Modulation division multiple access

• US 8,325,857 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2012
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Jia, Ming, Ma, Jianglei, Zhu, Peiying, Tong, Wen, Dodd, Curt
• Primary Examiner(s): Ometz, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Guarino, Rahel
• Application Number:
  US13/349,169
• Publication Number:
  US 20120106410A1
• Time in Patent Office: 327 Days
• Field of Search: 370/297, 370/473, 370/469, 370/441, 370/442, 375/220, 375/264, 375/260, 375/324, 375/349, 375/343, 455/103, 455/500
• 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 system for receiving information at a network element, comprising:

a front end operable to;

receive a hierarchical modulated carrier radio frequency signal in a single carrier frequency division multiplexed (SC-FDM) signal, the signal comprising first data intended for the network element modulated using a first modulation layer and second data intended for another network element modulated using a second modulation layer; and

a baseband processor operable to;

recover the first data and the second data; and

process the first data to provide received data for the network element.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the baseband processor is operable to not process the second data to provide received data for the network element.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the hierarchical modulated carrier radio frequency signal further comprises third data not intended for the network element modulated using the first modulation layer.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the baseband processor is further operable to select the first data as received data intended for the network element.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the baseband processor is operable to not process the third data to provide received data for the network element.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the network element is a mobile terminal.

7. A system for transmitting information at a network element, the system comprising:

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

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

receive a plurality of data, each of the plurality of data intended for transmission to a respective network element, the plurality of data comprising at least first data and second data;

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

a hierarchical modulation layer of the carrier signal; and

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

wherein the first data is transmitted using the first and second antennas and the second data is transmitted using only the first antenna.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the carrier signal comprises a plurality of modulation symbols, such that each of the plurality of modulation symbols comprises a plurality of bits that provides the plurality of data.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein:

the first and second data are intended for a first network element and a second network element respectively;

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.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein:

the carrier 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 associated with the first data and at least one second order bit associated with the second data.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one first order bit is of higher order than the at least one second order bit.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the certain of the plurality of modulation symbols are quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) symbols.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the QAM symbols are associated with 16-QAM.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the QAM symbols are associated with 64-QAM.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein each QAM 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 order data intended for transmission to a third network element.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the controller is operable to map the at least one first order bit 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.

17. The system of claim 9, 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, and at least one program channel for 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, and at least one program channel for supplemental program service.

18. The system of claim 9, wherein the first data is associated with a first cellular telephone call and the second data is associated with a second cellular telephone call.

19. The system of claim 9, wherein the controller is operable to assign the first data to the first modulation layer and the second data to the second modulation layer based on reliability criteria, the reliability criteria comprising 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.

20. The system of claim 7, wherein the network element is a base station.

21. A method for receiving information at a network element, comprising:

receiving a hierarchical modulated carrier radio frequency signal in a single carrier frequency division multiplexed (SC-FDM) signal, the signal comprising first data intended for the network element modulated using a first modulation layer and second data intended for another network element modulated using a second modulation layer; and

recovering the first data and the second data; and

processing the first data to provide received data for the network element.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the network element is operable to not process the second data to provide received data for the network element.

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

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising selecting the first data as received data intended for the network element.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the network element is operable to not process the third data to provide received data for the network element.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the network element is a mobile terminal.

27. A mobile terminal, comprising:

wireless circuitry, wherein the wireless circuitry is configured to receive a hierarchical modulated carrier radio frequency signal in a single carrier frequency division multiplexed (SC-FDM) signal, the signal comprising first data intended for the mobile terminal modulated using a first modulation layer and second data intended for another network element modulated using a second modulation layer; and

processing logic, wherein the processing logic is configured to;

recover the first data and the second data; and

process the first data to provide received data for the mobile terminal.

28. The mobile terminal of claim 27, wherein the processing logic is configured to not process the second data to provide received data for the mobile terminal.

29. The mobile terminal of claim 27, wherein the hierarchical modulated carrier radio frequency signal further comprises third data not intended for the mobile terminal modulated using the first modulation layer.

30. The mobile terminal of claim 29, wherein the processing logic is further configured to select the first data as received data intended for the mobile terminal.

31. The mobile terminal of claim 29, wherein the processing logic is configured to not process the third data to provide received data for the mobile terminal.