Combining transponder bandwidths for source and forward error correction encoding efficiency

• US 9,979,464 B1
• Filed: 05/31/2012
• Issued: 05/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chen, Ernest C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pan, Yuwen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Paul P
• Application Number:
  US13/484,756
• Time in Patent Office: 2,182 Days
• Field of Search: 342 30- 35, 342 51, 342 57- 58, 370206, 370209, 370210, 370280, 370310, 370316, 370321, 370323, 370324, 370325, 370330, 370335, 370342, 370345, 370347, 370436, 370437, 370477, 370497, 375130, 375132, 375146, 375148, 375219, 375242, 375259, 375260, 375261, 375264, 375295, 375341, 375377, 455 301, 455 111, 455 132, 455 633, 455137, 455266, 455273, 455339, 455340, 455429, 455436, 455443, 455500, 455501, 455502, 4555521, 4555531, 455561, 455703, 725 6395, 725119, 725120, 725131, 725146
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/69 Spread spectrum techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/1851 Systems using a satellite or space-based relay H04B7/18508, H04B7/18521 take precedence; providing specific services H04B7/18523 - H04B7/18576
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18513 Transmission in a satellite or space-based system
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18515 Transmission equipment in satellites or space-based relays
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18517 Transmission equipment in earth stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18523 Satellite systems for providing broadcast service to terrestrial stations, i.e. broadcast satellite service arrangements specially adapted for satellite broadcast receiving H04H40/90; picture transmission via satellite H04N1/00103; television transmission via satellite H04N7/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18543 for adaptation of transmission parameters, e.g. power control for detecting or preventing errors in the information received H04L1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 13/0048 Walsh
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/28 with simultaneous transmission of different frequencies each representing one code element
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0016 Time-frequency-code
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/006 Quality of the received signal, e.g. BER, SNR, water filling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23608 Remultiplexing multiplex streams, e.g. involving modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23655 Statistical multiplexing, e.g. by controlling the encoder to alter its bitrate to optimize the bandwidth utilization
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2383 Channel coding or modulation of digital bit-stream, e.g. QPSK modulation arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by adapting the channel coding H04L1/0009; analogue front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4344 Remultiplexing of multiplex streams, e.g. by modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4382 Demodulation or channel decoding, e.g. QPSK demodulation analog front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/631 Multimode Transmission, e.g. transmitting basic layers and enhancement layers of the content over different transmission paths or transmitting with different error corrections, different keys or with different transmission protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/22 Adaptations for optical transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

An apparatus and method for combining transponder bandwidths comprises a wide-band virtual transponder for transmitting a single data stream. The wide-band virtual transponder is comprised of a plurality of narrow-band physical transponders. A plurality of elementary streams are statistically multiplexed to create the single data stream, wherein the single data stream is forward error correction encoded and demultiplexed into a plurality of transponder streams for transmission by the plurality of physical transponders. The physical transponders each use a different portion of a signal spectrum, wherein the different portion may be guard bands or a combination of legacy bands and guard bands. Upon receipt, the transponder streams are multiplexed to recover the single data stream, wherein the recovered single data stream is forward error correction decoded and statistically demultiplexed to recover the plurality of elementary streams.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting a plurality of M concurrent elementary data streams from a first entity to a plurality of receivers via N narrow band physical transponders, each of the N narrow band physical transponders communicatively coupled to only one of a plurality of antennas, comprising the steps of:

generating, in the first entity, a single data stream from the M elementary data streams;

error correction encoding the single data stream comprising the M elementary data streams;

demultiplexing the single data stream into N transponder streams;

separately modulating and wirelessly transmitting each of the N transponder streams; and

receiving and wirelessly transmitting, in a second entity, the N transponder streams via a wide-band virtual transponder comprised of the N narrow band physical transponders, each of the N narrow band physical transponders directly transmitting an associated one of the N transponder streams to the plurality of receivers via the coupled antenna on a different portion of a signal spectrum than the other N narrow-band transponders;

wherein at least two of the different portions of the signal spectrum are non-contiguous in frequency.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating the single data stream comprises the step of:

statistically multiplexing the M elementary data streams to produce the single data stream.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving the N transponder streams from the N transponders in one of the plurality of receivers; and

multiplexing the received N transponder streams to recover the single data stream.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the method further comprises the step of demultiplexing the encoded single data stream into the N transponder streams; and

wherein the signal spectrum comprises a guard frequency band of a legacy signal spectrum.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving the N transponder streams from the N transponders in one of the plurality of receivers;

multiplexing the received N transponder streams to recover the encoded single data stream;

decoding the recovered encoded single data stream; and

demultiplexing the recovered data stream to recover at least one of the M elementary data streams.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the N narrow band transponders has a bandwidth different than at least one of the other N narrow band transponders.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of concurrent elementary data streams M is selected to match the throughput of the system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the single data stream is time demultiplexed into the N transponder streams.

