APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR INCREASING UPSTREAM CAPACITY IN A BROADBAND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

• US 20110255452A1
• Filed: 05/28/2010
• Published: 10/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Cable Inc. (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Brooks, Paul D.
• Granted Patent: US 9,825,772 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/297
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/213 combining or separating two or more different frequencies H01P1/215 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/06 the signals being represented by different frequencies combined with time-division multiplexing H04L5/26
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/08 each combination of signals in different channels being represented by a fixed frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44 Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing a video clip retrieved from local storage with an incoming video stream or rendering scenes according to encoded video stream scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6168 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

A method for providing enhanced broadband services over a communications network includes the steps of: receiving from the communications network at least first signals in a first frequency band, the first signals comprising programming material that has been converted from a second frequency band and/or material originally generated in the first frequency band to be converted to the second frequency band, the first and second frequency bands being non-overlapping; translating one or more first signals from the first frequency band to the second frequency band; and combining the one or more first signals translated to the second frequency band with the first signals in the first frequency band to generate combined programming material comprising one or more signals in the first frequency band and one or more signals in the second frequency band for reception by receiving location equipment.

Claims

1. A method for providing enhanced broadband services over a communications network, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving from the communications network at least first signals in a first frequency band, the first signals comprising at least one of (i) programming material that has been converted from a second frequency band, and (ii) material originally generated in the first frequency band to be converted to the second frequency band, the first and second frequency bands being non-overlapping;

translating one or more first signals from the first frequency band to the second frequency band; and

combining the one or more first signals translated to the second frequency band with the first signals in the first frequency band to generate combined programming material comprising one or more signals in the first frequency band and one or more signals in the second frequency band for reception by receiving location equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving from the receiving location equipment at least second signals comprising upstream data in a third frequency band for transmission to the communications network, the first, second and third frequency bands being non-overlapping.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the third frequency band has a maximum frequency which is less than a minimum frequency of the first frequency band.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the third frequency band has a minimum frequency which is greater than a maximum frequency of the first frequency band.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving from or transmitting to the receiving location equipment at least third signals in a fourth frequency band, the third signals adapted to communicate with at least one other receiving location device using a prescribed communications protocol that is distinct from a communications protocol used by the second signals, a minimum frequency of the fourth frequency band being greater than a maximum frequency of the third frequency band.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the prescribed communications protocol comprises Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA).

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of translating and combining the one or more first signals comprises:

splitting the one or more first signals in the first frequency band to generate at least first and second split signals, each of the split signals having substantially equal amplitudes and phases relative to one another;

downconverting the first split signals in the first frequency band to the second frequency band to generate downconverted signals; and

combining the downconverted signals with the second split signals to generate the combined programming material.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing duplicate content from the combined programming material.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second signals are adapted for providing enhanced upstream broadband data communications capability to a subscriber of the communications network while maintaining backwards compatibility with legacy receiving location devices operatively coupled to the communications network.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of translating one or more first signals comprises block downconverting the one or more first signals from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising multiplexing the at least first signals in the first frequency band and at least second signals in a third frequency band received from the receiving location equipment to generate a multiplexed signal, the first and third frequency bands being non-overlapping, the multiplexed signal comprising at least one of the first signals and the third signals received from or transmitted to, respectively, the communications network.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising amplifying the combined programming material to generate an amplified signal having a gain which is adapted to at least partially compensate for one or more losses in a signal path between the communications network and the receiving location equipment.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the second frequency band has a maximum frequency that is less than a minimum frequency of the first frequency band.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of translating the one or more first signals from the first frequency band to the second frequency band is operative to restore a location of one or more analog channels received from the communications network to an original prescribed location of the analog channels.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein a crossover region corresponding to the first and second frequency bands is between about 200 megahertz (MHz) and about 258 MHz.

