Patents by Inventor John W. Ketchum

John W. Ketchum has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8169889
    Abstract: A multi-antenna transmitting entity transmits data to a single- or multi-antenna receiving entity using (1) a steered mode to direct the data transmission toward the receiving entity or (2) a pseudo-random transmit steering (PRTS) mode to randomize the effective channels observed by the data transmission across the subbands. The PRTS mode may be used to achieve transmit diversity or spatial spreading. For transmit diversity, the transmitting entity uses different pseudo-random steering vectors across the subbands but the same steering vector across a packet for each subband. The receiving entity does not need to have knowledge of the pseudo-random steering vectors or perform any special processing. For spatial spreading, the transmitting entity uses different pseudo-random steering vectors across the subbands and different steering vectors across the packet for each subband. Only the transmitting and receiving entities know the steering vectors used for data transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: J. Rodney Walton, John W. Ketchum, Mark S. Wallace, Steven J. Howard, Sanjiv Nanda
  • Patent number: 8169944
    Abstract: Techniques for facilitating random access in wireless multiple-access communication systems. A random access channel (RACH) is defined to comprise a “fast” RACH (F-RACH) and a “slow” RACH (S-RACH). The F-RACH and S-RACH can efficiently support user terminals in different operating states and employ different designs. The F-RACH can be used to quickly access the system, and the S-RACH is more robust and can support user terminals in various operating states and conditions. The F-RACH may be used by user terminals that have registered with the system and can compensate for their round trip delays (RTDs) by properly advancing their transmit timing. The S-RACH may be used by user terminals that may or may not have registered with the system, and may or may not be able to compensate for their RTDs. The user terminals may use the F-RACH or S-RACH, or both, to gain access to the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: J. Rodney Walton, John W. Ketchum, Mark S. Wallace, Steven J. Howard
  • Patent number: 8160183
    Abstract: For eigenmode transmission with minimum mean square error (MMSE) receiver spatial processing, a transmitter performs spatial processing on NS data symbol streams with steering vectors to transmit the streams on NS spatial channels of a MIMO channel. The steering vectors are estimates of transmitter steering vectors required to orthogonalize the spatial channels. A receiver derives a spatial filter based on an MMSE criterion and with an estimate of the MIMO channel response and the steering vectors. The receiver (1) obtains NR received symbol streams from NR receive antennas, (2) performs spatial processing on the received symbol streams with the spatial filter to obtain NS filtered symbol streams, (3) performs signal scaling on the filtered symbol streams with a scaling matrix to obtain NS recovered symbol streams, and (4) processes the NS recovered symbol streams to obtain NS decoded data streams for the NS data streams sent by the transmitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: John W. Ketchum, Mark S. Wallace, J. Rodney Walton, Steven J. Howard
  • Patent number: 8134976
    Abstract: Techniques to calibrate the downlink and uplink channels to account for differences in the frequency responses of the transmit and receive chains at an access point and a user terminal. In one embodiment, pilots are transmitted on the downlink and uplink channels and used to derive estimates of the downlink and uplink channel responses, respectively. Two sets of correction factors are then determined based on the estimates of the downlink and uplink channel responses. A calibrated downlink channel is formed by using a first set of correction factors for the downlink channel, and a calibrated uplink channel is formed by using a second set of correction factors for the uplink channel. The first and second sets of correction factors may be determined using a matrix-ratio computation or a minimum mean square error (MMSE) computation. The calibration may be performed in real-time based on over-the-air transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Mark S. Wallace, John W. Ketchum, J. Rodney Walton, Steven J. Howard
  • Publication number: 20120033585
    Abstract: Certain embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method and an apparatus for managing and optimizing service discovery in a peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless network. Nodes of the P2P network advertise their capabilities to their peers in the form of services. Efficient propagation and management of node's services to other nodes is proposed in the present disclosure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2011
    Publication date: February 9, 2012
    Applicant: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Oliver Michaelis, J. Rodney Walton, John W. Ketchum
  • Patent number: 8094625
