Abstract: Systems and methods for modeling a mobile ad hoc wireless network are disclosed herein. In some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, methods for modeling a mobile ad hoc wireless network for a predetermined geographical area. An exemplary method includes dividing the geographic area into a network grid including a plurality of network grid elements, locating obstacles, if any, to communication between transmission nodes located in at least two different grid elements from the plurality of network grid elements, locating bottlenecks within the plurality of network grid elements, locating network grid elements from the plurality of network grid elements where wireless transmission is unconstricted, determining a transmission flow rate across the bottlenecks, and comparing the transmission flow rate across the bottlenecks to determine if any of the bottlenecks are not real bottlenecks.

Abstract: Methods and systems for vehicle-to-vehicle communications where vehicles can communicate one or more of speed, position, direction, acceleration and state in order to coordinate or control their operation are disclosed herein. In some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, methods for vehicle-to-vehicle communications where vehicles can communicate one or more of speed, position and state in order to coordinate or control their operation.

Abstract: Systems and methods for telescopic data compression in sensor networks are disclosed herein. An exemplary method of the disclosed subject matter for telescopically compressing data received from a plurality of sensors in a network adapted to detect a field includes broadcasting a first set of sampling positions to sensors, forming a first set of clusters of sensors based on the sampling positions, receiving data from the sensors contained within the clusters, performing local interpolation of the received data, reconstructing a representation of the field using the interpolated data, and determining areas of interest based on the reconstructed representation of the field.

Abstract: Systems and methods for modeling a mobile ad hoc wireless network are disclosed herein. In some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, methods for modeling a mobile ad hoc wireless network for a predetermined geographical area. An exemplary method includes dividing the geographic area into a network grid including a plurality of network grid elements, locating obstacles, if any, to communication between transmission nodes located in at least two different grid elements from the plurality of network grid elements, locating bottlenecks within the plurality of network grid elements, locating network grid elements from the plurality of network grid elements where wireless transmission is unconstricted, determining a transmission flow rate across the bottlenecks, and comparing the transmission flow rate across the bottlenecks to determine if any of the bottlenecks are not real bottlenecks.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a method of deterring the illicit copying of electronically published documents. It includes utilizing a computer system to electronically publish a plurality of copies of a document having electronically created material thereon for distribution to a plurality of subscribers and operating programming within the computer system so as to perform the identification code functions. The steps are to encode the plurality of copies each with a separate, unique identification code, the identification code being based on a unique arrangement of the electronically created material on each such copy; and, creating a codebook to correlate each such identification code to a particular subscriber. In some embodiments, decoding methods are included with the encoding capabilities.

Abstract: A method is provided that deters the illicit copying of electronically published documents. It includes publishing a plurality of copies of electronically created material to be distributed to a plurality of subscribers. Each copy of subscriber's document has a unique identification code embedded in the document. The arrangement of the code on the document is based on the line-shifting and word-shifting techniques. This is to minimize the effects from noise and distortions on future illicit copies to simplify detection and decoding of the unique code. A codebook is created to correlate each unique code with each subscriber.

Abstract: A method for protecting electronically published documents involves operating a computer system and network for electronic publication of documents, and includes the steps of receiving requests for documents from users having computers with display devices or printers, including with the requests unique user identification for each of the user; authenticating the requests with a copyright server; using the copyright server to direct a document server to act upon proper authentication of each request; using the document server to create uniquely encoded, compressed and encrypted documents for each authenticated request, where the documents have unique encoding corresponding to each of the users, and forwarding the documents to each authenticated request user through the network to corresponding agents of each authenticated request user, with each of the agents being selected from display agents and printer agents; and decrypting and uncompressing the documents at each of the agents and making the documents ava

Abstract: Techniques for performing credit-card transactions without disclosing the subject matter of the transaction to the institution providing the credit card. The techniques include the use of a communications exchange so that information and funds may be transferred without the destination for the transfer knowing the source of the information or funds and the use of public key encryption so that each party to the transaction and the communications exchange can read only the information the party or the exchange needs for its role in the transaction. Also disclosed are techniques for authenticating a card holder by receiving personal information from the card holder, using the information to ask the card holder one or more questions, and using the answers to authenticate the card holder.

Abstract: Bandwidth balancing is accomplished to DQDB networks that handle multi-priority traffic by causing each node to throttle its own rate of transmission in accordance with the priority of the data that the node transmits. In accordance with one approach, each node limits its throughput to the product of a bandwidth balancing factor (which is a fraction that varies according to the priority level of data) and the unused bus capacity. When parcels of different priorities are received within each node, the parcels are processed in priority order. In accordance with another approach, all active parcels within a node are handled concurrently and receive some bandwidth. The throughput of each parcel in a node is limited to the product of the bandwidth balancing factor and the unused bus capacity. In accordance with still another approach, each traffic parcel limits it throughput to the product of the bandwidth balancing and the bus capacity unused by parcels of equal or higher priority.

Abstract: A potential transmission-access failing in the IEEE 802.6 protocol is remedied by the use of terminals that sense the activity level on the interconnecting communications lines. In response to conditions that may give rise to such a failing, each terminal throttles its own transmission rate to improve the transmission capacity allocation of the protocol. In one embodiment, the terminal that transmits over more than half of the slots in the round trip delay simply throttles itself to one half the slots when it detects that another terminal is transmitting or is wishing to transmit. In another embodiment, even a terminal that is transmitting over fewer than half the slots in the round trip delay determines the number of unoccupied slots and throttles itself to transmit over not more than half of the number of available slots. In still another embodiment, a terminal wishing to transmit many packets casts a number of reservation bits onto the transmission channel to insure for itself some transmission capacity.

