Patents Examined by William H. Wilson, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6144659
    Abstract: A line interface unit terminates individual subscriber lines and supports conventional telephone service and high speed data service. It provides an interface between subscriber customer premises equipment and central office equipment. The use of large diplex filters is not required in order to terminate subscriber lines at the central office while providing high speed data services.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Alan Nye, Carl Robert Posthuma
  • Patent number: 6067295
    Abstract: An efficient method and apparatus for reducing the effect of ghost signals during the recovery of information bits in wireless systems. The delay spread between each burst and its ghost are estimated so that an equalizer is only engaged to eliminate the effects of the ghost on data recovery when the delay spread increases beyond a given threshold. The estimation of the nonstationary delay spread is based on the estimation of the impulse response of the wireless channel. That is, the response of how the burst and its ghost will be reflected in the wireless channel. Since, the burst and its ghost arrive at the receiver .tau. symbol times apart and have different and random power with respect to each other, once the channel impulse is accurately estimated, the value of .tau. can be used to determine whether to engage or disengage an equalizer. That is, the equalizer is only turned on if .tau.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2000
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Ahmad R. Bahai, Mohsen Sarraf, James Paul Seymour
  • Patent number: 6052061
    Abstract: A circuit for performing a switching of a protection line between a common section and a channel section includes a common section and a channel section connected by signal lines. The common section has a working interface circuit and a protecting interface circuit. The channel section only has a working interface circuit. The working interface circuit of the common section is operably connected to the working interface circuit of the channel section by a working cable. The protecting interface circuit of the common section is connected to the working interface circuit of the channel section by a protecting cable. When a disconnection or a slip of the working cable occurs, a signal from the working interface circuit of the common section is transmitted and inputted into the protecting interface circuit via the protecting cable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2000
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventor: Daiichiro Yamauchi
  • Patent number: 6034622
    Abstract: An open-loop internal monitoring system comprising (a) a plurality of internal radio transmitters, each being implanted in a human for transmitting a plurality of signal pulses, each pulse being encoded with unique identifying information; (b) a plurality of external radio receivers each having a corresponding clock, for receiving each of the plurality of signal pulses transmitted by each of the plurality of internal radio transmitters and for generating from each received signal pulse a plurality of data including at least a time-of-arrival generated in accordance with the synchronized clock of the external radio receiver and the internal radio transmitter identifying information; and (c) a central processor for (1) estimating a location for each internal radio transmitter in accordance with the time-of-arrival, (2) storing, for each human, authorized or unauthorized areas to which the human is assigned, (3) determining an event of whether the estimated location is within the authorized area or the unauthori
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2000
    Assignee: Robert A. Levine
    Inventor: Robert A. Levine
  • Patent number: 6034956
    Abstract: The multi-stage interconnection network of the present invention includes the use of switches in the first stage that have parallel path seeking capabilities. With these switches, a directed flash-flood can be instigated from any one node wherein multiple paths through the network to a designated destination node are tried in parallel in an attempt to find a connection path therebetween. The switches in the first and second stages are interconnected such that each switch in the first stage is connected with every possible priority level to the switches of the second stage. The parallel path seeking switches and network are further configured to test for rejection of the flash-flood by monitoring all connections in combination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2000
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Howard Thomas Olnowich, Jehoshua Bruck, Michael Hans Fisher, Joel Mark Gould, John David Jabusch, Arthur Robert Williams
  • Patent number: 6025785
    Abstract: A barrier movement actuating receiver learns and responds to fixed code type access codes and rolling code type access code wherein the actuating receiver includes a programmer for programming the actuating receiver to accept fixed or rolling type access codes and includes a learning mode for enabling the programmer to add valid access codes to a memory. The receiver further includes a controller for identifying the type of access code received and a revised access code routine for learning both fixed codes and rolling codes. The controller can be set to execute the access code routine corresponding to the type of access code identified. After the first code is learned, all subsequent codes learned must be of the same type until the programmer is re-enabled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2000
    Assignee: The Chamberlain Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Bradford L. Farris, James J. Fitzgibbon, Paul E. Wanis
  • Patent number: 6021111
    Abstract: A unit switching apparatus includes first and second current units, a spare unit, and a switching unit. Each of the current units includes a communication circuit for performing communication in accordance with set operation mode data and a failure detection circuit for detecting and notifying occurrence of a failure in the communication circuit. The spare unit includes a communication circuit for performing communication in accordance with set operation mode data, a memory for separately storing the operation mode data set in the communication circuits of the current units, and a CPU for, when the occurrence of the failure is notified by the failure detection circuit, reading out the operation mode data corresponding to the faulty current unit from the memory, and setting the data in the communication circuit. The switching unit switches the faulty current unit to the spare unit when the occurrence of the failure is notified by the failure detection circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2000
