US5371623A — High bit rate infrared communication system for o…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 121 words

For use in a infrared (IR) communication system having a first terminal and a second terminal for communicating data there between by means of a light signal communication path, such communication being subject to substantial multipath interference caused by the reception of multiple signals having differential path delays exceeding a substantial fraction of the data symbol duration, at least a first terminal, comprising: a plurality of IR device arrays for receiving IR signals in relatively narrow IR field of view sectors; and selection means, coupled to said plurality of IR device arrays, for selecting one of said plurality of IR device arrays, based at least partly on received IR signal quality, so as to overcome reception errors caused by multipath interference.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 121 words

For use in a infrared (IR) communication system having a first terminal and a second terminal for communicating data there between by means of a light signal communication path, such communication being subject to substantial multipath interference caused by the reception of multiple signals having differential path delays exceeding a substantial fraction of the data symbol duration, at least a first terminal, comprising: a plurality of IR device arrays for receiving IR signals in relatively narrow IR field of view sectors; and selection means, coupled to said plurality of IR device arrays, for selecting one of said plurality of IR device arrays, based at least partly on received IR signal quality, so as to overcome reception errors caused by multipath interference.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 15 words

The terminal of claim 1 wherein said plurality of IR device arrays comprise photon-to-current converters.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 27 words

The terminal of claim 1 wherein each IR device array is arranged to provide a uniform pattern of IR coverage within the IR field of view sector.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 17 words

The terminal of claim 1 wherein each IR device array defines a 60° field of view sector.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 18 words

The terminal of claim 1 wherein the plurality of IR device arrays defines a 360° field of view.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 12 words

The terminal of claim 1 wherein the selection means is a switch.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 19 words

The terminal of claim 1 wherein the selection means includes memory means for continually tracking a best communication path.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 37 words

The terminal of claim 1 further comprising circuit means for demodulating the received IR signals to detect communicated data; and means, coupled to the demodulating means for detecting a bit error rate (BER) for the communicated data.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 21 words

The terminal of claim 8 wherein received signal quality, is determined as a function of the detected bit error rate (BER).

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 140 words

A wireless IR communications system including a control module and at least one user module capable of communicating packetized information to the control module via communication paths, the user module comprising: a plurality of IR device arrays for receiving IR signals from the control module in relatively narrow IR field of view sectors; means, coupled to the plurality of IR device arrays, for determining the quality of the IR signals received by each of the plurality of IR device arrays; means, coupled to the determining means, for ranking the quality of the IR signals received by each one of the plurality of IR device arrays; and selection means, coupled to the ranking means, for selecting one of said plurality of IR device arrays, based at least partly on the ranking, so as to overcome reception errors caused by multipath interference.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 140 words

A wireless IR communications system including a control module and at least one user module capable of communicating packetized information to the control module via communication paths, the user module comprising: a plurality of IR device arrays for receiving IR signals from the control module in relatively narrow IR field of view sectors; means, coupled to the plurality of IR device arrays, for determining the quality of the IR signals received by each of the plurality of IR device arrays; means, coupled to the determining means, for ranking the quality of the IR signals received by each one of the plurality of IR device arrays; and selection means, coupled to the ranking means, for selecting one of said plurality of IR device arrays, based at least partly on the ranking, so as to overcome reception errors caused by multipath interference.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 22 words

The user module according to claim 10 further comprising means for periodically generating new rankings based on new determinations of signal quality.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 26 words

The user module according to claim 10 wherein the means for determining the quality of signal received from the control module is a Bit Error Detector.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 158 words

In wireless IR communications system wherein packetized data is communicated between a control module and at least one user module via a plurality of IR device arrays, such communication being subject to substantial multipath interference caused by the reception of multiple signals having differential path delays exceeding a substantial fraction of the data symbol duration, a method for choosing one IR device array from among a plurality of IR device arrays coupled to the user module comprising the steps of: selecting each IR device array from among a plurality of IR device arrays that cover different geographic areas relative to the user module; determining the quality of data signals received from the control module on each of said IR device arrays; ranking each of said IR device arrays according to the determined quality; and selecting a particular IR device array from among the plurality and for use in communicating with the control module based on the highest ranking.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 158 words

In wireless IR communications system wherein packetized data is communicated between a control module and at least one user module via a plurality of IR device arrays, such communication being subject to substantial multipath interference caused by the reception of multiple signals having differential path delays exceeding a substantial fraction of the data symbol duration, a method for choosing one IR device array from among a plurality of IR device arrays coupled to the user module comprising the steps of: selecting each IR device array from among a plurality of IR device arrays that cover different geographic areas relative to the user module; determining the quality of data signals received from the control module on each of said IR device arrays; ranking each of said IR device arrays according to the determined quality; and selecting a particular IR device array from among the plurality and for use in communicating with the control module based on the highest ranking.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1997-12-05	1998-06-06	1998-12-06	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2001-12-05	2002-06-06	2002-12-06	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2005-12-05	2006-06-06	2006-12-06	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

High bit rate infrared communication system for overcoming multipath

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