Communications system

• US 20040208599A1
• Filed: 04/04/2002
• Published: 10/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Stern, Miklos, Katz, Joseph, Swartz, Jerome
• Application Number:
  US10/116,400
• Publication Number:
  US 20040208599A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 398/135
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1149 Arrangements for indoor wireless networking of information

Abstract

A communications system has an optical fiber network and a plurality of wall mounted optical outlets connected to the optical fiber network for receiving light having information coded therein applying same to the optical fiber network and receiving light having information coded therein from the optical fiber network.

Claims

1. A communications system, comprising:

an optical fiber network; and

a plurality of optical outlets connected to the optical fiber network for (a) receiving light having information coded therein and applying same to the optical fiber network and (b) receiving light having information coded therein from the optical fiber network.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a gateway connected to the optical network for converting the information encoded in the light to signals to a form suitable for applying to a second network.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the second network is a wired network and the gateway converts information in the light to electrical signals.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one optical outlet receives infrared light.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the at least one optical outlet is an IrDA receiver.

6. The system according to claim 1, further comprising units having transceivers for transmitting light having information encoded therein to one optical outlet and for receiving light having encoded information therein from one optical outlet.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the units comprise at least one selected from the group comprising PDAs, cellular telephones, computers, and home appliances.

8. The system according to claim 6, wherein the units comprise computer terminals having bar code readers.

9. The system according to claim 8, further comprising a gateway connected to the optical network for converting the information encoded in the light to electrical signals for applying to the Internet.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the terminals have a processor therein for reading the bar codes and connecting to a website corresponding thereto over the optical network.