Abstract: Products and processes are provided in which information is received about a post for an item to be sold. The information may include, e.g., the class and type of item being sold, the reputation of a seller, a floor price below which the item will not be sold, a condition of the item and peripherals included with the item. Based on the received information, a posting payment amount is determined.

Abstract: A POS terminal receives a signal that indicates an item, for example, via a bar code scanner. The POS terminal ascertains whether the item is associated with an offer for a rebate. If so, a code is generated and output to the customer, such as on a printed receipt. The code is associated with an offer for a rebate in exchange for establishing a subscription to a periodical. If the customer subscribes to a required periodical, he will be credited the amount he paid for the item. Subsequently, the customer requests a subscription to a periodical from a subscription fulfillment house, and provides his code in conjunction with the request. If the code is valid, the customer is provided with a rebate. The rebate may be provided directly by the subscription fulfillment house (e.g. a credit to a credit card account) or may be provided by a merchant (e.g. a discount on a future purchase).

Abstract: A system and method for a supplier to offer multiple products to a first person and multiple pre-owned products to a second person is disclosed.

Abstract: A POS terminal receives a signal that indicates an item, for example, via a bar code scanner. The POS terminal ascertains whether the item is associated with an offer for a rebate. If so, a code is generated and output to the customer, such as on a printed receipt. The code is associated with an offer for a rebate in exchange for establishing a subscription to a periodical. If the customer subscribes to a required periodical, he will be credited the amount he paid for the item. Subsequently, the customer requests a subscription to a periodical from a subscription fulfillment house, and provides his code in conjunction with the request. If the code is valid, the customer is provided with a rebate. The rebate may be provided directly by the subscription fulfillment house (e.g. a credit to a credit card account) or may be provided by a merchant (e.g. a discount on a future purchase).

Abstract: A system and method providing a frame structure to received channel data sent over an air interface of a wireless communication system. The system and method may allow compensation for transmitting and receiving frequency variations, synchronization at the receiver, and provides a virtual signaling channel which may be used for system alarms and status. In one embodiment, the system uses bit stuffing, a frame preamble and a signaling preamble to transmit data at a high data rate in the ISM band.

Abstract: A system and method for bad frame indication of a speech frame includes estimating a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and checking a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) value of the speech frame. When the speech frame fails CRC error detection or the SNR is below a pre-specified value, a bad frame indication (BFI) flag is set. When the speech frame passes CRC error detection and the SNR is above the pre-specified value, a receive signal quality metric of the speech frame is checked against a high threshold and, if need be, a low threshold. The BFI flag and the receive signal quality metric for the previous speech frame is checked when the current receive signal quality metric is between the high and low thresholds. The BFI flag is set according to the value of the SNR, the CRC value, the current and previous receive signal quality metrics, and the previous BFI flag.

Abstract: A system and method for a supplier to offer multiple new products to a first person and multiple pre-owned products to a second person are disclosed. The invention includes a method wherein the supplier receives a request from the first person for a first new product. After accepting the first new product, the supplier stores data identifying the first person and data relating to the first new product in a memory of a computer. Thereafter, the second person queries the supplier about a pre-owned product. The supplier searches the memory of the computer to determine whether the data relating to the first new product satisfies the second person's inquiry for the pre-owned product. If so, the supplier transmits an offer for a second new product to the first person based on the data identifying the first person. If the offer is acceptable to the first person, the supplier provides the second new product to the first person and the pre-owned product to the second person.

Abstract: This disclosure is directed to digitally implemented GMSK modulation techniques. The digital GMSK modulation techniques make use of a lookup table (LUT) and mapping logic to digitally generate GMSK waveforms. The mapping logic can significantly reduce the size of the LUT, and thereby reduce memory requirements needed for effective digitally implemented GMSK modulation.

Abstract: A system and method providing a frame structure to received channel data sent over an air interface of a wireless communication system. The system and method may allow compensation for transmitting and receiving frequency variations, synchronization at the receiver, and provides a virtual signaling channel which may be used for system alarms and status. In one embodiment, the system uses bit stuffing, a frame preamble and a signaling preamble to transmit data at a high data rate in the ISM band.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for interleaving bits in a first sequence is disclosed. An exemplary method comprises storing a set of offset values in at least one table, applying in order each of the set of offset values to identify an adjacent bit pair in the first sequence of the bits for a new interleaved sequence of the bits and incrementing each of the set of offset values until an upper limit is reached to further identify additional adjacent bit pairs in the first sequence of the bits for the new interleaved sequence of the bits. The table is significantly shorter, requiring less memory than that used in a conventional interleaver, particularly a GSM interleaver for half rate speech.

Abstract: A system and method for a supplier to offer multiple new products to a first person and multiple pre-owned products to a second person are disclosed. The invention includes a method wherein the supplier receives a request from the first person for a first new product. After accepting the first new product, the supplier stores data identifying the first person and data relating to the first new product in a memory of a computer. Thereafter, the second person queries the supplier about a pre-owned product. The supplier searches the memory of the computer to determine whether the data relating to the first new product satisfies the second person's inquiry for the pre-owned product. If so, the supplier transmits an offer for a second new product to the first person based on the data identifying the first person. If the offer is acceptable to the first person, the supplier provides the second new product to the first person and the pre-owned product to the second person.

Abstract: A system and method of frame synchronization and detection for use in a digital receiver within a communication system. The digital radio communication system includes a receiver for receiving a signal stream that includes data frames. Each frame includes an arbitrary data sequence and a unique word. A predetermined number of contiguous bits from the unique word are appended to the beginning of each data frame to identify the start of the data frame. The communication system comprises a sampling circuit for sampling symbol levels, a filter to implement the cross correlation of the received signal with the stored unique word, a threshold detector circuit to detect when frame synchronization is achieved as well as additional circuitry to refine the estimate from the threshold detection circuit. The design utilizes coherent demodulation. However, the design is equally applicable to non-coherent demodulation. In one embodiment, the sampling rate is assumed to be two samples per symbol.

Abstract: This disclosure is directed to digitally implemented GMSK modulation techniques. The digital GMSK modulation techniques make use of a lookup table (LUT) and mapping logic to digitally generate GMSK waveforms. The mapping logic can significantly reduce the size of the LUT, and thereby reduce memory requirements needed for effective digitally implemented GMSK modulation.

Abstract: A system and method of timing estimation for use in a digital receiver within a communication system. An algorithm calculates the timing offset by evaluating the spectral component at the symbol clock frequency. The spectral component is generated using a nonlinearity operation. However, the maximum likelihood non-data-aided timing estimation equation reveals an alternative approximation for the logarithm of the hyperbolic cosine function present in the maximum likelihood equation, which offers a compromise between implementation complexity and variance performance. The estimated timing offset is then fed to a timing correction unit, which calculates the data samples corresponding to the sampling clock phase and removes the redundant samples. The ideal sampled signal is then forwarded to additional synchronization and functional units for further processing.

Abstract: A receiver for receiving a signal stream in a digital radio communication system. The signal stream includes data frames where each frame including a data signal sequence and a synchronizing signal sequence. The communication system synchronizes the receiver by employing the signal stream. The receiver includes a sampling circuit for sampling symbol levels in the synchronizing signal sequence and a synchronization subsystem. The synchronization subsystem utilizes a frame synchronization circuit, a dynamic interpolator and a decision-directed phase tracking mechanism for removing residual frequency and phase offsets. The synchronization subsystem also includes a threshold detection mechanism for comparing values derived from the sampled frame synchronization output with a predefined value which determines whether synchronization has occurred or not.

Abstract: A system and method of frame synchronization and detection for use in a digital receiver within a communication system. The digital radio communication system includes a receiver for receiving a signal stream that includes data frames. Each frame includes an arbitrary data sequence and a unique word. A predetermined number of contiguous bits from the unique word are appended to the beginning of each data frame to identify the start of the data frame. The communication system comprises a sampling circuit for sampling symbol levels, a filter to implement the cross correlation of the received signal with the stored unique word, a threshold detector circuit to detect when frame synchronization is achieved as well as additional circuitry to refine the estimate from the threshold detection circuit. The design utilizes coherent demodulation. However, the design is equally applicable to non-coherent demodulation. In one embodiment, the sampling rate is assumed to be two samples per symbol.

Abstract: A combiner circuit and method for use in a digital transmitter within a communication system. The combiner circuit receives a number of signal streams that include data frames. Each frame includes an arbitrary data sequence and portions of a unique word. The combiner circuit comprises a plurality of digital preamble circuits which append a predetermined number of contiguous bits from the unique word to each data frame. The system utilizes a plurality of spreaders, shifters, and a summer to further modify the data stream for transmission.

Abstract: Products and processes are provided in which information is received about a post for an item to be sold. The information may include, e.g., the class and type of item being sold, the reputation of a seller, a floor price below which the item will not be sold, a condition of the item and peripherals included with the item. Based on the received information, a posting payment amount is determined.

Abstract: Methods and systems for facilitating an agreement to purchase multiple units of a product are presented herein. The agreement may specify, for example, a period of time during which purchases of the multiple units of the product are to be made and a minimum and/or maximum number of transactions in which the purchases of the multiple units of the product are to be made. In some embodiments a unit of a product may be purchased by a customer in a brick-and-mortar retail establishment, wherein the customer takes possession of the product at the retail establishment. In other embodiments a unit of a product may be purchased remotely and delivered to a customer associated with the agreement in response to a request by the customer.

Abstract: A system and method of buffering data of a wireless communication system. The system and method maintain synchronization, end-to-end signaling and coding overhead bits needed to encapsulate data frames sent over wireless media. Additionally, the system and method compensate for transmitting and receiving clock variations. In one embodiment, the system uses framing of data with preamble, stuffing and signaling bits transmitted synchronously at a high data rate in the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) bands.