CONTEST
CompetedPrize
$7,000
$7,000
DEADLINE
This contest is closed.
This contest is closed.
Problem
Patexia seeks prior art for US Patent 7,113,230 (‘230) - “Method and apparatus for deriving a channel map for a digital television receiver.” The patent allegedly describes a digital TV (DTV) receiver that automatically scans multiple TV channels for a signal to create a listing of viewable TV channels, sometimes called “scan-the-sky” algorithms. This is done by measuring the amplitude of the signal, comparing it to a locally stored threshold, and removing the channel from a locally stored map of TV channels if the amplitude is less than the threshold value.
Deriving a channel map for a DTV receiver takes place by following these steps (Figure 1):
- A processor controls a tuner to periodically scan through each channel frequency to find a strong signal.
- Using a comparator, the signal amplitude is compared with a threshold value.
- The threshold value is set by the processor and is dynamically determined by:
- If the processor does not detect valid program information for a channel thought to be viewable, the threshold value is raised.
- If the processor detects valid program information, then information on the estimated noise level in the received DTV signal is used to update the threshold value.
- With the threshold value, if the comparator finds:
- The signal amplitude is greater than the threshold value, the processor moves on to the next channel frequency.
- The signal amplitude is less than the threshold value, the processor removes the channel from a channel map, and then moves on to the next channel frequency.
Figure 1.Deriving a channel map for a DTV receiver
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Questions
# | Question | Value |
---|---|---|
1 | Was the source filed or published before March 17th, 2000? | T/F |
2 | Does the source describe a method for rapidly scanning the spectrum to determine which channels include potentially valid data based on a direct or indirect amplitude measurement? | 18 |
3 | Does the source describe a digital TV (DTV) receiver that includes a processor, a channel map data structure, a tuner, an amplitude detector (direct or indirect), a demodulator, and a comparator for the amplitude (either direct or indirect, hardware or software)? | 18 |
4 | Can the processor create a channel map data structure? | 13 |
5 | Can the DTV receiver tune to a specified channel frequency? | 10 |
6 | Can the DTV receiver demodulate the tuned television signal? | 10 |
7 | Can the DTV receiver measure the amplitude of the tuned television signal prior to demodulation? | 13 |
8 | Can the DTV receiver compare the measured amplitude to a threshold value? | 13 |
9 | Can the DTV receiver update a channel map based on the results of the comparison of the measured amplitude and threshold value? | 5 |
Additional Notes
Contest Rules and Guidelines
- The contest will close on December 8th, 2013 11:59 PM PST.
- Please view the detailed contest rules and guidelines page here.