US20150089549A1

US20150089549A1 - Method and system for full spectrum capture for satellite and terrestrial applications

Info

Publication number: US20150089549A1
Application number: US14/551,737
Authority: US
Inventors: Alan Trerise; Curtis Ling
Original assignee: MaxLinear Inc
Current assignee: Entropic Communications LLC
Priority date: 2007-10-09
Filing date: 2014-11-24
Publication date: 2015-03-26
Also published as: WO2013152263A3; WO2013152320A1; US20130268977A1; US8466850B1; US20130268976A1; US8797220B2; WO2013152263A2; US20130268978A1; US20150022406A1; US9258621B2

Abstract

A multiband receiver comprising an integrated diversity antenna system is operable to receive satellite and terrestrial television. The multiband receiver captures spectrum comprising satellite television channels and/or terrestrial television channels and demodulate the satellite television channels and/or the terrestrial television channels. The diversity antenna system is integrated on a board or substrate within the multiband receiver. The multiband receiver discriminates between satellite television signals and non-satellite television signals in the captured spectrum and also discriminates between the terrestrial television signals and non-terrestrial television signals in the captured spectrum. The multiband receiver generates output satellite television channel content from the demodulated satellite television channels and also generates output terrestrial television channel content from the demodulated terrestrial television channels. The multiband receiver packetizes the generated output satellite and/or terrestrial television channel content. The generated output satellite and/or terrestrial television channel content is communicated to one or more mobile communication devices.

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/857,776 filed Apr. 5, 2013, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/620,720 filed on Apr. 5, 2012. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/230,055 filed Mar. 31, 2014. U.S. application Ser. No. 14/230,055 filed Mar. 31, 2014 is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/556,649, which was filed Jul. 24, 2012 and is now U.S. Pat. No. 8,688,064. U.S. application Ser. No. 13/556,649 is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/966,905, which was filed on Dec. 13, 2010 and is now U.S. Pat. No. 8,472,912. U.S. application Ser. No. 12/966,905 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/247,908 which was filed on Oct. 8, 2008, and is now U.S. Pat. No. 8,010,070. U.S. application Ser. No. 12/247,908 claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application 60/978,645, which was filed Oct. 9, 2007. Each of the above-referenced applications and patents is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

INCORPORATIONS BY REFERENCE

This application also makes reference to:
U.S. Pat. No. 8,611,483, which issued on Dec. 17, 2013;
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/336,451 (now published as 2012/0163518) filed on Dec. 23, 2011:
U.S. Pat. No. 8,792,008, which issued on Jul. 29, 2014;
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/857,755, (now published as 2013/0268577) which was filed on Apr. 5, 2013;
U.S. Pat. No. 8,725,104, which issued on May 13, 2014; and
U.S. Pat. No. 8,010,070, which issued on Aug. 30, 2011, discloses exemplary Low-Complexity Diversity Using Coarse FFT and Coarse Sub-band-wise Combining.
Each of the above referenced applications, patents, and application publications is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to wired and wireless communication systems. More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a method and system for full spectrum capture for satellite and terrestrial applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A satellite dish is placed outdoors and is oriented in a direction that provides an unobstructed view of a satellite. Commercial satellites typically operate in the range of about 950 MHz and 2150 MHz.
Terrestrial television (TV) provides over-the-air broadcast television and typically operates at frequencies that are approximately less than 950 MHz.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method is provided for full spectrum capture (FSC) for satellite and terrestrial applications, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.
These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the present invention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an exemplary system for providing full spectrum capture (FSC) of terrestrial television and satellite television signals for mobile applications, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B is a high level block diagram of an exemplary multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary diversity antenna system in a multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1D is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary diversity antenna system comprising an antenna array module, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an exemplary diversity receiver that utilizes full spectrum capture, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram of a portion of a multiband mobile receiver illustrating a full spectrum capture diversity receiver coupled to a transceiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary I/Q RF receive processing chain module of a full spectrum capture diversity receiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a plurality of multiband mobile radios, which are coupled in a daisy chain arrangement, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary diversity receiver that utilizes full spectrum capture and is operable to remodulate IF signals, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing full spectrum capture for communicating with a mobile device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing full spectrum capture for communicating with a mobile device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing full spectrum capture for communicating with a mobile device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and system for full spectrum capture (FSC) for satellite and terrestrial applications. In various aspects of the invention, a multiband receiver comprising a diversity antenna system is operable to receive satellite and terrestrial television signals. An exemplary diversity antenna system comprises a phased array antenna system. The multiband receiver is operable to capture spectrum comprising one or more satellite television channels and/or one or more terrestrial television channels and demodulate the one or more satellite television channels and/or the one or more terrestrial television channels. The diversity antenna system may be integrated on a board or substrate within the multiband receiver. The multiband receiver may be operable to discriminate between the satellite television signals and the non-satellite television signals in the captured spectrum and also discriminate between the terrestrial television signals and non-terrestrial television signals in the captured spectrum. The multiband receiver may be operable to generate output satellite television channel content from the demodulated one or more satellite television channels and also generate output terrestrial television channel content from the demodulated one or more terrestrial television channels. The multiband receiver may be operable to packetize the generated output satellite television channel content and also packetize the output generated terrestrial television channel content. The multiband receiver may be operable to communicate the generated output satellite television channel content to one or more mobile communication devices and also communicate the generated output terrestrial television channel content to one or more mobile communication devices. The multiband receiver may be operable to downconvert signals for the demodulated one or more satellite television channels to one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals and also downconvert signals for the demodulated one or more terrestrial television channels to one or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals. The multiband receiver may be operable to remodulate the one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals and also remodulate the one or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals. The multiband receiver may be operable to communicate the remodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals to one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems. The multiband receiver comprising the diversity antenna system and the one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna system are coupled in a daisy-chain arrangement. The multiband receiver may also be operable to communicate the remodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals to the one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems. The multiband receiver comprising the diversity antenna system and the one or more other multiband receivers comprising the one or more diversity antenna systems may be coupled to an integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box. The integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box may be operable to extract satellite television channel content from the remodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals and also extract terrestrial television channel content from the remodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals.
FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an exemplary system for providing full spectrum capture of terrestrial television and satellite television signals for mobile applications, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Referring to FIG. 1A, there is shown a satellite television network 104, a terrestrial television network 106, a first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108, a second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116, a first wireless network 112, a second wireless network 120, tablets 114 a, 122 a, smartphones 114 b, 122 b, and laptops 114 c, 122 c. The tablets 114 a, 122 a, the Smartphones 114 b, 122 b, and the laptops 114 c, 122 c may be collectively referenced as mobile communication devices. The tablet 114 a, the Smartphone 114 b and the laptop 114 c may be collectively referenced as mobile communication devices 114. The tablet 122 a, the Smartphone 122 b and the laptop 122 c may be collectively referenced as mobile communication devices 122. The first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may comprise a diversity antenna system such as a plurality of integrated phased antenna arrays 110. The second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 may comprise a plurality of integrated phased antenna arrays 118.
The satellite television network 104 may comprise a plurality of orbiting satellites that may be operable to receive broadcast satellite television signals from a headend earth station and communicate the corresponding received satellite television signals over the air for reception by a receiver. In this regard, the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable to receive the satellite television signals from the satellite television network 104 via the phased array antennas 110. Similarly, the second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 may be operable to receive the satellite television signals from the satellite television network 104 via the phased array antennas 118.
The terrestrial television network 106 may comprise one or more earth stations that are operable to broadcast terrestrial television signals over the air. The terrestrial television signals from the terrestrial television network 106 may be received by the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 and the second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116. In this regard, the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable to receive the terrestrial television signals from the terrestrial television network 106 via the phased array antennas 110. Similarly, the second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 may be operable to receive the terrestrial television signals from the terrestrial television network 106 via the phased array antennas 118.
Each of the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108, and the second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive and process satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals. In this regard, the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable to receiver satellite television signals from the satellite television network 104 via the plurality of integrated phased antenna arrays 110. Similarly, the second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 may be operable to receiver satellite television signals from the satellite television network 104 via the plurality of integrated phased antenna arrays 118. The first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may also be operable to receiver terrestrial television signals from the terrestrial television network 106 via the plurality of integrated phased antenna arrays 110. Similarly, the second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 may be operable to receiver terrestrial television signals from the terrestrial television network 106 via the plurality of integrated phased antenna arrays 118.
The first wireless network 112 may be established between the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 and the mobile communication devices 114. The wireless network 112 may be a WPAN or WLAN that enables communication between one or more of the mobile communication devices 114 and the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may comprise a wireless hotspot functionality, which may enable establishment of the first wireless network 112. In this regard, the tablet 114 a, the Smartphone 114 b and the laptop 114 c may be operable to communicate with the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108.
The second wireless network 120 may be established between the second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 and the mobile communication devices 122. The wireless network 120 may be a WPAN or WLAN network that enables communication between one or more of the mobile communication devices 122 and the second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 may comprise wireless hotspot functionality, which enables establishment of the second wireless network 120. In this regard, the tablet 122 a, the Smartphone 112 b and the laptop 122 c may be operable to communicate with the second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116.
Each of the mobile communication devices may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to transmit and/or receive wireless communication signals, for example WPAN signals and/or WLAN signals. In this regard, the tablet 114 a, the Smartphone 114 b and the laptop 114 c may be operable to wirelessly communicate with the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 via, for example, WPAN and/or WLAN protocols. Similarly, the tablet 122 a, the Smartphone 122 b and the laptop 122 c may be operable to wirelessly communicate with the second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 via, for example, a WPAN and/or WLAN.
