Patents by Inventor Andreas Stiegler

Andreas Stiegler has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7071861
    Abstract: The utilization of the capacity of a data transmission system (e.g., a MOST vehicle network) is improved in the event that the operating frequency and channel width of the system do not match the word frequency and word width of the digitized signal. The data words of the digitized signal are decomposed into partial words with a smaller width than that of the channels on which they are transmitted. Consequently, in each individual channel there remains a residual transmission capacity that makes it possible to transmit an identifier for each individual transmitted partial data word. A data sink, connected to the transmission system, uses this identifier to obtain information about the position of the respective partial data word in its original data word. This identifier may be one bit (i.e., a Boolean signal).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2006
    Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Harald Schöpp, Frank Bähren
  • Patent number: 6862289
    Abstract: A method of joint data transmission of digital source data and control data is provided between data sources and data sinks which are subscribers of a uni-directionally operated communication network having a ring configuration, in which source data and control data are transmitted in a format which prescribes a clocked sequence of individual bit groups of the same bit width which are transmitted in a continuous data stream, in each case specific bit positions predetermined by the format are reserved, in which the subscribers sample data in each case with a first sampling frequency and the communication network samples data with a second sampling frequency, which is an integral multiple of the first sampling frequency, in which, within each bit group, at least one contiguous region with a predetermined number of bit positions can be reserved for source data and the contiguous region(s) in each case have a beginning and a defined length and are in each case assigned to a subscriber address, in which at least o
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2005
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Harald Schoepp, Frank Baehren
  • Patent number: 6782552
    Abstract: A control command, which has a command header sequence and a sequence of n parameters, is generated in a data source of a local network. The control command has a variable length defined by the data source. The control command is passed to the ring data line of the local network and is forwarded to a data sink. This data sink contains a control unit, a picture output unit, an interface and a memory, in which video data are stored. The video data can be read out and displayed on the picture output unit. The control command has n parameters of which the first m parameters are interpreted by the control unit. The number m is determined by the properties of the data sink and is independent of the properties of the data source. Using the m interpreted parameters, specific video data are read from the memory and are reproduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Assignee: Becker GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Michael Becker, Harald Schoepp, Jochen Klaus-Wagenbrenner, Joachim Wietzke
  • Publication number: 20020159435
    Abstract: To transmit an anisochronic data stream on an isochronic transmission route with a plurality of channels over a transmission network, a number of channels is reserved by the transmitter before beginning the transmission, wherein the sum of the transmission capacities of the reserved channels just exceeds the bandwidth of the asynchronous data stream. During the course of transmission, the data of the anisochronic data stream are formed into packets; each packet is transmitted over the reserved channels. After a packet has been sent, unused portions of the reserved channels are filled with filler data that is discarded at the receiver, until sufficient data are again available at the transmitter to begin transmission of the next packet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2001
    Publication date: October 31, 2002
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Harald Schopp, Frank Bahren
  • Publication number: 20020113690
    Abstract: In a ring-shaped MOST network installed in a motor vehicle, several units are linked to one another by several linkage sections. They function as data source, data sink, or transceiver. At least some of the units have two or more transceiver modules. To relieve the processors of such units with more than one transceiver module, only one network controller is present in such a unit for all its transceiver modules.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2001
    Publication date: August 22, 2002
    Inventors: Michael Becker, Frank Bahren, Andreas Stiegler
  • Publication number: 20020103652
    Abstract: An audio decoding device for decompressing an audio signal that was compressed in accordance with a given compression method having a program-controlled signal processor which receives the compressed audio signal and from it produces a decompressed audio signal under the control of a decompression program; a loadable program memory that is connected to the signal processor for storing the decompression program; and a management device which is connected to the program memory and is controlled by the compressed audio signal, and which manages decompression programs corresponding to at least two different compression methods in order to determine the respectively used compression method from the compressed audio signal, to select the pertinent decompression program and to load the pertinent decompression program into the program memory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2001
    Publication date: August 1, 2002
    Applicant: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Harald Schopp, Michael Zeller
  • Publication number: 20020087513
    Abstract: A voice signal is transmitted in an MOST network on a single channel. The width of the transmitted voice data words is preferably up to 14 bits, and each voice data word is transmitted into successive clock periods of the MOST network, in a byte that includes seven bits of the voice data word and one identifier bit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2001
    Publication date: July 4, 2002
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Harald Schopp, Frank Bahren
  • Publication number: 20020019883
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of joint data transmission of digital source data and control data between data sources and data sinks which are subscribers of a uni-directionally operated communication network having a ring configuration, in which source data and control data are transmitted in a format which prescribes a clocked sequence of individual bit groups of the same bit width which are transmitted in a continuous data stream, in each case specific bit positions predetermined by the format are reserved, in which the subscribers sample data in each case with a first sampling frequency and the communication network samples data with a second sampling frequency, which is an integral multiple of the first sampling frequency, in which, within each bit group, at least one contiguous region with a predetermined number of bit positions can be reserved for source data and the contiguous region(s) in each case have a beginning and a defined length and are in each case assigned to a subscriber address, in whi
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2001
    Publication date: February 14, 2002
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Harald Schoepp, Frank Baehren
  • Patent number: 6137803
    Abstract: The communication system has a plurality of subscribers connected through respective interface circuits to a ring feeder for the common transmission of digital source data and control data. The source data and control data are transmitted in a format which prescribes a pulsed sequence of individual bit groups of equal length. The bit groups are subdivided into component bit groups each forming a data channel. At least one date channel is provided for control data which are transmitted in data packets with a destination address. Furthermore, the interface circuit of each subscriber contains an address decoder. The communication system is simplified, and changes to the system are made easier in that at least one subscriber has a special address by means of which a received data packet is fed directly to an instruction decoder inside the interface circuit, which decodes to the bit base an instruction code contained in the data packet. The interface circuit, i.e.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2000
    Assignees: Silicon Systems GmbH Multimedia Engineering, Becker GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Patrick Heck, Herbert Hetzel
  • Patent number: 6112072
    Abstract: A method for entering and leaving a power-saving operation of a subscriber in an annular communication network includes transmitting data in the communication network in a format that prescribes a pulsed sequence of individual bit groups of identical length in which specific bit positions are reserved for a preamble which is decoded in a receive circuit of each subscriber. During a power-saving operation of a subscriber, at least part of the subscriber which contains the receive circuit remains turned on, and at least one special preamble code is provided, upon the reception of which a part of the subscriber turned off during the power-saving operation is turned on again.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignees: Silicon Systems GmbH Multimedia Engineering, Becker GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Patrick Heck, Herbert Hetzel
  • Patent number: 6016321
    Abstract: A method for transmitting digital data over data lines between subscribers forming data sources and data sinks, being disposed in a network having a ring structure in particular and connecting a plurality of subscribers to one another, includes transmitting the data in a format specifying a clocked sequence of individual bit groups of equal length being subdivided into partial bit groups each forming a data channel for temporarily assigning each of the partial bit groups to two subscribers in the network for a data transmission. In order to increase the transmission capacity, the data channel or channels assigned to two subscribers in the network for a data transmission are freely selectable from the existing data channels, and the data channel or channels used for the data transmission are allocated to a certain data source and a certain data sink through an allocation specification, which can be defined prior to the data transmission through the use of a control command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2000
    Assignee: Becker GmbH
    Inventors: Herbert Hetzel, Patrick Heck, Andreas Stiegler
  • Patent number: 5940398
    Abstract: A method for common transmission of digital source and control data between data sources and sinks being connected through data lines, includes transmitting the source and control data in a format specifying a clocked sequence of individual bit groups of equal length. In these bit groups, certain bit positions are each reserved for the source and control data and the bit positions reserved for the source data form a cohesive region within one bit group. The region of a bit group reserved for the source data is subdivided into a plurality of partial bit groups of equal length. The source data assigned to each partial bit group are allocated to a certain data source/data sink as a function of the control data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 17, 1999
    Assignee: Becker GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Herbert Hetzel, Hans-Peter Mauderer, Matthias Winkelmann, Patrick Heck
  • Patent number: 5935214
    Abstract: A method for the common transmission of digital source data and control data between data sources and data sinks. The data sources and data sinks are subscribers in a communication network with a ring structure. The source data and control data are transmitted in a format which prescribes a pulsed sequence of individual bit groups of identical length. Specific bit positions in each of the bit groups are reserved for source data and control data. The transmission is in a continuous data stream synchronous with a clock signal. An arbitrarily large contiguous region of the bit positions can be reserved for the source data within a bit group for data which are transmitted in data packets. Each of the data packets has a start with a subscriber address and a defined length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1999
    Assignees: Silicon Systems GmbH Multimedia Engineering, Becker GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Patrick Heck, Herbert Hetzel, Hans-Peter Mauderer
  • Patent number: 5936969
    Abstract: A method for compensating for propagation time delays in a communication network includes connecting each of a plurality of subscribers to a ring feeder for a common transmission of digital source data and control data in a data stream synchronous with a clock signal. The source and control data are transmitted in a format prescribing a pulsed sequence of individual bit groups of identical length containing component bit groups each forming a data channel for source data or control data. At least two subscribers, which are connected at different locations to the ring feeder, receive source data that are transmitted by one of the subscribers on different data channels and are correlated with one another. Specific bit positions are reserved in each bit group for a numerical value relayed from subscriber to subscriber. The numerical value is always set by one of the subscribers to a fixed initial value and incremented by each following subscriber along the ring feeder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1999
    Assignees: Silicon Systems GmbH Multimedia Engineering, Becker GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Patrick Heck, Herbert Hetzel
  • Patent number: 5923662
    Abstract: A local communication system includes a number of stations interconnected for the communication of messages via a serial data channel. A first station transmits a directed type of message to individual ones of the other stations, or transmits a broadcast type of message to all or a subset of the other stations. For a broadcast message, any receiving station unable to accept the message transmits a common negative acknowledgment signal and the first station re-transmits the message up to five times. Each receiving station may be unable to accept a message because its receive buffer is still occupied by a previous message. In such a case generation of the negative acknowledgment signal is suppressed if the message which cannot be accepted is judged identical to the message occupying the receive buffer of the receiving station. In this way, unnecessary communication is avoided, and certainty of communication is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 13, 1999
    Inventors: Andrew J. Stirling, Patrick Heck, Andreas Stiegler
  • Patent number: 5826037
    Abstract: A method for determining the position of a network subscriber is used in a network having a ring structure with a plurality of network subscribers being connected to one another, including one network subscriber being used as a master. At the onset of network operation, the master generates a number that represents a subscriber's positional designation and stores it internally in memory. Beginning with the master, each network subscriber causes the network subscriber immediately following it in the ring structure to store a number in memory that likewise each represents its positional designation and that is raised by a number over its predecessor's own positional designation. This continues until an individual positional designation has been assigned to each network subscriber. The method may be used for individual and targeted communication with physically identical network subscribers, such as speaker boxes, as well as in stationary or mobile communications systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 20, 1998
    Assignee: Becker GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Stiegler, Patrick Heck, Herbert Hetzel