Entropic Communications, Inc.

The Directv Group, Inc.

Edward Warner

Ron Porat

Anton Monk

Branislav A Petrovic

Ronald B Lee

Michail Konstantinos Tsatsanis

Itzhak Gurantz

Brett Bernath

Wee Peng Goh

Yusuf Ozturk

Magnus Berggren

Changwen Liu

Robert F Popoli

Shaw Yuan

Michael William Landry

Raed V Moughabghab

Ron Lee

Ladd Elwardani

Systems and methods for expanding capacity in a network without the use of frequency gaps between a legacy channel and/or newly added channels are provided. Systems and methods for maintaining legacy node operability in the expanded capacity network are also provided by determining the increased power experienced by a legacy node as a result of the newly added channels, and dynamically adapting the modulation utilized on the legacy channel commensurate with the increased power.

Communication system with expandable capacity

A network-capable device is configured to: automatically detect the presence of a MoCA network (or other network, depending on the network protocol in the application environment), and configure itself for communication on that network at the appropriate communication frequencies. The network-capable device can be configured to create a new network (e.g., a new MoCA network) if there is no network broadcast signal within a band. Preferably, the network-capable device requires little or no user intervention to configure itself for operation at network operating frequencies or to create a new network where none is detected.

Frequency band selection for multiple home networks

A physical layer transmitter that communicates between nodes in a broadband cable network by transmitting and receiving packets containing data and control information. Packets are constructed by the physical layer transmitter and transmitted to one or more receiving nodes that are capable of processing the packets. Packets are directed to specific nodes utilizing link layer control data. The packets may also contain control information that may include formatting, encoding and modulation parameters that are capable of being processed by the appropriate receiving nodes. The physical layer transmitter allows node-to-node communication within a broadband cable network and each node in the network is capable of communicating with every other node in the network.

Physical layer transmitter for use in a broadband local area network

A method includes determining a first aggregate received power level of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) signal received at a first network node, adjusting a nominal PHY Margin an amount that is dependent upon a measurement of an aggregate received power level of the OFDM signal, determining a data transmission rate based on the adjusted nominal PHY Margin, and receiving data being transmitted in accordance with the data transmission rate at the first node.

Variable PHY margin to combat ingress noise

The terminating impedance of a networked device in a wired communication channel is controlled to avoid an impedance discontinuity when power is applied and removed from the node or other event occurs that would change the impedance of the signal interface. When the node transmits or receives signals using the communication channel, the transmit or receive device presents a matched termination to the channel. When power is removed or the device is reset, the transmit and receive circuitry is not operational and the matched impedance is therefore maintained by a separate device. The impedance may be varied slowly from a match to a high impedance to allow other devices in the network to adapt to the change in multipath environment that results from the impedance change. Alternatively, the signal interface can be switched to a passive static impedance that is maintained while power is off or the disrupting event occurs.

Impedance control for signal interface of a network node

A broadband digital communication network transmits a signal with a shaped power spectrum to minimize interference with devices that share the communication medium. In one embodiment using coaxial wiring, devices such as cable converters and televisions that are not part of the network share the communication medium and are exposed to the network signal. Power levels across the network band are selected to reduce interference in the non-networked devices. One area of susceptibility is the tuner of cable channel receivers, which perform mixing and down conversion of RF signals. The power spectrum profile is selected to minimize the IF and base band interference after down conversion. The spectrum can be shaped within each 6 MHz band to further minimize the interference with a TV signal. The power levels can be optimized for both peak power limitation and quantization effects.

Power spectrum shaping to reduce interference effects in devices sharing a communication medium

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Edward Warner