one receiver unit, the receiver unit including;
apparatus for receiving the signal stream transmitted by the transmitter unit and converting the signal stream into a digital format signal stream;
a receiver programmable processor for decoding the digital format signal stream using a decoding algorithm installed in the receiver programmable processor, wherein the decoding algorithm is provided by one provider selected from the group consisting of the manufacturer of the receiver unit and the transmitter unit.
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Abstract
In a digital radio system including a transmitter unit and at least one receiver unit, changes to the system can implemented without modifying the hardware components by providing the transmitter unit and the receiver unit with processing capability. With respect to the transmitter unit, the principal function of the processing capability is to modify the encoding of the transmitted signal stream. The processing capability of the receiver unit provides the ability to identify when the decoding algorithms are not compatible with the transmitted signal stream. The decoding algorithms of receiver unit can be updated to be compatible with transmitted signals in several different embodiments. According to one embodiment, the updated decoding algorithm can be transmitted to the receiver unit along with, or in place of, the program signal stream. The programmable processor of the receiver unit identifies the decoder algorithm signal stream and installs the decoder algorithm in the programmable processor. In this embodiment of the invention, the upgrade of the receiver unit can be transparent to the user. The upgrade of the receiver unit can also be accomplished by manual intervention by the user.
44 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A digital radio system, the digital radio system comprising:
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a transmitter unit, the transmitter unit including a transmitter programmable processor, wherein the signal stream transmitted by the transmitter unit is encoded with encoding algorithm installed in the transmitter programmable processor; and
at least one receiver unit, the receiver unit including;
apparatus for receiving the signal stream transmitted by the transmitter unit and converting the signal stream into a digital format signal stream;
a receiver programmable processor for decoding the digital format signal stream using a decoding algorithm installed in the receiver programmable processor, wherein the decoding algorithm is provided by one provider selected from the group consisting of the manufacturer of the receiver unit and the transmitter unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. The method for altering the encoding and decoding algorithms in a digital radio system, the digital radio system including a transmitter unit and at least one receiver unit, the method comprising:
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installing an encoding algorithm in the programmable processor of the transmitter unit;
providing a decoding algorithm for a programmable processor of the receiver unit; and
installing the decoding algorithm in the programmable processor of the receiver. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A digital radio receiver unit responsive to a signal stream from a transmitting unit, the receiver unit comprising:
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an antenna for receiving a signal stream from a transmitter unit;
a receiver train for converting the signal stream to a digital format signal stream; and
a programmable processor for processing the digital signal format stream, the programmable processor including a decoding algorithm for decoding the digital format signal stream, wherein when the digital format signal stream requires a different decoding algorithm for decoding, the programmable processor installs a new decoding algorithm therein. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A transmitter unit for use in a digital radio system, the transmitter unit comprising:
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an D/A converter responsive to analog input signals, the D/A converter providing a digital representation of the analog input signals;
an encoder unit for controlling the encoding signals from the D/A converter according to an encoding algorithm, wherein the encoding algorithm can be updated;
a format encoding unit for controlling the encoding a transmission format of a broadcast transmission according to a transmission format encoding algorithm, wherein the transmission format encoding algorithm can be updated; and
an up-converter and power amplifier unit for processing signals from the format encoding unit; and
antenna for broadcasting the signals from the up-converter and power amplifier unit. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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Specification