Lucent Technologies Inc.

Marisense Oy

Alcatel Lucent

Ncr Corporation

Gregory Alan Wright

Theodore Sizer

Giovanni Vannucci

R Anthony Shober

Theodore Ii Sizer

Reinaldo A Valenzuela

Sanjay Kasturia

Dan Avidor

John Austin MacLellan

Hannu Karhuketo

Katherine Grace August

Howard C Huang

Dragan Samardzija

Yoshitaka Utsumi

Robert W Wilson

Stephen A Wilkus

Dmitry Chizhik

Irwin Kennedy

David Harry Smithgall

Stefan Valentin

Eric Sweetman

Chi-Hwey Chang

Sarabjot Singh

Thomas C Cannon, Jr

Theodore Sizer Ii

John Austin Maclellan

An arrangement for reducing interference in a wireless electronic shelf label (ESL) () having a layered structure the ESL comprising: a display layer () comprising display material, a circuit board () with a backplane material structure and an antenna (), and a circuit board arrangement with control electronics for controlling the operation of the label, such as the display and the radio communication, and a resilient layer having a space for a rigid component, such as a battery, wherein said resilient layer is arranged to provide a substantially even total thickness of said label (), wherein the radio communication control further comprises means for radio frequency communication via modulated backscatter, wherein the arrangement is ring resonator arrangement isolating the ESL from the electrically conducting shelf arranged on the antenna circuit board, the ring resonator arrangement comprising a plurality of ring resonators () that are electrically isolated from the antenna and arranged at least on the side nearest the shelf when the ESL is attached to the shelf.

Arrangement for reducing interference in an electronic shelf label

Various embodiments provide a method and apparatus for determining tag location by using one or more estimated channel responses (CR) that characterize the wireless channel between the tag and one or more respective anchors. In particular, a tracking server in communication with the anchor(s) determines the tag's location based on a comparison of the estimated CR(s) with a set of stored CRs associated with the anchor(s).

Method and apparatus for determining tag location

A method and system for an electronic price label system comprising at least a base station and a plurality of electronic labels for transferring information between the base station and electronic labels. The method comprises transmitting a first message from base stationto a plurality of electronic labels, the first message comprising at least identification information of one electronic label, receiving the first message at the electronic label, recognizing the identification information in the first transmitted message by the electronic label, transmitting a second message from the base stationto the electronic label, receiving the second message and sending an acknowledgement message to the second message from electronic labelwith a modulation frequency from a certain frequency range, and searching the acknowledgement message from a predefined frequency range at the base station

Electronic price label system

An arrangement for reducing unwanted effects of spurious signals from interference sources in telecommunications at radio frequencies. A communication unit transmits and receives information at radio frequency. Receivers receive the radio signals from the communication unit and for reflecting radio signals back. A control unit is adapted at least to switch the transmitter or receiver of the communication unit off substantially at the frequency of the spurious signals.

Arrangement for reducing the effect of spurious signals in telecommunications at radio frequencies

A time-division-multiplexed fixed wireless loop system and methods therefor are disclosed. The system comprises a plurality of cells each having a base station and a plurality of terminals. The base station includes a steerable and adjustable multibeam antenna for communicating with each of the terminals, which have fixed antennas. A cell controller associated with each base station allocates communication time slots so as to minimize mutual interference between base station/terminal links sharing the same time slot. Slot assignment is based on regional, periodically updated interference measurements that are stored in data bases.

TDM-based fixed wireless loop system

An apparatus for providing wireless transmission of information in electronic display systems and methods of using the same. In particular, the present invention is directed to an air interface and protocol to facilitate wireless transmission of information from a communication base station or other controlling device to individual electronic display modules.

Apparatus for providing wireless transmission of information in electronic display systems and methods of using the same

In accordance with the present invention, a duplex radio communication system comprises an Interrogator which generates a radio signal to at least one remote Tag. The remote Tag receives the radio signal. The Tag then generates a subcarrier signal, and using Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), modulates an information signal onto the subcarrier. A Backscatter Modulator, using this modulated subcarrier, modulates the reflection of the radio signal, the reflected signal being a reflected modulated signal. The Interrogator receives and demodulates the reflected modulated signal to obtain the information signal. In one embodiment, demodulation utilizes a homodyne detector. In another embodiment, the Interrogator modulates an information signal onto the radio signal, transmits that modulated radio signal to the Tag, and the Tag demodulates that modulated radio signal to recover the information signal. In another embodiment, higher order phase modulations are used to modulate an information signal onto the subcarrier.

