Abstract: A protocol and mechanism which provide for centralized asset tracking communications from a central station are based on a control/polling forward channel; i.e., a narrow band channel from the central station to tracking units affixed to the assets. A narrow band service channel is used by the asset tracking units to transmit to the central station to aid the central station in efficient scheduling of asset reporting, and a plurality of narrow band channels that are appropriately multiplexed are used for conveyance of data from the asset tracking units to the central station.

Abstract: A tracking system for railcars is configured as a dynamic local area network having a master tracking unit and a plurality of slave tracking units, each tracking unit being affixed to a separate railcar. To improve reliability of communications between railcars, the distance from a master unit to a slave unit is estimated by comparing phase of a transmitted signal with that of the transmitted signal returned by another tracking unit in the network. Optionally, a determination is made as to whether the slave unit is "ahead" of or "behind" the master unit. Communication path loss between the master and slave units due to frequency selective fading may also be determined. A spectrum survey determines quality of the channel as to its capacity for passing data from the slave unit to the master unit.

Abstract: Apparatus for monitoring the health and response of critical electromechanical control valves to detect the likelihood of future valve malfunction includes the use of Fourier transform decomposition and time-domain wavelets to selectively enhance portions of the valve response signal for comparison with a normal valve response signal.

Abstract: Characteristics of the radio channel are used to establish key sequences for use in encrypting communicated information. These characteristics are the short-term reciprocity and rapid spatial decorrelation of phase of the radio channel. The keys can be established with computations equivalent to a bounded distance decoding procedure, and the decoder used to establish a key may be used for processing the subsequent data transmission. Compared to classical and public-key systems, an alternative mechanism for establishing and sharing key sequences that depends on a physical process is provided in which each party need not generate a pseudorandom quantity because the necessary randomness is provided by the temporal and spatial non-stationarity of the communication channel itself. By using a channel decoder, the probability of two users establishing the same secret key is substantially unity, and the probability of an eavesdropper establishing the same key is substantially zero.

Abstract: A mode of communication for asset tracking units involves communication between a central station and the individual tracking units, usually through a satellite link. This mode is the primary communication link for tracking the assets. A second mode is the local area network (LAN) or "mutter" mode, in which a subset of tracking units communicate with each other in a mobile LAN. This mode is used as the secondary communication mechanism to conserve power, since mutter mode communication requires much less energy for local communication between the tracking units as opposed to direct satellite communication with the central station. In addition, mutter mode leads to increased reliability of the asset tracking system by enabling tracking of units which have batteries too weak to support communication with the central station, but strong enough to support communication in mutter mode.

Abstract: A mobile tracking unit capable of detecting defective conditions associated with a set of railway vehicle wheels and with a railtrack upon which a given railway vehicle travels comprises a rotation measurement unit for generating data indicative of rotational rate of the set of wheels; a motion sensor, such as an accelerometer or vibration sensor, for generating data indicative of motion along a vertical axis relative to the railtrack; a data processor coupled to the motion sensor and to the rotation measurement unit for receiving the rotational rate and motion data; a navigation set for generating data corresponding to a respective railway vehicle position thereby allowing for determination of the location at which any respective defective condition occurs; and a transmitter for transmitting predetermined data associated with the railway vehicle to a remote location where the transmitted data can be processed.

Abstract: The present invention provides a novel Geometric Harmonic Modulation (GHM) system. The GHM system operates in two modes, a preamble mode and a traffic mode. During the preamble mode, n+1 frequencies are each offset by a predetermined phase offset in the transmit unit and passed through a channel to a receive unit. The set of phase offsets is used as the spreading code in the transmit unit, and also acts as an `address` of receive units to transmit to. The receive unit monitors preamble signals to determine the phase offsets. When it recognizes a set of phase offsets, or `address`, which pertains to itself, the receive unit stores the phase offsets and uses these phase offsets to despread and decode the appended message. After the preamble mode is finished, the GHM modulator enters the traffic mode and requests the message to be transmitted from the message source. A traffic carrier waveform is created by multiplying tones, each having its specific phase offset.

Abstract: A traffic carrier waveform W.sub.n (.PHI.,R;t) being the product of a number of tones is employed in transmitting blocks of information from a transmit unit to a receive unit. The tones are geometrically increasing multiples of a frequency of a fundamental tone. Each tone incorporates a tone phase. The selection of these tone phases uniquely identifies each transmitted signal. The tone phases also is used as a `key` in converting a message signal into a direct wide spectrum signal for communication. To insure that third parties do not decode the transmitted message, the tone phases are transformed to seed phases by a method known to both the transmit and receive units, but not to third parties. The seed phases are then transmitted by intermittent preamble carrier waveform to the receive unit which transforms these into the tone phases and decodes the message signal. The seed phases may be dynamically changed according to a sequence known or generated by both the transmit unit and receive unit.

Abstract: The present invention provides a novel frequency Interlaced Geometric Harmonic Modulation (IGHM) system. The IGHM system operates in two modes, a preamble mode and a traffic mode. During the preamble mode, n+1 frequencies are each offset by a predetermined phase in a transmit unit and passed through a channel to a receive unit. The set of phases is used as the spreading code in the transmit unit, and also acts as an `address` of desired receive units. The receive unit monitors preamble signals to determine the phases. When it recognizes a set of phases, or `address`, which pertains to itself, the receive unit stores the phases and uses these phases to despread and decode the appended message. After the preamble mode is finished, the IGHM modulator enters the traffic mode and requests the message to be transmitted from the message source.

Abstract: An optical communication system includes a first and a second optical communication assembly that are coupled together via an optical coupling medium. Each optical communication assembly includes a respective time delay unit; an optical pattern imager coupled to the time delay unit; a respective transmission-reception apparatus coupled to the time delay unit; and a respective optical signal generator coupled to the time delay unit for passing a pulse of coherent light into the time delay unit. The optical pattern imager in each optical communications assembly is disposed to receive an interference fringe pattern that corresponds to the respective phase shifts introduced by both the transmitting and receiving optical communications assemblies. The position of the interference pattern with respect to a reference standard on the imager provides a signal for a code-key data signal.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system for determining, and correcting for, channel-induced distortion in transmitted wideband carrier signals. During a synchronization, or sounding mode, known as the preamble mode, a wideband signal consisting of a number of tones, which may be those of geometric harmonic modulation (GHM), each having a phase of zero are transmitted to a receive unit. At the receive unit, the phases for each tone are extracted. Since each tone is at a different frequency, a snapshot of the change in phase over a number of frequencies can be determined. These phase changes are employed in determining the generalized phase distortion over frequency equation which is used to remove the phase distortion induced by the channel before decoding of the signal. The device then operates in its traffic mode thereby transmitting information to a receive unit which uses the phase distortion information to remove phase distortion induced by the channel and then decode a message signal.

Abstract: The present invention provides a novel Geometric Harmonic Modulation (GHM) method. The GHM method functions in two modes, a preamble mode and a traffic mode. During the preamble mode, n+1 frequencies are each offset by a predetermined phase in a transmit unit and passed through a channel to a receive unit. The set of phases is used as the spreading code in the transmit unit, and also acts as an `address` of intended receive units. The receive unit monitors preamble signals to determine the phases. When it recognizes a set of phases, or `address`, which pertains to itself, the receive unit stores the phases and uses these phases to despread and decode the appended message. After the preamble mode is finished, the GHM modulator enters the traffic mode and requests the message to be transmitted from the message source. A traffic carrier waveform is created by multiplying tones, each having its specific phase. An analog or binary message is encoded by modulating the traffic carder waveform.

Abstract: A signal processor includes a phase looked loop for estimating a largest sine wave component phase and frequency element of an incoming analog signal to provide a component signal and a delta-adjusted subtraction loop for removing a largest sine wave component of the incoming signal. The subtraction loop includes a gain adapter for monitoring an output signal and calculating a gain for minimizing the magnitude of the output signal, a multiplier for multiplying the gain by the component signal to provide a multiplied signal, and a subtractor for subtracting the multiplied signal from the incoming analog signal and supplying the output signal to the gain adapter.

Abstract: A signal processing system includes a phase locked loop for locking a largest sine wave phase and frequency element of an incoming analog signal; an amplitude estimator for estimating a maximum amplitude of the incoming signal; a multiplier for multiplying the estimated largest sine wave phase and frequency element by the estimated maximum amplitude to provide an estimated largest sine wave component; and a subtractor for subtracting the estimated largest sine wave component from the incoming signal to provide a diagnostic signal.

