Simultaneous multichannel television access control system and method

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said modulated RF signal is coherent with a carrier of said television signal.

Claim 8

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said modulated RF signal is coherently combined substantially out of phase with said scrambled television signal.

Claim 9

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said television signal is scrambled, said scrambled television signal having suppressed synchronizing pulses.

Claim 10

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said modulated RF signal is coherently combined substantially in phase with said scrambled television signal during said blanking period.

Claim 11

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said modulated RF signal is coherently combined substantially out of phase with said scrambled television signal during said blanking period.

Claim 12

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the amplitude of said modulated RF signal has a substantially zero value during said active video period such that said processed television signal is substantially identical to said television signal during said active video period.

Claim 13

The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the frequency power spectrum of said modulated RF signal is substantially zero at the audio subcarrier frequency of a second television signal transmitted at a lower frequency channel adjacent to the channel of said television signal.

Claim 14

The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the frequency power spectrum of said modulated RF signal is vestigial sideband in character.

Claim 15

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein at least some of said plurality of television signals are transmitted with incrementally related carrier frequencies.

Claim 16

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said modulated RF signal is coherently combined substantially in phase with said scrambled television signal during said active video period.

Claim 17

The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising means for selecting a phasor value for said modulated RF signal during said active video period from a predetermined plurality of fixed and distinct phasor values in response to a cryptographic keystream control.

Claim 18

The apparatus of claim 3 capable of processing a plurality of television signals simultaneously.

Claim 19

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said apparatus is employed in a multichannel television transmission origination facility, said facility thereby transmitting the processed broadband signal.

Claim 20

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said apparatus is employed in a broadband receiving node, said node responsive to a broadband multichannel television transmission origination facility, said node thereby distributing said broadband processed signal to subscriber terminals.

Claim 21

The apparatus of claim 16 wherein at least two of said plurality of television signals have frequencies that are incrementally related by frequency increments that are integral multiples of a predetermined fundamental frequency, said apparatus further comprising: means for generating an RF pilot reference signal having a frequency equal to an integral multiple of said predetermined fundamental frequency; means for combining said pilot reference signal with said processed broadband signal to produce a composite processed broadband signal; and means for transmitting said composite processed broadband signal to receiving nodes.

Claim 22

The apparatus of claim 17 wherein at least two of said plurality of television signals have frequencies that are incrementally related by frequency increments that are integral multiples of a predetermined fundamental frequency, and wherein an RF pilot reference signal having a frequency equal to an integral multiple of said predetermined fundamental frequency is transmitted from said broadband multichannel television transmission origination facility, said apparatus further comprising: means for receiving said RF pilot reference signal; means for regenerating a local reference signal phase locked to said received RF pilot reference signal; and means for using said local reference signal to generate said plurality of simultaneous RF signals.

Claim 23

The apparatus of claim 15 wherein at least two of said plurality of television signals are modulated in video synchrony.

Claim 24

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein at least two of said plurality of television signals are modulated in video synchrony.

Claim 27

The method of claim 22 wherein said change in phasor value comprises a change in amplitude.

Claim 28

The method of claim 22 wherein said selected at least one television signal is denied.

Claim 29

The method of claim 22 or 24 wherein said processed broadband signal comprises at least one clear television signal.

Claim 30

The method of claim 25 wherein said selected at least one television signal and said at least one clear television signal are determined in accordance with addressable subscription information.

Claim 31

The method of claim 22 wherein said at least one independently generated RF signal is coherent with said selected at least one of said television signals.

Claim 32

In a subscriber television system, a method for processing a broadband signal comprised of a plurality of television signals each having a phasor value, an active video period and a blanking period, said method comprising the steps of: partitioning the set of said plurality of television signals into a first subset of television signals containing at least one television signal and a second subset of television signals that is disjoint from the first subset of television signals, wherein said partition step is further characterized in that the selection of the television signals in each such subset of television signals is in accordance with subscriber subscription information; and simultaneously changing the phasor value of each of said second subset of television signals, wherein said change of phasor value during the blanking period is substantially different from the change of phasor value during the active video period and wherein no substantial change of phasor value of any of the television signals of the first subset is made.

Claim 33

In a subscriber television system, a method for processing a broadband signal comprised of a plurality of television signals each having a phasor value, an active video period and a blanking period, said method comprising the steps of: partitioning the set of said plurality of television signals into a first subset of television signals containing at least one television signal and a second subset of television signals that is disjoint from the first subset of television signals, wherein said partition step is further characterized in that the selection of the television signals in each such subset of television signals is in accordance with subscriber subscription information; and simultaneously changing the phasor value of each of said second subset of television signals, wherein said change of phasor value during the blanking period is substantially different from the change of phasor value during the active video period and wherein no substantial change of phasor value of any of the television signals of the first subset is made.

Claim 34

The method of claim 28 wherein said plurality of television signals are video frame synchronous; and wherein said blanking period of said plurality of television signals comprises a horizontal blanking period.

Claim 35

The method of claim 29 wherein the video timing of said video frame synchronous television signals are timed so that their respective blanking periods are substantially coincident.

Claim 36

The method of claim 29 further comprising the step of forming at least two temporally staggered groups of said plurality of television signals so that the horizontal blanking period of all the television signals within any one of said at least two groups are substantially coincident; and wherein the horizontal blanking period of the television signals within any one of said at least two groups are substantially nonoverlapping temporally with the horizontal blanking period of the television signals within any other one of said at least two groups of video frame synchronous television signals.

Claim 37

The method of claim 28 wherein said step of simultaneously changing the phasor value further comprises the step of RF coherent injection.

Claim 38

The method of claim 28 wherein said change in phasor value comprises a change in amplitude.

Claim 39

The method of claim 28 wherein said subscriber subscription information is conveyed by addressable control.

Claim 40

The method of claim 28 wherein said change in phasor value during the active video period is made in accordance with a cryptographic keystream control.