Robust data transmission using broadcast digital television signals
AssigneeRosum Corporation
InventorsJimmy K Omura, James J Spilker, Jr., Matthew Rabinowitz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A DTV signal includes frames, and the frames include data segments. Data segments are replaced by codewords which represent digital data. The DTV signals are broadcast and received by receivers. The receivers recover the digital data from the codewords in the DTV signals, for example by using matched filtering. By using long codewords, the digital data can be broadcast over a longer range and recovered by simpler circuitry in comparison to the television programming contained in the DTV signal. In one implementation, the DTV signal is an American Television Standards Committee (ATSC) DTV signal.
Claims79
A method for inserting digital data into a digital television (DTV) broadcast signal, the DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, the method comprising:
- encoding the digital data as codewords;
- and
- replacing data segments within the DTV signal with the codewords;
- wherein the step of encoding the digital data as codewords comprises
- dividing the digital data into bit sequences;
- and
- encoding each bit sequence as a corresponding codeword selected from a finite set of codewords wherein:
- each codeword corresponds to a specific bit sequence,
- the codewords are all of the same length, and
- each codeword is longer than its corresponding bit sequence.
A method for recovering digital data from a broadcast digital television (DTV) signal, comprising:
- receiving a broadcast DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, wherein at least one data segment has been replaced by at least one codeword representing digital data;
- selecting the data segments which have been replaced by codewords;
- and
- recovering the digital data from the selected data segments;
- and
- wherein each codeword is selected from a finite set of codewords wherein
- each codeword corresponds to a specific bit sequence,
- the codewords are all of the same length, and
- each codeword is longer than its corresponding bit sequence, and
- the step of recovering the digital data from the selected data segments comprises recovering the bit sequences from the selected data segments.
A DTV transmitter device for inserting digital data into a digital television (DTV) broadcast signal, the DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, the DTV transmitter device comprising:
- means for encoding the digital data as codewords;
- and
- means for replacing data segments within the DTV signal with the codewords;
- and
- wherein the means for encoding the digital data as codewords comprises
- means for dividing the digital data into bit sequences, and
- means for encoding each bit sequence as a corresponding codeword selected from a finite set of codewords wherein
- each codeword corresponds to a specific bit sequence,
- the codewords are all of the same length, and
- each codeword is longer than its corresponding bit sequence.
A DTV receiver device for recovering digital data from a broadcast digital television (DTV) signal, comprising:
- means for receiving a broadcast DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, wherein at least one data segment has been replaced by at least one codeword representing digital data;
- means for selecting the data segments which have been replaced by codewords;
- and
- means for recovering the digital data from the selected data segments;
- and
- wherein each codeword is selected from a finite set of codewords wherein
- each codeword corresponds to a specific bit sequence,
- the codewords are all of the same length,
- each codeword is longer than its corresponding bit sequence, and
- the means for recovering the digital data from the selected data segments comprises means for recovering the bit sequences from the selected data segments.
A DTV receiver device for recovering digital data from a broadcast digital television (DTV) signal, comprising:
- a front end adapted to receive a broadcast DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, wherein data segments have been replaced by codewords representing digital data and the codewords are selected from a finite set of codewords;
- and
- a bank of correlators coupled to the front end and adapted to correlate the data segments against templates for codewords from the finite set of codewords;
- and
- wherein each codeword is selected from a finite set of codewords wherein
- each codeword corresponds to a specific bit sequence,
- the codewords are all of the same length, and
- each codeword is longer than its corresponding bit sequence.
A DTV receiver device for recovering digital data from a broadcast digital television (DTV) signal, comprising:
- a front end adapted to receive a broadcast DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, wherein data segments have been replaced by codewords representing digital data and the codewords are selected from a finite set of codewords;
- and
- a bank of correlators coupled to the front end and adapted to correlate the data segments against templates for codewords from the finite set of codewords;
- and
- wherein the front end comprises
- an antenna,
- a mixer coupled to the antenna and adapted to downconvert the received DTV signal, and
- a sampler coupled between the mixer and the bank of correlators and adapted to sample the downconverted DTV signal.
A DTV receiver device for recovering digital data from a broadcast digital television (DTV) signal, comprising:
- a front end adapted to receive a broadcast DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, wherein data segments have been replaced by codewords representing digital data and the codewords are selected from a finite set of codewords;
- and
- a bank of correlators coupled to the front end and adapted to correlate the data segments against templates for codewords from the finite set of codewords;
- and
- wherein
- the front end comprises a sampler adapted to sample the DTV signals, and
- each correlator within the bank of correlators comprises
- a tap delay line having a parallel output adapted to receive and store samples of a data segment, and
- a multiply and sum device coupled to the parallel output of the tap delay line and adapted to correlate the data segment against a template for a codeword.