Abstract: A grid-based mesh network with even numbers of alternatingly directed rows and columns. Devices are attached by way of nodes which exist at the intersections of rows and columns. The extremes of the grid are connected to form a three-dimensional network on the surface of a sphere. The strategy at each node requires that every packet arriving on an incoming link must leave on an outgoing link, so there is no need for any packet buffering in the node. Described herein are several routing algorithms, an alternative to sequential addressing, a method for adding nodes to the network, ways to deal with failed nodes and links, a hierarchically structured network, and a scheme for efficiently transferring files of more than one packet.

Abstract: A system, station apparatus and protocol for broadcasting messages to a plurality of stations which contemplate a primary receiver, also called a token site. The primary receiver is adapted to receive and store information messages transmitted from a source station to a broadcast group stations. The source continues to retransmit the broadcast message until it receives an acknowledgment control message from the primary receiver. In the event some receiver or receivers in the broadcast group do not receive the broadcast message, such receiver or receivers could request a retransmission of the message. The primary receiver, not the source station, would retransmit the broadcast message, thereby assuring a reliable broadcast system. The token site function can be rotated among the various receivers in the broadcast group to reduce storage costs. The possible token sites are identified in a token list to which stations may be added or from which stations may be deleted.

Abstract: The instant communications system and method for controlling both digital voice traffic and digital data traffic includes a communications path, a source station and a destination station. The source and destination stations are respectively adapted to be coupled to a source station home network and to a destination station home network. The source station is further adapted to transmit a signaling packet on a first transmit control channel. The signaling packet is for signaling a destination station that the source station has an information packet intended for the destination station. The destination station is adapted to detect the signaling packet on a second receive control channel. The signaling packet includes a field for identifying the source station which has the information packet intended for the destination station. In response to the signaling packet, the destination station is coupled to the source home network.

Abstract: A variation on a carrier sense multiple access/collision detection (CSMA/CD) system protocol for local area, packet, random access, broadcast networks is disclosed for effectively servicing both voice and data traffic. When the instant method is used, a mix of periodic voice traffic and aperiodic data traffic can be transmitted on a channel without the voice packets colliding. Also, an upper bound on the delay experienced by the periodic traffic can be established. In the instant method, aperiodic sources contend for a channel as in conventional CSMA/CD networks. However, unlike conventional protocols, periodic sources transmit a preempt field, responsive to which aperiodic sources terminate transmission. Also unlike conventional protocols, a periodic "time slot" may be delayed up to one packet transmission time when the network is busy transmitting aperiodic data.

Abstract: A voice message from a user telephone (11) is recorded (FIG. 3) by being converted to digitally coded form and processed through a computer memory (32) prior to placement in bulk storage (31) memory sectors of uniform size. The message is retrieved in a playback operation (FIG. 4). Signal energy estimates for respective memory-sector-sized parts of the message are computed, stored, and used for various purposes including message playback speed control. User-originated command data messages to the computer cause editing of the message in accordance with the commands. To effect editing, the user directs the establishment of one or more pointers at selectable silent-sector points in the message, orders the computer to display the pointer relative positions, and orders a selectable editing operation with reference to at least one of the displayed pointers.

Abstract: The subject terminal includes a keyboard (20) having a plurality of keys (30-1 through 30-10), each key adapted to accommodate a respective finger of the typist, and apparatus (100, 150) responsive to the depression of one of the keys for generating and displaying a symbol upon a cathode ray tube. Also displayed on the cathode ray tube is a replica (300, 701) of the keyboard and a plurality of symbols (310-1, 510-1, 610-1, et seq) representing different functions for each of the plurality of keys. By altering (702, 703, 704, 705, 706) the label in a key location on the replica, the function associated with that key, for example, the symbol displayed responsive to its depression, may be altered. Thereby the operator need not reposition his fingers among the keys.

Abstract: It is known to multiplex speech signals and nonspeech signals over a common communication path. One arrangement uses a portion of the frequency spectrum of the path for speech signals with the remainder for nonspeech signals. Another inserts data signals during gaps in the speech signals. Still another treats a speech signal as a carrier signal and modulates the speech signal with data signals. Unfortunately, users of such known arrangements experience excessive distortion or perceive others as encroaching on the path. These and other problems are mitigated by my improved signal processor (100, 200) for the spread spectrum (de)multiplexing of speech signals and nonspeech signals. In an illustrative embodiment, at a transmitter, a block (110) of speech signals may be converted (140) from a time domain to a frequency domain by a Fourier transformation. A Fourier component may be pseudo-randomly selected (130) from a subset of such components.

Abstract: Propagation of transmission errors in adaptively predicted, DPCM encoded video signals is reduced by including a leak circuit (114) in the encoder (FIG. 1). The leak circuit modifies each prediction in response to local characteristics in the area of the picture being encoded.

Abstract: A digital rotary shaft position encoder includes a disk having a plurality of digitally encoded apertured tracks. The successive binary characters read from the tracks each have at least one 1 and comprise a repeating code having a different order of characters when read in one direction than when read in the other. The code is sensed to determine the direction of rotation of the shaft. The at least one 1 in each character is sensed to produce a clock pulse and these are counted to provide position information. The count is incremented or decremented in accordance with the direction information.

Abstract: A composite video signal is separated into luminance and chrominance components by forming at least two estimates of the value of each component, based upon at least two sets of samples of the signal, and by selecting the best estimate based upon local picture characteristics. In one embodiment, the first estimate is derived from samples associated with picture elements which lie along the same scan line as the element then being processed, while the second estimate is derived from samples associated with picture elements in different lines above and below the present line. The best estimate selection is based on the relationship between each estimate and the component values of neighboring picture elements. If desired, delayed separation can be used to determine the effect of each estimate on future separations, before a selection is made.