Patents by Inventor Terry M. Schaffner

Terry M. Schaffner 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: 9577858
    Abstract: A radio frequency communication system includes a radio frequency transmitter having a chirp generator operable to transmit a first chirp signal, and transmit a second chirp signal that is circular shifted relative to the first chirp signal. A receiver receives the first chirp signal and the second chirp signal, such that the proportion of phase offset between the first and second chirp signals is proportional to the frequency offset of the received signals. The first and second chirp signals are despread, and the phase difference between the first and second chirp signals is used to determine a frequency offset of the received first and second chirp signals that is proportional to the phase difference between the first and second chirp signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: Digi International Inc.
    Inventor: Terry M. Schaffner
  • Patent number: 9088349
    Abstract: This document discusses, among other things, a system and method of detecting wideband signals of bandwidth X within a communications system having a coherency time constant of T. A synchronization signal is generated as a function of a chirp signal that sweeps a portion of bandwidth X. The synchronization signal is transmitted and received as a wideband signal at a receiver. The receiver detects the synchronization signal within the wideband signal received at the receiver by generating a detection signal, correlating the received wideband signal with the detection signal and indicating when the synchronization signal is detected within the wideband signal. The detection signal is a complex conjugate of the synchronization signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: Digi International Inc.
    Inventor: Terry M. Schaffner
  • Patent number: 9088348
    Abstract: This document discusses, among other things, a system and method of measuring and correcting for frequency offset in wideband signals of bandwidth X within a communications system. A synchronization signal is generated and transmitted, wherein generating a synchronization signal includes generating a first chirp signal that sweeps a portion of bandwidth X and generating a second chirp signal to sweep approximately the same portion of bandwidth X but in the opposite direction. The synchronization signal is received at a receiver. The receiver then detects a first offset as a function of the first chirp signal and a second offset as a function of the second chirp signal and calculates the frequency offset as a function of the first and second offsets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: Digi International Inc.
    Inventor: Terry M. Schaffner
  • Patent number: 8976060
    Abstract: Distance between two radio frequency devices is estimated by receiving a plurality of spread spectrum chirp signals frequency offset from one another, and evaluating the received plurality of spread spectrum chirp signals for relative phase shifts between the plurality of spread spectrum chirp signals. A fine propagation time is derived using the phase shifts between the spread spectrum chirp signals. A frequency domain despreading window is shifted to reduce the influence of time-delayed near multipath signals in receiving the plurality of spread spectrum chirp signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Digi International Inc.
    Inventor: Terry M. Schaffner
  • Publication number: 20120307871
    Abstract: A radio frequency communication system includes a radio frequency transmitter having a chirp generator operable to transmit a first chirp signal, and transmit a second chirp signal that is circular shifted relative to the first chirp signal. A receiver receives the first chirp signal and the second chirp signal, such that the proportion of phase offset between the first and second chirp signals is proportional to the frequency offset of the received signals. The first and second chirp signals are despread, and the phase difference between the first and second chirp signals is used to determine a frequency offset of the received first and second chirp signals that is proportional to the phase difference between the first and second chirp signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2011
    Publication date: December 6, 2012
    Applicant: Digi International Inc.
    Inventor: Terry M. Schaffner
  • Publication number: 20120300814
    Abstract: Distance between two radio frequency devices is estimated by receiving a plurality of spread spectrum chirp signals frequency offset from one another, and evaluating the received plurality of spread spectrum chirp signals for relative phase shifts between the plurality of spread spectrum chirp signals. A fine propagation time is derived using the phase shifts between the spread spectrum chirp signals. A frequency domain despreading window is shifted to reduce the influence of time-delayed near multipath signals in receiving the plurality of spread spectrum chirp signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2011
    Publication date: November 29, 2012
    Applicant: Digi International Inc.
