EDGE TRANSCEIVER FOR IN-BAND ON-CHANNEL BROADCASTING (IBOC) MESH NETWORK
First Claim
1. An edge transceiver for use with an in-band on-channel (IBOC) mesh network, the edge transceiver comprising:
- an outward-facing network interface coupled to a digital content distribution device, and configured to receive content from the digital content distribution device to be transmitted via IBOC broadcast;
a processor and associated memory configured to control delivery of the content to the IBOC mesh network;
an inward-facing network interface coupled to at least one IBOC mesh transceiver of a plurality of IBOC mesh transceivers, the plurality of IBOC mesh transceivers being coupled to each other in a mesh configuration forming the IBOC mesh network, the inward-facing network interface configured to;
distribute the content to the IBOC mesh network by transmitting the content to the at least one IBOC mesh transceiver;
receive, from the at least one IBOC mesh transceiver, information related to IBOC transmission power levels of individual IBOC mesh transceivers included in the IBOC mesh network;
the processor and associated memory further configured to;
determine an IBOC broadcast power levels for one or more of the individual IBOC mesh transceivers based, at least in part, on the information related to IBOC transmission power levels;
generate at least one power control signal specifies an IBOC broadcast power of at least one individual IBOC transceiver; and
transmit the at least one power control signal to the IBOC mesh network via the inward-facing network interface.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Digital content can be broadcast in a sideband of an analog broadcast channel using multiple digital in-band on-channel (IBOC) transceivers connected in a mesh configuration to form an IBOC mesh network. The digital IBOC transceivers are positioned at various geographic locations, so that unlike traditional “HD” radio broadcasts, the IBOC broadcast transmission is spread out over a wide area, using multiple low power digital IBOC transceivers rather than being broadcast from the same location as the analog signal. An edge transceiver can limit IBOC transmission power of the IBOC transceivers to a desired portion of the power used to broadcast the analog signal. The edge server can make this determination based on measurements taken at the geographically distributed digital IBOC transceivers. The IBOC mesh network provides bi-directional communication between a mesh transceiver and a user device, and can be used to deliver user feedback.
9 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An edge transceiver for use with an in-band on-channel (IBOC) mesh network, the edge transceiver comprising:
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an outward-facing network interface coupled to a digital content distribution device, and configured to receive content from the digital content distribution device to be transmitted via IBOC broadcast; a processor and associated memory configured to control delivery of the content to the IBOC mesh network; an inward-facing network interface coupled to at least one IBOC mesh transceiver of a plurality of IBOC mesh transceivers, the plurality of IBOC mesh transceivers being coupled to each other in a mesh configuration forming the IBOC mesh network, the inward-facing network interface configured to; distribute the content to the IBOC mesh network by transmitting the content to the at least one IBOC mesh transceiver; receive, from the at least one IBOC mesh transceiver, information related to IBOC transmission power levels of individual IBOC mesh transceivers included in the IBOC mesh network; the processor and associated memory further configured to; determine an IBOC broadcast power levels for one or more of the individual IBOC mesh transceivers based, at least in part, on the information related to IBOC transmission power levels; generate at least one power control signal specifies an IBOC broadcast power of at least one individual IBOC transceiver; and transmit the at least one power control signal to the IBOC mesh network via the inward-facing network interface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for use in an edge transceiver including a processor and associated memory, the method comprising:
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receiving, via an outward-facing network interface from a digital content distribution device, content to be transmitted by one or more in-band on-channel (IBOC) mesh transceivers of a plurality of IBOC mesh transceivers forming an IBOC mesh network; distributing the content to the IBOC mesh network via an inward-facing network interface coupled to at least one IBOC mesh transceiver included in the IBOC mesh network; receiving, from the at least one IBOC mesh transceiver, information related to IBOC transmission power levels of individual IBOC mesh transceivers included in the IBOC mesh network; determining, by the edge transceiver, IBOC broadcast power levels for one or more of the individual IBOC mesh transceivers, the determining based, at least in part, on the information related to IBOC transmission power levels; generating, by the edge transceiver, at least one power control signal specifying an IBOC broadcast power of at least one individual IBOC transceiver; and transmitting the at least one power control signal to the IBOC mesh network via the inward-facing network interface. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An edge transceiver for use with an in-band on-channel (IBOC) mesh network, the edge transceiver comprising:
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an outward-facing wired network interface coupled to a digital content distribution device, and configured to receive content from the digital content distribution device to be IBOC broadcast by one or more mesh transceivers of a plurality of IBOC mesh transceivers included in the IBOC mesh network; a processor and associated memory configured to control delivery of the content to the IBOC mesh network; an inward-facing wireless network interface coupled to at least one IBOC mesh transceiver of a plurality of IBOC mesh transceivers, the plurality of IBOC mesh transceivers being coupled to each other in a mesh configuration forming the IBOC mesh network, the inward-facing wireless network interface configured to; transmit the content to the at least one IBOC mesh transceiver; receive, from the at least one IBOC mesh transceiver, information related to IBOC transmission power levels of individual IBOC mesh transceivers included in the IBOC mesh network, wherein information related to IBOC transmission power levels includes information used to determine a relationship between analog transmission power and IBOC transmission power; the processor and associated memory further configured to; determine an IBOC broadcast power level for one or more of the individual IBOC mesh transceivers based, at least in part, on the information related to IBOC transmission power levels; generate at least one power control signal specifies an IBOC broadcast power of at least one individual IBOC transceiver; and transmit the at least one power control signal to the IBOC mesh network via the inward-facing wireless network interface. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification