Client node device and methods for use therewith

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject disclosure relates to communications via transmission in a communication network at non-optical frequencies.

BACKGROUND

As smart phones and other portable devices increasingly become ubiquitous, and data usage increases, macrocell base station devices and existing wireless infrastructure in turn require higher bandwidth capability in order to address the increased demand. To provide additional mobile bandwidth, small cell deployment is being pursued, with microcells and picocells providing coverage for much smaller areas than traditional macrocells.

In addition, most homes and businesses have grown to rely on broadband data access for services such as voice, video and Internet browsing, etc. Broadband access networks include satellite, 4G or 5G wireless, power line communication, fiber, cable, and telephone networks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a guided-wave communications system in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a transmission device in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 3 is a graphical diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an electromagnetic field distribution in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 is a graphical diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an electromagnetic field distribution in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 5A is a graphical diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a frequency response in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 5B is a graphical diagram illustrating example, non-limiting embodiments of a longitudinal cross-section of an insulated wire depicting fields of guided electromagnetic waves at various operating frequencies in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 6 is a graphical diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an electromagnetic field distribution in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an arc coupler in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an arc coupler in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 9A is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a stub coupler in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an electromagnetic distribution in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are block diagrams illustrating example, non-limiting embodiments of couplers and transceivers in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a dual stub coupler in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a repeater system in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a bidirectional repeater in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a waveguide system in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a guided-wave communications system in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIGS. 16A & 16B are block diagrams illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a system for managing a power grid communication system in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 17A illustrates a flow diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a method for detecting and mitigating disturbances occurring in a communication network of the system of FIGS. 16A and 16B.

FIG. 17B illustrates a flow diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a method for detecting and mitigating disturbances occurring in a communication network of the system of FIGS. 16A and 16B.

FIG. 18A illustrates a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a communications system in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 18B illustrates a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a network termination in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 18C illustrates a graphical diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 18D illustrates a graphical diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 18E illustrates a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a host node device in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 18F illustrates a combination pictorial and block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of downstream data flow in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 18G illustrates a combination pictorial and block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of upstream data flow in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 18H illustrates a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a client node device in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 19A illustrates a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an access point repeater in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 19B illustrates a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a mini-repeater in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 19C illustrates a combination pictorial and block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a mini-repeater in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 19D illustrates a graphical diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 20A-20D illustrate flow diagrams of example, non-limiting embodiments of methods in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a computing environment in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a mobile network platform in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a communication device in accordance with various aspects described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more embodiments are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments. It is evident, however, that the various embodiments can be practiced without these details (and without applying to any particular networked environment or standard).

In an embodiment, a guided wave communication system is presented for sending and receiving communication signals such as data or other signaling via guided electromagnetic waves. The guided electromagnetic waves include, for example, surface waves or other electromagnetic waves that are bound to or guided by a transmission medium. It will be appreciated that a variety of transmission media can be utilized with guided wave communications without departing from example embodiments. Examples of such transmission media can include one or more of the following, either alone or in one or more combinations: wires, whether insulated or not, and whether single-stranded or multi-stranded; conductors of other shapes or configurations including wire bundles, cables, rods, rails, pipes; non-conductors such as dielectric pipes, rods, rails, or other dielectric members; combinations of conductors and dielectric materials; or other guided wave transmission media.

The inducement of guided electromagnetic waves on a transmission medium can be independent of any electrical potential, charge or current that is injected or otherwise transmitted through the transmission medium as part of an electrical circuit. For example, in the case where the transmission medium is a wire, it is to be appreciated that while a small current in the wire may be formed in response to the propagation of the guided waves along the wire, this can be due to the propagation of the electromagnetic wave along the wire surface, and is not formed in response to electrical potential, charge or current that is injected into the wire as part of an electrical circuit. The electromagnetic waves traveling on the wire therefore do not require a circuit to propagate along the wire surface. The wire therefore is a single wire transmission line that is not part of a circuit. Also, in some embodiments, a wire is not necessary, and the electromagnetic waves can propagate along a single line transmission medium that is not a wire.

More generally, “guided electromagnetic waves” or “guided waves” as described by the subject disclosure are affected by the presence of a physical object that is at least a part of the transmission medium (e.g., a bare wire or other conductor, a dielectric, an insulated wire, a conduit or other hollow element, a bundle of insulated wires that is coated, covered or surrounded by a dielectric or insulator or other wire bundle, or another form of solid, liquid or otherwise non-gaseous transmission medium) so as to be at least partially bound to or guided by the physical object and so as to propagate along a transmission path of the physical object. Such a physical object can operate as at least a part of a transmission medium that guides, by way of an interface of the transmission medium (e.g., an outer surface, inner surface, an interior portion between the outer and the inner surfaces or other boundary between elements of the transmission medium), the propagation of guided electromagnetic waves, which in turn can carry energy, data and/or other signals along the transmission path from a sending device to a receiving device.

Unlike free space propagation of wireless signals such as unguided (or unbounded) electromagnetic waves that decrease in intensity inversely by the square of the distance traveled by the unguided electromagnetic waves, guided electromagnetic waves can propagate along a transmission medium with less loss in magnitude per unit distance than experienced by unguided electromagnetic waves.

Unlike electrical signals, guided electromagnetic waves can propagate from a sending device to a receiving device without requiring a separate electrical return path between the sending device and the receiving device. As a consequence, guided electromagnetic waves can propagate from a sending device to a receiving device along a transmission medium having no conductive components (e.g., a dielectric strip), or via a transmission medium having no more than a single conductor (e.g., a single bare wire or insulated wire). Even if a transmission medium includes one or more conductive components and the guided electromagnetic waves propagating along the transmission medium generate currents that flow in the one or more conductive components in a direction of the guided electromagnetic waves, such guided electromagnetic waves can propagate along the transmission medium from a sending device to a receiving device without requiring a flow of opposing currents on an electrical return path between the sending device and the receiving device.

In a non-limiting illustration, consider electrical systems that transmit and receive electrical signals between sending and receiving devices by way of conductive media. Such systems generally rely on electrically separate forward and return paths. For instance, consider a coaxial cable having a center conductor and a ground shield that are separated by an insulator. Typically, in an electrical system a first terminal of a sending (or receiving) device can be connected to the center conductor, and a second terminal of the sending (or receiving) device can be connected to the ground shield. If the sending device injects an electrical signal in the center conductor via the first terminal, the electrical signal will propagate along the center conductor causing forward currents in the center conductor, and return currents in the ground shield. The same conditions apply for a two terminal receiving device.

In contrast, consider a guided wave communication system such as described in the subject disclosure, which can utilize different embodiments of a transmission medium (including among others a coaxial cable) for transmitting and receiving guided electromagnetic waves without an electrical return path. In one embodiment, for example, the guided wave communication system of the subject disclosure can be configured to induce guided electromagnetic waves that propagate along an outer surface of a coaxial cable. Although the guided electromagnetic waves will cause forward currents on the ground shield, the guided electromagnetic waves do not require return currents to enable the guided electromagnetic waves to propagate along the outer surface of the coaxial cable. The same can be said of other transmission media used by a guided wave communication system for the transmission and reception of guided electromagnetic waves. For example, guided electromagnetic waves induced by the guided wave communication system on an outer surface of a bare wire, or an insulated wire can propagate along the bare wire or the insulated bare wire without an electrical return path.

Consequently, electrical systems that require two or more conductors for carrying forward and reverse currents on separate conductors to enable the propagation of electrical signals injected by a sending device are distinct from guided wave systems that induce guided electromagnetic waves on an interface of a transmission medium without the need of an electrical return path to enable the propagation of the guided electromagnetic waves along the interface of the transmission medium.

It is further noted that guided electromagnetic waves as described in the subject disclosure can have an electromagnetic field structure that lies primarily or substantially outside of a transmission medium so as to be bound to or guided by the transmission medium and so as to propagate non-trivial distances on or along an outer surface of the transmission medium. In other embodiments, guided electromagnetic waves can have an electromagnetic field structure that lies primarily or substantially inside a transmission medium so as to be bound to or guided by the transmission medium and so as to propagate non-trivial distances within the transmission medium. In other embodiments, guided electromagnetic waves can have an electromagnetic field structure that lies partially inside and partially outside a transmission medium so as to be bound to or guided by the transmission medium and so as to propagate non-trivial distances along the transmission medium. The desired electronic field structure in an embodiment may vary based upon a variety of factors, including the desired transmission distance, the characteristics of the transmission medium itself, and environmental conditions/characteristics outside of the transmission medium (e.g., presence of rain, fog, atmospheric conditions, etc.).

Various embodiments described herein relate to coupling devices, that can be referred to as “waveguide coupling devices”, “waveguide couplers” or more simply as “couplers”, “coupling devices” or “launchers” for launching and/or extracting guided electromagnetic waves to and from a transmission medium at millimeter-wave frequencies (e.g., 30 to 300 GHz), wherein the wavelength can be small compared to one or more dimensions of the coupling device and/or the transmission medium such as the circumference of a wire or other cross sectional dimension, or lower microwave frequencies such as 300 MHz to 30 GHz. Transmissions can be generated to propagate as waves guided by a coupling device, such as: a strip, arc or other length of dielectric material; a horn, monopole, rod, slot or other antenna; an array of antennas; a magnetic resonant cavity, or other resonant coupler; a coil, a strip line, a waveguide or other coupling device. In operation, the coupling device receives an electromagnetic wave from a transmitter or transmission medium. The electromagnetic field structure of the electromagnetic wave can be carried inside the coupling device, outside the coupling device or some combination thereof. When the coupling device is in close proximity to a transmission medium, at least a portion of an electromagnetic wave couples to or is bound to the transmission medium, and continues to propagate as guided electromagnetic waves. In a reciprocal fashion, a coupling device can extract guided waves from a transmission medium and transfer these electromagnetic waves to a receiver.

According to an example embodiment, a surface wave is a type of guided wave that is guided by a surface of a transmission medium, such as an exterior or outer surface of the wire, or another surface of the wire that is adjacent to or exposed to another type of medium having different properties (e.g., dielectric properties). Indeed, in an example embodiment, a surface of the wire that guides a surface wave can represent a transitional surface between two different types of media. For example, in the case of a bare or uninsulated wire, the surface of the wire can be the outer or exterior conductive surface of the bare or uninsulated wire that is exposed to air or free space. As another example, in the case of insulated wire, the surface of the wire can be the conductive portion of the wire that meets the insulator portion of the wire, or can otherwise be the insulator surface of the wire that is exposed to air or free space, or can otherwise be any material region between the insulator surface of the wire and the conductive portion of the wire that meets the insulator portion of the wire, depending upon the relative differences in the properties (e.g., dielectric properties) of the insulator, air, and/or the conductor and further dependent on the frequency and propagation mode or modes of the guided wave.

According to an example embodiment, the term “about” a wire or other transmission medium used in conjunction with a guided wave can include fundamental guided wave propagation modes such as a guided waves having a circular or substantially circular field distribution, a symmetrical electromagnetic field distribution (e.g., electric field, magnetic field, electromagnetic field, etc.) or other fundamental mode pattern at least partially around a wire or other transmission medium. In addition, when a guided wave propagates “about” a wire or other transmission medium, it can do so according to a guided wave propagation mode that includes not only the fundamental wave propagation modes (e.g., zero order modes), but additionally or alternatively non-fundamental wave propagation modes such as higher-order guided wave modes (e.g., 1^storder modes, 2^ndorder modes, etc.), asymmetrical modes and/or other guided (e.g., surface) waves that have non-circular field distributions around a wire or other transmission medium. As used herein, the term “guided wave mode” refers to a guided wave propagation mode of a transmission medium, coupling device or other system component of a guided wave communication system.

For example, such non-circular field distributions can be unilateral or multi-lateral with one or more axial lobes characterized by relatively higher field strength and/or one or more nulls or null regions characterized by relatively low-field strength, zero-field strength or substantially zero-field strength. Further, the field distribution can otherwise vary as a function of azimuthal orientation around the wire such that one or more angular regions around the wire have an electric or magnetic field strength (or combination thereof) that is higher than one or more other angular regions of azimuthal orientation, according to an example embodiment. It will be appreciated that the relative orientations or positions of the guided wave higher order modes or asymmetrical modes can vary as the guided wave travels along the wire.

As used herein, the term “millimeter-wave” can refer to electromagnetic waves/signals that fall within the “millimeter-wave frequency band” of 30 GHz to 300 GHz. The term “microwave” can refer to electromagnetic waves/signals that fall within a “microwave frequency band” of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. The term “radio frequency” or “RF” can refer to electromagnetic waves/signals that fall within the “radio frequency band” of 10 kHz to 1 THz. It is appreciated that wireless signals, electrical signals, and guided electromagnetic waves as described in the subject disclosure can be configured to operate at any desirable frequency range, such as, for example, at frequencies within, above or below millimeter-wave and/or microwave frequency bands. In particular, when a coupling device or transmission medium includes a conductive element, the frequency of the guided electromagnetic waves that are carried by the coupling device and/or propagate along the transmission medium can be below the mean collision frequency of the electrons in the conductive element. Further, the frequency of the guided electromagnetic waves that are carried by the coupling device and/or propagate along the transmission medium can be a non-optical frequency, e.g. a radio frequency below the range of optical frequencies that begins at 1 THz.

As used herein, the term “antenna” can refer to a device that is part of a transmitting or receiving system to transmit/radiate or receive wireless signals.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a network termination includes a network interface configured to receive downstream data from a communication network and to send upstream data to the communication network. A downstream channel modulator modulates the downstream data into downstream channel signals corresponding to downstream frequency channels of a guided wave communication system. A host interface sends the downstream channel signals to the guided wave communication system and to receive upstream channel signals corresponding to upstream frequency channels from the guided wave communication system. An upstream channel demodulator demodulates upstream channel signals into the upstream data.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a method includes receiving downstream data from a communication network; modulating the downstream data into upstream channel signals corresponding to downstream frequency channels of a guided wave communication system; sending the downstream channel signals to the guided wave communication system via a wired connection; receiving upstream channel signals corresponding to upstream frequency channels from the guided wave communication system via the wired connection; demodulating the upstream channel signals into upstream data; and sending the upstream data to the communication network.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, A network termination includes a downstream channel modulator configured to modulate downstream data into downstream channel signals to convey the downstream data via a guided electromagnetic wave that is bound to a transmission medium of a guided wave communication system. A host interface sends the downstream channel signals to the guided wave communication system and to receive upstream channel signals corresponding to upstream frequency channels from the guided wave communication system. An upstream channel demodulator demodulates upstream channel signals into upstream data.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, A host node device includes at least one access point repeater (APR) configured to communicate via a guided wave communication system. A terminal interface receives downstream channel signals from a communication network. A first channel duplexer transfers the downstream channel signals to the at least one APR. The at least the one APR launches the downstream channel signals on the guided wave communication system as guided electromagnetic waves.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a method includes receiving downstream channel signals from a communication network; launching the downstream channel signals on a guided wave communication system as guided electromagnetic waves; and wirelessly transmitting the downstream channel signals to at least one client node device.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a host node device includes a terminal interface configured to receive downstream channel signals from a communication network and send upstream channel signals to the communication network. At least one access point repeater (APR) launches the downstream channel signals as guided electromagnetic waves on a guided wave communication system and to extract a first subset of the upstream channel signals from the guided wave communication system. A radio wirelessly transmits the downstream channel signals to at least one client node device and to wirelessly receive a second subset of the upstream channel signals from the at least one client node device.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a client node device includes a radio configured to wirelessly receive downstream channel signals from a communication network. An access point repeater (APR) launches the downstream channel signals on a guided wave communication system as guided electromagnetic waves that propagation along a transmission medium and to wirelessly transmit the downstream channel signals to at least one client device.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a method includes wirelessly receiving downstream channel signals from a communication network; launching the downstream channel signals on a guided wave communication system as guided electromagnetic waves that propagation along a transmission medium; and wirelessly transmitting the downstream channel signals to at least one client device.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a client node device includes a radio configured to wirelessly receive downstream channel signals from a communication network and to wirelessly transmit first upstream channel signals and second upstream channel signals to the communication network. An access point repeater (APR) launches the downstream channel signals on a guided wave communication system as guided electromagnetic waves that propagation along a transmission medium, to extract the first upstream channel signals from the guided wave communication system, to wirelessly transmit the downstream channel signals to at least one client device and to wirelessly receive the second upstream channel signals from the communication network.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a repeater device includes a first coupler configured to extract downstream channel signals from first guided electromagnetic waves bound to a transmission medium of a guided wave communication system. An amplifier amplifies the downstream channel signals to generate amplified downstream channel signals. A channel selection filter selects one or more of the amplified downstream channel signals to wirelessly transmit to the at least one client device via an antenna. A second coupler guides the amplified downstream channel signals to the transmission medium of the guided wave communication system to propagate as second guided electromagnetic waves. A channel duplexer transfers the amplified downstream channel signals to the coupler and to the channel selection filter.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a method includes extracting downstream channel signals from first guided electromagnetic waves bound to a transmission medium of a guided wave communication system; amplifying the downstream channel signals to generate amplified downstream channel signals; selecting one or more of the amplified downstream channel signals to wirelessly transmit to the at least one client device via an antenna; and guiding the amplified downstream channel signals to the transmission medium of the guided wave communication system to propagate as second guided electromagnetic waves.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram 100 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a guided wave communications system is shown. In operation, a transmission device 101 receives one or more communication signals 110 from a communication network or other communications device that includes data and generates guided waves 120 to convey the data via the transmission medium 125 to the transmission device 102. The transmission device 102 receives the guided waves 120 and converts them to communication signals 112 that include the data for transmission to a communications network or other communications device. The guided waves 120 can be modulated to convey data via a modulation technique such as phase shift keying, frequency shift keying, quadrature amplitude modulation, amplitude modulation, multi-carrier modulation such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing and via multiple access techniques such as frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, code division multiplexing, multiplexing via differing wave propagation modes and via other modulation and access strategies.

The communication network or networks can include a wireless communication network such as a mobile data network, a cellular voice and data network, a wireless local area network (e.g., WiFi or an 802.xx network), a satellite communications network, a personal area network or other wireless network. The communication network or networks can also include a wired communication network such as a telephone network, an Ethernet network, a local area network, a wide area network such as the Internet, a broadband access network, a cable network, a fiber optic network, or other wired network. The communication devices can include a network edge device, bridge device or home gateway, a set-top box, broadband modem, telephone adapter, access point, base station, or other fixed communication device, a mobile communication device such as an automotive gateway or automobile, laptop computer, tablet, smartphone, cellular telephone, or other communication device.

In an example embodiment, the guided wave communication system of diagram 100 can operate in a bi-directional fashion where transmission device 102 receives one or more communication signals 112 from a communication network or device that includes other data and generates guided waves 122 to convey the other data via the transmission medium 125 to the transmission device 101. In this mode of operation, the transmission device 101 receives the guided waves 122 and converts them to communication signals 110 that include the other data for transmission to a communications network or device. The guided waves 122 can be modulated to convey data via a modulation technique such as phase shift keying, frequency shift keying, quadrature amplitude modulation, amplitude modulation, multi-carrier modulation such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing and via multiple access techniques such as frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, code division multiplexing, multiplexing via differing wave propagation modes and via other modulation and access strategies.

The transmission medium 125 can include a cable having at least one inner portion surrounded by a dielectric material such as an insulator or other dielectric cover, coating or other dielectric material, the dielectric material having an outer surface and a corresponding circumference. In an example embodiment, the transmission medium 125 operates as a single-wire transmission line to guide the transmission of an electromagnetic wave. When the transmission medium 125 is implemented as a single wire transmission system, it can include a wire. The wire can be insulated or uninsulated, and single-stranded or multi-stranded (e.g., braided). In other embodiments, the transmission medium 125 can contain conductors of other shapes or configurations including wire bundles, cables, rods, rails, pipes. In addition, the transmission medium 125 can include non-conductors such as dielectric pipes, rods, rails, or other dielectric members including cores with or without additional cladding and/or an insulating jacket; combinations of conductors and dielectric materials, conductors without dielectric materials or other guided wave transmission media. It should be noted that the transmission medium 125 can otherwise include any of the transmission media previously discussed.

Further, as previously discussed, the guided waves 120 and 122 can be contrasted with radio transmissions over free space/air or conventional propagation of electrical power or signals through the conductor of a wire via an electrical circuit. In addition to the propagation of guided waves 120 and 122, the transmission medium 125 may optionally contain one or more wires that propagate electrical power or other communication signals in a conventional manner as a part of one or more electrical circuits.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram 200 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a transmission device is shown. The transmission device 101 or 102 includes a communications interface (UF) 205, a transceiver 210 and a coupler 220.

In an example of operation, the communications interface 205 receives a communication signal 110 or 112 that includes data. In various embodiments, the communications interface 205 can include a wireless interface for receiving a wireless communication signal in accordance with a wireless standard protocol such as LTE or other cellular voice and data protocol, WiFi or an 802.11 protocol, WIMAX protocol, Ultra Wideband protocol, Bluetooth protocol, Zigbee protocol, a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) or other satellite communication protocol or other wireless protocol. In addition or in the alternative, the communications interface 205 includes a wired interface that operates in accordance with an Ethernet protocol, universal serial bus (USB) protocol, a data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) protocol, a digital subscriber line (DSL) protocol, a Firewire (IEEE 1394) protocol, or other wired protocol. In additional to standards-based protocols, the communications interface 205 can operate in conjunction with other wired or wireless protocol, including any of the current or planned variations of the standard protocols above, modified for example for operation in conjunction with network that incorporates a guided wave communication system, or a different protocol altogether. In addition, the communications interface 205 can optionally operate in conjunction with a protocol stack that includes multiple protocol layers including a MAC protocol, transport protocol, application protocol, etc.

In an example of operation, the transceiver 210 generates an electromagnetic wave based on the communication signal 110 or 112 to convey the data. The electromagnetic wave has at least one carrier frequency and at least one corresponding wavelength. The carrier frequency can be within a millimeter-wave frequency band of 30 GHz-300 GHz, such as 60 GHz or a carrier frequency in the range of 30-40 GHz or a lower frequency band of 300 MHz-30 GHz in the microwave frequency range such as 26-30 GHz, 11 GHz, 6 GHz or 3 GHz, but it will be appreciated that other carrier frequencies are possible in other embodiments. In one mode of operation, the transceiver 210 merely upconverts the communications signal or signals 110 or 112 for transmission of the electromagnetic signal in the microwave or millimeter-wave band as a guided electromagnetic wave that is guided by or bound to the transmission medium 125. In another mode of operation, the communications interface 205 either converts the communication signal 110 or 112 to a baseband or near baseband signal or extracts the data from the communication signal 110 or 112 and the transceiver 210 modulates a high-frequency carrier with the data, the baseband or near baseband signal for transmission. It should be appreciated that the transceiver 210 can modulate the data received via the communication signal 110 or 112 to preserve one or more data communication protocols of the communication signal 110 or 112 either by encapsulation in the payload of a different protocol or by simple frequency shifting. In the alternative, the transceiver 210 can otherwise translate the data received via the communication signal 110 or 112 to a protocol that is different from the data communication protocol or protocols of the communication signal 110 or 112.

In an example of operation, the coupler 220 couples the electromagnetic wave to the transmission medium 125 as a guided electromagnetic wave to convey the communications signal or signals 110 or 112. While the prior description has focused on the operation of the transceiver 210 as a transmitter, the transceiver 210 can also operate to receive electromagnetic waves that convey other data from the single wire transmission medium via the coupler 220 and to generate communications signals 110 or 112, via communications interface 205 that includes the other data. Consider embodiments where an additional guided electromagnetic wave conveys other data that also propagates along the transmission medium 125. The coupler 220 can also couple this additional electromagnetic wave from the transmission medium 125 to the transceiver 210 for reception.

The transmission device 101 or 102 includes an optional training controller 230. In an example embodiment, the training controller 230 is implemented by a standalone processor or a processor that is shared with one or more other components of the transmission device 101 or 102. The training controller 230 selects the carrier frequencies, modulation schemes and/or guided wave modes for the guided electromagnetic waves based on feedback data received by the transceiver 210 from at least one remote transmission device coupled to receive the guided electromagnetic wave.

In an example embodiment, a guided electromagnetic wave transmitted by a remote transmission device 101 or 102 conveys data that also propagates along the transmission medium 125. The data from the remote transmission device 101 or 102 can be generated to include the feedback data. In operation, the coupler 220 also couples the guided electromagnetic wave from the transmission medium 125 and the transceiver receives the electromagnetic wave and processes the electromagnetic wave to extract the feedback data.

In an example embodiment, the training controller 230 operates based on the feedback data to evaluate a plurality of candidate frequencies, modulation schemes and/or transmission modes to select a carrier frequency, modulation scheme and/or transmission mode to enhance performance, such as throughput, signal strength, reduce propagation loss, etc.

Consider the following example: a transmission device 101 begins operation under control of the training controller 230 by sending a plurality of guided waves as test signals such as pilot waves or other test signals at a corresponding plurality of candidate frequencies and/or candidate modes directed to a remote transmission device 102 coupled to the transmission medium 125. The guided waves can include, in addition or in the alternative, test data. The test data can indicate the particular candidate frequency and/or guide-wave mode of the signal. In an embodiment, the training controller 230 at the remote transmission device 102 receives the test signals and/or test data from any of the guided waves that were properly received and determines the best candidate frequency and/or guided wave mode, a set of acceptable candidate frequencies and/or guided wave modes, or a rank ordering of candidate frequencies and/or guided wave modes. This selection of candidate frequenc(ies) or/and guided-mode(s) are generated by the training controller 230 based on one or more optimizing criteria such as received signal strength, bit error rate, packet error rate, signal to noise ratio, propagation loss, etc. The training controller 230 generates feedback data that indicates the selection of candidate frequenc(ies) or/and guided wave mode(s) and sends the feedback data to the transceiver 210 for transmission to the transmission device 101. The transmission device 101 and 102 can then communicate data with one another based on the selection of candidate frequenc(ies) or/and guided wave mode(s).

In other embodiments, the guided electromagnetic waves that contain the test signals and/or test data are reflected back, repeated back or otherwise looped back by the remote transmission device 102 to the transmission device 101 for reception and analysis by the training controller 230 of the transmission device 101 that initiated these waves. For example, the transmission device 101 can send a signal to the remote transmission device 102 to initiate a test mode where a physical reflector is switched on the line, a termination impedance is changed to cause reflections, a loop back mode is switched on to couple electromagnetic waves back to the source transmission device 102, and/or a repeater mode is enabled to amplify and retransmit the electromagnetic waves back to the source transmission device 102. The training controller 230 at the source transmission device 102 receives the test signals and/or test data from any of the guided waves that were properly received and determines selection of candidate frequenc(ies) or/and guided wave mode(s).

While the procedure above has been described in a start-up or initialization mode of operation, each transmission device 101 or 102 can send test signals, evaluate candidate frequencies or guided wave modes via non-test such as normal transmissions or otherwise evaluate candidate frequencies or guided wave modes at other times or continuously as well. In an example embodiment, the communication protocol between the transmission devices 101 and 102 can include an on-request or periodic test mode where either full testing or more limited testing of a subset of candidate frequencies and guided wave modes are tested and evaluated. In other modes of operation, the re-entry into such a test mode can be triggered by a degradation of performance due to a disturbance, weather conditions, etc. In an example embodiment, the receiver bandwidth of the transceiver 210 is either sufficiently wide or swept to receive all candidate frequencies or can be selectively adjusted by the training controller 230 to a training mode where the receiver bandwidth of the transceiver 210 is sufficiently wide or swept to receive all candidate frequencies.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a graphical diagram 300 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an electromagnetic field distribution is shown. In this embodiment, a transmission medium 125 in air includes an inner conductor 301 and an insulating jacket 302 of dielectric material, as shown in cross section. The diagram 300 includes different gray-scales that represent differing electromagnetic field strengths generated by the propagation of the guided wave having an asymmetrical and non-fundamental guided wave mode.

In particular, the electromagnetic field distribution corresponds to a modal “sweet spot” that enhances guided electromagnetic wave propagation along an insulated transmission medium and reduces end-to-end transmission loss. In this particular mode, electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium 125 to propagate along an outer surface of the transmission medium—in this case, the outer surface of the insulating jacket 302. Electromagnetic waves are partially embedded in the insulator and partially radiating on the outer surface of the insulator. In this fashion, electromagnetic waves are “lightly” coupled to the insulator so as to enable electromagnetic wave propagation at long distances with low propagation loss.

As shown, the guided wave has a field structure that lies primarily or substantially outside of the transmission medium 125 that serves to guide the electromagnetic waves. The regions inside the conductor 301 have little or no field. Likewise regions inside the insulating jacket 302 have low field strength. The majority of the electromagnetic field strength is distributed in the lobes 304 at the outer surface of the insulating jacket 302 and in close proximity thereof. The presence of an asymmetric guided wave mode is shown by the high electromagnetic field strengths at the top and bottom of the outer surface of the insulating jacket 302 (in the orientation of the diagram)—as opposed to very small field strengths on the other sides of the insulating jacket 302.

The example shown corresponds to a 38 GHz electromagnetic wave guided by a wire with a diameter of 1.1 cm and a dielectric insulation of thickness of 0.36 cm. Because the electromagnetic wave is guided by the transmission medium 125 and the majority of the field strength is concentrated in the air outside of the insulating jacket 302 within a limited distance of the outer surface, the guided wave can propagate longitudinally down the transmission medium 125 with very low loss. In the example shown, this “limited distance” corresponds to a distance from the outer surface that is less than half the largest cross sectional dimension of the transmission medium 125. In this case, the largest cross sectional dimension of the wire corresponds to the overall diameter of 1.82 cm, however, this value can vary with the size and shape of the transmission medium 125. For example, should the transmission medium 125 be of a rectangular shape with a height of 0.3 cm and a width of 0.4 cm, the largest cross sectional dimension would be the diagonal of 0.5 cm and the corresponding limited distance would be 0.25 cm. The dimensions of the area containing the majority of the field strength also vary with the frequency, and in general, increase as carrier frequencies decrease.

It should also be noted that the components of a guided wave communication system, such as couplers and transmission media can have their own cut-off frequencies for each guided wave mode. The cut-off frequency generally sets forth the lowest frequency that a particular guided wave mode is designed to be supported by that particular component. In an example embodiment, the particular asymmetric mode of propagation shown is induced on the transmission medium 125 by an electromagnetic wave having a frequency that falls within a limited range (such as Fc to 2Fc) of the lower cut-off frequency Fc for this particular asymmetric mode. The lower cut-off frequency Fc is particular to the characteristics of transmission medium 125. For embodiments as shown that include an inner conductor 301 surrounded by an insulating jacket 302, this cutoff frequency can vary based on the dimensions and properties of the insulating jacket 302 and potentially the dimensions and properties of the inner conductor 301 and can be determined experimentally to have a desired mode pattern. It should be noted however, that similar effects can be found for a hollow dielectric or insulator without an inner conductor. In this case, the cutoff frequency can vary based on the dimensions and properties of the hollow dielectric or insulator.

At frequencies lower than the lower cut-off frequency, the asymmetric mode is difficult to induce in the transmission medium 125 and fails to propagate for all but trivial distances. As the frequency increases above the limited range of frequencies about the cut-off frequency, the asymmetric mode shifts more and more inward of the insulating jacket 302. At frequencies much larger than the cut-off frequency, the field strength is no longer concentrated outside of the insulating jacket, but primarily inside of the insulating jacket 302. While the transmission medium 125 provides strong guidance to the electromagnetic wave and propagation is still possible, ranges are more limited by increased losses due to propagation within the insulating jacket 302—as opposed to the surrounding air.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a graphical diagram 400 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an electromagnetic field distribution is shown. In particular, a cross section diagram 400, similar to FIG. 3 is shown with common reference numerals used to refer to similar elements. The example shown corresponds to a 60 GHz wave guided by a wire with a diameter of 1.1 cm and a dielectric insulation of thickness of 0.36 cm. Because the frequency of the guided wave is above the limited range of the cut-off frequency of this particular asymmetric mode, much of the field strength has shifted inward of the insulating jacket 302. In particular, the field strength is concentrated primarily inside of the insulating jacket 302. While the transmission medium 125 provides strong guidance to the electromagnetic wave and propagation is still possible, ranges are more limited when compared with the embodiment of FIG. 3, by increased losses due to propagation within the insulating jacket 302.

Referring now to FIG. 5A, a graphical diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a frequency response is shown. In particular, diagram 500 presents a graph of end-to-end loss (in dB) as a function of frequency, overlaid with electromagnetic field distributions 510, 520 and 530 at three points for a 200 cm insulated medium voltage wire. The boundary between the insulator and the surrounding air is represented by reference numeral 525 in each electromagnetic field distribution.

As discussed in conjunction with FIG. 3, an example of a desired asymmetric mode of propagation shown is induced on the transmission medium 125 by an electromagnetic wave having a frequency that falls within a limited range (such as Fc to 2Fc) of the lower cut-off frequency Fc of the transmission medium for this particular asymmetric mode. In particular, the electromagnetic field distribution 520 at 6 GHz falls within this modal “sweet spot” that enhances electromagnetic wave propagation along an insulated transmission medium and reduces end-to-end transmission loss. In this particular mode, guided waves are partially embedded in the insulator and partially radiating on the outer surface of the insulator. In this fashion, the electromagnetic waves are “lightly” coupled to the insulator so as to enable guided electromagnetic wave propagation at long distances with low propagation loss.

At lower frequencies represented by the electromagnetic field distribution 510 at 3 GHz, the asymmetric mode radiates more heavily generating higher propagation losses. At higher frequencies represented by the electromagnetic field distribution 530 at 9 GHz, the asymmetric mode shifts more and more inward of the insulating jacket providing too much absorption, again generating higher propagation losses.

Referring now to FIG. 5B, a graphical diagram 550 illustrating example, non-limiting embodiments of a longitudinal cross-section of a transmission medium 125, such as an insulated wire, depicting fields of guided electromagnetic waves at various operating frequencies is shown. As shown in diagram 556, when the guided electromagnetic waves are at approximately the cutoff frequency (f_c) corresponding to the modal “sweet spot”, the guided electromagnetic waves are loosely coupled to the insulated wire so that absorption is reduced, and the fields of the guided electromagnetic waves are bound sufficiently to reduce the amount radiated into the environment (e.g., air). Because absorption and radiation of the fields of the guided electromagnetic waves is low, propagation losses are consequently low, enabling the guided electromagnetic waves to propagate for longer distances.

As shown in diagram 554, propagation losses increase when an operating frequency of the guide electromagnetic waves increases above about two-times the cutoff frequency (f_c)—or as referred to, above the range of the “sweet spot”. More of the field strength of the electromagnetic wave is driven inside the insulating layer, increasing propagation losses. At frequencies much higher than the cutoff frequency (f_c) the guided electromagnetic waves are strongly bound to the insulated wire as a result of the fields emitted by the guided electromagnetic waves being concentrated in the insulation layer of the wire, as shown in diagram 552. This in turn raises propagation losses further due to absorption of the guided electromagnetic waves by the insulation layer. Similarly, propagation losses increase when the operating frequency of the guided electromagnetic waves is substantially below the cutoff frequency (f_c), as shown in diagram 558. At frequencies much lower than the cutoff frequency (f_c) the guided electromagnetic waves are weakly (or nominally) bound to the insulated wire and thereby tend to radiate into the environment (e.g., air), which in turn, raises propagation losses due to radiation of the guided electromagnetic waves.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a graphical diagram 600 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an electromagnetic field distribution is shown. In this embodiment, a transmission medium 602 is a bare wire, as shown in cross section. The diagram 600 includes different gray-scales that represent differing electromagnetic field strengths generated by the propagation of a guided wave having a symmetrical and fundamental guided wave mode at a single carrier frequency.

In this particular mode, electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium 602 to propagate along an outer surface of the transmission medium—in this case, the outer surface of the bare wire. Electromagnetic waves are “lightly” coupled to the wire so as to enable electromagnetic wave propagation at long distances with low propagation loss. As shown, the guided wave has a field structure that lies substantially outside of the transmission medium 602 that serves to guide the electromagnetic waves. The regions inside the conductor 602 have little or no field.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a block diagram 700 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an arc coupler is shown. In particular a coupling device is presented for use in a transmission device, such as transmission device 101 or 102 presented in conjunction with FIG. 1. The coupling device includes an arc coupler 704 coupled to a transmitter circuit 712 and termination or damper 714. The arc coupler 704 can be made of a dielectric material, or other low-loss insulator (e.g., Teflon, polyethylene, etc.), or made of a conducting (e.g., metallic, non-metallic, etc.) material, or any combination of the foregoing materials. As shown, the arc coupler 704 operates as a waveguide and has a wave 706 propagating as a guided wave about a waveguide surface of the arc coupler 704. In the embodiment shown, at least a portion of the arc coupler 704 can be placed near a wire 702 or other transmission medium, (such as transmission medium 125), in order to facilitate coupling between the arc coupler 704 and the wire 702 or other transmission medium, as described herein to launch the guided wave 708 on the wire. The arc coupler 704 can be placed such that a portion of the curved arc coupler 704 is tangential to, and parallel or substantially parallel to the wire 702. The portion of the arc coupler 704 that is parallel to the wire can be an apex of the curve, or any point where a tangent of the curve is parallel to the wire 702. When the arc coupler 704 is positioned or placed thusly, the wave 706 travelling along the arc coupler 704 couples, at least in part, to the wire 702, and propagates as guided wave 708 around or about the wire surface of the wire 702 and longitudinally along the wire 702. The guided wave 708 can be characterized as a surface wave or other electromagnetic wave that is guided by or bound to the wire 702 or other transmission medium.

A portion of the wave 706 that does not couple to the wire 702 propagates as a wave 710 along the arc coupler 704. It will be appreciated that the arc coupler 704 can be configured and arranged in a variety of positions in relation to the wire 702 to achieve a desired level of coupling or non-coupling of the wave 706 to the wire 702. For example, the curvature and/or length of the arc coupler 704 that is parallel or substantially parallel, as well as its separation distance (which can include zero separation distance in an embodiment), to the wire 702 can be varied without departing from example embodiments. Likewise, the arrangement of arc coupler 704 in relation to the wire 702 may be varied based upon considerations of the respective intrinsic characteristics (e.g., thickness, composition, electromagnetic properties, etc.) of the wire 702 and the arc coupler 704, as well as the characteristics (e.g., frequency, energy level, etc.) of the waves 706 and 708.

The guided wave 708 stays parallel or substantially parallel to the wire 702, even as the wire 702 bends and flexes. Bends in the wire 702 can increase transmission losses, which are also dependent on wire diameters, frequency, and materials. If the dimensions of the arc coupler 704 are chosen for efficient power transfer, most of the power in the wave 706 is transferred to the wire 702, with little power remaining in wave 710. It will be appreciated that the guided wave 708 can still be multi-modal in nature (discussed herein), including having modes that are non-fundamental or asymmetric, while traveling along a path that is parallel or substantially parallel to the wire 702, with or without a fundamental transmission mode. In an embodiment, non-fundamental or asymmetric modes can be utilized to minimize transmission losses and/or obtain increased propagation distances.

It is noted that the term parallel is generally a geometric construct which often is not exactly achievable in real systems. Accordingly, the term parallel as utilized in the subject disclosure represents an approximation rather than an exact configuration when used to describe embodiments disclosed in the subject disclosure. In an embodiment, substantially parallel can include approximations that are within 30 degrees of true parallel in all dimensions.

In an embodiment, the wave 706 can exhibit one or more wave propagation modes. The arc coupler modes can be dependent on the shape and/or design of the coupler 704. The one or more arc coupler modes of wave 706 can generate, influence, or impact one or more wave propagation modes of the guided wave 708 propagating along wire 702. It should be particularly noted however that the guided wave modes present in the guided wave 706 may be the same or different from the guided wave modes of the guided wave 708. In this fashion, one or more guided wave modes of the guided wave 706 may not be transferred to the guided wave 708, and further one or more guided wave modes of guided wave 708 may not have been present in guided wave 706. It should also be noted that the cut-off frequency of the arc coupler 704 for a particular guided wave mode may be different than the cutoff frequency of the wire 702 or other transmission medium for that same mode. For example, while the wire 702 or other transmission medium may be operated slightly above its cutoff frequency for a particular guided wave mode, the arc coupler 704 may be operated well above its cut-off frequency for that same mode for low loss, slightly below its cut-off frequency for that same mode to, for example, induce greater coupling and power transfer, or some other point in relation to the arc coupler's cutoff frequency for that mode.

In an embodiment, the wave propagation modes on the wire 702 can be similar to the arc coupler modes since both waves 706 and 708 propagate about the outside of the arc coupler 704 and wire 702 respectively. In some embodiments, as the wave 706 couples to the wire 702, the modes can change form, or new modes can be created or generated, due to the coupling between the arc coupler 704 and the wire 702. For example, differences in size, material, and/or impedances of the arc coupler 704 and wire 702 may create additional modes not present in the arc coupler modes and/or suppress some of the arc coupler modes. The wave propagation modes can comprise the fundamental transverse electromagnetic mode (Quasi-TEM₀₀), where only small electric and/or magnetic fields extend in the direction of propagation, and the electric and magnetic fields extend radially outwards while the guided wave propagates along the wire. This guided wave mode can be donut shaped, where few of the electromagnetic fields exist within the arc coupler 704 or wire 702.

Waves 706 and 708 can comprise a fundamental TEM mode where the fields extend radially outwards, and also comprise other, non-fundamental (e.g., asymmetric, higher-level, etc.) modes. While particular wave propagation modes are discussed above, other wave propagation modes are likewise possible such as transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes, based on the frequencies employed, the design of the arc coupler 704, the dimensions and composition of the wire 702, as well as its surface characteristics, its insulation if present, the electromagnetic properties of the surrounding environment, etc. It should be noted that, depending on the frequency, the electrical and physical characteristics of the wire 702 and the particular wave propagation modes that are generated, guided wave 708 can travel along the conductive surface of an oxidized uninsulated wire, an unoxidized uninsulated wire, an insulated wire and/or along the insulating surface of an insulated wire.

In an embodiment, a diameter of the arc coupler 704 is smaller than the diameter of the wire 702. For the millimeter-band wavelength being used, the arc coupler 704 supports a single waveguide mode that makes up wave 706. This single waveguide mode can change as it couples to the wire 702 as guided wave 708. If the arc coupler 704 were larger, more than one waveguide mode can be supported, but these additional waveguide modes may not couple to the wire 702 as efficiently, and higher coupling losses can result. However, in some alternative embodiments, the diameter of the arc coupler 704 can be equal to or larger than the diameter of the wire 702, for example, where higher coupling losses are desirable or when used in conjunction with other techniques to otherwise reduce coupling losses (e.g., impedance matching with tapering, etc.).

In an embodiment, the wavelength of the waves 706 and 708 are comparable in size, or smaller than a circumference of the arc coupler 704 and the wire 702. In an example, if the wire 702 has a diameter of 0.5 cm, and a corresponding circumference of around 1.5 cm, the wavelength of the transmission is around 1.5 cm or less, corresponding to a frequency of 70 GHz or greater. In another embodiment, a suitable frequency of the transmission and the carrier-wave signal is in the range of 30-100 GHz, perhaps around 30-60 GHz, and around 38 GHz in one example. In an embodiment, when the circumference of the arc coupler 704 and wire 702 is comparable in size to, or greater, than a wavelength of the transmission, the waves 706 and 708 can exhibit multiple wave propagation modes including fundamental and/or non-fundamental (symmetric and/or asymmetric) modes that propagate over sufficient distances to support various communication systems described herein. The waves 706 and 708 can therefore comprise more than one type of electric and magnetic field configuration. In an embodiment, as the guided wave 708 propagates down the wire 702, the electrical and magnetic field configurations will remain the same from end to end of the wire 702. In other embodiments, as the guided wave 708 encounters interference (distortion or obstructions) or loses energy due to transmission losses or scattering, the electric and magnetic field configurations can change as the guided wave 708 propagates down wire 702.

In an embodiment, the arc coupler 704 can be composed of nylon, Teflon, polyethylene, a polyamide, or other plastics. In other embodiments, other dielectric materials are possible. The wire surface of wire 702 can be metallic with either a bare metallic surface, or can be insulated using plastic, dielectric, insulator or other coating, jacket or sheathing. In an embodiment, a dielectric or otherwise non-conducting/insulated waveguide can be paired with either a bare/metallic wire or insulated wire. In other embodiments, a metallic and/or conductive waveguide can be paired with a bare/metallic wire or insulated wire. In an embodiment, an oxidation layer on the bare metallic surface of the wire 702 (e.g., resulting from exposure of the bare metallic surface to oxygen/air) can also provide insulating or dielectric properties similar to those provided by some insulators or sheathings.

It is noted that the graphical representations of waves 706, 708 and 710 are presented merely to illustrate the principles that wave 706 induces or otherwise launches a guided wave 708 on a wire 702 that operates, for example, as a single wire transmission line. Wave 710 represents the portion of wave 706 that remains on the arc coupler 704 after the generation of guided wave 708. The actual electric and magnetic fields generated as a result of such wave propagation may vary depending on the frequencies employed, the particular wave propagation mode or modes, the design of the arc coupler 704, the dimensions and composition of the wire 702, as well as its surface characteristics, its optional insulation, the electromagnetic properties of the surrounding environment, etc.

It is noted that arc coupler 704 can include a termination circuit or damper 714 at the end of the arc coupler 704 that can absorb leftover radiation or energy from wave 710. The termination circuit or damper 714 can prevent and/or minimize the leftover radiation or energy from wave 710 reflecting back toward transmitter circuit 712. In an embodiment, the termination circuit or damper 714 can include termination resistors, and/or other components that perform impedance matching to attenuate reflection. In some embodiments, if the coupling efficiencies are high enough, and/or wave 710 is sufficiently small, it may not be necessary to use a termination circuit or damper 714. For the sake of simplicity, these transmitter 712 and termination circuits or dampers 714 may not be depicted in the other figures, but in those embodiments, transmitter and termination circuits or dampers may possibly be used.

Further, while a single arc coupler 704 is presented that generates a single guided wave 708, multiple arc couplers 704 placed at different points along the wire 702 and/or at different azimuthal orientations about the wire can be employed to generate and receive multiple guided waves 708 at the same or different frequencies, at the same or different phases, at the same or different wave propagation modes.

FIG. 8, a block diagram 800 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an arc coupler is shown. In the embodiment shown, at least a portion of the coupler 704 can be placed near a wire 702 or other transmission medium, (such as transmission medium 125), in order to facilitate coupling between the arc coupler 704 and the wire 702 or other transmission medium, to extract a portion of the guided wave 806 as a guided wave 808 as described herein. The arc coupler 704 can be placed such that a portion of the curved arc coupler 704 is tangential to, and parallel or substantially parallel to the wire 702. The portion of the arc coupler 704 that is parallel to the wire can be an apex of the curve, or any point where a tangent of the curve is parallel to the wire 702. When the arc coupler 704 is positioned or placed thusly, the wave 806 travelling along the wire 702 couples, at least in part, to the arc coupler 704, and propagates as guided wave 808 along the arc coupler 704 to a receiving device (not expressly shown). A portion of the wave 806 that does not couple to the arc coupler propagates as wave 810 along the wire 702 or other transmission medium.

In an embodiment, the wave 806 can exhibit one or more wave propagation modes. The arc coupler modes can be dependent on the shape and/or design of the coupler 704. The one or more modes of guided wave 806 can generate, influence, or impact one or more guide-wave modes of the guided wave 808 propagating along the arc coupler 704. It should be particularly noted however that the guided wave modes present in the guided wave 806 may be the same or different from the guided wave modes of the guided wave 808. In this fashion, one or more guided wave modes of the guided wave 806 may not be transferred to the guided wave 808, and further one or more guided wave modes of guided wave 808 may not have been present in guided wave 806.

Referring now to FIG. 9A, a block diagram 900 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a stub coupler is shown. In particular a coupling device that includes stub coupler 904 is presented for use in a transmission device, such as transmission device 101 or 102 presented in conjunction with FIG. 1. The stub coupler 904 can be made of a dielectric material, or other low-loss insulator (e.g., Teflon, polyethylene and etc.), or made of a conducting (e.g., metallic, non-metallic, etc.) material, or any combination of the foregoing materials. As shown, the stub coupler 904 operates as a waveguide and has a wave 906 propagating as a guided wave about a waveguide surface of the stub coupler 904. In the embodiment shown, at least a portion of the stub coupler 904 can be placed near a wire 702 or other transmission medium, (such as transmission medium 125), in order to facilitate coupling between the stub coupler 904 and the wire 702 or other transmission medium, as described herein to launch the guided wave 908 on the wire.

In an embodiment, the stub coupler 904 is curved, and an end of the stub coupler 904 can be tied, fastened, or otherwise mechanically coupled to a wire 702. When the end of the stub coupler 904 is fastened to the wire 702, the end of the stub coupler 904 is parallel or substantially parallel to the wire 702. Alternatively, another portion of the dielectric waveguide beyond an end can be fastened or coupled to wire 702 such that the fastened or coupled portion is parallel or substantially parallel to the wire 702. The fastener 910 can be a nylon cable tie or other type of non-conducting/dielectric material that is either separate from the stub coupler 904 or constructed as an integrated component of the stub coupler 904. The stub coupler 904 can be adjacent to the wire 702 without surrounding the wire 702.

Like the arc coupler 704 described in conjunction with FIG. 7, when the stub coupler 904 is placed with the end parallel to the wire 702, the guided wave 906 travelling along the stub coupler 904 couples to the wire 702, and propagates as guided wave 908 about the wire surface of the wire 702. In an example embodiment, the guided wave 908 can be characterized as a surface wave or other electromagnetic wave.

It is noted that the graphical representations of waves 906 and 908 are presented merely to illustrate the principles that wave 906 induces or otherwise launches a guided wave 908 on a wire 702 that operates, for example, as a single wire transmission line. The actual electric and magnetic fields generated as a result of such wave propagation may vary depending on one or more of the shape and/or design of the coupler, the relative position of the dielectric waveguide to the wire, the frequencies employed, the design of the stub coupler 904, the dimensions and composition of the wire 702, as well as its surface characteristics, its optional insulation, the electromagnetic properties of the surrounding environment, etc.

In an embodiment, an end of stub coupler 904 can taper towards the wire 702 in order to increase coupling efficiencies. Indeed, the tapering of the end of the stub coupler 904 can provide impedance matching to the wire 702 and reduce reflections, according to an example embodiment of the subject disclosure. For example, an end of the stub coupler 904 can be gradually tapered in order to obtain a desired level of coupling between waves 906 and 908 as illustrated in FIG. 9A.

In an embodiment, the fastener 910 can be placed such that there is a short length of the stub coupler 904 between the fastener 910 and an end of the stub coupler 904. Maximum coupling efficiencies are realized in this embodiment when the length of the end of the stub coupler 904 that is beyond the fastener 910 is at least several wavelengths long for whatever frequency is being transmitted.

Turning now to FIG. 9B, a diagram 950 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an electromagnetic distribution in accordance with various aspects described herein is shown. In particular, an electromagnetic distribution is presented in two dimensions for a transmission device that includes coupler 952, shown in an example stub coupler constructed of a dielectric material. The coupler 952 couples an electromagnetic wave for propagation as a guided wave along an outer surface of a wire 702 or other transmission medium.

The coupler 952 guides the electromagnetic wave to a junction at x₀via a symmetrical guided wave mode. While some of the energy of the electromagnetic wave that propagates along the coupler 952 is outside of the coupler 952, the majority of the energy of this electromagnetic wave is contained within the coupler 952. The junction at x₀couples the electromagnetic wave to the wire 702 or other transmission medium at an azimuthal angle corresponding to the bottom of the transmission medium. This coupling induces an electromagnetic wave that is guided to propagate along the outer surface of the wire 702 or other transmission medium via at least one guided wave mode in direction 956. The majority of the energy of the guided electromagnetic wave is outside or, but in close proximity to the outer surface of the wire 702 or other transmission medium. In the example shown, the junction at x₀forms an electromagnetic wave that propagates via both a symmetrical mode and at least one asymmetrical surface mode, such as the first order mode presented in conjunction with FIG. 3, that skims the surface of the wire 702 or other transmission medium.

It is noted that the graphical representations of guided waves are presented merely to illustrate an example of guided wave coupling and propagation. The actual electric and magnetic fields generated as a result of such wave propagation may vary depending on the frequencies employed, the design and/or configuration of the coupler 952, the dimensions and composition of the wire 702 or other transmission medium, as well as its surface characteristics, its insulation if present, the electromagnetic properties of the surrounding environment, etc.

Turning now to FIG. 10A, illustrated is a block diagram 1000 of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a coupler and transceiver system in accordance with various aspects described herein. The system is an example of transmission device 101 or 102. In particular, the communication interface 1008 is an example of communications interface 205, the stub coupler 1002 is an example of coupler 220, and the transmitter/receiver device 1006, diplexer 1016, power amplifier 1014, low noise amplifier 1018, frequency mixers 1010 and 1020 and local oscillator 1012 collectively form an example of transceiver 210.

In operation, the transmitter/receiver device 1006 launches and receives waves (e.g., guided wave 1004 onto stub coupler 1002). The guided waves 1004 can be used to transport signals received from and sent to a host device, base station, mobile devices, a building or other device by way of a communications interface 1008. The communications interface 1008 can be an integral part of system 1000. Alternatively, the communications interface 1008 can be tethered to system 1000. The communications interface 1008 can comprise a wireless interface for interfacing to the host device, base station, mobile devices, a building or other device utilizing any of various wireless signaling protocols (e.g., LTE, WiFi, WiMAX, IEEE 802.xx, etc.) including an infrared protocol such as an infrared data association (IrDA) protocol or other line of sight optical protocol. The communications interface 1008 can also comprise a wired interface such as a fiber optic line, coaxial cable, twisted pair, category 5 (CAT-5) cable or other suitable wired or optical mediums for communicating with the host device, base station, mobile devices, a building or other device via a protocol such as an Ethernet protocol, universal serial bus (USB) protocol, a data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) protocol, a digital subscriber line (DSL) protocol, a Firewire (IEEE 1394) protocol, or other wired or optical protocol. For embodiments where system 1000 functions as a repeater, the communications interface 1008 may not be necessary.

The output signals (e.g., Tx) of the communications interface 1008 can be combined with a carrier wave (e.g., millimeter-wave carrier wave) generated by a local oscillator 1012 at frequency mixer 1010. Frequency mixer 1010 can use heterodyning techniques or other frequency shifting techniques to frequency shift the output signals from communications interface 1008. For example, signals sent to and from the communications interface 1008 can be modulated signals such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) signals formatted in accordance with a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) wireless protocol or other wireless 3G, 4G, 5G or higher voice and data protocol, a Zigbee, WIMAX, UltraWideband or IEEE 802.11 wireless protocol; a wired protocol such as an Ethernet protocol, universal serial bus (USB) protocol, a data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) protocol, a digital subscriber line (DSL) protocol, a Firewire (IEEE 1394) protocol or other wired or wireless protocol. In an example embodiment, this frequency conversion can be done in the analog domain, and as a result, the frequency shifting can be done without regard to the type of communications protocol used by a base station, mobile devices, or in-building devices. As new communications technologies are developed, the communications interface 1008 can be upgraded (e.g., updated with software, firmware, and/or hardware) or replaced and the frequency shifting and transmission apparatus can remain, simplifying upgrades. The carrier wave can then be sent to a power amplifier (“PA”) 1014 and can be transmitted via the transmitter receiver device 1006 via the diplexer 1016.

Signals received from the transmitter/receiver device 1006 that are directed towards the communications interface 1008 can be separated from other signals via diplexer 1016. The received signal can then be sent to low noise amplifier (“LNA”) 1018 for amplification. A frequency mixer 1020, with help from local oscillator 1012 can downshift the received signal (which is in the millimeter-wave band or around 38 GHz in some embodiments) to the native frequency. The communications interface 1008 can then receive the transmission at an input port (Rx).

In an embodiment, transmitter/receiver device 1006 can include a cylindrical or non-cylindrical metal (which, for example, can be hollow in an embodiment, but not necessarily drawn to scale) or other conducting or non-conducting waveguide and an end of the stub coupler 1002 can be placed in or in proximity to the waveguide or the transmitter/receiver device 1006 such that when the transmitter/receiver device 1006 generates a transmission, the guided wave couples to stub coupler 1002 and propagates as a guided wave 1004 about the waveguide surface of the stub coupler 1002. In some embodiments, the guided wave 1004 can propagate in part on the outer surface of the stub coupler 1002 and in part inside the stub coupler 1002. In other embodiments, the guided wave 1004 can propagate substantially or completely on the outer surface of the stub coupler 1002. In yet other embodiments, the guided wave 1004 can propagate substantially or completely inside the stub coupler 1002. In this latter embodiment, the guided wave 1004 can radiate at an end of the stub coupler 1002 (such as the tapered end shown in FIG. 4) for coupling to a transmission medium such as a wire 702 of FIG. 7. Similarly, if guided wave 1004 is incoming (coupled to the stub coupler 1002 from a wire 702), guided wave 1004 then enters the transmitter/receiver device 1006 and couples to the cylindrical waveguide or conducting waveguide. While transmitter/receiver device 1006 is shown to include a separate waveguide—an antenna, cavity resonator, klystron, magnetron, travelling wave tube, or other radiating element can be employed to induce a guided wave on the coupler 1002, with or without the separate waveguide.

In an embodiment, stub coupler 1002 can be wholly constructed of a dielectric material (or another suitable insulating material), without any metallic or otherwise conducting materials therein. Stub coupler 1002 can be composed of nylon, Teflon, polyethylene, a polyamide, other plastics, or other materials that are non-conducting and suitable for facilitating transmission of electromagnetic waves at least in part on an outer surface of such materials. In another embodiment, stub coupler 1002 can include a core that is conducting/metallic, and have an exterior dielectric surface. Similarly, a transmission medium that couples to the stub coupler 1002 for propagating electromagnetic waves induced by the stub coupler 1002 or for supplying electromagnetic waves to the stub coupler 1002 can, in addition to being a bare or insulated wire, be wholly constructed of a dielectric material (or another suitable insulating material), without any metallic or otherwise conducting materials therein.

It is noted that although FIG. 10A shows that the opening of transmitter receiver device 1006 is much wider than the stub coupler 1002, this is not to scale, and that in other embodiments the width of the stub coupler 1002 is comparable or slightly smaller than the opening of the hollow waveguide. It is also not shown, but in an embodiment, an end of the coupler 1002 that is inserted into the transmitter/receiver device 1006 tapers down in order to reduce reflection and increase coupling efficiencies.

Before coupling to the stub coupler 1002, the one or more waveguide modes of the guided wave generated by the transmitter/receiver device 1006 can couple to the stub coupler 1002 to induce one or more wave propagation modes of the guided wave 1004. The wave propagation modes of the guided wave 1004 can be different than the hollow metal waveguide modes due to the different characteristics of the hollow metal waveguide and the dielectric waveguide. For instance, wave propagation modes of the guided wave 1004 can comprise the fundamental transverse electromagnetic mode (Quasi-TEM₀₀), where only small electrical and/or magnetic fields extend in the direction of propagation, and the electric and magnetic fields extend radially outwards from the stub coupler 1002 while the guided waves propagate along the stub coupler 1002. The fundamental transverse electromagnetic mode wave propagation mode may or may not exist inside a waveguide that is hollow. Therefore, the hollow metal waveguide modes that are used by transmitter/receiver device 1006 are waveguide modes that can couple effectively and efficiently to wave propagation modes of stub coupler 1002.

It will be appreciated that other constructs or combinations of the transmitter/receiver device 1006 and stub coupler 1002 are possible. For example, a stub coupler 1002′ can be placed tangentially or in parallel (with or without a gap) with respect to an outer surface of the hollow metal waveguide of the transmitter/receiver device 1006′ (corresponding circuitry not shown) as depicted by reference 1000′ of FIG. 10B. In another embodiment, not shown by reference 1000′, the stub coupler 1002′ can be placed inside the hollow metal waveguide of the transmitter/receiver device 1006′ without an axis of the stub coupler 1002′ being coaxially aligned with an axis of the hollow metal waveguide of the transmitter/receiver device 1006′. In either of these embodiments, the guided wave generated by the transmitter/receiver device 1006′ can couple to a surface of the stub coupler 1002′ to induce one or more wave propagation modes of the guided wave 1004′ on the stub coupler 1002′ including a fundamental mode (e.g., a symmetric mode) and/or a non-fundamental mode (e.g., asymmetric mode).

In one embodiment, the guided wave 1004′ can propagate in part on the outer surface of the stub coupler 1002′ and in part inside the stub coupler 1002′. In another embodiment, the guided wave 1004′ can propagate substantially or completely on the outer surface of the stub coupler 1002′. In yet other embodiments, the guided wave 1004′ can propagate substantially or completely inside the stub coupler 1002′. In this latter embodiment, the guided wave 1004′ can radiate at an end of the stub coupler 1002′ (such as the tapered end shown in FIG. 9) for coupling to a transmission medium such as a wire 702 of FIG. 9.

It will be further appreciated that other constructs the transmitter/receiver device 1006 are possible. For example, a hollow metal waveguide of a transmitter/receiver device 1006″ (corresponding circuitry not shown), depicted in FIG. 10B as reference 1000″, can be placed tangentially or in parallel (with or without a gap) with respect to an outer surface of a transmission medium such as the wire 702 of FIG. 4 without the use of the stub coupler 1002. In this embodiment, the guided wave generated by the transmitter/receiver device 1006″ can couple to a surface of the wire 702 to induce one or more wave propagation modes of a guided wave 908 on the wire 702 including a fundamental mode (e.g., a symmetric mode) and/or a non-fundamental mode (e.g., asymmetric mode). In another embodiment, the wire 702 can be positioned inside a hollow metal waveguide of a transmitter/receiver device 1006′″ (corresponding circuitry not shown) so that an axis of the wire 702 is coaxially (or not coaxially) aligned with an axis of the hollow metal waveguide without the use of the stub coupler 1002—see FIG. 10B reference 1000′″. In this embodiment, the guided wave generated by the transmitter/receiver device 1006′″ can couple to a surface of the wire 702 to induce one or more wave propagation modes of a guided wave 908 on the wire including a fundamental mode (e.g., a symmetric mode) and/or a non-fundamental mode (e.g., asymmetric mode).

In the embodiments of 1000″ and 1000′″, for a wire 702 having an insulated outer surface, the guided wave 908 can propagate in part on the outer surface of the insulator and in part inside the insulator. In embodiments, the guided wave 908 can propagate substantially or completely on the outer surface of the insulator, or substantially or completely inside the insulator. In the embodiments of 1000″ and 1000′″, for a wire 702 that is a bare conductor, the guided wave 908 can propagate in part on the outer surface of the conductor and in part inside the conductor. In another embodiment, the guided wave 908 can propagate substantially or completely on the outer surface of the conductor.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a block diagram 1100 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a dual stub coupler is shown. In particular, a dual coupler design is presented for use in a transmission device, such as transmission device 101 or 102 presented in conjunction with FIG. 1. In an embodiment, two or more couplers (such as the stub couplers 1104 and 1106) can be positioned around a wire 1102 in order to receive guided wave 1108. In an embodiment, one coupler is enough to receive the guided wave 1108. In that case, guided wave 1108 couples to coupler 1104 and propagates as guided wave 1110. If the field structure of the guided wave 1108 oscillates or undulates around the wire 1102 due to the particular guided wave mode(s) or various outside factors, then coupler 1106 can be placed such that guided wave 1108 couples to coupler 1106. In some embodiments, four or more couplers can be placed around a portion of the wire 1102, e.g., at 90 degrees or another spacing with respect to each other, in order to receive guided waves that may oscillate or rotate around the wire 1102, that have been induced at different azimuthal orientations or that have non-fundamental or higher order modes that, for example, have lobes and/or nulls or other asymmetries that are orientation dependent. However, it will be appreciated that there may be less than or more than four couplers placed around a portion of the wire 1102 without departing from example embodiments.

It should be noted that while couplers 1106 and 1104 are illustrated as stub couplers, any other of the coupler designs described herein including arc couplers, antenna or horn couplers, magnetic couplers, etc., could likewise be used. It will also be appreciated that while some example embodiments have presented a plurality of couplers around at least a portion of a wire 1102, this plurality of couplers can also be considered as part of a single coupler system having multiple coupler subcomponents. For example, two or more couplers can be manufactured as single system that can be installed around a wire in a single installation such that the couplers are either pre-positioned or adjustable relative to each other (either manually or automatically with a controllable mechanism such as a motor or other actuator) in accordance with the single system.

Receivers coupled to couplers 1106 and 1104 can use diversity combining to combine signals received from both couplers 1106 and 1104 in order to maximize the signal quality. In other embodiments, if one or the other of the couplers 1104 and 1106 receive a transmission that is above a predetermined threshold, receivers can use selection diversity when deciding which signal to use. Further, while reception by a plurality of couplers 1106 and 1104 is illustrated, transmission by couplers 1106 and 1104 in the same configuration can likewise take place. In particular, a wide range of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) transmission and reception techniques can be employed for transmissions where a transmission device, such as transmission device 101 or 102 presented in conjunction with FIG. 1 includes multiple transceivers and multiple couplers.

It is noted that the graphical representations of waves 1108 and 1110 are presented merely to illustrate the principles that guided wave 1108 induces or otherwise launches a wave 1110 on a coupler 1104. The actual electric and magnetic fields generated as a result of such wave propagation may vary depending on the frequencies employed, the design of the coupler 1104, the dimensions and composition of the wire 1102, as well as its surface characteristics, its insulation if any, the electromagnetic properties of the surrounding environment, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a block diagram 1200 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a repeater system is shown. In particular, a repeater device 1210 is presented for use in a transmission device, such as transmission device 101 or 102 presented in conjunction with FIG. 1. In this system, two couplers 1204 and 1214 can be placed near a wire 1202 or other transmission medium such that guided waves 1205 propagating along the wire 1202 are extracted by coupler 1204 as wave 1206 (e.g. as a guided wave), and then are boosted or repeated by repeater device 1210 and launched as a wave 1216 (e.g. as a guided wave) onto coupler 1214. The wave 1216 can then be launched on the wire 1202 and continue to propagate along the wire 1202 as a guided wave 1217. In an embodiment, the repeater device 1210 can receive at least a portion of the power utilized for boosting or repeating through magnetic coupling with the wire 1202, for example, when the wire 1202 is a power line or otherwise contains a power-carrying conductor. It should be noted that while couplers 1204 and 1214 are illustrated as stub couplers, any other of the coupler designs described herein including arc couplers, antenna or horn couplers, magnetic couplers, or the like, could likewise be used.

In some embodiments, repeater device 1210 can repeat the transmission associated with wave 1206, and in other embodiments, repeater device 1210 can include a communications interface 205 that extracts data or other signals from the wave 1206 for supplying such data or signals to another network and/or one or more other devices as communication signals 110 or 112 and/or receiving communication signals 110 or 112 from another network and/or one or more other devices and launch guided wave 1216 having embedded therein the received communication signals 110 or 112. In a repeater configuration, receiver waveguide 1208 can receive the wave 1206 from the coupler 1204 and transmitter waveguide 1212 can launch guided wave 1216 onto coupler 1214 as guided wave 1217. Between receiver waveguide 1208 and transmitter waveguide 1212, the signal embedded in guided wave 1206 and/or the guided wave 1216 itself can be amplified to correct for signal loss and other inefficiencies associated with guided wave communications or the signal can be received and processed to extract the data contained therein and regenerated for transmission. In an embodiment, the receiver waveguide 1208 can be configured to extract data from the signal, process the data to correct for data errors utilizing for example error correcting codes, and regenerate an updated signal with the corrected data. The transmitter waveguide 1212 can then transmit guided wave 1216 with the updated signal embedded therein. In an embodiment, a signal embedded in guided wave 1206 can be extracted from the transmission and processed for communication with another network and/or one or more other devices via communications interface 205 as communication signals 110 or 112. Similarly, communication signals 110 or 112 received by the communications interface 205 can be inserted into a transmission of guided wave 1216 that is generated and launched onto coupler 1214 by transmitter waveguide 1212.

It is noted that although FIG. 12 shows guided wave transmissions 1206 and 1216 entering from the left and exiting to the right respectively, this is merely a simplification and is not intended to be limiting. In other embodiments, receiver waveguide 1208 and transmitter waveguide 1212 can also function as transmitters and receivers respectively, allowing the repeater device 1210 to be bi-directional.

In an embodiment, repeater device 1210 can be placed at locations where there are discontinuities or obstacles on the wire 1202 or other transmission medium. In the case where the wire 1202 is a power line, these obstacles can include transformers, connections, utility poles, and other such power line devices. The repeater device 1210 can help the guided (e.g., surface) waves jump over these obstacles on the line and boost the transmission power at the same time. In other embodiments, a coupler can be used to jump over the obstacle without the use of a repeater device. In that embodiment, both ends of the coupler can be tied or fastened to the wire, thus providing a path for the guided wave to travel without being blocked by the obstacle.

Turning now to FIG. 13, illustrated is a block diagram 1300 of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a bidirectional repeater in accordance with various aspects described herein. In particular, a bidirectional repeater device 1306 is presented for use in a transmission device, such as transmission device 101 or 102 presented in conjunction with FIG. 1. It should be noted that while the couplers are illustrated as stub couplers, any other of the coupler designs described herein including arc couplers, antenna or horn couplers, magnetic couplers, or the like, could likewise be used. The bidirectional repeater 1306 can employ diversity paths in the case of when two or more wires or other transmission media are present. Since guided wave transmissions have different transmission efficiencies and coupling efficiencies for transmission medium of different types such as insulated wires, un-insulated wires or other types of transmission media and further, if exposed to the elements, can be affected by weather, and other atmospheric conditions, it can be advantageous to selectively transmit on different transmission media at certain times. In various embodiments, the various transmission media can be designated as a primary, secondary, tertiary, etc. whether or not such designation indicates a preference of one transmission medium over another.

In the embodiment shown, the transmission media include an insulated or uninsulated wire 1302 and an insulated or uninsulated wire 1304 (referred to herein as wires 1302 and 1304, respectively). The repeater device 1306 uses a receiver coupler 1308 to receive a guided wave traveling along wire 1302 and repeats the transmission using transmitter waveguide 1310 as a guided wave along wire 1304. In other embodiments, repeater device 1306 can switch from the wire 1304 to the wire 1302, or can repeat the transmissions along the same paths. Repeater device 1306 can include sensors, or be in communication with sensors (or a network management system 1601 depicted in FIG. 16A) that indicate conditions that can affect the transmission. Based on the feedback received from the sensors, the repeater device 1306 can make the determination about whether to keep the transmission along the same wire, or transfer the transmission to the other wire.

Turning now to FIG. 14, illustrated is a block diagram 1400 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a bidirectional repeater system. In particular, a bidirectional repeater system is presented for use in a transmission device, such as transmission device 101 or 102 presented in conjunction with FIG. 1. The bidirectional repeater system includes waveguide coupling devices 1402 and 1404 that receive and transmit transmissions from other coupling devices located in a distributed antenna system or backhaul system.

In various embodiments, waveguide coupling device 1402 can receive a transmission from another waveguide coupling device, wherein the transmission has a plurality of subcarriers. Diplexer 1406 can separate the transmission from other transmissions, and direct the transmission to low-noise amplifier (“LNA”) 1408. A frequency mixer 1428, with help from a local oscillator 1412, can downshift the transmission (which is in the millimeter-wave band or around 38 GHz in some embodiments) to a lower frequency, such as a cellular band (˜1.9 GHz) for a distributed antenna system, a native frequency, or other frequency for a backhaul system. An extractor (or demultiplexer) 1432 can extract the signal on a subcarrier and direct the signal to an output component 1422 for optional amplification, buffering or isolation by power amplifier 1424 for coupling to communications interface 205. The communications interface 205 can further process the signals received from the power amplifier 1424 or otherwise transmit such signals over a wireless or wired interface to other devices such as a base station, mobile devices, a building, etc. For the signals that are not being extracted at this location, extractor 1432 can redirect them to another frequency mixer 1436, where the signals are used to modulate a carrier wave generated by local oscillator 1414. The carrier wave, with its subcarriers, is directed to a power amplifier (“PA”) 1416 and is retransmitted by waveguide coupling device 1404 to another system, via diplexer 1420.

An LNA 1426 can be used to amplify, buffer or isolate signals that are received by the communication interface 205 and then send the signal to a multiplexer 1434 which merges the signal with signals that have been received from waveguide coupling device 1404. The signals received from coupling device 1404 have been split by diplexer 1420, and then passed through LNA 1418, and downshifted in frequency by frequency mixer 1438. When the signals are combined by multiplexer 1434, they are upshifted in frequency by frequency mixer 1430, and then boosted by PA 1410, and transmitted to another system by waveguide coupling device 1402. In an embodiment bidirectional repeater system can be merely a repeater without the output device 1422. In this embodiment, the multiplexer 1434 would not be utilized and signals from LNA 1418 would be directed to mixer 1430 as previously described. It will be appreciated that in some embodiments, the bidirectional repeater system could also be implemented using two distinct and separate unidirectional repeaters. In an alternative embodiment, a bidirectional repeater system could also be a booster or otherwise perform retransmissions without downshifting and upshifting. Indeed in example embodiment, the retransmissions can be based upon receiving a signal or guided wave and performing some signal or guided wave processing or reshaping, filtering, and/or amplification, prior to retransmission of the signal or guided wave.

Referring now to FIG. 15, a block diagram 1500 illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a guided wave communications system is shown. This diagram depicts an exemplary environment in which a guided wave communication system, such as the guided wave communication system presented in conjunction with FIG. 1, can be used.

To provide network connectivity to additional base station devices, a backhaul network that links the communication cells (e.g., microcells and macrocells) to network devices of a core network correspondingly expands. Similarly, to provide network connectivity to a distributed antenna system, an extended communication system that links base station devices and their distributed antennas is desirable. A guided wave communication system 1500 such as shown in FIG. 15 can be provided to enable alternative, increased or additional network connectivity and a waveguide coupling system can be provided to transmit and/or receive guided wave (e.g., surface wave) communications on a transmission medium such as a wire that operates as a single-wire transmission line (e.g., a utility line), and that can be used as a waveguide and/or that otherwise operates to guide the transmission of an electromagnetic wave.

The guided wave communication system 1500 can comprise a first instance of a distribution system 1550 that includes one or more base station devices (e.g., base station device 1504) that are communicably coupled to a central office 1501 and/or a macrocell site 1502. Base station device 1504 can be connected by a wired (e.g., fiber and/or cable), or by a wireless (e.g., microwave wireless) connection to the macrocell site 1502 and the central office 1501. A second instance of the distribution system 1560 can be used to provide wireless voice and data services to mobile device 1522 and to residential and/or commercial establishments 1542 (herein referred to as establishments 1542). System 1500 can have additional instances of the distribution systems 1550 and 1560 for providing voice and/or data services to mobile devices 1522-1524 and establishments 1542 as shown in FIG. 15.

Macrocells such as macrocell site 1502 can have dedicated connections to a mobile network and base station device 1504 or can share and/or otherwise use another connection. Central office 1501 can be used to distribute media content and/or provide internet service provider (ISP) services to mobile devices 1522-1524 and establishments 1542. The central office 1501 can receive media content from a constellation of satellites 1530 (one of which is shown in FIG. 15) or other sources of content, and distribute such content to mobile devices 1522-1524 and establishments 1542 via the first and second instances of the distribution system 1550 and 1560. The central office 1501 can also be communicatively coupled to the Internet 1503 for providing internet data services to mobile devices 1522-1524 and establishments 1542.

Base station device 1504 can be mounted on, or attached to, utility pole 1516. In other embodiments, base station device 1504 can be near transformers and/or other locations situated nearby a power line. Base station device 1504 can facilitate connectivity to a mobile network for mobile devices 1522 and 1524. Antennas 1512 and 1514, mounted on or near utility poles 1518 and 1520, respectively, can receive signals from base station device 1504 and transmit those signals to mobile devices 1522 and 1524 over a much wider area than if the antennas 1512 and 1514 were located at or near base station device 1504.

It is noted that FIG. 15 displays three utility poles, in each instance of the distribution systems 1550 and 1560, with one base station device, for purposes of simplicity. In other embodiments, utility pole 1516 can have more base station devices, and more utility poles with distributed antennas and/or tethered connections to establishments 1542.

A transmission device 1506, such as transmission device 101 or 102 presented in conjunction with FIG. 1, can transmit a signal from base station device 1504 to antennas 1512 and 1514 via utility or power line(s) that connect the utility poles 1516, 1518, and 1520. To transmit the signal, radio source and/or transmission device 1506 upconverts the signal (e.g., via frequency mixing) from base station device 1504 or otherwise converts the signal from the base station device 1504 to a microwave band signal and the transmission device 1506 launches a microwave band wave that propagates as a guided wave traveling along the utility line or other wire as described in previous embodiments. At utility pole 1518, another transmission device 1508 receives the guided wave (and optionally can amplify it as needed or desired or operate as a repeater to receive it and regenerate it) and sends it forward as a guided wave on the utility line or other wire. The transmission device 1508 can also extract a signal from the microwave band guided wave and shift it down in frequency or otherwise convert it to its original cellular band frequency (e.g., 1.9 GHz or other defined cellular frequency) or another cellular (or non-cellular) band frequency. An antenna 1512 can wireless transmit the downshifted signal to mobile device 1522. The process can be repeated by transmission device 1510, antenna 1514 and mobile device 1524, as necessary or desirable.

Transmissions from mobile devices 1522 and 1524 can also be received by antennas 1512 and 1514 respectively. The transmission devices 1508 and 1510 can upshift or otherwise convert the cellular band signals to microwave band and transmit the signals as guided wave (e.g., surface wave or other electromagnetic wave) transmissions over the power line(s) to base station device 1504.

Media content received by the central office 1501 can be supplied to the second instance of the distribution system 1560 via the base station device 1504 for distribution to mobile devices 1522 and establishments 1542. The transmission device 1510 can be tethered to the establishments 1542 by one or more wired connections or a wireless interface. The one or more wired connections may include without limitation, a power line, a coaxial cable, a fiber cable, a twisted pair cable, a guided wave transmission medium or other suitable wired mediums for distribution of media content and/or for providing internet services. In an example embodiment, the wired connections from the transmission device 1510 can be communicatively coupled to one or more very high bit rate digital subscriber line (VDSL) modems located at one or more corresponding service area interfaces (SAIs—not shown) or pedestals, each SAI or pedestal providing services to a portion of the establishments 1542. The VDSL modems can be used to selectively distribute media content and/or provide internet services to gateways (not shown) located in the establishments 1542. The SAIs or pedestals can also be communicatively coupled to the establishments 1542 over a wired medium such as a power line, a coaxial cable, a fiber cable, a twisted pair cable, a guided wave transmission medium or other suitable wired mediums. In other example embodiments, the transmission device 1510 can be communicatively coupled directly to establishments 1542 without intermediate interfaces such as the SAIs or pedestals.

In another example embodiment, system 1500 can employ diversity paths, where two or more utility lines or other wires are strung between the utility poles 1516, 1518, and 1520 (e.g., for example, two or more wires between poles 1516 and 1520) and redundant transmissions from base station/macrocell site 1502 are transmitted as guided waves down the surface of the utility lines or other wires. The utility lines or other wires can be either insulated or uninsulated, and depending on the environmental conditions that cause transmission losses, the coupling devices can selectively receive signals from the insulated or uninsulated utility lines or other wires. The selection can be based on measurements of the signal-to-noise ratio of the wires, or based on determined weather/environmental conditions (e.g., moisture detectors, weather forecasts, etc.). The use of diversity paths with system 1500 can enable alternate routing capabilities, load balancing, increased load handling, concurrent bi-directional or synchronous communications, spread spectrum communications, etc.

It is noted that the use of the transmission devices 1506, 1508, and 1510 in FIG. 15 are by way of example only, and that in other embodiments, other uses are possible. For instance, transmission devices can be used in a backhaul communication system, providing network connectivity to base station devices. Transmission devices 1506, 1508, and 1510 can be used in many circumstances where it is desirable to transmit guided wave communications over a wire, whether insulated or not insulated. Transmission devices 1506, 1508, and 1510 are improvements over other coupling devices due to no contact or limited physical and/or electrical contact with the wires that may carry high voltages. The transmission device can be located away from the wire (e.g., spaced apart from the wire) and/or located on the wire so long as it is not electrically in contact with the wire, as the dielectric acts as an insulator, allowing for cheap, easy, and/or less complex installation. However, as previously noted conducting or non-dielectric couplers can be employed, for example in configurations where the wires correspond to a telephone network, cable television network, broadband data service, fiber optic communications system or other network employing low voltages or having insulated transmission lines.

It is further noted, that while base station device 1504 and macrocell site 1502 are illustrated in an embodiment, other network configurations are likewise possible. For example, devices such as access points or other wireless gateways can be employed in a similar fashion to extend the reach of other networks such as a wireless local area network, a wireless personal area network or other wireless network that operates in accordance with a communication protocol such as a 802.11 protocol, WIMAX protocol, UltraWideband protocol, Bluetooth protocol, Zigbee protocol or other wireless protocol.

Referring now to FIGS. 16A & 16B, block diagrams 1600 and 1650 illustrating example, non-limiting embodiments of a system for managing a power grid communication system are shown. Considering FIG. 16A, a waveguide system 1602 is presented for use in a guided wave communications system, such as the system presented in conjunction with FIG. 15. The waveguide system 1602 can comprise sensors 1604, a power management system 1605, a transmission device 101 or 102 that includes at least one communication interface 205, transceiver 210 and coupler 220.

The waveguide system 1602 can be coupled to a power line 1610 for facilitating guided wave communications in accordance with embodiments described in the subject disclosure. In an example embodiment, the transmission device 101 or 102 includes coupler 220 for inducing electromagnetic waves on a surface of the power line 1610 that longitudinally propagate along the surface of the power line 1610 as described in the subject disclosure. The transmission device 101 or 102 can also serve as a repeater for retransmitting electromagnetic waves on the same power line 1610 or for routing electromagnetic waves between power lines 1610 as shown in FIGS. 12-13.

The transmission device 101 or 102 includes transceiver 210 configured to, for example, up-convert a signal operating at an original frequency range to electromagnetic waves operating at, exhibiting, or associated with a carrier frequency that propagate along a coupler to induce corresponding guided electromagnetic waves that propagate along a surface of the power line 1610. A carrier frequency can be represented by a center frequency having upper and lower cutoff frequencies that define the bandwidth of the electromagnetic waves. The power line 1610 can be a wire (e.g., single stranded or multi-stranded) having a conducting surface or insulated surface. The transceiver 210 can also receive signals from the coupler 220 and down-convert the electromagnetic waves operating at a carrier frequency to signals at their original frequency.

Signals received by the communications interface 205 of transmission device 101 or 102 for up-conversion can include without limitation signals supplied by a central office 1611 over a wired or wireless interface of the communications interface 205, a base station 1614 over a wired or wireless interface of the communications interface 205, wireless signals transmitted by mobile devices 1620 to the base station 1614 for delivery over the wired or wireless interface of the communications interface 205, signals supplied by in-building communication devices 1618 over the wired or wireless interface of the communications interface 205, and/or wireless signals supplied to the communications interface 205 by mobile devices 1612 roaming in a wireless communication range of the communications interface 205. In embodiments where the waveguide system 1602 functions as a repeater, such as shown in FIGS. 12-13, the communications interface 205 may or may not be included in the waveguide system 1602.

The electromagnetic waves propagating along the surface of the power line 1610 can be modulated and formatted to include packets or frames of data that include a data payload and further include networking information (such as header information for identifying one or more destination waveguide systems 1602). The networking information may be provided by the waveguide system 1602 or an originating device such as the central office 1611, the base station 1614, mobile devices 1620, or in-building devices 1618, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the modulated electromagnetic waves can include error correction data for mitigating signal disturbances. The networking information and error correction data can be used by a destination waveguide system 1602 for detecting transmissions directed to it, and for down-converting and processing with error correction data transmissions that include voice and/or data signals directed to recipient communication devices communicatively coupled to the destination waveguide system 1602.

Referring now to the sensors 1604 of the waveguide system 1602, the sensors 1604 can comprise one or more of a temperature sensor 1604a, a disturbance detection sensor 1604b, a loss of energy sensor 1604c, a noise sensor 1604d, a vibration sensor 1604e, an environmental (e.g., weather) sensor 1604f, and/or an image sensor 1604g. The temperature sensor 1604a can be used to measure ambient temperature, a temperature of the transmission device 101 or 102, a temperature of the power line 1610, temperature differentials (e.g., compared to a setpoint or baseline, between transmission device 101 or 102 and powerline 1610, etc.), or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, temperature metrics can be collected and reported periodically to a network management system 1601 by way of the base station 1614.

The disturbance detection sensor 1604b can perform measurements on the power line 1610 to detect disturbances such as signal reflections, which may indicate a presence of a downstream disturbance that may impede the propagation of electromagnetic waves on the power line 1610. A signal reflection can represent a distortion resulting from, for example, an electromagnetic wave transmitted on the power line 1610 by the transmission device 101 or 102 that reflects in whole or in part back to the transmission device 101 or 102 from a disturbance in the power line 1610 located downstream from the transmission device 101 or 102.

Signal reflections can be caused by obstructions on the power line 1610. For example, a tree limb may cause electromagnetic wave reflections when the tree limb is lying on the power line 1610, or is in close proximity to the power line 1610 which may cause a corona discharge. Other obstructions that can cause electromagnetic wave reflections can include without limitation an object that has been entangled on the power line 1610 (e.g., clothing, a shoe wrapped around a power line 1610 with a shoe string, etc.), a corroded build-up on the power line 1610 or an ice build-up. Power grid components may also impede or obstruct with the propagation of electromagnetic waves on the surface of power lines 1610. Illustrations of power grid components that may cause signal reflections include without limitation a transformer and a joint for connecting spliced power lines. A sharp angle on the power line 1610 may also cause electromagnetic wave reflections.

The disturbance detection sensor 1604b can comprise a circuit to compare magnitudes of electromagnetic wave reflections to magnitudes of original electromagnetic waves transmitted by the transmission device 101 or 102 to determine how much a downstream disturbance in the power line 1610 attenuates transmissions. The disturbance detection sensor 1604b can further comprise a spectral analyzer circuit for performing spectral analysis on the reflected waves. The spectral data generated by the spectral analyzer circuit can be compared with spectral profiles via pattern recognition, an expert system, curve fitting, matched filtering or other artificial intelligence, classification or comparison technique to identify a type of disturbance based on, for example, the spectral profile that most closely matches the spectral data. The spectral profiles can be stored in a memory of the disturbance detection sensor 1604b or may be remotely accessible by the disturbance detection sensor 1604b. The profiles can comprise spectral data that models different disturbances that may be encountered on power lines 1610 to enable the disturbance detection sensor 1604b to identify disturbances locally. An identification of the disturbance if known can be reported to the network management system 1601 by way of the base station 1614. The disturbance detection sensor 1604b can also utilize the transmission device 101 or 102 to transmit electromagnetic waves as test signals to determine a roundtrip time for an electromagnetic wave reflection. The round trip time measured by the disturbance detection sensor 1604b can be used to calculate a distance traveled by the electromagnetic wave up to a point where the reflection takes place, which enables the disturbance detection sensor 1604b to calculate a distance from the transmission device 101 or 102 to the downstream disturbance on the power line 1610.

The distance calculated can be reported to the network management system 1601 by way of the base station 1614. In one embodiment, the location of the waveguide system 1602 on the power line 1610 may be known to the network management system 1601, which the network management system 1601 can use to determine a location of the disturbance on the power line 1610 based on a known topology of the power grid. In another embodiment, the waveguide system 1602 can provide its location to the network management system 1601 to assist in the determination of the location of the disturbance on the power line 1610. The location of the waveguide system 1602 can be obtained by the waveguide system 1602 from a pre-programmed location of the waveguide system 1602 stored in a memory of the waveguide system 1602, or the waveguide system 1602 can determine its location using a GPS receiver (not shown) included in the waveguide system 1602.

The power management system 1605 provides energy to the aforementioned components of the waveguide system 1602. The power management system 1605 can receive energy from solar cells, or from a transformer (not shown) coupled to the power line 1610, or by inductive coupling to the power line 1610 or another nearby power line. The power management system 1605 can also include a backup battery and/or a super capacitor or other capacitor circuit for providing the waveguide system 1602 with temporary power. The loss of energy sensor 1604c can be used to detect when the waveguide system 1602 has a loss of power condition and/or the occurrence of some other malfunction. For example, the loss of energy sensor 1604c can detect when there is a loss of power due to defective solar cells, an obstruction on the solar cells that causes them to malfunction, loss of power on the power line 1610, and/or when the backup power system malfunctions due to expiration of a backup battery, or a detectable defect in a super capacitor. When a malfunction and/or loss of power occurs, the loss of energy sensor 1604c can notify the network management system 1601 by way of the base station 1614.

The noise sensor 1604d can be used to measure noise on the power line 1610 that may adversely affect transmission of electromagnetic waves on the power line 1610. The noise sensor 1604d can sense unexpected electromagnetic interference, noise bursts, or other sources of disturbances that may interrupt reception of modulated electromagnetic waves on a surface of a power line 1610. A noise burst can be caused by, for example, a corona discharge, or other source of noise. The noise sensor 1604d can compare the measured noise to a noise profile obtained by the waveguide system 1602 from an internal database of noise profiles or from a remotely located database that stores noise profiles via pattern recognition, an expert system, curve fitting, matched filtering or other artificial intelligence, classification or comparison technique. From the comparison, the noise sensor 1604d may identify a noise source (e.g., corona discharge or otherwise) based on, for example, the noise profile that provides the closest match to the measured noise. The noise sensor 1604d can also detect how noise affects transmissions by measuring transmission metrics such as bit error rate, packet loss rate, jitter, packet retransmission requests, etc. The noise sensor 1604d can report to the network management system 1601 by way of the base station 1614 the identity of noise sources, their time of occurrence, and transmission metrics, among other things.

The vibration sensor 1604e can include accelerometers and/or gyroscopes to detect 2D or 3D vibrations on the power line 1610. The vibrations can be compared to vibration profiles that can be stored locally in the waveguide system 1602, or obtained by the waveguide system 1602 from a remote database via pattern recognition, an expert system, curve fitting, matched filtering or other artificial intelligence, classification or comparison technique. Vibration profiles can be used, for example, to distinguish fallen trees from wind gusts based on, for example, the vibration profile that provides the closest match to the measured vibrations. The results of this analysis can be reported by the vibration sensor 1604e to the network management system 1601 by way of the base station 1614.

The environmental sensor 1604f can include a barometer for measuring atmospheric pressure, ambient temperature (which can be provided by the temperature sensor 1604a), wind speed, humidity, wind direction, and rainfall, among other things. The environmental sensor 1604f can collect raw information and process this information by comparing it to environmental profiles that can be obtained from a memory of the waveguide system 1602 or a remote database to predict weather conditions before they arise via pattern recognition, an expert system, knowledge-based system or other artificial intelligence, classification or other weather modeling and prediction technique. The environmental sensor 1604f can report raw data as well as its analysis to the network management system 1601.

The image sensor 1604g can be a digital camera (e.g., a charged coupled device or CCD imager, infrared camera, etc.) for capturing images in a vicinity of the waveguide system 1602. The image sensor 1604g can include an electromechanical mechanism to control movement (e.g., actual position or focal points/zooms) of the camera for inspecting the power line 1610 from multiple perspectives (e.g., top surface, bottom surface, left surface, right surface and so on). Alternatively, the image sensor 1604g can be designed such that no electromechanical mechanism is needed in order to obtain the multiple perspectives. The collection and retrieval of imaging data generated by the image sensor 1604g can be controlled by the network management system 1601, or can be autonomously collected and reported by the image sensor 1604g to the network management system 1601.

Other sensors that may be suitable for collecting telemetry information associated with the waveguide system 1602 and/or the power lines 1610 for purposes of detecting, predicting and/or mitigating disturbances that can impede the propagation of electromagnetic wave transmissions on power lines 1610 (or any other form of a transmission medium of electromagnetic waves) may be utilized by the waveguide system 1602.

Referring now to FIG. 16B, block diagram 1650 illustrates an example, non-limiting embodiment of a system for managing a power grid 1653 and a communication system 1655 embedded therein or associated therewith in accordance with various aspects described herein. The communication system 1655 comprises a plurality of waveguide systems 1602 coupled to power lines 1610 of the power grid 1653. At least a portion of the waveguide systems 1602 used in the communication system 1655 can be in direct communication with a base station 1614 and/or the network management system 1601. Waveguide systems 1602 not directly connected to a base station 1614 or the network management system 1601 can engage in communication sessions with either a base station 1614 or the network management system 1601 by way of other downstream waveguide systems 1602 connected to a base station 1614 or the network management system 1601.

The network management system 1601 can be communicatively coupled to equipment of a utility company 1652 and equipment of a communications service provider 1654 for providing each entity, status information associated with the power grid 1653 and the communication system 1655, respectively. The network management system 1601, the equipment of the utility company 1652, and the communications service provider 1654 can access communication devices utilized by utility company personnel 1656 and/or communication devices utilized by communications service provider personnel 1658 for purposes of providing status information and/or for directing such personnel in the management of the power grid 1653 and/or communication system 1655.

FIG. 17A illustrates a flow diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a method 1700 for detecting and mitigating disturbances occurring in a communication network of the systems of FIGS. 16A & 16B. Method 1700 can begin with step 1702 where a waveguide system 1602 transmits and receives messages embedded in, or forming part of, modulated electromagnetic waves or another type of electromagnetic waves traveling along a surface of a power line 1610. The messages can be voice messages, streaming video, and/or other data/information exchanged between communication devices communicatively coupled to the communication system 1655. At step 1704 the sensors 1604 of the waveguide system 1602 can collect sensing data. In an embodiment, the sensing data can be collected in step 1704 prior to, during, or after the transmission and/or receipt of messages in step 1702. At step 1706 the waveguide system 1602 (or the sensors 1604 themselves) can determine from the sensing data an actual or predicted occurrence of a disturbance in the communication system 1655 that can affect communications originating from (e.g., transmitted by) or received by the waveguide system 1602. The waveguide system 1602 (or the sensors 1604) can process temperature data, signal reflection data, loss of energy data, noise data, vibration data, environmental data, or any combination thereof to make this determination. The waveguide system 1602 (or the sensors 1604) may also detect, identify, estimate, or predict the source of the disturbance and/or its location in the communication system 1655. If a disturbance is neither detected/identified nor predicted/estimated at step 1708, the waveguide system 1602 can proceed to step 1702 where it continues to transmit and receive messages embedded in, or forming part of, modulated electromagnetic waves traveling along a surface of the power line 1610.

If at step 1708 a disturbance is detected/identified or predicted/estimated to occur, the waveguide system 1602 proceeds to step 1710 to determine if the disturbance adversely affects (or alternatively, is likely to adversely affect or the extent to which it may adversely affect) transmission or reception of messages in the communication system 1655. In one embodiment, a duration threshold and a frequency of occurrence threshold can be used at step 1710 to determine when a disturbance adversely affects communications in the communication system 1655. For illustration purposes only, assume a duration threshold is set to 500 ms, while a frequency of occurrence threshold is set to 5 disturbances occurring in an observation period of 10 sec. Thus, a disturbance having a duration greater than 500 ms will trigger the duration threshold. Additionally, any disturbance occurring more than 5 times in a 10 sec time interval will trigger the frequency of occurrence threshold.

In one embodiment, a disturbance may be considered to adversely affect signal integrity in the communication systems 1655 when the duration threshold alone is exceeded. In another embodiment, a disturbance may be considered as adversely affecting signal integrity in the communication systems 1655 when both the duration threshold and the frequency of occurrence threshold are exceeded. The latter embodiment is thus more conservative than the former embodiment for classifying disturbances that adversely affect signal integrity in the communication system 1655. It will be appreciated that many other algorithms and associated parameters and thresholds can be utilized for step 1710 in accordance with example embodiments.

Referring back to method 1700, if at step 1710 the disturbance detected at step 1708 does not meet the condition for adversely affected communications (e.g., neither exceeds the duration threshold nor the frequency of occurrence threshold), the waveguide system 1602 may proceed to step 1702 and continue processing messages. For instance, if the disturbance detected in step 1708 has a duration of 1 msec with a single occurrence in a 10 sec time period, then neither threshold will be exceeded. Consequently, such a disturbance may be considered as having a nominal effect on signal integrity in the communication system 1655 and thus would not be flagged as a disturbance requiring mitigation. Although not flagged, the occurrence of the disturbance, its time of occurrence, its frequency of occurrence, spectral data, and/or other useful information, may be reported to the network management system 1601 as telemetry data for monitoring purposes.

Referring back to step 1710, if on the other hand the disturbance satisfies the condition for adversely affected communications (e.g., exceeds either or both thresholds), the waveguide system 1602 can proceed to step 1712 and report the incident to the network management system 1601. The report can include raw sensing data collected by the sensors 1604, a description of the disturbance if known by the waveguide system 1602, a time of occurrence of the disturbance, a frequency of occurrence of the disturbance, a location associated with the disturbance, parameters readings such as bit error rate, packet loss rate, retransmission requests, jitter, latency and so on. If the disturbance is based on a prediction by one or more sensors of the waveguide system 1602, the report can include a type of disturbance expected, and if predictable, an expected time occurrence of the disturbance, and an expected frequency of occurrence of the predicted disturbance when the prediction is based on historical sensing data collected by the sensors 1604 of the waveguide system 1602.

At step 1714, the network management system 1601 can determine a mitigation, circumvention, or correction technique, which may include directing the waveguide system 1602 to reroute traffic to circumvent the disturbance if the location of the disturbance can be determined. In one embodiment, the waveguide coupling device 1402 detecting the disturbance may direct a repeater such as the one shown in FIGS. 13-14 to connect the waveguide system 1602 from a primary power line affected by the disturbance to a secondary power line to enable the waveguide system 1602 to reroute traffic to a different transmission medium and avoid the disturbance. In an embodiment where the waveguide system 1602 is configured as a repeater the waveguide system 1602 can itself perform the rerouting of traffic from the primary power line to the secondary power line. It is further noted that for bidirectional communications (e.g., full or half-duplex communications), the repeater can be configured to reroute traffic from the secondary power line back to the primary power line for processing by the waveguide system 1602.

In another embodiment, the waveguide system 1602 can redirect traffic by instructing a first repeater situated upstream of the disturbance and a second repeater situated downstream of the disturbance to redirect traffic from a primary power line temporarily to a secondary power line and back to the primary power line in a manner that avoids the disturbance. It is further noted that for bidirectional communications (e.g., full or half-duplex communications), repeaters can be configured to reroute traffic from the secondary power line back to the primary power line.

To avoid interrupting existing communication sessions occurring on a secondary power line, the network management system 1601 may direct the waveguide system 1602 to instruct repeater(s) to utilize unused time slot(s) and/or frequency band(s) of the secondary power line for redirecting data and/or voice traffic away from the primary power line to circumvent the disturbance.

At step 1716, while traffic is being rerouted to avoid the disturbance, the network management system 1601 can notify equipment of the utility company 1652 and/or equipment of the communications service provider 1654, which in turn may notify personnel of the utility company 1656 and/or personnel of the communications service provider 1658 of the detected disturbance and its location if known. Field personnel from either party can attend to resolving the disturbance at a determined location of the disturbance. Once the disturbance is removed or otherwise mitigated by personnel of the utility company and/or personnel of the communications service provider, such personnel can notify their respective companies and/or the network management system 1601 utilizing field equipment (e.g., a laptop computer, smartphone, etc.) communicatively coupled to network management system 1601, and/or equipment of the utility company and/or the communications service provider. The notification can include a description of how the disturbance was mitigated and any changes to the power lines 1610 that may change a topology of the communication system 1655.

Once the disturbance has been resolved (as determined in decision 1718), the network management system 1601 can direct the waveguide system 1602 at step 1720 to restore the previous routing configuration used by the waveguide system 1602 or route traffic according to a new routing configuration if the restoration strategy used to mitigate the disturbance resulted in a new network topology of the communication system 1655. In another embodiment, the waveguide system 1602 can be configured to monitor mitigation of the disturbance by transmitting test signals on the power line 1610 to determine when the disturbance has been removed. Once the waveguide system 1602 detects an absence of the disturbance it can autonomously restore its routing configuration without assistance by the network management system 1601 if it determines the network topology of the communication system 1655 has not changed, or it can utilize a new routing configuration that adapts to a detected new network topology.

FIG. 17B illustrates a flow diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a method 1750 for detecting and mitigating disturbances occurring in a communication network of the system of FIGS. 16A and 16B. In one embodiment, method 1750 can begin with step 1752 where a network management system 1601 receives from equipment of the utility company 1652 or equipment of the communications service provider 1654 maintenance information associated with a maintenance schedule. The network management system 1601 can at step 1754 identify from the maintenance information, maintenance activities to be performed during the maintenance schedule. From these activities, the network management system 1601 can detect a disturbance resulting from the maintenance (e.g., scheduled replacement of a power line 1610, scheduled replacement of a waveguide system 1602 on the power line 1610, scheduled reconfiguration of power lines 1610 in the power grid 1653, etc.).

In another embodiment, the network management system 1601 can receive at step 1755 telemetry information from one or more waveguide systems 1602. The telemetry information can include among other things an identity of each waveguide system 1602 submitting the telemetry information, measurements taken by sensors 1604 of each waveguide system 1602, information relating to predicted, estimated, or actual disturbances detected by the sensors 1604 of each waveguide system 1602, location information associated with each waveguide system 1602, an estimated location of a detected disturbance, an identification of the disturbance, and so on. The network management system 1601 can determine from the telemetry information a type of disturbance that may be adverse to operations of the waveguide, transmission of the electromagnetic waves along the wire surface, or both. The network management system 1601 can also use telemetry information from multiple waveguide systems 1602 to isolate and identify the disturbance. Additionally, the network management system 1601 can request telemetry information from waveguide systems 1602 in a vicinity of an affected waveguide system 1602 to triangulate a location of the disturbance and/or validate an identification of the disturbance by receiving similar telemetry information from other waveguide systems 1602.

In yet another embodiment, the network management system 1601 can receive at step 1756 an unscheduled activity report from maintenance field personnel. Unscheduled maintenance may occur as result of field calls that are unplanned or as a result of unexpected field issues discovered during field calls or scheduled maintenance activities. The activity report can identify changes to a topology configuration of the power grid 1653 resulting from field personnel addressing discovered issues in the communication system 1655 and/or power grid 1653, changes to one or more waveguide systems 1602 (such as replacement or repair thereof), mitigation of disturbances performed if any, and so on.

At step 1758, the network management system 1601 can determine from reports received according to steps 1752 through 1756 if a disturbance will occur based on a maintenance schedule, or if a disturbance has occurred or is predicted to occur based on telemetry data, or if a disturbance has occurred due to an unplanned maintenance identified in a field activity report. From any of these reports, the network management system 1601 can determine whether a detected or predicted disturbance requires rerouting of traffic by the affected waveguide systems 1602 or other waveguide systems 1602 of the communication system 1655.

When a disturbance is detected or predicted at step 1758, the network management system 1601 can proceed to step 1760 where it can direct one or more waveguide systems 1602 to reroute traffic to circumvent the disturbance. When the disturbance is permanent due to a permanent topology change of the power grid 1653, the network management system 1601 can proceed to step 1770 and skip steps 1762, 1764, 1766, and 1772. At step 1770, the network management system 1601 can direct one or more waveguide systems 1602 to use a new routing configuration that adapts to the new topology. However, when the disturbance has been detected from telemetry information supplied by one or more waveguide systems 1602, the network management system 1601 can notify maintenance personnel of the utility company 1656 or the communications service provider 1658 of a location of the disturbance, a type of disturbance if known, and related information that may be helpful to such personnel to mitigate the disturbance. When a disturbance is expected due to maintenance activities, the network management system 1601 can direct one or more waveguide systems 1602 to reconfigure traffic routes at a given schedule (consistent with the maintenance schedule) to avoid disturbances caused by the maintenance activities during the maintenance schedule.

Returning back to step 1760 and upon its completion, the process can continue with step 1762. At step 1762, the network management system 1601 can monitor when the disturbance(s) have been mitigated by field personnel. Mitigation of a disturbance can be detected at step 1762 by analyzing field reports submitted to the network management system 1601 by field personnel over a communications network (e.g., cellular communication system) utilizing field equipment (e.g., a laptop computer or handheld computer/device). If field personnel have reported that a disturbance has been mitigated, the network management system 1601 can proceed to step 1764 to determine from the field report whether a topology change was required to mitigate the disturbance. A topology change can include rerouting a power line 1610, reconfiguring a waveguide system 1602 to utilize a different power line 1610, otherwise utilizing an alternative link to bypass the disturbance and so on. If a topology change has taken place, the network management system 1601 can direct at step 1770 one or more waveguide systems 1602 to use a new routing configuration that adapts to the new topology.

If, however, a topology change has not been reported by field personnel, the network management system 1601 can proceed to step 1766 where it can direct one or more waveguide systems 1602 to send test signals to test a routing configuration that had been used prior to the detected disturbance(s). Test signals can be sent to affected waveguide systems 1602 in a vicinity of the disturbance. The test signals can be used to determine if signal disturbances (e.g., electromagnetic wave reflections) are detected by any of the waveguide systems 1602. If the test signals confirm that a prior routing configuration is no longer subject to previously detected disturbance(s), then the network management system 1601 can at step 1772 direct the affected waveguide systems 1602 to restore a previous routing configuration. If, however, test signals analyzed by one or more waveguide coupling device 1402 and reported to the network management system 1601 indicate that the disturbance(s) or new disturbance(s) are present, then the network management system 1601 will proceed to step 1768 and report this information to field personnel to further address field issues. The network management system 1601 can in this situation continue to monitor mitigation of the disturbance(s) at step 1762.

In the aforementioned embodiments, the waveguide systems 1602 can be configured to be self-adapting to changes in the power grid 1653 and/or to mitigation of disturbances. That is, one or more affected waveguide systems 1602 can be configured to self-monitor mitigation of disturbances and reconfigure traffic routes without requiring instructions to be sent to them by the network management system 1601. In this embodiment, the one or more waveguide systems 1602 that are self-configurable can inform the network management system 1601 of its routing choices so that the network management system 1601 can maintain a macro-level view of the communication topology of the communication system 1655.

While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the respective processes are shown and described as a series of blocks in FIGS. 17A and 17B, respectively, it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what is depicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be required to implement the methods described herein.

Turning now to FIG. 18A, a block diagram 1800 is shown illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a communications system in accordance with various aspects described herein. In particular, a communication system is shown that includes client node devices 1802, a host node device 1804, guided wave communication systems 1810 that include mini-repeaters (MR) 1806, client devices 1812 and network termination 1815. The network termination 1815 communicates upstream and downstream data 1816 with a network 1818 such as the Internet, a packet switched telephone network, a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) network, Internet protocol (IP) based television network, a cable network, a passive or active optical network, a 4G or higher wireless access network, WIMAX network, UltraWideband network, personal area network or other wireless access network, a broadcast satellite network and/or other communications network. The upstream and downstream data 1816 can include voice, data or text communications, audio, video, graphics, and/or other media. The client devices 1812 can include mobile phones, e-readers, tablets, phablets, wireless modems, mobile wireless gateways, home gateway devices, and/or other stationary or mobile computing devices.

In particular, downstream data from the network termination 1815 is sent to the host node device 1804 that transfers the downstream data directly to client devices 1812 in range via wireless link 1814. The host node device 1804 also couples to one or more guided wave communication systems 1810 to send the downstream data to client devices 1812 via mini-repeaters 1806 via wireless links 1814′ that are further remote from the host node device 1804. In addition, the host node device 1804 sends the downstream data via wireless links 1808 to one or more client node devices 1802, that may be beyond the range of the guided wave communication systems 1810. The client node devices 1802 send the downstream data to client devices 1812 via wireless links 1814″. The client node devices 1802 repeat the downstream data to additional guided wave communication systems 1810′ and wireless links 1808′ to service client devices 1812 that are further remote, via MRs 1806 and/or additional client node devices that are not expressly shown.

In addition, upstream data received from client devices 1812 via wireless links 1814″ can be transferred back to the network terminal 1815 via client node devices 1802, wireless links 1808 and host node device 1804. Upstream data received from client devices 1812 via wireless links 1814′ can be transferred back to the network terminal 1815 via guided wave communication system 1810 and host node device 1804. Upstream data received from client devices 1812 via wireless links 1814 can be transferred back to the network terminal 1815 via host node device 1804. Upstream data from client devices 1812 that are more remote can be transferred back to the network terminal 1815 via wireless links 1808′ and/or guided wave communication systems 1810′, client node devices 1802, wireless links 1808 and host node device 1804, etc. It should be noted that communication system shown can separate upstream and downstream data 1816 into multiple upstream and downstream channels and operate a spatial channel reuse scheme to service mobile client devices 1812 in adjacent areas with minimal interference.

In various embodiments, the communication system shown is used in conjunction with a public utility such as an electrical power company distribution system. In this case, the host node device 1804, client node devices 1802 and/or the mini-repeaters 1806 are supported by utility poles of the distribution system and the guided wave communication systems 1810 can operate via a transmission medium that includes segments of an insulated or bare medium voltage power line and/or other transmission line or supporting wire of the distribution system. In particular, guided wave communication systems 1810 can convey one or more channels of upstream and downstream data 1816 via guided electromagnetic waves that are guided by or bound to the outer surface of the bare or insulated wire.

It should be noted that while the client node devices 1802, host node devices 1804, and MRs 1806 have been described as communicating with client devices 1812 via wireless links 1814, 1814′ and 1814″, one or more wired links could likewise be employed. In this case, the client devices 1812 can further include personal computers, laptop computers, netbook computers, tablets or other computing devices along with digital subscriber line (DSL) modems, data over coax service interface specification (DOCSIS) modems or other cable modems, telephones, media players, televisions, an optical modem, a set top box or home gateway and/or other access devices.

In various embodiments, the network termination 1815 performs physical layer processing for communication with the client devices 1812. In this case, the network termination performs the necessary demodulation and extraction of upstream data and modulation and other formatting of downstream data, leaving the host node device 1804, client node devices 1802 and mini-repeaters 1806 to operate via simple analog signal processing. As used herein analog signal processing includes filtering, switching, duplexing, duplexing, amplification, frequency up and down conversion, and other analog processing that does not require either analog to digital conversion or digital to analog conversion. In accordance with other embodiments, the network terminal operates in conjunction with a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) that sends streams of data to the host node device 1804, client node devices 1802 and mini-repeaters 1806 that operate via simple signal processing that can includes switching, routing or other selection of packets in a packet stream to be received from and sent to multiple destinations and/or other fast processes that operate in a data domain that can be implemented, for example, with low power devices and/or inexpensive hardware.

Further implementation regarding the communication system shown in diagram 1800, including many optional functions and features, are provided in conjunction with FIGS. 18B-18H, 19A-19D and 20A-20D that follow.

Turning now to FIG. 18B, a block diagram 1820 is shown illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a network termination 1815 in accordance with various aspects described herein. As discussed in conjunction with FIG. 18A, the network termination 1815 performs physical layer processing for communication with the client devices 1812. In this case, the network termination 1815 performs the necessary demodulation and extraction of upstream data and modulation and other formatting of downstream data.

In particular, network termination 1815 includes a network interface 1835 configured to receive downstream data 1826 from a communication network and to send upstream data 1836 to the communication network, such as network 1818. A downstream channel modulator 1830 is configured to modulate the downstream data 1826 into downstream channel signals 1828 corresponding to downstream frequency channels of a guided wave communication system, such as guided wave communication system 1810. A host interface 1845 is configured to send the downstream channel signals 1828 to one or more guided wave communication system 1810 or 1810′ via, for example, host node device 1804, and/or client node device 1802. The host interface 1845 also receives upstream channel signals 1838 corresponding to upstream frequency channels from the guided wave communication system 1810 or 1810′, via, for example, host node device 1804 and/or client node device 1802. An upstream channel demodulator 1840 is configured to demodulate upstream channel signals 1838 received via the host node device 1804, into the upstream data 1836.

In various embodiments, the downstream channel modulator 1830 modulates one or more of the downstream channel signals 1828 to convey the downstream data 1826 via the guided wave communication system 1810 as guided electromagnetic waves, such as guided waves 120 that are bound to a transmission medium 125 discussed in conjunction with FIG. 1. The upstream channel demodulator 1840 demodulates one or more of the upstream channel signals 1838 conveying upstream data 1836 received via the guided wave communication system 1810 as guided electromagnetic waves, such as guided waves 120 that are bound to a transmission medium 125 discussed in conjunction with FIG. 1.

In various embodiments, the network interface 1835 can include one or more optical cable interfaces, telephone cable interfaces, coaxial cable interfaces, Ethernet interfaces or other interfaces, either wired or wireless for communicating with the communication network 1818. The host node interface 1845 can include a fiber optical cable interface for communicating with the host node device 1804; however other wired or wireless interfaces can likewise be used for this purpose.

In various embodiments, the number of the upstream frequency channels is less than the number of the downstream frequency channels in accordance with an asymmetrical communication system, however the number of the upstream frequency channels can greater than or be equal to the number of the downstream frequency channels in the case where a symmetrical communication system is implemented.

The upstream channel signals and downstream channel signals can be modulated and otherwise formatted in accordance with a DOCSIS 2.0 or higher standard protocol, a WiMAX standard protocol, a 802.11 standard protocol, a 4G or higher wireless voice and data protocol such as an LTE protocol and/or other standard communication protocol. In addition to protocols that conform with current standards, any of these protocols can be modified to operate in conjunction with a communications network as shown. For example, a 802.11 protocol or other protocol can be modified to include additional guidelines and/or a separate data channel to provide collision detection/multiple access over a wider area (e.g. allowing devices that are communicating via a particular frequency channel to hear one another). In various embodiments all of the upstream channel signals 1838 and downstream channel signals 1828 are formatted in accordance with the same communications protocol. In the alternative however, two or more differing protocols can be employed to, for example, be compatible with a wider range of client devices and/or operate in different frequency bands.

When two or more differing protocols are employed, a first subset of the downstream channel signals 1828 can be modulated by the downstream channel modulator 1830 in accordance with a first standard protocol and a second subset of the downstream channel signals 1828 can be modulated in accordance with a second standard protocol that differs from the first standard protocol. Likewise a first subset of the upstream channel signals 1838 can be received via the host interface 1845 in accordance with a first standard protocol for demodulation by the upstream channel demodulator 1840 in accordance with the first standard protocol and a second subset of the upstream channel signals 1838 can be received via the host interface 1845 in accordance with a second standard protocol for demodulation by the upstream channel demodulator 1840 in accordance with the second standard protocol that differs from the first standard protocol.

Turning now to FIG. 18C, a graphical diagram 1850 is shown illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum in accordance with various aspects described herein. In particular, the downstream channel band 1844 includes a plurality of downstream frequency channels represented by separate spectral symbols. Likewise the upstream channel band 1846 includes a plurality of upstream frequency channels represented by separate spectral symbols. These separate spectral symbols are meant to be placeholders for the frequency allocation of each individual channel signal. The actual spectral response of will vary based on the protocol and modulation employed and further as a function of time.

As previously discussed, the number of the upstream frequency channels can be less than or greater than the number of the downstream frequency channels in accordance with an asymmetrical communication system. In this case, the upstream channel band 1846 can be narrower or wider than the downstream channel band 1844. In the alternative, the number of the upstream frequency channels can be equal to the number of the downstream frequency channels in the case where a symmetrical communication system is implemented. In this case, the width of the upstream channel band 1846 can be equal to the width of the downstream channel band 1844 and bit stuffing or other data filing techniques can be employed to compensate for variations in upstream traffic.

While the downstream channel band 1844 is shown at a lower frequency than the upstream channel band 1846, in other embodiments, the downstream channel band 1844 can be at a higher frequency than the upstream channel band 1846. Further, while the downstream channel band 1844 and upstream channel band 1846 are shown as occupying a single contiguous frequency band, in other embodiments, two or more upstream and/or two or more downstream channel bands can be employed, depending on available spectrum and/or the communication standards employed.

Turning now to FIG. 18D, a graphical diagram 1852 is shown illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum in accordance with various aspects described herein. As previously discussed two or more different communication protocols can be employed to communicate upstream and downstream data. In the example shown, the downstream channel band 1844 includes a first plurality of downstream frequency channels represented by separate spectral symbols of a first type representing the use of a first communication protocol. The downstream channel band 1844′ includes a second plurality of downstream frequency channels represented by separate spectral symbols of a second type representing the use of a second communication protocol. Likewise the upstream channel band 1846 includes a first plurality of upstream frequency channels represented by separate spectral symbols of the first type representing the use of the first communication protocol. The upstream channel band 1846′ includes a second plurality of upstream frequency channels represented by separate spectral symbols of the second type representing the use of the second communication protocol.

While the individual channel bandwidth is shown as being roughly the same for channels of the first and second type, it should be noted that upstream and downstream frequency channels may be of differing bandwidths and first frequency channels of the first and second type may be of differing bandwidths, depending on available spectrum and/or the communication standards employed.

Turning now to FIG. 18E, a block diagram 1860 is shown illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a host node device 1804 in accordance with various aspects described herein. In particular, the host node device 1804 includes a terminal interface 1855, duplexer/triplexer assembly 1858, two access point repeaters (APR) 1862 and radio 1865.

The access point repeaters 1862 couple to a transmission medium 125 to communicate via a guided wave communication system (GWCS) 1810. The terminal interface 1855 is configured to receive downstream channel signals 1828, via a network terminal 1815, from a communications network, such as network 1818. The duplexer/triplexer assembly 1858 is configured to transfer the downstream channel signals 1828 to the APRs 1862. The APRs launch the downstream channel signals 1828 on the guided wave communication system 1810 as guided electromagnetic waves. In the example shown the APRs 1862 launch the downstream channel signals 1828 in different directions (designed direction A and direction B) on transmission medium 125 of the guided wave communication system 1810 as guided electromagnetic waves.

Consider example where the transmission medium is a bare or insulated wire. One APR 1862 can launch the downstream channel signals 1828 in one longitudinal direction along the wire while the other APR 1862 launches the downstream channel signals in the opposite longitudinal direction along the wire. In other network configurations where several transmission media 125 converge at the host node device 1804, three or more APRs 1862 can be included to launch guided waves carrying the downstream channel signals 1828 outward along each transmission medium. In addition to launching guided wave communications, one or more of the APRs 1862 also communicates one or more selected downstream channel signals 1828 to client devices in range of the host node device 1804 via wireless links 1814.

The duplexer/triplexer assembly 1858 is further configured to transfer the downstream channel signals 1828 to the radio 1865. The radio 1865 is configured to wirelessly communicate with one or more client node devices 1802 in range of the host node device 1804. In various embodiments, the radio 1865 is an analog radio that upconverts the downstream channel signals 1828 via mixing or other heterodyne action to generate upconverted downstream channel signals that are communicated to one or more client node devices 1802. The radio 1865 can include multiple individual antennas for communicating with the client node devices 1802, a phased antenna array or steerable beam or multi-beam antenna system for communicating with multiple devices at different locations. In an embodiment, the downstream channel signals 1828 are upconverted in a 60 GHz band for line-of-sight communications to a client node device 1802 some distance away. The duplexer/triplexer assembly 1858 can include a duplexer, triplexer, splitter, switch, router and/or other assembly that operates as a “channel duplexer” to provide bi-directional communications over multiple communication paths.

In addition to downstream communications destined for client devices 1812, host node device 1804 can handle upstream communications originating from client devices 1812 as well. In operation, the APRs 1862 extract upstream channel signals 1838 from the guided wave communication system 1810, received via mini-repeaters 1806 from wireless links 1814′ and/or client node devices 1802 from wireless links 1814″ or from other devices more remote. Other upstream channel signals 1838 can be received via APRs 1862 via communication over wireless link 1814 and via radio 1865 from client node devices 1802 in direct communication with client devices 1812 via wireless links 1814″ or indirect communication via either guided wave communication systems 1810′ or other client node devices 1802. In situations where the radio 1865 operates in a higher frequency band, the radio 1865 downconverts upconverted upstream channel signals. The duplexer/triplexer assembly 1858 transfers the upstream channels signals 1838 received by the APRs 1862 and downconverted by the radio 1865 to the terminal interface 1855 to be sent to the network 1818 via network termination 1815.

Consider an example where the host node device 1804 is used in conjunction with a public utility such as an electrical power company distribution system. In this case, the host node device 1804, client node devices 1802 and/or the mini-repeaters 1806 can be supported by utility poles, other structures or power lines of the distribution system and the guided wave communication systems 1810 can operate via a transmission medium 125 that includes segments of an insulated or bare medium voltage power line and/or other transmission line or supporting wire of the distribution system.

In a particular example, 2n mini-repeaters 1806 on 2n utility poles in two directions along the power line from the utility pole that supports the host node device 1804 can each receive and repeat downstream channel signals 1828 in the direction of the client node devices 1802 that can, for example, be supported by the (n+1)^stutility pole in each direction from the host node device 1804. The mini-repeaters 1806 can each communicate one or more selected downstream channel signals with client devices 1812 in range via wireless links 1814′. In addition, the host node device 1804 transfers the downstream channel signals 1828 directly to client devices 1812 via wireless link 1808—for wireless communication to client devices 1812 in range of the client node devices 1802 via wireless links 1814″ and further downstream via guided wave communication systems 1810′ and/or wireless link 1808′ to other additional client node devices 1802 and mini-repeaters 1806 that operate in a similar fashion. The host node device 1804 operates in a reciprocal fashion to receive upstream channel signals 1838 from client devices 1812, either directly via wireless link 1814, or indirectly via guided wave communication systems 1810 and 1810′ and mini-repeaters 1806, client node devices 1802, wireless links 1814′ and 1814″ and combinations thereof.

Turning now to FIG. 18F, a combination pictorial and block diagram 1870 is shown illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of downstream data flow in accordance with various aspects described herein. It should be noted that the diagram is not shown to scale. In particular, consider again an example where a communication system is implemented in conjunction with a public utility such as an electrical power company distribution system. In this case, the host node device 1804, client node devices 1802 and mini-repeaters 1806 are supported by utility poles 1875 of the distribution system and the guided wave communication systems 1810 of FIG. 18A operate via a transmission medium 125 that includes segments of an insulated or bare medium voltage power line that is supported by the utility poles 1875. Downstream channel signals 1828 from the network termination 1815 are received by the host node device 1804. The host node device 1804 wirelessly transmits selected channels of the downstream channel signals 1828 to one or more client devices 1812-4 in range of the host node device 1804. The host node device 1804 also sends the downstream channel signals 1828 to the mini-repeaters 1806-1 and 1806-2 as guided waves bound to the transmission medium 125. In addition, the host node device 1804 optionally upconverts the downstream channels signals 1828 as downstream channel signals 1828′ and sends the downstream channel signals 1828′ wirelessly to the client node devices 1802-1 and 1802-2.

The mini-repeaters 1806-1 and 1806-2 communicate selected downstream channel signals 1828 with client devices 1812-3 and 1812-5 that are in range and repeat the downstream channel signals 1828 as guided waves sent to mini-repeaters 1806-3 and 1806-4. The mini-repeaters 1806-3 and 1806-4 communicate selected downstream channel signals 1828 with client devices 1812-2 and 1812-6 that are in range. The client node devices 1802-1 and 1802-2 operate to repeat downstream channel signals 1828″ as guided waves to mini-repeaters further downstream and wirelessly as downstream channel signals 1828′ to additional client node devices that are also not expressly shown. The client node devices 1802-1 and 1802-2 also operate to communicate selected downstream channel signals 1828 with client devices 1812-1 and 1812-7 that are in range.

It should be noted that downstream channel signals 1828 can flow in other ways as well. Consider the case where the guided wave communication path between host node device 1804 and mini-repeater 1806-1 is impaired by a break or obstruction on the line, equipment failure or environmental conditions. The downstream channel signals 1828 can flow as guided waves from client node device 1802-1 to mini-repeater 1806-3 and to mini-repeater 1806-1 to compensate.

Turning now to FIG. 18G, a combination pictorial and block diagram 1878 is shown illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of upstream data flow in accordance with various aspects described herein. Consider again an example where a communication system is implemented in conjunction with a public utility such as an electrical power company distribution system. In this case, the host node device 1804, client node devices 1802 and mini-repeaters 1806 are supported by utility poles 1875 of the distribution system and the guided wave communication systems 1810 of FIG. 18A operate via a transmission medium 125 that includes segments of an insulated or bare medium voltage power line that is supported by the utility poles 1875. As previously discussed, the host node device 1804 collects upstream channels signals 1838 from various sources for transfer to the network termination 1815.

In particular, upstream channel signals 1838 in selected channels from client devices 1812-4 are wirelessly communicated to host node device 1804. Upstream channel signals 1838 in selected channels from client devices 1812-3 and 1812-5 are wirelessly communicated to mini-repeaters 1806-1 and 1806-2 that transfer these upstream channel signals 1838 to the host node device 1804 as guided waves. Upstream channel signals 1838 in selected channels from client devices 1812-2 and 1812-6 are wireless communicated to mini-repeaters 1806-3 and 1806-4 that transfer these upstream channel signals 1838 to the host node device 1804 as guided waves, via mini-repeaters 1806-1 and 1806-2. Upstream channel signals 1838 in selected channels from client devices 1812-1 and 1812-7 are wirelessly communicated to client node devices 1802-1 and 1802-2 are optionally upconverted and added to other upstream channel signals 1838′ received wirelessly from additional client node devices and other upstream channel signals 1838″ received as guided waves from other mini-repeaters can also be optionally upconverted for wireless transmission to the host node device 1804.

It should be noted that upstream channel signals 1838 can flow in other ways as well. Consider the case where the guided wave communication path between host node device 1804 and mini-repeater 1806-1 is impaired by a break or obstruction on the line, equipment failure or environmental conditions. The upstream channel signals 1838 from client devices 1812-3 can flow as guided waves from mini-repeater 1806-1 to mini-repeater 1806-3 and to client node device 1802-1 for wireless transfer to host node device 1804, to compensate.

Turning now to FIG. 18H, a block diagram 1880 is shown illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a client node device 1802 in accordance with various aspects described herein. The client node device 1802 includes a radio 1865 configured to wirelessly receive downstream channel signals 1828 from a communication network, via for example a host node device 1804 or other client node device 1802. The access point repeater 1862 is configured to launch the downstream channel signals 1828 on a guided wave communication system 1810 as guided electromagnetic waves that propagation along a transmission medium 125 and to wirelessly transmit one or more selected downstream channel signals 1828 to one or more client devices via wireless link 1814″.

In various embodiments, the radio 1865 is an analog radio that generates the downstream channel signals 1828 by downconverting RF signals that have a higher carrier frequencies compared with carrier frequencies of the downstream channel signals 1828. For example, the radio 1865 downconverts upconverted downstream channel signals from a host node device 1804 or other client node device 1802 via mixing or other heterodyne action to generate the downstream channel signals 1828. The radio 1865 can include multiple individual antennas for communicating with the host node device 1804 and other client node devices 1802, a phased antenna array or steerable beam or multi-beam antenna system for communicating with multiple devices at different locations. In an embodiment, the downstream channel signals 1828 are downconverted from a 60 GHz band for line-of-sight communications. In addition, radio 1865 can operate as a repeater to receive downstream channel signals 1828 via wireless link 1808 from the host node device 1804 and repeat them on wireless link 1808′ for transmission to other client node devices 1802.

In addition to downstream communications destined for client devices 1812, client node device 1802 can handle upstream communications originating from client devices 1812 as well. In operation, the APRs 1862 extract upstream channel signals 1838 from the guided wave communication system 1810, received via mini-repeaters 1806 of guided wave communication systems 1810 or 1810′. Other upstream channel signals 1838 can be received via APR 1862 via communication over wireless links 1814″ in direct communication with client devices 1812. In situations where the radio 1865 operates in a higher frequency band, the radio 1865 upconverts upstream channel signals 1838 received via the APR 1862 for communication via link 1808 to the host node device. In addition, radio 1865 can operate as a repeater to receive upstream channel signals 1838 via wireless link 1808′ from other client node devices 1802 and repeat them on wireless link 1808 for transmission to the host node device 1804.

Turning now to FIG. 19A, a block diagram 1900 is shown illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of an access point repeater 1862 in accordance with various aspects described herein. As discussed in conjunction with FIGS. 18E and 18H, the access point repeater 1862 couples to a transmission medium 125 to communicate upstream channel signals 1838 and downstream channel signals 1828 via a guided wave communication system (GWCS) 1810 to and from either radio 1865 of client node device 1802 or duplexer 1858 of host node device 1804. In addition, the APR 1862 communicates selected upstream and downstream channels with client devices 1812 via wireless link 1814 or 1814″.

In the embodiment shown, the APR 1862 includes an amplifier, such as bidirectional amplifier 1914 that amplifies the downstream channel signals 1828 from either radio 1865 (when implemented in a client node device 1802) or duplexer/triplexer assembly 1858 (when implemented in host node device 1804) to generate amplified downstream channel signals. The two-way (2:1) duplexer/diplexer 1912 transfers the amplified downstream channel signals 1828 to the coupler 1916 and to the channel selection filter 1910. The channel selection filter 1910 is configured to select one or more of the amplified downstream channel signals to wirelessly communicate with client devices 1812 in range via an antenna 1918 and wireless link 1814. In particular, channel selection filter 1910 can be configured to operate different APRs 1862 in accordance with one or more different channels in accordance with the physical location of the host node device 1804 or client node device 1802 and a spatial channel reuse scheme for wireless links 1814 that communicate with client devices 1812 in different locations. In various embodiments, the channel selection filter 1910 includes a filter, such as an analog or digital filter that passes one or more selected frequency channels while filtering-out or attenuating other frequency channels. In the alternative, channel selection filter 1910 can include a packet filter or data filter that passes one or more selected channel streams while filtering or blocking other channel streams. The coupler 1916 guides the amplified downstream channel signals to a transmission medium 125 of the guided wave communication system 1810 or 1810′ to be launched as guided electromagnetic waves.

As previously discussed the APR 1862 is also capable of processing upstream channel signals 1838 in a reciprocal fashion. In this mode of operation, the coupler 1916 extracts guided electromagnetic waves containing upstream channel signals from the transmission medium 125 of the guided wave communication system 1810 or 1810′. Other upstream channel signals 1838 are received via antenna 1918 and channel selection filter 1910. The upstream channel signals 1838 from each of these media are combined by the duplexer/diplexer 1912 and amplified by bidirectional amplifier 1914 for transfer to radio 1865 or duplexer/triplexer assembly 1858, depending on the implementation of the APR 1862. The duplexer/diplexer 1912 can include a duplexer, diplexer, splitter, switch, router and/or other assembly that operates as a “channel duplexer” to provide bi-directional communications over multiple communication paths.

Turning now to FIG. 19B, a block diagram 1925 is shown illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a mini-repeater in accordance with various aspects described herein. In particular, a repeater device, such as mini-repeater 1806 includes a coupler 1946 configured to extract downstream channel signals 1828 from guided electromagnetic waves in either direction A or B that are bound to a transmission medium 125 of a guided wave communication system 1810 or 1810′. An amplifier, such as bidirectional amplifier 1944 amplifies the downstream channel signals 1828 to generate amplified downstream channel signals. The two-way (2:1) channel duplexer 1942 transfers the amplified downstream channel signals 1828 to the coupler 1946 and to the channel selection filter 1940. The channel selection filter 1940 is configured to select one or more of the amplified downstream channel signals to wirelessly communicate with client devices 1812 in range via an antenna 1948 and wireless link 1814. In particular, channel selection filter 1940 can be configured to operate different mini-repeaters 1806 in accordance with one or more different channels in accordance with the physical location of mini-repeaters 1806 and a spatial channel reuse scheme for wireless links 1814 that communicate with client devices 1812 in different locations. The coupler 1946′ guides the amplified downstream channel signals to a transmission medium 125 of the guided wave communication system 1810 or 1810′ to be launched as guided electromagnetic waves on the transmission medium 125.

As previously discussed the mini-repeater 1806 is also capable of processing upstream channel signals 1838 in a reciprocal fashion. In this mode of operation, the coupler 1946′ extracts guided electromagnetic waves containing upstream channel signals from the transmission medium 125 of the guided wave communication system 1810 or 1810′. Other upstream channel signals 1838 are received via antenna 1948 and channel selection filter 1940. The upstream channel signals 1838 from each of these media are combined by the two-way channel duplexer 1942 and amplified by bidirectional amplifier 1944 for transfer to coupler 1946 to be launched on guided wave communication system 1810 on either direction A or B.

Turning now to FIG. 19C, a combination pictorial and block diagram 1950 is shown illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a mini-repeater in accordance with various aspects described herein. In particular, mini-repeater 1806 is shown as bridging an insulator 1952 on a utility pole of electric power utility. As shown the mini-repeater 1806 is coupled to a transmission medium, in this case, a power line on both sides of the insulator 1952. It should be noted however that other installations of mini-repeater 1806 are likewise possible. Other electric power utility installations include being supported by other utility structures or by a power line or supporting wire of the system. In addition, mini-repeater 1806 can be supported by other transmission media 125 or supporting structures for other transmission media 125.

Turning now to FIG. 19D, a graphical diagram 1975 is shown illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a frequency spectrum in accordance with various aspects described herein. In particular a frequency channel selection is presented as discussed in conjunction with either channel selection filter 1910 or 1940. As shown, a particular upstream frequency channel 1978 of upstream frequency channel band 1846 and a particular downstream frequency channel 1976 of downstream channel frequency band 1844 is selected to be passed by channel selection filter 1910 or 1940, with the remaining portions of upstream frequency channel band 1846 and downstream channel frequency band 1844 being filtered out—i.e. attenuated so as to mitigate adverse effects of analog processing of the desired frequency channels that are passed by the channel selection filter 1910 or 1940. It should be noted that while a single particular upstream frequency channel 1978 and particular downstream frequency channel 1976 are shown as being selected by channel selection filter 1910 or 1940, two or more upstream and/or downstream frequency channels may be passed in other embodiments.

It should be noted that while the foregoing has focused on the host node device 1804, client node devices 1802 and mini-repeaters 1810 operating on a single transmission medium such as a single power line, each of these devices can operate to send and receive on two or more communication paths, such as separate segments or branches of transmission media in different directions as part of a more complex transmission network. For example, at a node where first and second power line segments of a public utility branch out, a host node device 1804, client node device 1802 or mini-repeaters 1810 can include a first coupler to extract and/or launch guided electromagnetic waves along the first power line segment and a second coupler to extract and/or launch guided electromagnetic waves along the second power line segment.

Turning now to FIG. 20A, flow diagrams 2000 of example, non-limiting embodiment of methods, are shown. In particular, methods are presented for use with one or more functions and features presented in conjunction with FIGS. 1-19. These methods can be performed separately or contemporaneously. Step 2002 includes receiving downstream data from a communication network. Step 2004 includes modulating the downstream data into upstream channel signals corresponding to downstream frequency channels of a guided wave communication system. Step 2006 includes sending the downstream channel signals to the guided wave communication system via a wired connection. Step 2008 includes receiving upstream channel signals corresponding to upstream frequency channels from the guided wave communication system via the wired connection. Step 2010 includes demodulating the upstream channel signals into upstream data. Step 2012 includes sending the upstream data to the communication network.

In various embodiments, the downstream channel modulator modulates the downstream channel signals to convey the downstream data via a guided electromagnetic wave that is guided by a transmission medium of the guided wave communication system. The transmission medium can include a wire and the guided electromagnetic wave can be bound to an outer surface of the wire.

In various embodiments, a number of the upstream frequency channels is less than, greater than or equal to a number of the downstream frequency channels. A first subset of the upstream channel signals can be demodulated in accordance with a first standard protocol and a second subset of the upstream channel signals can be demodulated in accordance with a second standard protocol that differs from the first standard protocol.

Likewise, a first subset of the downstream channel signals can be modulated in accordance with a first standard protocol and a second subset of the downstream channel signals can be modulated in accordance with a second standard protocol that differs from the first standard protocol.

In various embodiments, the host interface couples to a host node device of the guided wave communication system via a fiber optic cable to send the downstream channel signals and receive the upstream channel signals. At least a portion of the upstream channel signals and at least a portion of the downstream channel signals are formatted in accordance with a data over cable system interface specification protocol or a 802.11 protocol.

Turning now to FIG. 20B, a flow diagram 2020 of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a method, is shown. In particular, a method is presented for use with one or more functions and features presented in conjunction with FIGS. 1-19. Step 2022 includes receiving downstream channel signals from a communication network. Step 2024 includes launching the downstream channel signals on a guided wave communication system as guided electromagnetic waves. Step 2026 includes wirelessly transmitting the downstream channel signals to at least one client node device.

In various embodiments, wirelessly transmitting the downstream channel signals includes: upconverting the downstream channel signals to generate upconverted downstream channel signals; and transmitting the upconverted downstream channel signals to the at least one client node device. Launching the downstream channel signals on the guided wave communication system as guided electromagnetic waves can include: launching the downstream channel signals on the guided wave communication system as first guided electromagnetic waves in a first direction along a transmission medium; and launching the downstream channel signals on the guided wave communication system as second guided electromagnetic waves in a second direction along the transmission medium.

In various embodiments, the transmission medium includes a wire and launching the downstream channel signals on the guided wave communication system as the first guided electromagnetic waves includes coupling the downstream channel signals to an outer surface of the wire for propagation in the first direction, and launching the downstream channel signals on the guided wave communication system as the second guided electromagnetic waves includes coupling the downstream channel signals to the outer surface of the wire for propagation in the second direction.

The method can further include: amplifying the downstream channel signals to generate amplified downstream channel signals; selectively filtering one or more of the amplified downstream channel signals to generate a subset of the amplified downstream channel signals; and wirelessly transmitting the subset of the amplified downstream channel signals to a plurality of client devices via an antenna. Launching the downstream channel signals on the guided wave communication system as guided electromagnetic waves can include: amplifying the downstream channel signals to generate amplified downstream channel signals; and coupling the amplified downstream channel signals to an outer surface of a transmission medium for propagation as the guided electromagnetic waves.

The method can also include extracting first upstream channel signals from the guided wave communication system; and sending the first upstream channel signals to the communication network and/or wirelessly receiving second upstream channel signals from the at least one client node device and sending the second upstream channel signals to the communication

Turning now to FIG. 20C, a flow diagram 2040 of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a method, is shown. In particular, a method is presented for use with one or more functions and features presented in conjunction with FIGS. 1-19. Step 2042 includes wirelessly receiving downstream channel signals from a communication network. Step 2044 includes launching the downstream channel signals on a guided wave communication system as guided electromagnetic waves that propagation along a transmission medium. Step 2046 includes wirelessly transmitting the downstream channel signals to at least one client device.

In various embodiments, the transmission medium includes a wire and the guided electromagnetic waves are bound to an outer surface of the wire. Wirelessly transmitting the downstream channel signals to at least one client device can include: amplifying the downstream channel signals to generate amplified downstream channel signals; selecting one or more of the amplified downstream channel signals; and wirelessly transmitting the one or more of the amplified downstream channel signals to the at least one client device via an antenna. Launching the downstream channel signals on the guided wave communication system as guided electromagnetic waves that propagation along the transmission medium can include: amplifying the downstream channel signals to generate amplified downstream channel signals; and guiding the amplified downstream channel signals to the transmission medium of the guided wave communication system.

In various embodiments, wirelessly receiving downstream channel signals from the communication network can include: downconverting RF signals that have a higher carrier frequencies compared with carrier frequencies of the downstream channel signals. The method can further include: extracting first upstream channel signals from the guided wave communication system; and wirelessly transmitting the first upstream channel signals to the communication network. The method can further include: wirelessly receiving second upstream channel signals from the at least one client device; and wirelessly transmitting the second upstream channel signals to the communication network. The transmission medium can includes a power line of a public utility.

Turning now to FIG. 20D, a flow diagram 2060 of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a method, is shown. In particular, a method is presented for use with one or more functions and features presented in conjunction with FIGS. 1-19. Step 2062 includes extracting downstream channel signals from first guided electromagnetic waves bound to a transmission medium of a guided wave communication system. Step 2064 includes amplifying the downstream channel signals to generate amplified downstream channel signals. Step 2066 includes selecting one or more of the amplified downstream channel signals to wirelessly transmit to the at least one client device via an antenna. Step 2068 includes guiding the amplified downstream channel signals to the transmission medium of the guided wave communication system to propagate as second guided electromagnetic waves.

In various embodiments, the transmission medium includes a wire and the first guided electromagnetic waves and the second guided electromagnetic waves are guided by an outer surface of the wire. At least a portion of the downstream or upstream channel signals can be formatted in accordance with a data over cable system interface specification protocol. At least a portion of the downstream or upstream channel signals can be formatted in accordance with an 802.11 protocol or a fourth generation or higher mobile wireless protocol.

In various embodiments, the method includes wirelessly receiving upstream channel signals from the at least one client device via the antenna; amplifying the upstream channel signals to generate amplified upstream channel signals; and guiding the amplified upstream channel signals to the transmission medium of the guided wave communication system to propagate as third guided electromagnetic waves. The downstream channel signals can correspond to a number of the downstream frequency channels and the upstream channel signals can correspond to a number of the upstream that is less than or equal to the number of the downstream frequency channels. At least a portion of the upstream channel signals can be formatted in accordance with either a data over cable system interface specification protocol, a 802.11 protocol or a fourth generation or higher mobile wireless protocol.

While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the respective processes are shown and described as a series of blocks in FIGS. 20A, 20B, 20C and 20D, it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what is depicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be required to implement the methods described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 21, there is illustrated a block diagram of a computing environment in accordance with various aspects described herein. In order to provide additional context for various embodiments of the embodiments described herein, FIG. 21 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment 2100 in which the various embodiments of the subject disclosure can be implemented. While the embodiments have been described above in the general context of computer-executable instructions that can run on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments can be also implemented in combination with other program modules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.

Generally, program modules comprise routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer system configurations, comprising single-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

As used herein, a processing circuit includes processor as well as other application specific circuits such as an application specific integrated circuit, digital logic circuit, state machine, programmable gate array or other circuit that processes input signals or data and that produces output signals or data in response thereto. It should be noted that while any functions and features described herein in association with the operation of a processor could likewise be performed by a processing circuit.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and so forth, as used in the claims, unless otherwise clear by context, is for clarity only and doesn't otherwise indicate or imply any order in time. For instance, “a first determination,” “a second determination,” and “a third determination,” does not indicate or imply that the first determination is to be made before the second determination, or vice versa, etc.

The illustrated embodiments of the embodiments herein can be also practiced in distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Computing devices typically comprise a variety of media, which can comprise computer-readable storage media and/or communications media, which two terms are used herein differently from one another as follows. Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media that can be accessed by the computer and comprises both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implemented in connection with any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured data or unstructured data.

Computer-readable storage media can comprise, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or other tangible and/or non-transitory media which can be used to store desired information. In this regard, the terms “tangible” or “non-transitory” herein as applied to storage, memory or computer-readable media, are to be understood to exclude only propagating transitory signals per se as modifiers and do not relinquish rights to all standard storage, memory or computer-readable media that are not only propagating transitory signals per se.

Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local or remote computing devices, e.g., via access requests, queries or other data retrieval protocols, for a variety of operations with respect to the information stored by the medium.

Communications media typically embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and comprises any information delivery or transport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signals refers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media comprise wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

With reference again to FIG. 21, the example environment 2100 for transmitting and receiving signals via or forming at least part of a base station (e.g., base station devices 1504, macrocell site 1502, or base stations 1614) or central office (e.g., central office 1501 or 1611). At least a portion of the example environment 2100 can also be used for transmission devices 101 or 102. The example environment can comprise a computer 2102, the computer 2102 comprising a processing unit 2104, a system memory 2106 and a system bus 2108. The system bus 2108 couples system components including, but not limited to, the system memory 2106 to the processing unit 2104. The processing unit 2104 can be any of various commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors and other multiprocessor architectures can also be employed as the processing unit 2104.

The system bus 2108 can be any of several types of bus structure that can further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures. The system memory 2106 comprises ROM 2110 and RAM 2112. A basic input/output system (BIOS) can be stored in a non-volatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer 2102, such as during startup. The RAM 2112 can also comprise a high-speed RAM such as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 2102 further comprises an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 2114 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive 2114 can also be configured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 2116, (e.g., to read from or write to a removable diskette 2118) and an optical disk drive 2120, (e.g., reading a CD-ROM disk 2122 or, to read from or write to other high capacity optical media such as the DVD). The hard disk drive 2114, magnetic disk drive 2116 and optical disk drive 2120 can be connected to the system bus 2108 by a hard disk drive interface 2124, a magnetic disk drive interface 2126 and an optical drive interface 2128, respectively. The interface 2124 for external drive implementations comprises at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 interface technologies. Other external drive connection technologies are within contemplation of the embodiments described herein.

The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media provide nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and so forth. For the computer 2102, the drives and storage media accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format. Although the description of computer-readable storage media above refers to a hard disk drive (HDD), a removable magnetic diskette, and a removable optical media such as a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of storage media which are readable by a computer, such as zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, cartridges, and the like, can also be used in the example operating environment, and further, that any such storage media can contain computer-executable instructions for performing the methods described herein.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 2112, comprising an operating system 2130, one or more application programs 2132, other program modules 2134 and program data 2136. All or portions of the operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also be cached in the RAM 2112. The systems and methods described herein can be implemented utilizing various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems. Examples of application programs 2132 that can be implemented and otherwise executed by processing unit 2104 include the diversity selection determining performed by transmission device 101 or 102.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 2102 through one or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 2138 and a pointing device, such as a mouse 2140. Other input devices (not shown) can comprise a microphone, an infrared (IR) remote control, a joystick, a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 2104 through an input device interface 2142 that can be coupled to the system bus 2108, but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an IR interface, etc.

A monitor 2144 or other type of display device can be also connected to the system bus 2108 via an interface, such as a video adapter 2146. It will also be appreciated that in alternative embodiments, a monitor 2144 can also be any display device (e.g., another computer having a display, a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc.) for receiving display information associated with computer 2102 via any communication means, including via the Internet and cloud-based networks. In addition to the monitor 2144, a computer typically comprises other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 2102 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 2148. The remote computer(s) 2148 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, a personal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainment appliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typically comprises many or all of the elements described relative to the computer 2102, although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device 2150 is illustrated. The logical connections depicted comprise wired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 2152 and/or larger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 2154. Such LAN and WAN networking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which can connect to a global communications network, e.g., the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 2102 can be connected to the local network 2152 through a wired and/or wireless communication network interface or adapter 2156. The adapter 2156 can facilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN 2152, which can also comprise a wireless AP disposed thereon for communicating with the wireless adapter 2156.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 2102 can comprise a modem 2158 or can be connected to a communications server on the WAN 2154 or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN 2154, such as by way of the Internet. The modem 2158, which can be internal or external and a wired or wireless device, can be connected to the system bus 2108 via the input device interface 2142. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 2102 or portions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device 2150. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are example and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used.

The computer 2102 can be operable to communicate with any wireless devices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication, e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portable data assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk, news stand, restroom), and telephone. This can comprise Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and BLUETOOTH® wireless technologies. Thus, the communication can be a predefined structure as with a conventional network or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi can allow connection to the Internet from a couch at home, a bed in a hotel room or a conference room at work, without wires. Wi-Fi is a wireless technology similar to that used in a cell phone that enables such devices, e.g., computers, to send and receive data indoors and out; anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, n, ac, ag etc.) to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wired networks (which can use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operate in the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands for example or with products that contain both bands (dual band), so the networks can provide real-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernet networks used in many offices.

FIG. 22 presents an example embodiment 2200 of a mobile network platform 2210 that can implement and exploit one or more aspects of the disclosed subject matter described herein. In one or more embodiments, the mobile network platform 2210 can generate and receive signals transmitted and received by base stations (e.g., base station devices 1504, macrocell site 1502, or base stations 1614), central office (e.g., central office 1501 or 1611), or transmission device 101 or 102 associated with the disclosed subject matter. Generally, wireless network platform 2210 can comprise components, e.g., nodes, gateways, interfaces, servers, or disparate platforms, that facilitate both packet-switched (PS) (e.g., internet protocol (IP), frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)) and circuit-switched (CS) traffic (e.g., voice and data), as well as control generation for networked wireless telecommunication. As a non-limiting example, wireless network platform 2210 can be included in telecommunications carrier networks, and can be considered carrier-side components as discussed elsewhere herein. Mobile network platform 2210 comprises CS gateway node(s) 2222 which can interface CS traffic received from legacy networks like telephony network(s) 2240 (e.g., public switched telephone network (PSTN), or public land mobile network (PLMN)) or a signaling system #7 (SS7) network 2270. Circuit switched gateway node(s) 2222 can authorize and authenticate traffic (e.g., voice) arising from such networks. Additionally, CS gateway node(s) 2222 can access mobility, or roaming, data generated through SS7 network 2270; for instance, mobility data stored in a visited location register (VLR), which can reside in memory 2230. Moreover, CS gateway node(s) 2222 interfaces CS-based traffic and signaling and PS gateway node(s) 2218. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, CS gateway node(s) 2222 can be realized at least in part in gateway GPRS support node(s) (GGSN). It should be appreciated that functionality and specific operation of CS gateway node(s) 2222, PS gateway node(s) 2218, and serving node(s) 2216, is provided and dictated by radio technology(ies) utilized by mobile network platform 2210 for telecommunication.

In addition to receiving and processing CS-switched traffic and signaling, PS gateway node(s) 2218 can authorize and authenticate PS-based data sessions with served mobile devices. Data sessions can comprise traffic, or content(s), exchanged with networks external to the wireless network platform 2210, like wide area network(s) (WANs) 2250, enterprise network(s) 2270, and service network(s) 2280, which can be embodied in local area network(s) (LANs), can also be interfaced with mobile network platform 2210 through PS gateway node(s) 2218. It is to be noted that WANs 2250 and enterprise network(s) 2260 can embody, at least in part, a service network(s) like IP multimedia subsystem (IMS). Based on radio technology layer(s) available in technology resource(s) 2217, packet-switched gateway node(s) 2218 can generate packet data protocol contexts when a data session is established; other data structures that facilitate routing of packetized data also can be generated. To that end, in an aspect, PS gateway node(s) 2218 can comprise a tunnel interface (e.g., tunnel termination gateway (TTG) in 3GPP UMTS network(s) (not shown)) which can facilitate packetized communication with disparate wireless network(s), such as Wi-Fi networks.

In embodiment 2200, wireless network platform 2210 also comprises serving node(s) 2216 that, based upon available radio technology layer(s) within technology resource(s) 2217, convey the various packetized flows of data streams received through PS gateway node(s) 2218. It is to be noted that for technology resource(s) 2217 that rely primarily on CS communication, server node(s) can deliver traffic without reliance on PS gateway node(s) 2218; for example, server node(s) can embody at least in part a mobile switching center. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, serving node(s) 2216 can be embodied in serving GPRS support node(s) (SGSN).

For radio technologies that exploit packetized communication, server(s) 2214 in wireless network platform 2210 can execute numerous applications that can generate multiple disparate packetized data streams or flows, and manage (e.g., schedule, queue, format . . . ) such flows. Such application(s) can comprise add-on features to standard services (for example, provisioning, billing, customer support . . . ) provided by wireless network platform 2210. Data streams (e.g., content(s) that are part of a voice call or data session) can be conveyed to PS gateway node(s) 2218 for authorization/authentication and initiation of a data session, and to serving node(s) 2216 for communication thereafter. In addition to application server, server(s) 2214 can comprise utility server(s), a utility server can comprise a provisioning server, an operations and maintenance server, a security server that can implement at least in part a certificate authority and firewalls as well as other security mechanisms, and the like. In an aspect, security server(s) secure communication served through wireless network platform 2210 to ensure network's operation and data integrity in addition to authorization and authentication procedures that CS gateway node(s) 2222 and PS gateway node(s) 2218 can enact. Moreover, provisioning server(s) can provision services from external network(s) like networks operated by a disparate service provider; for instance, WAN 2250 or Global Positioning System (GPS) network(s) (not shown). Provisioning server(s) can also provision coverage through networks associated to wireless network platform 2210 (e.g., deployed and operated by the same service provider), such as the distributed antennas networks shown in FIG. 1(s) that enhance wireless service coverage by providing more network coverage. Repeater devices such as those shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 also improve network coverage in order to enhance subscriber service experience by way of UE 2275.

It is to be noted that server(s) 2214 can comprise one or more processors configured to confer at least in part the functionality of macro network platform 2210. To that end, the one or more processor can execute code instructions stored in memory 2230, for example. It is should be appreciated that server(s) 2214 can comprise a content manager 2215, which operates in substantially the same manner as described hereinbefore.

In example embodiment 2200, memory 2230 can store information related to operation of wireless network platform 2210. Other operational information can comprise provisioning information of mobile devices served through wireless platform network 2210, subscriber databases; application intelligence, pricing schemes, e.g., promotional rates, flat-rate programs, couponing campaigns; technical specification(s) consistent with telecommunication protocols for operation of disparate radio, or wireless, technology layers; and so forth. Memory 2230 can also store information from at least one of telephony network(s) 2240, WAN 2250, enterprise network(s) 2270, or SS7 network 2260. In an aspect, memory 2230 can be, for example, accessed as part of a data store component or as a remotely connected memory store.

In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the disclosed subject matter, FIG. 22, and the following discussion, are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable environment in which the various aspects of the disclosed subject matter can be implemented. While the subject matter has been described above in the general context of computer-executable instructions of a computer program that runs on a computer and/or computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed subject matter also can be implemented in combination with other program modules. Generally, program modules comprise routines, programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks and/or implement particular abstract data types.

FIG. 23 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication device 2300. The communication device 2300 can serve as an illustrative embodiment of devices such as mobile devices and in-building devices referred to by the subject disclosure (e.g., in FIGS. 15, 16A and 16B).

The communication device 2300 can comprise a wireline and/or wireless transceiver 2302 (herein transceiver 2302), a user interface (UI) 2304, a power supply 2314, a location receiver 2316, a motion sensor 2318, an orientation sensor 2320, and a controller 2306 for managing operations thereof. The transceiver 2302 can support short-range or long-range wireless access technologies such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi, DECT, or cellular communication technologies, just to mention a few (Bluetooth® and ZigBee® are trademarks registered by the Bluetooth® Special Interest Group and the ZigBee® Alliance, respectively). Cellular technologies can include, for example, CDMA-1×, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, EV/DO, WiMAX, SDR, LTE, as well as other next generation wireless communication technologies as they arise. The transceiver 2302 can also be adapted to support circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN), packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCP/IP, VoIP, etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 2304 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 2308 with a navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or a navigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device 2300. The keypad 2308 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of the communication device 2300 or an independent device operably coupled thereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or a wireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth®. The keypad 2308 can represent a numeric keypad commonly used by phones, and/or a QWERTY keypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 2304 can further include a display 2310 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technology for conveying images to an end user of the communication device 2300. In an embodiment where the display 2310 is touch-sensitive, a portion or all of the keypad 2308 can be presented by way of the display 2310 with navigation features.

The display 2310 can use touch screen technology to also serve as a user interface for detecting user input. As a touch screen display, the communication device 2300 can be adapted to present a user interface having graphical user interface (GUI) elements that can be selected by a user with a touch of a finger. The touch screen display 2310 can be equipped with capacitive, resistive or other forms of sensing technology to detect how much surface area of a user's finger has been placed on a portion of the touch screen display. This sensing information can be used to control the manipulation of the GUI elements or other functions of the user interface. The display 2310 can be an integral part of the housing assembly of the communication device 2300 or an independent device communicatively coupled thereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a cable) or a wireless interface.

The UI 2304 can also include an audio system 2312 that utilizes audio technology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heard in proximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such as speakerphone for hands free operation). The audio system 2312 can further include a microphone for receiving audible signals of an end user. The audio system 2312 can also be used for voice recognition applications. The UI 2304 can further include an image sensor 2313 such as a charged coupled device (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 2314 can utilize common power management technologies such as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulation technologies, and/or charging system technologies for supplying energy to the components of the communication device 2300 to facilitate long-range or short-range portable communications. Alternatively, or in combination, the charging system can utilize external power sources such as DC power supplied over a physical interface such as a USB port or other suitable tethering technologies.

The location receiver 2316 can utilize location technology such as a global positioning system (GPS) receiver capable of assisted GPS for identifying a location of the communication device 2300 based on signals generated by a constellation of GPS satellites, which can be used for facilitating location services such as navigation. The motion sensor 2318 can utilize motion sensing technology such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, or other suitable motion sensing technology to detect motion of the communication device 2300 in three-dimensional space. The orientation sensor 2320 can utilize orientation sensing technology such as a magnetometer to detect the orientation of the communication device 2300 (north, south, west, and east, as well as combined orientations in degrees, minutes, or other suitable orientation metrics).

The communication device 2300 can use the transceiver 2302 to also determine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth®, or other wireless access points by sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and/or signal time of arrival (TOA) or time of flight (TOF) measurements. The controller 2306 can utilize computing technologies such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), programmable gate arrays, application specific integrated circuits, and/or a video processor with associated storage memory such as Flash, ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies for executing computer instructions, controlling, and processing data supplied by the aforementioned components of the communication device 2300.

Other components not shown in FIG. 23 can be used in one or more embodiments of the subject disclosure. For instance, the communication device 2300 can include a slot for adding or removing an identity module such as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card or Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). SIM or UICC cards can be used for identifying subscriber services, executing programs, storing subscriber data, and so on.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “storage,” “data store,” data storage,” “database,” and substantially any other information storage component relevant to operation and functionality of a component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a “memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciated that the memory components described herein can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can comprise both volatile and nonvolatile memory, by way of illustration, and not limitation, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, disk storage, and memory storage. Further, nonvolatile memory can be included in read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can comprise random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM). Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methods herein are intended to comprise, without being limited to comprising, these and any other suitable types of memory.

Moreover, it will be noted that the disclosed subject matter can be practiced with other computer system configurations, comprising single-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, mini-computing devices, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices (e.g., PDA, phone, smartphone, watch, tablet computers, netbook computers, etc.), microprocessor-based or programmable consumer or industrial electronics, and the like. The illustrated aspects can also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network; however, some if not all aspects of the subject disclosure can be practiced on stand-alone computers. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Some of the embodiments described herein can also employ artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate automating one or more features described herein. For example, artificial intelligence can be used in optional training controller 230 evaluate and select candidate frequencies, modulation schemes, MIMO modes, and/or guided wave modes in order to maximize transfer efficiency. The embodiments (e.g., in connection with automatically identifying acquired cell sites that provide a maximum value/benefit after addition to an existing communication network) can employ various AI-based schemes for carrying out various embodiments thereof. Moreover, the classifier can be employed to determine a ranking or priority of the each cell site of the acquired network. A classifier is a function that maps an input attribute vector, x=(x1, x2, x3, x4, . . . , xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, that is, f(x)=confidence (class). Such classification can employ a probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring into the analysis utilities and costs) to prognose or infer an action that a user desires to be automatically performed. A support vector machine (SVM) is an example of a classifier that can be employed. The SVM operates by finding a hypersurface in the space of possible inputs, which the hypersurface attempts to split the triggering criteria from the non-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the classification correct for testing data that is near, but not identical to training data. Other directed and undirected model classification approaches comprise, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification models providing different patterns of independence can be employed. Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statistical regression that is utilized to develop models of priority.

As will be readily appreciated, one or more of the embodiments can employ classifiers that are explicitly trained (e.g., via a generic training data) as well as implicitly trained (e.g., via observing UE behavior, operator preferences, historical information, receiving extrinsic information). For example, SVMs can be configured via a learning or training phase within a classifier constructor and feature selection module. Thus, the classifier(s) can be used to automatically learn and perform a number of functions, including but not limited to determining according to a predetermined criteria which of the acquired cell sites will benefit a maximum number of subscribers and/or which of the acquired cell sites will add minimum value to the existing communication network coverage, etc.

As used in some contexts in this application, in some embodiments, the terms “component,” “system” and the like are intended to refer to, or comprise, a computer-related entity or an entity related to an operational apparatus with one or more specific functionalities, wherein the entity can be either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. As an example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, computer-executable instructions, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration and not limitation, both an application running on a server and the server can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet with other systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be an apparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric or electronic circuitry, which is operated by a software or firmware application executed by a processor, wherein the processor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes at least a part of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component can be an apparatus that provides specific functionality through electronic components without mechanical parts, the electronic components can comprise a processor therein to execute software or firmware that confers at least in part the functionality of the electronic components. While various components have been illustrated as separate components, it will be appreciated that multiple components can be implemented as a single component, or a single component can be implemented as multiple components, without departing from example embodiments.

Further, the various embodiments can be implemented as a method, apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware or any combination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosed subject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device or computer-readable storage/communications media. For example, computer readable storage media can include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD)), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive). Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize many modifications can be made to this configuration without departing from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

In addition, the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein to mean serving as an instance or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word example or exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form.

Moreover, terms such as “user equipment,” “mobile station,” “mobile,” subscriber station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,” “mobile device” (and/or terms representing similar terminology) can refer to a wireless device utilized by a subscriber or user of a wireless communication service to receive or convey data, control, voice, video, sound, gaming or substantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. The foregoing terms are utilized interchangeably herein and with reference to the related drawings.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer” and the like are employed interchangeably throughout, unless context warrants particular distinctions among the terms. It should be appreciated that such terms can refer to human entities or automated components supported through artificial intelligence (e.g., a capacity to make inference based, at least, on complex mathematical formalisms), which can provide simulated vision, sound recognition and so forth.

As employed herein, the term “processor” can refer to substantially any computing processing unit or device comprising, but not limited to comprising, single-core processors; single-processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithread technology; parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Processors can exploit nano-scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimize space usage or enhance performance of user equipment. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

As used herein, terms such as “data storage,” data storage,” “database,” and substantially any other information storage component relevant to operation and functionality of a component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a “memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciated that the memory components or computer-readable storage media, described herein can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory.

What has been described above includes mere examples of various embodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing these examples, but one of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the present embodiments are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed and/or claimed herein are intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

In addition, a flow diagram may include a “start” and/or “continue” indication. The “start” and “continue” indications reflect that the steps presented can optionally be incorporated in or otherwise used in conjunction with other routines. In this context, “start” indicates the beginning of the first step presented and may be preceded by other activities not specifically shown. Further, the “continue” indication reflects that the steps presented may be performed multiple times and/or may be succeeded by other activities not specifically shown. Further, while a flow diagram indicates a particular ordering of steps, other orderings are likewise possible provided that the principles of causality are maintained.

As may also be used herein, the term(s) “operably coupled to”, “coupled to”, and/or “coupling” includes direct coupling between items and/or indirect coupling between items via one or more intervening items. Such items and intervening items include, but are not limited to, junctions, communication paths, components, circuit elements, circuits, functional blocks, and/or devices. As an example of indirect coupling, a signal conveyed from a first item to a second item may be modified by one or more intervening items by modifying the form, nature or format of information in a signal, while one or more elements of the information in the signal are nevertheless conveyed in a manner than can be recognized by the second item. In a further example of indirect coupling, an action in a first item can cause a reaction on the second item, as a result of actions and/or reactions in one or more intervening items.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement which achieves the same or similar purpose may be substituted for the embodiments described or shown by the subject disclosure. The subject disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein, can be used in the subject disclosure. For instance, one or more features from one or more embodiments can be combined with one or more features of one or more other embodiments. In one or more embodiments, features that are positively recited can also be negatively recited and excluded from the embodiment with or without replacement by another structural and/or functional feature. The steps or functions described with respect to the embodiments of the subject disclosure can be performed in any order. The steps or functions described with respect to the embodiments of the subject disclosure can be performed alone or in combination with other steps or functions of the subject disclosure, as well as from other embodiments or from other steps that have not been described in the subject disclosure. Further, more than or less than all of the features described with respect to an embodiment can also be utilized.

Claims

1. A client node device comprising: a radio configured to wirelessly receive first channel signals from a communication network; andan access point repeater (APR) configured to launch the first channel signals on a guided wave communication system as first guided electromagnetic waves at non-optical frequencies that are bound to a physical structure of a transmission medium, wherein the first guided electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium to propagate along a surface of the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path, and wherein the APR comprises: an amplifier configured to amplify the first channel signals to generate amplified first channel signals;a channel selection filter configured to select one or more of the amplified first channel signals to wirelessly communicate to at least one client device;an antenna configured to wirelessly communicate the one or more of the amplified first channel signals with the at least one client device;a coupler configured to guide the amplified first channel signals to the transmission medium of the guided wave communication system so as to generate second guided electromagnetic waves that propagate along the surface of the transmission medium without requiring the electrical return path; anda channel duplexer configured to transfer the amplified first channel signals to the coupler and to the channel selection filter.
2. The client node device of claim 1 wherein the transmission medium includes a wire and the first guided electromagnetic waves are bound to an outer surface of the wire.
3. The client node device of claim 1 wherein the radio receives the first channel signals from the communication network via one of: a host node device coupled to the communication network or another client node device.
4. The client node device of claim 1, wherein the radio is an analog radio that adjusts the first channel signals by downconverting the first channel signals from higher carrier frequencies to lower carrier frequencies.
5. The client node device of claim 1, wherein the APR is further configured to extract second channel signals from the guided wave communication system; and wherein the radio wirelessly transmits the second channel signals to the communication network.
6. The client node device of claim 5, wherein the APR wirelessly receives third channel signals from the at least one client device; and wherein the radio wirelessly transmits the third channel signals to the communication network.
7. The client node device of claim 1 wherein the transmission medium includes one of: a power line of a public utility or a dielectric core surrounded by a cladding and a jacket.
8. The client node device of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the first channel signals is formatted in accordance with a data over cable system interface specification (DOCSIS) protocol.
9. The client node device of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the first channel signals is formatted in accordance with a 802.11 protocol or a fourth generation or higher mobile wireless protocol.
10. The client node device of claim 1 wherein the coupler comprises a conductorless dielectric waveguide.
11. The client node device of claim 1 wherein the coupler is non-coaxially aligned with a longitudinal axis of the transmission medium.

US Referenced Citations (2808)

Number	Name	Date	Kind
395814	Henry et al.	Jan 1889	A
529290	Harry et al.	Nov 1894	A
1721785	Meyer	Jul 1929	A
1798613	Manson et al.	Mar 1931	A
1860123	Yagi	May 1932	A
2058611	Merkle et al.	Oct 1936	A
2106770	Southworth et al.	Feb 1938	A
2129711	Southworth	Sep 1938	A
2129714	Southworth et al.	Sep 1938	A
2147717	Schelkunoff	Feb 1939	A
2187908	McCreary	Jan 1940	A
2199083	Schelkunoff	Apr 1940	A
2232179	King	Feb 1941	A
2283935	King	May 1942	A
2398095	Katzin	Apr 1946	A
2402622	Hansen	Jun 1946	A
2405242	Southworth et al.	Aug 1946	A
2407068	Fiske et al.	Sep 1946	A
2407069	Fiske	Sep 1946	A
2410113	Edwin, Jr.	Oct 1946	A
2411338	Roberts	Nov 1946	A
2415089	Feldman et al.	Feb 1947	A
2415807	Barrow et al.	Feb 1947	A
2419205	Feldman et al.	Apr 1947	A
2420007	Olden	May 1947	A
2422058	Whinnery	Jun 1947	A
2432134	Bagnall	Dec 1947	A
2461005	Southworth	Feb 1949	A
2471021	Bradley	May 1949	A
2488400	Harder	Nov 1949	A
2513205	Roberts et al.	Jun 1950	A
2514679	Southworth	Jul 1950	A
2519603	Reber	Aug 1950	A
2540839	Southworth	Feb 1951	A
2541843	Tiley et al.	Feb 1951	A
2542980	Barrow	Feb 1951	A
2557110	Jaynes	Jun 1951	A
2562281	Mumford	Jul 1951	A
2596190	Wiley	May 1952	A
2599864	Robertson et al.	Jun 1952	A
2659817	Cutler et al.	Nov 1953	A
2667578	Carlson et al.	Jan 1954	A
2677055	Allen	Apr 1954	A
2685068	Goubau	Jul 1954	A
2688732	Kock	Sep 1954	A
2691766	Clapp	Oct 1954	A
2706279	Aron	Apr 1955	A
2711514	Rines	Jun 1955	A
2723378	Clavier et al.	Nov 1955	A
2727232	Pryga	Dec 1955	A
2735092	Brown	Feb 1956	A
2737632	Grieg et al.	Mar 1956	A
2740826	Bondon	Apr 1956	A
2745101	Marie	May 1956	A
2748350	Miller et al.	May 1956	A
2749545	Kostriza	Jun 1956	A
2754513	Goubau	Jul 1956	A
2761137	Atta et al.	Aug 1956	A
2769147	Black et al.	Oct 1956	A
2769148	Clogston et al.	Oct 1956	A
2770783	Thomas et al.	Nov 1956	A
2794959	Fox	Jun 1957	A
2805415	Berkowitz	Sep 1957	A
2806177	Haeff et al.	Sep 1957	A
2806972	Sensiper	Sep 1957	A
2810111	Cohn	Oct 1957	A
2819451	Sims et al.	Jan 1958	A
2820083	Hendrix	Jan 1958	A
2825060	Ruze et al.	Feb 1958	A
2835871	Raabe	May 1958	A
2851686	Hagaman et al.	Sep 1958	A
2852753	Gent	Sep 1958	A
2867776	Wilkinson, Jr.	Jan 1959	A
2883135	Smalley et al.	Apr 1959	A
2883136	Smalley et al.	Apr 1959	A
2900558	Watkins et al.	Aug 1959	A
2910261	Ward et al.	Oct 1959	A
2912695	Cutler	Nov 1959	A
2914741	Unger	Nov 1959	A
2915270	Gladsden et al.	Dec 1959	A
2921277	Goubau	Jan 1960	A
2925458	Lester et al.	Feb 1960	A
2933701	Lanctot et al.	Apr 1960	A
2946970	Hafner et al.	Jul 1960	A
2949589	Hafner	Aug 1960	A
2960670	Marcatili et al.	Nov 1960	A
2970800	Smalley et al.	Feb 1961	A
2972148	Rupp et al.	Feb 1961	A
2974297	Ros	Mar 1961	A
2981949	Elliott et al.	Apr 1961	A
2990151	Phillips et al.	Jun 1961	A
2993205	Cooper et al.	Jul 1961	A
3016520	Chaimowicz et al.	Jan 1962	A
3025478	Marcatili et al.	Mar 1962	A
3028565	Walker et al.	Apr 1962	A
3040278	Griemsmann et al.	Jun 1962	A
3045238	Cheston et al.	Jul 1962	A
3046550	Schlaud et al.	Jul 1962	A
3047822	Lakatos et al.	Jul 1962	A
3065945	Newsome et al.	Nov 1962	A
3072870	Walker	Jan 1963	A
3077569	Ikrath et al.	Feb 1963	A
3096462	Feinstein et al.	Jul 1963	A
3101472	Goubau	Aug 1963	A
3109175	Lloyd	Oct 1963	A
3129356	Phillips	Apr 1964	A
3134951	Huber et al.	May 1964	A
3146297	Hahne	Aug 1964	A
3146453	Hagaman	Aug 1964	A
3201724	Hafner	Aug 1965	A
3205462	Meinke	Sep 1965	A
3218384	Shaw	Nov 1965	A
3219954	Rutelli	Nov 1965	A
3234559	Bartholoma et al.	Feb 1966	A
3255454	Walter et al.	Jun 1966	A
3296364	Jefferson et al.	Jan 1967	A
3296685	Menahem et al.	Jan 1967	A
3310808	Friis et al.	Mar 1967	A
3316344	Toms et al.	Apr 1967	A
3316345	Toms et al.	Apr 1967	A
3318561	Robertson, Jr. et al.	May 1967	A
3321763	Ikrath et al.	May 1967	A
3329958	Anderson et al.	Jul 1967	A
3351947	Hart et al.	Nov 1967	A
3355738	Algeo et al.	Nov 1967	A
3369788	Eisele	Feb 1968	A
3389394	Lewis et al.	Jun 1968	A
3392388	Tsuneo et al.	Jul 1968	A
3392395	Hannan	Jul 1968	A
3411112	Honig et al.	Nov 1968	A
3413637	Goebels, Jr. et al.	Nov 1968	A
3413642	Cook	Nov 1968	A
3414903	Bartlett et al.	Dec 1968	A
3420596	Osterberg	Jan 1969	A
3427573	White et al.	Feb 1969	A
3448455	Alfandari et al.	Jun 1969	A
3453617	Brickey et al.	Jul 1969	A
3459873	Harris et al.	Aug 1969	A
3465346	Patterson et al.	Sep 1969	A
3474995	Amidon et al.	Oct 1969	A
3482251	Bowes	Dec 1969	A
3487158	Killian	Dec 1969	A
3495262	Robert et al.	Feb 1970	A
3500422	Grady et al.	Mar 1970	A
3509463	Woodward et al.	Apr 1970	A
3522560	Hayany	Aug 1970	A
3524192	Sakiotis et al.	Aug 1970	A
3529205	Miller	Sep 1970	A
3530481	Tanaka et al.	Sep 1970	A
3531803	Hudspeth et al.	Sep 1970	A
3536800	Hubbard	Oct 1970	A
3555553	Boyns	Jan 1971	A
3557341	Sochilin et al.	Jan 1971	A
3566317	Hafner	Feb 1971	A
3568204	Blaisdell	Mar 1971	A
3569979	Munk et al.	Mar 1971	A
3573838	Ajioka	Apr 1971	A
3588754	Hafner	Jun 1971	A
3588755	Kunio et al.	Jun 1971	A
3589121	Mulvey	Jun 1971	A
3594494	Ross et al.	Jul 1971	A
3599219	Hansen et al.	Aug 1971	A
3603904	Hafner	Sep 1971	A
3603951	Bracken et al.	Sep 1971	A
3609247	Halstead	Sep 1971	A
3623114	Seaton	Nov 1971	A
3624655	Yamada et al.	Nov 1971	A
3638224	Bailey et al.	Jan 1972	A
3653622	Farmer	Apr 1972	A
3666902	Owen et al.	May 1972	A
3668459	Symons et al.	Jun 1972	A
3668574	Barlow	Jun 1972	A
3672202	Barber et al.	Jun 1972	A
3686596	Thomas	Aug 1972	A
3693922	Gueguen	Sep 1972	A
3699574	Plunk et al.	Oct 1972	A
3703690	Ravenscroft et al.	Nov 1972	A
3704001	Sloop	Nov 1972	A
3725937	Schreiber	Apr 1973	A
3753086	Shoemaker et al.	Aug 1973	A
3760127	Grossi et al.	Sep 1973	A
3765021	Chiron et al.	Oct 1973	A
3772528	Anderson et al.	Nov 1973	A
3775769	Heeren et al.	Nov 1973	A
3787872	Kauffman	Jan 1974	A
3796970	Snell	Mar 1974	A
3806931	Wright	Apr 1974	A
3833909	Schaufelberger	Sep 1974	A
3835407	Yariv et al.	Sep 1974	A
3845426	Barlow	Oct 1974	A
3858214	Jones	Dec 1974	A
3877032	Rosa	Apr 1975	A
3888446	O'Brien et al.	Jun 1975	A
3896380	Martin	Jul 1975	A
3906508	Foldes	Sep 1975	A
3911415	Whyte	Oct 1975	A
3921949	Coon	Nov 1975	A
3925763	Wadhwani	Dec 1975	A
3935577	Hansen et al.	Jan 1976	A
3936836	Wheeler et al.	Feb 1976	A
3936838	Foldes et al.	Feb 1976	A
3952984	Dimitry et al.	Apr 1976	A
3956751	Herman	May 1976	A
3959794	Chrepta et al.	May 1976	A
3973087	Fong et al.	Aug 1976	A
3973240	Fong et al.	Aug 1976	A
3976358	Thompson et al.	Aug 1976	A
3983560	MacDougall et al.	Sep 1976	A
4010799	Kern et al.	Mar 1977	A
4012743	Maciejewski et al.	Mar 1977	A
4020431	Saunders et al.	Apr 1977	A
4026632	Hill et al.	May 1977	A
4030048	Foldes et al.	Jun 1977	A
4030953	Rutschow et al.	Jun 1977	A
4031536	Alford et al.	Jun 1977	A
4035054	Lattanzi et al.	Jul 1977	A
4047180	Kuo et al.	Sep 1977	A
4079361	Woode et al.	Mar 1978	A
4080600	Toman et al.	Mar 1978	A
4099184	Rapshys et al.	Jul 1978	A
4114121	Barlow et al.	Sep 1978	A
4115782	Han et al.	Sep 1978	A
4123759	Hines et al.	Oct 1978	A
4125768	Jackson et al.	Nov 1978	A
4129872	Toman et al.	Dec 1978	A
4141015	Wong et al.	Feb 1979	A
4149170	Campbell et al.	Apr 1979	A
4155108	Tuttle et al.	May 1979	A
4156241	Mobley et al.	May 1979	A
4166669	Leonberger et al.	Sep 1979	A
4175257	Smith et al.	Nov 1979	A
4188595	Cronson et al.	Feb 1980	A
4190137	Shimada et al.	Feb 1980	A
4191953	Woode et al.	Mar 1980	A
4195302	Leupelt et al.	Mar 1980	A
4210357	Adachi et al.	Jul 1980	A
4216449	Kach	Aug 1980	A
4220957	Britt et al.	Sep 1980	A
4231042	Turrin et al.	Oct 1980	A
4234753	Clutter	Nov 1980	A
4238974	Fawcett et al.	Dec 1980	A
4246584	Noerpel et al.	Jan 1981	A
4247858	Eichweber et al.	Jan 1981	A
4250489	Dudash et al.	Feb 1981	A
4268804	Spinner et al.	May 1981	A
4274097	Krall et al.	Jun 1981	A
4274112	Leysieffer et al.	Jun 1981	A
4278955	Lunden et al.	Jul 1981	A
4293833	Popa et al.	Oct 1981	A
4298877	Sletten et al.	Nov 1981	A
4300242	Nava et al.	Nov 1981	A
4307938	Dyott et al.	Dec 1981	A
4316646	Siebens et al.	Feb 1982	A
4319074	Yaste et al.	Mar 1982	A
4329690	Parker et al.	May 1982	A
4333082	Susman et al.	Jun 1982	A
4335613	Luukkala et al.	Jun 1982	A
4336719	Lynnworth	Jun 1982	A
4345256	Rainwater et al.	Aug 1982	A
4366565	Herskowitz	Dec 1982	A
4367446	Hall et al.	Jan 1983	A
4378143	Winzer et al.	Mar 1983	A
4384289	Fernandes et al.	May 1983	A
4398058	Gerth et al.	Aug 1983	A
4398121	Chodorow et al.	Aug 1983	A
4413263	Amitay et al.	Nov 1983	A
4447811	Hamid et al.	May 1984	A
4458250	Bodnar et al.	Jul 1984	A
4463329	Suzuki et al.	Jul 1984	A
4468672	Dragone et al.	Aug 1984	A
4475209	Udren	Oct 1984	A
4477814	Brumbaugh et al.	Oct 1984	A
4482899	Dragone et al.	Nov 1984	A
4488156	DuFort et al.	Dec 1984	A
4491386	Negishi et al.	Jan 1985	A
4495498	Petrelis et al.	Jan 1985	A
4516130	Dragone	May 1985	A
4525432	Saito et al.	Jun 1985	A
4525693	Suzuki et al.	Jun 1985	A
4533875	Lau et al.	Aug 1985	A
4541303	Kuzunishi et al.	Sep 1985	A
4550271	Lau et al.	Oct 1985	A
4553112	Saad et al.	Nov 1985	A
4556271	Hubbard	Dec 1985	A
4558325	Stroem et al.	Dec 1985	A
4565348	Larsen	Jan 1986	A
4566012	Choung et al.	Jan 1986	A
4567401	Barnett et al.	Jan 1986	A
4568943	Bowman	Feb 1986	A
4573215	Oates et al.	Feb 1986	A
4589424	Vaguine et al.	May 1986	A
4598262	Chen et al.	Jul 1986	A
4599598	Komoda et al.	Jul 1986	A
4604551	Moeller et al.	Aug 1986	A
4604624	Amitay et al.	Aug 1986	A
4604627	Saad et al.	Aug 1986	A
4618867	Gans et al.	Oct 1986	A
4636753	Geller et al.	Jan 1987	A
4638322	Lamberty et al.	Jan 1987	A
4641916	Oestreich et al.	Feb 1987	A
4642651	Kuhn et al.	Feb 1987	A
4644365	Horning et al.	Feb 1987	A
4647329	Oono et al.	Mar 1987	A
4660050	Phillips et al.	Apr 1987	A
4665660	Krall et al.	May 1987	A
4672384	Roy et al.	Jun 1987	A
4673943	Hannan	Jun 1987	A
4680558	Ghosh et al.	Jul 1987	A
4694599	Hart et al.	Sep 1987	A
4704611	Edwards et al.	Nov 1987	A
4715695	Nishimura et al.	Dec 1987	A
4717974	Baumeister et al.	Jan 1988	A
4728910	Owens et al.	Mar 1988	A
4730172	Bengeult	Mar 1988	A
4730888	Darcie et al.	Mar 1988	A
4731810	Watkins	Mar 1988	A
4735097	Lynnworth et al.	Apr 1988	A
4743915	Rammos et al.	May 1988	A
4743916	Bengeult	May 1988	A
4745377	Stern et al.	May 1988	A
4746241	Burbank, III et al.	May 1988	A
4749244	Luh	Jun 1988	A
4755830	Plunk et al.	Jul 1988	A
4757324	Dhanjal et al.	Jul 1988	A
4758962	Fernandes	Jul 1988	A
4764738	Fried et al.	Aug 1988	A
4772891	Svy	Sep 1988	A
4777457	Ghosh et al.	Oct 1988	A
4783665	Lier et al.	Nov 1988	A
4785304	Stern et al.	Nov 1988	A
4786911	Svy et al.	Nov 1988	A
4786913	Barendregt et al.	Nov 1988	A
4788553	Phillips et al.	Nov 1988	A
4792771	Siu et al.	Dec 1988	A
4792812	Rinehart et al.	Dec 1988	A
4799031	Lang et al.	Jan 1989	A
4800350	Bridges et al.	Jan 1989	A
4801937	Fernandes	Jan 1989	A
4818963	Green et al.	Apr 1989	A
4818990	Fernandes	Apr 1989	A
4821006	Ishikawa et al.	Apr 1989	A
4825221	Suzuki et al.	Apr 1989	A
4829310	Losee et al.	May 1989	A
4829314	Barbier et al.	May 1989	A
4831346	Brooker et al.	May 1989	A
4832148	Becker et al.	May 1989	A
4835517	van der Gracht et al.	May 1989	A
4839659	Stern et al.	Jun 1989	A
4845508	Krall et al.	Jul 1989	A
4847610	Ozawa et al.	Jul 1989	A
4849611	Whitney et al.	Jul 1989	A
4851788	Ives et al.	Jul 1989	A
4855749	DeFonzo et al.	Aug 1989	A
4866454	Droessler et al.	Sep 1989	A
4873534	Wohlleben et al.	Oct 1989	A
4879544	Maki et al.	Nov 1989	A
4881028	Bright et al.	Nov 1989	A
4886980	Fernandes et al.	Dec 1989	A
4897663	Kusano et al.	Jan 1990	A
4904996	Fernandes	Feb 1990	A
4915468	Kim et al.	Apr 1990	A
4916460	Powell et al.	Apr 1990	A
4922180	Saffer et al.	May 1990	A
4929962	Begout et al.	May 1990	A
4931808	Munson et al.	Jun 1990	A
4932620	Foy	Jun 1990	A
4946202	Perricone et al.	Aug 1990	A
4956620	Moeller et al.	Sep 1990	A
4965856	Swanic	Oct 1990	A
4977593	Ballance	Dec 1990	A
4977618	Allen	Dec 1990	A
4989011	Rosen et al.	Jan 1991	A
4998095	Shields	Mar 1991	A
5003318	Hall et al.	Mar 1991	A
5006846	Granville et al.	Apr 1991	A
5006859	Wong et al.	Apr 1991	A
5015914	Ives et al.	May 1991	A
5017936	Massey et al.	May 1991	A
5017937	Newham et al.	May 1991	A
5018180	Shoulders	May 1991	A
5019832	Ekdahl et al.	May 1991	A
5036335	Jairam et al.	Jul 1991	A
H956	Reindel	Aug 1991	H
5042903	Jakubowski et al.	Aug 1991	A
5043538	Hughey et al.	Aug 1991	A
5043629	Doane et al.	Aug 1991	A
5044722	Voser et al.	Sep 1991	A
5045820	Oehlerking et al.	Sep 1991	A
5057106	Kasevich et al.	Oct 1991	A
5065760	Krause et al.	Nov 1991	A
5065969	McLean et al.	Nov 1991	A
5072228	Kuwahara et al.	Dec 1991	A
5082349	Cordova-Plaza et al.	Jan 1992	A
5086467	Malek	Feb 1992	A
5107231	Knox et al.	Apr 1992	A
5109232	Monte et al.	Apr 1992	A
5113197	Luh et al.	May 1992	A
5117237	Legg	May 1992	A
5121129	Lee et al.	Jun 1992	A
5126750	Wang et al.	Jun 1992	A
5132968	Cephus	Jul 1992	A
5134251	Martin et al.	Jul 1992	A
5134423	Haupt et al.	Jul 1992	A
5134965	Tokuda et al.	Aug 1992	A
5136671	Dragone et al.	Aug 1992	A
5142767	Adams et al.	Sep 1992	A
5148509	Kannabiran et al.	Sep 1992	A
5152861	Hann	Oct 1992	A
5153676	Bergh et al.	Oct 1992	A
5166698	Ashbaugh et al.	Nov 1992	A
5174164	Wilheim et al.	Dec 1992	A
5175560	Lucas et al.	Dec 1992	A
5182427	McGaffigan et al.	Jan 1993	A
5187409	Ito et al.	Feb 1993	A
5193774	Rogers et al.	Mar 1993	A
5198823	Litchford et al.	Mar 1993	A
5212755	Holmberg et al.	May 1993	A
5214394	Wong et al.	May 1993	A
5214438	Smith et al.	May 1993	A
5216616	Masters	Jun 1993	A
5218657	Tokudome et al.	Jun 1993	A
5235662	Prince et al.	Aug 1993	A
5239537	Sakauchi	Aug 1993	A
5241321	Tsao et al.	Aug 1993	A
5241701	Andoh et al.	Aug 1993	A
5248876	Kerstens et al.	Sep 1993	A
5254809	Martin	Oct 1993	A
5265266	Trinh	Nov 1993	A
5266961	Milroy et al.	Nov 1993	A
5276455	Fitzsimmons et al.	Jan 1994	A
5278687	Jannson et al.	Jan 1994	A
5280297	Profera et al.	Jan 1994	A
5291211	Tropper et al.	Mar 1994	A
5298911	Li et al.	Mar 1994	A
5299773	Bertrand et al.	Apr 1994	A
5304999	Roberts et al.	Apr 1994	A
5311596	Scott et al.	May 1994	A
5327149	Kuffer et al.	Jul 1994	A
5329285	McCandless et al.	Jul 1994	A
5341088	David	Aug 1994	A
5345522	Vali et al.	Sep 1994	A
5347287	Speciale et al.	Sep 1994	A
5352984	Piesinger et al.	Oct 1994	A
5353036	Baldry	Oct 1994	A
5359338	Hatcher et al.	Oct 1994	A
5371623	Eastmond et al.	Dec 1994	A
5379455	Koschek et al.	Jan 1995	A
5380224	Dicicco	Jan 1995	A
5381160	Landmeier	Jan 1995	A
5389442	Kathiresan et al.	Feb 1995	A
5400040	Lane et al.	Mar 1995	A
5402140	Rodeffer et al.	Mar 1995	A
5402151	Duwaer	Mar 1995	A
5404146	Rutledge et al.	Apr 1995	A
5410318	Wong et al.	Apr 1995	A
5412654	Perkins	May 1995	A
5428364	Lee et al.	Jun 1995	A
5434575	Jelinek et al.	Jul 1995	A
5440660	Dombrowski et al.	Aug 1995	A
5451969	Toth et al.	Sep 1995	A
5457469	Diamond et al.	Oct 1995	A
5479176	Zavrel et al.	Dec 1995	A
5481268	Higgins	Jan 1996	A
5482525	Kajioka et al.	Jan 1996	A
5486839	Rodeffer et al.	Jan 1996	A
5488380	Harvey et al.	Jan 1996	A
5495546	Bottoms et al.	Feb 1996	A
5499308	Arai et al.	Mar 1996	A
5499311	DeCusatis et al.	Mar 1996	A
5502392	Arjavalingam et al.	Mar 1996	A
5512906	Speciale et al.	Apr 1996	A
5513176	Dean et al.	Apr 1996	A
5514965	Westwood et al.	May 1996	A
5515059	How et al.	May 1996	A
5519408	Schnetzer et al.	May 1996	A
5528208	Kobayashi et al.	Jun 1996	A
5539421	Hong et al.	Jul 1996	A
5543000	Lique	Aug 1996	A
5557283	Sheen	Sep 1996	A
5559359	Reyes	Sep 1996	A
5566022	Segev	Oct 1996	A
5566196	Scifres	Oct 1996	A
5576721	Hwang et al.	Nov 1996	A
5586054	Jensen et al.	Dec 1996	A
5592183	Henf	Jan 1997	A
5600630	Takahashi et al.	Feb 1997	A
5603089	Searle et al.	Feb 1997	A
5619015	Kirma	Apr 1997	A
5621421	Kolz et al.	Apr 1997	A
5627879	Russell et al.	May 1997	A
5628050	McGraw et al.	May 1997	A
5630223	Bahu et al.	May 1997	A
5637521	Rhodes et al.	Jun 1997	A
5640168	Heger et al.	Jun 1997	A
5642121	Martek et al.	Jun 1997	A
5646936	Shah et al.	Jul 1997	A
5650788	Jha	Jul 1997	A
5652554	Krieg et al.	Jul 1997	A
5663693	Doughty et al.	Sep 1997	A
5671304	Duguay	Sep 1997	A
5677699	Strickland	Oct 1997	A
5677909	Heide	Oct 1997	A
5680139	Huguenin et al.	Oct 1997	A
5682256	Motley et al.	Oct 1997	A
5684495	Dyott et al.	Nov 1997	A
5686930	Brydon	Nov 1997	A
5724168	Oschmann et al.	Mar 1998	A
5726980	Rickard et al.	Mar 1998	A
5748153	McKinzie et al.	May 1998	A
5750941	Ishikawa et al.	May 1998	A
5757323	Spencer et al.	May 1998	A
5767807	Pritchett et al.	Jun 1998	A
5768689	Borg	Jun 1998	A
5769879	Levay et al.	Jun 1998	A
5784033	Boldissar, Jr. et al.	Jul 1998	A
5784034	Konishi et al.	Jul 1998	A
5784683	Sistanizadeh et al.	Jul 1998	A
5787673	Noble	Aug 1998	A
5793334	Harrison et al.	Aug 1998	A
5800494	Campbell et al.	Sep 1998	A
5805983	Naidu et al.	Sep 1998	A
5809395	Hamilton-Piercy et al.	Sep 1998	A
5812524	Moran et al.	Sep 1998	A
5818390	Hill	Oct 1998	A
5818396	Harrison et al.	Oct 1998	A
5818512	Fuller	Oct 1998	A
5845391	Miklosko et al.	Dec 1998	A
5848054	Mosebrook et al.	Dec 1998	A
5850199	Wan et al.	Dec 1998	A
5854608	Leisten	Dec 1998	A
5859618	Miller, II et al.	Jan 1999	A
5861843	Sorace et al.	Jan 1999	A
5867763	Dean et al.	Feb 1999	A
5870060	Chen et al.	Feb 1999	A
5872544	Schay et al.	Feb 1999	A
5872547	Martek	Feb 1999	A
5872812	Saito et al.	Feb 1999	A
5873324	Kaddas et al.	Feb 1999	A
5886666	Schellenberg et al.	Mar 1999	A
5889449	Fiedziuszko	Mar 1999	A
5890055	Chu et al.	Mar 1999	A
5892480	Killen et al.	Apr 1999	A
5898133	Bleich et al.	Apr 1999	A
5898830	Wesinger, Jr. et al.	Apr 1999	A
5900847	Ishikawa et al.	May 1999	A
5903373	Welch et al.	May 1999	A
5905438	Weiss et al.	May 1999	A
5905949	Hawkes et al.	May 1999	A
5910790	Ohmuro et al.	Jun 1999	A
5917977	Barrett et al.	Jun 1999	A
5922081	Seewig et al.	Jul 1999	A
5926128	Brash et al.	Jul 1999	A
5933422	Suzuki et al.	Aug 1999	A
5936589	Kawahata	Aug 1999	A
5937335	Park et al.	Aug 1999	A
5948044	Varley et al.	Sep 1999	A
5948108	Lu et al.	Sep 1999	A
5952964	Chan et al.	Sep 1999	A
5952972	Ittipiboon et al.	Sep 1999	A
5952984	Kuramoto et al.	Sep 1999	A
5955992	Shattil	Sep 1999	A
5959578	Kreutel et al.	Sep 1999	A
5959590	Sanford et al.	Sep 1999	A
5973641	Smith et al.	Oct 1999	A
5977650	Rickard et al.	Nov 1999	A
5978738	Brown et al.	Nov 1999	A
5982276	Stewart	Nov 1999	A
5986331	Letavic et al.	Nov 1999	A
5987099	O'Neill et al.	Nov 1999	A
5990848	Annamaa et al.	Nov 1999	A
5994984	Stancil et al.	Nov 1999	A
5994998	Fisher et al.	Nov 1999	A
6005694	Liu	Dec 1999	A
6005758	Spencer et al.	Dec 1999	A
6009124	Smith	Dec 1999	A
6011520	Howell et al.	Jan 2000	A
6011524	Jervis et al.	Jan 2000	A
6014110	Bridges et al.	Jan 2000	A
6014386	Abraham	Jan 2000	A
6018659	Ayyagari et al.	Jan 2000	A
6023619	Kaminsky	Feb 2000	A
6026173	Svenson et al.	Feb 2000	A
6026208	Will et al.	Feb 2000	A
6026331	Feldberg et al.	Feb 2000	A
6031455	Grube et al.	Feb 2000	A
6034638	Thiel et al.	Mar 2000	A
6037894	Pfizenmaier et al.	Mar 2000	A
6038425	Jeffrey et al.	Mar 2000	A
6049647	Register et al.	Apr 2000	A
6057802	Nealy	May 2000	A
6061035	Kinasewitz et al.	May 2000	A
6063234	Chen et al.	May 2000	A
6075451	Lebowitz et al.	Jun 2000	A
6075493	Sugawara et al.	Jun 2000	A
6076044	Brown et al.	Jun 2000	A
6078297	Kormanyos et al.	Jun 2000	A
6088001	Burger et al.	Jul 2000	A
6095820	Luxon et al.	Aug 2000	A
6100846	Li et al.	Aug 2000	A
6103031	Aeschbacher et al.	Aug 2000	A
6107897	Hewett et al.	Aug 2000	A
6111553	Steenbuck et al.	Aug 2000	A
6114998	Schefte et al.	Sep 2000	A
6121885	Masone et al.	Sep 2000	A
6122753	Masuo et al.	Sep 2000	A
6140911	Fisher et al.	Oct 2000	A
6140976	Locke et al.	Oct 2000	A
6142434	Brinkman et al.	Nov 2000	A
6146330	Tujino et al.	Nov 2000	A
6150612	Grandy et al.	Nov 2000	A
6151145	Srivastava et al.	Nov 2000	A
6154488	Hunt	Nov 2000	A
6158383	Watanabe et al.	Dec 2000	A
6163296	Lier et al.	Dec 2000	A
6166694	Ying et al.	Dec 2000	A
6167055	Ganek et al.	Dec 2000	A
6175917	Arrow et al.	Jan 2001	B1
6177801	Chong et al.	Jan 2001	B1
6184828	Shoki et al.	Feb 2001	B1
6195058	Nakamura et al.	Feb 2001	B1
6195395	Frodsham et al.	Feb 2001	B1
6198440	Krylov et al.	Mar 2001	B1
6208161	Suda et al.	Mar 2001	B1
6208308	Lemons et al.	Mar 2001	B1
6208903	Richards et al.	Mar 2001	B1
6211836	Manasson et al.	Apr 2001	B1
6211837	Crouch et al.	Apr 2001	B1
6215443	Komatsu et al.	Apr 2001	B1
6219006	Rudish et al.	Apr 2001	B1
6222503	Gietema et al.	Apr 2001	B1
6225960	Collins et al.	May 2001	B1
6229327	Boll et al.	May 2001	B1
6236365	Karr et al.	May 2001	B1
6239377	Nishikawa et al.	May 2001	B1
6239379	Cotter et al.	May 2001	B1
6239761	Guo et al.	May 2001	B1
6241045	Reeve et al.	Jun 2001	B1
6243049	Chandler et al.	Jun 2001	B1
6246821	Hemken et al.	Jun 2001	B1
6252553	Solomon et al.	Jun 2001	B1
6259337	Wen et al.	Jul 2001	B1
6266016	Bergstedt et al.	Jul 2001	B1
6266025	Popa et al.	Jul 2001	B1
6268835	Toland et al.	Jul 2001	B1
6271790	Smith et al.	Aug 2001	B2
6271799	Rief et al.	Aug 2001	B1
6271952	Epworth et al.	Aug 2001	B1
6278357	Croushore et al.	Aug 2001	B1
6278370	Underwood et al.	Aug 2001	B1
6281855	Aoki et al.	Aug 2001	B1
6282354	Jones et al.	Aug 2001	B1
6283425	Liljevik	Sep 2001	B1
6285325	Nalbandian et al.	Sep 2001	B1
6292139	Yamamoto et al.	Sep 2001	B1
6292143	Romanofsky et al.	Sep 2001	B1
6292153	Aiello et al.	Sep 2001	B1
6300898	Schneider et al.	Oct 2001	B1
6300906	Rawnick et al.	Oct 2001	B1
6301420	Greenaway et al.	Oct 2001	B1
6308085	Shoki et al.	Oct 2001	B1
6311288	Heeren et al.	Oct 2001	B1
6317028	Valiulis et al.	Nov 2001	B1
6317092	de Schweinitz et al.	Nov 2001	B1
6320509	Brady et al.	Nov 2001	B1
6320553	Ergene et al.	Nov 2001	B1
6323819	Ergene et al.	Nov 2001	B1
6329959	Varadan et al.	Dec 2001	B1
6348683	Verghese et al.	Feb 2002	B1
6351247	Linstrom et al.	Feb 2002	B1
6357709	Parduhn et al.	Mar 2002	B1
6362788	Louzir	Mar 2002	B1
6362789	Trumbull et al.	Mar 2002	B1
6366238	DeMore et al.	Apr 2002	B1
6373436	Chen et al.	Apr 2002	B1
6373441	Porath et al.	Apr 2002	B1
6376824	Michenfelder et al.	Apr 2002	B1
6388564	Piercy et al.	May 2002	B1
6396440	Chen et al.	May 2002	B1
6404773	Williams et al.	Jun 2002	B1
6404775	Leslie	Jun 2002	B1
6421021	Rupp et al.	Jul 2002	B1
6433736	Timothy et al.	Aug 2002	B1
6433741	Tanizaki et al.	Aug 2002	B2
6436536	Peruzzotti et al.	Aug 2002	B2
6441723	Mansfield, Jr. et al.	Aug 2002	B1
6445351	Baker et al.	Sep 2002	B1
6445774	Kidder et al.	Sep 2002	B1
6452467	McEwan	Sep 2002	B1
6452569	Park et al.	Sep 2002	B1
6452923	Gerszberg et al.	Sep 2002	B1
6455769	Belli et al.	Sep 2002	B1
6456251	Rao et al.	Sep 2002	B1
6462700	Schmidt et al.	Oct 2002	B1
6463295	Yun et al.	Oct 2002	B1
6469676	Fehrenbach et al.	Oct 2002	B1
6473049	Takeuchi et al.	Oct 2002	B2
6480168	Lam et al.	Nov 2002	B1
6483470	Hohnstein et al.	Nov 2002	B1
6489928	Sakurada	Dec 2002	B2
6489931	Liu et al.	Dec 2002	B2
6492957	Carillo, Jr. et al.	Dec 2002	B2
6501433	Popa et al.	Dec 2002	B2
6507573	Brandt et al.	Jan 2003	B1
6510152	Gerszberg et al.	Jan 2003	B1
6515635	Chiang et al.	Feb 2003	B2
6522305	Sharman et al.	Feb 2003	B2
6531991	Adachi et al.	Mar 2003	B2
6532215	Muntz et al.	Mar 2003	B1
6534996	Amrany et al.	Mar 2003	B1
6535169	Fourdeux et al.	Mar 2003	B2
6542739	Garner	Apr 2003	B1
6549106	Martin et al.	Apr 2003	B2
6549173	King et al.	Apr 2003	B1
6552693	Leisten et al.	Apr 2003	B1
6559811	Cash et al.	May 2003	B1
6563981	Weisberg et al.	May 2003	B2
6567573	Domash et al.	May 2003	B1
6573803	Ziegner et al.	Jun 2003	B1
6573813	Joannopoulos et al.	Jun 2003	B1
6580295	Takekuma et al.	Jun 2003	B2
6584252	Schier et al.	Jun 2003	B1
6587077	Vail et al.	Jul 2003	B2
6593893	Hou et al.	Jul 2003	B2
6594238	Wallentin et al.	Jul 2003	B1
6596944	Clark et al.	Jul 2003	B1
6600456	Gothard et al.	Jul 2003	B2
6606057	Chiang et al.	Aug 2003	B2
6606066	Fawcett et al.	Aug 2003	B1
6606077	Ebling et al.	Aug 2003	B2
6611252	DuFaux et al.	Aug 2003	B1
6614237	Ademian et al.	Sep 2003	B2
6628859	Huang et al.	Sep 2003	B2
6631229	Norris et al.	Oct 2003	B1
6634225	Reime et al.	Oct 2003	B1
6639484	Tzuang et al.	Oct 2003	B2
6639566	Knop et al.	Oct 2003	B2
6642887	Owechko et al.	Nov 2003	B2
6643254	Abe et al.	Nov 2003	B1
6650296	Wong et al.	Nov 2003	B2
6653598	Sullivan et al.	Nov 2003	B2
6653848	Adamian et al.	Nov 2003	B2
6657437	LeCroy et al.	Dec 2003	B1
6659655	Dair et al.	Dec 2003	B2
6661391	Ohara et al.	Dec 2003	B2
6668104	Mueller-Fiedler et al.	Dec 2003	B1
6670921	Sievenpiper et al.	Dec 2003	B2
6671824	Hyland et al.	Dec 2003	B1
6677899	Lee et al.	Jan 2004	B1
6680903	Moriguchi et al.	Jan 2004	B1
6683580	Kuramoto	Jan 2004	B2
6686832	Abraham et al.	Feb 2004	B2
6686873	Patel et al.	Feb 2004	B2
6686875	Wolfson et al.	Feb 2004	B1
6697027	Mahon et al.	Feb 2004	B2
6697030	Gleener	Feb 2004	B2
6703981	Meitzler et al.	Mar 2004	B2
6714165	Verstraeten	Mar 2004	B2
6720935	Lamensdorf et al.	Apr 2004	B2
6725035	Jochim et al.	Apr 2004	B2
6727470	Reichle et al.	Apr 2004	B2
6727891	Moriya et al.	Apr 2004	B2
6728439	Weisberg et al.	Apr 2004	B2
6728552	Chatain et al.	Apr 2004	B2
6731210	Swanson et al.	May 2004	B2
6731649	Silverman	May 2004	B1
6741705	Nelson et al.	May 2004	B1
6747557	Petite et al.	Jun 2004	B1
6750827	Manasson et al.	Jun 2004	B2
6754470	Hendrickson et al.	Jun 2004	B2
6755312	Dziedzic et al.	Jun 2004	B2
6756538	Murga-Gonzalez et al.	Jun 2004	B1
6765479	Stewart et al.	Jul 2004	B2
6768454	Kingsley et al.	Jul 2004	B2
6768456	Lalezari et al.	Jul 2004	B1
6768471	Bostwick et al.	Jul 2004	B2
6768474	Hunt et al.	Jul 2004	B2
6771216	Patel et al.	Aug 2004	B2
6771225	Tits et al.	Aug 2004	B2
6771739	Beamon et al.	Aug 2004	B1
6774859	Schantz et al.	Aug 2004	B2
6788865	Kawanishi et al.	Sep 2004	B2
6788951	Aoki et al.	Sep 2004	B2
6789119	Zhu et al.	Sep 2004	B1
6792290	Proctor, Jr. et al.	Sep 2004	B2
6798223	Huang et al.	Sep 2004	B2
6806710	Renz et al.	Oct 2004	B1
6809633	Cern et al.	Oct 2004	B2
6809695	Le Bayon et al.	Oct 2004	B2
6812895	Anderson et al.	Nov 2004	B2
6819744	Galli et al.	Nov 2004	B1
6822615	Quan et al.	Nov 2004	B2
6839032	Teshirogi et al.	Jan 2005	B2
6839160	Tsuda et al.	Jan 2005	B2
6839846	Mangold et al.	Jan 2005	B2
6842157	Phelan et al.	Jan 2005	B2
6842430	Melnik et al.	Jan 2005	B1
6850128	Park	Feb 2005	B2
6853351	Mohuchy et al.	Feb 2005	B1
6856273	Bognar et al.	Feb 2005	B1
6859185	Royalty et al.	Feb 2005	B2
6859187	Ohlsson et al.	Feb 2005	B2
6859590	Zaccone	Feb 2005	B1
6861998	Louzir	Mar 2005	B2
6864851	McGrath et al.	Mar 2005	B2
6864853	Judd et al.	Mar 2005	B2
6867744	Toncich et al.	Mar 2005	B2
6868258	Hayata et al.	Mar 2005	B2
6870465	Song et al.	Mar 2005	B1
6873265	Bleier et al.	Mar 2005	B2
6885674	Hunt et al.	Apr 2005	B2
6886065	Sides et al.	Apr 2005	B2
6888623	Clements	May 2005	B2
6901064	Billhartz et al.	May 2005	B2
6904218	Sun et al.	Jun 2005	B2
6906676	Killen et al.	Jun 2005	B2
6906681	Hoppenstein et al.	Jun 2005	B2
6909893	Aoki et al.	Jun 2005	B2
6917974	Stytz et al.	Jul 2005	B1
6920289	Zimmerman et al.	Jul 2005	B2
6920315	Wilcox et al.	Jul 2005	B1
6920407	Phillips et al.	Jul 2005	B2
6922135	Abraham et al.	Jul 2005	B2
6924732	Yokoo et al.	Aug 2005	B2
6924776	Le et al.	Aug 2005	B2
6928194	Mai et al.	Aug 2005	B2
6933887	Regnier et al.	Aug 2005	B2
6934655	Jones et al.	Aug 2005	B2
6937595	Barzegar et al.	Aug 2005	B2
6943553	Zimmermann et al.	Sep 2005	B2
6944555	Blackett et al.	Sep 2005	B2
6947147	Motamedi et al.	Sep 2005	B2
6947376	Deng et al.	Sep 2005	B1
6947635	Kohns et al.	Sep 2005	B2
6948371	Tanaka et al.	Sep 2005	B2
6950567	Kline et al.	Sep 2005	B2
6952143	Kinayman et al.	Oct 2005	B2
6952183	Yuanzhu	Oct 2005	B2
6956506	Koivumaeki et al.	Oct 2005	B2
6958729	Metz et al.	Oct 2005	B1
6965302	Mollenkopf et al.	Nov 2005	B2
6965355	Durham et al.	Nov 2005	B1
6965784	Kanamaluru et al.	Nov 2005	B2
6967627	Roper et al.	Nov 2005	B2
6970502	Kim et al.	Nov 2005	B2
6970682	Crilly, Jr. et al.	Nov 2005	B2
6972729	Wang et al.	Dec 2005	B2
6980091	White, II et al.	Dec 2005	B2
6982611	Cope et al.	Jan 2006	B2
6982679	Kralovec et al.	Jan 2006	B2
6983174	Hoppenstein et al.	Jan 2006	B2
6985118	Killen et al.	Jan 2006	B2
6992639	Lier et al.	Jan 2006	B1
6999667	Jang et al.	Feb 2006	B2
7008120	Zaborsky et al.	Mar 2006	B2
7009471	Elmore	Mar 2006	B2
7012489	Fisher et al.	Mar 2006	B2
7012572	Schaffner et al.	Mar 2006	B1
7016585	Diggle, III et al.	Mar 2006	B2
7019704	Weiss et al.	Mar 2006	B2
7023400	Hill et al.	Apr 2006	B2
7026917	Berkman et al.	Apr 2006	B2
7027003	Sasaki et al.	Apr 2006	B2
7027454	Dent et al.	Apr 2006	B2
7032016	Cerami et al.	Apr 2006	B2
7038636	Larouche et al.	May 2006	B2
7039048	Monta et al.	May 2006	B1
7042403	Sievenpiper et al.	May 2006	B2
7042416	Kingsley et al.	May 2006	B2
7042420	Ebling et al.	May 2006	B2
7043271	Seto et al.	May 2006	B1
7054286	Ertel et al.	May 2006	B2
7054376	Rubinstain et al.	May 2006	B1
7054513	Herz et al.	May 2006	B2
7055148	Marsh et al.	May 2006	B2
7057558	Yashuo et al.	Jun 2006	B2
7057573	Ohira et al.	Jun 2006	B2
7058524	Hayes et al.	Jun 2006	B2
7061370	Cern et al.	Jun 2006	B2
7061891	Kilfoyle et al.	Jun 2006	B1
7064726	Kitamori et al.	Jun 2006	B2
7068998	Zavidniak et al.	Jun 2006	B2
7069163	Gunther et al.	Jun 2006	B2
7075414	Giannini et al.	Jul 2006	B2
7075485	Song et al.	Jul 2006	B2
7075496	Hidai et al.	Jul 2006	B2
7082321	Kuwahara et al.	Jul 2006	B2
7084742	Haines et al.	Aug 2006	B2
7088221	Chan	Aug 2006	B2
7088306	Chiang et al.	Aug 2006	B2
7098405	Glew et al.	Aug 2006	B2
7098773	Berkman et al.	Aug 2006	B2
7102581	West et al.	Sep 2006	B1
7106265	Robertson et al.	Sep 2006	B2
7106270	Iigusa et al.	Sep 2006	B2
7106273	Brunson et al.	Sep 2006	B1
7109939	Lynch et al.	Sep 2006	B2
7113002	Otsuka et al.	Sep 2006	B2
7113134	Berkman et al.	Sep 2006	B1
7119755	Harvey et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7120338	Gunn, III et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7120345	Naitou et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7122012	Bouton et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7123191	Goldberg et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7123801	Fitz et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7125512	Crump et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7126557	Warnagiris et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7126711	Fruth	Oct 2006	B2
7127348	Smitherman et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7130516	Wu et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7132950	Stewart et al.	Nov 2006	B2
7133930	Sabio et al.	Nov 2006	B2
7134012	Doyle et al.	Nov 2006	B2
7134135	Cerami et al.	Nov 2006	B2
7136397	Sharma et al.	Nov 2006	B2
7136772	Duchi et al.	Nov 2006	B2
7137605	Guertler et al.	Nov 2006	B1
7138767	Chen et al.	Nov 2006	B2
7138958	Syed et al.	Nov 2006	B2
7139328	Thomas et al.	Nov 2006	B2
7145440	Gerszberg et al.	Dec 2006	B2
7145552	Hollingsworth et al.	Dec 2006	B2
7151497	Crystal et al.	Dec 2006	B2
7151508	Schaffner et al.	Dec 2006	B2
7155238	Katz et al.	Dec 2006	B2
7161934	Buchsbaum et al.	Jan 2007	B2
7164354	Panzer et al.	Jan 2007	B1
7167139	Kim et al.	Jan 2007	B2
7171087	Takahashi et al.	Jan 2007	B2
7171308	Campbell et al.	Jan 2007	B2
7171493	Shu et al.	Jan 2007	B2
7176589	Rouquette et al.	Feb 2007	B2
7180459	Damini et al.	Feb 2007	B2
7180467	Fabrega-Sanchez	Feb 2007	B2
7183922	Mendolia et al.	Feb 2007	B2
7183991	Bhattacharyya et al.	Feb 2007	B2
7183998	Wilhelm et al.	Feb 2007	B2
7193562	Kish et al.	Mar 2007	B2
7194528	Davidow et al.	Mar 2007	B1
7199680	Fukunaga et al.	Apr 2007	B2
7200391	Chung et al.	Apr 2007	B2
7200658	Goeller et al.	Apr 2007	B2
7205950	Imai et al.	Apr 2007	B2
7212163	Huang et al.	May 2007	B2
7215220	Jia et al.	May 2007	B1
7215928	Gage et al.	May 2007	B2
7218285	Davis et al.	May 2007	B2
7224170	Graham et al.	May 2007	B2
7224243	Cope et al.	May 2007	B2
7224272	White, II et al.	May 2007	B2
7224320	Cook et al.	May 2007	B2
7224985	Caci et al.	May 2007	B2
7228123	Moursund et al.	Jun 2007	B2
7234413	Suzuki et al.	Jun 2007	B2
7234895	Richardson et al.	Jun 2007	B2
7239284	Staal et al.	Jul 2007	B1
7243610	Ishii et al.	Jul 2007	B2
7248148	Kline et al.	Jul 2007	B2
7250772	Furse et al.	Jul 2007	B2
7255821	Priedeman, Jr. et al.	Aug 2007	B2
7259657	Mollenkopf et al.	Aug 2007	B2
7260424	Schmidt et al.	Aug 2007	B2
7266154	Gundrum et al.	Sep 2007	B2
7266275	Hansen et al.	Sep 2007	B2
7272281	Stahulak et al.	Sep 2007	B2
7272362	Jeong et al.	Sep 2007	B2
7274305	Luttrell	Sep 2007	B1
7274936	Stern-Berkowitz et al.	Sep 2007	B2
7276990	Sievenpiper et al.	Oct 2007	B2
7280033	Berkman et al.	Oct 2007	B2
7280803	Nelson et al.	Oct 2007	B2
7282922	Lo et al.	Oct 2007	B2
7286099	Lier et al.	Oct 2007	B1
7289449	Rubinstein et al.	Oct 2007	B1
7289704	Wagman et al.	Oct 2007	B1
7289828	Cha et al.	Oct 2007	B2
7292125	Mansour et al.	Nov 2007	B2
7292196	Waterhouse et al.	Nov 2007	B2
7295161	Gaucher et al.	Nov 2007	B2
7297869	Hiller et al.	Nov 2007	B2
7301424	Suarez-gartner et al.	Nov 2007	B2
7301440	Mollenkopf	Nov 2007	B2
7301508	O'Loughlin et al.	Nov 2007	B1
7307357	Kopp et al.	Dec 2007	B2
7307596	West et al.	Dec 2007	B1
7308264	Stern-Berkowitz et al.	Dec 2007	B2
7308370	Mason, Jr. et al.	Dec 2007	B2
7309873	Ishikawa	Dec 2007	B2
7310065	Anguera Pros et al.	Dec 2007	B2
7310335	Garcia-Luna-Aceves et al.	Dec 2007	B1
7311605	Moser	Dec 2007	B2
7312686	Bruno	Dec 2007	B2
7313087	Patil et al.	Dec 2007	B2
7313312	Kimball et al.	Dec 2007	B2
7315224	Gurovich et al.	Jan 2008	B2
7315678	Siegel	Jan 2008	B2
7318564	Marshall et al.	Jan 2008	B1
7319717	Zitting et al.	Jan 2008	B2
7321291	Gidge et al.	Jan 2008	B2
7321707	Noda et al.	Jan 2008	B2
7324046	Wu et al.	Jan 2008	B1
7324817	Iacono et al.	Jan 2008	B2
7329815	Johnston et al.	Feb 2008	B2
7333064	Timothy et al.	Feb 2008	B1
7333593	Beamon et al.	Feb 2008	B2
7339466	Mansfield et al.	Mar 2008	B2
7339897	Larsson et al.	Mar 2008	B2
7340768	Rosenberger et al.	Mar 2008	B2
7345623	McEwan et al.	Mar 2008	B2
7346244	Gowan et al.	Mar 2008	B2
7346359	Damarla et al.	Mar 2008	B2
7353293	Hipfinger et al.	Apr 2008	B2
7355560	Nagai et al.	Apr 2008	B2
7358808	Berkman et al.	Apr 2008	B2
7358921	Snyder et al.	Apr 2008	B2
7369085	Jacomb-Hood et al.	May 2008	B1
7369095	Thudor et al.	May 2008	B2
7376191	Melick et al.	May 2008	B2
7380272	Sharp et al.	May 2008	B2
7381089	Hosler, Sr.	Jun 2008	B2
7382232	Gidge et al.	Jun 2008	B2
7383577	Hrastar et al.	Jun 2008	B2
7388450	Camiade et al.	Jun 2008	B2
7397422	Tekawy et al.	Jul 2008	B2
7398946	Marshall	Jul 2008	B1
7400304	Lewis et al.	Jul 2008	B2
7403169	Svensson et al.	Jul 2008	B2
7406337	Kim et al.	Jul 2008	B2
7408426	Broyde et al.	Aug 2008	B2
7408507	Paek et al.	Aug 2008	B1
7408923	Khan et al.	Aug 2008	B1
7410606	Atkinson et al.	Aug 2008	B2
7417587	Iskander et al.	Aug 2008	B2
7418178	Kudou et al.	Aug 2008	B2
7418273	Suyama et al.	Aug 2008	B2
7420474	Elks et al.	Sep 2008	B1
7420525	Colburn et al.	Sep 2008	B2
7423604	Nagai et al.	Sep 2008	B2
7427927	Borleske et al.	Sep 2008	B2
7430257	Shattil et al.	Sep 2008	B1
7430932	Mekhanoshin et al.	Oct 2008	B2
7443334	Rees et al.	Oct 2008	B2
7444404	Wetherall et al.	Oct 2008	B2
7446567	Otsuka et al.	Nov 2008	B2
7450000	Gidge et al.	Nov 2008	B2
7450001	Berkman	Nov 2008	B2
7453352	Kline et al.	Nov 2008	B2
7453393	Duivenvoorden et al.	Nov 2008	B2
7456650	Lee et al.	Nov 2008	B2
7459834	Knowles et al.	Dec 2008	B2
7460834	Johnson et al.	Dec 2008	B2
7463877	Iwamura	Dec 2008	B2
7465879	Glew et al.	Dec 2008	B2
7466225	White, II et al.	Dec 2008	B2
7468657	Yaney	Dec 2008	B2
7477285	Johnson et al.	Jan 2009	B1
7479776	Renken et al.	Jan 2009	B2
7479841	Stenger et al.	Jan 2009	B2
7486247	Ridgway et al.	Feb 2009	B2
7490275	Zerbe et al.	Feb 2009	B2
7492317	Tinsley et al.	Feb 2009	B2
7496674	Jorgensen et al.	Feb 2009	B2
7498822	Lee et al.	Mar 2009	B2
7502619	Katz et al.	Mar 2009	B1
7504938	Eiza et al.	Mar 2009	B2
7508834	Berkman et al.	Mar 2009	B2
7509009	Suzuki et al.	Mar 2009	B2
7509675	Aaron et al.	Mar 2009	B2
7511662	Mathews et al.	Mar 2009	B2
7512090	Benitez Pelaez et al.	Mar 2009	B2
7515041	Eisold et al.	Apr 2009	B2
7516487	Szeto et al.	Apr 2009	B1
7518529	O'Sullivan et al.	Apr 2009	B2
7518952	Padden et al.	Apr 2009	B1
7519323	Mohebbi	Apr 2009	B2
7522115	Waltman et al.	Apr 2009	B2
7522812	Zitting	Apr 2009	B2
7525501	Black et al.	Apr 2009	B2
7525504	Song et al.	Apr 2009	B1
7531803	Mittleman et al.	May 2009	B2
7532792	Skovgaard et al.	May 2009	B2
7535867	Kilfoyle et al.	May 2009	B1
7539381	Li et al.	May 2009	B2
7541981	Piskun et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7545818	Chen et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7546214	Rivers, Jr. et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7548212	Chekroun et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7551921	Petermann et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7554998	Simonsson et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7555182	Martin et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7555186	De Montmorillon et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7555187	Bickham et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7557563	Cowan et al.	Jul 2009	B2
7561025	Gerszberg et al.	Jul 2009	B2
7567154	Elmore	Jul 2009	B2
7567740	Bayindir et al.	Jul 2009	B2
7570137	Kintis et al.	Aug 2009	B2
7570470	Holley	Aug 2009	B2
7577398	Tennant et al.	Aug 2009	B2
7580643	Moore et al.	Aug 2009	B2
7581702	Wheeler et al.	Sep 2009	B2
7583074	Lynch et al.	Sep 2009	B1
7583233	Goldberg et al.	Sep 2009	B2
7584470	Barker et al.	Sep 2009	B2
7589470	Oksuz et al.	Sep 2009	B2
7589630	Drake et al.	Sep 2009	B2
7589686	Balzovsky et al.	Sep 2009	B2
7590404	Johnson et al.	Sep 2009	B1
7591020	Kammer et al.	Sep 2009	B2
7591792	Bouton et al.	Sep 2009	B2
7593067	Taguchi et al.	Sep 2009	B2
7596222	Jonas et al.	Sep 2009	B2
7598844	Corcoran et al.	Oct 2009	B2
7602333	Hiramatsu et al.	Oct 2009	B2
7602815	Houghton et al.	Oct 2009	B2
7605768	Ebling et al.	Oct 2009	B2
7620370	Barak et al.	Nov 2009	B2
7625131	Zienkewicz et al.	Dec 2009	B2
7626489	Berkman et al.	Dec 2009	B2
7626542	Kober et al.	Dec 2009	B2
7627300	Abramov et al.	Dec 2009	B2
7633442	Lynch et al.	Dec 2009	B2
7634250	Prasad et al.	Dec 2009	B1
7639201	Marklein et al.	Dec 2009	B2
7640562	Bouilloux-Lafont et al.	Dec 2009	B2
7640581	Brenton et al.	Dec 2009	B1
7653363	Karr et al.	Jan 2010	B2
RE41147	Pang et al.	Feb 2010	E
7656167	McLean et al.	Feb 2010	B1
7656358	Haziza et al.	Feb 2010	B2
7660244	Kadaba et al.	Feb 2010	B2
7660252	Huang et al.	Feb 2010	B1
7660328	Oz et al.	Feb 2010	B1
7664117	Lou et al.	Feb 2010	B2
7669049	Wang et al.	Feb 2010	B2
7671701	Radtke	Mar 2010	B2
7671820	Tokoro et al.	Mar 2010	B2
7672271	Lee et al.	Mar 2010	B2
7676679	Weis et al.	Mar 2010	B2
7680478	Willars et al.	Mar 2010	B2
7680516	Lovberg et al.	Mar 2010	B2
7680561	Rodgers et al.	Mar 2010	B2
7683848	Musch et al.	Mar 2010	B2
7684383	Thompson et al.	Mar 2010	B1
7693079	Cerami et al.	Apr 2010	B2
7693162	McKenna et al.	Apr 2010	B2
7693939	Wu et al.	Apr 2010	B2
7697417	Chen et al.	Apr 2010	B2
7701931	Kajiwara	Apr 2010	B2
7705747	Twitchell, Jr.	Apr 2010	B2
7710346	Bloss et al.	May 2010	B2
7714536	Silberg et al.	May 2010	B1
7714709	Daniel et al.	May 2010	B1
7714725	Medve et al.	May 2010	B2
7715672	Dong et al.	May 2010	B2
7716660	Mackay et al.	May 2010	B2
7724782	Wang et al.	May 2010	B2
7728772	Mortazawi et al.	Jun 2010	B2
7729285	Yoon et al.	Jun 2010	B2
7733094	Bright et al.	Jun 2010	B2
7734717	Saarimäki et al.	Jun 2010	B2
7737903	Rao et al.	Jun 2010	B1
7739402	Graham et al.	Jun 2010	B2
7743403	McCarty et al.	Jun 2010	B2
7747356	Andarawis et al.	Jun 2010	B2
7747774	Aaron et al.	Jun 2010	B2
7750244	Melding et al.	Jul 2010	B1
7750763	Praβmayer et al.	Jul 2010	B2
7751054	Backes et al.	Jul 2010	B2
7760978	Fishteyn et al.	Jul 2010	B2
7761079	Mollenkopf et al.	Jul 2010	B2
7764943	Radtke et al.	Jul 2010	B2
7773664	Myers et al.	Aug 2010	B2
7782156	Woods et al.	Aug 2010	B2
7783195	Riggsby et al.	Aug 2010	B2
7786894	Polk et al.	Aug 2010	B2
7786945	Baldauf et al.	Aug 2010	B2
7786946	Diaz et al.	Aug 2010	B2
7791549	Clymer et al.	Sep 2010	B2
7792016	Arai et al.	Sep 2010	B2
7795877	Radtke et al.	Sep 2010	B2
7795994	Radtke et al.	Sep 2010	B2
7796025	Berkman et al.	Sep 2010	B2
7796122	Shih et al.	Sep 2010	B2
7796890	Johnson	Sep 2010	B1
7797367	Girod et al.	Sep 2010	B1
7805029	Bayindir et al.	Sep 2010	B2
7808441	Parsche et al.	Oct 2010	B2
7809223	Miyabe et al.	Oct 2010	B2
7812686	Woods et al.	Oct 2010	B2
7812778	Hasegawa et al.	Oct 2010	B2
7813344	Cheswick	Oct 2010	B2
7817063	Hawkins et al.	Oct 2010	B2
7825793	Spillman et al.	Nov 2010	B1
7825867	Tuttle et al.	Nov 2010	B2
7826602	Hunyady et al.	Nov 2010	B1
7827610	Wang et al.	Nov 2010	B2
7830228	Evans et al.	Nov 2010	B2
7835128	Divan et al.	Nov 2010	B2
7835600	Yap et al.	Nov 2010	B1
7843375	Rennie et al.	Nov 2010	B1
7844081	McMakin et al.	Nov 2010	B2
7848517	Britz et al.	Dec 2010	B2
7852752	Kano	Dec 2010	B2
7852837	Au et al.	Dec 2010	B1
7853267	Jensen et al.	Dec 2010	B2
7855612	Zienkewicz et al.	Dec 2010	B2
7856007	Corcoran et al.	Dec 2010	B2
7869391	Lee et al.	Jan 2011	B2
7872610	Motzer et al.	Jan 2011	B2
7873249	Kachmar et al.	Jan 2011	B2
7876174	Radtke et al.	Jan 2011	B2
7884285	Spencer	Feb 2011	B2
7884648	Broyde et al.	Feb 2011	B2
7885542	Riggsby et al.	Feb 2011	B2
7889129	Fox et al.	Feb 2011	B2
7889148	Diaz et al.	Feb 2011	B2
7889149	Peebles et al.	Feb 2011	B2
7890053	Washiro	Feb 2011	B2
7893789	Paynter et al.	Feb 2011	B2
7894770	Washiro et al.	Feb 2011	B2
7898480	Rebeiz et al.	Mar 2011	B2
7899403	Aaron	Mar 2011	B2
7903918	Rickham et al.	Mar 2011	B1
7903972	Riggsby et al.	Mar 2011	B2
7906973	Orr et al.	Mar 2011	B1
7907097	Syed et al.	Mar 2011	B2
7915980	Hardacker et al.	Mar 2011	B2
7916081	Lakkis et al.	Mar 2011	B2
7925235	Konya et al.	Apr 2011	B2
7928750	Miller et al.	Apr 2011	B2
7929940	Dianda et al.	Apr 2011	B1
7930750	Gauvin et al.	Apr 2011	B1
7937699	Schneider et al.	May 2011	B2
7940207	Kienzle et al.	May 2011	B1
7940731	Gao et al.	May 2011	B2
7956818	Hsu et al.	Jun 2011	B1
7958120	Muntz et al.	Jun 2011	B2
7961710	Lee et al.	Jun 2011	B2
7962957	Keohane et al.	Jun 2011	B2
7965842	Whelan et al.	Jun 2011	B2
7970365	Martin et al.	Jun 2011	B2
7970937	Shuster et al.	Jun 2011	B2
7971053	Gibson, Sr. et al.	Jun 2011	B2
7973296	Quick et al.	Jul 2011	B2
7974387	Lutz et al.	Jul 2011	B2
7983740	Culver et al.	Jul 2011	B2
7986711	Horvath et al.	Jul 2011	B2
7990146	Lazar et al.	Aug 2011	B2
7990329	Deng et al.	Aug 2011	B2
7991877	Keohane et al.	Aug 2011	B2
7992014	Langgood et al.	Aug 2011	B2
7994996	Rebeiz et al.	Aug 2011	B2
7994999	Maeda et al.	Aug 2011	B2
7997546	Andersen et al.	Aug 2011	B1
8010116	Scheinert	Aug 2011	B2
8013694	Sagala et al.	Sep 2011	B2
8019288	Yu et al.	Sep 2011	B2
8022885	Smoyer et al.	Sep 2011	B2
8022887	Zarnaghi et al.	Sep 2011	B1
8023410	O'Neill et al.	Sep 2011	B2
8027391	Matsubara et al.	Sep 2011	B2
8036207	Chen et al.	Oct 2011	B2
8049576	Broyde et al.	Nov 2011	B2
8054199	Addy et al.	Nov 2011	B2
8059576	Vavik et al.	Nov 2011	B2
8059593	Shih et al.	Nov 2011	B2
8060308	Breed et al.	Nov 2011	B2
8063832	Weller et al.	Nov 2011	B1
8064744	Atkins et al.	Nov 2011	B2
8064944	Yun et al.	Nov 2011	B2
8065099	Gibala et al.	Nov 2011	B2
8069483	Matlock et al.	Nov 2011	B1
8072323	Kodama et al.	Dec 2011	B2
8072386	Lier et al.	Dec 2011	B2
8073810	Maes	Dec 2011	B2
8077049	Yaney et al.	Dec 2011	B2
8077113	Renilson et al.	Dec 2011	B2
8081854	Yoon et al.	Dec 2011	B2
8089356	Moore et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8089404	Nichols et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8089952	Spade et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8090258	DeLew et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8090379	Lambert et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8094081	Boone et al.	Jan 2012	B1
8094985	Imamura et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8095093	Takinami et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8098198	Thiesen et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8102324	Tuau et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8102779	Kim et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8106749	Ina et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8106849	Suddath et al.	Jan 2012	B2
RE43163	Anderson	Feb 2012	E
8111148	Parker et al.	Feb 2012	B2
8112649	Potkonjak et al.	Feb 2012	B2
8116598	Shutter et al.	Feb 2012	B2
8120488	Bloy et al.	Feb 2012	B2
8121624	Cai et al.	Feb 2012	B2
8125282	Bao et al.	Feb 2012	B2
8125399	Mckinzie et al.	Feb 2012	B2
8126393	Wu et al.	Feb 2012	B2
8129817	Jou et al.	Mar 2012	B2
8131125	Molin et al.	Mar 2012	B2
8131266	Cai et al.	Mar 2012	B2
8132239	Wahl	Mar 2012	B2
8134424	Kato et al.	Mar 2012	B2
8134458	Lund	Mar 2012	B2
8135050	Stadler et al.	Mar 2012	B1
8140113	Rofougaran et al.	Mar 2012	B2
8150311	Hart et al.	Apr 2012	B2
8151306	Rakib	Apr 2012	B2
8156520	Casagrande et al.	Apr 2012	B2
8159316	Miyazato et al.	Apr 2012	B2
8159342	Medina, III et al.	Apr 2012	B1
8159385	Farneth et al.	Apr 2012	B2
8159394	Hayes et al.	Apr 2012	B2
8159742	McKay et al.	Apr 2012	B2
8159933	Henry	Apr 2012	B2
8159955	Larsson et al.	Apr 2012	B2
8160064	Kokernak et al.	Apr 2012	B2
8160530	Corman et al.	Apr 2012	B2
8160825	Roe, Jr. et al.	Apr 2012	B1
8164531	Lier et al.	Apr 2012	B2
8171146	Chen et al.	May 2012	B2
8172173	Carlson et al.	May 2012	B2
8173943	Vilo et al.	May 2012	B2
8175535	Mu et al.	May 2012	B2
8175649	Harel et al.	May 2012	B2
8179787	Knapp et al.	May 2012	B2
8180917	Yan et al.	May 2012	B1
8184015	Lilien et al.	May 2012	B2
8184059	Bunch et al.	May 2012	B2
8184311	Sakai et al.	May 2012	B2
8184523	Belotserkovsky et al.	May 2012	B2
8185062	Rofougaran et al.	May 2012	B2
8188855	Sharma et al.	May 2012	B2
8199762	Michelson et al.	Jun 2012	B2
8203501	Kim et al.	Jun 2012	B2
8212635	Miller, II et al.	Jul 2012	B2
8212722	Ngo et al.	Jul 2012	B2
8213758	Dong et al.	Jul 2012	B2
8218929	Bickham et al.	Jul 2012	B2
8222919	Broyde et al.	Jul 2012	B2
8222977	Oyama et al.	Jul 2012	B2
8225379	van de et al.	Jul 2012	B2
8233905	Vaswani et al.	Jul 2012	B2
8237617	Johnson et al.	Aug 2012	B1
8238824	Washiro	Aug 2012	B2
8238840	Iio et al.	Aug 2012	B2
8242358	Park et al.	Aug 2012	B2
8243603	Gossain et al.	Aug 2012	B2
8249028	Porras et al.	Aug 2012	B2
8251307	Goossen et al.	Aug 2012	B2
8253516	Miller, II et al.	Aug 2012	B2
8255952	Boylan, III et al.	Aug 2012	B2
8258743	Tyler et al.	Sep 2012	B2
8259028	Hills et al.	Sep 2012	B2
8264417	Snow et al.	Sep 2012	B2
8269583	Miller, II et al.	Sep 2012	B2
8284102	Hayes et al.	Oct 2012	B2
8287323	Kiesow et al.	Oct 2012	B2
8295301	Yonge, III et al.	Oct 2012	B2
8300538	Kim et al.	Oct 2012	B2
8300640	Al-Banna et al.	Oct 2012	B2
8316228	Winslow et al.	Nov 2012	B2
8316364	Stein et al.	Nov 2012	B2
8324990	Vouloumanos	Dec 2012	B2
8325034	Moore et al.	Dec 2012	B2
8325636	Binder	Dec 2012	B2
8325693	Binder et al.	Dec 2012	B2
8330259	Soler et al.	Dec 2012	B2
8335596	Raman et al.	Dec 2012	B2
8340438	Anderson et al.	Dec 2012	B2
8343145	Brannan et al.	Jan 2013	B2
8344829	Miller, II et al.	Jan 2013	B2
8354970	Armbrecht et al.	Jan 2013	B2
8359124	Zhou et al.	Jan 2013	B2
8362775	Speckner et al.	Jan 2013	B2
8363313	Nakaguma et al.	Jan 2013	B2
8369667	Rose et al.	Feb 2013	B2
8373095	Huynh et al.	Feb 2013	B2
8373597	Schadler et al.	Feb 2013	B2
8374821	Rousselle et al.	Feb 2013	B2
8384600	Huang et al.	Feb 2013	B2
8385978	Leung et al.	Feb 2013	B2
8386198	Lancaster	Feb 2013	B2
8390307	Slupsky et al.	Mar 2013	B2
8390402	Kunes et al.	Mar 2013	B2
8405567	Park et al.	Mar 2013	B2
8406239	Hurwitz et al.	Mar 2013	B2
8406593	Molin et al.	Mar 2013	B2
8407687	Moshir et al.	Mar 2013	B2
8412130	Suematsu et al.	Apr 2013	B2
8414326	Bowman	Apr 2013	B2
8415884	Chen et al.	Apr 2013	B2
8428033	Hettstedt et al.	Apr 2013	B2
8433168	Filippov et al.	Apr 2013	B2
8433338	Flynn et al.	Apr 2013	B1
8434103	Tsuchida et al.	Apr 2013	B2
8437383	Wiwel et al.	May 2013	B2
8452101	Ishikawa et al.	May 2013	B2
8452555	Hayward et al.	May 2013	B2
8457027	Dougherty et al.	Jun 2013	B2
8458453	Mahalingaiah et al.	Jun 2013	B1
8462063	Gummalla et al.	Jun 2013	B2
8467363	Lea et al.	Jun 2013	B2
8468244	Redlich et al.	Jun 2013	B2
8471513	Han	Jun 2013	B2
8472327	DelRegno et al.	Jun 2013	B2
8484137	Johnson et al.	Jul 2013	B2
8484511	Tidwell et al.	Jul 2013	B2
8495718	Han et al.	Jul 2013	B2
8497749	Elmore	Jul 2013	B2
8503845	Winzer et al.	Aug 2013	B2
8504135	Bourqui et al.	Aug 2013	B2
8505057	Rogers	Aug 2013	B2
8509114	Szajdecki	Aug 2013	B1
8514980	Kuhtz	Aug 2013	B2
8515383	Prince et al.	Aug 2013	B2
8516129	Skene et al.	Aug 2013	B1
8516470	Joshi et al.	Aug 2013	B1
8516474	Lamba et al.	Aug 2013	B2
8519892	Ding et al.	Aug 2013	B2
8520578	Rayment et al.	Aug 2013	B2
8520636	Xu	Aug 2013	B2
8520931	Tateno et al.	Aug 2013	B2
8528059	Saluzzo et al.	Sep 2013	B1
8532023	Buddhikot et al.	Sep 2013	B2
8532046	Hu et al.	Sep 2013	B2
8532492	Sadowski et al.	Sep 2013	B2
8536857	Nero, Jr. et al.	Sep 2013	B2
8537068	Call et al.	Sep 2013	B2
8537705	Afkhamie et al.	Sep 2013	B2
8538428	Bartlett et al.	Sep 2013	B2
8539540	Zenoni	Sep 2013	B2
8539569	Mansour	Sep 2013	B2
8542968	Dong et al.	Sep 2013	B2
8545322	George et al.	Oct 2013	B2
8548294	Toge et al.	Oct 2013	B2
8553646	Kumar	Oct 2013	B2
8561104	Dow et al.	Oct 2013	B1
8561181	Sobel et al.	Oct 2013	B1
8565568	Bigot-Astruc et al.	Oct 2013	B2
8566058	Pupalaikis et al.	Oct 2013	B2
8572247	Larson et al.	Oct 2013	B2
8572639	Ficco	Oct 2013	B2
8572661	Strong et al.	Oct 2013	B2
8578076	van der Linden et al.	Nov 2013	B2
8578486	Lifliand et al.	Nov 2013	B2
8582502	Conte et al.	Nov 2013	B2
8584195	Sherlock et al.	Nov 2013	B2
8587490	Niver et al.	Nov 2013	B2
8587492	Runyon et al.	Nov 2013	B2
8588567	Kamps et al.	Nov 2013	B2
8588840	Truong et al.	Nov 2013	B2
8588991	Forbes, Jr.	Nov 2013	B1
8593238	Miller, II et al.	Nov 2013	B2
8594956	McBee et al.	Nov 2013	B2
8595141	Hao et al.	Nov 2013	B2
8599150	Philipp	Dec 2013	B2
8600602	Watson et al.	Dec 2013	B1
8604982	Gummalla et al.	Dec 2013	B2
8604999	Abumrad et al.	Dec 2013	B2
8605361	Batchko et al.	Dec 2013	B2
8605579	Abraham et al.	Dec 2013	B2
8612550	Yoo et al.	Dec 2013	B2
8613020	Knudson et al.	Dec 2013	B2
8615190	Lu	Dec 2013	B2
8625547	Miller et al.	Jan 2014	B1
8629811	Gaynor et al.	Jan 2014	B2
8639260	Fox et al.	Jan 2014	B2
8639390	Tamarkin et al.	Jan 2014	B2
8639934	Kruglick	Jan 2014	B2
8644219	Nishizaka et al.	Feb 2014	B2
8653906	Mahon et al.	Feb 2014	B2
8655396	Malladi et al.	Feb 2014	B2
8656458	Heffez et al.	Feb 2014	B2
8660526	Heiderscheit et al.	Feb 2014	B1
8660698	Phillips et al.	Feb 2014	B2
8665102	Salewske et al.	Mar 2014	B2
8666553	Phillips et al.	Mar 2014	B2
8670946	Salazar et al.	Mar 2014	B2
8674630	Cornelius et al.	Mar 2014	B1
8676186	Niu	Mar 2014	B2
8680450	Pritchard et al.	Mar 2014	B2
8680706	Zyren et al.	Mar 2014	B2
8681463	Franks et al.	Mar 2014	B2
8686911	Kim et al.	Apr 2014	B2
8687650	King	Apr 2014	B2
8688153	Komori et al.	Apr 2014	B2
8699454	Hapsari et al.	Apr 2014	B2
8699461	Qian et al.	Apr 2014	B2
8705925	Terada et al.	Apr 2014	B2
8706026	Truong et al.	Apr 2014	B2
8707432	Rathi et al.	Apr 2014	B1
8711538	Woodworth et al.	Apr 2014	B2
8711732	Johnson et al.	Apr 2014	B2
8711806	Lim et al.	Apr 2014	B2
8711857	Jackson et al.	Apr 2014	B2
8712200	Abernathy et al.	Apr 2014	B1
8719938	Demeter et al.	May 2014	B2
8723730	Lu et al.	May 2014	B2
8724102	Urban et al.	May 2014	B2
8729857	Stählin et al.	May 2014	B2
8731358	Pare et al.	May 2014	B2
8732476	Van et al.	May 2014	B1
8736502	Mehr et al.	May 2014	B1
8737793	Imamura et al.	May 2014	B2
8738318	Spillane	May 2014	B2
8742997	McPeak et al.	Jun 2014	B2
8743004	Haziza	Jun 2014	B2
8749449	Caldwell et al.	Jun 2014	B2
8750097	Maenpaa et al.	Jun 2014	B2
8750664	Huang et al.	Jun 2014	B2
8754852	Lee et al.	Jun 2014	B2
8755659	Imamura et al.	Jun 2014	B2
8760354	Flannery et al.	Jun 2014	B2
8761792	Sennett et al.	Jun 2014	B2
8763097	Bhatnagar et al.	Jun 2014	B2
8766657	DeJean et al.	Jul 2014	B2
8767071	Marshall	Jul 2014	B1
8769622	Chang et al.	Jul 2014	B2
8773312	Diaz et al.	Jul 2014	B1
8780012	Llombart Juan et al.	Jul 2014	B2
8782195	Foti	Jul 2014	B2
8786284	Sirigiri et al.	Jul 2014	B2
8786514	Dickie et al.	Jul 2014	B2
8789091	Eldering et al.	Jul 2014	B2
8792760	Choi et al.	Jul 2014	B2
8792933	Chen et al.	Jul 2014	B2
8793363	Sater et al.	Jul 2014	B2
8793742	Macrae et al.	Jul 2014	B2
8797207	Kienzle et al.	Aug 2014	B2
8804667	Wang	Aug 2014	B2
8806202	Shoemake et al.	Aug 2014	B2
8810404	Bertoncini et al.	Aug 2014	B2
8810421	Deaver, Sr. et al.	Aug 2014	B2
8810468	Cannon et al.	Aug 2014	B2
8811278	Hori et al.	Aug 2014	B2
8811912	Austin et al.	Aug 2014	B2
8812050	Bencheikh et al.	Aug 2014	B1
8812154	Vian et al.	Aug 2014	B2
8817741	Shaheen	Aug 2014	B2
8824380	Jetcheva et al.	Sep 2014	B2
8825239	Cooper et al.	Sep 2014	B2
8829934	Sellathamby et al.	Sep 2014	B2
8830112	Buehler et al.	Sep 2014	B1
8831506	Claret et al.	Sep 2014	B2
8836503	Girod et al.	Sep 2014	B2
8836607	Cook et al.	Sep 2014	B2
8839350	Shapcott et al.	Sep 2014	B1
8847840	Diaz et al.	Sep 2014	B1
8847846	Diaz et al.	Sep 2014	B1
8856239	Oliver et al.	Oct 2014	B1
8856530	Lamberg et al.	Oct 2014	B2
8863245	Abhyanker	Oct 2014	B1
8866691	Montgomery et al.	Oct 2014	B2
8866695	Jefferson et al.	Oct 2014	B2
8867226	Colomb et al.	Oct 2014	B2
8867798	Shuster	Oct 2014	B2
8872032	Su et al.	Oct 2014	B2
8875224	Gross et al.	Oct 2014	B2
8878740	Coupland et al.	Nov 2014	B2
8880765	Seal et al.	Nov 2014	B2
8881588	Baer et al.	Nov 2014	B2
8885689	Blasco et al.	Nov 2014	B2
8886229	Agrawal et al.	Nov 2014	B2
8887212	Dua	Nov 2014	B2
8890759	Pantea et al.	Nov 2014	B2
8893246	El-Moussa et al.	Nov 2014	B2
8897215	Hazani et al.	Nov 2014	B2
8897499	Rekimoto	Nov 2014	B2
8897695	Becker et al.	Nov 2014	B2
8897697	Bennett et al.	Nov 2014	B1
8901916	Rodriguez et al.	Dec 2014	B2
8903214	Alkeskjold	Dec 2014	B2
8907222	Stranskky	Dec 2014	B2
8907845	Jones	Dec 2014	B2
8908502	Hayashitani	Dec 2014	B2
8908573	Wang et al.	Dec 2014	B1
8913862	Emmerich et al.	Dec 2014	B1
8917210	Shamim et al.	Dec 2014	B2
8917215	Pohl	Dec 2014	B2
8917964	Blew et al.	Dec 2014	B2
8918108	van Heeswyk et al.	Dec 2014	B2
8918135	Kang et al.	Dec 2014	B2
8922447	Gao et al.	Dec 2014	B2
8925079	Miyake et al.	Dec 2014	B2
8929841	Rofougaran et al.	Jan 2015	B2
8934747	Smith et al.	Jan 2015	B2
8937577	Gerini et al.	Jan 2015	B2
8938144	Hennink et al.	Jan 2015	B2
8938255	Dalla et al.	Jan 2015	B2
8941912	Ichii et al.	Jan 2015	B2
8947258	Reid et al.	Feb 2015	B2
8948235	Proctor, Jr. et al.	Feb 2015	B2
8948690	Duerksen et al.	Feb 2015	B2
8952678	Giboney et al.	Feb 2015	B2
8955051	Marzii	Feb 2015	B2
8955075	Smith et al.	Feb 2015	B2
8957818	Chen et al.	Feb 2015	B2
8957821	Matyas et al.	Feb 2015	B1
8958356	Lu et al.	Feb 2015	B2
8958665	Ziari et al.	Feb 2015	B2
8958812	Weiguo	Feb 2015	B2
8958980	Hagan et al.	Feb 2015	B2
8963424	Neilson et al.	Feb 2015	B1
8963790	Brown et al.	Feb 2015	B2
8964433	Hai-Maharsi	Feb 2015	B2
8966609	Lee et al.	Feb 2015	B2
8968287	Shroff et al.	Mar 2015	B2
8970438	Hager et al.	Mar 2015	B2
8984113	Li et al.	Mar 2015	B2
8989788	Kim et al.	Mar 2015	B2
8994473	Levi et al.	Mar 2015	B2
8994474	Mahon et al.	Mar 2015	B2
8996188	Frader-thompson et al.	Mar 2015	B2
8996728	Cochinwala et al.	Mar 2015	B2
9000353	Seo et al.	Apr 2015	B2
9001689	Ponnampalam et al.	Apr 2015	B1
9001717	Chun et al.	Apr 2015	B2
9003492	Katar	Apr 2015	B2
9008208	Khandani	Apr 2015	B2
9008513	Kim et al.	Apr 2015	B2
9009460	Chen	Apr 2015	B2
9013361	Lam et al.	Apr 2015	B1
9014621	Mohebbi	Apr 2015	B2
9015139	Wong	Apr 2015	B2
9015467	Buer	Apr 2015	B2
9019164	Syed et al.	Apr 2015	B2
9019595	Jain et al.	Apr 2015	B2
9019846	Shetty et al.	Apr 2015	B2
9019892	Zhou et al.	Apr 2015	B2
9020555	Sheikh et al.	Apr 2015	B2
9021251	Chawla	Apr 2015	B2
9021575	Martini	Apr 2015	B2
RE45514	Brown	May 2015	E
9024831	Wang et al.	May 2015	B2
9031725	Diesposti et al.	May 2015	B1
9037516	Abhyanker	May 2015	B2
9042245	Tzannes et al.	May 2015	B2
9042812	Bennett et al.	May 2015	B1
9065172	Lewry et al.	Jun 2015	B2
9065177	Alexopoulos	Jun 2015	B2
9066224	Schwengler	Jun 2015	B2
9070962	Kobayashi	Jun 2015	B2
9070964	Schuss et al.	Jun 2015	B1
9079349	Slafer	Jul 2015	B2
9082307	Sharawi	Jul 2015	B2
9083083	Hills et al.	Jul 2015	B2
9083425	Moussouris et al.	Jul 2015	B1
9083581	Addepalli et al.	Jul 2015	B1
9084124	Nickel et al.	Jul 2015	B2
9092962	Merrill et al.	Jul 2015	B1
9092963	Fetzer et al.	Jul 2015	B2
9094407	Matthieu	Jul 2015	B1
9094840	Liu et al.	Jul 2015	B2
9098325	Reddin	Aug 2015	B2
9099787	Blech	Aug 2015	B2
9103864	Ali	Aug 2015	B2
9105981	Syed	Aug 2015	B2
9106617	Kshirsagar et al.	Aug 2015	B2
9112281	Bresciani et al.	Aug 2015	B2
9113347	Henry	Aug 2015	B2
9113483	Zou et al.	Aug 2015	B2
9119127	Henry	Aug 2015	B1
9119179	Firoiu et al.	Aug 2015	B1
9128941	Shulman	Sep 2015	B2
9130641	Mohebbi	Sep 2015	B2
9134945	Husain	Sep 2015	B2
9137485	Bar-Niv et al.	Sep 2015	B2
9142334	Muto et al.	Sep 2015	B2
9143084	Perez et al.	Sep 2015	B2
9143196	Schwengler	Sep 2015	B2
9148186	Murphy et al.	Sep 2015	B1
9154641	Shaw	Oct 2015	B2
9157954	Nickel	Oct 2015	B2
9158418	Oda et al.	Oct 2015	B2
9158427	Wang	Oct 2015	B1
9167535	Christoffersson et al.	Oct 2015	B2
9171458	Salter	Oct 2015	B2
9173217	Teng et al.	Oct 2015	B2
9178282	Mittleman et al.	Nov 2015	B2
9194930	Pupalaikis	Nov 2015	B2
9201556	Free et al.	Dec 2015	B2
9202371	Jain	Dec 2015	B2
9203149	Henderson et al.	Dec 2015	B2
9204112	Pasteris et al.	Dec 2015	B2
9204418	Siomina et al.	Dec 2015	B2
9207168	Lovely et al.	Dec 2015	B2
9209902	Willis, III et al.	Dec 2015	B2
9210192	Pathuri et al.	Dec 2015	B1
9210586	Catovic et al.	Dec 2015	B2
9213905	Lange et al.	Dec 2015	B2
9219307	Takahashi et al.	Dec 2015	B2
9219594	Khlat	Dec 2015	B2
9225396	Maltsev et al.	Dec 2015	B2
9229956	Ke et al.	Jan 2016	B2
9235763	Brown et al.	Jan 2016	B2
9240835	Cune et al.	Jan 2016	B2
9244117	Khan et al.	Jan 2016	B2
9246231	Ju	Jan 2016	B2
9246334	Lo et al.	Jan 2016	B2
9253588	Schmidt et al.	Feb 2016	B2
9260244	Cohn	Feb 2016	B1
9264204	Seo et al.	Feb 2016	B2
9265078	Lim et al.	Feb 2016	B2
9270013	Ley	Feb 2016	B2
9271185	Abdelmonem et al.	Feb 2016	B2
9276303	Chang et al.	Mar 2016	B2
9276304	Behan	Mar 2016	B2
9277331	Chao et al.	Mar 2016	B2
9281564	Vincent	Mar 2016	B2
9282144	Tebay et al.	Mar 2016	B2
9285461	Townley et al.	Mar 2016	B2
9287605	Daughenbaugh et al.	Mar 2016	B2
9288844	Akhavan-saraf et al.	Mar 2016	B1
9289177	Samsudin et al.	Mar 2016	B2
9293798	Ye	Mar 2016	B2
9293801	Courtney et al.	Mar 2016	B2
9302770	Cohen et al.	Apr 2016	B2
9306682	Singh	Apr 2016	B2
9312919	Barzegar et al.	Apr 2016	B1
9312929	Forenza et al.	Apr 2016	B2
9315663	Appleby	Apr 2016	B2
9319311	Wang et al.	Apr 2016	B2
9324003	France et al.	Apr 2016	B2
9324020	Nazarov	Apr 2016	B2
9325067	Ali et al.	Apr 2016	B2
9325516	Frei et al.	Apr 2016	B2
9326316	Yonge et al.	Apr 2016	B2
9334052	Ubhi et al.	May 2016	B2
9338823	Saban et al.	May 2016	B2
9346560	Wang	May 2016	B2
9350063	Herbsommer et al.	May 2016	B2
9351182	Elliott et al.	May 2016	B2
9356358	Hu et al.	May 2016	B2
9362629	Miller et al.	Jun 2016	B2
9363333	Basso et al.	Jun 2016	B2
9363690	Suthar et al.	Jun 2016	B1
9363761	Venkatraman	Jun 2016	B2
9366743	Doshi et al.	Jun 2016	B2
9368275	McBee et al.	Jun 2016	B2
9369177	Hui et al.	Jun 2016	B2
9372228	Gavin et al.	Jun 2016	B2
9379527	Jean et al.	Jun 2016	B2
9379556	Haensgen et al.	Jul 2016	B2
9380857	Davis et al.	Jul 2016	B2
9391874	Corti et al.	Jul 2016	B2
9393683	Kimberlin et al.	Jul 2016	B2
9394716	Butler et al.	Jul 2016	B2
9397380	Kudela et al.	Jul 2016	B2
9400941	Meier et al.	Jul 2016	B2
9401863	Hui et al.	Jul 2016	B2
9404750	Rios et al.	Aug 2016	B2
9413519	Khoshnood et al.	Aug 2016	B2
9414126	Zinevich	Aug 2016	B1
9417731	Premont et al.	Aug 2016	B2
9419712	Heidler	Aug 2016	B2
9421869	Ananthanarayanan et al.	Aug 2016	B1
9422139	Bialkowski et al.	Aug 2016	B1
9432478	Gibbon et al.	Aug 2016	B2
9432865	Jadunandan et al.	Aug 2016	B1
9439092	Chukka et al.	Sep 2016	B1
9443417	Wang	Sep 2016	B2
9458974	Townsend, Jr. et al.	Oct 2016	B2
9459746	Zarraga et al.	Oct 2016	B2
9461706	Bennett et al.	Oct 2016	B1
9465397	Forbes, Jr. et al.	Oct 2016	B2
9467219	Vilhar	Oct 2016	B2
9467870	Bennett	Oct 2016	B2
9476932	Furse et al.	Oct 2016	B2
9478865	Willis et al.	Oct 2016	B1
9479241	Pabla	Oct 2016	B2
9479266	Henry et al.	Oct 2016	B2
9479299	Kim et al.	Oct 2016	B2
9479392	Anderson et al.	Oct 2016	B2
9479535	Cohen et al.	Oct 2016	B2
9490869	Henry	Nov 2016	B1
9490913	Berlin	Nov 2016	B2
9495037	King-Smith	Nov 2016	B2
9496921	Corum	Nov 2016	B1
9497572	Britt et al.	Nov 2016	B2
9503170	Vu	Nov 2016	B2
9503189	Henry et al.	Nov 2016	B2
9509415	Henry et al.	Nov 2016	B1
9510203	Jactat et al.	Nov 2016	B2
9515367	Herbsommer et al.	Dec 2016	B2
9520945	Gerszberg et al.	Dec 2016	B2
9525524	Barzegar et al.	Dec 2016	B2
9544006	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	B2
9564947	Stuckman et al.	Feb 2017	B2
9608740	Henry et al.	Mar 2017	B2
9627768	Henry et al.	Apr 2017	B2
9640850	Henry et al.	May 2017	B2
9653770	Henry et al.	May 2017	B2
9674825	Yerramalli et al.	Jun 2017	B2
9680670	Henry et al.	Jun 2017	B2
9705561	Henry et al.	Jul 2017	B2
9705571	Gerszberg et al.	Jul 2017	B2
9722666	Shen	Aug 2017	B2
9742462	Bennett et al.	Aug 2017	B2
9748626	Henry et al.	Aug 2017	B2
9749053	Henry et al.	Aug 2017	B2
9768833	Fuchs et al.	Sep 2017	B2
9769020	Henry et al.	Sep 2017	B2
9780834	Henry et al.	Oct 2017	B2
9793951	Henry et al.	Oct 2017	B2
9793954	Bennett et al.	Oct 2017	B2
9847566	Henry et al.	Dec 2017	B2
9853342	Henry et al.	Dec 2017	B2
9860075	Gerszberg et al.	Jan 2018	B1
9865911	Henry et al.	Jan 2018	B2
9866309	Bennett et al.	Jan 2018	B2
9871282	Henry et al.	Jan 2018	B2
9871283	Henry et al.	Jan 2018	B2
9876264	Barnickel et al.	Jan 2018	B2
9876570	Henry et al.	Jan 2018	B2
9876605	Henry et al.	Jan 2018	B1
9882257	Henry et al.	Jan 2018	B2
9893795	Willis et al.	Feb 2018	B1
9912381	Bennett et al.	Mar 2018	B2
9917341	Henry et al.	Mar 2018	B2
9991580	Henry et al.	Jun 2018	B2
9997819	Bennett et al.	Jun 2018	B2
9998172	Barzegar et al.	Jun 2018	B1
9998870	Bennett et al.	Jun 2018	B1
9999038	Barzegar et al.	Jun 2018	B2
10003364	Willis, III et al.	Jun 2018	B1
10009063	Gerszberg et al.	Jun 2018	B2
10009065	Henry et al.	Jun 2018	B2
10009067	Birk et al.	Jun 2018	B2
10009901	Gerszberg	Jun 2018	B2
10027397	Kim	Jul 2018	B2
10027427	Vannucci et al.	Jul 2018	B2
10033107	Henry et al.	Jul 2018	B2
10033108	Henry et al.	Jul 2018	B2
10044409	Barzegar et al.	Aug 2018	B2
10051483	Barzegar et al.	Aug 2018	B2
10051488	Vannucci et al.	Aug 2018	B1
10062970	Vannucci et al.	Aug 2018	B1
10069535	Vannucci et al.	Sep 2018	B2
10079661	Gerszberg et al.	Sep 2018	B2
10090606	Henry et al.	Oct 2018	B2
10096883	Henry et al.	Oct 2018	B2
10103777	Henry et al.	Oct 2018	B1
10103801	Bennett et al.	Oct 2018	B2
10123217	Barzegar et al.	Nov 2018	B1
10129057	Willis et al.	Nov 2018	B2
10135145	Henry et al.	Nov 2018	B2
10136434	Gerszberg et al.	Nov 2018	B2
10142086	Bennett et al.	Nov 2018	B2
10148016	Johnson et al.	Dec 2018	B2
10154493	Bennett et al.	Dec 2018	B2
10170840	Henry et al.	Jan 2019	B2
10171158	Barzegar et al.	Jan 2019	B1
10200106	Barzegar et al.	Feb 2019	B1
10205212	Henry et al.	Feb 2019	B2
10205231	Henry et al.	Feb 2019	B1
10205655	Barzegar et al.	Feb 2019	B2
10224981	Henry et al.	Mar 2019	B2
10230426	Henry et al.	Mar 2019	B1
10230428	Barzegar et al.	Mar 2019	B1
10243270	Henry et al.	Mar 2019	B2
10244408	Vannucci et al.	Mar 2019	B1
10264586	Beattie, Jr. et al.	Apr 2019	B2
10276907	Bennett et al.	Apr 2019	B2
10284261	Barzegar et al.	May 2019	B1
10291286	Henry et al.	May 2019	B2
10305190	Britz et al.	May 2019	B2
10305192	Rappaport	May 2019	B1
10305197	Henry et al.	May 2019	B2
10312567	Bennett et al.	Jun 2019	B2
10320586	Henry et al.	Jun 2019	B2
10326495	Barzegar et al.	Jun 2019	B1
10340573	Johnson et al.	Jul 2019	B2
10340600	Henry et al.	Jul 2019	B2
10340979	Barzegar et al.	Jul 2019	B1
10348391	Bennett et al.	Jul 2019	B2
10355745	Henry et al.	Jul 2019	B2
10361489	Britz et al.	Jul 2019	B2
10371889	Barzegar et al.	Aug 2019	B1
10374277	Henry et al.	Aug 2019	B2
10374278	Henry et al.	Aug 2019	B2
10374281	Henry et al.	Aug 2019	B2
10374316	Bennett et al.	Aug 2019	B2
10389029	Henry et al.	Aug 2019	B2
10389037	Johnson et al.	Aug 2019	B2
10389403	Henry et al.	Aug 2019	B2
10389419	Johnson et al.	Aug 2019	B2
10405199	Henry et al.	Sep 2019	B1
10411356	Johnson et al.	Sep 2019	B2
10411920	Henry et al.	Sep 2019	B2
10424845	Johnson et al.	Sep 2019	B2
10439290	Adriazola et al.	Oct 2019	B2
10446899	Henry et al.	Oct 2019	B2
10446936	Henry et al.	Oct 2019	B2
10454151	Henry et al.	Oct 2019	B2
10469156	Barzegar et al.	Nov 2019	B1
10469192	Wolniansky et al.	Nov 2019	B2
10469228	Barzegar et al.	Nov 2019	B2
10498589	Barzegar et al.	Dec 2019	B2
10505248	Henry et al.	Dec 2019	B2
10505249	Henry et al.	Dec 2019	B2
10505250	Henry et al.	Dec 2019	B2
10505252	Stuckman et al.	Dec 2019	B2
10505584	Henry et al.	Dec 2019	B1
10511346	Henry et al.	Dec 2019	B2
10516555	Henry et al.	Dec 2019	B2
10523269	Henry et al.	Dec 2019	B1
10523388	Gerszberg et al.	Dec 2019	B2
10530505	Henry et al.	Jan 2020	B2
10547545	Barzegar et al.	Jan 2020	B2
10553959	Vannucci et al.	Feb 2020	B2
10553960	Vannucci et al.	Feb 2020	B2
10554454	Henry et al.	Feb 2020	B2
10555249	Barzegar et al.	Feb 2020	B2
10555318	Willis, III et al.	Feb 2020	B2
10581275	Vannucci et al.	Mar 2020	B2
10587310	Bennett et al.	Mar 2020	B1
10601494	Vannucci	Mar 2020	B2
10608312	Henry et al.	Mar 2020	B2
10623033	Henry et al.	Apr 2020	B1
10623056	Bennett et al.	Apr 2020	B1
10623057	Bennett et al.	Apr 2020	B1
10629995	Rappaport	Apr 2020	B2
20010030789	Jiang et al.	Oct 2001	A1
20020002040	Kline et al.	Jan 2002	A1
20020008672	Gothard et al.	Jan 2002	A1
20020011960	Yuanzhu et al.	Jan 2002	A1
20020021716	Terk et al.	Feb 2002	A1
20020024424	Burns et al.	Feb 2002	A1
20020027481	Fiedziuszko et al.	Mar 2002	A1
20020040439	Kellum et al.	Apr 2002	A1
20020057223	Hook	May 2002	A1
20020061217	Hillman et al.	May 2002	A1
20020069417	Kliger et al.	Jun 2002	A1
20020083194	Bak et al.	Jun 2002	A1
20020091807	Goodman et al.	Jul 2002	A1
20020099949	Fries et al.	Jul 2002	A1
20020101852	Say et al.	Aug 2002	A1
20020111997	Herlihy et al.	Aug 2002	A1
20020156917	Nye et al.	Oct 2002	A1
20020186694	Mahajan et al.	Dec 2002	A1
20020197979	Vanderveen et al.	Dec 2002	A1
20030002125	Fuse et al.	Jan 2003	A1
20030002476	Chung et al.	Jan 2003	A1
20030010528	Niles	Jan 2003	A1
20030022694	Olsen et al.	Jan 2003	A1
20030038753	Mahon et al.	Feb 2003	A1
20030049003	Ahmad et al.	Mar 2003	A1
20030054793	Manis et al.	Mar 2003	A1
20030054811	Han et al.	Mar 2003	A1
20030061346	Pekary et al.	Mar 2003	A1
20030094976	Miyashita et al.	May 2003	A1
20030095208	Chouraqui et al.	May 2003	A1
20030137464	Foti et al.	Jul 2003	A1
20030151548	Kingsley et al.	Aug 2003	A1
20030152331	Dair et al.	Aug 2003	A1
20030164794	Haynes et al.	Sep 2003	A1
20030188308	Kizuka	Oct 2003	A1
20030190110	Kline et al.	Oct 2003	A1
20030193365	Loheit et al.	Oct 2003	A1
20030202756	Hurley et al.	Oct 2003	A1
20030210197	Cencich et al.	Nov 2003	A1
20030224784	Hunt	Dec 2003	A1
20040015725	Boneh et al.	Jan 2004	A1
20040023640	Ballai et al.	Feb 2004	A1
20040024913	Ikeda et al.	Feb 2004	A1
20040048596	Wyrzykowska et al.	Mar 2004	A1
20040054425	Elmore	Mar 2004	A1
20040084582	Kralic et al.	May 2004	A1
20040085153	Fukunaga et al.	May 2004	A1
20040090312	Manis et al.	May 2004	A1
20040091032	Duchi et al.	May 2004	A1
20040100343	Tsu et al.	May 2004	A1
20040104410	Gilbert et al.	Jun 2004	A1
20040109608	Love et al.	Jun 2004	A1
20040113756	Mollenkopf	Jun 2004	A1
20040113757	White, II et al.	Jun 2004	A1
20040119564	Itoh et al.	Jun 2004	A1
20040131310	Walker et al.	Jul 2004	A1
20040163135	Giaccherini et al.	Aug 2004	A1
20040165669	Otsuka et al.	Aug 2004	A1
20040169572	Elmore	Sep 2004	A1
20040196784	Larsson et al.	Oct 2004	A1
20040198228	Raghothaman et al.	Oct 2004	A1
20040212481	Abraham et al.	Oct 2004	A1
20040213147	Wiese et al.	Oct 2004	A1
20040213189	Alspaugh et al.	Oct 2004	A1
20040213294	Hughes et al.	Oct 2004	A1
20040218688	Santhoff et al.	Nov 2004	A1
20040242185	Lee et al.	Dec 2004	A1
20040250069	Kosamo et al.	Dec 2004	A1
20050002408	Lee et al.	Jan 2005	A1
20050005854	Suzuki et al.	Jan 2005	A1
20050017825	Hansen	Jan 2005	A1
20050031267	Sumimoto et al.	Feb 2005	A1
20050042989	Ho et al.	Feb 2005	A1
20050063422	Lazar et al.	Mar 2005	A1
20050068223	Vavik et al.	Mar 2005	A1
20050069321	Sullivan et al.	Mar 2005	A1
20050074208	Badcock et al.	Apr 2005	A1
20050097396	Wood	May 2005	A1
20050102185	Barker et al.	May 2005	A1
20050111533	Berkman et al.	May 2005	A1
20050141808	Cheben et al.	Jun 2005	A1
20050143868	Whelan et al.	Jun 2005	A1
20050151659	Donovan et al.	Jul 2005	A1
20050159187	Mendolia et al.	Jul 2005	A1
20050164666	Lang et al.	Jul 2005	A1
20050168326	White et al.	Aug 2005	A1
20050169056	Berkman et al.	Aug 2005	A1
20050169401	Abraham et al.	Aug 2005	A1
20050175113	Okuyama et al.	Aug 2005	A1
20050177463	Crutchfield et al.	Aug 2005	A1
20050190101	Hiramatsu et al.	Sep 2005	A1
20050208949	Chiueh et al.	Sep 2005	A1
20050212626	Takamatsu et al.	Sep 2005	A1
20050219126	Rebeiz et al.	Oct 2005	A1
20050219135	Lee et al.	Oct 2005	A1
20050220180	Barlev	Oct 2005	A1
20050226353	Gebara et al.	Oct 2005	A1
20050249245	Hazani et al.	Nov 2005	A1
20050258920	Elmore	Nov 2005	A1
20060034724	Hamano et al.	Feb 2006	A1
20060038660	Doumuki et al.	Feb 2006	A1
20060053486	Wesinger et al.	Mar 2006	A1
20060071776	White et al.	Apr 2006	A1
20060077906	Maegawa	Apr 2006	A1
20060082516	Strickland et al.	Apr 2006	A1
20060083269	Kang et al.	Apr 2006	A1
20060085813	Giraldin et al.	Apr 2006	A1
20060094439	Christian et al.	May 2006	A1
20060106741	Janarthanan et al.	May 2006	A1
20060111047	Louberg et al.	May 2006	A1
20060113425	Rader et al.	Jun 2006	A1
20060114925	Gerszberg et al.	Jun 2006	A1
20060119528	Bhattacharyya et al.	Jun 2006	A1
20060120399	Claret et al.	Jun 2006	A1
20060128322	Igarashi et al.	Jun 2006	A1
20060132380	Imai et al.	Jun 2006	A1
20060172781	Mohebbi et al.	Aug 2006	A1
20060176124	Mansour et al.	Aug 2006	A1
20060181394	Clarke et al.	Aug 2006	A1
20060187023	Iwamura et al.	Aug 2006	A1
20060192672	Gidge et al.	Aug 2006	A1
20060220833	Berkman et al.	Oct 2006	A1
20060221995	Berkman	Oct 2006	A1
20060232493	Huang et al.	Oct 2006	A1
20060238347	Parkinson et al.	Oct 2006	A1
20060239501	Petrovic et al.	Oct 2006	A1
20060244672	Avakian et al.	Nov 2006	A1
20060249622	Steele et al.	Nov 2006	A1
20060286927	Berkman et al.	Dec 2006	A1
20070002771	Berkman et al.	Jan 2007	A1
20070002772	Berkman et al.	Jan 2007	A1
20070022475	Rossi et al.	Jan 2007	A1
20070025265	Marcotullio et al.	Feb 2007	A1
20070025386	Riedel et al.	Feb 2007	A1
20070040628	Kanno et al.	Feb 2007	A1
20070041464	Kim et al.	Feb 2007	A1
20070041554	Newman	Feb 2007	A1
20070054622	Berkman	Mar 2007	A1
20070063914	Becker et al.	Mar 2007	A1
20070090185	Lewkowitz et al.	Apr 2007	A1
20070105508	Tong et al.	May 2007	A1
20070135044	Rhodes et al.	Jun 2007	A1
20070144779	Vicente et al.	Jun 2007	A1
20070164908	Turchinetz et al.	Jul 2007	A1
20070189182	Berkman et al.	Aug 2007	A1
20070201540	Berkman et al.	Aug 2007	A1
20070202913	Ban et al.	Aug 2007	A1
20070211786	Shattil et al.	Sep 2007	A1
20070216596	Lewis et al.	Sep 2007	A1
20070223381	Radtke et al.	Sep 2007	A1
20070226779	Yokomitsu et al.	Sep 2007	A1
20070229184	Liu et al.	Oct 2007	A1
20070229231	Hurwitz	Oct 2007	A1
20070252998	Berthold et al.	Nov 2007	A1
20070257858	Liu et al.	Nov 2007	A1
20070258484	Tolaio et al.	Nov 2007	A1
20070268124	Berkman et al.	Nov 2007	A1
20070268846	Proctor et al.	Nov 2007	A1
20070300280	Turner et al.	Dec 2007	A1
20080002652	Gupta et al.	Jan 2008	A1
20080003872	Chen et al.	Jan 2008	A1
20080007416	Cern et al.	Jan 2008	A1
20080008116	Buga et al.	Jan 2008	A1
20080043655	Lee et al.	Feb 2008	A1
20080055149	Rees et al.	Mar 2008	A1
20080060832	Razavi et al.	Mar 2008	A1
20080064331	Washiro et al.	Mar 2008	A1
20080077336	Fernandes	Mar 2008	A1
20080080389	Hart et al.	Apr 2008	A1
20080084937	Barthold et al.	Apr 2008	A1
20080094298	Kralovec et al.	Apr 2008	A1
20080120667	Zaltsman	May 2008	A1
20080122723	Rofougaran et al.	May 2008	A1
20080125036	Konya et al.	May 2008	A1
20080130639	Costa-Requena et al.	Jun 2008	A1
20080143491	Deaver et al.	Jun 2008	A1
20080150790	Voigtlaender et al.	Jun 2008	A1
20080153416	Washiro et al.	Jun 2008	A1
20080177678	Di Martini et al.	Jul 2008	A1
20080191851	Koga et al.	Aug 2008	A1
20080211727	Elmore	Sep 2008	A1
20080225931	Proctor et al.	Sep 2008	A1
20080242342	Rofougaran	Oct 2008	A1
20080247716	Thomas et al.	Oct 2008	A1
20080252522	Asbridge et al.	Oct 2008	A1
20080253723	Stokes et al.	Oct 2008	A1
20080255782	Bilac et al.	Oct 2008	A1
20080258993	Gummalla et al.	Oct 2008	A1
20080267076	Laperi et al.	Oct 2008	A1
20080279199	Park et al.	Nov 2008	A1
20080280574	Rofougaran et al.	Nov 2008	A1
20080293446	Rofougaran	Nov 2008	A1
20080313691	Cholas	Dec 2008	A1
20080316004	Kiko	Dec 2008	A1
20090002137	Radtke et al.	Jan 2009	A1
20090007189	Gutknecht	Jan 2009	A1
20090007190	Weber et al.	Jan 2009	A1
20090007194	Brady, Jr. et al.	Jan 2009	A1
20090009408	Rofougaran et al.	Jan 2009	A1
20090015239	Georgiou et al.	Jan 2009	A1
20090054056	Gil et al.	Feb 2009	A1
20090054737	Magar et al.	Feb 2009	A1
20090061940	Scheinert et al.	Mar 2009	A1
20090067441	Ansari et al.	Mar 2009	A1
20090079660	Elmore	Mar 2009	A1
20090085726	Radtke et al.	Apr 2009	A1
20090088907	Lewis et al.	Apr 2009	A1
20090093267	Ariyur et al.	Apr 2009	A1
20090109981	Keselman	Apr 2009	A1
20090125351	Davis, Jr.	May 2009	A1
20090129301	Belimpasakis et al.	May 2009	A1
20090135848	Chan	May 2009	A1
20090138931	Lin et al.	May 2009	A1
20090140852	Stolarczyk et al.	Jun 2009	A1
20090144417	Kisel et al.	Jun 2009	A1
20090171780	Aldrey et al.	Jul 2009	A1
20090175195	Macauley et al.	Jul 2009	A1
20090181664	Kuruvilla et al.	Jul 2009	A1
20090201133	Bruns et al.	Aug 2009	A1
20090202020	Hafeez et al.	Aug 2009	A1
20090210901	Hawkins et al.	Aug 2009	A1
20090212938	Swaim et al.	Aug 2009	A1
20090237317	Rofougaran	Sep 2009	A1
20090250449	Petrenko et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090254971	Herz et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090258652	Lambert et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090284435	Elmore et al.	Nov 2009	A1
20090286482	Gorokhov et al.	Nov 2009	A1
20090289863	Lier et al.	Nov 2009	A1
20090304124	Graef et al.	Dec 2009	A1
20090311960	Farahani et al.	Dec 2009	A1
20090315668	Leete, III et al.	Dec 2009	A1
20090320058	Wehmeyer et al.	Dec 2009	A1
20090325479	Chakrabarti et al.	Dec 2009	A1
20090325628	Becker et al.	Dec 2009	A1
20100002618	Eichinger et al.	Jan 2010	A1
20100002731	Kimura et al.	Jan 2010	A1
20100013696	Schmitt et al.	Jan 2010	A1
20100026607	Imai et al.	Feb 2010	A1
20100039339	Kuroda et al.	Feb 2010	A1
20100045447	Mollenkopf et al.	Feb 2010	A1
20100052799	Watanabe et al.	Mar 2010	A1
20100053019	Ikawa et al.	Mar 2010	A1
20100057894	Glasser	Mar 2010	A1
20100073193	Flammer	Mar 2010	A1
20100080203	Reynolds et al.	Apr 2010	A1
20100085036	Banting et al.	Apr 2010	A1
20100090887	Cooper et al.	Apr 2010	A1
20100091712	Lu et al.	Apr 2010	A1
20100100918	Egan, Jr. et al.	Apr 2010	A1
20100111521	Kim et al.	May 2010	A1
20100119234	Suematsu et al.	May 2010	A1
20100121945	Gerber et al.	May 2010	A1
20100127848	Mustapha et al.	May 2010	A1
20100141527	Lalezari et al.	Jun 2010	A1
20100142435	Kim et al.	Jun 2010	A1
20100150215	Black et al.	Jun 2010	A1
20100153990	Ress et al.	Jun 2010	A1
20100169937	Atwal et al.	Jul 2010	A1
20100175080	Yuen et al.	Jul 2010	A1
20100176894	Tahara et al.	Jul 2010	A1
20100177894	Yasuma et al.	Jul 2010	A1
20100185614	O'Brien et al.	Jul 2010	A1
20100201313	Vorenkamp et al.	Aug 2010	A1
20100214183	Stoneback et al.	Aug 2010	A1
20100214185	Sammoura et al.	Aug 2010	A1
20100220024	Snow et al.	Sep 2010	A1
20100224732	Olson et al.	Sep 2010	A1
20100225426	Unger et al.	Sep 2010	A1
20100232539	Han et al.	Sep 2010	A1
20100243633	Huynh et al.	Sep 2010	A1
20100253450	Kim et al.	Oct 2010	A1
20100256955	Pupalaikis et al.	Oct 2010	A1
20100265877	Foxworthy et al.	Oct 2010	A1
20100266063	Harel et al.	Oct 2010	A1
20100277003	Von Novak et al.	Nov 2010	A1
20100283693	Xie et al.	Nov 2010	A1
20100284446	Mu et al.	Nov 2010	A1
20100319068	Abbadessa et al.	Dec 2010	A1
20110018704	Burrows et al.	Jan 2011	A1
20110040861	Van der Merwe et al.	Feb 2011	A1
20110042120	Otsuka et al.	Feb 2011	A1
20110043051	Meskens et al.	Feb 2011	A1
20110053498	Nogueira-Nine	Mar 2011	A1
20110068893	Lahiri et al.	Mar 2011	A1
20110068988	Monte et al.	Mar 2011	A1
20110080301	Chang	Apr 2011	A1
20110083399	Lettkeman et al.	Apr 2011	A1
20110103274	Vavik et al.	May 2011	A1
20110107364	Lajoie et al.	May 2011	A1
20110109936	Coffee et al.	May 2011	A1
20110110404	Washiro	May 2011	A1
20110115579	Rofougaran et al.	May 2011	A1
20110118888	White et al.	May 2011	A1
20110132658	Miller, II et al.	Jun 2011	A1
20110133865	Miller, II et al.	Jun 2011	A1
20110133867	Miller, II et al.	Jun 2011	A1
20110136432	Miller, II et al.	Jun 2011	A1
20110140911	Pant et al.	Jun 2011	A1
20110141555	Fermann et al.	Jun 2011	A1
20110143673	Landesman et al.	Jun 2011	A1
20110148578	Aloi et al.	Jun 2011	A1
20110148687	Wright et al.	Jun 2011	A1
20110164514	Afkhamie et al.	Jul 2011	A1
20110165847	Kawasaki et al.	Jul 2011	A1
20110172000	Quigley et al.	Jul 2011	A1
20110173447	Zhang et al.	Jul 2011	A1
20110187578	Farneth et al.	Aug 2011	A1
20110199265	Lin et al.	Aug 2011	A1
20110201269	Hobbs et al.	Aug 2011	A1
20110208450	Salka et al.	Aug 2011	A1
20110214176	Burch et al.	Sep 2011	A1
20110219402	Candelore et al.	Sep 2011	A1
20110220394	Szylakowski et al.	Sep 2011	A1
20110225046	Eldering et al.	Sep 2011	A1
20110228814	Washiro et al.	Sep 2011	A1
20110235536	Nishizaka	Sep 2011	A1
20110243255	Paoletti	Oct 2011	A1
20110243566	Truong	Oct 2011	A1
20110268085	Barany et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110274396	Nakajima et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110286506	Libby et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110291878	McLaughlin et al.	Dec 2011	A1
20110294509	Kim et al.	Dec 2011	A1
20110311231	Ridgway et al.	Dec 2011	A1
20110316645	Takeuchi et al.	Dec 2011	A1
20120002973	Bruzzi et al.	Jan 2012	A1
20120015382	Weitz et al.	Jan 2012	A1
20120015654	Palanki et al.	Jan 2012	A1
20120019420	Caimi et al.	Jan 2012	A1
20120019427	Ishikawa et al.	Jan 2012	A1
20120038520	Cornwell et al.	Feb 2012	A1
20120039366	Wood et al.	Feb 2012	A1
20120046891	Yaney et al.	Feb 2012	A1
20120054571	Howard et al.	Mar 2012	A1
20120068903	Thevenard et al.	Mar 2012	A1
20120077485	Shin et al.	Mar 2012	A1
20120078452	Daum et al.	Mar 2012	A1
20120084807	Thompson et al.	Apr 2012	A1
20120091820	Campanella et al.	Apr 2012	A1
20120092161	West et al.	Apr 2012	A1
20120093078	Perlman et al.	Apr 2012	A1
20120102568	Tarbotton et al.	Apr 2012	A1
20120105246	Sexton et al.	May 2012	A1
20120105637	Yousefi et al.	May 2012	A1
20120109545	Meynardi et al.	May 2012	A1
20120109566	Adamian et al.	May 2012	A1
20120117584	Gordon	May 2012	A1
20120129566	Lee et al.	May 2012	A1
20120133373	Ali et al.	May 2012	A1
20120137332	Kumar et al.	May 2012	A1
20120144420	Del Sordo et al.	Jun 2012	A1
20120146861	Armbrecht et al.	Jun 2012	A1
20120153087	Collette et al.	Jun 2012	A1
20120154239	Bar-Sade et al.	Jun 2012	A1
20120161543	Reuven et al.	Jun 2012	A1
20120176906	Hartenstein et al.	Jul 2012	A1
20120181258	Shan et al.	Jul 2012	A1
20120190386	Anderson	Jul 2012	A1
20120197558	Henig et al.	Aug 2012	A1
20120201145	Ree et al.	Aug 2012	A1
20120214538	Kim et al.	Aug 2012	A1
20120224807	Winzer et al.	Sep 2012	A1
20120226394	Marcus et al.	Sep 2012	A1
20120235864	Lu et al.	Sep 2012	A1
20120235881	Pan et al.	Sep 2012	A1
20120250534	Langer et al.	Oct 2012	A1
20120250752	McHann et al.	Oct 2012	A1
20120263152	Fischer et al.	Oct 2012	A1
20120267863	Kiest et al.	Oct 2012	A1
20120268340	Capozzoli et al.	Oct 2012	A1
20120270507	Qin et al.	Oct 2012	A1
20120272741	Xiao et al.	Nov 2012	A1
20120274528	McMahon et al.	Nov 2012	A1
20120287922	Heck et al.	Nov 2012	A1
20120299671	Ikeda et al.	Nov 2012	A1
20120304294	Fujiwara et al.	Nov 2012	A1
20120306587	Strid et al.	Dec 2012	A1
20120306708	Henderson et al.	Dec 2012	A1
20120313895	Haroun et al.	Dec 2012	A1
20120319903	Huseth et al.	Dec 2012	A1
20120322380	Nannarone et al.	Dec 2012	A1
20120322492	Koo et al.	Dec 2012	A1
20120324018	Metcalf et al.	Dec 2012	A1
20120327908	Gupta et al.	Dec 2012	A1
20120329523	Stewart et al.	Dec 2012	A1
20120330756	Morris et al.	Dec 2012	A1
20130002409	Molina et al.	Jan 2013	A1
20130003876	Bennett	Jan 2013	A1
20130010679	Ma et al.	Jan 2013	A1
20130015922	Liu et al.	Jan 2013	A1
20130016022	Heiks et al.	Jan 2013	A1
20130023302	Sivanesan et al.	Jan 2013	A1
20130039624	Scherer et al.	Feb 2013	A1
20130064178	Cs et al.	Mar 2013	A1
20130064311	Turner et al.	Mar 2013	A1
20130070621	Marzetta et al.	Mar 2013	A1
20130077612	Khorami et al.	Mar 2013	A1
20130077664	Lee et al.	Mar 2013	A1
20130080290	Kamm	Mar 2013	A1
20130086639	Sondhi et al.	Apr 2013	A1
20130093638	Shoemaker et al.	Apr 2013	A1
20130095875	Reuven et al.	Apr 2013	A1
20130108206	Sasaoka et al.	May 2013	A1
20130109317	Kikuchi et al.	May 2013	A1
20130117852	Stute et al.	May 2013	A1
20130120548	Li et al.	May 2013	A1
20130122828	Choi et al.	May 2013	A1
20130124365	Pradeep	May 2013	A1
20130127678	Chandler et al.	May 2013	A1
20130136410	Sasaoka et al.	May 2013	A1
20130144750	Brown	Jun 2013	A1
20130148194	Altug et al.	Jun 2013	A1
20130159153	Lau et al.	Jun 2013	A1
20130159856	Ferren	Jun 2013	A1
20130160122	Choi et al.	Jun 2013	A1
20130162490	Blech et al.	Jun 2013	A1
20130166690	Shatzkamer et al.	Jun 2013	A1
20130169499	Lin et al.	Jul 2013	A1
20130173807	De Groot et al.	Jul 2013	A1
20130178998	Gadiraju et al.	Jul 2013	A1
20130182804	Yutaka et al.	Jul 2013	A1
20130185552	Steer et al.	Jul 2013	A1
20130187636	Kast et al.	Jul 2013	A1
20130191052	Fernandez et al.	Jul 2013	A1
20130201006	Kummetz et al.	Aug 2013	A1
20130201904	Toskala et al.	Aug 2013	A1
20130205370	Kalgi et al.	Aug 2013	A1
20130207681	Slupsky et al.	Aug 2013	A1
20130207859	Legay et al.	Aug 2013	A1
20130219308	Britton et al.	Aug 2013	A1
20130230235	Tateno et al.	Sep 2013	A1
20130234904	Blech et al.	Sep 2013	A1
20130234961	Garfinkel et al.	Sep 2013	A1
20130235845	Kovvali et al.	Sep 2013	A1
20130235871	Brzozowski et al.	Sep 2013	A1
20130262656	Cao et al.	Oct 2013	A1
20130262857	Neuman et al.	Oct 2013	A1
20130263263	Narkolayev et al.	Oct 2013	A1
20130265732	Herbsommer et al.	Oct 2013	A1
20130268414	Lehtiniemi et al.	Oct 2013	A1
20130271349	Wright et al.	Oct 2013	A1
20130278464	Xia et al.	Oct 2013	A1
20130279523	Denney et al.	Oct 2013	A1
20130279561	Jin et al.	Oct 2013	A1
20130279868	Zhang et al.	Oct 2013	A1
20130285864	Clymer et al.	Oct 2013	A1
20130303089	Wang et al.	Nov 2013	A1
20130305369	Karta et al.	Nov 2013	A1
20130306351	Lambert et al.	Nov 2013	A1
20130307645	Mita et al.	Nov 2013	A1
20130311661	McPhee	Nov 2013	A1
20130314182	Takeda et al.	Nov 2013	A1
20130321225	Pettus et al.	Dec 2013	A1
20130326063	Burch et al.	Dec 2013	A1
20130326494	Nunez et al.	Dec 2013	A1
20130330050	Yang et al.	Dec 2013	A1
20130335165	Arnold et al.	Dec 2013	A1
20130336370	Jovanovic et al.	Dec 2013	A1
20130336418	Tomeba et al.	Dec 2013	A1
20130337821	Clegg et al.	Dec 2013	A1
20130341094	Taherian et al.	Dec 2013	A1
20130342287	Randall et al.	Dec 2013	A1
20130343213	Reynolds et al.	Dec 2013	A1
20130343351	Sambhwani et al.	Dec 2013	A1
20140003394	Rubin et al.	Jan 2014	A1
20140003775	Ko et al.	Jan 2014	A1
20140007076	Kim et al.	Jan 2014	A1
20140009270	Yamazaki et al.	Jan 2014	A1
20140009822	Dong et al.	Jan 2014	A1
20140019576	Lobo et al.	Jan 2014	A1
20140026170	Francisco et al.	Jan 2014	A1
20140028184	Voronin et al.	Jan 2014	A1
20140028190	Voronin et al.	Jan 2014	A1
20140028532	Ehrenberg et al.	Jan 2014	A1
20140032005	Iwamura	Jan 2014	A1
20140036694	Courtice et al.	Feb 2014	A1
20140041925	Siripurapu et al.	Feb 2014	A1
20140043189	Lee et al.	Feb 2014	A1
20140043977	Wiley et al.	Feb 2014	A1
20140044139	Dong et al.	Feb 2014	A1
20140050212	Braz et al.	Feb 2014	A1
20140052810	Osorio et al.	Feb 2014	A1
20140056130	Grayson et al.	Feb 2014	A1
20140057576	Liu et al.	Feb 2014	A1
20140062784	Rison et al.	Mar 2014	A1
20140071818	Wang et al.	Mar 2014	A1
20140072064	Lemson et al.	Mar 2014	A1
20140072299	Stapleton et al.	Mar 2014	A1
20140077995	Artemenko et al.	Mar 2014	A1
20140086080	Hui et al.	Mar 2014	A1
20140086152	Bontu et al.	Mar 2014	A1
20140112184	Chai	Apr 2014	A1
20140112279	Yoshizawa	Apr 2014	A1
20140119244	Steer et al.	May 2014	A1
20140124236	Vu et al.	May 2014	A1
20140126914	Berlin et al.	May 2014	A1
20140130111	Nulty et al.	May 2014	A1
20140132728	Verano et al.	May 2014	A1
20140139375	Faragher et al.	May 2014	A1
20140143055	Johnson	May 2014	A1
20140146902	Liu et al.	May 2014	A1
20140148107	Maltsev et al.	May 2014	A1
20140155054	Henry et al.	Jun 2014	A1
20140165145	Baentsch et al.	Jun 2014	A1
20140167882	Shinoda et al.	Jun 2014	A1
20140177692	Yu et al.	Jun 2014	A1
20140179302	Polehn et al.	Jun 2014	A1
20140189677	Curzi et al.	Jul 2014	A1
20140189732	Shkedi et al.	Jul 2014	A1
20140191913	Ge et al.	Jul 2014	A1
20140204000	Sato et al.	Jul 2014	A1
20140204754	Jeong et al.	Jul 2014	A1
20140207844	Mayo et al.	Jul 2014	A1
20140208272	Vats et al.	Jul 2014	A1
20140222997	Mermoud et al.	Aug 2014	A1
20140223527	Bortz et al.	Aug 2014	A1
20140225129	Inoue et al.	Aug 2014	A1
20140227905	Knott et al.	Aug 2014	A1
20140227966	Artemenko et al.	Aug 2014	A1
20140233900	Hugonnot et al.	Aug 2014	A1
20140241718	Jiang et al.	Aug 2014	A1
20140254516	Lee et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140254896	Zhou et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140254979	Zhang et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140266946	Stevenson et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140266953	Yen et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140267700	Wang et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140269260	Xue et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140269691	Xue	Sep 2014	A1
20140269972	Rada et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140273873	Huynh et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140285277	Herbsommer et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140285293	Schuppener et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140285373	Kuwahara et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140285389	Fakharzadeh et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140286189	Kang et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140286235	Chang et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140286284	Lim et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140287702	Schuppener et al.	Sep 2014	A1
20140299349	Yamaguchi et al.	Oct 2014	A1
20140304498	Gonuguntla et al.	Oct 2014	A1
20140317229	Hughes et al.	Oct 2014	A1
20140320364	Gu et al.	Oct 2014	A1
20140321273	Morrill et al.	Oct 2014	A1
20140325594	Klein et al.	Oct 2014	A1
20140334773	Mathai et al.	Nov 2014	A1
20140334789	Matsuo et al.	Nov 2014	A1
20140340271	Petkov et al.	Nov 2014	A1
20140343883	Libby et al.	Nov 2014	A1
20140349696	Hyde et al.	Nov 2014	A1
20140351571	Jacobs	Nov 2014	A1
20140355525	Willis, III et al.	Dec 2014	A1
20140355989	Finckelstein	Dec 2014	A1
20140357269	Zhou et al.	Dec 2014	A1
20140359275	Murugesan et al.	Dec 2014	A1
20140362374	Santori	Dec 2014	A1
20140362694	Rodriques	Dec 2014	A1
20140368301	Herbsommer et al.	Dec 2014	A1
20140369430	Parnell et al.	Dec 2014	A1
20140372068	Seto et al.	Dec 2014	A1
20140373053	Leley et al.	Dec 2014	A1
20140376655	Ruan et al.	Dec 2014	A1
20150008996	Jessup et al.	Jan 2015	A1
20150009089	Pesa	Jan 2015	A1
20150016260	Chow et al.	Jan 2015	A1
20150017473	Verhoeven et al.	Jan 2015	A1
20150022399	Flannery et al.	Jan 2015	A1
20150026460	Walton	Jan 2015	A1
20150029065	Cheng	Jan 2015	A1
20150036610	Kim et al.	Feb 2015	A1
20150042526	Zeine	Feb 2015	A1
20150048238	Kawai	Feb 2015	A1
20150049998	Dumais	Feb 2015	A1
20150061859	Matsuoka et al.	Mar 2015	A1
20150065166	Ward et al.	Mar 2015	A1
20150070231	Park et al.	Mar 2015	A1
20150071594	Register	Mar 2015	A1
20150073594	Trujillo et al.	Mar 2015	A1
20150077740	Fuse	Mar 2015	A1
20150078756	Soto et al.	Mar 2015	A1
20150084660	Knierim et al.	Mar 2015	A1
20150084703	Sanduleanu	Mar 2015	A1
20150084814	Rojanski et al.	Mar 2015	A1
20150091650	Nobbe	Apr 2015	A1
20150094104	Wilmhoff et al.	Apr 2015	A1
20150098387	Garg et al.	Apr 2015	A1
20150099555	Krishnaswamy et al.	Apr 2015	A1
20150102972	Scire-Scappuzzo et al.	Apr 2015	A1
20150103685	Butchko et al.	Apr 2015	A1
20150104005	Holman	Apr 2015	A1
20150105115	Hata et al.	Apr 2015	A1
20150109178	Hyde et al.	Apr 2015	A1
20150116154	Artemenko	Apr 2015	A1
20150185425	Gundel et al.	Apr 2015	A1
20150122886	Koch	May 2015	A1
20150126107	Bennett et al.	May 2015	A1
20150130675	Parsche	May 2015	A1
20150138022	Takahashi	May 2015	A1
20150138144	Tanabe	May 2015	A1
20150153248	Hayward et al.	Jun 2015	A1
20150156266	Gupta	Jun 2015	A1
20150162988	Henry et al.	Jun 2015	A1
20150171522	Liu et al.	Jun 2015	A1
20150172036	Katar et al.	Jun 2015	A1
20150181449	Didenko et al.	Jun 2015	A1
20150188584	Laurent-Michel et al.	Jul 2015	A1
20150195349	Cardamore	Jul 2015	A1
20150195719	Rahman	Jul 2015	A1
20150201228	Hasek	Jul 2015	A1
20150207527	Eliaz et al.	Jul 2015	A1
20150214615	Patel et al.	Jul 2015	A1
20150215268	Dinha	Jul 2015	A1
20150223078	Bennett et al.	Aug 2015	A1
20150223113	Matsunaga	Aug 2015	A1
20150223115	Liang et al.	Aug 2015	A1
20150223160	Ho	Aug 2015	A1
20150230109	Turner et al.	Aug 2015	A1
20150236778	Jalali	Aug 2015	A1
20150236779	Jalali	Aug 2015	A1
20150237519	Ghai	Aug 2015	A1
20150249965	Dussmann et al.	Sep 2015	A1
20150263424	Sanford	Sep 2015	A1
20150271830	Shin et al.	Sep 2015	A1
20150276577	Ruege et al.	Oct 2015	A1
20150277569	Sprenger	Oct 2015	A1
20150280328	Sanford et al.	Oct 2015	A1
20150284079	Matsuda	Oct 2015	A1
20150288532	Veyseh et al.	Oct 2015	A1
20150289247	Liu et al.	Oct 2015	A1
20150303892	Desclos	Oct 2015	A1
20150304045	Henry et al.	Oct 2015	A1
20150304869	Johnson et al.	Oct 2015	A1
20150311951	Hariz	Oct 2015	A1
20150312774	Lau	Oct 2015	A1
20150318610	Lee et al.	Nov 2015	A1
20150323948	Jeong	Nov 2015	A1
20150325913	Vagman	Nov 2015	A1
20150326274	Flood	Nov 2015	A1
20150326287	Kazmi et al.	Nov 2015	A1
20150333386	Kaneda et al.	Nov 2015	A1
20150333804	Yang et al.	Nov 2015	A1
20150334769	Kim et al.	Nov 2015	A1
20150339912	Farrand et al.	Nov 2015	A1
20150341842	Vorenkamp	Nov 2015	A1
20150344136	Dahlstrom	Dec 2015	A1
20150349415	Iwanaka	Dec 2015	A1
20150356482	Whipple et al.	Dec 2015	A1
20150356848	Hatch	Dec 2015	A1
20150358149	Ito et al.	Dec 2015	A1
20150369660	Yu	Dec 2015	A1
20150370251	Siegel et al.	Dec 2015	A1
20150373557	Bennett et al.	Dec 2015	A1
20150380814	Boutayeb et al.	Dec 2015	A1
20150382208	Elliott et al.	Dec 2015	A1
20150382363	Wang et al.	Dec 2015	A1
20160006129	Haziza	Jan 2016	A1
20160012460	Kruglick	Jan 2016	A1
20160014749	Kang et al.	Jan 2016	A1
20160021545	Shaw	Jan 2016	A1
20160026301	Zhou et al.	Jan 2016	A1
20160029009	Lu et al.	Jan 2016	A1
20160038074	Brown et al.	Feb 2016	A1
20160043478	Hartenstein	Feb 2016	A1
20160044705	Gao	Feb 2016	A1
20160050028	Henry et al.	Feb 2016	A1
20160056543	Kwiatkowski	Feb 2016	A1
20160063642	Luciani et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160064794	Henry et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160065252	Preschutti	Mar 2016	A1
20160065335	Koo et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160066191	Li	Mar 2016	A1
20160066257	Liu et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160068265	Hoareau et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160068277	Manitta	Mar 2016	A1
20160069934	Saxby et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160069935	Kreikebaum et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160070265	Liu et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160072173	Herbsommer et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160072191	Iwai	Mar 2016	A1
20160072287	Jia	Mar 2016	A1
20160079769	Corum et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160079771	Corum	Mar 2016	A1
20160079809	Corum et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160080035	Fuchs et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160080839	Fuchs et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160082460	McMaster et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160087344	Artemenko et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160088498	Sharawi	Mar 2016	A1
20160094420	Clemm et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160094879	Gerszberg et al.	Mar 2016	A1
20160099749	Bennett et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160100324	Henry et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160103199	Rappaport	Apr 2016	A1
20160105218	Henry et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160105233	Jalali	Apr 2016	A1
20160105239	Henry et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160105255	Henry et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160111890	Corum et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160112092	Henry et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160112093	Barzegar et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160112094	Stuckman et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160112115	Henry et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160112132	Henry et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160112133	Henry et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160112135	Henry et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160112263	Henry et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160116914	Mucci	Apr 2016	A1
20160118717	Britz et al.	Apr 2016	A1
20160124071	Baxley et al.	May 2016	A1
20160127931	Baxley et al.	May 2016	A1
20160131347	Hill et al.	May 2016	A1
20160134006	Ness et al.	May 2016	A1
20160135132	Donepudi et al.	May 2016	A1
20160135184	Zavadsky et al.	May 2016	A1
20160137311	Peverill et al.	May 2016	A1
20160139731	Kim	May 2016	A1
20160149312	Henry et al.	May 2016	A1
20160149614	Barzegar	May 2016	A1
20160149636	Gerszberg et al.	May 2016	A1
20160149665	Henry et al.	May 2016	A1
20160149731	Henry et al.	May 2016	A1
20160149753	Gerszberg et al.	May 2016	A1
20160150427	Ramanath	May 2016	A1
20160153938	Balasubramaniam et al.	Jun 2016	A1
20160164571	Bennett et al.	Jun 2016	A1
20160164573	Birk et al.	Jun 2016	A1
20160165472	Gopalakrishnan et al.	Jun 2016	A1
20160165478	Yao et al.	Jun 2016	A1
20160174040	Roberts et al.	Jun 2016	A1
20160179134	Ryu	Jun 2016	A1
20160181701	Sangaran et al.	Jun 2016	A1
20160182096	Panioukov et al.	Jun 2016	A1
20160182161	Barzegar	Jun 2016	A1
20160182981	Minarik et al.	Jun 2016	A1
20160188291	Vilermo et al.	Jun 2016	A1
20160189101	Kantor et al.	Jun 2016	A1
20160197392	Henry et al.	Jul 2016	A1
20160197409	Henry et al.	Jul 2016	A1
20160197630	Kawasaki	Jul 2016	A1
20160197642	Henry et al.	Jul 2016	A1
20160207627	Hoareau et al.	Jul 2016	A1
20160212065	To et al.	Jul 2016	A1
20160212641	Kong et al.	Jul 2016	A1
20160214717	De Silva	Jul 2016	A1
20160218407	Henry et al.	Jul 2016	A1
20160218437	Guntupalli	Jul 2016	A1
20160221039	Fuchs et al.	Aug 2016	A1
20160224235	Forsstrom	Aug 2016	A1
20160226681	Henry et al.	Aug 2016	A1
20160244165	Patrick et al.	Aug 2016	A1
20160248149	Kim et al.	Aug 2016	A1
20160248165	Henry	Aug 2016	A1
20160248509	Henry	Aug 2016	A1
20160249233	Murray	Aug 2016	A1
20160252970	Dahl	Sep 2016	A1
20160261309	Henry	Sep 2016	A1
20160261310	Fuchs et al.	Sep 2016	A1
20160261311	Henry et al.	Sep 2016	A1
20160261312	Fuchs et al.	Sep 2016	A1
20160269156	Barzegar et al.	Sep 2016	A1
20160276725	Barnickel et al.	Sep 2016	A1
20160277939	Olcott et al.	Sep 2016	A1
20160278094	Henry et al.	Sep 2016	A1
20160285508	Bennett et al.	Sep 2016	A1
20160285512	Henry et al.	Sep 2016	A1
20160294444	Gerszberg et al.	Oct 2016	A1
20160294517	Barzegar et al.	Oct 2016	A1
20160295431	Henry et al.	Oct 2016	A1
20160306361	Shalom et al.	Oct 2016	A1
20160315659	Henry	Oct 2016	A1
20160315660	Henry	Oct 2016	A1
20160315661	Henry	Oct 2016	A1
20160315662	Henry	Oct 2016	A1
20160322691	Bennett et al.	Nov 2016	A1
20160323015	Henry et al.	Nov 2016	A1
20160329957	Schmid et al.	Nov 2016	A1
20160336091	Henry et al.	Nov 2016	A1
20160336092	Henry et al.	Nov 2016	A1
20160336636	Henry et al.	Nov 2016	A1
20160336996	Henry	Nov 2016	A1
20160336997	Henry	Nov 2016	A1
20160351987	Henry	Dec 2016	A1
20160359523	Bennett	Dec 2016	A1
20160359524	Bennett et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160359529	Bennett et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160359530	Bennett	Dec 2016	A1
20160359542	Bennett	Dec 2016	A1
20160359543	Bennett et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160359544	Bennett	Dec 2016	A1
20160359546	Bennett	Dec 2016	A1
20160359547	Bennett et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160359649	Bennett et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160360511	Barzegar	Dec 2016	A1
20160360533	Bennett et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160365175	Bennett et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160365893	Bennett et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160365894	Bennett et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160365897	Gross	Dec 2016	A1
20160365916	Bennett et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160365943	Henry et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160365966	Bennett et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160366586	Gross et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160366587	Gross	Dec 2016	A1
20160373937	Bennett et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160380327	Henry	Dec 2016	A1
20160380328	Henry	Dec 2016	A1
20160380358	Henry	Dec 2016	A1
20160380701	Henry et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20160380702	Henry et al.	Dec 2016	A1
20170012667	Bennett	Jan 2017	A1
20170018174	Gerszberg	Jan 2017	A1
20170018332	Barzegar et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170018830	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170018831	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170018832	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170018833	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170018851	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170018852	Adriazola et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170018856	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170019130	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170019131	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170019150	Henry	Jan 2017	A1
20170019189	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170025728	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170025732	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170025734	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170025839	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170026063	Henry	Jan 2017	A1
20170026082	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170026084	Henry et al.	Jan 2017	A1
20170026129	Henry	Jan 2017	A1
20170033464	Henry et al.	Feb 2017	A1
20170033465	Henry et al.	Feb 2017	A1
20170033466	Henry et al.	Feb 2017	A1
20170033834	Gross	Feb 2017	A1
20170033835	Bennett et al.	Feb 2017	A1
20170033953	Henry et al.	Feb 2017	A1
20170033954	Henry et al.	Feb 2017	A1
20170034042	Gross et al.	Feb 2017	A1
20170041081	Henry et al.	Feb 2017	A1
20170047662	Henry et al.	Feb 2017	A1
20170063430	Henry et al.	Mar 2017	A1
20170064715	Niewczas	Mar 2017	A1
20170069944	Henry	Mar 2017	A1
20180007563	Zhang et al.	Jan 2018	A1
20180048497	Henry et al.	Feb 2018	A1
20180076515	Perlman et al.	Mar 2018	A1
20180077709	Gerszberg	Mar 2018	A1
20180108997	Henry et al.	Apr 2018	A1
20180108998	Henry et al.	Apr 2018	A1
20180115058	Henry et al.	Apr 2018	A1
20180123207	Henry et al.	May 2018	A1
20180123208	Henry et al.	May 2018	A1
20180123643	Henry et al.	May 2018	A1
20180151957	Bennett et al.	May 2018	A1
20180159229	Britz	Jun 2018	A1
20180159235	Wolniansky	Jun 2018	A1
20180159238	Wolniansky	Jun 2018	A1
20180166784	Johnson et al.	Jun 2018	A1
20180166785	Henry et al.	Jun 2018	A1
20190013577	Henry et al.	Jan 2019	A1
20190074563	Henry et al.	Mar 2019	A1
20190074580	Henry et al.	Mar 2019	A1
20190074864	Henry et al.	Mar 2019	A1
20190074865	Henry et al.	Mar 2019	A1
20190104419	Barzegar et al.	Apr 2019	A1
20190104420	Barzegar et al.	Apr 2019	A1
20190123442	Vannucci et al.	Apr 2019	A1
20190123783	Henry et al.	Apr 2019	A1
20190140679	Vannucci et al.	May 2019	A1
20190174506	Willis, III et al.	Jun 2019	A1
20190181532	Vannucci et al.	Jun 2019	A1
20190181683	Vannucci et al.	Jun 2019	A1
20190280759	Bennett et al.	Sep 2019	A1
20190296430	Bennett et al.	Sep 2019	A1
20190305413	Henry et al.	Oct 2019	A1
20190305820	Barzegar et al.	Oct 2019	A1
20200014423	Britz	Jan 2020	A1
20200076088	Bennett et al.	Mar 2020	A1
20200083744	Vannucci et al.	Mar 2020	A1
20200083927	Henry et al.	Mar 2020	A1
20200106477	Nanni et al.	Apr 2020	A1

Foreign Referenced Citations (574)

Number	Date	Country
565039	Sep 1987	AU
582630	Apr 1989	AU
606303	Jan 1991	AU
7261000	Apr 2001	AU
760272	May 2003	AU
2005227368	Feb 2009	AU
2010101079	Nov 2010	AU
2007215252	Jan 2011	AU
2014200748	Mar 2014	AU
1136267	Nov 1982	CA
1211813	Sep 1986	CA
1328009	Mar 1994	CA
2260380	Dec 2000	CA
2348614	Mar 2001	CA
2449596	Jun 2005	CA
2515560	Feb 2007	CA
2664573	Apr 2008	CA
2467988	Nov 2010	CA
2777147	Apr 2011	CA
2814529	Apr 2012	CA
2787580	Feb 2013	CA
2927054	May 2015	CA
2940976	Sep 2015	CA
2116969	Sep 1992	CN
1155354	Jul 1997	CN
1411563	Apr 2003	CN
1126425	Oct 2003	CN
2730033	Sep 2005	CN
1833397	Sep 2006	CN
1885736	Dec 2006	CN
201048157	Apr 2008	CN
201146495	Nov 2008	CN
201207179	Mar 2009	CN
100502181	Jun 2009	CN
201282193	Jul 2009	CN
101834011	Apr 2010	CN
1823275	May 2010	CN
101785201	Jul 2010	CN
1820482	Dec 2010	CN
101075702	Feb 2011	CN
101978613	Feb 2011	CN
102130698	Jul 2011	CN
102136634	Jul 2011	CN
201985870	Sep 2011	CN
102208716	Oct 2011	CN
102280704	Dec 2011	CN
102280709	Dec 2011	CN
202093126	Dec 2011	CN
102351415	Feb 2012	CN
102396111	Mar 2012	CN
202253536	May 2012	CN
102544736	Jul 2012	CN
102590893	Jul 2012	CN
102694351	Sep 2012	CN
202424729	Sep 2012	CN
101662076	Nov 2012	CN
102780058	Nov 2012	CN
102017692	Apr 2013	CN
103078673	May 2013	CN
103117118	May 2013	CN
103163881	Jun 2013	CN
203204743	Sep 2013	CN
1863244	Oct 2013	CN
101958461	Nov 2013	CN
103700442	Apr 2014	CN
103943925	Jul 2014	CN
104052742	Sep 2014	CN
104064844	Sep 2014	CN
203813973	Sep 2014	CN
104091987	Oct 2014	CN
104092028	Oct 2014	CN
203931626	Nov 2014	CN
203950607	Nov 2014	CN
104181552	Dec 2014	CN
204538183	Aug 2015	CN
102412442	Oct 2015	CN
204760545	Nov 2015	CN
105262551	Jan 2016	CN
205265924	Jan 2016	CN
105359572	Feb 2016	CN
105453340	Mar 2016	CN
105594138	May 2016	CN
104162995	Jun 2016	CN
105813193	Jul 2016	CN
107690754	Feb 2018	CN
3504546	Aug 1986	DE
3533204	Mar 1987	DE
3533211	Mar 1987	DE
3827956	Mar 1989	DE
4027367	Jul 1991	DE
4225595	Sep 1993	DE
19501448	Jul 1996	DE
19939832	Feb 2001	DE
10043761	Nov 2002	DE
102004024356	Sep 2005	DE
69732676	Apr 2006	DE
4337835	May 2008	DE
102007049914	Apr 2009	DE
102012004998	Jul 2013	DE
102012203816	Sep 2013	DE
0102846	Mar 1984	EP
0110478	Jun 1984	EP
0136818	Apr 1985	EP
0280379	Aug 1988	EP
0330303	Aug 1989	EP
0331248	Sep 1989	EP
0342149	Nov 1989	EP
0391719	Apr 1990	EP
425979	May 1991	EP
0485467	May 1992	EP
272785	Feb 1994	EP
0651487	Oct 1994	EP
0371660	Apr 1996	EP
0756392	Jan 1997	EP
834722	Apr 1998	EP
0840464	May 1998	EP
0871241	Oct 1998	EP
0890132	Jan 1999	EP
755092	Apr 1999	EP
0896380	Oct 1999	EP
676648	May 2000	EP
1085599	Mar 2001	EP
0907983	Jun 2001	EP
0756786	Aug 2001	EP
1127283	Aug 2001	EP
1129550	Sep 2001	EP
1184930	Mar 2002	EP
1195847	Apr 2002	EP
1237303	Sep 2002	EP
1296146	Mar 2003	EP
0772061	Jul 2003	EP
1346431	Sep 2003	EP
1249056	Jan 2004	EP
1376755	Jan 2004	EP
1401048	Mar 2004	EP
1454422	Sep 2004	EP
1488397	Dec 2004	EP
1509970	Mar 2005	EP
1371108	Jun 2005	EP
1550327	Jul 2005	EP
1341255	Aug 2005	EP
1577687	Sep 2005	EP
1312135	Nov 2005	EP
1608110	Dec 2005	EP
1624685	Feb 2006	EP
1642468	Apr 2006	EP
1647072	Apr 2006	EP
1608110	Oct 2006	EP
1793508	Jun 2007	EP
1842265	Oct 2007	EP
1898532	Mar 2008	EP
1930982	Jun 2008	EP
1953940	Aug 2008	EP
1696509	Oct 2009	EP
2159749	Mar 2010	EP
2165550	Mar 2010	EP
1166599	May 2010	EP
1807950	Jan 2011	EP
2404347	Jan 2012	EP
2472671	Jul 2012	EP
1817855	Jan 2013	EP
2568528	Mar 2013	EP
2302735	Sep 2013	EP
2472737	Sep 2013	EP
2640115	Sep 2013	EP
2016643	Jul 2014	EP
2760081	Jul 2014	EP
2804259	Nov 2014	EP
2507939	Dec 2014	EP
2680452	Jan 2015	EP
2838155	Feb 2015	EP
2846480	Mar 2015	EP
2849524	Mar 2015	EP
2850695	Mar 2015	EP
2853902	Apr 2015	EP
2854361	Apr 2015	EP
2870802	May 2015	EP
2710400	Jun 2015	EP
3076482	Oct 2016	EP
2568528	Dec 2017	EP
2120893	Nov 1998	ES
2119804	Aug 1972	FR
2214161	Aug 1974	FR
2416562	Aug 1979	FR
2583226	Dec 1986	FR
2691602	Nov 1993	FR
2849728	Jul 2004	FR
2841387	Apr 2006	FR
2893717	May 2007	FR
2946466	Mar 2012	FR
2986376	Oct 2014	FR
3034203	Sep 2016	FR
175489	Feb 1922	GB
462804	Mar 1937	GB
529290	Nov 1940	GB
603119	Oct 1945	GB
589603	Jun 1947	GB
640181	Jul 1950	GB
663166	Dec 1951	GB
667290	Feb 1952	GB
668827	Mar 1952	GB
682115	Nov 1952	GB
682817	Nov 1952	GB
731473	Jun 1955	GB
746111	Mar 1956	GB
751153	Jun 1956	GB
767506	Feb 1957	GB
835976	Jun 1960	GB
845492	Aug 1960	GB
859951	Jan 1961	GB
889856	Feb 1962	GB
905417	Sep 1962	GB
926958	May 1963	GB
993561	May 1965	GB
1004318	Sep 1965	GB
1076772	Jul 1967	GB
1141390	Jan 1969	GB
1298387	Nov 1972	GB
1383549	Feb 1974	GB
1370669	Oct 1974	GB
1422956	Jan 1976	GB
1424351	Feb 1976	GB
1468310	Mar 1977	GB
1469840	Apr 1977	GB
1527228	Oct 1978	GB
2010528	Jun 1979	GB
2045055	Oct 1980	GB
1580627	Dec 1980	GB
1584193	Feb 1981	GB
2227369	Jul 1990	GB
2247990	Mar 1992	GB
2368468	May 2002	GB
2362472	Oct 2003	GB
2393370	Mar 2004	GB
2394364	Jun 2005	GB
2414862	Dec 2005	GB
2411554	Jan 2006	GB
705192	Apr 2007	GB
714974	Sep 2007	GB
718597	Oct 2007	GB
2474037	Apr 2011	GB
2476787	Jul 2011	GB
2474605	Sep 2011	GB
2485355	May 2012	GB
2481715	Jan 2014	GB
2507269	Apr 2014	GB
2476149	Jul 2014	GB
2532207	May 2016	GB
261253	Jun 2014	IN
7352CHENP2015	Jul 2016	IN
201647015348	Aug 2016	IN
201747047006	Jan 2018	IN
S50109642	Sep 1975	JP
55124303	Sep 1980	JP
55138902	Oct 1980	JP
574601	Jan 1982	JP
61178682	Nov 1986	JP
61260702	Nov 1986	JP
62110303	Jul 1987	JP
62190903	Aug 1987	JP
02214307	Aug 1990	JP
03167906	Jul 1991	JP
0653894	Aug 1991	JP
04369905	Dec 1992	JP
3001844	Sep 1994	JP
077769	Jan 1995	JP
7212126	Nov 1995	JP
0829545	Feb 1996	JP
08167810	Jun 1996	JP
08196022	Jul 1996	JP
08316918	Nov 1996	JP
2595339	Apr 1997	JP
2639531	Aug 1997	JP
10206183	Aug 1998	JP
10271071	Oct 1998	JP
116928	Jan 1999	JP
1114749	Jan 1999	JP
11239085	Aug 1999	JP
11313022	Nov 1999	JP
2000077889	Mar 2000	JP
2000216623	Aug 2000	JP
2000244238	Sep 2000	JP
2001217634	Aug 2001	JP
2002029247	Jan 2002	JP
2002111579	Apr 2002	JP
2002236174	Aug 2002	JP
200328219	Jan 2003	JP
2003008336	Jan 2003	JP
2003057464	Feb 2003	JP
2003511677	Mar 2003	JP
3411428	Jun 2003	JP
2003324309	Nov 2003	JP
3480153	Dec 2003	JP
2003344883	Dec 2003	JP
2004521379	Jul 2004	JP
2004253853	Sep 2004	JP
2004274656	Sep 2004	JP
2004297107	Oct 2004	JP
2004304659	Oct 2004	JP
2005503709	Feb 2005	JP
2005110231	Apr 2005	JP
2005182469	Jul 2005	JP
3734975	Jan 2006	JP
2006153878	Jun 2006	JP
2006163886	Jun 2006	JP
2006166399	Jun 2006	JP
2007042009	Feb 2007	JP
2007072945	Mar 2007	JP
3938315	Jun 2007	JP
2007174017	Jul 2007	JP
2007259001	Oct 2007	JP
4025674	Dec 2007	JP
2008017263	Jan 2008	JP
2008021483	Jan 2008	JP
4072280	Apr 2008	JP
4142062	Aug 2008	JP
2008209965	Sep 2008	JP
2008218362	Sep 2008	JP
2009004986	Jan 2009	JP
4252573	Apr 2009	JP
4259760	Apr 2009	JP
2009124229	Jun 2009	JP
2010045471	Feb 2010	JP
2010192992	Sep 2010	JP
2010541468	Dec 2010	JP
2011160446	Aug 2011	JP
2011211435	Oct 2011	JP
2012058162	Mar 2012	JP
2012090242	May 2012	JP
2012175680	Sep 2012	JP
2012205104	Oct 2012	JP
2012248035	Dec 2012	JP
2013046412	Mar 2013	JP
2013110503	Jun 2013	JP
5230779	Jul 2013	JP
2014045237	Mar 2014	JP
5475475	Apr 2014	JP
5497348	May 2014	JP
5618072	Nov 2014	JP
2015095520	May 2015	JP
2015188174	Oct 2015	JP
20000074034	Dec 2000	KR
20020091917	Dec 2002	KR
100624049	Sep 2006	KR
200425873	Sep 2006	KR
100636388	Oct 2006	KR
100725002	Jun 2007	KR
100849702	Jul 2008	KR
100916077	Aug 2009	KR
100952976	Apr 2010	KR
100989064	Oct 2010	KR
101060584	Aug 2011	KR
101070364	Sep 2011	KR
101212354	Dec 2012	KR
101259715	Apr 2013	KR
101288770	Jul 2013	KR
20140104097	Aug 2014	KR
101435538	Sep 2014	KR
101447809	Oct 2014	KR
20150087455	Jul 2015	KR
101549622	Sep 2015	KR
200479199	Dec 2015	KR
101586236	Jan 2016	KR
101606803	Jan 2016	KR
101607420	Mar 2016	KR
69072	Jan 1945	NL
2129746	Apr 1999	RU
2432647	Oct 2011	RU
201537432	Oct 2015	TW
8301711	May 1983	WO
8605327	Sep 1986	WO
9116770	Oct 1991	WO
9210014	Jun 1992	WO
9323928	Nov 1993	WO
9424467	Oct 1994	WO
9523440	Aug 1995	WO
9529537	Nov 1995	WO
199529537	Nov 1995	WO
9603801	Feb 1996	WO
199619089	Jun 1996	WO
9639729	Dec 1996	WO
9641157	Dec 1996	WO
9735387	Sep 1997	WO
9737445	Oct 1997	WO
9829853	Jul 1998	WO
9857207	Dec 1998	WO
9859254	Dec 1998	WO
9923848	May 1999	WO
9948230	Sep 1999	WO
199945310	Sep 1999	WO
9967903	Dec 1999	WO
0070891	Nov 2000	WO
200074428	Dec 2000	WO
WO2001014985	Mar 2001	WO
0128159	Apr 2001	WO
0131746	May 2001	WO
0145206	Jun 2001	WO
0192910	Dec 2001	WO
02061467	Aug 2002	WO
02061971	Aug 2002	WO
03005629	Jan 2003	WO
2003009083	Jan 2003	WO
03012614	Feb 2003	WO
200326166	Mar 2003	WO
03026462	Apr 2003	WO
03044981	May 2003	WO
2003088418	Oct 2003	WO
03099740	Dec 2003	WO
2004011995	Feb 2004	WO
2004038891	May 2004	WO
2004051804	Jun 2004	WO
2004051804	Jun 2004	WO
2004054159	Jun 2004	WO
2004077746	Sep 2004	WO
2005015686	Feb 2005	WO
2005072469	Aug 2005	WO
2006012610	Feb 2006	WO
2006061865	Jun 2006	WO
2006085804	Aug 2006	WO
2006102419	Sep 2006	WO
2006111809	Oct 2006	WO
2006116396	Nov 2006	WO
2006122041	Nov 2006	WO
2006125279	Nov 2006	WO
2007000777	Feb 2007	WO
2006050331	Mar 2007	WO
2007031435	Mar 2007	WO
2007071797	Jun 2007	WO
2007148097	Dec 2007	WO
2008003939	Jan 2008	WO
2007094944	Mar 2008	WO
2007149746	Apr 2008	WO
2008044062	Apr 2008	WO
2008055084	May 2008	WO
2008061107	May 2008	WO
2008069358	Jun 2008	WO
2008070957	Jun 2008	WO
2008102987	Aug 2008	WO
2008117973	Oct 2008	WO
2008155769	Dec 2008	WO
2009014704	Jan 2009	WO
2007098061	Feb 2009	WO
2009031794	Mar 2009	WO
2009035285	Mar 2009	WO
2009090602	Jul 2009	WO
2009123404	Oct 2009	WO
2009131316	Oct 2009	WO
2010017549	Feb 2010	WO
2010050892	May 2010	WO
2010147806	Dec 2010	WO
2011006210	Jan 2011	WO
2011032605	Mar 2011	WO
2011085650	Jul 2011	WO
2011137793	Nov 2011	WO
2012007831	Jan 2012	WO
2012038816	Mar 2012	WO
2012050069	Apr 2012	WO
2012064333	May 2012	WO
2012113219	Aug 2012	WO
2012171205	Dec 2012	WO
2012172565	Dec 2012	WO
2013008292	Jan 2013	WO
2013013162	Jan 2013	WO
2013013465	Jan 2013	WO
2013017822	Feb 2013	WO
2013023226	Feb 2013	WO
2013028197	Feb 2013	WO
2013035110	Mar 2013	WO
2013073548	May 2013	WO
2013100912	Jul 2013	WO
2013112353	Aug 2013	WO
2013115802	Aug 2013	WO
2013121682	Aug 2013	WO
2013123445	Aug 2013	WO
2014045236	Sep 2013	WO
2013136213	Sep 2013	WO
2013138627	Sep 2013	WO
2013157978	Oct 2013	WO
2013172502	Nov 2013	WO
2014018434	Jan 2014	WO
2014011438	Jan 2014	WO
2014065952	May 2014	WO
2014069941	May 2014	WO
2014083500	Jun 2014	WO
2014092644	Jun 2014	WO
2014094559	Jun 2014	WO
2014096868	Jun 2014	WO
2014099340	Jun 2014	WO
2013076499	Jul 2014	WO
2014112994	Jul 2014	WO
2014128253	Aug 2014	WO
2014137546	Sep 2014	WO
2014145862	Sep 2014	WO
2014147002	Sep 2014	WO
2014197926	Dec 2014	WO
2015002658	Jan 2015	WO
2015006636	Jan 2015	WO
2015008442	Jan 2015	WO
2015024006	Feb 2015	WO
2015027033	Feb 2015	WO
2015035463	Mar 2015	WO
2015055230	Apr 2015	WO
2015052478	Apr 2015	WO
2015052480	Apr 2015	WO
2015069090	May 2015	WO
2015069431	May 2015	WO
2015077644	May 2015	WO
2015088650	Jun 2015	WO
2015120626	Aug 2015	WO
2015123623	Aug 2015	WO
2015132618	Sep 2015	WO
2015167566	Nov 2015	WO
2015175054	Nov 2015	WO
2015197580	Dec 2015	WO
2016003291	Jan 2016	WO
2016004003	Jan 2016	WO
2016009402	Jan 2016	WO
2016012889	Jan 2016	WO
2016027007	Feb 2016	WO
2016028767	Feb 2016	WO
2016043949	Mar 2016	WO
2016032592	Mar 2016	WO
2016036951	Mar 2016	WO
2016043949	Mar 2016	WO
2016048214	Mar 2016	WO
2016048257	Mar 2016	WO
2016064502	Apr 2016	WO
2016053572	Apr 2016	WO
2016053573	Apr 2016	WO
2016060761	Apr 2016	WO
2016060762	Apr 2016	WO
2016061021	Apr 2016	WO
2016064505	Apr 2016	WO
2016064516	Apr 2016	WO
2016064700	Apr 2016	WO
2016073072	May 2016	WO
2016081125	May 2016	WO
2016081128	May 2016	WO
2016081129	May 2016	WO
2016081134	May 2016	WO
2016081136	May 2016	WO
2015090382	Jun 2016	WO
2016086306	Jun 2016	WO
2016089491	Jun 2016	WO
2016089492	Jun 2016	WO
2016096029	Jun 2016	WO
2016125161	Aug 2016	WO
2016133509	Aug 2016	WO
2016122409	Aug 2016	WO
2016133672	Aug 2016	WO
2016137982	Sep 2016	WO
2016145411	Sep 2016	WO
2016161637	Oct 2016	WO
2016169058	Oct 2016	WO
2016171907	Oct 2016	WO
2016171914	Oct 2016	WO
2016176030	Nov 2016	WO
2016200492	Dec 2016	WO
2016200579	Dec 2016	WO
2017011099	Jan 2017	WO
2017011100	Jan 2017	WO
2017011101	Jan 2017	WO
2017011102	Jan 2017	WO
2017011103	Jan 2017	WO
2017011227	Jan 2017	WO
2017014840	Jan 2017	WO
2017014842	Jan 2017	WO
2017023412	Feb 2017	WO
2017023413	Feb 2017	WO
2017023417	Feb 2017	WO
2017214150	Dec 2017	WO
2018106455	Jun 2018	WO
2018106915	Jun 2018	WO
2019050752	Mar 2019	WO

Non-Patent Literature Citations (586)

Entry
“24 Volt D.C. Flashing Light With Built-in Antenna 433Mhz, DEA+Product Guide” Meteor electrical, meteorelectrical.com, Code: LUMY/24A, Jul. 28, 2010.
“An Improved Solid Dielectric Lens Impulse Radiating Antenna,” SBIR/STTR, DoD, sbir.gov, 2004.
“Boost: The world's first Wi-Fi extending led bulb,” Sengled, sengled.com, Dec. 2014 http://www.sengled.com/sites/default/files/field/product/downloads/manual/a01-a60_na_user_manual_20141223.pdf.
“Cband & L/Sband Telemetry Horn Antennas,” mWAVE, mwavellc.com, Jul. 6, 2012, http://www.mwavellc.com/custom-Band-LS--BandTelemetryHornAntennas.php.
“Dielectric Antenna,” Microwave Technologies, Ind., microwavetechnologiesinc.co.in http://www.microwavetechnologiesinc.co.in/microwavecommunicationlabproducts.html#dielectricantenna, May 21, 2015.
“Examples of Cell Antennas,” RF Check®, rfcheck.com, Feb. 1, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100201214318/http://www.rfcheck.com/Examplesof- Cell-Antennas.php.
“Flashing Light : IR.Lamp,” Beninca®, beninca.com, Feb. 23, 2015. http://www.beninca.com/en/news/2015/02/23/lampeggiante-irlamp.html.
“Horn Antennas,” Steatite QPar Antennas, steatiteqparantennas.co.uk, http://www.steatiteqparantennas.co.uk/products hornantennas.html? http://www.steatiteqparantennas.co.uk/consultancy/customhornantennas/, May 21, 2015.
“How is ELine Different?,” ELine Corridor Systems, corridor.biz http://www.corridor.biz/ELine_is_different.html, Apr. 23, 2015.
“Identity Management,” Tuomas Aura CSE-C3400 Information Security, Aalto University, Autumn 2014, 33 pgs.
“Integrated Radio Masts Fully camouflaged Outdoor-Wi-Fi APs in GRP-lamp poles,” Brown-iposs, brown-iposs.com, Mar. 21, 2014.
“New Wi-Fi antenna enhances wireless coverage,” ScienceDaily®, sciencedaily.com, May 29, 2015.
“Power Communication,” Communication Power Solutions, Inc., cpspower.biz, http://www.cpspower.biz/services/powercommunications/, Oct. 2013.
“Power Line Communications,” Atmel®, atmel.com http://www.atmel.com/products/smartenergy/powerlinecommunications/default.aspx, 2015.
“Power line communications: An overview Part I.” King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, KSA, 2008.
“Powerline Communication,” Cypress Perform, cypress.com http://www.cypress.com/?id=2330, Apr. 23, 2015.
“Products: GSM Mircro Repeater.” L-TEL: Quanzhou L-TEL Communication Equipment Co., Ltd., l-tel.com, Apr. 24, 2015.
“Waveguide-fed Conical Horn,” Antenna Magus, antennamagus.com, © 2015, accessed: Aug. 2015.
“Product Abstract—Program on Technology Innovation: Study on the Integration of High Temperature Superconducting DC Cables Within the Eastern and West urn North American Power Grids.” EPRI—Electronic Power Research Institute, epri.com, Product ID:10203, Nov. 25, 2009.
“A Dielectric Lens Antenna with Enhanced Aperture Efficiency for Industrial Radar Applications”, Computer Simulation Technology, cst.com, May 10, 2011.
“A New Approach to Outdoor DAS Network Physical Layer Using E-Line Technology”, Corridor Systems, Mar. 2011, 5 pages.
“About Firelight Media Group”, http://www. insu ra ncetechnolog ies.com/Products/Prod ucts_firelight_overview .s html, Firelight®. Insurance Technologies, LLC,, Apr. 19, 2015.
“Asahi Multi-Core Fiber Cable”, Industrial Fiber optics, i-fiberoptics.com http://i-fiberoptics.com/m u lti-core-fi ber-ca ble. ph p, Apr. 26, 2015.
“Bi-Axial PA Horn with Gimbal Mount”, Atlas Sound, MCM Electronics, mcmelectronics.com, MCM Part #555-13580, 2011.
“Broadband Negligible Loss Metamaterials”, Computer Electmagnetics and Antennas Research Laboratory, cearl.ee.psu.edu, May 15, 2012.
“Cisco IP VSAT Satellite WAN Network Module for Cisco Integrated Services Routers”, http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/interfaces-modules/ip-vsatsatellite-wan-module/product_data_sheet0900aecd804bbf6f.html, Jul. 23, 2014.
“Cloud Management”, Cisco Meraki, cisco.com, Sep. 11, 2015.
“Decryption: Identify & Control Encrypted Traffic”, Palo Alto Networks, paloaltonetworks.com, Mar. 7, 2011.
“Denso”, Winn & Coales (Denso) Ltd. UK, denso.net, http://www.denso.net/voidfiller/voidpump.htm, 2015, 1 page.
“Detecting and Preventing MAC Spoofing”, Detecting and Preventing MAC Spoofing \| Network Access Control Solutions, infoexpress, 2014.
“Electronic Business Fulfillment FireLight ®”, Firelight Media Group LLC, firelightmedia.net http://www .firelightmedia .net/fmg/index.php/home, Apr. 19, 2015, 2 pages.
“Elliptical Polarization”, “Elliptical Polarization” Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliptical_polarization>, Apr. 21, 2015, 3 pgs.
“Exacter Outage-Avoidance System”, http://www.epri.com/abstracts/Pages/ProductAbstract.aspx?ProductId=000000000001020393, Nov. 30, 2009.
“GM-12 Gimbal Mount”, Newmark System, Inc, newmarksystems.com, 2015.
“HiveManager Network Management System”, Aerohive® Networks, aerohive.com, accessed: Sep. 2015.
“Home”, Darktrace, darktrace.com, Jul. 10, 2014.
“How to Use STUF”, STUF Page Link Info, crossdevices.com, http://www.crossdevices.com/cross_devices_010.htm, 2015, 1 page.
“IEEE Standard for Information technology—Local and metropolitan area networks—Specific requirements”, Part 15.4: Wireless Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications for Low Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs), in IEEE Std 802.15.4, (Revision of IEEE Std 802.15.4-2003), Sep. 7, 2006, 1-320.
“Installing Satellite Accessories”, ACE®, acehardware.com, Aug. 5, 2006.
“Ipitek All-Optical Sensors”, http://www.ipitek.com/solutions-by-industry/all-optical-sensors; Jun. 2, 2014.
“mmWave Axial Choke Horn Antenna with Lens”, Feko, Sep. 24, 2013.
“Network technology”, nbnTM, nbnco.com.au, Jun. 27, 2014.
“Norse Appliance™: Block attacks before they target your network, and dramatically improve the ROI on your entire security infrastructure”, norsecorp.com, 2015.
“Out-of-Band Mgmt”, Cradle Point, cradlepoint.com, accessed: Sep. 2015.
“Out-of-Band Security Solution”, Gigamon®, gigamon.com, Aug. 3, 2014.
“Powerline—Juice Up Your Network With Powerline”, Netgear®, netgear.com http://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/powerline/, Apr. 21, 2015, 3 pages.
“Pro 600 SIRIUS XM Radio Amplified Outdoor Antenna”, Pixel Technologies, Oct. 3, 2014.
“Product Overview: Introducing SilentDefense”, Security Matters, secmatters.com, Nov. 9, 2013.
“Quickly identify malicious traffics: Detect”, Lancope®, lancope.com, Mar. 15, 2015.
“Radar at st Andrews”, mmwaves.epr, st-andrews.ac.uk, Feb. 4, 2011.
“Resilience to Smart Meter Disconnect Attacks”, ADSC Illinois at Singapore PTE, LTD., publish.illinois.edu http://publish.illinois.edu/integrativesecurityassessment/resiliencetosmartmeterdisconnectattacks/, 2015.
“RF Sensor Node Development Platform for 6LoWPAN and 2.4 GHz Applications”, http://www.ti.com/tool/TIDM-RF-SENSORNODE, Jun. 2, 2014.
“Smart Out-Of-Band Management”, Open Gear, opengear.com, accessed: Sep. 2015.
“Tapered waveguide”, Lumerical Solutions, Inc., docs.lumerical.com, 2010.
“Tapered Waveguides Improve Fiber Light Coupling Efficiency”, Tech Briefs, techbriefs.com, Jan. 1, 2006, Molex Inc., Downers Grove, Illinois and KiloLambda Technologies Ltd., Tel Aviv, Israel.
“Wireless powerline sensor”, wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_powerline_sensor, 2014, 3 pages.
Akiba, Shigeyuki et al., “Photonic Architecture for Beam Forming of RF Phased Array Antenna”, Optical Fiber Communication Conference. Optical Society of America, 2014.
Alam, M N et al., “Novel surface wave exciters for power line fault detection and communications”, Antennas and Propagation (APSURSI), 2011 IEEE International Symposium on, IEEE, Jul. 3, 2011 (Jul. 3, 2011). pp. 1139-1142.
Alam, M.N. et al., “Novel surface wave exciters for power line fault detection and communications.” Antennas and Propagation (APSURSI), 2011 IEEE International Symposium on. IEEE, 2011.
Alam, Md N. et al., “Design and Application of Surface Wave Sensors for nonintrusive Power Line Fault Detection,” IEEE Sensors Journal, IEEE Service Center, New York, NY, US, vol. 13, No. 1, Jan. 1, 2013, pp. 339-347.
Ali, Muhammad Q. et al., “Randomizing AMI configuration for proactive defense in smart grid”, Smart Grid Communications (SmartGridComm), 2013 IEEE International Conference on. IEEE, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6688027, 2013.
Angove, Alex , “Direct Bury Duct Assemblies, MPB 302 3+—Ribbonet Microducts”, Ericsson, archive.ericsson.net, Jul. 30, 2014.
Angove, Alex , “How the NBN Differs from ADSL2+, Cable and Wireless”, Whistle Out, whistleout.com.au, Jul. 30, 2014.
Arage, Alebel et al., “Measurement of wet antenna effects on millimetre wave propagation”, Radar, 2006 IEEE Conference on IEEE, 2006.
Arthur, Joseph Kweku , “Improving QoS in UMTS Network in Accra Business District Using Tower-Less Towers”, IPASJ International Journal of Electrical Engineering (IIJEE), vol. 2, Issue 11, Nov. 2014.
Asadallahi, Sina et al., “Performance comparison of CSMA/CA Advanced Infrared (Alr) and a new pointtomultipoint optical MAC protocol.” Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing Conference (IWCMC), 2012 8th International. IEEE, 2012.
Atwater, Harry A. , “The promise of plasmonics.” Scientific American 296.4 (2007): 56-62.
Bach, Christian , “Current Sensor—Power Line Monitoring for Energy Demand Control”, Application Note 308, http://www.enocean.com/fileadmin/redaktion/pdf/app_notes/AN308_CURRENT_SENSOR_Jan09.pdf, Jan. 2009, 4 pages.
Barron, Ashleigh L. , “Integrated Multicore Fibre Devices for Optical Trapping”, Diss. Heriot-Watt University, 2014, 11-15.
Beal, J.C. et al., “Coaxial-slot surface-wave launcher”, Electronics Letters 4.25 (1968): 557559.
Bhushan, Naga , “Network densification: the dominant theme for wireless evolution into 5G”, Communications Magazine, IEEE 52.2 (2014): 82-89.
Bing, Benny , “Ubiquitous Broadband Access Networks with Peer-to-Peer Application Support”, Evolving the Access Network, 2006, 27-36.
Bock, James et al., “Optical coupling.” Journal of Physics: Conference Series. vol. 155. No. 1. IOP Publishing, 2009.
Bowen, Leland H. et al., “A Solid Dielectric Lens Impulse Radiating Antenna with High Dielectric Constant Surrounded by a Cylindrical Shroud,” Sensor and Simulation Note 498, Apr. 2005.
Bridges, Greg E. et al., “Plane wave coupling to multiple conductor transmission lines above a lossy earth”, Compatibility, IEEE Transactions on 31.1, 1989, 21-33.
Brooke, Gary H. , Properties of surface waveguides with discontinuities and perturbations in cross-section. Diss. University of British Columbia, 1977.
Brown, J. et al., “The launching of radial cylindrical surface waves by a circumferential slot”, Proceedings of the IEE Part B: Radio and Electronic Engineering 106.26 (1959): 123128.
Bruno, Joseph , “Interference Reduction in Wireless Networks”, Computing Research Topics, Computing Sciences Department, Villanova University, Nov. 14, 2007, 8 pages.
Burkhart, Martin et al., “Does Topology Control Reduce Interference?”, Department of Computer Science, ETH Zurich, Proceedings of the 5th ACM international symposium on Mobile ad hoc networking and computing, ACM, 2004, 11 pages.
Callis, et al., “An In-Line Power Monitor for HE11 Low Loss Transmission Lines”, Proceedings of the 29th International Conference on Infrared and Millimeter Waves (IRMMW), Karlsruhe, Germany, 2004.
Carroll, John M. et al., “Developing the Blacksburg electronic village”, Communications of the ACM 39.12 (1996): 69-74.
Chen, Dong et al., “A trust management model based on fuzzy reputation for internet of things”, Computer Science and Information Systems 8.4 (2011): 12071228.
Chen, Yingying , “Detecting and Localizing Wireless Spoofing Attacks”, Sensor, Mesh and Ad Hoc Communications and Networks, 2007, SECON'07. 4th Annual IEEE Communications Society Conference on IEEE, 2007, 10 pages.
Chiba, Jiro , “Experimental Studies of the Losses and Radiations Due to Bends in the Goubau Line”, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Feb. 1977, 94-100.
Chiba, Jiro , “On the Equivalent Circuit for the G-Line Above Ground”, International Wroclaw Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, 1998, 78-82.
Cimini, Carlos Alberto et al., “Temperature profile of progressive damaged overhead electrical conductors”, Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems 49 (2013): 280-286.
Costantine, Joseph et al., “The analysis of a reconfigurable antenna with a rotating feed using graph models”, Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters 8 (2009): 943-946.
Covington, Michael J. et al., “Threat implications of the internet of things”, Cyber Conflict (CyCon), 2013 5th International Conference on. IEEE, 2013.
Crane, Robert K. , “Analysis of the effects of water on the ACTS propagation terminal antenna”, Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Transactions on 50.7 (2002): 954965.
De Sabata, Aldo et al., “Universitatea” Politehnica, din Timişoara Facultatea de Electronic{hacek over (a)} şi Telecomunicaţii, 2012.
Dini, Gianluca et al., “MADAM: A Multilevel Anomaly Detector for Android Malware”, MMMACNS. vol. 12, 2012.
Doane, J.L. et al., “Oversized rectangular waveguides with modefree bends and twists for broadband applications”, Microwave Journal 32(3), 1989, 153-160.
Doelitzscher, et al., “ViteraaS: Virtual cluster as a service.” Cloud Computing Technology and Science (CloudCom), 2011 IEEE Third International Conference on. IEEE, 2011.
Dooley, Kevin , “Out-of-Band Management”, auvik, auvik.com, May 12, 2014.
Dostert, Klaus , “Frequency-hopping spread-spectrum modulation for digital communications over electrical power lines.” Selected Areas in Communications, IEEE Journal on 8.4 (1990): 700-710.
Dragoo, R.E. et al., “Fiber Optic Data Bus for the AN/GYQ21(V).” Harris Corp, U.S. Communications Syst. Div. Chart, Microcopy Resolution Test, 1980.
Dutton, Harry Jr. , “Understanding Optical Communications”, International Technical Support Organization, SG24-5230-00, Sep. 1998.
Ehyaie, Danial , “Novel Approaches to the Design of Phased Array Antennas,” Diss. The University of Michigan, 2011.
Elmore, Glenn , “Introduction to the Propagating Wave on a Single Conductor”, www.corridor.biz, Jul. 27, 2009, 30 pages.
Erickson, Katherine , “Conductive cylindrical surface waveguides.” (2012). https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/30914 /Erickson_Katherine.pdf?sequence=1.
Erickson, Katherine , “Conductive cylindrical surface waveguides”, 2012.
Eskelinen, Harri , “DFM (A)—aspects for a horn antenna design,” Lappeenranta University of Technology, 2004.
Eskelinen, P. , “A low-cost microwave rotary joint,” International Radar Conference, Oct. 13-17, 2014, p. 1-4.
Feng, Taiming et al., “Design of a survivable hybrid wireless-optical broadband-access network”, Journal of Optical Communications and Networking 3.5, 2011, 458-464.
Fenye, Bao et al., “Dynamic trust management for internet of things applications”, Proceedings of the 2012 international workshop on Selfaware internet of things. ACM, 2012.
Freyer, Dan , “Combating the Challenges of Ka-Band Signal Degradation”, SatMagazine, satmagzine.com, Sep. 2014.
Friedman, M. et al., “Low-Loss RF Transport Over Long Distances”, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory an Techniques, vol. 49, No. 2, Feb. 2001, 341-348.
Fromm, W. et al., “A new microwave rotary joint,” 1958 IRE International Convention Record, Mar. 21-25, 1966, 6:78-82.
Garcia-Etxarri, Aitzol et al., “A combination of concave/convex surfaces for fieldenhancement optimization: the indented nanocone”, Optics express 20.23, 2012, 2520125212.
Ghazisaidi, Navid et al., “Survivability analysis of next-generation passive optical networks and fiber-wireless access networks”, Reliability, IEEE Transactions on 60.2, 2011, 479-492.
Golrezaei, Negin et al., “FemtoCaching: Wireless Video Content Delivery through Distributed Caching Helpers”, INFOCOM, 2012 Proceedings IEEE.
Gomes, Nathan J. et al., “Radio-over-fiber transport for the support of wireless broadband services”, Journal of Optical Networking 8.2 (2009): 156-178.
Gonthier, François et al., “Mode coupling in nonuniform fibers: comparison between coupled-mode theory and finite-difference beam-propagation method simulations”, JOSA B 8.2 (1991): 416421.
Gritzalis, Dimitris et al., “The Sphinx enigma in critical VoIP infrastructures: Human or botnet?.” Information, Intelligence, Systems and Applications (IISA), 2013 Fourth International Conference, IEEE, 2013.
Han, Chong et al., “Crosslayer communication module for the Internet of Things”, Computer Networks 57.3 (2013): 622633.
Haroun, Ibrahim et al., “WLANs meet fiber optics-Evaluating 802.11 a WLANs over fiber optics links”, RF Des. Mag (2003): 36-39.
Hassan, Karim , “Fabrication and characterization of thermo-plasmonic routers for telecom applications”, Diss. Univ. de Bourgogne, 2014.
Hassan, Maaly A. , “Interference reduction in mobile ad hoc and sensor networks”, Journal of Engineering and Computer Innovations vol. 2(7), Sep. 2011, 138-154.
Hassani, Alireza et al., “Porous polymer fibers for low-loss Terahertz guiding.” Optics express 16.9 (2008): 6340-6351.
Hautakorpi, Jani et al., “Requirements from Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Session Border Control (SBC) Deployments.” RFC5853, IETF (2010).
Hawrylyshen, A. et al., “SIPPING Working Group J. Hautakorpi, Ed. Internet-Draft G. Camarillo Intended status: Informational Ericsson Expires: Dec. 18, 2008 R. Penfield Acme Packet.” (2008).
Hoss, R.J. et al., “Manufacturing Methods and Technology Program for Ruggedized Tactical Fiber Optic Cable”, No. ITT-80-03-078. ITT Electrooptical Products Div Roanoke VA, 1980.
Ippolito, Louis J. , “Propagation effects handbook for satellite systems design. A summary of propagation impairments on 10 to 100 GHz satellite links with techniques for system design”, 1989.
Izumiyama, Hidetaka et al., “Multicast over satellite”, Applications and the Internet, 2002.(SAINT 2002). Proceedings. 2002 Symposium on. IEEE, 2002.
Jackson, Mark , “Timico CTO Hit by Slow FTTC Broadband Speeds After Copper Corrosion”, ISP review, ispreview.co.uk, Mar. 5, 2013.
Jaeger, Raymond et al., “Radiation Performance of Germanium Phosphosilicate Optical Fibers.” RADC-TR-81-69: Final Technical Report, Galileo Electro-Optical Corp, (May 1981).
James, J.R. et al., “Investigations and Comparisons of New Types of Millimetre-Wave Planar Arrays Using Microstrip and Dielectric Structures”, Royal Military Coll of Science Shrivenham (England), 1985.
Jang, Hung-Chin , “Applications of Geometric Algorithms to Reduce Interference in Wireless Mesh Network”, Journal on Applications of Graph Theory in Wireless Ad hoc Networks and Sensor Networks (JGRAPH-HOC) vol. 2, No. 1, Mar. 2010.
Jawhar, Imad et al., “A hierarchical and topological classification of linear sensor networks”, Wireless Telecommunications Symposium, WTS, IEEE, http://faculty.uaeu.ac.ae/Nader_M/papers/VVTS2009.pdf, 2009, 8 pages.
Jee, George et al., “Demonstration of the Technical Viability of PLC Systems on Medium- and Low-Voltage Lines in the United States”, Broadband is Power: Internet Access Via Power Line Networks, IEEE Communication Magazine, May 2003, 5 pages.
Jeong, et al., “Study of elliptical polarization requirement of KSTAR 84-GHz ECH system”, Journal—Korean Physical Society 49, 2006.
Jin, , “Quasi-optical mode converter for a coaxial cavity gyrotron”, Forschungszentrum, 2007.
Jin, Yu et al., “Nevermind, the Problem is Already Fixed: Proactively Detecting and Troubleshooting Customer DSL Problems”, ACM CoNEXT, Philadelphia, USA, Nov.-Dec. 2010, 12 pages.
Kamilaris, et al., “Exploring the Use of DNS as a Search Engine for the Web of Things.” Internet of Things (WF-IoT), 2014 IEEE World Forum on. IEEE, 2014.
Kang, , “Chapter 6: Array Antennas,” IHS Engineering360, globalspec.com, http://www.globalspec.com/reference/75109/203279/chapter-6-array-antennas, Apr. 22, 2015.
Katkovnik, Vladimir et al., “High-resolution signal processing for a switch antenna array FMCW radar with a single channel receiver”, Sensor Array and Multichannel Signal Processing Workshop Proceedings, 2002. IEEE, 2002.
Khan, , “Dual polarized dielectric resonator antennas”, Chalmers University of Technology, 2010.
Kikuchi, H. et al., “Hybrid transmission mode of Goubau lines” ,J.Inst.Electr.Comm.Engrs., Japan,vol. 43, pp. 39-45, 1960.
Kirkham, H. et al., “Power system applications of fiber optics (Jet Propulsion Lab.” JPL Publication 84-28, Electric Energy Systems Division, U.S. DoE, p. 180, (1984).
Koshiba, Masanori et al., “Analytical expression of average power-coupling coefficients for estimating intercore crosstalk in multicore fibers”, Photonics Journal, IEEE 4.5, 2012, 1987-1995.
Kroon, Barnard et al., “Steady state RF fingerprinting for identity verification: one class classifier versus customized ensemble.” Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2010. 198206.
Kroyer, Thomas , “A Waveguide High Order Mode Reflectometer for the Large Hadron Collider Beam-pipe”, Diss. TU Wien, 2003.
Kuhn, Marc et al., “Power Line Enhanced Cooperative Wireless Communications”, IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. 24, No. 7, Jul. 2006, 10 pages.
Kumar, Sailesh , “Survey of Current Network Intrusion Detection Techniques”, Washington Univ. in St. Louis, Dec. 2007.
Lappgroupusa, “Selection of Number of Cable Cores With Emphasis on Sizing Parameters”, Industrial Cable & Connector Technology News, lappconnect.blogspot.com, http://lappconnect.blogspot.com/2014_10_01_archive.html, Oct. 30, 2014.
Leech, Jamie et al., “Experimental investigation of a low-cost, high performance focal-plane horn array.” Terahertz Science and Technology, IEEE Transactions on 2.1 (2012): 61-70.
Li, Xiang-Yang et al., “Interference-Aware Topology Control for Wireless Sensor Networks”, SECON. vol. 5, 2005.
Li, Xiaowei et al., “Integrated plasmonic semi-circular launcher for dielectric-loaded surface plasmonpolariton waveguide”, Optics express 19.7 (2011): 65416548.
Li, Xu et al., “Smart community: an internet of things application”, Communications Magazine, IEEE 49.11 (2011): 68-75.
Lier, E. et al., “Simple hybrid mode horn feed loaded with a dielectric cone,” Electronics Letters 21.13 (1985): 563564.
Lim, Christina et al., “Fiber-wireless networks and subsystem technologies”, Lightwave Technology, Journal of 28.4 (2010): 390-405.
Lou, Tiancheng , “Minimizing Average Interference through Topology Control”, Algorithms for Sensor Systems, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2012, 115-129.
Lucyszyn, S. et al., “Novel RF MEMS Switches”, Microwave Conference, 2007. APMC 2007. Asia-Pacific. IEEE, 2007.
Lucyszyn, Stepan et al., “RF MEMS for antenna applications”, Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP), 2013 7th European Conference on. IEEE, 2013.
Luo, Qi et al., “Circularly polarized antennas”, John Wiley & Sons, 2013.
Mahato, Suvranshu Sekhar , Studies on an Infrared Sensor Based Wireless Mesh Network. Diss. 2010.
Maier, Martin et al., “The audacity of fiberwireless (FiWi) networks”, AccessNets. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2009. 16-35.
Marcatili, E.A. et al., “Hollow Metallic and Dielectric Waveguides for Long Distance Optical Transmission and Lasers”, Bell System Technical Journal 43(4), 1964, 1783-1809.
McAllister, M.W. et al., “Resonant hemispherical dielectric antenna,” Electronics Letters 20.16 (1984): 657659.
Meng, H. et al., “A transmission line model for high-frequency power line communication channel”, Power System Technology, PowerCon 2002. International Conference on. vol. 2. IEEE, 2002. http:/ /infocom. uniroma 1.it/ “”enzobac/MengChen02. pdf, 2002.
Menon, S.S. et al., “Propagation characteristics of guided modes in a solid dielectric pyramidal horn,” Proceedings of the 2012 International Conference on Communication Systems and Network Technologies. IEEE Computer Society, 2012.
Mitchell, John E. , “Integrated Wireless Backhaul Over Optical Access Networks”, Journal of Lightwave Technology 32.20, 2014, 3373-3382.
Miyagi, M. , “Bending losses in hollow and dielectric tube leaky waveguides”, Applied Optics 20(7), 1981, 1221-1229.
Moaveni-Nejad, Kousha et al., “Low-Interference Topology Control for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks”, Department of Computer Science, Illinois Institute of Technology, Ad Hoc & Sensor Wireless Networks 1.1-2, 2005, 41-64.
Moisan, M. et al., “Plasma sources based on the propagation of electromagnetic surface waves”, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics 24.7 (1991): 1025.
Mokhtarian, Kianoosh et al., “Caching in Video CDNs: Building Strong Lines of Defense”, EuroSys 2014, Apr. 13-16, 2014, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Morse, T.F. , “Research Support for the Laboratory for Lightwave Technology.” Brown Univ Providence RI Div of Engineering, 1992.
Mruk, Joseph Rene , “Wideband monolithically integrated frontend subsystems and components”, Diss. University of Colorado, 2011.
Nachiketh, P. et al., “Optimizing public-key encryption for wireless clients”, Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2002). No. 1. 2002.
Narayanan, Arvind , “Fingerprinting of RFID Tags and HighTech Stalking.” 33 Bits of Entropy, 33bits.org, Oct. 4, 2011.
Nassa, Vinay Kumar , “Wireless Communications: Past, Present and Future”, Dronacharya Research Journal: 50. vol. III, Issue-II, Jul.-Dec. 2011.
Nibarger, John P. , “An 84 pixel all-silicon corrugated feedhorn for CMB measurements.” Journal of Low Temperature Physics 167.3-4 (2012): 522-527.
Nicholson, Basil J. , “Microwave Rotary Joints for X-, C-, and S-band”, Battelle Memorial Inst Columbus OH, 1965.
Nuvotronics, , “PolyStrata—Phased Arrays & Antennas”, Nuvotronics, nuvotronics.comhttp://www.nuvotronics.com/antennas.php, Apr. 26, 2015.
Olver, A. D. , “Microwave horns and feeds,” vol. 39. IET, 1994.
Olver, A.D. et al., “Dielectric cone loaded horn antennas,” Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation, IEE Proceedings H. vol. 135. No. 3. IET, 1988.
Orfanidis, Sophocles J. , “Electromagnetic waves and antennas,” Rutgers University, 2002.
Pahlavan, Kaveh et al., “Wireless data communications”, Proceedings of the IEEE 82.9 (1994): 1398-1430.
Patel, Shwetak N. et al., “The Design and Evaluation of an End-User-Deployable, Whole House, Contactless Power Consumption Sensor”, CHI 2010: Domestic Life, Apr. 2010, 10 pages.
Paul, Sanjoy et al., “The Cache-and-Forward Network Architecture for Efficient Mobile Content Delivery Services in the Future Internet”, Innovations in NGN: Future Network and Services, 2008. K-INGN 2008. First ITU-T Kaleidoscope Academic Conference.
Perkons, Alfred R. et al., “TM surface-wave power combining by a planar active-lens amplifier”, Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on 46.6 (1998): 775783.
Péter, Zsolt et al., “Assessment of the current intensity for preventing ice accretion on overhead conductors”, Power Delivery, IEEE Transactions on 22.1 (2007): 565-574.
Petrovsky, Oleg , “The Internet of Things: A Security Overview”, w.druva.com, Mar. 31, 2015.
Pham, Tien-Thang et al., “A WDM-PON-compatible system for simultaneous distribution of gigabit baseband and wireless ultrawideband services with flexible bandwidth allocation”, Photonics Journal, IEEE 3.1, 2011, 13-19.
Piksa, Petr et al., “Elliptic and hyperbolic dielectric lens antennas in mmwaves”, Radioengineering 20.1, 2011, 271.
Plagemann, Thomas et al., “Infrastructures for community networks”, Content Delivery Networks. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2008. 367-388.
Pohl, , “A dielectric lens-based antenna concept for high-precision industrial radar measurements at 24GHz,” Radar Conference (EuRAD), 2012 9th European, IEEE, 2012.
Pranonsatit, S. et al., “Sectorised horn antenna array using an RF MEMS rotary switch”, Asia-Pacific Microwave Conf., APMC. 2010.
Pranonsatit, Suneat et al., “Single-pole eight-throw RF MEMS rotary switch”, Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of 15.6 (2006): 1735-1744.
Prashant, R.R. et al., “Detecting and Identifying the Location of Multiple Spoofing Adversaries in Wireless Network”, International Journal of Computer Science and Mobile Applications, vol. 2 Issue. 5, May 2014, 1-6.
Rahim, S. K. A. et al., “Measurement of wet antenna losses on 26 GHz terrestrial microwave link in Malaysia”, Wireless Personal Communications 64.2 (2012): 225231.
Rambabu, K. et al., “Compact single-channel rotary joint using ridged waveguide sections for phase adjustment,” IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques (Aug. 2003) 51(8):1982-1986.
Rappaport, Theodore S. et al., “Mobile's Millimeter-Wave Makeover”, Spectrum.IEEE.Org; Sep. 2014.
Raychaudhuri, Dipankar et al., “Emerging Wireless Technologies and the Future Mobile Internet”, Cambridge University Press, Mar. 2011.
“Wire and Cable”, Dimensions 2 (1996): 1.
Reynet, Olivier et al., “Effect of the magnetic properties of the inclusions on the high-frequency dielectric response of diluted composites.” Physical Review B66.9 (2002): 094412.
Rouse, Margaret , “Transport Layer Security (TLS)”, TechTarget, searchsecurity.techtarget.com, Jul. 2006.
Roze, Mathieu et al., “Suspended core subwavelength fibers: towards practical designs for low-loss terahertz guidance.” Optics express 19.10 (2011): 9127-9138.
Sagar, Nishant , “Powerline Communications Systems: Overview and Analysis”, Thesis, May 2011, 80 pages.
Sagues, Mikel et al., “Multi-tap complex-coefficient incoherent microwave photonic filters based on optical single-sideband modulation and narrow band optical filtering.” Optics express 16.1 (2008): 295-303.
Saied, Yosra Ben et al., “Trust management system design for the internet of things: a contextaware and multiservice approach”, Computers & Security 39 (2013): 351365.
Salema, Carlos et al., “Solid dielectric horn antennas,” Artech House Publishers, 1998, Amazon.
Salema, Carlos et al., “Solid dielectric horn antennas,” Artech House Publishers, 1998.
Sarafi, A. et al., “Hybrid wireless-broadband over power lines: A promising broadband solution in rural areas.” Communications Magazine, IEEE 47.11 (2009): 140-147.
Sarafi, Angeliki M. et al., “Hybrid Wireless-Broadband over Power Lines: A Promising Broadband Solution in Rural Areas”, IEEE Communications Magazine, Nov. 2009, 8 pages.
Sarnecki, Joseph et al., “Microcell design principles”, Communications Magazine, IEEE 31.4 (1993): 76-82.
Saruhan, Ibrahim Halil , “Detecting and Preventing Rogue Devices on the Network”, SANS Institute InfoSec Reading Room, sans.org, Aug. 8, 2007.
Scarfone, Karen et al., “Technical Guide to Information Security Testing and Assessment”, National Institute of Standards and Technology, csrc.nist.gov, Special Publication, Sep. 2008, 800-115.
Shafai, Lotfollah , “Dielectric Loaded Antennas”, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., http://www.researchgate.net/publication/227998803_Dielectric_Loaded_Antennas, Apr. 15, 2005.
Shafi, Mansoor et al., “Advances in Propagation Modeling for Wireless Systems”, EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking. Hindawi Publishing Corp, 2009, p. 5.
Shimabukuko, F.I. et al., “Attenuation measurement of very low-loss dielectric waveguides by the cavity resonator method in the millimeter/submillimeter wavelength range,” No. TR-0086A (2925-06)-1. Aerospace Corp El Segundo CA Electronics Research Lab, 1989.
Shindo, Shuichi et al., “Attenuation measurement of cylindrical dielectric-rod waveguide.” Electronics Letters 12.5 (1976): 117-118.
Shumate, Paul W. et al., “Evolution of fiber in the residential loop plant.” IEEE Communications Magazine 29.3 (1991): 68-74.
Sievenpiper, D.F. et al., “Two-dimensional beam steering using an electrically tunable impedance surface,” in Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Transactions on , vol. 51, No. 10, pp. 2713-2722, Oct. 2003.
Sommerfeld, A. , “On the propagation of electrodynamic waves along a wire”, Annals of Physics and Chemistry New Edition, vol. 67, No. 2, 1899, 72 pages.
Strahler, Olivier , “Network Based VPNs”, SANS Institute InfoSec Reading Room, sans.org, Aug. 2002.
Strieby, M.E. et al., “Television transmission over wire lines.” American Institute of Electrical Engineers, Transactions of the 60.12 (1941): 1090-1096.
Szabó, Csaba A. , “European Broadband Initiatives with Public Participation”, Broadband Services (2005): 255.
Taboada, John M. et al., “Thermo-optically tuned cascaded polymer waveguide taps.” Applied physics letters 75.2 (1999): 163-165.
Templeton, Steven J. et al., “Detecting Spoofed Packets”, DARPA Information Survivability Conference and Exposition, vol. 1, IEEE, 2003.
Theoleyr, Fabrice , “Internet of Things and M2M Communications”, books.google.com, ISBN13: 9788792982483, Apr. 17, 2013.
Thornton, John et al., “Modern lens antennas for communications engineering”, vol. 39, 2013.
Valladares, Cindy , “20 Critical Security Controls: Control 7—Wireless Device Control”, Tripwire—The State of Security, tripwire.com, Mar. 21, 2013.
Vogelgesang, Ralf et al., “Plasmonic nanostructures in aperture-less scanning near-field optical microscopy (aSNOM)”, physica status solidi (b) 245.10 (2008): 22552260.
Volat, C. et al., “De-icing/anti-icing techniques for power lines: current methods and future direction”, Proceedings of the 11th International Workshop on Atmospheric Icing of Structures, Montreal, Canada. 2005.
Wagter, Herman , “Fiber-to-the-X: the economics of last-mile fiber”, ARS Technica, arstechnica.com,, Mar. 31, 2010.
Wake, David et al., “Radio over fiber link design for next generation wireless systems”, Lightwave Technology, Journal of28.16 (2010): 2456-2464.
Wang, Jing et al., “The influence of optical fiber bundle parameters on the transmission of laser speckle patterns”, Optics express 22.8, 2014, 8908-8918.
Wilkins, George A. , “Fiber Optic Telemetry in Ocean Cable Systems”, Chapter in new edition of Handbook of Oceanographic Winch, Wire and Cable Technology, Alan H. Driscoll, Ed.,(to be published by University of Rhode Island) (1986).
Wolff, Christian , “Phased Array Antenna” Radar Tutorial, web.archive.org, radartutorial.eu, Oct. 21, 2014.
Wu, Xidong et al., “Design and characterization of singleand multiplebeam mmwave circularly polarized substrate lens antennas for wireless communications”, Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on 49.3, 2001, 431-441.
Xi, Liu Xiao , “Security services in SoftLayer”, Sep. 21, 2015.
Xia, Cen et al., “Supermodes for optical transmission”, Optics express 19.17, 2011, 16653-16664.
Yang, , “Power Line Sensor Networks for Enhancing Power Line Reliability and Utilization”, Georgia Institute of Technology, https://smartech.gatech.edu/bitstream/handle/1853/41087/Yang_Yi_201108_phd.pdf, Apr. 26, 2011, 264 pages.
Yang, et al., “Power line sensornet—a new concept for power grid monitoring”, IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meeting, 2006, pp. 8.
Yeh, C. et al., “Ceramic Waveguides.” Interplanetary Network Progress Report141.26 (2000): 1.
Yu, Shui et al., “Predicted packet padding for anonymous web browsing against traffic analysis attacks”, Information Forensics and Security, IEEE Transactions on 7.4, http://nsp.org.au/syu/papers/tifs12.pdf, 2012, 1381-1393.
Zelby, Leon W. , “Propagation Modes on a Dielectric Coated Wire”, J. The Franklin Institute, vol. 274(2), pp. 85-97, Aug. 1962.
Zhao, et al., “Energy harvesting for a wireless-monitoring system of overhead high-voltage power lines”, IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution 7, IEEE Xplore Abstract, 2013, 2 pages.
Zheng, Zhu et al., “Efficient coupling of propagating broadband terahertz radial beams to metal wires”, Optics express 21.9 (2013): 1064210650.
Zucker, , “Surface-wave antennas”, Antenna engineering handbook 4, 2007.
International Search Report and Written Opinion in PCT/US2016/028417, dated Jul. 5, 2016 13 pages, Authorized officer Brigitte Bettiol.
PCT/US16/027397 International Search Report & Written Opinion dated Jun. 24, 2016.
PCT/US16/027398 International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Jun. 24, 2016.
PCT/US16/027403 International Search Report & Written Opinion dated Jun. 22, 2016.
PCT/US16/028395 International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Jun. 29, 2016.
PCT/US16/032441 International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Jul. 29, 2016.
“International Preliminary Report on Patentability”, PCT/US2014/039746, dated Dec. 10, 2015.
“International Preliminary Report on Patentability”, PCT/US2014/060841, dated May 19, 2016 8 pages.
“International Preliminary Report on Patentability & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2014/061445, dated Jun. 23, 2016 9 pages.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/034827, dated Sep. 30, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/056316 dated Jan. 21, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/056320, dated Jan. 29, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/056365, dated Jan. 22, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/056368, dated Jan. 25, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/056598, dated Jan. 28, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/056615 dated Jan. 21, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/056626, dated Jan. 21, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/056632, dated Jan. 26, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/013988, dated Apr. 8, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/020001, dated May 23, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/026860, dated Jun. 1, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/026318, dated Jun. 15, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/028412, dated Jun. 27, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/028206, dated Jun. 29, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US16/033182, dated Jul. 12, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2014/039746, dated Jan. 12, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2014/060841, dated Jan. 7, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/039848, dated Oct. 20, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/047315 dated Oct. 30, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/048454, dated Nov. 11, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/049928, dated Nov. 16, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/049932, dated Nov. 16, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/049927, dated Nov. 24, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/051193, dated Nov. 27, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/051146, dated Dec. 15, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/051183, dated Dec. 15, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/051194, dated Dec. 15, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/051578, dated Dec. 17, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/051583, dated Dec. 21, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/048458, dated Dec. 23, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/051213, dated Dec. 4, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/051163, dated Dec. 7, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2014/061445, dated Feb. 10, 2015.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US16/28207, dated Jun. 15, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/015501, dated Apr. 29, 2016 11 pages.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2015/047225, dated Nov. 6, 2015 Nov. 6, 2015.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/028197, dated Jun. 24, 2016.
, “Invitation to Pay Additional Fees & Partial Search Report”, PCT/US2016/028205, dated Jun. 22, 2016.
, “Invitation to Pay Additional Fees & Partial Search Report”, PCT/US2016/032430, dated Jun. 22, 2016.
, “PCT International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/026193, dated Jun. 1, 2016.
“Transducer”, IEEE Std 100-2000, Sep. 21, 2015 1154.
Feng, Wei et al., Downlink power allocation for distributed antenna systems in a multi-cell environment. 2009 5th International Conference on Wireless Communications, Networking and Mobile Computing. IEEE, 2009.
Ford, Steven , AT&T's new antenna system will boost cellular coverage at Walt Disney World. Orlando Sentinel, orlandosentinel.com, Mar. 9, 2014.
Friedman, M et al., “Low-loss RF transport over long distances,” IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Jan. 1, 2001, pp. 341-348.
Friedman, M et al., “Low-Loss RF Transport Over Long Distances”, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. 49, No. 2, Feb. 2001, 8 pages.
Goldsmith, P.F. , “Quasi-optical techniques”, Proceedings of the IEEE., vol. 80, No. 11, Nov. 1, 1992.
Haider, Muhammad Kumail et al., Mobility resilience and overhead constrained adaptation in directional 60 GHz WLANs: protocol design and system implementation. Proceedings of the 17th ACM International Symposium on Mobile Ad Hoc Networking and Computing. ACM, 2016., 2016.
Laforte, J.L. et al., “State-of-the-art on power line de-icing”, Atmospheric Research 46, 143-158, 1998.
Li, Xi et al., A FCM-Based peer grouping scheme for node failure recovery in wireless P2P file sharing. 2009 IEEE International Conference on Communications. IEEE, 2009.
Ponchak, George E. et al., “A New Model for Broadband Waveguide to Microstrip Transition Design”, NASA TM-88905, Dec. 1, 1986, 18 pgs.
Int'l Preliminary Report on Patentability for PCT/US15/034827 dated Mar. 9, 2017.
“AirCheck G2 Wireless Tester”, NetScout®, enterprise.netscout.com, Dec. 6, 2016 10 pages.
“Brackets, Conduit Standoff”, Hubbell Power Systems, Inc., hubbellpowersystems.com, Dec. 2, 2010, 2 pages.
“Broadband Over Power Lines (BPL): Developments and Policy Issues”, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy, Jun. 2, 2009, 35 pages.
“Broadband: Bringing Home the Bits: Chapter 4 Technology Options and Economic Factors”, The National Academies Press, nap.edu, 2002, 61 pages.
“Cisco Aironet 1500 Series Access Point Large Pole Mounting Kit Instructions”, www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/antenna/installation/guide/18098.html, 2008, 9 pages.
“Delivering broadband over existing wiring”, Cabling Installation & Maintenance, cablinginstall.com, May 1, 2002, 6 pages.
“Directional Couplers—Coaxial and Waveguide”, Connecticut Microwave Corporation, http://connecticutmicrowave.com, Accessed Aug. 2016 21 pages.
“Doubly-fed Cage-cone Combined Broadband Antennas for Marine Applications”, http://www.edatop.com/down/paper/antenna/%E5%A4%A9%E7%BA%BF%E8%AE%BE%E8%AE%A1-890w5nebp5ilpq.pdf, 2007, 7 pages.
“Dual Band Switched-Parasitic Wire Antennas for Communications and Direction Finding”, www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Thiel2/publication/3898574_Dual_band_switched-parasitic_wire_antennas_for_communications_and_direction_finding/links/0fcfd5091b4273ce54000000.pdf, 2000, 5 pages.
“Electronic Countermeasure (ECM) Antennas”, vol. 8, No. 2, Apr. 2000, 2 pages.
“Harvest energy from powerline”, www.physicsforums.com/threads/harvest-energy-from-powerline.685148/, Discussion thread about harvesting power from powerlines that includes the suggestion of clamping a device to the power line., 2013, 8 pages.
“International Preliminary Report on Patentability”, PCT/US16/20001, dated Feb. 17, 2017, 1-14.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/035384, dated Oct. 31, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036290, dated Aug. 11, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036551, dated Aug. 11, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036798, dated Aug. 11, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/028205, dated Aug. 16, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/032460, dated Aug. 17, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036303, dated Aug. 24, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036288, dated Sep. 1, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/2016/035383, dated Sep. 2, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US16/036284, dated Sep. 8, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036286, dated Sep. 13, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036293, dated Sep. 15, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/040992, dated Oct. 17, 2006.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US16/050488, dated Nov. 11, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US16/50345, dated Nov. 15, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/050346, dated Nov. 17, 2016.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/050860, dated Nov. 17, 2016 11 pages.
“International Search Report & Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/050344, dated Nov. 25, 2016 16 pages.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US16/032441, dated Jul. 29, 2016.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036285, dated Aug. 23, 2016.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US16/036388, dated Aug. 30, 2016.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036297, dated Sep. 5, 2016.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036292, dated Sep. 13, 2016.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/046315, dated Nov. 3, 2016.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/050039, dated Nov. 14, 2016.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/050347, dated Nov. 15, 2016.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/051217, dated Nov. 29, 2016.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036289, dated Aug. 11, 2016.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036295, dated Aug. 30, 2016.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/030964, dated Aug. 4, 2016.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2016/036553, dated Aug. 30, 2016 1-14.
“International Search Report and Written opinion”, PCT/US2016/036556, dated Sep. 22, 2016.
“International Searching Authority”, International Search Report and Written Opinion, dated Sep. 28, 2016 1-12.
“Invitation to Pay Additional Fees and, Where Applicable, Protest Fee”, PCT/US2016/035384, dated Aug. 31, 2016 7 pages.
“Micromem Demonstrates UAV Installation of Power Line Monitoring Mounting System”, MicroMem, micromem.com, Mar. 4, 2015, 1-3.
“Newsletter 4.4—Antenna Magus version 4.4 released!”, antennamagus.com, Aug. 10, 2013, 8 pages.
“PCT International Search Report”, PCT/US2016/057161, PCT International Search Report and Written Opinion, dated Jan. 12, 2017, 1-13, dated Jan. 12, 2017, 1-13.
“PCT/US2016/041561, PCT International Search Report and Written Opinion”, dated Oct. 10, 2016 1-15.
“PCT/US2016/046323, PCT International Search Report”, dated Oct. 24, 2016 1-13.
“Technology Brief 13: Touchscreens and Active Digitizers”, https://web.archive.org/web/20100701004625/http://web.engr.oregonstate.edu/˜moon/engr203/read/read4.pdf, 2010, 289-311.
“The world's first achievement of microwave electric-field measurement utilizing an optical electric-field sensor mounted on an optical fiber, within a microwave discharge ion engine boarded on asteroid explorers etc.”, Investigation of internal phenomena and performance improvement in microwave discharge ion engines, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Aug. 7, 2013, 4 pages.
Adabo, Geraldo J. , “Long Range Unmanned Aircraft System for Power Line Inspection of Brazilian Electrical System”, Journal of Energy and Power Engineering 8 (2014), Feb. 28, 2014, 394-398.
Al-Ali, A.R. et al., “Mobile RFID Tracking System”, Information and Communication Technologies: From Theory to Applications, ICTTA 2008, 3rd International Conference on IEEE, 2008, 4 pages.
Alam, M. N. et al., “Novel Surface Wave Exciters for Power Line Fault Detection and Communications”, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Antennas and Propagation (APSURSI), 2011 IEEE International Symposium, IEEE, 2011, 1-4.
Alaridhee, T. et al., “Transmission properties of slanted annular aperture arrays. Giant energy deviation over sub-wavelength distance”, Optics express 23.9, 2015, 11687-11701.
Ali, Tariq et al., “Diagonal and Vertical Routing Protocol for Underwater Wireless Sensor Network”, Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 129, 2014, 372-379.
Allen, Jeffrey et al., “New Concepts in Electromagnetic Materials and Antennas”, Air Force Research Laboratory, Jan. 2015, 80 pages.
Amirshahi, P. et al., “Transmission channel model and capacity of overhead multiconductor mediumvoltage powerlines for broadband communications”, Consumer Communications and Networking Conference, 2005, 5 pages.
Amt, John H. et al., “Flight Testing of a Pseudolite Navigation System on a UAV”, Air Force Institute of Technology: ION Conference, Jan. 2007, 9 pages.
Antennamagus, “Parabolic focus pattern fed reflector with shroud”, antennamagus.com, Jul. 4, 2014, 2 pages.
Ares-Pena, Francisco J. et al., “A simple alternative for beam reconfiguration of array antennas”, Progress in Electromagnetics Research 88, 2008, 227-240.
Ascom, “TEMS Pocket—a Complete Measurement Smartphone System in your Hand”, http://www.ascom.us/us-en/tems_pocket_14.0_feature_specific_datasheet.pdf, 2014, 2 pages.
A-Tech Fabrication, “Dual Antenna Boom Assembly”, http://web.archive.org/web/20090126192215/http://atechfabrication.com/products/dual_antenna_boom.htm, 2009, 2 pages.
Baanto, “Surface Acoustive Wave (SAW) Touch Screen”, http://baanto.com/surface-acoustic-wave-saw-touch-screen, 2016 4 pages.
Babakhani, Aydin , “Direct antenna modulation (DAM) for on-chip mm-wave transceivers”, Diss. California Institute of Technology, 2008, 2 pages.
Barlow, H. M. et al., “Surface Waves”, 621.396.11 : 538.566, Paper No. 1482 Radio Section, 1953, pp. 329-341.
Barnes, Heidi et al., “DeMystifying the 28 Gb/s PCB Channel: Design to Measurement”, Design Con. 2014, Feb. 28, 2014, 54 pages.
Benevent, Evangéline , “Transmission lines in MMIC technology”, University Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Jan. 28, 2010, 63 pages.
Benkhelifa, Elhadj , “User Profiling for Energy Optimisation in Mobile Cloud Computing”, 2015, 1159-1165.
Berweger, Samuel et al., “Light on the Tip of a Needle: Plasmonic Nanofocusing for Spectroscopy on the Nanoscale”, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters; pubs.acs.org/JPCL, 2012, 945-952.
Blanco-Redondo, Andrea et al., “Coupling midinfrared light from a photonic crystal waveguide to metallic transmission lines”, Applied Physics Letters 104.1, 2014, 6 pages.
Blattenberger, Kirt , “DroneBased Field Measurement System (dBFMS)”, RF Cafe, rfcafe.com, Jul. 29, 2014, 3 pages.
Brambilla, Gilberto et al., “Ultra-low-loss optical fiber nanotapers”, Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton; http://www.orc.soton.ac.uk, vol. 12, No. 10, May 7, 2004, 2258-2263.
Bridges, William B. , “Low-Loss Flexible Dielectric Waveguide for Millimeter-Wave Transmission and Its Application to Devices”, California Institute of Technology, Office of Naval Research, Mar. 1981, 91 pages.
Briso-Rodriguez, , “Measurements and Modeling of Distributed Antenna Systems in Railway Tunnels”, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. 56, No. 5, Sep. 2007, 2870-2879.
Budde, Matthias , “Using a 2DST Waveguide for Usable, Physically Constrained Out-of-Band Wi-Fi Authentication”, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/282e/826938ab7170c198057f9236799e92e21219.pdf, 2013, 8 pages.
Campista, Miguel E. et al.“Improving the Data Transmission Throughput Over the Home Electrical Wiring”, The IEEE Conference on Local Computer Networks 30th Anniversary, 2005, 1-8.
Capece, P. et al., “FDTD Analysis of a Circular Coaxial Feeder for Reflector Antenna”, Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, IEEE Digest, vol. 3, 1997, pp. 1570-1573.
Chaimae, Elmakfalji et al., “New Way of Passive RFID Deployment for Smart Grid”, Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology 82.1, Dec. 10, 2015, 81-84.
Chen, Ke et al., “Geometric phase coded metasurface: from polarization dependent directive electromagnetic wave scattering to diffusionlike scattering”, Scientific Reports 6, 2016 1-10.
Choudhury, Romit R. , “Utilizing Beamforming Antennas for Wireless Mult-hop Networks”, www.slideserve.com, Sep. 20, 2012, 4 pages.
Chu, Eunmi et al., “Self-organizing and self-healing mechanisms in cooperative small cell networks”, PIMRC, 2013, 6 pages.
CIPO, “Office Action dated Feb. 3, 2017 for Canadian application 2,928,355”, 1-4.
CISCO, “Troubleshooting Problems Affecting Radio Frequency Communication”, cisco.com, Oct. 19, 2009, 5 pages.
Cliff, Oliver M. et al., “Online localization of radio-tagged wildlife with an autonomous aerial robot system”, Proceedings of Robotics Science and Systems XI, 2015, 1317.
Collins, D.D. et al., “Final Report on Advanced Antenna Design Techniques”, GER 11246, Report No. 4, Sep. 6, 1963, 1-70.
Comsol, “Fast Numerical Modeling of a Conical Horns Lens Antenna”, comsol.com, Application ID: 18695, Sep. 16, 2016 3 pages.
Crisp, “Uplink and Downlink Coverage Improvements of 802.11g Signals Using a Distributed Antenna Network”, Journal of Lightwave Technology ( vol. 25, Issue: 11), Dec. 6, 2007, 1-4.
Crosswell, “Aperture excited dielectric antennas”, http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19740017567.pdf, 1974, 128 pages.
Curry, James M. , “A Web of Drones: A 2040 Strategy to Reduce the United States Dependance on Space Based Capabilities”, Air War College, Feb. 17, 2015, 34 pages.
Daniel, Kai et al., “Using Public Network Infrastructures for UAV Remote Sensing in Civilian Security Operations”, Homeland Security Affairs, Supplement 3, Mar. 2011, 11 pages.
De Freitas, Carvalho et al., “Unmanned Air Vehicle Based Localization and Range Estimation of WiFi Nodes”, 2014, 109 pages.
Debord, Benoit et al., “Generation and confinement of microwave gas-plasma in photonic dielectric microstructure”, Optics express 21.21, 2013, 25509-25516.
Deilmann, Michael , “Silicon oxide permeation barrier coating and sterilization of PET bottles by pulsed low-pressure microwave plasmas”, Dissertation, 2008, 142 pages.
Deng, Chuang et al., “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Power Line Inspection: A Cooperative Way in Platforms and Communications”, Journal of Communicatinos vol. No. 9, No. 9, Sep. 2014, 687-692.
Doshi, D.A. et al., “Real Time Fault Failure Detection in Power Distribution Line using Power Line Communication”, International Journal of Engineering Science, vol. 6, Issue No. 5, May 2016 4834-4837.
Dyson, John D. , “The Equiangular Spiral Antenna”, IRE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 1959, 181-187.
Earth Data, “Remote Sensors”, NASA, earthdata.nasa.gov, Oct. 17, 2016 36 pages.
Eizo, “How can a screen sense touch? A basic understanding of touch panels”, www.eizo.com/library/basics/basic_understanding_of_touch_panel, Sep. 27, 2010, 8 pages.
Ekstrom, “Slot-line end-fire antennas for THz frequencies”, Third International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology, 280-290.
Elmore, Glenn et al., “A Surface Wave Transmission Line”, QEX, May/Jun. 2012, pp. 3-9.
Emerson, “About Rosemount 5300 Level Transmitter”, www.emerson.com, Nov. 2016 6 pages.
Eom, Seung-Hyun et al., “Pattern switchable antenna system using inkjet-printed directional bow-tie for bi-direction sensing applications”, Sensors 15.12, 2015, 31171-31179.
Faggiani, Adriano , “Smartphone-based crowdsourcing for network monitoring: opportunities, challenges, and a case study”, http://vecchio.iet.unipi.it/vecchio/files/2010/02/article.pdf, 2014, 8 pages.
Farzaneh, Masoud et al., “Systems for Prediction and Monitoring of Ice Shedding, Anti-Cicing and De-Icing for Power Line Conductors and Ground Wires”, Dec. 1, 2010, 1-100.
Fattah, E. Abdel et al., “Numerical 3D simulation of surface wave excitation in planar-type plasma processing device with a corrugated dielectric plate”, Elsevier, Vacuum 86, 2011, 330-334.
Feko, “Lens Antennas”, Altair, feko.info, Jun. 30, 2014, 2 pages.
Fenn, Alan J. et al., “A Terrestrial Air Link for Evaluating Dual-Polarization Techniques in Satellite Communications”, vol. 9, No. 1, The Lincoln Laboratory Journal, 1996, 3-18.
Fiorelli, Riccardo et al., “ST7580 power line communication systemonchip design guide”, Doc ID 022923 Rev 2, Jul. 2012, 63 pages.
Fitzgerald, William D. , “A 35-GHz Beam Waveguide System for the Millimeter-Wave Radar”, The Lincoln Laboratory Journal, vol. 5, No. 2, 1992, 245-272.
Galli, “For the Grid and Through the Grid: The Role of Power Line Communications in the Smart Grid”, Proceedings of the IEEE 99.6, Jun. 2011, 1-26.
Gerini, Giampiero , “Multilayer array antennas with integrated frequency selective surfaces conformal to a circular cylindrical surface”, http://alexandria.tue.nl/openaccess/Metis248614.pdf, 2005, 2020-2030.
Geterud, Erik G. , “Design and Optimization of Wideband Hat-Fed Reflector Antenna with Radome for Satellite Earth Station”, http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/163718.pdf, Discloses Frequency Selective Surfaces for antenna coverings for weather protection (table of materials on p. 29-30; pp. 37-46), 2012, 70 pages.
Gilbert, Barrie et al., “The Gears of Genius”, IEEE SolidState Circuits Newsletter 4.12, 2007, 10-28.
Glockler, Roman , “Phased Array for Millimeter Wave Frequencies”, International Journal of Infrared and Millimeter Waves, Springer, vol. 11, No. 2, Feb. 1, 1990, 10 pages.
Godara, “Applications of Antenna Arrays to Mobile Communications, Part I: Performance Improvement, Feasibility, and System Considerations”, Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 85, No. 7, Jul. 1997, 1031-1060.
Goubau, Georg et al.“Investigation of a Surface-Wave Line for Long Distance Transmission”, 1952, 263-267.
Goubau, Georg et al.“Investigations with a Model Surface Wave Transmission Line”, IRE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 1957, 222-227.
Goubau, Georg , “Open Wire Lines”, IRE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 1956, 197-200.
Goubau, Georg , “Single-Conductor Surface-Wave Transmission Lines”, Proceedings of the I.R.E., 1951, 619-624.
Goubau, Georg , “Surface Waves and Their Application to Transmission Lines”, Radio Communication Branch, Coles Signal Laboratory, Mar. 10, 1950, 1119-1128.
Goubau, Georg , “Waves on Interfaces”, IRE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Dec. 1959, 140-146.
Greco, R. , “Soil water content inverse profiling from single TDR waveforms”, Journal of hydrology 317.3, 2006, 325-339.
Gunduz, Deniz et al., “The multiway relay channel”, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory 59.1, 2013, 5163.
Guo, Shuo et al., “Detecting Faulty Nodes with Data Errors for Wireless Sensor Networks”, 2014, 25 pages.
Hadi, Ghozali S. et al., “Autonomous UAV System Development for Payload Dropping Mission”, The Journal of Instrumentation, Automation and Systems, vol. 1, No. 2, 2014, pp. 72-22.
Hafeez, “Smart Home Area Networks Protocols within the Smart Grid Context”, Journal of Communications vol. 9, No. 9, Sep. 2014, 665-671.
Halder, Achintya et al., “Low-cost alternate EVM test for wireless receiver systems”, 23rd IEEE VLSI Test Symposium (VTS'05), 2005, 6 pages.
Hale, Paul et al., “A statistical study of deembedding applied to eye diagram analysis”, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement 61.2, 2012, 475-488.
Halligan, Matthew S. , “Maximum crosstalk estimation and modeling of electromagnetic radiation from PCB/highdensity connector interfaces”, http://scholarsmine.mstedu/cgi/viewcontent.cgiarticle=3326&context=doctoral dissertations, 2014, 251 pages.
Hanashi, Abdalla M. et al., “Effect of the Dish Angle on the Wet Antenna Attenuation”, IEEE, 2014, 1-4.
Hays, Phillip , “SPG-49 Tracking Radar”, www.okieboat.com/SPG-49%20description.html, 2015, 15 pages.
Heo, Joon et al.“Identity-Based Mutual Device Authentication Schemes for PLC Systems”, IEEE International Symposium on Power Line Communications and Its Applications, 2008, pp. 47-51.
Howard, Courtney , “UAV command, control & communications”, Military & Aerospace Electronics, militaryaerospace.com, Jul. 11, 2013, 15 pages.
Hussain, Mohamed T. et al., “Closely Packed Millimeter-Wave MIMO Antenna Arrays with Dielectric Resonator Elements”, Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP) 2016 10th European Conference, Apr. 2016 1-5.
Huth, G. K. “Integrated source and channel encoded digital communication system design study”, http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19750003064.pdf, 1974, 65 pages.
Ikrath, K. et al., “Antenna Innovation Glass-Fiber Tube Focuses Microwave Beam”, Electronics, vol. 35, No. 38, Sep. 21, 1962, 44-47.
Illinois Historic Archive, “Antennas on the Web”, Photo Archive of Antennas, ece.illinois.ed, 1-18, Dec. 2016.
Islam, M. T. , “Coplanar Waveguide Fed Microstrip Patch Antenna”, Information Technology Journal 9.2 (2010): 367-370., 2010, 367-370.
James, Graeme L. et al., “Diplexing Feed Assemblies for Application to Dual-Reflector Antennas”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 51, No. 5, May 2003, 1024-1029.
James, J. R. et al.“Investigations and Comparisons of New Types of Millimetre-Wave Planar Arrays Using Microstrip and Dielectric Structures”, Royal Military College of Science, Apr. 1985, 122 pages.
Japan Patent Office, , “JP Office Action dated Feb. 14, 2017”, dated Feb. 14, 2017, 1-12.
Jensen, Michael , “Data-Dependent Fingerprints for Wireless Device Authentication”, www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA626320, 2014, 15 pages.
Jiang, Peng , “A New Method for Node Fault Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks”, 2009, 1282-1294.
Jiang, Y.S. et al., “Electromagnetic orbital angular momentum in remote sensing”, PIERS Proceedings, Moscow, Russia, Aug. 18-21, 2009, 1330-1337.
Jones, Jr., Howard S. , “Conformal and Small Antenna Designs”, U.S. Army Electronics Research and Development Command, Harry Diamond Laboratories, Apr. 1981, 32 pages.
Kado, Yuichi et al., “Exploring SubTHz Waves for Communications, Imaging, and Gas Sensing”, Fog 2: O2, PIERS Proceedings, Beijing, China, Mar. 23-27, 2009, 42-47.
Karbowiak, A. E. et al., “Characteristics of Waveguides for Long-Distance Transmission”, Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards, vol. 65D, No. 1, Jan.-Feb. 1961, May 23, 1960, 75-88.
Katrasnik, Jaka , “New Robot for Power Line Inspection”, 2008 IEEE Conference on Robotics, Automation and Mechatronics, 2008, 1-6.
Kedar, “Wide Beam Tapered Slot Antenna for Wide Angle Scanning Phased Array Antenna”, Progress in Electromagnetics Research B, vol. 27, 2011, 235-251.
Khan, Kaleemullah , “Authentication in Multi-Hop Wireless Mesh Networks”, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Electrical, Computer, Energetic, Electronic and Communication Engineering vol. 2, No. 10, 2008, 2406-2411.
Khan, Mohammed R. , “A beam steering technique using dielectric wedges”, Diss. University of London, Dec. 1985, 3 pages.
Kim, Jong-Hyuk et al., “Real-time Navigation, Guidance, and Control of a UAV using Low-cost Sensors”, Australian Centre for Field Robotics, Mar. 5, 2011, 6 pages.
Kim, Myungsik et al., “Automated RFID-based identification system for steel coils”, Progress in Electromagnetics Research 131, 2012, 1-17.
Kima, Yi-Gon et al., “Generating and detecting torsional guided waves using magnetostrictive sensors of crossed coils”, Chonnam National University, Republic of Korea, Elsevier Ltd,, 2010, 145-151.
Kleinrock, Leonard et al., “On measured behavior of the ARPA network”, National Computer Conference, 1974, 767-780.
Kliros, George S. , “Dielectric—EBG covered conical antenna for UWB applications”, www.researchgate.net/profile/George_Kliros/publication/235322849_Dielectric-EBG_covered_conical_antenna_for_UWB_applications/links/54329e410cf225bddcc7c037.pdf, 2010, 10 pages.
Koga, Hisao et al., “High-Speed Power Line Communication System Based on Wavelet OFDM”, 7th International Symposium on Power-Line Communications and Its Applications, Mar. 26-28, 2003, 226-231.
Kolpakov, Stanislav A. et al., “Toward a new generation of photonic humidity sensors”, Sensors 14.3, 2014, 3986-4013.
Kuehn, E , “Self-configuration and self-optimization of 4G Radio Access Networks”, http://wirelessman.org/tgm/contrib/S80216m-07_169.pdf, 2007, 13 pages.
Kumar, Sumeet et al., “Urban street lighting infrastructure monitoring using a mobile sensor platform”, IEEE Sensors Journal, 16.12, 2016 4981-4994.
Kune, Denis F. et al., “Ghost Talk: Mitigating EMI Signal Injection Attacks against Analog Sensors”, IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, 2013, 145-159.
Lairdtech, “Allpurpose Mount Kit”, www.lairdtech.com, Mar. 29, 2015, 2 pages.
Lazaropoulos, Athanasios , “TowardsModal Integration of Overhead and Underground Low-Voltage and Medium-Voltage Power Line Communication Channels in the Smart Grid Landscape:Model Expansion, Broadband Signal Transmission Characteristics, and Statistical Performance Metrics”, International Scholarly Research Network, ISRN Signal Processing, vol. 2012, Article ID 121628, 17 pages, Mar. 26, 2012, 18 pages.
Lazaropoulos, Athanasios G. , “Wireless sensor network design for transmission line monitoring, metering, and controlling: introducing broadband over power lines-enhanced network model (BPLeNM)”, ISRN Power Engineering, 2014, 23 pages.
Lee, Joseph C. , “A Compact Q-/K-Band Dual Frequency Feed Horn”, No. TR-645, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory, May 3, 1983, 40 pages.
Lee, Sung-Woo , “Mutual Coupling Considerations in the Development of Multi-feed Antenna Systems”, http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19750003064.pdf, 2008, 127 pages.
Li, Mo et al., “Underground structure monitoring with wireless sensor networks”, Proceedings of the 6th international conference on Information processing in sensor networks, ACM, 2007, 69-78.
Liang, Bin , “Cylindrical Slot FSS Configuration for Beam-Switching Applications”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 63, No. 1, Jan. 2015, 166-173.
Lier, Erik , “A Dielectric Hybrid Mode Antenna Feed: a Simple Alternative to the Corrugated Horn”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. AP-34, No. 1, Jan. 1986, 21-30.
Liu, et al., “A 25 Gb/s (/km 2) urban wireless network beyond IMTadvanced”, IEEE Communications Magazine 49.2, 2011, 122-129.
Lumerical Solutions, Inc., “Waveguide Bragg Microcavity”, www.lumerical.com, Sep. 2016, 6 pages.
Luo, Hailu et al., “Reversed propagation dynamics of Laguerre-Gaussian beams in left-handed materials”, Physical Review A 77.2, 023812., Feb. 20, 2008, 1-7.
Makwana, G. D. et al., “Wideband Stacked Rectangular Dielectric Resonator Antenna at 5.2 GHz”, International Journal of Electromagnetics and Applications 2012, 2(3), 2012, 41-45.
Marin, Leandro , “Optimized ECC Implementation for Secure Communication between Heterogeneous IoT Devices”, www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/15/9/21478/pdf, 2015, 21478-21499.
Marrucci, Lorenzo , “Rotating light with light: Generation of helical modes of light by spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion in inhomogeneous liquid crystals”, International Congress on Optics and Optoelectronics. International Society for Optics and Photonics, 2007, 12 pages.
Marzetta, “Noncooperative Cellular Wireless with Unlimited Numbers of Base Station Antennas”, IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol. 9, No. 11, Nov. 2010, 3590-3600.
Matikainen, Leena et al., “Remote sensing methods for power line corridor surveys”, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 119, 2016, 10-31.
Matsukawa, et al., “A dynamic channel assignment scheme for distributed antenna networks”, Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring), 2012 IEEE 75th, 2012, 5 pages.
McKeown, David M. et al., “Rulebased interpretation of aerial imagery”, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence 5, 1985, 570-585.
Meessen, A. , “Production of EM Surface Waves by Superconducting Spheres: A New Type of Harmonic Oscillators”, Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium Proceedings, Moscow, Russia, Aug. 19-23, 2012, pp. 529-533.
Mehta, “Advance Featuring Smart Energy Meter With Bi-directional Communication”, Electronics & Communication MEFGI, Feb. 9, 2014, 169-174.
Mena, F.P. et al., “Design and Performance of a 600720GHz SidebandSeparating Receiver Using and AIN SIS Junctions”, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 59.1, 2011, 166-177.
Miller, Ashley et al., “Pathway to Ubiquitous Broadband: Environments, Policies, and Technologies to Implementation”, Oct. 2016 20 pages.
Miller, David A. , “Establishing Optimal Wave Communication Channels Automatically”, Journal of Lightwave Technology, vol. 31, No. 24, Dec. 15, 2013, 3987-3994.
Mishra, Sumita et al., “Load Balancing Optimization in LTE/LTEA Cellular Networks: A Review”, arXiv preprint arXiv:1412.7273 (2014), 2014, 1-7.
Mori, A. et al., “The Power Line Transmission Characteristics for an OFDM Signal”, Progress in Electromagnetics Research, PIER 61, Musashi Institute of Technology, 2006, 279-290.
Mueller, G.E. et al., “Polyrod Antennas”, Bell System Technical Journal, vol. 26., No. 4, Oct. 29, 1947, 837-851.
Mushref, Muhammad , “Matrix solution to electromagnetic scattering by a conducting cylinder with an eccentric metamaterial coating”, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022247X06011450/pdf?md5=4823be0348a3771b5cec9ffb7f326c2c&pid=1-s2.0-S0022247X06011450-main.pdf, Discloses controlling antenna radiation pattern with coatings, 2007, 356-366.
Nakano, Hisamatsu , “A Low-Profile Conical Beam Loop Antenna with an Electromagnetically Coupled Feed System”, http://repo.lib.hosei.ac.jp/bitstream/10114/3835/1/31 TAP(Low-Profile).pdf, Dec. 2000, 1864-1866.
Nakano, Hisamatsu et al., “A Spiral Antenna Backed by a Conducting Plane Reflector”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. AP-34 No. 6, Jun. 1986, 791-796.
Nandi, Somen et al., “Computing for rural empowerment: enabled by last-mile telecommunications”, IEEE Communications Magazine 54.6, 2016 102-109.
Nassar, “Local Utility Powerline Communications in the 3-500 kHz Band: Channel Impairments, Noise, and Standards”, IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, 2012, 1-22.
Niedermayer, Uwe et al., “Analytic modeling, simulation and interpretation of broadband beam coupling impedance bench measurements”, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment 776, 2015, 129-143.
Nikitin, A. Y. et al., “Efficient Coupling of Light to Graphene Plasmons by Compressing Surface Polaritons with Tapered Bulk Materials”, Nano Letters; pubs.acs.org/NanoLett, Apr. 28, 2014, 2896-2901.
Nikitin, Pavel V. et al., “Propagation Model for the HVAC Duct as a Communication Channel”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation 51.5, 2003, 7 pages.
NWClimate, “Weather Instruments and Equipment Explained”, nwclimate.org, May 7, 2015, 22 pages.
OECD, “Alternative Local Loop Technologies: A Review”, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/sti/2090965.pdf, 1996, 25 pages.
Ohliger, Michael , “An introduction to coil array design for parallel MRI”, http://mriquestions.com/uploads/3/4/5/7/34572113/intro_to_coil_design_parallel_.pdf, 2006, 16 pages.
Paruchuri, et al., “Securing Powerline Communication”, IEEE, 2008, 64-69.
Patel, Pinak S. et al., “Sensor Fault Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks and Avoiding the Path Failure Nodes”, International Journal of Industrial Electronics and Electrical Engineering, vol. 2, Issue-3, Mar. 2014, 2347-6982.
Pato, Silvia et al., “On building a distributed antenna system with joint signal processing for next generation wireless access networks: The FUTON approach”, 7th Conference on Telecommunications, Portugal, 2008, 4 pages.
PCT, “International Search Report”, dated Oct. 25, 2016, 1-12.
Pike, Kevin J. et al., “A spectrometer designed for 6.7 and 14.1 T DNP-enhanced solid-state MAS NMR using quasi-optical microwave transmission”, Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 2012, 9 pages.
Qi, Xue et al., “Ad hoc QoS ondemand routing (AQOR) in mobile ad hoc networks”, Journal of parallel and distributed computing 63.2, 2003, 154-165.
Qiu, Lili et al., “Fault Detection, Isolation, and Diagnosis in Multihop Wireless Networks”, Dec. 2003, 16 pages.
Quan, Xulin , “Analysis and Design of a Compact Dual-Band Directional Antenna”, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, vol. 11, 2012, 547-550.
Quinstar Technology, Inc., “Prime Focus Antenna (QRP series)”, quinstar.com, Aug. 19, 2016 2 pages.
Ranga, Yogesh et al., “An ultra-wideband quasi-planar antenna with enhanced gain”, Progress in Electromagnetics Research C 49, 2014, 59-65.
Rangan, Sundeep et al., “Millimeter-Wave Cellular Wireless Networks: Potentials and Challenges”, Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 102, No. 3, Mar. 2014, 366-385.
Rangel, Rodrigo K. et al., “Sistema de Inspecao de Linhas de Transmissao de Energia Electrica Utilizando Veiculos Aereos Nao-Tripulados”, Sep. 14-16, 2009, 1-9.
Rekimoto, Jun , “SmartSkin: An Infrastructure for Freehand Manipulation on Interactive Surfaces”, https://vs.inf.ethz.ch/edu/SS2005/DS/papers/surfaces/rekimoto-smartskin.pdf, 2002, 8 pages.
Ren-Bin, Zhong et al., “Surface plasmon wave propagation along single metal wire”, Chin. Phys. B, vol. 21, No. 11, May 2, 2012, 9 pages.
Ricardi, L. J. , “Some Characteristics of a Communication Satellite Multiple-Beam Antenna”, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory, Technical Note 1975-3, Jan. 28, 1975, 62 pages.
Rieke, M. et al., “High-Precision Positioning and Real-Time Data Processing of UAV Systems”, International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, vol. XXXVIII-1/C22, 2011, 119-124.
Robinson, D.A. et al., “Advancing processbased watershed hydrological research using nearsurface geophysics: A vision for, and review of, electrical and magnetic geophysical methods”, Hydrological Processes 22.18, Mar. 11, 2008, 3604-3635.
Robles, Rosslin John et al., “A Review on Security in Smart Home Development”, International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology 15, Feb. 2010, 13-22.
Rosenberg, Uwe et al., “A novel frequency-selective power combiner/divider in single-layer substrate integrated waveguide technology”, IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters, vol. 23, No. 8, Aug. 2013, 406-408.
Rousstia, M. W. , “Switched-beam antenna array design for millimeter-wave applications”, https://pure.tue.nl/ws/files/4418145/599448877400424.pdf, Jan. 1, 2011, 148 pages.
Sahoo, Srikanta , “Faulty Node Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Cluster”, Apr. 2013, 212-223.
Scerri, Paul et al., “Geolocation of RF emitters by many UAVs”, AIAA Infotech, Aerospace 2007 Conference and Exhibit, 2007, 1-13.
Schoning, Johannes et al., “Multi-Touch Surfaces: A Technical Guide”, Johannes Schöning, Institute for Geoinformatics University of Münster, Technical Report TUM-I0833, 2008, 19 pages.
Sembiring, Krisantus , “Dynamic Resource Allocation for Cloud-based Media Processing”, http://www.chinacloud.cn/upload/2013-04/13042109511919.pdf, 2013, 49-54.
Shankland, Steven , “Lowly DSL poised for gigabit speed boost”, www.cnet.com, Oct. 21, 2014, 5 pages.
Sharma, Archana et al., “Dielectric Resonator Antenna for X band Microwave Application”, Research & Reviews, International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical, Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, Oct. 2016 9 pages.
Shekar, Chandra P. , “Transmission Line Fault Detection & Indication through GSM”, IRD India, ISSN (Online): 2347-2812, vol. 2, Issue 5, 2014, 28-30.
Shila, Devu M. , “Load-Aware Traffic Engineering for Mesh Networks”, Computer Communications 31.7, 2008, 1460-1469.
Shin, Donghoon et al., “10 Gbps Millimeter-Wave OFDM Experimental System with Iterative Phase Noise Compensation”, Tokyo Institute of Technology, IEEE, 2013, 184-186.
Silver, Ralph U. , “Local Loop Overview”, National Communications System (NCS), BellSouth Network Training, newnetworks.com, Aug. 2016 100 pages.
Silvonen, Kimmo , “Calibration and DeEmbedding of Microwave Measurements Using Any Combination of Oneor TwoPort Standards”, Publication of the Circuit Theory Laboratory, CT4, 1987, 1-28.
Simionovici, Ana-Maria et al., “Predictive Modeling in a VoIP System”, 2013, 32-40.
Simons, Rainee N. , “Coplanar Waveguide Feeds for Phased Array Antennas”, Solid State Technology Branch of NASA Lewis Research Center Fourth Annual Digest, Conference on Advanced Space Exploration Initiative Technologies cosponsored by AIAA, NASA and OAI, 1992, 1-9.
Singh, Sapana et al., “Key Concepts and Network Architecture for 5G Mobile Technology”, International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), IIMT Engineering College, Meerut, India, vol. 1, Issue 5, Aug. 2012, 165-170.
Singh, Seema M. et al., “Broadband Over Power Lines a White Paper”, State of New Jersey, Division of the Ratepayer Advocate, NJ, Oct. 2016 67 pages.
Song, Kaijun et al., “Broadband radial waveguide power amplifier using a spatial power combining technique”, www.mtech.edu/academics/mines/geophysical/xzhou/publications/songfanzhou_2009b_impa.pdf, 2009, 7 pages.
Sospedra, Joaquim et al., “Badalona Oil PierBased Met-Ocean Monitoring Station”, Campbell Scientific, www.campbellsci.com, Nov. 2016 2 pages.
Souryal, Michael R. et al., “Rapidly Deployable Mesh Network Testbed”, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f914/1ce6999c4095eab3bdea645745761ebe5141.pdf, 2009, 6 pages.
Sowmya, Arcot et al., “Modelling and representation issues in automated feature extraction from aerial and satellite images”, ISPRS journal of photogrammetry and remote sensing, 55.1, 2000, 34-47.
Spencer, D G. , “Novel Millimeter ACC Antenna Feed”, IEEE Colloquium on Antennas for Automotives, Mar. 10, 2000, 10 pages.
Stancil, Daniel D. et al., “High-speed internet access via HVAC ducts: A new approach”, Global Telecommunications Conference, IEEE vol. 6, 2001, 4 pages.
Sun, Zhi et al., “Magnetic Induction Communications for Wireless Underground Sensor Networks”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 58, No. 7, Jul. 2010, 2426-2435.
Sundqvist, Lassi , “Cellular Controlled Drone Experiment: Evaluation of Network Requirements”, 2015, 71 pages.
Szczys, Mike , “Cameras Perch on Power Lines, Steal Electricity”, http://hackaday.com/2010/06/28/cameras-perch-on-power-lines-steal-electricity/, Discloses cameras that clamp on to power lines and use induction as a power source., 2010, 1 page.
Talbot, David , “Adapting Old-Style Phone Wires for Superfast Internet”, Jul. 30, 2013, 3 pages.
Tantawi, Sami G. et al., “High-power multimode X-band rf pulse compression system for future linear colliders”, Physical Review Special Topics—Accelerators and Beams, 1098-4402/05/8(4)/042002, 2005, 19 pages.
Teng, Ervin et al., “Aerial Sensing and Characterization of ThreeDimensional RF Fields”, Univ. at Buffalo, cse.buffalo.edu, Sep. 2016 6 pages.
Tesoriero, Ricardo et al., “Tracking autonomous entities using RFID technology”, IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics 55.2, 2009, 650-655.
Thota, Saigopal et al., “Computing for Rural Empowerment: Enabled by Last-Mile Telecommunications (Extended Version)”, Technical Report, 2013, 14 pages.
Thottapan, M. , “Design and simulation of metal PBG waveguide mode launcher”, www.researchgate.net/profile/Dr_M_Thottappan/publication/262415753_Design_and_Simulation_of_Metal_PBG_Waveguide_Mode_Launcher/links/0f317537ad93a5e2a4000000.pdf, 2014, 383-387.
Tillack, M. S. et al., “Configuration and engineering design of the ARIES-RS tokamak power plant”, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222496003_Configuration_and_engineering_design_of_the_ ARIES-RS_tokamak_power_plant, 1997, 87-113.
Tucson Electric Power, “Energy-Harvesting Power Supply”, http://sdpm.arizona.edu/projects/project-publi/upid/38a8cf3b42f35576de25de1f6dcc20f3, Discloses a project to harvest energy from a power line and that a device was built that clamps onto a power line., 2016 1 page.
UK Essays, “Beam Adaptive Algorithms for Smart Antennas Computer Science Essay”, www.ukessays.com, Mar. 23, 2015, 21 pages.
Van Atta, L.C. , “Contributions to the antenna field during World War II”, www.nonstopsystems.com/radio/pdf-hell/article-IRE-May 1962.pdf, 1962, 692-697.
Wade, Paul , “Multiple Reflector Dish Antennas”, www.w1ghz.org/antbook/conf/Multiple_reflector_antennas.pdf, 2004, 45 pages.
Wang, Hao et al., “Dielectric Loaded Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW)—Plan Horn Antennas”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Service Center, Piscataway, NJ, US, vol. 56, No. 3, Mar. 1, 2010, 640-647.
Wang, Wei , “Optimization Design of an Inductive Energy Harvesting Device for Wireless Power Supply System Overhead High-Voltage Power Lines”, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3941/601af7a21d55e8b57ab0c50d5f1d9f9f6868.pdf, Discloses an induction based energy harvesting device that takes energy from overhead powerlines (Figure 4)., 2016 16 pages.
Wang, Xingfu et al., “Zigzag coverage scheme algorithm & analysis for wireless sensor networks”, Network Protocols and Algorithms 5.4, 2013, 19-38.
Washiro, Takanori , “Applications of RFID over power line for Smart Grid”, Power Line Communications and Its Applications (ISPLC), 2012 16th IEEE International Symposium on. IEEE, 2012, 83-87.
Wenger, N. , “The launching of surface waves on an axial-cylindrical reactive surface”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation 13.1, 1965, 126-134.
Werner, Louis B. et al., “Operation Greenhouse”, Scientific Director's Report of Atomic Weapon Tests at Eniwetok, Annex 6.7 Contimation-Decontamination Studies Naval Radiological Defense Lab, 1951, 209 pages.
Wikipedia, “Angular Momentum of Light”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_momentum_of_light, Nov. 10, 2016 1-7.
Wilkes, Gilbert , “Wave Length Lenses”, Dec. 5, 1946, 49 pages.
Wolfe, Victor et al., “Feasibility Study of Utilizing 4G LTe Signals in Combination With Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for the Purpose of Search and Rescue of Avalanche Victims (Increment 1)”, University of Colorado at Boulder, Research Report, 2014, 26 pages.
Won Jung, Chang et al., “Reconfigurable Scan-Beam Single-Arm Spiral Antenna Integrated With RF-MEMS Switches”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 54, No. 2, Feb. 2006, 455-463.
Woodford, Chris , “How do touchscreens work?”, www.explainthatstuff.com/touchscreens.html, Aug. 23, 2016 8 pages.
Xiao, Shiyi et al., “Spin-dependent optics with metasurfaces”, Nanophotonics 6.1, 215-234., 2016 215-234.
Yeh, C. et al., “Thin-Ribbon Tapered Coupler for Dielectric Waveguides”, 5/151994, 42-48.
Yilmaz, et al., “Self-optimization of coverage and capacity in LTE using adaptive antenna systems”, Aalto University, Feb. 2010, 72 pages.
Zhang, “Modified Tapered Slot-line Antennas for Special Applications”, REV Journal on Electronics and Communications, vol. 2, Jul.-Dec. 2012, 106-112.
Zhang, Ming et al., “PlanetSeer: Internet Path Failure Monitoring and Characterization in Wide Area Services”, OSDI, vol. 4, 2004, 33 pages.
Zucker, Francis J. , “Surface-Wave Antennas”, Antenna Engineering Handbook, Chapter 10, 2007, 32 pages.
Akalin, Tahsin et al., “Single-Wire Transmission Lines at Terahertz Frequencies”, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. 54, No. 6, 2006, 2762-2767.
Article 34 Amendment filed Apr. 3, 2017; PCT Application No. PCT/US16/28206, Apr. 3, 2017, 9 pages.
International Searching Authority; International Preliminary Report on Patentability & Written Opinion; PCT/US16/28206; dated May 16, 2017; 23 pages.
International Searching Authority; International Search Report & Written Opinion; PCT/US17/36159; dated Aug. 10, 2017; 14 pages.
Yang, Kanglin, “Dispersion of Surface Plasmon Polaritons on Metal Wires in the Terahertz Frequency Range”, Physical Review Letters, PRL 96, 157401, 2006, 4 pages.
“International Preliminary Report on Patentability”, PCT/US2017/036159, dated May 21, 2018, 19 pages.
“International Search Report and Written Opinion”, PCT/US2018/015634, dated Jun. 25, 2018, 8 pages.
“JP 2017-562710 Notice of Reasons for Refusal”, dated Apr. 14, 2020, 4 pages.
Rabiei, et al., “On the Performance of OFDM-Based Amplify-and-Forward Relay Networks in the Presence of Phase Noise”, IEEE Transactions on Communications, vol. 59, Iss. 5, May 2011, pp. 1458-1466, May 2011, 1458-1466.
Rangan, et al., “Millimeter Wave Cellular Wireless Networks: Potentials and Challenges”, IEEE, Jan. 2014, pp. 1-17., 17 pages.
Villaran, Michael et al., “Condition Monitoring of Cables Task 3 Report: Condition Monitoring Techniques for Electric Cables”, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Technical Report, Nov. 30, 2009, 89 pages.

Related Publications (1)

	Number	Date	Country
	20160359541 A1	Dec 2016	US

Client node device and methods for use therewith

Information

Patent Number

Date Filed

Date Issued

Inventors

Original Assignees

Examiners

Agents

CPC

Field of Search

US

International Classifications

Disclaimer