Multi-threshold and hierarchical television signal transmission system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A signal transmission apparatus comprising:
- a modulator for modulating a carrier wave with an input signal to produce a modulated signal having symbols each representing a corresponding one of m signal points in a signal space diagram, where m is an integer, the modulator including means for receiving the input signal containing a first data stream of n values which carries information constituting a first television image and a second data stream which carries information enhancing a quality of the first television image so that the information carried by the first data stream and the information carried by the second data stream constitute in combination a second television image which is higher in definition than the first television image, dividing the m signal points into n signal point groups, assigning n values of the first data stream to the n signal point groups respectively, and assigning data of the second data stream to the signal points of each of the n signal point groups; and
a transmitter for transmitting the modulated signal,wherein said modulator includes a means for shifting the signal points to other positions in the signal space diagram so that one of them which is located at a nearest position to the origin point of the I-axis and Q-axis coordinates of the diagram, is spaced Sδ
from each axis wherein the m signal points are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by a first set of thresholds which divides the signal diagram into m regions and the n signal point groups are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by a second set of thresholds which divides the signal diagram more coarsely than the first set of thresholds into n regions, where δ
is the distance between the nearest signal point and the I-axis or Q-axis and S is the length of shift which is more than 1.
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Abstract
At the transmitter side of a signal transmission system, carrier waves are modulated according to an input signal for producing relevant signal points in a signal space diagram. The input signal is divided into two, first and second, data streams. The signal points are divided into signal point groups to which data of the first data stream are assigned. Also, data of the second data stream are assigned to the signal points of each signal point group. A difference in the transmission error rate between the first and second data streams is developed by shifting the signal points to other positions in the space diagram. At the receiver side of a signal transmission, the first and/or second data streams can be reconstructed from a received signal. In TV broadcast service, a TV signal is divided by a transmitter into two, low and high, frequency band components which are designated as a first and a second data stream respectively. Upon receiving the TV signal, a receiver can reproduce only the low frequency band component or both the low and high frequency band components, depending on its capability.
63 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A signal transmission apparatus comprising:
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a modulator for modulating a carrier wave with an input signal to produce a modulated signal having symbols each representing a corresponding one of m signal points in a signal space diagram, where m is an integer, the modulator including means for receiving the input signal containing a first data stream of n values which carries information constituting a first television image and a second data stream which carries information enhancing a quality of the first television image so that the information carried by the first data stream and the information carried by the second data stream constitute in combination a second television image which is higher in definition than the first television image, dividing the m signal points into n signal point groups, assigning n values of the first data stream to the n signal point groups respectively, and assigning data of the second data stream to the signal points of each of the n signal point groups; and a transmitter for transmitting the modulated signal, wherein said modulator includes a means for shifting the signal points to other positions in the signal space diagram so that one of them which is located at a nearest position to the origin point of the I-axis and Q-axis coordinates of the diagram, is spaced Sδ
from each axis wherein the m signal points are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by a first set of thresholds which divides the signal diagram into m regions and the n signal point groups are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by a second set of thresholds which divides the signal diagram more coarsely than the first set of thresholds into n regions, where δ
is the distance between the nearest signal point and the I-axis or Q-axis and S is the length of shift which is more than 1.
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2. A signal transmission apparatus comprising:
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a modulator for modulating a carrier wave with an input signal to produce a modulated signal having symbols each representing a corresponding one of m signal points in a signal space diagram, where m is an integer, the modulator including means for receiving the input signal containing a first data stream of n values which carries information constituting a first television image and a second data stream which carries information enhancing a quality of the first television image so that the information carried by the first data stream and the information carried by the second data stream constitute in combination a second television image which is higher in definition than the first television image, dividing the m signal points into n signal point groups, assigning n values of the first data stream to the n signal point groups respectively, and assigning data of the second data stream to the signal points of each of the n signal point groups; and a transmitter for transmitting the modulated signal, wherein said modulator includes a means for shifting the signal points to other positions in the signal space diagram so that a distance between any two closest two signal points of any adjacent two signal point groups becomes 2δ
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S wherein the m signal points are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by a first set of thresholds which divides the signal diagram into m regions and the n signal point groups are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by a second set of thresholds which divides the signal diagram more coarsely than the first set of thresholds into n regions, where 2δ
is a distance between the closest two signal points of the adjacent two signal point groups when the m signal points are allocated in the signal space diagram at equal intervals, and S is the length of shift which is more than 1.
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3. A signal receiving apparatus for reconstructing a received signal having symbols each representing a corresponding one of P signal points in a signal space diagram, the P signal points being divided into n signal point groups each containing P/n signal points, the received signal containing a first data stream which is assigned to the n signal point groups and carries information constituting a first television image, and a second data stream which is assigned to the P/n signal points of each of the n signal point groups and carries information enhancing a quality of the first television image so that the information carried by the first data steam and the information carried by the second data steam constitute in combination a second television image which is higher in definition than the first television image, said apparatus comprising:
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a demodulator for demodulating the received signal to obtain reconstructed data, the demodulator including means for distinguishing the n signal point groups from one another by a second set of thresholds, and for demodulating values of the distinguished n signal point groups to obtain reconstructed data of the first data stream, and means for distinguishing the P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups by a first set of thresholds, and for demodulating values of the distinguished P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups to obtain reconstructed data of the second data stream; and an output circuit for combining the reconstructed data of the first and second data streams from the demodulator, wherein the demodulator includes means for canceling the second data stream when the error rate of data transmission becomes higher than a predetermined rate while continuing outputting the first data stream to thereby provide only the information constituting the first television image. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A signal receiving apparatus for reconstructing a received signal having symbols each representing a corresponding one of P signal points in a signal space diagram, the P signal points being divided into n signal point groups each containing P/n signal points, the received signal containing a first data stream which is assigned to the n signal point groups and carries information constituting a first television image, and a second data stream which is assigned to the P/n signal points of each of the n signal point groups and carries information enhancing a quality of the first television image so that the information carried by the first data steam and the information carried by the second data stream constitute in combination a second television image which is higher in definition than the first television image, said apparatus comprising:
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a demodulator for demodulating the received signal to obtain reconstructed data, the demodulator including means for distinguishing the n signal point groups from one another by a second set of thresholds, and for demodulating values of the distinguished n signal point groups to obtain reconstructed data of the first data stream, and means for distinguishing the P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups by a first set of thresholds, and for demodulating values of the distinguished P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups to obtain reconstructed data of the second data stream; and an output circuit for combining the reconstructed data of the first and second data streams from the demodulator, wherein said demodulator includes a means disposed after the means for distinguishing the P/n signal points, for shifting the signal points of the received signal to other positions in the signal space diagram so that one of them is located at the nearest position to the origin point of the I-axis and Q-axis coordinates of the diagram, is spaced Sδ
from each axis wherein the P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by the first set of thresholds and the n signal point groups are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by the second set of thresholds, where δ
is the distance between the nearest signal point and I-axis or Q-axis and S is the length of shift which is more than 1.
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30. A signal receiving apparatus for reconstructing a received signal having symbols each representing a corresponding one of P signal points in a signal space diagram, the P signal points being divided into n signal point groups each containing P/n signal points, the received signal containing a first data stream which is assigned to the n signal point groups and carries information constituting a first television image, and a second data stream which is assigned to the P/n signal points of each of the n signal point groups and carries information enhancing a quality of the first television image so that the information carried by the first data steam and the information carried by the second data stream constitute in combination a second television image which is higher in definition than the first television image, said apparatus comprising:
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a demodulator for demodulating the received signal to obtain reconstructed data, the demodulator including means for distinguishing the n signal point groups from one another by a second set of thresholds, and for demodulating values of the distinguished n signal point groups to obtain reconstructed data of the first data stream, and means for distinguishing the P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups by a first set of thresholds, and for demodulating values of the distinguished P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups to obtain reconstructed data of the second data stream; and an output circuit for combining the reconstructed data of the first and second data streams from the demodulator, wherein said demodulator includes means, disposed after the means for distinguishing the P/n signal points, for shifting the signal points of the received signal to other positions in the signal space diagram so that a distance between any closest two signal points of any adjacent two signal point groups becomes 2δ
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S wherein the P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by the first set of thresholds and the n signal point groups are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by the second set of thresholds, where 2δ
is a distance between the closest two signal points of the adjacent two signal point groups when the P signal points are allocated in the signal space diagram at equal intervals, and S is the length of shift which is more than 1.
