1. A wireless communication method in a system in which subscriber stations are each operable for communication with a base station, the base station being capable of performing simultaneous communications with a plurality of the subscriber stations simultaneously by exchange of packets each conforming with a layered protocol of said system, the packets comprising a first portion for defining physical layer (PHY) parameters and a second portion for defining media access layer (MAC) parameters, and communications between the subscriber stations and the base station being performed wholly or partly through at least one relay station, the method comprising steps of, in the relay station:
receiving a plurality of packets from the subscriber stations;
detecting the second portion of each of the packets;
combining the detected second portions to form a second portion of at least one new packet; and
transmitting the new packet to the base station.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second portion of each packet includes error-checking information, and said detecting step comprises checking the error-checking information of packets received from the subscriber stations and discarding any packets thereby found to have been incorrectly received.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the combining step comprises removing the error-checking information from the second portion of each received packet and linking the remainder of each second portion to form the second portion of the new packet.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the combining step comprises forming the new packet with a new second portion representing the aggregate contents of the second portions of the received packets.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the combining step comprises extracting a payload, if any, from the second portion of each of the received packets and combining the payloads so extracted in a new second portion of the new packet.
6. A wireless communication system in which subscriber stations are each operable for communication with a base station, the base station being capable of performing simultaneous communications with a plurality of the subscriber stations simultaneously by exchange of packets each conforming with a layered protocol of said system, the packets comprising a first portion for defining physical layer (PHY) parameters and a second portion for defining media access layer (MAC) parameters, and communications between the subscriber stations and the base station being performed wholly or partly through at least one relay station, wherein the relay station comprises:
a receiver arranged to receive a plurality of packets from the subscriber stations;
a detector arranged to detect the second portion of each of the packets;
a processor arranged to combine the detected second portions to form a second portion of at least one new packet; and
a transmitter for transmitting the new packet to the base station.
7. A relay station for use in a wireless communication method in a system in which subscriber stations are each operable for communication with a base station, the base station being capable of performing simultaneous communications with a plurality of the subscriber stations simultaneously by exchange of packets each conforming with a layered protocol of said system, the packets comprising a first portion for defining physical layer (PHY) parameters and a second portion for defining media access layer (MAC) parameters, and communications between the subscriber stations and the base station being performed wholly or partly through the relay station, the relay station comprising:
a receiver for receiving a plurality of packets from the subscriber stations;
a detector for detecting the second portion of each of the packets;
a processor for combining the detected second portions to form a second portion of at least one new packet; and
a transmitter for transmitting the new packet to the base station.
8. The relay station according to claim 7, wherein the second portion of each packet includes error-checking information, and said detector is arranged to check the error-checking information of packets received from the subscriber stations and discard any packets thereby found to have been incorrectly received.
9. The relay station according to claim 7, wherein the processor is arranged to remove the error-checking information from the second portion of each received packet and link the remainder of each second portion to form the second portion of the new packet.
10. The relay station according to claim 7, wherein the processor is operable for forming the new packet with a new second portion representing the aggregate contents of the second portions of the received packets.
11. The relay station according to claim 7, wherein the combining means is arranged to extract a payload, if any, from the second portion of each of the received packets and to combine the payloads so extracted in a new second portion of the new packet.
12. A base station for use in a wireless communication method in a system in which subscriber stations are each operable for communication with the base station, the base station being capable of performing simultaneous communications with a plurality of the subscriber stations simultaneously by exchange of packets each conforming with a layered protocol of said system, the packets comprising a first portion for defining physical layer (PHY) parameters and a second portion for defining media access layer (MAC) parameters, and communications between the subscriber stations and the base station being performed wholly or partly through at least one relay station which receives a plurality of packets from the subscriber stations, detects the second portion of each of the packets, combines the detected second portions to form a second portion of at least one new packet, and transmits the new packet to the base station; wherein the base station comprises:
a receiver for receiving the or each new packet sent from the relay station; and
a decoder for decoding the second portion of the new packet.
13. The base station according to claim 12, wherein the second portion of each packet includes error-checking information, and said decoder includes means for checking the error-checking information of the or each new packet sent from the relay station, and discarding any packet found to have been incorrectly received.
14. The base station according to claim 12, wherein the second portion of every packet contains a connection ID identifying an active connection in the system, and the base station monitors connection IDs of its own active connections.
