Title of Invention

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK

Abstract The present invention discloses a method and system for the digital transmission of data, point to multipoint over the electricity network. It enables the bi-directional communication between a head-end and a plurality of users through the electricity network, and it is characterized in that it allows to establish a low and high speed communication in order to provide multiple high-quality services to the users. It comprises means to accomplish a share of the network in time, frequency and/or in multiple access by means of orthogonal frequency division (OFDMA).
Full Text SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA,
POINT TO MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICTY NETWORK
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the telecommunications sector,
to a system and method for the digital transmission of data, point to multipoint
over the electricity network, and more particularly, it is applicable to bi-directional
communication between a head-end and various users when using the electricity
network as the means of communication so that a variety of services can be
offered through it to the users. The objective of this invention is to establish both
low and high speed communications, so that multiple high quality services can be
offered to the users, comprising for example, video on demand, high-speed
Internet, etc. It may also be used for applications requiring larger latency such as
for example VoIP (voice over IP). Furthermore, the invention may also be used
for narrow band services, such as standard telephone and current
telecommunication services.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The use of the electricity network as a means of transmission is known in
the background art, but due to its poor performance, its use as a data
transmission network has been limited to point-to-point communication at very
low speeds.
This is due, among other reasons, to the fact that, in the electricity
network, the connection and disconnection of apparatus generate voltage peaks
and impedance variations on the line and cause serious loss of signal that varies
in function of frequency and time.
Furthermore, various obstacles impede the establishment of
communication between a head-end and a plurality of users, in particular due to
the many changes in impedance in different frequencies and the emergence
of reflections that cause the received signal to be a
combination of the transmitted signal and a series of
echoes that circulate through the electricity network
with different attenuations and delays for each one of
the users on the received signal.
Furthermore, attenuation, noise, and channel
response, vary dynamically in frequency and time.
All these obstacles have to date limited the use of
the electricity network for full-duplex, high-speed point
to multipoint communication.
On the other hand, other means of communication for
the transmission of data are known in the background art,
such as the use of twisted pair in telephones to
establish point to point or point to multipoint
communication.
In this context we cite US Patent Number 5.673.2 90
wherein a method of transmission point to point is
described that consists of communication via a downstream
channel determined by a link from the head-end to a
plurality of different users, and communication via the
upstream channel determined by a link from the users to
the head-end, whereby the communication is made possible
using a discrete digital multi-tone (DMT) transmission
system and providing the coding of the digital data and
the modulation of the codified data over the discrete
multi-tone signal.
Furthermore, the communication line is supervised to
determine at least one line quality parameter, including
noise levels in each one, and includes a multitude of
sub-channels each one corresponding to an associated sub-
carrier tone. The modulation system is designed to take
various factors into account including detected line
quality parameters, the parameters of sub-channel gains,
and a masking parameter of permissible power when
modulating the discrete multi-tone signal. The modulation
system is also capable of dynamically activating the sub-
carriers used and the quantity of data transmitted in
each sub-carrier during transmission to adapt in real
time to changes in individual sub-carriers.
In applications susceptible to interference, the
associated bandwidths can be simply masked or silenced to
prevent interference in either direction, and therefore,
the signals are transmitted by sub-carriers with
frequencies above or below the most significant noise
levels.
Furthermore, in this document the transmission
occurs in base band and the conjugated real hermitian
transformation of the transmissible information is used
(real Fast Fourier Transform). Due to the characteristics
already described, this transmission method cannot be
applied to transmission over the electricity network.
Furthermore, the method described in the Patent
cited above refers to point to point communication,
therefore, neither its use over the electricity network
nor the possibility for full duplex point to multipoint
communication can be inferred.
On the other hand, point to multipoint communication
systems exist such as that described in the PCT Patent
Number WO96/37062_ where the transmission line can be
coaxial cable, fibre optic or similar, which uses
orthogonal frequency division multiple access modulation
system (OFDM) , a modulation system that is well known in
the background art, and to which a cyclic prefix is added
to each OFDM symbol to alleviate the defects of the
multipath propagation as is well know in the state of the
art. The use of the cyclic prefix with the OFDM
modulation can be encompassed by the DMT modulation used
in the previous document and equally widely used in the
state of the art.
The document describes how channels are established
over respective sub-carrier groups, so that each user is assigned a specific group
of tones so that the hardware and the complexity involved in realizing the
discrete Fourier transformation is substantially reduced, however, as a fixed
system it does not allow the assignation of different sub-carriers to the users
depending on the prevailing frequency and time conditions in each channel, even
when, as described in the case of US Patent No 5.673.290, the individual sub-
carriers can connect or disconnect to avoid interferences.
Furthermore, it uses a remote loop to correct the frequency of local
oscillators of the various user modems.
As a relevant background art we can cite Document EP-1011235-A2, which
discloses an embodiment to receive multicarrier signals over power lines. It shows
an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) power line communications
system comprising a power line for distributing electricity to a plurality of premises
and a communication station coupled to the power line at one of the premises,
which station uses a part of the power line external to the premises as a
communication medium. The communications station includes a receiver which
comprises a clipping system adapted to a clip an incoming OFDM data waveform,
which includes a regular impulsive noise component, so as to reduce the level of
noise on the waveform.
Another relevant document can be found in EP-0975097, which discloses a
method and device for exchanging, bidirectionally and at a high bit rate, services,
information and data between a service provider and a customer, over a
communication system comprising a conventional low and medium voltage AC
electric power network by means of a signal modulation and transmission
technique (COFDM technique).
We can also cite US Patent Number 5.815.488 and US Patent Number
5.828.660 regarding point to multipoint communication.
Neither in these documents is there a description of the adaptation for the
transmission using the electricity network.
Furthermore, none of the documents cited previously concerns the
transmission for multiple users, nor how to maximize the throughput of the
upstream and downstream channels in the electricity network as it has been
claimed in this document.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The current invention as claimed comprises a system and process for the
digital transmission of data at high speeds in a point to multipoint communication
over the electricity network.
To achieve this, the current invention, as is the
case for other existing conventional systems, makes the
communication or link between a head-end and a plurality
of different users (downstream channel) and from the
users to the head-end (upstream channel), the
communication being achieved by means of an OFDM
(orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) modulation
that generates OFDM symbols to achieve a master-slave
communication when both the users and the head-end
contain a transmitter/receiver including a Medium Access
Control (MAC) module, where, in the case of the current
invention, the medium is the electricity network.
Furthermore, the system of this invention includes the
means of adding/extracting a cyclic prefix to the OFDM
symbols and the means to convert the OFDM symbols from
frequency to time and from time to frequency and digital-
to-analog and analog-to-digital converters.
The invention is characterized because the
transmitter/receiver for the head-end and the users
includes the means of adapting the digital transmission
to the electricity network, so that these allocate the
OFDM modulation with a carrier width reduced to at least
1,5 KHz and with the number of carriers increased to at
least 500 carriers for each 10MHz to strengthen against
selective frequency fading arising from the varying cable
lengths in the electricity network between each user and
the head-end and to strengthen against interferences in
the electricity network.
The means of adapting the digital transmission to
the electricity network requires a cyclic prefix of long
duration, at least 7 microseconds, to adequately
recuperate the signal.
Furthermore, the invention is characterized because
the transmitter for the head-end and the users includes
the means to share the medium in time TDMA (Time Division
Multiple Access), in frequency FDMA (Frequency Division
Multiple Access), and/ or in Orthogonal Frequency
Division Multiplexing (OFDM), that allows for the
allocation of a portion of the carriers used in the
communication and of the data transmitted to each user
and sharing of the upstream and downstream channel by
multiple users, so as to optimise the transmission speed
for each user on the electricity network.
A further characteristic, complementary to the
characteristic described above, is that the head-end and
user receivers include the means to process information
corresponding to the data transmitted in the
communication in the time and frequency domains so as to
recover the shared data transmitted in time and
frequency.
Furthermore, the system of this invention includes
the means to continuously calculate the SNR (signal to
noise ratio) for each one of the carriers of the OFDM
modulation in both the upstream and downstream, so that
different users located at different distances from the
head-end use dynamically different carriers in the same
OFDM symbol, with a variable number of bits per carrier
in function of the SNR calculation, optimising
transmission throughput over the electricity network at
all times.
To achieve this function, the system in this
invention is characterized because both the transmitter
for the head-end and for the users includes the means to
assign and order carriers between users, so as to assign
the number of bits to be associated with each one of the
carriers in the OFDM modulation, from the result of the
SNR calculation. It also includes the means to associate
each one of the carriers with the bits assigned to make
the transmission, taking into account the changes
suffered by the response on the electricity line due to
impendence, attenuation and the varying distances between
the users and the head-end at all times and all
frequencies so as to adapt transmission speed in function
of the quality of transmission required for each user.
Furthermore, the allocation of carriers to distinct
communication provides interleaving in frequency. It is
in this module where the task of sharing the medium with
FDMA, TDMA and/or OFDMA is principally undertaken, as
already mentioned.
This structure allows the maximum speed possible on
the electricity network to be reached, because the
carriers are assigned individually to the users with
enough SNR, and furthermore, each one of the carriers
mentioned is assigned the number of bits it can carry in
function of the SNR calculation, allowing up to 8 bits to
be assigned per carrier when the measure of the SNR is
enough to ensure that the bit error rate of the
communication flows is maintained below a certain value,
where the number of bits are decided in function of
established thresholds, as described earlier.
Obviously the number of 8 bits per carrier can be
increased in function of technical advances.
Another characteristic of the invention is that the
head-end transmitter/receiver as well as those of the
users include the means to allow frequency translation to
bands higher than the base band, so that the digital
signals are adapted to be transmitted over the
electricity network and to allow the use of spectral
zones higher than the base band.
Both the head-end and users transmitter/receiver
includes the means to allow analog processing, using a
digital-to-analog converter that, in the case of the
transmitter, sends data over the electricity network, and
in the case of the receiver, receives data from the
electricity network.
The analog processing includes the means to
establish the voltage and power of the signal to be sent
and filtering means so as to adapt the signal for
transmission over the electricity network.
In one embodiment of the invention the means of
frequency translation consists of IQ modulators
/demodulators (in phase and quadrature) that can be
digital or analog, so that in the first case the said IQ
modulator is positioned before the analog processing
block and in the second case it is positioned after
having made the digital-to-analog conversion.
Interpolators and decimators may be introduced
together with the IQ modulator/demodulator to reduce the
number of points necessary to make the discrete Fourier
transform(DFT).
In another embodiment of the invention the means of
frequency translation comprise filtering means and the
selection of one the harmonics produced by the digital-
to-analog converter beginning from the second spectrum
harmonic of the OFDM symbol, in which case the frequency
waveform of the signals must be compensated for to
compensate the response of the time to frequency
conversion (typically one sine). This avoids having to
modulate the signal before sending information, due to
the fact that it is already in frequency bands higher
than the base band.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the
means to make the frequency to time conversion of the
OFDM symbols in transmission are set up by a device that
does the complex form of the inverse of the discrete
Fourier transform (IDFT), and in relation to the time to
frequency conversion made by the receptors, this is
achieved by means of a device that performs the complex
form of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT).
The complex DFT as well as the complex IDFT and the
digital IQ modulation/demodulation are used in
combination to reduce the number of points necessary for
the discrete Fourier transform, thereby increasing
flexibility and reducing costs associated with the
implementation of the system.
The frequency translation made by the transmitters
in different possible embodiments, place the signals
transmitted by the network above 1MHz.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention the
number of carriers is 1000 for every 10 MHz.
Furthermore, the invention is characterized because
both the head-end and the users contain the means to add
FEC (forward error correction) information that allocates
data blocks which include redundancy that constitutes
information for the correction/ detection of errors, such
that the FEC in each block and for each user varies so as
to adapt it to the different user situations at different
distances and using different frequencies.
Both the head-end and the users include the means of
interleaving in time, as well as interleaving in
frequency, as already described and consisting of the
selection of the carriers in function of the measure of
the SNR. Interleaving in time distributes the
transmissible data in such a way that the errors produced
due to noise in the network are spread over various data
blocks. Interleaving in time, as well as interleaving in
frequency, changes for each data block formed following
the incorporation of the error correction, and the FEC
also varies for each block, as already mentioned.
The head-end and user transmitters include the means
of scrambling the data so as to avoid that fixed patterns
produce signals in phase that together generate voltage
peaks higher than the dynamic range of the means of
analog processing, furthermore, the head-end and user
receivers include the means of de-scrambling to obtain
the original data transmitted (that is, the data before
the scrambling process).
The method of associating each carrier with the bits
to be transmitted in order to make the transmission, are
set up by a variable constellation encoder, that codes
the data to be sent with the number of bits assigned for
each carrier, having set up the variable encoder
according to one, various or all of the following
modulations:
m-DPSK (differential phase modulation)
m-PSK (phase modulation)
m-QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation)
-(m,n)-APSk (amplitude and phase modulation)
Moreover, the head-end and user receivers include a
variable constellation decoder that decodes the data
received with the number of bits specified by each
carrier, wherein the variable decoder is set up according
to one, various or all of the following demodulations:
m-DPSK (differential phase demodulation)
m-PSK (phase demodulation)
m-QAM (quadrature amplitude demodulation)
-(m,n)-APSK (amplitude and phase demodulation).
The head-end and users receivers include the means
to order the frequencies and to allocate the bits
complementary to the means of ordering and allocation of
frequency and the allocation of the bits of the head-end
and user transmitters.
The head-end and users receivers include the means
of pre-equalization, before the means of time to
frequency conversion, to modify the amplitude and phase
of the received signals and to compensate the
modification caused by the channel in the received
signal.
The analog processing means also contain means of
amplifying and/or attenuating, that are connected to a
hybrid circuit and to a separator to allow the
introduction/extraction of the signal from the
electricity network while eliminating the component that
this brings (50-60 Hz).
Both the head-end and users modems include a module
to control the synchronization between the head-end and
users modems.
Both the head-end and users receivers and
transmitters include a frequency processing module, which
in the case of the user emitter and receiver is made up
of a power pre-equalization module, or power mask, and an
angle corrector rotor that rotates the constellations to
correct frequency and phase errors, while the frequency
processor in the head-end receiver includes a power pre-
equalization module.
The frequency equalizer (FEQ) carries out the
equalization of each one of the received signal carriers.
This function occurs in reception both in the up-stream
and the down-stream and allows the recovery of the signal
while avoiding interference between symbols and the
effects of degradation due to the electricity network.
The SNR may be obtained using the control signals in this
system.
In one embodiment of the invention the frequency
error correction in reception occurs by altering the
speed of the sampling clocks in the analog-to-digital
converters in the receivers.
In another embodiment of the invention the frequency
error correction occurs by re-sampling the digital signal
obtained in the receiver.
The head-end and users receivers include the means
of extracting the cyclic prefix of the OFDM signals
received, using the information obtained in the
synchronization module to eliminate that part of the
received signal contaminated by echoes due to the multi-
path propagation of the signal in the electricity network
and to obtain the OFDM signals.
The SNR can be calculated from the difference
between the expected signal and that received over a
certain period of time.
The transmission speed is adapted by means of
comparing the SNR with certain previously fixed
thresholds, chosen in function of the different
modulation constellations used in the system.
The thresholds established include hysteresis to
avoid continuous changes if the SNR coincides with any
one of the thresholds, and from these the number of bits
per carrier is obtained, controlling the speed of
transmission.
The head-end MAC includes the means of adding an
indicative header to the data sent identifying to who or
whom the data is sent and the form in which it has been
codified, so that the various users know to whom the
transmission from the head-end is directed. Furthermore,
the head-end MAC is also responsible for identifying
which users may transmit via the upstream channel in each
time period and which carriers may be used, utilizing the
header for the packets sent by the downstream channel or
sending specific messages shared by the users.
The information transmitted in the header, in the
downstream channel, is received by, and can be decodified
by each one of the users. Starting from the destination
information of this header the user determines whether
the information contained in the packet should be
recovered or not.
The MAC in the head-end transmitter/receiver is
responsible for communication control and the sharing of
the transmission over the electricity network in time and
frequency between the various users, and the
administration of each one of the connections.
The head-end MAC is much more complex than that of
the users because, apart from the storing information of
bits per carrier for each one of the users, it includes
an advance logic to take decisions on the assignation of
transmission time and frequencies for each user as well
as synchronization requests, equalization, etc.
For this reason, the MAC is responsible for allowing
the users to transmit in the upstream and downstream
channels, in frequency, time and code.
Furthermore, the invention refers to a process for
the digital transmission of data, point to multipoint,
over the electricity network, comprising the following
phases:
adapting the digital signal of the transmissible
data and multiplexing it to prepare it for
transmission
adding error correction information to introduce
sufficient redundancy to make the correction
and/or detection of errors in reception
interleaving in time to increase the probability
of correction and /or detection of burst errors
of the type produced by the electricity network
frequency interleaving of the carriers of the
OFDM modulation
measure the SNR
dynamically assignation of the number of bits per
carrier in function of the SNR and the quality
required by each user
coding each of the carriers in the OFDM
modulation with the number of variable bits per
carrier assigned
transforming the codified signal from the
frequency domain to the time domain via an
inverse Fast Fourier transform
adding the cyclic prefix to the signal obtained
in time in order to avoid that the echoes
produced in the multipath propagation in the
electricity network create errors in the
reception of the OFDM symbols
translation in frequency of the signal obtained
to use bands higher than base band so as to adapt
the transmission to the electricity network and
to use higher spectral bands
converting the digital signal to an analog signal
adapted to be sent through the network
For the reception the inverse process is used.
Furthermore the process of the invention includes a
scrambling phase to avoid that the digital-to-analog
converter as well as the filters and the analog gain
amplifiers produce clipping in voltage, that are produced
when signals are generated in phase in multiple carriers
and that increase the output voltage of the system.
To use bands higher than base band, the frequency
translation of the signal obtained can be made in the
digital domain, in the analog domain, or a combination of
both.
To facilitate a better understanding of the
invention described herein and as an integral part of
this document, we include a series of drawings that
illustrate without limitation, the purpose of the
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present invention will now be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings in
which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the principal blocks
that make up the general structure of the system and its
connection to the electricity network.
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the system
of this invention in which blocks represented in Figure 1
are divided into their various parts.
FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the development of the
block concerning the analog processing, shown in Figure 2
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example of how
the information is configured to the point where the
error correction code is added.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example of how
the information is treated in the interleaving in time
block.
FIG. 6 is a view of a possible example of the form
of the assignation of bits and ordering of frequencies.
FIG. 7 is a generic view of the form in which the
different symbols of the OFDM modulation with the cyclic
prefix are received, where in the objective is to
demonstrate the importance of selecting the adequate
cyclic prefix.
FIG. 8 is a graph that depicts an example of the
selection of the different established thresholds in
function of the measurement of the signal to noise ratio
for each frequency.
DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
What follows is a description of the invention based
on the figures previously mentioned.
As previously mentioned the invention consists of a
system for full-duplex transmission over the electricity
network at high speed between a head-end and a plurality
of users using a master-slave architecture.
The communication from the head-end to the users is
referred to as downstream communication or downstream
channel, and the communication from the users to the
head-end is referred to as the upstream communication or
upstream channel.
As in FIG. l, both the head-end and the users
contain a transmitter 1 and a receiver 2 that through a
hybrid circuit 3 and from a separator 4 are connected to
the electricity network 5 to permit carrying out the
communication between the head-end and the users.
Both the transmitter 1 of the head-end and that of
the users take the form of a general structure comprising
a data processing block 6, which takes the information
that the equipment that makes use of the modem wants to
send, adapts it, composes the frames to be sent and
delivers them to a digital processing block 7, that
carries out the OFDM modulation and the frequency
translation to use higher bands than base band, so as to
adapt it to the electricity network and to utilize higher
spectral zones to the base band, and deliver the signal
to an analog processing block 8, responsible for adapting
the signal to the analog environment so as to be able to
transmit it over the electricity network, converting the
digital signal to analog, and filtering it to remove out
of band components, and amplifying it to be transmitted
through the electricity network.
The analog processing block 8 constitutes the medium
by which the connection between transmitter 1 and the
hybrid 3 is made, as well as separating the transmission
and reception signals so that the maximum power is
transmitted to the transmission line and the maximum
signal is received from the electricity network, whereby
the separator 4 is responsible for permitting the sending
and receiving of data through the electricity network 5,
by means of a filter that eliminates the frequency of the
network in reception and allows the signal being sent
pass through for transmission over the electricity
network.
Equally, the receiver 2, both of the head-end and of
the users, includes an analog processing block 11 that
receives the analog signal transmitted by the network and
converts it to digital, prior to amplification and
filtering, and delivers it to a digital processing block
that translates the frequency band used to carry out the
transmission through the electricity network to base
band, at the same time it recuperates the OFDM
demodulated symbols and delivers them to a data
processing block 9, where, from the recovered frames, the
original information sent is recovered and delivered to
the corresponding electronic equipment: computer,
television set, etc.
With the aid of FIG. 2, the system is described in
greater detail in which both the transmitter 1 and the
receptor 2 are connected to a user data interface 12 that
enables communication between the modem and the
electronic equipment.
In the data processing block 6, the data package 15
(FIG. 4) is multiplexed to be sent. This block composes
the frame 16 for transmission under the control of a
Medium Access Control module (MAC) 14 so that a header 17
is added to indicate to who or whom the data package 15
is directed, the means of encoding the data, the
priority, the type of message, etc.
The forward error correction (FEC) module 20 takes
data blocks 18 composed of a specific number of bytes and
adds error correction and/or error detection codes 19 to
each one of the blocks 18 to introduce sufficient
redundancy to carry out the correction/detection of
errors in reception. The error correction/detection codes
19 can be any of those known in the state of the art for
example BCH, REED-SOLOMON, REED-MULLER, etc.
It is important to indicate that the error
correction/detection code can vary for each block of data
18 and for each user, as will be explained later.
Therefore, the FEC 2 0 carriers a number of bytes and
on exiting obtains a greater number of bytes that contain
the initial information as well as more redundancy
introduced by the error correction/detection codes.
The FEC is governed by the MAC 14.
Furthermore, the data processing block 6 includes a
block for interleaving in time 22 that improves the
characteristics of error correction when faced with the
bursts of noise produced in the electricity network.
Thanks to this block the noise burst errors are
transformed into scrambled errors after carrying out the
de-interleaving, that is, they remain disseminated in
various blocks of data, so that the errors produced by
these noises on the electricity network do not produce
adjacent errors in reception. So, therefore the
interleaving in time block 22 carries out a re-ordering
attending to distinct lengths of block, where these
lengths are a function of the desired protection to offer
in the system mainly based on the average duration of
impulse noise in the channel. Therefore the length of the
blocks and the number of blocks obtained from FEC 20
takes into account the average characteristics expected
in the channel.
FIG. 5 shows a possible example of interleaving in
time, where in the case in question, it is produced by
means of introducing the bytes in rows 72 and extracting
said bytes in columns 71, so that what is produced is the
interleaving previously mentioned.
Following on from the interleaving in time, the data
processing block 6 includes a bit assigner and frequency
ordering 23 that carries out the interleaving in
frequency, for which the MAC 14 informs of the carriers
available at each moment and the ones that should be
utilized in each communication 82; all of this starting
from the measurement of the SNR carried out for the
digital processing block 10 of the receptor 2, as will be
described later. Thus the bit assigner and the frequency
ordering 23 assigns the bits of the package to be
transmitted to each one of the carriers selected for the
communication. It produces the data in parallel 83.
Therefore, the characteristics as mentioned for the
data processing block 6 determine the execution of a time
division multiple access (TDMA), a frequency division
multiple access (FDMA) and the orthogonal frequency
division multiple access (OFDMA).
TDMA is performed by means of controlling in every
single moment of time for which user the communication is
intended (utilizing all or part of the carriers available
for the transmission).
FDMA is carried out by means of controlling the bit
assigner and frequency ordering 23 on the part of the MAC
14, to indicate what carriers should be utilized for the
transmission.
In OFDMA each user is offered a portion of the total
usable carriers in the communication.
The interleaving in frequency can change for each
package of information to be sent and for each user, and
it adapts itself to the different users situated at
different distances and using different frequencies, as
it is explained further on.
This structure permits maximum use of the upstream
and downstream channels, since the sharing process is
carried out in frequency and in time, both in the
upstream channel and the downstream.
Finally, the data processing block 6 includes a
scrambler 24 that avoids producing patterns of bits that
generate signals in phase in multiple carriers that could
increase the voltage at the exit of the analog processing
block 8, causing this block, on not having a sufficient
dynamic range to bear it, to produce cuts in the voltage
peaks. The scrambler reduces the probability of said
peaks occur.
Following on from this, the data passes to the
digital processing block 7 (FIG. 2) that has a
constellation encoder 28 that can be: m-DPSK
(differential phase modulation), m-PSK (phase
modulation), m-QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation)
and/or (m, n) - APSK (amplitude and phase modulation) , so
as to optimize the quantity of transmittable data when
using an encoder with a variable number of bits per
carrier that depends on the channel characteristics
measured in each moment and on the desired communication
speed, which is indicated by means of the parameters "n"
and "m" of the different codifications indicated.
Therefore upon exiting the constellation encoder 28 an
OFDM digital modulation in the frequency domain
(orthogonal division multiplexing in time) is obtained.
Subsequently the coded signal is introduced in a
frequency domain processor 29, which is governed by the
MAC 14, and whose configuration varies depending on
whether it is the head-end transmitter or the user
transmitter. In the case that it is the user transmitter
the frequency domain processor 2 9 consists of a power
mask and a rotor. The power mask acts like a pre-
equalization before the known frequency characteristics
of the channel, modifying the amplitude of the signal
received in the frequencies used in the communication,
and the rotor compensates for the small variations of
frequency and phase due to the changes in the function of
transfer of the channel that cause the constellation in
reception to be "rotated" regarding transmission.
The frequency domain processor of the head-end only
includes a power mask that carries out the said pre-
equalization, since there is no need to include the rotor
given that both the transmitter and the receptor of the
user include said rotor avoiding that the modem of the
head-end has to carry out this function.
The preferred algorithm for computation of the
discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is FFT (fast Fourier
transform), due to the high efficiency of this algorithm.
In the same way the inverse of DFT would be carried out
preferentially with the algorithm IFFT (inverse of fast
Fourier transform).
Subsequently, the digital processing block 7, has a
device IFFT 3 0 that carries out the complex inverse of
the fast Fourier transform with which it performs the
translation of the frequency domain to the time domain,
and subsequently eliminates the parallelism produced by
the bit assigner and frequency ordering 23 that
distributed the information in a series of carriers by
means of the governing MAC; obtaining a single signal.
After carrying out the transformation to the time
domain, the signal is introduced in a cyclic prefix
generator 31 that consists of a storage device that is
controlled by the MAC 14 to create a cyclic prefix 65
(FIG. 7), which is a repetition in time of the final part
of the OFDM symbol that is to be transmitted. In this
figure, the previous symbol 74 and the subsequent symbol
75 are also represented.
The signal is then introduced into an IQ modulator
33 (in phase and quadrature) , subject to passing through
an interpolator, so that by means of the interpolator an
adequate number of samples are obtained before carrying
out the IQ modulation. This modulation carries out the
translation of the frequency in the base band to an upper
band adapting it to the electricity network.
The employment of the complex IFFT together with the
IQ modulator facilitates the frequency translation, since
the input of the IFFT device 3 0 are the signals of the
carriers pertaining to the distinct entrances, that are
introduced directly, and its exit is a complex signal
(that is to say, a signal whose imaginary part is
distinct from zero). It permits the realization of the
IQ modulation directly upon this exit since the real part
corresponds with the signal in phase (I) while the
imaginary one corresponds with the signal in quadrature
(Q) or vice versa, and only has to multiply with an
oscillator of the adequate central frequency to transfer
the band to this central frequency, which reduces the
hardware structure considerably.
The exit of the IQ modulator 33 applies to the
analog processing block 8, which includes a digital-to-
analog converter 34 that converts the modulated digital
signals to analog for transmission through the
electricity network 5 (FIG. 2 and FIG. 3).
At this point it must be stated that because of
this, the IQ modulation is digital, but likewise an
analog IQ modulation may be carried out, that is to say
after the digital to analog converter, notwithstanding
that this represents a significant modification in the
design of the system.
In addition, the analog processing block 8 has a
smoothed filter 35 that is comprised of a low pass filter
35a and a high pass filter 35b that follows a
programmable gain amplifier 3 6 that also is united to a
fixed gains amplifier 37 so that the levels of the signal
are adapted to transmission and so as to assure the
connection between the extremes. This signal is applied
in the hybrid 3 and subsequently in the separator 4 that
introduces the signal in the electricity network
filtering the network component of 50-60 Hz, to avoid the
saturation of components in reception.
The operating frequency of the digital-to-analog
converter 34 is governed by the synchronisation control
module 27 for which this provides a digital signal to a
digital-to-analog converter 29 that provides on its exit
a voltage signal to rule the operation of an oscillator
controlled by voltage 38 that applies to the digital-to-
analog converter 34 of the analog processing block 8.
The data transmitted comprise a header coded by
means of a robust modulation, as for example QPSK
modulation, to withstand noises or errors produced in the
line, and the original data where the coding itself
depends on the constellation utilized in each carrier in
its transmission as already discussed. This header
includes information regarding which user modem or modems
are the destination of the information, the priority, the
size, etc. These headers must be understood by each and
everyone of the user modems, which have to demodulate the
head-end, including cases in which the SNR is low, and is
made possible thanks to the QPSK modulation, the FEC with
high correction, and the redundancy previously commented.
This redundancy consisted of sending the information
repeatedly a specific number of times in distinct
frequencies, in distinct times, and/or in distinct codes,
so that the user modems are able to demodulate the
information of the header with greater confidence.
The signal sent by the electricity network is
received by the receptors 2, which carry out the inverse
process of transmission, for which the analog processing
block 11 has an amplifier 50 (FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) that
includes a low noise amplifier 50a and a programmable
gain amplifier 50b, in addition to having a filter 51
that is comprised of a low pass filter 51a and a high
pass filter 51b, that actually delivers the signal to the
programmable gains amplifier 50b, for the subsequent
analog-to-digital conversion of the signal by means of
the corresponding converter 52 that likewise is governed
by the synchronisation control module 27, through the
oscillator controlled by voltage 38.
Afterwards the information passes to the IQ
demodulator 53, which delivers it to a decimator. After
carrying out the demodulation, and the further filtered
decimation, the cyclic prefix is extracted 65 by means of
a cyclic prefix extractor 55 so that the uncontaminated
part of the symbols, where the contamination is mainly
due to the echoes of the multipath propagation, is taken
out.
FIG. 7 schematically represents the direct wave 66,
that arrives directly to the receptor, as well as the
different echoes 67, 68 and 69, which along with 70
represent the signal that the receptor obtains from the
all that went before, and for which it is necessary to
choose a long symbol period and an adequate cyclic prefix
to assure the correct reception. In the current
embodiment the cyclic prefix is on the order of 7
microseconds.
The reception signal is windowed in order to permit
the correct recovery of the OFDM symbols, and therefore
the need to carry out equalisation of the signal in time
is avoided.
Once the sent OFDM symbols are correctly extracted
they pass to an FFT device 56 (fast Fourier transform)
that carries out the conversion of the signal from time
to frequency and delivers it to a frequency equaliser 57.
All this process is controlled by the
synchronization control module 27 so that the sampling
carried out in each one of the receptors of the
multipoint communication are similar to that carried out
in the head-end modem, and so that it is possible to know
the start of each OFDM symbol in reception and thus to be
able to extract the cyclic prefix carrying out the
correct windowing.
The frequency equaliser 57 comprises a frequency
domain processor that makes the symbol on its exit as
close as possible to the symbol sent from the
transmitter, compensating for the behaviour of the
channel that introduces attenuation and phase distortion
in each one of the carriers utilized in the
communication.
As mentioned, the electricity network is not stable
in time, therefore the process of equalisation should be
carried out in continuous form.
By means of the frequency domain processor 57, the
SNR is obtained, and it will be utilized to carry out the
assignment of bits in the transmitter. In the current
embodiment, said SNR is obtained as part of the error
signal calculation in the frequency equalization, since
the power utilized in transmission is known.
The measurement of the SNR is carried out over a
specific period of time before validating the new SNR in
a carrier, so as to avoid the production of instsntaneous
false values of SNR due to punctual noises in the
electricity network. As commented previously the SNR
information is utilized to assign the bits to the
different carriers and thus to adapt the speed of
transmission.
In the system of this invention it can use from zero
to eight bits per carrier, in function of the value of
the SNR obtained as indicated. At present, none of the
systems employed in transmission over the electricity
network allows for the incorporation of more than two
bits per carrier, and therefore they have a slow
transmission speed, an issue that is solved by the system
described in this invention.
Therefore, in function of the bits employed by the
carrier, the transmission speed is adapted, for which the
measured SNR 80 is compared with a series of thresholds
76 to 79 (FIG. 8) to which certain histeresis has been
introduced so as to avoid continuous changes if the SNR
coincides with some of the thresholds; and from this the
number of bits per carrier (bpc) in each group of
frequencies 81 is obtained. FIG. 8 shows a possible
example of the different thresholds established for the
selection of bits per carrier.
The process of adaptation is repeated continuously
for all the carriers, or for one or various sets of them,
so that the maximum applicable speed is reached over the
electricity network at all times, according to the
immediate characteristics of the channel that vary in
function of time due to the characteristics of the
electricity network, as already commented previously.
As indicated previously the MAC 14 assigns different
carriers for the different users, as well as the number
of bits to be associated with each one of them. This
function follows on from the SNR obtained, assigning the
carriers that a user cannot utilize, due to the fact that
they have a low SNR, to other users that have sufficient
SNR so as to be able to utilize them. Furthermore, it
assigns the frequencies to distinct users in function of
the bits per carrier that they can utilize in each one of
the carriers.
Subsequently the signals obtained pass through a
variable constellation decoder 58 that carries out the
demodulation of the carriers of the OFDM symbols and then
it de-scrambles them by means of a de-scrambler 59 and
the FDMA and TDMA demodulation is carried out by means of
a module of assignment of bits and arrangement of
frequencies 60 complementary to that 23 described for the
transmitter.
In addition the receptor has a de-interleaved block
62 complementary to the interleaved block 22 of said
transmitter. Subsequently the error correction/detection
is carried out by means of the FEC device 63 that
delivers the data to the interface 12 with the external
equipment.
Therefore except for the difference already
indicated, the head-end and user modems have a similar
configuration, and with one added difference, as can be
concluded from the description already given, that is,
the MAC processor 14 in the case of the head-end modem
has a more complicated configuration than in the case of
the users, since it has to store the number of bits per
carrier that should be sent to each of the users, and in
addition includes the header governing from and to whom
the information is directed as well as the frequencies
and periods of time that each one of the users can
utilize.
Furthermore, in the system of this invention, the process
described in the section concerning the description of
the invention is applicable, and can be deduced clearly
from the explanations carried out with the aid of the
figures.
WE CLAIM :
1.- SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT. TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICTY NETWORK, that comprises a
communication in the downstream channel, determined by a link from the headend
to various different users, and a communication in the upstream channel,
determined by a link from each of the users to the head-end, where the
communication medium is the electricity network (5) and communication is
achieved by means of an OFDM modulation (orthogonal frequency division
multiplexing) to obtain OFDM symbols, where both the head-end and the users
contain a transmitter/receiver that includes a medium access control module
(MAC) (14) to provide a master-slave communication, as well as means to
add/extract a cyclic prefix (31, 55) in the OFDM symbols and means of
converting the OFDM symbols from frequency to time and from time to frequency
(30, 56), and digital-to-analog (34) and analog-to-digital (52) converters; the
transmitter(1)/receiver(2) of the head-end and the users comprising:
means to adapt the digital signal to the electricity network that provide:
an OFDM modulation with a carrier width reduced to at least 1,5 KHz and with
the number of carriers increased to at least 500 carriers for each 10MHz to
strengthen against selective frequency fadings arising from the varying cable
lengths in the electricity network between each user and the head-end and to
strengthen against interferences in the electricity network;
a cyclic prefix (65) of long duration, at least 7 microseconds, to recover the
signal;
where the transmitter (1) includes means of sharing the medium in time TDMA
(Time Division Multiple Access), in frequency FDMA (Frequency Division
Multiple Access), and/ or in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access
(OFDMA), of the data transmitted in both the upstream and downstream
channels for multiple users;
where the receivers (2) include means to process the information corresponding
to the data transmitted in the communication in the time and frequency
domains, to reach maximum throughput;
means to continuously calculate the SNR (signal to noise ratio) (57) for each of
the carriers in the OFDM modulation in both the upstream and downstream, so
that different users located at differing distances from the head-end use
dynamically different carriers in the same OFDM symbol, with a variable
number of bits per carrier, maximizing the throughput of the channel in time;
where the transmitter includes means (23) to continuously assign the carriers
and the number of bits per carrier to each of the carriers in the OFDM
modulation from the result of the SNR calculation, and means to associate the
number of the bits to be transmitted to each designated carrier (83) to achieve
the transmission taking into consideration the changes suffered by the
electricity line (5) response at different distances between the users and the
head-end in each frequency, and to adapt transmission speed in function of
the SNR calculation and the quality of transmission required for each user;
means to translate the frequency (33) to user bandwidths higher than base band,
so as to be adapted to the electricity network and to allow the use of spectral
zones superior to base band ;
wherein
the SNR calculation is calculated from the difference of the signal expected and
the signal received over a certain time period, and in that
the transmission speed is adapted by comparison of SNR (80) with certain
previously fixed thresholds (76, 77, 78, 79) that are a function of the different
modulation constellations used in the system and the maximum rate of errors
wanted at any time, wherein the thresholds (76, 77, 78, 79) previously
established preferably contain hysteresis.
2.- SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said means of frequency translation are constituted by IQ (in phase and
quadrature) modulators (33) and demodulators (53).
3. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 2,
wherein said IQ modulators (33) and demodulators (53) are digital.
4. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 2,
wherein said IQ modulators (33) and demodulators (53) are analog.
5. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said means of frequency translation (33, 53) comprise a filtering process
and the selection of one of the harmonics, starting from the second harmonic, in
the spectrum of the OFDM symbol at the exit of the digital-to-analog converter.
6. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 5,
wherein it includes means of pre-equalizing the selected harmonic to avoid that
different frequencies receive different treatment by the action of the digital-to-
analog converter (34).
7. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claims 2
and 5, wherein said frequency translation (33) made by the transmitters places
the signals transmitted through the network above 1 MHz.
8. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said means of making the frequency to time conversion of the OFDM
symbols in the transmitters (30) are set up by a device that makes the complex
form of the inverse of the discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), and because the
time to frequency conversion made by the receivers occurs via a device (56) that
makes the complex form of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT).
9. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claims 3
and 8, wherein said complex DFT (56) is used in combination with digital IQ
modulation (53) including interpolators and decimators to reduce the number of
points needed in the discrete Fourier transform, and to simplify the system
hardware.
10. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein both the head-end and the users contain the means to dynamically add
FEC (forward error correction) information (20) that allocates data blocks which
includes information for the correction/detection of errors, so that the FEC in
each block and for each user varies in order to adapt it to the different user
situations at different distances and using different carriers.
11. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein both the head-end and the users include the means of interleaving in
time (22), to distribute the data of the information transmitted in such a way that
the errors produced by noise in the network are spread over various data blocks
in reception.
12. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claims 10
and 11, wherein said FEC code (20) and the interleaving in time (22) change for
each packet of information to be transmitted and for each user, to adapt them to
the communication with different users situated at different distances from the
head-end and using different carriers of the OFDM modulation.
13. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said head-end and users transmitters (1) comprise the means to allow
analog processing (8) in order to make the transformation from the digital to
analog domain and that includes a digital-to-analog converter (34), the means to
establish the voltage and power of the signal (36) to be sent, and the means of
filtering to adapt the signal to be transmitted over the electricity network (5); while
the head-end and user receivers (2) include the means of analog processing (11)
to make the transformation from the analog to digital domain by means of an
analog-to-digital converter (52) to recover the original digital signal.
14. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said head-end and user transmitters (1) comprise an interface
connection (12) with an external equipment.
15. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 13,
wherein said head-end and user transmitters (1) comprise the means of
scrambling (24) to avoid that certain data patterns produce signals in phase with
peak voltages higher to those admissible by the analog processing means (8);
and where the head-end and user receivers (2) include the means of de-
scrambling (59) to obtain the original data previous to the scrambling process.
16. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said head-end and user transmitters (1) include the means of
interleaving in frequency, made up by a tone ordering and association module
(23) so as to assign the OFDM carriers in the upstream/downstream carriers to
each one of the users and to continuously assign the number of bits associated
with each carrier in the OFDM modulation.
17. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 16,
wherein said means of associating the bits to be transmitted with each carrier so
as to make the transmission comprise a variable constellation encoder (28), that
encodes the data to be sent with the number of bits specified for each carrier,
wherein the variable encoder is constituted by one, various or all of the following
modulations:
m-DPSK (differential phase modulation),
m-PSK (phase modulation),
m-QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation),
(m,n)-APSK (amplitude and phase modulation).
18. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 17,
wherein said head-end and user receivers include a variable constellation
decoder (58) that decodifies the received data with the number of bits specified
for each carrier, wherein the variable decoder is constituted by one, various or all
or the following demodulators:
m-DPSK (differential phase demodulation)
m-PSK (phase demodulation)
m-QAM (quadature amplitude demodulation)
(m.n)-APSK (amplitude and phase demodulation).
19. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 16,
wherein said head-end and user receivers include the complementary tone
ordering and association module (60) to the tone ordering and association
module in the head-end and user transmitters.
20. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said head-end and user receivers include the means of pre-equalization
(57), to modify the amplitude and phase of the received signals.
21. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 13,
wherein said analog processing means include furthermore, amplifiers and/or
attenuators (36, 50), connected to a hybrid circuit and to a separator (4) to allow
the introduction/extraction of the signal in/from the electricity network (5)
eliminating the component that is carried by the network (50-60 Hz).
22. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said head-end and users comprise a module to control the
synchronization (27) between the transmitter (1) and the receiver (2), making the
error correction in frequency and windowing the signal in time.
23. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 19,
wherein it includes a frequencial processing module (29) that is made up of a
module for power pre-equalization and by a rotor for the correction of the rotated
angle of the constellations to be sent through the electricity network in the case
of the emitter and receiver of the users; and a the synchronization controller, in
the head-end receiver, that is linked to a frequencial processing module that
comprises a power pre-equalization module; all of this to avoid that the
transmitter/receiver of the head-end has to make any correction of the rotated
angle of the constellation in the upstream channel.
24. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said head-end and user receivers (2) include a frequency equalizer
(FEQ) (57) that makes the equalization in each one of the carriers both in the
upstream and downstream, to allow a coherent demodulation of the information
transmitted in these carriers.
25. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 22,
wherein said error correction in frequency is made by altering the sampling
speed in the master clocks (38) of the analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog
converters (34).
26. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 22,
wherein said correction of errors in frequency is made by resampling the digital
signal obtained in the receiver.
27. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 22,
wherein said head-end and user receivers include the means to extract the cyclic
prefix (65) of the OFDM symbols received from the information obtained in the
synchronization module, in order to eliminate the interference between symbols
in reception produced by the echoes in the multipath propagation of the signal
through the electricity network (5), and to obtain the original OFDM symbols
transmitted.
28. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said head-end and user MAC (14) include means of informing through
the downstream of which user may transmit by the upstream in each time period
and which carriers it can use.
29. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said user and head-end MAC (14) includes the means of inserting a
header (17) in the data to be transmitted (15), indicating from whom and to whom
the data is directed and the form in which said data has been coded.
30. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said upstream and downstream channels are separated in frequency,
time code or any combination of them.
31. - SYSTEM FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 29
and 30, wherein said information transmitted in the downstream channel is
received by all the user receivers, so that these contain means to determine
whether the information received should be recovered.
32. - PROCESS FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTIPOINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, that comprises a
communication in the downstream channel, determined by a link from the head-
end to various different users, and a communication in the upstream channel,
determined by a link from each of the users to the head-end, where the
communication medium is the electricity network (5) and communication is
achieved by an OFDM modulation (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) to
obtain OFDM symbols, where both the head-end and the users transmit/receive
with a medium access control (MAC) (14) to provide a master-slave
communication, and add/extract a cyclic prefix (31, 55), in the OFDM symbols
and convert the OFDM symbols from frequency to time and from time to
frequency (30, 56), and accomplish digital-to-analog (34) and analog-to-digital
(52) conversions; said process for the digital transmission of data comprising the
following phases:
adaptation of the transmissible digital data signal and multiplexing of this signal
(12) to create the transmissible frames,
inserting enough redundancy (20) to make the correction/detection of errors in
reception,
interleaving in time (22) to diminish and make easy the correction of errors,
measurement of the SNR (80),
dynamically assignation of the number of bits per carrier (23) in function of the
result of the measurement of the SNR and the quality required by each user,
coding each one carrier of the OFDM modulation (28) with the variable number of
bits assigned per carrier,
transforming the coded signal from the frequency to the time domain (30) using
the inverse fast Fourier transformation (IFFT),
adding the cyclic prefix to the signal in time (31) to avoid that the echoes
produced by the multipath propagation, that happens to the signal in the
electricity network, damage the recovery of the OFDM symbols,
translation of the signal obtained in frequency (33) in order to use bands higher
than base band and to adapt the transmission to the electricity network and to
use spectral superior bands than base band,
converting the digital signal to an analog signal (34) and adapting it (35, 36) in
order to send it through the network;
characterized in that
the SNR calculation is calculated from the difference of the signal expected and
the signal received over a certain time period, and in that
the transmission speed is adapted by comparison of SNR (80) with certain
previously fixed thresholds (76, 77, 78, 79) that are a function of the different
modulation constellations used in the system and the maximum rate of errors
wanted at any time, wherein the thresholds (76, 77, 78, 79) previously
established preferably contain hysteresis.
33. - PROCESS FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION OF DATA, POINT TO
MULTI-POINT OVER THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK, as claimed in claim 32,
characterized in that it includes an inverse process that occurs in reception (2).
The present invention discloses a method and system for the digital
transmission of data, point to multipoint over the electricity network. It enables
the bi-directional communication between a head-end and a plurality of users
through the electricity network, and it is characterized in that it allows to establish
a low and high speed communication in order to provide multiple high-quality
services to the users. It comprises means to accomplish a share of the network
in time, frequency and/or in multiple access by means of orthogonal frequency
division (OFDMA).

Documents:

895-KOLNP-2003-(05-01-2012)-FORM-27.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-ASSIGNMENT 1.1.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-ASSIGNMENT 1.2.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-CORRESPONDENCE 1.1.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-CORRESPONDENCE 1.2.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-CORRESPONDENCE 1.3.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-CORRESPONDENCE 1.4.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-ENGLISH TRANSLATION.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-FORM -1.1.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-FORM 13.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-FORM 16.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-FORM 3-1.1.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-FORM 5-1.1.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-abstract.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-assignment.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-claims.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-correspondence.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-description (complete).pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-drawings.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-examination report.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-form 1.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-form 18.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-form 3.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-form 5.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-gpa.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-others.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-reply to examination report.pdf

895-kolnp-2003-granted-specification.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-OTHER PCT FORM.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-OTHERS 1.1.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-OTHERS 1.2.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-PA 1.1.pdf

895-KOLNP-2003-PA.pdf


Patent Number 224999
Indian Patent Application Number 895/KOLNP/2003
PG Journal Number 44/2008
Publication Date 31-Oct-2008
Grant Date 29-Oct-2008
Date of Filing 14-Jul-2003
Name of Patentee DISENO DE SISTEMAS EN SILICO, S.A.
Applicant Address CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN, 2 PARQUE TECNOLOGICO, E-46980 PATERNA(VALENCIA)
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 BLASCO CLARET JORGE VICENTE GUARDIA CIVIL, 23-2°PUERTA 28, E-46020 VALENCIA
2 RIVEIRO INSUA JUAN CARLOS BEATA GENOVEVA TORRES, 30, ESC. B-10°, PUERTA 43, E-46019 VALENCIA
3 FOUREN NILS HAKAN ZARAGOZA, 28, E-08006 BARCELONA
4 PARDO VIDAL CARLOS AVDA. ALFAHUIR, 39, BLOQUE 3-2° PUERTA 6, E-46019 VALENCIA
5 GAVILLERO MARTIN JUAN MIGUEL MENENDEZ Y PELAYO, 5-3° PUERTA 10, E-46100 BURJASOT(VALENCIA)
6 GONZALEZ MORENO JOSE LUIS AVDA. CAMI NOU, 29-PUERTA 8, E-46950 XIRIVELLA(VALENCIA)
7 JIMENEZ MARQUINA FRANCISCO JAVIER LUIS CASANOVA, 22-4° PUERTA 16, E-46009 VALENCIA
8 ANDRES NAVARRO FRANCISCO JOSE LUIS OLIAS, 55-8° E-46006 VALENCIA
9 DOMINGUEZ RICHARDS VICTOR MAESTRO CHAPI, 30 ESC. B-PUERTA 7, E-46900 TORRENTE(VALENCIA)
10 FORMENT TARREGA MARIA TERESA DR. BARBERA, 22-11°, E-46970 ALAQUAS(VALENCIA)
PCT International Classification Number H04B 3/54
PCT International Application Number PCT/ES01/00490
PCT International Filing date 2001-12-18
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 200003024 2000-12-18 Spain