Patents Examined by Bryan Webster
  • Patent number: 5933464
    Abstract: A system for adaptively determining a bitwise weighting factor for coded binary data comprising a correction unit that provides an overall weighting factor representative of the sum of the products of the individual symbol probability factor times the bit value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1999
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventor: Scott J. F. Zogg
  • Patent number: 5930292
    Abstract: The present invention describes a method and apparatus for improving the autocorrelation performance in spread spectrum radar and communications systems by using a tri-state digital correlator to demodulate the received biphase modulated waveform. The tri-state correlator (100) includes a multiplexer (112) having a code input for receiving a tri-state code sequence, and three inputs each for receiving a sequence of data words including a first input for receiving a digitized signal data word, a second input for receiving an inverted digitized signal data word, and a third input for receiving a zero data word. The multiplexer includes an output and a means for producing a sequence of data words at the output, said means presenting at the output exactly one of the three data words appearing at either the first, second, or third input depending on which of the three code states appears at the code input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 27, 1999
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventor: Carl Myron Willis
  • Patent number: 5926508
    Abstract: A reduced cost, robust data communication scheme for very small aperture terminal satellite communication systems combines non-coherent frequency detection and trellis-coded, multi-frequency modulation. The data code width is associated with the size of a multiple frequency set and the selection of a given combination of frequencies for transmission during a respective baud. One portion the data is convolutionally encoded and points to an orthogonal signal set associated with frequencies of a partitioned multiple frequency set. Another portion of the data identifies the frequency combination within the group pointed to by the one portion. The combined portions encode a multi-frequency transmission waveform. At the receiver, the multi-frequency tone sequence is detected by non-coherent frequency detection. For each baud, matched filters output a most likely set of frequencies transmitted during that baud, as soft decisions to a Viterbi decoder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1999
    Assignee: Koos Technical Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Larry W. Koos, William M. Koos, Jr., Peter E. Mallory
  • Patent number: 5926514
    Abstract: A radio (100) having an integrated transceiver circuit (102) avoids circuit crosstalk through the use of a clock shifter circuit (120). The radio includes a microcontroller unit (MCU) (104) controlled by a MCU clock. A channel selector (116) coupled to the MCU (104) provides a selected frequency channel while memory (106) downloads channel information which includes integer clock shifter ratios assigned to each channel. The integrated transceiver (102) includes a clock shifter circuit (120) which divides a reference signal into a clock frequency and provides this clock frequency to the MCU (104) as the MCU clock. The MCU (104) reprograms the clock shifter circuit (120) with one of the integer clock shifter ratios to generate a shifted MCU clock frequency if the selected frequency channel is susceptible to harmonics of the MCU clock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1999
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard B. Meador, Walter H. Kehler, Joseph E. Phillips
  • Patent number: 5926504
    Abstract: A communications inter-repeater circuit that includes an Attachment Unit Interface (AUI) port which can be selectively switched between a Media Attachment Unit (MAU) mode and a Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) mode. This selective change in the AUI allows for direct connection of Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) to the repeater without requiring a separate MAU. The determination of the mode for the AUI port is made by a selector. The selector may be a configuration sense pin whereon a selection potential is applied during reset of the repeater functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1999
    Assignee: Level One Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Ralph E. Andersson, Stephen M. McConnell
  • Patent number: 5920591
    Abstract: A spreading code generator generates a spreading code by modulo-two addition of two internal spreading codes. The first internal spreading code is part of a pseudorandom noise sequence, created by resetting a pseudorandom noise generator to an assigned initial state at intervals determined by counting a framing signal. The second spreading code is selected from a set of preferably orthogonal sequences, the selected sequence being repeated at intervals shorter than the period of the framing signal. A code-division multiple-access communication system employs this spreading code generator to generate all spreading codes used at all communicating stations. One of the spreading codes generated at each station is transmitted as a synchronization signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 6, 1999
    Assignee: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsushi Fukasawa, Toshio Kato, Manabu Kawabe, Shinichi Sato, Kiyoki Sekine
  • Patent number: 5917859
