Lucent Technologies Inc.

Ncr Corporation

At&t Bell Laboratories

At+t Corp.

Bell Telephone Laboratories

At&t Company

James G Evans

Martin V Schneider

Stephen A Wilkus

R Anthony Shober

Robert W Wilson

Giovanni Vannucci

Denis P Orlando

Melissa C Chin

Gregory Panagopoulos

Howard M Singer

Richard H Janow

Diane Z Lehder

Cuong Tran

Lee B Strahs

James W Smith

Jeffry S Rollins

Lee B Stahs

Gerald Demarest Haynie

Steve E Witta

John J Daly

A modulated backscatter communication system (e.g., an Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) system) includes a central node (e.g., a ceiling node) and one or more remote nodes (e.g., ESL tags). The central node transmits a downlink radio signal which is reflectively modulated at a remote node to produce a modulated reflected radio signal. At the remote node, a precise-frequency subcarrier signal is modulated with an uplink information signal to produce a modulated signal which is used to produce the modulated reflected radio signal. At the central node, the modulated reflected radio signal is received, detected and narrowband filtered to obtain the modulated subcarrier signal which is then demodulated to obtain the uplink information signal, with great immunity to close to carrier downlink radio noise and fluorescent light backscatter interference.

Modulated backscatter wireless communication system having an extended range

A digital portable telephone is configured without the complex circuitry normally required for its base unit and handset unit to switch between transmit and receive states while frequency hopping in a frequency hopping system. The architecture for this digital portable telephone provides improved performance over that of other digital portable telephones by combining the frequency hopping spread spectrum technique with other spread spectrum techniques in communications between the handset unit and the base unit. Specifically, delta modulation and a redundant transmission of the signal are the other forms of signal spreading that are employed. Such signal spreading advantageously achieves additional processing gain. Another attractive attribute of this architecture is a high level of immunity to interference from other portable telephones also operating in the same frequency hopping band. Finally, the circuit architecture is simplified and the cost for a portable telephone employing simplified circuits is less than a portable telephone employing circuitry required to switch between transmit and receive states while frequency hopping in a frequency hopping system.

Architecture for a digital portable telephone

Modulated backscatter wireless communication system having an extended

A system for creating still image or video collections for guests of amusement parks and the like a) identifies individuals by a unique tag assigned to the individual, b) automatically records the images of the individuals while they are at various attractions, c) collects the images over a communications network, d) arranges the images in a collection, and e) presents a personal set of collected images to the guest. In one embodiment of the invention, cameras are located throughout an amusement park. Each guest is associated with a unique identifier. This identifier may be contained within a readable tag, e.g., a card, badge or pendant. Tag readers identify guest when they are at a particular location and provide identification and location information to a control system. A communications network is used to interconnect the cameras, tag readers, control system and image recording devices. The control system controls the recording and storage of the appropriate image(s) associated with that guest. In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the images of the guest may be associated with prerecorded images of the amusement park. Advantageously, a reporting system captures information on guest traffic patterns throughout their visit.

System and method for creating personalized image collections from

A cordless telephone system is arranged for extending the operating range of a cordless telephone portable unit within such system. The cordless telephone system comprises a plurality of cordless telephone stations that are connected to a plurality of intrapremises telephone wire-pairs and support independent simultaneous telephone calls without interference. Each cordless telephone station consists of a cordless telephone base unit and its associated cordless telephone portable unit. Although each of the portable units is associated with a particular base unit, all of the portable units are able to operate with any of the base units in the system. As a user of a portable unit with a call in progress roams about a premises, all base units monitor the quality of the radio frequency signal received from the portable unit. If the signal quality of a base unit actively communicating with the portable unit deteriorates to below an acceptable level, control apparatus in the system identifies another base unit and executes a hand-off of the communication link with the portable unit to this base unit that is then receiving the signal from the handset unit with an acceptable signal quality. Operational control for the base units is provided through a time division multiple access arrangement wherein a communications channel is imposed on one of the plurality of intrapremises telephone wire-pairs in a band above the audio frequency band normally used for standard telephone service.

Cordless telephone micro-cellular system

In an antenna having a conductor of a length L and a dielectric material with a dielectric constant .epsilon..sub.r1 contacting the conductor, a matching dielectric layer .epsilon..sub.r2 less than .epsilon..sub.r1 matches the dielectric constant to free space. Preferably .epsilon..sub.r2 =.sqroot..epsilon..sub.r1 , L=.lambda..sub.o /(2.sqroot..epsilon..sub.r1 ). The depth d of the second dielectric is a quarter wavelength in the matching layer. Multiple matching layers with successively decreasing dielectric constants forms embodiments. In one embodiment the resonant conductive arrangement is a microstrip patch antenna with the dielectric material supporting a patch and matching layer covering the dielectric material.

Small antennas such as microstrip patch antennas

An electronic shelf label has a housing which is formed oversized and later shaped to fit securely into a C channel of a targeted shelf, without requiring any additional hardware fixtures for mounting.

Electronic shelf labels for mounting in c channels of retail shelves and

A microstrip patch filter in which a dielectric has a ground plane printed on one of its faces and a conductive arrangement printed on the other of said faces, the conductive arrangement includes a flat patch, input and output leads electromagnetically coupled to the flat patch, the flat patch or the dielectric substrate has a reactance-enhancing metallic constriction located along a portion of the patch. When the constriction is in the patch it forms a current-concentrating inductive constriction. When the constriction is in the dielectric substrate, it enhances the capacitance. In an embodiment, the patch has two mutually-transverse constrictions that divide the patch into four sub-patches cross-connected by current-concentrating inductive constriction.

Microstrip patch filters

A system for creating still image or video collections for guests of amusement parks and the like a) identifies individuals by a unique tag assigned to the individual, b) automatically records the images of the individuals while they are at various attractions, c) collects the images over a communications network, d) arranges the images in a collection, and e) presents a personal set of collected images to the guest. For example, cameras may be located throughout an amusement park. Each guest is associated with a unique identifier. This identifier may be contained within a readable tag, e.g., a card, badge or pendant. Tag readers identify guest when they are at a particular location and provide identification and location information to a control system. A communications network is used to interconnect the cameras, tag readers, control system and image recording devices. The control system controls the recording and storage of the appropriate image(s) associated with that guest. The images of the guest may be associated with prerecorded images of the amusement park. Advantageously, a reporting system captures information on guest traffic patterns throughout their visit.

A wireless electronic module includes a folded monopole antenna having an antenna port impedance which is reactive at the RF frequency of operation and which conjugately matches the reactive impedance of the electronic circuit which connects to the antenna port. A grounded shield is interposed between the antenna and the electronic circuit to reduce RF losses at the antenna.

Wireless electronic module

In a resonator in which a ground plane and a patch sandwich a dielectric, a slot in the patch concentrates emanation of radiation from the slot. Shorting conductors form the ends of the resonator. A dielectric cover over the slot matches the dielectric constant of the substrate to that of free space. Quarter-wave chokes at the ends of the resonator suppress currents in the ground plane.

Microstrip patch antennas with radiation control

The effectiveness of a microstrip conductor antenna, such as a patch antenna, is improved at any particular frequency by making the thickness of the conductor sufficiently small to reduce shielding and losses caused by the skin effect and make currents at the upper and lower surfaces couple with each other and make the conductor partially transparent to radiation. In one embodiment the thickness is between 0.5.delta. and 4.delta.. Preferably the thickness is between 1.delta. and 2.delta. where .delta. is equal to the distance at which current is reduced by 1/e., for example 1.5 to 3 micrometers at 2.5 gigahertz in copper. According to an embodiment, alternate layers of dielectrics and radiation transparent patches on a substrate enhance antenna operation.

High efficiency microstrip antennas

Dielectric components extend between top and bottom surfaces of a ground plane in a resonant microstrip patch antenna over a distance of one-quarter-wavelength of a resonant frequency of the antenna. The components form quarter-wave chokes within which waves cancel with reflected waves and reduce currents in the bottom surfaces of the ground plane. This reduces back lobe responses.

Growing community of inventors

Colts Neck, NJ, United States of America

James G Evans