9. An apparatus for transmitting a plurality of M concurrent elementary data streams from a first entity to a plurality of receivers via N narrow band physical transponders, each of the N narrow band physical transponders communicatively coupled to only one of a plurality of antennas, comprising:

a multiplexer, for generating, in a first entity, a single data stream from the M elementary streams;

an encoder for encoding the single data stream comprising the M elementary data streams;

a demultiplexer, for demultiplexing the single data stream into N transponder streams;

a transmitter, for separately modulating and wirelessly transmitting each of the N transponder streams; and

a wide-band virtual transponder, disposed in a second entity, for receiving and wirelessly transmitting the N transponder streams via a wide-band virtual transponder comprised of N narrow band physical transponders, each of the N narrow band physical transponders for directly transmitting an associated one of the N transponder streams to the plurality of receivers via the coupled antenna on a different portion of a signal spectrum than the other N narrow-band transponders;

wherein at least two of the different portions of the signal spectrum are non-contiguous in frequency.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the multiplexer is a statistical multiplexer.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of receivers comprises:

a tuner for receiving the N transponder streams from the N transponders; and

a multiplexer for multiplexing the received N transponder streams to recover the single data stream.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein:

the apparatus further comprises a demultiplexer for demultiplexing the encoded single data stream into the N transponder streams; and

wherein the signal spectrum comprises a legacy signal spectrum and wherein at least one of the different portions of the signal spectrum comprises a frequency guard band of the legacy signal spectrum.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of receivers further comprises:

a tuner for receiving the N transponder streams from the N transponders;

a multiplexer for multiplexing the received N transponder streams to recover the encoded single data stream;

a decoder for decoding the recovered encoded single data stream; and

a demultiplexer for demultiplexing the recovered data stream to recover at least one of the M elementary data streams.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein at least one of the N narrow band transponders has a bandwidth different than at least one of the other N narrow band transponders.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the demultiplexer time demultiplexes the single data stream into the N transponder streams.

16. A method for receiving M concurrent elementary data streams, comprising:

separately demodulating N transponder streams received from a wide band virtual transponder, wherein;

the N transponder streams together comprise the M elementary data streams together error correction encoded as a single data stream that is demultiplexed into the N transponder streams and each of the N transponder streams are directly and wirelessly received from an associated one of N narrow-band transponders via a physical antenna communicatively coupled to only one of the N narrow-band transponders; and

each of the N narrow band transponders transmits the associated transponder stream on a different portion of a signal spectrum than the other N narrow-band transponders;

time-aligning the separately demodulated N transponder streams;

multiplexing the separately demodulated N transponder streams to recover the error correction encoded single data stream comprising the M elementary data streams;

error correction decoding the single data stream comprising the M elementary data streams to recover a decoded single data stream; and

demultiplexing the decoded single data stream to recover the M elementary data streams;

wherein the signal spectrum comprises a plurality of different portions, and at least two of the different portions of the signal spectrum are non-contiguous in frequency.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the signal spectrum comprises a legacy signal spectrum and wherein at least one of the different portions of the signal spectrum comprises a guard band of the legacy signal spectrum.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the M elementary data streams are statistically multiplexed.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein at least one of the N narrow band transponders has a bandwidth different than at least one of the other N narrow band transponders.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the demultiplexer time demultiplexes the single data stream into the N transponder streams.

21. An apparatus for receiving a plurality of M concurrent elementary data streams, comprising:

a tuner for separately demodulating N transponder streams received from a wide band virtual transponder, wherein;

the N transponder streams together comprise the M elementary data streams together error correction encoded as a single data stream that is demultiplexed into the N transponder streams and each of the N transponder streams are wirelessly received from an associated one of N narrow-band physical transponders via a physical antenna communicatively coupled to only one of the N narrow-band transponders; and

each of the N narrow band transponders transmits the associated transponder stream on a different portion of a signal spectrum than the other N narrow-band transponders;

means for time-aligning the separately demodulated N transponder streams;

a multiplexer for multiplexing the separately demodulated N transponder streams to recover the error correction encoded single data stream comprising the M elementary data streams;

an error correction decoder for decoding the recovered error correction encoded single data stream comprising the M concurrent data streams to recover the single data stream; and

a demultiplexer for demultiplexing the single data stream to recover the M elementary data streams;

wherein the signal spectrum comprises a plurality of different portions, and at least two of the different portions of the signal spectrum are non-contiguous in frequency.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the signal spectrum comprises a legacy signal spectrum and wherein at least one of the different portions of the signal spectrum comprises a guard band of the legacy signal spectrum.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the M elementary data streams are statistically multiplexed, and the demultiplexer is a statistical demultiplexer.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein at least one of the N narrow band transponders has a bandwidth different than at least one of the other N narrow band transponders.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the single data stream is time demultiplexed into the N transponder streams.