Patents by Inventor Lars E. Thon

Lars E. Thon 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: 7924932
    Abstract: A Viterbi decoding system interprets bits in received QAM constellations as many-valued parameters rather than binary valued parameters. It performs the Viterbi algorithm using these many-valued parameters to provide results superior to hard decision decoding. Rather than applying a hard 0-1 function to the QAM data, the system uses a non-stepped linear or curved transfer function to assign values to the bits. In another aspect, a system differentiates between data bits based on their estimated reliability, giving more emphasis to decoding reliable bits than unreliable bits using any of a variety of techniques. By differentiating between good and bad bits and de-emphasizing or ignoring unreliable bits, the system can provide a significant reduction in uncorrectable errors and packet loss.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2011
    Assignee: Atheros Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: John S. Thomson, Paul J. Husted, Ardavan Maleki Tehrani, Jeffrey M. Gilbert, William J. McFarland, Lars E. Thon, Yi-Hsiu Wang
  • Publication number: 20100098183
    Abstract: A Viterbi decoding system interprets bits in received QAM constellations as many-valued parameters rather than binary valued parameters. It performs the Viterbi algorithm using these many-valued parameters to provide results superior to hard decision decoding. Rather than applying a hard 0-1 function to the QAM data, the system uses a non-stepped linear or curved transfer function to assign values to the bits. In another aspect, a system differentiates between data bits based on their estimated reliability, giving more emphasis to decoding reliable bits than unreliable bits using any of a variety of techniques. By differentiating between god and bad bits and de-emphasizing or ignoring unreliable bits, the system can provide a significant reduction in uncorrectable errors and packet loss.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2009
    Publication date: April 22, 2010
    Inventors: John S. Thomson, Paul J. Husted, Ardavan M. Tehrani, Jeffrey M. Gilbert, William J. McFarland, Lars E. Thon, Yi-Hsiu Wang
  • Patent number: 7636400
    Abstract: A Viterbi decoding system interprets bits in received QAM constellations as many-valued parameters rather than binary valued parameters. It performs the Viterbi algorithm using these many-valued parameters to provide results superior to hard decision decoding. Rather than applying a hard 0-1 function to the QAM data, the system uses a non-stepped linear or curved transfer function to assign values to the bits. In another aspect, a system differentiates between data bits based on their estimated reliability, giving more emphasis to decoding reliable bits than unreliable bits using any of a variety of techniques. By differentiating between god and bad bits and de-emphasizing or ignoring unreliable bits, the system can provide a significant reduction in uncorrectable errors and packet loss.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2009
    Assignee: Atheros Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: John S. Thomson, Paul J. Husted, Ardavan Maleki Tehrani, Jeffrey M. Gilbert, William J. McFarland, Lars E. Thon, Yi-Hsiu Wang
  • Patent number: 7173972
    Abstract: A Viterbi decoding system interprets bits in received QAM constellations as many-valued parameters rather than binary valued parameters. It performs the Viterbi algorithm using these many-valued parameters to provide results superior to hard decision decoding. Rather than applying a hard 0-1 function to the QAM data, the system uses a non-stepped linear or curved transfer function to assign values to the bits. In another aspect, a system differentiates between data bits based on their estimated reliability, giving more emphasis to decoding reliable bits than unreliable bits using any of a variety of techniques. By differentiating between god and bad bits and de-emphasizing or ignoring unreliable bits, the system can provide a significant reduction in uncorrectable errors and packet loss.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Inventors: John S. Thomson, Paul J. Hustad, Ardavan M. Tehrani, Jeffrey M. Gilbert, William J. McFarland, Lars E. Thon, Yi-Hsiu Wang
  • Patent number: 6785523
    Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic gain control system for a wireless receiver that quickly differentiates desired in-band signals from high power out-of-band signals that overlap into the target band. The system measures power before and after passing a received signal through a pair of finite impulse response filters that largely restrict the signal's power to that which is in-band. By comparing the in-band energy of the received signal after filtering to the total signal energy prior to filtering, it is possible to determine whether a new in-band signal has arrived. The presence of this new in-band signal is then verified by a multi-threshold comparison of the normalized self-correlation to verify the presence of a new, desired in-band signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2004
    Assignee: Atheros Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Husted, Lars E. Thon, William McFarland, Tao Fei Samuel Ng
  • Patent number: 6721547
    Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic gain control system for a wireless receiver that quickly differentiates desired in-band signals from high power out-of-band signals that overlap into the target band. The system measures power before and after passing a received signal through a pair of finite impulse response filters that largely restrict the signal's power to that which is in-band. By comparing the in-band energy of the received signal after filtering to the total signal energy prior to filtering, it is possible to determine whether a new in-band signal has arrived. The presence of this new in-band signal is then verified by a multi-threshold comparison of the normalized self-correlation to verify the presence of a new, desired in-band signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2004
    Assignee: Atheros Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Husted, Lars E. Thon, William McFarland, Tao Fei Samuel Ng
  • Patent number: 6677779
    Abstract: A control interface, which includes both master and slave devices, can provide buffering of input data packets, thereby allowing configurations of the integrated circuit to be modified quickly and efficiently. Additionally, the control interface can be sized and configured to receive digital signals from any number of nodes on an integrated circuit, thereby facilitating the testing, lab characterization, and debugging of those nodes. Finally, the control interface can advatageously control the monitoring of analog components on the integrated circuit, thereby significantly reducing the number of pins for such monitoring. The control interface has particular relevance to highly integrated circuits that utilize analog and/or mixed signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Atheros Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: David Kuochieh Su, Masoud Zargari, Lars E. Thon, William J. McFarland
  • Publication number: 20030012313
    Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic gain control system for a wireless receiver that quickly differentiates desired in-band signals from high power out-of-band signals that overlap into the target band. The system measures power before and after passing a received signal through a pair of finite impulse response filters that largely restrict the signal's power to that which is in-band. By comparing the in-band energy of the received signal after filtering to the total signal energy prior to filtering, it is possible to determine whether a new in-band signal has arrived. The presence of this new in-band signal is then verified by a multi-threshold comparison of the normalized self-correlation to verify the presence of a new, desired in-band signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2001
    Publication date: January 16, 2003
    Inventors: Paul Husted, Lars E. Thon, William McFarland, Tao Fei Samuel Ng
  • Publication number: 20020183027
    Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic gain control system for a wireless receiver that quickly differentiates desired in-band signals from high power out-of-band signals that overlap into the target band. The system measures power before and after passing a received signal through a pair of finite impulse response filters that largely restrict the signal's power to that which is in-band. By comparing the in-band energy of the received signal after filtering to the total signal energy prior to filtering, it is possible to determine whether a new in-band signal has arrived. The presence of this new in-band signal is then verified by a multi-threshold comparison of the normalized self-correlation to verify the presence of a new, desired in-band signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2001
    Publication date: December 5, 2002
    Inventors: Paul Husted, Lars E. Thon, William McFarland, Tao Fei Samuel Ng