16. An apparatus for providing enhanced broadband services over a communications network, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving from the communications network at least first signals in a first frequency band, the first signals comprising at least one of (i) programming material that has been converted from a second frequency band, and (ii) material originally generated in the first frequency band to be converted to the second frequency band, the first and second frequency bands being non-overlapping;

means for translating one or more first signals from the first frequency band to the second frequency band; and

means for combining the one or more first signals translated to the second frequency band with the first signals in the first frequency band to generate combined programming material comprising one or more signals in the first frequency band and one or more signals in the second frequency band for reception by receiving location equipment.

17. An apparatus for interfacing between one or more customer premises devices and a communications network, the apparatus comprising:

an interface couplable to the communications network and operative to receive at least first signals in a first frequency band, the first signals comprising at least one of (i) programming material that has been converted from a second frequency band, and (ii) material originally generated in the first frequency band to be converted to the second frequency band, the first and second frequency bands being non-overlapping;

a frequency converter coupled to the interface and operative to translate one or more first signals from the first frequency band to the second frequency band; and

a combiner coupled to the frequency converter and to the interface, the combiner being operative to combine the one or more first signals translated to the second frequency band with the first signals in the first frequency band to generate combined programming material comprising one or more signals in the first frequency band and one or more signals in the second frequency band for reception by one or more receiving location devices.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising at least one filter coupled in a series signal path between the interface and the one or more receiving location devices, the at least one filter being operative to remove duplicate content from the combined programming material.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the interface comprises first and second diplex filters, the first diplex filter including a first port coupled to the frequency converter and to the combiner, a second port coupled to a first port of the second diplex filter, and a third port coupled to the communications network, the second diplex filter including a second port coupled to the one or more receiving location devices, and a third port coupled to the combiner, each of the first and second diplex filters being operative to multiplex a corresponding one of the first and second ports onto the third port thereof as a function of a frequency of respective signals on the corresponding first and second ports.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising at least a first amplifier coupled in series in a signal path between the communications network and the one or more receiving location devices, the first amplifier being operative to generate an amplified output signal having a gain that is adapted to at least partially compensate for one or more signal losses in the signal path.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the first amplifier includes an input operative to receive the combined programming material and an output operative to generate the amplified output signal for reception by the one or more receiving location devices.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the first amplifier includes an input operative to receive at least second signals comprising upstream data in a third frequency band for transmission to the communications network, the first, second and third frequency bands being non-overlapping, and an output operative to generate the amplified output signal for transmission to the communications network.

23. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a transceiver coupled to the interface, the transceiver being operative to facilitate communications between a plurality of receiving location devices using a prescribed communications protocol.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the prescribed communications protocol comprises Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA).

25. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a data-over-cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) advanced media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) (A.M.P.) receiver coupled to the interface and operative to receive DOCSIS signals from the communications network.

26. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a data-over-cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) advanced media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) (A.M.P.) transmitter coupled to the interface and operative to transmit DOCSIS signals to the communications network.

27. A gateway apparatus couplable between a broadband communications network and at least one receiving location device, the gateway apparatus being operative:

(i) to receive downstream signals in an enhanced frequency spectrum having a frequency high enough to support a prescribed upstream data capacity; and

(ii) to restore upstream out-of-band functionality between the at least one receiving location device and the broadband communications network.

28. An article of manufacture for interfacing between one or more customer premises devices and a communications network, said article of manufacture comprising a machine readable medium containing one or more programs which when executed implement the steps of:

receiving from the communications network at least first signals in a first frequency band, the first signals comprising at least one of (i) programming material that has been converted from a second frequency band, and (ii) material originally generated in the first frequency band to be converted to the second frequency band, the first and second frequency bands being non-overlapping;

translating one or more first signals from the first frequency band to the second frequency band; and

combining the one or more first signals translated to the second frequency band with the first signals in the first frequency band to generate combined programming material comprising one or more signals in the first frequency band and one or more signals in the second frequency band for reception by receiving location equipment.