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Kenji Soga
  • Patent number: 6020828
    Abstract: A selective call receiver includes a memory storing a plurality of icons which are associated with different pieces of objective information, respectively. When a received message includes the icon designation data and a message, an abstract icon corresponding to the icon designation data is displayed at a predetermined place on screen together with the message. A user may assign objective information to respective ones of the abstract icons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2000
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Kazuhumi Gotou
  • Patent number: 6014086
    Abstract: In a wireless selective call receiver, a receiving section receives a wireless selective call signal including a selective call signal and subsequent a message signal and destined to the wireless selective call receiver, and then, decodes the received wireless selective call signal to produce the message signal. A storage section includes an alarm message storage region for storing alarm message signals and a normal message storage region for storing normal message signals. An informing section informing an alarm at an alarm time set in each of the alarm message signals which are stored in the alarm message storage region. A detecting section detects that the received message signal is a new alarm message signal or a new normal message signal. A write section writes the new normal message signal in the normal message storage region when the received message signal is the normal message signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2000
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Yukio Miyashita
  • Patent number: 6014087
    Abstract: A facility having particular data to transmit over a transmission medium, contends for access to the medium by transmitting a jamming signal over the transmission medium for a particular duration of time that is a small fraction of the amount of time that the facility had to thus far wait to so contend. If the transmission medium is found to be idle at the expiration of that time, then the facility accesses the medium. Otherwise, the facility waits until the transmission medium again becomes idle and then re-contends for access.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2000
    Assignee: Lucent Techologies Inc.
    Inventors: Anjur Sundaresan Krishnakumar, Joao Luis Sobrinho
  • Patent number: 6011779
    Abstract: An ATM switch with a switch queuing system which minimizes cell loss for bursty traffic, while avoiding delay for time-critical. The switch has a plurality of input ports and a plurality of output ports, a switch fabric transmitting cells from the input ports to the output ports, and a backpressure signal circuit connected between each output buffer of each output port and each input buffer of each input port. Each input port has an input buffer holding ATM cells when the cells arrive faster from the port's input channel than the input port can transmit. The input port transmits cells from its input buffer responsive to a plurality of priority levels. Each output port has an output buffer holding cells when the cells arrive faster from the input ports than the output port can transmit. The output port also transmits cells from its output buffer responsive to a plurality of priority levels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2000
    Assignee: Hyundai Electronics America
    Inventor: Jeffrey M. Wills
  • Patent number: 6008733
    Abstract: A plurality of air conditioning system control units are connected to each other through a communication line (20). Discharge resistors (R1, R2) are provided for discharging residual charges of the communication line (20). The control unit has a power superposition circuit (50) for applying a direct-current voltage and outputs an identification number signal from the power superposition circuit (50) to the communication line (20). The control unit further has a polarity select circuit (60) having a negative-polarity resistance characteristic that current increasingly flows as an applied voltage is lowered, and a voltage discriminating circuit (70) for detecting the terminal voltage of the polarity select circuit (60). When detecting the voltage of the communication line (20), the control unit determines whether its own control unit is a master unit or a slave unit according to output signals from the voltage discriminating circuit (70) and a polarity discriminating circuit (3C).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1999
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Okano, Kouji Kamafusa, Hisatoshi Kawakami
  • Patent number: 6008735
    Abstract: A method and system for programming a remote control unit to control the operation of a controllable device. A group of code sets associated with a particular type and brand of controllable device are selected from a database of code sets stored in the memory of the remote control unit. The commands of each code set in the group of code sets are compared to identify similarities and dissimilarities between command formats within each respective code set. The user tests a command and provides feedback to the remote control unit regarding the results of such testing. When the testing of a command is successful, the remote control unit eliminates code sets containing a command format that is dissimilar to the format of the command that was successfully tested. By eliminating code sets from the group of code sets and testing other commands, the remote control unit eliminates all but one code set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1999
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: John H. Chiloyan, Edwin W. Thorne, III
  • Patent number: 6005489
    Abstract: An electric power tool includes a power supply which is one of a replaceable battery unit, a rechargeable battery unit, and a cable connection for detachably connecting to a mains power supply. A code receiver is provided for receiving a code signal from a code signal emitting device via a contact free transmission. An electronic controller is arranged to switch the power tool to an operable mode when the power supply is coupled to the power tool and the code signal is received by the code signal receiver. The electronic controller is also arranged to switch the power tool to an inoperable mode when the power supply is uncoupled from the power tool and to maintain the power tool in the inoperable mode until the power supply is re-coupled to the power tool and the code signal is again received by the code signal receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 21, 1999