Abstract: A spatial synchronization method for an optical communications system includes the step of transmitting from a transmit aperture a pyramidal synchronizing profile so as to sequentially spatially register a user identification speckle pattern at a receive aperture. The iterative patterns in the pyramidal synchronizing profile detected by the receive array are processed and correlated with a library of respective user pyramidal synchronizing profiles so as to match and register the speckle pattern for a particular user. Registration of the user speckle pattern provides an offset value representing the spatial relation of a reference point of the user's pattern to a corresponding reference point of the receive aperture, which offset information is applied to a receive pattern processor so that the receive aperture is aligned with the transmitted speckle patterns.

Abstract: A set of phases defining an `address` and a `spreading key` is selected. These are employed in determining a preamble waveform and a traffic waveform. The preamble carrier waveform is a sum of a set of tones each offset by its phase, whereas the traffic carrier waveform is the product of these same offset tones. The tones have frequencies which are geometrically increasing multiples of a fundamental frequency. The phases and magnitudes of the preamble and traffic carrier waveforms are determined and prestored in a transmit and receive unit storage device. An inverse discrete Fourier Transform unit (IDFT) in the transmit unit receives the phase preamble offsets and magnitudes from the storage unit and creates a preamble carrier signal transmitted to the receive unit which determines if the phases match those which it is to listen to. If not, the following message is ignored; if they are, the following message is despread and decoded.

Abstract: The present invention provides a novel Geometric Harmonic Modulation (GHM) system. The GHM system operates in two modes, a preamble mode and a traffic mode. During the preamble mode, n+1 frequencies are each offset by a predetermined phase offset in a transmit unit and passed through a channel to a receive unit. The set of phase offsets is used as the spreading code in the transmit unit, and also acts as an `address` of receive units to transmit to. The receive unit monitors preamble signals to determine the phase offsets. When it recognizes a set of phase offsets, or `address`, which pertains to itself, the receive unit stores the phase offsets and uses these phase offsets to despread and decode the appended message. After the preamble mode is finished, the transmit unit enters the traffic mode and requests the message to be transmitted from the message source. A traffic carrier waveform is created by multiplying tones, each having its specific phase offset.

Abstract: Data words are transmitted over a radio channel with a novel modulation scheme which transmits data in parallel. An entire data word is modulated by separating a carrier frequency band into a number of discrete `tones`. Tone T.sub.1 is set to a zero phase shift in order to provide timing in synchronization of the signal. The remaining tones are phase shifted according to a predetermined convention, thereby encoding the bits of the data word. The phase shifts for all tones comprises a spectrum which is transmitted to a receiver simultaneously. A receiver monitors tone T.sub.1 for zero phase shifts to provide synchronization of the signal. The remaining tones are analyzed for their phase shift to provide bits which are assembled into a transmitted data word. Since the bits are transmitted in parallel as the data word, as opposed to conventional modulation schemes, the throughput is increased.

Abstract: A highly fault tolerant system for datagram communication of information in the form of a message packet employs a distributed network of transmitter/receivers `transceivers`, which interact with `bridge transceivers` which are transceivers connected to a wired network, and wired nodes each having a unique identification ("ID") number. An initiating unit, which may be a transceiver, bridge transceiver or wired node, creates a message packet having an ID of an intended destination unit. If initiated from a transceiver, the message packet finds its way to a wired network by broadcasting the message packet to local transceivers. The transceivers determine valid message packets which have not expired, not been received before and were transmitted without errors. If the message packet is valid and the transceiver ID does not match its internal ID, the transceiver broadcasts the valid message packet to other local transceivers. The transceivers which receive the message packet repeat the process.

Abstract: A highly fault tolerant method of radio communication piggybacked upon time division multiple access (TDMA) digital cellular radio telephone systems transmits message packet through a distributed network of transmitter/receivers, (tranceivers) mobile units, each having a unique identification (ID) number. An initiating mobile unit creates a message packet having the ID of a mobile unit intended to receive the message packet. It then broadcasts the message packet in a non-interfering fashion to local mobile units within its transmission range, at a time period which does not overlap a time slot in which it communicates with a cellular base unit. Each mobile unit which receives the message packet checks to see if there are errors and sends an acknowledgement if no errors. The mobile units determine valid message packets by determining if the message has not expired, if it has not been seen before and there were no errors in the received message packet.