Sirius Xm Radio Inc.

Xm Satellite Radio Inc.

Joseph Michael Smallcomb

Paul D Marko

Craig P Wadin

Joan S DeLuca

Stelios J Patsiokas

Stuart Anderson Cox

Mark Rindsberg

Richard Andrew Michalski

Anh Xuan Nguyen

George David Mantel

Jeffrey David Hayes

Jeffery David Hayes

Paul Krayeski

Stuart Cox

Joan Deluca

Craig Wadin

Stelios Patsiokas

Various applications, systems and methods for using, and enhancing V2V communications for various purposes are described. These systems and methods leverage various aspects of satellite radio broadcasts in combination with V2V communications. In some embodiments, V2V-enabled vehicles can receive advertisements or offers from RSEs, or even other V2V enabled vehicles, in a defined Target Region, which may then be played to a user in-vehicle once a given Trigger Region has been entered. By logging all advertisements or offers played to a user and sending the log to an RSE, for example, and from there to a content provider (e.g., an SDARS service operator), verified delivery of advertisements is achieved, which allows the content provider to obtain significant revenues from advertisers. In return for uploading the playback record from the vehicle to the RSE, a variety of incentives may be offered, such as (i) free or discounted satellite radio subscription; (ii) download credits for music or videos from an online store; (iii) reduced or free tolls on toll roads (e.g., RSE embedded in a toll collection plaza); (iv) premium audio or video content, (v) credit at an online store; and (vi) a special coupon code redeemable for merchandise.

Systems, methods and applications for using and enhancing vehicle to vehicle communications, including synergies and interoperation with satellite radio

A method is provided for enhancing a legacy satellite digital radio audio service (SDARS) by overlaying a hierarchically modulated data stream on a base layer (legacy) data stream and improving the synchronization of the received signal in which an overlay layer frame is synchronized to a base layer frame. The base layer frame includes additional data that is used to synchronize the receivers to demodulate and decode the overlay layer and the base layer. The additional data is modulated using a technique that aids the receiver in synchronizing the received signal that is different from the overlay layer.

Method of improving performance in a hierarchical modulation system

A communication system () using hierarchical modulation includes at least one satellite (&) transmitting a data stream and a hierarchical modulated data stream, and at least one terrestrial station () transmitting the data stream and the hierarchical modulated data stream. The communication system can further include at least one receiver () for demodulating and combining the data stream from at least one satellite and from at least one terrestrial station and for hierarchically demodulating and combining the hierarchical modulated data stream from at least one satellite and the hierarchical modulated data stream from at least one terrestrial station. The terrestrial station can be a terrestrial repeater repeating the data stream and the hierarchical data stream from at least one satellite. The system can also include an uplink () having a hierarchical modulator for modulating both the data stream and the hierarchical data stream.

Method and system for hierarchical modulation and demodulation for digital radio

A system () for combining satellite and terrestrial signals from spatially diverse antennas (and) includes a tuner () and at least first and second analog to digital converters () for converting at least two among the plurality of satellite signals and the terrestrial signal to a first digital stream and a second digital stream. A switch arrangement () selectively switches among the first digital stream and the second digital stream before demodulating the digital streams using a plurality of algorithms () that selectively uses respectively demodulated signals of the first digital stream and the second digital stream to control () the switch arrangement to provide a plurality of multiplexed signals () that are combined () to form a combined signal (). The combined signal can then be forward error corrected ().

Antenna diversity system

A method () for timing recovery in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system includes the steps of detecting () a lack of a synchronization symbol and determining () a timing offset from calculating the average group delay across the subcarriers over multiple OFDM symbols. The timing offset is fed back () to a demodulator and the symbol timing is adjusted () based on the Average Group Delay phasor fed back to the demodulator.

Method and apparatus for timing recovery in an OFDM system

Growing community of inventors

Lake Worth, FL, United States of America

Joseph Michael Smallcomb