    Inventor: Terry M. Schaffner
  • Publication number: 20080309543
    Abstract: This document discusses, among other things, a system and method of measuring and correcting for frequency offset in wideband signals of bandwidth X within a communications system. A synchronization signal is generated and transmitted, wherein generating a synchronization signal includes generating a first chirp signal that sweeps a portion of bandwidth X and generating a second chirp signal to sweep approximately the same portion of bandwidth X but in the opposite direction. The synchronization signal is received at a receiver. The receiver then detects a first offset as a function of the first chirp signal and a second offset as a function of the second chirp signal and calculates the frequency offset as a function of the first and second offsets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2007
    Publication date: December 18, 2008
    Inventor: Terry M. Schaffner
  • Publication number: 20080310481
    Abstract: This document discusses, among other things, a system and method of detecting wideband signals of bandwidth X within a communications system having a coherency time constant of T. A synchronization signal is generated as a function of a chirp signal that sweeps a portion of bandwidth X. The synchronization signal is transmitted and a received as a wideband signal at a receiver. The receiver detects the synchronization signal within the wideband signal received at the receiver by generating a detection signal, correlating the received wideband signal with the detection signal and indicating when the synchronization signal is detected within the wideband signal. The detection signal is a complex conjugate of the synchronization signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2007
    Publication date: December 18, 2008
    Inventor: Terry M. Schaffner
  • Patent number: 6901117
    Abstract: Decoding signals represented by a trellis of block length N divided into windows of length L includes a step of decoding a forward recursion from a point P that is before the beginning of a window up to the beginning of the window. P is chosen at a sufficient distance from the beginning of the window such that forward recursion determines a known state metric at the beginning of the window. A next step includes decoding the window using forward recursion from the known state at the beginning of the window up to the end of the window to define a set of known forward recursion state metrics which are stored. A next step includes decoding using backward recursion starting from a known state at the end of the window and moving backward. A next step includes calculating a soft output at each stage of the backward recursion using the stored forward recursion state metrics, and branch metrics at each stage, and outputting the soft output for that stage in a LIFO format.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2005
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian K. Classon, Terry M. Schaffner
  • Patent number: 6856657
    Abstract: Decoding signals represented by a trellis of block length N divided into windows of length L includes a step of decoding a forward recursion from a point P1 that is before the beginning of a window up to the beginning of the window and decoding a backward recursion from a point P2 that is after the end of a window back to the end of the window to define known states at the beginning and end of the window. A next step includes decoding the window using backward recursion from the known state at the end of the window back to the beginning of the window to define a set of backward recursion state metrics. A next step includes decoding using forward recursion starting from a known state at the beginning of the window and moving forward to the end of the window to define a set of forward recursion state metrics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2005
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian K. Classon, Terry M. Schaffner, Vipul A. Desai
  • Patent number: 6075824
    Abstract: A re-encoded history data bits generator (101), in a communication system having a block of convolutionally encoded data bits that are interleaved into a matrix (200), selects, for each of the required number of re-encoded history data bits, a combination of data bits from a sequence of previously decoded data bits (410). The position of data bits in each combination is predetermined relative to the position of a data bit last shifted into in the sequence (410). The re-encoder encodes the combinations of the selected data bits thereby producing the re-encoded history data bits. The data bits of each combination are at consecutive positions in the sequence (410). The data bits of an encoded word constitute each row of the matrix (200).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2000
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Theodore A. Trost, Terry M. Schaffner
  • Patent number: 5878098
    Abstract: A method of determining a rate associated with a received signal including the steps of detecting the received signal (40); decoding the received signal at a first rate, determining a first path metric associated with the first rate, decoding the received signal at a second rate, and determining a second path metric associated with the second rate (44); calculating a plurality of discriminant functions based on the first and second path metrics (46); comparing at least one of the plurality of discriminant functions to a first predetermined value (48); and selecting one of the first and second rates as a determined rate based on the comparison.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 2, 1999
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael M. Wang, Fuyun Ling, Terry M. Schaffner
  • Patent number: 5856935
    Abstract: In a receiver (10) of a code division multiple access system, a method of processing a received signal including reading a first and second data item from a first memory (50), at least one of the first and second data items associated with Walsh data; performing a first arithmetic operation on the first and second data items to produce a first result; performing a second arithmetic operation on the first and second data items to produce a second result; and storing the first and second result into a second memory (52) while reading a third and fourth data item from the first memory (50).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1999
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey H. Moy, Terry M. Schaffner
  • Patent number: 5418813
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided for creating a composite waveform. This composite waveform is created by coding a plurality of input digital information signals. Subsequently, the plurality of coded input digital information signals are communicated over a communication medium to a digital combiner. The digital combiner combines the plurality of coded input digital information signals. Finally, the digitally combined information signal is spectrally shaped to form a composite waveform. These composite waveform creation principals may be applied to digitally encoded voice subbands in a subband coding system as well as channel information in a direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) communication system transmitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 23, 1995
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Terry M. Schaffner, Michael D. Kotzin, Anthony P. Van den Heuvel
  • Patent number: 5406629
    Abstract: A plurality of input signals are processed (75) using a Hadamard transform (52) to produce a combined Walsh covered parallel sequence which is sampled in time. The time samples are commutated (76) by a switch (53) or multiplexer to form a Walsh covered serial sequence. The Walsh covered serial sequence is then quadrature phase shift keyed (77) and transmitted (79).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 11, 1995
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert M. Harrison, Terry M. Schaffner