System and method for remote optical digital networking of computing devices

• US 6,920,289 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2001
• Issued: 07/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Globalfoundries US Incorporated (GlobalFoundries, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Zimmerman, Thomas G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hanh
• Application Number:
  US09/775,374
• Publication Number:
  US 20020101638A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,629 Days
• Field of Search: 398/118, 398/119, 398/120, 398/135, 398/136, 398/137, 398/138, 398/139, 398/182, 398/186, 398/190, 398/189, 398/191, 398/192, 398/197, 398/200, 398/128, 370/332, 370/328, 370/342, 370/212, 370/213, 370/331, 375/238, 375/239, 375/219, 375/220, 340/825.57, 340/825.6, 455/608, 455/611, 455/617
• US Class Current: 398/118
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1149 Arrangements for indoor wireless networking of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/08 by repeating transmission, e.g. Verdan system H04L1/1858 and H04L1/189 take precedence

Abstract

This invention extends the range of optical data of mobile device by trading speed for distance as well as integrating a plurality of pulses over time to define a single bit of information. The present invention uses a number of integrated pulses to represent a single bit instead of utilizing a one to one correspondence between pulses and bits. The present invention executes a range extender application which executes on the mobile device without any hardware modification to the mobile device. The range extender application causes the optical transmitter to “stutter” or repetitively emanate the identical pulse representing a bit of information. Sufficient photons are thereby gathered at a receiver to reach a predetermined threshold. A tradeoff of the data transmission frequency in this invention is that a signal intensity drops by a factor of 100 when distance increases by a factor of 10 yielding a distance/intensity ratio of {fraction (1/10)}.

Claims

1. An optical communication system to extend a range or data communications comprising:

a mobile communication device with at least one associated optical transmitter and an optical receiver coupled thereto;

at least one software application capable of executing on the mobile device and communicating a plurality of message bits to at least one external device using the optical transmitter and the optical receiver;

at least one transmit stack coupled to the optical transmitter so that a bit placed in the transmitter stack is transmitted out the optical transmitter;

a range extender application which executes without any hardware modification to the mobile device, the range extender application operable for extending a physical range of at least the optical transmitter by taking each message bit sent by the software application and converting the message bit to a set of a plurality of optical transmission pulses to be placed on the transmit stack for optical transmission via the optical transmitter to the external device.

2. The optical communication system of claim 1, wherein the set of optical transmission pulses are repetitive and identical to each bit placed in the transmit stack.

3. An apparatus to extend a range of infrared data communication, the apparatus comprising:

a device for receiving user inputs;

at least one infrared transmitter and at least one infrared receiver associated with the device;

at least one software application capable of executing on the device and communicating a plurality of message bits to at least one external device using the infrared transmitter;

at least one transmit stack coupled to the infrared transmitter so that a bit placed in the transmitter stack is transmitted out the infrared transmitter; and

a range extender application which executes without any hardware modification to the device, the range extender application operable for extending a physical range of at least the infrared transmitter by taking each message bit sent by the software application and converting the message bit to a set of a plurality of optical transmission pulses to be placed on the transmit stack for optical transmission via the infrared transmitter to the external device.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein the device for receiving user inputs comprises pre-existing unmodified hardware devices selected from the group of pre-existing unmodified hardware devices of:

a personal data assistant, a 3Com Palm Pilot compatible device, and a Windows CE based device.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 3, further comprising:

infrared receiver associated with the device; and

a display for displaying a visual representation of incoming signal strength by the infrared receiver.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the incoming signal strength is measured by counting a number of error packets in pulses received by the infrared receiver.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the incoming signal strength is measured by a summation of pulses received by the infrared receiver.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the incoming signal strength is measured through determination of at least one pulse width of pulses received by the infrared receiver.

9. The method as defined in claim 3, wherein an incoming signal strength of the optical transmission pulses is measured and compared to a predefined threshold and in response to the incoming signal strength being greater to a threshold, a byte in a receive stack associated with the infrared receiver is set.

10. A method for extending a range of infrared data communication between a user device and another device, the method on the user device comprising the steps of:

receiving user inputs on a user device;

transmitting optical data as signals from an optical transmitter associated with the user device, whereby the optical data corresponds to a plurality of message bits sent by at least one software application executing on the user device; and

executing a range extender application which executes without any hardware modification to the user device, the range extender application operable for extending a physical range of the optical transmitter by taking each message bit sent by the software application and converting the message bit to a set of a plurality of optical transmission pulses to be placed on a transmit stack for transmission via the optical transmitter to an another device.

11. The method as defined in claim 10, wherein the step of receiving user inputs includes receiving user inputs on a user device comprising user pre-existing unmodified hardware devices selected from the group of user pre-existing unmodified hardware devices of:

a personal data assistant, a 3Com Palm Pilot compatible device, and a Windows CE based device.

12. The method as defined in claim 10, further comprising:

displaying, on a display, a visual representation of incoming signal strength by an optical receiver associated with the user device.

13. A computer readable medium containing programming instructions for extending a range of infrared data communication between a user device and another device, the computer readable medium comprising the programming instructions of:

receiving user inputs an the user device;

transmitting optical data as signals from an optical transmitter associated with the user device, whereby the optical data corresponds to a plurality of message bits sent by at least one software application executing on the user device; and

executing a range extender application which executes without any hardware modification to the user device, the range extender application operable for extending a physical range of the optical transmitter by taking each message bit sent by the software application and converting the message bit to a set of a plurality of optical transmission pulses to be placed on a transmit stack for transmission via the optical transmitter to an another device.

14. The computer readable medium as defined in claim 13, wherein the programming instructions of receiving user inputs includes receiving user inputs on a user device comprising user pre-existing unmodified hardware devices selected from the group of user pre-existing unmodified hardware devices of:

a personal data assistant, a 3Com Palm Pilot compatible device, and a Windows CE based device.

15. The computer readable medium as defined in claim 13, further comprising the programming instruction of:

displaying, on a display, a visual representation of incoming signal strength by the optical receiver associated with the user device.