Broadcast Signal Reception Using Landscape Memory for Quality Consistency

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Solution Overview

Problem

AM radio receivers face challenges in maintaining consistent playback quality due to time-of-day-dependent signal impairments, such as daily attenuation and interference, which existing methods fail to adequately address by only considering current signal quality variables.

Innovation Solution

The method involves using a 'landscape memory' to store signal quality information over time, allowing for the determination of test thresholds that account for past signal qualities, thereby ensuring consistently good playback quality by considering fluctuations and interference patterns.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If only current signal quality parameters are used for channel scanning, then the scanning process is simple and fast, but playback quality becomes inconsistent due to time-of-day signal variations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveplayback quality consistencyVSAvoidsignal processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by storing signal quality parameters in a landscape memory during different times of day (morning, afternoon, evening, night) before actual playback. This historical data is prepared in advance and used during channel scanning to predict and ensure consistent playback quality regardless of the current time, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback by comparing current signal quality measurements with historically stored reference values from the landscape memory. The channel scanner uses this feedback loop to adjust channel selection decisions, ensuring that only channels with consistently good quality across different times are selected for playback, thus improving reliability while managing complexity through intelligent comparison.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Measurement precision

If signal quality testing is performed at multiple reference points, then reception quality assessment becomes more accurate, but the time required for channel scanning increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesignal quality assessment accuracyVSAvoidchannel scanning time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary signal quality measurements at multiple reference points and stores these results in advance in the landscape memory. During actual channel scanning, the system retrieves pre-stored reference values instead of performing new measurements, thereby maintaining high measurement precision while significantly reducing the time required for channel scanning.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates copies of historical signal quality data from multiple reference points and stores them in the landscape memory. During channel scanning, the system uses these copied reference values for comparison rather than performing real-time measurements at all reference points, thus achieving accurate signal quality assessment without the time penalty of exhaustive real-time testing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

3Reliability

If channels with good reception quality are ensured at all times, then user satisfaction improves, but the system must process and store more signal data

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconsistent reception qualityVSAvoidsignal data volume
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies local quality by creating separate landscape memory entries for different time periods (morning, afternoon, evening, night) rather than storing all possible signal data uniformly. Each time-specific entry contains only the relevant signal quality parameters for that period, ensuring consistent reception quality locally optimized for each time of day while minimizing the total quantity of stored signal data.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3228031B1Method and apparatus for receiving a broadcast signal
Publication Date: 2020.05.06 ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
  • EP3228031B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3228031B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for receiving a broadcast signal. According to the invention, in a first step, reference information (108) relative to a signal quality of the broadcast signal at a reference point in time is read in. In an additional step, signal information (110) relative to a signal quality of the broadcast signal at a current point in time is received. In a third step, the signal quality detected at the current point in time is checked, using the signal information (110) and the reference information (108), in order to measure the reproduction quality of the broadcast signal.