In operation, the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable to adjust the plurality of phased array antennas 110 to optimize reception of the satellite television signals that are received from the satellite television network 104 and the terrestrial television signals that are received from the terrestrial television network 106. The first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable to capture and process the received satellite television signals using full spectrum capture in order to extract the corresponding satellite television content. The extracted satellite television content may then be packetized as, for example, Internet Protocol (IP) packets and then transmitted over the wireless network 112 via, for example, a WPAN and/or WLAN. One or more of the tablet 122 a, the Smartphone 112 b and the laptop 122 c may be operable to receive the transmitted IP packets and accordingly present the corresponding satellite television content for viewing. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, an application (app) running on the tablet 122 a, the Smartphone 112 b and the laptop 122 c may be operable to tune to a satellite television channel in order to view corresponding channel content.
The first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable to capture and process the received terrestrial television signals using full spectrum capture in order to extract the corresponding terrestrial television content. The extracted terrestrial television content may then be packetized as, for example, Internet Protocol (IP) packets and then transmitted over the wireless network 112 via, for example, a WPAN and/or WLAN. One or more of the tablet 122 a, the Smartphone 112 b and the laptop 122 c may be operable to receive the corresponding transmitted IP packets and accordingly present the terrestrial television content for viewing. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, an application (app) running on the tablet 122 a, the Smartphone 112 b and the laptop 122 c may be operable to tune to a corresponding terrestrial television channel in order to view corresponding terrestrial television content.
Aspects of full spectrum capture may be found in U.S. application Ser. No. 13/485,003 filed May 31, 2012, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/336,451 filed on Dec. 23, 2011 and U.S. application Ser. No. 13/607,916 filed Sep. 10, 2012. Each of these applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/356,265, which was filed on Jan. 23, 2012 disclosures operation of an exemplary full spectrum receiver and is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable to concurrently capture one or more satellite television channels and one or more terrestrial television channels. The first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable to determine which one of the captured satellite television channel and a corresponding captured terrestrial television channel may possess the better channel quality. In instances where the captured terrestrial television channel possesses a better channel quality than the corresponding captured satellite television channel, the corresponding content for the captured terrestrial television channel may be packetized and then transmitted over the wireless network 112 to one or more of the mobile communication devices 114. In this regard, although a user of one of the mobile communication devices 114 may have selected viewing of a particular satellite television channel, the multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable to switch to the corresponding terrestrial television content, which possesses a better quality than the corresponding satellite television content. The switch may occur transparently of the user so that user is unaware of the source of the content that is being presented.
In instances where the captured satellite television channel possesses a better channel quality than the corresponding captured terrestrial television channel, the corresponding content for the captured satellite television channel may be packetized and then transmitted over the wireless network 112 to one or more of the mobile communication device 114. In this regard, although a user of one of the mobile communication devices 114 may have selected viewing of a particular terrestrial television channel, the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable to switch to the corresponding satellite television content, which possesses a better quality than the corresponding terrestrial television content. The switch may occur transparently to the user so that the user is unaware of the source of the content that is being presented.
The second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 may operate in a manner that may be substantially similar to the operation of the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be located in a parking lot where it may be utilized during a tailgating party or other event where one or more users may want to receive terrestrial and/or satellite television content. For example, the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be placed on top of a vehicle at the tailgating party or other event.
FIG. 1B is a high level block diagram of an exemplary multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1B, there is shown a multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 123. The multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 123 comprises a diversity antenna system 124, an antenna interface 126, an FSC diversity receiver 128 and a wireless transceiver 130.
The diversity antenna system 124 may comprise, for example, a plurality of phased antenna arrays 124 a, . . . , 124 n. Each of the plurality of phased antenna arrays 124 a, . . . , 124 n may comprise a plurality of antenna array elements. The plurality of antenna array elements may be configured to optimally receive satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the plurality of phased antenna arrays 124 a, . . . , 124 n may be integrated on a circuit board or other substrate material. The plurality of phased antenna arrays 124 a, . . . , 124 n may be implemented utilizing MEMs or other technology.
The antenna interface 126 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control operation of each of the plurality of phased antenna arrays 124 a, . . . , 124 n in the diversity antenna system 124.
The FSC diversity receiver 128 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to capture one or more satellite television channels and/or terrestrial television channels and demodulate them to generate corresponding satellite television content and/or terrestrial television content. The resulting satellite television content and/or terrestrial television content may be packetized in IP packets and communicated to the wireless transceiver 130. The FSC diversity receiver 128 may be operable to capture a chunk of spectrum between approximately 0 MHz to 2150 MHz and discriminate between satellite television channels, non-satellite television channels, terrestrial television channels and non-terrestrial television channels. The FSC diversity receiver 128 may also be operable to switch between a selected satellite television channel and a corresponding terrestrial television channel, and also between a selected terrestrial television channel and a corresponding satellite television channel based on which on of the terrestrial television channel and the satellite television channel possesses the better channel quality.
The wireless transceiver 130 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive packetized content from the FSC diversity receiver 128 and communicate the packetized content via a corresponding protocol. The wireless transceiver 130 may be operable to communicate utilizing one or more protocols such as wireless local area network (WLAN) and wireless personal area network (WPAN). Exemplary WLAN protocols may comprise 802.11a/b/g/n/ac and other variants thereof, and so on. Exemplary WPAN protocols may comprise Bluetooth, Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) and ZigBee.
In operation, the multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 123 may be operable to concurrently capture a block of frequency which may comprise one or more satellite television channels and/or one or more terrestrial television channels. The multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 123 may determine which terrestrial television channels and which satellite television channels were captured. The multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 123 may determine which one of the captured satellite television channel and a corresponding captured terrestrial television channel may have the better channel quality. Based on which one of the captured satellite television channel and the corresponding captured terrestrial television channel may have the better channel quality, the multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 123 may packetize the content from the better channel for communication to a mobile communication device.
FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary diversity antenna system in a multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1C, there is shown a multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 136, an antenna interface 138, and a plurality of antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n. In an exemplary embodiment, the plurality of antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may comprise phased array antennas. Each of the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may comprise a plurality of phase array elements, namely, 142 a, 142 b, . . . , 142 n, respectively. The plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n are an exemplary embodiment of a diversity antenna system.
The antenna interface 138 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control operation of each of the plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n. In this regard, the antenna interface may be operable to adjust the plurality of phase array elements, namely, 142 a, 142 b, . . . , 142 n in each of the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n, respectively to receive satellite television signals and/or terrestrial television signals. The antenna interface 138 may be operable to configure each of the plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n to increase the resonant frequency of the combined plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n.
Each of the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may comprise a plurality of phase array elements, namely, 142 a, 142 b, . . . , 142 n, respectively. The plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may be integrated on a circuit board or other substrate 143. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may be implemented utilizing MEMS. In this regard, for example, one or more switches may be utilized to control and/or configure the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n. In some embodiment of the invention, the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may be fabricated as a stand alone until, which may be later coupled to a receiver.
In operation, the antenna interface 138 may be operable statically and/or dynamically configure the plurality of phase array elements, namely, 142 a, 142 b, . . . , 142 n for the corresponding plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n to optimally receive the satellite television signals and/or terrestrial television signals. The received television signals and/or terrestrial television signals may be communicated to the full spectrum diversity receiver (128 in FIG. 1B). The signals received from each of the phase array elements, namely, 142 a, 142 b, . . . , 142 n for the corresponding plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may be combined to mitigate the effects of antenna impedance mismatch. Placing the full spectrum diversity receiver close to the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n eliminates a need to run multiple wires from the phase array elements to the full spectrum diversity receiver. This in turn may mitigate the effects of signal loss.
