System and method for remote optical digital networking of computing devices

• US 7,330,662 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2005
• Issued: 02/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Globalfoundries US Incorporated (GlobalFoundries, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Zimmerman, Thomas G.
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, HANH
• Application Number:
  US11/153,570
• Publication Number:
  US 20050232639A1
• Time in Patent Office: 974 Days
• Field of Search: 398/118, 398/119, 398/120, 398/135, 398/136, 398/137, 398/138, 398/139, 398/182, 398/183, 398/186, 398/189, 398/190, 398/191, 398/140, 398/153, 398/130, 398/173, 398/176, 398/127, 398/192, 398/197, 398/200, 398/128, 398/202, 370/332, 370/328, 370/342, 370/212, 370/331, 370/213, 375/238, 375/239, 375/219, 455/608, 455/611, 455/151.2, 455/617, 340/825.6, 340/825.57, 340/870.28, 340/870.29, 725/123
• US Class Current: 398/128
• 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

The extended range of optical data communication is enabled through the use of intermediary relay stations spaced fairly far apart. IRDA communicatiOn, as is well known, uses very short duration optical pulses to send data up to 1 Mbit/sec; this has the concomitant effect of minimizing LED duty cycle and preventing excessive heating. The invention uses a number of integrated pulses to represent a single bit instead of utilizing a one-to-one correspondence between pulses and bits. Processing software causes the 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 as signal intensity drops by a factor of 100 when distance increases by a factor of 10 yielding a distance/intensity ratio of 1/10.

Claims

1. An apparatus for asymmetrically receiving and transmitting infrared data communication, the apparatus comprising:

a stationary obiect with a receiver for reception of the infrared data communication at a first bit rate from at least one user device, wherein each message bit sent by the user device has been converted to a series of identical optical transmission pulses so as to extend a physical range of the user device and the receiver reconstructs each of the identical optical pulses into a single message bit;

a plurality of infrared transceivers spatially arranged around the stationary object and electrically coupled thereto, whereby the infrared transceivers are capable of transmitting infrared pulses back to the user device at second bit rate that is higher than the first bit rate;

a plurality of n spatially multiplexed synchronization channels, where each of the multiplexed synchronization channels receives optical transmission pulses with a period P and a time T, and where n is a whole number; and

a signal processor for;

integrating from T−

T/n +((i−

1)T)/n to T−

T/n +((i−

1)T)/n +P each channel i of the plurality of channels, where i goes from 1 to n; and

determining one of the plurality of channels with a maximum integrated value.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a minimum strength value set to seventy percent of the channel with the maximum integrated value.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising a signal processor for combining and reconstructing a sequence of signals into data bits and for converting data to be transmitted into signals applied to high power infrared transmitters.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of high power infrared transmitters for transmitting infrared signals to a user device wherein each infrared transmitter is associated with exactly one of the plurality of infrared transceivers whereby each pair is arranged so as to form an infrared transceiver wherein a plurality of the transceivers provides multiple spatially multiplexed communication channels.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4, further comprising a communication channel for digitally linking a signal processor with a translation device.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the communication channel comprises a communication channel selected from the group of communication channels of:

an ac modem, an RF modem, an analog phone modem, an asynchronous wire and an ethernet controller.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the translation device comprises a transcoder for translation of protocols, formats, commands and control logic from one computing device or application to another.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein the computing device or application comprises computing devices or applications selected from the group of computing devices or applications of:

a desktop computer, an access point, the Internet, a computer network, a printer, a cellular phone, a point of sale terminal, a laptop computer and a database.

9. A method for asymmetrically receiving and transmitting infrared data communication, the method comrrising:

receiving, with a stationary object, the infrared data communication at a first bit rate from at least one user device, wherein each message bit sent by the user device has been converted to a series of identical optical transmission pulses so as to extend a physical range of the user device and a receiver reconstructs each of the identical optical pulses into a single message bit; and

transmitting, with a plurality of infrared transceivers spatially arranged around the stationary object and electrically coupled thereto, infrared pulses back to the user device at a second bit rate that is higher than the first bit rate;

receiving on each of a plurality of n spatially multiplexed synchronization channels, optical transmission pulses with a period P and a time T, where n is a whole number;

integrating from T−

T/n +((i−

1)T)/n to T−

T/n +((i−

1)T)/n +P each channel i of the plurality of channels, where i goes from 1 to n; and

determining one of the plurality of channels with a maximum integrated value.

10. The method as defined in claim 9, further comprising:

a minimum strength value set to seventy percent of the channel with the maximum integrated value.

11. The method as defined in claim 9, further comprising:

combining and reconstructing, with a signal processor, a sequence of signals into data bits;

converting the data bits into signals;

applying the signals to high-power infrared transmitters; and

transmitting the signals.

12. The method as defined in claim 9, further comprising:

transmitting, with a plurality of high power infrared transmitters, signals to a user device, wherein each infrared transmitter is associated with exactly one of the plurality of infrared transceivers whereby each pair is arranged so as to form an infrared transceiver wherein a plurality of the transceivers provides multiple spatially multiplexed communication channels.

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

digitally linking a signal processor to a translation device with a communication channel.

14. The method as defined in claim 13, wherein the communication channel comprises a communication channel selected from the group of communication channels of:

an ac modem, an RF modem, an analog phone modem, an asynchronous wire and an ethernet controller.

15. The method as defined in claim 14, wherein the translation device comprises:

translating, with a transcoder, protocols, formats, commands and control logic from one computing device or application to another.

16. The method as defined in claim 15, wherein the computing device or application comprises computing devices or applications selected from the group of computing devices or applications of:

a desktop computer, an access point, the Internet, a computer network, a printer, a cellular phone, a point of sale terminal, a laptop computer and a database.

17. A computer program product for asymmetrically receiving and transmitting infrared data communication, the computer program product comprising:

a storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method, the instructions which have been stored comprising;

receiving, with a stationary object, the infrared data communication at a first bit rate from at least one user device, wherein each message bit sent by the user device has been converted to a series of identical optical transmission pulses so as to extend a physical range of the user device and a receiver reconstructs each of the identical optical pulses into a single message bit;

transmitting, with a plurality of infrared transceivers spatially arranged around the stationary object and electrically coupled thereto, infrared pulses back to the user device at a second bit rate that is higher than the first bit rates

receiving on each of a plurality of n spatially multiplexed synchronization channels, optical transmission pulses with a reriod P and a time T, where n is a whole number;

integrating from T−

T/n +((i−

1)T)/n to T−

T/n +((i−

1)T)/n +P each channel i of the plurality of channels, where i goes from 1 to n; and

determining one of the plurality of channels with a maximum integrated value.

18. The computer program product as defined in claim 17, further comprising:

a minimum strength value set to seventy percent of the channel with the maximum integrated value.

19. The method as defined in claim 17, further comprising:

combining and reconstructing, with a signal processor, a sequence of signals into data bits;

converting the data bits into signals;

applying the signals to high-power infrared transmitters; and

transmitting the signals.