    Abstract: Techniques to schedule terminals for data transmission on the downlink and/or uplink in a MIMO-OFDM system based on the spatial and/or frequency “signatures” of the terminals. A scheduler forms one or more sets of terminals for possible (downlink or uplink) data transmission for each of a number of frequency bands. One or more sub-hypotheses may further be formed for each hypothesis, with each sub-hypothesis corresponding to (1) specific assignments of transmit antennas to the terminal(s) in the hypothesis (for the downlink) or (2) a specific order for processing the uplink data transmissions from the terminal(s) (for the uplink). The performance of each sub-hypothesis is then evaluated (e.g., based on one or more performance metrics). One sub-hypothesis is then selected for each frequency band based on the evaluated performance, and the one or more terminals in each selected sub-hypothesis are then scheduled for data transmission on the corresponding frequency band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Jay Rod Walton, John W. Ketchum, Mark Wallace, Irina Medvedev
  • Publication number: 20110317671
    Abstract: In one aspect of a multiple-access OFDM-CDMA system, data spreading is performed in the frequency domain by spreading each data stream with a respective spreading code selected from a set of available spreading codes. To support multiple access, system resources may be allocated and de-allocated to users (e.g., spreading codes may be assigned to users as needed, and transmit power may be allocated to users). Variable rate data for each user may be supported via a combination of spreading adjustment and transmit power scaling. Interference control techniques are also provided to improve system performance via power control of the downlink and/or uplink transmissions to achieve the desired level of performance while minimizing interference. A pilot may be transmitted by each transmitter unit to assist the receiver units perform acquisition, timing synchronization, carrier recovery, handoff, channel estimation, coherent data demodulation, and so on.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Publication date: December 29, 2011
    Applicant: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Jay R. Walton, John W. Ketchum, Steven J. Howard, Mark Wallace
  • Patent number: 8078211
    Abstract: Techniques to allocate the total transmit power to the transmission channels in a multi-channel communication system such that higher overall system spectral efficiency and/or other benefits may be achieved. The total transmit power may be initially allocated to the transmission channels based on a particular power allocation scheme (e.g., the water-filling scheme). The initial allocation may result in more power being allocated to some transmission channels than needed to achieve the required SNR (e.g., the SNR needed to achieve the maximum allowed data rate), which would then result in these transmission channels being operated in the saturation region. In such situations, the techniques reallocate the excess transmit power of transmission channels operated in the saturation region to other transmission channels operated below the saturation region. In this way, higher data rate may be achieved for the “poorer” transmission channels without sacrificing the performance of the “better” transmission channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: QUALCOMM, Incorporated
    Inventors: Irina Medvedev, Jay Rod Walton, John W. Ketchum
  • Patent number: 8040965
    Abstract: Techniques to process data for transmission over a set of transmission channels selected from among all available transmission channels. In an aspect, the data processing includes coding data based on a common coding and modulation scheme to provide modulation symbols and pre-weighting the modulation symbols for each selected channel based on the channel's characteristics. The pre-weighting may be achieved by “inverting” the selected channels so that the received SNRs are approximately similar for all selected channels. With selective channel inversion, only channels having SNRs at or above a particular threshold are selected, “bad” channels are not used, and the total available transmit power is distributed across only “good” channels. Improved performance is achieved due to the combined benefits of using only the NS best channels and matching the received SNR of each selected channel to the SNR required by the selected coding and modulation scheme.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2011
    Assignee: QUALCOMM, Incorporated
    Inventors: John W. Ketchum, Steven J. Howard, Jay Rod Walton, Mark S. Wallace, Fuyun Ling
  • Publication number: 20110235744
    Abstract: Pilots suitable for use in MIMO systems and capable of supporting various functions are described. The various types of pilot include—a beacon pilot, a MIMO pilot, a steered reference or steered pilot, and a carrier pilot. The beacon pilot is transmitted from all transmit antennas and may be used for timing and frequency acquisition. The MIMO pilot is transmitted from all transmit antennas but is covered with different orthogonal codes assigned to the transmit antennas. The MIMO pilot may be used for channel estimation. The steered reference is transmitted on specific eigenmodes of a MIMO channel and is user terminal specific. The steered reference may be used for channel estimation. The carrier pilot may be transmitted on designated subbands/antennas and may be used for phase tracking of a carrier signal. Various pilot transmission schemes may be devised based on different combinations of these various types of pilot.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2011
