Patents by Inventor Sean B. Simmons

Sean B. Simmons 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: 6920190
    Abstract: A system and method for inverting automatic frequency control applied to a reference signal used to process an input signal is disclosed. When receiving an input communication signal, a receiver controls the frequency of the reference signal to compensate for frequency differences between a transmitter and a local oscillator in the receiver. The frequency control applied to the reference signal causes frequency variations in a resultant signal processed signal when the input signal is processed using the reference signal. The frequency of a second reference signal is controlled such that further processing of the resultant processed signal removes effects of the frequency control applied to the reference signal. The processing which applies frequency control to the reference signal is performed in real time while the inversion process is performed in a separate processing section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2005
    Assignee: Research In Motion Limited
    Inventors: Sean B. Simmons, Zoltan Kemenczy
  • Patent number: 6904274
    Abstract: A soft limiter for a signal processor includes a variable-gain amplifier, and a threshold detector. The variable-gain amplifier includes a signal input for receiving an input signal, a signal output for providing an output signal representative of the input signal, and a gain control input for controlling a gain of the amplifier. The threshold detector is coupled to the gain control input, and includes a control input for receiving a control variable thereon. The threshold detector is configured to set the gain of the amplifier to a first gain value when the control variable exceeds a threshold value, and to set the gain to a second gain value different from the first gain value when the control variable is less than the threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2005
    Assignee: Research In Motion Limited
    Inventors: Sean B. Simmons, Zoltan Kemenczy
  • Publication number: 20030143973
    Abstract: A multiple-processor wireless mobile communication device is disclosed. A wireless mobile communication device includes a first processor with which software applications are configured to operate, a second processor configured to manage wireless communication operations, and a communication link between the first and second processors. A reliable communications protocol is used for communications between the first and second processors to ensure that control data sent from either one of the processors is received by the other processor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 28, 2003
    Publication date: July 31, 2003
    Inventors: Thomas C. Nagy, Christopher Pattenden, Sean B. Simmons
  • Publication number: 20020097820
    Abstract: A system and method for inverting automatic frequency control applied to a reference signal used to process an input signal is disclosed. When receiving an input communication signal, a receiver controls the frequency of the reference signal to compensate for frequency differences between a transmitter and a local oscillator in the receiver. The frequency control applied to the reference signal causes frequency variations in a resultant signal processed signal when the input signal is processed using the reference signal. The frequency of a second reference signal is controlled such that further processing of the resultant processed signal removes effects of the frequency control applied to the reference signal. The processing which applies frequency control to the reference signal is performed in real time while the inversion process is performed in a separate processing section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2001
    Publication date: July 25, 2002
    Inventors: Sean B. Simmons, Zoltan Kemenczy
  • Publication number: 20020094048
    Abstract: A synchronization (sync) signal detector and associated method detect the occurrence of a known sync signal in a received signal. The known sync signal is generated and correlated with the received signal to generate a correlation waveform. A peak value of the correlation waveform, indicative of the occurrence of the sync signal in the received signal, is detected and used to determine a timing offset between the received signal and the sync signal. The sync signal is then shifted in time to compensate for the timing offset. Such shifting of the sync signal is simpler and requires substantially less processing time and resources compared to known sync signal detection schemes, in which a received signal or the sampling timing of a received signal is shifted to compensate for timing offset.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2001
    Publication date: July 18, 2002
    Inventors: Sean B. Simmons, Zoltan Kemenczy
  • Publication number: 20020064249
    Abstract: A system and method for detecting a synchronization (sync) signal in a communication signal are disclosed. A received communication signal is stored in a memory and portions thereof are read from the memory and monitored to detect the sync signal. When a detected sync signal is determined to be invalid, previously read portions of the received communication signal, preferably beginning at a portion of the received signal immediately after a start of the detected sync signal, are again read and monitored to detect the sync signal. Such reading and monitoring of previously read portions of a received signal provide for recovery from so-called false triggering based on invalid sync signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2001
    Publication date: May 30, 2002
    Inventors: Sean B. Simmons, Zoltan Kemenczy
  • Publication number: 20020061738
    Abstract: A soft limiter for a signal processor includes a variable-gain amplifier, and a threshold detector. The variable-gain amplifier includes a signal input for receiving an input signal, a signal output for providing an output signal representative of the input signal, and a gain control input for controlling a gain of the amplifier. The threshold detector is coupled to the gain control input, and includes a control input for receiving a control variable thereon. The threshold detector is configured to set the gain of the amplifier to a first gain value when the control variable exceeds a threshold value, and to set the gain to a second gain value different from the first gain value when the control variable is less than the threshold value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2001
    Publication date: May 23, 2002
    Inventors: Sean B. Simmons, Zoltan Kemenczy
  • Publication number: 20020055334
    Abstract: A communications channel detector which determines the availability of a desired type of communications channel in a communication system having at least one communications channel, the communications channels including data streams comprising a number of data symbols. The channel detector includes a phase detector, a phase comparator coupled to the phase detector, and a phase correlator coupled to the phase comparator. The phase detector is configured to provide a plurality of phase measurements for at least two consecutive data symbols comprising a selected one of the communications channels. The phase comparator is configured to determine the phase differences between the obtained phase measurements. The phase correlator is configured to determine the whether or not the determined phase differences exhibit a predetermined phase difference profile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2001
    Publication date: May 9, 2002
    Inventor: Sean B. Simmons