Patent Application
20080253479
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to transmission of information through media such as wire, cable, and radio-frequency propagation, both terrestrial and satellite. More particularly, the present invention relates to a single and multiple sinewave modulation technique, apparatus for modulating and demodulating information according to the modulation technique, and communications systems employing the modulation technique.
2. The Prior Art
Digital data is often transferred from point to point by exploiting one or more of the three characteristic properties of an AC signal: Amplitude, Frequency and Phase.
Some of the modulation methods using the amplitude property are OOK (On-Off Keying) and common AM (amplitude modulation). In OOK a data bit is represented by the presence or absence of a carrier. In AM data bits are represented by a difference in the relative amplitude of the carrier or by using different tones representing the digital data to amplitude modulate a carrier.
Typical modulation methods using the frequency property are FSK (Frequency Shift Keying and FM (frequency modulation). With FSK the binary states of digital data are represented with abrupt frequency changes between two predetermined fixed frequencies. In FM data bits are represented by a difference in the relative frequency of the carrier or by using different tones representing the digital data to frequency modulate a carrier.
Phase modulation is also a common modulation method also but when used alone is difficult to distinguish from FM. Recently more sophisticated modulation methods have evolved and have been exploited. As an example a relatively new and popular modulation method is QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), which uses a combination of amplitude and phase modulation. There are several different variations of QAM depending on the application.
Each of these modulation methods is viable, proven and used in appropriate communications applications. A few undesirable characteristics common to all of these modulation methods is they all require several cycles to transmit one bit and in doing so generate significant sidebands. These sidebands are necessary to extract the information from the carrier and take up significant bandwidth in the communications channel, requiring significant spacing between adjacent signals.
A modulation technique according to the present invention employs one or more sinusoidal carriers. Digital data comprising a number of digital bits are encoded within each half of the sinusoidal cycle. Each individual one of n bits is located at a predetermined phase angle of the cycle θn. One digital representation (for example a “zero”) is represented by no change occurring in the amplitude Y of the sinusoidal waveform at the phase angle θn. The other digital representation (for example a “one”) is represented by altering the sinusoidal waveform at the phase angle θn. As presently preferred, the sinusoidal waveform may be altered by maintaining the amplitude Y=sin θn for a short interval Δθ following the phase angle θn (shelf-step). Alternatively, the sinusoidal waveform could be altered by increasing (or decreasing) the amplitude of the sinusoidal waveform and then maintaining the amplitude Y=sin θ(n+Δθ) for the short interval Δθ following the phase angle θn (step-shelf).
As presently preferred, but not necessary, every other bit is inverted (i.e., a “one” is inverted to a “zero” and a “zero” is inverted to a “one”). Either or both of the number of bits n and the phase angles phase angle θn may be adaptively altered or may be selectively altered for a number of purposes.
In embodiments where a plurality of sinusoidal carriers are employed, the sinusoidal carriers may be related in frequency such that they may be generated having a phase relationship characterized by all of the carriers simultaneously being at zero degrees (sin θ=0) periodically.
According to one aspect of the present invention, one or more harmonics of the modulated sinusoidal carrier are selected and are transmitted through a communications medium. The selection of the number and identity of the harmonics chosen to be transmitted is a function of several factors, such as, but not limited to, the number of bits encoded per cycle, the bit configurations (i.e., the combinations of shelf-step and step-shelf bits used) and the angular positions of the bits in the carrier sinewave.
A demodulation technique according to the present invention detects the transmitted harmonic(s) of the modulated carrier and retrieves the digital data by examining the harmonics to determine whether the sinusoidal function of the carrier has been altered at an interval Δθ following each phase angle θn. Such examination may be accomplished, for example, by performing fast-fourier-transform (FFT) analysis on the received signal or by employing an incident-and-quadrature detector (IQ demodulator). The digital data may then be buffered or otherwise processed and utilized as known in the digital data art.
An exemplary modulation apparatus according to the present invention may be employed to digitally generate the modulated carrier. A counter may be used to drive a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter through a sine-function lookup table as is known in the art to generate a sinusoidal output voltage from the D/A converter. The output of the counter at points in time representing θn may be latched into the sine-function lookup table if it is desired to maintain the output of the D/A converter at the value Y=sin θ during the interval Δθ. At the end of the interval Δθ, the latch is released and the then-current-count output of the counter is presented to the lookup table. According to one embodiment of the invention, the bit rate is adaptable.
One exemplary demodulation apparatus according to the present invention may be employed to extract the digital information from the modulated carrier. The modulated carrier may be extracted from one or more of the harmonics and used to generate a reference sinusoidal signal having the same frequency and phase as the modulated carrier. The modulated carrier and the reference sinusoidal signal are mixed in a double-balanced mixer. Digital circuitry examines the output of the mixer during a time window including and just following the interval Δθ for a signal indicating a phase change between the modulated carrier and the reference sinusoidal signal. The sensed signals become the digital output stream of the demodulator.
One communications system according to the present invention employs a modulator to insert at least one modulated carrier according to the present invention onto one end of a telephone line or other wire-pair communications line. Preferably, a plurality of such modulated carriers, separated in frequency by a guard-band amount, are injected into the line. A demodulator is coupled to the other end of the telephone line or other wire-pair communications line. According to one embodiment of the invention, a modulator and the demodulator may be located at each end of the line and the communications may be two-way communications. According to another embodiment of the invention, the modulator and the demodulator may negotiate a bit rate to be used in the communications.
Another communications system according to the present invention employs a modulator to insert at least one modulated carrier according to the present invention onto a power distribution line. Preferably, a plurality of such modulated carriers, separated in frequency by a guard-band amount, are injected into the line. A demodulator is coupled to the power distribution line at a customer location such as a home or business at, for example, a conventional duplex outlet. According to one embodiment of the invention, the communications may be two-way communications. According to another embodiment of the invention, the modulator and the demodulator may negotiate a bit rate to be used in the communications. According to yet another embodiment of the invention the communications system may be used by a power utility to regulate loads during periods of high load demand by selectively switching appliances and lighting circuits at the customer location.
Another communications system according to the present invention employs a modulator to insert at least one modulated carrier according to the present invention onto one end of a coaxial-cable communications line. The modulated carriers may be up-converted in frequency prior to being inserted onto the coaxial cable line. Preferably, a plurality of such modulated carriers, separated in frequency by a guard-band amount, are inserted into the line. A demodulator is coupled to the other end of the coaxial cable communications line. According to one embodiment of the invention, a modulator and the demodulator may be located at each end of the line and the communications may be two way communications. According to another embodiment of the invention, the modulator and the demodulator may negotiate a bit rate to be used in the communications.
Another communications system according to the present invention employs a modulator to generate at least one modulated carrier according to the present invention and to further modulate a radio-frequency (RF) carrier with the at least one modulated carrier to form a wireless RF signal. The modulated carriers may be up-converted in frequency prior to being RF modulated. Preferably, a plurality of such modulated carriers, separated in frequency by a guard-band amount, are RF modulated. The RF modulated signal is then transmitted. The transmitted RF modulated signal is then detected by a terrestrial RF receiver. A demodulator is coupled to the terrestrial RF receiver. According to one embodiment of the invention, the communications may be two-way communications. According to another embodiment of the invention, the modulator and the demodulator may negotiate a bit rate to be used in the communications.
Another communications system according to the present invention employs a modulator to generate at least one modulated carrier according to the present invention and to further modulate a radio-frequency (RF) carrier with the at least one modulated carrier to form a wireless RF signal. The modulated carriers may be up-converted in frequency prior to being RF modulated. Preferably, a plurality of such modulated carriers, separated in frequency by a guard-band amount, are RF modulated. The RF modulated signal is then transmitted to an earth-orbiting or other satellite or spacecraft. A demodulator is coupled to the RF receiver in the earth-orbiting or other satellite or spacecraft. The earth-orbiting or other satellite or spacecraft may then retransmit the RF signal to another RF receiver or may demodulate it for local use. According to one embodiment of the invention, the communications may be two-way communications. According to another embodiment of the invention, the modulator and the demodulator may negotiate a bit rate to be used in the communications.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following description of the present invention is illustrative only and not in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons.
Referring first to
According to then present invention n digital bits are encoded within each half of the sinusoidal cycle. Each individual one of n bits is located at a predetermined phase angle of the cycle θn. One digital representation (for example a “zero”) is represented by no change occurring in the amplitude Y of the sinusoidal waveform at the phase angle θn. The other digital representation (for example a “one”) is represented by altering the sinusoidal waveform at the phase angle θn. As presently preferred, the sinusoidal waveform is altered by maintaining the amplitude Y=sin θn for a short interval Δθ following the phase angle θn. As presently preferred, every other bit is inverted (i.e., a “one” is inverted to a “zero” and a “zero” is inverted to a “one”). Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that alterations of the sinusoidal carrier other than maintaining the voltage constant during the interval Δθ following the phase angle θn are possible in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. For example, the sinusoidal waveform could be altered by increasing (or decreasing) the amplitude of the sinusoidal waveform and then maintaining the amplitude Y=sin θ(n+Δθ) for the short interval Δθ following the phase angle θn. Combinations of these two techniques could be employed according to the present invention.
In
For purposes of
From an examination of the first and fourth encoded bits, persons of ordinary skill in the art will observe that the portions of the waveform at encoded bits at phase angles θ1 and θ4 are not symmetrical. At phase angles of less than 90° the rise of the Y value is delayed and at phase angles of greater than 90° the fall of the Y value is delayed. In both cases, however, the abrupt change in the Y value (ΔY) occurs at the end of the interval Δθ, during which Y has been constant. This is the abrupt change that will be sensed by the detector to demodulate the signal and extract the digital information. As previously noted, persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that at phase angles greater than 90° the abrupt change could be caused to occur at the beginning of the interval Δθ or that the abrupt change in amplitude could be at the beginning of the interval at phase angles less than 90° and at the end of the interval at phase angles greater than 90°.
A central portion of the sinusoidal carrier 10 symmetrically located around 90° is identified in
Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that variations of the modulation technique disclosed with reference to
Referring now to
Referring now to
As may be seen from
This multiple-carrier aspect of the present invention can be employed to expand the total bandwidth that may be available in a given communications channel. For example, as will be disclosed herein, the bandwidth of a typical twisted-pair telephone line is about 3 KHz. According to the present invention, a plurality of sinusoidal carriers may each be spaced about 50-100 Hz apart in frequency within this frequency range and transmitted over the same telephone line. This can be used to significantly increase the usable bandwidth in any communication channel in which the present invention is employed. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize from this disclosure that other frequency separations will be useable at other frequencies. For example, at a frequency of about 100 MHz, a plurality of sinusoidal carriers may be spaced apart from one another by about 500 KHz. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will understand that, in any given system realized according to the present invention, the required carrier spacing is simply that necessary to avoid interference from adjacent carrier frequencies during detection and will depend on the frequency range utilized, as well as the detection techniques that are employed.
According to another aspect of the present invention, secure communications may be accomplished by selecting combinations of two or more carrier frequencies. Authorized transmissions in such a system may be identified by receivers configured to detect the presence of the selected combination of carrier frequencies. According to one aspect of the present invention, communications systems may be adaptive and may use information sent over a control channel or frequency shifts detected by the receiver to shift the frequency of one or more carriers for purposes such as noise avoidance or minimization, security purposes, enabling multiple modes of communications, identifying messages intended for selected receivers, identifying events, etc. The purposes for which this aspect of the invention may be implemented will vary widely and are largely a matter of design choice.
Referring now to
Generation of a sinusoidal voltage by use of a sine-function lookup table driving a D/A converter is known. The phase angles from 0° to 360° are quantized to a number of discrete values. A multi-bit counter continuously counts through these discrete values at a constant clock rate. The output of the multibit counter addresses the sine-function lookup table that provides the digital encoded sine-function value for each quantized phase angle. The D/A converter outputs a voltage proportional to the sine of the discrete phase angle at the input of the lookup table.
The two variables are the phase-angle resolution and the resolution of the A/D converter. In the illustrative modulator circuit of
Similarly, the resolution of the D/A converter should be selected so that the step size is small enough to provide a relatively low amount of distortion in an unmodulated sinusoidal carrier generated therefrom. It is presently preferred that the resolution of the D/A converter be at about 10 bits. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the resolution of the D/A converter will affect the ability to use FFT demodulating techniques, since it is desirable that the smallest contemplated ΔY be significantly larger than the D/A step size.
Discrete logic elements are depicted in
In
Modulation may be applied to the sinusoidal carrier by temporarily freezing the input to sine lookup table 28 for a number of clock pulses whose periods together equal the desired time interval corresponding to Δθ. Experienced digital designers will appreciate that there are numerous ways in which to accomplish this.
One illustrative example of an extremely flexible method for performing this modulation technique is shown in
The 9-bit count output from counter 22 is also provided to the 9 least significant bits of non-volatile memory 32, which then has one location corresponding to each discrete phase angle into which the sinusoidal carrier is resolved. In the circuit of
The data to be encoded is transferred to data input register 34. Data input register 34 is a parallel-in serial-out register. Data input register 34 is loaded with n bits of data, n being the number of bit positions that may be encoded into a half cycle of the sinusoidal carrier. Data input register 34 is falling-edge clocked by the data output of non-volatile memory 32. Prior to the first clock pulse, the first data bit appears at the serial output of data input register 34. When the output count of 9-bit counter 22 reaches the value corresponding to the phase angle location of the first data bit to be encoded, the output of non-volatile memory 30 presents a “1” value as previously disclosed. If the value of the first data bit appearing at the serial output of data input register 34 is also a “1” value, the output of AND gate 36 becomes true (a value of “1”). This latches the count of 9-bit counter 22 at the output of latch 26, causing the output of D/A converter 30 to remain constant. From an examination of
During this time, 9-bit counter 22 continues to count and its output sequentially addresses the contents of non-volatile memory 32. So long as the output of non-volatile memory 32 presents a “1” value to AND gate 36, the output of latch 26 remains latched. When the output of non-volatile memory 32 drops to a “0” value, AND gate 36 releases latch 26 and the current output count of 9-bit counter 22 is presented to lookup table 28, causing the output of D/A converter 30 to immediately rise (or fall) to the value of Y=sin θ for the current value of 0 represented by the current output count of 9-bit counter 22.
As previously noted, there are numerous ways in which to modulate the sinusoidal carrier by temporarily freezing the input to sine lookup table 28 for a number of clock pulses whose periods together equal the desired time interval corresponding to AO. One advantage of employing the scheme shown in
Another advantage obtained by employing non-volatile memory 32, as shown in
As will be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art, bit rate controller 42 may be configured to adaptively and dynamically alter the bit rate and/or the intervals for Δθ modulation in response to changing conditions within the communication channel in which the modulator of the present invention is employed. As a non-limiting example, this technique could be used to negotiate connection speed over twisted-pair telephone lines as is done in present-day dial-up modems. Similarly, this technique may be employed to alter the bit rate of the modulation technique of the present invention in any communications channel in which it is employed to compensate for dynamically-changing conditions, such as noise, etc., in the communications channel.
As will also be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art, the bit rate and/or one or more of the phase-angle positions for Δθ modulation can be switched using bit-rate controller 42 and additional address lines to access other memory locations for other purposes. Such purposes include identifying synchronization frames, identifying packet headers for use in IP or other packet protocol systems, or identifying other events or conditions. In this manner, detection of “out-of-position” bits in received carriers can be assigned meanings such as identifying events, providing additional data, etc. These meanings may change depending on where in a “frame” this activity occurs.
The nature of bit-rate controller 42 will depend to a large extent on the nature and architecture of the system in which the modulator is disposed and on the conditions that will be used to alter the bit rate or the bit phase-angle positions. As an example, bit-rate controller 42 could be configured as a state machine, a microcontroller or a microprocessor. Configuration of the state machine and/or programming of the microcontroller or microprocessor will, of course, depend on the exact process that is being performed and is a routine task for a person of ordinary skill in the art.
As a general example, however, bit-rate controller may be conditioned to sense the presence of a condition, request, interrupt, event, or the like, and assert an address to a location in memory 32 that contains the data to produce the number of bits desired and/or set one or more bit positions at desired phase angles of the sinusoidal carrier to effect the specific response to the condition, request, interrupt, event, or the like. If additional data is being encoded, one phase-angle setting of the bit positions in the sinusoidal carrier can represent a first digital state (e.g., a “zero”) and a second phase-angle setting of the bit positions in the sinusoidal carrier can represent a second digital state (e.g., a “one”).
A receiver for demodulating the modulated sinewaves of the present invention may be conditioned to detect one or more “out-of-position” bits in one or more carriers and perform different actions based upon the detection and the meanings assigned to the condition. One advantage of employing this technique according to the present invention is that this may be accomplished while still utilizing the detected data, meaning that this increase in function may be obtained without degrading the bandwidth of the communications channel. For example, a carrier presenting “out-of-position” encoded bits could be used to signal that the system is about to increase or decrease the number of carriers in the channel. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the uses for this additional intelligence capability of the present invention are virtually limitless and are adaptable to the particular configuration and end use of the system in which they are employed.
The output of D/A converter 30 may be buffered, and/or mixed with outputs of D/A converters from other modulators as disclosed herein, and may be otherwise further conditioned, e.g., by further modulation or frequency conversion as necessary to prepare signals for insertion into various communication channels. This aspect of the present invention is illustrated in
As an example, of the use of upconverters and downconverters in the context of the present invention, carriers at frequencies in the 1 MHz range can be frequency converted to the 100 MHz range for transmission over coaxial cable communications channels, and 100 MHz range can be frequency converted to the gigahertz range for transmission over microwave-link communications channels such as terrestrial point-to-point links or satellite links. Techniques for such signal conditioning and frequency conversion are well known in the art.
Another aspect of the invention is illustrated in
The output of mixing circuit 52 is a composite waveform containing all of the individual modulated sinusoidal carriers from modulator circuits 50-1, 50-2, 50-3, and 50-4. The composite waveform at the output of mixing circuit 52 may be otherwise further conditioned, e.g., by further modulation or frequency conversion as necessary to prepare signals for insertion into various communication channels. Techniques for such signal conditioning and conversion are well known in the art.
Referring now to
A controller 62 provides the supervision and control of the system. Data buffer 64 stores the data that comes in from its source. The input data is clocked in from the outside source. It could be serial or parallel in format. The data buffer 64 under the supervision of the controller 62 outputs a specific data bit just at the right time for the assertion (if a one) or de-assertion (if the bit is a zero) of a elemental phase change as described above.
A plurality of sequencer state machines 66-1 through 66-6 as the name implies, are each state machines that, when clocked, sequence through the address outputs to drive a plurality of corresponding sinewave look-up tables (LUTs) 68-1 through 68-6, respectively. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the number of such sequencer state machines used in an actual realization of the present invention is arbitrary and six are shown only as an illustrative example. Each of the state machines 66-1 through 66-6 are used to generate the sinewave carriers according to the principles of the present invention and may be configured, for example, to perform the process disclosed with respect to
Sinewave LUTs 68-1 through 68-6 are fixed preprogrammed memories similar to a Read Only Memory (ROM). These memories are each programmed so that for each input address location the data register holds a specific digital value of the amplitude of a sinewave at a specific phase or angle of the wave location. In common implementations as the addresses are sequentially stimulated the data output outputs a digital representation of a sine wave. The peak amplitude is fixed and the frequency of sinewave directly corresponds to the rate the addresses are sequenced and the number of address steps that make up a complete wave.
The sequencer state machines 66-1 through 66-6 each have three inputs: clock, data and reset. The clock causes the sequencer state machines 66-1 through 66-6 to sequence through the addresses to produce a sinewave signal from the LUTs 68-1 through 68-6. When a data bit is present and at the right phase location of the sinewave the sequencer will cause its associated LUT to delay its output cause a elemental phase change in its output. The reset, when asserted, brings each sequencer state machine back to a known state.
The LUTs 68-1 through 68-6 are each essentially a fixed preprogrammed memory similar to a Read Only Memory (ROM). This memory is programmed so that for each input address location the data register holds a specific digital value of the amplitude of a sinewave at a specific phase or angle of the wave location. In common implementations as the addresses are sequentially stimulated the data output outputs a digital representation of a sine wave. The peak amplitude is fixed and the frequency of sinewave directly corresponds to the rate the addresses are sequenced and the number of address steps that make up a complete wave.
There are numerous schemes that may be employed to distribute the data from data buffer 64 to distribute the data to sequencer state machines 66-1 through 66-6. As previously noted, the data rate for each of sequencer state machines 66-1 through 66-6 will be different.
One exemplary way to distribute the data is to distribute each bit in turn to the one of sequencer state machines 66-1 through 66-6 that is going to encode the next bit. This method may be referred to herein as “streaming” and has the advantage that it requires no reassembly of the data at the receiver since the data is in the form of a simple serial data stream. This timing may be derived as a matter of simple mathematics once a system design is specified and the number and frequencies of the carriers is determined. The details of gating of the data to the appropriate one of sequencer state machines 66-1 through 66-6 from a data distributor according to a known sequence is a matter of routine digital circuit design. With reference again to
Another exemplary way to distribute the data is, for each frame, to allocate to each one of sequencer state machines 66-1 through 66-6 a block of data having a number of bits equal to the number of bits that sequencer will encode in the current frame. This information is known once a system design is specified and the number and frequencies of the carriers is determined. In the example of
As will be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art, depending on the complexity of the data distributing on the encoding end, this data distribution scheme might be constrained in that it may not be possible to accommodate extremely fast data rates on the receiving end because the data distributor has to wait for the data blocks of each carrier to be filled prior to the blocks being ready for release.
The outputs of the LUTs 68-1 through 68-6 are presented to D/A converters 70-1 through 70-6, respectively. The D/A converters 70-1 through 70-6 linearly and continuously convert the parallel 8-bit digital byte from the LUTs 68-1 through 68-6 to the input of the summing amplifier 72. The summing amplifier 72 is a conventional configuration of a circuit using an operational amplifier to linearly add several individual analog signals together to produce one composite signal.
A demodulation technique according to the present invention detects the modulated carrier and examines it to determine whether the sinusoidal function of the carrier has been altered at an interval Δθ following each phase angle θn. For, example, if the carrier has been modulated by maintaining the amplitude Y=sin θn for a short interval Δθ following the phase angle θn, the modulated carrier is examined to determine if Y=sin θn during the interval Δθ following the phase angle θn or whether the amplitude has been following the function Y=sin θ during the interval Δθ following each phase angle θn. Such examination may be accomplished, for example, by mixing the detected sinusoidal carrier with a reference sinusoidal signal having the same frequency and phase as the carrier to detect phase differences between the reference sinusoidal signal and the modulated carrier, or by performing fast fourier transform (FFT) analysis on the modulated carrier. Such a demodulator may also contain circuitry to detect “out-of-position” bits disposed in one or more of the carriers.
