Granted Patent B2

US 12,647,910 · App. 18/164,364 · Granted Jun 2, 2026

Inventors: Michael J. Simon (Frederick, MD); Mark A. Aitken (Parkton, MD); Louis Herbert Libin (Woodmere, NY)

Assignee: Sinclair Broadcast Group, LLC

H04W56/001H04W72/30

Abstract

Claims (42)

1 . A method, comprising:

generating a broadcast frame conforming to a first communication protocol, wherein the broadcast frame conforming to the first communication protocol comprises a slice start (SS) portion;

generating a broadcast virtual frame container comprising the broadcast frame conforming to the first communication protocol and a broadcast frame conforming to a second communication protocol, wherein the broadcast virtual frame container further comprises a virtual frame start (VFS) portion, wherein the SS portion is different from the VFS portion; and

transmitting the broadcast virtual frame container.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the VFS portion comprises:

a first portion comprising information corresponding to user equipment (UE) synchronization, and

a second portion comprising information corresponding to UE radio resource control (RRC) signaling, wherein the second portion of the VFS portion further comprises information corresponding to identifying a start of the broadcast frame conforming to the first communication protocol and a start of the broadcast frame conforming to the second communication protocol.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the SS portion comprises:

a first portion comprising information corresponding to a slice identifier, and

a second portion comprising information corresponding to identifying and decoding a physical layer pipe (PLP) within the broadcast frame conforming to the second communication protocol.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the broadcast frame conforming to the second communication protocol comprises a bootstrap portion having information corresponding to identifying a start of another broadcast frame conforming to the second communication protocol in the broadcast virtual frame container.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

aligning transmission of the broadcast virtual frame container with a transmission of a broadcast frame conforming to a third communication protocol.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the broadcast frame conforming to the third communication protocol is a new radio (NR) multicast broadcast service (MBS) frame.

7 . An apparatus, comprising:

a processor configured to:

generate a broadcast frame conforming to a first communication protocol, wherein the broadcast frame conforming to the first communication protocol comprises a slice start (SS) portion;

generate a broadcast virtual frame container comprising the broadcast frame conforming to the first communication protocol and a broadcast frame conforming to a second communication protocol, wherein the broadcast virtual frame container further comprises a virtual frame start (VFS) portion, wherein the SS portion is different from the VFS portion; and

transmit the broadcast virtual frame container.

8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the VFS portion comprises:

a first portion comprising information corresponding to user equipment (UE) synchronization, and

a second portion comprising information corresponding to UE radio resource control (RRC) signaling, wherein the second portion of the VFS portion further comprises information corresponding to identifying a start of the broadcast frame conforming to the first communication protocol and a start of the broadcast frame conforming to the second communication protocol.

9 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the SS portion comprises:

a first portion comprising information corresponding to a slice identifier, and

a second portion comprising information corresponding to identifying and decoding a physical layer pipe (PLP) within the broadcast frame conforming to the second communication protocol.

10 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the broadcast frame conforming to the second communication protocol comprises a bootstrap portion having information corresponding to identifying a start of another broadcast frame conforming to the second communication protocol in the broadcast virtual frame container.

11 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

align transmission of the broadcast virtual frame container with a transmission of a broadcast frame conforming to a third communication protocol.

12 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the broadcast frame conforming to the third communication protocol is a new radio (NR) multicast broadcast service (MBS) frame.

13 . A method, comprising:

receiving a broadcast virtual frame container comprising a broadcast frame conforming to a first communication protocol and a broadcast frame conforming to a second communication protocol;

parsing a virtual frame start (VFS) portion of the broadcast virtual frame container; and

parsing a slice start (SS) portion of the broadcast frame conforming to the first communication protocol, wherein the SS portion is different from the VFS portion.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the parsing the VFS portion further comprises:

parsing a first portion of the VFS portion to identify information corresponding to user equipment (UE) synchronization, and

parsing a second portion of the VFS portion to identify information corresponding to UE radio resource control (RRC) signaling, wherein the second portion of the VFS portion further comprises information corresponding to identifying a start of the broadcast frame conforming to the first communication protocol and a start of the broadcast frame conforming to the second communication protocol.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the parsing the SS portion comprises:

parsing a first portion to identify information corresponding to a slice identifier, and

parsing a second portion to identify information corresponding to identifying and decoding a physical layer pipe (PLP) within the broadcast frame conforming to the second communication protocol.

16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

receiving a broadcast frame conforming to a third communication protocol, wherein the broadcast frame conforming to the third communication protocol is time-aligned with the broadcast virtual frame container.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the broadcast frame conforming to the third communication protocol is a new radio (NR) multicast broadcast service (MBS) frame.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (43)