FIG. 1D is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary diversity antenna system comprising an antenna array module, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1D, there is shown an antenna array module 136, which may be, for example, a phased antenna array module. The phased antenna array module 136 may comprise an antenna interface 138, a connector 139, a plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n. Each of the plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may comprise a corresponding plurality of phased array antenna elements 142 a, 142 b, . . . , 142 n. The phased antenna array module 136 along with the arrangement of the plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may be referred to as a “pizza box” antenna. The plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n are an exemplary embodiment of a diversity antenna system.
The plurality of phased antenna arrays 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may be integrated on a planar surface such as the substrate 143. The planar surface may also comprise a circuit board or package. In some embodiments of the invention, the plurality of phased antenna arrays 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may be integrated on a planar surface to enable the corresponding antenna elements to capture satellite and terrestrial signals from a plurality of directions.
The connector 139 may be operable to couple the phased antenna array module 136 to one or more receivers such as the multiband mobile receiver with integrated transceiver 123. In various exemplary embodiments of the invention, the connector 139 may comprise a BNC coaxial connector. For example, the connector 139 may comprise a thin coaxial connector.
In some embodiments of the invention, two or more of the phased antenna array modules 136 may be coupled together via the connector 130. For example, the respective connectors on a plurality of the phased antenna array module 136 may be utilized to daisy chain the plurality of the phased antenna array modules 136.
In an embodiment of the invention, one or more phased antenna array modules such as the phased antenna array module 136 may temporarily placed, for example, on the top of a car or other vehicle at, for example, a tail-gating party and utilized to capture satellite television signals and/or terrestrial television signals. In another embodiment of the invention, one or more phased antenna array modules such as the phased antenna array module 136 may integrated as an antenna unit, which may be placed on or integrated with the roof of a vehicle and utilized to capture satellite television signals and/or terrestrial television signals. In another embodiment of the invention, one or more phased antenna array modules such as the phased antenna array module 136 may integrated as an antenna unit, which may be part of a television or coupled to the television, where it may be utilized to capture satellite television signals and/or terrestrial television signals.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the antenna elements in the phased antenna array module 136 may be automatically and/or dynamically configured to optimize reception of satellite television signals and/or terrestrial television signals. For example, during initial setup of the television, the phased antenna array module 136 may be configured to optimize reception of the free satellite television channels and/or terrestrial television signals. Subsequently, when a viewer desires to receive the free satellite television channels and/or terrestrial television channels, the integrated phased array antennas may be utilized to receive these corresponding signals for the free satellite television channels or terrestrial television signals without the need to communicatively couple the television to a dedicated terrestrial television antenna and a satellite dish. The antenna elements in the phased antenna array module 136 may also be dynamically configured to optimize reception of the free satellite television channels and/or terrestrial television signals.
FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an exemplary diversity receiver that utilizes full spectrum capture, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2A, there is shown a diversity receiver 200. The diversity receiver 200 may comprise phased array antennas 202 a, . . . , 202 n, antenna interface 204, variable gain amplifiers 205 a, 205 b, multiplexers 206 a, 206 b, I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b, local oscillator generator (LOGEN) 209, channelizers 210 a, 210 b, maximum ratio combiner 212 and a baseband processor 214. The variable gain amplifier 205 a, the multiplexer 206 a, the I/Q RF receive processing chain module 208 a, and the channelizer 210 a may be operable to handle the processing of signals received via the antenna 202 a. The variable gain amplifier 205 b, the multiplexer 206 b, the I/O RF receive processing chain module 208 b, and the channelizer 210 b may be operable to handle the processing of signals received via the antenna 202 b.
Each of the phased array antennas 202 a, . . . , 202 n may comprise a plurality of phased array antenna elements that are operable to receive terrestrial television signals and satellite television signals. The phased array antennas 202 a, . . . , 202 n may be substantially similar to the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n, which are illustrated and described with respect to FIG. 1C.
The antenna interface 204 may comprise suitable logic circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to interface with, manage and/or control operation of the phased array antennas 202 a, . . . , 202 n. In this regard, the antenna interface 204 may be operable to manage and control operation of the phased antenna array elements in each of the phase array antennas (eg 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n of FIG. 1C) in each of the phased array antennas 202 a, . . . , 202 n. The antenna interface 204 may also be operable to interface the phase array antennas 202 a, . . . , 202 n with the corresponding processing paths in the full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200.
The variable gain amplifiers 205 a, 205 b may comprise suitable logic circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to variably adjust a corresponding gain of the input signals, which are received from antenna interface 204. For example, the variable gain amplifiers 205 a may be operable to amplify and/or buffer the signal received via the antenna 202 a from the antenna interface 204. The variable gain amplifiers 205 a, 205 b may operate in different modes that enable capturing of different size bandwidths. For example, the variable gain amplifiers 205 a, 205 b may be configured to capture narrowband signals or broadband signals.
The multiplexers 206 a, 206 b may comprise suitable logic circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to select from among a plurality of n processing RF receive (RX) chains in the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b, respectively, where n is an integer. For example, the multiplexers 206 a may be operable to select which of the plurality of the n processing RF receive (RX) chains within the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a are to be utilized for demodulation of the signal output from the multiplexer 206 a. Similarly, the multiplexers 206 b may be operable to select which of the plurality of the n processing RF receive (RX) chains within the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 b are to be utilized for demodulation of the signal output from the multiplexer 206 b. The baseband processor 214 may be operable to control which of the plurality of n processing RF receive (RX) chains in the n I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b may be selected.
The I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b may comprise suitable logic circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to demodulate the signals that are output from the multiplexer 206 a, 206 b, respectively. Each of the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b may comprise a plurality of n I/Q RF receive processing chains. The baseband processor 214 may be operable to select which of the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b are to be utilized to demodulate the signals that are output from the multiplexers 206 a, 206 b. For example, the I/Q RF receive processing chain module 208 a may be utilized to demodulate the signals that are output from the multiplexer 206 a, while the I/Q RF receive processing chain module 208 b may be utilized to demodulate the signals that are output from the multiplexer 206 b.
The LOGEN 209 may comprise suitable logic circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to drive one or more oscillators within the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b. The LO generator 209 may comprise, for example, one or more crystals, one or more direct digital synthesizers, and/or one or more phase-locked loops.
The channelizers 210 a, 210 b may comprise suitable logic circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to channelize the demodulated signals that are output from the n I/Q RF receive processing chain 208 a, 208 b, respectively. The channelizers 210 a, 210 b may be operable to separate each of the corresponding channels into a plurality of frequency bins. The output of the channelizers 210 a, 210 b may be combined by a combiner. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the channelization may be achieved via one or more digital filtering algorithms and/or other digital signal processing algorithms. Each of the channelizers 210 a, 210 b may comprise a plurality of band selection filters that are operable process the corresponding output from the plurality of n processing RF receive (RX) chains in the n I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b in order to recover a corresponding one of the a plurality of selected frequency bands or frequency bins. The granularity of the channelizers 210 a, 210 b may be programmable. In this regard, the channelizers 210 a, 210 b may be programmed to handle channels of varying bandwidth. For example, the channelizers 210 a, 210 b may be programmed to handle 20 MHz and/or 40 MHz channels.
The maximum ratio combiner 212 may comprise suitable logic circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to combine the channels that are output from the channelizers 210 a, 210 b. For example, maximum ratio combiner 212 may be operable to utilize, for example, a coarse FFT processing that employs a low complexity diversity using coarse FFT and subband-wise combining. The coarse FFT processing may optimally combine the signals from a plurality of frequency bins for multiple phase array antennas and accordingly, generate an improved maximum ratio combined (MRC) co-phased signals.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,010,070, (application Ser. No. 12/247,908), which issued on Aug. 30, 2011, discloses exemplary Low-Complexity Diversity Using Coarse FFT and Coarse Sub-band-wise Combining, and is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The maximum ratio combiner 212 may also be operable to utilize channel stacking and/or band stacking for the plurality of frequency bins. U.S. application Ser. No. 13/762,929, entitled “Method and System for Integrated Stacking for Handling Channel Stacking or Band Stacking,” which was filed on Feb. 8, 2013, discloses an integrated stacking method and is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The baseband processor 214 may comprise suitable logic circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to provide baseband processing on the channels that are generated from the maximum ratio combiner 212. The baseband processor 214 may also be operable to function as a controller for the terrestrial television receiver 200. In this regard, the baseband processor 214 may be operable to control, configure and/or manage operation of one or more of the antenna interface 204, the variable gain amplifiers 205 a, 205 b, the multiplexers 206 a, 206 b, the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b, the local oscillator generator (LOGEN) 209, the channelizers 210 a, 210 b, and the maximum ratio combiner 212. The baseband processor 214 may be operable to control, configure and/or manage operation of one or more of the components in the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b such as mixers, filters and/or analog to digital controllers (ADCs).
