Abstract: A transport facility adapted to transport TDM bit streams using IP packets over an asynchronous Ethernet network. TDM bit streams such as E1, T1, E3, T3, OC-3, OC-12, STM-1, STM-4, etc. are received, buffered and encapsulated into Ethernet frames. The Circuit Emulation Device (CED) receives, buffers and assembles in real-time ingress data from TDM ports into Ethernet Frames and forwards them to an Ethernet interface. The TDM data is encapsulated within RTP, UDP and IP packets before being encapsulated within an Ethernet frame. In the egress direction, Ethernet frames enter the encapsulation/segmentation processor from the Ethernet port and the IP, UDP and RTP packets are extracted from the frame. TDM data is extracted and the bit streams are re-generated and forwarded to the TDM ports for transmission over legacy TDM facilities.

Abstract: An apparatus for and method of converting soft symbol decision information into soft bit decision information that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art. The invention is adapted to receive M soft symbol values where each symbol represents m bits (M=2m). The output for each symbol comprises m soft values of bits representing the symbol. The invention is operative to convert the soft symbol values to soft bit values using the log likelihood ratios (LLRs) of a bit and a symbol expressed as conditional probabilities. The method of the invention is presented which can be performed in either hardware or software. A computer comprising a processor, memory, etc. is operative to execute software adapted to perform the soft symbol to bit conversion method of the present invention.

Abstract: An apparatus for and a method of iterative equalization for communication over noisy channels suitable for use with a wide range of different types of communications systems and channels that is particularly applicable to power line based communication systems. Equalization of received symbols is achieved by iteratively removing the influence of previous symbols dispersed due to channel ISI. Equalization is performed using iterative subtraction in combination with calculations based on the inverse of the transfer matrix. The impulse response of previous symbols is subtracted out to yield the impulse response of the received symbol. The estimate of the current symbol {tilde over (B)}n is then calculated by passing the modified received symbol through a matched filer which functions to remove the effect of channel ISI from the symbol. Multiple iterations are performed to improve the accuracy of the resultant symbol decision.

Abstract: An element dispensing package suitable for dispensing adhesive strips or bandages. Each element is contained within an envelope formed by opposed upper and lower sheets. The lower sheet has a release liner secured thereto to protect the element while it is within the dispenser. The element is releasably secured to a pull cover and is separated from the lower sheet and release liner when the envelope is opened. The pull cover has one or more gripping means to facilitate dispensing of the element contained within the package. Additionally, the lower sheet and upper sheet have optional gripping means to facilitate dispensing of the element contained within the package.

Abstract: A novel and useful distributed synchronization mechanism. The synchronization loop of each station on the shared media based network considers only synchronization signals received having a time phase earlier than the time phase of its internal clock. From among the plurality of synchronization signals received by a given station having a time phase earlier than that of its internal clock, only the earliest of the received synchronization signals is considered. This allows the use of a second order synchronization tracking loop wherein both the phase and rate of the internal clock are tracked and adjusted. The station with the fastest internal clock effectively functions as an ad-hoc synchronization master for all stations in a given maximum connected group.

Abstract: A novel and useful apparatus for and method of determining the channel order and channel estimate in a communications system such as a wireless communication system including cellular and cordless. Such channels are typically characterized by rapidly changing impulse response and their taps can be modeled as zero-mean, complex, Gaussian random processes. A sufficiently long, initial channel estimate of length is performed so as to ensure that the actual channel taps will be contained in the estimated taps thus making certain that the equalizer will effectively eliminate intersymbol interference. Channel estimation is performed during each burst using the training sequence transmitted in the middle of the burst. The tap energies are averaged so as to track slow variations in the pattern of resultant channel taps. A noise floor is calculated using the lowest averaged taps and a threshold is computed based thereon and applied to the average taps.

Abstract: A novel and useful apparatus for and method of DC offset compensation for use in a communications receiver. The invention is operative to calculate an estimate of the DC offset which is subsequently subtracted from each input sample to generate compensated samples. The training sequence portion of the uncompensated input samples is used to generate an estimate of the DC offset. The vector used in calculating the offset estimate is pre-calculated for several channel lengths and stored in memory. An estimate of the channel is generated which provides the channel length and the location in the input sample buffer of the first training sequence sample to be used in calculating the offset estimate. The channel length is used to determine the number of training sequence samples to be used and to select one of the previously calculated vectors.

