EA002330B1 - Systwem for selectively diwnloading information at user terminals from the internet using a satellite broadcast system - Google Patents

Abstract

1. A system for providing user terminals with information from at least one remote communication network comprising: a receiver; a satellite configured to receive a broadcast channel comprising packets containing said information, said information relating to at least one of a plurality of topics, said broadcast channel comprising data indicating which of said packets correspond to which of said plurality of topics, said satellite being operable to transmit said broadcast channel to said receiver; a processing device connected to said receiver; a user input device connected to said processing device; and a display device connected to said processing device, said processing device being programmable to generate a screen on said display device to prompt a user to select one of said plurality of topics, said receiver being operable to provide said packets to said processing device, said processing device being operable to process an input signal generated by said user input device when said user makes a selection using said screen and to examine said data to determine which of said packets correspond to said input signal, said display device being controlled by said processing device to display said information corresponding to said input signal. 2. A system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a multimedia device connected to said receiver, said information comprising at least one of data, graphics, static images, moving images, text, audio, web pages, and video, said multimedia device being operable to perform at least one of a plurality of operations depending on said input signal comprising displaying at least one of said data, said graphics, said static images, said moving images, said text, said web page and said video and playing said audio. 3. A system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one of an Internet service provider computer and a system gateway connected to said remote communication network, and a broadcast station connected to said at least one of an Internet service provider and a system gateway, said broadcast station being operable receive said information from said at least one of an Internet service provider and a system gateway, to format said information into said broadcast channel with said data indicating to which of said plurality of topics said packets correspond, and to transmit said broadcast channel to said satellite. 4. A system as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a hub for connecting said broadcast station to said system gateway. 5. A method of broadcasting information from Internet service providers to user terminals comprising a radio receiver and a multimedia device via satellite and without a backhaul link between the user terminals and the service providers: formatting a broadcast channel comprising packets of Internet information relating to a plurality of topics and identification data for transmission to said user terminals, said identification data identifying which of said plurality of topics said packets correspond; transmitting said broadcast channel to said user terminals via said satellite; receiving said broadcast channel at a number of said user terminals; generating a menu using said multimedia device to list said plurality of topics; determining a user input signal corresponding to a selection of one of said plurality of topics from said menu; determining which of said packets corresponds to said user input signal using said identification data; and outputting said packets corresponding to said user input signal using said multimedia device. 6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said formatting step comprises the step of formatting Internet information comprising at least one of news, weather reports, stock market rates, educational programs and consumer information. 7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said generating step of: identifying at least one of said news, said weather reports, said stock market rates, said educational programs and said consumer information using said multimedia device as menu options; and providing a prompt for instructing a user to select one of said menu options. 8. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said formatting step further comprises the step of formatting program information indicating said plurality of topics and corresponding broadcast times for reception at said user terminals. 9. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said user terminals are programmed to update said menu using said program information. 10. A satellite broadcast communication system for broadcasting Internet information comprising: a plurality of receivers; at least one broadcast station for transmitting a broadcast channel comprising packets of different types of Internet information and data identifying which of said packets which of said different types of Internet information; and a satellite for receiving said broadcast channel and for transmitting said broadcast channel to said plurality of receivers; wherein at least one of said plurality of receivers receives said broadcast channel, said receiver comprising a multimedia device having a memory device for storing packets obtained from said broadcast channel, an output device for prompting a user to make a selection from a plurality of different types of Internet information; an input device to allow a user to make said selection, and a processor programmed to retrieve selected ones of said packets stored in said memory device which correspond to said selection and provide said selected ones of said packets to said output device. 11. A system for providing user terminals with information from at least one remote communication network comprising: a receiver; a satellite configured to receive packets transmitted to it containing said information, and transmitting information of said broadcast channel to a receiver, said information relating to at least one of a plurality of topics, said broadcast channel has headlines comprising data indicating which of said packets correspond to which of said plurality of topics, a processing device connected to said receiver; a user input device connected to said processing device; and a display device connected to said processing device, said processing device being programmable to generate a screen on said display device to prompt a user to select one of said plurality of topics, said receiver being operable to provide said packets to said processing device, said processing device being operable to process an input signal generated by said user input device when said user makes a selection using said screen and to examine said data to determine which of said packets correspond to said input signal, said display device being controlled by said processing device to display said information corresponding to said input signal. 12. A system as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a multimedia device connected to said receiver, said information comprising at least one of data, graphics, static images, moving images, text, audio, web pages, and video, said multimedia device being operable to perform at least one of a plurality of operations depending on said input signal comprising displaying at least one of said data, said graphics, said static images, said moving images, said text, said web page and said video and playing said audio. 13. A system as claimed in claim 11, further comprising at least one of an Internet service provider computer and a system gateway connected to said remote communication network, and a broadcast station connected to said at least one of an Internet service provider and a system gateway, said broadcast station being operable receive said information from said at least one of an Internet service provider and a system gateway, to format inormation in said headlines with said data indicating to which of said plurality of topics said packets correspond. 14. A system as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a hub for connecting said broadcast station to said system gateway. 15. A method of broadcasting information from Internet service providers to user terminals comprising a radio receiver and a multimedia device via satellite and without a backhaul link between the user terminals and the service providers: formatting Internet information relating to a plurality of topics to packets in said broadcast channel for transmission to said user terminals, said broadcast channel has headlines comprising data indicating which of said packets correspond to which of said plurality of topics, transmitting said broadcast channel to said user terminals via said satellite; receiving said broadcast channel at a number of said user terminals; generating a menu using said multimedia device to list said plurality of topics; determining a user input signal corresponding to a selection of one of said plurality of topics from said menu; determining which of said packets corresponds to said user input signal using said identification data; and outputting said packets corresponding to said user input signal using said multimedia device. 16. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said formatting step comprises the step of formatting Internet information comprising at least one of news, weather reports, stock market rates, educational programs and consumer information. 17. A method as claimed in claim 16, wherein said generating step of: identifying at least one of said news, said weather reports, said stock market rates, said educational programs and said consumer information using said multimedia device as menu options; and providing a prompt for instructing a user to select one of said menu options. 18. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said formatting step further comprises the step of formatting program information indicating said plurality of topics and corresponding broadcast times for reception at said user terminals. 19. A method as claimed in claim 18, wherein said user terminals are programmed to update s

Description

The present invention relates to a system for providing remote user terminals with Internet broadcast information without the need for a backhaul channel from terminals to Internet service providers.

Prior art

Thanks to the large-scale global use of personal computers, telecommunications devices and the Internet, the world economy is now in a state of information revolution, which is expected to be as significant as the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century. However, a significant proportion of the population does not receive telecommunications services to a sufficient degree, and therefore their ability to participate in this information revolution is limited. This part of the population is primarily in Africa, Central America, South America and Asia, where communication services are still characterized by poor sound quality of shortwave broadcasting or restrictions in the working range of terrestrial broadcasting systems of the waveband with amplitude modulation (AM) and waveband frequency modulated (FM).

A direct broadcasting satellite system is proposed for transmitting audio and data signals, including images received by low-cost subscriber receivers in virtually any part of the world. A satellite direct broadcast system provides several advantages over existing satellite systems, for example, portability in service. Many of the existing satellite systems cannot provide portability because they require large satellite dishes to access such systems. Although a number of other existing satellite systems can provide portability or mobility during maintenance, these systems do not provide sufficient channel capacity for high external data rates required to transmit information from the Internet and the World Wide Web (\ ν \ ν \ ν) to many different users.

