An Internet appliance, comprising, within a single housing, packet data network interfaces, adapted for communicating with the Internet and a local area network, at least one data interface selected from the group consisting of a universal serial bus, an IEEE-1394 interface, a voice telephony interface, an audio program interface, a video program interface, an audiovisual program interface, a camera interface, a physical security system interface, a wireless networking interface; a device control interface, smart home interface, an environmental sensing interface, and an environmental control interface, and a processor, for controlling a data transfer between the local area network and the Internet, and defining a markup language interface communicated through a packet data network interface, to control a data transfer or control a remote device.

Internet appliance system and method

The invention provides surgical or diagnostic tools and associated methods that offer user control for operating remotely within regions of the body. These tools include a proximally-located actuator for the operation of a distal end effector, as well as proximally-located actuators for articulational and rotational movements of the end effector. Control mechanisms and methods refine operator control of end effector actuation and of these articulational and rotational movements. An articulation lock allows the fixing and releasing of both neutral and articulated configurations of the tool and of consequent placement of the end effector. The tool may also include other features. A multi-state ratchet for end effector actuation provides enablement-disablement options with tactile feedback. A force limiter mechanism protects the end effector and manipulated objects from the harm of potentially excessive force applied by the operator. A rotation lock provides for enablement and disablement of rotatability of the end effector.

Tool with articulation lock

Random access operation is performed under a communication environment in which a plurality of communication modes having different transmission rate coexist with small overhead. A high-grade communication station spoofs information of a packet length and a rate in a decoding portion so that a value of (packet length)/(rate) corresponds to a duration where the communication is hoped to be stopped. The other station receiving the spoofed information receives the rest of the packet with the designated rate during the interval designated by the value of (packet length)/(rate). In this case, the packet length and the rate are not those of actually transmitted packet so that this packet is discarded.

Wireless communication system, wireless communication apparatus, wireless communication method, and computer program

The present invention provides a system for operating a power line communications system that is comprised of a plurality of network elements, which may take the form of repeaters, bypass devices, backhaul devices, wireless backhaul devices, enhanced bypass device, communication interface devices and others. In one embodiment, two groups of network elements in the same electrical distribution system are isolated except selected communication link.

Power line communication system and method of operating the same

A device for providing communications through power lines that are communicatively coupled to an electrical distribution network infrastructure and to the internal wiring of at least one customer premises having one or more communication devices therein is provided. One embodiment comprises a coupler configured to be coupled to the electrical distribution network infrastructure, a modem in communication with the coupler to communicate data through the power lines; and a wireless transceiver in communication with said modem. In some embodiments, the electrical distribution network infrastructure may be a structure that uses electricity, such as a street light.

Device and method for coupling with electrical distribution network infrastructure to provide communications

A spread-spectrum-matched-filter apparatus including a code generator, a programmable-matched filter, a frame-matched filter, and a controller. The code generator generates replicas of a pilot-chip-sequence signal and a data-chip-sequence signal, which are used to set the programmable-impulse response of the programmable-matched filter. The programmable-impulse response is alternately changed between that of the pilot-chip-sequence signal and the data-chip-sequence signal so that the programmable-matched filter alternately detects the pilot-spread-spectrum channel and the data-spread-spectrum channel embedded in a received spread-spectrum signal. The frame-matched filter detects a despread-pilot-bit-sequence signal and generates a peak-pilot-correlation signal which can be used for timing of the controller as to when to trigger changing the programmable-impulse response of the programmable-matched filter.

Programmable two-part matched filter for spread spectrum

A multi-clock matched filter for receiving signals with multipath. The signals may be modulated with a spread-spectrum spreading sequence, or other analog or digital signal. A number of signal registers (11, 21, 31, 41) store digital samples of the received signal. The gating of digital samples into each of the signal registers is controlled through a plurality of gates (12, 22, 32, 42) by a separate clock timing. The timing sequence may be derived from a common clock (68). A multiplexer (18) sequentially selects each of the signal registers (11, 21, 31, 41), and passes the respective content of each signal register to a matched filter (150). A number of signal path-tracking circuits (17, 27, 37, 47) track each of the multipath signals, and generate the timing sequence for gating signal registers (12, 22, 32, 42).

Multi-clock matched filter for receiving signals with multipath

A fuzzy-logic spread-spectrum adaptive power control system comprising a base station and a plurality of remote units. The base station receives a spread-spectrum signal, and samples the despread spread-spectrum signal at a peak correlation time of the data channel, and at a non-peak correlation time of the data channel. This in turn generates a signal level and a noise level, respectively. A signal-to-noise ratio calculator generates a signal-to-noise ratio from the signal level and the noise level. A fuzzy-logic controller compares the signal-to-noise ratio to a set of predetermined thresholds, and using a state machine, generates a control signal which is thereby transmitted to the remote unit, indicating the amount by which to increase or decrease transmitted power. Each remote unit demodulates the control signal, and a transmitter controller adjusts a power level of the remote-unit spread-spectrum transmitter.

Fuzzy-logic spread-spectrum adaptive power control

A intelligent power management apparatus for use with a matched-filter. A multiplexer multiplexes shifted-in-phase chips and shifted-quadrature-phase chips from an in-phase-shift register and a quadrature-phase-shift register, respectively, to generate multiplexed chips. The multiplexed chips include alternating sets of shifted-in-phase chips and shifted-quadrature-phase chips. A controller generates a POWERDOWN signal when the multiplexed chips from a received-spread-spectrum signal are unlikely to have a particular-chip sequence. The controller generates an ACTIVATION signal when the multiplexed chips are likely to have the particular-chip sequence present. An adder tree generates a CORRELATION signal when the multiplexed chips have the particular-chip sequence and match or correlate with the settings of the adder tree. A number of AND gates inhibit the multiplexed chips from passing to some or all of the adder tree when the POWERDOWN signal is present, and pass the multiplexed chips to some or all of the adder tree when the ACTIVATION signal is present.

Intelligent power management for a programmable matched filter

A system and method for encoding and transmitting data with a spread-spectrum packet-switched system. Data to be transmitted by a packet transmitter are encoded for privacy and to restrict intelligent receipt of the data to the intended recipient. The encoded data is demultiplexed into sub-data-sequence signals which are spread-spectrum processed and then combined as a multichannel spread-spectrum signal. The multichannel spread-spectrum signal is concatenated with a header to output a packet-spread-spectrum signal which is transmitted over radio waves to a packet receiver. The packet receiver obtains timing for the multichannel spread-spectrum signal from the header. The multichannel spread-spectrum signal is then despread and multiplexed as received-encoded data. The received-encoded data is decoded by the intended recipient and is stored in a receiver memory for output.

Sorin Davidovici

Papers

Programmable two-part matched filter for spread spectrum

Multi-clock matched filter for receiving signals with multipath

Fuzzy-logic spread-spectrum adaptive power control

Intelligent power management for a programmable matched filter

Increased-capacity, packet spread-spectrum system and method