Abstract: A path reroute mechanism for use in communication networks comprising multiple searches for a routing path to restore traffic following a failure that could not be protected by a previously established protection route (i.e. protection tunnel, bypass, etc.) or for routing or rerouting of traffic paths for optimization or any other purpose. Each node advertises TLVs that include bandwidth allocation information used to derive the actual amount of bandwidth available for protection purposes, protected paths and unprotected paths or a portion of this information such as in the case where unprotected paths are not supported. Searches are performed on larger and larger portions of the available bandwidth until a route for the path is found.

Abstract: A novel media access control (MAC) mechanism utilizing synchronization signaling that enables nodes from different networks having different technologies and protocols to coexistence using the same shared media. The present invention is suitable for use with a wide range of different types of network and technologies and is particularly useful in providing coexistence capabilities to powerline based data communication systems. Specific time slots are assigned for the transmission of a frame occupation signal to indicate to all nodes that the channel is occupied. A synchronization signal is randomly transmitted during a preassigned time slot within the frame to provide accurate timing for the frame occupation signal. During times that a node does not transmit the synchronization signal, it listens to the channel. A timing signal is derived from the synchronization signals received from other nodes during this quiet period wherein the node is in a listening mode.

Abstract: A novel and useful whitening matched filter (WMF) for use in a communications receiver. The WMF is constructed by cascading a matched filter and a noise-whitening filter. The response of the matched filter is derived from the time reversed complex conjugate of the channel impulse response. The whitening filter is derived by extracting the minimum phase portion of the mixed phase channel impulse response using homomorphic deconvolution. The whitening filter is implemented using either an FIR or IIR filter adapted to process the data received before and after the training sequence using a minimum phase system in a direction in time opposite to that of the direction of corresponding data sample processing performed by the equalizer.

Abstract: A novel data transfer scheme for efficiently transferring data between multiple data generating processing units in a processing element wherein each processing unit may generate data at different rates. The data output of each processing unit is multiplexed into a single data stream and written to a memory buffer. A centralized software processor such as a CPU or DSP implements a demultiplexer operative to read the contents of the input buffer, demultiplex the data and distribute it to individual unit buffers thus recreating the original data streams generating by each of the processing units. The multiplexed data stream is generated by partitioning the outputs of the data generating processing units into multiple multiplexer groups based on individual data rates. The outputs of the various groups are collected by a multiplexer and used to build a single data stream having a well-defined structure.

Abstract: A novel robust communications scheme whereby a repetition code at the transmitter and an associated cumulative decoder at the receiver are used to increase the reliability of transmission in a communications system. The robust communications scheme of the present invention is effective to increase the reliability of transmission by repetitively transmitting each data segment a number of times in accordance with a repetition code and subsequently collecting the received energy at the receiver over an accordingly longer period of time. Accumulating the received energy over a longer period of time at the receiver, yields a marked improvement in the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the receiver.

Abstract: A novel and useful dynamic packet filter that can be incorporated in a hardware based firewall suitable for use in portable computing devices such as cellular telephones and wireless connected PDAs adapted to connect to the Internet. The invention performs dynamic packet filtering on packets received over an input packet stream. The dynamic filter checks dynamic protocol behavior using information extracted from the received packet. Sessions are created and stored in a session database to track the state of communications between the source and destination. Recognition of a session is accelerated by use of a hash table to quickly determine the corresponding session record in the session database. Session related data is read from the session database and the received packet is checked against a set of rules to determine whether to allow or deny the packet.

Abstract: A connection mechanism permitting a unidirectional processing device to function as a virtual bi-directional processing device. A pass through dummy connection is inserted in a unidirectional circuit card to permit the connection of standard keyed duplex-paired cables to other processing cards. The use of keyed cables to connect the various circuit cards in a system reduces the burden of a user to manually insure that all cables are properly connected between cards. The pass through dummy connection may be any suitable media such as optical fiber for optical signals or electrical cable, wire or printed circuit board traces for electrical signal.

Abstract: A novel and useful apparatus for and method of automatic gain control (AGC) using Kalman filtering and hysteresis. A nonlinear, time-variant loop filter such as a Kalman filter is employed in the feedback loop of an AGC circuit. The circuit is able to transition quickly and make fast adaptations to new levels of the input signal by use of a restart mechanism used to dynamically modify the gain of the loop filter thus enabling the AGC circuit to quickly adapt to changes in the signal level of the input. An AGC circuit incorporating a hysteresis circuit in the feedback loop is also disclosed.

Abstract: An apparatus for and a method of dynamically prioritizing packets over a packet based network. Packets are dynamically prioritized on the basis of their ‘time to live’ in the network as they travel from one network entity to another. Packets are assigned a priority in accordance with how ‘old’ or ‘young’ they are. Packets with a relatively long time left to live are assigned lower priority then those with relatively little time left to live. A time to live (TTL) field is added to the packet as it travels from one network entity to another. The contents of the time to live (TTL) field represents how ‘young’ or ‘old’ the packet is and conveys the time left before the packet is no longer of any use. Each network entity that receives the packet with a TTL field, subtracts from it the time the packet spends passing through that entity. The field decreases as it hops from network entity to entity until it reaches its destination or is discarded.

Abstract: An apparatus for and method of simultaneously searching an input character stream for the presence of multiple strings. The strings to be searched for are determined a priori, processed and stored in substring tables during a configuration phase. The strings to be searched for are divided into a plurality of two and three character substrings and stored in substring tables. A hash of each substring is calculated and stored in a hash table whose output is an index to a substring table. During searching, the content filter generates the hash of the input character stream and attempts to find a matching substring stored in the hash table. A string is declared found if all the substrings making up the string have been received in correct consecutive order.

Abstract: A forwarding table comprising a combination of a hash table and a content addressable memory (CAM). The forwarding table combines a one way hash table and a small CAM to perform the forwarding information retrieval function. The CAM is used when an address cannot be found in the hash table. When MAC addresses are being added to the forwarding table, they are first tried in the hash table. The address is applied to the hash function and a resulting index input to the hash table. If a hit occurs, it indicates that an entry at that index already exists and a location in the CAM is then allocated for that address. As long as the CAM does not become full, a 100% hit rate is guaranteed. During retrieval, the hash table or the CAM forms the forwarding information output to the next processing stage. If an entry is not found in the hash table, it will typically be found in the CAM. If no entry is found in either, the received frame is flooded to all the ports of the network device.

Abstract: An apparatus for and method of generating soft decision information from a sequence of hard symbol decisions output from a decoder in a concatenated communications receiver. Soft symbol decisions are computed given hard symbol decisions from the equalizer, channel estimation information (i.e. FIR filter taps used to estimate the channel), and the input samples received from the channel. The log likelihood ratio (LLR) for all symbol possibilities is calculated by computing the conditional probability of the input sample sequence given the hard symbol decision sequence. The noise variance is optionally used in computing the soft output values, thus improving the overall performance of the receiver. In one embodiment, symbol vectors are calculated beforehand and stored in a table. An error vector calculator functions to calculate an error vector that is applied to soft output calculation units. Each soft output calculation unit functions to generate a soft output value for a particular symbol candidate.

Abstract: A novel and useful windowing mechanism for reducing the out of band harmonics of an output transmit signal. The windowing mechanism functions to smooth the transition between two consecutive transmit waveforms. The mechanism of present invention is particularly useful in communication systems characterized by consecutively transmitted symbols whereby the concatenation of transmitted waveforms causes discontinuities between symbols. The windowing mechanism is operative to reduce the effect of these discontinuities to reduce out of band harmonics of the transmitted output signal. The windowing mechanism extends each transmit waveform both earlier and later in time thus creating extending waveform portions on either end of the transmit waveform. The extended portions are then multiplied by a suitable windowing function and the result is summed with the next transmit waveform.