Abstract: Embodiments of the invention include an optical fiber system and method for separating the different wavelengths of transmitted light transmitted therethrough and for monitoring the respective optical power in the separated spectral components. More specifically, embodiments of the invention scan or modify the physical parameters of in-fiber gratings that couple light between spatially different modes of light within a wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) optical fiber system, separate the spatial modes using a mode-discriminating device (MDD) and monitor or detect the separated spectral components using a conventional or other suitable detector. By scanning the in-fiber gratings, the peak wavelength of coupling between two dissimilar modes is modified, thus allowing control of the coupling within the fiber optic system. Scanning the grating is performed, e.g., by changing the temperature or modifying the physical dimensions of the grating.

Abstract: A network interface device includes a base, a cover and a circuit board secured in the base. The circuit board includes terminations for input and output communication lines. Each pair of input and output communication lines corresponds to a single standard telephone line, a high speed data line or other type of line. The communication line terminations may be implemented as insulation displacement connectors, and the cover may include projections on its inner surface such that closing the cover also closes the insulation displacement connectors on the circuit board. For each communication line, the circuit board may include a subscriber bridge which establishes a breakable connection between the input and output line terminations via traces in the circuit board. In fixed wireless, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and other similar applications, the circuit board may also include terminations for input and output power lines, and the base and cover may be extended to accommodate an uninterruptible power supply.

Abstract: A computer system supporting N different machine views, where N.gtoreq.2, includes a memory for storing instructions, a number of execution units for processing data based on execution controls, and N different decoders for generating the execution controls using instructions retrieved from the memory. Each of the N decoders is operative to decode retrieved instructions in accordance with one of the N machine views. A particular one of the N decoders to be used to decode a given retrieved instruction may be selected by a program running on the system. In one embodiment, the decoders for the N machine views are implemented as N separate decoders, and a multiplexer is used to select the output of one of the N decoders for connection to one or more of the execution units. In another embodiment, a set of reconfigurable hardware is dynamically reprogrammed to implement one or more of the N decoders as directed by the program running on the system.

Abstract: A cordless telephone arranged for operation in a frequency hopping system provides for conserving battery power in a portable unit when this unit is located remote from its charging station and in a standby state. While in the standby state, the portable unit resides in a low power monitoring mode which includes deactivating certain internal circuitry and periodically activating and deactivating other selected internal circuitry for conserving battery power. When the portable unit is periodically activated from a deactivated state, battery power is conserved through an adaptive operation that reduces considerably the length of time that the selected internal circuitry needs to remain turned on. This reduced on-time period for the selected internal circuitry is provided as long as the base unit is detected as frequency hopping with at least one other of the portable units in the system.

Abstract: Microwave radiation, perhaps with microwave absorbing materials, is utilized to provide heating of partially formed integrated circuits in a variety of circumstances.

Abstract: A receiver for input signals generated using a phase-based modulation scheme such as bipolar-phase shift-keying (BPSK) modulation or quadrature-phase shift-keying (QPSK) modulation. The receiver can sample the input signal using one of at least two different sampling frequencies that are selected such that at least one of the sampling frequencies is not harmonically related to the carrier frequency of the input signal by a ratio of small numbers. In this way, the receiver can avoid interference patterns that can result when the sampling frequency and the carrier frequency are harmonically related. In one embodiment, the receivers are hard-limiting receivers that are suitable for use in the remote nodes of fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) communication systems, where low-power receivers are desirable.

Abstract: A data transmission control arrangement for an asymmetric communication system having a fast downstream link enabling communication of information packets from a service provider to one or more subscriber terminal connected through a common network terminal, and a slow upstream link including transmitting packets from a subscriber terminal through the network terminal to the service provider, the data transmission control arrangement including a classifier device for classifying information packets received by the network terminal for transmission over the upstream link, the information including data packets and acknowledgement packets; a control device for establishing one or more upstream link connection queues in the network terminal in accordance with the classification of the information packet to be transmitted, the upstream connection queues including one or more data queues for transmitting data information and ACK queues for transmitting ACK packets in response to data packets communicated over the

Abstract: A modem monitor for monitoring full duplex communications comprises one receiver for each data stream and an echo canceler for canceling "far" echo. Prior to each receiver decoding the data stream it is designed to monitor, it replicates an echo expected to be found in its received data stream from a sample of each of the other predecoded data streams. The echo canceler then subtracts the expected echo from the received data stream to remove all far echoes caused by the other data streams. The echo canceled data stream is then decoded. The monitor can also include a data communications network interface and a sample rate converter operating with the PSTN for converting from the network transmission rate to the data transmission rate.

Abstract: A connector having improved dielectric strength is provided and includes a lower portion having a front side and a rear side and a bottom, a pair of terminal disposed in the lower portion, each of the pair of terminals having a side extension and a wire wrap tail, one of the pair of terminals being disposed in the lower portion toward the front side, the other of the pair of terminals being disposed in said lower portion toward the rear side thereby forming a gap between the side extensions of each of the pair of terminals. A base having a pair of terminal openings for receiving the pair of terminals, respectively, with the base being dimensioned and shaped for receiving the lower portion. A protruding wall is disposed in the base between the pair of terminal openings. A notch is disposed on the bottom of the lower portion, the notch being dimensioned and shaped so that when the lower portion is placed in the base, the protruding wall is matingly engaged with the notch.

Abstract: An optical network comprising a broad band optical source having a temporal characteristic and an optical wavelength conversion apparatus. The optical wavelength conversion apparatus comprising a laser means for producing a narrow band optical spectrum signal, a means for receiving a broad band optical signal having a temporal characteristic, and a spectral compactor means. The spectral compactor means is responsive to the narrow band optical spectrum signal and the broad band optical signal, for modulating the narrow band optical signal with the temporal characteristic of the broad band optical signal.

Abstract: For use with a flyback converter having a modulator for providing a main switch control signal thereto and main and cross-regulated output circuits, the cross-regulated output circuit subject to ringing and resulting voltage excursion, a voltage excursion controller and a method of operating the same. In one embodiment, the controller includes: (1) a delay circuit, coupled to the modulator, that generates a delay signal based on the main switch control signal and (2) an auxiliary switch, associated with the cross-regulated output circuit, that receives the delay signal and opens to isolate at least a portion of the ringing within said cross-regulated output circuit.

Abstract: For use with a first transceiver, a system for, and method of, calibrating a first image reject mixer in the first transceiver and having first and second image products. In one embodiment, the system includes: (1) a second image reject mixer, associated with a second transceiver and tuned to a rejected one of the first and second image products. The system further includes a signal strength circuit, coupled to the second image reject mixer, that determines a signal strength of the rejected one. The system still further includes a trimmer, associated with the first image reject mixer, that trims the first image reject mixer to move the rejected one toward an optimal value of the signal strength.

Abstract: An optical fiber connector for use with plastic optical fibers includes a housing having a longitudinal bore forming a flat end wall adjacent the fiber entrance end. A graduated coil spring member is seated against the wall and retained within the bore. The spring has a first, compression generating section, a second section of lesser diameter for grasping and holding the jacket of a jacketed plastic optic fiber, and a third section that locates and guides the bare fiber to the interface end of the coupler.

Abstract: The tracking of mobile terminals served by base stations supported by respective switches are formed into respective peer groups of switches in which the peer groups are then formed into a hierarchical logical network having a prescribed number of levels of scope S, and in which individual ones of the switches serve as a home switch for respective ones of said wireless terminals is enhanced. Specifically, responsive to receiving a registration message sent by one of the wireless terminals, the receiving switch notifies the home switch associated with the sending terminal. The home switch, in turn, notes the current location of that terminal and sends a similar message to the switch serving the zone in which the sending wireless terminal was last located.

Abstract: A method of analyzing performance of a program executing in a computer system. A user provides a set of user defined region of the program. Thus, a user has the flexibility to choose the regions of program code profiled. The performance of user defined regions of the program is measured by a set of run-time metrics. Each user defined region is associated with a range break point. Run-time metrics measuring the performance of user defined regions of the program are updated, during execution, whenever a range break point is set. The handling of range break points may be implemented, for example, by specialized hardware and software. This method may be less intrusive than instrumentation based profiling but more accurate than sampling based profiling.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for performing adaptive differential pulse code modulation. The method and apparatus is particularly adapted for compliance with the ITU-T G.726 international standard. Certain intermediate values, including Y and SE, needed to compress or decompress a given sample are pre-calculated prior to receipt of the actual sample to which they correspond. Accordingly, when the sample is received, intermediate variables Y and SE are essentially immediately available. This allows the output value SR (during a decompression cycle) or I (during a compression cycle) to be available one clock cycle after receipt of a sample. The remaining clock cycles corresponding to that sample period are used to precalculate the intermediate variables Y and SE for the next sample. The method and apparatus requires only fifteen clock cycles per conversion.

Abstract: A continuous media server that provides support for the storage and retrieval of continuous media data at guaranteed rates using one of two fault-tolerant approaches that rely on admission control in order to meet rate guarantees in the event of a failure of the data storage medium that renders part of the continuous media inaccessible. In the first approach, a declustered parity storage scheme is used to uniformly distribute the additional load caused by a disk failure, uniformly across the disks. Contingency bandwidth for a certain number of clips is reserved on each disk in order to retrieve the additional blocks. In the second approach, data blocks in a parity group are prefetched and thus in the event of a disk failure only one additional parity block is retrieved for every data block to be reconstructed. While the second approach generates less additional load in the event of a failure, it has higher buffer requirements.

Abstract: Providing a compositional image of an object in real time is accomplished by illuminating the object with a waveform comprising pulses of electromagnetic radiation in the terahertz frequency range and measuring the relative time delays of pulses reflected by the object to determine the positions of dielectric interfaces in the object. According to a further embodiment, the waveform includes one or more pulses of terahertz radiation, each pulse having a duration in the range of approximately 10 to 10,000 femtoseconds.

Abstract: A temperature protection circuit, a method of protecting a power converter and a power converter employing the circuit or the method. In one embodiment, the circuit includes: (1) a temperature sensor, located in thermal communication with the power converter, that produces a signal based on a temperature associated with the power converter and (2) a current controller, coupled to the temperature sensor, that reduces an output current of the power converter to an intermediate level based on the signal.

Abstract: A variable dispersion optical unit is used to vary the relative dispersion between an input signal and an output signal of the optical unit under control of a control circuit. The control unit uses an optical homodyne detector to beat the input optical signal with the output optical signal to generate a control signal to adjust the relative dispersion a variable dispersive element. The variable dispersive optical element may be selected from a group of dispersive elements including at least a Bragg grating, a Fabry-Perot filter, a Mach-Zehnder filter, and a waveguide routing element. The variable dispersive optical unit can be used as part of a variable wavelength selective optical circuit (e.g., a tunable wavelength filter) where the varying dispersion characteristics is used to control the selection of the wavelength of the tunable wavelength filter, or is used to select the drop/add wavelength(s) of an Add/Drop circuit.