A DTV transmitter device for inserting digital data into a digital television (DTV) broadcast signal, the DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, the DTV transmitter device comprising:
- an encoder adapted to encode the digital data as codewords;
- and
- a packet multiplexer adapted to replace data segments within the DTV signal with the codewords;
- and
- wherein the encoder is further adapted to
- divide the digital data into bit sequences, and
- encode each bit sequence as a corresponding codeword selected from a finite set of codewords wherein
- each codeword corresponds to a specific bit sequence,
- the codewords are all of the same length, and
- each codeword is longer than its corresponding bit sequence.
Computer-readable media embodying instructions executable by a computer to perform a method for inserting digital data into a digital television (DTV) broadcast signal, the DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, the method comprising:
- encoding the digital data as codewords;
- and
- replacing data segments within the DTV signal with the codewords;
- wherein the step of encoding the digital data as codewords comprises
- dividing the digital data into bit sequences, and
- encoding each bit sequence as a corresponding codeword selected from a finite set of codewords wherein
- each codeword corresponds to a specific bit sequence,
- the codewords are all of the same length, and
- each codeword is longer than its corresponding bit sequence.
Computer-readable media embodying instructions executable by a computer to perform a method for recovering digital data from a broadcast digital television (DTV) signal, the method comprising:
- receiving a broadcast DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, wherein at least one data segment has been replaced by at least one codeword representing digital data;
- selecting the data segments which have been replaced by codewords;
- and
- recovering the digital data from the selected data segments;
- and
- wherein each codeword is selected from a finite set of codewords wherein
- each codeword corresponds to a specific bit sequence,
- the codewords are all of the same length,
- each codeword is longer than its corresponding bit sequence, and
- the step of recovering the digital data from the selected data segments comprises recovering the bit sequences from the selected data segments.
A DTV receiver device for recovering digital data from a broadcast digital television (DTV) signal, comprising:
- a front end adapted to receive a broadcast DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, wherein data segments have been replaced by codewords representing digital data and the codewords are selected from a finite set of codewords;
- a bank of correlators coupled to the front end and adapted to correlate the data segments against templates for codewords from the finite set of codewords;
- and
- a comparator coupled to the bank of correlators and adapted to determine which of the correlations produced by the bank of correlators has the strongest peak.
A DTV receiver device for recovering digital data from a broadcast digital television (DTV) signal, comprising:
- a front end adapted to receive a broadcast DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, wherein data segments have been replaced by codewords representing digital data and the codewords are selected from a finite set of codewords;
- a bank of correlators coupled to the front end and adapted to correlate the data segments against templates for codewords from the finite set of codewords;
- a field synchronization correlator coupled to the antenna and adapted to correlate the data segments against a template for a field synchronization segment, wherein the DTV signal includes a field synchronization segment which repeats once every N segments;
- a bank of accumulators coupled to the field synchronization correlator and adapted to accumulate the correlations to produce N partial sums, each partial sum reflecting a sum of peaks of every Nth correlation;
- a comparator coupled to the bank of accumulators and adapted to determine which of the N partial sums is the largest to identify the field synchronization segment;
- and
- a counter coupled to the antenna and the comparator and adapted to determine a numerical position of data segments with respect to the field synchronization segment, wherein only preselected data segments have been replaced by codewords, and the data segments are preselected according to their numerical position with respect to the field synchronization segment.
A DTV receiver device for recovering digital data from a broadcast digital television (DTV) signal, comprising:
- a front end adapted to receive a broadcast DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, wherein data segments have been replaced by codewords representing digital data and the codewords are selected from a finite set of codewords;
- a bank of correlators coupled to the front end and adapted to correlate the data segments against templates for codewords from the finite set of codewords;
- a field synchronization correlator coupled to the antenna and adapted to correlate the data segments against a template for a field synchronization segment, wherein the DTV signal includes a field synchronization segment which repeats once every N segments;
- a bank of counters coupled to the field synchronization correlator and adapted to generate N counts from the correlations, each count reflecting a number of times every Nth correlation exceeds a threshold;
- a comparator coupled to the bank of counters and adapted to determine which of the N counts is the largest to identify the field synchronization segment;
- and
- a counter coupled to the antenna and the comparator and adapted to determine a numerical position of data segments with respect to the field synchronization segment, wherein only preselected data segments have been replaced by codewords, and the data segments are preselected according to their numerical position with respect to the field synchronization segment.
A DTV receiver device for recovering digital data from a broadcast digital television (DTV) signal, comprising:
- a front end adapted to receive a broadcast DTV signal comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data segments, wherein data segments have been replaced by codewords representing digital data and the codewords are selected from a finite set of codewords;
- and
- a bank of correlators coupled to the front end and adapted to correlate the data segments against templates for codewords from the finite set of codewords;
- and
- wherein
- the front end comprises a sampler adapted to sample the DTV signals, and
- the bank of correlators comprises a DSP processor programmed to correlate the data segments against templates for the codewords.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.