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31. A signal transmission system comprising:
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a transmitter having a signal input circuit, a modulator circuit for modulating a carrier wave with an input signal fed from the signal input circuit to produce a modulated signal having symbols each representing a corresponding one of m signal points in a signal space diagram, where m is an integer, and a transmitter circuit for transmitting the modulated signal, wherein the modulator circuit includes means for receiving the input signal containing a first data stream of n values which carries information constituting a first television image and a second data stream which carries information enhancing a quality of the first television image so that the information carried by the first data stream and the information carried by the second data stream constitute in combination a second television image which is higher in definition that the first television image, dividing the m signal points into n signal point groups, assigning n values of the first data stream to the n signal point groups respectively, and assigning data of the second data stream to the signal points of each of the n signal point groups; and a receiver having an input circuit for reception of the modulated signal from the transmitter to obtain a received signal having symbols which each represent a corresponding one of P signal points in a signal space diagram, a demodulator for demodulating the received signal, and an output circuit for outputting the demodulated signal from the demodulator, wherein the demodulator includes means for dividing the P signal points into n signal point groups by a second set of thresholds, and for demodulating values of the n signal point groups to obtain reconstructed data of the first data stream, and means for distinguishing P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups by a first set of thresholds, and for demodulating values of the distinguishable P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups to obtain reconstructed data of the second data stream, wherein said demodulator includes a means, disposed after the means for distinguishing the P/n signal points, for shifting the signal points of the received signal to other positions in the signal space diagram so that one of them which is located at a nearest position to the origin point of the I-axis and Q-axis coordinates of the diagram, is spaced Sδ
from each axis wherein the P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by a first set of thresholds and the n signal point groups are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by the second set of thresholds, where δ
is the distance between the nearest signal point and I-axis or Q-axis and S is the length of shift which is more than 1.
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32. A signal transmission system comprising:
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a transmitter having a signal input circuit, a modulator circuit for modulating a carrier wave with an input signal fed from the signal input circuit to produce a modulated signal having symbols each representing a corresponding one of m signal points in a signal space diagram, where m is an integer, and a transmitter circuit for transmitting the modulated signal, wherein the modulator circuit includes means for receiving the input signal containing a first data stream of n values which carries information constituting a first television image and a second data stream which carries information enhancing a quality of the first television image so that the information carried by the first data stream and the information carried by the second data stream constitute in combination a second television image which is higher in definition that the first television image, dividing the m signal points into n signal point groups, assigning n values of the first data stream to the n signal point groups respectively, and assigning data of the second data stream to the signal points of each of the n signal point groups; and a receiver having an input circuit for reception of the modulated signal from the transmitter to obtain a received signal having symbols which each represent a corresponding one of P signal points in a signal space diagram, a demodulator for demodulating the received signal, and an output circuit for outputting the demodulated signal from the demodulator, wherein the demodulator includes means for dividing the P signal points into n signal point groups by a second set of thresholds, and for demodulating values of the n signal point groups to obtain reconstructed data of the first data stream, and means for distinguishing P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups by a first set of thresholds, and for demodulating values of the distinguishable P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups to obtain reconstructed data of the second data stream, wherein said demodulator includes a means, disposed after the means for distinguishing the P/n signal points, for shifting the signal points of the received signal to other positions in the signal space diagram so that a distance between any closest two signal points of any adjacent two signal point groups becomes 2δ
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S wherein the P/n signal points in each of the n signal point groups are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by the first set of thresholds and the n signal point groups are distinguishable from one another in the signal diagram by the second set of thresholds, where 2δ
is a distance between the closest two signal points of the adjacent two signal point groups when the P signal points are allocated in the signal space diagram at equal intervals, and S is the length of shift which is more than 1.
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Specification
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Current AssigneeMatsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
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Original AssigneeMatsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
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InventorsOshima, Mitsuaki
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Primary Examiner(s)Chin, Stephen
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Assistant Examiner(s)PHAN, HAI
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Application NumberUS08/417,269Time in Patent Office524 DaysField of Search375/261, 375/340, 375/295, 375/269, 375/316, 375/298, 375/324, 332/149, 332/103, 329/347, 329/348, 329/304, 348/725, 348/726, 348/723, 348/724US Class Current375/261CPC Class CodesH04L 1/004 by using forward error cont...H04L 1/006 Trellis-coded modulationH04L 27/02 Amplitude-modulated carrier...H04L 27/183 Multiresolution systemsH04L 27/2602 Signal structureH04L 27/2603 Signal structure ensuring b...H04L 27/2604 Multiresolution systems by ...H04L 27/34 Amplitude- and phase-modula...H04L 27/3488 Multiresolution systemsH04N 19/30 using hierarchical techniqu...H04N 21/2383 Channel coding or modulatio...H04N 21/2662 Controlling the complexity ...H04N 21/426 Internal components of the ...H04N 21/4344 Remultiplexing of multiplex...H04N 21/4382 Demodulation or channel dec...H04N 7/015 High-definition television ...H04N 7/045 the carrier being frequency...H04N 7/54 the signals being synchrono...
