Abstract: A telecare system comprises a mobile terminal, which has a controller, and a telecare terminal. The controller of the mobile terminal is configured to detect a selective action by a user, attempt to communicate with the telecare terminal using short-range wireless communication in response to the detected action, and if the communication was successful, cause transmittal of an assistance request for a first telecare service and if not, cause transmittal of an assistance request for a second telecare service.

Abstract: There is described a detecting device of the distribution profile of current of a switching converter; the converter has an input voltage and is adapted to supply an output current. The device comprises means adapted to convert a signal indicating the output current of the converter into a digital signal comprising p digital samples, being p an integer, processed in p successive time intervals belonging to a time period.

Abstract: Powering the internal circuitry, that is the controller of the power switch of a step-down DC-DC converter for a broad range of values of output voltage and achieving an enhanced energy saving in a low load conditions of operation is made possible by a method and implementing circuit based on defining two distinct thresholds of discrimination of the output voltage, both tied to a reference voltage, for generating two respective control signals and defining, from logical combinations of said two control signals, three distinct regions of operation of the converter upon the varying of electrical parameters, respectively identified by logical combinations of a pair of enabling signals.

Abstract: A method of transmitting symbols of a digital transmission constellation from a set thereof, ordered from a smallest to a greatest number of bits per symbol, may include identifying a first constellation from the set that is configured to communicate with a threshold error rate and has a greatest signal-to-noise ratio smaller than a signal-to-noise ratio of a received signal. The method may also include identifying a second constellation from the set that corresponds to a constellation with a number of bits per symbol immediately greater than the first constellation. The method may further include determining first and second probabilities of use of the first and second constellations that would generate an expected number of erroneous bits corresponding to the threshold error rate. The method may further include transmitting a symbol with a constellation selected randomly between the first and second constellations according to the first and second probabilities, respectively.

Abstract: There is described a power supply for lamps, particularly for LED-MR16 lamps; the power supply receives an alternating voltage, particularly provided by an electronic transformer, at the input between first and second input terminals. The input alternating voltage has a high frequency component and the power supply comprises rectifier means of said input alternating voltage and at least one capacitor connected to the output of said rectifier means; the voltage at the ends of said capacitor is adapted to supply the lamp. The power supply includes a capacitive circuit arranged between the first and second terminals and adapted to be charged by the negative half-wave of the high frequency component of the input alternating voltage; the capacitive circuit adapted to discharge to the capacitor in the presence of the positive half-wave of the high frequency component of the input alternating voltage.

Abstract: Powering the internal circuitry, that is the controller of the power switch of a step-down DC-DC converter for a broad range of values of output voltage and achieving an enhanced energy saving in a low load conditions of operation is made possible by a method and implementing circuit based on defining two distinct thresholds of discrimination of the output voltage, both tied to a reference voltage, for generating two respective control signals and defining, from logical combinations of said two control signals, three distinct regions of operation of the converter upon the varying of electrical parameters, respectively identified by logical combinations of a pair of enabling signals.

Abstract: The method transmits a long packet of digital data over a poly-phase power line affected by impulsive noise synchronous with phase voltages. Instead of using very complicated coding schemes, starting from the knowledge of the typical power line scenario, useful information is transmitted where noise synchronous with the main signal is absent. Time-intervals of a known or estimated duration during which the poly-phase power line is affected by impulsive noise are determined, and dummy data during the time-intervals, and useful data during other time-intervals free from impulsive noise, are transmitted.

Abstract: A control device controls a switching converter. The converter has an input alternating supply voltage, a regulated direct voltage on the output terminal, and a switch connected to an inductor. The control device controls the closing and opening time period of said switch for each cycle and receives a first input signal representative of the current flowing through one element of the converter. The control device comprises a counter configured to count a time period, a comparator configured to compare said first input signal with a second signal, digital control block configured to control the closing and opening of said switch and to activate said counter to start the counting of said time period when the said first input signal crosses said second signal, with said switch being closed. The digital control block is configured to open the switch when the counter finishes the counting of said time period.

Abstract: A control device of a switching converter controls the closing and opening of a switch of the converter that regulates the operation of an inductor. The control device includes a ramp voltage generator, a switch control circuit configured to close the switch based on a comparison of the ramp voltage with a first signal and a generator control circuit configured to control the ramp voltage generator based on a value of a second signal representative of a current flowing through the inductor of the converter, in comparison with the value of a third signal.

Abstract: The recognition of a frame synchronization pattern or unique word of a received signal may be enhanced using a data-aided estimator of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) together with a correlation detector of the unique word to be received. Detecting a frame synchronization pattern or a unique word in a received signal, the SNR is estimated on the received signal with a data-aided SNR estimator using the unique word to be received. If the estimated SNR exceeds a certain threshold, an eventual recognition of the unique word established by a correlation correlator of the receiver is considered reliable. Comparing the SNR with the threshold may be carried out either before or after the correlator has processed the unique word.

Abstract: A method of estimating log-likelihood ratios for first and second streams of samples of a received S-FSK signal demodulated using first and second carriers includes estimating channel and noise parameters associated with first and second transmitted values for the first and second streams of samples obtained from the received S-FSK modulated signal. Current signal-to-noise ratios are estimated for current samples of the first and second streams of samples obtained from the received S-FSK modulated signal using the channel and noise parameters. The estimated current signal-to-noise ratios are compared with values of a discrete ordered set and respective pairs of consecutive values of the discrete ordered set between which the estimated current signal-to-noise ratios are comprised are identified. Log-likelihood ratios are estimated for the current samples of the first and second streams.

Abstract: An OFDM receiver includes a sampling circuit configured to sample an incoming signal received through a transmission channel and an estimation circuit configured to receive samples of the incoming signal and to estimate transmission channel response and eventual differences of synchronization offsets introduced at a receiver side. An equalizer may be coupled to the estimation circuit and configured to compensate an effect of the transmission channel response and of the differences of synchronization offsets on the received samples and to generate equalized samples. An OFDM detector may be configured to generate a stream of demodulated digital symbols based upon the equalized samples.

Abstract: A method of driving a stepper motor in a feed-forward voltage mode may include for a desired speed for the stepper motor setting an amplitude of a sinusoidal phase voltage of the stepper motor to be equal to a sum of an expected back-electromotive force (BEMF) amplitude estimated as a function of the desired speed, and a product of a desired phase current amplitude and an estimated absolute value of an impedance of the stepper motor.

Abstract: A method of estimating a signal-to-noise ratio from a received M-DPSK modulated signal, comprising a sequence of N known symbols, based on a division of the known symbols N and of N samples of the received signal at the output of the channel into a number of blocks B of length L with B greater than one.

Abstract: A control device for a switching converter, the converter having at least one transistor supplied by an input voltage and adapted to supply a load by means of an output voltage. The converter also including a circuit adapted to turn on and off the at least one transistor. The control device includes an operation circuit adapted to change the state of the at least one transistor from turned on to turned off or vice versa, respectively when the output voltage goes down or goes up by a first voltage of a given value by defining a first state; the operation circuit including a further circuit adapted to generate a ramp signal and to change the first state of the at least one transistor from turned on to turned off or vice versa when the ramp voltage is equal to the output voltage of the converter.

Abstract: A method for loading bits over a set of subcarriers of a multiple-carrier communications system comprises the operation of associating with the subcarriers respective numbers of bits chosen from among a plurality of available constellations. The method envisages definition of a performance target for the system and execution of bit loading, guaranteeing the aforesaid target on a plurality of subcarriers. The performance target can be a target error rate, such as a bit-error rate (BER), or else be transferred into a constraint, such as, for example, a threshold, in a metric of log-likelihood ratios (LLRs). In this case, there is preferably envisaged application to the signals received within the multiple-carrier system a function that estimates a signal to noise ratio on each sub-carrier. The aforesaid metric of log-likelihood ratios (LLRs) is hence defined as a function of said signal to noise ratios.

Abstract: A comparator is configured to generate an output voltage representing the comparison between the absolute value of the difference between two input voltages with an adjustable reference voltage. The comparator includes an input differential amplifier, receiving the two input voltages and connected to an active load network controlled by a control voltage, a control circuit that generates the control voltage representing the adjustable reference voltage, and an output stage having a logic circuit configured to produce the output voltage of the comparator as a logic combination of the output voltages of the differential amplifier.

Abstract: An electronic synchronous/asynchronous transceiver device for power line communication networks is integrated into a single chip and operates from a single supply voltage. The transceiver device includes: at least an internal register that is programmable through a synchronous serial interface; at least a line driver for a two-way network communication over power lines implemented by a single ended power amplifier with direct accessible input and output lines that is part of a tunable active filter for the transmission path; and at least a couple of linear regulators for powering with different voltage levels different kind of external controllers linked to the transceiver device.

Abstract: A method of transmitting symbols of a digital transmission constellation from a set thereof, ordered from a smallest to a greatest number of bits per symbol, may include identifying a first constellation from the set that is configured to communicate with a threshold error rate and has a greatest signal-to-noise ratio smaller than a signal-to-noise ratio of a received signal. The method may also include identifying a second constellation from the set that corresponds to a constellation with a number of bits per symbol immediately greater than the first constellation. The method may further include determining first and second probabilities of use of the first and second constellations that would generate an expected number of erroneous bits corresponding to the threshold error rate. The method may further include transmitting a symbol with a constellation selected randomly between the first and second constellations according to the first and second probabilities, respectively.

Abstract: Log-likelihood ratios are approximated for encoded bits modulated with a 2m-ary QAM constellation. Each symbol of the constellation is identified by a respective string of m bits. The log-likelihood ratio of each bit of the m bits is approximated with a product ? of a respective factor by a respective variable D that depends on a received signal and on communication channel characteristics. The approximating includes determining a value of at least one of the variables D using a parametric nonlinear function of an equalized replica z of a respective received signal.