Patents by Inventor Floyd J. Backes
Floyd J. Backes 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).
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Patent number: 7970408Abstract: An access point in a wireless network includes an external indication of the access point's proximity to another access point. The external indication can be a LED that blinks at a rate that is related to the proximity of the access point to the other access point. An access point is also capable of producing a network map that indicates the access point's proximity relative to other access points that are coupled to the network. The access point is further capable of monitoring wireless network traffic to ascertain whether wireless network traffic has exceeded a threshold, and if so, releasing some client devices so that wireless network traffic no longer exceeds the threshold. The access point is also capable of automatically choosing one of a plurality of radio frequencies on which to operate. The access point chooses a frequency after evaluating frequencies on which other access points may be operating.Type: GrantFiled: September 9, 2009Date of Patent: June 28, 2011Assignee: Autocell Laboratories, Inc.Inventors: Gary Vacon, Paul D. Callahan, Floyd J. Backes, William R. Hawe
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Publication number: 20090323595Abstract: An access point in a wireless network includes an external indication of the access point's proximity to another access point. The external indication can be a LED that blinks at a rate that is related to the proximity of the access point to the other access point. An access point is also capable of producing a network map that indicates the access point's proximity relative to other access points that are coupled to the network. The access point is further capable of monitoring wireless network traffic to ascertain whether wireless network traffic has exceeded a threshold, and if so, releasing some client devices so that wireless network traffic no longer exceeds the threshold. The access point is also capable of automatically choosing one of a plurality of radio frequencies on which to operate. The access point chooses a frequency after evaluating frequencies on which other access points may be operating.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 9, 2009Publication date: December 31, 2009Inventors: Gary Vacon, Paul D. Callahan, Floyd J. Backes, William R. Hawe
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Patent number: 7606573Abstract: An access point in a wireless network includes an external indication of the access point's proximity to another access point. The external indication can be a LED that blinks at a rate that is related to the proximity of the access point to the other access point. An access point is also capable of producing a network map that indicates the access point's proximity relative to other access points that are coupled to the network. The access point is further capable of monitoring wireless network traffic to ascertain whether wireless network traffic has exceeded a threshold, and if so, releasing some client devices so that wireless network traffic no longer exceeds the threshold. The access point is also capable of automatically choosing one of a plurality of radio frequencies on which to operate. The access point chooses a frequency after evaluating frequencies on which other access points may be operating.Type: GrantFiled: September 29, 2003Date of Patent: October 20, 2009Assignee: Autocell Laboratories, Inc.Inventors: Gary Vacon, Paul D. Callahan, Floyd J. Backes, William R. Hawe
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Patent number: 7505434Abstract: A wireless access point is operable to tag packets received from mobile clients. For example, a VLAN tag or Layer-3 tunnel tag for a packet is determined based at least in-part on a mapping between a mobile client and tag maintained by the access point. In one embodiment the access point uses Association IDs (“AIDs”) to uniquely identify mobile clients in the BSS. Hence, the mapping is between A/Ds and VLAN tags/Layer-3 tunnel tags. The mapping may be generated by snooping authentication related communications or from information maintained by a switch, such as a MAC address to tag mapping.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 2005Date of Patent: March 17, 2009Assignee: Autocell Laboratories, Inc.Inventor: Floyd J. Backes
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Patent number: 5956335Abstract: A method for connecting a first communication system with a third communications system, by passing through a second communications system, is disclosed. A first frame is received from the first communications system, where the first frame has a multicast address as a destination address. The multicast address requires the frame to be transmitted onto the second multicast address is translated into a functional address. The functional address is written into a second frame, and the second frame is transmitted onto the second communications system. A station receiving the second frame translates the functional address into a multicast address and writes the multicast address into the destination address field of a third frame, and transmits the third frame onto the third communications system.Type: GrantFiled: November 12, 1993Date of Patent: September 21, 1999Assignee: Cabletron Systems, Inc.Inventors: Floyd J. Backes, William R. Hawe, G. Paul Koning, David J. Mitton, Radia J. Perlman
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Patent number: 5949783Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed for efficiently supporting multiple VLAN's over an emulated LAN having a plurality of distributed LAN emulation servers. Each distributed LAN emulation server in an emulated LAN has a list of VLAN's that are reachable over each of its preestablished output connections. Each distributed LAN emulation server in the emulated LAN also has a predetermined threshold value for determining the most efficient utilization of its preestablished output connections.Type: GrantFiled: September 8, 1997Date of Patent: September 7, 1999Assignee: 3COM CorporationInventors: David J. Husak, Floyd J. Backes
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Patent number: 5796740Abstract: An apparatus for forwarding a data packet from a first link to a second link is disclosed. The apparatus is coupled with a plurality of computer networks through ports on the apparatus. The apparatus maintains a spanning tree list indicating which of the apparatus ports are active. The apparatus receives a packet, and determines if the packet was received from a port that is active. If the packet was received from a port that is not active, the packet is discarded. If the packet is not discarded, the data link source address of the packet is stored in a database within the apparatus for the computer network coupled with the port from which the packet was received. The apparatus then decides, responsive to a contents of a data link destination address field in the packet, whether to forward the packet as a bridge or to forward the packet as a router.Type: GrantFiled: May 28, 1997Date of Patent: August 18, 1998Assignee: Cabletron Systems, Inc.Inventors: Radia Joy Perlman, Alan J. Kirby, Floyd J. Backes, Charles W. Kaufman
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Patent number: 5500860Abstract: An apparatus for forwarding a data packet from a first link to a second link is disclosed. The apparatus is coupled with a plurality of computer networks through ports on the apparatus. The apparatus maintains a spanning tree list indicating which of the apparatus ports are active. The apparatus receives a packet, and determines if the packet was received from a port that is active. If the packet was received from a port that is not active, the packet is discarded. If the packet is not discarded, the data link source address of the packet is stored in a database within the apparatus for the computer network coupled with the port from which the packet was received. The apparatus then decides, responsive to a contents of a data link destination address field in the packet, whether to forward the packet as a bridge or to forward the packet as a router.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 1991Date of Patent: March 19, 1996Assignee: Digital Equipment CorporationInventors: Radia J. Perlman, Alan J. Kirby, Floyd J. Backes, Charles W. Kaufman
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Patent number: 5428615Abstract: A connection apparatus for connecting a first communication system with a second communication system and a third communication system. A first frame is received from the first communication system, where the first frame has a multicast address as a destination address, and where the destination address requires the first frame to be transmitted onto the second communication system. The multicast address is translated into a functional address, and the functional address is written into a second frame transmitted onto the second communication system. The second frame is received and is transmitted onto a third communication system, and the functional address is translated into a multicast address for the third communication system, and the multicast address is written into a destination field of the frame as it is transmitted onto the third communication system. The second communication system may be a token ring system based upon an IEEE 802.Type: GrantFiled: July 21, 1994Date of Patent: June 27, 1995Assignee: Digital Equipment Corp.Inventors: Floyd J. Backes, William R. Hawe, G. Paul Koning, David J. Mitton, Radia J. Perlman
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Patent number: 5018137Abstract: A method for improving communications in a bridge network between end nodes involving sensing trunking configurations and executing binding schemes to make certain daughter bridges involved in the trunking conditions behave as a plurality of bridges and forward messages in the correct time sequence. This can be done by creating "forwarding groups" associating different groups of networks connected to those daughter bridges.Type: GrantFiled: October 16, 1990Date of Patent: May 21, 1991Assignee: Digital Equipment CorporationInventors: Floyd J. Backes, George Varghese, Charles W. Kaufman