Although the maximum ratio combiner 212 and the baseband processor 214 are illustrated as separate entities, the maximum ratio combiner 212 may be integrated as part of the baseband processor 214.
FIG. 2B is a block diagram of a portion of a multiband mobile receiver illustrating a full spectrum capture diversity receiver coupled to a transceiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2B, there is shown a portion of a multiband mobile receiver 230 comprising a full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200 and a transceiver 216.
The multiband mobile receiver 230 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to utilize full spectrum capture to capture and receive one or more satellite television channels and/or one or more terrestrial television channels. The multiband mobile receiver 230 is substantially similar to the multiband mobile receiver 230 with transceiver, which is illustrated in and described with respect to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B.
The full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200 is substantially similar to the full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200, which is illustrated in and described with respect to FIG. 2A.
The transceiver 216 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to transmit and receive wireless signals. In various exemplary embodiments of the invention, the transceiver 216 may be operable to utilize WPAN and/or WLAN technologies to communicate with the mobile communication devices 114 and 122.
In operation, the baseband processor 214 may be operable to packetize the data output from the MRC 212 and communicate the resulting packetized data to the transceiver 216. For example, the baseband processor 214 may be operable to encapsulate the output data from the MRC 212 into IP packets. The transceiver 216 may be operable to transmit the resulting IP packets utilizing, for example, Bluetooth or WiFi, to the mobile communication devices 114 and 122.
In various embodiments of the invention, the phased antenna array module 136 and the multiband mobile receiver 230 may be integrated in a small board module or device to make it portable. The transceiver 216 in the small board module or device may utilize, for example, Bluetooth (BT) and/or WiFi (WLAN—802.11a/b/g/n/ac). In this regard, the small board or module may be operable to receive satellite television signals and/or terrestrial television signals and convert the corresponding received signals to IP packets that are communicated wirelessly via the transceiver 216. In this regard, the corresponding encapsulate IP satellite and/or terrestrial television packets may be communicated to a WiFi or BT enabled communication device such as a tablet or a smartphone.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary I/Q RF receive processing chain module of a full spectrum capture diversity receiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown an I/Q RF receive processing chain module 300. The I/Q RF receive processing chain module 300 comprises a plurality of n I/Q RF receive processing chains, where n is an integer. The plurality of n I/Q RF receive processing chains are referenced as 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _n. Each of the n I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _nare substantially similar.
The I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁comprises an in-phase (I) path and a quadrature (Q) path. The in-phase path of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁comprises a mixer 308 _I, a filter 310 _I, and an analog to digital converter (ADC) 312 _I. The quadrature path of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁comprises a mixer 308 _Q, a filter 310 _Q, and an analog to digital converter (ADC) 312 _Q.
Each of the mixers 308 _I, 308 _Qmay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to mix the corresponding signal 302 ₁with a local oscillator signal (not shown) to generate the signal 309 _I, 309 _Q, respectively. The mixers 308 _I, 308 _Qare operable to mix the signal 302 ₁with a pair of in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) local oscillator signals, respectively, to generate the corresponding pair of in-phase and quadrature signals 309 _I, 309 _Q.
In some embodiments of the invention, the mixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains may be operable to function with similar characteristics and in other embodiments of the invention, the mixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains may be operable to function with different characteristics. For example, the mixers 308 _I, 308 _Qmay be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the mixers (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 ₂. Similarly, the mixers (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 ₂may be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the mixers (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 _n, and the mixers 308 _I, 308 _Q, which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 _n.
The phase and/or frequency of the local oscillator signals (not shown), which are input to the mixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _n, may be controlled via one or more signals from the baseband processor 214, which is illustrated in FIG. 2A. In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, the phase and/or frequency of the local oscillator signals, which are input to the mixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _n, may be controlled by the baseband processor 214 based on which one or more terrestrial television channels or satellite television channels have been selected for consumption on the mobile communication devices 114, 122. The phase and/or frequency of the local oscillator signals, which are input to the mixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _n, may be controlled by the baseband processor 214 based the number of terrestrial and/or satellite television channels being captured. The phase and/or frequency of the local oscillator signals, which are input to the mixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _n, may be generated from the LOGEN 209, which is illustrated in FIG. 2A.
The filters in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _nmay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to filter out undesired frequencies from the corresponding signals that are output from the oscillators in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _n. For example, each of the filters 310 _I, 310 _Qin the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁may be operable to filter out undesired frequencies from the signals 309 _I, 309 _Qto generate the corresponding analog signals 311 _I, 311 _Q.
In some embodiments of the invention, the filters in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _nmay be operable to function with similar characteristics and in other embodiments of the invention, the filters in each of the I/O RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _nmay be operable to function with different characteristics. For example, the filters 310 _I, 310 _Q, which are within the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, may be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the filters (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 ₂. Similarly, the filters (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 ₂may be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the mixers (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 _n, and the mixers 310 _I, 310 _Q, which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 _n.
The ADCs in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _nmay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to convert the analog signals from the corresponding signals that are output from the filters in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _n. For example, each of the ADC 312 _I, 312 _Qin the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁may be operable to convert the analog signals 311 _I, 311 _Qto the corresponding digital signals 313 _I, 313 _Q. The ADCs may be preceded by a frequency conversion step and filtering to shift a higher frequency band to a lower frequency or baseband, where it is easier to design wideband data converters.
In some embodiments of the invention, the ADCs in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _nmay be operable to function with similar characteristics and in other embodiments of the invention, the ADCs in each of the I/O RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _nmay be operable to function with different characteristics. For example, the ADCs 312 _I, 312 _Q, which are within the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, may be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the ADCs (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 ₂. Similarly, the ADCs (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 ₂may be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the ADCs (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 _n, and the ADC 310 _I, 310 _Q, which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 _n.
In operation, the baseband processor 214 may instruct the full band capture diversity receiver 200 to capture a specified number of terrestrial television channels and/or satellite television channels. In this regard, the baseband processor 214 may be operable to configure the multiplexer that feeds the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _nto select and enable a corresponding number of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _n, which are to be utilized to handle reception and demodulation of the specified number of terrestrial television channels and/or satellite television channels. In some embodiments of the invention, only those I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _nwhich are selected by the processor are powered and any remaining ones of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _nthat are not selected are powered down.
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/356,265, which was filed on Jan. 23, 2012 disclosures operation of an exemplary full spectrum capture (FSC) receiver and is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a plurality of multiband mobile radios, which are coupled in a daisy chain arrangement, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 4, there are shown a premises 402, a plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n, an integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 and a television or monitor 416. The plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may also be referred to as radio heads.
The premises 402 may comprise, for example, a home, a building, an office, and in general, any dwelling. Each of the plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may be placed within the premises 402. For example, each of the plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may be placed in a window and/or attic of a home, which may enable them to adequately receive satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals.