15. The base station according to claim 14, wherein said decoder checks the connection IDs of received packets and discards any packet having an unknown connection ID.
16. The base station according to claim 12, wherein the new packet sent from the relay station includes linked second portions of the packets received from the plurality of subscriber station, and the decoder is arranged to fragment said linked second portions.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A vehicle display assembly, comprising:
a housing;
at least one light source; and
at least one flexible light guide operably coupled to said housing and operably positioned to illuminate contours, areas andor surfaces of said housing.
2. The vehicle display assembly of claim 1, wherein said at least one flexible light guide is silicon.
3. The vehicle display assembly of claim 1, wherein said at least one flexible light guide is operably flexible to follow different shapes having equivalent size length such that said flexible light guides are operable to provide direct illumination of different contours, areas, andor surfaces of various vehicle display assemblies configurations or shapes.
4. The vehicle display assembly of claim 1, wherein said at least one light source is operably mounted to at least one side of the interior surface of said housing and said flexible light guide is operably positioned relative to said light source to illuminate the predetermined desired contour, area andor surface of said vehicle display assembly.
5. The vehicle display assembly of claim 1, wherein each of said at least one light source is a light emitting diode.
6. The vehicle display assembly of claim 5, wherein said vehicle display assembly comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes, wherein the emitted light can be selectively changed between two or more colors illuminating the at least one flexible light guide.
7. The vehicle display assembly of claim 1, wherein said vehicle display assembly comprises a plurality of said light sources.
8. The vehicle display assembly of claim 1, wherein said vehicle display assembly is selected from the group consisting of instrument clusters, backlights, graphics, radio, multi-media, and communications displays, and combinations thereof.
9. The vehicle display assembly of claim 1, wherein said at least one flexible light guide has no rigid portion.
10. The vehicle display assembly of claim 1, wherein said at least one flexible light guide is fixed by pressure to said vehicle display assembly, wherein said at least one flexible light guide is pressed by and held in place between two or more rigid parts of said vehicle display assembly.
11. The vehicle display assembly of claim 1, wherein no attachment fastener is used to connect said at least one flexible light guide to said housing that would pierce said at least one flexible light guide.
12. The vehicle display assembly of claim 1, wherein said at least one flexible light guide has a U-shaped cross section for attaching to an outer edge of said housing.
13. The vehicle display assembly of claim 1, wherein the predetermined thickness and size of said at least one flexible light guide correlates to the predetermined size of said at least one light source.
14. The vehicle display assembly of claim 1, further comprising a light diffuser operably coupled to said housing relative to said at least one flexible light guide to defuse the light.
15. A vehicle display assembly, comprising:
a housing;
at least one light source operably mounted to said housing; and
at least one flexible light guide that is silicon, wherein said flexible light guide is operably connected to said vehicle display assembly in a position operable to selectively illuminate contours, areas andor surfaces of said housing.
16. The vehicle display assembly of claim 15, wherein said at least one flexible light guide is operably flexible to follow different shapes having equivalent size length and illumination path size such that said flexible light guides are operable to provide direct illumination of different contours, areas, andor surfaces of various vehicle display assemblies.
17. The vehicle display assembly of claim 15, wherein said at least one light source is operably mounted to at least one side of the interior surface of said housing and said flexible light guide is operably positioned relative to said light source to illuminate the predetermined desired contour, area andor surface of said vehicle display assembly.
18. The vehicle display assembly of claim 15, wherein the predetermined thickness and size of said at least one flexible light guide correlates to the predetermined size of said at least one light source.
19. The vehicle display assembly of claim 15, wherein said vehicle display assembly is selected from the group consisting of instrument clusters, backlights, graphics, radio, multi-media, and communications displays.
20. A vehicle display assembly for passenger or commercial vehicles, comprising:
a housing;
at least one light source operably mounted to an interior surface of said housing; and
at least one flexible light guide that is silicon, and that is operably flexible and having at least one attachment portion for operably connecting to a plurality of vehicle display assembly contours, shapes andor surfaces of different shaped vehicle display assemblies having the same illuminated path size to selectively illuminate contours, areas andor surfaces of various vehicle display assemblies;
wherein the predetermined thickness and size of said at least one flexible light guide correlates to the predetermined size of said at least one light source.