Satellite direct broadcasting system, however, is limited by the fact that the receivers are unidirectional and do not allow the user to transmit speech or other information. Therefore, users of these receivers can not perform two-way communication through a satellite system of direct broadcasting, and therefore do not have access to the Internet. In many conventional Internet access systems, a user connects to an Internet access provider using a computer and a communication channel, such as a public switched telephone network. A series of screen images is generated on the user's computer monitor that help the user select the type of information the user needs to receive from the Internet. For example, a user may choose to use software No. 18sare ΝηνίDAyug of company No. 18sare Sottishsayopk Sogrog (Mountain View, California) to access Internet documents. selected topic, which are transmitted to the search processor ^ eB pages, to obtain information on the selected topic.In the existing broadcast receivers there is no communication channel between users and the provider up to the Internet, through which you can interactively select and download information from the Internet.

A significant amount of information on the Internet, however, is relevant for such a large proportion of the population that delivering the same information to different users, at different times, through different channels of communication and in response to individual user requests, will lead to inefficient use of the frequency band and other satellite communications system resources. Thus, there is a need for an inexpensive user terminal, which provides the user with the advantages of a direct broadcasting satellite system, such as a large geographic coverage area, good sound quality, high external data rates and low cost, as well as the ability to receive selected broadcast information from the Internet.

Brief description of the invention

In view of the above disadvantages and limitations, an object of the present invention is to provide a satellite digital direct broadcasting system that can broadcast selected information from the Internet to low-cost user terminals. The selected Internet information may be, for example, weather reports, news reports, stock exchange reports, consumer product catalogs and other types of information.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide broadcast transmission of selected types of Internet information in the form of packets over broadcast channels. The data packets of the Internet are sent via the broadcast channels of a satellite system of direct broadcasting. The broadcast channel can forward one or more types of information on the Internet, such as news bulletins, weather reports, stock reports, etc. Also, data packets on the Internet contain the information necessary to select specific pages (for example, categories of information on the Internet) using the browser system of the browser.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive user terminal comprising a broadcast receiver that is adapted to be connected to a multimedia system, such as a personal computer.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a user terminal with a user interface for selecting the type of Internet broadcast information to be recorded in the user terminal for display purposes. The user terminal uses the selection entered through the user interface to check the recorded packets and extract the packets corresponding to the user's choice of the type of Internet information. Packages are displayed (or reproduced in the case of audio information) using multimedia devices.

These results are achieved, in part, by providing remote users with user terminals, which include both a broadcast receiver for receiving direct satellite broadcasts and a multimedia device for recording and displaying selected information from an Internet service provider that was broadcast via satellite direct broadcasting system. User terminals are programmed to convert user selection information indicating the type of Internet information desired by the user into control signals for issuing a command to the multimedia device to allocate such received packets that correspond to the selection of information by the user for display or playback purposes.

In one aspect of the invention, the Internet service provider has a gateway configured to send selected multimedia data from the Internet / \ Y \ Y \ Y to the broadcasting station. The broadcasting station formats the packetized data of the Internet to a broadcasting program containing packets and transmits this program to a satellite in a satellite digital direct broadcasting system. The service provider provides additional information to identify these packages, which correspond to various types of Internet information (for example, news, consumer product catalogs, training programs, etc.) in broadcasting programs.

In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a method for providing a low-cost global portable user terminal with at least limited access to information services accessible via the Internet. The method includes the steps of generating screen prompts on a multimedia device (for example, a personal computer) connected to a broadcasting receiver. Screen prompts allow the user to make a choice from various types of information on the Internet, which is broadcast via satellite digital direct broadcasting system. The receiver demultiplexes and decodes the data received from the satellite direct broadcast system to separate the broadcast channel. The user's responses to screen prompts are processed by the computer to configure the computer to highlight the selected packets in the broadcast channel that make up the broadcast program containing information on the Internet. The multimedia device first writes packets from the broadcast channel to a large memory device, such as a disk drive, for subsequent user access.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The various objectives, advantages and features of the present invention are explained in the following detailed description, illustrated in the drawings, which show the following.

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the manner in which information of the Internet can be transmitted in a broadcasting mode to a user via a satellite system of direct broadcasting in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the broadcasting station shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with a possible embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the way in which broadcast channels are formatted by a broadcasting station into main rate channels for transmission to the satellite shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with a possible embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates the manner in which signal processing can be carried out on board a satellite in a direct broadcast satellite system similar to that shown in FIG. one;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the on-board processing components of the satellite shown in FIG. one;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a user terminal comprising both a digital broadcast receiver and a multimedia device, such as a personal computer, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating the operations performed by the user terminal of FIG. 5, when downloading selected packets of received Internet broadcast information in accordance with a possible embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a computer screen image generated by a user terminal in accordance with a possible embodiment of the present invention.

Throughout the drawings, like reference numbers refer to like nodes and components.

A detailed description of the preferred embodiments

Satellite communication system 10 corresponding to the present invention, is described below in accordance with the following main sections:

I. Description of the system.

Ii. Broadcasting station.

Iii. Satellite.

Iv. User terminals.

I. Description of the system.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 that allows a remote user to receive a high-quality audio signal, data and image using a low-cost receiver and select one or more broadcast channels containing Internet information in order to download it to a computer connected to a receiver in accordance with the present invention. System 10 is preferably implemented using satellite digital direct broadcasting system. The digital direct broadcasting system preferably consists of three geostationary satellites (satellite 20 is shown in Fig. 1), low-cost radio receivers or user terminals, and corresponding hacker networks. For purposes of illustration, one user terminal 22 is shown, which includes a portable radio receiver 21 coupled to a multimedia device, such as computer 29.

Broadcasting programs are transmitted to satellite 20 via one or more broadcasting stations 26. As will be described in more detail below, broadcasting stations 26 perform encoding, multiplexing and other signal processing in programs containing audio signals and / or data to create broadcast channels (BWP), transmission on which the satellite 20 is in the ascending lines 28.

Uplink 28 preferably uses frequency division multiplexed carriers that carry the ballscrews as channels with a basic transmission rate (CBS). Each CBS gives an increment of the basic transmission rate (POS) of 16 kbps in the main frequency band. The ball screw channel preferably contains from 1 to 8 KOS. For each CBS, the ball screw channel distributes 224 bits every 432 ms in the Service Control Header (LSM). The ballscrew channel forwards packets, some of which are programs from the Internet. In accordance with the present invention, the type of Internet information is identified in the PDE. Satellite 20 performs baseband transmission processing on the uplinks 28 to transmit the CBS of the ballpoint channel to the user terminals 22 on at least one of the three multiplexed downlink 30s with time division.

According to FIG. 1, broadcast stations 26 may be provided with multimedia information (for example, audio data bytes, video data and XV pages) from the Internet 25 directly through the system gateway 23 and hub 27. The system gateway 23 may act as an Internet service provider, also perform operations that are common to two or more Internet service providers, indicated by the position 31 and combined in the hub 27.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, news bulletins, weather reports, stock exchange quotes, educational programs, consumer product catalogs, and other information that is available via the Internet is sent to broadcast stations 26 in system 10. System 10 determines which type Internet information must be broadcast and at what time. System 10 contains regional broadcast control equipment (RAWS) 39, which can be used to distribute channels on uplink communication lines 28 to various broadcast stations 26. For example, channels on uplink lines 28 can be allocated to one or more broadcast stations 26 to broadcast news continuously for 24 hours a day. One of the broadcast stations 26 may be controlled to provide stock exchange quotes during the operating hours of that particular exchange. At all other times, this broadcasting station can be configured to broadcast comments on stock exchange and regional news alternately at half-hour intervals. In addition, the broadcast station can be configured to broadcast weather reports continuously in the broadcast channel, as well as simultaneously broadcast tutorials and consumer product catalogs at a specific time during the day on another broadcast channel. The list of broadcast programs and their respective broadcast times and channels are distributed to users. Users can therefore decide when and on which downlink communication with time multiplexing 30 to configure the receiver to receive a specific program that includes programs containing Internet information.

Additionally, in the central point (for example, the service provider 31a), the viewing system pages for the arranged broadcast units of various consumers can be assembled and they can be transmitted to one or more broadcasting stations.

The pages of the viewing system for the assembled consumer broadcast units can provide information on important points of current news and stock prices for the present day, while the broadcast pages of other consumers provide the viewing system pages highlighted on the most important sports news. The program material can be obtained from the Internet, providing a base for putting Internet addresses into packages for selective download and display on a multimedia device connected to the receiver.

In accordance with the present invention, each user terminal is configured to receive direct broadcast satellite programs via a radio receiver 21. As stated earlier, receiver 21 can be configured to receive broadcast programs from a selected one of three downlink channels 30. Receiver 21 is configured to demultiplex and decode the selected downlink channel 30, to extract the information of the broadcast channels from the broadcasting stations 26 to the downlink channel 30 by the satellite 20. To The computer 29 connected to the receiver 22 processes the demultiplexed, decoded and stored data to select packets corresponding to the selected category or type of Internet information requested by the user. Computer 29 stores and then notifies received information, that is, displays information on a computer monitor or plays audio fragments of selected Internet information via a loudspeaker connected to a computer.

Using a multimedia device, a user can request a listening view or a recording of a specific type of information that has been demultiplexed, decoded and stored from the broadcast channels 100 (FIG. 3). An input device (such as a mouse or keyboard) can be used to respond to screen prompts generated by the computer 29. Screen prompts are primarily one or more screen images that have menus for listing various types of information (for example, news, weather, educational programs, consumer products, stock exchange reports, etc.) and related pictograms. The user can specify an icon using, for example, a mouse. Computer 29 processes the mouse input to determine which menu item has been selected and to configure the computer 29 to notify you of Internet information stored according to the user's choice, as will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 7 and 8.

The advantage of the system 10 is that it can download relatively large amounts of information from one or more Internet service providers, for example, to the user terminal 22, in an efficient and economical way using a satellite live broadcast system. Different types of information, such as news and weather reports, are requested by such a large number of people that broadcasting information to all user terminals 22 for selective reception is more expensive than submitting data to the space segment of the system each time information is requested by the user. In addition to saving the space segment, broadcasting popular Internet information and providing serial terminals with a means to fetch broadcast information from the Internet does not require modification of the broadcasting system to include an uplink channel that must send requests and responses from the user to the Internet service provider. to get information online.

Ii. Broadcast station

The live broadcast system uses digital audio coding technology. Each satellite 20 provides direct radio audio signals equivalent in quality to the AM monaural signal, FM monaural signal, FM stereo and CD (CD) stereo throughout the coverage area, along with auxiliary data, such as paging, video and text transmissions, directly to the user terminals 22. The system can also provide multimedia services, such as downloading large databases, to personal computers (PCs) for business applications, maps and textual information for travelers, and color images for audio9 supplement programs for advertising and entertainment.

With reference to FIG. 2, signal processing for converting digital data streams from one or more broadcast stations 26 into parallel streams for transmission to satellite 20 is described. For illustration purposes, four program information sources 60, 64, 68 and 72 are shown. The two sources are 60 and 64, or 68 and 72 are encoded and transmitted together as part of a single broadcast program or service. The coding of the program containing the combined sources 60 and 64 is described below. The signal processing of the program containing the information from the sources 68 and 72 is identical.

Broadcasting stations 26 collect information from one or more sources 60 and 64 for a particular program into broadcast channels, which preferably differ in increments of 16 kbit / s. These increments are called basic bit rate (PIC) increments. Thus, the bit rate transmitted on the broadcast channel 100, as shown in FIG. 3, is η х 16 kbps, where η is the number of PICs used by this particular broadcast service provider. In addition, every 16 kbps POS can be further divided into two segments at 8 kbps 101 and 103 (Fig. 3), which are sent or switched together through system 10. Segments 101 and 103 provide a mechanism for transferring two different elements services in the same PIC, such as a low bit rate voice data stream, or two low bit rate speech signals for the two respective languages, etc. The number of the PIC is preferably predetermined, i.e. set according to with program code. The number of η, however, is not a physical limitation of the system 10. The value of η is determined by taking into account commercial factors such as the cost of one channel of ballscrews and the willingness of service providers to pay.

For illustration purposes, η for the first channel of ballscrews 59 for sources 60 and 64 is 4. The value of η for channel of ballscrew 67 for sources 68 and 72 is set to 6. As previously stated, the value of η can be changed. For example, a larger number of PICs may be required if one of the sources is 60, 64, 68, or 72 is the source of the transmitted information on the Internet, in particular, if the information contains video components.

According to FIG. 2, more than one broadcast service provider may have access to one broadcast station 26. For example, the first service provider forms the ballscrew channel 59, while the second service provider may form the ballpoint channel 67. Signal processing according to the present invention allows to transmit digital data streams from multiple broadcast service providers to the satellite in parallel streams, which reduces broadcasting costs for service providers and maximizes the use of the space segment. By maximizing the efficiency of the use of the space segment, broadcast stations 26 can be performed in a more economical way using components with lower power consumption. For example, the antenna of a broadcast station 26 may be a very small aperture temperature antenna. The satellite payload requires less memory, fewer processing facilities, and therefore fewer power sources, which reduces the weight of the payload.

The ball screw channel 59 or 67 uses frame 100, having a period duration of 432 ms, as shown in FIG. 3. This period duration is chosen to enable the use of the MREO source coder described below; however, the frame period in system 10 may be set to any predetermined value. If the period duration is 432 ms, then each POS 16 kbps requires 16000 x 0.432 s = 6912 bits per frame. As shown in FIG. 3, the ball screw channel therefore consists of η of these PICs of 16 kbit / s, which are carried as a group in frame 100. As will be described below, these bits are scrambled to improve demodulation in radio receivers 29. The scrambling operation also provides a mechanism for encrypting the service according to with the choice of service provider. Each frame 100 is assigned η x 224 bits, which correspond to the Service Control Header (GTP) 102, which gives a total of η x 7136 bits per frame and a transmission rate in bits of η x (16.518 + 14/27) bits per second. The purpose of the ZUO 102 is to send data to each of the radio receivers 29 configured to receive a ballscrew 59 or 67 to control the reception modes for various multimedia services to display data and images, send key information for decryption, address specific receivers, and etc. The service control header 102 may be provided with information necessary for selecting Internet information and for decrypting Internet information provided for usage charges.

Sources 60 and 64 are encoded using, for example, MREO 2.5 Layer 3 encoders 62 and 66, respectively, as shown in FIG. 2. The two sources are sequentially combined via a combiner 76 and then processed using a processor at broadcast station 26 to receive coded signals in periodic frames of 432 ms, i.e. η x 7136 bits per frame, including the OO, as shown by processing module 78 in FIG. . 2. Additionally, information identifying the type of information can be provided in the SC of the ball screw channel.

The blocks shown at relay station 26 in FIG. 2 correspond to software modules executed by the processor and associated equipment, such as digital memory and encoder circuits. The bits in frame 100 are sequentially coded for forward error correction protection using digital signal processing (ODS) software, application integrated circuits (FPICs), and highly integrated custom microcircuits (MVSI) for two interrelated coding methods. The first, using the Reed-Solomon code 80a, is designed to create 255 bits for every 223 bits entering the encoder. The bits in frame 100 are then reordered according to the known interleaving scheme, as indicated by the reference position 80b. Interleaved coding provides additional protection against burst errors during transmission, since this method allows distorted bits to be distributed across multiple channels. As for module 80, it uses the well-known convolutional coding scheme of limited length 7 using the Viterbi 80c encoder. The Viterbi 83c encoder generates two output bits for each input bit, resulting in a total of 16320 coded bits with forward error correction (FEC) for each frame for each increment of 6912 bits per frame used in the ballscrew channel 59. Thus, each coded channel of ball screw (for example, channel 59 or 67) contains η x 16320 bits of information that has been encoded, interleaved and re-encoded, so that the original 16 Kbit / s PIC transmission cannot be identified. The bits encoded with the FEC, however, are ordered according to the original frame structure of 432 ms. The total coding degree for error protection is (255/233) x 2 = 2 + 64/223.

According to FIG. 2, η x 16320 bits of the frame of the channel of the ball screw coded with FEC are sequentially divided or demultiplexed using the distributor of channels 82 into η parallel channels from the base rate (CBS), each of which provides for the transfer of 16320 bits in sets of 8160 two-bit characters. This process is further illustrated in FIG. 3. The channel of the ballscrew 59 is shown using a frame 100 of 432 ms duration, containing ZUO 102. The rest of the frame 104 consists of η PIC at 16 kbit / s, which corresponds to 6912 bits per frame for each of η POS. The channel of the BWP 106 encoded using the SIP is formed according to the Reid-Solomon 255/223 cascade coding, interleaving and convolutional coding with PIO with 1/2 ratio described above in connection with the module 80.

As stated earlier, the frame of the channel 106 of ball screws using FEC encoding contains η x 16320 bits, which correspond to 8160 sets of two-bit characters, with each character indicated by reference numeral 108 for illustration purposes. In accordance with the present invention, the symbols are distributed over the CBS 110, as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, the symbols are separated in time and frequency, which additionally reduces errors in the radio receiver 21, which are caused by interference during transmission. The service provider for the ballscrew channel 59 purchased, for example, four CBS, while the service provider for the ballscrew channel 67 acquired, for example, six CBS. FIG. 3 illustrates the first channel of the ball screw 59 and the distribution of symbols 114 over η = 4 KOS 110a, 110b, 110s and 110, respectively. To perform the recovery of each two-bit character set 114 in the receiver, the CBS synchronization header or preamble 112a, 112b, 112c and 112y, respectively, are placed in front of each CBS. The CBS synchronization header, denoted by 112, contains 48 characters. The sync header of the CBS 112 is placed in front of each group of 8160 characters, thus increasing the number of characters per frame with a length of 432 ms to 8208 characters. Accordingly, the symbol rate becomes 8208 / 0.432, which equals 19,000 kilo-characters per second (xy / s) for each CBS 110. The introductory part 112 of 48 characters is used mainly to synchronize the clock generator of the CBS radio to recover the characters from satellite transmission 27 downlink. In the on-board processor 116, the introductory portion of the CBS is used to equalize the difference in synchronization between the rates of the characters of the incoming uplink signals, and this is used on board for switching signals and generating streams with a temporary downlink seal. This is accomplished by adding 0 to every 48 CBS symbols or subtracting 0 from every 48 CBS symbols, or the exception of performing both of these operations, in the process of equalizing the transmission speeds used onboard the satellite 20. Thus, the intro part of the CBS sent on the downlink to temporary compaction, has 47, 48, or 49 characters, as determined by the rate equalization process. As shown in FIG. 3, symbols 114 are distributed cyclically along the corresponding CBS, so that symbol 1 is allocated for CBS 110a, symbol 2 is selected for CBS 110b, symbol 3 - for CBS 110c, symbol 4 - for CBS 110, symbol 5 for CBS 110a, and so on. This CBS demultiplexing process is performed by the processor of the broadcast station 26 and is shown in FIG. 2 channel distribution module 82.

The CBS channel preambles for marking the beginning of frames KES 110a, 110b, 110c, and 1106 for the ballscrew channel 59 using the module of the preamble 84 and the module of the adder 85. η CBS are sequentially differentially encoded and then modulated using a set of quadrature modulation modulators 86 (KFM) at the carrier intermediate (IF) frequency, as shown in FIG. 2. Four modulators KFM 86a, 86b, 86s and 866 are used for the respective CBS 110a, 110b, 110c and 1106 for the ballscrew channel 59. Accordingly, there are four intermediate carrier frequencies constituting the IDT channel 59. Each of the four carrier frequencies is transformed upward a dedicated frequency position in the X-band, using an up-converter 88, for transmission to the satellite 20. Over-converted CBS is serially transmitted through the amplifier 90 to antennas 92a and 92b, for example, terminal antennas with a very small aperture Swarm.

ZUO 102, inserted into each coded COS, preferably contains a control word to identify the channel of the broadcast program to which CBS belongs, and to send commands that provide the possibility of combining in the receiver coded channels with the main transmission rate to recover coded channels of broadcast programs. The typical eighty-bit (80) control word is:

Number of bits Purpose

The number of connected groups (00 - no connection, maximum 4 related groups)

Group identification number (00 - Group # 1, 11 - Group # 4)

Group type (0000 = audio, 0001 = Video, 0010 = Data, other types or reserved)

The number of 16 kbit / s channels with the main transmission rate in the group (000 = 1 channel, 001 = 2 channels, ..., 111 = 8 channels)

The identification number of the channel with the main transmission rate (000 = channel 1, ..., 111 = channel 8)

The number of subgroups (000 = 1, ..., 111 = 8)

The number of 16 kbit / s channels with the main transmission rate in the subgroup (000 = 1, ..., 111 = 8)

Subgroup identification number (000 - subgroup # 1, .... 111 = subgroup # 8)

Group / subgroup lock (000 = no lock, 001 = type 1 lock, ..., 111 = type 7 lock)

Reserved

Cyclic redundancy check

The beginning of the control word for the number of related groups allows you to create a relationship between different groups of data sets. For example, a broadcast station may offer related services with audio, video and data transmission, such as an electronic newspaper with sound text and additional information. The group identification number identifies the group number of which the channel is a part. The number of 16 kbit / s channels with an elementary transmission rate in a group determines the number of channels with an elementary transmission rate in a group. The number of subgroups and the number of 16 kbit / s of channels with an elementary transmission rate in a subgroup determine the relationship in the group, for example, in the stereo compact disc group, the use of four channels of the basic transmission speed for the Left stereo signal and four other channels of the basic transmission speed for the Right stereo signal. Alternatively, the music may be associated with a plurality of speech signals for announcements, with each speech signal in a different language. The number of 16 kbit / s channels of the basic transmission rate in a subgroup determines the number of channels of the basic transmission rate in a subgroup. The subgroup identification number identifies the subgroup of which the channel is a part.

Group / subgroup lock bits provide joint blocking of broadcast information. For example, some countries may prohibit alcohol advertising. In the user terminals 22 produced for this country, a code may be pre-set, or the code may be loaded in a different way so that the user terminals respond to the blocking signal and block this specific information. The blocking feature can also be used to limit the distribution of information of a certain kind (such as military or government information), or to limit broadcast-related broadcasting services for some users.

As stated earlier, each source of the coded program is divided into separate channels of the basic transmission rate. As an example, the source of an audio program can contain four channels of basic transmission rate, which is a stereo FM signal. Alternatively, the audio program source may contain six channels of the basic transmission rate, which can be used as a stereo signal with a quality close to the CD sound, or a stereo FM signal associated with a 32-bit data channel (for example, to transmit a signal for display on the LCD As a further alternative, six channels of the basic transmission rate can be used as a broadcast channel of data transmission with a speed of 96 kbit / s. An image can contain only one 16 kbps channel or several channels.As will be described in more detail below, user terminals 22 tuned to the aggregate information included in the frame with temporary compression and in each channel of the basic transmission rate preferably select these channels automatically. the basic transmission rate required to form a user-selected digital audio program or program of another digital information service.

In accordance with the present invention, the transmission method used in the broadcast station 26 introduces a plurality of η carrier frequencies, one frequency per channel, of the frequency division multiple access (PTS / MDIR) channels into the uplink 28. These POC / MDIR carriers separated in a grid of carrier frequencies with an interval of preferably 38,000 Hz and ordered into groups of 48 adjacent carrier frequencies or carrier channels. The organization of these groups of 48 carrier channels is useful for preparation for processing, including demultiplexing and demodulation, carried out on board satellite 20. Different groups of 48 carrier channels do not need to be adjacent to each other. The carriers associated with a separate channel of the ball screw (i.e., channel 59 or 67) need not be contiguous in a group of 48 carrier channels and do not necessarily have to be assigned to the same group of 48 carrier channels. The transmission method described in connection with FIG. 2 and 3, therefore, provides flexibility in selecting the position of frequencies and optimizes the possibility of filling the provided frequency spectrum and eliminating interference from other users sharing the same radio frequency spectrum.

FIG. 1 illustrates the operation of system 10 for broadcasting information of the Internet and other broadcast programs in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. When using satellite processing equipment, the signals of the ascending channel 28 are issued from the broadcasting operators via separate MDIR channels from broadcasting stations 26 located within the radio visibility range of the satellite 20 with elevation angles greater than 10 °. Each broadcast operator has the opportunity to send information to the uplink directly from its equipment to one of the satellites 20 by placing one or more channels of the main transmission rate of 16 kbit / s on carriers MDIR. Alternatively, broadcast operators who do not have direct access to satellite 20 may have access through a hub station. For example, system gateway 23 can broadcast \ USB pages directly to one of the direct broadcasting satellites 20 or indirectly through a hub 27. The use of MDIR for uplink channel 28 provides the greatest possible flexibility for many independent broadcast stations.

Iii. Satellite

Preferably, the satellite service area 20 of the direct broadcast system seizes the African-Arab region, the Asian region, and the Caribbean and Latin American regions from the following geostationary orbits:

* Position in orbit with coordinates 21 ° east longitude, providing service to Africa and the Middle East.

* An orbital position with coordinates of 95 ° West longitude providing service to Central Africa and South America.

* Position in orbit with coordinates of 105 ° west longitude, providing service to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean basin.

Service to other areas, such as North America and Europe, can be provided by additional satellites.

The direct broadcasting system preferably uses the frequency band from 1,467 MHz to 1,492 MHz, which was allocated to the Satellite Broadcasting Service (CER), direct audio broadcasting (PRU) at the World Administrative Radio Conference (\ UARS 92), that is, in accordance with Resolutions 33 and 528 International Telecommunications Union. Broadcast stations 26 use X-band transmission lines, from 7050 to 7075 MHz. Each satellite 20 preferably forms three sharply directed beams in the downlink with a beam width of about 6 °. Each beam covers approximately 14 million square kilometers within the power distribution contours with a decrease of 4 dB from the power in the center of the beam, and 28 million square kilometers within the contour with a decrease in power by 8 dB. The power margin at the center of the beam can be 14 dB, based on the ratio of the gain of the receiver to a temperature of -13 dB / K.

Each satellite 20 carries two types of payload, one of which is processing equipment, which regenerates uplink signals 28 and combines 3 carrier frequencies of downlink with time multiplexing, and the second is a transparent payload that retransmits uplink signals on three downlink carrier frequencies 30 with temporary seal (WU). WU 30 signals from these two payloads are each transmitted in 3 beams, with the processed and transparent signals in each beam having oppositely directed circular polarization (left-handed circular polarization and right-handed circular polarization). Each time-compressed downlink signal 30 carries 96 channels of the main transmission rate in dedicated time slots. The user primary terminal 22 senses all downlink signals 30 with the same HEU, except for the carrier frequency. The total bandwidth to the satellite is 2 x 3 x 96 = 576 channels of the basic transmission rate.

The conversion between uplink MDIR signals 28 and downlink signals 30 with multiple channels per carrier, with time multiplexing (MCN / WU) in the direct broadcast system of FIG. 1 is carried on board a satellite by an onboard processor. At satellite 20, each channel of the basic transmission rate transmitted by the broadcasting station 26 is demultiplexed and demodulated into separate signals of the base band of the transmission rate of 16 kbit / s. The individual channels are routed through the switch to one or more downlink beams 30, each of which is a separate WU signal. This processing in the baseband provides a high level of channel control in terms of uplink frequency distribution and channel routing between the uplink and downlink. Uplink signals are received on a satellite in the X-band and are converted by the on-board processor to the b-band. Downlink 30 to user terminals 22 use carrier frequencies in MCN / VU mode. One such carrier frequency is used in each of the three beams on each satellite 20. The way in which the direct broadcasting system formats uplink links with MDIR and performs processing in the payload to form downlink links with WU, among other advantages, provides reception of a significant amount of data including audio programs with high sound quality, using cheap receivers.

For a transparent payload, WU signals are received at the broadcast station and presented with the exact same structure as the data collected onboard the satellite 20 by the processing payload. The WU signal is transmitted to the satellite in the X-band and is relayed in the L-band in one of the three downlink beams. The power level is the same for downlink WU signals generated by the processing payload. Thus, the method of providing digital delivery of all information services (for example, voice, music, data, image and multimedia information, which can be obtained from the Internet), described here and corresponding to the present invention, is applicable to both processing and transparent onboard payload. Processing, such as routing, performed onboard satellite 20 can be performed at a ground station using transparent payload.

FIG. 4 illustrates the onboard reallocation of the primary rate channels from the uplink MDIR channels to the downlink MSC / VC channel in the processing payload of the satellite 20 of FIG. 1. The total uplink capacity is preferably from 288 to 384 channels of the uplink 116 of the main transmission rate of 16.519 kbit / s each. The 96 channels of the basic transmission rate 118 are selected and multiplexed for transmission in each beam of the 30 downlink and are multiplexed with a time multiplex on the carrier frequency with a bandwidth of about 2.5 MHz, as indicated by the reference position 120. Each uplink channel is directed to all or some from the downlink beams, or not directed to any of them. The order and arrangement of the channels of the main transmission rate in the direct beam are selective with the help of the command line of communication from the telemetry, ordering and control equipment (TLV) 38, which is shown in FIG. one.

The software is preferably provided in the broadcast station 26, or, if there is more than one broadcast station 26 in system 10, in the regional broadcast control equipment (ARVU) 39, to distribute the space segment channels in the uplink beam 28 to the satellite 20. ARVV 39 is preferably connected to equipment TUU 38 via a communication channel. The software optimizes the use of the uplink spectrum by allocating the CBS carrier frequencies in any available space that is available in groups of 48 channels. The carrier frequencies associated with the individual channels of the ball screw do not have to be continuous in the group of 48 carrier channels and do not necessarily have to be distributed in the same group of 48 carrier channels.

The carrier frequencies in each beam 30 downlink are different to improve the isolation between the beams. Each channel of the VU downlink operates in the satellite equipment in the saturation mode, giving the highest possible power efficiency in terms of the characteristics of the communication line. The use of single-carrier operations per repeater ensures maximum efficiency in the operation of satellite communications equipment in terms of converting solar energy into radio frequency energy. This is much more efficient than methods requiring the simultaneous amplification of multiple carrier frequencies in frequency division multiplexing mode. The system provides a significant margin at the reception, providing the possibility of stationary and mobile reception in rooms and outdoors.

System 10 encodes the sound source using the International Standard for compressing video data and audio data 2.5. Layer 3, which achieves a set quality at bit rates of 16, 32, 64, and 128 kbps, respectively, and also includes the ability to perform 8 kbit / s encoding. Image coding is performed using the 1RES standard (Working Group on Digital Video and Animation Image Standards). Error repetition rates in the system are less than 10 ^-10 , and thus are sufficient for high-quality digital images and data transmission for multimedia services. The coding according to the MPES 2.5 standard, Level 3 provides better bit-rate throughput than the previous MPES 1, Level 2 (Mysysat) or MPE 2 standards for the same audio quality. For broadcasting audio signals, the following bit rates are used for a digitally encoded source:

* 8 kbps for monaural public speech transmissions;

* 16 kbps for other monaural speech transmissions;

* 32 Kbps for monophonic music with quality of UM-broadcasts;

* 64 kbps for stereo music with FM quality transmission and * 128 kbps for stereo music with CD quality.

In the preferred implementation of the direct broadcast satellite system, each satellite 20 has a bandwidth for transmitting 3,072 kbit / s per beam (including 2 WU carrier frequencies for processing payload and transparent payload, respectively), which can be any combination of the aforementioned audio services. This corresponds to the following bandwidth per beam:

* 192 monaural speech channels, or * 96 monaural music channels, or * 48 stereo music channels, or * 24 CD stereo music channels, or * any combination of the above-mentioned signal quality.

Since system 10 provides direct digital signals for delivering digital broadcasting services, system 10 can broadcast any type of data, images, moving images and other multimedia data via satellites 20, such as information received from the Internet and multimedia sources, as well as speech and music . In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, system 10 can deliver to the user terminals 22 the calculated information of the Internet, i.e. information of the Internet that is transmitted through the satellites 20 without confirmation from the user.

Satellite direct broadcasting system delivers digital signals with a bit error rate (POB) of the order of ^10-4 or better, providing a predetermined number of different services. For each direct beam 30 in the b-band transmitted by satellites 20, the Power Circuit of Equivalent Isotropic Radiation (MEII) of the VU carrier frequency is 49.5 dBW. This MEII, together with forward error correction, guarantees a minimum margin of 9 dB for POB 10 ^-4 when using a base receiving antenna. This power margin compensates for the attenuation of the signal due to the propagation conditions between the satellite 20 and the receiver of the user terminal 22, ensuring reception with high quality in the designated service area.

User terminals 22 in places with difficult reception can be connected to an antenna with a high directional ratio, or with an antenna, the location of which provides unimpeded reception.

For example, reception in large buildings may require the use of a common roof antenna with internal wiring throughout the building or individual antennas near the window. In the case of a service area with a 4 dB decrease in power relative to the power in the center, the channels have a margin of approximately 10 dB relative to the power density necessary to ensure a bit error rate of 1 0 ^-4 . At the center of the beam, this margin estimate is 14 dB.

The operating margin of the direct broadcast system does not change for higher bit rates. Within the limits of the circuit with a decrease in power of 4 dB, most of the user terminals 22 observe satellite 20 at elevation angles greater than 60 °, due to which the interference from buildings is negligible.

In some rays, within the contour with a decrease in power by 8 dB, the satellite elevation angle of 20 is greater than 50 °, which can cause random interference due to reflections or blockages from buildings. Reception within the line of sight at low elevation angles (from 10 to 50 °) is always possible in the case of antennas with a low gain factor of 8 dB relative to an isotropic radiator in some beams directed toward the horizon.

As stated earlier, the direct broadcasting system includes baseband processing equipment on the satellite 20. Baseband processing allows the system to be improved for return and forward link resource, control of broadcast stations and control of downlink signals. FIG. 5 illustrates satellite signal processing in a satellite direct broadcast system. The coded uplink carrier frequencies with the main transmission rate are received at the X-band receiver 122. The multi-phase demultiplexer and demodulator 124 receive 288 separate MDIR signals in 6 groups of 48, it generates six analog signals in which the data of 288 signals are divided into 6 time multiplexed streams, and performs demodulation of the serial data in each stream. The routing switch and modulator 126 selectively routes individual serial data channels to all or some or none of the three downlink signals, each of which carries 96 channels, and then modulates them to form three forward link signals from the VB bandwidth. Amplifiers 128 on traveling-wave tubes amplify three downlink signals in power, which are radiated towards the ground using transmitting antennas in the 130 b-band. The transparent load also contains a down-frequency demultiplexer and converter 132 and a group of amplifiers 134, which are designed to provide a conventional relay path that converts the frequency of uplink WU / TLK signals for retransmission in the L-band.

The satellites 20 are controlled by a ground control segment (for example, software available in one broadcast station 26 or in a PSIA 39 serving several broadcast stations), and control is performed according to the requirements of the schedule using the task control segment during orbit. Bit rates and, accordingly, quality of service can be mixed in any beam to meet service needs. Transmission speed and quality of service can be easily changed by a team from the ground and can vary various times per day. In a preferred embodiment, the distribution of channels may be changed on an hourly basis according to a program schedule set in advance at 24 hours. However, it is clear that the distribution of channels may change more often or less frequently.

According to FIG. 2, in each modulation unit of the FMC 86, a separate modulator of the FMC modulates each channel of the basic transmission rate at an intermediate frequency. The up-converter 88 carries the individual channels of the main transmission rate to the uplink MDIR channel, and these up-converted channel signals are transmitted through the amplifier 90 and the antenna 91. The uplink broadcast stations preferably use signals from satellite terminals with a small antenna to transmit the elementary (16 kbit / s) channels using small antennas (2 to 3 m in diameter).

The uplink channels of the base rate are transmitted to satellite 20 on individual MDIR carrier frequencies. As indicated above, up to 288 uplink carrier frequencies of the base rate may be transmitted to satellite 20 in its full uplink beam. The ground terminals of small transponders, equipped with X-band parabolic antennas 2.4 m in diameter and 25 W amplifiers, can easily transmit program channels at 128 kbit / s (containing 8 channels of the basic transmission rate) to satellite 20 from a station in a country where created a program. Alternatively, the program channels may be transmitted to the shared uplink land terminals via dedicated PSTN land channels. The system has sufficient uplink channel capacity so that each country has its own satellite broadcasting channel in the global service area.

Iv. User terminals

The block diagram of one of the user terminals 22 of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 6. User terminal 22 receives the b-band signal from satellite 20, demodulates and extracts the desired audio signal of the data or image from the stream, and reproduces the desired audio data or image information. A user terminal may be equipped with a small compact antenna 136 switched with a plug, having a directional gain of about 4 to 6 dB, relative to the power of an isotropic radiator, which in fact does not require guidance. User terminal 22 is automatically tuned to selected channels.

As stated earlier, the technology of temporal multiplexing of multiple channels onto a carrier (MCN / WU) is used for direct transmission to the user terminal 22.

Each of the channels of the basic transmission rate occupies its own time interval in the stream with time division. These primary rate channels are combined to transmit software channels that range from 16 to 128 kbps. The use of digital technology provides the ability to implement support services in a radio channel, including low-rate video, paging, mail, fax, the use of flat-panel display screens or serial data interfaces. This data and information can be multiplexed in digital audio channels. In addition, the basic transfer rate channels can transmit software channels, which are screen images (for example, basic page numbers) for display on a user terminal with or without audio program and loadable data for storage and / or printing.

Each user terminal can be tuned to one of the WU carrier frequencies transmitted in one of the service areas within the beam. As shown in FIG. 6, user terminal 22 includes a digital broadcasting receiver 21, an antenna 136, and a computer 29. Receiver 21 may be connected, for example, to a serial port of a computer. An Internet service provider, such as system gateway 23 of FIG. 1 may operate in the service areas of one, two, or all three beams of a satellite 20. System 10 may modify uplink frequency division channels 28 allocated to an Internet service provider and the method of routing information onboard satellite 20 to one or more downlinks 30 seconds using software and telemetry control.

In a digital broadcasting receiver 21, a low-noise amplifier 138 amplifies the satellite signal, and the amplified signal is received by the RF path and the FMC 140 demodulator. ), and with the second time division multiplexer 144, which restores the channels of the basic transmission rate for sending data including images.

After η CBS of the received broadcasting channel is reordered, the characters of each CBS are re-multiplexed into a forward-corrected encoded broadcast channel using blocks 142 and 144. At the output of block 142, a digital baseband signal is generated that carries audio information, and at the output of block 144 - a digital baseband signal carrying data.

The reintegrated coded program channels recovered in this way are decoded, and their original sequence is restored to obtain the original bit stream of the base rate in the baseband that entered the system at the terrestrial broadcasting station 28. In the case of audio data, the reconstructed bit streams are converted back to analog an audio signal by an audio decoder 146 and a digital-to-analog converter 148. The analog signal is amplified by an amplifier 150 and is played loudly Antechator 152. A user terminal can play audio signals of various qualities, ranging from monaural AM to stereo CD, depending on the bit rate of the program channel. In the case of data, the recovered bitstreams can be converted to a display format by a data / image decoder 154. Additionally, with a display, the received data can be stored in a memory device or printed.

The commands needed by the user terminal 22 to control re-combining of the coded channels of the basic transmission rate into the coded program channels are preferably contained in the control words inserted into each coded channel of the basic transmission rate and into the original bitstream of the basic transmission rate in the baseband or preamble CBS). The receiver 21 is programmed to process commands in the control words.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a PSU 102 is provided in each channel of a TT1VP, as shown in FIG. 3. Data from the data decoder 154, including the TV channel and the OV channel, is fed through the port of the TV channel input channel to the computer 29. Computer 29 stores data in a disk drive 176 (FIG. 6). The computer processes the data for packet analysis. The package information is compared with user selection options implemented using the keyboard 170, the mouse 174, or other input device connected to the computer to determine which of the stored packages should be used for output purposes. Information identification data may be provided as part of service control headers 102 identifying packets originating from the same source on the Internet.

The main components of computer 29 include a microprocessor 156, having sufficient storage capacity of random access memory (RAM) 160 and read-only memory (ROM) 162, real time clock 164 and display controller 166. Display controller 166 controls the formatting of image data (for example, data \ USB) -pages) for display 168. Microprocessor 156 is preferably also connected to keyboard 170, printer / plotter 172, mouse 174, and disk drive 176. Microprocessor input / output interface (I / O, 1/0) 158 is shown to represent I have serial and parallel microprocessor ports 156. As shown in FIG. 6, the data decoded by receiver 21 can be fed to computer 29 via a serial port connector. Keyboard 170 and mouse 172 are used to select broadcast programs, control sound levels, select menu items, and similar functions. Menus and screen images can be generated on the display 168 in accordance with the program code for the microprocessor 156, or adopted \ us-page. The printer / plotter 172 allows the user to provide a hard copy of any received data (including images), in addition to viewing the data on the display 168. Finally, the disk drive 176 allows you to download data or programs to the computer 29, and also allows you to save the received data (for example , \ Usb-page) for further viewing, listening and printing. Another possible function of a disk drive 176 may be, for example, the provision in a computer 29 of combining images or other data that are received in real time by a digital broadcasting receiver 21, with previously available data recorded on a magnetic diskette. This is useful, for example, when adjusting an existing image or other data by transmitting only new or modified information, without requiring retransmission of an existing image or data.

The components shown in FIG. 6, can be implemented in a single unit, which is intended for portable or mobile use. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 1, the receiver 21 may be a portable device attached to a separate computer 29. Power may be provided from batteries, solar cells, or a generator driven by a spring motor or a hand lever. If the user terminal 22 is installed on a vehicle, such as a boat, plane or car, power can be supplied from the vehicle's power source. As an alternative to placing all the components of the user terminal in one unit, the user terminal 22 may be made as a system of separate components interconnected by suitable cables.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the basic operations performed by the user terminal 22 of FIG. 5 when receiving audio programs and data. It is clear that, due to the WU format of downstream channels 30, user terminal 22 is capable of receiving and reproducing audio programs and data simultaneously. Thus, the user does not need to stop listening to audio programs to receive a picture or other type of data. As a result, a user who wants to receive selected data from the Internet can do this by continuing to listen to audio programs in the audio program channel.

According to FIG. 7, in the first stage, power is turned on and the receiver 21 and computer 29 are initialized (block 180). The receiver 21 is configured to receive one of the three downlink channels from WU 30 (block 182). The receiver demultiplexes and decodes the main transmission rate channels from the received downlink channel 30 and re-multiplexes them into the ball screw channel, including its ZUO 102. The ball screw channel can contain real-time audio and video programs. The user terminal starts playing the audio program via the speaker 152 and displays the video of the program on the display 168 (block 184). The ball screw channel may also contain Internet information stored in the disk drive 176 for non-real-time use. Computer 29 forms a screen image 220, which is shown in FIG. 8, on display 168 (block 186). The screen 220 is a browsing start screen that gives the user a list of different topics of information received via Internet broadcasting.

Screen 220 may include an icon and name for sections of information such as news, weather, stock market quotes, consumer product catalogs, geographical maps, etc. The user can select one of the themes using the keyboard 170, the mouse 174, or another input device (block 188).

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stored information identifying the type of data packet obtained from the OST 102 is processed by the computer 29 to select and display the type of Internet information selected by the user (blocks 190 and 192). As shown by the affirmative answer branch for decision block 194 and block 196, the computer extracts the packets corresponding to the user's choice and generates a screen image on the display 168 in accordance with the packets (block 198). For example, packages may contain data for creating XV pages or a simple on-screen computer image with text without graphics, or video data. In addition, some of the packages may contain audio bytes that can be fed to a loudspeaker 178 connected directly to the computer. If the selected data is accompanied by an audio byte, playback of the audio program via the speaker 152 may be simultaneous with the playback of the audio byte. Packets whose identification information does not correspond to the user's choice on the screen image 220 are ignored by computer 29 (block 196).

The topics of information currently stored in the drive on the disks 176 are displayed in the screen image 220. At the appropriate time, the drive on the disks 176 can save a new set of information on the Internet, which is currently received, for later viewing by the user. Thus, the disk drive saves new information on the Internet, while at the same time allowing the user to retrieve and view information that has already been saved. The computer can also store information for later use in real-time applications, such as distance learning.

The system 10 of the present invention provides digital delivery of broadcast channels for speech, music, various types of data, such as images and moving images, and multimedia information to remote user terminals. Thus, user terminals that do not have access to the Internet can receive streaming information, that is, Internet broadcasting information that does not require confirmation from a remote user. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a user terminal may be provided with a terrestrial channel, eg, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) channel, to communicate with the information provider. For example, a user may receive a broadcast training program containing speech, text, and image data from a remote training center via satellite 20. The user may send responses to the training program to a remote training center or other station via a PSTN channel. This configuration is beneficial when the PSTN channel bandwidth is not sufficient for transmitting speech of text and program image data.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to its preferred embodiments, it is understood that the invention is not limited to the details described. Various replacements and modifications are offered in the above description, while others may be obvious to those skilled in the art. All such substitutions and modifications are included in the scope of the present invention, as defined by the attached claims.

Claims (19)

1. A system for providing user terminals with information from at least one remote communication network, comprising a receiver, a satellite, configured to receive a broadcast channel containing packets including said information related to at least one of the plurality of topics wherein the broadcast channel contains data indicating which of the packets corresponds to which of the plurality of topics, and said satellite transmits the broadcast channel to said receiver, a processing device connected to the receiver, a user input device connected to the processing device, and a display device connected to the processing device, the processing device being programmed to form a screen image on the display device, to prompt a user to select one of a plurality the receiver is configured to transmit packets to the processing device, the processing device is configured to process the input signal, a user input device, when said user makes a selection using a screen image, and analyzes said data to determine which packets correspond to an input signal, the display device being controlled by a processing device for displaying information corresponding to the input signal. 2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a multimedia device connected to the receiver, said information comprising at least one of graphics data, still images, moving images, text, audio signals, \\ 'b- pages and video signals, while the multimedia device is configured to perform at least one of a variety of operations depending on said input signal, including displaying at least one of said data, graphics, articles video, moving images, text, page and video, and audio playback. 3. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises at least one computer of an Internet service provider and a system gateway connected to a remote communication network, and a broadcast station connected to said at least one service provider the Internet and a system gateway, the broadcast station being configured to receive information from the at least one of the Internet service provider and the system gateway, formatting the information into a broadcast channel th transmission to said data indicating which of the plurality of the respective packets, and transmitting the broadcast channel to said satellite. 4. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that it further comprises a hub for connecting the broadcast station to the system gateway. 5. A method for broadcasting information from Internet service providers to user terminals containing a radio and a multimedia device, via satellite and without a return path between user terminals and service providers, comprising the steps of formatting a broadcast channel containing multiple Internet information packets and the identification data for transmission to user terminals, the identification data identifying which of the plural identities correspond to packets, transmitting a broadcast channel to user terminals via satellite, receiving a broadcast channel at a number of user terminals, generating a menu using said multimedia device to generate a list of a plurality of topics, determining an input signal input by a user corresponding to selecting one of the plurality of topics from the menu, determining which of the packets correspond to the mentioned input signal entered by the user, using lzovaniem identification data output packets corresponding to said input by the user input signal using said multimedia device. 6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the formatting step includes formatting Internet information containing at least one of news, weather reports, stock market quotes, training programs and consumer information. 7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that the generation step includes identifying at least one of the news, weather reports, stock market quotes, training programs and consumer information using a multimedia device to select menu options, and issuing user prompts to select one of the menu options. 8. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the formatting step further includes formatting the program information indicating a plurality of topics and the corresponding broadcast time for reception at user terminals. 9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the user terminals program to update the menu using program information. 10. Satellite broadcasting system for broadcasting information on the Internet, containing many receivers, at least one broadcast station for transmitting a broadcast channel containing packets of various types of Internet information and data identifying which of the packets correspond to which of the various types of information the Internet, and a satellite for receiving a broadcast channel and for transmitting a broadcast channel to a plurality of receivers, wherein at least at least one of the plurality of receivers receives a broadcast channel, said receiver comprising a multimedia device comprising a memory device for storing packets received from a broadcast channel, an output device for prompting a user to select from a variety of different types of Internet information, an input device, intended for the user to make said selection, and a processor programmed to sample packets selected from said packets, with stored in the memory device, which correspond to the selection made, and feeding the selected packets to the output device. 11. A system for providing user terminals with information from at least one remote communication network, comprising a receiver, a satellite, configured to receive packets transmitted thereto containing said information and transmit a broadcast data stream to the receiver, said information relates to at least one of a variety of topics, wherein the broadcast data stream has headers containing data indicating which of the packets corresponds to which of of many topics, a processing device connected to the receiver, a user input device connected to the processing device, and a display device connected to the processing device, the processing device being programmed to form a screen image on the display device, to prompt the user to select one of the many topics , the receiver is configured to transmit packets to the processing device, the processing device is configured to process the input signal generated stroystvom user input, when said user selects by using the OSD image and to analyze said data to determine which packets correspond to the input signal, wherein the display device is controlled by a processing device for displaying information corresponding to the input signal. 12. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that it further comprises a multimedia device connected to the receiver, said information containing at least one of data, graphics, static images, moving images, text, audio, ^ e-pages and a video signal, wherein the multimedia device is configured to perform at least one of a plurality of operations, depending on said input signal, including displaying at least one of said data, graphics, static images, moving images, text, pages and video signals, and audio playback. 13. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that it further comprises at least one computer of an Internet service provider and a system gateway connected to a remote communication network, and a broadcast station connected to said at least one service provider the Internet and a system gateway, and the broadcast station is configured to receive information from at least one of the aforementioned Internet service provider and the system gateway, formatting the information in said headers with said and data indicating which of the plurality of packets correspond to those, and transmitting said packets to said satellite. 14. The system according to item 13, characterized in that it further comprises a hub for connecting the broadcast station to the system gateway. 15. A method for broadcasting information from Internet service providers to user terminals containing a radio and multimedia device via satellite and without a return path between user terminals and service providers, including the steps of formatting Internet information related to a plurality of topics into packets in a stream broadcast data for transmission to user terminals, wherein the broadcast data stream has headers containing identification data identifying which of the plurality of topics the mentioned packets correspond, transmitting a broadcast data stream to user terminals via satellite, receiving a broadcast data stream at a number of user terminals, generating a menu using said multimedia device to list a plurality of topics, detect an input signal entered by the user, corresponding to the selection of one of the many topics from the menu, determining which of the packages exist said input signal inputted by the user, using said identification data output packets corresponding to said input by the user input signal, using a multimedia device. 16. The method according to clause 15, wherein the formatting step includes formatting Internet information containing at least one of news, weather reports, stock market quotes, training programs and consumer information. 17. The method according to clause 16, wherein the step of generating includes the identification of at least one of the news, weather reports, stock market quotes, training programs and consumer information using a multimedia device to select menu options, and giving the user prompts to select one of the menu options. 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the formatting step further comprises formatting program information indicating a plurality of topics and corresponding broadcast time for reception at user terminals. 19. The method according to p, characterized in that the user terminals program to update the menu using program information. FIG. 4 FIG. 1, 220 INTERNET NETWORK INFORMATION - Tyr ^A1? 'MOTOR MAYT ^R bT11 HELP also ...... ~ ¢ 0 NEWS WEATHER EXCHANGE QUOTES CATALOG 'CONSUMER. GOODS «£ □ TRAINING CARDS FIG. 8 FIG. 2 FIG. 5 μ ----------------- MANAGEMENT HEADER MAINTENANCE SERVICES - ^{R '22} CH η x 6912 ΒΙΤ8 (η x 16000 kBr ₃ ) A] 1 ----- 1 -------- b Ι02 .... 1 ........ 104 CASCADE CODING OF REED-SOLOMON UP TO 255/223. MOVING AND CONVOLUTIONARY CODING WITH COEF.F CLIENT 1/2 | symbol T I 121 ........ -.................—- | $ ΪΜ П X 8160 |  1 108