Each of the plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n, may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals. Each of the plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may comprise a plurality of phased array antennas that may be operable to receive satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals. In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, each of the plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may be operable to downconvert the received satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals to corresponding intermediate frequency signals. For example, each of the plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may be operable to downconvert the received satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals to corresponding satellite television intermediate frequency (IF) signals and terrestrial television intermediate frequency signals, respectively. In another embodiment of the invention, each of the plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may be operable to process the received satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals and packetize the resulting satellite television channel content and terrestrial television channel content. The received satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals may be processed and encapsulated as IP packets or IP protocol data units.
Each of the plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n, may be coupled in a daisy chain arrangement. In this regard, the multiband mobile radio 410 a may be communicatively coupled to the multiband mobile radio 410 b, . . . , 410 n, the multiband mobile radio 410 b may be communicatively coupled to the multiband mobile radio 410 c, the multiband mobile radio 410(n−1) may be communicatively coupled to the multiband mobile radio 410 n, and so on. Each of the plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n, which are coupled in a daisy chain arrangement, may be communicatively coupled via a wired communication link and/or a wireless communication link. Exemplary wireless communication links may comprise WPAN and/or WLAN communication links. Exemplary wired communication links may comprise coaxial cable and/or thin coaxial communication links. The connector 139 of FIG. 1D may be utilized to daisy chain a plurality of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. Other types of wireless and/or wired communication links may be utilized without departing from the spirit and/or scope of the invention. In some embodiments of the invention, the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may comprise circuitry that may be operable to remodulate the satellite television intermediate frequency (IF) signals and terrestrial television intermediate frequency signals.
The wired and/or wireless communication links that communicatively couple each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may be operable to communicate the remodulated satellite television intermediate frequency (IF) signals and terrestrial television intermediate frequency signals along the daisy chain to one or more other multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n or to the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414. In this regard, the last one of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n in the daisy chain my be communicatively coupled to the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414.
In instances where each of the multiband mobile radio 410 b, . . . , 410 n are operable to packetize the received satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals, the packetized satellite television channel content and terrestrial television channel content may be conveyed via the wired and/or wireless communication links that communicatively couple each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n.
The wired and/or wireless communication links that communicatively couple each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may also be utilized to manage, control and/or configure operation of one or more of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. For example, each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may be configured and/or controlled by the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 via the wired and/or wireless communication links. A common communication channel or dedicated communication channel may be utilized by the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 with the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n.
The integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive and process the signals that are received from each or the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. In this regard, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to generate satellite television channel content and terrestrial television channel content from the corresponding signals that are received from each or the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. For example, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to combine or aggregate the satellite television intermediate frequency signals that are received from the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n and generate corresponding satellite television channel content. Similarly, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to combine or aggregate the terrestrial television intermediate frequency signals that are received from the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n and generate corresponding terrestrial television channel content. Maximum ratio combining, sub-band wise combining and/or other combining or aggregation scheme may be utilized.
In instances where the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n are operable to process the received satellite television signals and output corresponding encapsulated IP packets, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to combine the satellite television packets and generate corresponding satellite television channel content. Similarly, in instances where the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n are operable to process the received terrestrial television signals and output corresponding encapsulated as IP packets or IP protocol data units, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to combine the terrestrial television packets and generate corresponding terrestrial television channel content. The generated corresponding terrestrial television channel content and/or the generated corresponding terrestrial television channel content may be communicated to the television or monitor 416.
The integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to determine which one of the satellite television intermediate frequency signals and the terrestrial television intermediate frequency signals comprises the better quality. Based on the determination, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to transparently output the corresponding satellite television channel content or terrestrial television channel content to the television or monitor 416.
U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25014US02) discloses an exemplary integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box and is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In operation, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to configure, control and/or manage operation of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. For example, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to setup each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n to communicate on one or more channels in order to coordinate operation of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n.
The integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may also be operable to configure the phased antenna arrays for each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. In this regard, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may adjust the phase antenna arrays for each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n in order to optimize reception of the satellite television signals and/or the terrestrial television signals. The integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may also be operable to monitor the satellite television signals and/or the terrestrial television signals that are received from each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. In instances when the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may determine that one or more of the phased array antennas may not be able to receive satellite television signals and/or the terrestrial television signals, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to power down corresponding circuitry within a multiband radio in order to consume power.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 in the premises 402 may be operable to offload traffic from a congested network, such as a home network. For example, in instances where an in-premises network may be located with the premises 402 and the in-premises network is congested, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to offload the handling of some traffic from the in-premises network to the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. In another aspect of the invention, terrestrial television feeds may also be offloaded from a satellite dish network to conserve the bandwidth on the satellite dish network.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary diversity receiver that utilizes full spectrum capture and is operable to remodulate IF signals, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a portion of a multiband mobile receiver 530 comprising a full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200, a baseband processor 214 and a remodulator 217.
The baseband processor 214 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control operation of the multiband mobile receiver 530 including operation of the full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200 and the remodulator 217.
The remodulator 217 may comprise, for example, a mixer and filter module 219, a DAC 220, a power amplifier driver (PAD), an output interface 224, a connector 226 and one or more antennas 228. In some embodiments of the invention, the remodulator 217 may be integrated with the full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200. In some embodiments of the invention, the remodulator 217, the full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200 and the baseband processor 214 may be integrated on a single chip, on the same substrate or on the same package. The remodulator 217 may also share some components with the full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200. For example, the LOGEN 209 may be utilized to drive one or more of the mixers in the remodulator 217.
The full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to utilize full spectrum capture to capture and demodulate one or more satellite television channels and/or one or more terrestrial television channels. The full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200 may be operable to downconvert signals for the demodulated one or more satellite television channels to one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals. The full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200 may also be operable to downconvert signals for the demodulated one or more terrestrial television channels to one or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals. The full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200 may be substantially similar to the full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200, which is illustrated in and described with respect to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B.
The demodulator 217 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to remodulate the one or more corresponding intermediate frequency that may be generated by the full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200. In this regard, the remodulator 217 may be operable to remodulate intermediate frequency satellite television signals and/or intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals that are generated within the multiband mobile receiver 230.
