Tap antenna unit

• US 6,154,204 A
• Filed: 01/21/1998
• Issued: 11/28/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Logitech Europe S A (Logitech International SA)
• Original Assignee: Evolve Products Incorporated
• Inventors: Hanafee, Michael, Thompson, John R., Darbee, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, Chris
• Application Number:
  US09/010,093
• Time in Patent Office: 1,042 Days
• Field of Search: 348/8, 348/9, 348/10, 348/12, 348/473, 348/734, 348/6, 348/11, 348/7, 348/13, 455/4.1, 455/5.1, 455/6.3, 455/11.1, 455/74, 455/66, 455/129, 455/3.1, 345/327
• US Class Current: 375/214
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/78 CATV [Community Antenna Television] systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44 Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7755 the recorder being connected to, or coupled with, the antenna of the television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/104 Switchers or splitters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

The tap antenna unit includes signal splitting circuitry, coupled to a coaxial cable which is servicing a consumer electronic device, such as a television set, for splitting off a signal from the coaxial cable; a filter coupled to an output of the signal splitting circuitry for selecting a low-level sharp frequency band in the energy spectrum of the coaxial cable; circuitry for demodulating a signal carried by the low-level frequency band; circuitry for modulating the output signal onto a carrier in an unlicensed frequency band; and an output antenna which is coupled to the modulating circuitry and which is capable of transmitting the output modulated signal over a limited transmitting-receiving area.

Claims

1. In combination, one of a wireless remote control device or a wireless information presentation device and a tap antenna unit including signal splitting means, coupled to a coaxial cable which is servicing a consumer electronic device for splitting off a non-telephone, low frequency band signal from the coaxial cable;

a filter coupled to an output of said signal splitting means for selecting a low-level sharp frequency band in the energy spectrum of the coaxial cable;

means for demodulating a digital data signal carried by said low-level frequency band to a demodulated digital output signal;

means for modulating the digital output signal onto a carrier in an unlicensed frequency band; and

an output antenna which is coupled to said modulating means for transmitting the output modulated signal over a limited transmitting-receiving area to a display device of one of said remote control device or said information presentation device without the use of a routing terminator.

2. The tap antenna unit of claim 1 including an amplifier for amplifying the signal from said filter that is supplied to said demodulating means.

3. The tap antenna unit of claim 1 including an amplifier for amplifying the modulated output signal which includes a carrier signal within the unlicensed data frequency band having digital data superimposed thereon.

4. The tap antenna unit of claim 1 wherein said signal splitting means also includes signal combining means and said unit further includes an antenna filter coupled to said antenna and second demodulating means coupled to the output of said antenna filter to act as a demodulator coupled to the input of second modulating means which also receives a carrier frequency from a local oscillator which is tuned to the upstream signaling band of the coaxial cable typically, under 50 Mhz, said second modulating means being coupled to said signal splitting and combining means coupled to the coaxial cable.

5. The tap antenna unit of claim 4 wherein said second modulating means is connected to an amplifier which is connected to the coaxial cable through said splitting means.

6. The tap antenna unit of claim 4 wherein a digital processing unit is coupled between said second demodulating means and said second modulating means.

7. The tap antenna unit of claim 4 wherein an amplifier is coupled between said antenna filter and said second demodulating means.

8. The tap antenna unit of claim 1 wherein said demodulated digital output signal is a bit stream of about 10 KB per second.

9. A method of transmitting a local area signal carried in by a coaxial cable connected to a consumer-electronic device to one of a wireless remote control device or a wireless information presentation device, said method including the steps of:

splitting off a non-telephone, low frequency band signal from a coaxial cable;

filtering the split off signal for selecting a low level sharp frequency band in the energy spectrum of the coaxial cable;

demodulating a digital data signal carried by the low level frequency band to a demodulated digital output signal;

modulating the output signal from the demodulator onto a carrier signal having a frequency in an unlicensed frequency band and outputting said signal in a local area via an antenna to a display device of one of the wireless remote control device or the wireless information presentation device without the use of a routing terminator.

10. The method of claim 9 including the further steps of receiving, via the antenna a signal from a local transmitter situated within the local area and broadcast in the unlicensed frequency band;

filtering the signal received, demodulating the filtered signal;

remodulating the signal from a local oscillator which is tuned to the upstream signaling band of the coaxial cable, typically a carrier signal under 50 Mhz; and

supplying said remodulated signal to the coaxial cable connected to the antenna.

11. The method of claim 10 including the step of digitally processing the demodulated signal before remodulating the demodulated signal.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the digital processing includes determining whether the signal received is from a particular unit within range and, if so, transmitting such signal to the coaxial cable.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein said demodulated digital output signal is a bit stream of about 10 KB per second.