Methods and apparatus for efficient digital broadcast signaling in a wireless communications system
First Claim
1. A method operating a wireless terminal, comprising:
- receiving a first broadcast signal at a receiver, said first broadcast signal corresponding to a first program on a first carrier;
performing a first decoding operation on the first received broadcast signal;
determining whether said first decoding operation was unsuccessful; and
if it is determined that said decoding operation was unsuccessful, tuning said receiver to a second carrier to obtain a second broadcast signal corresponding to the first program, said second carrier having a frequency which is different from a frequency of said first carrier,wherein the first and second carriers each broadcast the first program concurrently, andwherein the respective received broadcasts of the first program in the first and second carriers are deliberately offset from each other in time.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
First and second transmitters transmit signals communicating the same information, e.g., program segment, but at different times. Different carriers may, but need not be, used by the different transmitters. If a wireless terminal can not recover broadcast segment information from one carrier, the wireless terminal can switch to another transmitter and recover the information, e.g., on another carrier, since the broadcasts are intentionally offset in time. In some embodiments, the timing is offset such that a single channel receiver is able to recover signals corresponding to the same program segment from two sources, and perform a decoding and information recovery using input from both sources, where recovery using input from a single source is not possible. Symbol level timing synchronization of base stations is not required thereby allowing for simpler implementations and/or lower overhead, as compared to systems which require base stations to be synchronized to the symbol timing level.
33 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method operating a wireless terminal, comprising:
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receiving a first broadcast signal at a receiver, said first broadcast signal corresponding to a first program on a first carrier; performing a first decoding operation on the first received broadcast signal; determining whether said first decoding operation was unsuccessful; and if it is determined that said decoding operation was unsuccessful, tuning said receiver to a second carrier to obtain a second broadcast signal corresponding to the first program, said second carrier having a frequency which is different from a frequency of said first carrier, wherein the first and second carriers each broadcast the first program concurrently, and wherein the respective received broadcasts of the first program in the first and second carriers are deliberately offset from each other in time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A wireless terminal, comprising:
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a receiver for receiving broadcast signals associated with a broadcast program and transmitted on first and second carriers, said first and second carriers having different frequencies, wherein the first and second carriers broadcast the broadcast program concurrently, and wherein the respective transmissions of corresponding broadcast signals associated with the broadcast program in the first and second carriers are deliberately offset from each other in time; a decoder coupled to said receiver for performing decoding operations on the received broadcast signals; a decoding operation evaluation module for determining whether decoding of a broadcast signal was unsuccessful; and a control module for controlling said receiver to switch receiving said broadcast signals between said first and second carriers in response to said decoding operation evaluation module determining that a decoding operation was unsuccessful. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A wireless terminal, comprising:
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receiver means for receiving broadcast signals associated with a broadcast program and transmitted on first and second carriers, said first and second carriers having different frequencies, wherein the first and second carriers broadcast the broadcast program concurrently, and wherein the respective transmissions of corresponding broadcast signals associated with the broadcast program in the first and second carriers are deliberately offset from each other in time; decoder means coupled to said receiver for performing decoding operations on the received broadcast signals; decoding operation evaluation means for determining whether decoding of a broadcast signal was unsuccessful; and control means for controlling said receiver to switch between said first and second carriers in response to said decoding operation evaluation module determining that a decoding operation was unsuccessful. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying instructions which, in response to being executed by a processor direct said processor to:
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operate a wireless terminal to; receive at a receiver a first broadcast signal corresponding to a first program on a first carrier; perform a first decoding operation on the first received broadcast signal; determine whether said first decoding operation was unsuccessful; and if it is determined that said decoding operation was unsuccessful, tune said receiver to a second carrier to obtain a second broadcast signal corresponding to the first program, said second carrier having a frequency that is different from a frequency of said first carrier, wherein the first and second carriers each broadcast the first program concurrently, and wherein the respective received broadcasts of the first program in the first and second carriers are deliberately offset from each other in time. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification