Digital broadcast system using satellite direct broadcast and terrestrial repeater

• US 6,944,139 B1
• Filed: 07/10/1998
• Issued: 09/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: WorldSpace Systems Corp. (WorldSpace, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: WorldSpace Systems Corp. (WorldSpace, Inc.)
• Inventors: Campanella, S. Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Jung, Min
• Application Number:
  US09/647,007
• Time in Patent Office: 2,622 Days
• Field of Search: 370/315, 370/316, 370/480, 370/481, 370/485, 455/3.01, 455/3.02, 455/3.06, 455/11.1, 455/12.1, 455/7, 455/16, 455/17, 455/427, 455/430, 455/118
• US Class Current: 370/315
• 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

Abstract

A digital broadcast system is provided which uses a satellite direct radio broadcast system having different downlink modulation options in combination with a terrestrial repeater network employing different re-broadcasting modulation options to achieve high availability reception by mobile radios (14), static radios and portable radios (14) in urban areas, suburban metropolitan areas, and rural areas, including geographically open areas and geographic areas characterized by high terrain elevations. Two-arm and three-arm receivers are provided which each comprise a combined architecture for receiving both satellite and terrestrial signals, and for maximum likelihood combining of received signals for diversity purposes. A terrestrial repeater is provided for reformatting a TDM satellite signal as a multicarrier modulated terrestrial signal. Configurations for indoor and outdoor terrestrial repeaters are also provided.

Claims

1. A method for converting a time division multiplexed bit stream into a plurality of multicarrier modulated signals at a terrestrial repeater, comprising the steps of:

receiving said time division multiplexed bit stream from a satellite;

dividing said time division multiplexed bit stream into a plurality of parallel bit paths;

representing each of a predetermined number of bits in each of said plurality of bit paths as a symbol comprising an imaginary component and a real component;

providing said symbols to parallel inputs of an inverse Fourier transform converter as complex number frequency coefficient inputs to generate outputs which comprise modulated, narrow-band, orthogonal carriers; and

transmitting said modulated, narrow-band, orthogonal carriers from said terrestrial repeater.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of generating a guard interval for said carriers.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said generating step comprises the steps of:

allocating a fraction of the symbol period corresponding to the duration of each of said symbols to guard time; and

reducing the duration of each of said symbols.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said reducing step comprises the steps of:

storing said outputs of said inverse Fourier transform converter in a memory device every said symbol period; and

reading from said memory device after each said fraction of said symbol period has elapsed.

5. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said generating step further comprises the step of filling said guard interval with a subset of said outputs of said inverse Fourier transform.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of inserting a synchronization symbol every predetermined number of said symbol periods to synchronize a sampling window corresponding to said fraction of said symbol period with respect to said carriers every said symbol period at a receiver for said plurality of multicarrier modulated signals.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of puncturing said time division multiplexed bit stream to reduce the total bandwidth associated with said carriers.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein said puncturing step comprises the step of selectively eliminating bits from said time division multiplexed bit stream prior to providing said symbols to parallel inputs of an inverse Fourier transform converter.

9. A receiver for receiving a broadcast signal in a combined satellite and terrestrial digital broadcasting system, comprising:

a first receiver arm for receiving a first satellite signal transmitted from a first satellite on a first carrier frequency, said first satellite signal comprising said broadcast signal and being modulated in accordance with at least one of time division multiplexing and code division multiplexing, said first receiver arm comprising a demodulator for recovering said broadcast signal;

a second receiver arm for receiving a terrestrial signal transmitted from a terrestrial station on a second carrier frequency, said terrestrial signal comprising said broadcast signal and being modulated in accordance with at least one of adaptive equalized time division multiplexing, coherent frequency hopping adaptive equalized time division multiplexing, code division multiplexing and multicarrier modulation, said second receiver arm comprising a demodulator for recovering said broadcast signal; and

a combiner for generating an output signal from at least one of said first satellite signal and said terrestrial signal.

10. A receiver as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

a third receiver arm for receiving a second satellite signal from a second satellite that is delayed with respect to said first satellite signal in accordance with a selected time delay, said second satellite signal comprising said broadcast signal and being modulated in accordance with the corresponding at least one of time division multiplexing and code division multiplexing employed by said first satellite signal, said third receiver arm comprising a demodulator for recovering said broadcast signal; and

a delay device for delaying said first satellite signal in accordance with said selected time delay, said combiner generating an output signal from at least one of said first satellite signal, said second satellite signal and said terrestrial signal.

11. A method of transmitting a broadcast signal to a radio receiver, comprising the steps of:

modulating said broadcast signal for transmission to said radio receiver as a first signal in accordance with at least one of time division multiplexing and code division multiplexing;

transmitting said first signal to said radio receiver from a first satellite on a first carrier frequency;

modulating said broadcast signal at a terrestrial station for transmission to said radio receiver as a second signal in accordance with at least one of adaptive equalized time division multiplexing, coherent frequency hopping adaptive equalized time division multiplexing, code division multiplexing, and multicarrier modulation; and

transmitting said second signal to said radio receiver from said terrestrial station on a second carrier frequency that is different from said first carrier frequency.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said step of modulating said broadcast signal as said second signal comprises the steps of:

receiving said first signal at said terrestrial station; and

performing baseband processing of said first signal prior to modulating in accordance with at least one of adaptive equalized time division multiplexing, coherent frequency hopping adaptive equalized time division multiplexing, code division multiplexing, and multicarrier modulation.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising the step of receiving said first signal and said second signal using at said radio receiver.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising the step of demodulating each of said first signal and said received second signal to remove said respective modulations and to recover a first recovered broadcast signal and a second recovered broadcast signal, respectively.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising the steps of generating an output broadcast signal from said first recovered broadcast signal and said second recovered broadcast signal.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said generating step comprises the step of performing maximum likelihood combining of said first recovered broadcast signal and said second recovered broadcast signal.

17. A method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

modulating a broadcast signal for transmission to said radio receiver as a third signal in accordance with at least one of time division multiplexing and code division multiplexing;

transmitting said third signal to said radio receiver from a second satellite, said transmission being delayed with respect to the transmission of said first signal by a predetermined period of time.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

receiving said first signal, said second signal and said third signal at said radio receiver;

demodulating each of said first signal, said second signal and said third signal to remove said respective modulations and to recover a first recovered broadcast signal, a second recovered broadcast signal and a third recovered broadcast signal, respectively; and

generating an output broadcast signal from at least one of said first recovered broadcast signal, said second recovered broadcast signal and said third recovered broadcast signal.

19. A digital broadcasting system for transmitting a broadcast signal, said broadcast signal being transmitted from an earth station, comprising:

a satellite for receiving said broadcast signal from said earth station and for transmitting a satellite signal comprising said broadcast signal on a first carrier frequency; and

a terrestrial repeater for receiving said satellite signal and for generating and transmitting a terrestrial signal from said satellite signal comprising said broadcast signal on a second carrier frequency that is different from said first carrier frequency, said terrestrial signal being modulated by said terrestrial repeater in accordance with a multipath-tolerant modulation technique;

wherein said terrestrial repeater is operable to modulate said terrestrial signal using multicarrier modulation; and

said terrestrial repeater to operable to receive said satellite signal and to demodulate said satellite signal into a baseband signal prior to modulating said baseband signal using multicarrier modulation.

20. A digital broadcasting system for transmitting a broadcast signal, said broadcast signal being transmitted from an earth station, comprising:

a satellite for receiving said broadcast signal from said earth station and for transmitting a satellite signal comprising said broadcast signal on a first carrier frequency;

a terrestrial repeater for receiving said satellite signal and for generating and transmitting a terrestrial signal from said satellite signal comprising said broadcast signal on a second carrier frequency that is different from said first carrier frequency, said terrestrial signal being modulated by said terrestrial repeater in accordance with a multipath-tolerant modulation technique; and

a second satellite operable to receive said broadcast program from said earth station and to transmit a second satellite signal comprising said broadcast signal on said first carrier frequency and delayed a predetermined period of time with respect to the transmission of the first satellite signal.

21. A terrestrial repeater for retransmitting satellite signals to radio receivers, comprising:

a terrestrial receiver for receiving said satellite signals; and

a terrestrial waveform modulator for generating terrestrial signals from said satellite signals, said terrestrial signals being modulated by said terrestrial waveform modulator in accordance with multicarrier modulation;

wherein said satellite signals are transmitted from a satellite using a first carrier frequency, and said terrestrial waveform modulator is operable to transmit said terrestrial signals to said radio receivers using a second carrier frequency that is different from said first carrier frequency; and

wherein said terrestrial waveform modulator comprises

a time division demultiplexer for demultiplexing said satellite signals from a serial time division multiplexed bit stream into a plurality of parallel bit streams; and

an inverse fast Fourier transform device for generating a digital analog signal comprising a plurality of discrete Fourier transform coefficients.

22. A digital broadcasting system for transmitting a broadcast signal, said broadcast signal being transmitted from an earth station, comprising:

a first satellite configured to receive said broadcast program from said earth station and to transmit a time division multiplexed satellite signal comprising said broadcast signal;

a terrestrial repeater configured to receive said satellite signal and to generate and transmit a terrestrial signal from said satellite signal comprising said broadcast signal, said terrestrial signal being modulated by said terrestrial repeater in accordance with at least one of adaptive equalized time division multiplexing, coherent frequency hopping adaptive equalized time division multiplexing, code division multiplexing and multicarrier modulation; and

at least one radio receiver configured to receive said satellite signal and said terrestrial signal, said radio receiver comprising a diversity combiner for generating an output signal from at least one of said satellite signal and said terrestrial signal.

23. A digital broadcasting system as claimed in claim 22, further comprising a second satellite configured to receive said broadcast signal from said earth station and to transmit a second time division multiplexed satellite signal comprising said broadcast signal, said second satellite signal being delayed with respect to said first satellite signal by a selected time delay.

24. A digital broadcasting system as claimed in claim 23, further comprising at least one radio receiver configured to receive said first satellite signal, said second satellite signal and said terrestrial signal, to delay at least one of said first satellite signal and said terrestrial signal in accordance with said selected time delay, and to generate an output signal from at least one of said first satellite signal, said second satellite signal and said terrestrial signal.

25. A digital broadcasting system as claimed in claim 24, wherein said radio receiver comprises a diversity combiner and a switched combiner, said radio receiver using said diversity combiner to perform maximum likelihood decision combining of said first satellite signal and said second satellite signal and said switch combiner to select between the output of said diversity combiner and said terrestrial signal depending on which of said output of said diversity combiner and said terrestrial signal has the least number of bit errors.

26. A digital broadcasting system as claimed in claim 24, wherein said radio receiver comprises a diversity combiner to perform maximum likelihood decision combining of said first satellite signal, said second satellite signal and said terrestrial signal.