# US 2014/0192939 A1 · Alignment of Non-Synchronous Data Streams > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0192939 A1 - Document ID: US20140192939A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/125,050 - Filed: 2012-06-07 - Published: 2014-07-10 - Earliest claimed: 2011-06-10 - Assignees: Astrium GmbH - Inventors: Robert Patrick Wallace Smart; Daniel Christopher Hollamby; Adrian Philip Baldwin; Iain David Cameron - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140192939A1 ## CPC - H04L 7/02: Speed or phase control by the received code signals, the signals containing no special synchronisation information {(H04L7/0075 takes precedence)} - H04L 25/14: Channel dividing arrangements {, i.e. in which a single bit stream is divided between several baseband channels and reassembled at the receiver} - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract An apparatus for aligning non-synchronous input data streams received in the apparatus, the apparatus comprising an analogue to digital converter arrangement for digitising the data streams into a plurality of sequences of samples; and a synchronisation processing arrangement for generating alignment pulses for each sequence of the plurality of sequences of samples, for arranging each sequence of samples with respect to the alignment pulses for the sequence and for synchronisation the delivery of said plurality of sequences of samples to a common processor with respect to the respective alignment pulses. The synchronisation processing arrangement may comprise a processing chain for each antenna feed of said plurality of antenna feeds and each processing chain may comprise an alignment pulse generator for generating an alignment pulse for the sequence of samples corresponding to the processing chain. The input data streams may be received by a plurality of antenna feeds. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An apparatus for facilitating the alignment of non-synchronous input data streams received in the apparatus, the apparatus comprising an analogue to digital converter arrangement for digitising the plurality of input data streams into a plurality of sequences of samples; and a synchronisation processing arrangement for generating alignment pulses for each sequence of the plurality of sequences of samples, for arranging each sequence of samples with respect to the alignment pulses for the sequence and for synchronising the delivery of said plurality of sequences of samples to a common processor with respect to the respective alignment pulses. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the synchronisation processing arrangement comprises a processing chain for each data stream and each processing chain comprises an alignment pulse generator for generating the alignment pulses for the sequence of samples corresponding to the processing chain. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each processing chain has a separate processing chain clock signal and each alignment pulse generator is configured to generate an alignment pulse of the alignment pulses for the sequence at a time determined in accordance with a synchronisation pulse common to all processing chains, and received by each alignment pulse generator, and the processing chain clock signal of its respective processing chain. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein each of said processing chain clock signals has a rate that is N times slower than a sampling rate at which a data stream of the plurality of data streams is sampled and each processing chain further comprises means for dividing each sequence of samples corresponding to a data stream into a plurality (N) sub-streams such that N samples are processed in each cycle of the processing chain clock signal. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each alignment pulse generator is operable to adjust the timing of an alignment pulse for a sequence of samples with respect to an earlier alignment pulse for the sequence of samples to move said alignment pulse one or more cycles of the processing chain clock signal, corresponding to steps of N samples of the sequence of samples, in order to align the non-synchronous input data streams. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of alignment pulses provide a plurality of frame boundaries and each processing chain further comprising a means for moving the sequence of samples with respect to the plurality of alignment pulses to align the non-synchronous input data streams, the means for moving being configured to move the sequence of samples between 0 and N−1 samples with respect to the plurality of frame boundaries. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein each processing chain further comprises a first-in-first-out register arrangement (FIFO), the FIFO register arrangement being configured to receive said sequence of samples and said alignment pulses and arrange the sequence of samples into frames in accordance with the alignment pulse in one or more registers, the FIFO register arrangement being further arranged to deliver the samples from the register arrangement to the common processor after a configurable delay such that data samples from different processing chains having corresponding positions within corresponding frames are delivered to the common processor synchronously. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) An apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a reference alignment pulse generator, the reference alignment pulse generator being configured to generate and transmit reference alignment pulses to the FIFO register arrangement of said processing chains, each FIFO register arrangement being configured to output the sequence of samples in an output stream to the digital processor such that frame delineator data in the output stream coincide with the receipt of the reference alignment pulses in the FIFO register arrangement. ### Claim 9 (depends on 3) An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the synchronisation pulse comprises a pulse of a predetermined width, each alignment pulse generator being configured to sample said pulse and create an alignment pulse within a time interval corresponding to said predetermined width. ### Claim 10 (depends on 3) An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the apparatus further comprises a synchronisation pulse generator for transmitting said synchronisation pulse to each of the processing chains. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of receive antenna feeds for receiving said data streams; and a common digital processor configured to receive said plurality of sequences of samples from the synchronisation processing arrangement. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) A satellite payload comprising the apparatus of claim 1. ### Claim 13 A method for facilitating alignment of non-synchronous input data streams received by an apparatus, comprising digitising said data streams into a plurality of sequences of samples; generating alignment pulses for each sequence of samples; arranging each sequence of samples with respect to its corresponding alignment pulses; and synchronising the delivery of each sequence of samples to a common digital processor with respect to the alignment pulses for the sequences. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) A method according to claim 13, wherein arranging each sequence of samples with respect to its corresponding alignment pulses comprises receiving a sequence of samples of the plurality of sequence of samples and the alignment pulses for said sequence and arranging the sequence of samples into frames in accordance with the alignment pulses in one or more registers and wherein synchronising the delivery of each sequence comprises extracting the sequence of samples from the one or more registers after a configurable delay such that data samples of different sequences of samples having corresponding positions within corresponding frames are delivered to the common processor synchronously. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) A method according to claim 13, wherein arranging each sequence of samples further comprises adjusting the position of alignment pulses relative to the samples in the sequence of samples to ensure that corresponding data samples are arranged in corresponding position with respect to respective alignment pulses in the plurality of sequences, wherein each sequence of samples is processed as a number of N sub-streams, N samples being processed at each clock cycle, and wherein adjusting the position of alignment pulses relative to the samples comprises adjusting the timing of an alignment pulse one or more clock cycles to move the alignment pulse N data samples and using a data selector to introduce a delay in the processing of the samples to move the sequence of samples a number of samples between 0 and N−1 samples with respect to the alignment pulses.