Patent US5495358A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5495358A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Optical transceiver with improved range and data communication rate
Assignee: HP Inc
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Filing: 1992-11-23
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Granted: 1996-02-27
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Expires: 2012-11-23
Abstract
Abstract An IR transceiver for use in low-power, low cost environments such as portable computers and hand-held calculators. The transceiver can transmit data at higher, selectable baud rates and at greater distances than previously possible. On the transmitting side the transceiver elements include a serial interface device, encoder circuitry and an IR transmitter with LEDS having fast turn-on and turn-off times. On the receiving side are decoder circuitry coupled to the serial interface device and an IR receiver designed specifically for a photo diode. A baud rate generator provided by the serial interface device sets the baud rate in the encoding and decoding circuitry. The receiver portion of the IR transceiver automatically sets itself to the baud rate of received data. Because of the baud rate selectability, the IR transceiver is compatible with prior IR transceivers that are limited to fixed baud rates.
Inventors
- 👤 Kevin W. Bartig
- 👤 Richard D. Crawford
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 18:35
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04B; H04B10/00; H04B10/11; H04B10/114; H04B10/1143; H03; H03F; H03F3/00; H03F3/04; H03F3/08; H04B10/40
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
137 words
An optical communication device for receiving serial communication at various selectable baud rates, comprising: a photo diode for receiving light pulses and converting the light pulses into electrical pulses; a first bipolar transistor having its base coupled to the photo diode for amplifying the electrical pulses; a high pass filter for filtering out lower frequency amplified electrical pulses, the filter comprising: a second bipolar transistor having its collector coupled to the base of the first transistor and the photo diode, and having its base coupled to the emitter of the first transistor; and a capacitor coupled at one end to the emitter of the first transistor and the base of the second transistor and coupled at the other end to ground; and a converter for converting the filtered pulses into digital pulses having predetermined digital signal levels.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
137 words
An optical communication device for receiving serial communication at various selectable baud rates, comprising: a photo diode for receiving light pulses and converting the light pulses into electrical pulses; a first bipolar transistor having its base coupled to the photo diode for amplifying the electrical pulses; a high pass filter for filtering out lower frequency amplified electrical pulses, the filter comprising: a second bipolar transistor having its collector coupled to the base of the first transistor and the photo diode, and having its base coupled to the emitter of the first transistor; and a capacitor coupled at one end to the emitter of the first transistor and the base of the second transistor and coupled at the other end to ground; and a converter for converting the filtered pulses into digital pulses having predetermined digital signal levels.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
The optical communication device of claim 1 wherein the converter comprises a comparator for comparing the electrical pulses with a reference value to transform the pulses into digital pulses with digital signal levels.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
14 words
The optical communication device of claim 2 wherein the reference value is ground voltage.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
35 words
The optical communication device of claim 1 wherein the high pass filter comprises a feedback circuit for feeding the lower frequency pulses back to the photo diode to divert such pulses away from the amplifier.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
38 words
The optical communication device of claim 1 including a decoder for converting the digital signal level pulses provided by the converter into digital signals occupying the full bit time for each bit according to a selected baud rate.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
41 words
The optical communication device of claim 5 wherein the decoder includes a counter for counting at one of various selectable clock rates toward a predetermined count corresponding to a full bit time, thereby transforming the pulses into a serial bit stream.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
54 words
The optical communication device of claim 1 including: a baud rate generator for generating a clock signal at one of a number of selectable baud rates; and means responsive to the clock signal generated at the selected baud rate for converting the digital pulses into a stream of bits having the selected baud rate.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
96 words
A method of receiving optically serial communication at various baud rates, comprising the following steps: providing a photo detector for receiving light pulses and converting the light pulses to electrical pulses; amplifying the electrical pulses; filtering lower frequency electrical pulses out of the electrical pulses by feeding back the lower frequency pulses to the amplifier; generating a clock signal at one of a number of baud rates selectable by a control signal; with the clock signal generated at the selected baud rate, converting the electrical pulses into a stream of bits having the selected baud rate.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
96 words
A method of receiving optically serial communication at various baud rates, comprising the following steps: providing a photo detector for receiving light pulses and converting the light pulses to electrical pulses; amplifying the electrical pulses; filtering lower frequency electrical pulses out of the electrical pulses by feeding back the lower frequency pulses to the amplifier; generating a clock signal at one of a number of baud rates selectable by a control signal; with the clock signal generated at the selected baud rate, converting the electrical pulses into a stream of bits having the selected baud rate.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 8 including comparing the electrical pulses from the photo detector with a reference value to transform the electrical pulses into digital pulses with digital signal levels.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
141 words
An optical communication transceiver for receiving and sending serial communication at various selectable baud rates, comprising: (a) a serial interface device for transmitting and receiving a serial bit stream at a baud rate selectable by a control signal; (b) an encoder for encoding the serial bit stream from the serial interface device into electrical pulses, the serial bit stream having a baud rate set by the serial interface device; (c) an optical transmitter coupled to the encoder for transforming the electrical pulses of the encoder into light pulses for transmission; (d) an optical receiver for receiving light pulses and transforming them into electrical pulses; and (e) a decoder for decoding the electrical pulses from the optical receiver into a serial bit stream for the serial interface device, the serial bit stream having a baud rate set by the serial interface device.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
141 words
An optical communication transceiver for receiving and sending serial communication at various selectable baud rates, comprising: (a) a serial interface device for transmitting and receiving a serial bit stream at a baud rate selectable by a control signal; (b) an encoder for encoding the serial bit stream from the serial interface device into electrical pulses, the serial bit stream having a baud rate set by the serial interface device; (c) an optical transmitter coupled to the encoder for transforming the electrical pulses of the encoder into light pulses for transmission; (d) an optical receiver for receiving light pulses and transforming them into electrical pulses; and (e) a decoder for decoding the electrical pulses from the optical receiver into a serial bit stream for the serial interface device, the serial bit stream having a baud rate set by the serial interface device.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The optical communication device of claim 10 wherein the serial interface device includes a selectable clock signal that determines the baud rate.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
15 words
The optical communication device of claim 10 wherein the serial interface device is a UART.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
59 words
A method of communicating information optically, comprising: electronically selecting a baud rate; generating a serial bit stream at the selected baud rate, each bit occupying its full bit time; encoding the serial bit stream into electrical pulses, each pulse occupying a fraction of the serial bit time; and driving an LED with the electrical pulses to generate light pulses.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
59 words
A method of communicating information optically, comprising: electronically selecting a baud rate; generating a serial bit stream at the selected baud rate, each bit occupying its full bit time; encoding the serial bit stream into electrical pulses, each pulse occupying a fraction of the serial bit time; and driving an LED with the electrical pulses to generate light pulses.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 13 including: receiving a series of light pulses with a photo diode and transforming them into electrical pulses; and decoding the electrical pulses into a serial bit stream having a selected baud rate.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
88 words
An optical communication device for receiving serial communication at various baud rates, comprising: a photo detector for receiving light pulses and converting the light pulses to electrical pulses; a converter for converting the electrical pulses into digital pulses; a baud rate generator for generating a clock signal at one of a number of baud rates selectable by a control signal; and means responsive to the clock signal generated at the selected baud rate for converting the digital pulses into a stream of bits having the selected baud rate.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
88 words
An optical communication device for receiving serial communication at various baud rates, comprising: a photo detector for receiving light pulses and converting the light pulses to electrical pulses; a converter for converting the electrical pulses into digital pulses; a baud rate generator for generating a clock signal at one of a number of baud rates selectable by a control signal; and means responsive to the clock signal generated at the selected baud rate for converting the digital pulses into a stream of bits having the selected baud rate.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
31 words
The optical communication device of claim 15 wherein the means for converting the digital pulses into a stream of bits is adapted to produce a bit stream having a nonreturn-to-zero format.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
45 words
The optical communication device of claim 15 wherein the bit stream produced by the means for converting the digital pulses is a serial bit stream and the optical communication device includes a serial interface device for converting the serial bit stream to a parallel format.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
15 words
The optical communication device of claim 15 wherein the photo detector is a photo diode.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
35 words
The optical communication device of claim 15 wherein the converter comprises a comparator for comparing the electrical pulses from the photo detector with a reference value to transform the electrical pulses into the digital pulses.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
30 words
The optical communication device of claim 15 including an amplifier comprising a first transistor having its base coupled to the photo detector and its collector AC coupled to the converter.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
132 words
The optical communication device of claim 15 including: an amplifier comprising a first bipolar transistor; a high pass filter comprising a second bipolar transistor having its collector coupled to the base of the first transistor and the photo detector, and having its base coupled to the collector of the first transistor; and a capacitor coupled at one end to the emitter of the first transistor and the base of the second transistor and coupled at the other end to ground, the first and second transistors forming a feedback path for feeding lower frequency pulses back toward the photo detector to divert such pulses away from the base of the first transistor and into the collector of the second transistor and the capacitor for filtering higher frequency pulses out of the feedback path.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1999-02-26 | 1999-08-28 | 2000-02-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2003-02-26 | 2003-08-28 | 2004-02-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2007-02-26 | 2007-08-28 | 2008-02-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |