Patents Assigned to Broadcom
  • Patent number: 8149825
    Abstract: A packet-based, hierarchical communication system, arranged in a spanning tree configuration, is described in which wired and wireless communication networks exhibiting substantially different characteristics are employed in an overall scheme to link portable or mobile computing devices. The network accommodates real time voice transmission both through dedicated, scheduled bandwidth and through a packet-based routing within the confines and constraints of a data network. Conversion and call processing circuitry is also disclosed which enables access devices and personal computers to adapt voice information between analog voice stream and digital voice packet formats as proves necessary. Routing pathways include wireless spanning tree networks, wide area networks, telephone switching networks, internet, etc., in a manner virtually transparent to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph J. Kubler, Michael D. Morris
  • Patent number: 8147332
    Abstract: In a wireless gaming system, one or more game controllers may be visually associated with corresponding player identities by using colored indicator lights on the game controller(s) and game console to identify which player in a computer game is controlled by a given controller. Indicator lights on the controller are illuminated in response to control signals sent via Bluetooth wireless signals so as to match the indicator lights on the console. When multiple controllers are used with a multi-player computer game, a single wireless interface device at the game console is used to issue control signals to each controller so that each controller has a light indicator that is illuminated to identify which player is controlled by the controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventor: Robert W. Hulvey
  • Patent number: 8150330
    Abstract: Aspects of a greedy search user group selection scheme with range reduction for FDD multiuser MIMO downlink transmission with finite-rate channel state information feedback are provided. The method may comprise receiving feedback information via a communication channel for a plurality of users in a frequency division duplex system. The system capacity may be maximized using the feedback information based on a signal from a single user within a reduced search range or based on the signal from the single user and at least one other signal from another user within a remaining portion of the search range. The feedback information may comprise quantized gain and/or direction of the channel state information of the users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Chengjin Zhang, Jun Zheng, Pieter van Rooyen
  • Patent number: 8149848
    Abstract: A system and method for providing enhanced information to a user is described. A broadband access gateway communicatively coupled to a plurality of access devices may collect information about multimedia content available on the access devices and/or information exchanged with access devices. The gateway may search the collect information upon receiving information identifying a called or calling party, to find information that may be associated with the called or calling party. Selected items of the information associated with the called or calling party may then be delivered to the access device of the called or calling party. Information accessible to the gateway via a broadband connection may also be made available to the user of the access device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Jeyhan Karaoguz, Marc Abrams, Nambirajan Seshadri
  • Publication number: 20120076012
    Abstract: A VoIP-enabled device is configured to detect silence in incoming VoIP communication. The VoIP-enabled device is configured to transmit a silence indicator to a headset in response to detecting silence in the incoming VoIP communication. The silence indicator specifies that the headset is to generate comfort noise and to incorporate the comfort noise into the speech during the period of silence.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2010
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: BROADCOM CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tommy Wing Chau Kee
  • Publication number: 20120077446
    Abstract: A self-testing transceiver comprises a receiver, and a transmitter including a power amplifier (PA) and a plurality of transmitter pre-PA stages. The plurality of transmitter pre-PA stages are configured to generate a communication signal at a receive frequency of the transceiver and the receiver is configured to process another communication signal at a transmit frequency of the transceiver, thereby enabling transceiver self-testing. A method for use by a transceiver for self-testing comprises generating a first communication signal at a transmit frequency of the transceiver by a transmitter of the transceiver, processing the first communication signal by a receiver of the transceiver, generating a second communication signal at a receive frequency of the transceiver by the transmitter, and processing the second communication signal by the receiver. The described generating and processing of the first and second communication signals resulting in self-testing by the transceiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2010
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: BROADCOM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masoud Kahrizi, Zhimin Zhou, Hooman Darabi
  • Publication number: 20120077434
    Abstract: A near-field RF communicator which is operable to perform a polling process to initiate communication with another near-field RF communicator in near-field range, wherein the near-field communicator is configured to perform a detection process, having a lower energy requirement than a polling process, to determine whether a near-field RF communicator is present in near-field range, and to perform the polling process in the event that the detection process indicates that a near-field RF communicator is present in near-field range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventor: Philip Stewart ROYSTON
  • Publication number: 20120076495
    Abstract: Embodiments of an apparatus including a user network interface configured to receive from a network a packet to be transmitted upstream over a PON are provided herein. The packet is marked with a first category type or a second category type. The apparatus further includes an upstream first in, first out (FIFO) queue configured to store the packet if the packet is marked with the first category type or the second category type.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Glen KRAMER, Ryan Edgar Hirth, Robin Grindley, Edward Wayne Boyd
  • Publication number: 20120077447
    Abstract: A wireless transceiver includes a plurality of antennas. A plurality of signal recovery circuits generate a selected number of received signals from a first subset of the plurality of antennas, based on a control signal. A receiver section recovers an inbound data stream from the selected number of received signals. A transmitter module generates a transmit signal to a selected one of the plurality of antennas, based on the control signal. The intersection between the first subset of the plurality of antennas and the selected one of the plurality of antennas is the null set for each value of the control signal. The control signals can be generated in multiple different operational modes including, for instance, a cyclic modes and a fixed mode of operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: BROADCOM CORPORATION
    Inventor: Ahmadreza (Reza) Rofougaran
  • Publication number: 20120076061
    Abstract: Collaborative coexistence of co-located mobile WiMAX, wireless LAN, and/or Bluetooth radios. Within a communication device that includes multi-protocol communication capability, the various radio modules included within such a communication device operate cooperatively such that collisions are avoided between those various radios. When a first of the radio modules operates as governed by a relatively rigid frame structure, a second of the radio modules capitalizes upon that predetermined nature (of the relatively rigid frame structure) to support communication during times in which that first radio module has a lower level of activity (e.g., turned off completely, within a power savings mode, in a sleep mode, etc.). The radio module operation is performed within a time-orthogonal manner, such that multiple radio modules are not attempting to transmit or receive simultaneously.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: BROADCOM CORPORATION
    Inventor: Prasanna Desai
  • Publication number: 20120075525
    Abstract: Operating on video frames includes determining a frame set backdrop of a set of video frames that is a characterization of the relative difference in content of the set of video frames. Decreasing video quality of the set of video frames when the frame set backdrop is relatively higher indicating relatively greater content difference among video frames of the set of video frames and increasing/leaving quality of the set of video frames when the frame set backdrop is relatively lower indicating relatively lesser content difference among video frames of the set of video frames. Alteration of video quality of the set of video frames includes altering a frame rate, altering a pixel resolution, and/or altering color resolution of the set of video frames and/or altering a ratio of independent frames to predictive frames of the set of frames.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: BROADCOM CORPORATION
    Inventor: James D. Bennett
  • Publication number: 20120079294
    Abstract: Methods and systems for higher power PoE are provided. Embodiments overcome system limitations to PSE power scaling by using an endspan-midspan configuration which allocates power to the PD from both an endspan PSE and a midspan PSE. Embodiments are particularly suitable for deployed PoE systems having limited power supplies and/or ports designed for lower power. Further, embodiments include power management schemes to enable the proposed endspan-midspan configuration to intelligently allocate power between the endspan PSE and the midspan PSE according to required PD power.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventor: Wael William DIAB
  • Publication number: 20120076036
    Abstract: Aspects of a system for proxy NV bridging on an Ethernet switch may include an AV switch enables reception of incoming PDUs from a legacy device via an AV block network, wherein each incoming PDU contains an AV stream identifier (which consists of a destination address and may also consist of a traffic class designation and/or higher level protocol identifiers). The destination address may identify a destination AV device within the AV block network. The AV switch may enable generation of outgoing PDUs by inserting or modifying a corresponding traffic class designation within each of the incoming PDUs. The AV switch may enable transmission using a specific traffic shaping process of each of the outgoing PDUs to a destination AV device within the AV block network based on the AV stream identifier and corresponding QoS parameters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: BROADCOM CORPORATION
    Inventor: Michael Johas Teener
  • Publication number: 20120076193
    Abstract: Provided is a method and system for estimating distortion in a communications channel including an adaptive equalizer. The method includes determining one or more adaptive filter coefficients associated with a signal passed through the equalizer. The method also includes estimating un-equalized channel distortion based upon the determined adaptive filter coefficients.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas J. Kolze, Bruce J. Currivan
  • Patent number: 8143965
    Abstract: Enhanced polar modulator for transmitter. Within a phase locked loop (PLL), a two point modulation topology is employed in which phase information passes through a limiter (e.g., a ±90° or ±?/2) in which the phase information dynamic range is divide by a factor (e.g., by 2) and a maximum frequency deviation is also divided by a factor (e.g., by 2). Then, a double balanced up-converter mixer/modulator is implemented to perform gain adjustment (e.g., magnitude and/or amplitude adjustment) and phase changes of 0° and +180° or 0 and +? (e.g., negative gains values may be employed). Phase adjustment in such an architecture is split and provided to both the PLL and to the mixer/modulator of such a polar modulator within a transmitter module such as may be implemented within a communication device (e.g., which may be a wireless communication device). This architecture that includes a PLL with a double balanced up-converter mixer/modulator suppresses even harmonics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2012
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Sofoklis Plevridis, Theodoros Georgantas, Konstantinos D. Vavelidis
  • Patent number: 8144669
    Abstract: A system and method for increasing bandwidth usage between an access point and a wireless device are described. One embodiment can include an access point, a prioritizer, and a priority storage device. These components can increase bandwidth usage between an access point and a wireless device by allocating previously unused transmission slots.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2012
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Lich Le, Ash Kapur, Victor Zhodzishsky
  • Patent number: 8144794
    Abstract: An efficient optimal maximum-likelihood output detector reducing the complexity of demodulation/decoding computations in multiple-input multiple-output communication systems. A plurality of received signals may be combined into a plurality of combined received signals by multiplication of a matrix representing the plurality of received signals with another matrix that meets certain conditions. The plurality of combined received signals may then allow for slicing operations as well as calculation of distance metrics with significantly reduced complexity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2012
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventor: Eric Ojard
  • Patent number: 8145161
    Abstract: An integrated circuit radio transceiver and method therefor is operable to determine an antenna configuration for receive operations. More specifically, the system is operable to determine a receive antenna configuration in a network that includes a number of spatial streams, antenna configuration information, code rate, quadrature modulation type, and transmission protocol modulation scheme, etc. Generally, a selected antenna configuration for transmissions to a remote transceiver is used as an initial antenna configuration for receive operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2012
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Simeon Furrer, Joachim S. Hammerschmidt, Arash Behzad, George Kondylis
  • Patent number: 8145219
    Abstract: A method and system supporting handoff of a multimedia call session using background network scanning is disclosed. A mobile multimedia handset may engage in the exchange of a multimedia information stream via a first wireless network, and may sniff a portion of radio frequency spectrum for a second wireless network. Information about available services and network quality of service for the second network may be received by querying the second wireless network or from advertising by the second wireless network. Hand-off between the two networks may be based upon the results of the comparison and one or more user-defined criteria, and the handoff may be synchronized according to predefined events in the stream of multimedia information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2012
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Jeyhan Karaoguz, James D. Bennett, Nambirajan Seshadri
  • Patent number: 8145986
    Abstract: Multi-CSI (Cyclic Shifted Identity) sub-matrix based LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) codes. A CSI parameter set, that includes at least one dual-valued entry and may also include at least one single-valued entry, and/or at least one all-zero-valued entry, is employed to generate an LDPC matrix. One of the single-valued entries may be 0 (being used to generate a CSI matrix with cyclic shift value of 0, corresponding to an identity sub-matrix such that all entries along the diagonal have elements values of 1, and all other elements therein are 0). Once the LDPC matrix is generated, it is employed to decode an LDPC coded signal to make an estimate of an information bit encoded therein. Also, the LDPC matrix may itself be used as an LDPC generator matrix (or the LDPC generator matrix may alternatively be generated by processing the LDPC matrix) for use in encoding an information bit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2012
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Ba-Zhong Shen, Tak K. Lee