The output of signal input conditioning block 80 is presented to narrow bandpass filter 82. Narrow bandpass filter 82 should have a Q of about at least 100. The center frequency of narrow bandpass filter 82 is selected to be the frequency of the modulated sinusoidal carrier. The signal from the narrow bandpass filter 82 is amplified in amplifier 84 and presented to one side of double-balanced mixer 86. The other side of double-balanced mixer 86 is fed by the output of numerically-controlled oscillator (NCO) 88. The frequency and phase of NCO 88 is set to the frequency and phase of the one of the modulated sine waves within the passband of bandpass filter 82.
In a communications system according to the present invention that employs a plurality of modulated carriers within a communications channel, provision is made for separately demodulating each of the carriers to extract the encoded data. Referring now to
Balanced mixers 92, 94, 96, 98, 100, and 102 are also driven from the outputs of NCO multi-sine wave generator 104. Each output is a sine waveform at one of the frequencies of the sinewave-modulated carriers from which the digitally encoded information is to be extracted. The outputs of balanced mixers 92, 94, 96, 98, 100, and 102 are combined into a serial or parallel output data stream in data convoluter 106 according to known techniques.
Data convoluter 106 reassembles the digital data from the individual modulated sinewaves. Because the individual modulated sinewaves are at different frequencies, the n bits of data from each are arriving at different rates. For example, in a system using telephone-line bandwidth below 3 KHz, the carrier frequencies might be 1 KHz, 1.2 KHz, 1.4 KHz . . . 3 KHz. The data in the 1 Khz carrier is arriving at a rate of n bits per 1 mSec. The data in the 3 Khz carrier is arriving at three times that rate. Reassembly of the data from the different carriers is not much different from reassembling packet data in an IP packet network. Various known techniques can be employed. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the details of the reassembly process will vary as a function of the manner in which the data was divided among the several carriers in a multi-carrier system.
According to one aspect of the invention, one carrier could be employed to carry control information necessary for one or more aspects of the communication, or a combination of control information and data. Depending on the amount of control information required in a communications channel, the control information may be encoded in the carrier having the lowest data rate (i.e., 1 KHz carrier in the example above), the highest data rate (i.e., 3 KHz carrier in the example above), or in one of the other carriers.
Referring now to
The demodulator circuit of
The difference between a “zero” bit and a “one” bit is a lower voltage at the bottom of resistor 114 for a “one” bit due to the higher current drawn by the one of the phototransistors that is conducting. The timing of the voltage level to determine which bit is being sensed is easily derived from the available voltage, phase, and frame information available in the particular system.
Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the configuration of
One communications system according to the present invention employs a modulator to insert at least one modulated carrier according to the present invention onto one end of a telephone line or other wire-pair communications line. Preferably, a plurality of such modulated carriers, separated in frequency by a guard-band amount, are injected into the line. A demodulator is coupled to the other end of the telephone line or other wire-pair communications line. According to one embodiment of the invention, a modulator and the demodulator may be located at each end of the line and the communications may be two-way communications. According to another embodiment of the invention, the modulator and the demodulator may negotiate a bit rate to be used in the communications.
Referring now to
Each station also includes a modulator/demodulator and I/O-signal-conditioning unit 126-1 and 126-2, respectively. The modulator/demodulator may be configured as disclosed herein. As will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, the I/O-signal-conditioning unit serves to prepare the modulated signals for sending over wire pair communications lines 128 to a telco central office 130 as is known in the art.
Referring now to
Each station also includes a modulator/demodulator and I/O-signal-conditioning unit 146-1 and 146-2, respectively. The modulator/demodulator may be configured as disclosed herein. As will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, the I/O-signal-conditioning unit serves to couple the user stations to electrical outlets in a business or residence to transmit and receive the modulated signals over electrical power lines 148 that are fed (through step-down transformers) to a 4.8 KV distribution transformer 150 as is known in the art. Data going to or coming from locations outside of the distribution tree served by distribution transformer 150 may be coupled into and out of distribution transformer 150 over, for example fiber-optic cable 152 through I/O coupling circuit 154 as is known in the BPL art. Fiber-optic cable 152 may be coupled to an ISP or other server entity as is known in the communications art.
Another communications system according to the present invention employs a modulator to insert at least one modulated carrier according to the present invention onto one end of a coaxial-cable communications line. The modulated carriers may be up-converted in frequency prior to being inserted onto the coaxial cable line. Preferably, a plurality of such modulated carriers, separated in frequency by a guard-band amount, are inserted into the line. A demodulator is coupled to the other end of the coaxial cable communications line. According to one embodiment of the invention, a modulator and the demodulator may be located at each end of the line and the communications may be two-way communications. According to another embodiment of the invention, the modulator and the demodulator may negotiate a bit rate to be used in the communications. This aspect of the present invention is shown diagrammatically in
Referring now to
Each station also includes a modulator/demodulator and I/O-signal-conditioning unit 166-1 and 166-2, respectively. The modulator/demodulator may be configured as disclosed herein. As will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, the I/O-signal-conditioning unit serves to prepare the modulated signals for sending over coaxial-cable communications lines 168 to a CATV head end 170 as is known in the art
Another communications system according to the present invention employs a modulator to generate at least one modulated carrier according to the present invention and to further modulate a radio-frequency (RF) carrier with the at least one modulated carrier to form a wireless RF signal. The modulated carriers may be up-converted in frequency prior to being RF modulated. Preferably, a plurality of such modulated carriers, separated in frequency by a guard-band amount, are RF modulated. The RF modulated signal is then transmitted. The transmitted RF-modulated signal is then detected by a terrestrial RF receiver. A demodulator is coupled to the terrestrial RF receiver. According to one embodiment of the invention, the communications may be two-way communications. According to another embodiment of the invention, the modulator and the demodulator may negotiate a bit rate to be used in the communications. This aspect of the present invention is shown diagrammatically in
Referring now to
Each station also includes a modulator/demodulator and I/O-signal-conditioning unit 186-1 and 186-2, respectively. The modulator/demodulator may be configured as disclosed herein. As will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, the I/O-signal-conditioning unit serves to prepare the modulated signals for wireless transmitting and receiving as is known in the art. RF transceivers 188-1 and 188-2 are used to RF modulate and transmit the modulated sinusoidal carriers as well as receive and demodulate the RF signals transmitted from the other station. Such RF equipment is well known in the RF transmitting and receiving art. As used herein, the term “RF” is intended to encompass the frequency spectrum between about 500 KHz up to and including VHF and UHF portion of the frequency spectrum as well as the microwave portion of the frequency spectrum.
Yet another communications system according to the present invention employs a modulator to generate at least one modulated carrier according to the present invention and to further modulate a radio-frequency (RF) carrier with the at least one modulated carrier to form a wireless RF signal. The modulated carriers may be up-converted in frequency prior to being RF modulated. Preferably, a plurality of such modulated carriers, separated in frequency by a guard-band amount, are RF modulated. The RF modulated signal is then transmitted to an earth-orbiting or other satellite or spacecraft. A demodulator is coupled to the RF receiver in the earth-orbiting or other satellite or spacecraft. The earth-orbiting or other satellite or spacecraft may then retransmit the RF signal to another RF receiver or may demodulate it for local use. According to one embodiment of the invention, the communications may be two-way communications. According to another embodiment of the invention, the modulator and the demodulator may negotiate a bit rate to be used in the communications. This aspect of the present invention is shown diagrammatically in
Referring now to
Each station also includes a modulator/demodulator and I/O-signal-conditioning unit 196-1 and 196-2, respectively. The modulator/demodulator may be configured as disclosed herein. As will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, the I/O-signal-conditioning unit serves to prepare the modulated signals for wireless transmitting and receiving as is known in the art. Satellite stations 198-1 and 198-2 are used to microwave modulate and transmit the modulated sinusoidal carriers to satellite 200 as well as receive and demodulate the microwave signals transmitted from the other station via satellite 200. Such satellite equipment is well known in the microwave transmitting and receiving art.
As previously disclosed, the modulator and demodulator circuits shown in
The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) a mathematical method of converting signals in the time domain to representations in the frequency domain. An Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) reverses the process by taking frequency coefficients in the form of parallel digital data and converting them back to a continuous periodic signal in the time domain. The IFFT can be used to generate the modulated sinewave signals according to the present invention, and the FFT can be used to demodulate the modulated sinewave signals in accordance with the present invention. As will be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art, the FFT and IFFT techniques for demodulation and modulation according to the present invention are useful up to frequencies where the processing engine clock speeds and A/D and D/A conversion speeds are about 6 times the frequency of the highest frequency modulated sinewave carrier to be modulated or demodulated.
Referring now to
The output of the D/A converter is filtered by low-pass filter 214. Filtering of the output signal is constrained to removing the high frequency noise without impairing the information content of each carrier. To this end, low-pass filter 214 may be implemented, for example, as a 6-pole butterworth filter or as a zero-group-delay realization with 60 dB/octave rolloff.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Phone hybrid 222 provides an interface between the modem and the physical telephone network. The hybrid also provides isolation between the transmit and receive sides of the modem to enhance operation by matching impedances and reducing the noise contribution in the receiver by the local transmitter.
A switch 224 diverts the connection of the hybrid to either the standard V.90 modem 226 or the multi-frequency modem configured from the remainder of the elements of
The microcontroller 228 also commands and controls the interface to the IFFT and FFT blocks 232 and 234. The microcontroller 228 receives the data from the 10/100 and USB bus 230 and formats it to the appropriate output to the IFFT 232 to generate the necessary signals for outputting to the phone line. The microcontroller 228 also receives digital words from the FFT block 234 and interprets these digital words for data content before passing them on to 10/100 and USB bus 230. The system clock for microcontroller is provided by the timing generator 236. The timing generator 236 provides clocks and system synchronization for system operation
The Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) block 232 is a digital signal processing (DSP) process that converts digital words representative of a signal in the frequency domain to a signal in the time domain. Digital word(s) representing frequency domain parameters are fed in parallel to the IFFT 232. The IFFT 232 outputs a sequential stream of parallel digital words representative of the analog signals to be produced in the time domain. That data stream from the IFFT 232 is fed to a D/A converter 238 which turns the sequence of parallel digital data to a sequence of analog levels producing, over time, a continuous analog signal representative of the frequency parameters inputted to the IFFT 232. The conversion clock and synchronization of the IFFT conversion is provided by the timing generator 236.
The 16-bit D/A converter 238 linearly and continuously converts the parallel 16-bit digital word from the output of the Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) 232 block to a representative analog level. The continuous sequential stream of analog output samples produce, over time, a composite output analog signal which is fed through the switch 224 and the hybrid 222 to the phone line. The sample rate for constructing the analog signal is determined by the timing generator 236.
A 16 bit A/D block 240 linearly converts the analog output from the hybrid 222 through the switch 224 to 16-bit digital words which are representations of each sampled analog level. The 16-bit samples are fed in parallel to the input of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) 234. The sample rate of the analog signals to the digital words is determined by the timing generator 236.
The Fourier Transform (FFT) 234 is a digital signal processing (DSP) process that converts analog signals in the time domain to a digital representation of the signal in the frequency domain. Digital words representing time domain samples from the A/D converter 240 are fed in parallel to the FFT 234. The FFT 234 subsequently outputs to the microcontroller 228, parallel digital word(s) which are representative of the frequency components of the sampled time domain (analog) signal. The conversion clock and synchronization of the FFT conversion is provided by the timing generator 236.
The system 200 negotiates a connection using the V.90 modem. If the other station indicates that it can communicate using the techniques of the present invention, the microcontroller 228 causes switch 224 to connect the D/A converter 238 and the A/D converter 240 to the hybrid 222 instead of the V.90 modem.
Referring now to
Preamplifier 252 amplifies the incoming signal to compensate for the insertion loss of the band pass filter 254. Band pass filter 254 filters the signal to reduce out-of-band interference. Post amplifier 256 amplifies the filtered signal to compensate for the insertion loss of the Bandpass filter 254 and raises the signal level to that needed by the balanced mixer 258.
A double balanced mixer 258 mixes the incoming signal with the output of a local oscillator producing the sum and difference of the two signals. The local oscillator may be formed from a zero crossing detector 260 that produces an output when the incoming signal crosses the zero-volt level. The zero crossing detector 260 is used to generate the reference for the carrier regenerator 262 that acts as the local oscillator and the phase lock loop 264 which generates the data clock. The carrier regenerator takes the output of the zero crossing detector and creates a local oscillator output which is the same frequency and phase of that of the incoming signal. Phase locked loop 264 uses the output of the zero crossing detector 260 to generate a high frequency clock used to clock the retrieved data at the output of the comparator 268.
Low pass filter 266 removes the sum frequency component form the output of the mixer 258, leaving the difference component which is representative of the absolute phase difference between the input signal and the reference signal out of the local oscillator. Comparator 268 compares the difference signal from the mixer 258 to a fixed reference producing an output when the input signal is higher than the reference signal. An output indicates there is a phase difference between input and local oscillator indicating the presence of a data bit of value “one”.
Clock alignment block 270 under the control of the microcontroller 272 aligns the data clock through a variable delay circuit. Using a prior knowledge of where in the phase of the signal where the data bits are this circuit filters out data clock pulses which are not in alignment with known valid data bits coming out of the comparator. The data is clocked into the multi-stage shift register 274 that is used as a gathering repository for the data bits clocked in from the output of the comparator 268. Microcontroller 272 is a preprogrammed device which monitors and controls the operation of the receiver. Microcontroller 272 transfers the received data stored in the shift register out to other areas.
Microcontroller 272 also detects “out-of-position” bits and reports their detection as an event that may be used by the system as disclosed herein.
Referring now to
The circuit shown in
In the data encoder embodiment disclosed in the figure, any kind of encoding, such as shelf-rise, shelf-drop, drop-self, or rise-shelf may be realized. Non-volatile memory 296 is addressed by the n-bit output of the counter, which defines the horizontal (x-axis or phase angle) resolution of the output wave. The single-bit output of non-volatile memory 296 is ANDed in AND gate 298 with the data from data input register 30 to be encoded. Data input register 300 may be a parallel-in, serial-out register known in the art. Data is parallel loaded into data input register 300 in a manner known in the art and clocked out using the output of non-volatile memory 298.
The one-bit-wide data output of non-volatile memory 296 is a logic zero for all of the addresses clocked during the non-data regions of the output sine wave. During the data intervals, the output of non-volatile memory 296 is a logic one for all of the addresses clocked during the data regions of the output sine wave. Thus, the programming of non-volatile memory 296 controls the position and duration of the data regions of the output waveform. At the end of each data region, the output of the non-volatile memory 296 transitions from logic one to logic zero. This transition is used to clock the serial data in data input register 300. As in the embodiment in the original patent, bit-rate controller 302 drives one or more address bits of the non-volatile memory 296, thus allowing selection of more than one combination of bit position and duration, as well as number of bit positions, to be provided in a single 360° sine wave. In the example shown in the figure, bit-rate controller 302 generates two address bits for non-volatile memory 296, thus allowing four different data region patterns to be used by the system.
The n-bit output of counter 282 that defines the present angular value of the output waveform being generated is used as an input address to data-value LUT 304. When the output of AND gate 298 indicates a data interval containing a data bit having a value of logic one, multiplexer 288 passes the output of data-value LUT 304 to the data inputs of n-bit wide latch 286 rather than the output of counter 282. At the end of the data region, the multiplexer again selects the output of the counter 282 to drive the sine LUT. The bit-rate controller 302 also drives at least one address bit of data-value LUT 304. Because of the architecture shown in the figure in which the data-value LUT 304 and the non-volatile memory 296 are provided with the same addresses, persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the data-value LUT 304 could be incorporated into the non-volatile memory 296.
Data-value LUT 304 is programmed to contain digital values corresponding to the digitized values of the voltages stored in the sine LUT 292 representing the logic one (or logic zero) data values at the various data regions in the output waveform, thus providing the correct data to generate the proper output voltages at the output of D/A converter 294 for the various combinations of shelf-drop, shelf-rise, rise-shelf, and drop-shelf data encoding configurations that may be employed in the present invention. By providing additional outputs from bit-rate controller 302, these combinations of shelf-drop, shelf-rise, rise-shelf, and drop-shelf data encoding configurations may be selected by a user.
Other schemes may be used to set the angular positions and duration of the data regions. For example, in one alternate embodiment, start-position registers are provided to hold the starting count of each data region. The number of counts defining the width of each data region is also registered in data-width registers. The contents of the start-position registers are compared with the actual clock count, and the assertion of the comparator output enables a counter that counts the number of counts defining the data-width of the data region and is then disabled after the terminal count is reached.
During the data-width counting interval, a data-region signal is asserted to the AND gate 298 to enable passing the data from data-value LUT 304 through multiplexer 288. In addition, persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiplexer 288 could be disposed between sine LUT 292 and the DAC 294. In such an embodiment, one input of the multiplexer is fed from the output of the sine LUT 302 and the other input of the multiplexer is fed from the output of the data-value LUT 304. In this embodiment, the data contained in data-value LUT 304 will represent digitized analog voltage values rather than input addresses to the sine LUT 292.
In still other embodiments, the data to generate the sine wave carrier and the data imposed on the carrier may be generated on the fly by a microprocessor or controller suitably programmed to generate the sine wave carrier and to modify it according to the principles of the present invention by monitoring an input data stream.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
First, at reference numeral 310, the address counter that defines the 360° of the modulated sinewave carrier is reset. Next, at reference numeral 312, the next data bit is read from the data register. Next, at reference numeral 314, the current counter address is read. Next, at reference numeral 316, it is determined whether the current counter address is within the counter address range of a data region. If not, at reference numeral 318, unmodulated sine wave data is generated for the current counter address. If the current counter address is within the address range of a data region, it is then determined at reference numeral 320 whether the data bit has a value of logic zero. If so, unmodulated sine wave data is generated for the current counter address at reference numeral 322. If not, modulated sine wave data is generated for the current counter address at reference numeral 324.
Next, at reference numeral 326, the current counter address is examined to determine whether it is the last address in the address range of the current data region. If the current counter address is not the last address in the address range of the current data region, it is determined at reference numeral 328 whether the current address is the last address in the address range that the system uses to define one complete cycle of the unmodulated sine wave carrier. If not, the address is incremented at reference numeral 330 and the process proceeds to reference numeral 314, where the current address is read. If the address is the last address, the address counter is reset is at reference numeral 332 before the process proceeds to reference numeral 314, where the current address is read.
If, at reference numeral 326, it is determined that the current address is the last address in the current data region, or after generating the unmodulated sine wave data at reference numeral 318, the process proceeds to reference numeral 334, where it is determined whether the current address is the last address in the address space. If not, the address is incremented at reference numeral 336 and the process proceeds to reference numeral 314, where the current address is read. If it is determined that the current address is the last address in the address space, the process proceeds to reference numeral 310, where the address counter is reset.
The process performed at reference numeral 316, where it is determined whether the current counter address is within the counter address range of a data region may be implemented in a number of different ways. In one embodiment of the present invention, the addresses of the data regions are stored in a register or memory location in a manner similar to that shown in
The process performed at reference numeral 324 as a result of which the modulated wave data is generated for the current address, may be performed using data such as the data stored in the data-value LUT 304 of
According to another aspect of the present invention, the selected harmonic(s) of the generated waveform may be advantageously used to transmit the data in systems configured according to the present invention. There are several ways in which to amplify the harmonic content of the encoded waveform including passing the encoded waveform through a nonlinear device, such as an amplifier having some, but not too much (e.g., 1 db) compression, or a variable-bias diode. The presence of the data on the encoded waveform itself has been shown to generate harmonics. For example, a 200 KHz sinusoidal carrier modulated with data according to the present invention generates harmonics with sizeable-amplitudes out to at least 50 MHz and beyond.
The choice of the number of harmonics to employ in transmitting data according to the present invention include factors such as the design bandwidth of the desired communication channel, the required signal-to-noise ratio, and other factors. For example, in BPL applications, FCC-mandated emission limits require that any signal be below the 47 CFR, Part 15 mandated radiated power levels. In such applications, distributing the signal among many harmonics will allow the BPL system to operate within the 47 CFR, Part 15 limits.
The choice of the particular harmonic(s) to employ in any actual embodiment of the present invention will be affected by parameters of the modulation, i.e., the configuration of the combinations of bits (shelf-step or step-shelf), the angular positions of the bits in the sinusoidal carrier, and the signal-to-noise profile of the communications channel used. Particular combinations will be optimal for particular sets of modulation parameters. In addition, in systems that employ multiple modulated carriers, different harmonics may be selected to transmit the data from different ones of the carriers.
According to this aspect of the present invention, all data bits that are encoded using the second function (other than the function Y=sin θ) may be encoded using various combinations of the shelf-rise and shelf-drop (both are shelf-step), rise-shelf and drop-shelf (both are step-shelf) functions. Three of these combinations of particular interest are rise-shelf in the first quadrant of the sinewave carrier, as drop-shelf in the second quadrant of the sinewave carrier, as drop-shelf in the third quadrant of the sinewave carrier, and as rise-shelf in the fourth quadrant of the sinewave carrier; shelf-rise in the first quadrant of the sinewave carrier, as shelf-drop in the second quadrant of the sinewave carrier, as shelf-drop in the third quadrant of the sinewave carrier, and as shelf-rise in the fourth quadrant of the sinewave carrier; and rise-shelf in the first quadrant of the sinewave carrier, as shelf-drop in the second quadrant of the sinewave carrier, as drop-shelf in the third quadrant of the sinewave carrier, and as shelf-rise in the fourth quadrant of the sinewave carrier.
To decode the encoded third harmonic signal, the third harmonic carrier is used as a clock for the third harmonic products containing the data. The third harmonic is locked with a phase locked loop, and an incident-and-quadrature detector (IQ demodulator) is used to detect the phase and amplitude characteristics of the data.
Referring now to
The use of the third harmonic of the modulated waveform along with its modulation components has several advantages. First, it allows an amplitude step without generating digital noise artifacts in the channel. Further, since the step itself is an intermodulation product, the only time there is a TTL bit output is when there is a change in the bit stream per slope of the carrier. As will be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art, this scheme conserves spectrum.
While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention.
This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/383,457, filed May 15, 2006, which is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/825,789, filed Apr. 16, 2004, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,046,741, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11383457 | May 2006 | US |
| Child | 11929591 | US | |
| Parent | 10825789 | Apr 2004 | US |
| Child | 11383457 | US |
