Modulation division multiple access

• US 8,116,412 B1
• Filed: 11/19/2007
• Issued: 02/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Rockstar Bidco LP (Rockstar Consortium Inc.)
• Inventors: Tong, Wen, Dodd, Curt, Jia, Ming, Ma, Jianglei, Zhu, Peiying
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khanh C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Guarino, Rahel
• Application Number:
  US11/942,492
• Time in Patent Office: 1,548 Days
• Field of Search: 375/299, 375/341, 375/261, 375/260, 375/264, 375/269, 375/272, 375/279, 375/298, 375/303, 375/308, 375/322, 375/334, 375/343, 375/349, 369/94, 370/297, 370/332, 370/469, 370/473
• US Class Current: 375/343
• CPC Class Codes: H03C 3/00 Angle modulation H03C5/00, H03C7/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/0226 sounding signals per se
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/3488 Multiresolution systems

Abstract

The present invention employs hierarchical modulation to simultaneously transmit information on different modulation layers using a carrier RF signal. Initially, first data to be transmitted is assigned to a first modulation layer and second data is assigned to a second modulation layer. In one embodiment of the present invention, the first and second data are assigned based on reliability criteria. The first and second modulation layers are hierarchical modulation layers of the carrier RF signal. Once assigned, the first data is transmitted using the first modulation layer of the carrier RF signal and the second data is transmitted using the second modulation layer of the carrier RF signal. In one embodiment of the present invention, information may be transmitted to one end user using one modulation layer, and information may be transmitted to a different end user using a different modulation layer.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting information to at least one user element from at least one communication interface comprising:

receiving a plurality of data comprising at least a first data and a second data for a plurality of receivers, wherein each of the plurality of data is intended for transmission to a corresponding one of the plurality of receivers; and

transmitting the plurality of data using a plurality of modulation layers of a carrier radio frequency signal such that each modulation layer is;

a hierarchical modulation layer of the carrier radio frequency signal; and

associated with at least one of the plurality of data; and

wherein a first of the at least one communication interface has a first antenna and a second antenna, wherein the first data is transmitted using the first and second antennas, and concurrently, the second data is transmitted using only the first antenna.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the carrier radio frequency signal comprises a plurality of modulation symbols, such that each of certain of the plurality of modulation symbols comprises a plurality of bits that provides the plurality of data.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the plurality of data further comprises third data; and

the third data is transmitted using only the second antenna.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the plurality of receivers comprises a first receiver and a second receiver;

the first data is intended for transmission to the first receiver and the second data is intended for transmission to the second receiver;

the plurality of modulation layers comprises a first modulation layer and a second modulation layer; and

the first data is associated with the first modulation layer and the second data is associated with the second modulation layer.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the carrier radio frequency signal comprises a plurality of modulation symbols, such that each of certain of the plurality of modulation symbols comprises a plurality of bits that provides the plurality of data, and the plurality of bits comprises at least one first order bit that provides the first data and at least one second order bit that provides the second data.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the at least one first order bit is of a higher order than the at least one second order bit.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the certain of the plurality of modulation symbols are quadrature amplitude modulation symbols.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the quadrature amplitude modulation symbols are associated with sixteen quadrature amplitude modulation.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the quadrature amplitude modulation symbols are associated with sixty-four quadrature amplitude modulation.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein each quadrature amplitude modulation symbol comprises:

the at least one first order bit;

the at least one second order bit; and

at least one third order bit that provides third data intended for transmission to a third receiver.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the at least one first order bit is mapped to the certain of the plurality of modulation symbols such that the at least one first order bit can be recovered using a phase shift keying (PSK) receiver.

12. The method of claim 4 wherein:

the first data comprises one of a group consisting of first voice content, second voice content, first broadcast data, second broadcast data, broadcast data having national content, broadcast data having regional content;

broadcast data having local content, unicast data, first unicast data, second unicast data, at least one program channel for a basic program service, and at least one program channel for a supplemental program service; and

the second data comprises another of the group consisting of first voice content, second voice content, first broadcast data, second broadcast data, broadcast data having national content, broadcast data having regional content, broadcast data having local content, unicast data, first unicast data, second unicast data, at least one program channel for a basic program service, and at least one program channel for a supplemental program service.

13. The method of claim 4 wherein the first data is associated with a first cellular telephone call and the second data is associated with a second cellular telephone call.

14. The method of claim 4 further comprising assigning the first data to the first modulation layer and the second data to the second modulation layer based on reliability criteria.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the reliability criteria comprises at least one selected from a group consisting of signal strength, communications channel conditions, and priority of transfer of the first data and the second data.

16. The method of claim 4 wherein:

the plurality of data further comprises third data;

the plurality of receivers further comprises a third receiver;

the third data is intended for transmission to the third receiver;

the plurality of modulation layers further comprises a third modulation layer; and

the third data is associated with the third modulation layer.

17. A radio frequency communications system comprising:

at least one communication interface comprising a first antenna and a second antenna;

a control system associated with the at least one communication interface and adapted to;

receive first data intended for transmission to a first user and second data intended for transmission to a second user;

assign the first data to a first modulation layer and the second data to a second modulation layer based on reliability criteria; and

transmit the first data using the first modulation layer and the second data using the second modulation layer of a carrier radio frequency signal,

wherein the first and second modulation layers are hierarchical modulation layers of the carrier radio frequency signal, and wherein the first data is transmitted using the first and second antennas, and concurrently, the second data is transmitted using only the first antenna.

18. The radio frequency communications system of claim 17 wherein the carrier radio frequency signal comprises a plurality of modulation symbols, such that each of certain of the plurality of modulation symbols comprises first order bits that provide the first data and second order bits that provide the second data.

19. A method for receiving information at a user element from a communication interface comprising:

receiving a hierarchical modulated carrier radio frequency signal in a single carrier frequency division multiplexed (SC-FDM) signal comprising;

first data intended for the user element modulated using a first modulation layer; and

second data intended for another user element modulated using a second modulation layer;

recovering the first data and the second data; and

processing the first data as received data intended for the user element.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the second data is not processed as received data intended for the user element.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein the hierarchical modulated carrier radio frequency signal further comprises third data not intended for the user element modulated using the first modulation layer.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising selecting the first data as received data intended for the user element.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the third data is not selected as received data intended for the user element.

24. The method of claim 21 wherein the third data is not processed as received data intended for the user element.