Automatic level control for incoming signals of different signal strengths

• US 7,958,531 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2005
• Issued: 06/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: James, Thomas H., Shah, Dipak M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley; Christopher
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tilahun; Alazar
• Application Number:
  US11/097,480
• Publication Number:
  US 20060259929A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,258 Days
• Field of Search: 725 63- 72, 725/127, 455 304- 306, 455/3.02, 455/136, 455/127.4, 455/232.1, 455/234.4, 455/247.1
• US Class Current: 725/63
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/20 Adaptations for transmission via a GHz frequency band, e.g. via satellite

Abstract

An automatic level controlled system for delivering satellite signals to at least one Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD). The system includes a plurality of inputs, designed to receive a plurality of satellite signals, wherein the satellite signals are directed to the inputs based on an originating satellite for each of the satellite signals, an automatic level controller, coupled to the inputs, for adjusting a signal strength associated with each the satellite signals such that each of the signal strengths are within a predetermined range, a multiswitch, having a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs, wherein at least one input of the multiswitch is coupled to the automatic level controller, and an interface, wherein at least one of the outputs of the multiswitch provides a signal to the interface, such that at least one new IRD coupled to an output of the interface receives a portion of a satellite signal based on commands sent to the interface from the new IRD.

Claims

1. An automatic level controlled system for delivering satellite signals to at least one Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD), comprising:

a plurality of satellite inputs, designed to receive a plurality of satellite signals, wherein the satellite signals are directed to the inputs based on an originating satellite for each of the satellite signals;

a multiswitch having a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs;

an automatic level controller, coupled directly to the multiswitch and between the inputs of the multiswitch and the satellite inputs, for individually adjusting signal strengths associated with each of the satellite signals such that each of the signal strengths as individually adjusted are within a predetermined range, the predetermined range being determined by a dynamic range of the multiswitch; and

an interface, wherein at least one of the outputs of the multiswitch provides a signal to the interface, such that at least one IRD coupled to an output of the interface receives a portion of a satellite signal based on commands sent to the interface from the IRD.

2. The automatic level controlled system of claim 1, wherein at least a second output of the multiswitch is a legacy output, wherein each legacy output selects an entire polarization of a satellite signal based on a Legacy IRD command sent directly to the multiswitch.

3. The automatic level controlled system of claim 2, wherein the interface is a network interface.

4. The automatic level controlled system of claim 2, further comprising a controller, coupled to the plurality of outputs, for controlling signal flow between the multiswitch and the at least one IRD.

5. The automatic level controlled system of claim 4, further comprising a network tuner, coupled between the output of the multiswitch and the interface, controlled by a service provider.

6. The automatic level controlled system of claim 5, wherein each IRD coupled to the multiswitch receives signals on separate private channels in a respective fashion.

7. The automatic level controlled system of claim 4, wherein the controller monitors a signal strength of the outputs of the interface and a signal strength of the legacy output.

8. The automatic level controlled system of claim 4, wherein the controller monitors an identification of each IRD and each legacy IRD coupled to the outputs of the multiswitch.

9. The automatic level controlled system of claim 8, wherein the controller refuses commands from a monitored IRD based on at least one of the group consisting of:

the identification of the monitored ID, and the signal strength of the outputs of the interface.

10. The automatic level controlled system of claim 4, wherein the automatic level controller reduces satellite signal strengths that are outside of the predetermined range.

11. The automatic level controlled system of claim 1, further comprising an automatic gain controller, coupled between the multiswitch and the interface, for controlling a portion signal strength of the portions of the satellite signals.

12. The automatic level controlled system of claim 11, wherein the portion signal strength associated with a given IRD is controlled based on a measurement made of conditions existing between the given IRD and the interface.

13. The automatic level controlled system of claim 12, wherein when the measurement exceeds a maximum value, commands received from the given IRD are ignored by the automatic level controlled system.

14. The automatic level controlled system of claim 13, further comprising a plurality of tuners, coupled between the multiswitch and the interface, wherein each tuner is controlled by IRDs in a respective fashion.

15. The automatic level controlled system of claim 14, further comprising a network tuner, coupled between the multiswitch and the interface, wherein the network tuner is controlled by a service provider and cannot be controlled by any IRD.

16. The automatic level controlled system of claim 15, wherein an output of the interface is a combined signal.

17. The automatic level controlled system of claim 16, wherein the combined signal comprises a plurality of individual signals, a first individual signal comprising an output of the network tuner, and successive individual signals comprising signals selected by each of the IRDs coupled to the interface in a respective fashion.

18. The automatic level controlled system of claim 17, wherein each IRD coupled to the interface receives the entire combined signal and tunes to the individual signals based on a mapping generated by the automatic level controlled system.

19. An automatic level controlled system for selectively delivering satellite video signals to at least one Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD), comprising:

a multiswitch having a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs; and

an automatic level controller, coupled directly between the plurality of inputs of the multiswitch and a plurality of low noise block amplifiers, wherein each of the low noise block amplifiers receives satellite signals of different signal strengths, wherein the multiswitch selectively delivers a portion of the satellite signals to at least one IRD based on commands sent to the multiswitch from the at least one IRD;

wherein the automatic level controller individually adjusts each of the received satellite signals and provides the individually adjusted received satellite signals to the multiswitch after restricting the signal strengths within a predetermined range, the predetermined range being determined by a dynamic range of the multiswitch.

20. A satellite signal delivery system, for selectively delivering satellite video signals to at least one Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD), comprising:

a multiswitch; and

an automatic level controller, coupled between inputs of the satellite signal video signals and the multiswitch, wherein the multiswitch selectively delivers a portion of the satellite signals to at least one IRD, wherein the automatic level controller individually adjusts a signal strength of a given satellite video signal independent of another satellite video signal to be within a predetermined range of acceptable signal strengths for the multiswitch, the predetermined range being determined by a dynamic range of the multiswitch.