In operation, the baseband processor 214 may be operable to configure and control operation of the remodulator 217. The remodulator 217 may be operable to remodulate the one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals and/or intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals, which are generated by the full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200. The multiband receiver 230 may be operable to communicate the remodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals and/or remodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals for communication to one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more phased array antennas. For example, the multiband mobile radio 410 a may be operable to generate intermediate frequency satellite television signals and/or intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals, which may be remodulated and communicated to the band mobile radio 410 a. Similarly, the multiband mobile radio 410(n−1) may be operable to generate intermediate frequency satellite television signals and/or intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals, which may be remodulated and communicated to the multiband mobile radio 410 n. The multiband mobile radio 410 n may be operable to generate intermediate frequency satellite television signals and/or intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals, which may be remodulated and communicated to the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414. The integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to demodulate the intermediate frequency satellite television signals and/or intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals and extract corresponding satellite television content and/or terrestrial television content.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing full spectrum capture for communicating with a mobile device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 6, there are shown a plurality of steps 602 though 612. In step 602, a receiver, which is operable to utilize full spectrum capture, may capture spectrum comprising one or more satellite television channels and/or one or more terrestrial television channels. In step 604, the receiver discriminates between the satellite television signals and non-satellite television signals and also the terrestrial television signals and non-terrestrial television signals, which are in the captured spectrum and only processes the desired satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals. In step 606, the receiver demodulates the one or more satellite television channels and/or the one or more terrestrial television channels, which are in the captured spectrum. In step 608, the receiver generates output satellite television channel content from the demodulated one or more satellite television channels and generates output terrestrial television channel content from the demodulated one or more terrestrial television channels. In step 610, the receiver packetizes the generated output satellite television channel content and packetizes the generated output terrestrial television channel content. In step 612, the receiver may communicate the packetized output satellite television channel content and/or the packetized output terrestrial television channel content to a consumption device.
FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing full spectrum capture for communicating with a mobile device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 7, there are shown a plurality of steps 702 though 714. In step 702, a multiband mobile receiver, which is operable to utilize full spectrum capture, may capture spectrum comprising one or more satellite television channels and/or one or more terrestrial television channels. In step 704, the multiband mobile receiver discriminates between the satellite television signals and non-satellite television signals and also the terrestrial television signals and non-terrestrial television signals, which are in the captured spectrum and only processes the desired satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals. In step 706, the multiband mobile receiver demodulates the one or more satellite television channels and/or the one or more terrestrial television channels, which are in the captured spectrum.
In step 708, the multiband mobile receiver downconverts signals for the demodulated one or more satellite television channels to corresponding IF satellite television signals and downconverts signals for the demodulated one or more terrestrial television channels to corresponding IF terrestrial television signals. In step 710, the multiband mobile receiver remodulates the IF satellite television signals and remodulates the IF terrestrial television signals. In step 712, the multiband mobile receiver communicates the remodulated IF satellite television signals and the remodulated IF terrestrial television signals to one or more other multiband mobile receivers. In step 714, one of the one or more multiband mobile receivers communicates the remodulated IF satellite television signals and the remodulated IF terrestrial television signals to an integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414.
FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing full spectrum capture for communicating with a mobile device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 8, there are shown a plurality of steps 802 though 812. In step 802, a multiband mobile receiver, which is operable to utilize full spectrum capture, may capture spectrum comprising one or more satellite television channels and/or one or more terrestrial television channels. In step 804, the multiband mobile receiver discriminates between the satellite television signals and non-satellite television signals and also the terrestrial television signals and non-terrestrial television signals, which are in the captured spectrum and only processes the desired satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals. In step 806, the multiband mobile receiver demodulates the one or more satellite television channels and/or the one or more terrestrial television channels, which are in the captured spectrum.
In step 808, the multiband mobile receiver downconverts signals for the demodulated one or more satellite television channels to corresponding IF satellite television signals and downconverts signals for the demodulated one or more terrestrial television channels to corresponding IF terrestrial television signals. In step 810, the multiband mobile receiver remodulates the IF satellite television signals and remodulates the IF terrestrial television signals. In step 812, the multiband mobile receiver communicates the remodulated IF satellite television signals and the remodulated IF terrestrial television signals to an integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414
In various aspects of the invention, a multiband receiver, for example, the multiband mobile receiver 108, may comprise a diversity antenna system such as the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 a, . . . 140 n, which may be operable to receive satellite and terrestrial television signals. The multiband receiver 108 is operable to capture spectrum comprising one or more satellite television channels and/or one or more terrestrial television channels and demodulate the one or more satellite television channels and/or the one or more terrestrial television channels. The diversity antenna system such as the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 a, . . . 140 n may be integrated on a board or substrate within the multiband receiver 410 a. The multiband receiver 108 may be operable to discriminate between the satellite television signals and the non-satellite television signals in the captured spectrum and also discriminate between the terrestrial television signals and non-terrestrial television signals in the captured spectrum. The multiband receiver 108 may be operable to generate output satellite television channel content from the demodulated one or more satellite television channels and also generate output terrestrial television channel content from the demodulated one or more terrestrial television channels. The multiband receiver 108 may be operable to packetize the generated output satellite television channel content and also packetize the output generated terrestrial television channel content. The multiband receiver 108 may be operable to communicate the generated output satellite television channel content to one or more mobile communication devices and also communicate the generated output terrestrial television channel content to one or more mobile communication devices 114.
The multiband receiver 108 may be operable to downconvert signals for the demodulated one or more satellite television channels to one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals and also downconvert signals for the demodulated one or more terrestrial television channels to one or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals. The multiband receiver 108 may be operable to remodulate the one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals and also remodulate the one or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals. The multiband receiver 108 may be operable to communicate the remodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals to one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems.
In some embodiments of the invention, the multiband receiver 108 comprising the diversity antenna system and the one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems may be coupled in a daisy-chain arrangement. The multiband receiver 108 may also be operable to communicate the remodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals to the one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems. The multiband receiver 108 comprising the diversity antenna system and the one or more other multiband receivers comprising the one or more diversity antenna systems may be coupled to an integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414. The integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to extract satellite television channel content from the remodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals and also extract terrestrial television channel content from the remodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals.
As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer to physical electronic components (i.e. hardware) and any software and/or firmware (“code”) which may configure the hardware, be executed by the hardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As used herein, for example, a particular processor and memory may comprise a first “circuit” when executing a first one or more lines of code and may comprise a second “circuit” when executing a second one or more lines of code. As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items in the list joined by “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means any element of the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. As another example, “x, y, and/or z” means any element of the seven-element set {(x), (y), (z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z), (x, y, z)}. As utilized herein, the term “exemplary” means serving as a non-limiting example, instance, or illustration. As utilized herein, the terms “e.g.,” and “for example” set off lists of one or more non-limiting examples, instances, or illustrations. As utilized herein, circuitry is “operable” to perform a function whenever the circuitry comprises the necessary hardware and code (if any is necessary) to perform the function, regardless of whether performance of the function is disabled, or not enabled, by some user-configurable setting.
Other embodiments of the invention may provide a computer readable device and/or a non-transitory computer readable medium, and/or a machine readable device and/or a non-transitory machine readable medium, having stored thereon, a machine code and/or a computer program having at least one code section executable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machine and/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for full spectrum capture for satellite and terrestrial applications
Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The present invention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least one computer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware and software may be a general-purpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein.
The present invention may also be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the present context means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different material form.
While the present invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method for communication, the method comprising:

