Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a node device includes an interface configured to receive first signals. A plurality of coupling devices are configured to launch the first signals on a transmission medium as a plurality of first guided electromagnetic waves at corresponding plurality of non-optical carrier frequencies, wherein the plurality of first guided electromagnetic waves are bound to a physical structure of the transmission medium. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a node device includes an interface configured to receive first signals. A plurality of coupling devices are configured to launch the first signals on a transmission medium as a plurality of first guided electromagnetic waves at corresponding plurality of non-optical carrier frequencies, wherein the plurality of first guided electromagnetic waves are bound to a physical structure of the transmission medium. Other embodiments are disclosed.

An amplifier circuit acting as a line driver in a line between a central station and field devices connected thereto comprising: a DC/DC converter integrated in the circuit as a power stage comprising a DC/pulse converter with two electrically isolated switching stages; a logic block preceding the converter, generating control signals for the switches from a PWM signal and feeding them into the converter in an electrically isolated manner using drivers; a priority block generating the PWM signal; a first and a second controller. The priority block forwards output from the first or second controller. The first controller generates a fault signal based on a voltage limit and an output voltage fed back within the amplifier circuit via a feedback path. The second controller generates a fault signal based on a current limit and the output current. The central station defines the current limit and the voltage limit.

A communication system is configured to use a pulse width modulation signal as transmission code among a plurality of nodes connected to a communication line. A master node includes a transmission transistor connected to the communication line, a detector configured to detect a variation in current during the on-period of the transmission transistor, and a communication circuit configured to determine the off-timing of the transmission transistor based on the timing of occurrence of the variation in current (i.e., the on-timing of a second transmission transistor provided in a slave node). For example, the communication circuit can be configured to determine the off-timing of the transmission transistor such that the simultaneously-on period TB of the transmission transistor and the second transmission transistor fulfills TB=(2n−1)/2f, where f is the frequency of EMI noise.

Methods, systems, and apparatuses for a single edge nibble transmission (SENT) multi-transmission mode are described. In an example, a system can include a transmitter and a receiver connected to one another. The transmitter may encode an identifier of a device in a synchronization nibble of a SENT signal. The transmitter may transmit the SENT signal with the encoded identifier to the receiver. The receiver may receive the SENT signal from the transmitter. The receiver may decode the identifier of the device from the synchronization nibble of the SENT signal to identify the device.

In a described embodiment, a sensor-based communication apparatus (100) is disclosed. The communication apparatus (100) comprises a plurality of sensor nodes (112) associated with respective unique pulse signatures (200) and adapted to communicate with respective sensors (113) with each sensor (113) configured to generate a sensory signal (113a) in response to a respective stimulus (113b). Each sensor node (112) is triggered, upon receipt of the corresponding sensory signal (113a), to transmit the associated unique pulse signature (200) independently and asynchronously through a transmission medium (110) shared by the sensor nodes (112), and the unique pulse signatures (200) transmitted by the sensor nodes (112) being a representation (300) of a stimulus event associated with the stimuli detected by the corresponding sensors (113). A method and a communication medium are also disclosed.

An illustrative receiver includes: a decision element that derives symbol decisions from a slicer input signal; an equalizer that converts a receive signal into the slicer input signal; a summer that combines the symbol decisions with the slicer input signal to produce an error signal; and a level finder that operates on said signals to determine thresholds at which each signal has a given probability of exceeding the threshold. One illustrative level finder circuit includes: a gated comparator and an asymmetric accumulator. The gated comparator asserts a first or a second gated output signal to indicate when an input signal exceeds or falls below a threshold with a programmable condition being met. The asymmetric accumulator adapts the threshold using up steps for assertions of the first gated output signal and down steps for assertions of the second gated output signal, with the up-step size being different than the down-step size.

The invention relates to a method for synchronizing sensors in a sensor array, including at least one electronic control unit and at least one sensor, which are connected to each other by a first and a second line, wherein the sensor is supplied with electric power by the first and second lines, and additionally at least one data signal (a) is transmitted by the first and second lines from the sensor to the electronic control unit, wherein the electronic control unit transmits a defined supply voltage signal having varying polarity as a synchronization signal (b, c) to the sensor, whereupon the sensor transmits at least one data signal (a) to the electronic control unit, after the polarity of the synchronization signal has been reversed.

The invention relates to a method for synchronizing sensors in a sensor array, including at least one electronic control unit and at least one sensor, which are connected to each other by a first and a second line, wherein the sensor is supplied with electric power by the first and second lines, and additionally at least one data signal (a) is transmitted by the first and second lines from the sensor to the electronic control unit, wherein the electronic control unit transmits a defined supply voltage signal having varying polarity as a synchronization signal (b, c) to the sensor, whereupon the sensor transmits at least one data signal (a) to the electronic control unit, after the polarity of the synchronization signal has been reversed.

An optical transmitter converts a plurality of transmission signals transmitted via a plurality of lanes into a multi-carrier signal and transmits the multi-carrier signal. The optical transmitter includes: a controller configured to generate allocation information that indicates an allocation of sub-carriers to the plurality of lanes according to a bit rate of the transmission signal of each of the lanes and a possible transmission capacity of each of the sub-carriers; and a signal processor configured to convert the plurality of transmission signals into the multi-carrier signal in accordance with the allocation information generated by the controller.