Asynchronous communication system

A method for exchanging an information frame transmitted in a time interval corresponding to a given rate between a transmitter and a receiver comprising the steps of

• interconnecting said transmitter and said receiver with a plurality of parallel communication paths, and
• transceiving on said paths an electrical pattern in said frame corresponding to said information, said pattern comprising a plurality of pulses distributed over said paths and distributed in time at sub-intervals of the time duration of said interval and wherein each arrangement of said pulses in said frame corresponds to a unique code word identifying said information.

A method for exchanging an information frame between a transmitter and a receiver comprising the steps of

• interconnecting said transmitter and said receiver with a plurality of parallel communication paths,
• subdividing said frame into subframes, and
• transceiving on said paths a fixed signal in one of said subframes as determined by said information, said fixed signal comprising a plurality of pulses distributed over said paths and distributed in time at sub-intervals of the time duration of said one of said subframes so that the relative position of said one of said subframes in said frame corresponds to a unique code word identifying said information.

A method for communicating continuous information frames each transmitted in a time interval corresponding to a given rate between a transmitter and a receiver comprising the steps of

• interconnecting said transmitter and said receiver with a plurality of communication paths, and
• transceiving over said paths in each of said frames a preselected signal pattern corresponding to the information in each of said frames, said pattern comprising a plurality of pulses distributed over said paths and distributed in time at sub-intervals of said interval and wherein each arrangement of said pulses in each of said frames corresponds to a unique code word identifying said information.

A method for encoding incoming data as a series of frames for transmission at prescribed intervals over a plurality of parallel communication paths comprising the steps of

• partitioning said incoming data and associating each said partition with one of said frames, and
• generating during each of said frames a signal pattern from a preselected set, said pattern selected in correspondence to said data in said each of said frames and comprising a plurality of pulses distributed over said paths and distributed in time at sub-intervals of the corresponding one of said intervals, and wherein each pattern in said set corresponds to a unique code word identifying said partitioned data and each arrangement of said pulses in said frame identifies said code word.

A method for decoding a pattern coded signal conveying a frame of information, said signal composed of a plurality of pulses distributed over a plurality of parallel communication paths and distributed in time at sub-intervals corresponding to the transmission rate of said frame and wherein each arrangement of said pulses in said frame corresponds to a unique code word identifying said information, said method comprising the steps of

• arranging a sensor array in energy transfer relation to said paths at detection points corresponding to said time sub-intervals and distribution over said paths, and
• processing the output of said sensor array to produce a correlation signal whenever said pattern coded signal is present on said paths during a time interval corresponding to said rate.

Circuitry for decoding a pattern coded signal conveying a frame of information, said signal comprising a plurality of pulses distributed over a plurality of parallel communication paths and distributed in time at sub-intervals corresponding to the transmission rate of said frame and wherein each arrangement of said pulses in said frames corresponds to a unique code word identifying said information, said circuitry comprising

• means, in energy transfer relation to said paths at detection points corresponding to said time subintervals and said distribution over said paths, for sensing on said paths an array of sensed signals, and
• means, coupled to said means for sensing, for processing said sensed signals and for providing a correlation signal whenever said pattern coded signal is present on said paths during a time interval corresponding to said rate.

In combination, a plurality of optical communication paths,

• a source of light pulses,
• means responsive to input information for causing said source to generate a pattern of light pulses in a predetermined time frame, said pattern including a plurality of pulses having space diversity for distribution over said paths and time diversity for distribution in time at sub-intervals of said time frame and wherein each arrangement of said pulses in said frame corresponds to a unique code word identifying information conveyed by said frame, and
• means for distributing said pattern to a unique combination of said communication paths according to space diversity at times according to said time diversity.

In combination, a plurality of optical communication paths,

• a source of light pulses,
• means responsive to input information for causing said source to generate a pattern of light pulses in a predetermined time frame, said pattern including a plurality of pulses having space diversity for distribution over said paths and time diversity for distribution in time at sub-intervals corresponding to said frame rate and wherein each arrangement of said pulses in said frame corresponds to a unique code word identifying information conveyed by said frame, and
• means for distributing said pattern to a unique combination of said communication paths according to space diversity at times according to said time diversity and such that said means for distributing includes means for subdividing said frame into subframes corresponding to said sub-intervals and for transmitting said pattern during one of said subframes selected according to said input information such that the relative position of said one of said subframes in said frame determines said unique code word.