    Assignee: Atlas Copco Tools AB
    Inventors: Volker Siegle, Gunnar Christer Hansson
  • Patent number: 5995497
    Abstract: In a code division switch in a satellite communication system each of a plurality of uplink CDMA modulated RF beams, each including a plurality of uplink traffic channels, are down converted to IF and overspread with a new orthogonal code having a spreading rate N times that of the spreading code of the uplink CDMA modulated RF beam. All of the overspread beams are combined into a single combined IF stream. The individual traffic channels are extracted from the combined IF stream by de-overspreading the stream with orthogonal codes and despreading with beam and traffic channel specific orthogonal codes. All traffic channels are respread with downlink beam codes and downlink orthogonal traffic channel codes and joined onto selected ones of downlink CDMA modulated IF beams having common destinations with the included traffic channels. Downlink CDMA modulated IF beams are up converted to RF frequency and transmitted to selected destinations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 30, 1999
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventor: Diakoumis Parissis Gerakoulis
  • Patent number: 5995490
    Abstract: A method and system for integrating occasional user-initiated data transfers with a generally continuous video transmission in a multimedia communications session includes enabling a party of the session to select at least two levels of video quality of service for the session. A first level is selected for time segments in which the user-initiated data transfers are active. A second level of video QoS is selected for time segments having user-initiated data transfers. Connectivity for the session is established based upon the first level. However, upon initiation of a data transfer, the video transmission requirements are switched to requirements based upon the second level of video quality of service. Present-time quality of service is monitored to determine whether the data transfer should be regulated so as to ensure that the present-time video quality of service remains at or above the second selected level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 30, 1999
    Assignee: Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Inc.
    Inventors: Shmuel Shaffer, William J. Beyda
  • Patent number: 5995501
    Abstract: A method for protecting the transmission of network independent clocking and status information over an air interface between a mobile station and base transceiver station is disclosed. The method involves defining a parallel logical channel between the mobile station and base transceiver station to carry network independent clocking and status information. The network independent clocking and status information are removed from the data stream of the traffic channel and transmitted on the parallel channel over the air interface. Alternatively, a buffer may be used in conjunction with or singly to process the data stream of the traffic channel to delete or insert bits or characters to minimize or eliminate the need for network independent clocking information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 30, 1999
    Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
    Inventors: Stefan Jung, Peter Galyas
  • Patent number: 5991265
    Abstract: An ATM system transmits different types of cells (data, forward resource management (RM) and backward RM) from station A through switch(es) to station B. Different fields in an Available Bit Rate (ABR) table provide controls over the rate of such cell transmissions. First particular field values in such table control the selection of successive ones of cell decision blocks which determine the type of cell to be transmitted. Second particular field values in such table control the selection of one of a plurality of entries in an exponent table which also provides other parameter values controlling the generation of an explicit rate. Third particular field values in the ABR table control the selection of an individual one of a plurality of rate decision blocks each indicating an individual rate of cell transmission from the station A to the station B.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1999
    Assignee: Conexant Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Bradford C. Lincoln
  • Patent number: 5991280
    Abstract: A TDMA timing control method and apparatus for use in a TDMA satellite communication network synchronizes land earth stations in a global beam system and even in a multi beam system having generally no return channel. A land earth station of the satellite network generates a transmission timing thereof on the basis of its own time base and detects a receiving time of a signal from another land earth station. Times of the land earth stations are synchronized by exchanging the information of their own transmission timing and the receiving times of the signals with other land earth stations through control bursts, calculating time errors of their own time bases by solving simultaneous equations including time errors of the time bases of the other land earth station and propagation times to the satellite as unknown quantities and correcting the times of the time bases on the basis of the time errors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1999
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Osamu Ichiyoshi
  • Patent number: 5986566
    Abstract: A wrist band antenna prevents connection failure and/or breakdown due to attachment/detachment of a loop antenna and has a receivable frequency band which is not affected by the thickness of the wearer's arm. A U-shaped antenna structure is mounted inside a wrist band part which is part of the wrist band divided at the center fastening structure. The U-shaped structure functions as an independent antenna on at least one part of the wrist band. The antenna is buried in the wrist band part so that the two ends of its U-shaped structure face toward a receiver main body. When each of two contact pins on the ends of the U-shaped structure connect the wrist band with the receiver main body, a terminal spring on a reception circuit substrate of the receiver main body is pressed. This causes the receiving signal from the antenna to be conveyed to the receiver main body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 16, 1999
    Assignee: Oi Denki Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takeshi Yamamori