    Publication date: September 29, 2011
    Applicant: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: John W. Ketchum, Mark S. Wallace, J. Rodney Walton, Steven J. Howard
  • Patent number: 7990841
    Abstract: Techniques for transmitting data using a number of diversity transmission modes to improve reliability. At a transmitter, for each of one or more data streams, a particular diversity transmission mode is selected for use from among a number of possible transmission modes. These transmission modes may include a frequency diversity transmission mode, a Walsh diversity transmission mode, a space time transmit diversity (STTD) transmission mode, and a Walsh-STTD transmission mode. Each diversity transmission mode redundantly transmits data over time, frequency, space, or a combination thereof. Each data stream is coded and modulated to provide modulation symbols, which are further processed based on the selected diversity transmission mode to provide transmit symbols. For OFDM, the transmit symbols for all data streams are further OFDM modulated to provide a stream of transmission symbols for each transmit antenna used for data transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: QUALCOMM, Incorporated
    Inventors: Jay R. Walton, John W. Ketchum
  • Patent number: 7986742
    Abstract: Pilots suitable for use in MIMO systems and capable of supporting various functions are described. The various types of pilot include—a beacon pilot, a MIMO pilot, a steered reference or steered pilot, and a carrier pilot. The beacon pilot is transmitted from all transmit antennas and may be used for timing and frequency acquisition. The MIMO pilot is transmitted from all transmit antennas but is covered with different orthogonal codes assigned to the transmit antennas. The MIMO pilot may be used for channel estimation. The steered reference is transmitted on specific eigenmodes of a MIMO channel and is user terminal specific. The steered reference may be used for channel estimation. The carrier pilot may be transmitted on designated subbands/antennas and may be used for phase tracking of a carrier signal. Various pilot transmission schemes may be devised based on different combinations of these various types of pilot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2011
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: John W. Ketchum, Mark S. Wallace, J. Rodney Walton, Steven J. Howard
  • Publication number: 20110142097
    Abstract: For data transmission with spatial spreading, a transmitting entity (1) encodes and modulates each data packet to obtain a corresponding data symbol block, (2) multiplexes data symbol blocks onto NS data symbol streams for transmission on NS transmission channels of a MIMO channel, (3) spatially spreads the NS data symbol streams with steering matrices, and (4) spatially processes NS spread symbol streams for full-CSI transmission on NS eigenmodes or partial-CSI transmission on NS spatial channels of the MIMO channel. A receiving entity (1) obtains NR received symbol streams via NR receive antennas, (2) performs receiver spatial processing for full-CSI or partial-CSI transmission to obtain NS detected symbol streams, (3) spatially despreads the NS detected symbol streams with the same steering matrices used by the transmitting entity to obtain NS recovered symbol streams, and (4) demodulates and decodes each recovered symbol block to obtain a corresponding decoded data packet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2010
    Publication date: June 16, 2011
    Applicant: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Jay Rodney Walton, John W. Ketchum, Mark S. Wallace, Steven J. Howard
  • Patent number: 7953047
    Abstract: Techniques to parse data into multiple (M) streams with selectable data rates are described. The modulation scheme and code rate for each stream are determined based on the data rate selected for that stream. The modulation schemes and code rates for all M streams are used to determine a parse cycle and the number of puncture cycles for each stream in the parse cycle. A sequence of puncture cycles is formed for the M streams such that the puncture cycle(s) for each stream are distributed as evenly as possible across the sequence. An encoder encodes traffic data in accordance with a base code (e.g., a rate 1/2 binary convolutional code) and generates code bits. A parser then parses the code bits into the M streams based on the sequence of puncture cycles, one puncture cycle at a time and in the order indicated by the sequence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
    Inventors: Mark S. Wallace, John W. Ketchum
  • Patent number: 7949060
