System, method and computer program product for mitigating burst noise in a communications system

• US 7,631,242 B2
• Filed: 06/20/2002
• Issued: 12/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hughley, Stephen, Harrell, Jay, Cummings, Scott, Seshadri, Nambi, Kolze, Thomas J., Currivan, Bruce J., Howard, Daniel H., Johnson, Thomas L., Quigley, Thomas J., Bunn, Fred, Danzig, Joel
• Primary Examiner(s): Baker; Stephen M
• Application Number:
  US10/175,330
• Publication Number:
  US 20030031198A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,728 Days
• Field of Search: 714/755, 714/776
• US Class Current: 714/755
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/09 Error detection only, e.g. using cyclic redundancy check [CRC] codes or single parity bit
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/098 using single parity bit
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/1515 Reed-Solomon codes
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/19 Single error correction without using particular properties of the cyclic codes, e.g. Hamming codes, extended or generalised Hamming codes
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/2707 Simple row-column interleaver, i.e. pure block interleaving
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/2915 with an error detection code in one dimension
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0065 Serial concatenated codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/08 by repeating transmission, e.g. Verdan system H04L1/1858 and H04L1/189 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/16 in which the return channel carries supervisory signals, e.g. repetition request signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1812 Hybrid protocols; Hybrid automatic repeat request [HARQ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1877 for semi-reliable protocols, e.g. for less sensitive applications like streaming video buffer level management for video bitstream control arrangements H04N21/44004

Abstract

A system, method and computer program product is provided for mitigating the effects of burst noise on packets transmitted in a communications system. A transmitting device applies an outer code, which may include, for example, a block code, an exclusive OR (XOR) code, or a repetition code, to one or more packets prior to adaptation of the packets for transmission over the physical (PHY) layer of the communications system, wherein the PHY layer adaptation may include FEC encoding of individual packets. The outer coded packets are then separately transmitted over a channel of the communications system. A receiving device receives the outer coded packets, performs PHY level demodulation and optional FEC decoding of the packets, and then applies outer code decoding to the outer coded packets in order to restore packets that were erased during transmission due to burst noise or other impairments on the channel.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting packets of electronic information, comprising:

compressing a packet of information in accordance with a packet header suppression technique;

copying said packet of information to generate a plurality of packets, said plurality of packets includes said packet of information and one or more repeated packets;

adapting said plurality of packets for transmission over a single channel of a communications system, said adapting including forward error correction encoding said plurality of packets; and

transmitting said plurality of packets over said single channel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said adapting further includes adapting said plurality of packets for transmission over a single channel of a cable modem system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said adapting comprises interleaving said plurality of packets.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said compressing said packet of information in accordance with said packet header suppression technique occurs prior to said copying of said packet of information.

5. A method for receiving packets of electronic information, comprising:

receiving a plurality of packets over a channel of a communications system, said plurality of packets comprising a packet of information and one or more repeated packets, wherein each of said one or more repeated packets comprises a copy of said packet of information;

forward error correction decoding each of said plurality of packets;

identifying one of said plurality of packets as erased, wherein said erased packet includes more errors than can be corrected by said forward error correction decoding;

selecting one of said plurality of packets that has not been erased to represent said packet of information; and

decompressing said selected packet from said plurality of packets in accordance with a packet header suppression technique.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said receiving a plurality of packets over a channel of a communications system comprises receiving a plurality of packets over a channel of a cable modem system.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising de-interleaving each of said plurality of packets.

8. A method for transferring packets of electronic information, comprising:

compressing a packet of information in accordance with a packet header suppression technique;

copying said packet of information to generate a plurality of packets, said plurality of packets includes said packet of information and said one or more repeated packets;

adapting each of said plurality of packets for transmission over a channel of a communications system, said adapting including forward error correction encoding each of said plurality of packets;

transmitting said plurality of packets over said channel;

receiving and forward error correction decoding said plurality of packets;

identifying one of said plurality of packets as erased, wherein said erased packet includes more errors than can be corrected by said forward error correction decoding; and

selecting one of said plurality of packets that has not been erased to represent said packet of information; and

decompressing said selected packet from said plurality of packets in accordance with said packet header suppression technique.

9. A device for transmitting packets of electronic information, comprising:

a media access control configured to receive a packet of information, to copy said packet of information to generate a plurality of packets, and to compress said packet of information in accordance with a packet header suppression technique, said plurality of packets includes said packet of information and one or more repeated packets;

physical layer logic coupled to said media access control, said physical layer logic configured to adapt said plurality of packets for transmission over a single channel of a communications system, said adapting including forward error correction encoding said plurality of packets; and

a transmitter coupled to said physical layer logic, said transmitter configured to transmit said plurality of packets over said single channel.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein said physical layer logic is configured to adapt said plurality of packets for transmission over a single channel of a cable modem system.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein said physical layer logic is configured to interleave said plurality of packets.

12. The device of claim 9, wherein said media access control compresses said packet of information in accordance with said packet header suppression technique prior to said copying of said packet of information.

13. A device for receiving packets of electronic information, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a plurality of packets over a channel of a communications system, said plurality of packets comprising a packet of information and one or more repeated packets, wherein each of said one or more repeated packets comprises a copy of said packet of information;

physical layer logic coupled to said receiver, said physical layer logic configured to forward error correction decode each of said plurality of packets and to identify one of said plurality of packets as erased, wherein said erased packet includes more errors than can be corrected by said forward error correction decoding; and

a media access control coupled to said physical layer logic, said media access control configured to select one of said plurality of packets that has not been erased to represent said packet of information and to decompress said selected packet from said plurality of packets in accordance with a packet header suppression technique.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein said receiver is configured to receive a plurality of packets over a channel of a cable modem system.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein said physical layer logic is further configured to dc-interleave each of said plurality of packets.

16. A system for transferring packets of electronic information, comprising:

a transmitting device, including;

a first a media access control configured to receive a packet of information, to copy said packet of information to generate a plurality of packets and to compress said packet of information in accordance with a packet header suppression technique, said plurality of packets includes said packet of information and said one or more repeated packets,

first physical layer logic coupled to said first media access control, said physical layer logic configured to adapt each of said plurality of packets for transmission over a channel of a communications system, said adapting including forward error correction encoding each of said plurality of packets, and

a transmitter coupled to said first physical layer logic, said transmitter configured to transmit said plurality of packets over said channel; and

a receiving device, including;

a receiver configured to receive said plurality of packets over said channel,

second physical layer logic coupled to said receiver, said second physical layer logic configured to forward error correction decode each of said plurality of packets and to identify one of said plurality of packets as erased, wherein said erased packet includes more errors than can be corrected by said forward error correction decoding, and

a second media access control coupled to said second physical layer logic, said second media access control configured to select one of said plurality of packets that has not been erased to represent said packet of information and to decompress said selected packet from said plurality of packets in accordance with said packet header suppression technique.