CONNECTION IDENTIFIER FOR WIRELESS BROADCAST SYSTEM

• US 20080170529A1
• Filed: 01/12/2007
• Published: 07/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monument Bank of Intellectual Property, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Wi-LAN Inc.
• Inventors: CONNORS, DENNIS P., Madan, Seema, Govind, Keerthi S., Petry, Brian D., Marsh, Gene W., Burchill, William S., Gummadi, Srikanth
• Granted Patent: US 7,944,919 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/30 by a single channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/67 Common-wave systems, i.e. using separate transmitters operating on substantially the same frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2362 Generation or processing of Service Information [SI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2381 Adapting the multiplex stream to a specific network, e.g. an Internet Protocol [IP] network transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2383 Channel coding or modulation of digital bit-stream, e.g. QPSK modulation arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by adapting the channel coding H04L1/0009; analogue front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/242 Synchronization processes, e.g. processing of PCR [Program Clock References] arrangements for synchronising broadcast or distribution via plural systems in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26208 the scheduling operation being performed under constraints
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64315 DVB-H

Abstract

A wireless broadcast system that collects content for distribution over a wireless communication network. Multiple content streams are received and interleaved into an aggregate content stream. The aggregate content stream is encapsulated into a stream of transport packets that are ruggedized for broadcast over the wireless communication link. One connection identification is associated with the entire aggregate content stream. The aggregate content stream is packetized into multiple service data units. An identical signal that includes the service data units and one connection identifier is broadcast by multiple synchronized transmitters in a single frequency network. The content can include multimedia data, such as audio/video data, movies, game, audio broadcasts, television network programs, or other types of multimedia content.

Claims

1. A method of broadcasting content, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of individual content streams;

interleaving the individual content streams into an aggregate content stream;

associating one connection identifier with the aggregate content stream;

packetizing the aggregate content stream into aggregate content packets and encapsulating the aggregate content packets into a plurality of service data units; and

distributing the service data units to a plurality of synchronized transmitters within a single frequency network which broadcast an identical signal that includes the service data units and the one connection identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the aggregate content stream further comprises an electronic program guide.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the electronic program guide comprises information identifying the occurrence of instances of each individual content stream within the aggregate content stream.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the individual content streams comprise IP encoded content.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the individual content streams comprise multimedia data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the individual content streams comprise a television network program.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the identical signal and extracting at least one individual content stream from the aggregate content stream in the service data units.

8. A broadcast manager comprising:

a network interface module configured to receive an aggregate content stream that comprises a plurality of individual of content streams that have been interleaved;

an encapsulator module that associates one connection identifier to the entire aggregate content stream, packetizes the aggregate content stream into packets and encapsulates the packets into a plurality of service data units; and

a distributing module that distributes the service data units and the one connection identifier to a plurality of transmitters configured to synchronously transmit an identical signal that includes the service data units and the one connection identifier.

9. The broadcast management module of claim 8, wherein at least one of the individual content streams comprises IP encoded content.

10. The broadcast management module of claim 8, wherein the identical signal transmitted from each of the transmitters is an orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) signal.

11. A method of broadcasting content, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of individual content streams;

interleaving the individual content streams into a single aggregate content stream;

associating a unique connection identifier to each individual content stream in the aggregate content stream;

packetizing the aggregate content stream into aggregate content packets and encapsulating the aggregate content packets into a plurality of service data units; and

distributing the service data units and their unique connection identifiers to a plurality of transmitters configured to simultaneously transmit an identical signal that includes the service data units and their unique connection identifiers.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein interleaving the plurality of individual content streams further comprises coarse interleaving of the plurality of individual content streams into the single aggregate content stream.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the unique connection identifiers are disposed in a downlink map of a broadcast frame in the identical signal.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the plurality of transmitters comprise a single frequency network.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the individual content streams comprise multimedia data.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the individual content streams comprise a television network program.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the individual content streams comprise IP encoded content.

18. A broadcast manager comprising:

a network interface module configured to receive an aggregate content stream that comprises a plurality of individual content streams that have been interleaved;

an encapsulator module that assigns a unique connection identifier to each individual content stream in the aggregate content, packetizes the aggregate content stream into packets and encapsulates the packets into a plurality of service data units; and

a distributing module that distributes the service data units and their corresponding unique connection identifiers to a plurality of transmitters configured to simultaneously transmit an identical signal that includes the service data units and their corresponding unique connection identifiers.

19. One or more computer readable media storing computer executable instructions that, when executed perform a method comprising:

receiving a plurality of individual content streams;

interleaving the individual content streams into an aggregate content stream;

associating one connection identifier with the aggregate content stream;

packetizing the aggregate content stream into aggregate content packets and encapsulating the aggregate content packets into a plurality of service date units; and

distributing the service data units and the one connection identifier to a plurality of synchronized transmitters within a single frequency network that broadcast an identical signal which includes the service data units and the one connection identifier.

20. One or more computer readable media storing computer executable instructions that, when executed perform a method comprising:

receiving a plurality of individual content streams;

interleaving the individual content streams into a single aggregate content stream;

associating a unique connection identifier with each individual content stream in the aggregate content stream;

packetizing the aggregate content stream into aggregate content packets and encapsulating the aggregate content packets into a plurality of service data units; and

distributing the service data units and their corresponding unique connection identifiers to a plurality of transmitters configured to simultaneously transmit an identical signal that includes the service data units and their corresponding unique connection identifiers.

21. A method of receiving broadcast content, the method comprising:

receiving a signal that includes a plurality of service data units containing an aggregate content stream comprised of a plurality of individual content streams, and that includes a single connection identifier associated with the plurality of individual content streams;

matching the single connection identifier in the signal to a desired connection identifier; and

;

extracting at least one of the individual content streams from the aggregate content stream contained in the service data units.

22. A method of receiving broadcast content, the method comprising:

receiving a signal that includes a plurality of service data units containing an aggregate content stream comprised of a plurality of individual content streams, and that includes a plurality of unique connection identifiers associated with the plurality of individual content streams, respectively;

identifying a connection identifier that matches a desired connection identifier; and

;

extracting the individual content stream associated with the identified connection identifier from the aggregate content stream in the service data units.

23. A receiving device comprising:

a receiver module configured to receive a signal that includes a plurality of service data units containing an aggregate content stream comprised of a plurality of individual content streams, and that includes a single connection identifier associated with the plurality of individual content streams;

a matching module configured to match the single connection identifier in the signal to a desired connection identifier; and

;

an extracting module configured to extract at least one of the individual content streams from the aggregate content stream contained in the service data units.

24. A receiving device comprising:

a receiver module configured to receive a signal that includes a plurality of service data units containing an aggregate content stream comprised of a plurality of individual content streams, and that includes a plurality of unique connection identifiers associated with the plurality of individual content streams, respectively;

an identification module configured to identify a connection identifier that matches a desired connection identifier; and

;

an extracting configured to extract the individual content stream associated with the identified connection identifier from the aggregate content stream in the service data units.

25. An access service network system comprising:

a network interface configured to receive a plurality of finely interleaved content streams;

an encapsulator configured to receive the plurality of finely interleaved content streams and to coarsely interleave the plurality of content streams into a coarsely interleaved aggregate content stream; and

a plurality of base stations, each base station being configured to generate a broadcast frame that includes an OFDM preamble, a single connection identification indicator, and discrete sections of the coarsely interleaved aggregate content stream, and being configured to broadcast in synchronization with the other base stations an identical signal that includes the broadcast frame.

26. The access service network of claim 30, wherein the encapsulator is further configured to add forward error correction (FEC) information into the coarsely interleaved content stream.