Abstract: An asset, object, person or animal monitoring system and associated method for monitoring assets, objects, people or animals utilizing impulse radio techniques. The asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of the present invention can vary the duty cycles of the impulse radio transmitters, by both manual and automatic means, to adapt to varied requirements.

Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus, comprising a tunable filter with a plurality of bond wires connecting voltage tunable dielectric capacitors to an RF ground and serving as inductors, wherein inductive coupling between the plurality of bond wires serve as coupling between resonators within the tunable filter. The voltage tunable dielectric capacitors may be integrated onto a single MgO chip thereby providing a complete set of tunable capacitors for a filter circuit in a low cost, compact package.

Abstract: The invention includes an apparatus and a method for transmitting sub-protocol data units from a plurality of base transceiver stations to a subscriber unit. The method includes estimating time delays required for transferring the sub-protocol data units between a scheduler unit and each of the base transceiver stations. The method further includes the scheduler unit generating a schedule of time slots and frequency blocks in which the sub-protocol data units are to be transmitted from the base transceiver stations to the subscriber unit. The time delays are used to generate the schedule. The time delays can be used to generate a look ahead schedule that compensates for the timing delays of the sub-protocol data units from the scheduler unit to the base transceiver stations. The sub-protocol data units are wirelessly transmitted from the base transceiver stations to the subscriber unit according to the schedule.

Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention provides a method of mitigating third order inter-modulation distortion in electronic circuits, comprising estimating an IP3 of the circuits using an empirical equation which includes at least one or more of the factors IP3˜IP3o?20 log Q+10 log F+10 log C?17.3 log k dBm and optimizing one or more of the factors such that the third order inter-modulation distortion is mitigated.

Abstract: An electronically tunable quad-band antenna which includes a tunable high band antenna tuned by at least one tunable varactor associated therewith; the tunable high band antenna further includes a substrate, a patch element on said substrate, at least one voltage tunable varactor associated with the patch element, a DC bias point on the patch element, an RF input on the patch element, and a temperature sensor associated with the high band pass antenna. Also included in a preferred embodiment of the electronically tunable quad-band antenna of the present invention is a tunable low band antenna tuned by at least one tunable varactor associated therewith, the tunable low band antenna further including a substrate, a patch element on said substrate, at least one voltage tunable varactor associated with said patch element, a DC bias point on said patch element, an RF input on said patch element, and a temperature sensor associated with said low band pass antenna.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a system and method for providing unified accounting for a network including GSM, WAIN and WLAN components.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and system for receiving a plurality of transmission signals at a receiver, the transmission signals each traveling through a corresponding transmission channel. The receiver includes a plurality of receiver channels, a receiver channel corresponding to each transmission channel. Each receiver channel receives a corresponding transmission signal. The received transmission signals are detected to determine whether the received transmission signals are dominated by noise or interference. If the received transmission signals are dominated by noise, then a first set of weights are selected as a receiver weighting. If the received transmission signals are dominated by interference, then a second set of weights are selected as the receiver weighting. The received transmission signals are estimated based upon the receiver weighting.

Abstract: The production of low-loss, tunable composite ceramic materials with improved breakdown strengths is disclosed. The composite materials comprise ferroelectric perovskites such as barium strontium titanate or other ferroelectric perovskites combined with other phases such as low-loss silicate materials and/or other low-loss oxides. The composite materials are produced in sheet or tape form by methods such as tape casting. The composite tapes exhibit favorable tunability, low loss and tailorable dielectric properties, and can be used in various microwave devices.

Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus, comprising an oscillator capable of generating a clock signal, wherein said apparatus is capable of clock noise mitigation using a frequency adaptive algorithm, technique, process or system. And wherein said oscillator may be a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) operating near a desired frequency used to generate an output signal. The clock noise mitigation may accomplished by portion of said VCO signal being fed into a first dividing circuit capable of dividing by a given number M, and a second dividing circuit, N, wherein said first and second dividing circuits may be capable of producing a signal close to the frequency of a reference oscillator, said VCO signal may then be compared via a phase comparator to a reference frequency and wherein the phase comparator signal may then be fed back to the VCO such that its frequency will “lock” to said reference oscillator.

Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus, comprising a radio frequency switch capable of using tunable dielectric capacitors as the switching element. The apparatus may further comprise a cross connector connecting a plurality of ports and wherein at least one of the tunable dielectric capacitors may placed between the cross connector at and least one port, thereby enabling impedance variations between the cross connector and the ports. Further, an embodiment of the present invention may provide at least one T connector between the cross connector and at least one of the plurality of ports, wherein at least one tunable dielectric capacitor may be associated with the T connector to vary the impedance in at least one node of the T connector.

Abstract: A method for synchronizing a receiver to a stream of transmitted symbols that includes a known synchronization word. The method includes receiving a signal in which the symbols, including the synchronization word, are encoded by frequency shift keying. The signal is sampled and digitized to generate a sequence of input samples. For each of the input samples, a phase difference is determined relative to a preceding input sample in the sequence, thereby generating a sequence of differential samples corresponding respectively to the input samples. The differential samples are then matched to the synchronization word.

Abstract: A wireless device is provided with a first wireless transceiver and a second wireless transceiver operative in a coordinated manner and coupled to at least one controller manager. The first wireless transceiver transmits and receives signals in accordance with a first protocol to and from a first network device of a first wireless network communicatively coupled to the apparatus, and the second wireless transceiver transmits and receives signals in accordance with a second protocol to and from a second network device of a second wireless network communicatively coupled to the apparatus. The wireless device is further provided with a network manager to coordinate the transmit and receive operations of the first wireless transceiver and said the second wireless transceiver in order to enable the wireless device to communicate contemporaneously with the first and second wireless networks.

Abstract: Electronic filters include an input, an output and a plurality of resonators series coupled between the input and the output. Each of the resonators is coupled to a tunable capacitance. In addition, a coupling means is provided between non-adjacent ones of the resonators. The resonators can include microstrip resonators, stripline resonators, resonant cavities, or other types of resonators. The tunable capacitance can be provided by tunable dielectric varactors or microelectromechanical variable capacitors. Another tunable capacitor can be included in the coupling means to provide a tunable notch response.

Abstract: The present invention includes a cellular wireless re-use communication system. The communication system includes a base transceiver station cluster. The base transceiver station cluster includes a first plurality of base station transceivers and a plurality of common channel areas. Each common channel area includes a unique set of common assigned channels. Each common channel area further includes at least one subscriber unit. Each subscriber unit within the common channel area receives information signals from a second plurality of base station transceivers through one of the set of common assigned channels that correspond to the common channel area. The common assigned channel includes common transmission characteristics. The common transmission characteristic can include a transmission frequency, a transmission time or a transmission code.

Abstract: Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, an apparatus comprises a plurality of RF antennas, the plurality of RF antennas have a calibrated radiation pattern. The apparatus may further comprise a directional finding program that receives RF signal information from said plurality of RF antennas and RF antenna calibrated radiation pattern information and then calculates the direction from which said RF signals emanate relative to said apparatus.

Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention provides an RFID tag reading system, comprising an antenna system associated with a portal through which said RFID tag may pass, said antenna system comprising: a plurality of non-uniformly spaced antenna elements arranged substantially linearly; a power divider for dividing transmit power thereby coupling signals to said plurality of antenna elements; and a beamforming network capable of phase shifting the signals between the power divider and the plurality of antenna elements such that radiated signals from each antenna element add coherently such that the radiated electromagnetic energy is focused at a focal point in the near field region or in the Fresnel region of said antenna system.

Abstract: An apparatus capable of tracking a target, comprising at least one near-field focused antenna comprising an array of elements and a phase shifter to form multiple fixed beams in the near-field, a sensor capable of sensing the location of the target, and a controller capable of accepting position information and capable of activating the proper fixed beam along a course so as to enable the near-field focused beams to track the target. The array of elements may be substantially linear and the sensor may be optical, mechanical, thermal, or sonic position detection subsystems.

Abstract: A phase shifter includes a substrate, a tunable dielectric film having a dielectric constant between 70 to 600, a tuning range of 20 to 60%, and a loss tangent between 0.008 to 0.03 at K and Ka bands positioned on a surface of the substrate, a coplanar waveguide positioned on a surface of the tunable dielectric film opposite the substrate, an input for coupling a radio frequency signal to the coplanar waveguide, an output for receiving the radio frequency signal from the coplanar waveguide, and a connection for applying a control voltage to the tunable dielectric film. A reflective termination coplanar waveguide phase shifter including a substrate, a tunable dielectric film having a dielectric constant between 70 to 600, a tuning range of 20 to 60%, and a loss tangent between 0.008 to 0.

Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention provides an amplifier system, comprising at least one variable impedance matching network, the output of which provides the input to at least one amplifier stage or provides an output of the power amplifier itself, and a bias network associated with the at least one amplifier stage. The amplifier system may further comprise a controller enabling impedance control to the at least one variable impedance matching network and a supply voltage provided to the at least one variable impedance network and/or the at least one amplifier stage and wherein the at least one variable impedance network and the at least one amplifier stage may be a plurality of impedance networks connected to a plurality of amplifier stages. The at least one variable impedance network may include at least one variable capacitor and the at least one variable capacitor may be a voltage tunable dielectric capacitor which may include Parascan® voltage tunable dielectric material.

Abstract: This invention provides a voltage tunable filter comprising an input connection point, an output connection point, and at least one circuit branch electrically coupled to the input connection point and the output connection point and including a voltage tunable dielectric varactor electrically connected to an inductor. The voltage tunable filter can be one of a low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, or band-stop filter. The varactor can include built-in DC blocking capacitors.