Abstract: The present invention is a quantization-level-sampling (QLS) modem which includes means for separately equalizing each loop of an end-to-end digital telephone system network connection by employing a plurality of transmitter filters and a plurality of receiver filters in such a way that, in the direction of transmission from modem to central office, the voltage samples seen by the coder/decoder stations are equivalent to the network quantization levels transmitted by the modem, and in the direction of transmission from central office to modem, the voltage samples seen by the modem are equivalent to the network quantization levels encoded by the coder/decoder stations. The invention also includes a QLS modem communications system which includes the aforesaid digital telephone system network and a plurality of QLS modems. In preferred embodiments, an adaptation service unit within the telephone system network assists in the determination of the settings of the transmitter and receiver filters.

Abstract: A modem that operates reliably at a symbol rate that corresponds to twice its bandwidth even when it is coupled to a receiving A/D converter that operates under control of a clock is realized by synchronizing the modem's operation to the A/D's clock. The superior operation of this modem advantageously extends to A/D clock frequencies beyond the frequency of twice the modem's bandwidth. To minimize quantization noise, the modem's output is conditioned to minimize intersymbol interference by adjusting the modem's output to the A/D converter's sampling times and slicing levels. When the A/D's clock is higher than twice the bandwidth of the modem's output signal, some intersymbol interference cannot be avoided. In accordance with this invention, the position and value of this interference is computed at the receiver and subtracted from the received signal.

Abstract: Ghosts are canceled in received analog TV (for IDTV, EDTV, and HDTV) signals by utilizing the fact that there are short periods of time without the analog signals (the horizontal flyback interval between the lines) to process the received signal on a line-to-line basis using a finite impulse response (FIR) or an infinite impulse response (IIR) equalizer. This line-by-line processing (which can be implemented by periodic cleansing of the equalizer) overcomes the limitations of standard equalizers to allow for 40-50 dB of suppression of ghosts, even with nulls in the spectrum, as long as the ghost delay is less than the period of time without the analog signal. Furthermore, by using time inversion in combination with line-by-line processing, the stability problem of the conventional IIR equalizer is eliminated. The IIR equalizer may be implemented on a single digital integrated circuit. Alternatively, an FIR equalizer can be used which, although it may require multiple chips (i.e.

Abstract: This invention is a technique for the substantially instantaneous self-healing of digital communications networks. Digital data streams from each of N nearby sources are combined and encoded to produce N+M coded data streams using a coding algorithm. The N+M coded data streams are then each transmitted over a separate long haul communications link to a decoder where any N of the N+M coded data streams can be decoded uniquely to produce the original N data streams. The orginal N data streams are then distributed to their respective separate end destinations. If any M or less of the N+M long haul communications links fails, i.e. as in a telephone line that gets cut or a long distance switch that fails, no rerouting of traffic need be done. Rather, the receiver detects loss of carrier on the failed link(s), and immediately supplies the missing data by decoding the data from the at least N remaining links.