Abstract: A low power consumption protocol for low power communication devices attached to an asynchronous network is described. In this protocol, a communication device is used as a high communication duty cycle Mediation Device (MD), thus permitting other communication devices to use a low communication duty cycle framing structure. The MD functions as a storage and retrieval service for messages between two devices when one device is not able to communicate. When the previously unavailable device becomes available, it can check in with the MD to retrieve any missed messages and respond to these messages accordingly. In a communication network, each of the low power communication devices can be configured to behave as MD's for a small amount of time. Sharing this responsibility among all communication devices in the network allows each device to maintain an low average communication duty cycle. This technique is applicable to a low power, low cost, zero-configuring, self-organizing, asynchronous network.

Abstract: A receiver (300) is provided that efficiently determines what transport format combination is currently being utilized by a transmitter (200) multiplexing (201) several transport channels onto a single over-the-air channel (209). The receiver (300) estimates the transmitted sequence and, not knowing the format combination being utilized, makes estimates of the information bits for each of the possible transport format combinations. CRC metrics are determined (one for each transport or data channel) for each possible transport format combination, and these CRC metrics are combined into a single transport format combination metric for the particular transport format combination being tested.

Abstract: A vertically-stacked filter employing a ground-aperture broadside-coupled resonator device that can advantageously be employed within various systems (e.g., communication systems). The filter comprises a plurality of metal layers and a plurality of dielectric layers arranged in a vertically-stacked topology. The plurality of metal layers form a resonator device having two or more resonators. At least one pair of resonators have opposing broadside surfaces that are coupled. One mechanism for broadside coupling the pair of resonators is a metal layer between the pair of resonators wherein the metal layer has an aperture between the broadside surfaces.

Abstract: The invention provides methods (300) for organizing and assigning network address to network nodes in clusters (108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 212, 214, 216, 218, 220), and forming new clusters and also provides a method 700 for routing messages in clusters. According to the invention, clusters are organized into hierarchical tree arrangements, with addresses assigned in a manner that facilitates routing messages.

Abstract: The present invention encompasses a method for determining values for parity check bits (p1, . . . , pm) based on a current symbol set (s1, . . . , sk). The method comprises the steps of receiving the current symbol set (s1, . . . , sk) and using a transformation of a matrix to determine the parity check bits. The first N2 columns of the matrix is defined that for column i, 1≦i≦└m/2┘, a value of 1 is assigned to row position i and a value of 1 is assigned to row position i+└m/2┘, all other row positions have a value of 0. Additionally for column i, └m/2┘+1≦i≦N2<m , a value of 1 is assigned to row position i−└m/2┘ and a value of 1 is assigned to row position i+1, all other row positions have a value of 0.

Abstract: A squished trellis encoder encodes blocks of information with unequal error correction. A multiplexing switch partitions the information block into a first portion and a second portion. A first trellis encoder encodes the first portion. A second trellis encoder encodes the second portion. An initial state information generator maps the states of the first trellis encoder to the second trellis encoder to establish initial conditions for the states of the second trellis encoder. A delay delays the second portion from processing by the second trellis encoder until the initial state information generator has mapped the states. An associated decoder can use the novel squished approach or other alternative approaches.

Abstract: The invention computes frequency-domain channel gains by compiling a set of estimated channel gains as a function of pilot sequences, a set of analytical channel gains variables, and a set of weighting coefficients variables. A plurality of weighting coefficients are computed as a function of time and frequency correlation functions, a noise correlation matrix, and pilot sequences. A weighting matrix is computed from the weighting coefficients. After receiving a training sequence from at least one transmitter, a received data matrix is computed from the training sequence. The weighting matrix and the received data matrix are used to compute the frequency-domain channel gains. The invention also provides a method for reducing the computational complexity of estimating the time and frequency response of at least one desired signal received by at least one antenna.

Abstract: A base station (1) in a radio communication system is provided with an antenna array 2, 3 for communication with a plurality of mobile stations (4, 5). The transmissions of the base station (1) are optimised by adjusting the phase between the signals transmitted by each antenna (2, 3) so that the product of the propagation channel estimates is maximised. The invention has particular application to CDMA-TDD modes of operation where it has been shown to perform favourably in comparison with known transmit diversity techniques. A further advantage is that it does not require added complexity in the channel estimation at each mobile station (4, 5).

Abstract: The log-add kernel operation is represented as a summation of an average and a correction factor composed of a constant and a term based on a difference between the input arguments. In a described embodiment, the correction factor is approximated using the reduction of the correction factor into a Taylor series expansion, which may be defined around the difference between the input arguments as approximately zero. The approach may be further optimized to provide the Taylor series expansion as being modified to compute the correction factor with simple additions, multiplications, and shift operations. If the input arguments are close to each other, the new computed representation may be used, and if the arguments are further apart, the max operation is used. The log-add kernel operation also may be extended to more than two arguments, for application, for example, in the kernel operation of the generalized Viterbi decoder with a branch fan-in greater than 2.

Abstract: To address the need for a receiver that provides good performance during poor channel conditions yet reduces the computational complexity of existing ML receivers, a method and apparatus for MIMO joint detection and decoding is provided herein. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a low-complexity linear filter method is first utilized by the receiver. However, a higher-complexity non-linear method is utilized when the performance of the linear method is not adequate, for example, during poor channel conditions. In order to reduce the complexity of the non-linear decoding method, the distances to a much smaller set of candidate constellation points are computed than with prior-art decoding methods. This is made possible by the fact that some bits decoded with higher confidence utilizing the output of a linear filter method can help the decoding of the other bits.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of operation for a variable transmission mode multi-carrier communication system by receiving a signal, determining a link quality as a function of the received signal, and selecting a compound multi-carrier communication mode as a function of the link quality.

Abstract: A data handling system comprising a terminal (122) and a communications network (100), the terminal (122) being capable of communicating with the communications network (100), the network (100) comprising a host platform (124) for receiving an agent (30) associated with the terminal (122), the agent (130) being adapted to communicate, at the platform (124), with the at least one other agent.

Abstract: Controller component (155) of system (100) generates address pattern (902) through employment of one or more parameters (205), to store information (810) at a plurality of parts of storage, for example, one or more instances of banked data memory (140) that are employable with multiprocessing. The one or more parameters (205) are related to the information (810).

Abstract: Mitigation of battery consumption will occur by prioritizing those units utilized for relay purposes. The prioritization scheme favors actively transmitting units over inactive units. In yet another embodiment, those units using real-time services are prioritized over active units using non-real time services.

Abstract: A method of estimating a confidence measure for a speech recognition system, involves comparing an input speech signal with a number of predetermined models of possible speech signals. Best scores indicating the degree of similarity between the input speech signal and each of the predetermined models are then used to determine a normalized variance, which is used as the Confidence Measure, in order to determine whether the input speech signal has been correctly recognized, the Confidence Measure is compared to a threshold value. The threshold value is weighted according to the Signal to Noise Ratio of the input speech signal and according to the number of predetermined models used.

Abstract: A weighting device utilizes soft reliability values and class weighting factors to detect errors in digitized information. The soft reliability values can be provided by a decoder that processes the information according to a predetermined coding scheme. Bits representing the encoded information are classified accorded to classes defined by a bit sensitivity analysis. The bit sensitivity analysis can be based on subjective and/or objective criteria. As incoming bits are received by the weighting device, they are classified and class reliability values are computed for each class based on the soft reliability values. The class reliability values are then weighted to produce weighted class reliability values. Error concealment algorithms, coding rate determination, and coding rate requests can be activated based on the weighted class reliability values.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for handoff to a rescue channel is introduced without the need to send and receive handoff control messages. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, coordination of the rescue procedure at the infrastructure and mobile station is provided first by disabling the mobile transmitter followed by subsequent detection of signal loss and frame erasures at the serving cells, then by enabling the mobile transmitter followed by subsequent detection of signal by a rescue cell, and finally by enabling the rescue cell channel transmitter followed by subsequent detection and reception of signal and frames by the mobile.

Abstract: A method of improving capacity in a duplexing scheme is provided. The duplexing scheme has a first band of frequencies and a second band of frequencies. The method comprises the steps of: determining an amount of available capacity on the first band of frequencies (steps 402, 404, 410), transmitting, on the first band of frequencies, a variable amount of feedback data corresponding to the amount of available capacity on the first band of frequencies, the feedback data comprising data for improving the quality of communications on the second band of frequencies, and optimizing (steps 406, 408, 412, 414) transmissions on the second band of frequencies using, when available, the feedback data.

Abstract: The invention encompasses a method of preparing data for transmission, which method comprises: multiplexing data from a plurality of sources (S1, . . . Si, . . . Sn), the multiplexing comprising, for at least one source (Si), classifying the data from the source (Si) into two or more classes (C1,f.Cj, . . . Cm) according to the data's priority, and mapping data from the sources into positions in a data structure (D) according both to the class (Cj) of the data and to a further priority assigned to the source (Si) from which the data originated, the division of data into classes (C1, . . . Cj, . . . Cm) and/or the prioritization of the sources (S1, . . . Si, . . . Sn) being done according to the potential impact of transmission errors on the data; and sub-dividing the data in the data structure (D) into frames while preserving the relative prioritization of the data. The sources may be various multi-media sources.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for compression/decompression and filtering of a signal in which the apparatus has an input register (704) which receives the received signal, an output register (712) which transmits a processed signal and a distributed arithmetic processor (708) having a plurality of operational modes. The distributed arithmetic processor is coupled to the input register by an input path and is coupled to the output register by an output path. The apparatus also has a DCT butterfly processor (706) selectively switched into the input path in response to selection of a predetermined operational mode from the plurality of operational modes. An IDCT butterfly processor (710) is also selectively switched into the output path in response to the selection of one of the predetermined operational modes. Additionally, the apparatus selectively functions as a FIR filter with both the DCT butterfly processor (706) and IDCT butterfly processor (710) removed from the input and output paths.