Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090066449 | Electromechanical Latching Relay and Method of Operating Same - A latching relay employing a movable cantilever with a first permanent magnet and a nearby second magnet is disclosed. The permanent magnet affixed to the cantilever is permanently magnetized along its long (horizontal) axis. The cantilever has a first end associated to the first pole (e.g., north pole) of the first magnet, and a second end associated to the second pole (e.g., south pole) of the first magnet. When the first end of the cantilever approaches the second magnet, the first pole of the first magnet induces a local opposite pole (e.g., south pole) in the second magnet and causes the first end of the cantilever to be attracted to the local opposite pole of the second magnet, closing an electrical conduction path (closed state). An open state on the first end of cantilever | 03-12-2009 |
20090261927 | Coupled Electromechanical Relay and Method of Operating Same - An electromechanical relay employing a movable first permanent magnet and a nearby third electromagnet is disclosed. The movable first magnet is permanently magnetized and has at least a first end. The third electromagnet, when energized, produces a third magnetic field which is primarily perpendicular to the magnetization direction of the first movable magnet and exerts a magnetic torque on the first magnet to force the first magnet to rotate and closes an electrical conduction path at the first end. Changing the direction of the electrical current in the third electromagnet changes the direction of the third magnetic field and thus the direction of the magnetic torque on the first magnet, and causes the first magnet to rotate in an opposite direction and opens the electrical conduction path at the first end. Multiple magnets can be stacked together to form multi-pole-multi-throw relays. Latching and non-latching types of relays can be formed by appropriately using soft and permanent magnets as various components. | 10-22-2009 |
20100176665 | Vibration Motor - A vibration motor comprises a permanent magnet supported by a spring and an electromagnet. The electromagnet generates an alternating second magnetic field which exerts a torque on the permanent magnet and causes said permanent magnet to rotate and vibrate. The supporting spring transfers the vibration energy from the permanent magnet to the housing and ultimately to the user. | 07-15-2010 |
20100182110 | ELECTROMECHANICAL RELAY AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME - A relay comprises a movable body placed in a cavity which is formed on a substrate and surrounded by a spacer layer and sealed by a cover layer. The movable body comprises a first magnet which is permanently magnetized and has at least a first end. A nearby switching electromagnet, when energized, produces a switching magnetic field which is primarily perpendicular to the magnetization direction of the first magnet and exerts a magnetic torque on the first magnet to force the first magnet and said movable body to rotate and close an electrical conduction path at the first end. Changing the direction of the electrical current in the switching electromagnet changes the direction of the switching magnetic field and thus the direction of the magnetic torque on the first magnet, and causes the first magnet and said movable body to rotate in an opposite direction and opens the electrical conduction path at the first end. The first magnet can comprise multiple magnetic layers to form relatively closed magnetic circuits with other magnetic components. Latching and non-latching types of relays can be formed by appropriately using soft and permanent magnets as various components. | 07-22-2010 |
20100214044 | ELECTROMECHANICAL RELAY AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME - An electromechanical relay employing a movable first magnet and a nearby switching electromagnet is disclosed. The movable first magnet is permanently magnetized with a magnetic moment and has at least a first end. The switching electromagnet, when energized, produces a switching magnetic field which is primarily perpendicular to the magnetization direction of the first movable magnet and exerts a magnetic torque on the first magnet to force the first magnet to rotate and closes an electrical conduction path at the first end. Changing the direction of the electrical current in the switching electromagnet changes the direction of the switching magnetic field and thus the direction of the magnetic torque on the first magnet, and causes the first magnet to rotate in an opposite direction and opens the electrical conduction path at the first end. Multiple magnetic layers can be arranged to form closed magnetic circuits to facilitate switching and maintaining switched states. Latching and non-latching types of relays can be formed by appropriately adjusting various force magnitudes. | 08-26-2010 |
20100231333 | ELECTROMECHANICAL RELAY AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME - A double-pole-double-throw (DPDT) electromechanical relay employing a movable first magnet and a nearby third electromagnet is disclosed. The movable first magnet is permanently magnetized with a magnetic moment and has at least a first end and a second end. The third electromagnet, when energized, produces a third magnetic field which is primarily perpendicular to the magnetization direction of the first movable magnet and exerts a magnetic torque on the first magnet to force the first magnet to rotate and closes electrical conduction paths at the first end. Changing the direction of the electrical current in the third electromagnet changes the direction of the third magnetic field and thus the direction of the magnetic torque on the first magnet, and causes the first magnet to rotate in an opposite direction and opens the electrical conduction path at the first end and closes the electrical conduction paths at the second end. Latching, non-latching types, and various forms (normally open or closed, etc.) of relays can be formed by appropriately adjusting various force magnitudes. | 09-16-2010 |
20120182099 | ELECTROMECHANICAL RELAY AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME - A relay comprises a movable body placed in a cavity which is formed on a substrate and surrounded by an enclosing side wall and sealed by a cover layer. The movable body comprises a first magnet which is permanently magnetized and has at least a first end. The enclosing side wall formed by ceramic layers, wherein a coil being formed by providing conductor traces on the ceramic layers and stacking the ceramic layers such that the conductor traces on adjacent ceramic layers are connected head to tail to form a continuous conduction path. When the coil is energized, a magnetic torque is generated on the first magnet to force the first magnet and the movable body to rotate. | 07-19-2012 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090017802 | Undelivered Call Indicator - Providing for detection of a missed mobile paging event, storing data associated with an initiating mobile device as a result of such event, and updating an undelivered call indicator (UDCI) for notification of at least an undelivered call count is described herein. Components can include a gateway routing component that can receive a communications request for a target mobile device, a data storage component that can store information related to an initiating mobile device where the target is deemed unavailable, and a UDCI component facilitating data aggregation related to the undelivered call count. The UDCI data can be selectively provided to independent of the stored information related to an initiating mobile device. The system can thus notify a user of the presence and count of stored information related to initiating mobile devices independent of the user's prior unavailability. | 01-15-2009 |
20100062786 | Prioritized Display of Cell Broadcast Messages - Devices, systems, and methods for creating, procuring, and maintaining a priority scheme for cell broadcast messages. In an exemplary embodiment, the priority scheme includes a plurality of cell broadcast channels (CBCH) that are assigned logic groups, which in turn are assigned a priority level. Accordingly, cell broadcast (CB) messages with higher priority levels are displayed first on the receiving device. | 03-11-2010 |
20100075653 | Dialed Digits Based Vocoder Assignment - A system and method for providing voice communications with desired characteristics based upon the intended recipient of a voice communication. An apparatus includes a list of dial strings associated with parties having desired voice communication characteristics. A dial string entered by a user and associated with an intended recipient is compared to a list of preferred dial strings to determine the characteristics of an encoded voice signal to be sent to the recipient. The apparatus can include a vocoder having different bit rate modes and a bit rate mode is selected based upon the dial string entered by a user. Dial strings can be stored at the device or on a network. The apparatus can include a mode selector to select a desired vocoder mode to generate an encoded voice signal. | 03-25-2010 |
20110124325 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING USER SETTINGS FOR OVER-THE-AIR UPGRADES - A method and apparatus for performing a software upgrade are disclosed. The method determines a plurality of mobile endpoint devices affected by a wireless network access software upgrade, and schedules a deployment of the wireless network access software upgrade. The method transmits a notification to the plurality of mobile endpoint devices, wherein the notification is configured to cause each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices to store user settings in a memory of each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices. The method downloads the wireless network access software upgrade wirelessly to the plurality of mobile endpoint devices, wherein the wireless network access software upgrade is configured to cause each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices to install the wireless network access software upgrade and to restore the user settings from the memory of each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices. | 05-26-2011 |
20130029635 | USAGE BASED RADIO ACCESS TECHNOLOGY SELECTION - Systems, methods, and apparatus that select a radio access technology based on a usage history are presented herein. A recording component can record, based on a first use of a wireless communication network, information identifying a radio access technology associated with the first use. A selection component can select, in response to receiving a request for a second use of the wireless communication network, the radio access technology for the second use based on the information. A transfer component can determine whether a request for a handover is based on a wireless service coverage. Further, the transfer component can determine whether a request for a reselection is based on the wireless service coverage. Moreover, the selection component can select another radio access technology for the second use in response to the request being based on the wireless service coverage. | 01-31-2013 |
20130084825 | Network Directed Cell Broadcasts For Emergency Alert System - Systems and methods for providing alerts to end users of networked enabled portable devices are provided so that the end users are made aware when broadcast emergency alerts are issued. The systems and methods provide a way for a portable device to receive information about an emergency alert broadcast of which the user should be aware, e.g., from the EAS, and to notify the user of the emergency alert. A flag provides an indication the EAS should be on and the systems and method override the settings made by a user to a portable device to enable EAS reception. The user may then be automatically taken to the emergency alert information by having the portable device automatically tune to the emergency broadcast information, or the user may optionally retrieve the emergency information by tuning to the emergency broadcast channel, or the user may otherwise be presented with a reference to the emergency data (e.g., a link to the information). | 04-04-2013 |
20130110942 | Intelligent Message Routing And Delivery In A Telecommunications Network | 05-02-2013 |
20130286019 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADAPTING MEDIA CONTENT FOR PRESENTATION - A method that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, mapping image pixels of media content to a first portion of display pixels of a display to create mapped pairs having a mapped image pixel and a mapped display pixel, where the display has at least one of a greater number of horizontal or vertical pixels than the media content and for each mapped pair, one or more values associated with the mapped image pixel are assigned to the mapped display pixel, assigning blended mapped values to unmapped display pixels in a second portion of the display pixels, where, for each unmapped display pixel, the blended mapped value is a statistical compilation of one or more values assigned to the mapped display pixels that are adjacent to the unmapped display pixels, and presenting the mapped and unmapped display pixels at the display. The method includes other embodiments. | 10-31-2013 |
20130287091 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MEDIA STREAMING - A system that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, dividing a media content item into a plurality of media content segments, at each media content segment of the plurality of media content segments, applying motion estimation between at least two video frames of the media content segment to determine a content weight for the media content segment, determining a bit rate for the media content segment according to the determined content weight for the media content segment, and encoding the media content segment at the determined bit rates to generate a data stream for the media content segment, whereby a plurality of data streams for the plurality of media content segments of the media content are generated, and transmitting the plurality of data streams for the plurality of media content segments of the media content to the one or more media devices. Other embodiments are disclosed. | 10-31-2013 |
20130308919 | Video Service Buffer Management - A system that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving video content at a communication device, providing the video content to a video buffer of the communication device, commencing playback of the video content at the communication device, determining buffer status information that represents a capacity of the video buffer and an amount of the capacity that has been utilized, monitoring for a buffer exhaustion condition based on the buffer status information, and adjusting the playback of the video content responsive to a detection of the buffer exhaustion condition. Other embodiments are disclosed. | 11-21-2013 |
20130312042 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING MEDIA CONTENT - A system that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving video content at a mobile device, utilizing the mobile device for adjusting dimensions of an area of attention in an image of the video content based on a desired display resolution, utilizing the mobile device for adjusting dimensions of a peripheral portion that surrounds the area of attention, and replacing the image with the adjusted image during presentation of the video content. Other embodiments are disclosed. | 11-21-2013 |
20130331085 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING USER SETTINGS FOR OVER-THE-AIR UPGRADES - A method and apparatus for performing a software upgrade are disclosed. The method determines a plurality of mobile endpoint devices affected by a wireless network access software upgrade, and schedules a deployment of the wireless network access software upgrade. The method transmits a notification to the plurality of mobile endpoint devices, wherein the notification is configured to cause each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices to store user settings in a memory of each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices. The method downloads the wireless network access software upgrade wirelessly to the plurality of mobile endpoint devices, wherein the wireless network access software upgrade is configured to cause each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices to install the wireless network access software upgrade and to restore the user settings from the memory of each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices. | 12-12-2013 |
20130337764 | Network Directed Cell Broadcasts For Emergency Alert System - Systems and methods for providing alerts to end users of networked enabled portable devices are provided so that the end users are made aware when broadcast emergency alerts are issued. The systems and methods provide a way for a portable device to receive information about an emergency alert broadcast of which the user should be aware, e.g., from the EAS, and to notify the user of the emergency alert. A flag provides an indication the EAS should be on and the systems and method override the settings made by a user to a portable device to enable EAS reception. The user may then be automatically taken to the emergency alert information by having the portable device automatically tune to the emergency broadcast information, or the user may optionally retrieve the emergency information by tuning to the emergency broadcast channel, or the user may otherwise be presented with a reference to the emergency data (e.g., a link to the information). | 12-19-2013 |
20140108978 | System and Method For Arranging Application Icons Of A User Interface On An Event-Triggered Basis - A device, tangible computer readable storage medium and method for detecting a weight adjustment event, selecting one displayable object from a plurality of displayable objects based on the weight adjustment event, adjusting a current weight associated with the one displayable object to a new weight and determining a location on a display screen for the one displayable object based on the new weight. | 04-17-2014 |
20140200049 | Dialed Digits Based Vocoder Assignment - A system and method for providing voice communications with desired characteristics based upon the intended recipient of a voice communication. An apparatus includes a list of dial strings associated with parties having desired voice communication characteristics. A dial string entered by a user and associated with an intended recipient is compared to a list of preferred dial strings to determine the characteristics of an encoded voice signal to be sent to the recipient. The apparatus can include a vocoder having different bit rate modes and a bit rate mode is selected based upon the dial string entered by a user. Dial strings can be stored at the device or on a network. The apparatus can include a mode selector to select a desired vocoder mode to generate an encoded voice signal. | 07-17-2014 |
20140223495 | ON-DEMAND MOBILE WIRELESS BROADCAST VIDEO DELIVERY MECHANISM - A mobile broadcast service center and a mobile wireless network to deliver broadcast video to mobile wireless devices is described. When the mobile broadcast service center receives a request to deliver a broadcast video channel to a target mobile wireless device, it designates as target an intermediate node in the network that serves the target mobile wireless device. The mobile broadcast service center first determines if an existing channel bundle is routed to the target intermediate node. If this first determination is negative, the mobile broadcast service center routes a new channel bundle to the target intermediate node, including the requested broadcast video channel. If the first determination is positive, the mobile broadcast service center then determines if the requested broadcast video channel is in the existing channel bundle. If this second determination is negative, then it adds the requested broadcast video channel to the existing channel bundle. | 08-07-2014 |
20140293128 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING MEDIA CONTENT - A system that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving video content at a mobile device via a network from a video server wherein a single version of the video content is provided by the video server to a group of mobile devices that includes the mobile device, utilizing the mobile device for adjusting dimensions of an area of attention in an image of the video content based on a desired display resolution to generate an adjusted area of attention, utilizing the mobile device for adjusting dimensions of a peripheral portion that surrounds the area of attention in at least one of a horizontal or vertical direction based on the adjusted area of attention to generate an adjusted peripheral portion of an adjusted image, and replacing the image with the adjusted image during presentation of the video content at a display of the mobile device. Other embodiments are disclosed. | 10-02-2014 |
20140293877 | Handset-Based Approach of Multimedia Service Quality Management - Service quality relating to multimedia content is measured in a mobile wireless telecommunication network by comparing, in a mobile wireless device, a received test media clip with a pre-stored sample media clip. The network transmits a test media clip, which is received by one or more mobile wireless devices. A device that receives the test media clip compares it with a sample media clip stored in mobile wireless device memory to detect differences between characteristics of the received test media clip and sample media clip. The device produces a result in response to detected differences. The result is provided to the network's service quality management function. | 10-02-2014 |
20140323122 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING USER SETTINGS FOR OVER-THE-AIR UPGRADES - A method and apparatus for performing a software upgrade are disclosed. The method determines a plurality of mobile endpoint devices affected by a wireless network access software upgrade, and schedules a deployment of the wireless network access software upgrade. The method transmits a notification to the plurality of mobile endpoint devices, wherein the notification is configured to cause each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices to store user settings in a memory of each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices. The method downloads the wireless network access software upgrade wirelessly to the plurality of mobile endpoint devices, wherein the wireless network access software upgrade is configured to cause each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices to install the wireless network access software upgrade and to restore the user settings from the memory of each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices. | 10-30-2014 |
20140347989 | Video Service Buffer Management in a Mobile Rate Control Enabled Network - A system for a mobile wireless device to receive and display a video stream while preventing overflow or starvation of a receive buffer of the mobile wireless device by requesting changes to video streaming or encoding rates of a video streaming device and by controlling a video playback frame rate is provided. A current receive buffer level of the mobile wireless device is used to make comparisons with several thresholds, the results of which are used to trigger actions. | 11-27-2014 |
20150032833 | Intelligent Message Routing and Delivery in a Telecommunications Network - Messages directed to a mobile device are selectively routed to message servers based upon the capabilities of a network to which the mobile device is connected. According to an illustrative method disclosed herein, a network connectivity server receives a network identifier from the mobile device, the network connectivity server receives a request for routing instructions for the message, and the network connectivity server determines if the network identified by the network identifier is capable of delivering the message. The network connectivity server then instructs the message server to route the message according to a standard delivery method for a message type of the message or to a message conversion server computer based upon the determination. The message conversion server computer converts the message into a new message type that the network is capable of delivering to the mobile device. | 01-29-2015 |
20150072639 | NETWORK DIRECTED CELL BROADCASTS FOR EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM - Systems and methods for providing alerts to end users of networked enabled portable devices are provided so that the end users are made aware when broadcast emergency alerts are issued. The systems and methods provide a way for a portable device to receive information about an emergency alert broadcast of which the user should be aware, e.g., from the EAS, and to notify the user of the emergency alert. A flag provides an indication the EAS should be on and the systems and method override the settings made by a user to a portable device to enable EAS reception. The user may then be automatically taken to the emergency alert information by having the portable device automatically tune to the emergency broadcast information, or the user may optionally retrieve the emergency information by tuning to the emergency broadcast channel, or the user may otherwise be presented with a reference to the emergency data (e.g., a link to the information). | 03-12-2015 |
20150156522 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING MEDIA CONTENT - A system that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving video content at a mobile device via a network from a video server wherein a single version of the video content is provided by the video server to a group of mobile devices that includes the mobile device, utilizing the mobile device for adjusting dimensions of an area of attention in an image of the video content based on a desired display resolution to generate an adjusted area of attention, utilizing the mobile device for adjusting dimensions of a peripheral portion that surrounds the area of attention in at least one of a horizontal or vertical direction based on the adjusted area of attention to generate an adjusted peripheral portion of an adjusted image, and replacing the image with the adjusted image during presentation of the video content at a display of the mobile device. Other embodiments are disclosed. | 06-04-2015 |
20150230003 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MEDIA STREAMING - A system that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, dividing a media content item into a plurality of media content segments, at each media content segment of the plurality of media content segments, applying motion estimation between at least two video frames of the media content segment to determine a content weight for the media content segment, determining a bit rate for the media content segment according to the determined content weight for the media content segment, and encoding the media content segment at the determined bit rates to generate a data stream for the media content segment, whereby a plurality of data streams for the plurality of media content segments of the media content are generated, and transmitting the plurality of data streams for the plurality of media content segments of the media content to the one or more media devices. Other embodiments are disclosed. | 08-13-2015 |
20150230081 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING USER SETTINGS FOR OVER-THE-AIR UPGRADES - A method and apparatus for performing a software upgrade are disclosed. The method determines a plurality of mobile endpoint devices affected by a wireless network access software upgrade, and schedules a deployment of the wireless network access software upgrade. The method transmits a notification to the plurality of mobile endpoint devices, wherein the notification is configured to cause each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices to store user settings in a memory of each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices. The method downloads the wireless network access software upgrade wirelessly to the plurality of mobile endpoint devices, wherein the wireless network access software upgrade is configured to cause each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices to install the wireless network access software upgrade and to restore the user settings from the memory of each of the plurality of mobile endpoint devices. | 08-13-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090073062 | Antenna Selection Scheme for Multiple Antennae - A method and system to select an antenna from a plurality of antennae used for wireless communications. A first embodiment is a method to select an antenna from a plurality of antennae. The method includes monitoring at least one antenna during a fraction of at least one preamble period of a frame to derive at least one quality indicator corresponding to the antenna; storing the quality indicator derived from monitoring the antenna during the fraction of the preamble period of a frame; and selectively switching to a selected antenna after a number of frames, based on the quality indicator. A second embodiment is another method to select an antenna from a plurality of antennae. These embodiments can be applied in several wireless communication applications using multiple antennae including, but not limited to, WiMAX applications. | 03-19-2009 |
20090074101 | Detection Performance in Communication Systems - A method and system to generate decoded information from received symbols in communication receivers. A first embodiment is a method to detect digitally modulated symbols and generate decoded information. The method includes receiving digitally modulated symbols, demapping the digitally modulated symbols to generate soft decisions representing digitally modulated symbols, multiplying the soft decisions by an adaptive factor to generate scaled soft decisions; and decoding the scaled soft decisions to generate decoded information. A second embodiment is a system having modules to detect digitally modulated symbols and generate decoded information. These embodiments can be applied in several wired and wireless communication applications including, but not limited to, WiMAX applications. | 03-19-2009 |
20090075609 | Synchronization in Communication Systems - A method and system to generate synchronization information from received signals in communication applications. A first embodiment is a method to generate synchronization information in a communications receiver. The method includes providing a fixed gain to a received analog signal to generate a modified analog signal, converting the modified analog signal to a digital signal, extracting one or more sign bits from the digital signal, and generating synchronization information as a function of the one or more sign bits. A second embodiment is a system to generate synchronization information in a communications receiver. Various embodiments can be applied in several wireless and wired communication applications including, but not limited to, WiMAX applications. | 03-19-2009 |
20140320377 | Multi-channel multi-sector smart antenna system - Techniques of designing a smart antenna system are described. An antenna system includes at least two integrated antenna units arranged with a predefined angular angle therebetween to form a desired antenna pattern without any significant nulls. According to one aspect of the techniques, at least two sets of antenna units are interlaced but polarized differently to form an integrated antenna unit. Each of the antenna units is formed with an array of antennas. The antennas in an array or the antenna units in an integrated antenna unit can be selectively energized to form a desired antenna pattern in accordance with a signal determined from radio frequency signals communicated between a device equipped with the antenna system and another device (e.g., a Wi-Fi router in communication with a mobile device), where the desired antenna pattern provides an optimized antenna pattern to facilitate seamless or QoS communication between the two devices. | 10-30-2014 |
20140354510 | Antenna system providing simultaneously identical main beam radiation characteristics for independent polarizations - Techniques of designing an antenna array or antenna system are described. The antenna system includes a plurality of antenna units structured in a way to form a desired antenna pattern. According to one aspect of the present invention, each of the antenna units includes two antennas orthogonally disposed. These antenna units are arranged in a pre-defined geometric pattern to create two substantially similar main beam radiation characteristics for independent polarizations. | 12-04-2014 |
20140368404 | Antenna system providing simultaneously identical main beam radiation characteristics for independent polarizations - Techniques of designing an antenna array or antenna system are described. The antenna system includes a plurality of antenna units structured in a way to form a desired antenna pattern. According to one aspect of the present invention, each of the antenna units includes two antennas disposed orthogonally or in parallel. These antenna units are arranged in a pre-defined geometric pattern to create two substantially similar main beam radiation characteristics for independent polarizations. | 12-18-2014 |
20150244070 | Switchable Antennas for Wireless Applications - Techniques of designing an antenna array with antenna units controlled electronically are described. Through controlling the combination of the reflectors in each of the antenna units, a desired antenna pattern is formed, adapting to the environment, and providing reliable and efficient links between two transceivers. According to one aspect of the present invention, a switch (e.g., a diode) is used to couple two reflectors. The diode is controlled to be on or off so that the reflectors are conductively integrated or separated. | 08-27-2015 |