    Abstract: An improved Viterbi detector for use in a partial-response maximum-likelihood (PRML) channel. The present invention reduces the amount of hardware necessary in the conventional digital implementation, as well as increasing the speed of the system, by utilizing analog circuits. Whereas prior art analog implementations use more complex hardware and less efficient algorithms, the present invention utilizes easily realizable circuitry to perform a more efficient algorithm. A sampled data Viterbi detector compares a sampled analog input signal with two threshold signals. The binary outputs of the comparing means are then provided to a survival sequence register, as well as being used to formulate new threshold signals for the subsequent input sample. The hardware implements Ferguson's method for calculating sequence metrics by representing the accumulated metric difference as two threshold signals. Probability based decisions are then performed in analog comparators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 29, 1999
    Assignee: Silicon Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard G. Yamasaki, Tzu-Wang Pan
  • Patent number: 5917853
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for "training" high speed telephonic modems to adjust or become corrected to obviate imperfections in the telephone channel or line, such as echoes, phase changes and other effects, while concurrently with voice communication on such simple telephone lines through sending test signals in unoccupied spaces of successive time frames created by compressing concurrent digital voice therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 29, 1999
    Assignee: Academy of Applied Science
    Inventor: Richard David Greenblatt
  • Patent number: 5917851
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for allocating RAKE branches and a RAKE receiver. The solution is used in a radio system where a transmitter transmits a signal to a receiver comprising RAKE branches which receive the signal at different polarization levels. The RAKE branches are allocated to receive the signal on the basis of an impulse response, and in which method the impulse responses of the signals received at different polarization levels are weighted by values describing signal quality for optimizing allocation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 29, 1999
    Assignee: Nokia Telecommunications Oy
    Inventors: Mikko Jarvela, Lauri St.ang.hle
  • Patent number: 5917871
    Abstract: A bit synchronization circuit receives polarity-judged output signal and a level-judged output signal that are produced through demodulation of a 2-value FSK or 4-value FSK transmission signal. Flip-flop circuits and an exclusive-OR circuit generate a second sampling output by sampling and delaying the polarity-judged output signal. Flip-flop circuits and an exclusive-NOR circuit generate a third sampling signal having a given temporal relationship with the second sampling output by sampling and delaying the level-judged output signal. AND circuits supply a correction signal to a counter circuit when levels of the second and third sampling outputs and a phase signal indicating a correction period of the counter circuit satisfy a given relationship. In response to the correction signal, the counter circuit corrects its count so as to produce a clock signal having a rate that is equal to a transmission rate of the transmission signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 29, 1999
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoichi Yamaki
  • Patent number: 5917850
    Abstract: A spread spectrum receiving apparatus is constructed by a generator for generating a reference clock, a phase shift circuit for shifting the phase of the reference clock generated by the generator in accordance with a code timing in a reception signal and the reference clock, and a de-spreading circuit for de-spreading the reception signal in accordance with the reference clock whose phase is shifted by the phase shift circuit. The de-spreading circuit generates a code for de-spreading in accordance with the phase shifted reference clock. The phase shift circuit has a calculator for calculating a phase shift amount so as to synchronize the code timing in the reception signal with the code for reception in accordance with a deviation between the code timing in the reception signal and the reference clock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 29, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takao Fujita, Toshihiko Myojo, Norihiro Mochizuki, Tadashi Eguchi, Rie Suzuki
  • Patent number: 5914993
    Abstract: A transmission system for transmission between end devices (1) and (2) is provided for transmitting information signals at a certain common bit rate. This bit rate depends on a symbol rate and a carrier frequency. Via a processing by a processor (9) which cooperates with an instruction memory (10), the largest possible bit rate is determined for exchanging information signals between end devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 22, 1999
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corporation
    Inventors: Didier Lepitre, Caroline Gonnet
  • Patent number: 5910969
    Abstract: A method of decoding a sequence of samples received over a communications channel, such as a partial response channel, in which the sequence represents a length k binary bit stream encoded as a sequence of bipolar symbols comprised of q groups of L symbols, each length L group of said symbols corresponding to one of 2.sup.m subwords having a predetermined block digital sum. The decoding method makes use of the structure of the encoding method by finding, in one illustrative embodiment, for each group of L samples, the maximum likelihood path through a time varying trellis supporting the sets of subwords having predetermined block digital sums to identify said subwords; recording the state metrics and branch metrics for each path and identifying, from the metrics the maximum likelihood path, the order of concatenation of the subwords.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 8, 1999
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Necip Sayiner, Emina Soljanin
  • Patent number: 5907584
    Abstract: The system and method of the present invention include a modulator which encodes data on a communication signal using angle modulation. The demodulator, receiving the angle modulated communication signal, angle demodulates the angle modulated communication signal to obtain the data. In this manner, separate frequency bands are not required to transmit both the communication signal and the data. The bandwidth of the transmission from the modulator is reduced to the frequency band of the angle modulated communication signal. Additionally, since angle modulations of an audio signal are inaudible to a listener, when the communication signal is an audio signal, the angle modulated audio signal may be directly output to a listener at the demodulator. A multitude of applications exist for the present invention including Lincompex communication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 25, 1999
    Assignee: Link Plus Corporation
    Inventor: J. Howard Leveque
  • Patent number: 5903619
    Abstract: A method is provided for detecting a synchronization word in frames of serially transmitted data. The synchronization word consists of l synchronization bits, which are transmitted one bit per frame at a known position in each frame. The method comprises the steps of: storing each incoming bit in a memory organized as groups of words, each having at least l bits, so that each group of words contains bits from a same position in consecutive frames; rotating each group of words; comparing the group of words, at each rotation, to the synchronization word.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1999
    Assignee: SGS-Thomson Microelectronics S.A.
    Inventor: Philippe Chaisemartin
  • Patent number: 5901186
    Abstract: In a digital radio communication system in which information is transmitted and received in time slots and some bits of each received audio frame is interleaved over at least two time slots and other bits in each audio frame at are non-interleaved, bad received audio frames are detected by detecting possible bit errors in a channel encoded non-interleaved bit sequence in each received time slot. If bit errors have been detected in this bit sequence a bad received frame is indicated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 4, 1999
    Assignee: Telefonaktieboalget LM Ericsson
    Inventors: Karim Jamal, Fredrik Jansson
  • Patent number: 5901191
    Abstract: A baud rate mixing transmission system includes a transmission apparatus and a reception apparatus. The transmission apparatus transmits data signals at predetermined different baud rates at time intervals. The transmission apparatus adds a baud rate switching signal indicating a baud rate of a data signal to the data signal. The reception apparatus detects the baud rate switching signal added to the data signal from the transmission apparatus, and receives the data signal in accordance with the detected baud rate switching signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 4, 1999
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshiaki Ohno
  • Patent number: 5898738
    Abstract: A modulator used in an IC card reader/writer includes a phase variation detector for detecting a varying point of the phase of a modulated signal, a signal processing circuit for modifying the modulated signal for a half period at the phase varying point to have a frequency and amplitude twice those of the modulated signal, a first Miller integrator for integrating the modified signal to produce a triangular wave signal, and a second Miller integrator for integrating the triangular wave signal to produce a sinusoidal wave signal having a continuous phase. A demodulator used in the reader/writer includes a sync control circuit which controls a carrier sync signal generation circuit thereby to control the phase of a carrier sync signal in response to the discrimination as to whether the carrier sync signal is in lead-phase or lag-phase relative to the signal modulated based on binary phase shift keying (BPSK).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 27, 1999
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshishige Nagata, Kenichi Takahira
  • Patent number: 5896412
    Abstract: A method of wireless communication among a plurality of stations in which each station communicates with all of the other stations over a cycle time divided into a plurality of communication sectors during each of which one of the stations transmits, including the step of changing the frequency of the transmission in accordance with a predetermined protocol, only at the end of a sector in which one of the stations transmits. Preferably, the frequency of transmission is reset to a given frequency in accordance with the protocol when none of the stations transmit over a predetermined period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 20, 1999
    Assignee: Crossbow, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yohanan Levanon, Benjamin Peled
  • Patent number: 5896414
    Abstract: In a information distribution system, a control channel modem that provides independent communications channels for bi-directional message traffic between a service provider and a set-top terminal located within a subscriber's home. The modem transmits messages, control information and status information between the service provider and the subscriber's set-top terminal using an independent channel (downstream path) that is different from the channel (upstream path) used for sending requested information such as movies from the service provider to the subscriber's home.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 20, 1999
    Assignee: Sarnoff Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas John Meyer, Bruce James Anderson, Tianmin Liu