    Abstract: Techniques for transmitting data from a transmitter unit to a receiver unit in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system. In one method, at the receiver unit, a number of signals are received via a number of receive antennas, with the received signal from each receive antenna comprising a combination of one or more signals transmitted from the transmitter unit. The received signals are processed to derive channel state information (CSI) indicative of characteristics of a number of transmission channels used for data transmission. The CSI is transmitted back to the transmitter unit. At the transmitter unit, the CSI from the receiver unit is received and data for transmission to the receiver unit is processed based on the received CSI.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Fuyun Ling, Jay R. Walton, Steven J. Howard, Mark Wallace, John W. Ketchum
  • Publication number: 20110103523
    Abstract: Techniques for performing acquisition of packets are described. First detection values may be determined based on a first plurality of samples, e.g., by performing delay-multiply-integrate on the samples. Power values may be determined based on the first plurality of samples, e.g., by performing multiply-integrate on the samples. The first detection values may be averaged to obtain average detection values. The power values may also be averaged to obtain average power values. Whether a packet is presence may be determined based on the average detection values and the average power values. Second detection values may be determined based on a second plurality of samples. The start or the packet may be determined based on the first and second detection values. A third detection value may be determined based on a third plurality of samples. Frequency error of the packet may be estimated based on the first and third detection values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2010
    Publication date: May 5, 2011
    Applicant: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Mark S. Wallace, John W. Ketchum, J. Rodney Walton, Steven J. Howard
  • Publication number: 20110106837
    Abstract: Certain embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method for improving the effective coverage of nodes within a peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless network. Collection of nodes of the P2P network can have a larger aggregate coverage footprint than any given single node. This inherent multi-site property of P2P wireless networks can be exploited to provide each node with benefits of multi-user diversity, thus improving discovery of devices in the P2P network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2009
    Publication date: May 5, 2011
    Applicant: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: J. Rodney Walton, John W. Ketchum
  • Publication number: 20110080869
    Abstract: Certain embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method for increasing a capacity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless network. A scheme has been proposed in which well-connected nodes of the P2P wireless network can be exploited in a manner that increases the overall connectivity of all the nodes in the network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2009
    Publication date: April 7, 2011
    Applicant: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: J. Rodney Walton, John W. Ketchum, Oliver Michaelis
  • Publication number: 20110081908
    Abstract: Certain embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method and an apparatus for registration and service announcements in peer-to-peer wireless networks to increase capacity of such networks. The present disclosure proposes a hybrid registration mechanism allowing a peer-to-peer node to leverage an administrative architecture of a neighboring cellular system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2009
    Publication date: April 7, 2011
    Applicant: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Oliver Michaelis, J. Rodney Walton, John W. Ketchum
  • Patent number: 7907689
    Abstract: An access point in a multi-antenna system broadcasts data using spatial spreading to randomize an “effective” channel observed by each user terminal for each block of data symbols broadcast by the access point. At the access point, data is coded, interleaved, and modulated to obtain ND data symbol blocks to be broadcast in NM transmission spans, where ND?1 and NM>1. The ND data symbol blocks are partitioned into NM data symbol subblocks, one subblock for each transmission span. A steering matrix is selected (e.g., in a deterministic or pseudo-random manner from among a set of L steering matrices) for each subblock. Each data symbol subblock is spatially processed with the steering matrix selected for that subblock to obtain transmit symbols, which are further processed and broadcast via NT transmit antennas and in one transmission span to user terminals within a broadcast coverage area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2011
    Assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
    Inventors: J. Rodney Walton, John W. Ketchum, Mark S. Wallace, Steven J. Howard