in a multiband receiver comprising a diversity antenna system that is operable to receive satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals:

capturing spectrum comprising a satellite television signal and a terrestrial television signal;

processing said satellite television signal to select a television channel;

processing said terrestrial television signal to select a television channel; and

performing maximal ratio combining of said selected television channel of said satellite television signal and said selected television channel of said terrestrial television signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said diversity antenna system is integrated on a board or substrate within said multiband receiver.

3. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

packetizing a result of said maximal ratio combining.

4. The method according to claim 3, comprising:

communicating said packetized a result of said maximal ratio combining from said multiband receiver to one or more mobile communication devices.

5. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

remodulating a result of said maximal ratio combining to generate a corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signal.

6. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

remodulating a result of said maximal ratio combining to generate a corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signal.

7. The method according to claim 6, comprising:

communicating said corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signal to one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems, wherein said multiband receiver comprising said diversity antenna system and said one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems are coupled in a daisy-chain arrangement.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein one of said multiband receiver comprising said diversity antenna system and said one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems is coupled to an integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box that is operable to:

extract satellite television channel content from said corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signal.

9. A system for communication, the system comprising:

a multiband receiver comprising a diversity antenna system that are operable to receive satellite television signals and terrestrial television signals, said multiband receiver being operable to:

capture spectrum comprising a satellite television signal and a terrestrial television signal; and

process said satellite television signal via a first processing path of said multiband receiver to generate a first processed signal;

process said terrestrial television signal via a second processing path of said multiband receiver to generate a second processed signal;

select a channel of said first processed signal;

select a channel of said second processed signal; and

perform maximal ratio combining of said selected channel of said first processed signal and said selected channel of said second processed signal.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein said diversity antenna system is integrated on a board or substrate within said multiband receiver.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein said multiband receiver is operable to:

packetize a result of said maximal ratio combining.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein said multiband receiver is operable to:

communicate said packetized result of said maximal ratio combining to one or more mobile communication devices.

13. The system according to claim 9, wherein said multiband receiver is operable to:

remodulate a result of said maximal ratio combining to generate a corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signal.

14. The system according to claim 9, wherein said multiband receiver is operable to:

remodulate a result of said maximal ratio combining to generate a corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signal.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein said multiband receiver is operable:

communicate said corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signal to one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems, wherein said multiband receiver comprising said diversity antenna system and said one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems are coupled in a daisy-chain arrangement.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein one of said multiband receiver comprising said diversity antenna system and said one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems is coupled to an integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box that is operable to:

extract satellite television channel content from said remodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals.