Digital format U.S. commercial FM broadcast system
First Claim
1. A method of broadcasting services, comprising:
- formatting said services into at least one digital bitstream;
time division multiplexing said at least one digital bitstream into one or more channels comprising a primary data frame;
frequency modulating a series of data frames around a single carrier frequency into a broadcast signal in conformance with commercial FM broadcast standards; and
transmitting said broadcast signal on a commercial FM broadcast station such that substantially the entire spectrum of said transmission comprises said digital data frames.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of broadcasting commercial FM services in a digital format in at least one bitstream comprises time-division multiplexing the bitstream(s) into one or more channels comprising a data frame, and frequency modulating the data frames around a single carrier frequency into a commercial FM broadcast signal. The modulation may comprise GMSK or 8-PSK, and multiple data frame types may be interleaved. The signal is transmitted on a commercial FM broadcast station such that substantially the entire spectrum of the transmission comprises the digital data frames. The bit rate(s) of the digital bitstream(s) may be monitored, and the bitstream(s) may be reallocated to channels in the data frames based on changes in the bit rate(s). Analog and digital formats may be broadcast simultaneously on non-adjacent commercial FM broadcast carrier channels. A receiver is operative to extract and decode content from a digital format FM broadcast signal.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method of broadcasting services, comprising:
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formatting said services into at least one digital bitstream;
time division multiplexing said at least one digital bitstream into one or more channels comprising a primary data frame;
frequency modulating a series of data frames around a single carrier frequency into a broadcast signal in conformance with commercial FM broadcast standards; and
transmitting said broadcast signal on a commercial FM broadcast station such that substantially the entire spectrum of said transmission comprises said digital data frames. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for broadcasting services, comprising:
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a source of said services formatted into at least one digital bitstream;
a multiplexer for time division multiplexing said at least one digital bitstream into one or more channels comprising a primary data frame;
a modulator for frequency modulating a series of data frames around a single carrier frequency into a broadcast signal in conformance with commercial FM broadcast standards; and
a transmitter for transmitting said broadcast signal on a commercial FM broadcast carrier channel such that substantially the entire spectrum of said transmission comprises said digital data frames. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of simultaneously broadcasting content in analog and digital formats, comprising:
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broadcasting said content in an analog format on a first commercial FM broadcast carrier channel, said analog format content frequency modulated around a first carrier frequency;
providing said analog format signal in at least one digital format bitstream;
frequency modulating said at least one digital bitstream around a second carrier frequency; and
broadcasting said digital bitstream on a second commercial FM broadcast carrier channel non-adjacent to said first commercial FM broadcast carrier channel. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of upgrading an analog format commercial FM broadcast station to digital format, comprising:
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providing analog format content in at least one digital format bitstream; and
replacing an existing signal modulator with a modulator operative to time division multiplex said at least one digital bitstream into a series of data frames, and to frequency modulate said series of data frames around a single carrier frequency in conformance with commercial FM broadcast standards. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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26. A method of upgrading an analog format commercial FM broadcast station comprising an analog FM modulator, analog FM transmitter, and transmission antenna to broadcast in both analog and digital format, comprising:
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providing analog format content in at least one digital format bitstream;
modulating said digital format bitstream with a modulator operative to time division multiplex said at least one digital bitstream into a series of data frames, and to frequency modulate said series of data frames around a single carrier frequency in conformance with commercial FM broadcast standards, providing a transmitter operative to transmit said modulated digital format; and
diplexing said analog and digital transmissions into said transmission antenna. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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- 28. A receiver operative to receive digital format broadcast signals within the commercial FM band, said signals comprising at least one digital bitstream time division multiplexed into one or more channels comprising a data frame, a series of said data frame frequency modulated around a single carrier frequency and transmitted in conformance with commercial FM broadcast standards.
Specification