QPSK modulated backscatter system

A method for combining digital data with a perceptible program signal. The data stream is modulated onto an electromagnetic signal encoding the perceptible signal; the modulating employs a spread spectrum encoding of the data stream. The modulated program signal is transduced into perceptible form. A capture device receives the perceptible signal, and a decoder extracts the spread spectrum encoded data from the received signal. The method is particularly useful in encoding purchase information or watermarking information into the signal.

Integrating digital data with perceptible signals

A system and apparatus for controlling an appliance situated within a premises such as a home or office has a premises controller for receiving and storing appliance control information. The premises controller includes a wireless transmitter for generating and transmitting a packet of appliance control information to an appliance controller based on the stored appliance control information. In one aspect of the invention, the appliance controller is spaced from the premises controller but within range of the generated packet transmission for interfacing with the premises appliance. The appliance controller further includes a packet receiver for receiving the packet of control information. In one aspect of the invention, the premises controller has a microprocessor. An infrared pulse generator is operatively connected to the microprocessor and generates and transmits an infrared pulse code to the appliance.

System and apparatus for controlling an appliance situated within a premises

The present invention provides for an inexpensive RFID Tag design which uses an inexpensive Backscatter Modulator. The modulator is simply a CMOS gate driven by a shift register containing a modulating signal. The CMOS gate is connected to the antenna such that it modulates the reflectivity of the antenna in accordance with the modulating signal. In a second embodiment, the Tag is incorporated into a single CMOS integrated circuit which comprises all of the components, except for the antenna, necessary to implement an inexpensive read-only RFID Tag.

Inexpensive modulated backscatter reflector

The present invention involves an adaptive digital radio communications architecture which can be reconfigured by reprogramming at least one programmable device, and thus more efficiently use the available bandwidth of a time-varying RF channel and/or to provide a flexible and adaptive digital communications system. In certain embodiments, the programmable device uses a Programmable Logic Device (PLD) to perform the digital communications processing functions of the transmitter or the receiver of a radio communications system. In this context, PLD is a general term representing a family of programmable logic devices; examples of this family are a Programmable Array Logic (PAL), a Complex PLD (CPLD), and a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The architecture is reconfigurable in the sense that any or all of the digital communications processing algorithms can be modified by reprogramming the PLD.

Adaptive digital radio communication system

In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus initiates a transaction and includes an acoustic data receiver, and microphone for receiving an audio signal having encoded data that is non-discernable by a listener and is transmitted as part of the audio signal. The microphone converts the sound waves into an electrical signal. A processor receives the electrical signal and retrieves transaction data that is part of the encoded data. A filter is associated with the microphone and removes a substantial portion of a human voice signal that may have been received within the microphone. Once the transaction data is retrieved, a telephone call can be originated and at least a portion of the transaction data can be transferred to a desired destination for initiating a transaction.

Apparatus and method for initiating a transaction having acoustic data

A system and apparatus controls an appliance situated within a premises, such as a home or office. A premises recording unit is able to receive and store telephone information from a telephone network and includes a wireless transmitter for generating and transmitting a packet of control information to a premises appliance such as a coffee pot. An appliance controller is spaced from the premises recording unit, but within range of the generated packet transmission, for interfacing with the premises appliance. The appliance controller includes a packet receiver for receiving the packet of control information and is responsive to the information for controlling operation of the appliance.

System and apparatus for controlling an appliance situated within a

An antenna design for a tag operating in an radio frequency identification system minimizes the influence of reflecting surfaces upon the antenna radiation pattern. The antenna advantageously provides near uniform performance when the tag is in varying proximity to different metal reflecting surfaces. The antenna operates as a quarter wave patch antenna and is constructed from a rectangular metal patch separated from a larger metallic plane. This metallic plane serves as the reference ground plane for a circuit attached to the antenna, with a direct short between the patch and the ground plane along one edge of the patch. The dimensions of the metal patch are selected such that one quarter of a wavelength of incident radiation forms a standing wave on the antenna. A careful choice of dielectric material and lateral dimensions determine the bandwidth of the antenna. The presence of the ground plane serves as a natural advantageous plane of isolation between energy radiated from the patch antenna and otherwise reflecting surfaces which may be brought into proximity with this antenna.

Growing community of inventors

Colts Neck, NJ, United States of America

Gregory Alan Wright