Systems for processing differentiated hierarchical modulation used in radio frequency communications

• US 8,249,185 B2
• Filed: 08/16/2011
• Issued: 08/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Steer, David G., Dodd, Curt, Jia, Ming
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, TED M
• Application Number:
  US13/210,623
• Publication Number:
  US 20110299615A1
• Time in Patent Office: 371 Days
• Field of Search: 375/260, 375/267, 375/299, 375/295, 370/334, 455/101
• US Class Current: 375/267
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0618 Space-time coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/3483 using a modulation of the constellation points
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/3488 Multiresolution systems

Abstract

The present invention employs hierarchical modulation to simultaneously transmit data over different modulation layers using a carrier RF signal. Each modulation layer may be of a higher or lower order than the other modulation layers. Certain embodiments of the present invention may transmit different information on the different modulation layers. Other embodiments of the present invention may use the different layers for processing information differently.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising at least one base station, the at least one base station comprising transmit circuitry operable to:

transmit first data using a first modulation layer of a first carrier radio frequency (RF) signal during a first time period; and

initiate transmission of second data using a second modulation layer of the first carrier RF signal during the first time period;

wherein the first and second modulation layers are hierarchical modulation layers of the first carrier RF signal, and the first and second data are processed differently.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmit circuitry is operable to alternate between transmitting using a single modulation layer and transmitting using both the first and second modulation layers.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one base station has a plurality of antennas forming a single frequency network (SFN).

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one base station has a first antenna and a second antenna, wherein the first data is transmitted using the first and second antennas, and the second data is transmitted using only the first antenna.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first data comprises at least one program channel for a basic program service and the second data comprises at least one program channel for a supplemental program service.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the first data comprises single-input single-output (SISO) data and the second data comprises multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) data.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the at least one base station is operable to transmit third data using only the second antenna.

8. The system of claim 4, further comprising another base station, the other base station comprising:

third transmit circuitry operable to transmit third data using a third modulation layer of a second carrier radio frequency (RF) signal during a second time period; and

fourth transmit circuitry operable to initiate transmission of fourth data using a fourth modulation layer of the second carrier RF signal during the second time period;

wherein the third and fourth modulation layers are hierarchical modulation layers of the second carrier RF signal, and the third and fourth data are processed differently.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first data and the second data comprises time multiplexed data.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first data and the second data is modulated onto a plurality of sub-carriers using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM).

11. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first data and the second data is modulated onto a plurality of sub-carriers using single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM).

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one base station has a first antenna and a second antenna, the second data comprises third data and fourth data, and the transmit circuitry is operable to:

transmit the first data using the first and second antennas;

transmit the third data using only the first antenna; and

transmit the fourth data using only the second antenna.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one relay station operable to receive the first carrier RF signal.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the second data comprises synchronization information.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein a first of the at least one relay station is operable to:

receive the second data at the second modulation layer; and

transmit the second data to at least one of a group consisting of at least one other of the at least one relay station, user equipment, and the at least one base station.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising another base station, the other base station comprising transmit circuitry operable to:

transmit the first data using a third modulation layer of a second carrier radio frequency (RF) signal during a second time period; and

initiate transmission of third data using a fourth modulation layer of the second carrier RF signal during the second time period;

wherein the third and fourth modulation layers are hierarchical modulation layers of the second carrier RF signal.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises data Unrelated to the second data.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises a different type of media content than the second data.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the first carrier RF signal comprises a plurality of modulation symbols, such that 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.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the second modulation layer is time-shifted from the first modulation layer.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein a modulation rate of the first modulation layer is less than a modulation rate of the second modulation layer.

22. The system of claim 1, further comprising user equipment (UE) operable to receive the first carrier RF signal.