US7336646B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
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System and method for synchronizing a transport stream in a single frequency network
Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
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Filing: 2004-10-26
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Granted: 2008-02-26
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Expires: 2024-10-26
Abstract
Abstract A single frequency network (SFN) system is provided, where the system includes a head-end and a plurality of transmitters. The head-end is capable of calculating timing information based upon a time reference having a second resolution. Thereafter, the head-end is capable of sending content including the timing information. The transmitters are capable of receiving the content including the timing information. At least one transmitter is capable of calculating a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter. In this regard, the transmitter(s) are capable of calculating the delay based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information. After the delay, then, the transmitter(s) are capable of broadcasting the synchronized content to a plurality of mobile terminals.
Inventors
- 👤 Dominique Müller
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 16:36
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L7/00; H04H; H04H20/00; H04H20/65; H04H20/67; H04H20/18
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 39
Claim 1
Independent Claim
135 words
A single frequency network (SFN) system comprising: a head-end configured to calculate timing information based upon a time reference having a second resolution, wherein the head-end is configured to thereafter send content including the timing information; and a plurality of transmitters configured to receive the content including the timing information, wherein at least one transmitter is configured to calculate a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter, the delay being calculated based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information, and wherein the at least one transmitter is configured to broadcast the synchronized content to a plurality of mobile terminals after the delay.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
135 words
A single frequency network (SFN) system comprising: a head-end configured to calculate timing information based upon a time reference having a second resolution, wherein the head-end is configured to thereafter send content including the timing information; and a plurality of transmitters configured to receive the content including the timing information, wherein at least one transmitter is configured to calculate a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter, the delay being calculated based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information, and wherein the at least one transmitter is configured to broadcast the synchronized content to a plurality of mobile terminals after the delay.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
41 words
A system according to claim 1 , wherein the head-end is configured to send, and the plurality of transmitters are configured to receive, a plurality of mega-frames of content, each mega-frame including a mega-frame initialization packet (MIP) having the timing information.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
A system according to claim 1 , wherein the head-end is configured to receive the time reference from at least one network time protocol (NTP) server.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
A system according to claim 3 , wherein the head-end is configured to receive the time reference from the NTP server across an Internet Protocol (IP) network.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
A system according to claim 3 , wherein the at least one transmitter is configured to receive the time reference from a first primary time-distribution network before calculating the delay.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
33 words
A system according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one transmitter is configured to receive the time reference from a first primary time-distribution network comprising a global positioning system (GPS) network.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
131 words
An apparatus comprising: a processor configured to calculate timing information based upon a time reference having a second resolution, wherein the processor is configured to send content including the timing information to a plurality of transmitters, the content being sent to thereby enable at least one transmitter to calculate a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter, the delay being calculated based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information, and wherein the processor is configured to send the content to thereby enable the at least one transmitter to broadcast the synchronized content to a plurality of mobile terminals.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
131 words
An apparatus comprising: a processor configured to calculate timing information based upon a time reference having a second resolution, wherein the processor is configured to send content including the timing information to a plurality of transmitters, the content being sent to thereby enable at least one transmitter to calculate a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter, the delay being calculated based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information, and wherein the processor is configured to send the content to thereby enable the at least one transmitter to broadcast the synchronized content to a plurality of mobile terminals.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
An apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the processor is configured to send a plurality of mega-frames of content, each mega-frame including a mega-frame initialization packet (MIP) having the timing information.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
An apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the processor is configured to receive the time reference and from at least one network time protocol (NTP) server.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
An apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to receive the time reference from the NTP server across an Internet Protocol (IP) network.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
52 words
An apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to send content to thereby enable at least one transmitter is capable of synchronizing to synchronize the content based upon a time reference received by the at least one transmitter from a first primary time-distribution network before synchronizing the content.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
51 words
An apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to send content to thereby enable at least one transmitter to synchronize the content based upon a time reference received by the at least one transmitter from a first primary time-distribution network comprising a global positioning system (GPS) network.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
98 words
An apparatus comprising: a processor configured to receive content from a head-end, the content including timing information calculated based upon a time reference having a second resolution, wherein the processor is configured to calculate a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information the content being configured for broadcast to a plurality of mobile terminals after the delay.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
98 words
An apparatus comprising: a processor configured to receive content from a head-end, the content including timing information calculated based upon a time reference having a second resolution, wherein the processor is configured to calculate a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information the content being configured for broadcast to a plurality of mobile terminals after the delay.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
34 words
An apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the processor is configured to receive content comprising a plurality of mega-frames of content, each mega-frame including a mega-frame initialization packet (MIP) having the timing information.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
27 words
An apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the processor is configured to receive the time reference from a first primary time-distribution network before calculating the delay.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
30 words
An apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the processor is configured to receive the time reference from a first primary time-distribution network comprising a global positioning system (GPS) network.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
37 words
An apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the processor is configured to receive content including timing information calculated based upon a time reference received by the head-end from at least one network time protocol (NTP) server.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
38 words
An apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the processor is configured to receive content including timing information calculated based upon a time reference received by the head-end from the NTP server across an Internet Protocol (IP) network.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
126 words
A method of transmitting content in a single frequency network (SFN), the method comprising: calculating timing information based upon a time reference having a second resolution; and sending content including the timing information to a plurality of transmitters, wherein sending content comprises sending content to thereby enable at least one transmitter to calculate a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter, the delay being calculated based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information, and to thereby enable the at least one transmitter to broadcast the synchronized content to a plurality of mobile terminals.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
126 words
A method of transmitting content in a single frequency network (SFN), the method comprising: calculating timing information based upon a time reference having a second resolution; and sending content including the timing information to a plurality of transmitters, wherein sending content comprises sending content to thereby enable at least one transmitter to calculate a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter, the delay being calculated based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information, and to thereby enable the at least one transmitter to broadcast the synchronized content to a plurality of mobile terminals.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method according to claim 19 , wherein sending content comprises sending a plurality of mega-frames of content, each mega-frame including a mega-frame initialization packet (MIP) having the timing information.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method according to claim 19 further comprising: receiving the time reference from at least one network time protocol (NTP) server.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method according to claim 21 , wherein receiving the time reference and the second frequency reference comprises receiving the time reference from the NTP server across an Internet Protocol (IP) network.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
45 words
A method according to claim 21 , wherein sending content comprises sending content to thereby enable at least one transmitter to synchronize the content based upon a reference received by the at least one transmitter from a first primary time-distribution network before synchronizing the content.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
48 words
A method according to claim 23 , wherein sending content comprises sending content to thereby enable at least one transmitter to synchronize the content based upon a reference received by the at least one transmitter from a first primary time-distribution network comprising a global positioning system (GPS) network.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
106 words
A method of transmitting content in a single frequency network (SFN) including a plurality of transmitters, wherein for each transmitter the method comprises: receiving content from a head-end, the content including timing information calculated based upon a time reference having a second resolution; calculating a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information; and broadcasting the content to a plurality of mobile terminals after the delay.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
106 words
A method of transmitting content in a single frequency network (SFN) including a plurality of transmitters, wherein for each transmitter the method comprises: receiving content from a head-end, the content including timing information calculated based upon a time reference having a second resolution; calculating a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information; and broadcasting the content to a plurality of mobile terminals after the delay.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method according to claim 25 , wherein receiving content comprises receiving a plurality of mega-frames of content, each mega-frame including a mega-frame initialization packet (MIP) having the timing information.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method according to claim 25 further comprising: receiving the time reference from a first primary time-distribution network before calculating the delay.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method according to claim 27 , wherein receiving the time reference from a first primary time-distribution network comprises receiving the time reference from a global positioning system (GPS) network.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method according to claim 27 , wherein receiving content comprises receiving content including timing information calculated based upon a time reference received by the head-end from at least one network time protocol (NTP) server.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
36 words
A method according to claim 29 , wherein receiving content comprises receiving content including timing information calculated based upon a time reference received by the head-end from the NTP server across an Internet Protocol (IP) network.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
121 words
An apparatus comprising: a means for calculating timing information based upon a time reference having a second resolution; and a means for sending content including the timing information to a plurality of transmitters, wherein sending content comprises sending content to thereby enable at least one transmitter to calculate a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter, the delay being calculated based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information, and to thereby enable the at least one transmitter to broadcast the synchronized content to a plurality of mobile terminals.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
121 words
An apparatus comprising: a means for calculating timing information based upon a time reference having a second resolution; and a means for sending content including the timing information to a plurality of transmitters, wherein sending content comprises sending content to thereby enable at least one transmitter to calculate a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter, the delay being calculated based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information, and to thereby enable the at least one transmitter to broadcast the synchronized content to a plurality of mobile terminals.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
95 words
An apparatus comprising: a means for receiving content from a head-end, the content including timing information calculated based upon a time reference having a second resolution; a means for calculating a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information; and a means for broadcasting the content to a plurality of mobile terminals after the delay.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
95 words
An apparatus comprising: a means for receiving content from a head-end, the content including timing information calculated based upon a time reference having a second resolution; a means for calculating a delay to synchronize the content with content received by at least one other transmitter based upon the timing information and a time reference having a first resolution, the first resolution being higher than the second resolution such that the delay has a higher accuracy than the timing information; and a means for broadcasting the content to a plurality of mobile terminals after the delay.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2011-02-25 | 2011-08-27 | 2012-02-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2015-02-25 | 2015-08-27 | 2016-02-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2019-02-25 | 2019-08-27 | 2020-02-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |