CATV video and data transmission system with digital input

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9635309-B2
Application number	US-201313844115-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 15, 2013
Priority date	Mar 15, 2013
Publication date	Apr 25, 2017
Grant date	Apr 25, 2017

Abstract

Improved systems and methods for delivering CATV content over a fiber optic network to a receiver.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for receiving data downstream from a head end at a node through a fiber optic network, said method comprising:
(a) receiving at the node a series of digital codewords each representing an instantaneous power level of a radio frequency (RF) spectrum based on a headend conversion clock, wherein the RF spectrum is a composite RF spectrum input to a head end transmitter that includes a combination of CATV content having respective frequency bands within the RF spectrum, wherein each digital codeword represents the instantaneous power level of the composite RF spectrum at intervals of the headend conversion clock;
(b) recovering a clock rate, used by the headend conversion clock to generate the codewords, for use by a node conversion clock;
(c) determining the respective power levels of the RF spectrum from each of the received digital codewords for converting the series of digital codewords in to one or more analog signals representing the composite RF spectrum of the combined cable television (CATV) content, the conversion of digital code words performed via the node conversion clock and a digital to analog converter (DAC) located in the node remote from the head end;
(d) preparing one or more analog signals representing the composite RF spectrum for distribution over a coaxial network; and
(e) propagating the one or more analog signals to one or more users over the coaxial network.

2. The method of claim 1 where said digital signal is delivered to said node at 256 QAM.

3. The method of claim 1 where said digital signal is delivered to said node at 1024 QAM.

4. The method of claim 1 where said digital signal is delivered to said node at 4096 QAM.

5. The method of claim 1 where said digital signal is delivered over said fiber optic network to said node over 1 km away from said head end.

6. The method of claim 1 including the step of converting an optical signal to an electrical signal.

7. The method of claim 6 where conversion to said electrical signal occurs before converting said digital signal to an analog signal.

8. The receiver of claim 1 including a photodiode and trans-Impedance amplifier to convert an optical signal from said fiber optic network to an electrical signal.

9. The receiver of claim 1 including a conversion clock recovery circuit between a clock data recovery (CDR) unit and said DAC.

10. The receiver of claim 9 where said conversion clock recovery circuit is phase lock looped or delay lock looped.

11. The receiver of claim 1 including an Analog Front End (AFE) between said DAC and said coaxial connection.

12. The receiver of claim 11 where said AFE provides anti-aliasing.

Assignees

• Gen Instrument Corp
• Arris Entpr Inc

Inventors

• Bowler David B
• Greene Clarke V
• Holobinko John
• White Gerard
• Ma Xinfa
• Gu Shaoting
• Bu Vincent L
• Pratt Bruce C
• Hrivnak Lawrence M
• Hersey Steven H

Classifications

• H04L29/06503

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04N21/64707

  for transferring content from a first network to a second network, e.g. between IP and wireless · CPC title

• H04H20/78

  CATV [Community Antenna Television] systems · CPC title

• H04N21/63

  Control signaling {related to video distribution} between client, server and network components; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients {or between remote clients}, e.g. transmitting basic layer and enhancement layers over different transmission paths, setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet between remote STB's; Communication protocols; Addressing (real-time session protocols H04L65/1101; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104) · CPC title

• H04L29/06489

  Electricity · mapped topic