Abstract: This invention provides interference predictions, suitable for least interference dynamic channel assignment use or other frequency hopping uses by de-coupling the time slot assignment and the frequency hopping pattern assignment. In particular, a least interfered time slot is selected based on an aggregate interference measurement performed across an entire transmission band or a pre-specified range of frequencies in the transmission band. A user is assigned a least interfered time slot and provided an appropriate frequency hopping pattern.

Abstract: A text-to-speech synthesizer employs database that includes units. For each unit there is a collection of unit selection parameters and a plurality of frames. Each frame has a set of model parameters derived from a base speech frame, and a speech frame synthesized from the frame's model parameters. A text to be synthesized is converted to a sequence of desired unit features sets, and for each such set the database is perused to retrieve a best-matching unit. An assessment is made whether modifications to the frames are needed, because of discontinuities in the model parameters at unit boundaries, or because of differences between the desired and selected unit features. When modifications are necessary, the model parameters of frames that need to be altered are modified, and new frames are synthesized from the modified model parameters and concatenated to the output. Otherwise, the speech frames previously stored in the database are retrieved and concatenated to the output.

Abstract: An arrangement that includes at least two PBXs interconnected by a network employs CTI ports to control operation of the PBXs. Through such control, a user can set up a telephonic presence in a visited PBX such that, to the user and to all others who interact with the user, it appears that the user is at the user's office, rather than at an office that is served by the visited PBX. This is effected by forwarding calls that are destined to the user at the user's office to the visited PBX, and by translating all dialing commands of the user at the visited PBX, and acting upon the translated commands, so as to provide the user with the features available to the user at the user's office while presenting an appearance to called parties that the user is at the user's office.

Abstract: A method, carried out in an arrangement having a cable that provides programming information to a video monitor as well as telephony service, where call progress information of a telephone call is displayed on the monitor, and the method sends control information upstream, over the cable, in connection with desired information relative to the call progress.

Abstract: A coupler includes an analog port for interfacing with a telephone answering system a network port that is adapted for connection to an insecure network. The security problem associated with eavesdropping over insecure network is overcome by encrypting the messages that exit through the coupler's network port. In one embodiment, the coupler and the telephone answering system are distinct hardware elements and the coupler is connected to the TAD. In another embodiment, a single processor and associated memory perform the functions of the coupler's controller and of the telephone answering system, thus forming a single device that has an analog port for connecting to the public switched telephone network, as well as a port for connection to the insecure network. In yet another embodiment, the coupler/TAD combination includes a control port to allow connection to the control port of an ISDN telephone.

Abstract: Natural-sounding synthesized speech is obtained from pieced elemental speech units that have their super-class identities known (e.g. phoneme type), and their line spectral frequencies (LSF) set in accordance with a correlation between the desired fundamental frequency and the LSF vectors that are known for different classes in the super-class. The correlation between a fundamental frequency in a class and the corresponding LSF is obtained by, for example, analyzing the database of recorded speech of a person and, more particularly, by analyzing frames of the speech signal.

Abstract: A differential detection approach allows communication without knowing the channel parameters, where the transmitter can include a plurality of transmitting antennas in excess of two. In the transmitter, each block of bits is mapped to a vector that is processed to develop a symbols vector, by employing mutually orthogonal vectors and the symbols vector of the previous block. The symbols vector is applied to a space-time mapping block, and thence to transmitting antennas. At the receiver, the received signals of a block are formed into vector, which is combined with a corresponding vector from the previous block in accordance with the mutually orthogonal vectors. The combined vector is summed with combined vectors of the other receive antennas, and the summed result is applied to a minimum distance decoder module. The decoder module selects a “most likely ” vector, and that vector is applied to a mapping that recovers the transmitted bits.

Abstract: A switching apparatus distributes incoming calls to end point terminals that belong to a service group and that interact with the switching apparatus via messages. The messages query the end point terminals by specifying a range and asking those end point terminals that meet a criterion associated with the range to respond. By iteratively narrowing the range, for example, in a binary search fashion, one of the end point terminals is selected. In one embodiment, the range relates to fixed sequence IDs of the end point terminals and the criterion relates to whether an end point terminal is idle or not. In another embodiment, the range incorporates the idle/not idle state of the end point terminals by specifying idle time durations.

Abstract: A capability for routing calls that are destined to different called numbers to a single customer line is provided by including apparatus at the customer's line that detects called number ID signals. The detecting of called number ID signals is enabled by installing one or more called numbers ID signals in a memory of a customer premises instrument, or a coupler, that is connected to the customer's line. The installing is carried out in a process that first places the customer premises instrument, or the coupler, in a program mode, and then providing the one or more called number ID signals, for storing in the customer premises instrument, or the coupler. In one embodiment, the service provider provides the one or more called number ID signals.

Abstract: An enhanced arrangement for a talking head driven by text is achieved by sending FAP information to a rendering arrangement that allows the rendering arrangement to employ the received FAPs in synchronism with the speech that is synthesized. In accordance with one embodiment, FAPs that correspond to visemes which can be developed from phonemes that are generated by a TTS synthesizer in the rendering arrangement are not included in the sent FAPs, to allow the local generation of such FAPs. In a further enhancement, a process is included in the rendering arrangement for creating a smooth transition from one FAP specification to the next FAP specification. This transition can follow any selected function. In accordance with one embodiment, a separate FAP value is evaluated for each of the rendered video frames.

Abstract: Congestion problems in networks are alleviated with a method that works toward insuring the unused capacity will always exist in elements of a network that are resources which are shared by a plurality of users and which, consequently, can be overloaded. In response to each a request to establish a connection over a path in the network, pursuant to a predetermined algorithm method either services the request, declines to service the request, or services the request after dropping an established connection. In one embodiment, when unused cavity on the path is above a preselected level, all requests are services. What unused capacity falls below a preselected threshold, a probabilistic approach is taken as to service the request or not, and as whether to drop an existing call in order to service the request.

Abstract: As assembly for holding routing optical fibers from a rack-mounted equipment module includes a trough element and support elements that are adapted to attach the fiber-holding trough element in front of the front panel of the equipment module. In some embodiments, the trough element is a U-channel with its opening partially covered. Also in some embodiments, the support elements' are adjustable to permit placing the trough element at different distances from the front panel of the equipment module.

Abstract: A method that alleviates congestion problems in prior art networks by insuring that selected classes of calls have a reserved capacity, thus insuring a capability to service at least the selected level of traffic. In an illustrated embodiment, a selected capacity is reserved for voice calls, in contrast to data calls. When a connection request is made and there is unoccupied capacity, a voice call is always serviced, but a data call is serviced only if the number of established data connections is less than capacity of the path required for establishing a connection for the request, minus the capacity reserved for voice call.

Abstract: A plurality of data signals are separated into parallel bit streams with each parallel stream having a bandwidth characteristic such that the combined cumulative effect of all the individual bandwidths produces a spectral characteristic of the data signals that match the spectral high speed data characteristic of a twisted pair.

Abstract: Method and device provide for the encapsulation of control information in a real-time data stream. In one embodiment a method of encapsulating data in an information frame is provided. This information frame has a payload portion and a trailer portion wherein the trailer portion is designated for control data and the payload portion is designated for real-time data. In use control data is inserted into the payload portion of the information frame and an extension bit is used to signify the presence of control data in the payload portion of the information frame. The information frame is then transmited over a virtual circuit.

Abstract: The invention provides an apparatus and method for generating overspread orthogonal codes. Overspread orthogonal codes are generated code-multiplying orthogonal codes generated by any method and the overspread orthogonal code length is the product of the code lengths of the orthogonal codes that were code-multiplied. In a telecommunication application, for example, a communication signal is first spread by a first orthogonal code and then overspread by a second orthogonal code. The output of the overspreading process may be further overspread by a third orthogonal code and so on until a desired code length is obtained. Thus, orthogonal code lengths unobtainable by any of the known orthogonal code generators may be generated by overspreading using codes generated by any orthogonal code generator(s) to obtain a desired code length.

Abstract: This invention provides an iterative process to maximum a posteriori (MAP) decoding. The iterative process uses an auxiliary function which is defined in terms of a complete data probability distribution. The auxiliary function is derived based on an expectation maximization (EM) algorithm. For a special case of trellis coded modulators, the auxiliary function may be iteratively evaluated by a combination of forward-backward and Viterbi algorithms. The iterative process converges monotonically and thus improves the performance of any decoding algorithm. The MAP decoding minimizes a probability of error. A direct approach to achieve this minimization results in complexity which grows exponentially with T, where T is the size of the input. The iterative process avoids this complexity by converging on the MAP solution through repeated maximization of the auxiliary function.

Abstract: Block-encoded transmissions of a multi-antenna terminal unit are effectively detected in the presence of co-channel interfering transmissions when the base station has a plurality of antennas, and interference cancellation is combined with maximum likelihood decoding. More specifically, the signals received at the base station antennas are combined in a linear combination that relates to the channel coefficients between the various transmitting terminal units and the base antennas. By selecting proper coefficients for the linear combination and choosing probable transmitted signals that minimize a minimum mean squared error function, the signals of the various terminal units are canceled when detecting the signal of a particular unit. In another embodiment of the invention, the basic approach is used to obtain an initial estimate of the signals transmitted by one terminal unit, and the contribution of those signals is removed from the received signals prior to detecting the signals of other terminal units.

Abstract: A special orientation sensor within a hand-held electronic computing device provides for movement of a screen cursor in response to changes in the spatial orientation of computing device. The sensor provides at least two output signals that are sensitive to gravitational force in at least two different directions, and those signals assist in determining the spatial orientation of the computing device and in determining the position of cursor 120. In one illustrative embodiment the force-sensing mechanism comprises a pair of accelerometers that provide a signal corresponding to the gravitational force applied to the accelerometers. A processor responsive to the signals of the accelerometer converts those signals to cursor position signals.

Abstract: A method for providing communication service in an Advanced Intelligent Network environment comprises receiving an alert message that originates from the database, the alert message including a protocol parameter; identifying a protocol that controls communication between the intelligent peripheral and the database in a protocol identified by the protocol parameter, the protocol being stored in a database in the IP containing a plurality of protocols and a plurality of protocol parameters, each protocol in the plurality of protocols being correlated with a unique protocol parameter from the plurality of protocol parameters; and executing the protocol.